#and was also still having my dad support her until he killed himself

[shannonsketches]

lays on the floor do you guys ever think about how in ResF Bulma falls for Vegeta's fake-out with Freeza and both she and Yamcha are worried about Vegeta's villain fake-out strategy in Champa and Beerus' mini tournament and how it's only been a couple of years since the Buu saga and how Vegeta straight up stopped using that strategy after that tournament

[trippinsorrows]

with me + part seven

authors note: i take some creative liberties with medical (mostly hipaa) stuff in this one, so please disregard. also, thank you everyone for (still!!!) being so interested in this story. you guys are making me wanna flesh it out even more like seriously 😭 i wanted to not make it past 10 (3 to 4 initially) parts but the support has been so humbling, and ya'll seem to like/want more sooooo 😭

song inspo: with me by destiny's child

status: in progress // masterlist

warnings: angst, language, suggestive themes

words: 7k

taglist: @pixiedust4000 @southerngirl41 @yolobloggers @msbigredmachine @wanderingreigns

Absolutely every rule of the road is broken in getting Callie to the hospital.

You couldn’t give two shits. 

You just continue to try to reassure your crying child that she's going to be okay while fighting your own pending panic attack.

Speeding through the lanes, uncaring if the light is yellow and you should slow down, you’ll take whatever ticket. The only rule you abide by is not going through a red light, understanding how stupid and dangerous that is. However, while the hospital is about a 15 to 20 minute drive from you, you make it there in a solid eight minutes.

And even that is too much.

The emergency room is, expectedly, pretty empty save a couple of people. Emergencies are rare and infrequent in your town. It’s truly a stroke of bad, cruel luck that your sweet little girl is victim to one of the few. 

Rushing to the front desk, Callie cradled against you, you blurt to the receptionist, “something’s wrong with her stomach.”

The woman appears uninterested until her eyes land on Calista who’s still crying into your chest, hand on her stomach. She calls out to the back, and you see the double doors open. A few minutes later, if that, a set of doctor and nurses emerge. 

“What happened?” The doctor immediately asks, starting to assess Callie, first checking for a fever and then shining a light in both her eyes. 

Speaking is suddenly difficult, but you manage, “I–I don’t know. She said her stomach was hurting right before she went to bed, so I gave her some Children’s Tylenol, then she woke up in the middle of the night screaming in pain, and I–I rushed her over here.”

He nods, gently going to press on her stomach as she shouts in pain again. Your own stomach clenches, hating to see her hurt like this. 

Something appears to flash in his vision, but whatever it is, he keeps it to himself. “We need to admit her.” He reaches for Callie who suddenly clings tighter to you.

“No!” There’s pure fear and panic in her voice, as she starts to cry harder. “I wanna stay with my mommy!” 

Her words kill you, because you also don’t want to let her go, but you know it’s what needs to happen. “Baby, it’s okay, they’re gonna help you, and I’m right here, alright?” You try to reassure her, gently stroking her hair. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

She’s clearly still uncomfortable but allows the doctor to carry her, as he instructs one of the nurses, “page peds.” Her eyes never leave you as he moves quickly to carry her into one of the rooms, carefully placing her down on the bed. You’re immediately by her side, needing her to know you’re right here with her and not going anywhere. 

While the doctor gives a variety of commands to some of the nurses, you somehow have the wherewithal to catch the attention of one of the nurses, informing, “her dad is on his way. Can you make sure they let him back? His name is Joe.”

She nods. “Of course.” 

“And—” this is both relevant and irrelevant, but as it’s at the forefront of your mind, so you tell her, “I also need a release form. For him. He’s….he’s not on the birth certificate.”

If she’s judging you for this piece of information, you’ll never know because her expression remains unchanged. “I’ll have one brought to you.”

“Thank you.” It hasn’t really crossed your mind until this terrifying moment that Joe has no legal right or say into any medical or legal situations regarding Calista. This scares you in a different way, her own father having no say in decisions that could be life or death. It’s shoved into the back of your mind, but when this is all said and done, you know this it’s something you need to discuss with him. 

You need to look into whatever the state requires to have a father’s name added to a birth certificate. But, of course, all of this is secondary to what’s happening before you, your focus returning to Callie who’s still holding onto your arm. 

“Alright, what do we have here?” 

A new voice enters the room, and you look up, momentarily surprised to see another doctor, but it’s not the fact that it’s a doctor that surprises you. It’s who the doctor is. 

You give him a double take, almost not trusting your judgment in this moment. But when he approaches Callie’s side and offers a gentle smile, you see it, the cleft in his chin. 

“Kai?” 

He lifts his eyes to you, offering a small nod, returning his focus to assessing Callie. And then he looks up again. Like he gave you the standard acknowledgement only to also realize who you are.

“Y/N?”

Yup. Hearing his voice again, you’re certain this is most definitely Kai Sawyer. 

Kai Sawyer, former classmate, once friend, brief lover when you were in high school. He was always sweet, almost too sweet for the toxic teenager you were who was too stuck on Amir to realize Kai was a much better option. 

Granted, it was never serious. You never had any sort of feelings for him that left you stumped.

Nothing like with Joe. 

“It’s good to see you.” He seems just as surprised to see you as you are to see him. The last you heard was that he left for school, pursuing a medical career and planned to move out of state. Kai motions to Callie. “This is your daughter?” Nodding with a small, forced smile, you watch him carefully lean down to be closer to Callie’s eye level. “Hi there, sweetie. I’m Dr. Sawyer. Can you tell me your name?”

She sniffles, seemingly holding you tighter. “Callie.”

“Callie,” he says, precisely, pronouncing each syllable. “What a very pretty name. Well, Callie, is it okay if I feel your belly so we can see what’s going on and help you feel better?”

She doesn’t look at you for approval, instead nodding as Kai starts to evaluate her. Once again, she cries out in pain as he feels the same area you’d unintentionally put too much pressure on. 

“It hurts,” she whimpers, and you kiss her forehead. Seeing her in pain is a form of torture you absolutely cannot tolerate. 

“I’m sorry, honey,” he apologies, standing upright again. “We’re gonna make you all better though, okay?” 

She says nothing, instead tugging you closer to her as she lays her head against your shoulder.

Kai speaks to the nurses in a low voice, where you can only make out intermittent parts. Something about an IV drip and pain meds. Once he’s done, he looks over at you and continues with that low voice, “can I talk to you outside?”

His question doesn’t help with the anxiety you’re already having an extremely difficult time controlling, but Callie’s heightened cries and tightened grasp on you captures your attention the most.

“No, mommy, don’t leave me!" 

It’s an impossible decision, even if logically, you know what you have to do. Whatever Kai wants to discuss with you clearly doesn’t need to be in front of Callie, but you also know she’s hurting and just wants her mom. 

“You said your name is Callie? That’s such a cute name.” One of the nurses comes over and offers a warm smile. “I have a little girl who’s just about your age too. She likes barbies and playing dress up. What do you like?”

Sniffling, still holding onto you, Callie meets the nurse’s eye contact and answers after a second. “Disney.”

The nurse gasps, “so does my little girl.” She sits on the side of the bed as the other nurse finishes inserting Callie’s IV. “Is it okay if I sit with you and we talk about Disney while mama talks to Dr. Sawyer?”

You’re so thankful for this act of kindness and assure Callie, “I’ll be right back. I’m just outside the door, okay?”

She’s still unsure and highly uncomfortable, but a small nod precedes her releasing her grip on you. You start to climb out of the hospital bed when she grabs you again. 

You expect another form of protest, of unease about you leaving her. Instead, in a small, innocent voice, she states, “I want Joe.”

The ball in the back of your throat grows exponentially. You’re already emotional, for obvious reasons, but there’s something about her request, so simple yet so powerfully telling, that brings a new set of tears to your eyes. 

“He’s on his way, baby, okay?” As the hospital is in the same direction as his hotel, you expect his arrival in a matter of minutes, hopefully. 

She seems comforted by this piece of information, and you’re able to break away to follow Kai outside the room. Once out of a proximity where she could overhear, you ask, urgently, “what’s wrong with her?”

Kai sighs, crossing his arms over his body with a sympathetic expression. “Well, I—”

The sound of heavy, urgent footsteps capture your attention, and you look to your side to see a nurse escorting Joe. His eyes land on you with a curious expression before he asks, “where is she?”

His voice is calm, but you know him well. Too well. Enough to know that he’s worried out of his mind, too. 

You gesture to the door a few inches away from you. “With the nurse.” Gesturing to Kai, you inform, “this is the doctor.”

There’s something about Joe’s presence that instantly calms you, allows your emotions to regulate just a little better. 

“Holy shit,” Kai breathes, and you look over to see he’s staring at Joe with bewilderment. “You’re–uh—is this her dad?” The question is posed to you, and you run your hand over your face, nodding. Kai clearly recognizes Joe, err, Roman, and is in a brief state of celebrity panic. Any other time, you’d understand it, but right now, you’re on the doorsteps of a nervous breakdown, and the medical professional in charge of Callie’s care being starstruck isn’t the least bit helpful.

“Yes,” Joe answers, his voice not unkind but not friendly either. “What’s wrong with my daughter?”

Kai clears his throat, snapping back into his professional shoes. “It seems like early stages of appendicitis. We call it acute appendicitis, meaning her appendix hasn’t ruptured yet, which is good.” He gazes at you, grateful. “You got her here just in time.”

His words do little to comfort you, because you’re still stuck on the first part. 

“Appendicitis?” You repeat, confused . “But–but she’s only four. How—”

“It’s not as uncommon in children as people think. Did you by any chance have one when you were younger?”

You have to think for a second, recognition then dawning. You’d completely forgotten about that borderline traumatic experience that was eerily similar to this. Waking your mom up because you were in a tremendous amount of pain and her calling 911 to rush you to the hospital. God, how could you not remember that until now? “Yes, yes, but I was—I was like 10.”

“So still a kid,” he confirms. Kai turns to Joe. “What about dad?”

“Yeah, I was twelve.” 

“Wait a minute.” You don’t know about Joe, but you certainly remember the outcome of your experience. “You—you don’t have to operate on her, right?” Scoffing, your words become difficult to express. “Kai, she’s—she’s too little for that. There’s—there’s another way, right?”

“Surgery is the best treatment—”

“No!” You cut him off, not wanting to hear this shit. “You’re not cutting her open, Kai. I–I won’t—-I won’t allow it.”

Joe finally addresses you, hand on the small of your back as he tries to get you to look at him. “Y/N….”

You jerk away, “I said no!” Turning back to Kai, you plead, eyes starting to burn again, “isn’t there—isn’t there something else you can do? Like medicine or—”

“Her appendix needs to be removed, Y/N. There’s no way around that.” Kai’s tone is full-on professional, borderline pleading, needing you to actually heed to his medical opinion. “The procedure is standard, should take about an hour, and it presents minimal risk. It’s really the best and safest option. If we don’t operate, inflammation could increase and eventually cause her appendix to rupture. Once that happens, because of her age, she becomes at an increasingly high risk for infection. And that could become fatal.” 

The word fatal sounds out everything else as you fall back against the wall, covering your mouth, unable to hold back the tears. “Oh my god.”

Joe looks at Kai, directring firmly. “Do it. Do it now.”

“I’ll book an OR.” Kai nods and you hear him say something else, but it’s all so distant and blurry. Fatal and Callie should never be in the same sentence, but right now it’s a reality that you can’t fathom. Your chest hurts, your stomach hollow, and head all over the place.

“I—it’s my fault,” you murmur to yourself or maybe Joe. You’re not entirely sure. “She—she told me her stomach was upset, but I—I didn’t listen. I just—I just gave her medicine and made her go to sleep.” You inhale sharply, eyes burning with salty tears. “She was in pain, and I didn’t listen to her. I didn’t—”

“Baby, look at me.” Before you realize it, Joe is in front of you, cupping your face and forcing your blurry gaze on him. “You did nothing wrong. There was no way for you to know what was happening.”

“I’m her mother, Joe—" you protest, sniffling, hands on his chest. “I’m supposed to know when something’s wrong. I’m–I’m supposed to protect her.”

“And you did,” he assures, pushing back some of your hair. “You heard the doctor. You got her here just in time. It could have been a lot worse.” He wipes away your tears, hating to see you so upset, so hard on yourself over a situation outside of your control. “You’re an amazing mother. Do you know why she’s such a great and happy kid? Because of you. Because you take such good care of her. You’ve raised her on your own, and look at how amazing she is. That’s all you. Why else do you think she’s so attached to you? Because you’re just as much her world as she is yours.” He pulls you into his chest, continuing to gently comfort you, “she’s gonna be fine, okay?” 

