#ill probably post it as a one shot

[redyarns]

for the au where orion becomes optimus on his own, did he and d-16 know each other before?? i'm assuming no, but then i'm so curious how the two met 👀👀👀

i briefly forgot about that one! in that universe, orion becomes optimus purely on his own through some... wishy washy cosmic process (aka i have no idea but nasically he and primus become buddies and primus is like yo do u wanna become a prime and kick sentinel into jail and orions like cool bro sure)

anyway no orion and d-16 dont know each other! i cant decide yet if its because d-16 is a miner who never met orion, or if its because hes not a miner at all (probably gonna do the second option). once orion becomes optimus prime and leads iacon, d-16 becomes obsessed with him and develops a celebrity crush even stronger than the one he had on megatronus. optimus encourages autonomy and allows miners to do whatever they wish, to stay in the mines and earn a livable wage with actual health codes, or to pursue anything theyd like.

d-16 immediately packs his bags, abandons the mines, and eagerly signs up to become one of the staff for the prime palace. he gets accepted and is just so so giddy and in awe that he'll get to work directly under optimus, and even if he never sees him hes totally okay with it because all dee wants to do is help optimus! and if that means pruning the gardens or cleaning the halls then thats totally cool with him.

so when dee and optimus meet for the first time and dee totally makes a fool of himself and then runs away in mortification, hes horrified and vows to himself hes never going to run into optimus again bc wtf why did he *do* that???? and then optimus is just left standing there totally smitten and hes determined to get to know that silver mech better

i view tfp optimus as like. the puppy kind of personality whos super goofy and himbo but also hes lowkey relentless in bed 💀 ANYWAY so thats why the first actual scene i wrote was just him pounding dee into the berth. lmao

[ecstarry]

[todayisafridaynight]

[skitskatdacat63]

This photo was life-ruining for me(and @sweatyflytrap ) honestly....

[shhroomer]

Dude! Please I gotta hear more about your little lady 🤲

☆ Is there someone your OC didn’t like at first, but then got along with later?

☆ Who would your OC say is their best friend?

Dude !!! Always happy to see you in my inbox 🫶 ahh thank you sm for the enthusiasm!!

oh man these are some hard questions!! im still trying to figure out the characterization for some of them, so the dynamics might be subject to change. Regardless, oh boy you might have to brace yourself for this one, I fear it's going to be long......... (i havent written it yet but im going to preemptively cut just in case)

☆ Is there someone your OC didn’t like at first, but then got along with later?

that someone is Craig!! He wouldn't like Hanh at first because she's often involved with the M4's shenanigans, and assumed she was either a. a wimpy pushover because of her shy nature or b. just as bad as them lmao. On the other end, Hanh thought that Craig was nothing but a troublemaker with how often he got sent to the Principal's office and assumed he was a meanie with how often he'd clash with her friends. She'd misinterpret his direct and pragmatic comments as being malicious, and while she does agree with a lot of his points, she thinks that his words could use more tact.

However, over time they'd both realize that they had misconceptions about each other: Hanh would come to realize that Craig's reasons for being sent to the principal's office is usually never on purpose or for malicious reasons, and that he never actively looked for trouble. That, and that most of the time, his criticisms towards her friends were completely justified LMAOO. Meanwhile, Craig would find out that Hanh's not as much of a pushover as he thought she was, and that she reprimands the M4 just as much as he does.

which, segues nicely into:

☆ Who would your OC say is their best friend?

also Craig!!!

After they get over that little hurdle, they come to learn a lot from each other! I imagine that Hanh would often give Craig advice on how to talk to Tweek, esp when it comes to the more emotional situations where Craig's more prone to problem solve, and over time he'd learn how to be gentler and kinder in general! On the flipside, Craig would teach Hanh how to be more confident in herself by getting her to be more direct. Craig's honesty is also something Hanh will always appreciate, because it's something she can always rely on without second guessing herself or look for any double meanings. She can always reliably trust that his monotone and deadpan ass will always tell her the truth.

I imagine Craig would ask Hanh what she sees in Stan's gang, only for her to reply with "they make me laugh."

I kind of headcanon that Craig to be this super tall, stoic, kind of intimidating (mostly thanks to his height) kinda guy that people are kinda scared of and avoid. In reality, he's just as much of a loser as any other guy. And with Hanh being short af (standing at a whopping 153cm/5 foot), I think it's a pretty funny visual contrast lol, especially with their very differing personalities (imagine that one picture of the guy going "someone will die" and the other person going "of fun!" thats them)

I also love the headcanon of Craig having braces, so I wanted both of them to share the pain of wearing braces together!! I imagine Hanh being self conscious of having to come to school with braces. She'd probably get a bit of teasing, but then lo and behold: Craig Tucker with braces, to which no one has the balls to say anything about it because he can and would fuck you up (i mean he boxed tweek after all!!). So, by proxy, no one made fun of Hanh for her braces either! Anyways they bond over shared pain and the wires tightening their teeth <3

oh and he also taught her how to flip people off and swear at people lol. the guys made a bet to see who could get Hanh to swear (bonus points if she flipped someone off) and he was the one who ended up winning 30$ that day.

Now, this is where I predict it's going to be long because Craig's not her only best friend: there's also Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Wendy!!

