#a desperate proposal

[the-broken-pen]

“I don’t need you.”

It sounded less grounded than the villain had wanted it to. It sounded like something someone had told them to say, and they were just repeating it with half hearted determination. They said it again, “I don’t need you.”

“No,” the hero agreed. They were grinning. “You don’t.”

The villain floundered. They, in all honesty, wanted a fight. To prove something, they supposed. That they really didn’t need the hero. That they weren’t in the wrong, here. “What?”

“I said,” the hero said slowly, and the beginnings of a grin curled at the edges of their mouth. “You don’t need me.”

“I don’t need you,” the villain repeated, and the hero nodded encouragingly. It just made the villain want to hit them.

The hero lounged against the doorframe, halfway in and halfway out of their apartment. And truly, that was the worst bit of it all—the hero wasn’t showing up outside the villain’s house, or driving by the villain’s work to see if they truly looked happier without them. But the villain was.

They wanted to scream, and kick, and throw plates onto the ground.

‘Leave me alone.’

But they couldn’t say that, because the hero had. They had cut contact and blocked numbers and ignored the villain’s car as it went by. Still, the villain felt haunted. As if they would never be clean of the hero, parts of their soul forever dirtied by it all.

The hero’s smile, and the way their voice sounded when they knew the villain would cave to their wishes.

They just wanted the hero to—

“Leave me alone.” It slipped out against their better judgement. From the way the hero’s grin widened, they knew it had been the worst thing they could have said.

“Darling, I have,” the hero said, their tone saccharine. Pitying. “You’re the one outside of my apartment.”

It felt like being burned alive, the frustration of it. The way it rose in their chest but had nowhere to go, leaving them shaking with nothing and everything trapped under their tongue.

“That’s not what I meant and you know that—“

“What, you miss me that bad? I thought you—“

“Shut up,” the villain snapped. The hero raised an eyebrow.

“It’s eating you alive, isn’t it?” They sounded pleased.

“It’s not,” the villain protested.

“I told you, you don’t need me.”

“I know,” the villain grit out.

“But you want me.”

Something in the villain’s brain stalled.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t need me. You never have,” the hero said it like it was a fact. “You want me, though. Even as the sound of my name burns you, and the memory of me rots in your mouth, you’re going to want me.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?” The hero’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You can go out to every bar in this city, kiss a hundred people who look like me and get just drunk enough to forget you’re not mine anymore—but you’re never going to stop missing me.”

The hero knew, of course they did, how hard the villain had tried to forget it entirely. The disaster they had become trying to be clean again.

“No matter how many shots you take to block out the memory of me, you’ll always be mine.”

“You’re insane,” the villain finally managed. The hero simply tipped their head to the side in acknowledgement. “That’s not-what’s wrong with you—“

“You’re the one who misses me.”

It stung, deep in the villain’s stomach. It took them too long to remember how to breathe—too long after that to think of what to say.

“If I’m lucky, I won’t ever have to see you again,” their voice quivered, slightly. “But knowing us, the next time we meet it will be in hell.”

The hero laughed and closed the door in their face.

The villain blocked them. Avoided the side of town the worked in. Moved three cities over.

It didn’t matter.

The villain could still feel the hero under their skin.

Later, whenever someone would ask, “Have you ever been haunted?”

The villain would think back to the hero.

And say, “Yes.”

[clairi-yos]

I've been reading RMB today and with the trailer coming out the other day we have a much clearer idea of how part 1 is going to go and its got me thinking about how they're gonna adapt the book scenes to fit with the Debling plot.

So what if in Ep 4 Debling proposes to Pen towards the start of the episode and that's why in the Pen/Portia clip in the trailer Pen's eyes look like she thinks she's making a mistake/she's panicking and Portia's reassuring her with "you've done so well, what more could you want?"

Then at the end of the episode we have the carriage scene and the episode ends with the carriage arriving at the Featherington house and Colin ALSO proposes like "forget him, marry me". It would make such a good cliffhanger for the mid-season finale.

Then at the start of Ep.5 we can have still have a silly farcical scene with Colin and Portia that keeps the spirit of Portia's Felicity misunderstanding intact but this time she's not following Colin's meaning because Pen already has another proposal from a 'better' titled suitor?

[electric-plants]

cyno, learning alhaitham got appointed as acting grand sage: hm can’t say he’s suited for it, i hope he’s replaced soon for all of our sakes

cyno, two days into alhaitham being acting grand sage: i will do everything in my power to keep him in this position for as long as possible and yes this is a threat

[estrellami-1]

Birthday Surprise

Happy birthday to the GREATEST of all humans!!! Even though you don’t consume ST things the way I do, I hope you accept this small token (as well as the nails… and the tea… and the text… 😂). Love you babe! ❤️ @doubledeckersofa

“Stevie,” Eddie crooned, soft and low.

Steve hummed as he was dragged away from sleep, frowning in the morning light. He opened an eye to peer at Eddie. “‘S early. Hav’a nightmare?”

