#I need to make more tags since I think the current one is just Crisis Core?

[cha0ticspacebi]

Like 91% of the population, you were now and would always be a beta. Except when your roommate moves out suddenly and fate connects you with Alpha Eddie Munson. After that, things start to change.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 (Coming Soon)

Pairing: Alpha Eddie Munson x Female Omega Reader

Word Count: 10.4 k

Tags: Omegaverse and everything that goes with it (knotting, nesting, scenting, heats, ruts, breeding kink, biting, you get the idea), college student reader, mechanic Eddie, panty sniffing but not from who you probably think, reader is a little freak but it's just her new instincts, a few instances were reader expresses body insecurities, talks of infertility, minor Steve Harrington x Chrissy Cunningham, and they were roommates! ⚠️ 21+ MDNI ⚠️

divider by firefly-graphics

All through public school sex education classes, you were told that if you didn’t experience signs of presenting during a certain time period, you never would. Most people don’t. That was certainly the case for you. Puberty came and went without the slightest hint of a secondary gender.

Even as society around you exists in the midst of a massive fertility crisis, more than 91% of the population is classified as beta. Experts in the field predicted that with the rapidly declining birth rates that we might see a rise in alpha and omega pairings but so far that has not been the case. No viable differences were seen until last year when the number of known alphas increased by a meager .2%.

Still, many beta couples continue to seek assistance with conceiving a child, which is part of the reason why you decided that would be your field of study. Currently a third year med student at a university, whose promising research in the field is making headlines all over the world, you hoped one day to become a fertility consultant. Helping all those who wish to start a family achieve their dream. 

Ever since you could remember you’ve wanted to help people. In grade school you helped the new student find their way around. You helped the teacher with everyday classroom tasks. Everywhere you went, if you saw someone in need of a helping hand, you provided. Reaching a box of cereal from the top shelf at the grocery store and placing it with a smile in the elderly man’s basket. Helping a lost little girl in the park, you saw on your morning jog, find her mother. Offering to spend your first weekend off in a month helping your roommate move into her new place. Even though that meant you were now a one income dwelling, who wouldn’t be sustained for long on your meager university coffee house earnings.

After helping her, you arrived back to your suddenly empty two bedroom apartment. The immediate urgency for you to find a replacement roommate became very real, very fast. 

The next day you posted fliers all over campus, including the coffee shop, the library, even at the athletic center! You asked your friend Robin to stick some up on the bulletin board at her job as well.

“I actually might know someone,” her eyes flashed quickly from the flier to you, “Someone who could, in theory, move in before next weekend if that's cool with you.”

You practically leaped at her offer, “Absolutely! What’s her name?”

“His name is Eddie and he’s a—“

“Oh,” you’d never had a male roommate before. You considered this new development until glancing at the clock on the wall. You were going to be late for class! While voicing your thoughts about her proposal, you were already headed towards the door, “I guess as long as he’s not a total slob and pays his part of the rent on time that’s all that matters. Give him my number and tell him to call me, I gotta go!”

“Wait! There’s one more thing,” Robin tries to scream after you but you're already running out the front door of the Family Video. 

She watches your car pull away and shakes her head as she forwards your contact info, “Oh well, she’ll figure it out on her own pretty quickly.”

Tuesday was always your longest day. First the opening shift with the morning rush of tired college kids desperate for their caffeine fix. Working what felt like nonstop until noon, followed by classes until after 8:00 at night. By the time you trudged your tired ass back to your apartment, all you wanted to do was sleep. Days like today were why you started leaving a pillow and blanket on the couch because sometimes taking those few extra steps to the bedroom were simply out of the question. 

Collapsing into the cushions, you felt your eyes get heavy and all your muscles finally relaxed. Sleep would come easy tonight.

Until the buzzing of your phone brought you back from the edge of sleepy bliss. You had a text from an unknown number.

Hey, this is Eddie. Robin’s friend. She said you needed a roommate! That’s such a coincidence because I’m a mate who needs a room. 

You couldn’t help the little bud of a smile that grew as you looked at the laughing emoji he added to the end of the text. Is it allowed to make first impressions from a single text? Oh well, your initial impression, he’s a goofball. Playful sort of boy next door, childhood friends in another life maybe. Meeting him in person couldn’t hurt right? Robin wouldn’t have suggested it to you if she didn’t think the two of you would get along.

Hi Eddie, I’m free tomorrow after 5 if you want to stop by and take a look. Try it before you buy it right?

You found yourself holding your phone waiting for his response. Eyes suddenly a little less heavy than before. He didn’t keep you waiting long.

It has four walls, a door, and comes with a sweetheart like you? Consider it sold!

Sweetheart? Sure Robin probably told him you're a nice person and all but that’s a little, buzz. Your thoughts were interrupted as he messaged again.

Sorry, I hope that didn't come across as pushy. I don’t want you to think I’m some stereotype. I try not to act like an entitled jerk all the time. It’s just, Robin showed me a picture of the two of you at the lake last summer and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think you were pretty.

The thought that he knew what you looked like and was still sending you cheeky messages made you happier than you’d like to admit. You remembered that trip and knew exactly what picture she must have shown him. It was one of the few where you actually felt good about yourself. With another yawn, you typed a response.

You could make it up to me by leveling the playing field? I should know who I’m expecting to meet tomorrow and possibly share a place with. 

Within just a few minutes an image appeared on the screen. He was straddling a vintage motorcycle with a helmet in his hands. Oh. 

You weren’t sure what caught your eye more, his soft looking curly hair, his dark chocolate eyes, or those dimples in his cheeks from the smile he was flashing the camera. He followed the picture up with another message.

Rob told me you were in class all day so I’ll leave you alone since you’re probably tired. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow around 5 roomie!

You should be annoyed. First he calls you sweetheart. Then he has the nerve to tell you to go to sleep, like you’re a child who was up past their bedtime. Then to top it all off, this man has the audacity to assume that just because you exchanged a few texts that he can move right in? Who does he think he is? You should be annoyed– but you’re not. Quite the opposite actually, you just got a little more excited for tomorrow. You fell asleep on the couch with that spout of a smile still growing slowly on your lips. 

Heading home after class the next day felt different. Instead of going home stressing about an exam or worrying about how you are going to pay next month's rent, you feel a touch of nervousness mingling with the excitement for a first meeting. You secretly hoped that Eddie was as cute in person as his picture.

Fate was smiling on you today because class had gotten out a little early giving you just enough time to straighten up the apartment before Eddie arrived. 

You hung a clean hand towel up in the bathroom, put fresh sheets on the bed that your old roommate left behind and smiled when you lit the pine scented candle that sat on the coffee table. Happy that you could get one more light out of it before it would need to be replaced. You fluffed the decorative throw pillows on the couch and finally closed the door to your own room before waiting to hear the knock on the door.

When that noise finally echoed through the quiet air you felt your body shiver with anticipation. You let out a reassuring breath, hoping it would calm your nerves and opened the door.

“Hey!” he smiled as brightly as the picture he’d sent you while he greeted you by name, “So? Am I as cute as my picture? Because you certainly are.”

Add big flirt to your first impressions. He was definitely laying on the charm but you were also falling for it hook line and sinker, “Hi Eddie, it’s nice to meet you. Come on in!”

You offered your arm in a welcoming gesture. He stepped inside and brushed past you ever so slightly. He must be wearing a strong cologne. Just that quick pass had your senses overwhelmed with the earthy, woodsy smell.

“So this is the common area,” you pointed out all the usual necessities, “Here’s the bathroom, there’s the kitchen. Off to the side there is a little dining table but I’ll be honest I think I’ve used it once. I usually end up eating on the couch.” He commented on how it was a nice place and that it was so close to his work he could walk when the weather got nice again. 

“Where do you work?”

He closed the kitchen cabinet he’d been snooping in and turned to you, “I’m a mechanic over at Murray’s Auto Repair. Rob said you work at the coffee shop on campus, what’s your field of study, young scholar?” 

“Medical. I’m studying to be a fertility specialist,” you made small talk with him as you walked over to show him where his room is… would be! Where his room would be, if you think he’d be a good fit, “Here’s the other room. My old roommate said I could keep the bed and the dresser but if you already have those we can donate these since they’re in pretty good shape.”

He nodded, “Nah they look alright to me. I’m currently crashing on a friend's couch so this would be a huge upgrade.” He inspected the door handle, “Does this door not have a lock?”

“No, mine doesn’t lock either. I always figured it was because they are interior doors?” you shrugged and joined him as he inspected the boring metal doorknob, “They make portable locks you could always use.”

“Yeah, those things aren’t very strong though and when I’m in rut I can get pretty–” you cut him off.

“I’m sorry, when you're in what?”

The complete shock in your eyes and slack jaw had him pulling back a bit from you. A dejected huff through his nose, accompanied by a shake of the head told you he wasn’t too pleased with your question, “I thought Rob told you?”

“She didn’t tell me anything besides your name and the fact you were looking for a place,” you swallowed hard. You were in your third year of med school, you knew damn well what a rut was but the problem here was that only alphas experience them so if he… the wheels clicked in your head and you suddenly felt small standing beside him, “You’re an alpha?”

He crossed his arms, “Is that a problem? I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable so you just say the word and I’m gone.”

His messages last night suddenly made a little more sense. He didn’t want to come across as a stereotypical hotheaded, asshole alpha. Truthfully though, he had been nothing but respectful so far. He had a steady job and already offered to pay your half of the rent for the first month! He even promised to do half the household chores. Honestly, he seemed like a great candidate for a roommate. Why should his status change any of that?

You shook your head, “No it’s alright.” You rocked on your heels with your hands held behind your back, trying to restore the conversation to its former comfort level, “So, when can you move in?”

His smile reappeared, but he didn’t answer your question. He instead turned and belly flopped onto the bed, you heard a deep sigh escape his mouth, “Shit, can I stay here tonight? I really don’t want to sleep on that couch again.” He turned on his hip and looked at you from the bed, “You know Rob’s friend Steve?” You shook your head, you’d only known Robin since the spring semester and hadn’t met any of her friends yet, “Well Harrington’s a great guy but he’s a family man now and can’t have a lonely alpha crashing on his couch anymore.”

You stood awkwardly in the doorway, unsure if you should intrude on the space he just claimed, “Is Steve also an alpha?”

“Yeah. He and I had been living together for years before he met that sweet Chrissy of his,” he collapsed on his back and stared at the ceiling, “They had a kid, cute little boy, a few months ago and I lost my room.”

“Is Chrissy an omega?” you were mentally taking notes. Before Eddie came waltzing through your door, you’d never gotten the chance to talk to someone with a secondary gender at length before. There were some alphas you knew of in your classes throughout the years, mostly because all of them were loud and obnoxious about it. But none that you ever felt compelled to converse with. If they were cool with it, maybe they could answer some questions for the paper your gender sciences professor just assigned. Having some first hand alpha/omega pairbond experience would be great for your research. 

“Nah,” well nevermind, considering the low omega presentation rates you’d have been shocked if that was the case. You could always talk to Eddie about what it’s like to be an unmated alpha. He continued, “Never actually had the pleasure of meeting one. I hear they are crazy sweet though.”

You asked Eddie if he needed to go get anything from Steve’s place tonight, to which he just insisted he’d go tomorrow while you were in class. You had been so anxious for his arrival that you forgot to eat so you offered to cook dinner for him. 

“You really don’t have to,” he tried to stop you but then his stomach growled loud enough that it was probably heard from the hallway by a passing neighbor. 

You both looked at each other and you tried not to laugh at his embarrassed expression, but it wasn’t working, “So is ramen ok? If you’re going to live with a starving college student you’re going to have to eat like one. Not that you aren’t welcome to bring in your own food or whatever. I can clear a shelf off for you.” With that you got distracted reorganizing the sparse contents of the fridge, “There. We can put shared items in the middle, I’ll put the things I buy on the bottom and you can have the top shelf.”

You opened the door wider with a smile as he admired your work. You decided after dinner you’d do the same thing with the cabinets and clear a space just for him, “Ok now I’ve definitely worked up an appetite,” reaching up into the cupboard you presented him with two options, “Do you want spicy or regular?”

He gave in. Already, barely an hour in the apartment, and he knew he was no match for you, “Spicy. Thanks, sweetheart.”

You turned on whatever movie was already in the machine while you cooked and then just a few minutes later you were placing a simple bowl of noodles in front of him. He inhaled them, “That was delicious. I’m doing the dishes!” you were about to protest, “No, don’t even try to argue with me. You've already done enough and I’ve only lived here about 2 hours! I can’t have you doing everything for me. I need to pull my weight.”

“Fine, but sit down and finish the movie first.”

He sat on the opposite end of the couch from you. You chose to ignore the little tug that wished he sat closer to you. 

“Is that candle what I’m smelling?” he asked abruptly.

“Probably,” you leaned towards the coffee table and read him the label, “Evergreen Forest?”

His brows furrow, “No, this is sweeter.” He laughed, “When I first stepped in here I thought you were baking cookies, it was so sweet. I still haven’t been able to figure out where it's coming from.”

“Maybe one of the neighbors is baking something?” You weren’t really sure how to respond because you also had no idea what he could be smelling. You weren’t one for perfume and none of your soaps, shampoos, or body wash smelled sweet. At least he didn’t say the apartment smelled bad.

“Sorry, I’m being weird,” he brought you out of your daydream, “Alpha nose,” he poked himself in the tip of his nose, “I’m really sensitive to scent.”

“It’s ok! I find secondary genders fascinating. It’s part of the reason I chose to study fertility.”

He laughed and twisted himself to face you more from his spot on the couch, “Ah, I see. That’s why you let me move in so fast. Using my body for science hm?”

You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not so you deflated a little, “No of course not. I just think the phenomenon is interesting. Growing up I always hoped one day I would present, especially after I was told I can’t have kids.”

