#out of all of the archie projects i have seen this one is one of my favorites

[archierenauxe]

ARCHIE RENAUX as WILL DELAROCHE in UPGRADED (2024)

[cosmicpearlz]

sweet confessions

summary: in which jude feels the urge to confess his feelings for you before it’s too late.

pairing: jude bellingham x actress!reader

a/n: i haven’t written something in lord knows how long butttt i can’t stop thinking about being friends to lovers with jude. honestly, i can’t stop thinking about jude like what a man lol. anyways enjoy loves <3

it all started when you got a call from your agent about getting the role for a movie in madrid. you were over the moon about it. the movie was a classic love story about a woman falling in love with someone who also happened to be on vacation in spain and the hardships they face being that they are from two different countries. of course, it was very cheesy but it meant you got to work luca guadagnino. he had been one of your favorite directors and you’ve been itching to work with him. another big plus was that archie madekwe played your love interest. literally one of your best friends after working with him during a different project.

luca wanted all of the cast and crew to loosen up after the first two tables reads, so he took everyone to a real madrid match.

“archie, i’m not gonna lie to you but have you seen the players? specifically, number five,” you dramatically fanned yourself while taking your seat next to the boy.

“ew, keep it in your pants y/n. you’ve been talking about him since we’ve been in madrid and it’s only been three days. ‘oh archie he’s so cute’ ‘you think i’ll be able to talk to him?’,” he mocks you with a slight laugh. you playfully slapped his shoulder.

“i do not talk like that.”

“yes you do.”

“no i don’t.”

“shut up the match is starting,” you stick your tongue out at him because he refused to give you the last word.

your eyes were glued to the players that walked out. quickly spotting the golden boy that you developed a crush on in the matter of three days. jude bellingham stood with a smile adorned on his face. maybe it was the fact that you guys were the same age and you were a little delusional that something could spark between the two of you. even if it only meant being friends.

-

“whew, that was a really good game.”

“you’re only saying that because jude made the winning goal,” you pushed archie’s shoulder and pouted.

“you’re such a bully. that is not the reason and-“

“is he coming over here?”

your head snapped to where archie’s gaze was and yes. jude was making his way across the pitch to where you guys were seated. he gave you a warm smile before standing right in front of you.

“hi.”

“uh, hi?”

“i’m jude,” he held his hand out for you to shake with a cheeky smile. you smiled back and shook his hand. your hand fitting perfectly into his.

“i know who you are silly but i’m y/n.”

“i know who you are silly,” he repeats what you said with a teasing tone.

“i’ve never seen you before. well of course in movies but not here. are you here for work?”

it baffles you on how easy it was for him to make conversation. your eyes widened and looked to archie for help but to your disappointment he was gone. that british bastard.

“yeah! our director wanted us to enjoy a day out together before we start filming. plus, this is my first time in madrid actually,” jude smiles while maintaining eye contact with you.

“you need a tour guide? i got some of my favorite places i can show you.”

little did you know, it would be the start to a great friendship with the footballer.

-

“cut! we are done for the day. same time tomorrow, thank you everyone.”

you and archie shared a high five finishing a complex scene. it was the particular scene where your characters are arguing about the vacation almost ending. resulting to a passionate love confession with a hungry kiss.

“your boyfriend is here,” archie whispered into your ear making you push him away from you.

“shut up, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“yet.”

you choose to ignore your ignorant best friend. giving him a quick hug goodbye and rushing towards jude, who already has his arms open for you. you crash into him and he responds immediately by wrapping his arms around you.

it’s been five months since he offered to be your tour guide but he ended up being so much more. he became a staple piece in your life with such a short amount of time.

“hello darling.”

“hi jude. boy am i glad to see you, i’m so hungry. let’s get food,” you feel his chest vibrating from the laughter he gave out.

“oh wow, i come from training to see you and all you can think about is food? what am i? copped liver?”

“well duh, what else are you here for?” you pulled away slightly to look up at him, trying to give him your best straight face. it failed when he started tickling your side successfully causing you to laugh and slap his hands away.

“let’s feed the princess, shall we?”

jude never failed to send butterflies fluttering in your stomach. you wouldn’t dare ruin your friendship with him just because you gained a crush on him. it’s his fault though. all of the nicknames and gestures he does makes your head spin.

“we shall, but i have to stop by my trailer to put up my stuff,” you giggled and lead him to the trailers. jude immediately throws his self onto your bed laying down.

“man if this is what being an actor is like, i might have to try it.”

“you in acting? oh please, you have a better chance being in the production crew,” he gasped loudly while placing his hand on his chest.

“you are cruel. i can totally being an actor if i wanted to,” causing you to playfully scoff.

“yeah right and i can be a footballer.”

“now you’re taking the piss.”

you join him on the bed, choosing to lay on top of him being that his taller frame takes up the whole bed. it wasn’t unnatural for you two to end up in positions like this. it felt natural and certainly was comfortable. jude wraps an arm around your waist and you wrap yours around his neck.

the boy hoped you couldn’t feel the way his heartbeat sped up. unbeknownst to you, he fully reciprocated your feelings. sometimes it scared him how fast he fell for you. the whole reason he walked up to you in the first place is because he wanted an excuse to talk to the pretty girl that watched the football match.

“comfortable are we?”

“yes, you’re like a warm teddy bear.”

“i thought you were hungry.”

“it can wait.”

“y/n.”

“jude.”

jude felt you snuggle into him more and suddenly he felt the need to tell you his feelings. your warm body pressed against his and it still couldn’t stop the intense warmth that fluttered in his stomach, crawling all the way up to his chest. he grabs your waist firmly and sits the both of you up.

“hey, i was comfortable laying there,” you gave him a pout. all he think of was kissing the pout off your face. jude gazes at you with a small smile suddenly becoming shy.

“can i tell you something?”

“anything.”

“promise it won’t ruin our friendship? i dunno if i can deal with losing you completely.”

“stop being silly, you’ll never lose me jude,” you grabbed his hand and squeezed it, encouraging him to talk to you.

“i like you.”

“what?”

“i like you so much that it hurts to not call you my girlfriend. you’re like the sunshine that radiates through the widow early in the morning. you make me unbelievably happy with your presence. i know you’re going to leave soon but we could do long distance. i’d do it for you in a heartbeat if it-“

“jude relax,” you lay your hand on his face, softly rubbing his cheek.

“i like you too. so so much,” the once nervous boy quickly gained a growing smile.

“really?”

“oh god yes,” jude properly sits you into his lap, pressing your bodies closer together. you guys were practically nose to nose at this point. not that either of you minded .

“can i kiss you?” his whisper fell upon your lips.

“i’d be really mad if you didn’t.”

in a split second, his lips were on yours. a long awaited kiss. one of his hands held the back of your neck to try and push you closer if possible. passion flowing between the two of you as your tongues battle over dominance. you couldn’t stop your smile as you kissed him.

jude playfully nips at your bottom lip before placing two pecks to your lips and then pulling away. he didn’t go far as he rested his forehead on yours.

“fuck, i might be in love with you baby.”

before you could even reply, your stomach growled leading you to burst out into laughter. jude follows suit in laughter right behind you. he kisses the side of your head and stands up, holding a hand out for you. you smiled while sliding your hand into his. he intertwined your fingers with his and pulls you out from your spot.

“for the record, i might be in love with you as well,” you whispered with your spare hand raised to your lips as if you were telling him a secret only he can hear. jude kisses your forehead with a knowing smirk.

“who wouldn’t be in love with me.”

“see now you’re the one taking the piss.”

[edgy-ella]

IDW SONIC READERS, PLEASE READ THIS!!!!

I am begging you. On my hands and knees. Begging. More so than anything else I’ve asked of this fandom.

Please please buy the Fang miniseries when it comes out

Don’t just read it. Buy it. I will admit that I’m very guilty of reading through a lot of IDW Sonic through…less than legal means, and I know I’m not alone in that regard. But I think it’s really important that for this miniseries in particular, you actually go out and buy the damn thing. Show your support with your dollar.

Really think about it for a second—they gave Fang his own miniseries. Fang! An underutilized, underrated fan favorite for sure, but hardly a mainstay of the series. I’m sure that this was at least somewhat prompted by Superstars, where Fang is a major antagonist…but Bean and Bark weren’t in that game, and it already received its own online promo comic prior to the game’s release (notably, with Fang as the star).

Classic Sonic stories have also exclusively been relegated to one-shots in IDW, not a full on miniseries like what Fang is getting. Basically all of the IDW Sonic miniseries we’ve gotten so far have been plot relevant side stories to the main IDW comic that focus on side characters with little to no involvement from Sonic himself. Tangle and Whisper, Bad Guys, Impostor Syndrome…the only odd man out besides this Fang miniseries is Scrapnik Island.

Really think about it for a second. FANG is getting his own focus comic BEFORE KNUCKLES.

And that’s why it’s so important that we buy it.

I think Sega is using this comic to test the waters to see if people like Fang and want to see him in more future projects—be it comics, games, or even cartoons. But there’s more to it than just that.

See, Superstars hasn’t been doing that great. I know I said in an earlier post that people seemed to like it, but I retract that statement. It was damned by faint praise at launch, and now most of the discussion I’ve seen surrounding the game revolves around its flaws (chief among them being the middling OST and that the Steam version stealth installs an Epic Games service along with the game). No sales numbers have been projected as of writing, but it’s definitely been beaten out by Mario Wonder and Spider-Man 2.

So, Classic Sonic games aren’t doing too hot right now (I’m sure that many modern fans are jumping for joy at the prospect). But the classic characters are.

People really like the extended classic Sonic cast, just as much as they love the extended modern cast. From my experience, the two fan favorites are Mighty and Fang. Fang stands out to me in particular for a couple reasons: people were really upset that Sega specifically said no to Fang, Bark and Bean coming back after Ian snuck in a reference to them in IDW Sonic #3 (using their old team name from Archie, the Hooligans), and the fanmade 16-bit remake of Triple Trouble, Fang’s debut game, received private praise from many members of Sega and Sonic Team. People like Fang and the media he’s in, and Sega is starting to take notice. That’s why we’re getting this miniseries.

That’s why it’s so important that the miniseries sells well. If the big boys at Sega and Sonic Team see Superstars’ iffy reception but see Fang’s comic sell above expectations, then Sega will want to continue to use Fang (and potentially other “classic” Sonic characters as well) in more narrative driven projects. That means modern Sonic.

“But Sega won’t let any classic Sonic character into a modern Sonic project!” I hear you thinking. And to that I say, so? Sega changes its mind all the time. Remember that whole two worlds nonsense? That was thrown out with in Tailstube. Characters debuting in Boom and the comics were previously barred from the mainline games, but they’ve broken that “rule” in both Speed Battle and Frontiers. Hell, they’ve even been talked out of some of their sillier comic mandates, like characters not being able to wear different clothing.

For all their flaws, Sega does listen, and money speaks louder than anything. If this miniseries fails, Sega will just assume that people aren’t hot on Fang or the extended classic cast anymore and throw them back in the bar. But if the comic sells well, then Sega might take it as a sign that, hey, people like this character (and his two lackeys), we should put him in projects that fans are more interested in. Mighty and Ray probably wouldn’t be too far behind, especially given Mania’s success. Whether that means comics or games, modern or classic, who knows. What’s important is that it sends the right message to Sega, and they will listen to their consumers. That means us. If we don’t support this miniseries now, we might have to wait another thirty years for another chance.

[zedwards]

that which remains unsaid…

workaholic bf x male reader

word count: ~1.0k

genre: angst(?), fluff(?), slice-of-life

author’s note: this was based on plucholy’s accountant/office worker oc. plucholy is an 18+ artist, so minors should NOT interact with his page.

feedback/interactions are appreciated! helps me keep motivation alive ^_^

archie sits at his desk, flipping through various documents piled up on his desk. he pores over the numbers over and over again, wracking his brain to come up with a way to increase the projected profit for the department he manages at work.

he’s been crunching numbers all week trying to balance budgets and get the sales projections to go a certain way that would boost the department’s output, but the prospects are not looking good.

it doesn’t help that a lot is riding on his ability to pull this off, and if he fails to do so, his boss will never let him hear the end of if it. not to mention the board will most definitely be on his…

…his uh…

…his concentration is momentarily interrupted by a gentle knock on his at-home office door. you poke your head in cautiously, your eyes adjusting to the dark room. his face is illuminated by the screen of his laptop, a glare of which can be seen reflected on his glasses.

steeling yourself, you clear your throat before speaking up. “archie…?”

archie glances at you briefly over his glasses before turning back to his documents. he mutters a terse “yeah?” in lieu of a response.

