#just because they're mean to each other sometimes

[just-a-ghost00]

Are they "spying" on you? Why?

I just felt called to do this reading very randomly. The theme is also very random. I just thought these pictures were just so adorable.

Group 1

Trust, Love, Surrender rx, Paradox & back of the deck Strength

They try not to. They try so hard. But they just can't resist the urge to check up on you. Watching you from afar is this person's guilty pleasure. Curiosity just gets the best of them. Even if they tell themselves "I should forget about group 1, I have other things to deal with", they constantly find themselves with their nose up in your business lmao Part of the reason why they stalk you is because this person feels a bit confused when it comes to you. They like you but paradoxically they kinda wish they didn't. This person has a hard time trusting others and opening their heart to people in general, especially romantically. They don't want to surrender to whatever may be going on between you but at the same time they just always feel called to come back to you. They just can't stay away from you no matter how hard they try, no matter the number of reasons they try to find to explain why they just should leave and never look back. They try resisting you so hard that it is painful to them. It just feels so unnatural to deny their feelings and attraction. But at the same time, this "love" doesn't make sense to them. I guess that they were surprised to meet you and didn't expect to get attached to you so quickly. And they may be viewing this attachment as a weakness for some reason. I just feel like this person is scared of being toyed with, being hurt and taken advantage of. Which is absolutely legitimate and understandable. Also, I'm getting that they check up on you because they want to see if you're in a similar state. If you too are also confused and feeling messed up ever since you met them. A part of them wants to be reassured and know whether they're alone in this situation or if you reciprocate the feeling. The truth is this person just adores you and somehow has a hard time coming to terms with that. I wonder why that is. Let's pull some tarot cards to get to the depth of this situation.

You got the ace of pentacles, White Numen, 3 of wands, 10 of cups, 2 of swords, Queen of cups.

They just have so many hopes and dreams for this connection that it scares them. Because they feel like it is too much too soon. They're not sure that they're allowed to have such thoughts of you. I feel like they're doubting their sanity in a way. Like "is it even healthy to think of group 1 this way when we don't know each other" kind of inner struggle. Because to this person you mean so much more than what they let on. Not only do they have feelings for you but they hope for a future with you. They want to take the connection to a higher level and see where this leads because they just feel so happy with you and safe. And it just feels like the right thing to do. However, maybe your attitude towards them lead them to believe that you may not be wanting the same thing. So they're puzzled. There's a dilemma going on here. "Should I keep hoping for more or should I just move on?" is what may be going through their mind. I also had the impression that there was another person playing a role in this indecision and confusion. Possibly another interest that they had in the past. And this person's energy is sometimes coming back in their bubble, which pushes this person to try to forget about you. But it's not as easy as they thought it would be. I feel like for others of you that third energy is actually distance. This person is scared of how living at a distance from one another could be impacting the connection. Like "yeah I like group 1 but what if that disappears with time since we don't see each other that much" kind of feeling. Also they may be scared that you end up picking someone else and when they do come in, it's too late for them. So that could also explain why they check up on you. They want to see if you found someone else. This spread also made me feel like this person puts you on a pedestal and feels like they're no match for you.

Group 2

The Weaver, Ask Body rx, Transmute, Shadow & back of the deck Pillar

I wanted to say no but the last two cards made me think otherwise. I feel like this person is not directly checking up on you but is getting information about you through their friends or through their intuition. Also, it could be that they don't actively seek out for you but even if they try not to check up on you, you just constantly appear on their feed or things just remind them of you. Similarily to group 1, I get the feeling of someone fighting the urge not to stalk. And this person is better at it than group 1's person. When they do check up on you, which I feel like doesn't happen very often, this person does their very best for you not to notice. So they could use fake accounts or apps that allow them to see your content without their name appearing in your notifications. I feel the reason why they act this way is because this person is trying to get their control back. It's like they had lost themselves in the connection and they feel like they have to heal from that. So they try to remain at a distance from you and try to keep the interactions at a minimal level. Cause they know that if they open the door, they'll just lose it. I feel like this person just wants to keep a hold on their desire for you. And rather than expressing their passion and pulling you in this spiral of lust, they would rather use this energy as a source of power and inspiration. I feel like they're trying to keep themselves busy and staying on the low. You may notice that this person is less active on their socials or if they do post, they're keeping things very surface level and kind of mysterious. Like they share stuff without sharing too much so it would be hard to really know what they're up to. I also picked up on the energy of someone releasing sexual tension through art or through their work. Or also through physical activity. This person may be hitting the gym more often. You may have noticed physical changes in their appearance. That's because they're trying to distract themselves from the effect you have on them. Since I pulled tarot cards for group 1, I will do the same for you as well.

You got White Numen, 8 of wands, Chariot rx, 9 of cups, Hierophant, ace of cups.

Boy I knew this spread was connected to group 1. If you hesitated between the two groups, you may want to check G1 then. This person got the feels but more importantly they got the hots for you, like really hots. This person is desparately fighting the urge to rush towards you and go down on you. There's so much that they want to say to you but they hold that back because they think you'll think they're crazy. This person daydreams about you 24/7. You're their wish fulfillment. You have everything that they dream of when it comes to their vision of what a partner should be like. This person definitely considers you commitment material and they just love you plain and simple. I have to mention that the 3 of cups is at the back of the deck. Just like in group 1, there's a third party energy here lurking in the shadows. This may be a past connection. But also, this could be that this person is trying to keep things friendly with you because they're just overwhelmed by how they feel towards you and it scares them. It's like they're trying to run away from their feelings and the way they do that is by drowning themselves in work, focusing on various activities at the time to make it look like they're not available for you. Again, I also get that friend group energy like this person's friends know you or something. Maybe they tell this person about how you're doing so that they don't have to feel guilty. Or actually, maybe their friends are trying to get this person to lower their guards down and actually give in to temptation when it comes to you. For some reason, I picked up on a friend saying stuff like "oh group 2 posted a picture, omg they're so beautiful" just to get this person to react. Maybe they even try to make them jealous by interacting with you. That feels a bit weird lmao but I feel like your person's friends are rooting for you and trying to get your person to talk to you. But this person is like "nah we're just friends, group 2 doesn't want me, it's better if we don't talk" and their friends are like "sure, who do you think you're kidding just go and talk to them dumbass".

Group 3

Manifest, Self Love, The Universe, Compassion & back of the deck Connect to heart

No, they are not stalking you. The reason for that is because this person is focused on their self growth, their health and their personal goals. They are doing their best to manifest their desired reality, thus they don't have much energy left to focus on you. This isn't to say that they do not like you. I feel like this person appreciates and values you but they just don't feel the need to check up on you and know every detail of what you're doing. I feel like this person has been through a lot lately and just needs to focus on themselves, to recharge their batteries and do what feels right for them. So they're just not up in your space and they mind their own business. This person is likely to be at a distance from you and you may not hear from them at all. Also I'm getting that this person feels connected to you spiritually so they feel like they don't have to stalk you because they already know deep down you're doing okay. They just intuitively know that you understand them and care about them just like they do. They also trust that you respect their privacy and need for space, so they're not worried and they just do their own thing in their little bubble. They may even have deleted their apps to avoid risking interacting with you. They just don't want to be distracted and they need the time and space to come back to their senses and to heal. I asked spirit for more details so I drew tarot cards just like I did for the previous groups.

You got 9 of cups, 4 of cups, knight of pentacles, 8 of cups, Star rx, White Numen.

This person is focused on their dreams and their emotional needs. They just felt disconnected from you and they didn't see any reason to keep going knowing that they weren't feeling it. So they pulled their energy back and poured it back into their own cup. This person has a lot of respect for you and is thankful for the time spent with you. However they just feel like they have to go their own way for the time being. They didn't see a purpose in trying to make the connection work when they didn't see anything come out of it. They thought it would be hurting you both for no reason. And this person didn't want to hurt you. Also they felt like there was no hope left for your connection and that they were called somewhere else. I'm also getting that their work is taking a lot of their attention and energy so this person just didn't have space for you in their life.

[epickiya722]

Folks, you're not going to like what I have to say. I just know it and I'm warning you of that. I said it once before, but leaks really do make some folks act out in ways that I can't understand. We ain't even got a full translation and already people are saying this ship is canon and that ship is canon... and whatever else. Jumping to conclusions when you don't even have all the facts.

Look, I'm not saying Hori is the best writer. I'm not saying Izuku and Ochako is a bad ship (it's not, there's worse... a lot worse).

But I do think some people are jumping ten steps ahead and I doubt that they are canon romantically. This isn't me being in denial because I could care less about the ship. It's not a ship that makes me sit up at night and cry and want to punch a wall and harass people. No ship for me does.

So far, from what I can gather from the very little information Izuku wants to see Ochako more because... THEY LITERALLY HAVEN'T SEEN EACH OTHER A LOT. In the last chapter, Izuku states that the class haven't been able to catch up and whatnot because over the years they got busy with their careers. The last time they probably had a proper conversation was in high school.

Izuku and Ochako wanting to meet up more doesn't automatically mean they're going to date. Let's not forget, Ochako is one of the first people to become a close friend of Izuku's in their first year. They clicked because they were so similar. They mirror each other even!

They're best friends if anything and wouldn't you want to see your best friend after not seeing them for a long time?

So far, it just feels that this epilogue is them accepting their own feelings about everything that has happened, like a self-reflection and self-acceptance type of deal.

Sometimes, you realize something about yourself when encountering someone who is like you. That's how Izuku and Ochako are to me.

It takes them identifying with the other to come to terms about themselves.

"But the blushing! The handholding!"

So blushing automatically means "I have romantic feelings for you", is what some of you are saying?

Just gonna forget all the times they and others have blushed out of embarrassment or happiness? That even some characters have the blush stickers to show their sweet innocent nature, like Ochako for most of the story?

Izuku blushed at Katsuki in the final chapter out of happiness, so it can't apply here, too? Why does blushing got to only be used in a romantic sense?

Seeing Izuku blushing looking at Ochako is funny when considering he's holding an (possibly) alcoholic beverage in that same shot. My guy is probably drunk. 😆 Jokes aside, jokes aside.

This is Ochako and Izuku, we're talking about here. They're the Queen and King of MHA characters who blush a lot, no matter what is going on.

And the handholding? In MHA? It happens a lot between characters! It's not like anything new or Izuku and Ochako are going to get cooties.

Look, I might make some people laugh or hate me for this one but when I saw this... I was reminded of this.

For those that don't know, that is from the Predator (1987). Yes, that Predator.

Two characters that have been friends for a long time and just happy to see each other.

We seen this kind of handshake like this before between characters of different and same genders. Either as a greet or as an agreement.

Izuku and Ochako are just agreeing to see each other more and that they should allow themselves to live happy lives. That doesn't mean they're going to start dating and having babies the following week.

"Bakugou is being treated like his wingman!"

Ah, stop right there. Katsuki encouraging Izuku to talk to Ochako isn't like that strange because between Izuku and Katsuki, Katsuki is the one to most likely reveal his emotions. He is more in touch with his emotions than Izuku who while emotional tends to keep everything in.

Katsuki isn't playing wingman. He's playing advisor and someone who has experience with emotions.

Seeing Izuku stumbling over his words and being all nervous trying to talk to Ochako is so in character for him. He has never been too good expressing his emotions.