His laughing faded. The familiar sad, almost pitying look appeared that everyone gives you when you tell them. You’re not shy about it and you don’t care who knows. Despite having been focused entirely on building your career since you turned 18 and got that news, you do get asked by outsiders quite often when you’re going to settle down and have kids. 

Here comes the inevitable follow up question. He asks you if you want kids, “I’d love to start a family someday.” You shrug and anxiously rub your knees, “I’m painfully single though, so, one step at a time I guess.”

His laughter was quickly becoming your favorite sound in the world, “Me too! Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”

“I’m 26,” you smiled, “What about you?”

“27. I presented when I was 17 and after I finally managed to graduate high school I went to a trade school to become a mechanic.” He laughed again to himself, “Not that I needed any of it. Already learned all there was to learn from my uncle.”

The title screen of the movie playing in the background and the thought of your 6 AM shift were shoved aside as you spent hours talking with him on the couch. You learned where he grew up, that he played in a band for fun with his friends, and that he was a giant nerd. Everything from Dungeons and Dragons, to Lord of the Rings, to Star Wars. He loved all of it. 

You told him about your hobbies outside of school as well. He asked you questions about what kind of music you like, what your favorite color is, and listened to you talk about the things that interested you. It was kind of alarming how comfortable you already felt with him. He was incredibly easy to talk to. Finally, your body knew you’d regret staying up any later than you already had. You yawned.

“Alright pretty girl I’ve bothered you long enough. Go get some sleep,” he raised an arm and rubbed the back of his neck, “Are you sure it’s ok if I stay here tonight? I know it’s short notice and I wouldn’t want you to feel like you had to let me stay. I can move in officially this weekend if that works better.” 

You surrendered. Standing right up and following his order, “It’s fine Eddie. I offered you the room didn’t I? Besides,” you yawned again, “Since you’re covering rent next month you might as well get your money's worth. Although I don’t have any extra blankets,” another yawn became the final nail in your coffin, “All I had was that sheet. I might have some pillows in the linen closet,” you went to check but he stopped you with his words.

“You’re too kind, fair maiden. I don’t need much when I sleep anyways,” he gestured to himself, “Alpha’s usually run pretty hot.” You snorted and shook your head. As different as he is, you can definitely tell he’s still an alpha. He rose from the couch with a deep bow, “I look forward to our adventures together as roommates,” he flicked his hair back up and flashed you a great view of those dimples, “Good night sweetheart.”

Eddie moved in his stuff little by little, the whole process took nearly a week. When you returned home each day you would notice a few new additions here and there. He stuck his shampoo in the bathroom, there was a six pack of beer on his shelf in the refrigerator, and you could typically hear music playing from his room at night. Finally the last item, a second guitar amp, landed in his now fully lived in room. 

It had officially been a week since he moved the last of his stuff in and the two of you fell into a routine. Eddie’s shifts at the shop were usually the same time you were in class. If he got home before you and made some food, he left you a container on your shelf in the fridge. The last few times he’d started leaving a note on the container labeled “Roomie!” a little heart with bat wings drawn with markers that he definitely swiped from your backpack.  Tonight you were getting home first and decided to surprise him for being the world's best roommate. 

Your mind thought back to yesterday as you got started. You had just gotten out of the shower when he mentioned that sweet smell again. You figured he might have a sweet tooth so you decided to make cookies for him.

You tied your hair back and put on the apron you’d found on clearance after Valentine’s Day. It was pink with little conversation hearts scattered everywhere. A picture of a ladybug and the caption Love Bug written across the chest. After completing the scene with some of your favorite music playing softly in the background, you started to work.

After grabbing the flour and sugar, your cheeks felt warm. You had to check the clock to confirm, you’d only been working for a few minutes and you already felt flushed. As though you had been working in the summer heat for hours. You opened the small window that was situated beside your dining table and the cold winter air wafted into the warm kitchen.  It helped a bit. 

Setting the heat in your cheeks aside, you forgot about it after a while. You didn’t even realize how focused on your task you’d become. You felt relaxed. Every care of the outside world was gone. After mixing the last ingredient, the chocolate chips, into the dough and scooping them onto the baking sheet, you put them in the oven. 

“Hm,” you mused to yourself while looking through the cabinet. Wondering if you had the ingredients to make an icing to write #1 roomie on one of the cookies. 

Your mission was successful and while the cookies baked you whipped up a small amount. Giving you just enough time to do the dishes before pulling the cookies out to cool. You checked the time again. It was just after 5:00 and you knew Eddie would be back soon. Scooping the icing into a small ziplock baggie, you tried your best to write on the uneven surface. He walked in just after you finished the last letter.

“Hi Eddie!” You smiled brightly, proud of your work. Then you held out a small plate to him with the cookie, “I made this for you!”

He froze. His body went rigid there in the door frame. For the first time since you met, there was an uncomfortable silence. He just stared at you for a moment. Then, without a word, walked over, grabbed the plate from your hand and went into his room. Leaving you standing there in the kitchen dazed, confused, and if you were honest with yourself, a little sad.

You didn’t see him again that night. He stayed in his room. Replaying that event in your mind you cleaned up, left the rest of the cookies in a tupperware container on the counter, and headed to bed. 

You tried to sleep but the more you pondered, your sadness turned to annoyance. You needed to complain about him so you called Robin. 

“Hey! What’s up?” she sounded cheerful, “Isn’t it way past your bedtime?”

You offered a curt pity laugh, “Haha, very funny. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, I’m assuming based on your tone there’s trouble in roommate heaven?” She nailed it and your frustrations poured out like a waterfall.

“I made him cookies and he acted like I committed a crime. He gave me this look, didn’t say anything, snatched the cookie I offered him, and has been hiding in his room ever since. Is he allergic to chocolate? He might as well be with how upset he looked,” you mocked his non existence words, “Oh, I can’t believe the nerve of this girl, making me cookies, letting me move in with her on such short notice! Alpha Jerk.”

Once your rant was over she hummed, “Eddie’s always had a sweet tooth, that doesn’t make any sense. I need more details. What were you wearing?” 

“Just my normal clothes I wore to class today. I did have an apron on to keep my shirt clean, but why should any of that matter?”

She laughed, “Sounds to me like you might’ve broken him. Let me guess you went full domestic goddess?”

“Well I wouldn’t describe it like that but—“

She interrupted you, “Eddie’s a simple alpha babe. An alpha who, by the way, has never been with an omega. You cooking things just for him? Classic omega behavior, you should know that Ms. Smarty-Science-Pants. On top of that, looking like absolute wife material probably had his brain sizzling like a piece of bacon.”

You listened to her but it didn’t matter, “I’m not an omega though.” Your words were more sad than you’d like to think about.

You could hear her exasperated sigh, “His brain doesn’t know that. I’m telling you that’s all it was. He’s probably hiding because he’s got a huge hard on!”

“Robin!” You yelled and immediately listened for any signs that he might’ve heard your yell. You tiptoed to the door and listened. Nothing. You waited until back in the safety of your bed before talking again, “I’ll admit, you might be right about the first part. But,” you heart sank a little, “I doubt he’s in there with a hard on. There’s no way he feels that way about me.”

“Why not?” Robin combated, “You’re fucking adorable! And If he doesn’t, he’s clearly not using those heightened alpha senses of his because anyone would be lucky to have you.”

You bloomed again, “Thanks Robin. I feel a little better. I’m gonna get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”

The next morning you went about your normal routine. If you hadn’t decided to grab some rations from the kitchen to stuff in your backpack in perpetration for a day full of learning, you’d have missed it. There on the counter where you left the container, now a lot more empty than before, sat a little note. Thanks sweetheart. He left his signature bat heart. You smiled to yourself and flashed your eyes to his door. As if it could’ve been anyone else who wrote the note for you. 

A few days after the cookie incident, you and Eddie had resumed your normal interactions. Although, you hadn’t really stopped thinking about what Robin said. You were on the couch watching some random show on TV when he came in from work.

“Hey,” he sounded tired.

“Hey,” you checked the time, “Thought you got off at 5? I was surprised when I beat you home.”

He went, as he always does, to the bathroom and washed his hands. But this time he made a pit stop to set a small sparkly red bag on the coffee table in front of you, “I was supposed to, had to stay and finish fixing this stupid truck. Damn thing is just going to need to be fixed again in three months anyways.” He stood in the bathroom doorway and looked between you and the bag, “That’s for you.”

You felt the color appear on your face, “Me? Why?”

He replaced the towel he’d been wiping his hands on and walked back to the living room, “Dunno, I felt bad I guess about the other day and when I stopped at the store on my way home I saw that little guy and thought of you.” He spoke in a rushed manner like he was trying to get the words out without making a big deal out of it.

You looked inside the bag and found a small brown teddy bear with a red bow tied around its neck. It was so sweet. You held him in your hands and felt the softness of his fur beneath your fingers. 

“I just wanted to say sorry. Not trying to you know, I don’t know. You can just throw it away when I’m not looking or whatever,” Eddie was rambling and it was absolutely adorable.

“No it’s fine. I like him,” you loved him. He was the same color as Eddie’s eyes.

He went to his room after that and must have gone right to sleep because you saw the light from under the door turn off and didn’t hear any music tonight. You sat there on the couch with your new friend for a bit longer and realized something. He only came in with this. If he just happened to see this while already at the store, what did he go to the store for in the first place?

It was one of your rare days off and you were catching up on some laundry. You knew he might view what you were about to ask similarly to the cookies but hey doing laundry in an apartment building is a pain in the ass. If you're going down you might as well bring some of his clothes too. 

You texted him. Hey, I'm doing some laundry. You need anything washed?

He was at work but usually responded pretty quickly if they weren’t busy. They must not be busy. 

Yeah uh sure. That’s cool. Thanks. There’s a little pile in the corner by my guitar.

You were usually really good about respecting the roommate code. You knocked if you needed to get his attention but hadn’t actually been in the second bedroom since he moved in. Only catching quick glimpses when he would enter or exit. 

As soon as you entered, you thought to yourself, My period must be coming. The wall of musky, woodsy scent hit you like a ton of bricks. It was spicy and warm and distinctively Eddie. You stood in the door frame almost trying to catch your breath, Damn it’s probably going to be a rough one, I'm not usually this sensitive.

Once you regained your balance, you learned that Eddie had not one but two guitars. There was a red and black electric one hanging on the wall and a black acoustic one sitting on a stand beside his dresser. He didn’t specify in his message which one you should look by and both of them had piles of wadded up clothing near them. 

Trying not to inhale too deeply for fear of passing out, you pulled the collar of your shirt up over your nose and grabbed the first pile under the electric guitar. A few shirts and what looked to be pants that he might wear under his coveralls at work.

With still a little room in your basket, you made your way to the second pile. Opting to just pick all of it up at once and drop it in with the other clothes. You instantly knew this probably wasn’t the one he wanted you to wash. Sitting on top of your now shared laundry were several pairs of crusty looking socks and balled up boxers that had been hiding under a shirt. 

You knew you should put them back. Recreate the scene and walk away like you never touched them in the first place. Maybe he wouldn’t notice you had disturbed them. That's what you should do. You knew that. But something stirred inside you. You acted almost on instinct and before you could think too hard about it, you were picking up a pair of his green plaid boxer shorts and bringing them up to your nose.

When you inhaled the scent quite literally knocked you down. You fell backwards onto your ass. A euphoric feeling consumed you, it was like nothing you’d ever felt before. Suddenly your cheeks were flushed, your heartbeat quickened, and you knew you needed more. You smelled them again.

The room smelled like Eddie of course, it was his room. All his belongings were in here. He spent a good portion of his time here. But this, this was more somehow. More Eddie. Like someone had taken his scent and bottled it into a cologne. Then accidentally spilled an entire bottle onto this single pair of underwear. 

Coming down from your high you knew you had to leave them here, he’d notice if the pile was completely missing. Thus knowing you touched his underwear like a weird pervert. But he might not notice one pair mysteriously going missing. 

With the green pair still clutched in your dirty fingers, you replaced each soiled item one by one and covered them back up with the shirt. Then stood back on your feet, picked up the laundry basket, and continued your task as though the last few minutes didn’t happen. 

He came home from work that night to a small pile of neatly folded shirts and pants placed carefully on his bed. There was also a small container of take out with his name on it waiting for him in the fridge. You didn’t have the courage to face him that night after what you had done. So you hid away in your room. Leaving him completely unaware of the thievery that had taken place or the hidden treasure that now sat tucked away in your nightstand. 

It was officially one month that you’d been living with Eddie. If he noticed something missing from his wardrobe, he never mentioned it. 

Tonight you were having your first movie night with friends that you hoped to make a weekly occurrence. Robin was already here and tonight you got to meet their mutual friend Steve for the first time when he came over with his partner Chrissy. 

“I poured the popcorn into a few different bowls since it didn’t fit in just one,” Robin said with a smile as she held up two mismatched things of popcorn.

You feigned despair, “Oh no! What’re we gonna do? We can’t let people know that we live like this!” You turned to Eddie and held your cheeks, “What will the neighbors think?”

He laughed, “Your reputation as a good neighbor was probably lost the moment I moved in sweetheart.” His nickname for you became common tongue. You knew it didn’t hold any meaning, just Eddie being, well Eddie.

Robin didn’t approve of your shenanigans, she set the bowls down on the coffee table, “I never should have introduced you two. You're both menaces.” 

“Au contraire!” Eddie defended, “It’s actually a crime that you didn’t introduce us sooner!”

Your heart swelled hearing that, “Aww, you really do care Eddie. Here I was thinking you just used me for my extra room. Is the big bad alpha going soft? 

He smirked, “Nothing soft about me sweetheart.”

“Oh my god can you not make dick jokes for like 5 minutes please?” Robin threw up her hands, “Are we really about to bring another thick headed alpha in here? Seriously, how did you and Steve not kill each other?” 

Your eyes tracked between them as they bickered. Eddie sat in his usual spot on the couch and Robin was about two seconds away from walking back into the kitchen. 

