#Tobias kick their ass

[copias-juicebox]

wobble wobble. x

[eggsistential-breakdown]

Mira made them wear the shirt

Also trying my hand at Toby designs

[orphyd]

Out on the town for once🌷

[starrodkid]

Look, as much as I like Carmelo

FUCKING FINALLY

[bratty-metalhead]

Have you ever heard Primo growl? Now you have 🖤

TikTok: brattymetalhead

[jerzwriter]

I hope you don’t mind me stealing them for my morning warm up.

—————

“I’m home,” he called out.

“We’re in the kitchen,” she hollered back.

We? God, who did she invite over this time? he wondered and leaned against the wall, steeling himself for whatever gathering she had planned to subject him to this week.

“Uncle Ethan!” Samantha squealed as she slid around the corner in her stocking feet. Brooke not far behind her sister.

“Samantha,” Ethan acknowledged her greeting with confusion as she took his hand.

“We are making Christmas cookies,” Brooke said loudly and her sticky hand grabbed his other hand.

The two sisters dragging him to the kitchen where Kayla pulled herself up on Merida’s leg and her tiny fingers tried to each the flour dusted counter.

“Hey, welcome home,” Merida grinned, dusted in equal amounts of flour as their kitchen.

The girls raced back to the table to frost more cookies, though Ethan saw they ate more of the frosting than they actually applied to the cookies.

“Why are they here?” he whispered and indicated with his head the girls now dumping entire containers of sprinkles atop their cookies.

“You mean the spawn of Tobias?” Merida teased.

Ethan rolled his eyes and sighed, “Yes.”

“I thought it would be nice to give Casey and Tobias a night free for a date.”

“They can get their own sitter.”

“Ah but this is more fun.”

“Fun for who?”

“Me,” she giggled into a kiss. “Because I do so love exasperated Uncle Ethan.”

“You are impossible.”

He turned from her hoping to hide the slight smile.

“Girls!” he shouted when he saw Brooke painting Samantha’s face with frosting. “The frosting goes on the cookies.”

He leaned down to begin wiping the frosting from Samantha’s face only for Brooke to start painting his.

He stood up and turned to Merida with a pointed look. But she only laughed and the girls erupted in giggles.

“We will end up with four children to babysit if you keep giving those two date nights and,” he paused and gave a long suffering sigh, “I don’t think I can handle that.”

She pulled him close and kissed the frosting from his face, “You love it.”

LILY!!!!!!!! OMG! So I have to tell you - I saw this the moment I woke up today. I was not in a good headspace; lots going on, and I was really down. Then I saw this, and it just made me smile. It really turned my whole day around, and I need to thank you for that! Like HUGE HUGE HUGE hugs for that!

Now... this was FREAKING ADORABLE!!!! EEK! OK, so outside of my own little girl (who isn't so little lol) I think the Carrick Girls are the greatest thing I've ever created, and OMG, you captured the little rugrats SO well here. And juxtaposing their vibrance, mischief, youth, and energy against Ethan's curmudgeonly old man ways! AAAGHHH! OMG!!!! Then, there is Merida, the perfect balance of light, joy ... and mischief... right there in the middle. Oh, I have so much to say... bear with me, PLEASE!

We? God, who did she invite over this time?

🤣🤣🤣 Ethan, you crotchety old man. You are SO lucky Merida tolerates your ass! 🤣🤣🤣

steeling himself for whatever gathering she had planned to subject him to this week.

Your life would be so empty without her babe. Worship her as she deserves to be worshiped! lol

“We are making Christmas cookies,” Brooke said loudly and her sticky hand grabbed his other hand.

Ethan thinking ... "This is why we don't have kids" the entire time! 😆

The girls raced back to the table to frost more cookies, though Ethan saw they ate more of the frosting than they actually applied to the cookies.

You know Tobias does the same thing, right? It's official. It's canon. He does. lol

“Why are they here?” “You mean the spawn of Tobias?”

STOP!!!!

No... seriously! STOP! I am literally WHEEZING over here. OMG Spawn of Tobias... I need to inject this into my fics, into my vernacular, into MY LIFE as much as humanly possible. That's a must...

“Ah but this is more fun.” “Fun for who?” “Me,”

Baby boy, she needs more than your grumpy ass in her life. LMAO I love it.

He leaned down to begin wiping the frosting from Samantha’s face only for Brooke to start painting his.

THIS. IS. EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING! I need to commission art of this. And I can see Merida LAUGHING her ass off in the background - sneaking a picture and texting it to the friends group chat... and Tobias is like "That's going on our family Christmas card." It's done. 😂😂😂

“We will end up with four children to babysit if you keep giving those two date nights and,” he paused and gave a long suffering sigh, “I don’t think I can handle that.”

SSSTTTOOOOPPPPP!!!! 😂😂😂😂

OMG Ethan, but you are SO FREAKING RIGHT! lol So - there is a really angsty story surrounding Kayla's birth ... and more to come on that... but if not for that... I'm sure these two would have been pumping kids out like rabbits. lol

OMG LILY! I waited all day to reply because I wanted the time to give it the attention it deserves. AAAGHH! I love this! I love you! Thank you so much! This was the brightest spot in my day! ❤️❤️❤️

[sinclair-enterprises]

Aurra Sing being killed by Tobias Beckett is still the stupidest shit. She would have sniped that man like the nobody he was.

[acherryghost]

What I really love about copia is how much he f e e l s like a rock star. Not to say that his successors weren't but in my mind it clicks for copia more than the others

The first three papas definitely accomplished that spooky regal antipope feel, while copia for me marks a neat transition for the band and the ministry too

Like I totally can buy into copia being an antipope for a satanic church as well as a kick ass rocker. I can easily imagine him as a musician in the studio recording music AND grinding as the head of an antichurch

Idk if it's how he carries himself, his look, his personality, or whatever but as far as the storyline goes with the other characters, I think tobias nailed it with how he had copia turn out

Anyways ghesties, lmk what yall think, do you have a favorite ghost era

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

ok I’m sorry about having you write those heartbreaking Grayson hcs, I’m gonna be honest they made me sob so hard 😭 so let’s get some happy Grayson ones (I loved that last one by the way, he’s so cute)

happy grayson head canons

of course, i have made another grayson post (some are happy, some are sad), but i'll make another one bc he's everything (it might be shorter though).also i have no idea what 'happy' head canons are so here are some that aren't sad (some funny, some happy, some embarrassing, etc). hope you like them <3. @lanterns-and-daydreams helped with some of these

he doesn't smile often, but when he does you see his little dimples (idk if this is canon but, if it isn't, i like the idea of him having dimples)

he talks to their dog, tiramisu, in a really high pitched voice

he works out religiously. he has like a schedule and everything, and he sings when he works out.

he watches my little pony as a guilty pleasure. xander knows and is using it as blackmail material.

he desperately wants a cat but doesn't want their dog to kill it.

he has an obsession with is ass. he takes pride in it being big and juicy.

he's jealous of jameson bc he's an inch taller than gray is, and he uses it against him.

he joined a yoga group without knowing it was for girls only, so now, once a week, he gossips and does yoga with these old ladies.

he loves face masks more than anything. xander and jameson have tons of pictures of him with cucumbers on his eyes and a face mask.

he doesn't like colors. if someone were to ask him what his favorite color is, he'd just say black or white or smth

he loves composing his own piano pieces and playing them to his brothers and the others.

he despises sex education with a passion. whenever he used to have those classes in school, he would blush so hard the teachers thought he was having a stroke or some shit

grayson loves poetry (ik this was mentioned in tbh, but i hc he still does it for fun to express his emotions (he didn't stop after the one year challenge))

when he was younger, he really liked snails. he used to collect some and give them a 'home' in jars he found around the mansion.

he's a sucker for matchas. he literally makes himself one every morning before he starts working. (he has a cup with cats on it that he uses every day)

he owns a human dog bed (if you don't know what it is, search it up)

he once tried to watch p*rn to see what the hype is all about, but he got so disgusted and uncomfortable he threw away his laptop.

all of the pens in his pen collection are placed side by side from smallest to biggest in his drawer.

he has the biggest walk in closet you can imagine (bigger than barbie's)

xander once bought him a skirt and dared him to go to work wearing it. pictures of it got out and his fans started calling him baby girl.

he makes playlist for his favorite book couples.

this dude cannot smirk for the life of him. he looks like a constipated sloth when he tries to.

he can do the splits perfectly.

when someone kicks him in the balls, he sounds like a dying hyena. he just wheezes for like 5 minutes straight whilst everyone just looks at him in horror. he then wobbles away.

he's a really good just dance player. he actually laughs when he plays.

grayson knows how to pole dance.

when he was younger, he was jealous that jamie had more prominent abs so he used to contour his to make them look like jamie's

when he was younger, he tried to learn how to purr. he thought it would be cool

he wanted to be like nash so bad when he was younger than he would stick a hay strand in his mouth and try to speak in a southern accent. skye was mortified.

grayson loved flower crowns. xander used to make him some and he would walk around wearing them proudly.

he wears subtle makeup sometimes (when he's in the mood) (blush, concealer, very subtle eyeliner, etc)

when he was younger, he would also try to gallop around like a horse. he would get on his hands and knees and strut around (tobias wanted to kill himself)

[slime-sandwhich-nom]

List of tawog hcs because I'm bored you guys

(processing that charlie is a bimbo now, this is how I cope)

• gumball fuckin hates being picked up, held, petted or just touched in general. He's one of those assholes cats who will kill you on the spot if you breathe the same air as them.

