#i'm at that stage where idk where the plot is even going

[helianthus21]

idk if shady judge dude turns out to be a baddie for real but they can't have him nurse cute judge guy back to health in his sick ass mansion and expect me not to ship it just a lil bit,,,

[mixtape-racha]

YAYYYYYY 100 followersssss :) im so happy for youuuuu :)))))

okay, here is my request... hehe, im suchhh a sucker for hurt comfort and I loveeee fem 9th member au's. but like not smut or like fwb, just like a really juicy story y'know? I haven't been able to find any of those two categories combined tho, especially into like a longer fic, like it's always in the hundreds (I would love it if it was a little longer, no pressure tho :). literally, anything works, from some kinda mess up on stage to maybe you messing up a relationship w a member??? idk. I'm letting ur thoughts run wild here... THANK YOU AND CONGRATSSSS

(im sorry im really vague in requests lol)

YAYYYY THO IM LIKE REALLYYYY PROUD OF YOU<<<3333 LOV U BB KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DOOOO

thank you so much my lovely bae!! ilysm and i hope i did this request justice!! i kind of went off on a tangent and got carried away with the plot waaa &lt;3

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sorry seems to be the hardest word

pairing: ot8 x fem!9th member!reader

warnings: angst, hurt comfort, reader snapping at the members, reader being physically unwell, fluff at the end

words: 2.29k

everything was going wrong today, and you truly meant every. fucking. thing.

somehow, you had managed to turn your alarm off the night before (probably because you fell asleep while on your phone, accidentally calling your mom in you sleep in the process), and none of the guys took the initiative to wake you up when they got up.

okay, sure, you couldn’t blame them entirely. you were a grown woman, and you could look after yourself. but weren’t you supposed to be a team? eight other people surrounding you, and none of them thought to check on you? especially when you were usually up and alert before they were? no, instead they were all out the door without even knocking to see if you were feeling okay. so much for being your brothers and best friends.

so god forbid, you were late this morning. you managed to turn up at the company for your vocal lessons only ten minute late, but it felt awful as you’d never been late before. you were so incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to debut with skz, especially joining the group later in their career and being the only girl. you wanted to do everything perfectly to show that you deserved to be where you were, and with the way today was shaping out you were so disappointed with yourself.

but then - it got worse. you, in your rush to leave the dorms, had forgotten your sheet music, leaving your vocal teacher to be short and snappy with you. yeah, you brought it up on your phone instead, but she was strict, and a firm believer in “good old-fashioned pen and paper over your silly little radio devices nowadays”. her attitude towards you for the remainder of your lesson affected you more than you liked to admit - excusing yourself to the bathroom to have a little cry before you headed to the studio.

for some reason, none of your schedules were properly coordinated today, leaving jisung to be the one in the studio with you - rather than chan, like usual -  while you recorded your lines for the demos to be sent to the company later in the month, when you’d decide the songs for the new album you had upcoming later in the year.

jisung was always the nicest to you, especially when he could tell you were having a rough day - you were both very alike in that sense, very attentive towards each other as if you could tell what the other was feeling. 

however, it seemed today that something had crawled up his ass and died. he was almost as snappy as your vocal teacher, and you were quite frankly sick of it. you kept messing up your lines; whether from the stress or the ache building in your throat (god you hoped you weren’t getting sick), you weren’t sure. but clearly, jisung wouldn’t stand for it.

“honestly, (y/n), you might as well just call it a day and come back to this with chan-hyung another day. i need to get on with other stuff.” he sighed, dismissively, as you bit back the tears fighting to escape your eyes. he wouldn’t even look at you, and your stomach was doing somersaults. was he really that mad? surely he could see how hard you were trying.

but instead of confronting him, you just grabbed your belongings and left after silently agreeing. no one answered your message on the group chat when you asked if anyone was down to get lunch together, even though you could see basically everyone had read it, so you retreated to the canteen alone before you had to go to practice with the boys.

as the ache in your throat spread to your joints, fatigue plaguing you, you trudged up to the practice room for rehearsals with the boys. you were learning a new dance - in fact, the already chosen title track for the new album, and deep down you were dreading it. it was more difficult than you had imagined, and definitely aimed more towards moves the boys could do compared to you. you loved the boys, but sometimes you felt like they forgot that men and women’s bodies worked differently.

surprisingly, you weren’t the last to arrive, squashing your fear of another thing going wrong.

but just as soon as practice began, your fear was reawakened. the ache in your joints was making the dance more difficult for you to execute, and you could feel the annoyance radiating off of minho’s body even if he wouldn’t admit it. you stumbled a few times, almost knocking into felix, who looked at you more frustrated than concerned.

“seriously, (n/n), what’s going on? it’s really not that hard. get your head in the game.”

you huffed, shaking out your limbs and telling minho to start the track again. maybe if you ignored your surroundings, ignored how you were feeling, then things would be easier. you could block out minho’s harsh criticisms - he was probably just tired. you could block out everything, knowing the boys were suffering just as much as you lately. but when the music stopped again, and everyone was talking at you, voice after voice lapping over each other you just couldn’t take it anymore.

“shut the fuck up! shut up, shut up, shut up! give me a fucking break, i’m trying my hardest!”

you honestly didn’t mean to snap, you were just so overwhelmed and couldn’t take anymore. when chan tried to put a comforting hand on your shoulder, you flung it off, all your annoyance and stress from the day building up at once.

“don’t fucking touch me. i don’t need your pity, i don’t need you to tell me that i don’t know how to do my job well enough. this is the fucking worst day of my life and you all keep making it worse!”

every fiber of your being was telling you to stop, to be reasonable, but it was like your mouth was making its own decisions. you couldn’t tell which member it was, but you were interrupting the gentle call of your name before you could even control it.

“and no, before any of you try to be funny, i’m not on my period,” you sneered, anger bubbling under your skin as you saw jisung look away sheepishly. “i’m just sick of feeling like i have to fight to prove i’m good enough, like i’m not one of you guys yet. we’re supposed to be a team, but all day i’ve been pushed to the side and treated like i don’t matter. i’m sick of it!”

you breathed heavily, grabbing your duffle bag from the side of the room and storming towards the door.

“i’m staying with yeji tonight, leave me the fuck alone.”

was all you said before leaving the boys stood in shock, confused as to why you were acting like you hated them.

regrettably, the minute you found yourself in yeji’s dorm and explained your day to her, you knew you were in the wrong. how could you let yourself treat your best friends that way? they didn’t deserve that, and you would be most understanding if they never forgave you. it was only when the throb in your head and ache in your joints became too much that you finally allowed yourself to sleep.

chan’s apology

luckily, you and the boys were granted a week off a while ago, and today marked the first day of that week. however, knowing chris he was probably still hauled up in the studio from the night before. it was around 3am (yeji shouldn’t have let you crash so early, your sleep schedule was going to be manic), so you pulled yourself together before making the decision to go visit him.

he may not even want to see you after your little outburst, but you could still try.

you stopped by the convenience store on your way to the studio, grabbing some snacks and some drinks just to be on the safe side. carefully checking the group chat, you saw that changbin was still in the studio with chan and you hoped you could get there before he left - it might be easier to kill two birds with one stone. you were just glad you bought way too much food for just two people.

you smiled politely, bowing at the security guard as he let you into the building, heart thumping in your ears as you carefully traced the steps to chan’s studio.

when you finally approached the door, you had to take a minute to prepare yourself to knock. you heard chan’s voice mumbling behind the door once you did, nervously waiting until he came and opened it.

he looked surprised to see you, frozen for a moment before quickly ushering you in and sitting you on the couch next to changbin. almost in instinct, changbin’s arm was slung around your shoulder - something he always did when you were close by, relishing in the fact he wasn’t the shortest in the group anymore.

you sheepishly held out the bag containing all the goodies you got at the convenience store to chan, a small smile on your face when he took it.

“got you some snacks.. kind of guessed you might have forgotten to eat.” your voice was quiet, ashamed. you just hoped they wouldn’t hold your outburst against you.

but when chan grinned, you knew he could never be mad at you for long.

“we were worried about you, y’know? that’s why jisung let you go early today - something seemed off and we didn’t want you to get too overwhelmed.” changbin said from next to you, the hand on your shoulder rubbing it comfortingly. 

you couldn’t stop the tears from welling up behind your eyes again, but bit them back in fear they’d think you were looking for sympathy.

“i– i’m so sorry. i’ve just had an awful day, and i feel like shit, but that doesn’t excuse my actions, and i shouldn’t have snapped at you all - you couldn’t have known, and its not your fault.”

you explained why your day had been so bad to them (after some pushing from chan), and how you were feeling physically, causing changbin to look at you with great worry.

they indulged in a small cuddle session, feasting on the snacks you provided while they tried to help cheer you up. and honestly, it worked, just talking through how you were feeling, and gettin constructive feedback rather than just a shoulder to lean on was relieving.

you couldn’t apologize to them more, feeling so ashamed of your actions, but they were quick to reassure you it was okay - everyone had bad days, you were only human after all. you just needed to work on your communication a little bit.

when you finally got ready to head back to the dorm at 5am, you felt better than you had in a long time, actually.

apology numbers one and two: complete.

but when you arrived back at the dorm, head peacefully resting on changbin’s shoulder, what you weren’t expecting to walk into was what you all called a “cuddle pool” - the sofa bed pulled out, covered with pillows and blankets - and a spot waiting for you between felix and seungmin.

your eyes watered at the expectant faces of your soul-brothers, small sobs leaving your lips as your shoulders shook. god, the day had taken a toll on you - you couldn’t remember the last time you cried in front of the boys.

it was only then that minho - who you hadn’t seen standing by the door - scooped you into a hug.

“oh, angel,” he frowned, a hand pressed to your forehead. “you’re burning up. is that why you felt so bad earlier?”

words seemed to fail you, and all you could do was nod as your grip on his sweater tightened. it certainly wouldn’t be the first time you got sick from stress, but you hated being sick. you hated feeling out of control in your own body, and despised being doted on like you were unable. however, this time… you think you could let it slide. you just needed your boys close by right now.

they seemed to enjoy looking after you, and you felt you owed them that after the situation in the practice room.

minho was quick to place on you on the couch, felix and seungmin suffocating you in a bone-crushing hug. jisung handed you the tv remote, saying you could choose to watch whatever you wanted, and that everyone would be having a slumber party in the living room until you felt better.

minho and chan had gone to make you some chicken noodle soup - using felix’s mom’s recipe, which was known for being a lifesaver in your dorm. jeongin was quick to grab you your comfort plushie, taking his place on the floor by your feet - the two of you were 100% keen on physical affection, but having him close by helped.

within merely an hour, all nine of you were curled up, an animated disney movie playing, with soup and mugs of tea being passed around the room. it was nice, and it felt so good to have your boys so close and willing to help you.

you definitely took on changbin’s mention of needing to improve on communication, wanting nothing more than to improve yourself for the little family you had build around you. and yeah you were sick, and they would probably get sick too by being in such close proximity to you, but that was a problem for another day. you’d just return the favor of looking after them.

you just knew you were lucky to have them.

taglist: join taglist here @pretty-racha @chubbyanarkiss @taeriffic @mits-vi @chanssmiles @5kayzee @torixx80 @fawnpeaks @bangtanmix73 @savluvsmingi @boi-bi-ahaha

[heart4reigns]

can you make one for solo 😩🙏

where the female reader is a part of the bloodline and she’s like hella badass and during a match, one of the opponents get flirty and touchy with reader and solo gets jealous (bonus pls make him call her ma 😫😝🫶🏽🫶🏽)

PROTECTIVE, solo sikoa.

warnings: curse words, teasings, slight kayfabe, misogyny, unwanted flirtings, inaccurate events

tags: ocs to fit the plot, first time writing solo i am so excited!!

summary: jealousy, jealousy

AS usual, you arrived early to practice some lines. people were looking at you as soon as you stepped inside the arena. first, it was obviously because of your intimidating persona that caught their attention. second, you were alone today. no sight of the bloodline with you. you usually were attached hip-to-hip with all of them. but today, you were scheduled to cut a promo on your own, for the sake of the storyline.

your faction members, on the other hand, were worried. the group chat was blowing up with messages.

jimmy: be careful today!!

jey: anyone messes with u i'll drive myself there

sami: me too!!!

roman: i'm sure she can handle being on her own

(y/n): suddenly ur all worried about me? what happened to spearing me last week??

jey: that was an accident

jey: solo's fault idk

solo: now why u gotta bring me into this shit

solo: take care ma

jimmy: lmao don't forget to meet other dudes for us (y/n)

solo: i'll beat ur ass rn

(y/n): i will, jimmy!! since ur little brother doesn't love me

solo: who said that

solo: (y/n)

solo: come back

his message made you laugh. everyone knew that you had a strange dynamic with him. you were well-known for your provocative behavior, always teasing everyone from left to right. while solo sikoa was known to be a tough man in the ring, but he was always weak for you. solo sikoa was insatiable and so were you to him.

