#but doesn't have to be

[ryyuuiiko]

i got pizza the day i sketched this so they gotta have some too ⸜(˙꒳​˙ )

guess who paid cause even i don't know

[cleverestofclevermen]

[[ @theresastargirl hit the <3 for a starter from Rodney

"Alright then!" he began, clapping his hands together as he looked around at the raised heads of his team. "It's been suggested that we try out a volunteer-based duty assignment system. So, as idiotic as that is, here it is: I need an extra pair of hands to go down to the water processing center and assess the damage. Who's it going to be?"

[ravousisfamous]

I want you to know every line of me

So that we can hold each other

And never be surprised.

[softquietsteadylove]

Something New

"Hey."

Thena looks up with a smile. The rest of Sersi's party is having a perfectly pleasant time in the rest of the flat, mostly in their living room/kitchen/dining room. She's such a people person she makes a wonderful hostess.

Thena has been hiding in Sersi's study for 45 minutes, now.

"Hey," she smiles as Gil comes in and sits partially on the arm of the chair she's claimed.

"What're you up to in here?" he asks her with a smile, tipping his drink to the shelves upon shelves of books around them.

"My specialty, of course," she answers readily, and Gil hits her with an expectant look that screams that he already knows what she's about to say. "Avoiding everyone in there."

"Ah, come on," he laughs faintly, nudging her bare shoulder with the back of his hand.

Thena shrugs, taking a sip of her sparkling wine, which she's barely touched since arriving. "You know it's not really my thing."

"No, I know," Gil nods, and he knows entirely too well that it's not really her scene--the whole party thing. Because he usually manages to find her hiding away, ending up spending his time with her instead of socialising with all that natural charm of his. "But your friends are here."

That is true. Makkari is here, being her usual charming self. And Druig has allowed her to drag him out of his cave to talk to the occasional person, although firmly planted at her side all the while. Kingo is being the life of the party, as he is wont to do. Even Phastos is here, although clearly only to be a good partner to Ben.

"Yes, and I can see them tomorrow," Thena smiles into her glass as she takes another minuscule sip, "without the presence of several strangers in the mix."

"Fair enough," Gil sighs, standing up from the chair and taking a sip of whatever brown liquor is in his glass.

Thena eyes him as he drifts towards the door and watches the bubbles in her glass, preparing to be left alone with her own thoughts again.

"Some of them are pretty nice," Gil says instead, drifting around the shelves and letting his eyes wander over the books arranged in no particular order.

Thena tilts her head at him, "they're nice to you because you're nice, Gil."

"You say that as if you aren't."

"I'm not."

"That's not true," he shakes his head at her. And true, he tells her this all the time. But really, it's that she's...selective about who she's nice to.

"It is," she mutters over the top of her champagne flute. "Not that I need them thinking they can come over and talk to me, anyhow."

"Well, maybe not that guy who keeps asking you to brunch," Gil snickers, as if it's so funny to watch her be hit on by some idiot who works the front desk at the museum.

"He keeps insisting other people would be there, but I haven't seen him speak to a single other person here," Thena shakes her head. "Is he even still out there?"

"Yeah, trying to convince Sersi to get you go to brunch with him."

Thena laughs, at least, because she can always tell Gil about this kind of thing. His presence is the only reason she is here at all. "You'd think the poor boy would be able to recognise disinterest, working at the museum."

Gil sets his drink down on Sersi's desk, drifting back to her with his hands in his pockets. "Maybe he's too used to being around works of art to recognise a masterpiece way out of his league."

Thena shakes her head at him. Gil is good at saying stuff like that. She doesn't know how, since he can be kind of shy about this kind of thing, but sometimes he'll say something that she swears could melt even the frostiest of hearts. "I think the Trojans were wrong--it's you and those lines that could launch a thousand ships."

"I don't know about that, but it's good to know when I've got a line right."

Thena sets her glass down next to his before standing from the chair, joining him in front of the desk. The window is letting in enough light from outside that she can make out his features nicely, despite the dark in the rest of the room. She's always liked Gil's features in soft light--it brings out how handsome he is. "And who are these lines for--that you're always testing out on me?"

Gil just raises a brow at her, and for a second she wonders if she's missed something somewhere along the way. But he smiles, never one to let her sit in silence for too long. "Who do you think?"

