#(...I really need to fix the formatting on those old posts too.)

[m0r1bund]

"Lore, where have you been?"

In hell, probably. I remade M0R1BUND.com.

“For the love of god, why?”

Short answer: to save time and money.

Long answer: Sharing art was getting burdensome. Neocities hosts static websites built with html, css, and javascript—which is awesome for its mission, to encourage people to create future-proof websites. But this also means that every page is created and maintained by hand. I handle every little link and file and bit of code, and if I want to do site-wide changes, I have to push those by hand, too. This takes time, and so does writing image descriptions and cross-posting art to other websites. It became normal for sharing art to eat up an entire day.

I later created Basedt.net in WordPress, so that I didn’t have to worry about managing link hierarchies, which was a big timewaster on my old webcomic. I liked working in WordPress well enough, and I knew I would benefit from being able to use PHP to manage the sheer amount of stuff that’s on M0R1BUND.com. I was also paying double for webhosting through two different services, when I really didn’t need to…. So… I knew it was inevitable that I would consolidate the two at some point. It was time.

I do really love Neocities and I’m sorry to let it go. I encourage anyone who wants to learn web design and create their own website to start there.

Anyway, that’s how I ended up in hell for 6 months.

“What’s changed?”

Most things. I’m most excited about the quality-of-life stuff, like being able to sort art by character/location/world, or being able to move between individual pieces instead of having to return to the gallery landing page. There are lots of things I want to add, but my soft deadline for this was the new year, so I focused on recreating M0R1BUND.com as it existed before… well… this.

I’ve also edited most of my writing. This site is old, and the art is even older, it felt good to give it some TLC.

There are still a few things missing from the new site:

The Woods and RANSOM. They aren’t really representative of Basedt or Mercasor anymore, and I was not a competent writer in 2018. If I re-share them, it will be in the distant future.  

Some of my Those Who Went Missing stuff. I haven’t been playing TWWM publicly, so this is lower priority right now. It will happen when it happens.  

Some twines. They haven’t adjusted to the new filepath format yet. Killswitch is here, though :)

If you need them urgently for some reason, I can share them with you? but that seems doubtful haha.

Links to pages on the old M0R1BUND.com are broken and will remain broken until I set up redirections to the new M0R1BUND.com. I have no idea how long that will take! … Hopefully not long, given the new semester is here.

And of course... If you see anything weird, tell me! I test as much as I can, but I only have access to so many devices. Break this website within an inch of its miserable life so that I can fix it.

“How’s Basedt going?”

It’s going. Recreating my website took precedence for the above reasons, but I’ve been working concurrently on it in my spare time. We move like a glacier into the new year. ETA: ???

#look upon my works ye mighty and despair

[payidaresque]

The New Editor tips and tricks (sort of)

So, i got a lot of interesting activity with my recent poll regarding what editor content makers actually use, and i noticed that some people (well, most actually) really struggle while using it. And as i'm using it for some time now, i found some ways or actually making it work better/be less annoying. Please note that this is in no way an attempt to try to force anyne to start using it, this post is desinged to be a help post for those who may not know how some of its functions work, and maybe an informative post for others, and maybe make content maker's life a little bit easier, and that's it!!!

If you're intrested, please read below. And please pass it along so more people can see it! Thank you. Warning: image/gif heavy!!!

Add more images after you already added some This is useful if you want to add a gif to one side only. If your making a comparison gifset, for example. After you added your gifs, click on the space between them until you see a blue line, and then hit enter. This is useful because you don't need to drag your gif all around, and if it's added to one side, it sticks to one side only. The same applies to the other side

Reorder gifs The most handy way would be by dragging them by those 4 squares thingy. The blue lines may be distracting, but think of it as the guides as to where your content will be placed

Double check What I mean by that is this: when i add my gifs, they usually added into text editor itself, so in order to be sure, I take a gif, and drag it one level above, like this:

Obviously, the new editor needs a hell lot of work before getting implemented permanently, but i hope this will be at least of some help for those who strugling. There's a lot of issues with text formatting as well, maybe it's the matter of a habbit that i don't find it very hard as of uploading/rearranging gifs anymore, my main issue with it, personally, is that it makes my content look ugly for others (surprisingly, they look as intended to me, i checked it like several times before). I do understand that staff needs to update the code that was written over a decade ago, and it's important to think of it from the technical side of things too, because it may be that the old code is outdated, so they simply can't use it anymore, even if they wanted to, cause you know, progress is never sleeps, in every aspect of life, especially such a complicated thing as programming and coding

What i'm trying to say is, that as a content maker myself (i've been making content, mainly gifs, for over 7 years on here), i understand the frustration. Trust me, it pisses me off too. What staff can do tho, is fix the existing bugs

Don't just complain. Explain. Angry tags in reblogs won't help the case. Send them feedback/tickets telling what issues you personally have with the new editor, preferably with screenshots/gifs to show off the problem, so they know it's not just words but actually see the problem. And try to be as detailed as possible. The new editor kinda sucks, but it's nothing that can't be fixed And maybe they'll listen to us

#tumblah #userbecca #usermorgan #userburn #userkayjay #userelenagilbert #miatendos #usernat #userlarri #userauds #userauden #usermattz #andremichaux #tuserheidi

[lacefuneral]

hi!!! i love for custom blog theme,, do you have a link to the code or creator 0:?

ya!

so my theme is actually a heavily modified version of redux edit #1 by lopezhummel (current url: holyaura). i always remind users that most tumblr themes are old and that you'll need to replace all instances of "http://" in the code with "https://" so tumblr will save the theme. i had to do it with this one

these are the modifications i made to the theme. i edited this theme over the course of at least a year or so and don't quite recall how i did all of these things. but to the best of my ability:

i moved the "left side img" to the right side of the screen. i also made this element "responsive" so the image will never get cropped when you resize your screen. this was a bitch and a half to figure out and i truthfully do not remember how i did it

i deleted the text in the drop-down navigation so it appears as a little line that is otherwise not noticeable. this type of theme, the "redux edit," used to be very popular because having a drop-down menu let you cram a bunch of links that lead to sub-pages on your blog. i've done away with my sub-pages, but i still like the format of the "redux style" tumblr theme, for its minimal UI and for its customization options.

i separated my mobile description from my web description for formatting reasons. basically, most elements in tumblr themes are connected to specific text fields and toggles. i simply went to the section that was connected to my blog description and deleted it. the web description has to be manually typed inside of the CSS/HTML editor when i want to change it. whereas my mobile description is whatever i type in the "description" box of the normal tumblr theme editors.

i added code someone else made ("NoPo" by drannex42 on GitHub) which allows you to hide posts with certain tags on them. i did this to hide my pinned post, as it looks bad on desktop.

i replaced the tiny pagination arrows at the bottom with images that literally say "next" and "back" because the arrows were far too small/illegible. i know they aren't centered in the container i'm not sure how to fix that lol

i added a cursor

i installed a working music box ("music player #3" by glenthemes), and then added music by uploading MP3 files to discord and then using the links of those files as the audio sources. iirc i also had to make this element responsive and i aligned it so it would sit on the left side of my screen. i made the "album art" for each one the same strawberry pixel art

the moth is just a PNG i added and then moved around so it was behind my sidebar using the options that came pre-packaged with the theme

if you want something like the strawberry shortcake decoration at the top (called "banner" in the theme) your best bet is to google "pixel divider"

theme didn't support favicon so i added that in so i could have a little heart

ALSO:

this theme is. really weird about backgrounds. any background that i have ever set for it, i've had to do weird shit in photoshop. like making the background HUGE, mirroring it, etc. - because it would crop the image weird, or there would be a gap where there was no image. idk man, it's haunted. i'm sure there's a way to fix this but i am NOT tech savvy enough. anyway, patterns are probably your best friend. and if you DO want something that isn't a pattern, it's going to take a lot of trial and error. but i love this theme so i deal with it 😭

the sidebar image and the floating image do not scale. if your image is 1000 pixels, it will display at 1000 pixels. you'll either have to edit the code so that the theme scales the image for you, or resize any images before you add them

my white whale of theme editing (aside from the Weird Background thing) is that i cannot get infinite scrolling to work. i have tried every code out there. all of them break my theme. it makes me sad because like. i have music there for a reason. the idea is that people would listen to it while they scroll. unfortunately, the way it's set up now, the music will stop every time someone clicks "next" or "back" 💀

anyway sorry for rambling but i hope you enjoy the the theme and customizing it in the way that you want to!

#replies #spinchs-field #spinchs field #tumblr theme

[meikostan]

just solved a mystery that wasn't really mystery and didn't really need solving 👍 anyway i was going insane re:oshi no ko timeline because i forgot how old the twins are and what year this takes place in and needed to put all of my info in one place. in this essay i over-analyze the models of iphone as they differ from each other in the manga vs the anime. warning: very disorganized as i was sourcing all my evidence all this WHILE writing the post.

clickbait tldr: OSHI NO KO ANIME AND MANGA ARE IN SEPARATE TIMELINES⁉️ (NOT A PRANK‼️)

regular tldr: they're like 15/16 and the manga takes place in 2020 (but like including their childhood as well as their teenage years).

edit: the image formatting is broken :( idk how to fix it, sorry. they're still there, they're just huge and not next to each other for some reason

compare and contrast ruby in the manga vs the anime. now i will admit i am not an expert of identifying iphones but in the anime she appears to be holding an iphone 4; we can tell because there's only one camera lens, the power button is on the top, as is the headphone jack. it's also a bit rounded on the edges, which seem to have a little bit more meat on them compared to the manga. speaking of, compare with the manga: here, the phone has 3 camera lenses. the angle prevents us from getting a good view of the top of the phone, but there doesn't seem to be either a headphone jack OR a power button. it's a bit harder for me to tell but i think this is supposed to be an iphone 12 pro max.

compare. left: iphone 4, right: iphone 12 pro max

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL because aqua has an iphone too so of course we're looking at that

left: aqua seems to be using the same iphone 4 that ruby was using previously

right: looks more like an iphone x judging by the camera? compare:

ok so moving on. not from phones in general we'll still be talking about those but we also need to consider some other hints shown by the use of technology here. the anime seems to be pushing harder for us to view vol 1 as being set some time around 2010; if you saw my other post re:my thoughts on episode 1 you'll know that i talked about this already, but i'll restate some stuff here for completion's sake (+ add pictures)

compilation of flip phones being used throughout ai's death montage; while i did find some articles published in 2009 on flip phones dipping in popularity because of smart phones, they were definitely still being commonly used around that time. i know this because i was alive in 2009

also a wii, which was released in late 2006. it would have been incredibly common in many households, especially for non-gamers, which it was marketed towards. obviously a lone wii does not automatically mean oshi no ko vol 1 is set in the early 2010s/late 00's, but this in combination with the older models of phones does seem to point in that direction. also i have no proof of this but i feel like if it was set in modern day (2020s) that wii would be a nintendo switch instead.

bonus kana with an iphone 4 btw

you'll notice that these are all anime screenshots, and this is because pretty much none of this is in the manga. apart from the funeral we don't see any crowd shots, or anything of the public; it's all very focused in on aqua and ruby. what we DO see in terms of technology are ruby's iphone 12 pro max and aqua's iphone x, meaning in the manga either vol 1 takes place around late 2020/early 2021, the cast of oshi no ko is stuck in an eternal present, or this was an art oversight brought upon by early installment weirdness.

also, to cover the use of twitter: twitter was launched in late 2006. the website saw a pretty huge boost in popularity in 2008, and the mobile app launched in 2010. it would be very possible for the twins to go twitter viral and become the oshi no ko version of charlie bit my finger.

OK on to guessing how old they are in the present, which for now only exists in the manga!

DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU ARE AN ANIME ONLY AND INTEND TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, OR ARE OTHERWISE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE MANGA.

so, we know that ai had the twins when she was 16, and died a week before she turned 20. for simplicity's sake we'll just say she died when she was 20. that means the twins would be about 4 years old at this point.

what we're interested in is figuring out their age at present day. chapter 11 opens up with ruby filling out her idol applications; she list her age as being 14.

however, we know that she's been filling out multiple applications for a good while now, and aqua has continually been sabotaging her. this might not even be an application from present day. speaking of aqua, he mentions right after this panel high school entrance exams:

in japan, students enter high school (upper secondary school) around the time they're 15-16 years old. of course, aqua says they're "coming up", not that they're soon or currently happening. they could be on the lower end of 15 around here, or the higher end of 14.

additionally, in the next chapter, aqua is seen wearing what looks to be a gakuran (basically, middle school boy's uniform; middle school takes place ages 12/13 to 14/15).

from this we can guess that around 10 to 11 years have passed since ai died; they're about 14 to 15 here.

if we pretend that their childhood in the manga also took place in 2010, that means present day oshi no ko takes place around 2020.

mystery solved! but i like digging deeper this is fun. so let's continue.

skipping to the next volume!

lovenow time! here they outright state aqua's grade; high school 1st year, aka 10th grader, aka like 15/16.

can't grab screenshots of where 15 years of lies was established because mangaplus hates me and has locked the relevant chapters behind an app >:(

have to stop it here bc i don't remember as much as i thought i did and i also don't have access to chapters 95 thru 114 (thanks mangaplus👍) so uh yeah thank you for sticking with my rambles. again this was just me logicking through stuff because i forgot how old they are & is for personal reference. next time i do a reread i'll add more ^_^

#oshi no ko #animanga

[imagineanythings]

Whiskey Warmth Chapter 2

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader

Words: 9.5k

Chapter 2/2

Read Chapter 1

Before long, he could barely hear the gentle, even wisps of her breathing over the truck’s engine and there was that burning feeling again, whiskey in his throat. It went down smooth and pooled in a ball of warmth in his stomach. He didn’t hate it. Daryl has always been quiet, stoic, and a realist. On the road he meets someone with a completely different outlook on life. She's a rare ray of sunshine a world that loves to block out all light, but can she keep that light alive?

