#GO GO GO EVERYBODY RUN TO GO READ THIS!!!!!

[queen-mihai]

The problem is that companies and ceos are fucking stupid. And creating a machine that does your laundry or dishes would take actual work.

Remember this is capitalism. "Get people to pay you as much as possible, and you give them as little as possible. Next year charge them more and give them less. And so on until you're taking everything and giving nothing"

A machine that guesses what you might want to write? Costs next to nothing. Just a big computer and some dumb app with a skeleton crew to keep it barely running.

A machine that physically cleans dishes? And sanitizes them? In a way you can trust? Well that's gonna need patents and engineers and maintainers and if you make it ugly your sales will suffer. Then you need delivery drivers and stores with store managers and employees and a corporate office to run it all...

That's way more expensive. Too many CEOs are fucking stupid. They don't want to think about all that. Even though it's their job. They just want to walk into a big office, yell like a moron, and go home richer this year than they were last year.

We need something to incentivize people and companies to do all the work to create that badass dishwasher or laundry system. Something better than money. Cuz the answer to capitalism is never gonna be more capitalism.

All these rich people want to be is cool. They're not fucking cool and they can't buy cool. They get cool from us. And they can't hoard it and they can't steal it. I'm cool and I've been broke as fuck for the past 3 months. I'm cooler than every billionaire on the planet and so is just about everybody reading this post. You're a million times cooler than musk or gates or bezos. And they can't buy that from you.

Neither can any company making ai

They want to be in charge of what's cool. But they can't and they're too stupid to see that.

Effortless dish washing is cool.

Effortless laundry is cool

Trying to steal my style of writing is not cool.

I'll write my own fucking stories

[wands-natsthing]

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐲 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

HEYYYY HIII HELLOOOO long time I KNOW IM SORRY LSKDKD AND I KNOW I SAID THE WEEKEND BUT I GOT SICK

buttt just to give a lil info, since it has been so long since I updated I put the last bit of chapter 2 at the beginning of this just as a refresher I guess!! And more overall story info (R=23) (W=30) (N=34)

I also wrote kinda like a Wanda’s POV of what happened in the janitors closet so let me know if you want that!!

Feedback is more than welcome!! I love reading all your comments they make me feel like my writing isn’t shit 🤓 and they make me smile :)) I also tried to make this as open as possible this is for everybody!! (I hope I worded that right) I mean as in there rlly no descriptions of r

Warnings: I really don’t think there are any besides maybe it starts to seem a little homewreckery BUT ITS NOT I PROMISE!!

Word count: 1.3k

Summary: You guys come out the closet and have lunch idk

"Who's the woman standing outside the door with you?" you asked.

You can tell Wanda hadn't been expecting your question by the way her eyes widened.

"Oh um, that's Natasha, After you graduated I started teaching a co-taught English class and well she's the co-teacher." She paused before confirming the suspicion you had earlier. 

"She's also my wife…" 

Your heart dropped. 

“Your- your wife…You got married? You ask with a tremble in your voice. 

“Yeah, I did um just a few years ago…” 

“Oh- that's uh, that's cool. Um, congratulations.” 

Wanda’s smile faltered slightly as she sensed the mix of emotions swirling inside you. The joy in her eyes seemed to dim ever so slightly, replaced by a hint of concern.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” she said quietly, her voice softening. "Maybe we could talk more about everything over Lunch?"

Your eyes snapped up at that. The thought of having lunch with her again all these years later was just too enticing to pass up, no matter how many messing feelings it brought again.

"Lunch? Are you- are you sure?" You asked with a hopeful smile on your face.

"Yes, I'm more than sure. I am positive." She reassured you with a gentle touch of her hand running up and down your forearm.

"Okay, then yes I would love to."

"great! What about this weekend at 1:00 at the cafe we saw each other last week? (a/n: Its Wednesday)

"That's perfect!"

"Okay good then it's a date." She said scrunching her nose up in a way that always made your heart melt.

Date.

"I am so sorry, but I better get back, can't leave Natasha by herself for too long with all those parents and kids out there, But I can't wait for our lunch date!"

Date. There goes that word again.

“Yes, of course, I’m sorry for keeping you for so long,” you replied, trying to shake off the rush of emotions swirling in your mind.

Wanda smiled warmly, as if she could sense the turmoil within you. “No need to apologize. It’s nice to catch up, I've missed you."

You both stood there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. The bustling sounds from the school faded slightly as you locked eyes.

“Alright, I better get going,” she said after a pause, and you could hear the softer undertones of sadness in her voice. “But I’ll see you this weekend, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it,” you replied, offering her a genuine smile.

Wanda gave you one last look, her expression revealing a mix of excitement and a hint of uncertainty before she opened the door of the janitor's closet.

You took a deep breath, calming your racing heartbeat. You had so many thoughts swirling through your head but at the same time, you felt as if you couldn't think.

As you finally turned to head out back to your car, you felt a strange sense of hope take root inside you.

You couldn’t help but replay the moment in your mind, the surprise of learning she was married mixed with the thrill of the upcoming lunch. It was complicated, but one thing was clear: you wanted to explore this. No matter how much it might hurt in the end.

The rest of the week felt like an eternity. You replayed snippets of conversations you had shared over the years, moments of laughter, and even the unspoken feelings that had lingered in the air. Each thought made the anticipation for the weekend grow stronger.

Finally, Saturday arrived. You stood in front of your mirror, carefully selecting your outfit for lunch. The end of summer's warmth lingered in the air, but a hint of fall was beginning to whisper in the breeze. You chose a lightweight mustard-yellow sweater, perfect for the transition between seasons. Its soft knit hugged your figure comfortably.

For pants, you chose a pair of high-waisted, olive-green corduroy pants that offered both warmth and style. The slightly flared legs provided a retro vibe, making them an ideal choice for early autumn. On your feet, you wore your black Converse. Always a staple in your outfits.You topped everything off with a silver chain that went slightly past your collarbone and small gold hoops that reflected off the light.

Never understood the big deal about mixing silver and gold.

And a light spritz of your favorite fall-inspired perfume, with notes of vanilla and sandalwood, completed the look, a warm scent perfect for the season.

As the clock ticked closer to 1:00, doubts and anxiety started creeping in.

What if she doesn't show?

Is my outfit bad?

Does my breath smell? You make sure to brush your teeth one more time before leaving.

When you arrived at the cafe, a wave of shyness washed over you. You spotted Wanda almost immediately. She was sitting at a cozy table, her reddish auburn hair catching the sunlight, and you wondered how someone could look both familiar and new after all this time.

You exchanged hesitant glances. The soft murmur of conversations around you felt louder than usual, amplifying the butterflies in your stomach.

As you approached, her face lit up, the warmth of her smile easing your nerves.

 “You made it!” she exclaimed, standing up to greet you with an embrace that felt both comfortable and electrifying.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” you replied, taking a seat across from her.

For a moment, the air was thick with unspoken words. Both of you are unsure what to say.

Fortunately, as if sensing the tension in the air, a waitress approached to take your order.

