#But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also fun as hell

[i-starcreamed]

Can I request how Megs would feel if he fought his beloved, reader needs to beat some sense to him and help him from being blinded with hatred. (Tf one plz) Also I want a good ending cuz I'm still sad about the movie. And if it isn't obvious cybertronian reader.

MEGATRON X READER

Obviously Tf One spoilers! God this was so fun to write, I just hope I got their personalities right. I haven't written anything this long in a while !! Also I never knew I'd be so much of a Megatron enjoyer until this movie...yeah, it took me this long.

[ cybertronian! reader Angst and eventually fluff, could be pretty rushed tbh but I just want him to healll. Very NOT canon to the movie

You knew it wasn’t your D-16 the moment his optics changed. Or maybe it was the way he distanced himself from you and your friends in a matter of hours--maybe minutes. It was a subconscious, subtle shift, but one you wished you could have talked him out of.

You suppose you saw the changed D-16 once you made it to the hideout of the High Guard fliers. Your once-kind, responsible lover was gripping Starscream by the neck, his hold tightening with every word from the flier beneath him.

You glanced at Orion, Elita, and Bee, all frozen in horror. You panicked and you stepped forward, placing your servo on his shoulder. Before you could continue, he whirled around, optics burning with a cold, harsh light—practically glaring at you.

“Y/N…“

“D, what the hell are you doing?!” You demanded, your voice steady despite his glare. “This isn’t like you, this isn’t the way, come on.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, his optics locked onto Starscream again. He was seething, the flier grinning through the pain wasn't helping your case either.

“Come on, do it! Do it, don’t be a c-coward!” Starscream sputtered through glitching vocal processors, even as D-16’s servo squeezed harder, threatening to crush the life from him.

D-16 narrowed his optics, “I’m not a coward!” He roared as Starscream’s cackling turned into garbled screeches

You attempted to push him away, roughly shoving him by the shoulder. “D, stop it!” He shoved you back. The sudden force sent you stumbling, and when you steadied yourself, you found yourself staring down the barrel of his arm cannon. His orange optics were locked on you, but for a fleeting moment, they softened. It was like he didn't recognize you, but then he hesitated.

“Stay out of my way, from now on.” He said lowly, as if his words pained him. “Please.”

His hesitation vanished as the cannon swung back toward Starscream. You stood there, stunned, until Orion and Elita rushed over to pull you up. Then you just stood and did nothing.

You watched in horror as D-16 continued to declare himself as someone they should follow to victory. Oh, you knew how much he wanted Sentinel dead now. Hell, you did too. But you weren’t sure if this was the right way. You weren’t a bad bot. Neither was D-16, he never was. You had to do something...before things got bad.

You recalled the moment just before he…snapped.

___

“Y/N, don’t you see? He’s been lying this whole time.” “Yes, D. I see, I know. But—“ “I want him dead. I just-I need..I need to see him suffer. Look what he did. To you. To me. To us. We could have been..so much more.” He placed his servo over your spark, right above where your transformation cog was. He used to dream of you two racing together, having fun. Hell, flying even. Back then he didn’t know what he would transform into. “We can still be more, D. We have a bigger purpose now, we were given the ability to transform by a prime himself. We just need to..show everyone the truth. And we will. Then we can—“ “It’s not enough.” He blurted out, pulling you closer as if it was the last time he’d hold you. “You deserve so much better. I promise you, Y/N. I promise you he will pay.”

___

Things only got worse from there. You reached your breaking point when you saw D-16—no, Megatron—vanish Orion himself. You couldn’t believe it. They were like brothers. And now, your beloved had become something else entirely. And yet, you still felt helpless.

You rushed over, avoiding and pushing the other bots as you made your way to where D-16 stood. They all cheered him on as he was trying to lift Sentinel into the air. He was going to kill him. He really was.

“D, stop it! Look what you’ve done!” You shouted, stomping your way forward, frustration boiling inside. You slammed your shaking fist into his shoulder. Primus, you were pissed at him right now.

“Please, please! Tell me what the hell you’re doing. This wasn’t a part of the plan.” You pleaded with him, hoping you’d somehow get him to react. Instead, he inched closer, the same stance you’d expect of someone challenging you. “No, you’re wrong. This was the plan. It was what had to be done. How can I get you to see that.” He visibly calmed for a moment, reaching out a servo to brush against the side of your faceplate. Despite everything, it’s still him. And he loved you.

You hesitated, then stepped back. Oh, how it pained you. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand your goal.” You said, barely above a whisper. Time seemed to freeze, and he slowly lowered his arm. In an instant, you watched his gaze darken.

“Then you’re just in my way.”

__

Your hopes were revived as Orion, now as Optimus Prime, came back, the matrix of leadership implanted into his chest. Optimus had saved the life of Sentinel (perhaps a little undeserved), knowing there was another way to deal with this. But now he has to save..practically all of Iacon. Maybe just maybe, between the two of you, you can stop Megatron.

The fight between the two friends wasn’t solving anything, you only feared they’d end up killing each other. You got rid of your fear, inserting yourself in the fight just as they managed to gain some distance from eachother. He grunted as you shoved him harder this time, his footing a bit unsteady from his existing injuries.

“What are yo—“

“I told you, stop. This,” you punctuated every word with a shove. “Is. Madness!” You panted, glaring up at your lover. “Come back to me, D. This isn’t the real you. I know it isn’t.” You pleaded, he responded with an irritated grunt.

“I, am Megatron. Not D-16, I am not that bot anymore. Y/N, stand down-“

“No! You stand down! You’re acting foolishly right now! I won't just stand here and watch you destroy yourself and--” You yelled, going straight for him to push him again, but he stopped you with a raise of his cannon. You froze in your tracks.

"Back down, Y/N." He said with a growl. You narrowed your optics, leaning your frame right up against the barrel, hearing a light clink.. The glow illuminated your armor. For a second, you saw his optics widen. He paused, licking his teeth. "I don't want to fight you. But I-"

"But you will if you have to, right? That's what you were going to say? Do it then," Your voice cracked, "I have nothing left to lose."

He huffed, so be it. He lunged towards you, and you raised your arms, blocking the strike. You opened up to move his blaster out of the way, leaving your side open to his incoming fist. It collided with your side, sparks flying from the contact. You grunted, stumbling back. When he came at you again, you caught his arm, pulling him close until you were face to face.

"We're both being foolish right now, are you happy yet? You panted, he grits his teeth.

"Quit saying that!" He growled, shoving you away. He shot his cannon, the blast flying past your side. You slid to avoid it, earning another blast from him. He fired his cannon, but the shot missed. He was aiming wide on purpose. You blinked, you knew his aim wasn't that bad...primus, he really was missing on purpose. If you weren't fighting right now, you'd swoon.

"Are you missing on purpose?" You asked incredulously.

"No! I.. yes..no! Listen to me, Y/N. We can end this now, if you let me do this one thing."

"You've already done enough. D..."

"Don't call me that."

He lunged again, but this time, you sidestepped, charging into him and sending him crashing to the ground, the side of his face hit the ground. You managed to pin him momentarily, struggling to keep him from standing.

"This isn't what you want. Trust me.." You paused. "Megs. Please."

He tensed beneath you, then slightly loosened as you called him 'Megs.'

"This is revenge, it won't help you feel any better. Not long-term. You'll only continue hating and hating, I can't bear to lose you like this. It's...it's tearing us apart." You shuddered, loosening your grip.

Eventually, you felt his breathing slow to a decent pace, slowly, you climbed off him, kneeling beside him. He sighed. "I..I don't know how to stop." He quietly said. You leaned forward, placing a servo against his jaw. "I can help you. I will help you. Megs, you have me with you. You have..Optimus with you. We're all with you."

You both knelt silently for a moment, gathering each other's thoughts. Finally, he had the courage to look up at you. You might never see those big yellow optics of his again, but at least now they weren't so cold. They held some type of sincerity. "I'm..so sorry." He breathed out.

You almost sighed in relief. "You're still angry, and that's okay, alright? Now it's my turn to promise you, we'll deal with this differently. It won't feel fair at first, but it's the right thing to do. Stand up." You gently said, extending your servo out to him. He slowly took your servo, his grip as gentle, almost afraid of breaking you. Primus, how he regrets hurting you. You can see it written all over his face. He was blinded by rage, he was indeed acting foolish. His optics briefly flicked to Sentinel, still on the ground and honestly, grateful to still be in one single piece. He turned away before the anger could return.

"I didn't want to hurt you," He whispered.

You softly scoffed, gently nudging him. This time, without any defensive intent. "You controlled yourself better than I did. I wanted to beat your aft, D-- Megs." You joked, earning a small, bittersweet smile.

You took your servos in his, softly smiling at him. You turned to Optimus, who was just as relieved as you were. "Optimus, do you think Megs and I can help rebuild Iacon? The way it's supposed to be?"

Optimus smiled gently, looking proud. "Of course you can. We all can." He looked at Megatron, his gaze firm but kind. "I am glad to have you back, friend."

Megatron nodded, still tense but..accepting. One day, they'll be as brothers again. You just know it. "As am I." He said, turning to you. His gaze softened. "Y/N...I love you."

"I love you as well, Megs."

[localguy2]

Chapter 8 - Raging Flames - is out! 

In which, Kai finally shows up and joins the team. 

Enjoy! 

[lee-laurent]

Done Trying - Luke Hughes

Summary: In which Luke falls for a girl who always seems to be hanging around the Devils, the issue she has a toddler with one of his teammates

There will be more parts!! Next part is the backstory of John and Tori! Part after that is a continuation of this part! Hope you guys enjoy!

content: unplanned pregnancy, fluff, angst, children (is that a warning??), past relationships, self confidence and body image issues, money struggles, oc x ex!john marino (this is throughout the story, but this is a luke fic!! she ends up with luke!!)

WC: 4.8k

notes: this idea came to me the other night while i was watching tiktoks lol, but i thought it would a fun fic to write. the poll i put out showed a pretty clear leader the whole time, but if you guys are interested in me doing any of the other pairings in the poll just let me know!! before writing this i have a feeling it's gonna be a long fic so enjoy!!

Luke Hughes was walking down the street to the cafe that Jack had recommended. He still didn't know many places in Newark, seeing as it was his rookie season, but his brother had been a huge help... for the most part. Jack had told him about his coffee shop that was usually pretty quiet, so he wouldn't have to worry about fans coming up to him. And it had become his safe haven over the last two weeks.

Victoria Wilson was also walking down the street in the direction of the cafe, but she wasn't alone. Her newly turned two-year-old was toddling besides her, having refused to get in his stroller when they were leaving their apartment. "No" was his favourite word at the moment and Tori thought it might drive her crazy. She was dropping him off at his dad's in a couple hours, so she decided that grabbing him a bagel and some juice for breakfast sounded like a great way to get out of the house.

"Riley! Stop!" she screeched, watching as her son started to run down the sidewalk in the direction of a tall boy, looking at his phone. She didn't reach him in time though, the little boy wrapping his arms around the man's legs.

"What the hell?" Luke muttered, staring down at the toddler gripping his leg.

"I am so sorry! He's really big into hugging right now. We're working on learning who we shouldn't hug," Tori rambled, attempting to pull Riley off the man.

"It's fine. Really. No worries. Come on, little dude. Go back with your sister," Luke smiled, making the girl blush.

"I- I'm his mom, but I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled, finally prying Riley away and picking him up. He squirmed her arms, screaming "no" like it was mantra.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed," Luke rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's all good. Let me buy you a coffee. Again, I'm so sorry. Terrible twos," she sighed, reaching into her purse for a pacifier. "Here bubba. Let's go get breakfast."

Riley finally calmed down, happily putting the pacifier in his mouth. Tori had been trying her best to ween him off his "binky" but his dad wasn't, so it wasn't really working all that well.

"You don't have to do that. He's just a kid."

"Please, I'd really like to," she smiled. Luke nodded, opening the door for the woman and her son.

Tori ordered a coffee for herself and Luke, as well as a bagel and apple juice for Riley. They sat at a small table, Riley on her lap and Luke across from her.

"I'm Tori, by the way. And this little devil is Riley."

"It's nice to meet you," Luke grinned, "I'm Luke."

"So, how long have you lived in Jersey?" she smiled, breaking off a bit of bagel for Riley. He had a habit of trying to shove things in his mouth and gagging every time. So Tori always broke his food up into little pieces.

"A month now. I, um, just moved here for my new job."

"That's exciting," she grinned, handing Riley more food.

"What about you?"

"We moved here two years ago. Riley's dad moves a lot for work and I like to be in the same city as him so they can spend time together."

Luke nodded. So she was single. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't admiring her. She was stunning. Pale skin covered in freckles, ginger hair that she'd curled into waves, and the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen. She giggled as Riley dropped bagel all over his shirt, attempting to wipe it away as best as a toddler could.

