#imo they’re not meant to be friends forever

[hey-cringelord]

there’s a lot of friendly, good-hearted post canon kuroko’s basketball posts i see on here, and while i enjoy them being silly boys in high school i also think a lot about how good it is for them to get away from teiko and from old teammates

kuroko, alongside kagami who is a late-arriving miracle, beats his old teammates. he shows them what lost feels like & teaches them what that sort of misery feels like. i think, from a 15-16 year old’s perspective where nothing much matters except what you know you’re best at, that experience is something that opened a lot of their eyes

& from there they grow apart. they’re friendly, but not friends. tokyo boys run into each other, but there’s none of those chats you get with someone you haven’t seen in a while. it’s an odd smile at best. at worst: tension at their shoulders, familiar, because an old teammate is watching their every move - it’s habit, something adapted when playing together for so long - yet saying nothing.

a lot of “we don’t like each other anymore, but i still think about you on your birthday”

[discobiscotto]

Just Guys Bein’ Dudes: A Needlessly Huge TED-Talk About Luca & Alberto’s Relationship

Ready for some big-brain BS?

Well, ready or not, here’s a “little” dive into how I interpret/perceive Luca and Alberto’s relationship.

Note: I’m referring to them as my own headcanon versions of them as men. It can certainly be applied to them as young adults and teens for sure, but I’m diving into ‘Ciao Luca’ territory specifically. So, there, just being clear on the who’s who.

What’s their deal anyhow?

Are they romantic partners? Are they attracted to eachother, yanno 👉🏻👈🏻? Buddies? Buddies with benefits? Are they even a couple? Are they husbands? What’s their deal?

So, a couple years ago when I was starting to get really busy with the headcanons, I went on a tear about their relationship to lay down some kind of clear foundation for it. I felt alittle conflicted at the time about how their relationship was going to feel/act like.

To me, because I love ambiguity, I wanted to keep that energy going from the original source material…but with alittle “oomph”…considering there’s been time and maturity tacked on. They can’t just be Pallin’ Around forever, something’s gotta give with chemistry that strong imo.

If I’m being honest, them being point-blank romantic partners felt too cliched and predictable/boring. Courtship, wooing, marriage…snore. It just didn’t feel like ‘them’ to me. It bordered heteronormative somehow. I was just …PUTTING MYSELF TO SLEEP.

Not to say they aren’t romantic, because they certainly are in their own right! It just isn’t the defining Vibe of their relationship.

As a queer lady with a pretty open mind in terms of what defines a relationship and/or bond, I believe that love expression is on a spectrum. Different strokes for different folks, yanno?

I scooted myself over to that old filing cabinet in my brain with random Greek Philosophy tid-bits (that I was impressed wasn’t put thru the incinerator) and I got polishing.

I remembered a few terms, like storge (family love), Eros: romantic, mania: obsessive/stalkerish love, agape, philia, the list goes on.

We’re gonna focus on PHILIA, typically deemed affectionate and/or “brotherly love”, I think also falls under platonic love.

We’re going to come back to this later☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

As a couple of seamonsters (first and foremost) the human concept of love may not necessarily compute to them. Not that they get confused or turn their nose up at it, but rather it’s more boxed-in and rigid than, I guess, fish love? Haha.

Example: homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality as concepts are human inventions to help humans navigate their life and their identity in the world, be part of a tribe, and potentially find mates.

They’re social constructs, like gender conformity, and Mondays.

Seamonsters really don’t have that. They’re similar to humans in alot of ways, but in terms of attraction, love, and social awareness, they just kindof ride the wave and go where the current takes them.

Opposite sex pairings likely happen more often because [gestures] instincts and Makin’ Fries. But just like humans, same sex relationships happen just as much!…but seamonsters have no concept of homophobia (strictly a human invention) so there’s no discouragement or imposed fear of the relationship…it just happens if it’s meant to and the world keeps spinning. [deep sighs]

Luca and Alberto are aware of human society and customs (especially now that they’ve been living amongst them for atleast 15 years). So, they still try to do-as-the-humans-do sometimes. They know that they feel a strong bond to eachother that can’t be ignored, and when humans sense a similar bond between each other they express it by being physically intimate, or giving gifts, or creating things for eachother, etc.

So, basically, it boils down to “I love my friend, so I wish to express that love for him like that [gesture].”

Now bringing it back to Philia up there!👆🏻

That particular source defines philia as brotherly love, both must be men (in the Greek system), they respect and take pleasure in eachother’s company, bond through exploring philosophical truths, and sexual intimacy or attraction is optional.

This other source takes it a bit further saying that we could be diving into “friends to lovers” territory which is the aforementioned “oomph” I was referring to. The bridge into Eros stuff without being completely rooted there (ie your usual romantic pair).

Their relationship isn’t based on physical attraction, but began as a close friendship that progressed into something more. Not built on lust, but on mutual affection and respect for eachother.

They are an “unlikely” pair. Where a hockey hug became alittle tighter, and the joined hands in a good old “Piacere Girolamo Trombetta” started to linger.

They feel safe with eachother, they love and prefer eachother’s company, they share eachother’s worlds and feel deeply connected in them. Alberto cooks meals for them because he loves Luca, and Luca gives Alberto [SPOILER] because he loves him back.

They share a “I can’t quite put my finger on it but I feel safe, warm, and happy with you, I enjoy your company and what we have, I love the feeling of you being close to me, exchanging warmth and heartbeats, and I feel like this is more than going out on dates or ‘picking out curtains’.” kind of thing.

They’re roommates who kiss and “play house”. They are in love…but express it in their own unique way. They are openly affectionate. They keep people guessing, they confuse the neighbors, they have an “inside joke”.

Alberto lays on the housewife schtick: straightening Luca’s tie and sending him on his way with a packed lunch.

They call eachother heteronormative terms of endearment, mostly to be cheeky. Sarcastic “Honey” or “Dear” followed by someone affectionately ending up in a headlock.

They love to play with the human version of “married life”, little do they realize they’ve grown genuinely accustomed to it.

They’re queer but have no name and nowhere they’d rather be except each other’s arms (that one place that makes perfect sense).

They aren’t married…they never can get married…but that doesn’t stop them from sharing their homes, their beds, and a last name written on their Christmas cards.

In conclusion, humans say they’re gay.

The Paguro’s say “They built a farm together.”

SOURCES:

[foxtail-1311]

Hitting Characters With The (Aro)Ace(-Spec) Beam

Happy Ace Week!

Rockabye (The Musical) -

Adil is canonically aroace! imo, Adil loves microlabels and uses one that I found forever ago on here called Loveful AroAce! he has very strong familial and platonic love for her friends

Simon. i don’t have a reason, he just gives the vibes. also i forget that not every character is ace. specifically, imo, demisexual

Dimension 20: Fantasy High (AKA my hyperfixation)

RIZ GUKGAK I HAVE SO MANY OPINIONS ABOUT YOU he is confirmed to be ace by Brennan and Murph!!!! HOWEVER!!!!!! HE IS VERY ARO CODED AND IM PRETTY SURE WHEN BRENNAN SAID ACE HE MEANT AROACE!!!! in my humble opinion he is heartless/loveless aroace but thats just me. i know some people that are like yass give that boy a qpr. idfk.

CUPIOROMANTIC/SEXUAL BARON FROM THE BARONESE i just. i. look at them. theyre so.

Adaine is ace but not aro- possibly arospec. she does find Osin attractive, but also everyone else is all “getting their kisses in” and shes just like. meh.

Dimension 20: A Starstruck Oddysey

RIVA idk if they’re canonically ace but afaik iirc their species reproduces asexually. they do, tragically, join an mlm selling sex toys but like. in possibly the most ace way possible

Skip. he just. he. he doesn’t give the vibes.

Barry. Barry doesn’t even know what sex is. he’s a clone.

please rb or comment with more characters!!!

[ssruis]

i like youre posts, thoughts on ruinene ?

As a romantic dynamic: I don’t really think abt them that way… it’s the unrepentant emunene/ruikasa bias. Also a lot of rui & nene’s interactions read as very… sibling-like? To *me*. Personally. I hesitate to say sibling-like, because people get really weird about assigning family dynamics to characters who aren’t related or raised as siblings and have never referred to each other as siblings (“it’s basically incest” no it is not what are you on), but it’s something similar to that imo. Gestures at nene’s new 3rd anniversary 2* card story where Rui is like “I remember when you were reading picture books… and now you’re reading more advanced books… how time flies…” & she’s like “stop treating me like a kid 😑” despite being him being only one year older than her.

I don’t have anything against it (& I think taking shipping fictional characters seriously enough to fight over it is ridiculous), it’s just not for me & I don’t see it romantically. But for the people who do: you do you have fun enjoy yourselves. (I also personally think Rui is gay coded but again. Idc if people disagree it doesn’t affect me I’m glad they’re having fun. Also that’s a hot button topic & I don’t want the people who do take this shit too seriously to hunt me down with pitchforks and torches please go outside it’s not that deep.)

As a platonic dynamic/going off what’s in canon: I’m so obsessed with them (as I am with all wxs dynamics). They’re so fascinating to me. They make me so sad. Another reason I hate the “they’re siblings” thing is it feels like a boring restrictive box people want to shove their dynamic into that does a disservice to how interesting it is. It waters it down.

Nene was the only person Rui really had as a friend when he was a kid, and the only person who trusted in him and his ideas. They grew their love for theatre together. At some point they grew distant - we don’t know why, but my personal take on it is this:

1. Rui slowly growing to think he would never find anyone who got him after experiencing rejection after rejection, and pushing Nene away. A combination of “I need to leave her before she leaves me, this way it will hurt less because it’s My Choice”, “I shouldn’t inflict myself upon other people it’s better for everyone if I stay by myself”, and “Nene has her own friends now I would just be dragging her down.”

2. Nene having her own friends (new troupe) and slowly pulling back - or, at least, not actively trying to prevent him pushing her away. “I don’t want to experience the same social rejection, and I don’t know how to help Rui, there’s nothing I can do.” Nene, especially in the early days, has never been very assertive, and I don’t think favoring blending into the background over standing out (in a potentially embarrassing way) due to Rui’s stunts and ideas would be out of character for her.

3. I don’t think they went to the same middle school/junior high (I could be wrong) (did they even go to the same elementary school?) which meant they didn’t spend time together without one of them reaching out, which became increasingly rare.