"I'll have a hot caramel latte and a turkey and cheese sandwich, please," Wanda said with a soft smile. You returned her smile, appreciating the familiarity of her order.

Both Wanda and the waitress turned to you, waiting to see what you'd chosen.

"I'll have the same, please. Thank you."

*****************************

You sipped your coffee, the warmth seeping into your hands, trying to ground yourself. Slowly but surely the conversation began to flow just like how it had all those years ago.

It was as if nothing had changed. 

As if neither had gone through drastic changes.

Yet, even as the conversation deepened, the thought of her marriage lingered at the back of your mind and the fact that they worked together. Soon within a day, they both would be your coworkers.

Curiosity nudged at you, and you found yourself leaning in.

“What’s it like? Teaching together, I mean? That must be… interesting.”

Just like in the janitor's closet, she was surprised by your sudden question.

Though she laughed softly, easing the tension. “It is, we balance each other out. She’s all about structure, while I tend to go with the flow. It makes for some creative lesson plans."

Though you were more so wondering if they shared any lunches like the two of you did; 

You'll take it.

Gathering up as much composure as possible you try to sound as "mature" as you possibly can. “Sounds like a great dynamic,” you replied, picturing the two of them in a classroom full of students, bouncing ideas off each other.

"Yeah it is, we make a great team." Wanda smiled, her eyes lighting up.

 "You know, I would love for the two of you to formally meet."

Your heart raced and your mind went blank.

What the fuck?

"Wait...I'm sorry, what?"

Wanda repeated herself slowly, not sure how to take your response.

“Oh, um, really? Your wife?” You stammered, shocked from the sudden/not so sudden twist in conversation. "I mean are you- are you sure that is a good idea? You know, me being me?"

Wanda smiled at you comfortingly. "Of course, it's a good idea, I mean besides you were gonna meet her soon anyway with school starting Monday-"

She stops mid-sentence playing with the necklace adorning her neck, a telltale sign 

She's nervous.

"Natasha also already knows exactly who you are to me." 

♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎♥︎♡︎

𝐨𝐨𝐩 🤓

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯!!

@nebthetautora @esposadejoyhuerta @w4ndsversew0nder

@skz-xii

[larluce]

First I wanted to say hello and tell you that I love your works. They really have me on the edge of my seat every time I read them.

Second. Can you imagine that Merlin, in some new alternative universe, for some reason, upon arriving in Camelot, arrives with a baby? It's all still a Merthur ending, it should be noted.

Like, we know that Merlin was already a bit of an outcast in the village for the reason that nobody knew who his father was and even more so because strange things were always happening around him.

The situation gets much worse when he finds a crying baby in the middle of a burnt tent near the village.

Will and his mother try to help him for a while, but with the visits of the evildoers to the village becoming more and more frequent, Merlin and the baby have no choice but to go to Camelot.

And so the adventures begin!

Only now Arthur wonders if they can make crowns for babies, because he is willing to marry Merlin and legally adopt the baby as his own.

And Morgana… well, she and Gwen enjoy dressing up the baby in all the clothes from her old dolls. Not to mention that she notices that by taking naps with the baby she no longer has nightmares.

The knights become, in some way or another, glorified nannies. The servants and maids must chase after a baby who never stops causing mischief in the castle.

And Merlin just wants to survive colic season and potty train his baby… and everything would be easier if there weren't a murderer or a resentful wizard trying to kill Arthur every 3 minutes.

First, thank you so much for the compliments! 🥹🤧❤️

About the concept. I love it! I don't think going to Camelot to live would be Merlin or Hunith's first option for a baby that can't control their magic at all. So I firmly believe Hunith would send Merlin with the baby there so Gaius can take them to a druid camp so they could take refuge there.

The problem is, before Gaius can do so, Merlin is made the prince's personal manservant. Merlin can't exactly deny the king and he does need the money to take care of his baby so he decides to stay to Gaius dismay. Gaius and Merlin try to keep the baby hided at first so they take turns taking care of her (in my mind is a her) in Gaius' tower in secret. It works out for some weeks but then the plague (Nimueh's Afanc) happens and Arthur searches Gaius' tower.

Arthur: (enters Merlin's room) Merlin: (running inside) Arthur, wait! Baby: (sitting on the bed, looks up at Arthur and gives a cute giggle) Arthur: (Turns to Merlin slowly) Merlin? Merlin: Yeah? 😅 Arthur: Why is there a baby in your bed? Merlin: (in panic, shouts the first thing that comes to his mind) She is mine! Arthur: ... Arthur: What? 😧 Merlin: (repeats more quietly but more firmly) She is mine. (runs to hold her up and embraces her) She is my daugther. Arthur: (thinking) But... but he is so young. (says) Where's the mother? Merlin: (with pain as he remembers the burnt tent) She passed away. Arthur: (his heart hurting for Merlin) I'm so sorry. But Gods Merlin, why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have given you so many chores if I knew... (thinking) And I almost sacked you. I almost sacked a single father with a baby in arms! (says) And why the hell are you hiding her? Merlin: I... wasn't sure if I could keep her. Arthur: Of course you can keep her! What kind of master do you think I am? Knight x: (from outside) Sire? Arthur: (shouts back) In a minute! (to Merlin) What's her name? Merlin: Brigitta. Arthur: (repeats softly and smiles) Brigitta.

From then on, Arthur doesn't give Merlin as many chores and raises his salary considerably. And then everybody else finds out about Briggitta and go "I've only met Brigitta for a day and a half, but if anything happened to her, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself".

Some events would change, obviously, and some would remain the same but with a new perspective. I don't think Merlin would have time to make Lancelot a fake seal, for example, having to look after Brigitta and all. I can imagine Lancelot becoming Brigitta's first unnofficial babysiter, then Arthur makes it official so poor Lancelot has a salary and a place to stay in Camelot. The Poisoned Chalice episode would remain the same, except Arthur would be more in panic mode and desperate because MERLIN HAS A DAUGHTER! BRIGITTA CAN'T LOSE HER FATHER TOO!

I think it would be The Beginning of the End where Arthur and Morgana find out about Brigitta's magic and Merlin's magic. Not because they discovered her, surprisingly, but Merlin decided to tell them all the truth about her and himself after seeing how they saved Mordred. Also, since Merlin saw Brigitta's possible future in Mordred, he wants to leave Camelot too to keep her safe. Screw all what the dragon told him about destiny, his daugther comes first.

So Merlin and Brigitta are about to leave with Mordred with the druids. They are having a heartfelt goodbye with Arthur, who scorted them there, but then...

Brigitta: (cries very loudly in Merlin's arms and the earth starts shaking a bit) Merlin: I know, I know, baby, but we have to go. Brigitta: (cries more loudly and extends her little arms to Arthur) Arthur: (barely containing his tears) I'll miss you too, Biddy. But this is the best for you- Brigitta: ATHU! 😭 Arthur: (open his eyes wide) What did she just said? Brigitta: (still crying and making grabby hands at him) ATHU, ATHU, ATHU! 😭 Arthur: (tears roll down his eyes) She said my name... Merlin, she said my name! (grinning widely) Let me hold her one more time, please! Merlin: (gives Brigitta to Arthur) Druid leader: (urgently) We need to leave now! Merlin: (looking at Arthur and Brigitta tenderly and smiles) Leave, we'll stay.

