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ginnsbaker · 10 months

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In Losing Grip On Sinking Ships (12/22)

Chapter summary: Wanda and her therapist discuss the topic of forgiveness; During a 6-miler running event, Kate accuses you of forcing Yelena to stay away from her; after which you find Wanda and her new friend in the same event

Chapter word count: 6k | Warnings: None | Ship: Wanda x Reader, Yelena x Reader

Author's note: Enjoy :)

AO3 | Masterlist

Next Chapter: Thirteen

Twelve

The heavy raindrops dance in an intricate rhythm upon the streets of New York City, as Wanda’s gaze returns to Dr. Calliope Williams. She is seated opposite her, wearing the kind expression that always soothes Wanda in an unexplainable way. Mid-sentence, while sharing an anecdote about her time with you in college, she realizes you’ve been the topic (yet, again) for a while now.

"I've been going on about her too much, haven't I?" Wanda looks down at her hands, her fingers woven together.

“We can discuss whatever is on your mind, Wanda. I’m just here to listen and help you navigate those thoughts.” Calliope assures her with a warm smile.

As Wanda observes the gentle patter of rain on everything it touches, a question lingers in her mind. “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?” she wonders aloud.

“What makes you think she hasn’t?” Calliope asks.

"She’s moved on," Wanda argues, cracking her knuckles and twisting each of her fingers almost painfully. The bitter memories of your anger, the hurt she endured during those stormy weeks, remain vivid, imprinted on her soul. She can't erase the cruel image of you leaving her half-naked in her own bedroom as she pleads with you to stay.

None of your actions back then gave any indication that you wanted to forgive her.

“She's found someone new, someone who can give her the love and stability and trust I failed to provide. How can forgiveness exist in the face of that?" Wanda asks.

“It isn't bound by the presence or absence of a romantic relationship, Wanda. It transcends those circumstances. It’s about ultimately granting yourself and others the freedom to heal and move forward,” Calliope explains softly. “But, going back to your question, I’m afraid Y/N’s the only person who can answer that for you.”

“I know that. But I can’t really talk to her about it, can I? If I wanted to upset her, I definitely could.” Wanda sort of chuckles towards the end, her shoulders slumping slightly. All the amicable conversations she’s had with you over the past months were expertly navigated to avoid dredging up your shared, painful past.

"When the time is right and when both of you are ready to discuss it respectfully, you can approach her," Calliope tells her.

"And what if she never forgives me?" Wanda's voice trembles, recognizing how plausible that could be. "What if I've irreparably damaged what we had, what we could have been?"

Calliope leans in, underlining the gravity of her following words. "Wanda, it's important to recognize that you cannot control Y/N’s response or dictate the path of forgiveness for her. What you can do is show genuine regret, reflect on your actions, and strive for personal growth."

Uncertainty looms, casting a dark shadow. Being in control is one of life’s biggest illusions, and Wanda has fallen into its trap more times than she could count.

Pausing thoughtfully, Calliope tilts her head and says, "Wanda, I'd like to ask you something."

Wanda glances up, surprised to find her fingers clenched tightly into a fist. "What is it?" she asks.

"Do you believe you deserve forgiveness?"

The question hangs in the air, pregnant with implication. The rain outside seems to intensify, echoing the tumultuous emotions swirling within Wanda.

"I... I'm not sure," Wanda confesses after a beat. "I don't think I would forgive myself if I were her." A lone tear escapes her eye, streaking down her cheek, paralleling a raindrop sliding down the windowpane.

Calliope makes a noncommittal sound and then gracefully adjusts the glasses perched on her nose.

"Have you ever thought about forgiving your mother?" It carries a gentle curiosity–a clear footnote that there’s no right or wrong answer–delicately drawing parallels between Wanda's own experiences of betrayal and the concept of forgiveness itself.

“What does she have to do with this?” Wanda asks, her demeanor shifting instantly to a guarded stance.

“From what you told me before, your mother cheated on your father several times before she left you and the rest of your family. And your father, heartbroken, turned to substance abuse,” Calliope breaks off for a moment, knowing how being reminded of her tragic childhood continues to weigh heavily on Wanda.

“And that ultimately led to his death. Have you ever thought about forgiving your mother?” Calliope repeats the question.

Wanda's hollow grin etches the lines of bitter irony on her face.

“You can’t exactly forgive someone who isn’t asking for it, can you?” she retorts.

"You're right, Wanda," Calliope acknowledges, something akin to sadness in her tone. "It… It is a multifaceted process, and it becomes even more compounded when the person who has hurt us doesn't seek forgiveness or acknowledge their actions. It leaves us grappling with unresolved emotions and longing for clarity."

Calliope leans back in her chair, her eyes never leaving Wanda's face, contemplating the layers of complexity woven into their conversation. Wanda, on the other hand, looks suddenly withdrawn. Calliope can sense that her attention is divided, as is often the case when the conversation delves into her complicated relationship with her mother.

“Have you decided to answer her letters like I’ve suggested?” she asks Wanda, trying her best to seek out her avoidant gaze and rope her back to the present.

Wanda mumbles a no, face straight and devoid of any emotion.

“At least think about it,” she urges mildly. “It doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow, or even next week. However, the longer you ignore the unresolved feelings you harbor towards your mother, the more profound your resentment may grow.”

Confusion flashes across Wanda's face, her brows knitting together in frustration. “I don’t understand why she needs to seek a relationship with me. She’s managed to deceive at least one of us. Pietro talks to her all the time.” Wanda states, her voice strained with a venom she can barely hold back.

Calliope's gaze softens as she considers Wanda’s statement. "Wanda, we have to keep in mind that everyone's choices and behaviors are influenced by their own unique circumstances and motivations. Although I can't speak directly to your mother's specific reasons, it's possible that her wish to reconnect with both you and Pietro comes from a place of seeking forgiveness and reconciliation."

Wanda’s face burns at the thought that her mother is capable of repentance. "But why both of us? Why not just focus on rebuilding a relationship with one child? It feels like she wants to have it all, to mend what she broke without fully understanding the consequences of abandoning her children."

Calliope observes the tension in Wanda's body, sensing that her resentment somehow also spills over to her brother who has chosen to keep a steady connection with their mother despite both of them experiencing the pain of her leaving. She can sense that Wanda feels a little betrayed by his decision, and somewhat insecure that in this situation, he’s come out to be the bigger person between them.

"I wish I could understand," Wanda murmurs, eyes falling shut. "She abandoned us when we were so young, leaving scars that still ache. How can I reconcile the desire for closure with the fear of being hurt all over again?"

Calliope gives her a meaningful glance, as if Wanda has unknowingly stumbled upon a puzzle piece.

Following a few silent moments, Wanda connects the dots with a look of remorse.

“Is… Is this how Y/N feels about me?”

Calliope nods slowly. “It’s possible,” she says. “Just as you struggle to reconcile your desire for closure with the fear of being hurt again, Y/N might be going through similar emotions. The pain caused by betrayal runs deep, and it can be difficult to trust again, even when the desire is there.”

Wanda's eyes shimmer with regret. "I never wanted to hurt her," she whispers. “I thought if–if I simply put a stop to it and she never finds out, I–”

“I know. But it’s human nature. We are disillusioned when it comes to control. We convince ourselves that as long as we're in control, we can evade the fallout of our actions," Calliope explains.

“Other people will never make the same stupid mistake in their lifetime.” Wanda points out, feeling a sudden envy towards those who have easily exemplified unwavering loyalty.

"None of us are immune to mistakes, Wanda," Calliope reminds her. "While it may feel as though others have effortlessly avoided the same missteps, every individual has their own struggles and battles. The path is unique for each of us.”

Wanda nods, feeling a little comforted by what she’s hearing.

Calliope slowly rises from her chair, her movements purposeful as she makes her way towards the desk adorned with a pen and a notebook. She’s eager to jot down her notes while the session is still fresh.

“And as much as I want to continue this, our time is up. Shall we reconvene next week?" Calliope proposes.

Wanda, caught between a sigh and a fleeting smile, agrees to the schedule. "Sure, Next week."

She hadn’t once thought that understanding her own feelings could lead to insights on yours. It makes her more than eager to keep working on herself.

***

It’s still dark out as you stand amidst a sea of runners at the starting line of a 6-miler event being held in Central Park.

You’ve been looking forward to this the entire week, and have been rigorous in your preparation, getting up at four in the morning just so you can squeeze in your training plan despite a busy schedule at work. Aiming for nothing short of a personal record for this run, you start doing some drills on the side, getting your heart up to speed and your muscles warm. It’s a relatively cold morning, a long-sleeved shirt provides just the right amount of warmth, and the leggings you wear are rather thick, but still offer flexibility with every stride.

As you’re nearing the end of your warm-up, a familiar silhouette approaches you, their features barely discernible in the dim lighting.

“What did you tell her? Did you tell her to stay away from me?” The voice demands, causing you to straighten up. Kate maintains a jog in place, looking rather uncomfortable in her windrunner, but it’s obvious that the scowl she’s wearing has nothing to do with the freezing temperatures.

“What are you talking about?” you ask, your breath forming a visible fog as you speak.

“Yelena initiated a transfer to another team,” she mutters impatiently. “And she requested a different mentor as well.”

The blaring sound of the alarm kicks off the countdown before they release the runners. Runners around you start to position themselves, their focus shifting to the commencement of the race.

"Yelena did what? I... I had no idea..." you say absentmindedly, your voice tapering off as you feel a sudden jostle from someone pushing past you in the queue. Honestly, you don’t understand what’s so concerning about Yelena making changes in her career.

“She’s putting her career in jeopardy. First of all, everyone on her new team is going to treat her as a competition because despite being a junior, she has already won an industry award. They'll be gunning for her, ready to undermine her success. And to make matters worse, her new mentor lacks the journalistic expertise she deserves. He's essentially the epitome of political maneuvering within the company.” Kate bombards you with her reasoning, just as the starting gun pierces the air, signaling that the 6-miler has started.

“Y/N! Are you even listening–”

On instinct, your feet hit the pavement in quick, measured steps, leaving Kate just a few meters behind as you stare blankly ahead. You had anticipated the weather and conditions of this race; what you didn’t see coming was finding out that in an effort to safeguard your relationship, Yelena had taken drastic measures, making a move that you had neither requested or approved of. Not that she needs your approval on such things, but you didn’t want to be the reason if it happens that the recent developments derails her career. And seeing how Kate has been nothing but respectful of Yelena’s decision to be with you and stay friends with her, it’s quite unthinkable for Yelena to do such a thing.

Though what’s troubling you the most is the realization that she's willing to make such sacrifices very early on, believing you to be deserving of them. Deep down, you find it hard to accept such unwavering dedication from her—or from anyone, for that matter.

As you push your body forward, immersed in the run, you fail to check your watch and follow your pace. Lost in your own thoughts, the race passes by in a blur, and before you know it, Kate is emerging from out of nowhere, sprinting all of a sudden to finish ahead of you. You both cross the finish line a mere five seconds apart.

As the organizing team places the coveted finisher's medal around your neck, you duck your head in humble acceptance before making a beeline for the hydration stations. The cool liquid cascades down your throat, replenishing your parched body after the arduous race. Kate trails closely behind, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.

"Y/N," Kate calls out through the post-race commotion. She regrets a little that she attempted to outpace you, pushing herself beyond her intended limits in a bid to reach the finish line ahead. Glancing at your watch, a smile unconsciously graces your lips as its record of your run confirms that you have indeed beaten your personal best. With the task of reaching your goal out of the way, you turn to Kate and finally acknowledge her.

“I’m sorry, I was aiming for a specific finish time,” you murmur as your smile turns strained. “I didn’t mean to literally run away from the conversation earlier.”

"It's all good," Kate gasps, a hint of discomfort evident in her voice as she tries to catch her breath. "But seriously, how on earth are you able to carry on a conversation like nothing happened? You just ran that entire distance at an incredible pace!"

You offer a lighthearted chuckle. “What do you mean? You beat me at the finish line!”

"Yeah, and look where it got me," Kate mumbles, her words punctuated by labored breathing. "I think I’m gonna pass out…"

“Whoa, there,” you stammer, concern flickering across your face as you reach out, gently grasping her elbow to guide her away from the bustling crowd. Kate allows herself to be led to a quieter spot where she can find some relief. Then, to alleviate the tightness in her breathing, she unzips her jacket, allowing fresh air to circulate and provide some respite.

"So, about Yelena..." you say, finding a bench and settling down in a cross-legged position. The weight of the news still lingers, leaving you unsure of where to begin.

"I assume you two have talked about me and..." Kate gestures wildly with her hands.

"We did," you affirm. "And if my memory serves me right, I simply suggested for her to give you some space.”

"Dude, why would I need space? What more space could I ask for since she moved out of our place?" Kate retorts, sounding slightly exasperated.

The word "our" catches your attention. It’s exactly why you think Kate needs space. Now that you’re aware of the depth of her feelings for your girlfriend, it’s not hard to spot the subtle clues she unknowingly reveals by the way she talks about Yelena. Your concern for her trumps the slight jealousy you feel knowing someone else is blatantly in love with your partner.

"Have you spoken to her?" you inquire, choosing to overlook her rants.

"Not exactly," Kate sighs. "I think she's upset with me for carelessly letting slip that we were friends with benefits."

"I'll have a word with her," you assure, offering Kate an extra sports drink you picked up from the station.

"I'd appreciate that," Kate replies, casually uncapping the drink and taking a prolonged sip. "Her career means the world to her. If she's not willing to reconsider, then I'll submit my resignation first thing tomorrow."

"No, Kate, you don't need to do that.”

Kate dismisses your worry with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "I'm wealthy," she states as if it's a mere fact. "I don't really need a job. I just need something to keep me busy."

Wanda finishes the same 6-miler event in record time. She notes that only a small number of female participants managed to run faster than her. In her mind, she's certain she could've overtaken them if she had kept up a steady training regimen. The reality is, Wanda only rekindled her interest in running when she started therapy. Calliope suggested that exercise releases natural endorphins that boost physical energy and mental focus throughout the day.

And besides, it felt oddly comforting to partake in a hobby that her ex-wife used to thoroughly enjoy, even if it's no longer an activity you both share. Running is one of those bridges to you that she wishes to maintain, an unbroken connection that she can enjoy privately, without the worry of hurting anyone in the process. A somewhat delicate balance between holding on and letting you go. Wanda used to think that her love for you had nowhere to go, but in learning to love herself, she had discovered that she can unearth traces of you–even in the tiniest moments that paint life with vibrant hues. Love doesn’t go away–it simply transforms.

After quietly dedicating her medal to you, Wanda’s about to start her post-run stretch, when she is interrupted by a soft touch on her shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

With a quick turn, Wanda shifts her attention to the person behind her. It’s the customer from a few days ago, the one with the captivating deep brown eyes. She instantly recalls how this woman had oddly requested a 'surprise me' drink, prompting a warm smile to spread across Wanda's face.

"It's you!" Wanda exclaims, recognizing the woman as she rearranges her ponytail into a messy bun.

“Yup, it’s me,” The woman mutters with a grin, delighted to run into Wanda at this event. “I couldn’t help but notice, you're fast enough to clock a mile in under seven minutes.”

"You think so?" Wanda replies, her cheeks warming up at the unexpected compliment.

She nods at Wanda with an infectious enthusiasm. “I’m actually a co-founder of a running club. We're mostly from Queens and Brooklyn. How about joining us?”

