#its just so shrill but the acting is so on point

[earlymidsomermurders]

Staredown at the Rainbirds’

Fav Tom Barnaby Scenes 4/?

Midsomer Murders - The Killings at Badger’s Drift

[trashogram]

He Chose You (Pt. 13.5)

Lucifer/Reader: Lucifer chooses you to be the mother of his child. Rated E for Explicit.

(So, this is a quick update because chapter 14 keeps getting more complicated but I promised a continuation last weekend and couldn’t get it out due to health concerns. I hope y’all can forgive me for such a short chapter piece, but thank you for reading regardless!)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 13.5 | Part 14 | End

“You’re here.” 

You paused, hands already wrapped around Lucifer’s as the words spilled from both his and your mouth. In spite of everything, you giggled semi-hysterically and the stalled expression on Lucifer’s face relaxed as well. 

He looked at you between the bars of the gate, eyes shining to the point of tears. You pressed harder against the bars of your cage as if to slip through, one hand raised to cup his cheek and thumb the cherubic blush there. 

        “I didn’t think I’d get to see you again.” He admitted, surrendering to your touch. 

It hurt to smile but you couldn’t help yourself. You grinned through your own tears, dripping down your cheeks before falling to the clouds beneath. You were struck by his admiring gaze, even with the blurring of your vision. It reminded you of the many times he’d looked at you when you were a mere mortal and not privy to the knowledge you had now. 

      You had tried so hard to fight against what that look meant, stupidly thinking you wouldn’t fall prey to it if you feigned ignorance. 

      The King sniffled, hand intertwined with your own as you explored the planes of his face once more. He closed in on the bars that kept you from each other, slumping forward to press his forehead to yours. He inhaled deeply, trying to absorb everything that was You without heeding what lay behind him or beyond. His wings had expanded to their full glory, acting as a screen between you and the less than welcoming retinue that had just attacked him. Lucifer couldn’t provide full privacy from the throng of nosy citizens gathered behind you. But at least you were shielded from Gabriel and his goons for the time being.

“It’s alright.” You soothed, fingertips fleeced through his blond hair. “We’re together now.” 

      The noise he made was more a sob than a laugh as he intended, but your heart swelled at the sound. For a moment you soaked in the touch of his face against your own, in all of its cold, marblesque glory. If you closed your eyes, you could convince yourself that you were back home, spending another lazy afternoon trussed up with Lucifer in your bedsheets. 

                Your eyes opened again, suddenly. 

“Lucifer, where’s Charlotte?” You asked. 

      The father of your child seemed out of sorts at the question. His mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish’s before enlightenment brightened his features. 

“She’s fine!” He replied. “She’s all tucked in her crib, fast asleep.” 

“Her crib… at the Farrows?” You gulped down the shot of bile that raced up your throat. 

“Well… yeah,” Lucifer’s smile wilted at the hysteria building behind your eyes like a tsunami wave. “I couldn’t very well bring her with me!”

“So you left our daughter with those people?!” You couldn’t help the shrill accusation from leaving your mouth when a million and one horrible possibilities ran through your head. 

“No! I would never!” Lucifer denied, head shaking vigorously. “She’s being watched over by the goats!”

Your eyebrows rose, rearing back. “What?”

“The goats! The ones with little wings and tails that I made? I showed them to you right before you… well, you know!” Lucifer caroled. “Remember?”

You stared at him blankly until the metaphorical lightbulb in your brain flicked on. Incredulity bodied you.

“You left… our baby… with stuffed animals…?” 

Lucifer stilled for an instant before reanimating until his body resembled less a sturdy human’s and more a flexible jello mold as his arms pinwheeled at his sides. The Devil’s wings flapped and shuddered with his anxiety.

He matched your hysteria with a frenzied laugh. “Oh! No! Not— I wouldn’t! I-I-I gave them sentience! Th-that-that was the plan! I was gonna tell you before but — I-I guess it slipped my mind after you started glowing!” 

Lucifer attempted to steady himself after the sudden burst of emotion as you stared in alarm, though he was panting when he leaned forward. 

“They were made for Charlotte. To cater to her every need! And if anything happens, they know to get me right away!” 

His eyes went wide and earnest. “I would never, ever, ever put our baby in danger. I swear to you. Never. I-if I could’ve brought her with me, a-and been sure that no one would try to take her, I’d —”

Your fingers brushed over his lips as soon as he was within range again. 

“Okay.” You interrupted.

 Lucifer blinked.

“Okay?” He asked. 

You nodded, taking his hand once more to press a kiss to his knuckles. “I believe you.” 

Your kiss had the desired effect. Lucifer melted into a daze, smiling almost shyly at the gesture before you looked into his eyes again. You tried to communicate your sincerity without words, for it would take far too long to tell him everything you’d discovered upon arriving in Heaven. 

     You sighed softly, feeling his warm breath on your face. Lucifer gravitated toward you, close enough to kiss between the infernal bars holding you back… 

“Lucifer, I…” Your words came out shakily, the heartbeat you shouldn’t have ringing in your ears. 

His lips were a hair’s breadth away. Too distracting. Your eyes fell shut. “I… lov-”

“I fucking told you this would happen!” 

You froze. 

A harsh voice rose above the din and fray, bringing reality with it to jolt you upright. 

Lucifer’s expression fell, warped by shock and horror as you were ripped away from his grasp and pulled back from the gate as if it were on fire. You gasped as your back collided with another’s chest and an arm wrapped around your midsection. 

      Your head snapped up to see Adam’s ghoulish mask hung above you, glaring over your head at Lucifer. He continued to squeeze the life out of you as he flew back and stopped a good meter away from where you’d been standing. 

       “Let go of me!” You shouted, squirming in the man’s grip. You dug your nails into his forearm, trying to pry him off of you. An unusual feeling lanced up your spine, something that was not quite pain but uncomfortable and indescribable. It further disoriented you as you were dragged back.  

A force of wind blasted over you and Adam, stopping the latter in his tracks with a curse. The gale blew back your extremities, forcing you to cover your face to block the brunt of it. You squinted through it to catch another glimpse of Lucifer. 

       The Devil’s wings pumped through the air in his rage as he stood ablaze in red, ivory and gold. He looked much like he had before your death: a fiery comet promising destruction to anything in its path. Pure energy radiated off of him from all sides as his horns protracted from the crown of his head. Fire bloomed between them to match the blood red that had overtaken his eyes, and the jagged stripes rippling over his porcelain face. 

His fangs gnashed and once delicate hands contracted into long claws that grappled with the gate panels until they bowed and bent under the pressure. 

Gasps and screams filled the air all around you.

* Tag List: @crescent-z, @for-hearthand-home, @undertale-is-sansational, @loslox, @navierkalani, @yaimlight, @ivoryviness, @crystalplays28, @flowerempress, @wally-darling-hyperfixation, @altruisticradiodemon, @moonlight-readings, @halparkebitch, @charliecharlie65, @sockgoblin, @cocomollo, @caniseethefourthsword, @squeegeeclean, @crow-twink, @an-emovision, @marydragneell, @lafy-taffy, @fandom-imagines1, @loquacious-libra, @glowymxxn, @avadakadabra93, @froggybich, @hamthepan, @ukor02, @adaizel, @boogiemansbitch, @vinillies, @lbcreations-blog, @thesoundresoundsecho, @serenity-loves-red, @alientee, @aquaamythest96, @0strawberrysorbet0, @fluffy-koalala, @washeduphazbin, @rebecca-hvnstn, @velvette3, @kermitdafroggy, @wpdarlingpan, @apatcheworkofproblems, @cherry-cola-100, @pink-apples001, @al-of-the-stars, @backinthefkingbuildingagain, @martinys-world, @alastorssimp, @wobblesthewaffle, @shikiribee, @undertale-anomaly20, @asakura-fangirl-stuff, @ringsofpersonti @angelicwillows, @wingoodlilboymyway, @cimadreamer, @museofzealoushope, @oneiric-rotaerc, @call-me-nyxx, @darling-angel222, @elementwind91, @bloody-delusion-expert, @devilslittlebabyxx, @diffidentphantom, @shamblezzz, @ranposanedogawa, @minamilinaqueen, @1-helluva-hazbin

[dangermousie]

Middle (sort of) of 2024 list - cdrama edition.

Yeah I realize it's neither the end of the year, nor half a year, but what's the point of being predictable? It's also gonna make my end of year post easier. This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2024; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it’s not on the list.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

42 My Divine Emissary - it's actually a pretty good drama year when the worst cdrama I've checked out this year is merely utterly shrill and brain dead but not horrifyingly offensive to good taste.

41 Fight for Love - they had wonderful actors and a great premise and utterly wasted it. There might someday be a good drama about a female general torn between a royal and an enemy general but this ain't it.

40 Peacock in Wonderland - I am a few decades too old for this brain dead fest but I am glad Zhou Jun Wei is not canceled at least.

39 Her Fantastic Adventures - honestly, this, MDE and Revenger are all the same type of subgenre - they aren't offensive they are just as empty as air. This also suffers from casting an utter dud as ML and a charisma boat as SML. Why?

38 Lady Revenger Returns from the Fire - the main thing I remember from this is that Miles Wei must have stolen the wig maker's parking spot. That wig is the one that should have gone into the fire.

37 Your Trap/Imprisoned Love - the plot of this mini made no sense but the softcore vibes of sanitized 1990s cinemax were on point!

36 Fox Matchmaker: The Red Moon Pact - it's so pretty, so full of gorgeous costumes and actors and I enjoyed the first few eps, but ultimately it was like watching colorful paint dry. It was so dull, I couldn't even hate watch it, and that is more damning than anything.

35 The Unexpected Marriage - cutesy dumb period romcom. Could be worse, not that this is much of a praise.

34 Love’s Rebellion - so twee, so precious, so full of cutesy awful CGI and actors who aren't bothering. I am not sure why Zhang Linghe and Jing Tian are in this mess that looks like rainbow vomited on a xianxia set.

33 My Wife's Double Life - her life may be double but her brain is only half.

32 Jade's Fateful Love - I lost some braincells trying this one, but (a) it's gorgeous and (b) no transmigration say you? Multiple transmigration in first ep alone! Good for you, makers!

31 Follow My Heart - how do you have Luo Yunxi, Song Yi and Cheng Lei and waste them so utterly? First few eps were nice and then it's like exercise in how much you can tolerate before you call it quits.

30 Sword and Fairy 4 - it's kinda a mess but I loved the actors and some of the plots and you can do worse.

29 Blossoms in Adversity - dumb as a set of particularly dumb bricks and ML I don't think could act if his life depended on it, but it was strangely addictive and I watched it often before better dramas. It's just a genuinely good time somehow!

28 Judge Dee - it's not you it's me in action. It's smart and gorgeous and well acted, I just don't do procedurals.

27 The Substitute Princess’ Love - it's like some of those trashy web novels I enjoy. It was clearly cut, its budget was equivalent to loose change found in the pockets of makes of Fox Spirit Matchmaker, but it was a surprisingly fun watch, though I enjoyed the first half better than the second. Also as a drama old, it was a fun blast from the past seeing Dylan Kuo (if you have never watched the old twdrama The Outsiders, what are you even doing with your life?)