Follows the plot of the show from post CDC up until Alexandria

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, referenced attempted sexual assault

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The family reunion unfortunately didn’t last long. Despite their best efforts to arm themselves and prepare, those Terminus pricks were organized. Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Bob had been separated from the rest of the group when all hell had broken loose. They were making a mad dash back to where everyone else was hopefully fighting their way through when one of the Terminus assholes caught Daryl’s eye. He was a lanky guy wearing a distinct silver pendant on a necklace around his neck. Fire burned behind Daryl’s eyes and suddenly he could see nothing else. The group was moving quickly, and it was important that they stay in formation, but Daryl’s feet had already begun long before his brain could catch up. The rest of the world was drowned out seamlessly; cries to stay with the group barely even registered while Daryl was ducking behind a car, crouching and moving around it to position himself behind the Terminus idiot. Said idiot was firing haphazardly, everything moving a target, his eyes fixed ahead of him. Daryl wasted no time in grabbing him from behind and driving his stolen knife deep into the idiot’s back. He would have preferred a stab to the head or a slice to the neck, it would have been neater and ended things much faster, but if he could manage it, he wanted to keep blood off of that pendant. He removed the necklace as quickly as his shaking fingers would allow without breaking it and rushed to join back up with the group.

By some miracle everyone made it over the fence. And suddenly Carol was there, and Tyreese and Judith too, and it all felt too good to be true. Daryl felt like he was in some crazy dream. He half expected to jolt awake in some old warehouse with the claimers again. He likely wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but he even gave himself a hard pinch on the arm just to make sure it all was real. For once in his life, Daryl Dixon had actually had some good luck. His group had nowhere to go, and no real sense of direction, but their little family was back together again, and that was all Daryl needed to feel at home. He was never really a “four walls and a roof” kind of guy anyway.

When they finally set up camp for the night, Daryl volunteered to take first watch. He placed himself on a large stump where he watched everyone begin to settle in for the night and Y/N came to sit beside him. For a moment he could almost imagine he was back in the guard tower, as she settled down beside him and her side pressed up against his, except for that haunted, empty look on her face.

“Missed coming to see you on watch.” She said after a small sigh. She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her face for a moment. “Missed knowing you were there on watch at all,” she said, much quieter, face still in her hands. Daryl grunted, hoping it would convey everything he couldn’t find the words to say. I’m sorry I wasn’t there and I missed ya too and I’m here to watch yer back now and maybe even I care about ya so damn much, I damn near lost it when I thought I lost you. He wasn’t sure if any of it came through.

“Grabbed somethin’ for ya on the way out.” His voice broke the few moments of stillness and silence. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and looked down at it in his hands for a moment. There was a small speck of dried blood on the pendant that he carefully wiped off before handing her the chain. He heard her breath catch in her throat and looked over to find tears in her eyes. The necklace was enclosed in her hands as she pressed it to her lips. She took a shaky breath and looked over at Daryl, eyes watery and red-rimmed. She held her hands out towards him, “Could you?” She asked quietly. His eyes moved from her face down to her hands, then back to her face. He nodded, and took the necklace back as she turned her back to him.

He reached up and gently pushed her hair to one side, he felt her inhale sharply as his fingers brushed the back of her neck. “Sorry” she spoke quietly as she quickly pulled her hair out of the way. Daryl quickly clasped the necklace, trying not to notice the goosebumps running over her soft skin, or the way she felt cool to the touch.

She reached up and held the pendant against her chest in a clenched fist, her eyes closed as she seemed to savor the feeling of the chain around her neck once again. Daryl shifted a bit uncomfortably. She opened her eyes and Daryl found them once again on the verge of overflowing. “Thank you Daryl. This-” her mouth hung open but no sound came out for a long moment. He gave her time. As she met his eyes she seemed to find her words again. “This means everything” She leaned in and planted a gentle, lingering kiss on his cheek and then wrapped her arms around him for a quick moment. When she pulled back her eyes were red and puffy and full of an aching, empty sadness that Daryl knew all too well, but the corners of her mouth were upturned ever so slightly. Daryl would have given anything, done anything to see that full smile again.

With a gentle touch on the arm and about a million more whispered “thank you”s, she returned to her spot on the ground and the rest of the group settled down quickly, exhausted by their long day. Daryl surveyed his sleeping family and felt, for even just the briefest of moments, like maybe everything was going to be ok again.

Their group was tough. They always had been, if they hadn’t they never would have made it this far. That’s why they were all so shocked when they found that priest in the woods, talking about “the lord being all the protection he needed” or something like that. Personally, to Daryl that sounded like a one way ticket to meeting the big guy himself, if he’s even still up there. Daryl wasn’t so sure on any of that to begin with anyway. Even though they decided to stay in the church for the night, something didn’t sit right with Daryl. His hands twitched as he felt that familiar gut instinct to make himself scarce. He was outside dealing with Carol’s anxieties too when he saw that car with the same goddamn cross from when he lost Beth.

The decision took Daryl exactly five seconds. He looked at Carol. She didn’t trust the creepy father anyway and her face was set. She was in. He took a deep breath and looked at his own hands. He lost Beth, failed her. He didn’t protect her when he promised he would. He now had a chance to make good on that promise. Finally, he looked back towards the church. Maggie deserved to see her sister again, after all she’d lost. And Y/N. Beth was the only person who had ever rivaled her in optimism. She had taken Maggie and Beth in like her sisters. If there was any possibility, however slim, that bringing Beth back could light up her face the way it used to, then he would run after that car until the soles of his shoes wore out and then keep on going barefoot. All of those thoughts ran through Daryl’s head in the short span of a few glances, and in an instant, they were following at a safe distance, headlights out.

And they had actually found Beth. He had gotten Carol into a mess herself, but he had found her. And he was within mere moments of getting her back when the gunshot rang out. He could practically feel her arms wrapping around him, see that sweet smile and that inquisitive look when it all came crashing down. She was ripped away from him, he felt the part of her that she had managed to root in Daryl during their time together be torn violently from his chest. He had tried to prepare himself for the worst but nothing could have prepared him for the sheer agony that was no one’s fault but his own. Beth had fused herself to him, embedded her spirit in his veins, in the very blood that fueled his heart, into his muscles and organs, his very cells. When she hit the ground it was all ripped out in reluctant, clinging sinews.

Y/N had come with them, intent on helping bring back her friend. Daryl had to keep his eyes glued to Beth, her pretty golden hair matted with blood, a chunk of her skull and brain gone, her lifeless corpse now on the ground after a final moment of strength and defiance. Daryl felt a part of himself shatter as he watched. And yet, he knew he could only watch Beth, because if he turned around and saw the parts of Y/N that he had just destroyed he would never be whole again. No matter how much was ripped violently from him as he watched Beth, he knew it would be a paper cut compared to seeing the devastation he caused Y/N.

So instead he stepped forward and raised the barrel of his gun to that woman’s head and put a bullet between her goddamn eyes. It didn’t make him feel any better but at least it ended it. He might have kept shooting if he hadn’t felt a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t need to speak, and he didn’t need to even look at her, but at Y/N’s distinctive touch Daryl lowered his head and his weapon. He steeled himself and tried to maintain his composure, but with the gun Y/N also pulled away his rage and anger that had been keeping him together. As he looked down at what used to be Beth, the warmth of Y/N’s touch receded and the cold, unbridled tears began to fall.

He allowed himself a few moments before he picked Beth up in his arms, wondering why she seemed like she was smaller now than he remembered her being at the cemetery. He whispered in her ear, hoping that it would reach her somehow “I’m so sorry girl. I screwed up. I’m sorry.” He planted a soft kiss on her hair, and if he focused on just that one section right in front of his eyes, that small bit of unmarred, unbloodied blonde, he could almost imagine everything was normal, that he was just carrying her again because of her messed up ankle and not because he let some pig put a goddamn hole through her head.

And finally, after all that, his cheeks streaked and stained with tears and blood, and sweet, gentle Beth now lifeless in his arms, he had to turn around. He knew what was waiting behind him but he never could have prepared himself for what he was going to see. Y/N stood there, a violent splatter of her friend’s blood streaked across her shirt and face. She still held Daryl’s gun in her left hand, her right was balled into a fist at her side. Her eyes were wildly jumping around, focusing on Daryl, on Beth in Daryl’s arms, on the dead woman on the ground. He expected a look of horror, he had tried to prepare himself to see the woman he cared about most in the world fall apart in front of him, for that last shred of optimism and light to get ripped from his chest like everything else as he killed the last light he had. But besides the wide, slightly crazed look in her eyes, she looked almost calm. Her brow was furrowed, and her face seemed completely set. He could see the tension in her jaw from where he stood and he knew she was anything but calm, yet her eyes were clear, and she didn’t let her face betray her and indicate her emotions. Her eyes came to a rest on Daryl’s and she held his gaze for a brief moment before turning abruptly and stalking out of the building.

Daryl carried Beth the rest of the way outside and to the group. He tried so hard to hold back his tears, which he had worked to slowly gain control of as he walked through the building, because he knew the hell Maggie had to be going through. He didn’t want to make it worse with the sight of him blubbering like some baby and feeling sorry for himself. When he finally set her down to let the rest of the group take care of her he slid off to the other side of some cars and let out a violent sob. His whole body shook as he cursed whatever semblance of a god could possibly still be out there somewhere. Beth was one of the best of them. She didn’t deserve this. It still didn’t feel real, even as Daryl gingerly began to wipe her blood off of his hands. Even after feeling the weight of her completely limp body in his arms, Daryl still couldn’t comprehend that she was gone. The Georgian heat suddenly felt all consuming and Daryl felt like he was suffocating. As he placed his head in his hands he heard a quiet “hey” from above him. Y/N stood over him, no discernable emotion apparent in her features. Her face looked set, as if she was determined to maintain a neutral facade no matter what. That cold neutrality was becoming an increasingly and unsettlingly familiar look on her.

“Head up Dixon, we can’t afford to have you down like this.” It was all logic, no comfort. She held a hand out to him, which he took reluctantly. Her grip was tight and before he could prepare himself or start to push himself up he was yanked forcibly off the ground. In a split second he went from being face to face with the tips of her boots to staring into her eyes, their hands still tightly grasped between their chests. She moved to pull away but he held tight, searching her face for something, anything. He was all too aware of his wet cheeks, the puffiness around his eyes obscuring his vision, and yet he didn’t care. He was too busy looking for any of it on her.

Her eyes darted to his cheeks, and he could see her brow furrow and her lip quiver for just a moment, and he finally let go of her hand. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened immediately, and for a moment Daryl wondered if this is what it had felt like to hug him for so long. “Dixon, I’m fine. This is just part of-” she began to speak and it seemed like she was trying to squirm away.

“Shut up woman. Ain’t for you,” He said into the crook of her neck, where he had buried his face. He felt her relax a bit and wrap her arms around him the way she used to. For a single moment, as she reached up and rubbed circles on his back, Daryl could almost imagine that things had never changed, and that when he pulled away he would see a blinding light looking back at him and he would feel a warmth in his chest that almost felt like hope.

Instead a ghost met his eyes as they separated. Her eyes looked more sunken in than he remembered, and if he looked closely he was sure he could see the shine of tears forming. She reached up, patted him on the shoulder, gave him a quiet “take care now Dixon,” and a brief kiss on the cheek before she turned to head back to the group.

And just like that they were on the run again. Always moving, never settling, never enough resources for everyone. Daryl had taken to passing Y/N his food after taking a bite or two, and pretending that he didn’t notice when she gave all of it to Carl or anyone else who looked like they could use an extra portion. Although if he was being honest, that was pretty much everyone these days. At least this time they were heading somewhere, they had a goal in mind, they weren’t just chasing their tails trying not to get caught in the middle of a herd.

The group was moving slowly, a small group of walkers had begun to form behind them. They weren’t fast enough to be much of a threat, but no one was strong enough to handle them at the present moment. Y/N began throwing anxious glances over her shoulder every minute or so. Daryl could see the gears working in her brain, she was taking stock of the number of walkers, their group’s numbers and weapons, the terrain, everything that could impact the fight. He tried to remember if she had been this calculated and strategic, if he had ever known this version of her before. He pushed his pace a bit and fell into stride beside her. He held out his water bottle. “Water?” he asked. She stared at the bottle for a moment before slowly accepting. She took a small sip and handed it back with yet another glance over her shoulder. “Thanks” She said, but she was scowling. Daryl looked back and saw that the number of walkers had increased yet again.

“Nothin’ we can do about ‘em now” he said. She just shrugged.

“We can’t let our guard down. We’ve gotta take care of them before nightfall and I’m not risking this getting out of control with no backup plan if we don’t find a way to do that.”

“Gonna break yer neck whippin’ yer head back and forth like that” He said with a small shake of his head, hoping maybe that would draw even a small laugh out of her, but instead he was met with cold, determined silence. He followed her lead and set his eyes forward, and they walked along like that for a while, neither speaking, Y/N still checking behind her every minute.

Finally they reached a small bridge and Rick declared that they could make a stand here. Daryl looked over and saw a satisfied smirk on Y/N’s face. She didn’t show teeth and any joy she seemed to be feeling didn’t reach her eyes. Daryl felt a chill run through him as she reached down and pulled a knife from her belt. She had picked it up sometime after the prison fell and never went anywhere without it now. It was a long, cruel, menacing, military blade that glinted in the sun as she reflexively twirled it around her fingers once before setting her grip. She joked once that she had named it Vlad, after Vlad the impaler, and the self-satisfied smirk that painted her lips when Daryl let out a surprised chuckle was one of the closest things to a genuine smile he’d seen on her in a long time.

“Shouldn’t need that unless things go south” Rick said, much to Daryl’s relief. “We stay in formation, draw them to the side of the bridge, get ‘em off balance, and let ‘em fall.” Rick spoke with easy confidence and Y/N sheathed her knife with a disappointed, yet still respectful nod of understanding.