Wanda couldn't recall the last time she had been involved in a group or community outside of work. The thought of meeting new people–individuals that share a common interest and goal–fills her with childlike excitement.

“Oh, I would love to!” Wanda exclaims. “How often do you guys meet?”

Wanda listens attentively as the woman gives her a rundown of their weekly group runs and the list of running events they had decided to join as a group.

The woman then extends her hand towards Wanda. "By the way, I'm Valkyrie, but just call me Val."

Grasping Val's hand, Wanda feels the warmth from her palm seeping into hers. “I’m–”

"Wanda. I know," Valkyrie interrupts, winking at her slyly before releasing her hand. Just as Wanda is about to respond, the sound of your voice captures her attention, taking her by surprise.

“Wanda?”

Wanda's smile trembles slightly, the vulnerability in her eyes betraying her surprise as she hears her name uttered by you. All week long, Wanda had put up walls, deciding not to contact you in an attempt to make it easier to bear the ache of missing you. But the opposite proved true. The act of holding back only amplified the very thing she’s been trying to avoid.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turns to face you, trying her best to appear casual, “Y/N!”

Your face lights up at the confirmation that it’s indeed Wanda that you’ve spotted in the crowd.

Leaving Kate momentarily, you dart towards Wanda.

“Hey! Did you run too?” you inquire as you reach her, slightly breathless. “I didn’t spot you on the course at all.”

Wanda feels a sudden surge of self-consciousness, awkwardly sweeping a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink, not from the exertion of the run, but from the self-awareness that she's soaked in sweat. She fights the urge to take a quick sniff of herself in front of you. “I, uh, started near the front, so you might have missed me,” she says, clasping her hands together, trying to hide the lingering dampness that clings to her skin.

"Damn, I completely forgot how insanely athletic you are," you say in genuine awe. "You must have crossed that finish line way ahead of me."

Barging in your conversation, Kate clears her throat pointedly from behind you.

"Oh, this is Kate," you quickly introduce, gesturing to your friend standing nearby.

"Kate Bishop," Kate reaches out her hand, giving a short, somewhat awkward wave.

Wanda reciprocates the gesture, mimicking Kate's awkward wave.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Wanda," Wanda says with a friendly smile, and then remembers as well that she has company herself. "Oh, and guys, this is..."

“Valkyrie. But everyone just calls me 'Val',” Valkyrie chimes in, finishing the introduction herself. Your eyebrows raise slightly as you take in the newcomer, realizing that you don't recognize her from anywhere. Wanda's circle of friends has always been small, and your mind is quickly consumed with thoughts of how they met.

“You and Wanda…?” you find yourself asking, unable to stop the question before it tumbles out.

“We, uh–”

“We’re–”

Wanda and Valkyrie both start to speak at the same time, before sharing a laugh, while you manage to maintain a tight smile on your face.

Breaking the brief silence, Valkyrie takes charge of the conversation. "I met her at the cafe earlier this week. I didn't know she'd be here too, so I asked her to join my running club."

Kate jumps in with a teasing tone, "Meet cute," causing you to whip your head towards her, a grave expression on your face.

“Y/N, you should come along too,” Wanda suggests enthusiastically, before quickly realizing that it wasn't her place to invite. She turns apologetically towards Valkyrie, “I mean if you're looking for more people. Y/N is pretty fast–”

“Not as fast as you,” you say to Wanda.

“–and really committed to running. Her consistency and work ethic is nothing short of impressive.” Wanda finishes coyly.

Valkyrie eyes you up and down skeptically, her gaze sweeping over your toned body, particularly over your calves and thighs as she makes her assessment based solely on your physical looks.

“If Wanda’s vouching, then I trust her,” Valkyrie says, shifting closer to Wanda, her hand lightly touching Wanda's arm.

A surge of discomfort stirs within you as you witness their interaction. You decide right away that you don’t like this Valkyrie person. Something about her just rubs you the wrong way.

“Wanda, can I have a word with you?” you ask, not managing to keep the sharpness out of your voice.

At your words, Kate looks at you expectedly, but you're too preoccupied watching your former spouse to notice it.

"Sure," Wanda agrees, slightly taken aback by your sudden request. As you both excuse yourselves, the pair of you weave through the bustling crowd, Wanda falling into step beside you.

You can't help but steal glances at Wanda as you both walk side by side, her striking profile softened by the warm sunlight bathing the park. You can feel the curious eyes of both Valkyrie and Kate following you from a distance, their watchful gazes prompting you to maintain a respectable distance between you and Wanda.

Once you've found a less crowded area, you pivot to face her, trying to marshal your thoughts into coherent words. Yet before you can speak, Wanda preempts you.

“I’m sorry I never replied to your last text,” Wanda blurts out as soon as you both come to a stop. “I was on my way to the cafe when you... and then I just forgot about it, and I only realized I left you on read the next day–"

"Wanda, it's fine," you interrupt gently, smiling softly as you observe her anxious rambling. "There's no need to apologize. Life gets hectic, and we all have those moments. How is Sparky by the way?"

“He's in better condition and has adapted to his new diet. I no longer have to force him to eat, which is definitely an improvement.” Wanda says.

“That’s a relief,” you say faintly. “I'd be more than happy to help out and take him in from time to time.”

“Yes, he'd really appreciate that,” Wanda affirms with a nod. “And I-I would, too.”

A ripple of nervous laughter passes between you before Wanda redirects the conversation back to your intended topic. "So, what was it you wanted to discuss? Is there something on your mind?" she inquires.

You swallow hard, the growing anxiety clouding your ability to articulate your thoughts. Then, a sudden spark of inspiration kindles your mind. "T-The club," you stutter, snapping your fingers as though you've just recollected a vital detail. "What's the story there? Can anyone join?"

“Val didn’t mention anything specific. But it seems like a private group. Perhaps it's by invitation?” Wanda suggests.

“And you think it's okay for me to be part of it?" you ask, uncertain.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

You shrug, your thoughts circling back to Valkyrie's smug expression and her tendency to invade Wanda's personal space. You couldn't help but sense that Valkyrie's interest in Wanda extended beyond recruiting a fast runner to the group.

And isn't it quite the coincidence that she bumped into Wanda at this particular event?

It just…doesn’t sit well for you.

(Or perhaps your trust issues are a lot worse than you think.)

"I don't think she's thrilled about me joining," you say. Wanda gives you a baffled look that you’ve always found so endearing.

“You can’t be serious,” Wanda dismisses. “We've just met her today, so I think it’s a little weird if she doesn’t like you.”

You consider challenging her perspective, but instead you offer a polite smile, keeping your reservations to yourself.

"I'll tell you what," Wanda proposes, "If you don’t join the club, I won’t either."

"Wanda–"

"I'm serious, I'd feel out of place if I didn't know anyone there–"

"I'm not sure," you retort, nonchalantly shrugging. "You seem to have hit it off with Valerie."

"Valkyrie," Wanda corrects softly, a suspicion in her gaze, as if she's attempting to decipher a riddle she can't quite solve. "Not really. I just met her the other day. She doesn't even frequent the cafe.”

“Not yet," you mumble quietly, your words barely audible. “Alright. Inform me about the training schedule and location and I'll make an effort to attend.”

“I'll do that,” she agrees, and the two of you lapse into comfortable silence.

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” Wanda questions after a while.

"Sort of. I mean, it was getting crowded over there, and I wanted to say congratulations," you explain, a bashful smile gracing your face.

“Same to you, Y/N,” Wanda finds herself whispering the words–as if caught up in a romantic comedy movie scene, with a montage of breezy moments where the best parts of life simply pass by. It’s a feeling that’s becoming hard to escape whenever you’re around, even under ordinary circumstances; just you–with no makeup on, smelling of sweat and grass and soil–seems to just captivate her so.

“Come on,” she says and unwittingly takes your hand, biting her lip the second she realizes the contact she initiated. But she couldn't simply drop your hand as if she had been scorched.

As you near the spot where you'd left Kate and Valkyrie, you pull your hand free from Wanda's grip. Taking a deep breath, Wanda briefly manages to suppress the sting of rejection that grips her.

"So, sorted everything out?" Kate teases, her tone slightly acerbic as she addresses you privately. You can tell that she likely knows who Wanda is and can perceive the undercurrent of tension. Taking a casual walk with Wanda, especially with Kate around, might not have been the best decision, but you rationalize that you're not doing anything wrong.

You shoot Kate a dirty look in return, then bid goodbye to Wanda and Valkyrie.

"Catch you later, Y/N," Valkyrie throws in, her smirk conspicuous as she speaks just before you can head in the opposite direction.

***

You make it home just in time for breakfast. Yelena has ordered bagels and coffee, but her culinary abilities are also on display, illustrated by her recent success in frying bacon to the perfect crisp, steering clear of the usual outcome of a charred mess.

"Hey, baby, how was your run?" Yelena asks while setting up the breakfast spread on the dining table.

"I broke my personal best," you report to her, your face lighting up with pride. Swiftly, you begin to strip off your sweaty running clothes, heading towards the bedroom for a much-needed shower.

In just a few minutes, you step out of the bedroom with a towel slung over your neck, dressed in a threadbare shirt and nothing but your underwear. Your stomach rumbles loudly in anticipation of food. Yelena chuckles at your evident hunger and begins spreading cream cheese on your bagel while you add milk and sugar to your cup of coffee and hers.

"By the way," you begin tentatively, aware that it might be premature to broach what Kate had revealed to you. Nonetheless, you recognize the necessity of addressing the issue sooner rather than later. "Kate was there too, for the 6-miler. She... shared something with me that I think you should have discussed with me first. Something about a team transfer at work?"

Yelena's body stiffens noticeably, and she remains frozen for a brief moment. Her eyes betray a sense of uncertainty as she absorbs your words. But, after a few quick blinks, she collects herself and passes you your bagel on a plate.

“There's some truffle and honey in the fridge if you want to add them to yours,” Yelena offers.

An obvious deflection.

"Did you hear what I said? I said Kate–”

"Kate really ought to stop broadcasting every detail of my life whenever she has an opportunity,” Yelena mutters coldly.

“Don’t be mad at her. She was doing what she thought was right–”

“She had no right to meddle!” Yelena yells, her voice escalating, startling you with the sudden outburst. Her emotional fervor is more intense than you've ever seen, leaving you taken aback.

“She’s just worried about you,” you respond, striving to keep your voice calm to temper the situation. "But why didn't you tell me? We had an understanding that you didn't need to push her out of your life for me."

“Because it's my career–my choice,” Yelena insists, her tone unyielding. She is steadfast in her independence.

But her independence isn't the issue here. You’ve always been proud of how she can handle herself.

"Telling me about it isn’t an invitation for me to control you in any way, Yelena," you assure her. "I just wish you had enough faith in me to share the things that matter deeply to you. I care about you, and it stings a bit to be left out of these aspects of your life."

Yelena grows quiet at that, her fingers closing around her mug tightly as she processes your words and what it means for your relationship.

Trust.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust you enough–

“I feel guilty,” Yelena admits in a soft murmur, so faint that you strain to catch her words. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about how I've treated Kate, starting from when she confessed her feelings to me, right up until we started dating. Despite us being together, Kate and I remained close at work. We'd take lunch and breaks together, and we'd even take turns buying each other coffee, depending on who got to the office first…”

"It's like... I've been leading her on, you know? I've never given her the chance to get over me. I've come to realize that the feelings she had for me back then... they're still there, maybe even stronger than before. I can't keep messing with her emotions like that," Yelena confesses, sipping her coffee as if seeking solace in the soothing warmth of the drink.

You nod, the pieces finally starting to fall into place. “Did you talk to Kate about this? Or did you just cut her off?”

The guilty look that flashes across Yelena's face tells you everything you need to know.

“She thinks you're angry with her because she told me about... about what happened between you two,” you say, still a little uncomfortable bringing up the past.

Yelena lets out a sigh, her shoulders sagging. “I've been handling this Kate situation all wrong, haven't I?”

“Just talk to her,” you advise gently. Getting up from your chair, you walk over to Yelena and start massaging her tense shoulders. “She said that she would rather quit her job than let you transfer to another team and mentor."

“Really?” Yelena sounds surprised. “Did she mean it?”

"I'm not sure," you reply, shrugging your shoulders. "She simply mentioned that she's rich.”

“She’s grossly rich,” Yelena confirms, letting out a content sigh as you find a particularly tight knot in her muscle. "But she loves journalism. I won’t let her quit something she's passionate about.”

You recognize the irony in Yelena's last sentence but decide to remain silent on the matter.

“By the way, Wanda was there too,” you say carefully, watching Yelena's reaction closely. “She crossed the finish line way before me, I think. She was with a friend.”

Yelena's response is evasive, offering no real insight. "That's nice for her," she remarks, keeping her emotions well in check.

You quickly change the topic, feeling somewhat foolish for bringing up something she apparently doesn't care about, even though you were simply trying to be open and honest. You decide to avoid mentioning your ex-wife for the time being.

“Anyhow,” you segue, hoping to direct the conversation in a new direction, “Would you like to join me for my next fun run?”

“Me? Up and running at four in the morning? That's about as likely as snow in the Sahara,” Yelena replies, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “I'll just use a line from my favorite show,” she quips, her laugh filling the room. “‘Jogging is the worst, Y/N! I mean, I know it keeps you healthy. But God, at what cost?’”

Your mouth forms a small 'o' as you consider your response, feeling slightly let down that she isn't even slightly tempted to join you. “To be fair, jogging and running are not the same thing. Running recruits a different muscle group–”

“God, you’re such a nerd,” Yelena cuts in, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her hand delicately finds the back of your neck. She draws you nearer until your lips are tantalizingly close. “Keep doing what you love, baby,” she murmurs, her breath brushing over your partially opened lips. “And I'll continue pursuing mine.” Then she claims your lips in a deep kiss.

Your body instinctively melts into her touch, your hand gently tracing the curve of Yelena's waist, sending a shiver racing down her spine.

"I've got a better idea for a workout that doesn't involve clothes but might be more fun," Yelena suggests with a breathless laugh, stepping back slightly.

A playful smirk tugs at the corner of your mouth as you pull your shirt over your head.

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x you #wanda maximoff #ifiss 2 #ilgoss #yelena belova x reader #yelena belova #unbetad #my writing #my fic #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen #wanda maximoff fanfiction

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san-sebastienne · 2 months

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I don’t care that it’s been months; I’m still thinking of how to tighten up s2 and make it have literally any narrative impact/emotional growth. So here’s my chopped and screwed s2 rewrite that nobody fucking asked for, PART ONE:

The big, overarching change is that Ned Lowe is the BBEG of s2. We’re saving Zheng and, more pertinently, Prince Ricky for s3 (that’s definitely happening in my world, shhh). This gives weightier narrative stakes to the Kraken era, since the looming problem is predicated on Ed’s actions – much like the Badmintons as BBEGs in s1 were based in Stede’s actions/past.

The season begins the same: the trauma crew are raiding every day, never making port. The Kraken is making everyone’s lives difficult. They break Ned Lowe’s record, but it doesn’t seem to matter (also Lucius is hiding in the walls of the revenge, causing even more stress and probably trying to haunt Ed. Let’s add a little levity.)

Stede and co in the ROP. Stede’s bartending at Jackie’z and hears someone talking about blackbeard… but they’re being very complimentary. Calling him “fascinating,” “a dedicated man” – not the kind of language that Stede’s gotten used to arguing about. Who’s this gent who seems to actually GET Ed? His name is Ned Lowe, and he’s looking for his old pal blackbeard.

