#or any of the Pretenders tbh

[soosoosoup]

scrapped john dory and branch

[letoscrawls]

corlys and rhaenys?? 👀

can you believe i'm living my life without them

[creative-robot]

I know The Founders Cut, generally, is the edited scrubbed over version of genloss from Showfall in-universe (as well as a not-8-hour-long-three-stream-binge-night whenever we want to watch it again) but something that struck me as odd and I haven’t seen anyone mention yet, is this warning

It shows up right at the junction where the third act starts, where it appears the Hero is breaking free of Showfall thanks to Hetch. But here’s the thing, while a LOT less than the previous acts the audience still played a significant role in this act, even when really only given two audience interaction choices. Which makes me wonder, how real is this warning, and who is it for? Obviously the audience involved knows what happens past this point, but the audience is also implied to be an integral part of the Social Experiments, which is part of why things start to tweak out when the Founder removes them in the Founder Cut as the Generation Loss generation loses.

My first thought, was that obviously this is another bait and switch, a way to draw the audiences attention, seeing something that’s secret, something that’s not “meant for them”, which is a tactic I could see Showfall using in universe to keep people’s attention and add an air of mystery to their shows.

But

Showfall is doing all their experiments and these shows with a LOT of help from their censors to show it off, displaying a fun silly show that is definitely not uber fucked up and that is 100% just slime don’t worry about it, it’s kid friendly if it’s green! And I don’t think they’d want to bet all their cards on this one experiment doing well enough to their audience to not question the sudden shift in tone that follows this warning. Which makes me wonder.

They did their test, they did their experiment, and the evidence of this last act? I think it was a one time run, they don’t want anyone seeing this, it isn’t for the audience. Act three is specifically to both test and play with their Hero, Hetch’s new lines add a level to this, never once does he call the Hero by their name, just refers to Ranboo as their Role, and he’s not exactly. Nice? About literally any of Ranboos concerns, which wouldn’t really seem conductive to making an audience trust him, especially with his monologue at the end. Ranboo has escaped before, possibly right before act 1 started, they tightened the security on his mask to be unremovably part of them, Hetch doesn’t like the Hero but they’re a fan favorite so he can’t just get rid of them.

Act three is the cumulation of Ranboo being punished for things they don’t remember, for daring to break free from Showfalls control, this is Hetch taking the Hero and essentially majorly fucking and manipulating them to take his frustration out on a fan favorite they can’t otherwise get rid of or give a smaller role like Slimecicle. which is exemplified by the fact that we now know Charlie most likely was never able to actually able to fully snap out of the control, that even in act three in panic and confusion there was at least still a part of him being influenced by Showfall.

So the first two acts are the usual show, they have their posters, they have Squiggles to introduce them, they have goofs and silliness and only a couple slip ups that’re quickly dealt with, the usual rose tinted curtains. Act three?

Do not watch the following material

[arom-antix]

I bring to thee some quick late night Viktuuri sketches because I think we could all use some fluff

[qiu-yan]

jiang cheng at the club

i answered kind of speedily but hm blorbo should not be at the club

teenage era? the most debatable era tbh. on one hand - for one, if jiang cheng goes, he's going because he thinks that's what the cool kids his age should be doing, rather than because it's what he actually wants to do. for two, if he goes he's certainly going with wei wuxian. there's a good chance he'll have a good time with wei wuxian, but there's also a good chance that he'll spend the entire experience way too high-strung about wei wuxian doing something stupid (guaranteed) that will make both him and yunmeng jiang look stupid (not guaranteed but still likely) and/or put wei wuxian in danger (also very likely). there's also an even higher chance that wei wuxian will end up fucking off to chat/flirt/etc with other people (eg. lan wangji who wei wuxian also managed to drag to the club, who then gets drunk and thus wei wuxian now has to babysit), thereby leaving jiang cheng all by his lonesome. jiang cheng can probably talk to strangers, but he came here to have fun with wei wuxian and now wei wuxian has ding dong ditched. bonus points if wei wuxian promised to be designated driver and now jiang cheng has to uber home.