you didn't have to try hard to gain his attention–he had his own ways to show affection. whether it was a small hug after every show to showing up in front of your door with a huge pout, saying that he missed you–the man was indescribable. there was one thing you noticed as your friendship (with a sexual tension) bloomed, he was very protective of you.

on stage and off stage, he always tried his best to lessen the bumps for you. everyone, even the crew, knew that the usos were always trying to get on their little brother's nerves by messing around with you. but it was never serious, they loved you with all of their hearts. roman and sami too, felt like they needed to rile up their second-youngest faction member for the sake of solo to act affectionate in front of them.

but there was one problem. someone had his eyes on you too and solo didn't like it. you were his girl. well, not officially yet–but solo was sure that he was closer to you than that man was. although he saw you flirting around with him, he couldn't help but to feel jealous. you, on the other hand, were flirting around just to get a reaction from him. you felt bad giving adam attention, but you just wanted to be with solo.

you were going to cut a promo today, building up your storyline with the bloodline. it was going to be your first time representing the bloodline on your own. you weren't nervous at all, you were on top of your game, you never messed up your matches and all your promos. "(y/n), we also have some changes for the script, i'll hand them over when you're ready!" one of the production crew knocked on the locker room door.

not another change, you thought. "alright, i'll be out in a bit!" you replied, still fixing your boots. once you were ready to go, you opened the door–only to be greeted by a familiar face. "and what are you doing here today?" your mouth curved into a smile as you walked back inside the locker room with him. "got called in by creatives for a last minute change, you're not going on your own today, ma."

of course, solo didn't have any lines, like usual. they changed the script, showcasing how strong your bond was with the enforcer. the off camera chemistry made it easier for the two of you. you were flipping through the pages, laying your head on his lap as he studied your features. "something on my face, baby?" you teased him. solo only stared at you with dead-panned eyes, trying his best not to crack a smile. "oh come on, i know you love me." you pinched his cheeks, causing him to groan. "yeah, yeah, i love you. whatever. stop pinching my cheeks." the man complained.

"i'm going to the pantry, do you want anything?" "can you please get me some water?" you nodded and stood up from your position. the walk to the pantry was filled with several crews greeting you. "hey! i haven't seen you in a bit!" you turned around and saw adam. "oh, hey! i was with solo." you saw adam's eye twitch. "no wonder, he always likes to keep you for himself! i mean i want to meet you too."

"no, sheamus' workout routine is insane. it was fun though shooting the video with him." you were still talking to adam, with two bottles of water in your hands. "i'm invited to his gym next week, i should be prepared." you chuckled at his sentence. "where you going after this?" he suddenly asked. "i'm probably going back to solo's." adam sighed. "you never have time for me, (y/n)." he complained. "i'll make time next week!"

you bid goodbye to him and entered the locker room, which was already filled with your other coworkers. "who were you with?" solo asked, taking the water from you. "adam!" you smiled, making him jealous. he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "what?" you raised a brow. "nothing." solo muttered. "come on, he's my friend!" you nudged him with your elbow. "sure, whatever you say." he dismissed you. you sighed, not wanting to continue the conversation.

solo had to keep his composure. he felt bad seeing you pout because of his dismissive attitude. truth be told, all he wanted was you–in his arms. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to be rude." he apologized. "yeah, don't worry about it!" your cheery attitude made him smile. "i just don't like him being around you..." solo added. "are you jealous?" you smirked. solo didn't answer, only shrugging his shoulders in response. "aw, you're jealous!" "shut up before i kiss you in front of everyone."

the night went on and you were ready to go on stage. "(y/n), you're up in 5!" you quickly took a sip of your water, preparing yourself to go on stage. solo was right next to you, already in his attire. "looking good, baby." you winked at him. solo mumbled something you didn't catch. "here, i'll hold your belt. you can tie your boots." he saw you struggling with your shoes. it was the little things that made your heart beat faster than usual. he was always attentive to your situation. you passed him your championship belt, fixing your boots. "let's go kill this promo!" you kissed his cheeks before going out.

"accompanied to the ring by solo sikoa. the smackdown's women champion, (y/n) (l/n)!" the crowd cheered as you walked down the ramp with your chin up, savoring every moment of your entrance song. as you were doing your signature pose, solo couldn't help but to admire you. he was head over heels for you and he really couldn't wait to clock out of work just to spend time with you. people thought this on-screen romance was definitely something to look forward because of your character being the polar opposite of solo's.

you were billed as this uncontrollable character, always had something to say and always had something under your sleeves. in the bloodline, you were the one in charge when roman wasn't there. meanwhile solo, his character wasn't far from his personality. "chicago!" you yelled to the mic. "the double trouble is here tonight!" you continued, raising a finger up to pay tribute to the bloodline. "i am here with solo, behalf of the tribal chief to deliver a message for you all." you acted out the script.

"okay, calm down everyone. don't speak unless i tell you to." you rolled your eyes in annoyance. "the tribal chief said that y'all better respect me when he's not here." you announced, earning a cheer from the crowd. "other than that... next week, y'all better be prepared for solo to fight with adam, what was his full name?" you asked solo and he just stared at you. "right, right. it doesn't matter what his name is, all i know is that solo's going to beat his ass-" your sentence was cut off by adam's music.

"would you look at that, it's the fake chief and her bodyguard." the crowd booed as adam walked inside the ring, with a mic on his hand. "adam." you were having a stare down with him. "who invited you here?" you smirked, looking straight into his eyes. "i don't need an invitation, i'm allowed to be in the ring whenever i want." the brown-haired man said his lines, moving slightly closer to you, which was off-script. solo noticed that he was moving closer to you and decided to intervene.

he slightly pushed you behind him, getting in between you and adam–that made adam moved back. the crowd was always ecstatic to see solo doing his part. "now i can't speak to you without having your bodyguard shielding you? you're pretentious, (y/n)." once again, the crowd booed at his sentence. "i'm not pretentious, i am respected. get out of my face before i ruin it, see you next week pretty boy."

the promo ended and you walked backstage, ready to clock out of work. "you did great, (y/n)." you pulled him into a hug. "of course, you did great too, baby." you winked at him. "i didn't like it when that man was inches away from you." you chuckled at his jealousy. "it's okay, he didn't mean any harm." you assured him. "i know, forget it." his sentence made you smile. “come on, let's go back. we have a movie to watch!”

"i'll meet you at the car okay? need to speak to creatives for next week. it'll be quick." you nodded, parting ways with him. the locker room was full unlike before. "see you, (y/n)!" your friends waved at you and you returned the gesture. you went to the other locker room, wanting to meet sheamus because he borrowed your earphones last time you worked out together. you knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it. to your surprise, it was adam, not a certain ginger man you wanted to see.

"came to see me, huh?" you chuckled. "i need to see sheamus actually, he has my earphones." you stated. "lies." the man laughed. "i'm getting tired of seeing your face, adam." the two of you walked inside the locker room. "hey, got my earphones?" you tapped his shoulder. "oh, (y/n)! here... thank you, you saved my life." you took the earphones from sheamus and turned around. "you sure you don't want to ditch sikoa for me?" that sentence made you shook your head. "sorry buddy, we already have plans!"

everyone knew that adam took an interest on you ever since you were drafted from raw to smackdown. creatives saw this tension and decided to add him to your storyline with solo as a duo. "i think i like you better with solo, (y/n)." santos piped in the conversation. "yeah, adam can go date money in the bank briefcase or something." montez joked. adam slung his arms on your shoulder. "come on, i think i look better with her than solo!"

"you got a problem with me?" everyone's attention shifted from you to solo. he was practically glaring daggers at adam, causing him to drop his arms. "nothing, we were all joking around." tension filled the air. backstage drama was definitely something interesting for everyone. "you ready to go, (y/n)?" solo asked. "yep, let's go! goodbye everyone, see you next week!" you left the room, but solo stayed for a bit. "keep your hands off her, man." he said to adam. "hey, you're not her boyfriend, bro." adam defended himself. solo didn't say anything and walked away. "you got a competition there, bro." sheamus patted adam's back.

you were driving back to his house, noticing the man being quiet. "something wrong?" you asked, pulling up to his garage. "nah, i just don't like adam having his hands on you." you chuckled at his response, turning off the engine. "i know i like to mess around and stuff, but i think i only have eyes for you, pretty boy." that caused him to flush–redness in his cheeks were visible to you. "oh my god, you're so cute." you couldn't help but to pinch his cheeks. "shut up, i swear to god you will the death of me, (y/n)."

"showered yet?" he saw you laying on his bed, focusing on your phone. "nah, i need to reply to my manager first and i'm too lazy." you groaned, still feeling sore from today’s work. “come on, don’t be lazy.” solo complained, dragging your body into the bathroom. “ooh, are you gonna shower with me?” you teased him. “no, i just finished like 5 minutes ago. you’re showering on your own.” you pouted in response, only earning a chuckle from him. “alright, maybe i’ll wash my hair again.” he finally gave in.

practice came and you were at the gym with your friends. “i bet solo's excited for this match." sami sat down next to you, all sweaty and ready to leave the gym. "yeah, i'm actually scared that he might break adam's bones." the man was standing inside the ring, practicing his moves with jimmy. "ay, big boy has been eyeing you. you want to prank him?" jey came from the pantry with a bottle of water in his hands. "nah, my boy needs to focus.”

that sentence made jey smirk. “your boy? since when?” he teased you. “shut up, fatu.” you rolled your eyes. “watch this.” jey faced sami, taking a seat next to you. he slung his arms on your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. solo, who was focusing on his older brother, lost his temper. “ay, back up, man!” he yelled from the ring. “alright, alright. calm down!” you chuckled at their exchange. “i swear, he’s gonna break my legs someday if i don’t stop messing around with you.”

“LET’S GO, SOLO!” jimmy yelled, hyping up his younger brother who was totally annoyed by the loud noises he was making. “okay, i get it. be calm.” solo sighed. “i won’t shut up because this is a big match! you’re gonna beat adam's ass for real!” jimmy continued. “yeah, yeah! beat his ass for all of us. for our lil (y/n).” “who you calling lil (y/n)?” you entered the locker room, already in your new gear.

solo stoped wrapping his thumb with his tape to look at you. “new gear?” he asked. “yes! do i look good?" you twirled around, showing him your new gear. he opened his mouth but nothing came out. "okay then. jey, do i look good?" you nudged him with your elbow. "you look-" "don't answer that." solo cut him off, making jey giggle. "okay, i think we'll leave you alone now." sami stood up, dragging jimmy and jey out of the locker room–leaving you with you him.

"you look breathtakingly beautiful." solo blurted out, still focusing on your new gear. "now you wanna compliment me?" you poked his cheeks, causing him to groan. "yeah sorry, the guys won't hop off my ass with their teasings." the man complained. "i mean you're right... but it's just so fun teasing you, baby." you ruffled his hair. "if anyone dares to look at you, i'll actually kick their ass." he grinned. you felt a shiver run down your spine. he was always protective and you loved it.

"ah, (y/n)!" adam spotted the two of you in the hallways. "hi adam!" you greeted him with a hug. "new gear suits you, pretty girl." adam winked at you, causing solo to grunt in annoyance. "man, back off." solo said. "can't a man compliment a beautiful girl?" before solo could do anything, several familiar faces crowded the hallways. "okay, that's enough." diego, adam's faction member intervened. "bye adam!" "bye (y/n)! good luck!"

the jealousy got into solo. the show started and the entire bloodline (except for roman, of course) was already in their position. "you guys are up in 3, 2, 1..." you had a smirk plastered on your face, already in character. solo was riled up from the encounter you had with adam. he was in his zone. the walk down the ring was one of your favorite things in work. you were bumping your chest with sami, jumping around with the twins, and hyping solo up for his match. adam was already in the middle of the ring, with his faction members.

"accompanied to the ring by sami zayn. the undisputed tag-team champions, the usos. smackdown's women champion, (y/n) (l/n). solo sikoa!" the announcer yelled. the crowd went wild as they saw their favorite superstars in front of them. solo did his entrance and was ready to fight. "we know that there is tension backstage... sikoa and adam are always on each other's neck... it's all because of (y/n), how will this match play out?" the commentator narrated the situation.