Stede and the crew hitch a ride out of the ROP with Ned, since they all have the same goal – finding Blackbeard. Besides, Ned is genteel. He seems to have the same sort of appreciation for finer things that Stede has, and it’s nice to see after spending so much time cleaning up vomit at Jackie’z. Maybe Stede and Ned have a dinner in the captain’s cabin a la Barbarossa and Elizabeth Swann in the first PotC… everything is grand and well laid out, but something is very wrong. Stede tries to ignore this, but his “this guy is bad news” senses from being a gentleman are tingling.

Meanwhile, back on the trauma ship, Jim is trying not to mourn Oluwande. They’re very “everyone I’ve ever loved is dead; why would he be any different?” They’ve thrown themselves into pirating as a way to double down on their hardened I Am Vengeance persona, and this growing thing with Archie as a rebound.

Leg thing/Frenchie is first mate now/crazy storm thing/let’s kill Blackbeard are all the same. Except Lucius is there, probably spending a lot of time hiding with drunk/sick Izzy (there’s some hurt/comfort in both directions, as much as izzy can be lucid for it). He also shows up for that final shot of the crew looking down at Ed while Jim hefts the cannonball. Ed’s not worried about hallucinating anymore; he’s finally about to die!

It’s Ned’s ship (plus Stede et al) that comes across the storm wreck of the Revenge. Our crew still has to escape over to their old ship, not because anyone found Ed’s corpse but because Izzy, in a moment of clarity, is like oh shit, Ned Lowe is super bad news, we have to get the fuck out of here right now. This way we get the beginning of a basis of trust between Izzy and Stede, since Stede listens to the insistence of the Trauma Crew and takes Izzy’s advice on when to get out of a bad situation.

Gravy Basket happens.

Someone (Lucius?) tells Stede that Ed’s body is still onboard. MerStede happens.

Jim is extremely overwhelmed that Olu is alive. The two of them have a very sweet romantic reunion. They confess to Olu about Archie, but insist that she was just a rebound. Archie tries to laugh the whole thing off – it’s fine! This didn’t matter! Shit things are bound to happen to everyone! Jim feels mega guilty and starts to realize that maybe it wasn’t just a rebound – they might actually care for Archie.

The uicorn leg half of “fun and games” is pretty much the same, the big division between the crews being that The Trauma Crew wants to banish or straight up kill Ed, but they’re still very much being chased by Ned Lowe. Stede’s crew insists that getting distance here is more important than adjudicating that mess.

We do all still come together to give Izzy his new leg.

Ed is locked in some kind of makeshift brig, making everyone tetchy and uncomfortable. Except for Stede, of course, who sees this as his chance to explain himself to LITERALLY captive audience Ed. Stede has the “I love everything about you” scene with him there, and explicitly tells Ed that he didn’t go to the dock bc of Chauncey (holy shit, how does he never fucking bring that up in the actual s2). Ed is moved but not convinced to forgive Stede… yet. They do the hand holding thing here, but don’t have the conversation about taking it slow. Instead, offering his hand thru the bars of the brig is the only thing Ed does to show that he’s heard Stede and is considering forgiving him.

The other half of this episode is the crews re-integrating emotionally. Jim/Olu/Archie explicitly discuss their relationship structure. Jim can be with both of them. Lucius and Pete get to have a moment about how Pete thought Lu was dead; Lucius admits that he kind of thought he was too, since all he did was hide and hang out with a guy who was too delirious to even really recognize him.

Somehow we still get Ed in that catboy collar. Nonnegotiable.

Part two incoming…

#I don’t have enough mental energy for a full fic rewrite but I feel strongly about this #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #stede bonnet #edward teach #izzy hands #ofmd s2 #ofmd fanfic #fanfic meta

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saikolikes · 5 months

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Aki’s P5R fanfic recs! (part 2)

Hi and welcome to another one of my recs posts! As you can see, this is part two: part one of this post can be found HERE and includes fics I bookmarked between April 2019 and December 2020. This second post will deal with everything I bookmarked during 2021 and 2022 (... so yes, part 3 is bound to happen some times in the future)

Here a brief disclaimer:

Everything in here is spoiler for either P5 vanilla, Royal, or Strikers;

I won’t report the tags, as it would take too long, so if you’re interested in a fic, please open the link;

Fic recs obviously reflect my tastes and preferences. For example, I love suffering and I don’t like fluff or domestic works, so browse this list knowing that;

The stark majority of the works here is shuakeshu

If you want more recs you can find them in my bookmarks, most of them are public!

MY ONGOING RECS Again, I don't read a lot of ongoing works (although, admittedly more than in the past) and these are the ones I'm subscribed to that I'm adoring!

The Lovers, Reversed by salexectria, Terra5 (E) | Royalty a/b/o AU | akeshu | series in three parts, ongoing "A Thief is caught stealing from the Northern King, and is sentenced to death for his crimes. The Alpha Prince intervenes, but at what cost to them both?" What I love about this AU is the amount of politics and worldbuilding put into it, as well as the uniqueness of double povs who constantly switch from Akira to Goro creating one back and forth that acts literally like poking into their minds. Plus the slow burn and the pining are just on point.

never die when I'm dead by threerings (E) | Royal & post-Royal | akeshu | series in 2 parts, ongoing Two one shots featuring one of my absolute flavors of this ship: sad, intense and unhinged

IDC FOR UPDATES I resolved to defeat my abandoned-wip trauma one excellent fic at a time so here's a list of works that haven't been updated in a while or the author straight up confirmed they won't keep writing them, but they are so good you just have to read them and let them remodel you. Do it. Do it now.

the year of the knife by theexistentiallyqueer (M) | No powers AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "The plan for Akira's junior year of high school was to keep his head down and his nose clean, but he hadn't counted on his new high school having more trouble than it was worth--and he specifically didn't plan on Akechi Goro, the haughty, machiavellian vice president of Shujin Academy's student council, dragging him face-first into political scandal and a series of encounters that would change his life." Please let teq bring you through a journey of spot-on characterization and stunning prose that will rewire your brain chemistry completely. Their take on machiavellian Akechi is really good, and the snark Akira spits in this fic is really something I cherish.

kiss & cry by MajorGodComplex (T) | Figure skating AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "Goro’s first thought when he hits the ground is some combination of the words ‘shit fuck hell fucking bullshit bitch fuck motherfucking hell.’ His next thought is wondering whether Akira Kurusu, senior debut, constant thorn in Goro’s side, and the only person anyone this season seems to talk about, is also trying to land a quad axel at the moment." I don't know what to tell you, the prose of this one is so witty and funny you just have to read what's published of it as of now!

honeybrains by succubused (T) | Time loop | shuakeshu | 4 chapters "a chronicle of the twenty-fourth time akira kurusu lived through the month of january 2017" What can I say, I am really a sucker for time loops and this fic took me by the heart. Tagged as character study and with rights because the characterization here is very interesting!

in the snow globe by aminami (E) | Time travel | shuake | 1 chapter "It’s your heart,” Joker says like it’s the most obvious thing. “Your desires, your hopes, your fears. I’ll carry them with me always. My little snow globe." This fic will hurt you so badly but it will be so worth it, I swear. It's just so melancholic and tender and angsty and it carved a place in my heart.

my love has never lived indoors by rhodophytae (E) | a/b/o | shuake | 1 chapter "Ren Amamiya knows he's an alpha, and he's comfortable with that, but he's pretty sure that being an alpha is, well...different for him than it is for other people. He resigned himself a long time ago to the fact that he'd probably go his whole life without finding anyone else like him. And then he meets Goro Akechi." This fic has such an interesting take on omegaverse! Paired with a stellar characterization and delicious pining, it's no surprise it's a fic I will never forget.

GENERAL RECS The fics I’ve enjoyed the most and that I go back to reading sometimes.

how joker and crow survived the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 by shntlvs (T) | Royal | shuakeshu | series of 2 works "Escaping from Maruki's false reality gets interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic." Could you have ever imagined reading a fic centered around the pandemic? Me neither, but this one and its sequel work so well and have very compelling bits of characterization for the boys. Unexpected premise, but I utterly loved it.

straw house, straw dog by caelam (T) | 3rd sem | gen | one shot "In the saccharine utopia of Maruki’s reality, Goro Akechi’s mother is still alive." I admittedly don't read too many fics with mamakechi so I won't claim to be an expert, but this one really left me impressed with how clear and tangible the tangle of feelings is.

Knight of Pentacles, King of Spades by Naometry (M) | Medieval AU | shuakeshu | 11 chapters "“Hifumi passed on your greetings,” Akira Kurusu says, fury simmering beneath his conversational tone. “And I’m polite enough to give you my own in person. So greetings, General Goro Akechi. I am the man who will kill you.”" I started reading this fic for the war captive trope but this story has so much more to it than just that. Nao's superb skill with writing violence and viciousness will have you thrust into a cruel world where two boys seem to be bound to kill each other... unless?

Ripples by Riona (T) | gen | canon compliant | one shot "Ten people know exactly who the news is talking about, and now they’re going to have to deal with that." A peek into the heads of 10 of Joker's confidants upon learning about his death. The fic I would never imagined myself reading, but I did because it was recced to me, and now I'm recc'ing it to you, too.

When Your Eyes Meet Mine by seths_dream (E) | no powers AU | shuake | one shot "The way the bellboy lingered on him made his heart jolt, made him think that maybe, maybe the bellboy was looking at Goro the same way Goro was looking at him." I've lost count of how many times I read this fic because the horny is just so juicy, it's unironically one of the fics I come back to when I need to remind myself how to write horny stuff. (the same author also wrote this delicious pegoryu that you have to read)

a study in what not to say by succubused (T) | 3rd sem | shuake | one shot "Akira has finally had enough of Akechi's bullshit; they resolve it the only ways they know how." If you like the boys being really nasty to each other, this fic is a must. It has excellent dialogue, dynamics, and a tad of homoerotic wound tending which can't hurt no one!

MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITES The fics that rewired my brain chemistry, took my heart out, slapped it, put it back, and left me a whole new person.

27 steps to seduce a crow by relationshipcrimes (G) | Royal | shuakeshu | one shot "A handy bullet-pointed list on how to flirt with, seduce, and keep your local Akechi Goro." Still to this day, I think of this fic in terms of Goro's characterization. If I have a thing for post-canon shuake chasing each other, it's probably due to this one.

The Brigverse by TzviaAriella (E but most works are M) | Pirates AU | akeshuake | series, ongoing I admittedly don't care that much about pirates but the og fic from this series (A Brig Too Far) was being passed on so much that I gave it a try and. Oh boy. Not only is the characterization impeccable, the story compelling, and the action thrilling, but at least one scene and/or line from each work in this series has altered my brain permanently. I am a new person after reading Brigverse.

wild and free by bangandawhimper (E) | a/b/o | shuakeshu | one shot "Akira Kurusu hasn’t always been an omega. But now everyone he meets in this city assumes he’s an omega. He’s treated like an omega. He feels like an omega. He knows he feels like an omega because he remembers what it was to be an alpha." This work might have my favourite take ever on shuakeshu omegaverse, it's so fitting for them, so thought out, and the characterization is so on point... my god. Read this fic now.

The Diamond Chest by kinneas (E) | post-Royal | shuakeshu | 3 chapters, complete "Who says you have to see Morgana speak in the Metaverse before you can hear him in the real world? Not the few hundred officers who arrested Ren in Sae’s Palace two years ago, that’s for sure." Honestly everything kinnes writes is gold but I'm shouting this fic out because I reread more than a few scenes from this fic more than once, and it's a 100k-words baby. I am a sucker for heist stories, I am a sucker for dealing with trauma in very tangible ways, and I'm a sucker for kinneas' characterization of the boys.

before midnight by specterthief (Not rated) | 3rd sem, canon compliant | gen | one shot "“I—” Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Sumire sets down her chopsticks and rubs her face with both hands. “Um—who told you I was going to training camp?” (On January 9th, Sumire goes home.)" This is the stellar Sumire characterization fic you're looking for. Read this. Read this right now.

I HOPE THIS DOESN'T AWAKEN SOMETHING IN ME (DELUSIONAL) I clicked on these fics solely due to my trust in the authors/the summary/one rec and now I find myself with a new kink. Thanks.

Containment Breach by salexectria (E) | Space pirates AU | akeshu | one shot Akira gets stranded on an abandoned spaceship seemingly infested by a terrifying creature. He finds the lonely survivor of the crew and they begrudgingly start to work together to contact help and survive. I am just going to say that I clicked for salex's name, I stayed for the stellar characterization, pining and top-tier bantering, and got overwhelmed by the tentacle sex. (/pos)

it takes two by lumensd (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | two-shots By all means, this series has some things I usually am not interested in (phone sex, degradation) but Jay is so skilled and his akeshus are so fucked in the head that now I've signed up for the masochist Joker agenda. Hurray!

i dream of you draped in wires by rime (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | one shot "Maruki's Shadows don't want to fight; they just want to collect data. Wait, are those cat ears?" You would think a work with the tag "catboy shibari gunplay fuckordie" can't be too serious. Wrong! Excellent character study attack 🔪🔪🔪 (from the same author there's also this P5 vanilla fic that is excellent)

Darken my doorway by EnlacingLines (E) | 3rd sem-post canon | akeshu | one shot ""I don’t need to test my theory. You should be thanking me, really. Opening this door for you.” “A door to what?” Akira says, exasperated by just how self congratulatory Goro still sounds.“ Submission.” Or: I am a firm switch shuake shipper, I don't vibe with too-extreme dynamics *proceeds to go ballistics over this fic regardless*, *awakens to the wonder of d/s a lil fucked up dynamics*

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5 #p5r #p5 spoilers #p5r spoilers #shuake #akeshu #shuakeshu #akeshuake #fanfiction recommendation #fanfic #p5r fanfiction #p5 fic rec #fic rec #fic reccomendations #p5r fic rec

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femmefighter · 14 days

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FIFI I still don't understand how Sokabine is still a rarepair, like....why, it's so good??? Do we need to have an event or something? I need to write something too🥺🥺🥺. I've been slacking on Sokabine 😭.

Oh my lovely. What a mysterfying question you ask!

I can only say I struggle to answer it, as I, being a Sokabine addict, fail to fully understand why other people don't appreciate such a delicious ship.

The only way I can attempt to understand is by likening Sokabine to Nutella ice cream. Just as how lots of people like shipping, lots of people like ice cream. And there are so many flavours of ice cream! Nutella ice cream is that decedent blend of chocolate and nutty hazelnut (I'll let you decide on who is the chocolate and who is the nuts). Being ice cream, it's a perfect summer treat, however it has a heaviness of flavour that makes it soul-warming enough to eat it even in the winter months.

But some people don't want to try Nutella ice cream. Maybe trying Nutella ice cream gets in the way of them enjoying their personal OTP flavours of boysenberry and lemon gelato, or their peppermint and strawberry combo? Those flavours may be the only comfort they get in this chaotic world, and they don't want to risk not having their comfort food to try something new. Valid! Maybe they see Nutella ice cream as guilty treat. Maybe they've been taught to be ashamed of Nutella ice cream for some reason, and so they only eat it when no one else is looking? Valid! Or maybe they've only ever known vanilla ice cream, and are too scared to try something different, or a pressured by comp-vanilla-het society to not dare deviate? Valid! Maybe they've only bought ice cream from a stall that doesn't offer Nutella ice cream, and thus didn't realise such a flavour exists? You guessed it. Also valid!