I doubt Katsuki would be like "go tell her you want to marry her". He is more like "go talk to her, you're friends, remember? Been forever since you had a proper conversation."

It's the same case with Himiko pushing Ochako towards Izuku. She is encouraging her to be happy and not be stuck in the past. Not "go get married".

Happiness doesn't mean you must be in a romance.

Just me, again, but I feel like some people are really just jumping the gun here. If you really are thinking Izuku and Ochako being canon is bad for your ship, that's... I'm sorry, this will be mean of me to say, but that's ridiculous.

A ship being canon shouldn't stop you from enjoying the ships you do like. What ever happen to "ignore canon"? Oh, I guess that becomes irrelevant when you want to cause panic and bash and panic and bash and panic and bash.

Like a handhold like that shouldn't make you feel threatened by that ship.

Just continue shipping your ships! Take it from someone whose favorite ship is of two characters who haven't been seen interacting before.

Even still, with just leaks alone, it doesn't mean they are canon. I have my ships and there's moments in whatever the story makes me ship them but I also don't think every little behavior is meant to be romantic.

The thing I know I'm going to hate about this epilogue isn't even the chapter itself. It's the reactions.

I know some people are going to say this chapter is queerbait and use to it to even go as far as to bash Ochako given she is the woman and it's routine to hate on the woman. It ain't queerbait if Katsuki and Izuku wasn't going to be explicitly a couple themselves. Let's not forget it's Shonen Jump and even though the queer coding can be there, we can't have everything.

Also, I also know that some fans of IzuOcha are going to use this chapter to justify their "authority" of "best ships" and harass people like "my ship is better than yours" and be only concerned about Ochako being a housewife.

I don't think Horikoshi is the greatest human and MHA is a flawless story but some of you are no better to these characters and the story.

[brbsoulnomming]

Heart On Your Sleeve Part 8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

written for steddiebigbang2024 and belatedly posting here!

-----

The kids leave the next day, after Steve's heart has mostly reformed itself. It's still a little beat up and mangled, but it's clearly a heart again, and it barely hurts anymore.

He doesn't know how he'll ever be able to thank them.

Eddie doesn't call.

—

His house stops being empty.

Robin's over almost constantly, their hearts in each other's chests more often than not. He can tell Robin's worried about him, and he likes feeling her emotions - it tells him when she's upset, or sad, and he can respond without her having to say anything.

The rest of the kids are over almost as constantly, as though his house has just become the de facto hang out.

He minds it a lot less than he pretends to.

Erica sulks at him, and he can't figure out why until Lucas makes a comment about their heart sharing and she rolls her eyes so hard he's afraid they're going to pop out.

Steve frowns at her, hanging back after the others have gone on into the kitchen.

“That's an extra level of snide, even for you,” he says.

She gives him a look. “You want it directed at you?”

He holds up his hands. “What'd I do?”

Her look only becomes more unimpressed. “You had my brother over for your little healing pow-wow? He wasn't even part of Scoops Troop.”

Oh.

That's.

Oh.

Never in a hundred years did he think Erica Sinclair would be throwing a fit because she didn't get to be a part of their group heart sharing, but here it is.

“You want to swap?” Steve asks.

Erica scoffs at him. “I don't need your pity heart exchange.”

“It's not pity,” he protests.

This time the look practically burns through him.

“Robin and I do it all the time,” he insists. “It's easier. It means we can understand the way the other one feels without having to figure out how to say it.”

Her eyebrows raise. “And you want to know how I feel?”

Steve holds out his hand in response.

She stares at him for a long moment, then sighs in a far too long suffering manner before she takes her heart out and gives it to him. He exchanges his for hers, and -

“Is it messed up again?” Dustin demands. “Why didn't you tell me?”

He honestly isn't sure if the surge of somewhat affectionate irritation he feels is his or Erica's, and he exchanges what he suspects is a near identical look with her.

Dustin narrows his eyes at them. “What's this look you're doing, I really don't like it on both of you.”

“That's because it's bad news for you,” Erica retorts.

“We're just swapping,” Steve says.

“It's what you do when someone is a little too hard headed and out of touch with their feelings to realize how insensitive they're being.”

That is absolutely not what Steve had been going for, but Erica says it with such superiority and Dustin is looking so contemplative at it that he just sighs and goes with it.

Erica shoots him a smug little look - she knows exactly what she's doing and how he feels about it.

“Mike!” Dustin shouts. “Come here, we're swapping, so you can know that I'm right!”

Steve groans, but there's no stopping it now.

Swaps are called to settle arguments, to prove that this movie really is scary guys come on, for a dozen other reasons until Steve honestly can't be sure who has whose heart at any given moment.

He'd worry about the effects of so much heart swapping, but - the kids seem happy. Sometimes he even catches them just sitting with each other and swapping, and after everything they've lost - who is he to say what's healthy and what isn't?

Steve can't complain.

Well. He can, and he does, but he also knows this is probably the happiest he's ever been in this house, so he doesn't complain too much.

—

Eddie still doesn't call.

He doesn't answer, either, when Steve calls him. Any of the times Steve calls him.

Steve drives out there, once, stupidly. He's pretty sure he can hear Eddie's music, but the trailer’s dark, and no one answers.

Steve takes the hint after that.

He doesn't let anyone but Robin swap with him for a while, as long as he can get away with. He doesn't really have a name for what he's feeling - he doesn't want to put a name to what he's feeling - and she doesn't make him.

—

The Hopper-Byers are moving.

None of the party take it well, but it seems to hit Max the hardest.

Or at least, he assumes it does, because she's suddenly not over for a week straight, and Steve knows avoidance when he sees it.

He finds her sitting at the skate park, all alone, but she doesn't protest when he sits down next to her.

“Swap?” Steve asks softly.

Max rolls her eyes. “I'm fine.”

He gives her the most unimpressed look he can muster.

She scoffs, then gives him one right back. “Okay, so, what, you want to feel angry and miserable too?”

Steve weighs his options for a moment, considering how to respond, then decides just to go for honesty. “Yeah,” he says simply. “I'm not here just for the good stuff, Mayfield, I'm here for all of it.”

She looks at him for a long moment, her expression hard. Then she wrenches her chest open.

He pops his open, too, taking his heart out and offering it to her. Steve expects her to take it and put her own in his hand, but instead she shoves her own heart into his chest before he can so much as blink, snatching his out of his hand. He blinks at her, but - yeah, okay, fine, that works.

She is angry, and miserable. She hated Billy, and she's still sad, and El is the only one who really gets her, and she knows that's not true, and everyone leaves, and he hasn't left, and she loves and she hates and she's so tired.

Steve can't really put any of it into words, but he doesn't have to.

He just has to be there.

—

School starts, and it gets quieter. He and Dustin still have their weekly movie nights, and he plays ball with Lucas, cooks dinner with Max, but Robin's the only one over as much as she used to be.

It's - actually fine, this time. He gets a job at Family Video, and he hangs out with Robin and spends time with the kids and goes on dates, and he's still happy.

Well, except the going on dates bit. Something's missing, something obvious, but he tells himself that's fine, too.

—

Dustin starts talking about Eddie, a few months into school.

Well, he talks about Hellfire, which Steve doesn't really put together at first, but he's happy Dustin's having fun with his club.

When he mentions Eddie, Steve probes a little, asks how he joined up. Dustin lights up, talking about how Eddie looked out for them starting from day one, even if he's definitely a little scary at times, and Steve -

“Swap?” Robin asks the second she gets to his house later, like she took one look at him and knew he needed it.

They both need it, actually.

She has feelings about Vickie, and he has feelings about Eddie, and they're both complicated and messy and neither of them know what to do about it.

“Ask her out,” Steve tells her.

“She doesn't even like girls!”

“How do you know?”

“How do you know?”

And that's - point, okay, Steve has nothing to counter that. Yet. He just has to start collecting proof.

Robin feels his intentions and gives a dramatic huff, but she doesn't try to stop him.

She won't admit it, but she's grateful.

“Do you regret asking Eddie out?” she asks.

He makes a face. “I mean, I didn't ask him out so much as take him out a bunch of times, realize like halfway through it that's what I was doing, and then he ran the second I made it obvious, so… I guess I regret not actually asking him.”

She considers that. “Do you think it would have changed anything?”

“I don't know,” he admits. “Maybe I could have made it so he didn't feel like he had to run, maybe we could have still been friends? I wish I'd known what I was doing and I'd done it different, but… I think I'd regret it more if I didn't try at all.”

She drops her shoulder against his. “Of course you would. You always go for what you want, it's like you have no fear.”

He has plenty of fear - she's felt it - but not about shooting his shot. She's right; he's a man of action, and he's not sure he knows how to be anything else.

“Ugh, let's stop talking about it. I'm glad he's still a good guy and is watching out for the little shits, end of story.”

It's not the end of the story, but for now, they both let it be.

—

Dustin calls him to beg him to play in Hellfire with him, and Steve groans audibly.

“Does Eddie know you're asking me?” he asks.

Dustin scoffs. “Of course not, but I have to show up with someone on Friday.”

Steve frowns. “On Friday? That's the championship game. Lucas is playing.”

Dustin groans, and Steve makes a little bit of a face at himself when he realizes the kid sounds almost exactly like him.

“Don't remind me,” Dustin grumbles. “He's the reason we have to find someone in the first place.”

“Lucas asked you to find someone to sub in for him?”

Steve doesn't even need Dustin's heart to be able to tell the silence that follows is guilty as hell.

“Dustin,” Steve says.

“Ugh, fine! Lucas asked us to come to the stupid game. He asked us to get Eddie to move Hellfire so he wouldn't miss the last session.”

“And did you?” Steve prompts.

“Of course!” Dustin says, indignant. “Eddie was pissed. Called Lucas a traitor, said now it was our responsibility to find someone to fill in for Lucas since he ditched us.”

That - isn’t what Steve was expecting at all.

“And instead of standing up for Lucas, you're doing what Eddie says?”

“He ditched us!” Dustin insists.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Go swap with Lucas.”

Dustin makes an almost incomprehensible noise of protest.

“Swap with Lucas, and tell him what Eddie said. If you guys come to an agreement and you still need a sub, I'll think about it.”

He'd rather watch Lucas play, and that's sure as hell what he's going to do if Dustin doesn't follow through, but if both Lucas and Dustin agree, then he'll sub in.

Not just to give Eddie a piece of his mind about this whole thing.

“You're no help!” Dustin retorts, hanging the phone up.

Robin leans against him. “Are we talking about it now?”

He considers that, then wordlessly takes his heart out and offers it to her. They swap, sitting in silence for a moment as they adjust to each other's feelings.

She's upset. He is, too, though not about exactly the same thing.

“I'm still not mad at him for how things went between him and me,” he says.

“I am,” she replies, sharp and firm. “He made your heart hurt, I still think I should get to kick his ass.”

It's not Eddie's fault, though, not as far as Steve's concerned. Steve was the one that fumbled around without knowing what he was doing, that came on too strong. He didn't get it then, but now that he knows Robin and Will and how difficult things are for them - he understands it better.

But one of the things that made Steve fall for Eddie in the first place was the way he watched out for people. It wasn't the same way Steve did it, but - they were both protective, both willing to take the hits so other people wouldn't have to. It's disappointing to see how he's pitting the kids against each other like this.

