#is this how playing league feels??

[hairmetal666]

Everyone in the league knows about Eddie Munson. He has the makings of a great pitcher, except for the fact that his slider has a 75% chance of sliding too high and his fastballs mostly end up in the dirt. His technique is wild, flailing, unrestrained. Which is why Steve is beside himself when he learns about the trade.

The owners, they think that Steve being the best catcher in the league means he can work with Eddie, settle him, make him a real prospect. Steve's input isn't needed with the decision already made, but Munson--with all his tattoos piercings and leather--looks like he'd rather hock a loogie at Steve than take directions from him.

And Steve is the best in the league, the glue that keeps the team together. They're a well-oiled machine, and Eddie is--Eddie is a squeaky wheel.

They meet for the first time, briefly, in the locker room. He's seen the guy before, of course, but now, like this, he can't help but be intrigued by his pale skin and long curls and brown doe-eyes, his lightly muscled frame. And they're in the locker room, Eddie with just a towel around his waist, exposing his toned chest and stomach and the black swirl of his tattoos.

"Steve Harrington!" Eddie reaches out a hand. "Great to meet you, man."

"You too. Excited to have you with us." The handshake is quick and firm and Steve is trying not to be surprised about how excited and genuine the guy sounds, keep his mind away from thinking of how Eddie is naked aside from the towel.

With only a few weeks until the start of the regular season, Eddie starts pitching to Steve. And Steve, he so expects Eddie to fight and grumble and refuse, that his head sort of spins when, on the first day, Eddie claps him on the back with his glove, says, "where do you want me, cap?" and that's that.

He wants to say that they dislike each other, that they're a bad fit, that Eddie is full himself and refuses constructive criticism.

Instead.

Instead it's easy.

Eddie doesn't complain, doesn't argue, just watches Steve, learns him, takes his advice and notes and implements them as much as he can. They like each other, have an easy rapport, get each other. He's tight with all the pitchers, but Eddie is different. They settle each other.

They're best friends. They hangout constantly. And he doesn't have a crush; he doesn't. It would be unprofessional. They're best friends.

But sometimes, sometimes he thinks he catches Eddie looking at him. It's impossible. Of course it's impossible. Eddie couldn't be into the guy Sports Illustrated called "baseball's Ralph Lauren model" in the intro to Steve's Body Issue photo spread. And it doesn't matter one way or the other because Steve won't make a move. He won't jeopardize the team like that.

They don't touch. He touches everyone on the team, often, and Eddie particularly is a physical guy, but aside from that first handshake, he keeps his distance. Steve's afraid--even though it's silly, he's afraid--that once they start touching, he won't be able to stop, and he can't let that happen.

The team is good, competing for first place in the National League. Eddie's success has made everyone else better.

It's late July, they're in first place in the league, and Eddie's pitching a perfect game. There's only been 24 perfect games thrown in the history of Major League Baseball, but it's the eighth inning and Eddie's doing it.

A pitch goes wild, veers high over the umpire's head. Eddie's shaken, Steve can tell with how his fist tightens compulsively around the ball. The next pitch swings wide, towards the batter's knees.

The count is at 2 balls, no strikes, and he can see, even from behind home plate Steve can see, that Eddie's losing it. He heads for the mound, refuses to let it end like this. He closes the distance between them, has a quick internal debate before he puts his hand on Eddie's lower back. They've never touched, this is it, this is--warmth bleeds from Eddie's skin, through the fabric of his jersey, goes straight to Steve's head.

Eddie frowns. "I don't think I--"

"You're going to do it, Ed. I know. I can feel it." He pats his chest, over his heart. "It's gonna happen."

Eddie's breathing settles and it's only then that Steve realizes he's rubbing circles into Eddie's back with his thumb. He's not sure when he started, doesn't want to stop, loves being able to feel.

"Okay," Eddie says.

"Okay."

Steve removes his hand, heads back to home, still tingling with the warmth of Eddie's body even as he crouches behind the plate.

He closes out the inning with three definitive strike outs. The crowd goes wild.

They take the field for the top of the 9th, the crowd is screaming, ready for this, the energy zipping through every player on the field.

