#when i tell you i cried writing this

[akumanoken]

"I know I don't have to, I want too." Of all the things he could respond too, he chooses that. It not a matter of need, to do something special for Sakura, it is entirely Slane's want.

He briefly let's go of Sakura, his hand going into one of his interior pockets of his mage robes, taking something out of it, but hiding it by having his fist enclosed around it. And then, proceeding to kneel down before his Princess, his Queen, retaking Sakura's hand into his sole free one.

"I've been thinking very much about to stories you would tell me of the olden days of Makoto & our island's culture. The history of the Pearl, I think I've heard it more then any other." He explained, slowly, his fingers taking just as slow movements around Sakura's own. An loving touch of someone memorizing the feeling & the moment. "I've gotten a little upset that I never gotten you a pearl, as you did for me." And he adored his pearl so, so much, it was so rare to see Slane without it's golden splendor somewhere on his person.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to select from every pearl on the island as you do. So, I've paid some visits to the sea, & called in a favor from my older sister." Finally, his enclosed fist open, a small ring pitched between his two fingers. A small pearl crowned at the top, & a design of a reef of leaves with small diamonds in them along the band of rose gold. It was... so simple, & delicate, yet beautiful... & filled to the brim with love. Love, in both Makoto's Pearl & Camellia's diamond.

@liroyalty

It was, then. That Slane...

He simply watched him get on a knee, head tilting in that perplexed way he did ever so often. A puppy's tilt, smiling amidst the confusion. What was in his hand?? What was all this??

Our island's culture... Just hearing Slane say that made his heart squeeze in his chest. It was his home now as much as it was for the Princess, and to hear him say it with such casualness made him so very happy... He had always hoped, even if he would never be loved... the man he would marry would love Makoto... take it into his heart as much as the country would surely take him.

He talked of pearls, the stories he would tell, and his smile fell, hearing how upset Slane had been because he hadn't given Sakura one. He wasn't saying that he got a pearl for him, did he?? That wasn't---

No... not at all. He didn't just get a pearl for him. He dived for one. Sakura's favorite stories... were always about the old ways, how a person would dive into the ocean... looking for days... sometimes weeks... for the perfect pearl.

His hand was over his mouth in shock before the man even finished speaking, before showing the ring, and the princess was a trembling mess. To be gifted a pearl.... to have someone love him so much that he would dive into the ocean to find one for him...

His shoulders shook, tears falling from his eyes before he could stop them. He was smiling... it was so tremulous, his tears and laughter mixing together to a point it was hard to tell if he was truly laughing or sobbing. He had never doubted that Slane loved him. Slane was not one for lies. Did not have the time nor the energy.... but for him to do this...

"I.... I... Oh, Slane!!!" he was on his knees, wrapping his arms around the man and holding on tight, holding himself up as he cried into the man's shoulder.

He couldn't remember being so.... happy before....

[jvten]

vi and the puppets (part 2: ray)

hey there y'all! been a hot minute since i've posted some writing. here ya go! another MFN (My Friendly Neighborhood) / LDM (Love, Decay and Mayhem) oneshot from my mini-series :D also I'm literally rewatching streams of the game rn haha

warnings: one cuss word (the 'f' one lmao), minor depictions of violence (aka ray hittin richie with an iron lol), a little bit of angst (aka vi crying ;A; i'm sorry my child, but you know i had to do it to you)

characters: vi (5 years old here), ray, gerzwald, renee (gerzwald's wife, they both raised/adopted vi, but technically the puppets helped raise vi too hehe <3) and also richie bromine

read part 1 here!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Nothing could be heard throughout the basement besides the pained cries of five-year-old Vi, diamond tears streaming down her face as she wandered the empty corridors, holding her teddy bear in her arms. The workers and the janitor had already gone home for the night, making the little girl think she was alone and that she would be lost forever in the basement.

However, her cries did not go unheard. One particular puppet from the My Friendly Neighborhood show approached the opening of a pipe from within upon hearing the cries that sounded so hurt they could have been screams. And when Ray saw Vi curled up against the wall, holding her head, crying, by some boxes, he crawled out of the pipe and came closer to her. It broke his patchwork heart seeing the little girl shaking, looking even smaller than usual curled up like that. Gently, he placed a hand atop her head, and she looked up at the contact. Realizing that it was him, she wordlessly reached up for the large puppet. A low growl-hum rumbling through him, he carefully scooped her up into his arms and let her lie against him as he sat against the wall.