Everything was going according to plan when Sasha stepped forward and broke formation. They had only gotten through less than half of the herd when everyone had to pull out their weapons and fight. Daryl watched from further back with his bow, dropping the walkers he could, but the fighting was making it difficult to get a clean shot. Plus he kept getting distracted watching Y/N. There was a coldness and a level of skill to the way she moved that hadn’t been there at the prison. This was not the same woman who used to clumsily spar with him, throwing weak punches and tripping over her own feet. She could always take care of herself well enough, especially against walkers, but this ferocity was different from anything he’s ever seen her express. Daryl had to tear his eyes away from her and rush into the fight when he saw a walker approaching Rick from behind.

After Daryl dealt with the Walker that damn near cost Rick an arm, the fight ended quickly. Michonne looked like she wanted to wring Sasha’s neck and everyone looked fully drained. Y/N was standing in the middle of a pile of corpses, rotting blood matted down her hair and covered her clothes. Her eyes were glassy and blank, darting around and focusing on nothing in particular as she breathed heavily. Daryl walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she jerked in response. Her hand with the knife came up for half a second before her eyes centered on Daryl, who stood unflinching as she exhaled heavily. That feral look in her eyes melted away and the grimace of a smile she had been wearing drained from her face. He thought he almost caught a hint of shame in her eyes before she wiped her knife down on her shirt and sheathed it, lowering her gaze. Daryl let out a sort of questioning grunt, a wordless are you ok? Do you want to talk about any of that? But she dismissed him with a shake of her head, eyes unmoving from the pile of fresh corpses on the road. A whistle sounded from the front of the group and Daryl watched her eyes mechanically focus forward as she fell back into step with everyone else.

The days had all begun to blur together, the group moving, resting, hiding, running, aching, moving again. Honestly no matter how much of the other stuff they did, it felt like they were always just moving. Daryl looked around at the gaunt and fatigued faces of his family all around him and felt once again that feeling of utter and complete failure creeping in. He was so lost in his thoughts of how he was going to make it up to everyone that he almost didn’t notice the jugs and bottles of water tagged with a little note in the middle of the road. He eyed the offering suspiciously. As much as he wanted so badly to just believe that whoever left this really was a friend, after everything they’d been through it was much easier to believe this was a trap, or an attack, or a million other things that would get them all killed.

He hadn’t really been paying attention to the conversation when he heard Y/N speak up. He wasn’t sure exactly who or what she was responding to as she spoke, but her words made his skin crawl. “Goddammit let’s just keep fucking moving. There aren’t ‘good people’ anymore. There are no ‘friends’ ok? We are all we have. Everyone else will try to destroy that.” She shook her head, narrowed her eyes at a shaking Eugene, and turned to keep walking when the rain began to fall from the sky.

Daryl had never seen the air between everyone shift so suddenly, and he’d never seen relief like the looks of shock and excitement on his family’s faces. Everyone was staring up at the sky, some laughing, some crying, even Y/N’s lips had parted in amused shock as her eyes lifted to the sky. It was the happiest he’d seen her since he’d found her again.

Turns out the water really was from a “friend” or at least someone who wanted to help. That Aaron guy seemed pretty alright as far as Daryl could tell. He brought them back to his community, Alexandria, and the tension Daryl had been carrying for months was about to slip away when he looked over and saw Y/N’s eyes scanning the walls, brow quirked and skeptical. She was chewing on her lip. When had she picked that habit up? Daryl tried to remember if she’d always done that. Seemed that these days it was getting harder and harder to remember who she was back at the prison.

They complied with the gun policy, did the required interviews, and were led to their houses. The choice to all stay in one house for the night was simple and unanimous. People were still on edge, Daryl could feel it, but behind walls, in a house with electricity and running water, he could sense the tension slowly draining, the exhaustion of months of running finally taking its toll. He looked around the house for Y/N, but she was nowhere to be found until he spotted her through the window.

The cool night air drove out the stifling humidity of the day as the wood of the porch railing jutted into her skin where she balanced there, staring into the night. “That can’t be comfortable” Daryl called from behind her but she just shrugged, not even turning to look at him. He took a few steps forward and just waited. Easy silence hung between them for a long stretch of time. Eventually she turned her head and caught his eye.

“What’s going on, Dixon?” She raised an eyebrow and turned back to face the street again.

“Jus’ wanted ta let ya know the shower’s open in ya wan it. Everyone else’s gone.” She let out a suffocated laugh.

“I can smell from here that that’s just not true.” A half chuckle, hald grunt came from behind her and her lips curled upwards.

“Take a shower, woman. No one’s gonna slip by all us while yer off guard” She simply shrugged. He took a few steps forward and sat beside her on the railing. He felt their bodies pushed up against each other shoulder to shoulder and the warmth felt like home. A half-hearted laugh fell from her lips as her narrowed eyes scanned the homey little street.

“Not quite the view from the guard tower but it’ll do.” She spoke softly. He grunted affirmatively and when she leaned her head on his shoulder suddenly it did feel like the prison guard tower sat right there on the ground in that little Virginian town.

Against him she shuddered as a breeze ran through them. “Gonna go warm up?” He watched her closely from the side of his eye. She sighed.

“A shower does sound nice.” She relented and lifted her head, scanning the area one last time before looking over at him. “Show me where it is?” He gave an affirming nod and grunt in response before getting up and holding the door open for her. He showed her to the bathroom and then headed off to check on the rest of the group.

After checking on Carl and Judith, taking another look around the house for exits, weak points, and hiding spots, and checking in with Rick, he was on his way back downstairs when he heard her voice coming from the bathroom. It drew him in and instinctively he leaned closer to the door to hear more. It took a few moments but he realized she was singing. Her voice was clear and bright, exactly like he would have imagined it. Just as she had at one point, it seemed to float effortlessly above everything else, gentle and sweet amongst the darkness they lived in. He wasn’t entirely familiar with the tune, but with another step closer he began to make out some words

“If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses, sink me in the river at dawn, send me away with the words of a love song.”

He chose not to listen past that point, and instead hurried down the stairs and out the front door to take watch on the porch again. He sat there for a while, staring out into the night, manually forcing his lungs to open and close.

He heard her first, he could spot her mostly even but slightly hesitant gait anywhere. Ever since she had picked up that blade her right leg dragged just the slightest bit because of the weight, he could hear it now in just the few steps she took. So she was clean but still armed, he figured. He’d take his wins where he could get them.

Light steps led straight to him and the gentle hand on his shoulder confirmed the identity he already knew. He turned to look at her and his breath caught in his throat for a millisecond. She wore clean clothes, like he had guessed, her knife was still strapped to her thigh, and her hair hung, wet, messily framing her face. Her features were suddenly so strong when not obscured by a layer of grime and dirt. Her eyes were soft in a way that he hadn’t seen in who knows how long, and he slowly realized that after all this time he had begun to forget what she really looked like.

“You ok?” Her voice held a gentleness he had firmly believed to be dead prior to this moment. He nodded and she settled down beside him again.

“Are you gonna shower at some point? It actually was nice.” She offered and he grunted with a shrug. “Feels good to be clean,” she observed but was met with more silence. “I’m worried about feeling too good too fast though. About letting our guard down before we know it’s safe.” He nodded.

“I know whatcha mean, I’m worried about that too. Feels like this place might be alright though,” Her eyes widened in shock as he spoke.

“You’re the last person I would’ve expected to hear that from, Dixon.” He shook his head.

“Well, yer the first one I’d’ve expected it from. But look at us now.” he bit back unintentionally. They sat in the silence and he sighed. “Don’t know. Maybe ‘s jus’ wishful thinkin’, but feels like the people here are jus’ stupid, not dangerous.” She sighed in response and a small silence separated them. He could feel her thinking it over, could practically hear her mind running at a million miles per hour through the possibilities. For once, he was the one to break the silence.

“Haven’t gotten the chance to sit down and talk like this, jus’ the two of us, for real, since...” He paused, sadness spreading with the realization “not since the prison.”

He could see the tears in her eyes. “Never even got a real chance to catch up, did we? On all that we missed?” That drew a sad sort of chuckle from deep in his chest, more an attempt to fill the space than an expression of emotion. “You first?” she offered and grunted affirmatively.

He gave her a brief overview of his time alone with Beth, losing her, that much she’d heard bits and pieces of. Then he got to the claimers. He tried to keep details of that to a minimum, didn’t like thinking about them longer than he needed to. Then finding Rick, following the tracks, and getting back to everyone. She listened attentively, and rested a warm hand on his arm when he finished.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, and I’m so glad you made it back to us” Her words felt genuine and held kindness reminiscent of a person she used to be. Despite the overflow of tears in her eyes he could detect some happiness present in her voice.

“Alright, I’ve said more ‘n enough, yer turn” a sorry attempt to deflect away from the level of emotion he’d caused, but she wiped her tears and nodded nonetheless.

“Honestly, it sucked” a defeated laugh escaped with the words before she steadied herself and continued. “I was with a few people at first. Three guys from Woodbury I think. No one I was really close to, but they were all I had left. I wanted to stay and look for everyone, but at that point they figured we should just cut our losses and move on. I was outvoted. So we moved, bottom line just tried to keep moving and stay alive. We did ok for a bit. Moved between grocery stores, gas stations, that kind of stuff. One day we took a pretty long trip, the town we had been in for a while was plucked dry. We drove some of the way but gas was scarce so we ended up having to walk. Ran into a small group of walkers but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle. Except...” her voice broke and Daryl could see the tears falling freely. “Except when we had taken care of the walkers next thing I knew there was a knife at my throat. Didn’t even have time to react, these men killed the guys I was with, all at once. And I was alone” She swallowed before continuing. “So they had me there, I can still feel the knife against my throat. And I realize if they just wanted us dead, I wouldn’t still be standing. And it all...” she rubbed her shaking hands on her pants and let out a shallow exhale. “It all clicked... what they wanted with me” her voice completely failed by that last word and Daryl reached out and took her hand. His blood was boiling but he used every ounce of self control he had to appear calm for her.  

“Ya don’t have ta go into all this if ya don’t want to,” he was reassuring but she shook her head.

“No, it’s probably better not to keep it all inside.” He nodded and let her take her time before starting again. She took deep breaths and when she finally spoke again her voice had a deliberate and practiced evenness to it. “I wasn’t gonna let them. I was gonna die before I let them do anything to me. I fought. But there were too many of them. Few of them suggested they just kill me, cause it’d be ‘easier’ that way. In that moment I was so sure...” she paused for a long moment and let only the sound of her labored breathing hang between them. “I was so sure I was going to die. They almost had me completely knocked out when someone came in faster than I could keep track of in that state and took them all out. She saved me. I don’t like to think about what would have happened if she hadn’t been there.”

He could see her body shaking and squeezed her hand tighter in his, running his thumb over her knuckles. She gave him an appreciative nod and continued.

“She let me stay with her. She was set up in this apartment over an old record store, it was a weird place but she had it tricked out well enough that it worked. She taught me how to fight, how to stay alive on my own. Kind of like how you used to, except this time I had real, genuine horror keeping me motivated. I owe her everything. She taught me how to be ok on my own, and how to protect myself.. She showed me how important it was to be strong and prepared. One day we went on a run and a herd swept through. We were caught completely off-guard and we were stuck. She gave me her knife and told me to run and not look back, that she could lure enough of them away for me to get out and then she’d loop back to me. I did what she told me, but she never made it to the meeting point.” She choked on a sob and took a heavy inhale. “I waited, Daryl.” His heart ached at the grating of her voice, the audible effect of tears clogging her vocal chords as her knuckles turned white gripping the knife at her side. “But the area was getting swarmed again, if I waited much longer I’d never make it out. So I left.” At this point he wrapped an arm around her and let her head rest on his shoulder.

“She gave me everything she had and more. I could never repay her, not in a million years. And I left her to die. So I kept running, because what else could I do? And that’s when I found the signs for Terminus. I honestly wasn’t even thinking about the group at that point. I had mourned all of you. I thought all of you were gone. I just wanted to stop. ‘Sanctuary for all’ seemed like a pretty good place to go. So I went. And against all odds I actually found everyone. And I’m never going to let anything happen to the people I care about ever again.”

Daryl sighed and wrapped both of his arms around her for a proper hug. “Shit woman, ya really been through hell.” He squeezed a bit tighter as he inhaled her scent. She smelled clean, far too clean to touch, and he instinctively pulled away. “Ya know ya can’t always control that kinda stuff.” He said and let her take his hand again.

“Yeah, but it’s better than doing nothing, or being unprepared like I used to be.” She said with a sigh and he nodded.

“Ya changed a lot. Since the prison.”

“How so?” her eyebrow raised the tiniest bit as she spoke and he was genuinely baffled that she didn’t see what felt like night and day to him.

“Ya used to be this...” he fumbled for a few moments before he found what he needed, “this big ball of light, mos’ optimistic person I’ve ever met. Ya grew up a bit. Let the darkness of everything get to ya. I mean, I-I heard ya singin in th’ shower, and ya got a real pretty voice, I jus’ wish ya wouldn’t sing such a sad song. And I haven’t seen ya smile, I mean really smile, since the prison. Yer still my sunshine, but ya got stuck in some crap weather if ya don’t mind me sayin’.” Her eyes widened as she processed his words, and he let her take her time. He could see the gears turning, she was going through all of it, trying to connect the dots, to prove him wrong somehow. He watched her search her catalog for smiles and her face fall as she came up empty handed. “Ya used ta see the bright side of everythin’, now I’m lucky if ya even smirk. It’s like... like I don’t know how ta keep my head up if I ain’t got ya there ta remind me” He didn’t think, just let the words he’d been holding onto come out but her shocked expression made him wish he’d just kept his trap shut.

