#This is the most I've written in ages

[reikurusu]

OMG GURL GO LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB 😩 sheesh your work sounds a lot. and boss looking for you on a Sunday too?? 🚩🚩🚩

Aww Chromie, that's so sweet of you to send!! <3 T_T

The thing is, I actually really like my job! It's just been stressful lately.

We've had a colleague who's been out for 8 months because of burnout, so it was just me working full-time, a colleague who works part-time and a third colleague who works 4/5 but who's close to retirement so she... doesn't really do anything. Like, the bare minimum and even that's a lot to ask. Like, literally shopping online and booking trips the entire time she's there and it doesn't matter at all if anyone says something about it (and she's not the friendliest person around tbh) -_-

So because of that one colleague's absence, I technically had to work 6 out of 7 days to cover the opening hours of the library I work at (the almost-retiree covering most of the other hours, pretty much the only thing she's good for) + I had to cover the absent colleague's workload because my part-time colleague took on the head of dept tasks and didn't have time to take on even more because she works somewhere else as well. So it's been a lot. But luckily there were days I could leave early or take a day off (my overtime was just building up the entire time). So it sucked and it was tiring but all in all it wasn't too bad. I was alone at the office a lot of the time, so I could manage all of my work without distractions.

But since July, we have a new head librarian and he's... let's call it enthusiastic. In August, the colleague who was absent started again, but part-time for now. So we're almost fully staffed.

The thing is... Our head of dept wants to organize a lot of things. Because we were severely understaffed, we didn't organize any activities for almost a year, which he wants to change. So he organised author readings, wants new things in our collection, wants all classes of the elementary schools in the neighbourhood to be able to visit,... And he all wants it immediately.

He also started right when the part-time colleague had two weeks off, so I had to train him after only being there for like a year and half myself + having spent a large part of that time alone at the office. And I hate training people! So that wasn't fun. And during the times he is/was alone during opening hours and I'm not there (like during the weekend or something) and he has a question, I told him to call me so that I could help, but jfc dude you've been there for like 3 months already! Figure it out and don't call me on my only day off??

My one part-time colleague does a lot, but because she works part-time, she can only do so much. So our new librarian gives her extra work but realizes she can't do it all.

The almost-retiree doesn't get any extra work because she just doesn't care and wouldn't do it anyway (she's been there for 30 years!! She hates the job, literally calls people who read nerds(???), hardly does anything but apparently they can't fire her?? Fcking government jobs and their idiotic rules. I bet she's buddy buddy with the mayor).

And because the colleague who had burnout only works part-time and can't be given too much work because 'what if she can't handle it' or 'isn't healed enough to deal with a big workload', our head librarian has been giving me a lot of extra work because I'm the only other full-time person there.

I have my own work (adult non-fiction books), + still part of workload of the colleague who was absent for months (I have to order dvds, games and comics (+ maybe manga in the near future which is actually cool)) as well as covering shifts during opening hours and what not.

I like having a lot of work, so I always have something to do. But it sucks when someone constantly gives you extra stuff to do on top of your regular work, while not or hardly doing that to the other people there, and then has the audacity to send an e-mail telling you which things you have to prioritize, as well as the order in which to prioritize them. That's just insane to me?? Especially since I have my own to-do list and I know what I have to do and what's more important than other things. I just don't like someone looking over my shoulder like that.

I'm focused more the tasks he's been giving me than my own work! I have a delivery of books and comics that I have to put into the system that's been standing there for over a month because I just don't have the time to do it. I have to go through the old books and see which ones I should write off for our book sale in a month, but I just don't manage to get to it due to all the other stuff I have to do (and I have two weeks off in a week so I just can't do it).

On top of that, I also have to apply for my job! I'm working on a temporary contract right now and they want to keep me on a contract of indefinite duration, but because it's a government job, I have to apply for it and go through the whole process again!! And other people can apply for it as well, so there is a chance someone better comes out of it. So I have some low-key stress for that because I don't want to have to find a new job right now.

And I haven't even mentioned friends who constantly want to meet up and do things like I have nothing else to do on my days off

I hate being a people pleaser. I just can't say no or tell people that it's a lot because I feel like it's expected of me. Which really sucks. I should enter my villain era or something but I'm too much of a goody two shoes to do that aarrrhhhhh!!

Sorry this got so long... I feel like I needed to vent a bit xD Thank you so much for looking out for me, Chromie! It means a lot!! <3 x

[demaparbat-hp]

In "For the Spirits", will Zuko eventually tell Katara he met her mother?

Oh! I was hoping someone would ask me this!

You see, Zuko actually [REDACTED] that he [REDACTED], but that happens after [REDACTED] in Chapter [REDACTED]. Of course, [REDACTED] didn't expect [REDACTED] to [REDACTED], and I don't think [REDACTED] ever really [REDACTED].

