#Spooky Season is my favorite so I say it starts now.

[hiddenbysuccubi]

On Monday my mom went to Costco. On Wednesday we went together. She didn't think there was any way they'd sold out of the Yankee Candle set she'd seen in that short amount of time. Anyway, I got the last one 😂 I enjoy all of the scents but I'm especially glad it has Lakefront Lodge- not quite Tumblr's "Boyfriend Candle" from 2017, Mountain Lodge, but. Close. It's close. I'm glad since the Yankee Candle store at the mall near here has been closed for years (thanks pandemic) and so the only remaining one in WA is in Puyallup. (And while I'll never willingly drive that far the fair jingle "Do The Puyallup" will live forever rent-free in my head).

[cherubunie]

run ~ sunghoon x reader

ଓ ⋆˙⊹ [ 성훈 ] ☆ sunghoon can't help but watch his favorite little toy go absolutely crazy, you unbeknowingly give him exactly what he wants; not only your blood , but your pussy as well.

word count ; 2.6k

sunghoon x reader | heavy cnc , slight manhandling , smacking , dacryphilia , mask-kink , fingering , stalking , chasing / prey + hunter , blood consumption, slight knife play, degrading, slight praise, sadism / masochism, you live in the woods , you're also kinda dumb... sorry . not proof read. since its spooky season and I felt like sharing my thoughts.... enjoy you fucking freaks.

sunghoon kept quiet as he stalked through your house , making sure not to step on the places where your floorboard squeaked. you were fast asleep under the covers , breathing steady and your eyes fluttering as they moved behind you lids. sunghoon liked watching you sleep , it almost made him feel as if he were sane.

he'd been stalking observing you for a while , his interest peaking when he saw you working your little day job in the book store down the road.. you were oh so kind to him; helping him find everything he needed, walking around the store with him in order to find a book he had been wanting, you were just so sweet.

he caught on to the hidden compliments you threw at him whenever he would come into your book store, making him smile and blush like crazy. you would even try flirting with him a little. you started looking forward to the times sunghoon came in, the way he would talk to you made you feel like you were special, and you were honestly thinking about asking him out on a date.

he liked watching you walk to and from your job, playing with your dog when you came home, he liked how you would light a candle and read in your room before bed right after doing your skin care routine and oh how he loved watching your dainty little fingers fuck your pussy. your nails freshly manicured in your favorite color.

ever since his little, fascination with you, a side of him was unlocked that he never new about. a side of him that he hides from everyone. you know what one says though; the more you keep things bottled up, the bigger the explosion was going to be.

now here he was, watching you fast asleep in bed, as your parted lips let out breathy sighs. he wonders what you're dreaming about.

maybe you dream about him the same way he used to about you. oh he doesn't sleep anymore unless he quite literally passes out. you've consumed so much of his person that its like the two of you are one now !

his hand brushes over your soft cheek delicately, coming down to the skin of your lips as he presses his thumb down onto your bottom one, feeling your breath fan his digit. he shudders, taking in every single one of your features

that was until you started to stir awake. sunghoon curses for being in your room for too long, knowing that you normally get up at 3:30 in the morning to go pee and get a glass of water. he shuffles out of your room quickly before your eyes fling open.

you heard something.

you could have sworn it. you sit up, your eyes adjusting to the dark room before they land on your bedroom door.

it was closed.

you always close your door before you head to bed. here it was, wide fucking open. fear runs through your veins, your hand shaking as you go to lift yourself up off the bed. you slip out of bed, wary of your surroundings as you make your way around the house. sunghoon can see your figure in the dark as he hides himself behind your couch, crouching down so you couldnt see him. you walk into the kitchen, flicking on a light and turning around to observe your area.

sunghoon has a clear view of you, watching as you shakingly look around for any sign of break ins or anything. you turn around and stare at your front door.

its open.

wide fucking open.

the darkness from outside seeping into your home. you just stare at the front door, your hands folded into your chest while your eyes are as big as the sun, staring straight out of the door and into the darkness.

sunghoon chuckles at how cute you are.

maybe you shouldn't have left it unlocked

sunghoon shifts slightly, but just enough for your head to snap to his. you scream as soon as you see the masked man in the corner. you dart behind you counter within a fraction of a second and run to grab a knife. sunghoon is quick on his feet, meeting you in the kitchen and trapping you in the room. you scurry around your silverware drawer, not finding any of your sharp knives.

"what the fuck!" you scream in fear. you never touch your sharper knives unless you have to. sunghoon chuckles behind you, and you swear you can just fucking die on the spot. you spin around, the tall man stands inbetween you and the rest of the house. your eyes dart around looking for something- anything to use to defend yourself that you can reach for quicker than he can.

nothing, not a single fucking thing in sight. you suddenly get an idea; the only way out was to run turn around and run out the back door, having a small chance of survival if you were to run into the woods behind your house.

"dont be stupid.." he warns, your biggest knife sliding out from his belt loop, his fingers coming to play with the pointy end of it, twisting it in his fingers. you hesitate, your body shaking as your mind screams at you to run.

your eyes drink in his figure. the shape of his arms defined by the black shirt he's wearing and a black pair of jeans that match. under different circumstances, you would be unbelievably turned on due to the ghost face mask covering this mans face. you breathe in through your nose, holding it as your body spins around, acting before you can think.

you work fast to unlock the door, swinging it open and slamming it shut behind you within a second.

"I said dont be fucking stupid" he leaps over the counter, beginning to run after you, his long legs and toned figure gaining distance on you quickly. the light from your house disappears as you make it to the tree line, your feet beginning to scrape against the ground of the woods. your breathing is heavy as you move as you run for your life. sunghoon watching you disappear into the shadows, following in after you. he listens to your feet hitting the ground, twigs and leaves crunching under the pressure of your body weight.

you turn around to see if you had gained any distance, but scream as you see him hot on your tail. your body feels like its going to give out underneath you at any given second and your feet begin to bleed against the rough ground. tears stream down your face as they blur your vision.

you're terrified.

you grab onto a small tree and make a sharp turn, hissing as the bark cuts into your hand. sunghoon follows you, watching your every move like a hawk as he does so.

"you can't run from me, y/n" you hear him tease you. you spot another tree to make a sharp turn at, but before you can reach out to grab it, you trip on a huge tree root that's growing above the ground. you stumble, your body hitting the ground in a tumble, leaves get in your hair and you feel your nose start to bleed. before you can process what happened, you feel a hand on your throat. your eyes shoot open as the masked man now stands in front of your aching body.

his fingers press against your artery, threatening to cut off your oxygen.

"no no please, please dont hurt me" you say as he places the tip of the knife on your thigh, trailing it up your skin and under your night gown. your breath shudders under the cold metal, your arms feeling weak after you just landed on them, your full body weight crushing them in an instant.

"aww, begging already sweetheart?" he coos at you, his knife finding your clothed clit and you can't help yourself when a whimper exits your throat. your head hurts as he throws the knife to the side, his fingers coming to rub against your clothed heat instead. your hands fly up to grab his arm, attempting to push him away.

sunghoon's grip on your throat disappears, a harsh sting on your cheek making you gasp as he slaps you across the face before grabbing both your wrists in his hold and pushing them into the dirt above your head.

"stop fucking squirming and take it" his fingers pull your panties to the side as he enters two of his digits into your wet cunt, and you feel embarrassment rise to your cheeks at the squelch your wetness makes.

"you're so wet, you like it when I use your body? what a fucking whore" you squirm under his fingers, your hips grinding into his hand and your legs kick out as he pumps your pussy, his fingers curling in and out of you.

"please" tears cloud your vision again and all you want to do is disappear.

"that's right, squirm for me a little more" a sob racks out of your throat, your wetness increasing as his fingers work inside you. your walls clamp down on his digits. you bite your lip hard enough to draw blood and you can taste the iron on your tongue.

you squeal out when you feel the coil in your tummy, your back arching off the ground and your legs begin to shake. sunghoon chuckles to himself, your pussy sucks in his fingers almost as if they're begging for his cock.

he knew today was the day he was gonna use your body. the way you purposely left the door unlocked and your curtains open, the way you looked outside longly before you had gone to bed, your bedroom window being cracked as your fingers fucked your pussy pathetically. he does it better, and you knew as much.

he sees your change in demeanor, your walls flutter around his fingers and your arms buckle in his hold. he tongues his cheek before he rips his digits out of you, your orgasm being stripped away from your body and you dart your head up, a scared whine leaving your lips as you hear the buckle of his belt come undone. you begin to thrust your heels into the ground, an attempt to get away from the man once more.

he looks back up at you, shaking his head with a 'tsk' before his hand comes away from his belt to slap your puffy cunt, a squeal erupting from your mouth. he takes his belt off completely, working to undo his button and zipper. when you hear his pants shuffle, that's when you know you're all done for, but that doesn't stop you from putting up a fight.

you kick his leg, earning you a loud "fuck" from the man and your wrists slip from his grip, but before you can claw your way out from underneath him completely, he grabs you ankles and drags you against the hard ground, your body under his as you notice his hard cock sprung against his abdomen, pearly beads of precum leaking out of his pink tip.

you whine as his free hand comes to wrap around your throat once more, squeezing down and you almost lose all ability to breathe. your head feels fuzzy, but you still fight anyways. your hands grab at the mask and rip it off, your eyes widening when you see who it is.