He wishes they were still friends, wishes he could call him and ask what was going on.

“If he hurts one of the kids’ hearts, then you can kick his ass,” he says finally, once he's worked through his feelings and felt Robin's support.

—

It comes back, because it always does.

It comes back, and Eddie comes back, and Steve wasn't expecting that.

—

There's tension in the boathouse even after everything's been explained, and Steve knows everyone can feel it.

Knows because it's only a few moments before Dustin's announcing, “Hearts out! We'll show you we mean it, right, guys?”

Steve sneaks a look over at Max. He still hasn't gotten a really good look at her heart since after the 4th, but maybe - no, she clearly hasn't shown anyone else here, because she's gone pale, and she looks a combination of pissed and afraid.

“Dustin,” Steve snaps, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice and failing a little. “Did you forget that some of us have hearts that aren't all that reassuring to see?”

Dustin's expression scrunches for a moment, and Steve feels most of his irritation fade away as he realizes that, yeah, Dustin did forget that.

“Oh,” Dustin says quietly. “It's okay, Steve, you don't-”

“No,” he cuts him off, still a little annoyed. “Look, we all know that I'm the one causing doubt here, right? I'll show my heart so Munson knows I mean it and we can get this over with.”

He doesn't want to, but he wants even less for this to put a spotlight on Max.

So he takes his heart out, gets back in close enough for Eddie to see it, says, “We're not lying, man, I promise.”

His heart beats true, true, true in his hands, but Eddie's eyes are going wide and wet as he stares at Steve's heart, and he isn't any less pale.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he whispers. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing you have to worry about,” he replies, putting his heart back in his chest as soon as he can. “It's not going to happen to you.”

It comes out a little more protective than he'd intended, and it makes Eddie's eyes dart up to his, trying to search for something in there. Steve can't tell what, and he doesn't have Eddie's heart in his chest to help him out.

Strange, how quickly he's come to rely on having that familiarity with those he cares about.

Less strange that Eddie is still someone he cares about.

“Do you want to see mine?” Eddie asks, soft enough that Steve's pretty sure he's the only one who can hear it.

Steve does, is the thing. He really does.

But not like this.

“Do you want me to?” he asks, just as soft.

Eddie looks away, silent enough that Steve knows what the answer is without him saying anything.

“People try to make me show it all the time,” Eddie says, a little bitter. “I'm not trustworthy, you know. I'm not honest. I'm just going to screw them over.”

Steve's quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. He doesn't know how to tell him that Steve's never seen him that way, that all those other people are stupid.

Finally, he settles on, “I still haven't asked.”

Eddie turns to look at him again, his eyes gone molten. “No,” he says softly. “You haven't.”

Steve gives a half shrug. “There you go then.”

-----

This is already written, and my plan is to post one part a day until it's all up here!

Taglist (always happy to add more to this if anyone wants): @fairytalesreality @lostonceandneverfound @wheneverfeasible @awkwardgravity1 @theintrovertedintrovert @thewickedkat @ravenfrog @scarlet-malfoy @missmagillicuddy @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @ollyxar @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @thedragonsaunt @makewavesandwar @cryptid-system @ajeff855 @mae-liz @the-fantastical-asexual @jettestar @warlordess @persnicketysquares @samsoble @my-love-of-books @mydysfunctionallife @dreamercec @holyangelstudentuniverse @breealtair @shunna @xtraordinarally @thatdamnfan @justalittledrainbamage @strangerfolks @disrespectedgoatman @amber-ambience @anxietyfulloption @thepossummoldypasta @irregular-child @th30ra3k3n

[redacted4life]

"We, With Wounded Hand." Card Analysis

All the card have this butterfly motif on them. Butterflies are associated with transformation, now it's obvious that Mizuki represent the butterfly because in Mizu5 the butterfly is flying away and in Ena5 the butterfly is flying back but the motif of transformation could also refer to their relationship, it's transforming from how it was from the beginning, how it was when the secret came out and how it is when they communicate to each about the secret.

The flower I think are suppose to be cherry blossoms, they represent life and death, beauty and violence. This meanings are very contracting to each other just like the contradiction to the themes expressed of the two event's cards. In mizu5, Mizuki had what one could call a panic attack, they felt it was a life ending experience, that it would be the death of their friendship to Niigo, that it would damage it beyond repair. In ena5 the flowers are blooming all around, it's beautiful, almost to express how Mizuki is beautiful even when they bloom, things can die but they can also be reborn into something new, death could mean so much and it doesn't alway have to be a bad thing, there is sometimes beauty in it like how their is beauty in in Mizuki's truth, Niigo's relationship has died in the sense that it's no longer the same as it was before but also been given a new life to it, it has changed and their's beauty in that.

In mizu5, Mizuki hides their eyes so they can be blind to the pain. In ena5, Mizuki still closes her eye but she's not wearing a blindfold but they're still closing her eyes, they're not trying to ignore the pain that they felt in the other card but they're still closes their eye because the pain they felt when their secret was announced before they were ready to say it can't be erased, the past can never be erased, the eyes close can serve as a relic to Mizu5.

Ena is reaching out to a flower because Mizuki see themself as the flower, ena's face in mizu5 card could be seen as sadness but also disgust, maybe Mizuki think that ena is disgust by their secret, maybe in Mizuki's point of view Ena is reaching out because that was the last thing Mizuki saw before leaving. However, in ena5 she reaching out to Mizuki because she see Mizuki for who they are, something that Mizuki should not be ashamed of, she reaching out to comfort her friend. The difference in both the hand reaching is that Mizu5 hand is hesitant while Ena5 there's not even a hint of hesitant showing character growth.

When I first saw Kanade card it reminded me of her colorfes card with the white flowers and looking away from a distance but I also noticed the opposing colour scheme with purple being the opposite of yellow, not sure if there's anything there. Also Kanade and Mafuyu as the 3 star of Mizu5 and Ena5 are both watching from a distance in their cards, the 3 star are kinda like a mirror of each other as Mafuyu looks to the right and Kanade looks to the left but even their outfits fit them, Mafuyu clothes are covering most of her skin, almost expressing her close off nature while Kanade show the skin on her arm and legs showing her nature of wanting to her music to reach others. Kanade card is more vibrant in it's colour while Mafuyu is more saturated, I love how polarising the cards are to each other like how the two event are different themes to the same story.

Both vocaloid have the main motif of the cards near their ear, Meiko is also looking at the the flower while Kaito is looking away from the flower showing the contrast in how they choose to deal with Mizuki's situation, Kaito look more cold in his approach while Meiko looks more gentle in her approach, like a perfect mirror to Mizuki and Mafuyu character's vs Kanade and Ena character's within the cards. Mafuyu and Mizuki were quick to close themselves off from their problems while Kanade and Ena were quick lend a hand and defend the other. Vocaloid are meant to represent the unit's characters even if in Niigo case, Mafuyu was the one who made the Sekai it still serve as a great representation of the two roles. I also think Meiko and Kaito were the perfect fit for choosen vocaloid, they are counterpart, similair to rin and len, and their hair fit the colour scheme with Mizu5 being mostly of a cooler colour scheme while Ena5 being mostly of a warmer colour scheme.

[itsbeenliketenyearsitsprettywild]

on tag responses and reply trains or: "click the readmore for my analysis of the the (mostly) Greek love terms that sum up jayvik and jaymel and also at some point i forget how to shut the fuck up and turn this into what might as well be a thesis paper on jaymel as a duo and How Mel Is Dedicated To Jayce Her Own Way"

starting from op @aurieeeeeenyx's tags that got me thinking:

#you mightve guessed that ive been listening to the hadestown soundtrack again recently#but anyways. jayce going back over and over and failing in timeline after timeline in the hopes that maybe this time. maybe just this once#he'll succeed and get his partner back#viktor putting the whole of his faith and trust in jayce that jayce will come back for him even though he fails again and again#but still viktor cannot imagine not believing in jayce one more time#the way the entire universe hangs in the balance of their bond oh man#i feel like jayvik is beyond categorization they're like the peak of classical romance which is not necessarily kisses and dating etc#but like the purest form of intimacy and affection. or something#i should write a fic abt this#anyways . idk . im a big fan of meljayvik so mel fits in here SOMEWHERE i just havent figured it out yet#if you made it to the bottom of this wall of tags here's a pie 🥧

(the last tag isn't exactly relevant, but hey. free pie 🥧) my response in the replies (with a few spelling edits):

moreso than calling what Jayce and Viktor have 'classical romance' (as such a phrase feel like it could be confused with the Romantic movement in the arts, which doesn't have much to do with love directly), I feel like it would almost be more accurate to describe it using the ancient (and a just few more modern) Greek terms for love. They already exist as a way to delineate the many types of love that can exist either combined or singular that can be part of a relationship between two people. (there's like eight or nine different Greek/Greek-derived words to categorize love at this point depending on who you ask, feel free to look 'em up yourself - there are six ancient Greek ones in there too. the Greeks have been dissecting love for a *very* long time) Of the types of love exhibited between Jayce and Viktor specifically, I think what you're getting at is that it's a bond which involves this incredibly beautiful blend of philia and agape, with a bit of mutual meraki as well. In actual English - their bond is made of deep personal affection on a mental/personality level (philia literally translates to 'soul connection') which isn't hurt by their shared love of creating/inventing new technology together. All of this being further boosted by the fact that they would anything for each other, even if it means damning themselves or other reallities in the process. I'd love to go into meljay as contrast, in large part because their relationship feels pretty unique in terms of what we see in media, but there's only so many characters allowed in a reply lol. feel free to ping me if you want me to put the rest of the deets on this or another post, though (and clarify you want it on a reblog instead of a reply if that's the case, as i default to replies otherwise)!

op's reply:

actually it's funny you say this because the romantic movement in the arts is pretty much what i had in mind just because of the like...aesthetic? i feel like it comes with a certain mood of sublime beauty and some mix of nature/humanity/passion/nostalgia while being both subdued and Not, which the jayvik finale sort of embodies to me if that makes sense (but then again i'm not an art connoisseur so i could be spouting total bullshit) i do agree with your analysis of their bond in the framework of greek terms for love and think that funnily enough it goes back to the orpheus and eurydice thing again (arcane when i come for you and your greek tragedies WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU--) sooo i guess i'll have to do some more research on that and i'd love to hear about your thoughts on meljay! if you feel comfortable i think a reblog might help more people see it (in which case you might need to put my notes and/or your comment as context to this admittedly very short post) but i don't mind either way :D

And, since the notes and comments have been placed, time to continue (I've been using this website for reference and been extrapolating best i can, but I'm no expert on the subject so feel free to correct me on it)

I honestly find JayMel really interesting to analyze from this perspective, because I feel like media doesn't show many relationships with this unique blend of loves, and especially not presented in a way where it's actually given some weight and value to both people within it. So, to start:

This list is very, very long, so let me this for the sake of everyone's sanity...

TL; DR - While Jaymel absolutely involves sexual attraction between the two of them (and is sometimes connected to these more casual, playful moments between the duo), those aren't nearly all the facets of their love. Some of the other types include: how they both enjoy working on Hextech (from the angles of technology and politics respectively), even if they sometimes have to make deals and do things with it they personally don't like; the surprisingly tentative yet compelling nature of their friendship together; the practical ways they (read; mostly Mel) are willing to help and support each other on a much more functional level, and how that in turn plays a very large part in letting them further emotionally connect with one another and deepen their bonds as people.