"get up!" you shouted at solo from the sides. "come on, baby!" solo stood up from his position, getting ready to attack adam. his opponent, on the other hand, had his eyes on you the entire time. solo took the opportunity to pin him. "LET'S GO!" you shouted once again, but you knew how it would play out. adam kicked out before the referee counted down to 3, causing the crowd to groan. solo was baffled, sticking to the script. adam once again picked up solo and dropped him on his back.

while waiting for solo to get up, adam went off-script, which was totally normal during house shows. "where you going after this, pretty girl?" he winked at you as you felt adam's hands on your shoulders, trying to pull you closer. "what are you doing?" you mouthed to him. before jey, jimmy, and sami could do anything to intervene–adam felt his body being dragged and slammed into the mat. "that's a warning sign for anyone not to mess with sikoa's business!"

solo was furious. the walk backstage was quiet. you knew he was pissed off. "hey, you okay?" you patted his back, trying to calm him down. "what the hell was that man trying to do? touching you and all that?" his tone sent a shiver down your spine. "calm down, it's for the show..." you furrowed your brows in confusion. sure, he was always protective and you noticed the jealousy once in a while–but this was all new. you had never seen him this furious.

"hey, (y/n). good show!" adam offered you a hug, only to have solo blocking him from you. "what's your problem?" adam raised a brow. "move, me and my girl need to go somewhere after this." before you could say anything, solo took your arm and went to a now empty locker room. "girl...?" adam tilted his head.

"what's wrong with you?" you asked him, clearly confused at his fuming state. "i don't like it when he touches you," solo paused for a second. "he should know that you're mine." he continued. "i mean i get it that we always joke around by flirting and other stuff, but at this point... i'm not your girlfriend, solo. we're not officially dating." he stared at you, trying to get his mind straight. "i like you and i know that adam likes me too... but what are we?" you asked.

"i flirt around just to get a reaction from you, you know that right? i know you say that i'm yours or whatever, but when are we gonna make it official? i'm getting tired of waiting this long." you admitted, confessing your feelings. the room went quiet, the only source of sound came from the ticking clock. time went slow for the two of you. "i mean sure, if you just wanna fuck around like usual. but i think i'm in too deep."

the bleached blond-haired wrestler sat in silence. "come on, say something." you sat down in front of him. "fuck, (y/n). i love you, i've said that countless times and i want you to be with me. not anybody else. not that shithead babyface wrestler... i love you. no more messing around this time, i'm serious." you smiled at his sentence. solo sikoa finally cracked. "i love you too, baby. you have nothing to worry about from now on. i'm yours."

a/n: not my best bc i'm trying to get out of my writing slump but i hope u enjoyed it!!! requests are open like usual <3

[lemonhemlock]

what are they doiiiing, man

The more I believed I wasn't a book puritist, the more this show is trying to make me one because what are they doing?

Everything is inconsistent from episode to episodo and from season to season, like they're not even trying to make it believable

The only good thing is fr Daemon plot and this does shock me because I wouldn't have believed it before lol

And they're kind of making me feel angry about the green (alicent the most, because what are you doiiing? Not even on a book!alicent point, but from the same shows, she is always something different and it's humiliating really)

Idk, i try to take all with a light heart but... it's still able to make me quite mad

And sorry for all the typos and errors, I'm in a rush dhsjal

i mean it's a really disappointing season

i've said it before in my critiques, we can argue all day about characterisation (maybe some actually see aemond as an emotionless psycho, maybe some actually buy that alicent would sell out her own sons for rhaenyra), but there is little to no buildup for these HUGE changes and they don't even make sense in the context of the story. the greens are so, so emotionally flat and one-note melancholy with stunted dynamics. if they don't give a shit about each other, why and even HOW could the audience? where is the tragedy? ok, you want to make those changes from the books and create completely different versions of these characters: you have to make me believe it, man. you have to put in the work.

but these writers don't even understand the politics of the world they are inhabiting. they're not fixing any plot holes from the books, they're creating more. how the heck is house hightower JUST fine with having TWO members of their family dismissed in quick succession from the small council? who is financing this war? uncle hobert should be writing angry letters to aemond demanding appropriate reparations or else the hightower armies go back to oldtown. if they are not going to advance their own interests further as a house, why are they fighting this pointless war? tyland lannister should have given aemond some lip back for his attitude since house lannister has resources (i.e. armies, ships and gold) that aemond needs. these people have power! we've already seen the riverlords take no shit from daemon and he has a dragon too!

i've said this already to our dear @stannisfactions, so i'm gonna repeat myself here, but if alicent somehow became convinced that aemond was so off the rails he was going to get helaena killed................ there are ways around that that DON'T involve selling out your entire family to rhaenyra (certainly your male relatives, even the ones who didn't do a damn thing to you, like your brother, your uncle, your cousins, YOUR OTHER SON (THE NICE ONE), who are only following YOUR lead at the end of the day, because YOU put aegon on the throne and told them to mobilize forces and declare for him and now rhaenyra will see them all as traitors.

has everyone forgotten how to stage a castle coup? i know vhagar is big and scary, but she's parked way outside KL and aemond is just one man who was NOT shown to hustle for his own connections and personal network of friends. smack him in the damn head and throw his ass in jail!! tell everyone else the now-conscious KING aegon told you to! alicent was ruling queen for many years, it makes no sense for her not to have her own resources and courtiers who could help her do this.

can you imagine joffrey baratheon, surrounded by lannister guards loyal to and paid by tywin lannister, whose war is financed by the lannisters, dismissing tywin or cersei (or even tyrion) from his small council? are you laughing yet? why doesn't alicent have her own private army of hightower guards loyal to HER? unless you want (and need) her to be the stupidest person alive so that you can write your rhaenicent fanfic 🤌

they want to humiliate alicent so much to „punish” her for ~choosing the patriarchy~ instead of her bff rhaenyra and girl power. it's such an overdone storyline. other shows, books, media have done it to death, why is it in my dragon show, too? she can't have been a competent regent for viserys and not know how to do these things or not have acquired the resources to do them if necessary. how can she be both competent and incompetent when the plot requires it? it's giving wanting to still have the cake after eating it and throwing it into outer space

[altocat]

Random thought here but do you think they’re going to do anything with Lucretia in part 3? I know the creators mentioned there being a lot of loose ends they couldn’t tie up in OG because of technical and time limitations and to me Lucretia’s felt like one of the biggest ones. I mean supposedly she was frozen in ice not too far from where Sephiroth’s physical body was and he should know who she is- since he took in the knowledge from the Lifestream- but he never sought her out? I know he’s not supposed to have human attachments or whatever but come on… it seems like his raging mommy issues followed him into the after life as well. Wait as I’m typing this out another question pops to mind: wouldn’t Sephiroth also have figured out that he’s not actually part Cetra? Wouldn’t the knowledge from the Lifestream also include knowledge of his own parentage?

Just to clarify, while Sephiroth has canonically become aware of what he and Jenova really are as well as the fact that he's not a Cetra, there is no evidence to suggest he ever found out the truth about Lucrecia's existence. Some argue that he had to have. But he never ever mentions it. Ever. Even when Vincent speaks of Lucrecia in Opera Omnia, Sephiroth just brushes him off. His locket certainly made him aware of her face, but I think it was deliberate since recent entries have designed Jenova to look similar to Lucrecia. Sephiroth has never found out about Lucrecia, nor has he said or done anything to suggest he is aware of his birth mother's presence.

They could retcon this, of course. After all, Rebirth!Sephiroth shows up in all sorts of places he wasn't originally before. It's possible he follows the group to the crystal cave as well. Personally, I'd rather that they never meet, or that Sephiroth never finds out. It's infinitely more tragic that way. And him rejecting Lucrecia for Jenova, while completely in character, sort of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, though I'm not entirely sure why. It would feel anticlimactic I guess. I think it's just sad to have them separate from each other. Or at least not have them reunite until Sephiroth reaches his final endgame death. Idk that's just personal preferences.

As for Lucrecia, idk if there's much she can actually do in the plot beyond the purpose she served before in the OG. It's not like she can really escape her prison. The trilogy will supposedly link up to Advent Children, which leads me to believe it will do the same for Dirge, in which Lucrecia is still in her crystal. I really think it's going to be the same as before, with some added lore possibly thrown in, especially in the incredibly lucky chance they retcon Sephiroth's paternity.

This is all spitballing. It could go many ways. This is just where I currently stand. The separation of Sephiroth and Lucrecia is one of the more underrated tragedies of the Compilation. One could loosely argue that it was the literal centerpiece that staged the entire plot of the story. I want to see it done justice if they actually cover it, or at least not make it too predictably lame with Sephiroth being your typical scornful villain. It would be a huge moment. And I think that deserves something better than Sephiroth evilly monologuing like usual while rejecting his mom.

Lucrecia is flawed AF and is 100% responsible for what she did to her son. But it's like kicking a sick dog. I get no pleasure watching her continuing to suffer without a proper conclusion. I want to believe they'll do more with her, or at least make what was already there more tragic than before.

[steddieas-shegoes]

So I have this one scene in my head, that won't go away unless someone writes it😅

So it's like 10 years after season 4. Everybody is "grown up" , moved away, married, have kids, etc. They have a reunion at the park in Hawkins/Indy Idk?

Eddie is watching the kids. Suddenly a woman comes up to him saying his kid hit/pushed her kid. Eddie who saw the whole thing, says his kid was just defending them self from her kids bullying. The woman asks Eddie, if the kids mother would agree to this behavior. Cue Eddie calling out Honey! And then introducing Steve as their kids mother🤣

Its not much to go on plot vice, but I'm hoping your amazing brain can fill in the blanks😅

I am a Steve secretly likes being called mom truther. Sorry to everyone who isn't. I full believe Eddie started it as a joke, but he noticed the blush on Steve's face and kept doing it, and then the kids just naturally picked up on it and refer to him as both mom and dad depending on the situation. Imagine the confusion on a teacher's face when their troublemaker tells the principal "my mom is gonna be so mad that someone pushed me" and in walks a raging Steve. It's giving comedic relief. I didn't really include a whole lot of everyone in this, just mentioned it was a reunion and had a few moments with the Party. Hope that's okay, it's just difficult to include EVERYONE in a short ficlet. - Mickala ❤️

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

They came back to Hawkins as often as they could to visit Wayne, especially once they adopted Hannah. Shortly after Nancy offered to be a surrogate for them, they ended up adopting Hannah’s baby sister, Lucy. In case that wasn’t enough, they still decided to take Nancy up on her offer, and they ended up with twins (“can’t do anything halfway, can you?” was Robin’s reaction) Ben and Molly.

Everything happened so quickly, all within two years, that Steve and Eddie turned to Wayne often as their calming presence.

At six years old, Hannah was a spitfire. She had Eddie’s personality despite not being theirs until she was four: unapologetically herself, loud, dramatic, and so fucking smart it scared them both. Lucy, at two (and a half!), was already well on her way to being the same way.

But this visit to Hawkins was different.

Everyone was back.

All the kids, who were far from kids now, and their significant others and kids decided to have a reunion over Labor Day weekend.

Eddie just got off a tour a few weeks earlier, a tour that proved to be quite chaotic when he insisted his entire family join him for two months on the road. Steve argued that it wasn’t necessary, that they would be fine for two months as long as he called every day, but Eddie wasn’t having it.

They took up a whole tour bus by themselves, but the rest of his band loved the kids. They brought Hannah on stage for soundcheck, they even had special headphones made just for her to be able to watch and play the instruments.

Steve usually used soundcheck time to walk with Lucy, find a place where she can run around and let loose all that toddler energy. Most venues they stopped at had a large backstage parking area for the buses and equipment vans, so while Lucy would run around and find weird bugs and sticks, Steve would push Ben and Molly in the double stroller so they could get some fresh air.

Once the doors opened, Eddie brought Hannah back to him and they went back to the bus so Steve could make them all their dinner, give them their baths, and put them to bed. They’d converted the bottom bunk spaces of the bus to a crib space for the twins and Lucy, and made the top bunk more kid friendly for Hannah.

It worked, and it was fun, and it was an experience that they all were happy to have together, but it was exhausting for all of them.

Being back in Hawkins was almost like a vacation.

Compared to the rush, rush, rush environment of tour, Hawkins was sit back, relax, enjoy the breeze.

Especially because everyone wanted their turn holding and playing with the kids. There were some points in the day that Eddie didn’t even know which adult his kids were with, but he was fine with it because Steve was sitting in his lap, more relaxed than he’d been in close to a year.

“Love you, Stevie,” Eddie mumbled against his hair, smiling as Steve curled further into his chest.

“Love you, too, baby.”

“Well aren’t you two just adorable,” Wayne said as he took the seat next to them, Ben asleep in his arms.

“When did he fall asleep?” Steve asked, voice low so he wouldn’t startle Ben.

“About 20 minutes ago.”

“You can go set him in the pack and play.”

“Nah. I wanna get as much time with these kiddos as I can,” Wayne said as he smiled down at Ben.

“Is Molly sleeping anywhere?” Eddie asked.

“Last I saw, Max was trying to get her to crawl in the living room, but I don’t think Molly is very interested.” Wayne started rocking back and forth slightly, like he did anytime he held a baby, whether they were asleep or not. “I heard Hannah ask if she could go to the park. If you wanna take her and Luce, we can keep the babies here for a bit.”

