#I probably should've done this a long time ago to be honest

[burnyourdread]

🍊welcome to hell!!

hiii, I'm SUNNY! I like to draw and repost silly things ★ I'm currently interested in serial experiments lain, omori, and persona 3 reload!!!!

i also am a fan of orange symbolism. love is meant to be shared <3

i figured i’d try organizing this blog a little,,, so uhhh here are some tags for navigation!!

#sun rb's things! - my reblogs. I do a lot of that

#sun's silly art! - all the silly little things I draw :3

#sun.txt! - text posts I make, but I don't do that often

#info - anything informative that needs to be shared. very important!!

I also have a few other blogs!! ^_^

@soraphism - for random photos, poetry, and things I find interesting

@soletes - my archive, its supposed to be for my art but I also save png's and carrd materials

@vinnisntfeelingwell - old dark academia blog that I am too attached to get rid of </3

[juniperss]

The Window

a/n: This was originally written on my main account a few years ago but I decided to move it here since I don't change this URL as often and it makes easier to find my writing LMAO.

Dallas Winston x Reader

“Dallas Winston!”

You scolded yanking up your bedroom window so that he could climb through. He was grinning, eyes scrunching in the corners, and you had to force your own smile not to creep out. It was late and to be honest Dally wasn't sure if you'd be awake until he saw the lamp on the desk alight casting a warm glow across the side of your house. You had been at the desk working on homework that probably should've been done long before the stars came out and your parents went to bed, but something had come up. The same something that was currently attempting to untangle his leg from the windowsill.

“You're gonna fall and break your neck one of these days.”

He only scoffed and shrugged off his jacket. You said the same thing every time he climbed the tree to get into your room. He wouldn't admit that he had almost slipped the first couple times he'd done it, but by now the old tree was so familiar he had no issue maneuvering it even when it was raining. You watched as he plopped down on the edge of your bed taking him in. He was sporting a new bruise along the left side of his jaw that looked particularly sore and his lip was busted as well.  Without saying anything you took grabbed his right hand in both of yours, pulling in up so you could inspect his knuckles. Cracked skin confirmed the obvious and you felt the corners of your mouth dip into a frown.

“It's noth-”

“Don't say it's nothing!”

Both your sentences overlapped and despite your best efforts you felt the fear that clung to your chest evaporate enough that you laughed. Just as Dally climbing through your window wasn't a new occurrence neither were the battle wounds and you knew better than to scold. Being friends with Curtis brothers had helped you become less surprised with the lifestyle of most “greaser” gangs. Though they hadn't prepared you at all for the types of mischief that Dallas Winston not only found himself in but actively went looking for. You had no doubt that the injuries he carried tonight were deserved but that didn't stop you from giving him what the boys called the “disapproving mother look”. Though Dally called it your “worried for nothing” eyes.

“You're the reason I keep band aids in my room, you know that right?”

“Why else would I come here? I mean other than to see your lovely legs in those shorts.”

That made you scoff and roll your eyes, but there was a smile attached to it.

Dallas wasn't sure if he would ever tire of how you smiled at him. Overall your smiles were a gift, he was sure, but there something about the ones reserved just for moments between the two of you that he felt were particularly special. Those were ones he enjoyed the most and he tried his best to get at least one out of you each time he saw you. He watched as you gathered the band aides and the alcohol wipes.

“Move over, Winston.”

You had taken his hand back into yours and nodded your head to motion for him to scoot further onto the bed. Instead Dallas closed his fingers around your hand and tugged so that you had to rest a hand on his shoulder, knees bumping his. “Have a seat.”

Those damn brown eyes of his paired with a wink really were enough to make any girls heart explode and you were no exception. You also knew that there was really no other way to get him to hold still while you worked. Not that you were complaining as you sat on one of his legs, your own legs dangling slightly above the floor. His smirk and the proud twinkle in his eyes was burning a hole into the side of your face as you dabbed his bloodied knuckles with the wipes but you ignored it in favor of focusing on the task at hand; his hand.

The warmth radiating off of his body and the familiar weight of his hand in yours was comforting in a way you had tried to describe before but failed. As you settled in and inspected his knuckles Dallas sighed quietly. He wouldn't want to admit to anyone else that your gentle touch and smell of your shampoo made his heart jump to his throat while at the same time calming it's rapid racing until he felt as if he could fall asleep with you perched on his lap. Both of you remained silent, the only sound coming from your tape player across the room, and even that seemed distant. You spared him a glance from the corner of your eyes and suddenly wished you hadn't when you noticed how softly he was watching you. Dallas had the uncanny ability to go from wolfish ladies man to pure puppy dog in an instant, you had seen it a hundred times. But there was something in the way he looked at that was different. It was genuine. Just as your truest smiles were reserved for him, his softest looks were reserved for you.  

“You staying here tonight?”

You inquired as you placed the last band aid across his knuckles. You didn't make a move to get off his leg, instead twisting slightly so you could properly look at him. The bruise along his jaw looked darker up close and you could see the slight indent of where someone's ring had touched his skin. Even when he had cleared his throat his voice was still hushed as if he was worried the atmosphere would shatter around the two of you.

“Yeah.”

Moving around each other in a familiar dance you pulled the covers of your blanket back as Dallas kicked off his shoes, the two of you crawling into the bed next to each other. He would have to be gone by the time your parents were up in just a few hours and he knew he'd have to talk to Darry about the  Socs that had tried to get the jump on him earlier, but he pushed those thoughts away. Your arm was wrapped around his waist, face pressed against his chest, and Dally was more than content to hold onto you.

[666writingcafe]

New Voice Messages

Mammon

"Hey, so I don't know if you saw today's newspaper today or not, but our little adventure yesterday ended up being the top headline. Someone must've spotted us walkin' Cerberus back to the House and assumed that all of us tamed him or something. In any case, they should've at least talked to us before publishin' that story, because you're the only one that's truly deserving of the title 'Ruler of the Underworld.' *pauses* Okay, MAYBE Lucifer too, but that's it. The rest of us didn't do shit. We were too mesmerized by those stupid flowers to be much help. *pauses again* Dammit, just thinkin' about it makes me angry. I wanted to do something to help my younger brothers, but in the end, I failed. Not that I'm upset at you for stepping up and doing what needed to be done, but, like...*pauses for a while* I don't even know if I should be telling you this, but I need to get it off my chest, and this is the best way for me to do that. You don't have to reply to anything I'm about to say if you don't want to; I just need to vent for a bit."

"My brothers chose to follow Lucifer here. They all had reasons for doin' what they did. For me, I didn't feel like I had that choice. He didn't force me to or anything like that, so don't be getting the wrong idea. It's just that I wanted to stay with Lucifer. I would've followed anywhere he went, to be honest. He took care of me when no one else would. Perhaps I SHOULD'VE thought about it, but something tells me that even if I did, I still woulda gone with Lucifer. To lose him...he wasn't only my mentor, but something like a father figure? It's hard to see him as a brother when he practically raised me. He gave my life meaning. Without him...I'm worthless. I can't do anything right. That was made apparent to me a LONG time ago. And this stupid sin of mine isn't making things any better for me. I mean, the Avatar of Greed? I might as well have a neon sign above my head flashin' the word 'trouble', because NO ONE is gonna trust me with THAT title attached to me." *pauses* If you listened to all of this, then thanks, but I totally understand if you didn't. I probably sound like a madman."

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr

[allthingsfangirl101]

Out of The Blue – Keys

Masterlist

I walked into my apartment and kicked off my shoes. I went upstairs and changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized flannel. The second I got downstairs, I collapsed onto the couch.

Right out of MIT, I got a job as a traveling coder. I meet with business professionals and owners and help them build their websites. After the first meeting, everything I did could be done from home.

I grabbed my laptop off my desk and took it to the family room. I put on the TV show I was currently binge-watching and slowly started working on my newest project. I was finishing up for the night when I glanced over and saw how late it was. I was just about to close my computer when it dinged. With furrowed eyebrows, I checked my email.

Walter McKeys.

My heart flipped and then plummeted into my stomach. I haven't talked to Keys since college. We were in a lot of classes together. We constantly studied together and helped each other with our homework. I was the one who gave him the nickname "Keys". He gave me the nickname "Buggy". He used to say that I was annoyingly good at finding and getting rid of computer bugs.

Memories came flooding back as I read his email.

Hey Buggy, It's been a long time. I'm sorry for this random email, but I've been thinking a lot about you lately. That's probably weird. To be honest, I don't really know how to explain why I'm emailing you. I've never been very good with words. I'm only good with code. You know that. How many times did we have to do a presentation and all I could do was the coding part? You were always the one who did the presentation and the talking part.

Sorry. I'm email-rambling. Anyway, I've been having this issue with a code and AI. I finally made the connection and figured out the problem. I only figured it out because of you. I know that doesn't make sense, Buggy, and I'm sorry. Please watch the video attached and maybe, just maybe, it'll make more sense.

Sincerely, Your Keys

As I finished the email, my breathing was unsteady, almost coming out in short gasps. I reread it over and over again, my mind spinning with questions. I opened the attachment, but for some reason, I couldn't play it. When I finally pressed play, Keys popped up on my laptop screen. From the looks of it, he was at his office late at night.

