#it was just very personally important for me

[dcxdpdabbles]

Always the bridesmaid never the bride

I'm not going to lie. I forgot if this was a prompt or a response to something I posted since I got it back before Thanksgiving. But if it's the former then:

Danny says this to Bruce at Clark and Lois' wedding. He is convinced Bruce is in love- or in lust, at the least- with Clark because the wealthy man constantly popped up at their office for important "business" and "private exclusive" interviews.

Now, Danny won't lie and say he's a better journalist than Clark or Lois- those two are the top two of the Daily Planet. There is a reason almost all Superman stories are covered by them- but he's darn good himself. After retiring from protecting his town from Ghosts, he's only ever used his powers scarcely, but they have helped him with a few articles here or there.

His career as a reporting journalist was mainly made by his ability to stumble across trouble alone! Danny had won awards for his articles. He has been included in a city time capsule project.

Danny got the scoop on Jason Todd being alive story way before everyone else. After realizing the boy was in witness protection, he hadn't even exposed it without speaking to Mr.Wayne first. The man was nothing like the tabloids had one believe. Danny found him a severely intelligent man with a deep love for his family and city. He just distracted people with his razzle and dazzle, hiding his beautiful soul in plain sight.

It had been an eye-opening conversation. The duo made a deal to wait until Jason was safe to be announced; Danny waited three whole months before he was greenlighted to release his story. Jason Todd had officially "returned" from the dead with an exclusive interview with Danny Fenton.

Danny honored and protected his dignity by writing a story that made the public love the returned young man. He hated reporters who only dragged people's names through the mud because that wasn't real investigation; that was just accepting the latest gossip on the streets.

Bruce was so grateful that Danny hadn't put his son in danger that he even gave Danny a business card that went to his home office!

And yeah, okay, Clark had Bruce's personal cellphone, but Danny just couldn't understand why the billionaire was so hung up on Clark Kent. It wasn't like the guy was Superman!

And maybe he was overly happy to find out Clark and Lois were an item. Sure that someone as good as Bruce, for all his facade of being a party boy who never grew up, would never chase a taken man. Danny had been right, too, because Bruce Wayne appeared less and less around the Daily Plant office.

It was.....sad not to see him, but Danny was a very busy journalist. He was grateful that the distraction had finally taken the hint and scurried off somewhere. What irked him in the following year and a half of Clark and Lois dating was how often Perry signed the two to cover Gotham News.

Mostly at one of Bruce Wayne's extravagant parties! Yeah, it was sort of cool that most of Bruce's parties were charity events. He had checked the numbers himself, finding that Bruce's efforts were honest and working to better his city. How many billionaires actually kept their word when wanting to be a philanthropist?

Of course, Danny had to write a piece on it. The people needed to see the positive change Bruce was making. Sometimes, it felt like people forgot how much he gave to the city. The article went viral, and people on the other side of the world were praising the good man Bruce.

Perry had given Danny a raise for it.

Clark had ruined that significant mark on his record by placing a wrap present on his desk with a wide grin. Apparently, the two had gone on a yacht trip together without Lois or Bruce's significant other. Whoever that was. "Bruce wanted me to give you this as a thanks."

Ugh, the smug asshole was just rubbing it in Danny's face that he was still friends with his ex. The present had been a shitty ship in a bottle that Danny had placed beside his writing awards in his living room. You know it would be a waste to just throw it out.

Or let it get dusty. Or not stare at and wonder if Bruce knew he liked pirate movies, so the fact he had a model replica of Captain Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl made for Danny was really no big deal.

Then Bruce came by the office after buying out the Daily Planet, giving Clark a month's vacation paid due to some "family emergency."

Danny had been worried about Ma Kent and Pa Kent- the pair had visited the Daily Planet and were the nicest people to ever walk the planet- so like the well-mannered man his mother raised, he had gone to the farm with some of his Dad's famous fudge. Only to find the Kents unaware there was an emergency in the family until Danny reminded them.

He had been a journalist long enough to call bull on their meaningful glances. Danny knew that neither Bruce nor Clark would dare cheat on Lois. They were both too good for something as sleazy as that- and honestly, Lois would kill them- but that didn't stop Bruce from obviously still carrying around a torch for Clark.

Which meant he gave him unfairly favorable treatment in the workplace. Ugh! Perry didn't even seem to care, stating that Bruce had signed their paychecks, and as long as he wasn't forcing Clark into anything harassment-worthy, Danny just had to deal with his coworkers having friends in high places.

That meant they got away with different things. He just had to suck it up and accept it.

But now, Clark and Lois tied the knot. Bruce had to back off. He would never overstep a friend's relationship like this. Danny might have seen him sneak a few glances at the dancing couple- not that he was staring at Bruce Wayne! But the man was one of the hottest topics to write about, and he never knew when a good story would pop up.

It was rather sad, really. How Bruce forced himself to come to a celebration of the man he loved marrying and choosing someone else. Danny had dedicated a drink to his heartbreak- from clear across the room.

He wasn't on a personal cellphone number basis with Bruce Wayne, let's allow a "Drink your broken heart sorrow away with me" basis. And maybe Danny had a few too many. Perhaps he lost count after realizing it was an open bar because, surprise surprise, Bruce was footing the drink bill for all guests.

Danny doesn't remember what made him think he could cross the room to Bruce or why he found the courage to point a finger in his face before slurring, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, eh Brucie?"

He does remember those piecing blue eyes locking him in place, brow folding in concern as Bruce replied. "Mr. Fenton, are you alright?"

"Me? Oh yeah! Just enjoying the party." He throws his arm up, spilling some of the alcohol out of the cup. He doesn't mind since the DJ starts to play one of his favorite songs, and he just has to sway to the beat. "This is a fun party. Are you having fun? I'm having fun!"

"I think you've had a little too much," Bruce says, helping Danny to his feet. When did he fall? Oh, right, when he was dancing. He laughs again, curling up on Bruce's chest. He feels it shift with the vibrations of the other man's voice. It's rather nice. "Did you come alone? Is there someone I can call for you?"

"Can I tell you a secret, Brucie?" Danny mutters, leaning forward to whisper into the man's ear before he can respond. "I live alone. I have no one to take care of me. I can't even drive."

"I see. I can have my driver take you home then. Can I see your wallet? I want to read the address-"

Danny has a second to think Oh no before his stomach lurches, and vomit falls out of his mouth all over Bruce Wayne's fancy suit that probably costs more than his house. Danny's eyes water. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't usually drink, and I feel terrible, and I-"

"It's alright. " Bruce says, smile still perfectly kind, understanding, and slightly dizzy. Danny knows he's lying, though- his reporter eyes can see right through that facade. He's pissed that Danny threw up on him. Understandably.

He starts sobbing, apologizing even more, and pointing out how he knows Bruce is actually upset.

Bruce looks mildly surprised before throwing one of his arms over his shoulder and helping him out of the hotel ballroom. The reception had started hours ago, and despite it not being anywhere near over, no one would bat an eye at them leaving early.

They were walking down the hallway. Danny found himself leaning on a counter, laughing into his hands about a potted plant, while Bruce chatted up the lady at a computer. He told the pair that Bruce should rebound with a man instead of a woman if he wanted to get over Clark but was ignored by them.

Rude.

Then suddenly, Danny was being pressed into a soft mattress on his back while someone was taking off his shoes and losing his tie. When did he get home? How had he moved that quickly?

This didn't feel like his pillow. Danny has a special one. He can't sleep with it. He packs his pillow when he travels, even if it's just one night he plans to stay. Danny has used the same pillow for years now.

"I'm sorry, I can't get your special pillow, but I can give you lots of water." A man says, making Danny blink and open his eyes. His eyelids feel so heavy that it takes him a moment to stay open.

Above him, Bruce is carefully unbuttoning his suit jacket. The billionaire had removed his own coat, but the vomit-covered white shirt remains. Danny feels ashamed at the sight even as Bruce pulls his arms out of the jacket sleeves.

"Sorry," He whimpers. "About the vomit."

"It's alright. You needed to throw up. Do you feel better?"

Danny nods, closing his eyes and feeling a warm towel run along his face. He sighed as the sticky, gross feeling around his mouth was gone, and he sank further into the Not Right But Comfty pillow.

"Sleep well, Mr. Fenton," Bruce says, tucking the blankets around Danny once he finishes cleaning him up. Danny hums, already half gone, when he whispers.

"You're a good man. No matter what you present to the world. No matter if you believe you're not, I know you're good."

There is a moment of silence before Bruce replies. "I paid for the hotel room. It comes with a free breakfast, so when you're feeling up to it, come down for food tomorrow. Have a good night, Mr. Fenton."

"Stay?"

"I'm sorry. I never intended to stay; I just wanted to get you somewhere safe. Going home in your state would have been a bad idea."

Danny's words are nearly too slurried to be understood as he slowly slips away: "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Fenton. Bruce would never want you."

He wakes up with a killer hangover, confused about where the hell he is, and almost has a heart attack when he realizes he crumpled up the suit pants he rented. All that is so hard to process in thirty seconds that he nearly missed the written note on the nightstand.

Call me xxx-xxx-xxxx

XOXO

Bruce Wayne

What in the world happened at Clark's and Lois's wedding!?