“sorry to bother you, i just wanted to make sure you’re okay and that you’re taking care of yourself… drinking water and all that.”

he doesn’t so much as spare you a glance. “i’ll drink some water when i’m done with this. now is not the time.” he dismisses your concern with little more than a click of his mouse. the cold attitude hurts a little, but you try not to take it personally.

“ah, okay… is there anything i can do for you?”

archie eyes you with some disdain. he lets out a frustrated sigh, letting the arm that was previously propping his head up drop on the desk with perhaps a bit too much force to be considered passive. “don’t you think i’d ask you if i needed something? leave me to my work. i’m trying to meet a deadline.”

okay, that one stings. you know it’s only because he’s stressed about work, but still... you have to repress the urge to sigh. sometimes reminding yourself that it’s just his work-related frustration manifesting itself doesn’t reassure you as much as you’d like it to.

rubbing the back of your neck, your ears burn in embarrassment as you weigh your options. you don’t want to test his patience, but not making sure he’s taking care of himself just isn’t an option. ultimately, you figure if he’s gonna keep working like this, he should at the very least get some food in his system.

“alright then, um… i’m gonna order some takeout, you want anything?”

“no. do what you want.” another curt response. his voice remains sharp, uncaring, and dismissive as he glares back down at his documents.

“okay,” you reluctantly concede. “let me know if you change your mind…”

“i won’t. now leave me alone.”

you wince at his harsh words. if it were anyone else, you would have probably gotten fed up and snapped at them by now. but this is your boyfriend after all. you know him better than to think that pushing the issue would amount to anything other than more frustration for the both of you.

you decide to take the path of least resistance and slowly back out of the room. just before you close the door, however, you poke your head in one more time.

“i love you…” at this, archie pauses. his eyes soften as he sits upright, finally making eye contact with you.

“i love you too, honey. just…” he sucks in a tense breath of air through his teeth. you can see his exposed chest rise and fall almost theatrically beneath his unbuttoned shirt as he sighs. “just leave me alone, alright?”

you give a thoughtful nod, carefully closing the door to make as little noise possible.

archie sighs deeply, rubbing his temples. despite being very cold with you just now, he feels himself soften after the exchange. he takes a moment to re-collect himself, then gets back to work.

archie doesn’t emerge from his office until well past midnight, after you’ve long since retired to bed. he enters the kitchen to make something quick to eat, but stops in his tracks the moment he turns the corner. there, sitting expectantly on the counter, is a box of chinese takeout with a note taped to the side.

"i know you asked me not to, but you know me, always the worrier... i got you your favorite. enjoy :)"

archie sighs. shaking his head at the note with a soft smile creeping up on his face, he takes a seat to eat his food. Archie finishes off his portion and puts the leftovers away in the fridge, and then does a quick sweep of the kitchen to tidy up before he heads off to the bedroom.

sure enough when he enters the bedroom, you've already long since fallen asleep, breathing softly with just your head poking out from under the covers.

he stands there for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away from your peacefully sleeping form. eventually he approaches the bed and begins to silently remove his clothes, careful not to disturb you.

down to just his boxers, he gently slips into bed, not wanting to startle you. once under the covers, archie reaches over to wrap his arms around you, gently pulling you close.

you shift a little in your sleep, unconsciously chasing the warmth of your boyfriend's embrace, at which archie chuckles to himself. nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck from behind, he closes his eyes, and allows himself to drift off, comforted by the all too familiar scent of his beloved.

[hexusproductions]

The Devotee (Knightformers)

Word Count: 7830

Summary: Seconds ticked by as the two men stared at each other, two immovable objects removed from the unstoppable forces which formed their respective worlds. Optimus knew that dealing with Shockwave was difficult, exactly as difficult as he had been to capture in the first place…

One revered, one reviled. Following a long and arduous battle, Optimus Prime attempts to negotiate a heart-to-heart with Shockwave. Whether the twisted Decepticon has a heart at all is an entirely different matter to consider.

Author's Note: Here it is! My entry for @archie-sunshine's Knightformers fan art contest! This was a genuine passion project and I'm very happy to have gotten an opportunity to play in this sandbox he created. I hope you enjoy :)

The once gilded cathedral, like much of the land, had seen far better days. Despite this, the endless war had yet to reach the sun itself, and couldn’t stop its light from shining at just the right angle through the stained glass windows that lined the cathedral wall, painting the hardwood floors in vibrant strokes of red, blue and yellow. The pews had been pushed out of the way, relinquishing plenty of space to the room’s sole occupant. In the middle of the floor, Shockwave rested on his knees, his head hanging bowed. Heavy chains laced intricately across his broad chest and shoulders, holding him down in his current position, and the cold soft glow of a binding circle drawn into the hardwood reflected across the visor of his helmet. When it came to keeping him restrained, no-one wanted to take any chances.

Heavy bootsteps and the drag of a chair seemed so loud that it echoed off the walls, though imagination likely exaggerated its volume in the former silence. Optimus Prime set the chair in front of the binding circle and sat down, knees apart and leant forward enough to rest his forearms on his thighs, hands clasped together. A crease was etched into his brow, and at first he said nothing, watching the captive Decepticon. Shockwave didn’t move, and could have easily been mistaken for a statue…or a corpse…except that the wing-like grey fins which adorned his helmet rose ever so slightly, the only indicator that he’d noticed the Prime’s presence at all. Optimus noted how strange it was that the thin pieces of metal were capable of moving on their own. Then again, much was strange about Shockwave as a whole. He didn’t speak, so Optimus chose to once again break the silence.

“Shockwave.” He greeted calmly, then paused; Giving his captive ample space to say something, and uncertain himself of how to proceed now that conversation had been breached. Optimus hadn’t prepared anything to say while he’d entered the room. No-one else had wanted to be the one to speak to Shockwave, so Optimus had volunteered. It appeared that there was no need for worry, because Shockwave still refrained from speaking. Through the thin gap between his helmet and the cloth veil that hid the lower half of his face, further obscured by a sliver of blue from the illuminated stained glass, one brilliant yellow eye cracked open, piercing into the Prime sitting before him. Optimus lowered his head, meeting Shockwave’s gaze.

Seconds ticked by as the two men stared at each other, two immovable objects removed from the unstoppable forces which formed their respective worlds. Optimus knew that dealing with Shockwave was difficult, exactly as difficult as he had been to capture in the first place…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blades clashed and a cacophony of noise blanketed the battlefield, screams both of effort and of agony. Wyverns threw wide shadows across the decimated land below them. What had once been a large forest had been uprooted and turned to ash, pockmarked by weapons-fire both military and magical.

As always, the Autobots and the Decepticons were locked in conflict. The inciting attack had seemed small and covert at first, but had quickly snowballed into an all-out siege, and soon became worse with the arrival of several members of Decepticon High Command.

Sideswipe’s grip loosened on his swords and a grim expression darkened behind his helmet’s visor. The Decepticon pinned under his boot was completely forgotten as he watched Shockwave step out and over the lip of a still-smouldering crater. His stride was slow, but purposeful. His head turned in Sideswipe’s direction, and it quickly dawned on the Autobot that he was in far deeper than he’d realised when he had first volunteered for this ambush.

Shockwave drew out a glaive, held ready at his side. Its dark blade was wide and tapered, and even while moving, it didn’t reflect the sunlight above, as if it were swallowing all light around it. Such a feat would be impossible for any man-made metal. Sideswipe quickly steadied his grip on his swords and raised them towards the Decepticon. Shockwave was first to close the distance and swung wide. Sideswipe rose his blades to deflect the blow, but underestimated the amount of force incoming and his arms were bludgeoned aside. The vibrations from the impact wracked Sideswipe’s arms and he hissed before Shockwave’s boot slammed into his breastplate. Sideswipe was sent sprawling to the ground, the air knocked from his lungs. Shockwave stood over him. A singular yellow eye burned from within the depths of his helmet’s visor, viciously calculative with Sideswipe in its intense focus.

“I’m coming!” A determined voice called from Sideswipe’s right. Ore rushed in to defend him, peppering low strikes against Shockwave’s leg. One of the grey finials adorning Shockwave’s helmet flicked, like a bull irritated by a fly near its ear, and he spun around with a two-handed strike. The glaive carved through Ore’s armour like butter, cleaving him in two. Sideswipe’s mouth fell open as Ore’s split body flopped onto the dirt, the upper half still gurgling in confused protest. Despite the alarmingly abrupt death, Sideswipe wasn’t granted time to dwell on it, and he quickly looked around for options. He was relieved to see Ironhide throw Dirge aside and charge in the direction of himself and Shockwave, who still stood over him, glaive poised to take another victim.

“I’ve got ya, kid!” Ironhide proclaimed. Forgoing wasting time to draw a weapon, Ironhide instead slammed his fist into Shockwave’s ribcage. The force was enough to stagger Shockwave back a step and Ironhide moved in after him, landing another hit with his gauntlet-clad fist and then two more with a warhammer (which, like Ironhide, was both heavy-duty and hit like a carriage).

Scrambling back to avoid being tread upon, Sideswipe used the opportunity Ironhide had given him. He quickly retrieved his swords from the dirt and jumped to his feet; the once green earth left brown and green stains against his bright red armour, but Sideswipe wasn’t bothered by loss of aesthetic. He thought distantly, as he circled Shockwave, that doing so was his brother’s job.

Shockwave shifted tactics, taking a defensive against Ironhide’s onslaught. He stopped another swing of the warhammer with a two-handed block, then shoved, forcing Ironhide back. Sideswipe hovered around Shockwave’s side, and his eyes quickly glanced down. Ore may have been recklessly stupid, but he’d had the right idea. Sideswipe dropped low and donkey-kicked the back of Shockwave’s knee. His leg buckled involuntarily, and Shockwave’s attention was very swiftly returned towards the culprit as he swallowed down a grunt. Sideswipe chuckled snidely and stepped back out of range of the glaive. He was expecting another wide sweep of the weapon, but he should have paid attention to the blue shimmer swirling around Shockwave’s left hand. Shockwave thrust forward with the hand and a beam of chilling frost hit Sideswipe dead-on in the torso. The beam crystalised on contact, quickly coating Sideswipe in a layer of thick and jagged ice. Something between a gasp and a squawk left Sideswipe’s throat as he struggled against the spell’s effects, trying to wrench himself free. Even his plume felt cold. Ironhide ducked out of the way of another ice beam, tapping a rune engraved onto the collar of his armour.

“Prime? We could use some help!” Ironhide barked into the softly glowing rune, keeping his eyes locked on Shockwave.

Further away, on another part of the battlefield, Optimus Prime avoided a blow from Shadowstriker, causing her to sink her sword into the trunk of a fallen tree.

“Understood! I’m on my way.” Optimus responded into his own communication rune before hurrying in the direction of where he’d last seen Ironhide, leaving Shadowstriker to wrestle her sword out of the tree. Weaving his way across the battlefield, Optimus focused through the endless noise for the sound of Ironhide in particular, following it past a still-dazed Dirge hiding behind cover while he searched for his flying steed.

Optimus was almost relieved when he finally spotted Ironhide’s cropped crimson plume, although any desire to celebrate was cut short when Optimus’s gaze found Shockwave. A frown set on the Prime’s face and he quickened his pace, taking in the rest of the battle - most pressingly, Sideswipe was trapped in place within a jagged piece of ice, arms pulled free and hastily trying to get the rest of himself out. Ironhide was trying to force Shockwave to stay on the defensive, keeping him from attacking the vulnerable Sideswipe.

Crossing the remaining distance, Optimus planted himself between Sideswipe and Shockwave. He raised his shield, axe ready at his side, and his eyes narrowed in determination as Shockwave noticed the sudden arrival of the noble Prime.