The closest one who got to even hug him or just touch him for more than 2 seconds was Darwin. Gumball's mom literally had to fight gumball as a toddler to pick him up

Penny though, penny gets the favorite person privilege and gumball lets her pick him up, kiss him, boop his nose, anything. Deadass the only one who can do it.

• speaking of gumball not liking to be picked up, penny, knowing she can, does it whenever she has to kiss him somewhere that isn't the forehead or the top of his head because this guy is so short.

He lets her too.

• Darwin can't pick shit up or hold anything because of his fins, so his handwriting is so bad he can't even read it. he always asks gumball to get notes in class because his brother can write better and nicer than him but gumball just sleeps through the classes. So.

• Anais did get her father's metabolism. She hates it.

• gumball does that thing where he speaks to the wall and stares at empty spaces like some cats do, Darwin is convinced gumball is possessed or someone lives again in the house without them knowing. (because gumball did that whenever rob moved around the basement and Darwin associates Gumball talking to the wall to another secret room with a dude living there again) he called an exorcist for the house before. Or for Gumball. He needs it anyway.

• Anais actually has to wear glasses to see well, and red especially. Gumball should wear glasses to see from a distance and he does have glasses for it, he just doesn't wear them. Darwin does does see pretty good, he just can't tell how far something is (he bumps into walls a lot for it.)

• deadass everyone in the family is colorblind, aside from maybe darwin. they think gumball and nicole are blue because it's all they see. they don't know it's the actual fur color.

• gumball's favorite color is orange, because of Darwin, he just doesn't call it orange. He says "whatever color Darwin is."

• Anais Is the only one who actually wears shoes, gumball is neutral on shoes as he also used to wear them but he just stopped, then Nicole and Richard just hate having shoes. (We don't count Darwin.)

• Darwin's only kind of flexible part are his legs. He's super envy of gumball's ability to fold like paper

• whenever someone in gumball's class talks about LGBTQ+ or anything about that topic they all just say "oh yeah I know that one!! Gumball is part of that club or something"

• penny was the first one to get that gumball is bisexual she just has no idea that it has a name so she just says that gumball is "gay but not all the way" but she loves him still for it

• Tobias actually did try to go for the guys to try and flirt, deadass only Leslie actually did give him a chance

• Alan is the one who is actually informed about things like lgbtq and all, he always tried to educate the others about it

• gumball has fights on Twitter Daily because he thinks it's funny. Alan says he's being mean (gumball gave him a side eyes for 10 minutes for it.)

• gumball vs dream actually did happen and it was peak drama at Elmore's jr. High for a while like it was for us (it was too iconic not to make it actually happen)

• masami only went with Alan because she wanted a bf because in middle school it's kind of a big deal about it- she actually likes girls.

• gumball is actually aware that he's a cartoon and that he's the main character, reasons why he doesn't hate rob and takes it more on the playful way, it's all a script anyway.

• tall strong girlfriend (can turn into a dragon and can kick your ass) & her small and weak as hell boyfriend (can't open a jar of pickles and has to ask her for it.) for gumball and penny

• my guy Darwin is into goths and emos. (Carrie)

• Anais also argues on social media whenever she can get access to it, but she actually writes down smart and true facts while gumball says directly "kys" to piss people off

• bobert tried to date a tv before (he had a crush on the computer in SpongeBob)

• ocho uses terms like "fr","lol","lmao" irl and everyone hates him for it

• gumball is the only one who knows the difference between geek and nerd. Or smart words or synonyms kids just don't use, and he always uses them whenever he has to convince someone to do something for him because he sounds smart but he's only saying bullshit in a smart way

• Darwin doesn't understand half of the things Gumball says so he just agrees.

• ms simian hates how much gumball yap. That's why she doesn't care if he falls asleep in class, because she gets some peace from him

• gumball is smart, he just has no care for school. Sometimes he pulls out actual good arguments and complains about society about things only Anais or his mom gets and Anais is Always surprised for it. (The more he yaps about stuff like this, which is everyday, the more she's convinced aliens are real and they replaced his brother)

• gumball is not a morning person, he actually is super pissy and snarky if he wakes up before noon. (Reasons why he just hates everybody at school constantly)

Darwin is a morning person, and he always talks a lot in the morning (gumball hates him for it. Did try to tape Darwin's mouth.)

• Anais Is also a morning person, she just isn't too happy about waking up this early like her brothers because of how young she is.

• Gumball can't eat chocolate, and like any cats he's lactose intolerant (he still can tolerate milk a little because he's a kitten), and he always gets extremely sick from chocolate or just- throws up with lactose. He still eats both.

same goes for the rest of the Watterson, gumball just forces himself to eat both. (And also uses it to his advantage to skip school)

They all have no idea why gumball keeps on getting himself sick from it.

Btw chocolate and lactose ain't good (chcolate is toxic for cats.) for bunnies and cats- and fishes!! That's why my guy reacts badly to it

• neither Nicole or gumball can taste sweets, or anything sweet really. Still, gumball's favorite food is chocolate (and cheese.) which is ironic because he loves to eat it but it's tasteless for him, and he gets sick from it. He's truly a creature.

He likes the texture of it though, that's only why he eats both.

• penny feels like non-sticky peanut butter. Gumball is always looking for a way to knead on her for it, because it's relaxing (and because kneading is also a cat's love language.)

• gumball always forms half a heart with his tail whenever he's talking near penny, or together with her, because normally cats form a heart when they walk side by side, but penny has no tail. So it's only half a heart.

• Darwin is a tryhard on sports, Anais is a tryhard on academics, gumball just likes to sleep because he avoids doing anything that he doesn't find necessary (like any cat, really.)

• Penny likes listening to rock, gumball just enjoys listening to anything he likes the melody of.

Carrie likes to hear stuff like mlp opening, Darwin is with penny on this one.

Anais Just likes daisy the donkey's opening, really.

• Gumball is an introvert and just hates people, Darwin is an extrovert, the little guy is just a little shy.

• you know gumball has a stupid plan in mind when he starts calling Darwin things like "my fishy friend" instead of buddy.

• Darwin always watches documentaries about animals, specifically cats and bunnies because he wants to know about his family more.

Once he tried to slow blink at gumball and the kitten was just confused as fuck, but appreciated the gesture. He only understood it because Darwin stared then really slow closed his eyes.

• gumball sometimes pulls those deep sleeps and Darwin always thinks his brother died. Anais has to comfort him for hours until gumball wakes up

• Nicole is always overworking herself because of trauma, and sometimes envies how laid back her eldest son is.

• gumball can actually draw really well, art is probably the only class he scores in.

• gumball and Nicole actually hear everything I'm the house and they hate it.

• gumball has a tendency of calling everyone nicknames because he can't remember anyone's name for shit.

• gumball uses at his advantage the fact that he's considered cute because he's a kitten. he gets free stuff from it.

• Darwin tried once to mimic gumball loafing, did not end up well.

• all of the videos, or most of them, of cats on Elmore's YouTube are about gumball. He's that one cat that is being constantly recorded doing shit like stealing people's food at restaurants, breaking in by accident, just randomly coming up to people, stare, then go away, accidentally falling from the ceiling. Anything a cat does, gumball does it and gets recorded.