First (and most obviously), Mel and Jayce's dynamic obviously has a fair amount of eros in it. Eros can best be described as 'sexual love' or 'physical desire for each other' - the kind of love most people (largely allosexuals) assume are a part of "romantic" relationships by default, though one doesn't have to be a couple to act upon mutual eros. Either way, it's absolutely a part of their dynamic that deserves to mentioned and recognized - pretty sure none of us are going to forget the Sextech scene any time soon, and all. But that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their dynamic.

In a fair few scenes where eros between them is evident, there's also pretty obviously some ludus going on. Ludus is one of the more modern categorizations love types, and describes 'playful love' - something more casual or carefree, no strings inherently attached, but a noted expression of affection all the same. You know that forge scene in season 1, where Mel sarcastically calls Jayce's smithing 'a delicate art' and she watches him sexily hammer out some metal, or at the end of that same scene, where she leans into him seductively... only to smack him in the tiddies with his own forge bolt and adds the one-liner, "Hold onto your nuts?" That absolutely reads as ludus following up on the eros within their dynamic. After all, ludus is the kind of love found in booty calls and one night stands, but could also just be enjoying a night out drinking with your pals. Which makes jaymel really interesting, considering the fact that it's also steeped in the opposite type of love....

....Which, in all honestly, I feel like I'll only be able to talk about once I've described meraki. You see, this and the next type of love seem pretty deeply entwined with one another when it comes to my categorizing and understanding of jaymel, but it feels like this is the one best needed to help describe the context of the other. Now, meraki one of the terms coined after the ancient Greeks, being a modern word that most people who don't speak Greek down know about. Essentially (and i could be wrong about the best term to use - but honestly i legitimately feel like this a type of love that shapes them, and don't know a better word to use), meraki is the love of creation, the love one pours into the act of making art or writing poetry or skillfully setting a table - or, best as i can sum all that up, a love of your work/what you do. And, lest we forget, the thing that brought them (alongside Viktor, though he's not the focus of this post) together is... well, Hextech. It's just that the work Jayce and Mel happen to be doing in relation to creating Hextech happen to be quite different in nature. Nonetheless they're both quite necessary for its creation to come to fruition. For Jayce, this 'love of creation' he has for hextech is quite literal - he's one of the two geniuses who invents, designs and very directly builds machines and technology that utilize Hextech within them, and it's obviously from the get go that he loves the idea of it so much that he dedicated his life to it (something something what that means in terms of what he said in the finale-). Mel, meanwhile, also loves Hextech and how she goes about creating it - but, in her case, she creates far less literally than how Jayce and Viktor do, though still plenty important. Because, for all the boys physically create the technology, it wouldn't be able to have nearly as much of an impact as it does if there wasn't someone politically advocating for its use and working for it to become societally integral. For all Viktor and Jayce may love making their gadgets and gizmos that utilize it, she's the one who loves it enough to build it up as A Brand and help get Jayce into top enough form that Hextech can even have its own seat on the council (no matter how much she regrets that decision almost immediately afterwards. But, it's this difference in terms of how they precisely they go about creating Hextech that can lead to a divide in how much they enjoy particular parts of shaping that leads to struggle in staying dedicated to specific parts of the process, which really comes down to their comfort with....

Pragma, or 'practical/dedicated love'. Pragma is the final love term coined after the time of Ancient Greece, and essentially acts as the complete opposite of ludus. While ludus is all about fun and in-the-moment playfulness, pragma is the love shown by doing what needs to be done to keep things functional, even if said actions are not particularly fun or enjoyable themselves. It's not the same thing as agape/'sacrificial' love, because it's not a case of being willing to throw everything just to keep this one person happy. These things are being done because they have to be done to make sure everything stays okay, not because the thing they love comes before absolutely anything else. Though it might seem boring (or maybe even selfish, if you compare it to agape in particular), it's a huge part of all kinds of relationships you can find between people, and says as much about nature of a dynamic as anything else. But, as stated, this type of love between Jayce and Mel is seen very specifically when it comes to their mutual love for Hextech and less directly for each other. In making Hextech and allowing it to flourish as a technology, steps have to be taken to ensure sponsors and investments, so that they never lose access to the resources required to continue working on it. As such, deals have to be cut and made, as seen in the concert scene, and continuing to make sure Jayce and Viktor's projects are properly funded is something they have to do over and over again just to keep things moving. In this sense, the main difference between the two of them in this context is the nuance of their meraki - for all they both enjoy creating Hextech in some way, the types of work they enjoy dedicating themselves to contrast quite a bit. For Jayce, politics and lobbying for funding are only a small part of what he does for Hextech - and not what he gravitate towards naturally, charismatic as he can be. To him, his love of is for the literal process - the one that Viktor both enjoy creating as a team moreso than they'll ever enjoy doing it alone. Meanwhile politicking and dedication to Hextech's social and financial success (which is where a lot of the pragma comes to the forefront) is what Mel enjoys doing - alone if necessary, but preferably with one of the creators of Hextech at her side, to have another hand on deck and a more direct face to associate with it. As such, it *does* make its own kind of sense that the duo (jayvik) whose meraki is almost identical have an time easier time bonding personality-wise (tho i do think Mel and Vik would have an easier time of it- *shoves my melvik-in-the-polycule headcanons in a box for later*), in comparison to the fascinatingly tentative nature of Jayce and Mel's....

Philia, or 'soul connection'. For all it sounds like a term for soulmates or such, what it really just means is that two people get along well with each other when it comes to general socializing and interaction. This is the type of love that underpins deep friendships, but also romantic couples that go beyond just being sexually compatible (or queerplatonic couples - sadly, the terms for love never developed in such a way to make it *easy* to differentiate aspec couples from other kinds of dynamics, but we work with what we got), or even just coworker who get along pretty well. And it's here in particular that I find jaymel compelling as we see them in the show, because, for all we see them work together well on Hextech and be playful with each other and Do The Fuck, their philia seems... surprisingly awkward, or at least not nearly as natural as it is for jayvik (or how i headcanon it would be for melvik). To be clear: you're allowed to headcanon jaymel as more naturally friendly than this, like how many people like to extrapolate jayvik out to include some level of eros (which, once again, not disparaging, just noting as not being shown in Arcane directly). But in terms of what we actually see in the show... jaymel has a bit of a hard time with getting close on an emotional level. Which i honestly really appreciate; the show doesn't invalidate the love that is there simply due to this fact, after all. All the other parts of their relationship exist and are recognized in the narrative while still letting the philia between them not come as naturally as everything else. People's personalities may end up with them clashing fairly often, but they can still be close anyways. (well, as long as they work at it - but I'll segue into that subcategory in a little bit.) And because of this, they're able to take a very fun option: showing some of these moments of tension or awkwardness between them, and letting us as the audience watch how the two navigate and end up resolving these moments. Though some of these moments do end up getting interrupted by a third party, which can end up impacting how these moments of tension end up getting resolved. (I'm looking at you, Viktor, for how you interrupted that moment between jaymel and instigated the season 2 council room fight. go to ur eldritch jesus shame corner /lh/j) Speaking of reaction: Mel and Jayce each have distinct ways of expressing emotional distress (at least most of the time - Mel lets herself get a lot more angry with her mother than she would otherwise). For Jayce, his reactions are what he's infamous for in fandom - impulsively jumping into action based on his current feelings without considering what consequences. (read: almost always not what he wanted.) Meanwhile, Mel tends to withdraw into herself and act more emotionally unaffected than she actually is - for example, how her reaction to Jayce leaving in the middle of the night after Sextech is to... well, paint, and respond relatively neutrally up until Jayce justifies his actions. But it's in resolving of these conflicts that the two of them are able to start building up their philia and comfort with each other (beyond their mutual focus on hextech or sex) into a deeper level of companionship. The reason why their philia is able to end up further developing is due to the active usage of...

Pragma, not within the framework of Hextech. You see, Hextech-focused pragma can quite often lead to added tension between them instead of anything getting resolved, as seen when Mel gets Jayce voted onto the council without asking him first. In comparison, many of the moments of pragma between them that aren't focused on Hextech itself often lead to to bonding moments between the two of them as individuals. (Which makes sense as talking about work, even if you like doing it, doesn't tend to lead to much personal emotional intimacy.) Alongside that, there's one other thing that differentiates these moments of pragma from those focused on Hextech directly: in those situations where willingly taking action leads to them getting closer, it's almost always Mel who takes the initiative. For Jayce, the vulnerability he shows to her is never from a place of willingly dropped guard or conscious intent, but instead due to being absolutely overwhelmed by his emotions. As such, it's Mel who consistently dedicates herself to their relationship by reacting in ways that only really serve to benefit or support Jayce, such as: -> accepting her suddenly-given role as emotional after the discovery Viktor is dying -> voting Heimerdinger out of the council on Jayce's inferred behest -> comforting Jayce over said vote that he pushed through -> stalling while he's supposed to be leading the council so he has time to find Viktor -> implicitly supporting Jayce's decision to bring Viktor back from at least the brink of death, if not death itself, at the beginning of season 2 Even past the ones I listed, there's so many moments Mel has which speak to her own brand of love for Jayce, especially in season 1. Times where she very much chooses to act in favor of his interests, even though it in no way benefits her, can be readily pointed to as cases of pragma. For all they might not be big and noticeable, they help keep the dynamic functional and healthy. Though, that's not to say Jayce doesn't have a moment of pragma outside of working on Hextech. Though, unless I'm missing something, it is just. A singular moment for him. Which is after his implicit apology for the argument the two had in the council room before the Viktor fight in season 2. After the apology, Mel goes on to open up to him about how she unlocked her abilities as a mage, that he comforts her by saying that Mel could never be just a passenger in her body - this is a moment that, while it does nothing to help him personally, still speaks to him caring about Mel. But... that's pretty much we only case we have of him directly engaging in pragma in relation to Mel. (...But then again, we see a lot of him and his active cases of pragma in those situations in season 1 focused on Hextech in particular, so in that regard it evens out if you consider pragma a whole without those specific contexts in mind. But I digress.)

There's potentially one other type of love i was tempted to add to all this, but this post has gotten very, very long, so i think I leave it here. If you somehow got this far down: holy shit what the fuck (impressed). For the sake of the sane people. I think I'll be putting my TL;DR at the top of the list.

oh yeah also jayvik are extremely orpheus and eurydice coded i don't make the rules

[moonchopsticks]

finished great god grove tonight! first scattered thoughts:

- been said to death but fucking immaculate style. yugo limbo never misses

-im the type of person that Needs to Know what happens next in the story so i definitely rushed over a lot of optional dialogue. definitely coming back for a second or third playthrough where i can dig into the world a little better

-i loooved the progression of revealing the lore and worldbuilding throughout the story. it was all very straightforward and followable yet sparse enough to make me feel like i was piecing together the nature of the gods and the grove organically. also watching the bizzyboy puppet exposition dumps were such a treat

-very cool worldbuilding, although sometimes the gods just felt like Big Immortal Humans. i know they all had their associated domains which influences their respective communities (+ tied into the different types of love that they each represent) but it never felt like they had much power outside embodying a specific theme. which is fine, there's lots of ways to interpret divinity and the concept of a god. maybe i'll have something more coherent to say abt this in the morning?