Eddie patted Steve’s back, silently asking him to let him up.

“I can take them. Stevie, you can stay here and get some rest.”

“No, I’ll come. Lucy will want someone to push her on the swings the whole time and Hannah won’t want to even look at the swings. It takes two with them.”

They made their way into the house to collect Hannah and Lucy, smiling at the way Max and Will were trying to bribe Molly to crawl with toys.

There was only one actual park in Hawkins, and the playground had only been added about five years ago as more people started moving back into town. It wasn’t impressive, especially compared to their Chicago parks and playgrounds, but Hannah and Lucy weren’t picky.

As expected, Lucy ran straight to the swings, yelling “Ma! Push me on swings please!”

Steve rolled his eyes fondly, but followed her over to them, preparing himself for the next 30 minutes of pushing her back and forth.

Hannah, well, she was a wild child. Literally, Eddie has had to drag her out of a hole she dug in their backyard once because she thought it could be her new bedroom. She cried when she thought that the bugs would hate her for leaving them. She found fun in any outdoor environment, which was good because the playground didn’t have a whole lot to offer other than one slide, a small set of monkey bars, and one tube to run through.

There were only a few other kids playing, all the parents standing off to the side or sitting on the bench.

All moms who would probably not want to talk to Eddie, especially if they recognized him and had been living in Hawkins during the whole, well, thing.

He stood away from everyone, just keeping an eye on Hannah, but occasionally looking over to Steve and Lucy. Lucy was ecstatic, he could hear her yelling “High! Up! High!” and Steve smiling as he pushed her just a tiny bit higher.

It was during one of those moments that he heard a yell and then heard someone walking over to him.

He turned to see a woman, probably pretty close to his age, coming up to him with a stern look on her face.

Oh boy.

He sighed as she stopped in front of him, her arms crossing over her chest.

He glanced at Hannah, who was being shoved by a boy maybe a year or two older than her. Hannah just raised her brow and shoved him back.

He looked back at the mom in front of him, assuming she was the boy’s parent.

“May I help you?”

“You may. Your daughter just pushed my son!”

“Is your son the one I just watched shove her?”

“If he did, it was to defend himself.”

“Hm.” Eddie glanced back up to see the boy crying and Hannah walking towards him. “Maybe your son should keep his hands to himself if he doesn’t like being pushed.”

“Maybe your daughter should learn to move out of the way.”

Eddie smirked as Hannah came up next to him.

“Hannah, wanna tell me what just happened?”

“He told me that I was too fat to go on the slide so I told him I would show him that I wasn’t. And then he tried to pull me away and I didn’t let him so he said that he was going to push me off the top. He tried to, but I’m strong, so he couldn’t. I pushed him back.”

Eddie nodded.

It’s not that he thought his kids were perfect. Far from it.

He got calls frequently from Hannah’s school that she was being too rough with the kids, and he had to remind her that a lot of kids don’t play that way. She never had bad intentions, she just didn’t know how strong she was. Kind of like a large breed dog thinking he can still sit in your lap when he’s fully grown.

But he also knew that because she had never had bad intentions, there was no way she did anything that wasn’t in defense of herself.

“It sounds like your son was rude and put his hands on her first,” Eddie said to the woman, who was turning a violent shade of red.

“There is no way her mother would allow her to act like this. This is inappropriate for young girls.”

Even Hannah knew that was the wrong thing to say.

She covered her face and shook her head and Eddie couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“What is so funny?” the woman asked angrily.

“Her mother is the one who taught her how to defend herself, but if you’d like to talk…” Eddie turned to the swings, where Steve was focused on Lucy. “Sweetheart! Can you come here for a second?”

Steve looked over to him with a frown, grabbing Lucy from the swing and mumbling something to her when she looked disappointed that they were done.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked as he looked down at Hannah, who was patiently waiting to see what Steve was about to do to this woman.

Eddie absolutely loved his children equally, he really did. But Hannah was something else entirely. He felt connected to her in ways that he hadn’t expected when they first met her. If it were possible, he would think she was his biologically with how similar they were in personality, how they both had the same dark curls, brown eyes, loud laugh, and smirk.

The woman seemed surprised to see Steve come over, but quickly went back to the angered demeanor of a moment ago.

“Your daughter tried to hurt my son.”

This woman was not going to convince Steve of that even if she somehow managed to record it on camera.

“What did your son do?”

“I beg your pardon! He didn’t do anything except try to take a turn on the slide.”

“Right.” Steve looked at Eddie, who gave a small shake of his head, then down at Hannah who did the same. “My sources seem to remember things differently.”

“Ma, he said I was too fat and then tried to pull me away!” Hannah was getting more upset now, not because she was in trouble, but because it was interrupting her playtime.

“Which one is your son?” Steve asked.

Oh no. That was the bitchy tone.

Eddie loved where this was going.

“The one getting off the slide,” the woman pointed, but immediately tried to start arguing. “She had no right to push him no matter what he may or may not have said.”

“The kid who is currently pushing another girl out of his way?”

The woman looked over and gritted her teeth together.

“Daddy, Ma, he’s mean!” Lucy yelled as she held Hannah’s hand.

“Yes, baby, he is being mean. That’s why we taught you and your sister to stand up for yourselves when someone is bullying you,” Eddie said pointedly.

“Kids like that grow up to be mean adults who don’t have friends and raise their own kids to be mean,” Steve added with a glare at the mom.

“We all have to take turns on the slide,” Hannah nodded in agreement.

“Ma! Ma! Swing again!” Lucy suddenly yelled, totally over the way this conversation was taking away from her valuable swinging time.

“Sure, baby.” Steve turned to the seething woman in front of them. “Are we done here or do I have to go on about how your son is going to peak in high school just like you did?”

She stormed off without another word, no match for Steve when he was in Mama Bear Mode.

It was so fucking hot.

Steve sighed.

“I’m proud of you Hannah Banana. You okay?” Steve knelt down so he was eye level with her, and pulled her into a hug.

“Can we go to another park, Ma?”

“Sorry, baby, this is the only one here. We can go back to Papa Wayne’s house, though.”

“Can I swing with Lucy?” Hannah asked.

“Of course. How about we swing for another ten minutes and then we get some ice cream?”

Eddie perked up at that.

“Ice cream!”

“You’re worse than the children,” Steve smirked at Eddie.

“Ice cream!” Lucy yelled.

“Can I have strawberry?” Hannah asked excitedly.

“Sure,” Steve ruffled her hair. “Strawberry’s my favorite, too.”

“Brownie!” Lucy yelled, eyes wide.

“That’s my girl! We’ll get brownie ice cream,” Eddie said as he lifted her up into his arms and walked her over to the swings.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, which is exactly how they liked it.

[dingodad]

hmmm ok i know i hyped that update up a lot in my head probably LOL and i am rly happy with the reveal we did get but i feel like a lot of the text surrounding the portal animation was... i dont wanna say superfluous. but hamfisted? like i know we managed to get a joke out of it but i can't say i'm not disappointed that the first two pages were pretty much just a re-explanation of what the plot point is for readers who i guess couldn't even be bothered going back to read one single update that came out right before the reboot. it's good to be reminded of important stuff especially if it was first revealed quite some time ago but sometimes a link to a previous conversation will suffice. yk.

and then the last couple of pages kind of play into an ongoing trend in the rebooted beyond canon where characters will allude to a problem with the story by having an out loud personal disagreement about it. kanaya and rose have their argument about yiffy, jake and jane have their argument about xenophobic fascism, and now calliope and roxy get to have an argument about. idk. it feels a lot like they did not really have anything to fight about. i know these kinds of conversations are meant to be cathartic and they're meant to service the fans and that can be a good thing and works really well in measured doses, but the moment it starts to become a noticeable pattern (and i think it had already started to become a noticeable pattern by the time jane and jake got their turn) its effectiveness wanes.

i realise we are very much in the setup stages still (and it looks like the setup is really ramping up to something now so it makes complete sense that the storytelling is getting denser and denser) but i think between the prologue and the reboot hs2 has been having kind of a hard time walking the fine tightrope between "setup that's so slow it doesn't even communicate that it's setting anything up" and "setup that's so dense it's hitting you over the head with the fact that it's setup". and i totally understand that is a DIFFICULT LINE TO WALK especially when you are dealing with the need to service the fans while also not being beholden to them, which is a struggle that is baked DEEP into the dna of beyond canon at this point. so i will be very interested to see how these trends change now that we are over the "event horizon" and really getting into things for real this time

[meepispeepis]

The Storm Before the Calm

~Ok, I'm finally getting on that MK1 cringe! Got ALOT of inspiration from these lovely creators and their combined arts of "oops, Kung Lao's dead again" works. And the brainworm is demanding that I finally put this into writing so, here we are! Once again, huge shoutout to these lovely artists who gave me the inspiration and please do check them out!~

@helsensm // @novicedraws // @randyzorra // @d3rpydoods

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. This isn't part of some long-winded series, so you might as well think you've flipped open a book and started reading in the middle of the story. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game (Raiden getting a message from his future self and trying to interpret in time what that message meant to save the future - long story short: nearly everyone died and no one came out alright :D). All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline and Liu Kang struggled on how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains (In this short story, it's assumed that Shang Tsung is wholly responsible or had a hand in his death), Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story! Next Characters: Raiden, Kenshi, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Mentions Kung Lao, Raiden's Sister (named her Fuji :D)

Word Count - 6,094 Ships: Raiden/Kung Lao - Hints of Kenshi/Johnny Cage

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (but with less blood), Character Death

It was over.

It was done.

They stopped Shang Tsung and his nefarious plot; it was over. This was the part where everyone patted each other on the back, did a whole hoopla about "the power of friendship saved the day," locked up the villain, and went home. But maybe that time was lost a long time ago. Ever since…

Ever since Kung Lao died.

Aside from Johnny, Kung Lao always knew how to lift everyone's spirits, that didn't involve excessive Hollywood references that most of them didn't get. His self-confidence and pride always seemed to ooze onto everyone else. If Lao says he can do it, then so can we! It hurt everyone when he was unceremoniously slain by General Shao and Shang Tsung, a clean cut to his neck with his own weapon. And you know, it wasn't until that day that Liu Kang was gravely reminded that these men never had to experience death in such a manner. Each of them knew how to fight, added to the additional training they got with the monks at the Wu Shi Academy. But Liu Kang never taught them how to kill, to maim, to perform the one act no ordinary person should ever have to do.

When Kung Lao died, it shocked everyone. The only one seemingly keeping themselves together was Kenshi. Coming from his Yakuza background, he has done plenty of dirty that he wasn't proud of. But Johnny? Liu Kang still remembers the reviving actor's disbelief, trying his damndest to do all he could for Kung Lao, even pleading with Liu Kang on what to do. But perhaps the one person who was hurt the most that day was Raiden. They were friends, childhood friends…lovers, even…Liu Kang can never scrub away the scene of Raiden being the first to notice his friend wasn't getting up (he was the closest to the body) and slowly descending to hold his boyfriend tightly. Raiden blocked out the world at that moment; the rest of the crew had to step in and finish the fight while Raiden grieved over his friend.

And things were never the same after that.

It was over.

It was done.

Kenshi and Johnny already shackled the unconscious Shang Tsung and started tending to their wounds. There was silence between them as they repaired themselves, barely making glances to the other. It wasn't until Kenshi spoke up, pointing out that Johnny was wrapping the bandage wrong and took the reigns in patching the star up. Johnny didn't put up a fuss. In a small way, he's kinda glad Kenshi said something. To break the silence and bring back that camaraderie they once had before. Feeling Kenshi touch him again, a wave of memories started flooding back to Johnny. The days when the 4 of them (Johnny, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Raiden) were always in each other's spaces. Arms thrown over each other's shoulders, whenever they were in a goofy mood; they were always leaning against the one nearest to them. That intimacy, he misses it.

"There," Kenshi softly says, completing the last patch on Johnny to ensure it wouldn't get infected.

Johnny couldn't help but return a sad smile and nod, "Thanks, Kenshi."

Then the silence began again as they both sat in silence, waiting for Raiden and Liu Kang to return once they were done with what Johnny called "the super laser beam like in that one Marvel™ movie." When they heard the sound of roiling thunder, that was their cue that the other pair had returned. Kenshi was the first to look up to see Raiden floating high above them, with black clouds shadowing him. It was a near-terrifying sight. His glowing eyes and hair, the crackles of lightning sparking off him, and the foreign look of godly contempt that was plastered on his face. Doesn't help too, that they each learned some time ago who Raiden was before Liu Kang altered the timeline. With this display of power, Raiden might as well be a god.

"Hey, Raiden, no need to worry! We had this one in the bag." Johnny gestures over to Shang Tsung, still enjoying his dirt nap. "He'll be going away for good once we figure out what our version of Arkham Asylum should be for the bastard."