"s-sunghoon ?" you choke out in surprise. he chuckles at your reaction, his fanged teeth on display. his fist pumps his cock as he leans over your trembling figure, his face coming down to yours as he licks the blood off your cheek, a scratch littering your face from your earlier fall.

you whine under him as he pushes his tip against your sopping hole, your pussy wet enough he was able to slide in with ease. your back arched as you curled into him, your hands coming up to grip his hair in your fingers and yanking, attempting to pull him off. he hisses under your grip and his hand lets go of your throat, earning you yet another slap across the face. just as his palm met contact with your cheek, he began to thrust his dick inside you roughly, his thrusts demanding and concentrated. you scream at the pain of the stretch, his cock splitting you open in a sting.

your hands fall from his hair, moving towards his hips to push him away

"s-stop f..f p lease ! h-hoon no !" you squeal as his tip presses up against your cervix. his thrusts dont falter at your desperate attempt to get him away from you, your pussy clenching down on his length as your moans fill the cool, autumn air. the trees hum in tune with your beautiful melody, sunghoon groaning.

"shut up and take it and I might let you live" his threat hangs in the air over your head and you whine, your hands letting go of his body, coming up to grab his biceps, one holding your legs apart and the other is digging its palm into the ground, holding him up above your frame as he fucks himself into you.

your jaw slacks open, the prettiest of whines and whimpers dance off your tongue in pleasure. sunghoon drags his lower lip inbetween his teeth, your cunt sucking him in as he graces your sweet spot with every thrust.

"please f-fuck oh my god" you beg- not having a clue in the world what for. your body is tingly and your head is light. your head turns to the side and tears roll down your cheeks, your mouth kisses sunghoons hand that holds himself up, and he can't help but laugh at your cuteness.

"god you're so fucking adorable when you cry, pretty" you hum at his words. his hips rock against yours, your hole fluttering around him like a butterfly's wing. the coil in your stomach tightens and you feel your orgasm approaching, and sunghoon can tell because you get that look in your eye as your body begins to convulse. he curses under his breath as he sits up.

he grabs your legs and forces them over his shoulders, his body pressing down on the back of your thighs as he brings your knees to the sides of your head, folding you in half. your eyes widen at the deeper angle, your hands moving towards his back as your nails dig into him.

"you still want me to stop, precious?" he looks into your eyes and you can't help the pathetic way you shake your head slowly, a hushed whine fills sunghoons ears as a protest. his thrusts pick up pace again, fucking you into the dirt beneath you.

"that's what I fucking thought" your legs feel like jelly as sunghoon presses them up against you, your orgasm from before begins to wash over you.

sunghoon snakes a hand down in between your sweaty bodies, rubbing sloppy circles on your clit and you finally feel yourself begin to spill over. with your legs wrapping around his head, you cream all over his dick with a scream, his cock hitting all the right angles.

he doesn't care. his pace doesn't let up as he fucks you through your orgasm, overstimulation beginning to make your body convulse in his hold, your pulse picking up the pace even more.

"n-no , 's too much pl-please !" your hiccuped sobs of desperation egg sunghoon on further, your clit pulsating against his fingers.

"we're not done until I say we are, understand?" you nod your head, taking his dick pathetically, your eyes begging and your mouth telling him to continue with your sounds.

"you're gonna take my cock like the pathetic little girl you are" he spits at you, venom in his tone.

you might be just as sick as he is, purposely leaving your doors unlocked knowing who was going to be barging in this late into the night.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for dating Wally West

Wally West x reader

warnings:

a/n: i was debating whether or not y/n is on the team or not n for this im going for y/n being a regular civilian but now im debating making dating hcs for a hero too 🤭

prompt: anonymous: “But if you're still taking requests (and speaking of fast haha), I would absolutely love if you could do a lil' something about Wally West ♡. I love that track star to bits and we're entering my favorite season ever : spooky season (or autumn for people who aren't chronically online like me). So if you'd be tempted to write some fluff/domestic stuff in autumn with Wally, I would be over the moon! 🦊”

wally is so annoying (in the best way!!)

you aren’t too used to the whole idea of dating a metahuman, every day is like an adventure

and for a speedster? you’d be surprised how hard it is for him to find the time

but he makes time

*doorbell rings*

“you’re twenty minutes late” -you

“in flash-time that’s early” -wally, holding a half-eaten box of chocolates “i got a little hungry”

on his “days off,” you could usually find the two of you on the couch with a variety of snacks scattered across the coffee table and crumbs peppering the cushions and floor

“the dog will get them” -wally

“hate to break it to you, but i don’t have a dog” -you

“should i get you a dog?” -wally

he was always so goofy

and affectionate, very affectionate!

he loved to give you cheek and forehead kisses, so many so fast

“how many was that?” -you after noticing repeated pressure on your cheeks

“going on a hundred. i’m trying to beat my record!” -wally

it always ended up tickling and you’d laugh until you fell over

“wally!! wally, come on!!” -you

you’d always get bummed whenever he got called for a mission

especially because it always happened in the middle of something (dinner, a movie, study date, etc.)

then when he came home he’d be a wreck and then you’d be a wreck because you’d see him like that

then he’d have to calm you down and you’d have to help him feel better

“you dont have to do that, im fine! i swear!” -wally while you panic and try to take care of him

being invited to the cave!

meeting the team!

“just because youre meeting a half-kryptonian clone, a martian, an atlantean, some girl with a bow and arrow, and batman’s sidekick doesn’t mean you get to think any of them are cooler than me, kapeesh?” -wally

“oh yes, i know you’re the coolest” -you

the team loves you!!!

“wow, wally, thanks for proving your s/o isn’t imaginary” -artemis

“youre welcome” -wally

“do you want to come bake with me?!” -m’gaan

“please say yes, y/n. i’m so hungry. so so hungry” -wally

“let’s do it!” -you

starting to camp out at the cave while wally is on missions

also once some more dangerous people figured out wally’s identity, you got your own access code to the cave. EMERGENCIES ONLY

you used it to surprise wally once and got a stern talking to from batman. never again

you dont really spend too much time with the team, but you get invited to most of their friendly outings!

and you talk up a storm with the others trying to learn about their lives, which sometimes makes wally a liiiittle jealous

but you want to live vicariously through these interesting people bc ur life is a liiiittle boring

“can you tell me what atlantis is like? what it feels like to be underwater and how your fighting style differs on land?” “what’s your favorite dish to make on mars? do you like communicating this way or the telepathic way more?” “why do you always wear sunglasses, man?” (you know this one dick is like wally’s bestie) -all you

seeing wally less than usual when things start to heat up in his hero life :(

causes some strain and you get so so sad :(

but he always calls you when he can and tries to make up for it

and somewhere down the road when he retires you’re able to spend all your time with him and he makes up for lost time like he promised

ok i’ll stop there. happily ever after.

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @summersimmerus // @azazel-nyx // @simsrecs // @xoxobabydolls // @ravenstrueluv // @cicatraize // @captainshazamerica // @bad4amficideas // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @elenavampire21 // @jade-178 //

[womenloverlmao]

13 Days of Halloween - Day 2

Special Set - Emily Prentiss X Reader (SMUT.)

Warnings: daddy kink (guys Emily as daddy is a thing I PROMISE), penetration, nipple play, reader is a stripper? Cursing, EMILY WITH A STRAP-ON.

You and Emily had met through a case, and as unprofessional as it was, she fell in love with a target of a serial killer. Of course, now, that unsub had been long out of your lives. You were safe and happy with your wife. Even so, you never quit your job; you would say it was your passion.

Spooky season rolled around, and it was your favorite of all holidays that was coming up quickly. Although you didn’t do much for events, you had enough fun with wearing just a few costumes.

You were one of the best, everyone loved you, and you were never late…well, actually, that was about to change. You were in a black, more halloween-themed set. It wasn’t necessarily comfortable, but it was cute enough. It was a bat kind of thing…which you didn’t understand how it would be, but at least you looked good.

Emily came in as you were adjusting yourself in the mirror. “Hi, baby,” you said mindlessly.

She turned and looked at you in response, her eyes kind of widening. She had seen you like this more times than she could count but every single time she couldn’t help but be astounded. She was married to you, even though to you it felt like the other way around. “Wow,” she says. “You look…amazing.”

“You think?” You asked with a smile. “I think it makes my boobs look great.”

“It…certainly does,” but she was focusing too much on everything else to look too into that. “What time do you have to go in?”

“About five minutes, why?” You respond.

“Because you’re about to be late, baby.”

“Oh yeah?” You ask. She nods, gripping your hip with one hand while the other moves the hair away from your neck to kiss it gently. You let out a quiet moan, with a whined curse.

“I’m already making you feel that good, hmm?” She smiles against you, her teeth grazing your neck.