“Didn’t realize that was my responsibility.” Her voice faltered. “I’m sorry I let you down.” She trembled slightly as she stood up to walk away but he caught her wrist in an echo of something that felt like a whole lifetime ago, the same gentle question of a grasp.

“Ya didn’t do anythin’ wrong. Ya been through a lot.” his voice was low and earnest. She held eye contact with him for a moment before she pulled herself away and bolted for the door. He watched her go, and as the door closed behind her the air felt much colder than it had a moment ago.

Deanna came around later that night assigning people jobs. Daryl did not receive one. He was a bit shocked, seeing as this version of the world was the only one that he ever really felt useful in, but he tried to push those feelings of inadequacy down. Y/N was assigned to the infirmary, and Daryl couldn’t help but reminisce on all the times she stitched him up, how his body would be littered with deep, gnarly scars by now if not for her delicate and gentle hands. It stung when she refused to talk to him for a few days. Seemed like she wasn’t doing much talking to anyone except for Rick and Maggie at that point. She was still chewing her bottom lip and darting glances towards the exits throughout the day. She eyed the guards on top of the wall suspiciously and never returned the hello’s of Alexandrians passing by. A pit sat heavy in Daryl’s stomach as he watched her remain tight and guarded against all the signs that it could be time to relax. She would come home from the infirmary and settle into her watchful position on the front porch, cleaning her knife and scanning the horizon. Daryl wanted to talk to her but unsurprisingly he found himself lacking the words. Plus she clearly didn’t want to talk to him. She would barely look at him these days.

When Aaron approached Daryl about becoming his partner for recruiting, Daryl couldn’t say yes fast enough. He was getting stir crazy inside the walls with nothing to do, plus he couldn’t really stand to watch Y/N like this anymore. He had tried staying close and being insistent and sharing his feelings and all that got him was iced out. He needed space and open air to just breathe. Within a few days he was packing up to go out on his first run. As he was closing up his bag, he was shocked to see Y/N come storming into the room, her eyes alight with anger.

“So you were just gonna leave? You weren’t planning on telling me you’d taken this job or saying goodbye?” Her breathing was heavy, her face was flushed, he figured she had come running straight from the infirmary and felt some inexplicable pang in his chest.

“Ain’t leavin’ fer good, woman. Just a run.” He kept his tone calm and nonchalant but she wasn’t having it.

“I don’t give a fuck if it’s just a run! You’re going to just leave me here? With these people?” Her voice broke a bit and he could hear genuine fear in it.

“People are fine. A bit clueless, but harmless. And I know ya can take care of yerself.” He began. “Plus ya haven’t seemed to need me much since the first night.” He added, much quieter.

“Dixon I-” she began but the words seemed to catch in her throat. She closed her mouth and thought for a minute, and Daryl gave her the space to do so. “They aren’t all clueless. Some of them are just bad.” She took a shaky breath. “Like...” She seemed to be forcing the words out at this point. “Like Pete. He says all this stuff and tries to grab at me all the time and I think he’s hurting his wife and sons and I don’t know if I can work in the infirmary anymore Daryl. I just can’t be in there with him and I know I’ve been distant, I’m sorry, I just needed space to think, I just can’t be there with him if you’re not here. What am I supposed to do if he does something?” Once she had started, the words came rushing out like air from a balloon and now she stood in front of him, anger all gone, looking deeply deflated.

“Didn’t know that. Don’ really know the guy.” Daryl started, proceeding quietly and with some caution and care. “Ya don’t have ta go there. We can talk ta Deeana, get ya reassigned. And Rick’s gonna be here, ya know you can always go to him.” Daryl reached out and took her hand. She squeezed his hand and then pulled him close and buried her face in his chest. Daryl held her tightly, smoothing down her hair and trying to be as comforting as he could. She let out a deep sigh and he could feel her body expand and contract with the breath.

“I want to help people. I’m good at it. I’ve gotta keep doing it. I just don’t understand why you have to go.”

“It’s my job, ‘s what I’m good at. Same as you, I gotta do it. Gotta earn my keep ‘round here.” He spoke with a sigh. “Won’t be gone more than a few days, promise yer gonna be ok.” He tilted her chin up so she could look at him. “‘N if that bastard tries anything, ya tell me when I get back and Imma cut his fuckin’ hands off.” He spoke with deadly seriousness and was absolutely shocked when she burst out into a genuine giggle. It wasn’t quite the sunbeam smile he’d been longing for, but it still felt like an oasis in the desert.

Hope filled his chest as she whispered a quiet “thank you, you be careful out there and come back safe for me ok?” and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“You got it.” He said and she looked the most relaxed he’d seen her in a long time.

The run was a lot more intense than Daryl had expected, although he welcomed the distraction. It was nice to just think about surviving and finding people, to not have so many complex thoughts and emotions to keep track of. They met Rick’s friend Morgan while in a tough spot and brought him back to Alexandria with them. They made it back just in time to see Rick kill Pete. Daryl could sense the tension and possibly fear in Morgan beside him but he, personally, was grateful. He had spent much of his time outside the walls thinking about the ways he’d kill that bastard himself if he laid a hand on Y/N or anyone else. As Morgan and Rick stared each other down for a long moment, each assessing the person they thought they knew, Daryl scanned the crowd. He found her almost instantly. She was staring at Pete’s body with that cold neutrality that he had come to hate so much. He made his way through the crowd to stand next to her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Shame Rick beat me to it, had a whole plan to skin the bastard alive,” She broke from her stupor and looked up at Daryl in surprise. After a moment of shock she threw her arms around Daryl’s neck and clung to him tightly. “You’re back” she said, and he allowed a slight warmth of hope to radiate from within him as he thought he could hear a hint of a smile in her voice.

“Couldn’t leave ya here all by yerself fer too long now, could I?” he said and as she pulled back from the hug to look at him his heart damn near stopped. She still had her arms around his neck, like she was afraid that if she let go he might disappear again, and she was smiling at him, it was small, not quite as blinding compared to what Daryl once was accustomed to, but the light in her eyes warmed him to his core. He felt like he could barely breathe or speak so he just pulled her back close to him.

“Missed ya,” He finally said after he caught his breath.

“Missed you too.” She whispered back and there was no mistaking it this time, he could feel the gentle warmth pressed up against his neck.

“Head home?” He asked. She nodded and hesitantly pulled away from him. She took his hand in hers, pressed a kiss to the back of it, and her lip corners drew the slightest bit further upwards as her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Daryl felt like he was going to pass out. They wandered slowly back to the house, hand in hand, Y/N filling Daryl in on everything he had missed.

People settled into life under Rick’s leadership fairly well. There were some stubborn ones, but that was to be expected. It made Daryl smile to see the tension slowly escape Y/N’s shoulders, her eyes stop darting to the gate, her hand begin to rest on her hips or at her side instead of on her blade. It seemed like everyone was really settling in. Some of their little group had even begun to split off into their own houses, it felt like this really was a place that they could settle down in, that they could defend and make their home. Daryl hadn’t left the original house yet, he left so often that he didn’t pay too much attention to where he stayed when he was back.

Y/N rinsed her hands in the infirmary sink and dried them off before saying a quick goodbye and thank you to Denise. She was having a rough day. Someone came in with a really bad injury, lost a lot of blood, dealing with a potential infection. They had spent the entire day just trying to stabilize him. Once he was sleeping, Denise insisted Y/N head home to shower and get a bit of rest. She begrudgingly obliged and walked home as the sun began to sink below the horizon. She approached the house to find Daryl, perched on the porch railing where she had spent many sleepless nights when they had first arrived, cleaning his knife, crossbow slung over his back. “Daryl!” She ran to hug him but his face dropped as he saw her. In an instant he was off of the porch and into the street, one hand on her cheek, the other gently touching her side where a particularly nasty bloodstain resided.

“Y/N! The hell happened to you? Gotta getcha to th’ infirmary, see Denise.” He began to try to hoist her over his shoulder when she put a hand on his arm and held him back.

“I’m alright Dixon, it isn’t mine, slow your roll.” Y/N had a satisfied smirk on her face as she watched him calm.

“Dammit Woman, ya can’t scare me like that.” He pulled her into a hug that she hesitantly accepted but quickly pulled away from.

“Gonna get blood all over you. Let me shower and then I’ll give you a proper hug?” He grunted affirmatively and she let out a small giggle. “See you in a minute, Dixon. Glad to have you back.” She called over her shoulder as she disappeared through the door, leaving Daryl standing alone in the street. After he shook off the shock and let out a deep breath, he headed into the house as well. He went upstairs to change out of his bloodstained shirt but on his way back he paused by the bathroom. A soft, lilting singing voice carried out from behind the door, one he hadn’t heard since the group’s first night in Alexandria. The voice was the same, but the song was different this time.

“Little darlin’, I feel that ice is slowly meltin’, little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been clear. Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun and I say it’s alright”

Warmth spread through Daryl’s body from his fingertips as he listened to her sweet, gentle voice. He stayed through the end of the song, forehead resting on the door so he could listen properly. He let her voice wash over him like warm water, his shoulders dropped as the tension drained from his body. After a minute the water shut off and he instinctively jumped back from the door, but couldn’t bring himself to move from that spot, despite his best efforts, so when the door swung open, he found himself face to face with her. She was wrapped in a towel, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the water, her hair still dripping a bit onto her bare shoulders. Daryl felt like his face was inches away from hot coals as he opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words.

“Hi Daryl,” she said, an eyebrow raised skeptically.

“Sounded real nice.” Daryl’s eyes fell to the floor and he shifted his weight back and forth between his feet. “Ya got a real pretty voice, ‘n I like that song lot better than that other one ya sang a while back,” Before she could respond Daryl took off for the door, face turning crimson, heart doing wind sprints in his chest. Had he not been in such a panic, he might have seen the beginnings of lip corners turning upwards and eyes lighting up before he ran off. If he had even raised his eyes from the floor for a moment he might have seen the makings of something he’d been missing for what felt like a lifetime. Instead, he stepped outside and just began to walk, trying to shake the warm, jittery feeling that was pooling in his chest and stomach. He found himself at the base of the wall by the gate, and ended up relieving Abraham of his watch. On top of the wall, with the horizon ahead of him and the open air around him, his lungs finally felt functional again.

He stood up there in comfortable silence watching the sun begin to set, and as soon as normalcy felt like it was returning and his body had calmed, there she was, standing at the edge of the platform, hair still wet, and his heart crawled right back up into his throat. She took a few steps towards him, and he stayed stuck to the spot where he stood.

“You ran off on me there, Dixon.” she said. He grunted.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’ mean ta make ya uncomfortable. Jus’ sounded really pretty ‘s all.” He spoke sheepishly but forced himself to look up and meet her eyes. To his surprise she had a broad grin spread across her face.

“You really liked it?” She asked and took another step closer. She was close enough that he could now see her cheeks tinting a deep rosey color. He nodded.

“Might’ve been th’ most beautiful thing I ever heard.” He admitted. She let out a quick exhale and seemed to take a moment to steady herself.

“Never got to give you that hug,” She stepped right up to him now and wrapped her arms around his middle, he pulled her in close and immediately sighed into the contact. She smelled clean and fresh and when he closed his eyes there was nothing but her. Her smell in his nose, her body pressed against his, the sound of her soft breath against his chest. “Hate it when you leave.” Her words were muffled as she spoke, still buried in his shirt.

“I know, ‘m sorry. Promise I hate leavin’ ya more,” he spoke without thinking and she pulled away slightly to look at him.

“You do?” Her eyes were wide as she looked up. He grunted affirmatively.

“Course I do. Yer the one who said ya were gonna be my best friend, don’t know why ya look so surprised I don’ like leavin’ ya behind.” Her lips parted into a gentle and full smile that sat in his stomach like a shot of whiskey and propelled him forward like true liquid courage as he pressed his lips gently to hers. It only lasted a few seconds before he pulled back and watched her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. Her eyes opened slowly and she reached a hand up and placed it gently on Daryl’s cheek and slowly broke out into a wide, full smile that Daryl hadn’t seen in years. Her eyes sparkled as they seemed to water a bit. Daryl felt like he could cry too, as he felt a warmth that he thought was lost forever. In the light of the setting sun Daryl could have sworn he had never seen anything so beautiful as Y/N beaming in his arms.

“I ever tell ya that you’ve got the most beautiful smile I ever seen?” Daryl whispered, and she just let out a teary laugh.

“Oh you hush Dixon.” She said and kissed him again. It was tender and gentle and a million words passed between them in the silence. Finally he pulled away and lifted her off of her feet and spun her around, relishing in the sounds of her delighted, uncontrolled laughter. He set her back down gently and gave her another quick kiss.

“Been wantin’ to do that fer a long time now,” he said quietly. She placed a kiss on his cheek the way she had a million times before, and his skin tingled with the electricity of her contact like it always did, but it didn’t paralyze his lungs the way it used to. It sped his pulse and warmth spread from that tiny point on his cheek throughout his whole body. When she pulled away she had that laser beam of a smile fixed on him again, but it didn’t burn anymore, and for the first time in a long time, Daryl was overjoyed to stand in the light of the sun.

#The Walking Dead #twd #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #Daryl Dixon/Reader #daryl dixonxreader #daryl dixon / reader #reader insert #fanfiction #fanfic #slow burn #friends to lovers #fluff #a bit of angst #comfort #walking dead fanfiction

[anxietywithfloof]

Warning: This is a long post that i need to make for my own mental health, so if you don't want to look at this all, then I recommend going to the tl;dr section at the end, but if you do read, thank you.

Also, no names will be put because I DON'T want anyone to be dragged into this shit either. Don't go looking for them either, as I will refuse to give names of anyone. Thank you.

I don't care if you like, share, reblog, whatever. I'm not doing this for fame or to call out anyone. I just want to rid this of myself and to move on and to forgive those that I'm potentially leaving.

With all that out of the way, let's begin:

I have an announcement.

