#my body will never be the same again yadda yadda

[yunisverse]

sometimes i remember my first ever experience with a time loop story when i was like 8: Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of Summer Camp by Todd Strasser.

The title says it all; kid goes to camp, makes friends with "cool kids" and gets peer pressured into being a shithead and a bully, wakes up the next day with things reset to arriving at camp.

But the thing is, this book is part of a series. Most of the books are this same kid getting caught up in body swap shenanigans, but he had gotten caught in a time loop once in a previous book. So he knew the score. He just needed to not be a jerk today. Cue him being overly nice to the point of blatant insincerity, making everyone wildly uncomfortable. No growth, just trying to appease the forces that be. Loop continues looping.

Yadda yadda, finally figures out how to be a genuinely nice kid who stands up to bullies and makes friends with the nerdy kid, etc etc, got everything perfectly right.

When that loop doesn't work he immediately throws himself off the bus to camp to kill himself. Loop again.

Finally, having resigned himself to never escaping the loop but at least he can dedicate it to being a good kid with nice friends, a thought occurs to him. There's one thing he hasn't done a single time in all the loops.

He brushes his teeth before bed. And wakes up the next day.

and frankly, i think more time loops should be hinged on morality-neutral mundane tasks. escape the time loop by taking your meds. free yourself by taking a shower. my man todd was a visionary

[afreakingdork]

Ok so, Weak Spot and Soft Spot are my favorite fics (my ao3 history has told me I have visited Weak Spot over 350 times) but I do have one question….

In chapter 51: Ache, reader is worried that Donnie would prefer them as a soft shell….while Donnie demolishes that fear, I do wonder what Donnie’s full reaction would be if reader did accidentally mutate… It says that his body would need and adjustment period but what would happen after?

Anyways love your fics Miss Dork ♥️

Hey, hey! First of all, thank you so much!!!! I genuinely didn't even know that ao3 tells you how many times you've visited a fic! Your support means the world!

So part of this question was essentially answered in chapter 68 of Weak Spot. Donnie calls the cloaking brooch exercise the final test. There has always been an ongoing worry that reader has throughout the series wondering if they're good enough for Donnie. This goes physical (appearance and also human sturdiness when being partners with a mutant) and emotion, yadda yadda, someone who has visited 350 knows that much! That's not what you asked!

The adjustment period has a lot to do with big change. Even if we set aside Donnie's autism, I think anyone would have to adjust if their partner suddenly changed on a cellular level. You can love someone just as much when that happens, but it's undeniably jarring, especially when most mutation is against the person's will and that's clearly the case here since you used the word 'accidentally.'

Then we need to take into account Donnie's dark past.

Reader isn't just some exception to the rule. Donnie may have had some minute attraction the first time he met reader, but he consciously chose to entertain it. Their whole relationship is a series of steps where he both continues to open himself up and fight his learned impulses to make space in his heart for reader, but also reader working their asses off to make a relationship with Donnie work. Both of them wanted it and did what needed to be done to get there.

It took a lot of work.

It's all the ways you've read and more. Donnie had never loved someone before and reader is his person. He literally wouldn't sleep in front of them for months. He had to fight what had become instinct; he believed that he hated touch because he had never felt a positive version. He went through step after step of getting used to reader and if they were mutated they would be different in a very biological way. All the feelings he memorized, the sensation of their skin, their scent, and even the way they looked were things he cataloged as safe. He would have to relearn everything. The feeling of reader touching him would instinctual ping as foreign. He would have to go through the steps again to teach himself that they weren't some random person, but his partner. He would love them the same, but his body was built of safety mechanisms. Everything about his mate wouldn't read as them which, unconsciously, buckets them into the not mate category, or stranger. To this day, Donnie still puts his walls up in public, although they have lowered immensely from the start of their relationship. It would be a process. It would involve a lot of flinching and him retreating and that's where the emotional aspect would come in. He would despise that he acted that way with his partner, the person who has his heart, and that he know is the same person even if a panel of their DNA doesn't look the same. Their mind is the same and reader would undoubtedly going through their own adjustment period, so Donnie adding to that would be another aggravation to him. He would probably try very hard to hide it, to be strong for reader while they were having their own anxieties, but reader is still reader. They're perceptive, they would notice, and together the pair would work through it, just like everything else.

I'm confident Donnie would get to pre-mutation levels with reader, but it would take some time.

Ahhh! I haven't done that in awhile! That was a fun exercise!! I love thought exercises about my work. This is totally going to be added to Spot Check. Thank you again for reading and this question!

[noridoorman]

# Nuzi is not a pro-ship, I'm so tired that needs to be repeated #

I went on Twitter for like the first time (what a mistake) and saw again and again people complaining about how Nuzi is a pro-ship, Uzi is just a teen, N is an adult, yadda yadda and it gets so tiring at some point.

one point might be a bit controversial tho oops

"Uzi said herself that she's a teenager!"

Yes, she did. But teens can range from the ages of 13-20. It is a wide spectrum that is thankfully narrowed down by episode 3 when it is revealed that all classmates in her class are around the ages of 18-20. There's nobody younger than 18, meaning that it's highly unlikely that Uzi is 17 and even more unlikely that she's 16. She has to be around the ages of 18-20.

"But Uzi does to highschool, which only teens between the ages of 15-17 go to!"

That is if you assume that the drones only adopted the American school system. However, we've got a drone that only speaks Russian and a manuel for drone parents that is translated in French. In Germany, adults over the age of 18 can visit highschools. Heck, I'm 19 and currently in my 12th year of highschool. I'll be 20 in my final years where my prom will happen too, which, again, indicated that Uzi is older than what everyone assumes.

"How come Uzi is older than 18 if there are parent-teacher conferences?"

Again, my school also has parent-teacher conferences, even for the students that are adults. It's an optional thing and at this point in the story, Khan wanted to somehow reconnect with Uzi again which makes sense that he visits the parent-teacher conference.

"Uzi is shorter than her classmates, indicating that she's younger!"

Short adults exist, I don't need to elaborate further.

"Uzi's mom died shortly after she was made. N was already an adult at that time!"

We've seen through flashbacks from Doll that her parents died while she was a teen/not a pill baby. The same could have happened to Uzi, that Nori died while she was older. Also, N already being an adult is something I wanna unpack in the next argument.

"Uzi at some point asks about her mother, indicating that she never truly knew her! This implies that Uzi was a baby when Nori died!"

Yes, N could have also killed Nori while Uzi was a baby. But guess what?

N was a "baby" too.

Bear with me.

If we really wanna go by ages of the drones, we should remember that ALL the drones aged differently. Uzi was the only one that was a pill-baby before. N, V and J weren't, they were all in adult bodies. Yet, they were all around the same age of Uzi.

The way I understand the timeline is like this;

Uzi is made. N gets rescued from the scrapyard and saved by Tessa. I'd like to assume that he only got to live a few months before being discarded, as we can see that humans act very carelessly with their drones. So, Uzi is essentially a newborn while N is around 3-5 months old.

about 2 years pass. Both N and Uzi are two-years-old. However, ONLY UZI IS A PILL BABY DRONE. N was always in the default worker drone body. He can talk, move and do a bunch of things a 2-year-old shouldn't be able to do. However, if we base age on maturity and life experiences than he's no more an adult than Uzi was. All of his capabilities are programmed, he'll literally just die if he can't do those things cause otherwise he's defective. (BTW, NOT JUSTYFING PPL THAT GO "oh, you're mature for your age" OR SHIT LIKE THAT. I'M JUST SAYING THAT IN TERMS OF MATURITY, THEY WERE MOST LIKELY ON THE SAME LEVEL)

Uzi is now 3-years-old and the diassembly drones killed Nori. It'll make sense why she doesn't remember much of Nori and ask questions about her. N is also 3-years-old and he, along with V and J, are doomed to kill Worker Drones until they finish their job and die due to overheating.