The soft fur of his hand allowed the tears on Vi’s face to be dried quicker as he wiped them away as gently as possible. Ray could tell she didn’t know how to get out of the basement, there was a kind of fear he recognised, the fear that she would be lost forever… no, it was… the fear that she would be alone forever. That, he knew all too well.

When it became apparent that no one else would be coming here for a while, and that it would take as such to come down and find Vi down here, Ray decided to bring her to Stage 2, his workshop, turning on the lights above them so that the room wasn’t surrounded in darkness, and so that she would have a decent place to play in for a while. He grabbed some paper and pencils for her to use while they waited for someone to come get her, and at first she drew in silence.

“Ray? I… I know you didn’t mean to hurt Uncle Richie…” she soon said, rubbing her eyes. “I know you’re not bad like what everyone else says. You’re still my friend.”

Ray growled again, more despondently this time. Yes, he didn’t mean to hurt Richie… or maybe he did. How could he not? The human man had been saying horrible things about the show… about the puppets, about Gerzwald. He’d even said something about Vi. Maybe that was what triggered Ray… the fact that Richie Bromine brought shameless insult to a child, an innocent child that did nothing wrong, a child that Ray cared for so much.

It had happened two weeks prior, and it had been their half-time break on one seemingly ordinary day. They were in Stage 4, the Neighborhood set. Ray had gotten bored of going over lines — of which he had very few — and had decided to go and find Vi so he could at least have some enjoyable company during the thirty-minute break. But a pair of voices drew his attention. Richie and a crew member were standing by the building with the red doors, talking amongst themselves. Ray knew that he shouldn’t have listened in or eavesdropped, and he was going to walk away, but…

“I swear these episodes are getting more and more boring every day,” Richie had said exhaustedly to the crew member. "The movies aren’t even that good. This whole franchise needs to be more mainstream if people are going to love it. But, no, the only ones who do barely even know how to say “neighborhood”. It’s annoying.”

Ray’s curiosity had been piqued, and he hid in the shadow of the entrance to the alleyway, the dim lighting concealing him well enough.

“I don’t know what Gerzwald is thinking, constantly putting me in with the puppets. Why can’t I star with the other humans, huh? All these puppets… they’re crazy. I can feel it. They’re insane and no one except me knows it. Gerzwald is insane. The fact that he thinks this whole show about stupid muppets teaching people about kindness and friendship is just… it’s mad.”

Ray felt anger beginning to stir. He wanted to show Richie what for. Make him regret saying those things about them. About Gerzwald. Because how dare he call them crazy? However he quickly decided to leave the set for now and perhaps try to communicate to Gerzwald about this.

But he didn’t even get the chance to take more than a few steps out of the shadows...

“Besides, even if I were to star with the other people more frequently, I wouldn’t want to have to put up with Violet," said Richie, the name of the little girl redrawing Ray’s attention. “She’s the youngest on the set, damnit. And yet she’s somehow one of the main stars of the show? I hardly even get any scenes because people love her too much. She’s too hyper. Too giggly. She’s gaining more attention from viewers than me, she doesn’t deserve that attention because she can’t possibly know what it’s like for us adults to go through all this. And she’s far too annoying—”

The anger had begin to boil over so much that the large puppet had unconsciously grabbed the nearest item, a clothes iron, stepped out of the shadow of the alleyway, and… well…

“What the HELL?! You’re crazy! You’re FUCKING INSANE!”

Next thing he knew Richie was on the ground, as hurt and furious as Ray had felt. Ray dropped the iron, the plastic and metal clattering onto the floor. The crew members all fearfully stepped away from him, keeping their gaze on him as if he could attack any one of them at any moment.

And then, a few days later, Ray had been moved to the basement, to reduce any risk of any employees being hurt by him.

But Ray had remembered how much his heart had hurt when they were in the process of moving him to the basement. Not just because he would be separated from the rest of the puppets and crew, meant to be isolated so far underground… but because of the way Vi had cried that day. “Don’t go, Ray! Don’t go!” she’d cried, trying to pull him back from Gerzwald by grabbing his arm.

“Violet, dear, you have to let go—” Gerzwald had said, attempting to coerce her from the puppet, but she had only avoided any more convincing from her father, shaking her head desperately.

