#it is dragging severely atm

[airitree]

I probably have read more clergy literature than the average person I will admit. AND I will be posting on it

[qilingxiong]

oh the Throw Down (2004) of it all in di feisheng and li lianhua's relationship...

[violettwrites]

trailer park trash 🏹 young!daryl dixon

a/n: had this sitting in my drafts for a while 🫠 but i finally got around to finishing it ! i’m lowkey obsessed w the idea of young!daryl atm as well he’s just so fine 😭 but i hope y’all enjoy this ! please give me a like, reblog, and/or comment if you did 🫶🏻

this is my masterlist !

and my ask box is currently open for requests !

( also shout out to @madelyncilne for being my beta reader i love u gf 🫶🏻😙 )

summary: 1988. reader has been best friends with daryl since they were little. as they celebrate his 19th birthday, drunken conversations happen where feelings that had been pushed down are told. ( pre apoc )

pairing: young!daryl dixon x reader

warnings: mentions of alcohol, smoking, mentions of weed— just a grunge-y trailer park party scene, making out 🫶🏻

word count: 1,856

— — —

it was july, 1988, a sweltering summer evening in the small, beat up trailer park you and daryl had called home for as long as you could remember. the worn out trailers sat in uneven rows, nestled between overgrown patches of grass and dusty gravel.

your fathers were friends— and though they were both horrible people, you were definitely blessed to have found daryl dixon amidst the chaos of your personal life. he had turned into your best friend— your confidant. he was the one you told everything to. no detail was ever too small. and even though daryl wasn’t much of a talker himself, he always listened.

it was daryl’s 19th birthday. merle, daryl’s older brother, had thrown together a party without much care. however, you both knew it was just an excuse for him to get drunk. not that he needed one anyway. he had mostly invited friends of his own. the kind you weren’t really a fan of; loud, aggressive, always looking for a fight— and way too drunk to care about the aftermath. you didn’t mind though, because you were there for daryl.

the air was thick with the smell of cheap beer and smoke, whether it was from weed or nicotine. merle’s sound system drowns out the hum of cicadas with its scream of pantera lyrics. but it was familiar to you, because this was how majority of your weekends were. you and daryl laying in his bed, ignoring merle and his friends as you smoked cigarettes. sometimes one, others five.

“hey! c’mon, you’re fallin’ behind!” merle shouted, staggering over to you with a half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. he was already wasted, his wild laughter echoing through the park. you rolled your eyes at him but took a sip of the beer you had in your hand. sure, you were definitely tipsy, and even though you had no desire to keep up with merle and his crowd, it was just easier to go with it.

daryl, leaning against the side of the trailer, had been watching you most of the night. between getting dragged into games of beer pong and the several shots that he had done, he had kept his eyes on you. ready to intervene incase any of merle’s drunken friends put their hands on you.

despite the alcohol in his system, you had noticed he had been quieter than usual. no echoing cheers as he won a tournament, or no whooping after he downed three shots in a row. his shoulders were tense, eyes dark in the moonlight. you really couldn’t tell what was going on through his head tonight, but you knew he wasn’t himself.

“hey, you good?” you asked when you had made your way over to him, the party roaring on behind you. someone had lit a fire out in the field behind the dixon’s trailer, and merle and his friends were starting to get really rowdy, howling at the flames like a pack of wolves.

daryl looked at you, eyes flickering in the dim light. he shrugged, taking a long swig from the bottle in his hand. “yeah, ‘m fine. just… it’s loud, y’know?”

you nodded, leaning against the trailer next to him. you could feel the heat of his arm just barely brushing against yours. it had always been like that with daryl. the way you were always near each other, like magnets that couldn’t quite pull apart.

merle’s laugh rang out again, and you could see him egging on some of the guys, probably looking for trouble. “looks like merle’s having a good time.” you rolled your eyes, sipping at your beer again.

“yeah, well, tha’s merle,” daryl muttered, his voice low and gravelly, like he had something caught in his throat. “he don’ know when to stop.”

the two of you stood in silence for a moment, listening to the noise of the party behind you. motörhead was now playing through the speakers, and the hollers of the group down by the fire in the field was still going.

“hey, it’s your birthday. we should do something. just you and me.” you weren’t sure if it was the alcohol making you bolder, but you decided to say what had been sitting on your chest all night.

daryl looked at you, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he was trying to read between the lines of what you said. “like what?”

“i don’t know,” you shrugged your shoulders, trying to play it off causally, “get outta here, away from this mess. go down by the creek like we used to.”

he stared at you for a moment, and you swore you saw something shift in his expression. he was already drunk, you knew that, but there was something else there too. maybe it was the same thing you had been pushing down since you were thirteen and realised what crushes were.

“yeah,” he said quietly, nodding, “let’s go.”

the two of you slipped away from the party, walking through the field and down towards the creek. although you could still hear the faint bass of the music, it was quieter down there. you could hear the water trickling over the rocks, and the occasional rustle of the wind in the trees. you sat down on the bank, the cool grass under your legs, and looked out at the stars scattered across the sky.

daryl sat down next to you, arms resting on his knees. he was closer to you than he normally was, his bicep brushing against yours. you could smell the whiskey on his breath, but you didn’t mind. you were used to the smell of cheap booze and cigarettes— it was part of life around here.

after a few minutes of comfortable silence, daryl spoke. his voice was rougher than usual, thick with whatever emotions he had been drowning all night. “y’ever think ‘bout gettin’ outta here?”

the question caught you off guard, but you answered honestly. “yeah,” you nodded, “all the time.”

he looked at you, his eyes glassy but intense. “where would ya go?”

“i don’t know,” you said with a soft laugh, “somewhere far away. maybe the mountains, or a big city. somewhere where things aren’t so messed up.”

daryl nodded his head, looking down at the bottle in his hand before taking another swig. “yeah, i think ‘bout it too.”

the silence stretched again, and you felt the weight of all the things left unsaid between the two of you. daryl shifted closer, his knee pressing against yours. his voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke again.

“i ain’t ever told you this, but… you’re the only person i give a damn about in this place.”

your breath hitched, and you felt your heart pounding in your chest. you’d always felt something more for daryl, but you had never brought it up to him. you didn’t want to ruin the friendship you had, and if you could only have him as a friend, then so be it. because it was better than being alone.

“me too,” you admitted, your voice barely steady. “i care about you too.”

he turned to look at you, his face inches from yours now, and you could feel the heat radiating off him. “i ain’t no good, though. you know that.”

you shook your head, your hand reaching for his, giving him a gentle squeeze. “don’t say that. you’re better than anyone else here.”

his eyes stared at you for a long moment, his eyes flicking down to your lips and back up again. the air was thick with tension, and then, without thinking, he leaned in. his lips crashed into yours, rough and urgent, tasting like whiskey and everything you’d ever wanted.

the kiss was messy, desperate, both of you giving into all of the feelings you’d buried for years. your hands cupped his cheeks, moving to crawl onto his lap, finding a new angle as you continued to make out with the boy underneath you.

when his hands moved to your waist, pulling your body closer, you swore it felt like fire when he touched you. you let his hands roam, both your tongues swirling with each other. it felt like bliss, like you were both lost in a world where only the two of you existed, the years of unspoken tension finally erupting in this one heated moment.

every breath was shared, every touch electric. you both had been waiting for this for far too long. his grip on your waist tightened, his fingers digging in just enough to send shivers down your spine.

you felt the warmth of his skin beneath your fingertips, your nails lightly grazing the back of his neck as you deepened the kiss. the taste of whiskey still lingered on his lips, but now there was something more— something raw and unfiltered. the taste of desire.

his hands began to explore more boldly, pulling you even closer until there was no space left. your heart raced, and you weren’t sure if you were feeling your own heart thump against your chest, or his.

“daryl!” you heard a drunken voice holler from the trees, causing the two of you to break apart, breathless and cheeks red. you looked down at him for a moment, a small laugh coming from your lips as you heard the drunken voice holler once again for daryl.

merle.

“you have no idea how long i’ve wanted to do that,” he mutters softly, hands gently rubbing at where he had dug his fingertips into you. he held your gaze, eyes dark.

“me too,” you breathed out, your voice barely above a whisper. you could feel the weight of everything you both had left unsaid, all the words that had been replaced by the kiss, by the touch of his hands on your skin.

“daaaaryl!” you heard merle holler once again, and you chuckled softly, rolling your eyes as you moved to get up, holding out your hand to the boy beneath you, pulling him up off the creek bed.

“c’mon,” you huffed, shaking your head as you pulled him back towards the trailer. “merle’s either gonna have a fit, or he’s gonna end up drowning in the creek if we don’t get to him soon.”

daryl just chuckled, enjoying the feeling of your hand in his as you both walked towards the trailer, finding a stumbling merle with a now almost empty bottle of whiskey in his hand not too far from where the two of you had been hiding.

“there he is! there’s my baby brother!” merle shouted, throwing his arms open wide, bottle of whiskey smashing into the trees.

he watched as you let go of his hand to turn merle around, your palms on his older brother’s shoulders as you walked him back towards the trailer, a small smile on his lips.

daryl may have been trailer park trash, but at least he had someone that cared about him.