By that logic, N AND UZI ARE AROUND THE SAME AGE.

Of course we can't get a clear timeline of events as Liam said that he doesn't want to write himself into a corner. But this is the one that makes me most sense to me unless somebody manages to proof me otherwise.

UZI WAS A PILL BABY, N WAS NOT.

N might aswell have been a pill baby this whole time and nobody would have batted an eye. Their physical bodies do not equal their mental maturity and age, those are completely seperate entities.

I might have fumbled on my words a lot, I'm not a native English speaker. I still hope this was easy to explain without me having said something wrong accidentaly.

"N x Uzi just came out of nowhere for fanservice!"

It was confirmed that the scirpt of Murder Drones was finished way back at episode 1 before the ship became even popular. Heck, Glitch posted a picture of Beau before the second episode dropped. Also, animations takes such a long time to do with lots of planing. Last minute changes are extremely risky to make and no professional studio like GLITCH would do that just to appease the fans.

"They killed of V to make Nuzi canon!"

I agree with the part that V should have gotten more screentime before her death.

But she wasn't killed off to make Nuzi happen.

She just went through an entire charachter arc from this drone that masks her trauma thorugh feiging apathy/joy in killing and always making decisions based on what she thought was right because she couldn't trust the people around her, not even N.

At the end, when V sacrificed herself, she finally recognized that Uzi is not CYN, she's as much as a victim as V was and that Uzi truly cares about N like she does. Her sacrifice was there to show how she finally manages to trust Uzi, even though she most likely knows how dangerous Uzi can get if she loses control. I just wished they build up towards that more cause it would have been so much better but she wasn't killed off to make Nuzi happen.

There are probably more arguments that I missed...

[sigritandtheelves]

in light of recent events, here's a rundown (again) of all the ways txf has made wombs the source of horror, exploitation, medical rape, or (funny??) non-consensual impregnation. TW for these topics, obviously.

"Eve" - medical rape / impregnation with tampered embryos, and the completely tone-deaf scene with the mother ripping up the picture of a daughter she gave birth to because she was an abomination 🙃

"Ascension" / "One Breath" - GA's pregnancy used to set off the abduction/ infertility/ ova harvesting arc.

"Aubrey" - pregnancy makes BJ crazy and murderous, infected (via the womb?) with the spirit of someone who's still alive (???)

"Fearful Symmetry" - human wombs aren't the only ones being exploited! the aliens are coming after animal fetuses now too!

"Memento Mori" - stolen ova; Scully's infertility becomes a plot point; clones made from the product of medical rape.

"Small Potatoes" - goofy jokey rape episode, you know, for laughs. "If everyone is happy, and nobody got hurt, then hypothetically... where's the crime?" 😖

"The Post-Modern Prometheus" - more hilarious medical rape for laughs, now with Cher! "What's not to love?"

"Christmas Carol" / "Emily" - why are all the girl children disposable? Another child of medical rape who was (conveniently) "never meant to be."

Fight the Future - Scully is damseled once again and this time her whole body becomes a womb to host a monstrosity! Fun!

"Terms of Endearment" - so so so many dead babies in this episode 😭 Pregnant people can be victims OR monsters! That's feminism! 🙃

"Two Fathers" / "One Son" - this one might be a little bit of a stretch, but I'd like to point out again that Teena was 19 when she married Bill Mulder and any "affair" she had with CSM the following year was likely not terribly consensual, given what we see of their relationship later. She was 20 when Mulder was born.

"Signs and Wonders" - horrifying snake birth

"En Ami" - retroactively (2018) included yet another medical rape for Scully (though I 100% refuse to accept it); apparently, CSM is perpetually impregnating the Mulder men's partners 🤮

"Per Manum" - more medical rape by corrupt IVF doctors, and we learn that Scully's IVF attempt was probably tampered with, too. does any character deserve this much reproductive trauma?

"Essence" / "Existence" - yeah. we all know, and I'm not talking about it anymore.

Actually, the whole William arc. I'm just not gonna talk about it because it fills me with an unholy rage.

"My Struggle" - Sveta's medical rape / alien rape? idk, i won't watch these again.

"Founder's Mutation" - more of the same, yadda yadda, medical experimentation, monstrous births, etc.

"My Struggle IV" - we don't need to talk about it, but children and pregnancies are not disposable plot points, Christopher.

[x-moonsoul-x]

TL;DR Hey, I’m reading into stuff (character design, I will never stfu about the rottmnt character design) again. Overthinking it like a true Donnie kinnie 🫡

So, I thought the mask tails were in order of age in rise. But, I’m unclear on which mask tails between Donnie & Mikey and Leo & Raph’s are longer/shorter. BUT. Another thing with their mask tails is that the two younger have shorter mask tails and the two older have longer mask tails (I’m a firm younger twin Donnie believer.) Furthermore, when we look at, for example,

MIKEY’S mask tails, they’re quite symbolic of him as a character.

They’re the only ones that are really rounded to that extent (Leo’s are more rounded too, but in a longer and less bubbly/circle way) Mikey is a fun, bubbly, optimistic character. Hence why Mikey=circle. They’re also shaped kind of like a paintbrush - the actual brush part, that is - which is interesting.

LEO’S are more triangular and curve much like his sword. Also, since they’re longer, we don’t see them very often (same with Raph’s) because of how the physics of the mask tails work.

The reason for Leo being a triangle, I’m not entirely sure. But my working theory (haven’t read anywhere why, though it’s likely somewhere) is because a lot about him is sharp. Sword, markings, face, body shape, mask tails. However, his personality is, ironically, the opposite. He’s also the more fun type, and definitely not a villain - even if he may see himself as one or, at least, the ‘blame’ during the movie - (sharp angles in character design are typically associated with villains) But his mask tails being a rounded triangle is really interesting. It’s like he’s smoothing out his personality (cough, cough, face man.) but he’s still “sharp” (loud, ‘annoying’, funny, quick-witted.)

RAPH, I don’t know too too much about, however- you also don’t often see the tails of his mask (because it, like Leo’s, is longer.) It’s jagged like his shell (again, ironic, because he’s pretty much a big softie - although on both the exterior and interior, he is/can be very tough.) He’s harsh on himself more so than he is on his brothers, taking it as his duty to protect them, to lead them, to keep them from harm.

I refuse to retype what I just typed, so I took a photo:

OK, so for DONNIE, I don’t have really anything to say (because I’m tired and my phone’s overheating ^^ he’s still my favourite and I love him dearly.)

But, his mask tails are more rectangular. Donnie = Rectangle, as we all know. (Galactic forehead, cough cough) And Donnie’s mask tails, with him being a younger brother and his mask tails being shorter, are more visible (again, physics.)

That’s it, he’s a rectangle. Shape language and such that goes more into his personality, yadda yadda, like I said - tired.

Anywho, that’s also a big part of a point that could be made about the episode(s) where they went through more formal training and their outfits were completely the same. They were one, completely. Raph and Leo even mind melded. But, that also means they weren’t themselves (we be we, baby.)

This is also a very long winded way of saying Donnie is the younger twin (I accept no other answers (jk ^^))

So, I hope somebody actually reads this rant. And, remember, I know this likely might not actually mean anything. I’m an analyst. I love their character designs I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.

But, that’s just a theory… a game theory!!

xoxo

[sittiytaart]

There is Only 1 Sunset

In my MLP AU there is actually only one Sunset, Sunset as a young child was human and managed to accidentally phase through the portal and came to Equestria.

She was caught by the guards but was simply escorted out of the castle, where she struggled to live cuz she's a human child in a pony's body. However all humans have a hidden magic potential that they just can't use.