"You said Riley's two?"

"Yes! He just turned two in August!"

"My mom always said that's the hardest age," Luke tried his best to relate to the girl in front of him.

"Ha! She's right. He really likes saying 'no' right now. It's impossible to get him to do anything except play mini sticks."

Luke choked on his coffee, "As in hockey?"

"Oh, yeah. He, uh, we're big hockey fans in my house."

"Devils?"

"No. No offence if you're a Devils fan. But we're proud Penguins fans. Right, Riley?"

"Pen-guin," he giggled, clapping his cream cheese covered hands together.

"That's cool," he nodded, checking his phone. Jack had texted asking if he'd died on the way to get coffee. "I, um, it was really nice meeting you, but my brother's getting worried about me. I should go."

"No worries! It was lovely meeting you too. Say 'bye-bye', Riley."

"Bye-bye!"

"Bye, Riley. Um, I was wondering if I could get your number. We could do this again some time? It's totally fine if not. I just-"

"Of course, Luke. Here," she chuckled, taking his phone from him. Luke walked out of the coffee shop with a smile.

It was the first Family Skate of the season and Luke was happily yapping away with Jack and Nico, seeing as they were all single. Luke had been texting nonstop with Tori for the last two weeks, she was really busy taking care of Riley so they hadn't met up again yet. He had found out she was 24, from Pittsburgh, and had a degree in journalism. He hadn't told her what he did for a living, just saying athletics which she assumed meant personal training. He was laughing at a joke that his brother had made when a flash of red hair caught his eye.

He did a double take. Standing at the bench was Tori, holding an extremely excited looking Riley on her hip, tiny skates on his feet. They were both dressed in Devils jerseys. Tori pointed at someone on the ice and Riley clapped happily. John Marino skated over, grabbing Tori's hand to guide her onto the ice. Maybe she wasn't single like he assumed.

"What're you looking at, Rusty?" Jack knocked his shoulder.

"Huh? Nothing."

"Come on, let's go see Curtis."

Luke followed his brother, keeping an eye on John and the girl now holding his hand. It hurt a little, he really thought they were connecting. And she hadn't mentioned a boyfriend at all.

Tori had yet to notice Luke, smiling widely watching her son and his father interact. Even if she and John had broken up, they still held a mutual respect for each other, maybe even still loved one another.

"Do you like his jersey?" she asked, showing John the '6 Marino' on the back of their son's shirt.

"Wow! You look just like Daddy, bubba!"

"'Ike Dada!" Riley smiled.

"My mom got it for him for his birthday. He was really excited to show you."

"Well, I think it's awesome. Tell your mom 'thank you.'"

"Of course. I-" she stopped. Her eyes locked with a familiar pair across the ice. Luke? She furrowed her brow, handing the toddler over to his dad. "Here. Practice skating with him. I, uh, need to talk to someone."

"Oh, sure! Everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just fine," she mustered a smile as he pressed a kiss to her temple, skating off with Riley.

"Luke?" she approached him, a confused look on her face. Jack and Nico looked at each other before skating off to see John and Riley.

"Hi, Tori. I, uh, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah. Me neither. You play for the Devils?"

"Um... yeah? It's my rookie season. I just- I didn't want you to like only want to talk to me cause I play in the NHL."

"I gave you those vibes?" she sassed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, no. That's not- You don't. I, uh, what're you doing here? I thought you were... single."

"I am. I would've stopped talking to you if I wasn't. Riley's dad also plays for the Devils."

Then it all fell into place for Luke. Moving from Pittsburgh, being Penguins fans, Riley's dad moving around for work, her being here.

"Johnny?"

"Yes. John invited us. I thought it would be fun for Riley."

"I'm sorry. I- I should've told you. Are- is this too weird now?"

"'This?' There isn't really a 'this' yet, Luke. We just met and I have a kid. But if you're asking if I'm going to stop talking to you. Then no. This isn't weird for me."

"Do you- d'you think John will be upset?"

"John? No. He just wants whatever is best for Riley. We broke up over a year ago."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to pry. I-"

"Luke, it's fine. It was nice seeing you, but I should get back to my family."

"Right. See ya, Tori," Luke smiled, ignoring the pain in his chest at her words. John was her family. How was he supposed to beat that?

"You know Luke?" John asked as his ex-girlfriend skated up next to him.

"You remember that guy I met that Riley hugged?"

"The one from the coffee shop? Yeah, you said- oh my god! Was it Luke?"

"Yep," she popped the 'p' at the end of the word, "He didn't tell me he played hockey."

"Are you gonna cut things off?"

"There isn't really a 'thing' to cut off. We just text."

"Right. Well, don't let it stress you out."

"I won't. Don't worry. Anyway, how's Riley doing at skating?"

"Like a newborn deer. But he loves it, so..."

"Are you gonna be just like Dada?" she cooed, kissing her son's chubby cheek.

"'Ike Dada!"

"Yes! Just like Dada!"

Riley joined John in the locker room after, seeing as he was spending the night at his instead of going home with his mom. He sat in John's stall, kicking his feet back and forth. John had changed him into some tennis shoes instead of his skates.

"Hey, Riley!" Nico smiled, raising his hand over a high five.

"Cap!"

"Yes sir! That's gonna be you some day, huh?"

"Cap!"

Nico ruffled the boy's dark curls, walking back over to his stall. Jack also came over to see the little boy, but turned his attention to John after.

"Did ya know that Tori and Luke know each other?" he frowned.

"Huh? No, Tori told me today. Why?"

"Luke had been talking about this girl he met a couple weeks ago, had no idea it was Tori. I would've told him to back off."

"Back off? Tori and I aren't getting back together. That ship has long sailed."

"Really? I thought you still... loved her?"

"Of course I do. She's the mother of my child and for that I'll always love her. But she's made it very clear that we didn't work as more than friends. If she wants to see other people, I'm not going to stop her."

"Even if it's your own teammate?"

"Luke is the only guy on this team I'd let date my ex. Trust me."

"Damn. Maybe I was gonna shoot my shot."

"She'd reject you before you could even say hi," John smirked.

"Hungy! Hungy!" Riley chanted, pulling at John's sleeve.

"Okay, bud. One second, Jack," John reached into his backpack, pulling out a pouch and opening it for Riley. "There you go, bud. Eat slowly."

"O-tay."

"Anyway, Tori wouldn't be interested in you. She only likes guys with curly hair."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We were together for four years. I know what her type is," he rolled his eyes. "Are we done here? I'd like to take my baby home."

Jack nodded, sulking back over to his stall.

"So... how're things with that Luke boy going?" Tori's best friend, Allison, asked. The two girls were sat on the sofa, an almost empty bottle of red wine in front of them, some horrible reality tv show on in the background.

"About that..."

"Oh no! Did he end up being a dick?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. He, um, he's teammates with John."

"He's what?! You're kidding me!"

"Nope. Saw him at family skate today."

"I thought you said he was an athletic trainer."

"He told me he did athletics. I just assumed he did like training for something. But nope, he's a rookie for the Devils."

"That's insane! Are you cutting him off? I thought you'd sworn off hockey players."

"I-"

"Victoria Jane Wilson! Do NOT tell me you're thinking about getting with this guy!"

"I... I'm not sure. He's really cute, Ally. Like the cutest guy I've seen in a while."

"Cuter than John?"

"Not sure anyone is cuter than John. My son is his carbon copy and he's the cutest ever."

"Speaking of Riley, do you think this Luke kid is ready to deal with a child in addition to you? He's how old? 20?"

"I know... I love Riley, but he's definitely made my dating pool smaller."

"Well, you'll have no way of knowing until you ask him on a date."

"You were just saying no more hockey boys! Make up your mind, Ally!"

"I know... but you haven't been on a date in like what..."

"Seven months."

"Seven months?! Text him right now!"

"Right now?"

"Right now!"

Maybe it was the copious amounts of wine that she'd consumed or the fact that she hadn't been on a date in seven months, but she reached for her phone and typed out a message.

I was wondering if you'd like to go on a proper date some time? Without any children with us

"Done!"

"Yay!!! This calls for more wine!"

The girls clinked their glasses together, giggling as they drank more.

Hey, Tori. I'd love that! Is Riley with John tomorrow? I'm free after 5.

"Oh my God! He said yes!!!"

"I knew he would, girl! You're stunning."

"I-"

"Don't give me that shit about your 'Mummy Tummy.' You carried a baby for 9 months of course you aren't going to look exactly the same as you did before. But trust me, you look fucking stunning. Now text him back!"

Ally was over for the second night in a row, except this time it wasn't girls' night. She was helping Tori get ready for her first date in almost a year.

"You have to wear something lowcut! Show off the goods," Ally smiled, pretending to squeeze some boobs in the air.

"They're not that impressive," Tori rolled her eyes, flicking through her shirts.

"Girl! Be confident! If I had tits like yours, I'd walk around in nothing but a bra!"

"Ally! Don't be crass!"

"What? Just telling the truth! We both know that Riley exists cause John loved your curves a little too much."

"Allison!" Tori gasped, although it was a tad bit dirty, she couldn't help but giggle. She pulled a white, flowy tank top out of her closet, holding it up to her body. "Thoughts?"

"That's the one! You'll look irresistible. Now! Let me do your makeup!" Ally clapped.

Tori did a once over in the mirror, smiling brightly. She wasn't usually very confident in her body, and that only got worse after having Riley. A ring filled the apartment as someone pressed her buzzer in the lobby. She pressed on the intercom button, "Come up!"

"I'll be here the whole time. Call if you need rescuing and I want all the details when you get back!" Ally smiled, plopping down on Tori's bed.

Luke rasied his fist, knocking on the wooden door. Tori wiped her hands on her jeans one last time, opening the door to reveal the boy. He was wearing a polo shirt that showed off his arms in the best way and a pair of khaki pants. It looked like he had attempted to tame his curls, but they just looked like they always did but wet.

"Wow, you... you look so pretty, Tori," he stuttered.

"Thank you. You also look really cute," she blushed. "Let me just grab my purse and then we can go. Come in."

Luke entered the apartment, taking in the decor. There was a small table in the corner covered in art supplies and a basket of toys next to it. On the sofa was a stuffed Winnie the Pooh and lots of plastic farm animals. Hanging on the wall was a colourful scribble with Riley's name printed at the bottom. It was clear to him that Riley was the most important thing in her life.

"Sorry, it's a bit messy. I usually clean when he's at John's, but I was... kinda nervous about tonight and forgot."

"You've got no reason to be nervous. I promise," Luke smiled.

God, his smile was cute. It was crooked, almost like a smirk and she wanted to see it every second of every day for the rest of her life.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

The walk to the restaurant was full of jokes and laughs. Conversation between the two flowed so easily.

"You're joking! There's no way!"

"I'm not! He ripped Quinn's braces out!"

"That's insane!"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No, no, I don't. Only child."

"How's that?"

"It was a bit lonely when I was a kid. But now I've got Riley so it's impossible to feel lonely."

They sat at a table, deciding to share a very large plate of seafood pasta.

"This is kind of a personal question, so you don't have to answer. But did you always want to be a mom?"

"That's not too personal, in my opinion. But yeah. When I found out I was pregnant though, I was really unsure. I was 22 and wanted to do so much more in my life first. But I can do most of those things even with Riley. And if I can't, John is there to watch him for me."

"That's a good way of looking at things. I, uh, I've never dated anyone with a kid."

Tori giggled, "I'm not surprised, Luke. But I'm not asking you to stay around if you don't want to."

They quickly moved on from talking about Riley, talking about their childhoods, favourite movies, and favourite foods.

"Secretariat? The horse movie?" she laughed.

"Don't laugh! It's a good movie!"

"I've never seen it."

"Well, I know what our next date is going to be," Luke's eyes widened as his brain caught up with his mouth, "If- If you want to go on another date. I, uh, I get if you don't want to. No pressure."

"Luke, I'd love to watch Secretariat with you," she smiled, reaching across the table to hold his hand. She ran her thumb over his knuckles, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I, uh, I'm free tomorrow. If that's not too soon."

"That should work. I just have to pick up Riley at 5, so it'll have to be in the afternoon."

"I'll make sure I'm up then."

"It's okay. I also sleep in on days Riley is with John."

Luke walked Tori up to her apartment, not wanting their night to end. They stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking at each other.

"I had a really good night," she smiled, looking down at her shoes.

"M- Me too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mhm."

"Can... Can I kiss you?"

"I don't normally kiss on the first date," she smirked.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"I'll make an exception for you."

Tori pushed herself up on her tip-toes, leaning in until their noses brushed. She let Luke take the final step, softly pressing their lips together. His were a bit chapped, but she didn't mind. Maybe her lip balm would rub off and help him out. They smiled, breaking the kiss.

