#drop me a line if you enjoyed

[anthrofreshtodeath]

14.

Three weeks later! Baby is settled at home and slowly but surely I'm getting to these prompts. This one, "Warning Signs," is set in the universe of this little league fic I sometimes work on. I hope you enjoy.

___

“You did… you did so well,” Maura pulled a kerchief from her purse, and Declan turned his head sharply, thinking it was meant for him. He definitely was not crying. Instead, Maura wiped the seat on the dugout bench next to him before sitting down. 

“I messed up that last play. I fell asleep,” Declan grumbled. His feet didn’t reach the concrete, so he swung his cleats. He hung his sweaty head, and then with a spurt of anger, snatched the hat from the top of it. He wrung it, and Maura saw the twitch in his fingers like he wanted to slam it on the ground, but he refrained. He respected it.

“You sound like Jane,” Maura told him quietly, with a small smile. She knew, despite her literal nature, that he didn’t actually fall asleep. He meant he hadn’t been paying attention. And that understanding meant she was growing. 

He clicked his tongue and shoved his hat back on his head. “I’m glad she wasn’t here,” he said with no small amount of disdain. “I’m glad she didn’t have to watch that.”

And then, something else clicked for Maura. “She, she got caught up at work, my love. There was a breakthrough in her case that she had to…” she paused, mid-sentence, and wondered why on Earth she was defending someone who told Declan she’d be there and then didn’t show, no matter the reason. “You know what? Let’s go home. I can run you a hot bath and then we can order a pizza.” She bit her lip at using one of Jane’s tactics - one she’d never have even considered before - even though Jane was absent.

“I’m not leaving,” Declan, who had sounded eighteen just a minute ago, sounded more like his actual eight years when he scooted a few feet further from his mother. “I’m glad she wasn’t here.” He repeated it to himself, a lie like a mantra, like a balm on his fresh wound, one that had opened up over a very old one.

Maura felt herself growing angry. “Declan, we can’t just stay here all night,” she said. The lights remained on, the baseball diamond still illuminated at Teddy Ebersol’s fields, but that wouldn’t be for much longer. Her son, however, showed no signs of budging. He pressed his palms hard against his dirt-stained home white pants and refused to look at her. 

“You can’t, maybe. But I can,” he responded. 

“I- I’ll be right back,” Maura told him. She looked out on the grass because she needed a grounding moment. Her son, always the calm, collected kid, nervous system firmly in freeze mode, needed more than what she could offer. She hated that, and that hate came through when she stepped away to dial a familiar number on her phone. It rang just once. 

“Hey, Maura,” said Jane on the other line. She sounded distracted, maybe a little bit out of breath. 

But she’d picked up. Maura wasn’t sure if that made her angrier or softer. “You need to come down here,” she answered back. She was terse, and unflinching when Jane gave her a huh? “You need to come to Ebersol.”

There was a pause and Maura envisioned Jane pulling her watch up to her face. “Wait, you guys are still at the park? The game shoulda been over an hour ago,” asked Jane. “That’s gotta mean it didn’t go well.” 

Maura hated that Jane could just know that. Jane could listen to her, could get one detail, and just know. And that was why she needed to be there. “He’s refusing to leave,” Maura whispered, looking back at Declan even as she turned away to hide her conversation from him. He looked so small there in their very own chain link cage, collapsing in on himself in that boyish grief of losing. She wanted to run to him, to gather him up in her arms like she used to. Instead, she sighed. “He keeps saying that he’s glad you weren’t here to see him lose. He thinks it’s all his fault.”

“Tell him it’s not. Tell him that no one guy loses a ball game for his team. Unless it’s a closer,” Jane told her, and a little humor bled through in her voice. 

“Tell him yourself,” barked Maura. “You know he doesn’t mean it. You know it hurt him that you weren’t here. He feels adrift without you, and you’re nowhere to be found minutes before game time? With nothing but a text? You’re…” Maura paused. Then she decided, yeah, she wanted to go there. Because Jane went there. “You’re doing exactly what his father does. Feeding him empty promises.”

Jane croaked. Maura heard the gaping mouth on the other line. “I… I’m on my way, Maura. Gimme fifteen and I’ll be there.”

Maura didn’t reply. She ended the call, and went back to Declan. Not too close, of course. But close enough to be heard. “I’ll sit with you,” she told him. She placed her purse in her lap, over the dress she wore to work, and waited.

Maura waited with him until the sun went down, right around seven pm. She waited with him, saying nothing, only watching him watch the diamond, having slipped his glove back on and pounding his fist against the leather every few seconds or so. His eyes scanned the lanes between first and second, between second and third, and then the grass of the outfield.

After those fifteen minutes had passed, Maura heard the horn engage on a BPD issue unmarked. Declan must have heard it, too, but he didn’t turn towards the parking lot behind him. He didn’t even turn around when block-heeled boots knocked against the sidewalk a few feet away. 

Maura turned, though. She stood up, and spotted Jane, in full work suit, approaching. 

“Hey,” Jane called to her as she pocketed her car keys. The sweep exposed her sidearm just before her blazer draped back over it like a curtain. “Sorry, things got really crazy with a witness.”

Maura let her in the dugout gate. “Like I said, tell him. In a way he’ll understand,” she motioned to Declan, who had stolen a glance Jane’s way, but quickly returned to his feet. 