So after a few days of being homeless she manages to garner the attention of Princess Celestia after a magic incident (Which causes Equestria!Sunset's parents to never meet). And learning that Sunset is homeless Celestia decides to take her in as a student hoping she'd be the Element of Friendship.

Sunset forgets about her human life and lives well, Celestia makes a bunch of mistakes since this is honestly her first time being a 'Parent' to a filly and it sorta messes Sunset Shimmer a whole lot. Celestia sees that Sunset is a whole lot like her past self which freaks her out so she tries to steer her from her own path by showing her the mirror

And yadda yadda the plot happens but Sunset returns around the same age she should have been since entering the portal in alternate universe time so there it only has been a few years. Sunset has to be then Re-introduce to Human culture and is placed back within her family.

BUT IN SHORT:

Sunset is a Human turned Pony who forgot that she was Human turned back into a Human again. She's Special

[tirfpikachu]

i just saw an endearingly old post of one of my earliest peaking takes. i was frustrated at how little the left cared about detransitioners.

i do want to reinstate that caring about detransitioners and the growing number of (non-transphobia-related) detransitions doesn't mean that all transition is done to escape something. for some, it truly is in their best interests in the end, yadda yadda. you can care about more than one issue. and this issue actually affects you too.

even for those who are explicitly transitioning to escape the patriarchal abuse on female/afab folks and gnc people, who am i to feel anything other than bittersweetness at being left behind as a gnc woman? and perhaps a faint feeling of unnervement in my own self-perception, same as when i see any other major body modification a female person does around me…?

what i truly want is happiness under the patriarchy for those traumatized by it. i want female happiness, gnc happiness. i just... worry. i worry, because you have no idea the concerning amount of detrans folks in my askbox and my DMs and my server. something is wrong. something is genuinely, truly wrong. we need to increase our speed in fighting the patriarchy, because more and more stories like my own keep piling up. this is bad news for everybody struggling under the patriarchy. it means we now have an exit door. for many, it's a necessity. for others, like myself, and many others, it was self-harm, repression, and fulfilled the never-satisfied need i have to surgically alter my face because i know i'd have it easier mentally and socially. it sucks when it's just a fact of life. i know that in some countries, like korea, plastic surgery is almost a badge of womanhood and is offered as a kind-hearted gift to women and gnc people around you. what if this is the future of transition for female/afab folks and gnc individuals? what if it becomes the deliciously tempting little exit door that just glows anytime you suffer misogyny irl or online? what if those little trans jokes people make, those egg jokes, lead to more detransitioners? which not only can be traumatic, but also harm trans people in actual need of transition; the only point that usually actually reaches non-detrans people's hearts. detransition fucking sucks. dysphoria utterly blows. reverse dysphoria? it also blows. imagine thinking this will be your deliverance and bam, you're hit with waves of opposite dysphoria. imagine the light at the end of the tunnel leading to a high cliff. imagine everything you thought you ever knew about yourself was ripped away from you and you had to rebuild yourself all over again.

dysphoria can be unpredictable. but i think we can do better. education is key. cis gnc manhood & womanhood being represented in non-sexist ways in the mainstream - including assuming it means they're gay or trans - is essential. authentic trans experiences being represented in addition to those is also key. but you must understand that i am living proof that dysphoria can heal in some cases, and that dysphoria can involve social contagion. if i had been surrounded by badass masc feminists irl alongside my cool trans friends i 10000% promise you i'd have found myself way sooner, and probably never transitioned or gotten reverse dysphoria. and i wouldn't have needed to trigger any uncomfortable feelings in trans friends when i detransitioned. it would've been better for everyone. but first and foremost for me, someone struggling with a severe dysphoric disorder that took over my life for 13+ years. marginalized folks need to handle these issues in complex, gentle ways. we aren't approaching these things the right way. we so easily celebrate people who only just start questioning being lgbt. we lock them into an identity, like my online trans friends unconsciously did with me, by not making every lgbt (or non-lgbt gnc) choice seem equally valid and wonderful. we take them at their most mentally vulnerable and we don't handle it with enough sensitivity and tact. we need more proper, healthy lgbt & gnc community support. this cannot keep happening. something needs to change, and it needs to change fast.

[draiochtnamara]

myyyyy favorite lyn writing i’ve ever done, this is fairly old so probably can fix it up but whatever.

the evil entity that lives in ur town in the woods is always calling u yadda yadda yadda and ur connected to it or. whatever

You’ve woken up here before, though it’s been awhile. It’s different than you remember, but familiar. Less unkempt, more overgrown than the last time. You’re not scared of this place anymore, in fact, you think you might be excited to be here.

Maybe it’s growing older, because when you were younger this place felt less inviting even though, technically, it was scarier now. You push your way through the trees and the branches and the overgrown grass, until you arrive at the clearing.

When you were a girl, and you dreamt of here, you would sit and cry and cry and cry once you got there. You would never make it any further, you could never find your way out, and there would never be anyone there for you. No one would find you. Just left there until you drowned in your own sadness.

But this time…

“Daddy..?”

You almost don’t want to take another step forward, you remember how in dreams people never look the same, you try to get a clear look at their face and it’s. Not right. It’s blurry. It’s. Off. You don’t want that.

But your body is steps ahead of your brain, and you run towards him and hold on so tight.

“I’ve been waiting, I had a feeling you would wake up soon.”

You pull away, and you look up. Your father’s face, clear as day. Him. Not a dream, not an apparition, not a trick. Real. In front of you. “Have you been here all this time?”

He shakes his head, “it’s the first time I’ve been here, but I know it’s not your first time here.”

You try to remember the last time you were here. Really here. Not dreamt about it, but really, truly here. Maybe right after he died? But you didn’t go any further, didn’t make it to the clearing, you hadn’t noticed the changes. You just weren’t ready to wake up yet. But before then?

“When we first moved to Easthallow,” you said, remembering the last time you truly remembered being here.

And then out of the corner of your eye you notice it, something you never noticed before. On the other side of the clearing, an opening. It was calling you, and you couldn’t resist. You slowly start stepping towards it, but you can’t move any further.

Your father’s hand holds on tightly to yours, like when you were a child in the grocery store trying to run away to go grab candy. Like you were in trouble. Being told to stay put.

“That’s a rabbit hole you shouldn’t go down, Alice.”

You try not to falter at this, because you know your purpose is down that rabbit hole. Sentiment will get you nowhere. You know at this moment that this is definitely more than a dream, this is your father speaking to you. You’re defiant, and just like every other time he called you Alice, it makes you want to be more so.

You tug your hand, but he won’t let go. He won’t break.

You start to cry, “please, I have to go. I have to. Something is waiting for me over there. I can feel it. It needs my help.”

And you fall down to your knees, unable to go any further than you’ve ever been able to here. You want to go to what’s calling you, you want to be alone here so that you can.

But just like every other time you wake up here, you’ll just cry and cry until your own sadness drowns you again.

[thehiddengodsofficial]

Intermission UNDYING: Eymatotalis

Eymatotalys is the being of Immortality itself. He lives in an empty dimension of blood, soaking and floating within it until stirred awake by outside force. Upon awakening he would emerge from the ground (mainly to prevent flooding) and he would carry out whatever duty he was woken for. It used to be wishes of Immortality, Cult Worship, or general summons to pay respects yadda yadda. Now it's only when a disturbance occurs that he wakes, collecting immortal souls, correcting deathly botched self immortalizing rituals or running ten cults every week. Eventually he was found and questioned by the Matron Of Death, Marrow, and the Dragon God Of Death, Lych respectively.

“Why do the humans call you ‘Totalis’ if that is not your true name?” Marrow asked,

“It better suits their language to allow no disrespect.” Totalis answered respectfully.

“Then I suppose they call you Immortality then?” Marrow inquires again, not seeming to care about Totalis’ power as it doesn't seem to impede his work.