For Kyle,

They both respect each other a lot! Him and Hanh both have very strong moral compasses, and often times they'll find themselves on the same side and agreeing with each other on a lot of things, seeing as they're both very compassionate and caring people.

Although she's usually non-confrontational, whenever it involves Hanh's friends getting hurt unjustifiably, it's like there's a switch that gets flipped. She'll turn a complete 180 and make sure whatever needs to be done gets done (even if it means getting into a fight), which is something Kyle really appreciates about her. Especially if it's moments where she'll defend Kyle from Cartman's comments that go too far. If there was to be anyone he'd have a lot of respect for and find to be on equal footing with (other than maybe Stan and Wendy), it would be Hanh.

Similarly to Craig, I imagine that Kyle would try his best to help build Hanh's assertiveness and support her in her studies, and Hanh would in turn help keep Kyle's cool and give him advice on how to manage his emotions. They've both got each others' backs, essentially.

Whenever Hanh falls asleep in class due to staying up late, Kyle will often take notes for her

I think she'd also help Kyle be a little less uptight at times. Granted, she's guilty of this too and is often very prone to overthinking/freaking out, where just one thing going wrong in her schedule could derail her whole day. Despite this, she also has a very silly, goofy and happy-go-lucky side to her, so whenever that comes out it helps him loosen up a bit haha

They're also both the most studious out of Stan's gang, so they often do study sessions together. There's definitely a very small rivalry between them (which is completely one-sided on Kyle's side, btw. I imagine that he's at least the littlest bit competitive over grades, but Hanh does not give a fuck lmao). Sheila loves it when she comes over. Most of the moms, actually. They think Hanh's the right influence the boys need to balance out their stupidity lol

Speaking of stupidity, they're the most likely to take the responsibility of making sure their group doesn't get hurt/into trouble. Sometimes, it's just Kyle (though those moments are rare). And smetimes, it's just Hanh who takes on the role of the girl who's surrounded by a bunch of idiotic, immature guys, lol. Even Kyle can sometimes be susceptible to "boys will be boys," guys.

She also adores Ike! Hanh loves reading bedtime stories to him and playing Minecraft with both brothers! So that's bonus points in Kyle's book. Hilariously, I think it would be the funniest thing if Kyle was just terrible at Minecraft, so both Hanh and Ike would just dunk on him for being bad at the game HAHAHA

theyre both level 106 in hay day

I think Hanh would also really trust Kyle's judgement. He's not the smartest kid in class for nothing, after all. I'm imagining moments where if she's ever skeptical on joining on one of the M4's escapades, usually all she needs is Kyle's approval before begrudgingly sighing and tagging along HAHA

He's also much bossier than she is, so she's ok with just passively and silently following orders from him (from the others too, but Kyle's especially because of what I said above). Though, the same goes for Kyle as well: He trusts Hanh just as much as she trusts him, even if he doesn't actively show it.

They're both incredible yappers, Kyle moreso than her. Though, she doesn't mind taking on the listener role that much.

Both of them would also relate to kind of being the "outcasts" in the sense that they're always missing out on the thing that's mainstream (see: Kyle always being late to the Chinpokomon trend and him going against the metrosexual trend, etc.). I think it'd be the funniest thing too if both of them didn't know how to dap people LMAOOOO so they just spend a whole evening practicing how to dap each other up, only to realize that they can't even get a good dap up because both of their hands have hand sizes that are too different from one another.

I also think it would be super cute if they bonded over their "weird" lunchbox foods (on days where they don't buy from the cafeteria). Totally not me projecting my second generation immigrant experiences.

oh and he's the type to hug her right after a basketball practice: sweat and all. very gross, as intended.

As for Stan,

they'd bond over hating their dads, lol

Because both Stan and Hanh are very emotional people, they have a very close bond, often feeling like they're the only ones who can understand each other. They'd both be able to vent to each other about school, their issues, their depression, etc.

They also both get to see each other in their cringiest phases: for Stan, it was his goth phase, and for Hanh it was her weeb phase LMAOOO (they both tease each other about it constantly since they've both seen each other at their lowests and they know they're both losers anyway)

Speaking of goth phase, Hanh helps him paint his nails black!! he reluctantly asked for her advice because she has a lot of experience painting nails (thanks to her mom working at a nail salon), and she decided she needed to take it upon herself to teach him how to apply it the nail polish cleanly LMAO

They're both also very creative!! Hanh will often go over to Stan's house where they just hang out in each other's presence, where Stan's working on a new song and Hanh's just doodling something. Sometimes she'll use Stan as pose reference.

Stan would teach Hanh how to play some of his favorite board games (albeit with a lot of struggle), and she'd give him tips on how to better paint his Warhammer figurines.

both of them are also hoarders, lol

I also headcanon Stan as being pretty chronically online, so doomscrolling, on discord, the whole package. On late nights when Hanh's writing an essay that's due the next day, she'll often text/call him on discord because she knows he'd be awake super late.

THE BIGGEST CRIMSON DAWN FAN!!! absolutely gives her 100% when it comes to supporting his artistic endeavours, and also thinks his music and the concept of being in a band is just the coolest thing in the world.

Always sending each other new songs that they like, even if they both have vastly different tastes haha

Her and Kyle often have studying sessions along with Stan (and sometimes Kenny if he decides to tag along) where they both struggle to teach these two lol

Stan's more of a listener than a yapper, but they both have long back and forths. He prefers to be the listener more often though.