Eddie chuckled, a rush of breath over Steve’s cheek. “No, sweet thing. Wanted to make sure I said it first.”

Steve frowned again, sluggishly moving closer to Eddie, laying his head on Eddie’s shoulder. “Said what?”

Eddie pressed a kiss to Steve’s temple. “Happy birthday,” he whispered, and suddenly Steve was wide awake.

“Oh,” he murmured, smiling when Eddie chuckled. “I forgot.”

“You forgot your birthday?”

“Well if someone hadn’t woken me up at the asscrack of dawn…”

Eddie snorted. “Check again, babe, it’s nine.”

Steve frowned at him. “You’re lying.”

“Nope.” He popped the p. “‘Course, that happens when you don’t go to bed ‘til the next morning.”

“Yeah, what was it, like three?”

“Just about.”

“Which means you woke me up after six hours. Jesus fuck, Eds, how are you awake right now? And functioning?”

“Says the one who just did math.” He gently poked Steve’s cheek. “You’re… you’re not mad, right? That I woke you?”

Steve playfully snapped his teeth at the finger floating by his face, then turned to press a kiss to Eddie’s collarbone. “No. But I am going back to sleep.”

Just then, someone banged on the trailer door. “Steve? Steve! I know you’re there, man, open up!”

Dustin.

Steve groaned and pushed his face into the pillow. “How much would we have to pay Wayne to threaten Dustin into going away?”

Eddie snorted. “I like how you think that would work at all. You know Wayne adores Dustin.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get the door before he wakes up? And start the coffee? I’m gonna get dressed.”

“On it,” Eddie promised, pressing one last kiss to Steve’s lips.

Just then, the trailer door opened, and Steve and Eddie shared a look. “Too late. He’s up.”

“How upset’s he gonna be?”

Eddie chuckled. “I think you should come out here with me. Wayne’s got a way about him. You might even see an apology outta Dustin.”

Steve rolled his eyes as he sat up and pulled on the first shirt he could find. “Now that would be a birthday miracle.”

They stumbled out into the living room together, Steve snickering as Eddie almost tripped over his own feet. “Shuddup,” he muttered, shoving lightly at Steve’s shoulder before pulling him close to smack another kiss to his temple.

“Sap,” Steve muttered, and Eddie grinned.

Wayne cleared his throat, and they stopped short. “Your boy’s got somethin’ to say.”

Eddie elbowed Steve. “Toldja,” he muttered.

Wayne gave Eddie a look, and he looked down. “Sorry.”

“I, uh, I’m sorry,” Dustin said. “For interrupting your rest and banging on the door and, uh, making a general nuisance of myself.” He glanced up at Wayne, who nodded.

Steve sighed. “It’s alright. I know you get excited. If you could just remember there are other people in the world, you’d be set.”

“Yeah. Um, in my defense I did come over to help make birthday pancakes.” He held up a little bottle. “I even brought the sprinkles!”

Steve snorted and jerked his head to the side, motioning Dustin close enough he could sling an arm over his shoulders and press his knuckles to the top of his head. “Thanks, bud. Lemme get a coffee- oh, Jesus, marry me,” he interrupted himself, reaching for the mug Eddie was handing to him.

Eddie froze for a second, then smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Soon as we’re able, babe, I’m getting on one knee.”

“Um.” Dustin blinked. “I feel like I wasn’t supposed to be here for that. Should I come back later? Like in a couple of hours?”

“I second that,” Wayne added, and Steve flushed red as he buried his face in Eddie’s shoulder.

“I need everyone to please forget I said that.”

“No can do,” Eddie laughed, taking the mug only to put it down and wrap both arms around Steve’s waist. He nudged at Steve’s temple with his nose. “Want them to come back later? I know you meant it, but I also know you wouldn’t’ve said it if you weren’t so tired.”

Steve sighed. “No, it’s fine. I’ll drink the coffee and be fine as long as we can sleep tonight.”

“We can.” He began to sway them gently. “You know I’d say yes?”

“Hm?”

“If you were asking. Or whenever you ask. If you ask. I’d say yes.” He pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheekbone. “And I meant what I said. The minute it’s legal, I’m down on one knee.”

Steve pulled back and framed Eddie’s face with his hands. “I know,” he murmured, leaning in for a short, sweet kiss.

They pulled apart after a minute, and Eddie handed Steve the coffee again. “Go sit down. I’ll help the kid.”

“Hey!”

“You’re still under eighteen, squirt, legally I can still call you that.”

They bickered all the way into the kitchen, and Steve smiled at them as he sipped his coffee.

“About that,” Wayne said, and Steve blanched.

“I swear when I ask for real I’ll get your blessing first.”

Wayne chuckled. “Consider it had. I knew you two were it when you barely left his bedside in the hospital.”

Steve blinked. “We weren’t even dating yet.”

Wayne raised a brow. “Was I wrong?”