[stoneexo]

do you picture me, like i picture you?

pairing: sevika x fem reader smut contains: nsfw content!!, degradation, praise, dirty talk, teasing, mocking, cursing (obviously), injuries, bleeding, smoking, drinking, fingering, cunnilingus, tribbing/grinding, mutual pining! premise: on a rainy night after years as silco's top accountant, a knock at your door produces an injured sevika in need of your help. that begs the question— why is she here, why you? as the night goes on, and sevika reveals her true intentions behind coming to see you, you finally realize that the feelings you've had for years might've been reciprocated for longer than you'd think. word count: 7.8k (wtf) author's note: here it is! my first fic! hope you guys like it, and i'm looking forward to feedback! heavily inspired at points by chappel roan's song 'picture you', noticed a particular lack of sweet sevika fics where she isn't just super dom, so this is a very self-indulgent fic lol. god i love me good ol' lesbian PINING!

candlelight kisses your face and dances up the walls of your dingy studio apartment, as well as the papers you hold out in front of you. despite the late hour and strained eyes, you still scanned the numbers in front of you, debts, copying the important ones onto a separate fresh piece of paper to your right. having been silco's main accountant (and only accountant for many years until recently), the work was near never-ending. after all, half of the undercity owed him in some way shape or form. however, with the expansion of his criminal enterprise, his 'financial department', if you could even call it that, had grown. there were others to deal with more minor debts, and your main job was to prioritize those who owed more significant amounts- and decide whose debts had to be collected immediately. you are sifting quietly through papers including just that at the moment, silverroot smoke in your hand and a dirty ashtray at your side, at your small two-person table that's pressed against the wall of your tiny apartment. when a loud knocking (more of a banging) comes from your front door, cutting through the silence.

you nearly jump at the intrusion, looking up to process the noise when it came again in a quick, desperate succession. you shoot up, making your way to the door, both concern and fear washing over you; it was past midnight, who could possibly be here this late? you made sure to grab the metal pipe leaning up against the foot of your bed- this time of night, it was more likely to be a robbery than anyone you actually knew. with your tiny kitchen at the back of the studio, your large bed against one wall, and your table and bathroom entrance on the other, it was no more than a couple of feet to your front door. 

however, as you unlocked the door and cracked it open, keeping your deadbolt in place, you felt a chill run down your spine and your eyes met sevika's, pressed up against your doorframe with blood soaking her hands. she didn't need to say a word, barely opening her mouth before you're shutting the door to undo the deadbolt, pulling her inside and relocking the door behind her.

as you lock up, you hear her stumble behind you, turning to find her sat at the foot of your bed on the floor, clutching her bloody stomach. "what the hell is going on?!" you blurt out, your concern evident as you made your way across to her. she glance at the metal pipe, still in your hand. following her gaze in confusion and noticed you were still clutching the deadly weapon before dropping it, kicking it almost sheepishly behind you, refocusing on her. "sorry, can't be too safe." you remark as you knelt down in front of sevika, and she allows you to push her hands aside with a wince to get a better look. 

you and sevika had worked closely for nearly a decade- after all, she was the one who collected silco's debts. you told her the who, what, and where. and while initially the two of you had butted heads often, things had changed for the better over the past two or so years.  since the first time you laid eyes on sevika, to be honest, lighting up a cigar in the back of the last drop, the light emphasizing the muscles along her arm in just the right way- she had stirred something deep inside you. looking up at you like she was ready to kill you as you introduced yourself, her gaze tracing up are down like she would chew you up at spit you out, reading you as a prissy little know-it-all all despite your polite manner. and she wasn't entirely wrong, with your parents having been well-off topsiders who managed to gamble it all away right around your 17th birthday. but despite that, you had been resilient, managing to sell your mind rather than your body and putting your skill for mathematics to use for various loan sharks and casino barons until silco came seeking your services around your 28th. and despite years of successful and faithful service to silco, and being practically as dedicated to him as sevika, she still seemed to see you as nothing but a spoiled topsider who would run back to the life if given the chance.

however, after about 7 years of working together, an unsuccessful high-value collection in the sump that you had tagged along for to ensure its completion was what finally brought you two closer. mainly because she had saved your ass from nearly getting stabbed by the person you were negotiating with before beating them into a bloody pulp and spitting on them, encouraging you to do the same (you did). 

you thanked her, which she had never heard come out of your mouth before, and expressed how you appreciated not only her muscle, but her expertise in reading situations that you seemed to lack, she had to finally admit to herself that she may have misjudged you. from then on, things worked more smoothly between the two of you, with her actually collecting debts and not just beating people senseless when she had a bad day as she used to (which ultimately made your job harder- people can't work to pay debts with broken legs). and you made sure to express your appreciation for her consideration. 

you even shared a couple of drinks after successful collections here and there at the last drop if the score was big enough, with her walking you home most times to ensure your safety. after all, even though you could hold your own(which she assured you constantly she knew), "can't take the risk of silco's best accountant getting mugged and stabbed on her way back from the job." she'd insist. and you didn't mind in the slightest the extra time spent with her. once or twice you had considered inviting her in as she stood at your door, wishing you a good night, waiting for you to be locked up and safe before going about her evening. but you had decided against it, after all, while you might've found her secretly attractive for years, she had only just started to tolerate you.

but all that begged the question; why was she here now? you were coworkers, and closer than most in the undercity, sure. but you had never been that close, despite the odd shared drinks and your more private desires. surely she could've gone elsewhere? "here, up on the bed." you order, pulling yourself out of your thoughts as you hook your arms under sevika's to help her up as she half-stands and scoots back from the floor to the bed. "i'm bleeding everywhere, your sheets-" she started, face twisting in pain as she settled. "they're old anyways." you insist, giving the wound one last look over, trying to asses the damage. you cheeks flush even more when you notice a happy trail crawling up her stomach from out of her pants, kissing her stomach and meeting her abs. you had to remind yourself yo be appropriate as you refocused on her wound. 

sevika's heart is already racing at a mile per minute as your hand leaves her stomach and her own, large, flesh one covers the oozing wound. it beats impossibly faster, however, when you reach between her legs under your bed and fish out your medical supplies, before you pull out the white plastic container, her cheeks flushed with pain. "I'll ask you again- what is going on?" you reiterate as you fish out a needle, thread, gauze and rubbing alcohol. 

"one of smeech's idiot grunts had a bad run gambling with me. thought he could get out of it by pulling a fast one with some of his buddies—" she scoffed, wincing with pain as you pressed an alcohol-soaked wad of gauze to the gaping stab wound, jumping up to grab something from your kitchen as sevika kept her eyes trained on you. "again, he's a fuckin' idiot. jus' made me want to collect more," she growled out, watching as you produced a bottle of some nasty-looking brown liquor, hastily making your way back over to her "i managed to beat three out of four's skulls in, but the last one got a good stab in on me before he ran off."

"shit.." you respond frankly, passing the liquor to her and taking over on the gauze, gently brushing her hand aside as you use the clean side you wipe away what blood is left at the wound. "well, once we're done let me know how much he made off with," you sigh at the thought of more paperwork "i'll add it to the docket."

"drink, by the way. this is going to hurt." you remarked, looking over the wound before holding the gauze in place, the needle cradled in between your front teeth as you use your spare hand to begin to thread it. sevika feels hot each time you touch her, unbearably so. and as she watches you use your mouth to hold the needle and your hand expertly threads it— fuck, she can feel her stomach pool up with something slick that she knows isn't blood. yeah, she needs to drink before she does something stupid, she decides, stuffing the bottle in her mouth and slugging back as much as she can before coughing. 

the liquor is definitely old, and definitely nasty. it takes everything in her not to break the bottle with the sheer force of her metal hand as she holds it in a death vice looking down at you. you hold the rag back in place and you gesture for her to take over, sevika obliges stiffly with her free hand. trying to control her racing mind.

you get up one last time as you tie the thread off at the end, still holding the needle in your mouth as you pop into your kitchen again, grabbing a few more candles and a lighter, bringing them back over to sevika's hunched-over form and lighting them as you do so. you set them down around you and grab a pillow from the bed beside her as you do so, setting it on the floor before her before kneeling on it. "you're seriously gonna have to stay still 'vika, lights have been out all night so I don't have the best visual with all this blood." you inform her, gently taking over with the rag as you brush her hand aside, her fingers radiating a deep heat.

she feels sick as you gently pat her down once more, her stomach twisting dangerously as she gazes down at you in front of her. it was a dirty sight she had dreamed of for god knows how long; there you were, in between her legs on your knees, the candlelight dripping off you and kissing every curve as her eyes wandered all over. and good lord, your hair, normally tied up, danced down your shoulders. the strap of your tank top hung off your shoulder comfortably, and the shorts you were wearing rode up your thighs just right— and sevika nearly spat out her last mouthful of liquor on you as you hit a sore spot, wincing away from your touch as you retreated from her carefully.

"sorry," you murmured out, gesturing for her to come back as you shifted nervously "next is the fun part though." she came back to you and looked down at her bottle as you readied yourself, taking note of it's lack of contents— jeez, had she really downed that much that quickly? "happen to have anything else before we start?" she questioned, setting it to the side and looking back down at you, doing her best to avoid eye contact. 

you thought momentarily before reaching under your bed once again, fishing around (much to sevika's embarrassment) before pulling out another bottle of clear liquor this time. she raised a brow as you passed it to her and you scoffed, "what?". 

"nothin, jus' never took you for the drinking type." sevika replied and she uncorked the, once again, half-drunk bottle, "i mean, half the time the guys gotta twist your arm to stay for drinks at the last drop."

you shrugged as you looked her wound over one last time, feeling only a little sick as you watched the blood ooze out. "helps with sleep." you commented with only a hint of embarrassment, readying yourself against her abdomen. even as you pressed against sevika, her solid form held true, and you felt your cheeks grow hot as it registered you were basically pressed against her crotch as well due to the angle. sevika felt warm too, all over, and she prayed to everything there was that you couldn't feel the pool of wetness growing in her pants as you shifted against her and your fingertips pressed against her sensitive skin, trying to get a better angle before the first stitch.

bringing yourself back as sevika sipped her liquor, you tried to swallow your nerves as you checked in one last time, looking up at her for assurance. as she nodded, you pressed in with the first stitch, fighting the urge to wince as you pressed onwards. sevkia gritted her teeth and fought the urge to jerk away and throw up. sure, she was a bit of a masochist, but the feeling of metal and thread moving through her skin would never be pleasant.

she let out a pained groan, stuffing the bottle in her mouth to keep quiet as you kept on. if she was trying to work you up it would be working, you thought. you feel dizzy this close to her. the best you had gotten up till now as her pulling you pack before you got punched in the face by a particularly upset client, or a hand hovering just off the small of your back as you went up stairs after one too many drinks at the last drop; a polite assurance to accompany your unsure steps. and you had been desperate for something more for a while, a long while. 

the sounds leaving her mouth and shifting against you made your stomach hot and heavy, deciding to talk to try and distract your wandering mind. "sorry if the stitching isn't the prettiest, 'm outta practice." you murmur, nearly halfway done already as you tried to limit the pain. it was a little sloppy, but it held tight, with minimal blood seeping through the sections you had finished with. 

" 's all good doll," she grunted out, looking down at your work before quickly looking away; the sight of you bent over her was something she was not ready for when her head was this heavy with liquor, "not much pretty down there to begin with." she finished off with a chuckle, deciding to pause on the liquor for a moment as it dipped low yet again. she closed her eyes, leaning her head back as she tried to focus on something other than the pain in her abdomen or the heat churning in her stomach. working your way along her wound as delicately as possible, you felt yourself sink deeper into the mood that seemed to have sparked between you two.

