Continued from here. @izzyeffinhands

Stede couldn't take his eyes off of Israel, nor did he want to. He looked so beautiful sitting beside him on the warm, soft sand underneath the clear night sky, the stars and moon shining so brightly above them, reflecting off of the calm ocean in front of them. It was a stunningly gorgeous sight that was currently leaving Stede in awe, though it wasn't the view in front of him that was doing that, but the man next to him. The smile he was wearing as he gazed out at the vast ocean, the calm breeze blowing through his hair, his chest puffed out as he leans back on his hands, whittling supplies on his lap, his body shining underneath the glowing moon. It's like something out of once of his many romance novels and he just can't help but adore him with his eyes. He can't help but cherish him. He looks so serene, really. Completely at ease.

And so Stede breaks the silence between them to comment on how at ease he looks. It makes him happy... to see him so content. Oh, how far he's come. How far both of them have come. From their rocky beginning and traumatic pasts to sitting here together outside of their little beach cabin, at their happiest and most comfortable with each other and, really, with life.

But suddenly it becomes tense. He hadn't expected response from Izzy and he's a little stunned into silence, his smile fading as his head quickly turns, eyes on the ocean instead of Izzy now.

"...but whenever I think about him now.. I only remember the horrible things. “

Stede frowns, the guilt from everything that had happened fills him yet again, though it had never truly left. Not completely. He'd been told that it wasn't his fault. That Lucius being pushed overboard, his crew being marooned and Izzy losing a leg wasn't Stede's fault because it was Ed that did all of that. It was Ed that made those choices. It was Ed that was responsible.

But it was Stede that broke his heart. It was Stede that left him without word, it was Stede that hurt and angered Edward so badly that he went dark and vicious, that he took all of his pain and anger out on the crew that deserved none of it. Not even Izzy, despite how mean he was to Stede. How mean he was to his crew. Stede never really knew the nature of Ed and Izzy's relationship when he first came into their lives, only that it was very complicated and Izzy didn't like him at all or the fact that he and Edward developed feelings for each other, but eventually he understood why. He understood why Izzy was so angry about it, why he was so hurt and jealous... quite honestly, Stede would feel the same. Heck, he did when Calico Jack came back into Ed's life.

He nods at Izzy's comparison. Oh, he hated when others looked at Izzy a certain way, even more so when they dared to flirt with him. Which wasn't uncommon, even with Stede right there. "I'm sorry." He knows Izzy doesn't want him to apologize, but he can't help it. He blamed himself for all that had happened, and he hates that he even came between them, despite being told their troubles started long before Stede came into the picture. "When we first met, I only thought you two as Captain and First Mate, never thought there was anything more than that, but then I started to suspect, started to see it... it was obvious how much you hated me. You were determined to get rid of me." He chuckles, shaking his head. "So I... I started to enjoy Edward's attention more, because I knew you hated it. Hated me... and I was relieved when you left. But I felt horrible for it later, Izzy. For making things worse between the two of you... and for putting you and everyone else in harm's way." He pulls his knees to his chest now, sniffling. Izzy didn't deserve what happened to him and gods, it made Stede sick to think about the things Ed had done. And how stupid he was not to believe it at first, because he was so blinded by his love for him.

But Stede knew true love now. He knew it because of Izzy.

And so he manages a smile at his words, blinking away the tears. "I've never made anyone feel at ease before. Quite the opposite, actually." That's what he thought, anyway. His father, Mary, even his crew at the beginning. "But I... I'm glad you feel at ease with me now, Izzy. Because I feel the same way." He leans his side against his and wraps his arm around his middle, pressing his forehead against the side of his head. "Have you heard that saying, 'home isn't a place, but a person'?" He murmurs, nuzzling his nose against him. "You're my home, Israel."

(tbhk chapter 108-109 spoilers)

the past two chapters really focused on hananene a whole lot huh lol

a whole lotta blushing from both sides!! (and nene basically confessing her love twice now)

and the bonus chapter art too!

(the way he didnt blush when he first revealed to kou and nene his first interaction with the clock keepers and only now blushed once hananene became canon is soo skdkskds ok I’ll shut up now)

also, thinking about it a little more - is it stated anywhere if raphael is immortal? i always just assumed he isn’t (just ages veeery slowly. girl drop the skincare routine) because of his cute lil wrinkles but i could be mistaken

OAKWORTHY IS SO FUCKING REAL GUYS I LOVE THEM SM AUGH THESE STUPID BOyS

Finished episode 39. May not have a chance to get to 40 until later next week but kinda working through my feelings which are mixed about this episode:

DFS standing front and center with Sigu sect when receiving thanks is so amusing to me. He's a head taller and super visible too. Just the one prominent Jinyuan Alliance representative.

A part of me feels bad for child Shang Gudao - he lived his entire childhood being the afterthought, with less talent and ability over all. But as an adult, I'm just grossed out by him. Like by his age he should have....like. Found a monk to get friendly therapy from, joined a monastery, become an emo poet. He had options. Though with his karma, maybe he'd end up with evil versions of all of the above.