He chuckled. “I guess not. Since then? Really?”

Wayne hummed. “You lit up. You both did, seein’ each other. ‘S like the rest of the world ceased to exist. I saw it again just now.”

Steve stood silent for a moment, thinking. “Thanks, Wayne.”

“You’ll always have a home here. That’s not dependent on you two bein’ together. You’re my kid as much as he is.”

“Oh,” Steve said quietly, and quickly took another sip, as if to stop the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

Suddenly, he laughs. “Eddie and I are basically co-parenting the kids. How do you feel about being a grandfather to seven rugrats?”

Wayne laughed, his eyes glassy. “Pretty damn good, kid, pretty damn good.”

Permanent taglist:

@justforthedead89 @ilovecupcakesandtea @madigoround @bookbinderbitch @suddenlyinlove

[cartcop]

actually tho I think there's something really gorgeous about the possibility that Eddie could pursue someone of his own volition, realize it's not what he wants, and fucking. walk away. not cling out of a sense of responsibility or obligation or idea that he's broken for not wanting it. just. realize that while he does want a partner, this one isn't it, and be okay with choosing that for himself

[acquaintedwithrask]

Stranglethorn Vale Bonfire Bash 2024 Prompt 1: Hidden Treasure

Uh oh! Roan lost something on the beach… something kinda important. 😅 When I saw the first week prompt I knew I was going to draw the event that @roanathos-niluthiadand and I rp’d back at the 2022 Bash-- but, I knew the whole scene would be a bit much for one week. (And okay, I actually would’ve attempted it/more if I hadn’t been super busy!) I parsed down and changed our rp quite a bit, but stayed as true as I could to how it went down. I also tried to be as loose as possible… it still came out pretty refined, but I could have quibbled with it a lot more, so I’m proud of myself lol.

Thanks to @lateoctobermoon aka Shiro for being willing to be the finder of the ring, in the most unexpected place, and thanks of course to Roan for such wild, amazing, and fun rp over the years 😊 🥂

Also surprise cameos by our fearless leaders Obasi (Rage) and Poeful (Buttart) , my good friend @thebanaltongue , and Ashiyr (who’s the guy shrugging on page 2, sorry it wasn’t a bigger part!) for being cool with me grabbing their characters! All told this took about 15 hours (fast for me). I'll probably post how the rough sketches looked vs. the final product in another post 😆

Beach Bash Tumblr: @stranglethorn-bonfire-bash

Find Hunter's blog here: @haunted-hunter

[fandom-geek]

you know, it really is a good thing orin lobotomised durge when she did. between this and the madness ending... it really seems like durge was created more for the purpose of breeding more bhaalspawn, than anything else

[softquietsteadylove]

Hii love, may i ask for more of the Proposal Au, maybe Thena telling Gil about her family when they are in bed cuddling and having a soft moment.

Gil inhaled as he woke, dragging the morning air into his lungs. Sometimes he cursed his early rising nature, wondering if it really could be handed down through genetics like his mother liked to joke that it was. He got a whiff of Thena's shampoo.

She was cuddled right up with him, which was nothing new by now. He nuzzled the top of her head. If he couldn't sleep in on his vacation then he could at least be comfortable.

If anything, maybe they were a little too comfortable this way. But he didn't think that was a bad thing. They were getting married...kind of. It was a good thing to comfortable enough with each other to cuddle, be close, maybe share a kiss or two.

Thena pushed her head further into his chest, which meant she was also waking up.

Gil chuckled; how did he never know before how cute she was? He tapped her bare shoulder, fixing the strap of her night dress, "hey."

She made a sound of protest, especially as he rolled onto his side with his arms still around her, shifting her position of practically lying right on top of him.

Gil settled on his side, gazing at the beautiful woman next to him. He was reminded of a time when he had first met her, and it had seemed impossible to fathom how a woman as beautiful as she was had as normal a job like he did.

Thena blinked her bleary eyes open, glaring at him as soon as she could focus, "this better be good."

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he more or less whispered. It was just them and the rising sun and the breeze in his mother's perfectly landscaped yard.

"Liar," she grumbled, but still clung to the warmth he offered. "Will your mother come barging in here looking for help with another wedding activity?"

"Not today," he promised, although it wasn't really up to him if that happened. But he rubbed her back through the light material. "Even she sleeps in a little bit on sundays."

"Sunday already," Thena mused, yawning as she did.

"Yeah," Gil agreed, although the closer they got to concluding their trip here, he had to admit it made him a little sad. He would miss not seeing his close-knit family again. His sisters--even Kingo!

Thena began lazily running her fingers over his back in the t-shirt he was wearing. It felt nice to get his back scratched a little, and her hands were so small and light. Maybe he would miss things like this too.

"What?"

"Hm?" he blinked, having been happy to lose himself in her touch. But he opened his eyes again and found her staring at him, even in their close proximity.