This is one of the reasons why gumball specifically is known by ANYONE and either they love him because he looks cute, or they are terrified of what shit he can pull. (Depends on the day)

• Gumball gets free food because people like to pet him and hand him treats. He doesn't complain about it, even if he doesn't enjoy petting (which is the only thing he complains about, so he just moves his head and gets the treat.)

• when gumball was younger he had darker fur, and at night it looked like he was a black cat (same problem was for Nicole), so he was not allowed to go around alone on the streets, especially on Halloween because people tend to be aggressive or straight up kill black cats during halloween. The same rule was for Nicole, especially because she was also a girl.

• gumball just likes sleeping around, especially during the day. People need to look for blue shit around because it could be gumball.

• gumball fuckin HATES wool, he can't stand it. he'll go insane with wool, and it's texture and how it feels on his body. Darwin instead loves it, but doesn't wear it (he doesn't wear anything aside from shoes.)

• Nicole almost cried when gumball first sat on her lap to loaf. she's very emotional on the whole family thing. And also Gumball never does it to anyone, she feels loved, that's it.

• Richard's favorite kid is most definitely gumball, they both enjoy slacking around, it was their best bonding moment (and still is.)

• surprisingly gumball is better with kids, Darwin is not. Anais Just hates kids her age.

• Darwin is more of a people pleaser, gumball is just really firm on his own boundaries. And now he's also firm on Darwin's.

• gumball, when he was really small, just did not talk. he enjoyed meowing more (to his father) and thrill or mrrp to his mom. He only ever talked when he needed something and neither get what he wanted.

Then Darwin came and he started yapping constantly to the fish, who had a hard time talking because of his new features like feet, lungs and an actual voice.

gumball is those types of cats who yap a lot, Anais is just, silent (like bunnies that make no noise) and Darwin learned to be also a yapper, just a very bigger one than gumball.

• Darwin has the habit of eating fish food still, sometimes he just goes in the bathroom, fills the bath with water, puts fish food, gets himself in and eats.

• gumball drinks like actually cats do, Nicole does it as well.

• the Watterson deadass go to the vet, people like Leslie or Carmen go to arborists or generally people who know plants and take care of 'em. Like maybe 2% of Elmore's population goes to a doctor.

• gumball loves fireworks, but hates other loud noises like thunder. Anais HATES fireworks, but doesn't mind things like thunder.

• Leslie hates vegetarians and is almost glad gumball is a forced carnivore (gumball annoys Leslie with the fact his father and sister are technically "vegetarians".)

• gumball zoomies are almost nonexistent because of his shenanigans he pulls everyday, they always tire him out so he doesn't get zoomies.

• Gumball got accused of being the devil with how stupidly chaotic he is to the point he's the terrorizer of Elmore. Gumball is proud of it. His mother is very much not.

• nicole is the "man of the house", but this is because of cats being matriarchal. And Richard just will not go against his wife's words.

• Tobias feels like non sticky cotton candy, you could potentially stick you hand in there and find his actual body which is hidden under all that rainbow cotton candy thing.

• dude, gumball fuckin hates the boys in his class because they just don't care about hygiene and it just bothers him on another level. he's exactly like normal cats where he spends like half of the day cleaning themselves.

Regarding this, Darwin's only problem is that he constantly smells of fish (which he's self conscious about, and always worries about bothering gumball) but really gumball always tells him it's okay because he can't help it

(he forces the other classmates to take a shower though.)

• mr.small is just always high, there's no other explanation for whatever he's on.

• gumball talked so much about penny that Darwin had to tell him to shut the fuck up. (Gumball kept going)

• gumball has severe beef with Billy's mom to the point he's daily sabotaging her life just so she can move to another town and stop bothering gumball with her existence.

(Darwin is sick of gumball's bullshit)

• gumball swore once. (Reference to the video of gumballs VA saying "fuck") And when he got elected as school president once he won by saying "I will eliminate the middle class" (again gumball's VA saying it)

• gumball always tells rob "gay gay homosexual gay" to the point rob screams at him, like just yells at the top of his lungs and runs away crying

• "GET OUT OF MY GARDEN"

"I'LL SHIT IN YOUR FUCKING GARDEN" from south park but it's gumball and half of Elmore.

And I'll stop because I'm writing something longer than the bible

[mediocreshake08]

This was mostly made for @rabid-raccoontail but whoever wants to get into Mortal Kombat, this is your lucky day. So welcome everyone to the...

Also this is going to be my biggest post yet so if you like to read this is the place for you. If you can't picture the characters I name, look them up on google.

Also this contains heavy spoilers for the ENTIRE series.

So sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoy this

What is a Mortal Kombat?

To get a basic understanding of the series you got 3 canons to work with. You have the Midway games (Original Dev team), you have The NRS reboot (the canon most people are known with) and you got the The New Era ( the one that changed it all).

Classic games

The first game takes place on an Island owned by Shang Tsung, the final boss. The whole premise of why everyone is fighting on an island is because of the Mortal Kombat tournament, which happens every generation, and is a tournament mostly against Earthrealm and Outworld. Basically how it works, is if your realm wins 10 tournaments in a row, your realm gets fused with the winners (but also you can choose not to do that because fuck it). Outworld won 9 tournaments and with this one, one of the biggest villains of the franchise, Shao Kahn, fuses Earthrealm with Outworld and fucks up the entire human race. Our champions, Liu Kang a Shaolin monk, Johnny Cage the actor and Sonya Blade a Special Forces Commander, led by the thunder God Raiden won't let that shit slide. Oh also Kano is here and he's a proper Aussie, ye m8? Anyways, Liu Kang sweeps the floor with everyone, including a four armed hurdling mass of muscle named Goro, kicks Shang Tsungs ass and practically saves the Earth. Bonus fun fact, Scorpion kills Sub Zero because he thought he killed his family and clan and as revenge, he spit roasts him.

MK2 takes place some time after that with Shang looking a little sexier and asking the Earthrealmers to join a second MK tournament. If they don't oblige, they're gonna invade Earth (save that for a little later). Also Sub Zero is back, except not really the one who got killed by Scorpion was Bi-Han, and this is his younger brother, Kuai Liang. Getting back on topic we got some new characters like Jax, Sonya's partner from the Special Forces, Kuai Liang Sub Zero, Kung Lao who's the cooler Shaolin monk and also has a hat that's also a throwing weapon, Kitana, who is the main villains step daughter (sorta), Mileena, who's a test tube baby made by Shang Tsung for Shao Kahn, Reptile, who as you could guess is a lizard, and Barraka, who has Nosferatu's face (but also like, his species is tied to Mileena's creation because she's half Tarkatan. Anyways, some shit happens and Liu Kang beats the fuck out of Shao Kahn.

MK3, instead of being yet another tournament, Shao Kahn says FUCK IT and invades earth with the Outworld armies. Not only that, but the Lin Kuei (Sub Zero's clan) are being turned into cyborgs. All but one of them escaped, that one being Sub Zero. One cop survives New York, Johnny Cage gets killed by a centaur, there's a speedster with swords and fireballs coming out of his face, and boom, bang BING, we got some new characters. There's Stryker the Cop I talked about a few seconds ago, Kabal the speedster because the co-creator really wanted to make a psycho killer flash, Cyrax Sektor and Smoke who are the cyber Lin Kuei, Rain, who appears in like 5 games but only does something in 3 and isn't playable in one of the games he's in, Night Wolf who's a native American, Ermac who uses they/them and Sindel, the biggest bitch in the fucking seven seas. Oh also Bi-Han is back and he's edgy. He now goes by Noob Saibot, which if you read backwards is Tobias and Boon, the creators of Mortal Kombat. No time for that though because somehow Shao Kahn returned after being fisted, Johnny Cage gets brought back to life and Liu Kang kills Shao Kahn once more again, the end.

If that's not confusing enough, we aren't done yet because now we got

3D games

I'm not doing Mortal Kombat 4

Deadly Alliance starts with Shang Tsung and his boyfriend Quan Chi snapping Liu Kang's neck so he can't interrupt them in reawakening Onaga, the king of all scalies and one of the most powerful forces in the realms. And now Liu Kang is a zombie, Raiden kicks Shang and Quan's asses or at least tries. Also we're introduced to Kenshi Takahashi the blind swordsman with a magic sword, and sexy vampire pirate lady, Nitara, more on her later.