Eddie laughed, “Relax! Steve and I have more sense than that. Besides, he’s got a girlfriend which calmed him down a little.”

“Good, this apartment can only handle one hot alpha,” You blurted out without thinking and instantly regretted it.

Robin, who was no secret to your massive crush on your friend and roommate, covered her laugh and retreated back to the kitchen. Shooting you a look that says you are so on your own with this one.

Eddie just looked at you, for a brief second there was some unreadable emotion there but it quickly turned to a smug grin. His arm swinging over the back of the couch, opening his legs as he crossed one over the other. “Aww you really think I’m hot sweetheart?”

You didn’t answer him. You’d be forever grateful to whoever just knocked on the door. 

On the other side stood a man with fluffy, perfectly placed brown hair and a big smile. Even without the knowledge this man was an alpha, you’d know right away. From the protective arm around this girlfriend’s shoulders and the oozing confidence, this must be none other than Steve Harrington.

Which meant the cute redhead beside him must be Chrissy. She greeted you with a surprise, though not unwelcome, hug, “It’s so great to finally meet you. Eddie’s told us so much about you.”

“Really?” You looked back to Eddie who was uncharacteristically quiet. You decided to just file that in the back of your mind for now, “Come on in! We made popcorn and pizza should be here soon.” Robin had returned and gave Steve a hug. You couldn’t resist the urge to tease her once more, “I hope you don’t mind the mismatched bowls.”

The movie provided an anchor as you got better acquainted with these new friends. You learned that they met through work. Steve is a personal trainer and Chrissy teaches yoga at the community center. Steve was telling you the story of how his jaw literally dropped when Chrissy walked into his gym to inquire about offering classes there. 

Your body language had naturally leaned in while listening to his story. You sat up a little straighter. Your arms braced against your knees as you gave Steve your full attention. Or at least tried to. The frequent twitches you caught from the corner of your eye kept distracting you. Finally you looked over and saw Eddie clenching his fists against his thighs.

You waited until Steve had finished to say something, “Eddie? Are you ok?”  

His eyes were blown wide as he looked in your direction, “Hm? Yeah, I’m fine.” The white knuckles now braced against his chin and the point of his elbow digging into his leg said otherwise.

Steve spoke up before you could, “You sure man? You look like you’re ready to rip somebody’s head off.”

“I said I'm fine!” He snapped. 

In an instant, the once friendly atmosphere turned sour and tense. No one really knew what to do. Everyone looked concerned. Searching for the cause of what had upset him. You however were feeling something very different. All you could think about was touching him. No, not touching, your brain supplied. Scenting. 

You wanted nothing more right now than to nuzzle into his hair and neck. Somehow reassuring him that everything was ok.

Now your eyes were blown wide. Your brain all at once processed this intrusive thought. You knew it was nonsense. It must have come from your lessons during class today. Yeah that’s it. You were still just thinking about today's lecture during gender sciences because you shouldn’t be scenting. That’s something only done by alphas or—

“Who wants dessert?” You jumped up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. You heard footsteps behind you. Someone was following you. You didn’t need to turn and look thought. The sound of the footsteps, his smell, everything about him swirling around inside your very confused mind. 

You opened the freezer and didn’t realize how much you needed the relief of a cool breeze. Standing there with the door open for a moment after grabbing the tub of ice cream felt incredible.  

“Hey,” Eddie’s voice melted your insides. It sounded so soft and comforting, “Are you alright?”

You didn’t want to look at him for fear that just by making eye contact he would somehow know what you had wanted to do. Instead, you chuckled awkwardly and played it off, “Guess I’m just more tired than I thought.”

“No,” Eddie saw right through you, “I’ve seen you tired after a long day. That’s not what this is. Come here.”

Your mind and body were incapable of disobeying him. Even if you hadn’t wanted to, you turned on his command. Closing the freezer door and keeping your eyes locked with his feet. 

He touched your forehead. Eddie had never touched you before. All the nights you spent wondering what the tips of his fingers felt like finally answered. They were calloused from playing guitar, the palm of his hand rough, most likely from his job. But nothing had ever felt more natural. It was fleeting thought because he pulled back already. 

“Jesus Christ you’re burning up,” He went to the bathroom and returned the thermometer, “Holy shit 102?” He called for Robin. 

She came running and you vaguely heard him telling her to go get medicine from the bathroom. He lifted your chin, “You are taking medicine and going right to bed. Do you understand me? No work or class tomorrow for you either.”

“But–”

“I think you should listen to him,” Robin said as she returned followed by Chrissy and Steve to check on you. 

Standing became a labor. You braced yourself against the counter but Eddie caught you and lifted you into his arms. Robin opened the door for him as he carried you to your bed. Everything was starting to blur together. Somehow they made you take the medicine. You’re pretty sure Robin helped you change into some pajamas before you passed out on top of the comforter. That night you had your first dream of Eddie.

The next morning… afternoon? You weren’t sure until you blinked your eyes open. You felt awful. Your skin felt like it was on fire. If you were still running a fever that was not a sign. As soon as you summoned enough strength you ripped all your clothes off only to be horrified by what you felt on the bed beneath you. Your underwear, shorts and the top of the comforter were soaked. You brought your wet hand up to your face to inspect the source.

“Is that?” you spoke to the emptiness, “Slick?”

It should have been impossible. Everything you knew about biology was being thrown out the window and discarded to the wayside. Nothing made sense anymore. You had been and would always be a beta. And yet– your new and now ever present instincts told you otherwise. You were in heat. 

Grasping at the shred of rationality that you regained, you tried to remember everything you’ve ever learned about heats. You knew a few things for certain. One, it was only a matter of time because you were lost to your desires and unable to think about anything except mating. Two, you needed food so that you didn’t have to leave your room again until it subsided. Last? Only omegas experience heats which means that only an alpha would truly make you feel better. 

Tossing your wet clothing to the ground you wobbled naked like a newborn fawn towards your bedroom door. Dripping slick against your bare inner thighs as you tried to walk. You made it to the kitchen where, with fervent desperation, you dug through the cabinets for anything you could bring back with you. Then you went to Eddie’s room and without a second of hesitation opened the door. That was a horrible idea.

Where only the night before was just the scent of Eddie, now your brain was able to recognize it for what it was. Alpha.

Your knees buckled. It’s a miracle you didn’t fall over. Another rush of slick dripped from your aching hole. You didn’t have the luxury of considering whether he’d be upset that you were borrowing his clothes. You grabbed his leather jacket that he always wore outside of work from the bed and the few shirts that littered the floor. You could feel the fever returning. You needed to get back to your room. 

—

Eddie didn’t want to leave you that morning. He peeked inside your bedroom before heading to work and you were sound asleep.

Robin had taken care of your obligations for you. She called your work and emailed your professors saying you’d be out for a few days with a fever.

Eddie knew he should just go back home because he wasn’t much use here today anyways. He’d already made a ton of mistakes thanks to his distracted brain.

“Munson!” Murray called to him from the office, “Come here boy!”

“Shit,” he tossed the rag in his hand and readied himself for an ass chewing.

Murray looked up from the desk, “What’s wrong with you today? You handed me an order form for the wrong part. You charged someone triple for a simple oil change and now I just watched you checking the engine on a car that was brought in for headlight repair.”

“Sorry sir, my roommate’s pretty sick right now and I guess I’m just a little worried about her,” a little worried was an understatement. Eddie was panicking that you, the absolute divine love and light of his life, were going to die in his absence.

He sighed, “Just go. Before I change my mind.”

Eddie tore at the buttons on his coveralls and nearly tripped trying to walk and take them off at the same time, “Thanks Murray!”

“You owe me!” was the last thing Eddie heard before he ran out.

He kicked the stand up on his motorcycle and got quite a few stares from people on the street and he hauled ass back to the apartment. 

Normally he’d take the elevator up to your fourth floor apartment but in his mind his feet were faster and they’d carry him to you sooner. He was so focused on checking that you were still ok that he didn’t even feel winded after running up four flights of stairs. 

He fumbled with his keys as he walked down the hallway. Then it hit him. He dropped the keys. They clattered loudly to his feet. He was still several doors down from yours and he could already smell it. He scrambled to pick them up and ran down the hallway. 

His suspicions were confirmed as soon as he turned the key. That same sweetness that had greeted him everyday since the first time he opened that door to your smiling face, suffocated him. Though now it was a little different. It was sweeter. More you. Something he’d only ever dreamed of. An omega.

It got stronger with every step he took towards your room. He swallowed and failed to will away the hardness growing in his pants. All his hopes and dreams were answered when he pushed his way into your room. There on the bed in a very haphazardly constructed nest, naked, clinging to his jacket, surrounded by his clothes, and your brown stuffed bear, was you.

He inhaled deeply and could practically feel his pupils dilate with lust. You smelled so fucking good. He took another step and spoke quietly trying not to startle you, “Hey sweetheart.” 

—

It hurt so bad. The ache between your thighs only worsened as you curled into the small nest you’d surrounded yourself with. The underwear you’d stolen from Eddie lost its scent long ago but you still pulled it out and threw it in the pile. The few items you were able to grab from his room were a mere wooden board in the dam against the rushing river that threatened to drown you at any moment.

You didn’t hear the front door open.

Your senses became more clouded with each passing minute. You clung for dear life to Eddie’s leather jacket but it betrayed you as it started to cling back now that it was damp with your sweat.

The click of your bedroom door knob alerted you and brought you back. Maybe it wasn’t the door. Maybe it was the smell or the sound of his voice as he spoke to you. You lifted your head and couldn’t stop the tears when you saw Eddie standing there at the foot of your bed.

“A-alpha? It hurts,” 

Something awoke within Eddie. The deepest part of himself he’d never been able to fully satisfy. All those ruts spent uselessly humping into his hand or a pillow. “Again,” He growled, “Say it again little one!”

Your eyes pleaded with him as you whined, “A-alpha?” You pressed the jacked to your chest. How was he here? He was supposed to be working. Your fever must have taken over you and you were starting to hallucinate, “F-fuck, alpha, need you. Are you really here?”

The bed shifted, “I know, I know. I’m here now, sweet omega. I’m here.” He laid behind you and wrapped his long arms around you. “‘m so sorry I left sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere now.”

His presence eased the ache a bit. He rubbed your neck with his hand and whispered in your ear, “You smell so good, could smell you from the hallway.”

He felt you shudder with panic, “R-really?”

“Shh! No, don't worry. I locked the door and only other alphas or omegas would be able to smell it,” he leaned in closer, “Can I kiss you? It might help you feel better.”

You nodded but didn’t feel anything on your lips. He kissed your neck. Sparks of pure pleasure shot through your body. You whimpered helpless against the feeling, “Fuck more Eddie! More! Kiss me more, please!”

He couldn’t deny that his heart had wanted to hear those words since he first laid eyes on you but he knew it was just the heat talking. He also knew if he started he wouldn’t be able to stop, “I want to more than you know princess but, I don’t want you to hate me when you're more lucid.”

His kiss had breathed new life into you and gave you the energy to turn to face him, “I’d never hate you Eddie.” You reached into the piled up fabric that you had built up around you and pulled out the green plaid boxers, “D’you lose something?” you could feel your speech slurring.

“D-did you take my underwear?” his fingers curled and tickled against you lightly drawing out little giggles.

You grinned up at him with glassy eyes, “Sure did. Sniffed ‘em too.”

His palm came to rest on your hip and he ran his fingers up the curve of your waist. Then back down again. Savoring every dip, ridge, and shape your body created as it lay before him, “Did they help you feel better?”

“Nuh uh,” he was misunderstanding, “I took these a while ago. So see? Wouldn’t hate you. Want you.”

He kissed you again, on the lips this time, “I want you too. Shit, you taste so good. I wonder how you taste other places.”

He pressed his elbow up, giving him leverage to sit up and tear his shirt off. Next he was up hovering over you on his knees. You watched him, taking in every single one of his movements. He unzipped his pants and slid them down his hips. His thick length was barely contained by the fabric of his boxers. He was less than graceful as he shook them off. 

He straddled your legs and lowered himself towards your neck again, so close to your skin that his chest grazed your exposed nipples as he turned you to rest on your back beneath him. His mouth was in your ear whispering, “I can see it in your eyes sweetheart, the heat is getting worse. Can you tell me what you need before that smart ass brain of yours is just mush, begging for my knot?”

“F-fuck me Eddie,” you looked up at him and knew even in your current state that your words had affected him. “P-please.”

“That’s all I needed to hear sweetheart,” he kissed you again. First on the lips. Devouring your moans, wet noises growing as you felt yourself drooling into him because of how good he tasted. Your slick lips gliding against his. He moved lower onto your neck and kissed the crook just above your shoulder, “This might be a little sensitive here but I promise it’ll feel good.” He sucked on your skin and in that instant you were writhing.

“Ah! A-alpha,” somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind you knew that he was sucking on the spot that both of your latent instincts told you was where he should bite down and bond himself to you. Where if he gave into his desires and bit down just a little harder you’d forever be his and only his. Bearing his mating mark for the world to see. As he continued sucking with just his lips and licking with his tongue that was suddenly all you ever wanted, “Mate me alpha! All yours, please!” 

He puffed out his chest. His shoulders flexed. The muscles in his back tightened as he growled again into your neck. Straining to fight off every instinct that told him to give you what you wanted. His hand gripped the wooden frame of your bed so tightly you heard the wood begin to splinter and crack. “Maybe after your heat sweetheart. Such a good girl, my sweet little omega, all these big new feelings. Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of you.”

Throwing your head back you let the dam break, “N-need your knot alpha, Hurts. Make it stop.”

“You’re not quite ready for my knot yet baby. Gotta make sure I don’t hurt you.”

But you were an omega? That’s literally what your body was made for, why couldn’t you take him? First he wouldn’t mate you and now he won’t knot you? Were you a bad omega? He sensed your distress in the subtle change in your scent. He buried his face into your neck again, surrounding you with himself. 