"There's something on your mind," she clarified, moving one of her hands from his back, trailing it around his shoulder and arm to his chest. "Just ask."

He chuckled; she was quite good at reading him. Not that he professed to be a closed book in any way. "Well, I was thinking about Kari and Sersi and Mom, how I'll miss them--and I guess Kingo too."

Thena laughed quietly (cutely). She continued her little morning massage, getting all the right spots and relieving even imaginary soreness. "He would be so offended if he heard that."

"Well, I'll put it in one of my speeches, so he will," Gil resolved, and Thena laughed even more, although she tried to hide it. Kingo was still like his brother, and thus, not his favourite sibling with whom he had grown up.

And he was still a little too friendly with his fiance, but whatever.

"But," he hesitated, and that was all Thena needed to see to encourage him. "I was wondering...about your family, I guess."

"What would you like to know?"

His eyebrows shot up. He hadn't expected her to be so...willing. He adjusted himself in the bed so he could tilt his head differently. "Uh, you sure?"

He had definitely heard her tell someone at work asking about her family to go to hell (in corporate speak, which entailed asking them to keep their correspondence with her professional).

Thena settled her face in the bend of his shoulder again, letting him play with the ends of her hair. "I wouldn't say we were particularly close, even when they were alive."

"Uh-" he opened his mouth immediately, to either offer his apologies or tell her she didn't have to tell him this, or both. But she reached up just to tap his lips and keep him from interrupting further.

"I was brought up in quite a strict household," she sighed, although it didn't seem like that sad a story to her. Or maybe it sounded like she was detached from it, telling it about someone else. "My mother was a retired ballerina, very beautiful. She tried to teach me to dance but I had no natural talent--which she told me at every opportunity."

This story was getting worse and worse.

"My father was a businessman of some sort. It was never my place to ask, even as I got older. All I knew was that he supported our lifestyle. The expectations for me were high, they needed me to be a good representation of their own rigid upbringing."

"I was still quite young when they died," she continued, starting to sound more connected to the words she was saying. "They went on a trip together and simply never returned. All I was told that the ship they were taking back to mainland had experienced a problem and supposedly no one made it back."

Gil stayed silent, as she wished, but he held her tighter.

"All I had known was boarding school and tepid approval from them. If anything, I wasn't sad enough when they died--my distant relatives told me to be ashamed when I was at the funeral," she laughed again, although he could hear the dry, sardonic edge in it. "I even went to the bathroom to try and wet my eyes and appear more tearful."

He kissed her forehead, at a loss for what else to do.

"My elderly caretaker at the time was the only one really with me," she did smile again, at least. "She sat with me through it all, helped me talk to all the lawyers."

So, that was why she knew so much about contracts and settlements, even when they were both just starting in the office.

"She used to let me help her make pastries and set the table for just the two of us," Thena recounted more fondly this time, and her body also relaxed again, slowly. "She was the one who really raised me."

Gil sighed through his nose, pressing his cheek to her hair, "I'm sorry I didn't know."

"I never told you," she said much more lightly, but happily accepted the closer snuggling. "It doesn't bother me--not anymore, that is to say. But I suppose that's why being here is quite refreshing."

He blinked at her, not really making the connection between the two.

But Thena took the liberty of rolling him onto his back again, solely so she could lie half on top of him, like a lizard on a rock. She tapped his nose, then dragged it down over his lips and chin (he needed a shave). "Your family is so warm and kind. I admit it overwhelmed me at first, the sheer density of their presence."

Kingo alone would do that to anyone, Gil defended in his mind. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her rest her chin on his chest, cramping his neck to he could watch her draw little circles in his shirt.

"They're wonderful, Gil," she concluded, drawing her eyes up to him more tenderly. It was almost shy, in how gentle the admission was. "It's the kind of warmth I remember longing for as a child. So, next time you worry that your mother is being overbearing, I assure you, I have invited it."

He chuckled; of course Thena would meet the double barrelled energy canon that was his mother and say that she invited her exuberance. Ajak was bright and bouncy and extroverted, while Thena was quiet and subdued and borderline unsociable. It made it all the more charming how much they seemed to like each other. "Could be worse in-laws, I guess."

The marriage itself was becoming less taboo as a subject.

"Much worse," Thena smiled with her teeth. It really was a stunning smile. She gripped a piece of shirt between her fingers. "What is this?"

He chuckled again, unwrapping his arms from her slim little waist and running his hands over her bare arms. "My shirt?"

"I mean," she frowned at it, "why are you wearing it?"

"Well," he got out pathetically, turning pink as soon as she pursed her lips at him in suspicion. He looked up and away from her, "'cause...y'know."

"I don't, it's why I asked," she sat up now, legs curled up beside her while she was almost perpendicular with his upper body. She grabbed a larger fistful of the shirt--the offending white cotton. "I know you get too hot easily, I don't believe you wear this to sleep in the summer."

Gil huffed; she was a good detective. "I usually sleep shirtless, but I didn't want you to feel weird about it."

