#I really shouldn't have gotten her though and saved for something else

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Reacting To Your Tattoos

A/N: I have so many ideas for The Boys cast! Be sure to look out for more posts! I'm updating my request list to include them 😊 I'm sorry I've been a little MIA! I'll be getting back to requests asap! Hope you like it! Feedback is always appreciated 💜

Butcher loves them. This is not the moment to say something, to react, but he definitely takes notice. You got hurt, really hurt, and the only way to save you was for Annie cauterizing your wounds, buying you a little more time. Butcher didn't need to hold you down, you'd already gone limp, losing all color in your face. He begs you to wake up, to stay with them. There was so much blood. So much red. He was covered in it, seeping through his shirt. Your jacket was thrown off, the collar of your shirt torn, ripped, for easier access to your shoulder and they both discovered the tattoos. Your chest, your arm, neck, you were covered. He had a feeling there were far more, wondering why you never showed any of them. You were always so bundled up, he never even questioned it. He warned you this was going to hurt, though he wasn't even sure you could hear him. Still, as Annie's hands grew bright, he cringes, hoping you were too out of it to feel anything, hoping this would all seem like a far away dream. Hoping you won't mind the large scar that will warp your ink.

Hughie is pretty intimidated by them. The Boys are already a scary looking group, but meeting you, he thought you were going to bite off his head. Your body was pretty covered. After getting to know you, he realizes how wrong he was. You're snarky and stubborn, but you're also thoughtful and funny. If it were up to you, you'd never hurt a fly, just Vought. Still, every so often you'll do or say something that reminds him of that first impression, especially when you feel threatened or your friends are threatened. You'll show up with a few new ones, filling in the gaps. When it comes to open wounds you're ready to treat it with a strong drink and duct tape. When it comes to your tattoos, you're meticulous in your aftercare. He's never seen you so serene looking as when you're taking care of them, so gentle. Something about that makes him feel like he shouldn't be witnessing it, but he's grateful that he is. When they're in tricky spots, he's the first to offer to help. He works with nervous hands, afraid he'll do something to ruin it. You just laugh, walking him through it.

Annie knows all about your tattoos. They are, after all, linked to the V in your blood. You didn't start developing them until your late teens, your parents assuming the V they injected was a dud. Images started appearing and with them, your powers. By the time she met you, you were covered. You didn't like showing off to The Boys. You still had a long way to go to gaining their trust. Parading around the fact that you were a Supe wasn't going to help. Still, when it was just you and Annie you were less reluctant to show her. All kinds of images adorned your skin: weapons, insects, animals. You liked the weapons the best. The thing could project itself from your skin as if it were real. In seconds, you had a sword in each hand, as real and sharp as if you'd physically gotten one. The best part? Your skin was indestructible. Every few months, maybe years, a new tattoo would appear, giving you a leg up in the fight against Vought. She thinks you have by far the most interesting powers of any Supe she's met.

M.M. hates them. Because they're linked to the V you got as a baby, he sees them more of a warning than anything else, the way brightly colored animals are poisonous. He hadn't realized the first time you met, what they were from, and you were smart enough not to tell him. It was only when you were fighting for your life did you use your abilities: the circles on the back of your neck, layered, you let out a sonic scream that shattered windows, set off car alarms, and drew blood. The group that had attacked you were coughing it up, it was running down their necks from their ears. M.M. was far enough away not to be affected, but the way he tells it, he was *this* close to having his insides turned to goo. Some were safe enough to run away. The ones who were closer dropped dead with a wet squelch. He trusts you even less for not telling him. When he breaks the news to everyone else, he's shocked to find out that they either knew (like Annie) or they were unfazed, more impressed than anything else, like you'd become this great asset. You apologize profusely, but you know it'll be a long time before he can even look you in the eyes.

Frenchie thinks they're so cool. He went with you once and got one of his own: while you were getting a rather large piece finished, he wants to get a smiley face on his ass cheek. Despite the discomfort, Frenchie's all giggles. He's more than excited to show this off to everyone he decides to moon. You try to tell him how to take care of it, but he waves you off. He's eager to show The Boys. He's lucky it heals properly and by the end of the week, everyone he comes into contact with has seen it. Besides that, his favorite thing is to study the ones you have. They're intricate and beautiful and some of them are pretty silly. You never understood the sentiment that there had to be some grand kind of meaning behind them. If you like it, you get it tattooed. He asks questions about them, most done all over the world or, a couple, in prison. He thinks you look badass, especially when you shed the bulky layers and show off what they normally don't get to see. Your back piece is his favorite. When you're wearing something with a low back, or disregard a shirt completely, he can't help but watch you. You're careful, covering them with clothes or makeup so that whatever illegal thing you're doing can't be traced.

Kimiko asks a lot of questions. Did it hurt? Why that image? What does it mean? How long did it take? You never mind, in fact you like talking about them. You spent enough time getting stabbed, you wanted someone to ask. She especially loves the ones on your hands. They look beautiful as you sign back to her. Some are still a little raised despite how well you took care of them, those are her favorite. She touches them delicately, afraid it might hurt, but you assure her they're all healed. She watches when you're getting changed together, how they move with your skin and muscles. They make her smile knowing you feel so much more at home in your body because of them, something you admitted to her late one night after a few drinks. They help you like yourself, covering up insecurities, making you feel cuter/cooler than you would without them. She's always the first to notice when you get a new one, making a point regardless of the situation to tell you how nice it looks and that she likes it a lot.

Bonus! Homelander thinks they're horrendous. Disgusting. Just another way you've defiled your body. He can't stand to look at them and made sure you understand that. Around him, you keep them covered, either by clothing or makeup. You know better than to draw attention towards them. Regardless of how you acquired them (Compound V or just an aesthetic choice) you know not to bring them up or let anyone else bring them up. A-Train noticed the one of the back of your neck and that put Homelander over the edge. You were both thrown out of the room. You consider yourself more than lucky. He could have killed you, both of you, but he was feeling generous. He had bigger things on his mind. You knew working for Vought would lead to sacrifices, uncomfortable situations, but being interrogated by Homelander about your tattoos was never something you ever considered. He thinks about using his lasers every time he sees them poking out from your sleeve or pants. But he needs you. As long as he needs you, you're safe. The moment you stop being useful, he's going to cut off every individual image until there's nothing left. Until you look normal again.

[imthepunchlord]

What's your thoughts about the unifications?

Conceptually, unification works. Honestly, I think it makes sense being able to dual wield Miraculous. Especially working off positive and negative energy/yin-yang.

It works off that theme of balance, having two different energies being able to work together.

But, much like anything in canon, I feel the concept could've gone farther.

Like, I think it'd be neat that unification could lead to animals that don't exist as Miraculous:

Ladybug + any feline creates a Leopard themed hero.

Any bug + any reptile creates a Dragonfly themed hero.

Any reptile + any bird creates a Dragon themed hero.

Any cat + any bird creates a Griffin themed hero.

Horse + Fish could've made a Seahorse themed hero.

Cat + Goat could've made a Chimera themed hero.

Not that they really went that way and just went weird with the naming, combing the names of preexisting heroes instead of letting characters name themselves and working off their own unique personalities. Like, instead of Pegabug, I could've seen Marinette calling herself Appaloosa or if you want to go punny, Appleloosa.

I also think that dual wielding Miraculous shouldn't be that difficult, as pairs are something that always exist, and I can see the body handling matching with two different types of magical energy. Now, wielding more than 2 I can see being set up to take a toll on the body as there's more magical energy to work off of, and the higher you go the more tired you're going to be.

Though I could just be biased as I feel the temporary heroes weren't necessary and Marinette and Adrien could've juts unified with the rest and continue to handle things; I also feel that, post meeting Fu and him able to see that they were trustworthy and dedicated and were able to succeed despite HM having the being an adult edge, they should've gotten a 2nd Miraculous to have full time, not only to help give them a boost, but also allow continued growth.

Ladybug/Tikki did help with Marinette's growth in confidence and being a leader, but there's nothing else TIkki is adding to her growth (which I find it's kinda debatable how much Tikki really added to Marinette's over all growth), but at this time, Ladybug and Tikki just work off this is a responsibility than something for Marinette to grow as a character. And now she's developing an Atlas complex and that anxiety is getting worse with the pressure and expectation of the role and no one there telling Marinette she needs to prioritize and value her own needs and wants. I don't even know if this girl knows how to relax at this point. And that there is the next phase for Marinette's growth. She needs to learn to put down boundaries, to say no, to not involve herself as much, and think about her own needs and wants, cause you can't really help others until you help yourself.

Cat/Plagg was good for Adrien to gain that independence he wants, be more rebellious against his father, and to self-prioritize. But now he prioritizes his wants way too much, doesn't really treat heroing with the seriousness required nor has he stepped up as a leader and equal to Ladybug, and still readily endangers himself, to the point of self-sacrificing. And that's the next phase for his growth, get a Miraculous and kwami that will address those, learn to be more serious in fights, not to say he can no longer be a wisecrack but save the flirting and pranks for night patrols not akuma fights, step up as a leader and truly share that burden, which would've helped his partner rely on him more and trust his capability more, and address that self-sacrificing. Either learn to be more cautious or think a little bit more before acting. Like, great, you saved your partner by sacrificing yourself, but you also left her alone to deal with things, and what if the fight went poorly because she was alone, and she fails, and that sacrifice was pointless. I don't know how many more times he did so, but man it needed to be addressed.

Another factor is that unification could've been extra interesting in that combing Miraculous could've created new powers through the combination of preexisting powers.

Like Shelter + Venom could've created Shell Shock, where hitting the shield would shock and stun a target.

Shelter + Cataclysm or Clout could've made Bombshell, put up a protective dome and it sends out a destructive blast or shock wave around you.

Mirage + Cataclysm could've made Nightmare, where the illusion creates someone's worst fears.

Second Chance + Cataclysm could've made Hissterics, getting a target to live in the worst timeline.

Time travel could've existed as a unification power through combining Horse and Snake/Rabbit, if the latter still has a time power.

Though neat an idea it is, it is something that would work better with fewer Miraculous, as 19 that canon has is a lot of powers to think of possibly combining. That is 361 matches to think about and how they make a new power. And now that I got 35 I won't be doing the concept either, even more so as I'm going with Miraculous having 2 powers to offer.

So unification is a neat concept, but I think it could've gone further if they were more creative. Definitely prefer it to the potions.

[waterfallofspace]

What A Way To Start A Year

T/im learns a little something about karma, friends, and care. Seems even J/on isn't quite as cold as he seems.

A M/agnus A/rchives fic, set somewhere pre-season 1. Shouldn't have any spoilers, but proceed with caution just incase~ (nothing late game, just character dynamic things)

Welcome to "I meant for this to be a little drabble and I wrote 3k words"~ Having a bit of hyperfixation and burn out as I started this new year, soooo I decided to make T/im suffer <3 Not promising quality seeing as I wrote this all in the span of tonight, but consider it a lil 'too long' drabble, and happy new years!

Best way to start off the new year, giving one of your lil guys a lil snz <3

Characters: T/im, M/artin, S/asha, and J/on. Word Count: 3.9k

(CW: There is some swearing, and light descriptions of high fevers)

Christmas had been good this year, maybe the best it had in a long time. Life of the party as always, Tim had enjoyed getting to spend it with his old, and new, colleagues. On top of that, Jon had been laid up with a pretty awful cold for a couple days leading up to it, so he wasn’t around to crush any brilliant ideas Tim came up with. 

This led to the budget receiving a fairly substantial hit, though many researchers donated to the cause when they learned this borrowing wasn’t exactly approved. Hell, even Elias had pitched in, claiming something or other about ‘archivists fit for the job not exactly growing on trees’, and wanting to ‘save some of Jon’s sanity’. 

“Tim? Are you even listening to me?”  

Pulled back to the conversation at hand, Tim lifts his gaze to the taller man fidgeting nervously in front of him. Martin was never one for confrontations, and usually the first ‘no’ would have been more than enough to lead to a string of apologies for even asking. Today however, he seems to have grown a spine. At the worst possible moment. 

“Oh come on,” Martin continues, missing the groan slipping from Tim’s throat. “Even Jon agreed to it!” 