That's one of my favorite scenes!

[vaguely-concerned]

every so often, varric will write a black fox story. not anything fancy or for publication or anything, just for fun and because he knows hawke has a soft spot for them. ("an intrepid hero getting into and out of all kinds of trouble and the merry band of misfits following inseparably in his wake? can't imagine why".) some of them are experimental, some of them are straightforward retellings; they're generally pretty short and quick to do, so he allows himself to play around with form and genre and language more than he does in his professional work. stretching over the span of almost twenty years as they do, they contain some of his favourite pieces of his own writing, and some of the most '...was I huffing lyrium fumes or drunk or both for this one, hawke? what the actual hell is this' pieces. hawke keeps every single one of them. varric speculates that this is either because they're just that sentimental, or possibly that it's for future blackmailing purposes. he usually has one ready for their birthday. they have so much blackmail material on him anyway by this point, he figures, what's one more piece of ammunition going to do one way or the other.

varric finishes one of these black fox tales a couple of nights before he brings rook with him to minrathous — the last one. it's about the very last black fox story, the one where the black fox and his friends all disappear together into the depths of arlathan forest, where those in the know say you can find them to this very day, if you know where to look, or if you ever find yourself in trouble and in need of a helping hand. they'll turn up to aid a traveller in need, and disappear back between the shaded trees again once the day is saved, squabbling all the way, seeking treasures and unlikely quests yet unfound and unimagined.

they say on some days, you can hear them as laughter and friendly bickering on the wind from a couple of clearings over. it's not the end, it's just other adventures, some other place. that's the thing about stories. they're funny that way.

(once he wrote a book for his mother on her deathbed and read it to her through the comfortless and drawn-out hours of the troubled nights, and he burned the book the day she died and never spoke of it again.)

after he finishes the manuscript, he sits with it for a long time in the quiet and the candlelight before he wraps it up properly and sends it off back home to kirkwall. he attaches a note -- a story, to the best of all my stories, the one I'd tell forever if I could. take care of each other while I'm gone. first one to arrive saves seats at the bar, right? happy birthday, and send all my lack of love to the merchant's guild, as always. —Varric

he sends that to hawke. just in case. and then he gets up and he goes to find rook — it's time to get going.

[emmavakarian-theirin]

spoilers for tevinter nights but wait wait WAIT

did lucanis really pull a blackwall lmao

[femalefemur]

Raw Meat

18+ minors do not interact!

warnings: cannibalism, raw meat, meat fucking, necrophilia (?), please let me know if i missed anything!

thinking about that slippery slimey feeling raw meat has and how simon would absolutely love it.

he's cutting up a leg of lamb and the slip of the meat makes him wonder what it would be like to stick his dick into it, if the slide would be just as good as a warm, wet hole.

he can't help it when he gets so hard he just pulls himself out and slides his aching cock right between two slices of meat like a makeshift fleshlight, fucking it until he's cumming so hard he can't think straight.

the next time he thinks about it is when he's sitting next to johnny on their way back from a mission, watching the sweat drip down his sergeant's neck, making his skin glisten and simon wonder if his flesh is just as supple underneath.

he can't stop himself from inviting johnny back to his place, corning him like a scared animal in his kitchen. cleaver in one hand and the other wrapped around his sergeant's throat, squeezing hard enough to turn the man's face red as he claws at simon's arms.

droplets of simon's blood hitting the linoleum before he swings and cleaves into johnny's leg, a strangled gurgle of a scream leaving the man's lips as simon squeezes his neck harder, the pain and lack of air making him pass out.

body limp as simon picks him up and places him in the bathtub before he's sawing into johnny's femur. watching as johnny's blood pours from his body and swirls down the drain, already hard from the smell of blood and the feeling of flesh under his hands.

doesn't even make it to the kitchen, tosses the decapitated leg out of the way before he's shoving his fingers into the wound on johnny's body where his leg used to be. the man's body limp and pale, pulse so weak it's barely noticeable.

simon feels around for a while, feeling the meat and sinew under his hands, the squelch as he pulls his fingers out before shoving them back in, tearing a hole for his cock.

groaning as he licks his fingers clean as he shoves his dick into the hole, the taste of johnny's blood better than anything he's ever had and the feeling of his flesh wrapped around his cock feeling like heaven.

he doesn't last long, the warmth of johnny's now dead body, the feeling of his blood lubricating each thrust and the texture of his flesh all too much, too perfect.

he fills the hole, watches his cum leak from it before he kisses johnny, tells him he'll be right back before dumping bags of ice on johnny's body and taking the leg into the kitchen.

he savours each bite, johnny's flesh tender and warm, the juices coating simon's tongue as he eats, straining against his pants as he devours his sergeant.

his voracious appetite only sated by the taste of johnny, the weight of him in his stomach, the feel of him around his cock. he licks his lips, scrapes off the last of his dinner into his mouth and heads back into the bathroom.