Kenshi scoffs and shakes his head slightly, but it wasn't one out of annoyance. He knows what Johnny is trying to do, lightening the mood.

Raiden, however, does not reciprocate; remaining still as a statue in the air. Kenshi stares back at Raiden, anxious about what the thunder go-his friend, was thinking.

"…Hey, Raid-bro, we were told there was a chance of blue sunny skies when coming out here. Care to move the dark clouds out the way?" Johnny tries again with being jovial, but Kenshi can hear the hint of anxious tension in his tone.

After another long silence, Raiden finally descends, but where he was going was toward Shang Tsung. Johnny and Kenshi rise from their seated area as they closely watch Raiden slowly meeting the ground. By the time Raiden reached the surface, almost as if on cue, Shang Tsung started to stir awake, perhaps thanks to the constant thunder cracking in the area. Shang Tsung was already a beaten mess, with dried blood and dirt caked on his freckled face. His brown eyes meet with Raiden's glowing white eyes, and he has the gall to smirk at him. The prisoner readjusts himself, sitting straight up as he leaned against a tree.

"Love what you did with your hair, Raiden." Of fucking course, Shang had to go there.

Kenshi and Johnny both do their best to not flinch and cringe upon hearing that, knowing full well that it struck a nerve with Raiden, even if the farm boy wasn't showing it.

And as if Shang was further egg-ing Raiden on, he starts looking around, as if he's expecting someone to be here, but they happened to be missing. "Now, where is that pompous, hat-throwing circus act you often dragged along with you? Called in sick?"

"That's enough, Shang Tsung. Don't let us muffle you too." Johnny was the first to speak on everyone's behalf, his rising anger apparent as he growled.

Shang ignored Johnny, his eyes still trained on Raiden, meeting him eye-to-eye. "Oh~, don't beat yourself up for his departure, Raiden. You can rest easy that he died a prideful fool who didn't know when too much was enough."

"Hey, shut the fuck up!"

There was a one-sided back & forth, Shang Tsung constantly taunting the quiet Raiden while Johnny was trying to get Shang Tsung to stop talking. Eventually, Johnny starts grabbing the sorcerer by his ruffed-up shirt and tries intimidating him into keeping his mouth shut.

There are benefits to being half-blind and wearing a blindfold. Kenshi has been looking head, seemingly staring into nothing and nowhere, but the sight that Sento gave him allowed him to keep his peripherals on Raiden. Watching him closely to ensure that he doesn't do anything stupid. And Kenshi would be right to watch Raiden because the younger man started to approach the arguing pair.

Kenshi steps in front of Raiden, "Whatever you're thinking, don't."

"Get out of my way, Kenshi," Raiden's voice was like a coming storm, eager to wreak havoc on anyone and anything that stood in its way.

Kenshi had to choose his words wisely, one wrong move or phrase and he will erupt. They've seen it happen more than once. "Please, at least let us wait for Liu Kang before-"

"Ha! Still letting that proclaimed Fire God lead you around on a leash, Raiden?"

Kenshi now physically cringes before making a sharp turn toward Johnny, "Shut him up!" Kenshi can see sparks crackling of Raiden and he further obscures his view of Shang Tsung. "Raiden, he's trying to get into your head. Don't let him!"

"He knew, you know? Liu Kang? For someone who altered the timeline to fit his "perfect vision," a lot of strange coincidences have been happening as of late. I mean, I became a sorcerer when I was supposed to be a beggar. And you were a simple farm boy. But look at you now, a master of the storms and the skies," Shang Tsung side-eyes Raiden deviously, "He must've known that Kung Lao was going to die."

"Get out of my way!" the air starts to pick up, his hair and clothes ruffling in the wind, and more lightning static bounces off Raiden.

"Ok, time for your muzzle, dog," Johnny approaches with a mask-like device meant to silence individuals who wear it. As he tries to place the mask on Shang Tsung, the sorcerer hits him square in the dick (a technique he has learned to adopt later down the line thanks to the foolish actor), causing Johnny to have the wind knocked out of him as he backs away a couple steps. "N-not cool, man! Not cool!"

But this landed Shang Tsung a couple more minutes. "He could've prevented it, Raiden. Kung Lao may have died at the General's hands, but you know who truly caused his demise? Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening. He went through all the effort to neuter you and me. Because of his biases over a timeline that no longer exists! He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be; all I did was defy his logic and plan."

"JOHNNY!" Kenshi shouts as he tries to hold Raiden back, the young man now struggling to get past the blind swordsman.

"I'm working on it!" Johnny replies as he hurries back to Shang Tsung with the mask.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Raiden screams.

He can feel it. He can feel the amulet infused into his body responding to his anger, his grief, and his drive for vengeance. The condensed storms locked away in that amulet desire to give Raiden that release. Kenshi grunts as he starts feeling shocks ripple through him while holding tight onto Raiden.

"RAIDEN DON'T LISTEN TO HIM; YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS!"

"Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do. He has the power to do so; he simply didn't use it. All under the idea of restraint. That's what makes you and I so powerful. We're not afraid to take the power we're given and use it to its nigh limits. The one who you should be angry at is the man who calls himself a friend to you."

Finally, Johnny wraps the mask around Shang Tsung, silencing him until it's eventually removed. But the damage was done. It wasn't until now that Johnny noticed that Liu Kang still hadn't arrived.

"Where's Liu? Kenshi, where's Liu!" Johnny says as he anxiously watches the struggle between Raiden and Kenshi.

Kenshi doesn't get a moment to entertain an answer as Raiden yells at the top of his lungs, a bust of electrifying energy emitting from him, from the amulet, knocking both Earthrealm warriors back a considerable distance. The pair lang roughly on the soil in an audible groan as they jerk and hiss at the shocking ripples still assaulting their bodies. Kenshi was the first to slightly recover, but it must've been some time before he regained his senses because when Kenshi frantically looked for where Raiden had gone, he saw the thunder wielder punching Shang Tsung to a bloody pulp.

"Raiden, ugh! Raiden, stop!" It hurts for Kenshi to get up, but he ushers all the strength he still has and rushes over to Raiden.

Kenshi rips Raiden off of Shang Tsung and doesn't bother to look the sorcerer over (that's what he gets for running his mouth), keeping his attention wholly on his friend (and his hand on the hilt of Sento).

"Raiden, we've been over this. Please, don-"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!"

Kenshi isn't given a moment to calm the man down as bolts of lightning come arcing towards the swordsman. Kenshi dodges out of the way, unsheathing Sento in the process; the line of shocking energy completely decimates a nearby tree. The time for words was over; now it's time to, in Johnny's words, bring out the "Hulk Buster."

Raiden raises his hand to the grey skies above, capturing lightning in his hand before hurling various sparks at Kenshi. The swordsman goes on the defensive, dodging and ducking behind cover, trying to avoid actively harming Raiden. But the more he placed distance between him and Raiden, the more Kenshi was bobbing and weaving past his thunderous attacks. Kenshi would be mildly saved as Johnny surprises Raiden by grabbing him from behind and trying to restrain him.

"Raiden, pull it together, man! We don't want to hurt you!" Johnny struggles to say, the shocks of lightning constantly snapping at him.

Kenshi rushes out of hiding and builds up momentum, hoping to get one good, non-lethal, strike in to knock Raiden out.

"Where the hell are you, Liu Kang..." Kenshi muttered to himself, slightly out of breath as he was exerting all his power into running and reaching Raiden as soon as possible. "Johnny! Hold him down, just a bit longer!"

"I'm-ACK, FUCK!" Johnny shouts as he feels another shock of electricity course through him, "I'M FUCKING TRYING!"

Raiden was howling like an animal, trying to shock Johnny off him. Lightning bolts were falling out of the sky as it struck the grounds around them, destroying everything it touched. It was almost like the lightning strikes were even chasing Kenshi as every bolt of lightning was always some inches away from hitting the swordsman.

He was close, almost there, just a bit more.

Raiden finally throws Johnny off him, elbowing him sharply in his face. Conjuring every bit of power of the storm, Raiden fried Johnny. The pained screams from the actor nearly shake Kenshi to his core.

"JOHNNY!!" Kenshi screams.

Raiden notices the swordsman approaching and disrupts his abuse of his friend to focus on Kenshi, redirecting the powerful blast and hurling it at the blind swordsman. Guided by Sento, Kenshi locks himself in a blocked battle with Raiden's powerful lightning attack, locked in a Harry Potter wand duel as Sento protects Kenshi from the attack. The mystical powers of Sento was able to withstand the ever-present assault, but Raiden was unhinged, not withholding the full potential of the thunder amulet. Then the impossible happens.

Sento cracks.

Kenshi quickly rolls out of the way and tries to get to safety before Raiden completely breaks Sento. But Raiden saw this coming, using his other hand to conjure a whip-like lightning bolt at Kenshi, lassoing him and dragging him to the ground, before giving the swordsman a devastating shock.

"Raiden!"

For once, the farm boy actually stops his assault. Leaving Kenshi and Johnny unconscious after constantly being shocked to near death. Raiden looked behind him, and there he was.

Liu Kang.

The Fire God stares at the scene in utter shock, eyes darting between the sizzling Johnny and equally as cooked Kenshi. Raiden, eyes & hair slowly dimming in brightness, keeps his eyes trained on Liu Kang.

'He could've prevented it, Raiden - Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening - Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do.'

Shang Tsung's words echo in Raiden's head.

"...Did you know he was going to die?" Raiden, for the first time, speaks coherently. Possessing the soft voice that he's known for.

"What? Raiden, what hap-"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" In that same instance, Raiden's voice booms like thunder (even the skies above respond, crackling thunder in the distance with his anger), his white hair and eyes glowing brightly. "YOU KNEW KUNG LAO WAS GOING TO DIE, DIDN'T YOU!!" Raiden points his electrifying finger at Liu Kang accusingly.

Liu Kang's mouth opens and shuts before he finally answers Raiden. "...Certain circumstances and events that transpired hinted that Kung Lao could die. But not once did I know for certain that Kung Lao would meet his untimely death."

There's a long, silent pause between the two; only the roaring wind breaks the stillness. Liu Kang dares to break his eyes away from Raiden, looking for the one Kenshi and Johnny were supposed to contain, Shang Tsung. It looked like in the scuffle, he used that opportunity to get away, his hairpin lying on the ground dirtied with blood and dirt. Whatever Shang Tsung said to Raiden, it riled the former thunder god. Liu Kang kicks himself for being unconscious for so long. The device he and Raiden went to disable knocked the wind out of him and rendered Liu Kang out of commission for a moment. When he awakened on the vacant platform the device was on, Raiden was gone.

Liu Kang looks back at Raiden, the man's head now facing the ground, fists balled. The next thing that comes out of Raiden's mouth breaks the Fire Gods' heart.

"Why did you let him die," his voice cracks, and Liu can hear the tears Raiden shed.

"Raiden...I..."

"Even if you didn't know fully that Kung Lao would die, why didn't you tell us! Why didn't you save him? Or let us help you save him!" Raiden sobs, his knees feeling weak.

"...I did all I could, Raiden. I tried to protect him...But I couldn't shelter him. I had to trust that Kung Lao would make the choices necessary to follow his own path. I wasn't going to take that choice from him."

"How would he know what path to take if YOU NEVER TELL HIM WHERE IT WILL LEAD HIM!!!" Another sound of roiling thunder, lighting sparking off Raiden as he snaps his head toward Liu Kang. "You could've told him, us, what could've happened! You could've stopped this!"

"I did not want to burden you with the knowledge I knew and felt!" Liu Kang raises his voice, not to match his anger, but because the winds were picking up and the thunder was practically deafening him. "I didn't want you or him to spend every waking moment; questioning each move you took, each decision you made! I wanted both of you to become masters of your own fate!"

'He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be.'

"No...NO!!" Raiden shouts as he slings a lightning bolt at Liu Kang. A shot the Fire God effortlessly dodges.

"Raiden, please!"

"YOU CREATED THIS TIMELINE. THIS NEW UNIVERSE! YOU COULD'VE PREVENTED THIS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO, I KNOW YOU DO!"

Another reckless throw of a lightning bolt, scorching a nearby tree as Liu Kang steps out of the line of fire. "Raiden, please, you have to understa-"

"I LOVED HIM, LIU KANG! WITH ALL MY HEART, I LOVED HIM!!! AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

Raiden rips open his shirt, revealing the amulet fused with his person, a permanent reminder of the trauma everyone endured...That he endured...

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK TO ME!" Raiden's feet crackle with electrifying power as he lunges towards him, performing a move Liu Kang knows far too well as Raiden flies at him like a speeding torpedo, locking Liu Kang as they both collide into various trees.

Liu Kang grunts as their movement is halted by a large rock, but he's not given a moment of reprieve as Raiden starts socking him in the face multiple times. Screaming phrases that Liu Kang could not focus enough to bear their meaning. He's then thrown about in a large circle, and when Raiden releases his grip, Liu Kang goes flying again.