“You’re not bad! No no,” you didn’t even realize you’d said that out loud. He continued to soothe you, “It's just…I’ve never knotted anyone before and I don’t want to hurt you.”

You brought your hands up to his chest and touched him everywhere your fingers could reach, “Won’t hurt me. I know. Too gentle.” 

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of you. The weight of his body pressing into nearly every surface of your skin was intoxicating. Grounding you with his scent and his very presence. You’d pulled him into the perfect position to nuzzle into his neck and hair, kissing the same spot that he has just assaulted on you with his tongue. A warm feeling bubbled in your gut. This was different from the warmth of the heat. Then a sound hit both of your ears.

A sound that gave both of you delighted pause. The little noise that escaped your throat was somewhere between a whimper and a moan but something so uniquely omega. Eddie had never heard a more beautiful sound. You were purring. 

He let you keep going but whispered into your ear, “You’re fucking perfect you know that?” you purred louder, “I’m going to make you come with my fingers and then I’ll give you my knot, ok?”

“Yes alpha! Thank you,” you whined as he pulled away but his hands never stopped touching you. He made his way down to the drenched area between your thighs.

“You look so beautiful for me sweetheart, you’re fucking soaked,” he moaned as his fingers began toying with your wetness and dipping in between the folds of your pussy. You encouraged him with all the moans and whines he could ever hope to hear. As soon as he deemed you thoroughly worked up, he finally slipped a finger in, quickly followed by another. They worked together pumping in and out fluidly, curling inside you, pressing all the right buttons. You wanted to thank him but all that would come out was broken bits and pieces of alpha and his name. 

His hair brushed lightly against your inner thighs, sending shivers through your core as he lowered his head down. He spoke with a low hum right into your entrance, “You’re close. I can feel it. Let go for me sweet omega. I’ll take good care of you.”

One more curl of his fingers hitting that delicious soft spongy spot inside you had you screaming and convulsing as slick rushed out into his hand and surely getting some on his face. His fingers pulled out and were replaced with something wet and soft. You could feel his nose nudging at your aching clit as he licked up all your wetness with his tongue. It slid up from the hole and flicked your clit over and over again causing the muscles in your calf to twitch.

“K-knot alpha! Knot please, ‘m ready. So empty, hurts!”

He sucked on your clit before pulling away and lifted to release his throbbing cock from his boxers. You looked up at it, marveling at how impressive his length looked. The tip swollen and aching for you just as you ached for him. The shaft veins pulsed as he pumped himself with his wet hand, covering it in your scent and juices. The base just barely began to flare out as his knot already started to swell. He lined up the tip with your begging cunt and teased you as much as his self control would allow before slowly and carefully pressing all the way inside.

You cried out for him, “So good! More, more, more! Move alpha please!”

He couldn’t hold back anymore. Feeling his cock sheathed inside his omega’s pussy was too much. He began fucking into you with reckless abandon, each thrust hitting deep within your body, catching ever so slightly as his knot continued to swell. He grunted loudly, “Fuck! “M’gonna fill you up so good little omega. Gonna breed this beautiful pussy,” his instincts were now fully in control. His mind became almost as clouded as yours with nothing but want and desire to fulfill the purpose of your heat, “You’ll look so good knocked up sweetheart. Tits all big and heavy. My omega, mine!” 

You echoed him, “Yours alpha! All yours! Breed me, wanna carry your baby! Please, please please,” you cries became so desperate and emotional as you begged and pleaded for him to give you something you’d wanted as long as you could remember. Tears fell from your tired eyes, “Make me a mommy alpha!”

“Yeah?” he looked down at you. Beads of sweat from his constant thrusting formed on his forehead. His bangs curled and swooshed out in every direction, “Beg for my knot again omega, tell me how much you want it!”

Your body was jostling up and down from his thick cock fucking into you harder and harder. Your senses became overwhelmed with the feeling of your alpha’s cock, his scent, his words, his love all around you. You could feel how much bigger his knot had gotten, your voice was wrecked, “Knot alpha, need it, knot me!”

Eddie came with a loud growl. You’d never felt so full. Your walls pulsated around him as you came again. He slammed his knot deep inside you, locking you together with him, forming a connection that as you floated down from your orgasm fully took shape in your mind.

“Eddie?” you looked into his warm brown eyes, “Th-thank–”

“Shh, we can talk later baby. Rest while you can,” he held a finger to your lips, “Once my knot goes down I’ll get you some water and something to eat. You’ll need it again soon so we both need to rest.”

Being locked together with him felt so right but it limited your movement. Twisting your torso you looked around the nest for the box of granola bars you’d grabbed earlier, “I,” words were still hard and your breath was labored, “box here somewhere.”

He looked around and spotted the corner of the box on the floor. He pictured what you must have done when you realized what was happening to you, knowing what you’d need, “You did such a good job. Now it’s my turn, we’ve got a long few days ahead of us. My first rut lasted three days.”

You chuckled, eyes closed, a blissful fucked out smile on your lips, “W-we might need more food.”

“I’m not leaving you again, I’ll have Rob drop some stuff off.”

You didn’t talk anymore after that. In fact you fell asleep with his knot still inside you. He kissed your forehead before pulling out when it finally went down, “Sleep my little omega.” He left the nest just long enough to text Robin and his boss, updating them and then curled up behind you, rubbing his face into your neck again. Picturing how good your throat would look with his mating mark on it before falling asleep beside you.

[lazysublimeengineer]

Almost one third of this fandom is good at missing the concept of most of the characters in the franchise.

First it's about misjudging Kiyora's character and his current choice of siding with Kaiser in order to benefit his standing in the program and how it was tagged as "betrayal."

Why are people surprised on this? Players are doing everything to survive since the first season starting with Kuon selling out information of Team Z to other teams because it would increase his chances of survival then to Nagi picking out Isagi's team to get stronger and fulfill his dream of winning the World Cup with Reo then to Raichi and Kunigami giving out an assist to Kaiser in this match out of necessity. This is just to name a few. Then Kiyora gets the brunt of it when he chooses not to side with Isagi. The fandom needs to stop glazing at him because this ruins the characterization of both characters. I love Isagi as the MC but the simps who doesn't get his character tarnishes it and he is being branded by wild, illogical assumptions. Why would Kiyora do that if he can't see the possibility of Isagi scoring? Most of the opponents' defenders are watching Isagi's movements so this limits his actions and possibilities of scoring a goal while Kaiser is there being open and while we have Charles and Rin blocking him, the opportunity is on his side because the conditions for his unfinished Magnus move is completed and provided by Kiyora through his ballspin assist.

Second, how is the fandom diminishing Nanase's worth just because he is not godlike levels of soccer skills such as with Karasu? It's even wild that the fandom thinks that Tokimitsu should be the one entering the top 23 when I can't see him contributing anything noteworthy to his team yet. Yes, the match is still unfinished and we've got to see some more of him but right now out of all the players who are in the danger zone that needs to climb higher, it is Nanase who deserves it because objectively speaking he is doing more compared to the others who are not Charles or Shidou. He is actively doing anything to provide the necessary entertainment in the live match that can contribute to his standing and bid. Heck, Karasu was busy being cocky and trashtalking Isagi that Isagi managed to easily surpass his blocking. While Nanase who is not even part of the top 23 is doing a lot more useful things to PxG such as assisting Rin, blocking the assists of the opponents and even chasing the ball. Seriously, he has the potential to grow out more as a character and it's wild that the fandom doesn't see that because he's not a godlike level player out there or was given a tragic backstory yet like with the other side characters such as with Hiori or Kiyora.

And lastly the fandom branding Hiori as an Isagi simp is a disgrace.

How the hell did they come up with this conclusion is a bigger question mark to me.

Just because Hiori is providing an assist to Isagi at that moment and he was a big help to Isagi last match against the Ubers doesn't make him a blind follower of the MC.

He was there for him because they're having the same "winning vision" out there in the field.

That's why out of all the Isagi ships that I like, Hiosagi stood out the most because of how they understand each other implicitly.

While Hiori was thankful for Isagi in showing him the light amid his existential crisis and awakening his ego, he's not wasting his time in asserting himself that he's not going to be a blind follower of him and his selfish ego out there in the field. He will create and linked up with another striker if he deems them worthy enough of his assists. And this is why their partnership intrigued me the most because they can keep on each other's toes even moreso with Hiori because he can compete with Isagi's football IQ and analysing the player's motivations and the environment around them.

Please do not ruin my roman empire with out of pocket conclusions about these characters smh.

[twig-tea]

9 People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

Tagged by @visualtaehyun and @thegalwhorants 💕

3 ships

Need to limit myself because there are too many good couples in media! The three I'm most enjoying in what I'm watching right now are:

Qian and Yuan from Unknown

Kazuhito and Natsukawa from Living with Him / Kare no Iru Seikatsu

Aylin and Luna from 23.5

First ship

I've answered this before but I was reading galwhorants' answers and suddenly the words "world shaking" popped into my head, and I remembered that the main site I used to read Ami/Makoto (sailors Mercury and Jupiter from Sailor Moon) fanfic was on worldshaking.net so I looked it up and that site has been rebuilt and some of the fanfic restored! So if you are curious about what babyqueer me was reading ~1997 it's still around and you can go see for yourself (shout-out to the author & curator Erica Friedman who was [and still is] a mentor and community-builder for so many of us; she was the one who organized Yuricon which is still an excellent resource if you want to get into or understand the history of yuri!).

Last song

I'm a quiet TXT fan and I've been enjoying their new mini album; the last song I listened to was Quarter Life (which has the unfortunate effect of making me feel old since I'm long past the quarter-life crisis age lolol but it makes me nostalgic for the pop punk heydays):

Currently reading

I finished book 1 and am chipping away at book 2 of MoDu (Silent Reading); it is such a satisfying read! I need more hours in the day so I can keep reading it.

Last movie

I just finished the short Burmese film Khar Taw Mi (another Trust Entertainment work centered around Thingyan, this time around the cultural performance aspects rather than the water party parts, so lots of traditional music and dance). If we're talking feature film, hmm, I think it was either Doi Boy (2023) or Past Lives (2023), I can't remember the order I watched them in; I watched them both in March (and both were very good).

Currently craving

Honestly, what I most want right now is spoons to do the things I've been dragging my feet on doing. Food-wise, I was giving a colleague tips on visiting Newfoundland and now I'm craving soft-serve creamsicle ice cream, which I've only ever had in St. John's.

No-pressure tags! And if you've already done this one tag me in the comments: @lurkingshan (since we fought over ships last time); @happypotato48; @sorry-bonebag; @my-rose-tinted-glasses; @telomeke; @waitmyturtles; @bengiyo (especially for the movie question); @thisonelikesaliens; @hyeoni-comb

[hippolotamus]

7 and 8 for the wip ask please !

Hello dear anon and thanks for your patience!

7. Eddie: i might like it, can’t hurt to try, no harm do- oh shit, what now? This would be a new religion or what I affectionately call the Eddie lace fic. Where Eddie discovers he likes wearing lace and definitely does not have a whole ass (heh) queer identity crisis about it.

He’s going to. He wants to. Eddie knows he can tell Buck anything and will never be shamed or made to feel guilty about it. But how is he supposed to talk with his partner about what he wants when he can’t even let himself look? When his skin tingles and his face flushes and his body temperature soars at the mere possibility.  It doesn’t help that Buck is so goddamn confident and sure of his own kinks. Since long before they got together. Eddie’s definitely been on the wrong end of hearing about them played out with past relationships and hookups enough times to know. Not that he ever thinks Buck said these things to hurt him or make him jealous. Regardless, the point is that he feels like they’re unmatched in this particular department. The sex is incredibly hot and Eddie is usually on board with whatever Buck wants to try. By that reasoning it shouldn’t be a problem the other way around.  But this isn’t lusting after his best friend (which came with its own set of ingrained beliefs to work through). This isn’t even wanting to be spanked or restrained. Or discovering how much of a relief it can be to submit to his boyfriend when the world is too much and he just needs someone else to take over. No, this is something else altogether.  This is Edmundo Diaz — a man raised on the ideology that boys don’t cry, don’t become romantically or sexually involved with other boys, and they certainly never show interest in anything girly or feminine — deliberately wanting to cross that imaginary gender barrier. To reconcile former soldier, father, and firefighter with the current iteration who might want to slip on lace panties once in a while instead of his everyday briefs. Even if just to find out if he would like it or not. Though he strongly suspects he will.

8. Buck: wait, where the fuck did you come from? you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

Also answered here. I wish I had more to give on this one but I sadly do not! Maybe one day soon.

tagging some peeps who have shown interest in this one @diazsdimples @disasterbuckdiaz @daffi-990 @tizniz @theotherbuckley @fortheloveofbuddie @lemonzestywrites @your-catfish-friend @shortsighted-owl (if i forgot anyone i'm so sorry)

[altocat]

so i'm trying to get back into the swing of things after almost a decade of being out of ffvii fandom and ever crisis has rekindled a very powerful desire to write and write until my fingers fall off. so i'd like to ask, since you're in the tags and seem quite knowledgeable: what is your opinion of genesis's writing in crisis core?

i've always been of the opinion he was woefully mishandled, and i'm currently trying to reconcile what we were given with what i assume they were going for. got about 2k of a fic with a slightly difficult to explain premise written so far, but sephiroth is pre-nibelheim in post-advent children time (no dirge of cerberus) where genesis is about a decade older than him now. and they're navigating the fallout of the last time they saw each other.

i'm using a lot of what we're learning about sephiroth to color their relationship, too -- my boyfriend skillfully pointed out that it feels like genesis may have developed a parasocial attachment to the version of sephiroth that shinra fed him through propaganda, and when he met the real thing he was let down and became resentful.

so i'm wondering, how do i handle it without making it into a personal vendetta against how horribly i felt genesis was written? heh

The writing on Genesis in CC is....yeesh.

I'd chalk that up to many things--general mishandling, the fact that Genesis is only limited to appearing when Zack is present, and some translation issues from the Japanese language over to English. Lots of his arc as a character doesn't really feel earned, or they don't take enough time to establish his good qualities to make the player care about him.

