#i was planning to wait a few years to get a new computer. i guess it's more like 2 years at this point lol

[teiasviago]

i got a "cooling pad" for christmas that has six fans in it and you put your computer on it. finally searched how to turn the intensity up bc the dials on the thing sure as hell aren't working. "six quiet fans" man my computers internal fans do more work than these fans. and you can't turn it up bc it you use it through a usb port lol so it can't really handle it running the fans faster.

[stonedstr8]

TOKE 'N STROKE

"Ads are getting so damn invasive." Lucas thought to himself, clicking skip on yet another pointless car commercial interrupting the video essay he was watching. "You think the algorithm would know its audience by now, I'm too gay to drive!"

He laughed a little bit at the joke, running a hand through his soft, bleached blonde hair. He was the epitome of a high-maintenance twink, with his smooth, hairless body and perfect sense of style. He was smart too and liked to boast about it, with a scholarship for his English Lit degree and being made President of his university's LGBT Chapter, which he was hoping to use as a stepping stone to become Student Body President next year.

Leaning back again in his chair he reached for his cellphone, seeing a text from his boyfriend Alex.

Alex: "Hey cutie, still busy with finals this weekend, but have time for a dinner date Sunday night?"

He smiled to himself, giving an eager text back to set it up, and to wish him well on his upcoming exams. "Ugh, I need to start studying too, Monday's going to be one hell of a final... I'll focus on it and head to the library after this video and-"

Just like that, his train of thought was interrupted again by a stupid ad, this time some obnoxious psychedelic visuals and a bad electric guitar riff blared out of his monitor. It startled him so badly that he seized up for a second, accidentally clicking the ad and being brought to their store page. "Broski's Bud's, one stop ship and shop for weed strains to fix your brain..." He rolled his eyes at the cringe marketing, getting ready to close the tab when a pop-up opened trying to tell him all about a deal he 'wouldn't want to miss out on'. "No thanks, stupid site, you can keep your Bro Buds or whatever to yourself." but every time he hit X on the popup another would open, being more and more insistent each time about new deals, until finally a desperate '90% OFF AND SPECIAL STARTER KIT AS A BONUS WITH YOUR FIRST PURCHASE' filled his screen. "FINE," he scoffed at his computer, "I'll take a look at the stupid site. My therapist suggested I try out weed to help lessen my anxiety anyways, so might as well get a good deal on it..."

Clicking the pop-up added the 'starter kit' to his cart, it was a pack of pre-rolled blunts and some sort of mystery box, but the description didn't help him understand it much either. "Get ready to step into the zone and open ur mind with this one bros, Broski's Buds bestselling strain, Toke 'n Stroke, is sure to change your life by stimulating a high never felt before! This isn't your sissy uncle's strain, this shit puts hair on your chest like a real man!"

"God this is so cringe, I bet they get all kinds of business marketing to the dumb jocks in town, no wonder their brains are mush. Still, it's just weed and for $20 I might as well give it a try, I probably won't find it cheaper anywhere else..." sitting in thought about it for a few seconds, Lucas finally filled in his payment info and placed his order, getting a free upgrade to same-day delivery since they seem to have a storefront a few miles from his apartment.

"Well, there goes my library plans I guess, I'll have to wait around for delivery since my package will probably get swiped otherwise..." Lucas sighed, turning off his computer and plopping down onto the couch, picking up his Switch to play Animal Crossing and kill time.

A few hours passed and the sky got dark before finally a long buzz came from his intercom. "Took them long enough, it's nearly 9pm!" he complained, putting his jacket on to head downstairs. When he got down there the delivery guy had already gotten into his car again, driving away and leaving Lucas to carry the package back upstairs all on his own. It was bigger than he expected, taking both hands to lift it and keep it stable. "Jesus, this thing must weight like 40 pounds! What did they put in here?"

After a bit of struggling and the occasional break to catch his breath, Lucas pushed his package into the living room, collapsing on the floor next to it for a while. "After that workout I'm surprised I don't look like the douchebags around campus." he laughed to himself, bouncing up to get a box cutter and pry his package open. After taking the carton of pre-rolled blunts out, he started into the box with a bit of confusion and disgust, pulling things out one after the other.

"A sleeveless tank top that says 'Toke 'n Stroke Bro'... A pair of douchey sunglasses... Some red gym shorts, socks and slides... Ew, a snapback saying 'Who ate all the pussy?', why the fuck would anyone wear this!... And 2 dumbbells, no wonder this thing was so heavy! All of this is useless shit that's gonna end up in a donation bin now, I'll have to drop this trashy stuff off tomorrow on my way to the library... But hey, at least the weed seems fine, smells... potent." He said, tossing everything back into the box and taking a whiff of one of the blunts.

Kicking back on the couch again, he played with the blunt in his hand for a while before finally having the courage to light it up, taking a hit. Immediately he started coughing, not used to the sensation, but it did make his brain start to feel... fuzzy. "Damn, okay I need to push past it and get used to it." he said, lighting up for another hit of the blunt, this time barely a cough escaping his throat, feeling suspiciously more used to it. Then another, and another, until finally the whole blunt was gone. Sitting in his daze for a while, he enjoyed the sensation of his mind drifting around experiencing the high, his anxiety melting away as if he didn't have a care in the world. Eventually he decided to try and get up, but his body slumped over off the couch and hitting the floor, the room fading to black...

...

When Lucas finally came to again, the first thing that hit him was the strong smell of weed floating around in the air. "Damn bro, did I smoke the whole set or what..." he laughed groggily, getting ready to stretch out and get back to laying on the couch before he was startled by the sound of moaning blasting from his TV, eyes shooting open in confusion. On the screen, two busty lesbians were making out, them taking turns groping each others boobs and fingering each other. "What the fuck bro, how long has this been on?" he cursed, nervous that the neighbors nextdoor might have heard it playing as he started desperately looking for the remote.

When he couldn't find it in the cushions, he got up from the couch only to be met with his feet kicking a bunch of empty beer cans. "Dude, there's gotta be 2 dozen thrown all over the floor, did I have a party or something? I don't even know anyone who drinks beer..." he mumbled, going to scratch his head in confusion, but was even more confused when instead of his hair he felt a hat on top of his head. "Huh?" he thought, as he looked down at the floor again, noticing that instead of his skinny jeans and converse he was now wearing the socks and slides from the box, along with the sleeveless tank top and the shorts too. He stumbled his way to the bathroom door still baked out of his mind, mouth dropping open at his reflection in the full-length mirror in front of him.

"Broooo, am I dreaming or what the fuckkkk is going on" he said in disbelief. No more was the cute, pale twink he used to be staring back at him. Instead, a douchey bro he didn't recognize was standing face to face with him. Tanned skin, pillowy muscles, his once blonde hair turned into a brown buzz cut and with that stupid "Who ate all the pussy?" hat slapped over it. He touched his face, feeling along his chin where his once smooth skin now had a rougher texture, and a trashy chinstrap sprouted from his jawline. He slapped his face a few times in his daze, trying to wake up from the dream and growing more confused each time nothing changed.

Turning around and staggering back to his living room to try and make sense of what's going on, it hit him that he barely recognizes the room anymore. His apartment used to be perfectly maintained and well-decorated, now there was beer cans all over the floor, along with dirty socks and cummed-in underwear, greasy pizza boxes and chip bags all over the table and counter, the decorations on his walls had been torn down and replaced with posters of chicks in bikinis and sports teams, his Switch replaced with an X-Box and a stack of COD games next to it, DVD cases of trashy bro-comedies were thrown around near the TV too... Then the smell hit him, it STUNK in here, like a sickening mixture of weed, cheap body spray, and sour BO wafting in a heat around the room. "Bro, it fucking reeks in here... Or wait..." he mumbled as he gave himself a whiff, "I fucking reek!"

After a bit of stunned silence he finally started to process things in his brain again. How the fuck did he get like this, was any of this even real, and how does he get back to normal? He plopped back onto the couch, picking up his phone to see he had a handful of missed texts and calls from his boyfriend before noticing the time... 2:00pm. On Sunday. He had somehow been blacked out for 2 whole nights, with no memory of anything that had happened. While getting ready to call his boyfriend back, Lucas felt his insides rumbling and at first he thought it was from the munchies because of all the weed, but then he realized "Oh bro, all that double-cheese pizza is really gonna fucking..."

*PHRRRBBBTTT!*

His body instinctively lifted its leg as it pushed out the loudest and most obnoxious fart he'd ever ripped in his life, as his body seemed to react on its own, letting out an immature laugh and wafting the air before muttering "Fuck yeah bro, smells like victory!" He leaned back into the couch, remembering he needed to call Alex, but the loud moaning on the TV caught him off guard again. This time he locked eyes with the screen, the cock in his shorts immediately bulging and straining at the sight of the lesbian porn before him. "I really need to turn this shit off and get whatever's going on sorted out..." he thought, but he realized he couldn't move his hand to reach for his phone, instead it reacted on its own, reaching down his waistband to pull out his cock and start stroking for the busty babes on TV.

"All I do is Toke 'n Stroke, bro..." a voice in his head seemed to say, except it didn't come from within, he spoke it directly out of his own mouth.

"Wait, I didn't say that bro, it's-" he tried to talk, realizing that his thoughts echoed around stuck in his own head, not even leaving the lips of his own body. He was just stuck there, watching in a dazed horror as he went on autopilot.

"Toke 'n Stroke bro, I'm such a loyal customer Broski's Buds will HAVE to take me as a hype boy this time haha!" his voice spoke again, continuing to stroke for the porn on TV, Lucas's eyes stuck fixed on the screen. Suddenly though, he was interrupted by his phone vibrating, a text from his boyfriend coming through.

Alex: "Hey cutie, I hope everything is alright? You haven't answered my calls or texts in a couple days, I know it's busy with all your studying but we do still have dinner planned for tonight. Still on for me to pick you up at 5?"

"Oh thank God," Lucas thought, reading the message, "I can tell him what's going on and have him come over to help me fix this shit!" Unlocking his phone, Lucas let out a sigh of relief as he got ready to reply, only for his body to still be taken over by whatever douchey daze it was stuck in.

Lucas: "dont u ever come around me u faggy creep, if me or my bros ever catch u within 100 feet of us we'll give u the beating of a lifetime! fuck around n find out if u dare to show ur face here."

Lucas screamed internally as the message was typed out and sent in front of his very eyes, before his hand moved to block his boyfriend's number and turn his phone off. "Something is seriously fucking wrong with me bro, I need to-"

*PHHRRRRBBBTTTTTT*

Another obnoxious and sickening fart blasted out of his ass, filling the room and breaking Lucas's thoughts down into a daze again, as he felt around under the couch for something before pulling a sweaty, well-used fuck toy of a girls ass and pussy up from the mess.

As Lucas once again locked eyes with the TV, he took another hit from his dwindling blunt stash, finishing up the last one. After throwing what was left onto the floor, he prepared the fuck toy and slid it right down onto his cock, starting to bounce the toy up and down as he edged himself closer to finishing.

