#DEADEND THRILLS

[afurbaday]

He's not too amused about the fake boat, he wants a real adventure!

[bellaxgiornata]

As Luck Would Have It [1/2]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.5k [Part Two]

Warnings/tags: Humor, fluff, and a charming, teasing Matty

Summary: Stressed out while working on a dead-end case at Nelson, Murdock, and Page, Matt isn't too thrilled when Foggy interrupts and asks him for a favor. Despite his annoyance at another task being added to his list of things to do, Matt is shocked when the potential client Foggy asks him to call turns out to be a wrong number. What's even more surprising is how much Matt enjoys chatting with the woman on the other end of the line.

a/n: This is going to be a short, two part piece. It's light and fluffy so I hope y'all enjoy it! Feedback/reblogs are always appreciated!

Matt Murdock One Shot Tag List: @pazii @shouldbestudying41 @kmc1989 @ebathory997 @yeonalie @shiorimakibawrites @xxdrixx @wkndwllf @leikelle @pinkratts @lazyxsquirrel @1988-fiend @marvelcinematiquniverse @carstairswife @stilldreaming666 @kiwwia-wiwwia @willwork4dilfs @will-delete-this-later-probably @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @theetherealbloom @yarrystyleeza @dramaholic18 @ladywholikesreading @sleepysleepymom @tartbeanpuzzles @harleycao @sunflower-tia @gamingfeline @juskonutoh @kezibear @ninacotte @withyoutilltheendoftheline @justanerd1

Matt’s fingers slid across his braille reader, his brows furrowed together in deep concentration as he focused on reading the digital document displayed on his laptop. This entire case had been draining him lately, only managing to aggravate him as he continually hit legal wall after legal wall trying to figure out how to help their client. What made things worse was that he knew what was really happening behind the scenes in this case that he, Foggy, and Karen had been working on, but he also knew that Matt Murdock wasn't supposed to know about any of that.  

With a vexed grunt he raised a hand from off his braille reader, running it through his hair in agitation as he blew out a frustrated breath. Tired of reading the same thing over and over with no new way forward, Matt pushed his chair back from the desk in annoyance. The desk lurched a few inches across the floor at the force as Matt grit his teeth together. 

He wished he could use the information he'd uncovered last night as Daredevil. That would have solved all of his problems and easily saved their client. But of course, none of that evidence was remotely admissible in court. So while he knew where the truth lay in this entire case, he was still currently helpless to use the law in his fight for justice. Though he was certainly determined to keep picking through detail after detail in search of something he could use to his client’s benefit.

The sound of footsteps approaching his office door caught Matt’s attention and his head shifted to the side. Matt pushed all thoughts of his frustrating case out of his mind as he focused on the noise. Barely a second later the sound of Foggy’s unmistakable heartbeat registered in his ears just before two knocks sounded against his door.

“What do you need, Fog?” Matt called out.

He heard the door handle twist, the door to his office opening as Foggy stepped inside. Matt didn’t have to exert much effort studying him to notice how stressed Foggy currently was. His blood pressure was quite clearly elevated this morning along with his cortisol levels–he could practically smell the stress in the faint bit of sweat on Foggy’s forehead. So apparently Matt wasn't the only one having a shitty day at the firm today. At least he wasn't alone in that.

“Hey, Matt,” Foggy began hesitantly, stopping just inside his office before shifting his weight back and forth along his feet almost nervously. “I know you're busy running yourself into the ground for the Richmond case, and I know how frustrating it's been to keep hitting a deadend. But…” he trailed off for a moment, Matt catching the faint waver in his tone. “I was actually hoping to ask you for a favor this morning.”

Matt’s head tilted curiously to the side, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses at Foggy. Leaning back in his desk chair, he lowered his hands down onto his lap and attempted to keep the annoyed fidgeting of his fingers hidden from his friend. The last thing Matt wanted right now was another task added to his agenda for the day. All he wanted was to make headway on this case before it drove him insane.

“What kind of favor?” he asked, trying to keep the edge from his tone.

Matt heard Foggy take a few more steps forward into his office, stopping just in front of his desk. The sound of something like a small slip of paper faintly rustled between Foggy’s fingers as he stood there. 

“Elliott got a call a bit ago from someone by the name of Edgar Philips who was potentially interested in hiring us,” Foggy began to explain, setting the paper down onto Matt's desk before sliding it across the surface towards him. “And the case sounded… interesting to say the least. But the thing is, Karen is out today dealing with the Rodriguez building permit thing, and I'm about to head over to the courthouse. So I was…sort of hoping you could call them back and handle the consultation? Somehow fit them in today?”

Matt could hear the way the muscles in Foggy’s face had contracted, sounding like he'd almost grimaced when he had asked for the favor. His heart rate had accelerated just a bit, meaning Fog was clearly anxious that Matt would decline to help take on even more work today. Truthfully he wanted to decline calling this possible client because he was already swamped with the Richmond case, but maybe taking a few minutes to focus on something else would benefit him. Maybe stepping away for a bit before coming back to things with a fresh mind would help him see things a little differently. Clearly he wasn’t making any progress this morning doing what he had been doing. 

With an exasperated sigh, Matt slid his hand across his desk to where he’d heard Foggy set the slip of paper. His fingers felt around the wooden surface for a second before he found it.

“Yeah, I'll make the call,” Matt told him, pulling the paper towards himself. 

Foggy let out a relieved breath, the sound of his entire body relaxing impossible for Matt's ears to miss. At least he could make Fog's day a little better.

“Great, seriously! Thank you, buddy,” Foggy said in a rush. “You have no idea how helpful that is right now. I've already got so much to do today, I really didn't know how I was going to fit that call in. And you know how bad the reception can be at the courthouse.” Foggy laughed good-naturedly, his mood already lifting. “But hey, before I go, did you need me to read that phone number off for you? Or dial it even?”