It's important to note that, despite the fact that the game failed to shed proper light on this, Genesis DOES have many good qualities. He's kind to the lower ranking soldiers, whom he reads to. He and Sephiroth, for all their rivalry, seemed to be close at one point. He was presumably a good friend to Angeal. And even Gackt himself has said that Genesis has a "sweet" streak hidden beneath all that bluster.

It's equally important to note that the Genesis we see in CC is desperate, dying, and under the influence of the Degradation Process. Angeal himself points out that the process seems to dull the mind, clouding it. Sephiroth may or may not have some variation of this as well once his Jenova cells are activated in Nibelheim. So Genesis is really not "himself", warped and twisted, trying to preserve his life, angry and bitter at what Shinra did to him. He's at his lowest point emotionally and psychologically, hence why he does what he does. The writing....just doesn't convey it well.

As for his relationship with Sephiroth, I feel like Sephiroth was closest to him out of all his friends, and Genesis' previous idolization of Sephiroth is the primary reason why he WANTS to be the best. He wants to beat Seph to prove that he's WORTHY of being around Seph. As a boy, Seph was his hero. He HAS to surpass him or become his equal to prove that he can stand toe to toe with the person he feels is a real hero. The dilemma is that Sephiroth never wanted to be a hero and would have always valued Genesis just as he is. Genesis already had what he was looking for...he just didn't realize it until it was too late. They're a complicated pair, with lots of miscommunication, unresolved tension, and poor decision making shared between them. I think they needed to talk to each other more than anything else. Because there was something genuine there. They could have kept it, they could have shared the apples just like Genesis always wanted.

Post-CC, I see Genesis carrying a lot of guilt. Both his friends are "dead" and he basically kicked off the events that led to it. He's been pardoned by Minerva and will now act as the planet's hero and protector, but at the cost of the people he loved. There's no real room for arrogance anymore. He's a hero not out of pride, but shame and remorse. He's tired, lonely, and now fully recognizes the pain of what heroism truly is. He's "grown up" in a sense, become a different person. Crisis Core is a coming of age story in many ways, not just for Zack but for Genesis as well. It's too bad they kinda bungled the delivery.

Hope all of that helps! Genesis is actually a really interesting character when you dissect him. He's sorta become one of my top faves over time, even if I fully recognize him as a complete trashlord. But I think there's more to him deep, deeeeep down.

[allwaswell16]

Hiiiii I’m currently reading Love, Hate & Clickbait and was wondering if you had any recs of fics like that. Enemies to lovers and also Fake/ Pretend Relationship where they both think they’re straight at the beginning and then realize they like the other person and have a sexuality crisis

Okay, I've had this sitting in my inbox forever (sorry anon!) because I basically didn't know what to do with it. I can't find any fics that have all three of the things you're looking for. So I decided to break it up into separate options that have 2 of the 3 because I know lots of great fics that have 2 of the 3 things you're looking for! So I'll just put their tags in the description so you know which 2 that fic addresses. (And if anyone knows of a fic that matches all three tropes, let us know!)

-Harry/Louis-

✧ Lightning Strikes The Heart by @fournipplesau , @justalarryblog

(E, 130k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) And here, dear reader is where we will find out which young omega might succeed at securing a match, hoping to not become a spinster.

✧ That Sounds Fake But Okay by dancingontheceiling

(E, 112k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) Harry Styles is a rookie journalist forced to work the gossip desk at a major New York magazine. Louis Tomlinson is the A-list actor who doesn't appreciate Harry or his articles.

✧ Paparazzi by Darling28 / @blousun

(E, 93k, sexuality crisis+enemies to lovers) Louis is a successful paparazzi that the stars love. He brings out the beautiful in them and treats them kindly. But then he suddenly gets the job of photographing Harry Styles for the next few months.

✧ Mistletoe's For Two by crimsontheory

(E, 90k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) They both need dates for their respective Christmas parties and decide to use each other for their own benefit.

✧ this charade (was never going to last) by @scrunchyharry

(E, 68k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) As if the whole ‘industrial spy’ business was not stressful enough, Harry found himself in a hatred-at-first-sight relationship with one of his new coworkers, Louis, a man intent on detesting Harry.

✧ Love's On The Line, Is That Your Final Answer? by PearlyDewdrops 

(E, 53k, fake relationship+enemies to lovers) Harry can’t believe it when Louis, the boy he’s always had a tempestuous rivalry with, asks him to be his boyfriend. Well, pose as his boyfriend, that is—for a new television game show in which young couples are quizzed on how well they know each other for a jackpot of thirty grand.

✧ Follow Your Heart by dimpled_halo / @comebackassholes

(E, 32k, sexuality crisis+fake relationship) “We think it would be best to market you guys as a couple,” Simon tells them. The tone in his voice makes Louis think there’s no wiggle room to even try to argue about it.

✧ Pillow Talk by @fallinglikethis

(E, 25k, sexuality crisis+fake relationship) When Harry starts having confusing feelings for a male classmate, his sister's best friend, Louis, helps him figure himself out. Cue lots of kissing, sex, and falling in love.

✧ And I’d Marry You Harry (Because You Forced Me) by @2tiedships2

(NR, 24k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) The Proposal AU featuring Harry as Sandra Bullock, Louis as Ryan Reynolds, and all the fun a fake relationship and forced engagement can bring.

✧ i'll be yours to keep by midnights 

(NR, 17k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) louis should've thought a lot more about who he said his fake boyfriend is, especially since he and his "significant other" kinda hate each other. most of the time.

✧ if it looks like, feels like, tastes like love... by tempolarriefics / @tempolarriefix

(T, 16k, enemies to lovers+fake relationship) the one where harry and louis hate each other but pretend to date to be able to live in university 'family housing', zayn and liam are their nosy next door neighbors, and niall is the friend who made it all happen.

-Rare Pairs-

✧ Show Me Forever by 2870

(G, 42k, Zayn/Harry, sexuality crisis+fake relationship) A plan involving fake fiancés is in conduct to prolong Zayn from getting officially married, and somehow he and Harry become homeowners together, ruining everything in the best way possible. (aka, best friends to pretend relationships to roommates to lovers au)

✧ thought you might be mine by orphan_account 

(T, 11k, Zayn/Niall, sexuality crisis+enemies to lovers) Zayn's the top model in the fashion industry, until Niall shows up.

[stormyoceans]

hey girl write down your top 7 (this is nice number😋) of js's fav photo shoots, images

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT QUESTION AND 7 IS INDEED A VERY NICE NUMBER BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE IT MIGHT BE A WAY TOO SMALL ONE LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK ONLY 7 PICTURES FROM JIMMYSEA PHOTOSHOOTS WHEN WE GOT SO MANY JUST THESE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS ✋😭

i mean of course im still gonna try to do it, but know im throwing up all the blood in my body every step of the way and that if you ask me this question again in a couple of weeks the answer might be different ;;;;;;;

ANYWAY HERE GOES NOTHING!!!!!!!!

1. the chemistry in front of this fish tank is astronomical from LEMON Magazine. sorry idk what else to say except that they're literally just looking at each other and yet every time i so much as barely glance at it i still find myself in a dead faint in front of my screen drowning in the sheer incomprehensible levels of magnetism electricity tension vibes oozing from this one (1) single still image. like i know maybe it's weird to put it in first place since it only has their faces and nothing else but it really makes feel in dire need of a mental health crisis intervention team THIS IS WHAT THE WALLS OF MY PADDED ROOM LOOK LIKE

2. forehead touch from Starry Magazine. WHAT CAN I SAY IM NOT IMMUNE TO FOREHEAD TOUCHES. they're giving such effervescent 'we are so deeply intertwined and enthralled by each other that everything else just falls away' vibes that i can even look past the school boys attire this picture is just THAT beautiful. also the tenderness!!!!!!!! the sunflower!!!!!!!! I AM BUT A WEAK WOMAN

3. cuntitude Xtreme100 from ViVi men. invented maximizing their joint slay and serving so much coquettecore cuntism it makes me act deeply unwise. idek what's the worst (read: best) part of it all if jimmy's bold jewelries or sea's outfit that exposes the mole on his chest for the world to see or how fluffy their hair look or the way jimmy is resting his arms on sea's shoulder while sea's head is turned just enough to brush against jimmy's all i know is that whoever styled them for this shoot deserves a raise and a kiss on the mouth.

4. interconnectedness from PRAEW Magazine. look me in the eyes and tell me this doesn't belong in the louvre with a little tag on display under it that shows this exact title like with all due respect to my man leonardo but the mona lisa ain't shit compared to this picture. it should be studied in art classes all around the world for its lines and composition and contemporary figuration and how the intertwinement of the bodies is a metaphor for the mingling of souls throughout lifetimes. OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

5. whole face economy in one image from Mint Magazine. never in the history of the whole entire world have two people looked more stunning like the visual excellence displayed here never fails to propel me into an entire different reality. the other reason i love this one so much is that this is their usual pose but for once sea is the one holding jimmy and that truly makes me feel some type of way, the photographer really was on some galaxy brain shit for this one.

6. sea's oral fixation from ViVi men. at first i didn't want to put two pictures from the same shoot on the list just to give more variety but im currently too rabid about this one to leave it out. im not sure what compelled sea to put one of the strings from jimmy's hoodie in his mouth but that sure was. A CHOICE. i also love jimmy's smile and the more casual clothes and sea's silly goose vibes and how warm and huggable and comfort shaped they look.

7. high fantasy concept from LEMON Magazine. once again i didn't want to put two pictures from the same shoot but i think this ones deserves a place on here even just for how original it is like THE VISION THE TASTE THE FLAVOUR THE STYLE THE INSPIRATION THE QUALITY THE VIBES CHINESE MAGAZINES TRULY ARE ON SUCH A COMPLETE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF CREATIVITY GMMTV WISHES IT COULD COME UP WITH SUCH INCREDIBLE OUT OF THIS WORLD IDEAS.

[carrie-tate]

Oh, one of the stars of my blog, with whom I did a bunch of sketches in 2022

Thea!

Well, or Thea Shyen, I usually don’t use her last name… But I’m more than sure that some people remember this oc of mine (with the obvious tag #pokemon oc), when I was an active fan of Cilan from the Black and White seasons.

She is one of the most written (in terms of history) “self-inserts” that I have. I even tried to make a sketch comic about how she joined the company of Ash, Iris and Cilan, so… on my blog it is simply tagged #comic, so there you go.

Thea is a resident of the island of Unova, in particular, she grew up in a settlement near Castelia City, in the suburbs, roughly speaking. She has an older sister, Maya, who left to seek her fortune in the big city as a Pokémon trainer, leaving Thea with hers Lucario. Who does not perceive Thea at all as a worthy “trainer”, treating her with some disdain and demandingness. Still, Lucario is strong in spirit and strives for improvement, which is what they demand from their owners.

Actually, it is because of him and his desire to make the new owner a worthy trainer (drawing her into battles with other Pokemon owners) that Thea meets Ash and Co. Namely, Lucario simply dragged her by the hand to their company, realizing that for once a worthy opponent had appeared nearby. There he lost in a battle with Ash's Pikachu. Left outside the pokeball after the battle, he also heard in Thea’s conversation with Ash that their company was heading to Castelia City, where Maya was currently.

And because of his stubbornness and the fact that with his whole appearance he said “You (Thea) will go with them,” Thea reluctantly decides to join the journey until they get to Castelia City.

Here we can already mention Thea’s second important Pokemon - Minccino. This is a girl and she is definitely Thea’s closest friend, literally the first (and for a long time the only) Pokemon she caught. Although Thea received it more by accident. As a child and walking near the city with her sister, she noticed Minccino in the bushes.

So when she simply tried to get closer to look at the Pokemon, Thea (being very clumsy since childhood) successfully trips, raising clouds of dust and dropping her bag of Pokeballs. In fact, Thea did not dream of being a trainer, and she carried pokeballs with her simply because her sister constantly did not have enough space for them. Minccino, obviously, was scared at first and hid, but after that her natural habits of “cleaning up” got the better of her and she went out to Thea, just to clean the dust from her clothes. And from a bag too.

All this time, Thea was afraid to even move, simply watching the Pokemon, until Minccino herself pushed one of the dropped Pokeballs towards her, showing that the girl seemed good to the Pokemon. So Minccino voluntarily chose Thea as the trainer.

And so she tagged along with the girl when she went on a trip, although Thea tried to leave her at home, thinking that she would soon return. But in the end, in the Thea-Pokemon duel it came out 0:2 and Minccino went with her trainer.

As they travel to Castelia City, Thea becomes somewhat accustomed to Ash's company, showing her humble and polite nature. I'm willing to bet that Iris will be the first to notice the "spark" between Cilan and Thea.

In Castelia City, they will separate briefly, as Thea and Lucario's goal was to find Maya in the first place. Lucario hoped that he could return to his old trainer, but in the end it turns out that Maya no longer needs him. She has a new Pokemon (I like to think it's Purloin) and Lucario is a thing of the past. Of course, this wasn't meant to be anything treacherous on Mai's part, but for Lucario it was a crisis.

I can see him possibly even escaping after this and Thea enlisting the help of Ash, Iris and Cilan to find him. And when they find him, when Thea decides to try becoming a trainer for Lucario. And it is because of this decision that she will continue to travel with Ash and the others.

There will obviously be hints of romantic feelings between Thea and Cilan that even Ash will be able to notice (Iris and Ash ship them, that's canon to me). But their relationship itself will begin much later. They will have time to part when Thea decides that she has gained enough experience and decides, like Ash, to try herself in coping with the trainers of various Unova gyms.

