#trying to figure out how to not have running connected to the ED

[nialls-harmonica]

Just got back from a three mile run and walked into the house to my mom cooking and baking a bunch of stuff but I’m so hot and out of breath that the smell is just revolting to me right now😂

[blckbrrybasket]

20. “Sweet As Whiskey”

Vampire!Eddie Munson x Afab!Reader

꒰Blood Kink + Period꒱ - 2.0k

• oral (r receiving), period blood!!, friends

kinktober m.list

Eddie was rather neutral about being a vampire. There was good and bad that came with it, as anything. One thing he couldn’t determine if it was a good thing or a bad thing though, was being able to smell blood so intensely. It helped him hunt, but it also made it extremely hard to stay away from you when you were on your period.

You hadn’t yet connected the dots of why some days he’d drop off the face of the earth after getting you chocolate, ice cream, and whatever else he could think you would need. Then like clockwork after he dropped the items off he’d leave for a few days, coincidentally when you were on your period. Maybe it was a guy thing?

You knew he was a vampire, but he didn’t talk about it a lot. The ins and outs of his ‘condition’ were unclear to you, never once thinking that he could probably smell blood and it was intoxicating to him when you were on your period. No, you tended to be in too much pain from cramps to think deeply about his motivations.

Just like now, you were curled up on your bed, figure aching from the intense cramps. Eddie had been busy for the week, running errands for Wayne, and he had no clue that you had started your period. If it was any normal day, walking into your apartment like he owned it would have been fine, but when he found you on your bed it was far from fine.

“Shit, are you okay?” Eddie had asked, rushing over when the coppery smell hit him. You whimpered in pain, his hand coming up to cover his mouth when he inhaled your scent. Shit, he needed to go…but he couldn’t abandon you when you were in this much pain. “Eds,” you said pathetically, peering at him over your pile of pillows you had made into a makeshift nest. “Fuck,” he coughed, eyebrows pinching together in an expression as if he too was wounded. “How can I help?” You shook your head, eyes watery. “I took meds but they didn’t work.” You didn’t want to tell him that half the pain was from cramps and back pain, the other half being that you were so horny you were pulsing beneath your underwear.

Eddie swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the tempting smell in the air when he sat down on the side of your bed. His jaw ached, desperately needing your blood. You instantly curled up to him, tears threatening to roll down your cheeks at the overwhelming feeling of it all. “I can’t do anything,” you sniffled. Eddie’s arm came around, rubbing at the small of your back as you pushed into his fingers, moaning.

He swallowed a groan, squeezing his eyes shut. “Yes you can, you’re the strongest person I know. Practically god or something,” he joked to no avail. “I can’t!” You whimpered, getting worked up. “I hurt so much and I can’t even do the one thing I want.” “Which is?” You stilled, eyes widening.

“Nothing,” you grumbled, shoving your face into Eddie’s side. He shook his head, curls bouncing, “Ah-ah. Come here.” His hands slid to grab your face, coaxing it back out. “What is it?” Your lips were pulled into a petulant pout that only made him chuckle more. Finding the humor in the situation helped him ignore the fact he was seconds away from falling to his knees to beg to drink your blood.

“I can’t come, I can’t do anything about it. Everything hurts too much, none of my toys are good.” Eddie sighed sympathetically knowing how you felt, hoping you didn’t see the growing bulge in his jeans. “What if…what if I helped you?” Your wide eyes seemed to somehow look more shocked. “Really?”

“Yeah, why not. You help me all the time.” You laughed, sniffing. “I help you with selling weed, not giving you handjobs.” Eddie shrugged and moved to roll over, propping himself up by your legs. “Same thing.” It was not by any means, but it was pointless to argue with Eddie.

“Are you sure? It’s not pretty...like at all.” Eddie rolled his eyes, looking up at you with an expression as if to say are you serious right now. “Babe, I’m a fucking vampire.” A look of shock passed your face as he reminded you. It made sense now why he left when you were on your period, or least the first few days of it. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Eddie laughed, slipping his scrunchie off his wrist to throw his curls up into a bun. “So you’re doing this for you,” you playfully accused. Eddie grinned wickedly, “I will neither confirm nor deny.” He didn’t have to say it was mainly for you, you already knew, but it was also to relieve the blood lust he was feeling. Rolling your eyes, you maneuvered to lay on your back, keeping your legs bent up to help with the rolling pain in your abdomen. 

“Freak.” You taunted him. He simply licked his lips, “Now you’re getting it sweetheart.” His charm was ever present, but the kinder Eddie was now replaced with the wilder version you knew and loved. Eddie laid on his stomach, splaying his arms on your thighs while he studied you for a moment. “What’s good and what’s not?”

He wouldn’t admit that it was his first time he was doing this while his partner was on their period, but he still needed to know what was good. You shifted nervously, halting when Eddie placed a hand on your waist. “Just your mouth please.” Eddie nodded, lowering his mouth to the waistband of your shorts. “So polite.”

His teeth sunk into the elastic, backing up as he slid them down your legs when you witnessed possibly the most beautiful thing on earth. Eddie’s dark eyes rolled as he groaned at the smell of you being further uncovered. You bit your lip, whimpering at his reaction. Unable to wait any longer, his hand pulled your shorts the rest of the way down as he made his way back up your legs.

Eddie hooked his fingers over the edge of your underwear and pulled them down, salivating at the sight of you. Puffy and wet with blood, wiry hair leading to what he so desperately craved. You winced, looking at the sight of your bloody pad, but Eddie didn’t bat an eye, setting it to the side. Having a towel would be smart, but Eddie was never known for his patience.

“Jeez-us sweetheart,” Eddie huffed, lowering back to lay on his stomach, eye level with your sore pussy. If most guys were scared of this he knew they were stupid. Eddie was salivating at the sight, not only because his body was programmed to need blood. He couldn’t help leaning in, the bridge of his nose bumping your sensitive clit as he breathed you in, you smelled even more like yourself now. Your hips jumped as his nose brushed against your clit, his hands pressing your hips back down.

Oh how he wanted to be rough, but he wouldn’t, refused to. Not when you needed him like this. “I’ve got you,” he muttered, opening his eyes to look up at you. Something had shifted in them even if you weren’t entirely sure what it was. His tongue drags over you so slowly, relishing in the taste of your blood. It was a tentative move, figuring out how to not hurt you with his sharp canines.

You gasp out, the sensation sending a wave of pleasure through the pain radiating in your gut. Eddie took his time to make sure he was as gentle as he could be, tongue not as sharp as it was when he usually gave head. He couldn’t help how much he was drooling as he swept his tongue through your bloodied labia. It was intoxicating, Eddie’s brain growing clouded as he licked at you.

His eyes fell shut as he fell into a practiced rhythm. You were already so sensitive from being worked up, your period making you tighter than usual. As if he sensed it, Eddie didn’t press his tongue into you, happily licking away at you. The ache deep in the roots of his fangs ebbed away as he got what he needed. It was messy, blood and spit forming a pinkish puddle under you on the sheets, but he didn’t back down.

Eddie started a slow stroke of his tongue from your hole to your clit, working his way up quicker to swirl his tongue over your clit, sending sparks racing up your spine. The heat that was present in your body gives way to a nicer warmth that cradles your body as Eddie eats you out. Your stomach clenches, threatening to hurt like your cramps when Eddie slides a large hand under the small of your back. The slight change in angle lets you relax further, the backs of your knees moving to lay over his shoulders.

Eddie sucks gently at your lips and runs his tongue over every part of you like you’re his life source. Surely he wasn’t going to die from not drinking blood for a week, but your blood was so thick on his tongue, coating the muscle entirely he was sure he would die if he didn’t get enough of you. Your blood was different than the wetness he was used to, it was stronger and there was so, so much of it. 

Every instinct in his body pushed him to keep going until there was no more left to get. He slurps away at the mix of slick, blood, and his spit that coats you. When Eddie lifts his head there's a thick coating of blood across his mouth and chin. If you weren’t watching him you would have thought he’d gotten into a fight. “Shit, Eddie.” His eyes immediately snap to yours.

“Say that again.” You whine at the way your cunt tightens, “Eddie.” He groans, lowering his head again, tongue flicking over your entrance. Your cunt tingles, abdomen pulling tight from his movements. “Fuck, Eds,” you continued spurring him on with your whines.

Eddie’s messy when he eats you up, blood smeared across your mound and thighs. You didn’t doubt that he’d clean it up with his tongue later, body shuddering at the thought of him sucking your thighs clean. Your body subtly bends up, gentle bucks of your hips following his ministrations.

The sparks at the base of your spine lick their way into your abdomen as your body tenses further. Squeezing your eyes shut, you keen. “Eddie, I'm close. Don’t you dare stop.” Eddie chuckles into you, knowing how serious you are. He didn’t dare consider stopping when he was about to watch his favorite person come.

Overwhelming pleasure bursts in you like fireworks, silent screams on your lips as you come. Eddie was only spurred on, working you through it as your cum pushes your blood farther into his mouth. He wiggles his tongue from side to side, greedily sucking up every last drop that you released. Salt mixed with copper on his tongue, melting into a satisfying concoction.

Eddie finally pulls away when you cry out at the overstimulation, air cooling his bloodstained lips as air hits your cunt at the same time. He merely grins, teeth stained red. “You look like a mess,” you laugh as he licks his lips. He shrugs, not caring about your insults when he can still taste you on your tongue. “Only because of you.” You smile, hand falling to your abdomen where your cramps have significantly lessened.

