#( thr _ aftermath )

[certifiedbi]

Never in my one million years of watching motorbike racing have I ever seen someone lose their entire front suspension in once peice

[tired-and-unjellied]

so many things to do...

go sign document at the job agency, come back, plan when to cook, send email, cook, eat in a timely matter, make phone call, attend online workshop, attend online coaching. (it's objectively not that much)

[pine-needle-scuffle]

I hate feeling your mental well-being go down the drain. This is not a proportionate response to stress, this is not a big deal, why does every inch of my body want to be hurt. I feel like I'm just watching while my being wants to crumple in on itself for relief.

[queer-starwars-bracket]

Queer Star Wars Characters (Round 1): General Bracket Match 32

Ceret/Terec | Identity: non-binary | Media: The High Republic comic (2020)

Ceret and Terec were a pair of Kotabi bond-twins Jedi, meaning they shared a consciousness across two bodies. Promotional material has clarified that their use of “they/them” is about their gender not plurality. They’ve also been described as “trans non-binary”, a useful clarification here. Because they presumably were assigned a binary gender at birth, so despite their different neurology, I haven’t labeled them as alien non-binary. They’re very closed off, increasing the uncanniness of their nature.

They’ve unfortunately kind of been a punching bag in the comic series they appear in, with one or both of them suffering something terrible in basically every issue. However, this typically provides the protagonists important information about whatever they’re facing. They’re in most issues of the 2020 run of the main High Republic comic series, taking the same missions as the protagonist Keeve Trennis. When she went undercover with the Nihil, she was joined by Terec, so that they could give updates to the Jedi through their twin. However, in that mission they were nearly killed by the Leveler, forcing both twins into hibernation. Thankfully, they awakened from their hibernation during the destruction of Starlight Beacon, thanks to Avar Kriss’ battle meditation. After participating in the group Force feat to keep the top half of the station together just a little bit longer, they escaped in an escape pod with Keeve.

Rae Sloane | Identity: bisexual | Media: Aftermath Trilogy

Rae Sloane was created for the first New EU novel A New Dawn, where she is a sympathetic antagonist. Dutiful and loyal to the Empire, she serves it because when she was younger she was attacked by criminals and saved by stormtroopers. She opposed ruling through fear and enslavement, because such tactics were ultimately ineffective for maintaining order. As a cadet, she foiled an assassination attempt against Vader and the Emperor, making her a special favorite of Vader. She was assigned to leader the secret operation to complete the genocide of Alderaan by killing off planet survivors. Her internal thought process there remains unknown. She also got lost and missed the Battle of Hoth, but Vader didn’t kill her for it like everyone expected.

She appeared in a handful of short stories and the Kanan comic series, but her character really came into its own in the Aftermath trilogy. After the Battle of Endor, she formed one of the more powerful Imperial remnants. This attracted the attention of Gallius Rax, the man who Palpatine had groomed to arrange the establishment of the First Order. Under his guidance, her remnant grew in power and she assumed the rank of Grand Admiral. It was from her remnant that phase two of Operation Cinder was launched, the elimination of all imperial remnants that weren’t aligned with the Contingency plan. She attended the New Republic Liberation Day celebrated, signaling the beginning of a diplomatic end to the war. However, Rax had arranged the mass assassination of New Republic leadership using inhibitor chips implanted on former imperial prisoners. These tactics disgusted Sloane, turning her against Rax. Rax assumed control of her remnant and she was forced to team up with the rebel Norra Wexley to take him down.

Nora and Sloane tracked Rax to Jakku, where the cultish devotion of the Imperials Rax had deemed worthy and the brutality required for Imperials to survive after the war had turned disturbed her. The two women tracked Rax to the Observatory, a secret site where Rax was going to complete a Dark Side ritual which would cause Jakku to explode- killing most of the New Republic military and Imperials deemed unworthy. They stopped the ritual, and Sloane killed Rax. As Rax died, he told her that the rest of the Contingency plan was for her to take a replica of the Imperialis and lead the remains of the Imperial Remnant into the Unknown Regions. Sloane did so, hoping she could lead the Empire away from the crazy plans of people like Palpatine and eventually return to the galaxy to save it from itself. She did so, founding the First Order. Then ??????. It’s assumed Snoke killed her at some point, but honestly everything is up in the air. Her absence in the new Shadow Council in the Mandalorian, is conspicuous. She is possibly already dead by this point, or she has sent Brendol in her place as a deliberate snub, unaware he seems to be part of the coup that will eventually befall her.  She has been confirmed as being bisexual, and certainly had sexual tension with her aide Adea Rite. The only textual element of her orientation in the trilogy is that she specifically muses that she never had a chance to have a “wife or husband”. She’s also kind of a nerd. When trying to find out more about Rax or Kanan, she went to a massive imperial intelligence library. She was considered the only officer of her rank sufficiently knowledgeable enough about shuttle technology to conduct an inspection. She also successfully figured out that the Millenium Falcon survived fleeing through the asteroid field in Empire Strikes Back.

[straightyuri]

I love acting like baron isn't scary as if the original scene didn't make me go WHAT THE FUCK?? But they're cute... they're like a little girl in a horror movie to me. It would be so good at standing at the end of a hall motionlessly

[besaea]

— aftermath

a my turn post-performance thread for @badabe  taking place backstage of mcountdown

​     it’s over. 

     after what felt like a lifetime of stressing over the my turn performance, it’s finally over. she feels the adrenaline rushing in her ears and for a moment, she can’t move. she gets ushered off the stage with the other performers, walking down the stairs back to where their waiting room had been. she feels numb—had she really just done that? been on stage and performed for hundreds of people? maybe thousands, if there are that many viewers for the show? 

     she has no idea, but to be the center, to possibly be the thumbnail on the youtube channel (it’ll probably be her or junho, right? she has no idea) her brain feels sort of frazzled from all of it but she also feels incredibly proud. the silence is ringing in her ears but, all of a sudden, she can hear everything again. the buzz of all the other contestants chattering, whether it be complaining about messing up or rejoicing about their first official stage. she breathes out a sigh of relief that it’s all done and over with, hoping no one had seen her break for a moment. 