[sarah-yyy]

what: period cdrama // 40 eps, roughly 45 mins each (we’re on ep 29 atm, paid subscription required for vip eps) where: iqiyi (you can also dl the app) // youtube // (ps - usual disclaimer that i do not use eng subs so i don’t speak to the quality of subs) why: do you enjoy jianghu mysteries?? double/hidden-identities??? the shifu-complex trope??? enemies to friends (with a v Divorced-Exes vibe)?? this is the show for you. would enjoy if you enjoyed the blood of youth.

meet Li Lianhua, a somewhat famous jianghu doctor who is rumoured to be able to bring back the dead. this chill but odd man lives in a super cool caravan he built himself! spends his free time gardening and learning how to cook! he's got a cute pet dog as a companion! he is in his Zen Era, everything is going great for him*.

but i promised y'all hidden identities so, surprise surprise!! Li Lianhua is also known as Li Xiangyi, presumed dead master of the Top Jianghu Sect who has been MIA for the past decade

Li Xiangyi was poisoned + seriously injured in battle ten years ago, and for a variety of reasons, decided to retreat from jianghu to live his life in relative peace (while also searching for the remains of his shixiong). the poison he suffers from is fatal, it is emphasised he doesn't have long to live. (*except for the dying bit)

ANYWAY. while going about his day to day, Li Lianhua meets:

Fang Duobing, wannabe jianghu detective. this boy has a++ martial arts skills!! he's (relatively) smart!! he would make a good detective!! but his attempts to do so have been foiled by his Super Influential™ parents who do not want him in harm's way. all my boy wants to do is to successfully enrol in jianghu detective academy and travel the lands!! solve crimes!! he eventually weasels his way into a probationary position by telling the masters of the academy that his shifu is Li Xiangyi

cue extremely fun exchanges like:

FBD: if my shifu li xiangyi could see me now- LLH: your who???????????

these two have a funny strangers to jokingly enemies (LLH made a fool out of FBD and like drugged him the first time they met) to begrudging partners solving crimes to friends dynamic going on, absolutely a+++. FBD goes from 😤 at LLH to must protect this weak man i have decided is my best friend really quickly. i love one (1) boy.

there is also another key character in this, which really just. is the cherry on top of everything that the show has given us so far.

meet Di Feisheng. "villain" extraordinaire. has one (1) goal in life - beat LXY. "killed" LXY in battle ten years ago, but suffered severe injuries himself, so he's been recuperating for the past ten years.

imagine his goddamn surprise when he fucking meets LLH who he thought he defeated ten years ago. (side note: LLH is supposed to look nothing like LXY, but DFS recognised him p much instantly!!) he also learns that LXY was poisoned all those years ago, and was not in his best condition during their battle.

cue DFS going absolutely obsessed with curing LLH of his fatal poisoning so that they can go at it again, this time without any handicaps :)

SO ANYWAY these three go around solving cases together, while LLH/DFS also look into the inconsistencies of certain things that happened ten years ago. all the while the three of them are bickering the entire time.

tl;dr - this is the dynamic we've got going on:

FDB: this is LLH my boyfriend (but he doesn't know it yet) who is also my shifu (but i don't know it yet), and this is his extremely annoying ex-husband DFS who hangs around us and i absolutely HATE (and low-key want to throw in jianghu prison) because they are obviously hiding something from me, but also i would probably die for these two

if you need more convincing:

the cases have all been fun so far - the pacing of the show is quite good, and the cases don't really tend to drag on

the fight scenes are really cool - again, if you liked what they did in the blood of youth, you'll probably like this as well

frail and sickly Cheng Yi, always a bonus

i am going to, at some point, write fic about dfs railing fbd quiet while llh watches, someone hold me to this

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Burning Wood

Marc Spector x GN!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals •Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • MK Bingo 2024 Masterlist • ko-fi •

Summary: Marc gets a boner.

🌛For @moonknight-events MK Bingo Spring 2024 Event🌜

A/N: One day I'll have to answer for my sins.

Warnings: blow job in a forest, Marc calling reader 'baby', getting a boner in public and being a little into it, swearing, typos - my head is really not in the game atm, please let me know if I've missed a warning!

Word Count: 1831

Marc pressed his cold nose into your neck as he hugged you from behind. You shiver, instinctively flinching away from his touch and he giggles. 

He presses his nose against you again. 

“Marc,” you chastise, but there’s humour in your voice.

“What?” He grins, obviously knowing exactly what he’s doing. 

“How is your nose so freezing?”

“How is your neck so warm?” 

You chuckle and sigh, putting your hands over his arms. You both stare at the bonfire for a moment longer. 

“I don’t get how you can be cold standing next to this thing,” you motion your hands to the flames. 

Marc jogs on the spot a little, just to amuse you. “It’s cold, let’s stand closer.” 

You laugh. “We’ll be in the fire.”

“Hmmm,” he nuzzles into your neck again and kisses your skin lightly. “Nice and toasty.” 

So far, Marc had enjoyed visiting your family, even if they did live in the middle of nowhere. He thought he was going to go a little stir crazy at first, playfully making shinning jibes, but then he’d kind of… got used to it. The stillness. The forest walks. The tiny village with the population of 62. 

A few kids ran around with sparklers under the watchful gaze of their parents, several people held out marshmallows need the flames. There was warm mead and hot chocolate if anyone wanted it. 

Marc sighed, resting his chin on your shoulder for a second before he muttered, “my hands are cold too.” 

“Marc,” you laugh, “you’re wearing gloves.” 

“I know.”

“Well, you’re not putting them on me.”

“But you’re so warm.” He teases, tensing his arms as if he’s going to move and try to sneak under your shirt. 

“Fuck off.” You grin and grab hold of his hands to stop them going anywhere.

“That’s not nice,” he pouts playfully. “I’m going to freeze to death and you're not going to help me?” 

“You are not, besides, I thought Chicago got pretty cold? Shouldn’t you be used to this?” You tease. 

He grumbles something into your shoulder.

“What?” 

“I said, Chicago isn’t damp cold. Here’s damp cold. Gets into everything.” 

You snort. “Aww, poor baby.” 

“Yeah,” he nods and kisses your cheek. “Poor me, where’s the sympathy for me?” 

You can hear the grin in his voice, he always loved playing up because it made you laugh. Though he seemed a little extra needy right now. Not normally the one for physical affection in public. Maybe the darkness of the night helped.

The bonfire snaps a little, still going strong and you pat Marc’s hair with your gloved hand as you lean back against him. 

He sighs, pressing his face into your shoulder as you brush against the semi-hard outline of cock. 

You pause. Ah. So that was why he was being so handsy. 

“Ohhhhh,” you whisper, dragging out the word to be a menace and lean back again a little to press against his bulge. “I see, hugging me so that you can use me as a shield for prying eyes are you?”

“No.” He says into your shoulder, his voice obscured by your coat. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay, well I’ll just-” You go to move but his arms tighten around you.

“Stay here.” 

You giggle. 

He lifts his head up and kisses your cheek again. “I did not hug you to use you as a shield,” he tries to sound stern but the smile in his voice wins out. “I came to hug you and…”

“And?” You raise an eyebrow at him. 

“And then this happened.” 

“From a hug?” You say disbelievingly. 

“Hmm,” he grumbles.”You smell nice.” 

You laugh, “I smell like burning wood.” 

“Yeah, well, that and your natural smell,” he nuzzles into your neck again and breathes deeply. “Smells really good. Smells like… comfort, or something.” 

Despite the sweet tone to his words, you can’t resist a tease. “And that made you horny?”

He tuts and rolls his eyes, giving you a little squeeze. “Yes, okay, it made me really horny. Happy?” 

You pause and then nod, “yes.” You say with a touch too much enthusiasm and Marc laughs. 

“Okay, well good to have your approval.” 

You smile and lean back against him, pressing your back to his chest. There’s a pause before you push back a little more, rubbing against his erection again. 

He stifles a moan into your coat. “Stop it.” He hisses, but you can tell he doesn’t mean it. 

“Stop what?” You say innocently. 

“You know what.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Marc.” You punctuate the end of the sentence by gently leaning back and rolling your hips against him. 

He groans softly and presses into you. You hear the click in his throat as he swallows. “Do you want me to come in my jeans? Because that’s what’s gonna happen if you keep doing that.” He hisses.

“What?” You say, all mock surprise. “So quickly.” 

He lets out a little grunt of annoyance and presses his face back into your coat.

The realisation that maybe Marc Spector was a little into the risk of being caught started to piece together in your mind. 

You pause for a second before deciding. “Okay.” You pull out of his embrace and turn to face him. 

“Okay?” He startles, his eyebrows pinched together in disappointment, thinking the game is over. 

“Hmm,” you smile sweetly and take his hand before you start walking and urging him to follow. It takes him a second to get the hint. 

No one else seems to notice, or mind, as you both head away from the celebrations. Following the little well trodden path that leads back to the village. 

Marc follows close, a step behind until you are far enough away from the bonfire to be seen by anyone there, but close enough that the light from it just about illuminates your path. 