I also can imagine Nimueh going after Brigitta's life instead of Hunith, and having to confront not only a very furious Merlin, but a feral protective prince.

That's how far my imagination can go. If you have any ideas of how Merlin and Arthur or other character would act in other episodes now with Brigitta in the equation, share it in the comments or reblogs. I'll be happy to read you 🥰

[heavensbeehall]

Letter from Donald Sutherland to director Gary Ross, after reading the script for "The Hunger Games"

Dear Gary Ross:  Power. That's what this is about? Yes? Power and the forces that are manipulated by the powerful men and bureaucracies trying to maintain control and possession of that power?  Power perpetrates war and oppression to maintain itself until it finally topples over with the bureaucratic weight of itself and sinks into the pages of history (except in Texas), leaving lessons that need to be learned unlearned.   Power corrupts, and, in many cases, absolute power makes you really horny. Clinton, Chirac, Mao, Mitterrand.  Not so, I think, with Coriolanus Snow. His obsession, his passion, is his rose garden. There's a rose named Sterling Silver that's lilac in colour with the most extraordinarily powerful fragrance — incredibly beautiful — I loved it in the seventies when it first appeared. They've made a lot of offshoots of it since then.   I didn't want to write to you until I'd read the trilogy and now I have so: roses are of great importance. And Coriolanus's eyes. And his smile. Those three elements are vibrant and vital in Snow. Everything else is, by and large, perfectly still and ruthlessly contained. What delight she [Katniss] gives him. He knows her so perfectly. Nothing, absolutely nothing, surprises him. He sees and understands everything. He was, quite probably, a brilliant man who's succumbed to the siren song of power.  How will you dramatize the interior narrative running in Katniss's head that describes and consistently updates her relationship with the President who is ubiquitous in her mind? With omniscient calm he knows her perfectly. She knows he does and she knows that he will go to any necessary end to maintain his power because she knows that he believes that she's a real threat to his fragile hold on his control of that power. She's more dangerous than Joan of Arc.  Her interior dialogue/monologue defines Snow. It's that old theatrical turnip: you can't 'play' a king, you need everybody else on stage saying to each other, and therefore to the audience, stuff like "There goes the King, isn't he a piece of work, how evil, how lovely, how benevolent, how cruel, how brilliant he is!" The idea of him, the definition of him, the audience's perception of him, is primarily instilled by the observations of others and once that idea is set, the audience's view of the character is pretty much unyielding. And in Snow's case, that definition, of course, comes from Katniss.  Evil looks like our understanding of the history of the men we're looking at. It's not what we see: it's what we've been led to believe. Simple as that. Look at the face of Ted Bundy before you knew what he did and after you knew.   Snow doesn't look evil to the people in Panem's Capitol. Bundy didn't look evil to those girls. My wife and I were driving through Colorado when he escaped from jail there. The car radio's warning was constant. 'Don't pick up any young men. The escapee looks like the nicest young man imaginable'. Snow's evil shows up in the form of the complacently confident threat that's ever-present in his eyes. His resolute stillness. Have you seen a film I did years ago? 'The Eye of the Needle'. That fellow had some of what I'm looking for. The woman who lived up the street from us in Brentwood came over to ask my wife a question when my wife was dropping the kids off at school. This woman and her husband had seen that movie the night before and what she wanted to know was how my wife could live with anyone who could play such an evil man. It made for an amusing dinner or two but part of my wife's still wondering. I'd love to speak with you whenever you have a chance so I can be on the same page with you. They all end up the same way. Welcome to Florida, have a nice day!

Source

Been thinking about this a lot, mostly in regards to his notions on power.

But it's also quiet cool that he basically predicted the plot of TBOSAS before it came out. Snow's obsessive tendencies. The way he thinks love makes him weak. How he sees Katniss as like himself.

[hyperfix-wip]

The Price of Conviction

Pairing: Prowler!Hobie Brown x Fem!Spider!Reader

Word count: 2k

Summary: What happens when the Prowler finds out the spider vigilante all the criminals are hunting down is the love of his life?

Author's Note: The first post of 2025, and I decide to kick it off with angst of all things 🥲 I would say sorry, but I low key am not... Anyways, big shoutout to @pinksugarscrub for beta reading this fic! Also tagging @the-kr8tor , @frostbitten-writer , and @rexlroze for our one discussion a long time ago as well as @seasharkz for their comment on it 😇

Tags: Prowler!Hobie, Spider!R, Angst, Lovers to (Future) Enemies, TW Violence, TW Graphic Violence, TW Slight Body Horror, TW Thoughts of Death, TW Conspiracy to Murder, TW Anxiety and Spiralling, Brief Mention of US Healthcare System, No Y/N

This was supposed to be an easy job for Hobie.

That was what that bastard Kingpin told him earlier this afternoon. All he had to do was hunt down that spider hero that suddenly popped out of nowhere a year ago. That spider that started getting attention from everybody in the Underworld the first time they stopped one of Green Goblin’s attacks in Central Park. That spider that took down Sandman during one of his “freakout” sandstorms all over New York and sent his ass to Ryker’s. That damn spider that exposed the Sinister Six– the top people who controlled the Underworld– to the public, in turn fucking over the rest of the criminals as those blue pigs in the NYPD tried to hunt down every single criminal and enforce all security in every bank, jewelry store, politicians and CEOs’ houses or wherever money can be found.

That spider was fucking up everybody’s money– fucking up his money. Money he was trying to save up to finally leave this city, this life, behind him. To buy a damn boat and sail away from all the crime and violence in the Underworld. To invest in a prosthetic arm that wasn’t built by some scraps of plastic and metal and spite for the bullshit health insurance company policies.

But most of all, to finally give you– his girlfriend, the love of his life– the life you deserved. To live in your own home rather than pay rent at a shitty studio apartment. To go out on actual dates rather than just buying greasy pizza at that disgusting pizza parlor down the street. To buy you actual presents and nice clothes rather than stealing them from those ridiculously expensive department stores. To finally buy you a ring like the two of you always talked about for years, to get down on one knee in front of you and wait for you to say yes, to watch you walk down the aisle in a beautiful white dress he knew you always wanted to wear.

That damn spider was fucking all of that up for him, and if getting rid of that infuriating pest gave him all the money Kingpin was willing to shell out for a mere bounty, then he was signing that dotted line. He would gladly drag that spider by the neck, through gravel and broken glass, like a rag doll. He would gladly break that spider’s arms and legs and fling them over the tallest building to watch them splatter over the sidewalk. He would gladly stab that spider through the chest with his clawed gauntlet, watching their blood slowly run down his chromed arm while they gasped out the last of their breath.

This job was supposed to be fucking easy.

