#another thing of note is that a LOT of technically messed up things that happen to frisk in the story get tonally ignored and brushed off

[the-irken-pony]

I admit I was caught off-guard to see this post getting notes out of nowhere djndjdbfjdbdj

I think you make some good points, and ones that I don’t see a lot of people making, and since this reply I’ve gotten some additional commentary in the tags (that I’ll mention but won’t go screenshot hunting for bc I’m on mobile)

First I’ll mention is a question from someone asking if Frisk ever got an age confirmed. A few months ago I was replaying UT and got this dialogue for decorating Gyftrot.

If Gyftrot’s remark is correct, that’d put them in the 13-17 range (or I suppose up to 18-19 if you wanted to go the “adult teen” range). Given their dialogue options during the roleplay portion of Alphys’ hangout/fake date, and the way the characters you mentioned treat them vs how they behave, it would be fitting.

Same person who asked that question also brought up Monster Kid’s remark about “striped shirt = kid” and assumed that to be the overarching joke, which was the assumption I’ve been working with (or maybe still is, idk I gotta let the information brew for a bit). If they’re correct it’d be that XKCD quote:

I think the biggest source of conflict for me is the fact that most of the people who actually have experience with humans are also very old. (Though there’s Alphys who watches human media and Sans who has whatever the FUCK is going on with his backstory, to push closer to them being younger.)

Regarding the dates, the only character who’s actually genuine in their attempt (even if he fails at it) is Papyrus, whose age is specifically lampshaded (Monster Kid says they aren’t sure if he’s an adult or kid). My (and others’) leaning toward Papyrus being an adult did contribute to my assumption of Frisk being an adult as well, though between his age being even more ambiguous than Frisk’s, his general confusion about romance, and what you mentioned about no one BUT those select few ppl knowing that they’re young could indicate that not being the case.

Why did the entire Undertale fandom collectively decide that Frisk is 3-8 when they repeatedly flirt with people and go on a romantic date with Papyrus (who fully intended to be attracted to them but couldn't and feels as though this is a failing on his part) and even was supposed to have a robot husband at one point in development.

I tried being shitposty and goofy about it a year or two ago but no one took me seriously then so I'm phrasing it as a genuine question this time. Why is everyone so content to pretend this recurring aspect of their character just doesn't exist.

[trippinsorrows]

with me + part nineteen

authors note: the infamous chapter is finally here! a lot of questions you all have asked me are finally answered. i hope it's enjoyable and worth the wait!

status: in progress // masterlist

warnings: angst (discussion of child loss), language, suggestive themes

song inspo: with me by destiny’s child

faceclaims

words: 10k

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

To say your 2024 Bingo card has been filled with nothing but surprises would be the understatement of the century.

The past six months, really, have been mostly wonderful but also chaotic as hell.

And if someone had told you, way back when it was just you and Joe in your own little fantasy world, that his wife would one day text you in the middle of the night, wanting to meet and join forces to combat your apparently psycho-ex best friend, you’d laugh your ass off. Laugh your ass off harder than a guest at a Katt Williams special.

But, life is funny, and God clearly has a sense of humor, because that’s exactly what happened.

It’s also why you’re sitting on Joe’s bathroom counter at 4am as he finishes up in the shower, readying for his early flight.

“I’m sorry, it completely slipped my mind to tell you I gave her your number.” Joe shuts the water off, and you immediately redirect your attention to anywhere but him as he walks out. It’s bad enough you two didn’t have enough time to get in another session before his departure, but it’s another thing to be so cruelly taunted by your sexy ass man in all his buff, your favorite pastime on fully display but unable to be touched.

Sucked.

Rode.

All of the above.

Joe continues, and your eyes land on him just as he’s knotting the towel around his waist.

“I should have asked you before I did so, but with everything going on—”

“You don’t have to apologize, Joe.” Cutting off his unnecessary apology feels like a good move, the right move. You’re not mad at him about that at all. “I know you would have never done so if you believed she had any ill intent.” And it’s the truth, especially on the eve of this Mariah mess. “Sure, I would have liked a heads up that my boyfriend’s ex-wife would be texting me asking to meet and essentially do an interview together, but it wasn’t a necessity.”

He chuckles, looking over and asking, “what are your thoughts there?”

A heavy sigh leaves your mouth at his equally heavy question. “I don’t know. I feel torn. On one hand, it’s kinda weird, ya know? Truth be told, I always figured if by some miracle I ever spoke to her, she’d try to kick my ass sooner than she’d want to grab dinner.” You quickly add, “emphasis on try because ain’t no bitch beating my ass.”

He chuckles, reaching for his deodorant. “Well, you better not be fighting nobody with my baby in you.”

Rolling your eyes, your hand naturally rests on your stomach. “I know, I just….what do you think?”

“I think you should do whatever makes you most comfortable.”

“None of this is comfortable,” you murmur, and it’s the truth. This whole thing sucks all around. “And that’s not an answer.”

He shrugs. “I can’t tell you what to do, babe.”

“Technically, you can, but you’re choosing not to. There’s a difference.”

Joe moves over and caresses your temple, sharing quietly, “I want you and Callie to come down to Philly a few days before WrestleMania. They’ll put me up in an Airbnb. I’ll make sure it’s big enough for all of us.” 

The abrupt change of topic confuses you, yes, but there’s more excitement at the thought of being reunited with him than bewilderment. It brings a small smile to your face. “Are you sure?” Any chance to see Joe will always be taken advantage of, you just don’t want your and Callie’s visiting him at such a time to cause any sort of distraction.  “I don’t want us to get in the way. You need to focus.”

“You two could never get in the way, and my focus is exactly where it should be.” His hand snakes under your shirt, feeling your soft belly. “I also want you to come to the Hall of Fame Awards with me.”

That definitely takes you by surprise. You’ve never attended any sort of formal, public event with him before, and the WWE Hall of Fame awards is like the event. “Are—are you sure that’s a good idea?” Being careful with your words and honest with yourself, you confess, “I’m not sure if it’s a good look for you to be seen so publicly and openly with me right now. Your fans already kinda hate me.”

Limiting your media consumption has been a saving grace in all this. Not that you were big on it to begin with. However, you have read a couple articles and made the even bigger mistake of reading the comments. To say some, if not most, of the internet wrestling community have nothing nice to say about you would be putting it lightly. 

There’s people cussing you out, people saying you should burn in hell for what you did, even some saying if Joe (Roman) loses at WrestleMania, it’ll be your fault.

That last one is at least a little funny to you, because for such big fans, they sure don’t know how WWE works.

Roman’s gonna retain the same way he has for almost three years. 

Ain’t shit stopping that.

“I told you before, and I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face—I don’t give a fuck what they have to say about us. I love you, and I’m going to be with you, regardless of what anyone thinks. The Hall of Fame, Wrestlemania, hell, I’ll take you in the fucking ring with me if I want to.” His defense is so strong in its delivery and conviction that it almost instantly takes away any and all reservations on your end. “And they’re not fans if they have some negative shit to say about the woman I love.”

“Well, in their defense, Mariah did a damn good job making me out to be some Jezebel.”

“That’s partially why I think you should do the Live with Jadah.” His tone and expression soften, thumb rubbing against your stomach. “They don’t know you like I do, and they don’t need to per se, but they can at least see you’re not what she’s made you out to be.” He brings his mouth to your temple, lips lingering. “They can see why I love you so much.”

“Knew you had an opinion on what you think I should do.” But, regardless, you’re thankful for him truly allowing you to decide what is best for you. And you think you have. With a big breath, you settle on your final answer. “I’m gonna do it, but not even to let people see I’m not this horrible person. I just….I haven’t really had a chance to use my voice in any of this. Like…..” You work hard to help him understand where you’re coming from. “I didn’t have a voice in the DCFS situation outside of defending my parenting, but in this….there’s a chance for me to speak my side, to be able to defend myself. And I feel like I need to do it.”

“I agree.” You’re not surprised. Joe is anything and everything, including forever supportive. “Ya’ll are gonna use my Instagram to do it too.”

“Wait, what?”

“Baby, Jadah doesn’t have any social media, and you don’t need all them damn people on your page, nor do you want that.” He’s right. You hadn’t thought of it that way. “Mariah had an audience. You get one too.” 

Fair. Very fair. “Okay.”

He taps your hip, informing. “I’ll leave you the login info." It sometimes still amazes you how much he trusts you, how easy it is for share so many things with you that are objectively personal. His banking information, his fucking social medias that are literally tied to his career.

It means the world for him to have so much trust in you.

“We’re going to Disney after Mania.” 

Joe is just full of surprises, jumping from subject to subject. “What? I thought we were going for Callie’s birthday.”

“We are, for a second time, but the first time is gonna be that Tuesday after Mania. A day for you and Callie to rest.” 

You’re still trying to settle on the fact that this man is proposing two Disney visits literally back to back when something else hits you. “Wait, the week after WrestleMania? Don’t you have to work?”

“I’ve got it handled,” is all he says, all he offers, all he provides. 

“Joe, what does that even mean? How does that work? How do you just win WrestleMania and disappear right after?” Something’s not adding up. There’s something he’s not telling you, and it pisses you off for a lot of reasons, but mostly because you just hate being kept in the dark. “Is it being written into the storyline or—”

“I’ve got it handled, okay?” His tone is exasperated, which you find ironic considering you’re the one on the receiving end of his vague ass answers. “Just….trust me.”

That’s a hard one. Not trusting him. That comes second nature at this point, but trusting him and not knowing if whatever he’s handled causes any sort of problems for him. You worry about any hits he might take sometimes because of his decisions that are usually for the sake of you and Callie.

It shouldn’t bother you, but it does, especially because you know how important his career is to him.

“What about you?” That’s your biggest concern. This man has been ripping and running for what feels like months. He deserves a vacation. He needs a vacation. If he’s gonna be off for a couple days at least, why not use them to recharge? “You need to rest too, Joe. I can tell you’re exhausted, baby. There’s no need for us to go twice. We can just stick with May for her birthday.”

He shakes his head, preparing a guaranteed disagreement. “You’re gonna be five months pregnant by then. You don’t need to be walking around a damn amusement park while that far along. I don’t know if you’ll even want to.”

“Baby, trust me when I tell you, I could be nine months pregnant, and I’m still going to waddle my big ass around that park. I’m fighting any kid that tries to get in my or Callie’s way.”

He shakes his head, muttering, “the May visit might not happen if your ass gets us banned.”

“I can behave,” you murmur, recognizing you’re being a bit dramatic. Just a smidge. Disney has been a dream visit since you were a kid, so there's an immense amount of excitement at going.

“And why are we going twice anyway?” Eyes narrowing in suspicion, you realize and point out, “you’re up to something, aren’t you?” He rolls his eyes but says nothing. “You are. Oh my God, Joe, you’ve already done so much for us, we don’t need anything else. I don’t need anything else.”

It’s the truth, too. Going to Disney twice in one year when some people never get to go at all is absolutely not a necessity. No matter whatever he clearly has planned that requires two trips.

Joe looks like he wants to say something but decides against it. Annoying ass. “It better not have anything to do with a damn dog.” He laughs. “Especially with me pregnant now. Two kids under the age of 5 is gonna be a lot in and of itself.” Since you’re already on the subject, you add, “I’ve been thinking maybe my mom can come stay with us a little after the baby is born? So, I can have some help when you can’t be there.”

There’s something in Joe's expression that gives you pause, like he wants to say something but decides against it. “And I mean, I’d be fine with your mom coming too, I just—another adult will be great.” You throw that out, an honest thing, thinking maybe he’s wondering why it always has to be your mom and not more of his side of the family.

Although deep down, you know that’s not it.

“Of course, whatever you want.” He kisses your forehead and moves away to finish getting ready to go.

As much as you don’t want to feel annoyed, you do. This is at least the second or third time you’ve tried to broach the subject of post-baby, and he’s been elusive, borderline dismissive. 

It’s hard to tell if it’s because he’s maybe nervous about something, if he truly doesn’t understand why you’re wanting to discuss this now, or something else, but regardless, it’s annoying.

And you don’t like it.

You don’t like it at all.

———-

Things happen fast in Florida, or maybe it’s just you and the reality show that your life has been the past week or so.

Because one minute you’re celebrating an unexpected but welcomed pregnancy, and the next you’re the subject of major media articles, publications, and news segments. Followed up with being hit up by your boyfriend’s ex-wife, the same wife he had when you first started sleeping with him.

The same woman who you’re anxiously awaiting to ring your doorbell at any minute now.

The silence of the large house doesn’t help either. You're greatly wishing you could be distracted by Callie’s loud singing, running around, laughter, something. But, you asked Alexis to take her out for a few hours for you, not wanting her to be around in the event that things turn ugly.

And that’s a bit of an irrational belief on your part.

You would have never invited her over, accepted her invitation, agreed to even meet with her if there was any thought in the back of your mind that she has any ulterior motives. In a weird twist of fate, you’re both kind of in the same position, the subject of all kinds of public scrutiny. Granted, from what you have seen on social media, majority of the people are on her “side.” Some going even as far as starting and using the hashtag #TeamJadah.

And you can understand that, understand why the public would “side” with the wife versus the mistress, but it’s also based upon a shit ton of Mariah’s lies and smear campaigns that have painted you in such an ugly light.

That’s ultimately why you’ve agreed to this, agreed to this highly uncomfortable team up, because it’s the only and best way to reclaim your voice.

To reclaim your narrative.

The sound of the doorbell ringing literally makes you jump from where you sit criss-crossed on the new expensive ass sofa Joe picked out for the house. It is comfortable though, and for a second, you almost choose to stay in the comfort of the sofa versus answering the door.

But, you know that’s not an option, for Jadah to fly out on such short notice only to be stood up by the other woman.

It’s not a good look.

Clearly.

So with a deep breath and quick mental pep talk, your feet carry you to the door that you unlock and hesitate only a second before opening.

Instantly, you’re hit with two things: the sweet smell of Jadah’s perfume and Jadah herself. Right off the bat, you can’t get over how gorgeous she is. Her deep complexion is absolutely flawless and moisturized as hell, thick eyebrows that frame her almost slender facial shape perfectly. Full lips pulled back into a sly smile. She’s wearing a pair of jeans and thin sleeved top that show off her shape, both slim and thick where it counts. 

She’s as drop dead gorgeous as you imagined her to be. You can’t be attractive as Joe is without someone to match your aura. 

“Well, let no one say Joe doesn’t have good taste. You’re even prettier in person.” 

Receiving compliments from your boyfriend’s ex-wife was also nowhere on your 2024 bingo card, but clearly all projections need to be discarded at this point with how many stunners have happened.

“Thank you.” It’s strange. You’ve always been super good with compliments, taking them at face value, because you know that you’re pretty, always having the high self-esteem to recognize as such. But, hearing it come from her of all people feels a little…..off. Like, she shouldn’t be complimenting you. “Umm, come in, please.” 

She does so, walking and looking around, almost inspecting. “This place is beautiful.”

All of the compliments are throwing you. It’s not what you were expecting. Then again, you’re not sure just what you were expecting. 

“Thanks. Do you…want some water or something?”

She shakes her head, “I’m good, thank you.” Jadah gestures with a manicured finger between the kitchen and the living room. “Preference?”

Shaking your head, you leave that up to her. “Whatever you like.”

She nods and heads into the living room, sitting down on the sofa where you just sat, anxiously awaiting her arrival. Wordlessly, you follow suit, sitting on the sofa opposite of her. 

“Thank you for agreeing to this,” she says, placing her purse on the coffee table. “I know me reaching out must have taken you for a loop.”

“A little.” A lot. But, she doesn’t need to know that. “I—I can understand why. I’m so sorry you got caught up in all of this.”

“One thing you don’t have to do is apologize. For any of this. For anything. From what Joe told me, this girl is just psycho and has some weird obsession with trying to ruin your life.”

Scoffing bitterly, you can’t find a point to disagree with. “That sounds about right….”

No one says anything for a good, solid minute. Or two.

“Okay, why don’t we get the awkward part over.” Her voice takes on a new tone, one similar to boredom and insouciance. “We both dated and slept with the same man. I happened to be married to said man when you started sleeping with him, but that shit doesn’t even matter, cause you already know what our deal was.”

The deal…..