"If I can't figure out a way to snap out of this, I'm so fucked..." he thought, as his voice spoke again. "Toke 'n Stroke bro, this chick is soooo getting fucked!" He moaned, as he shot his thick load into the toy, feeling some of his braincells permanently shoot out with it, sloppily wiping the mess on the cushion next to him as he laid back, feeling his insides start to bubble again.

Lucas had a lot of Bro Time to catch up on, but luckily his new favorite weed strain was making sure that he was a captive audience until he was fully converted and assimilated into just another Bro.

[changingplumbob]

Knightstone Household: Chapter 9, Part 12

Suzanna walked in to the office where Silas was playing on the computer and Pollock was having fun with one of his toys.

Suzanna: Hey you two

Silas: Hi Mummy

Pollock wandered over and hugged Suzanna’s leg tight.

Suzanna: It’s bedtime for you Pollock. Head to bed and Daddy will read you a story okay?

Silas: What about me

Suzanna: Want to go upstairs and collect your alien?

Smiling Silas shut off the computer and sped up the stairs.

Silas: Oh oh, can I have the squid? Or maybe you could clone the porcupine for me

Suzanna smiled and set down the jar from earlier.

Suzanna: You can have this guy, fresh off Sixam today

Silas stared at the jar. It didn’t escape his notice that the jar had no air holes and the Red Coral inside wasn’t moving

Silas: Mummy, I can’t take a dead alien to show and tell. That’s creepy

Suzanna: He’s only a little dead. Some types of aliens operate on a similar frequency to us and with a little manipulation...

Silas: You’re going to bring it back to life?

Suzanna: That’s the plan. It takes a lot of focus though, you may not be able to do it until you’re an adult

Taking a deep breath and concentrating Suzanna sent out pulses that resounded through the coral, making it twitch. After a short time the light returned to it’s eyes and it began to move.

Silas: Oh wow, we better get an enclosure Mummy!

Silas: Do you think he’s happy in there

Suzanna: He feels happy, yes. Don’t worry, when you’re a teen you should be able to start picking up on his feelings. Now, will that do for show and tell

Silas: *beaming* YES

Suzanna: Good. Now you better get to bed. Would you like me to spray the monster?

Silas: No, I think I’m going to try be it’s friend. Goodnight Mummy, I love you

That job done, Suzanna set about doing some cloning. She’d gotten a new metal on Sixam today, rose gold. Figuring it might have some new elements she wanted to make copies to send to the geo council. Unfortunately the time in her inventory had messed with the calibration and initially she got a crude lump of matter. A few adjustments though and she was able to create several new minerals and gems for her stock.

Adam: You ready for bed

Suzanna: Just let me put the cloning machine away

Adam: Can it clone people

Suzanna: Logically it should be able to but I haven’t tested that

Adam: You should clone Faye and freeze her clone in front of her

Suzanna: You Mr Knightstone are a bad influence

Adam: Maybe but you love it

Suzanna: I do

Giggling the pair got in bed and fooled around.

Silas wasn’t sure why he’d woken up. He felt the clink of simoleons and cheered at the gift from the tooth fairy. Then he heard it. The growling and plopping under his bed, the monster was back! Taking a deep breath, and trying to channel some of his favourite book characters he sat down facing the gap.

Silas: Umm, hi there. I’m Silas. Are you... comfy?

Monster: Comfy? Yes. I just like the dark

Silas: Oh not me, I have a fear of it actually

The pair talked for a while and Silas felt like he had befriended the monster.

Silas: Mummy you’ll never guess

Suzanna: You got a visit from the tooth fairy

Silas: Well yeah but- I made friends with the monster under my bed

Suzanna: You did? Oh that’s wonderful Starshine

Silas: I’m going to tell everyone at school about it! Even the humans accept there are monsters under the bed or in the closet. Can we watch Monsters Inc this weekend?

Suzanna: *smiling* Sure, Pollock might be old enough to watch it now

After walking Silas to the school bus Suzanna tended the garden and got the mail. The rose gold had indeed contained a new element for her display and she couldn’t wait to slot it in. She took a moment to enjoy the crisp winter air, to think she’d missed out on snow all those years in Oasis Springs.

Suzanna: Hey Faye, I think I fixed my calibrations

Faye: *scoffs* Not again. Look I have actual work to do

Suzanna: You’re on your lunch break, and it will just take a second, hold still

Faye: Have I ever told you I hate you

Suzanna: Not in those words but it’s implied every day

Faye: Good

Suzanna: I feel like maybe your skin tone has shifted slightly

Faye: Wow, that’s some cutting edge science right there boss

Suzanna: Your sarcasm is noted

Faye: Right well I’m going to get back to my lunch now

Previous ... Next

[shinysparklesapphires]

showtime precure!

chapter 2: I'm a what now?!

🎀: @baileypie-writes @harufallinwonderland

"C-Cure...Showt-time...."

Saying it out loud truly solidified how weird Luci- Cure Showtime's situation was. Within seconds she'd gone from a normal high schooler to some sort of magician??

With....really long hair...

"Are you ok?" She looked down at the cat, who still seemed a bit shaken.

"Y-yeah..." the cat looked just as confused as she did.

"SAWWWW!" The monster roared, charging towards Showtime.

"UWAAAA!" she did a flip over it, dodging the attack.

"Wow! That was so cool! How did I-"

"Showtime look out!"

She dodged another punch from the monster, hitting it with all her strength, sending it flying into a nearby wall.

"What are you doing Facade?! She has one of the ribbons! Get it from her now!"

"Sawwww...." the monster seemed tired out.

"Showtime! Use your hat!" The cat yelled.

"My huh?" She took off the black top hat she was wearing, and out popped a small wand.

"Quickly! Before the monster gets back up!"

"Right!"

She tapped the wand on the hats rim a few times, then shouted

"PreCure, Showtime finale!"

She pointed the wand at the monster, enveloping it in a light, that when it faded all that remained was a small coin.

"Grrrrr! Cure Showtime...whoever you are...I'll get you for this!"

The goth girl disappeared.

"Ok you've gotta explain, what happened to me? Why did I get all- sparkly??"

Lucia and the cat were sitting on her bed.

"My name is Reel," the cat answered.

"I don't know why it transformed you, all I know is that these ribbons-"

Reel looked at the ribbons tied around his collar.

"Whoever wears them, can have any wish the want granted."

"Wait really?!" Lucia beamed.

"I wish for a mountain of sweets!" She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

Nothing happened.

"You can't just wish for something out of the blue! It has to be something you really really want!"

"But I really really want sweets..."

"That's not what I-" he sighed. "Are you even listening?!"

Lucia was on her computer looking at something.

"Sorry I need to pick out my courses for the year!"

*poof!*

"How about the theater course?"

Lucia looked up from her desk, turned and saw the boy from before sitting on her bed!

"H-huh...?"

"Yeah my human disguise is the theater teacher, so if you join that, I'll be able to make sure you don't do anything irresponsible with that ribbon."

Theater! Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that before?? It was perfect! Plus, if she joined that course, she'd have all acting, tech, set design, and dance classes too!

"Alright then! Guess I'm a theater girl now!"

Reel smiled. He didn't know why, but somehow he knew he could trust Lucia to help him.

"Woo-hoo! First day of theater class! Yippee!"

"Lucia, can you please be quiet..." Reel was on the other side of the classroom, cleaning his glasses.

"So who else joined this course?" Lucia looked over at the attendance sheet on his desk.

"Dunno, only two other people signed up for the actual theater class itself. Most just signed up for the dancing part." Reel put his glasses back on.

"Um hello? Is this the main theater classroom?"

It was the pigtailed girl again, but with another girl this time.

Reel grabbed the attendance sheet.

"Yes this is the main one. Names?"

"Lyna Amaranthe." The new girl said.

"And you?" Reel looked at the pigtailed girl.

"Clemantis. Amber." The pigtailed girl muttered, putting on her headphones and sitting at the nearest table. Lyna followed suit, sitting next to her, and started doodling in a sketchbook.

"Alright. Since this is the first class, I didn't really have anything planned, since I wasn't really expecting such a small turnout. So just do whatever you want as long as it doesn't bother me I guess." Reel closed his eyes and took a nap at his desk.

Real professional.

[quinndominion]

Thought I was going to make another rant-y ramble about scene staging, but I figured it out before I finished typing.

Anyway...Terrific fun seeing your scenes come to life exactly the way you envisioned them. Terribly frustrating when it feels like you've forgotten how to do basic stuff, elicit some very basic poses - like, hold your hand out, sir! No, more. Out thataway. Please?

Look, see, like this, Sylvia Marie did it, why can't you? (which, of course, means why can't I...remember how to do such a little thing?)

But this is why I always like to keep SimPE open while playing. (Standard warning, you know what your computer can and can't handle, blah, blah, blah. And if you don't load it first, obviously, and fully load in the game files, you won't be able to do a damn thing with it while the game is using them and you, of course, can't edit cc files that are in use. But if, like me, you've got multiple cc setups and test hoods and wip stuff it comes in handy when you're too lazy to quit the game just to check something.) I double-checked my 'undies ad' posebox and turns out I did, actually, make that overlay. Oops. But, frustration allayed!

Wrong hand, anyway. But that wasn't the point.

Serviceable as is, I guess.

But it looks even more awkward from this angle and that's the one where you can see what he can't see yet as he's looking for his daughter.

Ooh, maybe Adele's prop box, sans prop? I'll check! Too many newer poseboxes, I'm forgetting the virtues of the golden oldies! Otherwise, I have found something that should work but it means exiting and reloading the game. And she may or may not hold her pose on reload.

The positioning itself I can recreate easily enough, but she is well off her lot (get it..."well" *snerk*) and therein lies the hassle. I'd have to learn new tricks (all over again) to make that a simpler process. And, uh, no. I need, literally, 3-5 more pics. Then all I've got to do is finish the write-up and wrestle with the html formatting. So, tomorrow maybe, or more likely the day after since it's Christmas.

Apparently, some things have changed in the past few years, but not DW's post editor - which I hate, love everything else, no plans to shop around for a new home, but hate the tiny post creation window that you can't expand in visual edit mode - you know, the one you need to see, it's in the name - but can drag out in html mode, like being able to see the alphanumeric wall-o-text in a bigger window is at all useful to me! They render all visual line breaks exclusively with code now so even if you space it out to be able to see what you're doing with the html, if you click over to visual mode to see that it looks right and click back, they've smushed it back into one big block of text. Why...oh, why? That's not really the new hassle, but I'm tired of rambling. Suffice it to say that my workaround no longer works straight copy-paste. Even when I remember to add all the extra <br /> breaks. Still have to fiddle with it in their tiny post window where they nevertheless render the pictures full-size so I can only see half of what I'm doing without side-scrolling back and forth. Okay, now rant really over.