“Em, baby…I gotta go,” You tell her, but her other hand grips your waist. She turns you around, and you know that you couldn’t say no if you wanted to.

“Come on, if you really don’t want to say it right now. If not, I’m getting the strap out of the closet and you’re gonna sit your ass on my dick, got it, pretty girl?”

There were no further complaints from you. She took her clothes off, and you helped put the strap-on on her. She was still in her bra and panty set as she sat down, letting you come over and sit on her lap. It wasn’t in you yet, but that would change pretty soon.

She cupped your tits over your bra as she kissed you, and you couldn’t help but whine into it. Even though it was through the material, it still felt amazing in a slightly painful way as she twisted and pinched your nipples through it. She got one last look at you before she unhooked your bra, and you threw it somewhere in the abyss. Emily continued to play with them, until you were begging her to let you ride her.

“Please, daddy, come on,” you whimpered. “I need you, so badly. I can’t handle it, I need you.”

“Yeah? You need me, pretty girl?” She smiled, pressing a kiss to your jawline. You hummed a desperate yes. “Panties off, baby.”

You rushed to get them off before straddling her, sinking down on her strap. She was fully convinced that it didn’t matter that she couldn’t ‘feel’ it, all that mattered was you. She watched your face contort with the stretch, giving you as much time as you needed while gently rubbing your clit.

You started to slowly move your hips against hers, sliding up and down as you let out whines and moans. It was all well and good, but she flipped you over anyways. She positioned it at your entrance again, sliding in as you wrapped your legs around her waist.

She fucked you well, you could have called it making love with the words she was saying to you. Telling you how perfect you were, how much she loved you, and how many times she was gonna make you cum. Her hips moved against yours slowly, but definitely surely. You could feel it hitting all your places just right. “Fuck, Emily- right there-“

“Yeah? You like that, baby? Bring your hand down and rub that clit for me,” she tells you, and you don’t hesitate to listen. “Just like that, good girl. That feel good?”

“Mhm, daddy… fuck, it feels so good…”

She pressed her lips to yours, your lips moving carelessly against each other. She made you cum, over and over again. She didn’t even care about getting herself off, seeing you like that was enough for her.

When you were done, she cleaned you off and did whatever else she knew you would like. After that, you watched your favorite Halloween movie together and Sergio crawled onto your lap to cuddle.

Safe to say, you were pretty excited for what would happen when Christmas rolled around…

[starlight-library]

Birthday races | CL16 & AL14

pairing: Charles Leclerc & Arthur Leclerc & reader

summary: your best friends are both in October with one day apart. Usually, you're on top of the best combined birthday ever and somehow the one year you rarely plan happens to be the best one yet.

warning: platonic fluff!! lil platonic trio!!

fc: none!

a/n: in honor of my favorite leclerc duos & being charles birthday twin (yes, my birthday is october 16th!) please enjoy this belated/early birthday blurb!

wc: 1.3K

October is your favorite month. You have a giant list of reasons why October just so happens to be the superior month: the weather, flannels, spooky season, pumpkin carvings, and libra season. There was just so much to do but your absolute favorite thing about October is your best friend's birthdays.

It was even better considering their birthdays were only a day apart. October 14th and October 16th so you had just planned a fun filled day with activities they would boy enjoy on October 15th and spent the day celebrating your two closest friends. You really went all out since the activities started typically at midnight on October 15th. Typically from then to noon, you three celebrated Arthur and then from noon to midnight it was Charles, always ending at midnight with you and Arthur singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Charles. It was simple and routine and almost like second nature.

“We leave on my birthday for Austin.”

You stare at Charles and Arthur like they grew three heads each. This is the first time in years that you had to cut your celebrations short due to scheduling and you’ve fully planned things around their races to make sure this happened but this was different. You were so busy with things going on in your life that their birthdays have completely slipped from your mind and now have nothing planned and only…24 hours to figure something out.

“That’s fine!” You beam a smile so they didn’t pick up on the panic coursing through you, “I’ll just adjust my plans.”

“Are you sure?” Arthur asks, “I know you spend forever planning these things…”

“And really they are wonderful and if I could I would fly out first thing Thursday morning but with media day—” Charles asks.

“Guys. Guys. Guys!” You finally say over Arthur and Charles talking about maybe somehow leaving earlier, “It’s fine! Really. You have work and you want to support Charles. When have I ever been upset about this before?” You giggle softly while leaning forward slightly, “I’ve planned around your schedules before, I can do it again! Besides, I’ve been dying for a challenge lately!” You clasp your hands together, “ this will be great!”

This was not great. You had spent Arthur’s birthday running around town trying to plan something. Anything. It seemed the universe heard you and really amped it up because there is nothing to do in Monaco. Everything has magically been booked up and you are about to pull all your hair out because you’re certain that this is going to be the worst birthday you’re going to throw for them before an idea clicks.

Why bother going out and running the town when you guys can just stay in and be lazy? It’s perfect! Charles and Arthur can nap and last minute pack before their flight while still celebrating both their birthdays. You take a second trip around town and collect everything that you need, including last minute birthday presents (not your proudest moments this year but hey, you do what you got to do) and a huge surprise, and then get home roughly close to 8pm and only have 4 hours to get things together.

You decorate your living room and giggle happily seeing your hard work. You somehow found Ferrari and racing themed decorations (balloons included) and had happily turned your living room into a mini race track to mirror Monaco. It was…a valiant effort on your party as you tilted your head at the rather wonky layout. Table at the start for drinks, each section existing with something else. Mostly mini party things: sunglasses, shot glasses, balloons (that didn’t make the cut so were now sacrifices to being victims to Charles and Arthur trying to see how could have the higher voice off of helium), cupcakes (which currently had a placeholder), and a few other things. You set a table up for the food which would be the pit lane.

It was all coming together.

You spent the last two and a half hours between baking the desserts and cooking the appetizers. While that’s happening, you also start getting the drinks ready. You were so in the zone that you didn’t realize how much time had gone but you managed to get it done. You step back to admire your hard work after setting the stations up and your huge surprise before there’s a knock on your door.

“Coming!”

Ushering to the front door you glance at your ring camera panel seeing Arthur and Charles standing outside talking to each other. You open your door just enough to stick your head out and smile brightly. “Boys!”

“Y/N!” They say in unison.

“Okay, the two of you close your eyes,” you instruct and watch them before opening the door. By some miracle, you manage to guide the two of them in without them tripping over one another as you lead them to the ‘start of the track’. “Almost there.” You have Charles shuffle into pole position, given he was older, and then place Arthur in p2. You step back and quickly take your phone out to snap a photo before smiling. “Open your eyes!”

You watch them open their eyes and look around. Charles’ eyes widen while Arthur whispers a soft ‘wow’. The two of them break out into wide smiles (almost identical, thank god they looked different). “Tadaaaa,” you say while giving them some jazz hands, “I made a…rough layout of the Monaco track.” Turning, “the snacks are at the pit lane, drinks are at the start and you have to take a shot before you start racing and then each corner has a little surprise. Cupcakes, candy, birthday presents,” you list off before turning to them, “also if you look behind you—”

Charles turns and gasps loudly, “Y/N!” Arthur turns and covers his mouth before laughing loudly.

The huge surprise happens to be three electric ride-on cars. Charles was a black Ferrari with red accents, Arthur’s was the reverse of that, and you had picked a white Jeep, “They’re remote control and derivable on its own. I also replaced the batteries with drill batteries so without further ado,” you go to your laptop and play the iconic countdown to start a race. Rushing over, Charles had managed to pour shots without making a huge mess.

“Lights out and away we go!” Croft’s voice rings from your laptop. The three of you immediately take your shots. You manage to get in your jeep first and turn it on before taking off, forgetting that the drill battery is much more powerful and you almost take yourself out. You laugh loudly as Charles curses, struggling to turn his car on while Arthur screams when he starts driving and Charles is shouting at Arthur to be careful.

The three of you race till the wee hours of the morning. Mostly because you had to pause to recharge the drill batteries but also Charles had spilled two drinks, Arthur got frosting in his face after grabbing a cupcake and accidentally pressing the gas and you were playing host and driver. You ended up winning the race by 2 seconds. After, the three of you settled down as the boys opened their boo baskets (that you were calling ‘boo birthday baskets’) and all the gifts you had picked. The boys loved them.

Three of you ordered a huge breakfast and just chatted. You bring the cake out about three hours before Charles and Arthur have to leave to pack and you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to both Arthur and Charles and watch them blow out their candles (having given them candles on opposite sides of the cake) and settle down on the couch, all cuddled up together, watching some trashy reality tv to end the birthday celebration which the three of you had decided would be the go to birthday celebration from now.

[cosmicpearlz]

halloween is cool

summary: jude hadn’t really thought twice about spooky season or halloween.. well until you came along.

pairing: jude bellingham x reader

a/n: slightly projecting on this one because halloween/spooky szn is possibly my favorite holiday

october. the month of everything spooky and filled with autumn like colors. it's possibly your favorite month to ever exist. loving the pumpkins, the slight chill that graced the air, and the halloween decor. let's not forget that it happens to be sweater weather too.