“I’m not really in the party mood,” Tim retorts, leaning back in his chair. “Besides, Jon didn’t agree to celebrate, he agreed not to stop the celebration. Not the same thing.” 

From across her desk, Sasha gives a low chuckle. “He’s got you there, Martin.”

“Can you at least give it a little thought before turning it down?” Martin insists, completely out of character for someone usually so eager to please. 

What the hell has gotten into him today? He didn’t even seem to enjoy himself that much at the Christmas party. Sure, he had a few drinks and mingled with the staff, but he’d left as soon as it was over, not waiting around for chatting like Tim and Sasha.

Clearing his throat with a grimace, Tim casts Sasha a dark look as she chuckles again. Knowing far too much, as usual. Especially when it came to him. If it was anyone else, Tim would hate it with all his being, but given that it’s Sasha… well it’s a welcome invasion. 

Still, it would be nice if she didn’t rat him out. And to Martin of all people, well let’s just say he saw what happened when Jon was sick. Yeah, passing on that one. Attention is great, Tim lives for it, but the coddling? Not really his style. 

“hiEH– guh…”

Damn, that had been a close one. Thankfully Martin seems oblivious, though Sasha sits up in her chair, reaching down into a drawer to fish something out. 

Turning his focus back to Martin, Tim provides an offer, desperate to just have the interaction come to an end. 

“Fine, I’ll show up, but I don’t want any part in planning it.” 

“Oh of course, I’ll handle all the details, I mean it’s just a new years party, how much can there really be to do? I mean food, timing, gotta make sure we have keys to the building– oh but if Jon’s there, that shouldn’t be a problem…” Martin says, rambling beginning to fade into the background as Tim finds himself unable to- 

“hH– ek’CHhiew!” 

“-Oh, bless you!” Martin says, his own thoughts long forgotten. 

Unable to get a word out, Tim merely waves a hand, ducking into his shoulder for another, “eTChhew!” 

“Bles-” 

And another, “iTSChh’ew!” 

“Oh ble-” 

And another, “ehh– kTChh’iew!” 

Silently Sasha stands, handing Tim a pack of tissues. Must have been what she was looking for in the desk. Once again, knowing more than she should, of course she picked up on his patterns. 

Accepting them gratefully, Tim pulls a few out and roughly rubs at his nose, pointedly avoiding Martin’s worried gaze. Gripping his still trembling nose through the tissue, Tim sucks in a tight breath through his teeth, holding for a beat, before finally spinning around in his chair for a final- 

“hH’ETCSHh-ieuw! Whew, bless me.” 

Martin’s hands are fidgeting again, seemingly unsure of what to do with himself as Tim gives his nose a light massage through the tissue. He’s aware enough not to point it out, but is nearly shaking with the effort of suppressing his concerns. 

With a sigh, Tim meets his eyes. “I’m fine, Martin. I always sneeze like that.” He leaves out ‘when I’m sick’. It also happens if he’s suffering allergies, though he doubts that would be a point in his defense given it’s the middle of winter. 

“Yeah he’s not kidding,” Sasha pipes up, throwing Tim a wink as he glares. “You should hear him in spring, once it starts he can be going for hours.” 

“I wouldn’t say hours, Sash-” 

“Remember the cherry blossom incident?” Sasha interrupts, sending a sugary smile over to Martin. “He was wrecked for the rest of the day, I was almost certain he was never gonna stop. Even considered giving a statement here, that reaction was almost supernatural.” 

Tim winces, an audible moan slipping from his lips. “We swore to never speak of it again.” 

Sasha laughs, Tim giving her another playful glare from behind his tissues. “You swore that, I did no such thing.” 

Thankfully Martin doesn’t pry, having enough common sense to offer a polite chuckle, and offer some excuse about ‘planning’. Still, he can’t help himself from shooting a meek “I hope you feel better soon” over his shoulder, Tim giving him finger guns in return. 

“This is karma, you know,” Sasha calls after Martin’s outside earshot. “You took pleasure in Jon’s suffering, so now it’s your turn to suffer the same fate.” 

“No, thi- eTChhew! Scuse me,” Tim says, rubbing his nose with the tissue one last time before depositing it in his nearly overflowing trash can. Another tissue is plucked as his eyes begin to water, nostrils flaring with reckless abandon. Never just one. 

“kTChh’uew! hh’iTChh –uew! Tihhckles… eTCHh! etchh’uh! hiehh–” 

The last one toys with him, tracing the rims of his nostrils, back up his sinuses, a gentle itch that seems to burn against every inch of his nose. Finally, with a desperate gasp, Tim ducks into his wrist for the last, “heh’ATChhh –iew!” 

“Many blessings. Sounds like you need them,” Sasha offers with a wince, tossing another pack of tissues over, which Tim catches with a single hand, the other still gripping his nose. 

After taking a moment to clean himself up, Tim shoots her his signature smile, ignoring the eye roll she shoots back. “Where was I?” 

“Admitting this is karma?” 

“It’s not karma, it’s lack of common sense. Going to a party where a coworker is sick, and still drinking and eating the same meals” Tim says, aiming a rough cough into his sleeve. 

Sasha winces once more at the quality of the cough, hands rummaging through her drawers once more as she tosses a reply back. “And yet you’re the only one who caught it. Seems like karma to me.” 

Closing the distance between them in a single stride, Sasha places a hand on Tim’s shoulder, voice softening. “It’s two days till new years, why don’t you go home and try to get some rest? I doubt Martin will object, and I’ll cover for you with Jon.” 

Before Tim can form his rebuttal, Sasha places a box of paracetamol and a jar of vapor rub in front of him. Nodding his thanks, Tim lets out another harsh cough into his arm, leaning as far away from Sasha as he can manage. 

With a light rub to his shoulder, Sasha walks to the door, holding it open with a pointed look. “Go home, you sound awful.” 

“Alright, alright. I got the message. hH’ETchhiew!” Tim says, gathering his care package and beginning his walk down the hallway. 

“If I hear the rest of that fit happening in this building, I’m telling Martin how ill you really are,” Sasha calls after him, a smile flashing over her face as Tim holds up his hands in mock surrender, before ducking back into his arm with another muffled burst. 

— 

“You look horrible.” 

Tim manages a weary smile from behind the tightly wound scarf. “Thagk you.” 

Martin winces, standing in the doorframe, seemingly oblivious to the winter chill soaking into Tim’s bones. Even just the walk from the train station was hell on earth, standing out here is doing him no favours. 

Turning away with a throat scraping cough, Tim manages to clear the congestion enough to finish the sentence somewhat understandably. A great feat, given how fast his voice is retreating. “May I remind you that I’m only here because you insisted.” 

“Right, well I… I didn’t know how bad-” Martin begins, realizing spreading across his face like a wildfire as a chill leaves Tim breathless. “Oh god, I’m making you freeze to death while you’re already this sick, I’m so sorry, come in, I’ll go make you a tea.” 

Tim nods his thanks as he piles inside the warm institute, cursing his aching lungs as each breath of warm air seems to burn them from the inside out. Martin rushes away, nearly crashing into a few researchers as he makes his frantic dash for the kitchen. 

The scarf is reluctantly removed, a shudder running through Tim’s back as the warm air does nothing to soothe what he’s now certain is a growing fever. A few researchers wave to him, offering some idle chit-chat as he makes his way inside.

For the most part, people give him a wide berth, apparently he looks as bad as he feels. Tissues in hand, gripping them like a lifeline, Tim finds his way to a couch and lets himself sink into it. The party buzzes around him, fading into background noise. 

Martin returns soon after, the mug vibrating slightly as he attempts to steady his hand. “I wasn’t sure what kind you’d want, we have a pretty limited amount, but I have a few extras in my desk– oh I could have probably found one for colds and flus, I’m not sure which this is, I thought cold before but you look-” 

“Martin,” Tim interrupts, voice cutting uncomfortably through his raw throat. “Can I have the cup?” 

“Oh, right, sorry!” Martin says, a sheepish grin crossing his face, nerves more than anything else, as he hands Tim the mug. Tim gives another appreciative nod, taking a cautious sip. 

The warm liquid feels like heaven against his throat, and he barely manages to choke back a whimper. The flavour is still a mystery, Martin never actually got to that part. Given how little he can taste at the moment, seems it’s gonna remain that way. Still, the heat beginning to warm his chest is a welcome relief, and Tim has to fight to keep his eyes from drifting shut…

“Watch out!” 

The voice rouses him, his eyes snapping open just in time to witness Jon dropping to his knees in front of the couch. The realization doesn’t sink in for another minute, Tim blinking the tired from his eyes and trying to figure out why people are staring… and why there’s a hand on his finge– 

Oh, the tea. Thankfully Jon’s reflexes seemed to kick in just in time, his hands guiding Tim’s cup to the table next to him. Judgement clouds the boss's eyes as he turns back, fully ready to chastise Tim, no doubt. Jon opens his mouth, one hand beginning to point, but as his eyes scan Tim’s form, his demeanor changes instantly. 

“You don’t seem well.” Jon’s voice is still firm, but with a hint of something Tim can’t quite place. On anyone else, he’d call it concern. On Jon… perhaps concern isn’t far off, though the underlying criticism of the statement irritates him. 

“I wonder why that could be? It’s almost as if someone came to the Christmas party sick enough to fall asleep standing. Twice.” Tim says, sarcasm lining his words, alongside the congestion he can’t seem to fully shake. 

“Well in that case,” Sasha chimes in, cheerful voice a natural antithesis to the misery coursing through Tim’s system. “Seems you’re halfway there!” 

“Hey, I was lying down, that’s hardly the sahh… same thing– hH’ETchh!” 

“Here we go,” Sasha says, already turning on her heel to find a tissue box as Tim’s hitches increase in desperation. 

“aHTChh’ew! gn’tchhew!” 

“Bless,” Jon offers, a brief confusion crossing his face as Sasha laughs, shaking her head. 

“He’s not done,” She says, handing over the tissue box. 

Tim grabs for it blindly, too caught up in the fit to even attempt dignity. Still, the eyes on him do leave him with a hint of embarrassment, and the onslaught is muffled as best he can manage. “hH’MMpshhew! eMPFShh’ieh! hh’MFSHhueh!” 

Blessings sound out from the room, Tim managing to wave a hand towards the ones offering them, eyes still watering. As the fit seems to stall, he lowers his tissues, red nose now visibly twitching. 

“Are you alright?” Jon asks, the hint of concern from before now plainly evident. That’s frankly more alarming than it should be, and Tim finds himself wanting to… reassure the boss. 

“I’m okay, it’s juhh… j-just… huhh–” But it seems his nose has other plans, a tissue being raised once more as Tim paws at the appendage. “‘Scuhhse me, I still have… hahhve to… to… hiHh– eTCHh’ew! hk’ASCHh–oo!” 

This time the tickle fades with the final pitchy sneeze, Tim letting out a low groan as he mashes his nose into the ever growing collection of tissues he’s clutching. A few people call out final blessings, Sasha laughing out hers as Tim’s face goes red once more. 

Martin picks this time to enter the room with drinks, Tim letting his eyes flutter shut as the focus shifts off his misery. A gentle touch keeps him from drifting off to sleep, prying open an eye to find Sasha settling onto his left. 

“Careful, don’t want to catch this,” Tim manages, leaning against his right shoulder to muffle another stream of chesty coughs. Sasha winces as it goes on past the realm of comfort, her hand finding his back. 

“Don’t worry about me, I haven’t earned this cold, I didn’t make use of Jon’s or your suffering,” She says, the playful tone not masking the growing worry in her posture. 

While she can read him like a book, she’s no mystery to him either. The tension in her fingers, absentmindedly stroking patterns on his back. The way she subconsciously tries to support his body weight, despite them both sitting. The look in her eyes when he manages to stall the coughing long enough to meet them. 

With this brief respite from the attack, Sasha takes the chance to bring Tim’s tea back, his fingers wrapping around the warm mug. The first few sips burn, his lungs protesting, begging to return to their efforts to expel all the irritation. By the third, however, the warmth is spreading once more, easing the spasms. 

“Alright?” Sasha asks, beginning to stand from the couch. Tim nods his reply, taking another slow sip. “Think you’ll make it till midnight? We’ve still got a few hours to go.” 