"Oh," she purred, finding amusement in it. She tugged at it, "to protect my maidenly virtues?"

"Okay, come on," he sighed, embarrassed enough and trying to get her to release the fabric of it. "Is being a gentleman to my fiance so bad?"

She released the material, flattening her palm against his chest again. "It's not anything I haven't seen, by now."

Between the beach and all the times he had generally taken off his shirt to do heavy lifting or gardening for his mother while here, she had gotten enough of a look at him.

"But this is," he did his best to look her right in the eye (despite her holding back her laughter at him). "It's different."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

He sighed, finally relinquishing the last of his drowsiness and sitting up against the pillows. He still had a hold of her arms, fixing that errant night dress strap again. "Does it always do that?"

"Don't avoid the question."

"You didn't ask a question."

Thena tugged at the bottom of the t-shirt, only to pull it up just slightly, as if she were threatening to pull it off of him herself. "Why is it different?"

He sighed; the Goddess of War didn't get her name for being flexible and knowing when to quit. He moved his hands from her bare shoulders to her waist again, somewhat pulling her with him as he leaned back against the headboard. "Because, sleeping with you was already new. I figured what's the harm in a little modesty?"

She shrugged one of those shoulders, delicate and dainty and pale. And that stupid strap fell again. He secured his thumb right in the bend of her clavicle to fix it yet again.

"Does this even fit?" he grumbled, toying with the flimsy little strap of satin. He eyed her, "do you always wear this to sleep?"

Something about the question ruffled her, and he watched as a blush brightened her morning complexion. She looked around the bed, as if her answer had been lost in the sheets somewhere. "That's-"

"Guys?"

"Mom!" Gil barked at the door, his hands on Thena, her threatening to tip his shirt off him.

"What?--you said to knock, and I did!"

She had a point.

"I just wanted to say we're going to go out for brunch, honey--give you a break from all the cooking."

If it was going to be brunch - breakfast/lunch - why was she still coming to tell them at the crack of dawn?

"You kids continue...take your...just come downstairs when you're ready--okay, I'm going!"

Gil thunked his head against the headboard, looking up at the ceiling. Only his mother. He looked at Thena, whose blush had somehow doubled. That was interesting. He tilted his head, trying to see more of her face, but she twisted herself to avoid looking at him. "You okay?"

"Hm," she answered in a total cop out. She released his t-shirt, attempting to pull herself away from him without further incriminating herself.

"Ah-" he held her steady, leaning forward again. She looked really cute all flustered. He kissed her cheek, and he wasn't sure if he felt her shiver or if she twitched. "If you hate it so much, then fine, I won't wear it anymore."

He was only somewhat serious about it, although if it really bothered her, he didn't want to offend his bride-to-be. And he was more joking than anything. Although, when he finally moved to get up and get ready for the day, Thena tugged at the collar of it one more time.

She was still avoiding looking right at him, but god she was beautiful. "I didn't say I hated it. But...I wouldn't say you need it, either."

He could have said the same about the silky little dress-thing she was wearing, the straps of which obviously weren't working for her. But she did release him, and he did have to get up and maybe have a shower (maybe on the cooler side).

She looked at him as, on his way, he hooked his finger in that stupid strap again. He twisted it in his finger before letting it fall back to where it seemed to think it belonged. "Same to you."

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 3 thoughts

here we go! this episode is titled "blood" which did not bode well for me, the girl who hates blood. but i am dedicated and pushed through in the name of our mission.

we open at a post office. sometimes, i think it would be fun to work in a post office.

but alas! our postman has received a paper cut. he licks it up which... can't be hygienic.

and then he immediately gets fired :( this is sooooo unfair

when he returns to his post his machine reads "KILL"!!! my first thought was that this was gonna be a little shop of horrors style thing where an inanimate object tastes blood and Likes it (Which is sort of what happened? but mostly not really)

((side note: need to see mulder and scully take on audrey two))

so it seems that the people are either being told by machines to do some killing or all the members of the town are experiencing collective hallucination...

mulder arrives. i was distracted by his fluffy hair. from the notes: "his hair is fluffy. he isn't saying much at this crime scene but his hair is fluffy"

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! he played right field! (this was brought up when the policeman mentioned the suspect was on the softball team)

back to our post office friend, who is near a child with a random nosebleed whilst getting some money, and now the ATM is telling him to kill people

mulder points out that these are spree killings and not serial ones <-okay human embodiment of the nerd emoji.

it's a totally normal report on the crimes, no spooky stuff involved, and scully is reading it... until he mentions UFOs and she says to herself "i was wondering when you'd get to that" LMAOOOOO she knows him too well

we see a woman being lured into a dark garage by a mechanic and i thought i knew where this was going but i DIDN'T because SHE gets paranoid and the machine tells her the guy is gonna get her and she freaks out and STABS HIM

mulder arrives to the crime scene with a really funny looking camera. can anyone provide me more information about this camera? i'm curious

anyway, he shows up at the house of the woman who killed the mechanic, and we see another example of his bountiful social skills when he asks to come in and she says "i'm late for work" and he just barges in and says "you can blame me". i love this man so bad it's actually a problem. he WILL get inside of ur house.

but her microwave is telling her to kill him and she pulls out a knife and STABS him and i was yelling NOOOOOOOO! and then the cop he was with shoots her and VERY QUICKLY we get a cutscene to....