"baby! baby! baby!" your cheery voice rang through the house. jude could almost picture the smile that resided on your face. a smile itching its way onto his, as your footsteps became closer.

"yes m'love?" you sit next to him on the couch with a bounce, beaming from ear to ear.

"it's october."

"the first of the month to be exact."

"well, aren't you excited?"

"for what?" you gasp dramatically at his question and stare at him with wide eyes. jude finds it harder to contain the smile that wanted to come out and rest on his face.

"it's spooky season."

"i know baby."

"we should be celebrating. why aren't you happy about the best time of the year?" your eyebrows furrowed and jude's heart couldn't take how cute you looked. he loved seeing you so passion and happy about something.

"never really thought twice about it," he says, while shrugging his shoulders. a moment of silence passes by the two of you. then it hit you. a grin replaces the smile that rested on your face just a few minutes ago.

"can we decorate the house?"

"whatever you want baby. we can go shopping for some stuff tomorrow after training." you excitedly squealed and jumped into his arms. the boy barely having time to catch you but still wrapping his arms around you tightly. laughter fills the living room as you pressed kisses all over his face.

-

over the next couple of days, you were determined to turn the house into halloween theme for the season. from pumpkins that sat in front of the door to the skeletons that hung in the living room and kitchen. little touches of orange and black and the fake spiderwebs filled the house as well. the decorations weren't over the top, but it made the house fit more in tune with october.

"we should plan a halloween party or have matching costumes! or maybe both." you wrap your arms around his was it. hugging him from the back.

"what happened to good morning? how was your sleep babe?"

"oops, sorry. good morning my love, how was your sleep?" you lean on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. jude chuckles quietly to himself, you feel the vibrations of his laughter being that you were still pressed up against his back.

"it was alright, i couldn't sleep much. so, i started cleaning the house a bit. how'd you sleep darling?" he turns around to face you. his hands now resting on your hips. fingertips lightly brushing the bare skin that peeked out from your sleep shirt. your arms find their place around his neck and give him a smile.

"wow, i can't believe you actually cleaned the house. they get so old," you say with fake sniffles to tease him. jude playfully rolls his eyes and pulls you closer to him. "i slept well though. i will say, i did miss seeing your pretty face in bed when i woke up."

"you flirt."

"only for you bellingham," you winked and press a kiss to his lips.

"we can go right back to bed if you keep acting like this," he bites his lip, gazing into your eyes. you shake your head and laugh.

"you freak."

"only for you darling."

"you didn't give me an answer to my suggestions."

"baby, wasn't decorating the house enough?"

"no."

"seriously?"

"seriously jude." he stares you down as if waiting for you to suddenly change your mind. "oh c'mon, work with me here!" you whined and pouted your bottom lip. jude groans and closes his eyes.

"i hate when you give me puppy dog eyes with that adorable pout of yours. i can never say no to you! you're cheating."

"it's not cheating love. it's called knowing how to get your boyfriend to say yes to your amazingly cool ideas." you took it a step further and batted your eyelashes. jude smile grows watching you attempt anything to get your way. you both knew that it was gonna work anyway.

"how about we compromise?"

"what are we compromising?" you lift an eyebrow in question.

"ditch the halloween party but we can do the matching-"

"deal."

"you didn't even let me finish." you both burst into laughter.

"all i heard was a yes, so consider me happy."

"i'm glad you're happy baby. all i ever want to do is make you happy. even if it means catering to your weird obsession with halloween."

"heyyy! it's not weird. halloween is cool baby. get with the program."

"yeah yeah, whatever you say m'love."

jude pulls you even closer to him. fronts pressing against each other. leaning down, he connects his lips to yours in a passionate kiss. preferring to take his time with the kiss rather than rushing it. it was slow and full of love. making your heartbeat just a bit faster than it normally does. the only thing that runs through the boy's head is how much he loved you and getting to spend mornings like this with you was the best feeling. little did he know, you were thinking the exact same.

[kates-dump]

My experience with Analog Horror/ARGs and why you should check them out

Marble Hornets: the classic, and a big favorite of mine for obvious reasons. I cannot stress enough how good and spooky that series is, and the ToTheArk videos gave me nightmares, love it! <3

If you're into Slenderman stories, you should definitely check it out. The acting is very well done and the story is awesome overall :)

The Sun Vanished: the ARG that started my interest for ARGs, and especially enigmas/internet puzzles. Unfortunately I was not smart enough to figure the stuff out by myself, so I just watched explanations on it. Highly recommended if you like post-apocalyptic settings and subtle horror.

The Mandela Catalogue: possibly the series that brought back my interest for these things. I have only watched the first two seasons of it, as I sadly lost interest after a while, but from what I have watched, I would recommend it to those of you who like horror with religious themes (which is a big thing for me) and most importantly, trust issues. Do keep in mind this series deals with more serious and dark topics, though you have probably heard it already.

Local58: the analog horror of all analog horrors, Local58 barged in before TMC took the spotlight. There is so much going on and all of it is very interesting and scary. America's pride leads to its doom, the moon can control electronic devices, and weird creatures spread through the world. If you like stories that leave you not understanding what the hell just happened but loving it anyway, you will love Local58.

Rocket Archives: A single-video series that has unfortunately been taken down for reasons I am not certain of. But if you're curious what it was about, the video presented a reality where us humans were forced to leave Earth with how hot it was getting, and moved to contained bubbles in space. Suddenly, uh oh! The sun's getting closer! Outer Wilds moment! Everything is melting! Humans are gone and the sun is... alive???

Analog Archives: made by the creator of Rocket Archives, has also been taken down but can still be found re-uploaded. The series is slightly similar to Local58, as in it also focuses on broadcast hijacking used for ending off humans. The series also includes a few religious topics that can get very dark. I love it. "Nature Show" makes me tear up with fear every time.

Gemini Home Entertainment: ALL-TIME FAVORITE MOMENT!!! I don't think I need to explain why I love this one so much. GHE leaves a lot to your imagination/speculation, while also twisting your head directly into the direction of the threat and forcing you to look at it while you squirm in fear. GHE is subtle in the most obvious way, obvious in the most subtle way, and most importantly, IT'S COSMIC HORROR, BABY!!! THERE IS A PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM THAT GOT HERE UNINVITED AND NOW IT WANTS TO EAT US!!! UGHHHH I can't put in words why I think it's so good, it just is. Watch it. The Gardeners are cute, I swear. There's even a plush of them.

Monument Mythos: something something alternate realities, something something time loops. I have not watched all of it, barely even half, but I deemed it a little bit too confusing for my brain. BUT! If you're into things that boogle your mind, you might really like this series! I mean, world monuments are alive, what could be scarier?

Vita Carnis: EW. (affectionate)

But, seriously, if you like gross, you are certainly going to like this series. It's meat, and it's alive. Although, I did stop watching it because it got a tad too graphic and violent for my taste, but if that doesn't bother you, then I recommend it a lot! The editing is soooo good, and some of the creatures are very likable and cute ^v^ (the others are gross and I do not want them near me I do not WANT FUCK OFF)

Don't Look at the Moon: Minecraft spooky. Do I need to say more?

[a-supernatural-writer]

Rusted Orange Leaves

Poly Lost Boys x gender neutral reader

It's been awhile! I am so sorry for being gone so long. Ever since graduating life has been sort of a roller coaster. Working full time along with trying to figure out student loans has been tough.

I wanted to start writing again and get back into The Lost Boys with a bit of a self indulgent fic. For context I recently lost my Nana (grandmother) a couple weeks ago and its been tough to say the very least. She was not only my grandmother but she was another mother to me and in this fic there is a lot of things that are actual things that my Nana and I would do together. Not only that but this is also a fic for anyone who might've lost there own grandmother or even a grandparent in general who you had a very close connection with.

Happy fall to all of you and I am very excited to write for one of my favorite seasons of the year. Get ready for some spooky, Halloween fun and in general fall themed fluff.

Word Count: 1,840

The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon filled David’s noise as he walked into a place that he called a second home. Music that he remembered coming out during the time of the 1910’s and 20’s played at a reasonable volume. Being loud enough for anyone to enjoy but just low enough that people could talk comfortably to each other without raising their voice. 

He smiled softly as he walked deeper into the house and caught sight of you doing your thing around the kitchen. 

You were making your grandmother’s infamous great pumpkin cookies that she made every year around the fall holidays. You smiled a little though that smile didn’t quite reach your eyes as you mixed in the chocolate morsels that went in the cookies. 

But now these cookies were to be made by you and other members of your family since your grandmother unfortunately passed away not even a month ago in September, just before the leaves started to turn. 

A part of you was sentimental; making her baked goods and other recipes she taught you ever since you were little. You and your mother were really the only two who she taught her recipes to, leaving it to the both of you to teach the rest of the family. 

You had her cookies on your list along with her pumpkin and apple pie and the traditional fall soups she made from scratch. You also had some of your own recipes you’ve been wanting to make. 