Deception takes place right after that, where Raiden is trying to fight the Deadly Alliance (who are literally just Shang and Quan), failing. Raiden dies, Quan Chi kills Shang Tsung which somehow awakens Onaga. Quan can't do piss and trying to fight him, somehow brings both Raiden and Shang Tsung back to life... Okay?? And then Raiden nukes himself and Onaga walks it off. Deceptions protagonist is a little shit called Shujinko, a student of Bo Rai Cho, the same man who trained Kung Lao and Liu Kang. He then gets encountered by Damashi, a glowy ball that tells him he has to help the Elder Gods by retrieving the Kamidogu (which are basically Jewelry that hold the fabric of the universe). And Shujinko, being the gullible idiot he is accepts. And from this point on, the game turns into you fixing everyone else's problems like finding Bo Rai Cho's sodding watch, getting water back from another realm, and beating the shit out of Wesley Snipes. Speaking of Blade we got other sick characters like Kira and Kobra, Black Dragon members and one of them is named after a martial art/movie, Havik who is a klerk of chaos, Hotaru the Policemun, Dairou who's an outlaw loose and runnin', and Li Mei, voiced by Kelly Hu in the latest game. After all that, you find all the Kamidogu, you defeat everyone + Scorpion is the final boss (don't ask me, I don't fuggin know why) and what's your reward? Realizing you've been deceived the whole game and not seeing a final battle between Onaga and Shujinko (even though Shujinko can definitely beat Onaga but fuck it).

Armageddon begins with this schmuck named Argus, an Edenian God who did it with a mortal woman Delia and they had two boys who had to be put in stalagmites because Argus knows the apocalypse is on its way. Thousands of years later, Daegon and Taven, the two brothers wake up. Daegon basically made the Red Dragon clan, named after Caro who's basically Taven's spirit animal and he helps bring about the apocalypse. Taven's character can be summed up to "Who are you? Who's that? Uuuuh..." But that's what I love about him. Anyways, Taven looks for his asshole brother, de-frosts a bad bitch and kicks everyone's ass. Which translates to what Armageddon really is. All the characters choose sides. We get one of the coolest fmv sequences in PS2 history and everyone dies trying to take Blaze's power. Blaze is a demigod-esque creation made by Argus to warn Taven and Daegon about the apocalypse, but also whoever kills him, gains his power and basically becomes the developer of the game. But because Taven is the main character, he has to kill everyone he encounters, a few of those people being one's he was proud to call friends. He climbs to the top, kills Daegon, destroys Blaze and saves the universe, the end.

Yeah I lied lol

Netherrealm Era

After Armageddon, Midway shut down, Warner Brothers bought Mortal Kombat and Netherrealm studios took over the franchise and this is where it all went downhill.

Mortal Kombat 9 starts with the end of the previous game. Except it doesn't, because Taven is somehow not here and Shao Kahn walked all the way back to kill him after being carried away by Onaga. Before Shao Kahn crushed him, Raiden sends a message to his past self saying only three things. "He Must Win.". We are now in the first Mortal Kombat except it's HD and Johnny is down bad for Sonya. Sonya is here just so she can find Jax who's lost on the island somewhere, Bi-Han is a bit of a prick and Shang Tsung is the only character in the game who has common sense. Liu Kang beats Shang Tsung, Jax gets his arms ripped off by Ermac, Johnny only gets to win if he has a suit and Mileena gets the most revieling outfit in fighting game history. Kitana and Liu Kang have an on and off thing, Reptile gets bullied (poor thang) and before Kuai Liang can kill Scorpion for killing his brother, he's taken away by the cyber Lin Kuei because Raiden saved Smoke from being cyberized and he says there's nothing he can do (that's bullshit but okay). Anyways, Kung Lao is doing pretty good in the tournament and then Shao Kahn snaps his neck. Feeling horrible by the death of his Shaolin brother, Liu Kang jumps in the arena and fists Shao Kahn. Sometime later, we learned that Shao Kahn survived because they put him in the Soul Chamber, a place in the Outworld arena that heals any and all wounds. He then gets the idea by Quan Chi to invade Earthrealm which completely goes against the laws of Mortal Kombat. And Shang Tsung knows and wants to stop them, but Shao Kahn doesn't fucking care and erased him from existance. they get guns from Kano, and they start blasting. Army can't do shit and somehow, a single cop (Stryker) is able to fight off A lizard man, a fire breathing cat and the only thing in Outworld that knows what pronouns are. Kabal was here too, but only for the first two fights. But he doesn't get his super speed here because he's just an average dude and maybe dating Stryker? I don't know. Anyways Kabal gets roasted by a big buff cat, taken to the Black Dragon and given a respiratory device by Kano that helps him breathe. He's basically Deadpool - the guns + super speed because the magic atmosphere of Outworld gave him that. Don't ask how anyone else got that after going to Outworld, idk🤷‍♀️. Anyways Quan Chi and Bitch-han bring back Sindel and mind control her to do their biding. Meanwhile, our heroes that consist of Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, Night Wolf, Cyber Sub Zero, Smoke, Kitana, Stryker, Kabal, Kitana and Liu Kang sit and do nothing. The Bastard Sektor walks in and with his Cyber Lin Kuei to tire out the heroes until Sindel arrives, the worst scene in MK history plays because the purple bitch kills damn near everyone and kicks Smoke in the nads, and then Night Wolf, the most forgettable Mortal Kombat character kills Sindel by Hail Mary. Raiden looks for help of Quan Dale Dingle, but he instead of helping, brings everyone who died back as revenants, which are basically zombies but with memories of the ones who died and they are pretty strong. Raiden fights three at once, Kills Liu Kang because he fears Shao Kahn is going to kill him and with the power of the Elder Gods, Raiden goes super Saiyan and does a Kamehameha, killing Shao Kahn. Yeah all of that was one game.

Mortal Kombat X (or as dip shits would call it mk 10) starts with Johnny, Sonya and Kenshi fighting revenant Sub Zero (who's a human revenant because of MKX prequel comic nonsense don't worry about it), Smoke who isn't even playable, Sindel who's a bitch through and through and Jax, who in a minute turns back into a human because of unexplained reasons, but I guess by killing his revenant, Liu, Kitana and Lao who are some. it turns out they were going to the Jin Sei chamber (earthrealm's life force that is pure light) where Quan Chi and his boss, Shinnok exact their plan of taking over Earthrealm by putting Shinnok into the Jin Sei, corrupting it and turning him into a super Saiyan but he looks like a devil, so kind of like a ssj4 thing? Doesn't matter because Johnny learns he has God killing powers and uses them to punch Shinnok in the nuts. Raiden seals him and the rest of the game is now a 20 years time skip. And now we have the next gen of kombatants, called the Kombat Kids by the fans. You got Cassie Cage the mc, Jaqui Briggs, who's basically Jax 2.0, Kung Jin, Lao's cousing who fights with a bow and Takeda, who has whips, bombs and a fuckin lightsaber. Anyways other new characters you have are Kotal Kahn who took over the throne, Erron Black who is the Cowboy and D'vorah, a character that absolutely everyone hates because she kills Mileena, who had a civil war with Kotal for the throne. Also Scorpion, now Hanzo Hasashi kills Quan Chi after learning it was him who disguised himself as Bi-Han to kill the Shirai Ryu out of spite I guess? D'vorah betrays Kotal, Almost kills Johnny but does get wrecked by Cassie who does also have the same God killing powers as Johnny, and he uses them to punch Shinnok in the nuts. Raiden puts himself in the Jin Sei Chamber because Shinnok corrupted it. Raiden purifies the Jin Sei and everyone gets a happy ending. Except Shinnok, who gets decapitated by dark Raiden.