I'm taking a break from the commewnity. For a while. Idk when I'll be back, if at all. I might still talk to a few members of the commewnity, but don't expect anymore OCs from me if i decide to leave it forever. Everyone has proven they don't like them anyway. I'm angry, had multiple breakdowns, and a counselor told me this was my best bet to have my mental health be better.

Let me tell my POV.

I want to put this to rest, never to be a problem ever again.

All from the moment this shitstorm started.

My second ever reference sheet.

It was terrible, to be frank. I didn't know how to draw a Mewtwo at ALL, as well as how to execute my ideas in a drawing format or how to make a skeleton for drawing poses and such. Hell, I deleted it off of my Tumblr AND my phone because I hated it that much later on. All I knew is that I wanted one that represented me. My anxiety, my imperfections that I see in myself, my creativity. I made it and wasn't sure of the looks. It looked weird and I wasn't sure. My boyfriends and all my friends told me they loved it, however, so I went with it, nervous as hell.

This is the start of a mistake I made.

At this point, I had a couple of friends in the commewnity and I was doing decent. At least...I thought.

I wanted to join a Mew and Mewtwo server that was VERY popular, with some amazing, incredible artists and members in it, so I asked to get in.

I never got in. Still haven't.

They said they were "weary/wary" of me, which at the time, didn't make sense and...after a while...I lost, losing a friend in the process...

This was a while ago and I no longer wish to be in. It won't happen regardless, so why should I care anymore.

But the thing is...all the mods were too. From the old and bad ref that, at THAT time, I had changed and it was a bit better.

Informed it was because of my character, I tried to fix it. And, after a couple of iterations, is how you see them today. Marla. And I probably will rework them more in the future because they're a really interesting character that I want to make lore and deep characterization for.

I deleted all the old ones and that became what she looked like. Everything good, right?

Except it wasn't.

I found out other members talked about me, never even letting me KNOW about it, all behind my back saying they were uncomfortable about me, always pulling up that same damn old ref sheet that I deleted long ago and I HATED. They started saying it was a fetish character, a kink character, an NSFW character.

Marla. Is. Not. NSFW.

She's never been one and never WILL be one. NONE of my characters are, in fact. I'm a minor! I'm 16! Why the HELL would I make a character intended to be an NSFW character and post them out in the open?! What's worse?? Even though I cleared that up, they STILL think that no matter WHAT I say AND they still are holding onto that old damned ref that I didn't have confidence for in the first place.

Then they started saying they were wary because of other things, like accounts that were recommended (to which I do NOT know why they were bad for a small amount of time. Only thing I can think of is maybe because of the controversy. Maybe I accidentally followed an account that was 18+ that didn't state they were on the front. Idk. I still don't 100% know, but I think it's been fixed), to my desperation at the time to be in the server, which I get, but you have to understand that I came from a school that bullied me relentlessly and made me feel alone 24/7, so this felt like a chance at finally being heard or seen, to even my fucking ARTSTYLE and OUTCOME, to which, I need to say this. I have no control of my artstyle. My artstyle is the result of COUNTLESS practice and finding different tutorials to borrowing techniques of my favorite shows, so I'm sorry if the artstyle makes you wary of me. I can't control my own artstyle. I'm trying to IMPROVE and make it more refined, but I can't outright get rid of my artstyle. And I ALSO hate the outcome of my art sometimes. I'm not the best at angles and that feeling of "ugh. This looks off...even though I made it" happens to ANYONE that draws as a hobby. I've deleted FAR more artworks than I've posted because it looked off or I thought it could do better. So, I'm sorry my efforts also weren't enough. I really am. Like, genuine.

It's gotten to the point where I don't feel comfortable posting ANYTHING because I'm worried mods and others in the server or in the commewnity will hate me MORE for it for even MORE misconceptions and false reasons I don't know of yet. I've felt alone. Shunned. Bitter. Felt like I wasn't good enough for a chance at redemption. I've asked multiple times if i could do anything to be even in any way I could, but nothing.

If I wanted to feel like this again, I would've stayed at my old school. It's gotten to the point it feels like bullying or gatekeeping or just outright shunning me from others because of all this.

So I'm taking a break.

To those people, I've forgiven you. I've forgiven you for all this.

If you want to talk about it and work anything out...I'll be on Tumblr... and I hope we CAN work things out. But for now, I won't be giving attention to the commewnity for a while.

I love the community and I love the creativity hosted in it, but I need to do this for my mental health. I'm sorry to everyone who considers me a friend in the commewnity and I hope this whole thing can finally be solved and this whole thing can finally pass, being able to actually talk to creators and not be shunned for honest mistakes and misconceptions.

Thank you for listening and I hope everyone's daycare be a bit brighter. Mine included.

●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□●□

TL;DR, an old ref I don't like because I didn't know what I was doing with the design is being hanged over my head as well as misconceptions of my characters, especially Marla, causing me to be isolated and I need a break from it.

If you want to speak, private chat me on Tumblr or Discord. You might need to wait until after I get home from school, bit I'm willing to chat or clear things up.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

#long post #tw ed rant #rant #tw long post #finally sharing my point of view and how i see things because i dont know every reason they are weary. #this is all i know so far and my experienxes to back it up as well as my answers to thw misconceptions #i love you all commewnity #controversy

[menciemeer]

okay I was scrolling through your blog (a normal amount? too much? I'm sorry if this is weird I don't know if dragging up old posts in acceptable on this site!) and saw one where you said you use vim and I am curious about that! I tried it a while ago and was like... okay I can see how this might be faster once you get REALLY good at it, and it would definitely be useful to have the ability to export easily in multiple formats because I have realized suddenly that it seems like AO3's downloads frequently mess up the formatting? (Or maybe just fail to fix messed-up formatting that the browser smooths over?) Sooo yeah do you use it to write or just for code or what? is it worth it to become a Vim Person?

HELLO this is actually one of the things I most love to talk about because vim is my Favorite Piece Of Software. I love it well beyond a normal amount. That being said it's ummm not for everyone and not for everything. I'm putting this under a readmore because this is too long to inflict on poor unsuspecting souls who are just here for Hannibal content.

Section 1: The ways in which vim is useful

Vim is most useful when the stuff you're working on is more structured and what you're doing is more rote. So something like code (which, yes, is what I learned it for) is very formally structured, and something like html is sort of vague scaffolding around text, which is pretty much a blobby mush where really nothing means very much of anything. (The number of times I ct. only to get pulled up short by an honorific is very high, and I am grouchy.)

Part of the thing that makes structure good is that vim is more useful (relative to a traditional editor) when you can precisely define the action you want to take. Getting better at vim is really about improving your vim-vocabulary so that you are more able to make precise statements about what it is that you want vim to do. I use a "normal" markdown editor for drafting, because what I want to do is "write the next bit" which is not a very vim-interesting action and obviously not very precise. I do use vim for editing, though, because often the things I want to do are, like: "replace this word with some other word" (cw), "delete the end of this paragraph" (D), "rewrite this bit of dialogue" (ci"), "remove this whole paragraph" (dd)--you get the idea.

Also, the place that vim goes from "ok, this seems pretty good" to "this is invaluable" is really when you want to repeat stuff. Something like "the compiler is giving me 25+ pedantic warnings because the file I'm working on was written prior to the introduction of the C++ override keyword" or "I'm rewriting an API so I need to fix the function name in these dozen callsites, remove the first argument, and swap the places of args 2 & 4." These examples are programming-related because I haven't found a use for macros in writing yet. (I live in hope.)

Section 2: If you want to learn vim, here are my tips

I don't really want to tutorialize because there are a lot of those out there already. I do wish to dispense some general philosophical wisdom. (!!!!!)

First of all, keep in mind that the bar is very low. Normal editors are not really that productive. Fancy WYSIWYG editors (which I hate, equal and opposite to my vim-love) are negatively productive for me, because I will get distracted and/or distressed by all the available buttons, formatting options, and whether I accidentally italicized any of the spaces. You don't need to be maximally productive in vim to make use of it, and you don't really need to know that much to match the capabilities of a normal plaintext editor.

If you want to learn vim, I would pick a small set of keys to understand first. Like, i and I (capital-i) to enter insert mode, <Esc> to get back to normal mode. bwhjkl as basic movement options. u and <ctrl>r for undo/redo. If you must, y and d for copy/cut, p and P for paste. (System clipboard--I'm sorry--accessed with "+, so "+y or "+p for example.) That is probably well over enough.

After you get a handle on the basics, the fun part of vim is figuring out where your inefficiencies are and learning how to improve them. Realizing that you're pushing more buttons than you want to be pushing, figuring out how to describe the thing you want to do in a google search, and then finding out that vim has a key to do that. gg G } { c % $ ^ zz . ; and so on, and so on. The world is your oyster &c. (The sheer delight I felt when, more than half a decade after starting to use vim, I found the aforementioned ci"? Indescribable.)

Section 3: In which I address the actual ask

Ok ok okokok sorry. I've written all of this to tell you that I don't actually know what the weird formatting stuff you're talking about is. I read pretty much all long fic on an ereader after downloading as epub and I haven't noticed anything bizarre with the formatting? When I do want to go in and poke around in an epub I usually just use calibre's built-in editor.

In terms of exporting your own plaintext/markdown writing to multiple formats, I use pandoc. I've been very happy with it, but it isn't anything that couldn't be done by hand (and also doesn't require you to start from Vim In Particular). I would love to talk about pandoc but aaaggggh this is already way too long (sorry).

I do have strong feelings about writing in plaintext (glorious! small! no weird formatting distractions! what you see is what's in the actual file you're really writing it there's no secrets) versus WYSIWYG (too many buttons! what do they do! am i using it wrong if i don't push them! why is the filesize so big! what are your secrets, renamed .zip file!) but vim isn't the only choice if you want to go the plaintext route only the best one no, look, I spent the whole of section 1 talking about this, I am not allowed to go backwards. Honestly, though, if you're interested I'd say go for it! Vim is fun to learn and very clever! Knowing vim feels a little like knowing a weird, hyper-specialized little language.

#in re: tumblr etiquette I am sorry to report that I have no idea #seems fine #i am the furthest thing to an etiquette expert that exists though #if i ever have not interacted with a post there is a nonzero chance that it's because i couldn't figure out the properly polite way to do i #and if i have ever interacted with a post there is a >50% chance #that i have had some private angst about whether i was Doing It Wrong #should that reblog have been a comment #or a like #or an original post #i do not know #anyway i am always (too) delighted to talk about #vim

[indefinitevoid]

bookbinding journal (part 1) 

link to main post

First attempt at bookbinding: “corrina, corrina“ on AO3 by curlymcclain! Thanks a lot for giving me permission to make this and for writing this wonderful fic :))

This is just a record of what I did during the process for future reference and those interested (long post ahead)

Text Formatting

Followed this tutorial by @/ArmoredSuperHeavy: (so helpful; wouldn’t have done anything without it): https://docs.google.com/document/d/11JyVxeRS8yEWgCYrNMUPlNrEbR5AAD3Z2aDP-QXEP3Y/ 

I decided to use 7.75” x 11” paper folded in half, cutting ⅜’’ off the top and bottom edges of normal letter-sized paper. Pretty worth it b/c I needed to trim the edges after binding anyway.

Used Garamond size 11.5 font. Ended up with 84 pages total; I couldn’t reasonably fit it in 72, 80, or 96. Signatures were 20-20-20-24.

Apparently, I spent 595 minutes total editing the original Word document… It was really fun though! (seriously, the first several hours on the word doc, i was the most excited i had been in a while)

Note to future self: be careful with Word’s automatic table of contents and check for accidental new lines at the beginning of pages.

Printing

Turns out, my home printer prints faint text and smears a little.

So, I tested the school printers (yes, I test-printed fanfiction in the school library). The front and back of sheets didn’t line up (shows badly in the header). Fail.

Ended up using our 6-year old discarded black-and-white printer that we dumped at an office, which worked perfectly!

Used 92 brightness 20 lb paper (default). Never realized that printer paper was so see-through, but it’s good for books (yay!).

I was concerned about the paper grain facing the “wrong way”, but didn’t have anything else. I heard that it should be alright since the paper is relatively thin?

Hole Punching

Created a guide with thicker paper, laid on top. Push-pin to poke the holes. Binder clips to keep everything together. Propped the folded pages on an open sketchbook. Worked great, but poked holes into the inside spine of the sketchbook. Whoops.

Holes seemed to move a bit between signatures, not sure why. Mostly gets covered up during stitching though.

I later found out that you can punch holes with the paper face-down on top of corrugated cardboard. Will most definitely be doing this next time.

Text Block Stitching

Used the kettle/link method by Sea Lemon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4kFTOEh6k 

Used doubled-up thin white thread and waxed it with a candle.

Bound a bit loose for the first few signatures, but the last one was good. Knots and ends were a bit sloppy (kept sticking into the book). Accidentally hooked up the bottom line of stitches on the outside spine.

Note from the future: this had literally zero impact

Glueing the Spine

Elmer’s Glue + Binder Clips + parchment paper + hardcover book cover & clipboard. No mull.

Glue seeped in a tad bit between signatures, so those pages seemed a bit more “stuck together”.

This is when I realized that this had to be hardcover due to the way I bound it (falls open too easily for paperback).

Endpages

Luckily, I acquired some dark blue paper from the unused-paper-pile in an office. All of the other colors were light and didn’t go well with the planned beige cover, so light-dark contrast here we go.

Interestingly, I think this paper had the grain in both directions, kind of like the texture of canvas cloth up close.

Then, I put more glue on the spine and laid a piece of paper over it.

Trimming Edges

This step got delayed a week due to my inability to acquire a craft knife.

This was definitely the hardest part, since I've never used a paper-cutting knife before (other than 6th grade technology class), let alone on a stack of 46 pages.

Some edges were a bit uneven, but nothing majorly bad happened (that's a win). 