Jane nodded. “Hey, kid,” she said. Her eyes crinkled on each side and she smiled with closed lips. She took Maura’s seat, though her posture could not be more different. She slumped, and she planted her legs far apart. Unconsciously, he mimicked her. “Wanna tell me what the hell happened?” she asked him.

Maura sniffed away the urge to cry. “I’m going to give the two of you some privacy,” she announced, and then exited the gate. She loitered, close enough to hear them, far enough for her son to think she truly was occupied on her phone. 

“Sounds like there was a beatdown,” Jane goaded after a few moments of Declan saying nothing. “You get routed?”

Declan’s head shot up and he gasped. “No! Who told you that? Did Mom tell you that? We lost by a run!”

Jane whistled. “Sometimes that’s worse,” she said. “Home run?”

“Error,” Declan groaned. “By me.”

He had Jane’s attention. “E4, huh? Did a ball go through the wickets?”

Flashes of Bill Buckner ran through Maura’s mind. Three months of this and already Jane had altered the visualization patterns of her own mind. If she smoked, she thought she’d want a cigarette in that moment. Everything was so complicated.

“No,” Declan said. “The player on first took off and I was… I wasn’t anywhere close to second base. I didn’t see it coming and the catcher threw the ball all the way in center field. He scored.”

“And that run won the game,” Jane extrapolated. 

“I lost it,” Declan whined.

Jane risked a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t jerk away. “I’m gonna tell you what I told your mom,” she started. “No one guy loses the game for his team. Unless he’s a closer.”

Declan offered half a wry smile, but took it back as soon as it showed up. “I had no idea. I don’t… know how to tell.”

Jane knew what he meant. “When a guy is goin’, there’re warning signs,” she said. “Always.”

“There are?”

“Yeah. Subtle, but if you start to look for ‘em, you’ll see ‘em,” Jane explained. She pointed out to first base. “Most obvious is his lead, right? Most people are trying to get a little bit of a lead, but when a guy starts leaning, meaning you see his shoulder goes toward you more than a couple times, he’s thinking of going. Go to your bag. But you also gotta look for the dance. Watch his feet. He’ll start tiptoeing around the base because it’s easier to speed up something that’s already movin’ than to start something from a dead stop.”

“Oh,” Declan breathed. He leaned his back against the bench and sighed. He closed his eyes. “I should have seen it.”

Jane shook her head, but she let him sit quietly. The sprinklers turned on, crickets sounded, and she tapped her toe against the ground beneath it. Declan let her come closer, little by little. “Listen to me,” she ordered.

He said nothing, but he didn’t defy her, either. 

“I know it,” she told him.

“What,” he asked, but like a statement to keep himself safe.

“That agony in your heart? How it feels to lose? I know it. And that’s a part of the game. You’re gonna feel it and you’re gonna learn how to use it. How to let it fuel you,” said Jane. “But the agony in your heart because I wasn’t here when I said I would be, that’s not normal. That’s me, letting you down. And I don’t ever wanna do that, Dec. So I’m sorry. That agony is on me.” She was quiet, and she slid a hand closer to his on the weathered green paint between them. 

Maura pressed her palm so tightly over her mouth that it hurt, but at least it kept her from crying. Tears fell, but just one or two. She didn’t even hiccup. She counted it as a win of her own. 

“Yeah, ok,” Declan finally replied, timid. When Maura turned, she saw his head lift, watched it turn toward Jane. 

“Ok?” Jane asked. When he nodded slowly, she did, too. “I’ll do better. Promise.”

“Ok,” Declan repeated. Then, he stood up. “I wanna go home. Mom said we’d get pizza.” 

Jane ushered him to the gate. “Pizza? Sure it was your mom? You know what, I’m not gonna ask questions. I’m just gonna eat my slice.”

Maura waited for them, and by the time Declan emerged on the other side of the dugout, she had put on a smile. “You look better,” she told him. Then, she held out her key fob, and looked over at the Prius. “Get in the car. I’m a few feet behind you.”

He took it without a word, but his hand was kind when it brushed hers. His eyes were soft on her face. He even took her direction and climbed into the backseat, after he tossed his gear bag in the trunk. 

That left Jane and Maura standing alone, a few feet from him and a world away, behind metal and glass and still under the light towers. 

“Thank you,” Maura said. “Don’t ever do this again, but thank you.” She reached for Jane’s hand, threaded their fingers together.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I know it probably, you know, brings up-”

Jane stammered, but Maura cut her off with a kiss. The kiss tasted like coffee and peppermint, and Maura didn’t know which flavor came from whom. The thought that each of them could taste like the other made Maura lightheaded. “I hate having to think of Ian when I see you. Don’t make me think of Ian when I see you.” She said breathlessly. “I want to think about you.”

Jane looked down at her, her hair falling in both of their faces. “You wanna think about me, huh?”

“No one makes him talk like you do,” Maura explained, arms wrapped around Jane’s shoulders, lips pecking Jane’s one more time. “Nothing makes him light up like this stupid, stupid game.”

“Hey now,” Jane admonished, and they both laughed, Maura’s tinged with some wet. “Watch it.”

“I heard what you told him,” Maura said. “About the agony in his heart? You’re working on the agony in mine, too. Now let’s get that pizza.”