Liu Kang crash lands into a nearby lake. It takes him some time to gather his strength to swim out of the waters. He coughs and spits out blood, Raiden isn't holding back, the powers of the amulet having provided him with strength and vigor. But he was still mortal. Liu Kang can take a beating, but one wrong move and a bit of force; and Liu could kill Raiden. Liu Kang assesses his surroundings, mainly looking for where Raiden has gone or where Raiden could potentially come from.

Fortunately, Raiden's rageful cries gave him away as he came crashing down like a speeding bullet from the sky toward Liu Kang. Hoping to catch him in a flying kick maneuver. Liu Kang was able to block the attack, the force of the kick skidding them both further from the lake that Kang emerged from. There is a back-and-forth between the skilled fighters as each attack is swiftly blocked by the other. Well, more like Liu Kang was the one being swift. Raiden was filled with hatred and rage, his attacks were more akin to a wild animal attacking and defending itself.

Liu Kang had to hold back. Unlike Kenshi, who somewhat matched his power level, one wrong flaming fist and Raiden could be K.O-ed to his grave.

"Raiden, I am not your enemy. Everything I did for Kung Lao, I've always had you in mind! Whatever Shang Tsung told you-"

"Oh yeah, go ahead!" Raiden opened his palms and bent his fingers, colliding his hands on each opposite side of Liu Kang's head, sending shocks of electricity to his head and disorienting the Fire God as his ears started to ring. "Blame it all on Shang Tsung! Blame every single problem and inconvenience on the fucking sorcerer! Because gods forbid you take any responsibility for yourself and own up to the fuck up THAT YOU MADE!"

Raiden grabs Liu Kang in a crushing hug and sends both of them flying in the sky, high enough for Raiden to send a highly concentrated bolt of lighting onto Liu Kang; Raiden being able to withstand such powerful energies. Liu Kang screams in anguish as he's tased ten times over, and then thrown back to the earth below. Liu Kang leaves a crater where he landed and for a moment, doesn't move from his spot.

It took every fiber of his being and willpower to slowly get himself back on his feet. Liu Kang didn't even have to look to know that Raiden was behind him. Between gasps, coughs, and hacking up blood, Liu Kang tries to plead with Raiden.

"...Raiden...I don't want to hurt you...I know you're...Grieving. He meant everything to you as you did to him...But Kung Lao wouldn't want us to fight. Not like this..."

There was a long pause, yet again.

"Don't you dare tell me what Kung Lao would've wanted. You don't get to speak for him or anyone, like you always do!"

"Raiden-"

"You think you know what Kung Lao would've wanted when you knew nothing about him. Not like I did. Do you want to know what Kung Lao would've wanted? You want to hear it from someone WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING KNOWS HIM!?! Let me tell you!"

Raiden forcefully turns Liu Kang to face him before clocking him in the face.

"Kung Lao would've wanted to know how he was going to die so that he could prevent it!"

Another crack.

"He would've thanked you for trusting him with this knowledge so that he could come back home with me in peace!"

Another crack, blood staining his knuckles.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO LIVE WITH ME. SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH ME! HIS FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"

Another crack after Liu Kang weakly tries to block his other fist attack.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO DIE PEACEFULLY. WITH ME BY HIS SIDE! NOT IN A FUCKING REALM THAT HE DOESN'T BELONG TO, FACING DOWN A HORNED-FACED FUCKER AND THAT DAMNABLE SORCERER! TO ONLY DIE BECAUSE THEY USED HIS WEAPON AGAINST HIM! LEAVING HIM TO BLEED ON THE DIRT!"

Another crack, an uppercut that sends Liu Kang stumbling back some feet.

Liu Kang spits out another glob of blood mixed with saliva. "We all can't choose how we die, Raiden."

"Yet, you chose for him to die there."

Something within Liu Kang snaps, anger was boiling. "Kung Lao chose to not listen to me when I asked him to not interfere, Raiden!" Liu Kang tries to hold back the poison he truly wanted to emit.

One too many times has he heard this. How Liu Kang was the reason Tarkat exists. How it's his fault that Kitana and Mileena's mother was dead. How it was his fault that Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were in deplorable working and living conditions. How it's his fault that Reptile and Smoke lost their loved ones. How it's his fault that events and circumstances that did not go in their favor, even if it was out of everyone's hands, was HIS FAULT.

He was tired of it. Tired of explaining his reason for not keeping the position as the Keeper of Time. Tired of defending himself against the actions and motives that others have. Tired of expressing how while he may have remade this timeline and altered events, he never once had it planned to control the lives of mortals; leaving their motives and fates in their own hands and suffering the consequences of doing so.

Red and blue flames start to erupt from his arms where his draconic tattoos were printed, his eyes giving off a godly glow.

"I already told you why I withheld that information from him. I wanted him to have peace. Both of you, to have peace." Liu Kang tries his best to keep his calmly attitude as he picks himself up.

"And how do you know he wouldn't be at peace if he at least knew what was coming!?!" Raiden spits back at him

"And how would you?"

Even with his soothing voice, he definitely struck a cord with Raiden as he goes for a swing at Liu Kang. This time, Liu Kang grabs his fist and twists it, not enough to break the bone, but to cause painful strain.

Raiden shouted in mild pain as he tried to swing his other free hand at Liu Kang. Similarly, Liu blocks the attack, grabbing his wrist and unintentionally burning him slightly.

"Raiden, I'm not going to say this again. Stop this." Liu Kang looks Raiden dead in the eyes. Despite his calm face, there was a silent roaring flame behind his features. The kind of look that screams "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you give me reason to."

Yet, Raiden did not listen. He headbutts Liu Kang successfully, forcing Liu Kang back with a bleeding nose. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. In a fit of rage, Liu Kang yells as he punches Raiden square in the face. He didn't use his full godly strength, but it sent Raiden flying through multiple trees before slamming against one tree trunk. Liu Kang huffs and puffs, the anger slowly dying down and the realization of what he did quickly coming to him.

"Raiden!" Liu cries as he rushes as fast as he can to the former thunder god.

When he found his body, Liu Kang feared the worst. It happened as the old Raiden said. They were always destined to fight, to kill each other, and Liu Kang couldn't avoid it in this timeline. But the moment he heard Raiden's labored breaths, Liu Kang felt an overwhelming relief wash over him.

"Raiden! Raiden, I'm so sorry! I didn't- I didn't mean to," Liu Kang was stumbling over his words as he held Raiden upright, unsure of how serious his wounds were.

Raiden was going through the shock of it, breathing not only labored but in quick succession. Liu Kang tried to help Raiden match his breathing, to calm him down from the pain and shock.

"Are you," Raiden swallows between shaking breaths and stuttering speech, "Are you going to l-let me die? Like you did Lao?"

Liu Kang meets Raiden eye to eye. Raiden was bleeding from his head, streams of red running down his face with twigs and sticks entangled in his white hair. He's never going to let this go. Whatever Shang Tsung told him, it infected him like a parasite. As long as Raiden lived and breathed, Kung Lao's death will always be Liu's fault.

...Unless...

Liu Kang huffs, he never thought he would have to do this again, not since Shujinko. Liu Kang positions Raiden as comfortably as possible as one would be leaning against a tree with multiple broken bones and aching muscles.

"No, I want to grant you peace. I know that you don't want to hear this...But Kung Lao would've wanted you to find peace with his departure."

Liu Kang starts building up flames that run up his arms, performing the many monastic dances he learned from the previous timeline and the current. As the flames roared, they soon floated to Raiden and encompassed him. They never burned him. Raiden tries to crawl away from the dancing flames, believing them to char him to a crisp.

"Kung Lao would've wanted you to look fondly on your friendship and love, and seek to replicate that love with others. He would've wanted you to live happily, even if he wasn't there to provide you with that happiness."

"L-Liu Kang, what are you-wait...No!" Raiden's eyes start to water as he can feel his memories slipping. Not just the ones with Kung Lao, but everything before Liu Kang found him. His previous adventures in Outworld, in the Netherealm, in Chaosrealm, his ventures with his closest friends...The first time Kung Lao told him the three words, "I love you." Everything. "Liu Kang, no! Don't, please don't!"

Liu Kang, almost coldly, ignores Raiden's pleas as he takes it all away. Reverting Raiden back to the simple farm boy from Fengjian who simply wanted to protect and guide his village.

"...You are right, Raiden," Liu Kang says between paused breaths, trying to hold back tears as he committed the deed. "It is my fault. I shouldn't have thought that I could groom you or Kung Lao to become protectors of Earthrealm like you were before. I shouldn't have taken you away from your family, your friends, and your home in hopes of raising you to become grand warriors. I have placed your loved ones and you in so much danger...All because I clung onto a life that no longer exists...I'm sorry."

With that said, Raiden passes out from his injuries as Liu Kang finished the last of the memory wipe. Liu Kang stares at Raiden's slumbering body, and he can't help but scream and cry.

Finally allowing himself to grieve ever since that fateful day.

-

Fuji finished up the last of the clothes just in time when dinner was ready. She was having a hot pot this night, filled with various greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, radishes, and various mushrooms. All placed into a chicken broth seasoned further with a tomato and pork bone soup base. Fuji sits at the table with a bowl full of the soup and she does her best to not look across the table...Where her brother Raiden would be...

Raiden told her a long time ago that he was placed in a very powerful position and hard at work with Mr. Kang. He brings back money and unique souvenirs with questionable origins. And he always makes sure to visit her occasionally when he's coming back to Fengjian.

But this was one of the many occasions where the house felt too big, even with their elderly mother and father sleeping in the other room. She missed having her older brother around, for the longest time, he was her only friend. Her closest friend. I mean, sure, they were siblings, and they had their "sibling moments," but with him gone, she never felt more alone. But her being alone wasn't the main problem for Fuji, it was Raiden's sudden silence.

Ever since Kung Lao's passing, Raiden hasn't been returning her calls, answering her letters, or even visiting the family. Doesn't help, too, that none of his friends live in Fengjian, and aside from Kung Lao and Johnny's number (she's never calling that man, btw), she can't even reach them to know what's up with her brother. It's gotten to the point where she has saved up some money to take a week's vacation to the U.S. where her brother is currently working (or so Raiden told her).

Before Fuji knew it, she was already done with her bowl (2 bowls actually) and she saved the leftovers for her parents when they awaken. As she was washing up the dishes, she hears a knock at the door. Hmm? Who could be visiting her at this hour?

…Could it be!

"Give me a moment!" Fuji says hurriedly as she dries her hands; making her way to the front door. A tiny bit of hope fills the young woman. Could this be Raiden? After so long!

She swings open the door, hope and glee plastered on her face, but it quickly turns to confusion and worry. "…Liu Kang…Raiden!?!"

Outside was Liu Kang carrying a bandaged and mostly healed Raiden. "I'm sorry to come at such a late hour, Fuji. May I come in."

"What happened to my brother!?! Did someone mug him? Was he attacked?" Fuji ushers Liu Kang to enter the home and shows him to Raiden's old room, still possessing his old belongings even before he left.

Despite her questions, Liu Kang did not answer her. She asks again and again about her brother's condition, who did this to him, and why, but she is met with silence. She watches Liu Kang gently place Raiden on his old bed, and just as he came unexpectedly, Liu proceeded to walk back outside.

"W-wait! Liu Kang, please, tell me what happened! Who hurt my brother! Why did this happen-" Fuji tries to stop Liu Kang by grabbing at his wrist, but she saw something that shocked him.

Liu Kang's eyes were red as if he was crying not too long ago.

"…What happened…"

There's a long pause between them. All that Liu Kang does is slightly tilt his head toward her, his white eyes meeting hers, before saying, "I'm sorry, Fuji. Your brother has been relieved from his service…And this will be the last time we will see each other."

And just like that, Liu Kang left. Fuji watched Liu Kang leave, fading away in the horizon, with more questions than answers.

"Ugh…My head."

Fuji nearly scares herself when she hears Raiden in the other room and moving about. She rushes back to him and helps support her brother when she sees that he is still unsteady.

"Raiden! Liu Kang, your boss from the States dropped you off, and you're bandaged, and unconscious, and Liu wouldn't tell me why you were like this and-"

"whoa, whoa, Fuji, slow down! Start over, who's Liu Kang again?"

Fuji pauses. "…Liu Kang…Your boss…"

"Fuji, I have no idea who that man is," Raiden hisses in pain as his muscles start to ache again. It's only now that he realizes that he was bandaged badly. "Did he do this?"

"I-I don't know. I thought…I thought you would tell me…"

"Well, I don't know who I angered to get this treatment, but if this Liu Kang fellow helped me back home, I'm surely appreciative. I'll have to lay back down. Can you get me a hot towel, please?"