Mortal Kombat 11 is a flawed masterpiece, and that flaw is the multiverse bullshit. So basically, Shinnok's mom Kronika who's like the keeper of time, wants to kill the entire universe because it's not balanced (shut the fuck up, ya bitch). Anyways, we got Geras, who can never die because he's a fixed point in time but is mostly known for pounding ass in the next game, Kollector who is the IRS and I hate him, and Centrion who is Shinnok's sister. There's also he Frozen bad bitch from earlier and her name is Frost, who is like Sub Zero minus but she's cyberized like Sektor and Cyrax who are in this game but unplayable (WHY NETHERREALM!). Anyways while remaking the timeline, Kronika accidentally summoned past versions of Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Jade (who was dead but I didn't give a shit to introduce her at the start) and also she has maybe done it with Kotal (LITTERALY oc x canon shit) ((Also Jade doesn't kill D'vorah when given the chance, the stupid bitch)), Jax and a past version of Erron Black, even though he's still alive??, and also Shao Kahn with the coolest design of all time. Also Barraka is back, because I forgot to mention the bug bitch killed him too. Anyways, now we're spending the game beating up but rarely killing beloved characters. The cyber Lin Kuei and Frost and old Jax invade their ship that they use to get to Kronika's keep. Young Liu Kang dies, but Raiden fuses with revenant Liu Kang and that turns Liu Kang into a fake Gogeta, aka Fire God Liu Kang (any of this starting to sound like fanfiction?). Anyways they make it to the island where Kronika's keep is and then, everyone but Liu Kang gets Thanos snapped. Liu kills all the leveled up revenants, Glasses Kronika and brings back Raiden to help him rewrite history.

JUST KIDDING RETCONNED FUCK YOOPUUUUU HAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAJ FUNNEE

uuuuuuugh alright I got two more story modes to do, holy fuck it's okay I can do this shit

The MK11 expansion, Aftermath, brings back Sheeva, who is now queen of the Shokan, the same species as Goro and Kintaro (the fire breathing cat from MK9), Night Wolf, Fujin the wind God and brother of Raiden, and Shanga langa ding dong. Fujin, Night Wolf and Shang were all locked away in a place beyond time until just now somehow (just roll with it okay? Okay). The plot of this story expansion is basically, Liu Kang wants to reset the universe, but he can't because he doesn't have Kronika's crown, which is needed to do the universe reset. So our boy Liu takes the two idiots and Shang into the past. I just now realized, Raiden is the only smart person in this game, because he knows Shang Tsung is planning something devious. Liu maybe knows but plays it off. They go back to previous points in the game to get the crown, revive Sindel who says she was mind controlled but later she says she's evil from the start (holy fuck I want to kill her and then myself). They get a boatsman, Kahron, to take them to the keep. In the process, D'vorah kills the poster boy of the franchise (Dominic I will fucking end your bloodline). Sindel gets Shao Kahn, heals his eyes that were sliced out by Kitana, they kill Liu and Lao, Shang reveals that he wants to reset the timeline (Fujin you stupid) , he Soul sucks Sindel and Shao Kahn, kills Kronika, but before he can do anything with Kronika's Hourglass, Liu Kang breaks in, kicks Shang Tsungs ass and reboots the series one more fucking time, which brings us to...

MORTAL 1 KOMBAT (or Mortal Kombat 1

This game starts with Shang Tsung being a failing snake oil salesman because he can barely survive. Then someone who looks like Kronika comes in and he makes this face

Best game of all time.

Anyway, we're introduced to Kung Lao and baby boy Raiden, who are farmers but also train Martial arts under the belt of Madame Bo, this universes version of Bo Rai Cho and she runs a kitchen, what more could you want with a grandma. Later, the Lin Kuei invade and we get the return of my boy Smoke who now has a Karambit and is voiced by Spiderman. He's Joined by Kuai Liang who is now Scorpion, and Bi-Han Sub Zero, the worst he's ever been i hate him. It's like they took his personality from Mortal Kombat 11 and slapped it over a poor man's imitation. Kung Lao kicks all three of their asses but only because they were pulling their punches. They join Liu who is basically Raiden now, and look for Johnny Cage, who's having a one-sided argument with his wife, and then she leaves and doesn't come back. Then, Kenshi breaks in, wanting Sento, the sword of his family which now lays on displayed on Johnny's wall. They fight, and Johnny beats him effortlessly. Johnny ties him to a chair and interrogates him until Liu Kang, along with Scorpion and Sub Zero walk in, which leads to one of the most iconic moments in the franchise

They want to untie Kenshi, but Johnny doesn't want that and thinks this is a prank, so he tries to play along but ends up being tossed into a million dollar statue, which triggers him and Johnny starts beating the shit out of Bitch-Han. Liu intervenes before Johnny can do his second fatality on him.they all go to the Wu Shi monk academy, where they train for the Great Tournament between Earthrealm and the realm of Outworld (that's LITTERALY what they call it, I'm not joking). Raiden beats them all using the one move he has, advance Cartwheel kick. Winning, Raiden is chosen to represent Earthrealm. And for winning, Liu Kang gives him a lightning amulet, which gives him lightning powers so he can fairly combat the Outworld fighters. Entering Outworld through a portal created by Liu, they are introduced by Kitana, Mileena and the palace guard, so-called the Umgadi, featuring two returning characters, one of which does nothing and the other was just a barrier. The one's i speak of are Khameleon and Tanya, the first canon lesbian in Mortal Kombat who has a thing going on with Mileena. Li Mei is back and... She's voiced by Kelly Hu. No wonder I forget she's in this game all the time. but along Li Mei, we have Shao Kahn, who is now degraded to General Shao, and his second in command, Reiko. I forgot to mention that Sindel is in this game and for the first time in the series, I don't mind her. She's a sweet, caring mother who is actually a mother to both Kitana and Mileena. Shao is now jobbing more than ever, from losing to a farmer, to being wrecked by queen. After winning the tournament, Liu Kang sends Kung Lao, Johnny and Kenshi to look for Shang Tsung, as it's word that he's somewhere in Outworld. The tremendous trio find a colony of Tarkatans, Outworlders infected by a disease called Tarkat, which deforms and debilitates. Shang Tsung is there and plans to harvest their marrow for a cure for Mileena, who as we find out, she has Tarkat. After a few fights, Kenshi pushes Johnny out of the way, as Mileena has gone feral, took some sais of the table, and stabs Kenshi's eyes out. As this happens Shao and tiny ass Goro walk in and take them to Shang Tsung's true lab, the Flesh Pits where Reptile works for him because Shang says he has his family captive. But as it's revealed, this isn't the case, as Shang already killed them many moons ago. This makes Reptile (aka Syzoth) have anger. They toxic gas the place and we get a Test Your Might to survive. They escape, but as they walk through the Living Forrest, they encounter Ashrah, a demon from the Netherrealm killing demons and almost killing our heroes. Also she says Demons funny. Like... DEE-MUNZ!

Anyways, she joins the party and they search for Quan Chi, who used to be dead, but is now an escaped cole miner and also black. The way Ashrah knows where Quan Chi is because she has a magic sword called the Kriss, and she uses it to purge evil from her soul, by killing other demons. We then find Quan Chi and his jobber squad consisting of Havik who is horribly lame in comparison to his older version and design from Deception, Sareena, Ashrah's so-so sister, Darius, aka Wesley Snipes' Blade with a dash of A-Train from the boys on the side, and the absolute dog shit tier downgrade of all time, Nitara is back, and nothing that made her cool is here. She isn't cool, her design is mid at best, her head looks like an onion, and the one thing that everyone hates about Nitara in this game, is that she's voiced by Megan Fox. Megan, Goddamn, Fox. Her performance is so goddamn awful that people actually prefer Rhonda Rousey's Sonya Blade from MK11. Anyways enough bitching, because Ashrah, with the help of a Reptile kameo beats the jobber squad, but just too late to stop Quan Chi from making a tornado of souls, which he uses to create Ermac, and then does this "who's mans is this" lookin' pose as he says kill them.

In between this and Ashrah vs Quan Chi and Ermac, Johnny thanks Kenshi for saving his life, and gives him Sento, which he uses to assist Ashrah in the clobbering of Quan Chi. Now they return to the streets of Outworld's capital, Sun Do to look for a way back home. They disguise themselves, run into the Umgadi, get away and now it's Li Mei's turn to shine.

I forgot everything that happens in her chapter.

The Lin Kuei infiltrate a palace where Shang Tsung is, but while they are terrible at being stealthy, they aren't in beating Shang and Quan. But In the process, Bi-Han admits he let his and Kuai's father die, just so he can be the Lin Kuei's grandmaster. Smoke waits outside and does nothing till Kuai Liang escapes. And when Bi-Han comes out and leaves a scar on Kuai's face, even then, Smoke does literally nothing. All the characters who had their own parts in the storyline + Mileena (as it's her time to shine). They head to the Fortress where Ermac almost rips off Bi-Han's arms, fight Ermac, but it turns out the soul of Mileena and Kitana's father, Jerrod is inside Ermac...

That came out wrong... Or did it?

