#Shaun Week On Repeat

[livvyofthelake]

um i already want this week to be over. cordelia you were supposed to fix me wtf girl. (i have not even been reading cordelia. maybe if i had been i would be doing better)

[nonotnolan]

The Ends Justify The Means

As always, this February story is dedicated to my valentine, @mergeman

"Okay, but did we have to add him to the Hivemind?" Jordan said, looking at his unconscious boss with a look of resigned disappointment. "If I end up with an old man's vocabulary because of him, I'm gonna be so upset. This body looks too good to sound like a geezer." He tossed his shirt to the ground and gave me a flex. "See what I mean?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Some humans stress-tested my 40% Free Will rule, and Jordan was definitely one of them. "One, bringing him into the Collective is the only way to bend his authority to our will. Two, the symbiote doesn't change our speech, it just enhances our knowledge. And three, the eventual goal is to overtake most of humanity anyway. We were gonna have to add Shaun sooner or later."

Jordan nodded, though I doubted he was paying any attention me. He was one of the part-time workers I had converted within the past two hours, and so his symbiote half was still checking out his new body. I can't blame it, I suppose.

I wasn't sure this plan was even going to work, so I was glad we managed to succeed. Capturing the part-time college students who worked here had been easy-- a bit of flirting from a tempting body, a kiss to introduce the symbiote, rinse and repeat. Shaun had been much more difficult. We had to resort to ambushing him in the bathroom where there we no cameras. Jordan's strength held him in place while I pried open his jaw to insert the new symbiote. It was far from elegant-- Shaun was stronger than he looked-- but at least it worked.

Shaun finally opened his eyes, and looked at me with a wry grin. "Alright, sir. I know we have a lot to talk about, but let's retreat somewhere else, shall we? It's cramped in here, and I think Jordan is a few moments away from whipping his dick out."

"You're not wrong," I said, shaking my head. "We should probably leave him to it. If nothing else, it will be nice to talk things over someplace a bit... less pungent. I assume you know what is going to be expected of you?"

"I do," Shaun says, crossing his arms. "Although I was hoping to talk to you about that one. I scheduled Darren to work Valentine's Day because I haven't had that day off for the past three years. This body's wife is threatening to make life miserable if I still have to work the holiday despite my recent promotion. I have a proposal for you."

I smiled at the audacity of this symbiote. Clearly its host body had a lot of confidence.

"Darren will still get the day off, of course," Shaun said. "But instead of working the day myself, I'll just tell Jenn that she's going to have to handle the shift solo. We don't need two store managers tomorrow night-- no one goes furniture shopping on Valentine's."

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

"You'll never guess what happened today!" Darren said, greeting me when I arrived home. He and I had been dating for a few weeks now, ever since I was granted control over this host body. Unlike the symbiotes who were mostly extensions of my mind and my personality, I had full control and full autonomy over my decisions. Coming out of the closet was one of the first changes I made to this host's former life.

"Your store is actually closing for a holiday?" I guessed, walking up to him and hugging him from behind. I held him close, feeling the heat of his body against my borrowed chest. Humans were very big on physical contact, and it was a ritual I was more than happy to join.

Darren chuckled as he turned around for a quick kiss. "Okay, so it wasn't a miracle. But it was still pretty crazy! Shaun texted me, and approved my vacation time for tomorrow. Can you believe that? I've never known him to change his mind like that before."

I just smiled at him. "Maybe your District Manager yelled at him about it? You did submit that request a few months ago." As much as I hated feeding white lies and omitted facts to my boyfriend, I couldn't justify telling him my full truth this early in the relationship. Anyway, the only way I'd be filling him with a symbiote would be if we broke up and he posed a risk to my secret. I wanted a relationship with an equal, not a masturbatory fling with a clone of myself. Anyway, what was the phrase? The ends justify the means.

"Well, maybe." He paused a few minutes to consider this possibility before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know, and I'm not going to question it. I'm just glad you kept those dinner reservations! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's date!" He smiled, and I could feel my heart melting. I would do anything in my power to make him happy.

[blazingmicah-wc]

SPOILERS FOR THE WORLDS END

TW FOR FICTIONAL ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

just watched the world's end for the first time (numero tres of the cornetto trilogy) and it was rly cool. at first i thought it was gonna be outdated and lame (martin freeman saying wtf, the whole thing with the disabled toilets) but it ended up being a riot to watch. one thing i didn't enjoy was the fact that they were too afraid to say fag when talking about ciggies. cowards.

im pretty sure it's my least favourite out of the three but it's extremely close between this and shaun of the dead for second place.

one thing i didn't expect was gary to be suicidal. near the end, i did theorise that he was going to die soon (of presumably cancer) and wanted one last hurrah before he kicked it. plus i believed that the reason he refused to show his arms to his friends was because they showed signs of medical treatment. i did in fact think he was cutting himself for a short moment but i just assumed i was projecting (as i do) . when he was fighting with andrew and he pulled his sleeves down it was very distressing to see the bandages on his arms but also quite validating at the same time. for it to be revealed that the male protagonist of a 2013 apocalypse movie had one cut his own wrists was a big surprise. i like that aspect to his character.

it does a great job of explaining all of his behaviour up until that point. at the end, gary says that "they told him when to go to bed", so i assume after his attempt he was placed on suicide watch or put in an institution. it is implied that he escaped this institution when he is stopped by the police officer for a broken brake light and doesn't give him his own name, knowing that people will be looking for him.

its awesome to see a cutting suicidal character who isn't played for a joke or laughed at, who isn't called a dramatic teenage girl.

now excuse me. I'm going to hide in my room for the next 2 weeks and watch this movie on repeat while kicking my feet on the bed. the thing with edgar wright movies is that they're always better the second time. <3333

[hauntedparadisebandana]

Another day, another assassin's creed hc (I'm trying to feed you guys this week)

Crazy enough, this one isn't about Desmond, but Shaun. I hc that Shaun likes to pick up new languages like Pokémon cards. It's one of his strong points and is fairly easy for him. He likes the sound and feeling of different words rolling off his tongue and how nice it sounds, which leads me to hc he has a mild case of echolalia or synesthesia.

In many instances while working, he'll listen to Desmond in the background, talking to himself in a different language. Shaun will then mumble the words to himself, repeating them under his breath while his eyes remain glued to his screen. He loves the way it sounds in his mouth, pure satisfaction. It would be weird to think of, a strong, smart, head-on guy like him to do that. He's been looked at weirdly by the others once or twice, being caught whispering to himself. He makes the excuse that he's simply trying to remember information.

Rebecca thinks it's just this funniest thing ever. Laughing when she finds out about it, determined to catch it for herself. One bright early morning, Shaun is already in the kitchen making coffee. The others trickle in soon after, and Desmond enters a bit later, mumbling in Italian.

"Care for a cup, Desmond?" He inquires, sliding a hot cup across the counter for him.

"I should probably start writing the shopping list for this week- ah, yes, grazie."

"Grazie," Shaun silently whispers into his cup, taking a sip. His face then curls up in disgust, he forgot the creamer. He makes quick work of getting some so his cup won't go cold. He glances up at the others for a moment, surprised when he sees Desmond with narrowed eyes, Rebecca sneering in the back, and Lucy chuckling quietly.

The silence and stares causes his skin and face to flush and go hot.

"And just why are you guys staring?" He lowers his brows, hand on his hip.

"Dude, we just caught you. Why do you do that? You know, repeat what he says." Rebecca's question puts him on the spot. Her eyes scrutinizing him.

"Yea, now that I think about it, I have seen you whispering to yourself after I talk. I thought I was just crazy." Desmond turns on his heels, walking back over to the counter where Shaun stands frozen in place.

He begins to talk and nothing comes out, his skin feeling prickly, no words leaving his mouth because he does know, well... maybe. But It would be weird to explain why he does it.

"It seems like echolalia," Lucy proclaims, "Maybe it just feels good to say, or it could be synesthesia."

"Echo... synesthe... what?" Desmond raises a brow.

"Echolalia is the repetition of words, phrases, or sounds. Synesthesia is when the brain basically routes sensory information through multiple different senses. So you'll experience more than one sense at the same time, get it?"

"Ah, ok."

Rebecca's hand flies to her phone, quickly looking up what this... echolalia and synesthesia is in further detail.

"mumble" common in speech development, "mumble" verbal stim "mumble" can occur in people with certain conditions "mumble" adhd "mumble" autism.... yada yada. Well, Shaun's speech is way past the development stage, and he's not autistic. Maybe he's just weird." An evil smirk crosses her face.

"YOU PISS OFF REBECCA!"

"Please don't get him worked up." Lucy mutters with an eye roll.

[quietwingsinthesky]

Okay hear me out Missy/Donna

this came out so silly. it’s more pre-donna/missy but give them like a few weeks and missy will be earning herself so many kisses.

“Are you a friend of the Doctor’s?” Donna asks upon spotting the woman sitting on a bench in her garden outside the Doctor’s TARDIS. It’s far too warm out to be dressed in as many layers as she is, but at least she has her own umbrella for shade. She turns her head to look at Donna, and there’s something familiar about it that Donna can’t put her finger on.