on the other hand - teenage wei wuxian and jiang cheng are definitely making the club more fun. mostly wei wuxian. and, despite all of the above, jiang cheng is probably having a good time...most of the time...too.

adult era: nah. jiang cheng is busy. it would be nice if he could let loose and forget about everything for a few hours, but he would not do that. realistically he'd just spend the entire time stressing about his growing to-do list, and the music would give him a headache.

also, everything at the club would remind him of wei wuxian. wei wuxian, certified party animal, was almost certainly the one dragging jiang cheng to the club in their youth; jiang cheng probably does in fact have some happy memories of clubbing with wei wuxian. but those happy memories are gonna curdle into depressing ones the moment he steps through the doors and is reminded of wei wuxian again. the photos of wei wuxian doing a keg stand behind the bar are making him miserable, and he in turn is going to make it everyone else's problem.

postcanon era: also nah. mostly because he'd almost certainly run into jin ling et al. sneaking into the club with fake IDs, and now everyone's yelling.

on the other hand....maybe he and wei wuxian can eventually reconcile over a night of partying they're both frankly way too old for. or maybe when they wake up the next day in the same ditch with matching hangovers.

[astrolotte]

okay actually considering the original reasoning for Poof being male was smth like "boys like water guns so he must be a boy" rather than any . formal assessment. I'd say it's entirely possible Peri could be transmasc.

[friendlyneighbourhoodelf]

can i interest anyone in some codywan kissing on this fine thursday evening?

“Please, darling.” Obi-Wan looked at him with a gaze that could have melted butter. Fortunately, Cody was made of stronger stuff that than. “I promise not to lose it again.”

“Really?” Cody raised an eyebrow, pulled himself up to his full height so he could look down at Obi-Wan, just a little. “You promise?”

“Oh yes,” Obi-Wan leaned forward, let his eyes fall to Cody’s lips. Let them rest there until he knew Cody noticed, the bastard. “I promise.”

Cody didn’t move. With his free hand, the hand not holding Obi-Wan’s lightsaber far above his head, he threaded his fingers through Obi-Wan’s hair. Felt him shudder against his hand. “You see,” He kept his voice low in a way he knew drove Obi-Wan a little mad, “I don’t quite believe you.”

Obi-Wan batted his eyelashes in a way that said, who, me? Then smiled, his voice kept carefully level, “My darling, you wound me.”

“You’ll get yourself wounded, more like.”

“I would never,” Obi-Wan leaned closer, close enough that Cody could feel his breath against his cheek, “Afterall, I have the Force to protect me.”

“You have me.” It was a promise spoken again and again, whispered into Obi-Wan’s neck in the darkness of his quarters, shouted silently each time they fought side by side. Spoken so often, it was as familiar as breathing, yet still they said it. I’m here. I’m here.

Obi-Wan’s answer was a quick kiss placed at the corner of his mouth. For a brief moment, Cody almost gasped, almost dropped the lightsaber there and then. Instead he pulled back, just a little.

Obi-Wan gasped into the empty space. Still close enough to feel his breath, Cody shivered.

“Promise me,” His voice was heavy, weighted with emotion he couldn’t quite give words to. “Please, Obi-Wan.”

“Cody,” Obi-Wan’s voice was the mirror of his own, heavy with emotion in a way Cody so rarely heard, “Force, Cody, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to worry you. I will try. I promise you that.”

“Alright. Alright. I know.” He finally let his hand that clutched the lightsaber drop. Stood there for a moment, the ‘saber resting in his steady hand between them. He leaned towards Obi-Wan, almost felt the tiny gasp that escaped his lips as Cody’s hand drifted to his belt. He clipped the lightsaber to Obi-Wan belt, let his hand hover for just a moment. Obi-Wan stood still beneath his hands, it was only his breathing that betrayed him.

“Thank you, darling.” The words were whispered into Cody’s ear, softly, they settled in his head.

“Just don’t lose it again.”