He nods his approval again, not yet trusting his voice enough to make an attempt. Sasha simply smiles, easing back into the party that– Tim had almost forgotten existed. That fever must be worse than he thought, given how loud it is. A fact that’s now pounding against his head in harmony with his heartbeat. 

The party continues on, Sasha and Martin taking turns checking in on Tim as he slips rapidly in and out of consciousness. Seconds turn to hours, and before he knows it, it’s two minutes to midnight. 

As Tim blinks against the harsh fluorescent lighting, it’s Jon that stands before him, hand hovering near his side. Tim begins to speak, breaking off into a cough as his voice comes out rough with sleep and congestion. 

“What’s up boss?” He manages with the second attempt, not missing Jon’s wince at the nasal quality. 

“You simply look… well, the festivities are nearly over, I was just inquiring as to…” Jon seems to get stuck, eyes wandering down to the couch as he finishes. “I know you took the train here, I was seeing if you needed an escort home.” 

“How kind, I’d be delighted to have your accompaniment,” Tim responds, the wit clouding the fact he… hadn’t actually considered needing to go home. Jon seems to take this answer as satisfactory, ignoring all the sarcasm as he gives a tight nod and an out of practice smile. 

From across the room Martin calls out, something about a countdown. Tim attempts to pull himself to a stand, finding Sasha’s arm around his waist, guiding him to the wall. Leaning against it, he lets his rough voice join the chorus as they count into the new year. 

Despite how the lights and noise had pounded into his skull, everyone chanting in unison helps Tim realize that… there actually aren’t that many people here. Aside from his coworkers, there’s only a few researchers, and Elias is not in attendance.

Honestly, thank whatever cosmic being may exist for that one, he had been none too fond of Jon’s arriving sick. Tim shudders to think what he would have said about this state. He shouldn’t have come, but… something about how insistent Martin was… well he just couldn’t disappoint that loveable idiot. 

Somehow Tim finds he’s managed to keep up with the counting, despite being worlds away in his thoughts. As they approach the final numbers, a feathery sensation begins to spread through his nostrils- no. 

Absolutely not, this is not the time. It’s never just one, there’s not enough people here, someone’s gonna notice. And I mean, it’s not like he’s hiding the fact he feels like death, but… drawing that much attention is also not the goal. 

“Five! Four!”

“hiehh- h’ngTchh!” He manages to stifle the first, the congestion pounding in his head as the tickle seems to only get worse. 

“Three! Two!” 

“I cad’t– nNDtch! nGTCh’uh!” 

“One–” 

As the cheers begin to erupt, Tim ducks into the tissues with a scraping, “ehg’TCHhiew!” 

“Happy new years!” 

“yiEShh’iew! etchh’uh! hH’AESHH –oo!” Tim dips into his hands again, managing to sink down against the wall as he lets out a congested blow, ending the fit.

“What a way to ring in the new year,” Comes Sasha’s voice, her form blocking the light from Tim’s eyes as he looks up, fever blurring his vision.

“Shud ub.” 

“Christ Tim, you sound awful,” Jon adds, his form appearing behind Sasha’s. 

“Thagks boss,” Tim retorts, groaning as he notices a third form, Martin’s nervous fidgeting easy to spot even from this angle. Martin remains silent, though his eyes seem to hold more concern than any of them, and… guilt? Or maybe that’s just the delirium. 

Glancing up to meet Sasha’s gaze, Tim offers a weary, “Tibe to go hobe?” 

She nods softly, kneeling to help him to his feet, Martin wordlessly taking his other arm. Jon stands off to the side, hesitating. What for, who knows. All Tim can focus on is one step after the other, just gotta make it home, then he can sleep. For the rest of forever, at this rate. 

As they get to the door, Martin helps wrap the scarf around Tim’s neck, forcing him to lift it from its perch against Sasha’s shoulder. Sasha, for her part, supports his weight with ease, she was always stronger than she looked. 

Martin keeps casting glances towards Tim, obviously fretting over something. Too tired to manage his usual charm, Tim gives Martin the softest look he can manage. “Jusd say id, please. You’re makigg me nervous.”

“I’m so sorry I asked you to come, you’re obviously so unwell, and I know I didn’t really know that at the time, but I should have, or at least texted and checked in, I just… I wanted us all to get along so bad and I thought if you came it would mean more fun because you’re always so lively and good at talking to people and-” 

Tim holds up a hand, eyes glazing over as Martin stops short, breath coming almost as rapidly as Tim’s. After a minute goes by, Martin starts to open his mouth, seeming confused by the interruption, before nearly jumping out of his skin as Tim ducks into his fist. 

“eTCHh’ew! hH’YEAShh –iew! Sorry, I feld those cobigg… waid– hih’ETCHhew! heAYSHh’oo!” Tim ducks down again, Sasha grabbing him tighter to support the harsh shudders as he attempts to keep his balance. 

“Oh bless you,” Martin offers, voice coming out timid. Tim gives him, what he hopes is, a warm smile despite the fever taking hold of the last corners of his mind.

“If I didn’t wanna cobe, I would have stayed hobe. I dod’t blame you.” 

Martin nods silently, a relief seeming to flood his face. Taking his place once more supporting Tim, they move towards the exit. Opening the door, the first wave of cold floods the entryway, and a chill so violent runs through Tim that both Martin and Sasha take a step back to brace him. 

It’s now that Jon speaks up, voice strained with a type of worry Tim hadn’t heard before. “No, we’re absolutely not doing this, I refuse.” 

The trio turn towards him. Though perhaps a more accurate description is that Martin and Sasha turn, Tim simply goes along for the ride. Martin mumbles something about ‘no other choice’, but Sasha asks what Jon’s on about. 

“It’s too cold out there, it’s the middle of the damn night, there’s no way I’m letting him go home like this.” 

“And what do you suggest we do as an alternative? He can’t stay here-” Sasha begins, pausing as Jon turns towards her. 

“Why not? I’m the archivist, this is my archive,” Jon begins, pausing for a moment, before adding, “Well, Elias’s, but I hardly think he’d suggest we send an employee home in this weather while they’re this sick. That’s just bad management, he’ll freeze to death before even reaching the train.” 

As if to confirm this assumption, Tim shudders violently, ducking into his chest with a tired, “hh’eshhew! eTCHh’iew!” followed by a heavy sigh. Martin mumbles something about covering, but quickly silences himself as Tim begins to tremble again. 

Sasha gives Jon a look, seeming to read him for any hints of doubt, perhaps searching for an ulterior motive. After a brief pause, their eyes meeting, she gives a tight nod, approval of some kind. 

“Come on Martin, let’s get him back to that couch, he can sleep there for the night,” Sasha directs, Martin nodding his acceptance. 

Tim manages to catch snippets of the conversation as they get him settled. Jon fetching him a blanket he keeps in his office. Martin providing some more tea. Sasha grabbing tissues and medication for when he wakes up. Something about Jon sleeping in his office so he’s not alone, and Sasha coming in early to help him home. 

With his final bout of consciousness, Tim holds up a hand, the conversation immediately pausing. “Thagk you guys. And… esSHhh’ew! And, I’b sorry.” 

All three stare at him for a minute, before Sasha breaks first. Her laughter fills the silence, Martin joining in soon after, and even Jon letting a few chuckles slip out. When they’ve finally collected themselves, Sasha gives Tim a warm smile. 

“Sleep well, Tim. I’ll come fetch you in the morning.” 

With a content sigh, Tim lets his eyes drift shut again, his consciousness fading to the soft hum of his friends in the background. 

Alright, so maybe coddling isn’t quite so bad after all.

[binary-not-found]

Episode 13 season 2 🛳

And everyone cheered! 🥳

I really wanted with everything in me to post this episode immediately after it came out, but things happened and it's only now that I have a chance to do so, let's get started.

I know if you guys are at least a little like me you screamed the moment you heard Lucy's voice for the first time after months and you screamed even more when the camera showed her 🤭

"You applied for the job to avoid dealing with your feelings for me."

Do you want to know how much Kate loves Lucy? She mentions the real reason Lucy applied for that assignment as a way of letting her know she can say it, plus it's fun to call her out 🤫

"I miss you."

I love the fact that this call exists, that it was just them catching up, talking about things not too important and taking the opportunity to let each other know that they already want to see each other again 🥰

"Be careful."

Nothing else to say, I love that they love each other and I love their love

Now, I've been saving this for a month, let's talk about Special Agent Afloat Lucy Tara in all her glory 🤗

Let's start with the fact that I know for a fact that she never believed what happened was what it looked like

Lucy is still a junior agent within NCIS, we are used to seeing her taking orders and not giving them, giving ideas and waiting for them to be approved, but in this case we got to see her work on her own, proving that no matter if she is the least experienced agent in her team, she can stand on her own

Another thing I loved to see in her, is that she immediately noticed the sailor getting uncomfortable in the presence of his superior and then gave him the opportunity to get out of there, he didn't say anything but she immediately noticed the change of attitude in the way he expressed himself as opposed to when it was just the two of them

Once again when talking to the "fun boss" she knew something was wrong, Lucy knew she was the one who was hiding something and for a moment she thought it was the sailor the woman was dating

One thing I can't not mention is the way she didn't hesitate to clarify the authority she had within the case, she was the one who was going to solve what had happened and the moment he asked something he shouldn't have, meddling in her work, she made sure to make this clear to him

My baby has grown so much 🥺

Once again Lucy proving she's smarter than all of us

Pausing just to tell you how lovely it is to me that Ernie and Lucy were having video calls while she was on the boat, it shows how much they love and care for each other

Back to the case, I told you guys that she knew something was wrong. Even though everything is technically solved she knew it couldn't be that easy, she knew there was something else she wasn't seeing, and she was right.

She casually unpacked everything while making time to find exactly what she knew was there

That's the expression she always makes when she knows she's right and we love to see it

And trusting her instinct, not settling for the answer she had gotten, she found the truth

This episode became one of my favorites, because it allowed us to see how much Lucy has grown as an agent and to see her work on her own using everything she's learned and proving she can do it. I think a lot of Jane's example, she always looks for the answer of things until she is sure that what she got is really the truth and Lucy proved to have learned this during this episode.

That's it for Lucy in this episode. I'll be back later with Kate's scenes

Lucy episode 13

[purposefully-lost]

Chris reached towards the dash to shut off the AC. He'd been parked in the farthest corner of a travel stop parking lot for the past hour, and now that the sky had been dark for a while, the air had finally seemed to cool down. He leaned against the window as he listened to his phone ring for the third time, counting each repetition until he was certain it was just going to send him to voice mail again.

"Hello?" Asked a voice on the other line. He'd been so sure that he wouldn't get an answer that it had to repeat itself. Chris blinked as it registered that he'd finally gotten through, sitting up in his seat.

"Hey," he started, before he broke into a grin, something that was more for the man on the other side of the phone than it was anything else. "Hey, Charlie, how've you been?"

"Uh.. fine," came the answer. "S'been good. Hey, I uh, I- I'm sorry I missed your call, the other times. I was kinda busy."

"Busy doin' what?" Chris asked, and now the grin was genuine, a teasing tone slipping into his voice. It was hard not to tease Charlie, sometimes. The kid just made it easy. "It's almost eleven. You're not workin' this late, are you?"

"N- no, I just.. I had shit to do. Clean, or whatever. Wh- why're you callin', anyway?"

"I can't just call 'cause I wanna hear from you?" He asked. His smile started to slip. He glanced up at his review mirror and frowned when he realized he was no longer catching a glint of something wet when he looked towards the backseat. The blood had dried. It was gonna be a real bitch to scrub it out and he wondered if he shouldn't just get something to lay over it to save himself the trouble. Couldn't be helped now, though. He had another target he was waiting on. "It's been a while, man. I just wanted to hear how things were goin'."

"Well, uh..." There was something hesitant in Charlie's voice. There almost always was, but there was a catch to it just then that, for Chris' whole life, had always seemed to spell trouble. He frowned as he Iistened. "It hasn't been too bad. I've, uh... I've mostly just been.. workin', so, y'know. Uh.."

"You've gotta get a hobby or somethin'. You still keepin' an eye on those horses for Charlotte?"