Optimus stood firm. Shockwave rose to his full height and his grip tightened around his glaive. A split-second passed, though it felt long enough that it could have been an hour, and then Shockwave thrust a hand up. Another beam of arcane ice shot forward towards Optimus, keen to stop him before he could even act. It wasn’t fast enough to prevent Optimus from angling his shield so it caught the brunt of the impact instead. He braced himself against the force that bore down on him furiously, a gust of cold air rolling past his shoulders as crystals formed around the edges of his shield. The dirt crunched frozen beneath his boots, but when the blast finally subsided, Optimus was unharmed. With the Decepticon’s attention on Optimus, Ironhide charged in with a valiant cry and swung his hammer at Shockwave’s back. Shockwave’s head snapped around and his arm raised just as quickly. Ironhide’s blow collided with the thick vambrace adorning Shockwave’s left arm, taking the hit with an awful clang of metal. Such a hit should have caused ripples of pain through the limb, as he had done to Sideswipe earlier, or even crushed it completely. But it didn’t seem to phase Shockwave in the slightest, and now Ironhide was within arm’s reach.

His armour-clad arm forced past the warhammer and slammed into Ironhide’s face. The crunch of cartilage was swiftly followed by the butt-end of Shockwave’s glaive thrust into his chest. Ironhide snarled and choked, stumbling back as blood dripped from his now broken nose. Optimus’ eyes widened in alarm and he immediately circled around Shockwave, inserting himself back within his opponent’s view - and hopefully, directing his attention onto himself. Although he had also hoped Shockwave would recklessly take advantage of Optimus offering himself up on a silver platter, he instead moved backwards, putting more space between himself and the Autobots he was fighting. A string of muttered words were obscured behind his cloth veil. As Shockwave took his glaive in both hands, its impossibly dark blade began to sizzle and bubble with sickly colour. Shockwave twisted and swung the glaive in a huge two-handed arc, all capable force focused into a single movement. Optimus scowled and raised his shield once more, bracing to take the blow as he had before. The blade hissed as it carved through the air; it hit Optimus’ shield and barely stalled, ripping through first the remaining ice and steel and then onwards across Optimus’s gauntlet behind it.

Optimus hissed as he jumped back, tearing himself free of the glaive’s path before the pain was even fully registered. He narrowed his eyes towards his arm. His shield bent around it, barely still in one piece. Optimus sadly removed it and let it fall onto the dirt. His bracer was split open, and through the gap, he was alarmed to see veins of black swiftly withering up his hand. Optimus gripped the injured hand, and a pained growl rumbled free from his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you in any pain?” Optimus asked. The singular yellow eye continued to stare into him. After a slight pause, Shockwave finally spoke.

“...No.” The singular word rumbled in his chest, but it lacked any sort of venom or anger. Shockwave was unexpectedly calm given the situation he had been forced into. Optimus’s gaze fell to the cathedral’s floor, following a natural line in the wooden boards.

“You fought valiantly.” He spoke with a similar tone, low, calm, and genuine. Optimus’ travelling gaze stopped where the line did, halted by the softly glowing boundaries of the binding circle. He skimmed the runes designed to prevent escape, or any spells from being cast, and then raised his gaze to meet Shockwave’s again. He possessed no ill will towards Shockwave either, even despite their opposing sides, and he hoped that this conversation could go amicably for the both of them. “Was there a particular reason behind it? Perhaps something that Megatron was eager to get his hands on, or prevent us from finding?”

The atmosphere wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t welcoming either. Every question came with a following silence, letting it dangle in the air and twist itself until the question itself came under scepticism. The projections from the windows, as beautiful as they were, remained as still as the room’s two occupants. There was no initial indicator of emotion from Shockwave - hardly surprising, but at this proximity Optimus realised that there was no rhythmic rise and fall to Shockwave’s shoulders, or his chest. Shockwave didn’t breathe. Optimus reserved his unease to only his hands, clasped thumbs brushing idly over each other once. Stoicism was an essential tool of a Prime, and Optimus had had many years of practice.

The finials adorning Shockwave’s helm lifted, and his head followed, rising by a slight degree.

“You do not need to pretend to be cordial in order to coax information out of me.” As with his previous response, there was no accusation, only a statement of fact. The corner of Optimus’ mouth curved upwards.

“I’m not pretending.”

“Then it is unnecessary.” The faint clink of chains accompanied Shockwave shifting his position slightly on the uncomfortable floor, the thick iron allowing little freedom of movement, “We have no amicable relationship. We are not friends.”

Optimus’s jaw clenched, and he exhaled deeply through his nostrils. For the first time since entering the room, a shadow briefly cast over the Prime and his already curved posture increased its hunch. But as quickly as it had appeared Optimus pressed it down again, sitting up and steeling his expression. He could feel Shockwave’s unblinking gaze fixed upon him, analysing and dissecting every action Optimus took, and Optimus felt the need to keep tight control of himself; Even though it was only the two of them here, rather than crowds of Autobots looking for his wisdom or his presence. Shockwave carried out his goals with ruthless efficiency, and giving him a possible weak point to exploit wasn’t a good idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The necrosis crept further up Optimus’s wrist, darkening his fingertips. Still clasping his hand, Optimus ignored the pain burning through his flesh and looked around in concern first and foremost for his fellow Autobots. Ironhide lay fallen about a metre back from where Optimus had last seen him, slumped face-down. Optimus’ blood ran cold, but then Ironhide stirred and slowly rose to his elbows. His nose was still broken, and there was a jagged tear across the side of his breastplate, but he clearly refused to be taken down just yet. A deep sigh of relief escaped Optimus, and even though the danger wasn’t over yet, he allowed himself a small smile.

A voice spoke up in the back of his head, reminding him that no, the danger wasn’t over yet. He still had to be their leader. The smile faded from Optimus’ face. He clenched his blackened fist and willed down the pain, standing tall and steeling his expression. As long as he continued fighting, as long as he never wavered, he would inspire others to do the same.

Shockwave’s helm slowly passed over the Autobots scattered around him. The glaive in his hands was no longer bubbling with dark magic, though that didn’t make its razor-sharp blade any more comforting. In this tensely still moment, it was easier to see the dents Ironhide’s warhammer had left in his armour, the mud staining his vestments, and how his finials were pulled further back against his helmet, like the ears of a beast. The Decepticon was not as untouchable as one could have believed…but still he showed no sign of faltering.

“Looks like you three could use a hand!”

Shockwave turned in the direction of the voice, as did the Autobots. Running across the butchered earth to meet them were Sunstreaker and Mirage. Even in the middle of the battle, Sunstreaker’s golden armour was polished to a shine.

“We’re happy to have you.” Honesty warmed Optimus’ voice as the new arrivals took different points; Mirage helped Ironhide get to his feet, while Sunstreaker raced across to free his still-captive brother. With clapped hands and a quick spell, Sunstreaker’s palms heated and melted away the final piece of ice encasing Sideswipe’s legs.

“Couldn’t let me have all the glory, could you?” Sideswipe smiled, despite the slight chatter of his teeth.

With their numbers increased, the Autobots reinvigorated their attack on the lone Shockwave. Optimus was still fully capable with only an axe, and he had four more swords at his aid to help him, all of them united in their goal. Every flourish of Sunstreaker’s blade sang with finesse and magic as he channelled spells through it. Sideswipe found his place at Sunstreaker’s flank, targeting the spots between Shockwave’s plate armour in an attempt to strike a weak spot - or, failing that, piss him off. Shockwave blocked a strike from Sideswipe only for Optimus to hit his front side, battering Shockwave to weaken his footing. Ironhide shook Mirage off of his arm, swiped across the bottom of his nose with the back of his hand, and retrieved his hammer from where it had fallen.

Shockwave stumbled. He gripped his weapon tightly, knowing that losing it would tilt the odds against him even further. His eye narrowed, flicking across his opponents who outnumbered him. He kept his gaze locked on them and lowered his helm, darkening his expression further as he took a step back.

With Ironhide insisting that he was alright, Mirage made a practised motion with his hands, summoning an illusionary copy of himself. The real Mirage vanished, while the copy moved in. It skirted underneath Sideswipe’s arm, vaulted over a singed tree stump, and drew his sword while he circled closer towards Shockwave’s left side. Shockwave’s helm remained lowered; he deflected Optimus’ axe, but his movements became practised, automatic. His finials twitched almost imperceptibly, up then back again. The false Mirage brandished his weapon, a courageous cry building on his tongue as he prepared to strike. Shockwave blocked Sunstreaker’s lunge, and then suddenly, faster than anyone could register, Shockwave whirled around and seized the real Mirage by the throat.

Optimus froze, and the brothers’ eyes both widened. Mirage rematerialised in Shockwave’s grasp, held aloft in the middle of his failed back-stabbing leap. His mouth was twisted into a shocked grimace as he clawed at the hand wrapped around his neck. Shockwave’s gaze bore into Mirage and he squeezed, drawing a choked gasp out of him.

“Put him down, ugly!” Sideswipe growled. Shockwave turned and hurled Mirage further into the clearing. He hit the ground hard and rolled gracelessly a further few feet, coughing oxygen back into his lungs. Optimus’s jaw clenched as he felt he had no choice but to withdraw.

“Keep him busy.” He instructed whoever was close enough to hear him. Ironhide nodded and moved in, allowing Optimus to cross the clearing and get to Mirage. He lay propped by one arm, strands of dark hair clinging to his forehead with sweat, and rubbing his throat.

“Are you alright, Mirage?” Optimus knelt down beside him, arm raising instinctively before he remembered his shield was gone.

“Never better.” Mirage deadpanned hoarsely. Optimus placed a hand on his back, offering any amount of support while the knight caught his breath. The furrow in Optimus’ brow carved deeper into his skin as he contemplated the best course of action. Everyone was hurt, and so was Shockwave, but Optimus doubted he would let that slow him down.

Then, the roar of a wyvern echoed above their heads, and Optimus resisted the urge to groan. He settled for a scowl as he looked back over to his comrades. Starscream had arrived, having picked them out in the commotion and eager to stake a claim by lending his assistance. Sideswipe had split from the other two to intervene, dancing around the snarling fangs of both the wyvern and its bow-wielding master.

Optimus looked at Mirage, who nodded and gave a supportive tap to his leader’s shoulder. Optimus returned the nod, stood, and made his way back to the rest of the fight.

The air all but hummed with magic from the increased amount of spells slung back and forth across the battlefield. Sunstreaker was currently providing cover fire to Ironhide from a distance, peppering Shockwave with flames and ribbons of sparkling light while Ironhide took the martial approach. Optimus realised before Sunstreaker did that his cover fire, while effective, was also making him a target.

Fire licked around the edges of Shockwave’s cape as he thrust forward. His glaive carved another piece from Ironhide’s armour, but the Autobot side-stepped and returned with a wide swing. Having been locked into fighting the purple-garbed ‘Con for so long, Ironhide had learnt a thing or two. But unfortunately, so had Shockwave. Shockwave hooked his polearm underneath the head of Ironhide’s hammer, jamming it in place. He adjusted his grip, braced, and then tossed both the hammer and Ironhide aside. Ironhide did attempt to catch himself, but between fatigue and his untreated wounds, he lacked the necessary strength and wound up flat on his back, the world spinning around him as Shockwave disappeared from view.

Shockwave stalked towards Sunstreaker, finials pinned back against his skull. Sunstreaker tensed but raised his sword. He was unaware of Optimus hurrying to reach him, and his thoughts were preoccupied with keeping perfect form as he stared down his adversary. He spun out of the way as the glaive whistled through the space where he had previously been standing. He felt the edge of his cape tear away and Sunstreaker pulled a face, summoning electricity along the length of his blade and jabbing it towards Shockwave. Shockwave waved a hand and the lightning veered around it, crackling around itself before collapsing harmlessly.

“You lack discipline.” The statement echoed low from within Shockwave’s helmet. Sunstreaker bared his teeth and lunged, striking at Shockwave again. He parried and dodged the swings of the glaive, his own blade hitting against the defensive polearm with the grating clack of metal on wood. He was fast and nimble, as was his brother, facing down Starscream and his dragon.