"Well, the older woman from Sersi's department does seem to have taken a liking to you," Thena grins, and there--Gil's shyness comes out as he gives her an eye roll and a bashful smile. "I daresay she's ready to consider leaving her poor husband in your favour."

"Well, I'd tell her I'm flattered," Gil chuckles, leaning closer to her, "but I'm...a little taken."

"A little?" Thena asks this time, letting him lean into her space like no other could ever have such a right to do.

"A little," Gil confirms, shrugging his wide shoulders and pulling a hand out of one of his pockets just to tap the top of the desk. "Maybe?"

"By whom?" Thena asks, still somewhat teasing but now also genuinely asking.

"Well," Gil starts and then sighs, and now she knows she's missed something. He looks at her, and the look in his eyes is one she's seen a few times before. It makes her feel...something--a kind of clench in her heart, or flip of her stomach. "It depends."

"On what?" Thena blinks as he walks his fingers closer to her, and her hand comes up to meet his, their fingertips just barely crossing into each other's territory.

"How she feels about it," he smiles gently, and she realises they're so close that she's still looking up at him, even with her heels on.

"Oh?" she utters vaguely, distracted by their proximity and how her eyes have to travel from the open collar of his shirt all the way up - over his lips - to his eyes.

The party outside the study begins the countdown.

"Ten!"

"See," Gil whispers, drifting even closer, "she's this friend."

"Nine!"

"I see," Thena breathes, her heart starting to beat faster, and faster.

"Eight!"

"And she doesn't seem to realise," Gil moves their fingers closer.

"Seven!"

"Realise what?" Thena whispers as their fingers thread together.

"Six!"

"That she's the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Five!"

Thena's eyes travel down to Gil's lips, "have you...told her?"

"Four!"

"Well," he grins at her, "she doesn't always listen to me."

"Three!"

"What?" Thena's jaw drops as she looks at him, "I always-"

"Two!"

"Thena," Gil cuts her off, pulling her closer by the waist.

"One!"

Thena's eyes flutter closed as Gil pulls her in for a kiss. His arm fits around her waist as if they were carved out in the shape of one another from the same marble slab. She moans gently as she wraps an arm around his neck, and then his shoulders. Her other hand slides up his chest until she can tug at the lapel of his jacket.

Gil is soft with the kiss. Gil is soft about everything, at least when it comes to her. He kisses her gently and lets go of her gently, pulling away as slow as he wants. He opens his eyes and they find hers as soon as they're open again.

Thena looks at him. Gil is...everything--her oldest and dearest and in many ways best friend. He's the one to whom she can tell absolutely everything and at the same time is the one who would never require her to do so for their trust to be maintained. He accepts her--every part, every highlight and every shadow, every shred.

"Well?" he whispers, his thumb tracing little circles in the small of her back. "Am I?"

"Taken?" she whispers, and he nods, waiting for her to have the final word. Because if she were to say no, he would accept it and turn right around, never mentioning it again.

He would just love her...quietly. She knows plenty about that.

Thena just nods, not entirely sure of how to voice all she feels for him in this moment. It's way too much to just...blurt out. And she can hear the distant screaming and celebration of those present in the next room over. All their friends are out there. Druig and Makkari and Sersi and Ikaris and Ben and Phastos are probably all lip-locked.

Thena came in here to hide from the need to watch them do so--again.

But now she's here, in Gil's arms, wanting nothing more than to bury her face in his big, warm chest and never emerge. She nods with a smile.

Gil leans in, kissing her again, more softly, less climactically. But even without the drama of the moment - underscored by the countdown to a calendar page turning - it's just as incredible. Because it's her Gil, kissing her. "Happy new year, Thena."

"Happy new year," she grins against his lips. He kisses her again, and again, small but sweet, and eager but gentle. Her hands rise up to his cheeks. "Should we go back out there?"

"Not yet," he whispers, leaning in because he just can't get enough of her. "I want you all to myself for a little bit longer."

Because now she's a little bit taken too.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Here's a random prompt/idea/thing:

You were the worst person I ever knew.

You lied to me, betrayed me, and broke my heart.

You made me feel like I was nothing, like I didn't matter to you at all.

You manipulated me, used me, and discarded me.

You were constantly dismissive of my thoughts and feelings.

You never did anything to show me that anything I did mattered.

You never cared about me.

Or my feelings.

Or my dreams.

Or my happiness.