"Uh, yeah, sometimes, I guess. I guess- I- I guess I did, uh, meet someone, actually. Kind of. That's been..." There was a short sound from the other side of the line, a half of a laugh that sounded like the happiest thing he'd heard from Charlie in a long time. "That's been goin' good, actually."

"Met someone?" Chris teased. That was the kind of thing he wanted to hear! The last time they'd talked, Charlie had sounded like he was having a real rough time. They all were. But maybe he'd finally gone and got himself some friends, if not something even more than. "What's her name?"

"Uh..." There was a long pause. He was starting to wonder if Charlie had either forgotten or was just plain bullshitting him when he finally continued. "Uh, Victory. He- I- he goes by Vi, usually."

He? Chris paused, letting that settle, then fell into another laugh. He! God, of course it would be a he. He heard Charlie start to stutter again and quickly cut him off. "Victory?" He asked. "That's one hell of a name. Maybe I'll have to come by and meet this guy sometime."

"Yeah," Charlie said, and then a little more energy poured into his voice. "Yeah, you- you should. He's.. he's really somethin'." Chris could hear the smile as it must've found his brother's face. "He's been really good to me. I'd love for you to meet him."

"I'm happy for you, man. Listen, I-" He glanced up and cut himself off. A truck he recognized had just pulled into the lot. He mouth set into a hard frown. "I've gotta go. I'll see you around, though, alright?"

"Yeah, I'll--"

Chris ended the call. It was time to go.

[implausiblyjosh]

Been watching Superman & Lois recently, and with the 3rd season wrapping up, I wanted to talk about what I saw as "Drama Busywork" in this season.

One of the b-plots in this season is that Jordan, one of Clark & Lois's sons, is dealing with Teenage Issues. In episode S3 E12, he sees people make fun of his superhero alter ego right in front of him & he responds like most kid superheroes do in these types of shows, basically saying "so what if this new superhero is a kid and wears goggles? seems like this new superhero is kinda badass and saved some kids!"

That exchange makes his ex, Sarah, think that Jordan doesn't care about his secret and having a secret identity… despite the fact that she saw the entire conversation start to finish and saw him keep the secret, all he did was kinda go "whoa hold on peers, what if the kid hero is cool and awesome instead???" Sarah, going off of this wild interpretation of events laid out in front of her, tells her mom, Lana Lang.

But this game of telephone telephones-back? It starts as "heyyy what if the new kid superhero is cool haha", then Sarah sees this as "Jordan doesn't care about his secret, so I shouldn't have to care about keeping his powers a secret", which Lana Lang takes to Clark and Lois as "he cares too much about his alter ego", and finally Clark & Lois go to Jordan with "you don't think people knowing about your alter ego is bad". And this last point isn't in a "People should know Superman and Clark Kent are the same person" way, it's in a "People should know Superman exists" way.

So Jordan doesn't actually get to address the core problems here, which are:

1) he is a bit of a Teen Weirdo dealing with Teenage Adolescence on top of being a Teen Hero

2) His relationship with his ex, Sarah, is Bad

Watching the season finale right now, and we haven't gotten any meaningful closure on this Jordan arc. So, like, what's the point?

It really feels like meaningless drama that isn't really adding much to the story or the characters, it's just giving them something to do. Just a lot of characters handling things horribly, AND characters who aren't handling things poorly have the memories of goldfish.

One of the other characters, DOD Grandpa (cannot remember his character's name, but he's Lois Lane's dad) is the one who got Jordan on this whole alter ego track! But when everything comes to blows about Jordan wanting recognition as his alter ego, he gets to just kinda peace out of that whole conflict.

Another example from this same episode is a Clark and Kyle interaction, part of the C-Plot of Jonathan (Lois & Clark's other son) feeling kinda left out of the whole family because he doesn't have powers like his brother and he's not someone of worldwide importance like his mom.

Jonathan has been working as a firefighter in-training with Kyle, Lana Lang's ex. Recent developments have made it so Kyle knows Clark is Superman. This has had an impact on how Kyle treats Jonathan, since Kyle knows that not only is this Superman's son, but also Kyle used to be Clark's biggest bully. Clark goes to Kyle and asks to not treat Jonathan any different because Clark is Superman, and clearly and concisely states that this is about Jonathan not wanting special treatment and Jonathan wants to make it on his own merits.

Kyle would literally not be receptive to that idea from anyone other than Superman, he's still in "this man could kill me and coulda killed me in high school when I was his biggest bully" mode of thinking. So, how does Kyle take this new info to Jonathan? like Jonathan went and ratted to his dad! Even though Jonathan clearly states that's not what happened, Clark just overheard him talking about work! Jonathan's obviously comfortable talking to Kyle about these issues, or else he wouldn't expand on them and defend himself by basically saying "what, you expect me to never talk about work outside of work?"

This is the drama equivalent of worksheets. This is busywork. I don't feel like anything productive is happening here in these interactions, either as character work or as narrative. This doesn't get into the fact that a lot of underlying issues here are just… not really brought up again!

If we focus back on my two points with Jordan, there's one that's just normal High School Drama Stuff. The second is his relationship with Sarah, his ex. Despite this second point being a huge driving force in a lot of Jordan's B-Plot (I'd argue the reason he wants to be recognized as his alter ego is directly caused by this awful relationship) there isn't much movement on dealing with the relationship.

This angle is completely unresolved. The Sarah & Jordan angle starts going sour because Sarah cheats on Jordan over summer camp. They talk it out, and are still together despite it, until Sarah decides because of her own cheating she just wants to be friends. Jordan is (understandably!) heartbroken about this, and tries to continue to be friends with her and it bleeds into that first point. Now he's gotta deal with this heartbreak, on top of the usual High School Drama Stuff. It is the catalyst for all these other things in his life, and all his actions, but like… nothing satisfying is happening there!

(Additionally, this plot point hits really close to home for me! I've been on the cheated-on end of a situation, and watching all this knowing it comes from this unresolved issue that hits close to home makes watching Jordan's B-plot hard! However, that's a Josh-Issue not a Writing-Issue, but I felt it needed to be said so you can take that together with my criticisms)

Again, this all feels like busywork. I don't think any character development is happening, and I don't think the character work being done is good in these scenes. It's just… nothing. I know "Filler" gets thrown around a lot, but this feels like that! This feels like padding. It feels like taking up time to hit a word count.

Next season a lot of these characters are leaving the show. On the one hand, it sucks cause I think they're good on-screen! I don't necessarily dislike these characters! On the other, I think having a smaller cast with less of this writing baggage will likely be for the best, or at the very least we get a different type of bad writing.

[sunny6677]

Flames.

Summary: Skid is saved from a situation he never thought he'd be in. But now he has to heal from everything he went through. And he doesn't know how.

Chapter 11: Keender.

TWS: REPETITION, TRAUMA, NIGHTMARES, SKID HAS A NIGHTMARE, PEOPLE BEING ASSHOLES, PEOPLE SIMPING OVER A LITERAL ABUSER, UNFORTUNATELY REALISTIC DEPICTIONS OF HOW PEOPLE TREAT BAD PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO BE SOMEWHAT GOOD LOOKING, PHYSICAL ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE.

(SERIOUSLY. SKID GOES THROUGH A LOT IN THIS SHIT. BE WARNED. YES, THIS IS A STORY ABOUT HIM SLOWLY HEALING FROM HIS TRAUMA, OR AT LEAST TRYING TO. BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN ITS NOT SOMEWHAT DARK. BE WARNED. DONT WORRY THOUGH, IT DOESNT ROMANTICIZE ANY OF THE DARK THINGS IN IT THOUGH. IT IS POTRAYED AS A BAD THING. THIS IS JUST ABOUT SKID HEALING FROM A BAD EXPERIENCE.)

(I ALSO PARTIALLY WROTE THIS STORY TO KINDA COPE WITH MY TRAUMA, SINCE WRITING ABOUT PEOPLE SLOWLY HEALING FROM THEIR TRAUMA KINDA MAKES ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY OWN EXPERIENCES.)

————

Skid wouldn't be going to the candy store for a little while.

Well, that was at least what his mother had told him. She had apologized to him, saying she shouldn't have brought him there and that she should have known better. And despite Skid's pleads for her to know she did nothing wrong, she refused to believe otherwise.

As of now, Skid had already been suited back into his pajama's. They felt comforting against his skin, like a warm hug being pressed against himself. In all fairness, he really did need a hug right now. The sky was now a color of midnight black, stars speckled across the plane of the source of the darkness from above. The moon was shining brightly and peacefully from on high. Skid could hear the faint chirping of the crickets from outside.

As of now, he was in his bed. His mother had decided that maybe it was best he got some rest for the night. He had been tucked comfortably beneath the fuzzy covers of his blanket. His knees felt weak and numb underneath the blanket. And for literal minutes now, he had basically just been laying there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling helplessly. What was a kid like him to do?

Pump was already gone at this point. His mother had sent him off, saying that maybe Skid would need to rest for a little while. Yet, even as Pump left, Skid could see a concerned shimmer in his eyes. Pangs of guilt shrouded Skid internally, like a knife being forcefully shoved into his chest. It pierced deeply, as if a physical wound had really opened up inside of him. Skid was really starting to wonder just what was wrong with him.

He turned over. He could hear the muffled sounds of the TV from outside of his door, despite it being closed. His mother was still in the living room, most likely sitting on the couch and attempting to watch something in order to forget most of what had happened today. Skid gulped. Internally, he scolded himself for.. for what had happened today. He didn't know why he broke down in the candy store today, but he felt as if it was all his fault.

Skid weakly looked upwards. A thought entered his mind. He considered perhaps attempting to get out of bed and apologizing to his mother, but.. she'd be angry, wouldn't she? If he had gotten out of bed. No.. she wouldn't. She wasn't like that. Skid knew that so! So why did his mind seem so intent on portraying her like she was going to hurt him even though she never did?! Was it a fear? Some kind of anxiety?

Or maybe he was just ungrateful..

Skid grumbled weakly. He raised up one of his hands, and lightly bonked himself on the head. What was he thinking? Treating his own mother like she was some sort of monster... just what was wrong with him?

As he laid there in silence, he suddenly heard the audio from the TV switch to something else. Despite it being outside, he was able to tell that it was clearly on something else entirely now. It wasn't anything important certainly. He considered just trying to sleep for a few moments more, and possibly apologizing tomorrow so his mother wouldn't be worried for his own sleep. A part of him kept thinking that for whatever reason, she would be angry though.

Then, he blinked. He could hear what the voice on whatever channel his mother was watching was saying. Judging by the firm but professional tone in the male voice that was on the channel, he assumed that most likely, it was the news channel. He arched a brow—wondering why his mother would be watching the news late at night.

He then heard, and began to process the muffled words of the voice that was speaking. "Last night, there was a 35 year old man by the name of Keender Roosevelt arrested for kidnapping and possibly child abuse. He was faced with charges, but some individuals online have taken a strange liking to him."

Skid clenched his sheets, his eyes widening.

The voice continued to speak. "Most of the followers online are young women, who claim that Keender shouldn't be in jail because reportedly, he's 'too handsome to go to jail'. Some individuals online try to claim that what he did was justified for various reasons, and some even empathize with him. Some have even written fan letters to him."

Skid's pupils shook, water beginning to form in his eyes. He didn't understand exactly what he was hearing.

"Other information about Keender Roosevelt reportedly states that he was a failed screenwriter. Supposedly, the monster had a wife and a son of his own at the age of 28, but the two apparently mysteriously went missing. The last reported sighting of Keender's son had apparently been—"

...the voice stopped. Judging by the sudden clicking sound, and the muting of the audio, the TV had most likely been turned off. His mother had turned the TV off. In the gaps of his hearing, all Skid could hear now was the sound of the air conditioning and the chirping of the crickets.

Skid clenched his sheets yet again, tears slowly seeping out from the corner of his eye. People.. liked Keender? But—but why? He didn't even understand any of what he had just heard. In the silence, Skid continued to lay on his bed, his eyes wide open in the dark.

Skid then heard the sounds of distant light footsteps.

He then clenched his eyes shut, burying his face into his pillow. He hoped to god that soon he'd drift off to sleep and forget all about what he had just heard. The footsteps drew nearer, Skid's skin grew clammier and more tingly. But even as it did, Skid felt his muscles become numb, and the world around him slowly began to fade into the cage of slumber that resided within his innocent mind.