“Quite the straight-forward name but indeed they do.” Totalis nods, turning his attention to Lych, who seemed a little more peeved with Totalis' work than his partner.

“So then, Totalis, why is it that you still roam to collect the souls of the dead?” Lych enquired.

“They are immortal souls. Never copied. Never destroyed. Their penance is finding bodies to fill my dimension with blood. Forever.” Totalis bluntly responded, his tone growing colder as he continued.

“So you offer only lies then?” Lych tilted his head, awaiting an excuse, yet much to his shock his answer was… surprisingly moral.

“They didn't ask for True Immortality, therefore I never gave it to them. Even if one did ask for it, that's one curse I wouldn't even bestow to my worst nightmare…” Totalis explained, his head low in despair and fear.

“What makes True Immortality so jarring to you? You are a being of all Immortality itself, aren't you?” Lych asked, now intrigued as Totalis shakes his head to continue,

“The Immortality that mortal souls are familiar with only stops disease, rot, and aging. But True Immortality removes… Everything… Age, rot, disease, magic corruption, physical damage, even mental pain is removed and the mind is reinforced… But you wouldn't know what amount of suffering one goes through to feel exactly the same each and every day, never aging, being invincible and then watching everything and everyone you love and care about get sick, old, killed. To have to watch societies start and fall without anything able to be done about it… And in the end, it's everlasting insanity, confusion, and want. You want Mortality back but it's impossible to grasp, you know you should cry but you've become physically incapable, and you crave even a semblance of death yet it extends far beyond the reaches set by your wishes. Everything needs it's end. I will only delay the inevitable. It's all I can do… And it's all I wish to do.” And with that, Totalis would crawl back into his dimension, slumbering away pondered dreams…

[haemopoietic]

>be me

i was so close to falling for the new hookup. they were one of the few other openly queer people at the factory, we knew each other for a little while before we tried things out. i was taking it slow because i’ve had shitty experiences playing with couples and codependency issues of my own to work on, yadda yadda, and i wanted to know for sure how their partner felt about us having sex.

all 3 of us talked and said our piece. i didn’t want anything serious since i was leaving the state in like a month, their partner said he was cool with whatever we wanted to do even though he and i didn’t want to have sex with each other, they… just seemed to want the conversation to be over. ok, whatever, i’m not getting attached, i’m moving anyway.

weird vibe aside, we eventually get intimate, time passes, by this point i’m packing (double entendre implied). turns out i finally found someone who didn’t expect me to bottom and even seemed to be into rougher stuff. we have vials of each other’s blood, they let me cut them. i want them, even their body, so much i could just watch them get off on my hands all night and i’d still take that over having them make me cum…

so i’m getting attached. we finally started having really good conversations regularly. i’m getting even more attached. last night they tell me that they and their partner are taking a break, but that things are still getting worse between them. with the way all of this played out, as i was piecing the timeline together from what they were telling me, the tension in their relationship definitely seemed to be coming to a head around when i entered the picture. hmm, funny

it turns out their partner is a fucking pissbaby who won’t be direct about not being ok with us hooking up so he comes home and slams shit around in the other room. it’s not like i haven’t talked with him. i wanted things to be comfortable for him too, but he “didn’t want to know i was there” according to the hookup. days before this he apologized for “triggering” me and now he’s doing the same shit that made me feel unsafe in the first place.

last night they were trying to reassure me that it’s nothing serious, like me hanging around is just going to be a completely neutral addition to the, in my eyes, clearly impending fight. i don’t think it matters whether all of this is in my head or not, it wouldn’t be a healthy situation for anyone either way.

if i’m the caveat for something that was a long time coming, i’ve done my fucking part and i get to go home now. i asked them again and again whether they felt safe with him and apparently they feel safe enough to wait until the lease is up. i get it. there’s not much you can do when you’re both paying rent.

i asked them if they had a plan and they said they want to move out into the bigger city where their friend is. i hope they do. all they had to say when i asked how they felt about the situation with all 3 of us currently, what it was i should do, is “it is what it is”. when they reassured me that their partner was probably more angry at them i felt so fucking frozen. i was so angry and so scared.

fuck this, i’m dipping. it was my last week in town anyway and they knew it. i’m so glad i said i’d be too busy to have them visit. i’m so sick of never getting the whole story until i stir some shit up. i didn’t care when it was casual sex, but fuck being the other man, or the sexually threatening dyke, or whatever. in my experience, jealousy has serious consequences. sometimes the grapes are sour, actually.

we got high every single time we hung out and it got so fucking old. i always binged when i hung out with them and i probably gained back the weight i lost most recently. i want to say it was worth it. i think it was worth it only since i caught how fucked up things were going to get before i got too distracted by my dick to focus on the upcoming semester.

this was definitely a memorable summer. i hope their partner doesn’t kill them.

[ronwestbreeze]

i had an idea for your shallow end series. imagine y/n telling tua about her late older brother and what he was like, little stories about him when he was alive in attempt to keep his memory alive even after having another baby :')

wishes

pairing: jake sully x fem!na'vi!reader

summary: in which you help tua fall asleep by telling her about her older brother...

warnings: a little angsty :(

word count: 0.6k

author's note: yes it's a bit short but i liked how it turned out so, eh i'm not too worried. hope you enjoy it. this kind of hurt me haha

“A-Aawpok?”

“Mhmm, that’s your older brother’s name.” You say.

Both you and little Tua, who was beginning to say her first words, were lying down in the tent together that night. Everyone else had fallen asleep, all sprawled about. Lo’ak, Spider, and Neteyam were sleeping on one side of the room. Kiri and Tuk lay next to Neytiri, Tuk being sandwiched between the two. Jake lied on the other side of Neytiri and was also sandwiched between you and Neytiri. And Tua was on your right. You had turned a little bit out of your husband’s arms so you could face and comfort her.

It usually took Tua a while to fall asleep. You never minded staying up with her since you were having trouble sleeping yourself these days.

You caressed her little toes as you whispered quietly for her to hear, “He would have adored you, my little one. He always loved taking care of his siblings, fiercely protective of them—which means he was as stubborn as your father.” You chuckled quietly as Tua stared up at you with wide eyes.

Tua took your thumb and brought it to her mouth, numbing at it with her barely grown teeth as you continued. “The boy was quite adventurous too. Often always getting into trouble with Lo’ak, he could be a little troublesome sometimes but that’s what I loved best about him. I still remember the first time he got his ikran. Your brother was so stubborn about it. Like Lo’ak, he had fallen off the first time and was determined to get back on it and try again. Jake was against it but Aawpok did it anyway and he succeeded. I had never been so proud but of course, I had to receive an earful afterwards about how he’s my son, yadda, yadda, yadda.” Tua giggled when you tried mimicking Jake’s voice. “We often fought about it but that was during the times where your father and I weren’t as close…

“Aawpok always hated it, how distant we were in the beginning. And I hated that he had to see that. He was sensitive and always fought for us to love each other someday.” You played with Tua’s little hairs on her head, blinking away tears. “I just wished he could’ve seen that it did come true. That his wishes were heard that he was heard. He would be so happy if he were here…my little sunshine boy.” You tickled her belly, earning another giggle from the toddler that made you smile despite your tears. “And my little moon girl.”

You hummed a quiet lullaby to her, stopping every now and then when your voice quivered just a bit. Eventually, Tua’s eyes began to droop until they closed and her breathing evened in a steady pattern.

And for a moment you pressed your ear against her chest without waking her, listening to her little heartbeat. You lied on your back then, closing your eyes to will the tears away.

It wasn’t until you felt a larger body wrap itself around you, did you finally open your eyes. You turned your head to find Jake was awake. He watched you as he always did, his larger hand coming up to caress your cheek, wiping away the tear stains as he did.

“Is she sleeping?” He asked quietly, sitting up just a bit to see her sleeping form.