Obi-Wan hummed, and Cody watched as his hand curled its way around his neck. He leaned slightly into the touch, even like this the calluses and scars that decorated the hand were known to him, just as intimately as his own.

The hand twisted into his curls, gently pulling his head back, just a little. Despite himself he gasped, the little noise an almost desperate thing as it flew from his lips.

Obi-Wan grinned, there was something dangerous about it, just at the edges. “My dear, I never mean to disappoint you.”

He meant to respond, but found Obi-Wan’s lips against his own. He breathed into the kiss, instead, his mind filled only with Obi-Wan. The Jedi’s other hand curled around his jaw, his thumb pressed carefully into the skin beneath his ears, into the place that Obi-Wan knew made him gasp, desperate beneath his hands.

After what felt like a lifetime, a star born and collapsed again, Obi-Wan pulled back. His nose just brushing Cody’s, he breathed his name. It was promise, and prayer. Spoken with so much reverence that, if he was not seeing his own feelings reflected back at him, he would never have believed such a thing was possible.  

He let the word hang, just for a moment, before he tugged gently at Obi-Wan’s hair. Felt him shudder against his hand, pulled apart in that instant. Felt honoured that he was allowed to see this, trusted enough that Obi-Wan let himself shatter like this.

He pressed Obi-Wan’s name against his neck, felt the way his hands, still resting against Cody, twitched at the contact. He pressed another kiss to Obi-Wan’s neck, then another to his jaw. Eventually, he reached Obi-Wan’s mouth. Hovered there for a moment, allowing his breath to flutter against Obi-Wan’s lips.

Something that sounded like his name caught up in a desperate plea fell from Obi-Wan, and at that Cody kissed him.

Heat curled through him at the way Obi-Wan melted into the contact, letting himself fall endlessly into Cody’s hands. Trusting Cody to catch him.

In answer, Cody held him. Did not allow any part of him to slip between his fingers as they curled their way through his hair. His free hand had, at some point, come to rest upon Obi-Wan’s back and he relished in the way Obi-Wan leant into the touch.

It was this trust, as much as the contact, that sent a heady sense of affectionthrough Cody. Love, if he was brave enough to let himself think it.

Obi-Wan gasped, briefly. Again and again, Cody’s name fell from his lips.

“Here, darling. I’m here.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to say the rest.

[sandinmybed]

can i be fr for a minute?? sending abuse to people online for holding different views than you is not activism and in fact actively hurts your cause. most people are not extreme in their viewpoints, you can give them a new perspective if you're willing to spend some time explaining shit. if someone is saying something you disagree with and you rush in there to condescend to them and call them disgusting and subhuman and dont even TRY to explain calmly why their views are harmful, they're going to shut you out instantly and double down on their views.

most people are simply genuinely ignorant to the issues they're talking about - they just pick their views up from the news and the world around them and express opinions because that's what every person does. if you run in there and tell them they're scum for it, what then? if someone does that to you, are you going to think "maybe i should do some research" or are you going to think "this person is an asshole, im blocking them." a lot of you think you're activists and then refuse to do any kind of actual WORK to support your cause.

[gerryrigged]

wait wdym dc didn't stick with Red Robin for Tim [and the de-aging thing?] what are they calling him if not RR?

He's been Robin again since 2019 😬 it's a bit more complicated but that's the gist of it.

Okay so Tim became Red Robin in the 2009-2011 series of the same name, back in the post-Crisis timeline. He was supposedly 17 at the time, by official records, and I believe he was still supposed to be 17 when the universe was rebooted with Flashpoint in 2011? (Although this doesn't really make any sense with respect to jamming the huge number of events that happened while he was Robin into like four years, if he was supposed to have become Robin at 13; he should probably at least be 18 if not 19-20).

The Flashpoint reboot took us into the New 52 (much beloathed), where nearly everyone was de-aged to some extent to keep Bruce Wayne and his generation from getting ~too old~, and also Tim Drake was mangled into a completely different character who had never been "Robin"; he'd been "Red Robin" right from the start of his vigilante career. He was de-aged to 16 for the New 52 Teen Titans series.