I went back later to fix the worse parts and used a nail file on some weird areas. One is probably not supposed to nail-file paper, but it worked…

The trimmed block of text:

Making the Cover

Used this tutorial from Sea Lemon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av_rU-yOPd4

I used cardboard from a cereal box because all the other cardboard around was corrugated. And beige cardstock as the "bookcloth" (also taken from the aforementioned office).

Cutting out the cardboard took way longer than it should have, because I kept cutting away from the ruler. Doubled up the cardboard on the spine, which I forgot to include in later calculations, so the cover ended up ~1.5 mm short on width. I glued the covers and spine on a piece of printer paper first in order to have them spaced apart correctly

The beige cardstock was only letter-size, so I had to glue two pieces together with a 7-8 mm overlap. Required some math to figure out where to put the cover title.

Then, I just glued the pieces of cardboard onto the beige paper and folded it up. I was originally worried, since beige cardstock is very different than bookcloth, but it honestly turned out as well as it could have. 

The book cover (not sponsored):

(the white paper around the spine is the printer paper)

Final Glueing

This step was pretty simple, though I forgot the fact that glue is wet, and some moisture seeped into the first/last few pages and made them a bit wavy (this all happened in ten minutes). To remedy this, I put tissues between a bunch of pages and pressed it overnight, which actually worked; the pages are no longer wavy. Downside is that the cover got warped inwards a bit (concave up). 

The next day, I used a hairdryer, which I probably could’ve done before. Then pressed it without anything inside for a few hours and it flattened out. The pages aren’t completely flat, but otherwise, it pretty much looks like a book :D

I also got a lot of guidance on several steps from rerurumo’s bookbinding videos, so thanks to them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XCvTZRVbgg

More photos:

the unintended seam on the front cover:

the back cover seam:

the thing that my elementary teacher said not to do to books:

some pages:

noo the book isn’t perfectly flat D:

the stack of books used to press down:

alr that’s all for now o_O

#bookbinding #ficbinding #fanbinding #long post #bookbinding journal

[youcantrewind]

I literally want none of these things. They all imply non chronological algorithmic hell.

More ranting under the cut to save your dashes from some whining from a Tumblr Old:

I have had the suspicion in the last few days that I've been missing posts from my main dashboard, despite my keeping up with it. Like the other day, I accidentally went into one of the other tabs I usually ignore, and right at the top I saw an art post by someone I follow that I swear I never saw in my main feed, which I keep up with constantly. Or people's self-reblogs suddenly being the first time I saw the post despite me being pretty sure I'd scrolled the whole way through it. There had better not be some algorithmic shenanigans at play on the main dashboard suddenly. I hope it was just me scrolling too fast and not registering them in my tired brain, and they aren't getting disappeared on purpose so that Tumblr can have me 'discover' them elsewhere.

I don't want a favs tab. My dashboard is my favs tab. I've chosen those people to follow, because I want to see their content.

I don't need a 'what you missed' tab, because I shouldn't be missing posts if they display them correctly and in order.

I can see Fast Queue being handy for those who use the queue, at least. I almost almost gave that one a switch on, because out of all these things to test, it sounds genuinely useful. Except then I remembered I don't really use the queue (I should. I used to, back in the day, but I fell out of the habit when I fell off tumblr for a bit). So it's pointless for me to test that one out right now.

Anyway, I immediately turned Tumblr Labs off again. I originally clicked into it to find out what they meant by testing out 'Communities', but found absolutely nothing on that Tumblr Labs page in reference to it, just this annoying list of unwanted features. 🤷‍♀️

All I want them to do right now is: fix all the text formatting nightmares I keep having with the app (does anyone else fight with italics/bold on mobile or is this more of an issue with my device?), figure out a solve for the porn bots that keep co-opting tags, and move their ad-free-for-30-minutes option to the top of the page (because I'm more likely to actually agree to it at the start of my browsing, rather than when I'm almost done and it'll cause a page refresh).

Also I signed on to desktop tumblr for the first time in a very long time the other day and boy is it ugly and cluttered just like FB and Twitter. They need to revert that nonsense back to favouring actual dashboard content ASAP.

Alright. Old man yells at cloud rant over. 😮‍💨

[tuiyla]

Am I the only one who thinks they padded glee a lot? I just rewatched and it seems like a lot of the content was throw away bits. Storylines that started or were hinted at and went nowhere. Also they kept Rachel getting solos but they could of fixed it easy and had fun on show in two ways 1) they said in season one they need to qualify to get into completion yet it never appeared right? They could of used that so others can sing it wouldn’t of taken much time it’s like 3-6 minutes for a song and 2) they could of had storylines of them having practice conceptions it could of made them compatible against each other and cause rifts etc in a organic way while being wacky ( can you imagine them on a road trip 😂😂😂😂)

Goddamm I need to get to older asks, okay so.

I don’t know, I don’t think it was padded too much? The format landed itself for smaller storylines so that wasn’t inherently the problem, just the inconsistency imo. Like, season 3A is PACKED but that’s not the issue, it’s that they did none of the storylines well and the vast majority of arcs are finished within those 8 episodes. Glee really should have just perfected the assignment of the week formula with consistent character arcs to tie it all together, and of course the competition eps.

In terms of singing, I just wish the songs were better utilized to say something about the plot and, again, characters. I don’t even mind Rachel singing so monstrously disproportionately more but so many were just unnecessary ballads about the same old thing. Mostly Finn. But it’s not like chs like Blaine didn’t have what I’d consider unnecessary songs that took up time better spent on characterisation.

I’m not sure I would have liked more competitions, even practice ones. Things like girls vs. boys, sure (even though it’s no competition) and heck I would have loved a road trip and more eps of them just hanging out like Blame It On The Alcohol. But the competition structure largely works, particularly in season 1 where there are only two. One at the halfway point (narratively) and one as a finale, perfect. I guess later on there was a problem with the introduction of Nationals because the stakes of Regionals were all but lost. But the journey of getting to those eps didn’t feel like padding to me, if anything it was the real meat of it.

Bottom line is that, I mean, yeah there were so many unnecessary bits but it’s just how they were handled. Would I restructure Glee, sure, I have that one post that I’m too lazy to link to now. I just don’t think I’d personally phrase it as padding being the problem.

#waiting a month for such an incoherent reply oof sorry #anon #glee asks #glee's writing issues

[vanillahub]

Things you should know before becoming a mutual  

List 10 or more things you find to be essential for your blog. Essentially, highlight your rules! Let people know what they should be aware of and expected, from you! Then tag anyone you would like to learn more from! Feel free to steal this~

You must be at least +18 years old to even follow this blog. I’m well over the +20 years old mark, I’m uncomfortable having minors around me and my blogs (agelless blogs will be softblocked). I’m also constantly delving on subjects that just aren’t suitable for any minors, so really, there’s absolutely no reason why they should be here, period.

Your blog must have: a rules page, muse’s info, a sample of your writing (I have a preference for para/lengthier replies. I don’t like heavily formatted replies, if I find myself struggling to read your stuff then I will give it a pass) and there shouldn’t have a lot of OOC/things that are unrelated to RPing (negativity, very personal stuff, political rambles, support of call out culture, heavy on the discourse side of things, etc.).

Be mindful, english isn’t my first language! While I welcome and accept help with my grammar/writing, don’t use that to your advantage, so you can spin & twist the things I say for whatever reason. I’ve had this happen to me one too many times, and I guarantee you it’s not fun.

Mun =/= muse, fiction isn't reality. If you don’t have that concept clear, and you have a hard time separating those things. Then don’t even bother coming close to me.

Fictional kins and self-inserts aren’t welcomed here. Regardless if you're an OC, or if you hide behind a canon character. I feel IMMENSELY uncomfortable with people who heavily live through their muses, due to very bad experiences in the past. I’m not here to fulfill anyone’s fantasies in that way. Don't be dodgy about it.

Be upfront about what makes you uncomfortable, establish your boundaries and don’t ever be afraid to tell me I’ve crossed a line for you whenever we are plotting/writing something. I ALWAYS ask this to all of my partners, whenever I approach anyone to get discussions going. I always ask out of genuine care, for the other. Unless you tell me I’ve screwed up, there’s no way I’ll be able to fix it or even apologize for it.

Fandoms and communities I outright refuse to interact with: MLP, Undertale, Homestuck, FNaF, FNF, Genshim Impact, League of Legends (Arcane isn't an exception), Disney and the MCU.

Things that will make me unfollow: too much unrelated stuff to RP being constantly posted, if I feel like I’m only being used as a +1 follower to your count and lastly. If I no longer can see our muses interacting, either because their developments are clashing or plotting has taken nowhere.

I preemptively block users, that rub me in the wrong way. I also softblock users, when I don’t want them following my blogs. Take the L, don’t try to reach me out through other means. And for the love of God, don’t try sending people in an attempt to score an answer for you.

I don’t do well with people, who are CONSTANTLY moving around. Every other day making new blogs then abandoning old ones, picking up new muses and every so often changing their pen names. I’ve learned how there’s no enjoyment for me get out of those folks. I really need partners who wish to stick around, for the long run.

Just because we’re mutuals, and we’ve exchanged a few messages, it doesn’t mean we are friends. It’s nothing personal, but please let things take its natural course. I’ve been in this awkward situation, one too many times over the years.

I will not dumbify or tone down my portrayals, please, avoid muses that you know will touch on subjects that are touchy or make you uncomfortable. No hard feelings.

Shipping is FUN, but that’s not my priority. I’m definetely being a lot more chill in this blog about that, compared to my other ones. But still, I take huge enjoyment out of plotting & developing my muses. As such, shipping ends up taking the backseat most of the time.

It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is trying to befriend me, in hopes of scoring freebies from me. You guys aren’t being subtle at all...

#[ rambles ]

[apitrust]

Greasemonkey pale moon

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For the time being, you can't trust this page anymore.

#Greasemonkey pale moon mp4

Not even regular MP4 streams play at the moment (Youtube, Twitter or anything else, as the html5 test page suggests it).Įdit: it looks like the page is no longer reliable as even my usual Firefox 70 within my Windows 7 圆4 installation fails to show the videos of that page (all URLs lead to a 404 error, the maintainer of that page NEEDS to do something about those broken links).

#Greasemonkey pale moon install

In fact, I hardly need it in my everyday browsing as I rarely use my XP install nowadays but I wanted do a test regarding playback of level 5.2 MP4 files (Twitter transitions all their transcoded GIFs to level 5.2 MP4 and this cause problems for Windows 7 and 8.1 users but I wanted to test it under XP too). The Adobe Primetime module is indeed set to Always activate. Not shown in my screenshots, is also set to true. Included are screenshots of about:config, about:plugins and the result of the page. I may have missed something obvious but my brain is currently (at least at the moment writing this) unable to process what it could be. The primetime_gmp_win_x86_gmc_40673.zip file unzipped in the right folder. I swear I followed all instructions of the first post without missing any single step. I'm on Firefox 52.9.0, Windows XP SP3 32-bit with the POSready2009 registry hack. The latest thing I attempted was starting from a brand new profile. Now it seems that I can't anymore no matter what I try. I used to be able to play MP4 HTML5 streams with my older Firefox 52 under Windows XP.

I hope I'm ny bothering anyone with the silly request I'm writing below. Tweaks to increase performance of YouTube in Pale Moon (Or Chromium/Firefox) by allowing the user to bring back the old video player sizes, thumbnail sizes, and more.Hello everyone. YouTube Polymer Engine Fixes | Screenshot.

User Scripts For Pale Moon/Basilisk/Mypal

Complete YouTube saver Local downloader for YouTube videos.

GreaseMonkey Script injector, lots of Firefox/Chromium scripts do not work in.

Ublock Origin Legacy Version of Ublock made to support Pale moon and its various forks.

Also changes some theme elements as well.

YouTube - Right Side Description | ScreenshotĪ somewhat nostalgia inducing script that puts YouTube's description on the right side of the video, similar to how it was pre-2010.

Works really well with the Twitter de-Bubbler extension listed above! Make Twitter resemble the old UI as much as possible.

GoodTwitter 2 | Screenshot Similar to 7kt's YouTube script, seeks to.

Constantly updated, and getting closer to its goal every time. Seeks to restore YouTube to it's older UI style. Note to Pale Moon/Safari users: these will not work on your browser. User Scripts For Firefox/Chromium-Based Browsers Removes the round/flat design elements from everybody's favourite site, Twitter dot com.

WebP Image Blocker (Firefox only) Forces Google's image format (WebP) to convert to a standard format before.

Annotations Restored Brings back the annotations function to every YouTube video which had them enabled before the.

It also provides support for mouse gestures, GreaseMonkey, ad-blocker.

LocalCDN (Firefox only) LocalCDN emulates a content delivery network in your browser, in order to protect your privacy by intercepting Pale Moons goal is to create a full-featured, optimized browser derived from.

Will notify you if only http is available.

HTTPS Everywhere Makes sure that your browser always connects to websites using the more secure https protocol when it is able.

#Greasemonkey pale moon free

Ublock Origin Free and open-source blocker for advertisements and trackers.

Use this to load some of the userscripts that I have linked below. Add-ons let you customize Pale Moon with extra functionality or a different look.

ViolentMonkey Free and open-source script injector, allows you to customise any websites using either self-made or downloaded.

Most accurate YouTube layout restoration so far, however it does not work for some people if their accounts are being used for YouTube's layout experiments. Chromium, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Pale Moon, as well as versions of Safari prior to. Extensions For Firefox/Chromium-Based Browsers Check if the script manager is enabled (Greasemonkey, Tampermonkey. Note that all extensions made for Chrome will work perfectly on Brave Browser as well.

In this list, I have included not only a list of extensions for respecting your privacy, but also just some real cool things for a few different browsers, as well as some userscripts to enhance yourĮxperiences on the web.