Anyways, they break in, Kitana almost fools General Shao and Shang Tsung right before Shang Bang puts on a crown, that awakens the Dragon Kings army and a a fake Sindel kills the queen, but Jerrod, who is still in control of Ermac, takes her soul before it leaves her body, storing Sindel as a part of Mac n' cheese. They head all come to discover that it wasn't Kronika at the intro, but instead was Shang Tsung from another timeline where he won in MK11,

HOW

DO

YOU

DO

FELLOW

KIDS???!!!

Anyways, 11 Shang, who we will now call Titan Shang, has a plan to rewrite Liu Kang's timeline (the one everything else I just talked about in this entry takes place) and bring absolute fucking chaos with his team of evil time lords. Liu Kang, being the reasonable person he is, summons an army of good time lords and they all fight on the same pyramid that Armageddon's ending took place. For the first time in the entire series, you get to pick your own character for the finale. And based on the character you pick, you get a different variants of characters, most commonly fusions of already existing characters. Finally, you beat Shang and Quan, you get a thanks from Liu, and sent to Madame Bo's, where the Earthrealm heroes enjoy food and tea.

*HEAVY BREATHS*

So, that's the entirety of Mortal Kombat. Any questions?

[s-rosie]

Tig childhood hcssss

if you have any tips or comments on how i can get better that will be appreciated. i hope you like these

xander used to do gymnastics, he is still really flexible and now just does random back handsprings

jameson was OBSESSED with gravity falls and even bought the journal #3 with invisible ink and he solved most of the mysteries as he watched them (sry i said this in another post but it fit)

grayson, used to call people gay as an insult in middle school (he later apologized because hes just like that)

nash once fell off a horse without a helmet when he was like 14 and hit his head so hard he passed out, now he makes everyone wear a helmet when riding

avery would run around the house with her mom and sing songs with hair brushes as microphones (she has videos and libby showed them to the group(they found them absolutely adorable))

max would challenge everyone to arm wrestling competitions on her desk and would win almost every time

libby was bullied for being sweet and innocent (she tried not to let it get to her, but it always did)

thea would make everyone do the group project for her and she would just talk to friends the whole time

xander once brought a contraption in he made for show and tell and caught the school on fire

i think it’s basically cannon that grayson had an emo phase when he was like 12 and his brothers blackmail him with the pictures

jameson was obsessed with dinosaurs and he knows every fact you can ever ask him about them

nash once convinced tobias fhat he could train a wild stallion, so he got one for nash to train and the horse bucked into his chest and he almost broke his ribs (ik they would most likely be broken, but hes ok for the sake of this hc)

jameson fell down from the treehouse and had a bruise the size of Oklahoma on his ass for the next 3 weeks (i saw something similar to this but i forget who posted it, so pls let me know so i can @ them)

avery once miss clicked on a sketchy game site and it took her to a porn site and she is forever traumatized

max once kicked a guy in the balls for making fun of avery

libby, would pass out cupcakes on her birthday, and everyone would make fun of her until they tried them then they would worship the ground she walked on bc they tasted so good

sry this is shorter then my others, i couldn’t think of anything else. pls give me recommendations because i need some ideas. i hope you enjoyed them!!!

[slavghoul]

Today marks the one year anniversary of Impera. What are your thoughts on the album a year later?

I think in light of its predecessor, Impera was a bold move from Tobias. Prequelle was something of a pulled punch, a good album overall but sorta missing, well, the punch. It was nice and safe. I enjoyed it, but secretly wished for a record that would kick my ass a bit more thoroughly. And Impera managed to do just that; it waltzed in like Jim Steinman possessed by Satan and the spirit of 80s hard rock, overflowing with so much decadence and pizzazz that it left me reeling. It's so unapologetically large and audacious. It doesn't give a fuck. It kicks you in the shin and runs away laughing, but instead of feeling angry, you can't help but shout "thank you" in response.

Tobias has a remarkable talent for crafting very multilayered compositions with intricate structures and melodies that demand attentive listening to fully appreciate. It's almost like a game for me sometimes trying to decipher and appreciate each layer individually. Impera is abundant in those intricacies, with every next listen I always find something new to appreciate in each song. Respite on the Spitalfields is a good example of that, but also Call Me Little Sunshine and Darkness At The Heart Of My Love. The latter may appear simple at first, but they're actually quite complex and thoughtfully crafted.

It has its weaker moments too, of course. Personally, I find the guitar work in Kaisarion to be a bit too reminiscent of 2000s pop punk, a genre that I'm as allergic to as Tobias is to nu metal. The lyrics of Twenties verge on being cartoonish and not in a good way, and I'm not sure if that was the intended effect. However, musically it's one of my favorite Ghost songs, and I wish they would explore that sound further. Hunter's Moon feels somewhat out of place as well, almost as if it was a last-minute addition to the tracklist. But overall, I believe it's an absolutely stellar record and it will go down in Ghost's history as one of their best.

[jamespotterthefirst]

You & I (2/3)

Book: Open Heart, beyond

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Lilac Allende-Ramsey)

Word count: 1.3K

Rating/ Warning: Teen/ Language

Series: You & I | Part 1

Premise: Her husband’s colleague seems a bit too interested in him. Dread sets in when they have to go on a work trip together. Determined to fix things, Lilac decides to surprise him in New York. 

Note: Thank you so much to everyone who read and supported Part 1! This is based on a really old anon who asked: “has anyone every come between Ethan and Lilac?”

“He said that?” asked an outraged Laurel, flying from her seat. “I’ll kill him.”

“While I appreciate the solidarity, I don’t want you to make me a widow,” Lilac replied quite calmly. “And besides, Ethan is on an airplane right now, safely out of your reach.”

“He’s landing soon,” Laurel challenged menacingly.

“What are you going to do? Drive to New York just to kick his ass?”

“I’ve done it before. Just ask Griselda.”

Despite the somber tone of the previous conversation, both sisters stared at each other, then snorted with laughter. They dissolved into a full fit of body-wracking laughter that rang around Laurel’s tiny apartment. Surely, Mrs. Hart, her sister’s grumpy neighbor, would have a lot to complain about. By the time they sobered up, they both had tears in their eyes.

As their humor evaporated like a wisp of smoke, her sister surveyed her quite seriously.

“All joking aside, are you alright?”

Lilac sank back into the plush backrest of the armchair.

“Not really,” she confessed. “I feel like a total idiot for even bringing it up to him. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Lilita, stop.”

“I'm serious, Lau. After he left, I just felt like I overreacted.”

“You're not overreacting. You're actually being very level-headed about this all.”

“I'm trying to be. It's just that…  this Heather person gives me a bad feeling. Not just her remarks, or the way she acts around me… It's also the way she looks at Ethan. I even heard one of the nurses at Kenmore tell her she was Ethan's 'work wife'. Heather laughed and looked like she loved the title.”

“What?!”

The word rang out around the apartment with all her outrage.

“Ma, are you okay?” A concerned Diego asked from his room.

“I'm fine, baby. Just talking to your tía.”

They could hear the music of his video game resume.

“I know the 'work wife' thing is a playful thing people do at work—”

“Fuck no!” Laurel was on her feet again, face bright pink with fury by now. “That's not okay! Even if it's a playful thing— if someone said that about Tobias at work, they would find out real fast that I don't play like that. Does Ethan know?”

“I don't know. I didn't want to bring it up since I already felt crazy and like a stereotypical jealous wife. I hate feeling this way.”

Laurel, noticing her sister's anguish, relaxed and sat next to her.

“Bullshit,” Laurel supplied. “He’s your husband. You’re allowed to talk to him about these things, even if you have no proof. Even if all that comes from it is him listening to you vent.”

Lilac nodded, feeling reassured. “That's all I was trying to do. He could tell something was wrong and I was just being honest.”

“Exactly! He shouldn't blame you for being open or make you think it's all in your head. I don't know why he was being such a—” Laurel stopped, searching for an adequate enough word to describe Ethan’s behavior. “— such a pendejo!”

Lilac allowed a small smile.

“I laid it all out minutes before he had to catch his flight. If anything, I think we just needed more time to talk it out. And now we’re stuck in this weird limbo.”

Her sister considered this, nodding slowly as though deep in thought. Then, her eyebrows shot up the same way they did any time she had a brilliant idea. Over three decades of experience assured Lilac that said brilliant idea would veer on the side of recklessness.

“New York is a drivable distance away…”

“Yes, we went through that when you threatened to rip my husband’s head off.”