And then Kenny, oh sweet Kenny.

Hanh always tries to include Kenny in the conversation, because she notices how often he gets left out and she knows what it's like to feel left out!! it sucks!! It's something he always appreciates a lot about her

And despite being a huge yapper, Hanh always makes sure to get Kenny's input and encourages him to talk more! Especially when it comes to his own issues, because she notices that he often keeps his problems to himself and internalizes all of it, and she wants him to know that she can someone he can lean on.

He also makes her laugh the hardest. And she hates that she laughs at everything he says because sometimes it's the stupidest shit ever LOLL especially if it's stupid perverted jokes

Loves loves loves Karen. Absolutely adores her presence and often encourages Kenny to let her tag along so they can hang out!

Hanh's also a huge gift-giver, and she'll often bake stuff for her friends, but she always gives Kenny more to take home!

Always her treat when they go out to eat! Especially when it's Kenny, it's not something she wants to make a big deal out of. It's never out of pity, and it's always just because she loves sharing food with her friends! Sometimes she'll even pack extra in her lunch to share with him.

Calls Kenny "Princess" even outside of the Stick Of Truth larping game they play, because it's cute!!

Both Kenny and Hanh are very selfless and kind people, and it's something they appreciate about the other.

And then finally there's my girl, Wendy!!

Something something, girls with black hair who can fuck up cartman gotta stick together.

I don't think Wendy and Hanh would be as close as the other boys, but there's definitely a strong bond between the two, for a lot of the same reasons as Kyle.

Wendy's a girls' girl!! So of course it's only natural. Lots of bonding over feminism and the likes. Y'know, just girl things <3

Wendy would be the one to teach Hanh how to do stuff like makeup along with Bebe.

Ahhh I need to think more about their dynamic, especially she's my favorite girl in the show!! Even if they don't always have the same interests, one thing's for sure: they've always got each others' backs!!

This is also just a general thing that Hanh does, but she loves being physically affectionate with her friends!! So expect a lot of handholding and hugs for everyone! (which ends up leading to a lot of funny mutual pining shenanigans lmao)

[marcsnuffy]

[the-sunbee]

so... i've been having thoughts about Forgotten Stars again.

i re-read forgotten stars a lot. i re-read all of my writings but especially forgotten….

there are a few chapters in forgotten that mean so much to me, that i managed to write out so brilliantly (at least to my standards) that portray what i wanted them to.

this'll have spoilers for the current version of forgotten stars so be wary. (note: i will rewrite forgotten stars at some point. that point is not today. not yet :] )

chapter 7 when Ocie finally finds out about Rae not remembering himself or his friends. how she breaks down, how the weather outside the library also breaks with her and how she fears what she is feeling because she doesn't know the extent of her powers.

chapter 9 where Athena tells Icarus about Rae and especially how they open up about how much it hurts them that the uncle they know is gone and how they dont know how to fix it

chapter 11 is definitely my top 3 with how i wrote how Rae himself is struggling with himself. how things feel familiar and yet he doesnt know why. how he sees how much effort Athena is putting into all this and yet… he can't help. and then he goes to the portal and there is nothing. and then he panics and runs and runs until he no longer breathes and crashes. how he feels utterly useless cause he can't help someone he knows he cares about and yet the feelings feel false because he doesn't know why he has them.

chapter 12 is a goodie too cause it shows Caspian, struggling with everything - with feeling lost, with Rae, with Momboo.

chapter 14 is an another top 3 for me and it has my favourite beginning… which is just Soup. how I managed to write about Rae's inner thoughts and how everything felt like home and yet… at the same time it felt like the furthest thing from it. how talking with Caspian felt so familiar, how laying in that bed and sitting on that couch he felt at home and yet… he couldn't justify staying.

chapter 15 perfectly shows Athena's inner thoughts with how things arent progressing enough or fast enough for them and how they struggle with that. and then Rae's pov of him choosing to fight for her, choosing to stay and focus on Athena and Ocie instead of chasing after the feelings of home elsewhere

and then finally chapter 19. one of my favourite chapters. where Athena finally hits a boiling point and his powers activate and he has no control over them. how she scares both of his uncles and surprises the god of creation and then finds solace in how Rae cares for them. how they choose to fight for him, too.

guys if you cant tell, forgotten stars means so much more to me than just a fable fic. in its core, yes, its a fanfic and yes its about premade characters but i've put so much into it. i continue to pour my thoughts into it despite not having worked on it for months now. how i keep thinking of how to better guide the story and how many more ideas i have.