Being held in that moment, being held by Joe is exactly what you need. It centers you as much as one can be centered in this kind of situation. You find yourself holding onto him, embracing the comfort and support. 

Eyes shut, you murmur into his chest, “thank you for being here.”

You feel his hand move gently down your back, his mouth pressed to the top of your head. “Always.”

After a few minutes, maybe more, maybe less, you separate and wipe at your eyes. “Okay.” It’s trying to gather yourself before going back in the room, not wanting to scare her or make anything worse for her than it already is. “We–we need to tell her.”

“You want me to tell her?” He offers, and you’re thankful. He clearly sees how upsetting all of this is and is eager to support you anyway he can.  

“No,” you finally answer. “We’ll do it together.” 

Joe takes your hand and rubs his thumb across your knuckles, a kind, comforting gesture. Appreciated. You appreciate him so fucking much in this moment that it’s almost impossible to explain. Your calm in this storm, a voice of sound reason. Much needed advocate for your daughter as you fall victim to your emotions. 

He looks at you once more, assessing your readiness. A simple nod gives him the answer he needs, as he heads for the door, holding it open so you can enter first. 

The same nurse who so kindly recognized a need lifts her head with that same warm smile. Your eyes immediately land on Calista, who looks less pale than she was when you brought her in. She’s also no longer crying. That relieves you the most. A mother seeing her child cry is a kind of pain no one should ever have to experience. 

The pain meds must be kicking in. You’re immensely grateful.

But as quick as her eyes were on you, they bounce almost instantly to Joe, a larger smile growing. 

“Joe!” Even her voice is stronger, not as weak or weighed down with pain. 

“There’s my girl,” Joe greets, instantly at her side, kissing the top of her head. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“A little better, but my tummy still hurts.”

Allowing them their moment, you turn to the nurse who’s subtly backed away, also recognizing this is a moment that shouldn’t be intruded upon. She also subtly reaches you the clipboard with the ROI that you quickly fill out and hand back to her. “Thank you,” you whisper, hoping your eyes reveal just how much you appreciate her thoughtfulness.

“Of course,” she replies, giving a final look to Callie. “I’ll leave you all alone.” 

Once the door is shut and it’s just the three of you, you move to the other side of the hospital bed, seeing there’s a possible space to jump in and gently break the news to her. A shared glance with Joe followed by a nod is the answer you need as you take a deep breath.

“Calista….” As soon as she gazes at you, you recognize she knows something is up. You hardly ever use her full first name. “Baby, Joe and I talked to the doctor about what he needs to do to make you all better, and—and he said you’ve gotta have surgery to take the bad stuff out your stomach.”

Her brows cave together, confused. “What’s surgery?”

Joe jumps in, recognizing your initial difficulty with how to explain such a concept to a young child. “It’s when doctors give you medicine to make you go to sleep while they take the bad stuff out of you.”

She looks at him, a little more understanding, still obviously and understandably unsure. “Does it hurt?”

You answer, trying your best to keep your tone as calm as possible. “When you wake up, it may hurt a little but that’s cause it’s gotta heal.” 

Joe shares, and you’re so grateful for his partnership at this moment. For his ability to assist and tag team. “You wanna know something? Your mom and I had the same surgery when we were kids.”

She seems intrigued by this. “Really?” Nodding, you study her facial expressions, knowing her well enough to know that she’s struggling with her emotions. She’s not alone. 

Finally, after a minute of contemplation, she whispers, “I’m scared.” 

“It’s okay to be scared, Callie,” Joe assures. He's so damn good with her, gentle and patient. “Everyone gets scared.”

She looks over at him, asking innocently, “even you?”

“Of course,” he answers, vulnerably sharing, “I was scared when your mom called me and said she was taking you to the hospital.” The both of you were. That’s no call any parent wants to ever receive. 

She looks between the two of you. “Can you guys come with me?”

“We can’t go back with you, but we’ll be waiting right here for you as soon as you wake up.” Joe answers for you, thumb brushing over her forehead.

“You promise?”

 Lips pressed against her forehead, you vow, “we promise.”

—-------

As soon as Callie is taken back to the OR and the two of you are left alone in the waiting area, Joe begins to lift his hoodie over his head, suddenly reaching it to you. “Put this on.” 

You look at him, confused. “What?”

His eyes briefly trail your body, head to toe. “Do you realize what you're wearing?”

Brows furrowed, you look down and gasp. In the midst of adrenaline and flight or flight, your appearance never dawned on you. Your pajama set is short, skimpy, and shows off a slice of your stomach, not that you care too much about that. It’s more the fact that you’re not wearing a bra, and this waiting room is cold as fuck. 

You also realize your bonnet is still on your head. 

In short, you look a hot ass mess, more like someone waiting for admission to the psych ward instead of an anxious parent awaiting her daughter to get out of surgery. 

“Fuck.” The first thing you do is rip your bonnet off, deciding to keep your pineapple. Next is accepting Joe’s hoodie, sliding it over your frame. It’s understandably baggy, grazing just above your knees. “Thank you.” 

The two of you move over to the seating area as you sigh loudly, suddenly asking. “What time is it?”

He checks the watch on his wrist. “3:15.” 

You scoff, rubbing your eyes but not saying anything, leaning back into the seat, trying to not get too much into your head. It’s a difficult feat when your four-year-old child is under the knife for emergency surgery.

“The doctor…..” Joe starts, and you turn to look at him. “You called him by his first name.”

He doesn’t need to elaborate for you to understand his question. “We went to high school together.” If your intention was to keep your answer as casual and general as possible, you fail miserably because Joe 100% picks up on the unspoken words. 

“And?”

Shrugging, you explain, “we didn’t date per se, but we hooked up.” Looking back, you recognize how Kai was absolutely a rebound in between Amir and all his bullshit. And you do regret that, because Kai was always a genuinely nice guy. He didn't deserve to be caught up in your Joker-Harley Quinn ‘love’ story. 

“Fucking hell.” Joe looks away, genuinely annoyed, and for some reason, it makes you smile. The first of the night, err, morning. And you’re weirdly thankful for this conversation, for this distraction you wonder if he's intentionally providing you. “Do all your ex’s still live here? Why does nobody ever leave this town?”

You laugh, actually laugh, and it feels nice. A contrast from all of the heaviness you’ve experienced over the past few hours. 

Sucking your teeth, you respond, sassily. “I’m tired of you roasting my tiny little no name town.”

He eyes you curiously, clearly surprised by your reference. “You watch?”

“Occasionally,” you answer with a shrug. You don’t want to tell him you’ve found yourself increasingly watching Bloodline clips during the kids' lunchtime at school. Or at night when you don’t know what else to watch. Not when before his return, it was rare and in between you’d find yourself consuming anything WWE related, let alone with Roman Reigns. “Not a lot. Just enough to see how you’re doing exactly what I always knew you could do.” 

Joe stares, appreciatively, gently adding, “you always believed in me.” 

“Of course, I did.” It’s always been so visible and obvious. From the very beginning, you recognized his potential and knew he would excel once they finally released him from his shackles. You find yourself leaning against his body and grab onto his arm. “I could never have a bum for a baby daddy.”

You don’t have to be looking at him to know he’s rolling his eyes, that expression of his that’s a mixture of a scowl and smile. 

He doesn’t say anything after that, not immediately, and that’s okay, because just sitting here, with him, not alone and in your head is a great comfort.

“She has my last name.”

You look up at him, surprised and confused as to why he’s saying this like he didn’t already know it. But it’s in that looking at him, you see it’s because he clearly didn’t already know this.

He was unaware. 

Sitting up, you ask, “you didn't know?”

He shakes his head, explaining, “when I got here, I said I was here for Calista, and she said Calista Anoa’i.” That’s it. How he found out. How his daughter, who he hadn’t even known about up until not even two months ago, shared the same last name as him. All of these major life reveals being dropped on him like it’s nothing.

You feel terrible again, just for different reasons. 

“I never wanted to erase you from her life. I just—” It’s hard to explain something you’re starting to not even fully understand. In such a short timespan, Joe has done a tremendous job stepping into the role of dad. So much so that it has you deeply regretting depriving him of the almost first five years of her life.

Depriving yourself of having a partner to raise Callie with.

“I just went about it all wrong,” is the best you can land on to describe what you’re thinking and feeling. “And I'm sorry you found out like this. I guess, I just thought it would have come up by now.”

“It’s fine.” It’s not. He’s just trying to be mindful of where you are emotionally right now. Always considerate, despite his own feelings. 

Grabbing a hold of his arm, you lean into him again, eventually murmuring, “no, it’s not.” You’re starting to feel more and more like there was never a good enough reason to rob him of this, to have a child walking around this earth with his last name, his blood, and him be in the dark. Him being married was a factor, but it wasn’t a firm reason. “I’m sorry.” 

“You don’t ha—”

“Yes, I do,” you interrupt him, already knowing he’s going to try to pacify you, to try to convince you that it wasn’t that bad. Bullshit. “You missed out on so much, because of me, and I’m truly sorry, Joe. My own shit got i—”

“Excuse me?”

You sit upright, attention automatically redirected to the Caucasian woman in front of you with a bad bleach job, crows feet that probably contrast her actual age, and a clipboard. It’s the damn clipboard that kills your thought that maybe Callie is out her surgery and you guys can see her. 

Wishful thinking.

“Bill it,” is your short, curt reply as you lay back down against Joe’s arm. His eyes are on you, curious. 

The woman gives a small, fake laugh. “Excuse me?”

“You’re here to discuss insurance shit, right?” Her silence is the answer you need. “Well, I’m telling you to bill my insurance and then send me a bill.” 

She extends a more authentic smile to Joe, and you almost could swear you see the faintest hint of blush on her pale face. “Well, aren’t you three steps ahead?” When you don’t say anything, she awkwardly clears her throat and continues. “I actually wanted to know if you’d like to take advantage of this really great option we have where we give you an estimated cost and accept payment now so that—”

“Lady, my daughter is in surgery right now. I don’t give a scathing fuck about your great option. Bill it, and get the hell away from us.” Your words are blunt, coarse, and very much to the point. You couldn’t give two shits about anything she has to say if it’s not regarding Callie being out, up, and all better.

Joe chuckles above you, still saying nothing, just watching her walk away with her tail between her legs. “You had some restraint. I’m proud of you.”

“Shut up,” you mutter, eyes closing as you try to allow yourself to bask in the comfort he provides. It’s such a different experience. The last time you had to rush Callie to the ER, she was two, your mom was out of town on a women’s retreat, and Mariah was off on her honeymoon. It was just you, by yourself, waiting to find out what the hell was wrong with your toddler. 

Having someone with you in this moment, having him with you, means more to you than he could ever imagine.

“How’d you come up with her name?” He asks after a few moments of silence.

This brings a smile to your face, a genuine one that you actually feel in your body. “A book.” 

“Like a baby name book?” You should have known better. Joe is many things, a man of specificity being pretty high up there. 

You hesitate to respond. “Not exactly.”

He glances down, assessing your expression before tilting his head back. “You didn’t.”

“Hear me out.” 

“Did you seriously name our daughter after some character from one of your freaky ass sex books?” You’re grateful for the little laughter this conversation provides you, and it makes you realize how much this man must have missed you to remember that. To remember your guilty pleasure for smutty kindle books. Not so much as you’ve gotten older and just genuinely don’t have the time to read them.

Resting your chin against his massive arm, you defend, “first of all, rude. Secondly, it wasn’t even that freaky. Unfortunately.” He rolls his eyes and you continue, “the character was actually really interesting and not awful. And I’d never heard the name Calista before, so when I looked it up and saw it meant most beautiful….it just fit.” Toward the end of your pregnancy was when you fully allowed yourself to embrace being a mother, regardless of the circumstances. It was a blessing and beautiful experience, and you found yourself counting down the days until your due date. “Her middle name is Manaia.” 

He chuckles, softly. “That’s Samoan.”

Chewing on your bottom lip, you rest your cheek against him again. “I know…I told you, she’s just as much you as she is me.” 