"See you tomorrow," she waved goodbye, closing the door as he walked down the hall to the elevator.

"How was it?!" Ally screeched. Tori jumped, holding her hand to her chest.

"Holy shit! I forgot you were here!"

"Okay? How was it?!"

"So good! He's coming over tomorrow. Oh Lord, I have to clean!"

"He's coming over?! You're getting laid?!"

"No, God. Ally, it's our second date. I'm not sleeping with him."

"Why not?! When was the last time you had sex?"

"Um..."

"When did you and John sleep together?"

"Two months ago."

"I still can't believe you did that."

"He looked really hot playing with Riley. And we both hadn't slept with anyone in months. It was just... a mutual release."

Ally shook her head, "Whatever. Two months. You need some dick. And not your ex's."

"Why not? John's-"

"I don't want to hear about John's dick, Victoria."

"Your favourite person ever wouldn't exist without it," she shrugged.

"Riley's the only good thing that came from John. Anywho..."

"We're not sleeping together tomorrow. We're watching his favourite movie."

"Aww! That's so sweet! Look at you!! Finally moving on from Johnny Boy."

"I've been moved on for a while. I'm not sure the same can be said for him."

"He'll figure it out when he sees how happy you are with Luke!"

Tori giggled, "Time to clean up."

"I'll help... if we open a bottle of wine."

"Deal."

Tori was so nervous that she'd refolded the blanket on the back of the sofa at least six times now. She didn't really have company over except Ally and John. She wanted her apartment to look the best it ever had. All of Riley's toys were back in his toy bin and his room, she'd even cleaned the kitchen counter in case Luke went in there for something.

The intercom buzzed and Luke's voice broke through, "It's Luke. Hughes. Luke Hughes. Except I don't think you're expecting another Luke. But, I'm here."

Tori laughed, pressing the button to let him up. Less than a minute later there was a knock at her door. She took a deep breath, swining it open and smiling widely. Luke was in a Devils hoodie and some track pants. Luckily, she was dressed similarly.

"Welcome! I set up the living room for us."

"Perfect," Luke entered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Tori sat on the sofa, Luke boldly sitting right next to her. Their thighs were touching and he had his arm stretched over the back of the leather sofa.

She couldn't help but admire his thighs. That was one thing she loved about hockey boys. Their thighs. It was probably her favourite feature when looking for a guy.

She clicked on Disney+, the app immediately playing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

"Shit, sorry. Guess that's the last thing we were watching on here."

Luke just laughed, scooting closer to her (if that was possible). She relaxed, cuddling into his side. The movie started and Luke smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her nose. She blushed, leaning up and connecting their lips in an actual kiss.

"No more kissing. You're going to distract me from the movie," Tori sassed, playfully pushing his face as he went in for another one.

"Fine," he pouted, turning his attention to the movie.

By the time the movie had ended, Tori was practically wrapped around Luke. A loud yawn escaped her.

"Was it that boring? That's my favourite movie we're talking about, Victoria," he feigned anger.

"It was sad. But I liked it. I need a nap though."

"Oh, I can go."

"No, come on. Your comfy," she grabbed his hand, leading him to her bedroom. Luke lay down next to her, allowing her to cuddle into his side, an arm thrown over his chest. She fell asleep almost immediately. He wasn't surprised though. He understood that Riley had been having a sleep regression and it was exhausting for John and Tori. He turned to look at the picture on her bedside table. It was her, Riley, and John at a beach. It looked recent, like it had just been taken over the off season. Tori was holding on of Riley's hands and John was holding the other. They looked like a happy, functional family. And it made Luke's brain run a mile a minute. How come her relationship with John hadn't worked out? Maybe she didn't commitment. Maybe she didn't want something serious. Maybe- A snore cut off his thoughts and he looked down at the sleeping figure in his arms. Why was he worried? She seemed happy. He just needed to not overthink it. Easier said than done.

Luke woke her up at 4:30, shaking her shoulder slightly. She slowly sat up, patting down her messy hair.

"What's up?" she mumbled.

"It's 4:30. I should probably go before John and Riley get here. I don't want to confuse anyone."

"Oh... okay. I, uh, sorry I fell asleep. I haven't had a full night of sleep in what feels like ages."

"You're fine, Tori. You coming to the game on Tuesday?"

"Yeah. I try to bring Riley to most home games. We just never stay long. He gets restless."

"See you then," he kissed her one last time.

"Mama!" Riley ran into Tori's arms.

"Hi, baby! Did you have fun at Dada's?"

"Yes! We 'ockey!"

"You played hockey! That's so fun! Let's get you some dinner!"

"Hungy!"

Tori smiled, standing up to talk to John.

"How was he?"

"You weren't kidding about the sleep. Couldn't get him down until 11 last night. And he was up at 3 and 5."

"Yeah, it's Hell. Did he stay in his cot?"

"Last night he slept in my bed. Night before he slept in his cot until 4."

"Did you use a pacifier?"

"I'm working on not. I know you said you want him to give it up. He used it last night because I could not calm him."

"That's fine. We're coming to the game Tuesday. Can't promise we'll stay after the first period though."

"All good. You wanna stay for dinner?"

"Nah, I'm going to Jack's. See you at the game."

"See you at the game."

John pressed a kiss to her hair, "Come say goodbye to Dada, Riley!"

"Buh-bye, Dada! 'Uv 'oo!"

"I love you too!"

Once the door was closed and locked for the night, Tori put Riley in his booster seat.

"How about mac and cheese?"

"Eese!"

"Let's do it! We're going to go see Dada play hockey in two days! Are you excited?"

"I 'uv 'ockey!"

"I know you do, baby! Mac and cheese time!"

Tori was exhausted Tuesday night as she entered the arena. Riley hadn't slept the last time night for more than 4 hours and was throwing tantrums all day because he was tired. He cried and cried for his dad. Tori eventually had to call John and have him come calm down Riley while she showered. She was on the brink of crying all day Tuesday and the stress of being at the game wasn't helping. But she'd promised John that Riley would be there at least for a little bit. She was chasing him around the family suite, trying to tire the little boy out. He'd started playing with some of the other kids and she finally had a moment to herself.

"Girl, you need a vacation," Reanne sighed, rubbing her friend's back.

"You're telling me. He's been so poorly behaved recently. I just... I'm considering have John move in until he gets over his sleep regression."

"Really?" Nicole gasped, "Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure what my other options are. Call my mom to come. But she hates flying. I'd ask John's parents, but they don't love me since the break up."

"Luke?"

"We've been on two dates! And he's a rookie. He needs his sleep."

"A nanny?"

"I have no money, girl. Child support is a saving grace at the moment."

"I'm sure John would-"

"I'm not asking my ex for money."

"Are you still working for that online newspaper?"

"Yeah, but the pay isn't the best ever. It works for us, but I can't afford a nanny."

"Well, if you need moral support when you talk to John about it, we're all here," one of the other wives smiled kindly.

After the game, John came over for a bit. Tori had texted him and asked for him to come so they could talk. So, now they were tensely sitting at the kitchen table.

"What's up, Tori?"

"I- I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"I, um, I need you to move back in for a bit. This... this isn't me asking to get back together. Please don't take it that way. I- I'm seeing Luke now. But Riley has been a lot to handle on my own right now. And I really need help."

"I- I could pay for a nanny. Or-"

"John. I'm asking you as his father not as my ex-boyfriend."

"Right. Um, yeah. I can do that. For how long?"

"Until he's over this sleep regression. We need to tag team it right now. It's too much for one person."

"Let me go to my place and grab some stuff. I'll be back in an hour. Can you set up the sofa for me?"

"Why? You can sleep in my room. It's closer to Riley's."

"Because we're not together?"

"John, I'm not uncomfortable if you aren't. Your the father of my child. It's not weird for me."

"Then it's fine with me. See you in an hour."

God, she hoped this didn't backfire.

[ashwhowrites]

Harrington!reader, Steve’s little sister. Popular, a cheerleader, first time senior and Chrissy’s best friend. But she has a secret that only her best friend knows. She’s had a crush on Eddie Munson since middle school. She’s afraid to tell him, thinking there’s no way he’d be into her. Until one day in the cafeteria, Jason Carver calls Eddie a freak. She confronts him, and punches him in the face, breaking or spraining her hand/wrist. Guess her little secret is out, and she may never be popular again.

I feel like I wrote a fic like this, but I couldn't find it, so here we go! I hope this is what you were looking for and you like it <3

Never proofread

Liking the freak

Y/N Harrington was a popular cheerleader, her status even higher than her older brother's. A status that everyone knew. She tried to be a lot nicer than how Steve was. She didn't want to be popular for being an asshole.

The worst part about being popular was knowing people disliked her because of it. And there was someone she was always worried hated her, Eddie Munson. He was known to hate the popular crowd and she couldn't blame him. They made his life hell day in and day out.

But she always had a soft spot for him, ever since middle school. She was embarrassed to admit she had a crush on him since, but she didn't believe for a second that he would like her back. She doesn't think there's one bone in his body that would like her. She wasn't mean to him, but she never helped him out either. Just stood in the back and tried to avoid problems everywhere.

Chrissy knew, her best friend, and Chrissy thought she should go for it. But Chrissy also knew her boyfriend, Jason, would turn on Y/N in seconds. Chrissy also understood Y/N's fear of Eddie not liking her back. Their crowds just didn't mix well.

Jason was on another rant about who knows during lunch. Y/N got good at drowning him out, picking at her lunch as she admired Eddie from across the room. She could tell he was mocking Jason and she found herself laughing, even though she couldn't hear him. But then he looked up, his brown eyes meeting hers. He lifted his eyebrow, almost to ask "What are you doing looking at me?" But she found herself frozen, not looking away.

"YO, FREAK. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT HER FOR?" Jason yelled, immediately grabbing everyone's attention. Y/N snapped out of her daydream and glared at Jason. Now the whole room was staring at their table, trying to see who the freak was looking at.

Eddie rolled his eyes and stood up, "SHE WAS LOOKING AT ME!" he yelled back. He told the truth, but of course, Jason wouldn't believe that.

Jason scoffed and looked back at Y/N, "Dude, a girl like that would never look at you unless she was making fun of you." For once, Y/N was involved in the problem and she figured this would be the time.

She stood up, ignoring Chrissy's pleas for her to sit back down.

"I was staring. It's not his fault. Leave him alone." Y/N confessed, giving Eddie a small smile as an apology. But Jason kept going.

"For what? Don't tell me you like the freak?" Jason accused her, she was stunned for a second. Not thinking Jason would go immediately think of that.

But what was the point of lying?

"I think he's attractive and I'd like to get to know him." She said, crossing her arms as she stood confidently. Trying to ignore the way everyone gasped like it was that serious. Eddie looked stunned, his table looking between her and him a thousand times. Dustin smiled and went for a high-five, but Eddie smacked his hand down with a glare.

"You can't do that!" Jason tried but Y/N didn't care. "Why? Because you say so? Like I'm going to listen to you." Y/N grabbed her backpack and was heading toward Eddie to prove her point.

"Fine, go with the freak Harrington! Just like your loser brother. But don't come crawling back when you realize he's just as much trash as his deadbeat dad." Jason thought he won when she froze. Her back to him as she stared at Eddie. He looked embarrassed and almost looked like he agreed with Jason. Y/N knew what it was like to struggle with parents, she had Steve at least, but Eddie didn't have anyone.

Y/N did the first thing that came to mind, she turned around, knuckles clenched as she punched him straight across the face. Chrissy gasped and checked on Jason, but had a proud look on her face.

Jason was knocked to the floor, caught off guard as he stared at her. Screaming started and teachers were rushing to her. Before she knew it, she was being grabbed by teachers and thrown out of the cafeteria. But as she was dragged out she caught Eddie's eye. He winked and sent her a smirk.

Maybe the Harringtons weren't as bad as Eddie thought.

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @somethingvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @manyfandomsfanvergentreblogs @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila @stusdollface93

[bougiebutchbinch]

Hey hai, sorry for the long ask but I wanted to hand deliver a snippet to you if that's okay, cus I'm half way through the stone trans top logan fic and am way too excited to finish it (obviously you don't have to post this, I'm just writin for sillys :3 and I wish I could put a -read more- cut in an ask)

Logan was sick and tired of Wade. Well, not Wade, he could never get tired of Wade, he was tired of Wade's non-stop never-ending jokes. Well, some of the jokes-

Dammit he was pissed off at Wade's sex jokes.

He was always putting jokes everywhere where they didn't belong and usually Logan just ignored him, but in the past few days the jokes were getting less and less varied in their subject. All about how good a fuck would be and all the things he would do to Logan in bed and Logan had to stop himself from growling whenever the man even joked about his dick anywhere near Logan.