“Mhm.” You responded, burying yourself further into his chest. He responded instantly, wrapping his arm around you while the other stayed with Neytiri.

He pressed a kiss against your hairline, “I miss him too.” He kissed your nose. “And I wish he was here, every waking day.”

You smiled up at him, “He was so much like you.”

A chuckle left his lips, “Yes but he was you all the same. I loved that about him. And I love that about you.”

You sat up slightly and leaned down to press a kiss against his lips, “I love you.”

“And I adore you.”

[takenbypeter]

Hi I was wondering if you could do more toad from X-Men evolution. Maybe one where the reader is like some kind of chaotic trouble maker who's part of the x-mex, and they constantly flirt with toad both during missions and at school, and totally just completely and utterly confused by it and they fall out n love (sorry if this is a longer request I just had a lot of ideas)

Teamwork Makes The Dreamwork

Toad x reader

Words: 1060

“Great form out there today Toad,” you complimented, nudging the male gently.

“Oh you think so?”

“Of course. Without you that “mission” would’ve ended horrifically, plus the view wasn’t half bad,” you teased, making sure to put air quotes around the word mission.

Toad opened his mouth to say something in return but his thought was interrupted by the professor wheeling up to you before asking to see you in his office.

With a roll of your eyes and shooting one last slightly annoyed smile at Toad that read, ‘now I gotta deal with this,’ you followed the professor into his office.

Once comfortable and settled into one of his two uncomfortable seats. You started the conversation.

“What’s up professor Xavier?” You asked, figuring you’d break the ice yourself.

“I know you’ve only been here for a short amount of time but what happened in there?”

“What do you mean?” You asked. You knew exactly what he meant.

“There were two instances in that training room where you had the opportunity to help your teammates and you didn’t.”

“It’s fine. Other people had it.”

“It’s not fine. It’s important that you look out for one another.”

“Relax, professor. It’s not like it was a real mission.”

“That’s not the point. The point is that you really need to start trying here.”

You frowned as a crease between your eyebrows formed. “I do try. I’m getting good grades in all my required classes.”

The professor leaned back with a sigh, “why are you here?”

Your voice lowered a bit, “because I got in trouble.”

“With the law, correct?”

“Yes that’s correct.” You confirmed through gritted teeth.

“Well since you’re required by the authority to go here. Don’t you think you should at least give it a chance.”

You pushed your lips together trying to keep from letting a scowl appear on your face. That’s all you really remember because after that you sort of blocked out the ending of that conversation. And next thing you know you’re in the mansion library eyes glued to a textbook.

“Ughhh,” you growled eyes rereading the same paragraph over and over again. You honestly were contemplating just running away and never coming back to this place.

“Hey hottie,” came a familiar voice in an over exaggerated low tone. But it had you grinning nonetheless, “right back at ya, hot stuff.”

Toad.

Toad honestly made your stay here a lot better. You didn’t know what it was; maybe because he alleviated the pressure in the mansion, or the fact that he was the first person to talk to you. Granted it was to hit on you, which you easily hit him back—physically that is. But once you realized he literally hits on everyone you took it upon yourself to show him just how he makes others feel but instead it now just became a thing where you two just flirt with each other openly.

“So what’d the professor want with you?”

You shook your head, “he just was on my case about working together, helping others and all that jazz, yadda yadda. But enough about me, what are you up to today?” You asked, changing the topic.

“Forge is giving me a lesson today.”

“Oh with the plane’s tech?”

“Yup.”

You place your elbows on the table, interlocking your fingers as you placed your chin on the mini stand you’ve created with your hands. “Well maybe after that, you can give me a private lesson?”

Toad’s lips curve into a wide grin as he leaned closer to you, “okay, but with you by my side I can’t promise I’ll be focused on the lesson.”

You leaned a tiny bit closer, “well good because neither will I,” you said moving closer now only inches across from him, upper body practically on the table.

It was at that moment that you noticed something click in him. His expression switched from coy to a vague one you couldn’t quite pick out before his body backed off a little and he left you on the table wondering what just happened.

But you don’t wonder for too long.

“Real talk? Hanging out with you like this, has been the most fun I’ve had with another person and I’ve really enjoyed this place ever since you came but when you say things like…” he hesitated but pointed at the way you were still seated, “that, do you say those things because you mean them or just to make fun of me. No, that’s not right? Right? Because the way people look at me while we’re talking makes me feel like they’re in on some big joke but I actually like you—“

Leaning back into your chair with arms crossed, you scoff a little, “no Toad, I like you,” you interrupted.

“See! That right there. It doesn’t sound like you mean it.”

Uncrossing your arms and giving him your full attention, you make sure to look him straight in the eyes, “Toad. I actually like you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh my god yes!”

That seems to satisfy his curiosity, “okay good.”

You return to your first position with your elbows on the table, “About what the professor said—I mean I like you just the way you are…”

“Go on.” You urged.

“But maybe the professor is right.”

Your hands went back to your side as you slouched again, “way to kill the mood.”

“I know, I know. But this place is all about teamwork. It took me a while to understand and sometimes I still mess that part up. But it wasn’t until I started acting and thinking like a team that I started enjoying this place. Maybe that’s what you need.”

You knew he was right. Both him and the professor. God you hated both the fact that they were right and that this place was your only option. “Ugh. Okay, okay. I’ll give this whole thing a chance. But only because you asked me to.”

He opened his arms, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You grinned while he did the same. “So…you wanna head to that private lesson now?” He asked, raising his eyebrows up and down.

“Don’t you have to meet Forge first?”

“I’ll skip it.”

“What happened to teamwork?”

He stood up and leapt beside you, hand reaching out, “teamworks okay. But let’s be real…sometimes it’s overrated.”

[crippleprophet]

(feel free to not respond to this, hell feel free to be like “please don’t do this again”)

so i’ve had join problems for like 3 1/2 years now and they just got diagnosed like 2 week’s ago, turns out i have runners knee

so i feel bad because 1. it feels lit not as big of a deal as i feel like it is (it is a big deal, it’s impacted my life (thank you therapy))

2. i’m worried that pt and more exercise won’t make it better (i’m on my schools swim team, so 4 practices a week during the season, plus a swim meet on friday)

and 3. i feel like (at least for now) i need more support. my pt doesn’t start until february and i can’t remember the last day i haven’t been in pain or had sensations that are probably due to nerve wackiness. i have used a cane in the past and it has helped me immensely. but i feel bad for wanting something that works for both legs. i’ve literally have had 2 dreams about me having forearm crutches.

i’m just really exhausted, sorry for dumping this all on you rn, i feel like even though i was listened to i still was just told to exercise and loose weight

hey, it’s absolutely no problem & i’m so deeply sorry you’re dealing with this 💕💕

i’m gonna throw like a billion disclaimers on this that, in addition to my usual line about just being Some Guy on the internet, i am definitely responding from a place of trauma here - i don’t know your body & you are the authority on your experiences, i’m just tossing some stuff out there based on my experiences, which might be totally different in other (or underlying physical processes yadda yadda) ways. also like big tw for medical neglect

so. i ran cross country in high school and my joint pain originated in my left knee at age 16, no specific injury or incident, RICE etc barely did anything. xrays and mri showed nothing. tried cortisone shot, euflexxa injections, some sort of topical steroid that was originally used on racehorses, nothing. because i was a runner no one ever considered it could be anything but an orthopedic issue.

i had two exploratory arthroscopic surgeries (which i’ve since learned are as effective as a placebo) with extensive debridement - first dx, plica syndrome, “we have no idea why this was this bad,” cleared to run again after post-op PT, pain came back even worse after ~7 months.

