#I've never seen it and neither has my dad I think but he got the soundtrack from a friend in high school or smth I think so I kinda

[match-your-steps]

also is it my imagination or is the night at the roxbury soundrack resurfacing in popularity. I've heard puttin on the ritz at two Locations recently and is pop muzik a trending social media audio??? like this can't all be a result of me playing the soundtrack over the speakers at work

[smileysuh]

comfort cuisine - TEASER

🌙 starring. Johnny Suh x afab!Reader

🔮 preview. You’ve never felt a feral need like this before, but it’s not necessarily the primal type of drive. Instead, it’s a feeling of wanting to be close to this man- who you’ve been next to for so many years, but unable to touch. Except, he’s touching you now, and you want more.

tw/cw. unprotected sex, breast worship/massaging, big dick Johnny, fingering, pussy stretching prep, 'it's finger licking good,' praise, dirty talk, masturbation, multiple reader orgasms, cumming together, creampie, soft sex, longing, fluff, etc… I pet names: (hers) honey.

👹 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 10.8k

🍭 aus. aged up/widower dad!John, best friends to lovers, Chef!John, etc…

☀️ mlist + an. I'm so happy that people loved Line Chef Mark in my fic Real Talk, I received so many messages about giving Head Chef John his own love story, and this is what I came up with in the past four months :) it's a little different from what I normally do, but I wanted to continue with that 'slice of life' theme and venture into a plot line I've never tried before with widower/single dad John :)

“So two line chefs called in, huh?” you prompt, tucking your legs up and making room for the large man on the sofa.

“I expected it from Haechan, but Mark’s generally pretty reliable. His girlfriend was on shift today, so I know he wasn’t skipping to be with her- I’m guessing they got pretty messed up last night.”

“They’re young,” you point out, accepting a beer from him. “We used to be young.”

“Used to be,” Johnny laughs, taking a swig of his drink. 

Looking at this man- this father, you realize maybe he never really got the chance to be young. At twenty five, he had a six year old, he wasn't running around blacking out and getting hung over, he was working his way up the employment ladder, dreaming about a better future for his daughter.

“You mentioned Mark has a girlfriend, I think I’ve heard about her a few times now, it’s interesting that she was in and he wasn’t.”

“I’m going to be honest, I love Mark, he’s a great kid- but, he can sometimes be peer pressured into things. Haechan has a hold on Mark unlike any I’ve seen, they bring out… interesting sides of each other.”

You laugh at the description, and it’s clear there’s more on Johnny’s mind, so you wait for him to continue. 

“It’s nice that Mark is young and in love, I can understand that- but at the same time, I just hope he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did. Not that Soonbok is a mistake, of course- I just mean that… life is fragile. You think you’re going to be with someone forever, and then you’re reminded of how frail things can be.”

You frown at his words. Even after all of these years, Johnny still holds so much pain about his lost wife. You want to do your best to help Johnny in every aspect of his life, especially emotional, but this is a topic you never know how to approach. He’s right for grieving, his ex was his first love, his true love- how is there anything you could ever say to make him feel better about her passing?

You open your mouth, only to close it, and Johnny watches you intently. Sometimes he looks at you, the way he’s looking at you right now, and you wonder if he feels the same level of connection with you that you feel with him. You wonder if he wants you to kiss him, if a kiss would make him feel better, if it would - if even for a moment - help him forget about the pains he’s faced in his life.

But it’s because of the pains he’s faced that neither of you can close the distance, you’d like to think about it that way at least. Even after all these years, it’s still too early, so you simply reach out and gently squeeze his hand.

Johnny offers you a smile, and you’re glad that in some small way, maybe you’ve helped him.

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[steddieas-shegoes]

Modern AU where Eddie is a tech repair person at an apple store in Chicago while he tries to make it big with his band and Steve is a spoiled rich kid who is trying to cover up that he's been using his macbook to film for his OnlyFans or something similar and he needs that shit wiped.

Eddie is as professional as he can be, but can't help but be amused at Steve being worried that he's gonna see everything.

S: seriously, just wipe everything. nothing has to be saved. don't even look through each file. just start over. E: okay sure. but you know you could just buy a new laptop. S: my dad checks my credit card statements. E: okay, so tell him you bought it for a friend or something. S: just. can you wipe it? E: yeah i can.

Eddie doesn't let him know that he already has seen everything because of course he subscribes to S.H. and often leaves him bigger tips than he can afford. He doesn't even know why Steve does it since he's apparently rich, or his dad is.

It only takes a few hours to wipe it, and Eddie's grateful he managed to help Steve instead of his coworker who is a certified Creep ™️ who absolutely would have made sure to watch as many of the videos as he could first.

He calls Steve and leaves a message for him that it's done, but doesn't hear back and Steve doesn't come by. He does the same thing again the next day, and the day after that, starting to grow concerned.

He goes so far as to check Steve's OF page, just to see if there's an update, but sees it's been shut down, like it never existed.

He finally caves, does the most unprofessional thing he's ever done, and texts Steve's number from his own phone.

This is Eddie from the apple store. Your laptop's ready. Just want you to know after 30 days we usually get rid of unclaimed items.

There's no response.

But two days later, Steve comes into the store wearing sunglasses and a hat, clearly trying to hide.

When he takes off the sunglasses to sign everything, Eddie sees a healing black eye and swollen nose.

He isn't stupid.

And he suddenly feels extremely protective over him.

E: did your dad find out? S: find out what? E: about your online job? S: how do you know? E: I wasn't gonna say anything, and I swear everything got wiped without anyone including myself seeing, but I do subscribe to you and I recognized you when you came in. S, already having a panic attack: shit no. this is bad. okay you can't say anything about this to anyone. please. E: I wouldn't, I won't. but your dad found out didn't he? he did this to you? S: *nods* E: you safe now? S: *shrugs* E: need a place to stay? S: i've been saving. that's why i did this in the first place. so i can pay rent somewhere. E: I have a second bedroom at my place that just opened up. up to you.

And of course Steve takes it because he's desperate, and doesn't have real world experience with a lot of strangers, but has a good feeling about this.

Eddie finds that Steve is a very typical rich kid; ignorant to a lot of the world's struggles, but not an asshole despite his bitchy attitude sometimes coming out, thinks money can fix everything until Eddie shows him that apologies and a cuddle on the couch can be better.

Steve is so touch starved, he doesn't even realize the way he always folds into Eddie's side when they're just relaxing and watching a movie, or how he always lets his hand brush against his side or hand when Eddie gets home from work. Eddie helps him look for a job, and they find that he loves working at a daycare even though the money isn't that great.

They fall in love so easily, neither of them actually realize it happens until Steve comes home after a very long day before the Christmas holidays, covered in paint stains from crafts with the kids, and Eddie just welcomes him home with a kiss.

[luveline]

kbd universe is my absolute favorite 🤩 maybe a request for when the new baby is home and she’s going through a colicky phase and won’t sleep and reader and steve are super stressed and doubting if they can do this and avery overhears and reassured them they’re the best parents? (srry if this is too specific, any direction you go will be amazing!!)

ty babe ♡ kisses before dinner au

Avery Harrington wakes up with her little sister's hand over her nose. She snorts in surprise, bed springs creaking formidably as she dislodges the small hand and rolls away from her added heat.

Bethie, the younger sister in question, has been sneaking into Avery's bed at night to put distance between them and the nonstop crying of the new baby. The baby, Avery notices, seems to be crying right now from downstairs. 

She lets her curiosity get the better of her. Slipping out of bed, she makes sure to cover Bethie with the blankets again before she leaves just like their dad does, imitating Steve's gentle cheek touch before creeping away. You and dad finally got rid of the baby gates (though they've been on and off over the years, you've retired them until the youngest learns to crawl), making her journey down a secret one. 

She can hear two voices at once just under the rattling baby cries. Steve's louder and yours softer, both speaking with the love Avery's come to expect. 

"Maybe try holding her legs higher," you suggest. 

"I think I've held her every way a baby can be held without hanging her upside down." 

"I know, honey." You're always tired lately, your voice hoarse with fatigue. "I can have her again. Pass her over." 

You get sweet when you're tired. Her dad gets cranky. He told Avery once that that's why you're good together, but Avery knows you can be just as cranky after a while. 

Avery pauses in the door of the living room. You're sitting on the farthest seat of the leather couch while Steve's standing, passing the baby to you carefully. She cries and cries no matter how much caution he shows. 

"What if she never stops?" Steve asks. 

"She will. She'll get too tired to keep going." 

"I heard about this baby who had his heart in the wrong place." 

"Steve. Honey, sit down. You're tired." 

"I can't sleep while she's crying like that. No point." 

Avery frowns as the conversation between you both devolves. She doesn't want to make things worse by showing you that she's awake, watching and waiting in the dark as you pat the baby's back desperately, and Steve's eyes get glassy. 

Avery has seen her dad cry loads of times. At the movies, the radio, sad stories. Steve cried when she broke her pinky finger, and cried again when they took the cast off. Avery isn't sure she's seen him get upset over something like this. 

He whispers something. You whisper back, trying to hold his hand in the dark, but you stop when he says, "What if we can't do this?" 

"Steve, we have to. This is it. And we want to, so… I don't know." You sound dejected yourself, looking down at the baby where she refuses to take a bottle hopelessly. "Maybe we can't do it." 

Avery can't know that neither of you truly feel this way, that you're both tired enough to catastrophize. She just watches her dad, an unshakable pillar of support, start to waver, and she knows you've got it wrong. 

"Daddy?" she asks. 