[knifetomeatu]

poor guy missed out on those superior sawyer genes😔

[gardenoblues]

Woe...what a night.

The relief in his eyes when she said she wouldn't judge him so easily. The delight in his face when she said she would've taken it further.

The curious tilt of her head, thinking how he knew she got expelled, and with no hesitation she'd do it again. His reaction to it; the evident joy that he couldn't hide.

Then all goes to hell when he says;

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Her face softens as he says it. Thee Wednesday Freakin' Friday Addams.

It sealed it. A validation.

Someone liked how unhinged she was, a normie even, accepted her for who she is. He was different from the snobbish, insufferable elites she had met in the school she didn't want to attend. He gets his hands dirty and not like the Nevermore brats too spoiled to know how a coffee machine works.

And it all made sense at the end why she was so into him too.

Him being a normie was fine.

She couldn't have foresaw or imagine him as an outcast.

But him being both of two worlds was so unexpected, it stung. Everything he did was a mockery of her shortcomings, and they both knew it. Him more than anyone else.

As much as she couldn't stand the fact that being a psychic, a raven, and missing the most crucial part of the puzzle humiliates her to the bone, it didn't change the fact that, yes.

Yes. All was done, blood was shed, tears were wasted and lives were taken.

He was suddenly the monster wreaking havoc in town. Disemboweling bodies in the woods, lying as if it were walking, killed his therapist boy-monster.

He wasn't just Tyler Galpin; a part time barista, and a wide eyed boy ready to comply with her whims.

He was, and is the Hyde.

Walking freely in town wearing the same innocent face that managed to fool her and stayed out of her radar. With his bigot, normie, sheriff father.

All smiles and sunshine in the daylight, but at night the shadows consume him.

"Of course the first boy I'd kiss would turn out to be a psycho killing monster. Guess I have a type."

Yeah girl you have a type.

And it's a temperemental beast with a mind of its own.

And it all started with a cup of coffee he had made for her. And those damn words she held in the back of her mind every time she does something unpleasant or disappoints her family or the head of the wretched school.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

But this time, it wasn't Tyler Galpin's voice echoing in her shabby mind.

It was her voice that she tried to suppress as her ribcage claws out of her chest. Denying any hint of affection.

There is always an explanation why things are the way they are, and why people act the way that they do.

And it was in front of her all this time.

Even now that Tyler is splayed bloody in the open.

There it is.

The reason why she liked him.

[spaceorphan18]

Ahh, I didn't know you liked Bridgerton! (I was away from tumblr for a moment and just now catching up on your blog) I'm obsessed with Penelope and Colin. How did you like season 3? I always love reading your thoughts! I saw so many people complain but I mostly really enjoyed it. I wish it didn't have so many random plotlines, and I didn't like the insta-baby but overall they're my favourite couple in the show haha.

Hi Nonny! Welcome back to the Tumblr! <3

I hope you don't mind me indulging a little with your ask, lol. If you've followed me for any length of time, you do know I can't shut up - but I realized I haven't really said my actual thoughts on the season, etc, I just started meta'ing and haven't looked back. So, pull up a chair, Nonny, as I chatter non-stop for a bit about Bridgerton and my thoughts on season 3, lol.

I'll put it under a cut to save the rest of your souls....

Part 1: How did we get here?

Am I big fan of historical romance? No, not really. Did I expect this show to ever have a grip on me? Not even a little bit. How in the world did this happen? Idk - it appears that favorite tropes and character designs and dynamics seem to transcend genre. And I'm an old sap.

The tl:dr version is that I watched Seasons 1 and 2 after Season 2 came out. It was fine. Not a huge fan of Season 1, I did like Season 2 though. And then kind of forgot it existed. Eloise was by far my favorite character - because I liked her spunk. And the friendship between Eloise and Penelope was the best part of the show.

And then I was reminded that Season 3 dropped and did not expect the shock that I got. I went in completely blind - I hadn't seen a single promo. I did know, because I looked up the books when I originally watched, that it would be Pen and Colin's story. But I was kind of fascinated at how they were going to go about it. Penelope was not a stereotypical leading lady. And Colin was very boy-ish looking in the early seasons. How was this going to work?

Oh man, the glow ups. The glow ups got me. Pen is so, so gorgeous this entire season. When she's wearing her hair down, omg... Or that one look where she's like a housewife writing in her journal. God damn, girl. She can get it. And then Colin... ha. When he got out of the carriage, I was like - oh shit. It was the pirate coat. A good pirate coat will always do me in.

But more than that - really, the dynamics of the characters just really sold me. I love friends to lovers. I love the angst and the pull. I love the whole she fell first he fell harder. I love that I unintentionally just go for the same kind of characters and their dynamics over and over and over.

And then, you know, between the first part and second part, I rewatched the first two seasons, which was helpful. (Though, still not a huge fan of season 1.) Was addicted to the promo tour (my god I love a good promo tour). And @ckerouac - got me to watch Derry Girls which really cemented my love of Nicola Coughlin. And, you know, once you start going down a hole, you just have to keep on going until you get to the other side.