With it being the beginning of October, the leaves turning their beautiful vibrant colors, you turned on the music that your grandparents played and had been going at it in the kitchen since the early hours of the morning. 

You were so engrossed in your activity that you didn’t notice your boyfriend David walk into your home. You had given him a key a while ago, turning your home into his home as well… along with your other three boyfriends; Dwayne, Marko and Paul. 

David had gotten there before any of the boys could. He knew that you were dealing with your grief in your own way. You had been having your days where certain sounds, images and even scents sent you into a crying mess. Hell, even before your grandmother passed away, you got so upset because a candle you bought smelt like her. 

You wanted to bask in her scent forever. Her smell gave you comfort and it scared you that you could never live in it again so you haven’t even lit it since her passing. Afraid to lose it and never smell it again. 

David knew that your grandparents weren’t just that, they were another set of parents; a mother and father to you. David knew how much your grandmother loved you. He and the boys got to spend some time with her and she talked about you so much and always wanted to make sure that you were taken care of. You were her first grandchild and she loved you like you were her own. 

Your grandmother even had them tear up, making them promise her that they would love you and make sure that you would always be happy and live your life. And they promised that. 

You eyed the amount of batter in your mixing bowl, finally noticing David when he walked into the kitchen, “Hey.” You said quietly, not fully trusting your feelings in that moment. You wanted to cry, but at the same time, you were feeling the most comfortable since her passing. 

David smiled, wrapping an arm around your waist and placing a soft kiss on your temple, “Hey. I can see you’ve been busy.” 

You nodded, leaning into him, “I made some apple turnovers for the first time. I think they came out really good. I have another batch in the oven and pumpkin soup is simmering on the stove… think it’s too much?” 

David shook his head, “Nope. I think it’s perfect. Do you need any help?” David didn’t think it was too much. If anything with how much the four of them loved your food, it could never be enough. And who was he to stop you from cooking and baking, this was your way of coping, he didn’t want to stop you from healing. 

You felt warm and fuzzy when he offered to help. Cooking with David was always wonderful. It surprised you just how much he enjoyed doing the activity with you. It warmed your heart even more at the idea that you were gonna teach him your grandmother’s recipes. 

“Yeah, I can teach you her pumpkin pie and I wanted to make her chicken pot pie to go with the soup.” You could help but get excited as you explained what you wanted to make. 

David just smiled, taking off his coat and gloves, grabbing a basic brown waist apron that was hanging on a hook in your kitchen, matching your own. You got one for him after he complained a little by getting flour and food particles on his pants one night. 

He tied it around his waist and grabbed the kitchenware he needed and the ingredients that he needed. He followed your instructions as you did your own thing, chopping whatever vegetables and poultry needed for the chicken pot pie. 

Of course, during the longest part of cooking, prep work, did the others file into your home. 

Paul came in smiling at the scene before him. He never in his life thought he would see David doing such a domestic thing in his life, but then again, he didn’t think that for himself either. “Do we have to kiss the cooks?” Paul teased before giving you a kiss on the lips, tasting pumpkin and chocolate on your tongue as he gave you a stomach fluttering deep kiss that held nothing but love with no lust behind it. Just pure love. 

David rolled his eyes when Paul gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek to tease the bleach blonde. “Smells great in here.” 

Paul honestly loved it when the home smelled like this. Your home for him was a place of comfort. A place for him to unwind and just relax. That’s what made you very similar to your grandmother. Both of you made your homes feel like a home. 

He always thought your grandmother was the definition of a grandmother. A woman with a heart of gold and a pure soul. Always making sure everyone was taken care of. The day she passed was a sad one. 

He was frozen in fear the moment the news settled in for you. He had never seen someone feel so much pain that wasn’t physical. He’d seen you sob your heart out before. But seeing your face turn into anguish and cry out so loudly and so heart broken, truly shook him to his core. 

Since then he’s been treating you much more softly. It wasn’t per your request, but something in him changed and he wanted to show you just how much he cherished you. It’s not like he didn’t already, he just had a much more lustful and hornier way of going about it. 

Marko was next to walk in, carrying a small brown bag in his hand and smiled once he saw you spreading out the cookie batter on the pan, “Are those the pumpkin cookies you were talking about?” 

Marko softly grabbed your chin and placed a short kiss on each of your cheeks before placing one on your lips. 

You giggled as Marko gently nipped at your lip, “Yes. I’m gonna bake them once the rest of the apple turnovers are done… what did you get?” 

Marko smiled as he carefully pulled out two tea cups with saucers attached to them. One design to be like fall colored leaves and the other in the shape of a pumpkin with leaves. You cooed at the teacups, wanting to hold them but didn’t want to dirty them with the batter on your hands. 

“Oh, Marko. They’re so cute.” You cooed softly. Marko felt his chest swell with pride as he got you a gift that made your eyes sparkle. And he knew that tone in your voice. You only talk that way when you truly love something. 

“I’ll go put them with the rest of your collection.” He took the teacups and placed them in a wooden cupboard with glass that you used as a display case for your teacups that you pulled out in rotation to use. You had an addition to mugs and teacups and you had an ever growing collection that weren’t just sitting on a shelf but were used for different times throughout the year. 

Marko grinned to himself. He had been trying his best to make you smile recently. Little gifts and outings have been his way to do just that. Even though you’ve told him multiple times that he didn’t need to buy you any gifts, he wanted to. He loved seeing your eyes shine with happiness and he wanted to treat you. You’ve been going through your emotions and even your thoughts for the most part alone. 

You didn’t want to talk to your family much about how you were feeling, afraid of judgment on some weird level. You were afraid that your family wasn’t going to understand how you felt and the way you were going through your grieving process. 

After placing the teacups in the case, he took one of the apple turnovers you already made and took a bite of it, groaning at how good they were. “These are banging.” He comments. Paul joined in and grabbed one of his own, enjoying the freshly baked dessert. 

Dwayne was the last to walk in. Seeing you doing something that you love and glowing, his heart, if it could, would’ve fluttered. Without a word, Dwayne came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and leaned down placing a kiss on your forehead. “You’re not pushing yourself, are you?”

You shook your head, done with placing the batter on the pans, “No. I’ve been taking breaks here and there throughout the day.” 

Dwayne hummed, squeezing your waist a little, “Good.” 

He didn’t want you overworking yourself too much, even if it was doing something you loved. Sometimes, Dwayne would just make sure that you took time to rest and relax. He knew how hard the past couple weeks have been for you. If the nights of you crying in his arms didn’t tip him off, then you being extra clinging to them lately did. 

You moved to go wash your hands, Dwayne still having a grip on you and moving with you, not wanting to let go yet.

You chuckled, and after you dried off your hands, you reached up and tangled your fingers through his hair. Feeling the utmost content in this moment. 

Out of all the days that have gone by in the past couple weeks, for once you felt at ease.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Rsync corrump linkdump

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

As per the uje, I've arrived upon a Saturday with a backlog of links that I have not managed to squeeze into the week's newsletters/blogs, so it's time for another linkdump, 22nd in an erratic series. Here's the previous 21:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

Let's start with some seasonal material, and by "seasonal," I of course mean Hallowe'en. Yes, August is the official start of Spooky Season, and yes, I am a monster for insisting on this, but being a monster is the point of Spooky Season (which is what differentiates Spooky Season pushers like me from the creeps who insist that you need to start prepping for Xmas in late September – they're monsters, too, but Yule Monsters are bad) (with the exception of Krampus).

I was a monster kid and now I'm a monster adult. It all started when I was bitten by a radioactive Haunted Mansion at the age of six:

https://memex.craphound.com/2012/10/22/how-a-haunted-mansion-addict-fell-in-love-with-the-greatest-ride-on-earth/

I am a sucker for all things monstrous, and so I was intrigued when I got a book of "creepy-cute" stickers in the mail from a publicist at Simon & Schuster:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Creepy-Cute-Sticker-Book/Gaynor-Carradice/Creepy-Cute-Gift-Series/9781507222515

"Creepy-Cute" turns out to be an official designation, embraced by the illustrator GaynorCarradice, who has created several books on these lines, featuring her chibi/monster crossover creations, which do exactly what it says on the tin, by which I mean, there's some genuinely creepy stuff in the mix, along with the cute.

It's when the cute pastels rub up against the gore, skulls, eyeballs and other visceral viscera that these illustrations really kick off some heat – I've rounded up a few of my favorites here:

https://craphound.com/images/creepycute.jpg

One of the surefire signs that Spooky Season is upon us is that the (sometimes NSFW) Tumblr account Halloweenlandmotherfucker emerges from dormancy with a stream of images of vintage Hallowe'en cards (these were a thing!), photos of people in costume and other delightful visual novelties:

https://www.tumblr.com/halloweenlandmotherfucker

Monster culture isn't just for Hallowe'en, of course. The ancient and noble tradition of compiling and publishing bestiaries is alive and well, thanks to RPGs. In the beginning, there was the D&D Boxed Set, with its Monsters and Treasure booklet:

https://www.americanroads.us/DandD/ODnD_Monsters_and_Treasure.pdf

Then came the Monster Manual, the first hardcover D&D book, succeeded by the Fiend Folio, which featured Charlie Stross creations like the githzerai and slaad, Indeed, there was a whole, iconic library of hardcovers that fit perfectly in an oversized backpack that I dragged everywhere so that I could obsessively read and re-read them.

