#i wanna have as much time to save money and also like. heal

[foxmulderautism]

getting emails about my writing ma offer is soo funny like girl i cannot afford you!

[radiotorn]

having to restrain from saying anything when my dad dares to say that men get paid LESS than women. in what world. are you out of your fucking mind old man.

[clubdionysus]

[DRABBLE] Last Christmas

warnings: alcohol aisle but no consumption lol

wc: 1.2k

bd total wc: 540k (on-going)

minors dni | AO3 | series masterlist 

4 MONTHS EARLIER

"No," you say with a stern look in your eye as you clock Danbi's latest suggestion. At the opposite end of the supermarket aisle you've been down for the past ten minutes, she holds up a dark bottle of overpriced port.

"Oh, c'mon-"

"Absolutely not," you laugh as she walks towards you, shaking your head with playful disapproval. "We both know what happened last Christmas. We're not repeating it again this year."

While Danbi knows you're right, she still pouts. Doesn't even like port that much, just knew it would get a laugh from you, which is why she suggested it.

Late December, you're in need of drinks for the festive little gathering that you're hosting that evening. It'll be a small crowd, just a few friends and other halves, but you're looking forward to it.

You hadn't even been planning on drinking that much, but your boyfriend cancelled earlier in the week, so now you're thinking of just getting wasted. Bars are always open, and Danbi's been whining about a mistletoe kiss all week, so you might even hit the town.

Nothing is set in stone, except for Danbi's need to keep a smile on your face, 'cause Lord knows your 'good-for-nothing, sack-of-shit boyfriend' (her words, not yours) doesn't seem to care about it.

"I'm thinking vodka," you muse, looking at the shelves ahead of you. It's a small section compared to the rows upon rows of wine, but you're not after anything classy.

The aisle you're in is crowded; people stocking up last minute for supplies that will last them for the rest of the festive period. You really should have known better than to leave shopping until the last minute, but had also spent the past two days at home together, with the last of your wine supply and the entire Christmas movie collection on Netflix to see you through.

Christmas is the time to indulge in unhealthy habits, and indulge you have, but you think it's okay if it helps to heal your heart a little bit. So does Danbi. In fact, she's the enabler, here.

"I'm thinking you wanna get shitfaced," Danbi assesses as she meets you, and joins your contemplative gaze towards the clear bottles of alcohol.

The labels are all fairly similar - red, primarily. Shiny. Inherently festive, you think.

There's one bottle that's really grabbing your attention, though. Top shelf. Limited Edition Christmas bottle. Covered in glitter. Comes with a complimentary pot of shimmer dust to pair with the liquor. Is practically calling your name.

"And you don't?" You tease, glancing across to her, pleased to see that she's clocked it too. "What do you reckon? Worth the price tag?"

Nearly three times the price of your regular vodka, you only ever go for top-shelf on very special occasions - important birthdays, your graduation. Christmas doesn't qualify.

"I reckon with the money we'd save by getting the usual bottle, we could get edible glitter from the baking section and just make the bottle glittery at home," she reasons, but is also a sucker for a gimmick. "It is a nice bottle, though. And the vodka is better..."

Her thoughts linger in the air and have you contemplating just saying 'fuck it,' and going for the overpriced chaos of the glittery bottle - until you hear the clearing of a throat beside you.

"Word to the wise," the guy perusing the shelves next to you says, leaning slightly closer so you know that it's you he's talking to, then passes you a bottle from the middle of the self.

Though you can see him in your peripherals, you haven't really bothered to look in his direction - was too focused on the alcohol. The movement of his body spreads the silage of his aftershave, and you're reminded of why you like men so much.

He's dressed in all black, that much is certain, and the hand that passed you the bottle was covered in tattoos. Part of you fears looking in his direction, for the knowledge that you probably won't be able to stop.

"It's made in the same distillery as the top-shelf one," He continues. You don't look at him, still, too busy reading over the label. It's not one you've ever tried before, but it's in the same price bracket as your usual one. "It's just filtered one less time, and doesn't have the marketing budget. You can barely taste the difference. Most of the bars downtown swap the bottles, and no one ever notices. I never told you that, though. And Dionysus definitely doesn't do that. Merry Christmas."

Studying the bottle, you take a second before glancing up across to the man beside you - but he's already walking away.

"Nice to meet you, too," Danbi whistles under her breath as you both watch him head towards the next aisle. Didn't really get a good look at him, either. Didn't realise he was talking to you until the last second. "God. He was like a sauve, sexy Santa, delivering presents and dipping like that. Delightful."

"What does that make us then?" You laugh, still holding the bottle. "His little elves?"

"If that's what he wants us to be, sure," she playfully jokes.

"Well then- ho, ho, ho," you hum in agreement, looking to the now-empty end of the aisle. Broad, tall, and dressed for a funeral, you've no idea what your mystery vodka man actually looks like, but it doesn't really matter. You know he's hot. It was laced in the way he walked away. The way he spoke. The way he'd definitely been eavesdropping and waiting for the perfect time to bestow a little wisdom to you.

If there's one thing you like in a man, it's competence. It's why you're with Seokjin. He has it in abundance. And so did this mystery man, it would seem - or at least, he knows far more about obscure vodka brands than you. Maybe he's a bartender, you hypothesise. Or maybe he's just hot. Maybe both.

"Our very own Christmas miracle," you say with a smile, then turn to Danbi. "Baking aisle? We need edible glitter."

"Baking aisle," she nods, grinning just as brightly as you are. "Shame there wasn't any mistletoe there."

"I have a boyfriend," you remind her, shoulders knocking together as you walk.

Danbi holds her tongue. Could say all sorts of things about Seokjin and his less-than-saintly behaviours. It's Christmas after all. No time for discussions of such unpleasantries. One day, his horrible qualities will just be a memory of the past - as will the presence of your mystery supermarket Santa, and the club he mentioned. You'll think nothing of it as the word Dionysus rings in your head when Hoseok and Danbi insist on going to bars in a few months time to nurse your impending breakup.

You're none-the-wiser now, though. Ignorance is bliss.

Danbi just shrugs. Wraps an arm around you and squeezes you tightly. Giggles. "Bah humbug."

AO3 | MASTERLIST | NEXT

[ohmytyong]

mark me in your heart [teaser]

PAIRING: drug dealer!mark x bartender!reader

GENRE: angst, smut, kinda friends with benefits au, bartender!renjun, best friend!renjun, action au

TEASER WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol, explicit scene of drug use, use of pet names

WC: tba (TEASER WC: 1,2k)

‣[PLAYLIST]: 505 by arctic monkeys, bad omens by 5 seconds of summer, slow down by chase atlantic, why do you only call me when you're high? by arctic monkeys, a little death by the neighborhood, okay by chase atlantic

SUMMARY: when a sensitive and broken heart meets another one of the same nature, their instinctive reaction is to seek comfort in each other, and in order to heal themselves, they both need to be equally strong and willing to put all their broken pieces back together. but sometimes, some hearts aren't strong enough to be saved; the only way to save them is if the stronger heart of the two is willing to take the risk and try for the both of them, whatever it takes.

A/N: i forgot how long i've had this idea sitting in my drafts. i think it's time it saw the light of day and i think it's better if i share this with you

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“Hey Renjun, pass me that glass” you said as you wiped the thick tall glass completely dry before you put it back on the shelf behind you. You were moving mechanically at this point, the exhaustion of the long night at the bar taking over your entire body. It was 5 in the morning and you had just barely managed to kick out some of the remaining drunk nobodies who were so wasted, that their toxic-infused brains couldn’t even give them the signals to move their own bodies.

Working at the bar wasn’t your dream job but it’s not as if you had a better choice. It was either a bartender or a stripper. Both of them sounded equally bad, so you decided to opt for the slightly better one. If you could even say it like that.

It wasn’t a particularly ideal job but it was enough to get you by. It earned you enough money to buy you food and pay the rent at the motel you were staying at, it got you as many free drinks as you needed to help your mind escape from all your worries and you also got to meet some relatively cool people, so that was somewhat good. The working hours weren’t such a big of an issue either, you couldn’t really sleep anyway. So you were fine with it.

Most nights, the bar usually closed at around 3 am. There wasn’t a set rule on this; it usually depended on how many customers there were and how much they were drinking. Your boss had suggested that you shouldn't keep the bar open all night long, so you kinda decided that it was best to close a few hours after midnight. You weren’t complaining about this though; the sooner it closed, the more time you’d have to get high with your co-worker Renjun at the alleyway behind the bar.

Unfortunately, tonight luck wasn’t on your side, as a group of friends kept on drinking more and more as the hours passed by, which meant that you and Renjun had to keep the bar open until later. You weren’t opposed to this idea, it only meant that you would earn a little bit more money. It was Renjun who started complaining, so he decided to take action into his own hands and practically dragged the drunks out of the bar.

This is how you ended up cleaning up the place this late, rather this early in the morning, with your co-worker. The two of you were too tired to speak, so neither of you made any efforts to spark up a conversation. You both just attended to your respective tasks, waiting for a specific somebody to show up.

Luck surely wasn’t on your side tonight. He would usually show up at around 3:30 am, right after the bar closed, and he would have all the stuff ready, just at the exact moment you needed it. Why was he late today?

It didn’t take a genius to understand that Renjun was clearly affected by the lack of the stuff. He moved around the place nervously, tugging at his hair and stomping his foot rhythmically. He was in a desperate need of it, and you would honestly lie to yourself if you said you didn’t need it half as much as Renjun did.

You put the last clean glass on the shelf behind you and went over to the storage room to grab a broom, so that you could clean the floor a bit while Renjun was still wiping the bar counters. As soon as you closed the door of the storage room, the little bell that hung above the bar’s front door rang with a tinkle and soon after it followed the sound of the so familiar footsteps you were waiting for all night.

“Hey kids, Santa’s here,” his voice resonated in the empty room as he waved a small transparent plastic bag that looked white because of its content. Renjun threw the handkerchief he was holding to the other side of the counter and dramatically jumped over it to go and hug the male who just entered. All of that just at the sight of the clear plastic bag with the snowy content.