'doll'. you felt like a giddy teenager the way your chest fluttered as you shook your head and scoffed lightheartedly in disagreement. sevika cracked an eye open in response, her lips curling up in a slight smirk as she looked down at you. "oh? disagree?" she questioned, seeming almost amused as she shifted to lean back on her arms teasingly despite the pain, watching as you lurched forward to follow, practically laying in her lap now as you struggled to hold the needle up so as to not stab her.

your heart leaped with the jump in intimacy— here was sevika, who before was too disgusted to touch you for the first 7 years, and now seemingly too respectful (afraid?); and now, she was instead trying to coax you into her lap like one of her brothel whores. as far as you knew, despite your attraction, you had always been discreet and kept things professional. and sevika, more importantly, had never showed an ounce of interest beyond the general "i need to make sure you don't die and I don't completely hate you."

 for a moment, your mind ran circles around the sudden interest— was this serious? was it a test? if it wasn't, how long had she been interested, and how? were you nothing more than a lay, or—

as sevkia let out another small grunt of pain, you pulled yourself again from your momentary distraction, choosing to shift up in a rather cocky manner. moving up to straddle her as the brown-skinned woman nearly choked at the image of you on top of her, candlelight creating a halo behind your hair and kissing your lips.

the muscular woman struggled not to drool and to keep her free hand at her side, nearly tearing a hole in your sheets as she gripped them rightly (in what you assumed was a pain). as you neared the end of the once gaping wound, you glanced down at sevika, surprised to see her watching your hands with an intense, hungry gaze, her face flush and sweat dripping down her forehead as the sound of small rips and tears began to emanate from your sheets where she grabbed at them. you could see she was biting her lip, but not in a pained way, and christ, as you put in the final stitch you swore you could hear her moan. a sudden sense of power washed over you as it finally occurred to you just how into this she was, you had her hanging (literally) by a thread here, waiting in a surprisingly respectful manner for you to confirm her suspicions and let her make a move. you almost wondered if she would even care about closing up the wound at this point.

but regardless, as you tied off your stitching, you held the still attached needle in your free hand and reached for the bottle sevika still held, her gaze following you as you drank from it; not making a face as you leaned down to wear the threat connected with her skin and using your teeth with swiftly get rid of the excess, with her both shivering and wincing as your lips brushed against the freshly stitched and bruised flesh. as you sat back up you saw sevika beneath you, the closest to dumbfounded you had ever seen her as her grey eyes stared wide back at you.

"to answer your question," you began, drawing back to grab the discarded bloody rag from the bed beside and slightly behind you (and oh, sevika loved this angle where you twisted just the right way and pulled your shirt up your stomach, she could almost see right up it-), and returned to your position with it in hand, turning the bottle over in it and dousing it in what (little) was left of the alcohol. "yes, i disagree." you made sure to look her in the eye, looking the playful and slightly flirtatious tone as you tried to somehow convey your sincerity and longing through your eyes as her stormy ones held desperately onto yours, "you're pretty sevika. like, really pretty. you're beautiful. everywhere." you spoke softly, nearing a whisper towards the end as embarrassment washed over you. before you could gush any further, you stopped yourself by pressing the alcohol-soaked rag against sevika's stitches. she curled up and sucked in a pained breath, instinctively grabbing onto the rag as you moved your hand, holding it in place and you gently shifted off of the bed and her.

sevika's stomach churned once again in a confusing mix of warmth, endearment, horniness and disappointment as you moved off and away from her, turning her head to follow you as you went into your kitchen to produce yet another bottle of alcohol (she now put two and two together that you definitely drink more than she though, just not at work), this time some kind of white wine. she felt bubbly inside, and a different type of deeper warmth radiated from her gut, something she couldn't quite describe. sevika had been called a lot of things; handsome, hot, even a babe here and there; but no one had ever called her pretty. let alone beautiful. 

you opted to forgo the glass as you popped the cork, trying to look everywhere as you sipped except sevika's figure as she shifted to sit up. you reached out and slid an abandoned ashtray on your counter closer to you, pulling a forgotten sliverroot spliff from it and lighting it up with a nearby box of matches to try and ease your (now shot) nerves. huffing out a large cloud of smoke, you fought back a cough and any more remarks with the lip of the wine bottle in your mouth.

you felt a twist of disappointment in your stomach as it crossed your mind that this would probably just be another fuck for sevika, if she was interested in the bold advance you just made. after all, you knew all about her trips to the brothel- silco paid for them half the time, hell you had to budget them. and the two of you were close enough to have had talks here and there, on 'work trips' (if you could call them that), or late nights going over debt lists. each time it had made you a little nauseous hearing about the other women she had been with, but regardless, you indulged the conversation simply to indulge her and maybe spend a little more time in her presence.

you drew in another hit from your spliff, trying to clear your head as much as possible with it, only looking up at sevika as she got up, still holding the blood-soaked rag in place. you set down the wine bottle and turned to face her, dumping your spliff in the ashtray as you raised the other to scold her. "you need to sit down for at least a minute and let yourself rest, yo—" you barely managed to get a word out as she made her way across the room to you, quickly closing the small space as she reached out for you, pressing you against your fridge with her large frame as she grabbed onto your waist and leaned in, a gasp leaving your lips at the sudden movement. 

sevika stopped just short, looming over you, her forehead pressed against yours as she looked down at you, eyes holding intensely onto yours as the two of you panted respectively. your scolding hand was now pressed against her chest, though it made no attempt to hold her back, and after a long moment, her gaze flickered down to your lips and back— a silent but desperate plea for permission. and the moment you began to move in, she crashed against you, nearly knocking your head against the fridge behind you as her lips finally met yours in a messy and heated clash. she held onto you tightly as she pressed into you further, completely forgetting the rag as her metal arm came to your hip, the cool grip feeling nice against your hot skin as a small moan embarrassingly slipped your lips, her tongue slipping past to mingle with yours. she tasted like cigars, and the cheap liquor you had given her, and something else- maybe cinnamon? before you could figure it out, she pulled back for air, and the hand you held on her chest pushed back ever so slightly as you came to your senses.

she immediately drew away and gave you breathing room, face twisting in concern as she loosened her grip on you. "is everything okay?" she nearly gasped out as she tried to catch her breath, desprate to read your expression "did you not—". you quickly shake your head as you avert your gaze, "nono, i did— i do, i do. i've been wanting to do this." you sighed and looked down as your stomach turned and your head pounded "that's not the problem."

sevika took a small step back from you at the mention of a problem, however, she didn't let her hands fall from your hips quite yet, her stomach dropping in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. she wanted to ask what exactly the problem was, but instead found herself waiting for you to speak in silent concern as she could practically see your head spinning with what you wanted to say.

after a long moment, you let out a regret filled sigh, still unable to look her in the eye. "i can't do this if i'm not the only one sevika," you began, trying not to show how sick you felt talking about this. you were sure you must've been pale as a ghost with the way your stomach flipped. "and i know that not fair to ask of you; you're not that kind of person. but i don't think its worth ruining our personal and professional relationship over something that just... just isn't compatible long term." you hated to say it aloud, but the speech you had told yourself a million times left your lips as sevika struggled to process what you were saying.

"i promise its not that i don't want you, i- gods, 'vika, i want to so fuckin bad, i just can't sleep at night knowing i have to share you. it already wrecked me to try and keep track of financing your trips with silco. and i don't want to try and force you to change—" words spilled like bile out of your mouth as you felt your embarrassment and nerves bubble clearly to the surface, unwilling to look up at sevika, staring at the floor until she interrupted you by dropping to the floor on her knees in front of you, making it near impossible to look away.

you finally met her gaze, sure you had some stupid look on your face. but the one on her face was of sad desperation, her hands sliding down ever so slightly to your thighs as she kneeled like a sinner in front of you. "i haven't been to the brothel— i haven't been with anyone in months," she confessed, something serious and level in her tone as she started her ramble; "i can't even think about another woman. don't want to— can't if i wanted to. i don't know what the fuck you did, but whatever it is, it's working doll. 'cause all i can think of with them is you, y'know that? what you'd look like underneath me instead of them." the confession makes your face and core hot, and your heart palpitate more than it was before.

"when i wake up in the morning till i'm laying in bed alone at night, it's you. i can't fuckin focus, i rush to get to work in the morning just so i can see that pretty little face of yours," though the words are sweet, her tone is incensed, drunk on the thought of you and unable to stop talking, like a madwoman preaching her gospel. "and i go home early cause you never wanna stay late and have a drink with me, and i gotta make sure you get home safe, so i go home when you do. and when i go home? all i can think about is what you're doing, if you're thinking of me— if you're thinking of me the way i'm thinking of you. i need you so badly doll."

your heart is nearly pounding out of your chest at the sight of sevika on her knees in front of you as she finally pauses, her intense stare holding you in place as she watches you bite your bottom lip ever so gently. she hardly cares about how worked up it gets her because she wants— no, needs you to know that she cares right now about something more than that, that she cares about you, you, you. all that's been on her mind for the past year had been you. and here you were in front of her looking so ready and sweet and gentle and perfect. as you begin to look to the ground again, she murmurs your name softly. she pulls your gaze back to her; "i didn't come here cause silco was off with jinx, or cause i was 'outta thread, i came here 'cause i missed you, and i needed to see you, and i knew you'd take care of me," she stated, almost as if it were a matter of fact, separation still clear. "'cause you're a good person. not like me— so i understand if you don't trust a word of what i've said tonight. but i swear to you, i swear, that i care about you."

her ramble is only interrupted again by you reaching out for her, and sevika finds herself dumbfounded by how gentle you're still being with her, cupping her face with your hands and gazing down at her as if she were made of glass. and she absolutely lapped up the soft attention— no one in her life had ever handled her as gently as you were now. she fixed her stare on you like a puppy waiting for permission from it's owner, hanging off of your words as you spoke, "i believe you 'vika." your voice was a near whisper and your throat felt tight as you spoke, stomach dancing with unkillable nerves. 