“His dearest,” she says. Donna raises her eyebrows in disbelief, but really, the woman says it with so much conviction that she’s not even sure how to argue. “Why? Is there anyone else I could be here to visit?” Donna huffs a laugh.

“Not unless you’re paying for one of Rose’s toys in person.” She considers for the briefest moment that this woman could know Shaun and immediately dismisses the thought. Absolutely not. They’d be making up stories around the dinner table about what Miss Mary Poppins got up to every week if he knew her. “Or- No. Never mind. He doesn’t have friends.”

“Oh?” The woman pounces on Donna’s irritation. “Domestic problems?” Donna joins her on the bench, despite a small part of her mind still insisting there’s something terribly off about the woman. She makes room for Donna, her eyes never leaving her. Despite the umbrella’s shade falling across her face, her dark eyes seem to glitter.

“Not mine.” Donna rolls her eyes. “When the Doctor keeps that man on a tight leash, anyway. Personally, I think we’d be better off with a real leash to tie him up inside the TARDIS whenever the Doctor goes to the store.” The woman’s smile grows.

“Sounds like trouble.”

“You have no idea.” Donna shakes her head. “But you try suggesting we shouldn’t be housing a maniac. The Doctor’s eyes get all watery and he looks like a kicked dog about it. ‘He’s my oldest friend, Donna. He needs me, Donna. Blowing up Rose’s new shed was an accident, Donna.’ Believe me, I made him fix that himself. Only time I’ve ever been fond of him was watching him help Rose with stitching up replacements for what he destroyed.” Donna stops. “Sorry, what did you say your name was?”

“Missy.”

Donna gets- Not memories, nothing so clear, but sometimes, little pings in her subconscious of the Doctor’s experiences through the remnants of the metacrisis that sunk safely and comfortably into the back of her head to stay forever.

Right now, that ping is more like an air siren.

“Missy,” Donna repeats. Missy puts a hand out, and Donna’s not sure if she’s expecting a handshake or a kiss to her knuckles.

“Short for Mistress.” Donna’s face falls.

Which is what the Doctor stumbles out of the TARDIS to, five minutes later, as Donna yells, “Absolutely not! Not another one of you! Not in my home!” He does not, on the whole, improve the situation, by breaking out into a grin and wrapping Missy up in a hug even she clearly isn’t expecting.

Donna, begrudgingly, allows one more Master to stay with them.

Donna, even more begrudgingly, grows fond of her.

[mynameistocool]

YOU ARE A PROBLEM…

Summary: You were a senior in college and after dropping out for year due to stress and you inability to actually do any work you were behind while all your friends were off travelling the world and moving on with their lives you were left in Cleveland Ohio but it wasn’t all bad you did baby sit a grey haired, jet ski loving single father kids for the money or maybe it was because you just wanted to see him but who can blame you I mean look at him…

Mobius m Mobius/Fem reader

Warnings : age gap

~

You were sat waiting and waiting for, slowly looking at the clock. You really should be home doing your preps work or anything to do with studying as of right now, but when Mobius asked you to baby sit his kids, so he can go out to some funding gala, you couldn’t say no, after all it is mobius. 

You heard the click of the front door open, and you quickly stood up, making your way round to greet the grey haired man, “Hi Mr M and Mr….” You looked at the other man beside him, “Ronnie” he walked forward, grabbing your hand and shaking it. Mobius turned round, smiling at the sight in-front of him.

“Did you enjoy your gala ?” You asked, looking over the man, his grey hair tussled on his head in his brown suit and tie, “it was alright, you know, not really my thing.” He laughed, which made you smile, “oh…well Shaun and Kevin are already in bed, they fell asleep a couple of hours ago.” You gave him a fake salute, “oh really, thank you.” He chuckled, “hey, let me call in Ronnie, and I’ll drop you off home.” He opened the door, shouting over to Ronnie, who quickly made his way back inside. 

“Go jump in the car.” He nodded his head outside, and you accepted… quickly.

You sat waiting in the car, your hands clawing at your thighs as you waited for Mr M you noticed how nice his car was. It was a pretty decent car for a man who worked at a jet ski store, you think that what he did ? You weren’t too sure you spoke to him sure, but not enough to know about his life and besides, he never really mentioned himself. It was always you always asked how your studies were, how your mom was doing and your dog… 

You snapped out of your daydream when you saw Mobius heading to his car. He raised his hand, bidding a small goodbye to Ronnie while twirling his keys between his long slender fingers, your eyes scanned up his body the way his fitted shirt hugged his chest and stomach. He was so…

“Hey, you got everything ?” He quickly smiled, sliding into the driver seat. “Yeah yeah.” You answered back with a sweet smile, “ohh, just you were staring at the house.” He chuckled, staring up at the car, “just spacing out.” You gave him a nervous laugh. 

“So what, how’s college ?” You were in fourth year at college and, to be fair, you dropped out for a year, so you were currently twenty threes years of age just doing a bit of baby sitting on the side for “the money”.

“It’s good, got plenty of work to do as you know,” you replied, staring out the window, trying not to look at him. “Hmm I would say yes, but I haven’t been to college in a while” he laughed once more, his deep and contagious laugh. 

“How’s your mom, she good ?” He asked, trying to fill the silence, “yeah, she’s good. She is doing a bit better, got over that awful shitty cold, and now she’s back at work.” You answered his repeated questions, your attention on the way his hands clasped the steering while the over rested on his thigh, rubbing it slowly, a nervous habit of his which had your cheeks flushing. 

“Good, I saw her a couple of weeks ago at the store. She didn’t look too well and when you said about her, I just well I wanted to know how she was doing” he gave you a small shrug “why ? Do you want to date her ?” It came out your mouth quickly with a sort of jealous tone behind it, you couldn’t even register what you said before mobius looked at you, his eyes squinting at your blushing face, a small smirk on his plump rosy lips. 

“What ? No” he turned his attention back to the road, “I was just asking… are you feeling okay ?” He took another glance at you, “I’m fine Sir” sir ? Sir ? Where did that come from ? 

“Sir” he laughed, “I know I’m old but damm you’re making me feel senile.” he gave you a smile, and you just ignored it and then the silence came, and it was painful, so painful your hands began to fiddle with the radio Mobius took a quick look down to you delicate hands trying to turn the knobs before looking back up.

“It’s the second one.” He spoke in a quite demanding tone and you done what he said and just thanked him. Just as you sat there, the music began to play. It was “I’m not in love” by 10cc. The small music at the beginning filled the silence, but oh was this the wrong song for this moment, it’s like the god wanted to smite you.

“I’m not in love, so don’t forget it …. A silly phase I’m going through” Mobius started to slowly sing the tune. He smooth voice made you laugh. He continues the word adding a flare to each line “so if call you, don’t make a fuss don’t tell your friends about the two of us” he sang, and the slow music came back in.

 “Come on you have to do the next part I need a woman’s touch to this duet…” he nudged your arm with his spare hand “no way” you laughed “come on quick it's coming on” he looked at you then back to the road “you have to quick” he spoke again and there came the part “be quite big boys don’t cry, big boys don’t cry, big boys don’t cry” you couldn’t finish the rest as you burst out laugh ring from the stupid whisper you done while singing the part.

The act stopped as you pulled to your house. All the lights turned off, rather your mom was on shift or asleep. You took one look at your house and then at mobius, who eyes were already on you. “Thank you, Mr M” you smiled, “no, no, thank you for having my spawns of Satan for the night, so I could attend some fucking shitty funding gala for rich people.” You never heard him swear before, and the sound of it was the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard.

“It okay anytime” you laughed at his response and your cheek flushed once more, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay ?” He lifted his hand, resting his palm on your head then moving it to your cheek, “you look a little flushed” he observed, making your face redden more. “I-I’m fine, I promise” you took his hand from your cheeks with your own and placed his own hand back on his thigh “okay” was all he said, but he still stared at you. 

“Urmmm thanks again for the ride, I appreciate it.” You got out of the car, shutting the door before heading into your house, waving him goodbye. He waved back and even after you had gone in, mobius sat there for a moment, his hand still resting on his thigh. Even on the ride home, his hand stayed there. It felt like you were still there and no matter how hard he rubbed his thigh, your touch stayed, your warm delicate hands stayed.

~

[michelleleewise]

Worthy

Pairing: Dark! Thor x female reader

Warnings: dark themes ahead, anxiety, stalking, yelling, implied drugging, kidnapping, power imbalance, manipulation, coercion, harassment, self esteem issues.

Summary: something tugs at the back of your mind as your life begins to spiral.....

A/n- Happy Thorsday!!! This is my contribution lol heed the warnings! Thanks for reading!! And I appreciate any and all comments/reblogs! You guys are amazing!!

Part three -- Part four-

The next few days pass in a blur as you follow your monotonous routine. Work...home...sleep....repeat. An uneasy feeling settles over you like a fog, the feeling something was escaping you looming as you would wake from your restless night to the feeling of hands on your skin making you shudder. Thor had text everyday asking if you needed his assistance at the store, insistent that he was more then happy to help, and each time you gave an excuse, the last being you didn't have time because of work.