So yeah, so many reasons that I can't answer for because that's not my experience. I will eat my coffee ice cream, my peanut butter brownie ice cream, my strawberry ice cream, my roasted almond ice cream, my mango ice cream. But my Nutella ice cream will always be my number one go-to.

We don't have a Sokabine blog, or a Sokabine server. I've found a little safe space on a Bo-Katan server which is my happy place where I can get comfy with other Sokabine lovers (all 12 of us). Maybe I could start a blog? I don't think I have the emotional space or time/energy to run a server, even though the numbers would be so few right now. A Sokabine event would be amazing, but without a Sokabine blog or server to back/promote it, it might not get much traction. I've found a lot of my work was merely tolerated during past Ahsoka Series-related events because the ship does seem to get under some people's skin. That's okay, I don't need an event to write my stuff for, and I'm finding my safe people slowly.

An answer I can offer you, however, is reasons to like Sokabine as a ship. Why the Sokabine ship deserves to be upgraded from tugboat to cruiseliner. But I might save that for another post, as it's dissertation-worthy, and I'll add graphics for some weight to my brain rot. The simplest answer for that though I'll let you see for yourself in the utter beauty of these two characters below (and extra kudos for Ahsoka blatantly checking out Sabine's arse here). In the meantime...

Thanks for the ask!

Gif by the lovely @reeveskryze 😘

#ahsoka tano #sabine wren #sokabine #star wars #ahsoka series #star wars wlw #reach out and feel me #they're gay your honor #they love each other #and sabine has a nice butt #ahsoka agrees #star wars sapphics #thanks for the ask!

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epicbuddieficrecs · 7 months

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Favorite Buddie Fics (so far!)

Hi 911 fam!

This has been way, waaaaaaay past overdue. The weewoo show got a hold of me last May and, for some reason, I resisted making a fic rec blog about it. I think I was kind of in disbelief that I, a serial long-term monoshipper, had adopted a second new ship in less than a year 😆 But it seems like I'm a sucker for a good Best Friends to Lovers, Found Family, Trauma Bonding vibe!!

I figured I ought to start off this blog with my favourite fics I've read so far. These are the ones that are, to me, the most memorable, that I've already re-read once (or twice!) in the last few months. I absolutely love them!

I'm going to try and start making recs here a bit more often! In the meantime, if you want more fics I've enjoyed, you can have a look at my ao3 bookmarks here. You can also find me on Twitter and Bluesky @/epicficrecs !

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think about those fics and what are YOUR all time favourites? 😊

Being Eddie by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Time Travel, Post-Season 6, Getting together | 80K | Teen): When Eddie starts seeing a new therapist, he’s presented with the opportunity to revisit several days from his past and right regrets that still bother him. OR: Eddie goes through the time travel therapy process of the 2009 Canadian TV show Being Erica.

Evan Buckley & The Coma-Verse of Madness by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Coma AU, Multiverse | 58K | Teen): After being struck by lightning on a call, Buck experiences a plethora of alternate realities showing him different directions his life could have taken. Fighting hard to get home, Buck learns what, or who, is important to him in every lifetime.

Your Scars and Your Lonely Heart by Taste_is_Sweet (Sentinels AU, Canon Divergent - Tsunami | 82K | Teen): Clara Williams just wanted to visit Pacific Park during her layover in Los Angeles. She never expected to find a young, exceptional Sentinel dying for lack of a bond. Actually, what she really never expected was a tsunami, or the same Sentinel to save her life. But Clara's a Guide, so now she's on a mission to keep Evan "Buck" Buckley alive until she can get him to Eddie Diaz, the Guide who should have bonded with him, but didn't. Because Clara can't bond with Buck, no matter how much she wants to. There's just one problem: Buck's convinced Eddie doesn't want him, and he might not survive long enough to find out the truth.

let the world have its way with you by fleetinghearts/ @shitouttabuck (Post-Coma AU | 54K | Explicit): or, a bucket list that’s really about buck needing to make a change and an eddie who’s ready to do anything to see him fall in love with life again. it takes some crossing off for eddie to realise—the thing at the top of the list in his own heart? it’s been right here all along

Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by HMSLusitania/ @hmslusitania (Canon Divergent, Amnesia AU, Post-Season 5 | 44K | Mature): An accident on a call leaves Buck with custody of Chris after Eddie is... missing presumed. While they navigate their new family circumstances -- and fight to stay together, despite Eddie's parents' best efforts -- a John Doe wakes up in a coma ward with no memory of his own life beyond the knowledge he has a son named Christopher and, somehow, he needs to get home.

Leading with the Left by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Canon Divergent, Different First Meeting, Stripper Buck | 84K | Explicit): When Buck said he was a "bartender" in "South America" what he actually meant was "stripper" in "Mexico." And when Eddie said, "What's your problem?" what he actually meant was, "Is this about the time you gave me a lap dance?" In other words, there's a few things the 118 doesn't know about Buck. Or Eddie. Or Buck and Eddie's relationship.

for all the haunts and homes of men by euadnes/ @kananjarus (Canon Divergent, Post-Apocalyptic, Station Eleven Crossover | WIP | 9/? | 69K | Mature | Warning: Violence): The year by the old calendar is 2025. Home is gone. Home is a failed rescue mission and an echo of a memory. Home is a lost boy living in a wooden house by the sea. But first, there was a promise. Christopher, when it's safe, I'll take you back to your father. Buck had all but given up on keeping it after the world had died and everyone in it. But just as some oaths refuse to be forgotten, so the same can be said about the endurance of love.

(yes I put a WIP there because it's just that good)

#buck and eddie #911 fox #buck x eddie #buddie #buddie fic #buddie fanfic #buddie fanfiction #911 fic #911 fanfic #911 fanfiction #buddie fic rec #epic buddie fic rec #favorites

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smidgen-of-hotboy · 23 days

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Out in the Cold Field, pt. iv

I always finish these it seems at 2am. Huh. Now go fetch! @ananxiousgenz @ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @urjover @demonic-panini @one-joe-spoopy @waters-and-the-wilde @the-private-eye

“What do you know about Pandora?”

“Wife to Epimetheus, beautiful, sculpted by the Gods, the perfect lady, had a vase she was told to never shatter, super curious, so she unleashed all the evil in the world… I sense a lesson coming.”

“Pandora did a lot more than just bring evils into the world. Do you know why the Gods made her?”

“Punishment I presume? Everything always harkens back to punishment.”

“She was a punishment from the Gods to man. A God who made humans stole for us fire. They chained him to a rock, and every day a vulture would come and pick at his liver, and every day he would suffer immense pain and regenerate. The Gods made Pandora then to punish humanity.”

“Why would they do that? They knew the culprit, they sorted them out, so why continue and drag it out onto the rest of us? Isn't that some sort of war crime?”

“Today, yes. Back then, there was no such thing.”

“Mmm… I guess that explains a lot of things. Wasn’t there also one good thing left behind? Hope?”

“In some retellings, yes.”

“Mom’s books say there was hope. She circled and underlined it a bunch.”

“And why do you think that is?”

“If the evils were a punishment, and hope was trapped inside the jar with them… the evil things were a message. There is no way to escape, outsmart, outtrick, or outlive the Gods. There is no escape. And hope… can always be there. At the heart of it all. Hope is also a will of the Gods. Just like everything else that was in the vase.”

“Smarter than me, as bright as your mother. Well done, солнышко моё.”

Growing up, Buddy had very few friends her age. The ones she did have were either scared off by Palomine, or scared off by Buddy. It left her an awful lot of time alone. Time that she spent reading and studying. Time that she spent hanging around the countertop of Palomine’s bar, asking the other patrons to share with her one of their stories. And oftentimes he would find her and shoo her upstairs, handing out complimentary drinks as apologies. Occasionally he wouldn't find her and occasionally she got to hear stories beyond her comprehension.

That was how she heard about the Carte Blanche. A regular of her father's came in and sat down at the bar. A younger Buddy Aurinko slid up next to them and talked about Odysseus. She knew the epic as well as the back of her hand but never wrapped her head around it quite right. The regular she sat with however was good conversation and explained it very easily. Their patience for her temper proved something wrong about Palomine.

The regular listened to her like always and laughed in her face when she said that she would have never returned home if she were Odysseus. They asked if she had ever stepped foot on a ship before and offered to show her theirs. Buddy readily agreed.

It was a week-long trek to reach the port they had docked in. And, at the time, the Carte Blanche went by a different name. Its sails were a drab cream color and the bow had a half naked siren strapped to the front. She was hideous. Buddy fell in love instantly.

That regular died suddenly four years later. Their wife found Buddy at the bar and slid to her a will. They wanted you to travel the seas. They hoped that someday you would find your Penelope.

She spent months scraping barnacles off the haul and removing that damn siren from the bow. The sails were the easiest to replace. The days of cream colored past were behind them now. Navy blue sails brought her all around Hellas Basin. The end of an era. The winds were changing and the seasons were rolling into each other as Buddy finished painting her ship's new name, Carte Blanche.

Now she was Captain of her own ship. She left Palomine to take control of her future, to reign in her own destiny, and now here she was. Captain of her own ship, of her own life, her own destiny. Finally out from her father’s reach– except she wasn’t allowed to die. And her life wasn’t hers alone to dictate anymore, not so long as Jet and M’tendere were with her… And Palomine had tried to bargain for his life with hers… And she’s going back to the bar where she left him four months ago.

The voyage to the Cerberus Province was lonely and cold. Buddy had always dreamed of wrangling together a crew of misfits like her and Vespa to sail Hellas Basin with. She dreamed of someday retiring and growing old with Vespa. Getting to sit under their own vine and fig tree. Relaxing in the shade together, at home with the knowledge that they had put their best foot forward. That they had tried to better the lives of people like them, and given their best efforts for someone else’s chance of survival.

On the third night aboard the Blanche, M’tendere sings Buddy and Jet part of a song. They call it their Key.

“It sounds lovely darling.”

“Thank you,” M’tendere strums their guitar a bit more. “If there’s a song you’d like me to play, I will happily play it for you, Captain.”

“Please, call me Buddy.”

“No can do, Captain. Jet and I are guests on your ship. You invited us on board and you’re helping me smuggle fire away from Hadestown. The least I can do is show you a bit of respect.”

On the fifth night, Jet stands at the helm of the ship. One hand planted on the wheel, the other holding the lamp. The fire inside has been burning now for almost two weeks straight. Possibly longer. M’tendere never answers her when she asks how and when they stole the fire.

Speak of the devil, they’re turning out to be pretty bad at the whole sailing thing. Jet is a natural. M’tendere… would have probably faired better taking a month to skirt around Hellas Basin avoiding the road and tracks to Hadestown than ever stepping foot on the Blanche. For now M’tendere has kept to the lower deck. Much darker and damper, they’re starting to develop a cough. Jet doesn’t seem worried, so until he is neither will Buddy.

Buddy slides up next to Jet, two of M’tendere’s scarves wrapped around her throat.

“Your fingers are white.” She glances at Jet and back down at her hands. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Why didn’t you ask me sooner? If you knew this whole time, why hold off? If you care so deeply about my health–”

“I didn’t ask because I was waiting for you to mention it. M’tendere said that you would when you were in enough pain.” He pauses, and if it were locked into other season and Buddy any other person, she might have turned a beautiful shade of pink. “I care for your health, Buddy, because you are alone. You are walking a dark path, one that I have beared witness others walk before, and it never ends the way you or they hope.”

She scoffs, “Oh don’t be ridiculous, I’m not like other people. You don’t know the first thing about me. We hardly know each other.”

Jet nods passing off the lamp to her. Buddy accepts it without a second thought and for a brief moment, she thinks she might have caught hint of a smile.

“You’re right, we don’t.”

A long stretch of silence wraps around them. Eventually the pain in Buddy’s joints makes itself known. She bids Jet a fair night and descends to the lower deck to join M’tendere. They greet her with a cough and refuse to accept the lamp. For the rest of the night Buddy keeps it close to warm her hands.

On the ninth day, the seas are rough tossing the Blanche around. Buddy steers, while Jet stands on the bow keeping an eye out for rocks.

That night it’s calm enough that M’tendere joins them above deck. They play a few songs intermittently asking Buddy questions in between. It strikes her at some point that while it’s a game to her, it’s a dance to them.

“How long have you been sailing?”

“Only a few years. How long have you and Jet been traveling together?”

“We travel separately most of the time. You got found at a very lucky and rare time when we’re stuck together.”

“M’tendere asked me to help them fulfill their dream.”

“Oh really? And what is your dream?”

M’tendere sighs and leans back against the mast. Their head tilts at an awkward angle searching for constellations in the sky. “I wanted to help people. Balance out all the bad things that I’ve done in the name of Hades.”

So you stole fire goes unsaid. Just like Promethus.

“What is your dream, Buddy?” She looks up at Jet, who again has claimed his spot at the helm. Her damn ship that half the time she doesn’t even get to man anymore.

“My dream?” She chuckles, “I wanted to help people. Give back, uplift, and empower. But that time has come to pass now. What’s done is done they say… What is your dream, Jet? Don’t suppose it’s also to help people?”

“How disappointed would you be if I said it is?” This time, she does get to watch him smile. It’s bright and glorious and could fill up a whole room. And when Buddy laughs, M’tendere does too. They break into a coughing fit that lasts longer than usual. Again, Jet does not seem concerned. Despite this, Buddy tries not to either. M’tendere plays a final song that night, Their Key, and heads down to rest.

In the morning there is a thick sheet of ice that formed on the bow. Buddy takes a crack at it using part of an old rusted anchor. She instructed Jet to search for an ice pick in the cargo hold. M’tendere hasn’t moved a muscle. It’s fine. Just four more days. They can rest.

Jet emerges from the belly of the beast. Buddy steps aside to allow him to take over.

The voyage to the Cerberus Province was lonely and cold. Had she not died somehow without Jet or M’tendere’s aid, the return trip back would’ve been no different. It would have been harder. It would have been colder. She might have actually died.

“Jet,” he stops mid-swing to look back at her, “ask me again. Ask me again why I want to die.”

He turns towards her, rolling his shoulders back, standing at full height. Grimly, she is reminded of depictions of psychopomps in her mother’s old texts. Shadowy figures that slip on billowing robes. Some with animal heads. Others so handsome and flawless that they had to be immortal. But when she blinks the winter sun bathes Jet in cool light. Chasing away the shadows on Jet’s face, bringing into focus his heavy leather winter coat. Scars his hands remind her that he bleeds too.

“Buddy Aurinko.” She takes a deep breath. The voyage was to the Cerberus Province was cold and lonely… “What happened to make you want to die?”

They say it took Odysseus 20 years to journey home. 10 years fighting the Trojans, and 10 years lost at sea. When he returned home, he returned in disguise to win his wife’s hand in marriage and scare off the competition. He accomplished a little more than that, but he had his wife. He got back his Penelope.

The voyage to the Cerberus Province was cold because it shouldn’t have been made alone. Odysseus fought and won the war. Odysseus got to go home to be with the one he loved. Buddy Aurinko, wouldn’t even get so much as a final goodbye.

“I lost someone. I lost– I lost Vespa. I lost her and my dream and I can’t bear a life without her.” She wipes the stinging tears from here eyes. She turns her back and walks away. Not once did she let Palomine see her cry, Vespa only saw her cry in joy, and she wasn’t about to start sobbing a second time in front of Jet.