Fuji helped her brother back to bed and gave him his requested towel, but she found herself staying in his room for the entire night as if she were a child again. She couldn't sleep as she was plagued with questions about what happened to Raiden. Better yet, the line of work that he was in that he got this terrible treatment. And unfortunately, she might never get those answers again. Raiden doesn't remember anything in the past couple of years, even seemingly forgotten about Kung Lao's death and funeral. His memories were missing and he couldn't give a reliable answer to what happened in his life past the day that he went into Madam Bo's restaurant after a bet with Kung Lao.

Even worse, she can't ask Liu Kang. Because just as he promised and foretold, they never saw Liu Kang again. - ~Holy shit this was longer than I anticipated. Also, I do not like Liu Kang's memories loss powers, but will I use it for the sake of angst? You fucking know I will bby! This is my pseudo-first fan work for an official fandom and I hope everyone liked it. Once again, a lot of this was inspired thanks to the lovely artists who contributed to the "oops, Kung Lao dies again" AU and I want to thank them for jumpstarting this silly little AU in this silly little game about beheading people with your bare hands. Sorry if there were some grammatical and spelling errors, was working on this throughout the evening and past midnight (quite literally 4:26 where I'm at lmao). I might make a sequel to this because I'm getting ideas of Kung Lao returning, but not as he used to be (Revenants in MK1, ayo?)~ UPDATE! I have now officially made a writer's blog so that this doesn't get lost in my clustered main blog! Any future installments about this and other writing pieces will go to this blog! @420thewritersroom

[valiantsuitcaseskellington]

Weeping Siren

Inspired by this post, but not the same thing.

Had this amazing idea I couldn't let go.

So basically, Danny's home world was destroyed, and none of his friends or family are alive or even dead with him. I'm not sure what caused thus but probably some sort of dumb GIW plot. This act also damages, but not destroy, the ghost zone/infinite realms.

Danny becomes the ghost king, sure he might have a bit of paper work, but in this story the main job of the ghost king is to keep the ghost zone working/safe, and even protect it should he have to. Because the ghost zone is damaged, he spends most of his time feelings himself through the ghost zone and fixing areas, maybe this is why the Lazarus pits exist?

Anyways, since Danny's always stressed and is grieving/will always grief his home, the ghosts always feel the sorrow of their great king, whom they all grow protective of, and who they greatly love and appreciate.

Danny takes to singing to relieve stress, help him pass the time, and even let him grief in a safe way. Despite this and the love of his people, being in the ghost zone and effectively working even when he can sleep, it all starts getting to him. So he starts performing his songs to the ghosts, telling his stories, his wishes, his love and grief, what he wishes could've happened, and what he hope WILL happen, all through his songs.

Yet he is still in the ghost zone, and so the ghost suggests he performs to the many dimensions and universes that the ghost zone is connected to, it is infinite after all.

And so he does.

From here the ghost king gains a reputation for being a great, yet sad king. A being that could destroy dimensions without trying being in perpetual grief. His stage name becomes the Weeping Siren.

It continues like this.

My idea come from a story where the JL see Constantine being excited/ecstatic for once. They ask what's up and John says the Weeping Siren is going to perform in their universe soon, and he's excited to attend.

One thing leads to another and John or Zatanna convince the other members to join, or the other way around, the JL convinces the two to take them. Either way they tell the JL time and space and everything stops for those who attend, so there are no consequences, and everyone can have a chance to join. And they want the JL beings from different dimensions and universe will most likely be attending as well.

If you want to go even crazier you can add different versions of the Justice league or those they know, like many different versions of Jason Todd attend and things like that.

I imagine it like a bar/dinner kinda vibe, with a stage that Danny steps on to. He's obviously going to be dressed androgynously, and it's hard to say if he seems more ghost or human, as his forms have long since practically merged with eachother. Sure he could shift more to one of his sides, but he accepts hes both, so he becomes both.

Danny sings songs, even the happier songs have a wisp of sorrow or longing in them.

A song I'd add is Nobody by Mitski. Idk why, but it resonates with me, and I think It'd resonate with this Danny.

This danny totally wears dresses, and i imagine he wears darker colors, more blacks with chains, as well as have glasses that look perscripting perched on his head like you would sunglasses. With a certain flower in his hair. Nods to Tucker and Sam. Yes he wears pants and combat boots popular my many world's men. He'd wear biker gloves and all in all he'd change up his outfits, wearing a multitude of different things popular of both genders. Yet the flower, the dark colors, those glasses, they always stay consistent.

[olderthannetfic]

please, send help. i (23y/o) think i am getting to a stage where I need to be a Cool Aunt TM for my niece (13y/o). She's been a bit too online since she had to move around a lot. She had a bit of antis mentality, but i'm trying to pull her away from it slowly. At the same time, she's been around the internet, reading 18+ yaois and shit. I did the same at her age, so I can’t say I don't understand her. But as an adult idk how to talk about this 18+ healthily with her? or do I even need to? should I leave her on her own devices? I didn't have an adult to talk about these things with growing up so idk how you're supposed to do this.

There is not way to say how my parents or sibling (her mom) would react if I drop this on them, could be +/- , but it's a bit of a lottery depending on the most recent online articles they read lately. lol. They're open to convos, but a bit religious.

I'm taking suggestions if anybody would like to give some.

P.S. I am also not a cool person, i'm pretty much a lame homebody so… i also don’t know how to be cool lol.

im so sorry idk who else to ask.

--

Ahaha. Well, don't try too hard to be ~cool~. Nothing could be more offensive to the sensibilities of a 13-year-old.

A well delivered "Oh, come on, no one really thinks that" and eye-roll in response to the more delusional anti stuff has a wonderful effect if you're offline and the person respects you. Humans in general and 13-year-olds in particular are hypersensitive about fitting in. A boring and serious lecture from an older person will set off every melodramatic "The old people don't understaaaand!" instinct, but a well-timed "LOL, WTF" causes internal panic that one has missed something. If she wants the serious and nuanced explanation, she can ask for it, but I wouldn't start there.

As for how you talk about raunchy art... it really depends on the person. If she realizes you like the same stuff, she may bring it up. I think recs are fine, and so is euphemistic "I liked the ship dynamic in this one". "I got off to this" is TMI on your part. (Well, it's TMI on her part too, but be prepared for TMI if you become the confidant of a 13-year-old.)

Honestly, as long as she's directing the conversation and you aren't sharing details of your masturbation habits, I think you'll be fine. 13-year-olds aren't babies. If they're old enough to read porny doujinshi, they're old enough to talk to a trusted adult about them.

My teen tastes were weird art films full of sex. 13 is pretty young, but within a couple of years, she'll be the age I was when I was trying to see shit like Crash. She could be anywhere from self-assured in her tastes and interested in discussing her favorite media to easily-influenced to paralyzed by guilt. Creepy grooming shit comes from groomers choosing to groom, not from the topic of sexuality being in the air. If she's reading something with even a shred of plot or romance, you can talk about that without the actual conversation being X-rated. My main concern would be to avoid her trying to impress you by consuming media she finds uncomfortable or talking about things she doesn't actually want to share. You can really only judge that by body language and tone of voice in the moment.

I mean... does "18+ yaois" mean actual BL series here that have a few sex scenes or doujinshi that are entirely porn? ('Yaoi' basically means 'PWP' and is not exactly complimentary, after all.) It's somewhat harder to talk about the latter. But I liked some pretty out-there shit as a teen and did talk to adults about it. They just let me do most of the talking.

Probably the easiest way to broach the topic is to catch her reading something and go "Oh, I read that one" or "I liked [name of BL]".

[havendance]

Okay, but thinking about this, if DC were to hire me to plot a new direction for Amanda Waller, I think this would be how I would try and fix her:

First, after her latest villain moment, there's a big media scandal and we send to her prison.

While she's in prison, we have a 48 page Amanda Waller special issue.

In this issue we are introduced to Amanda Waller, reflecting on how she got there. We hit the highlights of her original origin from Secret Origins #14--the family members who died, her working to get her surviving children through school and then working her way up politically.

While she's in prison, she's visited by her daughter, Coretta (whose existence we've just been reminded of). They have a tense exchange where we can see that they're relationship has become strained over the years, but they still love each other, and Coretta still comes to her mother to ask for help.

See Coretta's daughter (Amanda's grandaughter) has been kidnapped for reasons we won't get into in this post.

Amanda says she'll take care of it. We get some internal monologue-ing about her and her relationship to her family.

She makes a call to uhhh (well I want to say Oracle, and if I was stretching this out to a whole mini's worth of plot, I would.) Rick Flag Jr. (Is he still alive? I'm going to assume he's still alive. If not, we'll say Bronze Tiger.)

He comes to visit her and they have a discussion about their history and family and duty and all that jazz. The end result is that Amanda sends him out to gather more of her contacts/the people who owe her favors/ex-suicide squad members to put together a rescuse squad to get back her granddaughter.

Probably a chance for more reflection on what the suicide squad was at the begining versus what it is now as she waits. We intercut with scenes of Rick Flag and probably a selection of old Suicide Squad members (Bronze Tiger, Nightshade, idk, Deadshot?) staging the rescue mission.

It's a success. Corretta comes back to thank her.

We close on a note of Amanda thinking that things have gotten out of hand and she needs to bring it back to the basics.

From there, we spin out into a new suicide squad ongoing which takes more a cue from the back half of the original 80's Suicide Squad run where the Squad is more of a mercenary type group rather than having bombs in people's heads where we stick closer to Amanda's original characterization (she is ruthless yes, but she also cares in her own way. She wants to get the squad through alive even if she knows it doesn't always work out and she has her own sense of honor) and keep the plots on a smaller scale than she's trying to take over the whole DC universe or whatever's going on now.

[blackraged]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 Thoughts Pt1.

[❌❌contains SPOILERS❌❌]

I've been waiting for this for such a long time and we finally got it. Now with MK1 being practically a full reboot, A LOT of changes are to follow. So here are my current thoughts in order how the story went:

Chapter 1

Kung Lao and Raiden being practically brothers is my fave thing in the world.

Half of the MK1 boys are full on babygirl and honestly? I love that for them. Except for Shang Tsung because that feels very much illegal.

That last scene with Madam Bo felt like a fcking fever dream.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN KUAI LIANG IS SCORPION? WHAT THE FCK DO YOU MEAN?? WHERE IS HANZO?? That feels very wrong. Only Hanzo is allowed to say "gET OVER HERE" that is HIS iconic line. I'm not sure if I like this change.

I KNEW the boys were pulling their punches. I KNEW IT. The entire fight felt so awkward and staged. For a short moment I legit thought NRS pushed down on their fighting animation.

Chapter 2

Sooo...Johnny is a failed Actor now? What happened to the glamour? That's not very Cage behavior.

Okay but I love love LOVED Liu Kang literally showing up in front at Johnny's Door all serious, and Johnny being Johnny.

What made NRS choose to paint Kenshi as a former Yakuza?? I mean the idea isn't too bad, because it would make sense for him to be searching for Sento to free his family. But I still prefer his revenge timeline more. Hell, even him being a cocky arse warrior trying to fight anyone and everyone made more sense.

Chapter 3

Idk why but I half expected Kano to show up in this chapter. The trailers made it look like he was at the Wu Shi academy

Liu Kang practically pathed the way for human Raiden to be champion and it shows. I'd like to think it's out of respect for former God Raiden from before, who practically raised Liu Kang and was a father figure to him.

General Shao is so fine, I can't. He was hot before, but now he's so....so..... y'know?

Liu Kang really wanted to give Kitana the loving Fam she deserved qwq

Everyone is so mean to Li Mei :(( I feel so bad for her

Reiko tho😳😳😳

Raiden has a cruuush~ Raiden has a cruuush~ unexpected but cute. I wonder what Liu Kang thinks about this.

Chapter 4

Johnny and Sonya are forever iconic...but Johnny and Kenshi? I didn't know I needed it until I had it. Their bickering is GOLD. They're so married.

Wealthy merchant Baraka???

Props to Quan Chis new look. He looks like a clown escaped asylum. Very uncanny.

Are they...are they trying to redeem Shang Tsung? No,that would be way too obvious. Plus that intro scene with Krusty Kronika makes it super sus.

Called it.

Chapter 5

KENSHIS BLINDFOLD WAS PART OF JOHNNYS ARMOR. Y'all NRS knew what they were doing. I am eating this up

I adore Reptiles human form. Very baby girl, very cute.

So if Tarkat is transmitted via physical contact, wouldn't that mean that the guys would have it too when they fought the prisoners in this chapter? You even see Johnny react in Chapter 4 to that fact when Baraka told them. Could it be that it's not infectious since they're clones/experiments?

So help me out here... Baraka is strong enough to rip the cages open that seem to be made of the same metal as their cell door, but failed to open that? Plot, I know, but c'mon.

REPTILE IS EVEN MORE BABY OMGGGGG. Pls let me hold him,, poor baby boy,, his sadness is literally tugging at my heart strings.