Which is where you sat right now, typing on your computer at your desk, picking up a file from the endless stack that awaited you...the life of a claims adjuster. You thumbed through the file when you heard yelling at reception, looking up seeing none other then Shaun, storming towards your desk, anger all over his face. "Really y/n!? I didn't think you would stoop so low." Shaun yelled storming up to you. "What are you talking about?" You asked puzzled. "Oh I don't know, the blonde muscle bound idiot you sent to my work! You got me fired!" He yelled making you jump. "I...I didn't send anyone to your work." You explained looking around seeing the entire office watching.

"You know y/n, I may have considered taking you back before, but now..." he said looking you up and down, disgust replacing the anger "your not worth it." He sneered stepping back "have a nice life bitch." He snapped, turning and leaving as you stood staring at where he was. You didn't know how to process what just happened when a voice came from the back of the room "y/n, I need to speak to you a moment." You boss said walking back into her office. "Shit.." you muttered, pushing your chair in you took a deep breath walking towards the open door.

You walked in, closing the door "Ms. Maximoff, i am so sorry! I don't know what that was about, but I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." You said sitting across from her. "Iisten, we are running a business here, I can't have your sordid affairs storming into the office every other day." She said sternly. "I know, I totally understand. It won't happen again." You repeated, hoping she would take mercy on you. "Y/n, im afraid I'm going to have to suspend you." She said typing on her computer. "What? Why?" You asked watching her "you need to get your life in order, I'm giving you a week. I hope things are taken care of by then." She said looking at you. "Yes ma'am." You said standing up. You walked to the door grabbing the handle "good luck y/n, I hope you figure things out." She said as you nodded, heading back to your desk.

ooOOoo

You ran into the coffee shop, looking around seeing Maya waving at you from the corner. "Hey! How have you been?" She asked as you sat across from her. "Not good, I got suspended." You said slumping in the chair as she slid a cup to you. "Why? What happened?" She asked sipping her coffee. "Shaun happened." You said with a sigh. "He came to my work yelling and screaming." You said taking a sip of your coffee. "That guy....I swear." She said as your phone buzzed in your pocket making you jump, pulling it out you saw another text from Thor.

T- hello y/n, im afraid they have double booked me tomorrow, so I have to move out session to later. Meet me at the office at 6pm. And let me know when you have time to go to the grocer, like I mentioned I don't mind. Have a good day.

You turned it off, setting it down you rubbed your temples "who was that?" Maya asked watching you "my doctor...reminding me of my appointment." You sighed. "Hey, is it normal for a doctor to call you?" You asked looking up at her. "I don't know, mine never have." She said shrugging. "Well, mine does and honestly it's a bit unnerving." You said. "Well, maybe he just wants to check on you, make sure your ok." She said taking another sip of her coffee "yeah..maybe." you shrugged "it's just..." you trailed off, the feeling coming back like your forgetting something "just what?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, He's really insistent about things, like painfully so. And he's been texting me more and more about taking care of myself...making sure I'm eating right...sugar is bad for you y/n...are you sleeping enough." You rambled, remembering all the messages you had gotten. "Well, he seems like an attentive doctor, nothing wrong with that." She said smiling. "What does he look like? I'm curious." She smiled, leaning her elbows on the table. You picked your phone up searching for their website, scrolling down to the pictures of him and his brother, turning it to face her. "Wait.. which one is he?" She asked grabbing your phone "the blonde one." You said, Shaun's words echoing In your head.."no, he wouldn't.." you thought to yourself seeing Maya fan herself "ooo he's yummy! I'd let him step on me and thank him." She said making you laugh.

You snatched your phone back looking at the picture "it's just..my last session we were doing this like meditation thing." You said seeing her nod "and I fell asleep. When I woke up I was on the couch with a blanket over me." You continued "aww that's cute." She said leaning her chin onto her hands "yes well, anyway when I got home my bra straps were messed up and I had....a bruise." You whispered unsure why. "Y/n, if I'm being honest I think your trying to find reasons not to like the guy, and after what you've been through I understand. But he sounds like he genuinely cares." She said "but...what about the bruise?" You asked raising an eyebrow "look, we all know how clumsy you are, you could have done that at anytime." She said shrugging. "I suppose..." you trailed off staring into your cup.

"Listen, go home and get some rest. Go to your session with an open mind and you'll see, he just wants to help." Maya said smiling "ok, i guess your right." You said, drinking the last of your coffee "I'll see ya later." You said standing up "oh, and feel free to slip him my number." She winked as you turned around "I'll get right on that." You said over your shoulder as you opened the door, making your way to your car. You drove home, pulling into your parking lot you got out seeing a red and white mustang parked in the corner of the lot. You'd never seen it before a few days ago, now it's there every time you get home. "Must be a new tenant." You said, looking at the high gloss paint job and dark tinted windows, you had to admit it was a beautiful car. You made your way upstairs, locking the door behind you walking to the bedroom, laying down on the bed closing your eyes. "Keep an open mind y/n." You said to yourself, drifting off determined tomorrow would be a good day.

ooOOoo

You pulled up to Thor's office, seeing the majority of the lights off inside. Ignoring the knot in your stomach you got out, and headed inside "open mind." You muttered to yourself, going in seeing no one at the desk. Had they all gone home..you thought, slowly walking around the desk "hello?" You called out, getting no response you quietly made your way to Thor's office, a shiver running through you at the silence. You walked up to the door, lifting your hand to knock when you heard voices inside making you freeze. "I told you brother, I have it under control." You heard Thor's voice sound from inside "then when? You cannot keep up this charade much longer." You assumed was Loki "I told you...Tonight." Thor said when you heard shuffling "everything is prepared, do not worry yourself " Thor said sternly when you heard the handle on the door clink.

"Ah, y/n! Did I keep you waiting?" Thor asked opening the door. "N..no! I just got here and was about to knock" you smiled when Loki came up next to him "Well I must be going, have a good night." Loki said, smiling down at you as he walked past. "Come in, have a seat." Thor said waving you on. You sat on the edge of the couch, fidgeting with your shirt watching him walk over to a small table "coffee? I know I need some." He asked laughing "oh..sure." You said looking around. He walked over, handing you a cup before taking the seat across from you "so y/n, tell me about your week." He smiled taking a drink. You watched him nod as you told him about Shaun, about how his fit caused you to get suspended.

"So when do you return to work?" He asked crossing one leg over the other "In a week. My boss said I need to get my life together." You laughed hearing him hum. "You better drink that before it gets cold." He said pointing at the cup. Bringing it to your lips you winced at the bitter taste "mm..no sugar." You said hearing him laugh "it is bad for you" he smiled. "Now, what do you intend to do about your ex?" He asked eyeing you "well, he said I'm not worth it so I think he'll leave me alone." You huffed a small laugh "you are very much worth it." Thor snapped making you jump "you are smart, funny, beautiful.." he trailed off as your mind registered something.."beautiful" the world reverberated in your head.

"Y/n..where did you go?" You heard, a hand on your knee pulling you back to now "sorry, lost in thought." You sighed, taking a big gulp of coffee wanting to finish it as soon as possible but not be rude. "Well if you wish I could help you file a restraining order, do you think that would help?" He asked "a...a what...I'm sorry..." you said looking over at him, watching him set his cup down before sitting back taking his glasses off "I only wish to protect you y/n." He said, placing them in his pocket "what do you mean?" You asked, your mouth suddenly feeling dry making you take another drink "you are so stubborn." He sighed crossing his arms. "I..I don't know..." you trailed off. Your vision swimming as he leaned forward

"If you will not take care of yourself, then I shall." He said sternly. Seeing dark spots in your vision you felt the cup slip from your hand, landing on the floor with a thud. "T..thor...whats...." you tried, your mouth feeling like cotton as you tried to speak. "Just relax, everything will be fine." He smiled. You tried to get up, your head spinning brining you to your knees "p.please...what's ha...happening?" You asked, your eyelids suddenly getting heavy as you saw movement out of the corner of your eye, a grey blotch appearing in front of you when you felt something on your chin, tilting your head up. "I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you again muffin." His voice echoed through your mind as you felt your eyelids drop, darkness surrounding you as you tumbled onto the void.

@springdandelixn @mochie85 @chemtrails-club @slytherclaw1227 @irishhappiness @kats72 @prettysourabbie @siriusly--gay @friendlyneighbourhoodgothicpagan @haidim84

[mariacallous]

Some of Donald Trump's biggest and newest supporters from finance and Silicon Valley, including Elon Musk and Bill Ackman, have spent the past several weeks trying to whitewash comments the former president and current Republican presidential nominee made in relation to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

In the past week, the Kamala Harris presidential campaign and President Joe Biden both highlighted Trump’s August 15, 2017 comment, when the former president said there were “very fine people on both sides” of the clashes that followed the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville.