Matt's fingers ran over the indentation of Elliott's pen marks on the paper. Despite how scatterbrained their new secretary often tended to be, he at least appreciated that the man had a heavy hand when he took notes from the calls he answered. It at least made things easier for Matt to read without too much extra assistance–something he loathed having to ask for if he didn’t need to.

“No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “I can make the numbers out just fine. Don't worry about me, Fog. Just go take care of what you need to. I'll deal with this Edgar Philips.”

Foggy’s hands clapped loudly together, Matt picking up on the sounds of his feet as he already began to back out of his office. 

“Thank you, Matt, you're a life saver!” he exclaimed. “You know, more than you usually are.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Matt said with a grin. “Can you just shut the door again on your way out, though?”

“Can do!” Foggy replied. 

Matt swore he heard the air shift as Foggy sent him a salute. Chuckling lightly at his best friend's ability to lighten the mood, he heard the sound of his office door closing before he heard the muffled sound of Foggy’s footsteps as he began making his exit from the office. 

For a minute Matt sat in his chair, listening as Foggy said a brief goodbye to Elliott before leaving. Then the usual ‘silence’ of their office returned. Though it was never truly quiet to Matt because he could still hear the hum of the lights in the building, the almost constant tapping of Elliott's fingers on his keyboard in the room over, and even the incessant buzzing of a fly that had been trapped in the office since yesterday afternoon. 

Foul mood slowly returning, Matt's fingers ran over the pen marks on the slip of paper still in his hands. Glancing down towards it, he wondered what the interesting case that Foggy had mentioned was actually supposed to be about. To Matt, interesting just translated to complicated, which was the last thing he needed right now. Though whatever it was, he figured getting the call out of the way would be the best course of action for now. Afterwards he’d be free to continue working on the Richmond case for the rest of the day, hopefully without any further interruptions or distractions.

Shifting in his chair, he slipped his cell phone from out of his dress pants pocket, the electronic hum of it louder now that it wasn’t muffled by fabric. He raised it to his mouth before speaking a few voice commands into it, then he took a second to recite the number he’d been given from off the paper. Sitting back in his chair, Matt listened to the familiar dial tone as he held the phone to his ear, but surprisingly it only managed to ring twice before someone had quickly answered.

“Seriously, Lindsey, I said I’d call afterwards,” a distinctly annoyed and hushed female voice came over the line. “There’s nothing of interest for me to report yet and now you’re just making me even more nervous. At this point my armpits are going to be as sweaty as my hands.”

Sitting forward in his chair, Matt rested his elbows along the top of his desk. A small grin slipped onto his mouth as he tossed the little slip of paper somewhere among the mess of papers before himself. He hadn’t expected that to be the response to his call, but now the person on the other end of the line had captured his undivided attention.

“Maybe you should try using more deodorant then,” Matt cheekily suggested.

A surprised gasp met his ear, the sound making his smile widen further. Clearly whoever he'd gotten ahold of had just now realized they were in fact not speaking with Lindsey. 

“Oh, shit,” came your clearly embarrassed and still hushed voice as the realization that you were speaking to someone else settled in. “I'm sorry, I totally thought you were my friend calling back. I didn't check the caller ID because I didn't want my ringtone to make any more of a nuisance than it already had been making because it's so loud. I swear I don't ever hear it if I don't have the volume up so high. But now I am incredibly regretting the decision to not just have taken the two seconds to look and check the number first.” 

There was a pause where you loudly cleared your throat over the line. Matt found himself still grinning at the word vomit that seemed to keep coming from you with no end in sight, his irritation at having to make this call quickly vanishing. His left hand began to absently fiddle with a pen from his desk as he listened to you ramble on further.

“Clearly you're not Lindsey and now I'm absolutely mortified,” you continued in a rush. “But for the record, I am wearing deodorant. A lot of it actually. I'm just nervous and it makes me extra sweaty, alright? I don't like job interviews. They terrify me.” Your voice dropped to an even quieter tone as you continued on, Matt not remotely interested in stopping you because you had easily become the most fascinating part of his day. “And I dislike when you have to sit and wait in those stiff plastic chairs while the secretary keeps shooting you random smiles from their desk like you're not about to vomit all over the floor from nerves. I swear they make you sit outside the office for at least ten minutes like it's some sort of extra secret test before the actual interview takes place. Are they supposed to be judging how I sit and do nothing? Or how I handle intentionally being asked to show up at a certain time but am purposely made to sit and wait? I swear, it’s done on purpose.”

“So what I'm gathering from all of that,” Matt finally began when you had paused to take a breath, still grinning as he spoke, “is that you are not the Edgar Philips I am looking for, nor were you the one who most likely tried contacting the law firm of Nelson, Murdock, and Page earlier this morning on his behalf. Am I correct in that assumption?”

There was a very long pause on your end of the line after he'd spoken. Matt waited patiently for you to respond though, his left hand still leisurely flipping the pen back and forth between his fingers.

“Did you say…law firm?” you hesitantly asked. 

“Yes, I did,” Matt replied. 

“So you're a…?”

“Lawyer, yes. One of the partners, actually,” he answered easily. “And one who must have somehow gotten the wrong number it appears, judging by your response.”

“Yeah, I uh–” you cleared your throat again, “–I definitely didn't call your office today. And I am certainly not Edgar Philips.”

“Ahh well, my apologies,” Matt said, setting his pen back down on his desk before sitting back in his chair. “I'm sorry to have interrupted your day, especially at such an inconvenient time as right before a job interview. I suppose I shouldn’t further distract you.”