“What if we go?”

The silence that followed was so long that Lilac could hear Mrs. Hart television through the wall.

“Are you—”

“Hear me out,” her sister offered, on a mission now. “We go and surprise him. You’ll get your chance to talk things out after all of his boring doctor conferences. Then, when all is said and done, you can have amazing make-up sex and a little vacation.”

Lilac considered the idea. It was spontaneous and a bit outlandish, but it sounded a hell of a lot better than sitting around, agonizing and counting down the hours for Ethan’s return. A long sigh announced her acquiescence.

“Fine,” Lilac agreed. “But don’t think you’re fooling me. You also want to go because Tobias is there.”

“Getting mind-blowing sex is only a bonus, little sis. My priority is you.”

“Thanks,” Lilac said dryly. “If we’re doing this, we should head out soon. It’s almost four hours to New York if we’re lucky.”

Laurel winked. “I’ll get us there in three.”

As it turned out, Laurel was not exaggerating in her estimated arrival time. Once they dropped off Diego, Laurel's son, with a close friend, they hit the highway at borderline illegal speed. Laurel zoomed around traffic with the confidence of an LA driver and the brazen abandon she was starting to learn from what they called "Massholes." It wasn’t until the unmistakable and breathtaking New York City skyline loomed closer that Lilac finally relaxed.

“What hotel are they in again?”

“The Hard Rock on 48th.”

Laurel nodded diligently and started their trek through the city traffic. Predicting the journey would be long and arduous, Lilac took out her phone to text her husband. To her surprise, three dots bounced on the screen indicating he was already writing to her.

The flutter of hope that his messages catalyzed turned into sickening anxiety as they pulled into the hotel's valet parking. Her sister, ever the mind reader, reached over and squeezed her shoulder with a reassuring smile.

“You two will be alright,” she told her. “You always are. You'll fix this one way or another.”

Lilac gave her sister a small nod before they climbed out of the car and entered the luxurious lobby of the hotel. A charming man, dressed in an elegant black suit, smiled at them as they approached the counter. When Lilac gave him Ethan's name, his smile turned knowing.

“Ah, yes, Dr. Ramsey,” he said, looking at his screen. “We just received the request to accommodate you in your husband's suite.”

Lilac frowned. Beside her, Laurel looked equally puzzled.

“Did you tell him you were coming?”

“I told him I was sending a surprise to his room.”

Laurel snorted. “Then he figured it out. You forget you married a genius.”

After receiving her room key from the attendant, they found the assigned rooms with ease. Luckily for Laurel, Tobias's room was on the same floor. Lilac, on the other hand, wasn't convinced that was a good thing.

“Don't worry,” Laurel teased when Lilac expressed this. “You won't see us all weekend.”

Lilac rolled her eyes as they stepped out from the elevator.

“Do you need me to help you find Ethan's room?”

“I got it,” Lilac assured her. “You can go and change into whatever you brought to surprise Tobias.”

Her sister gladly accepted the dismissal. With one quick and enthusiastic hug, Laurel headed the opposite direction. Ethan's room, as it turned out, was only a few doors from where the sisters parted ways.

With a final deep breath, Lilac inserted the key into the lock. The tiny machinery rumbled to life, the light flickering on and settling on red. She tried it again, only to receive the same error.

“Dammit.”

As she grew more and more frustrated, she decided her card must've been too close to her phone in her purse, deactivating it. With a small growl, she gave up, dreading the trip downstairs to reactivate it. Before she could move a muscle, however, the doorknob moved from inside the room.

Lilac barely had enough time to consider that maybe her husband was back early, when the door opened.

It was not Ethan.

Not even close.

“Ethan, I've been waiting for hours. You'll never believe—”

The words died, replaced by a surprised little gasp.

There, staring back at her in shock clad in nothing but a towel, was Heather Finnegan.

Note: See you guys next week with Part 3!

Also, yes, the title You & I is the 1D song lol 

Thank you so much for reading! 

[bratty-metalhead]

At least I tried 🤷🏼‍♀️

TikTok: brattymetalhead

[jerzwriter]

New Discoveries

This fic is part of "MOC (Merida, Olivia, Casey) World," but it focuses on the guys! This is a dual ask from @annoyingmillenialnewbie and also prompts provided by @storyofmychoices. I love writing for these three together! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Book: Open Heart (Post Series) Characters: Ethan Ramsey, Bryce Lahela, Tobias Carrick Rating: Teen Words: 2,099 Trope: There's just one bed.... Summary: A boy's weekend camping takes a few different turns (literally and figuratively), but they endure and make some new discoveries along the way.

A/N: This is part of the Merida, Olivia, and Casey world. Merida belongs to the lovely @lilyoffandoms, and Olivia belongs to our dear @storyofmychoices. The prompts can be found on this list created by @creativepromptsforwriting. (The prompts are bolded in text.) Participating in @choicesjunechallenge2024 - Beginning.

The mountainous road was perilous, to say the least. Yet, if Tobias was fazed by it, it didn't show. The day was beautiful, with a brilliant blue sky stretching endlessly without a cloud in sight. They were the only travelers on the road, and the rugged terrain was no match for his new Range Rover. All in all, it was perfect.

The SUV jolted hard to the right... then to the left...

“Look out!” Ethan shouted.

Then to the right again.

While Tobias was living his best life, Bryce was left to wonder how much life he had left. He had to be cajoled to go camping in the first place, and now he lost hope of arriving at the cabin alive. Tobias glanced at him in the rearview mirror, smiling sardonically when he noticed his friend’s pale, green complexion.

“You all right there, buddy?” he bellowed.

“Of course he’s not all right!” Ethan replied from the passenger’s seat. “We’re both wondering how many more sharp turns you'll take before this tin can goes toppling over the side of the mountain.”

“For fucks sake, Ramsey,” Tobias chuckled. “Grow some hair on them. We’re absolutely fine.”

“We are not fine,” Bryce insisted. “If I don’t make it, please tell Olivia I love her.”

“OK, maybe you are being a tad too dramatic,” Ethan reconsidered, to Tobias’s delight.

“That’s better!”

Nevertheless, two of the three men couldn’t have been more relieved when they pulled up to the rustic cabin that would serve as their home for the weekend. Tobias stepped out of the car with his usual swagger. Black Ray-Bans in place and an Original Gourmet Lollipop in his mouth, he surveyed the land, filled his lungs with the fresh air, and smiled.

“Welcome home, friends!”

Bryce’s exit was a little different. Stumbling out the back door, he looked peaked, but the fear started to vanish from his eyes when he realized they were on solid earth.

“I would lean over and kiss the ground, but I’m pretty sure I’d throw up,” he announced as Ethan mumbled under his breath.

 “What was that, boss?" Tobias called out. "If you have something to say, you really should tell the whole class.”

“I said I don’t know how you convinced me to do this.”

With his hands in his pockets, Tobias rolled back and forth on his feet with a grin. “First, you love us, no matter how much you try to deny it. Second, Merida would have kicked your ass if you backed out.”

“Not to mention you would have never lived down the ribbing we'd give you if you admitted you couldn’t rough it for one weekend.”

“I can rough it, Bryce!” Ethan replied. “Make no mistake about that... I just don’t know if I can rough it with the two of you.”

Tobias clapped his hand against Ethan's shoulder before removing his backpack from the trunk.

“You’re full of shit,” he said, tossing Ethan his bag.

Bryce shielded his eyes to take a better look at the cabin. He had to admit that the bucolic setting was beautiful, ushering in a sense of tranquility that Boston could never deliver.

“The cabin does look really nice,” he observed.

Ethan shrugged with a wrinkled nose. “Looks smaller than I expected.”

Tobias pulled the lollipop out of his mouth, his face glowing like he had just won the jackpot. “Now, there are five words Ramsey has heard repeatedly throughout his life.”

He and Bryce broke into a fit of laughter while Ethan rambled about their juvenile behavior.

“Relax, old man,” Tobias teased. “It is small, but it’s not like we’ll be inside much anyway. Come on, let’s go set up.”  

Ethan and Tobias lingered on the porch as Bryce stepped inside, but he returned in an instant.

“Uh, Tobias, are you sure this is the right cabin?”

“Well, the keys I gave you just opened the door, didn’t they? Of course, it’s the right cabin.” Noting the look on Bryce’s face, he continued. “What’s the matter, Lahela? Did you see a mouse?”