No, you have no idea what the deal was. That’s part of why you’re happy to finally be talking to her, because you have so many questions. Granted, that’s not the reason she’s here in the first place but still.

Your facial expression must give away the confusion because Jadah’s indifferent tone shifts to something else, something more serious. “Y/N…..how much do you know about my marriage to Joe?”

It’s a bit difficult for you to navigate how honest you should or shouldn’t be with her. She’s a stranger for all intents and purposes, but given why you two are now even sitting across from each other, maybe honesty is the best option. “He’s never really said anything about you or his marriage, and I won’t lie to you, it’s not like I’ve made a lot of effort to find out.”

There’s a part of you that still struggles with a level of guilt for the intentionality you had at the beginning of dating Joe to not ask about his wife, to pretend that you didn't see the wedding band on his finger.

Avoidance makes justification a hell of a lot easier. 

She chuckles, gaze settling on her lap. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Joe’s always been a good man. He was probably trying to protect me, protect my privacy.” Jadah shakes her head. “The irony, huh?” She leans forward, hands on her knees. “Alright, we’re doing this.” She seems to be speaking more to herself than anything, and you get it fully. You’re still giving yourself mental pep-talks just sitting across from her. “I’m gonna tell you the truth about us, but I’m telling you now, certain things Joe, even with how much he clearly loves you, may never talk about. Really, it’s years of therapy that’s why I can talk about it now.” On one hand, the warning is appreciated. On the other hand, it only increases your anxiety at whatever you’re about to hear. “I also have this thing where I use dark humor to cope with heavy shit, so just pretend like you don’t notice.”

The conversation with Kaylah in Vegas returns to the forefront of your mind, and you start to feel bad for opening the door for Jadah to have to revisit a clearly painful past. But before you can protest, she starts sharing.

“Joe and I met in college. I was 20, going on 21, and he was 22. He was playing football, I played soccer. I thought he was attractive and vice versa. We had a class together, and I approached him first. Next thing I know, we’re fuck buddies. It wasn’t romantic. We didn’t go on dates. He didn’t want that, and neither did I. It was just sex.” She says it so simply, so casually, and for a second, your mind goes towards comparisons. That’s kind of similar to how it was with you and Joe at the beginning. Just all about sex.

“Well, like two dumb college kids, we were having unprotected sex, and we both know what can happen there. I ended up getting pregnant. And this….this is where shit gets bad, because both his family and my family were of the belief that because we were having a child together that we should get married, so guess what we did?” She rolls her eyes, leaning back into the sofa. “I think that might have been our first mistake.”

A mistake….

Joe has also made a comment at least once or twice insinuating he viewed the marriage as a mistake. Had stated they initially married for the wrong reasons, and hearing the full story, you sort of agree. 

It’s such an outdated belief that two people need to be married in order to have a child.

“We did it, we got married. My family is in real estate, so we moved into an apartment they owned off campus and prepared for the baby. That was really the only time we talked and interacted. When it had something to do with the baby. And looking back on that, I can see now that even if we wanted it to work, it wouldn’t have. I felt nothing for him outside of the fact that we were having a baby together, and I know he would say the same because we discussed as such when we finally decided to get divorced. But, I’m jumping ahead of myself.”

Slowing down would be wonderful, because this is a lot for you to take in and digest. Jadah sounds like she’s essentially stating she never loved Joe, never had feelings for him. And it seems like he felt the same way, like they were only trying to make it work for the sake of the baby and their families.

She’s quiet for a second, and you already know the next thing that’s about to come out of her mouth. “There’s—there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it.” Another pause. “We lost the baby. I–I had a stillbirth. I was just about 8 months along. I—grief is so damn weird, because some days I’m okay, and then others, I feel like it just happened.”

Shaking your head, you advise gently, “Jadah, you don’t—”

She lifts her hand, stopping you as she explains, “today….today is an okay day. I’m….I’m good.” And you hope, for her sake, that she’s being honest with both you and herself. The last thing you want is to unintentionally trigger her. “We coped the only way we knew how at the time: avoiding each other and having sex when we weren’t avoiding each other. Both of which were unhealthy, one of which resulted in me getting pregnant again. But, I—I ended up miscarrying.”

That….that you especially weren’t expecting to hear. The loss of one child seems unfathomable, but the loss of two children is just so wrong. Like, it shouldn’t be allowed to happen. No one deserves to experience that kind of grief, and while your heart aches for Jadah, it’s hard not to think mostly about Joe.

To think about how that kind of experience had to have torn him up. How could it have not?

“After that miscarriage is when we tried to make things work, tried to actually be a real couple. It was mostly on my end but also that loss was the first time we actually tried to heal together instead of separate. I did most of the initiating, and I can be honest with myself now in admitting it was mostly because I wanted to try again. I wanted to try to have another child.” Her attention is mostly focused on her lap as she recalls what had to have been one of the most difficult times in her life. “Through therapy, I learned that I thought if I could finally just have a child, my grief would go away. Obviously, that’s not how that works, and I learned the hard way because I did get pregnant again, but I….I also ended up miscarrying again.” 

Words. There are none to properly describe what’s going through your head right now, the emotions all circulating throughout your entire body. Tears brim your eyes listening to this heartbreak. You have such a tremendous amount of compassion and sympathy for the woman sitting across from you.

For the man not before you currently but you’d give anything to be able to hold and hug right now. You had no idea he’s been through so much, lost so much, and yet he still stands tall, forever being your backbone.

Being your saving grace. 

“That was the last time Joe and I were ever intimate,” she continues, dabbing at her eyes. “He refused to touch me unless I got on birth control. Said he didn’t want to see me go through that anymore, and I believe him. But, I also don’t think he could handle another loss either.”

You’re not sure anyone could handle that kind of loss a fourth time. 

“I was the one who cheated first, but it’s hard to call it that when I nor Joe ever really saw our marriage as real. It was legal, yes, but he never loved me, and I never loved him. We had love for each other, but we weren’t in love with each other. And I think the little we did feel was because of our shared losses.”

This almost feels like a discussion that needed to happen in separate sessions, because it’s so much to take in. You’d always wondered about this marriage, wondered what the real story was, but hearing that real story almost has you wishing you would have never asked. It’s just all so heavy.

“And then he started becoming more famous and up there in the WWE. I don’t need to tell you how crazy his schedule can be. I barely ever saw him. We essentially became roommates. He did his thing and who he wanted, while I did my thing and who I wanted.”

It’s hard on you hearing all this, for obvious reasons, but there’s also a part of you that is grieving for different reasons. Grieving what maybe you and Joe could have been if you knew all of this. Knew his wife wasn’t the high school sweetheart turned wife, knew he wasn’t going home and playing house when he wasn’t in your bed. You always just assumed this was the case, the few times you even allowed yourself to think about him being married. It was more toward the end of your relationship as you realized you needed to start being honest with yourself about your relationship with him.

“I know for a fact Joe never initiated a divorce because he felt like it was wrong. Like it was wrong for him to leave me because I couldn’t give him what he wanted, a family. I can’t speak for him, but I’d bet that’s why he didn’t divorce me even when he met you. Because he’s a good man who still felt a sense of loyalty to me because I had tried to give him a child. I just….I couldn’t.”

Your chest tightens at her words. Did she just….. “Joe wanted kids?”

Jadah is quick with the response, reiterating. “He always wanted to be a dad. Even with our first pregnancy, we were both nervous and young, but he told me that he wanted a big family because he came from one.”

It’s getting harder and harder to keep the tears at bay. You hadn’t the slightest clue fatherhood was something Joe always envisioned for himself, something he always wanted. It makes sense, it makes all the sense now why he reacted so strongly as he did when he found out about Callie. The way he looked at you with such love and appreciation on Christmas when you apologized for not getting him anything, the way his eyes fell on Callie is he calmly told you that you already did.

A child. 

You’d given him a child, something he always wanted but could never have.

Shaking your head, you admit aloud but gently, “I didn’t—I didn’t know that.”

“Do you know what Joe told me when we finally realized we needed to just file?” She doesn’t wait for a response, most likely already knowing what your answer will be. “He said he was never supposed to be with me, because he was always supposed to be with you.” A tiny gasp leaves your mouth. “And he’s right. Joe never spoke about me the way he speaks about you, the way his eyes light up, the smile on his face…... He was never in love with me, because his heart was always supposed to be with you.” Any effort to refrain from crying is null and void. “And I’m happy for him. I truly am. I couldn’t give him what he wanted, and that’s okay, because you have.”

Her comforting you is the last thing that should be happening, but it’s exactly what occurs. She reaches over, placing her hand on top of yours.

“Y/N. I don’t hate you. I don’t think you’re a whore who ruined my marriage. That marriage was a sham from the beginning. If anything, I was more upset at you when Joe told me about Calista. I was upset because I wish you had told him from the beginning that you were pregnant. We could have gotten divorced sooner, and he could have finally experienced fatherhood. I could have finally figured out what I want in life.”

Sniffling, wiping at your eyes, “All this time…..I thought that I had been that woman, that I took him from you. That’s why I didn’t tell him about Callie, I thought—I felt like it was wrong, wrong because he was married.” It’s that along with your unaddressed daddy issues, that whole trauma, but while Jadah is relatively open with you about her struggles. You’re just not there yet.

“You can’t take what never belonged to me. I’m able to admit now that I never had Joe, and to be honest with you, I never really wanted him.” She frowns almost, continuing to share more with you than you ever expected her to share. “I wanted to do humanitarian work after college, and I didn’t do that because I was too busy living my life the way everyone said I should. I don’t blame Joe either. I guess I just wish all three of us didn’t have to wait so long to finally have what we wanted.”

In a strange sort of sense, all three of you are victims of some type of circumstances, different in various ways but still victims. 

“Are you….are you happy, Jadah?”

In all that you’ve heard her divulge, a no wouldn’t surprise you. She’s such a strong woman, but in the midst of all this, you getting Joe, Joe having you, where’s her happy ending?

“I’m bisexual.” It’s such a strange first initial response, one that you’re not sure how to reply to or take. Not that you’re judging at all. Good for fucking her. But, where is the relevance?  “It’s not a secret, either. I’ve been out since I was in middle school, but I’ve been in a relationship with this amazing woman for almost a year now, and it’s with her I’ve realized I just tend to form deeper connections with women than men. Especially emotionally. It’s gotta be why I never felt anything for Joe, because we both know that man is objectively gorgeous, insanely sweet, and the D is fire.”

That makes you laugh, the first in the midst of this heartfelt conversation. “You’re not wrong about that.”

“But, she’s amazing, and we’re so happy, so yes, I am more than happy.” Her eyes light up the same way you’re certain she’s seen with Joe when he talks about you. “But, you know what will make me happier?” She announces with attitude and determination. “Getting on Live together and blowing up this bitch whole spot.”

Another laugh that’s followed up with. “I’d rather beat her ass, but this is second best.”

“I mean, we can do that too. I don’t really know how to fight, but I’ll cheer for you on the side.” 

There’s more laughter as you realize Jadah has that dry sense of humor that can have you dubbed over in tears from the humor, meanwhile she’s got a straight face the whole time. 

“I wish, but I can’t be fighting in my condition.”

It leaves your mouth before you even realize what you’re basically confirming, and before you can freak out, scolding yourself for being so insensitive, Jadah is already two steps ahead.

“Seriously? Congratulations!” Her smile is just as genuine and happy as all the outdoors, as she explains. “Y/N, just because I can’t have kids doesn’t mean I can’t be happy for people who can. I know Joe must be over the moon happy.”

“He is,” you answer with a matching smile, hand going to your stomach. “I’m really happy I got to meet you, Jadah. I think….I think we both needed this.”

There was something so healing about all of this, some sense of solace and closure that feels like it’s been provided for the both of you. Her being able to talk this out and be honest about her feelings, and you learning that maybe, just maybe, your relationship with Joe was never wrong in the first place.

Because it was always supposed to be.

“I agree.” She squeezes her hand. “Now, let’s get started on our strategy for this Live, cause I’m ready to shut that ex best friend of yours fifteen minutes of fame down.”

———-

In another life, you and Jadah could have been the best of friends. 

There’s such an ease that comes with talking to her. Not only is she just as laid back as Joe promised, but the bitch is funny as hell. The strategizing your game plan for the Live is filled with her dry humor that almost has you in tears at one point. And it amazes you how someone who’s been through so much can still find it in her to laugh, to still be filled with so much joy.

It’s admirable. 

And maybe there’s a way where you can be friends of some sort, because there’s truly no ill feelings towards her on your end. You’re also almost certain it’s the same for her as well, but right now, the focus is on this Live. 

Well, sort of.

“I definitely think the cool tones will really compliment the white theme of the house. You guys don’t plan to paint, right?”

Joe never mentioned that Jadah is an interior designer, not that he needed or even had a reason to, but it definitely comes in handy considering you have this big ass house to decorate without a lick of knowledge about decorating. 

It didn’t take long to figure out how you’re going to tackle the Live, and you two even got your iPad set up in the kitchen, deciding that’s where you would hold it. She even set up the practice live so you two could familiarize yourself with the layout before actually going live.

So with that out the way, it only took one question from Jadah about designing for her to be assisting you with some options for different rooms in the house.

“No. Joe hasn’t mentioned anything about it.” You then remember. “We are getting a mural painted in Callie’s room. I guess Joe knows someone.”

“Oh, that’s awesome.” She beams, asking, “what’s the mural gonna be?”

Smiling, you answer, “disney. She loves Disney.”

“Y/N…..do you….do you think I could meet her?” She quickly adds, almost as if she’s nervous about even asking in the first place. “I know you probably need to talk to Joe first, but—”

“Of course, you can meet her.” There’s no need to think about it, no need to talk with Joe about it. “I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to meet her. She’s out with my best friend right now, because I didn’t want her overhearing our Live, but I’d love for you to meet her.”

She seems so moved and appreciative of this. “Thank you.” She motions down the hall, “you don’t happen to have any food, do you?”

Laughing, you answer. “Girl, I was just thinking we need to get this Live done, cause I’m hungry.”

It’s not too surprising on your end. In the past few days, you’ve noticed your appetite increasing, a strange symptom to have so early on in your pregnancy. Annoying, too.

“Well, let’s pig out on snacks, and maybe we can get actual food later,” she suggests. You’re down for that, thinking about asking Alexis to stop and pick something up on her way back to the house with Callie. 

“Sounds good to me.” She then looks around, noticing the speakers located throughout the house. “Do those work?”

Already knowing where she’s headed, you pull out your phone, opening up Spotify and reaching it to her. “What’s the vibe?”

Jadah sucks her teeth, taking the phone. “Girl, you already know.”

She moves her fingers around the screen before music starts to play.

Knuck if you buck boy

Knuck if you buck boy

Knuck if you buck boy

“Oh my god, you taking it way back.” And it’s so appreciated, cause this always has been and always will be your song. It’s aptly appropriate as well.

“We gotta be in the zone.” She’s dancing along the way to the kitchen, tossing you your phone as she walks backwards. “You still remember Princess verse?”

Is water wet? “Don’t play with me.” Making it to the kitchen, you’re barely able to open the cabinet where the snacks are before the verse starts.

Yeah we knuckin' and buckin' and ready to fight

I betcha I'm'a throw dem thangs

So haters best to think twice

Word for word, you don’t miss a beat, and Jadah is right there with you, dancing and playfully twerking to the soundtrack of every middle school fight back in the Y2K era. 

The two of you share a laugh at your silliness as she forages through the cabinet for her preferred snack while you open the goldfish and glance at the iPad. Frowning, you move closer, asking, “why is the screen still on? It’s supposed to be on auto—Jadah?”

She’s distracted, caught between Cheez-Its and Pretzels, answering distractedly. “Yeah?”

“Why does this say we’re live?”

At your question, she answers half-heartedly, “it’s in that practice mode thing, isn’t it?”

That would provide a heavy layer of relief if your eyes didn’t land on the number of the corner of the screen.

The number that reads over 100,000k people are currently watching this live.

“Jadah! It’s fucking live!” She spins around, confused. “Like, we’re on Live!”

“Oh, shit,” she curses, running over and also looking at the screen. “Damn, we are.”

Panicked, you back up to the opposite counter, lecturing, “I thought you said it was in practice mode!”