There was a small part of Matt that almost felt reluctant to end the call already, dreading having to ask Elliott for help with the clearly incorrect phone number so he could get in touch with the actual Mr. Philips before going back to that irritating Richmond case. You'd been an amusing distraction this morning at least. 

“Actually you've somehow managed to calm my nerves,” you replied. “Apparently embarrassing myself with a stranger has now made me feel less like vomiting.”

“Any less sweaty?” Matt teased, unable to help himself.

You laughed lightly over the line, the sound a pleasant one that seemed to ease the tension from Matt’s own body. Something about your voice and your way of immediately speaking to him as if you'd known him for longer than two minutes had drawn him in.

“Maybe a fraction less, thank you for that,” you answered. “You uh, you have a calming voice, whichever part of Nelson, Murdock, and Page you are.”

Matt's brows quickly shot up onto his forehead in surprise. No one had told him that before.

“I do?” he asked.

“Mhmm,” you hummed back. “You know, if you ever need money, you'd be great at calling people and talking to them until they relax before they have to do something they're nervous about–like going to a job interview. Or maybe even attending events with them to keep them calm or something. You know what I’m saying?”

Matt couldn't resist the laugh that slipped out of his mouth, his head tilting to the side. “Is that an actual thing that exists? Because it almost sounds like you're just describing a male escort,” he pointed out.

“ No !” your harsh whisper came over the line, the embarrassment in it causing Matt to chuckle again. “Oh no, that's not–no I didn't mean it like that! I swear! Is that even legal in New York City? Though I suppose maybe you don't live here since this is a wrong number and all... But no! That’s not what I meant!”

Matt relaxed further back in his chair, finding that he'd been enjoying this unexpected conversation with you this morning far more than he could’ve thought. He truly didn't want to end the call even though he knew he would need to soon. Though he found himself wishing for an excuse to talk to you again already.

“I do live in New York City actually,” he answered. “And male escorts aren't supposed to be getting paid for their time in the way that you're currently thinking about, so yes, they are actually quite legal.”

“I imagine as a lawyer that owns your own law firm, though,” you began, “you don't exactly need a side hustle as a male escort. And that–that’s a joke, by the way,” you quickly clarified. “You know what? Just forget I said that, I'm just nervous for this interview. I'm rambling.”

“You are, but I'm enjoying it,” he told you. “But our law firm tends to take on lots of cases pro bono, so truthfully, I could probably use a side hustle. I'll keep your vote of confidence as a male escort in mind if I ever struggle to continue paying my bills.”

The bark of laughter followed by your soft curse under your breath had Matt’s cheeks hurting from how wide his smile had grown. 

“Despite how entertaining this call has been, I should really go,” you said. “I imagine they should be calling me back soon and I probably shouldn’t be sitting here looking like I’m having so much fun on the phone judging by the frown the secretary just gave me. I’ve never had one frown at me before and I’d really not like to mess up my chances here. I kind of really want this job so I can actually do something with my degree.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll do just fine, but either way, I wish you luck,” Matt replied. “I should probably get back to work myself, but I’ll admit that you’ve been a pleasant distraction from a case I’ve been struggling with myself, so thank you.”

“Then I wish you luck as well, stranger,” you replied. “I hope you make some progress on your case.”

“I suppose if I don’t, there’s always other viable career options for me that I’ve recently had my eyes opened to,” Matt teased.

He enjoyed the sound of your laugh over the line one last time before you told him goodbye. Almost reluctantly Matt ended the call, lowering his phone down onto his desk. His smile faltered as he once more overheard the sound of Elliott’s fingers typing on his computer. With a defeated sigh he pushed his chair back, rising up to his feet and accepting the fact that he’d need to ask Elliott for help dialing Mr. Philips correctly.

“Matt, this is–” Foggy began but quickly stopped himself.

Matt sat back in his chair, a triumphant smile spread wide across his mouth as he continued to listen to both Karen and Foggy rifling through the documents he’d had printed out early this morning. The three of them were currently sitting in the conference room while Matt proudly sat back, enjoying the sound of the pair of them getting excited over what he’d discovered yesterday afternoon. Apparently taking a step away from the case for a little bit had been just the thing he needed to do to come back at it with a different angle.

“Dude, this is exactly what we needed for that Richmond case!” Foggy finally exclaimed, his head darting up towards Matt. “You’re brilliant!”

“Ahh, well,” Matt said with a smug smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “Just doing my job, Fog.”

“This must have taken a lot of creative thinking,” Karen muttered, still flipping through the papers. “Hell, Matt, I think you just saved this whole case.”

Matt had been about to respond, tempted to make another cocky comment, but the sound of his phone receiving a text cut him off. Brows furrowing together slightly, he slipped his hand into his pants pocket and pulled his phone out. Holding it up to his ear and muttering out a command, he slid back his chair from the conference table before rising up to his feet and walking a few steps away from Foggy and Karen. 

He frowned slightly at the number the automated voice began to read off in his ear almost immediately. It wasn’t one he had recognized. Why would a strange number be texting him? Though when he heard that same automated voice begin to read out the text message he’d received, a small smile easily slipped onto his face.

“Just wanted to let you know that I was offered the job already this morning,” the automated voice read into Matt’s ear. “Apparently you’re my good luck charm, stranger. So thanks for the chat. Hope you made some progress on your case, too.”

For a moment Matt just stood there in shock, holding the phone to his ear and grinning like a fool. He hadn’t expected to ever hear from you again, and he certainly hadn't anticipated the burst of pride at your news. And apparently you’d also been his good luck charm because after he'd dealt with the real Edgar Philips, he finally made a break on the case that had stumped him for weeks. 