The wyvern may have had the air advantage, but every time it swooped low enough to attack, it gave Sideswipe the opportunity to slice into its red scales. Starscream drew his bow and fired. Sideswipe jumped out of the way with a grin that only widened as it caused the esteemed second-in-command to snarl in frustration. The wyvern swiped at him with her claws and Sideswipe attempted to move again, but his timing was off and he found himself hooked in her grasp. Starscream snapped the reins. His wyvern coiled and clamped her jaws around Sideswipe’s chest, her teeth spearing into his plate armour. Sideswipe screamed. Sunstreaker stole a concerned look towards his brother. The split in focus was microscopic, but it was all Shockwave needed. He wound back, then thrust his glaive forward with the same momentum, deadly force locked on Sunstreaker as its target. Optimus called out in warning, but his body was already moving of its own accord, faster than he could think. He threw himself between Sunstreaker and the glaive, turning to shield the golden-clad soldier from the incoming blow. Shockwave’s glaive pierced through Optimus’ shoulder with an awful sound of severed meat and metal, joined by an agonised scream torn from the Prime himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chains tightened against Shockwave’s chest as he sat straighter, no longer bowed in quiet calculating acceptance, and the sound pulled Optimus back to the present. His gaze settled more firmly on Shockwave, acknowledging his notice of Shockwave’s movement against his bonds - taking no action to stop him, but making it clear that he was aware of Shockwave doing so. Shockwave gave no reaction of shame or secrecy, and fell deathly still once more in his new position.

“What do you aim to achieve by having this conversation?” Shockwave questioned. Optimus hardly had to consider his answer; he spoke honestly and with no ulterior motive to begin with. The only change to his usual tone was a cordial lightness.

“I hope that by speaking as equals, we can choose the peaceful option.” He turned his hand in a gesture between the two of them. Coloured light criss-crossed his palm, golden and bright in his hand. Shockwave’s yellow eye stared at Optimus, swallowed in the deep void that concealed his face. It never blinked, a discovery which while unnerving, was less surprising after the previous revelation that Shockwave didn’t breathe. Shockwave’s finials stilled, and his wrists tugged where they were bound. This time he made no attempt to conceal that he was testing the strength of his bonds.

“And if I refuse to comply?” His voice being as low and even as it was, it was hard to tell if it was a threat, but it was undoubtedly certain as he tilted his helm ever so slightly towards the room’s entryway, “It is unlikely that anyone wishes to keep me in a hallowed place such as this.” The statement was immediately accepting of itself, and it left a heavy and unpleasant taste in Optimus’ mouth. Optimus frowned.

“You’re just as much a person as anyone else, Shockwave.” The lightness had faded from his tone, returning Shockwave’s certainty with his own - if only to make it clear that he refused to treat Shockwave as any lesser because of which forces he was aligned with. “As long as you don’t cause trouble, you’ll be treated with the respect you’re owed.” Shockwave’s head slid back to face the Prime. He didn’t speak at first, but his finials moved again; They perked up, then slotted back again, relaxing to their natural position. Optimus watched how they twitched and it was something of a relief that this patch of silence felt less pressing than those that had come before it. It seemed as if his promise to ensure Shockwave was given common decency while prisoner was received well. To be honest, that was concerning, but it also meant it now appeared slightly more possible for the two of them to reach an agreement.

Optimus’s curved posture straightened, sitting up in his chair. Its wooden legs scraped slightly as its back touched his, and the cathedral’s light warped with his silhouette, his shadow extending further towards the edges of the binding circle. Sitting tall, Optimus was highlighted in soft golden candlelight and ribbons of colour, as if he were always meant to be there.

“It would be more wise to kill me.” Shockwave’s cold, measured voice cut through the silence like a knife. It was equally as unexpected and chilling as a blade would have been, and Optimus’ expression became stern. Shockwave’s head had lowered, the helmet’s visor emphasising his narrowed eye, and his bound hands were pulled to rest in his lap. When Optimus opened his mouth to speak, to object, Shockwave simply spoke over him, “I am a major threat to you and your fellow Autobots. I will not stop until I have completed my goal and brought eternal prosperity to our destroyed homeland. Given this information, and that I am currently at your mercy, the logical course of action would be to kill me and remove me as a variable.”

The atmosphere had become choked, as if holding its breath, but it didn’t stop the low hum that rumbled in the back of Optimus’ throat. He looked away, though he could still feel Shockwave’s stare intently focused upon him. Admittedly, a similar unreadable scowl set on Optimus’s expression as he considered the advised course of action he had been presented with. On principle, he wasn’t opposed to the idea of executing Shockwave; they were in a war, and though he always - and would always - present an open hand rather than a closed fist as long as he was able, unfortunately there were times where he had no other option in order to prevent further death and destruction. But what Shockwave was suggesting was cutthroat, and thought only of the end rather than the means. It was completely Shockwave’s way of doing things, but it wasn’t Optimus’.

Ultimately, Optimus sighed and let some of the weight he carried sit more visibly on his shoulders.

“I fear that the Decepticons may be too muddled within themselves to ensure Cybertron’s prosperity.” He confessed as he looked back towards Shockwave, eyes flicking once down and up again over his captive form. Quietly, Optimus also questioned whether the Autobot faction were any less conflicted within itself. Decades of war had taken their toll on everyone, and it would likely take decades more to repair their fractured land. The work would almost never be done, regardless of whose hand would attempt to steer the course.

Shockwave, however, didn’t appear to think so.

“That is irrelevant.” Shockwave’s eye narrowed again. “The Decepticons are merely a means to an end.” Optimus’ lips pressed into a tight line as he levelled Shockwave with a dry, sullen look.

“And after you’ve used the Decepticons, what then? What will you do if you do succeed?”

The question actually gave Shockwave pause. His head lowered slightly to one side, as if glancing away while in thought, and the slow twitch of his finials was further evidence that he was contemplating an answer.

“...I do not know at this time.” Shockwave finally spoke. He sat straighter, and Optimus was perhaps one of the few who could pick out the obscured act of reigning oneself under control, before another could see thoughts laid transparently, “My current priority is Cybertron, and I can determine the future once I have achieved that. My own role in that future is largely inconsequential.” The flagrant lack of regard for his own life caused another concerned scowl to appear on Optimus’ face, shaking his head as he took in the full weight of Shockwave’s words.

“That’s not true, Shockwave. You’ve formed connections, found allies during your life. There will be people who’ll notice your absence, whether you believe so or not.”

The eye within the helmet flickered as Shockwave silently noted that Optimus was technically correct. There were a handful of people he had created even brief kinship with; begrudging peers like his fellow commander Soundwave, lower ranked Decepticons who had tried to earn his favour and share in his knowledge, including one notable example of a pink-garbed medic who had gone a step further and attempted to win his admiration. All of them had ultimately discovered the same fact: Shockwave was an abrasive and solitary individual by nature.

Shockwave sunk and his helm lowered as the chains crossing his body weighed down even further. It was as if a long exhale had left his once living, now sealed lungs.

“They are a means to an end.” He repeated, in a quiet and hollow voice.

Beneath his furrowed brow, Optimus’ gaze softened ever so slightly in both compassion and deep dismay. He knew that Shockwave was more than just a vessel for a larger force, even if that force was his own ambition. Optimus was sure of it. Optimus leant forward again, propping an elbow on his knee in order to drag his hand down the lower half of his face with an almost inaudible sigh. He looked down to his own shadow in front of him, as if it might provide some sort of counsel to him.

“For god’s sake, Shockwave, look at what you’ve done to yourself.” Optimus deliberately tried to keep his voice from sounding harsh, but exasperation barbed the words. He internally winced at his own behaviour, but Shockwave hadn’t seemed to mind; the Decepticon was casting a brief glance over himself, quick and flippant like he was inconvenienced by having to do so. Layers of Shockwave’s armour had been removed - both so he could be restrained and to ensure there was nothing dangerous hidden on his person - but even if obscured by cloth or metal, Optimus knew that lines of arcane runes had been engraved into Shockwave’s skin. They were a grim match for the point of a slightly jagged autopsy scar that crept up from beneath his loosened collar. The procedure for becoming a lich was a matter few even spoke about, much less attempted. It was no surprise that Shockwave was the kind of person who could and would see the process through.

“I do not understand your objection.” Shockwave’s finials drew back as he leant forward. “You sacrifice your physical body to serve the war effort as well, and far more freely.” Optimus blinked, taken aback. He quickly tried to hide the expression, but Shockwave’s helm tilted, eyeing the Prime. Optimus cleared his throat and glanced away for a moment, even the slight pause feeling far too significant.

“...By putting myself in harm’s way, I’m shielding others from suffering.”

“Your reply does not disprove my argument.” Shockwave responded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Optimus clamped his gritted teeth shut. The glaive drove further through his shoulder, grinding against his armour. Every strained breath growled through his lips, swallowing down the pain that shot through his torso like lightning. Optimus opened his eyes - unaware that he’d closed them - and looked down. Sunstreaker lay fallen underneath him, staring with wide eyes from between Optimus’ tensed arms. The tip of Shockwave’s glaive had been stopped inches before Sunstreaker’s rapidly rising and falling chest. It would have surely pierced him through if not for Optimus lunging into its path.

Sunstreaker was frozen, eyes locked on the glaive-tip. Optimus’ arms shook and he dropped by a millimetre before forcing his arms to lock again.

“Go!” Optimus barked. The strained but decisive order snapped Sunstreaker out of it, and he quickly scrambled out from underneath his leader. He tore off in the opposite direction, aiming another bolt towards Starscream’s wyvern. The second in command had seen Optimus fall from above and was keen to take advantage, but quickly had to pull back on the reins when concentrated fire zipped past his steed’s muzzle. Sunstreaker didn’t let up, determined to protect Optimus’ prone form, as Optimus had done for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bandages wrapped snug around Optimus’ shoulder hugged against the patched-up wound lying beneath them, as he once more occupied himself with following lines in the floorboards’ woodgrain. Healing spells had already sped along the bulk of the process, but Ratchet had been vocally insistent on not neglecting regular non-magical medicine.

Even without looking, Optimus could still feel Shockwave’s gaze upon him. He lifted his eyes when chains and fabric dragged across the floor; Shockwave attempted to inch forward, failing quickly thanks to his restraints. His expression didn’t change from its slightly angled interest, proving that he was still waiting for a response.

The candles dotted throughout the room continued to burn, and trails of wax slid down to form large droplets at the bases of their holders. Shockwave stared intently at Optimus, and Optimus stared back resolutely at Shockwave. Although the candles had burned down much of their wicks, shortening their own remaining lifespans in the process, their fires didn’t waver.

Optimus’ head tilted slightly lower, jaw clenching and unclenching once. He exhaled in a low, quiet sigh that rose up into his chest and out through his nose.

“I know I cannot speak with you as I do with your leader. …With Megatron.” Optimus eventually spoke. It caused a small, yet deeply felt amount of sadness within him to think that familiarity had long been lost between himself and the man who knelt before him, but there were more important things at stake than dwelling on memories. “But you are still a Cybertronian, Shockwave, and I wish that we could reach an agreement that would ensure everyone’s safety and happiness.” Optimus paused, taking his turn to prompt Shockwave for a response. Shockwave stared at him for a moment, then another, and then his yellow eye flickered as his head rolled to one side. Was that his way of rolling his eyes? Despite the irritated display, Shockwave didn’t pursue their previous topic that Optimus had steered away from, and instead his finials twitched in silent thought.

“I agree that such an outcome would be ideal, but impossible. Autobots and Decepticons are easily swayed by their fickle emotions and short-sighted, self-serving goals. Very few have risen above such failings.”

“You believe you’re one of those few?” It was not a question so much as a conclusion.

“Indeed.” Shockwave nodded. His answer was resolute and certain of itself, as had been every answer he had given before, and every answer he would surely give further. Even while dragged down to his knees, bound in every conceivable method of restraint, Shockwave could not be shaken. As Optimus Prime looked at Shockwave bound within the arcane circle, he saw the thin patches of red and blue light that warped the purple colour of his remaining armour. He couldn’t help but be reminded of the man he once knew, who would frequently change the colours of his armour on a whim, whose emotions would flare just as suddenly as he fought for the betterment of the aligned provinces with a fiery passion. Though much of the man Optimus had once known had been stripped away or twisted beyond recognition, speaking with Shockwave had made one thing certain; That drive to change things for the better still resided deep within Shockwave’s core, and no amount of dark magic could snuff it out completely.