Teen Titans (2011) #0; as you can see, this version of Red Robin kept a version of the bandoliers and gave Tim a fancy new functional wing cape that he could fly around with.

Next, Rebirth in 2016 was a partial reboot that brought back some aspects of the post-Crisis timeline; tbh I'm not an expert on this period. What I do know is that Tim mainly appears in James Tynion IV's run of Detective Comics that ran from 2016 to 2018. During this period Tim was still called Red Robin, but he'd basically reverted to a Robin costume, with only the silly doubled "RR" symbol identifying him as not ~actually~ Robin winkwink nudgenudge, and as I understand it he was mostly back to functioning as Bruce's partner.

Tynion's run ends in Detective Comics #981 with Tim telling Bruce that he's going off to Ivy University. (He's totally lying, as Tim Drake does; Alfred notices that his tracker is going off in the opposite direction of the university, but Bruce is like "I trust him" and turns the tracker off. Yay, I guess?)

Anyway the important bit is this revealing that Tim is 'going-off-to-college' age. Which could still reasonably be anywhere from 17-19, and DC being DC, they ~refuse to confirm~

Tim as Red Robin on the cover of Detective Comics #934 (2016); as you can see, he's pretty much Robin again lol

Detective Comics #968 (2018); another shot of his "basically Robin" Red Robin costume

In 2019 we got the actual return of Tim as Robin (no "Red") in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, re-uniting the Core Four from YJ 1998.

Young Justice (2019) #1

As you can see, he no longer has the doubled 'RR', and he confirms that he's Robin - "Well, one of them!" I think he's supposed to be filling in as the Gotham Robin while Damian is running around the world having adventures and presumably getting into trouble, as Robins do? idk.

Tim also chases down his erased post-Crisis past at the beginning of this arc, having Zatanna magically restore (most of) his memories of the previous timeline, and, crucially, his forgotten best friend Kon, kickstarting some plot.

Tim, and all of the Young Justice crew, are notably young-looking for almost the entirety of this run. It varies based on the artist, but uh, yeah for the most part they are really damn baby-faced. This is a trend that continues with Tim and his generation of friends from this point onward, so fans have basically thrown up their hands like "is he 17 forever???? is he Edward Cullen from Twilight???? is he aging backward????"

We Just Don't Know

In any case, Bendis makes DC's next attempt to give Tim his own identity in short order, giving us the hilarious, ill-fated, and rightfully short-lived "Drake" identity.

Young Justice (2019) #10

He's back to being Robin by issue #18, hilariously switching costumes from one page to the next, although some time has apparently passed during the scene transition.

Young Justice (2019) #18; Jinny: "Is Drake back to being Robin?" Kon: "I think Batman and Spoiler made him go back to Robin. Don't bring it up. And say thank you because we didn't have to have the Drake intervention we were planning."

And as of the current date (July 13, 2023), Tim is still in the Robin identity, sharing it with Damian ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ God knows how old he's supposed to be right now. I certainly don't.

Batman (2016) #136; the most recent issue out to date, with Tim suiting up as Robin while filling Bruce in after diving into a bunch of parallel dimensions to bring Bruce home.

As you can see, it's a Mess. The Tim Drake's Vigilante Identity question is of course a hotbed of wank and infighting, as people are torn between (a) wanting him to continue as Robin and (b) wanting him to move on and "grow up" into his own identity again (and, importantly, leave Damian as the sole Robin again, lol).

It feels like most people are for option (b), but then nobody can agree on what his next identity and costume should be. Red Robin again?? Some other bird-based identity that doesn't share a name with a major restaurant chain?? Something else entirely??

God only knows what DC is going to come up with, especially after the Drake fiasco.

And there you have it, Anon! Hope that was helpful.