Without a second thought, Matt turned around to face both Karen and Foggy, lowering his phone to his side. “Hey, I’ve got to respond to this message,” he told them. “Do you mind if I handle this back in my office now?”

“No, no,” Foggy answered distractedly, the air shifting as he clearly waved Matt off. “Go do your thing, buddy. We've got plenty to focus on at the moment.”

Trying to fight back the growing smile on his mouth as he maneuvered his way back over towards where he'd been sitting, Matt picked up his cane that had been resting against the table. As he navigated his way out of the conference room and back to the privacy of his office, he already began thinking up a response to your message. And he also wondered how strange it would be if he called instead of texted you back.

[alizjay]

Thankfully, I have people now. But it's been a long road. It even took me awhile to realize I was accepted by my husband that I married at age 22.

Somewhere I Belong…that song by Linkin Park

I used to feel those lyrics while I lay down in the dark…

While trying to get some sleep after another day of stress.

Of counting down the days til I could leave the suffocating nest.

I never belonged in my family of five, I never felt too thrilled to even be alive.

An invisible force kept me scared and in hiding.

Even out of the nest, I couldn't risk backsliding…from the straight and narrow path that they made me go down, from the good ol' "family values" instilled by that small town.

My illusion of God being my best friend kept me going. It prevented the truth from becoming part of my knowing.

And as I went to school and attempted to make friends, I didn't know what I was doing. I kept crashing into deadends.

Friendships never lasted. I was always getting blasted…by rejection and dismissal so I had to just stop trying.

There was nowhere to belong. My only hope was growing up. Of branching out on my own and finding somewhere to belong…finding people to belong to that could actually accept me…but mostly I just found a bunch more people to reject me.

[geniusbook1]

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[halky-on]

Where i left off.

28/05/23

Pandji Pragiwaksono once said

“ You’ll never able to kill your dreams, you’ll only able to temporarily bury it even for decades, one day it’ll came back and crawl on your back, in a form of regrets. “

As i pick things where i left off, im writing a scripts for my next content, i got hit with two things at once: university life & youtube life. I know it’s my doing bcs i want to make a content about how i use a specific gadget for college life albeit i’m a late university students due to graduate. I’m on a better side of this situation now but several hours ago i was in a deadend of what i’ll write for this, so and so i think “ am i even qualified as a student? “ .. “ am i even qualified as a youtuber? “

It’s rlly thrilling to see how everyone stands at the tech youtube space right now, and i rlly rlly feels so old already. They surpassed me all, but to think about it again, i’m also at the “old” side of this in experience context, i think more than ever now i know which part i need to highlight the most and which part of youtube should shine: the storywriting.

It’s buried deep inside me but seeing how i able to write, i think there’s still hope haha, perhaps not a chance for me to reshine again, but a chance of me to prove myself that i’m still able to do this and march with a drum myself bring, where i left off.

[deltondemarestarts]

Red dot 🔴 party… 🤣😎 always thrilled and flattered by the continuous support! Enjoy viewing the works from the previous year next to this years work. I love that “Dead End” painting… sad to see it go but looking at the works as a whole the feel of “38th Bridge under the tracks” is still one of my favorite plein air paintings. Thanks to friends, collectors, supporters, and instructors here’s to a great 2023! Enjoy your Friday evening 🥳 #deltondemarest #oilpainting #pleinair #allaprima #nopleinnogain #deadend #tablemountain #trackside #i70destruction (at Delton Demarest Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnGFtRrrf3d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-devil-less-known]

It's more fun than it probably should be, almost like a game. Stalking the Radio Demon. Lucifer flies between sconces and decorative vases on tables, using them to keep himself hidden when he thought necessary, trying to keep either well below or well above eye level. There wasn't a way for him to be certain of how attentive Alastor was to his surroundings this first time, so the utmost caution was key.

The minions, admittedly, freaked him out. What were they?? The little guys didn't even seem to notice him, even if they had incidentally invaded his hiding spot. The devil almost gave himself away, thinking Alastor knew he was there and sic'd them on his spy. In reality, he realized, it was likely something unrelated or he thought it was a rat. Lucifer didn't stick around to see what they were doing that first time.

Maybe when he wasn't so small or vulnerable next time.

He doesn't stay near enough to make out the music, using the faint sound as not only a marker for where his target was wandering to, but how close was too close. The ears twitching and rotating his only warning for near detection. It's thrilling and low risk, relatively. Having plausible deniability for what he was doing in the public halls of the hotel.

Same, however, could not be said for Alastor's personal room.

Lucifer hesitates, knowing where the deadend would lead, after such a long day. He could justify being snoopy during work hours, doing the duties of any employee that could be seen by anyone should they have wandered by at a chance moment... But behind closed doors, when the other thought he was alone...?

It's not a sinful murmur in his mind that tempts him; it's Lucifer's own voice in his thoughts that makes up the excuses he chose to use. This was entirely of his own Free Will to invade Alastor's privacy. To break that social contract. No matter how he tried to justify or excuse it, and the fallen angel knew that.

Even as he gives the tiniest flare of energy to teleport right above Alastor's head mid-flap, timing it with the sound of the door moving and the rustling of clothes, to hide out of the way in the room... Lucifer wrestles with that uncomfortable feeling of Knowing what he was doing was fundamentally Wrong.

The feeling only grows upon seeing that the room is a personal chamber, stacks of books and paper, personal affects, he Knows better. What levels would he stoop to next, rooting through Alastor's things?

Seeing bits of the book falling to the ground.... The answer is shamefully yes.