“You can’t go, Ray!” she’d exclaimed, tears streaming down her face like diamond waterfalls. “Please! I don’t want you to leave!” He desperately wanted to tell her that she would be okay, that he would try his best to manage down in the basement, but alas, words had never been his strong suit. It was heartbreaking, the way she had thought Ray would be leaving for good, even when Gerzwald tried to help her understand that it was not just for the humans’ safety, but for Ray as well, and that this needed to happen. It was heartbreaking how, despite being told this, she kept clinging onto him like both of their lives depended on it, like he’d disappear or vanish from sight if she ever let go. “No! Stay here! You have to stay! Don’t leave!”

It was only when Renee told Vi that she would still be able to see him that the little girl had slowly managed to calm down. She then crouched down in front of her daughter, making sure Vi would listen. “Vi, honey. I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us. But you’ll still be able to see Ray, okay? Just… not as much. We can try to bring you down there with us to see him when we’re filming for the show. Is that okay with you?” When Vi slowly nodded, Renee sighed. “Change can be tough, baby, but I know you’ll be okay. And Ray will be okay too.”

It had taken a while for Vi to let go of Ray’s arm, but the large nine to ten foot tall puppet had knelt down in front of her, picking up her teddy bear that she had dropped on the floor and giving it to her, giving as much of a comforting smile as he could.

Sure, it was lonely down in the basement, but regardless of whether or not he knew he’d be moved, Ray would have defended Vi from any harmful words any day. He found it unforgivable that Richie had called Vi those things. And he would do anything for the little girl that he and the other puppets cared about so much.

Ever since he was the first one to find her at the entrance to the studio, a small baby wrapped up in blankets in a basket, well, needless to say Ray had seen things differently. With Vi around, in the studio, life was brighter, more fun, with each of the puppets holding her dear to their hearts.

He was brought back out of his memories as Vi now stood in front of him and held her teddy bear up to him, waving its hand. “Don’t be sad, Ray,” she spoke, pretending to sound like her bear, “Mr Snuggles still thinks you’re fun! And Vi wanted me to say that she loves you!”

His heart warmed even more, and he gently shook the teddy bear’s hand before bringing Vi back into another hug, feeling much less lonely now. He loved her too. He just wasn’t able to say it.

Even when Renee had found them a few hours later, looking understandably stressed from searching for Vi but now relieved, Ray knew that he could count on Vi, hoping that she felt that she could count on him too. But what surprised him was that, before they left, Renee looked back at him. “Thank you, Ray… thank you. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

And when they left, with Vi being carried in Renee’s arms and waving to him, Ray figured that if there were still a few people who cared about him, then that was all that mattered.

[afewproblems]

Eddie downs the last of his beer and tosses the empty red cup into the kitchen sink, right between a couple who were clearly gearing up to claim one of the spare rooms upstairs. 

Eddie snickers and winks as the girl tells him to fuck off while her boyfriend flips him the bird, god he loves highschool parties, and this one is no exception.

It's Halloween and business is booming for Eddie Munson.

He imagines Dian Fossey felt similarly, wandering through the Congo studying the great apes' behavior patterns and social structure from within rather than observing from afar. 

So far Eddie's observations have paid off in spades and he's managed to sell out most of his stash by targeting the basketball team and their girlfriends. No one wants to get high all by themselves after all, it's almost too easy the way these sheep all flock together. 

Eddie leaves the kitchen behind him, but not before snagging a can of something cold from a nearby cooler of half melted ice. With a decent buzz going, what's one more? He's done working for the night after all. 

Eddie climbs the stairs, dodging drunk teens left and right as they make their way past him, shirts ruffled and hair messy. Eddie snorts, ignoring the wistful pull in his chest as a tall boy on the swim team pulls his girlfriend closer to press a chaste kiss to the top of her head before smoothing her curls away from her forehead. 

Unfortunately no one Eddie would be interested in would accept him brushing their hair like that without punching him in the face.

He shakes his head and continues forward, he's an observer, nothing more. 

Eddie passes a closed door on the second floor and pauses as a raised voice splits through the wood.

"It's bullshit, you're bullshit," the voice slurs out and Eddie feels a wide grin pull at the corner of his mouth. 

He takes a step closer, nearly pressing his ear to the flat of the door.

"Like we're in love?" Another voice says softly, a guy, "you don't love me?" 

A small part of Eddie knows he shouldn't be listening to this, he can hear the waiver in this guy's voice like his heart is slowly cracking in his chest. Shit, he almost feels bad for this guy. 

But the people that go to these stupid parties, the Hawkins elite, the gorillas in the mist, deserve their bullshit --to use this girls turn-of-phrase.

The only reason they didn't mess with Eddie was because he was these highschool shit-heads main source of weed. 