You guide him off the trail into the thick outcrop of trees.

“Baby, what are we-”

You silence him with a harsh kiss, licking into his mouth when he parts his lips in surprise. He moans instantly, wrapping his strong arms around you and pulling you close even as you push him up against a thick oak tree. 

He kisses back needily, his breathing already ragged and cheeks warm. His nose, however, is still cold. 

You kiss his cheek lightly before you trail your lips down his jaw and nip lightly at his pulse point. 

He groans, bucking against you and squirming a little, biting his lip to keep himself vaguely quiet. 

“Didn’t realise you had a thing for the outside.” You tease and Marc huffs. 

“I don’t.” 

“Sure, sure,” you suck on his neck and he gasps, his body bending toward you, trying to wrap itself around you. You slowly run your hands down to his cock, the poor thing trapped in the tight confines of his jeans. 

He groans again, the sound grumbling through his chest and into you. “Baby,” he bites his lip, and even though you can’t make out his exact expression in the poor light, you can picture it perfectly in your mind. How his brow furrowed needily, how wide his pupils were.

You unbuckle his belt, the sound of the leather opening makes his eyes roll back and he has to bite his tongue to stop the loud moan that threatens to escape. 

He stays still as he can as you undo his jeans, his hands on your arms, needing to touch you and keep you close despite wanting to give you room to manoeuvre. 

And when you sink to your knees he shudders, throwing his head back against the tree bark and sighing softly. 

You take your gloves off and shove them into your coat pocket.

“Baby, I-” He swallows down his words, screwing his eyes tight as your warm hands pull him free and you suck on his head. 

Precum spreads across your tongue, salty and rich as you moan softly, the reverberations running down the length of him and making his muscles twitch. 

You pull back, just enough to pump the length of his a few times while your other hand massages his balls, one finger lightly pressing on his perineum. 

He shudders, sighing out into the darkness as you lap at his weeping slit with the flat of your tongue, running it along and swirling around his tip before swallowing him down. 

He cries out, grabbing hold of your shoulders as you take him as deeply as you can. He fights the urge to buck up and thrust himself completely in your throat, his bottom lip between his teeth as you move up and down, drawing his pleasure out like poison from a bite. He tries to fight against it, tries to prolong the sensation as long as he can, to relax into it. But he’s too worked up, too desperate. And his orgasm rapidly approaches. 

The earth and dead leaves are soft under your knees, the dampness of the dirt soaking a little into your trousers, but you don’t mind. Focusing solely on Marc’s little whimpers and pleads, sounds you’re sure he doesn’t even realise he’s making. 

How his legs shake, how his cock twitches in your throat, how his fingers dig into you. 

He rolls his hips slightly, panting and you know he’s close, practically there. Warmth builds in your chest, pride at how trusting he is with you, how he knows you’ll take care of him. 

You sink lower, relaxing your throat as much as you can and slipping him a centimetre further inside. 

Marc gasps, the sound loud but not enough to raise suspicion, he bucks once, swearing and trying to mutter a warning but you press closer to him and swallow as he spirts into your throat. 

He shakes as stars explode behind his eyes, as pleasure washes over him and momentarily rids him of his strength. He moans your name softly, gasping and keeping a firm hold on your shoulder to keep himself upright. 

You keep moving, letting him ride his orgasm out before you lick him clean and tuck him back into his jeans. 

You laugh a little as you try to get the zip up. 

“What?” He smiles, his voice floaty and wonderfully blissed out. 

“I can’t get your jeans closed with your dick still hard.” You giggle. 

“Oh,” he chuckles and helps you to your feet. “Don’t worry about it.” He kisses your cheek, your neck, nipping lightly at your skin before he kisses your lips and holding you close. 

“Don’t worry about it?”

“Yeah, well, we’re going back to the house anyway.”

“Oh, are we?” You smile.

He nods. 

“I thought we were going back to the bonfire?” You tease. 

He growls playfully, kissing the spot just under your ear. “Oh no, we’re going back and I’m going to fuck you into the mattress and make you scream while the village is empty and everyone else is here.” 

____________________________________

Thank you for reading!

@pleasurebuttonwrites @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @mystinky-butt @cocodiem @oscarisaacsspit @whatthefishh @mbakubabe @romanarose @saturn-rings-writes @boredzillenial @lonelyisamyw-0love @queerponcho @pimosworld @melodygatesauthor @steven-grants-world  @eyelessfaces @angel-of-the-moons @minigirl87 @queerponcho @lunar-ghoulie @dumdaradumdaradum @plastichearts @silver-night-m @autismsupermusicalassassin @apesarecuul @reallyrallyauthor @basicalyrandom

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[vinestaffery]

Scythe X cop or detective reader where Scythe kidnaps reader to join her cult or somthing

of course!! im a bit tired atm and my schedule bursted up again, so the other people that have requested, i will be taking a bit of a while to post them fully, but i promise i am working on them!! sadly this is gonna have to be a drabble, im so sorry </3

Characters: Scythe, GN! Reader Prompt: One-sided Romance I think???, Small Drabble Warnings: Usage of (pet) names; Mentions of murder; Slightly descriptive but vague of how Scythe killed civilians; Religious themes; Kidnapping; Drugging; Scythe being a literal serial killer; Indoctrination(?)

Days were never suppose to be this harsh. You were always looking for new angles for the strange disappearances of many civilians in Lost Temple, yet it seemed like every new case was to mock your work.

Someone was watching you, for all you know.

Days were becoming longer, more dissociative then regular. Someone was watching you, you could feel it. It was like being played with like prey, if anything, a piece of meat in the claws of a carnivore.

But, it didn't let you shoot you down off your pedestals. You still, somehow, no matter what found a way to link to your suspects. White, gold and teal clothing, and the way the victims were left.

Cut, bloodied and garnished. Ripped apart in one slick-move, a slice. Head, shaven off of it's horns before being squashed like a tomato with a heel.

You were connecting up the dots to your very last suspect; Scythe.

You met her a few times, once at a bar, another when you had nearly gotten into some beef with some stragglers late at night. She was somewhat always there to support you, but would be never seen again. You took note of this.

When the investigation was left up to you, the police huddling outside for their break; the sun blared down below the alleyway. The shadows were your spectators, witnesses to a brutal massacre of several.

It was her. It was her, how she always disappeared, how everything seemed to become more of a blur. She was always there.

All she had to do, was find her, or catch her in the act.

"I'll get you, one way or another," you whispered to yourself.

"Well, you've bet to get on wit' it, don'tcha?"

A voice seemed to silence all thoughts. You didn't turn to face the new opponent.

You readied your hand-gun that was strapped to your left thigh, hand hovered cautiously over it.

"You and ya littl' ol' brain, finally come to make senses haven't cha? Fufufu..." Scythe laughed, a claw raised and a large weapon rested on her shoulder.

Your heart was thumping, you had no clue what had happened to the people that were here before; blood leaked across the floorboards.

"You must watch yourself, Snake, or else," you threatened, vile in your throat and hatred in your words.

"Or else what, my fine sheep, you goin' to do something?" Her name-calling was getting on your nerves. "The sheep, the one who follows, threatenin' big ol' me? Why, what a show."

"You best watch your tone, or else I'll get those men to take you away-" "And do what? Shoot me with this?" She plucked a gun from her pocket, you could hear it fall and chatter on the cold, hard ground. It rung in your ears.

"Say, maybe if you are ta hear me out, I'll leave ya' be!" Scythe snarled in a smirk, eyeing at you as you gave a small turn. Your hand still readied by your waist.

"And what must that be?" You questioned.

It took her seconds before she was up close, hand over your prepared one as she pulled you into a hold. Your hands, crunched in her soft leather glove while the other one, outstretched and squished by her metal.

"Scream, and everyone in this town's blood will be on your hands, rabbit," You were petrified but held in your sounds, clogged in your throat. You could just throw up.

She took notice, and started dragging you away. In a sorts of type of kidnapping, it was uncomfortable. She caressed your cheek, holding you close as she kept viable eye on you.

Everything started to become fuzzy, did she slip a drug into you by chance? No, she couldn't have. That's not her sense of style. But, everything and everywhere became unrecognizable.

"That's it, we're nearly there, my sweet," Scythe was astonished at how you were still able to walk, to even keep yourself up with her as you seemed to become tired and unable to respond.

Her scorpion tail came back close to her once more.

"Fucking- scorpion.." You pointed out, the tip of her stinger dripped a certain chemical before you fell into the warm-heated sand.

Light's blared into your face as you suddenly awoke. Your back was in pain, brain spinning and pleading to be free from it's coffin.

"Fuck-.. where?"

"Ah-ah ah! Don't want the doctors hard-work to be demolished shall we?" Scythe's voice rung through the room. It echoed in your ears.

"Where am I!" You screamed, but it seemed no use as she walked over. Her heels clicked to the solid, clear marble ground.

A hand reached over, two clawed fingers pinched at your chin and made her look up. God, she was tall, and quite beautiful, for a serial killer. "Wouldn't wanna wake up the others now, do we?" Her scorpion tail threatened as it reached in view.