How do I know this? Well, I celebrated my bday last Monday by actually posting a chapter. No linky, I'll get to that...eventually, but it's there on my Dreamwidth if you wanna read it. Or you can wait til I'm finished wrangling with the rest of Act One and feel like making proper posts with links and stuff. Doubt anyone's read this far into a ramble post to warrant adding links anyway. 😃😃😃

[fancoloredglasses]

Over the Edge (Well, THAT escalated quickly!)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros-Discovery. I hope I’m too small-fry to sue…]

[Thanks to Batgirlspain for the inspiration]

I originally wanted to review this episode of New Batman Adventures for Halloween, but I think most of you will agree that what I went with instead worked better (though a number have commented that I may have been a bit too harsh. However, I stand by my opinion!) So now, instead of a few days before Halloween, this review will be out a few days after the Day of the Dead, which I think is more appropriate.

If you would like to watch the episode, it’s available on Max or behind your favorite paywall.

We open with Batman and Robin on the run from…

Wait, the GCPD is after Batman (and using deadly force)? AND they know who he is?!  What the fucking fuck?!

One of the officers throws a grenade (what police department lets its officers carry grenades?!) at them, nearly blowing Robin to bits! The Dynamic Duo run for the Batmobile, but…

They have RPGs as well? Why aren’t they using this sort of ordinance on Bane or Killer Croc?!

The officer blows up the Batmobile, cutting off the Caped Crusaders’ escape.

Batman buys some time by using his trophies against Gordon and his men.

Namely, the giant penny.

Then, another avenue of escape is cut off by Detective Montoya, but they jump off the ledge toward the water below and into the waiting Batboat. Gordon is about to fire on them when…

…Alfred joins the struggle. He’s quickly subdued, but bought enough time for the Batboat to clear the Batcave. However, they’re not in the clear yet as…

Once again, the cops have an RPG handy to blow up the Batboat (someone please explain why Gordon’s been just sitting on these), but misses. Just as they’re about to fire another volley…

...Nightwing joins the fray and draws their fire. He then fires mini torpedoes at the Police boat’s engine, disabling it as the Dynamic Duo and Former Boy Wonder make their escape.

But why is the GCPD going all out to take down Batman? And how does Gordon know who Batman is? We’ll let Batman explain…

(Thanks to FLYBOY727)

OK, while I understand Gordon being upset about Batman being responsible for putting Barbara in harm’s way, that’s a HUGE step from blaming him yo being her murderer (after all, Scarecrow was the one who knocked her off of the building)! Personally, I think Bullock was salivating at the chance to take down the Bat and planted the seed in Gordon’s head.

But that still doesn’t explain how Gordon knows who Batman is!

For that, let’s fast forward a bit in this flashback to Wayne Manor where Bruce gets a phone call from Gordon.

OK, THAT explain it, though are you telling me the future Oracle wouldn’t have encrypted her computers out the wazoo?

As Gordon hangs up, Bruce sees the GCPD drive up, including a battering ram tank! (Seriously, if Gordon had access to all of this, then WHY is Gotham’s criminal element allowed to run rampant?!) Bruce and Tim retreat to the Batcave, which brings us to where we came in.

(Thanks to Tim Bengsch)

Yeah, you’d think Dick would realize that Gordon is capable of putting two and two together.

Now on his own, Batman ponders his next move (I hear Star City’s nice this time of year)

Meanwhile in Gordon’s office, Mayor Hill tries to get Gordon to stand down.

Since the public knows about Barbara’s connection to Batman…

Hill demands Gordon’s resignation.

Meanwhile, on Tabloid TV…

The assembled villains are suing Bruce Wayne for $1 billion!

...under the advice of the Dini-verse's version of Johnny Cochran.

Meanwhile, Gordon has to decide if he quietly resigns or fights the legal system.

With the clock ticking, Gordon goes to Blackgate Prison.

The convict in the shadows agrees to Gordon’s plan.

(Thanks to The World's Finest)

Oh, don’t tell me this was an “it’s all a dream” episode?!

I guess it was!

Turns out Batgirl got a lungful of the Scarecrow’s fear gas and it surfaced her worst fears in her mind.

Barbara decides that, to keep that nightmare scenario from happening, she would come clean to her father (though not reveal the rest of the Bat Family’s secrets)

That night, Barbara invites her father to dinner…and a talk.

Barbara tries to stammer out what she has to say, but is interrupted by Gordon.

So it is implied that Gordon might already know about Barbara…and possibly the others.

And with that, we fade out and credits roll

[cloudsandcrescents]

☁️ New Updates Alert ☁️

Hello friends, I’m back again. I promise I did not forget about you all and I know you have been waiting for new updates. Well, guess what, I’ve got a three more for you now!

My birthday just recently passed and it’s been years since I’ve actually celebrated. No major reason, I just usually like to do my own thing. That said, I was surprised with a mini getaway and have returned back. While I’m personally not a fan of surprises, this one was really nice and it was great to reconnect with great friends.

That said, let’s get right into the updates!

Because of You (Bonus Chapter) - Some of you may remember that fluffy little one-shot I did a while back where the Bella’s are throwing a party for Beca’s going away to Los Angeles post PP3. Beca and Chloe share a moment and I ended things with Chloe and Beca leading up to their first time together. I got many requests to follow up with a part two for that scene specifically so here it is. A nice hot and tender moment with our favorite girls. For any new readers, the first chapter is pretty innocent and rated T and the bonus chapter will be rated M in the beginning notes.

Hour of Need: Chapter Two - This is the second chapter of a multi-chapter fic I started a while back that I will be resuming now that After Hours and Promise Me are complete. Quick Breakdown: This story will follow the separate and then joined lives of Beca and Chloe. It pulls some elements from A Simple Favor but is otherwise its own story. It focuses on loss, grief, family, and secrets. Additionally, it was also my first attempt at a little graphic of sorts.

Leather Black: Chapter Ten - Long overdue this one, I know, I know! We are nearing the end and with this chapter, we prepare for a reunion and get the reveal of who’s the mastermind behind this all. Chapter Eleven still has a few more revisions to go through but will follow shortly.

There’s a few more updates that are planned after some revisions now that I can access my computer again. That said, there are maybe one or two that may actually coincide with a few prompts for BeChloe Week and will likely be posted then. Thanks for being patient while I unexpectedly celebrated my birthday lol and enjoy these next few updates! I’ll also be getting to all of my comments after work today so thanks for being patient with me times two! 🩵

[gayf1hoe]

A Risk Worth Taking

Scenario: When Y/N meets Zane the driver he will be working closely with at his new team he can't help but have strong feelings for Zane. But he's cautious of the repercusions their relationship can cause.

“Everyone I would like to finish the pre-season talk by welcoming the new number 2 mechanic Y/N L/N who is joining us from PREMA and he will be working on Zane's car primarily but if you ever need any help with the assembly side of things, he's your man”. 

When I applied at the end of last year for the role of number 2 mechanic at Rodin I wasn't expecting to get it considering I only had 2 years of experience at PREMA, but to my genuine surprise I did get it. 

Many people ask how I managed to get to such a high position within a team at such a young age and that's because I didn't go to university and joined PREMA on an apprenticeship that my good connections within the sport managed to get me. 

I always knew I wasn't going to stay at PREMA forever and decided that Rodin was the team I wanted to work for because I have heard nothing but positive things from their staff. I also don't plan on staying in Rodin for too long as at some point I would like to somehow get into F1 mechanics. 

The talk concludes earlier than expected, much to my relief because I was one of the only people without a seat so I have been standing up for the past hour and I'm unable to feel my legs at this point. I take a moment to introduce myself to a few people that are nearby but I have met quite a few people already as I have spent the winter break getting settled in and making some developments. I'm yet to meet Zane, the driver who I will primarily be focused on although I must say his performance last year was amazing so I can't wait to work with him. I start making my way back to my office when I hear someone shouting my name from the opposite end of the corridor and it is followed by the tapping of feet echonicing through the empty chamber like corridor. 

I turn around and I am greeted by a man who has the biggest smile I have ever seen. And I can't lie, he's kind of cute. I have never been this up close with him before as the only time I have seen him has been on the screen or for a split second in the F2 paddock where I was always frantically rushing around trying to sort out some sort of issue that had been delegated to me. 

“Hi I'm Zane, but I guess you already know that” 

“I'm Y/N” I say, extending my hand. 

There is a brief moment of silence and I try to conjure up something impromptu to say to disperse the awkwardness but the only thing I can come up with is:

“Would you like to come to my office and we can go through the assembly for this year's car” 

I expect him to decline the offer as he probably has much better things to do with his time, but to my genuine surprise he agrees and we start walking towards the mechanics office engaging in a light level of conversation about our winter break. But Zane spent his travelling and I spent mine in the factory sitting at a desk helping the designers.

As I unlock my office door I quickly make an effort to tidy up the plethora of paper that has shrouded the bottom of my desk, and I pull out a seat for him to sit in front of the computer. 

I take him through the design of the car briefly explaining some things, normally this would be delegated to a separate department and normally mechanics don't have much say in the build of the car but this is F2 and we have to save money where we can and its worked out so far so there's no need to change something if it works well. 

His cologne is strong yet pleasant and it inundates my nose. He's sitting quite close to me and I can feel his light breathing against my neck as he leans closer to look at the screen in further detail. 

We spend an hour talking generally and about the car and he eventually has to leave for a meeting with the PR team and I'm left in my office alone so I take some time to do some admin work like emails ahead of testing. 

Everytime I sit back in my chair I can't help but remember how close Zane was to me, breathing on my neck and resting his arm against mine. I have no idea what to think about him. It would be unprofessional of me to think of a driver as attractive and yet I can't help but feel I'm starting to. 

“Hi Y/N just to let you know that you need to come in a bit earlier today as there's an issue with the car that needs sorting” 

That's the last thing I want to hear after strong testing performance and a great FP1 and FP2. I wasn't meant to be at the track until qualifying starts but apparently there's an issue with Zane's car that has caused him to retire from FP3. 

As I arrive in the garage everyone looks stressed out of their minds and there are hundreds of people pacing up and down the garage. It doesn't take a genius to work out the issue as the entire engine is exposed as the carbon fibre had been ripped off the car. 

When things like this happen you can't just shove a new piece on the car you have to take photos, measurements and look at the data to work out what went wrong so we can prevent it from happening again otherwise if It continues to happen we are just wasting money. 

After about 35 minutes we worrk out that whoever put the panel on didn't fasten it correctly and used the wrong screws that caused it to become loose and then when air started getting under the gap it created a lot of pressure that ripped the carbon fibre off the body of the car. 

It's a quick fix and after I have confirmed it has been done correctly this time and signed a hundred different sheets of paper I head into the trailer to find some food. As I enter the dining area I see Zane sitting by himself eating his food so after I collect mine I approach him. 

“Can I sit with you?” I ask apprehensively. 

“Of course” he replies, moving some of his stuff to enable me to put my plate down. 

“So did you manage to work out the issue with the car”

“Yes and it's all fixed and ready for quali” 

I don't know if it's the Australian heat or the nerves but I can feel myself heating up and I start to feel like I'm standing next to the sun. 