Eventually, these gave way to new hardcovers with new rules as well as new corporate owners (Wizards of the Coast, then Hasbro), culminating in the release of the Open Gaming License, an "open content" license that was a) grossly defective; b) largely irrelevant; and c) hugely controversial in 2023, when Hasbro terminated it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception

The Open Gaming License purported to license out game elements that weren't copyrightable (rules, tables, etc), as well as material that you could likely use under copyright exceptions like fair use:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/01/beware-gifts-dragons-how-dds-open-gaming-license-may-have-become-trap-creators

And worst of all, it was revocable, so games publishers who tooled up to publish supplements and sourcebooks based on the OGL could have the rug yanked out from under them at any time (that time turned out to be early 2023).

Hasbro's OGL rug-pull had three salutary effects:

I. It gave gamers a crash-course in what was – and wasn't – copyrightable in an RPG design;

It encouraged game developers to look beyond D&D's OGL rules and into truly open (and often superior) alternatives; and

It inflicted so much reputational harm on Hasbro that, 20 months later, they announced that they would release a new set of D&D rules under the Creative Commons Attribution Only 4.0 license:

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/news/dungeons-and-dragons-2024-srd-wont-be-another-ogl-fiasco

Now, CC BY 4.0 is a real-ass license. Notably, it corrects a defect in the earlier versions of the CC licenses that gave rise to a class of predatory copyleft trolls like the odious Pixsy:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/24/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator/

If Hasbro follows through on their promise, the new CC materials will kick off with the 2025 release of the next edition of the Monster Manual:

https://dungeonsanddragonsfan.com/new-2024-dnd-monster-manual/

It's wild to think that tabletop RPGs are now a cutting-edge way to learn about digital policy, but on the other hand, D&D arrived in my home around the same time as my Apple ][+, which was also around the time I first heard the name Ronald Reagan (rest in piss).

The legacies of the 80s – RPGs, digital technology and Reaganomics – cast a long shadow. Last month, many of us discovered the hard way that Reaganomics – specifically, the embrace of monopolies as "efficient" – has produced a world of unimaginable brittleness. Millions of people around the world found themselves cut off from ATM cash, flights, hospital care, and many other essentials thanks to the Crowdstrike Blue Screen of Death outage. While many of the explainers have focused on how Crowdstrike fatfingered a software update that crashed all those computers, there's been a lot less commentary about how it is that one company had it in its power to do so much harm.

Writing last week for EFF's Deeplinks blog, my colleague Rory Mir tackled that (far more important) issue:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/07/crowdstrike-antitrust-and-digital-monoculture

Market concentration – monopoly – is the common thread wound around so many of our daily horribles. Think of the tech billionaires who threw in their lot with Trump last month. How did they get to be billionaires? Monopoly power. Remember back in 2017, that notorious photo of the tech industry meeting at the top of Trump Tower, with Peter Thiel at Trump's left hand?

https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/14/donald-trump-meets-with-tech-leaders/

People were appalled that this group of corporate leaders, who between them controlled virtually all the technology in our lives, would debase themselves by paying fealty to this buffoonish would-be dictator.

But far more consequential was the fact that you could fit everyone who controlled all of our technology around a single table. Once everyone important to an industry can fit around a single table, it's only a matter of time until they find a table to sit around, and that's when it all starts to go wrong. As the Communist firebrand Adam Smith once wrote, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

Enshittification starts with market concentration. This is a subject I'm going to be going very deep on next Saturday, when I give my Defcon keynote, "Disenshittify or die! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification":

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=54861

When I give that talk – and afterwards at my book signing – I will be wearing an N95 mask, just as I did last year. Why am I wearing a mask? Two reasons: first, Long Covid is a horror. One of the best writers I know – a living legend – recently told me that their book-writing days are likely done because of Long Covid brain fog.

A new Lancet article gets deep into the science of Long Covid:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014067362401136X

The principle author of the Lancet article is Oxford health professor Trish Greenhalgh, who gave an excellent lay summary in her newsletter:

https://independentsage.substack.com/p/long-covid-a-dystopian-game-of-pinball

In particular, Greenhalgh describes why some people don't get Long Covid, and some people do – and, most important, explains why the fact that you didn't get Long Covid last time doesn't mean you won't get it next time:

https://independentsage.substack.com/p/long-covid-a-dystopian-game-of-pinball

So I don't want to get covid, and so I'm gonna wear a mask. Because masks fucking work. A new study reveals just how well they work:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00192-0/fulltext

The study shows that wearing any mask, even without knowing how to fit it well, offers substantial protection against both contracting and transmitting covid. Even better: wearing an N95 (even without paying attention to correct fit) offers "near perfect" protection against covid:

https://today.umd.edu/n95-masks-nearly-perfect-at-blocking-covid-umd-study-shows

I didn't get covid at Defcon last year, and I didn't get it at HOPE, and I didn't get it on our family vacation in July – all events where friends got sick. The difference? I wore a mask. Which works.

OK, I need to go work on my Defcon speech some more, so I'm gonna sign off, but I will leave you with just one more link, the wonderful new public domain image search tool, Public Work, which crawls and indexes the Met, the NYPL, and other sources:

https://public.work/

I rely on public domain, CC and other freely usable clip art to make the collages that accompany this newsletter/blog's stories. While I have very little talent in the visual arts, I'm getting steadily better. I mean, look at this amazing image I womped up for last week's story on Bitcoin bros' election campaign finance fraud:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/53893519593/in/album-72177720316719208

You can see a collection of my recent collages in my Flickr gallery for them:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/albums/72177720316719208?sd

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/03/smorgasbord/#creepy-cute

Image: Anne Lindblom (cropped) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kajsawarg/3600415175

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

helloooo have a messy scribble page of oc concepts. unfortunately, im in love and will now proceed to ramble At Length

but before that! rudimentary height chart!

all i know rn is Mairy - the cow - is about the same height as Howdy/Barnaby/Poppy (around 8ft), Hettie & Daisy are in the Wally/Julie/Sally category (around 3ft), and Jesterly is more Frank/Eddie (around 4ft). Derry Drake is fuckoff huge, and Casey is... idk really. tall but not That tall

so. rambles. i... have those, yeah

Mairy Love - she/her - lesbian a gorgeous white/blue cow! originally she was gonna be pink/white, but blue/white is my favorite color combo and honestly? it's dairy colors to me. she's big! she's strong! she's very gentle and sweet but also takes shit from no one, even though she doesn't like confrontation much (unless its playful roughhousing! jokes fly completely over her head! i'm thinking she tends to a lovely orchard of various fruit trees, and probably cultivates some crops for fun as well. maybe seasonal ones? pumpkins for the spooky season, fir trees for those snowy days, etc.

Casey J. Mittens - he/him - aro this orange fella is scaredy cat central! unfortunately for him, he's also curious to a fault! curiosity killed the cat, and he fears the day that rings true for him! he'd rather curl up at home or in a cozy tree, crocheting something cute from one of his many balls of yarn than do anything else. he tries to be a voice of reason, but is too easily convinced otherwise. he's that friend who says "we shouldn't be doing this" as he wholeheartedly assists in the shenanigan in question.

Hettie (currently undecided) - she/her - bi true to her honeybee heritage, Hettie is a florist! she boasts an impressive array of flowers that she tends to like her life depends on it. she's always running around to make sure they're all getting the best care - and she's always checking in on her pals to make sure they're taken care of, too. she's a busy bee who wouldn't know a day's rest if it stung her on the ass! It takes a lot to make her mad, but everybody better watch out when her wings start buzzing

Daisy Hop - she/him - pan i actually created Daisy as a supplementary character for a certain au, but realized i could find a place for her in this little group. i'm thinking he runs a little shop - a roadside stall, more like - where she can both sell her own homemade candy & his friends' stuff! she's the only one in the group that can keep up with Hettie's energy, and even surpass it at times. though unlike Hettie, Daisy knows how to take (and appreciate) a break!

Jesterly - whatever/is/funniest - Derry a menace. they love pranks above all else, oftentimes at the expense of others. he's always up to something and is never not scheming something! there's always Someone to bother! in all honesty she's more like an annoying stray cat that no one can get rid of... and they better not try, or they'll face the wrath of this fool's Very large partner! The jester's cap never comes off, and neither does the mask!