Its karma, plain and simple, Eddie reasons as he presses even closer now.

"It's. Bullshit". The girl hisses emphatically and for a second Eddie hears nothing.

It happens so quickly after that. 

The door swings inward, causing Eddie to stumble into a tall firm chest as the bathroom guy collides with him.

"What the fuck?" The guy says as he pushes Eddie away from himself and --no way.

"Harrington?"

Steve blinks once, his wide hazel eyes red rimmed and shiny in the dim light of the hallway, the tip of his nose is pink as he reaches up to pinch it roughly before swiping across his eyes as well.

Even though Eddie's fairly certain that he and Steve are the same height, he seems smaller like this, deflated, standing in the hallway while a party rages down below them both. 

A cheer rings out, startling Steve into action.

He steps widely around Eddie, enough that his shoulder connects with the wall in his haste to take the stairs down, two at a time, as though Hell is hot on his heels. 

And Eddie should leave it, go back to the party, see if there are any snacks left before calling it a night, but something pushes him to follow the path Steve took.

It's like he's possessed, the haunted look in those hazel eyes forcing him forward until he's outside on the lawn.

A few other teens are outside, including a couple making out on the porch, Eddie steps over them and jogs to the end of the driveway.

He spots Steve down the street sitting on a large rock at the end of another neighbor's lawn with his face in his hands.

He looks up as Eddie gets closer and curses softly.

"Seriously? It wasn't enough that you were listening, you're following me now?" His voice cracks on the last word as he wipes his eyes again, he can't quite hide the way the moonlight catches the tear tracks running down his cheek and neck though.  

"Oh come on Harrington," Eddie says, walking up to Steve. He sits on one of the other rocks and takes a crumpled pack of smokes out of his vest pocket, "it's no fun if you're sad".

"What is?" Steve mumbles after a beat, wiping his eyes again as he stares at the ground. 

"Making fun of you," Eddie shrugs as he takes a cigarette and puts it between his lips, he smiles at the startled bark of laughter from Steve.

"You're a prick," he huffs softly, the barest of smiles slowly blooming across his face.

Eddie can count the constellation of freckles and moles across his face, giving the blanket of stars above them a run for their money. His hand twitches at the thought of touching the ones on Steve's throat.

Eddie coughs once, mentally tallying the number of drinks he must have had for those kinds of  thoughts and shifts on the rock to adjust his pants. 

He holds out the pack to Steve who looks at the nearly empty sleeve before his eyes shift to the house behind Eddie. 

"Nance hated cigarettes," Steve murmurs as the corner of his mouth twitches into a terrible frown. It's gone in an instant as Steve blinks once and reaches out for the pack.

"I got something stronger if you want?" Eddie offers, he shrugs when Steve looks up at him with suspicious eyes. 

"Come on Harrington, I'm not gonna keep kicking you when you're down, you need a pick-me-up and then I can get back into it," Eddie stands up and without thinking, holds out a hand towards Steve, "what do you say?"

Steve stares up at him, his eyes flick once to the outstretched hand before he snorts dryly and slowly takes his hand. 

It's warm in Eddie's own. The fingers squeeze gently as Steve uses it to hoist himself up until he's once again eye level with Eddie. 

From this close Eddie can see the way his eyelashes have clumped together with leftover tears and the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes

Oh…this, this was a bad idea. Eddie swallows roughly as Steve finally nods.

"Lead the way Munson," Steve says with the barest of smirks as he wipes his face one last time, "and if you tell anyone about this, I'll slash your tires".

Eddie cackles at that, "there he is!"

He claps Steve on the back as he leads them towards where he parked his van down the road, "our chariot awaits!"

Eddie ignores the small voice that whispers in his ear, the one that sounds remarkably like his uncle, as it asks him just what the hell he thinks he's doing with Harrington of all people? 

It'll be fine, he tells himself.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

Part Two

[dangerpronebuddie]

Saw this post from @thatbuddie and cried writing this. Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate and all who struggle through it. Love y'all 🩷