     “how are you feeling?” saea asks randomly, turning to the person closest to her, who turns out to be bada. “i kind of feel like i went through a whole out-of-body experience, because nothing feels real right now,” she admits, laughing.

[suenitos]

i honestly don’t know if it would be better to be asleep rn

[savageboar]

im sick of coming home from work at 8pm and my fucking aquarium light is still on like she can't press a button before going up to her bedroom in the evening. id use the automatic timer but i don't think it goes from the daylight to moonlight mode it just shuts it off completely and my fish and plants are way happier with the moonlight on at night.

[spnbabe67]

Hold Me Tight and Don't Let Go

Kinktober Day 3: Make Up Sex (D.W)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem Original Character

Warnings: Smut, Canon level violence, Wounds, Mentions of blood, Descriptions of a panic attack.

Summary: In the aftermath of a hunt nearly gone wrong Dean tries to make amends with Tori

Word Count: 1542

Authors Note: This is my first entry for @jacklesversebingo 2024!

Prompt: "I know you're mad at me right now, but will a kiss change your mind?"

Taglist:

@zepskies

Dean had fucked up, he knew that. Tori didn’t speak to him the entire way back, not even making eye contact even though his head rested in her lap, Sam driving the Impala. Sam, bless his little brother, had tried to ease the tension by babbling on about how it could have been a lot worse, that Dean was lucky Sam had sunk the Demon Blade into the demon theyd been hunting before it had a chance to slash it’s own knife across Deans throat. It was a reckless move, Dean had distracted the demon who'd had Tori pinned to the wall by shooting it, which had an effect akin to a pebble thrown at an elephant; which is to say, it only made it mad.

But it was those could haves and what if's that had Tori deathly silent. Because what if Sam hadn't been in a position to gank the demon? What if she had to be supernaturally pinned to a wall while she watched her lovers throat be slit? We had a plan. We all knew the plan. Why couldn't he have just fucking stuck to it?

To her credit, Tori did help Dean out of the car, hand placement careful of his probably broken ribs, bruises and small scrapes he earned himself going toe to toe with the demon. She couldn't bring herself to look higher than his chest, because then she'd have to see the thin red line across his neck, still occasionally leaking blood if Dean swallowed too hard. Because if she did, Tori knew the steadily crumbling dam keeping all emotion at bay would come crashing down.

Sam looked like he was gonna say something as Tori and Dean ended up at their room, but must have thought better of it, instead continuing down the hall to his own room. Tori gingerly lowered Dean onto bed, warily eyeing him just in case he started to topple forward. Once she was sure he wasn't about to go ass over tit, Tori turned from the bed, washing her hands and retrieving the med kit from the medicine cabinet above the sink.

“Tori-”

“Stop talking.” Tori cut Dean off, dark brown eyes cutting to his. “Just,” she sighed. “Don't talk.”

She knew she could have been gentler about it, but Tori didn't have the patience to deal with Dean’s attempt at placating her frustration. Tori pulled her legs under her as she sat on the bed, picking out a couple squares of gauze and a cleaning agent, dousing the first one thoroughly. Unlike her tone of voice, Tori’s hands were gentle, carefully cleaning the shallow wound. She had to scrub a little to get rid of the trails of red that had dried as they dripped down the tan column of his throat but Dean had sat still for all of it, the only sign of discomfort was the occasional wince, the crinkling of skin around his mouth and his eyes.

Tori sighed as she placed the bandage, if you could call a strip of gauze and medical tape a bandage, across Dean's throat, her thumbs sweeping back and forth over the tape, the adhesive warming under her lovers skin. Both of them sat in the quiet, Tori unable to bring herself to look at Dean. Tori didn't flinch as she felt Dean's hand cup the side of her face, tilting her head until she had to meet his emerald gaze.

“Sweetheart-” Dean started again, his voice raspy, eyes searching her face.

“No.” Tori pulled away from Dean's touch, standing from the bed, running a hand over her head, the other planted on her hip. “You don’t get to give me excuses. You knew the fucking plan, you knew I was fine!”

Tori couldn't stop the tears from flowing this time, and she wasn't sure if they originated out of anger or shock caused by fear. Her chest ached, the empty pit in her stomach threatening to swallow her whole. All of a sudden she couldn't seem to catch her breath.

“We had a plan.” She repeated it to herself over and over. “I was in front of the trap. All he had to do was walk another two steps! But you.” Tori jabbed a finger towards Dean, hiccuping as she sucked in breaths. “I was fine! But you almost weren't.”

Her tears came in wracking sobs now, blurring her vision and coating her face but Tori couldn’t bring herself to care. The solid expanse of the door met her back and Tori felt her knees give, sliding all the way to the floor. Tori sobbed harder as she felt Dean's warmth envelope her, strong arms pulling her into him, his familar scent adding another layer of comfort as he stroked her head.

“Breathe, Sweetheart.” Dean murmured into her hair and he pressed kisses there, rocking her back and forth, having pulled her into his lap sideways. “I’m here. I’m okay.”

He ignored the way his ribs complained, hugging Tori tighter, holding her head to his chest. From there Tori could hear the strong and steady heartbeat under her ear. The even thumping of his heart echoed in her head, overriding the virus of terror flooding her system. Gradually her ragged and uneven breaths slowed, ever so often hitching as her body reregulated itself.

“I know you're mad at me, but will a kiss change your mind?” Dean tipped her head back up.

Tori didn't deign to reply, instead just gripping his face and kissing him. It was equal parts soft and desperate, assuring herself that he was here, that the way his stubble scraped against her palms, the strands of his hair sliding between her fingers wasn't just a figment of her imagination. Dean ran his hand up and down her back and her sides, still in that comforting touch, the other worming its way into the plaits of her hair.