SCULLY AUTOPSY TIME!!!!!!

she thinks there's some sort of chemical that is making the people do this

we also see poor wet meow meow mulder's bandaged arm :(

back to the ex-postman, who is seeking new gainful employment at a supermarket in which there are guns for sale in the back, another reminder that this show is set in america. he starts to see evil things in the TV but resists (and it might be related to the blood drive at the store but? it's a little unclear tbh)

mulder running scene! getting his cardio in! the man is dripping in sweat! he sees a guy toss some stuff in a yard and it's... dead bugs?

so who does he take the bugs to? well, the weirdos who previously were consulted for another case: the conspirators at the lone gunman! famous for the one guy hitting on scully and ripping up her twenty dollar bill

so we're back to these freaks and he says he didn't see their latest issue because "it arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin"

now, i had an educated guess here based on name alone, but needed to confirm what this "celebrity skin" truly was. a search brings you to an album by the band Hole, and i was like omg!!! we're gonna get an insight into his canon music taste!!!! there is nothing more i LOVE than learning a character's favorite artists <3

but, this cannot be... for the show takes place before 1998, when the album was released... so i dig further

chat, as expected, it is a porn mag. seems to have involved some unethical stuff. mulder: ur a sick man.

the even sicker man who previously hit on scully was like "where's your little friend?" and he counters with "she wouldn't come. she was too afraid of her love for you" and the weirdo responds with "she's tasty"

now i want you to buckle your seat belts for what mulder says next. buckled? secured? sat? everyone is in a safe position? okay. he says:

"you know, it's men like you that give perversion a bad name"

HELLO? hey. hi! quick question <3 what does that mean. mulder a freak confirmed????

(i mean i guess we DID already know he fucked phoebe on arthur conan doyle's grave, which is going to stick in my head forever, but. don't make it worse. sometimes he's such a Man)

anyway the weirdos at the lone gunman think it's related to pesticides. and then mulder asks to borrow their night vision goggles and the weirdest of weirdos is like "only if you give me scully's number!"

cutscene to him using the night goggles

(mulder, if you gave that creep her number, i will NEVER forgive you. so keep that in mind)

he's sitting in a field and it looks so natural, like he really belongs there. bring back sitting in fields. but then he breaks into the orchard and gets sprayed by some pesticides and thoroughly knocked on his ass

mulder's yelling at some guy to take responsibility for the pesticides that he thinks are killing people... a moral crusader serving on the front lines...

scully's here now, btw. she took his blood. which had to be a strange experience. and then she mentions that she FLEW 300 MILES in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT to come take his blood?

holy shit, mulder. she did that for you and you've been so broody and angsty lately and maybe even gave some dick her phone number. holy shit mulder, do not blow this. you cannot afford to blow this. she is soooo good to you.

anyway, he's seeing the same evil messages in technology the killers were now so that's a bummer

mulder proposes that this is some sort of subliminal messaging thing that is being activated by the fear-inducing pesticides and the cop gets pissed and leaves, to which he says "he's probably one of those people that thinks Elvis is dead"

so that's the SECOND line in this show about him being an elvis truther and i'm starting to think it's not a joke

back to the ex-postman. people are coming to his door to take blood and test for the chemicals in the pesticides and he's going bonkers. he's seeing "KILL" in his calculator, which is how you know things are rough. his watch even beeps and says "KILL" which i think would make a very very very very funny gif if anyone has that.

well, all of a sudden he's missing so the agents go to his house and knock. until.

scully realizes the door is open and just. lets herself in. i was laughing SO hard here. these bitches WILL get into your house. they will NOT wait for an invitation. truly a sign of soulmatism.

ex-postman was running running and they're like omg where is heeeeee he's gonna hurt people!!! scully is once again proving her genius status by saying that if it's a paranoia case, then all these guys in police uniforms need to get out of view.

(there's also this shot where mulder is like. smoldering. and she's behind him and man. height difference content i really really do love you and your work <3)

our crazed ex-postman climbs a tower at a college and is gonna start shooting but he's also hallucinating and laughing maniacally which i described in my notes as "entering his joker era"

mulder runs up and prevents a shootout using some handy jujitsu. neeeeed to see if this man is a black belt. for character driven purposes.

but he says that he knows the guy can't stop and overall it's an eerie situation because you can tell the pesticides are still in his brain as well. and his arm is bleeding again and this makes the other guy go into overdrive.

um. okay.

crisis averted...?

well, you sure would like to think that, wouldn't you? but the episode ends with mulder calling scully, and then HE sees more evil stuff in his phone! and it fades to blackness as her voice is heard through the speaker...