[chirpybirdy]

hello can i ask abt c2c22 and john im only dancing for the wip meme

yes hi omg…

so c2c22 started as a way to write sledgehammer as an extremely cool side character… and also to write a baseball au without thinking too hard lol

its john egan pov, throws MOTA and TP and Bikeriders movie into a setting thats like… weed, no war, and sooo much baseball. it doesnt have an ending or beginning yet but it covers highschool, college and john's office job.

it also has a dream arc! john has this recurring dream that gale's twin bikeriders!benny is actually a guy exactly like gale named leonard. buck, leo, and bucky are all WW2 pilots in Algeria. this is because that is what i want.

its so very self-indulgent… bikeriders!kathy arguing with snafu (he works at the deli counter so they fight every week), john also works at the supermarket for awhile (green apron, white shirt and tie), johns office job is mostly him moping in a cubicle over office baseball teams, obligatory drama over letterman jackets, john and bikeriders!benny "date" for like minimum 10 years… im working on a friendsgiving section just having the time of my life lol

john, im only dancing: basically my 2nd clegan fic same old song but ive decided gale is well-adjusted again… and theres no veneer of character study lol honestly its mostly arguing? bucky is caught by gale with a man (who bucky outranks) and gale claims to be way more pissed that bucky would take the risk of being with a man who isn't gale and the outranking thing.

pretty sure gale is actually mad that bucky didnt go to him right away. Getting away with it (Bucky) vs Keeping it secret (Buck).

so far its mostly gale chiding john as if gale is a teacher and john didnt do his homework but yk PWP.

[ghosttotheparty]

love me softly - epilogue

part 22

Jeff Montgomery and Ian Taylor were already in Hellfire Club, and after Eddie jokingly says he needs to join a shitty band instead of trying to go to college, the four of them end up in Gareth’s garage almost every day, playing what they know and improvising what they don’t. (Mrs Gareth’s Mom brings them sodas and fruit, and she headbangs on her way out. Eddie loves her.) They manage to get gigs at the Hideout for a while before moving on to bigger venues with bigger crowds and bigger checks.

Steve graduates before Eddie, and he moves into the trailer. He cuts his parents off, but nothing really changes much, given how little they already contacted him to begin with. (They didn’t go to his graduation. They just sent him some money.) He finds jobs around town before he finally settles at the new mall, where he dresses as a sailor and scoops ice cream, and he meets Robin Buckley.

They become good friends almost immediately. He drives her around town, to and from work, to and from school, and when she finally meets the guys, she fits right in. They all gang up on Steve to tease him, and then they tease Eddie that Robin is stealing his man. It takes a while for the room to settle when Robin says casually Steve doesn’t have tits, he’s not really my type.

Eddie meets Chrissy Cunningham during his third senior year. They meet after school in the woods for a deal, but when she asks for something stronger than weed, he refuses. He puts the tin box away and leans over the picnic table they’re sitting at, and he asks her what’s going on. He promises he won’t tell anyone anything she says. I’ve been dealing since I was a freshman, that’s a long-ass time. I’m great at keeping secrets.

She talks to him. She tells him with a wobbly voice about her mother and the things she says, the things she makes Chrissy do, and Eddie’s whole body aches as he listens. When she finishes, he moves to sit next to her, and he takes her hand, and he tells her what he told Steve when Steve told him the same about his own mother. He tells her that she’s beautiful no matter what, that she doesn’t deserve any of it. That if she can’t be kind to herself yet, he can be kind for her. She leans against his shoulder. Her hands are shaking.

So he wraps an arm around her and asks what else.

My boyfriend is mean.

His body immediately tightens, and he asks very carefully if he hurts her, but she says no. That he loves her, and is kind to her, but is so mean to everyone else that she just… doesn’t like him. Doesn’t like how he treats people. Doesn’t like how he treats her, even if he is loving and kind, because sometimes I feel like he only loves me because I look good holding his arm.

He tells her she doesn’t have to be with him.

They stay there for a little while longer so Chrissy can avoid Jason and the others. She doesn’t want them to see that she’s been crying. So Eddie waits with her. She says she’s heard rumours about him. He says there are a lot of those.

Are they true?

Depends on which ones you mean.

She looks down at her lap. Is quiet for a few moments.

The ones… about you and Steve Harrington. That you guys are…

In love?

…Yeah.

He tells her it’s true. They’ve been together for a while. Since before Steve cut his hair. And she starts to cry.

I think— I think one of the reasons I don’t like Jason is because… he’s a— he’s a boy.

He turns to look at her, and he holds her face in his hands, and he looks into her watery eyes intently before he tells her firmly, softly, There is nothing wrong with you. He holds her while she cries.

She breaks up with Jason two weeks later, and while the news spreads across Hawkins about the town’s star couple splitting up, she’s at the trailer, watching movies with Eddie and Steve. She holds onto Eddie’s arm the whole time, and he falls a little in love with her.

Chrissy Cunningham joins Corroded Coffin later that year. She replaces Ian as the lead vocalist. (He never really wanted to be the vocalist, so he’s happy.) She has a killer stage presence and Eddie loves seeing her come alive after a while, after leaving home. She dances on stage, and she becomes known for the way her blonde hair flies around her head, the way it glows under the fluorescent lights on stage.

She meets Robin not long after she starts hanging out with Eddie. When Robin walks into the trailer, Chrissy is hanging upside down on the sofa, gravity carrying her hair down like a gold river cascading to the floor, and she beams up at her with a bright Hi! Robin’s face flushes pink and she freezes.

…Hi.

They get together after a gig in Indianapolis after pining for a while. Chrissy’s eyes find her in the crowd during a song, and Robin flushes pink as Chrissy sings the lyrics I want a pretty girl like you, as she sings something about a bird in the sky, tasting the cotton candy clouds. Eddie finds them making out backstage afterwards, and he promptly turns around and drags Jeff away so he doesn’t interrupt.

Corroded Coffin gains traction in the mid-nineties.