Just enough to use the cover later for reference sake from where he espied a section landed underneath the desk... But he would need to wait until Alastor was more thoroughly distracted ...which meant invading his space longer.... Fuck. He was regretting this so much right now—

Quite unlike the devil who had a generous amount of free time to do as he liked. Prior to actually coming over to the hotel, he would have been feeding into his neurosis concerning making the Perfect Gift for Charlie. However, now that there's an option to visit her on the regular, now that he's aware of what lengths she would go to accomplishing her dream, he had a new one to feed into: helicopter parenting.

That was half meant in jest; the other half showing when being drawn into conversation with Husk about what he had missed in the weeks since his last visit. More specifically what the Princess had gotten up to, since his, uh, attempts at calling were usually met with a comment that he should come over to see for himself. Or another bid at giving sinners a chance without preemptively condemning them.

Hardly illuminating.

Firstly, he narrowly missed running into his daughter before her and Vaggie (so he had heard correctly that other time? It wasn't Maggie??) had went out that veryyy early morning to the western most distinct that now laid destroyed.

Apparently, there had been the thought since no overlord currently had it under the jurisdiction, it would be easier to find those interested in trying anything new. Like redemption. It had also been a place that Sir Pentious had often visited when he had been living. More than one reason for it to be under Charlie's current radar... and one for him to stay until she comes back for the night, just to be certain that she does.

Second, there had been a bigger influx of people visiting the hotel for one reason or another. Not all stayed, some simply testing to see if they could take it over, but there had been three people that stayed for a short stint. Time would tell if they would come back to try in earnest or discover that they were truly unrepentant.

There's a muted thump out of his line of sight, a pointed ear twitching and perking up from what sounded like a cat landing a jump. Lucifer doesn't turn to see the cause, but instead uses not only Husker's facial expression (downward tilt of the mouth and briefly narrowed eyes) and a chance reflection on the metal canister being cleaned. It wasn't accurate, but he had a feeling that the person on the landing wasn't AngelDust, or the bar tender likely would have greeted the sinner on the landing. Bingo.

He waits, until Alastor moves on from not only from view, but for an extra few seconds more, before winking at Husk and turning into a small cockatiel. He fluffs up his feathers, yellow crest puffing up in mischief as he gives a little trill at Husker's unimpressed expression. Flapping up to do a little circle around the cat's head before flying away. There was no plan on starting anything— just some minor stalking was all...

And being a small bird has its advantages for that.

[ettadunham]

I feel your frustrations about Landon, at this point WHY EVEN??? What is even this limbo plot? Why is Aria so silo'd away from the cast for so long??? And then the thing with MG being mad at Lizzie for asking Ethan's help instead of his?

And Like, it's not just my shippy Hope/Lizzie heart, but Lizzie didn't seem thrilled with MG's love confession, right? (Also, MG knowing about the sirebond and NOT getting how heavy that makes me think non of the vamp kids know the main ingredient for it for vampire sire bonds -- mainly, LOVE).

I have no idea what's going on, maybe there's some real life reason why the actor was sequestered away into this deadend plot, or maybe they just wanted the character out of the picture for a while and this was all they could come up with, and if it's the latter... Oh boy. They're stretching everyone's patience, and that may even include Aria - these are young actors, they can probably find more interesting roles that may even pay better than the CW, just a thought...

I also just honestly felt the same type of "go girl, give us nothing" energy with that goodbye scene between Landon and Hope that you mention with Lizzie's non reaction. No one clapped. But maybe we are projecting our own tired feelings with these storylines, that's probably part of it.

(I'm also starting to get the feeling that this show itself doesn't know what a sire bond is, or just decided to ignore the previous rules altogether. Which I'm not wholly against, but maybe establish that for the confused viewer then 😂)

[melancatholic]

“cherries”

One sunny afternoon

On the pavements walked a little boy

Wind blowing on his hair

Wild curiosity in the air

He's never been in this neighborhood before

But his feet couldn't stop walking some more

When suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks

Eyes looking through fence cracks

Where bushes of cherries populated gardens

Red and plump and arden

So much red his mouth starts to water

Oh how sweet they would taste on his tongue after

It was almost like a dream

That his pants couldn't help but scream

The gates were wide open to his surprise

So he trespassed and spoiled his eyes

He picked on the cherries

A few bursting on his fingers

Sticky and wet like crushed berries

He bit his lip and ate one

Then two then four

His mind running wild on the score

Then ran away when he was done

He kept on walking

More low fences on the side

More cherries more temptation

More sweetness more intoxication

He took way too much than he needed

From unguarded fences

No one to tell him no

No one to tell him he's reckless

His mouth dripped red

With his sugar stained hands

He could still taste the sweetness

Lingering in the wetness

Eventually he ran out of cherries

And he strolled to find other unlocked doors

Desperation in his veins

For he wanted more of the inebriating daze

Then came one house with tall brick walls

No low fences

No open gates

Perhaps there's cherries in there

Maybe even more than he can estimate

But he couldn't quite tell

So he jumped high and climbed

Intrigued by obscurity

Urged by compulsivity

The wall was taller than he expected

Sweat broke through his forehead

And he thought it must be a deadend

Once he reached the top

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped

For it was nothing he could've imagined

A garden teeming with cherries 

Here and there

Rarely touched, rarely seen

As if no one even tried to dare

And whomever was the last

Was the reason the wall was cast

He could already imagine what they taste

And he wasn't going to let this go to waste

He let himself fall

And landed on the soil

Taking in the view

Breathing in the dew

This is something new

And for the first time it kicked in

He was witnessing beauty not everyone had luxury to

Butterflies and flowers

Bushes and clovers

This was all his until the owner comes over

It didn't take him long to pick

Snatching a big handful of cherries from their branches

Shoving them into his hungry mouth

He indulged and indulged to his greed

He almost forgot he wasn't supposed to be there and heed

No one caught him, no one saw

The only witnesses were the bees and their was honey raw

Even the shy butterflies fell in love with him in awe

The last person there left it a mess

So many flies, so many pests

They had to rebuild the garden with no rest

And maybe this boy would finally be different from the rest

It was heaven for a while

It almost drove him mad

How could something be so good?