[ladyspottedray]

@probably-impossible has opened my eyes to the genius of Wanderer x Katheryne and I'm GOING DOWN WITH THIS SHIP

[saltpepperbeard]

Rated T | 2.6k | Complete Stede drew a sharp breath. Whiplash; no, he couldn’t spiral. It was not the time to spiral. Ed needed him. Ed was vulnerable, and alone, and hurt, and needed him. He needed a hand to hold. He needed a friend. He needed love. All of which Stede was more than willing to offer. He was going to apologize for everything he had wrought. He was going to try and slowly unspool all the consequences from his actions. He was going to fight to show his devotion, his care, his affection again. But that all was down the road; in the meantime, he was going to address what lay before him. He was going to focus on the physical before the emotional, the visible before the invisible. After finally reuniting with Ed, Stede sits with all the subsequent emotions, and begins the first little steps towards healing, towards mending their love.

Read on AO3 Here

[skitskatdacat63]

2023 Italian Grand Prix - Fernando Alonso

[voidedjuice]

Some sidecharacters from Ilta & Cecily's thing

Cecily's adoptive sibling and Ilta's uncle

[stfu-im-thinking-abt-blorbo]

Linkin Park replacing Chester with a person who's both a scientologist and a rape apologist that supported Danny Masters is both absolutely disgusting and not at all surprising. I have no words anymore at this point, it's unbelievable.

[celosiaceo]

Taste of Normalcy (You Can Always Find Me)

Originally posted on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46189747, minor edits have been made here

Tags: MC/reader’s gender unspecified, fluff, mild hurt, a lot of comfort, handholding, crying, hugging, overwhelmed MC/reader, first person POV, slight divergence from Leander’s red choice branch

Word count: ~2100

Fire.

A power so fascinating that it makes the head spin. The element that flickers with madness, waiting to spill destruction the second it can leave its bounds, but also one that offers comfort and solace, protection, and security. Does a moth know when it drifts toward a cozy lamp, and when it reaches deadly flames? Does it feel safe while hopelessly fluttering towards an open flame, fascinated with the radiating light and warmth seconds away from being devoured by it?

Where you decide that, despite being so overwhelmed by something small, you want too much of a good thing, regardless of your own reaction.

A hand was offered to me, holding out something I’ve always longed for, something I’ve wanted more than anything my entire life. Normalcy . The ability to free me from my bandage-made prison, to not hide away, to not feel like a flame about to burst onto dry branches with a single touch. Never could I have thought that my wretched, all-wrecking hands could ever feel the softness of another’s skin.

Even though I’d already felt Leander’s hand once prior, seeing him reach out once more made me dizzy, my chest tightening with a mix of exhilaration and anxiety at the memory of the first time this happened. My hand hovered over his own, now in disbelief and hesitation, before resting in his palm. Leander’s tender gaze fixed on my hand as he carefully unwinded the bandages. The glowing gold cracks on the soot-dark skin of my arm slowly came into view and got wrapped up by the warm air of the bar. The green eyes occasionally darted up to check on me, and Leander paused every such moment. A nervousness crept up my mind, but all of it disappeared with the sight of a soft smile and the feeling of a gentle squeeze over my monstrous hand.

“No one will notice”

For a moment Leander separated to tug his glove off with his teeth, and once again he held his hand out to me. “There you go. Hand holding on demand.” His lips curved upwards into a soft grin. “Whatever you want.” Leander’s next words soon followed in a whisper.

Perhaps it was because of the gin, but it was hard to focus. What do I want..? For a moment I stared down at my lap, thinking. But as I glanced up into the tender, slightly tired, and alcohol-softened emerald eyes I could barely stop my hand from reaching up to rest against Leander’s face instead. My arm trembled in the air, I felt my chest ache with a quickened heartbreak and my face heat up. “Can I touch your face..?” Despite not having a reason to, I felt a fear of having a knife stick into my back, the inviting light of the bar, the almost drowned-out lively chatter, Leander leaning in and reaching out for me so invitingly — it all felt too good to be real. But with the fear, there was undeniably desperation. A desperation for it to be true, and Leander probably saw it too.