Idk how we really got here, Nonny, but here we are! Lol

Part 2: My thoughts on Season 3

So, briefly, I just fell in love with Part 1 right off the bat. LOVED IT. Part 2, honestly, I felt disappointed after seeing it the first time. (I remember episode 6, in particular, thinking - wow that was not a very good episode).

And then... I rewatched it and then rewatched it again after watching Seasons 1 and 2 and kind of started to take it a part a bit, and it's grown on me. A lot! I actually do really love the season as a whole and appreciate what we've got...

Breaking it down a little more:

Pen and Colin's story: I still do think the first half is stronger. The whole Colin helping Pen find a husband, Lord Debling (who is a doll), Colin figuring out his issues, that carriage scene... ooff, all really, really good. The second half - there just needed to be more. At first, it was hard to watch them go through a wedding while being mad at each other, but I feel like now that I've had time to digest it all, it is /so/ good. It's a really, really fascinating dynamic going on there. I could and probably will go on at length about it later... a couple of things, though

They just needed more. The plot was so delicious. I did love the conflict over lady whistledown and I wish we had seen that tension played out better and resolved better. The end of episode 8 was a bit to fast. I swear - Season 4 better have some solidly good Polin moments or idek... They've been such a big part of the show as a whole, I hope they get to continue their development, even if it they go back to their Seasons 1 and 2 focus.

The season works better if you remember what happened in seasons 1 and 2. I had zero memory of the plots from the first two seasons going in. I didn't realize Colin's personality had changed. I couldn't remember any of the Polin moments in the first two seasons. This third season makes a whole lot more sense being built from what came before it, and honestly, I kind of love that. It makes the story more layered and engaging.

As for the insta-baby, I mean, they set it up at the beginning of the season, but it wasn't something I needed to enjoy the couple. I do wonder if they'll go back and explore that 9 months, or if things will pick up after post-baby.

Also, on perhaps a shallower note? I thought the actors had great chemistry. And I have so much respect for Nicola Coughlin for allowing herself to be presented in such a way. She is GORGEOUS in every aspect and the backlash over her body is ABSURD. If you can’t get on board that a larger woman can be seen as desirable than you can fuck right off because she is amazing.

Poor Luke Newton has gotten some push back, too, which I think is a little unfair. He's not expressive the way Jonny Bailey is, but Colin really isn't Anthony, and is much more an inward character. And the awkwardness of his attempt at rake-ishness in the beginning is supposed to be awkward. Colin isn't smoldering like the Duke from Season 1, either. He's a sweet, romantic kid who adores his bff-turned-wife, and the whole season (I mean, can we talk about the all the mirrors?) is about cutting through the bullshit we do to try to mask who we really are.

The thing about Luke Newton that I really appreciate is that he really understands who his character is and keeps that front and center. Colin is trying to be something he's not, and the real Colin slips out unintendedly, and that kind of subtly is hard to play.

The absolute best moments were when they laughed together - they both really shine when Pen and Colin are allowed to be the sweet friends they've been all along.

Anyway tl:dr - loved their relationship, and my heart will just be broken if we don't get more good development as the seasons continue.

Penelope and Eloise: The fact that this relationship was angled as another romance per se was also delicious. As I said above - Pen and Eloise were probably my favorite dynamic pre-Polin and it was devastating to watch them work their relationship out. But again, it was all so delicious. I loved it and thought it was perfect.

The Featheringtons: I LOVED THEM! They were perfection. I love that they leaned into some really good comedy with the sisters. Not only were they able to show off Nicola's excellent comedic skills, the family as a whole was just a whole delight. I loved the sisters. I loved their husbands. I even liked Portia - and, honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of her in earlier seasons. I loved that they linked Pen and Portia, it really made them seem like mother and daughter.

Colin and his family: There were some fascinating dynamics!

Colin and Eloise: yes, the third part of the platonic love triangle I loved their dynamic during the season. Eloise never really knowing how to handle Colin. The fact that they're close and yet awkwardly so. The fact that they both care so much about Pen in different ways and how LW just hangs over both dynamics. Ooff, so good.

Colin and Anthony & Benedict (and let's throw George in here, too): Love it. Wish there had been more. The brothers are hilarious and wonderful together and just I ate it all up with a spoon. Also, as an aside, I love that George is slowly coming into focus. The kid is adorable.

Colin and Francesca (and let's throw Hyacinth in here, too): Hilariously, Colin and Francesca speak zero times to each other during the whole season. Isn't that weird? Really, their plot lines do not intersect except tangentially for family moments. It's so weird. I feel like I have no sense of this dynamic. As for Hyacinth - I adore her, and I feel like she has more personality than Francesca :P

Colin and Violet: I kind of loved this. She's a mother who understands her kids. And even though Violet wasn't around that much for the A-Plot, I like what role she did have to play in getting Colin to act.

Alright, so the rest of the subplots... It did feel like an abundance of them, but was there really more than previous seasons? Or was it the fact that Pen and Colin usually were subplots, and now that they're the main focus, everything else kind of shifts awkwardly around them?

Anthony and Kate: I love them to pieces, and wish there had been more of them. Their dynamic remains sexy and smart. Kate remains one of the best characters on the show, and is such an intelligent woman. I'm so glad she had wonderful, insightful conversations with her new family. I really would have loved to have had a Kate and Penelope scene. Also, the India thing was awkward - I lol'd because it clearly was written as an 'out' for the couple. But it's ultimately fine. But yes - bring back Kanthony in future seasons. I really don't care how much Jonathan Bailey is doing other things.