-^^ kind of ties into inspekta's whole deal. he already had immortality and was guaranteed it basically forever, in what way did king's ascension and the other gods just existing threaten him? like i'll buy that he had the sort of ego that comes from being insecure about the meaning of your short life and from fear of irrelevance, but if he was afraid of death it seems like he'd already be chilling just by accomplishing ascension. i guess he just wanted it All? i'm not really pressed about it, since the themes of like. love in the face of mortality and the insecurity that fear of death can bring are hugely impactful to me personally. and i like to see people talk about it. i just think more couldve been done with it.

-speaking of, capochin is a banger of a character. he has such a little ego and lords his authority over his subordinates, and you can just tell he's dripping with insecurity about his place in the world. i.e. at the right hand of inspekta as his unflinchingly loyal dog. he craves power and purpose and fears irrelevance, just like inspekta, and is tethered to his place by both intense fear and devotion. he treats the bizzyboys like dirt but even as they start to rebel against him they know that he'd never hurt them. also he's a 3 foot tall smug bastard fifty something year old with little puppy dog eyes. who's doing it like him

-inspekta, like all the players in the story, was made with such love and care that i couldnt imagine anything but a hopeful ending for him. aw hector. the secretly evil twist was pretty obviously telegraphed. had my suspicions pretty early on, which were solidified by the time the bizzyboys attack you after cobigail and all but stated after buzzhuzz, where they turn to fascism. (surprised that razzma said it straight up.)

- probably my favorite gods were cobigail and bauhazzo. did NOT expect to like them so much! cobigail's lore is really good for a human turned god of harvest--music teacher that lives in the school she used to teach in, a bright pillar of the community, voted to ascend by the town she brought together. slowly forgotten by the people she used to break bread with and slowly starving because they're forgetting how to come together and feed her. and she's a fucking cutie patootie sweet pea. and bauhazzo was very charming to talk to and also one of the most interesting thematically to me personally. for a god of memory and keeper of thousands of years of history he's very tender about the small moments. being a living memory essentially and letting nostalgia overtake you in a moment of weakness is an on the nose but relevant warning against fascist rhetoric (and just in general the trap of thinking about the Good Old Days). in general im someone that loves the ups and downs of life, and i tend to be nostalgic about the past and fear the passing of time, but my memory is really poor, so i end up thinking a lot about the subjectivity of memories and about how effervescent everything is...bauhazzo just ended up resonating with me ig!

-the first time miss mitternacht dropped that king uses she/her my eyes goggled out of my head like that cartoon wolf. experienced the euphoria of finding out that cool guy was a butch lesbian in real time. also makes her and miss mitternacht's thing one million times more juicy. idk i love gay people

-not sure why this stuck in my head but i cracked up when vibi was getting a little too into imagining capochin getting sweaty and dirty. pathetic man likers rise up

-patty i love u forever

-idk, this is the sort of game that reminds me that i want to create something. i want to make art without reservation. i'm grateful for projects like these.

[starheavenly]

hopefully my asks are coming through and aren't too annoying XD

but the last comic of locket calling out for anyone to help them while megatron dragged them to the medbay just got me sitting there and thinking. cause locket is clearly pretty closed off and i can't help but thinking about how in early mtmte, drift is also closed off, but instead of being bristly and angry and snippy, he's instead open and outwards and actively trying to make himself seem less threatening to those around him, while still putting on an act and not allowing himself to really be himself.

in a strange way, that makes him and locket character parallels, they're both putting on acts, but they're coming across in two separate ways.

i wonder how locket would react to hearing about how drift acted during early mtmte, about the hippie persona and his willingness to leave the lost light after his vision about rodimus. locket clearly doesn't seem to hold any respect for drift after he reformed [which makes sense, if my parent disappeared promising to never join up with a certain group and then showed up later having remarried their former partner and bearing the badge of the faction they had sworn they'd never join, i would be pissed too] but i do wonder how their opinions would change if they knew that part of that reformation was stemming from a deep place of guilt and a desperate want to do better.

just food for thought

Sorry, I don't mean to ignore anyone's asks! Sometimes I forget how to respond!

And yes, omg, I love that they're being read as parallels of each other! I think that’s what makes Locket dislike Drift even more, because Locket is being a bit hypocritical. Someone who was shy and nice turning bitter and grouchy, while Drift is doing the opposite. Locket is aware of early MTMTE Drift, vaguely. But even the Drift now is just so different compared to Deadlock.

They just need to talk, but Locket isn't ready yet, and that’s okay! They'll get there

[trans-jon-rights]

Hm. New Idea. I'm putting this one out there because the Discord buddies said it was good.

Gravity Falls and TMA crossover, but Jon and Martin arrive at different times.

Martin arrives a few years before Jon. He meets Ford, becoming buddies with him. He distrusts Bill a lot, being sometimes reminded of Jonah before he revealed what he was. But Ford is a grown ass adult, and Bill doesn't try to bother him much, so he lets him be.

Jon arrives the day Ford fell into the portal. He tumbles from that exact same portal right before shit hits the fans, and both Martin and Ford end up lost.

He has almost no Eye powers, no knowledge of this strange new place he ended up into, and has to work with Stan to repair the portal and get both Ford and Martin back.

Talk about a Situation to end into.

(I need Martin to become a ruthless killer with Ford and Jon to have to make scams with Stan even though he hates it)

The timeline stays about the same. It takes thirty years for Jon and Stan's combined efforts to bring the other two back. In the meantime, neither Jon nor Martin are ageing due to the Entities still being present.

Just imagine.

The anxiety of Stan seeing himself age during those thirty, long years, unsure if he will manage to bring his brother back or not. Making Jon promise to do it for him if he couldn't go on because, despite himself, he'd learned to appreciate and trust this odd, prickly British guy.

Jon never certain if, when Martin will come back, he will be the same, or if he would have aged like every other person around him, being robbed of this opportunity to grow old together. Martin had never been an Avatar, right ? Jon didn't grow old because he was already dead, in a sense, but what about Martin ?

(Crossing between dimensions was a good metaphor for death and an excuse for Martin's Becoming, but Jon doesn't know that :3)

When twins arrive in Gravity Falls, Jon works at the shop (Stan used his "weird British narrator voice" to make him a tourist guide. For some reason, tourists like his voice).

Also this AU works well with my general idea of Jmart, both of them clinging to that ideal of the other and of what their relationship would be in a non apocalyptic context, making them confront the reality of things when they are reunited again.

Had it truly been their love for each other that had pushed them to work towards being reunited, or had it been the idea that once it would be over, being together would automatically mean they would be guaranteed happiness ?

Also, maybe give them each a period of time during which they were really happy and almost forgot their guilt for the other, and maybe give them some rough time when they're back together. Then, they look back at that and rethink their relationship and their quest, wondering if it really was worth it.

Happy ending for both is expected, of course, just lots of talking things through before. Making them healthy.

And as a bonus, I'm giving them a "Tim" and "Sasha". Not in the sense that they are actual alternate version of Tim or Sasha, in the sense that they are different characters who behave very similarly to Tim and Sasha. Sometimes, they mix up their names, and their face have the biggest grief for some reason.

Bonus point if "Tim" dies in an explosion caused by Martin and Ford and if "Sasha" dies to a shapeshifter. And after that, Jon just guiltily thinks, "At least it didn't take her face this time".

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Drabble-A-Thon 2 Prompt #1

Pairing: Shigadabi

Rating: Mature

Prompt: 24/7 TPE Dynamic

Contents: Mentions of sexual content, TPE, Dom/Sub, LOV Wins, collaring. 

Dabi is, for all intents and purposes, just Tomura's sub at this point. He is not a government official in the world that they've built after winning the war. He is not Endeavor's son who turned villain and killed the bastard false hero. He isn't even just 'Dabi, the Blue Flame arsonist' anymore. He is King Tomura Shigaraki's sub and the whole world knows it. He sometimes thinks that he has more power as his lover's sub than anyone else in the entire country can claim to have. Because he gets Tomura's attention at all times. 

No matter what else has to be done, every morning, Tomura wakes him up at dawn with a kiss to his temple and a murmured, "Time to get up, firefly." He gives him a kiss and unhooks his leash from the bedframe that is supposed to keep him there even if his lover has to leave early for work for one thing or another. He doesn't need the leash, he never disobeys. Not when following the orders means that his life is easy for the first time since he was a child. Not when Tomura would probably let the entire country crumble apart for the second time to make sure that Dabi is getting everything that he needs out of their dynamic. He thought for so long that his lover couldn't possibly be getting anything out of this, but he had assured him time and time again that he loves to take care of him. That knowing Dabi will do anything for him so long as he ensures that his needs are met soothes the thing inside of him that Dabi feels be put at ease just from knowing that there is someone who will never stop giving him the attention he always needs so badly. 

He is let out of the bed and taken to the bathroom and the tub is already filled for him. His clothes will be laid out for him by the time he's finished getting ready for the day. Dabi makes sure to do his mourning routine the way that his dom has outlined for him. He brushes his teeth with the toothpaste he was told to use, washes his hair and body with the soap that was picked out for him. There is a clock in their bathroom so he can be certain that he follows along with the schedule that was set up for him. When he's finished, he puts on the soft robe his lover leaves for him and goes back out into their bedroom where Tomura is waiting to change out his collars for the one he wears all day. The thick leather, pretty chains, spikes, and tag that let everyone they interact with know exactly how owned he is, and how happy he is to be owned. 

When they're finished dressing and preparing for the day, Tomura checks his own schedule. He has a lot to do. Dabi used to want to break his back taking on as much of the work as he could for his lover, but that didn't make him happy. He was happier when he could dictate what things Dabi could involve himself in, and for how long. He smiles so much more, kisses him so much sweeter now that he knows that Dabi won't work himself into insomnia, that he doesn't forget to eat anymore, and he isn't about to burn himself out just to try and prove that he can be useful. He can just be his and let Tomura make those decisions. That's enough. He's enough as long as he belongs to the other man. 

Tomura schedules out their days, and Dabi does still work. His dom trusts him to do that, but everyone knows that he's only allowed to for certain amounts of time a day, and by three each afternoon, Dabi is finished. He gets to spend the final hours that Tomura has to work curled up on the couch in his office reading if he's having meetings with other people. Or he gets to sit in his lap as he keeps his attention on his own tasks. Sometimes he gets to show his dom how happy he is to not have to make any of these decisions anymore when Tomura will call him over and stroke his thumb over his lips before he gently eases him down to the floor beneath his desk. He'll guide Dabi's mouth open, slip his cock inside, and let Dabi serve him. It makes his skin hum whenever he's allowed this and he always does his best to show how grateful he is as he sucks him off. 

After Tomura has finished his work for the day, they usually have dinner alone, but sometimes they see the others. Tonight they spend it alone however and, no offense to their friends, Dabi still likes their nights alone better. Nights alone means that the Tomura picks out whatever they're going to be eating. Dabi isn't allowed to indulge in substances like he used to before he killed his father, but Tomura will let him have a drink on the nights when he's been particularly well-behaved all day. Sometimes they share a plate so that Tomura can dote on him even more by feeding him bites of whatever they're having. Dabi eats whatever he's given happily, even on the rare occasion Tomura makes him have fish. His dom wouldn't make him do something he didn't like if it weren't important, and he trusts Tomura so much to not do anything to hurt him. He doesn't put up a fuss. 