He doesn't know why he's torturing himself. It's not really torture, but the ache in his heart is. He can't help the smile on his face even through the tears as he looks through the box. Seeing how much Chris' artwork has changed over the years is more than enough to have him in a blubbering heap in the floor of his closet. Seeing it while knowing he won't witness how it'll change for who knows how long is almost enough to completely shatter him. Handmade cards, origami swans Shannon taught him to make, origami frogs Buck showed him, and the heart Eddie insisted on keeping rather than tossing out all sit neatly tucked in the box at the top of the closet. His reasons for keeping the heart are too difficult to explain. It's one of his favorites. He stacks each piece carefully beside him, wiping his tears on the sleeve of his hoodie so he doesn't damage the pages. He's not outright sobbing. He'll take it as a win. Chris still isn't speaking to him, but Ramon sends lots of pictures and updates every day. He says Chris is adjusting okay, but not his usual bright self. Eddie knows the feeling. He opens the card from last father's day and can't help but outright giggle. Chris' handwriting is just like Buck's. Small and slanted and barely legible unless you're used to the style. He doesn't know why it's so hilarious. Maybe he's losing his mind. He collects himself with a deep breath and sets the card aside before reaching into the box and taking the next piece from the pile. This one does break him. He remembers standing on the sidewalk as the bus drove away, surrounded by parents who seemed more than happy to have two weeks without a kid to take care of. Eddie couldn't understand how they were so ecstatic to watch their kids leave. He feels the same way now as he did that day. Glad he let Chris go, but more than a little empty without half of his heart. He feels a tug in his chest, like the string that connects them wants to snap. He resists the urge to hold on tighter, just like that morning all those years ago. He blinks through the tears at the writing in the card. Chris' assurance that Eddie would be fine is the thing that has him choking out a sob, dropping the card to his lap as he covers his face with his hands. "Hey, hey, Eds, it's okay." Eddie hiccups a sob and slumps against Buck's chest. He doesn't know when he showed up. He didn't hear the door, or Buck's usual cheerful greeting. He's just glad he's here. There was a time when he'd try to collect himself. Scoop the broken pieces into some semblance of a person and pretend he's fine. But he's not. And he knows Buck's not either. Eddie twists and wraps his arms around Buck's neck, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Buck rubs soothing circles on his back, whispering reassurances to him Eddie barely registers. "I'm sorry," Eddie whimpers, holding tighter. "Hey, it's okay," Buck says softly, his own voice wavering. "I miss him too. I know."

Eddie doesn't know how long they stay curled around each other, holding each other together as the tears fall away. It reminds Eddie of the day Chris left. How he had turned to Buck and broke. They sat on the floor by the couch for over an hour, simply holding each other, clinging to the one and only lifeline they both had left. Eddie sniffles and takes a deep breath after God knows how long, finally collecting himself enough to lean back. He wipes his sleeves across his face and takes another shaky breath. "No word from him?" Buck asks. Eddie shakes his head. "You?" Buck shakes his head. "Doesn't mean he doesn't love you, Eddie." Eddie knows that, he does. But some days, his mind doesn't let him believe it. That was how he ended up in the closet floor, sifting through the evidence. "You still up for lunch with Bobby?" Buck asks after a few minutes. "If you're not, we can plan it another day. He'd understand." "I still want to go," Eddie says with a genuine smile. Just because he's having a shitty day doesn't mean Buck and Bobby have to as well. Buck stands and offers a hand to pull Eddie to his feet. Eddie stands with a groan and winces as his knees crackle. Buck giggles and opens his mouth to speak. "Don't you say a word, Buckley," Eddie warns, pointing a finger at him. Buck smirks and raises his free hand in surrender. "Wasn't going to say anything. I was just going to find your cane." "You're older than me!" Eddie squawks, lightly bapping his chest. "Your knees say otherwise," Buck grins. He tugs on their still joined hands. "Come on. Cap's waiting on us." He practically drags Eddie to the door. Eddie smiles, already feeling a little lighter. Buck's always been able to do that. Always been able to drag him from the depths of his mind so simply. Both their phones chime as they step out into the afternoon sun. Eddie takes his from his pocket as Buck does the same. Eddie's heart stitches a piece of itself back together at the notification. A message to the Buckley-Diaz (Chris picked the name) group chat: Superman: Happy Father's Day guys Love you The tears that fall from Eddie's eyes this time are filled with joy and love. He beams at Buck, who's wearing his Christopher-specific grin. Eddie pulls him into a hug and they dissolve into laughter laced with relief. Eddie knows they still have a lot of work to do. Frank even suggested having a therapy session with Chris. But this? This is a start. This is what finally lets him believe- "We're gonna be okay," Buck says, cradling the back of Eddie's head. Eddie curls his fists in Buck's shirt, holding tight. "Yeah. We're gonna be okay." He presses his temple to Buck's. "Happy Father's Day, Buck." "Happy Father's Day, Eddie."