I don’t think either of them are to blame. Or they share equal blame, depending on how you look at it. I see people placing more of the blame on Nene though, which is… Nene get behind me. Leave her alone. If you held my prsk account at gunpoint and said “ok but seriously who is more to blame for the relationship breakdown you have choose or your 4*s are gone forever” I would say Rui. Wouldn’t even have to think about it. Given his abandonment issues/avoidant tendencies/habit of pushing others away/pre main story mindset, it’s what makes the most sense.

They don’t really reconnect until the main story, and even then I wholeheartedly believe Rui was less interested in reconnecting than he was interested in getting Nene to perform again. He accepts Tsukasa’s invitation to WxS under the condition that he gets to bring in a fourth member and then immediately tries to leave the second Tsukasa is like “I don’t want to die wtf.” like he doesn’t even try that hard to convince him he just goes “ok bye have fun nene :).”

Rui builds Nene a robot so she can perform again which - I’ve talked about it before briefly, I need to talk about it at length at some point, but while that’s very sweet it’s also… not helpful. Not in the long run, at least. It wasn’t a *bad* thing, it was just the only solution he was capable of offering. It was a bandaid over a gaping wound situation - Nene couldn’t hide behind a robot forever. Rui couldn’t always be there to fix nenerobo, she couldn’t pursue performing seriously behind a robot, and she *wanted* to be on stage again. What Nene needed was the courage to get on stage again, and Rui didn’t have the skill set to help with that, because it was something Nene needed to find on her own (with support).

The thing about them in the early days is they both enabled each other to stagnate in situations they weren’t happy with. Maybe more so Rui than Nene, in that he literally built he a robot to allow her to avoid confronting her anxiety around performing, but Nene also lacked the ability to challenge or discourage Rui’s “I’m better off on my own” mindset. The tragic consequences of two people who lack social skills (one of which has pretty severe social anxiety) trying to help each other. Nothing really gets done.

(As an aside: this is why the emu+nene and tsukasa+rui dynamics are so crucial. Yes even outside of a ship dynamic I promise I’m accounting for my own bias. Emu+tsukasa did actually have the ability to encourage nene+rui to come out of their shells - Emu is Nene’s no.1 hype man and always encourages her in everything she does and pushes her outside her comfort zone socially. Nene doesn’t have to guess at what Emu is thinking & get caught up in the weeds of anxiety bc Emu will just tell her outright. Rui credits Tsukasa specifically with giving him the chance to change for a reason, and Mizuki/pandemonium NPCs point out that Rui has seemed so much happier and less closed off since becoming Tsukasa’s friend. Pointing @ the thing Rui’s CV said about as you like it.)

There’s still some degree of guilt on Nene’s side wrt being unable to help Rui even now, but that’s lessened over the course of the story. There’s a lot that goes unsaid between them about their shared past, but they also understand each other incredibly well after knowing each other for ~10 years. By virtue of knowing each other forever they’re both well acquainted with how the other’s mind works.

Nene can tell what’s bothering Rui in wonder halloween before even he realizes it, and she understands that he struggles to explain/articulate his feelings and issues in curtain call. Rui is tuned into Nene’s anxiety saw trap of a mind and is well versed in getting her to realize she’s overthinking things (I.e. “why don’t you just ask tsukasa what he did in the acting camp” in her emu3 2* card. I think that’s the right card) as well as getting her to speak up (shutting emu up with a donut in one of the earlier nene card stories so nene has a chance to talk. source here is just trust me I don’t want to hunt the card down).

Nene is always in his corner, and the reverse is true. They want each other to be happy and they’re so so so pleased that the other is doing better now. Nene often points out that Rui seems happier, and Rui is very proud of how far Nene has grown both on the stage and off it. Love their dynamic it’s so good… I care them…

[beigepillow]

Hi! I hope you're doing well! I would like to know your interpretations from the cover of volume 9 and the content of the whole volume. In my opinion, when I first saw the illustration, it seemed to me that Y was pushing D's hand instead of pulling him. I don't know to me he looks hesitant.

Thank you for sending me this ask! I had some thoughts on the cover and their dynamic overall so this ask is coming at a great time. The cover seems purposely meant to be ambiguous where we can’t fully tell if Yashiro is pushing him away or pulling him in. I wrote a very short post earlier that Yashiro was pulling him in but that was more of just a fun thought. What if Yashiro is doing neither? What if he is just holding Doumeki’s hand not pushing him away but not quite pulling him in either? Thinking about the contents of volume 9, their dynamic has been very much Doumeki initiating kisses or conversations and Yashiro reciprocating. Yashiro hasn’t really been trying to run away from Doumeki all that much. In ch 51, he tried to fuse himself to Doumeki reciprocating that kiss. In ch 53, he was very hesitant to meet Inami and didn’t really fight against Doumeki when he went instead. In ch 56, he makes an indirect confession instead of trying to run away. Yashiro is no longer actively pushing Doumeki away and I think that should be acknowledged. While I get many people were upset about the whole sex friends deal, imo a positive of that deal is that they’re both agreeing to it. There is less of a power dynamic at play here than previous times as Doumeki is not physically imposing himself and Yashiro is no longer Doumeki’s boss to order him around. So just like Doumeki is still wearing his glove while touching Yashiro meaning his defenses are up, Yashiro is not quite at the position to pull Doumeki in yet.

But I have noticed whenever I make a prediction or analyze saezuru in a way that puts Yashiro in a more pursuer role, I tend to get some disbelief from the fandom. Many people seem to have trouble imagining Yashiro not only pursuing Doumeki himself but even fully reciprocating the feelings. While I see why, I also think that is kind of a problem too. It shouldn’t be hard to believe that Yashiro will never stop Doumeki from pulling away (and you can make the argument that he has stopped Doumeki from leaving a couple of times throughout saezuru) or will forever just let Doumeki go. Honestly I don’t think that is the kind of relationship Doumeki wants either. This isn’t directed to you anon more about a pattern that i have seen since i started writing posts on saezuru.

[cartoonrival]

👀Kirishima popular with men and not boruto uglified unhappy married with a woman? Fuck everything else i won(ill take this crumb i was so scared 💀)and my girlss momo, mina, jiro, tsuyu and specially ochaco my fav <3 love seeing them doing ok this is my win, bkdks can have whatever they want idgaf if the girls, some others charas. and my token gay kr (beloved)implied are ok. The rest is to much to unpack i pretend i do not see it atleast it could have been worse, what did you think rival?

honestly i’m really happy with it! i’m really happy that you can tell horikoshi was losing interest in including the obligatory romance and he actually followed through with having uraraka and deku both move on from it, but at the same time in the penultimate chapter they still hugged without it reading as confirmation that they’re in love or whatever. made me happy!! even ships that seemed plausible and like hori was leaning towards them (kamijirou for example, which i actually think is rly cute) weren’t explicitly “confirmed” and i think that’s really refreshing. for such a quintessential shounen manga to move away from the obligatory romance is really dope to me as someone who loves shounen but hates obligatory romance, lol.

especially having just watched naruto, where kishimoto clearly thinks that a person cannot be considered “fulfilled and successful” if they’re not married, despite that not being relevant to the plot up to that point at all, it makes me happy to see hori not falling in the same pitfall. id say the bar is on the floor but it happens literally so often that it’s a genre staple so i think it actually is deserving of a little credit that he moved away from it so completely.

kirishima is gay ☝️ this i know. everyone has known this forever. he’s always been coded gay. it’s one of those situations where whether hori meant it or not (i lowkey find it hard to believe he didn’t recognize what he was doing) it is true, and a hero popular with men is the nail in the proverbial rainbow coffin. i was also glad that he got an aside becuz he’s been sort of left behind by the focus of the story for quite a while it seemed like hori had forgotten that he was such a key player for a while in the middle, so even though i’m still sad his relationship with bakugou was all but forgotten he did still get a nod at the end that most other characters didn’t get.

REALLY LOVE THAT MIRIO IS THE NEW NUMBER ONE AND NOT BAKUGOU. because mirio is literally more talented than him.

pissed about deku getting that tech that lets him be a hero again. i think honestly with the theme of not all people are created equal but we must love and support each other and find our niches nonetheless, it kind of loses its punch of deku to just. have a quirk still essentially. i thought him losing it was dope, and for him to remain the greatest hero of all time but have to pass on the torch because his time in the spotlight was over, whether it was luck or hard work he couldn’t stay a hero forever. because when it comes down to it he was born quirkless, and actually that’s okay, because he still has knowledge and talent and love to offer the world and he still has friends who love him. but whatever. tch

even though they didn’t go through with it, i really loved that all might was the one to suggest eliminating the popularity aspect of the hero chart completely. i think it really demonstrated how much HE has also grown over the course of the series, what he has learned and how his values have changed. i honestly think that would’ve been a better conclusion than whatever mixed bag thing hawks was setting up but it’s whatever. i think more structural changes are necessary and there should’ve been more explicit exploration into what those would look like imo, rather than just “people are nicer now cuz deku inspired them to be nice”. it’s not that it’s BAD because ultimately the structural issues of bnha’s world stemmed from social attitudes, and if those attitudes changed then that’s the first step to uplifting people born with scary or unusual quirks or born as heteromorphs, but at the same time it doesn’t give you the feeling that this peace is going to last.

LOVED DEKU’S FINAL CONVERSATION WITH SPINNER. I LOVE SPINNER AND I LOVE HIS WHOLEHEARTED LOVE AND DEDICATION TO SHIGARAKI AND I LOVED THE FOCUS HE GOT AT THE STORY’S TAIL END AND SEEING HIS REACTIONS TO HOW SHIKAGRAKI WAS CHANGING UNDER ALL FOR ONES INFLUENCE

anyways not perfect by any means, but i’m happy with it ^_^ horikoshi bit off a lot and i think i’m okay with how he decided to tie it off. i think platonic bakudeku is fun and interesting but i think it was better when it was bakugou crying suddenly cuz he thought he’d never be able to compete with deku again since he lost his quirk. if deku gets his quirk back it’s like okay. whatever. would’ve liked to see him continue to respect deku when he was quirkless again. but it’s fine. i still maintain that ppl who think they’re romantically involved don’t get it at all

[byersfanclub]

so i want to piggyback (heh) off of this post by @scrunchietown , specifically the monologue bit and the reactions we get from will and why we even get a shot of jonathan (which goes into my theory that jonathan knows abt will and mikes feelings for each other and why he’s important to byler outside of his own character arc too)

will’s reaction and finally knowing what mike couldn’t say all of the time they’re together in s4 is so important to bylers story because will is getting told this vague explanation from mike, who won’t outright say the thing he can’t say to el. not only do they have this talk once, not twice but THREE times goes to show how important this is for will to finally understand. will has been trying to save mike and el’s relationship every single time, because as much as it wouldn’t be satisfying for an audience member (or a byler i should say) will would rather mike stay his friend forever and see him happy than to lose him by confessing his feelings. but when mike has been pushing back every single time about this conversation, “a fight you cant come back from”, “i didnt know what to say” “im just some random nerd who got lucky superman landed on his doorstep” basically what mike won’t say makes him scared el won’t need him anymore. NEED. which sounds… a lot more like a caretaker, parent, sibling thing rather than someone who has romantic love for you would say. will can’t understand what is so important and crucial to mike and el’s relationship that he can’t say because he already assumes mike and el are in love with each other.