So why the fuck are you under that mask?

Why the fuck are you standing in front of him in that stupid red and blue suit? Why the fuck are you just standing there in the middle of your guys’ bedroom, giving him your usual beautiful smile? Why the FUCK are you just looking at him with the same hope and love in your eyes with that godforsaken mask in your hand?

The smile on your face started to falter the longer he stared at you in stunned disbelief. “Baby?”

God, don’t call him baby. Not when you’re in that damn suit.

Hobie continues to stare at you from his work desk, his hand clutching onto his fake arm that he was about to take off. Sharp tingles shoot up from his amputated arm, the base of his elbow screaming underneath his makeshift prosthetic, the metal around his limb chafing his skin and making the tingles worse. White noise screams in his ears, piercing through his rampant thoughts, while his body refuses to move from his spot.

You nervously squirm under his intense scrutiny as you glance down at the floor, suddenly finding the scuff on your shoe interesting while you ignore his eyes burning into your very being.

“I-I know this is a lot,” you swallow the lump lodged in the back of your throat before looking back up to the shadows hiding his eyes, “but I can explain…”

You slowly cross through the cramped bedroom, shuffling through the crack between his desk and the bed until you’re right in front of him. Your fingers curl into themselves, itching to pick at your cuticles through the web-lined gloves.

“So, uh… y’know how I got really sick right after I finished my story on Alchemax? The one about their new genetics department?” you start off, the ghosts of the fluctuating chills and hot flashes rushing down your spine haunting you, the muscle memory of your throat burning from dry heaving bile. “Something actually happened while I was there…”

Despite your sheepish reassurance, your hands still tremble as you slowly take off your left glove by the middle finger sleeve, exposing your skin little by little, until you peel it off and reveal two small dark bite marks with small web-like veins sprouting around your ring finger.

“I got bit by a spider over there, and I was fine the whole day until, y’know… I wasn’t.”

Hobie’s heart seizes as a flashback of finding you collapsed and convulsing on the bathroom floor, gagging and hacking out yellow-white foam onto the checkered tile, forces itself up the forefront of his mind. That moment still sends a wave of panic over his body.

“I mean, I got better the day after, but…” your voice wavers as you glance up at the ceiling, your heart rattling against your ribs, before you slowly curl your ring and middle fingers into the middle of your palm. Hesitation lingers in your fingers, but the moment you press them against your palm, a thick web-like rope shoots out of your wrist and sticks onto the ceiling. You swallow the bitter bile down your throat before you shakily wrap your free hand around the web and slowly climb up, catching the quick gasp from his lips while his eyes follow your dangling figure.

An overwhelming urge to scream bubbles up in Hobie’s chest as he continues to stare at this unexpected nightmare. His loving, sweet, normal girlfriend is hanging off the fucking ceiling, climbing and sticking herself onto the ceiling, crawling across by padding your hands onto the surface while wearing a stupid spandex suit like a child in a Halloween costume playing on the monkey bars.

This. Can’t. Be. Happening.

Your voice gradually muffles out through his ears while white noise starts to ring in his head again. All the news articles and rumors from the Underworld about that damn spider suddenly flood his mind, but denial still clings onto him.

You, his girlfriend? You, who would yelp and quickly smack his hand away for pinching your ass? Who would run away when a fly buzzes too close to your ear? Who would rather swallow needles than to tell a fast food worker they got your order wrong? Who would rather back off from an argument than to dig yourself deeper into it?

You stopped that crazy Green Goblin from destroying Central Park? You sent Sandman to Ryker’s? You took down The Lizard— one of the members of the Sinister Six— in front of the press and exposed the rest of them and the Underworld to the public?

You’re the one Kingpin put a bounty on? The one everyone in the Underworld is hunting down? The one everyone wants dead?

Horror trembles in Hobie’s eyes as the spider he had in his mind slowly morphed into you. The sick image of him dragging your body across the floor churns his stomach. The idea of your body falling down until you hit the pavement like a bouncing ball nearly makes him gag. The thought of the light in your eyes being snuffed out in front of you while blood from your fatal wound on your chest runs down his clawed prosthetic gauntlet, hanging limp by his hand, sends him to an overwhelming spiral of despair.

God, not you. Anyone but you.

Oblivious to Hobie’s inner turmoil, you unstick yourself from the ceiling and drop down onto the bed feet first, bouncing up in the air before landing back down on the spring mattress on your rear. Anxiety fills your eyes and chest as you keep your eye on his rigid figure, his knuckles turning white from gripping onto his prosthetic arm for dear life, before you frantically rush to his side.

“Hobie? Baby?”

For once your voice falls on deaf ears, and panic squeezes at your lungs. Your heart lurches the moment he flinches from your touch, your hands trembling as you try to pry his hand away from the makeshift arm with as little strength as you can without hurting him.

“Baby, please talk to me,” you whisper-plead to him while tears prick up in your eyes. “I need you to talk to me, please.”

When his hand finally lets go, you desperately thread your fingers through his and squeeze, and a small flicker of relief pricks your chest the moment he briefly squeezes back before you keep going.

“I know this is hard to believe, but I need you to.” Fear and heartbreak clings to your throat while you blink away some stray tears and kneel in front of him. “I’m trying to keep New York safe– not just in general, but for you, me, us!-- but I don’t know if something is gonna happen to me out there later on, or if something’s gonna happen to you–”

A sharp hiccup sneaks up your throat before you could stop it, and more tears drip down your face as you bite back a sob and press your lips against his knuckles. “I love you so much, baby, I can’t lose you…”

The moment you utter those words, Hobie finally manages to break through his spiral and pull you into his embrace, running his fingers through your hair while the prosthetic arm wraps around your waist and pulls you between his legs and against his chest. You tense up from the sudden movement, but as his warmth slowly seeps into your body, the rest of your tears finally stream down your face before you bury your face in his chest and strangle out another sob.

“God, I can’t lose you, Hobie,” your voice cracks with each painful breath, “I can’t do this without you, please don’t leave me–”

Anguish floods in Hobie’s glassy eyes as he clings to you for dear life, pressing his lips hard against the top of your head, silently praying that this whole ordeal is just a fucked up nightmare for him while you continue to beg him not leave you for lying to him for a year.

The sick, twisted irony of it all– you, a vigilante hero, agonizing over losing him. Meanwhile, just hours ago, he relished the idea of killing you for money.

Hobie nearly gags from the bile clinging to his throat, but he struggles to swallow it down as he shushes against your head and gently rocks you back and forth in his arms.

“It’s...it’s gonna be okay,” he finally croaks out, hating how the blatant bittersweet lie easily spills through his lips. “It’s gonna be okay, I’m right here. Nothing’s gonna happen to me, nothing’s gonna happen to us…”

His desperate attempt of reassuring you– and himself– only worsens your cries as you snake your arms around his waist and cling to the back of his shirt, repeatedly stabbing him in the heart with each tear running down your eyes and seeping into the cotton fabric. Guilt and despair looms over his shoulders as he hiccups his own frustrated cry, struggling to push away the intrusive temptation of the bounty and fear of losing you, but he continues to silently pray for your forgiveness while feeding you more poisoned sweet lies, if only for them to somehow miraculously become true.