You only cared about you.

You and your selfish desires.

You were cruel, cold, and heartless.

You were the worst person I ever knew…and yet for some reason, I still loved you.

I've always loved you.

[galacticforces]

@hodgepodgebitches (Crowley) sent:

"It's a quiet hurt, isn't it?"

Aziraphale looked up, then promptly down again, into his swirling his wine. He'd gone and gotten attached. He knew better than to spend a significant amount of time with humans, but somehow, Aziraphale had ended up with an apprentice, and that had grown quickly to family, and that... well, that had ended swiftly in death. "Yes," he answered. "It is."

[inkskinned]

please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

[pangur-and-grim]

a lot of you probably knows Belphie's story, but I'll summarize just in case.

Devon Rex cats are better for people with allergies (less shed fur + less Fel d1 protein in their saliva), so on February 16, 2024, I went the breeder route and put down a deposit. before Belphie even opened his eyes, he was mine!

every Friday, the breeder sent me a new photo. I had a broken leg, and was basically rotting in bed at that point, so it was the best part of my week. then, at 12 weeks old, I BROUGHT HIM HOME!

at first, he was so alive! like a wind-up monkey that never shut off. he dangled from the wall-hangings, savaged my feet as I walked, and used my elderly cats as jumping poles to do cool acrobatics over. but all this gradually faded.

first, he stopped playing. then he stopped climbing. then he stopped moving much at all. my vet ran tests on him and found multiple pathogens (calcivrius + mycoplasma), but the medication didn't help - he kept declining.

on September 17th, I woke up to find him swollen like a balloon. we finally had an answer: he had Feline infectious Peritonitis, aka FIP. before 2017, this would've been a death sentence. he would've kept bloating until he drowned in his own fluids. and before 2024, I would've been forced to inject him with black market drugs. but thankfully, South Tower Animal Hospital in Fergus, Ontario was doing a study on the oral medication! we drove two hours, enrolled him, and left with the GS-441524 pills.

and he went from those photos above.....to this:

I thought Belphie would die as a kitten. I'd accepted that he would never grow up. but now he gets to LIVE!

and all for the low cost of $7,553.....ahhhahaha........god.

that + a recent home disaster has wiped out my savings, but I still need to pay for Belphie's medication. to remain in this study, I need to do bloodwork monthly until Feb 2025, and he'll need daily pills until March 2025.

I've put a risograph print + enamel pin set up at greerstothers.shop. I hate asking for help, but if you'd like to support Belphie's continued treatment, please consider checking them out!

[chongoblog]

So a lot of political scandals just dropped in the last 24 hours

-NC Governor Candidate Mark Robinson's online posts were found, including some VERY graphic descriptions (like seriously, do not read if you're not 18) of him cheating on his wife, calling himself a black Nazi, and expressing support for reinstituting slavery. His email address was also found on Ashley Madison

-Robert F Kennedy Jr was revealed to be cheating on his wife with a reporter (and that isn't even the weirdest thing since federal law enforcement opened an investigation into him allegedly cutting off the head of a whale and taking it home with him less than 24 hours ago)

-GOP Senate candidate who is the CEO of a bank has been found accepting millions of dollars from what seem to allegedly be Mexican drug cartels.

-Finally, probably the biggest bombshell, according to multiple eyewitness testimonies within sealed sworn affadavits, Congressman Matt Gaetz allegedly invited a 17-year-old girl to a drug-fueld sex party

And we haven't even hit October, folks. Again, these are all still breaking news stories, so things are subject to change, but oh man oh man.

[arosnowflake]

My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.

Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?

What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?

Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.

[sabertoothwalrus]

modern au laios

[lazylittledragon]

can't believe we're all adults being forced into the club penguin level of censorship in 2024

[trekkerac]

Ford "Icarus didn't flap hard enough" Pines

[deaddriv]

Translated with permission!!

Here's the author's Twitter (achu_0u0) and the original post!

Note from author: Wouldn't it be hard for half-foots to go to the movie theater?

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Physically? I am sitting in my bedroom. Mentally? Spiritually? I AM DEAD ON THE FLOOR!!!!! THESE TWO HAVE KILLED ME!!!!

(Another drawing! This was originally attempt #1 at drawing stan, and then fiddleford just showed up. Kinda feels like them five minutes after the above acting like nothing happened though, so it works sdjkgkjfshj)