Buddy plants herself at the helm and watches Jet resume chipping away at the ice. Just four more days. Just four more days.

That night she sits with M’tendere on the lowest deck. The scarves they loaned to her are rolled up tight to support their neck. They wheeze with each breath. In the relative quiet, she tries to think back to what Vespa would do. What Vespa would say.

“Goddess hands, guide me.” She mutters under her breath as she clasps M’tendere’s thin wrist to count their heartbeat. There has to be something. Anything. If Vespa were here she would know what to do and how to treat them. She would probably say something like… like…

Vespa’s voice is slipping from her mind. Goddess forgive her. What would go next? Her face? Her touch? Rough lips on soft skin. Green has never been her color but it always belonged to Vespa.

"Captain," Buddy does not flinch as M'tendere's body seizes into a coughing fit. The end is near. Death approaches. She has always hated goodbyes, and loathed letting go. How could she when all the people she lets herself love die in the end? She refuses to believe it, wants to object like Jet did. You can’t be dying yet, we have four more days until we dock.

She swallows a lump forming in her throat and nods. "Keep your strength. I'll fetch Jet." She pats M'tendere's cheek and heads up to the main deck of the Carte Blanche. They have at most four more days until they can dock at the harbor. And another week maybe before a doctor can come. Just four more. Four more and one week… They don't have a week though. Or four more days.

"Jet," Buddy finds him again chipping ice off the bow. He looks up. It's hard to read his expression buried underneath all his layers. "It's M’tendere." He nods and goes to her office to retrieve M'tendere's precious instrument.

When he makes it to their bedside, Buddy has them propped up by every linen blanket and wool stuffed pillow they have on board. Jet offers the instrument but they shake their head. M'tendere has never refused to play them a song. They promised they always would. I’ll happily play it for you, Captain. Nothing would make her happier now than to hear their strong voice.

"I have one last one for the road." They suppress a cough and wipe blood from the corner of their mouth. "My Key."

Once upon a time M'tendere's voice used to lull Buddy to sleep. The voice of an angel. And now, wrecked by disease, it's little more than a frogs croak. She surprises herself still able to recall what that sounds like.

M'tendere sings and hums a quiet peaceful tune. Tears roll freely down Buddy's cheeks. She never allowed her father to see her cry. She would move mountains though to allow M'tendere to see her cry another day.

A second voice picks up the tune. Quieter, deeper. She glances at Jet and finds him plucking the strings of M'tendere's guitar. Finding the right chords. They point and smile when he gets it right.

Four days later, Jet and Buddy Aurinko dock on the other side of Hellas Basin. A snowstorm picks up keeping them cooped on board the Carte Blanche for another week with a decaying corpse. Neither of them speaks much, not even a whistled tune.

The town they docked in is on the outskirts of Hyperion City. A couple of days worth of travel through the snow and they’ll reach Palomine’s bar soon enough. For now, Buddy takes down her navy blue sails and sells them for a quick cred. With that money, she rents them a small room on land to stay in. The whole time she keeps M’tendere’s little fire clutched close to her chest. Humming their key.

#ask to be tagged or removed #i am sleeby #BUT ALSO THIS MEANS IM FREE TO GO BACK AND WRITE MORE OUR ANGEL OF BRAHMA #but also also this means i gotta write and publish the VesBud portion of the Hadestown prequel sighhhh #well. i feel like i got smth done at least #the penumbra podcast #the penumbra fanfic #private eye's keys go jingle jangle #a hotboy's writing #out in the cold field #unedited. just finished it and went straight to posting #NIGHTY

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ladybellissima · 6 months

Text

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 26

Two months. Not weeks. Two awful long months passed since Katakuri left. But what pained her the most was the lack of information about his location. No one could tell her, if he was okay. If he was already on his way back. This clueless situation was making her crazy.

"No news (Y/N). Trust him. He will soon come back. Its a long route after all… ", Oven spoke calmly and felt pity for the saddened woman before him, who just nodded shortly and left his room.

Again she walked back to her workplace with this terrible feeling inside her stomach. A few more days and he would be gone for another week. Exhausted (Y/N) let herself fall onto a chair. Just 5 minutes to rest. Since she started her work at whole cake, she was baking early at the morning till late at night. Sometimes she fell asleep at the kitchen table, but Oven took her to bring her back to her room.

"(Y/N) - san.. Here a hot chocolate.", Pudding came to her side and placed a hot cup beside her. Smiling she nodded gratefully.

"I know it's hard, but my brother sure is doing fine. He is a sweet general after all.", she spoke happily and tried her best to lighten her mood. Pudding could see how exhausted Katakuri's wife was. The lack of sleep, combined with the amount of orders she had to bake, was getting rough. But she knew that the main cause was her fear to lose Katakuri.

"I don't know Pudding… Something's off. Or is it just my mind playing tricks…", (Y/N) spoke with a bitter smile. Getting up she tied her cooking apron around her small form and dusted some flour off.

"We have much work… Streussen needs help with rebuilding the chateau.", she added emotionless and started to prepare her workplace. Pudding sighed deeply and put on her chef hat.

"Thank god Mama left to Wano. So we have more time left.", she spoke relieved and helped with the dough. (Y/N) nodded happily. That was the only thing of the past few days, which let her mood light up a bit. Big mom couldn't accept the fact that the straw hats destroyed her tea party. Her really important tea party. Getting in contact with Kaido, the ruler of the Wano Lands, she offered him an alliance against the straw hats. This lead her to leave whole cake and gave (Y/N) more freedom to get things finished in her way.

Taking the cream from Pudding's hands she watched the crimson color bitterly.

"You won't give me some rest Katakuri… What are you doing right now?..", she thought with a small smile.

xxx

On the other side, far away, across the sea, Katakuri finally stepped onto the mysterious island,which he desperately was looking for. First he wasn't sure, if this map was really trustworthy, because of the simple directions and missing islands on the way, but now feeling the soft sand under his boots, he felt relieved. It was a calm and quiet place, nothing compared to the rough travel with his ship. Giving his surroundings a close look, he didn't sense any enemies. It was really hot and in a way he felt his body slow down a bit. The island was rather small and thick of vegetation. Mostly bushes with large torns were getting in his way. Annoyed he used his spear to get rid of the plants to get deeper into the wood. The place seemed completely untouched by humans, which let him get quite suspicious. A calm island on the route of the Grand Line sure had to be a favorite spot for survivors. Plus there wasn't a single sound of any birds or other animals. There was something he couldn't really tell and his observation haki only showed him darkness. Stopping before a cave, which literally screamed to be the hot spot of something dangerous, he entered it without any hesitation. If there was something evil lurking around he sure would beat it to a pulp. If it really dares to attack him. Using his observation haki again he only found hinself like before in darkness. Irritated he shook the strange feeling off and went on to finally get the treasure. With every minute he got deeper and deeper into the darkness. Luckily he brought a torch with him. After he used some stones to lighten up his tool, he was met with a dead end. The walls glittered with a strange powder and the next moment, Katakuri felt his whole body ingulfed in it. Touching the wall to have a closer look, he suddenly felt weak. Realization hit him too late, after hearing footsteps behind him. Balling his fists in anger he could feel how his devil fruit powers left him.

"Seastone…. These bastards.", he growled pissed and got into a fighting stance. The next moment he was surrounded by 100th of marines who pointed their guns into his direction.

"It's Katakuri Charlotte of the Big mom pirates!", they whispered shocked, but still kept their position.

"Out of my way!", he spoke coldly and slashed with his spear through the group of marines. Every muscle pained like hell, but even if he lost his powers, he would kill one after another. The cave trembled of his anger and powerful punches and soon the group of marines flew out of the cave.

"Seems that we got a feisty one here.", a higher ranked marine stepped before the cave and pointed his rifle into the darkness.

"Leutnand Zotto you are shaking again."

"I am not!", he hissed back pissed and tried to stay as cool as possible, but after he was met with angered crimson eyes, he knew all too well that things would get rough.

"It's Katakuri Charlotte!!", his subordinates cried in fear while the sweet general stepped out of the cave covered in their blood. Breathing heavily he knew that his body would give up soon, but never would he let himself get arrested by these scum.

"Get the snail transponder. Call Vice Admiral Momonga for support!", he shouted to the others while Katakuri grabbed the end of his weapon, which pointed to his heart.

"What's the matter? Aren't you gonna to shot me already?", his deep voice let Leutnant Zotto got pale while his shaken fingers tried to pull the trigger.

Suddenly Katakuri felt a sudden pain on his neck. Cursing he fell down to the ground and couldn't move.

"Wow I expected many scenarios, but that out of all the Charlottes, the almighty Katakuri would come for this so called treasure is really a surprise. What a splendid catch.", a feminine voice appeared and soon Stussy made her way towards Leutnant Zotto. Shaken he fell on his butt before the growling pirate.

" Don't worry Leutnant. I shot him with a poisoned needle. Combined with the seas tone powder he won't be able to move an inch.", she explained and watched the relieved marine amused.

"I told you that this investion wouldn't be a waste of money. This powder is wonderful. And to get this map under the presents at Pudding's wedding was ridiculous easy and then you just have to wait and be on guard here on this prepared island.", she spoke happily and thought of all the things she would be able to buy now.

" Yeah great… Do you know how exhausting it was to hide here. On top boring like hell. For you it was a piece of cake.. ", the man got up and gave the giant warrior an uneasy look.

"But think of the news. Leutnant Zotto captured the man with the highest bounty. Katakuri Charlotte.", she smirked devilishly and slung an arm around his shoulder. The man felt a shiver ran down his spine and got red as a tomato. It really was a honor and thank god their plan was successful. It took them days to get the seastone powder everywhere.

Kneeling down beside Katakuri, he gave her an angered look. "I swear I will kill you..", he hissed exhausted. Chuckling she brushed some sweat off of his forehead.

"Your fate was already settled after your first step on this island. The powder is everywhere. On the sand, the trees, on every single stone. Hell I think it's also in the air. Even your haki didn't work right and so you slowly fell into our trap without noticing. Don't waste your hatred on me. Soon you will face much more hated people… ", she spoke amused and got back up.

" Cuff his hands and get him onto the ship. Update Vice Admiral Momonga."

Katakuri struggled and tried to move as much as he could, but he knew all too well that there wasn't a way out now. His hands were cuffed with sea stones as well, which pushed his weak state even more.

How could he be so stupid. He was so focused on this treasure. Just to get as quickly as possible back home and now? Desperate he thought about (Y/N). He sure wasn't able to see her ever again and it broke his heart.

"Damn it.."

He could only imagine her shocked and devasted look after reading the news of his upcoming execution.

"I broke my promise…"

On the other side (Y/N) sat down onto her bed. With shaken fingers she held the piece of paper in her hands, the only thing which connected her with him and watched the burning end in horror. She didn't need to wait for any news. This sign was already giving her enough information that her husband was in trouble.

In deadly trouble.

She was right so damn right that something was off. Cursing under her breath she broke down onto the floor while crying desperately. Helpless and heartbroken she thought about what to do. Every idea seemed ridiculous. On top she didn't know exactly where to start.

"How? How I am able to find you?", she whispered exhausted.

Taking his vivre card in her hands, she could see that the burning stopped. Tears rolled down her face of relief. As long as the paper was still intact, he was alive. Frustrated she hugged the precious item tightly and blacked out of exhaustion. She couldn't endure this fear any longer, the hard work, the stress and the unknown before her.

"Will I be able to see you again.." was her last thought before the darkness took over.

#fanfiction #romance #katakuri x reader #karakuricharlotte #one piece #charlotte katakuri

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marymary-diva17 · 8 days

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Where I belong (2)

The journey and belief of finding a place of where someone belongs, is in everyone. Wishing to find a place where they are welcome and wanted, is everyone need in life. That had come true for myla she had finally found the place, where she belonged and had the family she always wanted and wishes for along with a clan. Love by the great mother, her family, and her clan she finally found where she belong.

myla " ....." myla had woken up and left her home she had plans to go explore and anything else her mom, yes she started calling Varang mom a couple months ago. She had tasked the on explore and seeing if the humans, had returned to the inland or report on any weird active she had seen.

????? " where are you going young lady"

myla " good morning sempu"

quaritch " good morning my daughter now tell me where you, are heading off right now"

myla " to do some task that sa'nok had asked me to do"

quaritch "you and here are always planning something and always testing me and the team on our navi"

myla " well yes dad if you are going to rule with mom you will need to know, more of the language"

???? " never think I will see the dad you will be scolded by someone, younger then you and your own child miles"

quaritch " hey keep laughing lyle when you take on a wife and have kids, you will see how much they change you life" myla had laughed as she looked at her father and uncle.

lyle " hey kid heading off again"

myla " yes I'm just going explore and to see if they have come back"

Lyle " what makes you think they will be back to check up on you"

myla " well I do have friends and I hope they are still my friends, but I'm just going to see what happens"

quaritch " fine you can go but remember what we have agreed on young lady"

myla " yes if I see any rda ships call you and tell you where I'm stay hidden if needed, and don't fight if not need just run and hide ..."

lyle " if you need to fight"

myla " show them they picked the young girl to mess with in their lives"

quaritch " oh no the team has gotten to you haven't they"

myla " maybe"

quaritch " go before I change my mind and have your come home"

myla " thanks dad bye dad and uncle lyle" myla soon left the village and headed deeper, into the forest. It had taken her time to understand the clan and way of life, but she soon caught up which had surprised varang and the elders.

myla “ ……..” myla had arrived at the site of where her now destroyed home had been, all those months ago. Coming here did bring some pain to the girl as she had been abandoned by the ones she ones held dear to her heart. All of her personal belongings and anything else that could be used, had been brought to her by everyone.

myla " i has been months the chance of them very coming back here, have started getting very low over time"

myla " You know if I tried making a call I might not get an answer back, and to dad it seems like a waste of time to give them all a call when I could be doing better" myla had been able to get a better relationship with her father then she had months ago, She was happy that she had given her dad another chance along with her uncle and aunts.

myla " ......"Myla was thinking about her past with everyone the good and happy, even due she was starting this new journey in life a part of her wish her friends were here, as they had promised she become navi they will go for flight together and do everything else she couldn't. It seems like that will never come true after all that happened, she had been sent away to benefit everyone else.

myla " maybe a flight will be good" myla soon made a clicking sound and call, as she looked up at the sky and soon enough a ikran had landed. She had gained this ikran a while ago as she was deemed ready to have one, she soon walked towards her ikran and go onto, her companion back as she made the connection.

myla " come on girl lets go for a flight and see more of our home" the ikran soon took off into the air as they flow away from the sight, myla had looked back to see the sight where her old home once landed. One journey had ended for her while the second journey of her life began.

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acourtofthought · 11 months

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Do you think these hardcore E/lriels (like your last anon who tried to pick a fight about "faerie racism" 💀) are longtime fans who just refuse the acknowledge where Sarah is going with the series?

I'm a new reader, finished the last book a few weeks ago and for me Elucien and Gwynriel seems the most likely outcome. I'll share my reading experience if you don't mind, maybe it will be a bit long.

So, I started reading acotar because I saw some pretty fanart of Az on instagram and became interested in his character. :D I saw that there are two possible ships for him, many liked his dynamic with Gwyn better, many liked the aesthetic of him and Elain together and I also saw the comments on how they have "4 books of build up" so I was interested to see for myself which one I will prefer.