26 Rise from the Ashes - a wacky as hell mini where reborn FL wreaks revenge with help of her fake uncle as they carry on as some sort of Borgia/Phillip II of Spain fame hybrid. If you don't need to use your brain, you could have a worse time.

25 The Legend of Heroes - it suffered from me seeing other versions of this tale before that I liked more and not loving how dark looking it is but that cast is A+ and Wang Hongyi was a revelation as Yang Kang.

24 Beauty Strategy - a mini of what a few years ago would have been a proper angsty drama of palace scheming enemies while lovers, powerless emperor etc etc. Honestly, I loved it.

23 Lovesickness - this year's gender-reversed Ancient Love Song, not as artistic or good but still a good time about a woman traveling back in time and falling for a powerful but doomed duke.

22 Fragments of Kylin - demon slayer falls for a demon; this one came out of nowhere and didn't have much of a budget but is surprisingly lovely.

21 Enslaved by Love - the only reason it's not the most fucked up drama on this list is because Shadow Sect, Palace Shadows and Burning Flames exist. The ML is toxic enough to be banned by the Geneva convention but FL does get some of her own back and also if you ever wanted to see blindness curing sex, boy do I have a drama for you!

20 Secrets of the Shadow Sect - head of sect lady and her very very subby bodyguard. What's not to love?

19 Palace Shadows: Between Two Princes - ML pretends to be his own twin, bdsm and sluttiness ensues. I cannot even explain how wild this drama is but the acting is on point and way way fun!

18 Dashing Youth - I had no expectations of this drama (either indifferent to or dislike everyone in the cast, wuxia and wuxia-adjacent is rarely my genre, the number of characters is huge) but I loved how under its bright colors, it eventually gets very dark (it's quite old school that way) and somehow I am invested in everyone in the huge cast. This being a prequel to The Blood of Youth makes us know the fates of many of the characters and this adds the air of tragic inevitability to it all.)

17 The Last Immortal - a surprisingly sweet and touching xianxia that works largely because Zhao Lusi and Wang Anyu are so so so so solid separately and together.

16 Burning Flames - the most gonzo drama on this list. I love it for committing to insanity as it should (if you pick insane source material, commit.) Humans taking on the worst Gods since Olympus, fur and chains, sentient crystal FL, ML who goes from Crown Prince to mine slave to rebel leader, bare chests and fur, demon elves, a villain that leaches color from the world - this drama has everything and I loved its unhinged glory.

15 Lost You Forever 2 - it would have been higher except it fell apart in the last third so badly I am still wondering how the makers could misunderstand their own characters and their own narratives so badly. The first season was a masterpiece. This is a hot mess.

14 The Princess Royal/The Grand Princess - I am in the minority of finding this drama very mid. The acting was fine (except for former eunuch dude), the writing was fine, but I never really got invested alas. I don't even know why. I think it's just not my type of narrative; there was no intensity.

13 Different Princess - a ridiculous amount of fun and ship about an author falling through to her own novel and falling for the villain.

12 Sword and Fairy 6 - I love this tale; the young OTP (a whale weapon and a clone of her trigger? More wholesome than you think) who are so ride or die for each other, the other amazing characters (sect leader who has to live as a man and her "twin" who is an ancient trapped spirit, a wolf demon, etc...) It's just genuinely good and proof that targeted to younger audience doesn't have to be bad.

11 In Blossom - sure, we all know JJY can't act, but the narrative was so fun and the visuals were so gorgeous and Liu Xueyi so gorgeous and magnetic in his first proper Male Lead role, it was all worth it. I liked the first half when they were still cautious of each other more than the second but this is just a good time!

10 Hard to Find - my second favorite mini on the list, this is an aesthetic feast. The doomed couple from enemy kingdoms, the vengeance, the twists - if ever a mini deserved to be a proper drama, this would be it. But alas, if it was they'd probably not let it.

9 The Double - unhinged web novel vibe done so perfectly in the inimitable Yu Zheng style. The leads were so good even the amazing villains didn't truly steal the show. Like with a lot of cdramas, it lost a lot of steam in second half for me, but still a great watch.

8 Fortune Writer - the best mini this year and better than most "proper" cdramas (Douban raters agree), this tale of villains in love fighting the narrative has a lot to say about writing cliches and writing conventions. I love how clever it is and how it actually made me care for the characters.

7 Tender Light - except for that ending, this was in the running for my favorite 2024 cdrama. The writers' lack of ability to commit and carry through pushed it lower but otherwise it's a genuine masterpiece. The acting, the chemistry, the looping narrative, what it has to say about abuse and complicity of society and blazing your own moral path is something else.

6 Derailment - who knew a little quasi scifi modern would be this high but this one is amazing. If you watch one modern this year, make it this one. Our FL is a rich girl a little in the future who somehow wakes up in a different timeline a few years back in the body of that universe's version of her (who is poor and has been missing) and her one connection is a young man who was in love with that universe's version of her. I don't want to say more so as not to spoil because the twists are twisty but this is EVERYTHING and also addresses transmigration, what it means to love, what is ethical etc etc. And that OTP!

5 Snowfall - a fever dream of a vampire narrative set in an alternate universe of the Republican era, it's gorgeous, passionate, hella queer and just like watching the most amazing fanfic come to life.

4 Heroes - a complete masterpiece about three men about to be on the scrapheap of history in the Qing Dynasty about to fall (a constable devoted to obsolete norms, who spent his whole life studying for the imperial exam which got canceled, the world's best swordsman in the era of guns, and a former imperial guard who emerges from prison into a different world) whose stories intersect as they search for treasure and the women and other people in their lives. This is smart, impeccably acted, filmed in a stunning way, bleak and funny at once and - I don't use the term masterpiece often but I will use it here.

3 The Legend of Shen Li - I am often indifferent to xianxia that suffers from too much CGI, hella immaturity and not enough stakes. Shen Li is everything. It's gorgeously filmed, it's adult, it gives the story time to breathe and centers it on characters and relationships. And the OTP is everything you can ever dream of - it reunites Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, totally healing those Princess Agents wounds - their chemistry is still utter fire but the narrative supports them every step of the way.

2 Eternal Brotherhood - if JoL2 did not come out this year, this would be my favorite cdrama of the year. It's clearly a passion project with a small budget but this complex and grim tale of three rather different sworn brothers in a world at war is gorgeous, smart, well acted, dark and inspiring at once. There are shots that take my breath away, the love stories are amazing, the pace is perfect, and ohhh our complex mainsssssss.

1 Joy of Life 2 - nothing can beat this masterpiece. The first season was perfect and somehow the second is even more perfect. It's smart, it's funny, it's heartbreaking, the cast is still impeccable and Zhang Ruoyun still gives a completely jawdropping performance as the focus of all the madness Fan Xian. If you watch only one cdrama this year, make it this one.

FAVORITE DRAMA

Joy of Life 2 - there is not one second I forwarded, not one unnecessary scene, not one weak link character. It's a smart, fierce masterpiece.

Eternal Brotherhood is a runner up - it came out of nowhere and owned my whole heart. It's the sole other cdrama this year where I did not ff a second.

WORST DRAMA

My Divine Emissary - honestly, this is a decent year because even this drama was just "forget it" not burning hate.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun), Joy of Life 2 - how could it ever be anyone but smart, irreverent, fierce, broken, idealistic, funny Fan Xian. The man who fights against the horrors of the universe, who remains human while being so larger than life. This character is everything.

Runner up: Zhou Luo (Zhang Xincheng), Tender Light - idealistic loner who refuses to compromise his principles even as it would be easier to, even as it destroys his life, ZXC has always been a solid actor but here he is beyond.

Alternatively, Zichuan Xiu (Yang Xuwen), Eternal Brotherhood - only way to describe Xiu is "trauma sunshine." He's funny, he's irrevocably fucked up, he is magnetic and intense and he fights for his hopeless ideals and he breaks and he keeps going.

or Xing Zhi (Lin Gengxin), the lonely ancient god discovering the pleasure of life for the first time in aeons.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Shen Li (Zhao Liying), The Legend of Shen Li - so fierce, so certain, so alive. She is a goddess but ZLY made her feel so real.

Runner up: Nan Ya (Tong Yao), Tender Light - an abuse victim who keeps trying to find a way out, she's strong and damaged and complex and honestly, one of the best performances this year.

Alternatively, Jiang Xiao Yuan (Liu Haocun), Derailment - she makes a character that in other hands would be boring or trite, someone I want to reach through to the screen and protect and love.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

99% of the denizens of the town in Tender Light - selfish every day denizens monstrous because of their very everydayness - they watch abuse and choose to blame the victim and gossip and enjoy the view. I hated them all.

FAVORITE SHIP

Shen Li x Xing Zhi, The Legend of Shen Li - the chemistry, the yearning, the slow inevitable collapse into admittance, the way he protects the world and she protects him, the way they dance around each other, her being the aggressor, his surrender to forbidden emotion, their utter mutual belief in each other's competence. They are everything to me.

Runner up: the OTP in Derailment. Those two went through some mind and soul breaking stuff and made it out.

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Amusingly enough, Fu Xin Bo is the male actor in both - the crossdressing sect leader x wolf demon OTP in Sword and Fairy 6, and First Prince x Eldest Princess in Joy of Life 2. What can I say, man knows how to pick them. Those OTPs are both utterly adorable!

If we are talking about an OTP where it's not that it's not the main but it's not a ship-centric drama so they don't get much time, then we have either Fan Xian x Lin Wan'er from Joy of Life 2 - she is his peace and sanity

and Si Yilin x Ka Dan, Eternal Brotherhood - they are both such desperately good people in a mad world, tender with each other despite surrounding cruelty.

NOTP

The couple in Fox Spirit Matchmaker - such pretty people, and so bland and boring and pointless together. It was kinda amazing.

FAVORITE SCENE

God, so many good scenes this year so far - Fan Xian watching the death of the old censor and the aftermath, in JoL2; his confrontation with Wan'er after she finds out about the truth behind her brother's death, the scene where he poisons Second Prince, his scene with the registrar. Xiu giving up his future to protect the surrendered soldiers only to come back and find Di Lin executed them all in EB, the scene in Ning's bedroom when he tells her how he really feels because she can't hear, the very end of that season and Di Lin striding into the light, Ka Dan and SYL's night. The last scene of LYN and his girl in Heroes, the way Heroes always intercuts the golden past of the guard and princess and the dreary present (especially when we see her bicycle spin out of control back when and her husband lose it in the present and this time there is nobody to catch her), the big reveal in Derailment and the hairwashing scene, Mi Lan touching Vamp Daddy's face as their thing in Snowfall, and the cage stuff etc etc.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Shen Zhiheng (Gao Weiguang), Snowfall - Vamp Daddy made me hormonal in a way I haven't felt for a cdrama lead since the heady days of Darren Wang in The Wolf. Those outfits, that hair, that height, that restraint, that lack of restraint. THE CHAINS

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Liu Duan Duan as Second Prince in Joy of Life 2 - what a performance! Unhinged, magnetic, pitiable, terrifying and always mesmerizing. The Second Prince is Fan Xian's foil and a worthy one. LDD is always a great actor, and with a role that actually gives him something to sink his teeth into - wow!