But then they will meet somewhere, and the first thing Thea will do is rush to hug Cilan, without thinking at all. And then it will be crystal clear to both of them that these two are in love~

And Thea was also afraid of subway trains (obviously, the first time she goes down there will be with Ash’s company, because this was not the case in her city), because they are noisy, there are a lot of people everywhere and in general it is discomfort. But thanks to Cilan's enthusiasm and his love for trains, this fear will gradually fade away

[unreadpoppy]

So I heard ya know about theater stuff 👁️

/cracks knucles

Boy do I know about theater. I'm techinically getting a degree in theater (the actual name of my course is 'scenic development' but we learn about both theater and some of filmmaking. My course is also techonological which means it's more practical and it's shorter) this semester and I have been participating in Drama Club theater productions since 2016 (it's very amateaur-ish but it did help me a lot and it led me to knowing my current singing teacher)

But, if the post Sky tagged me is anything to go by, I heard you want some recs.

I really love the theban trilogy by Sophocles, which is composed of three plays: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus in Colono and Antigone. Also, I really recommend Jean Anouilh's version of Antigone, it explores more the themes of family and duty.

The Mandrake by Machiavelli is a comedy but with a tone of social critique that I found really enjoyable.

I'll say that I am a bit lacking in Shakespeare but A Midsummer's Night Dream can be a really fun read if you want something more light hearted!

I need to read more of his plays but if you are looking for something with a heavier social political undertone, I recommend Bertold Brecht's plays, like The Good Soul in Setsuan, Mother Courage and Her Children, etc. (note: even thought I haven't read a lot of his work, I really like his Epic Theater and agree with a lot of stuff that that brings, like making stuff so that the audience never reaches catharsis and makes them think)

I haven't really read this play BUT the students whose classes I accompany in my internship are staging Endgame by Samuel Beckett, and honestly, by each rehersal, more intrigued I get.

I'll be honest, there's a lot of plays that I've yet to read but I can also give you some musical theater recs, as I also love that.

Falsettos (the 2016 revival) is funny yet heartbreaking, with a story about love, family and living in the HIV/AIDS crisis (and also judaism). The songs are great, many have very uplifiting vibes but the sad ones hit HARD.

Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd (I recommend watching the OG stage versions, i think a recording of each can be easily found on youtube) are Sondheim classics and you just can't go wrong with Sondheim

Next to Normal is a musical that handles mental health and grief, with many touching moments, and the ends always leaves me as a mess.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is a musical pop rock opera adaptation of a portion of War and Peace and honestly, the music is just PHENOMENAL. Banger after banger.

I know everyone and their mother has talked about Hamilton, and despite it's problems, I still think the music itself is really good.

Book of Mormon and Avenue Q are really funny, acid comedies, with some really great numbers, that will make you laugh and might even make you reflect on life.

Waitress is another fave of mine, I love many of the songs and they just have this sweetness and heartfeltness to it that I just aaaaaaaaa

Phew, that was a lot, but I'm always happy to provide more!

[itsseohannbin]

thank you for the tag Pookie!! @feelbokkie

Get To Know Me!

❣ Who is your favorite Kpop group?

Stray Kids is my main group, but I'm also dabbling in some others, like Ateez, Big Bang, iKon, Enhypen, Astro, The Boyz, NewJeans, BlackPink, BTS/Jungkook. (One OK Rock & The Rose are also heavily loved but idk if they qualify as Kpop or not?)

❣ Which member sparked your interest first?

I think my answer is the same as nearly every other Stay out there.... Lee Felix Yongbok.

he's just such a sweet lil cinnamon roll with the voice of a devil. his smile got me first, cause hello? look at it and tell me you aren't melting!!?? (being considered the embodiment of sunshine by all my close friends/family of course only heightened the adoration I had for him). I truly and utterly adore him sm 😊

❣ Who was your first bias?

Han Jisung, obviously 🙄🙄 smooth lil bitch that he is..

I mean, look at this smol bean :(

He is absolutely adorable, and he held my heart for such a long period of time before Binnie came along out of nowhere and shut that shit down LOL

it's almost like I convinced myself Han was my bias and Changbin was my number 1 bias wrecker, when in reality, it was the complete opposite. Bin has always been #1 with Han fighting for his chance in #2.

❣ Who is your current bias?

I think I've made it abundantly clear over the last few days 6 months lmao help who my heart truly belongs to, and it's this fucking dude right here omg.

juST LOOK AT HIM!! Boba eyes, curly hair, plushy lips 🥺🥺

I just wanna hold him😭😭

I denied it for so so SO LONGGGGG and I'm so ashamed that I did because the moment I was like "fuck, yeah, this is the one," I felt like I could breathe properly for the first time since becoming a STAY LOL.

I had a little dramatic moment with a Chan Bias Friend of mine about the whole ordeal (thank you again for Syd for holding me through that crisis bc lord it was a big one!), and told her that I feel like I've been wearing beer goggles for my entire journey as a STAY and I just now took them off, and the world seems so much clearer now.. everything makes so much more sense LOL. We always talk about how your bias is most like you and your wrecker is what you look for most in a partner, but it's the complete opposite for me. Changbin truly has my entire heart and I could not be happier knowing it's him that's protecting it

❣ What makes them your bias?

This is a loaded question, but I'll try to explain it as clear and concise as possible.

I fucking adore this man.

So so fucking much.

It's so true that you don't find Stray Kids in your time of need, they find you. Changbin found me. 6 months or so ago, I had an "oh shit" moment where I kind of realized that it's been Binnie all along, but I wanted to deny it and stay loyal to Han because he was my first and I was determined to keep him as my #1.. but after my Binnie moment, I started going HARD. I watched everything. interviews, skz-codes, live performances, tiktoks, vlogs, skz-talkers, the entirety of Kingdom LW then all the way back to music videos and the bts for the mv's. I became obsessed, not just with all of the members, but with Binnie. His personality is so so sweet and so genuine and so raw that I couldn't help but gravitate towards him. His duality, his personality, his stage presence. It was overwhelming in the best way possible. He's become such a safe space for me over the course of the last year and a half that I've been apart of the STAY community and been a fan of the group. His encouraging words, his gentle and loving presence, his loud and confident personality. All of it.

He's unknowingly helped me come to terms with my eating disorder and helped me stay on a healthy and positive path in my journey to self-love. He taught me the importance of our bodies and how to properly take care of the body you were born with. He taught me how to stick to my principles and never stray from my own beliefs, no matter what people around me have to say/do about it. He taught me how to appreciate the family I was blessed with, and that yes, sometimes it is nice to just dance with them in snow. He taught me confidence and self-acceptance in ways no trainer or therapist ever could. He's helped me accept myself, helped me realize that life is not about the journey, but who you spend the journey with. He's taught me to Never let the fear of being myself, stop me from being myself (this one is so fucking huge and so fucking important to me, you'll never understand). He is such a huge inspiration for me. I can't get over how much I love him and how much I owe to him and his existence. I see posts and tiktoks all the time about how Changbin is like everyones own personal happy pill, and he truly is.

I could go into very specific details with video timestamps, specific lyrics, tiktoks and moments where my love for him was solidified more and more, but I feel like we would be here all day and I want to keep this post short and sweet.

So yes, I adore Changbin and his presence in my life. He is truly an inspiration in so many aspects and I just cannot imagine a life without him, or the rest of SKZ, in it.

❣ Who is your bias wrecker?

For the longest time possible, it was a Seungmin. The little menace he is. It was him, and then I had a moment where I slowly starting veering off towards Minho, cause he's like, the king of menaces and Seungmin is just his little menace-in-training. Then it went back to Seungmin after watching most of Kingdom: Legendary War and seeing his performance in I'll Be Your Man and Love Poem.

THEN as of the most recent two comebacks, Hyunjin shows up and is like "hello I'm here too. I also require your attention". But truthfully, I think I've come to accept the fact that I'm a Changbin bias, but OT7 wrecked on the daily, because each and every member wrecks me in different ways.

Bangchan with his astounding hardwork and adoring personality. Lee Know as the king of menaces/ultimate butt hunter. Hyunjinnie with his passion and love for all the art and beauty in the world. Han with his dedication and lyrics that always hit so close to home. Felix for his rays of sunshine, demonic voice and heart of gold. Seungmin for his shy and guarded personality but the prince following in the King's foot steps. and INNIE?? BABY BREAD??? No baby bread ain't a baby bread anymore, he's a freakin' Daddy Toast and I'm uNWELL

Hannie definitely holds the top spot for bias wrecker (hello he was demoted from #1 so it only makes sense for him to fall to #2), but the remaining 6 are fighting for the title on a daily basis. It's very concerning LOL

❣ Which member(s) are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/bias wrecker?

As of right now, I cannot for the life of me get Channie out of my fucking head. Idk what it is lately, but there's just something about Chan that takes up all my attention. Maybe it's the excessive amounts of fics I've been reading and writing for him, but he's just someone who captivates your attention and absolutely requires you to keep it on him. It's frustrating but I'm also not complaining.

❣ When did you first discover this group?

I first heard of SKZ by the boyfies little sister who is a die hard kpop fan. When I first met her when she was 11 or 12, she was a big fan of BTS, and I tried to bond with her over Kpop, although it was something I never thought I'd ever get into, and she was like "well, BTS isn't for everyone. Have you listened to SKZ?" and she showed me Gods Menu and like one of their early SKZ Codes, and I was like "alright, they're pretty cool. Demonic voice sunshine boi, fast rapper #1, fast rapper #2, maniacal little puppy, ethearal fairie who likes to touch butts, best leader, tiny baby with large hands and pretty artist." but after that I didn't really give them a second thought.

Then, in January of 2023, I started a new job with my lifelong best friend who I hadn't caught up with in a long time, and she was obsessed.. she had already been apart of Stayville since maxident, and she got our other friend into them as well, so when we spent every break and lunch hour together scrolling through tiktoks and listening to her gush about how amazing these men were, I was like, alright. I'll give them a shot. If my best friend adored something so much, who am I to not give them a shot and see what all the fuss was about.

She showed me the MAMA 2022 performance and from there, I was hooked.

Thank you Kennie for bringing these losers into my life.

❣ Have you ever been to one of their concerts?

I have not. I've seen so many concert videos and tiktoks of others living out the ultimate dream and I am so so jealous. I really hope they come to Canada on their next tour. I will be absolutely devastated if they don't, but I am fully willing to road trip down to any state at any time to see them live. I will not miss another concert. I will not.

❣ What are some of your favorite songs by the group?

oh fuck.

okay uhm, lets see...

DLMLU

Case 143

Scars

Doodle

Alien

Chill

Give Me Your TMI

3Racha

Taste

Circus

Thunderous (definitely getting a Thunderous tattoo)

Volcano

Sorry, I love you

Venom/Maniac (First performance I watched)

Charmer

Waiting For Us

Gods Menu (first song I heard)

EASY ??!!!!??

TOP (holy fuck incredible song 10/10)

Back Door (first choreo I learned)

Miroh

SuperBowl

Get Lit

Butterflies

Hello STRANGER

Comflex

LOL it's really hard to pick favorites when their entire discography is played on repeat 24/7. There is not one song I skip while listening to my SKZ playlist. Not one!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No presh tags :) || @moonlightndaydreams @channieandhisgoonsquad @bethanysnow @noellllslut @queenmea604

[thisonesatellite]

i was tagged by the lovely and wonderful @booksandabeer . Thank you, darling. (Transatlantic is now officially on my watch list.)

last song: People of the Sun - Rage Against The Machine

Rage slaps harder than coffee and sometimes i need that in the morning.

last show: Shadow & Bone S2

Yes. i know i'm so behind. But last year work was such that i fell behind on everything and i've spent this whole year so far catching up. i have managed to binge Stranger Things S3 AND S4 (do you see how far behind i was?), Obi Wan, Book of Boba Fett, Mandalorian S3, and The Last of Us, as well as make a small dent in the back catalogue in the shape of Leverage, Leverage Redemption, Dopesick, and The Librarians. All since December. So do not come at me with my tardiness. i'm doing my best. 😘

last movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

i have gone to see every single MCU movie since Iron Man on opening night and despite the MCU's descent into madness and disappointment i can't stop now, you feel me. Having said that i think that Guardians was a good movie, not least because it was refreshingly self contained. i loved the fact that for a change the entire Fate Of The Universe And Everyone In It did not hang in the balance. As Angela says in Bones, "Sometimes you don't save the world. Sometimes you just make your friend happy." EXACTLY.

Also, James Gunn listened to the exact same albums as a teenager as i did, i will die on that hill. Obscure 80s British post punk anyone? Late 70s Springsteen? Parliament, Cheap Trick, Spacehog, Faith No More, Three Dog Night, fucking X? The fact that Gunn plastered a The The song across one of the emotional turning points of this movie - i almost stood up and clapped. IN THE MOVIE THEATER. (i would never. i am the person who will ask you to stop talking if you sit next to me and don't shut up. And i will be firm about it.)

If Star-Lord ever returns to the tunes of New Model Army or Mother Love Bone, i will die.

currently watching: Justified and The Umbrella Academy S3.

Still trying to make a dent in the current and back-catalogue watchlist. Do not say the word Witcher in my presence. 😂 Or Ted Lasso, which i will binge the moment the last ep drops, no matter what series i'm in the middle of. Also, now i had to put @booksandabeer's rec Transatlantic on the list WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.

currently reading: DOES IT LOOK LIKE i HAVE TIME TO READ RIGHT NOW? i BARELY HAVE TIME TO WRITE. 😂 But actually, if audiobooks count, i'm listening to An Economic History of The World since 1400 (from The Great Courses), because macroeconomics are fucking fascinating, ok? i think macroeconomic trends, constraints, and ambitions are the only reason human beings as a whole have ever done anything, ever, (and by macroeconomics i don't mean money).

All this while a stack of books collects dust on my night stand.

current obsession: the aforementioned macroeconomics, stucky (there's the historical event AND a cold war east germany spy fic to write, i'm looking at you @bittersweet-in-boston). There is also an epic dramione idea i had last year which is starting to seriously snap at my heels. i might have to visit that sandbox again. (Forgive me @mysteriouscatstellation)

Also, how do i get rid of the need to sleep? Those are hours i could use, people. Anyone have tips?