For years, Trump supporters have defended his comments, claiming he was speaking about a nonexistent group of nonracist rallygoers who were there just to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

While Trump did condemn the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who took part in the rally, those who covered the event have repeatedly pointed out that only extremists were involved in the march, including members of the so-called alt-right, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and far-right militias. Trump’s “fine people” comments were at best misleading and at worst tacit support for extremists, despite his subsequent disavowal. Trump has consistently been slammed by critics for his comments, but false claims from Trump supporters have persisted. They resurfaced earlier this year when a Snopes fact check titled “No, Trump Did Not Call Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists ‘Very Fine People.’” Snopes later added an editor’s note, clarifying that those covering the rally said it was “conceived of, led by, and attended by white supremacists, and that therefore Trump's characterization was wrong.”

But over the past few weeks, Trump’s supporters in Silicon Valley and Wall Street—some of whom began officially supporting the former president following his assassination attempt last month—have also tried to rewrite history.

David Marcus, the crypto entrepreneur and CEO of Lightspark who has been a Democratic Party supporter for years, posted last month that he was now backing Trump’s campaign.

In an X post last week that has been viewed 33 million times, Marcus claimed that Trump’s “very fine people” comment had been purposely taken out of context by the media. “Realizing that this was and continues to be a lie was a turning point for me,” Marcus wrote on X, quoting a post from the official Harris campaign account that marked the seven-year anniversary since Trump made the comments.

In response to Marcus’ post, Shaun Maguire, a partner at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, wrote: “Totally agree.” Hours after the assassination attempt last month, Maguire said he was donating $300,000 to the Trump campaign.

This wasn’t the first time Maguire challenged what happened in Charlottesville: In June, Maguire cited a post from disinformation account End Wokeness and wrote on X: “Remember Charlottesville when Trump called neo-Nazis very fine people? I only saw the full clip for the first time today. It’s a must watch—he literally CONDEMNS the Neo Nazis and white nationalists.”

Elon Musk, who has been Silicon Valley’s loudest Trump supporter in the weeks since the attempted assassination, shared multiple posts related to this. Musk shared Marcus’ post on August 16, commenting: “Always view the source material.” Musk’s post has been viewed almost 30 million times.

Musk also shared a post this week from right-wing activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was responding to a reference to the “very fine people” comment during Biden’s DNC speech. “Dear Joe, for the 1000th time, the ‘very fine people’ story you keep repeating, is a debunked lie and a hoax,” wrote Kirk on X.

(Again, while Trump did condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists, he also said there were “fine people” among those at the rally, where the crowd was made up only of extremists.)

Musk also shared a post from Mark Pincus, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur best known as the founder of mobile gaming giant Zynga. Pincus, who has said he has yet to decide on which candidate he will vote for, wrote on X last week: “​​This is the best example of how we have all been manipulated by MSM.” Pincus was quoting the June post from Maguire. Musk responded: “Yup.”

Pincus’ post was shared by Musk as well as David Sacks, an influential tech investor who is closely allied with the X owner. Musk’s different posts on the topic have been cumulatively viewed almost 80 million times.

Another Musk ally, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, was among the very first to publicly endorse Trump in the hours after the shooting. Last week, he shared a post from anti-LGBTQ hate account Libs of TikTok to his 1.4 million followers that claimed “Biden and Kamala both lied and spread the ‘very fine people’ hoax again this week. It’s easily debunked by watching the full video. This is the video they don’t want you to see.”

The suggestion that the full, unedited video of Trump’s comments has somehow been scrubbed from the internet over the past seven years is central to many of the claims being made in the past week—even though the video is widely available on any number of platforms.

[calebwittebane]

What youtube channels do you like? I'm looking for some new ones to watch

ok so!

media analysis, essays, philosophy and such: folding ideas, princess weekes, lola sebastian, jacob geller, philosophytube, shaun, adam neely, fab socialism, skip intro, yhara zayd

science and engineering and transport and such: practical engineering, technological connections, kyle hill, chubbyemu/heme review, alexander gustafsson, disaster breakdown, bobbybroccoli, kuracyja

commentary/drama/responses/what have you: d'angelo wallace, jordan adika, ethan is online

documentaries and deep dives: oki's weird stories, fredrik knudsen, defunctland, bobbybroccoli, folding ideas, princess weekes

art and music: alphonso dunn, sideways, adam neely

bolded+italicized are my Big Faves. some of them fit into a couple categories at once so i put them in each thats why they repeat.

other than that i enjoy doccos and yubetube podcasts from various creators about like, chemistry, trains, lesser known disasters in civil engineering and transport, natural phenomena, internal diseases, criminal law (likely the main cause for my absolute garbage recommendations LOL), mathematics, lost media and so on. it would take me A While to compile any sorta list of those

[parkerbombshell]

Addictions and Other Vices 935 – Colour Me Friday

Addictions and Other Vices Fridays 3pm-6pm EST Repeats Saturday 3pm EST and Sunday 8am EST  bombshellradio.com #NowPlaying #indie #rock #alternative #Synthpop #indierock #community #radio #BombshellRadio #DJ #AddictionsPodcast #NewMusic #ColourMeFriday #Radio247 New Indie finds, previews of Just Another Menace Sunday artists coming up this weekend into next week ala Dennis The Menace, and Alex Green of Stereo Embers The Podcast and Sandy Kaye of A Breath of Fresh Air. Discoveries from our social media followers and a few more surprises. Thanks to all the artists, labels and PR companies that submitted tracks this week. Fix Mix 935 #Pop Rock #New Wave #Post Punk #Alternative Rock #Indie Rock 1. Maximo Park - The End Can Be As Good As The Start 2. The Beaches - Takes One To Know One 3. The Interrupters - Jailbird 4. Pale Waves - Glasgow 5. The Courteeners - Solitude Of The Night Bus 6. The Lottery Winners, Shaun Ryder - Money 7. The Lottery Winners - Sertraline 8. GIRLBAND! - Heartbreak Town 9. Kings Elliot - Enough 10. Our Girl - Something About Me Being A Woman 11. Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow 12. Olivia Newton-John - Hopelessly Devoted To You 13. Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta - You're The One That I Want 14. The Poppy Family - Which Way You Goin', Billy 15. The Stranglers - Golden Brown 16. First Aid Kit - Angel 17. Hollow Coves - On The Way 18. Travis - Alive 19. James McCartney - Circle Game 20. Razorlight - Call Me Junior 21. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Le Risque 22. Blonde Redhead - Melody Experiment 23. Public Service Broadcasting - Electra 24. The Kooks - Cold Heart (Single Edit) 25. Two Door Cinema Club - Wonderful Life (edit) 26. OneRepublic - Sink Or Swim 27. Arkells - Skin 28. The Snuts - The Rodeo 29. Taking Back Sunday - The One 30. Starcrawler - I Love LA 31. Starcrawler - Bet My Brains 32. Starcrawler - Roadkill 33. The Stranglers - Skin Deep 34. The Stranglers - Always the Sun 35. Hugh Cornwell - When I Was A Young Man 36. Howard Jones - New Song - 2008 Remastered Version 37. Howard Jones - What Is Love 38. Howard Jones - No One Is to Blame 39. Sunday (1994) - TV Car Chase 40. Day Wave, KennyHoopla - See You When The End's Near 41. Valley - Bass Player's Brother 42. The View - Woman Of The Year 43. The Sherwoods - Ice Cream   Read the full article

[yessadirichards]

What's streaming this week: Donald Glover, Run-D.M.C., 'Choir' and bye to 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

LOS ANGELES

The final, cringeworthy season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and a documentary on Run-D.M.C. are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Donald Glover starring as a spy in the new TV series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and a documentary about the making of the charity megahit “We Are the World.”

— Regardless of whether you think the 1985 charity anthem “We Are the World” is great or not, the making of it is fascinating. Director Bao Nguyen got access to never-before-seen footage and new interviews with Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper to help tell the story of how famous musicians, including Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, got together one night for a marathon recording session. Nguyen told the AP in a recent interview that “The Greatest Night In Pop" humanizes "some of these icons that we’ve sort of idolized over many generations.” It’s on Netflix.

— So Greta Gerwig didn’t get a best director nomination, but the good news is that the Criterion Channel has a new series starting Thursday about some of the “Lady Bird” and “Barbie” director’s favorite films. Gerwig’s “adventures in moviegoing” includes David Lean’s “Brief Encounter,” Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Red Shoes,” Max Ophüls’ "The Earrings of Madame de…” and Claire Denis’ “Beau travail.” The channel also has a series on “Interdimensional Romance” with films like “A Matter of Life and Death,” “Wings of Desire,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and both versions of “Solaris.”

— And for those who were curious about “Dicks: The Musical,” but not enough to bite the bullet on a movie ticket, it will be streaming on Max starting Friday. In an article about the movie out of the Toronto Film Festival, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that this “Dadaist riff on ‘The Parent Trap’ … may be the most demented riff on a familiar story yet. The film … has been called the most gonzo movie of the year. It’s lewd, ridiculous and surreal. Hanna-Barbera was an inspiration.” Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson star alongside Bowen Yang as God, Megan Thee Stallion, Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

— Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys — what do these legendary artists have in common? They owe much to Lee “Scratch” Perry, a pioneer of the dub music scene celebrated as one of reggae’s founding fathers. Perry (real name Rainford Hugh Perry) died in 2021 — but during the pandemic, he worked on new music material, which will be posthumously released in his final album, “King Perry,” out Friday, Feb 2. It features guest performances from Greentea Peng, Shaun Ryder, Tricky, Marta, Rose Waite and Fifi Rong. The final track, appropriately titled “Goodbye,” is Perry’s final vocal recording — an ambitious and celebratory song that features Perry repeating his farewell over and over again. It’s a fitting coda, and still an experiment, bringing his reggae into synth wave, drum’n’bass, big beat, and electronica. Even in death, Perry is looking towards the future.