Cressida Cowper: I thought she was a fantastic villain, and the fact that she was so wrapped up with Eloise was kind of delicious. I don't think they needed to linger on her private life as much as they did. But I was fascinated that there seemed to be some queer coding in there, and wondered, for a bit if she was going to be a lesbian. I also think her ending was a little weak and she just kind of scampered off without any reprieve. I do wonder if she'll be back, tbh.

Francesca: Oof. It was intriguing on first watch but I find it incredibly dragging on subsequent watches and have a tendency to skip over it. I think this is the one plot line that really could have been cut down. I understand that it's set up but it was kind of meh for me. However, I am totally fine with her love interest being changed to a woman. Let's do this bisexuals! Speaking of which...

Benedict: My god, it felt like the show doesn't know what to do with him - and I am hoping Season 4 is his, because they NEED to do something with Benedict. So, to be clear, I LOVE that they made him bisexual. But the woman he was with was so boring, and I just did not care - because I knew it ultimately wasn't going to go anywhere. And, what was with the never ending orgy? Did we really need to cut back to it ten times? Please, show, give Benedict something interesting to do.

The Mondriches: Look, I feel bad saying it, but these people ultimately served no purpose to the show and could have been lifted right out. I'm sure the actors are lovely but if they're not going to directly service the story, then why are we wasting our time? Though, at least they really aren't the ones taking up the most time.

The Queen: They could have played up the rivalry between her and LW a lot more, and they just didn't. It felt... a little anticlimactic. Also, now what do they do with her as a character? Meh.

Violet and Lady Danbury's brother: I just don't care. I get it. I get that Violet should have something to do outside her children. But there are already a million plots, and not everyone needs to have their own individual story. By the time they threaded this in around episode 3 it did feel like too much.

Did I miss anything?

So... that's how I felt on everything. I have seen commentary about the pushback on Season 3. There are some things I agree about and a lot I don't.

About the actors: I disagree, Nicola and Luke are a delight, and they don't deserve the pushback they've been getting.

About the subplots: It is too many, and I do think they should have either made the season longer, or cut a few things.

About Polin not being as steamy: I think Daphne and Simon's soft core porn-a-thon set an expectation that doesn't necessarily work when you're going for other tropes. I did like the steamy scenes we got (though the last one should have been longer -- we better get some happy sex in season 4 or I will be annoyed) but Polin doesn't have the same dynamic as (what is their shipper name??) Daphne/Simon. We were never going to get the porn-a-thon.

Kanthany didn't either in Season 2, I don't know what to tell people. I appreciate that they're servicing the story they're telling and not just relying on sex. But, I will say, it is still the romance genre, based on books that do feature a lot of sex, so I can understand disappointment in some respects. There is a reason people watch these things, and when it's not met, it can be frustrating.

Idk, what else are people bitching about? (that's rhetorical) I think two years is too long a wait for a show like this. And the anthology aspect of it can make it hard when the focus shifts. People adored Anthony and Kate and to shift it to a very different type of love story can feel jarring, especially, I think if you've spent the past two years digesting what we've already had.

And then there are some people who are just never happy.

And I mean, I already feel a little 'meh' about Season 4. (It'll be Benedicts, there are so many hints...) I'll continue to watch, but I am incredibly sad that this was the year my favorites got to shine. My only hope is that Pen and Colin continue to occupy a space in the story... lord help us, though, in that it doesn't take another ten years to finish...

So.... them my thoughts! I'm sure I'll have more of them as I settle into this bright new world.

Omg, how cute are they????

[argylepiratewd]

Some Unholy Hoax - Chapter 7

Chapter 7A and 7B/25

For new readers: The Beginning

Relationship: Aziraphale/Crowley

Rating: Explicit

In a desperate attempt to delay the Second Coming, Supreme Archangel Aziraphale makes a proposal: Jesus should be completely reborn—gestated for nine months in the human way, then raised to adulthood on Earth. When he volunteers to carry the child himself, he doesn’t think anyone will agree. Somebody, however, does.

What will his unexpected pregnancy do to his strained relationship with Crowley? And what will happen once it becomes apparent that something is very much amiss in this whole “Second Coming” business?

[bigothteddies]

I think that part of what like. kills me about the whole media literacy and critical thinking aspect of enjoying media these days is that people refuse to like. contextualize that

A. Bad media can still hold significant meaning to people

B. Media made for a demographic you aren’t apart of is not inherently bad media

C. Media made for and consumed by the opposite demographic is not inherently shallow or flawed nor is it above criticism for its media tropes either.

[princekirijo]

Well that happened. That was a DLC.

[callmewishful]

Woke up thinking about dilfs today. Here’s the results of the days work:

It’s no secret that Lambert’s political ideas were…ambitious. And that’s not a bad thing - I think he really wanted to better Faerghus and that his policies were truly for the good of his people.

However, it is also no secret that the western lords were…hesitant. And it’s also no secret that Rodrigue knew this and worried about it more than Lambert did.

So how much time do y’all think Rodrigue spent chasing after Lambert trying to rein him in?