“Nothing’s gonna happen to us…”

[islandtarochips]

Arthur’s Note: Talofa everybody! I was having some thoughts about my Black Ops OC, named Koa Nikau. Ever since I was done watching the Black Ops 6 Campaign. I was SO hooked up that I wanted to see if I could add Koa in there somewhere. And I also wanted to thank Khushi for helping me to figure it out. Since she also planned for HER OC entering this Universe! (Her Bell OC of course!) And this shows (SPOILER ALERT) after Adler, Sims and Chase had caught and interrogated Gusev. Since they have the lead that the next location is in Vorkuta. So you guys may enjoy reading this! Thank you! Love ya, peles! 😘💖

“Marshall.”

“Woods?”

“I know that you, Sev and Case will handle this mission. To Vorkuta. But I’m having a bad feeling that Jane has something or someone ELSE up from her fucking sleeves.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I…don’t know but I could feel it in my damn guts. I have someone in mind to help you and the others out. Just for backup.”

“Oh yeah? Who?”

“Heh. You’ll see. I just hope that he’ll agree to assist us.”

“...alright, Woods. I’ll accept this extra help.”

“Don’t worry buddy. He’s an old friend of mine. I’m sure he’ll listen to me.”

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

Balmoral Military CampTekapo, New Zealand

The sun was rising high above the plains and the mountains. Where the sun had shone down at the plains were soldiers, jogging their way through the fields with big heavy backpacks on their backs. Sweating like crazy under the heat of the sun. Many of them were running together to reach the end of their destination.

And at the end of the line from that destination. Standing two higher officers. A female Lieutenant, named Rui Hehu, standing next to her boss. As she watched the soldiers running. Looking through her sunglasses. “Te ahua nei kua tino pai ta matou tamaiti koura i te arahi i tana kapa. He pai hoki te wa.” She said in their foreign language. Pointing at the man who was leading the group.

Her boss, who is a Commander, had shown a small smile. Commander Koa ‘Hunter’ Nikau. The man who everyone had heard about his mission that he had fought and succeeded. Had also watched them running in through the finish line through his own sunglasses. And saw one man walking towards the team and giving them high five. “Ae ra.” He said softly.

Soon the two walked over to meet up with the soldiers. Before Koa told the Lieutenant to call out their team.

“SOLDIERS! DROP YOUR BAGS AND FALL IN!” She yelled out to them. Making sure that they could hear her.

Seeing the soldiers pile their bags on one side before running up to form a line across. Standing straight as Koa started to walk over with his hands behind his back. Seeing his soldiers lining up and looking straight ahead. 

He passed by them. One by one, watching them from one eye to another. Seeing them not even glancing at him. Which is good. It goes to show him that they RESPECTED him. And that made him proud.

“Alright, listen up.” The Commander said as he continued to walk past them. “For those who are NEW into this camp. I am Commander Koa Nikau. You will address me as Commander Nikau or sir. I am here to train you to become a better soldier. A GOOD soldier.” He kept walking and started to turn his boots around as he stood straight and stared at them. “If you really want to survive through any battles that hit in front of you. You shall listen to me and pay every single detail of what I’m going to train you for. Is that CLEAR?”

“SIR! YES SIR!”

He smiled a bit before he saw one of the soldiers from afar had run up to his Lieutenant. Seeing them whispering something to her. Her expression seemed serious before she nodded and looked at Koa.

He was quiet for a moment when he looked at her eyes. Then he started to look at his soldiers. “Now, go take your bags and get yourself ready for training. In 20 minutes.”

After he dismissed them, he walked up to the Lieutenant before hearing someone calling up to him.

“Commander! Sir!” A young man called out to him.

Koa turned his head before smiling to see him. “Sergeant Haimona Eruera. How may I help you?”

The Sergeant, who is named Haimona, is one of Koa’s BEST soldiers in the team. He had met him after he came back from his mission from the Safe House. His Colonel had introduced this man to him. And he heard his story about joining the army. It was…the same fate that Koa used to be when he was young. And it gave him the heart to have this Sergeant under his wings.

Haimona saluted the Commander before responding. “If I may ask, sir. Do you think I could join you on the next mission?”

His eyebrows went up after hearing that. “Oh…uh…I don’t know, Sergeant. I don’t think you’re-”

“Sir, please.” The Sergeant said as he lowered his arm down. “I have been training for YEARS ever since you brought me under your wings. Which I do appreciate. But I want to prove more and expand my skills.” He respectfully asked his Commander to give him a chance. He heard about his mission from the Safe House and it inspired him so much that he wanted to be trained under him. And even wanted to go on a dangerous mission with him too.

Koa looked Haimona in the eyes. Seeing his eyes fills with determination and he could tell he has no fear to show. That is the kind of soldier that he’s looking for but…there are some missions that Koa went that he doesn’t want this boy to see. Not even wanting him to find out what he was actually doing in the safe house. Some images started to flash into his mind. Remembering some of those old friends of his and some foes as well.

“Haimona…I appreciate your enthusiasm but you’re not ready to go with me. Not yet.”

“But sir-”

“That is final, Sergeant.”

“I know that I’m-”

“SERGEANT.” Rui raised her voice at Haimona while giving him that serious look. “Listen to your Commander. If he said you’re not ready. Then you’re NOT ready. How about you lead the training for him? He has an important phone call with someone.”

Koa turned his gaze at Rui when she mentioned someone calling for him.

Is that what the soldier was telling her? Someone was calling for him? But who?

“Sir, they’re waiting.” The woman said to her boss.

Koa nodded at her before looking back at the Sergeant. “Make sure to go over the stretching routine and start. Alright?” He gently patted his shoulder and left with the Lieutenant and the other soldier.

Haimona watched them leave as he sighed and felt disappointed. But just did as he was ordered to do while being a bit upset.

Koa and Rui were walking side by side with the soldier walking next to the Commander.

“Who are they?” He asked while glancing at the soldier.

“H-He won’t even say his name unless it’s YOU, Commander.”

“He? Sounds suspicious. Don’t you think so?” Rui said as she gave that look of suspicion. Doesn’t even trust this man that the soldier had mentioned. “Do you really want to take this call? I can take over?”

“No. I got this. And I’ll talk with this man, Lieutenant.”

“You’re the boss, sir. I’ll wait out here for a bit while taking a smoke.”

“Thank you. And don’t smoke too much.”

Soon the three had made their way to a small cabin where their communication lines were stored. To contact other bases in New Zealand and in the state. 

The soldier opened the door for Koa and walked right through. While Rui stayed outside and lit up her cigarette. The sound of their boots on the ground had echoed around the hallway and hearing the door closed. He started to follow the trooper up to a machine with the phone handset on the side.

Koa started to sit down and grabbed it before nodding to the soldier to make the contact.