Why did Shang Gudao's meridians explode? Did his energy backfire through the broken meridians somehow?

Never trust emperors no matter how good their reputation is. D:

I still feel like the bug storyline would have been served better by focusing instead on a Di Fortress arc that leads to mind controlled super assassins storming the palace like attack dogs or something. Because as of now, Di Fortess feels like it's separate from rest of the series and just a blip in DFS's character background. While the palace stuff needs an additional episode to flesh out the emperor and the politics they hinted at

Over all, i enjoyed the episode! Buuuut I found there was a weird emotional disconnect between when the trio were working together and later on when the battle is done and DFS gives them the Styx flowers. It felt like the two were emotionally closer to DFS during the fight, but in the later scene, everyone was taking a big step back and deliberately resetting themselves to an earlier time.

Like FDB repeating an earlier line "You do have a conscience!" As if he's been consistently surprised at DFS doing anything altruistic. I know LLH never explained anything to him, and FDB bought into the demon sect narrative (which tbf is understandable - heretical sects have a reputation for reason) but he's seen evidence first hand that DFS does have it in him to help ppl if he wants to? So i find this flip flopping in attitude strange. He goes back and forth with being familiar and then acting like he doesn't know him at all.

I find it interesting that LLH equates fighting with promises of friendship between the two. Which, I think he thought dfs getting married to him, i mean, being friends that drink and look at the moon together, meant dfs had agreed. To be fair, dfs talks around it without promising anything, but I can see why llh would think otherwise lol.

LLH also repeats an early line to dfs, "You need to break your habit of eavesdropping."

Maybe it was all for the sake of emotional security, but I kinda want to shake them because I thought they moved from this point. But here they are, walking everything back so far they're repeating old lines from earlier episodes. 😬 Boys.

Rewatching A Sign of Affection just makes me 😳😳😳😳🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💕💕💕💕💕🔥🔥💕💖💖💖💖🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥹🥹🥹🥹💞💞💞💞💕👀👀👀😳😳😳😳

The way I can immediately recognize Roger Craig Smith's voice even when he's not voicing Sonic

i think this fuckign apple got me sick

Transgender thoughts about electro tonight….

Zilla is the Flotsam and Jetsam to Velvette's Ursula lol.

Lmaooo kind of? In a song where they manipulate an innocent person she would be for sure

Your Weekly TV Guide

On Monday you can expect:

2:30 PM: Star Control II - Helix

And Tuesday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Helix

Wednesday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Helix

Thursday:

2:30 PM: Just Desserts

Friday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Helix

Saturday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Helix

Sunday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Helix

Thanks for tuning in! (Patreon)

I’ve been trying to force myself to write fluff lately, because I thought it might help with my depression. It’s going... weird. Why is fluff so hard to write? I can do brief scenes and conversations okay but then the plot threads abandon me. Possibly because it’s fluff without plot. Maybe I just need practice. Like, a lot of it.

I've said this before but as much as I was screaming at my screen, this is an opportunity for ttj to raise roots somewhere that not only includes the love of his life but also relationships without ridonkulous power imbalances among a supportive community and a new way of life outside the expectations set upon him since birth. who knows, maybe he'll choose to embrace his devil god fate lord knows the tension would not only be palpable but sexy af or maybe he'll become the supreme ultimate botanical sword master but he finally gets to be an active agent of his own life, choosing people, values, and goals for his own future, and hopefully, his journey (and lss's own growth returning + learning her identity) will reunite them knowing they're stronger, happier, and simply uplift each other when together. ttj's enduring love surmounted death and five centuries of agony to bring him to her place in the immortal realm, now it's up to them to figure themselves out and truly make it their home.

also!! while i'm thinking about it and feeling all happy and mushy, thank you for being interested in and writing with chiyo <3 i know i talk about her a ton and love her to bits, but i still get surprised when someone wants to interact with her without me suggesting it first. i worry sometimes that y'all will get sick of her :' ) i worry that it might be frustrating that my focus is on her so much when i have so many other muses who might be more interesting to some of y'all. but no one has ever proved those worries true, and i'm just!! very grateful and very happy that my silly lil dork has a place here where people enjoy learning about her (μ‿μ) ❤

dichondra repens, native kidneyweed - when this place was done up a bit before i moved in, they nuked the yard (including with something that was killing the honeybees for a while there) and started over, ironically killing off all the remaining elements of native ecosystems to achieve a perfectly landscaped "native garden". Half the plants are not even native to this area.

meaning i've had to gradually learn about what *should* be growing here and doing my little bits to put things back and help that along. an easy starting point was one of the groundcovers native to this area, dichondra! I sowed a few packets of seed in the patches where the lawn was thinner and it's loving life.

looking into the harder to get groundcovers soon, but planning native violets (among others) in some of the spots currently covered in bark chip.

as a bonus, I see the mycelium is doing its business in there!

That moment when you are feeling under the weather, so you wrap yourself up in a blanket with a hot chocolate and read some of your fave comfort fics.

Sky fluff fics here I come.