second dx, grade II chondromalacia patellae aka runner’s knee. told never to run again. i knew in post-op PT that something was wrong, this wasn’t the same pain as recovery previously, it felt like the underlying issue was still there. this wasn’t pain of healing, it was making something else worse. my physical therapist didn’t believe me, just kept pushing me, literally told me once that there was no way i was in that much pain. the pattern of swelling, location & sensation of pain, nerve symptoms, etc never made sense to anyone, no matter how many people they called over to poke & prod.

i don’t think i’ll ever know why, especially when he then didn’t fucking do anything with this information, but one day he had me try a lumbar extension stretch. you know the scene in the little mermaid where she’s propping her upper body up with her arms on the rock, waves crashing behind her, triumphant music? it’s basically that pose. it was both the single most excruciating and relieving thing i’ve ever done; even my chronic migraine of 2 years lessened. but we proceeded on a normative linear recovery arc, i got cleared from PT, the pain was better but still there.

flash forward four more years of intensifying pain - first my other knee, then the bottoms of my feet, then more constant and prominent in my lower back, then my upper back & worsening of the neck pain i’d been told and believed was from looking down at books/phone, what i now know as neuropathy increasing all the while - using a cane, then forearm crutches, then a forearm rollator, then a mobility scooter, spending more & more time unable to leave the bed - and i stumbled across an article about ankylosing spondylitis that matched my history fucking eerily, right down to the car crash as a younger teenager. it turns out AS commonly first presents with knee pain, not back pain, in juveniles.

so here’s what i’m gonna tell you: even if it’s “only” chondromalacia, your pain is real and serious and you should listen to your body. and, with again the mega disclaimer that you might be experiencing something totally different, i gently suggest:

read my posts about AS. read my google doc about AS. read anybody’s posts and articles about anything that originates with knee pain, especially if it involves neuropathy.

keep tabs on your body and don’t believe anyone who tells you something is normal until you’ve investigated it for yourself. does your neck hurt? how much? how often? what about your upper spine, between your shoulders? your lower back?

try a lumbar extension stretch, just in case.

if you haven’t been to a rheumatologist before and it’s at all possible for you to do so, do it. if you have a GP and can get a blood workup from them instead, do that. more info on blood testing here - but keep in mind that negative blood work doesn’t rule anything out.

if you can get forearm crutches, one hundred thousand percent do it. make sure they’re sized properly - more info on that here.

do whatever you possibly can to shore up your trust in yourself and your experiences. surround yourself with as many people as possible, in person or online, who believe your pain and make you feel solid in your knowledge of yourself. i’m a big fan of putting up signs with reminders if you can. whether you have chondromalacia, something else, or a combination, your pain is real, it is disabling, and it is in your best interest to develop strategies to cope with the systemic gaslighting that is existing within an ableist society & medical system.

if there is literally anything at all i can do to encourage you, answer questions, etc, please feel free to dm me or send another ask any time. my whole fucking heart goes out to you - you are not the only one who’s been through this, and that is both the horror & deepest relief of chronic pain. so much love to you, may you receive everything you need.

[risingmoonyue]

In which Damian does, in fact, know how to act in normal, non-assassin society, but that option flew out the window when Talia told him to make it difficult for them and he accidentally escalated from 10 to 100 when he took it to full-out bloodline-obsessed assassin murder gremlin child.

Damian: [internally] okay, okay, play it cold, Mother told me to make their lives difficult while I was here

Damian: [immediately tried to murder everyone] I'm the blood son. All of you are unnecessary.

Damian: [internally] NOT THAT COLD WHY DID I DO THAT NOW I'M STUCK LIKE THIS AND THEY HATE ME MORE THAN I WAS AIMING FOR MOTHERRRRRR WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME

Damian: [internally] THIS IS ALL JASON'S FAULT THEY SAID HE WAS A BAD INFLUENCE BUT DID I LISTEN???

Damian: /NOOOOOOO/

Damian: I SWEAR IF JASON'S IS IN GOTHAM RIGHT NOW—

Talia, off in the distance, who probably knows exactly what just happened and who's in Gotham: heh heh

---

[In the middle of patrol]

Tim: ugh, Demon Spawn, again? What part of "listen to orders" do you not get?

Damian, muttering: technically I am

Tim: what?

Damian: what?

Damian: *ahem* I mean, I don't listen to a pathetic waste of space like yourself, you incompitant moron! As the Blood Son of Batman, I am clearly better than any of you ignoramuses! [leaves]

Tim: [squints suspiciously]

---

[In an undisclosed safe house]

Jason, who knew Damian in the League and knows exactly what's going on: HAAHAHAHAHAAAAAA

Jason: OF ALL THE WAYS TO MAKE THEIR LIVES DIFFICULT

Jason: YOU JUST BECOME ME BUT TINY AND OBSESSED

Jason: I'M SO PROUD OF YOU

Damian, face buried in a pillow: [incoherent screaming]

---

[When Talia tries to take him back/kill him]

Talia: hand over my son, or neither one of us shall have him

Bruce: Never!

Damian:

Dick: you'll get him over my dead body!!

Damian:

Tim: yeah, he's Demon Spawn, but he's OUR Demon Spawn!

Damian, twitching:

Jason, sitting in the corner reading Pride and Prejudice:

Dick:.... Jason?

Jason: hm? Oh, yeah, uh, /oh noooooo/, you'll never get away with this, yadda yadda yadda.

Damian, finally blowing up: oh COME ON

Damian: Mother, can we PLEASE stop?!

Damian: Even JASON'S not putting any effort in anymore! JASON!!!

Batfam: [blue screen]

Talia: [sighs, sheathing her sword] yes, I suppose so... It has been getting a little out of hand I suppose.

Bruce, clueless but waving a hand at the untold destruction: a LITTLE????!!!?

Jason: Uh, I think you mean mean old?? Cause seriously, there's only so many times you can threaten to eviscerate someone before it gets boring

Damian: He's right Mother. I've simply exhausted my supply. And frankly, it's just not getting the same reactions anymore.

Tim: I KNEW IT

Tim: OH MY GOD I KNEW IT

Tim: I KNEW HE WAS ACTING WEIRD, AND THIS IS IT!!!! I KNEW IT!!!!!!

Dick: oh, are we finally stopping? I was wondering when this was gonna happen.

Most Everyone: you KNEW?!?

Dick: of course I did!! [Smiles] I did tell you guys he was such a cute little brother!!!!!

Damian, just relieved to not be spending half the night thinking of newer and more creative insults: sure. Thanks Richard. Your confidence is inspiring.

Dick, sobbing tears of joy: /that's the nicest thing he's ever said to me/

Damian: [slaps his hand over his face] /why do I put up with these people/.

[drunkkenobi]

Bodyguard!Ryan protecting Shane from some threat.. they're also exes

Or

Shyan celebrating an anniversary?

I hope these can help 😅

oh my friend, that first one is such a good prompt. I hope I did it justice!

Rated T, ~2K. Mentions of homophobic threats but none in text.

“I really find it hard to believe that anyone actually wants to kill me,” Shane said skeptically as he folded his keyboard stand up.

“Believe it,” Sara told him, turning her iPad towards him.

He skimmed over the hatemail, some nutjob ranting about how Shane was setting a terrible example for “the children” because he sometimes wrote love songs about men, yadda yadda yadda. It didn’t seem that different from any other hateful thing he’d ever received.

“I still don’t see the big deal.”

“The big deal is this person has your address! And there’s a picture of a fucking assault rifle, you moron!” Sara shoved the iPad under his nose. “I’m hiring a bodyguard again.”

“Oh c’mon, Sara, please, last time it turned out to be some snot-nosed 12 year old, it was frankly kind of embarrassing.”

She was having none of it. “As your manager, I need you to be alive or else I’m back working at Starbucks. I’m calling him.”

Shane blanched. “Absolutely not. There have got to be a hundred bodyguards that need work in LA alone.”