"i know you, and i believe you," you continue carefully as she cautiously cupped one of your hands with her flesh one, yours seeming impossibly small in comparison, watching intensely as you bit your lip softly once again. "you don't need to beg." you remarked with a soft breathy laugh, finally managing eye contact and finding her grey gaze to be surprisingly warm for once. but just as quickly as the warmth came, it went, with a sudden shift to something dark and primal as her eyes trailed down your body once again, only stopping at the hem of your shorts.

she looked back up with that same, hungry gaze from before as her lips twisted into that cocky smirk you knew too well, the mechanical hand that gripped your thigh squeezing gently as she turned to kiss the hand that she held, still on her cheek. "let me prove it to you darlin," she murmured through your fingertips before pressing another kiss against them, glancing back down at your waistband as she spoke, "please. promise i'll be gentle."

your face felt hot with embarrassment and at the idea of the offer, but you knew immediately that you weren't going to say no even if you wanted to. how could you? with sevika kissing your hand and holding you so gently, looking up at you like she might eat you up if you tell her otherwise? you didn't know what to do with yourself, and the words felt caught in your throat as all you could manage to do was nod timidly, holding her eye contact as her grin wavered momentarily. " 'm gonna need words, doll." she clarifies, turning her head to face you fully once more as she sets her flesh hand on your thigh once again.

"yes, please 'vika." you spout out, nearly wincing at the over-eager tone leaving your lips. did you really sound like that? sevika's satisfied smile returned as her hands began to slowly creep up towards your waistband, her actions methodical and already teasing in manner. "such good manners darlin" she muttered lowly, pulling at your drawstrings as she leaned in closer, pressing careful, delicate kisses against your stomach as she undid the worn string. they were so light they almost tickled, and as soon as the drawstring was undone, her thumbs were hooked into your waistband, pulling down the old grey plaid pair of shorts as you shivered under her cool metal touch. she left them to pool at your ankles as she finally got to examine what lay underneath, leaning back ever so slightly to soak the sight in. it was nothing special to you, a comfortable grey thong with lace at the top, but to sevika, it was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. as she tentatively licked her lips, she reached up and began to rub you through the fabric using her flesh hand, moving slowly and gently as she glanced up at you through lidded gaze, gauging your response.

the feeling sent a shock through your system, eyes squeezing shut as you cock your head back and swallow a potential whimper. truth be told, you were dedicated to your work, which left little time for affairs like this. it had been too long since you had been touched like this, and as sevika rubbed circles into your clit through the cotton covering it, your whole body felt electric. "shit doll.." you heard sevika murmur out from beneath you, using her metal hand to spread your legs slightly as she studied the damp and darkening fabric between your legs, "you're really putting on a show for me aren't you?" as she slid the panties down your waist, you cracked your eyes open and nearly came at the sight of her— eyes close, sniffing them. you didn't think there could be a filthier sight than this, as she opened her eyes and smirked wickedly at you, tossing the pair haphazardly behind her as she gripped your hips and spun you around, pressing your front half against the cool metal of your fridge. 

you fought back a shiver as sevkia spread your legs once again, almost bent over against the fridge as you felt her hot breath against your cunt. you couldn't fight back your noises this time as she played with your entrance, gliding two flesh fingers against it as she sucked in a breath and chuckled. "no need to be quiet darlin', 's not like the rent'll go up over one noisy night..." she teased as you whimpered slightly, glancing between the mess that was your pussy, and your face, as you tried to look back at her.

"unless there's been more than one noisy night," she began, her expression darkening as she pressed into your cunt, starting with one thick finger as you cried out uncontrollably "and you brought some other bitch back here, hmm?" you knew it wasn't an interrogation, but as her fingers began to pump in and out of your pussy you couldn't help but rebuke her claims, her voice whiney and hot. "no— no! just you 'vika!" you whimpered out, struggling to get through the sentence as she set a steady and unrelenting pace, holding your weak gaze as you looked over your shoulder at her "only you." 

she raised a questioning brow at you, but deep down, she knew you were telling the truth. she had barely touched you, but as she worked steadily on you, adding another finger cautiously as you cried out. there was already that fucked-out look on your face. still, she felt the need to tease. "really, doll? only me?" she mocked, repeating your words back to you in the same tone as she worked her way deeper into your cunt, setting her metal hand on your hip and pressing you into the cool metal in front of you even more so. "yes 'vika, only you— fuck, i haven't had time for this shit in this months," you gasped out, the confession spilling desperately out of your mouth as you began to lose all composure, embarrassment sinking in "even when i did, i only thought about you sevkia." you whimpered her name out sweetly at the end, like a prayer "i'm all yours."

that sent her over the edge;  sevkia's face and cunt grew hot as she nearly ripped her fingers out of you, loosing any sense of gentleness when she did so. you swore at the loss as she wrapped her mechanical arm around your waist and swept your legs up with her warm one, man-handling you towards the bed before you had much time to process what was happening.

she laid you the bed more carefully than you expected, making sure to set your head back on one of your pillows as she put you down. you finally had a good look at her now, and the image made you hotter than you already were; the image of her towering over you on just her knees was enough to make you drool as she looked down at you like a predator does its prey. but as she made her way down towards your sopping cunt, you quickly realized she had a trail of drool of her own dripping down her chin as she eyed you like prey beneath her. her grey eyes could pierce a hole through your skull right now, you were sure; and if you didn't know better, you'd almost be afraid.

sevika was quick to dip down and lap up the juices left behind from her previous efforts, lavishing in the sweet taste and sweet noises you made. sevika's finger presses against your entrance teasingly as she starts to play around with your clit, and it doesn't take much longer before she slides two fingers in you; her middle and ring, and scissors them in you so you adjust to the size of them properly again. you groan, muffling yourself into the back of your hand. it's not long before she's restlessly fucking her fingers into you while you needily hump into the palm of her scarred hand as she works carefully at your clit with her mouth. it's only a couple of moments before she realizes you're trying to quiet yourself down, and she is quick to adjust. she pulls her mouth away from you and lets out something akin to a snarl as she pins the hand you're using to cover your mouth, being careful not to crush you under her mechanical grip. "what did i say earlier, sweetheart? i wanna hear you." she demanded, moving her face in close to yours as she continued working on your pussy, relishing in how quickly the moans spilled freely from your lips.

it doesn't take long before you're getting closer; pussy tensing, your heart beating impossibly fast. "needed this 'vika," you breathlessly whine as you rut into her hand, eyes squeezing shut as she works you further. at this point you had begun to babble, meaningly words falling out of your lips, forming a symphony of her name, "fuck"s and "don't stop"s in between the ramble. as you reach your end, you felt sevika's cool metal fingers squeeze your cheeks and turned your head back to face her. "look at me darlin," you expected her tone to be rough like before, but it was uncharacteristically soft, almost sentimental "wanna see every little look on your pretty little face, 'hmm?"

you forced your eyes open and met sevika's once again, grey but warmer than ever before, staring at you softly, sweat dripping down her sharp and scarred face. "good job sweetheart" she cooed, "you're doing so good..." she brought her thumb up to flick your now neglected clit, and with that, you fall apart, nearly crying as your head churns from the heat, liquor and smoke. "oh— please don't stop, don't, don't sev please." you begged, any composure long gone as you ground out the last of your orgasm on your hand; and sevika happily granted your request, more than content to watch you fall to pieces on her fingers.

once your moans became pitchy and your hips began to stutter, she knew you were done, slowing down to a stop and gently letting go of your face, pressing soft kisses to your face and neck as she slipped out of you. you whimpered at the loss, chest heaving as you struggled to catch your breath, nearly gasping at points. after a moment of peppering you, sevika pulls off from you, and all you can do is whine, finding moving to be too taxing at the moment. "don't worry doll, 'm not going anywhere." sevika coos from the end of the bed, pulling her shirt off over her head as she begins to strip.

it's not long before she is back over you again, and her hands are under your shirt, a confusing mix of cold and hot on either side as she pulls off the last piece of clothing hiding you from her. you relished in the skin-to-skin as she did so. tossing it to the side, she leaned back to sit on her heels, and you could tell by the almost dumb look on her face that she was too busy admiring the view to see you were doing the same— and how could you not? she had chiselled abs and a happy trail that you would definitely be following later, both of which you knew of before. but to your pleasant surprise, as your eyes drifted to her chest, two pierced nipples shone back at you, and you had to fight the urge to suck on them this instant. you couldn't help the words falling out of your mouth, "you're perfect 'vika, y'know that?"

your tone was soft, and you looked her in the eyes as you said it, smiling softly at the conflicted expression on her face. you could already tell she had no idea what to do with the compliment, and you found it slightly amusing that with one sentence you could somewhat fluster the normally stoic woman. "i don't know about that, hon. you, on the other hand?" she began, leaning down to kiss a line from your neck down your chest and stomach as she spoke, "you're flawless."

as she reached just above your clit, she stopped and looked back up at you with a devious grin. "i hope you had 'nough time to catch your breath, though. cause i'm sure as shit not done with you yet."

—

you don't know how long it's been, all you know is you're approaching what you think is your third orgasm of the night as sevika grinds her cunt into yours. she's intent on cumming now, practically using you for her own pleasure—and you're a complete mess of babbling whines and moans as a result. "plea—se—" you're begging for nothing as you lie in a pool of your cum beneath the two of you, and you can't get enough of her or her abs flexing with every desperate hump. you wanna lick up the cum that's clinging to her happy trail, and the nasty thought makes you shiver.

"you," she murmurs hoarsely, "feel— perfect darlin. you're so perfect." she can't stop repeating your praise from earlier as she fucks herself closer to the edge "feel so fuckin good". but you're well over that, gripping your already torn sheets that have slid completely off the mattress. you forgot how to breathe; your mind is already fuzzy from the alcohol and smoke from earlier, even if it's fading, and even fuzzier with sevika still grinding into you.

your inchoerient begging is breathless and whiney, and you're almost sure you must've died and gone to the great beyond because this was too good to be real. you sob out from overstimulation, unable to hold back tears as they began to trickle down your face, "sevika please—!"

sevika lets out a desperate moan of her own, followed by several more curses as she finally lets go of her own orgasm, grinding out desperately into you as she gasped for air and rode it out. eventually, she lazily collapsed to your side, still struggling to catch her breath as she called your name and turned to face you. you do the same, and shes quick to reach out and pull you close to her, wrapping her arms around you as she buries her face into the top of your hair. you tangle your legs with hers as you let out a content sigh, tucking your head into her chest as you hooked your arms underneath hers.

it was warm and intimate as the two of you winded down silently, enjoying each other's breathing and skin as you could hear a quiet rain begin to patter outside. you weren't sure how long the two of you were laid like that, but eventually, you shifted back to half-sit up on your arm, still somewhat looking up at sevika as you spoke due to her large frame. "so..." you began softly, a small chuckle on your lips as you struggled to find the words. "so?" she mirrored, raising a brow in a slight, tired amusement. you sighed, and started again, tone slightly more serious this time, "look, i'm not asking for, or expecting, any kind of serious commitment, 'vika. i just wanna know where we stand after—"

you pause when sevika calls your name softly and shifts to sit up slightly, even though it doesn't exactly level the two of you. "if you want me—" she pauses too, as if the words feel foreign or if she is not quite sure what to say herself, "if you want me i'm yours. i've been yours for a while." you can tell the confession comes hard to her, it doesn't take a fool to look at sevika and tell she doesn't exactly do feelings.

regardless, you smile lightly, reaching forward as you lean in for a timid kiss, more shy and intimate than the ones before, one that you let linger for some time before pulling back slightly. "i'm yours sevika. wasn't just saying that so you wouldn't stop." you finish your sentence with a small laugh.

you can see a little tension leave her shoulders as you speak, and a smile graces her lips as she steals another quick kiss from you, desperate to be close. you finally allow yourself to rest, falling back into her arms as she pulled you back in and tugged what was left of the covers back over your naked bodies. you feel her let out one last sigh as she settles in next to you, and it's only then that exhaustion hits you as sevika caresses circles into your arm.

it's not long after that before the two of you succumb and fall into sleep to the sound of rain pattering against the window above your head, nothing to worry about until tomorrow morning, when you'd eventually have to go back to the pile of forgotten paperwork sitting on your table.