Steve rubs his eyes with a rough hand. "Ave?" he asks, plastering a meek smile over his face. He's one of the handsome dad's, everybody says so, probably because he's always smiling. 

"Sorry, did the baby wake you up?" you ask. 

Avery grins as Steve opens his arms and runs into them. Too tired to lift her up, Steve stays crouched for the hug, but eventually sits on the floor, pulling Avery into his lap. Closer, Avery cringes at the baby and her screaming. 

"Beth smushed my nose," she says. 

Steve turns her face to check it over. "You look okay. Does it hurt?" He squeezes her cheeks into a smile. 

"No," she laughs. 

Steve gives her another hug. "Well, that's good." 

He just cuddles her. Avery melts into his touch, the sound of the baby's cries feeling further away, Steve's hand covering one of her ears. 

"Sorry," he says into her hair. "I know it's not fair. Baby's just figuring out what she needs." 

"You said you can't do it." 

Baby shrieks. Steve pulls Avery's head back. "What?" 

"You and mom." Avery turns to look at you. You're frowning, bobbing the baby against your chest. "You said we can't do it." 

"We were being silly," Steve says. 

"We're tired," you agree.

"And your sister won't stop crying, we're worried she's not well, and it's really tiring, Ave, but we weren't thinking straight. Of course we can do it," Steve says breezily. 

"Yes, you can. You're the best mom and dad ever. Ever ever!" she says severely. "You can do everything, I know you can do it. Maybe I can have her and you guys can sleep and then tomorrow you'll be ready again." 

You and Steve laugh at the same time, chuckles that warm her heart, though she knows she's being shot down. "That's really nice of you, but that's okay. Me and mom got this," Steve says, brushing the back of his finger down her cheek.

Avery preens at the attention, back going lax in his arm. Steve leans down to hug her, his chin digging into her shoulder, heavy with fatigue. She doesn't tell him to move. 

It's a miracle that the baby seems to run out of steam not long after, marked by your happy sigh, "Aw, good girl. You're hungry, I knew it. You just don't like these bottle nibs." 

"See? I told you you could do it," Avery says.

You offer her a grateful, adoring smile. "You're my smart girl, that's why." You bop the baby on the nose with the tip of your finger. "And you're my tired girl." 

"What about me?" Steve asks. 

"You're my pillow, handsome. Come up here, I need to lean on you. Ave, you can be my blanket." 

[tom-is-online]

not to be rude but ena and akito are. completely different in terms of personality and overall character😭 maybe someone likes akito but doesn’t fw ena’s personality or whatever. it’s fine

reacting to THIS POST

I don't know what you're reading, but I would never describe them as completely different. Sure, they ARE different characters, but if anything is similar about them, it is their personalities and the role they play in the story.

They are both very dedicated and passionate about their corresponding passions despite neither of them having "natural talent." Instead of giving up, they keep working hard to show themselves that they can follow the path they want to despite what others (Vivid Street (Arata) in Akitos's case and their dad in Ena's) around them have to say about it.

They're both very blunt whether they mean to be rude or not, but they both also care a lot about the people around them, especially their units and each other even if they don't show it in normal ways.

Their inferiority in their talents also brings the fact that both of them experience jealousy for people who show they have more talent which is shown in both of their focus events a lot

Neither of them is very academically gifted mostly through a lack of interest

And theres a lot more which im sure someone less tired than me would love to tell me in the notes :)

the 4komas even riff on them often acting very similar

+ Their BNW quotes literally mean the same thing

the whole thing with them both really like cheesecake and pancakes but hate carrots is also meant to be a nod to their similarities

people have a tendency to demonise Ena for being mean or violent or whatever people want to call her. but what Ena is usually criticised for Akito typically isn't (cough cough this fanbase has a history of being very male-biased which I hate)

Akito is also mean, he was a dick to everyone in his unit in the main story at some point and he often pulls pranks on the people in his school (Tsukasa) just to highlight a few easy things

AND FOR THE VIOLENT THING.

People have a tendency to highlight Ena scratching Akito when she was stressed out in middle school. and not to generalise. but. i am convinced you people are only children AND did not read the VBS main story

siblings fight, it's normal, especially in a household like the Shinonomes with the whole emotionally neglectful dad thing they got going on, i fought with my brother a lot as a kid and it happens. I'm not saying it's great and everyone should be attacking their siblings but the people who focus on Ena scratching Akito seem to magically forget.

AKITO PUNCHED TOYA HARD ENOUGH FOR HIM TO BE BRUISED IN THE MAIN STORY.

I've seen people make the argument that Akito can be excused cuz of the circumstances it happened being stressful and made him angry. But that clearly ignores what Ena was going through in middle school.

saying "Ena scratching Akito was a common occurrence but Akito only punched someone once" just does not feel like a good enough argument at all.

the last post gave a good argument on it so just go read that to lmao

I'll say it again. stop babying the male characters. if you're gonna excuse Akito punching Toya in the head and not excuse Ena when she was in MIDDLE SCHOOL then I don't know what to tell you

anyway.

i think a large part of their dynamic is carried by their similarities - they share a lot of the same key traits and they tend to but heads due to it but they do care about each other a lot in their own sibling way. I also just relate to them both a lot lmao

if someone wants to make a legitimate argument for how the Shinonomes are very different in personality, be my guest feel free to rb with what you think

but in my opinion at the VERY LEAST they share so much of their personalities and with how much Ena is demonised by some of this fandom it's a red flag to me to like Akito and hate Ena.

but yeah please rb with anything else u wanna add cuz I've definitely missed some stuff

[juniperpyre]

how does writing james as south asian change his character?

i've seen a few people discussing this recently���how they don't like the hc because no one seems to account for how much this would change his character.

i agree! i write canon james as indian (usually hyderabadi but there's a few fics where i've changed that) but yea it can be difficult to reconcile him as the popular golden boy in 1970s GB with the racism of 1970s GB. not to say anything about the subconscious racism that often comes with this interpretation of his character.

we never really see james. we see him in snape's and voldemort's memories, and in harry's dementor-induced recollections, not in-person.

there are a few character traits we can pull out: arrogant, clever, athletic, loyal, brave, cruel, self-involved. when i think of james potter i try to imagine what an eton boy would be like if he actually took part in self-reflection. these traits connect to him being popular and talented in a way that makes severus jealous.

he's the masculine ideal. james naturally fit into the idea of a what a man "should be", with the exception of his race if you hc him as south asian. men do not have to be kind, they have to be powerful. his rivalry with someone in a lower class—and it should be noted that severus' main rival is james, not sirius—and his subsequent wins cement his class status.

so, severus and james' rivalry. if you take the canon white, half-blood, working class severus and a hc of south asian, pureblood, upper class james, you have tension between these three markers of status.

my impression of GB society is that class operates cross-generationally, in a way it follows genetics. social class in england (and a lot of parts of south asia) was seen as a marker of your inherent status and worth.

so severus is white, but he's got a muggle dad, he's working class, and he's far from the masculine ideal. james is south asian, pureblood and upper class while being the masculine ideal. their dynamic in this context could be seen as either trying to assert their status, though i think it's severus who is consciously doing this. james just sees most people as less than him and sirius.

severus may also be more jealous of james than sirius because he doesn't think james deserves his status, it should be severus who is raised beyond what his birth entitled him to! severus' ideology is blood supremacist, and though he hates sirius at least sirius acting like he's better than severus is par for the course. it's not as embarrassing as james potter's superiority complex.

but, how did james develop a superiority complex in a world that actively oppresses him? the same way me and my bestie did. meeting young, understanding each other, being naturally intelligent, and having no one else who really gets it. prongsfoot 5eva. james even has an advantage neither of us had, being the only child and being spoiled. open your minds. oppressed people can be arrogant assholes.*

but how did he get popular? this is a better question. honestly, i think charisma, money, and the "rebel" aspect of james made him intriguing to a lot of people.

when it comes to integrating the greater world politics of the period, i hc that due to the collaboration of some upper caste families in india during the colonial period (historical fact) there's a fair amount of south asian wizarding families that have middling status. this makes it easier for him to integrate into the hogwarts social sphere.

the social mores of muggleborns and half-bloods who interact with the muggle world would also be impacted by the multiple civil rights movements of the 60s and 70s. generally young people put on a rebellious, progressive veneer, so this melts into general hogwarts society.

all of this to say, i think james fits the social roles of a pureblood man with a "rebellious" edge that is appealing to young people, and if he is south asian part of that edge is because of his race. that's gross! it's realistic, imo. he doesn't deviate too far from acceptable until he joins the anti-fascist militia. i think most of us understand what it means to be the "acceptable other"

i don't think james being south asian weakens his role in the story as the perfect man. that role is deconstructed, and the contrast of james having more social power in the wizarding world and lily having more social power in the muggle world is interesting to me.

tbh, i've been hc james this way since i was a teenager and didn't think it out until the last few years. i really like the hc but i needed it to make sense to engage with the canon in a complex way.

*this is a joke. i understand that this is complicated and discrimination will always have an impact. i just also think a lot of you see oppressed ppl (esp. poc since this is such a white fandom**) as pure angels and it's weird. most of the ppl making the initial argument at the top of the post are NOT being weird about it

**i am a white american so take what you want from that

[grandlinedreams]

This is totally calling myself out with (why I’m anon 😭), but would you be comfortable doing unexpected pregnancy trope w/ Law. Or just the pregnancy trope in general. I absolutely adore it, but I do know a lot of people don’t/aren’t comfortable with it

Ough i have a request in my drafts that I'm working on that's got a tad more of an angstier spin on this so I'm gonna use this one to give him the happy ending we all hope he'd get :')

[Heads up!: fluff, married!law makes me wanna gnaw my arm off, afab/fem aligned reader, I think Law'd do his best to be a good dad and I will die on that hill]

Truth be told, Law never thought he'd make it this far. There have been a hundred odds stacked against him, tipped the scales in their favor over his ㅡ and somehow, he's still here.