[haine-kleine]

If Dabi's confrontation with Enji didn't happen after Shouto put him out with Phosphor, his condition wouldn't be so bad he has to be on life support, with only months left to live after the battle.

If Bakugou didn't attack Kurogiri, he would have saved Shigaraki from Deku, the hero who set out to save Shigaraki.

If Ochako didn't engage with Toga, she wouldn't have killed herself by giving Ochako all of her blood.

Hawks killed Twice, stabbing him in the back despite Dabi doing everything he could to save Twice's life.

The heroes were the ones who put Kurogiri in the hospital despite knowing full well the League would be getting him back, endangering the lives of civilians.

[samanthamulder]

THE X-FILES (1993-2018)

SEASON FOUR — The truth will save you, Scully. I think it'll save both of us.

[hayakawapartner]

aki with a s/o with chronic pain . . .

!!! this post is sfw, but minors/ageless blogs dni with this post/blog !!!

notes: gn!disabled!reader, this is self indulgent i tried to make this fitting for more general chronic pain! reader might come across as ehlers danlos-coded (is that a thing?? weird thing for me to type)

aki is already so sweet and caring with you, of course he would be helpful when your chronic pain flares up.

he notices that you’re moving a bit slower, taking shorter steps, taking a longer time to get up from your seat… and he’s immediately there to help

VERY quick to ask what you need, but he also tries to offer your usual solutions

“where does it hurt? do you need a heating pad? painkillers? tiger balm? do you want me to run a warm bath?”

if you have fluctuating mobility/occasionally use a mobility aid, he does his best to keep everything in a convenient spot for you. crutches near the bed so you can slide your arms in and get up with a bit more ease, rollator in a place where you don’t trip but it’s easy to access…

he was initially Overly Careful with you so he didn’t aggravate your pain further, but as he grows used to your needs, he’s still careful but he’s not scared of breaking you like he used to be

kisses the back of your neck while gently massaging your sore joints/muscles, murmuring soft “i love you”s and “you’re gonna be okay”s while he’s rubbing tiger balm onto your sorest spots

if he hears your joints pop he gets really nervous until you specify if it was a good/bad pop

if a spot is too sore, he won’t touch it in case he hurts you even more.

and if you just Can’t get out of bed for the day? he calls off from work to take care of you. brings you comfort food, helps you to the bathroom when you need it, makes sure you’re hydrated and taking your meds…

SPEAKING OF MEDS. this man is so good at reminding you

“did you forget to take your meds? maybe you should take them now, love. it’ll help you feel less sore.”

he’s very careful to make sure he doesn’t shame you for forgetting meds, for needing help, for being in pain. he just does whatever he can to make sure you’re okay and empathises with your complaints about your aches.

while he hates seeing you in pain during a flare-up, he becomes extra doting just to make sure your needs are met. cooks your fav comfort meal, makes sure all your pillows are soft and arranged to keep you comfy, refills your water bottle whenever it’s almost empty, etc.

he’s just so loving… aaauuuu

[kelin-is-writing]

some reverse comfort before i fall asleep lol

dabi has a lot of nightmares and he's terrified of you finding out so he avoids sleeping at your place for a very long time

once you manage to convince him tho he'll try so hard to stay awake all night long and in case he does fall asleep and have a nightmare he'll try his hardest to not wake you up and he might even move to the couch if it was a rly bad one :')

you find out at some point ofc and dabi feels so weak and childish for being so affected by his dreams. he's very caught off guard when you don't judge him but proceed to comfort him instead.

the way you hold him after he wakes up with bloody tears slowly rolling down his cheeks once again quickly becomes his favourite thing 🥺

he would never admit it but he kinda looks forward to having nightmares now bc it means you'll hold him for the rest of the night and run your fingers through his hair while mumbling reassuring words and reminding him of how much you love him :3

- 🥛

NO NO NO BECAUSE— imagine dabi nodding off but then jumps awake cursing himself for nearly falling asleep with you beside him, he pinches the bridge of his nose shaking his head while reminding himself to stay awake.

the last thing he wants is to show you an uncool and weak side of him, this boy wants you to know only the badass side of him.

at some point though you did find out about this little detail and while it would be just fair to accept him not wanting to open up with you yet, it made you sad that he had to restrain himself out of fear that you would be bothered by his awful past that still haunts him.