“Did it work?” Eddie asks in a muffled voice, eyes on your gut while he sucks on the fingers that wiped his chin clean. Snickering, you nod. “Good,” he boasts, fingers leaving his mouth. “Next time you need help again, ask.” You roll your eyes, “Who says there’s a next time?” 

Eddie was too sure of himself and you were too stubborn to admit that he was right. “Like you’ll turn me away,” he snorts, tracing his hand along your sides. “You’re right…I pity you too much.” Eddie grins. “Whatever gets me into your bed,” His fangs nipped at your messy thigh, a smug look on his face.

“Idiot.”

tags: @babybatlover, @starrgurl46, @wowzers-07, @nenukkjhj, @morgan0lw21, @kinokomoonshine, @slut4ddn, @adventures-of-impala, @dreamerjj

[lucasandlily]

Rui x Reader who is really affectionate, but can't touch him because of The Curse.

A/N: I'm alive!! Rui my beautiful beautiful tragic boy. I've actually been having a lot of brainrot for this game, particularly an isekai AU that made me contemplate making RP blog (I love you guys btw. This is probably my first fandom where they're so active, I've been really well connected with this fandom somehow and it's so fun!!), so I figured I might as well be writing it down now. This is an idea I've had spinning in my head for a while, so it's VERY self-indulgent/insert, but enjoy!! AO3 link here

Rui's POV. Second-person pronoun "You" is used. Angst! But also fluff!! (825 words)

You’ve always been an affectionate little thing. It’s something Rui finds adorable about you, staying optimistic despite all that looms over you, not letting any of the ghouls he KNOWS can be more than a little much sometimes destroy your positive attitude. It’s as if you decided to be the light in a place that literally has dark in its name, and he lov admires you for that.

He can’t help but feel the bitter green of envy though, when he watches you ruffle Lyca’s hair after he whines at you for treating him like a dog. 

He pointedly turns away from the look Ed gives him over your head when you relax into his chest after he leans over your shoulder.  

He just laughs along at your drunken antics when you nuzzle into Haru’s hand, somehow even more touchy when your cheeks are flushed with alcohol. 

He tries not to remember the flash of hurt, confusion, the first time he’d backed away from your hand when all you wanted to do was give him a pat for a job well done. He doesn’t know if it hurt more when your face morphed into regretful understanding, or when you apologised and told him you’d try not to do it again. 

Rui tells himself it’s for the better when he notices you’ve been avoiding him for the past week. He’d have done the same to you anyway, if he realised his feelings were starting to fester. He tries to not let it get to him when he hears you enter the Obscuary mansion, only to quickly patter up the stairs without stopping by the bar first, as you would have done previously. 

Maybe before, he would have made it a little competition to see who could mess up the other’s hair more. He’d watched you run your fingers through Lyca’s after you’d tousled it out of place, anyway. Maybe in another life, you’d gently hold his face as you showered him with kisses. He’d do the same to you anyway, if he wasn’t forced to keep his hands to himself. 

If he didn’t notice you hold your hand back every time you saw his mask slip. If he didn’t see your hand stop short before pulling it back to tell him he had a bit of hair out of place. 

It’s all just part of the cursed life, he tells himself. He should be getting used to it by now, he sighs as he walks down the hall over to his room. 

Behind him, he hears the jingle of the bell you like to wear on your keychain. He turns at the sound of your quick steps approaching. 

“Rui! Ruiruiruiii!!” You call.

“Ah, there you are! Haha, I’m not going anywhere you know~ though I guess I don’t mind being chased?” He teases as you approach. 

You smile up at him brightly, “I have something to show you!” You tell him, he notices now that you have a hand behind your back. 

“Hm? Aw, did you get me a gift? And here I was thinking you were hiding from me!” He regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth. Your smile falters a bit as you blink at his confession. 

But before he can backtrack with a “Just kidding!” your smile lightens again, eyes filling with some sort of resolve as you pull out… a glove on a stick? in your other hand.

He doesn’t pull away when he feels the simulation of a hand on his head. He can’t, when you look into his eyes with such unmistakable fondness. The awkward, stilted movements as you try to run the imitation hand through his hair communicates how long you’ve wanted to do this, and the tears that well up in his eyes betray how much he’s needed it. 

He feels the cloth soak up the tears when you move the glove down to hold his face. It feels soft under his skin, and he can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. 

“How long did it take you to make this?” He asks as you let him lace his fingers with your hand extension. He squeezes the plush hand, feeling the soft give before it reaches the stick inside, inspecting where the glove and stick are attached. 

“Um! A week? It took a bit of experimenting to get it to stay on… And they don’t really sell gloves on campus either.” 

Your eyes crinkle when you look at him, the corners of your lips pull up triumphantly when he lets go of the hand to let you pat his head again. 

“You deserve at least this much,” you tell him. “I know it’s not really the same or anything, but I don’t wanna leave you out, y’know?” 

“It was worth it though, if it made you happy.” You look into his eyes as you say this, and he can’t help but believe you.

Reblogs and Comments are appreciated! I love you (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

[nikibogwater]

Everybody sit down and strap in, 'cause I have a doozy of a tale to share.

I've had anxiety for literally as long as I can remember. I've had periods of my life where it was so intense it became legitimately life-threatening (don't worry I promise this is going somewhere funny). And this was really bizarre because I have zero childhood trauma. Like, my family life is so idyllic it's almost comical. Therapists would do abuse screenings on me and look utterly baffled when I told them everything was fine at home. They'd interrogate my parents just to make sure I wasn't lying. I have one friend who I'm fairly sure believed I was just severely gaslighting myself when I said my family was great, school wasn't too stressful, and I've never lived in a dangerous neighborhood or experienced poverty.

Anyways, despite no one being able to figure out where my disorder was coming from, my doctors were able to help me manage the symptoms so that I would like, not die, and actually be able to finish high school. Which was awesome. Now fast forward to late 2021. My big sister (who has also had intense anxiety her whole life which no one could figure out why) is finishing up her doctorate and getting her physical therapist's license. Somehow, during all her studying and schooling, she finds out about this thing called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which explains literally everything that was going on with us. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that kinda fudges up your body in a whole bunch of little ways, including dysautonomia (episodes of very fast heart-rate that kick your body into fight-or-flight mode), and hypermobility (unusual flexibility). It's a spectrum disorder, so the severity of symptoms vary from person to person, but we definitely checked almost every box on the diagnostic list. My sister went to see a specialist, and yep, she was diagnosed EDS positive. She immediately calls my mom and goes "I know what's wrong with Niki" (thanks, sis, that's real encouraging lol). Initially we're like "okay Katie, that's nice" because honestly this kind of sounds like jumping at shadows, but I go in to see the specialist anyways just to make sure.

One consultation and diagnosis later, and suddenly my entire life makes perfect sense.

Now we get to the funny part. See, the diagnosis stuff happened in early 2022. So by the time late 2023 comes around and we're looking for a new dog (I promise this is relevant), we've been riding that chronic illness diagnosis for a while. Once again, my sister, ever the proactive one, decides she's going to help us get a new dog. She scours the adoption website, sends us photos of the cutest dogs available, and helps us make a decision. This is how we got Beverly, who has been an unstoppable force of chaos in our lives ever since we signed the papers (but she's also really cute so she can get away with it). Now on top of being a very excitable and anxious pupper, Beverly's got a weird little gimp in her hindquarters, which makes her sit all splayed-out and funny-looking, and while it doesn't seem to be causing her pain, we take her to a vet to get it checked out. Vet finds absolutely nothing. X-rays are taken and examined. Still nothing. At this point, they go "well, we could try a CT scan of her brain, which would run about $5,000, and maybe we could find something--" but my parents are already packing this dog into the car like "well that is a HARD nope." So we decide, look, Beverly seems happy and healthy, and those gimpy legs don't seem to bother her, so we'll just leave it be until it becomes clearer what's wrong with her because we do NOT have a cool $5,000 to throw around here.

Readers more astute than my family and I will likely have already figured out where this is going.

This morning, my mom is looking at Beverly sitting in her funny sprawled-out way, and something in her brain goes "wait...weird physical symptoms with no tracible cause that vets can see..." She does a bit of googling. Can dogs have EDS/Hypermobility? Yes. Yes they can. And the listed symptoms describe Beverly to a T.

So not only is my sister the one to finally figure out what's wrong with me, she also unknowingly got us a dog who has the exact same chronic condition as us. Meanwhile my poor dad, who is the only Normal Person in our house, is coming to terms with the fact that he is apparently just fated to always love chronically ill people and animals, and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.

[sarucane]

Why was finding Stede's letter so important for Ed?

Real talk, I adore the season 2 finale and to me the rush is worth it to have a safe ending place. But this episode is so overpacked, and Ed goes through such an incredible character arc and I love it, so here goes my rant on why he burst into tears and screamed at the forest when he read Stede's letter.

Ed is all goddamn over the place in the first part of this episode, tossed about by his insecurity and baffled by what is safe and what is unsafe. He has a voiceover about how amazing being a fisherman is, then ends up regressing into childhood trauma when another father figure freaks out over dinner. Ed doesn't even choose to leave the fisherman fantasy: the fantasy gets shattered and he gets fired in a high-speed parallel of Stede trying to go home (return to a safe, simple life) and finding he doesn't belong there in S1E10. At least Ed does manage to not drown in self-hatred on the way out.