There are days where he wonders if it's worth it, if he's worth it ㅡ and then he remembers Sengoku's words about Cora's sacrifice for him.

"Don't ever attach a reason to the love you've been given."

He's been loved ㅡ by his parents, by Lami, by Cora. By his crew, his friends ㅡ and you. You, who've been patiently by his side this entire time, fighting for a future that's worth sticking around for.

And now he has it. The metal band around his finger is still new to him sometimes, and he fiddles with it when he's lost in thought, rotating it as the little stones shimmer. It's not anything extravagant ㅡ but neither of you had wanted that.

"Who cares about rocks and the money for them when I have you?" You'd said when he asked, staring at him with such conviction his chest hurt.

"Law?" Your voice brings him out of his thoughts, finding you standing a few feet away from where he'd been zoning out as he stared out the kitchen window over the sink. The house the two of you own is modest, but it suits the two of you and Law still has a tough time accepting the fact that he owns a house now, rather than just a submarine. (For man who's spent most of his life uncertain he'd get a tomorrow, he's settled into domesticity surprisingly well for the most part.)

"You were gone when I woke up," he says by way of greeting, catches the nervous fidget of your arms, tucked behind you as you rock back and forth on your feet. "Where'd you go?"

"Town," you answer and when he frowns, you sigh. "I wasn't there long, and I've never once seen a wanted poster. We're not pirates anymore, you know."

"Can never be too careful," he intones, watches you mouth the words with him in a way that suggests it's far from the first time you've heard him say it. (It's true. He's said it a lot.) "Does it have to do with what you're hiding behind your back?"

"Maybe," you singsong before you bring your arms out from behind you, a neatly wrapped box extended towards him. He blinks, then his brow furrows.

"Did I miss an anniversary?"

"No."

"Is it your birthday?"

"No."

"Is itㅡ"

"Just open it, Law." There's an undercurrent of nerves to your tone as he takes the box from you, watching him as he sits down at the table to unwrap the thin bow of red ribbon around it.

You wait with baited breath as he sets the ribbon aside, pops the lid off of it ㅡ and pulls the contents out. You know exactly what it is, having spent the last few days trying to come up with the perfect way to tell him.

Law stares at the cloth in his hands. It's small, made of soft fabric and little metal buttons at the bottom, spaced between where two legs should go ㅡ oh. Oh.

And all at once, it clicks.

"You're pregnant?" He doesn't mean for it to sound like an accusation, only that he's aware neither of you'd been really trying yet ㅡ content to take one day at a time, together.

You nod. "I'm way late on my cycle, and given how lousy I've felt recently..." You watch him stand, leftover nerves making you ramble as he approaches. "I mean I know we've talked about kids but haven't wanted to really try yetㅡ"

His arms wind around you, holding you to him gently. There are a thousand thoughts that race through his head, of what-ifs concerning your health, the baby's ㅡ the fear that he's somehow passed on the disease he's long since been rid of.

He exhales against the top of your head, pushes the worries and fears back. He can deal with those later. Instead, he focused on what he can handle right now. "How far are you?"

"Not sure," you answer. "If we go by cycle, a month or so? Could be earlier than that."

His grip tightens. "You're pregnant," he mumbles, almost to himself. "We're having a baby."

You nod, letting yourself cling to him the way he is to you. "You're going to be a dad, Law."

The thought of fatherhood both excites and terrifies him ㅡ what if he's a horrible dad? He knows absolutely nothing about babies beyond what he remembers from when Lami was born, which is hardly much of anything.

"It's okay to be scared, Law." Your voice is soft, whispered against his chest. "I am too. But we'll do this together, okay? We'll be fine."

Law holds you to him, presses his lips to the top of your head as he thinks of the future. You, him, and the little piece of you both, growing inside you.

"Yeah," he finally says. "We'll be just fine."

[roxy-writes]

the comment i'm replying to: please consider a cool college au dabi who hates his dad but still spends his old mans money. he's a good boyfriend, very low key and yet he manages to garner plenty of female attention, mostly superficially but abundant none the less. reader has to deals with glances, whispers and jabs about shade regarding being partners with dabi. a non conventionally attractive reader (I'm chubby but this could be anything you want) once he finds out some intense body worship 🥺🥺

FIRST OF ALL OMG I LOVE THIS. i haven't written anything with chubby!reader in a while so i'm very excited. i hope you like this!

warnings: chubby!reader, ppl making negative comments about reader's body, body worship, facesitting, not proofread

you were always aware of the attention that dabi attracted. you know he's good looking, and so does everyone else. this could be...disheartening for you at times. attending the same college as him made you ever more conscious of just what kind of attention followed him. the kind that made you feel sort of sick to your stomach at the thought of how much prettier the people that attempted flirting with him were than you. you try not to let the whispers and scowls thrown your way get to you.

dabi also always made his attraction towards you clear. whether it be a hand set on your waist or lower back when you're out, or, in more private settings, eagerly groping at your chest and ass. this was sometimes inconvenient. it only seemed to make people stare at you harder whenever he'd attempt the slightest bit of PDA. he notices how your behavior seems to change when people see you in public, and he immediately assumes the worst. that you didn't like him, or want to be with him.

so he tries to fix it. using his father's credit card of course, he'd take you out shopping to buy whatever you like, take you out on fancy dates, whatever. when this doesn't work, he begins seeing the problem for what it really was. he finally started noticing how people behaved towards you, acting like you weren't even there, coming up and flirting with him like you were nothing.

he confronted you about it in his room one night. asking why you didn't tell him how you felt, begging you for answers. you don't know why, you say, you didn't know if he would understand.

"fuck, why the hell would you think that?"

"'cause y'know, there are all these people that make comments about me when we're seen together. it's never you they're talking about."

he closes the distance between you to wrap his arms around you.

"i'm sorry. i'll tell all of them to fuck off. you don't deserve anyone's shit," although vulgar, dabi's words are comforting, and you wrap your arms around him as well. you bury your face in his neck and he pulls you closer in response. but after a few seconds he pulls back and presses his lips to yours the same way he always did. gentle but rough at the same time.

you almost feel bad for being kinda horny during a sweet moment like this. not like you can help it. and based on the slight bulge you feel pressing against your thigh, neither can he. "heh, sorry babe. i think i've got a big problem," he whispers sultrily in your ear.

"i can help you fix it, if you want," you say, and he couldn't have been more eager. your clothes were pulled off of you as he lowers you onto his bed.

"pretty," he mumbled softly as his eyes rake over your body. and in that moment, you felt pretty. he makes you feel pretty. his hands settle on your shoulders, slip down your chest and stomach until they're right where you need him.

his thumb presses your clit and rubs the bundle of nerves, causing you to jump slightly. he looks so turned on right then, you can see it in his face. and he can see the arousal in your face when he pulls you up towards him as he lays on the bed. all he seems to want is for you to ride his face as hard as you can, and why not give the boy what he wants?

"just, tap my thigh if you can't breathe." you tell him.

he plants both his hands on either one of your thighs and shoves his face into your pussy. you squeak at the sudden stimulation and unconsciously grind on his face. he moans and his eyes flit up and down your body, gaze landing on your chest. he watches it bounce as you squirm, his nose swiping your clit messily. you can feel his hot, wispy breath on your skin.

he's pressing you harder into him, getting his tongue deeper in you, his hips bucking into nothing. you start to get a little wobbly from the pleasure, so his hands lock onto you and his fingers dig into the fat of your hips that you hated until you realized how much he loved it.

you cum with a cry as he buries his face into your aching pussy. he lets you hump his face to drain every last bit of pleasure from your orgasm. you wait till the aftershocks wear off before lifting off him. "want me to return the favor?" you ask, but he shakes his head no. you're still sensitive and twitchy from cumming, and he gently massages your thighs to relax you.

one hand wraps around his cock to line himself up with your hole, and the other slithers up to your face to tilt your chin so you look directly at his face. "jus' focus on my face baby," he whispers, trying to distract you from the pain of the stretch when his tip breaches your entrance.

he fucks you like the world is ending tomorrow. fucks you like you're the only girl in the universe. he can't even think about himself when he's got you moaning on his dick and you look so good. his cock rubs against your g-spot and you see stars.

you cum before he does, and you swear he's pulling an even more lewd face than you are. he's so close, so fucking close, and what finally pushes him over the edge is the cry of his name you let out once the pleasure gets to be too much. he cums so hard he whimpers a little bit.

you think it's so cute the way he can't help but curl into himself at how good the couple seconds of pleasure feel. you both wish the feeling didn't end so quickly. he slowly pulls out. you bask in the afterglow for a while, dabi's body cuddled up next to you. you feel so much better. you know he'd never cheat on you, know he'd never hurt you or your feelings, know he's good for you. all it really took was realizing you were the hottest girl ever in his eyes.

[blu3-ja3]

Please note I'm not good at writing drama, I can write tension all day but drama isn't my strongest so I'm trying.

Also learned some Irish slang from a friend so hopefully I wrote it well.

!TRIGGER WARNING! Minor Violence, Manipulative Ex, Cheating, Panic Attack, Domestic Abuse.