— When you’re done streaming “The Greatest Night in Pop” (see above), stay in the musical mid-’80s with “Kings from Queens: The RUN DMC Story.” This Peacock original documentary offers a close look at the early days of Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell's revolutionary group — finding inspiration in the streets, bringing hip-hop to the masses, and, in doing so, validating and legitimizing what will soon become the most popular style of music — and assisting in turning it into a billion-dollar business. Let’s face it, “It’s Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time,” is both an earworm for the ages — and some astute musical analysis.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

— The new Amazon Prime Video series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is not your 2005 “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” Instead, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star as two stranger spies who meet and are required to marry for their cover. The series was created by Glover and Francesca Sloane, who says she looked to reality TV like “Love is Blind” and “90 Day Fiancé” for inspiration. All eight episodes will be ready to binge on Friday.

— “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fans are pretty pretty pretty disappointed because the show begins its final season on Sunday, on HBO. The irreverent comedy stars Larry David as a fictionalized version of himself who lands in awkward situations at every turn. Recurring favorites Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Cheryl Hines, and J.B. Smoove will be back.

— A new Disney+ docuseries called “Choir” follows the Detroit Youth Choir — who first made a splash appearing on “America’s Got Talent” in 2019 — as members audition and prepare to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. All six episodes drop Wednesday.

— UK comedian Sir Lenny Henry used his own family history to create “Three Little Birds,” a BritBox series that follows three women moving from Jamaica to London in the 1950s. Henry says the show’s immigration story is universally relatable because all immigrants understand that it’s difficult to start over and build a new life. “Three Little Birds” premieres Thursday.

— Past seasons of National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series covered Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin. Season 4 focuses on two civil rights legends, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. “Genius: MLK/X” delves into each man’s formative years, rise to influence and differing philosophies. The first two episodes drop Thursday on National Geographic. It will also stream on Hulu and Disney+.

— Don’t worry, “Dateline” hosts, your jobs are safe. For now. Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of “Jersey Shore” has entered the chat. He’s hosting “Statute of Limitations,” a new true crime show where everyday people who have committed nonviolent crimes tell their story. (Think: A thief who used a hot air balloon as a getaway vehicle.) What’s more, their statute of limitations has run out so they’re free and clear to talk. In 2019, Sorrentino served eight months in prison for lying on his taxes. “Statute of Limitations” will be available to stream beginning Thursday on platforms including Tubi, YouTube and The Roku Channel.

— Alicia Rancilio

— England’s Rocksteady Studios built its reputation on 2009’s dazzling Batman: Arkham Asylum. Alas, the developer is turning to the dark side of the DC Universe with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Rather than soloing as the Caped Crusader, you’re now invited to team up with friends as members of Task Force X: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark. What do they have against Superman, the Flash and their buddies? Well, Brainiac has brainwashed the superheroes and now it’s up to the supervillains to save Metropolis. You can expect guest appearances by the likes of Lex Luthor, the Penguin and the Riddler, and publisher Warner Bros. Games is promising a steady flow of downloadable scoundrels in the future. The brawling begins Friday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

— Lou Kesten

[azvolrien]

Backup

Haven't checked in with the Stormhaven crew for a little while now, have I? I'm still fond of them, though.

I like worldbuilding. You likely know this, if you've been following me for any significant length of time. But I often find myself drawn less to the big things like government and religion and more to the smaller details of the characters' day-to-day lives.

Such as contraceptive implants, apparently.

---

“They’re a fairly promising batch this year,” said Rhona as they walked. “I’ll be interested to see how many manage to stick it out to master-level.”

“Yeah, same among the Constructist lot,” said Calburn. “Think I expected a few more of the senior apprentices to stay on as journeymen, but the ones we’ve got… Yeah, I think they’ll do pretty well. What’re the power levels like among the new Healers?”

“Quite high. They can all pour a lot of energy into a working before they start to feel its loss. But the flip side of that is that they can all stand to work on precision.” Rhona shook her head. “Put too much energy into healing and you have a recipe for adhesions, which isn’t pleasant to deal with for anyone concerned.” They walked on in silence for a few seconds before Rhona spoke again. “While we’re talking about journeymen – what’s the name of that one new Constructist? The tall one, dark hair.”

“With the glasses? That’s Shaun. He doesn’t really go in for grown constructs, but I think he’ll shape up to be one of the best we’ve had in years where built ones are concerned.” Calburn paused in consideration. “At least, if we can get him to stop making them all look unnecessarily creepy.”

“I’m sure there are some customers out there his designs will appeal to,” said Rhona, “but I’ve been asked to inform you – ‘you’ meaning the School of Constructs in general – that if he steals any more animal skeletons from the anatomy collection to use as components, he’ll be helping out at our next dissection lecture.” She gave a rather strained smile. “I’m sure nobody wants a repeat of the Lynx Skull Incident.”

“Aw, come on. We managed to catch the construct before anyone got hurt.” Rhona raised her eyebrows. “Seriously hurt,” Calburn amended. “But… Yeah, I take your point. I’ll pass the message along.”

They turned left onto Full Moon Crescent, Mostol following loyally behind his master without being led by the reins. The big, bison-like construct’s packsaddle was laden with a hefty wicker hamper strapped on each side and a third balanced along his spine, but he didn’t even seem to notice the weight. When they reached Number 26, Calburn reined him in with only a gesture and he came to a halt, standing patiently at the end of the path while Calburn and Rhona walked up to the front door. Rhona frowned; the usually cheerful flowers in the pot by the door were looking distinctly wilted. She folded her hands behind her back as Calburn gave the bell-pull a yank.

At first, there was no reply. They shared a glance. More than a minute went by with no response from inside the house, not even a shouted acknowledgement. Calburn had just reached out for the bell-pull again when, finally, signs of life sounded behind the door: footsteps against a wooden floor, not quite moving at a jog but certainly at a brisk pace, and then a dull thump that strongly suggested someone had slammed into the door. The lock clicked as a key turned and, finally, the door opened.

“Gods,” said Rhona after a moment of stunned silence. “You look awful.”

“Thank you, Rhona, you always know just what to say,” said Wygar, only a little out of breath. “I’m afraid I’ve been rather busy this last week.” His eyes were both extremely bloodshot and deeply shadowed, with a wild look in them that suggested he was either about to break down in tears or set something on fire.

“When was the last time you washed your hair?” asked Calburn, wide-eyed. Wygar’s three-foot-long red mane, usually immaculately clean and tied in a neat ponytail at his nape, had taken on a greasy, dishevelled look, and the strip of cloth trying to exert some control had slid halfway down his back. From the visible stubble on his chin, it had also been a good few days since the last time he shaved.

Wygar slumped against the door-frame, bowing his head. “I think… not since… Before. Everything.” He sighed. “I’ve had quite a lot on my plate.”

“Well!” Calburn squared his shoulders and rolled up his sleeves. “Good thing you’ve got us here for backup now, then.” He jabbed a thumb back towards Mostol. “Present for you both, from everyone back up at the College. Got more than a week’s worth of food packed up on Mossy’s back, the bulk of which doesn’t even need cooked and the rest won’t need more than a quick heating-up in the oven or on the stove, so you won’t need to worry about going to the market or cooking anything too complicated for a few days at least.”

“Plus some clean clothes from your emergency stash in your rooms,” added Rhona. “Haven’t your parents been helping out?”

Wygar sighed again. “When they can. But that still leaves plenty of time when they can’t. And besides, they don’t know any more about really newnewborns than we do – I was already a month old when they adopted me.” He smiled, which somehow only made his exhaustion more apparent. “Thank you. Both of you. All of you. Bring it all in and I’ll heat the kettle for some tea.”

Calburn nodded and lifted the first hamper from Mostol’s saddle. “I think you could use it more than we do.”

“You are… not wrong.” Wygar helped them carry the hampers through to the kitchen before he waved them back to the living room, having entrusted Calburn with a teapot. A minute later, he followed with a copper kettle slung over one wrist, a metal stand under the same arm, and three mugs hooked onto the fingers of his other hand. Without speaking, he set the stand up on the small tiled section in the middle of the otherwise wooden coffee table, placed the kettle on top, and just stared at it until it began to whistle as the water boiled.

“Where’s Fayn?” asked Rhona as Wygar poured the water into the teapot.

“Upstairs,” he said. “Sleeping. She…” He swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment. “She lost a lot of blood. It’ll… It’ll probably be a while yet before she’s herself again.”

“And our new niece?” said Calburn.

“She’s not your niece,” Wygar pointed out.

“Oh, shush. I’m gonna be ‘Uncle Calburn’ and you know it.”

“Yes, that was probably inevitable,” said Wygar. He smiled. “Also sleeping. She’s in the basket there.”