Sure it wasn't Wade's fault he felt his way, but nothing was going inside him, and that was final.

And one night they were down at a bar, neither drinking much, Logan needed to cut down on his alcohol and Wade was enjoying sipping at his stupid fruity cocktail.

He scowled as he brought his beer back up to his lips.

Wade had brought his suit mask, pulled up to his nose as he sipped, wearing some shitty hawiian shirt or oter, obnoxious kahki shorts that clashed horrendously, knee high white socks with sneakers, and he didnt know what the fuck kinda look wade was going for but it sure was something, logan just chose to come out in his flannel and tank top and jeans, his outfit he felt most comfortable in, although the jeans were pissing him the hell off too, maybe that was just because they couldnt hold the shape of his packer and it looked like he had no dick, he really hated to admit how self concoius he felt going round outside when he felt he didnt look right.

But he could distract himself from those feelings by letting himself get pissed off by wade.

Wade, who now he had tuned back into the mans ramblings, he realised he was talking about logan, apparently his favourite topic of conversation,

“Y’know I'm not a natural bottom, but I'd be willing to do anything for you, babygirl!”

Logan just turned his head round very slowly, ever so slight fuzz of alcohol feeling comforting instead of drowning,

“Yeah yeah haha, real funny wade.”

Wade looked over at him with a grin, this was the first time Logan replied to him all night,

“Who said I was joking peanut?”

Logan hesitated for a moment before scoffing,

“Take off your mask and look me in the eyes while you say that and I might just believe you.”

SKDJFGKLJDSFGSDF I AM ABOUT TO GO TO UNI YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO MEEEE

I have to sit in lectures all day and pretend I'm not thinking about Wade getting absolutely fucking WRECKED. this is going to haunt me. haunt me. :screams:

Also I love how every time Wade says 'not a natural bottom' you can just TELL he is lying. The lady doth protest too much, etc. etc. etc.

Logan's packer-woes are relatable, lmaoooo. I love him and I am so excited for this. Seriously. Thank you and everyone else who's also latched onto this headcanon - having more rep with the character I'm majorly projecting onto really does mean the world!

I can tell this fic is gonna be great fun already.... I can't wait.

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

completely agree with your sto-litz vs Husker-Dust analysis- and wanted to add another little thing that just...kills my possible enjoyment of the former even without the horribly abusive context- the show never bothers to show them having a good time together. Never bothered to show them as friends.

Either it's Stolas harassing Blitzo, him being visibly aggravated and....angst. Lots and lots of angst. Like even if that owl wasn't the literal worse why would I enjoy a ship that....doesn't enjoy themselves? Like Hazbin's latter half being so rushed affected all the meaningful interactions- Husk/Dust included- but I still got to see some genuine moments from them post-episode 4 where they were friends- like Angel dropping Nifty on Husk's head and going full "deal with it bro" or them doing target practice together before the war- those little glimpses of comradery and playfulness you see in people that like the other. Y'know, friends.

And when the show DOES try to show them as friends it's just....so bad. Like the whole childhood friends mess that I won't touch with a 20 meter stick and episode 2x2- ie Stolas ignoring his missing child (again) in favor of getting onto his obsession's pants LITERALLY EPISODES after their whole"break up" moment in Ozzies.... these two can't even be friends, how the hell I am supposed to believe they can be a couple? Again, it's just not fun to watch.

Ah thanks anon! Glad you liked it. I know people have issues with H*skerdust and I really do get why as their ship involves a lot of contentious topics. And Hazbin was so so sooooo insanely rushed. You are basically forced to fill in bits using your own head which you shouldn't have to. But, it still works to me.

I think if you're doing unrequited attention -> requited attention in a story then it can be really tricky to get it right. Especially when it involves very sexually charged attention and not more reserved attention. But I'd say that making Angel a forced sex worker who's being hypersexual to cope is a lot better than making someone with immense class power and who is sexually repressed then go crazy and become obsessive about one specific lower class person he met as a kid and had his dad buy him to entertain him likeee ????

Husk sees through what Angel's doing with his act and he sees some of himself and how he is trapped too. So he pushes him to be better and once they reconcile with Loser Baby he continues to encourage Angel to be better and only THEN does he start to reciprocate affection or admiration or any positive kind of feelings, only when Angel changes and shows that he can be something other than a pot of lewd jokes towards Husk. They they reach that moment of understanding. They become happier together. They don't just make each other actively worse. They had angst but they overcame it. I could see them also having further angst potentially yet overcoming it again in a believable way.

While St*litz? Yeah it really is just misery misery and more misery and there's nothing wrong with making a ship that involves misery. The problem is lying to us that a miserable ship isn't miserable. We as the audience see so much damn misery and little else like you said, yet we're supposed to love their ship and believe deep down they're madly in love in a way that can totally be healthy and they're a great end game? They always seem one disaster away from a huge emotional blowout if they're not having sex, and everything constantly being sexual is only adding fuel to the fire of their issues. They have nothing in common. Huskerdust both have addiction issues, soul contracts, seem to like similar things I'm sure Angel would gladly play poker with Husk or they would go bar hopping together etc. While you have a booksy library nerd and then you have a guy who's just not into any of that. And that could still work but they need to establish other things they DO have in common. Right now we've only really seen the differences.

What would St*litz do if hanging out together? I feel like everything St*las would suggest would just have Blitz disinterested and disrespecting it lol. St*las has been obsessed with Blitz since birth like some kind of weird fixation. Love at first sight... as a child? Wtf? That look St*las gives Blitz all blushy as a child is while he knew NOTHING about the actual Blitz and who he is. That's the kind of crush as a child you grow the hell out of to still be thinking about 1 day as a child years later to that extent is insane and not healthy.

While Blitz meanwhile never thought of him again. Then only had sex with him when they met again as adults out of pity after seducing and tying him up to distract him so he could escape his house. And may I also add that St*las put that idea into his head to flirt with the weird "You're here to ravish me" and "nefarious intentions" comments.

St*las makes this face as he says hes going to take Blitz to his room and handle him. And then says all those comments to Blitz while the two of them are now alone in St*las' bedroom. St*las. Why did you decide to take Blitz to your bedroom. Why did you make that face. Why did you say those comments to someone you had only met as a child for one day and then they broke into your house. Its apparently all not serious, those weird sexually charged comments you began making towards someone you met once as a child and barely knew??? Then. Then why say them at all. Whats the joke? Why would you tell who's basically a stranger alone with you in your bedroom with you a joke like that? That's such a bizzare fucking thing to do.

So then Blitz starts to get physical and flirts back and St*las says he was just kidding with the flirting/jokes (the writing for St*las is so inconsistent and dogshit I s2g) and he tries to back out. In a panic over the book and escaping Blitz keeps going and ignores St*las wanting to back out (fucking GROSS that they wrote Blitz as doing this). Then St*las gives into it? Its just so fucking awkward and gross feeling that entire scene. And its the foundation for their entire adult relationship going forwards. EW. Husk and Angel's foundation is Husk getting him to snap out of being hypersexual and boundary crossing for both their sake's. Blitz and St*las, they never seem to make each other better they just seem to be miserable and constantly lie to each other. They barely seem to know or care what the other wants and needs.

Blitz being around St*las just encourages St*las' insane hypersexual behaviors which bring out the worst in him because yeah those are harassing behaviors and have a weird racial/species fetishizing undertone. For Angel they were a way of pretending he really did like being a sexual object and that's why when Husk called it enough and said he should recognize that his situation is bad instead of trying to pretend he likes it he stopped; Husk wasn't the thing actually motivating the issues. While Blitz absolutely is with St*las, St*las is unhealthily obsessed with him. And that motivates him to abuse his power and to ignore his daughter's needs. St*las shouldn't be around Blitz because it clearly causes him to act in ways which hurt others and himself because he clearly doesn't know how to act right towards Blitz in any capacity. His attraction is not normal or healthy.

[fuuyuko01]

It's fine

Ryan Ross x Reader

Slight hurt/comfort (mostly fluff)

TW: swearing, alcohol, very, very slight nsfw

[HII!!! THAT WAS MY FIRST EVER FANFIC, SO I'M SORRY IF IT'S NOT GOOD!! You can tell me what I should improve, and I'll work on it!!! Hope you'll have fun!! ;P

XO Lea ☆]

*Y/N's POV*

It was a rainy day and I was lying in my bed with my friend Ryan by my side. Yes, Ryan Ross, known as Ryan Ross from Panic! at the disco. Cool, I know. We were friends since 8th grade, when he and his parents moved to our town. Since then we were friends and blah blah blah... As you can guess, I might kinda have a littlest crush on him, but hey.... who wouldn't, right? Anyway, I know it might sound cringe, but I'm 100% sure he doesn't feel the same, cause he can get literally every girl he wants, so I see no point why would he choose me. Anyway! I was scrolling through Instagram, when Ryan sighed and tapped at my shoulder.

— Brendon invited us to some party this weekend. He said that it's a Halloween party, so we should wear some costumes, you down? - he looked at me with pleading eyes.

— Well, if you're going then why not? - I smiled to him and he returned it.

— Good! I'd rather not go to Brendon's alone. - he sighed dramatically and I chuckled.

— Uh-huh, so if we're going, should we have matching costumes? Maybe mummies? [Everybody scream it's almost Halloween!!]

— Dude, I was thinking about the same thing, we totally should! - Ryan said excited. I knew he loves mummies, that's why I picked them, cause.... be fucking for real, who would want to go to party as a mummy. I could've been some Frankenstein [Iero] or dead bride. But I knew it'd make him happy, so whatever.

— Great! Well, we don't have much time, let's go shopping for some paints and bandages! - I said, and we went to store, to buy everything we needed.

☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆

Rest of the week wasn't so entertaining, we were just basically going to school and completing our costumes.

I had the worst luck in the day of the party. First, I spilled my coffee all over myself in the morning, so I had to change my clothes, but then I didn't have anything clean, so I had to wear some of my old clothes, which were too small for me. Then, I slipped on the spilled coffee and not only did I cut my knee on the floor, but my bracelet from Ryan fell under the kitchen cabinet so far that I practically had to climb under it to get it out. And when I had it, I also got a huge, DISGUSTING spider out of it. Yeah, I hope that was everything for today.

Ryan came over to my house, so I could do our matching makeup and that was so far, the only good thing that happened this day.

I was sitting on Ryan's lap, doing his makeup and his hands slipped on my waist. I blushed as crazy, cause what the fuck was he doing... He just grinned with his eyes closed as I was doing his eyeliner. That bitch... My poor heart was about to blow up, so I just tried to ignore it, which was difficult, cause I HAD A CRUSH ON HIM, AND HE HAD HIS HANDS ON MY WAIST!!! WHAT THE HELL.

I calmed myself and focused on finishing his makeup, and when I was done, I stood up and he went to the mirror to see my work.

— Is it good? - I asked him, still feeling a bit of warmth on my cheeks.

— Bro, it's beautiful! Thank you, Y/N, you're so good at this, damn.... - I chuckled at him and blushed slightly.

— Jeez, stop, you're making me blush! - I said jokingly and he smirked.

— Well, I saw how you blushed when I put my hands on your waist, you liked it so much? - I turned away so he couldn't see my red face, so I could finally do my makeup.

As I was finishing my eyeliner, my hand slipped and I stared at my fucking relfection in the mirror trying not to cry, cause I was almost finished. I groaned loudly and frustrated. Ryan came to me and looked at my fucked up eyeliner.

— Ehh... don't worry, you look great anyway - he smiled warmly and put his hand on my shoulder - You can always say that it's a part of your costume, right? - he rubbed my shoulder and I smiled at him. He's so cute and good to me.... You get why I love him.

I sighed, and after a while of getting our things, we went to Brendon's house.

☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆

[Sorry if it's boring...]

When we got there, Brendon opened the door with some girl Sarah beside him and they greeted us.

— Dude, you know who's coming today? - Brendon said to Ryan - Juliet! - he said and grinned at Ryan. Who? I was so confused. I knew it couldn't possibly be Ryan's girlfriend, cause I'd know if he had one, but... I've never heard of anyone named Juliet from him. He side-eyed me and I shot him a confused look.

— That's um... great. - Ryan said embarrassed and Brendon just shook his head.

As the sun went down and everyone was tipsy or just drunk, I was talking to Frank and Andy, cause Ryan went to grab some drinks for us. I realised it was a while ago, but I thought that maybe he met Jon or Z on the way. But after some more time, I was getting worried.

— Uh, guys, I'll go check on Ryan, you wanna stay or go with me? - I asked them and they looked at each other.

— I'll go with you! - Andy shot me one of his stunning smiles. Don't get me wrong, I love Ryan, but Andy is so cute! And he's more like a brother to me anyway.

Frank said he'll stay and went to talk to Pete and Gee.