He's rewarded for how well he behaves every night when they go back to their room. Sometimes it's just with closeness, Tomura holding him and kissing his temples and telling him how much he loves him. Sometimes his lover wants to appreciate how well he's taught him how to behave in bed too, having Dabi kneel, or spread himself out on the bed, body twisted into whatever arrangement that he deems appropriate so that he can use him to his heart's content before he gives Dabi permission to cum. Sometimes his lover spoils him rotten instead, giving his body pleasure after pleasure until he doesn't think that he can take it anymore. But he can. His dom knows everything that he can take. He's trained Dabi to be perfect for him, and he won't ever let him fail. 

Dabi didn't think that he would ever want to give up so much control over himself when he had so little of it at the start of his life, but he is so glad that he agreed when Tomura asked if they could try. He doesn't think that he could have ended up this happy if he hadn't. 

Thanks for participating! If you'd like to join in, consider checking it out here!

[aerkan]

Okay, so, I'm feeling a bit melancholic right now and I, well, I guess I want to share my thoughts in case someone relates or needs to know they're not alone.

I've figured out a few years back that I'm firmly set in the aroace spectrum. I've never had a crush on anyone except for some fictional characters or famous people, but even then the farthest my 'affections' have gotten was a strong urge to offer them a hug, or wanting to hang out and laugh. Which I very quickly found out was the exact same as for my closest friends, just magnified by my excitement of the stories tied to those characters or my joy at hearing the person's jokes.

I've never been interested in sex. At all. I don't like reading about it, I get bored watching it, and the prospect of experiencing it fills me with nothing other than dread and annoyance. That's not to say I'm ignorant about it. I'm not. I know how it works, I know what 'my role' would be should I ever try it. But while all my friends were experimenting with it during our teens I stayed far away from the dating pool. Mostly.

I had my first kiss when I was 17. I felt weird right after because I've read a lot of romantic stories (looking back on it, it wasn't for the romance itself but the emotional closeness between the characters but whatever) and first kisses were meant to be something one should enjoy. Even my friends have said so. However, I felt nothing, only bored. It was my first kiss and I wished I could do something more fun.

So yeah, that didn't click and I spent the whole evening reasearching what the hell was wrong with me (turns out, there was nothing wrong with me). That's how the idea of me being ace took root but I wasn't very sure about it (didn't want to be).

Since then there have been a few more kisses, but nothing to be writing home about. I guess I've been trying to see if anything changed. It didn't. Gradually I had to admit to myself that I'm ace and what that means for me. After the initial shock of the new label I very quickly became comfortable being ace. It fit me and I was happy.

However, well, lately most my friends have started dating. Finding their life partners. My new friends already had lovers, when I met them or are also finding love. And I'm excited for them, really am. But this new development made me confront another part of my identity, which I've been steadily ignoring for years now despite knowing it wasn't exactly the norm.

I'm aromantic! (*throwing confetti*)

I've never experienced romantic love and probably never will. I adore my friends, they are the most important people in my life and I would do a lot of f*cked up things for them to be happy. And for the most part I'm okay with just hanging out with my classmates and seeing my other friends from time to time, making plans to see each other more when we're all free. But I also feel unbearably lonely sometimes. I feel unwanted, ignored and left out simply because I can't offer the same 'normal' conversations. I feel disconnected from society and I desperately long for a partner that would love me, that I could talk to every day, that I could hug and laugh with. Someone, who would be there when I get home, maybe waiting with a good meal or excited to tell me about the new tv show they started watching while I was gone.

Basically, what I'm saying is... I want a roomate. I want someone to live with me but someone who sleeps in a different bed. Someone who would let me cuddle them from time to time when life gets a bit harder than I can bear and someone who would be there when I need a laugh. Someone I can cook with or sing with. I want a friend living with me who wouldn't have that 'special someone'. I want someone who would want the same from me.

And the hardest part about this? Knowing I'm probably never going to have that. These days I live with this terrifying certainty I'm going to die alone and well... I already feel crushingly lonely right now. I can't imagine feeling like this for the rest of my life.

...well, this got really depressing. Wasn't the point, but it is the truth. I love being aroace, I love the warm little feeling I get when I make someone happy or the giddy butterflies in my chest when I make someone laugh. Ultimately, I love being alive to be excited about sharing a smile with a stranger. I would simply prefer if so many of my nights weren't filled with the existentinal dread of being left behind.

Sorry for the ramble guys, have a cute pokemon cause you're awesome!

[cupidbedsy]

LUKE AND SABRINA ☾

HOW THEY GET TOGETHER ☾

➪ they meet at the devils first home game where some people coordinated to suprise sabrina with meeting jack

➪ luke is immediately awe struck by her, thinks he's never seen someone as beautiful as her

➪ both luke and jack knew about her both because of hockey but also because an edit of her went viral

➪ sabrina thinks he's just so cute and adorable in a little brother way at first

➪ sabrina and jack become best friends which means that the two of them see each other a lot

➪ jack will not let either of his brothers date her because he's super protective over her not because he thinks his brothers would do something to hurt her but if they did, he's scared she'll stop being friends with him

➪ luke doesn't really talk to her all that much at first, he's super shy around her and just murmurs his responses with his signature awkward smile

➪ sabrina realizes her feelings on a late night when she's in her apartment (or hotel depending on the events of some games)

➪ she is panicking because that is her best friend's little brother and he's four years younger than him

➪ she does distance herself a little from them but tries not to too much because she knows jack will come after her

➪ luke realizes his feelings before her, it's pretty early on in their friendship

➪ they're out at a bar watching one of the devils games, it's before the pwhl season starts and before luke is over his injury

➪ they just talk about hockey the whole time and luke buys her a couple drinks all while he's practically drooling over her

➪ they confess their feeelings on a day that some of the sirens and devils are hanging out (only bc sabrina and her connection to the devils now) at one of her teammate's houses

➪ she's talking to paetyn when she sees luke talking to a girl (one that isn't her teammate, she actually has no clue who the girl is)

➪ she ends up just walking upstairs to one of the guest rooms because she's jealous but also because she's just been feeling off all day

➪ luke comes and finds her and he's still shy as ever but he doesn't like seeing her upset so he starts to go all interrogator on her

➪ they end up sitting next to each other on the bed where she blurts out her feelings and starts rambling how sorry she is and gets cutt of by luke's kiss

➪ he's all giddy and excited but tries to play it cool

➪ they then just cuddle on the bed trying to decide what to tell jack and they just decide to keep it on the down low

ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP ☾

➪ luke's nicknames for her are: sab, ree, baby, and gorgeous (sometimes other ones depending on the situation)

➪ sabrina's nicknames for him are: lukey, pretty boy, baby, sweetheart, and honey

➪ she's always teasing him because she loves seeing him all flustered and blushy, it's her favorite thing about him)

➪ his favorite thing about her is her hands/fingers. he loves to play with them when he gets anxious, loves when she plays with his hair and loves when she gives him back scratches (amongst other things)

➪ his second favorite thing about her is her calming presence, it's sort of like the one quinn gives off as an older sibling but also different in a way that only he can explain

➪ even before they start dating, he gives her foot massages (i don't know, why it just happens okay?)

➪ she just kind of plops her feet in his lap and yeah

➪ she is so protective of possessive of luke (even before they start dating)

➪ before hand, it's mostly because she can pick up when people are uncomfortable even by the slightest movement

➪ and after of course she's possessive because that is her man

➪ luke is also protective as well, but it's much more subtle. he just sort of tenses up whenever she starts talking to a guy he doesn't know

➪ he also just frowns and becomes really reserved

➪ she loves when he's outgoing almost as much as she loves when he gets shy

➪ it's nice to see him comfortable around people and just talking animatedly about things

➪ luke gets all upset all the time when she's not giving him her attention

➪ she couldbe cooking or making her bed and he's just sitting a little ways from her full on poutting and giving her the biggest eye she can muster until she turns and looks at him

➪ she goes to a lot of jersey games and she's always alternating between jack and luke's jerseys

➪ he's texting her before games asking her to wear his even if he knows it's her turn to wear jack's

➪ luke absolutely loves whenever he cna get sab to sit in his lap, his hands are either on her ass or on her stomach depending on which way she's sitting

[bean-spring]

I've seen a lot of people talking about the Jayce/Mel conversation in act 3 and how Jayce is right to have snapped at her because she was manipulating him. Or how he is the most awful man alive for doing so and not asking how she is because she certainly needs someone too. "Mel's manipulative", "Jayce is selfish", etc etc etc.

But people fail to realize that they're two damaged people who have been through life-changing experiences all of a sudden with nobody else to rely on and they handle things differently and, although some of them it is wrong, reacting incoherently is pretty much understandable.

Mel has just realized she's always had this power within her she doesn't know how to control yet. They're choosing her own blood and fate for her, instead, when all she's ever wanted to do is to do it for herself. She unconsciously protected Jayce in the explosion and now she's being blamed for it, too. Now that she finally has the chance to rely on someone she loves and trusts, Jayce is out of it too. And it's messed up and she probably must've felt like shit, to put it plainly. BUT!

I can also see why Jayce would have snapped. Sometimes (and wow, it might sound wild for some of you) people say... Things they don't mean... Or fully believe!!! Jayce has been for god knows how long on his own going through the most traumatic experience of his life and dealing with his lonely, angry, depressing intrusive thoughts. So of course he wants someone to blame. Of course he needs to take out the anger somehow. And it's not okay, don't get me wrong, but I can see why it's Mel. Because after all, it's the easiest thing to do. And after all, they both have used each other (unconsciously. Perhaps on a deeper level and in the very blurry line between work and romance) and I think what Jayce says is true for him at that moment and he is feeling that way, but not really. And they end up making up and coming to terms with their relationship in the end. BUT! (again)

Mel also would have had all the right to snap at him for not giving a single fuck about her. She clearly had gone through her own hell too and he did nothing but attack her. She saved him, even if unconsciously, and now he complains about not saving Viktor too, as if she could control it. He mentions how she used him and Viktor for hextech but... That's her job. And it's not like Jayce wasn't taking benefits from the relationship either. Things got carried away when romance came between them tbh and "they both sort of used each other unconsciously for benefits (aka metaphor for science vs politics)" and "they truly loved and cared for each other" are things that can coexist. And not to mention Jayvik here but yes, even if you ship Jayvik and even if there were parallelisms and Jayce saw Viktor in her, he still loved her. For someone to be so confused and project these feelings there has to be some sort of love there, too, that theory doesn't erase the love they had.

But then again, going full circle, I understand why Jayce would snap at her because emotionally he was feeling like shit and honestly from his POV it's pretty much possible that he could see their situation as Mel being the one to blame at the moment. Even if she isn't and- [going in circles, going in circles...]

So long story short, I highly doubt there are rights and wrongs in this scene. It's just a damaged Jayce snapping at Mel for something he believes is true after going through a traumatic experience and Mel righteously seeking comfort after the same thing.