Derry Drake - they/them - Jesterly there's no sugarcoating it - Derry is a big lazy grump! it's almost impossible to get them out of their cave, or off of any place they decide to nap. the only thing that can reliably get them moving is the promise - or prospect - of food. it's a wonder how they've accumulated such a hoard of random things in the back of their cave, seeing as they rarely get up at all. they're incredibly nearsighted and bite first, ask questions later - after all, who knows if the colorful blob in front of them is food or not! better to be safe than hungry!

currently in my mind they have their own little community deep in the woods. Daisy lives in a modified burrow, Maisy has a cute farmhouse, Casey lives in a cozy treehouse, Hettie has a small cottage, and Derry & Jesterly live in a cave. within their community, they share practically everything. want a snack? pluck something from the orchard. need a new pair of mittens? ask Casey! i suppose you could say they're communists <3 (except for Daisy. she won't charge his friends, but anyone else is free game)

Mairy and Hettie have romantic tension, Daisy and Derry are the only ones who can tolerate Jes, Mairy wants Jes dead, Casey is terrified of Derry, Daisy's rapid-fire speech confuses everyone but Hettie, etc. i should make a chart for funsies...

[elixirfromthestars]

Inbox Trick or Treating .˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆

Here’s my little spin on inbox trick or treating with an added game of chance!! 🧡💜💚 I made two wheels of autumn/halloween fluff/smut scenarios to give as a treat for anyone that comes trick or treating to my inbox!! These scenarios will be catered to your favorite characters in lots of seasonal scenarios!! 🎃🧡

So what is it exactly? Instead of handing out candies on Halloween, I’ll be handing out a tiny one/two sentence scenario with your chosen character(s). These scenarios will be chosen by fate!! a.k.a. the spooky season wheels 🧡💜💚

Here’s how it works:

In my inbox, send me a character of your choosing (can be any marvel character, any fictional sebastian stan character or any fictional chris evans character). This is to keep it on theme with my blog. 🧡💜💚 Since I don’t know how many trick or treaters I’ll get in my inbox, please only come trick or treating once or twice and keep it to one or two characters thanks!! 💜

However, if we’re mutuals you get to trick or treat in my inbox as many times as you’d like and with as many characters as you want, that’s my treat to you!! 🤭🧡🧡

In the ask, let me know if you’d like a sweet treat (fluff spin), a naughty treat (smut spin), or both!! [any nsfw scenario spins have to be off anon, so I can make sure you’re 18+, thank you!!] If they’re on anon they will be ignored (if it accompanies a fluff spin) or deleted!! These scenarios range from platonic to romantic to somewhat smutty to downright smutty 👻💚

-> Here are my warnings for the naughty scenarios, so you know what could possibly appear: smut / adult themes / temperature play / ghostface mask (ifkyk) / love bites / handcuffs / sex (regular + oral) other types: public, car, phone, & mirror / candy aphrodisiacs

If any of the above are not your cup of tea then please refrain from asking for a naughty treat in case you get something you are not comfortable with!! Or if only one or two things up here aren't your thing let me know in the ask and I'll redo the spin if it lands on one of those!! Keep in mind the scenarios are only a sentence or two long, so nothing is in super crazy detail. All scenarios are gender neutral so it can cater to any character and any trick or treater 🎃

Here is an example ask (don’t worry about sending it exactly like how I've written it, just make sure the character(s) and type(s) of treat are in there):

trick or treat! bucky barnes and a sweet treat!

^ These are just the basics that are needed, you can always say more in the ask if you’d like!! 🧡 (especially if you ask on anon and you’d want to put something to indicate the ask is yours)

On Halloween, I’ll start handing out the treats for all my trick or treaters!! 🍬💜 I’ll spin the wheel(s) written with autumn/halloween scenarios I’ve conjured up, and I’ll let you know what it or they landed on. That scenario will be your treat!!

For example, based on my above ask, here's one scenario you could receive:

Bucky Barnes had a date night painting pumpkins with you.

^ I’ll be attaching a screenshot of your wheel spin(s) along with the scenario filled with the character(s) of your choosing!! 💚

So come trick or treating to my inbox and see what the wheels choose for you on Halloween!! 🎃🧡

You can start sending them in as of now, but they will all be answered on Halloween!! ⋆｡‧˚ʚ🍬ɞ˚‧｡⋆

My inbox is also open for any questions!! Those of course will be answered before Halloween ✨

pumpkin divider 🎃🧡✨ // my inbox 🧡💜💚

Tagging all my lovely mutuals in case they’d like to stop by and trick or treat 🎃🧡 You absolutely don’t have to, this is just for fun 🧡💜💚:

@flowersforbucky @buck-star @whatever-lmaoo @humanwip @elvenrin @nickfowlerrr @nicoline1998enilocin @thevillainswhore @navybrat817 @bucksfucks @neverthatsirius-jo @marvelstoriesepic @pocolottie @sweetiebarnes @mostly-marvel-musings @malum-forev @billyseye @rosepetalsinwinter @missraion @skittle479 @nekoannie-chan @cevansbaby-dove @mercurial-chuckles @stellar-solar-flare @vintagebuckybarnes

(^I included mutuals from both this blog and my main blog @saturnsflowers !!)

Happy Halloween everyone!! 👻🧡💜💚

[snek-eyes]

Good Omens fic recs

Hello all! Wanted to share a few of my longtime faves. These are all pre-s2, might do another with my post-s2 recs? Narrowed it down to 10, since that's the max links tumbl lets you have in a post.

Any Way You Want It

Author: Justkeeptrekkin Words: 27,500 Chapters: 5/5 Rating: Mature Mood: Vacation, soft but introspective After finally getting heaven and hell off their backs (at a cost) Crowley and Aziraphale go on holiday to a cottage in Scotland. Fluffy with fun snappy dialogue, the two really feel like best friends here! Aziraphale struggles with his tendency to go slower than even he wants.

Instructions Not Included

Author: Atalan Words: 68,000 Chapters: 13/13 Rating: Teen Mood: Detective / Gen (There are feelings but it earns that slowburn tag) My "if season 2 isn't good, this is my season 2" fic. Now, I liked season 2, but this is still SO good. After the notpocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley start a detective agency investigating supernatural happenings together. New characters include Raphael (who totally missed the apocalypse haha whoops), and a big spooky dog (whomst I adore). Note that while this fic stands just fine on its own, there is an unfinished sequel that imo doesn't leave off anywhere stressful.

When in Rome

Author: Kedreeva Words: 4,000 Rating: General Mood: The liminal space of nighttime conversations What happens after Aziraphale invites Crowley to oysters: Wings and reading. Tentative and innocent in those early days.

the deft, sweet gesture of your hand

Author: deadgreeks Words: 12,000 Rating: Explicit Mood: Hurt/Comfort, introspection A few years after the failed apocalypse Crowley shows up badly injured at the bookshop. Aziraphale has to help heal Crowley and save them both, and still finds the time to knit his feelings.

Chemistry

Author: Twilightcitysky Words: 122,000 Chapters: 19/19 Rating: Explicit Mood: Y'ever want a side of learning something with your romcom? After realizing they might need their own corporations to heal themselves now that they're not working for heaven and hell, Aziraphale and Crowley turn on all their bodily functions. All of them. What could be a silly premise is played out very satisfyingly, the actual biology of hormones at play here is fascinating. (this is not really at all related but: has anyone else read Peeps by Scott Westerfeld? Because the format reminded me of this in that it did a similar thing of playing straight the concept of "what could cause vampires to be real" that drew on inspiration from real life parasites interspersed between the chapters. I dig it. Anyway!)

Reservations

Author: AnnetheCatDetective Words: 10,000 Chapters: 3/? (Technically unfinished, but leaves off in a satisfying spot) Rating: Not Rated Mood: Meta (Character study as story) “There's some competition for Aziraphale and Crowley's usual table at the Ritz…” A couple of miracles bend reality and, well… you ever been like, “The boys need therapy, but who could possibly give it to them?” I love crossovers where the TV boys meet other versions of themselves, this one is my favorite.

i can't say the words, so i wrote you into my verse

Author: mygalfriday (BrinneyFriday) Words: 5,000 Rating: Teen Mood: Snapshots through history "Crowley has tattoos and every few centuries, Aziraphale discovers a new one." Simple and paints a lovely picture.

By Definition

Author: idiopathicsmile Words: 3,000 Rating: Explicit Mood: Smutty but fond A night together after the Ritz fic where Aziraphale is asexual and Crowley isn’t and how that works for them. The dialogue here is positively delightful.

Bark Dust

Author: rfsmiley Words: 8,000 Rating: Mature (mostly for injuries) Mood: Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Historical Crowley is very badly injured in a battle, and Aziraphale has to figure out how to save his life.

Tell Me A Story

Author: brilliant_or_insane Words: 5,000 Rating: Teen Mood: Soft and warm Aziraphale likes telling stories and Crowley likes to listen. But when the demon is dissatisfied by sad endings and can't relate to the happy ones, Aziraphale decides to move them forward by telling a new story. (Of course, Crowley isn't entirely satisfied with the angel's perspective on that one either.)

[asexualbookbird]

SPOOKY SEASON IS UPON US!

I crafted a lot this month, but can't share it yet so there's not too much to report here. Been watching a lot of Dropout and having fun with that. My tv started smelling like burning plastic so I'm out a Large Screen for things. Days are getting shorter and I'm walking at night, but have to change that because it's not even the end of DST and I already miss the sun. Got halfway through Swordtember before dropping it for more exciting projects. Doodles a lot of clouds. I don't know! Days went by and here I am!