And then Ed returns to the pirate safe space, only to find that it's been invaded and taken over. And that his selfishness, the low self-esteem that distorted his view of reality and his relationship, may have had real consequences for someone he loves (another parallel with Stede, this time early season 2). Ed may have been off pretending to be a "dirty old fisherman" while Stede died.

What was safe is now unsafe. All Ed has left is himself--so he really looks at himself.

At the fact that the kraken is always there, no matter what clothes he wears or how deeply he tries to bury it. He can fight that and run from it, and end up losing everything. Or he can embrace it, and figure out what comes next. Be what he was made by his past, however dark that past was.

But Ed's past wasn't all darkness. Ed walks onto the beach and gets a letter from the past, and suddenly there is something safe again in his world. Something worth killing for.

Ed first started falling for Stede through the stories Stede built around himself, stories formed by boastful encounters with Izzy, muttered hallucinations, and trinkets decking his ship. Back then, Ed didn't believe he himself was a good person, didn't believe he could have friends. But Stede told him stories about friendship and treasure maps, and Ed took these to heart and told stories to match, and Ed found truth through the fiction.

Then Stede left, and those stories fell away for Ed. Ed embraced the story of the kraken, of Blackbeard. Instead of a story about love or survival, he wrote a story about an impossible bird, a raiding record, and a treacherous crew--and mourned a story about lost love.

But Stede kept writing stories. He poured himself into his letters, poured his heart into sustaining his connection to Ed in spite of all the obstacles.

Ed didn't believe in this story after Stede came back, even though he wanted to. He kept emotional distance from Stede, avoided risks, and bailed after two days. Because Ed didn't trust that their bond was solid, that their story was something that could survive Ed's darkness, insecurities, and damage. Didn't trust that what Stede said this time, he had truly thought about, and meant with all his heart.

Stede didn't get how insecure Ed was in all this, because Stede was just so sure of Ed, and of their love. Stede believed in his story with his whole soul, and Stede's stories have a way of creating reality--after all, the whole crew of the Revenge became "real boys." But he couldn't figure out how to communicate this to Ed, to let Ed believe it too.

And then, at a moment where his identity is fractured and re-forming, Ed finds this letter. And just like that, there's a solid ground of story beneath his feet.

Because there was, in fact, solid ground beneath his feet all along.

Ed's and Stede's relationship, like all relationships, is hard. But they formed a real bond of love in season 1, and like Mary Bonnet said, being in love is easy. Ed can trust it--like he did before, but for real this time.

Ed's figuring this out ruddy late. He and Stede didn't communicate these things to each other when they had the chance, and now the chance may have slipped away. So now, Ed yells his feelings at the world and runs off to try to find his person.

When Ed finds Stede again, he doesn't hold back anything. He doesn't hesitate to kill, and he doesn't hesitate to drop his sword when he reaches Stede. They're finally face to face, in every way. Finally balanced, and seeing each other clearly, and able to communicate.

And, for the first time since he and Stede reached each other this season--for the first time since his vision in the Gravy Basket really--Ed is utterly vulnerable.

And entirely safe.

[barbwritesstuff]

hi barb! any spare crumbs you can share about that possible witch game? or even just general witch lore in your universe?

do they have covens? when does magic start manifesting? are there lineages? rivalries? familiars? grimoires? any witch related/caused events happening in the background of BM and TT? i am SO curious 👁️👁️

Do they have covens? Some do, some don't. Some like to work alone, some treat witchery very seriously and have very formal meetings, but a lot just chat with other witches on forums or at the local library's bookclub very second Tuesday.

When does magic start manifesting? That can vary hugely. Some people show signs of magic as babies, others might only connect with their magic in old age. Most people figure it out as they stumble through childhood.

Are there lineages? Yes and no. Magic can and does manifest almost randomly in the human population, but it can also run in families. When it does run in families, it most often only shows up every second generation. This is why grandparents usually are the ones teaching magic to their grandkids, not parents.

Rivalries? All humans have rivalries, and witches are, fundamentally, human.

Familiars? Some witches can communicate with animals in varies ways, but other than that, not really. I suppose if a witch really wanted a spooky animal to follow them around they could always befriend a werewolf.

Grimoires? Aka, recipe books for spells. Yes, but they're not typically any different from other recipe books. You can find a bunch of spells online. Reddit spells are infamous for either being either dangerously powerful or complete bogus. There's Youtube videos with 10 views where a witch with a terrible microphone explains step by step how to debug the 'grow plants really fast' spell so it doesn't take over your whole garden.

any witch related/caused events happening in the background of BM and TT? Well... there's the witching wood. It's an incredibly old, powerful tree that has provided advice, magic, and the enchanted sticks that hunters sharpen into vampire killing stakes. In Blood Moon, Ed and MC can accidentally stumble across it during (and may kiss in it). In Thicker Than, MC passed by it in Chapter Four. There's also the wards. Wards can only be made by witches and there's several throughout both stories. Finally, and most obviously I think, Freya's necromancy is how Lawrence Blackwell was able to create the smilers (an army of young enthralled vampires capable of working in daylight hours).

I hope that was interesting. <3

P.S. I just wanted to add, it was very important to me when making the lore of this world (and this goes for werewolves, vampires, and ghosts too) to make paranormal stuff feel realistic but also almost mundane. Eg, minimum wage werewolves, ghosts haunting places for stupid reasons, or no reason at all, witches getting spells from clunky old online forums, hunters who file tax returns, vampires who go through the hospital trash to suck on bloody sponges, or pay local butchers for buckets of blood.

Whenever characters try to be cool, I often take the piss out of them a wee bit.

Eg, whenever a vampire tries to sound epic and intimidating, I try to cut them down to size a wee bit. This isn't a 'cool supernatural' world. It's not epic, it's messy, mundane, and modern. It's my ideas about what a semi realistic supernatural world might be.

[briebysabs]

Since I am such a normal individual I’ve decided to attempt breaking down vanoé’s character song “Le Formidable”. I don’t hear much talk about it but the lyrics are just as cryptic and wild as the OP/ED.

Before we get into it, in terms of translation, I could only find one on YouTube that thankfully color-coded the lyrics so I could decipher who sings what. If anyone has any other translations, I’d love to know please. So a bunch of the lines you can kinda figure out who’s singing but here’s how it’s gonna be:

Vanitas =💙

Noé =💜

Vanoe= 💙💜

Simple enough let’s get into it :)

💜: /I want to stay in bed feeling the warmth of the sun and drift in and out of this sweet dream/

Already we’ve mentioned dreaming, a running theme in this song. There is the well-known line Teacher says in chapter 55...

Sleeping, specifically in regards to Noé, is something mochijun makes the audience take note. He can’t sleep without holding something. When he can’t fall asleep, it is highlighted like the night Vanitas rejected Noé drinking his blood. He doesn’t want Vanitas to disappear and I personally like how in the recent chapter, Vanitas stays by his side for a while. Almost like callback to that moment on the train but I’m getting carried away. You get the correlation I’m making, it’ll get very important later on.

We also have those warmth and sun connections to Noé, a large part of his character and Vanitas’ gravitation towards him.

💙: /With this grey weather today, this day will go by without any harmony/

We see Vanitas’ pessimistic outlook on life; grey, cloudy, devoid of color. Devoid of comfort and obviously these two contrasting people will clash but mix together throughout the song.

💜: /Tarte Tatin, Altus Paris! Endless interesting things!/

💙: /It’s always like this! Here and there, endlessly losing sight./

This seems pretty straightforward, Noé is getting distracted by all the wonderful things as usual and Vanitas chastises him. But let’s frame this another way, Noé is choosing to not focus. It’s simpler that way. He’s turning his focus elsewhere to better things, more pleasant things. And Vanitas is trying to wake him up. I’ll explain more in my theory soon.

💜: /What to look for today from this city/

💙: /Ah with all these things/

💙💜: /There is no time to rest/

Simple lyrics here. No comment.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s really easy. Just colliding, rolling down, and repeating again/

Here we are entering the chorus. There’s a common thread of repetition in every OP and ED in VnC. Like clockwork, these two have fallen into this pattern.

Colliding- Vanoé meeting, two worlds learning how to come together, joining as one

Rolling down- their downfall, incoming despair and tragedy

Repeating again- they find themselves back where they started, fated to be born and to die

Let me say the first part of my theory and keep this in the back of your head while remembering the lyrics: VnC is not a time loop in the traditional sense but rather a loop of memories. Also keep in mind the first ED Zero: “Now I remember, oh I have never lived a day without you. Untie the layer of memories...”

💙: /This worthless-/

💜: /wonderful-/

💙💜: /world we are walking on. Even not knowing is sometimes nice, right?/

Again, vanoé with different outlooks on life meet each other. But more importantly, we see the display of ignorance or blissful unawareness. We the audience have a vague idea on how this story ends and in a way, so do they. Vanitas knows very well he is doomed and has already entrusted Noé to end his life if it comes to it. But we also don’t know the specifics of their downfall and neither do they.

So this line has a double meaning that refers to the characters and the reader. As yeah it is nice to read vnc and enjoy the happy moments without knowing the painful details of what’s to come.

💜: /Over there something is flapping their wings/

💙: /And these uncountable days pass by. It’s not worth worrying about. So many unknown things, without meaning/

💜: /Escalier! I want to see the bright colors beyond!/

Noé, again giving his attention to supposedly insignificant things as Vanitas tends to see the larger picture, not caring for the mundane. Uncountable days can be matched with the grey weather mentioned earlier. But that also means things are murky, blur together, cloudy. They don’t make sense to Vanitas (such as love, his self-worth, the nature within people) while Noé wants to experience all the brightness of the world.