And thus, how much time do you think Matthias spent holding down eastern Faerghus while Lambert charged towards a new future and Rodrigue tried to temper him? How much time did he spend helping in territories so Rodrigue could spend time in Fhirdiad trying to tell Lambert to ease into things instead of charging into them head first? (And this is absolutely no hate to Papa Roddy - I love him and he’s such a good guy and believe me when I say he was doing the Goddess’s work trying to keep Lambert from charging off a cliff; he had decisions to make for the good of Faerghus too and this was one of them)

Rodrigue and Matthias play those roles in Houses though; Rodrigue goes in search of Dimitri while Matthias holds down the fort. To me it doesn’t seem far off that the same thing was true earlier in life.

In addition to that, we know there were two plagues in Faerghus - one Matthias sent his wife up north for and one that killed Dimitri’s mother. We know they had the large Sreng campaign where Rodrigue saved Lambert, that Matthias had Leif for a while, that Duscur occurred, and that Faerghus was utterly destroyed afterwards….

We know Matthias is a margrave before anything else, for better or worse depending on perspective (mostly worse than better). But how many times do you think duty took Matthias away from the boys? How many times did he look up and yet another day was long gone? How many times did he sacrifice today in hopes for a better tomorrow?

I’ve never said Matthias is winning any awards for his parenting, but I often wonder how things like this played a part in it.

[aroaceleovaldez]

okay that is all i can muster for tonight. my insanity will have to wait.

[mymarifae]

why don't you like blade :(

oh i don't dislike him! i just don't care. totally different thing

everything i've seen of him in game so far PLUS alllllllll those leaks hasn't been enough. like. as of Right Now there's nothing for me to latch onto and pick at. the whole "dan heng's past life's ex-husband/fiance" may be enough for some people but i just do not gaf 😭 i need. to see quite a bit more of him before i can even start getting into the territory of actual like/dislike

[argiopi]

got the cops called on me for the most hilariously sensible reason last night

So i have a new industrial piercing (my first piercing..! i love it •w•), and it got infected because of course it did, it's a cartilage piercing and i live outside. Context i've been living in my car for the past few weeks, which has been pretty good but one of the tradeoffs is i do not have a bathroom. The piercer told me if the piercing got infected I could soak it in saltwater, so i needed a source of 1. salt, 2. water that is warm or at least not the below-freezing ambient temperature i currently exist in.

Gas stations have both these things. (I have yet to purchase salt for my occasional propane stove cooking). Only problem is it was past midnight in a rural area, so I didn't find a 24 hour convenience store until around 100 miles into my route for the evening.

At 3 AM local time the store was inhabited by just One stern-looking employee who was mopping the floor. My grungy ass walks in carrying a small collapsible bowl and immediately begins casing the place like the world's shittiest thief, looking for those little free salt packets. I looked around the (empty, no hot food at 3 AM) hot dog stand and saw only wet condiments so i circled back around to the grocery section in case they were selling salt shakers I could buy. No luck so i desperately returned to the hot dog counter in case I missed the salt, and noticed a cabinet labeled CONDIMENTS below the dog cooker, which did conceal salt packets. I stuffed a handful of them in my pocket and hoped the mopping woman wouldn't ask, then pivoted to the bathroom where I locked myself for the next fifteen minutes.

I filled my bowl with hot water which was actually cool water but at least it wasn't frigid, and mixed salt into it and held it to my ear. After a few minutes the staff, who had been understandably watching me from around corners the entire time I was searching for salt, knocked on the door. I replied "hello?" and she didn't respond, so I assumed she was just checking if anyone was in there before she tried entering to continue mopping. I finished cleaning my sad little ear and bought a bag of yogurt pretzels as a gesture of good will because I felt bad for taking her salt and taking too much time in the bathroom when she needed to clean.

Enter The Pig. I had returned to my car and grabbed my first aid kit to apply antiobiotic ointment, when an officer entered the store. Trepidation when he arrived since I knew I was being a freak, but then i thought he was just doing his own shopping, then he came back out and approached my vehicle.

Rolled down my window and he asks what was going on in the bathroom. (What if i had been just taking a long shit??). So I showed him my ear and my bowl and explained, as Alertly, Calmly, and Soberly as i could after driving for multiple hours after midnight, to the face of someone who can ruin my life with a penstroke, that I was on the road and had to soak this infected piercing. Luckily it was a confused young cop who was too bewildered to inquire much further, not an old hardass who might start asking more challenging questions such as "where are you going" or "where are you staying tonight and why are you washing your ear at the gas station and not there." He clearly barely even looked at my car - asked if i was a local when my license plate is from two timezones away - and let me go without even collecting my information.

That was the sixth time that police have confronted me for acting outside social norms. The first time was because I was plucking an invasive plant species from the side of the road and he thought I was falling when I walked up & down the slope. The second time I was walking home alone at night, and maybe someone called because I had a backpack on and they thought I was trying to rob a house. I was just walking home from the train. The third time I had been biking home in the dark without a headlight, and i fell on my face and didn't know I was bleeding until a bastard pulled up and told me someone called because they thought I got hit by a car. The fourth time was when I fell in the river last winter and i was knocking on random doors asking for directions home to minimize my risk of hypothermia, and I suppose the woman who drove me home called to send someone to make sure i was okay? The fifth time was the first time I slept in my car, which ironically was before I started serially sleeping in my car. I was falling asleep on the highway after an all-nighter so I took the next exit and took a nap in my driver's seat at the end of a random residential street before I ended up on the news, and that's how I learned suburbanites are paranoid as all hell about anything out of the ordinary because a cop knocked on my window and asked me if I was drunk (who would say yes to that question?). Now I select my sleeping sites very carefully, which is probably the most annoying thing about hashtag vanlife, but I haven't gotten The Knock again yet and sometimes when I pull into random public lands after dark I wake up to mountains I've never seen before and that fuels my soul.