They run away to San Francisco. Steve and Robin open a studio, where they paint together and make messes daily. Eddie and Steve’s apartment is filled with paintings Steve didn’t want to sell, every wall covered with canvases, along with photographs and posters and sketches. Steve replaces one of his paintings with a framed Rolling Stone magazine when they feature Corroded Coffin.

Steve doesn’t perform with them, but all the fans know who he is. He’s at almost every gig, always at the edge of the stage or as close as he can get, looking up at Eddie all starry-eyed. He designs all their album covers. (The original paintings are hanging at their house. Chrissy took her favourite one a while ago. It’s hanging in her and Robin’s living room.)

Tommy becomes a math teacher.

He has to give Gareth credit for the idea. Ever since he helped him with his statistics, Gareth’s You ever think about being a teacher, Hagan? had rattled around his head, all the way until his senior year. So he does it. He leaves for college right after graduating, and even though he’s sad when he says goodbye to Steve, and Eddie, and Gareth (if he cries that’s his business), he’s ecstatic to get away from his parents. He stops worrying about what they say, about what they think.

He moves to Indianapolis. He likes it here.

He meets a nice girl during his second year of college. Her name is Amanda Kilmer, and she’s studying English literature. She tends to rant a lot, but Tommy loves listening to her voice. When he’s asked by his friend what his favourite thing about her is, the first thing he says is, “She’s kind.” They got married twenty-seven years ago, but every day Tommy considers proposing all over again.

Tommy isn’t really fully aware of his reputation in the high school where he works.

He likes to think that he’s a good teacher, but he doesn’t know how good he is. There isn’t one student that doesn’t like him. He’s patient with the students that are slower learners or have learning disabilities, and he’s kind and gentle and understanding. His classroom is known to be a safe space. Some students that don’t even have his class tend to hang out there during lunch just to be in a quieter environment, and he always has extra food for students that don’t have anything to eat.

His favourite class isn’t really a class. It’s his study hall, about thirty juniors and seniors that tend to be a bit chaotic. Sometimes he has to separate friends so they actually get their homework done, but there are a few students that he doesn’t see talk to anyone very often. One of them is Jordan, a boy with long hair who moved to Indy over the summer. Tommy has a soft spot for Jordan.

He’s happy when he notices some students talking to Jordan a few weeks after school starts. They’re asking him what music he listens to.

Uh, I really like, like, metal and stuff.

Tommy smiles to himself.

Another student says his dad listens to that kind of music but he can’t tell if it’s rock or metal, and Jordan smiles for the first time when he asks what the difference is. He has a nice smile. It lights his whole face up.

Mr Hagan, how would you describe the difference between hard rock and metal?

You know, Jordan, that’s a great question. I wouldn’t, because I don’t know.

The kids laugh. On their way out, Tommy hears one of them ask Jordan why he asked Tommy, and Jordan says He had a picture of Corroded Coffin at his desk. They’re one of my favourite bands. Tommy smiles.

Jordan ends up making several friends in the class. None of them are into metal, but they like to listen to it with him, and they like to hear him talk about it. The students end up teasing Tommy for being a secret metalhead. They catch him nodding or humming along every time they play a song by Corroded Coffin. One of them accuses him of being in love with Chrissy Cunningham, but another says loudly He has a wife! The class coos obnoxiously, and he just lowers his head to his desk and hits his forehead softly against it a few times, eliciting a laugh.

California legalises same-sex marriage on the twenty-eighth of June, 2013. Tommy cries when he hears.

Eddie and Steve get married on September third.

The week before, Tommy tells his study hall he won’t be here next week because he’s attending a wedding. His students are excited, and when they ask who’s getting married, he says Some friends from high school. They’ve been waiting to get married since 1984, and it was just legalised. Which just makes his students even more excited.

They make him promise to bring back pictures.

He does. He makes a whole powerpoint, and when he’s back, he relishes in their screams when the opening photo is him standing as best man for one Steve Munson, at the altar with his husband.

Tommy just looks at Jordan, who’s staring, wide-eyed, open-mouthed. The class falls silent after a minute, and they all look at Jordan, waiting.

…You said high school friends.

Tommy just shrugs. He can’t stop smiling.

I’ve been best friends with Steve since we were kids. He and Eddie fell in love in high school.

Jordan’s head falls to his desk, and his voice is muffled when he speaks again.

You’ve been listening to me talk about your best friends… for weeks.

Tommy laughs.

Do you wanna see the rest of the pictures?

Yes, I wanna see the rest of the fucking pictures.

Jordan is quiet while Tommy flips through the powerpoint, answering the other students’ questions, his eyes trained on every photo like he’s trying to memorise them. Tommy hugging Steve just a few minutes before the wedding, Steve looking into a mirror, fixing his hair. (We called him the Hair in high school.) Eddie and Steve holding hands and gazing at each other at the altar, putting rings on each other’s fingers, smiling and kissing each other, hugging each other so tightly it looks like it hurts.

Tommy sees Jordan wipe a tear away as he looks, but he doesn’t say anything.

He has him stay behind after class.

Is this because I said fucking?

Tommy laughs. Tells him he doesn’t care about swearing.

Got something for you.

It’s a photo of Eddie, Chrissy, Gareth, Jeff, and Ian. They’ve all signed it. Chrissy scribbled a little love you! in her pretty, loopy handwriting, in her trademark silver marker.