—-------

Joe approaches the front desk, seeing a brunette woman scrolling on her phone with a bored expression. Understandable, given the room is empty sans a janitor making the rounds. It’s probably the first and last empty emergency room he’ll ever come across.

“Excuse me.”

She looks up, and her mouth parts, an instant smile growing. One he’s used to but wholeheartedly couldn’t care less about. 

“Hi.” Her tone is much more breathy than what’s necessary, some attempt at coming off flirtatious would be his guess. Zero shits are still given.

Joe doesn’t waste any time, already wanting to get back to you, even if he knows you went to go call your mom and let her know what happened. Still, he needs to, at the very least, get back before he has to feed you some bullshit excuse about where he was. “I need to add a new card on file for Calista Anoa’i.”

She leans forward, chin in her hand, uneven, needle thin eyebrows wiggling. “Are you dad?”

Obviously. “Yes.”

“Lucky kid.” He’d take a good guess that she doesn’t recognize him, which for that, he’s grateful. She just finds him attractive, which is still irritating and unprofessional as hell. Have an attraction, but don’t be so vocal and desperate. “Mom too.”

Ignoring her comment, he grabs his wallet, pulling out his card and sliding it over.

“Do—”

“Change it to the default payment,” he instructs, not in the mood for whatever else she wants to try. It’s all in vain. He has eyes for one woman only, and it certainly isn’t her. “Is there any way you can set it up for autopay?”

She gives Joe a strange expression, like she questions his ability to consent. Because no one in their right mind would authorize a hospital to have such power with their money. “Umm, we can, but it’s really not recommended because you can never guarantee just how much insurance will and won’t cover. So, if they deny the claim in its entirety, then they’ll charge the entire balance—”

“That’s fine,” he cuts her off. “Just do it, and make sure any future charges go to that card only.” He thinks about it, asking, “matter of fact, can you take mom’s card off file altogether?” Joe knows you’re gonna bite his head off for this, and he doesn’t care. He knows medical bills can get costly, and you’re not making bank on a teacher’s salary. The least he can do is take care of his daughter’s medical costs.

“Uhh, sure, as long as you understand—”

“Money isn’t an issue. At all. Do it.”

She shakes her head but types away eventually reaching Joe his card. “All done. You can call and change it at any—”

“I won’t.” And that’s a fact. “Thank you.” 

Joe doesn’t give her a chance to respond or try anything else, turning to head back to the waiting area and is relieved when you return only minutes after he’s sat down. 

“Well, as expected, she’s upset I didn’t call her but calmed down a little bit when I told her you’ve been here with me,” you catch him up, sitting down next to him again. “And she’s on her way. She wants us to go back to my place to get some sleep.” 

Immediately, he protests. “We can’t leave Callie.”

You open your mouth to mostly agree with him when you hear footsteps and feel your stomach flutter seeing Kai heading in your direction.

He gets straight to the point. “Surgery was successful. She’s gonna be fine.” There are no words to properly describe your relief. The past hour felt like the longest period of your life and to know that it wasn’t in vain is so utterly comforting. 

“Thank God,” you breathe, also standing up with Joe. “Thank you, Kai.” You briefly close your eyes, shaking your head and correcting yourself. “I’m sorry, uhh. Dr. Sawyer.” 

“Come on, Y/N. I’ll always just be Kai to you.” It’s said so innocently, and it’s also then you notice the wedding band on his left hand. But, Joe must be giving him a look, because he’s suddenly awkwardly clearing his throat. “Because she’s so young, I'd like to keep her a couple more days to monitor her.”

“Of course,” you agree. There’s no protest at your daughter having medical personnel surrounding her at all times following a surgical procedure. 

He nods and starts to walk away when you remember something, catching him and moving away from Joe to speak privately. 

“Ummm…..” you haven't a clue how to approach nor explain this but try your best. “Joe…..he’s just now in her life. She—she doesn’t even know he’s her dad. It’s….a long, complicated story, but we’re trying to keep everything private—”

He says your name, interrupting you, “ever heard of HIPAA? None of what happened tonight leaves this emergency room.” You nod, slightly assured. “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ll remind the nurses of that too.’

That gives you all of the relief. The last thing you want or need is this becoming fodder for the media. One of the many reasons you love your town is how off the grid it is with a lot of things. Most of them probably wouldn’t even recognize Joe, and the few who do would never dare speak of it outside of this same town, respecting that he’s still a human being. 

“Thank you, Kai. Seriously.” 

He offers you such a genuine smile and adds, “I’m glad I got to see you, Y/N. The circumstances weren’t the best, but I’m pleased to see you ended up happy.” He starts to walk backwards, adding with a slight smirk. “About time you moved on from the likes of Amir and Mariah.”

That throws you for a loop. You understand the part about Amir, but Mariah?

What did he mean by that?

You don’t really have time to think about it, because Joe is at your side, holding your hand and reminding you that you two need to get back in the room for Callie. That’s enough to put the confusion about what just occurred to the back burner. 

Thankfully, when they roll Callie back into her room, she’s still slightly out of it from the anesthesia. But when she comes to, she’s thrilled to see the both of you and announces in a small, proud voice, “I did it.”

It gives you another genuine laugh, and the two of you enjoy her, your brave, sweet little girl. 

As you expected, your mom enters the room, immediately going and comforting Callie. She gives you a little slap on your arm for not calling her, still upset about that. 

That’s also expected.

What isn’t entirely expected is your mom talking to Callie about why you and Joe need to go home for a little bit to rest because you’re tired too. She’s not entirely wrong, Now that you’re out of the flight of it all, you’re crashing and crashing hard. Even Joe looks tired. 

Surprisingly, your mom is able to get Callie to agree with this. It takes more convincing for Joe, but he also eventually relents. And instead of driving all the way to your place, you suggest you two just go to his hotel room which is closer to the hospital.

That’s an easy sell for him. 

Reaching the hotel, you convince Joe to shower first, as you have something you need to take care of. It takes some convincing, but he eventually agrees. Once you hear the shower running, you pull out your phone, surprised to see it hasn’t died and has enough, hopefully, for you to shoot out one more message. 

One you’ve been putting off, but desperately need, especially as of the last 24 to 48 hours. 

Alexis,

Hi. I know it’s been a couple of weeks since my last email, and I’m sorry. I would text you, but I have no idea where in the world you are right now or if you have reception. So, email it is. A lot….a lot has happened. Joe is back in the picture, and he knows about Callie. But, interestingly enough, that’s not an issue at all. He’s so good with her, and she already clearly loves him so much. We haven’t told her he’s her dad, but he plans to do it for Christmas. Callie also had to have emergency surgery last night. Her appendix. That was….a lot. She’s good now, made it out of surgery fine. Thank God. Also, Joe’s divorced. And he more or less told me he wants us to be together, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Sorry, this is all over the place. Joe and I have been up all night with Callie at the hospital, so my brain isn’t working. I just needed to send this now, because I keep forgetting, and I miss you and could really use some advice right now. I need my long distance best friend. 

Love,

Your favorite college roomie

You should probably reread your email before sending it, but that requires energy, and you’re literally operating on fumes. When Joe steps out of the bathroom, shirtless, you don’t even bat an eye, which is unlike you. You’ve always been insanely attracted to him, for obvious reasons. 

You just accept the shirt he offers, close the bathroom door, strip naked and step into the shower. So exhausted, you don’t even realize until halfway through you forgot to use the shower cap but thankfully only a little bit of your hair gets wet.

Not that it matters. Even washing yourself is such a task. 

You’re out of the shower as soon as you feel adequately clean, rid of hospital germs. You don’t even care that the shirt is the only thing covering your otherwise nude body, breast stretching against the cotton. 

It is what it is. 

Stepping out of the bathroom with your clothes tucked under your side, you settle on placing them on a nearby chair. Or maybe it’s a table. You’re not too sure nor do you care all that much. You just need to sleep. 

But, it’s also when you see he’s moving toward the sofa, you know you need something else. 

Someone.

“Joe.”

He turns around, and you move over to him, reaching for his hand. The tug is slight but enough to have him follow your guidance toward the bed where you switch positions so he falls on his back. Moving to the side of the mattress, you climb into the bed and turn on your side, back toward him. You don’t need to ask, because his strong arm is suddenly around you, pulling you into his hard chest.

Sighing in content, you allow his mouth to graze your temple as he pulls the blankets over the both of you.

Hand on his thick forearm that’s keeping you close against him, you murmur, “Callie comes first. We get her straight, make sure she’s okay.” You roll on your back, meeting his telling gaze. “Then we figure out us.”

Joe is staring down at you with an affection you hadn’t realized you missed so deeply until this moment. He doesn’t say anything, just nods in acknowledgment and caresses your cheek. Grateful and tired of so much thinking, you push your body against his, shifting with him as moves onto his back and keeps you close against him.

He doesn’t say anything, and neither do you, because none of that matters in that moment. You don’t need to think about anything, don’t want to think about anything, just want to be close to him, just be with the man you’re almost certain now that you never stopped loving. 

And also now wonder if he once felt the same, still feels the same. 

If he’s always felt the same way. 

[mybeautifulwifegojo]

*bursts through the door, sweating and shaking* y'all Goodnight Moon on youtube uploaded her third sapphic vampire video and it gave me All The Vampy Romance Feels

Yuji is a tired 20yo who used to be a star athlete but around high school he lost interest, and then his grandfather died, and he had to drop out and work to support himself

he moves to Tokyo and starts working nights at this club, The Shrine, that only caters to a very select portion of the wealthy of Japan. he's just a busboy at first, but then one day the bouncer just doesn't show up for work, and some asshole clearly on drugs tries to start shit with the bartender, and Yuji likes his coworkers thank you very much so he just beats the shit out of the guy and throws him out

Yuji does not think anything of this until the next night, when he's called in by the owner of the club: Ryomen Sukuna, who just wants to have a chat as to how the hell he did that.

he's thrown because Sukuna looks like a meaner, more buff version of his dad, but surely that's a coincidence. His boss and his father aren't related, surely.

(they are. Sukuna did not devour his twin in utero in this world; instead, after becoming a vampire, he took to guarding his twin's line, and Yuji is the last of their family. Sukuna is. hmm. conflicted.)

('cause see, on the one hand, this boy is the last drop of his own brother's line. on the other, he's a disrespectful little brat with no fear, who just the previous night defeated an elder vampire in a fistfight. that shouldn't be possible, and yet it happened.)

Yuji is very confused when his boss, who clearly hates him, decides to promote him to the security team. but hey, bigger paycheck!

After a while of this, he runs into Megumi, who mistakes him for a vampire and tries to kill him; but then when Yuji is totally unaffected by silver, salt, or holy objects, Megumi is embarrassed and decides he must be a thrall, instead. Because what normal person would willingly work at Tokyo's premier vampire hotspot??

Megumi tells Satoru, one of the very few hunters who is also a vampire--he was born that way, instead of being turned later in life. Satoru is intrigued, and hits up The Shrine to see the kid in action.

some form of meetcute ensues, probably during which someone gets punched and Satoru goes "oh he's like, strong and adorable and hot. oh, I'm not surviving this with my dignity intact."

Yuji of course is an oblivious sweetie and doesn't realize Satoru is flirting with him.

Sukuna hates Satoru already but now he's caught between "We need to keep this uneasy alliance between vampires and hunters, lest we all become too weak and the werewolves kill us all" and "THAT'S MY BABY NEPHEW YOU CAD"

Yuji doesn't believe in vampires or magic and just thinks everyone is really committed to a bit that hasn't been funny in like six years.

The special grade sorcerers (Yuki, Satoru, Suguru, Yuta) are vampires who hunt supernatural troublemakers along with normal humans, werefolk, kitsune, and even a few oni; Rika-chan is Yuta's first and only thrall and he still feels really bad about that, but she's having fun and being herself as she gleefully hunts monsters for her beloved <3 Yuji ends up with one foot in the vampire underworld and one foot in the world of the hunters, and he can't go fully to either side because he's just a regular dude who fights good.

(not that Satoru and Sukuna ever stop trying to sneakily kill each other so they can "protect" Yuji. it's how they flirt.)

((although I do think this kind of story would be funniest if Sukuna eventually agrees to let Satoru court his nephew WITH YUJI IN THE ROOM and this 20yo modern dude is mortified by these centuries-old vampires talking about his dowry. it's 2021, my dudes!!!! nobody has a fucking dowry anymore!!!!!!))