“I thought it was!” She defends, shrugging and reminding you of her naivety with technology. “You should have never left me in charge in the first place! I haven’t used social media since Tom and I were besties on MySpace!”

“Oh my god.” your hand remains over your mouth as you take in the fact that this thing has just been sitting here, live for the whole wide world to sit and watch.

“I don’t know why there’s so many people here. Were ya’ll just sitting here staring at her fridge?”

“Jadah.”

“It’s a valid question!” She sucks her teeth, pulling out the bar stool and plopping down. “Well, since everyone’s here, we might as well get started.” She reaches for your phone, simply saying “music.”

Believing she’s going to turn off Crime Mob, you hand it to her, but that’s too good to be true. Because instead of silence, you’re hit with Megan Thee Stallion.

I just want to kick this shit off by saying, "Fuck y'all!"

I ain't gotta clear my name on a motherfuckin' thang

“Jadah!”

“I said we were getting started. We need to set the tone.”

“We can’t be playing this kind of music on Joe’s account though.” At least, you think so. You’re not entirely certain what exactly his public image is supposed to exemplify. But, songs about fighting and cussing people out don't seem to align.

However, she waves you off, focusing on the screen. “Hello, everyone, and welcome to this special edition Live. I’m sure most, if not all of you, recognize Y/N, thanks to a basic bitch we’re about to roast alive in this here video.” She gestures to you, and unsure of how exactly to respond or act, you simply offer a sarcastic wave. “But most of you may not know I am because I’m pretty sure there’s only a couple of photos of me online, which is the way I prefer it.” She places one hand on her chest. “I’m Jadah, the infamous ex-wife who apparently hates Y/N and pulled up ready to knuck if you buck, but we’ll get into that later.”

Feeling more comfortable after making active efforts to push away your nerves, you tease, “bet ya’ll didn’t see this one coming.”

Jadah’s face lights up with a mischievous smile. “We figured there’s so much being said about us by this delusional bitch, that it’s time we speak our truth. And I’m just gonna say right now that while we’re doing this to clear up the lies, there are some things we’re not going to touch on because it’s nobody’s business.”

“None of this is really anyone’s business,” you add, the confidence growing by the second. “It’s all really fucked up how we even have to come up here and defend our characters and talk about personal, real life situations. I never wanted any of this, never wanted to have my face be out there, to have my daughter’s face be out there.”

“And that’s the thing, too,” Jadah seems to be feeding off your energy just as much as you’re feeding off hers. “I don’t have any social media at all. I hate it. After today, I don’t plan to ever do anything like this ever again. But, it’s also the fact that people are saying such cruel things about an innocent child that absolutely disgusts me. Like, people are attacking an innocent little girl and saying that it’s in defense of me, which is so insane because none of you know the truth.” She looks over at you, asking, “mind if I start off?”

“No, go ahead, please.”

“Bet.” She claps and announces. “I’m gonna keep this super easy for all of ya’ll. First things first, I have never spoken to that Mariah person a day in my life. Have zero clue who she is. The texts? Never happened. Phone calls? Never happened. Screenshots of said messages? Never fucking happend. Why?” Jadah makes a triangle over her mouth so her voice projects. “Because I don’t fucking know her!”

“More facts: Joe and I were married, yes. We got married when we were like 21 and 22 because I was pregnant, and that’s when people still believed children could only be raised by married couples. That’s the only reason I married that man. We were never in love. Never even dated. We were just horny college kids who didn’t use protection.” 

As strange as it may be, you can tell there’s a bit of hesitation on Jadah’s end before she goes into the next part. “We, unfortunately, lost that child. And experienced some other forms of loss that I won’t get into because it’s very personal, but to make a long story short, we ended up having an arrangement. Essentially, he did what and who he wanted, and I did the same.” 

She pushes some of her hair back, continuing to explain bits and pieces that are still true but protect her from having to lay out her darkest experiences. “I don’t even consider it an open marriage, because outside of us legally being married, we never had an actual marriage. As most of you already know, professional wrestlers have insane schedules, so when I tell you he was at the crib maybe a month out of the year? I’m not even exaggerating. That man was my platonic roommate.”

There’s a small smile on your face as her humor and sass melt into her delivery after carefully maneuvering around the specifics of her personal loss. “Ya’ll are all up in arms, coming after this girl talking about she broke up my marriage, blah blah blah. But, she couldn’t break up what didn’t exist. I never loved that man. Joe is a great guy, but we never loved each other.” She gestures to you with her thumb. “This is who he loves. This is who he has a family with. And the fact that ya’ll can sit there and claim to support him and be a fan while attacking the people he loves blows my mind.”

“So, it goes without saying, Mariah lied her ass off about all of that for clicks and views. She’s a liar. And you can print that in your tabloids.”

“I also wanna clear up some things about her if that’s cool with you?” Jadah nods, and motions for you to have the figurative floor. “I need people to understand that this is somebody who I thought was my best friend, who I’ve called a best friend since I was in kindergarten. Matter of fact, we met because some boy was picking on her, and I went up and pushed him, standing up for her. I’ve always prided myself on being a loyal friend, especially to her. So for her to do all that she’s done to me has been so fucking hurtful and confusing.”

“I found out that she’s been sleeping with my very first boyfriend, the boy I lost my virginity to and dated on and off up until I was in my mid-twenties behind my back since we were teenagers.” You have no intention of stooping to Mariah’s level, but if she wants to lay out your information for public scrutiny, then you damn sure can make sure they know just who they’re believing. Know her character, or lack thereof. “Mind you, he ain’t shit either and he can go fuck himself just as much as she can. Like, it takes two, but here I am calling this girl my best friend, crying and confiding in her about all he’s putting me through, and the whole time she’s fucking him behind my back.”

“That’s so foul.” Jadah looks just as disgusted as you feel just thinking and talking about it. 

“But you know what? As fucked up as that is, that part is well with my soul because I have a man who treats me so damn good, a beautiful daughter, and a loving, supportive family. So, that’s fine. What really fucks with me though, still—” There’s an unplanned pause as emotions get the best of you, just revisiting this subject. “Fuck, I said I wasn’t gonna cry.” Taking a deep breath, you do your best to continue without breaking down in front of the whole damn internet. “What gets me is that this girl who I considered a sister, who I literally made the legal godmother of my child, called DCFS on me, made up horrific lies and stated my child was in immediate danger—”

“Oh my god—”

“They took my baby away from me and placed her with my mother, so I legally could not have any contact with my child or my mom for three days. And that may not seem like a lot of time to ya’ll, but I love my child. She’s very attached to me, and I’m kinda the same. So those three days were torture. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t keep anything down, my chest hurt. I had to hire a lawyer, be interrogated like I’m some criminal. It was awful.” Your attempts to hold back the tears failed epically, and Jadah’s hand is on the small of your back, rubbing in a comforting motion. “And now she’s sold all these personal photos and videos of my daughter to the highest bidder, so now I worry about what kind of fucking disgusting perverts now have access to them. It’s been fucking hell dealing with girl. You all have no idea.”

Up until this point, you’ve made an active, concerted effort to keep your eyes away from the comments, not wanting to lash out or be unintentionally triggered. But, an accidental glance reveals a slew of incoming comments including hearts of all colors. 

It’s then you can’t help but to read a few, also needing to get your shit together. Crying on the internet is something you used to make fun of people for. Now, you’re in the same position.

The comments are a complete 180 from the last time you decided to torture yourself by viewing the public’s general opinion on you. 

There’s a tremendous amount of sympathy, support, and newfound understanding. For both you and Jadah, though, the majority of them seem to be aimed towards you.

A lot of apologies as well.

“And this is the kind of person you all have been deceived by. The only thing she was truthful about is that yes, I met Joe because of her. She won a contest years ago that gave her tickets and backstage passes to a Smackdown show, so she invited me, and I met him that night.” That’s probably the only thing you could ever be grateful to Mariah about, the fact that her letting you be her plus one resulted in you meeting the love of your life. “But, I’m not a whore. Not a golddigger. I’m very intelligent. I got nearly a perfect score on my ACT and my SAT back in high school. I was student body president, homecoming queen, prom queen. You look up Ms. Popularity, and you’ll see my fucking face. I have a bachelor's degree in education, I’m a licensed teacher in my state. Like, I don’t need attention from strangers nor do I want it.”

“And here’s the thing, my daughter is almost five, so I’ve been in the picture. If I was this big attention whore like she says I am, why have I not gone public or made my presence known? The only reason ya’ll even know who I am now is because I was essentially outed, but I don’t want this shit. Joe is famous. Not me. I don’t want that. I just want to live in peace and privacy with my family. That’s all.”

It’s a bit of playing with the truth, insinuating that you’ve been in Joe’s life consistently the past five years, but that’s one of the parts of this that doesn’t need to be shared on the world wide web. 

“We black and educated excellence over here. We don’t need validation from strangers.” Jadah says it better than you can as you continue to blot at your eyes, grateful the tears are drying up. “We need some church in here to lift the spirits.”

“Oh, Lord, what are you going to play now? We are about to get Joe’s account banned.”

She clicks around on your phone before the song starts playing.

We lift our hands in the sanctuary.

We lift our hands to give You the glory.

“You’re so stupid.” This laughter is so good for your soul, it’s the most you’ve done in such a short span in a while. And it feels good. “But why would you pick this damn song, knowing good and well it never ends.” Reaching for the goldfish bag on the island, you open and grab a few. 

“Y/N! Why are you eating? We are in church.”

You give her that ‘girl, please’ look, justifying. “Girl, I’m hungry. It’s snack time, shit.” You’re craving more than a snack, more like a full course meal, but Callie’s snacks will have to do for now.

“Now you’re cussing in church. Don’t drag me to hell with you, whore.” She leans closer into the phone, taunting, “you liked that one, didn’t you, Mariah?”

You almost spit out your food. “Jadah!”

“What? You are a whore. That’s why I pulled up at your house blasting Sideline Hoe by Monica in my 2007 Toyota Camry, wearing my Baby Phat bomber jacket to fight you that one day.” At this point, you’re about to piss on yourself. Jadah’s sense of humor is golden, because she’s saying all this with such a straight face. Never once breaking scene. 

You decide to play along, correcting. “No, it was The Boy Is Mine, remember?”

She snaps her finger. “That’s right. My bad. And then the second fight, it was Jolene. I played that when I snuck in your hospital room at Grey Sloan and caught you flirting with Dr. McDreamy.”

Turning your head, you try your best to hold in your laughter, but it’s impossible. 

And Jadah also breaks a bit, speaking to the phone and viewers. “You see how ridiculous and stupid this all sounds? That’s exactly how stupid majority of the shit that came out of Mariah’s mouth is. I literally just met Y/N for the first time today, this morning. And as ya’ll can clearly see, we good over here. She got her man. I have a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend. Stop being so invested in lives you don’t live.”

You start to add something else when Jadah interjects, “and let me just say this, cause I saw some people having the audacity to say this girl is ugly. Ugly where? The bitch is gorgeous. Look at her!” She gestures to you, adding, “she’s stacked in the front, and it’s sitting in the back. Shit, I would hit that too.”

“Girl, you better stop before they start making up rumors and shit about us all being poly.” Snickering at just the thought alone of that being the latest on the rumor mill, you jokingly coin it prematurely. “Roman’s Harem.”

“Roman’s Hoe House,” she suggests, and you’re nearly in tears from laughter. This bitch is hilarious. “Plot twist, everyone. This was all a publicity stunt for a new season of Flavor of Love featuring Roman Reigns.”

“Jadah, oh my god, stop.”

She lifts her hands to silence you as you lay your head on her shoulder, laughing your ass off. “We will be taking applications following this Live. If you are a woman of color with ass and boobs, please apply. Slim thick girls, ya’ll can apply too with the understanding your chances are a bit slimmer. No pun intended. Skinny girls….maybe try the Bachelor or something.”

“Jadah, you are a menace.” You are dying for her to meet Alexis. They seem very similar in a lot of ways, and it seems like they’d vibe well. Hopefully.

“Y/N, please, I am trying to build recruits for the harem.” She finally cracks, shaking her head and leaning forward to read some of the comments. She then asks you, “should we answer questions?”

That’s an easy pass, though you also know this is your one chance to really show who you actually are versus who you’ve been painted out to be. “Sure. A couple.”

Jadah gets to reading, “uhhhh, okay this one is tame. What’s the sexiest thing about Roman?”

“Jadah, how is that tame?”

“You should have seen the other one,” she mutters. Something tells you that it’s better you didn’t.

“All of him. That’s such a generic, basic answer, but it’s the truth. He’s the full package. Tall, handsome, amazing body. Insanely kind.” Big dick, not that that needs to be shared with the whole world. “I will say though, like, seeing him parent our daughter, how good and patient he is with her. That is immensely attractive. Him being such an amazing dad and partner. That shit is sexy. If you’re grown, you agree with me.”

“You better be grown if you’re watching this Live.” She’s not entirely wrong. Jadah then reads the next one. “What’s something most people don’t know about Roman?”

Looking over at Jadah, you ask, “do you wanna….”

Immediately, she’s shaking her head, admitting, “I don’t know him well enough to really speak on that. Like, we knew each other better in college, but obviously who we were in college is vastly different than who we are now.”

It really does stump you to hear her say that aloud, not that it upsets you, but just the mere fact that you spent so long viewing her relationship with Joe in one way, but in actuality, they were more strangers than anything. 

Strangers only bonded by loss.

“Ummm, a lot, actually.” You finally answer, trying to figure out how or even what to share. “He’s actually very quiet, like, borderline shy. At least when you first meet him. Once he warms up, you see more of his personality. But yeah, it’s fascinating how well Joe encapsulates Roman cause they’re totally different people.” You glance at Jadah, murmuring, “maybe one more.” 

This Live has gone on long enough, and you feel that you and Jadah touched on all the points you wanted and needed to address.

She nods, clearly searching for a good final one. A couple seconds later, she reads aloud. “What’s one thing you’d like to say to Roman’s fans?”

Damn. 

What a final question.

There’s a couple seconds you utilize to gather your words, wanting to articulate effectively and clearly. “That regardless of how you feel about me, please don’t let that change how you viewed him before you even found out I existed. Joe—sorry—Roman, no, fuck that. Joe is so damn passionate about what he does, his work is everything to him, and he does it like he does everything else in his life—with full passion and dedication.” Your eyes are starting to water again from unexpected emotionality. “I’m so proud of him and all he’s done and accomplished, and I know it’s just the beginning, so I’d love for you to continue to support him on his journey.”

“Damn.” Jadah mumbles after a minute of silence. “That was deep. We need another song—”

“Jadah, I swear to God, if you play one more song—”

“You’re going to like this one!”

“I think we’re just about finished anyway.” It’s not a think. It’s a know. Callie’s been gone long enough. You miss your baby. “What—”

Roman’s theme song plays louder than the previous songs Jadah played, and a smile is instantly on your face. “Okay, you were right.” The two of you vibe for a minute, because your man’s song really is an actual vibe.

“Alright,” Jadah laughs. “You all have been a wonderful crowd now, but we’re hungry, so we’re gonna go eat—what are you thinking?”

“Hmmm, maybe Chinese?”

“Good call.” She then focuses on the screen again. “We’re gonna go pig out, listen to some more amazing music and….yeah.” Jadah grabs you and pulls you right next to her, so you can say something too.

“Thank you for listening to our side, the truth, and please be kind. To everyone. Not just the people you know.”

“And don’t forget to send in your applications for—”

“Jadah!”

[revenantghost]

Tristamp Wolfwood is a bit different than his counterparts, yeah? And I don’t mean that in a bad way, Orange is going somewhere with it, but it’s very different from what they’ve done with Vash and Meryl imo. With them, I feel like we got a glimpse of pre-canon. With Wolfwood... Orange is up to something, and it goddamn terrifies me. I love him dearly, he has some many moments that make me smile and go, “Yeah, that’s Wolfwood, my beloved asshole.” But it’s different. Oh so very different.

I’m just gonna point out a few examples of things I think are different enough to note here (drawing comparisons from Trimax since that was the source for Tristamp, but I’ll try not to spoil much--just don’t Google names you don’t recognize), and then go a little off the rails with a couple theories (spoilers there, click the read more at your own peril). This is DEFINITELY not everything, and maybe my takes are a bit off, idk. If there’s something you’ve picked up on, definitely feel free to add it!