“He knows you, all of the road crew, and he’s really fucking good at his job,” Sara pointed out, already searching for the number on her phone. “I’m calling him.”

“No!”

She ignored him. “Ryan? Hey! It’s Sara Rubin. I–we–want to hire you again. Your rates have gone up? Well that’s fine. The new album is doing really well on Bandcamp.” She grinned like a shark at Shane who mimed cutting his throat back at her. “Yeah, he asked for you specifically. Great! We’re in LA another few days before the tour starts in earnest, so we can meet up tomorrow. I’ll text you the details.”

“I hate you,” Shane scowled.

“You love me,” Sara replied, patting his arm. “For what it’s worth, he sounded happy to see you.”

Shane bit his lip. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Two years ago, Ryan Bergara saved Shane’s life.

Well. Maybe that wasn’t totally accurate. The gunshot had actually just been some overeager fireworks enthusiasts and not connected to the threatening DMs Shane had been receiving on Twitter. But Ryan had grabbed Shane by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground, covering his body with his own all the same.

Later that night, when Shane covered Ryan’s naked body with own, he should have known it would never work. What was that Keanu Reeves quote from Speed? Something about how relationships based on intense experiences never work out? He was onto something there.

They’d burned bright, attached at the hip and heart for months before the cracks began to show, before Shane realized that Ryan couldn’t really love him. They were too different, bonded by a crazy experience for their relationship to be real. So, he broke it off. Saved themselves the later heartbreak. Shane still didn’t understand why Ryan had been so pissed. Shane had done him a favor, after all.

Shane was poring over his setlist for the upcoming tour when his doorbell rang. Sara nudged him with her foot from where she was scrolling through her iPad.

“You gonna get that?”

“Can you? I’m stuck on which song to do for the encore.”

“Get your own fucking door.”

Shane sighed. He really didn’t want to face who was on the other side.

He smoothed out his shirt and tried to flatten his hair before putting his hand on the door handle. With a deep breath, he pulled it open.

Standing in black jeans, a white t-shirt, and sneakers that cost as much as Shane’s keyboard was Ryan Bergara. His hair was longer than Shane remembered, curlier too. He looked good. Really good.

“Hey—hi,” Shane greeted, cursing himself when his voice cracked. “Uh, come in.”

“Hi,” Ryan replied simply before pushing past Shane. “Sara! It’s so good to see you!”

They hugged while Shane awkwardly sat back down. He’d really been hoping that Ryan had somehow gotten less good looking since the last time he saw him, but of course, he was hotter than ever.

“So. Sara sent me the threatening letters. I forwarded them to Steven, he still does some freelance computer work for me,” Ryan said as he pulled out a notepad and pen. “In the meantime, how is your home security?”

“It’s the same as it was,” Shane said. “Steven, eh? Are you guys…?”

“Friends? Yes, just like we always were,” Ryan said, curt. Shane cringed while Sara shot him a dirty look. “You should upgrade, I’ll put in an order with one of my buddies. One of the best in LA.”

“How much is that going to cost me?” Shane frowned.

“This person has your address, dipshit. It’s worth it,” Ryan said frankly. “As for the tour, I already emailed all the venues about the situation, most are going to beef up their security for you at a reduced fee. The ones that aren’t giving you a discount are in your email, Sara.”

“Guess I know I’m calling in the morning,” she grumbled.

“With the tour starting next week, I only had one of my guys available to go with you. Roland’s kind of a goof, but he’s a good guy and he’ll look out for you,” Ryan said, tapping his notepad.

“You’re not coming?” Shane asked, embarrassed at the disappointment in his voice.

“Don’t you think that would be awkward, man?”

“I, well, maybe, but that’s not–,” Shane could feel the heat in his cheeks rising as he stammered, “you already know everyone! It’s all the same crew, Matt and TJ and everyone. They’d love to have you back.”

Ryan stared at him, his dark eyes boring holes into Shane’s. Sara, meanwhile, was hiding behind her tablet, only her curls sticking out from behind it. “They would, huh?”

“Of course! And anything with us, is just, it’s, well, it’s water under the bridge, as they say,” Shane said, plastering a smile on his face. That stupid, beautiful hair was doing a number on him.

Ryan considered it for so long, Shane was sure he was going to say no. But then he grinned.

“Okay, big guy. You’ve got yourself a bodyguard.”

—

They’d only been on the road for a week when Shane realized he was the world’s biggest dipshit.

He really thought that all his old feelings for Ryan were gone. He’d poured most of them into his newest album, exorcising them the only way he knew how. But now, being around him every day, hearing that infectious cackle, seeing that gorgeous smile, smelling his citrusy shampoo, every bit of lust and affection came rushing back.

Shane should have let whoever the fuck Roland was be his bodyguard.

Portland, Oregon was always one of Shane’s favorite places to play. Sure, it was a bit cliche that the most well-known hipster city in the country loved his brand of white gay indie bullshit, but that didn’t make the shows any less special. A sold-out crowd singing along to every single lyric, even the newest stuff, that was why Shane was a musician. That connection to a bunch of people he would never know outside of this space…special wasn’t a big enough word. Transcendent. Profound. Worth living for.

After the show, Shane insisted on taking the crew out for drinks and dancing. He was high on the experience (and maybe a joint) and he wanted to share it with everyone. Ryan was right there with him, in his ever-present all black ensemble, sipping tonic water while everyone else let loose.

“Ryan! C’mon, have a drink,” Shane said, tempting him with a cocktail under his nose.

“I’m on the clock,” Ryan reminded him.

Shane rolled his eyes. “It’s Portland! They love me here. I’m fine. Have a drink!”

“The one time you let your guard down is the one you regret it the most,” he said cryptically. “No drinking.”

“Fine! Dancing then. You can still keep your peepers on little ol’ me that way, can’t you?”

“That’s really not a good idea, Shane.”

“Just one song, okay? I know you love dancing,” he whined.

“One song. One,” he said, holding up one finger. “Finish your drink, I’m not gonna let you drink it again if you set it down.”

Shane grinned, triumphant. “Yes, sir.”

After downing his cocktail, Shane pulled Ryan by the wrist out onto the dancefloor. He didn’t recognize the song that was playing, some overworked remix, but it had a good beat for him to get lost in. Just like he did on stage, Shane let the music flow through him, carrying away every insecurity or bad thought from his brain.

Ryan bobbed to the music next to him. A small bead of sweat trickled down his neck into the open V of his button-up. Shane wanted to taste it, but he settled for looping his arms around Ryan’s shoulders instead. He stiffened, staring up at Shane skeptically. It broke Shane’s heart–he was supposed to be the cynical one.

“I missed you,” Shane blurted out, too drunk to stop himself.

“How can you miss a mistake?” Ryan shot back. But he didn’t move away.

“You were never–it was me. I was protecting you.”

A hint of a smile. “Shithead, that’s my job.”

Shane leaned down, pressing his sweaty forehead to Ryan’s. “I think you’re better at it than me.”

Warm hands wrapped around Shane’s hips. They felt like home.

“Shane, I need you to listen to me,” Ryan whispered, his tone serious. “Do what I tell you, don’t question me.”

He couldn’t dream of it, not now. “Of course.”

“Drop to the floor.”

Shane pulled back, searching Ryan’s face. His eyes were wide, but determined. Something was happening. Something bad.

Shane crumpled to the floor, just like Ryan had taught him years ago, curling up tight. He didn’t see what happened next, but he heard the yells, a scuffle, the clink of something metal against the floor. The music stopped, although the blood pounding in Shane’s ears was just as loud. A thump reverberated through the floor, something heavy had fallen.

“Security! I got him!” Ryan shouted.

Shane chanced a peek. On the ground was a hateful looking man, his skin emblazoned with tattoos that turned Shane’s stomach. Ryan was on his back, his knee pinning him to the ground while his hands held the guys wrists. A hunting knife laid a foot away.