My feelings for Zane have become pretty clear to myself now and everytime I see him I have to look away to hide the fact that my face turns into a shade of red everytime he speaks to me. 

We are soon joined by Ritomo and a few other mechanics and I take this as my chance to escape and avoid them catching onto the fact that I am with Zane every 5 minutes although some are suspicious one of them said to me “you and Zane are always together you must be close” that's when I knew I had to make it less obvious but Zane doesn't help he's always speaking to me even if I pretend to be doing something. 

Zane has a great qualifying session and manages to secure a P2 start with Ritomo starting P4 so it's overall a good session for the team, but we all knew coming into the weekend that we had good pace and were going to be strong. We were just unlucky to miss out on pole by 0.003.

As I'm covering the car with a mandatory FIA blanket to ensure we don't change the car Zane enters the garage and approaches me.

“Y/N would you like to go for a drink tonight” 

I look up to see a FIA technical delegate intensely staring at me so I ask Zane to wait just a second. 

We go through to the back out of earshot of the delegate in this industry. Everyone is in everyone's business and they will sell any information to make some money. I don't trust anyone, specifically the FIA. 

“Zane I would love to but I don't think it would be appropriate or professional of me.” 

“Then let's not tell anyone” 

I think for a moment with every worst case scenario flashing through my mind. 

“Fine let me get changed out of my uniform and I will meet you in the car park” 

I get changed into my regular clothes and manage to locate Zanes's car in the labyrinth of other cars. But as I do I see the head of HR walking as well and can just imagine what he would say if he knew I was going out to drink with a driver. If it was as a team it would be fine but as it's just us he would have questions, luckily he doesn't see me. 

As I sit in the car I turn to him and say

“We really shouldn't be doing this”

“What it's just two friends going for a drink what's so wrong about that”

We end up in a bar not far from the track but it's surprisingly empty. We said we would only stay for one drink but one drink soon turns into two then three then four and that's where I lose count. 

I wake up to the sun piercing through the windows illuminating the room causing me to let out a whine of pain as a wave of agony sweeps across my head. I feel a heavy weight on my left hand and see Zane fast asleep. I then avert my gaze to the floor where I see my clothes that I was wearing last night and another set of clothes that I assume belong to Zane. 

I frantically try to find my phone and realise that I should have woken up an hour ago. The adrenaline of panic makes me instantly forget the pain in my head. I quickly jump in the shower and brush my teeth at the same time. 

When I got out I pulled my work clothes out of the closet and threw them on my hair still dripping with water. Somehow through all my chaos Zane has managed to stay fast asleep so I go over to him and nudge him, with water droplets from my hair landing on the side of his face. 

He stirs and mumbles  “What?”

“You need to get up I'm going to be late for the mechanics meeting and you are going to be late for the engineering meeting” 

Upon hearing that he shoots up grabbing his phone and looking at the time whilst simultaneously exclaiming “shit”.

I don't have time to wait for him and if we are late together it will look very suspicious, before I leave I put on a pair of sunglasses “to protect my eyes from the sun”. 

I make it will 30 seconds to spare and the seasoned mechanics are laughing at me as I'm out of breath and doused in my own sweat one of the approaches me and says

“We have all slept in once and missed a mechanics meeting so don't worry” 

The meeting goes well and before the feature race I take some time to do the final car checklist and that's when Zane comes behind me and places his hand on my back causing me to jump a little.

“You can't touch me like that in the garage. What if someone sees?”

“You worry too much we are both adults and what happened last night wasn't a mistake I really enjoyed it” 

I can't help but sigh and think this man is going to get us into trouble. 

[dynamic-k]

'AH, yeah, I just figured that Dark was behind Ted's actions, since Ted can't act alone.'

now i have more fuel for my questions!!! >:]

Okay, so Dark uses the chip thingy he implanted into his brain to communicate with the bots.

Therefore:

If Dark's chip became broken, what would happen to the button bots? If they can't act independently, would they just shut down, or would they go through what they know of Dark, and try to find what he would most likely tell them to do in that situation to follow that?

Also, an extra weakness for Dark i guess. What if someone hacked into the bots to make them make Dark's vision and stuff all weird?

Because they can highlight stuff, so could they just go haywire and destroy Dark's brain etc.???

Or would Dark's coding be too complicated for even experts to hack??

hm... OH I JUST GOT A NEW IDEA

Blue learns alchemy from Vic, and Yellow could learn computer science from Dark!! they could be that one technically two now person who gets up all the information and makes a plan to hack in for a kidnapping back a kidnapping!! if that makes sense.

And if you saw me refering to when potentially King Orange and Purple kidnap Vic, no you didn't

Going back to the bots, sorry my brains jumpy, if Dark died what would they do?? And what happens when he's unconscious and can't think? WAIT WHAT ABOUT SLEEPING-

I think I went hyper from eating a KitKat. XD

Thank you for reading this,

-R

Be forewarned: There is a lot of lore rambling below the cut.

AH- We appear to have a slight slight misunderstanding-

|Okay, so Dark uses the chip thingy he implanted into his brain to communicate with the bots.|

Uhhh, not quite- It's only a more instantaneous communication. Remember that Dark did that surgery on himself during his and Chosen's first few years of heroing, but not like right at the start. So how would Dark have communicated with his beloved button-bots before the chip in his head existed?

Verbally commanding them present time, and precoding certain instructions into the bots beforehand, was how he did it before he went and made the chip design and then surgeried himself. He still does do that, like how in chapter three of Arc One:

The bots are constantly idle, listening to conversations and other audio surrounding Dark, as the button-bots remain on Dark's person at all times. [The bots are recharged with energy when idle as buttons, and said energy is stored inside Dark's vest which is gotten from a small wired battery Dark has stored in both his wrist cuffs. He changes the battery to a new one as needed.]

Because the bots pick up on all audio, and are programmed with precoded specifications, Ted clearly overheard what Chosen wanted Dark to do. When Dark pulled Ted out, [Dark had the chip at this point in time] Ted sent a confirm message straight to Dark's vision, like it was asking if what Dark wanted was for Ted to handle the school situation and make sure that the school was under the impression that Second would be staying home. Ted's artificial intelligence was set well enough, and the bot used artificial soundwaves that matched similarly to Alan's voice, in order to be convincing, and it was pulled off very well.

Without the chip, Dark always had to verbally give commands and sometimes this was inefficient and slowed things down. The reason it was slow, was only so because Dark is extremely cautious about where and what his bots do, so there are many walls of precautions set in place so the artificial intelligence doesn't run in the wrong direction and a bot thinks it should do something other than what Dark wants. That's why there are confirm messages and such, like "Are you sure that [insert command] is what you wish to happen?"

There was not confirm messages before the chip existed. Instead, Dark just gave orders, and the bots were never programmed at that moment to formulate thoughts and orders themselves, because they would be under the risk of assuming something incorrect. After the chip existed, Dark added the codes that allowed the bots to use information they received to guess what Dark wanted to happen, because now the previous "risk" did not exist. It was alleviated by the ability for Dark to directly receive confirm messages, and there was no longer the possibility that a bot would assume the wrong thing and try to do something Dark didn't want to happen. With the chip, if a bot did happen to misunderstand, than Dark could cancel it mentally when the confirm message appears in his vision. If he had that code set up without the chip, and a bot misunderstood something Dark would be forced to chase after a bot physically in the moment and try to verbally re-issue a corrected command. Hence, the reason that "think and estimate" code was not added to the button bots until after Dark gained mental connection to his bots via the chip he implanted.

....I hope all of this is making sense, oh my sticks- I did say I would ramble about how they worked, I have so much lore in my head that needs an excuse to get out-

The chip no longer exists as a physical chip under Dark's skin. It has melded with the rest of his code and being, and now is literally in his bloodstream as a direct part of himself. Dark and the chip are one, and this action cannot be undone. [This does mean that the chip cannot fracture physically though, neither can it somehow corrode or be corrupted due to Dark's receiving of physical injuries.]

The bots cannot be "hacked", they only respond to Dark. They recognize Dark and Dark's being and Dark's code and everything that is Dark. Unless someone somehow managed to literally be exactly like Dark in every way, looks, code [DNA], mind, the chip...

Yeah, that isn't happening, every stick is different.

Even if somehow the recognition software implanted into the bots is damaged, they STILL will know the difference between Dark and someone else pretending, because they are still CONNECTED to Dark and Dark only with an unbreakable bond and connection that would not extend to anyone else. Even if the bots are blinded and their audio processors are offline and damaged, even if their code scanners that differentiate every stick was broken somehow, even if anything they use to recognize sticks was not working, EVEN IF they could not tell apart one stick from another, DARK WOULD STILL BE KNOWN. Always, they will know where Dark is and they will NEVER mix him up with another.

Now for Yellow and Dark's connection with each other. >:3

I have plans for the story in this regard, and Dark does indeed end up as somewhat of a mentor figure to the kid, though not like how regularly and consistently Vic ends up teaching Blue. [Vic and Blue's bond is, uh, primarily Arc Three material. I shouldn't say too much, but meh- You asked. At this point, with how much I have shared, who cares about my rambles and why I shouldn't ramble about certain things-]

Yellow and Dark will be amazing together, and Yellow already has a certain knack for technical and code-related things, so Dark is very happy to have something of a protege.

Anyway, the entire reasoning behind this ask was Dark's weaknesses with having the chip, yes? Well, guess what. There happens to be an upcoming incident that occurs, revealing just exactly what this weakness could be and how Dark gets through it.

Because Dark Whump, why not- U v U

The chip does have coatings on it [back when it was solidly a chip in form and before it began its absorption process into Dark's code as a whole] that prevent electrical and signal-interference damages as well. I forgot to mention this fact earlier in my explanation. A friend once asked me about whether or not Dark's chip could be decommissioned via such things, under the assumption that since the chip is made of metal, it could be weak in ways that metal is weak. I was reminded of this while answering this ask, so I'm including the information here midway, hehehe :D

Now uh- I never did say that King and Purple successfully end up yoinking Vic- There may be an attempt, though- EHEHHEHHEHHEHEHHE

Oh circuits, I need to keep my mouth shut sometimes. [and then Scarlett proceeded to not keep her mouth shut- /silly]

Interesting theory or guess that Yellow might attempt to be a hacker? If that's what I'm understanding from what you said? Yellow doesn't end up hacking anything per se.... But uhhhhhhhhhhhh-

.........Oy. I actually don't think I should say what I want to say here, that's too big of a spoiler. ....This is a lore ramble, not a spoiler ramble, I must remember this-

All I will say for now, is that Yellow has a significant importance in Arc Two, to a very large degree OTHER than the fact he designs and makes work the majority of the Color Gang's costumes/upgrades.

Arc Two was always meant to be much more focused on the Color Gang than Arc One was, partially as a sort of apology for how much the quadruplets were left out at the time of Arc One's climactic points, where we only really got to see mercenaries and the hollowheads. Primal is also a big focus, but so is Dark, Second, and Victim. And King and Purple. And Navy and Orchid very much, oh dear I have LOTS of plans for them.