Well, here goes:

My dude is a mess. Wolfwood is typically put together and some would call him smooth (he’s a mess inside always, though) in his other incarnations. Orange pointed out at Sakuracon that the characters are supposed to look younger and more immature in Tristamp, and Wolfwood specifically is supposed to look like he can’t dress himself (lmao). They said they have their reasons but just didn’t have time to explore them in canon. So, I can make assumptions, but I’ll wait to see what comes in the future.

Another one that staff talked about in a recent interview is that Wolfwood is technically a priest according to his contract, but he calls himself an undertaker. Yeah, yeah, edgelord Tristamp Wolfwood and all that, but I’ve seen people call back to how, in the manga, it’s Vash that always takes the time to bury the dead. Wolfwood even chews him out a bit for this. But it’s literally in our introduction to him in this version. He carries the weight of the dead with him enough to make it part of his title, and that’s different for him.

I could be misremembering with this one. But I distinctly remember being surprised when I read Trimax because Wolfwood going into the Eye of Michael seemed more of his own choice than it is in Tristamp (not that a literal child could consent to, you know, torture and abuse)? But either way Wolfwood loathes the Eye of Michael from the get-go here, he doesn’t stay by choice and actively tries to escape. Just like all these choices he makes in Tristamp (which is MASSIVELY different in general), he does it for someone else. He can’t try to escape again, because they have Livio.

Speaking of! Livio!!! This was another thing that caught me by surprise going from Tristamp to Trimax, their relationship is so much different here, so much softer and it hurts in a beautiful way. I feel like less is more here to avoid spoilers, but this introduction pre-Trimax-canon and any future conflict with this backstory... is very different.

Holy hell, a moment like this happening so early?! Vash and Wolfwood having ideological differences and not understanding each other takes up so much time in Trimax. But over the course of three episodes, we go from Wolfwood killing someone that Vash wanted to save (props to Tristamp for making that gutpunch even more personal, ouch--though points deducted for not having the, “Shoot,” moment there), to Vash seeing how very similar they are and getting a grasp of why Wolfwood is the way he is. Wolfwood is so much softer in Tristamp. He’s way more emotional, he cares so deeply for things outside of himself, and he doesn’t have that apathetic bitterness. Staff have said that our main characters will be a lot more recognizable post-timeskip, so some shit is gonna happen to this man, but this is a fundamental shift in the early days of their relationship.

AGAIN!!! Wolfwood is doing this whole mission, betraying Vash, to save the orphanage. He didn’t have to listen to Vash trying to save the sandsteamer. It doesn’t matter if Vash is pissy if Wolfwood blew up the ship to save the orphanage, because that’s his end goal. He has a giant laser that just blew through an entire giant worm, this ship is nothing. Wolfwood’s trying to cling to the monster that he sees himself as, trying to stay the Punisher, but he’s not. He already has enough faith in Vash to trust him with everything he cares about. This takes a lot of development time for Wolfwood to trust Vash like this in Trimax--and even in the very end, he still doesn’t trust Vash with this. (If you know, you know.)

AGAIN!!!!! Wolfwood cares!!! He does not need to question if Vash is sure, if he thinks he can make up with or convince Knives or whatever, in fact he shouldn’t. He should give Vash no reason to question getting to July. But Wolfwood, be careful, your feelings are showing. Wolfwood’s getting worried about Vash. Even though all he needs to do is keep his head down and get this dork to July.

This was never Trimax Wolfwood’s motivation. Whatever drove him left him hollow and empty, he did not care. Even when he saw things starting to go south and he wanted out, Vash ended up being right: he was too much of a coward to do anything about it. (If you know, you know.) I had wondered, after Legato tried to bulldoze everything he loved, why the hell didn’t Wolfwood just desert the mission and team up with the gang. He already has such a deep connection with them. But this would be why.

WOLFWOOD IS NO LONGER CONTRACTED BY THE EYE OF MICHAEL AT THE END OF THE SEASON??? Some people say that Wolfwood still works for them, but tbh for what reason? They’re about to end the world. And then what about this line? He wouldn’t exactly have a choice, would he? I do think we’re gonna meet Chapel (right before Livio shoots himself, you’ll hear a voice and see a silhouette (not Razlo, though he’s there too) that seems to be a “new” character), and Wolfwood might end up working under him for some fucked up reason... But if not, this changes everything. It already changes everything considering how big Wolfwood escorting Vash to Knives is. But that’s done now. And because Vash saw right through him the first time, if Wolfwood comes back to do the same thing again, it might feel cheap and a little silly.

MERYL!!! Trimax is basically the Vash and Wolfwood show, right? The girls are around, but mainly their interactions are with Vash. But he and Meryl interact so much just over the course of twelve episodes. They even have that adorable group shot. She matters enough that he came back to rescue her, and the two of them worry about Vash together in the finale. Who knows what happened post-finale, but Wolfwood’s self isolation is already shot to hell. He’s more big brother Nico than he’d had the chance to be in awhile, he has so many people to care for.

So the danger has passed, Vash’s roots are back inside of him, the orphanage should be fine. But Wolfwood comes back for them. Yeah, yeah, the stupid cigarette excuse, but this is Wolfwood, not Vash. He didn’t come back because of the cigarette debt and we all know it. (Also kinda hoping that him saying what he does about fighting Knives being crazy is foreshadowing for some ridiculous 1v1 fight between them, had to throw that in there)

Now, theories Trimax spoiler time bby (I’ll also post any corrections under the cut):

EDIT 1: I was bonkers wrong on the Tristamp timeline (it takes place from May 25th to July 21st, not including the epilogue), so I just deleted that bit from the og post. I cannot remember where I got that number in my brain.

They are doing something with this man and I hate it as much as I love it. Every other character can go off and follow similar paths but they just nuked the entirety of Wolfwood’s storyline by having him be finished getting Vash to Knives and him choosing to trust Vash so goddamn early. And in less than a week of canon time!!! ORANGE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!

They’ve knocked everything out of the park so far, I had so many concerns about what they were doing while watching, and they squashed most of them. So I choose to have faith that Orange has a brilliant plan that will crush my emotions in mind. It will probably eviscerate us just like Trimax did. But I have two theories as to how this could go:

First: And by far the most likely: all roads lead to that goddamned couch. They changed a ton of things, but just to make it all hurt in a new and exciting way. Don’t get me wrong, this was the final straw in making Trimax one of my favorite manga ever--Wolfwood’s character arc is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever read. I’m a bit nervous because we’ve already shifted that arc so much, but there’s a lot of room to fuck us all up in this one. I imagine the final confrontation will still be between the two brothers, but I imagine the context will be different.

Wolfwood’s already chosen to spare Livio, so that won’t be the clincher, but there are so many things that Wolfwood wants to fight for now to use against him. Something in the timeskip will probably firm up his ideals to be the opposite of Vash’s in a different way than before, but I imagine we’ll get at least a season of them being goofy and learning how to live and regain their humanity together before they’re couched. :’) And now the girls are going to be a bigger part of it to make the grief all that greater :’))) Thanks in advance, Orange :’))))))

Second: No couch??? I know, then what would be the point? He’s doomed in every universe, how will it be as powerful if they don’t do that here??? And I agree, I think this is way less likely. But Wolfwood has already accepted the power of anime Jesus friendship into his life, and that’s a huge part of what lead to his death. Not that I don’t think it’s still likely for Tristamp Wolfwood to think it’s too much to ask Vash to step away from the conflict with Knives for whatever his personal struggles are, but... man that sandsteamer incident is foreshadowing something and I’m afraid. It shifted so much in a way that is so significant, I feel like I’m not doing it justice with my words.

Speaking of possible foreshadowing: Wolfwood isn’t the product of random experimenting like he was in Trimax, he’s the product of plant experimentation. And Vash can heal plants. Again, that’s a big ol’ stretch, as I think that they made the Gung Ho Guns a product of plant experimentation to try and explain the magic powers they all have, and it’s a very smooth idea imo. But it haunts me. Also, given that Conrad has probably been kept alive through fucked up plant methods and how long Rollo remained the same, and Conrad said the only flaw in his experiments were that they had to eat and drink... does Wolfwood and Gung Ho Gun friends have an extended lifespan??? Okay, getting off topic, sorry :’D

Basically, Wolfwood has already made huge leaps and bounds in trusting Vash, even listening to Meryl, and growing a heart for humanity. To the point I was half-afraid this guy was going to die in the finale, because we’ve already seen so much of his character arc. (It would have been a poor choice and I’m happy it didn’t happen EVEN IF I’M STILL AFRAID). And he’s based off of Trimax Wolfwood quite heavily! You can see it in the core of his personality still!!! WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO WITH HIM???

I doubt either of these ideas are going to be quite right, watch as Orange works in a secret, third thing that I can’t even imagine lmao. But this has been driving me absolutely bonkers and I had to share. This is still Wolfwood, and I have a feeling he’s only going to be more and more of the lovable asshole from here on out. But I have no idea where we’re going with it.

Holy hell, this was a long post. If you made it to the end of my insane ramblings well, uh... congrats??? I hope it was somewhat worth the read???? I’m so sorry?????? Thank you??????????

[mushimatsu]

choromatsu handwriting post

compiled all of choromatsus handwriting that i could find bc i love him

i realize these were all made by different teams and have different sources (anime/games/webkuji/etc) but there are some similarities between them all and i think its cute. i'll try to make it easier for ppl that cannot read japanese too

(note: some of these may or may not be valid criticisms, im not a native japanese speaker but i got my bachelors in japanese. idk if this means anything to anyone im just pointing out things that im noticing and maybe it will be interesting to you. if you notice anything else interesting feel free to add)

commonalities i noticed:

sometimes will combine multiple character strokes into one (normal thing to do, i've seen some native speakers do this)

with a few exceptions (mt takao for some reason), generally neat handwriting. proper and easy to read. not too big, not too small, not over stylized, but not messy either. very choromatsu

letter in s1e24

very nice handwriting, legible and neat. this is closest to how i think i would picture his handwriting. i know that the staff across different ososan things probably don't care too deeply about keeping minute handwriting details consistent and that's why they're all gonna look different but i like this one best for him.

new years cards in s2e13

very cute, love the stupid drawing of himself. everything very nice and tidy. to me these characters look a much curlier and rounder than the ones in the letter.

for both the letter and the new years cards it looks like he was careful to properly write out all the strokes of the kanji, even for more complicated ones like 緊張 and 就職. we see in mt takao that his handwriting gets a LOT messier. i know the real reason is because it was probably different animators that did his handwriting, but i'm choosing to believe that in canon it's because both of these are more fancy/formal letters addressed to people, whereas the trip guide is just for him and his brothers and doesn't necessarily need to look nice.

also i adore his tendency to add little drawings to things, like this and the mt takao guide he's everything

trip guide from mt. takao s3e8. his handwriting here, for some reason, is exceptionally bad especially compared to everything else. he writes like a little kid and i love his shitty little drawings. he's so cute.

my teachers would always correct my kanji down to the tiniest strokes, if i wrote like this is class i would get scolded so bad. you can see him combining his strokes together for 記念撮影, this will continue for the other pictures too. cute detail imo

the 昼 in 昼食 is definitely written wrong, but the second kanji 食 might be a little nitpicky. technically that bottom part is three different strokes, not two crossed over each other

more of him combining the strokes together. i wouldn't necessarily say that's wrong, since i've seen people do that before; it's probably just a habit that happens over time. i do it in english too

HOWEVER, he did write the 日 radical in 撮影 wrong here. previously, i thought he was just combining strokes again so that it looked like three lines instead of two (note 3 and 4 are two parallel lines, he just didn't lift his pen up)

but when you look at this it's clear that he very much did write three lines this time. that's the wrong radical

anyway

another example of him writing a two stroke character with just one. again, this is fine, ive seen people write their characters like this. however it looks bad when he does it here

i love how he wrote "campfire" i love how for some reason he didn't keep the letter sizing consistent or straight. also his little campfire drawing

１９時

キャンプ

ファイヤー

also there's two ways to write そ, its just a matter of choice its not important but he writes it the second way. and he messed up a kanji again

these next ones are maybe less canon cause they're not from the show itself

Airport Matsu

very tidy, combines a couple strokes together. both 松 (matsu) characters look like he combines the last two strokes together instead of writing them as two separate ones

and he does a similar thing with the right half of 野 in Matsuno

nostalgic moments webkuji

this one he writes every stroke and doesn't combine them and that's probably because different people worked on these and the tiny details like this don't matter to anyone but me. or you could say that he wrote a little neater in high school and started simplifying things as he got older.

Rock School

he drew himself again lol

i think his handwriting looks very good here actually. idk how to describe it but i like when handwriting looks like this specific way in japanese. i've seen other people that have handwriting like this and it just looks so nice. like the characters seem to vary in size, but somehow it makes it a little easier to read imo?

like in the first bullet point (underlined in yellow), the す in 多すぎる is a little big, but like it looks nice. in the second bullet point (blue), the の in 世の中 is slightly smaller but it emphasizes the kanji on either side of it. the stroke on the side of the か characters are written a little longer than usual (red). like it just looks nice, everything is shaped really nice and whenever i see people that have this handwriting i always try to emulate it lol

Neetpro

this one is a bit messier than the others. the way he wrote チョロ just doesn't look as nice as the way he wrote it in airport matsu and nostalgic moments. the way the て is written is more curved compared to the others. also the 界 kanji (blue) is written in a way that looks weird to me, and kara from this same set also writes the kanji that way so i think the same person might have written all of them lol

also interesting is that he writes き differently in this one

i was told by one of my professors that you're supposed to write さ and き with the upper and lower parts disconnected when writing by hand. it's only in text that they're connected. but i've still seen some people write them in the connected way

in all the other examples, choromatsu doesn't write them connected like that, just this one.

sukiya app

my lovely boy and his nonsense words and lies. the handwriting here comes off as very cutesy to me, at least compared to the others. some of the ways he writes, especially any box-like shape, seems round in a way. he also connects the right half of 野 again.

overall writes very neatly, altho a lot of the kanji here seems like its very big on the top and smaller on the bottom, and a lot of the letters seem more rounded. all the other examples just feel like the writing is a bit more angular, with the exception of the new years cards.

extra: coloring book

the way he wrote his name here is messier than the other examples. i like that he added little commentary on his own coloring though ("looks good!" "the tail was black too i believe") maybe he colored this with a paintbrush????? the strokes look as if he was trying to write quickly with a brush as if it was a pen. so maybe that's why its a little messier

anyway thanks for reading. i love choromatsu

[cryptocism]

So, out of curiosity (AND a slight fear of messing with what you've laid out so clearly in Frequency, which I see as the most reasonable and rational explanation to Thad's character inconsistencies basically, ever), I am wondering if this version of Inertia from Flash #760 fits into the Too Many Thads AU anywhere? From what I can tell, he's the only one not mentioned in your very thorough (and impressively detailed, he was at boomerang's funeral, excuse me sir why are you here???) timeline of Thad appearances. Would you consider him one of the clones we get from the AU, like Six? Or maybe just Thad himself given he's sort of just... chilling in the Speedforce lol. Or did you just not consider him given it's yet another instance of Thad appearing, doing something wild, then disappearing as quickly as he came haha. (Also, I just noticed he says vibrational FREQUENCY, nice👏)

i did... kinda include this iteration. but admittedly it's pretty brief, and the bits of story that take place in the speed force sit in dreamy abstraction rather than solid prose

start of chapter 2 when Thad is running thru the speed force:

He thinks he sees the Flash, once or twice. Tick tock tick tock. You’re running out of time, Barry. But he often thinks he sees lots of people. Once, he thought he saw Max. But the memories exist in his mind the same way a daydream would, and he can’t be sure if it was real.