Damn, this got so long. That was way more answer than any of you were looking for, wasn't it.

Absolutely zero-pressure-tags: @cable-knit-sweater, @crisis-froggo, @mwritesff, @voylitscope, @controlofwhatido, @ace-in-reserve

[belle--ofthebrawl]

@anotherghoul666 I AM STILL CONSUMED BY THIS TRILOGY I RE READ IT SO MUCH. It has me in such a fierce chokehold. Melisande??? The Bridge Scene in the 2nd book??? THE THIRD BOOK ENDING LIKE THAT?? Keeping things vague in case anyone wants to read it and doesn't want spoilers. AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I've only met one other person who's read it so I am VERY EXCITED RIGHT NOW :D !!!

And here's the Music Eras of my life. Mostly. Thank you for the tag again! I should probably figure out how to do a read more on mobile one of these days.

First song/artist you remember liking: We were a pretty strict household in terms of music, so probably some kind of religious hymn of I'm being entirely honest. I was permitted whatever played on the Christian radio station. I think the first CD I ever got was Hilary Duff from a cousin!

Middle school anthem: Still not allowed much variety in music...but I had my very first crush on someone who's nickname was "Bumblebee" so when I found Bambi's - Bumblebee, I thought it was a sign.

Road Trip Must Have: Dragonstea din Tai. No explanation needed. If you can't handle me at my numa numa then you don't deserve me anywhere else on my music taste. I will be generous in case I'm traveling with a metalhead and put on the Feuerschanz version. I found them on TikTok recently and they are delightful.

Guilty Pleasure Artist: I second the opinion about nothing being "cringe", but there are a few considered so just because of the fan base around it being weird teenagers. Who cares. Teen years are for being really weird and finding out who you are so you can refine that weirdness blob into a fun personality. I got really into Vocaloid and honestly? A lot of it still hits. And (about to show my entire ass here) Homestuck music. (Gold Pilot 👍) If you know, you know and I don't have to explain myself. We have An Understanding. The Undertale OST by Toby Fox as well by extension. (Bless everyone who got us Muffet and Spider Dance.)

know all the lyrics to: The entirety of the Electra Heart album. I view Lana del Rey gays with mild fascination. Same genus, different species.

A song that makes you cry: Respite on the Spitalfields has hit different since the Ritual back in September. It came on shuffle as I left: We're leaving the city/So this is farewell/ as I merged on the interstate and the tears would not stop coming as I careened down the highway, screaming myself hoarse. How I didn't get into an accident, I will NEVER know.

A song to yell to: Amon Amarth has slowly crept their way into my playlist and I'm very fond of screaming to any of their songs in my car before I put on my "Respectable and Closed Off Worksona"... I really like Heidrun and Shield Wall! So I was really happy to see those pop up in my shuffle game!

Current favorite music video: I'm still obsessed with the animation for Autoheart's Hellbent. My gender crisis has been over for a while but that's what the beginning of it looked like back in high school.

Current favorite Band: Ghost/Sleep Token/ Amon Amarth/Please don't make me narrow it down any further.

If I had to listen to one song for the rest of my life: That would suck. Do I really have to answer it? Alright fine. EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE/. - Shikata Akiko from the Ar Tonelico 3 soundtrack. Only because there WAS a period of time where I listened to it on repeat for a week straight. It's my happy song.

Stuck on repeat: Moscow - Autoheart, because it's the designated song of a very fluffy SwissAlps fic I have about 700 words on. It's also another happy song of mine.

Would Kill to see them live/Again: I have Ritual tickets so. No murder. But if Sleep Token comes my way? Watch out. Also would like to see In This Moment, Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, Dorothy, Autoheart. Ke$ha. Mad Gallica if she ever gets her stageshow dream come true. Would like to go to more concerts in general.

[katatonicimpression]

Hmm OK I'm about to just direct bitch about something I read in a tag and I'm aware that that's unkind but it's such a weird take to me, I feel like I need to express my thoughts

So, this is what they said:

This feels so strange to me. Broadly:

This isn't boring neutral coworker stuff, it's direct antagonism and also they kind of aren't friends?

They're relationship is antagonistic right now specifically because of whats happened in other series - so, not a lack of continuity but the opposite

The fandom point is bizarre in a number of ways

So Number 1, what we've been seeing between Sam and T'Challa in this series so far (since issue 1 let's be clear) is T'Challa being a dick to Sam unprompted. He's condescending to him and generally being prickly, and Sam clearly bothered by it. This is actually kind of fun to read, in particular T'Challa's insistence on calling him "Sam" only - it's interesting, T'Challa is intensely bothered by this one guy in a way that is kind of more intimate than their early encounters.

And, yeah, I don't think they've ever been friends necessarily. They've worked together a lot of times. They seem to like each other. Sam seems to really look up to and respect T'Challa, and T'Challa seems charmed by and impressed by Sam. But they weren't close by any means - they don't hang out outside of work etc. What we're seeing here is that same dynamic turned a little dark, purely because T'Challa is being a dick.

Also, unless something goes horribly wrong here on the writing side of things, it's clear that this antagonism is a plot thread that's been set up, currently expanded upon and will be resolved in the series. It's there on purpose and hopefully will end with them closer than before... and if not that, it will at least end with them putting this shit behind them (again, so long as the writing doesn't completely collapse behind the scenes which does happen in comics a lot lol)

Number 2, I agree that they seem to have forgotten that T'Challa made Sam's original wings, and actually also made his current get up, or at least the shield. I'd love for them to talk about that.

That said, I think you could bring it up in a way that compliments the current drama. Sam is indebted to tchalla, it's part of why he respects him so much, but also might make him pull his punches when the guy is being a dick... or does he? Maybe t'challa thinks he ought to, but maybe Sam doesn't care.

So, currently in canon, Wakanda is experimenting with a more democratic system, and T'Challa is having a personal crisis. He's still being the Black Panther, but in a more secretive, quasi-exiled way, and he's having difficulties reconciling his identity as his nations hero with not being their leader - he feels untethered. His current series (by eve ewing) is about this and it's good, I recommend. But, in short, he's more grumpy than usual because he's having the least relatable personal crisis of all time.

In symbol of truth, tchalla picks a fight with Sam (instead of just talking about how Sam mostly accidentally broke some wakandan laws). Sam is there in jeans and a t-shirt ((no suit, no wings, no shield) and wins.

This is, presumably, humiliating for t'challa, and he is canonically very pissy about it. You could imagine that the fact that he made Sam's gear could add to this dynamic. Sam wasn't reverent to him, didn't perform gratitude and then had the audacity to prove that he didn't really need his help anyway.

But yes, this is why T'Challa feels this way, its why he's acting like this. This is absolutely continuous with current canon. It's not an inconsistency. It just makes sense in universe.

Now, if you'd rather they just didn't write this drama because you'd rather they dropped this thread and just portrayed them as friends, then say that. Like, that's a completely valid opinion idk why you wouldn't just say it instead of acting like it's inconsistent writing when it isn't.

Number 3 is where I am confused. So, no one cares what anyone says on tumblr, that's a freebie. For twitter, yes sometimes writers do listen to fans in ways that end up not working out but is this person seriously suggesting that some writer would deliberately make a series worse to appease fans of other series? Think about that for a second. No one is sitting at a desk going "aha! I'll make the series bad, that'll show em!".

Not that I actually think the series is bad but you get my point.

So, the Fantastic Four are literally family. X-teams tend to be a mixture of family, found family and coworkers. This is true for avengers teams to, although they often have a greater percentage of coworkers who don't really know each other. This is because the x-men more often live together, and are often formed out of necessity because the humans are trying to kill them. The avengers are more often literally co-workers; a bunch of individual heroes, with separate lives, often living planets away from each other, individually recruited to a constructed team. Like, that's fine. That's not anti-avenger propaganda from fantastic four fans, it's just the literal canon situation a lot of the time.

This particular team has two people who used to be married to each other, then a bunch of people with varying degrees of familiarity and friendship. Two of them are currently having drama, and it's arguably the most emotional they've ever been about each other. This sounds like a good thing to me! This kind of storyline is what takes two characters from coworkers to something more meaningful, you know?

It's a particularly weird complaint to bring up with Sam. In the MCU, Sam is very much an avenger, was in the team for years and a pivotal part of it. In the comics, he comes and goes, joined to replace hawkeye then quit, led them for a bit in the 2010s (but that was mostly a different team) then quit again.. etc.. He seems to have a difficult relationship with the concept, and is only occasionally actually friends with these people (Steve, Jane). Honestly, it feels ooc when he's portrayed as friendly with some of them. But I mention it because he's a weird character to focus on to make this point.

Anyway, the series has gone out of its way to portray closeness between tony and carol, who do actually have a deeper friendship than many of the others here. But for most of these dynamics, the groundwork is there, but if you want them to be portrayed as close friends or a found family or whatever, then that actually needs to be developed in, you know, storylines. You can't just dump them on a team and say "they're besties now".

You might, in fact, want to write something where the current situations that the characters are in, and their recent interactions, affect the way they treat each other. Idk. Maybe even with some cattiness and antagonistic banter? And then maybe let that play out? Idk it's just a thought

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

💥 and 🌕 for any or all WIPs you have!

'Any or all' you say! I'll answer this for multiple, just because I can. Project names in bold are the tags I use for these ones if you want to look them up (and also feel free to ask me about them!), some more talked of than others.

💥 - What is the main conflict of the wip?

taira - The danger of the dragon rising is becoming more and more prominent, especially once Taira the white rabbit exists. Taira and her friends are trying to stop it from happening. [drafted and unedited]

knitting oc - Patience is angry that she has a new adopted sister, and the main focal point of the story is really them getting to know each other and getting along. Two fun facts: one, Patience is one of my older OCs who I've recently realised is unintentionally autistic, and two, that whole story is heavily inspired by Dear Enemy, only platonic and whatnot. [partially planned]

vaniah - Arranged marriage happens (well, to simplify), and they - already good friends - have to work out how to get along in a marriage. Also Emily discovers how terrible Vaniah's self-esteem is, and also many terrible things he's done she never knew about. They kinda pull each other out of their problems in a way. The conflict is much more internal than anything else. [drafting rn]

adira - Adira trying to work out the truth of the world and how it was created and who God is, really. More complicated than that but it can truly be summed up into What is truth? [much draft but mess]

story:wcb - a short story (well, currently 23k and expected to get more like 25k I think by the time I'm finished the final round of editing). The main conflict is that Miriam and Edward are trying to work out what happens after you die. Because (spoilers) Miriam hasn't got long to live. So there are lots of emotions and things. I never meant to get attached to Miriam as a character tbh - she's a background character already deceased by the time Edward appears in Adira's story. But when I was brainstorming short stories surrounding Adira's, this was one of the stories that came to mind pretty quickly. [on second-last round of edits]

story:hiraeth - another short story (13k, from memory), this one dealing with a crisis of faith of a completely different character, after her father loses his faith. It's an extremely personal story to me, as it deals with what I went through (not entirely the same, of course) after two of my siblings (a couple of years apart) lost their faith. [on second-last round of edits]

judastale - a novel still in the planning stages, which I'd intended to write next but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being my nanowrimo project, since vaniah jumped the gun and I started writing it earlier than I intended to xD It's a Bible-based novel about Judas, from a somewhat sympathetic viewpoint, but - of course - ultimately a tragedy. I intend to remain faithful to the Biblical account, but to add in things to make it human and - yes, if I do it right I expect to end up crying over Judas Iscariot. So far I've written a short prologue and nothing more until I get my notes in order; I really might just wait until November and write it then. [planning]

inklings - I originally began to write this as a short story for the Inklings Challenge, for which I was part of Team Lewis during October last year, using an old OC from when I was in year 10 (who is one of the other 'huh she's autistic' characters lol). The story revolves around Hadassah finding a place for herself in the world, really, but she also goes through a portal to a new world during the story. I've written 8k so far, and she's just gone through the portal and beyond that I've basically stopped because I need to do more planning of what happens beyond the portal. I wrote two shorter stories, one of which is available both here and on my website under two different titles I think lol and the other I'm not yet happy with; both were to submit to fairly local competitions, and surprisingly both were commended in their competitions. I'll probably post the other at least to my website at some point. This story is very dear to my heart; though it started out entirely different, it was directly written when I was in year 10 as a coping mechanism because I didn't have many friends and I couldn't understand why I didn't and why I was always the forgettable one. I still don't understand it entirely, but I've got more used to it, and found more friends who don't forget about me. (And friends who get annoyed by me as well as being friends, but that's just life I suppose.) [partly written and planning]

"Do I have any other wips really right now? Ah yes that other one - nope that's nonfiction and wouldn't suit this question. And that other one - wait no that's literally tagged secret project for a reason. What about that one - silly silly I haven't even opened the Scrivener file for months even though I have edits waiting for it, I can't call it a wip at present."

~

I couldn't see an emoji matching the second one you sent... feel free to either give me a different emoji or clarify which one you wanted, sorry!

Ask me to elaborate on anything of what I've mentioned above if you like!

[abyssal-ali]

Marinette "Valkyrie" Wayne

Masterlist Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 ao3 link (completed) Valkyrie’s suit

Pairing: Marijon

Rating: G

WC: 2.1k

That night Marinette debuted as Valkyrie, the latest Bat. Her suit was all black, with white trim. Her symbol was a stylized Bat she designed; it was very pointy, as her weapon of choice was knives/shuriken, etc. She leaned heavily into the ghost Bat theme, like Cass. The family agreed that the two girls got along way too well and they (the fam) would be in huge trouble one day. They even looked similar, though Cass had brown eyes and Mari had blue.

(The girls were currently planning an ID swap prank, complete with coloured contacts and Cass dyeing a stripe of her hair red to match Mari.)

The third criminal apprehended by Valkyrie had a gun. She dodged before the bullet hit her and socked his jaw, knocking him out.