So if I see another take on this that isn't "they're both so hurt and they hurt each other in some ways and people just tend to act irrationally" I will riot

[moonspirit]

Since post-rumbling all the titans and power vanished. Means the Ackerman powers are also gone. Annie and Mikasa are sparring when Annie (being a master expert professional in martial arts combat and hth) notice how clumsy Mikasa is, punch kicks attacks not that strong anymore, and she's slower too. And so also Mikasa notice it.

That so Annie become a mentor to Mikasa, so everytime the ambassador starts in paradis and have a free time Annie would teach Mikasa. (Even back in cadet days Mikasa actually always admire Annie's strength and techniques, and being master hth combat, she always wants to learn but because of Eren, rivalry and spy thing it didn't happen).

Pls make it long and detailed!!!

Hi hello!!!!

Lmaoooo Mikasa losing her Ackerman powers continues to be so amusing to me omg T^T Best girl.

Though y'know, the way I interpret this is that Mikasa merely loses her superhuman strength, she doesn't necessarily become incapable of holding out in a fight (Yams did say she sucks at 'sports'...).

But I can imagine Annie noticing Mikasa tumbling downhill while wheeling a bundle of firewood, making an off-handed remark about how weak she's become, Mikasa immediately getting pissed off, and the two of them bristling up for a fight xD

God actually now I wanna have a whole new discussion on who won that Mikaani fight in the cadet years and who would win it now, post-canon...

Okay. Back on track, thinking about Annie helping Mikasa spar is so so so goddamn cute?! Tbh we NEED more canon Mikaani content cuz I just looooove them together! So much potential for dry humour to be lost on each other xD Annie teaching Mikasa her lightning quick footwork and Mikasa doing an awesome job of it... until her ankles cross and she goes rolling away... Everyone pretends not to notice because she's Mikasa and she's quick to become gloomy and depressed 🥲

Tho this opens up pleeeenty of opportunity for Mikaani quality time T^T I love the idea of the two of them growing closer together by spending time in the flower fields next to Historia's orphanage and the swing Mikasa built herself. So much of trauma to process and go through, but in some unspoken way, they have a connection that helps them through.

I kinda imagine that sometimes, just sometimes, when Annie speaks, mostly of selfish and stubborn things, Mikasa sees a bit of Eren there. They're both very alike in some respects y'know, Annie and Eren. When the two girls visit Eren's grave and Annie has not a single kind thing to say, cursing all the way as she crouches before the stone, Mikasa notices how gently she places the flowers.

In many many little ways, they're interconnected, and this warms my heart so much T^T

[chrisnoelie]

omg all of this is so 😭😭😭😭 this is some of what i was thinking about before!!!! i apologize for how long this got though omg...........

there’s something about them not getting together immediately and instead it takes them a bit more time to understand what they are and what they both mean to each other that really gets me BUT i also do love the idea of them together in college and early on in their professional careers and then they just stay together

i 100% love the idea of joe being concerned about their status because thinking about it too much might ruin their chances of a championship. and then they're fuckin and it's actually quite beneficial so they're like hell yea let's do this more often

and of course there's a moment where they realize everything is going to change because joe is leaving and ja'marr has to stay another year and who knows if they'll even be able to play together again on the same team, etc etc. BUT what i love in thinking about this time is that yes they're learning who and what they are, and sometimes that leads to random hookups with strangers or maybe even other friends, but it never feels the same. both of them come to accept that there will probably never be a future (in terms of a romantic relationship) between them, so they let it go. trying to let it disappear over time, maybe they text/call each other less and less until ja'marr gets drafted and then he's suddenly in cincy and it's a whole new world of Emotions for them.

i would love for there to be a moment when they start playing together again where they realize their feelings never went away and even if they don't do a damn thing about it, it's always lingering in the background

the thought of joe and ja'marr playing for different teams genuinely devastates me but the angst............ the idea of what could've been, never taking that chance to make it happen, ja'marr going to play somewhere else and maybe he's on a significantly better team (i am so sorry to the bengals but you know we do kinda suck) and he gets all these crazy records and the team wins almost every game, if not every game, makes it to the playoffs, maybe even the super bowl! but it's not the same. whatever quarterback he plays with isn't joe, he doesn't look at him the same way, he doesn't have that unspoken connection with him. he's still great! they still have a great dynamic for a qb and wr! but this guy just is not joe and ja'marr hates that.

and tbh i think it'd be more fucked up if cincy wouldn't get a sb win before ja'marr leaves, but with the team he moves to, they get one. that's what gets ja'marr the most out of everything. the celebration isn't the same. he's happy to get the win, but the one person he wants to celebrate with the most is nowhere to be found. and idk the capacity of the stadium they'd be in but there's gotta be thousands and thousands of people there and yet ja'marr has never felt more alone in his entire life.

so ja'marr takes the time to talk to joe, maybe he even just. physically goes to see joe to talk in person. and they have a serious discussion about their futures and maybe since ja'marr left the bengals are missing something in their offense that has a very obvious solution, and joe asks if he's happy with the team he's with now. if he was happier in cincy, if he prefers playing with the other qb, how it felt to win the sb, that sort of stuff. it gets them to discuss ja'marr potentially coming back to the bengals, and then turns into something they discuss with... whoever the hell is responsible for contract negotiations and whatnot. i don't know. by the time the next season rolls around, ja'marr is back playing with joe. it also leads to them not being so dumb about their feelings for one another and they actually start dating for real.

obsessed with them just casually fuckin and it's the most normal part of their relationship, to the point where there's like no distinction between the fwb era and the dating era. the domesticity just comes naturally to them and saying i love you isn't even a big deal to them. and they tell their parents and the response is "wait you weren't dating before?" or "we already knew that" LOL

aaaaand i do have a fic that i want to write but i don’t think i have my thoughts in order LMAO. i’m going to share these tiny snippets which does center around a sort of one night stand on the night of the natty but the idea extends wayyyy beyond that night

the initial setup is the night of the championship, where it’s just a bunch of joe processing his emotions and believing everything is one sided between them. verrrrrrry much just angst and pure sadness here

and then once it gets into the bengals era, it gets Complicated. because their fwb era doesn’t actually start until here, in this particular au. they don’t actually really talk about their previous hookup, and once they become fwb it starts off as something that happens when they lose games, when they win close ones, eventually when they win the afc championship, etc.

the super bowl is actually also what i thought about in terms of them recognizing what they are, and if i were actually writing this in full (never say never, but it'll take me forever lol), there's 100% a callback moment to the national championship being the moment where joe realizes his feelings for ja'marr versus the super bowl being where ja'marr realizes his feelings for joe. and even then, maybe they still don't get their shit together because they're so focused on the mistakes they made that led to their loss but they have another hookup before they head back to cincinnati.

and then things get Weird bc i love angst. as they work their way back in the offseason they're also working through this sense of failure that's inevitably going to follow them for a while (even though it's still a huge accomplishment for them to even get that far to begin with!!) so when they hook up, at this point, it's very... emotional, without being emotional. it's two idiot men who are both in love but would rather not acknowledge it out of fear for both losing their friendship and ruining what they're capable of on the field.

so they stop hooking up bc it's getting too real and they're getting too comfortable basically being in a relationship. they still hang out and are the absolute best of friends despite all of it, both of them still terribly in love. and this goes on for a long time (joe and ja'marr can be very stubborn)...

...until joe's wrist injury happens and he's out for the rest of the season.

while joe watches on the sideline, he has a lot to think about. he thinks about football, of course, thinking about his future and the anxiety he has surrounding whether or not he'll ever play well again, but sometimes his thoughts center on ja'marr. all of his time off allows him to watch ja'marr play more, watch how he is around a different quarterback, and there's a sense of pride seeing how their relationship is a unique thing between them, that it's not shared with anyone else.

they finally talk about it sometime in december. maybe joe's birthday? maybe they get together and do something to celebrate and joe just ends up being so forwardly honest about how in love he is and doesn't let ja'marr say anything until he's finished. he totally expects to be rejected, but it's a weight off of his shoulders, and for a brief moment he thinks it'll be okay. he thinks ja'marr might hate him, but they can move past this.

and then ja'marr calls him stupid and tells him it's mutual and joe just laughs with tears in his eyes from how ridiculously happy he is. the rest of the night they're just teasing each other endlessly but i love you gets thrown around a lot and ja'marr is very insistent on repeatedly calling joe his boyfriend as much as possible.

i'm really terrible at writing fluff so this is all i have on this au. a lot of rambling, and it seems like i do have my thoughts organized to write this into a full-on fic, but i haven't written smut in so long and i really need to do it justice. and again, i cannot for the life of me do fluff, so if this does get written, it's going to be the angstiest fwb slowburn ever written :P and i'll add a couple of songs i associate with this!!

casual by chappell roan

it's hard being casual when my favorite bra lives in your dresser just makes me think about them having random clothing items at the others' house accumulated through several hookups. they're sharing shirts and hoodies and sweatpants whether they wear the same size clothes or not

i like u by niki

both the lines we both said this was just physical, well, one of us lied, can't set feelings aside and thought i just wanted you there, with your hands in my hair, but i crave more make me so insane with this au. this song is literally about fwb so it's perfect here

holy water by now, now

and i'll take my chance 'cause i know you got a wild heart, but i've loved you from the start feels like it's just describing ja'marr like oh my god. also the chorus??? you touch me like an angel, but you kiss me like a sinner??? joemarr joemarr joemarr!!!!

hi hello i keep thinking about joemarr being fwb at lsu but it never turns into anything until they’re playing together on the bengals and they’re a little older and more mature. but when they think too much about what their relationship is they realize they’ve been in love this entire time and neither of them want to be the one to admit it </3

oh hellooo!!!! this is sooo??? i would love!!!!! to hear more of your thoughts on this fwb au!!!!!! insane little tidbit of them not realizing they're actually together are you in my headddd are you planning on writing a fic?? please say yes 🫶

i have. so many thoughts. on fwb joemarr 😔 and all of it is angst. which i don't write. but just the way i have this in my drafts 😭 please don't ask why i never actually reblogged it

i know i said i have thoughts on this fwb au but in all honesty it's very jumbled it's a mess it's unfinished it has a beginning and a little point in the middle and literally no end. but i'd like to expand on it anyway! so:

like 20% knowledge of their lsu timeline sorry (i wish i knew more of their roster btw :(( this would make writing this entire thing easier and more detailed) but midway through their undefeated season when they're finally getting way more comfortable outside of the field, a post-game party in one of the seniors' house, drinking, partying etc, they weren't exactly attached at the hip that time yk still slowly learning how to be friends instead of just teammates, learning how to joke with each other, learning what makes the other tick etc. they end up seated together at a table with the rest of the guys, table small enough and crowded enough they're pressed right up against one another but it's casual you know they're bros completely normal to have your arms touching as you yell at one of the guys to chug etc etc. they just end up staying close the whole time—yapping at one another, jeering at others together, ganging up on justin that one time, weirdly sharing personal things with each other in the middle of a crowd when no one was paying attention to them, smiling at each other dopily for a weirdly long time like for some strange reason, that night they clicked in ways never before outside of the field?? like that moment ja'marr said they both clicked on the field for the first time ever, but this time in the middle of someone's dining room, pressed ankles to shoulders to each other, also in the middle of the loud cheers of their teammates, breath seemingly in one space from how close they were together.