It's meant to be more well-rounded in character includement, is what I mean. Everyone gets the spotlight, even if technically Second is still the main main character. XD

Going back to the bots: My brain also jumped-

If Dark dies, the bots deactivate? [sorta?] permanently because every function is tied to Dark, except for the energy part, of which is stored in Dark's wrist cuffs. The battery could be recharged and maintained by someone else, and it would not take much effort to get the bots back online, but what I mean by "deactivate" is the way that they work. They could be online again, yes, but they won't do the things they did before. They will not follow orders from another, and will not fly, or do anything but sit there and technically be "online". Now, if Yellow or someone went to the trouble to painstakingly reprogram them, and they no longer were tied to Dark [and this is dependent on how much Dark's body would corrode] than yes, they could function again with the abilities they wielded previously, since those function still exists, but couldn't work or activate without Dark's presence.

If Dark is unconscious, or in sleep, his button-bots are probably on his vest, in idle positions as buttons. If Dark is, for example, knocked out while fighting and his button bots happen to be on the field not as buttons while this happens, then they will now be limited in their actions to a very select few set of precoded commands.

This includes, protection of Dark and those he deems protection listed, such as Second, Chosen, Alan, Vic, any friends he has on the list as well, and of course any sticks the bots understand are civilians. Remember that the database in the button-bots for the population of the city is incredibly expansive, and Dark has a stored list of nearly everyone, so the button-bots can easily know who is who. Or they can artificially think it out whether a stick is a civilian or not, based on the circumstances of the current situation and the things a civilian would do/places a civilian would be.

There are only a few set commands that are precoded, in which the bots are allowed to follow without needing Dark's confirmation. If Dark is knocked out, and a bot processes a situation that requires the usage of a more dangerous use of abilities and therefore needs to use a confirm message in order to proceed with the bot's conclusion of what it needs to do, then without Dark to confirm message the conclusion, the button-bot can do nothing but return to Dark as a button or not proceed with the conclusion it made. They are only able to do the simplest of precoded commands, as a set precaution. Imagine if Dark woke up and the bots had set something on fire by accident, or by procedure of a wrong/incorrect conclusion of situation. This wouldn't do, there needed to be preset restrictions on the artificial thinking processes.

Mostly, all the bots would be able to do while Dark is out, would be protect and defend. If a building started to catch fire because of a villain, the bots could put it out, though. They are not inherently useless just when Dark is out of commission for the time being. This possibility is very dependent on Dark actually getting knocked out mid-fight, in the first place, however, and this is very unlikely due to Dark's high skill.

...

I think that may be it for now- Honestly, this was SO SO much fun to answer!! I feel like I had a brain clog released, or something. Rambling is so therapeutic!! :D

Thank you EVER so much for your asks!! I hope there may still be more! [aside from that one still in my inbox that I haven't finished yet-]

[allthingsfangirl101]

Late-Night Swim–Joe Keery

"I'm so tired," Joe whined. "I hate these tours."

I smiled as I listened to my boyfriend complain about his job over the phone. I pulled my blanket up more and readjusted the pillow on my lap.

"I know you do, baby," I sighed. "But just think - a couple more weeks and you'll be off for the whole summer."

"Which means I get to be with you. All. Summer. Long."

I bit my lip when Joe moaned. He's been away filming the new season for five months. We saw each other for barely two weeks before he left for another three months to go on his press tour.

Joe and I met on set during the first season of Stranger Things. I was working in the costume department for another one of Netflix's shows, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. We ran into each other all the time. Eventually, he asked me out. We've been dating ever since. About two years ago, Joe and I decided to move in together so we would see each other more.

"How's your shop going?" He asked, changing the subject.

"It's good," I shrugged. "I just got a new client. I guess I should say, clients. It's a bride and her entire bridal party."

"That's amazing, babe!" Joe chuckled. "Is this from that group of groomsmen you had last week?"

"It is," I said, blushing at the fact that he remembered.

A year ago, I left Netflix to open my own boutique. I specialize in alterations and random pieces I've made and decided to sell. It's going okay. The friends I've made through Netflix have really helped. They've had me alter their dresses and suits for their premieres and parties. Through them, they've connected me to their friends. Things are slowly blossoming.

"I'm so proud of you, Y/N," Joe said softly.

"Joe!" Someone yelled as they walked into wherever Joe was. "We're gonna be late, dude."

"You have to go?" I asked, my voice dropping.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'll call you tonight?"

"I'll answer."

                                * * * * *

I looked around my empty shop, my eyes landing on my equally empty schedule. I glanced at the clock on my phone, my stomach sinking when I saw my wallpaper. It was a picture Joe and I took the day I opened my shop. We took the picture right before the shop officially opened.

I checked my schedule, smiling when I realized I could close down for a couple of days. My stomach did an excited flip as I opened a new tab on my computer and made the plans. That night, I was on my way to Chicago.

I got to the hotel the cast was staying at and checked in. I called Matt and he had a key waiting for me. I went upstairs and dropped off my stuff at Joe's room and washed up. A little while later, I headed down to the lobby. I only had to wait a few minutes before Joe and the rest of the Stranger Things cast walked in.

"Umm. . . Joe?" Gaten smirked when he noticed me before Joe did. "I think someone is here to see you?"

"What are you talking about?" The question got stuck in Joe's throat as he turned and saw me. His cast laughed as he ran over to me. I gasped when he picked me up and spun me around.

The second he put me on my feet, he pressed his lips to mine. I smiled as I slowly started kissing him back. We heard his castmates hoot and holler but we ignored them. I broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he stared at me.

"Hello to you too," I smirked.

"Hi," he whispered. He was about to lean in and press his lips back to mine but the kids started whistling and making jokes again.

"Get a room!" Noah yelled.

"I have one," Joe said under his breath. He grabbed my hand and led me to the elevator.

The second the doors shut, Joe reattached his lips to mine. A small moan escaped as he pushed me up against the wall. I tightened my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as I lifted my leg and wrapped it around his waist.

"I missed you so much, baby," he moaned against my lips. I giggled when he leaned down and picked up my other leg so he was holding me.

We broke the kiss when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Joe didn't bother putting me down as he walked out of the elevator. He carried me down the hallway, toward his room.

"Joe," I chuckled when he struggled to get his room key. "Baby, do you wanna put me down so you can unlock the door?"

"Nope," he said a little too quickly. "I got it."

"Baby," I giggled. He sighed before finally putting me down. I kissed his cheek and moved so he could open the door.

The second it was open, I turned him around and pressed my lips to his. I felt him smirk as he pulled me in. We fell onto the bed, completely lost in ourselves.

We jumped apart when someone cleared their throat. We looked over to see Gaten in the doorway. My face was burning as Joe stood up, walked over, and slammed the door in Gaten's face. He turned around with his smirk that always made me feel giddy.

"Where were we?"

                                * * * * *

I looked over, smiling when I saw Joe was already watching me. I rolled over and cuddled into his chest. He laughed a little, pulling me closer.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"So you've said," I teased as I looked up at him. "Several times."

"I can't help it," he teased as he pulled me so I was laying on top of him. "You're just so gorgeous and it's been forever since we were together."

I sighed as I leaned my chin on his chest.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked softly as he glided his fingers up and down my bare back.

"You know how proud I am of you, right?"

"Of course," he chuckled.

"I am so incredibly proud of you, baby, but. . ."

His smile faltered. "What's wrong?"

"I hate how much you're gone," I finally confessed. I bit my lip, nervously looking up at him.

"I know," he sighed. "I hate it too."

"I don't want you thinking I'm not being supportive," I stuttered.

"I know you're supportive of my career, Y/N," Joe said without a second of hesitation. "I don't like being away from you any more than you do. Good news, though. We don't have to worry about it much longer."

"What do you mean?" I stuttered as I sat up a little.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" He teased. "The season we just got done filming is our last season."

"Really?" I gasped as I slowly rolled off of him. I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around myself. "You're done?"

"I'm done," he whispered as he sat up, leaning in so his face was inches from mine.

"You're done," I whispered back. I closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to his. I broke the kiss with a soft moan. Joe reached up and stroked my arm.

"I'm done," he nodded. "Which means you won't be able to get rid of me."

"I don't want to."

Joe looked at the clock and smiled. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned us against the headboard.

"What do you want to do?" He asked. "We could order room service."

"How about we go for a walk?" I suggested.

"Sounds wonderful."

After we got dressed, we left the hotel and started walking around. We came across a hot dog cart and grabbed something to eat. We walked around the park more before heading back to the hotel. When we got back, we didn't head up to the room. Instead, we headed to the pool.

"Cannonball!"

I gasped as Joe ran by me and jumped in. I took a surprised step back as some of the splash hit me.

"What is wrong with you?" I giggled. "It's freezing outside. You're gonna get sick, Joe."

"Wimp."

"I am not a wimp," I scoffed. "I'm reasonable."

"Yeah yeah," he chuckled. "Ms. Y/N is always reasonable. It's why I love you."

"I love you too which is why I would like you to get out of that pool before you get sick," I sighed squatting next to the pool. "Especially if you're finally free from work. Can't spend the first week back home together with you being sick."

"You're right," he pouted. "Help?"

Joe reached up his hand. Like a gullible girl, I reached down to help him. The second I did, I knew it was a mistake. Joe's innocent smile turned into a smirk. The next thing I knew, I was in the pool with him.

I came to the surface, instantly running my hands on my face to move my hair. I turned around, scowling at my smirking boyfriend. I slapped a ton of water at his face, catching him off guard. This turned into a playful war.

I splashed water at him as he tried to get to me. When he did, he wrapped his arms around my waist. We played for a little longer before Joe pulled me over to the steps. I thought he was about to leave but he sat down.

Joe smirked as he pulled me onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist, never looking away from me. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I moaned as I instantly started kissing him back.

Our lips moved messily in sync, our tongues battling each other. A shiver went down my back when a gust of wind hit us. Joe broke the kiss and looked at me with soft eyes.

"We should get inside," he whispered. "Can't have my favorite girl getting sick. Especially on her trip."

"I love you," I chuckled.

"I love you too."

[tammyjackson50-blog]

five years ago || P.2

(writing without any plans, just what U'm thinkung at the moment, so I hope that it will turn out ok lol)

//<;- Part one // Part three ->

Summary: What happens when you find your way back to a good friend from the past through a song he wrote five years ago?

A week later

It has been a week since I made that post , and ever since then I didn't return the note with his song back to the box, I put it right next to my computer.

I already memorized the note because of the number of times I have read it.

I didn't believe that he would see my post, like, what are the odds? But….I check my email every day, even though I'm trying to just forget about it.

Anyway, it has been five years, will he even remember it at all?

"Bestie, did you check your email?" Kat asked, "Yes, I did, nothing new, Katie, we should just forget about it, it's a bit ridiculous, I guess," she laughs. "Oh, come on, don't tell me that you don't want him to see your post, that you are not waiting to talk to him again, so he could write songs for you again."  I looked at her smiling—" not funny, didn't laugh “.