The "tick tock tick tock" line is taken directly from #760

compared to the other threads of canon that Frequency is written around, it's definitely more on the borders of believably. The "tick tock" line and the bit where Thad threatens to snap his fingers and "blast Barry's mind to pieces" harkens back to the Kid Zoom era and Rogues Revenge, which fucks with my attempt to differentiate this Inertia as a separate person from Kid Zoom. but the hiccup feels minor enough that i think it still works

(and on a tangential note the whole "i'll snap my fingers and blast your mind to pieces" line straight up doesn't make sense to me because YES Kid Zoom famously snapped his fingers and exploded a baby, but he accomplished that by fast-forwarding that baby's timeline so quick that its literal molecules shook apart under the stress. Barry is a speedster and would not respond to timeline manipulation in that way - if at all - because his molecules are already used to that kind of shit. it's a weird and out of place threat to make and i think Williamson may have gotten the impression that Kid Zoom acquired the power of spontaneous combustion which he Fucking Did Not ok rant over)

the general idea i was going for was: Thad is running on rage, sees Barry, has the brief confrontation in #760 where Barry mostly just feels bad for him, and then disappears back into the storm. Implication being that Thad has actually had a couple different interactions with people during his 5 years in the speed force (Eobard, Max, Barry, etc) who try to convince him of things or promise him things, but staying for that long in the speed force (without being dead) fucks with perception a little bit, especially perceptions of Time. so when he's out and looking back on it, Thad can't totally discern what happened, what didn't, or in what order.

also the attendance at Captain Boomerang's funeral gets a shout out near the end of chapter 8 when Bart is going through Six's collection of Four's old stuff:

Some of the items on the shelf he didn’t recognize. A shot glass. A funeral pamphlet for one Digger Harkness. Several empty syringes and auto-injectors all meticulously arranged. A variety of small gadgets and devices that Bart couldn’t place.

because the funeral is technically Inertia's return after the events of Mercury Falling, I translated that as Four's first appearance in the 21st century

[crimsondinnerparty]

In Aperitivo, there’s a scene where Will envisions helping Hannibal cut Jack’s throat, which has a lot of interpretations. Many see this as Will fantasising about committing murder alongside Hannibal, but I think it goes deeper than that. By the time Will hears Hannibal’s voice on the phone, he admits that a part of him has fully sided with Hannibal. So, this vision? It’s more about Will contemplating what might have happened if he had made a different choice, rather than just indulging in a fantasy.

Chilton’s conversation totally sets this up. When he hits Will with the whole “this is your best possible world, Will. You’re not getting a better one” line? Yeah, that’s some heavy truth right there. Will is a pessimist, and what he’s really doing in that moment is thinking: "What if I had sided with Hannibal?" Somewhere, in another universe, Will went full dark mode and betrayed Jack, and Jack ended up dead. But here’s the thing—Will isn’t fantasizing about the act of killing Jack. He’s thinking about the consequences — the inevitable betrayal, horror, and pain Jack would have felt.

Let’s talk about that dinner scene. Will is flashing back to the “sacrificial lamb” dinner, right before the big showdown. Remember when Hannibal was like, “We can spare Jack, feed the dogs, and leave Alana a note”? If Will had dipped with Hannibal that night, Jack would’ve been fine, technically. But the betrayal would’ve still hit the same, and Will’s soul? that betrayal would have left him irrevocably changed, soulless.

This is why Chilton’s words carry such weight. The reality where Hannibal attacked, but they all survived, is the best outcome for Will. Hannibal made the choice for him — by stabbing him and leaving him for dead, Hannibal prevented Will from becoming the monster he wanted him to be. Ironically, Hannibal saved Will by keeping him from crossing the point of no return.

We all know Will becoming Hannibal would’ve been the worst version of reality for him. So yeah, this reality? As messed up as it is, it’s actually the least bad. Will’s vision of Abigail in Primavera is all about his desire to run off with Hannibal, but Chilton is there to remind him that there’s no “better” world out there for him. It’s bleak AF, but Will’s choices all suck, and he knows it. The idea that doing the “wrong” thing might actually have been the “right” thing? That’s a thought too dark for him to even process.

[asexualbookbird]

August feels. Blurry. The Thursday of the year. Of the summer? IT feels like the year. I managed to fill out my entire Summer Bingo Board for the library. I haven't heard back about winning any prizes, but I had fun and that's what counts. Bingo made me branch out of my comfort zone which was really neat. Can't say I'll do it more often, a comfort zone is comfortable, but I do enjoy reading something Different every now and then. Did some crafty things this month, which has been a lot of fun, and I've been Smart and Wise and started on holiday gifts so I'm not scrambling in December. It's called personal growth~

The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon ⭐⭐ - I'm salty about this. Yes, it's an improvement, but it still sucks. The world and magic is so neat, but we're stuck with a plot Like That. Made me do an actual full review on goodreads and on tumblr if you want all the details.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon ⭐⭐- I kept my original rating because honestly I felt the same as I did years ago. It's worse than the updated version, but it's the core of the novel that needs changing. Props to this one at least for making Paige asexual. I do not want to see this book on ace book lists ever again.

The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game by The McElroys and Carey Pietsch ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- One of the best installments so far. The art is AMAZING, I love the meta they're doing with Griffin and The Hunger, it was a little rushed and I'm bummed we aren't getting a full adaptation of The Stolen Century, but this is still right up there with Petals to the Metal for me!

The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - T Kingfisher has never written a bad novel to me, but this one did take me longer than her others to really click. The audio narrator had some inflections that didn't work for my brain, but once they went through the door, things got Weird and picked up. These two made so many stupid decisions, but it still felt in character! Big Stan Pines energy coming from that uncle.

Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - For book bingo! Got me a square for Read Nonfiction, Read Something About The Environment, and Read Something You Found from Book Page (a magazine advertising new and upcoming books). AND it had a local connection. I learned a lot, it was really neat and didn't feel like I was reading a textbook. It was very engaging, and has me looking at grocery stores differently. It was hard to find, though, because Frostbite is a very common name in the urban fantasy romance genre.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oof. Very heavy, very creepy, very GOOD. Did not expect the many graphic dog deaths, but that was on me. Technically I WAS warned, my brain just didn't register "SGJ dogs are not safe" as "The dog dies in this one". The audio narrator was very good, but I had to listen to the opening a couple times to really get everything to click. It might've been easier had I" read it myself, but the cadence of the narrator really added to the story.

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox ⭐ - Wow when was the last time I had a true one star read. (Actually not too long ago. It was The Novice.) This wanted so badly to be The Haunting of Hill House, but if you want another book like Hill House, just read Starling House. We missed what actually happened in the book because the main character was losing her memory. If you want that, go read Harrow the Ninth. This was a mess and I hated it.

On that note, I need to read something to recharge my faith in books, so MURDERBOT TIME! That's my only reading plan for September, but now I'm feeling Rushed because the year is almost over and I still have about half of my reading goals list left. Whoops. I'd also like to at least attempt some of the Swordtember prompts, if not do all of them. That looks like a lot of fun! So! Onward we go!

[takenbypeter]

Heyo you already know it’s gonna be Peter Maximoff! Sooooo reader and Peter are a couple but sleep in separate dorms?rooms? idk what you would call it but they obvi live in Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters. Anyways, reader told Peter she was going to bed a little earlier just to tell him. He agrees without putting too much thought into it and continues on whatever he’s doing. Until he’s getting ready for bed and goes into his closet and notices….. one of his shirts are missing. He is speeding around looking for it even though he technically doesn’t need it at this millisecond, it’s just the thought of him not knowing where it is that’s bugging him. He cannot find it anywhere in his room. So he goes out….. assuming somebody is messing with him. Wakes up the guys who might’ve done it like Cyclops, Nightcrawler, even the Beast cuz he just “KNOWS”. Probably cuz Peter knows he’s a bit (a lot) of a butthead to them and maybe someday they’ll want some payback and today was the day. But all of them denied it and Peter is going absolutely insane. He now gets all the X-men in one room and THEY ARE NOT LEAVING UNTIL THIS CASE IS SOLVED (his band t-shirts are a priority). Somebody has to be lying and he brings in the big guns. He’s woken up Xavier. (yes he woke him up, put him in his wheelchair, and sped him into the room) He would’ve just asked Jean to read their minds but she might try to protect Cyclops or something. The arguing got louder since the X-men were all now stuck in a room, annoyed at Peter for waking them up, and still don’t really know what the heck is going on. Reader wakes up from the noise to see what all the bickering was about. There she opens the door all eyes on her staring right at the supposed “missing” shirt she was wearing. Heads turning back to Peter most (all) of them with angry faces and reader with a confused look. Peter sweetly walks to reader without an anger in sight. (he’s never angry at her and thinks she looks cute in the shirt) He comforts her as if nothing had happened and puts her back to sleep. The team’s jaws just drops in utter disbelief. A couple minutes later he comes back to the angry faces and awkwardly apologizes. As soon as he noticed he’s got no sympathy he speeds aways. Let’s just say there was a bit of a goose chase throughout the night until they tackled him down. This is just a silly and LONG request. Sorry :/

Too Cute To Blame

Peter Maximoff x reader

Words: 1561

Authors note: hey hey bestie 🌺 so glad to get a request from you, I loved this idea so funny 🤣thanks for the request and enjoy

It was another one of those nights in the X-mansion. No missions, no actual fighting, it was just a normal day filled with a number of training and lessons to practically bore your mind, but you knew they were important. At least it was over for the day.

You were currently in your boyfriend Peter’s room as you two typically were, if not your own. It was getting late and he was spread out on his mattress with his eyes shut and his hands folded together behind his head while he bobbed it to his music that played throughout the room.

You listened too, initially starting the night cuddled against him until you got slightly bored and opted to read in his desk chair.

But as you checked the clock that he had displayed underneath some papers you realized just how late it was and that's when you decided to call it quits for the night.

Packing up your things you got up and leaned over him, “I’m heading to my room, I’ll see you tomorrow,” you say and with his eyes closed he puckered his lips and you bent down to meet them for a quick kiss. “Goodnight,” you said and he repeated.

As you stood back up you looked around making sure you weren’t forgetting anything and that’s when your eyes landed on one of his band shirts. It was in his clean clothing pile on the floor with other clothes and before you could give it another thought, you took it.

You didn’t think it was a big deal but apparently it was.

Peter stayed up for about two more hours before he decided to at least attempt at sleep. After getting up from his lazy position he zoomed on over to his pile that he just washed and searching through it he realized the shirt he was planning on wearing was gone.

He knew he washed it, he absolutely washed it…didn’t he? Great now he was questioning himself.

Instead of thinking about it too much he continued his search practically tearing apart his closet, and dirty laundry bin in search of the black graphic tee.

It wasn’t a big deal or anything, it’s not like this was going to bug him for the rest of his life.

…except it was.

As he searches and searches, double checking every nook and cranny he finally comes to the conclusion that it’s not in here.

As a new thought popped into his brain he squinted while tilting his head, someone took his shirt.

“No he wouldn’t,” he mumbled to himself before he thought about it some more and let out a weary, “he would.”

And that’s when he sped off.

He knew exactly where he was headed to first. Scott’s room.

When he got to the place that he barely stepped foot in, he quickly put on Scott’s glasses before hovering over the boy, “hey,” he gave Scott’s face a little slap causing Scott’s eyes to flicker. When that didn’t do the trick he slapped harder, “hey!” That one seemed to do something as the mutant woke up, “what the f—“

“I know you took it,” Peter accused not wasting a second.

Scott looked around the room, his eyes landing on the darkness from the window,”what time ‘s it?”

Peter turned Scott’s head back to him while Scott easily pushed it away, “give me back my shirt.”

Scott let out an angry sigh as he turned to his side and covered his head trying to block out the light, “I don’t have your dumb shirt.”

Peter leaned back, still suspicious, “I don’t believe you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t care about you that much.” Peter lifted a brow at Scott’s words, that was true. Maybe it wasn’t him.

In the next second Scott’s light was off and Peter was gone for his next suspect.

Arriving in the blue mutant’s room he leaned over the boy deciding if he should slap him as he did Scott or choose a different approach this time. As he was distracted, he noticed Kurt’s eyes beginning to open and he took the opportunity, “where is it?” He demanded.

Kurt yelped not expecting this at all, but once his eyes fully opened he calmed down realizing what was going on.

“What’s happening?”

“Someone took my shirt. Was it you?”

“Do you really believe I was the one to take it?”

Hmm, sure Peter’s bugged the kid but honestly, the blue mutant had a point and off Peter went. He sped right by Jean Grey’s room knowing; one, she would either protect her dumb boyfriend, or two, she probably had no idea either way, so instead he headed for the labs that he knew Hank would probably be in.

“Hey!” Peter shouted so unexpectedly he caught Hank off guard as he practically dropped whatever science tube he had in his hands, “where’s my shirt?”

Hank gave him a blank stare behind his safety goggles, before responding, “do I look like I know?”

Peter pressed his lips together as his hands interlocked with his pointer fingers pressing against his own lips in thought while he practically scanned the beast, “you honestly look like you know…everything,” Peter said before once again taking off.

And like that he spent the night practically waking half of the mutants of the building up but still he got no answer, which is when he decided to get the big guns.

But not just that, no, he was going to publicly embarrass whoever took his shirt so they won’t ever do it again. Gearing his body up he grabbed the closest suspect dropping them off in the lounge area of the building. Then he filled the room, and one by one he brought in every single mutant he suspected until he got Charles, yes Charles out here.

“Oh great the psycho’s back,” mumbled Jubilee as Peter took his place in the middle, while Charles was just beginning to process everything.

“Peter, what is going on?” Charles asked.

“I’m glad you asked,” the gray haired boy pointed a finger practically scanning the room, “someone in here took something of mine, something very precious.”

“It’s just a shirt!” Shouted Scott.

“A Pink Floyd shirt, it's very important.”

“A shirt?” Charles squeezed his eyes shut and his fingers went to his forehead already getting a headache despite having been just woken up. “Do I have to watch you all like children?”

Peter winced suddenly feeling like this wasn’t the best idea.

“Just go to bed, we can figure it out tomorrow,” suggested Kurt.

“No, we're doing this tonight. No one is leaving till we figure this out.”

“Okay will whoever did it just confess I prefer not to use my powers on such mundane behavior,” Charles said, currently regretting his decision to bring kids together like this.

“It wasn’t me,” could be heard followed by a bunch of, “wasn’t me either,” which was then followed by “will someone just confess already?” Which was followed by a “Scott we know you did it just give it back,” causing Scott and Jean to defend him before turning the suspicion on someone else thus creating a full circle of mutants blaming mutants throughout the room.

As the arguments grew, so did the noise, awaking most other mutants who hadn’t been accused yet.

Including you.

You woke up from a deep sleep to sudden shouting and curious about the ruckus you put on some nearby pants as you entered the mutant filled room with your boyfriend standing in the middle of it all.

“What’s going on?” You questioned eyes squinting trying to adjust to the sudden bright light of the room.

Nearby young ones looked to you before looking down a little, and began nudging one another. As everyone was suddenly becoming aware of what you were wearing the room grew quieter and quieter but you, too tired to think, only kept your eyes on Peter who just realized you had entered the room.

It took only one second for Peter to glance down and easily spot the shirt he’s been desperately searching for. But instead of scolding you or accusing you like he did the others, he just runs to you immediately wrapping his arms around you while internally gushing about how cute you look in his old t-shirt.

“It’s nothing. Just an argument but it’s settled now.”

“Oh okay?” You said head still propped on his shoulder as he had his arms around you. Soon enough he removed his arms and just took your hand in his, “just go back to bed, everyone’s heading back anyway.”

“Okay?” You repeated not questioning the man's actions and everyone watched as he walked you out, leaving them there to question his sanity.

“So that’s it! We get yelled at, we suffer, but not—“

“Well you saw how cute Y/n looked,” Peter said interrupting Cyclops from the chair in the corner causing some to jump at his sudden appearance while most just glared. “Who could be mad at that face?…so uh…goodnight.”

And off he ran. Most went off to bed while others weren’t done with the whole situation.

“Oh he is so gonna get it," said Jubilee as she noticed Scott practically grinding his teeth in anger before he plus a few others tried to run after the speedy mutant.

[butt3rnugg3t]

Tell Me A Tale

Authors Note: Plz be nice!! First thing I've written and posted in like 4 years, I'm rusty! I fear there's a lot of dialogue. I'm thinking of making this with multiple parts but for now this is it.