The previous gardens all of a sudden never could

But nothing lasts forever

Not even thrill

The excitement in his eyes died off

He no longer got his fill

After he took and took somehow the cherries still didn't suffice

He got what he wanted but at what price?

He was still hungry even though he was full

Nothing in that garden was enough anymore

Not the honey, not the leaves

The bees begged him to stay when he decided to leave

Pulling his feet back when he climbed the wall again

However, there was nothing they can do to stop him then

And so the boy was back on his stride

In search for something not even he knew what

Whilst the bees and butterflies missed him

Behind those brick high walls

Waiting for him to return 

Even though deep inside they knew he wouldn’t

He left it a mess

Just like the person before him

They were wrong when they thought it would finally be him

And now they have to start from scratch again

Pick up the fallen branches

Grow back empty patches

Why do they always take?

And abandon when there’s nothing left?

Perhaps the walls aren’t high enough

Maybe the pricks should be more deadly

This way everyone would keep out their games

And stop taking cherries from my garden already.

- chantal

[notsosilentsister]

I have some respect for the GameStop deadenders who went into this clear-eyed, in the spirit of spite and nihlism, to expose the rottenenness at the core of the system, etc., but I'm teaching high school economics, and from my view on the ground, my current impression is that if that's the goal, it's kinda backfiring. This week all my classes wanted to talk about GameStop - I rarely see my students this engaged. And not in the sense of, "let's stick it to Wall Street", more in the sense of "Could we do this too?"/"Could we get rich this way?".

So I spent a good deal of time explaining how risky this particular scheme is, and how  extremly likely it is that retail investors will get hurt eventually, but then my students just wanted to talk about other stocks and investment opportunities. This current episode is really not doing anything to put them off the whole affair, on the contrary, it's giving them all kinds of ideas. And I'm feeling kinda weird about it? Because on the one hand, sure, I'm thrilled that students are showing interest in my subject! Students actually coming to you "Can we talk about this in class?" and it's a topic that's even on the curriculum - how great is that? But on the other hand, this topic is always tricky for me, because I have to be very careful to keep my personal opinion out of the lesson as much as possible, firstly, because I don't want my students to feel indoctrinated, and secondly, because my personal opinion on this matter somewhat undermines me as a teacher. I'm supposed to teach financial literacy, and, regardless of any feelings I might have about the merits of capitalism, I think that's a useful thing to do. As long as that's the system we have, it's a good thing to give kids the means to navigate it. I don't want my students to become the dumb money. But sometimes I wonder whether the way I teach this topic might be desigend to discourage them too much from investing in the stock market (I don't have any sleepless nights over it though, because it's clearly not working anyway; they're, as I said, very much not discouraged). But the horrible truth is that in my heart of hearts I don't really believe that success on the stock market is very much about financial literacy. In my heart of hearts I believe there's basically no art to it whatsoever as long as you have so much money that you can invest a good chunk of it without ever actually needing to turn it into cash particularly urgently, so you can diversify your portfolio and just sit out any drama. And if you don't have that sort of money (which applies to the majority of my students; this is not a fancy private school or something), it's mostly gambling. Which can work out well enough, I guess, if you somehow manage to mostly gamble with other people's money, but of course that's not the direction I want to steer my students in. Because I don't want them to become the smart money either, who takes advantage of the rubes. But in a way it's not for me to make that decision for them, and I can't anway, and that's probably for the better.

[art-officivl]

Dead End Thrills ⚠️💋

A Dead End Thrills post? Or the story of my life?

[bellaxgiornata]

I've gotten this already finished as a one shot but my plan is to give it a little second part, too (which I've started already), so I figured I'd finally share the summary! My brain needed to step away from all the series I've been making rough draft updates for (which I'll explain more about in a few weeks) so I wrote this in about a day! It's mostly fluff and a little humor!

As Luck Would Have It

Stressed out while working on a deadend case at Nelson, Murdock, and Page, Matt isn't too thrilled when Foggy interrupts and asks him for a favor. Despite his annoyance at another task being added to his list of things to do, Matt is shocked when the potential client Foggy asks him to call turns out to be a wrong number. What's even more surprising is how much Matt enjoys chatting with the woman on the other end of the line.

[theshatteredrose]

Time for my thoughts on the game

Ok, so this will be from the point of view of an author rather than a gamer. Everything written below is my personal opinion. Also note that I may have forgotten a few things during the course of the playthru. But I feel that I understand enough to focus any spare time and attention to plotting for my series~

Under cut for Spoilers:

Let's start with the things I liked:

I already spoken about the legend of Lemuria, but I still appreciate that it remains close to the original series

NPCs interacting and journeying with the party through certain labyrinths. It was a nice touch seeing them interact more with my characters. And how they were able to help the party in different ways. It allowed for greater interactions with the labyrinths rather than just fighting and mapping.

The adventure logs/skits are always fun, sometimes giving voices to some of the party members. I would purposely seek out deadends just to see if there would be a skit there.

The variety added to the maps. Walking atop of walls was certainly a new thing. I have a love-hate relationship with puzzles, though. I understand them because they indeed make things interesting. But am frustrated with them nevertheless :'D Also seeing old labyrinths in new layouts

FOEs that were initially from other games acting differently. Example, the conga-line of death in Undersea Grotto. In EO3, those fishes just conga around peacefully. In Nexus they'll all hunt your ass down, queuing up for the privilege of murdering you.