Temporary leave was making the 141 jittery, Soap was sitting next to Ghost watching Roach and Gaz playing with Ripley (Roach's dog). Soap has a sketch book on his lap, the page was filled with sketches of Gaz, Roach and Ripley, one sketch of Ghost's side profile. The two men looked up as two people walked towards them, neither of them soldiers. MacTavish could feel Ghost tensing next to him as the figures approached. One was a tall brunette man and the other was a short ginger woman.

"Hello lads, got a question for ya? Have either of you seen Maevis O'Connor, gotta talk to her." The taller man asked looking only at MacTavish, he seemed pretty miffed but trying to seem friendly.

"And who are you, to Doc?" Ghost rumbles.

"That's not your concern, mate. We know she's here, we just want to chat." The taller man glared at Ghost.

"Sorry mate but we don't know where the good doctor is, if I see her I'll let her know you two are looking for her. So I'll ask again who are you?" MacTavish tensed knowing the tone Ghost was using wasn't one of a kind intent.

"JOHN PRICE!" The short ginger woman shouted as Captain Price stepped around the building walking towards Gaz and Roach. Price turned as the brunette man began to charge towards the captain. Ghost got up quickly moving towards the stranger charging his captain. The tall man towered over the captain glaring down at him with hatred.

"Where is she, John? Where's my wife?" The tall man hissed.

"Shes your ex wife you muppet, you couldn't keep your pecker out of some slag while Maevis was pregnant with your son." Price glare at the women as he said the last bit. "I don't know where she is, sorry mate."

"It was a mistake John, we just want to see Maevis. I know she's here." The ginger woman pleaded.

Soap felt awkward hearing the conversation but didn't want to leave Ghost's side. He looked over and watched Gaz and Roach begin to approach with Ripley.

"A mistake that lasted 2 years Bridget? Then you went and slagged off about Maevis during the divorce. You're stupid if you think I'll tell you where she is." Captain Price growled, his fist balling up at his side.

" We just want to see her John, we'll leave right after." The woman, Bridget moved to touch Price's arm before Ghost's hand shot out and grabbed her arm. The man grabbed Ghost by shoulder shoving him back. Ghost released the woman as the man started wailing on Ghost. The lieutenant never once threw a punch either blocking or dodging the punches.

" FOR FECK SAKES OLIVER! STOP!" They all turned to see O'Connor running towards them. She grabbed the man ripping him away from Ghost and shoving him against the outside wall.

"Here for 5 minutes and already beating up my soldiers, not a good look Ollie." Price rumbles as he moves to get in front of O'Connor. Doc turns to glare at Bridget as she moves to comfort Oliver.

"What do you snakes want? I thought I made myself well clear I don't want to see either of your faces didn't I?" O'Connor was shaking, she was shaking hard. Soap wanted to hug her, comfort her the way she'd comforted all of them.

"We heard you were on leave, got blown up and didn't even bother to call your father?" Oliver seemed so smug. MacTavish watched Price move before O'Connor put a hand up to stop him.

" I've told you, Dad, and everyone who acted a fool at William's funeral, that you will never hear from me again! I meant it, so why after a year have you come to talk Oliver?" O'Connor had stepped forward getting into the man's face.

"Maeve, love, we came because you were hurt. Baby girl I wanted to call but I couldn't get through. Please I know you have leave, come home. You're Da misses, Bridget misses you, I miss you." Oliver says as he steps closer and moves to put his hand on her hips. Soap moved before thinking, grabbing the man's hand before it could touch her. It seems Ghost had the same instinct as he had the man's other hand. "Oi, Maeve, mind calling off your hounds? Really boys can't handle a bloke touching his las?"

" I'm not your las, Oliver, and I'm not going back to that house. Not until I get my apologies." O'Connor looks to her sister before stepping back forcing both men to drop their holds.

"I told you Maeve it was an accident! It was only meant to be once" Bridget yelled

"Two years, Bridg, two. The two years I came crying about my love life, telling you my suspicions. Telling you about my fertility issues and asking how to fix things with him. Telling you how I was worried he was cheating, seeing another behind my back. You know what you told me? It was impossible, Oliver loved me too much to cheat. So I stayed with his manky ass, then got the wonderful news..." O'Connor was shaking again and this time MacTavish placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it brought some comfort.

"Only for you to show up and announcing you were also expecting from my husband. Had the gall to say it was a good thing, we could be a happy family together. Had the nerve to ask if I'd be willing to let you move in with me. You got mad at me when I left in tears, saying I ruined your day, YOUR DAY? You ruined my life." Tears were rolling down O'Connor's face.

"And then you had the nerve to question every step and choice I made when Will came. You had no right, none, putting me through all that you did. I should have cut contact long ago, but I didn't because I wanted William to have his family. Only for that family to make a mockery of his funeral. So no I won't be coming with you. Now feck off and I don't ever want to hear from you again." O'Connor turned around and they boys split letting her move pass. Bridget was crying it seemed but it wasn't noticed or cared for.

"Maevis! Look at me!" Oliver called out as he pushed up behind her. She kept walking

"Maevy baby please, I just want to talk." He got in front of her walking backwards.

"Maevis, I'm just asking for one chat it's not that difficult so stop making this difficult!" He stopped directly in front of her path, she didn't stop and just pushed past him rather hard.

"Oi! Cunt! I'm talking to your slag ass now listen to me!" He turned around and grabbed her arm, yanking her hard backwards. O'Connor yelped in surprise and pain. (She's still recovering from their previous mission where she severely hurt her back and ribs.)

Before Oliver could do or say anything, all five of the 141 men were on him. Ghost grabbed the man by his hair pulling him back with help from Price and Gaz who had him by his arms. Roach got between O'Connor and him with Ripley barking and growling furiously at his side. Soap had O'Connor behind him before turning to check on her.

"Don't touch my Captain ever again if you want to keep your hands." Ghost growled.

"I'd listen to the man Oliver, he's not the one for empty threats." Price warned.

All three men let go of him as O'Connor moved forward towards the man. "Leave, I have nothing for you. Go feck the bitch of a woman who was my sister and leave me alone! The only connection we had to each other is gone! William would have never been there if he wasn't waiting for your sorry ass to actually step up and be a father! This man was more of a father to him than you were!" She screamed as she pointed towards Price.

"That's not fair and you know it. I was distracted and I couldn't get there in time!" Oliver countered. "And if he was such a father to William why wasn't he at the funeral?" He looked almost smug when asking that question.

CRACK!

O'Connor slapped the man hard enough that he stumbled to the ground.

"More than you ever will, now get the feck out of my sight, both of yous!" She spat breathing heavily. She turned and marched away being followed by the rest of 141.

They all moved into Price's office it was the closest private place for them to talk. O'Connor was not doing well, she was shaking, tears were streaming down her face and she was breathing really fast. Soap knew what a panic attack was, he remembers his oldest sister getting them a lot when he was a child. He has no idea what to do when she collapses into a crouch, her hands on her head. She was whispering and rocking back and forth. Price crouched in front and grabbed her hands.

"Maevis breathe, he's not going to hurt you. He can't hurt you. You've got to calm down or you'll make yourself sick." He smiled softly as O'Connor looked up to all of them.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I thought I'd never see him again. I have no reason to see him again. I'm sorry..." She looked towards Ghost and fresh tears began to run down her face,

" Your arms Simon... Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I'm so sorry." Soap looked over towards Ghost and saw several bruises blooming across his forearms .

"It's fine Doc, I'm fine I promise... Are you alright that bastard grabbed you pretty hard." Ghost asked and Soap could hear the concern he tried to hide.

O'Connor seemed to just register something, she gasped in pain as she tried to move her arm. She looked around to all of them studying their faces.

"Does anyone know how to reset an arm? I think my arm is out of socket." She grimaced as felt around the area in question.

"Sit down Doc, do you want something to bite onto?" Ghost asked, moving towards her as she sat in Price's chair. O'Connor shook her head no and just sat waiting. Ghost placed a hand on shoulder, then another of her elbow before making a rapid movement and popping her arm back into the socket.

"Please tell me we have full permission to beat that bastard's ass if he shows up again?" Gaz asked looking at Price.

"I won't stop you." O'Connor said shrugging her arm and rotating it. Price looked at her shocked before she continued. "I'm tired of him picking fights with you John and your men, Simon wasn't the first soldier he attacked and he's always going to try to pick a fight with you. So yes if you see Oliver you can throw the first punch I won't stop you." O'Connor looked tired.

"Will you patch us up?" Ghost asked

"Always, you're my boys. No matter how you get hurt I'll be there to patch you back up." O'Connor smiled looking around at all of them. "Thank you for defending me, I'm not sure how differently that would have gone but I know it wouldn't have been pretty."

"Why did you ever marry him Doc? He seems like a real wanker." Roach piped up, he was crouched next to Ripley petting her head.

"I was young and was freshly recruited into the military. My Da convinced me to marry Oliver, said I needed a man to take care of me if something went wrong and I was sent home." O'Connor shrugged

"I don't know how to feel about Oliver, he gave me the best thing that ever happened to me but on the other hand he's the reason Will was waiting for that tube. I honestly hate the man more for that than I do for everything he put me through." O'Connor seemed sullen looking down towards her left arm.

"I hate him for what he did to you Maevis, that muppet put you through more hell than being in active duty combat did. And that was before the divorce." Price grumbles.

O'Connor nods before standing up, she walks over towards Price and pulls him into a hug. She pulls back and smiles at each other before Roach joins in. Gaz shrugs and joins as well, Soap grabs Ghost and pulls him over as the brit rolls his eyes but joins.