————

In a hazy vision, Skid was in a car. Upon the hot metal seating of a car, in fact. He was in the back seat of a car. The seat beneath him felt hot, warm. Painful, even. He could feel it underneath his tiny legs. It ached, and he wanted so badly to squirm in his own slight agony. Yet for whatever reason, he didn't. He held it back. He held back the urge to quietly whimper.

He could feel heat against his pale skin. The warm summer air of.. wherever he was. Most likely, the AC in the car wasn't on, and due to that, it felt warmer than any fire that could be started. Skid could see the light blue sky outside, and various cars that were parked near. He didn't know where he was, but it almost felt familiar.

In the car he was in, Skid could see various items. Stacks of unmoved clothing, bags of opened snacks, an empty can. He could smell something foul, but he wasn't really sure what it might have been. The sun blazed it's glow upon him, and he held back another whimper. His eyes clenched tightly shut. His skin felt clammy and hot, and he could feel a wet feeling in the corners of his eyes. He felt weak.. weaker than before. He didn't even know what was happening.

"Jesus fuckin'.. I swear to.." He heard Keender's masculine and rough voice speak from in the front of the seat. Skid raised his head up, not out of curiosity, but to see what exactly it was that Keender had been cursing to himself about. As he raised his head, he could see Keender in the driver's seat with a cigarette held between his slender fingers. There was a light red cut on one of his fingers. Skid already knew what it was from. He had recalled a few days ago that Keender had somehow given himself a paper cut whenever he was trying to take a piece of paper from Skid. Skid internally blamed himself, feeling at fault for what happened.

Even so, Skid couldn't tell what Keender was mad about. A wasp buzzed from outside, and lightly ran into the car window that was beside Skid. Hesitantly, Skid spoke up. His voice still sounded meek, as it usually did whenever he spoke to Keender. "I—I'm sorry.." He didn't know what he did. But he assumed that Keender was most likely cursing because of him.

Keender turned his gaze toward him, and a chill went down Skid's spine. A bead of sweat slightly trickled down Skid's cheek. He held back the urge to whimper in the sheer fear of Keender staring at him. Keender then grumbled, saying, "Sorry for what, kid? And didn't I tell ya not to speak unless I spoke to you? What the fuck are you speaking for?"

Skid merely quietly whined in response, looking off to the side. Keender looked away from Skid, sighing. "Jesus fuckin' Christ.. whatever, kid. Just don't talk, okay? We'll be back at my house once I'm done smokin'." Keender stated. Keenders lips then lightly touched his cigarette, and outwards came a puff of smoke. Skid couldn't exactly see his face when it was turned away from him. He was weirdly glad he couldn't see his face though.

Skid then looked away. Beside him, there was a chipped cup of water. It was something Keender had gotten for him while they had been out on this little trip of theirs. Skid didn't really know why Keender decided to take him. He was going to consider yelling for help whenever Keender wasn't looking, but considering Keender was with him at all times, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to do that.

A bit of thirst internally pulsed inside of Skid's throat. He was longing for something to drink in this heat, and his water was the only thing he had. He looked at the cup, his eyes feeling dry from how many times he had cried today. He then lifted up his hand weakly. It shook slightly, violently even. It was hard to really hold onto things with how weak he had been lately. Yet even so, he continued to reach out for it.

Finally, his palm touched the cold glass. He held back a whimper, and let his fingers clench onto it. Then, carefully, he began to slowly try and grab it so he could pull it toward himself. Successfully, he managed to grab it. Tightly, with his hands clenched around it, he pulled it close to his dry lips. He needed something to drink right now. And fast.

He then tipped the cup, and let the liquid enter his mouth. It felt cold.. a bit of a chill ran down Skid's spine when he drank it. But it tasted weirdly good even so. Water never really tasted good to him. So maybe the heat was just affecting him? He then slowly stopped drinking it, and slowly pulled it away from his lips.

Skid then began to try and put the cup back where it was. A puff of smoke went out from Keenders lips again. His hands kept shaking, yet he tried to keep them steady. Steady. Steady. What was steady? He was starting to forget the meaning of the word because of how long he had even been around Keender.

Then, it slipped.

It fell from his hands, and onto the fuzzy messy floor of the car. Liquid poured out from the cup, and it fell with a hard thud. It was almost a miracle that it didn't break. Skid gasped softly, his voice barely audible. He immediately looked upwards at Keender, his gaze helpless. Already, Keender had been looking back at him. "What.. what the fuck?" Keender cursed. Pants began to violently escape Skid's mouth. Keender leaned his head over to see whatever had just fallen. In the darkness of the floor of the car, Keender could barely see.

Keender then looked back up. And judging by the sharp glare in his eyes, it was clear he wasn't happy. His brows were furrowed, his mouth was drawn back into a snarl. Skid opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He suddenly felt a hand wrap around his neck, and with a push, a sharp pain formed on his face! His body contorted further back into the seat of his car, and on instinct, he began to curl up into a ball.

Sharp, hurtful slaps began to be inflicted on different parts of Skid's body. Skid covered his head with his hair, and his eyes remained tightly shut. He could tell it was Keender who was slapping him, even though his eyes weren't even open. Keender began to yell violently, his voice tinted with an unpredictable rage that had been unleashed from him like a volcano. "You little brat! I just fucking got that water for you! How could you?!"

Skid whimpered. Sobbed. Cried. But there was nothing to be done in this situation, no one was around to help him.

He began to cry, whining. "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

A final blow was landed near his head, and in that last moment, he sobbed again, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm.."

————

Skid began to writhe violently on his bed. His legs began to kick, his arms gravitated towards his eyes in an effort to hide his tears. The tendrils of his hair were now messy thanks to his constant tossing and turning. His eyes were completely wet with tears that he had presumably been crying while he was asleep. A pitiful but tiny scream began to escape his mouth. He whined, over and over through tears and gasps, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The door immediately opened. In this moment, he wasn't able to tell who it was. But whoever it had been approached fastly toward the bed, and two arms were softly wrapped around his body. A hand went to his head, stroking it gently. "Agh!" Skid yelped. It wasn't hurting him. But he couldn't help but yelp anyway.

"Shhh.. shhh.. its okay, it's okay.." Skid heard his mother's voice speak. It was only then he processed that it was his mom speaking to him. He began to cry more in the realization. "Mama.. mom.. mom!" He whimpered. His eyes were still shut, tears pouring out from them like a waterfall.

His mother continued to presumably hug him, speaking in a soft tone, "It was just a nightmare.. its okay.. I'm here.. you're not there anymore.." She seemed to have known what happened despite not even being there herself. Was Skid really that obvious?

Skid sniffled again, his sobs becoming quieter. He opened his eyes. He could see his mother's concerned face in the dark of the room. His hands instinctively went to her, and he could feel her shoulders beneath his hands. "Mom.." He quietly whimpered. "Its okay.. you don't have to tell me what happened. You're here now. You're safe." She assured him.

Skid let out one last sniffle, and began to quietly cry, for it was all he could do. But even with his cries, he could have sworn he heard sniffles coming from his mother too.

//////////////////////

E

[elibean]

Thanks for answering my ask. Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

of course, thank you for asking! :D oooooh sure!! i'm not sure I have 10, actually ^^; let's see...

yukine!!!! my darling sweet baby boy. ha i bet y'all thought it was tsuyu, huh? most people do. i fell in love with yukine after reading ahead in the manga when the anime was airing (and i do believe this bit was untranslated at the time?) and learning that he takes the hit from yato. this baby bratty child doing something so brave and selfless when just chapters before he was hurting yato....good good stuff. and he's only gotten better from there. and he gets to keep his brattiness! he's a tsundere lil baby but he loves fiercely and would do anything for yato and hiyori and... and after learning his backstory and everything else and GOD I LOVE HIM

tsuyu. i don't have nearly as compelling a reason for loving her as much as i do as i did for yukine. she's....she's a cute frog girl.....idk what you want from me. she is a good character in her own right, she's strong and human (like when she broke down bc she felt bad for telling them they shouldn't save bakugou) but as her nature as a very very side character, she doesn't have a whole lot of development or much to work with. i like her and she's cute. the end!

dazai. he's alllmost tied with tsuyu. actually i thought about reordering those two. i'm not really sure. i just have way more tsuyu merch than dazai merch (though that doesn't mean a whole lot bc i hardly have any yukine merch at all BECAUSE IT DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST anyway). i love how morally grey he is...well, almost morally black lol. like dude has murdered and tortured people but is still on the side of the "good guys". his backstory with oda is great, the idea that he's on the side of the good guys not because he WANTS to but because it's what his friend wanted; and also that he doesn't even really care either way, that it's not like he had some deep change of heart or anything but just. was that devoted to his friend is just. mwah, good stuff. i don't like how he's written sometimes as like, he knows EVERYTHING and is ALWAYS 5 steps ahead of everyone else; gets kind of annoying, sometimes, but i still love him.

- the rest// yeah ok now is when we're starting to falter. from here on down i don't really have a solid order. i adore amajiki (and i love how hori made a joke about him being...well, a stand-in for hori in some ways lol), i love kirishima, i love deku (i ADORE deku as a protag i think he's great). i love rin from yuru camp. a recent fave is lu guang; love how he's willing to risk EVERYTHING for cxs and is a total hypocrite, but for him to properly make this list is gonna depend heavily on how the show writes his background, his motivations, and the resulting fallout and how that's handled. oh i love tanuma from natsume yuujinchou too! he's wonderful. oh big fan of atsushi too!! and poe....ok i'll shut up now hehe, these are all "characters i like a lot" but like, not characters i actively think about often (with the exception of lg bc of current brainrot...again, we'll have to see if that holds up and he can get properly added to this list)

[linagram]

>:D Now you have to tell me what songs you'd assign to Eiji and Miki!

OKAY OKAY so i actually did have some t2 covers for them in mind, but i don't think they're gonna get a new profile this time because uhhh, i feel like "the end of the first trial" and the pre-t2 vds show their personality changes well and also if i tried to describe their t2 personalities more, it would be like "but you will see that in one of the future vds!" or "but i can't say much about it because spoilers!", like sure, i have to keep a lot of info about my prisoners secret too, but when it's the guards who are like, literally the protagonists, it's very hard to hide everything. and i didn't want to make a whole new profile just so for their covers (and possible voicelines) soooo yeah i'll talk about them here! also i was too lazy to draw their t2 versions.

Milgram covers.

Eiji: Yeah, he gets Bring It On this time. I had to do it to him. I also thought of giving him Harrow, but let's be honest here, I like to joke about Eiji and Kotoko's similarities, since both of them are so passionate about justice and both of them punish the guilty prisoners, but.. That's where their similarities end. Also, I don't know much about Kotoko, I'm not like, her biggest fan here (though I don't dislike/hate her), so I can't say much about her, but I feel like Eiji is more.. uh.. Basically, sure, he wants to punish all criminals and he wants to see them in pain, but it's not because he wants to make this world better or anything. He's just really obsessed with revenge and he wants to feel in control for once. Honestly, it's actually kinda scary to think about, because like.. What if Eiji went "You know what, maybe I shouldn't focus only on criminals AND I SHOULD JUST HURT EVERYONE". I feel like it really could happen if after T1 there were more guilty prisoners and not the innocent ones. Also I just think his Bring It On cover would sound really cool and that last scene with Fuuta looking anxious and staring at his phone and realizing what he had done?? LITERALLY T2 EIJI SEEING EVERYONE'S VERDICTS AND DOUBTING HIMSELF.

Miki: She gets Triage! I feel like her cover would sound really soft and pretty :) The lyrics sound a lot like her T2 version: yes, she's still blaming herself for Asahi running away from home and not protecting him enough and she also wants to help the guilty prisoners, but also now she knows how much influence she has over everyone here. She can save them. She can save both innocent and guilty prisoners. So please, give her another chance. Yes, she thinks she's worse than all the prisoners here and she thinks she's the worst older sister ever, but also, she's one of the guards. Most prisoners like her and Eiji is willing to listen to her. She's indispensable.

DECO*27 covers.

Okay, this one was hard because to be honest, I was just kinda planning to make them follow in Es's footsteps and cover Hibana together dkdksdlsl. But I tried my best to assign them separate covers.