“Mark, what took you so long my guy, I’m literally a dead man walking! Give this beauty to me,” Renjun exclaimed and snatched the plastic bag straight out of Mark’s hand. Mark smirked at what Renjun said and immediately started grinning at the sight of the boy’s eagerness.

Renjun went to sit on the bar stool closer to him and placed the bag on top of the counter he had just wiped clean. With slender fingers, he opened the plastic bag and dredged some of the content on the counter. With nervousness in his movements, he set the bag aside and shuffled through his back pocket to find his ID card. He started scattering the white dust all over the counter before he gathered all of it in a straight line with the help of his ID card. When he was satisfied with the result, he put his ID card back into his pocket, lowered his head to the level that his nose touched the cold surface of the counter, took a deep breath and snorted the entire line of crack, the product going straight up into his nostrils.

Renjun blinked several times before he slowly lifted his head. He scrunched his nose and wiped it with the back of his hand, his drowsy eyes looking surprisingly bright considering his state. “Man, whoever hasn’t done crack, never, they haven’t known the beauty of life yet” he chuckled. Mark smirked at Renjun’s comment and you couldn’t help but shake your head amusingly, a small smile creeping up at your face.

Renjun took the plastic bag with the rest of the cocaine and put it in his pocket. “This baby’s for me, thank you,” he amused and turned his heel towards the storage room. “Don’t come look for me, I’ll be right here. If I take too long to come out, then you should be concerned,” he said and closed the storage room door behind him; a scene that was surprisingly quite familiar to you.

You then set the broom down and walked towards Mark. “Hey” you whispered and Mark greeted you back in a low husky voice. “What took you so long? We were expecting you to come earlier” you asked him.

Mark shrugged and leaned his elbow against the counter. “I came by at our usual meeting hour and saw that you guys were still open. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me so I decided to drop by later,” he said and you nodded in understanding.

“You do have more of those plastic bags on you, don’t you?” you asked him and he chuckled. “Of course I do, pretty. Let’s go outside and treat ourselves a bit, shall we?” he suggested and you nodded again, walking beside him towards the alleyway behind the bar.

* .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ ⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆

TAGS: @peachjaem00 @bbyyhyuck @vdollys @positionslab @matchahyuck @renjun-fairy @back2jisung @doieslefttoe @uwuheeseungie

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[taintedcigs]

skater!eddie is boggling my mind so bad like just eddie alone is so hot and so cool and so dorky and nerdy but now HE ALSO SKATES???

i just know he would own a black board with the hellfire logo underneath. (he lets you draw cute lil doodles on it and smothers u in kisses when u show him the finished product bc he loves it and u so much🥹)

he!! has!! a!! nose!! ring!!!

and he has a dirty black converse that he NEVER EVER TAKES OFF. that white man is probably wearing those converses in the house and you chide him for it so he blushes and quietly says ‘sorry, hun’ and takes them off quickly !!!!! (he also lets u draw little stars on it and insists u put ur initials <33)

skater!eddie who is hooked the moment he first sees u!!! he tries to impress u by doing flips and once u notice him and can’t take ur eyes off of him he gets nervous and trips >:( then u go to ask him if he’s ok and u give him a worried look and he almost MELTS but tries to act all cool “‘m fine! this shit happens all the time, honey, i’m used to it” but once u leave hes screaming in agony.

skater!eddie who teaches u how to skate and he’s so nervous each time you wobble on the board!! he catches u the second you look like u were gonna fall and u giggle at him and hes SOOO SMITTEN and makes stupid pick up lines each time he catches u like “oh! let me tie your shoes so u don’t fall for anyone else, sweetheart” and he has the biggest smuggest grin on his face and winks at u each time <33

and he encourages u no matter how many times u fail or trip >:( he gives u a warm smile as he kisses the top of your head, “you’re doin’ so well princess, wanna try one more?” his heart aches when u get any scrapes, taking care of them the second u come home!! “don’t worry, sweetheart, i’ll take care of it. hey, you want hello kitty plasters or lil puppy ones?” he says giving u a childish grin as he holds the pink plasters in front of u!! carefully placing them as he gives them a lil kiss to heal <33

and when he breaks his board after years of using it hes all grumpy and upset >:( and u feel so bad bc he loved that lil black board sm so u save some money and the first thing you do is ask max where to find the best boards so she helps u get him another one <33 and u draw the hellfire logo by yourself and draw little hearts on it and when u give it to eddie he almost tears up, looking at u with admiration ‘you–you did this all for me?” you nod with a warm smile on your face and the tears are READY to fall from his pretty honey glazed eyes bc no one has ever gotten him anything before, especially not something as expensive as this :(( and he gives u the biggest hug with the sloppiest kiss as he thanks u over and over again, he’s so glad to have you in his life. his honey, his angel, his girl.

i might just write a whole fic for him bc im down so bad for skater!eddie🫡🫡

[alfredojesta]

laughing jack's relationships!!!

a crash course in friendship

Laughing Jack doesn't understand feelings too well. This makes it difficult for him to exhibit empathy, sympathy or general compassion for anyone. He's been seeing humans as nothing but toys he can mess with. Their feelings only matter to him for the sake of his amusement! Fun, fun, fun! Laughing Jack loves having fun! But when he meets William Grossman — LJ starts to change.

WILLIAM GROSSMAN

LJ: "WILLIAM!!! A GOOD LITTLE KID. I MET HIM ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT WHILST HE WAS DUMPSTER DIVING FOR EXTRA CHANGE!"

Will: "Laughing Jack and I are like this." He crosses his fingers. "Best-friends for life!"

William eerily resembles Isaac. Laughing Jack subconsciously sees this as a second chance to make things better — to heal his inner conflict. However, his consciousness won't let him admit that. Therefore, he aids William in his misdeeds, guaranteeing him that he will someday become a serial killer. It's something that brings LJ more regret than it brings him satisfaction. But in regard to William, LJ always speaks positively, considering him to be a close friend. He protects the kid, whether he wants to or not. Because this could be LJ's redemption. The one he so desperately wants.

On William's end — Laughing Jack is this incredible killer clown who's going to teach him how to be one! William brags about his friendship with LJ. Although, he can admit LJ is overbearing at times. There's only a certain amount of chaos they can cause together before William has to stop.

FRANKIE THE UNDEAD

LJ: "Who?"

Frankie: "I wanna take my fuckin' pistol and shoot that clown's head to itty bitty bits."

Because Frankie is William's roommate, LJ and Frankie have had their fair share of interactions with each other. None of these interactions were positive. LJ thinks he's a total jerk and doesn't know why William is so interested in him.

Frankie wants LJ to die. There have been far too many times where LJ has stolen his money for Frankie to be comfortable.

LAUGHING JILL

LJ: "HA! JILL IS SIMPLY RIDICULOUS! I CANNOT BELIEVE PEOPLE SEE US TO BE TWINS. WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!!!"

Jill: "If I'm honest, I don't like Laughing Jack at all...! He's so cruel...!"

Even though these two come from a similar place of betrayal, they have entirely different ideals. While LJ wants to kill children, Jill wants to save them by killing their abusive parents. LJ thinks Jill is stupid for this (though he'll never admit it, he wishes he went that path instead.) In addition, he's jealous of how well Jill gets along with Candy Pop. He wholeheartedly thinks Jill is trying to steal his friend away.

Laughing Jill despises Laughing Jack. She loves children with all her heart and it sickens her to see someone kill them so mercilessly. Jill tries to avoid LJ, but being apart of the mansion means they're bound to have encounters.

CANDY POP

LJ: "AH, CANDY POP! MY DEAREST, BELOVED, AMAZING, SIMPLY THE BEST, EXTRAORDINARY, BEAUTIFUL, WORK OF ART, STUPENDOUS, ASTONISHING, ASTOUNDING, PHENOMENAL, BREATHTAKING, TERRIFIC, AND WONDROUS JESTER!!! YES, YES, YES I ADORE HIM VERY MUCH!!! HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

Candy Pop: "My dearest clown! What a pleasure to be around. How I wish he did not kill children, but I suppose every person has their flaws."

Laughing Jack believes Candy Pop to be hilarious. A clown and a jester — great friends who leave each other in hysterics. Their dynamic has been positive since they met. Candy Pop is the first person who's been affectionate with him in a long time — both verbally and physically. Thus, LJ holds strong feelings toward him, causing him to be rather possessive. He belittles those who want to interact with Candy Pop. It's jealousy, for sure. LJ rarely meets someone of his calibre. He's in awe over Candy Pop's abilities. They frequently go out together to "explode things into a bajillion candies!" LJ also eats Candy Pop's hair, or chews on his arm, sometimes because he literally tastes sweet.

Candy Pop sees Laughing Jack as a close friend of his. Everything he does, from the hand-holding to small kisses on the cheek, is platonic and will remain platonic. While LJ is fun to be around — and in someways, Candy Pop empathises with him — he is way too erratic. Other than that, he is cute! Candy Pop respects and appreciates him. He is oblivious to LJ's jealousy.

JASON THE TOYMAKER

LJ: "I reckon Jason the Toymaker should fall into a pit."

Jason: "Eugh." He grimaces at the thought of Laughing Jack alone.

Laughing Jack only likes Jason when he can mess with him. Although recently, he's started despising Jason more because of how Candy Pop clings onto him. LJ has been plotting Jason's death ever since.

One annoying jester was enough, but now there's an annoying clown. And the worst part is, that annoying clown is horrifying to even look at. Jason wants to kill someone everytime he hears LJ's voice.

ZERO THE HERO

LJ: "ZERO IS MOST FUN TO HANG WITH! FEARLESS DEMON! I APPLAUD HER!"

Zero: "THAT CLOWN UNDERSTANDS ME! TOGETHER, THE HUMAN WORLD SHALL COLLAPSE UNDER US!"

Laughing Jack and Zero wreak havoc together. The mansion's biggest threats are those two. Zero is difficult to befriend, given her arrogant and disorganised personality. LJ often doesn't understand Zero's character. But he doesn't have to because all that matters to LJ is that she's chaotic and makes things fun.

Zero, being as misanthropic as she is, likes Laughing Jack for the sole reason of him being another demon. She believes that if she gathers enough demons, they can take over the world. ...But also, she generally thinks causing trouble with LJ is a fun pass time.