💙: /I told you to be quiet today, yet here we are!/

💜: /Now you loud person!/

💙💜: /I told you I hardly have time to breathe/

So, hypothetical scenario if we take this song literal: Vanoé is exploring the city because Noe wanted to Vanitas couldn’t say no. Vanitas is fed up and Noé thinks his complaints are aggravating. But this part shows a lack of understanding. They’re yelling about their own hardships but don’t see the other’s perspective.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s a simple thing. It’s just finding, losing sight and repeating again/

💜: /I want to dream/

💙: /It’s just a dream/

💙💜: /The world keep walking while not knowing the truth at this point/

Ok there’s a lot to dig our teeth in here. First of all, the finding, losing sight, repeating is another way of describing the colliding and rolling down said prior. Vanoe find each other, they lose each other, it’s fated to happen all over again. Now the big piece here, I want to dream/It’s just a dream. Surface-level interpretation > another instance of their differences. Noé wants be surrounded by dreams and wonder. While Vanitas looks at that beauty and scoff at it, since it isn’t real therefore not worth caring for. But if we read into this carefully, Noé wants to dream. He wants to stay in these memories, he doesn’t want to live in a world without Vanitas.

Let’s go back to OP 1: “I love this world and the light only you give me.”

We know OP 1 is Noe’s POV so let’s ask ourselves why would the Noé we are seeing, the one smiling at all the colors of the world say Vanitas is the only light he has (emphasis on “only”). Because the Noé singing the first OP is operating with far more knowledge and despair. We don’t know the truth at this point. “This world” is not real.

Allow me to offer what I think is happening. Noé and Vanitas meet, they go on this journey of understanding, trust, and love, Vanitas reaches his end and is killed by Noé. Noé lives on. We can tell the Noé writing this story is full of regret and sadness. But why is he writing this all down? He’s retelling the memories, putting them down physically on paper. Two things happened:

a) He exchanged his name with Naenia, wishing to remain in a world with Vanitas in it. Because that wish is still very present, Naenia has great interest in Noé. She mentions seeing him before in Louis but it could be a classic mochijun misdirect and it’s actually from receiving his name in a different iteration. There is that official art with Noé wearing Vanitas’ coat with that goat entity he saw in Gevaudan, pinned to his vest.

However this can only work if Naenia is still around and isn’t resolved/defeated in the memoirs.

b) This is more likely in my opinion. Noé uses the Books and the memoirs act as a catalyst for him to have the world become his memories or for him to live in them. I know only those with blue blood or something can use the books.

Which is why Dr. Moreau had those experiments with Vanitas and Misha. Don’t worry, I already have a theory that Archivistes are some form of blue moon vampires but that is a whole other discussion. Point is, I think the Books of Vanitas are like an Elliot sword situation. Yes, Elliot owns the Nightray sword and carries it around but you don’t know its true purpose in the story until Leo wields it.

Noé causes these memories to replay, perhaps to save Vanitas or simply to dream again. Go back to when he was last happy. But here’s the thing, the Noé in this memory is unaware or ignorant of this, sees his present world as the real one and undergoes the events of the series. Vanitas dies, he lives on, and creates a memory world for himself. Rinse, recycle, repeat. Essentially, the first ED gave it away. The entirety of VnC is a layer of memories. Even the narrator Noé we are hearing is a memory that is trying to manifest a world of his own.

Reality and dreams are all intertwined now and Noé got lost in it. There are leaks in the cracks, for example when Vanitas cries and tells Luna his mother died at childbirth why would he call to her. Initially, you can read this as he’s just missing what he never had. But what if Vanitas’ mother was present in his life 9 memory loops ago but because these memories get further from the truth the more it happens, Noé simply forgot that detail when making the memoirs at some point in time. So now, in the memory layer #52 Vanitas has no mother.

💜: /We will see what we “cannot see”/

💙: /We will know what we “don’t know”/

💙💜: /The final stop of this world that seems to be changing, seems only further ahead/

Noe’s line possibly goes into his Archiviste nature and how he experiences reading memories. It can as well build back into the dream/memory loop thing, he’s seeing things he can no longer “see.”

Vanitas’ line can be drawn to what Noé said during their fight.

Vanitas acts like he has the final word and has a full grasp of how this world/himself works. But he really doesn’t and Noé is living proof of that, proving him wrong on several occasions that there’s still hope, they can’t give up yet, he won’t leave him etc. The final stop of this world is changing, but it’s further ahead. This is a story, a preserved section of time from the past. We gotta ask ourselves... why would the last stop be changing? Again, Vanitas’ death is the final stop but it’s changing, perhaps from the countless iterations we’ve gone through Noé writes the memoirs in a way that delays the ending. So he could remain just a little longer…

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! Everything is fine. While forgetting, hiding, and repeating it/

💙: /This worthless/

💜: /wonderful/

💙💜: /world we are walking on/

💙: /I don’t know but even so/

💜: /If it can make you smile.../

After this, it ends the song by repeating the first chorus with the colliding-rolling down part so I’ll make this the cutting point. The “everything is fine” totally doesn’t stick out in a story where we know everything will not be fine. The forgetting and hiding goes back to my dream-memory theory, Noé is hiding from the truth in these stacks upon stacks of memories and is possibly forgetting things as they really happened as a result. We already know he isn’t the most reliable narrator. But Noé wants to see Vanitas’ smile.

If it can make you smile again, if it can replay your laughter, why would I ever leave this wonderful lie? In OP 1: “Your laughing was reflected by a daydream”.

I’ll conclude this by saying two things. If you want to get even deeper, you can interpret Vanitas in this song as the voice in the back of Noé’s head. Its just a dream, this world is actually worthless, and Noé is trying to drown out those thoughts. Because yeah they sing lines together but the only time they’re directly speaking to each other is when Vanitas scolds Noé and Noé shouts back, calling him loud. Finally, I could be wrong in all this. I am aware how crazy I may look and I'm so thankful if you read this far.

But yeah if this is anywhere near canon, mochijun must be the most unhinged, absolutely cracked author I’ve ever seen. We’re going into Pandora Hearts levels of intricacy here. I hope you enjoyed my insanity 👍🏼

[dragonagitator]

I started out just wanting to write a "Modern Girl in Faerun" author self-insert fanfic of BG3 in the tradition of all the "Modern Girl in Thedas" fanfics I've enjoyed over the years in the Dragon Age fandom. You know, someone who has played the game gets transported to the world of the game and uses her foreknowledge of events to steer for the best ending and pursue her favorite romance, yadda yadda yadda.

And then I thought, oh, I should also write a sequel from Gale's perspective that runs parallel to the first story that's about him trying to figure out if she's just crazy or what.

I decided that while my MGIF character will be successful in using her foreknowledge of events to achieve the best or even better outcomes for the main events of the game, it would be hilarious if that same foreknowledge of events also led to her inadvertently flubbing every single scripted romance progression scene with Gale so that it ends up being an even slower burn than canon.

Meanwhile, most of the companions (including Gale) don't believe her story about how they're fictional characters in an interactive story she's played as a game because there are so many other plausible in-world explanations for why someone would have her foreknowledge of events. So Gale thinks she's mentally unwell, and he struggles with the ethics of pursuing a romantic relationship with someone whose interest in him is at least partially predicated on (what he believes to be) delusions.

It works out in the end, but Gale's perspective of what the fuck is going on is so divergent from hers that it would be a fundamentally different narrative.

And then as I was researching Forgotten Realms lore for the first set of stories, I realized it would be hilarious if I wrote a post-canon sequel about Gale and the MCIF trying to plan their wedding in Waterdeep while the events of the D&D modules Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage are unfolding in the background.

And then while I was researching stuff for that, I learned that it's Forgotten Realms canon that Elminster knows about Earth, has a portal to Ed Greenwood's house, and regularly visits Ed and few other D&D authors to give them more lore to write about.

So then I realize that while the Elminster we meet during BG3 is actually a Simulacrum and thus wouldn't be privy to anything Elminster didn't think it needed to know for its mission, presumably the real Elminster would show up for Gale's wedding. So if Gale happened to mention his new wife's unfortunate "delusions" to Elminster, Elminster could rock Gale's world by confirming no she's been right all along. Thank you, Elminster, for the best gift a bride could ever receive: the opportunity to say "I TOLD YOU SO!" to her husband. Lol.

And then I thought if Elminster has a portal to Ed's house in Toronto, what if Gale and the MCIF eventually used that portal to flee to Earth for some reason? Either to escape the reach of Mystra, or maybe because their child has a condition that's treatable on Earth but not with Faerun magic/medicine ala Outlander?

Then we could have another story in the series that's a reversal of the first story's trope -- a "Faerun Character in Modern Earth" story of Gale going through culture shock while also losing his connection to the Weave and thus losing all his wizard powers AGAIN. Mmmm angsty.

This is my first time writing fanfic, I've only written a fraction of the first story so far, and I've already come up with at least three sequels I need to write too.

What.

The.

Fuck.

I now fully understand what fanfic authors mean when they cry about "the plot bunnies are multiplying."

[ygodmyy20]

Okay I finally am getting around to this post! It's the 'Fuck how can mob psycho help me in so many ways god damnit I hate and love this show' post!