MVP OF THE YEAR

Liu Yuning (Heroes, Eternal Brotherhood) - there is only one actor who somehow managed to be a main character in two of my five top 2024 dramas. His ruthless, driven Di Lin in EB, who knows he's doomed as the ruler's executioner but has no other way forward, and the man out of time (best swordsman in a gun era) in Heroes are both unforgettable characters in amazing dramas.

ACTING SURPRISE

Ouyang Nana - Li Muge performs miracles. He made Yang Chaoye be good in Heroes (2022) and now Nana, who was always as wooden as a post, is a revelation as blind abused girl who becomes a vampire in Snowfall.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

Joy of Life 2 of course - I need to see the looming confrontation between Fan Xian and the emperor, though not sure how that will pass censorship.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

FF button has cured me of finding contenders for this category, but perhaps cutting out a lot of terrible acting and lack of stage presence of "not yet a eunuch" dude in The Princess Royal, would have improved it.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Lost You Forever 2 - there were other issues with it, but all the cuts couldn't have helped with coherency.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Same as last year - the emperor cannot be irredeemable. WTF, China, you are a communist country! Though they are nibbling at the edges this year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Men (and women) knowingly fighting for a doomed cause because otherwise they'd cease to be who they are.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Lost Your Forever 2 - the first season was my favorite drama of 2023 but LYF2 just fell apart so so so badly, it was almost fascinating. It totally eviscerated the characters and the meanings of the story.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

Three out of the top 5 dramas on my list are not dramas that were on my radar at all before airing - Heroes, Eternal Brotherhood and Snowfall were not anything I anticipated, let alone I realized how much I'd love them. Same for Derailment and Tender Light. This has been a year of surprises.

2024 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

I have honestly watched almost everything I wanted. Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2 will be the one I will list since I still need to finish s1.

BEST NON-2024 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2024

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty - I, a procedural and mystery hater (especially when there is close to no romance) somehow fell like a ton of bricks for this gorgeous, smart, impeccably acted show.

MOST ANTICIPATED

This is always a bad idea and kinda a curse but I really really want The Story of Pearl Girl, with Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning because I love them separately and together and the thought of them reuniting is a dream come true. Also Eternal Brotherhood 2 (it's filmed but they can't air it until a year from EB1), Love of Nirvana with Ren Jialun and Li Landi, and Snowy Night: Timeless Love with Li Qin and Zheng Shunxi.

[writingoddess1125]

So annoying

Crocodile and adopted child Reader

Platonic Adopted Child

Support me on Ko-Fi ☕️

Stepping from the bar Crocodile glanced around him, he was here for business and hated having to meet in places like this. Disgusting.

His goons who were all chattering around him being kiss-asses in trying to keep their bosses attention. As he walked down the street he heard a scuffle from the alley next to the bar, glancing as he passed by.

Pausing for barely a second he saw a shadow of a small child give a hard punch to the cheek of one of the goons who had stepped out earlier then him, making the man stumble slightly before the child darted into a sewage drain to hide.

The goon quickly rushing back to the posey- ignoring the taunts from others at being punched by a homeless child. Him ranting at coming back and teaching them 'manners' for the hit.

Why waste his time on some children?- he had seen and done worse afterall.. and if one of his goons got bested by a dirty hungry child it made him question them more then anything...

As they continued to walk down the street he heard some soft bare feet hitting the cobblestone again- assuming it was another child prepared to throw a rock or-

"Hey Mister!" A loud voice shrilled- despite its lightness he could hear a rumble of toughness there, he glanced back and saw the child from the alleyway the one who had punched one of his goons and hid in the sewer drain. She looked around 5 if Crocodile had to guess now getting a full look at them-

"You're guy that's next to you is a fucking asshole Mister!" The little girl yelled as she pointed to the man to his left- hearing one of his accomplices choking back a laugh at hearing this from such a small child. How she knew he was the one in charge also caught his eye, she must have been watching him too...

"Hey listen here you little shit!-" The goon that she had attacked earlier step forward angrily, Crocodile holding his hooked hand up to stop him.

"Hm?" He raised a brow curious of the girls words, nodding for her to continue.

"He likes to come here and push around us kids on the street, That and he tried to piss on us! You're a grown man yet you're acting like some perverted asshole!" She yelled as she pointed to his goon angrily, who was now red in the face as the rest stared at the child in shock and almost horror.

"Brave.. Very Brave child you are" Crocodile hummed as he stared down at the little girl, a look of amusement going across his features as he stepped towards her- Staring at the mats in her hair, how dirty her clothes were and overall clear abuse from elements. She steeled herself as he approached, her little fist balled tightly and eyes glaring up at him like she was prepared for a fight.

"What is your name child?" He questioned,

"I don't got one" She said confidently and harshly, like a little gangster. He chuckled at this and squatted down so he was closer to her eyelevel.

He tapped his chin for a moment and removing the cigar from his lips and blowing a cloud of smoke to the side as he stared down at her.

"How annoying.. Hm.. (Y/N) then- that is your name from now on" He said calmly and with a nod, His large hand reaching out and grabbing her by the scruff of her shirt and placing her under his arm like one would do with a Puppy before standing back up.

"H-Hey what are you doing Mister!?" She yelled in surprise as he just picked her up with ease and without care, The goons around him stating in shock.

"I'm keeping you- Don't most orphans want to he adopted? Quite an odd child" He mussed as he carried her, glancing down to see her face twisted up and eyes narrowed.

"Most people don't just grab children and adopt them so Quite an odd man-" She shot back, breaking a laugh from the man.

"Boss you're keeping that street rat?" One of the goons strilled, the one that (Y/N) had called a asshole.

"Ah yes that reminds me-" He grumbled as a wave of sand smashed into the goon, like a miniature sand storm that swept him down the street knocked out and like he had his skin sandblasted off.

(Y/N) looked at this in awe, unafraid of the clearly dangerous man who had just adopted her.

"Wow Mister- That was pretty cool!"

Crocodile couldn't help but smirk, Defiently a annoying child.

[narizaki]

photographed memories   ―   s. rintaro

＃   tags   gender neutral rdr,   fluff,   pre-timeskip,   4+1 trope,   getting tg ＃   notes   another suna fic someone save me.   wc 2.9k

we don’t need the memories.

rintaro had always hated inarizaki’s motto.

he thinks he always will, even if he knows its intention: to encourage students to forget past hardships and strive towards a better future.

it only makes him dislike it more. 

memories were what made a human a person. they decided how one would think, act, and speak — how does that not make them important? it was ridiculous to believe that the essence of one’s being was considered insignificant.

adversity served as a reminder of how one can improve. pleasure allowed people to look back on their lives without regrets. rintaro thought neither should be wiped away, even in the name of improving.

when he expressed this opinion to his teammates, he was met with various forms of confusion. atsumu had even said that the reason why rintaro felt so strongly about a school motto of all things was that he was a sentimental person. 

and while rintaro hates to agree with miya atsumu of all people, it was a hard claim to deny — especially when his statement made him increasingly aware of the camera in his pocket.

(still, he took the setter into a headlock, encouraging osamu to harshly run his knuckles along his twin’s head while ignoring his incessant cries of pain.)

“suna,” you hummed. his eyes flickered over to your place from across the store. you were bent over a pile of cameras, and you were sifting through a few of them. “d’ya wanna get one?”

rintaro’s raised an eyebrow, looking at you curiously. “why would i buy a camera? my phone works perfectly fine for taking photos.” 

you shot straight up, spinning on your heel to face him. in your hand was a black digital camera. it was small, a little worn from being used over the years, but appeared to be in otherwise pristine condition. 

“that’s exactly why!” you exclaimed, pointing a finger at the camera. “yer phone’ll run outta storage sooner than later. you can dedicate this to photos to keep all yer memories safe!”

“i thought you didn’t care about memories?” he bristles.

“i don’t,” you bluntly reply, “but i know ya do.”

rintaro’s heart beats a little faster. he fights the tinge of pink threatening to cover his ears away by pure will alone. then, he stalks towards you to snatch the camera you’re holding, paying no mind to your shrill hey! ya could’a ask!

he inspects the camera for a few seconds, feeling its weight in his hands. while there are a few scratches along the camera, it turns on perfectly fine. rintaro looks through the screen while aiming it at random items in the thrift shop the two of you dragged him into. the quality is pretty good, too, he notes. it’s not the best — a little blurry at the edges, but he appreciates the vintage look the lens provides. 

the camera unfocuses when he aims it at you. when it refocuses, rintaro watches you flick through old vinyl records. they’re stacked on a dinky desk and are probably as old as the camera he’s holding, but the glimmer in your eyes tells him that you’ve just hit the jackpot. you’re not paying attention to him or the camera, allowing him to click the shutter button without anyone but him knowing. the sound of the shutters closing is rather loud and catches him off guard — he fears you heard it too.

when you don’t react, rintaro lets out a silent sigh of relief.

he buys the camera the same day.

late-night convenience store runs were a staple in you and rintaro’s friendship. the both of you had a bad habit of staying up way too late into the night, and when it turned out that you only lived a few blocks from each other, midnight adventures spent buying snacks did as well. 

your eyes raked down the assortment of snacks on the shelves. rintaro stood behind you, playing a random game on his phone with his food in hand. 

“hey, suna?” you say, turning to the brunette. his eyes meet yours, half-lidded and bored. 

“can you not pick something?” he questions, standing up to his full height. while you whine a bit in response, you quickly remember what you were thinking of. 

“yes, but that's not the point! i was thinkin’, wouldn't this be a cute place to have a photoshoot in?” you reply. your thumb juts toward the shelves full of snacks, a small grin adorning your face. 

rintaro’s face contorts into a mix of confusion and judgment, so intense that you cringe a little. even after knowing him for a while, you don't think you'll ever get used to it. 

“you just don't understand the vision!” you exclaim, “c’mon, do ya have yer camera?” 

he nods in reply, but you can still see faint hints of confusion. still, rintaro pulls the digital camera from his hoodie to show you. what he doesn't expect you to do, though, is pluck the device from his palm and practically shove him towards the aisle. he nearly trips into the shelf but stabilizes himself at the last moment. 

the smile on your face only widens at his look of surprise, cheeky and teasing in a way he recognizes only you're capable of. 

“pose!” you usher him, the camera covering a portion of your face. he doesn't listen, giving you the most deadpan and uninterested look he can muster. it comes easy to him, considering how it’s already nearing early morning.

you giggle at the photo, before pulling rintaro away and handing him his camera. the look of confusion returns, and you bristle at him. 