Undersea Grotto - in it's 3d glory, it is beautiful to look at~

The openness of the map. It has 14 labyrinths with 10 mini-mazes - places to explore is huge. From an author's pov, it can be opened even further because the island of Lemuria itself is vast.

Absolute Favourite NPCs:

Honestly, besides a few which I have ranted about in previous posts, the NPCs in this game are for the most part likeable and interesting.

Leo - precious harbinger deserves nothing but love and protection

Oliver and Marco - it was nice seeing a boy duo for a change and they're so wholesome together

Blót - breaking my heart here Q^Q But, boy, do I have plans for you~

Makiri - for being a forest folk leader who doesn't automatically try to murder you and everyone you love, and for actually listening to reason. Interesting to see that the Forest Folk now reside in a place eerily similar to Lost Shinjuku in EO1. Does lead credence to my "Lemuria as a fallen utopia" theory.

Things that I found "Meh":

Persephone - I don't dislike her, I just found her rather bland. Noble princess archetype, really. Also, did it bother anyone else how she didn't even look at you when speaking half the time? Look at me when I'm speaking to you, woman. But god, wouldn't it have been a kick to the guts and awesome if she was the one who wanted to control Jormungandr? No one would have seen that coming, am I right?

Rob - No love or hate for him. He's just a right little shit. That one sentence he uttered, though, pissed me off. How he doesn't get a punch to the face for what he says is beyond me. A few of my boys would definitely be queuing up to punch him in the teeth. There's little else about him, though, so he goes under the "meh" heading.

Now, for what I disliked:

Enrica - terrible character, terrible design. Being the leader of the Seafearers was the perfect opportunity for a character who was rugged, scarred, and a right badass. Someone who would fit the role of leading a band of misfit vikings/pirates. Instead, we get an underaged, underdressed, annoying boob princess. Her only defining features, other than her boobs that are right in your face, is that she supposedly can read/speak 20 languages and is considered very lucky. Her only redeeming quality was finding items in the labyrinth. That's it.

Kvasir - interesting character design, absolutely abysmal character. What else is there to say about this guy other than he's a creep who I would warn everyone to stay away from. If he was a real-life person, people would avoid the shit out of him. I honestly don't know what they were trying to achieve with Kvasir. There were a few moments where he was funny, but he soon became creepy and tedious to talk to. The latter half of the game I just mashed the A button to skip his dialogue.

Artelind - what can I say about her that I haven't already? My dislike for her in EO2/Untold2 skyrocketed into outright hate in Nexus. I wouldn't be as hateful toward her if there was some linkage back to her story in EO2. Something like "I did some terrible things back in Lagaard and I am now trying to redeem myself by aiding the seafarers". Instead, she's portrayed as some kind of sweet, benevolent martyr. What? Murdered several innocent guilds during her time in Lagaard? Psh, of course not! Get over it. I'm as sweet and innocent as a new-born babe.

Ah, and of course, the "consciousness" of Yggdrasil is the sprite of a basically naked little girl. I'm sensing a pattern here.

A few minor criticisms:

The variety of labyrinths could have been far greater. I enjoyed Undersea Grotto, Cherry Bridge, and Sandy Barrens. But there were far too many 'green' labyrinths. Don't get me wrong, I like the other labyrinths. But think of the stratums of the other games. The diversity found there. There were no labyrinths from EO5 either.

Also, Blót and his brother (who doesn't get a name? If he did, I must have missed it) seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick in this game. We don't learn much about him, really. Just a few snippets here or there. But little else. What happened to him to make him think that reviving the Jormungandr was a good idea? How was he able to fool people into believing there was only one of him, not two? There is a lot left unexplained about him. It does allow for me to be extra creative with him, and believe me, I will. He has a lot of potential. I'm also ignoring the 'ending' for him with Enrica because that was more than half-arsed.

The final labyrinth is kinda just...glossed over for the most part. I mean, other than the fifth floor, you don't know anything about this labyrinth. There's no hints to what it was previously. I feel that there could have been events where the party encounters some kind of cryptic scribblings or writings, hinting to what resides at the bottom of the labyrinth. You don't know anything until you reach the bottom where you get a minor info-dump. And again, you're just shoe-horned into battling the Abyssal Princess because some glowing, high-pitched voiced little girl told you to. No rhyme or reason why we should trust anything she says.

This is only a minor complaint, but So. Much. Mapping @_@

Also; None of my utmost favourite NPCs were included in this game Q^Q Loooogre...

Overall review;

I enjoyed this game. A lot. Needless to say, since I love all the entries in the series, but this was a wonderful game and a fine last edition for the 3ds. I will miss the mapping option in future games, but I'm thrilled to know that the series will continue. This series is my absolute favourite and it means everything to me. It was fun game with the diversity of classes and portraits to choose from. It's honestly an author's dream. I look forward to seeing new editions to this series on the Switch, and I'm definitely looking forward to plotting out my own future sagas~