Lesson learned is that if you need to snort sodium chloride in a gas station bathroom at 3 AM, just have an ear piercing and dampen the hair around it and carry a bowl around, and you've got a story that's Too Weird To Be Making Shit Up.

[yoohyeon]

I’m suppose to paint but my moral is so low right now…

[giantkillerjack]

Thank you, younger me, for drawing so many things in which the lines were never quite right. It is quite literally the only reason I ever figured out how to get them right.

[argylepiratewd]

Some Unholy Hoax - Chapter 5

Chapter 5A and Chapter 5B/25

For new readers: The Beginning

Rating: Explicit

In a desperate attempt to delay the Second Coming, Supreme Archangel Aziraphale makes a proposal: Jesus should be completely reborn—gestated for nine months in the human way, then raised to adulthood on Earth. When he volunteers to carry the child himself, he doesn’t think anyone will agree. Somebody, however, does.

What will his unexpected pregnancy do to his strained relationship with Crowley? And what will happen once it becomes apparent that something is very much amiss in this whole “Second Coming” business?

[makismei]

❝ YOU A SUPERMAN? OR… A MINUTE MAN?

♡ fem!reader x various

featuring…. gojo satoru, nanami kento & fushiguro toji

cw: 18+, minors dni, squirting, overstim, unprotected sex, dacryphilia, anal play (nanami)

synopsis: who’s pounding till the sun rises and who’s clocking out after one round?!

notes from mei! tbh the title doesn’t really make sense… i listened to mcnasty(?) by jay park when it came out a while back and that lyric really resounded in my soul

GOJO ♡ a quick shot. but his dick stays hard. pretty superman-esque if you ask me.

“you idiot—fuuuck, stop moving your hips!” the sound of both of your cum sloshing together rings in your ears. you’re pushing at his tummy, quivering legs haphazardly thrown over his shoulders and tears bubbling in your lash line.

it feels so full inside of you. you’ve both been going at it for god knows how long; his release smeared on your lower tummy and inner thighs.

satoru moves your hand, interlocking his fingers with yours as he starts to press weight into each thrust.

“ahh, mmaahhh!” head shaking back and forth on the pillow, “‘m gonna cum! i can’t—satoru, m’ gonna die!”

he’s practically whining, ignoring your pleas with sweat beading down his temple as he plows you relentlessly. “baby, i can’t hold out.”

his head’s thrown back, feeling his dick twitch whenever he kisses your cervix just right, eyes rolling back into his skull.

“y’feel so good baby, why do you feel so good?” he pants, not realizing he’s filling you up with hot ropes of cum. he’s still thrusting and you swear if he keeps this up your bottom half is going to be numb.

still absolutely rock hard inside of you, he turns you on your side, one leg still on his shoulder while he grinds against that one spot that renders you speechless.

“let me have one more, baby.” he whines, legs shaking, “‘m still so hard f’you.”

NANAMI ♡ depends. he’s good at holding himself off, but he also enjoys stuffing you with multiple loads of his cum.

he’s groaning, eyes lidded as he watches you align his cock with your leaky slit. globs of his cum seep from your pussy, soiling his faintly coloured pubic hairs. someway, somehow, you managed to flip your previous positions and he’s the one laying on the mattress instead of you.

“my love,” he breathes, his large hand; callused from his work but still so gentle, caresses your hip, “i’m not going anywhere.”

it’s as if you’re in a rush, scrambling like he’s going to disappear.

you whine, legs quivering when his tip swipes against your entrance. “please, nami, i want you to cum again… it feels s’good.”

he smiles, his other hand reaching out to hold your face, thumb gently stroking against your cheek. “so needy today… have i been neglecting you?”

leaning down, you bury your face into his neck, grinding your soaked pussy onto his hardening cock. you hum shyly, distracting yourself by leaving wet kisses on his neck and shoulder.

he hums, your shyness making him all smug and sappy. “so that’s what it is, huh?”

you feel him harden, before he’s lifting you and dropping you down on his cock. you tense, squealing into his shoulder. languidly, he’s making you fuck down onto him, his own hips jolting up to meet you halfway.

sneakily, a hand makes it’s way down to your ass. he swats playfully before gathering slick at the point where you’re both connected. surprised, your eyes widen when you feel his finger start playing with your rim. it’s gentle, soft massaging as he’s jackhammering into you.

with your legs shaking, he doesn’t bother trying to move your hips, simply doing the work for you.

you’re gushing, liquid drooling from your pusey before you force yourself off of him, practically screaming as you squirt all over his lap. nanami groans, pulling you back down onto him to chase his release.