“what if they don’t like the truth?”

mike NODS along to this, he doesn’t deny this, he agrees that el may not like the truth.

will is hurt and confused when he hears what mike wasn’t telling el… but why does jonathan come into frame? a bit odd that they not only included will having a solo shot in mikes love confession, but they gave jonathan a solo shot as well (but not argyle?)

because jonathan has been watching byler interact all of season 4. he watched the way mike didn’t hug will, he watched will lie about the painting, he watched will mope over mike, he watched mike and will have a heart to heart for however long before interrupting, he barged in on their 2nd heart to heart, he watched mike and will the entire van ride AND the van scene— so if they’re giving jonathan a solo shot? what is it supposed to mean? what is the reasoning behind it? is it because will and jonathan just had their own heart to heart and he feels bad for will? partly… but that doesn’t really make sense from a storytelling perspective, if anything smth like what robin did to steve when jonathan and nancy reunited would have been more fitting if that were the case.

jonathan and will having a solo shot within mike’s monologue is meant to make you think, it’s meant to show insincerity because a love confession should be private and not in a high stakes situation. jonathan may feel bad for will, but he also knows mike isn’t telling the truth or that somethingjust isn’t right with this situation. (imo because i believe jonathan has clocked that mike likes will back)

considering the fact that will and jonathans heart to hearts wasn’t even MEANT to happen as well, says so much about the monologue scene if that conversation never made it into the show. 🧐🧐🧐

in conclusion, jonathan ships byler.

[ebisul]

I have no one to share my dragon age thoughts with regarding veilguard so i’m sharing them here

Spoiler warning as a precaution

I reached the point just past Weisshaupt and there are a few things that i keep thinking about.

The first is that so far this doesn’t feel like its Rook’s game the way it feels with the other protags. Like yeah sure they’re in charge by all means they are the protagonist but they have no true reason to be leading this team outside of a “because we said so”.

The Warden was the Hero of Ferelden because they had to be. Because they and Alistair were the only survivors of Ostagar.

Hawke was the Champion of Kirkwall because they were trying to support the people closest to them at all costs and subsequently got tied to a lot of the fuck shit going on in Kirkwall. Bare in mind, this is a very different story being told from the “oh fuck oh god the world is ending” stories the rest of dragon age tends to be.

The Inquisitor was the Herald of Andraste because they were the only one with the ability to handle the fade tears.

So far, it doesn’t feel like Rook is really at the center of what’s going on a lot of the time. It barely feels like they’re at the center of their friend group the way the other protags are.

Im also not satisfied with the romance options because I do love them as options but so far it doesn’t feel like any of them have real impact on the story like in the other games, e.g. Anders or Solas.

Im currently romancing Emmerich and i love him so much but what does that really do for the story?

Also, i know plenty of people have complained about dialogue being bad. Im not usually one to complain too hard about that sort of thing but theres a specific instance during the scene where Rook and co. are discussing Solas’ regrets.

It’s that specific interaction between Taash insisting that Solas and Mythal were fucking and Bellara trying to explain that it’s likely they felt very deep platonic love bc she is the resident ancient elf expert. Maybe its Taash’s characterization in general i dont like or just that instance but i found it to be really irritating and unnecessary.

Especially when it’s meant to be a relatively serious scene in the game learning this ancient history and its reduced to a joke? Weird imo

ALSO a fucking Shartan mention before anyone even brought up the hero of ferelden? Im pissed. Where is my girl??

ALSO ALSO they fucked walking bomb and im forever pissed off about that

That being said I do actually really like the game it just feels so off at times as someone who adores the rest of the dragon age games so much. Maybe my standards are too high.

Sorry for the long post:)

[hoes4hoseok]

enhypen as lover

okay this isn’t edited again but I have a few things to say 1. thank you all for your continued support of these 😭 it’s so fun for me and it means a lot that you enjoy them. 2. this one is kinda long; I actually had a lot of inspiration for it so YAY I hope you like it andddd 3. thanks again to @lethekoo :)

jay as cruel summer

“I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate, & I screamed for whatever it's worth, ‘I love you’ ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?”

at first, I was having trouble deciding whether this song fit jay or heeseung better, because, imo, they both fit in different ways

cruel summer describes an exciting start to a relationship, but it’s especially unique because, from my interpretation, it also captures the guilt that comes with falling in love with someone while still in a relationship with someone else

& that’s probably why I associate it with multiple people LOL but I chose jay because he just fits the mold for someone that would steal your heart when you least expect it

if you happened to be with someone already, good fucking luck because this man would never leave my thoughts if I were you

anyways, if you haven't heard this song, you should definitely go listen to it. if I were to recommend one song from the album, it might be this one because it’s just so universally loved among taylor’s fans :)

heeseung as lover

“can I go where you go? can we always be this close forever & ever?”

BRO 😭 I’M SORRY IN ADVANCE TO ALL THE HEESEUNG STANS BECAUSE I KNOW THIS ONE HURTS TO THINK OF

“I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover” you really can’t tell me that isn’t something you say about heeseung you can't.

I think heeseung would have a relationship with you that’d be..so secure

you’d just be the couple that everyone would see & think “they’re perfect” & yes, you may not be, but it would be open–& when one of you was unhappy, you would work through it together

I also feel like jealousy would be minimal in a relationship like this

like you may get jealous, but you trust each other and it never would cause conflict more than once

ni-ki as the archer

“who could ever leave me, darling? but who could stay?”

this song is such a great representation of insecurities in a relationship (well...I wouldn't know, but I think it is LOL) & I think it all boils down to thinking that it’s too good to be true

I don't quite know why I associate it so strongly with ni-ki, but I think it may be because I can imagine him as either party–afraid of being left behind, or also the one that seems too great

one of the last lines of the song, “you could stay” just makes me want to sob because it’s as if you always have this internal conflict, but you’ve finally found the person who will stick with you through it UGH IT’S SO CUTE

jake as paper rings

“I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings, uh huh, that's right, darling, you're the one I want”

a relationship with jake would be a whole adventure. like…all the time. even if that just meant getting ice cream & fries at two a.m, there would rarely be a dull moment with him

& you’d just be so ready to spend your life with him that you wouldn’t think twice if he asked you to marry you (honestly, you would’ve said yes a month in, but he didn’t need to know that)

especially since paper rings is a friends to lovers anthem UGH it just fits jake so well 😭 and I can BET that one of the enha members, probably jungwon tbh, would’ve introduced you & then all of a sudden CLICK it would be like your whole life got brighter

I’m getting too into this it’s basically a headcannon now 💀

sunghoon as london boy

“they say ‘home is where the heart is’, but that's not where mine lives”

now before you guys come for my neck, I know sunghoon isn’t english. this isn’t about that LOL

being in a relationship with sunghoon would be so great because being with him would feel like being home 24/7 IF THAT MAKES SENSE

it wouldn’t matter whether you were halfway around the globe from everyone else or just a half hour away–it’d feel comfortable & safe when you were with him

& also FUN because learning more about each other’s family’s would be a whole event & he’d introduce you to his friends & be so proud bc his partner is just that cool HEHE

sunoo as me!

“'cause one of these things is not like the others, livin' in winter, I am your summer; baby doll, when it comes to a lover, I promise that you'll never find another like me”

I know that a lot of people dislike this song, but I think it’s really cute and has a fun concept so I WILL D*E DEFENDING IT (even though I don’t like brendon urie lmfao)

sunoo just gives me that “well, the people who love me for me are the people who I want to hold close” & yeah I don’t think anyone could quite love you like sunoo ☺️

not a single day would go by when you wouldn't be absolutely amazed by how the hell you pulled this man because he's just so amazing and lovable (seriously, how)

ngl...I totally thought about this after watching that moment in i-land when he’s talking to sunghoon and says “well...i’m cuter than jake lol” I hope you guys get what I mean because that was definitely a me! moment imo

jungwon as daylight

“& I can still see it all in my mind, all of you, all of me, intertwined; I once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden”

I can definitely see jungwon being this breath of fresh air after a series of toxic relationships

he’d teach you how real relationships should be & how well you deserve to be treated

& it’d be weird to you because you’d think that you had seen it all but in reality, there’s really someone for you who can give you a passionate yet healthy love & it doesn’t always have to be one or the other

okay brb gonna cry myself to sleep

txt version ☆ itzy version ☆ 1989 version ☆ masterlist

[separatist-apologist]

Lucien Vanserra + The Villain Theory & Why the Mating Bond Is Not Fake

I've been thinking about this for a while and I've decided I want to debunk this because of all the *insert character that is definitely not the villain becoming a secret villain*, Lucien is most definitely not it.

The theory, according to tiktok, is that Lucien is a secret schemer who has tricked everyone, including Elain, into believing they are mates for undefined, suspicious reasons likely related to Koschei. I find this unlikely considering his "father" is ALSO scheming with Koschei and Lucien likely has some awareness of this considering how often Eris is suddenly hanging around.

This is so long. Everything is under the cut.

However, lets pretend he doesn't. There is consistent, contextual proof that Lucien a) could not make up a mating bond even if he wanted to and b) everyone would know if he had.

Starting in ACOTAR, Tamlin tells Feyre the story of Lucien. On page 160, Tamlin says:

"Lucien said he didn't care she wasn't one of the High Fae, that he was certain the mating bond would snap soon and that he was going to marry her and leave his father's court to his scheming brothers."

Followed up on page 161, Tamlin adds:

"...his father has never apologized and his brothers are too frightened of me to risk harming him. But he has never forgotten what they did to her...even if he pretends he has."

That's ACOTAR. I know SJM likes to change things on a whim, but foundationally, this is Lucien's character and across all five books, it never changes. Lucien is still haunted by Jesminda and the mating bond he lost. He firmly believes, if we believe Tamlin to be a reliable narrator (and we should, as Lucien backs Tamlin's opinion up in his private thoughts. It is also worth noting that if Lucien has a villain origin story, it begins right here, the moment his father beheads Jesminda. To assume he's the villain, we ought to believe that he's been scheming non-stop for at least 200 years (since he's like, 300ish?) and to what end? To kill Beron? He'd have been scheming far longer than Elain was alive.