“ya gotta take a photo of me, stupid.” you tease. 

rintaro frowns. “i'm not gonna if you keep on treating me like this,” he chides. when you shriek, the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly. he raises the camera. 

when he takes the shot, your hair is mostly covered by the hood on your head. your smile is childish, and he can see a peek of your tongue. your hands have come up beside you in matching peace signs. the yellow lights of the store only accentuate the old quality of the camera, and don’t do you justice, but a voice at the back of suna’s head tells him that you look beautiful either way.

he ignores it, opting to push past you to grab items off the shelf for you. your whines follow him to the cash register, where he tosses the items down — your favorites. he rolls his eyes when you cheer, throwing the food at you. 

rintaro has only owned the camera for a few weeks, but he's already made it a habit to always carry it on him. you were, unfortunately, right — he definitely liked using the dinky device more for taking photos than he did on his phone. 

he still used it, of course. he wouldn't want to waste precious space on the camera filming the miya twins’ fights. but there was a particular way the camera managed to capture life; freezing memories perfectly in time, allowing no detail to be missed, even with the old quality of the images. 

“d’ya think they’re gonna wake up soon?” atsumu whispers to his brother. osamu takes a moment to respond, observing you and his friend. 

“dunno. it's gettin’ late though,” the grey-haired twin notes. he stands carefully, making sure that he doesn't make any sudden loud noises. when the floorboards creak under his weight, he cringes.

“ooh!” atsumu excitedly exclaims. “i wanna take a picture of ‘em. can ya check if sunarin has his digi…thing?” 

osamu rolls his eyes but glances through their friend’s belongings anyway to check. he's able to make out the faint outline of the camera and makes quick work of taking it from suna’s pocket. 

“it's a digital camera, dumbass. n’ here. what're ya gonna use it fer?” he questions. 

a sinister smile grows on the blonde’s face as he takes the camera in hand. the light from the tv is enough to make out the sleeping figures of you and rintaro, your head peacefully resting on his shoulder. his rests on top of yours and your limbs are tangled together. the two of you close — in all forms of the word — and it would be easy to assume that you were trying to fuse into one. the movie playing in the background becomes white noise atsumu clicks the shutter button without hesitation.

the flash goes off. 

“oh shit!” the blonde almost yells, flinching at the bright light. osamu’s eyes widen, and he cusses at his brother. a beat of silence passes through the twins, their eyes trained on you and rintaro in fear.

they watch as rintaro’s eye twitches, and they share a mutual look of terror before his face returns to normal. osamu sighs, and atsumu carefully places the camera back into its rightful place. the blonde drags his twin to their room soon after.

when morning comes, rintaro makes quick and careful work of untangling himself from you. he watches as the sunlight hits your face perfectly, forming what might as well be a halo around your figure. he wouldn’t be surprised.

he rubs the sleep from his eyes while unlocking his phone. the first notification is a text — rintaro doesn’t see who it's from, mindlessly swiping to open it.

from atsumu: 

hope ya enjoyed ur sleep with ur girl. check ur camera thing

to atsumu: 

you're so dead

it’s the first photo he flicks to whenever he misses you, which is embarrassingly often for someone who lives only a few blocks away. he thinks it might be his favorite — not just of you, because he thinks any photo of you is his favorite at this point, but of him. once he’s able to inspect the photo, he notes the strange look of serenity he has. rintaro doesn’t think he can chalk it up to a peaceful sleep — not when there’s an almost love-sick look to him, even when unconscious. 

rintaro doesn’t dare to voice his thoughts out loud, but he thinks he looks the best with you. 

you had always loved the sky.

this was a fact rintaro had known for as long as he had known you. more often than not, when you had nothing else to do, you would tip your head upwards, eyes adoring the endless scene in front of you.

and once he’d known you for longer, when he’d gotten used to your sporadic invitations to go out at ungodly hours of the night, rintaro also learned of your love for the stars.

in a way, he thought it was different from how you saw the sky. 

if you admired the sky — thought it provided you with inspiration for something rintaro didn’t know of, looked at it as if it gave you an infinite amount of opportunities (because it did, according to you), then your relationship with the stars was much more intimate.

you gazed at the lights scattered across the night sky like you’d known them for years. maybe you did, rintaro thinks. he believes that you’d spend hours looking at the stars if you could — having a silent conversation with them as if they were an old friend. sometimes, you’d point out different constellations to him and explain their stories. he would listen, of course, but never truly understand. 

and while you conversed with orion and told jokes to lyra, rintaro busied himself with you. 

he slipped the black digital camera from its place in his pocket — it was practically the device’s home, with how often it was found there. turning it on as quietly as possible, rintaro brought the screen closer to his face so he could capture you in your entirety. like the photo he took the day he bought the camera, you paid no attention to him, too immersed in your silent conversation with the stars above. he allows himself to admire you through the lens for a moment before clicking the shutter button.

the sound snaps you from your daze.

“hey!” you shriek, “did ya jus’ take a photo of me?”

rintaro snickers. “what else do you think i did?”

“i probably looked so bad,” you whine, “ya need’a delete it, please!” a pout forms on your lips, making the brunette feel just a little bad. 

the next thing rintaro says slips from his mouth before he’s able to catch it. 

“i’m not gonna,” he hums, “but if it helps, you look pretty in it.”

you freeze once you hear his words, and rintaro wants to slap himself. maybe he’d even ask atsumu to do it for him — only the gods know how badly the blonde wants to. his fingers drum nervously against his thigh, and he shifts his focus onto the stars above him. he thinks they’re laughing at him.

“i think yer pretty, too, suna.” you mumble, falling back onto the soft grass. 

rintaro looks at you in surprise. you’re no longer gazing at him, too enraptured with whatever the constellations may be telling you now. he doesn’t know if he should be grateful or not. he stays silent, butterflies swarming in his stomach.

if you were to ask rintaro what his favorite photo of all time was, he wouldn’t have an immediate answer.

he has dozens — maybe even hundreds — of photos that he likes. there are some of his friends, like the horrendous photo of osamu drooling in his sleep or of kita scolding atsumu. he knows he has a few of his sister throughout her life, from her first days of school to stupid .5 photos taken from the top of her head. there are some of him sprinkled throughout his camera roll, too. rintaro remembers the selfie he took after he let his sister mess with his hair — colorful hairbands and different clips adorned the strands, though his face was less than cheerful. he knows he has a photo of himself after he’d accidentally taken atsumu’s serve to the face. a large welt was present on his cheek, red seeping through the wound. 

he has photos of you, too. of course, he has less-than-great ones, like when you fell asleep on the bus ride home, or any of the moments he captured you off-guard. there’s the photo he took of you looking at the stars and the one he took of you posing in front of the snack shelf at your local convenience store. 

rintaro is a self-assured person — confident in both himself and his abilities. so, even if it’d take him a minute or two, he knows what he’d say if someone asked him what his favorite photo was.

the picture isn’t the clearest. it’s blurry, and you can hardly make out the faces of the people who are in it, even though the flash is on. for the most part, you can only see that there are two people in it, their faces smushed close together. 

you took it the day he confessed to you — it was an awkward confession, and he tripped over his words a few times, but it was everything and more to you. 

promptly after his un-planned confession, there was an ominous pause between your bodies. it made rintaro’s stomach drop, eyes skidding around to focus on everything and anything but you. what he didn’t see during that time, though, was the fond smile that stretched along your face — an obvious expression of your feelings and the answer to his admission.

rintaro missed the way your arms shot out to find solace around his shoulders to pull him down, too. the kiss was clumsy, your teeth clashing with his. you giggled throughout it, and rintaro felt his lips turn upwards to smile into the kiss.

he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

the photograph came after many other kisses were shared. you were both unsure how to take the perfect picture, as you weren’t able to see yourselves through the lens — resulting in the poor execution of the shot. 

“i’m starting to think you just wanted a reason to kiss me more,” he mumbles against your lips. you laugh, but don’t answer — holding the black camera out instead, your arm shaking as you attempt to find the right angle. rintaro only glances at the lens of his camera, putting the entirety of his focus back onto you.

he lets out an amused sigh, pressing forward to meet you. 

the shutter closes and the flash goes off, but neither of you flinch. the camera drops from your hand onto rintaro’s bed, coming to cup his face instead. you push further, deepening the kiss. rintaro doesn’t complain, his arms looping around your figure to pull you closer to him.

“this photo is so shitty,” he teases, finally looking at the picture. his lips are red and swollen, and yours are in a similar state. your bottom lip juts out in a dramatic pout, and you look over his shoulder at the photo. he’s right, but you’d rather be deprived of water than admit defeat. you lightly slap your boyfriend’s chest, laughing at the high-pitched whine he lets out. 

even if it's a shitty photo, it’s still rintaro’s favorite. he knows the photo doesn’t do either of you well — you can hardly even tell its you and him in it, much less what you’re doing. still, it’s a moment rintaro will never forget; a memory that he’ll always keep close to him.

when atsumu had said that rintaro hates their school’s motto because he’s a sentimental person, rintaro figured there was some truth to it. he sees it in the way that he wouldn’t let anything get in the way between him and the memories you’ve shared. 

[kaijuparfait]

long ramble of me going through the venom trailer because i am insane totally normal about it

this isn't anything professional, just me spouting out random words as i run around in circles like an excited dog-

OK LET'S GO:

firstly... king please change your clothes its been years, why are you still wearing that exact same outfit???

BUT i am a sucker for the light going over and past Eddie as he walks, i just think it's so cool hehe,,

E: "You should probably know that I have a really dark and unpredictable side to me."

hmmm... i'll believe you. at first, it sounds like he's telling this to Venom, but I wouldn't be surprised if Eddie is telling this to someone else and this "dark and unpredictable side" is Venom.... Or he is telling this to Venom and Eddie just really wants to kill now which. I am ok with that, love that for them, they should be allowed to do what they want

cleanly punching off the lock via the ~ Power of Friendship ~ (or something like that)

not the dogs :( i'm assuming this is a place to hold dogs for like. dog fighting?? i think? which is terrible and those guys deserved to get their heads eaten!

E: "I'm giving you a chance, sweetie."

LET. EDDIE. KILL. everyone say thank you Tom Hardy for being Eddie cause WOAH i am. normal.

V: "Just say "when"." E: "...when."

WE'RE SO BACK its just like the "Mask!" "Copy." bit from the first movie omg we're so back, these two make me ill i love them sm

also Eddie not even flinching at the knife, most likely Venom turning off the pain (or something) but I like to think Eddie's just cool like that (these close ups of Eddie's face makes me wanna do a study on him, just draw him a million times for the fun of it, and i will! Tom Hardy is a beautiful man!)

either venom is fully acting as shoes or Eddie is wear the most busted up pair of crocs i have ever seen and both options are so great. either way- KICK! that guy is GONE you even see him slouched against the wall, surrounded by bricks in a later scene, Venom and Eddie are not messing around this movie!

I- hhhhh. ok. I'm ok. Yeah these two are NOT messing around, Eddie could not care less about these dudes, there is no hesitating, no guilt, no fear in this man's expression AND I LOVE IT <333 GET ANGRY! GET SCARY!!!