Why would he film this at his office and send it to me despite how late it was?

That question made me finally press play. I held my breath as Keys started talking.

"Hey, Buggy," he smiled at the camera. "I know this is kinda weird, but I need to get some things off my chest. I'm not sure if you know this but for the last year, I've been working for Soonami on a game called, "Free Life". Lately, I've noticed something. . . Strange. Before I explain, I need to confess something. A while ago, I created a game with a friend of mine called, Life Itself. To be honest, Y/N, I used part of your code from our senior project."

Keys looked away from the camera and sighed. When he looked back, my chest tightened at the look on his face.

"I'm really sorry, Y/N," he whispered. "I should've. . . I changed it a little bit. Your code was focused on programming. All I did was adapt it for gaming. I'm sorry. I know I should've called and asked for your permission. I really hope that doesn't make you hate me."

He cleared his throat and took a minute to get his thoughts back on track. "Anway," he continued, "Soonami bought "Life Itself". They claimed to have shelved it, but my friend Millie found proof that they didn't. For you to understand what happened, I need to introduce you to Guy."

I smiled when his scream split and I saw the character he started talking about. "He's supposed to be an NPC, but something changed. Now, from the beginning. . . Guy's behavior is much more complex than it should be, thanks to our code."

My heart jumped when he called it "our code".

"But he's still stuck in "Free City,"" he continued. "He's still stuck in his life, this loop. And then, something changes. He comes to life. Why? And then I remembered. One of the characters from "Life Itself" was this guy that I nicknamed, "Lovelorn". And he was someone who was designed to never meet the right person. It was essentially the building blocks of the character. But he never stopped hoping that he would meet "the girl of his dreams". So I had to base this girl off of someone. . . and who better than the person that I was sitting next to every day? You."

My breathing sped up and I felt my heart jump back into my throat as he continued to explain to me what was going on.

"But then, one day, he meets Millie in "Free City", and once he sees her. . . he can never be the same. He was supposed to feel doomed, but instead, he feels alive until eventually, he is alive. Millie changed him. You wrote the code that was able to be changed by one person. One connection. You brought him to life, Y/N. You wrote the code that brought him to life. And he was alive because he met the one person he'd been waiting for his whole life. And I had to make it realistic, so. . . I based it off of. . . You. The woman of his dreams. . . she was the same as mine."

I hit the pause button, my heart beating against my chest. I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to put my thoughts together.

"But Millie is the one who met him," I mumbled under my breath. "She's the one who brought him to life. . . I just wrote his code."

I grabbed my bag and headed to my car but stopped when I realized what time it was.

I went to bed but as soon as I got up, I found Soonami's address. I anxiously drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I got close. I signed in at the front desk and headed up to the offices. The entire time I was in the elevator, I kept repeating what Keys said in the video.

"Hello, gorgeous," a guy smirked. "I'm Mouser. And you are?"

"Not looking for you," I said harshly. "Where's Keys?"

"Not here," he shrugged. I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"You got an address?"

* * * * *

When I pulled up to Keys' apartment complex, my nerves made me freeze. I wasn't even sure what I was going to say to him when and if he opened that door. I barely found the courage to park my car and head up to his place.

I got to his door but hesitated before knocking. I held my breath as I waited for him to answer. The longer it took him, the closer I got to turning around and running away. I was just about to when the door opened.

"Y/N," Keys stuttered.

"Hi," I said, my voice softer than I wished. "We need to talk about that video."

He sent me a small smile and nodded. I took a shaky breath when he opened the door and moved aside for me to come in. I walked in and instantly started nervously playing with my hands.

"Have a seat," he invited me.

"Nice place," I mumbled as I looked around but didn't sit down.

"Thanks," he chuckled, clearly embarrassed. He cleared his throat before attempting to break through the tension. "So, that video. . ."

"Millie brought him to life," I cut him off. "Not me."

"It was your code," he shrugged with a small look on his face.

"You said I was the woman of your dreams," I continued, "but your friend Millie is the one who brought him to life. Not me. So according to that, she should be the woman of your dreams."

"But she's not," he said, slowly taking a step closer to me. "Millie has a lot in common with you. She loves bubblegum ice cream, swingsets, and Mariah Carey. So yes, Millie is the one that Guy ran into, but it was the similarities that he fell for. In fact, if you had run into him in the game, you would have brought him to life."

"Keys, this is. . . I don't understand. . . I just. . ."

I cut myself off when he leaned in, his face inches from mine. "I know I was rambling," he whispered, "but there is one important part in what I said."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've had a lot of time to think about this," he continued. "You're the woman of my dreams, Buggy."

Before I could say anything, Keys leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. My mind was swimming as I slowly kissed him back. He broke the kiss with a small smile on his face. We looked into each other's eyes as we struggled to catch our breaths.

"I know this was completely random," he whispered with his forehead pressed to mine, "but I couldn't stop thinking about you, Buggy. Every day I fixed the coding issues with Free Life, I thought about you. I haven't stopped thinking about you since the night we graduated from MIT."

"That video. . ." I whispered but didn't continue.

"Was my cowardly way of admitting my feelings for you," he said with a small chuckle as he leaned back. I held my breath as he reached forward and gently grabbed my hands, slightly pulling me closer.

"Say it," I said under my breath.

"Say what?" He asked, slightly tilting his head.

"Confess to me what you confessed in the video."

Keys smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"You are the woman of my dreams," he whispered. "I created the character Lovelorn and kinda based him off of me. I designed him to never meet the right person because I was worried I never would. As I was creating him and "the girl of his dreams", I started basing her off the first girl that came to my mind. You. I thought about what I felt as we sat next to each other and worked on our senior projects. I thought about how I felt when you helped me with my code. I thought about how badly I wanted to be more than just coding partners. You, my dear Buggy, are the woman of my dreams."

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. I felt him smile as he tightened his arms around my waist and kissed me back. We let out matching laughs as we fell back onto his couch. He hovered over me, looking deeply into my eyes.

"I've missed you, Buggy."

"I've missed you too, Keys."

[zymruk]

All the ways we sabotaged it. [Shang-Chi x reader]

Inspired by skinny dipping by Sabrina Carpenter. Ever since I've heard the song, I couldn't get this fic out of my mind. So why not write it?

Warning: Angst, angst, so much of it. Shang-Chi hiding things. Lots of misunderstandings, break-up. Happens six months after the events of Shang-Chi.

Summary: Six months after the break-up, you and Shang-Chi cross paths in a café downtown.

It had been six months. Six long, hard, agonizing months since you and your ex, Shaun, broke up. It has been a long process but with the help of your family and friends, it seems less hard than if you had to do all of it alone. You just started to move on. Yes you still loved him; but in retrospect, you and him wouldn't have lasted. There were too many things happening at the time and honestly, neither of you were mature enough for a relationship.

It had been a Wednesday when you had decided to go out. Just spend your day with your own company. It had been a while since you'd been to this café specifically because of some guy. You really missed their lattes. Once you placed your order, you had searched for a seat and then sat down. Appreciating the calmness of the place. You would start writing on your computer, letting your fingers dance on the keyboard. The place has given you writing ideas that you were more than excited to write about.

ϟ

Everything was going perfectly until a familiar voice had stopped you in your frenzy. A voice you hadn't heard for so long. At first you thought you had misheard. Maybe it was someone that sounded like him. It couldn't be him right?

So the logical thing to do was to go back to what you were doing in the first place. It was just your imagination playing tricks on you. He couldn't be here. You'd heard from a mutual close friend that he had to fly back home. Where was "home"? You hadn't known, he'd never told you about his home country. "Family business. I swear!" She had told you.

However, when you looked up, you're surprised to see the same face attached to that voice. The same smile, and the same hair. All in all, the guy that had taken your heart six months ago. He was there right in front of you. And it seemed like he wanted to talk to you.

"Hi." He almost whispered when he had arrived in front of your table. In an instant you couldn't think of a proper salutation, so you opted for a simple "Hi. How are you?" And soon, a conversation bloomed. You two would catch up to whatever had happened since the separation. It was nice, talking like no time had passed; no separation happened. To be honest, you kinda missed those sort of days. When words would just fill out of your mouth, and you being unable to stop them.

And very soon, minutes would change into hours. Niether of you would notice. In those hours, Shaun had told you that he was actually grateful you had broken up with him. At first it stung a little; but then he told you the reason why. It had opened his eyes; he was reckless, had lied to you so many times, and hid so many things. His words. In retrospect he couldn't understand how you had put up with it. The gall of the man. He even had lied to you about his name!

Your response to it should've been to be angry with him. To yell at him about lying about his name. Understandably you were upset, you two shared a life together, though short lived, you felt he should have felt safe enough to tell you about it. After everything that had gone down after your departure, was explained to you, you understood. You would've probably done the same in his shoes. I mean, did it sound crazy? Yes. Did you wonder how that concerned you in any way? Heck yes. Were you still worried about the guy? Yes.

So in the end, you still listened to his crazy-not-so-crazy story. In the end, you still had a little bit of concern and empathy for this guy.