Moving right along to ACOMAF, on page 619, Amren says:

"And the bond," Amren breathed, Cassian's blood shining on her hands as she slowed its dribbling.

Mor said, "She asked the king to break the bond. He obliged."

I thought I might be dying- thought my chest might actually be cleaved in two.

"Thats impossible," Amren said. "That sort of bond cannot be broken."

"The kind said he could do it."

"The king is a fool," Amren barked. "That sort of bond cannot be broken."

"No, it can't," I said.

This is from Rhys' perspective. A mating bond can't be broken with magic- it's forever. Even rejected or in death (we'll get there), the mating bond is for life. Assuming Lucien's mate was Jesminda, even if it hadn't snapped in death, she would STILL be his mate and death would not have changed that. Neither would any magic Lucien, a spell-cleaver, might possess.

Let's also consider Elain, who has no reason to lie and every reason to call Lucien out regarding the bond. In ACOMAF, page 608, we see this:

"...Elain was staring over Nesta's shoulder. At Lucien-whose face she had finally taken in. Dark brown eyes met one of russet and one of metal. Nesta was still weeping, still raging, still inspecting Elain-

Lucien's hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, "You're my mate."

It's Elain who sees him first, who feels the mating bond mere seconds before Lucien. Why choose Elain, if you're going to pick a fake mate for your scheme? The argument is generally that she has the least amount of knowledge about Faeries and no interest in that education but how would Lucien know that? Feyre told Lucien nothing about her sisters (she told Ianthe instead), which means he would have had to guess. Given that Elain fights being put in the Cauldron, there's nothing contextually in that moment that suggests that Lucien somehow knew she was the easier sister to fool.

It's also worth noting that Lucien, up until that moment, still genuinely believes Jesminda was his mate. If he's the villain, having a fake mate makes no sense to the story or his plans.

Feyre has been inside Lucien's mind twice. Once in ACOMAF (pg. 95):

"Thoughts slammed into me, images and memories, a pattern of thinking and feeling that was old, and clever, and sad, so endlessly sad and guilt-ridden, hopeless-"

And again in ACOWAR when Lucien meets Elain for the first time. On page 249, we get the best description of what Lucien is feeling regarding the mating bond, all through Feyre's perspective:

"Too thin. She must not be eating at all. How can she even stand?

The thoughts flowed through his head, one after another. His heart was a raging, thunderous beat, and he didn't dare move from his position a mere five feet away. She hadn't yet turned toward him, but the ravages of her fasting were evident enough.

Touch her, smell her, taste her-

The instincts were running a river. he fisted his hands at his sides."

"But there she was. His mate. She was nothing like Jesminda."

"Elain had been...thrown at him."

"That circle of people who now claimed to be Feyre's new family...It was what, long ago, he'd once thought life at Tamlin's court would be. An ache like a blow to the chest went through him, but he crossed the rug."

"But he couldn't breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He'd said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the senses chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours."

"She looked away- towards the windows. 'I can hear your heart,' she said quietly. He wasn't sure how to respond, so he said nothing and drained his tea even as it burned his mouth.

'When I sleep,' she murmured, 'I can hear your heart beating through the stone.' She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. 'Can you hear mine?'

He wasn't sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, 'No, lady. I cannot.'"

These are Lucien's thoughts from Feyre's perspective. He has no idea she's in his head, so why is he thinking all those things? Why feel guilt that he finds her beautiful or that he'd once said all the same things to Jesminda that he thinks about Elain? Why care about her well-being? We know mates are driven to protect and Lucien's very first thoughts about Elain are ones of concern. She's not eating, she's too thin, how can she possibly stand? Not, hahaah my evil planned worked and I totally have an in with the Night Court (which, why would he need considering Tamlin is currently allied with Hybern and Lucien could have taken full advantage of that?).

Additionally, assuming Lucien is faking the mating bond for some poorly defined, evil plot, why keep such distance? Why not force himself on her? That's the claim, right? That he's forcing her to be with him which is amusing because in ACOFAS, Lucien has some thoughts on page 162"

"'How is she?'

'Better. She makes no mention of her abilities. If they remain.'

'Good. But is she still...' A muscle flickered in his jaw. 'Does she still mourn him?'"

First question he asks. "How is she?" Followed by if she's still in love with her ex-fiance. And I can hear the screaming now, "HE ASKED BECAUSE HE WANTS TO OWN HER" but like, on page 165 of ACOFAS, we get:

"I can't stand to be in the same room as her for more than two minutes."

Truly a stupid plan to fake a mating bond with a person that is causing you to be eaten alive with guilt and longing. We know the second he's around her, Lucien's is overwhelmed with the mating instincts and feels guilt over Jesminda, which is why he spends little time around Elain. He also tells Feyre, on that same page, he doesn't want his life to be financed by Rhysand. Feyre practically begs Lucien to move back to Velaris, to work for her full time, to let her set him up somewhere nicer and Lucien declines it all. If his plan hinged on getting closer to the IC, to using Rhys' resources, why tell her no? Why not take her up on it? Why not make him part of her life in a much more tangible way?

And finally, the dreaded scent of the mating bond. Feyre doesn't risk talking to Rhys when she's in Spring for fear of alerting everyone to the scent of the bond. Azriel, too, cannot stand the smell of it to the point he stands in the doorway during solstice rather than come in.

Ladies, Gentleman, and Non-binary pals of the jury, examine the evidence. For Lucien to be a villain, he has to KNOW that Feyre is a daemati before she does and both leave his thoughts unguarded while constantly assuming she MIGHT be picking through them. He also has to be able to control large amounts of people at the same time via the smell of the bond and Elain being able to feel it. When he tugs, she responds.

It would require everyone around them to be incredibly dumb. Feyre and Rhys basically share a mind and while they don't necessarily trust Lucien (unfairly imo), I firmly believe one of them would have picked up on a fake bond or Lucien's scheming.

Lucien wanted Jesminda, not Elain. If he decided to punish the world around him for the consistent pain he was enduring, he doesn't need Elain to achieve this. He's friends with Feyre. He has contacts all over Prythian. He didn't need to fake a mating bond, nor does it make any sense to do so. What they have is REAL.

And lastly, the bond can't be broken. Rejected, yes, broken no. Regardless if you think they'll keep it or not, they ARE mates and Lucien is NOT the villain who will be heroically slaughtered. They're awkward, they're uncomfortable, they have shit to work out but they ARE mates, and Lucien has proven over and over that all he wants is a home and goddamn peace and quiet.

[ethereal-maia]

Legally Blonde:

Guys I’m going to be very honest I started listening to this one before the poll was over so maybe that’s cheating BUT I was very Very impressed. It’s been like 4 days and I still cannot stop singing these songs in my brain this is fantastic. I also watched the proshot on YouTube so that also did a lot for me.

Favorite Things:

I LOVED EVERYTHING about the opening song it captures the feeling of Delta Nu so well imo. And the STAGING I was sooo obsessed with the windows at the beginning. It’s also like. A Super fucking catchy song.

Im going to be so honest I was obsessssed with all of Elle’s best friends they’re just so girlie and fun and I adore them sm

When Emmett showed up I was like O-O and attached my mind to him for a minute. He’s just a guy… let him be a lawyer…

BLOOD IN THE WATER. BLOOD IN THE WATERRRRRR Calahan’s actor has such a voice like omg… his voice dips and does all these cool things that I LOVE! And the music…. AAAA and thr group tentatively singing “…blood.. in the. Water,” was so real to how classes sound <33 but as a song I think it does a really really good job of setting up Calahan as a character. And the stage design as Elle was being kicked out of class was SO cool.

SO MUCH BETTER… THAN BE FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE (insane about this song. insane about it.) Guys she’s making it! She’s doing well!!! At Harvard! She’s growing as a person! And she threw away her boyfriend! She’s doing this for herself now!!!! ASKHDHAKDJH She’s doing something right!! Guys. She’s all I want to be in life actually. This song makes me feel so so so many emotions it’s amazing. I’m not okay. Oh my god.

Whipped into shape! This song has been playing in my head for days… I WANT YOU WHIPPED INTO SHAPE! WHEN I SAY JUMP SAY HOW HIGH! YOU KNOW YOURE DOING IT RIGHT, WHEN YOU START TOOO CRY! And back to Calahan’s actor… GUYS HIS VOICE IM SO OBSESSED UGHHHHH

I think the choreo for this scene was actually amazing! It’s really easy for gym scene songs to be boring and just noise and movement imo, but this was really concise and well done so I quite enjoyed it

ive seen the movie but like. I don’t think I’ll ever be over how Elle is just like. Yeahhh thats a Delta Nu girl.

AND ALSO PAULETTE IS SOOOOOO <333 HER X KYLE FOREVER <33333

bend and snap was so fun guys omg

OMG There! Right There! Is like the only song I had ever heard from the musical before this, so I knew it already (it’s how I found about the musical actually lmao) but AA the guy playing him was so fun to watch and also all the people in the court eventually getting into it was so silly. and ofc the finale to the song was SO fun.

guys the Calahan scene was real hard for me even though I knew it was coming… the fuckin “I thought you were smarter than that” helLO? Warner and his girlfriend watching it? WARNER AND HIS “WELL WELL WELL MONROE” (or whatever he says) LIKE DUDE SHUT UPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!! SHUT UP!!!!!!!!

AND THEN LEGALLY BLONDE. guys what the FUCK why didn’t you tell me this musical was going to go so hard… guys this song made me sob actually… the negation of so much better because of this song… her giving up, how you can FEEL her sadness and shame and disappointment… just let her be Legally Blonde… EMMETT… you did your best with a hopeless case. YOU ARE THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS PLACE!… Elle you should knOWWWW- calahan hit on me. What? He kissed me, he fired me… there’s no reason for me to stay. What about Love? Did I ever mention love? Perhaps, if I’d made it more clear, that yiu belong right here, you wouldn’t have to go, cause you KNOW that I’m SO Much in LOVEEE… BACK TO THE SUN, BACK TO THE SHORE, BACK TO WHAT I WAAAS BEFOOOOORE, LIE ON THR BEACH, STAY WITHIN REACH, DONT STRAY BEYOOOOOOOOND! SOME GIRLS FIGHT HARD, SOME FACE THE TRIALS, SOME GIRLS WERE JUST MEANT TO SMile!… if you can hear, can I just say, how much I want yiu to stay…it’s not up to me… just let me be… Legally Blonde… I need you to stay…. it’s not up to me. Just let me be. Legallyyyy Bloooonde.

can you tell what my favorite song in the musical is. Take a wild guess.