[rustedleopard]

My thoughts on Momlet are basically that Martlet wouldn't be able to see herself as a mother to Clover because she's a young adult still trying to find her place in the world and to her, it would feel weird to have to suddenly be a mom. She still looks out for Clover's well-being, like making sure they have dinner on the table and listens to them when they speak, but they also look out for her like bringing her keys to her when she forgets them at home.

My thoughts on Dadlo are basically that Starlo initially wouldn't be able to see himself as a dad to Clover because that's his pardner, the loyal deputy to his noble sheriff-schtick. He's still as wholly supportive of Clover as he was when he was training them to be his deputy, but responsible he is not. Clover's the one who has to remember to shut off the machines once the Feisty Five + One are done with a mission. As Clover grows up by his side, Starlo's tune would change to be something like "Heh, yeah, I practically raised them so they're basically my kid 😏." It's too bad that Clover sheriff-zoned him a long time ago.

My thoughts on Ceroba being Clover's mom (Cero-ma?) are basically that Ceroba would have a lot of guilt attached to looking after Clover. This is the kid that she nearly murdered, and in her darkest, lowest, most depressive moments she still contemplates killing them and fulfilling Chujin's legacy because healing isn't linear, and now she's looking after them. They forgave her but that doesn't take away the attempted homicide. And what about Kanako? Is she essentially abandoning/replacing her daughter by looking after Clover? Ceroba would love Clover to bits but thoughts like that would haunt her, at least until the Barrier breaks and Kanako comes back home.

My thoughts on Dadlv are basically that Dalv sees Clover as his friend, the feeling is mutual, and they have a nice and normal adult-child friendship. (Why is Dadlv a thing????)

My thoughts on Clover seeing their friends as their parents are basically that it wouldn't happen. They had a life on the Surface, and I headcanon that they had a mom and a (step)dad in their life; they were just bad parents and their parenting kind of ruined Clover's idea of what a mom and dad is. None of the monsters they befriended fit perfectly into the textbook idea of how a mom or dad should behave unlike Toriel, who they've completely forgotten about at this point, but that's okay! They're not exactly parents but they are Clover's family and that's what matters.

[todorokistheories]

Rei's Abuse Saved Shouto

This sounds batshit fucking crazy but hear me out.

tw: abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, everything that comes with talking about the todorokis

I've been thinking about this a lot.

Touya exists as a cautionary tale for "the abused becomes the abuser" (something I don't really believe in all that much but horikoshi has done some weird shit with the todorokis so we're going with it) in the sense that he never truly learned empathy and/or denounced it for the sake of his revenge. Everything was for him, always about him, and that was his life until he suddenly faced the trauma of realizing he wasn't a masterpiece in his father's eyes. That's a horrible life for a child, it obviously broke him. He was praised an applauded until he wasn't, believed to be cast aside and thrown away.

This obviously had a HUGE impact on him (literally his reason for everything). The fact that he attacked Shouto, a tiny little baby, only further proves my point that Touya never actually learned how to think outside of himself. He never needed to, and he wasn't shown how to. He was stuck perpetually searching for value that was given to someone else. He still cared for people, but as a child he wasn't given the chance to learn how to empathize.

Empathy is taught, it's not an innate skill. It can be cultivated over time or initial empathy can be smothered, but it is something you work on whether consciously or subconsciously.

Fast forward to Shouto who, yes was also heavily abused, but additionally witnessed the abuse of the only person at the time who was allowed to show him kindness. Touya grew up with his dad loving him, Shouto did not. Touya was told that he, as a person, was special. Shouto was not.

We see throughout the series that watching his mother be abused fundamentally changed the way Shouto saw everything. When his mother disfigures him he immediately blames his father and wants her back. He knows what it's like to be Endeavor's punching bag in a world where you have no support and no way to escape.

He wanted to protect his mom before he even understood what was happening. She was all he had, and all he needed was for her to be able to be there for him. Endeavor never let that happen.

In juxtaposition to this, Touya redirected his anger towards Fuyumi and Natsuo. This is interesting because in the series, Natsuo does a similar thing with Shouto but that could be an entire analysis in and of itself. Touya blamed Rei wholeheartedly because Endeavor was still perfect in his eyes.

Everyone was enough and he just somehow didn't cut it.

Flash forward into his time in the League and it's obvious that he wasn't given the opportunity to change his thinking. It's uncertain throughout the series and that is the biggest unfinished thread in my opinion when it comes to Touya's character.

His willingness to kill, regardless of former or current relation and his obvious joy in enacting pain and suffering is just a hallmark of low empathy. It's why Shouto's character is so intriguing as a foil, because he SHOULD hate Endeavor he SHOULD want him dead. But what Shouto wants more than anything is to be the hero that could've saved his mom. She has been a central part of his development, present or not.

This is in no way saying that Rei's abuse was the only thing that could've saved Shouto from following in Touya's footsteps, but it's the only thing from the series itself that explains it.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: the party is at the Hopper-Byers house for the July 4th celebrations and Steve has a really bad nightmare caused by childhood trauma/abuse mixed in with Upside Down horror. He wakes up but is still lost in the nightmare + PTSD from the fireworks. Eddie can't calm him down. Nobody in the party can calm him down, he isn't fully awake. Its terrifying. What calms him down is Wayne, speaking in low tones about Garfield, and the weather and Eddie. He refuses to talk to anyone about the pleas and desperate sobs of "no..get off" & "leave me alone" but is extra clingy to Eddie & Wayne once he comes out of the flashback. It's also the 1st time he calls Wayne 'dad'

MY LOVE!!!!!! Sometimes I make myself cry so hard that I have to add the most ridiculous fluff to make it better. That's what's happened here. It's sad, it's hurt, but then it's so so so much comfort and fluff. I can't resist and I can't apologize. Plus you know supportive Wayne is like MY BRAND. Steve calling him dad? Jesus the tears I let out. I'm actually a pretty firm believer that at some point over the years, Eddie started calling him dad because he was a better one than his own ever was. Hope you all cry in a good way with this. - Mickala ❤️

-----------------------------------------------------------

Steve went to bed a while ago, his head hurting a bit too much to handle the fireworks show that Hopper and Jonathan were putting on. Eddie went with him, though he wasn’t tired, at Robin’s insistence.

She’d given him a look that said enough.

They’d all been dreading this day, at least a little, because of Starcourt the year before.

Steve was asleep in Will’s bed, curled up against Eddie’s side, breathing even.

Until it wasn’t.

Until his hands were gripping Eddie’s shirt like it was a lifeline, his feet started kicking like he was running from something.

He was whimpering in his sleep, clearly terrified of something, but Eddie couldn’t be sure what.

Steve tended to have a wide variety of nightmares: reminders of his childhood traumas, reminders of the Upside Down and Russians, and terrible visions of something that would hopefully never be the future.

They all caused him to struggle to wake up, and usually he was crying uncontrollably for hours when he finally did.

Eddie tried to prop himself up slightly, ready to try to hold Steve as still as he could.

Steve fought him off though, mumbling something in his sleep.

Eddie let him, knew better than to actively attempt waking him up during a nightmare.

He kept a hand on him, adjusting as Steve shifted in the bed. Trying to talk to him quietly, barely whispering reassurances that he was safe and loved and everyone would protect him.

Sometimes that worked. It wasn’t quite enough to wake him up from it, but he’d calm down and drift back into a mostly dreamless sleep.

Not this time.

He started sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks from his still-closed eyes. He wasn’t quite tossing and turning, but he was moving enough that Eddie didn’t want to stay too close just in case either of them ended up hurt.

It killed him, but he put space between them.

“Eddie, no!”

Eddie flinched at the despair in Steve’s voice.

He heard a knock on the door, but couldn’t pull himself completely away to open it, so he yelled for them to come in.

Robin and Max were at the door with wide eyes, Dustin and Will standing behind them.

“Is he okay?” Robin started as she walked in.

“He’s having a nightmare.”

“Why can we not just wake him up?” El asked curiously.

“He wakes up on his own. If you try to wake him up he could accidentally hurt you.”

“But he is hurting,” she said, deep frown settling on her features as she watched Steve moving in bed.

Robin sat down on the edge of the bed just as a firework went off in the backyard, making her jump.

Steve’s eyes shot open, and he stopped moving.

But he wasn’t awake.

“Please stop. I can’t-“ Steve’s voice was pained, like he was being tortured.

“Hey, why don’t you rugrats go get Joyce or Hop or something?”

The kids hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave Steve even for a moment, but finally all turned to grab an adult from the firework show.

Joyce came in only a minute later, eyes wide and searching.

“Steve?” She asked as she got close to the bed, watching his open eyes crying silently now. “Sweetie, can you hear me?”

“This only happened once when I was around. He’s like, lost in the nightmare. He says when this happens is when he can physically feel what’s happening instead of just picturing it.”

“Bless his heart,” Joyce sighed. “Do you know what the nightmares are?”

“They’re different all the time,” Eddie said quietly.

“No, not her! I’m the one you want, right?” Steve yelled suddenly.

Everyone jumped and Steve and Robin shared a long glance.

“Maybe the Russians? We’ve had a lot of reminders today.”

Joyce placed a hand on his face to wipe his tears, but Steve flinched and curled himself into a ball.

“No, no, no,” he repeated.

“It’s okay, honey. It’s Joyce. We’re all gonna keep you safe,” she said softly, her hand still stroking through his hair.

She was trying to comfort him, but it seemed like the touch just made things worse. After another minute, she pulled her hand away and Eddie could see she was fighting back tears.

He put his hand on her shoulder as he heard a few more people come in.

“It’s okay. When he wakes up, he’ll be happy to know you tried,” Eddie said, though at this point, he figured if Steve knew that everyone was watching him have a nightmare, he’d be embarrassed at best, ashamed at worst.

“Maybe we should give him space,” Max suggested from the corner.

She suffered from terrible nightmares, too. She hated sleepovers now, usually chose to take the guest room of Steve’s house instead of on the floor in the living room with everyone just in case she had one. El would sometimes go with her, but most of the time, Max preferred being alone.

Steve was similar in that he usually hated anyone trying to take care of him, but Eddie and Robin usually didn’t give him a choice.

“Max is right,” Hopper said from the door, though he looked just as concerned as Joyce. “If he wakes up to all of us standing around him, he’s just gonna feel worse.”

“Let me get in there,” Wayne mumbled from behind Hopper.

Wayne had never seen Steve’s nightmares firsthand, just heard recounts of them from Eddie, but he’d felt terrible for the boy. He had his own share of nightmares from the war, and wouldn’t wish them on anyone.

Eddie and Wayne shared a look, one that had Eddie moving so Wayne could sit on the bed with Steve instead.

“Alright, everyone but Wayne and Eddie out!” Hopper said just loud enough to make a point.

Wayne wasn’t paying attention to everyone leaving, too focused on reading the situation at hand and preparing for whatever it might take to get Steve out of it.

“He ever punch when he’s in a nightmare?” He asked Eddie as he sat down close to him.

“Only once with Robin, then she learned to leave enough space that she could get up if he started throwing his hands around. It’s happened to me a couple times because I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“Alright, just stay right there for a few minutes. I’m gonna try to hold his wrists so I know if he’s gonna punch.”

“You aren’t restraining him, right? He doesn’t like to be restrained,” Eddie started nervously chewing on his hair.

“No, son. Not restraining. I’m gonna let him go if he starts to push against me, but it’s just so I know when he’s gonna start throwin’ his hands around.”

Eddie nodded and watched as Wayne sat back against the headboard of the bed and pulled Steve completely into his lap.

Steve wasn’t fighting it, but he was letting out little “no, no, no”’s until Wayne got him completely settled with his head against his chest, ear pressed to his heartbeat.

“Alright, bud, we’re gonna get you through this. You and me, kid. Just us. I’ve got you right here, you hear my heart? I got you.” Eddie watched as Steve’s crying continued to get worse. “Oh! You know that stupid Garfield mug? Broke the handle on it again. Damn thing seems like it’s giving up for good. I’ll have to steal the one you keep at the house.”

Steve’s whimpering was a bit quieter, his body relaxing a little more into Wayne.

“Tomorrow’s s’posed to be nice, maybe we should head out to the lake and fish. Leave Eddie behind, he scares the fish,” Wayne smirked over at Eddie, who was only holding back a comment because he was still too worried about Steve.

Steve was now silently crying, and Eddie knew he was probably closer to awake than asleep.