THE PUPPETEER

LJ: "DEAR PUPPET!!! Due to his influence, my diet has greatly improved! Now I eat these for dinner!" He holds up a bag of pebbles.

Puppeteer: "LJ is... an interesting fellow. I make attempts to expand his food options."

Laughing Jack, weirdly enough, gets along with The Puppeteer. Their conversations are simple and, because of Puppeteer's easygoing nature, get rather therapeutic. LJ wants to impress Puppeteer by taking his advice.

The Puppeteer thinks Laughing Jack is a little weird, but he tolerates him. He's one of the few people who treat LJ nicely in the mansion. Pup is also the only person who knows what happened between LJ and Isaac — not because LJ explained it to Puppeteer, but because he pieced things together. He's interested in how LJ's mind works and wants to know more.

KAGEKAO

LJ: "I must take Kagekao to a rehab center!"

Kagekao: "Can he leave me alone?"

Laughing Jack usually finds Kagekao to be a boring alcoholic. But he and Zero think forcing him to participate in their antics is funny. There's no real bond besides them pulling pranks together.

Kagekao has learnt to tolerate Laughing Jack, but he still wishes there could be some distance. He's frankly tired of LJ and Zero bothering him, especially because he'd rather spend time with other people.

Some honourable mentions: he hates Jeff the Killer for certain reasons; all of the kids in the mansion are terrified of him; and Eyeless Jack is his self-proclaimed name-buddy.

TLDR: Laughing Jack likes fun people who aren't close to Candy Pop.

[nightmare-foundation]

Act like a dog (get treated like one)

Sooo rubs my hands together. I randomly got some motivation to do some practice writing and I really wanna do some writing for my AK Dick au sooo,, let's hope this is decent lol

For some context: this is my au where Dick becomes the Arkham Knight. It doesn't take place in the Arkhamverse, rather it's in my own comics verse, but the au follows the plot of Arkham Knight. So essentially Dick gets tortured for 1-2 years. This is early in his capture, so he's still a fighter. Also, any time frame mentioned here is 100% unreliable on Dicks part. He has NO idea how long he's been stuck in Arkham. I'd say it's probably closer to a month and a half or two months? Idk, it's up to you lol.

Tw for dehumanization, muzzles, collars, mentions of torture, manipulation- really the Joker is his own warning

Dick tugs lightly on his bonds as the guard rolled him down the dirty, dilapidated hallway, the barbed wire cutting into his uniform and skin. The barbed wire did it's job well; it kept him from moving too much, kept him from trying his luck and attempting another escape. Dick bit back a hiss as the metal caught on a still healing wound, tearing it back open. Quickly, he stopped his movement, not wanting to make his injuries worse.

Dick gritted his teeth as the wheelchair passed over a bump in the tile, feeling his broken ankle twinge painfully at the jostle. He couldn't believe the Joker paid off the Arkham guards, and even the damn inmates. Well, actually, he could obviously see the Joker doing that, but people actually going for the damn money? Ignoring that he's here, even participating in this torment?

He smothered his righteous anger at that. The Joker was volatile and insane, and had a terrifying reputation; of course people would turn the other eye if it kept them and their loved ones safe. But even then, safety wasn't guaranteed, so what was the point?

Dick shoved it all down. He couldn't think like that. That was what Joker wanted; to break him down. Well, he wouldn't let that happen. Couldn't let that happen. With any luck, his family would be here soon, breaking down Arkhams walls to save him, if he couldn't escape. So, hopefully, he wouldn't have to worry about being broken. It's only been a few weeks. Or… was it a month? Longer? No- don't think that. It can't have been that long.

He jerks to a stop suddenly, and Dick looks up to see a familiar room- and a familiar face.

He carefully keeps his face neutral as the Joker grins widely, standing up from his chair and opening his arms wide. “Why, hello there, Bird Boy! How nice of you to finally join us!” The Joker waves them over, and the guard rolls him closer to the middle of the room. Dick can see the chains hanging from the ceiling, a warm yellow light bulb flickering nearby. “Come, come! I have sooo many plans for us today! Aren't you just excited?! I do love a good party!”

Worry and fear curdles in Dicks gut. The excitement, the anticipation in the Jokers body language- none of it spelled anything good. Granted, being in here at all wasn't good, but when the Joker was excited like this… well, Dick was already starting to understand that it was a promise of torment.

“Not particularly, no. Doesn't seem like a super thrilling party; there isn't even any cake.” Dick quipped. Even after all this torture, he still couldn't keep his mouth shut. His voice came out broken and hoarse, throat burning as he tried to sound confident like he used to. It was a fruitless endeavor, though, only succeeding in making him sound like the victim he really was. The constant screaming was really doing a number on his poor throat.

The Joker laughed at him, as if amused by his feeble attempt at fighting back. “That's because you're the cake, silly!” He leaned in close, pinching at Dicks cheek. “And I can't wait to just eat you right up.” The Joker pulled away, grimy hand finally leaving his face. The clown gestured at the guard standing behind Dick–Boles? His name would be important for when he escaped–seemingly impatient with him. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get him out and string ‘em up for me!”

The guard shifted to the front of him, hands reaching towards the barbed wire wrapped around Dicks neck. He tugs at it, the metal barbs cutting a bit into his neck as it's unwrapped and untangled. Fear- no, terror makes Dicks pulse race. If he's freed and strung up- the whip cracking, his back screaming in blinding, white-hot agony, blood pouring down his back and legs and dripping, dripping, dripping down in a puddle as the whip made contact again and again and again-

His blood ran cold. That had been within his first week here. Those injuries, his shredded back, were just barely healed. They still tugged painfully whenever he moved, threatening to tear back open. He- he couldn't- he couldn't let that happen. That couldn't happen again, not the whip, not the fingers digging into his flesh, or the skin being pulled at in such agonizing ways until he passed out from the pain. Dick couldn't go through that again.

The hand from Boles moved, and it was just a bit too close, a bit too fast. Instinct and fear lead Dick as he lashed out with the only part of him that was free.

His teeth dug deep into the flesh of the hand, quicker than he could process what he was doing, hot, metallic blood filling his mouth. A shriek escaped the man's mouth as he wrenched his hand away, Dicks clenched teeth taking a chunk of flesh from it. He spat it out as the guard cradled his bloodied, mutilated hand. “You damn animal!” The man snarled at him, fury and pain written all over his face.

Dick looked up through the strands of his greasy hair, up at the Joker. The clown tutted at him, and it was then that his terror-fueled actions hit him. His heart rabbitted beneath his ribcage as the Joker roughly grabbed his face in a bruising grip, unforgiving as the nails dug into his skin.

“Well, that was just plain rude. Is that any way to treat others? No, no, no, that just won't do.” The Joker let go, walking away to the far side of the room, continuing to talk. “You've just been so naughty lately! All the backtalk, scratching, biting- you're like an untrained, feral dog attacking it's owner!” Dick gritted his teeth at the Jokers words. I'm not a damn dog!

The Joker grabbed something and walked back over. In his hands were- oh, fuck no.

“And, well, when a dog gets too aggressive, you have to muzzle them. Officer Boles, be a dear and hold his head back for me.”

Dick jerked backwards as the man stalked forward, grabbing a hold of his hair and yanking his head back. His hair became slick with blood from the man's injury, and his neck strained painfully.

The Joker moved quickly, and Dick thrashed as the muzzle was forced over his face. The bit was shoved into his mouth as the muzzle forced his jaw shut, teeth grinding against the rubber painfully. The straps were pulled tightly and securely, the muzzle firm and unmoving. Then something clicked around his throat; a thick collar.

Before Dick could comprehend what was happening, his bonds were torn off unceremoniously and the collar on his throat was yanked hard. Dick fell to the dirty, tiled floor, slamming face first into it as the wheelchair he was just in was pushed away. Blinding pain shot through his ankle, briefly making his vision white out before the leash was pulled at again.

“On your knees, boytoy, like a good dog.” Jokers taunting voice sounded, and disgust and humiliation crawled up Dicks spine. But he could do nothing but obey, pain making his whole body shake as he sat on his knees, leaning forward on his hands. He could feel blood seeping down his back, down his front, and he knew his wounds had opened back up.

Joker tugged on the leash as he crouched down, pasty white face far too close to Dick for his comfort. “You do realize i have to punish you now?” Dick froze at that, terror striking through him once again. It must've shown on his face, because the Joker cooed at him, stroking his face. “Aww, don't look so glum, dear. You brought this upon yourself.”

Punishments- punishments were… god, if this was Hell, then the punishments were far, far worse than Hell. The last one he got had been after his last escape attempt. That- that had been the whipping. The electrocution, the burning, being slowly, painfully skinned little by little, layer by agonizing layer. It had lasted days- maybe a little longer.

No, no nononono- stupid stupid stupid- horrifyingly, a sob involuntarily pulled itself from his throat. Nonono don't cry, stop crying, that's what he wants, you're not breaking you're not you won't- he tried to swallow down another sob, but the next made him break. Dick shook his head, weak and terrified and- God he was so tired, so so tired and hungry and thirsty and he was beyond fucking exhausted. He hardly got two hours of sleep the previous night before being woken by yet another night terror, he hasn't eaten in at least a couple days- when was the last time he had water?

The Joker cooed sadly at him. “Aww, c'mere. Papa Jokers got you.” The psychopathic clown tugged him forward into his arms. Dick flopped forward, tears streaming out of his eyes as he cried uncontrollably. He felt equal parts disgust, humiliation and utter relief at the kind contact. How long has it been since he's gotten any amount of kindness, manipulative or not?

God. God, he was terrified. He was exhausted and scared.

And worst of all- he was starting to break.

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

I have started Like A Dragon! I've actually already made it to chapter 5.

Why hadn't I made a post already, then?

Well, there's no sugar-coated way to put this so... let's just rip off the bandaid now.

I haven't really enjoyed myself playing this game this far. Yet. Maybe I will at some point. But for now I honestly just haven't had much to say in terms of what's happened in the plot besides the beginning. I don't hate the game, it's just that it hasn't been able to really hook me in yet.

I'll keep going since I've heard this game is one of the generally more loved ones in the franchise. And I know RGG loves its slow burn.