“Oh!” Calburn finally noticed the small wicker cradle on the floor beside the hearth. “Should we stop talking?”

“Just don’t shout and you’ll be fine. She’s a pretty heavy sleeper unless she wants something, we’ve found.”

Calburn slid off the couch and shuffled towards the basket on his knees for a closer look. “She is so cute,” he cooed, clasping his hands under his chin. “Her little tufty hair! And those tiny ears!”

Rhona leant over his shoulder, her own expression more one of academic disinterest. “Hm. Yes, that’s definitely a baby.”

“You can hold her later, if you like,” said Wygar.

“Ooh, can I?” said Calburn, grinning hugely.

Rhona wrinkled her nose. “Offer again once she’s old enough to converse with.”

“Yes, I thought those might be your respective reactions,” said Wygar, smiling. He sighed and bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose between both forefingers. The smile disappeared. “There’s something else I need to ask you both.” Rhona gestured for him to do so. “It was… it was a difficult birth. There were complications. Like I said – Fayn lost a great deal of blood. If the Healers hadn’t acted as quickly as they did to give her an emperor’s cut, she could have lost too much.” He looked up, his eyes brimming. “We can’t take that risk again. We just – we can’t.”

“What do you need?” asked Rhona.

Wygar sniffed, blinking back his tears, and reached inside the collar of his shirt to draw out his anti-fertility charm on its chain around his neck. “You two made this for me, all those years ago.”

“And the enchantment’s still holding?” said Calburn, tearing himself away from Una and retreating back to the couch.

“Yes, as strong as it ever was. But – I need something more permanent.”

Calburn crossed his legs uncomfortably.

“Not that permanent,” said Wygar, exasperated. “But – a new charm. The same essential enchantment. But smaller, small enough to put inside my arm or somewhere. So that there’s no chance, none whatsoever, of my accidentally misplacing it or absent-mindedly leaving it off one night.”

Rhona rubbed her chin, nodding. “Have you discussed this with Fayn?”

“Yes, of course I have.”

“Let me see the old one for a moment.” Wygar nodded and dropped the charm into her outstretched hand. She held it up to her eyes to inspect it more closely. “Hm. Cal – is the actual type of metal important for holding the enchantment?”

Calburn shook his head. “Tougher metals are better, but not really beyond that. Easy enough to scale it down a bit – we’re both a lot better in our fields than we were when we made that thing.”

“And this is… what metal did we use?”

“It’s just steel,” said Calburn.

“Steel, right.” Rhona handed the charm back to Wygar. “If you want it implanted, we’ll need to use a different metal,” she said. “Something inert – something that won’t rust away and poison you from the inside out.”

“Yes, that would be nice,” said Wygar.

“I’m not certain the arm is the best place for it, though,” Rhona went on. “Take off your shirt.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard. You’ll want it implanted somewhere it won’t bother you, yes? Then take off your shirt so we can get a better idea of where to put it.”

Wygar sighed, but did as he was told and pulled his shirt off over his head, then stood up and held both arms out wide.

“You haven’t been eating properly,” said Rhona, prodding at the hard bump where his collarbone met his shoulder. It visibly stuck out more than usual. “You’ve lost muscle mass, and you had little enough body fat to begin with.”

“Yes, well, now that we’ve established that…” said Wygar through gritted teeth.

“I saved your life,” said Rhona. “I have a vested interest in seeing that my work doesn’t go to waste.”

“When!?”

“Hmm, not sure,” said Rhona acidly, gripping his upper arm in one hand and roughly turning him around to study his back. “Probably that time you had your lung skewered by a crossbow bolt.”

“Ah. Then.”

“Indeed. In fact, your heart had stopped, so by some standards I may have brought you back from the dead.”

“Rho, I know this is just how you show you care, but is now really the time to be telling the poor guy off?” said Calburn. “He’s in no fit state to give as good as he gets.”

“…Thanks,” said Wygar.

Rhona sighed. “Sorry,” she said, rather grudgingly. Frowning, she pressed the pad of her thumb against his back, just below his shoulder and a little to the left of his spine. “Here, I think,” she said. “If we shape it to lie flat against the shoulder blade, you shouldn’t be able to feel it. And your tattoos will make a useful marker for remembering where it is, if we ever need to remove it again.”

“All right,” said Wygar slowly. “Can I put my shirt back on now?”

“Cal, what do you think in terms of metals?” Rhona went on. “Gold, maybe? That’s inert.”

“Too soft,” said Calburn, shaking his head. “Gold’s all right for a conduit if it’s plated onto a stronger metal, but you need something tougher for a really long-lasting enchantment. Hm-hm-hm.” He steepled his fingers, narrowing his eyes in thought. Rhona handed Wygar back his shirt without speaking and they both watched Calburn expectantly. “Trying to think through what all we have in the material stores up at the workshops,” he explained to fill the silence. “Hmm.” Another pause. “Eversteel,” he finally said after about a minute. “It’s strong, it’s light, it doesn’t rust, and we’ve got a few bars in storage. Slice off a bit the size of a coin, forge it into the right shape, etch in the right runes – perfect.”

Wygar pulled his shirt back on and sat down. “How soon do you think you can manage it?”

“Couple days?” said Calburn. “It’s not that complicated an enchantment. We’ve actually got a nice little sideline making the pendant charms to sell, so we’ve got the basic process down pretty smooth now. Physically shaping the metal’ll likely take longer than the enchanting itself.”

“Huh! Do I get a share for having been your lab rat all these years?”

“…No,” said both Calburn and Rhona after a thoughtful silence.

“Hmph.”

Una stirred in her basket, tugging on the blankets, and began to wail at the top of her voice.

“Good set of lungs on her, anyway,” said Rhona, grimacing, as Wygar heaved himself back to his feet with a grunt of effort.

“At least it makes it easy to hear when she wants something,” said Wygar, and scooped her up from among the blankets. “C’mere, sweetheart. You need changed? All right, let’s get you cleaned up.” A fresh nappy did not significantly console her. Wygar sighed and carried her back through to the living room. “Hungry, then?” he said wearily, rocking to and fro in place on the couch as the still-screaming Una squirmed in his arms. “Well, I’d hoped to let your mama have a bit more sleep, but I suppose needs must…”

There was a hollow thunk from upstairs as the attic trapdoor opened, then a creak of wood as footsteps moved downstairs and the living room door swung open.

Fayn didn’t look a lot better than her husband. Her skin, always pale, was almost as white as her hair, and however much rest she was getting, it clearly wasn’t enough to dispel the shadows around her eyes or the exhausted tremor in her hands.

“You heard her, then,” said Wygar with a rueful smile. “I was just about to bring her up to you.”

Fayn gave a half-hearted wave with one hand and sat down heavily beside him, letting her head loll backwards to rest on the back of the couch. “Not many with better hearing than me,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment. “And I was only half-asleep anyway.” She wriggled into a slightly more upright position and shrugged off one shoulder of both her dressing gown and her nightdress. Calburn politely averted his eyes. “Give her here, then.”

Wygar carefully passed Una into her arms and hugged her in against his side. “How does the incision feel?” he asked, resting the tips of his fingers on her belly. “No pain in the scar?”

“No more than expected,” said Fayn. She glanced over at their guests and lifted her chin slightly in acknowledgement. Calburn still wasn’t looking at her, but Rhona returned the nod. “Did he ask you about making a new charm for him?”

Rhona nodded again. “We should have one ready in a couple of days.”

“Good.” Fayn smiled down at Una. “I do love this weird little creature, really,” she said, stroking the weird little creature’s soft wisps of red hair, “but once was enough.”

“‘Weird little creature’?” said Wygar, raising an eyebrow.

“Like father, like daughter, wouldn’t you say?”

“Cheeky!” Wygar gave her a little jostle.

Rhona cleared her throat. “If you’re finished flirting,” she said, “we will need to take him up to the College to implant it, since you probably don’t want us messing around with scalpels in your kitchen.”

“Oh. That’s a good point, actually,” said Wygar.

“I think I can manage without you for a few hours,” said Fayn.

“Well, have a think about when suits you best,” said Calburn, inspecting the ceiling. “Rho, think we should go and get started with the metal?”

“I’m not going anywhere until I see these two eat something,” said Rhona.

Wygar sighed and got up to fetch a couple of packets from one of the hampers.

“Actually,” said Fayn, a little apologetically, “if you don’t have anywhere to be urgently, there are a few chores around the house we could use your help with…”

The few chores turned up several more that had fallen by the wayside, and it was well into the evening by the time Calburn finally opened the front door and walked back to where Mostol still waited patiently at the gate.

“Has he been blocking the pavement all afternoon?” asked Wygar, leaning on the door-frame. Behind him, Fayn peered briefly out into the street, nodded a farewell to Rhona, and carried Una upstairs to put her to bed.

“So it would appear,” said Rhona, folding her arms.

“Yeah, I meant to put him back in his stone once we had the hampers off his back,” said Calburn, climbing up into the riding saddle. “Slipped my mind. You know Mossy – once he’s told to stay put, there’s nothing that’ll move him but me.” He looked back at Wygar. “I’ll swing by again in a couple of days, but give us a shout up at the College if you need a hand sooner, right?” Wygar nodded. “Right. See you back at the College, Rho.”