[dairine-bonnet]

On Dantooine, before Kotor 1:

Bastila *to Darth Revan, who's trapped in a force cage*: Behold a list of your sins! *holding out a datapad in front of Revan's eyes*

Darth Revan *speaking proudly, barely glanced at the list*: Actually, this looks like a list of my achievements!

[mllekurtz]

Neve/Rook || M || 1.8k || complete || no archive warnings apply

After the end, there’s a new beginning. A couple of affection-starved women with a penchant for deflection try to figure it out.

[marshmellowtea]

giving into my baser instincts and impulsively creating an au where noah is chris's ten year old, chubby cheeked adopted son who follows him around during total drama and helps him torture their teenage contestants (much to chris's pride and joy <3)

[immunetoneurotoxin]

ENTANGLEMENT | Part I, Chapter I

A Portal/Half Life Universe Fic from Chell's Perspective Rating: Explicit Overall Word Count: 10,730 Chapters: 1/20 Where to Read: AO3 | Google Drive | // ?UN?/KN@?#WN

SYNOPSIS

Location Unknown, Michigan, USA.  Aperture released her, set her free. That ought to have been the end of it. But cast out into a world rendered unrecognizable after a mass extinction level event, Chell is forced to fend for herself, navigating a war-torn world in the aftermath of the seven hour war that devastated the states in a bygone era.  Mere days into her newfound experience on the surface, Chell finds bizarre technology inside a Michigan radio tower, discovering that the same interdimensional forces that started the war were still around, scouring the area in search of technology from the facility she hoped to never see again — Aperture Science.  With no choice but to go back to the facility to deliver a dire warning, Chell tightropes on the cusp of two worlds, unaware of the consequences of pursuing the past and surviving an uncertain future alongside an unlikely ally.

It's finally here!! A former roleplay thread with @sarcasticgaypotato turned novel, this story follows the events of Half Life 2: Episode 2, and is an inspired continuation of the ending of Half Life: Alyx from the perspective of everyone's favorite Aperture-dwelling characters. Chell, whose mission is to protect Aperture technology from getting in the hands of the Combine, must also act as GLaDOS's protector and keep her safe. GLaDOS, on the other hand, has to figure out the complicated ways of the world from a new perspective - literally. This story is friendly to those who don't know Half-Life lore, and a treat for those who do! This story is a close-to-canon survival novel fic with ChellDOS as a major focus. Full of survival, interactive elements, complicated feelings, and a beautiful slow burn robot/human love story. <3

[disappearinginq]

Oxygen + Tracker?

One word over, but OH WELL. I was unwilling to compromise. :-D

“God, would you just leave it alone already?”

Colter twisted his face away from the prying hands, rubbing his cheek against the none too soft pillow to scratch the itch against his cheek.

“The oxygen is there for a reason, Colt, not for funsies.”

But it itched where the plastic lay against his cheeks and looped over his ears, tickled where it touched his neck and it was driving him insane.

“Dude, leave it. Or they’re gonna find a way to make you.”

Russell’s threat wasn’t harsh, but it brought a violent memory to the forefront with such force, Colter flinched.

[floridazcrazy]

Yall I'm thinking...

Oliver Bearman realizing hes falling for his rookie, wonderkid teammate; who happens to be 17 yo girl! Kimi. If they do get together Ollie realizes they're on borrowed time together until they both reach f1 (not if), where the stress of hiding a relationship and representing such heavy teams would tear them apart. lmao

Everyone saw how brocedes tore themselves apart because they loved each other, but not enough to lose. girl!lewis ofc

Smth Smth bearnelli brocedes parallels. girl!Kimi expected to be the next verstappen-esque prodigy whilst carrying a flop era merc and Ollie is in tifosi hell.

girl!Dino needs to come get her man b4 I do smh *shakes head* speaking of I was thinking of her w/ either Paul or Ollie. Paulito bc they were attached at the hip at prema and Ollie bc he deffo used to like her or still kind've does neowww. Do y'all understand?/ No ? IDC!!!

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Me: Man, I wish I could write detailed and thoughtful character analysis essays like I used to :(

My brain: *Lighting up with inspiration when seeing a specific exchange between Shadow and Sonic in Prime*

Me:

[the-second-moon]

appreciation for dorian as a character with complicated feelings about his homeland

Obviously, Dorian's already well appreciated as a character for his wit and charm, alongside his many other fine qualities.

But I want to dig into something I don't see talked about as much: Dorian's representation of a person with complicated feelings about his homeland, who feels proud of its progress and potential, while simultaneously being frustrated by and ashamed of its many failures and cruelties.