So after acotar, I went into reading acomaf with the mind paying extra attention to all Elain/Az moments, and when I finished I literally was like "that's it??". Apart from that dinner scene where they had one polite conversation, it was very clear Az is in love with Mor, and Elain is with Graysen.

So then I went straight to Az's bonus chapter because I could not understand the hype about these ships and I wanted to see. :D Obviously I had no context, so all the bonus chapter did for me at that point is that I became interested in Gwyn's character. :D

Then I read acowar, again paying extra attention to all Elain/Az interactions. There were cute moments in acowar that I think had a possible romantic coding, but again I just found them lacking. Simply because it was clearly established they were still in love with other people.

Acofas was the first where I personally started to see them develop some romantic feelings (Az and Rhys's talk about how he refuses to check on Lucien's whereabouts for the sake of Elain's privacy - idk that whole part suggested to me Rhys kinda knows whats up //the infamous potato scene where Elain runs back to the kitchen to rebraid her hair - I interpreted it as her having a crush and wanting to look more presentable //he starts a conversation with her// she gives him a present and he laughes and blushes etc.) and we can also see Elain and Lucien's relationship kinda hit rock bottom. But, still there were mentions of lingering feelings for Mor and Graysen for both of them.

And then came acosf and Gwyn quickly became my new favorite character of the series. Since I was paying extra attention to Gwyn bc I was interested in her from the start, I picked up on all the cute moments she had with Az, but personally I don't blame anyone if it flew over their heads because they were subtle. None of them is ready for a relationship right now and that's fine. However reading the bonus chapter again, now in context, I was just stuck wondering: where the heck all these sexual thoughts came for Az about Elain?? I really don't see 4 books of build up, as I said for me acofas was the first I started to see them in a romantic light, but even that was more platonic. So that means, in the 9 months between acofas and acosf, Az started to fantasize about Elain instead of Mor. Offpage.

Although E/riel does have cute moments, I just really don't see the endgame potential based on everything we know about Sarah's writing style. She likes the mates to be equals, and Gwyn was made carynthian like Az. She and Az have banter, a lot of similar personality traits, even hobbies (singing). I think it's pretty clear she is set up to be Az's perfect match, not to mention the mate language in the bonus chapter (those theories blow my mind actually! :). Meanwhile all I see for Elain and Az is attraction (even that is questionable for me since it happened offpage somehow), they made zero effort to really get to know each other in the past two years, even though Lucien was not around.

Now Elucien is another question, since we know so little about how Elain feels. But I fully believe they will become a couple in the end, simply because otherwise Lucien's storyline makes zero sense :D. Lucien suffered the loss of his first love, and was given a mate who rejects him, only to find love with a human queen who will again die after 60-70 years while he lives on for centuries alone?? No thank you. Give my boy Lucien a chance for his happy ending. With his Mate.

Sorry this was so long, I just think when you read all 5 books after each other, it is clear what direction Sarah is going. (Which is the mates being endgame since she writes about fated mates) But I also understand that there were 2-3 years of waiting for acofas and acosf, so the picture might be different for people who joined the fandom back then. To be fair, of course Sarah can also decide to go with an E/riel outcome, although in my opinion that will just mess up the whole plot she established so far.

I appreciate all your thoughts and I think a lot of Eluciens and Gwynriels would agree with everything you've said.

What I find the strangest is not that anyone ships E/riel because I absolutely understand the specific scenes that have led them to that conclusion and they did receive validation in the knowledge that Elain and Az wanted to kiss so it's not like there's nothing there.

The part that I find strangest is that they do not also acknowledge it as a very real possibility that despite that, Elucien CAN still end up together and so can Gwynriel.

Feyre and Tamlin shared a very real relationship. They kissed, they had sex, they were engaged, he wanted to protect her and she was WILLING TO DIE FOR HIM. They were leaps and bounds ahead of whatever E/riel has shared after their supposed "multiple books of buildup" yet they still did not end up together. Not to mention Feyre was not in love with anyone when she first fell for Tamlin while the entire E/riel setup has coincided with her not being over Graysen while he has not completely gotten over Mor.

SJM eventually drew attention to the major red flags in the Feylin relationship and she also wanted to be sure that we knew that Feyre and Rhys were always destined to be together because they were mates, the most sacred of relationships that two characters can have.

But before that happened, Feyre hated Rhys at times and considered him her enemy.

Rhys always knew they were mates (proving that just because a character knows about the bond doesn't mean the love is less meaningful).

Yet they both came together, loving one another equally, regardless of where they each started from.

Nesta hated the fae at first and treated Cassian with absolute disdain. She then all but admitted her undying love for him only to turn around in the novella and tell him to leave her the hell alone while sleeping with other males. Then in SF, she began sleeping with him, even started falling in love with him but refused to call him her mate and proclaimed that she didn't know what she wanted because she didn't have a choice in any of it.

Elain was engaged and in love with Graysen when she got the shock of her life and found out Lucien was her mate. She still had not processed any of that and was holding out hope for a reconciliation with Graysen in ACOWAR only to be rejected. Though she hadn't full recovered after the war, we got glimpses that maybe there was hope for Elucien when she invited him back to Velaris.

But just like Nesta, Elain does a 180 in the novella and suddenly, she's pushing Lucien away (for reasons unknown), just as Nesta pushed Cassian away.

Elain suddenly shows interest in another male in the novella, just as Nesta showed interest in many other males in the novella.

In SF, Nesta starts the series with another male in her bed but ends up happily mated to Cassian by the end of it.

So why then, according to E/riels, is there absolutely no chance that Elain can start off her book at odds with Lucien (and either interested in Az or not interested in anyone after what happened on Solstice) and end up with her mate (just as every other SJM main character has done across all series) by the end of it?

It doesn't matter that Elucien's setup looks somewhat different than Feysands or Nessians (no one would expect them to be identical because that would just be weird) but there are enough similarities in their initial hesitation toward their mates and 2 out of 3 have so far ended up with the same outcome.

We don't know enough about the Gwynriel setup to see what sort of tension will exist between them however introducing her to the series as Nesta's best friend (meaning she's always going to be within Az's orbit) as well as having Az be the only one who saved her and the first male we've ever see her act a bit flirty with after her trauma seems a bit intentional, does it not?

It's not that I begrudge anyone for shipping E/riel but the problem is when they call us misogynists, stupid, clueless, "delucien's" (which I'm guessing is "delusional Eluciens?", lacking reading comprehension, etc. for shipping Elucien and Gwynriel.

I have to believe they can't be that blind to the patterns in SJMs writing and the reason they've resorted to name calling is because they're worried that E/riel won't be happening rather than them really thinking Elucien and Gwynriel aren't just as much a possibility.

#elucien #gwynriel

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icarus-does-fall · 1 month

Text

I FINISHED THE REDACTED FIC <33

It's roughly 5 thousand words

I can write more to it if people like it, it's technically open ended- but yk see how it reads I guess ^_^

I might cry if I wrote the redacted boys wrong but I wrote this in less than a week all during the hours of 10pm-2am so 🤷‍♂️

Story under the cut (no shit)

Ambrosine Oliver Emory- Or Beau to his friends had just moved to Dahlia, he worked for a news network that crossed continents and before he was in Dahlia he had been living in Ireland for the past 6 months. The cherry on top? Beau was a fire elemental, and moving to Dahlia he’d finally be able to meet some other empowered folks, not to say that Ireland didnt have any empowered of their own, they just were a bit more long lived than he was used to, but it was a special sort of sight to be there during Halloween.

He’d just stepped off the aeroplane, the California heat as strong as ever even though it was nearly two in the morning. His hair was dishevelled and pulled back into a messy bun as he walked to collect his bags before making his way to his car that had been shipped ahead of him and had been waiting for days. He already had a small apartment set up for him thanks to work, all which so happened to be on the border of the Shaw pack territory- not that Beau knew this though.

David Shaw, the alpha of the Shaw pack, coincidentally the largest pack in the area. He’d been engaged up until a few years ago when his mate died, they’d been out on their own and a few of Quinns goons had gotten them cornered and caught off guard. They were found too late. It’d been only recently that Asher and Milo had convinced David to start trying the dating scene again, so far it hasn't gone well. That's what you get for leaving your love life in the hands of those two.

Now being the alpha of a pack meant a lot of things. It meant paperwork, meetings, politics, but it also meant being alerted when a new and unnamed empowered moved in too close to the territory and it also meant that he had to make sure that the new empowered wasn't someone insane or a danger to his pack.

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤..𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

It’d only been a day after Beau had gotten moved in, he looked more put together than he did when getting off of the aeroplane. His hair was pulled back into a braid, he'd thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. He'd just barely gotten the chance to get used to the time changes and take a shower when there was a knock on his door.

“Bloody hell- I don't even know anyone here yet and my door is already gettin’ banged on, there's no chance I’ve gone and pissed somebody off yet… Right?”

With a sigh and a slight drag of his feet from the couch to the door he opened it only to be faced with the one and only David Shaw. Now Beau wasn't an idiot, while he might not have known who exactly stood in front of him he knew the man had importance and power just from the aura he radiated.

“Oh- um… hello? How- Who- Can I help you with something… Mister…?”

David's response was blunt and to the point but it carried a husky and low sort of tone. “Shaw. David Shaw, pack alpha. You're the new empowered who's moved close to my territory, I'm here to make sure you're not a threat.”

Beaus' eyes widened a fraction after David's introduction and he laughed sheepishly, he leaned against his door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. “Oh… you're the Dahlia alpha that's nice to know… Do I invite you in, how does this work? I’ve never been uh… vetted before, I’m usually just allowed to live in places.”

David's eyebrow quirked, normally people were scared- or at the very least seemed more intimidated of him than this person was showing. He wasn't small and he had authority, he was… intrigued to say the least. “Just a short chat would suffice for now, no one here knows who you are, that's suspicious when you move in so suddenly, and you're too close to pack territory to simply ignore.”

“Okay then… Come on in I guess? Pardon the mess, I haven't gotten to finish unpacking just yet. My stuff was sent here before I was and a shower and watering my plants seemed to be a higher priority than unboxing dishes.”

He couldn’t stop the soft chuckle this newcomer seemed so scattered about that it reminded him of his friends. As he stepped into the apartment and took in the sight the warning was putting it lightly, the boxes and the mess was everywhere but even so it still left homey. “This isn't a way to live, you know. There's nowhere to walk- Or sit.”

Beau gave David a flat look and huffed slightly. “I said I was working on it, there's no need to get so judgy about it, damn.”

Davd’s lips pursed before he sighed and moved one of the smaller boxes off a chair and sat at the breakfast bar. “Apologies. Now you know who I am, just who are who exactly?”

“Shouldn't you, oh I don't know, know this already? You know I'm empowered but not my name, stalker vibes dude-”

He growled and his eyes narrowed in slight irritation. “I'm not a stalker, I just get updates on the empowered who move into pack territory, that doesn't mean I get your life story though.”

“Sure thing wolfy, as for my life story as you put it, my name's Ambrosine Emory but folks just call me Beau, it's easier, and I work for NPR. The news station so I get sent all over, this was just my next assignment. Nothin’ devious I promise.”

David's eyes narrowed further and he growled lowly, “Don't call me wolfy.”

“Yeah whatever, wolfy. So am I allowed to live in my apartment or are you gonna tell me no? Which I really don't think you can do.”

David's scowl deepened and he huffed. “Shut up- Just don't hurt the pack and yes you can stay. There's no rule against you living where you do, just against causing trouble.”

Beau grinned and laughed, leaning against the breakfast bar with a roll of his eyes as he was propped up on his arms. “Wooowww so graceful~ How ever should I say thank you for letting me stay in my own apartment.”

“You have an attitude, has anyone ever told you that you need to be more respectful sometimes?”

“I can be respectful! When I need to be, but just cause you're some alpha doesn't mean you automatically gain my respect, life doesn't work like that wolfy.”

“Whatever.”

Beau grinned further and tried to muffle his giggles. “Sure sure okay, you can whatever your way out of this one but not everything. Just sayin’... Soooo you sayin’ for coffee or, leaving so I can keep unpacking?”

David huffed and stood from the chair with a slight scowl on his features. “Just shut up and keep your nose clean, we’re gonna be keeping an eye on you alright.”

“Bye wolfy see you ‘round!”

“Fuck off. And stop calling me wolfy damnit.”

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤..𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

David made his way back towards the pack house with a scowl on his face and the moment he walked through the doors he was immediately bombarded with questions about the new move in from Milo and Asher.

“Hey Davey! Back so soon? You scare off the new kid on the block already/

“Aww man does that mean I don't get to invite them over for game night? Maann I was looking forward to some fresh players.”

“Davids not in control of game night Milo, invite who you want, I wanna know what the new kids like? Anything interesting?”

“Will both of you shut up, please.” David rolled his eyes at the twos excitement and shook his head as he hung up his leather jacket and then walked towards the kitchen for a drink. “The move ins name is Beau, he's a fire elemental. Works for the news network, NRP- but I’m gonna do a little digging on him, something seemed off.”

“Off? Wanna explain any further on that maybe?”

“He didn't seem bothered by me being there, he treated me like just a regular visitor, like I couldn't absolutely destroy him, that's weird isn't it?”

“Oooor hear me out, you're overthinkin’ it and the dude is just a dude who knows he wasn't doing anything wrong? Not everyone is gonna be out to get ya David.”

“Maybe but it's still a possibility and you all are my responsibilities. And after…” David sighed and his grip on his drink tightened as he scowled. “And after Angel died because I failed I have to make sure that doesn't happen again. I can't lose anyone else important to me. It’s not happening”

The room after that got very quiet, very tense, it always did whenever Angel was brought up in that way. It was always easier to just think that them and David had broken up because they weren't around anymore but the truth was ugly and harsh and no one liked to face it.

“Sorry man, you know we didn't mean anything by it. We all miss ‘em you know.”

“I know, I know… I just need a minute, and keep an eye on the newbie alright? I just don't trust him.”

And with that David took his drink and walked off to his room. It was simply an over decorated place to hold a bed, what life and colour it held died away when Angel did, he moved out of his apartment- He had Asher and Sam help get his things, he could barely make it through the door, and then moved back into the back house. No more hosting solstice for him. He let out a guttural growl and slammed the door behind him as he walked into his room. It cracked. And broke the door jam, that was the fourth one in three months.

He sighed and under his breath as he sunk against the door spoke, “Damnit Angel, you fuckin’ perv why’d you have to die on me. We were getting married next spring, we had a plan damnit.”

David leaned his head against the broken door and sighed again before taking a sip of his drink. He could hear the concerned whispers of Milo and Asher on the other side of his door, this wasn't anything new and while David was coping he wasn't always coping healthily which was the problem. He worked till he dropped most nights and he hadn’t let himself cry since the day Angel died, he had people while somehow having no one all at the same time.

He didn't move from that position until the sun began to set, and the boys left after about 15 minutes of lingering after the door was first broken. While they knew their mates would understand if they stayed they also knew that there was nothing either of them could do to help David right now. They weren’t sure there was anyone who would be able to help pull David out of his new found darkness.

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤..𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

While David was having his mental breakdown, Beau on the other hand was unpacking without a care in the world while jamming out to Metallica- Thank the gods that he didn't have any close by neighbours otherwise he'd be getting noise complaints on his very first day. But hed gotten the majority of his boxes unpacked and his apartment actually looked like a place that could be lived in now and not just a storage unit.

Beaus’ apartment was filled with thrifted goods, fairy lights, tapestries and posters of all sorts, it was warm and cosy, soft to an extent. He even had a few stuffed animals scattered about to act as throw pillows.