Shigeo joining the body improvement club, and everything about this part of his story is so personal to me. I just have to talk about it.

So as we all know at the start of the story, Shigeo joins the body improvement club to impress Tsubomi. Thats it. Thats the goal. He also joins because he wants to get stronger and not rely on his psychic powers but really like...the main reason is to impress her.

And this isn't new. A character wanting to get fit, lose weight, change some physical part of themselves for a crush is SO common in stories that you barely notice it.

But what I love, what I ADORE is how this progresses and changes.

This gif from an amazing AMV by @thekagepro24 and it just UGH hits me so hard it is so perfect!!! I could watch this 5 second gif over and over and over again

I just am. I just am dying while running, I just am making progress, I just am enjoying this because I really like it.

This puts everything I feel into visuals (it's so gooooood watch the AMV!!! DO IIIIIIT)

So many times society tells us to change something about ourselves, or we tell ourselves to change for the appeal of others.

Lose weight so people think you're pretty.

Get fit so you can get into clothes that make you look hot.

Get swol to make a person think you're attractive.

You are the one and only you, this is your one and only body. So why are you working out, why do you WANT to get "swol" who are you trying to impress. Is it for yourself? A crush? Society?

I have battled with the above for so long. I come from an athletic background, and did a lot of sports growing up, but I have never been small. I have battled with weight my whole life and had my own shitty bouts with ED.

I have been in therapy, I have read books, I have watched videos, I've been in and out of PT for nearly 5 years because of a lower back and hip pain that NEVER went away.

I never figured out WHY i wanted to exercise. It just always was "To lose weight" because I couldn't get that goal out of my head for years and years and years.

But then I watched mob psycho 100.

And I started a new type of physical therapy.

And was it mp100 or was it the therapy finally working, who can say which did it—probably both—but one day I thought...

....maybe I should just go for a run...for 5-10 mins. Just to see how it feels. It went against all parts of my athlete brain (because 10 mins is too short to see "gains"....which is dumb but whatever)

I thought of Shigeo and how he basically passed out every time he ran for like 2 mins, but he got better. He had to start from 0, well...kinda like negative 5 really. But then he was doing so much not even a few months in!

35 pushups is so hard!!! You go my boi.

Shigeo started off doing it all for Tsubomi, for others, and even if he really wanted to do it to improve himself I think it was a secondary goal initially. Main goal was to impress someone. Secondary was to get stronger.

But then the marathon happened. And those goals SWITCHED! DURING THE RACE! just....man it hit me. It hit me hard. THAT WHOLE EPISODE IS JUST A LOT FOR ME GOD DAMN

He ran for her initially but he continued running for himself. He continued working at it because he wanted to and in the end, after everything, after confession arc, after all that

This scene!!! makes me cry happy tears!! look at how happy he is UGH IT JUST IS SO UGGGHHHHHHH

Anyway if you made it this far, know that everyones journey through their body improvement, mental improvement, emotional improvement is different. We all have to tackle it in the way that works for us.

It took me nearly 10 years to start again because of this beautiful anime connecting the right dots in my brain.

Every journey is different, but just keep fighting on and you'll figure it out!

[a-really-mediocre-writer]

angel of small death, chapter two

Daryl x OC Slowburn

Summary for entire work: Piper, a 19 year old girl, alongside her 16 year old sister, Dina, are thrust into a dead-infested wasteland of the world they once knew. Having had a difficult home life before turn, will this new world be a sweet release?

<< T W O >>

Around two hours of work around the camp went by, with Lori suspiciously avoiding eye contact and having hushed conversations with Shane, him glaring at me. I keep staring over in their direction, observing, and trying to figure out what has happened.

“…What’s that about?” Amy asks, making me jump.

“Jesus! You scared me…” I reply, “I’m not too sure… I asked him about his shift last night and he got cagey…”

“Weird…”

“Very…” I keep watching them both until I notice Shane walking away out of sight and Lori approaching us, me and Amy pretending we hadn’t been watching them.

“I’m gonna head out and try get some…mushrooms…” She picks up a red bucket from near Amy and we both nod, mumbling out okays as she walks off alone into the woods. Amy and I look between ourselves and then to the woods, pulling confused looks to each other, continuing to gossip amongst ourselves as we keep sorting through food for everyone tonight.

An hour later, meal prep had been finished and we decide to have a much-needed break, walking over towards the slope leading to the water, but we stop in our tracks when the radio starts echoing a strange man’s voice.

“Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear my voice?” Amy takes off towards the sound and tries to communicate with the stranger as everyone in the camp gathers around, with Shane and Lori coming out of the woods together.

“I tried to warn him, he couldn’t hear me.” Amy stresses to Dale as he approaches.

“Come on son you know best how to work these things.” Dale calls Shane over to the radio. He tries to speak and fails to connect. “He’s gone.”

“There are others…It’s not just us…” Lori says, holding Carl near to her, “I’ve been saying we should put up signs on the roads to warn people away from the city.” Everyone’s attention is on her, as she gulps and stares at Shane. The tension between the pair could be cut with a knife.

“We knew that, right? It’s why we left the CB on? We don’t have the time to go out and help others.”

The two continue to argue until Lori storms off, clearly pissed at Shane, and he follows her towards her tent in the camp. Amy and I share a glance and I raise an eyebrow, both of us giggling. We both end up going to the water, putting our feet in and chatting for a while until almost two hours have passed and Dina disturbs us to say that everyone is looking for us to start cooking dinner for the camp. Huffing, we both grab our shoes and make our way back with Dina, them both walking ahead of me joking and laughing with each other as I look out onto the water. It is so relaxing. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, soaking up the view, until my brain break is interrupted by the radio going off again at the camp, T-Dog’s voice rattling through the camp.

“Yo, this is T-Dog- Anybody out there hear me?” I rush up to the camp and see the worried looks on everyone’s faces while Dale asks him to repeat himself.

“W- Tra-ed- Depart- -ore” He tries to get through us as the radio breaks up.

“Trapped?” I repeat, looking around for reassurance from the camp that they heard what I did, locking eyes with Lori, who responds that she heard him say they were in the department store.

“I heard it too” multiple people around the camp agree and chat amongst themselves, everyone looking to Shane for an answer.

“We need to send help-“ Amy pleads to the officer, who shakes his head at her, “She volunteered to go- to help the rest of us!” She continues to try to reason with him but he isn’t listening.

“So she knew the risks, right? See if she’s trapped, she’s gone.” He coldly says staring into her eyes with a frustrated look.

“She is my sister, you son of a bitch.” She runs off upset, Lori shouting after her and following her to try and comfort her while everyone else scatters. You glare at Shane. He is supposed to be our leader, yet he wants to leave half of our group stranded in the middle of the city? He is so willing to let go of people it just doesn’t make sense- he puts himself and his family first when he should be protecting ALL of us.

“What? Got sumn you wanna say?” He asks me, breaking me out of my trance. I pull an irritated face at him, “Yeah actually, I do.” He scoffs at me and walks off, but I follow him, “Who gave you the right to lead us? You are supposed to be keeping everyone safe, but you don’t care that half of our manpower are stranded and in danger!” I rant at him and he suddenly stops in the middle of the tents, turning around to face me and clearly frustrated with me.

“Who else would you have lead us? Huh? You? You ain’t got the first clue on how to lead, so you best stop putting your nose where it ain’t belong.”

“You threatening me again, Walsh?” You stand your ground this time, earning another scoff from him. We both stare each other down until he gets sick of it and walks away, muttering that he has real work to do.

Not too long after the argument, a siren bounces across the mountains towards the camp. Dale looks out towards it, saying it was a stolen car, followed by a bright red car with race stripes speeding round the corner and parking up at the entrance of the camp. Everyone is shouting asking questions as Glenn gets out the car holding his hands up.

“Pop the damn- POP THE DAMNED HOOD!” Shane repeats, getting louder every time he orders.

“Where is she? Why isn’t she with you?” The worry is coloured over Amy’s face as the siren stops and Glenn catches his breath.

“She’s fine- Everyone’s fine!” He looks around as if waiting for someone else to come up behind him, “Well…Merle not so much…”

Shane and Dale continue arguing about how it was dangerous to drive the car to the camp, as it could have drawn walkers to us, but Amy and I are just silently appreciating that everyone made it out of the city.

Not too long after this, a large truck parks up behind Glenn’s car and everyone is reunited with their family and friends. Seeing the heartfelt reunions, my sister grabs my hand and we just smile at each other, and I lean my head on hers.

Out of nowhere, a new guy dressed in a sheriff’s uniform steps out from the cars and Lori and Carl run to him screaming “DAD!”. The man, Rick, begins sobbing and holds them both close, making everyone smile.

The reactions of Lori and Shane, however, were ones of guilt and shock, and even some resentment from Shane. He catches me watching him and snaps out of his trance, contorting his face into a fake smile with eyes glaring daggers into the back of Rick’s head and then at me. I look away from him but keep him in my peripheral.

As everyone made their way back into the camp to get back to business as usual, I get grabbed by my arm and roughly dragged behind the RV out of the view of everyone else and slammed against the vehicle with a hand over my mouth by none other than Shane Walsh. Heavy breathing from shock and anger, he keeps the hand over my mouth for a while longer pulling a serious face and lifting a finger to his mouth to tell me to stay quiet. Glaring at him I nod; he slowly removes the hand from my mouth and glares right back at me.