Eiji: Hmm, I don't think it sounds like something he would sing because I imagine Eiji usually covering more "loud" songs, but I decided to go with At! Now, again, as with pretty much all DECO*27 songs, this one is about a romantic relationship, but hear me out. Like, look at the lyrics. "The day after you die, I wonder what I would eat", "If I voiced it out, you would have gotten mad at me, so I'm keeping that in my head", "Why is it when I'm certain of it, I end up wanting to cry alone".. Or how about "The day after I die, I wonder who you'll rely on"? Or "And I'm surprised, you've been having the same thoughts as me"?? OR "UNTIL THE FAR, FAR FUTURE, LET'S KEEP HURTING EACH OTHER"?? OR "BECAUSE UNTIL WE GET TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU"?? OR "HITTING AND SHARING THIS EXPERIENCE TOGETHER BECAUSE WE'RE WRONG, WE'RE SHINING MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE NOW, RIGHT??? Yeah, I think you know who I'm talking about. I was so shocked when I read the lyrics because?? THIS IS LITERALLY KEI AND EIJI'S RELATIONSHIP?? Like, even lyrics like "So as we feel troubled, let's tell each other "I love you"" sound a lot like them because GOD THEIR DYNAMIC IS INSANE. Eiji constantly reminding Miki how much he hates Kei for everything he did to Eiji and having understandable reasons for wanting to kill him, but instantly going "protective older brother (who is actually younger)" mode when he sees Kei suffering?? Like seriously, if he could kill Kei, he would. But he didn't. Kei is injured, but still alive. Why did Eiji hold back? Is it because he's still scared of him? Is it because he's so used to Kei's abuse that it feels weird to do the same thing to his older brother? Is it because in a very twisted and also sad way, it's too hard for him to let Kei go and he actually loves him?

Miki: I decided to go with Find the Light! (Both songs are also from the same album, so yay, they match!) The lyrics sound so much like her T2 version and they actually sound a bit scary in this context: "The light slowly vanishes here in this dark world" (her talking about Milgram in general and how there's three guilty prisoners now and the prisoners' relationships are starting to become more toxic and even her relationship with Eiji is a bit different now), "Loving yesterday but hating tomorrow" (She actually gets to hang out with some prisoners sometimes and she ends up having fun, but then she remembers about Trial 2 and Trial 3.. and yeah, those thoughts scare her), "Only a monochrome black and white is reflected in my eyes" (The whole "Innocent or Guilty" thing), "Pushing back the needle of hopes with a finger" (She really is the guilty prisoners' only hope right now and the innocent prisoners also have to ask her for help too).. Some of them are kinda wholesome though, like "So that even if this voice breaks, cry out with a voice that reaches out to recolor the darkness" or "The smiles that I want to protect are right here".. Miki is such an interesting character to me, because at the same time she's a very naive girl who genuinely wants to help others, but also, just like Eiji, she really wants to be in control. Not for the sake of revenge though, but for the sake of stability. She just wants everything to be peaceful for once. And if anyone tries to disturb the peace, well, here's another reminder that she's still one of the guards.

Non-DECO*27 covers:

Again, I wanted to give them one song as a duet and that song is Punishment Game by Kururingo! Like it describes their T2 dynamic so well, or at least that's how Eiji sees their relationship now. Miki is mostly chill about it, but Eiji is slowly starting to see her as a rival. Some moments are so fun to imagine with them too, like "You're wearing that docile expression just to hide your own nervousness, am I right?", "You look like you're enjoying yourself", "You’re trying to keep up that quiet personality, but it’s falling to pieces, I can see it on your face", "No way, could it be that I was the one struggling uselessly this whole time?" and especially "Punishment game, but I'm not laughing, the person on the other end of the strings that move this world, who is it?"/"Hmm, I wonder who it is..".

But if I had to give them separate covers..

Eiji: Hitori Yurari by Kanaria and Maretu! Again, IT'S BECAUSE OF HIS DYNAMIC WITH KEI. IT'S A BIG PART OF HIS CHARACTER PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME. (Or maybe I'm just in that mood because Kei's profile is next and I'm. I'm looking away from his VD. His album trailer voiceline is also such a huge spoiler actually.) But honestly, I'd just love to hear his cover and I think it would sound so cool! The lyrics describe his and Kei's dynamic well too, like Eiji constantly repeating "There's still just no love at all" and also some hints about Kei's past are also there ("You're reeling alone, reeling alone in your dreams, you cried under the shade of a tree in an empty corner") and also lyrics like "Complaining about this and that, you looked down on me, "I love you!", "I hate you!", such an absurd character" and "The way things have gone, I'd prefer it if you'd fall down into hell" AND THE SONG ENDING WITH "I CRIED UNDER THE SHADE OF A TREE IN AN EMPTY CORNER" AND "I WANT TO LIVE WAY LONGER THAN YOU"?? YEAH.

Miki: This one is probably a bit sudden, but.. I decided to go with And Then You Became The Moon by Kikuo. I JUST HAD TO GO WITH A KIKUO SONG FOR HER THIS TIME IDK WHY LIKE I FELT LIKE I HAVE TO DO IT. Now, why this song in particular? Well, this is a cute song about two children playing in the snow and then both of them dying in a blizzard and becoming the Moon and the Star. So, uh.. Miki and Asahi <3 LIKE. THIS SONG SOUNDS SO CUTE AND SO SOFT BUT MIKI SINGING IT MAKES ME SO SAD. She literally thought her little brother died and she blamed herself for it 😭 Honestly, I feel like this song would sound cute as their duet too. I think Andou siblings' voices would sound very soft together. And also the lyrics like "At the very bottom they are together forever" are making me go :') because.. yeah.. It literally took both of them becoming a guard and a prisoner to finally reunite.. So yes, both guards get songs about their siblings this time!

[septembersghost]

Since I haven't seen you discuss this topic:

What do you think is Tom's feelings regarding hiddleswift/Taylor these days?Do you think he holds some resentment towards her? Because I feel like he was really into her and thought that relationship was heading somewhere. He also chose to date her in the peak of kimye drama(something we (rightfully) praise joe for) and it cost him a role.His reputation and the respect he garnered as an actor was Lower than ever after that. He introduced her to his family and was really hurt when asked about her at golden globes. But Taylor not only used him to get out of a toxic relationship but also had eyes on someone else the whole time. Then she released a song(that slaps btw I LOVE GETAWAY CAR) that blatantly calls him a rebound. We know her enough to know her reasons to do it, what she was going through, how joe was her light et ...but if someone used me like that I would take a long time to forgive them if ever. So do you think taylor is the 'bad ex'(zhe is not she is flawed) in his love life?

[Inspired by recent comments from Tom's team regarding his relationship with zawe

A source said: 'Tom really has fallen for Zawe in a big way. But he is so paranoid about his private life since his relationship with Taylor that he has gone to great lengths to keep this under wraps.'

Tom told the New York Times after his romance with Taylor: 'Yes, I'm protective about my internal world now in probably a different way. That's because I didn't realize it needed protecting before.']

i don't talk about this too much for ~reasons~, but it's a late night conversation so i saved it for liminal hours

there are certain fans of taylor's who are shockingly nasty about this and treat tom like trash and mock him for falling hard and fast (lol hypocritical. as if she doesn't?), and act like he somehow was in the wrong here, and i think they are VERY WEIRD.

there are certain fans of tom's who are misogynistic slut shamers who will offer her no grace for the extraordinarily Bad place she was in when all of this happened, and i think they are frightfully mean.

i was a fan of both of them before they hooked up, and remain so, and i have a lot of sympathy for them both in this situation, but the way she handled it was a mistake, and hurt me for him. i say that with nothing but care for her, which i'm sure you know is clear. people we like can still do the wrong thing. getaway car is a banger showstopper incredible never the same, my fave rep track, but it took me...a while...to be able to listen to it without a twinge of guilt...? "if someone used me like that I would take a long time to forgive them if ever." same, and i don't think he has any obligation TO forgive her, though i'd imagine he has.

so. here's where we have to have space for people to be human and thus flawed. she acted rashly and i believe somewhat carelessly in this situation. "i wounded the good and i trusted the wicked" has actually always read as a quiet tom reference to me, but then she did long story short and...anyway. he has a particularly stellar reputation as a thoughtful/considerate/gentlemanly guy. the profile he did with gq where he talked about her is an interview that i find remarkably compassionate and honest. the fact that swifties will quickly weaponize for her when she's slighted at all, yet mock tom for being deeply hurt by what happened, does not sit right with me. she fucked up. she shouldn't have gotten entangled with him, to escape calvin nor when she already had the deep feelings we know she had for joe. you can say that and still recognize that she was VERY hurt and struggling enormously with various things in her life at that point. i don't think any partner could've withstood the scrutiny piled on tom at that moment, nor the heinous fallout of the kimye drama. but he clearly wanted to support her, and she was...not there and not okay.

the fact that it dinged his reputation (sigh) or cost him a role is horrible, but not her fault, it's the industry being ruthless and a nightmare at times. but he's rebuilt himself from that quite well, and never lost respect where it mattered, no matter what tabloids might print.

i don't believe he resents her, partially because he doesn't seem to be wired in that way. he's never said anything but lovely comments about her as a person, as the woman HE knew. i DO think he profoundly resents what that relationship did insofar as the press coverage and surrounding hoopla and meanness, and that it jaded him quite severely (understandably) and caused him to clamp up and share far less with the public, which...is well within his rights, people were weird as fuck towards this man due to the marvel stuff LONG before he dated taylor, so it might've gotten bad for him eventually regardless, but the mockery and judgment and cruelty that happened there...he didn't deserve that at all, he still doesn't. what happened with tom changed taylor too, it's a big part of the reason she and joe keep things so tightly under wraps and have for over six years. i do not blame tom for being a bit paranoid (i mean, GROSS things happened when he was on broadway totally disconnected to the taylor aftermath that probably would've made him more careful/paranoid anyway, some people have no boundaries), and i definitely don't blame him for trying to keep the woman he loves who is his partner and the mother of his child as far out of that glare as possible. i hope they're so happy and have a wonderful life together. tbh i hope he barely thinks about any of this and is just thriving in his personal life and career in whatever ways he chooses to follow.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 98

Swap Meat/The Poison Sky

"Swap Meat"

Plot Description: While investigating a school, Sam is the target of a teenager's body-switching spell

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No one died.

"I would like to purchase and alcohol please" this kid who has freaky friday'd Sam is already precious to me. Sorry. This kid...is me when people roughly my age are subtly dropping hints that they're flirting. This kid was already a gigantic nerd (affectionate), but now he has Sam Winchester's frame to match the...giant-ness...i have an English degree...

Look...*I* know Sam and Dean are taking this seriously and aren't bad guys, it's obvious their old babysitter and her husband know that, too, but even if a poltergeist carved "murder (child)" onto my stomach, if i were a teenage girl, I'd be really uncomfortable about having to pull up my shirt to show that to the 26 and 30 year old strange men in my house.

I know this isn't a McDonald's but remember when McDonald's had those salads you shook??? What a weird time...

That kid just hit Sam with a blow dart and knock him out??

This kid has NO IDEA what he's gotten himself into. Also, could this have been a weird loophole to the whole Lucifer Wearing Sam to the Prom problem? If it's not really Sam in there/if it's Sam but not his body? Just something to consider

Sam. These are a lot of judgements...they might be accurate, but fuck you anyway

Why does this kid's dad loo like Great Value Tom Wambsgans?

Is this going to end up being one of those "you better appreciate the brother you have" episodes??

Kiddo...you gotta be way better at being Sam. I wish we could see Jared say these lines, though...

WHY DO THESE KIDS WANT TO KILL DEAN???? Omg...these kids are idiots playing around with LITERAL DEMONS

It was purely a breather episode, which is oddly nice to get with the fate of humanity on the line. Yes we got some small info drops, like apparently, you don't have to be Sam's consciousness to consent to being Lucifer's vessel. You just need to be in Sam's body. Seems worrisome.

"Been On My Mind...": Does it count if it's Sam's body but not his mind??

"The Poison Sky"

Plot Description: With planet Earth choking under the poison sky, the doctor mus stop the Sontarans' threat to the planet

I would have HATED to wait a week to see them get Wilf out of the car.