[sabertoothwalrus]

heyy i adore your art! do you have any advce for a small artist trying to get out there?

I guess it depends what you mean by “get out there”!

I’d say number one is to ignore the numbers. Unless you’re intentionally trying to sell yourself to some app’s algorithm, obsessing over the numbers will not help you.

The thing is, it is ok to care about other feedback you get on your art. I often hear social media treated like a dichotomy, to either “ignore it completely and draw for yourself” or to “strive to be a famous viral artist”. And I’m saying it’s not that simple.

It all boils down to why you’re making art. For some people, art is a much more personal expression, and it’s not meant to be seen by others. It’s more about the process and the catharsis than the outcome. This kind of art doesn’t need to be shared with other people.

For others, it’s a living. These people don’t mind that their art becomes “marketable”, if it becomes generic with a mass-appeal. This kind of art isn’t here to send a message, it’s here to look pretty. And that’s ok.

For me, art is communication. I’m telling stories. This is why I’m most drawn to comics and animation. I don’t pay attention to numbers, but I pay a lot of attention to comments because they help me gauge how successful I was at communicating an idea, an action, a joke, etc. It’s still important you develop thick skin. You have to detach yourself emotionally from them, and use them as a tool to help you learn.

This is why clarity is one of my biggest priorities in art. Clarity has less to do with skill and more to with “can you understand what this is you’re looking at”. There are some artists out there who are very good at what they do, but they still struggle with clarity. And the inverse is true; even beginner artists can have clear, easy to follow art.

Some things I actively try to do in my art to improve clarity:

Is the pose clear? Is the figure overlapping themself too much, or is the action still readable from the silhouette?

If there’s text, is it clear? Is the direction of speech bubbles confusing? Is my handwriting/font easy to read?

Would a background or prop help clarify the setting better? (What’s the least amount of effort I can put into this that will give the necessary information?)

Are my lines too loose? Sometimes it’s fine, but if they’re too unconnected, the form gets lost. Should I close my lines better, or maybe add a tone to separate the positive and negative space?

Does the “punchline” make sense? What AM I saying? What could communicate it stronger?

If your art is clear, people will find it and share it! Just keep telling the stories you wanna tell, make the art YOU want to see, and your audience will build around you!

[theanxietyistalkingagain]

I think this is very important to say. It's easy to look at yourself and think "god no, I have standards!" because it's funny and you're not going to offend anyone. I think for most people, this would be different if they took some perspective.

I've been thinking about so many hypotheticals with clones lately so just bear with me on this.

If there was another you, they would not be you anymore unless you had a sort of hive mind. They would have your same memories and share all your physical attributes but they would not be you as soon as they existed in a separate space from you. Your clone would proceed to have its own thoughts and feelings the moment they blinked into existence.

If you were someone else, would you not recognize their beauty and their strength for what it is? You know exactly how hard it is for them to be who they are now. The kind of life they've lived, the struggles they've faced, and the type of person it took to come out the other side.

Would you not find them attractive?

I want you to look in the mirror to see that stranger. You just opened the window and saw that person through the glass for the first time.

Aren't they beautiful?

[andhumanslovedstories]

you think often of how nurses should speak and relate to patients, and i highly appreciate knowing you put this kind of thought in and share it with other nurses. but as someone who often occupies the patient position, i'm curious if you have any thoughts on ways for patients to interact with nurses, when we are in decent enough control of our faculties to make choices about that. i would like this knowledge from both an altruistic perspective in recognizing nursing is difficult and not wanting to voluntarily make it difficulter, and a wholly self interested position of knowing nurses who like interacting with me give better care. what helps as a professional and as a person?

I'm surprised how much I had to think about this question. What do I want patients to do? I don't know. A lot of it is basic human decency, some of it is specific to my nursing workflow, but overall I find it complicated saying what patients "should" do. I cut out about 500 words of navel gazing from this post explaining why. Here are answers I've come up, in no order and not of equal importance.

--a lot of it is basic "polite interaction with another person in a professional setting." If you're asking this question, you probably care about treating people well in general. If you wouldn't say it to a barista, would you say it to your nursing tech?

--don't do joke answers to basic orientation questions like "what's your name" and "where are you right now", because it's annoying to have to clarify if you're actually confused or if you're fucking with me. I know they're annoying. Just answer correctly so we can move on.

--have some flexibility and patience. Hospitals have a lot of moving parts, and each person interacting with you has other patients that also need care. My hospital and state has mandated nursing ratios. The maximum amount of patients I've had in one assignment is five. Other hospitals have far less protection, and nurses may have six, eight, twelve other patients. Our respiratory therapists each cover multiple units. One CNA might cover the entire floor. I know if melatonin is the difference between you sleeping or not sleeping, it is very frustrating for someone to bring it late. I just ask you keep in mind that there's dozens of reasons that might happen besides someone ignoring you.

--help us help you. If you can lift your arm up for me to put a blood pressure cuff on, why are you holding your arm completely limp so it's like putting pants on a toddler than doesn't want to get dressed? If you can help roll yourself in bed, help us roll you. If your IV is beeping, hit the call light so someone can come turn it off. If you don't have urgency issues and you can tell you're going to need to go to the bathroom soon, call before it's an emergency. If your IV hurts when I give you medication at 8 pm, tell me then, not when I'm trying to give you your midnight antibiotic and all the evening staff have already gone home.

--if you don't understand how something works in the hospital (what happens when you hit the call light, how often are people going to take your vital signs, why can't I get up and walk around the room), just ask. It's really easy for people who work in a hospital every day to forget other people aren't familiar with it.

--don't treat doctors noticeably better than you treat everyone else.

--pet peeve number one: if I give you pills in a med cup, you can just use the med cup to get the pills to your mouth. You don't need to pour the pills into the palm of your hand and then pop them into your mouth. You're gonna drop the pills, and I'm gonna end up on the floor looking for a tiny tablet of dilaudid.

--bundle requests, especially low-importance ones. If you ask for crackers and you know crackers make you thirsty, just request your drink at the same time. Don't make me walk to your room, the nutrition room, and your room again ten minutes later.

--I don't expect people in the hospital to be pleasant all the time, and I don't take snappiness personally, but I always really appreciate the patients who apologize or even just acknowledge their behavior.

--I love patients who acknowledge my work. I don't need effusive praise or a thousand thank yous. It means a lot for someone to just be like "hey, thanks for your help tonight."

--have patience with repeating yourself. If you've got something important and complicated to convey, practice a quick understandable blurb that takes no brain power from you. There may be something that you've told the staff a dozen times, and it may be documented in your chart, but in the hospital you see many people who have never worked with you before and for whatever reason didn't read that info in your chart. For example, I'm a float pool nurse which means I almost never see the same patients twice. I can get sent to a different unit and a different patient load at literally any time. I can't familiarize myself with complicated documentation or read every nursing note. Especially not for patients I know I will only have for four hours. I know repeating yourself is annoying, I know it sucks to have to explain your bathroom routine or your preferred pain med or when you like to get pills or whatever every shift. And it's great when people make that information very easy to find! But if you just accept the reality you'll be repeating yourself a lot anyway, it makes doing so less frustrating.

--pet peeve number two: don't exaggerate to make a point. This is such a human thing to do, and god knows I catch myself doing it all the time, but you can raise objections in a way that's factually true. I've got a lot of concrete data that people are very often wrong when they say they're been "waiting for hours" after hitting a call light. The computer has a time stamp of the last time I was in your room. I know it was 45 minutes ago. There's a timer by the call light. I know you called twenty minutes ago. And I know it feels much longer when you are waiting for basic cares or pain control or anything pressing. Things can be unacceptable without needing to be exaggerated. When the exaggeration is the base of your complaint, it undercuts your credibility. Honestly I find it really irritating when I spend a disproportionate amount of my shift with one patient only for that patient to tell another staff member that I've been neglecting them. Just say I did a bad job, don't pretend I wasn't there at all.

--don't ask me to pull my mask down so you can see my face. like cmon dude.

--I'm not saying you have to send all your visitors out of the room when I'm there, I'm just saying have some sympathy for how nerve-wracking it can be to do your job while being intensely watched by five other deeply invested people with limited context for your actions.

--this is a nebulous and difficult one. You might have a lot of emotion that you don't know what to do with. What you shouldn't do with it is channel it into every interaction you have with a healthcare worker. If you feel guilty about how you haven't visited your mother in a while and now she's in the hospital, you gotta find ways to deal that don't involve getting extremely passive aggressive at your mother's night nurse.

[juudesgirl]

soulmates - jude bellingham

“a soulmate is someone who challenges you to do better, someone who can’t stand seeing you sad, someone who stays faithful, loyal and committed to you, someone who helps take care of you when you’re sick, someone who stands by your side through the good days and the bad days and someone who wants to grow old and grey with you”

if jude could picture the perfect person, it would be you. from the moment he had laid eyes on you, he knew you were something special.

you had met him through one of your friends, it had been your friends’ birthday and they had thrown a party to celebrate. after 5 minutes of arriving, you had bumped into jude navigating your way through the swarm of people at the party. as soon as your eyes locked, jude had been captivated by your beauty.

the way your doe eyes lit up, the blush formed on your cheeks by the heat of the room and the bright smile on your face as you looked at him, made his stomach do somersaults. he hadn’t seen anyone as beautiful as you, he knew he had to speak to you. throughout the night, you both were stuck by each others’ side all night - laughing at eachothers’ silly jokes, laughing at the semi-drunk people around you, it couldn’t of been a more perfect night.

you had exchanged numbers before leaving the party, as soon as you left, jude had messaged you straight away asking if you had enjoyed the party and if you had gotten home safely. from then, you kept contact with eachother regularly.