Eyes widened, and a simple nod in command. She let go in a rough manner.

"Now, you best listen to me, or else you'll end up the same way those people ended up," Your ears wanted to close, but you made eye-contact with her.

She took it as an agreement.

"You've rose quite an interest in me, my sweet. I wouldn't think such people like ya' would be so heavily fascinated in my work of art," Work of art? What is she talking about? Those were never work of art. Those were polished crime-scenes of horror. Onslaughts.

"Now, I wouldn't want my favourite detective, my favourite sheep to be close to finding out about me now do I?" You shook your head.

"Good. Now, if you want to live and make it out of this room alive, you best follow my words," Alive?! "What do you mean 'make it out alive'? I have no deeds to share with you!" You spat.

"Oh, but you mustn't think of it that way. Think of it as a way of... saving you and mine's life. You see, I work for someone quite special deity," Special? Who could be anymore special then the SfOTH? The respected deities, gods if you will?

"There's no one as special as the SfOTH, those deities would crush someone as despicable as your boss."

That struck a nerve.

"You best keep that mouth shut, or else I will do more damage then what my boss would do to you and everyone in this god-for-saken town," Her weapon in hand, you squeaked. You stayed quiet once more.

"... Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I want you to join me, in order to protect you from the harms that might come your way for your... case," "Work with you?" "Yes."

You could nearly laugh! But you couldn't, you'd die.

"...Any benefits?"

"Oh, darling. Benefits were already arranged the first time we met," You snarled. Of course, she was planning this all along at the very start.

"Now, do we have a deal?"

Silence.

A long, period of silence.

"Well?"

You couldn't stop thinking about your family. Your friends, people you considered close.

"You best answer me, clock is ticking."

Your father, mother, what about your pets? What about, what about, what about?!

A slam of the chair, and a rising heat of pain strucking your face as you cried out.

"I've given you one chance at this, now you best answer me! Yes, or nay?" Scythe knelt down to face at you.

"One."

No Answer.

"Two."

No answer.

"THREE-"

"I ACCEPT! I will join your stupid- fucking team!"

...

"Good."

[masezace]

little off topic for my blog, but i started watching a new show since a friend mentioned it was good and i'd heard positive things about it, so i just wanted to talk about it a little bit (probably never again after this since this isn't a fandom blog, but it's the only one i have rn so idc it's going here)

the show is Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, and just going on looks alone, despite my love for dinosaurs and the Jurassic Park franchise i never would have considered it. it appears to be very much for kids, and as i'm in my late twenties now i'm not particularly interested in especially kiddy media. however a friend my age enjoyed it and mentioned it has a canon lgbtq+ couple in it among the main characters, so of course i just had to watch it. i had already been hearing that despite its initial appearance and premise, it was surprisingly good for a kids' show, so i had already been curious, but i was even more keen after knowing there were queer characters, and not even the adults, the kids themselves (in a kid's show?!! what a time to be alive), so i finally sat down and watched it.

[spoiler warning, both minor and major, for the rest of this post btw, so continue reading at your own risk if you haven't seen it yet/are still watching]

the show overall

okay so firstly, i am coming at all of this from the perspective of a writer, so my observations are from a technical standpoint more so than just as a fan of the show. and honestly, it really is a well-written show as a whole. is it geared towards kids? definitely. there are plenty of jokes/gags in it that just don't appeal to me as an adult, but beyond that, there was plenty to appreciate as an adult.

the writing is actually phenomenal? there were several points in the series where i just sat back and mulled over the way a scene went, what the thought process behind writing it was like, how well it was executed, and how important it was to the characters and overall plot.

the suspense is spot on, nothing gets dragged out too long, and i will admit there have been a few scenes throughout that actually got me; i jumped! it's actually scarier than i expected a kid show to be, but i'm so glad they went where they did because it really elevated the experience.

the pacing overall is very good, adequately engaging for kids' short attention spans (and us adhd adults 🥲) but not too short either to a point where things felt abrupt or unfinished. plot arcs are well developed and tied up nicely. also, as a bit of a dinosaur nerd, the array of dinosaurs in the show is super broad and satisfying! very fun stuff.

character element

imo the real gem of this show is the character development. honestly it's just *chefs kiss*

the characters grow and change so much and so realistically over the course of the show, it's honestly so much better and more satisfying than the character growth in most adult fiction/media recently.

the growth in ben (who btw was def my favorite character by the end of s1) and kenji in particular were my favorites and, in my personal opinion, the most interesting. the way ben started out anxious, cowardly, and rule abiding to a fault, then grew into a brave, confident, adventurous little pyromaniac gremlin, then had that stint later in the series where he regressed a bit-questioning himself-until eventually ultimately striking a great balance and really coming into himself was just... peak character writing.

kenji started out overconfident, lazy, and overly concerned with money/status. but that arrogant overconfidence and laziness slowly turned into responsibility, and a desire to protect his found family, and the realization that it's the people in your life that really matter most.

honestly what i mentioned only scratches the surface in terms of those two characters, there's certainly more that can be said about them (as well as all the others) but i'm not really in the mood for a deep dive character analysis atm. just trust me tho when i say these characters are so well done and each one of them have arcs that are super satisfying to watch play out.

queer representation

and as for the queer couple? yasmina and sammy are PERFECT. it was so beautiful watching their relationship grow from one-sided to mutual friendship, to loyal devotion, then to love. they were set up incredibly well and incredibly naturally. i have like, no complaints when it comes to them. i don't even know if there's anything i can say that would add to things, they were just a really awesome couple to watch become canon, they're the beautiful and painfully needed representation we all beg for in tv and movies.

shipping, chemistry, and intent

but oh goodness... probably my only real complaint about the entire show would be how benji (ben x kenji) and kenji x brooklyn (kenlyn? brookji? idk and idrc) were handled. because for all that this show did SO much beautifully right, they really screwed the pooch here, sadly.

i'm gonna start by saying that the writing in this show, as with most, is deliberate. what i mean by this is that despite having no clue who it would be because my friend thankfully did not even spoil me as far as the genders of the queer couple, i clocked yas and sammy as the would-be queer couple as early as season one (actually it was between them and benji, but more on that later). i could already see the chemistry, because it was deliberately written in.

shipping is subjective. anyone can ship any character, and in most cases it's pretty easy to see how there could be (romantic) chemistry between fan pairings based on their personalities, their arcs, etc. and that's okay! ships don't even have to have any canon support to be valid, because shipping is for the fandom, and it's for fun (i have a few rarepairs and crack ships across different media that i just love).

but onscreen/written romantic chemistry is a lot less subjective (to clarify, it is subjective whether or not the chemistry is good, but it's not subjective about whether or not it exists). there are literally scenes written with the sole purpose of building the romantic tension and/or chemistry between planned couples (some of which even have absolutely zero plot relevance, which usually is not advised tbh, and most of which are the cliches/tropes you see in literally any romance ever written, some are just disguised a little better than others. but make no mistake, it's all the same set of cliches. there is nothing new under the sun), as well as intentional, key moments within scenes that have other purposes. they are essential to establish romantic pairings.

and typically, the foundations for these couples are laid VERY early on. always within the first or second season (well, at least they are when the writer actually knows what they're doing and has at least a rough plan/outline for the entire series & characters. this is usually a large part of what separates the good chemistry from the poor chemistry. an author who knows who the couples are going to be and has a plan from the beginning to build them up is going to be more successful in creating a believable relationship with good chemistry. one who does not plan, or makes last minute plans will almost certainly fail, and the couple is just going to suck). when the set of characters you're working with are going to stay the same for most or all of the story, you start immediately.

i don't mean to toot my own horn, because i think it's because i'm a writer so i just pick up on narrative patterns very easily, and pretty much always clock the planned couples within the first few episodes of any series, and by the end i am right like 9 times out of 10.

that being said, do you know whose deliberately written chemistry i also clocked in jwcc? ben and kenji's.

kenji and... brooklyn?

no offense to people who like/enjoy kenji and brooklyn, you are free to love them, but the way their romance was written is... quite possibly the weakest point of the show. it felt like they were just trying to appease the upsetto heteros in charge, because there was definitely another het pairing that had a lot more potential than kenji and brooklyn (hello darius x brooklyn aka darilyn, you would have actually made sense because your relationship had amazing buildup and multiple standout scenes from s1 on. dgmw, i love that we got a m/f strong, supportive, purely platonic friendship out of them, i live for those and we really need more of them. but we could have had that with kenji and brooklyn, or darius and sammy, or ben and yas, literally any other pair instead).

kenji and brooklyn as a couple came out of absolutely nowhere. i honestly think they decided to shove them together last minute, and had no actual plan for them until they were working on s4. because their development barely started at the VERY end of s3 (the abruptness of him caring about her being held hostage so much more than literally anyone else in their group despite them having like zero buildup to that point gave me whiplash), but honestly didn't really even become "meaningful" development until s4, over halfway through the series. the two spend the first 3 seasons basically not particularly gaf about each other individually, only as part of the whole group and on an equal level with everyone else. they otherwise have no deliberate narrative foundation. it just starts in s4 with no prior hinting. which makes their development rocky and difficult to believe. the funny thing is their characters literally have dialogue (in s4) trying to draw comparisons/parallels between them to say that they especially have a lot in common and like??? no? they really don't? not any more so than any other two kids in the group. their relationship just, really falls flat.