They nodded back at him before pressing some of the buttons. “All set. Contacting him now.”

He waited as he heard the phone start to ring. And once it stopped ringing, someone on the other line answered. So he put the phone against his ear. “Hello?”

“Koa? Is that you?”

The Commander paused for a moment once hearing that familiar voice. He tries to recognize so he continues to interrogate this person. “Who is this? How do you know my name?” Then he started to hear laughter on the other end of the line. A laugh that Koa had remembered from somewhere.

“Hahaha! I thought you might recognize my voice, you old Gorilla!”

That nickname ‘Gorilla’ had gotten his attention as he remembered only ONE person called him that. “Woods?”

“The one and only! And also still breathing!”

Koa started to sigh in relief before laughing a bit. “WOODS! Hahaha! How are you my friend?”

Frank still laughed along with the old friend as he started to clear his throat. “Still living and serving the country, buddy. How about you? How was your end?”

“Things are going good now. Taking care of my own team that I’ve been training with.”

“Oh right. I heard that you’re a COMMANDER now?”

“Yup.”

Frank chuckled softly. “Well, congrats. I should salute you when I see you.” He could hear Koa laughing softly on the other line. Which made him smile a bit. “Hey, Koa? Are you alone?”

Koa looked at the soldier who was standing only inches away from him. He nodded at them to let them know that they were dismissed. They nodded and marched their way out. And once Koa saw the door slowly shut. He went back on talking on the phone. “I am now. What’s wrong?”

Frank sighs softly as he tries to find some words that won’t get on Koa’s nerves. “Listen, I…I know you said to us before you left. To NEVER contact you. But…we really need your help.”

The Commander felt silenced for a moment when Frank had mentioned that. About him telling his ex-team to never contact him before he left that Safe House. He still remembers that anger inside of him when he found out about what Adler had done. Something that he did was UNFORGIVABLE and he would never want to be part of that.

Back at the safe house in 1981. The day after saving the United States from being blown up. That was under the attack of that Soviet Spy named Perseus. It was a winning victory for them since they had found out where Perseus had hid those missiles. And it’s all thanks to that one person who had helped them along the way. The person that Koa had called a close friend or make that…sibling.

But it was already too late as soon as he finally realized what happened to them. Of what Adler had done. It angered him but also saddened. So much trust that person had given to Koa. Has been shattered into millions of pieces.

He couldn’t take this pain and anger much longer. So he quit working at the safe house and came back to the Army. He also told them to NEVER contact him. For he doesn't want to do their dirty work any more.

But here he is. On the phone with an old friend who actually called him for help. 

“......does it have to do with Adler?”

And now it’s Frank’s turn to be silenced when Koa asked him that. The bearded man knows that he and Adler’s relationship wasn’t on good terms ever since that day. So he tried to answer his question CAREFULLY. “Yes. But we’re working together to stop someone before the whole state gets into a fucking WAR or WORSE!”

Koa started to listen to Frank about their mission of trying to stop this group called the Pantheons. For they are going to Vorkuta to collect an object called the Cradler.

“Vorkuta? That’s…pretty far away for me to go to.”

“I know. And that’s why I have to give you an early call. Hoping that you will take an early flight there. The team is setting up and leaving in an hour.”

“Okay. But I don’t get why you forget that I mention NEVER call me when it comes to those CIA bullshits missions. Even with Adler. What’s wrong with your team you have now?”

Frank sighed as he tried to explain. “They might need Manpower for this one in case the mission goes south.”

“What about Sims or Park?”

“Park is busy working with the SAS in Iraq at the moment. She’s not available. Even for Captain Sims who is in Kuwait. In the battle right now.”

“Wait…CAPTAIN Sims? Huh. I thought that he’s going to be more of a tech guy or something.” Koa smiled a bit to hear Frank laughed lightly from the line.

“Nah. He’s actually looking forward to being on the battlefield, Koa. And you may have inspired him to take the step out of the CIA ground. Hehehe.”

“Good for him. But what about Mason? Isn’t he there with you?” Koa then heard a long deep silence from the line. Not even one minute, Frank didn’t respond. Something was wrong. “Woods? Woods you there?”

“U-Uh- Sorry. I um…kinda lost track there.”

After hearing Franks’ unsteady response. Koa knew something was up when he brought up Mason. “Frank? What happened to Mason?”

Another full on silenced from the old tired soldier. Koa can hear him sighed as he could tell that he was rubbing his face on the other side.

“Mason and Hudson…they’re…they’re both KIA.”

This news had suddenly given the Commander a shocking expression. His eyes went wide as he could feel the world around him paused. “W-What? How, Frank?”

Woods had sadly started to explain the mission that he went to. Along with Mason and Hudson. To stop the man named Raul Menendez from pulling up a war that will destroy the world. They were supposed to take him ALIVE but because of Frank’s selfish act. It had causes Menendenz’s anger fueled more after of what he had done to the sister.

Koa kept listening and nodding at every sentence that his poor friend had gone through. It even made him feel pity towards Woods when he explained further.

He started to tell Koa that last mission he went with Mason to kill Menendez once and for all. Had backfired them. One of the men who was Menendez arm’s dealer had tricked Frank. Instead of shooting their main target dead. He shot Mason instead. Koa could feel Frank’s anger and sadness. He could also feel the guilt was rising up from the other line.

“Woods?”

“I should’ve known that the two-time face son of a bitch would trick us!”

“But you didn’t know.”

“Well I should HAVE! Mason was DEAD because of me! Not only that, he also captured his SON with him! And Hudson was there! And you know what happened to HIM?”

“Woods-”

“He got fucking SHOT! Right in front of my fucking FACE! And Dave…the kid…he just saw his dead dad laying there…”

Koa kept being silenced as he waited for Frank to calm down. But then he could hear a sniffle from the line. Is he…CRYING?

“The kid…he shouldn't have seen his own father dead laying there…he was too young to see all of that…”

Those sentences that Frank had said. Had gotten him by surprise. He never knew that Mason had a son. And after hearing that from Frank about the young boy seeing his own father laying dead on the ground. Reminded him of the memories that he used to experience. But it was the opposite. “...how old was that kid? When…When Mason passed?”

“...he was only 7.”

Koa took a deep breath through his nose as he closed his eyes. Feeling that small sharp pain in his chest as he felt so hurt. As a father himself. He couldn’t imagine if his own children would experience that kind of tragedy at that kind of age. Mason’s son was a young boy at that age. Witnessing his own father’s death that is right in front of him. It must’ve traumatized him.

“He’s in a safe place though. Hopefully Menendez won't get to him again.”

“That’s good.” Koa said as he slowly opened his eyes. Just staring at the machines that were working on the phone that he was on.

Soon the two were silenced. For it feels like an eternity between them. But Frank had finally broken that silence as he started to speak.

“Listen, Koa. I’m not telling you this to change your mind. And I know it won’t if it involves Adler. But…we really need your help. I need your help. You are the only person that I know who has the guts and strength to take these motherfuckers DOWN.”