[ravingsockmonkey]

Evergreen Harbor - Port Promise - The Shipping Views

So, how do I get started?

Gosh I'm nervous...

I'm Giovanna Goth!

I know what you're thinking, "Why is a member of the Goth Vatore family applying for a bachelorette challenge? Aren't people lining up at your door for the opportunity to join the family?

Well, no. I'm not a blood member of the family, technically. (Sorry Dad.)

See that red arrow? That's me. This isn't even the whole family - I don't know a lot of them either. I don't know Grandpa Mortimer nearly as well as I do Bella and Caleb. Despite the three of them being an item, Mortimer is fairly reclusive.

The line I'm connected to? That's my Dad, Marco Goth. He married my big brother. They were bromantically involved since high school, and since we were orphans, Dad adopted me whenever they got married.

He's the best.

I know I've talked a lot more about my family than myself, but I'm used to having to explain the whole situation.

So... I should talk about myself. Right. Not hard at all.

C'mon Giovanna, this is why you were and still are hopelessly single.

I currently live in Evergreen Harbor. Ever seen those shipping containers plopped on top of each other? Yup, that's home. I prefer being outdoors, so I figured it made more sense to live somewhere that I could fix up.

When I'm not at work (I'm a botanist!), I've been working on building and fabricating my own furniture as well as upgrading the various things around the house.

While I don't like my home to be messy, I'm not afraid to get dirty. Port Promise isn't going to clean itself up, so I'm doing my part. Plus, sometimes there's cool plants that people throw away!

I'm a vegetarian, but I love fishing. It may be weird to some people, but I never really enjoyed the taste of meat. It's less of a moral thing, and more of "my stomach isn't a fan" thing.

There's only one other thing that I genuinely don't like...

Roaches.

Roaches can plumb off.

I'm looking forward to the homestead and meeting everyone!

Caleb and Bella will be taking care of my place while I'm gone (though neither will touch the dumpster... thank you Knox for volunteering for that duty).

Giovanna Goth

Main Traits:

Loves Outdoors

Vegetarian

Ambitious

Neat

Romantic Attraction: Women

WooHoo: Women

Her likes, dislikes, romantic boundaries, turn ons, and turn offs are all set. She's on the gallery under PossumBoyDanny!

Thank you @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants for allowing me to reserve a spot!

Editing to add the form below the cut1

Contestant

Name: Giovanna Goth Age Group: Young Adult Pronouns: She/Her Orientation: Women only Hometown: Willow Creek originally, Evergreen Harbor now Occupation: Botanist (Leaf-Cutter) Skills: [oopsies, I messaged you about this one] Traits: Loves Outdoors, Vegetarian, Ambitious, Neat Bonus Traits: Good Manners, Gym Rat, Super Green Thumb, Highflier, Waterproof Sim, Storm Chaser Sim, Responsible, High Self-Esteem, Collector Aspiration: Freelance Botanist Life State: Still human - though Grandpa Caleb has offered to turn her Likes: Dancing, Gardening, Handiness, Cross-stitch, Cooking, Fitness (there's more but I figured the activities would be most important to note) Dislikes: No disliked activities, but she does dislike Arguments and Malicious Interactions Gifts: A soccer ball, cross-stitching box, possibly a knitting bag Misc:

In Depth: See above!

Watcher

Are you comfortable with your pixel person:

Flirting with other contestants? (The bachelorette will have the ‘player’ trait cheated and her boundaries set to no jealousy, so it will not impact your sim’s relationship with her.) [Yes]

WooHooing other contestants? [Yes]

Flirting with/and or woohooing NPCs?  [Y]

Flirting with the host?  [Y]

Changes to traits via gameplay prompts? (ie. Evil to Good, depending on what your Sim does, or adding traits)  [Yes - but maybe not Evil or Mean]

(Humans Only) Becoming an occult?  [Yes - she's got occult family]

(Werewolves Only) The Fated Mate mechanic? (If a werewolf ends up winning the challenge, I will cheat out that sentiment)  [N/A]

[positivelybeastly]

Hey again, since you've once again brought up the idea of Hank and fatherhood, thought I'd try again to bring up his romantic history ( first comes love then comes marriage, Yada Yada and all that)

For a guy so down on himself and his appearance his got a pretty good dating history, and that's not even counting the people he's been teased with that the writers haven't pulled the trigger with yet

* cough*wonderman* cough*

How do you think Hanks romantic history in comics reflects on him as a romantic partner, both good and bad?

It's not my fault Hank's got such dad energy that people want to talk about how good of a father he'd make all the time. ;)

So, I think that Hank's romantic history is. Interesting. Because there's the surface level perception of Hank, and then there's the actuality of Hank as a romantic partner.

The surface level is largely dictated by the only non-comics source that ever bothered to give him a romance (no, I emphatically do not count the Mystique bullshit from the movies), which was the 90s animated series and the continuation of that theme in '97 this year.

Yep, it's time to talk about Carly Crocker!

Now, Carly is a completely original creation for the 90s show, and she doesn't quite fit any of the archetypes of Hank's other notable comics paramours, so I'd hazard a guess that they just kinda freestyled it here because, well, Hank's other romantic partners up to this point (Vera Cantor and Trish Tilby) wouldn't have fit the interracial romance/literal Beauty and the Beast angle that this episode is going for.

Carly's cute! I like her dynamic with Hank. They're very soft and tender with one another - she's not what I'd call frightfully complex, but she's a good woman with a nice dynamic that tugs at the heart strings a little, and especially given that the original 90s cartoon was aimed at kids, I feel like this is the right level of romantic interest to give a similarly relatively un-complex version of Beast.

Neither of them have any real negative qualities because if they did, well, it would detract from the tragedy of their denied romance and the unfairness of it all. It's very clear that the makers of the show want you to come away from this thinking that it's complete bullshit that Hank and Carly can't be together because other people are so small minded, and that would be muddied if Carly was, idk, kinda rude, or if we more faithfully transcribed some of Hank's neuroses to screen. So instead, it's very idealised.

This is where a lot of people get their idea of what Beast is like. He is a perfect saint who literally cures the blind on his time off from being a superhero, and his paramour is an angelic blind woman who is completely free from prejudice or rough edges. I think it's fine for what the show is going for, but it's not quite accurate to what Hank and his romantic history is like - to the point where I've seen some people (usually Redditors) say, UGHHHH, Beast was never the saint you think he was in the 90s cartoon, he's ALWAYS been morally grey, you fools! The fun blue uncle never existed in the comics!

And it's like, my guy. Yeah, the 90s show embellished a little bit, but this is not a million miles away from who Hank is. He's simplified, but Hank was absolutely a fun blue uncle jokester with a heart of gold for most of his existence. Maybe it wasn't exactly who he was in the comics, but neither is he what certain later writers think he is.

But. I digress.

We do, of course, have the '97 romance to consider, but we'll get to that, because that's a lot to unpack . . .

Comics!

Vera Cantor!

Ugh.

So, like . . . teenage Hank is just obnoxious. I don't enjoy him, tbh. He occasionally has good lines, but I'm basically just sitting around flicking his annoying head like

But in this instance, the 'do something' is turn blue. He's so much less obnoxious and annoying when he's blue . . .

Even filtering out the 60s misogyny, which isn't a particularly interesting flaw to try and give Hank, he's just not a great romantic partner because he's too stuffy and bookish. He's inattentive to Vera's needs and it really does read like he's only here because, well, it's something to do and Bobby needs a wingman. Vera states that she likes Hank because he's refined, which I suppose is true enough, but that's not enough to build anything more than a flirtation out of, tbh.

He's just. Not ready yet, for a fulfilling romance. The stuffiness and the blowhard vocabulary are all a smokescreen for a lot of insecurity, and that's just not someone who's ready to have a relationship.

Then again, when has that ever stopped a teenager?

They survive for longer than they should have done, honestly, given that Hank and Bobby are literally ALWAYS being called away to do X-Men things, which naturally puts a damper on dates, and they're on decent enough terms when she shows up again in Amazing Adventures, needing his help in dealing with Mimic's whole deal in Incredible Hulk.

It's a comic book romance (derogatory). It is what it is. Not really all that complex, not a lot to write home about.

Where it gets interesting is when J.M. DeMatteis enters the picture.

There's something very . . . performative, about Hank's romance with Vera, under DeMatteis. And I don't say that analytically, I mean that completely, utterly literally.

Silence. Uncertainty.

Guys, if I have to tell you that this is a bad foundation for a relationship, then I'm worried for you and your significant others. You can't be with someone because they're safe. That's part of a good reason to be with someone, but if you look at someone, and the best you can think of when you look at them is, you remind me of when my personal life was a little less scary because it was being dictated by a stern Professor Xavier, that's. Probably a sign???

It's also not great that Vera hasn't discovered feminist literature yet, so she keeps falling for being lovebombed because Hank is a bad boyfriend.

And this scene is just a big fuckin' WOOF.

Kid? Is that . . . really how you want to talk to your girlfriend, Hank?

Like . . . in the end, this is not the worst relationship in the world. Hank, when he's around, is charming. He's a good man. He writes good poetry, he'll take you dancing, he's handsome, he's great in bed, and he's a goddamn superhero. He is a fundamentally good man.

But.

He is inconsistent. He is prone to making decisions without consulting you. He is prone to showboating and revelling in attention from his fans because he has self-esteem issues. And, in the end? He's just not that into you, Vera. The base problem is still kind of the same - he's immature. He hasn't grown up yet. He's working on it! He's showing some self-awareness! But it's gonna be a bit before he's really good for anything beyond a fling.