-

to say jude was obsessed with you, was definitely an understatement. whether it was at training or speaking to his family or one of his friends, he’d always mention you in his conversations - he couldn’t help it, he was reminded of you wherever or whatever he was doing, it was like you were stuck in his mind. jude wanted to be around you whether it calling you, texting you or seeing you, he just loved the feeling of you being in his life. jude loved spending time with you, even if it was just the both of you sitting down doing absolutely nothing, he enjoyed it. you were one of the few people who he felt safe and happy with, you were his person and he adored the hell out of you.

jude was one of those people that no matter what, always made you feel special. he’d always surprise you with getting your favourite flowers delivered to your house if he wasn’t around to show and let you know that no matter where he was, he was thinking of you and that he was missing you, he always wanted to show you the affection that you deserved. even after a tough training session, he’d stop by to see you. you loved being around jude, and he loved being around you, you both were like a breath of fresh air to eachother no matter how long you’d been seeing eachother.

as time went on, jude had started to fall for you more and more each day, he couldn’t help but not too. jude had mentioned you to his family, always praising you and telling them how much you meant to him, and how excited he was for them to meet you. family is an important factor in jude’s life, so to have you all together, would be so important to him. his family especially his little brother jobe, were happy for jude to have finally found someone, especially someone who’s been able to bring the spark back into his life - they were excited to meet you.

“you know there’s no one else I’d rather be with other than you? you really do make every day worth living and i enjoy spending any bit of time I have with you” jude said to while standing outside of your house, dropping you off after another successful date.

“i love spending time with you too jude. i haven’t met someone like you who makes me laugh so much or makes me feel so comfortable before” you gushed, while brushing your hand on his cheek, while his hands found your waist and pulled you close.

“i feel the same y/n, you’ve made me the happiest i’ve felt in a very long time. there’s never not a time where i’m not thinking when i’ll see you again or thinking about you. i just want to be with you all the time, i just want you around all the time. so i was wondering if you wanna be my girlfriend?” jude said nervously. you could tell he was nervous, the grip he had on your waist had loosened and he begun to chew bottom lip as he waited for your answer. “i understand i-if you say n-no it is too soon and i-” he started once again before you interrupted him with a beaming smile.

“aw jude, of course i want to be your girlfriend. you don’t know how long i’ve been waiting for you to ask me” you said giggling while putting your arms around his neck softly.

jude laughed softly before he pulled you into a soft hug. his head instantly fell the crook of your neck and he began to place soft and delicate kisses on your neck as you hugged. liking the softness of his kisses along your neck, you decided to tilt your head back and to enjoy the feeling more. he placed a few more on your neck, before pulling away and leaning his head onto yours which made stand up onto your tiptoes before kissing him softly. you both sighed happily into the kiss, very thankful for this sweet moment and how excited you were to be jude’s girlfriend.

as you and jude kissed, he begun to think about how his life has changed dramatically so quickly. he always knew you were special, and sometimes he joked but seriously thought you was his guardian angel. once upon a time, he was in the most dark and fragile time of his life. he didn’t think that he’d be able to come back after the hard times at all. then you came along into his life unexpectedly, protected and guided him throughout the journey and helped him to feel like him again.

jude couldn’t help but fall in love with you, as everything shattered, you came along and picked all the pieces up and fixed it. jude was finally as happy as he could be; all because of you, because you saved him and knew from the moment he met you, you were soulmates and you’d find eachother in every lifetime no matter where you guys were.

[mimiiiiiiiiisstuff]

Girl I have so many questions about your story it’s actually ridiculous!

(I don’t want to overwhelm you though so imma hold back)

is reader becoming a snake person a reference to snakes preying on bats and birds?( and will the snake being joker’s be important?)

Is Tiffany going to have to put effort into pretending she’s the ✨perfect sister✨ now that reader obviously isn’t going to do jack for them anymore? (Because ungrateful families don’t deserve muffins 😒)

Is reader going to be a hero or villain, or maybe something in between?

will we be able to get an idea of why the batfam treats reader like they’re some sort of pest?( you’d think they’d be more careful since reader could easily expose their identities if they thought about it 😒😒)

and finally.

Tim had a very…different…reaction to reader ‘framing’ Tiffany- is that important?

-🚚

yay ok this is my first like real ask! Yall have been making me so so happy with all the love! It really encourages me! And don't worry about overwhelming me! I can take it :) i'm answering this and then signing off to go to bed because I have the worst flu ever.

Ok so yes! Reader becoming a snake-meta-person does have to do with snakes preying on birds, honestly that was a little easter egg for funsies. Im glad you caught it! reader's gonna eat those hoes up !!!!!!! ( and they'll lock her up right after)

Tiffany will for sure try to imitate reader at first but that will eventually lead to her downfall! she can only keep it up for 6 months and then she'll be discovered. she can't imitate the genuine love and care reader puts into these things so they'll always be off no matter how much she tries. the batfam will end up realizing what they lost and do whatever it takes to get it back.

And yes, the snake being the Joker's will be important bc he's the joker and is so fucking insane that even his snake has to be special! all powers have consequences and these will be heavy. it will put reader through it, but will really shape them as a person.

Im leaning more toward reader being a hero??? but with the snake being literally radioactive it might be a kinda venom dynamic. im still not too sure tbh. with all the angst and neglect and the troubles of being a teen, she might be a bit of an anti-hero! she might pull a jason (ironic, i know) and go around killing all the villians!

the thing about the batfam, is that they don't even realize what they're doing to the reader. they literally see her as irrelevant so they don't notice their neglect or how much it affects reader. she's not even on their minds enough to be perceived as a threat. the only ones purposefully being mean are Damian and Jason, Damian because he sees reader as less than/ a threat and Jason because he is trying to push the reader out his life and not 'taint' her innocence.

Tim's reaction is different because he's suspicious. he thinks he would've noticed if reader was capable of doing something so sneaky and underhanded. he's the only one who is suspicious because he simply doesn't think she's smart enough to do this. he's gonna be the first to see Tiff's true colors.

Goodnight yall!!! i'll be back tmrw morning! keep sending more asks! I take requests so if you have any ideas you want me to write just send them in! I'll yandere platonic or romanitc. SEND THEM IN!!!!!!!!

[sapphiresaphics]

You can tell that I’m starting to piss people off because so many of these “anti” people have blocked me for calling out their dumbass bullshit.

That’s not gonna stop me though! Screenshots for the win, bitch!

Anyway, as per usual this is a dumb post by a dumb person. Vi is NOT “clearly having a panic attack.” She was sad, yes, and very emotional. But having emotions isn’t having a panic attack. Panic attacks look a very specific way and this does not track.

And yes, there absolutely IS something romantic about this. At her lowest point thinking that she just lost both Jinx AND Caitlyn, Caitlyn comes in and informs her that she let Vi make this decision to save her sister. Caitlyn, the woman who’s been hunting her sister for 2 seasons, whose mother was blown up by her, who sacrificed so much to capture her sister… waltzed into the room and let her know that she forgives Caitlyn for wanting to save her sister and that she’s letting her anger go because VI’s love is more important to her than her hatred of Jinx.

At her lowest point thinking she lost Caitlyn, Caitlyn came in and let her know she’s worth the love. That she’s not a bad person for making the decision to free Jinx. That her love for her sister IS still important and a worthy quality to have.

That’s HELLA romantic. What the fuck are you talking about?

And yeah… it IS impulsive. And it IS selfish. Two things can be true at once.

[girl-lostconnection]

A little additional thought to this while I write the main course

Important: Reader in this specific AU written as female and is plus size. The also (again) are not small. Shorter than Simon (show me who’s not) but definitely not smaller — with broad shoulders and strong limbs and similar stoic personality. So if you are for any reason uncomfortable with it — don’t read. That’s how the Reader will be described in this specific AU, it won’t change.

Soap who meets Reader for the first time and stumbles because she’s wearing Simon’s sweater (which shouldn’t look this good on her, Simon is big, why does it look good on this bird?) and Simon just presses a kiss to the crown of her head like it’s the most usual thing in the world.

And then she looks up at him and just…stares. Expression unreadable but she just tilts her head to the side, eyes sizing him up.

She’s not hostile to him but not friendly either, just offers to pour him some tea — eyes heavy with something he can’t quite make out. And then she stands up, stretching her hands above her head and Soap’s mind blanks out a little.

God, are you listening? He’s got a prayer.

Soap isn’t sure what to do and how to operate because she watches him like…well, like he’s a dog Simon brought home — eyes assessing him, as if she’s trying to calculate whether or not he will need flee spray, bath and a meal.

Reader mentions to Simon that the bed needs fixing since some springs uncurled and they will probably need a new bed frame. It snaps Soap back a little because…what does she mean by that?

He tries to catch his (they never discussed it but can he consider Simon his after he spent Christmas with Johnny’s family?) lieutenant’s eyes to inquire but Simon is completely relaxed and either oblivious or deliberately dropping some very heavy hints.

Because Simon nods and asks when this pretty bird is available to go look for bed frames and whether or not she thinks they should get a bigger one.

Soap’s eyes roam the small apartment counting the number of the rooms before they snap back to Ghost with silent “did you forget to mention something?”.

Because there’s only one bedroom.

And unless these two have a bloody bunk beds at their grown age, they are sleeping in the same bed.

Johnny’s eyes widen when he looks at Reader in Simon’s sweater again, which is just a little wider in shoulders for her, fabric spread taut over her bosom.

(Proceeds to spend the next half an hour thinking whether or not he’s the other woman and a home wrecker)

[multi-fandom-imagine]

꧂ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓵𝓵 || With Fred & George Weasley ||

• Fred Weasley•

Fred Weasley leaned casually against the stone wall in the corridor, waiting for you to finish speaking with your friends. His twin, George, had teased him mercilessly about his sudden interest in making a grand gesture, but Fred had waved him off with a grin. This was his moment, and he was going to make it memorable.

As you turned and spotted him, Fred straightened, a mischievous sparkle lighting up his brown eyes. “Ah, just the person I was looking for!” he said, stepping forward with his signature grin.