it was disappointing to see it take such a massive spotlight in the series for almost all of seasons 4 and 5, overshadowing the friendships that have been the focus of the show and should have remained so, to the point where at times it just felt like i was watching some stereotypical het highschool romance. genuinely, it made s4 & 5 more of a drag to get through. yasammy and ben and yas' growing bond (which by the way was so sweet, it had the strongest queer solidarity vibes good lord, i sure wonder why yas chose ben out of everyone to come out to first, hmmm) were some of the few things that kept me invested, otherwise i would have dropped it if it had leaned much farther into becoming the kenlyn show than it already was. especially when it was that pair so much of the focus was given to, even though we had so readily and perfectly available, the pair that could have, should have been: benji. which finally brings me to:

ben and kenji

benji's foundation was laid in s1. their interactions, the situations they found themselves in, were deliberate (on the writers' part). i'm even gonna go out on a limb here and say the pairings were fully established in s1e3, even with parallels between yasammy and benji (sammy clinging to yas and ben clinging to kenji throughout the episode), and darilyn gets the beginning of their development too.

even though they bicker a lot in the beginning, they clearly care about each other? kenji protects/helps ben multiple times, and there are definitely some looks ben gives kenji at times. at the end of s1, the one who seems the most deeply effected over ben's "death," other than darius (understandably since he's the one who failed to save him), was kenji! immediately after it happens, we get two close up shots, darius and brooklyn then yasmina and sammy. after which, we go back to the whole group with kenji in center frame, the focus is intentionally on him. it is only kenji who drops to his knees at the loss, and then we get a close up of just kenji. he was saved for last, and he was alone in frame (tbf bumpy was in frame too, but i'm talking humans here), which implies his feelings are especially important in this moment. that is the reason for solo close ups.

after ben's "death," kenji takes to always wearing ben's fanny pack, and up until bumpy--who ben cares VERY much about--got separated from them, kenji was the one who (however briefly) took over her care, ensuring she got off the monorail with them, and he's extremely distraught, more than pretty much all of them, when they can't find her, and he's last to leave when they decide to accept that ben's gone. even when they do leave, he's distant and distracted and his mind is clearly still on ben.

other than darius, kenji is the only one (if i'm remembering correctly) to mention ben/say his name after they lost him, upset because he was actually trying not to think about him. he has clearly thought about ben, probably a lot, because it's hard not to be reminded constantly when you wear something that belonged to a deceased loved one. and frankly, he appears to be the only one who dwells on him that much.

when ben reappears alive (which btw he found the group again because of kenji's butter knife, hello), the frames literally purposely focus on kenji's reaction. he's the one in the foreground every time they show him and brooklyn in that scene. he is the first one to say ben's name, the first one to go to him and hug him, and the scene takes special care to highlight kenji's strong emotions at ben's reappearance, lingering on his teary face as the focus for a bit even after brooklyn enters the frame to hug ben (because she is not at all an important element in the scene at that moment). just like when ben "died," the way this scene is written and shot HEAVILY suggests that ben holds significant importance to kenji, specifically. because again, the focus here is on kenji and ben almost exclusively, with brooklyn as only an afterthought lol. and quite frankly literally everyone else's reaction to him being alive was pretty lackluster compared to the special attention they gave to kenji on this.

and then in s3 we have the infamous hat scene, where darius and ben are in the limo and ben sees and mentions kenji's sailor hat, looking sad and sounding like... longing?? then directly after we switch to kenji realizing he forgot his hat?? the scene has no real significance tbh other than to draw a connection between ben and kenji. like, it acts as a transition to switch to the pov of the group on the boat, but it was entirely unnecessary? why not just have darius say something about the others and then show them on the boat? if there were no special relationship between ben and kenji, it would have made far more sense if they really wanted it to be ben to say something, that he sees the hat, and sadly says something along the lines of "i hope the others are okay/doing better than we are right now/etc" which implies that the hat made him think of everyone, their whole group. rather than what we got... which very much implies that he was mostly just thinking about kenji 💀 and then kenji thinking about the hat at the same time ben's looking at it and thinking of kenji. like, this is.... a very blatant connection being made by the writing/directing here.

all of that. so many deliberate connections made between ben and kenji, they had a very solid foundation laid for a romance to develop, and by all intents and purposes one already WAS developing according to the show's own subtext. which was why up until s4 obliterated the idea, i was positive the queer couple in the show was either going to be yasammy or benji. it was extremely obvious imo. but as soon we started getting the typical, loud, cliche "we are going to pair off these characters" scenes for kenji and brooklyn, i knew we were getting yasammy and not benji (to be clear, i'm not at all upset about yasammy, they're beautiful and i love how their relationship was done, i wouldn't have had it end any other way for them. but i do personally prefer benji, i just like their personalities and dynamic more. and i feel they had so much potential that got wasted to make way for a far less interesting pairing between kenji and brooklyn. why can't we have 2 queer couples, huh? and if we really needed a minimum of one hetero pairing to appease whoever needed appeasing, darilyn was right there).

but then??? their like entire bond just gets dropped (honestly ben himself gets pretty heavily sidelined for almost all of the last two seasons, which is criminal imo). mostly so that a rushed kenji x brooklyn can be established. like there are still a few small moments here and there in early s4, and one episode in s5 (ep 10), but from early s4 till pretty much the end of the series we hardly see them have any meaningful conversations or interactions, meanwhile literally every other combo in the group does.

it's so weird? why build up benji so deliberately over the course of multiple seasons just to like, fully discard it for a pairing with far less chemistry, even after the chemistry-building scenes they shared, some of which literally had no other purpose than to affirm their connection? even though they were very sparse, the moments benji had were just so blatant (kenji leaps into the rock crevice right onto the back of a saber tooth to save ben?!!?? like he literally was just willing to exchange his life for him like that?? he basically says that he wasn't really thinking, he just did it. so he moved out of what, emotional instinct, that's what we're meant to intuit from that series of events? implying that he specifically has strong emotion and doesn't think things through when it comes to ben? because he doesn't do that kinda stuff for any of the others in the group! even better, this parallels when sammy jumped on the nothosaurus to save yasmina. and then the way benji look at each other after it's over??? hello??? and then how kenji pulls both brooklyn and ben in for that hug a couple minutes later... side eyeing the writers for that choice. they knew what they were doing there and they were evil for it). i just can't see any reason to have dropped them like they were, after all the development they shared for 3 seasons. confounding. biggest disappointment of the series.

i know this probably reads to some as just "wahh, my ship didn't become canon" nonsense. but that's not why i'm bugged. this wasn't just a ship i liked and wanted canon despite no actual narrative support, as most ships tend to be. this ship did have narrative support. there was intent behind many of their scenes together, lingering looks and little things that matter narratively and are always used to signify a stronger/special connection. and it led nowhere, for no good reason. that bothers me. writing that implies and promises something, but never delivers on it. like a person who never finishes their sentences (think Dr McPhee from Night at the Museum). ultimately it's not a HUGE deal or anything, at the end of the day it's just a ship and just a kids' show. but as a writer, it's just irritating to see something like that be done. what can i say 🤷

conclusion

even despite the wasted potential between certain pairings, and even though i do think the first three seasons were superior to the last two, overall i really enjoyed the show, and for what it was, it was really well-made. the overarching focus was of course on found family and friendship before anything else, which i absolutely love, and it was masterfully done. out of 6 kids, all of them had at least one or two meaningful bonding moments one-on-one with another in the group, so every possible combination had their moment to build strong, believable friendships with each other. i'm just so surprised by how good it was as a whole honestly, good enough to binge over the course of a week. i will happily recommend jwcc to anyone willing to give it a watch regardless of age, because i definitely think there's no age limit for a good story, no matter the medium it's told in. :)

[carlos-tk]

thanks @orchidscript @lemonlyman-dotcom @strandnreyes @alrightbuckaroo for the tags 💗

more than seven sentences but what else is new lol. the angst is still angsting in colleagues au atm sorry ☹️😢

Stepping into the metal box alongside him, the doors thankfully close with just the two of them inside. No one else here to witness the awkwardness that shrouds the space. Carlos feels suffocated, starts to wonder if TK feels it too, of course he does, his brain helpfully supplies, and he tugs his tie loose at the junction of his throat in an effort to breathe even a little bit easier.

TK finally says more than two words to him as they rise up the levels, his voice harsh as he utters out despondently, “I’m so mad at you right now.” His lashes are still wet, stuck in clumps against his under eye, as he glances from the floor and meets Carlos’ wide eyed gaze across the elevator.

He speaks again, this time his voice no higher than a whisper and Carlos’ chest aches with sadness.

“I don’t know how much more of this I can handle,” he says bitterly, as his shoulders slump forward and he drops his gaze back to the floor, away from Carlos’. He watches as TK curls his trembling hands into fists, sees him dig his nails into his own palm, observes his grimace when he does so.