“I know you’ll probably say Eddie’s welcome, but that kid don’t shut up. Don’t know how you put up with him. Of my two boys, I’d much rather take you fishin’ and take Ed to a bar.”

Eddie bit his lip at the implication that Steve was one of Wayne’s boys. He knew Wayne adored Steve, but didn’t realize he was ready to adopt him as his own.

“There you are, bud. You awake?” Wayne was talking softer than Eddie had ever heard, and when he looked at Steve, he realized why.

Steve had finally managed to wake up completely, and his whole body was shivering, more from fear than being cold.

Eddie still found a blanket at the end of the bed and covered him, watching as Wayne mouthed a quick thank you over Steve’s head.

“You want me to keep talkin’?” Wayne asked.

Steve nodded.

“You got it, though this is more what Eddie’s good at. Ya know the first night he lived with me, I couldn’t get him to even say hello? Poor kid was like Bambi, didn’t trust anyone or anything, big brown eyes watching every breath I took until he was in his room. The next day I woke him up with pancakes, the recipe you like most with the cinnamon apples, and he hasn’t shut up since.”

Steve let out a breath that could have been a laugh if he wasn’t coming down from one of the worst nightmares Eddie’s seen him have.

Wayne’s hands were running along his arm and back, comforting and keeping him warm.

“Maybe we can head back to the house, I can make us those pancakes in the morning before we go fishin’. That sound good, kid?”

“Yeah, dad.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, and he saw Wayne’s hands freeze.

Then Steve was trying to pull away, his eyes shining with unshed tears that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

But Wayne pulled him back, held him against his chest and placed a kiss to the top of his head.

“I’m not lettin’ you go yet, son. Not unless you would rather be with Ed.”

Steve shook his head.

Eddie didn’t take offense to it, he was with Steve all the time and he knew Wayne was the best at giving support in times like this.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“What?”

“Anything.”

Steve shook his head.

“You ever talk about it with anyone?”

Steve shook his head.

“You think you should?”

Steve nodded.

“I ever tell you about when I got back from Vietnam?”

Steve shook his head.

“Is it okay if Ed sits down on the bed with us? Maybe you can hold his hand.”

Thank every god for Wayne Munson. Eddie was practically crawling out of his skin with the need to have his hand on Steve, make sure he was really okay.

Steve nodded.

Eddie sat down on the other side of Wayne, letting his head rest against his shoulder while Steve propped his legs in his lap.

“Everyone cozy?”

“Mhm,” Steve said.

“Yeah,” Eddie replied.

“When I first got back, I couldn’t sleep at all. Sometimes I’d drift off in my chair when I got too tired, but I’d usually wake up so quick my body didn’t even know I fell asleep. That went on for months until Jim got back. He was so much younger than me, ya know? Didn’t seem right that he had to go through what I did. We met for lunch a few times, we talked. He didn’t have much to say, neither did I, but sometimes we had a story to share. And ya know, dammit if it didn’t help.”

Eddie remembers back when he first started living with Wayne how he would sometimes have Hopper over for dinner, but never explained how they even really knew each other until he was older. Even then, he didn’t say much except that they had a lot of similar war stories.

“Didn’t have the time or money for professional help, but sometimes just gettin’ stuff off your chest can help. Ya know, I cut back my hours at the plant. Don’t need to work all that overtime now that the government bought us a house and pays the bills on it. Kinda nice to just have some time for doin’ what I wanna do. Maybe we could start takin’ a few hours a week to go fishin’. Maybe have lunch at the diner and chat.”

Eddie could feel tears running down his face at Wayne’s offer, at how much he cared for Steve.

“You’d wanna do that with me?” Steve’s voice was shaking, and Eddie didn’t have to see his face to know he was crying.

“I’d love to, bud. You’re my kiddo, ya know? Just as much as Eddie is.”

Steve let out a sob, and curled further into Wayne’s chest. Eddie squeezed his knee, letting him know he was there if he needed him.

“I love ya, kid. You’re gonna be just fine, alright? Not gonna let anyone or anything hurt you.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“Anytime, kiddo.”

They stayed there for a while, probably close to an hour, Steve holding Eddie’s hand while Wayne talked to them both.

Eventually, everyone was heading home and Steve decided to head back with Wayne and Eddie instead of staying with the Byers as planned.

“Get some rest, honey. We love you,” Joyce wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as he said his goodbyes to everyone.

The ride back was quiet, Wayne driving them both in his truck, the radio playing old country the whole way home.

When they got home, Steve decided to take a quick shower before he went to bed, said he didn’t feel clean.

Wayne furrowed his brows, but nodded.

Eddie kissed him once on the forehead before letting him head to the bathroom.

Wayne turned to him when they heard the shower turn on, his face pained.

“Has he ever talked about his childhood?”

“Not much. Said he used to spend summers with his grandparents and cousins when his parents didn’t wanna take him with them. He hated it, but didn’t say much about it.”

Wayne looked, somehow, worse.

“Has he ever been scared to be touched? Even just a hug? Outside of the nightmares?”

Eddie nodded.

“I mean, not so much with me or Robin anymore, but sometimes with the others, yeah.”

Wayne put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sad smile.

“It’s not my place to make assumptions, but I think he had plenty of good reasons to hate staying with his grandparents and cousins. Just promise me you’ll listen if he talks to ya? No interruptin’ or judgin’.”

“Of course. I love him, I don’t want him to hide stuff from me,” Eddie responded.

“I know. I love ya, kid.”

“Love ya too,” Eddie was slightly confused, but didn’t ask. Steve would be done soon in the shower and he wanted to make sure he had some of his clothes to wear to bed.

Wayne made his way to his own room, giving a quick knock to the bathroom door and yelling that he loved him. Eddie heard a “love you, dad” in response.

Eddie had viewed Wayne as his dad for years, had called him dad sometimes when he let his guard down a bit. Wayne just had the natural protective, caring personality that a good father has, and Steve wasn’t immune to it.

When Steve made it out of the shower, Eddie was pulling the extra blanket out of his closet for Steve to wrap himself in like he did anytime he had a nightmare.

Steve walked over to him, towel wrapped around his waist, and leaned against him.

Eddie let his hands rest on his hips, right where the towel rested.

“Doing okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

“Thanks for sharing Wayne with me.”

“Oh, angel, I don’t make that call. Wayne pretty much adopted you day one and I just had to let it happen,” Eddie smirked.

Steve giggled and kissed Eddie’s collarbone.

“I’m gonna talk to you about it all someday. I will. I promise.”

“No rush, sweet love. When you’re ready, though, I’m right here. So is Wayne.”

“I know. Love you.”

“Love you so much.”

As they fell asleep in Eddie’s bed that night, he realized what Wayne was alluding to and his heart broke into a million pieces. If he was right, then Steve had horrors unimaginable even before the Upside Down.

But Eddie would be here to listen to it when he was ready. He knew it would be hard to hear, but not nearly as hard as it had to be for Steve to live with.

And they both had Wayne, who wouldn’t let either of his boys hurt if he could help it.

[ladylilithprime]

Day 9: Moon

('18. THE MOON--Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error. Reversed: Instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error." --A. E. Waite

This is eventually going to be chapter one of a much larger work, which will be posted on AO3.)

IN THE WAKE of the fire at the apartment just outside Stanford and the near-death of Jessica Moore due to demon interference, Sam Winchester had needed to pull his brother aside and explain, slowly and carefully and with an eye to the exits, exactly why he didn't just think he could - shouldn't - go back on the road hunting and chasing down their missing father. Contrary to what Dean had obviously thought, it wasn't because Sam was bound and determined to have a normal life. It really was, as he had said, about trying to be safe. Not safe from monsters, though-- safe from hunters. And keeping everyone else safe from him.

"It happened when I was on the way out here the first time," Sam had explained in a low voice as he tried not to be obvious about watching for when his brother would catch on and pull either his gun or the silver knife. "Without a car and with not much money, I was hitchhiking my way across state lines, and had to trade a couple favors for bus fare the last bit. Turns out, one of those favors had a little extra going on and didn't think to warn me until the condom broke."

"Extra... what, like AIDS?" Dean had asked, frowning as concern broke through the clear discomfort and unhappiness at the subject of how Sam had paid his way with no money or support from him or their Dad.

"Like lycanthropy," Sam had corrected quietly. Seeing Dean tensing, he had hurried on to add, "Once he realized what had happened, which didn't take long, he was very apologetic and took the time to explain about himself and what was going to happen to me. When he found out I was coming to Stanford, he helped me get in touch with both the local pack and the local coven of natural witches so I would have a support system. They weren't too thrilled when they found out I'm a Winchester, no real surprise there, but they helped me sort myself out to keep myself and everyone else safe."

Dean had sat silent for a long moment, and Sam had let him. He hadn't relaxed at all, but Dean hadn't pulled a weapon, either. At length, Dean had taken a deep breath and let it out very slowly before nodding. "Okay, little brother. Tell me what you need and how I can help."

Jess had been the one to out herself to Dean as a natural witch and one of the coven members, sitting up against the raised back of the hospital bed with bandages around her stomach. She had also identified her and Sam's friend Brady as the one with a bodysnatching spiritual hijacker-- one who had gotten real chatty in his irritation that he'd had to wait so long to get to someone close to Sam to set this up because of "her" wards.

"Damned demon thought I was the reason your apartment was the magical equivalent of Fort Knox," Jess had huffed tiredly, her voice still rough from smoke inhalation. "Good news is the demons don't know about your monthlies. Bad news is, he was definitely trying to kill me to send a message to you, something about your mom. Makes me wish I'd snuck a look at my Aunt Jenna's off-limits books so I might've known how to fight him off...."

Sam hadn't liked it, but couldn't argue with both Jess and Dean that a targeted attack like that on the anniversary of their mother's death was a pretty good sign that Sam should get away from Stanford for a while. Jess had kissed him on the cheek, then given him a fired and glazed ceramic pendant strung on an adjustable braided leather cord with a pentacle surrounded by sun rays on one side and a spiral of runes and sigils on the other. She had explained the purpose of the pendant and the symbols, the large one that guarded against possession because Brady hadn't been the only person she had noticed feeling itchy and reeking of sulfur, and the runes inscribing a spell of concealment that would prevent anyone and anything who didn't know what he was from ever noticing anything strange about him in either form.

"Get yourself a nice little aluminum dog tag to go on there with it and you won't have to take it off when you shift," she had said with a wink, which had made Sam blush brightly and Dean howl with laughter.

He threw a pillow at Dean's head when his brother had brought him the engraved heart-shaped tag a week later when they reached Blackwater Ridge, but he'd put it on the cord with the pendant that was working exactly as Jess promised.

THE THING ABOUT being a werewolf, aside from the strength and speed and newfound appreciation for flea collars, was that changing species hadn't actually changed anything about Sam. He still preferred salads to burgers, even if he privately conceded the dietary requirements of more protein, iron and fat. He still hated the violence and killing parts of hunting while excelling at the research and interviews portion-- if anything, his extra senses made him even better at sussing out secrets and comforting upset witnesses. He still ordered stupid fancy coffee with cream and vanilla and cinnamon even if he would drink whatever black and unsweetened gas station diner swill Dean handed to him with barely a grimace of complaint.

He still had psychic powers that gave him visions of the probable future.

"I dreamed about the fire well before it actually happened," he admitted to Dean quietly over a beer, the meeting with and revelations from Missouri Moseley still fresh. "I always dismissed it because why would Jess even be in my apartment in the first place under normal circumstances? Best friend, sure, but she didn't live with me! The only reason she was there when you broke in was because she had too much to drink at the Halloween party earlier and trusted me to take care of her without taking advantage!"

"Gotta admit, though, from the outside it looked a lot like she was your girlfriend," Dean pointed out, a bit uncomfortably. "'Specially when I said Dad was on a hunting trip and you didn't excuse us from her presence 'cause she already knew about that."

"So demons are making the same assumptions about me as my brother?" Sam snorted. The humor faded quickly as he stared at the beer in the bottle. "Whatever the demons want with me... it feels like it's connected to these visions, or at least these powers. Which means it's probably not just me being targeted."

"Bunch'a kids with psychic powers all on some demons' shit list?" Dean grimaced and downed the rest of his beer. "Welp, our job's saving people from supernatural crazy shit. Can't get much crazier than that, right?"

