#excellent concept

[jakelope13]

Apologies if it's been a while since this is posted.

Short Story: An Abstract Concept

“You’ve got no idea what it’s like to be lonely,” the immortal in the backseat says. He’s already broken out of his cuffs, but that’s as far as he’s gotten. The crosses engraved on the windows and in the metal around him prevent him from using his strength to punch out of the car. “Not truly lonely.”

You don’t look back, focusing on the road. Your partner is dead next to you, throat torn out and head gently thunking against the window every time you hit a pothole. His hand is lying next to his leg,  blood filling his palm from where he tried to patch over the hole in his neck. You say, “Not a good enough reason for kidnapping seventeen innocent girls.”

The immortal raises a dark eyebrow. “If they’d been guilty, would that have been better?” The silence stretches and he scoffs when it’s clear you aren’t going to give him an answer. “Or maybe if I hadn’t been a vampire?”

“It’d’ve been better if you hadn’t broken the law,” you say. You take a left sooner than you should and, if your passengers notice the car picking up speed, neither mention it. “Or at least not done in my partner.”

“He surprised me,” the immortal says carelessly. He frowns out the window, eyes tracking the passing street signs. “Impressive stealth. I’m not easily surprised.”

You bet. According to the brief, he’s nearly two centuries old. You focus on the town’s perimeter coming up and reach over to prod your partner’s corpse. “Hey.”

“We,” the vampire says slowly, “are heading away from the station.”

You let the gas pedal touch the floor. The buildings melt away and the desert bursts out to either side of the car. Miles and miles of desert. You jab your partner with three fingers. “Hey, wake up. I’m gonna crash the car.”

Keep reading

[firejugglinghobo]

🎡 -Sadie

send 🎡 or [carnival] to take my muse(s) to the local carnival @sadiebrin

Everything about the carnival should have repulsed Dustfinger. It was bright, crowded, and noisy. Most of the food was brightly colored, and Dustfinger would have to be bodily restrained before he'd ever find himself on any of the rides.

But there was a familiarity to the atmosphere that actually attracted him. He understood these people, both those in attendance and those running the fried food stands and games of chance. He understood how bright lights and hypnotic music could be used to excite the senses of people looking for an escape from the monotony of their everyday lives. He understood the pull to just live in a world like this for a while, to forget time and reality in the grandeur and simplicity of the carnival.

He wondered what Sadie thought of it all. She was still difficult for him to read at times. This wasn't his first visit to a place like this, but it might be hers, for all he knew.

"How are you feeling?"

He nudged her slightly to get her attention away from the bright lights and flashing colors illuminating the steadily darkening evening around them.

[seefasters]

average travis player character: some sort of guy with backstory happenings of various levels of tragedy

average clint player character: old man with a mischievous streak (always on the verge of death)

average griffin player character: lil guy with impostor syndrome and trying SO hard

average justin player character: the weirdest person anyone has ever heard of, ever

[femmefatalevibe]

25 Life Lessons I've Learned In 25 Years

In honor of turning 25 this month, here are some lessons I wish someone could've baked into my brain by 18. Hope this helps xx

Putting yourself first is not selfish, it is an act of self-care. Actively discounting others is not the same as protecting your peace.

Pay attention to who gossips and keeps to themselves amidst an interpersonal conflict. Insecure people or those in the wrong will speak the loudest and go on the longest in a fight to prove their innocence. Individuals who are self-assured and comfortable with the truth know it's better to communicate their feelings appropriately and then move past it. Confidence is assertive, tactful, and relatively silent.

If you want to know who to believe in an argument, pay attention to how both sides speak about the conflict. The perpetrator will often speak about the individuals' character/morality while the victim will explain their personal experience in the context of the relevant situation.

Display empathy and consideration, but don't live to satisfy others' emotional needs and expectations. Say farewell to anyone who dismisses or guilts you for your own needs, emotions, priorities/life goals & aspirations.

Your needs matter. No one needs to approve or validate your desires. If someone feels they have control over you or tries to persuade you to change your mind to ensure you put their emotions and needs first, cut them out of your life. They do not care about you.

Almost no one deserves insider access into your life and mind. Upholding your right to privacy – especially regarding your finances, dating life, health conditions/concerns, and long-term goals – is the simplest way to protect your peace.

A friend to all is a friend to none. Be wary of those who will not stand up for you behind closed doors. These people do not care about you, they care about what your place in their life does for them and their ego.

Be radically honest and accepting of who you are. Don't apologize for your preferences, aspirations, and values. You deserve to live in a way that makes you happy, not to appease others in hopes of their approval or future favors due to your karmic good deeds.

You deserve happiness, love, and nice things, life experiences, relationships, and opportunities in your life regardless of what others may or may not possess/ be able to experience. Dispel this scarcity mindset ASAP. Jealousy and internalized shame are destructive to your self-esteem and all your relationships.

You are worthy and offer many incredible, unique gifts to the world. Don't allow naysayers, critics, or bullies (of any age) to dim your light or sacrifice pursuing your dreams. Decide you're the leader of your own life. Then act accordingly.