OH! And this isn't set in Hawkins. So, this is an AU where Eddie is just a hot tatted dude. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 👍

Word Count 702 (Unedited)

The bell dings, echoing through the small shop on the corner of 5th and Main. Floor to ceiling bookshelves wrap themselves around the store, dust settled in on a few shelves. The door said open, but the vacant counter to the right of the door was unoccupied. Maybe Eddie had read the sign wrong, but he was about 90 percent sure the sign said open.

“Hello?” His voice seemed to echo around the space for a moment before a loud clattering sounded from the back room. 

“Be with you in a moment!” drifted back to him, followed by another series of clashes and finally a few curses. That caused Eddie to smile softly to himself. Another few minutes passed by before he finally saw a pair of legs appear out of the back room, just legs because the rest of her was hidden behind a large stack of books, stacked haphazardly in her arms. “Sorry about making you wait, it's technically my first day working the store by myself and as you can probably tell I've got my work cut out for me."

“I can see, I thought this store had been here for the past 20 or so years though." Thats what Steve had told him when he brought up needing a new copy of 'The Hobbit'.

Eddie grimaced as the store owner tripped on a loose bit of the carpet and almost dropped everything before quickly correcting herself. Taking a deep breath she finally deposited them at the counter before turning to take Eddie in. And Eddie in turn was finally getting all of her as well. She was just as frumpled as he thought she would be, it made him smile.

Denim overalls layered on top of a plain black t-shirt, bright red converse on each foot. Mismatched socks along with her hair looking like it was about to fall out of the messy braid it was forced into. Skin slightly damp from the sticky summer heat that had taken over the city during this hot July afternoon. She looked adorably...tired. Like she had been running on zero sleep and 3 cups of coffee. He felt bad for just realizing it, even though he had just stepped into her store for the first time.

"Yeah, once again, sorry about the mess," She stepped around the counter truly taking the mantel of 'bookseller'. "Um yeah, I just took over from my grandmother." The pause between her words seemed forced, necessary for her to calm down. He felt a stone fall into his stomach, waiting for the next words to fall from her lips. "she's not doing too great recently but," she paused once again, regaining her composure. "Sorry, I'm sure you didn't come in to hear about my life, how can I help you?"

To her credit, Eddie was sure he'd be a blubbering mess if he had to go on and act like everything was fine if (heaven forbid) anything were to happen to Wayne. He certainly wasn't going to hold her small word vomit against her. He also wouldn't mind hearing all about her life if he were to give him the chance.

"All good, I'm actually looking for a copy of 'The Hobbit'," He stepped over to stand across from her, the counter between them. "My last copy is covered in strawberry ice cream" (read: Dustin made a mess)

"Ah, unfortunately were out of our copies. But if you're willing to wait I can order one for you on my next shipment?" Eddie was convinced this girl could talk him into anything. Even if he was in a hurry to own the book again. (He wasn't)

"Yeah, It's absolutely no rush. What do you need for that?" He watched her pull out a receipt pad, jotting down the book title and price in swirly handwritten letters.

"Just a name and good number to contact you at? For when the book comes in," She was quick with the second sentence. But regardless, Eddie was completely content leaving his personal information in her capable hands. And within minutes the book was paid for, and he was set.

All he had to do now was wait for her call.

[idontlikeem]

i'd like to talk about grieving, a little bit. as in the past, discussions of death and cancer below the cut, don't read if this will hurt you, etc....i'm having a bad day and i just need to stream of consciousness for a little bit. sorry.

so my mom died. if you've read my personal posts before or whatever, you probably figured that out. it happened on thursday february 15th around noon. luckily we had a bit of notice that it was coming, so i was able to drive down the saturday prior and spend time with her—three full days where she was pretty much still herself, and part of a fourth.

it's been a really hard month. like, obviously. but i think a part of me still wasn't quite ready for it. i don't know how.

my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer in fall 2011. she had a mastectomy and went through chemo, and that was hard and scary, but it was i think technically considered stage one—a tumor that was definitely growing fast, but it hadn't spread out of the area, like not to her lymph nodes or anything, and with the treatment she went almost ten years totally symptom-free. right at the start of the pandemic, the cancer came back, but this time it was already stage four, and it was in her abdomen and uterus and intestines.

there was a time when we weren't sure she'd live more than a year. endometrial and other reproductive cancers aren't 'sexy' like breast cancer is, they're not widely studied and there aren't a lot of treatment options. when she had breast cancer i hated 'save the boobies' campaigns (and please never donate to susan komen), but now that my family has lived with another type of cancer that doesn't have tits as a draw, i hate them even more.

my mom made it four years, pretty much, since the first diagnosis. she did chemo, and radiation, and went on medication trials, and put her body through hell to try and fight it. she lived longer than i think any of us thought she would.

the problem with that is how long i've been existing in a state of grief.

i've had years to prepare for this. i've thought about it literally thousands of times—how i'd feel, how i'd tell people, what i'd do after. i pictured it, because i was trying to plan. i was trying to get myself ready.

turns out pre-grieving isn't real. turns out you can't get this pain out of the way by experiencing it in advance. much to my chagrin. i'm not sure there was a way to avoid it, though. so here i am, with four years of grief behind me, and not one second of it has made what's going on now any easier.

some days i forget. every time i'm on twitter or instagram, there are posts i want to send her, and then i don't know what to do with myself. for all that my relationship with her had its hard times, she was my mom, she was my best friend. i love her more than anything and i don't know what to do with myself now that she's gone.

i've been sort of just surviving for the last four weeks. my apartment is a mess, i'm barely leaving, i haven't been good at responding to people. so today i thought i'd at least clean up a little. i'd gone to target a day or two before i drove down to my parents', and i figured i would start with those bags, because they were just sitting there.

i'd forgotten that i bought valentine's day cards for my whole family that i wanted to send. one for each of my brothers, one for my dad, one for my mom. i never sent them, obviously, i didn't even bring them with me. i burst into tears when i pulled them out of the bag, and i've been crying pretty much all day since then. i'm never going to pick out a card for my mom ever again.

i also have a notes app file sitting on my phone. she wrote each of us letters, and my dad sent them out to us, but i haven't been able to open mine yet. it's the last new thing she'll ever say to me. how could i possibly be ready for that? how do i know when the right time to read that will be?

one thing my mom wanted was to die at home. she didn't want it to be in a hospital, and i get it. she spent a month in the hospital after christmas, and god knows how much time cumulatively over the last four years. the fact that she was able to push to get home is something i don't understand, because she was so sick—but she did it somehow. she was able to die in her bed.

and i was with her. like. i wasn't just at home, i was with her.

something they don't tell you about having someone die is you have to start arranging stuff before it actually happens. when we woke up on the 15th, we knew it was only a matter of time—her eyes weren't all the way open and her breath was labored, and she couldn't talk, although at first she still tried to say stuff. we sat there with her and kept her company and talked to her. hospice came by around 11 or 11:30, i don't even remember, and said that based on whatever measurements or readings they take (pupils? breathing? i don't know), it would be between 4-8 hours, and he recommended that my dad call the funeral home. because you have to do that first.

so my youngest brother was driving down from where he lives, my middle brother was in his room, my dad was in his room on the phone, and i stayed with her, because....well, of course, right? and i was just kind of talking, and crying, but trying not to...i don't know, beg her to stay? ask for more time? the nurse said she could still hear, they're pretty sure that hearing and understanding what's being said is the last thing to go, and i didn't want her to feel bad or guilty, or to hurt herself in an effort to stay longer even though there's nothing more that i've ever wanted in my life.

so i told her, you know, we'll be okay. it's going to be unbearably sad, and it's going to suck, but all the stuff we did as a family with her—we'll still do it. and we'll be okay. and there's nothing more important to us than her not hurting anymore, not being miserable and stuck and just...not herself. all that matters to us right now is her, and she didn't have to worry about us, because we'd be okay.

and she took in a breath. there was a pause. she took in another one. and she stopped. that was it.

i didn't even realize at first, not right the second it happened. the hospice booklet had talked about a 'death rattle', about how it happens almost all the time, but that it's more distressing for the people with the person dying than them, that they're not in pain. how the fuck would they know that, i'm not sure i believe it, but...it's what i was expecting. that didn't happen, though. she just stopped breathing.

the amount of guilt i felt for my dad being out of the room...i don't know if that will ever leave me. he said it was ok, because he was having to deal with stuff, and he'd spent a lot of time with her and it was fine, but jesus. how do i not feel like i stole that from him?

i've felt like a shell ever since. i'm back where i live, and i'm getting up and going to work and taking care of my dog and trying to stay connected to life, but...i don't know.

how is it that she's gone? how is this possible? how am i supposed to go the rest of my life without her?

i had four years to get ready for this, and i wasn't. i don't think there's any way i really could have been, but still. it doesn't seem fair that it was so hard for so long, and for NOTHING. nothing is easier now.

i'm sick of feeling sad, and hurt. i feel like i should be over it or something? i don't know, maybe just less actively affected? it's been a month. people's parents die all the time, right?

what am i supposed to do?

[americas1suiteheart]

Night Out

Patrick Stump x Fem! Reader

Kinda NSFW, just a bit of a warning.

Summary; You and the guys go out after a show to ease yourselves, one too many drinks later, a few things are said, leading to an interesting moment between you and Patrick.

Notes; This is the closest thing I've ever written to smut, I'm not going any farther in this fic either. Anyway, enjoy. (Or maybe it will be on Ao3..) I also noticed that I tend to ramble in my fics, my bad, guys.

Warnings; Lots and lots of mentions of drinking and alcohol, sorta suggestive at the end, drunk confessions, implied drunk sex but not written, and foul language. (This is probably one of the fics with the most warnings in my discography)

Volume: ■■■■■□□□

A little night out after a show was just what you and the guys needed, just to take your mind off of some of the technical difficulties during the show, and most of it was partially your fault.

Before the show, all of tech and stage crew were setting up and putting everything together, you were setting up the mics on everyone's instruments. Once you had finished that, which was *very* rushed due to everyone being late because of traffic, you went to help with connect everything to the mixing boards, lighting controls, all that nice stuff. Unfortunately, you had mixed up some of the cords when you were doing that, and you guessed that you hadn't secured one of the lights.

Miking up all the instruments and messing it up was one thing, then mixing up the cords for the mixing and lighting boards and computers was another, but not securing a light correctly was the big screw up.

When the band came out and they started playing, only Joe's guitar had sound coming out, and only on one of the monitors at that. Pyrotechnics don't seem as cool when there's only a faint guitar playing without the rest of the band. The set up had to be fixed *extremely* quickly, meaning that at least 10 minutes of the show was postponed.

Then the lighting wasn't able to be controlled by the lighting techs. That was another 10 minutes of the show being postponed.

Once all of that was fixed, the band was 3 quarters through the show, nearly being finished without any more difficulties.

Then the worst happened.

That light I didn't secure correctly just happened to fall right next to Pete, thankfully nearly missing him. The thing about those lights is that they weigh around 100 pounds. It caused damage to the stage and broke the light.

Luckily no one was injured, but the costs for the damage definitely will hurt.

"Y/n? You gonna come with us or not?" Joe says, snapping you out of your trance.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry about that." You say, quickly getting out of the vehicle.

"I would say "don't sweat it" but you almost killed me." Pete said, meaning for it to be in a joking manner.

You shrunk a little and looked down at the floor as you continued to walk to the entrance of the bar with the boys.

"You're not making it any better, Pete.."

You were surprised that they even asked you to get drinks with them after that. I mean, yes, you've been friends with them since Andy joined the band, but you seriously fucked up tonight and almost killed Pete.

"You just need one drink and you'll feel better, Y/n. You just had a rough day, everyone had a rough day today even before the show, even another tech screwed up." Joe put a hand on your back and tried to comfort you.

"Yeah, you're right." You smile at him as you walk through the doors with everyone else.

Music was blaring and lights flashed. The place was crowded and smelled of alcohol and BO. Guess that's just normal for a downtown nightclub, though.

"I'll go get us a table. You guys can go get drinks, just find me." Andy said, pointing in the direction of all of the booths.

"Thanks, Andy."

The bar area was crowded with people that may have already gone way past their limits.

Once pushing your way through, you order your drinks. You were never one for hard liquors or mixed drinks, you kept it simple and just got two beers and a soda for Andy.

Once finished you all make your way to find the table Andy had saved, finally spotting him.

"Hey, Andy. I got you a soda, did you get food?" You ask, handing him his drink and sliding down into the booth next to him.

"Yeah, just some wings and fries, nothing special."

"Okay, did you get anything for yourself, though?"

Andy was your younger brother by a year, so you always worried about him. Yet despite the fact of you being older, he somehow managed to act more mature than you, like an older brother instead.

"I got another order of fries, don't worry. Thanks for getting me something to drink, N/n."

Patrick slides into the booth to sit next to you and puts his drink on the table.

At first it was weird getting to know Patrick because he was much younger than you, barely going into his 20s when you were already into your mid ones. It took some getting used to, it felt odd being friends with someone that much younger, and you felt even weirder when you found that you'd grown more than fond of him as you two got closer.

You take a chug from your drink as you listen to the boys argue about pointless things.

You got lost in your own thoughts, still thinking about the accidents and mishaps that happened because of you.

Were you really just having a bad day, or maybe you were just being lazy. Were you? God, you're so getting fired.

A hand on your back snaps you back, making you look beside at Patrick.

"Are you alright, Y/n?" Patrick says with obvious concern in his voice, his brows furrowed.

You stare at Patrick blankly and nod, looking away back at the label of the bottle like it was the most interesting thing.

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

Only about an hour of being there everyone was already a couple drinks in. The music seemed louder than before, it was getting hotter what seemed like every minute, and you had already forgotten about the events at the show.

"Okay, okay, how about when we get back to Chicago, we go and get like this and just fuck around downtown, then we could crash at my place." Pete says after taking the last sip of his drink.

Everyone at the table agrees. Even if Andy doesn't drink that doesn't mean that he's not down for something that made him feel like a teenager again.

The boys all joked with eachother, and that whole time you found yourself leaning into Patrick as you laughed along with them.

All the anxiety that you had with fear of doing too much quickly went away as soon as the amount of alcohol content in your body began to settle in, gosh this will suck the next morning.

By now you were already completely attracted to Patrick, his arm around your waist as you leaned your head against his shoulder as you talked with everyone else. Even if you couldn't think at that moment, you were still very conscious about this and trying not to heat up too much, hoping to push it off as the alcohol making your cheeks get a little pink.

"We're going to get more drinks, are you two gonna come?" Joe asks, leaning against the booth closest to where Patrick was sitting.

"No, I'm cool."

"I'm fine, too."

"Do you want us to bring you guys anything?"

You and Patrick look at eachother for a moment and you tried to decide whether or not you should get another drink.

"Yeah, sure. You think you can just grab me another beer and then some water if it ain't too much trouble?" You ask picking your head up off of Patrick's shoulder as you take some cash out of your wallet to give it to Joe.

He gladly takes it and walks off with Pete to the bar.

Andy was somewhere unknown to your knowledge. He had been gone for about 20 minutes now, he never said anything about going back to the bus or restroom, so you were starting to get a little worried.

"Do you know where Andy went? He just left without saying anything and I'm getting a little worried, now." You ask Patrick, anxiously looking to see if you could see him on the dance floor from where you were sitting.

" I think he said something about some girl he saw. He might be somewhere on the dance floor talking or trying to find her." Patrick assures you, taking a drink from his glass.

"Oh, okay. Good to know." You hum, laying your head back down onto Patrick's shoulder.

"Don't worry about him, Y/n. He's an adult, he knows not to do anything stupid."

"I know, I know. I just worry for him all the time though, you know?" You shrug.

Joe and Pete were taking longer than when they had previously gone back for more. Why did all of them disappear?

Speak of the devil; Pete and Joe showed up, drinks in hands and arms, passing them on the table to their own spots and yours and Patrick's.

"Did you guys see Andy over there?" You ask anxiously.

Pete and Joe look at eachother shrugging, then looking back to you and shaking their head 'no'.

Patrick's right, he's an adult, you shouldn't be so worried. He knows better and is responsible.

Somehow, somewhere in the conversation, it started to sound a lot like a middle school girl's sleepover party. Pete began talking about some of the girls he had a thing for when he was in high school, then so did Joe, and then they insisted it was your turn.