“oh my god—oh, fuuucckk!!” nails digging into his skin, your eyes roll back from the onslaught of pleasure. “‘s shoo gooood!”

he chuckles in your ear, but it gets cut off with a moan, flooding your cunt with his seed. kissing your tear-soaked cheeks, he smiles against your skin. “still feeling neglected, baby?”

TOJI ♡ one round and he’s hooonkkk mimimi… but he’s fucks nawwstyyy. like. he fucks you so good one round has you nearly passed out and quivering—drool and tears all over the pillow and your squirt leaving a niceee puddle right underneath you.

“that’s right, doll.” he whistles lowly, watching your legs tense, knees lifting themselves off the bed as he continues to bury his fingers into your cunt, his pupils practically dilating as he continuously prods against your sweet spot.

it’s wet and sticky between your legs, pussy glistening under the cheap glow of your bedside night light.

you’re damn near in a downward dog, face smushed into the mattress as your squirt soaks the bed. toji doesn’t let up, toying with your clit as he grins, cock twitching in his boxers.

when you slump face first into the bed, you’re practically drooling as you know what’s coming next. sturdy, thickset fingers knead the globes of your ass, before you feel his heavy cock sneaking it’s way into your slit.

“look at you,” he jeers, leaky tip pressing into your cunt. “being such a sweetheart after i made you squirt a few times.”

he buries himself to the hilt and you think you’re going cross-eyed. “yeah,” he croons, hips finding rhythm and bouncing on the fat of your ass, “you just wanna cum, ain’t that right?”

“yeesshh!” you cry. this position allows him too much control. you’re flat on your stomach, barely holding yourself up from your elbows. toji bares his weight on you, practically humping you and you know, he’s about to cum.

his tip kisses your g-spot repeatedly, scarred lips leaving wet kisses on your shoulder. “‘m gonna cum, baby,” he breathes, “you’ll take it, won’t’cha?”

you nod, eyes teary, “mmhm!”

you feel his lips against your skin, grinning. “cum with me baby, c’mon. you got it.”

as if his words have magic, he thrusts a couple more times before he feels you squeeze, and he’s a goner. groaning, he has a feeling you’re squirting again while he’s shooting rope after rope inside of you. he’s dizzy, practically blacking out after he pulls out, wiping you down with his shirt that he’s mistaken for a towel.

he slumps beside you, with his eyes closed, he slings a hefty arm over your waist. you adjust as he pulls you closer, lips brushing against your scapula.

he’s snoring before you know it.

panel is from i’ve become the target of his affection ^.^

[heavenbarnes]

I used to date an older guy (like mid 40s) a few years back and I always got stupidly turned on when he fixed stuff around his house?? Like, he just knew hot to do it and did it. No googling, just him and his tools. Feel like it would fit somewhere in your older bf Simon stuff.

god love a fully capable “fuck it i’ll do it” type of man 🫶🏼

you know that your older bf!simon doesn’t believe in hiring tradespeople for a service.

“why would i pay someone to fuck about in my home?”

“they’re not fucking about, si! they’d be fixing the sink”

“i’ll do it”

you have no doubt that simon was more than capable of fixing things around the house but you also wanted him relaxing when he was home.

turns out he couldn’t relax at the thought of another man doing something for you.

so you let him do it, you threw your hands up and waved your white tea towel in defeat as you heard him banging around in the garage for tools.

hearing the faint sounds of grunting and the occasional swear word coming from the bathroom, you thought it might pay to go and see how he was getting on.

fucking hell.

simon was on his back, arms stretched up above him as his hands dwarfed the pipe they were wrapped around. t-shirt riding up, lines of his stomach leading right to his belt, knees bent and boots firmly planted on the floor, you could honestly just-

“oi, you gonna’ stare or help me?”

now how the fuck?

“your heads in the cupboard, how did you know-“

“i always know where you are, pass me the wrench”

crouching down beside him, you handed it over and stayed down there to watch him work. scarred knuckles wrapped around the handle of the tool, other palm flat against the base of the sink so you could see the veins.

he was something else entirely.

“how d’you know how to do all this?”

“taught m’self, come hold this”

you reached over to replace where his palm was so he could have both hands back. “but why? surely other people don’t learn all this?”

“other people don’t care about their sweet’art not having to lift a finger- move your finger for me”

the more you stretched to hold the sink, the more you felt yourself losing traction with it. naturally, simon noticed before you did.

“y’need to get closer, cm’ere”

tools landing to the side of him, two large hands plucked you up till you were dropped in his lap. precarious situation but you couldn’t deny the sink was a lot easier to reach.

you stayed like that, letting simon work in peace as you enjoyed your view. honestly, he could invite you to the end of the world and you’d just be happy to hold his hand.

one hand splayed out on his chest, the other holding the sink, you suddenly felt a tickle forming at the end of your nose. before you knew it, you were pulling your hand back to scratch it- the one holding the sink.

you panicked, realising it could very well land on simon’s head. but it didn’t, it stayed completely still. face screwing up, you leant in again to give the sink a nudge only to find out it was totally fixed.

“what the hell, si? why’d you have me doing all that?”

you saw the smirk on his face as he flashed a look over at you. suddenly, you realised you weren’t the only one enjoying the view.

the hand that didn’t have the wrench came out to give you a pat on the side of your hip.

“c’mon sweet’art, i can’t get anything outta’ this?”