You decided to go home when the sky changed hues. You had spent a good day in his company in this café. But now it was time to go home. As soon as you two parted ways, you questioned yourself on why you two didn't work.

Yes, he had lied and hid things. But at the end of the day, your delusional mind thought that it could've been salvaged somehow. It rattled on past opportunities of reconciliation and the multiple ways you would have been more than happy to be supportive of him and journey. However, you ultimately came to the conclusion that if it hadn't worked, it probably wasn't meant to be.

Really, that day had just been a reafirmation that you two had had a good run, but like all good things it was time to let go and move on. you were more than ready.

[y-rhywbeth2]

I said before Jan should've been a returning companion for BG3 - because we have absolutely no small companions; for the purposes of giving the companions a good mocking; and also because Astarion's irrational hatred of gnomes and his history as a magistrate will undoubtedly overlap so well with the Jansen criminal empire and ability to get away with it via charm and talking you to death.

But also the Jansens have that absolutely random and unexplained alliance with the illithid living in the Athkatlan sewer system that could've been made relevant.

Also I'd like to know what Bane would make of that story where Jan apparently took his job for a while that was probably bullshit, but you never know...

'Well, you know, it's funny that this situation should come up [Charname having the option to ascend as god of death/murder]. It's not something I like to think about much, but I spent a whole year as a god back in '03. Oh, I know what you're thinking... why only a year? It's a touching and involved tale, but I'm happy to shed some light on it if it helps with your predicament. [...] 'It's nice to hear you eager, for once. It's not every day that a gnome finds himself in the middle of [Gehenna] fighting an avatar and talking to a solar, you know. I haven't done that for at least a year, now… although to be honest, the last time was only in the company of Aunt Patty and we all know what a pushover her Larry was… and it's nice to see that my tribulations in this party are recognized. Anyway, it was during the Time of Troubles that I'd run afoul of some Banite cultists who accidentally mistook me for Bane's earthly avatar. Don't ask. Maybe they didn't have a picture. I wasn't sure what to think, myself, and resolved to spend more attention towards my breath in the future. It wasn't long before I was worshipped by thousands on a regular basis. They made good stew and the constant chanting wasn't unpleasant, so I decided to play along. No one grows turnips under threat of eternal torment quite as well as a Dreadmaster, and I'll stand by that statement to this day. Well, it wasn't long before the whole Time of Troubles thing was over and suddenly little old worshipped me found myself up in the heavens before the Overfather, himself. Seems they were short of death gods at the time, and it didn't seem like such a bad gig, so I took him up on his offer. Plus, the dental plan was extraordinary. Being a god isn't what you'd expect, though. Sune was all over me from day one… I hear she developed a thing for turnips about a decade ago. She just wouldn't leave me alone! There were parties at all hours of the night, Lliira would get plastered and fall into the lily pond and eventually Torm would start a brawl with somebody. Did you know what it's like to have Helm pounding on your door at three in the morning? I could never get any sleep at all. If it wasn't one thing it was getting slapped by Umberlee or hit on by Loviatar. All night long… and in the morning, all the gods would be in a foul mood. Terrible. I couldn't find anything good about the experience at all. No wonder Ao kicked them all out. He probably had to catch up on his housekeeping, of all things. Well, after all of that I was more than happy to let Cyric have the job, eager puppy that he was. Left it behind me for a turnip farm and a nice pension, and gladly… although I eventually traded the pension for some stock in a Spelljammer trading cruiser, which was a bad decision but all us mortals aren't immune to that, of course. Lost the farm, too, in a game of checkers to Uncle Fibbert. But that turned out all right, as the turnips got a bad rot that year and Uncle Fibbert died of too much intestinal gas. Poor man. Anyhow, I hope all my experience has been of some help. Ummm… feel free to accept other opinions. Ummm… no need to stare, now. Move on, move on.'

[beingdreeyore]

I woke this morning from the kind of sleep that only people who are at peace with their decisions have. It's the first time I've slept through the night since he reappeared.

Then, I stumbled upon a dress I've been lusting after for months (that I was told wouldn't be released until December) and it's 30% off in a department store Black Friday sale. It's been so long since I've purchased a dress but my finances are in the best spot they've been since prior to med school so I clicked 'add to cart' with a smile.

On that same note, I logged in to track my payments from yesterday's pay and I've finally cleared another of the debts accrued during med school. A month spent reading every book on finance I could get my hands on has meant that even with another rental hike and the cost of everything going up, within two months I've managed to completely turn things around (albeit with a fair chunk of overtime to speed up the journey. Don't ask me how much, just let the bags under my eyes tell the story...).

It's also Friday and at this stage I have the entire weekend off.

Things are okay. They're even good. There's a sadness if I think too hard on how much effort he put into destroying what we used to have, but I know none of this has anything to do with me. It never did. This is all him and the demons that he refuses to confront.

So I'm okay today. My life hasn't changed at all. Nothing has been lost or derailed here. A door has closed but it's a door that probably should've been sealed shut a long time ago. There was always that hope though that one day he'd front up and work through his issues. If I'm honest, I hang onto that hope for all of them, even when I know I shouldn't. But for him it's done now.

Another door closed. When I look back at my goals for the year that I set around this time last year, he was on there. It was simple: either progress it or end it for good. Underneath it I had listed the traits I would want in a partner. Nothing about his behaviour over the last 6 months is consistent with what I know I want and need. So it may have been a last minute scramble across the finish line to be able to cross off that goal, but I can now add it to the list of things I worked through in 2024.

So that is how I'm starting my Friday. And it's not a bad place to be at all.

[fuck-customers]

One of these days I'm gonna snap and tell this one lead to go fuck herself and probably punch her in the face.

She is always so rude and condescending for no reason. I personally have worked here long enough to not need to ask a whole lot of questions, but I've seen how she treats the new hires when they ask questions and it's extremely disrespectful.

They'll ask a question that sure, is obvious to those who've been working here for many years, but they've only been here a week or so, so it is not obvious to them, no one is born knowing every single one of Store Procedures so managers should be nicer to new hires. Especially since THEY hired them.

For example, this rude ass bitch will listen to a new kid ask a question like "hey I'm out of receipt paper, where do I get more?" Which, in their defense, is in an unlabeled drawer that looks exactly like 3 other drawers right next to it, so...I can understand how a new person wouldn't be able to immediately figure that out. And this rude ass how will be like "UMM...you should've been shown WHERE the paper is on your first day, you've been here A WEEK, you should know this by now." Which. 1. Is unnecessarily rude and 2. I've seen how pisspoor the management and training is here, I would safely bet the new hire was never shown where the paper is kept. And 3. The hours are so fucking shitty that I guarantee that even though the new hire was hired a week ago, they've only had 1-4 shifts max and it would not be unsurprising if they were unable to remember after having so much time in between shifts, IF they were even shown in the first place. Plus even if they worked a week straight, it's only one week and they're human and humans forget things sometimes. Chill.

She'll also make passive-aggressive comments about something an employee has done that was wrong (that most likely was an honest mistake) and instead of taking that coworker aside and talking to them privately, she'll make a passive-aggressive announcement over the radio (something like "just so WE ALL ARE ON THE SAME PAGE, we're not supposed to do [XYZ specific thing that coworker accidentally did wrong, and all other employeescan easily deduct who she's talking about, since there's only 1 employee per department]") so all the employees on the floor can hear, instead of just speaking to that individual employee privately.

But her disrespectful attitude does not stop at new hires. No. I've been here much, much longer than her (multiple years longer) and she's so fucking rude to me and other established employees as well.

For example, today, I worked an extended shift, so I had to take a lunch and our store manager told me that she was going to go do something and then she'll be back in a minute to cover my lunch, since I can't just leave my department unattended. So after 10 minutes of her not returning, I ask over radio if she wanted me to clock out for lunch now or wait a few more minutes for her to come back. And instead of just fucking saying "yeah I'll cover you" or simply just not responding considering I WASN'T TALKING TO HER, the fucking lead no one likes comes over to my department and starts grilling me because I was "supposed to already be clocked out ages ago. Why are you still here?" Yeah next time I'm just gonna fucking walk away and go on lunch without confirming that I have coverage. Fuck you.