Despite there being no reason for that, it was unexpected to me that he allowed me to go on. I hesitated, it felt like my hand was about to break an invisible barrier before would faintly graze Leander’s jaw. I still couldn’t let myself fully indulge in my own request, and it seems he noticed that also.

“That tickles. It’s fine, you can just…” Leander chuckled, eyes closing for a moment as he beamed. Instead of moving my hand away, he covered it with his own, angling it to press his cheek into my palm. I saw red dusting across his face, matching me now. The warmth surrounding my cursed hand, the kindness in the green gaze fixated on my face... A shiver ran down my spine, I felt a lump of emotions pressing at my throat, the tactility was so new, so pleasant, so addicting, but ever overwhelming…

Against the cold of my hand, his face was warm, even softer than his hand, but a fraction felt… different. Rougher, colder — the darker scar which trailed down from his cheek, to the side of his neck, to hiding under the collar of his clothes. As a blush pricked at my face all over, my fingers brushed Leander’s cheek in small circles. My lips quickly curved upwards into a smile, I saw that he was returning a reassuring dimpled smile of his own. Cautiously, I ran a finger down the rough scar. Leander shuddered, making me feel a momentary pinch of panic, and his earring jingled against my knuckles.

“You’re getting awfully bold...” Leander teased with a quiet laugh, his eyes darting away momentarily before returning to looking at my face with a lidded gaze. My pulse thumped in my ears, and my heart raced. It got harder to breathe, my head spun with jarring excitement as an almost suffocating warmth spread through me. My fingertips weren’t cold anymore, on the contrary, they were now warmer than usual. Leander slowly ran his fingers along my hand, both soothing and overwhelming me. By now I forgot we weren’t really alone, the chatter and the music in the Wick were completely drowned out by my pulse echoing in my ears. Despite my head spinning, despite feeling too hot in my own skin, I wanted to be even closer.

Even though I felt overcome by craving more, I pulled my hand back, as the hammering of my heart became too much to take. Almost instantly Leander’s smile fell to an expression of concern. I could barely hear anything through the pulsing pounding in my ears, but I could somehow make out Leander asking if I was alright, to which I mustered a nod. Without really thinking, I said something about being dizzy.

Just as quickly as before, Leander went back to giving me a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling before closing for a moment into a bright smile once again. “You’ve had a long day. You deserve some rest. Luckily, your room is just upstairs. Want me to walk you back?” As always, Leander’s first instinct was to offer me help, just like he always has done today. Again it started feeling like it was too good to be true, just now I was a moth that got burnt by a fire but still had a chance to move away to a safe distance.

And, just like a moth would, I hovered right back in to be consumed by the addicting light entirely.

With a hum of consideration, I slightly narrowed my eyes while bandaging my hand back up. As I got to catch my breath, the thumping subsided and my mind cleared up moment by moment. Looking back up at Leander with gratitude, hesitation, and a pinch of desperation , I gave a faint nod. “I… I’d be very grateful.. thank you.”

“Your wish is my command!” With a hearty laugh, Leander tucked his glove over his belt and hopped out of the booth to hold his hand out to me, which I gladly took while getting up myself. It’s not even that I felt that weak, not anymore, but the extra contact was something I couldn’t refuse.

As we walked up the creaky stairs, Leader held an arm around my shoulder, just in case, and matched my walking pace. While going up the steps I figured that I underestimated my fatigue, still, a pinch of guilt and embarrassment washed over me for having to slow the two of us down that much.

Soon enough we reached what was going to be my room for an uncertain amount of time. I turned the key in the lock, the wooden door creaked open to reveal a dark room. It was a relatively small room, but it had everything essential — a bed, closet, desk, bedside drawer, and door to what was probably an adjacent bathroom.

“There you are.” Leander patted my shoulder before pulling his arm away from my shoulder, and running it across my back. It dawned on me that I still haven’t thanked him for everything, most importantly for being this willing to help me find my cure, to be my solace. With a sigh I let my eyes fall closed, and the sensation of my heart racing came back again. I gathered my courage to turn to Leander and open my arms to initiate an embrace, and before I knew it I was surrounded by the now-familiar warmth once more.