"Let's hope," Sam sighed, draining his own beer before excusing himself to go down to Missouri's basement for moonrise. Dean waited all of half an hour after the moon was up before taking a second beer and sneaking down to the basement after his brother to find a massive dark brown and gray wolf flopped over on his side on the basement floor. The wolf's ears and nose twitched and he whined softly, but didn't move or even lift his head until Dean had sat down on the basement steps.

"We'll figure this out, Sammy," Dean murmured. "Even if it comes down to you and me against the world."

The tentatively wagging tail was the only response Sammy could give him, but it was enough. Dean stayed on the steps all night, even past moonset and Sam's return to human form. Their lives were weird and dangerous and all kinds of fucked up, but Dean absolutely believed that there wasn't anything that Earth or Hell or even fucking Heaven could throw at them that they couldn't handle together.

The alternative was unacceptable.

[ninthprime]

i don’t ever post about snowpiercer on here despite the fact that i’ve watched it since season one started- not sure why i didn’t share my thoughts frankly. i was definitely adjacent to the circles that dismissed season one for seeming like a murder mystery show at first, and i thought it was alright, but season two was actually the one that really impressed me and made me an actual fan of the show (which seems to not be the opinion of most people in the fandom, interestingly). part of it is that i have almost never watched it live for the most part- it’s the last of the shows that my dad and i would watch together when i lived at home, so i don’t usually remember to start it until he does. and maybe i still thought it was cringe? but look, i’m firmly of the belief that everyone needs a show that’s basically a 7/10 but that you feel an attachment to nonetheless.

uh, all that said, i’m up to 4x06 now (and pretty thoroughly spoiled on the rest of the season) so here’s some season four thoughts

first of all i cant believe no one has made a "i miss my wife tails" edit of till talking to ben. literally all that was playing in my head whenever she brought up audrey

to get the big thing out of the way: i’m slightly less peeved about new eden allowing layton and co to take the train than most people, but to me the frustrating part is actually that i think the problems with that storyline are fairly easy to fix, to the point that i wonder if a scene was deleted. by the end of 4x06 we know for a fact that millius’ group is planning to ambush new eden (the bombs oz found), but i think it’s pretty obvious that new eden is under some sort of threat from the moment liana gets kidnapped and zarah dies. this is less of a 100% solution and more a papering over, but i think all you really need is someone else giving another speech after layton’s not-speech in 4x03 about how everyone’s loved ones on snowpiercer are being worked to death, and now the people responsible appear to have killed a new eden resident and kidnapped a child- meaning they’ve found the town already and likely have plans for everyone there. if you give that speech, you don’t have to frame this storyline as “new eden lets layton risk everything for his kid”; you can instead do “new eden knows they’re at potentially immediate risk, so they’re sending a scouting mission with hopes of helping their loved ones and saving themselves.” you’d still be able to do the “layton is making selfish choices for his kid” story, because i think everyone in his main circle would pick up that it’s what he’s doing, and they’d have to work around that and bounce off of it. you could still poke a lot of holes in this but i think that would reduce a lot of the frustration with the premise of this season.

more scattered thoughts:

zarah’s death is not something i like but it’s entirely not a surprise. that said, if they had to do it, i think having josie there is exactly the right move. that part worked real well for me.

ben’s death is also pretty well executed for me! seeing him literally hype himself up to die and then seeing till at the last moment was rough! i feel like if i ever rewatch (and i’m definitely thinking about it) i need to pay more attention to ben. he has a rough edge to him that i think is easy to forget about (ie. being a big part of mel’s choice to steal the train) and seeing his arc as a whole strikes me as a worthwhile exercise.

for all that’s shaky about season 4 it’s giving me a lot of my favorite snowpiercer thing, which is “the appealing cast/characters of this show bouncing around in fun new ways.” ben and till’s friendship was great, i loved the till and ruth talking in the bath scene, and i think the javi-sykes-oz trio is the most chaotic “throw a bunch of supporting characters into a storyline and see what happens” bit that we’ve ever had. oz leaving a severed hand on javi’s desk and then that turning into javi trying to show sykes he trusts her by showing her said severed hand gave me the biggest “this is the weird shit that i watch this show for!!” reaction i’ve had so far.

i think everyone is underrating the javi/sykes stuff this season actually, beyond just “this is cute.” i’m biased because i love them both (javi is tied with alex as my favorite character in this show and sykes has always been underutilized, so i’m extremely happy to see her more), but i found both their conversations about their relationship in 4x04 to be really interesting- javi interpreting her as overprotective of him, sykes having a lot of hangups about everyone trusting her, etc. it turns out that when you bond with someone over being abused by the same person you both still have trauma about that thing. and this is exactly the type of hets i like, so i’m biting into it like a juicy apple.

speaking of alex i have been lowkey disappointed that she hasn’t done much yet but it has been interesting seeing her have to hold back about her worries for new eden and now mourning ben because she’s juggling her seemingly endless list of dads. will be very interested to see her with her mom again.

gotta give a shout out to my two favorite fits in this season so far: 1. audrey’s little work headband outfit in 4x02, of course she is killing it even on the killer work train, and 2. sykes’ pink overalls agsec outfit which is soooo cute on her. also till’s new haircut this season unironically works for me lol

the purest joy of this show is whenever a minor character who has inexplicably survived for four seasons pops up and gets to do things. every time i see dr pelton, tristan, z-wreck, or lights i’m hooting and hollering.

hey “jackson cage” came up on shuffle while i wrote this post and that’s a snowpiercer song if there ever was one. does anyone here make amvs. i’m giving that to you all for free. make it any ship you want, i can think of like three that fit

anyway what if i posted about this show now that the entire thing is done. that’d be fucking funny

[figula]

had another hour or so of sleep. the only way I can sleep ATM is in Ana's bed with top gear playing loud enough to drown out the mental images of him covered in blood in a hotel room and the memories of the night I thought he'd killed himself. I mean I wasn't far off lmao, give it a few hours

I keep saying this but I genuinely think I'm traumatised to a degree I didn't even imagine was possible before. I literally like. have not been able to stop shaking since, have not been able to eat more than a few spoonfuls of food still, haven't showered. the sleep is maybe the worst of it, I think in total I've had like 6h in the past 4 days.i don't even feel very tired most of the time I'm just so full of horror. my hands are constantly dripping with sweat. I'm oscillating between feeling extremely numb and almost passing for normal to debilitating attacks of devastation

I emailed Tina yesterday morning but missed her reply until 8pm. she is off this week (every time!!) but said she could call me in a non official capacity because she didn't want me sitting with this for an entire week without professional support but I missed the email so I hope we can speak today. she's never offered that before and I hadn't asked for it. that was even before I found out he had tried to kill himself after our conversation so uhh that is another lil thing

today/tmr (it's 1am) my plans are to see my family who are coming today, my dad, who already spent all day yesterday here, mum and maybe sister, they are not expecting anything from me and my mum says if I need to leave to sleep or eat I just must do that. she keeps being very insistent on not worrying about money so I might buy myself something nice today

I am also going to call my doctor and see if they will prescribe any short term serious sleep pills or very high strength anti anxiety pills or something. valium and otc stuff is honestly just not making any difference at all I just sit here wide awake vibrating

I literally just. will never be the same

[lefetfritos]

hi ive seen ur stuff pop up whenever i search for half-life things and the tags always make me throw my head back. im so curious. may i ask what the portal to hell au is about. i mean this in a positive way i promise.

HI! YEAH! THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST

The portal to hell au was orignaly meant to just be an au fully combing portal and half life instead of there just being a few refrences to each other like in the game, but i also wanted an excuse to use a specific g-man design i made

The main premise of the au is that chell replaces gordons role in half life two because portal 2 happens around the same time gordon would normally get out of stasis in hl2.

Gordon is fully working under g-man along side adrian and never fully gets let out of stasis. The only reason g-man even employed gordon was because he knew gordon was wallaces kid, and g-man hates wallace.

Gordon never takes up any role in the resistance, and the only reason hes fighting against the combine and wallace is for g-man. Chell does take up a role in the resistance however and completeley takes the role of what gordon does in hl2.

And for the final sibling, john, his role is similae to barneys except while alot nicer than the other combine, hes not undercover for the resistance in anyway, but does support them. He eventually does completeley stop working for the combine and joins the resistance after chell is able to convince him however.

I also wanted to give wallace a reason to become the representative for humanity. Instead of him just being the manipulative asshole like he is in the game (he still kind of is one but thats besides the point) i wanted to make it so he had someone pressuring him into taking that role, so i gave him a dad.

His dad , William Breen (not a permanet name) only wanted wallace to take his job and continue the “family tradition” of becoming a higher up at black mesa, but wallace didnt really want that, which is where g-man comes in.

Gene (G-man) and wallace had been friends since highschool, and Gene had always known how bad wallaces dad was, so while they were together one day, Gene had wanted wallace to run away with him and their friends to get away from their parents. Wallace had to think about it but that gave his dad time to manipulate wallace into killing Gene.

Wallaces dad made Wallace push Gene into a expieremental teleporter, since it was thought that going into it would kill the person inside of it, it didnt how ever.

The teleporter completeley ripped out Genes soul, making him take on a kind of shadowy figure with no real physical form. He spent years in what looks like just a black void until he eventually figured out how to give himself a physical form. Hes able to control how he looks, so he gave himself kind of an uncanny look. While hes in this form where he actually has acertain look, hes no able to show emotions, so almost every emotion he shows, he has to show through the shadowy form.

The only other thing i can think to talk about is rose and wallace. Rose met wallace in a bar in 1969, a year after the teleporter incident. Wallace immediately adored rose but was terrified to talk to her.

He eventually saw her again at meetings that black mesa and apeture science had (before that whole dumbass rivalry started) and only talked to her because judith pushed him to.

They started dating a few weeks later, and eventually got married in 1971 during september. Rose eventually ended up having gordon on may of 1972, then chell in october of 1974, and finally john in april of 1977.

Both wallace and rose were amazing parents, and wallace didnt start becoming absent until rose disapeared in 1985.

Wallace was in a horrible place after rose disapeared, she was the only thing keeping him together. He tried his best to provide for his kids but becuase he was barely getting paid by his dad, and was not at home 99% percent of the time due to being at black mesa working under his dad, his kids grew to not like him and resented him.

Wallaces dad took rose disapearing as a way to manipulate wallace even more, causing him to become more of an asshole. He eventually even manipulated wallace into getting “enhancements” that caused wallace to stop aging and not be fully human anymore like him in 1987.

Thats kind of all i can remember right now smiles

[crossovershipstournament]

SIDE 2D: ROUND 1: Bowser (Super Mario)/Dr. Eggman (Sonic) VS Beastman (Masters of the Universe)/Lifeweaver (Overwatch 2)

Propaganda for Bowser/Dr. Eggman:

I support single villain dads dating https://www.tumblr.com/egg-emperor/713984787597164544/perfect-diabolical-dilf-duo-and-theyre-together

Propaganda for Beastman/Lifeweaver:

Okay, this crossover ship is brand spanking new because Lifeweaver's character was only released 6 days ago, but- Okay, so, Lifeweaver used to attend the Academy owned by the Vishkra Corporation until he went backpacking around the world and saw all the damage to the planet that was being done in the name of corporate greed and global control. Lifeweaver left Vishkra and joined Overwatch to "heal the world". He is a support character with healing abilities and a floral/plant-based aesthetic. Beastman used to be Skeletor's most loyal minion until Skeletor died in the first episode of Revelation. Beastman then made it his life's mission to protect Evil-Lyn whom had been Skeletor's lover and second-in-command. He is loyal to Lyn to a fault and at the end of Revelation, Beastman allows Lyn to turn him into a more animal-like beast, then he's almost immediately flung off a cliff and assumed dead. Beastman was done dirty by the narrative and is in need of physical and spiritual healing. Lifeweaver is a healer who wants to personally save everything. Lifeweaver could show Beastman that life is worth living without having to submit his service to a master, he could live for himself according to his own will. Beastman can teach Lifeweaver the follies of devoting too much of yourself to a singular purpose or ideal and that he needs to set aside time for himself and his own needs. They complete each other. Also, Lifeweaver/Beastman would be plant-animal solidarity.