AND THEN THE REPRISE I. UGHHHHHHHHHHH IM SO OKAY. You’re my New Muse! <— vocal moment of all time. She pronounces it so cutie omg.

GIRLS ITS A FACT, WHEN YOURE ATTACKED, YOUVE GOT TO RESPOND!

SHES LEGALLY BLONDE! Say cheese! No, say Legally Blonde!

the random dance break for Paulette and Kyle is so silly <33

YESSSSSSSS AAAA guys thr reprise fills me with the life it stole from me in the original. Fantastic.

and the finale is So cutie!!! OBSESSED with it. Perfect. Everything I wanted in a finale. OH MY GOD OHMY GOD YOU GUYS GRANTED NOT A COMPLETE SURPRISE BUT IG THERE EVER WAS A PERFECT COUPLE THIS ONE QUALIFIES, CAUSE WE LOVE YOU GUYS, OHMY GOD!

anyway. you guys were so right for this one. Oh man.

been at a standstill for a bit. So.

@bumblingest-bee @pealeii @ivorypiano @mama-marleigh you guys are my super cool theater mutuals! What do you think?

[stranger-nightmare]

I don’t know why but Enchanted by Taylor Swift reminds me of Steve Harrington like. The vibes are immaculate.

“I’ll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you.”

“This was the very first page, not where the storyline ends, my thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again, these are the words that I held back.”

Like I can see a whole “friends to lovers” trope with this, where the reader is Steve’s best friend, and something one night just clicks for them, and they realise how hopelessly head over heels for Steve, not realising that he still (in their head) holds a candle for Nancy, not realising that he feels the same about the reader, and they’re both oblivious to each other’s feelings.

“Please don’t be in love with someone else, please don’t have someone waiting on you.”

The reader confessing to Robin about how they feel for Steve, and Robin being Robin, trying to make it happen. I just have a whole movie moment in my head where Steve and the reader have this big fight about Nancy, not realising that Steve doesn’t feel for Nancy how he feels for the reader and the reader being jealous of Nancy for nothing, and they argue, and words were said that weren’t meant, that end in the reader leaving upset, and it’s raining outside, so they evidently get caught in the downpour, and Steve following them to stop them from leaving. They’re shouting at each other through the rain and the reader’s tears are lost in the rain, until Steve finally tells the reader how he finds himself wonderstruck by them 24 hours a day, and can’t get them out of his head. The angst, the buildup, to probably Steve tangling his fingers into the readers hair and kissing the absolute life out of them.

“2am; who do you love.” Reader. It’s reader.

“Now I’m pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door, I open up and you would say ‘it was enchanting to meet you.”

Like modern! Steve Harrington is definitely somewhat of a Taylor fan. I’m making it canon. I got lost in the moment and kept rambling. Enjoy the idea of Swiftie!Steve and the whole concept because I sure did.

- 🫶🏻

ahhhh this is always where I have to admit that the only Taylor Swift albums I’ve listened to are 1989 and Reputation!! so yeah unfortunately I haven’t listened to this song but anyways...

this idea is so friggin cute and sad I love love love it!! that’s like a whole fic series idea right there, ugh such beautiful angst :’)

but yeah I can also lowkey Steve being into Taylor Swift, like he’s not a full on swiftie imo but he definitely enjoy her music more than he lets on haha

-hope

[ruesbike]

Anyone else catch the parallels between rue and Cassie both saying “I don’t think I’m a good person”

They’ve both oddly been set up to be each others character Mirror this season (this is NOT what I meant when I said I wanted a team up with them). Rue finally gets the thing she thought would make her sober forever, a relationship with Jules. Cassie starts out single but it doesn’t last very long at all. But she gets herself into what she clearly thinks is the best relationship. The one she’s been looking for.

Here are some of the parallels I’ve noticed

They both enter these one sided relationships and quite literally relapse into their respective addictions. Jules never said anything back when Rue said I want to be with you (but we know she does love Rue, wanting to be with her is a separate story). Nate is holding Cassie at arms length but tells her what she needs to hear (apparently he does love her though)

This one is more outlandish but I think Elliot exists to help further this parallel, they needed three and it needed to be a Nate both girls are attached to. Elliot definitely doesn’t share the same qualities as Nate so his characters relationship is way different. But he does serve as a romantic plot device that inevitably comes between what was a seemingly fine relationship. And that boy is also a direct line to addiction. Nate Enables Cassie’s addiction to relationships, Takes part in them with her. Elliot gives Rue drugs, does them with her. And both of their other half’s are also romantically involved with their enablers. and both men could possibly actually like both parties a lot but ultimately does not care abt their hand in ruining their respective relationships. trash. (Imo Jules and rue were still fucked and never gonna last anyways with or without him)

They’re both hiding these predicaments from the strongest relationships they have. Jules doesn’t know Rue is not staying clean and Maddy has no clue why Cassie is acting weird. And while Cassie and Rue dig themselves deeper into a hole the two people they’re hiding from come together. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that while Rue is off to do drugs with Elliot and Cassie is running off with Nate Jules and Maddy are shown alone together forming a bond while their soulmates are out doing shit that would crush them. The juxtaposition was crazy and very much admired.

They have Rue tell us herself that she is a bad person when she acknowledges that everyone is rooting for her as the main character, then proceeds to show us her gaslighting someone. The scene with Gia shows us she knows people see her as a person in need of help and will eventually give in to her if she makes it seem like she’s sad but really trying to be good.

On the flip side they Have Nate (the one person on this show that uses lies to get the truth and later wield it like a weapon.) Tell us cassie is a bad person. In media they often don’t spell things out for you because you have to trust your audience is smart. They did this on purpose because although we know it cassie never would have gone as far as rue had to acknowledge she’s still doing something bad and own up to it. A mirror to Rue who has no shame in the act.

And from tonight’s episode I think another parallel is to be made. During the Hot tub scene Maddy is constantly looking between Nate and Cassie like she has all season. I think we all pretty much suspect she knows something is up but like Jules she’s been completely oblivious until tonight when both Cassie and Rue show their asses. When Rue snaps at Jules and she feels something is off but of course she won’t entertain that thought we all know is there. When Cassie spews then starts breaking down saying sorry , Maddy might know her best friend seems more hysterical than usual. I think Both Maddy and Jules were presented the truth tonight and they both took it in silence.

[testingcheats0n]

Massive Dream SMP Fic Rec!!

Hey- Hi, I just feel like there are a ton of fanfiction that's really underrated in this fandom- so I'm going to dump it on your dash!!! Most of it is going to be Tommy-centric or SBI-centric, but they are very good!

Source: Me

Finished Fanfics:

Multi-chaptered Fanfics:

that's, like, a hundred miles by No_one_you_know

Dream would kill him. Dream was going to kill him- he was going to- no, he wouldn’t. Dream was his friend- friends don’t hit each other- Dream was supposed to take care of him- Dream /was/ taking care of him.

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. He couldn’t clear his thoughts as he stumbled to the family computer, pulling up a tab on google and frantically typing the name into the search bar.

The words Technoblade Watson stared back at him, the little black bar at the end of the letters blinking slowly, mocking him.

Why, of all people, did it have to be Technoblade?

in short: the one where dream sucks as a parental figure, tommy runs away, and visits his least favorite family member technoblade

Hard-hitting, but has a happy ending, though I recommend reading the prequel (in the same series) first, otherwise, it's lowkey depressing.

MORE RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW THE CUT!!

you’ll rise above (crowned by an overture bold and beyond) by azvremoon

Tommy is not sixteen. He has faced too many open wounds, dripping ichor onto blood-stained warzones, to be just a child. He is Blood and War and needless Death, an all-in-one special of everything that can ruin reality.

(Tommy is the blood god. No one should know, but this server can't stop pushing him over the edge.)

+2 more Works that were Inspired by this one

Tommy is a BAMF and Dream, Technblade, and Phil get fucked it is what it is.

Responsible Forever by SilverWing15

“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” /////

“So,” Techoblade says, slow and deliberate, his face shows clearly just how unbelievable he finds all of this, “you saw a boy last night, in the middle of the night, living with raccoons and eating our garbage?”

“I know how insane it sounds,” Phil says, “but I know what I saw. We need to help him, who knows how long he’s been out here?”

“Okay,” Wilbur interrupts, “let’s say that raccoon-boy is real. What is it you want us to do? We can’t go searching the woods for specific bunch of raccoons, I don’t know if you’ve noticed Phil but there are a lot of them out there.”

“Going out and hunting him isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Techno says, “we have to let the raccoon-boy come to us. He’s already come once, you know how tenacious raccoons are. If they came to the garbage pit once, they’ll come again. We just have to set a trap.”

“Those raccoons aren’t gonna know what fucking hit them,” Wilbur mutters.

Or: RaccoonInnit taken well beyond its logical conclusion

Tommyinnit is a Raccoon boi that lives with other Raccoons

Protecting the Traumatised Youth by spookyserpent

Sam blinks. “What?”

Even behind the mask, Sam has the distinct impression that Dream is grinning at him. “A week and he was begging for my attention, even after I stole and burnt his armour, even after the beatings. He couldn’t stand me leaving him because I was the only one to show up, to pay him attention. It was hilarious.”

Sam is going to be sick.

Or, Sam decides to ask Dream about his intentions and ends up becoming a big brother to Tommy and Tubbo. All the while, Dream and George fight, Niki and Jack plan child murder and Ranboo is slowly getting adopted into the SBI.

Awesamdad written back when it was possible... ahhh

Chaos In a Bottle by Lovetribable

After a realization, Tommy leaves the pillar, but instead of going to Techno. He just disappears, leaving everyone to think he's gone.

It takes a war to bring him back.

+2 Sequels and an Alternative Ending

Dadinnit!! + A Sympathetic Dream

Absolutely Anything For Them by Numanum

“There’s a lot you don’t understand, Tubbo,” Dream sighs, meeting his eyes cooly. Tubbo, back against a tree, shudders at his tone, at the look on his face.

The sword at his neck skims across his skin as Dream shifts his grip on it, and he flinches back into the rough bark behind him. Dream smiles at his reaction, seeming pleased- like the cat that’s been toying with a mouse that always tries to run no matter how many times it’s caught. And, despite this being his first encounter alone with the man, he thinks that the comparison is fairly accurate; Tubbo has never felt smaller than he does now. There’s supposed to be a buddy system to prevent things like this- he shouldn’t be alone here, stuck in this situation.

Or: Tubbo becomes a traitor to save everyone and has to struggle with his choices

Traitor Tubbo, but it has the happiest ending possible since it follows the rest of the story.