I've talked to a few coworkers and apparently she's always rude and condescending when speaking to any employee, so I'm surprised she's even managed to last as long as she has (one month) because she's already made an immediate enemy out of every employee that's had the misfortune of interacting with her.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[film-in-my-soul]

One Glimpse of Relief | 909 | dalearden / @dale-arden

Summary: Yet from the moment he took Jake into his bed, Bradley knew something had changed. There had been a shift in the atmosphere, a force feeling like some kind of gravitational pull, guiding him. The knowledge he was always meant to wind up here is an awesome weight on his heart and Bradley allows it to crush him, the power of it not even a little painful like he fears it should be.

twist the knife (salt in my cuts) | 1,313 | ropememory

Summary: Bradley ignores Jake, traces a finger along the outline of a rib on Jake’s chest. When he speaks, it’s low and hoarse, more a byproduct of what’s going on in his head than disuse. “I want to try it. Tonight.” Swallowing, Bradley meets Jake’s confused look, shys back a little in response without giving up any of his leverage over Jake’s body.  Processing Bradley’s words shouldn’t be this hard, they’ve barely started doing anything and Jake’s frustratingly still got all his wits about him, but there’s a long list of things they’ve talked about trying over the past few months, and Jake’s at a loss to pinpoint the specific one Bradley’s talking about.

taste of eternity | 1,415 | res_judicata / @res-judicatas

Summary: "Jake, I was thinking about you when I thought it was all over." "Why the fuck would you say that," Jake wants to scream and cry. Because Bradley talks a big game, but of the two of them, he's the one who flies like he's got nothing to lose. Between his mother and dad... every time they take to the air, Bradley is the one who Jake thinks is really suspended between the sky and the ground. The one who belongs to both. The one who they should be worried about not coming back down. 

looked into your eyes (saw a world that doesn't exist) | 1,480 | ropememory

Summary: Jake glares up at Bradley. “I’m only doing this to show you I am the best. And to haunt your fucking dreams, because it’s never happening again.”

Haven't you herd, I rather love you | 1,578 | Fuddlewuddle / @fuddlewuddle

Summary: Bradley knows Jake loves him, he just never expected the man to arrange a herd of cows into the shape of a heart for him. Being honest, he probably should've done.

take my soul (wipe it clean) | 1,659 | crueltether

Summary: “You wanna come by for a drink?” Bradley asks. His question is innocent enough, but he’s also already opening the passenger door of his Bronco. Jake rolls his eyes. “I dunno,” he says, but he’s tossing his bag onto the floorboards and getting in. “I might.” Bradley hums. “Okay, Texas. You think it over. I’ll drive.”

The Better Wingman | 1,871 | Cat2000

Summary: Set after the events of Top Gun: Maverick. Rooster and Hangman figure things out

Please see below for more recommendations!

fly me home | 2,136 | vannral / @vannral

Summary: “You look good, Rooster,” Jake manages to rasp out and Bradley can hear how much his voice is fraying, carving down to the very bare core of it all. In which Jake and Bradley immediately act on their feelings after landing on the carrier. Involves flirting and sex and doing things in the wrong order but mostly reassurance.

you got me (fucked up) | 2,318 | cloudburst

Summary: “You lookin’ to stay behind me, Rooster? If you’re staring at my ass, you’ve just gotta ask,” he says to him, turns around from where they’re running laps, punishment for arguing in the first place. He loves to rile him up, make him verbalize his frustrations. Hangman–because it’s Hangman, now, stopped being Jake a long time ago–doesn’t always mean to flirt with him, condescend to him in the same breath but when he does it sure is fun. Bradshaw’s breathing a little heavier, maybe, but cuts him off anyways. “As if. You wish.”

The mandatory 5+1 fic | 2,610 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: 5 times Rooster thinks there might be something between him and Hangman; and 1 time he knows for sure.

Everything's Waiting For You (Downtown) | 2,692 | xo_em / @jakeseresins

Summary: When Bradley’s breath catches, in a way it hasn’t in literal years of bartending, he’s a tad shaken.

white picket fence | 2,938 | res_judicata / @res-judicatas

Summary: Whenever anyone from the kids’ school asks, Jake always just smiles politely and explains that his husband works for a big international company and that’s why he’s overseas a lot.  He doesn’t say that Bradley is arguably the ‘director’ of said company, nor that the ‘company’ in question is the Mafia. He knows a few of the other parents have their suspicions and that he and Bradley are the subject of their fair share of rumours and gossip. Jake just doesn’t let it get to him, he has his beautiful family and gorgeous husband, the nosy PTA mothers can go fuck themselves. For every, oh my, how can your husband bear to leave such a lovely husband at home with the kids for so many months of the year, Jake can read between the lines.

Honey-coloured Ramparts at Your Ear | 3,270 | xo_em / @jakeseresins

Summary: “You know he loves you, right?” Jake sucks in a breath. “The color of your hair’s got nothing to do with it.” And well, it sounds really idiotic once Javy says it out loud.

the machine of a dream | 3,937 | thereisnocowboyemoji

Summary: Jake reads Bradley like he’s his favorite book and Bradley loves that. He does. But. He doesn’t love it right at this particular moment. Because right at this particular moment he’s trying to keep a very big secret and he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to pull it off.

The Christmas Bob outdid himself | 4,090 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: Bob organizes a Secret Santa among the squad. Jake's nervous, because he's never had to gift anyone anything before. He's even more scared when faced with the gifts he receives. He shouldn't be either of those things...

sour apple baby (you taste so sweet) | 4,600 | attolians / @maroonmorons

Summary: Bradley and Jake became friends with benefits...but neither of them know how to do it right.

you drew stars around my scars | 4,761 | ginnydear

Summary: “I can’t… I can’t do this if it’s going to be like the last time.”

softest hands to hold you | 5,231 | ginnydear

Summary: “You aren’t the first person to think I’m pathetic and weak, something to be used and not loved.”

Four Letter Word That I Don't Have the Guts to Say | 5,444 | Earthangel_44 / @yikes-00

Summary: Bradley doesn't talk much. But what he does say is never what he means. The story of how Bradley gets tattoos and learns to love.

time and time again | 6,318 | andthentheybow / @andthentheybow

Summary: Rooster wakes up on the third April 22nd in a row covered in phantom explosion burns and with the concrete knowledge that this mission is going to go terribly, horribly wrong.

Don't leave me, please | 6,357 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: When Jake learns that Rooster's plane went down and he may not make it, he goes into shock. Then he decides that he WON'T let Bradley Bradshaw bail on him. No matter what he needs to do to make sure he wakes up...

Like They Do in Texas Please | 6,506 | Renai_chan

Summary: The team play strip poker. Jake is not good at it.

The Exes of Texas Are Upon You | 7,047 | chase_acow / @cowsalot

Summary: While trying to enjoy their day off, a bet comes back to haunt Hangman forcing Rooster into a tight spot.

fever started a long ago | 8,020 | vannral / @vannral

Summary: 'Okay, Bradley has to admit, this wasn’t one of his brightest ideas. He should’ve stayed home, taken some ibuprofen and just sucked it up and passed out but no. He had to push it. And here he is, dealing with the consequences of his own stupidity.' In which Bradley gets sick, Jake gets jealous of a guy at the bar and takes care of Bradley. They’re both pining for each other and are even worse at hiding it.

miles to go | 8,566 | Notchka88

Summary: Truth be told, Bradley hadn’t been expecting to be team leader. Given Maverick’s continued criticism of his flying and the shit Bradley had said to him—it had startled him to be Maverick’s choice. It had startled Hangman too, judging by the way his jaw had tightened and how he’d looked away, avoiding Bradley’s eyes during the briefing. Bradley should have been ready for Hangman’s reaction after everything that had happened between them, but it had still stung.

for the fatherless | 8,729 | Bartonfink

Summary: a fic about family. and maybe a little about falling in love.

Burned on the back of your eyelids | 12,883 | The_Splendid_Wren

Summary: They say when you're near death your life flashes before your eyes and he's had a long, complicated life. The first time he remembers trying to etch a memory on the back of his eyelids he's eight years old. His mom uncovers the piano in the living room and begins tapping at the keys, the notes to a song he's long since forgotten echoing around the living room. He can hear the melody as the wind whips past his ears and the wreckage of his plane crashes far below on the ice mountain side.

you hang me up, unfinished (with the better part of me no longer mine) | 13,140 | un_familiar

Summary: There are a million things standing between Jake Seresin and his soulmate–gender, Jake’s tendency to overthink and run his mouth, the fact that his soulmark is high up on his ribs, hidden, the bruises his dad leaves, but the biggest one is probably the simple fact that he has no idea how to love.

And You Said That I Was Done (Well, You Were Wrong) | 14,228 | lemons2llamas

Summary: It’s not supposed to be like this. Lt. Jake Seresin, call sign Hangman, is a Naval aviator. One of the elite. He's the youngest winner of the Top Gun trophy since its inception, holds six course records, and is the team leader of the now permanently established Dagger Squadron. He’s young. He’s in his prime. He’s supposed to be invincible.

Callsign: Rooster | 14,649 | Valkyrie_the_Bogwitch

Summary: Callsigns are a tricky business, both ultimate weakness and greatest strength. These are some loosely connected vignettes around how Rooster earned his feathers, for the good and the ill of it.

soar with me | 14,899 | vannral / @vannral

Summary: ”You – so what was it, you were trying to help me or something?” Bradley stammers, his whole perspective reeling off its axis at the revelation. Jake looks up, and his eyes are piercing, but there’s something raw, vulnerable underneath it."

one foot left, and then we're going down swinging | 15,944 | SaintClaire / @radpeacharbiter

Summary: “I’m still here.” he says, because it helps Bradley to be reminded sometimes. For all he’ll mouth off about Jake never shutting up, the sound of Jake’s voice can get him to drop the rigid set of his shoulders and relax, sit a little easier in the cockpit. “Still on your wing, Roo, just a little further away than normal.” Jake gets shot down on a mission, tracker blown to smithereens and on his own in enemy territory. The thing about Hangman is that he might be a damn good pilot but that means he comes with the bloody-mindedness to see his shit through. He's got a family to get back to.

unsportsmanlike conduct | 16,871 | ginnydear

Summary: He didn’t expect there to be highlight reels of him and Jake Seresin arguing and jawing at each other after their first game against each other. His Uncle Mav’s recorded it, saying it’s the beginning of his long, successful career - to have a rival. Bradley thinks it’s a pain in the ass.