Rhona took her own construct’s summoning stone from inside the neck of her tunic and held it up for Tyren to materialise.

“I am grateful for your help,” said Wygar as Rhona placed her foot in the stirrup and hefted herself up onto Tyren’s back. “With the charm, and – and with everything else today. If that’s not been coming across properly…” He trailed off, gazing pensively back into the house.

“Wygar.” Rhona grabbed a fistful of his hair and made him look up at her.

“Ow! What the fuck, Rhona?”

“Wygar,” she said again, slightly more gently, and let go of his hair. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Seventeen years, almost,” said Wygar, rubbing the top of his head.

“So you know that I take my oaths as a Healer seriously. I don’t go in for false comfort.”

“You don’t go in for comfort in general,” said Wygar drily.

“Which is why you need to listen to me, right now.” Rhona waited until he met her eyes squarely. She sighed, shaking her head, and smiled. “She’s going to be fine. They both are.”

Wygar took a long, shaking breath, held it for a couple of seconds, and nodded. “Thank you.”

“I am quite fond of you, believe it or not,” said Rhona. She tugged on the reins, facing Tyren towards the College. “Remember to eat, or I’ll want to know why next time I check in on you.”

“I’ll try to bear it in mind.”

“Good.” She spurred Tyren into a brisk trot and soon caught up with Calburn and Mostol, just outside the gates of the College.

“Ginger-nut giving you trouble?” asked Calburn, twisting around in the saddle to look at her.

“More the other way around,” said Rhona as they rode through the gates. Outside the main door, she reined in Tyren and slid down from the saddle. “Come on, then,” she said, and cracked her knuckles. “We’ve got metal stores to raid.”

---

Rhona does, in fact, care very deeply for her friends and will go significantly out of her way to help them, and as far as the actual, physical patching-together of healing goes, there are few better. She just... doesn't have a great bedside manner.

Elves like Wygar do grow facial hair, but much more slowly and sparsely than humans; it takes a few days for him to even get a five o'clock shadow and tends to stop at 'long stubble', so actually growing a proper beard wouldn't be on the cards for him even if he wanted to.

Eversteel is probably titanium. That's what I had in mind, at least.

[pocahontaslut]

The end of a chapter where I say goodbye to the love I wish I had —— a letter to him,

I know this is long as hell but please genuinely when you have the time atleast bother to read this for me.

I’ve tried and tried and tried with you. After tonight, from the amount of energy I’ve wasted waiting around for all these time wasters, (sw’r life) after hoping atleast you’d come around and reach out to me, this whole thing has just left me feeling off. - The more I wait around for you, to have you not bother atleast putting the smallest effort in keeping me updated of what’s good, this whole thing just keeps disappointing me more and more.

I’m not sure what you thought I wanted out of this, nor am I aware on what it is exactly that’s having you want me one moment, disappearing on me the next, but Ngl I’m at the point where I don’t think I’ll be able to keep coming back to this when you only show me you care when it’s benefiting you and I have to pretend like we’re all good now.

I never wanted anything more than to have you as a mate if anything. But this ghosting bullshit is what leads me to resenting people in the end. I’m not going to fight with you just to make space for me to be in your life anymore Shaun.

Trust it when I say maybe you do mean it when you say you care about me and all, but the constant neglect while you go out and do you just isn’t worth me bothering with this any further from here. You had so many opportunities to show me you cared and somehow in the end you just made me feel like I wasn’t worthy nor good enough to even bother fighting for in the end.

The last time I was here I spent majority of my time living for someone else, trying to be ideally better for someone who couldn’t of given a single fuck on the effort I was trying to make just to show them how meaningful they were in my life. And im not going to repeat the pattern that had me so broken it was the reason I had been in hospital for weeks since then. Months of patience that I was going to be good enough just to lose myself in the end all to a love that was never there to begin with.

Regardless of how embarrassing this may be pouring my shit out on this text, what I’m saying is, basically the more distant you are the less I believe the words you claimed to of promised. And that’s fine, I get it, we’re just so young and you’re doing you and having fun doing whatever you do. So you should. But it’s dumb of me to assume you’re going to show up every time you haven’t, waiting around for you whilst you continue to live life. I can’t keep doing it anymore. The stress and amount of overwhelming emotions that have filled my whole entire body chasing someone who’s continuously running, I deserve so much better than that and I just no longer have any more effort in fighting for this. ——

I really do hope you find someone who makes you genuinely as happy as you did for me, I know it was a short time ago but truly, you deserve that and I really hope you do know how much light you brought into my space all those moments you were around me —— . You’re a great guy. A wonderful beautiful soul if I’m gonna be literal. just know that please. I’m thankful for you sharing your way of love with me even if it may of not meant authentically real, and more so things you had known I had wished to believe. Because it atleast felt like it to me anyway. I wish you can one day realise how much good in this life you deserve. But this isn’t what I deserve, and I thank you for allowing me to remind myself of that, all just by showing me you weren’t capable in bothering to see me worth through your own. Adore you. ♡︎

[casspurrjoybell-27]

Claimed by the Beast - Chapter 2a

*Warning Adult Content*

Kitten - Part 1

- Knox -

It has taken years for Knox to learn how to manage his temper.

Sadly, thanks to Finn's reckless actions tonight, he is now seconds away from strangling some poor boy to death.

When the boy's frightened brown eyes flutter shut and his arms go limp at his sides, Knox curses under his breath.

He's gone too damn far.

Again.

He releases his vice-like grip from around the boy's throat, allowing him to fall to his knees and gasp for air.

A million thoughts cross Knox's clouded mind at that moment.

How the hell did this suburban ass kid get mixed up with a Jackal?

And what was Finn even doing on this side of town?

That little shithead is such a magnet for trouble.

Tonight's shootout resulted in the death of one of their own and Knox is partly responsible for it.

"Sam said he'll be in here in five minutes."

Cole approaches Knox slowly, his eyes darting between him and the crying boy at his feet.

"Why do you want to take the kid back to the clubhouse? It'll be easier to put a bullet in him now and vanish."

Ignoring Cole, Knox squats to be level with the boy.

He's covered in blood and is quivering from shock and adrenaline.

Fat tears run down his freckled cheek, and his bottom lip is trembling so fast Knox is afraid it may very well fall off.

The boy can't be as innocent as he looks.

If he were, he wouldn't have gotten caught up with a one percenter.

"Did you know from the jump that your boyfriend was a member of The Jackals, or were you recently made aware?" Knox asks calmly, but the boy still doesn't respond.

"Listen, kid. The sooner you talk to me, the sooner I'll let you go."

"Shaun wasn't my b-boyfriend."

"Huh? So you can speak."

"Fuck you."

Knox chuckles when the boy meets his eyes, this time sporting a scowl on his face.

"Tell me your name."

"Everett."

"How long have you and Shaun been hanging out, Everett?"

"A few weeks."

"Did you know he belonged to The Jackals MC?" Knox repeats, studying Everett's every move.

"I've seen them chew up and spit out folks even more fragile than you. They're extremely dangerous bastards."

As if Knox can actually talk smack and pass judgment on others.

The Fallen Angels, his MC and second family, are no better than The Jackals.

Both clubs lie, cheat, steal and kill for money and power.

The only difference between the two is that The Fallen Angels don't poison the land that they live on.

They actually take care of and give back to their community.

Knox's proudest moment was when he helped Finn get off the streets and get clean almost five years ago.

Had he not done that, perhaps Shaun would still be alive and The Fallen Angels' decade long rivalry with The Jackals wouldn't be escalating towards an all-out war.

So much for helping the needy.

"We've only been hanging out for a few weeks," says Everett. "What we had... it was just a stupid fling. I always knew he was a biker but he never talked about his club with me or even what his position was. I swear that's all I know."

Dragging a calloused hand down his face, Knox sighs.

"Let me tell you something important that you should know about me, Everett. I can't stand a liar."

"W-what do you mean? I'm not lying..."

Knox snatches Everett up from the ground to dig into his pockets.

The boy is smart enough not to put up a fight.

What Knox finds is a wallet, a cell phone,and a small USB.

He tosses everything back except for the USB and phone.

Everett's face pales and his eyes go wide.

Knox growls when he speaks again.

"If it was just a stupid fucking fling, then how do you explain this?" Knox holds the USB high.

"After I made it inside the club to survey the damage, I saw him pass this to you. His lips were running before he died. Word for word, I want to know what he told you. Lie to me and there'll be consequences, kid."

Everett blinks back fresh tears.

"I-I don't know why he gave that to me, okay? He didn't tell me what was on it, just told me to destroy it and run. He didn't want the cops to get a hold of it, so I took it. That's literally it. Can I please go home now?"

"Sam is here," Cole announces after a black industrial van pulls into the alley and screeches to a halt.

"Do you want me to take the kid, Knox?"

"No. Just ride my bike back to the clubhouse."

Knox drags Everett towards the van and shoves him into the back.

Stretched out on one of the bench seats is a bruised and battered Finn.

Sitting opposite of him is a newly patched-in member whose name Knox has long forgotten.