Where Did You Come From, Kit? by KadeAK (zacixn)

Hybrids are an ancient species of humans crossed with animals, blessed with the favour of nature. They used to live in peace on the SMP’s land, but ever since the dawn of humanity’s modern culture, they have become ostracised and hunted by their once-brethren. Now, the once-thriving subspecies of hybrids have been reduced to ashes, the majority of their peoples struggling to survive in a city capital that can't stand their presence.

To the members of L’Manburg, General Wilbur Soot is just another mildly prejudiced human being, stuck with a hybrid fox kit for an adopted child. However, that assumption could not be farther from the truth. As it turns out, there's a reason why he is the man he is today.

This fic is entirely pre-L’Manburg.

Part of a series, very good.

Take It Easy by sweet_magnolias

Five times Techno scared Michael, one time Michael scared him, and the resolution of those fears.

AKA - Techno learns how to be an uncle.

Technoblade's POV, so expect some Tubbo bashing on the margins of all that Michael fluff.

I suppose it’s never my time to die, is it? by Birb_Whale

The first time it happens, he barely remembers. The second time is when he realized. The third... Twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern

“It’s not your time to die yet, Tommy”

Messed up, but not unrealistic. Purely for the Hurt/Comfort lovers.

This Wasn't Planned, But It'll Work Out by Anonymous

Dream isn't sure what to think when he finds a kid on his doorstep, but he can't just leave him there, now can he?

(He doesn't know what he's getting into, or what he's gotten the kid into, either)

Long, and angsty, with a bittersweet ending Imo.

let's play a game by Aria_Cinabun

Tommy was once a slave. That's gone now - shoved in his past with the memories of blood and gore and death. He wants to forget who he was; what he has to do to survive. Of course, the Elementalists will always come back to haunt him. They aren't the ones who killed his mother, but they're close enough. And now he and his brother have been dragged into the mess, as Elementalists with their own, separate covens, to find the Pit - the place where he'd lived and killed and hurt for the first twelve years of his life. His coven can't know. Can't know who he really is, what he can really do. Can't know anything about his past. He doesn't want a coven full of Elementalists who don't trust him; one of whom he's pretty sure despises him. He doesn't want that life. He wants the life of a pickpocket, on the streets, because nobody questions street kids, and nobody comes asking about his past and pushes him to tell his secrets that he holds closest inside. Tubbo tries to tell him to trust people. But trust is how you die.

Good fantasy AU, has SBI, and is thus fluffy.

Turn of the Tide by SilverWing15

Tommy’s fins twitch at the mention of Dream’s ancestors. Dream talks about them a lot, how they made their fortune hunting down mer pods, how they were cruel and greedy. Nothing like Dream is. They’ve both overcome their roots he says.

Tommy is nothing like the wild mer out in the ocean, who spend their lives scraping by just to survive, who kicked him out of the pod when he was a baby because he was too small. He’s also better than the pit mer, who can’t overcome their wild instincts and know nothing but fighting.

He’s different from them, he’s better than them. He’s Dream’s. //// OR: Change is like the tide, when it comes, you can only sink or swim. You would think that a mer would be better at keeping afloat.

Mermaid AU Pooog. Part of a series.

One-Shots:

Snapped by AmberRunnel

“You don’t know what I went through in that prison cell.”

Jack burst out laughing, blinded with rage and the overwhelming urge to hurt Tommy, to give him everything he deserved. “Oh, is the poor child traumatized? You want pity now?” He twisted his blade, and Tommy’s axe was sent clattering to the ground.

“If the prison was so awful, why don’t I send you back there?”

-|-

Jack doesn't handle Tommy's revival well. There's a simple solution, though. Kill Tommy, and Dream revives him right back into that cell. Problem solved, kid dealt with.

It takes a few confrontations for Jack to realize he's an asshole.

It's fucked up, but god does it hurt in a good way.

the sky is coming down blue by salinesolution

An imagining of New Milo's perspective throughout the Skyblock Randomizer adventure. What did he think of the world he found himself in, and how did Wilbur's feelings and actions change things for him? Here's my way of answering those questions.

He made the fish think, funniest shit I've seen.

You told me to be a hero (so let me die like one) by spiromachia

"You told me to die like a hero," the blond interrupted, spinning on his heel to face the others, holding his arms wide open, "So why not fulfil the ending that was always meant to be."

Across the battle field, through the chaos and destruction, a tree burned.

Even the sound of explosions and cries and bloodshed felt distant enough for the world to become silent for a few moments, each individual slowly coming to the same conclusion, each of their bodies tensing.

Tommy's face broke out into a grin as he lowered his head, glowering at the people around him, and Philza's face flashed with recognition.

"Kill me."

Or... In the middle of Doomsday, Tommy decides to ask Technoblade to be the Lycomedes to his Theseus.

Heavy and dark, but at least Dream gets it.

tomorrow night by meridies

Tommy is desperately searching for his missing brother. Techno is the reluctant psychic who unfortunately got dragged along.

or, two people, more alike than different, learn what it is to have a family at their side.

It's cute what can I say :]

maple syrup by itisjosh

"We could run," Tubbo stares at the sun. "We've got everything we've ever wanted right here. We could run."

"Yeah," Tommy agrees, feeling his head swim. "We could."

(or, tommy and tubbo run away together)

Children get away from toxic adults :)

Why’d it have to be so sunny? (The sun shouldn’t shine without you.) by AToZRainToBe

‘A realisation hits Phil in the face like a truck. “Wi- Ghostbur,” Phil says, turning to his grey-scale, translucent, actually-dead son. “You definitely told Tubbo that Tommy’s alive, right?”’

To get away from Dream, Tommy agrees to fake his death, going with the cover story that he jumped from the pillar in Logstedshire. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Tubbo.

Misunderstandings are one of my favorite tropes.

sugar and ice by princedemeter for Aenqa

“He is my son,” Philza says. “Mortal or not, I would see him grow strong.”

Technoblade looks down on earth, at the tiny, angry bundle of cloth and pinking, wrinkled skin. This mortal child, he thinks, lungs filled with breath from the king of gods himself, will not grow strong.

It's mostly centered around Technoblade and Wilbur with Phil being a shitty dad. Pog Gods AU.

a matter of time by meridies

Tommy is twelve years old when his wings first appear, and he is twelve years old when Phil tells him, "All it takes is time and patience, Tommy, and soon you'll be flying even better than me."

or, Tommy grows up feeling like a failure, and it takes him a while to figure out where he's happiest.

Tommy is just finding his place in the world. Powers AU.

That Time a Baby Decided to Raise a Baby by Scitrust

Tubbo wasn't good at making excuses, so when Schlatt asked him why he was leaving in the night, he made something up on the spot. That had been months ago.

At least he sort of had an alibi for that, now.

Or, in which Tubbo finds a baby in the woods on his way to see Tommy, and promptly adopts it.

Part of a collection!! Read it all.

spider lily by blue000jay

Wilbur has a body.

The freckle on the base of his left pinky finger (shared with Techno). The scar on his chin from when he was twelve and over ambitious, diving into too-shallow water. The scar on his throat from the final control room, and the puckered skin on his shoulder from the poisoned arrow that killed him next. Various other nicks and things that litter his skin from years of rebellion and living wild, a kid thrown into a vicious world with too little self-preservation.

(Resurrection AU, for when/if Wilbur comes back.)

The author knows how it's like to live with chronic pain, and it shows :(

Hands tied loose by rabiddog

"Let's run away, Tubbo." Tommy breathed; a wide grin split across his face as his hope grew. "Let's get out of here – far away. We can go anywhere, can't we? Let's just go, you and me right here, right now."

-

Tommy needs to leave. He has to get out of L'Manburg, he has to leave the Dream SMP for his own sanity, and he wants Tubbo to come with him.

But Tubbo has a family now, a better life - something that he can't give up... not even for his best friend.

Unhappy ending :(

The serpent underneath by rabiddog

Tommy and Techno sit at the memory-filled bench and talk. Technoblade reminisces, he talks, he admits his pent-up feelings, he cries. And Tommy? Tommy listens. (That's all he can do.)

-

“I’m sorry for everything, you know? For all of it. I’m so sorry about... about the first war, about the withers and the fighting, about...” Technoblade's fingers began to curl around Tommy’s blonde locks. “About Wilbur and everything after. I'm so, so sorry.”

:((((((((

Damning choices by rabiddog

Ranboo would have never expected to find himself in a horrifying situation such as that one - quite literally sandwiched between a rock and a hard place, with three lives dangling over his head and the answer on the tip of his tongue.

Tubbo, Michael, Tommy.

It's his choice. He chooses who lives, and who dies. His new family, or his first friend. But Ranboo... Ranboo already knows.

-

"Ranboo," He hissed out, voice cracking and somewhat staticky, "It's not your fault. It's not. You had no other choice; I know that, okay? I- I know that- I know- I know..."

:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Jealousy is a disease by rabiddog

Tommyinnit isn't new to the idea of jealousy. He understands it completely. He understands the way it runs rampage through his body each time he catches even a glimpse of Tubbo and Ranboo's new relationship, he understands that the emotion makes his heart clench uncomfortably from time to time. He sees it, feels it, and yet he doesn't care.

He doesn't care at all.

-

"You took Tubbo away from me. You took him away. You took my best friend, and now he's- now he's not my best friend anymore, and I-!"

:)

Word of Honour by rabiddog

Tommy could only stand and stare as Technoblade agreed to hand him over to Dream - as his brother traded him off like he was nothing. Like Tommy wasn't important.

-

Technoblade was a man of honour. He was a man of pride and sticking to his word. He knew that he owed Dream a favour, and no matter what that favour might be, he'd be compliant with it. Nothing would change his mind. (Not even Tommy.)

Almost canon. F.

Sweet Repentance by rabiddog

Perhaps Tommy should have told Phil about his arguably life-threatening injury the minute his father had opened the door. But of course, Tommy being Tommy, did not.

Dying seemed like a nice enough option as long as he was with his family.

-

Tommy just wanted acceptance, forgiveness, and peace. He wanted to close his eyes for the last time and finally be able to let go.

Tommy dies painfully.

A White Tulip by astervoid

He picked the white tulip from the bottom of the stem, standing up carefully as he held it pinched between his fingers. It would die now, inevitably, but Tommy relented and held the flower to his chest. What a silly, stupid thing to ground him. He almost hated that it made his breaths come easier and his steps feel lighter. Almost.