Jordan takes it, looks at it, and covers his face with his hand. Tommy waits.

This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.

I told them about you.

Shut up.

I did! Eddie says you sound cool. I said you remind me of him. Except that you’re not as obnoxious.

…Thank you, Mr Hagan.

Tommy smiles and tells him to get out of here, to not be late, and Jordan stares at the photo the whole way out, narrowly missing the doorframe. Tommy turns back to his computer, and a few seconds later he hears one of Jordan’s friends’ voices say very loudly, Holy shit! and he laughs.

They have an outdoor wedding. So the sky can watch.

Wayne passed two and a half years ago. Eddie goes to his grave when same-sex marriage is legalized, just to make sure he knows. To make sure he’s there. You gotta be there, Wayne, you’ve been there since the beginning. You gotta… You gotta see it happen.

They leave a seat open for him in the front row, right next to where Linda sits. (Eddie still greets her as Mrs Gareth’s Mom before he hugs her gently. She’s frail now, her hair grey and white, but her eyes still shine just as brightly as they always have.) During the ceremony, Linda spots a ladybug on the chair. She insists that it was Wayne.

Steve can’t look away from Eddie throughout the whole ceremony. The sun is just setting, and everything is golden (which was Robin’s plan; they left her and Chrissy in charge of wedding planning), and his eyes are glowing and shining like they’re glass. His hair is tied up the way Steve loves (which Steve thinks was on purpose), and every flyaway curl looks like a strand of gold thread in the sunlight. Steve feels like he’s dreaming.

They kiss before the officiator even tells them to, because they’ve both been holding back the entire time. They can hear the officiator laugh before he moves out of the way, and the cheering (Robin and Chrissy are loudest) blends into white noise as they hold each other. When they part, they stare at each other for a moment, still holding each other’s faces.

They’re both crying.

And then they’re hugging each other tightly, so tightly they can’t really breathe, but it doesn’t matter, because Eddie is murmuring in Steve’s ear, I told you. I told you. And Steve is crying, nodding into his neck, swaying. They hold each other for too long, until Steve feels Tommy pat his back gently, saying his name, and Steve just starts laughing, because of course he’d interrupt his own wedding because he can’t keep his hands off his husband. (His husband!)

Corroded Coffin, excluding Eddie, plays for the first dance. Africa by Toto, as requested by Eddie. As Eddie twirls Steve around, Steve is crying and laughing simultaneously.

I cannot believe you remember that.

Of course I remember it, sweetheart.

He still calls him that. And honey, and dearest. Even though they’re, in Eddie’s words, grizzled old men. The first time he calls them that, Steve bursts out laughing. But now, as they dance, as the sun goes down, Steve can’t help but love it. He gazes at the lines across Eddie’s forehead and around his eyes and mouth, at the traces of the years that they’ve spent together, of every single one of Eddie’s smiles and frowns and confused, furrowed brows, and he gazes at the strands of grey in Eddie’s curls, at the salt and pepper stubble he’s let grown out because Steve likes it, and he wonders where he would be if he wasn’t here. And he realises there isn’t a single place he’d rather be.

I’m in love with you.

Sure hope you are.

They both take turns dancing with Linda. Then they both dance with Robin and Chrissy. (Robin leads. Of course.)

Two weeks later the official Corroded Coffin Instagram account posts a photo of Steve and Eddie’s hands, posed so their wedding bands, Eddie’s silver, Steve’s gold, are visible. Their fingers are laced, and Eddie’s nails are painted with black polish that’s already beginning to chip. Eddie’s knuckle tattoos are barely visible under his thick rings, the word FIRE barely legible, and on Steve’s hand there’s a small, rough tattoo of a piece of barbed wire, done soon after they moved to San Francisco, and to everyone that follows them, they’re easily recognizable as Steve and Eddie.

Corroded Coffin fans never knew Steve’s last name. He was just Steve, and Eddie’s man, and before that, that one guy that’s at every show, but after they’re married, he’s Steve Munson.

The caption of the post is just a heart, and every rude comment gets a response from Corroded Coffin, reading get fucked.

It’s been thirty years. The sides of Steve’s head are still shaved. (Eddie does it for him in their bathroom. He still gets swoony when he finishes.) Eddie’s curls are too long, always tied up in a knot at the top of his head or in braids that Chrissy does for him. Eddie still calls him Stevie. Steve still calls him Eddie baby. The letter E is tattooed on Steve's chest, small and faded and shitty, done in their living room in the summer of ‘97, but it’s his favourite tattoo. Eddie’s hands made it.

It’s been thirty years. Eddie still tells Steve he’s pretty, and he still makes him slow dance around the kitchen when the right song is on. Steve wears a watch that Wayne used to wear. He’s had to get it repaired twice, but it’s worth it to hear it ticking as he goes about his life, like he’s listening to Wayne’s heart beat as he paints or cooks or holds Eddie’s hand. Eddie still has every drawing Steve's ever given him. They live in photo albums now, carefully set in the plastic sleeves. Sometimes Eddie looks through them, gazing at every pencil mark and all the bleeding ink. Just remembering.