Head still hazy, Tori couldn't follow the avenues of how both of them managed to get off the floor, Dean laying her on the bed as if he wasn't the injured one. Somewhere along the way she'd lost her t-shirt, her flannel long gone during the hunt, Dean's shirt half off as Tori clawed at him to feel the unbroken skin beneath. Eventually that was removed too, tossed to the dark corners of their room.

Tori pulled Dean down atop her, needing to feel the weight of him. It wasn't enough. She needed to feel him inside her, needed to get as close to him as possible. Dean must have felt the same, aiding her in discarding his jeans and boxers. Dean’s mouth never left hers, his arms cradled her close to him as he gently pushed himself into her. He breathed in Tori's gasp at the fullness of him inside her, her nails digging into his back to steady herself. His forehead, beaded with sweat rested against hers as she hiked her legs higher up on his hips, sending him deeper into her.

Dean gingerly rocked his hips, sliding in and out of her as he swept his tongue across Tori’s bottom lip. Tori opened her mouth to him, her thighs wrapped around his waist as she moaned breathily each time his length bottomed out, that one veins along the top of his cock brushing against that sweet spot deep inside her. This slow, loving pace was a nice change to what had become their normal. By no means did they go fast and rough all the time, but this, this intimate and slow lovemaking was nice. Better than nice.

“I love you.” Tori mumbled it into his mouth, repeating it between long and sloppy kisses.

Dean propped himself up on one arm, only just enough to take in his lovers face, still red and puffy, tears still drying on her cheeks. His thumb trailed over her lip, swollen from their kisses. “I'm not going anywhere, my love. I'm right here. I'm sorry.”

Dean could see tears start to well back up in Tori's eyes before she pulled his mouth back to her, kissing him hard, ending the string of apologies falling from his lips. Tori could feel her orgasm slowly building, urged on by the hand Dean had snuck between their bodies to rub his thumb in small circles on her clit. Dean felt Tori clamp down on him, thighs gripping his waist as she came, swallowing her moans into his mouth, his own release not far behind.

Dean didn't bother pulling out of Tori, simply turning them both on their sides, Tori half over his torso. She shivered as his calloused fingers trailed up and down her sides, tracing the curve of her spine.

“I'm sorry.” Dean mumbled against her hairline, hugging her gently.

“What’s done is done.” Tori pressed a kiss to his chest, to that tattoo over his heart. “Just don't scare me like that again.”

“I’ll try.”

Tori huffed a puff of air out her nose, settling her head back over his heart, his heartbeat the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep

[icycoldninja]

The submition about reader and V loving eachother then turning back into Vergil was a story request. Sorry for being unclear. "Let's say reader and V falls in love with eachother but they both know that eventually V will have to become Vergil eventually, reader is worried that when that happens, Vergil will not feel the way he used to about them while he was V. Do you think Vergil would still love reader or would he not? How would the story play out? "

Hey, don't worry, glad we cleared this up. Enjoy!

He loved you (V/Vergil x Reader)

You and V were inseparable from the moment you met. No matter what the others did or said, you two refused to leave each other's side, even if it was dangerous.

Yes, your emotions consumed you both, but you were happy, truly happy. You'd never met anyone like V before, and V, being a part of Vergil, had never felt such warmth and love since Eva died. He was crazy about you, and you about him. You were so sure that V was the one, the love of your life who would top all others, the only man you would ever love from this point forward.

But of course, such beautiful things never last. V was eventually ripped away from you, forced by his shambling body to return to his original self, a man named Vergil who was both nothing like V and everything like V all at the same time. He was serious, focused, with a heart and body of steel. You felt both intimidated and at ease in his presence. Even if he didn't remember you, at least he was strong enough to defeat any demons that might come your way--assuming he wouldn't kill you first. See how this is an emotional conundrum?

Thankfully for you, Vergil seemed to carry with him a small remnant of V's personality and memories, and with that tiny bit of your lover's identity came a portion of V's love. Vergil kept this love buried deep inside, but it was still there.

Vergil hated these unusual feelings that he wasn't used to, and sought desperately to find a way to quell such foolish emotions. However, to do that, he first had to discern the cause of it all. After a while of thinking, the half devil realized that this must be because of V, as well as you, the newcomer he tried so hard not to like. It seemed his human half had gone and fallen in love during his time on earth, and now Vergil had to deal with the aftermath.

Try as he might to deny his feelings, Vergil still found himself repeatedly visiting you, if not for the sake of a mission or something else equally important, than just for the sake of visiting you. He absolutely detested admitting this, even if it was only to himself while he lay in bed, staring aimlessly at thr ceiling, but he loved you. He really did.

Someday, he will have to admit his feelings because they will simply be too strong to hide any longer, and then, you will rejoice, because even though he's physically no longer with you, V still cares for you; he's working to keep you safe, from behind the scenes.

[gffa]

Hi, since you’ve been reading the star wars books, do you have one you’d recommend as a starting point for someone who’s never read any of them and is interested in seeing what they’re like?

Hi! This is going to be very subjective, given that I'm not sure what your favorite characters are or which era you're interested in, and if you're interested in the best books out there or ones that typify what the books are overall like. BEST BOOKS: - Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, god-tier ability to take my favorite SW movie and make it even more emotional and hard-hitting. It adds even more depth to the story, has beautiful writing, and just is a really satisfying read imo. - Padawan by Kiersten White, which is a story about a young Obi-Wan going on an adventure by himself and I think really captures how I see his youth, that there was struggle and difficulty, but overall it explains why he loves being a Jedi and why there's so much joy in his life. - Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule is good for if you're interested in the High Republic stories and I still think is easily my favorite of the entire line. There was so much good foreshadowing and banger lines that really got Star Wars and was an exciting plot to really hook me on THR.