Optimus might have smiled if not for the grim acceptance that he couldn’t get through to Shockwave right now, not like this. Optimus sank slightly in his chair, shoulders kept broad by habit more than conscious thought. He closed his eyes, waited a moment, then opened them again.

“I believe there’s a future for us all, Shockwave. Including you.” Optimus told the Decepticon with a voice that sounded hollow, not unlike how Shockwave’s had earlier. Shockwave regarded Optimus for a long moment, and then bowed his helm as he exhaled. It was almost inaudible, but given that he didn’t need to breathe, the action betrayed itself as deliberate. Optimus rose from his seat, the wooden chair groaning softly at the loss of his weight. He lingered on Shockwave and his bowed head, unable to tell at this angle whether Shockwave was still watching him in return. But Optimus turned away and straightened, ignoring the sharp stab of pain that lanced through his shoulder as he walked away from the binding circle. He heard Shockwave’s metal chains drag against themselves, but with his back turned, Optimus couldn’t tell how Shockwave was moving. He kept putting one foot in front of the other, each step echoing in the silent and empty room of the cathedral. When Optimus crossed the last of the coloured beams of light, the only person left under the stained glass’ worn projections of age-old saints and martyrs was Shockwave, held captive within the faintly glowing binding circle.

Optimus pulled the heavy wooden door closed behind him, now standing in the hallway connected to the room. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, but soon cut the action short when Hound approached to take over watching the Autobots’ prisoner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The edges of Optimus’ vision grew cloudy, muddling the ground underneath him into patches of brown, green and red. With a barely muffled snarl of agony and frustration, Optimus steeled his nerve and seized the blade impaled through his shoulder in both hands. It tugged in his grip - behind him, Shockwave attempted to pull his weapon free, but Optimus held on tight. The blade whined as it scraped against his metal-clad palms, but Optimus refused to let it slip from his grasp. Optimus wrenched himself forward, using the added strength of his entire body trapped around the glaive in order to twist the weapon’s polearm out of Shockwave’s grip. Chest heaving and forcing his legs to steady enough to rise to one knee, Optimus removed one hand to reach around and grab the glaive’s shaft from behind. His shoulder screamed in protest, but he forced his way through it and - as carefully and quickly as he could - pulled the glaive back out of him.

Optimus scowled at the blade, blackened by cursed enchantments. He took the weapon’s wooden shaft between both hands as he rose to his feet. Finding his balance and bracing himself, Optimus slammed the glaive down across his knee. The glaive splintered and snapped in two with a crack that seemed to thunder through the air. Its dark blade hissed, hallowed sunlight shining victoriously across its surface. Dropping both pieces of the broken weapon to the ground, Optimus Prime slowly turned around to face Shockwave.

Shockwave’s gaze burned into Optimus with the concentrated heat of a furnace, his helm low and his finials pinned back. His now empty hands curled into fists at his sides. Optimus stared him down, standing broad and grimly determined, even while one shoulder hung lower than the other. The atmosphere was choked between them, holding its breath as it waited for one of them to move.

Shockwave was the first to strike. Magic gathered in his fist and he catapulted it forward. Optimus dived to one side and rolled, snatching his axe from where it had fallen when he’d shielded Sunstreaker. Shockwave was already muttering another spell but Optimus didn’t give him a chance to complete it, he rushed in and swung, forcing Shockwave to withdraw instead.

The Decepticon had shown time and time again in this battle that he had no intention of holding back. Now, Optimus no longer felt a need to either. He kept applying pressure, charging in again and again, striking with his axe each time. Shockwave raised his vambrace to block an attempted blow to his chest, then seamlessly used the position to bash the thick piece of armour into Optimus’s face. Optimus jolted at the harsh impact against his visor but endured it, gritting his teeth and moving backwards to put distance between them. Shockwave’s singular golden eye seemed to glow as a dozen more points of gold materialised around him, each one as sharp as a javelin. Without hesitation Optimus switched stance and ran, keeping his gaze locked on the projectiles while he serpentined around. Each gold projectile flew with supernatural speed, arcing through the air and grazing the Prime’s heels as he sprinted. If he slowed at all, if he misjudged when to change direction, he knew he would be pierced clean through. The final point lodged itself in the ground, missing Optimus’ ankle by a hair. As it fizzled angrily, Optimus sucked in a breath and immediately rushed inwards again. His axe was ready the moment he was back within close range, and when he landed a retaliating swing to Shockwave’s shoulder, he heard Shockwave growl in steadily increasing frustration. Dimly, Optimus thought that Sideswipe would be pleased to hear about it.

Though Shockwave was holding his own, he had his own fair share of injuries inflicted by Optimus’ comrades, and Optimus was steadily gaining ground. Each step in retreat that Shockwave was forced to make, in order to avoid an attack he couldn’t shield himself against, was another step Optimus met and doubled.

The axe hit him in the ribcage and although it failed to cut through his chainmail, the force behind the strike still knocked Shockwave sideways. He stumbled, then fell to one knee with a grunt of pain torn out of him. There was no attempt to catch his breath as he knelt in the disturbed dirt, and his purple cape lay slumped in charred tatters behind him. Shockwave slowly lifted his head to look at Optimus before him. Optimus looked back at him with a deep frown set into his expression. His shoulder and hand throbbed, dully pleading for attention as his grip tightened on his axe.

“Surrender.” Optimus told him, in the same stern tone in which he had ordered Sunstreaker to run. Shockwave’s eye narrowed and his hands dug into the earth beneath them.

“No.”

The plant life under Shockwave’s palms shrivelled and decayed, choked in a wave that rippled out from beneath his hands. Optimus stepped back before the spreading death could reach his feet, gaze flicking across it warily. Thinking quickly, Optimus jumped the distance between them, hooked the curved underside of his axe around Shockwave’s neck, and with a cry of effort he heaved Shockwave onto his back. Shockwave hit the ground and immediately tried to get up, but Optimus firmly put his boot against Shockwave’s chest, pushing him back down again. Whatever necrotic spell Shockwave had been charging lashed around his hands and arms, and the surface of his armour practically buzzed with energy. Optimus spun the axe in his hand, then brought the butt-end of it down in a single, swift strike to Shockwave’s temple.

The Decepticon fell limp.

The spell shrieked with a hundred voices all overlapping each other as it dissipated into nothing.

Optimus’s eyes remained fixed on Shockwave’s unconscious form, even though his thoughts raced elsewhere. His heartbeat was loud and overwhelming in his ears, blocking out the sounds of battle still raging on in the distance. Somewhere in the din came Sunstreaker’s voice, along with those of a few other mages he recognised, and Optimus robotically removed his boot from Shockwave’s chest and stepped back. He shook his head to clear it while the spellcasters set to work on binding Shockwave before he had the chance to recover, watching with passing interest until one of them turned towards him.

“Uh, Optimus…?” A grimace was directed towards his wounds. “Did you want some help with…those?”

“I’m fine, but thank you.” Optimus replied, affixing a smile over his face as he politely waved down the offer. In the back of his mind, he thought that he would settle for the chance to take a breather, but he knew that there was still more fighting left to do.

Leaving Sunstreaker and the mages to handle Shockwave, Optimus Prime straightened his spine and broadened his shoulders more evenly. He turned and went northward, in the direction of the sound of the next raging battle.

[serialkillerbettycooper]

what if hiram and archie but they're both girls

Short answer: toxic yuri <3 yay <3

Long answer: I've been mulling over this one all day because masculinity is so wrapped up in the way Hiram and Archie's relationship manifests in a way that doesn't really translate to femininity. 'mob boss' and 'capo' are both such heavily-gendered roles, and their dynamic is constantly being expressed through ritualized, homoerotic violence in the form of boxing, wrestling, and blood oaths (the rituals. they are so intricate). And while I think women beating the shit out of each other rules, the cinematic language and commentary on gender and masculinity inevitably changes a lot with the gender swap. They're both very different people with the confines of masculinity removed, and the confines of femininity added.

That said, I love toxic yuri and this is a fascinating question to me, so facing god and walking backwards straight into fanfiction territory here, but if i was writing Archie and Hiram as women, here's how I think I'd do it:

Veronica doesn't get her gender swapped, but Hermione does. Hermione becomes a lot more distant, no longer having the shared experience of womanhood to bond with Veronica over, and remains cognizant and jealous of (insane that she just. said that out loud. by the way) the intensity of Hiram and Veronica's relationship, but is even less likely to step in. I've gone back and forth but I think it's interesting to keep Fred a single father, whose already-shaky abilities to relate to Archie and assert appropriate boundaries only diminish with Archie as a teenage girl instead of a teenage boy.

Also, f!Archie is butch/gnc, f!Hiram is not.

Hiram's had to navigate the male-dominated mob world as a woman, and has to play the careful gender balancing-act that requires, presenting her femininity as powerful in a way that remains palatable to her male peers, think eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man femme fatale vibes. Hiram deeply cares about gender presentation and being seen as 'correctly' masculine - 'a real man' - in canon and in this AU, 'correctly' feminine. Which naturally leads to feeling threatened by and disapproving of Veronica's relationship with Archie, a sporty butch girl from a working-class family whose very existence undermines Hiram's ideas about gender. Hiram would be so gay and homophobic about it. Archie becomes a canvas on which Hiram can project her own issues about gender, and then blot them out, controlling and destroying masculinity in another woman/girl, shaping her into the image of someone worthy of her daughter in the process.

Thinking about the suits Archie wears while working with Hiram, the tone that takes on if it's Archie slowly becoming more femme under Hiram's influence. About the subversion of femininity used to signify maturity. About the parallels you could draw with Alice's control of Betty's appearance, about Hiram giving Archie pearls, about the differences in the rituals men and women construct to touch one another.

Toxic yuri of the century.

[semi-sketchy]

That...was it?

I mean, yeah, I probably should've expected it to end in a "adventure continues in SXSG" but that was very abrupt.

GUN, Rouge and Omega know there's something big coming, but just fuck off after this? There's no glimpse of what awaits Shadow? No real cliffhanger, it just stops? This wasn't satisfying.

It started with "Black Doom might be back I have to get to the ARK" and ended with "Black Doom might be back I'm on my way to the ARK." I stopped to look at the timer near the end because I was like "wait it's just gonna end here? We watched a travel animation?"

Maybe this is because I haven't been following SXSG super closely, but I don't understand how Shadow's campaign is going to start so I have no context for how this leads into the game. That's probably partly why it feels so abrupt right now.

I liked the music and action scenes, though I thought some lines should've been cut.

Like this is pretty obvious, but it keeps going.

The scene would've been better had this line been cut. Same thing happens in part 2.

Sometimes, silence speaks volumes. But of course, everything needs to be "spelled out" though that's an issue with the Maria scenes in general.

Man this shot of Shadow though with that music swelling, holy cow.

Hits you in the feels.

Overall though, it was okay!

My biggest compliment really goes to the sound design. I just love how the music and sound effects come together. Also really enjoy how snappy the animation is. By part 3 I definitely was able to tell I was looking at 3D models, but honestly I don't really care which medium it is as long as it's done well. This looked good!

Writing wise, I think part 1 was the worst and that's due to the stiff, on-the-nose interactions between Shadow and Maria (plus the slip-in of "low-gravity remission"). I definitely preferred the action scenes and interactions with Rouge, sadly Omega was just kinda there in the corner like "I CALL DIBS" and didn't contribute anything noteworthy.

I said this about Xenoblade 3 and it rings true here: this felt like watching a draft rather than a finished script. Some parts are cooked and others are raw. If Omega had nothing to do but blow a few things up in the background, why was he here? Even Shadow was the one to take down the GUN ship Omega originally engaged. Give him a bigger purpose or cut him.

The Maria scenes play out the most like a draft, something you'd write to get the basics of what you want the characters to convey before going back over and replacing those lines with actual dialogue. (This is something I do if I'm struggling.)