Carlos let’s out a sad whimper and smacks the emergency stop button to his left so harshly that it leaves a lingering sting to his palm, the car coming to a halt several floors from their destination.

“Tyler,” is all he can mutter as TK‘s eyes rise back up to meet his, and Carlos steps forward, drags him into his arms in a hug so tight he’s probably crushing a significant portion of his ribcage. TK practically collapses in his embrace, and the warmth of his hands cling to Carlos’ shoulders in an effort to keep himself vertical.

no pressure tags below the cut 💗

@welcometololaland @rmd-writes @celeritas2997 @reyesstrand @three-drink-amy @theghostofashton @thisbuildinghasfeelings @inflarescent @reyestrandd @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @sunshinestrand @firstprince-history-huh @birdclowns @noxsoulmate @heartstringsduet @lightningboltreader @carlos-in-glasses @louis-ii-reyes-strand @liminalmemories21 @chicgeekgirl89 @inkweedandlizards @bonheur-cafe @never-blooms @basilsunrise @tellmegoodbye and an open tag for YOU 💗

[misskirisame]

i ended up having a meltdown after a brand new thought about something ive been paranoid over for ages gutpunched me out of COMPLETE nowhere and now i just. feel too exhausted and miserable to want to bother with this today.

bonus points for how that then devolved into thinking about one of my partners who went dormant after a kind-of-related particular incident and hasnt returned since and honestly at this point im scared she isnt going to come back at all. it's been over half a year now and nothing. it's honestly fucking killing me inside at this point

sorry for venting but if i dont ill just fucking explode lmao. i was doing so well today and now im just curled up in bed sobbing. me and my silly little emotional dysregulation fr

sorry again also actually cause i just realised we've all been venting a lot on our blogs LMAO our usual main support person is having a really rough time of their own atm and we dont wanna drop things on them so into the void of tumblr it all goes ig.

exam season again and ive been thrown into front to find out everyones once again been too depressed to study properly or even really take good notes for the entire semester

i b opening up panopto like "hi guys! what vast amounts of info do i have to learn and retain in about a week or less this time? :3"

anyway 50 lectures to go through to even know what im studying. about 8 days to study. fuck :)

on the off chance anyone comes across this post any tips before i lose my mind? foundation year so really i just need to pass ig but agh

[mechanismslorearchive]

I'm trying to find lore on Ivy, but somehow can barely find anything- I'm very bad at getting details out of big chunks of text so I was hoping to find someone's summary or explanation. Would you happen to have something like that? Or a link you could direct me to?

You know, this is a very good question! I don't honestly think anyone has written a post about Ivy's lore, I am quite tired atm, but I can bullet point out the main points!

Or well, some fun facts I guess, because thats me, travis, the fun fact guy.

Ivy was the third Mechanism to be Mechanized by Doc C, this is proven by the fact she appears in this doc carmilla art on Maki's blog!

Ivy was, presumably, mechanized either in a Space libary of Alexandria, of sorts, given the library theme, 'alexandria' etc etc. And the fact in her backstory fiction the entire everything

Ivy's age is unknown.

In several photos, Ivy is seen reading a [i forget the language rn, maybe german?] translation of a Tolkien book. So thats a fun fact!

flute player.

Ivy once upon a time had a song called The Librarian. This song was never recorded, and the lyrics do not appear on the site like Cyberian Demons, and this haunts me. It was preformed live at a DC&TM gig along with the fabled song Fantasia, and several Lorelai songs.

although, in her fiction, its sort of implied Tim was mechanized by the time she was mechanized? Or at least there. "a figure strides out of the smoke towards her, the hem of his coat smouldering, reflected firelight glinting in the glass lenses where his eyes should be."

his implies one of the dudes, coat implies tim somewhat, and so does 'glass lenses where his eyes should be', but given she was number 3, and Tim was well after the fact, either time is wobbly (VERY LIKELY) or this figure was Jonny. Either or. It could very well be Tim burned down a library for shits and giggles at some point, found a mortal ivy, went oh shit, dragged her out of the flames and left her outside, where Doc C picked her up. these are both just as likely tbh

you know rereading the fiction its heavily implied she is on the moon.

Tim is implied a LOT in this fiction so ???

Regardless, the bones of it is

Ivy does not recall and remember like a person, rather like a computer - an encyclopedia. She is a book not a person, its said in the text

If i'm missing anything very important, feel free to reblog with it!

[brunchable]

Conflict Resolution Chapter 5 || Surgeon!Strange x F!Reader

Warnings: Coarse Language, Sexual Elements, Medical elements, Arguing, Bickering Pairings: Stephen Strange x Asian!Reader (OC) Summary: Back for yet another counselling session with Dr. Sofen but it ended up in a plush fight between you and Stephen.

A/N: Hello, I am back, for real this time 😭 Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I must say I missed everyone and I missed being here. I am polishing my draft of 2319 and Thurber's Model atm. Trying to spend as much time writing so I can get back on my groove 😭I have no ownership of this story, all credits go to Kate Canterbary for her book, The Worst Guy.

My good girl always did her homework. She couldn't live in a world where she didn't comply fully and confirm to everyone that she was perfect and worthy of the little slice of space she occupied.

That good girl was shaking in her boots as you jogged up the stairs to Karla Sofen's office, right on time for this week's session. The other side of you welcomed the opportunity to show off Strange's epic inflexibility.

Karla was sure to see how that man was impossible. She'd sympathise with you. She had to.

As you exited the stairwell and approached her office, you found Strange leaning against the wall, his gaze fixed on Karla's door as if he could force it open by will alone. He wore the same dark blue scrubs as last week and hadn't yet realised his forearms were too profane to flash around these halls. Unfortunate. Someone really needed to talk to him about modesty.

You stopped several feet from him and grabbed your phone. You had no intention of speaking until the session started and you'd divert yourself by any means necessary. Even when the session did get underway, you intended to let Stephen implode and prove your point.

However, "Last chance," he said.

"Excuse you?"

"Last chance, " he repeated with a scowly side-eye. "Still have that index card?"

"You had plenty of opportunities to take advantage of my index card. You chose not to and that was all your decision."

"Hmmm." He crossed his arms over his chest and went on staring at the door. Then, "Hmmm."

"What?" You snapped.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how we're going to end up with another homework assignment because we didn't complete this one."

"I completed my part of this," you argued. "You're the one who couldn't be bothered to write down five little things." He turned his head and proceeded to drag his stare from your sneakers to your (again, still, always) untamed hair.

"And you think that actually matters?"

You shoved your fists into your pockets. "You should've done your part last week. Or at any time prior to this exact moment."

"I'm ready now. Got an index card I can borrow?" Before you could tell him what you thought about lending him anything, Karla swept into the hall, all smiles and silver hair.

"Ah, my friends! You're back for another visit. Come. Inside now, inside." Stephen resumed his spot at the bookshelf and you sat on the sofa, your hands clasped in your lap. Battle stations ready.

"Don't get too comfortable," Karla called from behind her desk. "We won't be sitting today."

She hefted an old milk crate onto her desk. "Playing is much more fun. We don't play enough as grown-ups, do we? It's like we forget how to do it."

"Or, after four years of undergrad, four years of medical school, another four or so years of residency, and then a year or two of fellowship, you have a bunch of socially stunted, sleep-deprived teenagers who know how to cut people open but not how to take a day off," Stephen said. "Comes with the territory, wouldn't you agree?"

She chuckled at him. "I call it job security."

With a fond smile for each of you, Karla carried the crate to the coffee table. "As I said, we'll be playing today." She beckoned to both of you, adding, "Up. On your feet."

You stood, shrugged out of your white coat, and draped it over the arm of the sofa. When you turned back toward Stephen and Karla, you were greeted with a decidedly masculine snort. You threw what the fuck? hands at him but he shook his head with a slight laugh.

You went on glaring until he said, "It's nothing. Just"—he glanced down at your t-shirt, the one that read Running On and the chemical structure of ATP, the stuff that carried energy in cells—"nothing. Forget it."

"And forget we shall," Karla said as she plucked a squishy ball emblazoned with a pharmaceutical company's logo from the crate. "Since this is not my first visit to the circus, I am not going to ask you about the homework from our last session. We'll play our game and have fun instead. All right?"

"This is obviously a trap," Strange said. You ran your palms over your thighs, knowing he was right about that yet completely unwilling to tell him as much.

"Trap? From me? No," Karla drawled. "I'd never." She tossed the ball from hand to hand. "All I want you to do is play a game of catch but do have a care for my plants. The string of pearls needs only a slight invitation to fall apart, and while the pothos looks hardy, it offends easily."

She lobbed the ball to you. "Ainsley. Start us off. My one rule is we don't let the ball hit the floor."

"And if we do?" Strange asked.

"You won't," she said.

"If we do?" he repeated.

With a deep grin, she said, "Embrace the challenge, Stephen, even if you don't know what might come of it." It started out simple, just you and Stephen throwing pharma swag back and forth across Karla's office. But then she reached into the crate and retrieved a plush pineapple.