You raised an eyebrow, used to his antics but curious nonetheless. “What are you up to, Weasley?” Your head tilting to the side as a smile tugged that the corner of your lips.

“Me? Up to something? Never,” he said, feigning innocence, though the corner of his mouth twitched. “Actually, I came to ask you something important. Very serious business.”

"Is that so?"

Fred pulled a small, glittering box out of his pocket and held it up dramatically. “I’ve been pondering this for ages—well, alright, a few days, but who’s counting?” He winked as he flicked the lid open to reveal a miniature dancing figure of the two of you, twirling to music only it could hear.

Your eyes widened, a laugh escaping before you could help it. “What is this?” It was cute, something you weren't expecting from the prankster and you were honesty curious on how he even made something like this.

“This,” Fred said with a flourish, “is me asking if you’d like to go to the Yule Ball with me. Because, you know, I could ask anyone, but you’re the only one who actually makes me nervous enough to think I need to bribe you with tiny enchanted figurines.”

Biting your lip, you couldn’t help but smile as you looked up at him, his usual bravado softened by a flicker of hope in his eyes. “And if I say yes, do I get to keep this?” You asked stepping closer to the tall redhead.

Fred smirked. “Say yes, and I’ll throw in free dances all night. But if you’re not impressed, I’ll just have to figure out a bigger way to win you over.”

Holding back your laughter you pretending to think it over. “Well, I suppose I could do worse than free dances and enchanted figurines. Alright, Weasley, you’ve got yourself a date.”

His grin widened as he slipped the box into your hand. “Brilliant! I promise, you won’t regret it. Unless, of course, I step on your toes. But in that case, I’ll make it up to you with snacks—courtesy of the kitchens....and I do know the best way to get into the kitchens”

Fred offered you an exaggerated bow before walking backward down the corridor, still grinning. “See you at the Ball, partner!”

As he turned the corner, you couldn’t help but shake your head, laughing to yourself. Leave it to Fred Weasley to make something as simple as an invitation into a moment you’d never forget.

•George Weasley•

George Weasley had never been one to back down from a challenge, but this was different. As he leaned casually against the cool stone wall of the dungeon corridor, his usual confidence faltered. His eyes darted toward the approaching figure—a Slytherin girl who had caught his attention far more than he cared to admit.

“Alright, Weasley, you’ve got this,” he muttered under his breath, though his palms felt clammy, betraying his nerves.

As you approached, your head tipped to the side,your sharp green and silver tie standing out against your robes, George straightened up. You were used to the Weasley twins’ antics, but George’s nervous energy was unmistakable today. He ran a hand through his unruly hair, his usual grin not quite reaching his eyes.

“Hey! Fancy running into you here,” he began, his voice slightly higher-pitched than usual. “Though I suppose it’s not that surprising, what with this being…you know, the Slytherin common room corridor and all.”

You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms. “You’re not lost, are you, Weasley?”

“Me? Lost? Nah.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Well, maybe a little. Not geographically, of course. Just, uh, trying to find the courage for something.”

Your curiosity piqued, your lips twitching into a smile watching him. “Go on.”

George cleared his throat and finally looked you in the eyes, his freckled cheeks faintly pink. “So, the Yule Ball is coming up. Big fancy event, lots of music, dancing, snogging under enchanted mistletoe—” He stopped himself, realizing he was rambling. “Anyway, I thought… well, I was wondering if you’d want to go with me?”

Your lips then curved into a smirk, enjoying his rare moment of vulnerability, it was cute, seeing someone who's usually so confidant become a stuttering mess. “You, a Gryffindor, want to take a Slytherin to the Yule Ball? What would your brother say?”

“Oh, Fred would love it. He’s already got bets going about whether I’d manage to ask you,” George admitted with a sheepish grin, the tension easing slightly.

You considered him for a moment, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make him sweat. Then, finally, you smiled—genuinely this time. “Alright, Weasley. I’ll go with you. But don’t expect me to let you off easy if you step on my toes while dancing.”

His face lit up, his grin wide and relieved. “Deal. Just be prepared for the best dance of your life.” He gave you a wink though his body stiffened when you placed your lips against his cheek.

"See you around Weasley." Giving him your own wink you waved him off as you walked away and as you turned toward the entrance to the Slytherin House, George let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He might have been nervous, but at least now he had something to look forward to—showing the whole school just how well a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could dance together.

[mfelewzi]

You know, I'm not a supporter of polyamorous relationships, for some personal view, but how I always said: your story, your rules. And we can see different form of relationships in this story, and if the author doesn't exagerate, a lot of things can work.

And a more important thing: in a society inspired by Asian, Austronesian and Native American Cultures, It's possible that polyamorous relationships and other not Classical European form of relationships would exist. And even with more influenced by middle eastern cultures It would happen, from the stereotypical polygamy and harem to the temporary marriage typical of muslim shi'ite Iran, or some reversed form of poligamy as in Tibet and the Turks countries. So, It makes sense, whatever could be my tastes.

Ah, just to Say: a friend of mine, a writer, wanted to do an AtlA fanfiction when Zuko is more similar to a chinese and khmer emperor, and in his Plan Mai and Jin would be his concubines, cause they could never become more than that for the reason that Zuko was bethroted to Azula from their birth (It was his idea for his fanfiction). Ah, he is a Buddhist and bi guy, with a Incredible passion for big tits (ok, maybe It could sound a bit strange, but he has an artistic view about it), and he studies Ancient Greek and Indian stories. Ah, he supported an Azula's Redemption Arc too, and the possibility of a Fourth Book (from what I remember, he accepted an Azula as a sellsword/mercenary with many lovers).

And especially about the development of Sokka as a character, as a fan of Yuekka he thought that he needed to become more mature.

So, your ideas are familiar to me.

Anyway, I have my ideas, but I Will never stop your plans, especially if my views would stop you.

And anyway, I'm Just me, not everybody in this world (man, a Place full of a 29 Years old bald italian guys with a black beard: It sounds very boring to me).

Good Luck and Good Life!

And thank for the Song. Man, I'm Happy to discover new songs, cause I was a fanatic of Epic, Power and Doom Metal in my days as a teenager.

Reblog if you're in the 'My ship isn't canon but we got dope fanfiction' club

[akajustmerry]

Do you have any personal advice on writing good romance? People have vast tastes on the matter but I wonder what your personal takes are

hello!

honestly, I've been studying writing romance for a while because i want to maybe write a rom com novel and while I grew up writing fanfiction I don't think it's the same as actually crafting romance from scratch. I don't have a tonne of experience with it yet, but these are some strong feelings I have on writing good romance that i've gathered in my journey so far;

when you find a romance you really love, take it apart piece by piece like a clockmaker would a clock until you understand why it compels you. if you find a romance you hate, do the same thing. you'll learn a lot about your tastes from this and you'll also learn what "good romance" is to you because it's different for everyone.

I firmly believe all good romance is a portrait of 2 characters (or however many characters are involved). Again, this is just my opinion, but I hate reading or watching romance where I don't know the characters that well because then I'm just sitting there asking why they're even interested in one another. Focus on characters more than tropes. i think there's way too much focus on tropes in recent years.

this is VERY just my opinion but I think when writing a romance it's good to think about how and why the characters would interact if they couldn't be physically intimate. What do they share (values, goals, opinions, conflicts) with each other besides having the hots for one another? And look, for some audiences, having the hots is enough, but for me i don't like when a relationship feels so flimsy that a week of social distancing would break it.

i used to feel really self-conscious about writing romantic scenarios i hadn't experienced, and apparently this is very common for romance writers. it's very important to remember that most authors in fiction genres are not writing about things they've personally experienced either. do your research, write with confidence and compassion and you should be fine <3

MY BIGGEST BIT OF ADVICE IF YOU FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE IS sincerity. just sincerity. so many current or modern romances are so irony-poisoned and self-referential. it takes the immersion and joy out of it. unless you're doing something intentionally meta like lovers being trapped in a movie or something, there's no need for them to reference tropes or hating tropes or whatever. have your characters be sincere and write sincerely.

anyway, i hope this helps! i know you sent this a while ago but i really wanted to think about the answer. hope that's okay 💖

[callmearcturus]

@madamtrashbat

I SAW THAT

AND I CAN EASILY MAKE AN ARGUMENT FOR WATCHING TED LASSO CHIEFLY FOR REBECCA WELTON

Ted is the title character but season one is About Rebecca, she is the first person we see and the last (this show loves bookends)

Rebecca in S1 is a hot fucking mess and she's vicious. I'm gonna spoil the conceit of the show a bit but: Rebecca just divorced a fucking horrible man and has endured every abuse of the British tabloids you can imagine. She's been wronged and cheated on and made a mockery of.

So she decides she is going to get revenge on her ex-husband by destroying the only thing he every actually loved: The Richmond Football Club, which she is the owner of.

The whole jokey premise of "british football club hires a gridiron football coach from America to run the show"? It's supposed to be absurd. Rebecca is trying to ensure the club fails, she expects Ted to fuck it up.

But the thing is that a sports team is not just a static object, it is a living thing with people and livelihoods tied to it. To destroy it is to accept ruining multiple lives, and over the course of the season, Rebecca has to pre-meditate this destruction while being surrounded by those very people.

It's exquisitely done. I love her, I love Rebecca so fucking much, and she is awful at the start of the show, but her pain is constant. You meet her ex-husband (PLAYED BY A DELIGHTFULY HORRIBLE ANTHONY STEWART HEAD BTW) and you understand her completely.

There is zero romance baiting between her and Ted but at the same time? They are soulmates. They complete each other.

Also besides Ted himself, Rebecca's most important relationship is with Keeley Jones, and Actually Bisexual football WAG who is trying to get a career in marketing going, and look

i ship ted and trent, i love ted and rebecca, and trent and colin's relationship makes me so happy. but Rebecca and Keeley are the best relationship in the fucking show.

The scene that ESTABLISHES Rebecca and Keeley's friendship involves the two of them bonding over being tabloid bait and Rebecca letting slip that a journo got topless pics of her on vacation. Keeley demands to see them and is effusively complimentary while Rebecca tries not to preen. And it's pressure from Keeley that makes Rebecca finally Fix Her Shit.

UGH I LOVE THEM

ALSO YES REBECCA IS HOT AND SHE IS 5'11" AND WEARS HEELS EVERYWHERE

[lesbianherald]

kind of curious why the majority of jayvik smut focuses on bottom! viktor only. like no one wants to clap the golden boy's cheeks or smth 😔 anyway can't wait for your new AU because I know you won't leave me hanging in this top! jayce world.

i usually disengage with top/bottom discourse completely because 9/10 times I find it deeply stupid but this was so fucking funny. also "bottom!viktor" I know what you are. Fandom Vet.