I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I wanna be totally honest. I doubt y'all would want me to lie about how I feel about the game.

More about all that right at the end of the post. I will list my positives and negatives when it comes to this game (and talk about the battle system) down there.

I know this type of thing is common in RPGs, but I like it all the same. Neat little game mechanic. There's quite a few different ones here, but it's cool.

An interesting background for a main character. Yeah, being an orphan is more than common. But being raised by the employess in a soapland and the townsfolk around him? That's really out there - in a good way.

This was very sad. Ichi lost 15 years of his life to the joint and got nothing in return. The shock and disappointment on his face when he was released and there was just. No one waiting for him.

And after that, all that awaited him was just... betrayal. That's just brutal. I fully understand why Ichiban went into Total Denial Mode for a while; it must have been a totally incomprehensible and shocking situation.

-He got out of prison after 15 years and where he expected to find his family waiting for him, he found nobody. AND he suddenly had the freedom of choosing what to do, when to do it and where to go after 15 years. That can be scary.

-He witnessed how much the world and general society had changed in his absence and probably felt very confused.

-He saw his home totally wrecked and abandoned.

And now his mentor and beloved patriarch, the one who saved his life. The man he would have happily been ready to die for at any moment. That man had changed completely and acted like he didn't know Ichiban.

Yeah... the denial, frustration and desperation are totally valid.

Oh dear. Well, Kiryu wasn't there anymore, the Tojo upper brass kept changing and there was constant conflict within the clan itself. It was just a matter of time before Omi would take advantage of the situation.

I hope Majima and Daigo are okay. Or at least alive ;-;

*Faint sounds of Majima cackling in the distance*

Oops. Majima better hope Ichi doesn't find out who the driver was lmao. I feel bad for Ichiban, but I also love how this single random idea of Majima's still has these consequences that are brought up, even after all this time.

God bless Nanba. He's a sweetheart. That's all I can say about him. I also kinda like Adachi. I'm not attached to these side characters yet, but they're neat. I think they'll grow on me eventually, it's just that I tend to be slow when it comes to becoming attached to new characters.

Legends say that if you pull this bat out, Shinada will appear in front of you and ask for some money....

I did play through the whole soapland thing and then some. I don't have much to say 😭. We do have a woman fighting with us, finally after all this time! #Girlboss

I would honestly happily die for Nancy. No questions asked.

OKAY UHH POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES.

Positives:

-Ichiban

-Interesting premise

-The different jobs satisfy my hyper-optimizing, excel-sheet-making, micromanaging self

-Funny enemy titles like "Piss Wizard"

-Free full heal spots my beloveds❤️

-Voice acting (in the Japanese dub at least) is excellent

-Substories have been fun!

Negatives:

-EXP yield is... not optimal; grinding takes FOREVER unless you go fight higher-level people than yourself, but then the battles can take ages. Job exp grinding especially feels about as pleasant as pulling teeth.

Am I supposed to grind in this game?? I've started to wonder about that since it's such a slow process. I have absolutely no idea. Have I missed a thing that helps exp gain??

-Unless you get lucky with the ability to find treasure, money yield can be tight at times, too. Which is rough, considering the cost of gear with 4 team members (and probably backup members later).

-The premise is cool, but the stuff I've played through in terms of the plot after leaving Kamurocho hasn't been very interesting to me this far (early-to-mid chapter 5) :/

-Substories don't give you EXP 😭

How about the elephant in the room - the battle system?

Well. I'll come out with it straight away; I'm very, VERY picky when it comes to turn-based combat. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona have unfortunately spoiled me too much, so this game had some unfairly MASSIVE boots to fill. And it didn't quite fill them. My bar is way too high and I acknowledge that 100%.

I get that they didn't want to make the system completely "passive" by just having to select moves and it all going smoothly from here. But I dislike the timing-based quick time stuff in the middle of attacks and perfect guard. I can pull off the attack dmg boost thing most of the time, but perfect guard is just... it feels way more difficult to pull off than Tiger Drop in any previous game. It's very frustrating. I frankly feel stupid, having this difficult a time with it.

Grinding is further hindered by spread moves being kind of unreliable - if the enemies are spread out, you're only hitting a single foe. For now. Maybe there will be better moves later on.

Idk if it's just me, but characters' MP pools feel very limited compared to the cost of the moves combined with how little damage you do at times? Maybe it's just the fact that I'm in the earlier parts of the game, but I feel like I have to be replenishing MP constantly.

I like how all the different types of gear can have additional special effects. It's neat.

All in all the battle system feels... very laborius. I can work with it! Absolutely. I'm just not the biggest fan.

God, I wish I could just gush about this game and sing its praises, but that's not happening yet by a long shot. This far? Maybe a 6-6.5/10. I hope my opinion changes for the better as I progress; I really wanna love it as much as other fans seem to.

[madamrynodm]

Batman (2022) Sequel thoughts/ideas/wishes

Ok I've thought about this way too much to keep it to myself. So, I cast my thoughts to the void and maybe the void will give me a gold star for my efforts

I've got 2 big hopes/what-ifs for the sequel to The Batman. Easily became one of my favorite superhero films ever, and I cannot wait to see more! Anyway

2 big hopes: Dick Grayson and the Court of Owls. I wanna see them. I wanna see them so bad. I think there's potential for a SICK story if they go that route

1. Dick Grayson. PLEASE GIVE US ROBIN I BEG OF YOU! I think BatPat is a great candidate for a Robin story. Him being fresh on his journey to understand who he is as Bruce and Batman would be great to see contrasted with a young Robin on the trail of vengeance. We could watch him struggle with the desire to help Dick get justice for his parents' deaths (something BatPat hadn't gotten), but also want to protect him from the dark pit Bruce found himself in in the last movie. I'd like for Dick to actually be a kid in this rendition, maybe a teen. Either way, let him be young. I wanna see Bruce lose his mind trying to be a parent while Alfred watches smugly

2. Court of Owls 🦉 They'd be perfect here! Now, I don't want them to be the Big Bads yet. Let's just uncover them. The death of the Graysons can lead the film, and we can discover a deeper conspiracy linked to them later on (set up a 3rd movie?). If I remember correctly, in the Court of Owls run (2011?), they orchestrated the Grayson murders to try and nab Dick. Bring him into their fold as a new assassin. The Court could also play into Bruce's continued struggles with the Wayne family legacy and the "sins of the father" theme (what with the Court manipulating the Waynes for generations)

Ok ok ok now for the meat and potatoes of my rant. Here's how I'd run the Batman sequel if I had any power or even vague experience in filmmaking:

We open the movie loud. The opposite of the first. I'm talking bright lights and loud music. It's a carnival, a public event. Something to raise money for Gotham. Bruce is there, and he hates it. But, hey, if he wants to help the city, he's gotta step up his public game. We follow him through this loud, oppressive environment to the big top. Time for the main event. Circus begins, all eyes on the center ring. Introduce the Graysons! We got Mom, Dad, and Dick all performing their hearts out. The movie gets louder, everyone loves their performance!

Then, it goes dead silent. The Graysons fall. They die in front of everyone, right there. Bruce and Dick both have front row seats to the tragedy. The circus goes nuts, but we don't hear a thing. Cut to later, Dick is alone, maybe with the police, an EMT, idk. Anyway, in a scene that mirrors the mayor's kid in the 1st movie, Bruce sees Dick suffering alone and takes him in. (I don't know if that is when a formal adoption happens or if that's saved for the end of the film)

Moving on, Bruce takes to the streets as the Bat, investigating the Grayson deaths. Something's wrong. This is shaping up to be a murder. He later investigates another murder. Pull this scene from the comics, Owl motifs, warnings, all that. Movie follows that line of tying the seemingly unrelated deaths together and finding the Court beneath it all.

Maybe give Dick a bit of Tim Drake and let him catch on that something is up with Bruce. Dick wants in, he wants to find his parents' killer. Bruce lets him, recognizing his desire for justice and thinking that it'll help this kid. Shenanigans ensue. Like I said before (I think), a central arc we could see is Bruce now watching the path of vengeance from the outside, trying to help this scared and hurt kid heal while giving him and his parents the justice they deserve. Further examination of what it means to be a hero, what it means to truly heal, etc.

We can wrap up with Dick bringing the killer to justice and finding some peace. But it ain't over yet, as Bruce realizes that there's something deeper going on. Gotham's boogeyman, the Court of Owls, is real! And they're up to something! BA BA BA!!

I think Dick should become Robin in act 1 or the start of act 2. Either way, if we are gonna get a live action Robin, I wanna see him in action! Also I wanna see people like Gordon and Martinez react to Bats just... suddenly having a child around. Let Dick make bad jokes please 🙏

Whew! That's is for me! I finally wrote this all down, maybe I can clear out some brain space now

[tiefighter]

hey for my rounder/biggerbodied/overweight babes who're gonna go get chest surgery, let me give u some advice (I got ftm masculisation surgery, but aside from the shit about binders and removal this is also applicable to bbw trans women/nb people who are getting breast implants, afaik.)

1: don't go completely flat, it'll look so unnatural you'll wanna like, stab urself in the neck. Pectoral muscles have a natural curve, and I know the urge to go like NAH SON TOO MUCH is real high, but once you're healed you'll be grateful for the more natural look to your chest. I'm not saying get like, moobification surgery, just stress to your surgeon that you'd like a natural look. If you have a good surgeon, they'll be able to do it anyway/are way ahead of you. for mtf, you'll want something manageable/not too big! I know the urge when you're a bigger person is to go bigger to fill out tops/dresses, but trust me too much weight up there will DESTROY your back, please be kind to your spines. 2: recovery binders. Get one with fuckin shoulders, or if you can't find one with shoulders, get someone you know (or yourself) to sew shoulders into the thing. A really uncomfortable fact of having a belly/fat shoulders/back is that it /will/ fold your binder and it fucking hurts, and most of the time you need someone else to help you adjust over those first couple of weeks. and when I say it hurts, i mean it /hurts/, it'll compress tighter on your incision site and press the scar and it hurts like all fuck. (transwomen! your bras are supposed to fit flush against your body, if the middle of the cups is sitting away from your body or your band is too tight you're not in your size! get professionally fitted, I promise it sounds like bullshit but it'll save you so much money/pain in the long run.)