"Sit with Finn. We need this bench."

The young man obliges, knowing better than to talk back.

After Knox and Everett take their seats, the driver speeds off into the night.

"Do you realize how badly you fucked us tonight?" Knox snaps at Finn, kicking him in the shoulder.

He howls in response and sits up straight.

"When I got the call that you were down here getting your ass handed to you, I had to cut the Pindell deal short and race over to see what new mess you made."

Finn rolls his tired eyes.

"I'm a grown ass man, Knox. You don't have to come rescue me every time I get into a fight. God, I'm so fucking sick of the members calling on you to rat me out like you're my God-damn father every time I make a mistake..."

Knox leaps forward to backhand Finn across his swollen face, knocking him onto the floor.

Everett gasps while the other member remains still.

This isn't the first time, and it surely won't be the last time, that Finn has forgotten his place and stepped out of line with a high-ranking member.

He's a firecracker with no filter,but he's also extremely loyal and hardworking.

The only reason why Knox hasn't killed him yet is because he genuinely cares about Finn.

Most days, he's the only person in the world who does.

"Mind your tone when you speak to me," Knox snarls. "I understand you're still riding high off getting your second kill tonight,but it'll do you some good not to forget your place. You'd still be out on the streets fucked up with a dirty needle plunged in your arm had I not intervened when I did, so show me some fucking respect."

Silence fills the inside of the van.

Finn slowly gets off the floor to retake his seat, his head bowed and ego shattered.

He mutters a quiet apology to Knox and neither speaks another word until after they pass through the gates of the clubhouse.

[hauntedparadisebandana]

Thinking about Desmond and the gang in a modern au😋

Desmond successfully secured a job at a local coffee shop in town, it has relatively nice pay, easy to do, and he needed a distraction between his classes. Yet besides the rush hour or lunch, he has nothing to do, really. Luckily today was the day the supervisor watched the work in the shop (he despises these days), so he has to run around acting like he's actually getting work done for three hours.

He swept the floor three times, mopped twice, and reorganized the already organized creamers and sugars. Every time he finished a task, the supervisor would nod to him with a smile and walk off to hover he other co-workers. Finally it was his break, he pulled out a sandwich and sat at a table in the back near the far window, while eating his very dry turkey and cheese (he didn't add mayo because he forgot to buy some more) he got a text.

Group of idiots

*Becca* 10:00

>what time are u guys done with classes today????

>let's get food!😋

*Lulu* 10:01

>well I don't get out of class until 11, and I really need to catch up on work Bec.

*Stickintheass* 10:03

>rebecca, unlike you, some people have work to do. I have to finish my paper tonight.

*Becca* 10:05

>booooo, u guys are no fun. Des?🙏🏽

>don't leave me hanging😢

Desmond let out a chuckle before replying

*Dessyboy* 10:07

>I wish, but I'm stuck at work till 12😔

*Becca* 10:08

>UGHHHH I can't believe u guys😩

>wait I got an idea

>what about a study date kinda thing?

*Stickintheass* 10:08

>Absolutely not. Every time we do a "study date," you always end up distracting me and I get no work done. Plus you don't even study.

*Becca* 10:09

>I swear I'll do work the time, pinky promiseeeeee.

*Stickintheass* 10:10

>😮‍💨

*Becca* 10:11

>So is that a yessss?????

*Stickintheass* 10:12

>fine. I'll go.

*Becca* 10:12

>YAYYY

>Lu we'll meet up with u at 11 and then we'll go to des's job to mess with him until he's off work.

*Lulu* 10:14

>👍👍👍

>I gtg, talk later

*Dessyboy* 10:15

>hey I didn't agree yet

*Shaun* 10:16

>you don't have too, you're going. If I have to suffer, you have to too. Plus, I don't think Rebecca will let you off the hook.

*Dessyboy* 10:16

>ok🥲

Sighing, he threw away his trash and got back to doing the same thing over and over again until his friends arrived. While fake sweeping for what felt like the 50th time, the bell above the door jingled, and in walked Shaun, Rebecca, and Lucy. Rebecca waved with much enthusiasm while Shaun rolled his eyes. Lucy chuckled and shook her head at the two, they always irritate eachother, despite living together and studying the same field.

They sit at a booth and talk amongst themselves quietly as Desmond walks over.

"Hey guys, how's your life besides mine?"

Rebecca chuckled "yo des, im great actually, why do you make it seem like you're in hell right now?"

"Because I am. I've been repeating the same tasks for 3 hours trying to make it seem like I'm actually doing something."

"Well dont worry, you'll be off soon. It's only 30 more minutes." Shaun states.

And like Shaun said, the 30 minutes seemed to fly by. He was soon hanging his apron in his locker, grabbing his bag, and leaving the employees' only room.

"Finally free from hell guys, so where are we going?" He adjusts him backpack straps.

"Ummmm we haven't actually established that yet. What about the little Ceasars a few blocks down?"

Shaun groaned "Rebecca we ate there last week."

"It won't hurt to eat there again. It's pizza of course. Oh and let's walk, the fall weather is nice at this time."

The group left the coffee shop and started the walk to the local little Cesars they eat at every other week. None of them actually want to eat there, but it's cheap, and they haven't done any grocery shopping yet. Upon walking in, the group gets hit with the smell of fresh pizza. Desmonds stomach growls as a reaction, all he had was that dry turkey sandwich way earlier in his shift, so he was practically starving.

Once more, they pick a booth big enough to fit them all. Ordering a large pepperoni, they chow down on it while "studying" (writing down things and forgetting about it).

"Sooooo how's classes going for you guys?" Lucy questions to break the silence of them stuffing pizza in their faces.

Desmond is quick to complain, "Ugh, don't even get me started on my professor, biggest asshole on the planet. On top of that, I have a final due soon."

"Sucks to be you, my friend. Me on the other, I completed my final yesterday so I am free from the pain and suffering of work and worries." Rebecca laughs

"Whateverrr."

Shaun glances down at his watch, sighing upon seeing the time. "I'll have to make my leave soon. After noon classes."

"Seriously? But we just got here!"

"Rebecca, it's been two hours. Plus, you weren't studying anyway, and we have the same class to attend idiot."

"Ah. Right," she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly.

"I'll leave with you guys," Lucy quips. "I to have afternoon classes."

Desmond sighs at this, giving all his friends a hug before they are off to class again, leaving him bored.

"Bye guys...."

"Desmond, stop making that face, we're literally all roommates. We'll see you later tonight." Rebecca pinches his cheek and runs after Shaun and Lucy, who are already in the car.

Group of idiots

*Dessyboy* 2:03

>it was fun being able to hang out again😿

*Stickintheass* 2:04

>God stop with the dramatics, we'll see you later.

*Dessyboy* 2:04

>but still, I'm bored now

*Lulu* 2:05

>des, there is plenty to do around here. And why are you texting us already, we just left.

*Dessyboy* 2:05

>😮‍💨

>fine

*Becca* 2:06

>all love dessy😚

*Dessyboy* 2:07

>love you guys too

>oh by the way, can someone please go to the store later and pick up some mayo?

>....

>guys???

>Lu? Becca? Shaun?

>guys please I'm tired of eating a dry turkey and cheese for lunch 😭

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed – Mondays: See You “This” Week!

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Back in 2020, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes—Junta Yamaguchi’s immaculately structured single-take extravaganza—set a new standard for time loop stories. While Ryo Takebayashi’s Mondays: See You “This” Week! isn’t quite as stylistically accomplished, it’s still a magnificently crafted comedy.

The plot revolves around a group of exhausted office workers gradually realizing that their shared feelings of déjà vu aren’t merely the result of crunch-induced stress, anxiety, and fatigue; they actually are repeating the same week over and over again. Despite her desperation to break the cycle, however, our central protagonist—an ambitious middle manager who is always looking towards future job prospects—also wants to take advantage of the bizarre situation in order to really refine and perfect the company’s latest advertising campaign; after all, it isn’t often that somebody in her position is handed a literal second (and third, and fourth, and twentieth) chance—the golden opportunity to revise one’s mistakes, no strings attached. The razor-sharp satire doesn’t stop with this biting commentary on the need for a healthy work-life balance, either. Our heroes, for example, are so deeply entrenched in corporate culture that they approach the supernatural conflict as they would any other project: by “running it up the ladder,” with each character that discovers the temporal anomaly subsequently bringing it to the attention of his or her immediate superior only.

Although the tight script (credited to Takebayashi and Saeri Natsuo) undoubtedly establishes the movie’s zany tone, the editing is equally integral to its sense of humor. As in Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Baby Driver, every cut is deliberate and purposeful, creating an almost musical rhythm. The superb sound design reinforces this punchy pacing, with such ambient noises as the incessant buzz of ringing cell phones, the monotonous clickety-clack of keyboards, and the sudden thud of a pigeon crashing into a windowpane punctuating the rapid-fire jokes like exclamation points.

Irreverent, whimsical, and effortlessly entertaining, Mondays is yet another one of those films that epitomizes the quintessential festival experience. What a marvelous way to conclude the most consistently satisfying edition of Japan Cuts to date!*

*Of those that I have personally attended, at least.