It’s been thirty years. Eddie still tucks his hands under Steve’s shirt to touch his skin while they talk. Their home is lived in. There are stains on the sofa from spilled wine, and the corners of the rugs curl up. Their bed is perpetually unmade, and sometimes there’s dry-erase marker on the bathroom mirror that reads love you so much in the mornings. The smell of cigarettes and weed lingers on everything in the house. (Sometimes Eddie gets a whiff of Wayne as he’s sorting the laundry. He only realises after a few years that Steve gets the same laundry detergent Wayne used to use.)

It’s been thirty years. Steve still falls asleep to Eddie’s heartbeat.

read the whole thing on ao3 tagging: @thehumblefigtree @luna-munson83 <3

and there we have it; genuinely cant put into words how grateful i am to everyone that kept up w this i had so much fun love you all <3

[harvestmoth]

menou….

[shooks-stupid-stuff]

year of the dwagon

[roo-330]

testing thumbnails for a project thats on hold

[canarydarity]

Based on/with excerpts from "Detail of the Fire" by Richard Siken.

(A man with a bandage is in the middle of something.)

Though extinguished, the ranch still smoldered around them. Neither of them spoke. Tango’s head was down, his focus on applying the bandage correctly. Jimmy’s head was up, his focus on staring through the gaps in their walls; he stared into the distance—the direction of Scar and Grian, the Keep. 

Tango knew he was only feeling a portion of what Jimmy must have been, so he kept that in mind as he wrapped up his arm, layer after layer. Jimmy was thinking about the irony of the situation—being treated for burns while sitting, freezing, in their home, now rendered ineffective against the cold. 

There was more to this story, neither of them wanted to tell it. There was more they were thinking about; there was more they needed to do—to figure out. Neither of them was ready.

Tango stopped wrapping, ripped the bandage from the roll, and tucked the end into one of the folds he’d made. He gripped what was left tighter, gave himself a second, and then gently grabbed Jimmy’s other arm. 

Jimmy startled—he really wasn’t paying much attention—but he gave his arm over willingly anyway and resumed staring, resumed thinking-but-not-thinking. 

There was more to this story, but not for them, not yet. Give them a few minutes—they were in the middle of something. 

(Everyone understands this.)

A burning tree, a burning fence, a base—a home. Everyone has been there; conversely, everyone has done this. They all make the same mistakes every season, they are all shocked by the same turn of events. The game starts, things burn; the game ends, they forget. They start again and the past is further away, so they build a new home out of wood, because who here is their enemy? Who here would wish them harm? (They will get their answer soon enough.)

Still, people showed up. The ranch was burning, and people came from all over to try and help Jimmy and Tango put it out. 

Jimmy expressed gratitude, he thanked them for helping, he joked about neighborhood watch. Tango was not so expressive. Yes, they all came to their aid, but when better to remember that they also all wanted to fight. They also all wanted to win. Tango knew what they were thinking watching the last of the flames flicker out. He heard it in Cleo and Scott thinking they were sly, assigning Jimmy the blame, acting like they were better than to provoke Scar. He heard it in Etho and Joel off to the side, whispering about how the ship couldn’t burn, how the ship was more important than anything else. Tango knew what they were all really saying; I’m glad it wasn’t us. 

(Everyone wants a battlefield.)

Sure, they helped put the fire out. Tango would remember that—but he wouldn’t count on it. It wouldn’t matter in a day or so. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t giving someone a life—and even then, Tango knew not to count on that either.

Having some flashbacks? Etho had asked from a safe distance away. No, not flashbacks, because this wouldn’t be like last time. Tango had learned; he felt the anger, the rage—but he was going to save it. He was going to use it. 

(Red. and a little more red.)

Jimmy had kept busy because he knew Tango couldn’t at the moment, he knew Tango was preoccupied. He wasn’t mad about it—he understood. He was worried, of course, but he had to deal with everything else—everyone else—first. The burns on his arms ached. 

Jimmy had kept busy. He’d thanked everyone for coming by so quickly, he’d stopped them from egging Tango on, he’d grabbed what he could out of what was left of their chests. He’d kept busy, cause he knew what would happen when he stopped. When he stopped, the thinking would start, and there was nothing he could do about it.

(Accidents never happen when the room is empty.)

Disaster always happened when Jimmy was nearby. Things always went to hell when Jimmy was disposed of. He kept busy trying to ward it off, he kept busy delaying it just a little longer. But after everyone left, after the embers turned to smoke, after Tango deflated but before he picked up the roll of bandages, the thoughts came. This happens wherever I go, this happens because I am here—because of me. Accidents never happen when the room is empty.

Someone has to die first.

(Everyone understands this.)

Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was all he was good for; dying first, dying always. He sounded a warning that he didn’t get to hear, a warning that he never got himself. A warning that he guessed didn’t change much in the end for anyone else either; there could only ever be one winner, after all. So what then did it even mean? 

Was this all he was good for?

(Everyone needs a place.)

Jimmy was starting to understand his. He looked down at Tango, he was still very intently paying attention to caring for Jimmy’s burns. Did he know? Jimmy wondered. Could he feel it? He was chained to the mast of an already slowly sinking ship. It was so hard to remember that this was all meant to be a game.

(People like to think war means something.)

But what happens when the game is over? What were they really fighting for, did they know? Did anyone?

(What can you learn from your opponent? More than you think.)

This was bigger than Scar, Tango knew that. This was bigger than a stolen horse, than soulmates, than a new series. There was more at play here—he knew that. 