Thankfully, Vera grew up and out of it quickly. Good for her!

The fact that they're still friendly means Hank didn't completely fuck this one up. I think both of them realise they had a lot of growing up to do, and I think that's the kind of sin you forgive people for a lot more when they're actually working on it, which Hank did.

Now, let's compare and contrast . . . with Jennifer Nyles.

I fucking love Jen.

Introduced in 1991's Marvel Presents as a flashback character who was Hank's first proper girlfriend (there's a character called Mindy that appears to have been a less serious relationship before Jen), Jennifer is a clever clogs like Hank, and even more feisty.

Hank remarks multiple times that if it hadn't been for his choice to join the X-Men, he likely would have stayed with Jen for the rest of his life, and I can see it. In a world where Hank didn't go with the X-Men, he lives a quiet, happy life with Jen in Illinois. Maybe he wins a Nobel Prize for biophysics. They have kids. They're good.

But, instead, Xavier wipes her mind of Hank's existence, and it shifts her entire world's axis - she commits her genius to the task of working out what the gap in his mind is, and becomes an expert in the field of techno-organic cybernetics.

As you do.

They find each other again. They have their moments together. And then, because Hank is a superhero, and they live dangerous lives, and Jen is reckless enough to get involved in dangerous endeavours to try and work out what was stolen from her, she nearly dies.

Nearly.

Hank and Jen are incredibly compatible, to be honest. They're a great match, and it's interesting to compare her to Vera, who is identified as a librarian, an 'intelligent' profession, but whom Hank seems disinterested in, whereas Jen, who is explicitly on Hank's level, enraptures him, and in the end, he's forced to let her go for her safety.

In the end, Hank doesn't want someone who'll just hold his hand, he wants someone who can challenge him intellectually, someone who will hold him to account, who can match his wit, and Vera . . . can't.

Not really.

It's partly a foible of when they met, partly a case of Vera being who she is and Hank who he is, but in the end, it all comes down to how Vera reacted when she received those flowers and poetry. She folded. She was charmed. She fell for Hank's charming exterior. And that's. Kinda. Not interesting to him? I don't even think he realises that's what's going on, but it is what happened. She showed him that she would put up with his shenanigans, and that's not what Hank wants. Not really.

You could almost see it as a game that Hank plays, a challenge to see if you can scratch the surface and get at who he really is, under the surface, if you're dedicated to getting at him. Maybe that's unfair of him to do, but again, I don't think it's something he even realises he's doing. He has walls up for a reason, and if you break through them, then you clearly want him - he can believe that, because you just fought him, to get to him. It all comes back to that insecurity . . .

It's also worth noting here that Hank and Jen have another encounter in X-Men Unlimited vol. 2 #10, in a way that contradicts Marvel Presents. It's hard to reconcile, since she remembers Hank here when she shouldn't, but I like both stories too much to really fight over which one I have as canon, so I kinda just don't think about it too much.

"What would you think of me if I was to tell you how terrified I am of everything right now?"

"You've never been scared of anything in your life. I think we should both be brave and go take a look at what might be hiding in the cemetery."

That touch, that tenderness . . . ouahhghhhh . . . the timelines are screwy, and these are all written years apart from one another, but I do think it's significant that Hank spends entire issues of Amazing Adventures and Incredible Hulk hiding his beastly appearance from Vera under a mask, and yet, he willingly unwraps his bandages for Jen.

I think that tells you all about how willing he is to be his true self around Jen versus Vera. Hank literally says he doesn't know who he is sometimes around Vera, and she tells him, I'll help you find out if you let me. Helpful, but it doesn't fix the problem. Meanwhile, Hank is in the midst of the worst depression and fear of his life, reeling from his worst ever mistake, and Jen tells him that she'll be brave with him, and they'll confront the unknown together. He finds catharsis that way. Vera is supportive. Jennifer is proactive. Hank appreciates both, of course, but only through one can he achieve growth.

But, that's no real surprise, because . . . she's the one who tells him this, too . . .

Jennifer Nyles, you have, like, 9 appearances in all of Marvel Comics, but I would die for you. Genuinely one of the most influential characters in Hank's life, tbh.

. . . SPEAKING OF INFLUENTIAL CHARACTERS.

So . . . in the interests of a fair analysis, Trish is an interesting character. She believes in transparency, the democratisation of information, she is eminently heroic, she is self-sacrificing, she is intelligent, and she is strong.

You can see why Hank would be attracted to her. She can cut through the flip attitude and get at the Hank underneath. If we're going with the theory that Hank is playing keep away with his real feelings so that the only people who get close to him are the people who work to get there and he can believe that they're there for him, then Trish will succeed, because she'll put in the work.

But, the problem is, the Hank she met was human Hank, and even though she claims not to have a problem with the fur - and maybe, at this point, she doesn't! - we know that Hank's mutation becomes a problem for her.

Man, if I had a penny for every time I posted these panels, I wouldn't have to work.

But. In the interests of fairness. I have to point out that the problem here is not that Trish found it hard to get used to Hank's changing face - I've talked about this before, that it's understandable it would become an issue for her, in a romantic relationship, faces and bodies and the tangible aspects of a person are more important than ever - but that she thought this was in any way an acceptable way to do it.

Trish's insecurity made her lash out and 'fix' the problem in a way that saved her career and severed the tie that would drag her down. That is. An understandable reaction. It's hurtful, but in the end, she's prioritising herself, and that's. Understandable. That being said?

She had no fucking right to even try this.

Like. No??? You don't get to do this??? Fuck off??? You exited from his life in a way that saved your career and your reputation, you do not get to try and dip back in because you feel bad - and, I'm going to be incredibly fucking honest, that's if that's even the reason she's doing it. I suspect, maybe maliciously, but maybe not, that she had ulterior motives, because of past behaviour.

Because do you want to know what the worst thing Trish Tilby ever actually did was?

Meet Dennis Hogan. He is a mutant. His power is to look like a lizard. That's it. He also was infected by the Legacy Virus, making him incapable of controlling those transformations. He is a perfectly harmless, innocent young man, who is trying to find medical help for a disease that he had no way of avoiding contracting.

Trish Tilby is directly responsible for his death in a hate crime.

And Trish's response, when Hank brings this up?

Just throw the whole fucking woman out. She's septic garbage.

How does this reflect on Hank? It reflects badly that he ever took her back after this. After she sold out his fucking race, got an innocent man killed, deflected blame, physically assaulted her partner, and acted as if she, somehow, were the wronged party in this.

"If you were doing your job as well as I'm doing mine, there'd be one less dead mutant to mourn!"

Hank is currently working on a cure for the Legacy Virus, Patricia. Thank you for implying that he's not doing enough, while you sit around, hocking news stories that will tangibly improve your position at your job, that directly lead to hate crimes, because you have decided that people just NEED TO KNOW things that will make them act irresponsibly, hatefully, and cruelly.

Yes, there is such a thing as freedom of the press. There is such a thing as the democratisation of information.

And then there's this asshole, who was storming into Angel's hospital room with a camera, recording him with his ruined wings, chasing a story because it was the right thing to do, and damn the consequences.

Who cares who gets hurt, so long as Patricia Tilby gets her story?

It reflects badly on Hank that he ever went out with her. it reflects badly on Hank that he ever took her back. It reflects badly on everyone involved that they didn't have the heart to tell Hank to just fucking NOT.

This is who she is. It's who she's always been, since her first appearance, and it is stark how awful a woman she is.

The X-Men '97 adaptation of her was kind. Think about that for a moment. Think about the fact that turning this woman into a fucking Prime Sentinel couldn't make her do as much damage as she did with her own free will and bad judgement.

. . . Blech.

So, this is an incomplete history, because I've run out of images? Heh. If you want to hear more about Hank's other relationships, most notably Cecilia Reyes, Abigail Brand, and Simon Williams, feel free to send another ask, and I can link them together. Hope you found this informative and not as rambly as it feels.

Also, if I remember correctly, Cerebrocast is gonna do an episode on Trish Tilby soon? I have no intention of listening/watching to it, but keep all of this stuff in mind and see if it gets mentioned when that episode happens. Because that podcast's hate boner for Hank McCoy means I genuinely think they'll find a way to excuse Trish's poor behaviour just because it's Hank. It honestly wouldn't surprise me.

[lilithofpenandbook]

I'm starting to think maybe I was right, my mum is abusive. Not very, but still abusive.

How did I get to this conclusion? Thinking about my mum's behaviour, about my reaction to her. Somehow I got to thinking about Snape, who no one sees as a victim because he doesn't back down, he still fights his abusers and keeps on fighting them. He's the one in the wrong, despite being the victim.

And that's what made me think of something my mum says any time childhood trauma is brought up in the conversation: "If you were actually afraid of me, you wouldn't be talking back to me" "Would you still be so rude to me if you were actually traumatised?" "If I had traumatised you, you'd be too scared to speak like this to me", and similar stuff.

If you were actually abused, you'd behave like an actual victim

And that just reminded me of Snape, and how he isn't seen like a victim because he's not a "perfect victim", he isn't outwardly anxious, vulnerable, or delicate, he doesn't cry when yelled at, he doesn't stutter. He's outwardly strong, he's got self control. When emotional, he's angry, he's hostile. He's rude and sarcastic, including to the people he should be afraid of. He doesn't have any of the pretty, romanticised symptoms of trauma. He has all the ugly, real symptoms. The symptoms that mask his trauma.