Direct communication is always the way. Remain tactful, but at least when dealing with non-manipulative people, always say what you mean and mean what you say. It will save a lot of trouble and petty disagreements that could've been avoided with clearer communication.

You don't owe anyone an explanation for your feelings, emotions, and actions that don't have a direct, inescapable impact on someone else. "No" is a complete sentence.

Approach conversations as a meeting of the minds. Healthy debate or conflict is about seeking to understand the other person, not prove yourself right. Leaving your ego at the door will allow you to expand your mind and avoid many unnecessary conflicts or arguments.

If it's not a hell yes, it's a no. For a job, date, sex, attendance at a time-sucking social event, family gatherings, an informal meeting not essential for you to keep your job, a wedding, birthday party, holiday invitation, etc. Outside of your contracted hours and time necessary to keep yourself/your home clean & well-maintained, you should spend your time exactly as you please. Doing things you don't want to do will only breed resentment down the line toward yourself and others.

Detangle yourself from any who refuses to self-reflect and take accountability. This person is selfish and will never see you as fully human with emotions, needs, and a complete life/internal world of your own. Cut them out (or at least fully emotionally detach and limit contact with them) immediately.

Speak your truth, but always say a little less than you feel necessary. Overexplaning and oversharing do you no favors. At a minimum, this approach allows you to protect your peace. In the worst circumstances, this tactic can also save you from a lot of trouble in your personal or professional life.

Learn to ask for a little more than you're comfortable with, but do so with grace, tact, and confidence. Whether it's a salary/rate negotiation, flight/hotel/restaurant accommodations, get in the habit of making that slightly higher/up-leveled request like you're expecting a "yes." You can't get something you don't ask for, so speak up and show you know your worth. This habit can bring a lot of great opportunity into your life and builds up your confidence.

Everyone is on their own timeline and path. Don't compare yourself to others' credentials, job titles, relationship status, net worths, or jean sizes. Comparison is truly the thief of joy. Remaining envious of others only takes up the energy that could otherwise be used to elevate or enrich your life.

Become clear on your priorities, and remain diligent with your habits & routines. Set SMART goals. Implement healthy habits and rituals into your daily lifestyle. Be consistent with goal-supporting and wellness rituals (generous sleep schedule, healthful eating habits, daily movement/regular exercise, reading, task time-blocking, cleaning, and life/work admin schedule), so they become second nature. Help yourself by creating these default habits to ensure your brain is wired for success whether you're in an easygoing era or a stressful life season.

Stop seeing other people (especially other women) as your competition in your profession/dating life and within your platonic relationships. Use your immediate criticisms as a tool for self-reflection. Actively deconstruct the patriarchy in every aspect of your life. Other women coworkers, dating prospects, and friends are not your rivals nor individuals who should be evaluated based on their assertiveness, sexual history/appeal, relationship status, or desire to perform traditional maternal/domestic roles.

Understanding how to interact with others in a cordial, tactful manner is significantly more important than having everyone like you. Learn how to positively influence people without seeking approval. What other people think of us is none of our business. All we can do is show up as the best version of ourselves, and remain optimistic about a potential connection.

Acceptance, accountability, and consistent discipline are the holy trinity to creating a sustainable change that you can maintain for the long haul. There's no shame in starting from the bottom, but you need to be honest about where you're at, so you can create a realistic game plan/small behavior-changing habits that stack up over time to help you implement the radical change you're craving.

Let go of any internalized shame. Being the "good girl" does you no favors in life. Set a standard and expectation to be respected, not to be perceived as "innocent" or submissive – this is how you get taken advantage of in professional, platonic, and intimate relationships. Remain ravenous for respect. It's the only way to live life to the fullest.

24. Investing in your appearance is a form of self-respect. Wanting to look & feel your best and present yourself in the best light possible to others is not a superficial pursuit. Remain unwavering about your hygiene/beauty/grooming routines, deliberate styling choices, healthy eating & workout habits, and mindfulness of social graces. You're your #1 publicist, so act like it. Life is all about embracing satisfaction with a sprinkle of reputation management.

25. Be unapologetic about your financial ambitions, priorities, investments, savings goals, etc. Financial freedom IS freedom. The only way to change the system is to break it from the inside out. Leverage is everything. Allocate, and assert your (financial) power wisely.

[onlyslightlyobsessedwithturtles]

Ajdkghsklfj

No, that's a sword. Silly Leo!

[harmonysanreads]

How would Yandere sunday react to Reader being Like „awww your so cute“ Even though this man is anything but CUTE but Reader is just so innocent

How... intriguing.

Sunday is no stranger to admiration, or more precisely, compliments. His title extends beyond the borders of Penacony. Regrettably, most of the compliments Sunday receives are either backhanded or made with some second motive. Your simple admission, paired with the fact that no one has used the adjective ‘cute’ on him since his teenage years, just scratches his brain in a certain way. So much so that he continues to analyze that memory continuously for two weeks.

In that process, his attention shifts from the words themselves to the person who delivered them. Out of nowhere, he remembers the exact way your lips moved, the cadence of your voice when you cooed and the way your eyelashes fluttered when you looked at him.