Animal/plant solidarity, beauty and the beast aesthetic, they just complete each other, okay???

mutual support's the name of the game, my friend! Beastman is fiercely loyal even to the point of his own destruction. In MotU:R he's so loyal to Evil-Lyn that he allows her to turn him into a were-creature to fight for her, then he died. But at every step and beat of their relationship, Beastman was always supportive of Lyn, both physically in battle and also emotionally when they were both putting up with Skeletor's abuse. He even calls Lyn out when she continues the cycle of abuse after Skeletor is deposed. He is an emotionally strong man who's not afraid to show his vulnerable side. Lifeweaver is a new character from Overwatch 2 and we don't technically know a lot about him just yet. The canon facts we do know are that he used to attend the Vishkar Academy, but dropped out. He then went backpacking around the world and witnessed first hand how the corporate greed of the Vishkar corporation was killing the planet. He used his Academy training to develop the bio-light technique he uses to be a healer and support fighting in battle. But he's also a Thai Buddhist who believes in healing over destruction and believes that anyone can change, and learn, and grown if given the opportunity. Beastman and Lifeweaver are soulmates, places in different franchises because they would be too powerful together.

first of all, look at this adorable art of them: https://www.tumblr.com/kawehi-the-squigs/714344228724129792/commission-for-beastweaver-had-fun-with-this-one?source=share , and if you're still not convinced, then let me tell you about Beastman's character arch in MotU:R. When Beastman makes his first appearance in the series, he charges on the scene to protect Evil-Lyn (whom is a mage with long white hair). Over the course of the series it becomes apparent that his loyalty to Lyn is more than just simple friendship, but she's obviously not into him so Beastman is content to stay by her side as her friend and protector. When Evil-Lyn goes back to Skeletor, Beastman follows her. When Skeletor resume manipulating and abusing Lyn, Beastman is there to remind her of her value as a person and tell her that she's deserves better than Skeletor. When Evil-Lyn defeats Skeletor and takes over Caste Grayskull from him, Beastman is the voice of reason that calls Lyn out on continuing Skeletor's cycle of abuse. Beastman truly loved Lyn and wanted her to be happy, healthy, alive, and the best version of herself even if she wasn't with him. But, Evil-Lyn turned him into some kinda even more beastly beast-monster and sends him out to die in battle for her. Now, enter Lifeweaver from Overwatch 2. Lifeweaver is a scientist who created a kind of living light technique to heal his comrades in battle. To Beastman, this technology would appear like magic. Lifeweaver would appear like a mage, and he has long white hair. Lifeweaver would remind Beastman of all the good things about Lyn, but Lifeweaver doesn't have any of her flaws or failings (Lifeweaver's got his own flaws, but this post ain't about that). AND Lifeweaver has never perpetuated the cycle of abuse and, in fact, one of his voice lines is "grow into who you truly are". Lifeweaver would encourage Beastman to grow in ways he never could have on Eternia with Lyn and Skeletor. Lifeweaver could help Beastman to become the best version of himself. Beastman in turn could keep Lifeweaver grounded and not let him become so carried away by his ideals that he forgets where he is in the present. They compete each other.

(There is so much more; but I actually don't think I'll be able to fit ALL of it in here; this might be the ship in the tournament with the MOST propaganda! Mega props to the submitters, I adore your passion!)

Art Credit:

Bowser/Eggman art by @/kannra-orhara Beastman/Lifeweaver by @/kawehi-the-squigs, commissioned by @/beastweaver

[jokers-bat]

Feel free to ignore me as I ramble about my Batman x Joker kid OC in Under The Red Hood! 🚨Tw for mentions of self harm and suicide! 🚨

Marcy (short for Marceline) West has it especially rough in Under The Red Hood/Death in The Family. Like as if being stuck between bad or good weren’t enough, her criminal dad literally killed her brother who then comes back to like and threatens to kill her dad AND her other dad who raised her!

I picture her being the same age as Jason and the two of them practically growing up together as brother and sister. They’re very close until they grow into their teens where Jason starts noticing certain traits Marcy shares with Joker: dark sense of humor, unhinged, similar sounding laugh, the greenish blue hair, very pale skin…

Jason distances himself from Marcy after finding out that Joker is her other dad as he doesn’t know if he can completely trust her like the rest of the bat family. The problem is it’s worse for Marcy as, despite everything, she still sees Bruce and the Joker as her parents and loves them both but she doesn’t know where she fits in with the bat family or with the world and how to separate herself from who her parents are.

And that’s just what it was like before the events of Under the Red Hood! What Joker does to Barbara and then later to Jason makes it so much worse as she now has to deal with the fact one of her dads attacked and severely injured her SISTER (cause yes that’s how she saw Barb) and then KILLED her brother and her other dad couldn’t save or protect EITHER of them!

You can imagine Marcy wasn’t in a good mental state between then and the start of UtRH. She would be in a very dark place, questioning everything about her parents and who she is. Depression, self harm, maybe even attempting to kill herself. I see her having those issues before anyway but she would really spiral during UtRH.

I’m not sure how she would react to Jason being alive and adopting the Red Hood persona, but I promise Marcy does have a happy twist! After her suicide attempt, she has a long talk with Bruce and she decides she wants to go to France for college. Leave Gotham and all it’s darkness and figure herself out.

She and Joker’s relationship was already shaky to begin with but obviously she and him wouldn’t be on speaking terms after Jason’s death. I’m not sure if Batman would have told him where Marcy went (probably just that she’s safe) but I think he would have told Jason when he sees him again (which I think Jason would understand and support. I could also see him and Marcy reconnecting in the Death in The Family AU’s of him surviving-speaking of which, I don’t think Marcy would resent Jason for killing Joker if he did. She always assumed his crimes as the Joker would get him killed somehow but after Bruce dies at his hands, Marcy would just want it to be over with so she could grieve what, in her words, ‘never was and never could’ve been’, and move on).

[sky4cherry]

what do u think is chets initial reaction to bob being killed? and also how does he process that grief

(ALSO THOSE CHET HCS U POSTED I AM LIVING FOR THEM he deserves more recognition and content i love him so bad 💔)

actually going insane thinking about what the soc boys would do immediately after fleeing the scene (if anyone wants to ask me about brill also pls do because he’s my other blorbo)

chet baker is very aware of the type of things the gang warfare in tulsa brings, if we’re going by my hc that his dad is the chief of police

i feel like, because i see him as the baby of his family, he’s probably a little more sheltered from death than his siblings (esp bc his older brother is in the marines), but he’s definitely aware of it

in all honesty, he’s freaking the fuck out

he’s going home, making a beeline for the bathroom, and he’s throwing up, which his parents assume means he’s drunk, so his dad starts ripping into him

and then chet turns around and tells him that bob’s dead, which prompts the police going to find bob’s body at the fountain

i think all the soc boys are definitely going to struggle with realising that they 1. did not have the upper hand and 2. they have to figure out what to do without bob’s guidance, which leaves paul in charge

bro chet is not doing well because he’s almost disgusted that this is what it took for his dad to be a bit softer with him, because he’s having this really complex battle where he’s so glad he has his parents’ support, but he only has it because he’s a valuable witness, and he knows it

the whole week before the rumble is bad

he’s drinking a lot, picking fights with any greasers he sees, he honestly probably took his car and just drove laps and laps around tulsa crying until he broke down and ran his car off the road, and brill ends up finding him and taking him to his house for the night

in my head he is the silliest goober out of the socs, and i think that changes so much while he’s grieving that it makes everyone else’s grief even worse, because he’s usually the one cheering them up when they need it and now the roles are reversed

i feel like he grieves for a very long time, because even once the charges are dropped against johnny, his dad’s still walking around mentioning it offhandedly, already forgetting that the recent murder in town was one of chet’s closest friends

for my chet and cherry truthers, he is not seeing her for a while because he’s so unbelievably mortified with himself for being unable to control himself, especially when he knows she’s probably doing so much worse than he is

[zikadraws]

Alright there we go ! This new oc is based in DC Universe. Long post ahead. (Tdlr included at the end. Enjoy.)

This is Taylor Serils (last name up to debate), a tailor owning a small suit shop in the low quarters of Gotham. Uses he/they/it pronouns, is definitely neither cis nor straight but he really doesn't care. (Basically the incarnation of that one meme about the pronouns.)

He is autistic and the son of a tailor (from who he inherited the shop) and a chemist. He didn't get to know his father too much since his parents were separated, and he was killed in a villain incident when he was still a child ; but his mother never accepted the fact her son was autistic and that medication wouldn't change it so she tried to alter his brain chemistry herself by submitting him to experimental treatment.

Said treatment did predictably nothing against his autism, but got him really sick, and fucked up his neural network, so now he can not feel physical pain (sense of touch still operational though), and his feelings and reaction time are a bit deafened. She went to jail after he absent-mindedly ratted her out at school though (still in there btw, for child abuse and illegal practice of medicine), and he was taken in by his dad's side of the family, from who he picked up the tailoring ways which put him to calm, even though they were a bit put off by him, his disabilities and his... destructive stimming habits.

Taylor uses its body as stress/boredom relief, and so tears out his eyebrows, bites off his nails, and bites off his skin. But the thing is, since he can't feel pain, he takes that to the next level, to the point he has no eyebrows, no nails anymore, and his fingers are bitten almost to the bone. They had to bring him to the doctor about this. They tried everything to get him to stop tearing his hand's skin off, eventually resorting to long gloves. Barely sufficient though.

Despite all this, he contently followed a tailor apprenticeship at his family tailor shop with great application, and actually helped the family business thanks to the chemistry hobby he picked up from his mother (subconsciously wanted to please her somehow then found it relatively smooth, so kept investing themselves into chemistry, and then snuck her chemistry material at his new home), by treating the fabrics himself and making them last longer, which his family was thankful for, albeit taken off.

It's through some customer interactions that he found his calling in life. Some guys would complain to the little family shop about comfort and fit, using, verbatim, the expression "my suit should feel like a second skin". Which sparked something within Taylor.

He began experimenting with fabrics and bits of his own skin, until the fabric he ended up developing could blend in smoothly with his epiderm, as a greffe, and even serve the basic functions of skin, which is to touch, and even, eventually, through trial and error, grow.

He didn't even have vitiligo originally ! His skin turned like that due to his experiments on himself, and since it didn't bother him, he just let his skin like that. The spots have a tendency to shift in shapes from day to day.

He invented a fabric that he could just wrap around his damaged skin and it would just fill in the spot in less than a minute, and since his favourite colour is blue, he used this colour for the fabric. Thus why the blue fabric forearms. He never stopped experimenting in this new specific interest, and crafted really interesting suits with those, praised for how astonishingly comfortable they were. (Also made skin cultures, and obtained skin samples from... various sources.)

By this time, he was an adult and inherited the shop when yet another villain incident took the rest of his family, leaving him alone to handle the shop. It was pretty lonely, but he did end up making friends with a Gotham support group, and especially a young boy (that I'm calling Miles out of pure lack of imagination) and his big brother, runaways living together because of family issues.

His career took a turn when Miles' big brother was murdered by a cop for being black. The cop got away with it, but Miles who was understandably devastated mourned his lost brother at Taylor's, who decided to find out who was the bastard, and realised it was one of his current customers, who came for a suit for a special event.

...So Taylor got to work. And made him a suit. The cop found it very fitting. 25 cents tipped.

The day of the council party the cop was supposed to be a bodyguard for a big head, the suit he was wearing started getting... *very* tight. Skin tight, despite still being incredibly bendy. The cop was annoyed, and embarrassed because it was obvious, but didn't try to take it off... Until the end of the day, where he realized with horror that he just couldn't take it off, because the clothes had fused with his skin. He tried to bolt to Taylor's, who conveniently closed their shop for a week leave.

And then the fabric started getting progressively itchy. Really itchy. Extremely itchy. PAINFUL itchy. Like last stage hives, but even worse.

They couldn't do anything except give him painkillers at the hospital, because hormonal treatments worked for like five minutes before the tissue grew tolerance and came back stronger, and to remove the suit they would have had to remove his skin entirely, which he was starting to do on his own anyway because of how unbearable the pain and itchiness were. So they could do nothing but bind his hands and watch him slowly die of advanced gangrene, as Taylor's suit eventually hit its "necrosis" finale. A genuinely awful way to die.

Taylor did a real masterpiece of this suit, but he wasn't really good at covering his path. The police got him pretty easily, and found his back shop lab with all the skin works. They freaked their minds out, and Taylor was immediately sent to Arkham. He promised Miles, who was pretty much on his own otherwise, that he would be out as soon as possible, though.

Taylor wasn't going into Arkham unprepared. The suit wasn't the last project he got done before the cops got to him, after all.