She got up and went over to the door of my room. "Come on, party pooper, let's go out , maybe an ice cream will cheer you up." I got up. "Who said that I'm upset?”.

The weather is getting hot, summer is around the corner.

"Kat, do you really want to go out of town now?" I asked my very lovely friend, who just loves doing stuff spontaneously. "YES, It’s going to be fun! " she said as she held my arm while we were walking towards the freaking train.

20 minutes later

"Ice cream, Katrina, ice cream," she looked at me, rolling her eyes, "I know, Y/N, I know! Sorry, Mcfly, but I know this good place, and they have amazing ice cream” She calls me Mcfly because of my favorite movie, "Back to the Future." 

"I really hope that this ice cream is worth it, Styles." guess why I call her like that.

Few minutes have passed, and there are a lot of people in the train station, obviously, people who are going to work, people who are going to meet their friends or family members, hang out, and there are people who are not going on the train, people that are trying to make money by singing or playing instruments in the train station here.

Our train finally came, since there were many people it was kinda hard to get into the train.

As the door opened we were getting pushed by the people around us, people that are trying to get into the train like we are.

As we tried to get in,I accidentally pushed someone, causing them to drop the drink they were holding.

Somehow I managed to bend down to the floor to pick up the drink, while all the people around me rushed to the train.

I just prayed that I wouldn't get pushed or something.

“ I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean to” he got up and I looked at him “ no no that’s fine- Y/n? “ Everything stopped, for a moment I forgot about the train and Kat, it felt like a weird dream, he was the last person I thought I'd see “ Eddie? “ it was hard to even hear what he was saying because of the loud noises in the background but I swear that he said my name. “ Y/N WE NEED TO GO “ Kat grabbed my arm and then he held my hand, I don’t know what he tried to do but everything was going so fast that I held his hand for a second and I was already on the train.

We didn’t find a place to sit in the train for obvious reasons, we were a bit squashed because of the amount of people that were in the train.

I looked at my hand trying not to drop what I'm holding—a ring, a ring that slipped off one of his fingers, a ring that really made me believe it was really him and not just someone who looked like him.

Back at home

It was a nice day, honestly , and it went by really fast.

After we got out the train I told Kat what happened before she grabbed my arm so I wouldn't miss the train. We were in the line for the ice cream, it did look like a very promising place if you ask me.

“ What the fuck Y/n, are you joking ? “ she said and her voice was getting high from what I told her “ I wish I was joking Kat, I’m really confused “ the line was getting shorter.

“ What are you going to do now? “ I looked at the ring and said “ no idea Katie, probably nothing you know “.

We were talking about what happened, Kat wanted me to have fun and not overthink so much ,so we went to the mall and we just enjoyed the day together until the evening.

And here I am now, sitting in front of my computer in the dark, thinking about what happened in the train station, until my thoughts were cut off when a notification sound came out of my computer.

I got a message from my Gmail, so I clicked on it,

It was from someone named

- @ Michelle86

would you like me to continue?

Btw, my favorite movie is back to the future lol

[chwafl]

Original song... finished?!

I FINALLY finished writing the lyrics to my first original song. First, I commissioned the full instrumental using reference songs. Then, I tried to write the lyrics myself and asked for help from a songwriter, Rachael! She gave me tips on how to write a melody and... it was hard. I decided to just commission her to write me a topline. That was back near the end of last year. Now, finally, six months later, I'm done writing!

I was planning on finishing writing the song and release it in March of this year, but my time in Florida was more busy than I thought and instead of focusing on writing, I ended up doing two performances and having a lot of fun with my family. Not a bad trade off lol. Since returning back to Korea in March, I tried working on the song, but it was hard to really feel comfortable pinpointing what exactly I wanted to say in the song, and how exactly I wanted to say it. I wanted to do a song with somewhat of a double meaning, but I also didn't want my message to be unclear. BUT, I also didn't want it to be too literal. Hmm, what to do?

Rachael advised me to journal out all the thoughts I had on the topics I wanted to cover in the song. So, I did that and ended up with a three page essay with all the thoughts I wanted to convey, woah LOL. I tweeted about this and shoutout to Phoebe for suggesting that I could use that whole essay for a concept ep/album... perhaps that will happen >:3c The biggest hurdle with writing the lyrics was allowing myself to be vulnerable. I think the song is a somewhat emotional song, but not the kind that's very sad and makes you wanna cry. There are some melancholic parts, I guess? But my aim is to be uplifting and inspirational and maybe even sound... a little bossy? LOL.

See, it's one thing to write out how you feel about something and share it online. It's another thing to sit in front of a camera and speak out loud about how you feel and share it online. But now, this new concept of SINGING how I feel was making me feel super shy. Because not only are people going to judge the actual words of the lyrics, but also, the way it's sung, the way I look singing it, and the way everything sounds with the instrumental. Is it gonna be corny? Is it gonna be cringe? Is it gonna seem fake? Ultimately, these worries were due to my lack of confidence in songwriting. The only original song I ever wrote was a rap to one of the sonic the hedgehog computer game ost instrumentals about... a one piece character.... in 5th grade? LOL. Actually wait, I did also write one more original song... about a mysterious bathroom asian man when I was 18 at my first anime convention... if you know about that song, YOU ARE A REAL ONE HAHA. I've written parody rap songs in high school for my tv production class (and dare I say, got moderately famous at school because of it, let's just be honest here.)

Once I started getting the hang of condensing my thoughts into simple sentences and then re-wording the sentences to match the flow of the top-line, it took me only a few days to finally have the full lyrics completed.

There are a lot of lyrics. The song is very wordy, but I have a lot to say. guess I'm a "yapper." As I sing the song to practice before going to the rental room and record the vocals seriously for mixing, I feel more and more confident and excited to share the finished product with everyone. Sure, there are definitely going to be people who won't like the song, but even if people don't like the song, the effort I put into this is undeniable. If people can't respect me for that then they're just a haterrrr~ Now that I gained some confidence with crossing off one of the most daunting tasks of this original song checklist, I feel so inspired to make more songs and get better at this. I already have... a lot planned >:3c My life has felt so messy for the past few months, but suddently, now that I finished the song, my focus has become super clear and I feel really good about preparing for the release of it along with the aforementioned song ideas (^____^)/// So, Staring in July, I will be super super active online revealing other new things I've been working on, still.... getting my vlog channel up to date lol, and creating a countdown for the song release day.

Before I finish writing this, I want to close on a really personal note. So many have known that I've done idol live covers at cons and events since 2013. I started off as just doing dancing whenever I got the chance to get on the stage at conventions, and then I started singing in 2016 solo and with my group, Citrus Idol Project. At the time, idol stuff was not popular in Florida. There were a few people who got excited to see us/me, but idol events including original concept performers were rare unless I was the one behind organizing things. It wasn't until 2019 when holmat started including kaigai idol groups at the idol fest. After 2020, there has been a huge increase in idol events at conventions and more and more people are understanding the concept of idol, and words like "kaigai idol" and "overseas idol" are a little more well-known amongst the convention sphere. But what also changed since 2020? Me getting a job in Korea LOL. I can't deny that it had felt frustrating finally seeing idol things take off a little more in Florida while I'm not there. I tried to hold onto things by hosting my own events during my vacation, but even then, it seemed like not many people still didn't really know me or were interested in me specifically because, well, I'm not around anymore to introduce myself to people and prove myself to people.

Those feelings inspired me to finally make the jump and work on original music. The idea of making original music had been festering inside of me since 2015, for nearly 10 years, but I just didn't feel like I had a solid enough idea of who I am, what do I want to convey, and what is my goal. After turning 30, I finally have an answer to all of those questions, and while living abroad, I realized that the world is so huge and I can't get hung up on wondering if I'm still relevant in the community I had a big part in starting back home.

My colleages (lol I know it sounds so extra to say that) have gotten a lot bigger stage opporunities than me despite us starting activities at the same time. It made me feel like something was wrong with me. But no, that's not the problem. The problem is that I I haven't been expressing myself to my full potential. I think the reason why I haven't gotten very far is because I'm meant to keep on going, and pushing myself more creatively to really dig into the more authentic side of me that can't be fully expressed through covers. That authentic creative side of me can't be expressed through live performances alone.

So even though I did my first solo idol singing performance in 2016, I don't feel like things have truly begun until now. When I realease this original song and subsequent original music, that will be the real beginning.

[dragonridernoobie]

Hi again!!! First of all I wanted to say I loveeeed pt 2 of Gianna and Megatron!! So ty for thatttt

Second, can I request a pt 3?? Where Gianna looks at the message that Megatron sent??

Pls and ty!!!!<333

Absolutely!!!!!

Sorry this took so long, I have a thing called work. I don't recommend it.

MegatronXGianna Part.3

The next morning, Gianna gets out of bed and starts her morning routine. After she changes, she walks over to her computer, while brushing her teeth. She sees it flashing, meaning a new message. Whike she brushes her teeth, she opens, types her password and is met with the message. She sees the name and freezes.

Gianna: "that name....it cant..."

When she opens the message, she sees the message from megatron.

Dear Ginna, I must apologize for not telling you the reason why I wanted you to come with during our fight last night. I wish to meet you again and speak of our deal. Explaing why I wish to see you. There will not be any strings attached nor is this a trick. Soundwave has hacked in you're phone and you should already have a random number in you're contacts. Just type a message and a ground bridge will open. I hope to see you soon.

While ginna reads this, the toothbrush inside of her mouth falls out, landing on the floor. (Ew)

Gianna reads the message over and over and cheaks her phone. There was indeed a random number in her contacts.

Ginna thinks about what she should do. 'Should she alert the autobots about this? Should she try to do this herself? Why am I talking to myself.....burger...heh'

Ginna shakes her head and thinks back on the tast in hand. After thinking over it for a bit, she sighs and comes up with a plan. So around noon, ginna drives outside of the city, parks her car and messages the number. After a few solid minutes, a ground bridge opens. Ginna takes a deep breath and walks thru.

She is met with megatron, Soundwave, and starscream. All of them looking down to her but also keeping her distance.

Ginna: "so, why am I here?"

Megatron: "just to speak and to awnser you're question."

Ginna: "and them?"

Ginna points at starscream and Soundwave.

Megatron: "they wished to be here while we fight."

Ginna: "Ah ok..........wait what?"

Megatron: "you asked me to awnser you're question from yesterday and I'm doing just that. I wish to have a duel. It's quite intresting to find a human that can match my battle skills. So, I just want a rematch."

Ginna: "ya, ok, totally dosent seem like a trap. Let me guess, you want to duel but the hitch is if you beat me I tell you where th3 autobot base is, bla, bla, bla, we have been here before."

Megatron: "I don't think you understand human-"

Ginna: "ginna. My name is Ginna, not human."

Megatron: "Ginna...it has been years since I felt like my old self. Feeling like I was back at the pits of kaon. It's rare that I have that feeling, and I wish to fight the person who seems to hold their own."

Ginna: "optimus can hold his own aginst you, why can't you ask him?"