Shane curled back up, if only to keep himself from puking everywhere.

The nightclub’s bouncers helped Ryan secure the asshole for the cops. Before Shane could protest, Ryan insisted that TJ take Shane back to the tour bus and lock themselves in for the night.

“Ryan,” Shane pleaded. He didn’t want to be away from him.

“I’ve gotta talk to the police, but I’ll be there later,” he promised with a squeeze to Shane’s hand.

TJ got them a cab. He didn’t say a word the whole ride back, letting Shane shake against him with no judgement. TJ had been with Shane longer than anyone of his tour crew, even longer than Sara. His first roadie, the two of them driving all over the Midwest to shit bars that paid in drinks and bad chicken tenders. As thankful as Shane had been for him over the years, his gratitude was never stronger than that silent cab ride.

Once he was back on his tour bus, Shane went straight back to his bed at the back. Sara followed, her face full of worry.

“Shane.”

“Not now, Sara, I can’t,” he said, his voice still a tremor.

She placed a comforting hand on his elbow. “What do you need?”

“Ryan.”

She squeezed. “I’ll let him in when he gets back.”

Shane curled up on his bed, not bothering to take his clothes off. His brain kept replaying it, over and over again. If Ryan hadn’t been there…Shane wouldn’t be here now.

When the door opened, Shane startled.

“Hey, it’s me,” Ryan said softly.

“Sorry. Jumpy.”

“S’okay.”

Ryan slipped out of his shoes before sliding onto the bed. “You animal, who raised you and said it was okay to wear shoes on furniture?”

The tease made Shane wheeze with laughter and sobs. “That’s what you’re focusing on?”

“Priorities, man.” Ryan pulled on Shane’s laces until they were loose enough to slip off. Ever the sneaker-head, he set them gently on the ground.

He laid down next to Shane, sharing his pillow. His eyes were soft, but his fingers on Shane’s cheek were softer.

“You okay?”

“No,” Shane breathed. “You?”

“Not really.” He wiped a tear away. “I almost lost you again.”

Shane sealed his lips against Ryan’s. A promise, an apology, a thank you. Ryan pulled Shane against him tightly, forgiving him. There was more to say, but they weren’t in a rush. They had a lifetime ahead of them to figure it out.

[messy-voltron]

Hcs for some little moments that made the paladins realize how much they love their s/o and want to live with them for the rest of their lives? (they go like, "OMG... I'm so in love with them...") you know, some cute moments xD

OMG this make me so soft!! Alright let’s get it lads (also thank you for your submission!)

I do swear a little bit in this one just as a warning

Shiro

Let’s be real folks Shiro is a very simple home body, but it’s hard to open himself to someone else to share that home with

So it’s no surprise that he realizes his love at home, you curled up in his bed, safe in his arms in the early morning where the world is still asleep

The soldier himself hardly gets sleep, and he tries not to do it too much, but he can’t help himself and watch you when his mind is too restless and oh my stars you just look so peaceful curled up in his arms

The love rises to crescendo in his heart, hits him like a train, and leaves him painless and warm because he loves you so much he never imagined love could be like this yet it fits so perfectly Shiro loves you So. Much.

He won’t say it yet. He shows it in his home later

In the way he remembers how you like your tea or coffee, making sure you’re favorite mug is within reach, remembering which blankets and hoodies you like and what movies you like to watch on what days

It’s no surprise when he tells you of this love, much later, in the safety that is this home and he can’t wait to share it with you side by side for the rest of his life

Keith

To start off I would like to add in my own personal headcanon: Keith is not good at parties

Sure he can be civil, he has to attend a lot of them because being a paladin of voltron also kinda makes you a nice little star at a political event and you gotta keep up formalities if you want them to know you’re on their side and you’re willing to protect yadda yadda

And so Keith goes to them, but there just gets a point where there’s so many people he doesn’t know, so man people who want to talk to him, it’s just so overwhelming

He tries to hide it as best he can, not wanting to make a scene, but he just can’t help it

As his s/o, you notice. He knows you notice. Keith doesn’t want to get in the way of you having a good time, but you stay right by his side. Giving him space when he needs it, asking coded questions to see if he needs to leave, offering support when he wants it. You do it without question because it’s so clear that you care

It’s so hard for Keith to open up to people and ask for help, but it’s in a moment like this that it really smacks him in the face of how much he appreciates you and how it’s so obvious you love him the same way

He catches himself. Love. He thought love. But as he looks at you in your formal attire, giving him a gentle reassuring smile, how beautiful you look in the evening lights, he can’t help but feel how right that word fits with you. He truly is in love with you and you best bet that he will never leave you

Lance

Since this man is so dramatic, it only seems right that his declaration of love would also have a bit of theatrics to it

To set the scene: you and Lance were set out on a small rescue mission to scope out a distress signal on a nearby planet. Coran assured you two that it was a small planet inhabited by some very friendly aliens so it shouldn’t be a big deal. It became a big deal real fast. You guys were very much not informed that that planet had been taken over by the Galra and sensing that Voltron as near, set this up to be a trap to catch at least one of the lions to use as bait

Wasting no time, you and Lance have to fight your way through Galra troops to safely get back to his lion but god there’s just so many of them they’re coming in from left to right oh god why did you have to be the one to get caught in the cross fire-

The two of you manage to find a safe clearing and just as he’s about to catch his breath, you grab him suddenly and pull him to the ground as your blaster goes off. Once he gets together his bearings, you’re on top of him with a galra droid now blown to bits and you have the most badass look on your face

He doesn’t mean to say I love you, it just sorta tumbles out of his mouth. Maybe it’s the adrenaline, maybe it’s because you look really nice, but regardless he has felt this way for a while, he just never thought he’d be saying it like this

Because it’s true there’s no one else in this entire galaxy he wants by his side through thick and thin he knows you have his back and he just thinks he’s the luckiest person in the world

You, however, have a shit eating grin on your face and in a classic Han Solo style, just tell him, “I know,” which translates to I love you too and you and Lance will be able to be mushy and lovey once your lives aren’t at stake

Hunk

Hunk is a very lovable person to begin with, he loves people platonically so hard and so fast, so when he realizes his romantic love for you, he almost stumbles into it on accident

It’s classic; you’re tasting a recipe he’s been working on and he’s so nervous to hear your opinion on what you have to say. He watches every movement, every facial feature just praying that you like this

And you do. You give him praise where he excelled, gave a pointer or two on where he struggled, but ended it with a smile and a thank you for sharing because you know how much cooking means to him

And it makes him so happy that you care and understand him and that’s why he loves you and-

He has to stop himself. He brushes it aside, continues on with the evening, but when you two part he can’t help himself but to think about those events over and over again because maybe he was just getting in over his head sure he cares about you but love? Is it too soon? Is he being too emotional?

In the end Hunk comes to the conclusion he’s known since the beginning. He does love you, he wants you in his life for as long as you’ll have him, and he admits this to you the next day as gracefully as he can

For the record, it wasn’t that graceful, but that’s what makes him so perfect

Pidge

Pidges would be perfectly mundane where it’s so simple yet it just fits perfectly into their heart

The two of you are just...talking. That’s it. You guys are spitballing ideas and future projects and being reminded of old memories that make you smile

These conversations go on late into the night, both of you equally admitting that it’s getting late and it’s time to turn in to bed, but then one of you says something and it gets delayed by at least 15 minutes

Pidge has never been the most social person, it often makes them more stressed out than anything, but they can’t help but notice the way their heart settles so calmly and full of love when they’re with you

They won’t admit it yet, but they know they’re in love with you this kid is such a simp but it’ll take them a while before they actually say it (that and you might have to say it first but that’s just cause Pidge is so nervous)