Evil Martha doing evil things.

[Insert "I've Had Enough of This Guy" meme here re: Rattigan]

I don't like that so much of Martha's time was taken up with jealousy over Rose, and now in order to...I dunno, make it up to her? She's hopping in on a WHOLE bunch of Donna's adventures. And I know part of that is David getting ready to leave, too, but still...5 out of 13 episodes Donna gets without someone who is, was, or will become important to the Doctor tagging along. 4 if you count the fact that Peter Capaldi's appearance in The Fires of Pompeii gets added into the canon of the Twelfth Doctor.

Literally every fucking time this fucker opens his mouth, I feel like he's an Musk stand-in but from like 2 years after twitter launched. His tantrum over how clever his is after everyone from his institute leaves, everyone he chose to continue the human race after the Sontarans killed everyone else. He had a MATING PLAN AND THOUGHT THAT WAS NORMAL.

Moms fucking HATE the Doctor lol

I love how much the Doctor believes in Donna <3

YES YES YES, GIRL. Whack the Sontaran with a fucking hammer

NOT THE "ARE YOU MY MUMMY?" REFERENCE

This...probably shouldn't work exactly the way it is. I'm no scientist, but I feel like setting fire to even just one toxin overtaking the whole Earth's atmosphere would have a much larger effect

The Doctor saves the whole day, avoids dying, and Donna hits him upon seeing him again. Love them

I'm gonna cry SO MUCH at the 60th anniversary special, won't I? I just love Wilf a lot.

[kitkatt0430]

Okay, so time has come for me to watch Mask of the Red Death part 2 - here's hoping this goes better than the last episode.

Stream turned white as soon as I went full screen. I feel like this is an omen. Anyway, let's restart and try again.

So far so good, I can now see the previously on. So full of plots I don't care about compared to so few the ones I do.

Okay, so I guess we're starting with the CCPD, but it's hard to care about the CCPD with David and Joe gone. I can never remember any of the officers though I recognize at least a few background recurring characters and Kramer just hasn't really grown on me all that much. That said, I'm glad someone remembered that Kramer has powers because hey, she uses copying Roy's powers to pretty good effect, even though doesn't work for long.

Allegra arguing with Hartley, Jaco, and Keith (Goldface, I just got tired of using his nickname all the time) over leaving Blaine behind feels hollow because odds are Blaine isn't dead anyway. Like I said last time, no body? Probably not dead.

Everyone's tired and scared, Barry's been nerfed, but at least Iris has her head on straight. Keith speaks for me when he says "I always liked you" to her. :D

Iris is definitely the brains of the operation. That said, if all the power was basically out, how did they get the tech working to interface with Cecile's powers. That was a big problem last episode and no one ever fixed it. Maybe something hit the cutting room floor that shouldn't have?

Cecile feels that someone is out there in lots of pain and oh apparently Blaine's still alive. Surprise. Anyway, he's clearly been tortured and I do get why Barry wants to rescue him. If there is one thing Barry has that is stronger than his speed, it's his guilt complex.

Khione - Well fine if you won't save Blaine, I will.

Hartley - I cannot let my new friend-shaped person go into danger without me.

*snicker* I mean, that's basically how fast Hartley caves and he goes from angry/annoyed voice to his softer voice. Finally, Hartley and Khione friendship showing up again.

I mean... maybe there's some guilt about Caitlin mixed in there, but Hartley never liked Caitlin in this timeline. Respected her, clearly yes since he went directly to where he thought she'd be for help a few episodes earlier, but doubtful they ever got along well. And now she's gone, so they'll never have that chance. But I do think he's just genuinely fond of Khione for herself.

Jaco folds next. And then Keith, but he's not happy about it.

Kramer - You won't be able to hack our satellite. 'Cause ARGUS upgraded it.

First... since when does the CCPD have it's own satellite????

Second, ARGUS' firewall crumples like tissue paper. There is a joke there about Cisco's inability to secure shit.

third... where the heck did all the Red Death suits come from? Did they spawn like rabbits between episodes???

Barry is right to tell Khione 'no' when they're going into danger and she has zero combat skills.

Since when has Allegra had x-ray vision. Was this something she gained when I wasn't watching last season? Or at least had foreshadowed??? (Probably not on both counts.)

Oooh, Hartley's enhanced hearing comes up again.

Jaco - Feels like a trap to me. Feel like a trap to anyone else?

He is immediately correct. Red Death arrives to monologue!

Okay, so the suits are psychic manifestations apparently? How does Barry even know that? But then how does Ryan know about the vision of Savitar stabbing Barry that almost killed him two seasons ago???

Oh, hey, Grodd is here. And apparently he's connected to evil Ryan now? And the Gorilla City gorillas are gone now, so lets feed that guilt complex of Barry's huh?

And then the band with the Rogues breaks up. Can't blame 'em, but I know they'll be back later.

Iris and Khione talking is lovely. Iris gives Khione some good advice. I just wish we'd gotten these interactions with Caitlin instead.

Was Khione kissing Blaine to activate her healing powers on him (or whatever that was) necessary? I swear if we get Khione/Mark Blaine as an end game ship I will be so fucking pissed off.

Time for a Joe West pep talk for Barry. Or for Barry to pep talk Joe? I do love their father-son relationship. But I knew that Joe wouldn't be a series regular anymore this season, so I suspect this is him bowing out. Or the start of it anyway.

I do love how much use Nash's teleporter is getting in these two episodes. I miss the Wells characters, but it does feel a little like Nash is still there helping them. Just a bit.

Grodd blaming Barry for being alone isn't really fair - Barry isn't at fault for that and it's not like Grodd ever let Barry know what he'd discovered about the Gorilla City gorillas. And I think on some level he knows that and that, more than Barry's speech, is what sways Grodd. He can look into Red Death's mind. But he can look into Barry's too.

Red Death's episode long break down continues. And somehow Barry got his speed back from Grodd? Whatever.

More speedster running/chase scene/fighting. It is pretty fun the way it's done, though. And the Rogues showed back up to help Barry, as I predicted. :D

So does real Ryan! Woo, so good to finally see her. And she nullifies evil Ryan's speed for a Batwoman vs Red Death fight.

Jaco - We'll help out anytime.

Hartley - Ehhh...

Jaco - Anytime.

Hartley - Okay, why not.

I... don't know that I liked the cheesy fourth wall breaking joke the Rogues ended on though.

Chester fanboying over real Ryan is hilarious. And I like how Ryan and Iris low key fangirling over each other was cute too.

So where was real Ryan all this time? I... don't think anyone ever said.

There is so much unexplained in this episode.

Joe leaving to raise Jenna is the right call, but I hate that he's apparently semi leaving Cecile to do it? He's done the single parent raising a daughter before. He deserves to raise Jenna with her mom too. Not just on the weekends. And how do they afford any of this anyway? Joe is retired, so what is their income even looking like?

So much unexplained.

Oh no. Oooooh no. Chester/Allegra is happening. Make it stop. They still have no chemistry. At least Barry is still his usual oblivious self about it.

I... do not like how they find out Iris is pregnant. I mean, it is a bit funny that Khione didn't realize they didn't know yet when she blurted it out, but still. Iris deserves better than the writers are giving her once again.

Anyway, that's it for the episode. It was better paced then the last one and I enjoyed it more, but there were a lot of plot holes in there. So many plot holes. I can't say I really like how the Red Death arc ended.

But Hartley, Jaco, and Keith were fun and it seems like they'll show up again later in the season? Here's hoping anyway.

I feel like a number of things in this episode would have gone better with foreshadowing. Grodd's involvement, Allegra's x-ray vision, the Red Death clones (psychic whatevers)... And other things just needed an actual damn explanation. Especially real Ryan showing up out of nowhere at the last minute. Where was she? In the timeline that Red Death came from? Took a wrong turn in Albuquerque? Where was she this whole time??? We know she was missing, so what the hell?

I think the biggest problem is they were trying to do too much at once in these two episodes and thanks to how poorly paced part one was, they squashed too much into part two.

Anyway, teaser for the next ep shows discussions about the pregnancy happening early - so there's probably concern that the baby she's pregnant with won't be Nora? And then Khione training her powers, which seem to be healing but cold? I'd be more interested if the person training her wasn't Blaine.

His first intention after Khione was born was to kill and replace her with Frost. So Blaine helping Khione figure out her powers is not what I'd call a great idea. And it looks like we may be heading into Khione/Blaine territory, which... him using Khione as a replacement goldfish for Frost, even hypothetically, creeps me the fuck out.

So I might not watch the next episode. Or i might just skim it/skip around looking for good parts. I dunno.

[welcometowaltacademy]

Welcome back! This went even further downhill than I feared with Flynn straight up THREATENING Mulan! He looks legit scary, fully ready to back up every word of that threat towards someone who just desperately wants to save her dad. I was wondering if these two would find some reluctant common ground through concern for their dads, but clearly not^^' It's a horrible day for Mulan... She's a lot cleverer than she gives herself credit for and I hope she realizes that and saves her dad.

Thank you! I know I've been a inconsistent since being back but definitely am trying!

LONG ANSWER BELOW.

And I totally agree with you on Flynn! I think we're seeing a side of him he hasn't shown in the comic yet. Like we've gotten his brotherly, teasing side with Kris and Belle and other students/teachers at the Academy. And then we got his flirty, romantic side with Pocahontas and Rapunzel.

But this is something else and Mulan clearly wasn't prepared for it either.

Which makes me feel so bad for her too! I mean, did she really need to be dealing with this after having a fight with Aladdin? No, no she did not.

But I also agree with you on her sharpness. I think she's selling herself short, you know? I get why she wants support from Aladdin and answers from Flynn but she's also given herself no credit for how far she's already come.

(2/2) Was going to leave my comment brief this time, but suddenly I want to share my hc on Mulan ;D I fully believe she's smarter than she thinks she is. She struggles with school, but I'd say that's due to exhaustion, stress and the school system being really unsuited for her. Crazy smart people can struggle in school because of how the system is built. While I want her to have help and support, I hope she will find the first answer on her own. She's clever and determined, no matter her math grade.

AHHH, I love and agree with you so much. I feel like the Academy has shown itself to not be the ideal learning environment for many students (can we say Jim and Merida as well??) I think her level of a success has been decided by this institution for so long that she's come to think she's nothing but a failure/needs help. I hope she comes to see that she's stronger than she thinks. And if no one will help her, she shouldn't give up. I want her to kick ass regardless of who supports her (though I would also really like to see both Flynn and Aladdin realize they suck right now lol).

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comments and headcanons. After being gone so long, it really means a lot to me to still receive this kind of commentary on the comic. 💙💙

[tinkering-survivor]

Can you tell us a little bit about how you feel about your... err... 'coworkers'?

He reclines back in the armchair, settling in comfortably.

"Well, I've worked with a few Wilsons on the set over the years. Most of them were okay - kinda spacey, kinda eccentric, but ultimately still okay sorts, barring a few specific... exceptions. Lemme tell 'ya, though, never in a million years expected to be paired with one, but I think it's let me explore some interesting facets of my character I don't think were ever in mind when they first brought me on."

"Most Willows are pretty alright - surprisingly easy to work with, too. I know, most folks wouldn't figure that, right? Completely blows me away every time."

"I swear, every single Wes they've brought on must be some kind of method acting maniacs- nono, I mean that in a good way, I swear! Really dedicated to the part, all of 'em; never hear a peep out of 'em, even when the cameras aren't rolling. Oh, and I can totally relate to 'em on the whole hair and makeup thing - I don't think anyone else really gets it, y'know?"

"I've only gotten to work with a few Maxwells, but they're way more similar to Wilsons than you'd think- like, they've got a lot of the same hang-ups and all that. Yeah, some of that beef is genuine home-grown; honestly surprised they can get 'em on a set together sometimes. Guess stars feel like they gotta be the brightest one in the sky or something - makes me glad I usually stick to bit parts."

"I'm just gonna be honest here, 'kay? Charlies kinda scare me! Yeah, that's right, I'm secure enough in my masculinity to admit it if I'm intimidated by a woman -HEY, before you start laughing, I'd like to see you go toe-to-toe with a gal like that while one or both of you is strung up by the wire crew. 'Sides, they're all so different every time - never know what to expect when I'm watching one do her scenes."