AND WE HAVE THE BOI. THERE HE IS!!! the roar sounds different too i think, it's very cool tho, feels like a shrill, higher pitch than i expected but i don't dislike it

let the dogs be free! they immediately start attacking those guys and i love it <3 doggy :3

AND EDDIE IS FIGHTING TOO WOOOOO i need to redraw all of these frame cause WHEW! making me blush with these shot compositions, so good. so much trust, Eddie knows Venom will keep him safe and jumps in! literally! i adore how Venom's head is following him too, it's so creepy, the way it just slithers through the air, I wish to send all my love to the teams who work on Venom, there are so many points from the trailer and the first 2 movies that I wanna dissect, just to point out all his little movements, very fun

speaking of his little movements- squinty eyes :3 and the half venom, half eddie face again! always a win, forever iconic <3

tearing apart this venom scene OK! the little tendrils by Eddie's face, the way they move around is so UGH its so weird and i adore it! This "pose" is also fun because we really get to see the inside of Venom's mouth, most importantly his teeeeeth, in a long, pretty still shot that isn't when his mouth is wide open, the artist in me is loving it

also the team always does an amazing job on just making Venom look alien- the thick veins, the shiny black skin, and the tendrils that are holding up the bad guy split apart, instead of being just one tentacle, very gross, but in a good way

E: "We.. are..-" V: "WE ARE VENOM!" E: "We.. are..-" V: "VENOM!!" E: "No.."

They share one braincell, holy fudge, I love symbrock fjdkslfjsdk

and Eddie just keeps trying! same tone, same level, and Venom is so excited

V: "Oh!"

(I also love these shots because we get a nice close up of how Venom's mouth moves when pronouncing words)

E: "Yeah.. We.." V: "We.." E + V: "are... Venom." E: "...We really need to work on that."

and they get there eventually lmao, the way they say it is so in sync, even the eye movements are the same, how they open wider, and THE VOICES hhhh the voices.,,.. Tom Hardy is such a good. voice actor? in this sense ig.. i am on the ground, pure joy with how Eddie and Venom's voices overlap here

and Venom goes to town! lovely meal <3 getting a meal with the bf <3

I am LOOKING oh my goodness his mouth can open WIDE... normal feelings rn, yup, mhm!

doggy :D dog friends :D also Eddie no shot you stole that guy's shoes lmao??? nice boots tho (as someone who wears cowboy boots often, i would love to see Eddie in a full outfit.. putting that in the drawing idea list...)

V: "DELICIOUS! You take me to all the finest places!"

see! dinner date! :3 I can just hear the smile on Venom, i love when he's happy

and the world's most pathetic wet cat of a man (I say with the upmost affection) is back!

more proof that Eddie is never NOT sweating and that Tom Hardy's Eddie voice has the most confusing accent- i think he's saying

E: "Honey, I don't know."

but he could very well just be stuttering, or maybe he stopped midway and instead said "I need- I don't know." but i'm hoping they're at the point of pet names, go full comic, let Eddie call Venom "love" and "dear" and "my darling"

[Edit- thank you @.bridoesotherjunk for pointing out that he says "I need a Tylenol." i need better listening comprehension i guess??? lol?]

i don't know 100% of the Venom lore, still have tons of comics to read, so i won't talk much about the potential storyline here but- 4 SYMBIOTES!! maybe maybe maybe the Life Foundation Symbiotes... these babies got some funky colors.. they already used the name Riot but these 4 could be Lasher, Phage, Scream and Agony if i pray hard enough, the colors don't match but i can dream!

totally not emotional over this little bit of Venom that was left behind from that one after credits scene trying to bond with a host gently. yup yeah my heart isn't hurting at all!

LET MY BOY GO, HE DID NO WRONG!!!

my favorite local cryptid, what a creature

and he changed! finally! nice shirt tho, buttoned up only part way? the HAIR??? good stuff

fire seems to be a known weakness now, looking at the background, and i can't guess what they're looking up at, Eddie does speed up for it tho. I'm gonna say either a helicopter or something else they're gonna try and jump up to? Venom does go-

V: "OH SHIT"

during this scene so maybe it's one of those Symbiotes from before? Who knows, I could guess a hundred things but idk

THE WATER SCENE!! FROM THAT ONE BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO TOM HARDY POSTED!!!

Venom in the last bit and Eddie being just himself if the first portion of these clips show that these guys 100% know what they're doing and have some sort of device (shown in the right image) that is capable of doing some crazy damage to Venom! Which! Oh no!!! I enjoy fight scenes underwater tho (Looks at Godzilla), very hyped for this one, I really wanna see how Venom swims. Yeah that sounds a bit weird but like. no way he's swimming like a human, c'mon now

E: "We are living the dream, my friend V: "You mean it?!" E: "NO."

Can't get over Venom's delivery here, he sounds so genuinely, it made me laugh, especially to how exhausted Eddie sounds lmao

LAS VEGAS??? y'all guessed right, they really are gonna get married in vegas,,

Eddie in a suit, HELLO??? my guy is looking snazzy! really tho, he looks so nice a suit, the BLACK AND WHITE suit? perfect. I saw people saying that they hope that Venom is the suit and just. me too..

MRS. CHEN RETURNS omg this cast are all so <333 she is GORGEOUS that dress is beautiful on her AND HER HAIR Mrs. Chen my beloved

Mrs. Chen sounds so happy to see Eddie, and Venom also very excitedly say hi, my heart is going to burst, it is overflowing, this part of the trailer makes me smile so much AND THEN THEY DANCE WITH EACH OTHER!!! I know it's called The Last Dance but I was not expecting a dance with Mrs. Chen??? I am more than ok with this tho, Venom and Mrs. Chen, dancing on the stairs, they look so happy, they're having such a good time i can't, my heart can't take this <3

AND LOOK HOW THEY HOLD HER HANDS.. they... they care about each other so much i'm going to cry in the theaters- no i'm gonna cry NOW.

is that a xenophage i see??? that thing is HUGE HUH??? i fully understand Venom in this (side note, i ADORE how Venom goes "JESUS CHRIST" upon seeing this thing, the line delivery get's better every film, that was so genuine) this design is insane tho, i might spend some time doing a study on it

Toxin is here! YIPPEE!!! love the voice, thought it was Venom for a second the first time i watch this but its pretty good

I have no clue who the people are that are in this tower thing, I've seen a few theories but i ain't embarrassing myself by guessing wrong here lmao

(running out of image spaces sorry!)

in the clip of Venom walking into this lab (?) and then getting violently shot at, is it just me or does Venom seem small? I'm guessing the door is just really big but like. idk maybe i'm just mixing up my Venoms and thinking that he's not as big as I remember

really quick cut of what may be 2 more Symbiotes like the 4 from earlier? maybe they're the same and are just changing colors, maybe they're new, who knows! I love their colors tho, the one on the right (in the clip) looks like it's blue and pink and i think that's cute

Xenophage breaks into this lab, love that for her, she is still terrifying!

E: "We may not make it out of this alive, buddy."

haha what do you mean by that king?

V: "Eddie... the time has come..."

HAHA PAUSE. uhm. he said the same thing last time at the end of Let There Be Carnage and Eddie didn't let him go but, istg, IF THEY DIE AT THE END OF THIS MOVIE. i know its the last of the trilogy BUT THEY DON'T NEED TO DIE, SONY, MARVEL, DON'T DO THIS TO ME. i am going cry violently at the writers... i don't think i will ever stop crying if they die at the end

they're in this busted up helicopter, already intriguing, but when it zooms in on Eddie's face, he's tearing up??? this movie is checking off every emotion, i need to remember to stay hydrated before i go see it, i will cry so much

I don't even think i'll be able to handle just one of them dying, the end of the first movie made me tear up the first time i saw it, and that was before i was as insane about them as i am now, i will be UNWELL in the theater

And last but certainly not least. HORSE VENOM WOOOOOO

the design for this things is insane, i didn't think i'd ever wanna draw a horse in my life but like.. kinda changing my mind ngl (weird detail, Venom horse has hands and feet and not hooves!)

E: "Be honest with me, how fast do you think you can make that thing go, without killing it?" V: "..ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"

Venom sounds a bit muffled in this clip which makes it a bit more funny to me, i won't lie. Eddie is hanging on FOR HIS LIFE THOUGH, geez i know he said "how fast" but Eddie gets LAUNCHED OFF VENOM when they go over that cliff. fun reference to the first movie, how Venom grabs onto Eddie as he flies up, like on the motorcycle <3

this horse scene has to be earlier on because Eddie is in The Outfit and is also not wearing shoes??? i refuse to believe he'd put it back on, and in the helicopter-"it is time" clip, Eddie is wearing that white shirt, which looks like the undershirt to the suit (maybe) so the Las Vegas scene happens before them running from the explosion/fire.

oh right, the song that's playing? Space Oddity by David Bowie? yeah it's about an astronaut dying along in space.... which... is not very comforting...

god this trailer makes me so hyped, October cannot come faster i need this movie NOW. please.

man the trailer is kinda confusing, i'm already making guesses on where things happen and what the context could be, but literally anything could happen in this film. there are so many things that just don't make sense yet and it's hurting my brain I JUST WANNA KNOW! are those new Symbiotes or not? What even is the plot? Will Eddie and Venom profess their love to each other? Will Sleeper be real? How many times will this movie make me cry? Only time will tell

...and it's only the first trailer! head so full of thoughts, heart so full of emotions!

[cyberwhumper]

Imran had already known, going in, that the conditions of the breeding facility where he now found himself standing would be less than ideal when compared to his old employer. He knew the smaller budget would reflect on the conditions the animals were kept, how the entire process was executed, and what the odds of the transaction working out were. Yet he is still shocked when the cages are small, cramped, filthy. His heart aches for each and every single one of the biopets kept within, but he knows he realistically can't possibly save them all.

Just one. Just the one. That would be enough.

With every step further into the facility, the mental image of Horus degrades in his mind. Guilt gnaws at the forefront of his conscience, and it comes crashing down heavily once he sees with his own eyes what had become of the once powerful animal he had met all those years ago.

Tied to the center of the tiny room, the creature barely had any slack to move. Its body is covered in a litany of sores and bruises, and the emaciated skin clings to bone like a tight-fitting suit. As soon as its gaze meets the handler's, a shrill noise leaves its mouth. Terror, it seems, was all that remained. The knot in Imran's stomach feels so tight it's nauseating.

He hopes to appease the animal despite the handler's amused comments over the pointlessness of the effort. Horus doesn't look at him. Doesn't even seem to recognize him. It pulls away from Imran as best as it can, tail pinned between its exhausted legs, tears streaming down its face, body shaking so hard it makes the chains holding it in place clink. Talking to it has no effect. Even touching it, an act that would have always promptly elicited a bite response, does nothing.

Imran barely remembers the rest of the transaction.

At some point money had exchanged hands, the biopet was sedated, and he now found himself clutching the battered creature tight to his body as if it could possibly flee. The walk back to his vehicle feels shameful.

What have I done? No. I couldn't possibly have known this would happen. But it only happened because of me, didn't it?