BOOKS THAT MOST TYPIFY WHAT SW BOOKS ARE LIKE: - Brotherhood by Mike Chen is one that I have some stuff I side-eye in it (everything with Mace) and some stuff I was over the moon for (everything with Obi-Wan) and some stuff I was in the middle about (everything with Anakin). That's Star Wars novels in a nutshell for you! (I also think Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott is another good starting place, it's an audiodrama, but it gives an interesting backstory to the character, has some interesting Jedi worldbuilding, and does some really great character work with Asajj Ventress.) - Wild Space by Karen Miller is a Legends book (and I usually try to stick to Disney continuity just for ease's sake) but it has some eyeroll-worthy stuff, some unearned stuff, and some absolutely batshit bonkers in the best way stuff. It's a RIDE to read and maybe not one to take super seriously but I feel like it captures the spirit of SW books. (Alternate suggestion: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart is a really good Yoda & Dooku book with a lot of good appearances by other Jedi characters and one of the better books for Jedi stuff, plus lots of feelings and banger conversations between characters.) (Alternate-alternate suggestion: Another Legends suggestion, since there are a lot of SW books in that continuity, you could read the Jedi Apprentice series by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson, as long as you know they're aimed at a pre-teen audience and are written accordingly and they are SUPER dramatic and put Obi-Wan through the wringer. I'm not always wild about Watson's writing, but when she writes a banger line, she writes a BANGER line, and they're very fun books that a lot of fandom still folds into their writing.) - The Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig is a good place to start if you want to explore the connective tissue between the originals and the sequels, though I always recommend that I think they work a thousand times better as audiobooks. It's mostly new characters (which, welcome to SW novels) but it also has some really good Leia and Mon Mothma scenes, too. - Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray is for if you're more interested in the Original Trilogy characters and while I wish there'd been more worldbuilding in this one, it's a solid story from someone who genuinely loves this character, and will give you a good idea of what you can expect from Leia books. (If you're more interested in a Han/Leia story, The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis is on the same level. Solid story with occasional moments of fantastic. I had a blast with the Leia sections especially!)

[xoxoladyaz]

AU-gust, Day 4: Runaway

My Little Runaway (5+1)

In the aftermath of the “earthquakes” – Wayne doesn’t buy that government bullshit for a second, earthquakes his ass – Hawkins becomes entirely uninhabitable. And said United States government, out of the goodness of its heart, deigns to relocate all of its remaining citizens to one of the nearby towns in Indiana (except for Eddie and his friends that got all mixed up in that bullshit Wayne still doesn’t fully know about; all of them get relocated to Illinois, Wayne included.)

And it's nice, in the immediate aftermath, having all of them around, Jim and Joyce and those kids. They make Eddie come to life in a way that Wayne had worried he’d never see again during those first few days in the hospital. It’s nice having other adults to talk to, who understand the circles under his eyes, who wake up alongside their own kids when they start screaming. Hell, it’s even nice living next to the Harrington’s boy – Steve, who looks just like his father yet couldn’t act more different. Steve, who shepherds around the kids and that girl with the short blonde hair without a complaint.

Steve, who is starting to spend a lot of time in Eddie’s bedroom these days.

So despite the hullaballoo and pain it took to get here, Wayne is grateful that they all live so close, that their houses are all in a row on that sunny suburban block. He’s grateful to have a house, with neighbors that are actually his friends. And he’s grateful that when Steve and Eddie do start dating, when Eddie is all but moved into Steve’s small house next-door, that he’s still close enough to see his kid every day.

(At least, he’s grateful for it at first.)

1. The Lawn Incident

The first time it happens, they aren’t dating yet.

“WAYNE!”

Wayne startles at the sound of Eddie’s shout as he sprints through the front door, screen shutting behind him with a loud bang.

“What? What is it?!”

The government is after them. That kid from Hawkins is there, he’s got a gun. Eddie’s hurt, he’s bleeding, he’s – 

“Get me away from him!” Eddie screeches, gesturing at the door he just ran through. Wayne grabs for his rifle (the one he keeps next to the door just in case) and runs forward, expecting to see a mob on his doorstep – 

There’s no mob.

There’s no sign of anyone. Just Steve Harrington mowing Claudia Henderson’s lawn across the street, shirtless –

Wayne sets the gun back down by the door and turns to shoot Eddie an unimpressed look.

“What? What?! Didn’t you see that? He’s trying to kill me!” Eddie pants, peering out the window and ducking as Steve turns. He sees Wayne and waves.

“He’s not the one you need to worry about killing you, boy.”

Wayne leaves Eddie to his moaning about the boy’s physique and tan and sweat and heads to the kitchen. (Surely 10 AM isn’t too early for a beer.)

2. The First Date

Wayne’s honestly grateful that the Harrington boy moves faster than his own nephew. If it was up to Eddie, he’d be pining for years. Steve, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to invite him to dinner the next time he saw Eddie after The Lawn Incident. And he has the insight to plan their dinner date for the following day, meaning Eddie only has twenty-four hours to work himself into a tizzy.

(Granted, that’s plenty of time for Eddie to accomplish that, but still.)

Anyways, Wayne has to sit through Eddie parading across the living room in various band shirts of varying quality before Eddie finally decides on the one he’d tried on first (Iron Maiden, and Wayne doesn’t have the heart to tell him that maybe a grinning skeleton isn’t the best idea for a first date but hey, the Harrington boy already knows what he’s getting into), and Eddie’s debating the merits of sneakers versus boots when the doorbell rings.

Eddie spins around so fast to stare at Wayne that Wayne has to stifle his laughter. “He’s here!”

“You gonna get the door then, or are you just gonna let him decorate the porch?”

“Right, right,” Eddie mutters, first to Wayne and then to himself. Throwing his shoulders back, he takes a deep breath and makes his way to the front door. Wayne watches as Eddie nods to himself once, twice, and pulls the door open – 

And then just stands there, blinking at the Harrington boy, before slamming the door in his face.