When Jake Met Bradley | 17,163 | infinitejaust

Summary: They annoyed each other, then they were friends, and then they were more. All it took was fifteen years.

A girl, she once told me I'd be happy again… | 17,777 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: Rooster has gotten himself into a bit of a predicament. If only because he agreed to be Hangman's fake date at his sister's wedding, when they've just barely started considering each other friends. Nothing can go wrong, right?

I need attention (and I need it all from you) | 19,291 | haridwar

Summary: “Mom and I agreed I wasn’t gonna enlist Mav.” Bradley had been reluctant to remind him while also trying not to sound too heartbroken. He didn’t want his mother feeling guiltier than she already did when there were more important things to be thinking about. “You promised your mom you wouldn’t fly, that you wouldn’t be a fighter pilot. There’s so much more to the navy than just that kiddo.”

The Best the Galaxy has to offer | 20,141 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: To vanquish the Empire and hopefully put an end to the War, the best X-wings pilots in the Galaxy are called to the mother ship Top Gun. Among them, Bradley Bradshaw, who has a lot to learn and a lot to face; but also a squadron of former Stormtroopers…

I used to hate you | 21,707 | AnadoraBlack / @anadorablack

Summary: When Bradley Bradshaw and Jake Seresin first meet at Top Gun, they immediately decide that they hate each other. It takes a looooooong time for that to change...

How do you like your coffee? | 23,360 | WaffleToaster

Summary: Javy receives the first call after Jake makes an emergency landing on the tarmac and Bradley has to deal with the complications that arise. “Do we get along now?” “We do, yes. We’re.. good friends.” “That’s good. Cause you seem like a nice guy, Rooster.”

invisible string | 28,042 | ok_thanks / @galchenyuks

Summary: Jake being traded to San Diego should definitely not cause Bradley to feel so unhinged. Not at all. He can be teammates, they've done that before, except that Jake is just as annoying and attractive to Bradley as he was when they were younger.

Dirty and Sweet (Get it on) | 38,451 | MadeItUp / @gothampot

Summary: As things wind down after the mission, Rooster struggles with a need for something a little dangerous. That something absolutely should not – cannot – be Jake Seresin. But a little friendly competition and a lot of alcohol can go a long way to changing a man's mind. Hangman eyes Rooster’s empty beer, then his own. “How about that second shot?” “You tryna put me off my game?” “I don’t need you drunk to beat you, Rooster.” “What do you need me drunk for?”

Master Reclist · Personal Masterlist · Blog Nav.

[delafiseaseses]

So, from the poll I did Tapper is very obscure (only a quarter of voters knew him) so let's do a deep dive into this King.

Now, this is a 'deep dive' so we am gonna be goin' on for quite a bit 'ere. Here's a courtesy read more.

Firstly where is Tapper? Well, here's a camera angle leaving the area with the Kings School of Impersonation.

Facing northwest from the Freeside blue bus door, down the street to a field.

Even at this range it might be hard to see Tapper, his dark clothes blend in with the night... I probably should've waited for the day to get these shots, oh well. T' compensate I've placed a red rectangle around Tapper.

And here's the brown-haired King up close, next to the Water Pump saying his ambient line "The pump is property of The King. You'll need to pay if you want a drink."

Initiating Dialogue with Tapper

Initiating dialogue he reiterates this fact to you. "The King controls the water pump. If you want water, you need to pay like everyone else."

An' y'am given 4 options "Why charge for water?" "How much for a drink?" and "Can I buy bottled water?" (the 4th option is just a 'Time for me to go') We will do these options in descending order because that makes sense.

"Why charge for water?"

"If we let everyone run amok, the damn NCR would shut us down. Gotta have some way to regulate usage."

Now, this line isn't nessercerily a contradiction of anything anyone else says, but it is unusual. Nobody else ever references the idea that the NCR would 'shut down' the pump if it was free. In fact, let's get into this a bit deeper.

The Origins of the Water Pump Aside

Let's briefly talk about the origins of the water pump. It started as a Followers of the Apocalypse project as Julie Farkas says this "With the help of Bill Ronte, we were able to install a water pump just west of here, but the Kings quickly took control of the pump."

She also says "Bill Ronte installed that pump a few years ago, back when he was sober. It was a major improvement for the community. But lately The Kings have started charging locals to use it - and NCR squatters twice as much. That'll come to no good."

Julie's perspective on the reason for this control of the pump is part of her explanation of The Kings. I won't include the part of their origin, but she says this "They've done a lot of good for the community - but that seems to be changing. The flood of NCR squatters has been an affront to them. I guess that explains the situation with the water pump. Usually The King wouldn't let his crew bully folks around like that."

Now Julie specifically says she guessed the reason she gave for why The Kings are doing what they're doing. If Tapper is telling the truth here, it's possible he charges "Squatters" extra out of a misplaced sense of retribution. Which is fucked up, don't get me wrong, but its a reasonin' that makes some sense.

It sort of falls apart when you remember that Old Bill Ronte himself is a New Californian as Dixon the chem dealer explicitly says "Those fools are from NCR. I love seeing those squatters in agony. We were doing just fine before those shits came here and made a mess of things. We don't need NCR eggheads wandering around confusing things." (he's talkin' about both Bill Ronte and Jacob Hoff here).

Now we don't know if Tapper is being honest and somebody from the NCR came and told The Kings to quit it with the free water, if Tapper is lying as justification for the takeover and the charging for water pump use to people he dislikes. Or if it is a mixture of the two. I don't 'ave any definitive answers 'ere. Water licenses are a thing, but that's mostly for the water of Lake Mead, which the NCR has claimed is theirs due to managing the pipes.

"How much for a drink?"

"Just a few caps for a good long swig." 10 caps specifically, and his "Don't get wise. We charge per use, so make that first drink worth the caps." Tapper isn't kidding there.

It was orange of 'no crime' when I started taking this sip, but as you can see its instantly red again. Still, keep the key held down and you can get as much water as you need.

We don't know if that's Local rate, NCR rate or a rate that applies only to people travellin' the area.

For completeness here's Tapper's "Never Mind" dialogue.

"Anything else you want?" Not a very interesting line, for a not very interesting option.

"Can I buy bottled water?"

"Sure thing." and the trade menu opens. Tapper right now has 12 Purified Water and 128 caps. He also has some 10mm cases which are free to grab if you want them for some reason.

And when I said 'Time for me to go.' Tapper, as a Yuri Lowenthal character, said:

"Later." I'm sure some of you can hear this image. Hahahaa. Antony's voice misplaced in other characters as is normal.

So we're done?

So we're done, right? We exhausted Tapper's dialogue, we're done with this?

No, actually, we're not done at all. This is Fallout New Vegas and this is a character I'm highlightin', of course there's more.

You know High Times? The one for Julie Farkas where you help 'Old' Bill Ronte and Jacob Hoff deal with their addictions? We mentioned Bill's connection to the origin of the pump. Well, during the quest connected to the two Julie says this about Bill Ronte when we ask about him for that quest

"Old Bill Ronte is an exceptionally skilled machinist. He could fix the problems we've been having with Freeside's water pump, if he sobered up."

An explicit reference to the water pump is made with Bill Ronte. Not the only one as I told you in the origin of the pump (I could get screenshots of those two, but I can't be arsed).

After dealing with Bill Ronte and Jacob Hoff we go back to Tapper. I should point out that this door near where Bill sits leads fairly close to Tapper's pump, just a little detail. He migfht've lived here back when he and the Followers installed the pump too.

Anyway, after finishin' High Times we return to Tapper and he has new dialogue.

The Reward

"Hey, you helped out Bill Ronte so the Followers worked out a deal for you to drink free." Tapper only mentions Bill because what happens to Jacob Hoff don't matter to this. I find it interestin' that the Followers apparently leveraged this deal for us, Julie doesn't mention this at all. I'm not sure if this means water prices will be better now in exchange for the help of Bill, but at least the pump won't break and leave Freeside waterless anytime soon.

Also that replaces his greeting, so any time you talk to Tapper he will reiterate this fact.

And, indeed, from then on drinking at the pump isn't 'stealing' and there's no way to give Tapper 10 caps for it.

Of course... the Atomic Wrangler and Mick and Ralph's both 'ave sinks that can provide one with clean water for free and are in places that're more convenient to reach, but its a nice sentiment at least, hey?

Conclusion

So, that's Tapper. He's a small character, it's very possible you never noticed he existed, but now you know him. I think the game is made more interesting by his existence.