Tommy & Ranbooo chill on the bench.

lying to the authorities (again) by touchgrass

"Please tell me that my right-hand-man, my soon-to-be vice president, one of the people I trust the most on this godforsaken server, did not lie straight to my face and tell me he was twenty-fucking-years-old.”

Tommy opened his mouth to protest, but then closes it shut at the furious look on Wilbur's face. Oops.

~

It is the day of the elections and Wilbur Soot could not have chosen a worser time to realize that half his staff is underage.

The ONLY fic with this premise I've seen on Ao3.

Dear Theseus by rabiddog

Tommy had thought that they'd won - thought that they'd finally beaten Dream, and that everything would be okay. As it turns out, however, apparently Dream had called in that favour from Technoblade after all.

-

“Please,” Tommy whispered after a beat, quivering hands edged upwards to hesitantly press against the tip of the sword striking through his chest. Why, why, why? Why him? Why now?

Tommy almost wins.

A Shifting World by AplusIsRoman

How was Wilbur supposed to know it would end like this?

The smoke hung in the air and soot clung to his skin. His brother - adopted, but older by two minutes - stood back-to-back with him. The chilling cries of people and the calls of the withers rang through the air above the chasm that was once his home.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

How could he have known this would happen?

-

Sequel to A Child's World

Age-swap AU. Has a prequel.

heart of the sea by RyDyKG

Here is the secret that he barely thinks about, a secret that he shoves deep and far down in himself:

Wilbur Soot is a siren, and he’s not exactly proud of that fact.

Wilbur-centric. Urban Fantasy AU.

He knows, ok? by Ralli

By some means, Techno has given his raccoon younger brother some cotton candy. It doesn’t end as well as either of them would like.

Very, very cute :)

that's it, it's split (it won't recover) by Jk_Kat

Tommy has always been the fighter.

He has never been the fought for, and he knows it, with every whisper Tubbo directs at Ranboo, with every glance thrown his way- Tommy knows, the way he wishes he didn't, that they think he's dead.

If they're so convinced he's still dead, maybe the one good thing left he can do for them is die.

---

Or, Tommy gets addicted to being dead and thinks that nobody cares about him. The people who very much do try to pull him back from the brink before Dream can't resurrect him anymore.

Messed up, but with a happy ending.

Hugs 'n PTSD by rabiddog

Ranboo knew from the start that the recovery process would be hard - that moving on from quite literally being beat to death would be something hugely difficult to step away from, and that's if Tommy could even manage it at all.

He knew that it would be stressful and arduous, demanding and tough... he just hadn't expected to be holding Tommy through a PTSD-induced panic attack only days after his release from Pandora's Vault.

-

Ranboo isn't typically an overbearingly protective person. But for Tommy? He just might be.

I love this author if you can't tell.

Big Men don't cry by Shiny22Snivy

The room is small and warm, almost stifling compared to the cool openness of the ravine. It’s cosy and candlelit, and a chest sits open in the corner, full of what looks to be burnt rags of a former smart suit. And sitting in rumpled blankets on a bed, cradling a mug of something steaming, sits Tubbo.

At first, Tommy forgets all about Niki’s vague warning. He’s just so happy to see his best friend again, alive and well and all in one piece. Tubbo’s okay. Tubbo’s okay, and in front of him, and suddenly everything bad in the world is gone, if only for just a moment.

“Tommy?”

And then Tubbo turns to look at him.

Clingyduo fluff.

sins of the father (i broke all my bones that day i found you) by ryter

The thing that hurt Wilbur most was when he saw Fundy tear down the walls of L'Manburg. After all, those walls had gone up to protect his son. But in this world, Fundy trusts his father just a little bit more, and it ruins him.

Or: there's only one way Wilbur never becomes the villain. It's unclear whether this was the better path.

SOME VIOLENCE WARNINGS/BLOOD MENTION. CHARACTER DEATH. SO MUCH ANGST.

Sad, but cathartic.

REVIVED TOMMY HEADCANNONS AHAHAHAHA by racooninnit

i’m dropping ALL the fucking revived tommy headcannons on you guys today get ready for some ANGST

this is different from what i usually post but it was fun

i don’t think there’s a lot i need to put warnings for, obviously there are mentions of the way tommy died and the aftermath of that (i.e. injuries and trauma), but if there’s anything that needs a warning please tell me!

What it says on the tin- not really a fic.

Unfinished Stories:

Ongoing (Less than a month since the last update):

Over the River Styx by CorpseArt

I feel like we should name him.

There’s a scuffle at the back of his mind as he rolls up, curling tight with a shiver despite the heat of the flames licking up his back.

I mean, he’s like – us, but like a worse version clearly because oh man, this is just weirdness. There’s a flare of a tangle of emotions, complicated and fearful, resentful and livid with anger. I can’t believe this is what I’ve been reduced to, stuck in the mind of this- this child.

He’s like your age, Tommy. Are you calling yourself a child?

I mean, I am one so fucking duh. Child murderer.

-

Or: trauma bonding in the most unconventional of senses.

Just- Read it. Show the writer your support, it's unique, it's amazing and there needs to be more of it.

If history is dead and gone by iregretallmydecisions

“Don’t come any fucking closer,” Tommy shouted, startling Phil into stepping back. Tommy was still looking around wildly, like a trapped animal “Don’t fucking do it.” ---- In which Tommy finds himself faced with his splintered family, while it was still mostly whole. The past is not an easy place to be when the future was not kind. His family is forced to deal with the fall out.

It's better than Rewind, but you didn't hear that from me.

Wilbur Soot's Redemption (OR Ghostbur's Retry) by luckykitty0523

Wilbur had many regrets in his life, being lost in his madness and the urge for revenge drowned leaving a shell of who he once was. It was only in his dying moments that he regained himself but it was already too late for him leaving him drowning in wishes and regrets. However waking up in another different universe where wilbur was never born and family soulmates exist, so when wilbur said he wanted to fix the mistakes he never expected this turn of events.

OR

In one world wilbur dies and he would return as a ghost missing his memory and trying to fix what he did in life but in this one wilbur dies and wakes up in another world where soulmates exist and the wilbur of that world was never born so wilbur/ghostbur takes his place and tries to make up his mistakes to the other version of his friends.

Wilbur adopts SBI + Fundy + Dream.

A Talk Long Overdue by penink

Tommy has his first therapy session with Puffy.

Tommy gets therapy.

Into the Night by Interjection

“Don’t touch me,” Tommy hisses, leaning against the railing. “I will - I will-”

They’re a hundred stories up. Wind lashes against Phil’s face. Next to him, Sam makes choked noise.

“But why?”

Tommy looks up to meet Phil’s eyes, terror struck so deep in those pale blue irises Phil thinks they must hold all the world’s fears within them.

“You’ll die,” he whispers. “And then I’ll die. But I’ll come back.”

“And I don’t want to come back.”

Others have the freedom to live. Tommy doesn’t even have the freedom to die.

But maybe they can teach him that living doesn’t have to be so bad.

---

(Superpowers AU where whenever someone touches Tommy, they both die. But Tommy will always come back to life eventually. He just wants it to end - but instead, he’s on the run, terrified of how his power will be exploited if he’s caught.

A few people reluctantly team up to save him.)

Funky SBI dynamics + a Sam that cares. Also a lot of angst.

[solarstellarstar]

✽: Favorite season? ♥: One thing you love about your Muse. ☄: What you think of your Muse. ☁: Favorite part of RPing.

From Fun Mun asks!

Admin/Mun speaking…

✽: Favorite season?

Summer. Solely because of nostalgia and the fact that my birthday is in summer (August Leo ♌️ 💪)! Swimming pools, the catchy kpop songs that are released around this time and a great time to eat ice cream and drink all the cool drinks are the main reasons why I love summer the most :D

♥: One thing you love about your Muse.

The way Solar falls in love is my favourite part of her character. Even though her lovestruck attitude can cause her to commit things that are… less than ideal and can be a bit embarrassing, the way she gets flustered, shy and eager for her beloved’s attention and praise is adorable to me :(

You can see her acting like a dog wagging its tail when happy whenever she’s having a great time with her crush. In canon, Kou is her first ever crush that she is actually confident in having a meaningful relationship with.

Speaking of which, I’ve been getting the thought that maybe Solar could be bisexual and demisexual since she only feels attracted to people she has an emotional bond with (applies to both women and men). Sure, Solar once had all those little crushes that she had no chance with even interacting with- but this time, Kou is seemingly in her reach. They’re best friends, get along well and have similar interests. She takes extra care to look after their relationship as she is terrified of ruining it.

Solar has never hugged, kissed, dated or even held hands romantically and of course, she’s that hopeless romantic that had been dreaming of a relationship since forever. She is aware of all the many, obvious obstacles that are in her way- but she still got some kind of hope left.

She plans to reserve all those actions for Kou (if they ever get in a relationship, spoiler: they don’t), but who knows? Maybe someone could swoop in and steal all her firsts 🤷‍♀️

☄: What you think of your Muse.

Answered here! <3

☁: Favorite part of RPing.

Incorporating all the small little details, that may or may not be relevant later on, into the text. I love doing this- especially when it comes to mysterious situations and scenarios! I do it to make the reader look back and be like, “ohh, so that’s what she meant then!” It’s the little things that matter imo (•ө•)♡

[another-emotional-wreck]

Title: Movie Night

Pairings: None except for a hint of Monica x Peter cause they're cute imo I'm sorry

Summary: Movie night with the Hex trio and Peter... until it's not. Also, metallokinetic Peter.

Warnings: No warnings as far as I know, but there's angst and a decent amount of fluff

Word Count: 2.2k words

Author's Note: This is my first fic for anything Marvel/Xmen related. Kinda nervous but mostly excited. Feedback is really appreciated as there's a pretty good chance a lot some of the character's actions could be pretty ooc.

*******************************************************************

“Wait… what?” Peter asked for what had to have been the millionth time. For a guy who could run fast, it was seriously taking him way too long to get this.

Darcy sighed again. “Alright, so you have to press this button--”

“The little sideways bow thing?”

“Uh, sure, why not. So you press it and then you’re gonna see a lot of different names. The one you’re gonna pick is called ‘Peter’s earbuds’.”

“Okay. Wait how does it know my-- oh wait, it beeped! The lady said it’s… paired? Now what?”

“Now you can pick a song to listen to.” Darcy pressed an icon of a square with a black background and a green circle in the middle. “Anything in particular?”

Peter was silent for a moment. "What do people listen to these days?"

Darcy took the phone from Peter before typing the name of a band into the search bar. His face lit up as Darcy handed it back to him, the screen filled with different songs to choose from. After a moment of scrolling, the opening chords of Dumb by Nirvana filled his ears, and for just a little while, his mind was calm. It was quiet.