“Oh,” Bryce chuckled. “I wish.”

Ethan raised a brow at Bryce while Tobias stepped inside.

“Wait for it,” Bryce mouthed just before they heard...

“Oh, for fucks sake!!”

Ethan rushed into the cabin with Bryce trailing behind him, and his eyes went wide.

“Are you kidding me?” Ethan scowled. “One bed? What the hell did you do, Carrick? Rent the honeymoon suite?”

Tobias turned to his friend, lips twisted. “Who’d take anyone on a honeymoon here, Ramsey! Even you’re not that clueless.”

“You’re right, and I’m also not clueless enough to get us a cabin with ONE bed.”

Tobias ran his hand over his head with a sigh. “The listing said one single bed and two bunks!”

“Well,” Bryce simpered. “The listing lied.”

“I told you we should have just brought tents and sleeping bags,” Tobias admonished. “But noooo, you two couldn’t rough it!”

“Says the man with the luxury Range Rover,” Ethan smirked.

Ignoring him, Tobias placed his phone back into his pocket. “There’s no service here, but if you want, we can drive back down the to the main road. We passed a Motel 6; we could just stay there tonight if you like.”

“Yeah, I’m not about to head back down that death trap of a road in this weather!” Bryce stated.

“In this weather? It’s beautiful out,” Tobias said just before a loud thunderclap shook them. “Wait! What?” He gasped. “Where the hell did this come from! It was gorgeous out! There was no rain predicted, and... how?”

“What was that you said about not spending much time inside the cabin anyway?” Ethan mocked.

Tobias threw himself back on the bed. “This isn’t happening.”

“It’s all right,” Bryce said, trying to lighten the mood. “ “It’s just for two nights; we can handle that.”

“Maybe you can,” Ethan deadpanned. “I’m not so sure.”

“Well, unless you want to take my keys and drive yourself down the mountain in this monsoon, it doesn’t look like you’ll have much of a choice.”

~~~~~

The afternoon and evening looked different than they had anticipated. Envigorating hikes were replaced by several rounds of poker. An open campfire under the stars turned into hotdogs and baked beans prepared on the hotplate. It was as if a woodland fairy godmother had appeared and reversed her magic.

“I wonder what the girls are doing now,” Bryce asked forlornly.

Ethan pulled a chunk of fat out of the beans with a grimace. “Eating better than we are, that’s for sure!”

“All right!” Tobias snapped. “Enough of this. Hopefully, the rain will pass tonight, and we will have two days to enjoy the great outdoors. But tonight... let's make the best of it. There could be worse things than the three of us stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with copious amounts of beer.”

“The beer will help,” Bryce agreed.

“As long as you two don’t overdo it,” Ethan said, popping a can open. “If either of you falls into a drunken stupor and pees in the bed tonight, we'll be returning to Boston with a lighter load."

“How are we going to sleep?” Bryce asked the question they had all been pondering. “What’s that, a full-size bed? How are the three of us going to fit on that?”

“It’s a queen-size,” Tobias corrected. “We’ll make do.”

“Do you have your sleeping bag, T?” Bryce asked. “Maybe one of us could sleep on the floor.”

“Negative,” he replied. “Once you two overruled tents, I had no reason to pack it.”

“I could just sleep on the floor anyway.”

“Bryce, you’ll freeze,” Ethan pointed out. “The temperature drops significantly during the night in these parts, and this place isn't exactly insulated."

“Yeah, and those cute little shorts and crop tops you bought won’t do a damn thing to keep you warm,” Tobias chortled.

Bryce let out a sigh. “I told you a beach weekend would have been better, but noooo....”

“Weren’t you the one saying it’s just two nights, we’ll survive?” Ethan yawned. “Look, it’s late, I’m exhausted, and I don’t want to freeze, so why don’t we just get this over with?”

“I’m with you,” a weary Tobias replied.

“All right, question. Who sleeps in the middle?”

Bryce's words stopped the other two men in their tracks.

“Well, I hadn’t thought of that,” Tobias snickered.

“This is going to be the longest night of my life,” Ethan groaned.

“Come on, princess,” Tobias winked. “You could do much worse than sharing a bed with two lookers like Lahela and me.”

“I mean, we’re all bi,” Bryce reminded. “It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed with a man before."

“That doesn’t mean I want to be sharing a bed with these two men,” Ethan said, gesturing furiously between his two friends.

“Look, I’m freaking tired,” Tobias interrupted. “I say we pick straws. Short straw gets the middle.”

“Works for me!” Bryce agreed.

No one waited for Ethan to reply, which was unfortunate since he picked the short straw.

“Motherfucker!” he cursed.

“Look,” Tobias pointed out. “None of us are going to sleep well tonight anyway, so what does it really matter.”

“Fine! You want the middle, then?”

“Nope!” Tobias said, claiming his spot against the wall. “I’m good.”

“Wait! That means I’ll be on the edge!” Bryce realized. “I’m going to end up on the floor!”

“Would you like the short stick?” Ethan offered.

“Mmmhh. Nah,” Bryce replied. “Just try not to push me off the bed."

The three men spent the next few minutes squiggling and shifting, doing their best to find a position that would be remotely comfortable for all, and the jokes kept coming, at least from Tobias and Bryce.

“Remember, Ramsey... if your hands get cold during the night, my butt cheeks are not pillows, all right?”

“Jesus Christ!” Ethan groused, rolling to his other side.

“What?” Bryce replied. “Do you think my butt cheeks are available? We can get you some socks for those hands of yours.”

Bryce and Tobias couldn't stop giggling as Ethan seethed between them.

“Come on, Ethan,” Tobias laughed. “You’re amongst friends, and at least you won’t freeze to death.”

“Sure won’t. You’re like a damn furnace! I felt like I needed to remove my clothes.”

“Oh, so you're getting fresh now?” Tobias teased, but Ethan wasn't remotely amused.

“Good night!!” He huffed.

“Sorry,” Bryce yawned. “But you walked right into that one.”

“GOOD NIGHT!”

And then something miraculous occurred; against all odds, the men managed to fall asleep.

~~~

When the sun rose, Bryce was the first to wake. He was already sitting in a folding chair near the window, eating a container of yogurt, when Ethan and Tobias began to stir.

“Good morning!” He chirped, as buoyant as the birds flying around the sunny sky. “It’s about time you're awake.”

“Why are you already up?” Tobias said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Ethan groaned as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed, attempting to stretch his sore muscles. “And how the hell are you not in pain!”

“The benefits of youth, old men!” Bryce laughed. “I really do need to get some friends my own age.”

“Yeah, screw you!” Tobias said, vaulting out of bed to prove a point, but he couldn't hold back an ouch moments later.

“You were saying?” Ethan mocked.

“Of course, I’m in pain!” Tobias shot back. “I can’t barely feel my arm anymore; you were lying on it all night.”

“Are you aware that you talk in your sleep?” Ethan snickered, completely changing the course of conversation.

"Wait... what?" Tobias turned around, the blood rushing from his face. “What...what did I say?”

“I don’t remember everything,” Ethan smirked. “But I’m pretty confident you proposed to me.”

“Yeah, right!” Tobias laughed nervously.

Bryce mindlessly scraped his yogurt container with his spoon. “Honestly, he’s not joking. You were going on and on about getting married.”

“Do you have something to share?” Ethan grinned.

“Well,” Tobias hesitated. “I guess if the cat’s out of the bag. I'm planning on proposing soon, just not to either of you fuckers.”

“You’re proposing to Casey,” Bryce gasped. “Oh my God, Olivia is going to lose her mind!”

“Yeah,” Ethan ran a hand down his neck. “Merida will probably be all over this, too.”

"If you wouldn't mind keeping this from them for the time being," Tobias pled. "It's not that I don't trust them, but..."

"No need to ask," Ethan smiled, shaking his friend's hand. "Congratulations, buddy. All joking aside, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Yeah,” Bryce agreed. “This is great news! When are you planning on doing it?”

“Next week, it’s the anniversary of the day we met. I don’t know if she remembers, but I do, so....”

“Do you think she knows?” Bryce asked.

“Nah,” Tobias smiled. “She doesn’t have a clue.”

“You're sure about that?” Ethan asked, preparing a cup of coffee.

“Pretty sure.... why?”

Ethan handed the steaming cup to Tobias with a wink. “Because, apparently.... you talk in your sleep.”

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.