3: If your surgeon gives you the willies, and you have another option, dump them immediately. I did just that, and we only have two options on my side of the country (Australia!) Turns out, the surgeon I ended up with is the one that does all the corrections on the other person, and i would've met him anyway to get my chest fixed. 4: breast tissue does go all the way under your armpit. If a surgeon tells you it doesn't, and you just need to lose weight to get rid of it, they're fucking lying and also shit at their job.

5: I know the urge is to hide yourself away during healing and then, towards the end when you're like IM FINE you wanna go out and do things but let me tell you something if you've never had surgery before. You are gonna want that recovery time. you essentially got into a knife fight and fuckin lost. You're gonna be EXHAUSTED. you'll need someone to check up on you, and if you live alone and don't have anyone, look into medical assistance/nurses in your area who can come and help you with your binder if it's causing trouble.

6: My darlings. My sweethearts. My absolute fuckin superstars. Don't go fucking swimming/to the beach/soak in a bath until your surgeon says it's okay. If you get too much moisture in there, your skin will literally rot and fall off. Don't do it. Just don't. Behave, please. I know it's like, it won't happen to me but I SHOWERED too much and now I have a frankennipple. Don't be me. Don't franken your nipple.

7: be kind to yourself. Yeah, you're not skinny. yeah, a lot of androgynous/male oriented fashion relies on you being a skinny bitch. Let me be the first to tell you: boobas make hormones. You are losing those hormones, and your body is adjusting. you do NOT look as bad as you think you do. I swear to whatever nondenominational deity you want me to, you do NOT look as bad as you think you do. Let your hormones readjust, let yourself feel the relief. Wear a fucking dress if you want, top surgery won't take that away from you. for the ladies, wear whatever the fuck you want, we don't give a fuck, just make sure your new tatas are properly supported! You don't want them to drop or warp wrong, make sure to wear something that helps you with support. boobs over a certain size will naturally have weight to them, and that's totally fine! It's just if you're stretching your scars too much you're gonna give yourself some damage, find a trans woman who has had surgery similar to you, or talk to anyone who has had breast enlargement surgery. 8: if you have to work/go to school/etc after your surgery, set yourself time limits if it's a thing you're able to do. I know a lot of employers are grade a cockdolphins, and they're not gonna listen, so go and bleed on them if you have to. Do it. I don't give a fuck and neither should you. Being alive is better than being dead.

9: use the healing excuse to tell people who are bad for you/not good about your surgery/being cunts to fuck the fuck off. hey no can't see you, I'm healing. I don't care about your fuckin church study or your desire to look at the shiny new replaced nipples, get fucked. Cut them off like they're the tits you abandoned. They're excised skin. Biohazardous waste.

10: you're gonna be bored as fuck, please get something to do. lego/reading/watching tv/gaming/whatever you can do within your physical and mental power, and don't let anyone make you feel bad for taking the time to do things like this, and enjoying yourself. you just lost a knife fight you paid for. Be nice.

[cutekittenlady]

Tumblr Plays Pokemon White 2 - Part 8

((So i actually had to go back and fight a bunch of trainers to get money for more pokeballs to try and catch pokemon with.))

Well hanging out in the lot was a lot of fun but now I think I'll head back down into the sewers and get to the pokemon center. I need to prepare.

Yeah I think he's feeling a little... frustrated. Look its this whole revenge thing, I don't really wanna get into it.

Iris then asks what I'm going to do now, and honestly? While I'm aiming to fight in the gym I think I need to train some first. Get a gas mask, complete a bit more of the pokdedex. Yada yada.

Also I'm actually nearly out of the pokeballs. I've only got, like, four. And three of those I dont wanna use yet.

Guess that means one thing. I gotta fight some trainers for cash.

I start in the sewers. I opt to not use healing items like potions. I'd rather not spend money trying to buy more so instead my team and I are just going to have the train the difficult way by healing at the pokemon center for free. Once we have enough money and balls saved up we can try to fill out more of the pokedex.

Besides I wanna make sure I'm strong enough to beat Burgh and this as good of an excuse as any to train up.

I actually try to avoid most of the wild pokemon, saving up our energy for the trianers.

Turns out one of the trainers I beat is a doctor so i was able to get my pokemon healed up! And immediately after that I found a scientist who gave me a super potion! Dang things are looking up! I found a few items in the sewer I might be able use or sell as well.

Place still reeks though.

Getting curious I choose to check out that gaping hole in the sewers and find myself in a cave system (relic passage) rather than explore further I opt to leave it alone for now and return later.

((I actually completely forgot about Relic passage when making the poll. XD I think I'll include it amongst the potential places to catch mons after we get our eevee encounter once we get enough money for more pokeballs.))

AAAnd that rare bone I found in the sewer sold for fifty bucks

NICE

And I spend ALL my money on great balls. I decide it'll be a good idea to head to that little hidden park to start some training.

I wonder around in the grass a bit and run into an Eevee. A friggin EEVEE! A wild one! I can't believe this! Those are insanely rare in Unova!

EVERY trainer wants an eevee!

Bentley! Aries! Do NOT screw this up!

I swap Bentley out for Molly both to take down Petilil sooner, and to avoid Bentleys old habits from kicking in.

Don't look at me like that Bentley you know what you did!

After that it was a matter of being insanely cautious with the damage.

Once I got eevee down to a reasonable health level I decided that now, now was the time to use that Ultra ball I was given back in Aspertia.

Ultra ball dont fail me now!

I select.

I throw.

aaaaaand

Eevee on the team!!!

Ohhhhh he is just so CUTE!

What shall I name him? I mean he was the first pokemon in this whole thing to win, more or less, by a massive landslide. So I feel like I should incorporate that in the name.

I asked my sister what I should name this Eevee and she suggest Pollemachus in reference to him winning the poll. That sounded werid so I was considering Champ but while we were discussing it and even seeing if Pollemachus would fit into the pokemon nickname section (it did not) we wound up coming across the name Pollux. Which apparently means "very sweet" some sources claimed it also meant "crown"? I'm not sure but given this pokemon by a Poll that was absolutely no contest I think it only seems right to give him a name in reference to it.

So after a LOT of debate the little Eevees name became Polux.

And now for the moment of truth.

The nature check.

I spent so much time looking for this Eevee. I can only hope the pokmeon challenge gods look favorably upon me.

Okay

Bentley. Quiet Nature.

Aries. Hasty Nature.

Molly. Hardy Nature.

Polux.

...

DOCILE NATURE

YES.

Now of course Polux is gonna need training but I think I may be okay to challenge the bug type gym!

There will be a set of new polls soon!

[hongjoongscafe]

3+1=?

Chapter: 02 {Serieslist}

|In the 3+1= daycare|

Pairing: widower!yoongixwidower!reader

Genre: fluff, angst, smut, strangers to lovers, single parent AU.

Summary: life has been cruel to them. Heartbroken and sad when they stumbled towards each other. Will they be able to heal their heart?

Warnings: mention of death, anxiety, smoking, hinting of smut but there is non.

Word count: 2.2k+

Masterpost

*DO NOT REPOST, PLZ*

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

You groaned as the alarm clock blared near your ear. You needed much more sleep than this. Therapy always made you tired and not to forget the twins who were nice but still made you tired enough to pray for a good night’s sleep.

You groaned again as you sat up, your back cracking on the way. Sighing, you got out of the covers and hung your legs down. The soft carpet felt nice under your feet. “I feel so old,” you whined.

The apartment was quiet, indicating that your babies were still asleep. The twins needed to be dropped off at the daycare. It was Saturday but you had some extra work to be taken care of.

You scratched your head as you walked towards their room. Opening the door, you could hear the soft snores of Geon-Wu. Mi-Cha, on the other side, was sitting on her bed with a Moana blanket wrapped around her.

“Good morning, momma,” her groggy voice was cute.

“Hey, princess. I thought you were asleep,” you picked her up when she raised her arms.

“I just woke up,” she yawned.

“Wanna wake up your brother?”

“GEON-WU!” That was all needed to wake him up.

Geon-Wu whined and rubbed his eyes, “you evil,” he whispered.

You quickly got them in the bathroom where you all brushed and then ushered Geon-Wu out so you could get Mi-Cha ready. Then you dressed Geon-Wu.

Rushing towards the kitchen, you prepared breakfast for the kids while they packed their bags for the daycare. The twins didn't go to daycare often since Jungkook worked from home. And would usually take care of them, happily.

He was a singer. Multitalented. He wrote, composed, produced, and did everything on his own at the studio he built in his home so that he could save money. The videography was done by another one of your friends, Namjoon.

Today he was not available. It was the filming of his new single track. Having kids there would be vexation. Not that they were crazy but could be a handful sometimes.

“Now, be good and let me get ready, oky? Eat your breakfast slowly,” you instructed and head straight to the bathroom.

Every day felt like a trial. It's hard to have twins and grow them on your own, you understood a year ago. It felt like a century. You stood under the warm shower, soaking yourself in the memories of your late husband. He was needed. He was a must. You are in love with him. Everything felt chaotic without him.

You missed how he loved you. The way his hands would glide across your body. His scent. His embrace. His comforting words. His giggles. His love for the kids. Everything…

“Mommy!?” a tired sigh left your lips. It has been a year since you got a chance for a peaceful shower or any time to get ready.

“Coming!”

Quickly washing up, you stepped out of the shower and looked at the time on your phone, you smiled. There was some time for a little make-up.

Dressing up, you went outside to see what was happening. “What are you kids up to?”

“Mommy, Geon-Wu spilt maple syrup on himself.”

There goes the time for make-up.

…

“Remember kids, no craziness. It ain't your home where you can be crazy monkeys, okay?” The kids were sitting in the back seat, listening to you carefully and nodding along. “Good. I don't want any complaints.”

Helping the twins out of the car, you opened the door of the daycare. The nice cold air hit your face. You went inside but froze.

There was the man from yesterday, looking at you with a confused frown. His eyes moved from you to your kids who also recognized the phantom-like man.

“Mommy, the ghost,” Mi-Cha whispered.

You cleared your throat and awkwardly waited for someone to come out and take your kids.

“Dropping off your kids?” his thick voice startled you.