By the end of the night he was curled up on his couch, the TV was playing Wall-E and he’d made himself a cuppa tea. “I’d say today was productive, yeah? Got grilled by the alpha of the largest pack in Dahlia and then got my apartment unpacked… mostly… Now to just keep the big bad wolf off my back, that would be fantastic.”

He laughed to himself and took a sip of his tea as Wall-E and Eva danced across his TV screen and then eventually fell asleep just like that, all nestled up sleeping soundly on the couch with Disney classics playing in the background. That was of course until the sun rose the next day, by then he was being awoken by nonstop knocking at his door.

Gods above it wasn't even 9am yet. There wasn't even coffee made.

“Hey newbie! You awake? What’d you do to David last night that broke him when he came home?”

In Beaus' groggy state he simply glared at the door for a moment, grumbling to himself as he stood and shuffled over towards the door. “Fuckin’ cunts- First its the big bad wolfy saying imma blow everybody up, now its wolfys friend at the door to and its too damn early, better have coffee or imma be the problem wolfy fuckin think I am-”

He opened the door and stared at another hulking figure, well everyone was a hulking figure to Beau he wasn't exactly that tall, except this one had scruffy ash blonde hair and piercings galore. “Hey-”

“Nope, nononono, no pleasantries yet, it's too damn early- I just wanted you to stop bangin’ on my door. Here’s how this is gonna work. If you really need to talk, you're gonna wait until I've had my coffee and then we can chat. Hear me?”

Asher nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. Beau was direct and almost a little harsh, he didn't hold back. That was appreciated, he had a feeling that his new move in was gonna be a good addition to their little life. “Yeah yeah I can wait, shoulda brought coffee to streamline the process huh- I’ll remember.”

Beau grumbled and rolled his eyes before walking towards his kitchenette, Asher following closing the door behind him as Beau put on a pot of coffee. As it started to brew he merely leaned against the counter and crossed his arms watching how Asher seemed to take in every part of his apartment.

“Okay I can't do the creepy silence, even if im not totally awake yet- Who are you besides wolfys friend?”

Asher chuckled and raised an eyebrow, “wolfy? And he hasn't gone off on you for callin’ him that? hell i still get shit for callin’ him Davey. Names Asher, friends call me Ash. I'm David's beta in the pack, i've known him his whole life and he came back to the pack house just off last night yaknow? Wanted to see what the two of you could’ve talked bout to see ‘im off like that.”

Beau cracked a smile at that and had to stop himself from laughing. “Wait, wait, wait, you think I broke the big bad wolf? That’s hilarious, I didn't do nothin to the guy, he’s the one who barged in here, insulted my house- apartment- whatever and then threatened me. All I did was ask if he wanted a cuppa coffee.”

“Wait- thats it- You sure?”

“I was there, of course Im fuckin sure”

“Obviously but something happened to cause him to basically shut down, he broke another door last night so.”

“He broke a door? I mean I’ve caught a few things on fire when I've forgotten myself but a door christ I didnt think me moving in was that big of a deal, no one else has ever cared before.”

“Well… We’ve had some problems recently, not just the pack but like off in Dahlia- Rouge vampires and shit, people have died and no one knows you, hell you're moving in from a different country so Davids just being cautious.”

Beau was about to say something when the kettle whistled for his coffee and so he turned his attention from Asher towards the stove top and put together his coffee, pouring in his cream and sugar and basked in the heat of it as he sighed happily before he spoke up again. “So empowered folks have died here? Cause some crazy vamp, and wolfy here thinks I'm somehow involved? I work for a new network- I think the most dangerous thing I’ve done is skydive.”

“David gets protective sometimes, more so after his mate died. He’s been a wreck, he's back to acting just like when his dad died all over again. It's a hard sight to see but he means well, honestly he does.” Asher paused and then grinned and laughed. “Wait wait, you've gone skydiving? Like jumping out of a plane skydiving?”

“Yeah we went for my cousin's birthday some time ago- He’s an air elemental… And well he didn't really wanna go skydiving but his partner and their friends thought it'd be a really cool idea and I was in town that weekend so I got dragged along. Laskos’ a bit of an airhead sometimes but he's really sweet and we don't have the greatest relationship with our families so we tend to stick together like glue.”

“Damn newbie who would've thought you'd be adventurous, you just seem more like a homebody than anything else.”

“I don't know if I should be offended by that or not but uh.. Thanks? Maybe?”

“Sure thing newbie, now since you're living close to pack territory, you planning on meeting any of 'em or just lurking near the edge of the grounds?”

“I could but uh incase you're forgetting there, I am kinda tiny compared to you lot and I'm not a shifter? I play with fire. Not sure how it works down here in Dahlia but most places I've lived the empowereds don't really just mingle unless it's important.”

“Sure for the most part but not really, we all kinda just hang, there's no real separation yaknow? C’mon I’ll introduce ya to your new neighbours newbie.”

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤..𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

David that morning however looked broken, he always did after a night thinking about Angel. It had been years since their death but by the gods above he wasn't moving on, no he was simply just burying every emotion and breaking things to deal with the emotions he felt. He knew, he knew he needed to talk, he barely was getting over his dad's death and that was thanks to Angel and then they go and get killed- He simply lost it. He was a shell of the, not more open man that Angel made him but he was different around them and he’d lost that spark.

He had bags under his eyes and his usual put together self looked like he was slowly falling apart. He was doing all he could to stay together, to keep everyone together. Groggily he made his way towards the kitchen only to be greeted with the sight of Asher and Beau in his kitchening laughing having a grand old time.

He stood in the doorway and stared for a few moments before sighing and walking into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. “Morning Ash… and others.”

“Hey Davey! I dragged the newbie over, figured he could do with some friends and since he's living close to the pack, thought I could introduce him to some of the folks here. Milo and Sam are swinging by later to hang out too. Same mentioned something ‘bout bringing Porter on by too but that's still up in the air.”

Beau was sitting on one of the kitchen counters and rolled his eyes as David and Asher spoke. “Dramatic little wolves- Are we sure I really need that many friends? That sounds like a lot of people there pretty boy-”

Asher simply grinned and ruffled Beaus' hair with a laugh. That simple action caused a surge of feelings through David and he wasn't sure why. He was blaming it on lack of sleep. “Don't worry about it newbie, they're all great people, and I'm sure everyone will get along great with you.”

David scowled and huffed quietly as he poured his coffee into a mug and then leaned against the counter to face Asher. “And you thought it was a good idea to bring a stranger into the pack house? Do you know the consequences if something goes wrong?”

“Oh chill out the newbie isn't some axe murderer, he's actually pretty chill.”

“Hmpf”

Beau grinned widely and laughed a bit as he changed positions a bit to sit cross legged on the counter he was sitting on. “Hey, maybe I am some crazy axe murderer! Don’t take away all my fun just cause wolfy here doesn't trust me.”

“How many damn times do I have to tell you not to call me Wolfy? My name is David for gods sake you war criminal.”

“Oh for fucks sake, its too early in the day for you to be this pissy isnt it? Don't you know how to relax and have fun?”

“I can have fun when my home isn't possibly being threatened.”

Beau huffed and blew out a stream of smoak from his nose. “I can show you being threatened if you want to be threatened. Dont fuck with me wolfy.”

David snarled and placed down his coffee, taking a step clear to Beau as Asher shifted awkwardly from foot to foot before laughing awkwardly and then began to walk out of the kitchen.

“O-okay, I'm just gonna- go… Have fun? I guess? And here I thought I was gonna introduce the newbie to people today and make friends.”

They both ignored Asher as he left, unbeknownst to them, Asher was pouting as he walked out of the pack house and got onto a call with his mate to complain about the whole being ignored situation, if anyone would listen to him Babe would.

“Aww if the big bad wolf all mad cause I called him out on his bullshit?~”

“You haven't done anything except piss me off so why don't you just stop talking.”

Beau smirked and leaned forward on the counter letting his legs dangle over the edge. “Why don't you come make me shut up wolfy?”

David's eyes narrowed and he took another step closer to Beau and the counter. He was now within a foot of him, his hands placed on either side of Beau on the counter and his voice was a gruff whisper. “I am more than capable of making you shut up you war criminal.”

Beau flushed slightly, and his voice turned breathy, it wouldn't have been noticeable to a normal person, but to a shifter, David caught the change in tone though, it nearly made him smirk but he was still a bit too pissed to pay attention to how he was feeling despite what he was doing. “Prove it then wolfy cause I don't think you got it in you. I think I’d burn you.”

With a growl David closed the space between them, pulling Beau in for a kiss. David's lips were rough compared to the softness of Beaus’ yet together it was a slow yet still heated and almost electric feelling. “I said, shut up.”

The kiss broke away after a few moments and while Beau was blushing, David seemed shocked by his own actions and took a step back before simply walking away, he looked to be in a daze. He walked out to the porch where Asher was sitting, still on the phone talking with Babe.

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤..𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

David took the open seat next to Asher, his face was pale but now also flushed red as he buried his face into his hands and groaned. “Ash, I think I fucked up.”

“Oh so now you wanna talk to me? I’ll call you back Babe, now Davey here wants to acknowledge my presence. Soooo what did you do?~”

“I kissed him- I didn't mean to either, but I did, we were arguing and I kissed him, and it wasn't a bad kiss either. What about Angel? I-I know they're gone but damnit Ash it feels wrong to move on from them.”

Asher's smug grin slowly faded into a knowing look and he smiled softly as he clasped David on the shoulder. “Oh man… You know it's okay to feel happy and do things again? I mean, I know Milo and I tried to set you up a few times but you just depression scared those people away, this guy those, he has a fire and I think it set something off in you… And we both know that Angel would’ve wanted you to keep living, not stick around to be some stick in the mud for the rest of your life.”

David sighed and looked over towards Asher through the corner of his eye. “Are we sure about this cause I still love Angel, they were my everything and- Christ Ash I kissed him and just walked out on the guy!”

Asher held back a laugh and grinned as he shook his head. “You idiot, you walked out on the guy you just made out with?”

David flushed slightly and huffed. “We didn't make out, it was one kiss, okay? One.”

“Oh with how messed up you are right now I’d say there’s gonna be more than just one singular kiss in your future Davey.”

David scowled and he growled quietly but he was still blushing. He hated to admit it but Asher was right, Angel would’ve preferred he moved on with his life and not stick to the past but their wedding would've been this month, he was a whirlwind of emotions and he could figure out which ones were which. “I hate you Ash.”

“I know Davey, now go talk to the pretty boy that you left in there and talk to him.”

“And if I don’t? Think I’ll fuck up my future chances or think he’ll walk out here to follow me?”

“Oh please, you're a good looking guy David but I don't think that the newbie is that desperate for a piece of your ass.”

David huffed and lightly shaved Asher, holding in a laugh as he rolled his eyes. “Oh fuck off Ash, he kissed me back, you dont just do that if youre not at least somewhat into the other person… Right?”

“I don't know man, you know how me and my mate got together- I kinda just do what they say… Mostly… But just go back in there and talk to him, tell him about all the things, I promise he’s a chill guy- He’ll understand.”

David sighed and his head dropped again before he stood and began to walk back into the house to where he left Beau sitting onto the counter. Beau now however was finishing off David's coffee and raiding the fridge as David walked back into the kitchen, he grinned cheekily. “You do that to every guy you kiss? Just walk off right after?~”

“No- No typically it leads to something else, I just haven't really kissed anyone in a while- It was… unexpected”

Beau grinned teasingly and laughed softly as he closed the fridge door. “Right… Can’t blame you for that, so uh… Why haven't you kissed anyone in so long? You get mono and go comatose for a year?”

“Well… My mate, they died a few years back- I doubt you know much about whats happened in Dalhia but theres a vampire running about named Quinn- some of his goons caught my mate out on their own and next thing any of us knew they were bleeding out in my arms and I stopped kissing people after that.” He laughed nervously and shrugged, “Milo and Ash tried a couple times to get me to date but I scared all their options away.”

Beau paused at that, his smile faded completely and he placed down the stolen mug of coffee. “O-oh… Oh shit- Im sorry, Im not fucking up your grieving process am I? Being a menace and kissing back- I know how tough that stuff is… I could've pulled away if I knew you were going through some things.”

David chuckled softly and placed his hands on Beaus' shoulders. “No it's fine, be a menace- hell Ash said that is what is probably helping me pull me out of my dark and scary place. I walked out cause, I still love my mate but you invoke some type of feelings in me too, I wasn't sure what to do about that.”

“Oh- Alright, sooo do I get another kiss or is this just gonna be an awkward thing till someone bucks up and does something about your dark place?”

“We take it slow, I might feel things but I'm still ‘dark and scary’… But I can spare one more kiss, for now.”

“You're not scary wolfy~”

David growled playfully as he pressed close against Beau, his lips grazing his ear. “Oh shut up you little criminal.”

And as soon as David stopped talking he leaned in for another kiss which Beau quickly responded to.

.𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤. .𝆤࿙࿙࿚๋࿙࿚ ⊱♡⊰ ࿙࿚๋࿙࿚࿚𝆤.

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#short story #fluff #redacted asmr #redacted audio #david shaw #redacted asher #redacted milo

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frozenjokes · 8 months

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Signing Back In, Apparently - 14

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“So then, why do you think I killed you?” There was something in Scar’s eye, a searching look Mumbo couldn’t quite place. The whole atmosphere suddenly shifted and Mumbo found himself thrown off balance, scrambling for purchase.

“That’s not what I asked, Scar,” Mumbo’s voice was strangled, “You’ve gone and jumbled me now.. I meant.. Why did..?”

“Anyone could see that’s where this was going. You want to know me. You want to know if you ever knew me. You want to know what changed. Well I want to know what you’ve been thinking first. I want to know where you’re at. You have thought about it, right?”

“Of course I have! You hung pictures of our wanted posters in your room along with their meager rewards, so there’s that. But you never even tried to turn in our bodies, not that it wasn’t risky since your head was also on the list,” once Mumbo started, he couldn’t stop, “It’s also- you sank the ship! You steering directly into that storm has never made any sense! What did you want, a cover story? I mean, that’s what you tell people; that The Flying Jellie went down in a storm and you were the only survivor. Who cares? Who could even verify that?”

“Seemed like a good idea in theory. Atmosphere was great though.”

“ Atmosphere-” Mumbo’s free fist went to his face, covering the crease of his brow, “Did you not think at all before making your move?”

“I thought it would be a good excuse to separate Impulse, Pearl, and Grian. I was right on that front. Well, I would have been right if you hadn’t gone and survived the fall. Maybe Grian would have done what I told him instead of coming back to check on you. To be fair, Grian as a witness probably saved me from Pearl. If he hadn’t told her Impulse was dead, she wouldn’t have hesitated. Got pretty lucky with the lightning, too.”

“You’re talking about this like- you’re talking about this wrong.”

Scar laughed, looking far stronger than he had been just a few minutes ago. Mumbo was grateful he couldn’t hear; seeing was disturbing enough.

“How can you talk about us like this? Did we mean nothing to you?”

“What do you think? Really, I’d like to know.”

“I don’t know, Scar! I don’t! But I’m inclined to say you never did care! You’re awfully good at pretending though, I’ll give you that. Why do you keep asking what I think?”