“Eds? Everything okay?”

Eddie whips around and backs up against the door, pale like he’s seen a ghost. He tries to whisper something to Wayne, but Wayne can’t hear it. “Sorry?”

“I said HE BROUGHT ME FLOWERS!”

“Are you gonna let him in and get a vase or – ”

“Huh? Oh, SHIT - ” Eddie turns back around and throws open the door. The Harrington boy is standing there with an amused grin on his face that only grows wider as Eddie starts babbling, snatches the flowers out of his hand and makes a break for the kitchen, leaving Wayne and the kid to look at each other.

“He’s a little excitable,” Wayne finally breaks the silence, and the Harrington boy laughs.

“I know. I like that about him, though.”

Wayne lets himself finally smile at the Harrington kid – Steve. “Me too, kid. Me too.”

3. The GED

“Wayne, you gotta hide me!”

Wayne barely has time to set his coffee down before Eddie is sliding into the living room and diving behind the couch. “Oh? And what’s the emergency today?”

Eddie pokes his head up from behind the chartreuse couch cushion. “Wheeler’s gone crazy, Wayne! Do you know how many flashcards she has?”

“More than a few, I’d hope. Your test is coming up next month.”

“They’re color-coded,” Eddie hisses. The doorbell rings and he dives back down, making a meep sound.

Wayne rolls his eyes and stands up out of his rocking chair. “I guess I’ll get the door.”

“NO NO NO - ”

He opens the door and Steve is standing there, alongside the older Wheeler girl and Steve’s friend Robin. “Wayne,” the Wheeler girl greets him with a tight smile, and then she’s passing him and powerwalking into the living room, Robin at her heels. (And judging by the immediate hollering Wayne hears, she finds Eddie relatively quickly.)

“Evening,” Wayne greets Steve over the din of voices in his living room. “I take it studying’s going well?”

The sound of something breaking cuts Steve off before he has a chance to reply, and Steve shoots a nervous look at Wayne. “It’s, uh, it’s going. I think Nance might have met her match.”

“Mmm,” Wayne hums, and then something else crashes onto the floor and ya know, Wayne didn’t need to watch Bonanza tonight anyways.

“I heard Hopper got some new IPAs from Wisconsin?” Steve offers, wincing as the sound of Eddie and Wheeler arguing meets its crescendo.

“Let me grab my jacket.”

4. The Fight

Wayne’s not expecting there to be any lights on when he gets home from the shop that day; Eddie had said something about an anniversary dinner with Steve, something about six months of dating, so it’s a shock to walk through the door and see Eddie swaddled under a blanket, eating ice cream while watching The Thing.

“Everything okay, son?”

“Of course! I mean, what would I have to be upset about?” Eddie snaps, forcefully digging his spoon into the Chunky Monkey.

“Right,” Wayne says, and then slowly makes his way into his bedroom where he makes a call.

“Eddie, please, I just want to talk - ”

“Sorry, son, it’s just me.”

A choked-up Steve sighs over the phone. “Hey Wayne.”

“Hey, kid. You mind telling me why Eddie’s on a mission to clean out Ben & Jerry’s tonight?”

 Steve sniffles. “I asked him to be my boyfriend. Like, officially.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Eddie assumed we already were, which is bullshit because I asked him, like, after our fourth date and he said no, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to be ‘Steve Harrington’s Boyfriend’ or whatever but apparently it was a joke and, I mean, it’s not like I’ve been dating anyone else but I just thought - ”

“That he meant what he said, right,” Wayne huffs out a breath. “Let me go talk to him for a bit, okay son?”

“ ‘kay. Thanks, Wayne,” Steve replies quietly, and then he hangs up the phone. Wayne takes a moment to look at the ceiling – Lord, he loves his kid, but this is not what he wanted to be doing on his Friday – but he heads back into the living room anyways and turns off the TV.

“Hey!”

“Son, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About what you said to Steve, that’s what.”

Eddie grumbles, stabbing his spoon through the bottom of the ice cream carton. “You’re on his side then?”

“Hey, you’re my kid. I’m always gonna be on your side. But that means sometimes I gotta tell you when you’re in the wrong and right now, son, you’re in the wrong.”

Eddie throws his head back against the couch with a sigh. “It’s just – he should have known!”

“Eds, we both got a bit of that Munson-meanness in us. We both know that sometimes our jokes don’t sound like jokes. How was your boy supposed to know that if you didn’t talk to him about it after the fact? He can’t read your mind, kid.”

“I know, I know, I fucking know!” Eddie scrunched his face up and threw the empty ice cream carton to the side. “It’s my fucking fault and I just – I hate that he thought I was just trying him out for six fucking months, as if I’d actually do something like that to him!”

“Well,” Wayne sighs, “then it sounds like both of you let your own shit get in the way of things. And the only way you can fix it now is if you talk it out.”

“And say what?”

“That it was a stupid joke and that you’re not the sort of person who’d treat anyone that way. And for the record, kid, I think he knows that. He might be gone on you, but he’s not the type of guy who’d stay with someone who treated him badly.”

Eddie bites at his lip for a little bit. “Okay. I’m gonna go talk to Steve.”

“Good,” Wayne nods, and then Eddie is fast-walking to the door – 

And he still has Wayne’s blanket.

“Bring that blanket back!”

“Yes, Wayne.”

“And some more Chunky Monkey!”

“Yes, Wayne!”

(Wayne’ll be lucky if he sees either in the next year.)

5. The Game

It’s a perfect fall Sunday; a cool breeze flows in through the open window, Wayne has a cold beer and a new can of peanuts in front of him, and the Colts are starting as receivers for the first playoff game of the season. He has four blissful hours of peace in front of him, just him, his football team, and –

“WAYNE!”

Wayne groans as Eddie slams into the house. “WAYNE, I need – no, no, no, WHY? You’re watching the game too?!”