Like mine. To my mother's face I am loud, I am rude, I am defensive. I show no fear. It's certain things though, that scare me. Certain things that make me angry and cry. Not in front of her. She doesn't see what's not in front of her face. She's only seen one panic attack, and that I didn't call a panic attack, I just said I couldn't breathe and my dad helped calm me but I never said it was a panic attack. I've had panic attacks in college. My friends know more about my anxiety, my trauma, more than my own mother. My teachers have seen me have panic attacks in the middle of class, after I've been stuck trying to keep it together all day. My sister once saw me, when I came home from class, exhausted by trying to keep the anxiety down to the point that even with the emotions gone the pain still had me in bed for hours afterwards. Nobody with a healthy relationship with their mother does that, do they?

But I'm supposedly not abused, not a victim, because I do not act like one in the least.

Yet if Severus Snape is a victim regardless of how he presented his trauma, maybe I'm also being abused despite my apparent lack of fear towards my mum.

Maybe that's why he's my favourite character.

Because neither of us look like we're traumatized.

Okay, so the abuse I face isn't so bad, and perhaps I'm overtly sensitive to be traumatised by it, but if I'm having panic attacks because of it then there is something there, right?

[gnar-slabdash]

Speaking of last names.... and I'm just totally spitballing here in the interest of getting some representation for something i wish I saw more of.....

My favorite headcanon about Sophie's name is that the reason she never admits to a "real name" is because after all of her different identities and all of her identity crises, being Sophie Devereaux is how she got the opportunity to really decide who she is and where she belongs, so she's decided Sophie Devereaux IS her real name.

Nate, meanwhile, his name is so very tied up in his history with his father, who he still loves but doesn't necessarily want to identify with. And when he got his dad a new identity, he put his mom's maiden name on it, wanting to tie both of them more to her history rather than the ignominious one that has Ford stamped on it.

When my parents got married, my mom felt a lot of loyalty to her family identity, and her family was really good at welcoming my dad in and making him part of the family too. My dad on his side had the opposite experience, his family was very controlling and very excluding and neither of them really wanted to continue to be part of that. So they decided what worked for them was, my dad took my mom's name. And you know what's fucked up? That was in the mid-eighties, and to this day I've only met like one other person whose parents did that, haven't ever met a M/F couple of my generation who did that, and definitely haven't ever seen it in media. It's weirdly isolating to never see representation of this one little thing. What the fuck is up with that? Is this one bit of patriarchy just THAT pervasive that the idea of just choosing whichever name works best for the couple is just unthinkable?

Right, so, I was talking about Leverage. Now I'm not saying Nate would ever in a million years be the one to SUGGEST it. And it would definitely take some arguing to come around to it. But I think in the end he'd acknowledge how awesome it would be to throw away the patriarchal demand to uphold a family tree he's trying to break away from, and instead take a completely fictitious name that became, through love, his wife's real name. I think it would be in the true spirit of building a found crime family based on what matters to them, their relationships to each other, and not having to do things the way they've been told they should.

Also I think they should force Sterling to officiate and have to be the one to stand up and say "I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Devereaux."

btw if you DO know of media where this happens or if you or someone you know has done it, I would love to hear if you're willing to share :)

[cowgurrrl]

Layla

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author’s note: oops (fic named after this song)

Summary: Nothing good ever happens on an LA road [2.3k]

Warnings: NOTHING SUPER GORY, car crash, injuries, hospital setting, found family but make it angsty

When you first moved to LA, you and Ryan would drive around for hours, just talking and taking in the sights. Normally, you'd end up sitting somewhere and gossiping about this actor or that producer for hours. But, with each of your busy schedules, it's a little harder to find time to just be friends instead of coworkers. That's why when you both had a free day, you decided to drive around and update him on everything that's been going on. You tell him about the auditions you have lined up, the reshoot schedule, and even what happened during and after New York.

"You met his kids?!" Ryan half-yells in your ear, and you smile as you turn on your blinker to get off the freeway. "That's huge! Did they like you? How old are they? What are their names? Do they want to be friends with Elizabeth?" 

"Sarah is eighteen, and Ellie is fourteen, so I don't think they'll be particularly interested in hanging out with your toddler." You say, and he feigns disappointment before sitting up again, suddenly giddy.

"But they liked you?"

"I think so. They invited me to their family movie night on Friday."

"They as in the girls?"

"We're in a group chat. Ellie's idea, not mine." 

"No shit?" He asks, and you nod. You stop at a red light and turn in the driver's seat to look at him. You can't help the big smile or how it grows when Ryan looks at you all excitedly. "Is Joel just head over heels in love with you now that his daughters like you?" You scoff and roll your eyes.

"It's only been a few months. He's not in love with me."

"I knew I was gonna marry Carolina on our third date."

"Well, that's because you guys are crazy."

"And you think you and Joel are sane?" He has a point, but you'd never tell him he's right. "But, seriously. Do you see yourself being with him for a while?" He asks, and you turn your head to watch the red light turn green.

Before you got to know him, before you went to New York, before he introduced you to his family, you would've said no. You would've made up some lie about how it's just for now, and neither of you is really looking for anything serious. But now he's inviting you over for movie nights and late-night studio sessions like this is how it's always been, and you like it. You like being a part of his life and having him in yours. You just don't know what that means for the future.

"We're just… having fun. I'm not worrying about the future for once in my life. Can you please let me have that?" You sigh, and Ryan throws up his hands from the passenger seat.

"Fine, but I will say one more thing before we drop it," he says, looking at you sincerely. "You seem really happy. Like the happiest I've ever seen you. So, I'm Team Joel, as long as you are. I'll make t-shirts and cheer you guys on, and when the time comes, I'll even officiate the wedding."

"I don't know about the wedding part, but t-shirts would actually be hilarious," you laugh, even though the genuineness in his voice makes you want to cry. You reach over and squeeze his hand. "Thank you, Ryan."

"You're welcome," he squeezes you back. "Now that we're done talking about your love life, can I tell you what Elizabeth said the other day?"

"I wish you would." You say as the light turns green and cars slowly begin moving. Ryan begins spinning an elaborate story about how Carolina's dad was visiting last week, and they were playing in the playroom. You swear you're listening, but traffic is backing up in your lane, and you're desperately trying to get over. Thankfully, someone lets you in, and you can finally go the speed limit for once. Ryan is laughing at his story, and you're tuned back in when he gets cut off by metal crunching.

You don't know exactly what happened after that. You think you saw a black— no, a blue— car sputtering away after hitting you. Your ears ring, and your vision blurs as you struggle to breathe. It feels like someone is squeezing your lungs like a stress ball. Pricks of pain erupt across your face and thighs as your eyes flutter shut. Your head weighs a million pounds, and all you want to do is sleep, but then you hear groaning, and you suddenly remember Ryan.

Something takes over as you look at him, glass and blood all over his body. You unbuckle your seatbelt and get out of the car on shaky legs to run to his side, the side hit by the speeding car. The door is partially dented in, but you're able to open it and see his chest rising and falling. You curse under your breath as you apply pressure to the gnarly-looking cut on his head. He jerks under your touch, and you shush him gently. Distantly, you hear sirens and pray that they're for you.

"Hey. Hey, you're okay. You're fine. We're okay," you say. His eyes open halfway before dropping down again. "No, no, no. Hey, you gotta stay awake for me, okay? You gotta finish telling me your story about Bethy. What did she say? You didn't tell me." 

"Are you okay? We called 911, and..." a kind voice approaches, making you jump. You turn to look at her and watch a flicker of recognition pass over her. "Holy shit, you're-"

"He needs help," you cut her off. "Please, can you help him? I... I don't know what to do. The c...car came out of nowhere, and he..." The asphalt sways under you, and she quickly reaches out to grab your elbow. You shake your head and grip the mangled door for balance. It's then that you realize that your car is stopped in the middle of the intersection, with broken glass and car parts littering the road. You also realize that bystanders surround you, their beady camera lenses pointed at you. A shudder runs down your spine despite the California heat, and something in your side twinges in pain.

"You need to be sitting down." The woman tries to pull you away from Ryan, but you rip your arm away from her. You position your body between his and the cameras, bending over him to protect his bloody face.

"No. No, 'm fine. Need to be with him." 

"Honey,"

"I said no!" You yell as an ambulance squeals to a stop nearby, and paramedics rush out. 

"Are you hurt?" A paramedic asks, medical gear slung over her shoulder as she approaches.

"I think he hit his head. I don't... know. He's bleeding." You say, and the paramedic nods. You think she says something to the kind woman about shock, but you can't hear over all the blood. It's on your hands, your clothes, and in your hair. The dark red is suffocating you, and all you can do is watch.

Ringing takes over your senses as they cut Ryan out of his seat and put him on a stretcher. You repeat Carolina's phone number over and over again. You tell them his blood type, the dosage of his anti-depressants, and his bad knee. The left one. The left one gives him the most trouble. The left one pops when he stands too fast or walks upstairs. He needs surgery, but he won't get it. You tell them he's a father. You tell them that there are people who need him a lot more than they need you. Your legs give out as soon as he's loaded into the ambulance and sent away with shrieking sirens. Someone catches you before you can hit the pavement, and you can feel yourself shaking.

"Your friend is gonna be okay. We're gonna meet him at the hospital. Is there someone I can call for you? An emergency contact?" A medic asks, and you shake your head.

"That was my emergency contact. I... I don't have anyone else. I don't," your chest heaves with panic when a set of numbers flashes in your head next to Carolina's phone number. You repeat to the medic, and they quickly scribble it down. "His name is Joel."