[nataliescatorccioapologist]

Season 3 Official Trailer Breakdown

*Huge disclaimer that this show is so unpredictable that all of my guesses will probably be wrong. I know many of these shots are probably misdirections and missing important context.*

Lottie spotted alive and well and looking great (with a bodyguard? Or just a very well dressed man?)

A series of scenes that imply Nat is definitely in some hot water this season. It seems that she might have known where Coach Ben was but didn’t tell the group to protect him, which pisses the rest of the group off enough to question her leadership. Unlike Lottie, Nat wasn’t chosen by the group to lead them, which will likely result in tension and resentment from those who feel like she didn’t earn her new title. The group is shifting towards ferocity and darker morals, so maybe Nat can't meet the group’s needs or take them down the path they want to go on. Maybe the trial we saw in the first trailer was actually related to Nat? But why would Coach Ben be there in the background for that?

With the way Nat looks on her knees in the middle of the group and the vitriol she seems to be facing, I am so interested to see how she makes it out of this alive. However, I do think it’s important to note that, in the close up shot we get of her with blood on her face, there are no actual wounds visible. It could be someone else’s blood!

And related to that, we see the group setting up what appears to be a makeshift table. As we saw with Javi, I wonder if this table is being set up to butcher something (or someone) on. Or just to have a nice innocent family feast on.

I think it’s interesting to note that the clip immediately following this is Nat in what appears to be an apron with her hair pulled back. To me this looks like Nat is going to be the one doing the butchering in this scene (the apron and her hair being pulled back implies that she’s trying not to get blood on her clothes and hair). Could Nat be relegated to Shauna’s role as the butcher after Shauna becomes the new leader? Or is she just filling in for the moment?

It looks like Travis might be getting bit here (by Shauna?) while Lottie laughs. I really have no guesses as to what’s going on here. Maybe Travis stood up for Nat and therefore was attacked? I have a feeling Travis is going to be very conflicted as to where his loyalties lie this season, which might make him a target. The first image could actually be Mari getting the chomp, though, as we have already seen a clip of Shauna biting her hand in the previous trailer.

It looks like Tai is attacking Van here (!!), which I'm willing to bet is Other Tai taking over, and we also see Tai screaming and crying (which I'm guessing is related to her attacking Van?). I'm wondering if this could be some kind of nightmare Taissa is having of losing control and hurting Van, which reflects how she is afraid of herself and her lack of control over her darker alternate. Or it could be her actually attacking Van. And is it just me or does it look like they are wearing the same outfits in the attacking scene and the scene where they're running through the street?

It looks like Shauna (and likely the other survivors) will be receiving some threatening letters and tape recordings from an unknown source (Shauna says that someone is trying to kill them for what they did in the wilderness). It looks like Shauna received both a letter (notably addressed to Shauna Shipman, not Sadecki, which could be a way of hinting that this person knows her past) and a tape? And then it looks like she is trying to secretly play the tape in her bathroom (trying to hide it from Callie and Jeff?).

There's another clip of Mari running from the group again and hiding behind a tree, very reminiscent of when Nat hid behind the tree after drawing the Queen card in S2. Even though Mari does look genuinely scared here, the second clip of Mari laughing with Van in what appears to be the same scene makes me wonder if this is actually not Mari running for her life and rather just a fun game the YJs are playing. Maybe they're literally playing tag or something? Or maybe they were playing a harmless game which quickly devolved into something darker.

A closer shot of Tai holding the gun. This time, we can see she is not as stoic as she appeared in the promotional images we saw before. She's crying, and I feel like that combined with the following clip of blood splattered on some leaves nearby confirms that Tai put to the task of shooting someone in this scene. Mari is in the background, so its not her, so is it Coach Ben? Why is Tai the one chosen to carry it out?

We see more of that scene where Shauna is being pulled down into the lake by someone/something. I truly have no idea what is going on in this scene. I am kind of hoping that its Nat taking revenge and trying to threaten her/drown her but I am 90% sure that's not going to happen. Who do we think would try to drown Shauna?

Pretty sure this is Mari spraying Shauna with some kind of mace! And by the looks of it, Shauna probably deserves it (sorry). Maybe this is following the scene where Shauna is trying to bite Mari's hand and then Mari sprays her with whatever this is to defend herself?

A shot of a hooded figure holding the rifle, with some other hooded figures following behind. To me this looks like some kind of search party, like they are hunting someone down who ran away and hid. I wonder if they're looking for Nat? Especially after Shauna's "We'll give the wilderness what it wants" line. They could also be searching for Coach Ben or Mari.

Tai and Misty about to smother someone to death in a hospital?? I would think this person must know too much about what they did in the wilderness and therefore they have to kill him. Another part of me is really just hoping they're smothering Lottie's dad to death because I know he's going to be in this season and I really hate that guy, but I am also pretty sure that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Things aren't looking too good for Akilah. The expression on her face and the way she's being held up by someone make it seem like she just got shot or stabbed/is actively dying. But not sure if they would be bold enough to show that in the trailer. Whatever is happening to Akilah here, she definitely doesn't look like she's doing too great.

I'll say it: I think we're getting a Pit Girl reveal this season! Or at least we will get up to the point in the storyline right before Pit Girl. These are the same outfits we see the group donning in the opening scene of the pilot episode. We can clearly see the skunk head (referred to as The Hunter in the script) who was standing over the pit trap looking down at Pit Girl's body. It is still pretty impossible to tell who's who. But I think this tells us that Season 3 will go through spring, summer, and into the beginning of the second winter (or we could just be getting flash-forwards to winter). Looks like they've gone full feral at this point, they've got spears and they are definitely hunting someone down. I wonder if this is actually the Pit Girl scene itself, just from the perspective of the hunters now instead of the prey.

This is pretty much confirmed to be Lottie given that we have behind the scenes photos of Simone Kessell wearing this exact dress and heels. Lottie, I am so scared for you, please be okay. hoping she's just passed out or something. Or maybe she just got tired and she's taking a nap...on a dark mysterious concrete floor surrounded by candles.

And last but absolutely not least we have Lottie eating the fuck out of someone with blood all over her face. The cannibalism in this season has been turned up to 11 for sure.

--

There are some shots that I left out because I ran out of room! There are just so many details in this trailer that I want to unpack, but I tried to pick out the ones I found most important. Some other important shots not mentioned were the arrow in the tree trunk (I'm guessing this is actually the adult timeline since I'm really not sure where the girls would get an arrow like that in the wilderness, unless it belongs to someone outside of the group👀), a Queen card being picked up off the street in the adult timeline, the floating lantern scene we have seen in promotional photos, the girls having a feast, Travis walking with the rifle, and the girls running around their makeshift huts having fun (wholesome).

[william-t-sickofyourshit]

William could sense that Sebastian was trying to gently touch upon this subject, to test his reactions. He was still speaking vaguely, not saying directly that he worried about his looks changing, but it was clear that he wanted to see what would be William’s reaction to this. And honestly? William really already knew all that. He had read the various pamphlets from doctor Chalman, and he also did some research online. He knew about all possible side-effects of chemo: weaker immune system, nausea, weight loss, hair loss, moodswings, even personality changes. But Sebastian’s life was at stake.

“I know, honey… I know…” William whispered, pressing a kiss to Sebastian’s temple. “I read about it too. And I know that it’s very scary… but we will go through this, yeah? Nothing is as important as you getting healthy, you living… living with me. We have so many plans… making our relationship public… getting married one day… I wanted to take you for a trip to Italy, show you Rome… you need to live so we can do all this.” he said, speaking in a soft, soothing whisper. He was trying to somehow signal, somehow make Sebastian understand that he won’t leave him, no matter what.

But he knew that Sebastian was really scared, really worried, and perhaps it wasn’t so easy for him to just believe. After all, William was speaking about something that was yet to happen. And William himself had to admit that he didn’t fully know what to expect. He knew the theory, but facing it in reality will surely be different, more difficult. But he knew one thing - he loved Sebastian very much, and his feelings weren’t just shallow or superficial. 

For I have sinned...

The principal cleared his throat, eyes scanning the notes that he had wrote down before this meeting. It already lasted an hour, and the teachers gathered in the faculty room were becoming restless and bored. But indeed there were some things to discuss, with the concert that the senior class was supposed to perform at the end of the semester, and with recent staff changes. 

William glanced down at his watch, sighing softly. His class was starting in 15 minutes, so at least, whether the meeting will be done soon or not, he will get to excuse himself. He looked out of the window, his mind wandering. Principal’s voice turned into white noise in the background. It was a pleasant day, late summer. But William was looking forward to a slightly cooler weather. Wearing all black could really be bothersome at times. 

“And lastly, I am pleased to announce that we have finally found replacement for the violin teacher. Dear Mr Tanaka, may he rest in peace, was with us for so many years that I’ve been concerned we won’t be able to find someone as good as to fill this position.” the principal spoke. “But Mr… Michaelis, was highly recommended to me, and he indeed has impressive references. He will be starting this week, so please welcome him warmly once he will arrive. Ah yes… about that. He will arrive today at noon, I need someone to pick him up from the train station and bring over for the tour around the school. Any volunteers?” 

William was barely listening, and definitely not paying much attention. He glanced at his watch again, and saw that it was time to leave, as his class was about to start. He raised his hand to excuse himself, and little did he know, he just volunteered.

“Father William! Excellent!” the principal exclaimed. “Just don’t be late, the train arrives at noon.”

“Train…?” William questioned, raising his brow. He had a feeling he was missing something…

***

Right after the meeting, William had to run for the class, so he had little time to clarify what exactly he had volunteered for. He was a piano teacher in this Music Academy, but also he served as a priest in local church. Well respected, and rather liked. So when he later found out it was about the new violin teacher, he didn’t refuse. Who, other than himself, would be a better choice to introduce a newcome to their community?

So even though he raised his hand by accident, he accepted this fate.

After classes, at noon, William took a taxi and drove to the train station, to pick up their new teacher. Wearing black trousers, and a black shirt with a thin tie, was absolutely dreadful in this weather, so William quickly found shelter under the roof of the station platform, that provided some shade.

The train had just arrived. William had no idea how Mr Michaelis looked like, but he figured he will just look for someone carrying a violin case with them. 

He was in for a bit surprise.

@crazyvik97