“It’s the playoffs, son,” Wayne says. Or, rather, he tries to say; a whole stampede of footsteps follow Eddie into the house and suddenly Wayne’s surrounded by his kid, six teenagers, a pre-teen and the Corroded Coffin boys (who were in town for a visit). 

“Whatever, he can watch the game Eddie, we just need a table - ”

“ – grab the extra chairs, we can get it set up - ”

“Wait, wait, wait, set up what exactly?” Wayne asks but the teens have scattered, running to all ends of his house to set up something at his dining room table and – ah, yes. Their dragon game.

“Really, son?” Wayne asks as Eddie walks by and snatches a couch pillow. “Can’t you do this at your house?”

“I promised Steve that he could have the house if his team made the finals or whatever - ”

“The playoffs, Ed.”

“ – yeah, that’s what I said, but we need to finish up this campaign before Jeff and Gareth go back to school and - ”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Wayne scoops his beer and his peanuts up and heads for the door.

“ – only six hours or so and – hey, where are you going?”

“I’m running away,” Wayne replies drily as he shoots Eddie a final wave. “Steve has a bigger TV anyways.”

Eddie lets out a theatrical gasp, but Wayne is too far away to hear whatever else he has to say. 

(Steve does have a bigger TV. And Jim and Charles are fans, too. Maybe they have more of that IPA.)

+1 The Proposal

Wayne’s used to it by now, the sound of his front door slamming shut. It usually signals that Eddie’s in one of his moods, or is excited to share something about the store or Steve or their brand new puppy – Strider, because his kid is a nerd – or because it’s been seventy-two hours and at that point Eddie usually feels the need to make an entrance to check in on Wayne because it’s rare these day that they go three days without at least checking in, but when Wayne goes to check the door, it isn’t Eddie standing there.

It's Steve, and he’s panting.

“Steve? You okay, son?”

‘Yeah, yeah,” he nods, “I just – I don’t know how much longer I can put it off.”

Wayne feels warm all the way in the cockles of his heart. “It’s just ‘til this weekend, son.”

“I know! But Eddie’s so smart,” Steve complains, running his fingers through his hair, “he’s so smart and he knows something’s up and I’m trying not to act weird but because I’m trying not to act weird then he knows that I’m acting weird, and I’m afraid he’s going to pull away again and I just – we just keep having moments where I want to tell him and I keep having to stop myself and I don’t know if I can wait any longer – ”

“Then don’t.”

“ – and I – what?”

Wayne shrugs. “If you don’t want to wait any longer, then don’t.”

Steve looks lost. “But I – I just want this to be perfect. Eddie deserves something perfect.”

“Kid, you are his something perfect,” Wayne replies, and Steve flushes bright red. “You could ask him while he’s on the shitter and it’d be perfect because it’s you.”

“You really think so?” Steve asks shyly. “I mean, not that I’m going to ask him when he’s going to the bathroom - ”

“You probably could do a little better than that,” Wayne agrees, and the two men are laughing when Eddie bursts into the room behind them.

“WHAT is going on here, hmm?” Eddie exclaims.

“Eddie,” Wayne starts, trying to stop whatever monologue is coming but Eddie cuts him off.

“No, Wayne, don’t try to tell me something isn’t going on because something is going on and you,” Eddie says, turning to point at a bright-red Steve, “you are being incredibly suspicious right now and if I didn’t know any better, I would say that you keep running every time we’re in the same room because you don’t want to be with me anymore but that can’t possibly be true because I woke up with you - ”

“EDWARD ANTHONY MUNSON,” Wayne interrupts, completely unwilling to hear whatever scandalous thing was going to come out of Eddie’s mouth next, but it turns out he didn’t have to be the one to interrupt Eddie after all because Eddie has stopped talking entirely. He’s just standing in Wayne’s living room and gaping at Steve.

Steve, who is kneeling on Wayne’s shaggy carpet, a black ring box in his hand.

Wayne’s throat tightens up as soon as he sees the tears lining Eddie’s eyes. “Steve?”

“I was going to wait until next weekend,” Steve starts shakily. “I had a whole plan. I was going to take you to Metallica next weekend and wait until they started playing our song - ”

“Nothing Else Matters.”

“ – right, ‘Nothing Else Matters,’” Steve replies, his own eyes swimming but he’s beaming at Eddie, he’s smiling up at Wayne’s son and shit, Wayne’s going to need a handkerchief himself, “and then I was going to slide this ring onto your hand and – I know that we’ve only been together a year, I know it’s really, really fast – ”

Eddie’s half-laughing and half-gasping for breath, tears streaming down his face and collecting in the corners of his smile.

“ – and I know that it’s only for us, really, but being with you – this past year has been the best year of my life and maybe it makes me selfish, but I want the rest of them, too. I want them all with you, Eds. Will you - ” Steve swallows, bracing himself, “would you do me the honor of being my not-at-all-lawfully-wedded husband?”

Eddie nods and gasps and shouts out the word “YES!” and then he’s throwing himself on top of Steve, laughing and crying together and kissing and then Steve is sliding the ring on Eddie’s finger – a small black diamond with a silver band, one that Wayne had helped Steve decide on out of four possible choices – and then they’re kissing again and murmuring words of love into each others’ mouths and the moment is everything Wayne has ever wanted for Eddie but if Eddie keeps kissing Steve like that it is going to quickly become something Wayne doesn’t want to see, so he interrupts.

“Congratulations, sons,” he says, and then Eddie is jumping up and running in Wayne’s arms, laughing and jumping and asking if he knew and if he wants to see the ring and if Wayne knew it would ever be possible for Eddie to be this happy.

“Oh, I knew,” Wayne replies with a sly grin. “Knew it the day you ran away because you saw him mowing Claudia’s lawn shirtless.”

“Hey!”

“Aww, my little runaway,” Steve says, hugging Eddie from behind and pressing a smattering of kisses against his cheek. “Just as long as you let me run away with you from now on.”