The device on the back of its skull has been removed. Vandermeer leaves no loose ends. Imran doesn't want to think of what the withdrawals must have been like for the animal to go through. Death would have been a kinder choice than this.

The disgraced doctor swallows his guilt, and gently lays the biopet on the backseat. The drive would be long, but the worst, he hoped, was already over.

I'm so sorry, Horus. I promise I'll take care of you this time.

[OC INDEX]

Tag list: @whumpsday // @demondamage // @squidlife-crisis // @whumpedydump // @cyborg0109 // @whumpfish // @astrowhump // @the-scrapegoat // @whatwhumpcomments // @dustbunnywhump // @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question // @dokidokisadness // @moss-tombstone // @lambofmine // @maracujatangerine // @pinkraindropsfell // @writereleaserepeat // @blood-and-regrets // @littlespacecastle // @snakebites-and-ink // @unforgiven235 // @lonesome--hunter // @atomicsandwichprince // @writereleaserepeat // @whatamidoingherehelpme // @skittles-the-whumpee // @the-blind-one-speaks // @i-eat-worlds // @devourerofcheesecake // @theauthorintraining // @otterfrost // @mommymarichatfurever // @whumpifi // @catnykit // @bitchaknso // @softmutt444 // @yet-another-heathen //

If you’re interested in being added to the tag list, please let me know!

[theblueflower05]

These Violent Delights: Chapter One

A/N: Thanks for bearing with when it came to getting this first chapter out! Work has been dragging me by my hair, but i'm going to try to get this story updated every week. At least until I’m able to work through this Spike Fearn brain rot I’ve got going on rn.

Warnings: This story is pretty heavy from the jump. I mean, check the source material. Talks of suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Loneliness. Smut coming later!

Pariring: Bjorn x Reader

Summary: A friendship is formed under the most unlikely of circumstances.

✨Masterlist

✨Playlist

Next Chapter

Every day is exactly the same.

The sentiment runs through your head as you blearily blink up at the water stained ceiling. The comforter is tangled around your legs and your mouth is dry- a side effect from the sleeping pills. The shrill ringing of the alarm is the only indication that the morning has rose on the horizon, outside the singular window in your apartment it is still black as pitch. Your joints crack when you finally force yourself out of bed.

You go through your morning routine in an almost mechanical manner. Shower. Brush teeth. Get dressed in the standard issued trousers and blouse you’d been given when you got your assignment- the holes you’d sewn up yourself are barely noticeable. Barley. Clip your hair back. Even the movements as you eat the tar like oatmeal feel too practiced. Fake.

Lately, you’ve found you dont feel very real anymore. There’s probably droid’s walking around, wires for veins, that feel less hollow than you do.

Jackson Star is a planet in the Alfeios system, and in the 11 years you’ve been stationed here you’ve realized, that it is a planet that should've never been colonized. It’s harsh, by nature. Sweltering summers followed by frigid winters, and the ever present, extremely active volcanoes. The atmospheric processors can only do so much.

And they cant do shit about the lack of sun.

They can try to replicate it; expensive lamps and vitamin C tablets acting like a cheap knock off. Like Weyland-Yutani Corps way of saying sorry we dropped you in hell- here's the shittiest consolation prize in the galaxy.

This particular Friday is gloomier then usual, rain accompanying the dark. The walk down the cluttered streets feels even more…hopeless than usual. Like maybe this is all there is. Blurring lights of neon signs and the ruddy faces of children that hold out their hands on corners, begging for their next meal.

Like maybe if you stepped in front of the bus in this cross walk- then it would end the loop. You’d be able to get out of this eternally dark purgatory.

They aren't new thoughts, but you lifting your foot to step of the curb is. You go numb, not thinking or feeling as you step into oncoming traffic.

Theres the blaring honk of a heavy hand on a horn and then you're being yanked backwards, hard.

You gasp as you’re pulled back onto the sidewalk and out of the way of oncoming traffic. You’re equal parts grateful and disappointed. But mostly you’re shocked.

The girl is small statured, her brown eyes wide behind unruly curls. She curses filthy and fast in Spanish.

Her gaze makes you feel uncomfortably scene. Its assessing and…worried. Its been a long time since anyone worried about you. “Are you alright?”

You’re taken aback by her question.

“I’m fine. Didn’t see the cars coming” you don’t understand why you’re explaining yourself to this stranger. It’s probably the hot embarrassment that’s pointing your face red.

She doesn’t look amused by your answer but nods slowly “Okay…”

The signal turns red, the cross walk sign lights up and you’re gone, fast as your feet can take you away from your unlikely savior. Leaving her standing there, confused.

“You’re welcome!” Comes her snark filled holler. You don’t blame her. But with the shame filling you, you also can’t look at her. You just give a haphazard wave behind you. A piss poor thanks, you know.

You hope you never see her again.

-

After the blip this morning, the routine persists- until it doesnt.

The office is how it always is. Bleak. The yellow lights flickering and the wallpaper peeling. Patty, a heavy set woman with an acidic smile sits at the front desk. The grim reaper at the mouth of the river Styx. It’s pleasantries, your badge is scanned and then you find your way back to your cubicle. As ready as anyone can be to stare at a screen and four walls for the next twelve hours.

Maybe it’s something in the damp air, but once again, the day deviates from the norm.

You only ever work with electronic filing. Sorting piles and piles of e-documents into they Weyland/Yutani system. An office grunt you’ve been called. And yet today they want you up front, something about “Yolanda from zoning and housing” missing a day because her son is dying from black lung. God forbid she want to be by his side. It leaves the office understaffed.

“I’m not trained for that position” you try to reason but it falls on deaf ears. There are numbers to be punched, and your lack of true no how doesn't really matter. You begrudgingly leave your familiar desk, taking only the thermos of hot coffee with me. Small mercies, really.

Front desk is as hellish as one would think it would be. Between having to interact with real human beings, not the computers you’re used to combined with Patty’s snooty remarks; you’re absolutely jonsing to get the fuck out of there and go home by the afternoon.

In the back office the digital copying machine is down for the fifth time this week. All of the filing systems have honestly been off- a result of the shitty outdated tech on this planet.

“Ugh- they really dont know what they're doing back there” Patty sighs, muttering under her beath about how she doesnt get paid enough for this shit “Im going to go help. Again. Keep your head down and follow the guideline on the forms” she gives me stern instructions and a side eye “And dont touch my stories”

She cares more about the trashy soap operas she watches on her tablet then the mother she just evicted from her apartment.

Where’s a fucking droid when you need one? This is most definitely a job that shouldn't be done by anyone with a conscience.

With dread in your stomach you put on a brave face as the security system announces the next client;

Oh.

It’s a girl. With a small stature and wide brown eyes. Ones that reflect the same recognition you feel. It takes a moment for you to swallow the surprise.

“Name” You demand in a practiced voice. The shakiness you feel not transmuting to your tone. Or at least you hope it doesnt.

“Kay Harrison” and just like that, she’s not a stranger anymore “I’m here for an appointment”

You type quickly, plugging in the details on the keyboard. Pulling up her file. Scanning the information quickly. “Yes, I can see that. Here to formally request an eviction extension”

Damn. Thats tough.

“Yes. But only because we truly will be able to pay it next week. I brought not only mine but my brothers work logs and proof of direct deposit-” she pulls out a beat up old tablet and slides it under the glass. “We’ll be able to get the rent paid in full by the fourth”

What kind of cruel fate is this? The most twisted form of serendipity. She saved you this morning and now you have to co-sign on her eviction this afternoon.

You know it doesn't matter, you saw their file. The Harrisons arent newbies to being late for rent and their landlord is chomping at the bit to get them out.

“I’ll scan these into your case but at this point in the process it really doesn't matter” at your words, panic induced tears fill her eyes.

“No- because. We’re late. But we always pay. We’ve never been negligent, not on purpose. Since my dad died we’ve done our best” Kay rambles an explanation that doesn't matter and you feel frozen. Stuck. Conflicted in a way that you we’re supposed to have trained out of you.

“I cant-” you sigh and she looks pathetic. Drained…void.

A feeling you know all too well. That had almost led you right into the grill of a bus this very morning. And yet- she’d stepped in.

You gnaw on your lip and as discreetly as possible, your eyes scan around the empty office. Your co-workers still not back yet. You’re the only one in here. Its madness, but if there was any time to act on madness- it would be now.

You begin typing furiously, entering in codes that a normal front desk clerk wouldn't know, it isn’t in their training. But you’d been trained for filing.

“An extension wont be needed” You speak purposefully, giving Kay a pointed look “The landlord marked the eviction for the fifth. That gives you three more days to get a payment in before the constable is scheduled to come for the lock out”

There’s a moment of heavy silence.

The landlord had actually marked the second but well. It’s an easy enough over turn. Easy, but extremely illegal. You just did something that could not only cost you your job but risk your contract. Land you in jail-

“He marked the wrong date…” Kay chews the words, like she cant believe what she’s saying.

“Yep” I say quickly, finishing up, covering my ass by copying multiple files into the system. It would be hard as shit to uncover it, if anyone cared to bother. Kay’s just another file in the hundreds today. “Here you go, Miss Harrison. You have seventy two hours to get the payment to the respective party. If not the constable will be there to conduct the eviction”

I slide her tablet back towards her.

“I- I don't know what to say” She stutters and you give her a glare. You don't have the time for groveling, for un- needed thanks. As far as you’re concerned, you are now even.

“Don't say anything. Take your things and go”

I don't look at her again, not even when she leaves. Instead I refocus on my computer screen. Trying to breathe through the nerves that wrack my body. That was just about the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.

Your heart beats furiously and it’s the most alive you’ve felt in months.

-

After that it seems like something has been broken. The pattern no longer functions.

Jackson Star is by no means a small colony. Thousands strong, full of unfamiliar faces. And yet. You keep running into the same one.

“Here, I grabbed you a coffee. Extra sugar, like ya like, even though it’s going to rot your teeth out” Kay waits for you at the same corner that the two of you had met on. Weeks ago. She’d hunted you down after that fateful day and had shown that she wasn't giving up on showing her gratitude so easily.

Having friends in the colony is a dangerous game. Every friend you’ve ever had has either been transferred off planet or died. And yet here you are, eagerily bounding over to Kay. Taking the paper cup full of cheap coffee.

“My teeth are my own business thank you”

And it goes like this; the train station where Kay catches her ride to the mines isn't far from your job so the two of you make your morning commute together, gabbing about nothing. It's nice. It feels familiar, you used to have loads of friends.

Kay’s easy to talk to and she shares so much of herself so freely. Her little stories about her family make you smile. Make you feel warmth, and secretly longing. And yet still, every time the topic of you meeting everyone comes up you shy away.

Being friends with Kay is one thing. Meeting the most important people in her life is another.

She offers again today. Dinner at her house, ya’ know, the one she still has because of you. It’ll be lowkey. Just the friends. Fun.

Although you crave it, you’re scared of it too. That’s why you’re shaking your head, giving another of those flimsy excuses. Kay just pats your arm.