As we were going and talking with Andy, I spotted Brendon grinning and giggling, while looking at something in the kitchen. Andy said he's probably so drunk, that he's hallucinating, so I brushed this off and then we get there.

Ryan was kissing with some blond girl. She was almost fucking eating him alive and he held her so tightly... I was stunned and I could tell Andy was too. We were standing there for like 15 seconds, which felt like hours and then Andy grabbed my arm and started walking off to the doors. Last thing I saw, was Ryan's shocked face, when he caught a glimpse of us walking off.

☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆

I was crying into Andy's shoulder, when alcohol and the whole Ryan-situation caught up with me. I'm not really blaming him for kissing that girl. She was pretty and in his type. I knew I wasn't that pretty, but she looked nothing like me and this broke me even more. I was kinda angry that he didn't told me about having girlfriend or even a crush.... I thought we were friends.

I heard someone opening the door, and Andy turned around.

— Um...hey, could you leave us alone? Please... - great. Well, who would've thought that it was Ryan. I hung my head low as Andy backed off a little.

— Sure, but don't worsen her state, cause I swear to god... - Andy looked at him with his brows knitted. He was such a good friend. As he was leaving, I heard him whispering "She loved you, bro" to Ryan. Damn, could it get worse? I sniffed and Ryan came to me.

— I'm sorry, Y/N... - he said. I started to feel bad, was I a bad friend and person?

— No, Ryan, it's fine! I just... I thought you'd tell me if you had a girlfriend... But it's okay, really. - I tried to smile at him, but my words were just worsening my ability to speak and hold back tears, so my voice and smile were cracking as fuck. Ryan sighed.

— It's not okay, Y/N and... she's not my girlfriend, I 'd tell you. I'm sorry, fuck, she's just an old friend of mine and... God, I'm sorry, she kissed me and I wasn't really thinking straight after alcohol, so I just went with it. And... you were all over Frank tonight, I just couldn't take it. - my eyes widened at his words.

— What? Ryan, what are you talking about? Frank and I are just friends, besides, Frank have a girlfriend, don't you remember...? - I looked at him in disbelief. He met Jamia, I didn't know what he was thinking anymore... He looked me in the eyes and his cheeks went slightly red. He said a little "Oh..." and I smiled lightly.

— So... that girl isn't your girlfriend, right...? - I asked shyly, cause I still was confused about all of this.

— No, I... - he sighed - I love only you, I couldn't look at you being so close with Frank, I just... I don't even know what I was thinking. I'm sorry Y/N, I get it if you don't want to be with me or you need a break I..- he didn't get to finish the sentence, cause I bring him down and kissed him quickly. We both melted into the kiss and his hands went to my waist, while mine rested on his shoulder and at the back of his head. We broke off after some time and just smiled at ourselves and he kissed me again, this time much softer, without any hesitations and fears of rejection, just pure love and happiness. Soon I deepened the kiss and it got pretty heated. My back collided with the wall and Ryan's hands were roaming on my body. But then someone opened the door and we broke off again. We were panting heavily, and Jon walked through the door. He looked at us, panting and blushing and he started laughing.

— Having fun? Don't get too fucking freaky when everyone can walk on you and get flashed. - he said and we looked at each other and smiled.

☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆~*°`°*~☆

Soon, we got back to my bedroom and as the sun went up we ended up on a ground. I smiled into the kiss and felt Ryan smiling too. He then backed off a little and looked me in the eyes.

— I'm sorry for tonight. I never thought you'd like me like that... I really love you Y/N, really, you're my everything. - he said and kissed my cheek, I felt like crying again.

— I love you too, Ryan! I thought YOU wouldn't like me like that. I guess we're just two idiots. - we chuckled and I hugged Ryan tightly.

I guess that day wasn't so unlucky, after all...

☆

[bellysoupset]

yo dude i know you just worked your ass off on that vince fic (i can tell bro bc holy shit, like i genuinely think thats my new favorite all time fic i'll go back to for years to come), but rn im just so 🤩🤩 rn with the idea of the football boys playing a game, like maybe a little for-fun game of football, maybe they go to a recreational basketball/baseball field to play a little game that isnt football in their freetime, and someone gets hurt or sumn? damn idk what it is with me and suggesting seeing these boys hurt but GODDDD ITS SO 🤩🤩🤩🤩 (also probably vince wouldnt be the hurt one, as he just got absolutely smushed. he may not even be in said setting bc he's still having to not do anything due to the last fic, if everything is in chronological order)(IH MY GOD WHAT IF VINCE WAS STAYING WITH JONAH AND LEO AND LEO WAS OUT PLAYING THE GAME WITH THEM AND COMES HOME HURT AND THE TWO ARE LIKE "damn not you too")(if you decide to go thru with this ask, please dont feel rushed bc i dont want you to get burnt out yk? take your time 💪💪💪)

"Finally, I see the sun," Vince groaned, causing Leo to roll his eyes.

"It's been literally ten days, you drama queen," he said, removing his baseball cap and pushing his hair back, away from his sweaty forehead, then planting the cap back down, this time facing back.

"Ten days of captivity," Vince said, dramatically rubbing his good hand over his face, "is good to be out of jail."

"I'd like to think my food is a little better than jail's," Leo scoffed, turning around and walking backwards towards the field, "are you sure you wanna stay and watch? Doesn't sound very fun to me."

"I was going stir crazy in that apartment," Vince winced as the limping pulled on his wounded side. He was definitely dosed up on painkillers, but there was still a dull throbbing on his side that the drugs couldn't chase, made worse by all the hopping around, "even sitting and watching you guys play is better fun than watching another episode Rachel's bad romantic decisions."

Leo grinned, turning around so he could run ahead and join the remaining guys on the field and Vince took his time limping towards the bleachers. His shirt was covered in sweat by the time he sat down.

He didn't know all the players. Leo, yes, Spencer and Mikey from the team too. The other people he didn't know, it seemed they were an weird rag tag team of people's various acquaintances. By the way Leo waved to some of them, he guessed they were colleagues from the law firm.

It didn't matter, Vince was just overjoyed to be out of the fancy apartment and smelling freshly cut grass, with the sun shining down on him. He had not been made to sit around, there was too much energy running through him during all hours of the day and the worst part of this whole accident had been no longer being able to hit the gym or the field or, hell, he'd even take Wendy's hot yoga classes at this point.

"Hey!" Luke's voice startled Vince and he turned on the hot stone bleachers in order to see him. Luke jogged closer, "good to see you out of bed."

"You have no idea," Vin nodded, studying his best friend, "you good? Bella said the bug was brutal."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Luke had a huge smile on, much like Vince he hated lying about, although he looked a little paler than normal and his voice was scratchy, "wish us luck."

"Make them cry, captain" Vince teased, raising both thumbs up, his left one cradled in his chest since his arm was still resting on the sling.

Lucas tipped his baseball cap in a cowboy-esque way, "you got it, man."

They were playing baseball and Vince didn't much care for it. It was much too american for him, aside from football he had always been more fond of soccer, something he had in common with Jonah. In fact, Jon had proved to be a bit of a soccer addict, Vince had found in the past week living with him and Leo. He knew all the leagues, yelled at the TV and got sullen when his team lost. It was quite amusing to Vin that, for once, he wasn't the one with the blood pressure skyrocketing through the roof.

He leaned back lazily, barely paying attention to the game, enjoying the warmth. Now that he was sitting down for a bit, the ribs' aching had quieted down.

For the next two hours he watched his friends sprint across the field, shouting at each other, ignoring the yelling from the opposite team. Vince blamed it on the drugs and the sun scorching down, but he was feeling sleepy in no time. He cursed at it, it was such a bummer that everyone else was right and he needed to rest, when all he did was rest now.

"Time!" he heard Lucas say, voice booming. He had that characteristic about him, where he could speak loudly and be heard by everyone without looking like he was screaming.

The group dispersed and Luke jogged back to where Vince was sitting, Leo close behind him.

"Are we winning, son?" Vince teased, causing Lucas to chuckle and shove his knee.

"Didn't make 'em cry, yet, but we're winning," he said, competitiveness rolling off of him. He glanced past his shoulder and frowned, "why are you pouting?"

Vince looked away from Luke, to Leo, and raised his eyebrows. As Lucas said, the blonde had a big frown on and he was squinting at the grass. He angrily rubbed at his forehead, "I don't... I don't feel so good."

"Shit, LU-" Vince shouted, using his good hand to shove Lucas' arm, who leaped forward just in time to catch Leo as his knees gave up.

"What the fuck?!" Luke squealed, his voice breaking. He grabbed Leo by the armpits, manhandling him to sit on the edge of the bleacher's step, "Leo? Leo, c'mon, open your eyes-"

"Not fainting," Leo slurred, pushing Lucas' frantic hands away from his face, "nauseous."

Vince grimaced as he scooted closer, having to prop all his body weight on his right arm in order to lower himself to the step under his, where Leo was sitting. He grabbed Leo's shoulder and then moved his hand up to his neck and cheeks. Despite the fact his cheeks were blazing red and his hair still damp with sweat, his cheeks were dry and his skin felt cold, "oh kid," Vince sighed, "I think you got heatstroke."

Lucas, still looking nervous, cupped Leo's face too, hunching on himself to look him in the face, "aww, why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

Vince watched as Leo's throat bobbed dangerously and he glanced at Luke, "I think you better move..."

He barely had time to say this and Leo was folding in half, vomit jetting out of his mouth and covering the grass under them. Lucas jumped out of the way just in time, but not quick enough to avoid getting the tip of his sneakers covered in orange sick.

"Shit, Leo..." Vince sighed, holding on the back of his friend's muscle shirt, "okay, get it up, you'll feel better in a bit... Luke, can you drive us back...?" Vince voice trailed off as he realized that Lucas had a hand holding Leo's shoulder, but the other one was firmly pressed to his mouth, eyes shut, face pale, "uh... Luke?"

"Sorry-" he said in a muffle manner, then let go of Leo and staggered away from them, bracing against his knees and retching.

Leo groaned, almost falling off since Luke had let go of his arm and Vince squeezed his shirt a little tighter, "don't worry about him, he's fine..." he said, while Leo coughed up another round of brown liquid, "you're fine, right?!" Vince said a little louder and Luke raised a hand, thumb up, while still gagging mercilessly.

Leo spat, then leaned back and almost fell, his head meeting Vince's wounded shoulder and causing him to bite down a scream. He breathed through the pain, as the poor man groaned and leaned his head against his bicep.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's okay, you can't help it," Vince said, voice strained, "we're going home, just- Here," he winced, reaching back to where he had been sitting and grabbing a water bottle, "take some sips."

"Won't stay down-" Leo groaned, taking the lukewarm bottle and then looking up as Lucas' heaved again, this time managing to bring up a pathetic amount of puke, "is he okay?"

"He's fine," Vince said, rolling his eyes, "drink your water."

Ahead of them Lucas straightened up, belching deeply into his fist and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, walking back to them, "sorry..."

"Since when you get sympathy sick?" Vince asked, while Leo took the smallest sip of water, gagging around the bottle's finish.

"I guess I'm not feeling a hundred percent still," Lucas' cheeks turned pink and he rubbed at his chest, "I'm better now, don't worry."

"Not worried," Vince lied, while Leo let out a moan again, hugging his stomach.

"This is awful, I feel really dizzy..."

"You just need to lie down in a cool place, get some electrolytes in you," Vin rubbed his nape, then glanced at Lucas, "can you drive?"

"Yeah, of course," the brunette nodded, although Vince wasn't feeling very reassured by how milky white Lucas looked. Sadly, there was no other option.

"C'mere," Lucas said, carefully side stepping the puddle on the ground and looping an arm around Leo's waist, "lean on me."

"I'm sorry I made you sick..."

"That was on me," Luke waved him off and Vince gestured for them to go ahead, since getting himself out of the bleachers was a struggle on its own.

By the time he reached them, Leo was sitting inside Luke's car, with the a/c blasting, while Luke was leaning outside of it, an arm wrapped around his stomach.

"I'm fine," Luke said preemptively, "I should've listened to Bell," he let out a sick burp, spat on the gravel and kicked the little rocks to cover up the mess, "really, stop looking at me like that."

"I'm just worried," Vince shrugged, or tried to, only to hiss as it pulled on his shoulder and ribs, "I can call Wendy if you can't drive. She's got the day off..."

'I can drive," Luke shook his head, "I just overdid it with all the running around and the mess..." he gagged fruitlessly against his hand, "I'm good."

"Clearly," Vince agreed sarcastically, then limped to the backseat.

Leo was slumped on the passenger seat, head leaning back, taking some deep, measured breaths.

"Hey, kid," Vin reached in and squeezed his arm, "just hang in there, this is going to pass soon."