"Let's add this one," she said. "Stephen, you're up." He caught the pineapple after sending the ball to you. It took both of you a few tries to get the rhythm right but you got there while Karla slathered on the praise.

Stephen wanted no part of that. He narrowed his eyes or locked his jaw every time she acknowledged both of you for playing along. All of that was annoying enough but he did it while flaunting those damn arms at you too. Terribly rude of him.

Then, she said, "It's too quiet in here. Let's have a little chat."

"And there's the trap," he muttered.

"Now, Stephen," she started, clearly enjoying his misery, "where is Ainsley from?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Hell, probably."

You winged the pineapple at him hard. He had to stumble backward to catch it.

"And Ainsley," Karla said, "where is Stephen from?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say a defective condom."

The pineapple struck your shoulder and you had to flail a bit to grab it before it hit the floor. You glared at him with as much heat and violence as you could summon. He rotated the squishy ball in his palm as if he was finding the right grip just as you shot the pineapple back at him. The ball landed square on your chest.

"Lovely, lovely," Karla sang. "Stephen, what is Ainsley's favourite colour?"

"Necrotic kidney," he said, spiking the pineapple high over your head. You barely caught it, and ended up with your t-shirt half untucked.

"Ainsley, your turn—"

"Anything infected with C. diff," you replied, putting all your weight behind sending that stupid pineapple to his scowly face.

"Oh, god," he groaned, catching the toy as it bounced off him. "Not fair, Park. Intestinal bacterium is out of bounds. Don't make me think about that. I'm gonna gag."

"Next question," Karla called. "Ainsley, did Stephen have any pets as a child?"

The ball connected with your thigh as you said, "They all ran away."

Before he was prompted, Stephen said, "You're the one who can summon monsters with your screeching. It must be difficult with yetis and the Chupacabra and the Loch Ness monster showing up all the time. Do they stay for dinner?"

The pineapple hit your other leg as you scrambled to catch it and throw back the ball without either touching the floor. The ball connected low on his torso and his eyes flared as he caught hold of it. These toys were small and light but you were breathing hard and sweating from this activity, and so was Stephen.

"Let's move on to siblings," Karla said.

"You can find Strange's on a true crime podcast," you said, aiming the pineapple at his jaw.

"As victims?" he asked. "Or killers?"

The squishy ball connected with your loose bun and half your hair slipped free from the tie but there was no time to stop and fix it. "Does it matter?"

"A bit," he yelled. "Am I the murderer? Are they? Come on! Get your game right, Park. Don't fall apart on me now. If you're taking these shots, you better shoot to kill."

"Then, yeah. You're the serial killer here."

"Thank you," he shouted.

"Stephen," Karla started, "tell us about Ainsley's—"

"You mean the Children of the Corn?"

"Very inventive," you said, sending the ball to his jaw again.

"Better than a serial killer," he replied, nailing your thigh with the pineapple.

"Really, though?" You argued. "I don't see how corn-harvest murderers are any different. Do better."

With an eye roll, he turned to Karla. "Do you have anything harder?"

You took that opportunity to fire the pineapple right at his chiselled cheek. His head snapped back and the pineapple rolled under the coffee table. There was a full second where he was stunned silent.

But then he rounded on you, his signature scowl replaced with a flat, open-mouthed stare that was many, many times more dangerous than any other look he'd ever sent your way. At the exact same second, both of you dived for the crate and grabbed all the ammunition you both could carry and let loose on each other. Plush toys, bouncy balls, stress balls, tennis balls, every variety of pharma swag—it was a wild, hiccuping blur of hits and throws.

"You just don't know when to stop," Stephen shouted, an eggplant stress toy with the brand name of an erectile dysfunction drug printed on it flying from his hand.

"And you do?" You cried, throwing two miniature frisbees. "You could've stopped this shit last week but you didn't!"

"Oh, because I wouldn't fall in line with your precious little terms?" A series of three hard bouncy balls ricocheted off your thigh. They were going to leave a mark. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"I was trying to make this easier on everyone," you yelled.

"And who the fuck asked you to do that?" he countered, whipping a small cactus plush at your face. "I don't need you looking after me. If I need to staple a fucking laceration, I'll staple it—and just so you know, I'm fully aware that staples aren't right in every case. I fucking agree with you but you're too busy force-feeding me to even hear that and—"

"You're too condescending to force-feed," you said.

"You are relentless," he panted, his eyes flashing with heat and his jaw locked in the most stern, severe line.

Before you could reply, Karla placed herself in the middle of the skirmish, her hands out. "You're both relentless—or do you not notice it in yourselves the way you see it in each other? That happens more than you think. It's similar to the way our eyes can see our nose but our brain instructs us to ignore it."

She gathered the toys where they'd landed all around. "Thank god my string of pearls was spared in this skirmish. Small mercies," she said under her breath. "For your homework this week, I'd like you to think about that. Your commonalities—and why they trouble you so much." She dumped the toys into the crate as Stephen and you looked on.

Both of you were still breathing heavily, clothes dishevelled and your hair wilder than ever as you glowered at each other. You weren't going to say he'd started it—though he did—or pretend he'd been the only one to deliver snarky, juvenile comments.

But the way he'd looked at you as he'd said you were relentless, the way he'd stared you down as if he was the only one who could call the terms of this war—it made you crazy enough to want to grab that pineapple and the eggplant and pelt him with them until he begged you for mercy.

Karla glanced between you. "That will be all for today."

With that, you grabbed your white coat and bolted out of there. You didn't need to be asked twice and you didn't need another minute with that man trying to stare your skin off.

Tags: @winsteria @classicrebound @gwephen @patbrdac @goldencherriess @elizabethdarcy29 @strangeobsessed @strangelockd @lady-harvey @mirikusashes @rbymoon @k1mikoz @allie131313 @strangesthirdeye @nicoletk @sleutherclaw @dragonqueen89 @bloodyxsaint @3443652 @pinkthick @iamdedsthingz @casualimaginesfluffwagon @im-akira @faltinestrange @ilikedarkrai @alicia-c37 @phatm00d @xunquish-blog @keistange @omgstarks @jotaros-bara-tiddies @gaitwae @sherlux

[ourlittleforever]

💐 ⛈️ 🌡️

thank you Rebecca!! I'll answer for Xander since he's on my brain atm <3

💐 - do you have a garden? what does it look like? do you instead keep flowers in your home? what kind?

As much as I'd love to have a garden, I have a black thumb and can kill just about any plant. Xander can at least keep one alive -- so he plants some flowers around our house so I have something pretty to look at. But I'm forbidden from touching them lol.

He likes to buy me fresh-cut flowers after a long day of working at the clinic! We keep those indoors <3

⛈️ - what do you do when there's bad storms? is there anything you do to comfort each other? or maybe you like to watch the storms?

I like thunderstorms as long as they're not severe. Xander doesn't particularly care for them either way. But I like to picture us sitting at the kitchen table, or maybe on a porch swing, enjoying the rain and thunder, bc that's what I like to do irl.

🌡️ - when you or your f/o gets sick, do you take care of each other? what do you do?

We do! I'm a HUGE baby when I'm sick. I can be an even bigger crybaby when I don't feel good. Luckily, as a doctor, Xander takes good care of me -- and as a nurse he personally trained, I do the same for him! He's more of the type to insist he's TOTALLY fine and doesn't need to rest, so I have to drag him into bed for snuggles to get him to take it easy.

[elyachkins]

hi hello this is my official introduction post

you can call me el, use they/them pronounce in english, он и/или она на русском, bi and genderqueer, bashkir/tatar; pfp is by wonderful @snchkns (based on one of my drag personas <3)

i study maths, but sometimes i also draw (#my art), this blog is mostly just for reblogging cool art and gifs and metas about whatever media i'm obsessed with atm

bad at tagging and consistently updating this post, english isn't my first language

main fandoms: reverse 1999, dragon age, qls (my mdl), kpop

currently watching: love is a poison (doku koi, severe obsession levels)

currently playing: ace attorney investigations, dragon age the veilguard

[creepyscritches]

Pleasantly surprised at how much interest there is in my blankets in addition to my plushies :'3c

I don't post everything I make (plushies included), but I figured after all the chatter I could share what I have in my apartment atm.

Big blue on the bottom is what I sleep under and god it's so satisfyingly heavy ☺️

Yellow and purple are lapghan christmas gifts for my grandmothers that like to sit and read in comfy chairs

Folded smaller speckle blue is my partner's blanket for the couch. It's a non-standard dimension that helps him stay comfy, cool, and not get tangled up while getting up and down from the couch :3 works well!

Folded solid blue is the queen I'm working on for some friends. 20 rows to go!

I also recently made a snowy blue grey blanket for my mother w the same pattern as folded solid blue. It's another non-standard dimension meant to be laid lengthwise along several laps without dragging on the floor. She's been enjoying movie nights with her husband under it 😊

[hedgehog-hell]

ohhh can u giys tell us abt the wars end au?? pls??

Oh boy okay this is gonna be a long one so buckle in

War's end au is a BIG WIP rn so there isn't a ton of plot atm, but I can absolutely name the major characters and the story behind the creation of it!