This is one of the first things that leapt out to me about Dorian's story -- the feeling of bearing that complexity in your heart for the place you came from, and being hard-pressed to properly express any of it when you live among people who can only picture your countryfolk as villainous caricatures.

I was astounded to see that concept represented in my favourite game series, because that's my experience too.

Real quick backstory: My parents emigrated to the country I largely grew up in from a place across the ocean with a highly infamous history of horrific crimes against humanity under fascism.

This mainly meant two things for my childhood: (1) a very early start at learning and digesting humanity's capability for evil, not to mention the need to be vigilant against fascist bullshit; (2) ample teasing from my peers who, living far away from my home country and thus not taking the aforementioned horrors very personally, found it quite funny to make me the butt of fascist-from-my-home-country jokes.

(Something I quickly learned in that situation: getting angry at a joke is a pretty good way to make sure your fellow kids keep telling it. So the strategy of defensive humour, like sarcastically citing your stereotypes before others can throw them at you, is something Dorian and I very much share in common.)

At any rate, I found it super interesting to recognize all that in Dorian and his relationship to Tevinter. It's not a perfect parallel, obviously, but a similar position: there are elements to be proud of in your heritage, and a deep fondness for the good parts of your culture that have nurtured and raised you. But that's all tangled up with some horrific things. Worse still, you know that looking away from the horrors is a good way to risk it all happening again. So there's no way forward except to wade through it all -- and to stand against those horrors, as best you can.

On the topic of standing against the horrors, Dorian's obviously an inspiration. He commits to fighting his own country's corruption rather fearlessly. But alongside all that, what really makes me appreciate Dorian is the places where he's wrong.

Dorian's got a good heart and the best of intentions, but he's still limited in his worldview by the place that produced him. We don't meet him as a perfectly noble crusader for all that's good, but as a brave yet flawed person struggling through the accepted context of his existence, trying his hardest to find what's right on the other side of it all.

Sometimes he falls short, famously. (As must we all!) Which is very important to me. Because the capability to do wrong and be wrong isn't just a thing that villains have. It's in all of us, and it's our job to be vigilant against it as best we can. If there's one singular lesson my own grandfather would want me to carry forward from everything he saw, it's that one.

Dorian's stumbles and flaws are reminders of this too. Seeing past our society's structural evils, and standing against them, is difficult, clumsy work, and sometimes we will embarrass ourselves and expose our limitations and our ignorance, but that's fine. We can't fix what we don't expose. And we can't locate the real roots of evil unless we understand how we're capable of it too.

All of that to say this: What makes Dorian most inspiring to me is two truths that his character upholds no matter what else happens. One, that loving your country and cutting out the rot from its heart are one and the same thing. And two, that no matter the obstacles, what's right is always worth fighting for. We're all gonna do our best out here.

[aqun-athlok]

going back to dai after veilguard reveals new and hilarious ways solas lied directly to the inquisitor's face

[nymika-arts]

wip wednesday

tagged by @rewritetheending, @buckactuallys, and @mellaithwen thank you lovelies 🥰 i've been in the midst of tearing apart my outline for a while to get the middle to work properly so i haven't had much to share, but i think i'm finally getting somewhere with it again, so here's a little section of dialogue

“Makes you wonder though, right?” Buck asks. Bobby’s eyes bore into him. “Like, what’s the point? What’s the reason? I’m here again, five years later, like death just spat me out, decided to give that plane full of people a second shot, when anyone else would be lost forever. What do I do with that?” "I used to think the same thing, you know,” Bobby says. “Why me? Why me and not them? What was so special about me that God chose to save me—instead of my wife and my kids?" Buck looks down. He knows the story, they all do at this point, but he doesn't think he's ever understood it as much as he does now.  "I thought it was a punishment at first. Like I had to make up for all the pain I caused before I could move on. Later, as things got better and I had you guys to help me out,” he nudges Buck affectionately with his elbow, “I took it more as an opportunity. To do better, to not waste the time that I was given. But the reality is—I just got lucky. It could have gone differently in so many ways, but it didn't. “My point is that there isn't always a reason, or a lesson to be learned. Sometimes things just happen and you have to learn to live through them.” “It feels different, it feels like I’m cheating,” Buck says, shaking his head. “You survived, you know? You were at least an active participant in living through the shit that happened to you.” "What, like I earned it somehow?" "I don't know, yeah, maybe. I mean, what did I do? I just sat on a plane while it landed five years later than it was supposed to. I didn't even notice." "I don't think you have to earn your own life, Buck."

i'll tag @renecdote @deareddie @bigfootsmom @tawaifeddiediaz @fcntasmas @like-the-rest-of-la and anyone else who wants to share! 💖

[return-of-the-prodigal-daughter]

What if I said I started writing a Thirteen fic...