Leo nodded, but he still looked dangerously pale, lips pressed in one thin line.

The drive was uneventful, Vince glancing nervously from Leo to Lucas and wondering how their evening had downgraded so quickly. Just as they got close, Leo suddenly hiccupped, slapping a hand over his mouth as a burp slipped out and with the other one he pushed Lucas' thigh "pull over-" his voice was muffled, punctuated by another belch at the end and Luke cringed, turning on the sign and pulling to the side of the road.

At least it was an uneventful Saturday, so the street was almost empty. Leo pushed the door, but didn't even have time to get out. He stuck his head out and coughed up another stream, letting out a whimper.

"Aw, kiddo..." Vince sighed, shoving himself in the space between the driver's seat and passenger one, so he could grab the back of Leo's pants and keep him sitting down. Lucas was no help, despite the guilty expression he had on, he had pressed his forehead to the steering wheel and was gulping nervously.

"It hurts..." Leo groaned, coughing and panting, "my head hurts so much."

"I know, I'm sorry," Vince said unhelpfully, rubbing his back, "get it up, Leo..."

He heard another pitiful whine and then more hurling, followed by a sigh, "I think... I think I'm done."

Or empty, Vince thought, keeping his hand on Leo's back. He glanced at Lucas and cringed. His friend's face was firmly in the gray territory, jaw clenched.

"Take a deep breath, I bet the carsickness isn't helping your situation," Vince said, squeezing Leo's bicep and fighting the anxiety inside of him. He hated not being able to help. He should be the one driving.

"I'm good," Leo slammed the door shut, "I just wanna get home."

"Just a couple minutes," Luke mumbled, his voice all thick and weird, "sorry, I-"

"It's okay, Luke," Leo said tiredly, "Jon gets sympathy sick too, I get it..." he rubbed at his forehead, "just drive, please?"

Once they finally arrived, without another incident, Vince almost groaned as he realized now there was twice as much walking around to be done. He sucked it up, carefully stepping out of the car and offering his good arm for Leo.

"Lean on me, kid," then to Lucas, who was just stepping out of the car, "no. You're not coming in, you're going straight home. Shooo."

"How do you intent on looking after him...?" Luke frowned, despite the pained lines on his face, "Vin, I can-"

"I'm fine," Leo groaned and while Vince could feel his grip was a little too tight for someone who was fine, he knew Lucas wasn't going to be any help, "go home, Luke. I'll text you later."

"...Promise?" Lucas glanced between the two of them, torn between wanting to help and feeling too sick.

"Yeah, we're fine," Vince nodded, ignoring the throbbing on his side, "go home. C'mon, Leo..."

The blonde waved one last goodbye to Luke, then slumped against Vince. Vin could tell he was trying to be mindful not to rest his full body weight on him, but he was doing a poor job of it. He bit down a groan, wrapping his good arm around Leo's waist and resting his back against the inside of the elevator.

"Shitty day," he groaned, causing the blonde to let out a tired chuckle.

"That seems to be a pattern lately," he mumbled, face pressed to Vince's bicep, "it's not as bad as it was out there."

"Good, you just need to rest a bit," Vin reassured him, breathing deeply through his mouth as pain spread all the way up his shoulder. They all but stumbled inside the house and Leo headed straight for the couch, while Vince braced against the desk near the front door and took deep, measured breaths.

"Vin? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he lied, wiping the sweat from his upper lip, "probably just due my meds... Sit down and turn up the A/C, I'm gonna get you some water."

He didn't dare walking all the way to the bathroom to grab a washcloth. Instead Vince filled up Leo's gym bottle with cold water and then wet a dishcloth, deciding he'd rather face Jon's judgment than to walk all that distance. He limped back to the couch and met Leo's worried gaze, "I'm fine," Vince said, handing him the bottle and sitting down too, "here, lie down."

"You don't look very fine," Leo grumbled, but he was too lethargic to do anything about it. He took a gulp of the cold water and let out a relieved sigh when he rested his head on Vin's lap and the cold dishcloth met his forehead, "this feels much better."

"Uhm," Vince smiled, moving on the couch so he could put his feet up the coffee table. His sprained left foot was killing him, "c'mere, kid."

Easy like that, all the times he had done this to his own sisters came rushing back and he found himself playing with Leo's hair, combing the blonde strands and scratching at the scalp, "you're due a haircut," Vince mumbled, eyes slipping closed as he felt Leo relax against him.

"Jon says longer is hotter," he said quietly, "I've always wanted this, you know?"

"...What?" Vince frowned, opening his eyes and glancing down. Leo seemed almost asleep, the stress taking it's toll on him, "Leo?"

"Family," Leo sighed, cuddling closer and moving the wet cloth to cover his eyes, "it's almost weird to have it."

"Oh..." Vince's heart dropped and he squeezed the blonde's shoulder, fighting a smile, "well... Get used to it, Leo. This is your life now."

[couldntbedamned]

I see your stars begin to shine

Pairing: Stephen Strange x Reader

Summary: You and Stephen are having a date night in at the Sanctum. Somehow, during conversation, Stephen reveals he has a tattoo, much to your disbelief. So why not confess you have one as well?

Word Count: 1.9K

AO3 Tags/Warnings: Date Night, Tattoos, Teasing, Fluff, Hoodie Stealing

Author's Note: Just a fun, fluffy little fic where Stephen and the Reader bond over tattoos and plans to get more.

_______

"You're lying!" you accused with a laugh.

You were with Stephen in what passed for a living room in the Sanctum. You'd both planned on a date but with the pouring rain, decided to have an evening in. You'd ordered Chinese for delivery, played board games, watched a movie, and eaten popcorn. ("Need some more popcorn to go with your butter, Doc?")

Everything was still pretty new and aside from some kissing, light petting, and a particularly frisky necking session in the Sanctum's library you two hadn't gotten overly physical. Not for lack of interest, just, you both had some things to work through.

"I'm not," Stephen insisted, reclining on one of the couches. Cloak was draped over him like a throw blanket.

"There is no way you have a tattoo!" You were sprawled out on the other, content to pull his Columbia hoodie close around you. (He wasn't getting it back and you hoped he could make peace with that. And with the fact that you were keeping the long-sleeved Columbia shirt, too.)

He shrugged. "I do," he said. "I've had it for years - got it right after I graduated med school. It's just covered up most of the time."

That��piqued your interest. "Why? Is it near your dick? Is it on your ass? Oh!" You lit up at a sudden thought. "Did you lose a bet? Or were you drunk?"

"No, no, no, and no," he answered, amused at your delight. "It's on my back and I assure you, it was very intentional."

"What is it?"

"You are a lot more interested in my having a tattoo than I thought you'd be." He said in lieu of answering. Knowing Stephen, that could be either because he was embarrassed or because he simply enjoyed riling you up.

"I just can't picture you staying that still for that long while getting pricked hundreds of times," you confessed. "And letting someone else take a needle to you?"

Stephen scoffed. "Are you trying to imply that I'm too impatient and that I have control issues?"

"No, I wasn't trying to imply anything," you teased.

"Honestly, I don't remember much about it; I fell asleep because it was my first day off after six days of sixteen hour shifts," he said. "I woke up, it was done."

You recalled your tattoo experience. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell you'd have been able to nap through it. "Lucky you! Mine hurt like a bitch and I was awake the entire time."

"I'm assuming it's not on your ass?" Stephen asked. He was fond of your ass, you knew. And it had some padding, so no, a tattoo probably wouldn't hurt so much there.

"No, it's on my rib cage." You ran a hand over it through the hoodie.

He chuckled. "No wonder it hurt!"

You stuck your tongue out at him like the very mature adult you were. "I was nineteen and so sure I'd be able to handle it and then it was just too far in for me to call stop. But I was also very brave about it and the shop manager gave me a lollipop." You relaxed further into the plush couch. "Do you only have the one?"

"For now," he said. "There's another one I want. Something to represent this part of my life." Cloak perked up at hearing that and with a stroke of his hand Stephen settled the relic down.

You had considered the same, wanting to honor your journey into the mystic arts when once you'd had a different calling. The mystic arts were good for collecting broken people and piecing them back together in a new but undoubtedly meaningful fashion. You and Stephen were both far from the first lost souls to visit Kamar-Taj and you certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Do you know what it will be?"

Stephen pulled out the Eye from under his grey T-shirt. He traced along the curved grid. "This."

You grinned. "We should make a date of it." At his curious look, you continued. "I was thinking about getting the Seal of Agamotto, too."

"And where would you get it?" Stephen asked. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Because I have a few ideas."

You felt your face flush. "I was thinking of either my ankle or wrist."

"Oh, that's boring!" he claimed derisively. "So lame!"

"Oh? Where are you putting yours?"

"Right where it usually lays," he said, cheeks a little pink. "That way, I always have it."

"Aww, that's sweet," you said with a smile. "Much sweeter than what I was going to suggest."

"Near my dick?" He asked dryly, shaking off his embarrassment.

You shrugged playfully. "It's just an idea!"

"No one's idea is worth a potential infection that close to my dick, not even yours. And you seem to think a lot about my dick for someone who hasn't even seen it," he teased.

"What about me, hmm? Where would you put it?" You asked, wanting to neither confirm nor deny how much you thought about Stephen's dick. (A lot. The answer was a lot, more than was probably healthy.)

"The tattoo," you clarified hastily when you saw the glittering in his eyes. "Where would you put the tattoo?"

Stephen sat up and leaned back, studying you. "What side is the other one?"

"My right side," you answered. "And again, it hurt like a bitch, so don't suggest I do it on the left side." You weren't a fan of pain.

"No, not the rib cage," Stephen agreed. "But on your left breast, perhaps. I've only gotten some tantalizing peeks at the pair but I think you would look perfect with the seal on your breast." He smirked. "It would be the greatest challenge to keep my eyes respectful, knowing it's there just under your robes."

"Oh." You liked that idea, liked the thought of him doing his best to avert his gaze when all he wanted was to stare at the mark you both would share. It would be like you'd marked each other.

"It would," he agreed, voice low.

You'd said that last bit out loud?

"You did," he confirmed. "Is that something you want, for me to mark you? For you to mark me?"

"I..." Heavens, the idea of it appealed to you. You wouldn't trust anyone else with it, but Stephen? You'd do anything for him. "If you trusted me enough, yes."

"I do," he said. "I know it may not seem like it, given that we haven't found our way into each others' beds, but I do trust you."

"I'm not worried about that. I know we'll get there," you assured him. "I just- I-"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, Darling. I have a few hang-ups of my own, least of which is these." He held up his scarred hands, which trembled. He didn't hide them, but he rarely showed them off.

"They're beautiful," you say instantly. "You might hate them but I love them. They've saved lives in your past and continue to do so in your present."

"Is that why you're always massaging them?" he asked.

"And why I made that cream for them, to help keep the scars from drawing too tightly." It had been why you'd been so insistent on learning about the gardens at Kamar-Taj in the first place. Mystic herbal remedies were an interest of yours and if you could help Stephen at the same time, even better.

"It helps."

"I'm glad." You opened you mouth then closed it. Should you really say it? It was such a sensitive subject.

"What?"

"What if you tattooed over them?" You asked. "The scars. Not because they're ugly!" You added quickly. "But because I was studying some of the history of the mystic arts' sacred geometry and how many practitioners of the mystic arts have used tattoos to enhance or channel their magic."

To your relief, he didn't look offended, but intrigued and studied his shaking hands. You hadn't been lying; they were beautiful in your eyes. "I'm guessing the average tattoo parlor wouldn't be able to do such work."

"Nope. But Master Delrai can." At his raised eyebrow you admitted "I might also be considering a few little tattoos on my fingers to help my green thumbs."

"You do realize-"

"That the tattoos themselves aren't a solution, I still have to put in the work and continue mastery of the skills, yes. I'm well aware, Master."

"It's Doctor," he corrected. He didn't miss the way you shifted your legs at his stern tone. "And what sygils are you planning on?"

"Well, Doctor," you said with emphasis on his title - you knew he got a thrill out of it. You listed a few off the top of your head.

"Not a bad start." He offered a few more suggestions, including one that nearly had your eyebrows hitting your hairline.

"Vine control?" The thought had never occurred to you. You'd never considered using your love of plants and herbs as a weapon.

"It could be useful, in the right situation," Stephen said. "Most things we think of as harmless are."

"I could tie you up," you mused, delighted when he smirked. "But knowing you, you'd find a way to turn them against me and tie me up."

"I can neither confirm nor deny if that's the plan," he said.

"So can I see it or not?"

"My tattoo?"

"Yes!" you exclaim. "What else would I be asking about?"

"I don't know, you've been pretty interested in both my ass and my dick this evening."

"Stephen!" you whined. Yes, whined.