“Deal,” Eddie says, turning to smile at Steve and yeah, Wayne can give them a few moments while he digs out the IPAs. (They’re not champagne but hey, they’ll do.)

(And having Steve as a son-in-law? Yeah. That’ll do too.) 

[s0fti3w1tch]

DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND SWING

Context: TD!Leo/Trainee jumped out of the bleachers after SLAU!Leo/One (@dianagj-art) turned a Mystic Tot (@thr-333's AU) into a baseball

Aftermath:

w/ @trubblegumm's BloodBath Leo, @thr-333's Mystic Tots Leo (little cameo with the rest of the turtles and Splints), @gemini-forest's Coin Toss Michael

Below cut, first drawing w/o the blur and vfx

[bullet-prooflove]

All The Federales Say... : Alden Parker x Reader

Tagging: @crazy4chickennuggets@kmc1989@sarakafarrah @ @mandy426

Companion piece to The Secret

Trigger warning for loss of a child

Alden can’t stand country music. Whenever it comes on the radio it feels like someone is driving an ice pick right into his brain. He becomes reserved, short tempered, abrasive. You’ve never been able to decipher the reasoning behind it not until the night he tells you about Bonnie.

“We were coming back from swimming club when it happened.” He finds himself saying as the two of you sit on the chocolate brown Chesterfield in the greenhouse. Your fingertips stroke along the underside of his forearm, tracing over the Eagles lyrics tattooed there. “Bonnie was asleep in the back seat. She always used to drop off after those sessions...”

He smiles at the memory. Bonnie’s unruly dark curls falling across her dainty features, her cheek pressed into the side of the car seat. She’d been wearing a black and white striped dress that day, a silver barrette clipped into her hair.  He still carries the damn thing around in his wallet, despite the fact it’s rusted. It’s the only thing he has left of his daughter because Viv had purged the nursery in the aftermath, she couldn’t stand the sight of anything that reminded her of Bonnie.

“When you have kids, you have all these dreams for them.” He tells you, his voice getting a little rough as he watches your fingers trail over the ink. “I thought she was going to grow up, go to the Olympics, bring home a gold medal...It seems so stupid now.” 

He trails off then, swallowing hard against the build-up of emotion in his chest. It’s getting hard to breathe because he’s back there in that place fiddling with the dial on the radio as Viv focuses on the road ahead, her hands gripping the steering wheel.

“Things get hazy after that.” He sighs as his hand captures yours. He holds on tight squeezing your fingers because the road he’s about to go down, it’s not one he wants to walk alone. “They tell me I hit my head in the crash. I remember fragments. Viv was driving, there was a Willie Nelson song on the radio, it was Pancho and Lefty. We were singing that hook, you know the one? ‘All the Federales say…’”

He's there now, right back in that car with the taste of metal in his mouth and smoke filling his lungs. Viv’s slumped over the air bag, blood trickling out of her nose and he’s trying to wake her but Viv, her eyes, they just won’t open.

All the Federales say…

That song, that damn song is still playing and he realises that underneath the lyrics he can’t hear Bonnie, she should be awake now, she should be screaming but there’s just this silence, this horrible, empty nothingness and Alden knows, he just knows.

He forces himself to look anyway and what he sees...

Christ it still haunts his dreams.

“Car seats back then...” He hears himself telling you. “They weren’t as robust as they are these days. My daughter…”

He chokes because all of that anguish, all of that guilt, it’s like he’s feeling it for the very first time. He breaks then, his entire being shattering into a million pieces. The noise that comes out of his mouth, it’s raw, animalistic, a violent sob that wracks his entire body. He hasn’t grieved for Bonnie, not really. There was never any space for it. He was the strong one in the aftermath, holding Viv together and then that had fallen apart. By that point he’d shoved it all in a box because he didn’t want to face it, he’d convinced himself he’d moved on but in reality, it’s always been there, sitting just under the surface waiting.

Your lips chase over the tears that leak down his cheeks, your body pressing against his and Alden feels that rush of heat, that urge to feel anything but the agony that eats him up inside right now.

“Lisa?” He questions, his breath a little ragged and you know exactly what he’s asking you. “I need…”

You know exactly what he needs, you always do. You climb into his lap and his hand threads  through your hair, gripping it tightly in his fist. He pulls your head back, baring your throat and you make that noise, that sweet whimper as his lips ghost up the curve of your neck.

“It’s going to be rough.” He warns you, tugging a little harder, keeping you in place, flush against him. “I don’t have it in me to be soft with you tonight.”

“You don’t have to be.” You whisper as he thrusts up against you. “I mean it Alden, I won’t break.”

Love Alden? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[queer-starwars-bracket]

Queer Star Wars Characters (Round 3): General Bracket Match 11

Zeen Mrala | Identity: wlw | Media: The High Republic Phase I

Zeen Mrala was raised in the Elders of the Path cult, a religion which saw force-sensitivity as abhorrent. In a metaphor for being neurodivergent and/or queer, Zeen was force-sensitive, which was something she had to keep secret. When her planet was simultaneously affected by an Emergence and attacked by the Nihil, she was forced to use her powers to help the Jedi save her people. This caused her closest friend, Krix Kammerat, to feel betrayed, and he joined the Nihil. Unable to stay with the Path, she joined the Jedi of the Star Hopper, who agreed to train her as essentially a Jedi auxiliary even though she was too old to become a proper Jedi. She found it was much easier to make friends when she didn’t have to hide who she was, and easily found a family among the Padawans on the Star Hopper. She grew closest with the padawan Lula Talisola. She joined the Jedi in attempting to hunt down Krix, who was quickly growing in power within the Nihil. Through her Force connecting with Lula and the balancing of love and nonattatchment they were able to succeed. After Starlight Beacon was destroyed and Lula was declared missing, she swore she would do whatever it took to find her love.