"And who's he?"

"My partner."

Your body feels heavy when you wake up, like someone tied cinderblocks to your joints and told you to swim. Ringing fills your ears before giving way to a cloud of painful noise, and for a second, you wonder if the car crash was just a dream and when you open your eyes, you'll be back in bed. You'll text Ryan about how weird it was and make plans to hang out later in the day. Except, when you open your eyes, harsh fluorescent lights shine down on you. Your face pulses with an unrelenting throbbing. Pressure explodes across your temples, and you grit your teeth as you try to take a deep breath, but your ribs protest. A gentle squeeze of your hand surprises you, but it doesn't hurt.

"Don't move too fast. Doctors said you'd be sore," Joel says quietly. You slowly turn your head and find him sitting in a chair next to your bed, both of his hands holding one of yours. Tears immediately flood your vision, and your chest aches under the weight of your cries. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"'Ryan. Where's Ryan? Is he okay?" It hurts to talk, and Joel has to move closer to hear you, but once he realizes what you're asking, he kisses your hand.

"Ryan's next door with Carolina. He's got some bumps and bruises like you, but he's gonna be just fine," he says, reaching out to smooth your hair down, and you let out a sigh of relief. "You were the first thing he asked about when he woke up, too."

"Really?" You ask, and he smiles.

"Course. Said he could hear you the whole time, but he couldn't say anythin'. He told me that knowin' you were there made him feel safe." 

"I... I told the paramedics about his knee." You sniffle, and he raises his eyebrows.

"You did?"

"His left one is bad. They needed to know. I had to tell them." 

"You did great," he murmurs, wiping your tears away with gentle thumbstrokes. You take a shaky breath and focus all your strength on squeezing his hand. He smiles and kisses your forehead, his eyes glistening with tears. "You scared me."

"'M sorry. I didn't know who else to call."

"Hey, don't be sorry, okay? You did the right thing tellin' 'em to call me. I was scared because you were hurt."

"What's the damage?" You ask, and he takes a deep breath as his eyes scan your face.

"You've got a concussion and bout seven stitches on the side of your face here," he traces a line over his left eyebrow to show where he's indicating without hurting you. "Three cracked ribs and two broken ones from hittin' the steering wheel, some cuts from the glass, and lots of bumps and bruises." You nod as you listen, taking a mental inventory of everything. He watches you process silently, pressing kisses to your hand, forehead, and cheek whenever he gets the urge. Memories of blood, warped metal, and phone cameras run through your mind, and you swallow thickly.

"People were taking pictures of us after we got hit." You say, and Joel nods.

"I saw 'em."

"Out of all those people, one stopped to help us," your voice cracks. "I thought Ryan was gonna die, and they were fucking taking pictures."

"He didn't. He's safe. You're both safe, and Mel is already workin' on gettin' those pictures taken down, okay?" He says. You just nod and wrap your other hand around Joel's wrist, bringing your joined hands to your chest. You stay like that for a while, listening to the incessant beeping of your heart monitor and Joel's breathing. He doesn't rush you or make you talk anymore. He waits.

It would've been so easy for Joel to not show up. Or to show up, focus only on you, and completely forget about Ryan and Carolina. But he didn't. He knew how much they mean to you. He showed up, and he visited them, and was there when he woke up. He talked to Melanie about getting the photos from the accident taken down. He held your hand and said you did the right thing and didn't flinch when he saw your bruises. I'm Team Joel, as long as you are, echoes in your mind, and you smile.

"Thank you," you mumble as you kiss Joel's hand.

"For what?" He asks, and you shake your head.

"Bein' you."

"You're gettin' sweet on me, pretty girl." 

"Mm, I don't know about that one," you say. "Think people will still wanna cast me with a big ass scar on my forehead?" Joel nods as he leans down to kiss you gently.

"Oh, yeah. 'S sexy." He says against your lips, and you chuckle. 

"Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am," A wave of fatigue hits you as Joel settles in his chair again, and you yawn. "Get some rest. I'm not goin' anywhere." He squeezes your hand again, and you close your eyes, letting the pain meds drag you under again. 

You don't remember what you dreamt about that night in the hospital, but you remember blood washing down the drain. It wouldn't stop. There was so much. You remember thinking the blood on your hands almost looked sparkly as camera shutters reflected in the red. Everything looks prettier on camera, right? 

Right?

[anthurak]

So here's a minor Rosebird Parents-related thought I've been mulling over for a bit that I've also been asked about a couple time:

Even outside of the general 'Unreliable Narrator' nature of himself and Tai that I have already discussed, Qrow not telling Ruby (or Yang) about Raven being her dad/other-mom makes a lot more sense then you might think.

Simply because it is actually entirely possible that Qrow wouldn't actually KNOW that Raven is Ruby's other mom. At least, he wouldn't know for sure.

Qrow would have his suspicions certainly. He could even be PRETTY SURE that Ruby is actually Raven's and Summer's kid. But if Summer was being tight-lipped on the matter, there really wouldn't be anything Qrow could do to confirm it.

And after Summer's disappearance, there's only two people left who could confirm Ruby's true parentage to Qrow, and neither of them would be easily pressed for information.

I've got a lengthy theory-post on Qrow's and Tai's relationship in the works (the REAL foil to bumbleby on Team STRQ XD) that goes into detail on this, but given what we've seen of them together I imagine that Qrow has basically been 'walking on eggshells' around Tai ever since Summer's 'death'. Out of fear of destroying his relationship with the one teammate he has left (and also because he's still pining for Tai, but more on that in a later post). So Qrow would never just up and ask Tai "hey, so is Ruby ACTUALLY your kid?"

And of course, Raven being ENTIRELY unforthcoming with information would likewise absolutely be in-character for her.

So with all that said, even putting aside the general tendency of adults in RWBY to hide VERY IMPORTANT information from their children/students/charges, I think it actually is entirely in-character for Qrow to have not mentioned this possibility to Ruby. And I would even call it an actually GOOD mentoring/parenting decision on his part.

I mean would it really have been a good thing for Qrow to one day pull a pre-teen Ruby aside and go 'Hey, so I think your parents were lying to you and your dad isn't actually your dad and your real dad is my sister and also your sister's mom who's been gone for your entire life. I mean I don't know for sure, but I've got a pretty good hunch about it.'?

[gothamstreetcat]

not to go off but i think the reason i love wesley/lilah so much, and more specifically in same cases - lilah herself, is because she genuinely loved wesley. stehpanie said that, during the dress-up scene is when lilah realized she could love - and she loved wesley. and i think it's so important because when wesley is going to cut her head off (because he can't bare the idea of anyone else doing it) he tells her "she didn't love him. she couldn't." and i've always seen that, the tone of his voice, the ache of hurting as: you didn't love me because you can't. i am not someone that can be loved. but she did love him. i know a lot of people don't like wesley but you can't deny he comes from trauma and abuse, and a father who did not love him and was not shy about it. and something so sad about it is because a lot of what wesley does i think stems from a trauma response - and even after everything and shooting his not!dad he still calls him at the end of the episode because he wants his dad to love him. he still loves his dad. and i think this is so important when talking about wesley's character because everything is dad did - putting him down, locking him in a closet, terrorizing him - has stayed with him into adulthood. he never got over anything or made peace with it.

and i really believe his "billy" persona was really a mirror of his own father/how he was possibly treated. it would make a lot of sense that wesley would repress his fears of becoming like his father. and during his time with lilah he had lost everything - his "family," two of his best friends in the whole word, and his purpose. his very reason for being alive. she comes into his life in a time when he has no one, and she loves him. she kind and gentle and i think that's the reason i've been drawn to lilah because of that. because i know what it's like to be like wesley and make one mistake and never be able to live it down, to be laughed at or looked at weird when talking about abuse. to be grown and wonder why i am not capable of being loved - what is wrong with me that i'm not good enough?

and in my opinion, a lot of wesley "being in love with fred" stems from fred being a more loved version of wesley himself. she doesn't get made fun of for being smart, and she don't get entirely criticized for being weird. her parents love her unconditionally and supported her. anytime she experienced ptsd she was immediately comforted - all of these are good things and i hope it doesn't come off like i'm hating when i say these things. however, wesley is more seen in a negative light, and isn't given the same kindness and such.

and it feels like the idea of wesley being with fred and being in love with her in so pressed on. as if it's the only way wesley is going to matter - it's the only thing people think about him. so much so that fred becomes some conflicted in his relationship with lilah, which i truly do not understand because the first have of season 4 was them sharing a life together, and the second half was wesley grieving the loss of the love of his life. that rage he showed with faith, that need to get rid of angelus was grief. he's staring at her body and can't fathom the idea of having to cut her head off - and despite the memory erasing in season 5 he still remembers it. he sits in the basement for hours because he's struggling with the loss. and in his mind he wonders if it might be about redemption or "saving" lilah - but in the end of the season we learn that is was never about those things. it was about giving her peace. it was about how she had suffered enough (and i know we all love our bad ass lawyer, but she was often treated poorly).

how am i genuinely supposed to interoperate him burning her contract? was that not love? and there is no way wesley would have given up trying to free her because if that was really the case he would have it a long time ago. and what they have is such a beautiful thing together because neither one of them was expecting it. they weren't obligated to be kind to one another and yet after everything that happened they still found love. lilah never thought someone would ever do something that meaningful for her as burn her contract just life wesley never believed he could be loved in such a way.

"they have a powerful thing together."

anyway, i stopped doing something super important to write all this down. hope i am not being too annoying.