Now do I really care that the GUN Commander got his Archie name? No. Of all the things in this animation, Sonic Twitter picked the stupidest one to blow up about. I think the "low gravity remission" and Shadow knowing he's part alien is an actual issue. (Although I guess this could be argued since in ShTH he still had amnesia, he wouldn't remember so this wouldn't matter. Still, wasn't it supposed to be a secret? The Commander only found out by accident?)

Some things just aren't as well thought-out as others, which cements my thought that this script needed polishing.

All that said, this is the biggest promo animation project we've seen in Sonic yet and it's quite different from others before it. I don't think I'd call it "the best", I think the Frontiers one was super cool, but it also didn't have the run-time of Dark Beginnings. Like with XC3: Future Redeemed, it simply didn't have the time to screw stuff up as much.

There's good, there's ehh, so overall Dark Beginnings was just okay for me.

My biggest disappointment is still the fact that this animation simply wasn't what I wanted, which isn't its fault. I saw the teaser of Shadow and Maria on the ARK, I thought it was going to be about them on the ARK and it ended up just being about Shadow traveling to space. I wanted and was expecting something this animation was never going to be.

I guess we'll find out soon how the final game handles Shadow's story, though if this animation is anything to go off of, I'm keeping my expectations in check.

[my-name-is-jefferooni]

Have you ever even heard of…

BECAUSE OH MY GOD SEARCH FOR THE LOST IS SUCH AN UNDERRATED GEM OF A FAN-MADE SONIC SHOW

Okay, allow me to give you some additional context before just bombarding you with all the many reasons why you need to watch this show.

Search for the Lost is a fan-made production created by Creative Planet Entertainment on YouTube. This shit has been around for 6 whole years, and it is such a good show! Made entirely out of g-mod screenshots/screen recordings and Sonic gameplay, Search for the Lost is a show about Silver the Hedgehog and his friends figuring out what Melhiles of all people is doing back in action, and why the fuck he’s working with Eggman of all people. Also, why is Infinite back… AND WHAT’S ALL THIS TALK ABOUT A PROPHECY!?

OH AND BLAZE IS HERE TOO!?!?

AND THERE’S THIS NEW GUY CALLED FORGE WHO IS LITERALLY THE BEST IN THE ENTIRE SHOW HANDS DOWN 100000P0/10 BEST BOI BEST ROBO BUDDY EVER HE’S SUCH AN IDIOT AND SUCH A HILARIOUS GUY HE’S LIKE THE ONLY ONE WHO MAKES GOOD JOKES HE IS LITERALLY THE BEST EVER I LOVE FORGE

Aight lemme just give a quick spoiler-free explanation about Forge because I know yall are looking at this like “Who tf is Forge?? Some kinda fan character or something??” Because… Yeah, he is a fan character, BUT A VERY GOOD ONE AND HIS DYNAMICS WITH EVERYONE WORK LIKE A CHARM I TELL YOU HE IS NOT JUST SOME RANDOM SONIC RECOLOR.

Cuz he’s a Metal Sonic recolor! 🤩 Haha, well to be fair, they literally call out Sonic recolors in the show with this fact. It’s in Forge’s story! Basically, Forge once worked with Silver in his bad timeline in Crisis City, but the ashes and the chemicals were too much for his small little itty bitty bird lungs. So, to keep himself from slowing everybody down, he managed to shove his consciousness into an old Metal Sonic model. A black-and-yellow one, kinda like the one from Archie except a lot less like Sonic personality-wise and a lot more like Sonic visually. With all these new robotic upgrades, Forge became a force to be reckoned with, and became one of Silver’s bestest friends after the whole Iblis thing. Oh, and he ships Silvaze like it’s nobody’s business, so that obviously gets an A+ from me lmao

I may have gotten carried away with that explanation and maybe there’s some spoilers in there but it’s late and I’m sleepy so you’ll only know if you watch the show~! ✨🙂

Seriously tho. This show is very underrated. I’ve been keeping tabs on it for years now, ever since episode 5 came out! Trust me, that’s a long time. They have their plates full when it comes to personal things and it’s a big project so episodes come out after a long time in production.

There are only 7 episodes so far, but each episode is jam-packed full of lore and giving us more questions on top of every answer! It brings back characters we haven’t seen for a long while, and it always provides a reasonable explanation as to why some of them have been gone and why some just like. Cut contact or something. There’s characters from previous games, from Sonic X, from Archie, from IDW, BRO WE GOT GAMMA IN HERE BAYBEEEEE IF THAT AINT FREE REAL ESTATE IDK WHAT IS.

AND DON’T FORGET HEAVY AND BOMB FROM KNUCKLES CHAOTIX. PLEASE. PLEASE DON’T FORGET ABOUT THEM THEY’RE HERE TOO AND THEY’RE LOVELY

So. Please. Please just watch this show. Please look at all the additional content with Forge on their channel too, it’s fucking hilarious! Just… I wanna talk to someone about this show who isn’t just my lil bro. Like I love getting to bombard him with bullshit about characters he’s never even heard about until watching this show but I gotta know I’m not the only one. Please. These people are working so hard on Search for the Lost and I’d really appreciate if you even saw just one or two episodes. The story is very intriguing, the characters are all so well-written, TEAM DARK IS THERE, FORGE GETS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION, so I say it’s all totally worth it!

[khruschevshoe]

Jim Jimenez's Top Surgery

Stars hide your fires

These here are my desires

And I will give them up to you this time around

And so I'll be found

With my stake stuck in this ground

Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

-Mumford & Sons, Roll Away Your Stone

Pete gestures a hand to his chest. “You can feel the scars, if you want. They stopped hurting a long, long time ago.”

Jim cannot believe how easily Pete trusts them, but they reach out reverently anyway, feeling the ripple of the scar tissue, far more sacred than communion or confession ever was.

Jim has known for so long that humans are capable of wreaking the same level of destruction as gods. They have seen such ruin up close and personal, with Blackbeard and the Siete Gallos certainly proving that to their faces.

They have known that humans are capable of creation, as well, have seen it in Lucius' sketches and Pete and Izzy's whittling and Archie's careful caretaking of their yarrow plant, but as for the human body?

Tight now, they feel humbled, like Doubting Thomas before the wounds of Christ, feeling the proof of the divine.

They swallow. There really is no going back now, is there? Not when they see the proof of what was once thought impossible in front of them?

“I’m going to do it,” Jim says.

Pete grins. “Fucking go for it.”

-aletterinthenameofsanity, every version of me dead and buried in the yard outside

I'm going to be completely honest; I cried reading this fic. There had been allusions earlier in the series comparing transitioning to a miracle, but I wasn't expecting the sheer level of euphoria/divinity that was ascribed to the process. This definitely healed some religious trauma scars left over from childhood. Plus, getting to see not just Olu and Archie's fantastic reactions/support of Jim's transition, but the rest of the cast's support (ESPECIALLY the wooden boy "play" that they all put on to help Jim deal with some of their post-surgery struggle to get back to normalcy) brought actual tears to my eyes. I cannot express just how much this one meant to me on a personal level.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @bricksbloggyplace @yuenity @ruecrown

[meimeiherokitten]

Fanfic SAVE HIM by Phantom531 posted here for some extra attention...

In the darkness, Izzy hears:

“Hes not dead…”

“Yeah he is, Ed said he was.”

“Did Ed check for a goddamn pulse?”

 “What does that mean?”

“Ugh, feel this here?”

“No…wait yes.”

“That's his heart beating. It's slow but there.”

“That's beyond slow, hombrecito, that's…I think it's less ‘he's not dead’ and more ‘he's not dead yet’.”

“But there's no more bleeding.”

“Because he doesn't have any left. It's all across the deck!”

“No bleeding is no bleeding. I mean, it still could be the shock turned his brain to tapioca-”

“Ok, not eating that again. Like fucking ever!”

“-so he might have a ship with no sails even if he does live…”

“He looks fucking dead.”

“Maybe close his eyes?”

“Why are they still open, dude?!”

“Yeah, shock will do that. I seen it before. It's just creepy. Should we…?”

“Shut his eyes? Fucking yes!”

“Shit, Archie, go easy!”

“What? I doubt he felt it. They're closed now!”

“Looked like you were trying to poke one out!”

“D-d-do you really think we can s-s-save him…?”

“Fang, you cried when he was dead and now you're crying ‘cause he's not!”

“Shut up, I'm processing!”

“Box in the brain, man, it helps…”

“I still think he looks dead.”

“Come on, this is Izzy! We have to try!”

“Would he do the same for… well…you know what, yes, he would do the same for us. He'd curse and yell and complain, but he would!”

“If he dies on us…nothing changes… but what if he lives…”

“I think we should keep this from the captains. They're really upset and if we give them hope and then he dies for permanent...”

“Oh, we'll have the Kraken coming out. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not messing with that! No desire to be thrown off the ship again!”

“Hacer algo, pendejos!”

“We have to move him either way. Can you quit crying for a minute and help me?”

“Oh, Izzy!”

“Fang!”

“Yeah, ok. Yeah, c'mon, little unicorn, we got you.”

“Oh god, Izzy, you solid little fucker! Fucking dead weight!”

“Phrasing, babe, don't jinx this shit!”

 (it's on AO3 too if you want to also give kudos there... )

[my-own-walker]

Someone You've Never Seen Before

A Kyle Spencer Fan Fiction

frat!kyle AU, fem!main character, sexual themes, mature language, use of drugs and alcohol, frat boy antics

14.

*TW for this chapter: Proceed with caution if SA-themes trigger you. If things don't seem right at a party, find a friend! Get out of the situation. And make sure you cover your drink!*

Like an impressionist painting, things start to make more sense the further you step away from them. The amalgamation of all those abstract blots and brush strokes is a beautiful scene. The confusion you feel up close becomes worth it when you see the payoff.

That's how life is. The further you move away from the events that happen, the more they make sense in the larger landscape of your life. 

My first day back at class after things went down with Kyle and Archie was hell. I was so nervous to go back, that I physically shook as I walked to the lecture hall. My tendency to get there early was heightened, and I arrived nearly an hour prior to the class's start time. I had to wait for the lecture that was in there before us to finish and for all of the students to file out before I could go in. I had to make sure I had the complete pick of the litter as far as seats went.

I picked a spot in the back of the room furthest from the door. Sure, I'd suffer and probably not be able to see the board, but I didn't care. A few of my classmates arrived after a while. I put up the hood of my, well, Lily's, oversized sweatshirt and buried my head in my phone. The chairs all around me filled up. I was definitely in someone's unassigned-assigned seat.

Too bad, I'm here for the rest of the semester, I thought to myself.

Professor Edwards began the lecture at the regular start time, so I found it safe to lift my head and look around a bit. I squinted over at my usual place in the room. One seat sat vacant. Some random had taken mine, and Kyle was not in his. I scanned the room for a mop of blonde hair. He was nowhere to be found.

The lecture hall's doors flew open and a visibly flustered Kyle Spencer raced inside and to his usual seat. I breathed a sigh of relief that his lateness meant he had no time to look for me.

I received a text from him that Thursday after I neglected to show up at his at 7 p.m. 

Hey. I worked on a bit of the project by myself. Let me know when you want to meet up and look it over.

I, of course, ignored it. The next Thursday, around 9 p.m., I got another message.

Hi. Have you been coming to class? I haven't seen you. Are you okay?

Then another, two minutes later.

I get that you don't want to see me right now, but I emailed you what I got done. Can you look it over, please?

I looked the Word document with out project on it over and shrugged. Looked fine. 

Looks fine.

Okay, awesome, sounds good. See you in class tomorrow?

I deleted the text chain and locked my phone. I did not, in fact, see him the next day. I did not hear from him again until the next Thursday, October 17, really late at night. About 11:56 p.m. to be exact.

Hannah, can we talk? In person? We just need to get this work for class done. We can't do that if you hate me.

I, once again, deleted the text chain and locked my phone.

Friday night rolled around in no time, and Lily finally convinced me to go to a party for the first time since Kyle humiliated me at the tri-Delta party. I felt good. For once, I felt legitimately confident about the calculus quiz I had taken earlier in the day.

"Ah!" I cried out, wincing and sticking my finger in my mouth, dropping the piece of Lily's hair that was in my hand.