When Zeen first confronted Krix after she decided to hunt him down, her anger at Krix’s reaction to his view of her powers drove her to Force choke him, only being held back by Lula. After further Jedi training, the next time she had Krix had her mercy she was able to resist his bait and didn’t harm him. She had come to terms that Krix had never really loved her if he couldn’t accept all of her. She took well to Jedi training, but never had any angst about not being allowed to become a proper Jedi. 

Sinjir Rath Velus | Identity: gay | Media: Aftermath Trilogy

Ignoring Moff Moors, Sinjir is tied with Esmelle and Shirene for being the first queer character in the New EU. And unlike those two, he is a major character. He was abused by his mother and then the ISB training process. An ISB loyalty officer, he was stationed on the Endor shield generator, where he nope-d out and attempted to become a regular civilian. An alcoholic, he found himself on Akiva, where he was pulled into helping Norra Wexley, her son Temmin, and the bounty hunter Jas Emari drive the Empire off the planet. Afterwards, he decided to make up for his time with the Empire by joining a New Republic war criminal hunting squad with the rest of the Aftermath novel’s ensemble cast. He began dating New Republic slicer Conder Kyl, but due to his alcoholism and trauma, their relationship was rocky. His team helped Han Solo in an unauthorized mission to liberate Kashyyyk. Afterwards, considering himself unworthy, he broke up with Conder. After the Liberation Day attacks, he joined Norra and her team in attempting to hunt down Rae Sloane. They tracked her to the planet Jakku, where the Imperial fleet was massing. After sending Norra, Jas, and Mister Bones down to the planet, Sinjir and Temmin returned to Chandrilla to convince the New Republic to launch an attack against Jakku. Sinjir got pulled into the political shenanigans necessary to get the resolution to pass, where he had to go crawling back to Conder and beg him for help. After Conder’s life was threatened in the process, Sinjir realized he couldn’t stay away from Conder. With his found family, he was able to become sober. He was recruited by Mon Mothma to become her aide. He and Conder got married after the end of the war.

Sinjir was snarky and cynical, in part as a defense mechanism and the result of his alcoholism. But even after he got better, he was still a silly guy. As a former loyalty officer, he was skilled in intrigue and intelligence, as well as self-defense. After a lifetime serving the Empire, even though he wanted to help the New Republic, he rankled at still just following what a government tells him to do- hence all the unauthorized missions. Mon Mothma recruited him because she needed a cynic and someone who could play the game. He was very close with Jas Emari, essentially platonic soulmates. 

[lazyneonrabbitt]

The slip-up

Where Adar follows the wrong group during the attack on a settlement and ends up in a questionable place. AKA the Uruks find a brothel.

Blame the anon on @baddybaddyadardaddy's page

Village after village fell on Adar's quest to reclaim the Southlands and give his children a home. They all fell in the blink of an eye, but the larger settlement held up strong.

It was an elven home, the ones who watched over the mortals of the lands for eras before.

"Leave the homes. A cleared out settlement like this makes for great homes once we lay claim to these lands." Adar's commanders took his advice and stormed the place, taking lives, prisoners and looted armories before the locals had time to do so themselves.

But in the early night when most of thr place had been quiet upon their entry, there was one building where it was as lively as ever. Naturally drawn to the sounds of people Adar followed his troops towards the place, quickly hearing the screams of terror and the sounds of his children taking back what was theirs.

"Lord Father!" He had not made it inside yet and one of his kin came running back out. "Lord Father what is this place? It is strange, come and assist us in fight."

Inside there were uruk standing at the ready, others having made it past the folk downstairs and were causing trouble a floor above.

But that all did not concern him. In front of him stood the ones currently inhabiting the building. A few men who had carried weapons up front and hiding behind them stood elven women wearing..

Well, nothing but paneled skirts and a waistband holding them up. They his behind the bar area with bottles of of alcohol that had rags stuffed in them, flames at the ready to ignite them.

The one house he had decided to enter had proven itself to be a house of pleasure and they had barged in on their busiest night.

Adar stood frozen in place, entirely caught off guard by the bare skin and scent of arousal that lingered on every surface.

Only when an uruk came crashing down the stairs the men dared to advance, but they were easily slain by their enemy.

Now only the women were left, taking no moment to cower and tossed the burning flasks at the uruk, only to learn it was all way less effective as they had hoped and were soon approached by the intruders.

Not even screaming bloody murder would summon help, and desperate times called for desperate measures as one of them grabbed whatever was at hand and threw it, having the other maidens join in tossing glassware, serving trays and towels.

All of it was easily cast aside until one threw other cloths, one of which missed its target and thwacked Adar right in the face.

He swiftly grasped it and ...silk? with a strong scent..

In his hands he held a silken slip. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his uruks being assaulted with an array of thrown items, clunking against armor and thudding against skin leaving them weirded out and uncomfortable. He managed to catch the piece that flew at him, fumbling not to drop it as it was slick and kept getting away from him until he finally held it.

He was not pleased with the findings of the large, phallic shaped item in his hand. It was incredibly detailed, and large. In disgust he tossed is and wiped his hand on his clothes, unaware of the shouting coming from behind him.

"Men! Worthless when milkbags are out!" A shrill voice called and Adar soon noticed a barrage of female uruk had come in and taken care of the whole situation in mere moments. They rushed past and by the time he had caught up with it all it had all settled already.

The women were rummaging through the aftermath, laughing amongst each other. "Look! Thissun's bigger than my husband's." Adar watched one of ghem wiggle the fake penis he had thrown aside earlier, shaking his head and walking off.

Outside he found a group of his warriors huddled together, grumling and smiling suspiciously and found them toying with an array of different undergarments they clearly stole from the pleasure house.

But the battle was over and that was all that mattered. Now it was time for rest.

"Oh, come here, you scaredy cat!" A male ran past him, followed by the screeching voice of what Adar assumed was his partner. "It's fun I swear! Nice even!" His eyes followed them as she chased her lover with what looked like a stash of toys in her arms.