Network Effect by Martha Wells ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - A reread to prepare myself for System Collapse. Still an emotional banger. I am normal about our favorite SecUnit and Asshole Research Transport. So incredibly normal.

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sascha Lamb ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - YOU ARE THE FRIEND TO MY SOUL!!!! I want to reread this again and again, it's an absolute DELIGHT. The narrator was great and I'm glad I did the audiobook because hearing all the yiddish healed my soul in some way. Gay in every sense of the word.

The Hourglass Throne by KD Edwards ⭐⭐⭐⭐- My big hangup on this is the integration of COVID. You're telling me you found a magical cure for a disease that has killed and disabled millions and you're leaving it up to the non Atlanteans to figure things out on their own? Other than that, it was fun and emotional as I've come to expect from this series. Excited to learn it's not a trilogy and there are way more books planned to come.

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen ⭐⭐⭐ - Fun, but ultimately a disappointment coming off of Little Thieves. Way more focused on Vanja and Emeric's relationship, which is Fine, but took away from the things I liked about LT (heists! Mischief! Mayhem!) Not thrilled that everything came back to Vanja in the end, and something rubbed me wrong about how Big Happy Family they were immediately. Not to mention the guy everyone hates is RIGHT. Stop and think WHY this creature wants your blood! Don't give it freely! Will still read Holy Terrors because of course I am.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth ⭐⭐⭐ - I was lovingly bullied into reading this because Roth isn't my favorite author but it's been long enough since Allegiant that I gave it a chance anyway. I'd rather just replay The Witcher. Not to say All Polish Folklore Is The Same, but this was so. Empty feeling. Three stars for the monsters, but that's all from folklore. There's no original world building here. Also funny she still made it about Chicago. I'm not complaining, I really do think that's funny.

System Collapse by Martha Wells ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- THE SYSTEM SURE HAS COLLAPSED! I want to tell SecUnit I'm proud of it, but I can't because it's not ready to hear it. The one downside is I'm once again out of new Murderbot to read. Emotional, as always. Sarcastic, as it knows no other way to be.

October, my love. I had plans to do Drawtober, but I'm not really feelings it so I'll do other things. I have crafts to work on, and a stack of books to read. I'm coming to terms with the fact I will not be completing my 24 books in 2024 list, which is mine own fault for not really focusing on it until uh. Now. But Whatever! I'm vibing! Happy fall! Let's get spooky!

[thisismeracing]

Charles + Hometown + Fluff

Hometown | CL16

⸺ the one where you show around your hometown to your boyfriend. ✓ brief mention of food (ice cream).

⁕ one word, a thousand stories blurb night (closed) ⁕ my masterlist and my taglist

Yn wouldn’t ever imagine showing around her hometown to her future boyfriend, much less when her boyfriend was a world-famous driver.

But Charles was on cloud nine. He loved each story and the hidden spot she told him about. Each one built the person she is today. He loved how everyone seemed to know her around, and how small but cozy the place was. He missed this feeling of safety and unity.

“And this is my favorite sunset. It's not the prettiest, but it's my favorite. I used to sneak in here whenever I needed to think about something," She explained when they sat side by side on the hood of her family's car. The sun was saying its goodbye, giving them a show with the prettiest colors casting its shadows on their skins. The ice cream they got at her favorite shop was starting to melt with the breeze and the last rays of sunshine, but to Charles, everything was perfect. Exactly like it should be.

"This feels like the kind of place you come alone to think about life or share the secret spot with your first love," his voice was smooth, and he licked the dessert on his hands, Yn smiled at how young he looked, sitting in the hood of the car, watching the sunset while licking ice cream.

"Yes to both, except I'm only now sharing it with my first love."

Her confession made him smile, and the way he stared deep into her eyes, lacing their fingers together, spoke more than any words he could say using his voice. Charles too was in love. So in love. And there wasn't anywhere he rather be than watching the sunset in a small town with the love of his life.

― ⋆🪩 VOICEMAIL: Yayyy, this is the last piece from the blurb night!! I hope you guys liked it <3 make sure to let me know your thoughts and suggestions and sit tight for the two pieces coming soon (one w lew and the other w mick) annnnd the spooky season pieces!! hehe *mwah*

[nycbaby21]

going live

Cole Caufield Imagine

prompt: influencer reader doing a get ready with me live and Cole interrupting

word count: 717 short and sweet

“Uhm… that’s a good question username. I would say my favorite holiday would be Halloween. I love spooky season,” I say reading the comments flooding in while I apply a layer of foundation to my face. Every once in a while I glance up to the mirror in front of me. The background of the video is Cole’s bathroom, but no one watching knows that. We have been dating for a little over six months and we still hasn’t announced our relationship.

I smile reading the comments about how happy and glowing I look. I hear the little pitter patter of feet on the floor and find our sweet baby come into the room sitting at my feet. I bend down and love all over our dog, well Cole’s originally but now our baby. As I show my fur baby some love, my human baby leans against the door frame watching us. “Hi baby,” I smile sliding just our of frame to give him a kiss. He just smiles and whispers a small hey back.

As I get back into frame the comments are going so fast I can hardly read them. All of them saying around the same thing, oh my god the secret boyfriend, i wonder who he is, c’mon guys it’s obviously so-and-so, or as long as she is happy we should all be happy. “Thank you y/nismyworld. I am in fact very very happy,” I say looking over to Cole who has now moved to sitting on the lid of the toilet watching me continue to get ready. As I finish my routine I answer as many questions as I can and sing along to the music playing. 

The beginning chords of Enchanted start to play and my smile widens looking over at Cole. “Why am I smiling so much? Well I’ll tell you, so we actually had our first date at The Eras Tour. So during the song apparently while I was freaking out over Taylor, he was just looking at me with such adoration and the cutest older couple behind us recorded the whole thing. It has become like our song basically as cheesy and cliche as that may sound,” I say thinking back to the night of our first date. I thought Cole was insane for buying us tickets when he had just met me. 

As the song plays I can’t help but think how tiring it is hiding our relationship. “Can I have this dance,” Cole asks walking my way holding his hand out. I can’t help but laugh and him and reach out for his hand. I can only imagine how we must look, my hair still in rollers and makeup half done is a huge messy shirt and shorts and Cole in his sweat and compression shirt. “You trust me,” he says leaning down into my ear. I look up and smile nodding my head. “Of course,” I smile wondering what he was going on about. “I think it’s time,” he says glanicng behind us towards my phone. I follow his eyes and nod.

I step away from him and back into the frame and hold my hand out to him now. He laughs and places his larger hands in mine. I pull him forward and the two of us spin around and dance like absolute dorks. It felt like only the two of us existed . When the song ended we stopped and his back was towards the camera. I switched our positions and Cole was now standing behind me resting his head in the crook of my neck.

“Everyone I would like to officially introduce you to my loving boyfriend Mr. Cole Caufield. Number 22 on the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL,” I smile reading over all of the comments about people saying that they knew it or how he looked just as happy as I did. We even had a couple of hockey fans in the chat freaking out. “Okay now that that is all over and done with, I really do need to get ready for this red carpet,” I smile into the camera. I turn and look over at Cole and raise my eyebrows,” Now that everyone knows, wanna be my plus one?” He laughs and immediately says yes. 

[evankinkley]

Any recommendations on actual good gay rep on tv? i need it.

oof. i'm going to be fucking basic here, I fear. but I can share my favorites (again these will be basic af).

Heartstopper - no brainer. It's fucking painful at times, but it's doesn't play into stereotypes. It addresses the stereotypes and how they can be harmful. They cover most of the letters in the LGBTQIA+ line-up. There's a character who says "I'm bi, actually." six times (?) in one season because people keep calling him gay. Extra bonus: most actors are also part of the rainbow community.

Agatha All Along - Spooky season has just passed, but no time like the present to watch MCU's gayest project that is queer and feminist and embraces it completely. (does not have a happy ending for some of the gays, but still beautiful)

Black Sails - It's a show about gay pirates. They're gay and it's not the most interesting part about them. There's lesbians, gays, people just going with the vibes... Happy ending, yes and no.

Hannibal - It's a show about gay cannibals. They're obsessed with each other. The definition of "Can't live with them/ Can't live without them." Happy ending is debatable in the sense that it's ambigious.

Red, White and Royal Blue - oh, especially this week. Since it was a loss for the USA and now for bisexuals. Have a fun and painful movie about the First Son bisexual king Alexander Claremont-Diaz. Biracial, bisexual, complete idiot, and his mom is the democratic president of the united states. Happy ending assured.

Like I said, a pretty fucking basic list but these are my comfort shows and have incredible writing / representation and it's clear so much care went into making them. A lot of these shows have actively avoided harmful stereotypes in the show itself but also how the creators and actors have talked about these projects.

Honorable mention for Shadow and Bone, your potential was incredible but sadly it was not meant to be.

If you're looking for a new fandom that will hurt less and make you feel less betrayed, this is an ok start, i'd think. My inbox is always open to talk about it.

Don't get me started on other forms of gay media. One day I'll read my entire library.