“Well I’m trying to figure out how upset you’re going to be after, that’s why. Right now, given how much you’d like this whole thing to make sense, I’m thinking I’m gonna be in for it.” Scar brought a finger to his lips, tapping thoughtfully, “Well believe it or not Mumbo, I do love you guys. Of course I do, you’re all a bunch of dorks, you’re the best. Now, these past couple months have tested me, I won’t lie to you, but I never stopped caring. Like when a family member gets into a habit that’s really annoying and you’re like, ‘oh my god, stop it!’ but you don’t stop loving them.”

“You’re lying. I don’t believe you.”

Scar rolled his eyes, saying something that probably aligned with the gesture.

“Repeat yourself. What did you say?”

“I said I knew you’d react like that. You want it to make sense. You want me to make sense. This whole event isn’t for me to tell you what happened, it’s for you to get me to confirm what you’ve already decided is true. Scar, famed pirate captain of The Flying Jellie, recruits a crew of misfits the world wouldn’t miss, giving them a chance at new life. But no, that was never the case. See, this Scar , he’s quite the nasty fellow. He tricked them, got them into trouble! Enough trouble in fact, that their bodies might be worth a pretty penny. Using his charm, elegance, and of course, his good looks, he put them under his spell, only to turn around and stab them in the back for a quick buck. Now, having lost it all, that greedy bastard moves on to another crew, haunted by his grave mistake. But that story has holes, doesn’t it?”

Mumbo felt something shift inside of him, and this time, it didn’t just feel like a crack. He looked at his hand, still locked to Scar’s wrist. It was almost.. It wasn’t right. Like trying too hard to see it might hurt his eyes. He closed them, tight. “No one that loved us would do this. Not kill us, not try so hard to hurt us when we haven’t done a single thing to deserve it.” A new thought startled Mumbo into opening his eyes, “Did- did we do something, Scar? What could we have done?”

Scar looked.. sad? It was something deep and emotional that played across his features, like the question had shaken his very core. Scar brought his free hand to Mumbo’s face, Mumbo finding himself too rigid to flinch away. Scar’s calloused thumb felt nice against his cheek, his fingers at home in his hair. Mumbo let Scar’s warmth sink in. “No, of course not,” Scar’s voice was gentle, his eyes soft, “Mumbo, you can’t know me because no one can. You function in absolutes, where I have never existed. I am an animal. I thrive on impulse, I tear and bite at the seams, I play games to break the rules. And you all did too, for a long time, until you loved too much. We started playing it safer because we discovered in each other a life that was worth it , but only if it was lived together. All of us. Safe. Oh Mumbo , I loved you all, but I would rather die than see my crew waste away, frightened by the fires of a risky battle. Frightened of loss. I loved you too much to let it happen.” Scar pulled his hand away, leaving Mumbo in an electric silence. He didn’t speak. He couldn’t, not when everything was frozen in place. How could he run so cold, when Scar was so warm?

Scar took his quiet as an invitation to continue, “I didn’t care what happened to me. I thought I’d die, if I’m being perfectly honest, which might be why I wasn’t too worried about escaping. And I’m sorry you were first, Mumbo. I mean it, I regret the way that happened. You should have been given a chance to fight for the right to live domestically, just like the rest of them. At the time, I jumped on the opportunity to take you out because I was certain you wouldn’t fight back, but I was also certain Grian would , and that ended up being a bust. Man, I try not to hold that against him, but he’s just been so annoying lately- ah, nevermind,” Scar inhaled deeply, like he was savoring the air he still got to breathe, “I remember that day very fondly, to answer your question from before. That’s why I speak about your deaths casually, it’s not because I don’t care. I respect you, all of you, although I know I don’t give off the impression I do,” Scar laughed, “Would you believe that?”

Mumbo stared, unable to keep himself from gaping, “So you.. you just decided we were done? You saw that we were thriving. You thought we wouldn’t want to be pirates or-or- at least that we wouldn’t want to put our lives at risk anymore, and you just decided for us that it all had to end. That it was better to be dead than to be happy?”

“There is no life more valuable than one lost fighting, and my crew deserved nothing less. It was an honor to fight beside you, I only wish you’d had a chance to take a swing at my head. Again, I’m sorry.”

Something clicked, or maybe a better word, something snapped. Mumbo’s form flared, alight with color and fire, “That’s so stupid! How dare you play god with our lives! You could have left! You could have even kicked us all to the curb if you wanted- you could have done anything but murder us! Why should you dictate how we choose to live? We were happy! We were-“ Mumbo yelped as Scar suddenly yanked his arm back from the ouija board. He felt his nails- or whatever had replaced them- slice through Scar’s forearm and hand, sending blood splattering over the planchette. Scar got to his feet, examining his hand with a frown.

“Sorry Mumbo, couldn’t hear that last bit. You could say I didn’t ask,” Scar smiled at his own joke, but he didn’t look at Mumbo when he spoke, “I’ve seen this before, and I’m not keen on reliving the Grian incident, so I’ll keep this quick. I don’t care what you think. As far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t exist, let alone have an opinion, and it’s quite the cruel twist of fate that you do. Death should be permanent. Heaven and hell, none of it is real. The reward is the way you choose to go, and the people you pissed off along the way. I hope now that you’ve got what you need to move along, because the afterlife has not been kind to you. Misery doesn’t suit you, friend.” Scar moved to his shelf, digging around until he found some spare bandages and a bit of tape for his hand. “Now, I don’t think this is the last I’ll see of you, I’m not that optimistic, but for what it’s worth,” Scar paused, only turning to face him now, “I’ll miss you.”

#hermitcraft #pirates smp #boatem #boatemghostsau #grian #gtws #goodtimeswithscar #mumbo jumbo #pearlecentmoon #impulsesv #hermitshipping

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sixstepsaway · 2 years

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okay but mary and izzy parallels? i have a hunch about how they're supposed to -- well, be parallels. but no one's talking about it. thoughts? - ripple

hi ripple!! hope you're doing well!

There has been discussion of Mary/Izzy parallels but I haven't found a lot of meta about it. If you'd like to really be agonized, check out this gifset. Izzy and Ed with Mary's quotes over them. Mm. Pain.

But, as for my own thoughts on this:

Izzy and Mary are deeply paralleled throughout the show, both narratively (similar journeys) and contextually (the way the show is edited).

The first time this is really shown, as far as I can tell, is in 1x04. Stede is dreaming of Mary, remembering his highly failed marriage. He's dreaming of when he showed her the model ship of the Revenge, how passionate he was about it, how much he loved the idea of going away to sea. Mary's response is... not great, as she doesn't like the ocean and doesn't hate their lives, at least not as much as Stede does.

She doesn't get it.

The show immediately swaps to Ed rummaging through the Revenge while Izzy trails around after him trying to get him to focus on their lives. Ed produces the model ship and gushes about how cute it is.

Izzy doesn't get it.

The model ship is purposefully used to draw the two scenes together, to show Stede and Ed in their respective relationships (Stede with his rapidly failing and then abandoned marriage, Ed with his rapidly degenerating and soon to be abandoned work marriage (see: Izzy leaving in 1x06 and Ed leaving in 1x09)).

It's a fascinating parallel that I especially enjoy because Ed and Izzy aren't, in canon right now at least, in a sexual or romantic relationship, nor do we think right now they've ever been (I doubt they've ever been, truly. I don't think that's in their past at all), so the framing of Stede's marriage (lacking love and affection) against Izzy and Ed's platonic* relationship (full of love and affection but it's diminishing faster and faster every day) is gorgeous, because it shows that relationships aren't always the standard Person A + Person B in love and married and then they fell out of it and it was Bad because of that.

(*Yes, David Jenkins says Izzy is in love with Ed, and we all agree with him, but for the sake of the framing, the fact they're not doing anything with those feelings makes the relationship itself platonic)

I find in a lot of media, relationships are shown only as participating in the relationship escalator and no other relationships "count", and queer relationships are pushed into that same relationship escalator because enforcing heteronormativity even on queer relationships is essential (blah blah purity culture blah blah making being queer palatable to corporations blah blah sanitizing the queer movement blah blah)

(I remember when Chicago Fire did a storyline where Severide lost his best friend (who I'm pretty sure he was in love with, but she was a lesbian, and i digress) to an accident that took her life and he was absolutely destroyed by it. He ran off for a weekend in Vegas, where he met a woman who had recently lost her husband suddenly. They got drunk, got married, and he brought her home as his new wife and everyone flipped out because it seemed so stupid and she was surely not good and was playing him for a fool or something.

But in the end, they were married for a few months, never in love, but their brief relationship helped them both heal and they ended up going their separate ways. And I loved that, because not all break-ups or divorces have to be "failures", and not all relationships have to march up the endless escalator.)

It's nice to see a relationship posed in a way that isn't just the escalator and isn't just "oh yeah we dated once" or whatever. This is beside the point though lmao.

The contextual framing continues when Ed returns to the Revenge as well. Stede goes back to Mary, Ed goes back to Izzy. They go back to the familiar, the safe, and they're not greeted the way they'd like.

Mary makes sure Stede knows he's unwelcome now, though it's not because he's changed (although he has: drinking, attacking Doug etc) so much as that he left a gap and she filled it with someone else (someone better, in fact, for her, someone who can give her what she wants and needs and love her) in his absence (as she should).

Izzy meanwhile welcomes Ed back with open arms, but can't cope with his changes. Ed is softer, more vulnerable and open, and maybe if that had been how he was when they first met, that might have been okay. Izzy might have wormed his way into that vulnerability and made a nest there, a safe place for himself and a bit of armor for Ed, but as it stands right now he can't do that, because he doesn't know how and nor does Ed, and so instead he wants Ed to go back to how things were in the past.

But you can never go home again, can you?

That's sort of the base message of 1x10 imo: you can never go home again. Stede can't pursue his life of piracy and expect his family to welcome him home with open arms, and Ed can't soften up and abandon his life of piracy and expect Izzy to just adapt overnight and accept that new version of him.

(And it's unreasonable of either of them to expect those things from the other person. Izzy didn't sign up for a life with soft-n-squishy Ed, and Mary didn't sign up to be the woman waiting at port for her wayward husband to come home whenever he chooses.)

Narratively, Mary and Izzy are mirrored throughout the first season, primarily with Izzy and Mary being fully committed to the lives they've signed up for. Mary may be unhappy, but she tells Stede as much: she doesn't hate their lives, not enough to yeet them into the abyss, but they're the only lives they're going to get and this is their lot, so shouldn't they make the best of it?

Izzy might be struggling too, but he clings to Ed like a lifeline at all times, refusing to budge even when Ed's mental state gets so rickety he puts everyone around him in danger.

The difference is that when Stede leaves Mary, she flourishes. She finds someone better for her, she takes up painting, she loves her children without hesitation, she makes friends and extends her social circle. When Izzy is forced to leave Ed, he stagnates and his entire focus is on getting Ed back and keeping that promise he made, even if Ed doesn't want it kept anymore.

Mary and Izzy are on the same path, but Mary is miles ahead of him. Since I don't think we'll get Steddyhands or Blackhands in canon, I hope Izzy gets to reach the end of the path like Mary did, with someone who loves and deserves him, and a social circle that supports him.

Then, you have the main issue with Ed and Stede: lack of real communication, and massive failure whenever they try.

Stede tried when he told Mary he wanted to run away to sea, but she shot him down (fairly so, in my eyes), and so he never tried again.

Ed tries when he tells Izzy how bored he is, but Izzy is focused on the fact Ed's boredom is going to get them killed (fairly so, again), so Ed doesn't talk to him about how he's feeling about Stede in relation to that boredom.

Both of them talk around what they're actually feeling and considering doing, neither of them really talk about the problem and try to find a solution they just wildly yank the other person around like a dog with a toy, because they've always been there, so won't they continue to always be there?

I read Stede as having had a certain level of reliance on Mary. I believe they could be really good friends now their marriage is over, though I don't think they were before lmao. But the way wives were expected to act and be treated in 1717 implies she was likely doing most of the household work, raising the children etc. We don't ever see any servants I don't think, even in the background of the current day scenes in 1x10, and that makes me think Mary does most of it.

Which explains a lot about why Stede is a fucking mess when he first breaks free of that life and it reframes how he is as honestly how well he adapts and changes to fit in his new life! Assuming we go by Ed's, "these last few weeks" and assume the show to be about 10 weeks because of the season length (which I hate, thanks), he managed to stop being a complete mess in about five weeks and that's damn impressive. Kudos and cookies to Stede Bonnet.

I read Stede as autistic with some social deficits, which is why he's so... blunt, I suppose? It's also why he takes everyone around him at face value (if they say something is a way, he believes them, no matter whether they might be lying). I can imagine that during his marriage, Mary - who I do not read as autistic - was the one gingerly keeping him from being scammed or robbed or overtly lied to by people around him, and now he doesn't have her so he just has to learn for himself! And he does really well actually at that.

See also: him believing Pete about his prior time serving under Blackbeard. I too believe Pete, but let's not act like his stories don't sound like utter fabrications. Stede just... believing him, that Blackbeard has a head made of smoke and his eyes glow and that Pete served under him and was dubbed Black Pete for serving so well.

(Also, I know there's a running fandom joke about Pete calling himself Black Pete considering he's pasty white, but you've all realized it's a direct reference to Blackbeard right? He's saying Ed gave him the moniker of Black to echo his own!)

Meanwhile, as we've said before, Izzy has been shackled with being Ed's SSRIs, adderall and bullet journal for god knows how long, frankly, and without him Ed... does struggle. We don't see a lot of it because he has the Revenge crew filling the blanks and his fixation on Stede is also keeping him from sinking back into depression, but it's definitely there. He's supposedly acting as a co-captain in 1x07, but they run out of oranges. Calico Jack shows up and he just attaches to him like a barnacle and doesn't track that maybe he's being insensitive. It takes Lucius giving him a stern talking to twice for him to figure his shit out, and that's without any real dire consequences going on around him.

He also jumps right to running away to China which is objectively not a great plan for him or Stede, and Izzy absolutely would have said, "The fuck? You don't even speak Mandarin, Edward." to it.

He does okay without Izzy, likely because he's had more practice, but he definitely misses something that he's been reliant on Izzy for: a steadying hand and someone who spots the details he misses (like not knowing Mandarin and it being a leap year).

But whereas Mary gets loose of those shackles, Izzy desperately tries to get back into them because he doesn't know how to function without Edward and, frankly, Edward doesn't know how to function without Izzy either, not now his dopamine fix has run away.

When Mary tries to kill Stede when he comes back and ruins her life, Stede and Mary instead come up with a plan together to fix things, to set both of them free. They communicate, which allows them to work together, in a rather perfect harmony actually, and understand each other's needs and learn to care for one another outside of the shackles.

When Izzy tries to 'kill' this new version of Edward that's ruining his life (literally trying to un-pirate them all), Ed strikes out in return. Instead of working together, they break apart and fracture, two forces with differing needs that can't find a middle ground because the communication has broken down.

Like I say: Izzy and Mary are on the same road, but Mary is far further down than Izzy is.

The parallels truly kill me but they also give me some hope for the future when it comes to Izzy.

Currently Mary is 'best case scenario' and Izzy is 'oh my god what the fuck WORST CASE WORST CASE??? PUT THE SCISSORS DOWN EDWARD' but hey, maybe we can get there!

#ripple anon #ask #honestly i feel like i'm missing a lot of parallels #i need to rewatch again #izzy hands #mary allamby bonnet #stede bonnet #izzy hands meta #stede bonnet meta #mary allamby bonnet meta #edward teach #edward teach meta #ofmd #ofmd meta #our flag means death

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