Your head snapped in his way, eyes wide open. “Huh? Y-yeah.” you mentally face-palmed.

“Alright,” he got behind the counter and asked for the important information.

“Y-you are an employee here?” you asked.

“Asking the owner if he is an employee?” he grumbled.

Your eyes widened and gawked at the grumpy man. He looked like anything but the owner of a daycare. His hard demeanour was not exactly sitting well with the kids.

The man sighed, understanding your face, “I'm Yoongi. And don't worry about the kids. I see you have visited here before. There are two entries. They are safe.”

“Ah… Yeah.” he was right. You heard about this place three months ago from one of the twins’ classmate’s mother. This place opened five months ago and had a great reputation. They took care of the kids the best. They taught them many things and were disciplined.

You hugged and kissed the head of the twins, “no complaints, okay?”

“Oky.” They smiled and followed the phantom man hesitantly.

…

“I swear he looked so good anti-children yesterday!” you ranted and whined.

“You are thinking too much. See you are already getting wrinkles,” Jin, your co-worker, pointed out, “stay away from me, momma. Ain't nobody wants those.”

“Jin, they are wrinkled, not some air-borne disease that you might catch,” you sighed.

“Whatever. I still don't want my pretty face to get influenced,” he looked at himself in the tiny mirror he always carried. “But in all honesty, don't worry about it. My sister’s daughter goes there sometimes, remember?”

You hummed remembering the time he told you about that. “I'm a mother, Jin. All I am left with is my twins. If something happens to them… There is no reason for me to be alive.”

Jin patted your back, “we will get you free sooner, okay? So that you can go back to your kids.”

“Thanks.”

…

“When I first saw you, I thought that ‘she is out of my league’. But here we are, under the sheets, all warm and cozy,” Dae-Jung said while caressing your bare back.

“Hmm, yeah? You should be worshipping me more, then,” you bit his earlobe and got a satisfactory hum.

“I'll worship you like you deserve every day if you let me, angel,” he kissed your jaw.

“Who is stopping you?” you slid over his hips. “I'm right here, worship me as you say,” you whispered over his lips and captured them in a heated kiss.

The moans filled the room. Dad-Jung wanted to show you how you deserve all the love: mentally and physically, both.

“I'll love you till my last breath…”

Your hands were trembling, your forehead had a shining layer of sweat. Your eyes were spilling tears furiously.

The memories were devastating. They were once sweet but are now a bitter reminder that that won't ever happen again. It sucked the last sanity from you leaving you in this tiny cubicle of the office bathroom.

They were unexpected. It scared you. The twins caught you like this many times before and always questioned it. They were growing up seeing their mother breaking into pieces and their father not coming back.

It was a wrong influence. You needed to be better for them. But it's easier said than done.

Finally, when your body relaxed after a few, you left the washroom.

…

“Mommy! You are early!” Mi-Cha and Geon-Wu rushed towards you and hugged your crouched figure. “Let's go home!”

“Wait for a little bit, little ones.” you stood up and greeted the teacher there who was not the phan-- Yoongi guy.

After doing the formalities, you left.

The car drive was filled with kids screaming ‘baby shark’. You swear you would beat the hell out of the person who even thought about making this stupid irritating– was it a poem? Song? Oh, well, whatever it was, it sucked your brains out. But you had to keep it cool because kids love it. So anything for them.

“Mommy, that ghost man left early,” Geon-Wu said.

“I was so happy when he did,” Mi-Cha giggled.

“Ah, really? That's good, I guess,” internally you were jumping and screaming thanks for whatever reason he left for.

…

It was dark outside. Yoongi was sitting in the park. His heart felt heavy. There was a lot in mind. He felt like his last hope broke. The images, voices, and demons were lurking in and around him. He wanted an escape. An escape that led him to a peaceful life where he could leave his worries and demons behind and just hang in there.

Smoke wasn't his thing. But sometimes when the shit was too much to handle, he didn't mind getting high. He captured the cigarette between his teeth and covered his hand around it to light it. He puffed the smoke in the air and noticed all the patterns that it made in the dark.

The only comfort in his life was all those children he meant to take care of. But his cold persona always pushed them away. He didn't blame them. They weren't his own children… They were someone else's. With that in his mind, he let it slide and watched the kids from afar.

He wasn't that creepy guy who fantasized about kids, no, definitely not. He just… Liked children as a parent would do… A good parent.

“Hey, man. You sitting up here in the park by yourself like this, what happened?” Yoongie looked at his friend, Taehyung, who was looking at him with wide eyes and a mouth filled with chips.

“Nothing, just a lot of things,” Yoongie sighed.

Taehyung nodded, understanding, “don't throw yourself out like that, there is much more to life and you are still young… Things will fall back in place in no time,” he pulled his vaping pen out and vaped.

“Is it worth it, though? I feel like I am wasting everyone’s time and mine too,” he looked up at the sky. He couldn't see a single star, just the darkness like him.

“Man, it is worth it. I'm not saying that you will get a replacement but someone new who can understand you the deepest and hold onto you tightly,” Taehyung said.

“Anyway, how was your shoot?” Yoongie changed the subject.

“Ah, the best so far! The guy, Jungkook, damn! He is so fucking talented. It was so fun to work with him. I had to act like his brother from another mother and boy it felt real,” he praised. “I think you would like his company. He is a jolly man.”

“I don't know, Tae.”

“What!?” the younger one whined. “It's not like you are going on a date with a girl. We are planning on meeting for dinner or something, maybe you could join us too, it would be fun!”

Yoongie sighed, “I'll think about it. For now, let's go back. I have other jobs to handle and the daycare too. It's getting late.”

“Simply say that you want to drown yourself in the past in your bed,” Yoongie glared at him. “You took it seriously, man. I am sorry.”

…

“Pretty please,” Jungkook whined on the call.

“No, J. I don't want to. I have two monkeys to look after,” you said as you cleaned the kitchen.

“It's not like we are going out for long, you know? You haven't met new people in a while. You should come too. Taehyung is a funny man. I'm sure you will feel better,” Jungkook was pouting on the other side. “And it's not like it’s the date. We are just going to dinner with a new friend. He said he might bring another company along. I wanna bring you too. And kids can join us.”

You paused and thought about it. He was right, you haven't met any new people in a while. Dad-Jung loved to socialize so you also met many new people through him. Now it feels weird. But you need to go out and meet new people, make new friends.

“I'll sleep on it,” you sighed.

“Oh, you better wake up with this plan soaked up in your bones. Tell me what you think, okay? Then I will talk to him and fix the date for dinner. I'll get going, tell the kids that I love them and good night,” he yawned.

“Of course,” you looked around and sighed again.

Maybe this could help distract you for a while.

“Mommy?” Geon-Wu's sleepy voice shrugged you out of your thoughts. “Dada still not here?”

His simple question squeezed the life out of you. You didn't know how to break it up to them that their father won't ever come back. It's hard to see the twins like this, longing for their father's embrace. Nobody can ever replace that, no matter what.

“We should go to sleep, love,” you said and helped him get in bed. “Tomorrow is Sunday, we will be going to the big park, okay?”

He looked at you with shiny eyes, “really? You are the best momma ever!”

You chuckled and kissed his forehead. On the other bed, Mi-Cha was already sound asleep. You kissed her forehead and were about to go into your room when Geon-Wu said, “momma, don't ever leave us as Dada did.”

The tears brimmed your waterline. “I never will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

.....

Sanaa's note:

Hi, everyone. How are you all? I got some time on hand so I penned this chapter. I hope you like this 😊💓 I always appreciate your feedback!

The behaviour of all the characters is visualized.

Taglist:

@veneziamadness @cheline @sansmilkbread @jayb17 @constantlydelulusional

*lemme know if you wanna be added to the permanent or specific taglist*

*original picture is not mine, I just edited them*

Have a nice day/night💓

[cathalbravecog]

Do you have cathal hcs you'd like to share i am starving for anything cathal related help me

he's like an addiction to my brain, it always wants MORE

MUEUEHAHAHAHA I YOUR LOCAL CATHAL CREAUTRE 'ČISLO JEDNA' (NUMBER ONE). SHALL PROVIDE. NOW, THE THING IS, I THINK I'VE SHARED MOST OF THE THINGS I THINK HERE ALREADY....I PREFER OBSERVING AND LETTING THINGS DEVELOP AS THEY GO. THAT'S MY WEIRD THING WITH CERTAIN BLORBOS I DON'T ALWAYS ACTIVELY MAKE STUFF FOR THEM EVEN IF IM SO SOSOOSOSOS MENTALLY ILL FOR THEM. NOW. SILLY GOOGFY OVER FOR NOW. THIS IS VERY LONG. UNDER DA CUT.....................

However. That one comic writing thing I wanna make... I guess it's a mix of some HCs and observations? I'll talk about it here, without spoiling everything, but giving out he basics!! i can write properly i swear but since im infodumping im gonna be going from writing styles in and out wackily to get my thoughts out LOL It takes place when Cathal first got hired at Cogs INC - (All narrated by himself, by the way ) and what his expectations and thoughts were. What he knew and what he didn't - since Allan would share some things with him, obviously. Even way before Cathal got hired... And eventually it got to Cathal seeing Allan fall off the tower for the first time.

He doesn't think much of it now, just shrugging it off. Perhaps mild annoyance... It's just not worth the time. It's pointless... As he says himself, he finds the Toons VS Cogs thing pointless. And... he isn't too worried, since Allan always gets repaired in the end. Sometimes it's more severe repairs than other days, but, the point stands... No matter what he always gets repaired, and Allan himself also sounds more annoyed about this than anything as well

But this wasn't always the case!

Despite being, well... Really lazy - Cathal is very caring and kind. He cares about the people around him - he politely asks if everyone's had a good lunch, and he heals them. Hell, he can even be slightly scary with this with his "You should've hit someone else that time" line. Like - he does not exactly want to pack a punch, he just sorta has to since the Toons are there... But he's capable!! Even if he doesn't see them as friends, just co-workers, he's very willing to stand up for them if they get hurt...

It's the one thing that does give him the motivation which he usually lacks... He usually just doesn't want to care because it takes too much effort, y'know? But it doesn't make him incapable of things...