I held my breath, and shortly I felt my whole body heat up, not just from the hug itself. I nestled my face in the crook of Leander’s neck as my now trembling arms wrapped around him in return. My eyes slowly fell closed as I tried to quietly breathe, keeping my racing heart at bay. I could feel the calming, slightly faster rhythm of Leander’s heart, despite its effect only more blood rushed to my cheeks to paint them red.

“Are you comfortable? We can stay like this as long as you’d like.” Leander’s gentle voice came out in a honey-sweet whisper. I nodded, but soon drifted into thought, as hard as that was. I’d like to stay like this for way longer than I could, as being surrounded by the welcoming warmth felt like my heart would burst out of my chest. I felt safe, I could tell that Leander was strong, but right now it felt guarding and secure instead of crushing and betraying.

Suddenly, tears pricked at my eyes. I squeezed them shut, my lip began to tremble as small drops squeezed through my eyes. I couldn’t possibly let Leander see me like that, so I hid my face, cheek pressed against his chest while my grip on his coat subconsciously tightened. His attempts to calm me down rang through my ears, but their effects were significantly smaller than I’d liked.

All hope I may have had to calm down disappeared like the green lilies earlier today when Leander’s hands slowly rubbed my back in circles to further lull me but ended up doing just the opposite. Though it was not from causing me any pain.

Why am I crying? I can’t show myself like this!

Despite my best efforts to keep the overwhelming happiness at bay, I felt dizzy again, a lump quickly forming in my throat. An evident tremble came through, I bit my quivering lip as a warm streak of tears streamed down my hot cheeks, soaking into the fabric of Leander’s clothes. My knees felt like they’d give out any moment, I barely noticed how Leander’s heart sped up a little before he pulled back to look at my face. His expression was painted with concern once again, he slightly leaned down to see me as I looked down at the floor, hands covering my face once we separated.

“There there, I’m right here for you, there’s nothing to worry about,” Leander reassured, his tone still quiet and soothing as he gently moved my hands away from my face. Closer to me than ever, I could see the details of the crinkles of his tired-looking lidded eyes, the dimples of his small smile, and the blush that still hasn’t left his face. With a sniffle and a shaky breath I nodded, trying to calm down, yet another pair of betraying tears slipped from my eyes.

My eyes only cracked open when I felt two bigger hands cup my face, thumbs brushing off my tears. I pushed a weak smile back, faintly leaning into the hands before sighing out, my breath still shaky. “Thank you… for everything.” I whispered; using a voice any louder would make it crack mid-word.

With an airy chuckle, Leanded reached one of his hands to pat my head. “There’s no need. I did say I’d do what I can to help, and I keep my word.” I finally managed to start calming down while Leander affectionately carded his hand through my hair, his expression welcoming and patient. He waited until I looked back up at him, giving a small nod before separating. Leander’s warmth lingered all over, it was indescribably comforting.

“I… I should get going, I need some rest after all…”

“Yes, I won’t disturb you, then. If anything troubles you, you know where to find me.”

“Good night, Leander.”

“Good night!”

Even as I went to my room and turned to close the door behind me, I could see Leander smiling with his eyes closed, waving me farewell for today. My heart soared as if we never parted in the first place.

[fluffypotatey]

Pre divorce shadowpeach didn't seem to be the type to fight a lot. In fact the shadowpeach divorce probably blew up that big due to all the unsaid frustrations they never let out.

So I'm just imagining shadowpeach never fighting in an obvious way (closest to fighting would be backhanded comments or barbed words) but that just makes things more unsettling

oh yeah 100% it didn’t help that swk was always leaving FFM out of his need to get stronger and be the best and be respected. not to mention they probably never saw their times together as the right moment to voice their concerns out loud because this was their time to wind down and they just had to wait it out, wait until everything was perfect enough to have those talks