[5eraphim]

unspoken alliances TEASER

here's the ask for context:

(There's nothing really explicit in this teaser, just wanted to give you lot something to chew on while i finish this up)

word count: 2k

content warnings: drugging, medic cosplay, stalking,

You should've finished your work before heading out for the night. But when your intuition told you to avoid men, you found it best not to question it. Spy wasn't the type to offer anyone kindness without wanting something in return, and you had a bad feeling you knew what he wanted. You hardly knew Spy but weren't surprised to learn he was the type to think a few charismatic advances entitled him to easy access to you whenever he pleased. And as soon as you got the chance, you packed up your work for the day and left base. The distance from base gave you the comfort to believe you'd escaped Spy for the evening, but for someone like Spy, who made a living of hiding and stalking, you could only do so much to remain undetected, and if he wanted to find you, there wasn't much you could do to protect yourself. It was hard to keep from watching the other patrons of the coffeehouse closely, and you couldn't help looking over your shoulder, expecting to see someone else watching you. But no one was there waiting, and hardly anyone noticed your staring. You were beginning to think you wouldn't feel safe again until you were back in your own bed.

It was mid-afternoon when you arrived at the small, decently secluded cafe lounge to get work done. Still, you were so distracted thinking about Spy, and the general noise and bustle of a public location kept you from much productivity. By now, the sun already set, the work day technically ended hours ago, and you had little to show for it, and your frustration only made it harder to focus. 

Your eyes wandered from your screen to the empty mug beside you, and you considered if another drink would inspire some more progress or at least justify occupying your space in the cafe for so long. Before you could decide your next move, a hand on your shoulder brought you back to reality. 

"Good evening!" You stiffened visibly upright in your seat at the sound of someone close behind speaking, gently squeezing your shoulder to get your attention. Your head whipped over your shoulder to see Medic, chipper as ever, standing less than a breath away behind you, still in his work attire, though thankfully clean of any bloodstains or crusted bits of entrails that might've clung to him during combat.

"Hey, Medic, I didn't see you there!"

He grinned, "Did I frighten you?"

Relaxing at the sight of a friendly face, you mirrored his grin, "Not at all, old man." 

Without waiting for an invitation, Medic turned to the largely blank Word doc on your screen and the pile of documents beside the laptop, "Still at work?"

You weren't supposed to let any of the mercenaries get a peek at confidential documents, but if you were honest, there was almost no information for him to steal. Shutting the laptop, you gathered the papers, organizing them back into their folder while he watched. 

"I was on my way out, actually. Though a change of scenery would make me more productive, I think I better call it a night." You realized it probably seemed rude to pack up as soon as he showed up, but you were pretty far from home, and if you wanted to catch the bus back to town, you needed to head out. 

"Leaving so soon?" Medic questioned.

You picked up the dirty mug, keeping your eyes on it as you drummed your fingers against the ceramic, "Sorry, I wanted to make it home before dark. I really should head before it gets too late."

He nodded, "You come rather far to get a little work done. Is something troubling you?"

Your first instinct was to play it off as nothing, to lie and give some lame excuse about always wanting to visit this longue, but why bother? Odds were, if you couldn't focus here, rushing home wouldn't do your productivity any favors. Checking the time, you confirmed it wasn't all that late and decided to go ahead and tell him the truth.

Sitting back in your seat, you set the mug back onto the table, staring out the window at the streetlights piercing the winter night fog. "It was another mercenary on your team. He was acting weird, and I didn't want to run into him again today, so I came here."

Not a full second later, Medic replied, "It was Scout, wasn't it."

You smiled, "Surprisingly, no." 

He looked at you expectantly. Despite the nearly empty coffee house, you quickly scanned to see if anyone was listening in on this conversation, which obviously none were, before replying in a quieter voice, "It was Spy. I can't explain it, but he was being so nice to me. I don't trust that, not from him anyway." 

Medic nodded, "You think he wanted something from you?"

"I think I know exactly what he wanted." You grumbled.

He put a hand on your knee, trying to express sympathy. "You're smart to get away so fast."

"I want to think so, but I just know he's going to be so annoying the next time I see him! And I can't even relax now because I know he could be anywhere!"

Medic settled back in his chair a little, folding his arms across his chest with an odd, amused look on his face. "You must really hate him, don't you? You can tell me, I won't say anything."

You sighed through your nose, unsure how to reply, "That's just it. I'm really not so sure if I do or not."

Medic looked at you skeptically, "Pardon?"

You laced your hands together in your lap, fidgeting slightly in your seat as you kept your gaze focused on your fingers, "It's never fun to care about someone more than they care about you. Yeah, Spy can be a real creep, but it's not easy to feel unloved like that… Or, like, you need to love enough for the both of us, I guess? I'm sorry, I'm not sure this is making much sense, is it?"

An odd look crossed Medic's face, almost one of disbelief. "You feel sorry for him?"

Shrugging, you continued, "I mean, it's a lot of pressure to try and love someone enough to make the other person reciprocate the affection. I understand how it makes you feel so trapped. I believe it's for the best to keep my distance." 

Medic's smile returned as he appeared to understand where you were coming from, "You'd better be careful next time you meet him. You never know if you'll meet his affection or his wrath."

"I didn't think about that. God, this sucks." You had no idea if you felt any better after getting this off your chest, but you were just about certain any chance of finishing your work tonight was out of the question.

Just as you were about to get ready to depart for the evening you heard Medic's voice again, "You look tense, how about a drink?"

You couldn't help but chuckle a little, "Is that advisable? Mixing stress and alcohol?"

Medic shrugged, not appearing to see any issue, "All in moderation."

A drink did sound like just the thing, but you had a bad feeling if you didn't leave now, you'd regret it by morning. "I'm not so sure. I have to catch the bus soon."

He brushed off your words as soon as they left your mouth, "Let me drive. I insist."

Hell, if he was so intent on something to take the edge off, you weren't about to stop him, "If you really want to…"

Needing no further incentive, he was off while you busied yourself on ensuring your confidential documents were all tucked away and back in your work bag. Medic returned shortly after with some kind of red cocktail in one hand and a cup of black tea in the other. He handed you the one that looked like a cocktail. You accepted, raising your glass a little in thanks, "To good company."

Medic tapped his cup against your glass before taking a small sip of his drink, watching you do the same. The drink was much sweeter than you were expecting; it wasn't precisely a luxury-tier location, but the flavor of your cocktail tasted particularly artificial and syrupy. Still, a free drink was a free drink, and you made sure to give thanks before trying another sip. It tasted much better on the second try, now that the sweetness didn't take you so off guard.

You closed your eyes a little, trying to decipher the taste. "What kind of fruit is in this?"

He stared at you over the rim of his teacup, "Try and guess."

Forcing another sip down your throat, you answered, "Mango?"

Medic shook his head, his eyes never once leaving you as you enjoyed the cocktail, "Not quite. Try a little more."

The more you drank the faster it went down. It was intense; you could tell that much already, but it didn't taste at all like strong liquor. It was like some kind of miracle potion! "Is it peach?"

Medic wasn't even drinking anymore. His teacup was abandoned on the saucer while his full attention was on you. "Not that either, take a big sip and see if that helps."

You tried to take as big of a sip as you could manage but ran out of drink before you could do so. Still, you were curious to know just what was in the drink and how the flavor seemed to change and warp the longer it stayed on your tongue. "Nectarine?"

Medic clapped a hand on your back, pulling you into a tight hug, making your head spin slightly from the sudden movement, "You got it. How do you feel now?"

"Drink was amazing! And I, uh, I do feel a little better, thanks!"

Keeping one arm wrapped around you, he took the glass from you with his other hand, "Almost done!" He poured the last of the concoction you didn't even realize was left into your mouth while you swallowed obediently, feeling so warm and giddy with Medic's arm wrapped around your shoulders, keeping you upright."

"There you go, good job!" His praise sounded eerily like what a doctor would give to a 5-year-old after enduring their first shot, and weirdly, it didn't embarrass you at all. You were too warm and full of levity from the alcohol to care about feeling patronized.

Helping you back down to your seat, "Wait right here, I'll return the glass for you."

While he was gone, you stared blankly ahead at your screen, watching the line blink on a predominantly white Word document until Medic returned, leaning down with one hand on the back of your chair to shut the laptop. "Didn't I shut that already?" You thought before he spoke, "Ready to go?"

You knew you weren't done, but for some reason, you couldn't exactly remember what you started in the first place and didn't complain as Medic helped gather your notes and put away your device. While it was impossible to stay focused, you were still mostly coherent, feeling rather affected by the alcohol, though not in a way familiar to you. Heavy eyelids made the world around you dark and blurry. The spinning in your head made you bob forward in your seat, unable to find your posture. The taste of sweet nectarine clung like a thick syrup to your tongue and in the corners of your mouth no matter how many times you swallowed. 

A fuzzy, warm feeling deep in the pit of your gut made you shift in your seat as you found it more and more difficult to mask this sudden drowsiness. Fortunately, Medic was more than happy to help you pack up the work bag you thought you already tucked away and hold the door open for you, leading you by hand to his car through the dark, hopefully not icy roads.

[chaifootsteps]

Reading Viv's callout post for DollCreep is kinda frustrating tbh. I wasn't there and none of us know exactly what the dynamic was like but that's why evidence is provided in these callout posts. To convince us that DollCreep is really bad. but.. the evidence provided isn't really on her side?