Megatron: "that fool is no match to my fighting skills. Plus, it's quite intresting to fight a new foe who is in a diffrent size."

Megatron says whole he pinches his digits.

Ginna: "......and if I refuse?"

Megatron: "you will be groundbridged back from once you came."

Ginna: ".........."

I hope you like it! It's up to you now, what will she do? Part.4?

(I'm having alot of fun with this one XD)

[breaniebree]

Hi.

I am so fucking sorry if this is weird.

But I stumbled across ASC in one of my old SD cards and couldn’t resist seeing if you’d actually managed to finish that giant story - and apparently you did. Kudos to you.

When I first read ASC I was in a seriously (Siriusly, because that joke is obligatory at this point) bad place. COVID was still in its early stages, I was newly thirteen and had no idea who I was, my anxiety had reached a new high and my OCD ruled my life. I was literally scared to get out of bed and half the time I wouldn’t. I sanitized everything on sight and then some, and it still wasn’t enough to get rid of the crawling feeling inside me. I can now admit that I was depressed. And on top of that I was going through an identity/gender crisis and questioning my sexuality for the first time in my life, hating myself while at it - being an ally is one thing, but being an actual member of the LGBTQ+ community is quite another, especially when you live in an country where being gay isn’t even an option and your mother is homophobic af. Basically I was majorly fucked up.

ASC wasn’t some huge life-changing thing. It was just a random fanfic I found while scrolling through HP tags. I was intrigued, mostly, at this monster of a fic that was over two hundred chapters long, and since I was looking for free books at the time, I gave it a try. Finished the first thirty or so chapters in one sitting. And, once I got over my shock at the sex scenes (I’d never even been on a date and honestly my sexual awakening was partially triggered by this - I was like, ‘If the fact that these people shagged for hours straight, and my only concern is how possible it is to manage that position for any length of time, then I’m probably going to have to sit myself down for a soul-search’) and violent scenes (your mind is a terrifying place and I am sincerely thankful you aren’t planning world domination just yet) I was hooked.

I did comment every now and then, under varying pseudonyms - SavvySpirit was one, obviously. WarrioroftheWolves was another (thirteen-year-old me was obsessed with large predators, mainly since they were everything I wasn’t) and Raindrops & Flowers is quite possibly my least original name ever. There were a few other one-time names I can’t recall. But it was a brief respite in the craziness of ’20 and most of all it was something that was mine - to hold close to my heart, to hate when plot lines threw me for a loop, to cry over and giggle over and laugh over. I printed out the entire thing using my pocket money, in minuscule script and fitting eight pages per sheet, both sides. I think I reread that story at least twice a month - entire thing, back to back as I waited for the next time my parents would let me use the computer for longer than three minutes. I got attached to characters I barely gave second glances to. Viktor. Pansy. Dean. Padma. Mandy. Theo. Him especially, since I relate so much to him it almost hurts to see him hurt.

I stuck with ASC until around the time when Finn died and Ginny was put under bloodlust. I don’t remember exactly why I stopped checking for updates - maybe it was just a lack of time, maybe it was my refilling schedule coupled with my fear of humans. Maybe it was something deeper, who knows. But I stopped at one point and just reread (imo) the best bits every now and then.

I guess, story-wise, things got a little too real too fast for me. I’d known Cedric and Sirius was going to die, and Viktor’s death wasn’t as much of a shock as Finn’s was - because it was so unexpected and so out of the blue (I cried and screamed and cursed your name for thirty minutes straight after that last mo grá. Seriously, Breanie? You just had to go and ruin things just when they were getting good? I was looking forward to seeing Finn’s POV, and seeing them mature and fight over everything from Finn’s overprotectiveness coupled with Theo’s independence to shopping problems and flavours of ice cream, to see them go through troubles and overcome them both individually and as a couple. I was so freaking excited to see more of Tara and your take on a fairy realm, to see how Finn’s pseudo-immortality and Theo’s past demons would come into play. I wanted so much more development on Finn’s character, his flaws and quirks, his skeletons in the closet since we’d never really had his POV. I even had hopes of a storyline where Voldemort tries to get into Tara(because of the so-called immortality, duh) and gets horribly burned in the process. I wanted a Feo love child, dammit(Ciara would be such a cool aunt! And with the Weasleys and Blaise/Draco on one side of the family and Tiernan and the royal court on the other than kid would be the best protected, most spoilt kid in existence). I had hopes, Breanie. Dreams. And you destroyed them all with that single scene.) and so. Fucking. Tragic. And like ten chapters later you put Ginny under bloodlust where she hates Harry and wants to kill him (this was a seriously fucked up idea and I applaud your imagination. And sincerely hope you never become a investigator, because that would be scary.) and I read this bit with my heart in my throat because even if I don’t really like book or movie Hinny(Ginny seems too much of a side character and has so little personality, as I’m sure you know) but I adore fandom Hinny and YOU ARE NOT GOING TO RUIN YET ANOTHER OF MY FAVOURITE SHIPS IN THIS FIC DAMMIT but I chickened out and never read past that to see if she got cured. She did, right? She’s not dying slowly from poison in her bloodstream or anything? Right? Don’t correct me if I’m wrong though, I prefer to remain oblivious and happy in a world where nobody dies and everybody gets therapy.

But anyway, the point of me spilling my life story to you here was to thank you. You may not have intentionally made this fic for me, but it was a lot more effective than most of my therapy sessions since I could get my thoughts and feelings out in a roundabout way. ASC may not be a major part of my life currently, but it’s still a large part of who I am, and I am indebted to you for making this safe space. I turned fifteen and came out as panromantic/asexual. I turned sixteen and came out as a demigirl. I have career aspirations and I’m actually working on them. I’m working on long-term plans, which I never could’ve imagined having three years ago. And though I lost hearing in one ear last month, I didn’t consider ending things, not even once. Still haven’t. I have midterms but I’m not stressing myself to the max over them, and I actually have a social life now. And it’s not all completely thanks to you, but there is still a large part of my sanity that owes itself entirely to the fanfiction writers of 2020. And a slice of that pie is yours. So - thank you. For everything. You’re a truly gifted writer.

And before I forget - does Theo like, ever get closure? Hypothetically the fae have realm glasses. Which might come into use. Can fae get reborn? Just asking.

And does Zee ever date again? Like - I know Sirius was her person, but when the kids get older and she grows older…

One more question: how does someone like Delta turn out to be evil?! She was so freaking supportive when Hermione was researching human rights. Another question: Blaise survives, right? Because that guy is a riot. And another: I reread chapters 200-272 for this and realized that Finn just randomly carries around a pair of golden handcuffs? Like what was the story behind that. Did he get cornered one day and decide that ‘henceforth, I shall carry handcuffs’? And Crouch’s ‘wives’…do Millie and Hestia ever escape? My last random question: whatever happened to Arnold the Pygmy Puff?

Also is there any way I can send you a virtual fruit basket?

Hi, @savvyspirit

Wow! Thank you very much for sharing so much for me. I'm honoured my story had such a profound impact on you personally. Good for you for being honest and open with yourself about who you are. Nothing is more important. Thank you so much for sharing that my story helped you in a roundabout way. That's very cool to hear.

I understand that the story took a darker turn and did get too real too fast, but I do hope you go back to it now that it's complete and now that I'm finishing up the trilogy. Harry and Ginny are definitely getting their happy ending, that I can promise.

Finn was an important part of Theo's life and an important part of the story, but unfortunately he wasn't who Theo was meant to spend his life with. That's someone else and if you keep reading, I promise you'll see him much happier than he ever was with Finn. Yes, he does get closure. As to Zee, well... yes, she does find love (you have to keep reading to find out). Delta aka Belladonna was a lot of fun to have be evil the whole time and you learn more about her how and why as the story goes on. Blaise does survive and we get to know more about him too. Finn carried around handcuffs because he was part of the Royal Guard of Tara. Millie and Hestia do survive. Arnold is still around, promise.

Ha, as to a virtual fruit basket -- I'll take those in story reviews on Ao3 or ff.net please and thanks.

Thank you very much for sharing this with me and I sincerely hope you delve back into the world of ASC because I really do think it's worth it. Thank you!

[vividfantasydreamer]

One Shot? Idk

“Yeah..yeah I know I’ll be there soon.” I reply hanging up the phone as I pull into the parking lot; I was having a bad enough day as it was my washer broke last night, and I nearly got t-boned this morning by two assholes street racing. Only to be followed up by a call from my doctor that I need to see him immediately. I push through the glass double doors. It was a small but comfy clinic thankful for my job’s insurance to pay for it.

“Ally! I didn’t expect to see you today.” Tina greets me as I walk up to the desk. “What brings you in?”

“Er…Dr.Vin asked me to come in..? He said something about it being ‘urgent’.” I say showing her the appointment confirmation text message “I was supposed to come Friday but he decided to move it.” I shrug, she hums tapping away on her computer.

“Ah, yes I see it now. It was updated a few minutes ago. Sorry about that, I will let him know you are here.” I nod taking a seat in the waiting room this clinic only had four doctors and four nurses, twelve rooms total to call it a clinic might be generous but I have been coming here since I was little. Most of the doctors here know me like family. It's something I always loved about this place.

“Hey, when did Virin get back I thought he left to go do some contracts across the country years ago.”

“He came back about a month ago.” Tina replies tapping her nails on the desk “I’ll be honest I thought I was seeing ghosts when he walked through the door. You can’t just up and leave like that I was planning his going away party!” she moans. I chuckle as she pulls the folder out, taking a seat next to me to show me. “See! He was supposed to get this big party with all his patients! And he was supposed to get drunk.”

“He’s not a drinker.”

She sighs “A girl can dream can’t she?” I snort shoving her gently, Tina had drunken blackmail on just about everyone that’s ever walked through those doors; lord only knows how a party girl like her got to be a psychologist.

“You’re terrible.” say ruffling her hair; she grabs my cheek pinching it.

“What did your mother tell you about respecting your elders?” she asks I whine begging for her to let go when someone coughs off to the side.

“Viin.” I greet waving at him the woman now has both cheeks “Aoww, stup.”

“Tina, please.” Virin walks up to us removing the womans’ hands “I’m sure Ms. Bell is busy; we shouldn’t keep her.” with a pout Tina returns to her desk.

“Fine, but you owe me a drink. We were having so much fun.” she says as i’m lead into the back.

“So your finally back? Hah, never thought i’d see you again, figured you went off to go be some big shot doctor.”

“And leave behind my favorite patient? Never.” he answers as i’m lead into the farthest room, the clinic was strangely empty today, Roe, Wix and Mander seem to be the only ones here. “Please get up on the table.”

“Favorite you say? Even when I vomited on your new shoes?” I jest, hopping onto the exam table looking around the room. It looks different…i’m not sure how but it’s just enough to put me off.

“You were sick it’s understandable.” he says taking a seat in the rolling chair, he logs into the computer.

“H-hey, um by the way where’s Ava, and Lulu? I know they usually work tuesdays right? Or are they sick?” I inquire, looking around the room hoping to find what feels wrong.