"Fine," he eventually capitulated. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Rolling your eyes, you hopped up and pulled off the the faded and stupidly-soft Columbia hoodie. Then you teased your shirt up to reveal the tattoo.

His eyes went wide as he took in the ink on your right rib cage, the artful blues and greens bleeding into each other along with some dashes of black in an elaborate watercolor style.

"Butterflies," he breathed, standing up. "They're butterflies."

"I've always loved them," you admit. "When I found the style I liked it was an easy choice."

"It's beautiful," he said, letting a scarred finger trace the butterflies inked in mid-flight.

"Okay, now you." As if you'd forget his deal.

Chuckling, he stepped back and removed his sweater and shirt. Then he turned around and you couldn't stop your gasp.

There, the width of his shoulder blades and inked down to the low of his back was an elaborate black caduceus.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I think it's incredible," you said. "I think the serpents might just strike out and bite me."

He chuckled and pulled his shirt back on.

You were still pouting when he turned around. "Satisfied?"

"I don't know why you're so reluctant to show it."

He sighed and collapsed heavily back on his couch. "It's a reminder of a life I no longer have."

"You're still a doctor," you insisted, forgoing your previous spot for one next to him. "You're just a different kind of doctor now."

"Oh?" He queried, a brow raised.

"Stephen Strange, Doctor of the Mystic Arts! A doctor of the soul and of our very reality."

He considered that. "I won't lie, I like the sound of that."

"So, Doctor, why don't we plan out our trip to get inked?"

"We'll probably be waiting a while," he reminded you.

"So long as we're together, I don't mind that at all."

Liking the sound of that, he wrapped his arm around you and the two of you (plus Cloak, the insistent thing) settled in to continue enjoying your evening spent in.

_______

[atamascolily]

TBF S4 Speculation: We Could Be Immortal

Urobuchi has said in interviews that Thunderbolt Fantasy Season 4 is going to dig into Shang and Lin's backstories. I'm of two minds on this--on the one hand, I live for juicy details about my faves, gimme all ya got. On the other hand, one thing I genuinely like about TBF is how much remains mysterious and open into interpretation. Character backstories can be challenging, and up until this point, they haven't been necessary for the narrative--I think Urobuchi is a talented enough writer to pull off a satisfying reveal that ties into everything else, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous... and curious.

Because I love speculating, and because there's still a month and a half before S4 starts airing, I'm going to write out my thoughts for the hell of it.

I first came across the "Shang is a fallen god" theory from @jafndaegur's fic "Just A Guy With A Sword" and it's intrigued me ever since. A past history as a martial god of some sort would not only explain Shang's unique skill set, it would also explain why collecting magical swords and preventing misuse of them is so uniquely personal--as a way of atoning for the suffering and destruction he's undoubtedly been privy to in that kind of privileged position. Not to mention that Shang's decision to reject his destiny/role and do his own thing as a (mostly) ordinary human being feels so in-character for him.

I like this idea because it makes Shang, and his emphasis on appreciating everyday life becomes even more poignant and meaningful as a result. It fits into the series' larger themes of the responsible use of power and an emphasis on free will and choice over destiny and fate. Plus, it would delightfully recontextualize the entire series, from Lin Xue Ya's wry comment at their first meeting that Shang has no respect for the divine to Shang's conversation with Bai Lian, an ordinary person who was mistaken for an immortal. Not to mention a contrast with whatever Huo Shi Ming Huang has planned--unknown for now, but almost certainly related to acquiring cosmic power(s). Up to this point, we've only had humans and demons, but there's no reason why Urobuchi couldn't up the stakes even more by introducing beings with entirely new power levels, just like he did with the introduction of the Sorcerous Sword Index at the end of S1.

(Also, as a bonus, this would be a backstory for Shang that wouldn't involve fridging his family or anyone else he cared about; we've had quite enough of that already, thank you very much.)

On a meta level, becoming an all-powerful divinity has been a running theme throughout Urobuchi's prior works, so the idea of someone starting out as a god and then giving it up seems like a logical evolution of the idea, as well as a fun twist. I could totally see him doing it here.

I've suspected for a long time that Lin Xue Ya might not be fully human--his lack of canonical birthday (when even the immortal demons have them!), his incredible genre-savviness, etc, etc, all point to someone who isn't what he seems to be, on top of his general sketchiness. (Depending on how seriously you take the epilogue to Bewitching Melody of the West, it also seems like he has knowledge that he shouldn't otherwise have, again pointing to him as a meta-narrator and authorial stand-in.) As a trickster figure, he echoes the kitsune of Japanese legend (who can take on human form in many stories), and the main Pili series has a bunch of dragons with human forms. [A recent social media post for this year's Dragon Boat Festival also put Lin Xue Ya in the role of Bai Suzhen, the famous "White Snake" of legend who took on human form and fell in love, so, uh, there's that.] Lin Xue Ya's backstory also involves him giving up and turning away from the path of the sword, which in turn could mean that he also gave up on other things as well when he became a wandering thief and rogue whose sole purpose in life is his own personal amusement.

Previously, my one stumbling block with this theory was that Lin and Shang are both opposites and equals in every sense of the word. This is, for instance, the reason why Lin also has to be a Secret Sword Master at the end of Season 1, because Shang is one. In order for them to contrast each other most effectively, they have to be on the same level. Thus, if Lin Xue Ya isn't or wasn't human, then Shang also has to be the same level of being in order for this symmetry to be maintained. Having Shang be a fallen god would satisfy this requirement and then some.

Given that the ending of the series is most likely Shang and Lin walking off into the sunset together as their journey continues, this backstory would also mean they were and have always been timeless and archetypal, with no beginning or end, and the symmetry is also pleasing to me.

Is this where the story is actually going? I have no idea, but this is certainly plausible and I look forward to finding out!

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

Listen, I love Mortal Kombat 1, I think it's a fun game despite its flaws, but it genuinely annoys me how series main stays like Sonya, Jax and Kano were left out of this iteration in favor of Conan The Barbarian, Ghostface and Robert Patrick's Terminator.

MK11 already gave us Terminator vs Robocop, we kind of don't need anymore action movie guest characters beyond that. Also, Conan The Barbarian is such a weird fucking IP, like seriously, who the hell was begging for Conan to be a playable character in an MK game?

And once again, the male characters out number the female ones, because fuck forbid we bring back Frost, D'Vorah, Skarlet or Sheeva, am I right?

Oh well, at least we're getting female Sketor and Cyrax, plus I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see Noob again.

[barbieb0y]

joining the thoughts on golden hour part 1 bandwagon bc oh boy i have thoughts

obviously my expectations were kinda high bc it's ateez we're talking about here and that this is actually my first comeback ever. none of the title tracks have disappointed me so far – and thats not to say i was disappointed with work. but i would say it's... underwhelming.

i mean, after the world series with guerilla, halazia, bouncy and crazy form, how do you expect me to process the whiplash that is work? we got all these intense songs and performances, hammering in the outlaw concept then... work. this album. there's a reason why i was surprised to hear this is a hip-hop themed comeback bc it's not that it doesnt suit ateez, i was excited to see how they would mess with the genre, but. work sounds like a song another group can pull off. sonically, at least.

i'd like to think that work is a milestone for all their achievements thus far, like "hey we made it this far bc we hustled" and i still think that but it could've been theirs. but this sound isn't theirs. at least not yet, if theyre planning to mess with it in the future too.

i liked the beat when they first leaked it and i still like it. but throughout the whole song, it's just that. it's just one beat. im not saying it cant sound good (360 by charli xcx is a good example) and im not saying it's not good but like i said: it's underwhelming. the mv kinda saves it bc i absolutely adore how chaotic and funny it is but i wish the song itself couldve lived up to the whole chaos of the visuals.

im not gonna talk about the intro bc the intro is just the intro. let's talk about blind. when i listened to the preview, my first thought was "wow they should play this in the world cup" and i was still thinking that when i listened to the whole thing for the first time. then i listened to it with the lyrics and i thought "wowie it's a love song i see". but to put it simply, i like it but thats about it. i wouldn't skip it but i don't lose my mind or put it at the top of my rankings like everyone has been apparently doing.

moving on to empty box, i wasn't expecting to like it much when i listened to it in the preview bc i'm not a fan of slow songs/ballads usually but when i first listened to it on release... it became my first favorite of the album. this is what i mean by they can do simple good and they can make it theirs. even though the song does remind me of another song/artist (ive been struggling to figure out what/who exactly though...), it's not bc it's a song anyone else can do. they took a genre and made it theirs. that's how you own it. the lyrics also hit close to home and i find them incredibly moving.

next is shaboom. this was my initial favorite from when i listened to the preview and i was looking forward to how the whole thing sounds like and well, i wasn't blown away but i do enjoy it. i like the goofy intro and the first verses are fun, like i can imagine a silly mv where they're hosting a house party and inviting you to join in on the festivities. i can't really remember the verses after the first chorus though (idk why but im struggling to remember the non-chorus parts in this album despite looping it for a few times already) but i do like it. more than blind at least.

lastly, siren. my current favorite. ive been looping the fuck outta this song. it is actually so good but i'm not really surprised bc this, alongside empty box, are the ones that allegedly had more time spent on them (hell, siren was battling crazy form to become the title track for the world ep fin will). this is how good they can be when they actually take their time, this is who ateez is supposed to be. and im not lying nor exaggerating when i say this should been the title track for this comeback. i can already imagine the mv, the choreo, the stages that they can do if this was the title track. i sincerely believe that this song is like a mix of bouncy (mostly the vibes), outlaw and crazy form which you should know is a banging mix. i love the goofy intro (of course), i love the chaos from the verses, i love the descent in the pre-chorus down to the chorus itself (i think it's reminiscent of crazy form), the "ringing siren, ringing siren" parts make me ascend (both the post-chorus and at the end of the song), THIS IS ATEEZ. GOD.

tldr my ranking is this:

siren

empty box

shaboom

work*

blind*

golden hour

*work and blind are interchangeable bc i like them the same amount

conclusion? a solid album but it's not their best. it's not cohesive. like it feels like it's creating a creative dent in their discography. so i can't really rate it bc it'll have to depend on what perspective you're looking at.

i can only hope they take more time to prepare for their next album. i do not want another rushed comeback and album. i want these bitches to rest and be at their actual best when they perform! go for quality over quantity of you can't do both!!

[kimbapisnotsushi]

the day had started off normal enough.

kenma had wrapped up a company-wide conference, tweeted a livestream announcement for eight p.m. that night, finished his homework at the office, and signed off on another product to be released all within a span of three hours hours. with the rest of his schedule free, he could go home, kick back, and relax until it was time to play misfiction. maybe he could make some more progress on animal crossing? or finally crack open pokemon legends: arceus?

that second one sounded like a better idea, kenma decided. he wasn't ashamed to admit that he had a crush on adamant AND iridia.

once he was back in the house, he chucked off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. being CEO of your own company, thought kenma, was entirely useless if you couldn't even wear a hoodie and sweatpants to all the important meetings.

he threw his bedroom door open and froze.

kuroo was lying on the bed, shirtless, with a head propped up on one hand. it was probably supposed to be seductive, but kenma had no idea why.

after all, everyone knew how much he was mean to kuroo. it was his number one character trait!

"hi, kitten," kuroo purred. "miss me?"

"kuro," kenma said, exasperated. "what are you doing?"

kuroo's smile faded. "did you not like it? i thought maybe if i gave you a cute nickname, you'd want to get back together."

kenma stared at him. "what?"

"kitten, didn't you hear?" kuroo's eyes filled with tears. "we can't be in a relationship anymore. childhood-friends-to-lovers is incest now!"

kenma scoffed. "as if i'd ever want to be lovers with you. i have hinata instead. he's so much more interesting, but once i get tired of him then i'll just ditch him and get a new boytoy to mess around with."

the bedroom door suddenly burst open. it was . . . oikawa tooru!

"how dare you!" he screeched. "shouyou deserves so much more! he and i spent a very passionate night together in rio, you know! it's all people ever talk about when they they think of us in brazil! there's absolutely no other meaning to it than just us hooking up!"

"whatever," kenma said, rolling his eyes. "i don't care as long as he's making me money."

"now, now," sugawara crooned (where did he even come from? hell if i know). "let's not fight. that is my innocent angel sweet summer child you're talking about, after all, i'm basically his mom - "

("i'm twenty-two!" shouted hinata from where i stuffed him in the margins. "and you know my mother is very much alive, sugawara-san! also, i FUCK! I FUCK HARD!!")

" - so naturally i know what's best for him!" sugawara continued. "and what he would want is for everyone to hold hands and get along. agreed?"

daichi grinned and nuzzled sugawara's cheek. "you're so smart! i can't wait to start a happy, cisgender-conforming, nuclear family with you."

a voice called from the hallway: "HEY HEY HEY!"

the bedroom door flew open again! how in the world has it not been broken yet???

bokuto cartwheeled into the room and puffed out his chest. when he saw that nobody was paying attention to him because they were too busy hissing at each other, he pouted.