“you know, if you want to sleep go ahead, i don’t mind.”, you tell him testing the waters to see what his answer will be and how you’re gonna proceed then “i’m not that sleepy, i want to spend more time with you princess.”, liar. he has been yawning since he came an half hour ago, it’s so obvious he’s tired and you were happy dabi wanted to spend time with you, but his health was way more important right now.

which is why sighing heavily you surrounded his neck with one arm, then resting an hand on its side you pulled him down to place his head onto your lap “we’ll spend plenty of time together when you'll wake up, now sleep.”, he widened his eyes blinking a few times before trying to lift himself up, but you forced him down once again glaring at him with pursed lip. dabi knows you wanted to look menacing, but he couldn’t help finding you adorable instead.

the villain was truly so thankful you wanted to help him, but this wasn’t bound to end well and shit– despite him trying so hard not to fall asleep, he felt so damn comfortable and relaxed with his head on your legs while you pet him so gently, like he’s made of glass.

after he fell asleep, twenty minutes later, you felt dabi start shiver while gritting teethes suddenly; your eyes looked away from the book you were reading to glance down at him “t-the flames... i can’t– i can’t stop them...!”, you heard dabi mumble in his sleep as he started to tremble so much it seemed like an electric shock went through his whole body, what made you even more worried were the tears of blood streaming down his cheek as he was holding back from screaming at what he was dreaming.

whatever it was though you could see it wasn’t a nightmare like every other one, dabi is too deep into it to the point his body was almost convulsing as his pants became gasps, like he was struggling to breath and that simply broke your heart.

but as of now it was better to wake him up, leaving down the book, you gently rested one hand on his shoulder leaning down to his ear “dabi, baby...”, you said softly while caressing his upper arm tenderly, feeling relief wash all over you as his eyelashes fluttered briefly against your legs before he slowly opened his eyes still dazed.

after a second dabi noticed right away the blood stains on your shorts, he raised right away from his laid position, a bitter scowl on “fuck! sorry y/n, i–”, the villain got cut off by your sudden hug that left him speechless “it’s fine.” “princess–” “it’s okay to cry in front of me, don’t keep everything inside...”, he snorts closing his arms around your waist holding you tightly while burying his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply your scent that always managed to relax him whenever he had an hard time, just like your presence did “i’m fucking uncool though, and also tainting your shirt with blood...” “i can wash it, you know?! besides... you ain’t uncool just because you’re crying, you’ve suffered dabi and your feelings matter, more than anything else.”, his heart fluttered at hearing your words, just like that more blood started to stream long his cheeks as a broken sob left his lips, you felt tears build up in your eyeline blurring your sight as you started to slowly caress the back of his head “will you stop love me after this?”, he dared to ask with hoarse voice, never pulling back, too embarrassed to look at you and you noticed, that’s way you were the one to pull back, looking into his eyes “if anything, i’ll start love you even more now.”, you answered while cupping his cheeks and running your thumb across his cheekbone, scrunching your nose teasingly at your boyfriend who was left, once more, speechless by your honesty and genuine love for him.

dabi rested an hand on the back of your head, getting a confused look from you, before pulling you onto his chest and hugging you again; eyes wide staring in front of him as his cheeks slowly turned red and heart started hammer hard inside his ribcage.

maybe crying and having nightmares wasn’t as bad as he thought as long as you are by his side, cuddling him.

[resssistance]

Happy 25th birthday to Shoma Uno! To all your smiles, and many more that are yet to shine. Thank you 💙

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

TODOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 5!!!

[salamander18]

something about how claudia was always the 2nd person and always a lesser priority and then finds a group of people that she thinks put her first and then finds a woman who wants to spend their whole immortal lives together and everythings going so well for her until she's murdered with her companion by the very group she thought she could trust.

[liverpool-enjoyer]

its time!!! for my most personal, n honestly what might be my favorite, fic yet!!!

summary: A text Pablo sends when he's injured and bored leads to him getting kissed by his crush.

(Or: In which Pedri doesn't understand.)

angst, hurt no comfort, asexual character, character study (on a real person???), religious introspection, all that good stuff

4316 words, rated g, complete

HUGE thank you to my bestie meb (@mebiselfandi) for beta reading this for me!!! i was so emotional writing this that i didnt even notice how many blatant errors there were so she rlly saved me from looking like an illiterate clown <3 ALSO huge thank you to k (@seedlessmuffins) for helping me figure out some sentence structure n pov related stuff when it was one am n i could barely string together a coherent sentence

anywho, this fic is,,, so important to me. it rlly was therapeutic to get some feelings ive had bottled up onto (digital) paper. your reading n comments would mean the whole entire world <3

sorry i did this to you pablo. youre my favorite ever n therefore the victim of my projecting