"Haven't gotten to work with too many Woodies or Wigfrids and the like, 'specially as much as I'd like to have. You know how it is, everyone wants those bigger, juicier roles- can't blame anyone for that. Always love what they bring to the table though; you can really tell they're here out of love for their characters- not so say nobody else is, good Lord no, but you can just... really feel the passion they're bringing in whenever they're working, y'know?"

"Listen, I know it's supposed to be a whole deal, 'Augh, I hate that pug-nosed son of a bitch, he took my place in the story!', but the other Wagstaff is really pretty cool actually! I mean, yeah,he can come off like a self-centered prick when he's behind the lens, but he's actually really down to earth when we're not rolling! Just goes to show 'ya: shouldn't let someone's work influence how you feel about them as a real, actual person. Really love what he does with his character, too."

"Had the pleasure of working with a few one-offs over my time on the show. Didn't get to do scenes with all of them, and there's-there's quite a few I'd approach totally differently if I'd done them now instead of then, but hey, you never know, folks could always come back! Hell, I'm no stranger to hiatus myself; I think it was something like some... three or four odd years ago, couldn't get me out there to run through a scene to save your life; was a pretty rough year for me, you see."

[crapolicedolls]

paid for a yo sd yesterday 🤡🤡🤡 purely so my dollsbe pumpkin can have a similarly chubby fruend his size

[kookiecrumb]

innocent reader sitting on jungkooks lap 😏 yk what happens next.

.... not me making this a firefighter!jk x reader because i have been thirsting over them lately o.o

Fun Fact: I came three times after writing this.

-

jjk || Burn

-

wc: ~ 1K

pairing: classmate!jungkook x fem!reader

warnings: smut!, fingering, wh*re, reader has a nice ass, cumplay/small breeding kink, innocent!reader, unprotected sex, stl, nippleplay (f&m), horny grinding, rough sex, semi-public sex

a/n:

... I wrote this while I was in highschool.

I'm 18. The characters are 18. They're in highschool cause I was in highschool and could legally have sex. Totally legal and realistic story.

here.

-

You had math class with him sophomore year. You would actively avoid interacting with him because he had his clique and his girl or whatever at the time, and you weren't running with them. What you did do, though, was stare wistfully at him every once in a while, just a glance.

He liked to get funny with the teacher, and ask ridiculous questions to distract her so that the class wouldn't have to do any work that period. You appreciated that. You're a natural procrastinator, so you took advantage of the instructor rambling about something you couldn't care less about to do your English homework.

"Oh really," Jungkook would smirk at the teacher, smiling as if he was truly, genuinely interested in how her landlord is out to get her or something.

Maybe it is kind of cruel. You do feel bad sometimes when he does that. She just needs someone to talk to, but it's not the students' job to console the teacher and care about their problems. You're just here to get a piece of paper that says you made it. Made what? No one knows.

Jungkook never pays attention to the class anyways. The tests are always open notes so when the time comes he taps your shoulder and asks for your "help."

You can't deny him.

That'll be your downfall.

He leans over his paper, chewing his lip with a delicate downward gaze. His fingers thump against the table as he attempts the problem. Awkwardly glancing up towards you, he meets your eyes. "Just this one time," he laughs. This is the sixth time he's said that, as a matter of fact.

The only reason he gets away with this sort of thing is because he's a firefighter. You know he won't have to know half of the stuff he learned in Pre-Calculus to fight fires and save lives. It's quite noble. Otherwise, you would have told him to figure himself out.

"Ah, thanks, y/n, you're the best..." he'd say when you finish the test for him. You make sure to explain how you got there, too, just so that he'd learn something. It was a good thing he was infectiously cute and had a heart of Gold.

That's not to say that he was innocent, exactly. Even though you had nothing to prove it with, you were sure that he's been with the girls he sits next to by the way they were so comfortable around him. They were pretty, but his eyes always seemed to be somewhere else.

He was often late to class, which resulted in him gathering multiple tardy slips, which amounted to a few days of detention before graduation, senior year.

At that point it had been two years since you'd been in a class with him, but he got so much hotter. You pry your eyes away every time he slips past you in the lunch line.

His presence has gotten so much more intimidating to you. His sense of style has elevated. He's quieter now, and he doesn't run with the same crowd anymore. People say he's fallen off. You're curious as to why, even if it is none of your business.

"I got fucking detention," he says through a breath to his friend, next to him. They're standing in line for the usual: chicken strips with a carton of milk and a fruit cup.

"Nah, when? That's fucked up, they shouldn't be allowed to do that, man," his friend rasps back.

"Thursday. That's like...the day before we graduate." He smacks his teeth. "S'bullshit."

You reach into your pocket to pull out your folded pink detention slip given to you by the assistant principal. It's uncharacteristic for you to step out of line, and even the administrators know that. You never get called down to the office or anything.

It just came out of you. You got yelled at by a teacher for stepping out of line and you now face the consequences. You're almost relieved. It's about time you get a break from all of it.

The line is moving, so you put away your slip, wall forward, and tell the nice lady what you want for lunch.

-

You're the bookish kind. Freshman year, you tried things out, got a taste of the freedom that came with getting older, but quickly fell out of the culture once you got invested in your academics.

You've gotten to know a ton of nice guys around campus, each with their own impressive academic portfolios with thriving social lives-- all eligible bachelors who have similar goals and career aspirations. None of them satisfy the kind of excitement you seek in a man. That's why you secretly like the bad boys-- Namely, him.

He strolls into the detention center on Thursday, slamming the slip on the table in front of the administrator who puts down her microwavable stir-fry to examine the banal paper. "Mm," she says, shaking her head. "I'm gonna need your ID and your phone, sweetie," she smiles at him.

Jungkook slips his fingers into his back jean pocket and pulls out a destroyed ID from freshman year as he sets down his phone, face up on the table. You watch him unfold from the table and approach you with his laptop under his arm.

He plops himself across from you, with a labored sigh. This is a four hour detention and you only brought one pair of underwear. He doesn't care, though. Why would he care?

He lifts his eyes and smiles at you, face rejuvenated by your company. "Hey," he nods.

"Hey," you say back.

He unravels his computer charger and plugs it into the wall, going under the table, and temporarily out of sight from the administrator. You close your legs quickly.

Jungkook appears from underneath, looking like he knows something he shouldn't. "Isn't that against school dress code?" He refers to your skirt.

He looked at your skirt, which means he must have watched you close your legs. "Yeah, but..."

"--I mean we graduate Friday, it's not like they're gonna withhold your diploma for wearing a skirt to detention, right?" He finishes for you.

His fingers reach for his ears, cooling them down as he glues his eyes to his laptop. "Cool. It's pretty."

A few seconds later, he says, "It's a nice skirt."

He's still on that? You readjust your posture and cross your legs, trying to comfortably do the remainder of your school work. You need to take a piss. It always happens after you get turned on.

"Excuse me, miss!" You raise your hand politely. "I need to use the restroom." You pull down your skirt and rise from your seat.

You get the okay to go, taking the hall pass and leaving your stuff as-is. The school bathrooms are nasty, as usual, but there's no one here so at least there's no line.

You push the soap dispenser and groan when you realize nothing is coming out. Frustrated, you snap the cap off your hand sanitizer and rub it on your hands, walking out.

Temporarily blinded by the brief frustration of the bathroom situation, you do not realize that Jungkook has taken over your seat and sit down...

On him. With your skirt.

Immediately upon feeling a warm body beneath you, you rise up and look back in alarm. "I didn't mean to sit on you, I didn't know that you moved, I'm so so sorry, that must be so awkward, I really...really didn't mean to--" your excuses come flowing out like water from a stream.

"I really am so sorry--"

Jungkook glances down on his black jeans and notices at a spot darker than the surrounding fabric. He fixates on it as your heart beats out your chest. "Uhmm..." You purse your lips.

At that moment, the administrator stands up from her station, holding her phone and darts out of the room. Later you'll learn that some kid pulled the fire alarm.

Jungkook watches her walk out and automatically lock the door behind her. "She's not coming back, so why don't you make yourself comfortable."

What?

"Since you decided to ruin my jeans, I get to ruin you. Is that not how it works?" He pulls you towards his waist again and wraps your legs around his body. Gradually, he buries his nose in your chest and kisses your chest, feeling the pounding of your heart quiver. "Isn't that right, y/n? Or do you need me to make it into a math problem?"

You gasp softly, spreading your legs just a bit further to find a prominent bulge pulsing just under your pooling arousal. It's pure excitement. "Yes~" you sigh.

"That's right. Smart and pretty, what a combination," his fingers cradle your face and leads your lips to his venom, kissing you until he can't stand you rocking on his cock like that. "You're such an obliviously innocent little thing," he grabs a handful of your ass and kneads it as your hips grind flush against him.

"I'm not," your voice hitches. Fuck.

"Really," he breathes near your ear as his thumb slowly rolls down the adorable pair of panties you wore just for today. "Really..."

You try so hard not to moan when the cool touch of his fingertips graze your soaking wet pussy but it's just too much for you to keep quiet, there's only so much you can take.

He sets you down on one of the tables with your legs crossed. You place your ankle under your cunt and ride it softly as your eyes fall upon him stripping down for you.

You carefully tug down your shirt and pull down the straps of your bra for him to see your tits. He smiles brightly, like a puppy.

"They're so cute!" He pulls his belt out of the loop and pulls his zipper apart before hopping up there with you and forcing you down on the table as his mouth latches on to one experimentally. He tends to them diligently, suckling softly before popping off. They're shiny with his saliva.

He trails up, peppering the smallest kisses before pulling you down toward him and grinding his clothed girth against the length of your cunt. Your chest flutters, as you pull at his shirt. He tosses it off and you immediately get to work on his chest, marking his tanned skin as you receive the flowing pleasure he provides you.

"You could have said so," he groans. "Could have," pants "said you needed me like you do."

"I don't, I didn't--" you mewl. His fingers penetrate you, pressing against you firmly and thrusting languidly. You hesitantly arch.

He catches your lips in a hungry kiss and pins you down with his hips, his pants riding down his thighs until he finally plunges the head of his cock inside of you. You grab him closer and scratch his back until red streaks appear along his shoulder blades.

He hisses sharply from the pain of pleasure. "Fuck-- fuck," he groans. "That stretch feels amazing, oh my god," he sighs. You run your fingers through his black hair and tug him to kiss you deeply.

You can't feel your knees. Your skin feels like it's pleasantly burning from his particular touch.

He rolls his hips softly, pushing in and massaging your thighs. "God, you're so good to fuck," he whines before he thrusts in roughly. You watch his face contort to bliss, his groans ripping from his chest.

You reply to them weakly between quick breaths. Your moans are shallow and wavering, as the tension only tightens inside of you.

Watching this, Jungkook gradually withdraws from you and folds his fingers between yours before asking you to breathe in. "You'll have more fun that way," he insists.

He splits you again until he's sure you've adjusted to him nicely.

"Good girl," he thrums. You place your hand on his chest and play with his nipples, tugging at them playfully between your fingers. He kisses your ear in response, humming pleasurably.

He snaps his hips up and adjusts himself inside of you. His eyes narrow as his body finds a good angle to abuse your cervix. He rolls in and snaps, pulling your hips flush against his cock several times before kneeling and pounding in again.

His arms drape over your body and kiss your back while his thumb and index furl against your throbbing clit, pushing delicately while you spill your limbs on the cool table beneath you. "Holy fuck, Jungkook..." you gasp.

"Fuck me," you rasp. "Harder, harder, harder please~" you whine.

Jungkook uses his thumb to snap the strap of your panties against your skin.

"Mh~!" you cry.

"Patience is a virtue." He grabs a fist full of your skirt and pins you against the table with your ass up. "You could be the school whore if you wanted to with an ass like this," he grunts, his arms shaking from force.

He smacks it hard to watch it jiggle. You roll your eyes in pleasure, your knees barely holding up your body. "I want to watch you take my cum," he commands. "I want to see you full of it, dripping from your cunt."

You kiss him again, biting his lip as you feel his hips stagger. With a sharp breath, you convulse around him, your orgasm coating him generously in your cum. He shakes, his hands gripping your ass harshly before he fills you completely.

-