"Nope, never had a crush." You say,

"There's no way in hell, man. You're 34 years old and you've never had a crush? I don't believe that." Joe says.

"You sound like teenage girls.."

You ignore Joe, taking another cold fry from the basket and swirling it in the ketchup. You turn over to see Pete whispering something to Joe, then Joe giving a shocked expression as he looked back and forth between you and Patrick.

"What? What are you guys talking about?" You ask.

"Nothing." Joe and Pete say at the same time.

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

"Duuuudddeee, I'm telling you, man. Patrick totally has a thing for you." Pete slurs, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you slightly, making the nausea worse.

You feel heat quickly rise to your cheeks and tips of your ears.

"Dude, get off of me."

Regardless of what your stomach and head was currently telling you (to lay off the alcohol, and quickly for that matter), you continued to down a shot or two, or you think. Not that you really remember right now, though.

You felt lightheaded and heavy at the same time, and were currently trying your best not to suddenly fall asleep.

Everyone that had been sitting at the booth was now gone. Probably chatting with people, trying to get numbers, especially Pete and Joe, and just dancing. The only one that remained at the booth sitting next to you was Patrick.

He looked just as equally gone as you were. He was so pretty like that. The way the alcohol made his cheeks flushed, and the lighting of the club made it even better.

"I love you."

You suddenly blurt out, your brain had long lost your ability to make smart choices and not do things like this. And at this point you didn't really care, I mean, its not like you or him would remember it either way.

"What?"

"I love you, Patrick."

Patrick looks at you for a moment, an unreadable look on his face, and his face seemed to turn a crimson red faster and faster by the minute.

Very unsuspected and suddenly, a pair of lips crashes harshly onto yours and hands are on your waist.

You moan as Patrick trails his hand up your back and pulls you closer to deepen the kiss.

At this point, the both of you were being very handsy with eachother in the booth, where any of the boys could walk to it and see the both of you just going at it.

"We should go somewhere else." You say, breaking from the kiss. Your lips were swollen, you were out of breath and your whole body felt like it was on fire.

"I agree. Somewhere more private?" Patrick suggested.

You two walked to the single stall unisex restroom, which was by some miracle vacant.

It smelled of alcohol and throw up, and thankfully the smell of vomit was very subtle, but regardless, you wouldnt've cared.

Once inside and the door was locked, Patrick immediately pushed you against the wall and placed sloppy kisses on your neck.

"Fuck, Patrick.." You moan as you run your hands through his hair.

While doing something like this might be wrong, especially inside of a very unsanitary restroom, you hadn't cared one bit right now.

The ecstasy that ran through your body had you squirming at the pleasure.

This'll be a little secret between the two of you..

Volume: ■■■■■■■■

Okay, okay. So, I've literally never written something like this at all, and I got tired of having this in my drafts for literal months, so I very half-assed and quickly finished this. Tbh, I/m not happy with how it turned out at all, and it could've very well been a regular fluff fic, but I like trying new things, and I'm not really sure if I should've.

Anyway, I hope some of you dirty motherfuckers enjoyed this. This will most definitely be up on my Ao3..

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Hello! I just saw your Matriarch post! Can you possibly do a prologue about her backstory and her going to the other dimension with a batfamily and batmom that are still alive and together? And possibly a part 1 where she just walks into the Batcave one night after she sends out an all-call to the bats and the league and once they all start questioning what is going on she comes out and tells them about her backstory and how she'll prevent her future from happening by offing the rogues one by one and saying something like "I'm the only one who could ever succeed in doing this. And do you know why... it's because I know exactly how each and every hero and villain alike think. I know every plan and protocol in place that both sides of the gallery (i.e. meaning the heroic side and villainous side) have in place, how to stop or outsmart them, and every single possible move any of you could make against me. If you think you can stop your wife, mother, friend, or whatever else I am to you, then by all means... I invite you all to play my game, if you can capture me AND discover my plan, then I'll stop for good and go back to my time. But should I be victorious, well, the world and all of you are MINE."

Sorry for it being so long! And for the long monologue!

[Damn, that is good!!]

[Matriarch Au]

Notes.

In this au (Y/N) pretends to be a hero for the public sake. A part-timer of the league in the future.

Bruce doesn't know (but has suspicion) she is killing or torturing almost half of his rouge gallery.

She's afraid that Bruce won't love her become of his no-killing code.

There's technically a "(Y/N)" in this timeline who meets Bruce and falls in love. But, The Matriarch technically killed her before she could meet Bruce.

But here's another question. How does this (Y/N) interact with the Batfamily?

Since (Y/N) knows of each horrible thing that has happened to her children and lover. Batmom is very protective then most other Batmoms.

She still wants to give her children freedom, but also knows that when she did... They were beaten or almost killed for the sake of protecting others.

Batmom decided to mess with this world's timeline so it would be better than her own. But still deliberately decided to let some things stay the same.

1st Example, Dick Grayson. Now depending if Batmom came around before Dicks parents demise is up to you. But in this instance where she did, Batmom would try to save his parents but it doesn't work out.

2nd would be Jason, this is where it gets kinda fucked up.

Batmom is a very caring individual but Matriarch isn't.

Batmom would do whatever she can to make sure Jason will never know of his mother being alive. Batmom will even go out of her way to guilt-trip Jason and emotionally manipulate him. To the point where he doesn't care if his real mother is alive or dead.

But, if Jason does end up curious and decides to find his mother. Aw hell he ain't gonna be free from Batmoms protection. Including Matriarch.

Batmom will get Bruce on her side to not let Jason out of the house or better yet city to look for his mother. It will take a lot of convincing and emotional manipulation part two. Anything regarding Jason's mother or possibly anyone close to bearing resemblance is wiped from the Bat-computer database.

If Jason managed to find a way to convince Batmom or escape Gotham. You are three steps ahead as Batmom or Matriarch.

The only way Jason could even wind up dead is if Batmom was a second too late.

From that point on if that happens, it'll be a much worse for the latter members and friends of the Batfam.

(Y/N) has and will install trackers on everything and anyone. Your always listening, always alert.

You'll put on the facade sure, but the truth of it all is that.. You're no longer just "scared". No you're terrified, to the point you have the smallest threat or villain is your biggest enemy.

-

[I'll write more for Batmom/Yandere/Villain reader! I swear! If you guys want more let me know, I still gotta describe how Matriarch Au deals with villains.]

[Maybe even write a angst dead dove do not eat fic later hopefully. Thank you for reading!]

[poisoned-pearls]

PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FANKIDS THEY ARE SO CUTE.... do they have unique magic?? what are their family dynamics (with their parents, grandparents, etc.)???

AH OKAY SOOO- I have quite a few (I’ll tag them all so you can scroll through their tags- despite not having an organized blog I do have it organized for them) BUT I shall focus on Nami, Enzi, Faraja and Viv because. I’m in a mood for my girls rn-/lh

Nami is an only child, spoiled to hell and back by Azul because look at that man. He was made to be a girl dad spoiling them. She can do no wrong to them and they will defend her and her actions until the end of time. BUT she is the more generous kind of spoiled (if she likes you. If she doesn’t then get slapped by octopus tentacle motherfucker-) where she will give you something like that because she’d always just get another one

she’s the only one to have a fully thought out um (because god why do they take so much brainpower to think of)- Sirens Song. If she wills it, she can use her voice as a tool of mass hypnotism. This ability goes as far as her voice does, so as long as you are in earshot of her voice, you are susceptible. (Which sucks for beastmen with good hearing)

in general though she is very close with both of her dads and admires both of them to an absurd degree. She wants to be just like them, if not better. She is ADORED on Azul’s side (because in my lore, octo babies are RARE. You will only ever probably have one, or maybe two if you are insanely lucky. It ties into their magical prowess) but on Jamil’s side it’s basically just Najma and Jaddah, but she barely sees her (in my lore Jamil’s mom isn’t a bad person, she just was stuck in a bad situation and was very mentally unwell. Jamil and Najma were both ripped from her arms right after she gave birth and it messed her up. Jamil let her hold baby Nami and she cried)

(Design wise she pulls from Ariel and Vanessa. And a bit of jasmine)

Enzi is also technically an only child, but it’s only ever been her and ruggie. She was quite literally plucked off of the street and she’s been with him ever since. She grew up side by side with Faraja, constantly having play dates and such. But overall, she just, loves her dad. They’re a lot more like friends then a normal parent kid dynamic because ruggie understands that as she gets older she wants more respect (and hyena gender roles come in a bit). He taught her things from his culture though (HISPANIC RUGGIEEEE-) and she is fully considered apart of their community. Even if she’s a grey hyena in a sea of blonde and brown.

Faraja is… oh god she is my angst baby. I’m so sorry girl- she is an only child as well. I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen- her other parent.. isn’t in the picture. One day she was at Leona’s doorstep with a note saying she was his, and a week later, after the tests went through, she was. Cursed with being a bastard in a royal family (despite how fucking upset about it Leona was and how much he fought her treatment) she was basically ostracized from the rest of the family except for farena’s wife and Cheka. Leona loves her though. She never got a royal budget so he works as a local magical history professor and gives her his budget instead. Her hair is used throughout her storyline to express her feelings and I have a post detailing some of her angst

Vivienne is Not an only child, she has her brother, Emil- and she’s a musician (a la Taylor swift- said somewhat jokingly) but she only started performed when she was 16, because Vil was absolutely not going to have her have the same childhood he did. Instead she was tossed over to rook and taken out hunting. She has a crossbow in her skirt enchanted to compress at all times. She’s close with her little brother (tho he is annoying. Like all siblings) and she’s pretty close with both of her parents. (She also loves her gf Faraja which was a uh. Shock for Vil, at first.)

[toxicanonymity]

Laid back (one-shot)

Words: 2.5k | Paring: Corey Cunningham x Reader

EDIT: technically no longer a one-shot: Laid Back 2

Summary: You comfort Corey after a rough day and give him a special HJ in a special position.

Notes: Fun request from @ethanhoewke based on a post by @futurewife about wanting to please Corey in a specific position. My first time writing fluffy good-guy smut. More notes at end.

Thanks for reading!

Explicit Content. 18+ No Minors

Corey is such a sweetheart.  Things got rough for him after the accident, and you worried about him. It was painful seeing him suffer.  You made sure he knew he could always come to you if he needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or  just someone to hang out with. It started out as a friendship between you.  

You watched movies, cooked together, and sometimes just talked for hours.  Your house became another place for him to call home – somewhere without judgment or his mother’s constant badgering.  You started keeping your fridge stocked with his favorite brand of chocolate milk and even tried to learn how to make custard.  Your heart always fluttered around him, and you felt like he might feel it too, but knowing he was okay was the most important thing to you, and you didn’t want to mess that up.  

Eventually though, having spent a lot of time alone together, the inevitable happened.  Soon you were cuddled up together watching movies: first on the sofa, then in your bed.  You kissed and explored each other, and things became intimate.   It feels so right with Corey, like you’re two parts of the same person.  Like you belong together.  

You enjoy being his refuge.  You enjoy the company, too, since you live alone.  He comes over most nights now. When he’s not there, you miss him.  You get the feeling you'd see a lot more of him if it weren't for his mother. 

-

Today, on your way home, you saw Corey get bullied, and it broke your heart.  He has bullies of all ages.  Sometimes it’s adults, sometimes it’s kids who are still in school.  He can’t catch a break.  When you saw him on the side of the road today, dejected, walking his bike, head held low, trying not to make eye contact with anyone as a group of teenagers jeered at him, you knew you wanted to do something special for him. You offered him a ride, but he got back on his bike and said he’d come over later.

When Corey gets to your place, his posture is still dejected, and he’s got an oversized trucker jacket over a cable knit sweater and jeans.  None of it fools you -  there’s a hard, husky body under there and a guy who loves to please.  You always get excited when you see him.  You watch his big hands on the handlebars as he parks his bicycle on your front porch.  You want his hands all over you, but you’ve already decided today isn’t about you.  It’s about making him feel special.  

He perks up a little as he approaches you.  You invite him in with a sweet kiss, your hands around his brawny neck. He smiles against your mouth and it feels like heaven. Even after a day like today, he can’t help but smile.  

You grab him a chocolate milk and cozy up on the couch with your feet folded under you and your knees against Corey’s leg.  He rests a massive hand on your knee and you ask him about his day.  You don’t want to tell him you saw the incident, but you hope he’s comfortable telling you if he wants to talk about it.  He says, “You know, I don’t know what people want sometimes.  I don’t know why they don’t move on.”  He sounds defeated.  

You say, “I know hun,” and rub his back. You listen until he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.  Then you say, “Hey, I’m kinda cold.” 

He starts to take off his jacket to give to you - such a sweetheart.  You love to watch his thick arms emerge from a jacket.  You don’t put it on, though.  “Wanna go upstairs? It’s warmer”

“Wherever you want.  I just wanna be with you,” he says, and you interlace your fingers with his and lead him upstairs.

"See? It's almost too warm up here," you say and he agrees. 

He takes off his shoes and you pile some pillows up on your bed.  You lie back on the pillows and spread your legs with your knees up.  You pat the bed between your legs to show him his seat.   “I’m the big spoon today,” you say. He smiles shyly and pushes up his glasses. 

“K,” he says. “You can be whatever spoon you want.  I’m lucky to even be in the same drawer." He smiles cheesily.

"Oh my god," you laugh. His shy smile makes you glow.  "Get over here." You pull off your jeans.  

He lays back in between your legs with his jeans still on, at first. "Yeah, it's warm up here," he says as he scoots forward and his hands go to his belt. The sound of the leather belt sliding out of his jeans has a pavlovian effect.  Between that and his ass flexing as he takes them off, your underwear moistens. 

He leaves his boxer briefs on and scoots back into you.  Your legs spread wider to make room.  It’s a pleasant stretch for your inner thighs.  His vast torso more than covers yours and you enjoy his weight against you as he leans back.  Corey's back drives you mad.  You long to see his rippling muscles, but today it's enough to have his cozy sweater against you.  

His curly head is leaned against one side of your face, and his hair smells clean.  His sweater smells like a combination of musk, motor oil, and a hint of aftershave.  You inhale his masculinity.  It’s your favorite smell in the world.  Your core is hot with affection and desire. 

You stroke his imposing arms gently through his sweater and he begins to relax more.  You rest your chin on his shoulder, leaning your head against his hardy neck and jaw.   You behold his sturdy thighs bulging out from under his boxer briefs, fading from white to tan.  You slip your hands under his arms and hug his very solid torso. 

Your hands migrate down to his hefty thighs. As you stroke both his thighs, he moans lightly and cranes his head to smell and kiss your neck.  Your lips meet his for a soft kiss.  Your hand slides up his thigh to his groin, lightly massaging his paler, more sensitive skin and feeling fine, curly hair under your fingers.  

His boxer briefs swell, and he adjusts them.  “Why don’t you take those off?” you say.

“Are you sure?” he asks.  He knows you're sure, but he’s always a gentleman.  

“Please”  He removes his boxer briefs so he’s naked from the waist down but still wearing his sweater, black socks, and brown, plastic-framed glasses. Your heart is pounding.   

Before he settles back into you, he pauses and says “Yours?” with a hopeful smirk.  

You smile and pull off your own underwear.  You watch his member over his shoulder. satisfaction is visible as he nestles back between your legs.   You’re throbbing and wonder if he’ll be able to feel your wetness.  With Corey’s expansive back against you, and his curly head in the crook of your neck, you look down over his shoulder and admire his thick manhood against his lower abs.  Everything about him is so meaty. Sometimes it seems like you’re the only one who knows.  He’s a delicious buffet of man, and he’s all yours.  

He adjusts his hardening package as though to acknowledge the elephant in the room.  You say “Allow me. Just sit back and relax."  You hook your legs over his then let yours fall outward a little, spreading his thighs and keeping them open.  Below his thickening member, you can see his balls, and just barely, a bit of his ass. 

First, you hold his warm shaft in your hand and just enjoy the feeling of it growing against you.  You whisper “God I love your cock,” and it swells against your palm.  There’s never been a truer statement, either.  You're very wet, but you'll have to take care of it later.   He puts his lips to your neck, then your mouth.  Your lips meet his hungrily, and your tongues greet each other.  You kiss his neck and tell him, "You can watch." 