[damnation-if]

on today's episode of Hashing Out Concepts Theatre, i spent a while today while waiting for my new fridge/freezer to be installed after my previous one died and i lost all my food hashing out a bunch of concepts for another game idea i have. (rest assured i'm not actually working on it as a game yet i just like to bash out a framework for things every now and then to make my brain do happy chemicals lmao)

putting all of this stuff under a cut since it's a bunch of images and also in case people aren't interested XD

i am regrettably a huge fan of comic books (mostly DC) and i've seen a couple of comic book inspired IFs popping up lately, though when it comes to my own interest, i'm definitely more into a straight interpretation of a comic book universe than a more. the boys-style universe - i'm into the camp lol, not so much the grim and gritty stuff. (though that's just my own personal preference)

anyway the idea behind That's Just Super is something that i really like about certain comics - giving the villains more of a purpose and rounded existence than just existing to be in somebody's rogue's gallery. the joker's angry defence of the batfamily from various other DC evil forces, lex luthor's furious resistance against brainiac alongside superman because it's His planet, damn it, DOOM throwing in with the heroes in every second marvel event comic... i really like stories where villains and evil characters don't always make the Most Evil choice just Because, but have clear and explainable motivations that sometimes bring them into what we'd consider a 'good' alignment because unlike in d&d, there's no real such thing as a concrete moral alignment.

(this is my banner design for it)

the basic idea is that an inexplicable cosmic event removes all of the superheroes from the planet, leaving it vulnerable to attack by evil mindflayer style aliens - unless the supervillains who remain are able to band together despite their more unpredictable, less cooperative natures and save the planet in the heroes' absence. after all... if aliens take over the earth, the villains can't take it over themselves.

here's my fun little UI design idea lmao...

the other major thing about That's Just Super that i've been hashing out is the pc. the basic idea is that you pick your villain identity from a list but you get to customise their like. birth name and secret identity, while the villain identity comes with its own name, costume, and set history (including occasionally past romantic encounters). i like playing around with the way that IF works with the idea of mcs and customisable mcs so i just thought it'd be a fun twist... it also allows me to create nice drama by having set occurrences in the past lol.

so i did some profiles for the nine villain options - three each of the DC triad of tech/metahuman/magic origin. they're all based on a specific kind of villain archetype, and i really tried to limit myself to ones where i could definitely pin down more than one specific influence so it didn't end up like me just making too many analogues haha... even if some of the influences are probably pretty obvious.

weirdly i haven't even Thought about ROs yet since i've been so focussed on the pc... maybe i'll play around with the partially set background idea even more and only have 1 possible RO for each villain choice or something. maybe a couple that you can romance as anybody... not sure. (talionis could definitely have a messy broken romance with his superhero for example)

apologies that readability isn't great but these are mostly just made for me lmao

[willowser]

honestly if i had a bigger brain, i would write an entire android shouto fic

[iamthemaestro]

you know, in certain ways I am disappointed by the fact that clothing is no longer as gendered as it used to be—don’t get me wrong, I think this is a great thing, and it definitely is still more gendered than it should be—but it means that people’s perceptions of you now have this additional emphasis on the way that you physically look, which is to say, the unchangeable aspects of your appearance. in the sense that, like, gender is based not on the way you present yourself but on the way you are. and if you don’t physically match to people’s perceptions of what “is” male or female or whatever, then to them you just aren’t.

throughout history, and in some extent today, so much of gender was how you presented yourself and how you performed your gender—which is a problem in itself, of course, but it also kind of gave you the option to “reject” one gender by choosing to present and act as the other, even if it came at a great cost, because people would generally take this outward expression at such face value. in a paradoxical sense, the rigidity of, say, victorian gender expectations made it easier for one to “not achieve,” or even outright reject, their assigned gender, and in that sense, made it easier to transform it. and you can’t do that in the same way anymore, which, as I said, is a double edged sword, but like… I don’t know. it’s a feeling mostly from personal experience, arising from my own historical fantasies as a history-oriented person—a hundred years ago, if i wore men’s clothes as a woman, I’d be told that would undermine my assigned gender and make me “too masculine,” which, you know, would have been the goal. nowadays if I dress entirely masculine I’m just a girl wearing boys’ clothes because people can’t ever see anything else. I don’t know. I guess I’ll just sit here daydreaming about running off in the 18th century to join the british army by “disguising myself as a man” instead of being given one look at a reenactment event and observed with the remark that “the british units tend to have really good female impressions.”