(Taylor's last project allows him to bend its own skin, which he uses to pick the locks, break out a few other residents as a distraction, steal a few guards' skins, and break out of Arkham. His stay in there lasted 8 days tops.)

(This absolutely kickstarted his reputation amongst Arkham residents. Which may be good, because after getting arrested, he needs a new clientele. Guys gotta eat, yaknow.)

Batman is not on his case just yet, but he will be sooner rather than later.

[TDLR :]

This is my DC Comics OC, Taylor Serils ;

He is about 25 y/o ; he never went to high school ; he is a great formed tailor, and an entirely self-taught chemist ; he owns a tailor shop that happens to have a DIY chemical lab in the back area ; he (they/it) pronouns ; he is disabled (his pain receptors don't work) and autistic ; he has self-damaging coping mechanisms ; his parents were a tailor and a chemist, the first dead and the second in jail (for abusing him) ; his favourite colour is blue ; his specific interests revolve around the frontiers between skin tissues and fabrics, for better or for worse, all because he took an expression too literally that one time ; (he also likes animals, TV cartoons and to knit and crochet) ; he can craft clothes and fabrics that act as epiderm, that he uses to heal, or to steal his enemies' skin, that he grows to be able to bend ; he gave himself vitiligo after his own experiments ; his best friend is a teenager ; he cruelly murdered a cop once ; he got locked up at Arkham and broke out after a few days only ; his criminal case is legally stamped (literally btw) as "supervillain" ; he is morally neutral and has absolutely zero big-scale ambition whatsoever, but more and more villains (and, thus, heroes) are getting to whisper about him.

He Gets Subjected To Trouble.

And yes, this was a summary. I got a bit carried away. I hope it's all somewhat coherent (:

Honestly sounds like the kind of OC that doesn't necessarily needs to be in a specific universe, but any either way, I like the guy. And will likely post some about him. Hope you enjoy him as well ^^

If you got any questions about, or for, him, I'll be happy to respond. Thanks for reading ! 🤗

[loveaetingkids]

For all Maya and the Three fans,here’s a new AU-Parent!Mictlan-made by yours truly, @cadaver-moss and I

(This universe is connected to Trevors-Bitter!Dads(Bone and Skull are basically daughters of divorced Vucub and Chivo) and my headcanon of Maya,Acat and Zatz being a trople).

Part 1,Part 2,Part 3

•Wishing to harness the power of his sacrifice to the greatest,Mictlan decides to keep Maya in the Underworld,where she would train under Lady Micte and be spied on in case she would rebel.The only task for the god of war was not to get attached to said child,which he ultimately failed.

•It all started out of precaution:after his wifes surprise,Mictlan isn’t so sure about goddesses loyalty,which resulted in him silently following her, looming over her whenever she looks after Maya.It was disgusting,horrifying experience for the tyrant,especially the diapers one,but at the same time it made him warm up to the kid-after all,despite the heat of lava and biting cold it was still alive and kicking.Eventually he would even want to hold her-much to the charging of Micte.Apparently the reassurance that “he won’t kill her yet” didn’t convince her.

•Through the years,Mictlan grows found of Maya-a skilled warrior who in terms of combat does not reach only him,a person she calls “father”,unaware of the path planned for her.Despite the illusion of a happy family he created for himself,Lord of gods doesn’t forget the true reason he let the kid live:therefore,he never addresses her as “his daughter”, and except for the duels they arrange "to test Maya's power",Mictlan doesn't spend any time with her.This results in Maya thinking of herself as too weak,not worthy of her fathers attention,despite Mictes reassurance and vain attempts to make her daughter think about something other than fighting and murder.

•Mictlan would avoid talking about his plan to sacrifice with pantheon,to keep him image up in front of the other gods.If not for Goddes of Death interferences,Maya wouldn’ve been picked on by them,due of her status as “leaders toy”.

•The only friends she has are Acat with Zatz,who despite having feelings for Maya,are also aware of Mictlans influence on her.Because of that,she can be bossy and treat them as somewhat expandable,for which she later apologizes.

•Meanwhile,in the Kindom of Teca,King and Queen were contemplating about the daughter they never had,and how they would’ve celebrated her quinceañera.The conversation was overheard by Lance, Dagger, and Shield,who upon discovering the existence of their little sister, went on a journey to the Divine Gates in order to  “save” Maya from the gods,which kidnapped her?Raised her?She’s half goddes???That’s confusing,but they’ll find a way to rescue their hermana!

•During the fight at the Gate(in which Maya was forbidden to participate but she sneaked up anyway),Teca brothers accused Mictlan of his want to use Mayas heart to become invincible.After hearing that,terrified demigodess momentarily distracts the pantheon and flees with three warriors,who claimed to protect her.

•Through their journey to Teca Kingdom,Maya gets to know her brothers,who are a bit put off by her blood lust but overall supportive,and starts to question whenever the mortals Mictlan always talked about really that pathetic? Upon meeting her supposed real  father,she acts suspicious,hostile even,until she spends some time with him and Queen Teca,from whom she gets to know her origin.While being in her rightful kindom,Maya learned some patience regarding the people she loves from Queen,similar to how the later got to keep her cool with triplets; King showed her that she can fight honorably without unnecessary bloodshed,and still love every second of it!

•However, the moment of peace was quickly disrupted by the pantheon of gods, who, at the behest of their Lord, went in search of Maya.In order to protect their newly found family member the triplets go to the battle with their father,from which they didn’t return alive.That way Maya lost the first humans she really cared about.

•Around the same time,Mictlan stays in his kindom,deeply conflicted: on one hand,he lost his ticket to an infinite power,on the other-someone who he considers as his kin probably thinks of him as a monster-which he is,don’t get him wrong-but it still hurts a little.He doesn’t dwell for long however,as he gets ambushed by Micte and Camazotz,who’ve been planning to overthrow him all this time.Their sympathizers,Cipactli, Cabrakan along with Vucub,were sent to stop Mictlans band from doing harm to Maya and humanity.All the while Zatz and Acat were entrusted with a task to help Maya kill God of War.

•Meanwhile,grieving demigod finds the true prophecy and tries to requit warriors from different kindoms so that they’ll stop Mictlan,only this  Maya does that first out of anger and need for revenge-for herself and her brothers-and later out of concern for human kind.

•The following events would occur in that order: Maya would lie to her team about destroying the Divine Gate while uniting each nation against their common enemy.The biggest difference would be her relationship with crew: at first,Princess makes it clear that she wants them as her fighting force, to which the Rooster Wizard loudly announces his displeasure while Picchu tries to keep an eye of the daughter of death. The first person who warmed up to her was Chimi,which absorbed every bit of information about Eagle Warriors mother.Rico and Picchu were more sceptic of their “leader”,but later witnessed ✨the power of friendship✨ and became besties.Aside from her team,Maya would be accompanied by Acat and Zatz,who were aiding her when needed.

•During their first fight with the gods,when Vucub is aiding Chimi,one of the Goddeses of Thievery is distracted by seeing her other father there,which was enough for Rico to strike her down,mistaking skeletons confusion for a want to hurt Skull Archer.When the other sibling sees this and rushes to her defense,she’s killed as well,this time by no other then Mictlan.

•Turns out that during his battle with his wife and Camazotz ,he started to think to himself-was that really worth it?These two are fighting for the sake of their children,one of which he saw growing up.Was this race for strength more important then a little warrior who wanted to make him proud?Upon that,God of War made his decision-he surrendered and proposed to Gods of Death and Bats to help look for Maya,in turn he stops his sympathisers from hurting her or her allies.Still unsure of Mictlans sudden change of heart,Micte and Camazotz took his deal on the condition that all this time they’re going to accompany him,that way they have a chance to stop him whenever he decides to come back to his old ways.

•After the explanation everyone agreed to send Mictlan to the most guarded room in the castle(even through the God of War opposed the idea,saying that “no castle can hold him” and “he needs to talk to Maya”,but after said demigod screamed at him to shut up or it would be her turn to eat hearts,he obliged),while Camazotz,Vucub,Cipactli and Cabrakan take turns to guard their self-made prison.After reuniting with Micte,Zatz and Acat(the young gods have helped through the battle),Maya gets to partake in the dinner scene,but instead of talking about defeating Mictlan,her three parents discuss how to stop Chivo,who upon seeing God of War celebrating the murder of his daughters,realizes the later won’t sacrifice the Eagle Warrior.As an act of revenge,he started gathering the remaining pantheon,claiming that if they’ll help him overthrow their present ruler,he will share demigods power with them.

•The day of the final battle came(most of the events play similar to canon,with addition of few characters).In desperation,Chivo started devouring the gods hearts in order to transform into his final form.During the fight Micte suggested to distract God of Dark Magic in order for Maya to strike him.Seeing how Chivo has already killed Vucub,Cipactli and Cabrakan,Mictlan decides to give his heart to Micte so that she can redirect Chivos attention from the demigod.Was it stupid and contradicted centuries old goal to world domination?Yes,but he can’t bear the thought of his little warrior losing a battle.After having his life sourse ripped out his chest,Mictlan apologizes to the Eagle Warrior for all the things she endured because of him,and how much he’s proud of her. May she live her life surrounded by people who are not ashamed to call her their daughter.

•While Micte and Camazotz fight the monster from the outside,Zatz and Acat hold the goats jaw open long enough for Maya to sneak inside.Witnessing the loves of her life being crushed between Chivos teeth made the Teca Princess all the more determined to end God of Dark Magic by striking him right in the heart.

•After reuniting with her living family and friends,Maya reincarnates into the sun,Zatz becomes the moon and Acat takes the role of a Guiding Star,similar to how she abandoned her unhealthy way of thinking and joined Maya.

(That’s it for the main plot of Parent!Mictlan!If you want to create based of this AU fell free to do so,just don’t forget to credit us)

[hussyknee]

To presage: this might sound like I'm blaming victims of domestic abuse, but I'm not. I'm just a bit triggered and venting my feelings which I know are neither fair nor reasonable. Also just sad and frustrated and bitter.

There's a post on r/relationship-advice that's blowing up today, where the OP's husband had attacked her so violently he's given her a concussion and skull fracture, and then assaulted her when she went to get her stuff from the house with a friend and ended up ripping the door handle off their car until she finally had to return with a police escort. But he's convinced her he's sorry and will kill himself if she leaves so now she's back living with him while lying to her friends and family that he's left. Redditors found her post history where she's left posts and comments documenting a trail of escalation where he's repeatedly strangled her and thrown her to the ground, with a post eight months ago saying she can't take the violence anymore but wonders whether he's right and it's all her fault. This man has a daughter from an ex who has also had him arrested for domestic violence when they were together.

They're both twenty-five, they've been married three years. She's on the spectrum and an aspiring actress, but currently has a very well-paying job that seems to be paying for everything, including her step daughter's child support.

It's just such a horrifically typical case of intimate partner violence. Even the violence is banal in its horror and horrifying in its banality. Intellectually I know this kid (twenty-five is a kid to me, I was a fucking idiot at 25, why the fuck do people get married before 30) has been psychologically broken down and conditioned to distrust all her self-preservation instincts and reason, but. I still don't understand. My own Dad wasn't quite this physically violent and far from a complete useless moocher and I still have trouble forgiving Mum for not taking us and leaving, especially when Mum made more money than he did. The abuse I suffered in my own marriage was neglect and financial abuse by a generally laidback, garden variety loser and nothing so explicit and violent. Not to say it was less damaging because my body broke down working myself to death trying to earn some basic decency from that asshole, but he wasn't your classic Abuser™ and the situation was harder to grasp. This case is just straight out of the DV handbook.

Like with Mum, I think I'm angry because she can leave if she wants. Her family and friends hate him and want to support getting her out, she's financially comfortable on her own, she's young and attractive and healthy (apart from the injuries so far). I've never had those conditions in my life. Always too disabled to take care of myself, having to depend on abusers to survive, hating myself for not being able to leave. Everyone around me convinced my abusers were the best people and I was being reactive and ill-tempered. Feels like a new low to be jealous of a poor kid that's going to be killed or maimed for life soon, since Reddit doesn't seem to able to get through to her. But. Why the fuck do women like this stay?? Literally everyone in her life is telling her to get out and she's still sat on her ass saying "he treats her like royalty" mostly, It's only the pesky 20% of the time he strangles her and gives her skull fractures.