He looks you in the eye through his glasses and smiles shyly.  He stops craning his neck and dutifully watches your hand on his cock.  His breath is slow, and he’s a little flushed.  You watch his chest rise and fall. He adjusts his glasses.  He puts his hands on your knees, and massages your thighs.  

Now he’s rock hard and some pre-cum is pearling.  You collect it with your thumb and swirl it around his cock-head as lube as you begin to lightly stroke him.  You’re getting so wet.  You reach between you to your wetness to supply some more lubricant.  He groans as you bring your glistening hand to his cock.  

You gently massage the tip of his cock in short short strokes, moving your fingers over the ledge of the head and back.  His breath grows heavier.  You close your hand at the top and palm the tip.  He whines. Then you curl your thumb and all your fingers around him and gently stroke the shaft.  Your stroke grows a little firmer and his mouth opens.  He closes his eyes in pleasure for a moment, then watches again.

Corey’s hips begin lifting gently, rhythmically, while keeping his legs butterflied with your legs between his.  It’s a soft, slow thrust into your grip.  His knees dip toward the bed each time. You tell him he can just sit back and relax, but he can’t stop his hips moving, at least ever so slightly. 

“You’re so hot,” he says.  He reaches both his huge hands behind you, palms  up, and slides them under your butt.  Each cheek is engulfed by a massive palm.  His meaty fingers squeeze you.  He sighs “Ahh, you feel so good.” 

You stroke the entire length of his cock from the base of the shaft to the tip of the head.  It’s a stretch to reach both your arms around him at once, but you use your other hand to cup his balls as you continue stroking while he continues to thrust gently and relatively slowly.  It’s so hot that he can’t help it.  His cock is so hard.  He brings his hands out from under you and back to your thighs, and you let go of his balls.  His enormous hands look so hot on your thighs. 

God, the width of his fingers.  He massages your thighs as his pelvis keeps moving, his knees dipping toward the bed.  You keep stroking him and bring your other hand under his sweater and undershirt to caress a nipple, which hardens instantly. Yours do, too.  His breath becomes ragged, and you’re throbbing down there.  You find yourself trying to grind into his ass. 

“I want you,” he breathes. “But I dunno if we have time.”  He’s getting close.  

“Later,” you say, and kiss his neck.  That was the answer he needed to stop holding back. He thrusts a little stronger into your hand.  He turns his head to kiss and suck at your throat.  He breathes hotly against your neck, then turns his head again to watch what you’re doing to him.   

A bit more pre-cum seeps from his cockhead.  You slide your hand from his nipple to his lower torso to pull his sweater out of the way.   With your thumb hooked outside the sweater to keep it lifted, you flatten your fingers together and feel his lower abdomen.  You can feel how hard and muscular he is. He moans, “Oh, God.”

He grips your thighs and his pelvis jerks upward.  A milky rope shoots out several inches into the air in slow motion.  You continue stroking for a moment longer, with a light touch. The next rope gushes out more like molten lava.  You hold your hand still.  Two more spurts and his body relaxes.

The feeling of his dead weight against you is like the strongest, most effortless hug. You shift just slightly so you can breathe, but most of his weight is still on you.  Emptying his cock into your hand really turned you on.  You’re twitching, but what’s more important to you is that Corey seems happy and relaxed, and you want to savor this moment. “That was amazing,” he says.  “I don’t deserve you.”  

“Don’t say that,” you remind him.  “You do.  We deserve each other, in the best way.”  

You lie there together and he looks so vulnerable nude from the waist down.  You feel grateful that he opens up to you the way he does. It’s a special feeling to be his safe place.  You clean up with a tissue and pull a blanket over you both.  You wrap your arms under his, around his torso.  He nuzzles his curly hair back into you and takes your hands - they feel so small and safe in his. 

Eventually, he turns over so he’s face-down half on top of you, and one of his legs is between yours. He presses his perfect nose and lips into your neck.  Then he looks you in the eyes and kisses your lips sweetly, almost appreciatively.  He puts his head on your shoulder.  His thigh is in a perfect position for your own needs, but your lovey-dovey hormones win over your “fuck me fuck me” ones, for the moment. You doze off together.   

When the sun sets through the window, you stir half-awake.  You’re in almost the same position you fell asleep in.  You must have dreamt about fucking him, because your whole body aches to be filled with his.  Your skin is humming.  Even your nose and the space between your eyes. You gently grind yourself into his hip bone and find you’re already close to coming.  You rub yourself against his hot, sturdy body, hoping not to wake him or break out of your own horny, hypnagogic state.  

He begins to stir, and his hip and thigh press further into you.  You pulsate your hips quickly but gently and your breath hitches as you reach your climax.  Pleasure shoots through your core.  Your whole body tenses, you ride several waves, and you audibly sigh.  His curls and nose move against you.  He turns his face up toward yours, looks at you with sleepy, watery eyes, and shyly smiles.  He hugs you tight and you hope he never lets go.  

-

More of my Corey Cunningham Smut

[deludedfantasy]

Trimax Vol 7 Ch 1-3

Sooooo, the first half of this volume might have destroyed me. I spent a lot of time staring into space between panels because the horrors were getting to me. Prepare for lots and lots of yelling. Here goes.

Ch 1

With a story like Trimax, I get incredibly nervous when an entire volume is named Happy Days. I know I am being lied to. 

The way the crew comes out of their pods really reads like people clawing their way out of coffins. Very ominous. 

Wow, this guy is rude. Rem hasn’t talked to anyone but Plant children in a whole year and the first thing that happens when the crew wakes up is that one of them harrasses her. Ugh. He could’ve stayed asleep for another three years if that’s how he was gonna be. 

Argh, there are way too many people in this chapter and I can’t tell who’s talking when the whole crew is together. 

I don’t know what to make of it, but Rem’s eyes are completely white when she lies to the crew. I know someone pointed out that Wolfwood’s eyes are white when he’s in an incredibly emotional state so I wonder if this is something similar?

Knives just messing around with the thrusters because he was curious. So not only do Independent plants grow quickly, they’re apparently incredibly smart. But also still kids because he absolutely messed something up.

Ah, young Conrad meeting the twins for the first time. I like that Tristamp made him a more important character because of what happened to Tesla. 

Knives is so concerned with what humans think of him! Having him be so drastically different as a child really makes you wonder what happened to make him hate humanity as much as he does. 

Oh no, baby Knives is crying! He just wants to be loved and accepted. Both of them love Rem so much too. Oh my god, I just wanna cry. This chapter is the sweetest, nicest one we’ve had in a while.

Pages that make me wanna sob because of dramatic irony. Little Knives is so hopeful…he’s so full of love and understanding and naivety. I don’t wanna watch it break.

Ohhhh. Now that I know what’s going on, this part makes a lot more sense to me. Knives and Vash think they see one of the people in cryo chambers awake, and they follow her. I think this is actually a telepathic Plant thing. Tesla is still alive, so she’s projecting herself into their minds and leading them to her. 

She shows up right after Knives’s revelation about working through their differences with humanity. I wonder how much she hears and is aware of, because it seems significant that she shows up then, like a vengeful ghost that wants to show him how wrong he is.

God, I hate reading the report notes. They’re so chilling and dehumanizing. They keep calling her a “subject” but what we see is a little girl. And she looks so small and scared. Man, I really shouldn’t be reading this late at night. I’ll be up all night thinking about this.

“Trouble over a question of ethics.” Well, that’s a fucking understatement! Question of goddamn ethics, you scanned her so often you gave her cancer! Because you were treating a living thing—no, a child—like an inanimate object that could take as much abuse as you threw at it. 

110 days is just over 3 months. I’m raging. How many times did they use radioactive scanning equipment on this little girl to give her tumors??? I had to get one CT scan done and they were extremely reluctant to do it because I was young and they weren’t sure it would show what was wrong with me. 

My brain is only capable of producing screaming noises right now. These last pages are brutal and gory and…yeah, really messed up. 

All the notes have to say is “Project is closed.” PROJECT??? PROJECT????? That was a little girl you experimented on so much that you basically killed her! I’m gonna throw my laptop out the window. 

I’ve come back a little calmer and actually, I can’t tell if she’s alive or not. In Tristamp, it seems like she was put into cryo sleep to preserve her while she was technically alive. But here, I can’t tell. Thing is, she wouldn’t be able to do her Plant telepathy otherwise. Hmmm.

Ch 2

Oh no no no no, little Vash’s dead eyed face is too much for me right now. He’s had his doubts about humans, sure, but this is too much for him to handle. This is the revelation of humanity’s evil that he’s far, far too young to be able to handle. 

Oh God, and he’s alone in there with Tesla’s dissected body because Knives fainted. He can’t look away, he’s never been able to look away, and all he can see now is how different he is from humanity. Right now, he doesn’t see any way they can reconcile their differences. 

This page, where Vash looks like he’s floating curled into a ball while tormented by those staring eyes, is a nice juxtaposition to a similar panel in the last volume. There, he was peacefully floating in zero-g and feeling safe. Here, is the exact opposite. Here, it’s the loss of his innocence. 

Vash is so angry. Rightfully so! What was done to Tesla was horrible and what proof does he have that the same won’t be done to him? Rem has been lying to him his whole life. He’s found out just how cruel the world is. It’s so easy to forget (and honestly not always easy to see) with adult Vash, but at heart, he is driven by anger. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, because in his case, his kindness comes from that deep-seated anger. Remind me to write a longer post about that later. 

Still, it’s so interesting to see that anger and realize it’s always been in him, from the very beginning. 

But this is also the start of something worse—Vash’s suicidal ideation comes from here. He doesn’t see a point in living if the world would treat beings like him with such cruelty, forever leaving him marked as other and inhuman. He doesn’t want to live in a world of only humans. How does he become the man who will do anything in his power to defend humanity when all he has right now is fear and hatred? 

Vash refusing to eat because he just doesn’t see the point and doesn’t want to live—I see where Tristamp got Vash’s feelings about deserving to eat from. 

Oh my God??? OH MY GOD???? Vash was gonna stab himself. Like yes, I’ve read this before, and yes, I know he’s actively suicidal here, but just—this is the first time we’re seeing it exposed like this, the very depths of his despair. The past few pages, the way he’s been drawn, with his cheeks hollowed and his eyes without expression or emotion, it’s A Lot and I’m not okay. 

And Rem just fucking grabs the blade to stop him. She’s willing to hurt herself to keep him from dying. He learned all of this from her, every part of his ideology, and it wasn’t in abstraction. He saw it and, not only that, it was what Rem did to save him. He really becomes her continuation. 

Vash has this moment where he becomes very unhinged and actually sounds a bit like future Knives when he hurts Rem by pulling the blade away from her. He learns how powerful violence is, the relief and catharsis it can bring. But immediately after he has these thoughts, he sees how he hurt Rem and that snaps him back to himself, to the little boy he is who just loves his mother. 

He has her blood on his hands and that’s too much for him to take. She might be one of the humans that hurt Tesla, but he still loves her and it scares him to see her like that.  

He patches her up and gets something to eat….my heart is breaking. He’s just a little baby, why does this have to happen to him?

The blank ticket story is going to make me cry. There’s so much hope in it, especially when you consider the situation Rem had that dream in. She was depressed as hell, she’d lost someone she loved and probably didn’t see a point in going forward either. And it’s a reminder that there’s more to the world than evil and darkness. There’s kindness and goodness too and that’s what Vash needed to hear. 

I also think he needed to see Rem’s tears and remorse to remind him that he knows her. She might have made a mistake with Tesla but she never did anything to them. She’s trying to make up for it, with everything in her being she’s trying. 

Also, “If you hadn’t stopped me then, I never would have known that when you cry, Rem, you look like you’re laughing.” WOW, Vash you really picked up all your best and worst qualities from your mom, huh? You learn to do the same thing.

Knives wakes up with a dead-eyed look and then says he doesn’t remember anything. Yeahhhh, no, I don’t think so.

Ch 3

The chapter titles in this volume are going to be the death of me. I don’t know if I can handle reading something called “King of Loneliness” after that last chapter. Send help, I’m doing it anyway.  

“She hung her head low.” What happened weighs on Rem so much and you just know she ended up taking care of Knives and Vash as some kind of penance. I don’t think she expected to love them as much as she did by the end. But she also never intended on telling them any of this and just forging ahead with them into the new world, disappearing without ever having to face up to what she did.

I can’t blame her though. Is there a good way to tell a child a truth like that? But it would have been better if she’d told them all of this rather than Vash and Knives finding out on their own. Much like it would’ve been better if Vash was honest about who he was and what his mission was with Meryl, Milly, and Wolfwood from earlier on. Hiding things from the people you love rarely ends well. 

“There’s so much we have to do to make sure it never happens again.” Now that’s what I call foreshadowing and dramatic irony. We all know what Knives means by that. 

But Vash knows something’s wrong with Knives. And we see it too. This is the first time in these chapters his face is obscured in shadows, just like it was when we were first introduced to this younger version of him volumes ago. This is the first moment where Vash feels like he doesn’t know his brother. 

Knives is losing it. He’s painting himself in his own blood as he no doubt plans the Big Fall. His descent into fear and darkness here is masterfully done and so unsettling. 

The juxtaposition of these pages too, with his fearful face covered in blood and tears and the triumph as he watches the ships fall from the sky. This was an act of evil, yes, but it was driven by fear and helplessness. 

Knives claims all his decision making as rational, but these last few pages have shown that to be untrue. Certainly, there was logic behind it, but most of it was driven by emotion. 

Ohhhhh, I finally understand this bit! Knives merges with the Plant! He asks her for help and shows what he’s feeling, his anger at humanity and, ultimately, his plans. Last volume, he realized he doesn’t have the power to achieve his goals alone and this is how he plans to fix that. 

At the beginning of this chapter, I thought the King of Loneliness was going to be Vash, but really, it’s Knives. He pushed everyone away and destroyed the colony fleet. He pushes away the Gung Ho Guns and merges with the Plants to achieve his goals. Ultimately, he is still a scared lonely boy who never processed the terrible things he witnessed and learned. His trust was broken so completely, he never recovered.

[peppercornpress]

hiii..i just read again MFN and I couldn't get enough of it. But I always have this growing curiousity inside. I know this might be too much to ask but im really curious how naruto and hinata's first time happened in your MFN..I knew you included some hints but I cant help but wonder how it happened and what they felt that time.👉👈

Hey! I'm glad you liked MFN!!

Ah! NaruHina's first time... I feel like I added a lot of clues but maybe I edited a lot out? I was flirting with the idea of writing a prequel for a while but I just don't have any time for that (nor any interest) so here are my notes for their development:

*Spoilery down below:

On the morning of Naruto's 20th birthday (~6 months into living together), Hinata helps him change some bandages on him, and it reminds Naruto of the moment Hinata helped him rub ointment on his back during the botched moon mission (gotta have 'The Last' parallels all over MFN)...and they finally hash-out some uncomfortable truths. During the time they've lived together, it's been super obvious that they're attracted to each other, and it's been messing with both of them.

So Naruto tells Hinata he can't live with someone who is in love with him... so he'll move out, and let Hinata stay in their apartment.

Hinata assures Naruto she isn't 'in' love with him... and it isn't like that time on the moon, because she truly can't see a future with him. She also knows Naruto doesn't feel the same type of attraction she does toward him.

Naruto corrects her, and admits it's been very hard to keep things platonic--and accuses Hinata of trying to seduce him. Hinata's offended, and instead says she's been working overtime trying to ignore Naruto's advances. They have a bickering fight about who is seducing who, and suddenly they're aware that the mood's shifted and heck, it's Naruto's B-day and Hinata DID plan a fun surprise for him and they're both overcome with a lot of emotions on that day so... yeah. They do it. (It's kind of a cop-out, I know.)

Naruto and Hinata weren't technically ready for this sort of intimacy...so they're a mess in the aftermath. Naruto scrambles to try to fulfill his promise to leave the apartment to her, but can't fight his way out of the lease (yet another cop-out *sigh* I'm reading my notes and smdh). Hinata feels like Naruto is now afraid of her, and is ashamed of fulfilling all the rumors that were buzzing around them... so more drama ensues. But they obviously end up in an arrangement where they keep sleeping with each other. They just never fully talked out their first time though. And I hope that shows when reading the first few chapters of MFN.