#Greasemonkey pale moon how to

How to use YouTube Completely Anonymously Browser Extensions You Should Be Using

DOWNLOAD NOW Greasemonkey pale moon

#Greasemonkey pale moon

[davidjduran]

IM Tulsa 2022 Race Report

Preface

Better late than never. Post IM I checked out and shifted gears to summer fun with the kids. Kept running streak going until day 288 on July 4th. From fitness pov I've been slacking off over the summer but plan to get back into it more socially with school back in session and fall around the corner.

Venue

Honestly I picked this race for the time of year over the location, but Tulsa ended up being pretty cool. It was a bit of a hike from the east coast but doable. TUL airport very convenient to town, although it required a connection from NJ. Lots of good restaurants, bars, arts, and entertainment options. A great bike shop. Lots of coffee shops. Too many pot dispensaries. And a diverse mix of old run down sections, newly developed ones, and beautiful historic buildings from the early 1900's.

Stayed: Hotel Indigo Downtown. Pricey for Ironman/PGA weekend but convenient to everything.

Ate & Drank: - Lo Wood: Higher end meal our first night. Excellent. - Jinya: Good Ramen noodle bar. - Vampire: Sandwiches. - Dilly's Diner: Amazing breakfast options. So good we went back again. - Cherry St Kitchen: Ok breakfast. - McNellie's Pub: Good bar food and vast beer list. - Arthur G's BBQ: When in Rome. - Sweets: HURT Donuts, Rose Rock Microcreamery - Coffee: Black Wall Street, Soda, Gypsey

Bike Shop: Phat Tire. Can't say enough good things about these guys. Got me tuned up lickety split, and repacked the bike for return so we had more time to enjoy Tulsa.

Lead Up

We left at stupid o'clock Thursday morning from EWR but everything went smoothly and arrived on time around noon in Tulsa. Despite a brief scare where my bike ended up not loading on our EWR->ORD connecting flight, somehow AA got it to us via DFW just 15' after we landed in TUL. Pro tip, throw an AirTag in your case so you can see where your bike is in near real time.

There was a lot to do those first 48 hours. Thur: Reassembled bike, dropped at shop for tune up, athlete check in, last taper run. Nice meal out at Lo Wood. Fri: Recon swim at Keystone lake (out of town), drove complete bike course. Short bike on run course. Organized race day bags. Raman at Jinya. Sat: Big breakfast at Dilly's Diner. Checked in bike and bags. Watched Bond. Early to bed (~8pm).

Goals

I started training for this from pov of "What would it take to KQ?" and working backwords from my prior PR of 11:38 at IMWI in 2015. Idea was to systematically reverse engineer the fitness and know how to KQ, or at least to get close and then build on that down the road.

After some soul searching and lots of EN Team feedback, I shifted my mindset for race day from specific output based time/place goals to one of inputs and process. In other words, don't chase a time. Inputs >> Outputs. Prioritize process throughout the day and results will follow.

All that said, I definitely wanted to improve time and execution vs. my prior 11:38.

Race Day

Morning

Followed my plan. 1st breakfast around 2am, then back up at 4am, walked up to shuttle. Jen and I both managed to squeeze on and ride together which was nice. Got to T1 around 5:30am. Tires, fluids, Garmin & batteries on, bike check, etc.

A storm had rolled through the day before so it ended up thankfully being much colder than expected (low 50's). I debated the day before on what to wear and ultimately stuck with EN Tri top + arm warmers and gloves which proved very helpful!

Swim

Went ok but plenty of room for improvement. This is by far my weakest discipline and I still haven't unlocked some fundamental form issues. Liked the format change to rolling start and last minute decision to modify from 1 to 2 laps as water was very choppy further out. Somehow this increased the total distance to ~4750yds (+500yds) and caused extra confusion when they moved the T3 buoy between lap 1 and 2! I didn't wear a watch but check out these other tracks.

For future - think I really need to dedicate a season to swim form including a week+ camp w/ coaching to fix some fundamental issues.

Actual time 1:31 ~= 1:55/100yd on the longer course, and almost identical pace to IMWI although AG 29th of 88 starters was a definite improvement.

T1

4:27 w/ minimal fooling. Passed 55 men in T1, 6 in AG. Wetsuit stripper was fab -- snap and right off. Grabbed bag. Helmet and shoes on. Arm warmers and gloves on at the bike added the most time but helped keep me warm enough on the ride.

Cumulative AG: 23rd (up 6)

For future - only way I see to improve this is to have shoes on bike and do a rolling start. And ditch gloves and arm warmers if temps permit.

Bike

Plan called for 2 GE bottles/hr until peed twice, then 1.5 bottles/hr thereafter. Priority on hydration vs. solid calories. Intensity as 130-135bpm and 215-220w NP (314w ftp). Steady, do no harm, setup the run, "Wait for it".

Right off the bat I was feeling very full and stomach grumbly. Think my Saturday breakfast/dinner + Sun morning breakfast was a bit too much. Took some time to settle in sipping fluids, probably not getting down quite as much as I had planned, but fortunately with the cooler temps it wasn't an issue. Now some months later I don't remember exact consumption but it would have been a couple bottles short of plan (~8 vs 10), finishing with H2O + salt instead of GE to help clear stomach before run.

After the first 20 miles or so I was surprised to be regularly passing super fit guys on super fancy bikes and found myself triple checking RPE, HR, and NP to ensure I wasn't overcooking anything. All checked out.

Effort per hour splits: HR (Plan 130-135bpm): 138, 133, 134, 133, 135, 138 NP (Plan 215-220w): 214, 221, 215, 210, 211, 218

Stayed safe, aero (it was fairly windy), draft legal, careful on some of the rougher roads and descents. Wait for it.

Biggest challenge was the GI and then, once again, peeing like a champ, probably 5-6x which cost me a few minutes. Some room for optimizing here, especially on cooler days.

Overall ride: 5:38 (8th in AG), 215w NP, 265TSS Cumulative AG: 14th (up 9)

For future - mostly refining the nutrition/hydration plan. Few extra watts and more flexible/aero position wouldn't hurt.

T2

2:46 again no fooling. Right in. Helmet off. Socks and shoes on. Ziplock go bag w/ watch, number, hat, and race saver bag. And on the road! Saw Jen coming out of T2 which was a nice mental boost! Total T1+T2 time 7:14 was 3rd in AG!

Cumulative AG: 12th (up 2)

Great EN highlight here @ 6:30 mark.

For future - Do it again! Possibly leave shoes on bike.

Run

Always great to come off the bike unscathed! Run plan was to 1) settle HR early on, 2) confirm hydration status and no GI issues, 3) remain disciplined and gradually ramp RPE/HR across the course.

Loosely planned effort by HR as: ~135bpm first 6 miles, then drifting up to mid 140's ~halfway, then capping at 150bpm until final 5km. Planned to sip a GE bottle from T2 1st 6 miles, then start augmenting w/ Bloks every 2.5-3mi and fluids from the course.

As with the bike, actual consumption is a little fuzzy. In my T2 haste I forgot the go bottle. Started sipping GE/H20 at each aid station with just a few steps walking to get it down.

HR out of the gate was a bit high (low 140's). Tried to bring it down but after a few miles just accepted that it wasn't rising and would cap it in low 140's until about 1/2 way.

Kept cadence up. Smooth. Not chasing. Settled in. Stayed in my box. Thanked the volunteers and smiled a lot.

Somewhere along the 1st lap out started overhearing people chatting about the swim course being all messed up and longer than expected. It seemed to be extra baggage they were carrying throughout the day and glad I hadn't even registered it at the time.

Had hoped to start passing more people in the 2nd lap but with the rolling start and no AG marks it was really difficult to tell who was who and overall standings. Perhaps for the best as I just ran my race and tried to maintain a pace which definitely got harder towards the end.

Didn't really stick to a specific nutrition plan in back half. Just made sure to drink something at each aid station. Alternating between cola and ice water in the back half. Took an advil somewhere in there and just kept trucking.

Key metrics (Mile 1-6, 7-12, 13-18, 19-23, Final 5km) Pace: 7:45/mi, 8:10, 8:13, 8:29, 8:51 (uphill back to town) AvgHR: 143bpm, 144, 146, 145, 144

Overall run: 3:36 (10th in AG) Cumulative AG: 12th (no change)

For future - I think the durability plan and run streak really helped here. Ideally would steal another 5' or so through faster TRP and perhaps some mental toughness to push RPE up when it gets tough.

Finish

Total time: 10:52 (PB by 46 minutes) 12th AG, 39th Male, 44th Overall

Always amazing to come across the finish and especially after a steady well executed day. Didn't realize it would be Mike's last year so that's a cool bonus. The Mrs was right there at the finish and we got a great hug and photo right in the chute. The volunteers helped me get situated, stood to block the sun while I collected myself, and were just generally great. Thought I was ready for some real food. Tried a burger. NOPE. Tried a hot dog. NOPE. Eventually nibbled on some chips or something and caught my breath.

One of my unofficial goals was to have a cocktail on the rooftop bar of our hotel, with the Mrs, before sunset after the race. We got up there in plenty of time but were told the bar had closed early on a slow Sunday night! After a brief standoff with the bartender and explaining what I'd just done, he ended up letting us in, and I got that cocktail!

KQ

I'll admit after seeing some crazy roll down action earlier in the year I started to get my hopes up and went to the awards ceremony the next morning. I had never gone before and it was pretty cool to see the level of fitness, excitement, and commitment within that group. Unfortunately the 4 spots got scooped up by first 4 places, with the 4th place time 30' faster than me. Can I find another 30' in there somewhere? I think so! 15' in the swim alone! If and when I go for it again remains to be seen.

Shout Outs

Of course all this would not have been possible without a lot of support along the way.

Thanks to my Mrs and IronMate for always encouraging me to keep going, enabling longer ride days, getting the kids, and often having Italian subs ready when I got home. Also for joining me on our Tulsa "vacation" which included a lot of running around here and there and a 60 mile scenic drive of rural Tulsa. Spectating is just as tough a sport I'm convinced!

Thanks to my folks for coming out and watching the kids while we were gone. And to the kids for also putting up with me coming and going and often sweaty at school pickup after a ride or run.

Thanks to everyone that commented on the socials during the race. It's always motivating to know people are watching and fun to relive the day.

Lastly, to the EN Team and Coaches for lots of good advice and support over the last 9 months. This is not something I do regularly so borrowing with pride and standing on the shoulders of giants has been a big help to make the most use of my time and to stay foucsed on the the areas that matter.

--

Data Crunch https://www.endurance-data.com/en/result/659/381-david-duran/

[naswoop]

hello everyone welcome back to [epic action movie trailer voice] DIVORCE ANON (trademark also pending) ✌️ im here to be deeply unhinged and say nothing of substance about start again, again. anyways this has ABSOLUTELY no basis in canon but could you imagine if for a brief moment in sasasa2 siffrin's character class changed from "the traveler" to something along the lines of "the interloper" instead. for reference and if i remember correctly interloper means roughly the same thing as traveler but with the added connotation that they are unwanted or unneeded

on that note can you believe it's gonna be sasasap's first year anniversary already?? like wow it's nearly been one (1) whole year already??? whack

heH [theme song starts playing]

Oh gosh. Oh gosh we gonna keep adding to Sif's Rough Times (tm). Ya misfit, Siffrin, you.

[I just felt like drawin' him, probably not exactly what you meant by this but this is what happened]

Yeah!!!! It's almost its first year!! It's so weird to think that it's already been that long. Sometimes I forget just how much Stuff I drew.

#art #sasasa #start again start again start again #sasasa:p #sasasa spoilers #kinda #(...I really need to fix the formatting on those old posts too.) #(I was Nervous and didn't want my posts to be Long so I crammed a billion images into one row. ...They are too small to be seen.) #ask #Divorce Anon

[littlemousedroid]

Mall Walking

Frankie Morales x GN!Reader

You see a cute guy taking a silly photo and are compelled to talk to him. You spend the afternoon walking the mall with him, deep in conversation. But you’re both from out of town so these moments at the mall are all you have.

Warnings: none really, talking, eating, light kissing

A/N: This is the first fic I’ve ever finished. I’m going to post it before I lose my nerve. Formatted and posted on mobile, not proofread. No definitive connection to Triple Frontier canon, there’s no new baby at home though. I was inspired by those photos of Pedro at the mall looking very much like Frankie.

“Are you excited for the show?”

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah. I guess so. I tease my friend because he kind of looks like this guy. It’s an old joke that I’m not even sure is funny.”

He’s taking a picture of the sign in the mall. It’s silly, he’s standing right in front of the sign, it must be the worst picture ever taken. All glare and reflection, can he even tell what it’s for?

“Your friend must be very good looking.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that, it’ll go straight to his head.”

“It’ll be our secret.”

He’s caught up in his phone. Sending the photo to his friend? Posting it on social media? He’s squinting at the phone like he should be wearing glasses. As if he hears your thoughts, he pulls his glasses out of his pocket, deep from within his jacket. As he puts them on he finally looks up to you.

“Hi.” He’s adorable.

“Hi, I’m Frankie.” He reaches out to shake your hand.

“And I’m sorry to interrupt.” His hands are dry and calloused in places. Like he works with them. And big, overwhelming your own.

“I’m not exactly busy.” He waves his phone as if to say that his joking isn’t important.

You laugh at that, “I suppose not. Me neither. I’m actually just here to walk around. Mall walking like a retiree.”

“Well it’s the only place warm enough for it.” He bundles deeper into his coat and sweater. How is he wearing so many layers inside?

“Yeah, I guess this is March in Alberta, spring one day, winter the next.”

“It’s much warmer back home. I guess I didn’t think about the weather when I took this job.”

That explains all the layers, he’s used to warmer climates. The skin you can see peaking out from his coat is golden, even in the middle of winter. He must spend a lot of time outside.

“Traveling for work? Let me guess, Texas?”

“Nope, Florida.”