Koa was still in his silenced area as he thought about it. Before he took something out of his pocket. And it shows it was a photo. A photo of a teenage girl with that brightest smile that he could ever see.

His daughter.

He kept looking at the photo while rubbing his thumb over it while Frank was still talking.

“So please. Koa. Can you help us?”

The Commander kept looking at the photo as if in his heart. He knows what to do. “I’ll bring my team to assist me to deal with these Pantheons.”

“Okay okay. Listen, I- Wait what? Really?” Frank was caught off guard after hearing Koa’s answer. “Are you fucking with me right now? Like, you’re actually agreeing to do this? No jokes or serious lectures about that?”

The Commander made a smirk on his lips when he heard Frank’s reaction. “No. I’m not fucking with you, Frank. I’m MARRIED.” He felt pretty pleased to hear him laughing at his humor.

“Hahaha! I KNOW you’re married, you sick bastard! You know what I’m talking about!”

“Yes yes. I know what you are talking about. And yes, I am serious about agreeing to this mission Frank. I’ll be getting my men right away.”

“Hehehe…thank you, Koa. I owe you one.”

Koa softly smiled after hearing that. “No need, Woods. I’m doing this for Mason’s sake. And Hudson. Even though I hate that bald headed bastard as well.”

Frank laughed again but a bit more loudly. “Ha! Yeah, I understand that. And uh…Koa?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sure your dad is really proud of you. And your kid too.”

Those words had suddenly touched his heart as he chuckled softly. “Thank you, Frank. Now, I’ll go and get my boys. And we’ll be there in 22 hours. Will that be a problem?”

“Nope! Not at all! It’ll take a few hours for us to get there. So we’ll see you soon.”

“Alright then, see you there.” As soon as Koa hung up, he took a good look at the photo and smiled softly. “Ka hoki pai au ki te kainga, e tama.” He said in a soft voice before standing up and leaving the room. He opened the door and stepped outside before seeing his Lieutenant just finished smoking her cigarette as she flicked the leftover down to the ground.

“So, who was it?” Rui asked as she stepped on the butt of the cigarette. And looked at her boss while crossing her arms.

“An old friend. He’s asking for help so I accepted. Get our team ready. We’re heading to Vorkuta.” Koa said before starting to walk off. “I’m gonna get our ride.”

Rui’s eyebrows rose when she heard that. Quickly following Koa. She started to feel uneasy about that area. “Vorkuta? As in VORKUTA in RUSSIA?”

“Yes.”

“Sir. I didn’t mean to sound rude or anything about your friend’s request. But isn’t it a bit dangerous for our comrades to participate in this mission? To THAT place?”

“The new recruits will stay. But the one who I trained for. I know they are ready.”

“Even Sergeant Eruera?”

That had made Koa stop as he just remembered about that Sergeant.

Rui could see him hesitated as she sighed. “Sergeant Eruera came in the SAME time and day as the rest of those recruits. Ever since you’ve created this team, sir. And if you say that he’s not ready, then the team is not ready.” She stood firm as she continued reasoning with the Commander. “I’m not saying that they CAN’T do it. All I’m saying is that they are still learning how to defeat the toughest enemies. And THESE enemies that you are sending are much tougher AND stronger than the one that we have faced before.”

Koa slowly looked down to the ground as he listened to the Lieutenant’s words.

She was right. The men that he had trained only knew a few ways of fighting the enemies. And this mission that he’s going to. Is MUCH bigger than what they have experienced. He closed his eyes as he started to think for a few minutes.

“Sir?”

Koa opened his eyes again before glancing at the Lieutenant. Who was showing a concerning look.

“Listen, I never doubted your decisions when it comes to battle. But I also don’t want you to come back with regrets.” Rui said as she kept looking at her boss. Hoping he understands what's going to happen over there. “You have sacrificed SO much ever since you’ve come back from that mission in the state. It really hurts me to see you like that, Koa.”

The Commander sighed as he hated to feel like someone else was right. “I know, Rui. I know the consequences if we ever step into that area. But my friend was asking for help. And I want to help him. And I will make sure that our men will come back in ONE piece. I promise you that.”

Rui shook her head a bit after hearing that answer but smiled a bit. “You truly are a stubborn one, Nikau. And I admired that.”

Koa smiled back at her as he nodded. “Thank you, Hehu.”

“Alright then, I’ll get the boys and explain everything to them but I’m coming as well. Don’t you dare think that I want to miss these fun activities.”

Koa smiled to hear the Lieutenant wanting to join in the fun. “No doubt. I’ll meet you and the others at the plane area in 10 minutes.”

She saluted him and nodded. “Sir yes sir!” Then started to walk off to get their recruits.

While Koa went in the opposite direction, heading towards the building where the planes were at. As he started to think about his decisions.

Will they make it out alive or will they die in that area just to help a friend?

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[tumblebagel]

can we see some of your favorite graphite works you've done?

Oh! Absolutely!

I’ll be honest, I just cracked open my sketchbook and pulled out what was the most presentable. None of this is, like, my official stuff that I did for my classes, because: While proof of skill, those works to me feel boring and hollow

Here’s the good stuff, pulp included

In order we have:

Mae Borowski! Had an idea for the longest time of making a sorta prequel series of art before Night In the Woods. Around the time of the Longest Night spin-off/minigame thing. Art got scrapped, but the college varsity jacket stayed in my brain.

Catgirl adventurer OC. Also never made it past concept. I had this whole magic system set up that I was pretty proud of. And if I’m honest, still holding on to 😅. Short version is this, Health level = magic cap. Magic level = stamina cap. Lose health and all your stats suffer.

The Spot. I just think this one’s sick

Fiona Windsor. An old D&D character. If you’re confused about the name, uhhhhhhhhhhhh… So I ended up choosing my name, like, a month ago? In spite of the fact that I’ve known I was trans for 7 years. Without knowing it, playing that character was like a beta test

Minecraft OC. Friendly shinobi, VERY sekiro inspired. Sadly the server I was playing on shut down RIGHT BEFORE WE GOT CHERRY TREES AND BAMBOO WOOD. AGH!!

Brisket :3

Fenic! The main character of a comic that I hold very dear to my heart, called Goodbye to Halos. If you haven’t read it yet, then you have one task for today.

My Sibling’s OC. We do “Art swaps” every now and then where we give eachother OCs and try to learn eachother’s styles. It’s a fascinating process because I am very cartoon brained, and they’re an art god amongst mortals.

My old PFP, :D

Art I did for one of my D&D players. Mad scientist artificer/blood hunter. His bastion hireling is a robot named Siri, and whenever we run a hireling-centered session, everybody’s phones go off, it’s great

[hayaku14]

kuroba toichi you need to stay dead or im going to fucking kill you myself

[abombihoney]

my thoughts as I read the new (6 months old) chapter of ethnoentomology bc i said would live blog it and this is least annoying way i can do so.

Hornet really just fucking pulled a gun out im like 1 minute fucking in jesus girl.

---

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ooooooooh my fucking god he's literally a sopping wet little meow meow. i WILL be coming back 2 this.