DC doesn't seem nice, exactly, but I'm not really feeling a lot of malicious intent? Not in the messages where they have normal-ish conversations and when their friendship still kinda existed? I'm not feeling much actual intent on abuse? I've been through some pretty nasty abusive relationships and I can understand being sensitive sometimes and needing a little more assurance but I don't think I'm comfortable calling DC totally abusive? Not without more evidence.

DC has an obsession with copying which isn't healthy. I dunno if I agree with him that the Viv ocs are copies but that also is more of an issue on his part rather than an intent on abusing Viv. I feel like there's gotta be more to that story.

Some of the messages seems more like critique than anything. The whole "those teeth look weird in your style" posts are more critique than abuse. It's not a nice way of phrasing it but DC doesn't seem delicate in general? His language is casual-harsh from the messages. Not horribly cruel? Maybe?

DC seems kind of exhausted with Viv saying the relationship wasn't healthy. To be honest it's probably not a healthy relationship and these two should've just stopped talking a long time ago. When DC does cut Viv off it seemed like it had been a long time coming. I've had to do something similar in my own life. Just sometimes on a certain day you chose to do it. It's not always because of a big blowout it can just be exhaustion. and if panic attacks were happening on the regular then it's not a bad thing they cut each other out.

DC gave Jiji to Viv as something of a peace offering. and in that message in particular (not underlined by Viv) Doll mentions that the copying obsession and character credit issue IS a personal problem that they're trying to work through. Something that isn't acknowledged in the rest of the callout. Viv obviously knows he has an issue with this subject and I feel like she could've spared a little more grace in acknowledging this is a personal problem for him. It's wrong for him to feel that way but it's clearly not just a 'DC is an asshole' situation. It's a mental issue. A hangup. A really nasty and unhealthy mental hangup.

His Afkinz stuff about Viv saying 'It's my story' in her underlined bits.. She bought Afkinz from DC. It seems like he's offering his own thoughts based on the character concept he created. He's not demanding anything just saying what he would've done with the character concept he created? Again, not in a NICE way but still.

I understand why Viv would remove part of DC's credit in Die Young but I still think she shouldn't have. She was angry at him but it doesn't change that it was a bad decision. In the art world credit is more highly valued than it is anywhere else and 'special thanks' doesn't mean much in comparison to a design credit.

Some of the parts towards the end are a bit.. weird. I dunno why she put up the original Jiji art mixed with rp logs to.. make fun of Jiji? The character made by DC was obviously a parody of scene girls.. not a real serious character. So it seems strange to say "wow so smart and original". She wasn't a character used in a real project so..

She's calling DC a stalker for just.. visiting her blog? I don't think that's terribly unusual? and Viv rants and talks about DC about as much as he did her? So.. I think they were both being annoying about all of this.

He made a crappy drawing of Viv.. but Viv made Jojo. So.. According to the writing under the drawing this was made AFTER Viv made Jojo. So.. I don't understand why she's shocked when she did the same thing first? and the 'dislikes' part is pretty.. concerning.

I really feel uncomfortable with Viv pointing out DC's characters that do 'extremely disturbing' things. Why even put this here? It adds nothing to the allegations and serves to shame DC. Especially when Viv does the same thing in romanticizing abusive relationships. Which.. I personally don't think is always wrong in every circumstance. and I know Viv doesn't see that as wrong either considering her OWN characters. So the only reason she put it there is to shame DC.

All in all. Pretty wild? I do think DC was a bad friend and they had a very toxic relationship but.. This is also something that should've been handled privately? Callouts really only need to happen if there's a clear and present danger to the general public. Nothing DC did was a danger to anyone but him and Viv. They should've went their separate ways and never spoken about each other again.

Instead this happened. Making it public was such a horrible idea and did nothing positive at all. It COULD NOT have had a positive outcome.

I think that's my takeaway from the whole thing too. DollCreep was no saint and they seem like they were both bad for each other, but from what we've heard of DollCreep, they seem to have disappeared, grown up, and become a better person. Vivzie hasn't.

Also, Dollcreep made a crappy drawing of Viv. Viv made a transphobic caricature of Dollcreep. Viv, you don't get a checkmark on that one.

[bropunzeling]

ok this isn’t a minor detail but i am curious: soulbonds but leon is the one who gets bondsick

ok so i think the past would be the past but this would totally change what happens in the ~present~, to wit:

leon wakes up in the bedroom and feels like shit. absolute shit. someone throw him in the bin, he's done. worse than the worst jet lag he's ever had in his life. he takes two covid tests, both come up negative; he gives up and goes back to bed and sleeps for eighteen hours straight.

day 2. he still feels like utter garbage. sandra comes in, sees what he looks like, immediately bullies him into going to urgent care. at the clinic, she helps talk through his symptoms - the nausea, the exhaustion. a few questions in, the doctor looks at leon and goes, and you're unbonded, correct?

leon winces.

a specialist comes in. bond sickness, definitely; she'd like to run a few tests, but seems like the bond is unstable. there's a lot of technical sounding language leon doesn't catch in between rounds of puking into a trash can. he doesn't know what this means. his mom is looking at him and he's afraid of the expression on her face. it's very close to fear.

ten minutes in, he gives up and asks, so if i go back to my -- he can barely say the words bond partner. it sounds much more formal, much more real than how he thinks about matthew. but will that fix things?

the specialist sighs. proximity will stabilize things. which is half of an answer, but it's the one leon needs to make his decision. the flames are doing well, and he can barely sit upright for a few minutes at a time. not much of a choice, in the end.

he starts looking up flights back to north america. takes a lot of work to convince his mom she doesn't need to come with him to keep him alive. he knows there's a conversation they're going to have to have, it's obvious by the look on her face, by the careful questions she asks about how long he's had this, why he's never said anything. he's more than a little grateful that he can plead exhaustion to get out of answering. he doesn't know how to answer things.

halfway through, he realizes the flames are going to be in vegas tomorrow -- whenever -- time zones. he probably should call matthew. probably should've called matthew a day ago, if he's honest. knows it's fear that kept him from doing it; doesn't know what the fear is of.

he calls. it goes to voice mail. he texts. he needs to go to vegas. he needs to see matthew. if he goes, where will matthew be?

an hour later, leon's booked his flights. ten hours later, during his layover, matthew sends him the hotel information.

sneaking into the hotel is easier than it seems. matthew's already told the front desk to give him a key. the flames are gone -- somewhere. leon can't keep track of time. easier to go upstairs, to drop off his bag. matthew's suitcase is open. it's easy to grab a sweatshirt, stick his face in it, pass out in the double bed.

he wakes up. for the first time in seventy-two hours, he doesn't feel nauseous. there's a hand on his back, fingers tapping irregularly along his spine.

"hey," matthew says. quietly, like he's afraid of breaking the silence.

leon cracks open his eyes. with every brush of matthew's fingers, he feels something bright and warm and terrible wash over him, pulling him under. he doesn't know how to surface. he doesn't know if he wants to.

"we need to talk."

[bamgeut]

Alright, so about the whole Made In Abyss situation, I shared some of my opinions here, but I've been looking into it more closely so I could finally make up my mind about it. I don't really stan any of the idols involved in this controversy except for Soobin, so he's the one I'll be talking about, but I guess some of this might be applicable to those who only mentioned watching the anime.

I'm putting this under a read more bc it's long as fuck but anyway. I'll probably repeat myself a lot but I'm just trying to organize my thoughts. If you plan on coming for my head please read the full thing first.

First of all, once again, the whole "he said he does NOT recommend it" argument is not valid for me at all. As I've said before, just the fact that he mentioned it as something he was enjoying at the time is enough of a recommendation to most fans. Let's stop using that as an argument.

I watched an interesting deep dive about the anime where she talks about the controversial content, and I also took the time to read some long comments people left under that video. From what I've gathered, most of the problematic content is used in a way to make you see it as wrong and fucked up, much like other pieces of media have done multiple times before. The biggest problem is the use of children in those scenarios. Even though it's for shock value, it seems to be something that most of the people who enjoyed MiA have a big problem with.

It also seems that 99.99% of the people who have enjoyed it, enjoyed it for the world building and the main plot (the main character going into the abyss to look for her mother). I've watched/read some reviews (not linking them bc they're in Portuguese) and most people only really talk about these aspects, and how scary some parts are. When the problematic parts are mentioned, it's to complain that they aren't necessary and shouldn't be there. They acknowledge it's problematic and make it clear they're uncomfortable with that. It's a general consensus that people didn't like the problematic parts and they agree that they should've been removed. I got the same type of reaction/opinion from my friend's friends who watched the anime in question.

I've seen multiple people saying the Korean version of the anime is heavily censored to remove all the pedophiliac content. I've seen multiple (Korean) people saying they've watched it and it had none of those things that are being brought to light. I've seen people claiming that many of the things that are being brought up are actually from the original manga and the movie (which allegedly wasn't even aired in SK). Reportedly the 15+ rated version was being aired (and highly popular) in SK at the time. And to be honest, like I said in previous posts, if you remove all the problematic parts and you enjoy scary stories, then the anime sounds like a great option to watch.