(i love that she knew it was him immediately. despite the silence. and that her train of thought went from "it's scully" to "mulder is it you?" to "mulder, what's wrong?" talk about a connection!)

hope he doesn't do anything too impulsive...

in conclusion: my very surface level interpretation of this episode was that it was warning us to not be controlled by technology, which i'm sure felt more relevant back in the day. but now that i have to click "don't sell my data" when i browse flavors of soup for sale online, i think we might just no longer be the target audience. or maybe it's even more relevant! an argument could be made both ways.

down with pesticides, though! i can get behind that! when's the last time you saw a bee? bring them back!

[camgoloud]

imagine for a moment that you are colin hughes. imagine being closeted from literally everyone at work because of your deep and justified fear about what your entire profession might do to you if things were otherwise. imagine then walking into that workplace in the morning ready for another day as Just One Of The Guys and immediately being told by your (straight) boss to tie your dick to your (straight) coworker’s with the literal red string of fate. and everyone involved is just acting like this is normal. what do you even think in this situation. how do you internally react to this. like. just imagine how many layers of microaggression colin is on at this point. everyone else is like a little baby. imagine this with me please because i’ve been unable to stop imagining it all day long and i still can’t even decide if it is just truly fucking hilarious to me or if i have to be sad about it also

[good--merits-accumulated]

truly like... one good Western away from writing an anderperry cowboy au

[lathrine]

im 60 hours into BG3 and just now starting Act II, please enjoy this collection of my favorite companion chatter (+ lae'zel ripping on mammals)

[pergaminaa]

omg y’all!!! i just remembered that throughout tog the Blackbeak Matron kept threatening Manon that she’ll find another heir if she doesn’t get her shit together???

why is this woman giving her more anxiety than what she already has? no wonder Manon was struggling between doing what’s right and following her grandmothers orders (grandmother wins. Every time.) she does so because she knows that if she fails at any task, her grandmother will just disown/exile her and pick someone else to be her heir which is why Manon was so wired into obeying her grandmother’s every command.

and later on in KoA

WHEN DORIAN LEFT FOR MORATH???? FOR MANON TO WAKE UP AND FIND HIM GONE LIKE THAT?????? Dorian my guy I love you so much but you’re only making Manon’s abandonment issues worse by taking off in the dead of the night like that

[scorpionatori]

early series natori is fun cause he really does have good intentions mostly (like there’s undeniably some selfishness and manipulation behind his actions cause that’s what’s been hammered into him) but he’s also so fucking oblivious and inexperienced when it comes to human interaction and has never tried to befriend a single person in his life and he assumes natsume is his mini-me/younger clone who has the exact same desires as him and of course this child will want to be my best friend once he knows We’re The Same and I’m so pretty and charming why wouldn’t some teenager want to be friends with famous actor natori shuuichi [ends up pissing this kid off immensely and pushing all his buttons]

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Tagged by @devirnis for WIP Wednesday! Here’s a whole scene from proposal fic because why not… (vomit content warning)

Bobby shows up on the doorstep before Buck's first PT appointment after being discharged and Buck is hit by sudden intense gratitude for the stupidest possible reason. Ah, he thinks, thank god Eddie isn't going to see what I'm like during one of these. And then What the fuck, Buckley? Eddie did see him after that first session, and it's not like his patheticisms start and end within a 45 minute time frame and the clean walls and persistent disinfectant smell of Dr. Shelley's office. He's spent the last two days in a shivering little lump on the man's bed, sleeping 16 hours out of 24. He's not really sparing him anything he hasn't already seen. What, then? Spread the different facets of exactly how fucked up he is around? Like if no one has to deal with too much they won't get tired of it? Here, Eddie, you can have helping me go to the bathroom because I can't stand up on my own. Maddie, you get me crying whenever I see you or even hear you on the phone because you're my big sister so I get to dump all my feelings on you, that's fair right? Bobby, you can hear me screaming in pain, is that ok with you? You were there last time, I'm sure you'll do fine. It's too much for any of them. It's too much for Buck.

"You ready, kid?" Bobby says, with the softest little smile. God. Buck is going to fall apart into tiny, gross little pieces. Eddie can mop the floor and be done with him.

“Ready,” is what he says, knowing it sounds like a lie.

They have him walking between the parallel bars today. He remembers them, from his leg. They don’t start there, most of the hour is more stretching (ow) and fine motor skills practice (frustrating). But they told him at the beginning they want to get him walking again as soon as they can to avoid any further muscle loss or atrophy, and they want to work with him to see if they can figure out how much of his dizziness is from brain injury and how much is from vestibular damage.