So, with him established as caring for other's (that he cares about) wellbeings... Imagine the shock seeing your own dad fall off a tower, with a loud earth-quake like crash... he hasn't been joking or lying after all with all his tales of Toons pushing him off the tower. Cathal never cared for this story... Just ignored it or blocked it out of his mind as Allan's constant stories (Because come on this guy definitely loves talking about things that happened while at work or what he did with The Boys :tm: when he's with Cathal. And wise-versa. He was sooo excited to show Cathal off to the other bosses in A Meeting Of Two Minds)

But like... Those weren't like. Just some stories. Allan was always annoyed about them, but in a "Gah, those darn Toons!" kind of way. (Maybe with an occasional ramble about how that day repairs were more expensive, perhaps, as more damage was caused. Looking at you High Roller ARG. Also makes me wonder just how much money from Cogs INC does go into his repairs... But I suppose insurances for Cogs are canon, and also Sellbots are known to cut corners to save cash, so that extra stuff maybe goes to him....) But, back on track now - It's been happening for YEARS. If we go with how long Toontown has been around - it's been happening for DECADES. You start sounding a bit less serious about it...

Like... Cathal was just shocked. What was he supposed to do?! That's his dad for fuck's sake!!! He may appear unenthusiastic and bored but... It's clear these two care for each other, even if Cathal does not let it be known (With Allan being the exact opposite and he's maybe Too Vocal About It. Me too buddy, me too)

Cathal has lived a life in comfort, basically spoiled by Allan. With love, material things, him letting things be easier for Cathal... He didn't have to worry about a thing. If anything, he probably only ever struggles with his own mind - considering I do headcanon him to have some struggles with motivation and doing things and that he has Cog ADHD. Yes it's projecting. I also sit around lazily for hours but because I can't start anything no matter how much I want. Even if it's a fun activity like... Turning on a video to watch. Drawing. Hopping onto a game. Or literally just getting UP.

He's learned to just... Work with those issues. And, unlike me, he doesn't have things like school and such to worry about, so the big stress factor is gone... So even if he does struggle sometimes and does need motivators, most of the time it's impossible to tell from him just.. Struggling and him being cozy and genuinely lazy... But since he struggles less more often than not it is just laziness and "that's just hard to do" and not a mental block...

Only ever living a life in comfort-like this - Makes you worry ten times as hard when the stressful times do come. He's not equipped to handle this...

In the comic he in panic flew over to check on Allan - who in fact has fallen over and had a bunch of Cogs helping him get back up, and beginning preparations to get him fixed ASAP. It was so organized, everyone knew each other there... This basically happens all the time. They've got to be.

Allan is... Shocked, but very happy to see Cathal there. He is so very proud of his boy being there... That he cares so much about his father to go see him. Cathal does not show affection a lot - but this is the way he did. Allan knows he doesn't show it a lot, which made it ten times more special. Others who knew about Cathal through Allan were shocked, too... Cathal. The Multislacker. Stays in his video room all day, watching the cameras... He... Should be working, but that's aside the point. Despite what Allan says we all know he's a lazy slacker... He doesn't care about others. Does he?

Well... he's here, alright. Worried for his dad, who is hushing him nonchalantly, saying how this happens often. "The boys are gonna get me right back up again soon as always, son!" And how he can get right back to work soon... (And of course, some curses against the Toons.)

Cathal is just... Baffled meanwhile. He's saying the same things he always does!! Isn't he one bit worried...? Well... Like everything else, he has to let it go... And just not worry about it. Allan doesn't, so why should he...? It doesn't stop him being worried a bit longer at the time AND the next few times this happens... At that point he just knows what happens like it's rinse and repeat, like any other day

But the first time was just... Scary. Even if he most likely was caring before (again, mostly outta just... understanding. yknow? man. just wanna chill... he gets it.) - he just... Never showed it much. But after? He began appreciating others around him more. He knows Cogs always get repaired despite... Uh. (Looks at Atticus) THAT ONE TIME, so there isn't really a feel of "time is limited" feeling there... But you still don't want to see people hurt. You want to appreciate their presence. Even if they aren't friends, y'know?

He doesn't see the reason for violence, really. Okay sure, he definitely likes playful banter and messing around - but I mean like... Genuine things, y'know? I mean, as a Cog he's on the side of the Cogs, he doesn't see the motivation the Toons have, or the goal (to have to fight Allan REPEATEDLY. I mean, as an in-game thing it's for unites, but it's canon he gets fought repeatedly regardless, yknow?)

He doesn't get the scope of why Toons fight back exactly, that it's pointless. Because he doesn't have the perspective they have... He is annoyed with them, yes, they burst into his room uninvited and then demand to fight him... And they hurt his co-workers and his dad. But getting too mad is just... Man! Not worth it. Too energy consuming. Not worth getting worked up over...

But even with that he wishes that this didn't have to happen, y'know? he doesn't see the point. And if nobody fights anyone - nobody is gonna bother him and his shows either...

i think i juiced out all my thoughts bc i guess the other stuff would be more cogs only or like personal interactions i imagine between frost and him and perhaps the others... i already established the gamer thing and that he messes around with pace in that regard. one of his motivations is to just be playful like that. maybe pace and him are NOT friends and they demotivate each other in work ways. but i just love the dynamic of not friends. not enemies. just tom and jerry online gaming mischief stuff. and like. gamer graham is really funny to me since hes the sport guy. but also hes jerma to me. you get me . righht. right. i love going from serious headcanon stuff to HEE HEE SILLY. but thats just who i am. thats what you get. (cannot even get too serious about graham hes just too goofy to me) (also has written gut wrenching angst about a guy named spamton g spamton) (is really normal)

anyways. thank you villain w.hos actually a really loving dad trope for being there for me. i have issues. allan plearse adopt m.e

I LAOVEE CARTHAL RA TOBRE BRAVECOOGGGGGGG. i hope any of this makes sense. its not even a headcanon its just a mess of things. but you asked for tism so you get it. this is the best i got after this i have nothing to talk about other than gushing about cathal's design and "oeoutht h the he oh he" and repeat the same points about why hes so nice and swag and cool. but. you get me right. You Get Me

[chidoroki]

Tokyo Revengers S3EP7

aka: "let's get ready to rumble"

Damn, Izana beating up every big name gang leader, even that one Ikebukuro dude who oversaw the Valhalla vs Toman fight.. up until Kazutora knocked him out anyway.

So Shion’s responsible for sending Mitsuya and Smiley to the hospital.. how rude of you sir. Also kinda bummed that happened of-fscreen, I was sorta looking forward to see Shion fight a little bit finally.

Oh I just noticed Koko standing around nearby too in his new Tenjiku coat.

Aw the poor boy, look at him all hurt still. At least he didn’t look too thrilled to be there.

Sanzu! Another one I wanna see fight so badly! Show me why the fandom adores you!

Oh I bet all the Ran fans went nuts over that close up zoom of him.

For a brief moment, I thought Toman was pulling up wearing some huge sunglasses til I realized that’s just some serious looking shadows over there eyes.

Now I understand the gang driving up to the pier was evident at the start of the OP, but was including Mikey and Draken towards the end just there for theatrics or are they really gonna show up later on after losing Emma?

Pfftt wait a damn minute, Koko has cuts and bruises on his faces a little while ago, but now when we’re taking a look at everyone lining up, his face is all healed? What witchcraft is that.

For real, Kisaski sitting back all the way high up on the containers.. c’mon down and fight ya coward!

Yo yo hold the fuck up.. there’s that many Tenjiku members?? They’re like ten times the size of Toman here. Good lord..

Oh if they’re starting one vs one with Shion, then Angry has gotta take revenge for his bro. I’d say Hakkai but he got enough attention last season.

I’ll be damned, it’s Peh who stepped up!

Ain’t no way he took out Shion with a single punch?? I mean I’m thrilled if that’s the case but the dude was talking such big smack and got knocked out so quickly?? Hilarious!

Pfftt leave it to Takemichi to headbutt a guy first before even thinking of using his fists.

Peh is basically using Tenjiku’s men as weapons the way he’s flinging them about!

Hakkai punching ‘em down head first all the way to the ground as always. Ya love to see it.

Chifuyu being best boy and coming in with a swift kick to save others.

Even Izana is acknowledging how weak Shion is. That must hurt.

Holy hell.. I should’ve expected Izana to also have fearsome kicks like Mikey. He sent Peh flying.

Damn straight Chifuyu!! I was waiting for him to come kick the shit outta Mochi!!

Oh boy, Ran vs Hakkai and Rindo vs Angry. Let’s go y’all!

Of course that leads Takemichi to face Kakucho. We saw this coming. Though I haven’t a clue on who Sanzu and Mucho will spare with. Inui and Koko are probably gonna throw hits at each other too.

Okay, yup, there he goes getting a surprise hit on Inui. And Koko’s face is shown to be all beat up again like that one scene from a while ago didn’t exist.

Wait, Akane? Who might that be? And why are they important to Koko to need so much money?

Koko has to accept that Inui isn’t Akane..? Surely we’ll get more of this backstory next ep.

[chrismerle]

Hello hello! Just stopping by to hear a little about whichever WIP(s) you want to share about! What do you hope readers pick up on from your WIP? What do you hope is their favorite aspect of it?

hmmm ...

I think I wanna talk about Oleander and Jackdaw. they're from a still unnamed WIP that was originally going to be a NaNo project last year, but then I barely did anything with it because life imploded.

I suppose I hope their relationship is generally readers' favorite aspect of that WIP, if only because that's my favorite aspect. they're very lovey dovey. very in-sync. can mutually read each other like books. honestly, their marriage is about as stable as it gets.

at the same time, Oleander is a mercenary and frequently an assassin; he has done very many bad things for money, and while he doesn't enjoy doing bad things, he also very easily shrugs off any guilt that should rightfully be assigned to him. Jackdaw is ... kind of a healing mage, but mostly a necromancer. he's brought Oleander back from the dead enough times that I refer to their relationship as 'ride, die, or reanimate.' he's brought HIMSELF back from the dead, albeit not without some side effects.

and of the two of them, Oleander is the softer one. his work aside, he does opt to do the right (or at least better) thing when the option is presented to him, while Jackdaw is far more likely to do whatever is best in a 'me and mine' way and then say fuck the rest. a lot of the story is Oleander working to help save the world while Jackdaw is sort of goaded along in his wake in a very 'I don't need luck, I have you' sort of way, until Jackdaw gets it through his head that the world has value beyond just him, his spouse, and the things he cares about.

that makes Jackdaw sound very callous, and I suppose in a way he can be, but he's not some cold, almost heartless yandere. Jackdaw has just had much more of his optimism beaten out of him than Oleander has. while Oleander is more willing to assume that the situation might go right if they do something about it, Jackdaw is generally going to assume that the situation will go south and he would rather himself and his loved ones be far away from it when it does, rather than giving the world the chance to take even more from him.