[infernorp]

name: kristos vallas

age: forty eight

gender and pronouns: cis male, he/his

loyalty: destler

occupation: unemployed

criminal occupation: captain for the destler crime organization, organizes protection rackets

faceclaim: costas mandylor

Goodbye tension, hello pension. Twenty six years of service, of hard work and heartache, of living alone and without recognition. All of it condensed into four short words engraved into a cheap lighter. Cheap bastards couldn't even get you a watch. Just some shitty Zippo and a pat on the back. Have a good life, Kris. Hope we never see your ugly face around here again. The only warden to ever get the job based purely on merit instead of relying on nepotism, and what did it get you? Total hearing loss in one ear and a cake with your name spelled wrong. And this fucking lighter. They told you to go be with your family on your time off. Pick up a new hobby. Last warden retired to teach yoga. Well, you're about as flexible as a tree trunk, and the only family you've ever known is thumping away inside an age-worn chest, and you got sick of him about thirty five years ago. For the first time in your life, you're wishing you had stopped climbing for just a second, taken a minute to look around and fall in love. Love is never hard to come by in Greece, except if you're, well. If you're you and you brushed off every girl who so much as smiled at you in favor of a thankless job that deadended in your face before you knew what was happening. It's almost enough to make you want to pick up your little black book and flip through every one night stand to see if God had maybe had the sense of humor to give you a kid. Then you realize you'd have been a deadbeat dad for who knows how many years, and suddenly you're back to regretting how you prioritized your life. You were aching for something, anything; your heart and soul had belonged to this job before it spat in your face, and you wondered if maybe what you were missing wasn't really the dedication, but the thrill. Planned a job, picked up some old cons you yourself had put away. It made you laugh when they somehow weren't surprised to hear from you, though you yourself weren't at all surprised when they agreed to the job. It was supposed to be simple. Go in, kidnap the don's daughter, get out, pass go and collect your two hundred dollars. Simple. The ransom alone could have paid for the rest of your retirement, especially considering the job took a wrong turn and you were the only one who made it out of there alive, leaving you with one big share all to yourself. But the money wasn't what you wanted. Now with a taste for danger, you planned another job, planning to pull it off by yourself. As bad as the first one went, this one was worse. Nearly landed you back in the jail you had overseen for so many years.

Rahim, as always, was your savior. Though you hadn't spoken in years, it was like he could sense when you were in danger of handing your ass royally handed to you and appeared just in time to step in and help. A few strings were pulled, some from your hand and some from his, and you were released without charges pressed so long as you promised to keep yourself out of trouble. It was a half-hearted promise to say the least, seeing as you very quickly found yourself enrolled in some sort of organized crime ring. Led by a man you had never met or even heard of, but Rahim spoke of him with such devotion that you yourself were almost ready to lay down your life for this Erik person once Rahim finished his speech. You've always been the type of man who only needs a cause to fight for; any cause, even if it's not your own. And now, with that hole filled, you're once more feeling vibrant and alive and ready to take the risks life throws at you. It'll always be a little funny what a turn your life has taken, though. From preventing crime to overseeing it. God does have a sense of humor; now you know that for a fact.

associates: gigi destler, lea jammes, lisette sorelli, madalene giry, and meg giry

disliked: antonin petrovic, carlotta giudicelli, claude babin, dulce vilaro, gille andre, odessa faust, philippe chaney, raoul chaney, remy bourque, ubaldo piangi, and xavier carmen

interests: edmond ledoux, jacqueline mifroid, yvette mercier, and zhu lau

ERIK DESTLER

You're still not sure what to think of him, quite frankly. He's, without a doubt, the strangest person you've ever encountered, which is saying something after being in a literal prison for most of your life. He seems nice enough, but as though he's constantly hiding something. You're not sure what he could possibly be hiding that would be worse than what you already know, but he does seem to trust you. He made you a captain, after all, instead of just a mere soldier. So you keep your mouth shut and pretend you don't see anything out of the ordinary, appreciating the job for what it is purely on the surface. That being said, he'd be a fool to think for a second you don't constantly have your eye on him.

FLEUR RENARD, GREGORY RENARD, AND SEBASTIAN RENARD

An unruly bunch, to be sure. They might be siblings, but they're all so incredibly different. In a way, you've gotten your wish of having kids; now, you've suddenly found yourself the father of three wild, impatient, stubborn, slightly homicidal children. It's just about as much fun as you thought it would be — read: none at all — but terribly less fulfilling. They don't seem to ever listen to anything you say, not even Gregory, who you'd initially read as the by the rules ass kisser type of person. However, you can't deny that whenever they somehow manage to pull together and not fuck everything up, you find yourself proud of the little assholes, despite how much you're half waiting for the day you get to put some bullets in them before someone else has the honor of doing it first.

RAHIM AHMADI

Sometimes you wonder how exactly Rahim managed to get himself mixed up in this type of life. It seemed like he would have had a picture perfect life; military service with honors, transferred from the country's only military prison to a high paying position in the private prison you managed for so long and then swept away to be captain of the police force in Bumfuck Nowhere in the middle of the desert. He should have settled down with a beautiful trophy wife, made two point five cute kids, adopted a rescue dog with three legs and end up making front page news for it. Instead he's here, in the middle of this clusterfuck, biting his nails ragged worrying about people he has no business associating with. You'd like to pity him, but the truth is that you're too selfish to wish him too far away from you for too long.

THIS CHARACTER HAS A SEMI-FLEXIBLE FACECLAIM AND IS OPEN

[deltondemarestarts]

Red dot 🔴 party… 🤣😎 always thrilled and flattered by the continuous support! Enjoy viewing the works from the previous year next to this years work. I love that “Dead End” painting… sad to see it go but looking at the works as a whole the feel of “38th Bridge under the tracks” is still one of my favorite plein air paintings. Thanks to friends, collectors, supporters, and instructors here’s to a great 2023! Enjoy your Friday evening 🥳 #deltondemarest #oilpainting #pleinair #allaprima #nopleinnogain #deadend #tablemountain #trackside #i70destruction (at Delton Demarest Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnGFtRrrf3d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[theregoesthemaddestwoman]

I have no interest in Sam or this publishing storyline. even the emisue scenes we have had haven't interested me as much as they should have because they're tied to this dead-end Sam storyline.

im not thrilled about this storyline since we already know how it ends (publishing wise at least). you’re right it’s a deadend. unless they like change that but it seems really really unlikely to me.