“You’re gonna listen to me an’ listen good,” He traps me in place with his arm leaning against the RV next to my head, “Whatever you have against me, Ima need ya to keep that mouth of yours shut. If you don’t, people will believe me when I tell them you got bit or tried to kill me. I know how to get rid of you without people finding out.” My eyes go wide and confused. What the fuck is he talking about? Were me and Amy right about him and Lori? Does he really think I would spoil her husband and child’s family reunion based on a hunch…? This is worse than I thought…

“You understand, darlin’?”

“What’s in it for me? Your word you won’t kill me?” Squinting at him I cock my head while he continues glaring a hole into my skull. We keep staring at each other intensely until we both jump at the sound of Dale asking what’s going on and saying that he needs to talk to me. Without missing a beat, Shane is now forehead to forehead with me, “I meant what I said, girl.” He whispers into my face as he caresses my cheek. “All yers, Dale.” He shouts to him and walks away without looking back at us.

I look up at the elderly man and ask what’s up, embarrassed, only to be asked if I have any tissue paper or wrapping paper, explaining that it’s Amy’s birthday in a few days and that Andrea has a gift to give her. “I’ll have a look round mine and Dina’s stuff for you.” I say with a fake smile and leave. What am I gonna do about this? If Shane is that worried about me spilling his secret, then surely he will try to get rid of me regardless of if I keep it or not…

That night we all are listening to Rick’s crazy story of survival before the subject of Merle Dixon comes back up. I feel some guilt towards him, I mean I told him that he should get lost out there…I put that out there, people heard it, now I feel awful- yes he deserved to not come back to the camp, but not chained and stuck to the roof of a building in the middle of the city full of the dead.

“…That’s on all of us.” T-Dog finishes telling everyone about his guilt as well and walks away from the fire after a long day.

“I’m gonna turn in.” I say quietly to Dina to which she nods, and I say goodnight getting up and walking away, falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

What a long day.

I awaken by the sun shining through the thin tent material and hitting my face. Dina is still sound asleep, so I quietly get dressed and slip out to start my chores for the day. Glancing around, I see that there are only a few other people awake and up. I go down to the water in the quarry and seeing that it is void of other people, I get out of my socks and shoes and dip my feet in the water, sitting just out of it to wake myself up and reading a novel that Glenn got me from his run into the city.

Walking up after time to myself I see that everyone is up and around the camp, and see that Glenn is desperately pleading his case and trying to stop Dale and Jim from stripping his new car, only to fail miserably, earning a pitiful pat on the back from me as he complains about it.

“You never know, you might find a better one next time.”

“It’s the coolest car I’ve ever driven…” he mutters to himself as they start to take it apart, “Look at them…vultures…Yeah, go on, strip it clean!” suddenly Rick appears behind us both. “Maybe we will get to steal another one someday.”

I leave them both to it and go about helping Amy, Andrea and Lori with putting wet clothes out to dry and folding others. Lori and Rick end up getting into a conversation about Merle and he says that he wants to go back and save him, only to get cut off by the children of the camp screaming for their mothers. Immediately everyone drops everything and sprints towards the wound into the woods, Lori and Jaqui holding them close as the rest of us run towards where they were coming from. There was a walker feasting on a deer with arrows in its body. Standing back from the action with Amy and  Andrea, we watch as Dale beheads the walker.

Rustling from the bushes startles everyone.

“Son of a bitch- That’s mah deer!”

“Easy son…”

“Whaddaya know abo’ it old man? Take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond!” Everyone is silent as none other than Daryl Dixon rants on, kicking whatever undead life was left in the walker out of it and shooting the reincarnated head with an arrow.

“Gotta be the brain, ain’t yall know nothin?” He collects his arrows and glances up at us, glaring in disbelief at everyone’s stupidity, until locking eyes with me for a second but then immediately putting his head back down.

“Yo Merle! Get yo ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel” Everyone in the camp tenses, waiting for the inevitable argument to ensue. Which it does. Between himself and Rick Grimes.

“Lemme process this- You sayin’ ya handcuffed mah brother to a roof- an’ you left him there?!”

“Yeah.”

Then, Daryl lunges at the officer with a knife, getting taken down and held in a chokehold by Shane. I watch in disbelief as he continues holding the distressed man on the ground, shaking my head and covering my mouth. Daryl looks around at everyone watching the violence and his eyes seem to avoid me, face flushing and closing his eyes.

Once everyone has calmed down, he lets him go and a small group of men build a rescue team for Merle and a mystery bag of guns and a radio. Watching him sharpening his knife, my mind winds back to the squirrel left outside of my tent, and I want to ask him about it but it doesn’t feel like the right time, so I sit alone with my own thoughts, hearing everyone argue and volunteer for the rescue team.

I wonder if everyone would send out a search party for me life this when Shane gets rid of me.

---

A/N its been a few days since an update, so this chapter is extra long- not too much daryl content yet but i promise there will be soon guys

taglist:

@azanoni

[futzingbarton]

kind of a nika update since i don't really post much personal stuff on here, but i think?? most of the ppl i wouldn't want seeing any personal updates are blocked and would have to go out of their way to see this so. whatever.

anyway hi. i am crawling along. the tl;dr is that after the past, uh...what now makes 7 years of being constantly in survival mode, moving from place to place, living day to day and just desperately trying to survive, as of, idk, september? my life has finally kind of somewhat slowed down. i got out of a very horrible living situation, and have been working every day on remembering how to Live and Breathe. turns out trauma is a lot!

on top of that, i am finally in a space to address my health. besides mental health (diagnosed with things that make sense, the adhd and the autism) i'm also figuring out my physical health. i finally got my PCOS diagnosis after a couple years, and am in the process of figuring out what kind of EDS/connective tissue disorder i've got. my life at the moment consists largely of working, followed by doctors appointments, followed by sleeping.

i'm more exhausted than i ever could have imagined. i'm burnt out in a way i never expected. it's like i was a bird on an eight year migration and now that i've finally stopped having to flap my wings, i can't move at all. it's a lot to work around. i feel terrible that so many things have slipped away from me, whether it be responding to people or finishing up overdue commissions (i swear on everything in me that i haven't forgotten, @thebreakfastfish. i have the files on my ipad. i look at them every day! and yet, i pick up the pen, and my brain starts turning into static, and. yeah. i am working up the capacity to send you an email with a bigger update and some actual progress because you saved my ass last december and somehow it's been a year and aaaaaaaaaaaaa.)

work is good. work is great, actually. i love my job. it's a Lot, but i love my job. working in non-profit is a lot, and i am Important in that i manage a lot of projects for clinic services. i work to help the vulnerable population where i live, so it's fulfilling, but it's also exhausting. turns out Thinking for eight hours a day makes your brain mush. this year has also been a series of unfortunate events for my job. four of our physical locations flooded in january, our main clinic was destroyed by it, we've spent months building back up and figuring out how we're going to rebuild, etc etc. tons of long term things in the works to fix things that happened overnight 11 months ago.

so things are Good but things are also Endless. i'm trying to not lose myself in the thought that this is how it's going to be forever. i want to create again, to dream and think and breathe again. there are moments among the fog where i do live and breathe and enjoy--i have a partner now, who was a friend of a few years first, and he brings me so much joy, and helps me love myself in ways i didn't think i was capable of. but by and large every day is a struggle where i am relearning how to live. how to feed myself and care for myself and exist in a way where i am not crushing myself to survive.

i hope i can get to a place where i can do the things i want to do again. i want to run tabletops again--but the thought of organizing something weekly, for multiple people, and creating and responding to things on the fly, makes me physically hurt. i want to draw and paint again--but i pick up anything and stare at the paper or ipad for hours and then sigh and turn things off. i think of words in the shower and run to write--but then i open the document and everything is gone. i feel like i'm in limbo, in some kind of purgatory, trying to crawl my way out. but at least i'm not in the inferno anymore.

[tai-janai]

My new chapter twos. Uh Yeah its . ough BEAR WITH ME HERE

Chapter II

The Blood

(after you fight the princess and leave her bleeding, but do not kill her. if you wait forever you get the good ending. if not, you get The Blood)

Voice of the Penitent

(He is sorry for what he's done. he regrets hurting her. he wants to do it right this time and free her.)

The cabin is messy and blood-splattered. The door shows the most sign of fighting and clawing. it is off of one of its hinges. The stairs have a trail of fresh blood.

Since the princess' arm was torn off before, the chain is around her foot. You can talk to her the same as the princess and prisoner; she does not like you, but she trusts what you say. you convinced yourself that you were fighting in retaliation, so she believes it too.

If you free her this way, youll have to help her all the way out, since you have to cut off her foot to get her out.

"This one is hopelessness that found her light at the end of a tunnel, and you helped her reach it. She will make for a grateful heart. Do not mourn her - she forgives you."

If you go and fight and kill her immediately, she only gets more and more pained. think how stubby gets in adversary when you dont bring the knife. she asks you why you hate her but wont kill her, even if you try to. she rips off her (already dilapidated) arm and stabs you with the bone.

Chapter III

The Scar

Contrarian (you did not take the knife and you purposefully caused her pain) or Opportunist (you got close to her emotionally before killing her)

She is sick of waiting for you and forgiving you, and she wants you to suffer the way she has.

Her bandages float about her and connect her to the cabin. she is essentially a mummy. the cabin is covered in bandages too, from the outside it looks like it has been TP-ed. she wants you to suffer her pain too. in the end, if you try to run or otherwise, you are wrapped in bandages, squeezed the breath out of before you both are taken to the long quiet and the shifting mound.