the crowd dwindles but they stick close together, joe has his arm around ja'marr like he usually does at times when his adrenaline is high but this time it's just because he just wants to (not that he fully understands why), ja'marr is quiet because he's sleepy so he just follows wherever joe is dragging him, and they're walking out the house with some of the guys, someone is singing ballads loudly and incoherently for some reason, and joe's house is close by, so they stop there and ja'marr is just following in like a dumbass because he's so fucking buzzed but he feels safe with his quarterback so who gives a shit if he's intruding. none of the other really say anything because, hey why not their star qb and their little wide receiver seem like they'd follow the other anywhere really at this point so have at it. and they're hollering the two goodbye as they walk away and now joe and ja'marr are just alone together in joe's modest little rental and it's quiet and comfy and they're grinning at each other dopily for the nth time and then somehow the most natural progression for them is for joe to offer ja'marr the bed and ja'marr to scoff and say they should just share like hell either of them is fucking up their back on the shitty couch and then they're brushing their teeth in joe's modest bathroom side-by-side and joe is offering him some sweats and a t-shirt to sleep in and ja'marr is just staring blankly down at the faded spongebob t-shirt handed to him while joe is rambling at him how he has just one pillow so do you want to rock paper scissors this or—they kiss 🤗

like you could say ja'marr dropped the t-shirt and stepped right into joe's space and kissed him or you could say joe trailed off mid-sentence because he got so fucking distracted by his wr being shirtless in his bedroom in his sweats staring down at his shirt with those stupid lashes that he reached out an arm to reel him in to kiss him or you could say they just decided right then right there they wanted the other in no other way than like that that they both did the stupidest thing they could possibly do mid-season and kiss their teammate and undress them and shove them toward the bed and climb on top of them and grind down against them and—

they completely blacked out unfortunately for their first time 😔 joe woke up first with his face tucked into ja'marr's neck and he groggily untangles himself without clocking how or why they're like this and he sits up and looks blankly down at ja'marr spread eagle snoring in his bed wearing nothing that he could see and covered in bitemarks and promptly untangles himself away from the bed and out the door and into his bathroom to freak the fuck out by himself. got himself together somehow and starts making pancakes (? does he cook. i don't actually know.) because fuck if this ruins anything between them or their chances of winning the natty his one-track-minded-ness and sheer determination to win saves them tbh. ja'marr wakes up alone but joe's clanging pans in the kitchen so he knows damn well someone's outside and he knows this is joe's bedroom and all those clothes strewn around is both of theirs and the splitting headache and sore everything doesn't stop him from realizing that holy fuck they slept together. frantically tugging yesterday's clothes on, panic mounting like crazy, probably crying too, and stopping right in front of the closed door with his head pressed against the wood feeling like everything is falling apart. he musters up the courage to walk out anyway and he can't read joe as well as he does now while joe's putting up a frigid front through sheer stubbornness when he's also freaking the fuck out inside especially when he comes face to face with an ashen-faced ja'marr clearly crying too.

there should be like more after this like hooking up only sometimes, growing closer and attributing it to how they're also fucking now but is it really all there is to it. they completely sidestep that initial awkwardness because what else could they do they got a game to win a championship to get to. they get sooooo much better on the field making each other look stupid good etc etc. and throughout this shit show of sleeping with each other they have talked about it just once and that was to say 'I don't think im gay but' and how there's 'no harm' in continuing the way they do. yeah.

things come to a stop after the natty of course, they don't see each other as often because joe's getting ready for his combine (?????) etc i don't actually know what goes on after tbh but basically they grow apart, joe moves out of nola back to ohio, gets into cincy, gets injured, etc. i think i could add like more to this entire arc (?? what fucking arc) but no thoughts rn tbh. oh but this little period is also where they come to terms with their sexuality!! being apart for a whole year, learning how to be somebody without the other, exploring other options, settling firmer on who they are, etc.

ja'marr gets into bengals, and things don't really start up again at first because they don't really feel like it? like they're still relearning who the other is after all these months apart? like it was just really genuinely casual to them they either fuck or they don't, it was a bit of fun, they aren't going crazy when they see each other again because to them it didn't really mean much of anything other than a bit of fun between friends! but there's some totally insane underlying feelings that they don't realize of course. the emotional roller coaster of ja'marr's preseason drops getting attacked left and right, joe steadfast in his belief in ja'marr comforting him (there's totally a high tensioned scene of this where they're just shy of something but ja'marr was too fucked up about his drops for it to actually come to anything), then their first game together first nfl touchdown 🫶

they might fuck again after that? but to be completely honest i have nothing else to add to this. maybe some angst of them starting up again and then stopping because suddenly it got...weird? because they're starting to realize oh wow hey what i'm feeling for you is not casual stuff. theres a little 'hey i don't think we should do this again tbh like let's focus more on the sb now that we're yk in the nfl we're not dumb kids anymore' or something idk but mostly i want them to agree not to fuck again untilll ->

this one fucking sceneeee that honestly kickstarted this entire thing but basically post sb loss they just slow-dance to the first time ever i saw your face by roberta flack. this just would notttt leave my minddd. they just dance slow and intimate in the middle of joe's living room. and it's like. after they lost the superbowl. after ja'marr dragged his ass out to the get him out of his head and after a whole day of just getting drunk of their asses and drinking away their feelings very manfully and fucked-upped-ly. they spill out their uber to joes house but they can't sleep and they just. start up the radio that's annoyingly repeating the superbowl fuckery and they just keep switching the station until they end up weirdly in this obscure one where the host is saying something completely unintelligible and then the song's opening instrumentals start up and of the sudden they're just wrapped around one another in the middle of joe's living room.

and then they're just in each others arms and staring deeply into the others eyes and still trying to deal with the loss and this uncertainty between them as roberta flack croons the first time i ever kissed your mouth i felt the earth move in my hand like the trembling heart of a captive bird that was there at my command my love and i just feel sooo fucked up over it. staying rooted in one place on joe's ridiculous rug just wrapped up in one another neither able to say a word the radio conveniently shutting off just dead air until boom who knows kissed who first they just end up in bed together like all those times before.

and its the first time in a while that they actually sleep together again after their pact to not do it again! and the thing is it's good this time! it isn't like any of the other times they slept together and pretended everything was fine and made the stupid conclusion that it was bad for them! i mean it was because they didn't really talk about it if they did it would be great you know but. this time they feel settled! they actually cuddle unashamedly in the afternoon that they woke up! had brunch together with the food that's usually delivered around that time for joe! made very distinct training plans together, fired up for the next season and trying again for a ring etc etc actually making plans for the future together basically.

AND THIS COULD END HERE OKAY like they have full blown realization and actual conversation that oh. this is it. this is literally the it that they've been avoiding for some reason and oh my future is literally you and not just on the field as a quarterback or a receiver or a teammate but you as something so definitive for me that there is literally no other way this could end other than us being together! totally could end here but!! in a separate timeline by which i mean if i could make it wayyy angstier than it needs to be:

like everything is niceeee, everything is hot and horny it's crazy they keep doing things together they've never thought of doing with anybody else! but they're not fucking talking even when they keep getting feelings and freaking out in the most random of moments over the other (hence the posts up top) and then burying their feelings down the next second because they think the other doesn't feel the same and think that what they have going on is enough. really. it is.

okay so like this fwb fic in my head is actually. way longer. like as in ja'marr trades out of cincy longer 😭 just they just keep pretending everything is fine and dandy and that shit is sooo not good for them and this actually ends in ja'marr being unable to handle all his feelings and running away leaving cincy lmaooooo sooo sorry (no idea if they won a sb before ja'marr left or not lmao which would be more fucked up do you think). i feel like i should expand more on why this ends up that way but i can't. which is like why this is never going to be a full fic 😭. it's kind of like that one time i mentioned this in an ask sort of inspired by bad bunny's cloud 9 'you will always be my favorite form of loving' 😃.

this is honestly mostly because of another slow dancing scene i can't get out of my head :")) they slow dance one last time before the news officially breaks out the next day to hey that's no way to say goodbye roberta flack ver. jesus sorry im in my feelings with her sooo sorry but look at the lyricsssss do you get me

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm And your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm Many loved before us, I know we are not new And in city and in forest they loved like me and you But now it's come to distances, both of us must try Your eyes fill with sorrow Hey, that's no way to say goodbye I'm not looking for another as I wander in my time Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme You know my heart goes with you, your love stays with me It's just the way life changes, like the shoreline of the sea But let's not talk of love or change, things we can untie Your eyes fill with sorrow Hey, that's no way to say goodbye

ja'marr trades to another team, the nfl actually set them up against each other for week 5 and so they finally see each other again after that one last dance where they didn't hook up btw to add to the misery. they fall into bed again after whoever the fuck won i have no idea and. fought......fucked each other up beyond repair.........

i don't actually know how the story would progress after :) so sorry. it's like my mind stopped right there and theres no end in sight to their misery hurt no comfort etc. but if it's any consolation i do think i would end this not fic im not writing with ja'marr trading back to cincy and they finally make up officially and win a sb together <3 (the i love you post up top is set during their first match up btw so they got way too fucked up about it because?? you fucking left me for another team??? and fought etc but the love is there ofc so they called each other and made up etc)

on another handdd i also have thoughts for a completely different fwb au where they aren't freaked out at all btw. like no life changing thing about it they just go on with their lives like 'oh we're fucking now? of course we are' because they're soooo comfortable with each other they don't need to freak out about it or talk about it they know each other why would trusting the other with something as intimate as sex be anything bad. it feels food! it's fun! they love how they are in the bedroom together! and their relationship just progresses naturally to actually being together in an actual relationship because of course! they go on these dates anyhow what's more with feelings involved?

joe thinking 'oh I'm in love with you' as ja'marr unpacks their uber eats for them on joe's living room where they plan on binge-watching star trek discovery rambling about every little thing he could think of and then just nodding and going on with his life helping ja'marr unpack and needling him for his pickiness with food. ja'marr thinking 'oh I'm in love with you' as joe fusses over the new chrome hearts catalog that ja'marr showed him trying to pick over their new matching jackets or something and then just nodding and going on with his life telling joe to shut the fuck up he is not wearing that pick something else. pressing foreheads after the second orgasm of the night and just staring at one another and quietly letting out their first i-love-yous and then grinning at each other and laughing and rolling around on the bed trying to be the first to kiss the other after that bombshell and going on with their lives deciding if they want to move in together, if they want to tell their parents at the same time to save the hassle, if they should finally bring tee out of his misery of pretending they aren't together no matter what tee says, etc etc. just one without angst because they trust the other so much it really isn't difficult at all.

oh and there's this lovelyyyyyy bit of one night stand thing during the natty championship that @cementcornfield cooked up that i am sooo obsessed with that you should definitely read if you haven't!!!

sorry if any of this doesn't make sense or the grammar is shit btw 😭 but i would loveeeeeeeeeee to read more on this ask you sent!! tell me all about your ideas!!!!! please <3

[crushpomegranates]

okay but how is bloodweave toxic

[makiswirl]

can i just say. and this is probably a niche hill to die on. that i am so gobsmacked every time someone vaguely hints at the idea that jotaro doesn't care meaningfully for the other crusaders, usually particularly kakyoin and joseph, when those two actually tend to be the ones he reacts to being hurt the hardest

like he cares for his loved ones!!!! that literally plays into his character motives in every single part he shows up in!!! stop lying to me!!!!!!!