But he also knew there was nothing he could do about the rest. Not about how any of the previous games ended. Not about being thrown into another one after only barely recovering the last time. Not about late-night whispers of if you’re sure and you know I’m cursed and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want—

What he could do was make Scar pay for this one fucking thing. He was so sick of losing progress and acting like it was normal, of being inconvenienced on purpose, of being made to question the same people he was forced to rely on. This was the first time he felt like he’d gotten off to a good start. He had a built-in partner this time—a soulmate—and by game design itself backstabbing would only be self-destruction. Maybe that trust was artificial, but it was the first time it felt sure and so Tango could not be bothered to care. They’d gotten comfortable, they’d built a home, and it had been taken from them. Tango was going to make sure that nothing else was ever again. 

Maybe he wouldn’t stop at Scar; maybe he’d take it further, make them all see—make them understand, make them pay. Joel, for telling Jimmy he’d start feeling sorry for whatever poor sap got paired up with him; Grian for keeping Jimmy out of the horn club simply because he’d asked nicely to join; Scott for telling Tango to knock Jimmy down a peg every once in a while for his own good; Bdubs for lying to him, for telling Jimmy Tango had come by looking for a golden apple—as if Tango would ever. 

Yes—yes, he liked this plan. They didn’t understand yet, any of them, but they would. That was a promise.

(Who will master this love?)

Which of them would make it? Which of them, these pairs, was less doomed than the rest—were any of them? 

Maybe it wasn’t just Jimmy—maybe they were all cursed, in a way. 14 pairs, but only 7 deaths, really. They used to have more control over their collateral damage. Soulmate—til death do they part indeed. 

(Love might be the wrong word.)

How different was it all, in the end? Tango was worrying this would turn out like it always did, Jimmy was already convinced that was where they were headed. They were both trying their best though, they were both going to try and hold on to what they had—even if it was the last thing they did; knowing the nature of the game, it likely would be. 

And then what? What happened when it ended?

It wasn’t like they got to keep it—any of it. They were so focused on growing roots they knew would be ripped out, and yet neither of them could seem to stop doing it. It was addicting, the hope of it all. Finding comfort amidst the game wasn’t always easy and keeping it was even harder, but who would they be if they didn’t try? Tango was starting to see the whole picture; he was starting to understand that there were no winners, not really. Jimmy was tired of thinking this time, things might be different; this time, he might get to have this.

(Let’s admit, without apology, what we do to each other.)

Jimmy couldn’t watch Tango take his time wrapping him up, because if he did he knew he’d say what he really wanted to: it’s not worth it. 

It was not worth patching him up—not when he would die first, likely sometime soon; not when he’d take Tango with him this time. It was not worth rebuilding the ranch—not when it’d get burned down again; or griefed, or pillaged, or any of the other things that would happen just because it was Jimmy’s, just because he desperately didn’t want to lose it. It was not worth getting revenge—not when there would likely be more tomorrow; more to mourn, more to miss, more to worry about. More, more, more. 

There was no respite—not until he got out; some small, scared part of him wished it’d happen soon and it’d happen quickly. He didn’t know how much longer he could watch Tango try and clean up the destruction he always left in his wake. 

Jimmy didn’t watch Tango wrap him up, he didn’t watch Tango seethe and think and plan, but he still thought it. I did this to you, do you see that yet? I tried to warn you—I tried.

(We know who our enemies are.)

Everyone, no one; themselves, each other. 

Tango finished up what he was doing, lowered Jimmy’s arm back into his lap, and turned to put everything away. It was out of habit, which was why he did it, but he realized his mistake soon after—the wall where their chests used to be was crumbling away, a pile of burnt wood on the ground where he’d been heading. Tango could feel it all start up again, but then a hand was in his and a tug pulled him back to face the other way.

Jimmy ended his staredown with the distance, the wooded horizon, to meet Tango’s eye. He wanted to plead that his soulmate give it a rest, but he didn’t have to; Tango’s gaze on his was already calm. He pulled until Tango came to stand in front of where he was sitting on the edge of the bed again. He leaned forward, forehead down until he felt it meet the rough and worn leather of Tango’s vest. Tango raised the hand that wasn’t being held and touched it lightly to the back of Jimmy’s head. 

There was more to this story, they knew that. Tomorrow, Jimmy would let Tango convince him they needed to rebuild the ranch regardless of what might happen after. Tango would be grounded enough to think through a plan for revenge that he already knew would be a fruitless and vain affair—but wasn’t it all? Jimmy might ask Tango another time if he was sure, and Tango would tell him a million times over that he was; he’d said it the first time and he’d meant it. Tango might—would—get angry again, but Jimmy would be there to bring him back. 

They’d have more enemies; more problems, less solutions; less time. But not yet. There was no rush, after all, to complete a game they knew they wouldn’t win; to cross a finish line that only led to a dead end. This moment, though…they could have this.

For now, they were in the middle of something. 

They don’t yet know what comes next. 

(We know.)

[arolesbianism]

Man oni can't do this to me I'm supposed to be preparing for artfight but all I can think abt is Them™ from the second I wake up to the moment I go to bed how am I supposed to prepare in these circumstances 😔

[carcarrot]

old man yells at cloud about constant sequels

[comradecowplant]

LMAO after all the backlash, the Pretty Little Liars reboot retconned Imogen giving her baby to Aria & Groomer 🤣 #bullyingworks