"Burn yourself?" she asked smugly, looking at me in the mirror in front of us. 

"Yes, your fucking curling iron sucks," I laughed, shaking my hand a few times in the air before grabbing another strand of hair. She stifled a giggle.

"Don't make me laugh while I'm doing my eyeliner," she complained. I wrapped her blonde hair around the hot rod and held it for a moment, then released it. It fell down and bounced like the spring it had become. 

We were getting ready for another mixer between her sorority and Kappa Alpha, a lesser-known, less-douche-y frat on campus. Usually mixers have creative themes. This one's theme was "formal." Real creative, right?

I finished curling Lily's hair and unplugged the curling iron. "You look beautiful, Lil," I smiled. She  put a finishing layer of powder on her face. She wore a strapless, black satin cocktail dress. She paired it with gold eyeshadow and a pale nude lipstick.

"You don't look half-bad yourself," she replied. I stepped over to the full-length mirror in her room and examined myself. I wore a pink and brown lace babydoll dress that I found at the thrift store. I wore my hair natural and down, and paired it with winged eyeliner and brown mary-jane flats. 

I smoothed the front of my dress and sighed. "Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Just...a bit...more hairspray," Lily muttered, waving the aerosol can around her head rapidly. "My hair doesn't hold curls for shit."

We walked to the party, as Kappa Alpha was less than a block away from us. It was crowded when we got there, but only mildly so. We spent the first hour dancing and socializing together. Lily knew this was hard for me, so she stuck by my side, which was very unlike her.

That was until I started talking to Julian. Jules, his friends called him. He was a senior in KA. He lived in the house on the ground floor.

He was tall and brooding. He had tired eyes and long hair. He wore a loose-fitting suit, his off-white dress shirt untucked from his pants. His blue and red striped tie hung loose around his neck, complete with a haphazard knot holding it in its position. His voice was low and quiet, almost as if everything he said was a secret no one else but you could know.

"Hannah, you said your name was?" he asked with a slight smile. We both leaned against the wall in the living room, which was now filling up pretty decently. It was common for mixers to get crashed, it seemed, as members from TKE, Tri-Delt, KLG, and other Greek organizations started filing in.

I held a cup with some rum and coke in it. He lazily held a beer bottle between his fingers. He had to stoop down to hear me better. Like, really stooped down. He had at least an entire foot on me. The height difference was somewhat of a turn-on for me.

"Hannah Martin," I said with a smile, right next to his ear. 

"Jules," he replied, putting out his hand for me to shake it. I blushed and took him up on the offer even the slightest touch. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Uh, I don't think so," I answered, shyly. "I'll admit I only barely recognize you myself, and I come to a lot of these things."

"Are you in Pi Phi?" he asked. The way he had to really lean down to talk to me made my stomach twist and my cheeks burn hot. That mixed with a bit of liquor made me feel quite funny.

"No, I'm just a friend. Designated friend," I stammered. "My friend is in Pi Phi, she drags me to these things."

"I kinda thought you didn't belong, but I didn't want to be rude," he chuckled. "I like your vibe."

I stood up straight and shifted the weight on my feet. "Hey, I was thinking the same thing about you, to be fair," I admitted. "God, it's getting loud in here."

"I'm only in this frat for the excuses to drink," he professed. He took a large swig out of his beer bottle, finished it off, and then put the empty down on one of the shelves of the bookcase next to us. Then, he placed both of his hands on my shoulders. "May I lead you to my room, Hannah Martin?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.

"Oh, uh, I," I stuttered. 

"To hear each other better," he assured. "I'm right in there." He pointed at a door across the room. 

"Um, sure then," I smiled, bashfully, biting my fingernail. He spun me around, then replaced his hands on my shoulders, guiding me forward as we started to his bedroom.

When we got to the door, I stopped to let him open it himself. He unlocked it with a key and grabbed me with his free hand, pulling me in. I looked around at the dimly lit room. It was small, one full-sized bed in the corner of the room, clad with red sheets. The walls were plastered with posters. A record player sat atop a small wooden bookcase packed full of vinyl. It was leagues quieter in his room. I took a large sip of my drink.

"Closed or open?" Jules asked, still stood by the door, pointing at it. His posture was entirely open and loose. I felt I could trust him, as there seemed to be no "want" in his gaze. 

"You can close it," I rasped. "It'll be quieter that way."

He crossed the room, passing me as he made his way to the record player. "Saw you looking at these," he muttered. He knelt down in front of the case. "What do you like? I'll see if I have it."

"God," I sighed, scanning the posters in his room to see what bands he may have. The Doors, The Stooges, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground. I took another sip of my drink, thinking, then landing upon a possible band. "Ooh, uh, Sonic Youth?" I looked over at him and watched a smirk creep across his face.

"Wow, okay," he breathed, thumbing through this collection. "I have....Daydream Nation....and Rather Ripped." 

"Rather Ripped, definitely. Play Incinerate," I requested. 

He pulled the record out, then shook the vinyl loose from its cover. "You're lying," he snarked. "There's no way you know these guys."

"Ah, Jules, but I do," I sighed, feigning wistfulness. I took yet another sip from my drink and watched as he loaded the record onto the player and moved the needle over to the song I asked for. He turned to face me and smiled.

"Here, uh, sit," he mumbled, gesturing toward his bed. I meandered over and flopped down lightly, letting my dress poof as I landed. He joined me, sitting only for a moment before looking at my cup. "You're running low, can I get you something?"

"Oh, my drink?" I asked, eyebrow cocked. I looked around for a place to put the cup. "You don't have to worry about it I'm fi-" 

"No," he cut me off. "What were you drinking? I'll get you more."

Surprised by his insistence, but blushing at his chivalry, I nodded. "I, uh, just get me whatever, I'm not picky." He grabbed the cup out of my hand and walked over to a mini fridge that sat in the corner of the room closest to the door.

"Would something from here work?" 

"Yeah, I don't care, I wouldn't want to venture out into the party either," I giggled, watching him open the fridge's door and look around inside. 

"Oh, Hannah, can you, uh, turn the record over?" he asked. "I wanna hear Turquoise Boy." I stood, turned my back to him, and walked over to the record player. I lifted the needle, lifted the record up, and flipped it over, scanning the label for what the track number of the song he wanted was. Then, I moved the needle over to the third song in and turned on my heel, nearly crashing into him.

Jules stood, towering over me, my cup in his hand. I looked up at him, beaming a sweet smile. "Thank you, Julian." I tasted the drink. It was fizzy and bitter. Beer. "Big beer guy, huh?"

He laughed nervously. "I wouldn't say that," he scratched the back of his head. "It's just what I had." Jules grabbed my wrist and led me back to his bed. He flopped down in a half-laying position. I sat down, just next to his hip, facing him. 

"Your room is cool," I noted, looking around. "I have a lot of posters like this."

"Ah, you do?"

"Oh tons," I chuckled. "Lot of cool bands up here, though."

He looked up as well. "I guess," he shrugged.

"No, seriously," I insisted. "Talking Heads, Buzzcocks, Radiohead, Descendents. I mean they're all amazing."

"You know Buzzcocks?" he gasped. "I've never met a girl cooler than you. How are you real?"

"Oh shut up," I giggled, pushing the center of his chest. I took another sip of my drink. 

"Do you happen to know what time it is?" Jules asked, sitting up a bit. 

I felt around for my phone in the top of my dress and rolled my eyes. "I would be able to tell you if I had my phone," I groaned. "I must have left it somewhere."

"Ah, okay," he trailed off. "Well, that's fine. I'm happy talking to you anyway. Where are you from, Hannah Martin?"

I felt a small bit of tunnel vision come on. Nothing too crazy. I chalked it up as drinking too much too fast. "Uh, 'm from Massachusetts, near Salem," I answered.

"Oh, so you're a witch?" he snarked. I laughed a little too hard at the comment, resting my head on his shoulder.

Damn, Hannah, get it together. You're throwing yourself all over him. Desperate, my internal voice warned. He rubbed my back and chuckled as well. "I'm, I'm not a witch," I stammered. "Just w-weird."

"Yeah?" he cooed. Julian's touch and low voice were calming. I tried to lift my head to look at him but couldn't. 

"Jules, I...I," I began.

"Shh," he soothed, stroking my hair. "You're okay."

It suddenly felt natural for my eyes to be closed. An all-encompassing wave of exhaustion hit me. The pull of soothing darkness enticed me. And altogether, my consciousness slipped.

Previous Part | Next Part

[ariadnew]

CTJL 2021: FINALE, PART I

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

2021! I have become aware that it is now 2023, yes, thank you. I promise I am sufficiently ashamed of myself. But not a lot happens in my game these days, which means big things need to be celebrated bigger than usual... which, if you’re me, means you end up confusing your ambitions with your capabilities and end up squashed and discouraged beneath the weight of all the visions you couldn’t achieve, with several painful WIPs relegated to your blackest, backest project folders to show for it.

Fun!

Story-related stuff below the cut, if you’re into that.

Despite missing the opening show in Rio de Janeiro, the little Lowmax team managed to end the 2021 season with two riders on the podium! (Nobody was as shocked as I was) Archie & Speakeasy were awarded champion of the 1.30m class and second place overall, while Agatha & Poquelin won the 1.50m class and were hot on their heels in third place overall. Considering they were pipped by Elizabeth Howell, the face of the tour and arguably, the current face of show jumping itself, being the first losers wasn’t too tough!       Archie (who was almost as tall as Liz while she stood atop the towering first place position, much to the amusement of the press) was ever the professional- and frankly, ever himself- graciously shaking Liz’ hand and offering sincere congratulations, as well as the promise of a celebratory drink at the gala later on. Anyone who can manage to perform so well so consistently is deserving of as much in his book, but the fact Elizabeth (because you know he’s calling her ‘Elizabeth’ and not ‘Liz’) is managing it while still so young is rather impressive. As for Agatha...

There would be those who’d say she was jealous. But there are those who say a lot of things about Agatha. (”She looks like a hair yanker.”) (”Speaking to her is like a near-death experience.”) (”She’d eat him alive.”) (”I’d never want to meet her.”) (”Officially terrifying.”) (”Her favourite food is probably crisp charcoal.”) (...) In truth, yes: being beaten by someone younger than her wasn’t exactly thrilling, and being beaten by Archie again was adding insult to injury (even if it had privately been expected) But Agatha’s comparatively subdued demeanour had little to do with envy, and everything to do with her self-expectations. Self-expectations, and a hollow sort of feeling where there should have been excitement.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Big thanks to @calveroterranorasj for collaborating with me, and for allowing me to participate in the CTJL in the first place! I genuinely had a blast travelling the globe with the team and rubbing shoulders with the different characters out in the world. 

Fun bit of trivia for you: all those things ‘said’ about Agatha are all real things said at some point by my so-called friends. I’d be offended if I didn’t find them so amusing. The charcoal one in particular- courtesy of @kullabergs, who has a unique talent for insulting Agatha- has a permanent place in my head. Makes me smile every time. Ridiculous. I can’t even be mad about it.

Finally, I’m just going to say before anyone else asks: contrary to popular belief (the popular belief being that held by 3 out of the 4 people who’ve seen these photographs) Archie is not, in fact, proposing marriage to the 2021 CTJL Champion, Elizabeth Howell.

IT’S A GENTEEL HANDSHAKE, GUYS.

Honestly. 🙄

[veeble-beeble]

Ok I don't have Reddit and I don't feel like making a whole account for it yet (I might do it and delete this later) but I need to have some written form of my idea out there somewhere,

*this is my idea for a Pokemon game similar to Legends Arceus, just in the future, in the Hoenn region. If you're not into that just keep scrolling*

(I don't think I've seen this before, so if it already was created by someone, oopsie 💀)

My idea is that Hoenn, a few years into the future after Ruby and Sapphire, is developing odd, irregular weather/climate patterns that are causing major problems.

Hoenn, unlike some other regions, doesn't have a large area that is full of snow and ice; this means the region's ice-type pokemon aren't as prevalent compared to that of other regions.

This is where the game's antagonist comes in.