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what this fucking pronoun fuckery i need to reread this shit im onto something. i need to add all my annotations together. i need a conspiracy board. i need to make a chart with color coded lines

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I wish Hallownest’s official language was anything other than “cryptic riddles.”

me too dude the fuck.

---

CHANCE BEING EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT???? telling lurien he isn't at fault for the radiance's actions

however... how could he think anything else really. he is all for blaming the radiance for everything.

i'm feeling a delicious mix of "can i even trust my own thoughts" mixed with Chance trying to separate what was him versus what was other.

What happens when (if) he manages to separate what actions were wholly him with no outside influence? What will he regret? What will he desperately try to justify?

How would he even determine what is him and what is the influence of the radiance? He has no memory of past actions to compare against. He can't necessarily even trust the memories he does have, they're full of hallucinations, gaps in memory where he doesn't know what he did. If it was "him" that did it. AAAAAAAAAAAUGH

___

is chance checking out of reality a lot rn or am i looking too deep. there seems to be a lot of "jump cuts"

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back 2 valleri. info dump for me lurien i only read a handful of chapters of midnight rider.

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 "I couldn’t tell you how many times she would’ve been jailed or worse"

wait wasnt she jailed tho. didnt she like. immediately punch pk in the face or am i misremembering. does lurien not know this. i feel like he should be told this information somehow bc like. i feel like it would give him a heart attack.

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VALLERI LEFT SOMETHING FOR CHANCE???? THE PLOT THICKENS HELLO???

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why is chance so gay he is SO focused on lurien all the time jesus christ man. i feel like i keep getting trapped in one of them slow burn fics where they keep almost kissing.

FUCKIGN 2 SECONDS LATER:

Having grabbed something from a small drawer in the table behind Chance, Lurien settled back, (disappointingly) further away from him.

chance ur down bad. this is going to blow up in his face spectacularly somehow. good 2 know i wasnt imagining the horny descriptions of lurien from last chapt.

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new theory: valleri is a time-traveling post-transition chance. source: my other theory that valleri and chance are closely related. similar temperament and appearance. both from california or w/e.

wait i think i remember valleri have future seeing powers. i refuse to finish reading midnight rider until ethno is done tho so i'm keeping my theory

---

Chance reflexively rejected this information before he could begin processing its implications.

side effects of having magic powered by belief: may decide to just ignore things bc if u believe it you make it true. denial is a powerful drug

wait. hmmmmm.

did the radiance take chance's memories? or did chance want to forget? like could also totes be the cool magical barrier that wipes ur memories to prevent the radiance from escaping the corpse of hallownest. but now i am thinking of all the fucked up implications of something so horrible (by a teenagers standards) that chance wanted to forget everything.

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TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSK MY BABY TUSK POV TUSK POV TUSK POV

oh no the baby is injured.

They needed to find Chance. He would heal them, like always—

ur honor they love each so much!!!!!!!!! might be becoming a lil codependent but ITS FINE

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checks out that hornet was a vicious little child lmao

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“For Hallownest, there is no cost too great. That is what I told Him.”

OH SHIT

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oh fuck yeah i fucking love use of game mechanics in stories for problem solving. go little guy go!

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HEY WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

Like life’s just a script and she’s waiting for her cue.

OH? paralleling what lurien said about PK. INTRIGUING.

(fucked up evil theory: The parallels between PK and Valleri that are being drawn here... from what I understand Valleri became INCREDIBLY close and attached to hallownest. What if Chance is Valleri's hollow knight?)

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The White Palace was destroyed. But so was the Watcher’s Spire, and Chance could put that back.

my sweet child, you are going to fucking kill chance

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Too cowardly to confront her own cowardice.

ruh roh raggy. hornet's going to have to contend with the fact that she has killed her own siblings in cold blood eventually. possibly soon

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fuck yeah i love worldbuilding. tell me more about how the fictional bug city built in a wet cave functioned and how the class divide determined transportation methods.

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*slaps chance* this baby can fit so much PTSD in it

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this is spelling euphoria isn't it.

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hey wait doesn't chance have boat trauma??? didn't he see a corpse under a boat in the last chapter of act 1???

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something bad is going to happen. we're building so much suspense.

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"Chance"

??????? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON NOW???????

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 draped half overboard like a dirty wet rag

chance's natural state really.

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something in their Void was churning

This happens directly after Chance has his little episode with the boat. Are Chance and Tusk connected by the void? Didn't something similar happen in the last chapter??

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Hornet i love u. She's so spiderman coded.

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—Tusk whacked the switch to the elevator and went up and away. “Wh—Vessel! Hold on!”

see u idiot

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Ah Lemm, the confidence of a man who is very very wrong. he'd shit his pants if he saw all the human shit in the junkyard lmao.

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Several photos were attached to the line and dangled from ceiling to floor. Dozens of lines around the room like party streamers, a hundred little memories swaying gently in the dust.

megamind ass organization system

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burned painting frame.... coating the room in ash.. im sure this holds no significance whatsoever and won't come up again.

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Tusk has so much youngest sibling energy lmao

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uh oh hornet. ur getting attached.

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this is to hornet also, isnt it?

WAHT THE FUCK

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oh okay they are connected. poor tusk and chance. they r gonna become a feedback loop up fucked up huh

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wait does chance not know shes the princess. lmao

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aww hug fest JEREMY REAL??? or is hornet infected too hello????

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IM GOING FERAL VALLERIS SEEING SO MANY THINGS AT ONCE AND REACTING TO ALL OF THEM HELLO?????

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oh my god i feel like ive been punched seventeen times in a row. i have so much hype i need to run a marathon. im fucking spinning in circles im filled with unrestrained summer fun oh my god im supposed to sleep soon i dont know if i can manage stop thinking long enough to do that holy shit

[y-rhywbeth2]

Who decided the drow should have so much fucking lore anyway.

('I should've been a drow.' You can't fucking stand Cazador or your 'siblings' you would not fucking want to be a drow. Although I guess Astarion would make a fair Vhaeraunite.)

[truly-quirkless]

"...I...didn't think I was anyone's...favorite...Hero..." Don't cry. Don't cry. Love of God do not CRY.

[undertale-fic-librarby]

I love being called a librarian.

[whoa-where-did-the-pancakes-go]

All the things I'm never going to experience properly again... all the things I'll never do because It'll feel wrong.... all the things I'm never going to have the right way because people will never see me the way i want them to..... this shit sucks man

[thethingost]

my apolocheese for my spam earlier folks. or mini-spam i guess. idk i loooove 20+ year old media YAAAAYYYYY

[thedevotionaltour]

i don't know how to describe just how much heartache this panel sequence causes in my brain like i feel sick and in pain you'd think it was like my real life friend going through this instead of some lines on a page. like my heart hurts. badly.

[robocops-a-christ-allegory]

The thing with DeMatties/Giffen JLI is that everytime I start to think I was too hard on it I get to another panel of Wally West or Guy Gardner sexually harrassing their coworkers