I love how honorable Baraka is. This is great character improvement. For a beast (visually) to be showing mercy. It's like he accepts who he is now but still holds onto that human (edenian) side of him.

Stopping here for tonight, but will continue tomorrow. So far it's going great but I have a hard time remembering which of some stories in this timeline are kept the same as from the previous timeline.

I'm still pleasantly overwhelmed by the amount if babygirls.

[loneswaggingranger]

So... my thoughts on the latest season of Sex Education is a little... jumbled, but overall I give it, like, a 7/10. Here's just some of the parts that I liked and disliked (rmb that this is just my interpretation of watching it and is no way conclusive against other interpretations)

Spoilers below!

Likes

I like that Cavendish is kind of a turn-tables situation where queer/left-wing-progressive ppl are at the top of the social food chain. It realistically shows how even in a space where discrimination of any kind is prohibited, there will still be complex issues that need to be discussed, e.g., toxic positivity, accessibity issues etc.

I also like Eric's whole storyline of finding himself with God. I'm not religious or anything, but I feel his storyline are going to empower a lot of religious queer people.

Adam is always a favourite. His actor just brings so much to the table and his performance is always outstanding. His closure scene with Eric was 💖💖

I love that the show confronts Otis' standing of privilige and how he's sidelined his friendship with Eric. I also like how the main relationship that got repaired was his and Eric's. It's nice to see platonic friendships take the center stage over romantic ones.

I love that Maeve and Otis show how an amicable breakup, still full of love, can be. It shows that if you love someone, you'll love them enough not to hold them back.

Maeve's funeral speech, and her scene conversing with Jean at the dining table made me weepppppp.

I also loved the different ways of grieving the show shows with Maeve and Sean. Sean was clearly in pain, and as the older one, he'd probably seen a bit more shit than Maeve. And he was valid for not wanting to do the funeral because of the pain his mother caused him. But also, Maeve's wish to honour her mother one last time was commendable as well. She remembers the good AND the bad of her mother, and that's just really big of her.

I loved the scene with her telling her professor that a teacher's word holds a lot of power.

I love Maeve's arc entirely basically.

Dislikes

O's entire character was... problematic. Like she did quite a number of problematic things that weren't addressed in the storyline at all. Like she presses her way into other's vulnerabilities without them giving her explicit consent. She looks at things that by all terms, should have been left strictly confidential (Jean's paper about Otis, for example) and then brings it up as if it were a completely okay thing to do. I really wanted to like her, like I see where she was coming from and she has really cool style and she's the only East Asian rep for the show. Just, as an East Asian person watching this (though I'm not from the UK), it just felt very othering that the ONLY East Asian rep in the show had to be played against the main character. I didn’t like her because she was the story's antagonist to the main character. If there were other East Asians in the series, I might have felt better about it but like, O being the only one, and also being a problematic character just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I really think Adam's storyline could have been integrated more into the Cavendish storyline. Coz right now his just feels like it's hanging on the side with no real connection to the main plot. I love his horses tho.

The show should really have stuck with its existing characters rather than broadening the scope to... Jo, for example. Anwar and Olivia could have been explored. Idk what went on behind the scenes but like, for a final season, shifting the main focus to the main cast and just a couple new ones should have been enough. I love that it's working to be diverse and inclusive, but jam-packing so many different experiences into one last season just felt... jarring for the season's ending.

[straying-further-from-gods-grace]

New fic idea 💡👉👈🥺

So um

Human!AU Trans!Alastor raised by Husk and Rosie to be strong and independent

Gets pregnant.

Whether from consensual or non consensual sex idk yet.

I'm currently a trans author who's ovulating and I don't EVER in a million years plan to have children. But ummm. Alastor can!

The main plot will be Valentino stepping up.

Because I want this to be Valastor, cause I want it! *stomps foot*

The real question is why does he wanna step up 🤔ᴴ���

I have 3 options hwre

1) the baby is his and his parents would fucking kill him (in this case the sex is consensual) (OR the baby is Vox and Vox is like "Fuck that shit" and Valentino steps up attempting to make Vox jelly, and it works! But oops he's fallen in love!)

2) Alastor, a semi famous singer or dancer or something, being publicly shamed outside of a planned Parenthood after going there for a test. And Valentino whose mama did NOT raise him to stand back during an injustice, and is also famous but for his Casanova stage image in lots of sexy hot movies (both X rated and theatre approved. I'm making him an actor ;p), steps in and rescues him, maybe even punches a protestor or reporter or something. And um. They're all over the news about their apparent "affair" and how Alastor is another of Valentinos flings and Alastor is apparently such a whore now (even though this is his first scandal), and Valentino is like shit. I made it a looot worse than if I did nothing... So he vows to stay by Alastors side, at least until the birth, to try and make it smoother for him, like, shield the rumors (maybe the real baby daddy is some low level shit who took advantage of Al, and is tryna get popularity by being the one to get Al pregnant) and they ya know. Fall in love UwU

3) Alastor gets drugged, and left used in Valentinos bedroom at his college dorm/frat. And Valentino stumbles in drunk, gets in bed with him, and they wake up, naked, with hints of sex having happened. And so Valentino steps up when Alastor finds out he's pregnant- thinking it's his. UwU

SO

Any OTHER suggestions ARE SOOO WELCOMED!

And I'd just like to know which of these y'all would prefer to see!!!

Thank youuu

Other things involved but the main plot I'd also love ideas!!!!

In this I'm gonna keep my Rosie/Velvet and Husk/Angel ships where they're half their age and is their younger sugar babies but in this they're not seperate they're happily in an open marriage UwU

Ummm. That's non negotiable. UwU

[cyb-by-lang]

okay so i've been thinking about A Ninja's Guide to Gotham and i think i know what Ra's al Ghul's plan is, at least what he (and Zetsu) want to do

the plan to set Kei loose on Konoha didn't go well for Zetsu and Madara, she had her team to help (and the power of foresight) but the gist of the idea could still work, if Zetsu sets up the stage right

Kei has a pretty good grasp on her emotions, but Hayate (specifically, Hayate in danger/hurt Hayate) being her trigger is known to Zetsu. so it makes sense to isolate the two from the rest of their village. drop them into a batshit (ha) crazy city, keep them separated, really pile the stress on Kei and wear her down.

all the while, they've got a Zetsu army cooking for maximum trauma later.

Ra's al Ghul wants to destroy Gotham, and this Zetsu has essentially handed him the trigger for a massive walking bomb, but can only be activated under very specific circumstances. and Kei, as stressed as she is and even with almost losing it a couple of times, has done an excellent job reigning her fury in (thanks Isobu)

AND there's the fear toxin. i imagine they've been adjusting it this whole time to actually work on a Jinchuriki.

i don't think they really want Kei to join them, necessarily (though it might save them a few steps) i think all the attacks serve mostly to increase Kei's stress until she starts breaking.

and then Zetsu was trying to take Hayate. because what would be the one thing to almost certainly break Kei?

idk if this is how it will play out exactly, but i'm guessing this is the gist of Ra's and Zetsu's plan:

Zetsu army attack, with giant Zetsu monster included to spread out the Bats and allies. try and separate Kei from team. keep her focused on the attacks without provoking her yet, but wear her down.

take Hayate, or at least manipulate the field to put him within sight of Kei. kill him where she can clearly see.

use that moment of shock to shoot as many fear toxin darts at her as possible. if she's distracted enough, she might get a few doses. and it doesn't matter much how quickly Isobu burns through the poison, because all they need is that initial ignition of super enhanced terror and trauma for her to explode into a raging Jinchuriki. throw the Zetsu monster back at her, and they take out half of Gotham ripping each other to pieces.

(the Bats and Kei's team hear her agonized beastial screech, even the ones on the other side of the city, and know this is Worst Case Scenario)

this is an excellent narrative strategy for maximum pain and plot drama for Kei and friends, and i can see it coming so close to fruition (if i'm even in the ballpark here, this is all an educated guess)

unfortunately for Ra's and Zetsu, Batman exists. he knows how Ra's operates. once the fear toxin came into play, and Batman listened to Kei talk about her past, i'm pretty sure he could connect those dots.

"Superpowered ninja host of a demon able to level a city, if pressed, and her main trauma trigger is her brother being threatened or harmed in any way. Right. Best keep the brother out of harm's way. If only they could all stay put."

also unfortunate for Ra's and Zetsu, Jason exists. i doubt they were expecting Hayate to adopt Gotham's newest menace, nor for Jason to take to it like a mother goose. Kei might be correct in thinking Hayate is safer with Jason than with her, bc as volatile and explosive as he can be, he's not quite "city-leveling" tier.

as DC stories tend to go, the villains plot usually gets to play out at least most of the way. so maybe Hayate does get hurt at some point, maybe Kei does lose it, but this could be where Jason finally works with the Bats + Team Minato to save the day (and his new little brother....)

anyway, idk how much of this is right, but the pieces have been fitting themselves together in the back of my brain for a while. and if i'm on the money on any of this and you'd rather not post bc spoilers, no worries!! i just wanted to share how much i've been thinking about it, it's on a short list of things i play in my mental movie theater ಠ⁠◡⁠ಠ

[image description: a GIF of Kronk from Emperor's New Groove saying "Oh yeah. It's all coming together." end description.]

I love it when readers send me their analysis. It really helps me figure out what's working when I write and what is sticking with people.

And I hope you feel like a detective for having figured out most of today's evil plan (credit to Ra's al Ghul) before a fair number of the characters in Gotham have. I'm glad you picked up on it!

[morocosmos]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @arcaneoddity, tyyyy 💜

When did you start writing?

I noodled at an unfinished story or two when i was a kid (i drew comics a lot more tbh), the first fanfic i wrote was when i was 13 (it is consigned to ff.net, never to be perceived again). i started developing my writing during secondary school, we had to for english class but i genuinely enjoyed those assignments so much that it didn't feel like schoolwork lmao, it was smth of an outlet. i did write a couple of fics for other fandoms between 2016 and mid 2020, but in late 2020 FFXIV revived my desire to create, while @stellarfatalism and @lemoncakedesign's fics inspired me to actually start writing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read a much wider variety of smut than what i could be convinced to write. other than that i think they mostly overlap.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

@haillenarte, @rabbitprint and @sezja's fics have stuck with me the most in terms of "god i want to be able to write characters like this"....i've never been compared to another writer before, never even considered it and idk how i'd feel.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I was writing on openoffice at first, but their software has a tendency to crash when you press two keys too fast, for example when you. try to save your work. moved to gdocs to avoid that and so that i could continue working on fic on my phone, but i also use the notes app on there, mainly to get down ideas that i don't want running away or to write more freely. it's easier to be experimental and loose when i'm writing in notes, idk, whereas i prefer sitting at the desk and working on my computer when it's a longer fic or a more """important""" piece.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I've let it happen when it happens, for the most part. i was forcing myself to power through job around the time i really grew into writing, so i needed it to be a space where i wouldn't do it if i didn't want to. my feelings about that are more mixed now, because i'm a slow writer to begin with, and i can't help but wonder if more people would read my stuff if i updated more consistently. but i digress - the only time i've had to bring the muse in myself was for to sail your seas, and that was because there was accountability and a deadline. so i guess my most effective tricks are ADHD hacks and brainworms.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Until recently i didn't approach fic writing with themes in mind, when i get an idea it's usually about throwing a character at something and seeing what happens. that something tends to be another character, sometimes it's more existential like touch starvation. that said, i do have a WIP where i sat down and thought about what i want the themes to be before i know how it's going to pan out, but it's baby's first attempt so i don't have an answer to this question yet, really.

What is your reason for writing?

Processing things i know and exploring things i don't. when i got back into writing in 2020 it was extremely cathartic, i've burnt out on several creative pursuits over the years and having that spark come alive was, and is still very precious to me. i spent two years writing simply because i had ideas and a vice-grip compulsion to write them out. now that that's slowed down, i've started to think more about craft, and how i might try to hone that when i'm lowkey afraid of this stage of learning, and there's no formal institution to kick my ass into it. but in some ways, i think i write because i can't afford not to.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I've been told by a friend that i'm good at continuity, which is nice considering it lines up with the obsessive approach i take towards trying to tie plot/character threads together lol. personally, i still consider descriptive writing to be my greatest strength. it's what i keep going back to, maybe because it was the first thing i discovered i was good at that wasn't influenced by someone else's decision.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I miss the honeymoon period when i thought my writing was the hottest shit LOL. that tapered off towards the end of 2022, but it's not like i think my writing is bad now, just that over time i became more aware of my shortcomings, and how much knowledge and experience i lack. i did have to fight a little to keep my relationship with writing from souring last year, but in hindsight it was more about frustration that i didn't have the energy to write (work burnout wooo) than a problem with writing itself. after a year plus of stalling and big fic projects i just want to have fun again, be a bit silly.