"This one has bandaged herself. she is attempting to heal, and in doing so sought vengeance from what hurt her. She will make for a just heart. Do not mourn her - The pain was temporary."

Chapter II

The Statue

(You do not bring the knife but exhaust all of your questions and leave her in the basement. She does nothing, and the world doesn't end because she said it wouldn't. you kill yourself out of boredom the same as the others)

Voice of the Hesitant

(He is never sure of anything. takes everything at face value. does not believe the narrator because Nothing Bad really Happened and the princess didn't seem like a threat. would like to figure out why everything reset, and goes in hope of finding more answers)

the cabin is as you left it, though dusty. but the table is now petrified wood.

the stairs are similar, but everything echoes. the torches are not fire, but glowing rock.

the princess has turned to stone, fossilized. her eyes are closed and the chain has crumbled. still, she responds when you ask her things, though she doesnt have much to say. she insists nothing has changed, and that you've only been gone for a bit.

if you continue to ask her questions, they begin to loop back to what you asked in the beginning. she admits that this was nothing, and she feels empty, and is taken by the shifting mound.

"This one is solid and unmoving. so much potential, petrified into something that doesn't know anything but you. She reminds me of what I was. She will make for a stable heart. Do not mourn her - She can grow now."

If you take the knife, you can stab her through her stone chest. Her eyes open as she dies. The cabin falls apart on top of you, killing you.

Chapter III

The Mountain

If you ask a few questions before stabbing her, you get the skeptic. If you stab her immediately, you get the cold.

The cabin for her from the outside is slouched. the inside is chains, as if the basement has come up to the cabin. you walk down the steps to find... her heart. you are inside her. you can talk to her, but she will once again insist nothing has changed, though she notices that you have "gotten smaller."

if you stab her heart, she will close in on you, before being taken. If you apologize, she will too, for not giving you the answers you wanted.

(Her end words would be the same as the statue)

...

Branched

Chapter III

The Pursuit

If you tried to free the Blood of her agony, she will die peacefully, but will say how she wishes she had done more. the narrator will try to give you your "good ending," but the Penitant will say that you still have to help her, so you slay yourself. This will give you the Skeptic. "We'll get her out, and do it right. we can't trust what He says."

If you try to free the Statue, she will crumble. She will not blame you for what you've done, but is still upset you didn't act sooner. The building collapses on top of you. This will give you the Cheated. "We finally tried to move our ass and we get squished. What bullshit."

The princess just wants to leave. she is falling apart, and she knows she is running out of time. you can either help her out, or watch her crumble.

"This one is dust and gravel. She knows there is more than she can reach, but was confined and unable to flourish. She will make for a willful heart. Do not mourn her - She has found her freedom."

[estrellami-1]

In tradition of giving prompts that are just things happening in my life : steddie buy their first home (as a couple or pre relationship) and struggle with trying to figure out how to do maintenance and home repairs (what the Jesus fuck is the difference between nineteen different types of wood filler? And what are the pros and cons of mesh tape vs paper tape for drywall? If these are questions you’re struggling with baby I’ve been doing the research and I have answers lol) and maybe one of them start to feel a little in over their head and like they don’t know what they’re doing even though they’re trying SO hard to get everything right and comfort ensues 😇💜

(This is for the post about wanting to write but I’m so sorry if this is too long of an idea or something feel free to ignore love you also if it is also past midnight for you go to sleep you can write tomorrow haha) 💜💜💜💜💜

Hello my darling!

(It is after midnight but my sleep schedule has long since been decimated and I will sleep… sometime. Probably after I write this.)

Please keep in mind I’m impatient and want to write this Now and am not willing to do research and also am 24 and still live with my parents and only know about fixer-uppers what I’ve learned from HGTV. Which is to say, not much. But I’ll do my best! ❤️

“Stevie, my love,” Eddie sings, in the way he does when he’s getting frustrated but doesn’t want to take it out on Steve. “What in the everloving, flying fuck is this?”

Steve laughs as he joins Eddie in the bathroom, then sighs as he sees what Eddie’s pointing out. “That would be an external wall. With no insulation. In goddamned Indiana.” He sighs again. “I’m making a list of things we need. I guess I’ll add fucking insulation to the list.” He runs a hand through his hair, tugs on the ends.

Eddie looks at him sharply. “What’s wrong?”

Steve blinks. “What?”

Eddie smiles softly. Brings a hand up, tugs at a lock of Steve’s hair the way he just had. “You do that when you’re overly stressed.”

Steve stares flatly. “We’re trying to rebuild a house, Eds.”

“Overly stressed, baby. You handle stress like a champ. It’s when all the little things get to be too much that you pull out that little move.”

Steve sighs, lays his forehead on Eddie’s shoulder. Hums when Eddie’s hand immediately connects with his hair in response. “‘S just… all of it. It’s a lot, there’s a lot to do, there’s a lot of little things that need work that I didn’t know would need work. I just feel… inadequate.” He grips at Eddie’s waist, fingertips digging into the top of his jeans. “There’s fuckin’ nineteen different kinds of wood filler and it feels like we need about twenty-six different types. And I don’t know why just one isn’t enough. Or even why we need wood filler in the first place.”

Eddie hums, moves so Steve’s standing on his own. “Hey.” Fingertips touch Steve’s jaw, a silent request to look up. “Dance with me?”

Steve smiles, like somehow, after all these years, Eddie’s ridiculousness is still endearing to him. “In an unfinished bathroom? In an unfinished house? With no music?” He pauses. “Actually, no, the no music makes sense for us.”

Eddie laughs lightly, already swaying in a kind of dance, grabbing Steve’s hands and spinning him around, pressing his back to Eddie’s front. “No better time, no better place, Stevie, my love.” He hums a few bars of a song in Steve’s ear.

Steve gives in, dances with the man he promised his forever. Who promised him a forever right back. “Eds, why are we dancing?”

He can feel the curve of Eddie’s lips on his neck as he smiles and presses a kiss to his spine. “Because it makes you smile.”

Steve melts. “I’ve gotta go to the store.”

“We’ve gotta go to the store. After we’ve danced in our unfinished bathroom, in our unfinished house. Ours, Stevie, my love. It’ll take however long it takes, but this is ours. Just like the ridiculous ragamuffins you adopted all those years ago.”

“You adopted them. They adopted me.”

“And then you adopted them right back, quit with the minutiae when I’m making a point.” A teasing finger pokes Steve’s side. “Just like Robin, and Nance, and Wayne. They’re ours, our family, and they’ll be here as soon as we tell them we need help.”

“I don’t want to need help.” He sighs after a pause. “This is one of those bring-it-up-in-therapy things, isn’t it?”

“Probably so, Stevie, my love.” A slow kiss to his spine. He shivers. “But for now, we’re going to dance. We’ll go to the store. We’ll call at least Nancy, because she scares me and will probably shave our heads in our sleep if she finds out we were struggling and didn’t ask for help. And even through all that, this will be our house. After all that, this will still be our house.”

Steve turns around in Eddie’s arms, silences him with a quick kiss. “Ours, Eddie, my love,” he agrees.

[iamadequate1717]

Some thoughts nearly a month later: OFMD S2 flows together nicely after the first watch. Yes, I would like more room between certain milestones, but I also remember that Ed and Stede were besties about 20 minutes after meeting and were going to run away to China together like 3-4 weeks after meeting. I also remember the first time I watched this show and the style of it.

I first watched it the second week it was out, and I watched 1x1-6 in one go, knowing nothing of it. Like I do with fanfic, I then waited for it to finish before going back in (and was in no fanspace to see the speculation), so I watched 1x7-10 two weeks later. Let me tell you, I did NOT see the romance coming! First watch, I tried to get a feel for the humor and "voice" of the show while lazily trying to figure out the overarching story and what they were building toward; I thought it was going to a bigger emphasis on the English threat (and Spanish Jackie coming back in for a larger role!). Eps 4-6, Ed had the whole "I'm gonna burn off Stede's face and steal his identity" thing going on which made every action a bit sinister and Ed/Stede interaction seemingly tied to how that was going to resolve.

Now, 7-10... ep 7 is nice. Not sure how I didn't connect Lucius' "die alone" comment to a story romance, but I'm aroace and didn't have time to think about it much as I barreled into 8-10! Ed was a fratbro in 8, but he renounced his ways, and 20 audience minutes later, he's kissing Stede and starting this whole go to China thing! Whaaaa? It is absolute whiplash on first viewing if you came in not hearing this called "the gay pirate show." (Don't get me wrong! I liked it!) They just met, they got over that whole face burning thing, and ep 7 was the only breathing room on first run to see their relationship as one more as equals, and they're just immediately going off on a gay wedding honeymoon together?

However, if you go back and watch it, you can see all the details they put into the show and how they were setting up the season payoff. It was brilliant. The show was always breakneck and had things happen offscreen (ex: how hard Ed fell, the early early flirtation of Lucius and Pete), I think. If you need reflection time for S2 events, that is what the pause button (and S3) is for.

S2, the audience really had to adjust to the more "real pirate" tone and jettison the fanon (you know, in theory!) while also absorbing the story direction and payoffs. It is a lot to take in on first watch, like S1 was. Like S1, S2 improves on rewatch, and pacing and whiplash aren't so bad.