“How did you dodge that fast?” asked Nightwing, her partner for the night.

“I read his body language before he shot,” she deflected.

Later, she collared a suspect in a case – “practice for intimidation”, ‘Wing said. With her back to ‘Wing, who was overseeing the ‘questioning’, and facing the all-in-black guy pressed against the brick wall, she glamoured herself to have eyes glowing white and deepened her voice to beyond-spooky levels.

He quickly cracked and gave the information they needed. Valkyrie left him in a cowering heap and grappled up to ‘Wing. “Got that?”

“That was fast, V. Have you been practicing?”

“I can be scary when I want!” she slapped his chest. “I got Superboy to give me the last of his fries last week.”

“That’s because of puppy love, not intimidation!”

“What?!”

“What?”

“What did you say?” Valkyrie repeated.

“Jon has a crush on you?”

“No names,” she reminded absently. “SB has a crush on me?!”

“I thought you knew, since you were flirting back…”

“I wasn’t flirting, I was just matching his energy and copy… oh. Oh no .”

“I think the most important question right now is do you have a crush on Superboy?”

“No, we’re just friends. Although he is really cute, and he’s such a nerd, and Kismet loves him, and he’s Damian’s best friend because he’s irresistible and really nice and ohnoIhaveacrushonhim . Nightwing, what do I dooooo?” She wailed, clutching at his arm.

“Tell Superboy you like him. I bet he’ll ask you out.”

“...oh.” I’ll have to tell him about the Kwami. We’re a package deal.

“Glad to help my little sis out with her relationship crisis. And if he hurts you, just let us know!”

“Absolutely not. Tag!” she tapped his shoulder and flew off the roof, grappling away as Nightwing chased her.

~

Jon was over the next day to visit Damian. 

“Kent, just tell her and stop making excuses to come see me,” Damian greeted him.

Jon huffed at being called out. “Fine.” 

He knocked on Mari’s door and shooed everyone away.

“Jon! Hi, come in. One second.” She crossed the room to close her curtains so no prying family members could peep at the sure-to-be-awkward conversation.

“Uh, there’s something I need to tell you, but if I do, then I’ll have to tell you something else and it’s really secretive and ugh, why is this so hard ?” she flopped on her bed, groaning.

“Uh, I need to tell you something too.” Jon pushed his glasses up, though they didn’t need it. “I really like you, like, more than a friend, but if you don’t like me then I still want to be your friend, if you want, but…”

“I like you too, Jon. Like, like-like you. Ugh, that’s too many ‘likes’. But uh, if this is gonna go anywhere, I need to tell you this other thing, but you can’t tell anyone else, especially my family. Promise?”

“Pinky promise.” They shook pinkies and Jon cuddled Kismet while Mari mentally prepared.

“Uh, Jon?”

He looked up and yelped. “Whoa, Mari!”

“Relax, it’s just one side. Look at the…” She nodded at the lotus tattoo on her left ribs. It was in a semi-circular pattern, with a gradient of different colors bleeding into each other and a complex geometric design in the petals and leaves.

“So, you got a tattoo? I’m pretty sure Jason has at least one,” he commented.

“It's not an ink tattoo, it’s magic. So, uh, did your dad tell you about Ladybug?”

“From Paris? He said they couldn’t find her.”

“I was Ladybug. When I was fifteen, I did a remote spell that merged all the Miraculous and untethered the kwami. The spell and pain from it knocked me out for two days. When I woke up, I had this tattoo and had become a Miraculous myself. Since I was the guardian, they stayed with me. You can come out, guys.”

Several fuzzy flying blobs appeared in Jon’s face. He was introduced to the kwami one at a time. 

“We’re a package deal, you need to know.”

“That is so cool! Do they still give you their power, or what?”

“Well, when the kwami are untethered, their powers are unstable and can easily run out of control. However, merging more than a couple Miraculous is dangerous. I have to utilize their powers regularly so they and I don’t have a meltdown and blow the planet up or something. But I don’t need to be transformed to use the powers, and I have constant mind link access, so I can ask them to leave me and take some of their energy with them if I need.”

“Are you okay with all that?” Jon asked worriedly.

She shrugged. “I admit, it was a surprise being told I’d become a mega-Miraculous when I woke up from that nap, but I do like knowing they’re all safe with me and no one can steal a Miraculous or the Miracle Box anymore.”

“I can see why you don’t want them to know, but I think you should tell them eventually.”

Her shoulders sagged. “I know. Just not yet.”

“That’s okay, I’m sure it will take some time.”

Mari smiled gratefully at him. “So, what I was getting at was: we’re a package deal. They won’t always be around in our personal space, but they will be around some of the time and I’ll have Guardian duties and such to attend to at times, so I’ll be busy.”

“I was aware you were a vigilante when I decided to confess and ask you out,” Jon shrugged. “You’re great at schedules, I’m sure we can work things out.”

“If you’re sure this whole mess is what you want. I know I act fine most of the time, but I am still very traumatized from the whole Hawkmoth-Ladybug-Guardian-orphan thing,” Mari warned.

“I know, but I’d like to give this a chance. So, will you go out with me?”

“You’re seriously fine with the Kwami?”

“Yup! I’ve definitely seen weirder. I’m half-alien, you know.”

“Mhm. Oh, I also have a high affinity for magic, so I put up an illusive sound barrier in my room so my family can’t listen in. I’m taking it down now, so no talking about them .”

Jon nodded, and Mari released the spell.

“Oh, I never gave you my answer, did I? Yes, I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Wednesday, seven o’clock? They’re showing the new Marvel movie at the theater. Would you like to see it?”

“Sure; we can laugh at the inaccuracies, and I’ll critique the costumes.”

Marinette motioned to Jon to keep talking while she tiptoed to the door.

“Uh, do your brothers know I like you? Because they were acting weird today – weirder than their normal crazy. Wait, do I have to re-meet the family? Please tell me I’m not gonna die as soon as I step foot outside of here.”

Marinette swung the door open, smiling sweetly at Jon. “Of course not! My family would never stoop to eavesdropping on their little sister’s private conversations, if they know what’s good for them .”

Five panicked faces looked at her.

Jason turned to Dick. ‘I take it back, she is scary. Run!”

Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, and Damian scattered.

Wednesday night Jon was approached by Mari. She waved at him and crossed the street.

“Hi, Cass,” Jon said.

Cass pouted. “Supers,” she grumbled.

Jon was hugged from behind. He jumped slightly. “Sneak up a little louder, would you?”

“Yay, you passed the test! You do know me. If only people whom I have lived with for months and solved decades-old cold cases in hours could identify me,” Mari said into her hood.

She then picked the bug out of the folds of fabric and squashed it. “Bye, Cass!”

Cass waved and went to the weapons store across the street.

“She’s surveillance, to see when the guys show up.”

“Okay. I got the tickets– after you, Lady.”

"Thanks, my knight in jeans and hoodie!” In a lower voice, so no one could overhear, she added, “I’m working on a new suit for you. A hoodie and jeans do not make a suit.”

Ten minutes into the film Cass texted Marinette. 

Cass: D + D behind you, back left row. Caps and black jackets.

Marinette inched closer to Jon, then turned and glared directly at her brothers. 

I know where you sleep , she mouthed. They left.

When they left for ice cream after the movie, Jason was behind a newspaper by the ice cream stand. Marinette casually flicked a shuriken, slicing the paper neatly in half. Jason got the hint and left.

Marinette glared at all the security cams they passed, knowing Tim and possibly Babs would be watching them electronically. 

“Can you take me flying?” she asked Jon.

“Of course.”

They finished their cones, ducked into an alley, Jon became Superboy (unzipped his hoodie and tucked his glasses away), and took off.

Once they were over Star City, Marinette motioned ‘down’. They landed on Queen Consolidated’s roof.

“I can glide as Ladybug.” 

Tikki appeared.

“Spots on!”

Mari took off, hand-in-hand with Jon.

“Take me higher,” she called, letting him pull them up to watch the sunset on the horizon and the stars become visible.

“I can show you the world,” Jon sang to her as they flew above the earth, watching the lights turn on as night fell. She giggled at his cheesiness and they continued the duet.

Marinette detransformed and freefell –until Jon caught her– then they flew back to the Batcave.

Mari waved goodbye and Jon returned to Metropolis after landing a kiss on her cheek with his superspeed.

“Hello, my lovely family. Did you enjoy spying needlessly on Jon and me?”

“Can you take that disguise off? It’s so confusing having you two switched,” Dick complained. 

That morning Mari had put in hazel contacts and worn Cass’s clothes, and Cass had Mari dye a streak of red in her hair at the exact same spot she did. With Cass wearing blue contacts and a set of Mari’s clothes, the family kept getting confused about who they were talking to.

The girls removed their contacts and switched hoodies, to the family’s preference and relief.

“Did Jon take you flying?”

“Yep. It’s breathtaking watching the sun set midair. Chilly up there, though. I’m with Robin tonight, right?”

“We’re raiding a drug deal down by the docks. You are with Red Hood, Red Robin, and Black Bat. Robin will be backup. Nightwing and I will be with Batwoman and Spoiler around town,” Bruce informed.

The family suited up and left.

At times like these, Mari regretted not letting them know her secret, where she could transform with a command or even a thought now. Putting on layers of safety protection took way longer than the two-second transformation.

She had modified Valkyrie’s full-face mask to have glowing eyes, either red or white, and her voice modulator to do deeper or horror-movie-childishly high.

Mari pulled her mask up, hood down, and revved her bike. 

Valkyrie was still a myth in Gotham; she’d only been out a week, so she hung back with Robin while the other three busted the deal.

The only problem was, it was a setup.

Penguin and Black Mask had teamed up to take down the bats. 

More goons arrived and tied up the Reds and BB. Red Hood had a bullet graze on his thigh and was bleeding steadily.

Robin relayed the situation to Oracle and requested backup from the other four Bats.

Marinette kept up a steady stream of shuriken and knives, taking out goon after goon.

Robin eyed her. How does she have so many weapons on her?

Their backup arrived and they began taking out more goons.

Valkyrie stayed in the shadows, sending missiles with deadly maiming accuracy.

A knife cut Red Robin’s rope bindings and he began freeing Hood and BB.

With the entire family gathered the two mobsters stood no chance. Valkyrie kept injuring backup goons before they could attack, and the Bats left, all alive and mostly well, with a surprising minimum of damage.

"You’re our good luck charm,” teased Steph.

Mari laughed. “Hardly. You could say I was your bad luck charm, that it was a setup.”

[mavidin]

Happy New Year!!!

No photos to attach. Just thoughts and prayers of hope, healing and fortitude. And this song.

No matter how festive the Holidays is, December has recently always gotten me down. It is a season of love and family - and usually I am not bothered, love-just-ain't-enough or family-are-people-we-choose and all. But lately, I must have been having a mid-life crisis of sorts, or perhaps in the late thirties, I have a better view of the past and how it sort of paved the now.

And even if they say that we don't need to mark yesterday as the end of something, or today as the start of something, I wanted to write this as a reminder that I have somehow:

Quarter 1:

Went to the world-famous Destileria Barako that very few Aklanons know of 🍻

I managed to sustain Maharlika Tribe last year and made one of the most beautiful banner yet. That talk with Nong Rodel, could be the last since he is currently in the hospital now. But I will always remember that night and be thankful that I was able to literally write that history with him.

Quarter 2:

I experienced the wonderful serenity of alone-ness and independence for three weeks in Manila and miraculously (through prayers) topped our vascular training. And had five new acquaintances! It was such a blessing that I went with a group of people who help each other and do not compete with each other.

I made a dream come true! It is not often that I make my dreams come true, I do not even think about dreams anymore, but I have been to the culture-filled ten-peso bill church that I have looked at so often in my childhood. Oh, Barasoain.

I experienced the country's longest procession with Renee!

I stupidly, hungrily lost my phone and funnily found it!

Quarter 3:

The heart-breaking moment that tested my credibility have gone. I ended so many friendships because of this quarter. I built even higher and thicker walls than I already have. I realized that time and shared experiences do not define the strength of a relationship and so, I am now even more wary of humans. Doc M asked,

So nanghinayang ka sa friendship ninyo?

I actually did not think of it that way. I thought I wasted my time and investment in a person who should not be a friend in the first place. But the friendship, I could do away with that.

Quarter 4:

I discovered how to listen to podcasts (Short History of, Catholic Saints and Everything Everywhere) and liked it (especially meeting Saint Thomas in a new light and shedding a tear for Vincent van Gogh)!

So if Doc E did not notice 2023 pass by, I have a few milestones at least.

I heard this song played thrice yesterday. First, I saw an old woman who looked to be in her sixties sing this in a karaoke. So I played it again in Spotify. And third, as I was sitting with Tay Upong. And I thought, how simple and yet so fitting.

🎼🎵 Okay lang naman ang ating usapan

Hindi na lang babalikan ang nakaraan, ang nakaraan

Ayos lang, basta't kasama

Konting alak lang kahit walang pulutan

Ang minsan, naaalala

'Di magtatagal, tayo ay liligaya 🎶🎤

Tay Upong is the single living good influnce in my life. Tati was gone. He is the only person I know that gave me thoughts like, "Gusto ko mag asawa sa ulihi it makay Tay Upong," the only male figure I love completely, the only person in my childhood that showed me love and stayed the same.

The nakaraan in the song is not about hate and bad memories with Tay Upong. I remember afternoons when I would get white hairs in exchange of five pesos. I remember playing with his skin tag. I vaguely remember riding in his beaten and rusted motorcycle while I was a kid. I remember that afternoon when I told him I will go home but he asked me what's wrong and took that worm crawling in my leg. I remember being so high sitting in his shoulders. I remember einabog he would cook for me.

With Tay Upong, there is only kindness and love. The one and only remaining good in my life. The only one that makes me look back in the past and not fear the ghost there. And I was so glad we were together yeterday. And I pray that 2024 would be good to us, to him especially.