"guys, come on!" he complained. "no fighting! let's have some fun instead!"

"it's no use, bokuto-san," akaashi said. "stereotypically-feminine traits such as being petty, catty, and more have been greatly exaggerated in us setters because we have been deemed more feminine due to what i assume is a vast and complex myriad of factors stemming from microaggressions intersecting with fans' understandings of the world amongst other things, but i expect you are too dumb to understand any of that."

bokuto stared blankly at akaashi. "huh?"

akaashi heaved a deep sigh, plagued by the burden of being the only one with brains in the relationship. "never mind. i still love you, and that's all you need to know."

"okay!" bokuto said cheerfully.

suddenly the bedroom door flew open for the third time that day! who even keeps closing it?

"i'm looking for hinata," said kageyama, poking his head past the doorframe. "has anyone seen him?"

immediately, everyone froze. their eyes shifted from kageyama to oikawa, who had swelled up with incandescent rage because he still retained everything from when he was fourteen and hadn't gone through any growth whatsoever since then.

atsumu whistled. "aw, geez. we might argue a lot, but at least we're not anythin' like that, right, omi-omi?"

"shut up and don't call me that," sakusa muttered darkly. "i hate you. i hate everyone. i hate being here. when was the last time anyone vacuumed in here?"

"if you hate it so much," atsumu said, smirking, "we could sneak away and make out somewhere. could even . . . you know . . . "

"why."

atsumu shrugged. "i am an inexplicably horny sex-on-legs bastard, apparently. especially with you. i mean, have you seen our ao3 tag?"

sakusa frowned. "we've barely had any canon time together."

"eh, people have worked with less." atsumu grinned. "'sides, i dig the whole enemies-to-lovers thing. just means you couldn't resist my charms, huh?"

sakusa would have responded with an audible gag, but . . . you guessed it! the bedroom door flew open AGAIN! this is a bedroom door that defies the laws of physics itself!

yachi stepped in and glanced around.

"weird," she said. "why is this bedroom so big? what are all of you doing?"

yachi hitoka, everyone. our only saving grace. she carries the sole brain cell and wrangles the childish dumb men, because they can't ever think for themselves. right? right?????

tsukishima scowled as he followed after her, trailed by yamaguchi. "ugh. do we have to be here?"

"tsukishima!" yachi scolded, swatting his arm. "be nice! you know these are all our friends!"

sigh.

yamaguchi didn't even greet anyone. he just stayed behind tsukki the whole time, looking like a mouse cornered in a city of cats.

suddenly, a BAM! made everyone jump! you have got to be kidding me! the bedroom door agai - oh, never mind! someone just kicked open the closet door!

"SHITTYKAWA!" iwaizumi roared. "get over here!"

oikawa''s eyes widened. "iwa-chan! what are you doing here?"

"looking for you, dumbass," iwaizumi snapped. "you haven't been taking care of yourself! but i'd never say it, because i'm an asshole. i'm a rock wall. i'm a hardened tough guy. i'm mean. i don't ever say or do anything nice. i throw volleyballs at your head for fun. i don't care about you at all. got it?"

("so you're saying he literally just came out of the closet for oikawa - " hinata began, before i shoved him back down into the margins.)

"no wonder i'm such an asshole," kindaichi marveled. "i guess i learned it all from iwaizumi-san! wow, he's a great role model."

being a stressed fourteen-year-old who didn't know how to handle another stressed fourteen-year-old that was causing said stress and eventually snapping from it and making a mistake, as people are prone to do, didn't really make you an asshole for the rest of your life, but hey. kindaichi didn't have to know any of that.

"it's getting kind of crowded in here, don't you think?" yachi asked, ever the voice of reason. "maybe we should get out and get some fresh air?"

ushijima nodded solemnly. wait - had he always been there?

"fresh air is good for the soul," he said. "not that i would know, because i'm an unfeeling robot who is strong and dominant and the epitome of masculinity. being stoic and silent are the only things i know. you should all bow down before my superior strength."

everyone stared at him.

suddenly, the bedroom door burst open AGAIN! this shouldn't be possible! it was already open in the first place! I KEPT IT OPEN! HOW DO THEY KEEP DOING THIS?

"guys!" hinata ran in, panting. "i finally did it! i escaped the margins!"

"the what?" sugawara asked.

hinata waved him off. "never mind that. it's about time to wrap up. we've put on a good show, but we should end it, don't you think?"

"hinata's right," kenma admitted. "i didn't think i could do this much longer, anyways."

oikawa made a face. "me neither. sorry, tobio. i hope you didn't take anything to heart."

"i'm okay," kageyama said. "i know better, now. we both know better."

"that we do," oikawa agreed warmly. "and weren't you looking for hinata? that's why you were here, right? you were the only one of us not part of an act."

kageyama blinked, as if he had forgotten all about that. not that anyone could blame him - i'm not even sure what the hell just happened.

"right," he said, then grabbed hinata's arm and tugged him close. "hey. i love you."

"what!" hinata squawked. "kageyama, what - "

kageyama shrugged, but red began to bloom across his cheeks. "i'd never joke about that. i just wanted you to know."

hinata beamed at him, brighter than the sun. "aw, kageyama! i love you too! but can we please wrap this up? there's no food in the margins, and i'm starving!"

"okay, everyone!" bokuto called out. "on the count of three! ready? one, two, three - "

"HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!" everyone shouted.

the end :)

[thatdayindecember]

Part 2, labor + delivery

It was time to get induced.

I got the balloon thing on Monday the 5th around 11. Around 1pm, we were home and I was already having contractions 5 min apart. Within a few hours, they were 3 min apart. And they were baddd. There was no position possible. I was in AGONY. Like, 9/10 pain. Called the hospital but since the balloon catheter hadn't fallen out, I just had to wait at home until my appointment the next morning.

Needless to say, didn't sleep all night. Contractions never stopped.

At 7am, we had to he back at the hospital. They checked me and, thank god, I was 3 cm dilated. They started me on meds to speed it up. The pain got even worse. After a few hours, they finally decided to break my waters. And the pain got worse again. Around 1, after 24 hours of crazy contractions, I was only at 4/5cm and I couldn't take it anymore so asked for epidural

I got it around 2.30pm. And I didn't feel anything anymore. It was great lol. Then my blood pressure dropped a lot. And everyone started to panic, bc baby's heartrate was also dropping. Luckily they somehow fixed it real fast.

I didn't feel any contractions anymore so i was even able to sleep a little bit. Around 4.30, I woke up bc I was feeling contractions again. Everyone thought I'd just didn't push the epidural button in time so we waited for it to kick in again.

But it didn't. The pain continued to get worse. Finally, at 6pm, they decided to check me again. To everyone's shock, I was fully dilated.

Baby was still up a little high though, so they told me to lightly push on every contractions to see if baby would come down. Around 7.15 they came back. Baby hadn't moved. I was starting to panic, bc I hadn't gotten more epidural anymore so I could feel the pushing better, which meant I was in A LOT of pain. So the midwife decided it was time to just start active pushing and see what would happen

Well, what happened was I PANICKED even more lol. It was so scary and painful and I truly thought I wouldn't be able to do it. With every push, 4x per contraction, contractions basically back to back, I thought I would pass out or throw up. It was insanely painful. I kept saying I couldn't do it. But after a while, suddenly everyone got excited bc they could see baby's head! That helped me feel more confident so I somehow managed to find more power and pushed harder.

But then the midwife and nurse got stressed. They told me to stop pushing bc baby wasn't doing well anymore. I wasn't allowed to push for the next contraction. Let me telllll you, that was a nightmare. Pushing hurt like hell, but NOT pushing was even worse. Luckily after not pushing for one contraction, baby's heartratw was normal again so I could continue.

It wasn't long before I felt the infamous ring of fire and I had to slow down so I wouldn't tear open completely lol. Slowly but surely, I could feel baby coming out. It hurt like a mf. It felt like an eternity. I was so exhausted. But I had to keep going. And then the midwife said the next contraction would be my final pushes and then he would be out

And he did. I pushed and I felt him come out. A little after 8pm on feb 6th, my baby was born <3. Within seconds he was on my chest and after a few more seconds, my little perfect baby boy was crying.

I'll never say I instantly forgot the pain (everyone who says that is either a superhero or lying) but it was all worth it.

Unfortunately I did tear a little but, but luckily not that much. The stitching was horrible though. The tried to numb me but needles down there is noooo fun lol. And it didn't really work everywhere either. So half of the stitches I felt being done. And it took ages.

We stayed in the hospital for one night to monitor baby since I had taken benzos a few times in the last weeks. He was doing great though, and I was OK too, so around 11 the next morning, we got discharged and could go home

[neapoliting]

his name. is matter eater lad.

that's 24 whole days of le-june-aires!!! woooo!!!

tenzil is such a fun guy and i love him. i went mostly for personality with this design, which might be obvious, but i love it when he just looks like kind of a tool. so i gave him dumb anime shades, rave pants for some reason, some obnoxious neon green....

for some non-human features, the most obvious thing to me was focusing on the mouth! it just makes sense if he has absolutely insane crocodile teeth, i think, and separating his jaws with two colors further draws attention to it. and maybe even makes the idea of him like, eating a bus less weird? maybe!

it's extremely stupid for him to have a tooth logo on his costume. but by god i gave him not only the tooth logo, but a big mouth on the back! i'd be lying if i said it wasn't a little bit soul eater inspired. i'm sorry that show was foundational to my aesthetic. a lot of the rest of the outfit is just tweaked versions of his recognizable costumes

i also wanted the body type to be pretty distinct for him - i have this pet peeve where superheroes always just default to being buff as hell, so whenever i'm drawing a hero whose power is anything but punching, i consider whether or not it makes sense for them to have muscles. brainy, imra, tinya, among others - it just does not make sense. this guy's power is just chewing, he should just look like a normal guy!

[wildissylupus]

A bit of a voice of mediation. Hello, I am an anon bystander, watching this whole thing happen, and I'd just like to say to every theorist out there,

That it's okay.

It's okay to argue and counter point these topics and lore, as long as you know that in the long run that both sides just want the truth, and you're willing to fight for it with every scrap of evidence you have. As long as you mean no harm towards the other person, which I doubt you want to do intentionally. I understand that people are bound to get heated over something they're passionate about. That's admirable in it's own way.

This whole soldier ordeal made me think of Ace Attorney, which is an anime I think everyone should watch. It gives a great perspective on debates and theories. Remember theorists, even though we fight for the truth, sometimes battles are bound to get bloody. Remember that we are a community as a whole, of analysts who strive to understand a point. In the end, we stand together, even if the debate temporarily drives us apart.

As Miles Edgeworth once said (I think):

"Our job is to find truth, no matter how painful it may be."

I couldn't agree more!! I've stated before that I love having discussions and debates on this kind of thing and though I might come off as hostile (which I apologies for, I never mean to be hostile but I understand it can come off that way in text), I am always open to having discussions on these topics, and even though I might not agree with some theories it's always basic human decency to respect them. Whenever I say I disagree with a person, unless they are actually being intentionally harmful, I will never direct any personal ill will towards them.

I've mentioned this in passing but I want to bring it up again because I think it fits here. I have gotten a hate ask about one of my headcanon's before, I deleted it because I want to have discussions, not arguments. Whenever you see me interact with any kind of discord through an ask it's because I read that ask as actually wanting to start a conversation. My account is something I use to just... have fun. I love analyzing characters, storylines, tropes and cliques, and I know that getting into topics like that leads to differing opinions.

I would be lying if I said that my analysis's aren't influenced by my opinions. I try to remain neutral when it comes to characters I love and characters I love to hate, but I am human. That being said I am also influenced by other people's takes and the research I do for other people analysis.

Like with Ramattra, Wrecking Ball and Doomfist, initally they were characters I wasn't invested in, but then I started doing more resarch for other characters associated with them and got some more insight into their characters. Which as a result has gotten me invested in them.

People are constantly changing, opinions and debates often are altered with those changes.

Again the only time I will ever become hostile is when it's geninly something that perpetuates harm, and usually I will leave that isolated to my own page. Even then I'm going to have people who disagree and that's fine. As long as your not just insults, as long as your being a decent person and genuinely want to start a discussion then I will happily engage.

To any other theorists of analyzers out there, especially the ones that follow me, you don't have to agree with everything I say. We are all human and all have our own opinions. Hell, the reason I started posting Overwatch content on this account is because I disagreed with how Cassidy is characterized by the fandom!

Like this anon here said "even though we fight for the truth, sometimes battles are bound to get bloody."