Well, he’s up on the bars now and he couldn’t fucking tell you. The whole world is just spinning around him at a sickening speed as the physical therapist and Bobby both mutter encouragement, tell him to keep taking one more step, he can do it. Buck tries, he really tries, he wants to take these five steps on his own and for the doctor to tell him he’s progressing fantastically and to be tired but happy on the drive home with Bobby, both of them smiling and cracking jokes. Instead he collapses three steps in and vomits on the soft plastic-y blue floor covering. His ear is ringing and he only has a split second to feel humiliated before there are arms around him.

“Sweetheart,” Bobby is saying over the background hum, “Sweetheart, I’ve got you.” There are hands in Buck’s hair and he chokes out a sob. He doesn’t really stop crying until they’re almost back at the Diaz house, how he got from the office to the car a mysterious blur. Bobby is holding his hand on the center console. When Buck squeezes a little tighter he hears him sigh in relief and it almost starts the tears up again. Bobby is out of the car as soon as he's parked, hurrying around to the passenger side to help Buck to the house. He’d protested, days ago, about the need to rent a wheelchair until he could carry a little more of his own weight, but now he guesses getting rolled to the door is more dignified than Bobby having to put him in a fireman's carry.

He’d do it. Buck knows he would, Bobby would pick him up and hold him in his arms and carry him as far as he needed to go. Bobby settles him on the couch, handling him as gently as he would a child at a disaster site, running to bring him mouthwash to get rid of the bitter taste of stomach acid, finding saltines in the kitchen, pouring ginger ale on ice and procuring as if by magic a bendy straw in old fashioned, environmentally unfriendly, single use plastic. He sits on the coffee table in front of him, at attention, ready to appease any want.

"Thanks, dad. Bobby! Thanks- thanks, Cap," Buck slams his eyes shut and drops his head onto the couch behind him. The indignities never fucking end, apparently. He's stopped from withering away entirely by the warm weight of a hand over his own where it lays on the armrest. Buck opens his eyes. Bobby is staring down at their hands, jaw working, breathing through his nose.

"It wasn't even-" Bobby frowns as his voice fails, and clears his throat to try again. "I kept wishing I could be mad at you. Being reckless again, running into danger, getting yourself hurt." He exhales heavily, breath stuttering into a sad little laugh. "But I watched you climb that ladder. I kept playing it over and over in my head. You had three points of contact the whole time. Could have filmed it for a goddamn safety manual. It could have been-" his voice catches again, and Buck turns his hand to grab onto Bobby's. "It could have been any of us. It could have been any of us up there. All the stupid stunts you pull that you walk away from, and it's-" Bobby's free hand waves wildly into the room. "It's a random fucking act of god that nearly-"

"Bobby-"

"That nearly takes you from me," he finishes, squeezing Buck's hand. He's crying, and Buck thinks he might be again, too.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Oh, kid," Bobby says, leaning forward, gathering Buck up in his arms. “Nothing to apologize for. You’re right here. You’re still breathing. That’s all I need.”

Buck weeps again, into Bobby’s shoulder, his captain or father or good friend’s hand rubbing up and down his spine. He is still breathing. He’s still breathing. Bobby’s soft flannel shirt smells like grill smoke and Eddie’s couch is familiar beneath him, and Buck hurts and feels sick and dizzy, and he exists. “Bobby-“

“It’s alright. It’s alright.”

Bobby’s face is wet when Buck pulls away after however long it takes for each breath to stop aching so bad as it rattles in and out of him. Buck wants to say all sorts of things, most of which amount to I love you, but what comes out is a nod towards the TV and “You wanna stay for the game?”

Buck doesn’t even know what sports, if any, are on today, but Bobby seems to hear some of the other words he meant to say because he smiles so kindly at him and says “Yeah, Buck. Anything.”

Tagging @iinryer @bigfootsmom @shortsighted-owl if you’ve got anything to share!

[coquelicoq]

SALES DEMO UPDATE omg i have contacted seven whole vendors!!! out of 14 but listen. i decided two of them i'm not contacting unless i'm desperate because their websites are so vague and buzzwordy that i can't actually tell if they have a product at all. two of them i'm putting on the back burner for now because i think their product that would be relevant to me is so incidental to their company that it might actually be a huge pain to get support for. one of them i might contact later but they gave me a demo three years ago and i remember enough of it to be getting along with for now (also i feel some residual embarrassment because the company founder was the one who demoed for me and after a few calls he offered me a job. lol). one of them i don't need a demo from because i understand their product so well that i myself have given demos of it to basically all of my clients. and one of them i went on their website to contact them and clicked on the little "do u want a demo?" link and it took me to a webpage that was just like here u go download our open-source software and go ham! so i should prolly do that first before i harass any of their employees who work for an organization putting free open-source software into the world because they believe so strongly in the cause (of science communication). anyway i definitely should have done this earlier in the week or even in the day because now it's closing time eastern on a friday so nobody is going to get back to me about scheduling until next week and i am on an insane deadline but OH WELL. i did the thing i can do and now i just wait for the desperate salespeople to descend upon me!