“It’s nice to know at least music hasn’t changed since the 80s."

“I wouldn't say that exactly," Darcy mumbled.

Before he could question her statement, Monica spoke up.

"The 80s." She and Jimmy walked through the front door, both carrying grocery bags in their hands. "Is that where you're from?"

Monica placed the groceries on the counter before sitting down on the couch across from Peter.

He squinted at something in the distance. “I think so. I uh…” fuzzy images filled his mind. Laughing at jokes next to a boy with the strangest glasses. Playing in the snow with a woman with red hair. Sharing popcorn in a cold room with a girl with a mohawk and a blue devil.

A serious conversation with a man who meant a lot to him.

Peter winced at the sudden sharp pain behind his eyes. “It’s kinda… kinda hard to sort through.”

“That’s cool,” Darcy shrugged. “I felt the same way during English class back when I was in high school.”

Kurt Cobain’s voice rang in his ears. My heart is broke, but I have some glue. Help me inhale, and mend it with you. Peter nodded his head as he hummed along clumsily, not quite getting the tune right.

Once the pain faded from behind his eyes, Darcy noticed the way Peter’s face seemed to brighten at the sight of a certain someone.

“Guess what!” In less than a second, Peter had moved from his spot next to Darcy onto the couch beside Monica. “Darcy showed me how to get these little pods to play music--”

“They’re called earbuds--”

“And I can listen to whatever I want. How do you feel about this band called Nirvana?” Peter offered an earbud to Monica.

She laughed. “Right now, Jimmy has his heart set on this Lord of the Rings marathon.”

Jimmy shook his head as he took two bags from Monica and placed them all on the counter. “I stand by my claim that Lord of the Rings was and will forever be the best trilogy to ever exist.”

“Sure, Jimmy.” Darcy crossed the room to inspect the groceries. “Popcorn, sherbet, and Sprite? You got orange sherbet?”

Jimmy raised his palms in surrender and pointed at Monica. “Take that up with her.”

“Orange sherbet is the best flavor and, no, I will not be taking any questions.”

Darcy scrunched her nose. “And you’re sure powers were all you got from going through the Hex so many times?”

“You mean aside from having superior taste?” Monica joked. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

*********

“Frodo didn’t deserve Sam,” Monica stated as the movie played on screen.

Shoving another handful of popcorn in his mouth, Jimmy responded. “He was under a lot of pressure! The corruption from the ring only got worse the closer they got to Mordor, so you can’t really blame Frodo for everything.”

Monica wrinkled her nose at the kernels that flew out of his mouth as Jimmy spoke. “Whatever you say. Plus it doesn’t matter cause Darcy’s on my side anyways.”

“You say that as if she didn’t fall asleep the second the movie started,” Jimmy snorted as he gestured to Darcy, who was snoring rather loudly on his shoulder.

Peter chuckled at the banter between the two and at Monica’s annoyed expression, catching her attention.

With Darcy practically on top of Jimmy yet somehow also managing to take up half of the couch, Peter and Monica were seated rather close together.

“Unless you’re laughing at Jimmy, that noise shouldn’t be coming out of your mouth,” she joked, having to turn her head to look Peter in the eye.

“It’s really not my fault that you always seem to be wrong.”

“That’s a lie, actually, but alright.”

“See?” He snorted. “Wrong again.”

Monica glared at Peter who just chuckled and adjusted his position.

After no more than twenty minutes of the movie playing on screen, the sound of Monica snoring told Peter that he and Jimmy were the last two awake.

“They never stay up for my movies,” Jimmy muttered.

Peter turned in his direction. “They never what?”

“We try and do this movie night a couple of times a month. So far, they’ve fallen asleep on every single movie I’ve chosen. I mean that’s obviously just because they don’t appreciate classic media--”

“Right,” Peter mumbled. “That’s why.”

Jimmy paused as he shoveled another handful of popcorn in his mouth. “But I don’t mind it. I mean, everyone’s been back for a little while now, but there’s still this… this underlying fear that it’ll happen again. This nagging feeling that people are gonna be taken away from us, but this time they won’t come back.”

He looked at Darcy, still completely unconscious on Jimmy’s shoulder, and Monica, who was curled up under Peter. “They feel like family” Jimmy admitted. “We haven’t even known each other for that long, but I’d do anything for these two, and I’m comfortable saying they’d do the same for me.”

“I’m happy for all of you, really.” Peter sighed, feeling the clasp on Monica’s necklace dig into his side. “But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I have a few memories--”

Taking a look at the confused look on Jimmy’s face, Peter continued. “Well, you all know that I’m not from here. Wanda just pulled me out of my own time and brought me here. ”

“I mean we know it wasn’t intentional--”

“That’s not the point!” Peter did his best to rein in his anger. “The point is, some random lady took me away from my time. Away from my home, my friends, my family. And I’m not even saying that I blame her, but why did it have to be me?” When Jimmy didn’t respond, Peter continued. “I get these… flashbacks. Fuzzy memories of home. They used to be pretty rare but lately, I’ve been getting them more often. One of them keeps showing up.”

“You think you can try and remember?” Jimmy suggested.

After a moment of silence, Peter decided. “Yeah.” He adjusted Monica so that her head rested on the arm of the couch instead of his side, and something strange happened to his chest at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully.

Jimmy pulled out a notebook and pen. Peter cleared his throat as Jimmy nodded for him to begin, ready to jot down whatever he could.

“It was me, a little girl. An older woman, could’ve been my mother? And--” Peter furrowed his brow as a dull pain began to form behind his eyes and a white noise began ringing in his ears. “Someone… someone else. They, uh-- a man. I think.”

“If you can’t remember who, try to focus on where.”

“No no, I’ve got it. They uh. We--” It was beginning to hurt. “No. Wait. Younger people… friends, they had to be.”

The pain became more intense. The noise in his head was getting louder. It hurt. Different images flashed in his head, all fuzzy and difficult to clear up. His mind reached out to grasp one but just as his fingertips brushed the surface, it was gone.

A patient teacher bound to a wheelchair.

A charming blue devil.

A shapeshifter with a warm heart.

A man who could shake the earth itself.

“They keep moving,” Peter said through gritted teeth. “They… t-they won’t sit still.”

“Alright, man,” Jimmy closed the notebook. “If you need to take a break we can--”

“No! I wanna do this. I need to do this.” Peter’s voice cracked. “I don’t-- I can’t forget them.”

“Okay. Alright, that’s fine but you-- uhh…” Jimmy furrowed his brow at the sight of the pen in his hand beginning to twitch. He took one look at Peter and his eyes grew wide the moment he began to understand. “Peter. Hey, you’ve gotta take a breath. You gotta-- shit.”

Jimmy took in Peter’s current state. Pale and shaky with droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. His eyes wide and panicked. “Uhmm, shit, Monica! Darcy! I really think now would be an appropriate time for the two of you to wake up, given the circumstances.”

As he moved to shake the two women awake, Peter’s struggle grew more intense. The pain had now spread throughout his entire head and turned into a pounding sensation. The noise was deafening as it bounced around in his skull.

Monica woke quickly to see Peter pale and in distress. “Jimmy, what’s happening?”

“I don’t know! We were trying to clear up the memories in his head when he started shaking and--”

“I can see that, but what’s happening?”

“Uhh…. I think stuff is about to start floating…”

Darcy’s eyes fluttered open. “Huh?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy continued, still trying to wake Darcy. “Cause, my pen was shaking and your necklace is moving a lot, and Darcy, I think your glasses are about to fly off of your face.”

Monica looked down to see her necklace float away from her chest, then watched in what seemed like slow motion as each object Jimmy mentioned flew towards the same source.

Peter.

Seconds later the tv in front of them crumpled in on itself. “That was expensive,” Darcy sighed, now fully awake.

Monica cocked her head, her gaze flickering from Peter to Jimmy to Darcy. “Is he--”

“Yep,” Darcy said loudly

The three sat in awe and terror as Peter sank to the floor in agony, screaming as he drew his knees to his chest. His hands pressed over his ears.

Darcy looked into her kitchen and her eyes grew wide. Locking eyes with Monica and then Jimmy, they all spoke at once. “The knives.”

Monica scrambled to Peter’s side while Darcy and Jimmy ran to get as many knives as they could out of the house.

Darcy turned towards Monica. “You, uh, sure you got this?”

At Monica’s shaky nod, she followed Jimmy into the kitchen.

“Okay,” Monica began. “Peter… I’m gonna, um. I, uh-- okay I actually have no idea what I’m gonna do, but I need you to just, try and, uh, I don’t know, breathe?”

“I can’t.” he panted. The breaths he took were uneven and rapid and his face was stark white. He wasn’t responding to her. “I can’t forget. I-- no, no no I don’t want to forget. They’re slipping. I can’t reach them. Help me.”

She knew he wasn’t going to be able to calm himself down. Monica called the other two in there.

Jimmy ran into the living room first. “We weren’t-- oh.”

Darcy quickly followed. “Holy shit.” she looked at Monica. “You know what to do?”

Monica nodded. “But I haven’t exactly done it before and there’s a good chance I’ll pass out after.”

“I mean, if it means he stops screaming bloody murder, I feel like it’ll be worth it.” Jimmy looked at Darcy with wide eyes, who just shrugged.

“Right,” Monica shook the nerves out of her hands. “Okay. Alright.”

“Y’know, there are still knives and other extremely sharp objects in the kitchen so--”

“I got that, Darcy!” Monica snapped. She took a deep breath before turning all of her attention to the man in front of her. “Okay, Peter? I’m sorry, but none of us have any idea what to do, and so, this was the next best option.”

She closed her eyes and placed both hands to his temple, struggling to keep them there as he twisted in pain. When her eyes opened again, a bright blue shone in place of their usual brown.

His energy came through in tendrils. The super-speed feeling like electricity itself, sharp and cold, while his metallokinesis was slow and warm and heavy. It was new and painful and in that moment Monica understood his pain.

While his powers had come to a pause, his memories were a different matter.

“I gotta keep going,” Monica slurred. Her eyelids were heavy.

“Yeah that’s what we’re not gonna do,” Darcy said.

“He’s still in pain!”

“And now so are you! We can find something to sedate him but, right now, you can’t--”

Monica responded by placing her hands on Peter’s temple once again, this time taking out smaller amounts of energy. Just enough to put him to sleep for a little while.

She then promptly collapsed.

“Energy absorption,” Jimmy stated. “Impressive.”

Darcy sighed. “Please just help me get them to bed.”

“Right. Okay.”