"Soobin said once he watched 18+ rated animes, therefore he was DEFINITELY watching the original version": I don't think that's something you can claim for sure. 18+ doesn't always mean sexual, too. Plus, apparently even the 19+ rated version of the anime is censored in SK to remove the problematic parts?? So idk.

Even if he were watching the 19+ version, like I said, I haven't seen anyone who enjoyed the anime and DIDN'T have a problem with those problematic parts. Everyone seems weirded out by it. Plus, from what I've gathered, the more """subtle""" problematic parts are things you only really notice if you're watching it critically.

What's getting to me the most is: 1) He mentioned it over a YEAR ago, and somehow NOBODY cared about it at the time. It was only brought to light NOW, and it's only now that people are seeing a problem with it and pointing out what's wrong with the source material — something that went over everyone's heads at the time. Wouldn't anyone point this out earlier? 2) Would he honestly come out and say he's enjoying the anime on a livestream to thousands of watchers if he were watching the original version with all the gross CP stuff? Being an idol (and the leader of one of the most prominent groups we have in 4th gen, under one of the biggest kpop agencies), he's usually very cautious with what he can and cannot say. We've seen it before, and that's enough for me to think it's most likely not the case.

"Nobody should be promoting the work of a pedophile", yes, you're right, I agree with you 100% there!!! But I don't personally run a background check on the creators of every single piece of media I consume, and most people don't either. I don't know jack about the writers of most of the stuff I've watched. I highly doubt he'd go researching the background of the writers of everything he watches, so I don't think it's fair to hold this against anyone as an argument to cancel them.

I'm all for holding our favs accountable, I think it's important to call them out. I've unstanned people before because of problematic behaviors that made me feel like they didn't deserve the time I was putting into them, things that made me feel disgusted by them. But most of us have watched shows/movies with problematic themes, and it doesn't mean we condone them in real life. Of course, there's a limit and I wouldn't support someone actively enjoying basically CP, but considering everything I've said above, I genuinely don't think that's the case. In my head it doesn't make sense at all for me to think he'd just be like "heyyy I like borderline CP content it's so interesting <3", considering how much BigHit/HYBE is always up their asses when it comes to maintaining a good image.

On the other hand, I still think he shouldn't have mentioned it. As he said it himself, it's disturbing (which is what that word translated as "provocative" meant), so even without all the CP stuff it's still not something he should've mentioned by name to an audience of mostly young fans, a majority of which are very impressionable. It's even worse if he was watching the 19+ version even if it's still allegedly censored in SK. If I remember correctly, he has mentioned animes without mentioning their names before (or maybe that was just once? I'm not sure), so he could've just done that.

However, I personally don't think there's enough reason for me to unstan him, at least for the time being. After doing research for hours on end and doing my best to think logically and objectively, it doesn't make sense for me to do that.

Of course, you are entitled to stop liking a celebrity for whatever reason, or even for no reason at all. It's your right, there's nothing wrong with it, and please don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise!!! But if you decide to unstan, please let's be level-headed about this and not go around throwing people under the bus without knowing the full story. You can call people out and dislike them without being disrespectful towards others. And please don't go around calling people pedophiles, that is a VERY heavy word that shouldn't be thrown around so lightly.

I did my research and I'm still reading/watching stuff about it, and I think it's important for everyone to do the same rather than jumping on an extremist bandwagon (be it to defend or to condemn anyone). Your opinion is always valid as long as it is yours, not someone else's. I'm just sharing mine, and you have a right to disagree if you want to, but let's all be civil about this, alright?

You're free to mute Soobin's tag or even unfollow me, if you want. I'll keep him out of my blog for a few more days, probably, considering how fresh all of this still is.

[magpies4nights]

AURGHRGHRGHRGH AGHGHGHGHHGHGH THE PAIN (Dev log #17)

Hey guys! I'm.... a week late.... oh no (crowd boos). It's been a crazy 3 weeks, I can't say what's been going on but it's probably been putting people's blood pressures higher. It definitely has for me. Anyways, yeah, I'm still facing health problems. I guess for as long as my classes run I'll be suffering with them (which is... 80% of the summer). I think the problems might be stressed induced, I haven't been able without melatonin, the best was 7 hours with interruptions (although I do take a low dosage because I took a high dosage once and relived an apparently unresolved traumatic event from 2009). However, I can't sleep with it either now. I think I built a tolerance to it, smh. Ah well. I guess I'll say some good news too. I saw the sun for the first time in... probably a month again a week ago. Maybe that's why I'm so depressed lol. I hung out with my bestie then (yes I have friends, shocker I know). We were at the hot topic and saw the Ace pride flag there. As much as I was terrified to get it, that drive back home proved to me that they have no idea what the heck any of the pride flags are, LMAO.

Anyways, game dev stuff. I've been trying to fix the things I definitely should've done in the beginning of developing this, but haven't because I searched high and low for the solution, or because the solution… does not work for this type of game. So you know how in the demo, if you go to another scene, and you go back to the scene you were originally in, Xandra just goes back to where she was before you went to the other scene? Yeah that was completely unintentional. Well, I’m currently (trying) fixing that! She now does spawn in different places, but… it would remember coordinates at inconvenient times. It's weird, I don't know what's going on and it's really bugging me. BUT, at least I got something done. I haven't made any new sprites, unfortunately, but as of now, the only base sprites that I think are important as of now is the Waiter's (Tiny Terson and Pizza Person are NOT important (it's totally not because I can't do a good impression of Stixxal because her voice is kinda hard for me to copy(no I will not talk to her, have you seen the way I talk to women))

(me talking to another woman (the woman is not Stixxal))

....not sure about Carson, because I'm just thinking he would show up for a 1 minute gag but IDK tbh), and then probably I could add some additional sprites to everyone if needed.

I'm thinking when I update the game on Itch, I'm also going to update the social media banner, because I'm going to be honest, it's not funny anymore. I mean, be honest with me y'all, is it still funny yes or no (say no SAY NO).

The DISGUSTING social media banner as of June 24, 2024

“gffcfrf😞😭” - A wise robloxian, 18 May 2024.

[killuwumi]

I love your other works! Would you possibly write something for Higuchi and fem bodied reader? She doesn't get enough love and she's one of my favs </3

I got this request who knows how long ago but I only just saw it, I want to give this some love fr, anonnie is so right.

Warnings: sfw (might do a nsfw part two), fem bodied reader, mentions of body parts (thighs, collar bone, 'chest'), not proof read

Higuchi X Fem!Bodied Reader Headcanons

She definitely thought she would never get over her crush on Akutagawa, but when you joined the Port Mafia (or came into her life) she was stunned, and confused at what she was feeling.

Higuchi is a smart woman but sometimes, a little advice never hurt, so when she asked Gin what these feelings meant, she realized she feels more than just a platonic love for you.

Maybe looking at your body longingly and admiring the way all the clothes you wear fit you, should've been a good first sign!

She'd start testing the waters whenever you guys would hang out, going out to lunch, taking walks in the park together, even sleeping over at each other's houses when it was too late to want to drive home. And after finally confirming that there was a chance you felt the same way, she would swoop in.

She never wanted to make you uncomfortable, so before asking you to date her, she wanted to make it very clear that it was a date in a romantic sense. She put her phone down after asking you and freaked out in her car waiting for it to buzz with your response.

Imagine her excitement when you said that you would love to go out with her on a date. And it was history from there honestly, despite being a little awkward, you two were friends before this so it was never too long of a silence between topics.

As you both got more comfortable, there was a lot more physical affection, especially because she just loved you, and your appearance. She would always place gentle kisses on your face, neck, collarbone.

Her favorite spots were as follows; collarbone, thighs, hands, and stomach, then chest.

I personally think she takes up a very chivalrous roll in the relationship, she wants to drive you places, pay for the food, carry bags while you both shop, and she loves having her hand on your thigh or holding yours while she drives if you'll let her.

Higuchi is easily the best person to shop with, not only can you get a good honest opinion, but she also understands how important it is to enjoy the process. She'll try on matching outfits with you if you wish, she'll shop with you and sit in the waiting area as you try things on. It's all an amazing time for her.

Higuchi is BIG, HUGE on complimenting you on any insecurity you tell her about, ANY insecurity. She loves you just the way you are, personality, body and all. If you're looking for logical advice on improving something, she is also there for you.

Some extra bits I think are fun to add here is that she definitely has her own ringtone for you, probably a song you showed her, or one she associates with you so that she can tell work calls from your more important calls. She also has a keychain of you both on her car keys, she keeps it sticking slightly out of her pocket when she goes to put them away too, just so people can see.

When people at work as about you, or ask her why she's in such a good mood, Higuchi does not hesitate to spill the beans about her wonderful partner, she will talk forever if you don't stop her. (good luck trying). So everyone in the port mafia knows who you are when you visit for lunch, or to spend time with her in the office, you do get a special pass being her significant other after all.

At the end of the day, she loves you with all her heart, and she's so glad for once her insecurities didn't stop her from pursuing something. She works hard to be a little safer at work now that she has someone to look forward to seeing once she's done.