(there's also a character named Stranger. that's not their actual name, because they didn't really have a name; they had a title. they introduced themself by that title, and Oleander and Jackdaw mutually decided 'we're not fucking calling you that' and started conversationally calling them Stranger until it stuck. Stranger is an entirely different sort of sack of issues, largely because their introduction involved me going 'how can I take this common fantasy trope [immortality] and make it horrifying?')

[papermint-airplane]

Well well well, who are these fine looking werewolves?

They're my first werewolf pack, from my first werewolf save, that are now unfortunately all in the void thanks to my old computer hard drive dying a horrible death before I was able to back up my saves. 😭😭 These are the only pictures that survived thanks to me sending them to a friend on Discord. I had so many more but they're all gone now. If you take away nothing else from this post, take this: always remember to back up your saves!!!!

This is my old werewolf pack from last year. I have been grieving their loss this whole time and I'm just now able to talk about them without getting a pit in my stomach. It's wild how much losing your favorite save can affect you. Starting a new werewolf save has helped heal the pain though, so let's do a retrospective/post-mortem of my original pack.

Gia (center, seated): The pack leader, the alpha bitch, the legend. Gia was one of those Sims who thought she was a badass, feared by all, when really most people saw her as a nuisance. She liked to terrorize everyone she thought were "normies" in Moonlight Falls, including the established werewolves there. When she wasn't starting fights for no reason, she was tapping away at her typewriter. She wrote a series of werewolf-themed romances that sold...well, they sold. And she was lucky, too, because they were all horrible trash but she was so convinced of her literary genius, she kept churning them out even when the publisher begged her to stop. She definitely didn't need the money since she and her dog kept finding tiberium pretty much daily, but it was never about the money, man. It was about the art. Maybe you've heard of her highest earner -- Anytime, Anywerewolf -- though if you admit to it, it's a self-report on your taste level. You might wanna keep that quiet.

Duchess (center, seated, dog): Duchess was the goodest of the good girls, end of story. Gia found her as a puppy and raised her to be the scourge of furniture everywhere. I was so sad to learn that dogs and werewolves don't have any special interactions and can't even hunt together, but regardless, the bond between these two was less like the relationship between owner and dog and more like siblings. Therefore, despite being a different species, Duchess was an undeniable member of the pack.

Marilyn (back, far left): Oh Marilyn, a precious little cinnamon roll who never hurt anyone except bees. Well, no, that's not right. The bees hurt her, not the other way around. Marilyn was a Sim Finder app acquisition. At the time, I was just looking to fill out the pack and hadn't yet come up with my "rule" (in the loosest possible sense) about using only premades so I used the app to generate zero-faces with the traits I wanted, then I'd make them over in CAS. In retrospect, I could have saved a lot of time just making them in CAS to begin with but, hey shut up, get off my back. Anyway, Marilyn was our pack gardener, or she would have been if she had been the slightest bit interested doing anything other than following River around like a lovesick puppy. Part of her gardening duties also entailed beekeeping but she was...just...the freaking worst at it. Every time she even thought of approaching the hive, the bees attacked her. Ever seen a Sim get stung five times in a row? I have. It was Marilyn. The girl subsisted on Benadryl and false hope. Maybe that's why she almost never gardened. Another of her quirks was that she had the coward trait, yet it almost never manifested itself with anything other than Bonehilda. She didn't freak out when pack members transformed in front of her, she didn't freak out when she got bitten, she didn't freak out when it was the full moon, she literally only screamed and fainted when Bonehilda was out of her coffin. I think she was skele-phobic.

Noel (back, second from left): Some of you are squinting at the screen right now going, "hey wait, that Sim looks really familiar". That's because I didn't make him, our wonderful @happy-lemon did. Noel, in her game, was the husband of Kana, her second gen heir. She was kind enough to send him to me to let me play with him, which is honestly such a sacrifice, seeing as how we've been friends for a while and she knows what I'm like. Absolute saint, that woman. Anyway, Noel was just as much of a sweetheart as he was in her game, and he was one of my favorites. He was one of everyone's favorites, really. He was a generally nice guy who got along with everyone, even Gia. Most Sims, when they get the cursed bite get an instant ➖➖ with the werewolf that bit them, and Noel was no different, but he never let his dislike of Gia show. He still tried to be kind to her despite her being...her. Nobody disliked Noel. Nobody. His highest relationship in the pack, though, was with Duchess. He adored that dog. He was always playing with her, giving her belly rubs, talking to her. God it was so cute. Noel's official role was pack chef. This was not a popular decision. See, Noel is a vegetarian, even as a werewolf, and his pack mates were...very much not. Normally, it's not wise to serve tofu hot dogs to a pack of ravenous slavering semi-feral werewolves, but Noel got away with it because he's just that nice. He didn't even take it personally when the pack refused to eat his cooking and chowed down on raw steaks instead. Angel.

River (back, middle): River was another Sim created by a dear friend of mine, Caralline. River didn't really have an official pack designation. I think I tried to give him one but he rejected everything but "pack hot guy all the girls fawn over". So, yeah, that was his official role. He was there to charm all the ladies and inadvertently become a hub of drama. He didn't do anything maliciously, though, he was just too darn charming for his own good. As previously mentioned, Marilyn was obsessed with him. She was always following him around, talking to him and rolling wishes to interact with him. She was the first Sim to get the attraction pop-up for him but oh lord, she was not the last. For his part, he was friendly with her but he didn't seem to be as interested in her as she was in him. He had eyes for Gia, which, again is very strange considering the ➖➖ cursed bite thing. He and Noel seemed to rise above their programming in that regard. He thought she was attractive (he thought everyone was attractive, though) and kept rolling wishes to get to know her better. I think there may have been some autonomous flirts, there, too, which, if my computer hadn't died, could have lead to some interesting dynamics between him, Gia, and Marilyn. I truly wish I could have seen that triangle through. The fireworks would have been spectacular.

Bailey (back, second from right): We all know her, we all tolerate her, ladies and germs, it's Moonlight Falls' very own Bailey Swain! This save made me do a complete 180 on my previous stance on premades, I'll tell you what. Before, I never really paid them much attention, preferring to do my own thing, but now I'm looking at all of them with a new light. Why? Because Bailey is awful. She's just the fucking worst. Absolute moron. Smooth-brained idiot. Big dumb baby whose IQ matches her shoe size. I LOVE HER! God, what a fool. Ok, ok, I'll explain myself. Go look her up on the Wiki. Look at her traits. Does she have the coward trait? No. I'll save you the click, she does not. She starts as a teenager in the game because she's based on Bella Swan from Twilight and she has loner, clumsy, supernatural fan, and light sleeper. I aged her up, of course, and I forget what I gave her as a fifth trait, but it might have been something like bookworm or born saleswoman. Definitely. not. coward. Why am I stressing this so much? Because she screamed and fainted every time anyone transformed into a werewolf in front of her, even after she herself was transformed into a werewolf. Every. time. EVERY TIME!!! She was so stupid and I loved her with everything I had in me. She never knew what was going on ever. Her loner trait made her a great pick for pack alchemist and she turned out to be very talented at it. She maxed out her alchemy skill faster than any Sim I've ever seen. She was making the pack thousands with every batch she consigned. She was also the only one able to harvest honey from the bees without them attempting to murder her. You'd think that clumsy trait would mean she'd open up the hive and accidentally insult the queen or something, but no, they loved her. It really was just Marilyn they had some unexplained beef with.

Ephraim (back, far right): Poor Ephraim. He was the newest member, another Sim Finder Sim, and the one I never really got to know. Shortly after he joined (that's such a nice way of saying "cursed and kidnapped"), my hard drive died so he didn't have time to settle into a role. It's really a shame, because he had one of the most interesting dynamics with the other pack members. It wasn't that he didn't get along with everyone else, it was just that he seemed very wary of everyone. He hated Gia though. Like full-on "I want to see your flaming ghost" hate. He seemed to struggle with being turned into a werewolf, constantly rolling wishes to be cured as fast as I could delete them. It would have been so cool to see how he adapted to his curse, if he ever did.

And that's it. That's all that remains of my first werewolf pack. They'll always be legends in my eyes. I miss them.

Here's hoping that my new wolfpack can hold a candle to them. Connor certainly has big Gia energy, even though his traits are radically different from hers and make him even more unlikeable. Gia was just so convinced of her badassery that she didn't really care what other Sims thought of her. Connor just outright hates most people and things. I feel like it's important to have a Sim who is unaffected by the relationship hit they get when they curse other Sims to add to the pack. I didn't want to go full evil with him to the point where he would enjoy their misery, though. I think it's more interesting to start at rock bottom in a relationship and see if they can salvage it or if they just never get along. Plus, I just don't want my new pack to be an imitation of the first one. That would be boring and it would never measure up. I really do enjoy playing this way, though, and sometimes I wonder if coming up with a challenge based on my werewolf play would be fun for other people. It'd certainly be fun for me to see how others interpret the concept, but Idk. Official challenge rules are difficult for me to follow personally so the idea of coming up with a bunch of rules for others feels kinda...hypocritical? Idk if that's the right word but hopefully you know what I mean.

If you have read this far, let me know what you think! Not just about my old pack or my new pack, but about the challenge idea in general. If you had to come up with rules for something like this, what would you consider a good challenge that's still fun and not too restrictive? Would this be a good idea to develop? Would you be interested in playing a werewolf save with or without rules? And if you do start a werewolf pack of your own, please tag me. I freaking love werewolves and I would love to see more interpretations.