It goes by in a blur. Nine pitches. Eddie's perfect game is wrapped up in nine phenomenal pitches.

As the ump calls the last out, there's a moment of complete and utter quiet in the stadium, Steve's heart a pounding hum in his ears, before pandemonium breaks loose. There's screaming, fireworks, someone is crying--

All he can see is Eddie. Eddie's who's thrown his glove to the dirt, is barreling towards him with a triumphant smile bright on his face. Steve stands, runs to close the distance. He sees the moment that Eddie decides to jump into his arms, catches him easily--will always catch him--but his legs are tired and the momentum gets him, sends them tumbling back into the grass.

They're both yelling, laughing, smiling hard enough to hurt. Eddie's hair has fallen out if its tie, tumbling around his shoulders, and Steve gazes at him, can't help it, in this moment can admit that he's so, so astronomically in love.

It's only then Steve realizes that the laughter's stopped, that Eddie's gazing back. Brown eyes shining bright with happiness, cheeks flushed pink, lips parted. Thoughtless, he reaches up to caress Eddie's cheek.

The team reaches them, streaming around them, yanking Eddie and Steve to their feet. The celebration stretches around them, the moment slipping away. He wants to finish what they started but there are interviews, champagne showers, congratulations, that keep them apart. Sometimes, from across the room, their eyes meet, and there's heat there that's new, that sparks something low in Steve's gut.

Hours pass, and finally he finds himself alone in the locker room. He's just pulled on his t-shirt when the door shuts behind him. He spins, finds Eddie, waiting, watching.

He crosses the room without a word, can't not, not now, not after everything. They grapple for a second, the wanting so strong that it takes a second to settle, to find each other. They kiss hard, desperate, seething with desire.

Steve hopes it never ends and it doesn't, just tapers into soft kisses, gentle nips. He can't bring himself to step away.

"Is this for real ?" Eddie whispers.

"I've been insane about you since the trade."

Eddie's smile is blinding. "I used to have those pictures of you--the ones with the little red shorts?--in my locker in the minors. Feel like I'm living in a dream right now."

It lights him up inside, knowing that Eddie wants him, has wanted him. "Let me take you home and show you just how real it is?"

He snorts, but his dimples deepen, eyes shining. "What a line, sweetheart."

"Yeah well, the baseball field isn't the only place where I hit home runs."

[artsy-cookie]

Crystal line Conflict and Frontline r probably the only pvp game I'll ever touch in my life😭😭

[momomallowart]

He misses his dad.. 🥺

[moodyvoid]

How mad do you think Spinner is that Tomura gets to be a Fortnite skin and he doesn’t?

Even worse— DABI gets to be a Fortnite skin and he doesn’t?

Dabi, who probably tells him and Tomura how lame Fortnite is all the time just to piss them off.

[hillbroski]

Au where when Jayce and Viktor get transported Somewhere Else (the fantasy world I created for my book cause I like having fun and treating myself) Viktor is sent there a few years before Jayce, loses most of his memories, and remains partially connected to the arcane.

When Jayce does finally ‘catch up’ he still has his memories, and is then consumed with getting his soulmate back

This is entirely to facilitate a dynamic similar to the one they had in league cause I think it’s silly and fun and I also love suffering and angst ❤️❤️❤️

These sketches are kinda shit cause I did them in like 45 minutes and was not in the mood to make them look pretty

[footieridiculosity]

Conor Bradley vs. Chelsea dump

[literaryspinster]

Whether you enjoy the relationship or not…

Jayce being in love with Mel doesn’t seem like something the creators did just to squash people’s mlm fantasies. They’ve been set up as so integral to each other’s stories, especially with a Noxus arc coming up, that wanting to forget they ever happened and put them with other people feels beside the point to me.

[nathaniacolver]

hey if any caitvi shippers also ship korrasami and need pit fighter realness after that bomb of a clip

you should totally read "roll with the punches" by GreatestChange on ao3 (IF you haven't yet already). just. guys. i SWEAR the arcane writers stole the idea, but like they didn't, but like. they did. the venn diagram is a circle.