“That is a pretty big difference. It’s practically summer there now.”

“Much warmer. Can I walk with you?”

“Oh, sure.” You head off with your new walking buddy.

“Are you from around here?” He takes his hat off and runs his hand through his hair before replacing it. It looks soft and curly. Stray curls poke out the side. He’s probably long overdue for a haircut.

“No, I’m actually traveling for work too. I’m supposed to be at a conference but I had to get away. Too many stuffed shirts trying to sell me accounting software or phone systems. But it was a paid trip away from home, how could i resist? What about you?”

“I’m a mechanic.” That explains the hands, usually buried deep in an engine.

“Don’t they have mechanics in Canada?”

He laughs, his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“I suppose so but I work on specific kinds of aircraft. My friend had a contact who needed something specific.”

“The good looking one?”

He laughed again, bright and with his whole body. “Yeah, the good looking one.”

“That sounds pretty interesting.”

“It can be, but this is just some rich fool willing to pay too much to have his toys fixed. But like you said, its a paid trip. Why not get away?”

“Yeah…” you drift off into silence as you round the corner by the escalators.

“Did you want to go up or down?”

“I’d go down on you…with you!…I’d go down with you! The escalator! Shit!” He’s blushing, his ears and face have gone red, bleeding down into his shirt. You have to laugh.

“Whoa tiger, how about we go up. Get a coffee first.” He does the thing with his hair again as you head up the escalator.

“Yeah, lets start with coffee.” You get off the escalator and head for the food court. His blush is fading, the discomfort not lasting. He walks closer to you, or is it your imagination. You stand in line waiting to order, looking at the menu like you don’t know exactly what you’ll order.

“I’ll have a black coffee, medium. And for you?” He’s asking for your order, he wants to pay for yours too. You start to protest but he gives you a look from under his hat.

“A small whole milk latte.”

“A small whole milk latte, and two cake pops.”

You giggle and he gives you another look as he pays.

“Cake pops?”

“I like to have something sweet with my coffee. I was going to share but not if you’re going to judge me.” His eyes are the color of coffee tinted with mischief.

“No judgement here. Black coffee and sugary sweets. Noted.” You wait for your coffees at the end of the bar. It’s not crowded but you’re sure he’s standing closer than necessary. It’s nice, his warm presence a comfort.

“Do you want to sit?” He motions to the seating spread around, offering you the choice.

“Sure.” You find a couch and fold your self into one corner. Frankie takes the other, at first you’re two opposites. You’re facing him and comfortable, limbs tucked here and there, like you were at home on your own sofa. Frankie sat facing forward, stiff as a board. But as the conversation flowed he became much more comfortable, relaxing into the stiff couch, moving to face you. He’s so animated, his hands flying, his face showing every emotion. And those eyes, dark pools so warm and inviting. He touches your leg…

“Well?”

“Hmmm?” You were so lost in watching his plush lips wrap around the cake pop that you hadn’t heard what he said.

“Should we take another lap? Work off these treats?”

“Absolutely! Let’s head up to third floor.” He stretched out, standing and offering you his hand to help you stand. It was welcome as your legs were all tingly from sitting so long. You collected your cups and wrappers for the trash.

Walking to the escalator you recap your conversation, “I told you about my business, you told me about the military, we both hate the cold and love peaches. Your favorite person is your abuela and you wish you had time to get a dog. I listen to too much sappy music and can make a perfect lasagna. Is there anything we missed?”

“You didn’t tell me your name.” He ruffles his hair again, is it a nervous habit?

“Frankie! How could I have forgotten such an important detail?” You dig in your purse and pull out a business card, handing it to him. He reads your name. The sound makes you shiver.

“That’s me. And see that underneath? That’s my phone number. In case you need to send a jokey photo and Pope won’t respond.”

“For emergencies, of course.” His smile is so wide, you can barely see his eyes for the crinkles.

You finish your lap around the mall and make for the elevator, pushing the button to take you down. To the parking garage. And your rental car. And away from Frankie.

“I should be getting back, there’s a presentation about…” As the door opens Frankie pushes you inside, crowding you against the wall. His gaze moving between your lips and your eyes, silently asking for permission.

It’s a whisper, “Frankie…” and his lips meet yours. Gentle, wading in, testing the waters. But you want this and you give him everything, pushing against him, letting him take the air from your lungs. It’s soft but there’s a hunger. Your hands are under his sweater, his are in your hair, trying to pull each other impossibly closer.

The elevator starts to move. But you didn’t push the button. “Frankie…somebody called the elevator.” He slides his hands down your arms but his nose is sliding across your cheek.

“So what…” he’s whispering in your ear.

“The doors are going to open.” He’s kissing down your neck.

“We should stop…” he intertwines your fingers with his and pulls back just in time. The doors open on a family with kids and so many packages. You push him away from you and out the door, skirting the kids staring at you.

As the doors close, you start laughing. Frankie’s disheveled and you can only imagine the state of your hair after his ministrations. “Come on.” You grab his hand and pull him towards where your car is parked.

He doesn’t say anything as you walk hand in hand to the back of the garage. Reaching your car you open the passenger side to throw your bag in. Frankie meets you at the drivers door. Those puppy dog eyes betraying his sadness. You reach for his cheek rubbing your fingers along his patchy beard. He opens the door for you. You lean up to place a chaste kiss on his chin. There’s a perfect bare spot for it, like it was designed for gentle kisses. You get in the car and he closes the door. No words are exchanged as you put your key in the ignition and start the car. He steps back and you pull out of the spot and drive away. Glancing in the rear view mirror, to see him standing there watching you go.

What would you have said? “Thanks for the coffee, see you next time we’re both in Canada?” “Take me Frankie, I’m yours.” “I love you, run away with me.”

It’s all better left unsaid. This dreamy afternoon at the mall can be a happy memory you revisit in the quiet moments of your regular life. Like a favorite song that worms it’s way into your brain. Better to have the memory than nothing at all.

————-

The conference is over and you’re at the airport waiting for your boarding call. You’re so deep in your book you almost miss the text notification. It’s a picture, an artless photo of a cup of coffee and a sprinkle covered sugar cookie. It’s from Frankie. You send him back a completely not-staged photo of your sticker covered water bottle and over-priced airport sandwich.

#frankie morales x reader #frankie ‘catfish’ morales #triple frontier #first fic #pedro pascal #happy birthday pedro #i hope y’all like this #feedback is appreciated

[thatblondeperson]

What's your favorite timsteph moment from comics and what's one you've written?

Oh man, I have too many!!

Favs tho:

Their first date in Robin issue #57 and the moment at the end.

Neither of them wants the night to end, but just loOK AT TIMMY!!!! He's so happy that he just has to do a little flip on the swings, it's the cutest shit ever. And even though this next panel is from Convergence: Batgirl, it still is a part of this date and it's too cute not to add into the compilation of dorks being in love. LOOK AT IT.

Do you know how many times I've made this my wallpaper? Too many times.

Also this itty bitty bit of a page from RR issue #10:

Do you see it? Allow me to read too much into something. (And I don't even mean Tim still feeling like it's his job to protect Steph)

It's this.

This is my Ao3 pic and I'm gonna be a massive fangirl and say that even though this isn't like an official kiss, it's one of my favs because Tim's eyes are just ever so slightly open, like he wants to keep them on her. You've got both of them with those gentle touches on their jaws. Not to mention the subtext of Tim's memory of this being in pink, giving it a literal rose-tinted view, meaning this is a positive, optimistic, idealistic memory. Now these could mean many things, but given the nature of their relationship in RR, I'd say this is a sign of Tim forgiving the past a bit. He's not thinking negatively about Steph, he's remembering working together and being in love. It's cute, and imo displays some of those lingering feelings pretty blatantly. Your ex I'd about to be shot and you're thinking about how you two used to make out?? Priorities, Tim. (RR Tim was way too horny 🤣)

Plus next page you get this:

Look who's in love again.

LOOK AT HIM.

And this, in Robin issue #102:

I will never be over that intense look on Tim's face when he's planning on making Steph soup, it's just so intense! MUST MAKE MY SICK GIRLFRIEND THE PERFECT SOUP!!

And then he carries a massive pot of soup across Gotham and on the subway to get it to her. He loves her 🥰🥰🥰

And don't forget their whole date in Robin issue #111. The infamous piano date. Like I've said it before, @incoherentbabblings just made a post about it, but Tim and Steph aren't great at communication or opening up about difficult things. This arc is one of the better ones for their domestic growth, but I just love how vulnerable she allows herself to be in front of Tim, and how respectful and supportive he is of her. Is this sort of thing I wish we could see more from them, then leaning on each other and finding a space in each other that they don't have anywhere else. Little things like this that when over time it builds up, you end up with a relationship where they know each other so well, and can read each other easily. It's a special bond that they have, not broken even if they aren't romantically linked.

Also these, which are old edits by @fragileicicle I believe? But I love the quotes. They give me heart palpitations.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭

They were so in love.

BUT HEY YOU ALSO ASKED ABOUT MY FAV MOMENTS IN MY FICS!!

Which hey, thank you, I always wanna talk about my fics. People should ask me about my fics. Gonna put it under the cut though to not be annoying...

There's a lot of little things I like in my fics. I loved writing drunk Tim in Un-Bottled Feelings, especially the idea of him trying to picture a bigger Arkham built around the current Arkham to stop the breakouts. I just like the image of him strategically planning that out as a viable solution to keeping the worst criminals locked up instead of running amok.

I just loved writing completely helpless Tim being super flirty. The loss of inhibitions allowing him to be subconsciously unfiltered. It was fun! Though I need to fix that fic...the pros and cons list doesn't format right on mobile. Alas...

I really like the simplicity of Kisses From Tim Drake. I just saw a list of kisses and I was like "WHY NOT ALL OF THEM??" Any excuse I have to write happy couple TimSteph being affectionate and sweet with each other, building a relationship and whatnot.

For Finding My Way Back to You, just getting to write their flirtatious banter was fun, giving them a punchy back and forth. It's really fun in their first collision in their suits when Steph continuously calls him her potential sidekick. I like giving her the upper hand a little bit, even if I wanted them to end up in equal ground.

The whole Tim/Kon/Bart interaction in ch 5 was SO FUN! That was a chunk I had written way back before that fix was even written. I knew I wanted if in the fic, I just didn't know where. The whole bit with Tim climbing into her window at the end because he's scared of her mother, but he's just reminiscing on days when he used to merch out there smitten with her.

I kinda liked doing things like that in that fic, rewinding and resetting. The smack to the face, the casual Tim stalking, the coming in through the window, the usage of Scarecrow since he appeared in turning point fights for both of them, the starting over at the playground. A sort of "go back to the beginning to move forward" sort of therapy for both of them.

LOVED getting to address Tim's burn scars. Such a point of tension for both of them, but there's so much potential in allowing them to be a healing symbol for the two of them as well.

The whole little "not date" in ch 9. Funny thing about that...I pulled R-Patz name out of thin air because I assumed this fic is taking place in like 2011 and I looked up popular actors of the time, and of course Twilight was huge...but then after I wrote that he got cast as Batman and I just decided to keep it. It was perfect.

I got to do so much either this fic. I pulled out every cliché, I got to write jealous Tim, horny Tim which was recieved better than I thought it would be, I got to write Tim slowly opening up more and being more relaxed and carefree, a side of him we only got in internal monologues by RR it seemed, I liked writing Tim trying to apologize fof being a jerk while they're both in the middle of a hand-to-hand fight, I liked writing a new piano scene which no lie, that almost kiss was also drafted well before I'd even written ch 1. I loved getting to name Tim's fishies too. They deserved names.

I think the things I think of the most with that fic when I looked back on it were:

The scene talking about Steph's death. I saw a post saying that Tim doesn't have to apologize for that and people who expect her too are being ridiculous yadda yadda, but much ruder. And here's the thing...no she doesn't have to apologize for running off without telling anyone, that was her decision and she had her reasons, but that does not mean she wouldn't. People were still deeply affected by her absence and the grief of losing her. I loved writing this little bit especially:

"It's alright," Tim said, pulling out of their hug. Come back… He brought a hand up to her face and stroked her cheek lightly with his thumb. His hands really did feel nice, so incredibly nice. "I can't pretend to understand everything you went through, but I just… I wish you would have told me."

Stephanie leaned forward, letting her forehead rest against his, staring into his pale blue eyes. "Would you have let me go?"

Tim stared right back into her eyes, and Steph could have melted into his touch. "Would you have listened to me?" 

Steph smiled softly. Of course she wouldn't have, and Tim knew that because he knew her. Nearly every last piece of her. It was easy to feel safe with him. She wondered how much Tim felt the same in regards to her. 

I just loved that section of dialogue. This whole scene of them breaking through some of the worst of their shared wounds, all while tim is stitching up a physical wound? I'm just really proud of myself for that.

The whole ch 18 talk/kiss interaction was originally very different but there's one paragraph in there that I desperately love in regards to Stephanie drinking her peppermint tea.

It tasted like Tim. Like late nights on rooftops poking fun at other heroes, watching the way Gotham came awake at night, making constellations with the lit up windows on the buildings when they couldn't see the stars, locking lips while the ambient sounds of the city rumbled around them. She gripped the mug tightly and brought it close to her chest while Tim cleared his throat, tapping nervously on the side of his own mug.

The whole point of that fic was to cover EVERYTHING. I read so manh panels of do many comics, trying to get all of their low points and traumas out on the table so I could go through them in the most constructive and healthy way possible while still playing true to their tendency to kind of be hot and cold with each other before they find a comfortable thermodynamic equilibrium space. Getting them to air out their skeletons so they can move on and start anew. I've wanted to write that fic since I got hooked on that ship. It's my masterpiece.

THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK!!!! I'm sorry this was so long, I loved this question though. This took me forever to write up. I'm doing g this on mobile with like...10 tabs open. But thank you!!!! ❤💜

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