Sunday finds himself in a dilemma now, unable to remember what really happened from his memory. But, your innocuous admission has undoubtedly grasped his attention without much effort. He finds solace in no other method but to continue ‘pursuing further knowledge about you’.

[m4rs-ex3]

i really want "i am already dead" to come back

like i'm pretty sure it's clear that it's pretty fucked up but the more i think about it........ it's realllllllly fucked up when you apply it to rayla (which has obviously been done but still the association hasn't been explored in canon)

rayla started assassin training when she was 9-12ish(?). no fucking wonder she is the way she is because imagine growing up being told that, essentially, your life does not matter. sure the intention is for you not to fear death, and it kinda relates to the whole moon arcanum "death and life are a cycle" and "death is not the end" things, but still, we're talking about a child who never seemed to enlightened on deeper moonshadow theologies. so basically as far as rayla's concerned, if she is already dead, and therefore her death is inconsequential, then she does not matter

no wonder she's always willing to throw her life away. no wonder she has such little self-worth. no wonder she thought nothing of putting callum's life above her own, even if it meant killing him in a different way, because - even though she knows he loves her, and she's learned that not everything the silvergrove taught her was right, and she's grown out of being an assassin in the first place - she'll never shake that mentality. ty for coming to my ted talk

[nowwavingnotdrowning]

#jaskier: primary sources bitch @townseleven

I think Istredd would throttle Jaskier if they ever met after blood origin. He's dedicated his entire life to studying the monoliths, and then here comes this bard who tells him exactly what they are, where they're from and how they work, and as much as he wants to discredit it, it fits in with his own research and fills in some of the massive gaps he had.

Istredd would see red. Yen would cheer them on.

[islelynn]

Another owl house illustration! Possibly some huntlow aftermath to the previous one? The more drawings I do following this theme the more I want to try to expand on the story... But then I'd have to actually, you know, make it 🥲.

[thesulkycroissant]

Turns out I gotta make a long post about this one.

This comes from the issue of New Teen Titans that introduces Brother Blood for the first time. Dick, Wally, Raven, and Donna try to sneak in undercover to Brother Blood's compound, but Wally, Raven, and Donna are quickly detected as metas. They're captured. Brother Blood decides to have Dick interrogated. A few panels:

Brother Blood leaves and the comic cuts away from Dick for a while, and when it returns -

This panel is especially important:

Because up to this point, Brother Blood has immediately disintegrated ("excommunicated", he calls it) anyone who fails or disappoints him in any way. Yet -

Brother Blood then has Dick thrown into a pit with the other Titans, who are still unconscious.

In spite of this extreme pain, once Dick takes stock of the situation (which involves a giant spider that wants to kill them), he moves to rescue his friends. When he starts, he doesn't even know if they're alive.

After securing Donna to the wall out of reach of the spider, Dick returns to the ground for Raven, at which point he's finally overwhelmed.

And after all of this.

After ALL OF THIS.

What he thinks are his final words are an apology to Bruce for letting him down.

The awful but amazing thing about this is that at the end of this comic, the Titans are basically arrested. It's publicized. The chances that Bruce doesn't find out about the incident (the Titans allegedly attacking Brother Blood's "church") and feel the need to address it are practically nil (without knowing that Dick nearly died). I'm just sat thinking, how awful would that conversation be for Dick. To have Bruce express disappointment or anger. After this scene.

It does also highlight again Marv Wolfman's commitment to proving that Dick Grayson deserves to be on this team and deserves to be leading it. I have a deep and abiding appreciation for the work New Teen Titans does in establishing these characters.

[strawberryicedcookies]

pretty girls wear huge glasses.🧘🏿‍♀️

[marshmalleaux-queen]

this is basically how that minor prophecy goes, right

[fictionadventurer]

My sister just mentioned the story our bishop told, about a woman who went to St. John Vianney after her husband committed suicide by jumping from a bridge, and she was beside herself because she knew he had to be in hell, and John Vianney told her, "Between the bridge and the water is the mercy of God."

[reksink]

Hornet Designing in Progress

[realpokemon]

happy birthday to pokémon

[femmefatalevibe]

Femme Fatale Guide: Signatures To Discover For A Stronger Personal Brand

Personal brand colors (for your outfits, makeup, nails, socials, office supplies/decor, etc.)

Signature aesthetic choices (could you be identified as the woman always in a leather jacket, wearing red lipstick, always wearing crystal hair clips or full ear stacks, etc.)

Signature jewelry pieces

Go-to nail color/shape

Signature drink (alcoholic or not)

Personal sayings you're known for in your social group

Signature scent

Unique talents/hobbies/skillsets (Painting, cooking, computer skills/programming, negotiating, writing, etc.)

Your go-to restaurants, shops, etc.

Signature meals/particular food choices

Signature hostess gifts

Specific leisure priorities (she's the woman you'll always find at the Opera, contemporary art museum, dog park, watching Alfred Hitchcock movies, etc. in her free time)

Areas of life where you give the best advice

Causes/organizations you care most strongly about

Your greatest social competency (Telling the best stories, being funny, asking great questions, making everyone feel welcome and included, negotiating, planning the best trips/parties, being a social connector, etc.)