“If you change your mind, you’re still more than welcome to come. I’ll text you the details, okay?” She’s got this way about her. Gentle but not condescending, a hard balance to strike. Too bad she’s on this near barren planet, she’d be a great mother.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you”

When the two of you hit the proverbial fork in the road- you go your way and she goes hers. You to the office and her to the mines. Both prisons in their own rights.

You watch her cross the street and join a tall man at the train station. His skin’s the same shade as hers, his eyes the same almond shape. He’s handsome in a way that you’ve only seen on screens, in those old movies your mom used to watch.

This must be the older brother she talks so much about. Tyler.

He says something you can’t quite decipher to her and then looks over her shoulder, across the street at you, and beams.

Its not a normal smile. It’s pearly whites flashed at you in a way that makes your heart skip a beat in your chest. When he gives you a smooth wave you feel like you might be knocked over.

You just know the grimace and jerky hand motion you give back is as awkward as it feels.

If you obsess about how much of an antisocial weirdo you are all day, that’s your own prerogative.

I mean come on? You can’t even manage to wave back at someone? You truly need to get it together.

You think about that as you eat dinner at your makeshift table that night. Maybe, you’re just out of practice. You’re not awkward, just dusty. You just haven’t spoken to anyone for more then five minutes since your upstairs neighbor had a pipe burst.

It’s what leads you to pulling out your phone, to pulling up Kay’s contact. It’s still new. Still fresh.

Is there anything I should bring?

You don’t have to wait long for a response.

Kay: Nope, just yourself!😊 [location attachment] see you tomorrow.

You stare at her response on the small bright screen until your eyes burn. This is the change you had craved so badly.

So why are you so scared?

This chapter kind of took on a life of its own. I so desperately wanted to have Bjorn in this but there was just- a lot of ground to cover. Next chapter we’re jumping right into introducing him (and smut towards a the end of that chapter to!)

Big shout out to @spikedfearn for letting me ramble like a crazy lady in her inbox. Her Bjorn content literally makes me salivate.

If anyone else is still going through Romulus hyperfixation please feel free to comment or send asks! I’m always here to chat!

[whumpsday]

Catharsis #3: Unboxed

Masterlist

content: robot whumpee, whumpee turned whumper, defiant whumpee, violence, psychological whump

Whumpmas in July Day 9: Mind Games

i wanted to introduce each arc before continuing on with the present arc. i'll probably pop all over the place chronologically since that's how i write best!

here's 1's first day alive, though that wasn't his name at the time.

-

Cyrus opened his eyes for the very first time.

He was in a room in a house or apartment. It may have been his first moment of conscious thought, but he was not a human, and he was certainly not a baby. He was still in his box, he realized: he climbed out of it, brushing himself off, smoothing out the wrinkles in the disappointingly plain clothes he came dressed in. There was a man there, taking a step back. Probably the one who had turned him on.

The first strong opinion he ever had was that he was unequivocally better than the nervous man standing in front of him.

Luan, his mind supplied. His… owner’s name was Luan. He didn’t like that word, owner. It felt incongruous. Wrong. He wasn’t something to be owned, Cyrus knew that for sure. If anything, he should be the one doing the owning.

At the same time, he knew exactly what he was: a Catharsis Therapy Bot™. An expensive object to be bought and sold. A thing to act as programmed and be beaten until its owner felt better.

Cyrus frowned. That couldn’t be right at all. The only thing that felt right about any of that was that he was expensive.

“Cyrus?” Luan asked, apprehension evident in every twitch of his body. He winced immediately, like the name itself had hurt him. Pathetic.

Oh, there was no way this sniveling loser was his owner.

He found that his face moved automatically, parts shifting to match his expression to his intent as he looked on disapprovingly. “I’m better than you. This isn’t right.”

Luan’s eyes went wide for only a moment before he scowled right back. “You don’t like it when the shoe’s on the other foot, huh? Too fucking bad. You’re mine this time.”

Cyrus tried to search for what Luan meant, but he came up empty. Luan hadn’t supplied him with information on their history. On his history with… the other Cyrus.

But he didn’t need it. Luan was making it obvious enough for him to know exactly what to do and say, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“So you were mine before. That makes sense, that’s where you belong.” Cyrus stepped forward and patted him on the cheek with a smirk.

Luan flinched. “Don’t touch me.”

“You’re in no place to tell me what to do.” Cyrus tried to poke him in the chest to make his point.

His arm did not move.

Again, he tried, and again, nothing. Experimentally, he lifted his arm without intent to touch Luan: no issue.

He wasn’t smirking anymore.

“Oh, I think I am.” Luan pushed him hard, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Cyrus fell just next to the box, the sensors inside his skin lighting up with pain wherever he made impact–it hurt. He was sturdy, he had to be, but heavy with metal that pinched his skin. He sucked in air he didn’t need by instinct, a useless humanlike reaction he immediately found annoying, just to tint it a little worse.

Something was bubbling up inside him, and he did not like it.

“You do not fucking touch me!” he screamed, his voice shrill out of the speaker down his throat as he pushed himself back to his feet. “How dare you!? You pathetic coward! You don’t deserve to own something– someone like me, let alone… push me! You are beneath me. You are fucking nothing. You–”

Luan’s fist cracked against his cheek. He didn’t go down this time, only stumbled, but it hurt worse than the fall. He didn’t think anything could hurt worse than that. He hadn’t felt anything before. His hands went to protect his aching cheek, the words almost knocked out of him with the shock of it, but he found his place again soon enough. “You–”

“Shut up.”

Cyrus’s volume dropped straight to zero, and he found that he no longer possessed the ability to raise it.

That thing bubbling up in him only intensified, and this time it came with a pathetic urge to back away and submit. Obviously, something he would never indulge.

He glared at Luan with what he hoped was enough pointed hate to make himself clear without words.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that anymore!” Luan hissed, rubbing his knuckles. “You’re not in charge this time! You’re the one who has to listen to what I say! You’re the one who has to take it!”

He pushed Cyrus again, harder. He fell like a stone, tripping over his box this time. He was almost glad his voice was cut, because otherwise, he would have cried out, another annoying reflex programmed to make him seem more human. Weaker, more pitiful. It was infuriating.

Water began leaking from his eyes, blurring his lenses. No, no, this wasn’t who he was. He was supposed to be the powerful one.

Luan stared at his own hands like an easily-impressed child. With every moment, Cyrus only hated him more.

He started to push himself up again, but all Luan had to say was “Stay down,” and Cyrus couldn’t do that anymore, either.

Luan grabbed him by the shirt collar. “And I don’t have to take your shit ever again. What do you have to say for yourself? Speak.”

Not only could Cyrus speak now, he couldn’t remain silent if he tried. “I hate you.”

Luan laughed, dry and joyless. “Good. Feeling’s mutual.” He let go. “You know what you’re for, right?”

“I…” Of course he knew. “Something’s wrong.”

“This is the first time it’s ever been right!” Luan corrected. His hands were shaking. Water leaked from his eyes too, Cyrus realized.

“You’re scared of me,” he put together. “You’re scared of a robot you ordered! Ha! At least some part of you knows your place.”

“Shut up!” Just as he stole Cyrus’s voice away again, Luan landed a kick in his abdomen. It was worse than the punch, a sharp sensation hitting him hard, and just like last time, he didn’t realize anything could be worse.

The terror bubbling up in him couldn’t be denied anymore. How much worse could it get? He’d only been alive for five minutes and it was already this bad.

“You know what?” Luan cut in. “This really is cathartic.”

taglist:

@sowhumpshaped

@cupcakes-and-pain

@taterswhump

@softvampirewhump

@whumpspicelatte

-

@ladyblogofficialreporter

@whumpwillow

@not-a-space-alien

@a-crumb-of-whump

@lilac-and-lemon-whumps

-

@t0rture-me

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@pigeonwhumps

@the-scrapegoat

@whumpycries

-

@lonesome--hunter

@whumpy-wyrms

@alextries

@echo-goes-aaa

@morning-star-whump

-

@bitchaknso

@befuddled-calico-whump

@snakebites-and-ink

@deluxewhump

@whatwhump

-

@thorstomp

@vioqueenofmushrooms

@skinofafish

@whumped-by-glitter

@strugglingpedestrian

-

@oddsconvert

@wolfeyedwitch

@whumpalicious-fruitfly

@fleur-a-whump

@paperprinxe

-

@starfields08000

-

event: @whumpmasinjuly

[mediocretosubpar-soup]

To everyone's surprise, acting Sect Leader Lan, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng's inevitable full-blown all-out brawl is not Wei Wuxian's fault. In fact, Wei Wuxian is off on a night hunt with Wen Ning when it happens.

It starts like this. The sects meet in Qinghe. It all goes well, Nie Huaisang is despite his fluttering around and his shrill laugh, a competent chief cultivator. The talks are almost boring in their lack of scandal, in the swift decisions made. The Sect Leaders find themselves with a free afternoon.

Lan Wangji goes to the market thinking to buy a souvenir for Wei Wuxian and maybe another for Lan Xichen. (though he's not sure if it's wise to remind him of Qinghe). Walking through the market, he happens upon a shop that sells musical instruments. Interest sparked, he considers the wares on offer, the quality is good, different from the strict traditional equipment found around Gusu but not of lesser quality. A cleaning brush for flutes catches his eyes.

"You sell these as quality dimo?" Someone says in a tone that suggests the offending party has commited a grave sin.

"Sir, I assure that we only offer the best quality products." The clerk's voice has a pleading note to it, maybe he's said this already. Maybe he's just terrified. Whatever it is, Lan Wangji isn't going to let Sect Leader Jiang bully commoners. He rises to his full height and comments. "I can vouch for the quality." He tilts his chin at Jiang Cheng, in the way he's seen Shufu do for especially obnoxious parents, in a way that reminds people that Gusu Lan is the musical sect and he is their best musician. "I have bought them for my husband's instrument."

Jiang Cheng gifts him a look that could make flowers wither and turn sunny days gloomy. "I would have expected an instrument in the care of a Lan to retain its quality and yet even the tone-deafest of my disciples commented on the decline of sound when they returned from the last joined nighthunt."

The shop owner ducks under a table. Jiang Cheng jerks his head at the door. Lan Wangji steps between door and Jiang Cheng who huffs. "Acting Sect leader Lan, may we continue our discussion on the Nie training fields?" Lan Wangji's teeth grind against one another Jiang Cheng doesn't tire of pointing out Lan Wangji's inexperience and so far, he has always cloaked his pettyness in sound advice. Lan Wangji only heads for the door when he's placed money for the dimo on the table.

-

Their friendly sparring match between two equally matched cultivators who rarely have the opportunity to go all out for lack of equals in cultivation lasts until Wei Wuxian returns from his night hunt. By then Lan Wangji has busted Jiang Cheng's nose but Jiang Cheng has blackened his eye. Both have ignored Sect Leader Jin's screeching complaints of them being stupid (it's never stupid to defend oneself from baseless accusation) , a bad example for the juniors (Lan Wangji has been a paragon of proper conduct since he was a teenager) and isn't it far more likely that Wei Wuxian neglected Chenqing? This last point Sect Leader Jin shouts as Lan Wangji is sending a truly ferocious uppercut in the direction of Sect Leader Jiang's haughty face who drops his defense at those words. Lan Wangji cannot delight in Sect Leader Jiang's stupidly surprised face as Sect Leader Jiang was sending an overly flashy haymaker at Lan Wangji's face and Lan Wangji also dropped his defense. Lan Wangji sees Jiang Cheng's eyes widen in realization and then Jiang Cheng knocks him out.