[goldensunset]

in general i roll my eyes at people who complain about all the new quality of life improvements in modern pokémon games bc inconvenience and genuine challenge are two very different things. but the one thing i would definitely agree on that i don’t like in sv is the ability to access your pc boxes any time. it sort of cheapens the experience of having to carefully choose which six pokémon you’re taking before venturing into unknown danger. like i don’t think you should be able to catch a pokémon in the depths of area zero and immediately put it in your party i think you gotta be loyal to whoever you took initially. it’s about being forced to have a plan for all outcomes

[piratesplanetsandstories]

So I have never played LoL but suffice it to say I’ve been obsessed with Arcane and it’s dedication to fulfilling storytelling since the moment I saw it. This might be common knowledge but at first I thought Arcane was just lore on its own, or a separate universe even from the champions that are in LoL.

However I will need to be lobotomized immediately if their fates are all inevitable through this show, to become what they are when they’re the champions as you play them in the game.

Like, at first I thought it’d be different, ex: Viktor using his power for humanity but after this arc he finally believes in the “glorious evolution” where sacrificing humanity is necessary for him. Jinx, being a symbol of freedom for Zaun but after this arc she lost Isha, who she cared about most. Maybe Viktor could have brought back Vander from Warwick, but he never got the chance. Ekko, who we don’t know enough about but I’m thinking he’s gonna come out of the hexcore with the ability to control time like in LoL.

You’re telling me they’ve been doomed by the narrative from the START?? Their fates cannot be changed??

I hate Arcane.

[d3nji]

Woke up and got depressed yay

[pikkuisesti-paskaa]

I got a very specific dp x dc twin au idea. And i dont have friends in the fandom so to tumblr it goes

So a very basic danny was raised in the loa and eventually escapes to amity park and gets adopted and becomes phantom and does his thing.

A new ghost shows up and causes everyone to have a number above their head. Its not just any random number. Its the number you feel the most negative/insecure/stressed/ashamed over. It could be your height, the amount of debt u have or like a million of other things. For some people its fairly easy to figure out and some seem really random. Maybe the ghost goes around revealing what the numbers mean for people.

Dannys number seems kinda random but he absolutely refuses to tell anyone what his number means and he is scrambling to get rid of the ghost before it gets revealed. After all it doesnt really matter if his kill count gets revealed as fenton or phantom, the life hes built for himself would be in shambles.

[queer-lovebot]

You just said Kevin needs to completely step out of the raven mindset but Nora literally said Thea is loyal to the Ravens till the end 😭 After knowing the complete story of Kevin’s life in the nest her reaction according to the EC is literally “After all, Kevin’s playing again, so no harm no foul, right?”😭

Oh well ofc! My work around for this is simply not caring about the EC or what Nora says. I often see the EC as a major deus ex machina — anything not explicitly stated in the books is to be taken with a grain of salt.

I’ve brought it upon myself to pick up the heavy mantle of bringing actual characterization to Thea Muldani. And I do believe this is something she thinks and says like I believe it! I won’t ever take that away from her. But logically, she cannot continue thinking this way while having a young and impressionable daughter that she has to raise. So I think she does a lot or forced soul searching in that regard!

I’m not saying it comes immediately. It’s probably smthn she starts taking seriously when she actually realizes she’s pregnant. And she’ll still never be rid of the Ravens even then, but I think she’ll be divorcing herself as far as possible. That school is still her Alma mater and it was still the top collegiate Exy team for the longest time. In the same way I imagine Kevin mourns Riko — with awareness that that was a Fucked Up Situation but still with a sense of not-quite nostalgia

Edit: also rereading my first post I think that it’s also important that there’s no “I need saving/I’ll save you” dynamic (for lack of a better term) between Kevin and Thea the same way there is for the others! Which is Important to me personally

Uhh tldr: I do not take Nora too seriously especially not for characters she has snubbed in the og writing. We can all be a little more nuanced and explorative!

[theflyingfeeling]

the love of my entire life

[loverboybrightsideghost]

what if i said i ship sky and viktor

[muirneach]

finally changing my sportsball tag to specific sports tags sorry i know sportsball is a fan favourite tag but i am too invested in having a good tag system. but i dont know what to do about hockey…. i think ‘hockey’ is too broad of a tag. do i tag nhl and pwhl separately. hmmmm. much to consider. too many moving parts in hockey