Keep in mind, all of this is subject to change as the AU develops more!

The big characters in play are sonic, shadow, knuckles, tails, Amy, rouge, and metal sonic, and the story is going to follow them (mainly sonic, shadow, and knuckles at first) for several arcs.

The big idea is that eggman has mysteriously announced his retirement and ended his reign of terror, so sonic and the gang are investigating his motives, and grappling with learning to live normal lives outside of saving the world every other day. There will be many an identity crisis, heartfelt moment, and found family hijinks, as well as appearances from familiar characters like surge and kit, the chaotix, Tikal, silver, Omega, and others, and a few of our own OCs for good measure!

All of this was inspired by the ideas of the beloved bestie @fruitwanderer (who, might I add, is the one who dragged us into this hellhole [both the sonic fandom AND tumblr] in the first place) and all our shared headcanons, along with the au we were working on with them forever and a day ago. We say it every time but I fully credit them for the idea of Bug Boy Shadow.

This au has been in the works since I got into the fandom nearly three years ago, starting off as helping Fruit with their au, and then combining that with our own headcanons, and eventually becoming its own thing and an obsession we could no longer contain. As I mentioned in the long ass rant about abandoning Unholy, it has all our favorite headcanons, tropes, characters and ideas in it, and all the fond memories from years ago, and finally getting to work on it for real is so exciting, even if we're only at the "catch up on sonic media so you know what the hell you're doing" phase.

Funnily enough, I'm typing out the draft of this on my phone with a height chart featuring early designs for the au from back when we used Firealpaca on my computer screen in front of me. Oh my god, the memories.

This au is so near and dear to our heart, and we can't wait until we have enough done on it to have something to gush over!

Until then, stay tuned!

[vincess-princess]

as we were falling

ch. 8

a/n: i'm real down in the dumps atm so some cheering up would be much appreciated <3 word count: 1465 warnings: none

When Tommy left the office, he lingered in the hall to wait for Nikki, who went into an office next door at the same time. But a few minutes passed, the guard already began frowning at Tommy, and Nikki still hadn’t come out. Just as Tommy resigned and turned to leave, he heard a noise from behind the door of the office Nikki was in. Something heavy dropped, and then came a scream and another bang.

Oh god, Nikki couldn’t do without trouble even at the most routine check-up.

The guard perked up and headed to the door, so Tommy decided to stay behind and find out what happened. He didn’t have to wait long: soon the door slammed open, and Nikki rushed out of it, waving a metal pipe, which looked like he tore it out of some machine, and completely naked. His face was distorted with rage, and eyes sparkled with reckless abandon.

“Get him!” someone screamed from the office. The guard, shouting into his microphone, pulled out his shocker and tried to approach Nikki, holding the shocker in front of himself like a priest would hold a cross upon meeting a demon. Nikki did remind a demon a bit, with his wild hair and his tattooed body, Tommy found himself thinking. Nikki easily kept the guard at the distance: he swung his pipe so hard the guard didn’t dare to approach close enough to tase him.

Nikki headed down the corridor to the elevator, where Tommy stood in the shadow. For a second Tommy hesitated: they had no chance of escaping the facility, and he would surely be punished if he joined Nikki. But then Nikki saw Tommy and smiled widely, and all doubt Tommy had disappeared. He smiled in return and kicked the guard in the shin.

They didn’t even get to the elevator: three more guards arrived, kicked them to the floor (but not before one got a punch in the nose from Tommy and another – a blow to the knee from Nikki), tased them until their voices went hoarse from screaming and handcuffed their hands behind their backs. Tommy almost didn’t register how he was dragged down the hall and into the elevator, and then out of it to a much narrower, dimly lit corridor with metal doors on the sides. They were pushed inside the cells, the handcuffs removed, and left there on the floor. Tommy heard the door of his cell slam shut.

He tried to lift himself off the floor, but his trembling arms gave up under him, and he fell back onto the floor. It took his muscles several more minutes to stop spasming from the shock, and only then could he accomplish what he started.

The room was completely dark save for a small square of light on the floor from a little window in the door. Tommy explored the cell with his hands in front of him and found nothing more – just tile floor and walls. No, that wasn’t true – there was also a hole in the corner. A toilet, supposedly.

Great, Tommy thought grimly. Just great. On the ship they could at least count on leaving in several days and never going back. Here, though – here they had their fates decided. And this just moved them from a green zone to a ‘handle with caution’ zone. No good owner would want such a slave.

He pressed his forehead against the cold tile of the wall. The electric shock left a dull, pounding headache, like a pendulum swinging back and forth in his head, hitting the sides of his skull. His legs were still shaking underneath him, but at least they stopped spasming. That must have been the longest he’d been electrocuted, and the strongest charge too. The guys in white surely weren’t going to baby them.

The cold from the tile permeated his skin and spread out underneath it, bringing Tommy some relief. Soon, though, shivers began running down his body. The room was cold, and the overalls didn’t protect from it at all. And as far as Tommy could tell, nobody was going to offer them blankets.

This sucks, he thought grimly, curling on the floor in fetal position to preserve heat. Once again following along with Nikki’s crazy ideas got him in trouble. But for a second back there, when a guard staggered back with a cry after Tommy’s fist collided with his jaw – that second was burned into his mind. The reckless excitement that washed over him at that moment was so overwhelming the remains of it still lingered, an aftertaste, a shadow, but even now stronger than any emotion Tommy has ever felt. It felt good. It felt empowering.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but at some moment his eyes closed, and he began drifting into sleep, even cold not being able to stop him after the strain his body endured. Just as he began to fall into a deeper sleep, though, he heard Nikki’s voice – or he thought he did. Maybe that was a dream too.

Then he heard a muffled “hey” again, and this time it was definitely real.

“Hey, Tommy! Tommy! To-o-ommy!” he heard then. God, Nikki wouldn’t let him sleep in peace, would he.

Tommy shuffled to the door.

“What?!” he shouted into the window.

“Can you hear me?” came a question. A rather stupid question – of course Tommy could, or he wouldn’t answer.

“No!”

A short pause followed. “You’re fucking with me, ain’t you.”

“No fucking shit,” Tommy grumbled, having calmed down a bit. “You alright?”

“Yeah. They won’t get me no matter how hard they try.” Nikki sounded a bit croaky, but after all those shocks he had got he must have gotten immune to them. “You?”

“Could be worse.” This shock was the worst so far – Tommy’s knees still trembled, and nausea was pushing up at the back of his throat – but he wasn’t gonna tell Nikki that, or he’d think him a sissy. “We got them hella angry, huh?”

“Ha! I hope that asshole I hit limps til the end of his life.” Tommy could feel a smile in Nikki’s voice. “You packed a decent punch too. Shame they didn’t let us go at it. These bitches wouldn’t stand a chance against us in an honest battle.”

And then someone in the cell opposite to Tommy’s laughed.

“Honest? With them? Never gonna happen. This whole system wouldn’t exist then.”

For a while all three were silent. Tommy and Nikki were astonished, and the stranger… who the hell knows what the stranger was thinking. They couldn’t even see him – just the gleam of his eyes behind the window.

“Yeah, no shit,” Nikki finally said. “It’s been clear from the start.”

“That’s right.” The stranger laughed with a weird, choking undertone. “Whatcha’ here for, boys?”

“Had some fun, that’s it,” Tommy complained. “They didn’t like it one bit.”

“Yeah, these guys are deathly allergic to fun,” the stranger agreed. “They beat and burn it out of you until you’re just an empty shell of obedience and conformity. That’s their perfect slave.”

“They can try.” Tommy could almost hear Nikki bare his teeth. “They’ll run out of charge in their shockers before they can do that.”

“You don’t know how much charge these shockers hold,” the stranger sighed. “It’s enough for the whole building of us, and it’s definitely more than enough for you. No matter how much you want to hope otherwise.”

“You must be fun at parties,” Nikki grumbled. “Have anything nice to say? Maybe tell us why you are here?”

“They didn’t like me. Just like that.” A white grin flashed in the sterile white light of the corridor lamp.

“Why?”

“Reputation, kids. After a while you get a reputation, and then it’s solitary confinement the moment you step through the door of a center.”

“So you didn’t even do anything,” Nikki concluded with disappointment. “Boring.”

“It is.” Tommy could feel a grim smile in the stranger’s voice. “Been here four days now, and they still haven’t found a buyer. And they won’t, not with my resume.”

“And what’s on it?” Tommy asked.

“Hoo boy, lotsa things you don’t wanna know about.” Was that pride in his voice? “Anyway, kids, drop that fun you’re having. You don’t wanna be like me, trust me. The system never forgives and never forgets.”

“Interesting.” Nikki yawned. “I don’t think I will, though. I don’t plan on going back here.”

“That’s not up to you to decide,” the stranger said with resignation, “but I ain’t your daddy to teach you. Do as you will. But one day you’ll remember my words.”

“Sure, man,” Nikki huffed. “Hey, Tommy, we ain’t got nothing to do here anyway - wanna sing a song?”