[sarucane]

Stede Bonnet's Stories (S1)

My favorite theme (right now) in OFMD is storytelling, and how the characters' stories shape the narrative and one another. In OFMD, stories are how people connect to one another. How they figure out their place in the world around them, how they form communities, how they grow and change. Because stories are also how the characters come to understand themselves.

In the first season, Stede is the loudest and most determined storyteller of them all. He's literally paying someone to follow him around and write his story; he's built the entire ship and outfitted it to create a certain story; he's wearing mad, impractical clothes in a harsh climate to express his personality.

On the one hand, this is a dumb thing to do. The crew can't read the library he's provided for them; his clothes (and incompetence) make his first "raid" a disaster; the pirates are plotting mutiny very quickly indeed. And his attempts to "toughen up" wind up nearly burying the crew in a larger, imperial story of race and class.

On the other hand, it's an immensely brave thing to do. Stede doesn't really try to be "like Blackbeard." He doesn't disguise his accent, wear ugly clothes, or make an example of someone on the crew to show his "iron fist." He is trying to do something genuinely different. To be a gentleman and a pirate. To tell a story that hasn't been told before. And to create space for others to tell a story: when Wee John voices criticism, Stede hands over his own fabrics to the crew and encourages them to "express yourselves." Between the bedtime stories and Stede's lie about Nigel (which is revealed very quickly afterwards), the crew decide they'll try telling his "new" story with him.

At first, the weakness in Stede's story seems to be that he's telling it in the wrong place. That his fiction is too far from reality, which is going to crush his story (as so many stories have been crushed throughout history).

And that is a problem, and his misjudgments wind up with him being betrayed by pirates and almost executed by Spanish naval officers. But it's a solvable problem, with help.

From the moment they meet, Ed and Stede are at their best when they tell stories together. When they work together, they figure stuff out about themselves, they connect with one another and with the crew, and they find a way to write the third story in a world that tells them they have only two options (gentleman or pirate). They make ship into a lighthouse; they bring a kraken to life and finally beginning to understand it; Stede uses his ship's mast and Ed's trick to outwit Izzy; a treasure map yields actual 'treasure'; the ship is invaded by the English, but everyone emerges safe and alive.

But it doesn't last. Because the real weakness of Stede's storytelling isn't the context. It's that Stede doesn't believe it himself.

Stede is doing all this to try to be both a boy worthy of respect from his father, and a boy who picks flowers. He's still defining himself by the terms of the world he came from. By running away, not running towards something.

So, when Chauncey confronts him with his own "monstrousness," Stede believes him. It's all his insecurities come to life. And he believes Chauncey when he says Stede's "brought history's greatest pirate to ruin."

If all Stede will ever be is a "little rich boy," then he needs to stop trying to be something else. Because telling that story means hurting others.

Stede's wrong. Telling a story, even when you don't fully believe it, changes you and the people who listened to your story. And when Stede gives up on his storytelling, the causes and effects circle round: Stede told stories. As a result, other people told stories. And even if Stede stops telling stories, or tries to tell different stories, other people won't.

Stede lied when he confessed to Nigel's murder. Said he deserved to die for leaving his wife and family. But he doesn't die there, because Ed tells his own story about grace, and the crew takes Stede's mad stories as their own.

And because of what Stede did, Mary Bonnet was able to tell her own story, fully and on her own terms. And to believe in it completely. Ed and the crew were able to tell their stories, too--which comes near to an actual transformation.

In the end, it doesn't matter that Stede didn't believe his story. He changed anyway. He created space for other people to change, to tell stories that unraveled his own lies, that saved him from himself. And he awkwardly, finally, figured out what story he wanted to tell. His own truest story.

And to escape the truth he's accidentally been trapped in, Stede tells a story that inverts what he did before. At the beginning of the season, Stede was telling a story that no one believed. That only he even really tried to believe. But in the finale, he stages an elaborate fuckery to tell a story that everyone believes--except him, and the people who matter. Truth materializes from the fiction.

Stede's stories set so many people free. And in the end, when he's brave enough to lie his way to the truth, Stede's stories set him free, too.

[br1ghtestlight]

getting war flashbacks to the bobs burgers fanfic where louise is doing math homework in the restaurant when nobody else is around and then bob has a heart attack </3 that shit was TRAUMATIZING

love linda shouting four whenever there's a math problem or anything related to numbers. best recurring joke. FOUR!!!!

you can do it gene :D also im so bad at math I 100% would not be able to help either. dumbass rep family

bob trying to help gene with his homework is cute. even if he is Not very good at it. he wants to be an involved dad :(

gene im not gonna lie that math question has gotta be fucking with you. rhat is not a real question. i could NEVER do that not if i was given 100 hours that shit is fake

see this is where when I was in math class i would just write a random number and move on bcuz im never gonna figure it out anyway im not gonna waste time. so that's my advice gene. just Give Up

he says "maybe your mom or tina could get you started" because they're older but I genuinely think louise has a better chance of helping bcuz she is so smart. if she'd WANT to help is another question entirely

because I'm stuck in a safe 😐

AND THEN HE BLINDFOLDED ME ON THE WAY HERE??? HE BLINDFOLDED YOU??????

teddy I think his guy is gonna murder you im gonna be so real right now

unfortunately im kinda following teddy's logic now like. it isnt like fischoeder isn't doing this type of shit everyday just for fun. rich guys are just like that BUT getting their money is nice

"gene was doing homework?? that's new"

WE'RE NOT ALL ECONOMICALLY COMFORTABLE LIKE YOU ARE

"Why did you tell me the whole long story about the sandwich in the drawer if you're running out of battery LOCKED IN A SAFE??" "Context!!!!"

also bob and teddy have such great comedic chemistry lmao they bounce off each other so naturally

louise isn't lying she Does have a certain set of skills 😭 if anyone could find him it WOULD be her the lockpicking genius nine year old supervillain

miss you. see you soon. gotta go!!

has he gotten a new cellphone since that MIDDLE OF THE DAY AND YOUR PHONE IS AT 23% argument or is it that same shitty 2008 blackberry phone that dies almost immediately lmfao

bob is a real one for doing this bullshit for teddy he did NOT have to. they're ride or die fr

I'm not entirely unconvinced that gerald isnt a serial killer but thats okay <3 men can have hobbies

also I'm choosing to believe this gerald is the same one from the taxes/weed cookie episode even though it ABSOLUTELY is not bcuz i think that would be funny. by day he's a regular tax agent by night he is a creepy rich kidnapper who pulls mind games on all his handymen

OH I FORGOT THE SUBPLOT FOR THIS EPISODE IS ABOUT SPORTS PEOPLE why did they do the whole thing with gene's homework then.... are they connected. what is the gameplan

WE PICK A NEW LOVER FOR MOM

i love how bob is apparently the only thing keeping his family from going completely off the fucking rails like. he's the only thing standing between his family and their restaurant burning down with everyone inside fr

your dad never loved that dream :/ because he's a hater :/ AND SO JEALOUS :/

you're not gonna break the world record. another hater. STOP THAT

I might be having a panic attack 💔 I CANT TELL BECAUSE IVE NEVER HAD ONE BEFORE OR IM ALWAYS HAVING ONE soo real teddy

WE LOST HIM 😭😭💔

aww I love them all wearing their lil aprons <3 (crappy photo of my tablet bcuz the app im using to watch this episode doesn't allow screenshots)

SAY SOMETHING SMART LIKE UHH HOW WOULD YOU FLIP A GIANT BURGER. OH GOD THEY DIDNT MAKE THE GIANT BURGER DID THEY. WHO WOULD EVEN AGREE TO EAT THAT. AN OVER FOURTY CO-ED BASKETBALL TEAM. REALLY 😯

sorry this episode has so many good ooc quotes FJDMDJSKSKKM

gene STOP calling him father

bob is being like a whole ass detective meanwhile linda and the kids are currently making The Worst Decisions Ever

h jon benjiman is doing such a good job voicing bob in this episode idk it has so much personality and sounds natural. or it's always like this and im just now appreciating it but either way A+ work

cute bob and teddy moment ❤️❤️

(ignore the awful camera quality. nothing I can do there) also love the fact that teddy can easily lift up and manhandle bob. Good to know

there's so much going on w/ this gerald guy I dont even know WHERE to begin. what a guy. wow

this is so cute and sweet im so happy!!! YOU DOUBLE FAKE WALLED HIM :D YOU SMART SMARTIE. YOURE A GENIUS BOB

"I knew I asked the right person to come help me. Yeah. Mort wouldn't answer."

"What? You called Mort first?"

"No..."

HE ASKED MORT???? LMFAO big win for tedmort shippers. I fucking guess

MORT NEVER DOUBLE FAKE WALLED ANYONE why is bob like genuinely jealous of mort and teddy right now 😭 chill out man you've got a wife at home

"let's just say it's twelve" FINALLY bob follows my very smart advice when it comes to math homework smh

ALSO THIS IS TECHNICALLY THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN THEM EATING BOBS BURGERS FOR DINNER OR IN GENERAL!!! I mean it's a giant hamburger loaf but it technically was served at bob's burgers so it counts

GIANT FRENCH FRIES

aww this episode was so fun and cute!! I love the more adventure-y type episodes where they explore a new location so this episode was great and very stressful lmao. also very funny. I love bob and teddy's dynamic/back and forth throughout the episode and the weird mort mention at the end felt like they were soft launching his and teddy's relationship even though I KNOW they aren't actually. mort could replace kathleen if we believe. very solid 8/10 episode :)