So there's this scientist (original, I know) and she is absolutely infatuated with ice-types. She loves them, they're her favorite type, and she thinks they're fascinating. She notices the fewer ice-types in the region and it upsets her since she's grown up in Hoenn, she loves the region, but her favorite type is lacking.

Her plan to solve this is to create a machine that will generate a colder area for the ice-type pokemon, but there's little to no funding for these projects (for a reason I haven't come up with yet). She is also criticized by the other members in her scientific community for her recklessness in failing to acknowledge how her plan would affect other nearby pokemon. They immediately reject her idea of the machine due to its dangerous possibilities if she pulls it off (they are taking no risks after Team Magma and Team Aqua's stunts).

After all of this, this scientist becomes very upset and uses what little money she was able to collect to proceed with inventing a smaller scale of her machine, despite her machine being prohibited.

This machine allows you to put a pokeball into a compartment, and it will materialize certain moves that pokemon has. (I have no idea how this will work, it just sounds neat. I'm being a lil silly w/ this 🫶)

When this machine is created, she gathers the small amount of colleagues that supported her idea to establish Team Blizzard. She uses this machine, with her ice-type pokemon, to force Hoenn to have more snow and cooler temperatures.

But it doesn't work very well, since her machine can produce snow, but not permanently change the weather, since none of her pokemon can (it's like when a pokemon sets up a weather condition that only lasts a few turns before it stops or is replaced with a different one)

So she considers the actions of an old friend she used to conduct research with (Maxie w/ Groudon), and another old friend she used to hang out with (Archie w/ Kyogre). And she decides to try and find a way to use Rayquaza (recently discovered after previous events from Ruby and Sapphire) to keep the snow around, permanently.

Of course, the player doesn't know any of this when they start. They pick up bits of the story as they play along, trying to figure out what's happening. The twist I want to put on it is that the scientist leading Team Blizzard is trying to gaslight them into helping her with Rayquaza and covering up her true intentions.

(This is as far as I've gotten so far, I might add more/edit it the more I think about it. If it's a stupid idea, let it be stupid ✌️😔 this is just a silly idea that came up in my mind)

[casketears]

edits that i would have made to riverdale if they'd known to hire me

more explicit hiram/archie/veronica. now i know what you must be thinking: how the fuck could it get more explicit than what was already shown, especially since archie is the flavor of oblivious gay that would mean he'd likely shirk any form of homosexual contact with a confused smile and an aha, whoa, did you– did i– no, im straight. yeah. but all the same i'd have liked some more sensual solo scenes with him and hiram. his deteriorated half disinterest in his relationship with veronica in favor of his growing obsession with her dad is good but not perfect. i want them to get touchier and weirder about it. and i want veronica to also get in on it

cheryl as an insane quasi incestuous straight woman. i have never seen a less convincing dyke than as portrayed by madelaine petsch, and i have never seen her have more chemistry with anyone than when she was either a) obsessing over jason, b) using archie as a romantic projection of jason or c) straight up romancing archie in season 7. it's actually absurd. also cheryl is fucking crazy in a commandeering action seeking sort of manner and archie is the ultimate orders boy so you can imagine what a red-haired power couple the two of them could have been. archie go die in my mines yes honey <3

if cheryl had to be a lesbian then at least let her be involved with donna sweett from season 3. no meaningful thoughts here i just think they could have enjoyed each other's weird mind games, writing/painting foils, and overall gothic aesthetics. and i bet donna wouldn't have been so lame about the whole taxidermied twin in the basement thing

more explicit hiram/reggie/veronica. here i do actually mean explicit. i want that boy passed between the two of them like a rebound blunt. i want him spitroasted by the narrative.

speaking of which reggie and archie should have at least made out in season 7 and it's actually preposterous they didn't. i never knew a gay man (the show creator) within a cast of gay characters could queerbait like that.

in the jughead paradox i would have loved to see a taste of the flavor of insanity that would have befallen jason if the roles were reversed and cheryl had been the one to die way back in episode 1. i think about this roleswap a normal amount

more ethel. thank fucking god season 7 gave her justice by letting her escape the narrative but i still wanted to know more about this dnd-obsessive horror artist weird girl (+ betty's arguable half sister)

i would have had reggie actually be groomed by that driving instructor (miss bella) in season 7 rather than have it be a red herring. more horrible parallels to archie etc. also i want him and veronica to stay in that awful toxic rebound-adjacent business partnership forever but that's just me

more on the season 7 mini jughead squad (dilton doiley, ben button, ethel muggs). they hinted at it and never delivered and it makes me lose my mind to think about

REMOVE THE PALLADIUM PLOTLINE. I HAVE NEVER CARED LESS ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE THAN THAT ROCK.

more detective drake from season 5. she showed up told betty to leave her man and experiment with women and left without even kissing her. also her name sounds like dyke. i miss her so much and also every day.

musical episode ideas: dear evan hansen (smth related to covering a murder and jughead is evan and archie is jared and a gun is in my mouth), bare: a pop opera (featuring gay kevin), in trousers or hadestown (they could never pull either off but i'd love to see them try).

actually fuck it also more on eric jackson from season 5. preferably dating archie but i'm not picky.

ARCHIE SHOULD HAVE ABSOLUTELY STAYED IN RIVERDALE IN THE EPILOGUE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE LEFT HE LIVES AND BREATHES AND BLEEDS RIVERDALE HE WOULD HAVE ABSOLUTELY NEVER LEFT BY CHOICE OR FREE WILL HE HAS A WIFE AND TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN AND IS BURIED OUTSIDE OF POP'S.

kevin worse quality life. yes i just don't think he goes through enough. i think he should have been in an unhealthy sexual relationship with the devil after he turned him into a cop (percival pickens) (i know percival is technically not the devil but he's english anyway)

cheryl should have had a cannibalism moment that post on tumblr was right

i don't think i emphasized enough earlier how badly i want explicit hiram/reggie/veronica. specifically of a flavor where both the former and the latter are using him to fill an archie shaped hole in their heart while also as a weird incest divorce cope to get back at their respective daughter/father. if you think i had established my point well enough just remember it again with me because it could have been beautiful. i'd have dragged this out for half a season at minimum

more on peaches the background character peaches (she is very attractive).

a proper time loop episode

was about to say 'canonically bisexual betty' (<- has been a vocal supporter since day 1 when she kissed veronica) but then remembered this is actually true and now i'm so happy i forgot most of the other qualms i was going to add on this list

non-sike deaf jughead

non-sike dead jughead

a jughead that kills himself and makes it everyone else's problem

[rainbowrocketquotes]

Maxie 🔥

Oh boy where do I even START with this man?

I know it's a rendering thing, but by god he just looks so short and skinny like?? Blow a fan in his general direction, and he'll fall over, I'm telling you. His hairline? Where the fuck is it going? He's perpetually stuck between 30 and 75, it doesn't work. Not to even mention THE OUTFITS.

You ever wonder why nobody uses his first design? HIS PANTS ARE WAY TOO BIG AND THE SHOES LOOK LIKE THE SPRAY ON SHOES FROM CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. You know how i said he's perpetually stuck between 30 and 75? THIS BITCH IS THE 75. His non-existent grandkids dressed him. Cmon grandpa lets get you THE FUCK BACK TO BED.

His remaster is better but not by much. You could have kept the cool ass shirt/jacket thing and put it under the coat if you were gonna go all out with the sweating to death, but NOOO, you had to do this stupid hoodie thing SEWN TO IT?? PLUS the shorts and leggings?? My man is that WOOL?? THE BOOTS ARE THEY TRANSPARENT? IS THAT THE TEXTURE??? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, YOU WORK IN VOLCANOES DIPSHIT YOU'RE GOING TO OVERHEAT IN .5 SECONDS.

The only canon source material where his face and hair aren't awful, his clothes are still chaotic! He's wearing a poncho with horns on the hood. If you haven't seen him, look at this idiot (I love him):

On top of his terrible fashion sense, he's just an IDIOT IN GENERAL? Not only did he steal a submarine (why the fuck do you need a submarine) HE TOOK THE WRONG ORB? DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO TAKE BOTH ORBS?? JUST THE ONE? AND IT'S THE WRONG ONE?

This is the guy they trust to lead a whole ass team? This is the guy the fandom likes more?? The guy who didn't take high school biology? The guy who, in the manga, has an alcohol addiction who canonically gets murdered by his antithesis? Why does the community like Maxie more? I love him, don't get me wrong, but like... Really? This is the guy you project the SANE onto? THE SANEST GUY? NO! HE'S ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT AND HE'S 100% ON ARCHIE'S LEVEL OF CHAOS AND STUPID. END OF STORY.

Anyways I love Maxie I promise I literally dye my hair red and own a replica of his glasses. (This is not a joke)

[shesnake]

ok saurrr i JUST finished ep3 of the Lazarus project so SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't seen it. i know a lot of ethical questions are being raised here but i wanted to know your thoughts on the absolute horror of that episode and the ethics involved because im so confused and conflicted and horrified (in a good way!) idk like maybe here are just some thoughts but: the way people react to each other's tragedies is soo fascinating. the way wes was cold about the rebrovs' son's death but cried when faye dies and when threatened of her own life. the way shiv cries but does nothing (and yet is the only one who tries to acknowledge the horror), the way archie saw it coming and the first thing she does is point it out just to prevent future heartbreak, the way janet knew the risks and did it anyway and that STILL doesn't negate the fact that it was still horrible that she lost her son even though everyone knew it was a real possibility. and the way you can read rebrov's breakdown as a possible empathetic response to archie losing wes even though he also partly blames them for not saving the timeline sooner. the way that janet knows the agony that can result specifically from turning back time and yet helps george anyway because despite it all, she still chose to give birth to her daughter every time.

hellooooooo babe I appreciate these messages so much I love talking about TLP. ok SO:

in relation to wes.. SO many questions about her and the project itself. we are supposed to assume they have no allegiances with any country and operate independently, but they clearly have a western bias which makes me wonder who's really in charge? is their job not just western imperialism? how is wes the highest they can go up the ladder but she doesn't seem to have much idea of what's going on? what does she know? who the fuck is she???? if lazarus isn't tied to any government what keeps them in check?? who's playing god here? because I don't think it's wes.

lazarus agents all seem to be conditioned to be fine violating whatever geneva conventions it takes to get the job done for the greater good. they're all selected from imperialist militant intelligence backgrounds. shiv was brought in at a VERY young age because he "did the right thing" in the eyes of lazarus/wes and the kind of loyalty that cemented in him, probably grateful to have an answer/directive to this thing that's been happening to him all his life. lazarus is the highest authority and the closest thing to god for shiv. and they let him in BECAUSE he "did the right thing" in their eyes, so he wants to keep doing whatever that is. even if there was something he could've done differently in those last moments before the first checkpoint of ep 3, would he??? I don't think he would've at that point before later character development.

(side note: george also got time loop consciousness by a fluke and already had a solid background in tech so that he could easily work in their intelligence. sometimes I wonder what might happen to a random person with time loop consciousness who had no existing skills or resources useful to lazarus. would they just leave them to go mad???)

then there's the greater good in question. dennis is such an insane character to me because I get it!!! I really do!!!! tom burke also played a character not dissimilar to rebrov in my fav show utopia. he's objectively evil for wanting humanity's extinction to happen, but he's written in a way where we can actually empathise with that pain, because what happens to him and janet is sure as fuck enough to make you question god.

then with janet... I think her decision to go through the first pregnancy despite the risky timing speaks to how much she loved and trusted the people she worked with at lazarus. they were all brought together by their shared time loop consciousness and their fucked up jobs they can't talk about to anyone else. your coworkers are all you've got when you're all working for god. you can't Not be loyal you can't Not care about each other. (even when archie loses ross and decides to never love again she is such a FIERCE friend, even to george. shiv is the same.) that silly exchange with the whole group "janet had a bleed" "I can confirm agent rebrov has pamphlets" like they were/are literally a familyyyyyyyyyyy she thought they were going to keep her safe and then they FAILED HER.

and then with choosing to have her daughter... I think it stopped being a choice after the first couple resets but one could argue it might never have been a choice because it's what she feels she owes/is owed after losing her son? the way the daughter is born time loop conscious as well is insane. CRAZYYY episode of television