“No, they were just given the day off. It’s a slow day so we didn’t see any reason to keep them here.”

‘I guess that makes sense.’ I shrug “But then why have Dr. Mander and everyone else here then? Surely you guys could do with a day off as well.”

“How considerate of you.” he smiles still looking at the screen “Don’t worry we all love our jobs so there is no such thing as ‘over-worked’.” 

“Oh, okay.” We spend the next few minutes in silence, the room fairly well insulated from the noise or lack-there-of from the corridor outside. The room has a large wall sized window to look out into the small garden the usual roses and lily’s grow there, climbing ivy tangles it’s way up the bricks of the building giving it an almost fantasy-esk look. “So, uh…what is so urgent? I know I was feeling a little under the weather a while ago but Dr. Roe said he would get back to me with the results.” I get no answer from Virin as he continues to type away on the computer, after a few more minutes I clear my throat hoping to get his attinsion. “D-doctor?” still no answer.

‘Am I really that soft spoken? I know he can hear me. . .have I gone mute?! No, wait, not possible, I'm stupid.’ I clear my throat again this time he hums his acknowlagement.

“Soo, why am I here again? If this can wait until friday I don’t mind, I have some vaccinations set up for them as well.” I say the silence is starting to get awkward.

“Sorry, I was distracted.” he apologizes rolling over to me “To save you time we can do the shots today.” I grimace a shiver going up my spine.

“I’d rather not. I-”

“You don’t like needles, I know. But the sooner this gets done the sooner. I was just looking up your medications, Dr. Roe prescribed you clomid to help with your fever?”

“Yeah. Must be new. I never had to take that antibiotic before. Didn’t think an ear infection got that bad.”

“They can get far worse, if it gets bad enough it can cause you to lose hearing in the effected ear.” virin continues as he rolls over to me “I’m going to take off your shoes.” he says I nod letting him slip off my tennis shoes sliding them next to the exam table.

“So I guess the scan came back pretty bad then?” I remember three weeks when I was here Roe had pushed for a scan of my inner ear before saying something along the lines of ‘Good thing we caught this.’ before sending me home with a months’ worth of antibiotics.

“Yes.” he replies as dr. Wix walks in with a tray of needles. “Perfect timing. I was just about to start the exam.” the brunette said putting on his stethoscope, he slips his hand under my shirt. “Breath in.”

I do as he instructs, Roe sets up a small rolling metal table with the tray one of the needles looking particularly scary. I wave him hello as I go through the motions of my exam.

“You sound alright.” Virin says putting down is stethoscope “Say Ahhh.” I open my mouth as he depresses my tongue, the taste of wood assaults my taste buds as he looks around inside my mouth. “Perfect. You're doing great.” I nod keeping an eye on the syringe tray, ust being in the same room as those things makes me uncomfortable.

“Hey, uh…maybe we can do this another time. I- uh…i’m not feeling too hot.” I say, roe walks over to me climbing onto the table as well strong arms wrap around me pulling me close to his body.

“Your five months past due of these, I know you don’t like needles but you need these to stay healthy.” Virin reasons as I try to wiggle free of roe’s grasp.

“I havn’t had to be held down in ages, Vin. Come’on maybe only two today?”

“You’ll be fine.” Virin says Wix and Mander coming in as well. “Thank you for your help guys.”

“Causing trouble as usual Abs?” Mander jokes moving to grab my legs, I can feel myself starting to panic as virin upcaps the first needle.

“Haha y-you know me, always on the move.” I say through gritted teeth trying to squirm free; Wix holds me from the side.

“Just relax. It’ll only take a second.” Mander reassures as I being to thrash, their holds tighten as I try to escape virin calmly watching from the side until I tire myself out.

“Hey- guys! Come on~ you know this dosen’t have to happen. Right…Right??” I plead panting “We should do this a different day! Sounds good to me!” Virin sticks me as I go to take a breath. I must admit i’d never noticed how strong these guys were under their clothes but being presses into roe’s front I could tell he was ripped. It probably paid when they had to deal with patients like me.

“There’s only seven, you’ll live.” Wix comments her  grip suffocating.

‘SEVEN!? OH, no, no, no I do NOT need that many.” I rebuttal, mander now putting his full weight on my legs. Before I get a chance to protest Virin sticks me with another, my body starting to feel heavy.

“Guys, guys I think i’m going to pass out.” I pant my heart still racing ‘Oh how I wish I already was, this would go quicker then.’ Roe leans back pulling me down with him, the next shot I can see out of the corner of my eye the needle is large far larger than anything they’ve ever used on me before. I feel lightheaded and weak but I still fight i’m able to pull one of my legs free and kick mander in the shoulder; but he barely reacts my blows landing but they don’t seem to be doing anything. “Please….let..me…” The pain from the next shot hurts, it hurts alot but words fail me as the world starts to fade in and out. Wix is the first to let go of me the fight leaving my body as I being to fall limp.

“Good girl, sleep. Don’t fight it.” are the last words I hear from Virian before passing out.

=================================

“Virin, your going to get us in trouble doing that.” Roe says sitting up he places their darlings’ body on the table. “She damn near had a heart attack.”

“She’ll be fine.” Virin says as he goes to wash his hands, Wix digs through her pack finding the pill bottle.

“She’s taken most of it.” She says counting the remaining pills “Twice a day? Really? Poor thing must be dying of heat.” she scolds tracin her hand up abby’s stomach.

“Won’t matter soon.” Mander butts in undressing her “We’ll have to burn these.”

“Tina-” Wix starts before the woman in question walks in.

“Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of everything.” she says leaning on the door way “You guys sure played the long game on this one. My offer still stands.”

“We can condition her ourselves.” Virin says bundling their darlings clothes into a bag “How is your sweetheart doing by the way?”

“Fine, he had this crazy idea that I was drugging him to make him more compliant.” she groans, it did pain her slightly to know that Abby would be a completely different person when she saw her again but understood where they were coming from. “Think I can get one last goodbye?”

“We’re not killing her.” Wix says playing with their darlings hair, pitch black strands slip between her fingers.

“I know, I know.” Tina sighs pushing off the doorway “But we were friends still.”

“You aren’t having a change of heart are you?” Roe asks raising his brow at her “You know-”

“I know, you don’t have to remind me.” she says backing off “Sorry, forget I said anything.”

“We should close the clinic for today.” Virian suggests the other agree forcing Tina to leave the room. She just had to lock the door there were no other patients today, it was a special day after all. It was their darling’s ‘gotcha day’. After closing out the lights she says her goodbyes and leaves.

“Looks like our little girl had plans today.” Wix says showing the others the recent text messages.

“Who’s that? I haven’t see his number before.” Virin says squinting at the screen.

“Liam, you’ve been gone to long Vin. he’s her long distance boyfriend.” Roe comments “This would be their tenth year dating.”

“That’s a long time….Shame.” Mander says stretching “He’s not good enough for her anyway. But just be sure to get him out of the picture.” he bends down, nosing their between thor darlings legs.

“Restrain yourself. This is no place for that.” Roe reprimands, Wix heads to the security room to wipe any video evidence. “Help me get her wrapped before we head out. She’s going to be very confused.” Mander helps in securing their darling, Virin giving one last injection before they nestle her into the back of Wix’s blacked out car.

“Everything’s taken care of.” Wix says getting into the driver's seat, Virin sliding into the passenger seat. They drive off towards Viran’s house, the perfect place for them to start their life.

[neddea]

Well, I just shared this and wasn't planning on sharing it again literally a few minutes later, but I'm actually even angrier right now.

Funnily enough, as I was hitting the reblog button I saw an Amazon truck park in front of my door. I was expecting a delivery today, some Polaroid Go film (I had already run out of them and I was very happy to get it today lol). Even though I try not to use Amazon as much as I can, sometimes it's the only way you can get some stuff where I live, and while some shops have the Instax film not many have specifically the Polaroid Go one. ANYWAY.

The first thing that annoyed me was something that's happened several times before and that I've tried to change but was unable to: they never rang the doorbell. The only way I knew the delivery was done was because 1: I happened to see the truck and was waiting for it and 2: a notification sent to my phone when the driver was gone. I really don't like this because someone can just steal it or it can get damaged (this is Ireland, it constantly rains, and I've been delivered before A COMPUTER SCREEN that was left in the porch. This is just dumb). It wasn't left in the mail box because the slot is too narrow, so instead it was left like this:

Also, if someone was getting out of the house without knowing it was there they could have tripped on it or stepped on it.

On the other hand, I understand that Amazon drivers don't have the best working conditions at all, so I was trying to tell myself not to get too mad.

Then I happily go to my room and open the box. I bought a "good as new" pack from Amazon's own warehouse because these bad boys are e x p e n s i v e but the description only mentioned that the outer package itself was slightly damaged. Sure, you can't resell used film because, you know, you can only use it once, and you can't sell opened film because, you know, light sensitivity is its whole deal. So I wasn't very surprised when I saw a damaged box, but I was surprised to see the design. It didn't look like the one I know, so it must have been an older design.

If you know anything about Polaroid and their current film, you probably can guess where this is going. For those who have never used it: the film expires a year after its production. And it can really affect the pictures you take. Sure, it's fun to play around... if you know what you're playing with.

So. I look for the production date and lo and behold, it says 10/22. So this film expired three months ago. Amazon never said anything about it. And I doubt they even kept it refrigerated for the entire time it's been gathering dust in the warehouse (I might be wrong about this, lmk if that's the case) (Also, yes, Polaroid recommends keeping it in the fridge if it's gonna be stocked for a longer period of time). This is the only description the item has:

Did I get a discount for buying a semi new pack instead of a new one? Yes. Is expired film that you can easily find and is still being produced worth 3 or 4 euro less than a new one? I'm not so sure, it reaaaally depends on how they've stored it in the meantime.

The final nail in the coffin for me was trying to complain about it on the app. When I clicked the button for "not being happy with the delivery", they only give you specific choices

Where's the "They never rang the doorbell and left it in the open for anyone to take" option? And you could think that maybe I should have edited the delivery instructions to say "please ring the doorbell", right? Well, there's no such option, I've tried before (or I didn't see it)

When that didn't work, I gave up and went to write a comment on the product itself, but... There's no option for writing it under the Amazon warehouse option because it's a semi new pack. And it feels completely unfair to give Polaroid a bad review when it's not their fucking fault. It's all fucking Amazon and their fucking policies and how fucking poorly they treat their workers that don't have the time nor energy to ring a doorbell (which I understand even if it pisses me off).

TL;DR Amazon sucks. They sell expired film without stating it anywhere and the app doesn't have an "other" option when you want to complain about something, so if it doesn't fit the ones they give you you're unable to say what went wrong. Also there should be a way to review second hand purchases.

I'm sorry if this feels ranty and very "first world problems" (which it is) and in the grand scheme of things is not the end of the world. I tend not to complain about this kind of thing, especially not online, but honestly? Fuck Amazon.

EDIT: I saved it as a draft instead of posting it LOL But I wrote it right after I reblogged it for the first time