Nie Huaisang later informs them that they both knocked each other out. "Who doesn't get too enthusiastic during a good sparring match? Who doesn't get carried away by the joy of fighting a good opponent?" Sect Leader Nie replies to Jiang Wanyin's explanation, his tone cheerful while implying that this never happened to him and he is very, very upset that his carefully planned discussion conference has been derailed. He's placed them in a shared infirmary and his head healer insists that they stay for the reminder of the night.

This is fine. Lan Wangji and Jiang Wanyin have done this before. No one endures their polite silence for long. They'll be given their clean bill of health soon enough.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Thanks Amy Siskind]

* * * *

"Bread and circuses" vs. "a debate"

September 10, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

On Tuesday night, ABC will run an entertainment program billed as a “debate.” The notion that the event will be a “debate” in any meaningful sense is fatuous. A debate involves two parties discussing opposing views of the facts. On Tuesday, one party will be unbounded by the truth. If the past is prologue, 100% of the words spoken by Trump will be lies, and that includes the words “a,” “the,” and “and.”

There is no meaningful way for Kamala Harris to engage with a compulsive, shameless liar on the merits of contested policies. Trump doesn’t know what the contested policies are, much less the arguments supporting and against the policies. He is immune to logic. He will engage in personal attacks when Kamala Harris addresses substance in a way that “sounds” to Trump as if he is losing.

And yet, the media will judge the “bread and circuses” spectacle as if it were a debate. Since the rules of logic and persuasion cannot be applied to a pathological liar, the media will apply them to Kamala Harris alone—making any judgment about who “won” or “lost” the debate a nonsensical exercise, like asking how many oranges it takes to land on Mars.

Worse, because there will be no way to compare the substance of the answers from Harris and the lies from Trump, commentators will focus on the shiny objects that are the lifeblood of television: Appearances. How did the candidates “appear?” Did they appear “presidential?” Did they appear “aggressive?” Or angry?—A judgment commentators will reserve only for the Black female candidate. Or shrill?--A judgment commentators will reserve only for the female candidate.

You get the point. It makes little sense to watch the event on ABC as “a debate.” From Kamala Harris’s perspective, it is an opportunity to speak directly to millions of Americans who do not feel as though they know her well enough to vote for her. It will be a worthwhile effort if she can give viewers a sense of who she is as a person.

Whether the debate moderators or the media will hold Trump accountable for his lies is beyond our control, so don’t invest time or energy worrying about whether they will act as journalists or gossip columnists.

Lawrence O’Donnell’s “must watch” critique of the NYTimes

On Monday evening, Lawrence O’Donnell critiqued the NYTimes’ effort to correct its “sane-washing” of Trump's lies. As noted by O’Donnell, the Times described Trump's claim that a tariff is a “tax on foreign nations” as a “dubious proposition.”

Trump's assertion is universally rejected by economists. A tariff is not a tax on foreign nations but a sales tax paid by US consumers designed to drive up the cost of foreign goods and make them less competitive in the US market.

There is no sense in which tariffs are a tax on foreign nations—and the Times knows (or should know) that there is nothing “dubious” about that fact. It is a bald-faced lie.

It is worth ten minutes of your time to understand just how deeply the NYTimes has gone down the Trumpian rabbit hole of illogic. I promise you will not regret this investment of your time: The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell 9/9/24 (Start the video at 0:00; somehow, I can’t force the link to start at that point.)

The GOP is a voter suppression machine

Republicans currently control the House—by a few votes. One of the major functions of the House is to originate spending bills that fund government operations. Rather than performing their basic function as stewards of the fiscal operation of the government, Republicans are attempting to use the most recent “must pass” government funding bill to imposes a national voter suppression rider.

The rider, known as Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, imposes national “proof of citizenship” requirements. National voting eligibility has worked for 240 years without a “proof of citizenship” requirement at registration and there has been no uptick in voter fraud based on fraudulent claims of US citizenship. The SAVE Act is based on the same old Republican scaremongering designed to make it more difficult for the elderly, Black citizens, young voters, and disabled citizens to register.

Research by The Brennan Center for Justice, VoteRiders, and other organizations demonstrated that “more than 9 percent of American citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, don’t have proof of citizenship readily available.” See Brennan Center for Justice, Millions of Americans Don’t Have Documents Proving Their Citizenship Readily Available.

The good(?) news is that, as usual, Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to pass a six-month continuing resolution with the SAVE Act rider isn’t going to pass. Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding plan already crumbling with at least 6 GOP no votes | CNN Politics. The bad news is that the House will likely jam the federal government into a spending crisis before averting a shutdown at the last moment.

The point is that the House GOP caucus is taking advantage of its core function of passing budgets to shoehorn in a voter suppression bill that addresses a non-existent problem while imposing significant obstacles to the voting rights of Black Americans, the elderly, young voters, and disabled voters. The GOP can best be described as a voter suppression machine whose only purpose is to perpetuate its death grip on power. We can break that grip in November by electing Kamala Harris.

JD Vance spreads racist internet rumors

In a dark corner of the internet, a basement dwelling troll started a false rumor that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were stealing and eating the pet cats of Ohio residents and waterfowl from local parks. Local authorities in the cities where the alleged acts occurred stated that no one had reported any instance of a pet being eaten by anyone, much less than by Haitian immigrants.

The falsity of the rumor and denial by local authorities did not stop JD Vance from posting the false and racist rumor on Twitter. See Vox, JD Vance’s racist, cat-eating conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants | Vox

At root, the claim is a racist slur against Haitian immigrants. A video posted by Keith Boykin, co-founder of the National Black Justice Coalition, explains the proud history of Haiti and the racist roots of the rumor. Keith Boykin on X: "This new lie about Haitian immigrants eating other people’s cats marks a new low for Republicans!

Of course, the racist slur has been promoted by JD Vance, Elon Musk, and Charlie Kirk, among others.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[jdeanmorgan]

39. Because time has run out, for buddie pretty please if it sparks joy 💖

this one was just angsty enough to let me focus, so here you go bestie. (i'm sorry in advance)

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Buck was supposed to take his time, find the perfect moment to tell Eddie just how much he loves him. How much he’s in love with him. They’ve both been single for months now, ever since Eddie got dumped by Marisol, since Buck dumped Natalia. They were supposed to have more time. He presses his hand against his wound, closing his eyes at the sticky feeling of blood on his fingers. Eddie still hasn’t noticed, too busy shielding Christopher with his body. Who takes people hostage at a grocery store at 2 PM on a Sunday? Buck tries his best to act normal, to act like he isn’t bleeding out from a gunshot wound, a stray bullet aimed at nothing in particular. The hostage taker just wanted to scare them, of that Buck is sure. He doesn’t sound a day over eighteen. Buck leans against the shelf, but he does it too heavily. Eddie turns towards him, his eyes mapping out every inch of Buck’s body in the matter of a second. His eyes catch on Buck’s bloody hand, and a whimper is punched out of him. He lets go of Christopher, seemingly without realising, and rushes to Buck’s side, his hand finding Buck’s bullet wound. “Buck!” Christopher’s voice is shrill, full of fear. He’s leaning heavily on his crutches as he stares down at them. Buck doesn’t know how this happened, how he got down to the floor, but he doesn’t like the woozy feeling of blood loss rushing through his head. He lifts a bloody hand. “It’s okay, Chris.” “You’re not fucking okay.” Eddie exclaims, frantically trying to put pressure on the wound. He turns towards Christopher, ignoring the Ski-Masked man standing a few feet away from them, gun pointed right at Eddie. “Chris, get a first aid kit.” The man moves to aim his gun at Chris. “Don’t even think about it.” “What are you gonna do?” Chris questions defiantly. “Shoot a disabled kid?” The man sighs, aims the gun on Eddie. “If he does anything, I’ll shoot your husband again.” Buck can’t help the breathless chuckle from escaping. Even the man who shot him can see how much he loves Eddie, how much they belong together. It comes out more as a wheeze. He lifts his hand to Eddie’s cheek, running his thumb over his cheek. “It’s okay.” “It’s not okay.” Eddie’s voice is steely with his stress. “Just hang on, okay? Stay with me.” “I thought we had more time.” Buck coughs, the bitter taste of iron flooding his taste buds, something wet crawling its way out of his mouth. Eddie sobs, and Buck shakes his head as best as he can, ignoring the blatant dizziness the action brings. “Don’t cry, Baby.” “Don’t.” Eddie shakes his head. He takes the first aid kit from Chris, immediately tearing it open and getting the gauze. He lifts Buck’s shirt, disinfects the wound as best as he can. Buck tries his best not to make a noise, but the pain is too much. He groans, keeping his eyes away from Christopher. He can’t bear to see the pain on the kid’s face. Eddie presses the gauze against the wound. “Don’t you dare give me a deathbed confession.” Buck can’t help it. He smiles, his eyes stinging. He uses the last of his strength to lift himself up on his elbows. He drags Eddie forward, resting their foreheads together. “You have to let me.” “I don’t-“ Buck shushes him. He presses their lips together, the kiss weak, but it’s everything. Eddie kisses him back, then pushes him gently to lay on his back. “I’m not letting you die.” “I’m sorry.” Buck can already see black spots in his vision. He knows what this feeling is. He’s going to pass out, and he might not wake up. He looks at Chris, even though he told himself he wouldn’t, and he gives him a smile. “I love you, kid.” The last thing he hears before he passes out is Christopher’s sobbing, and Eddie begging him to stay awake.

Send me a Ship and a Number and I will Write a Kiss

[baby-xemnas]

Alright in terms of singin voices!!! How would you rate the first mates vs the captains?? (Obviously we know how Luffy sings but. I’m still curious on your thoughts!!)

lol Luffy...

from best to worst, super biased

Law>Killer>Bepo>Kid>Zoro>Luffy

first off m never gonna be over whole heart pirate crew enjoying Bepo singing along w Uta. like thats crazy his voice is so shrill and insane but if he sings like an angel its my favorite thought ever - which is Possible, some ppl are like that! i think itd be awesome if Bepo hit notes right and had his timing on point but his typical voice quirks would sneak in so its still an unusual type of singing as the result

well we know Law's voice is hot and even if hes off he compensates with confidence and charisma....so.... not to make main ship The Best at a thing but here we are

id love to think Killer is Good cuz i love when guys like him are just proficient at things you least expect. i think his singing is beautiful

i think Eustass being okay is good, he would sing to Killer only cuz hes romantic like that, even their crewmates dont get to hear it its like a whole intimate act

Zoro is shit cuz hes a stick in the mud about it, hes not sitting on a well of hidden talent its goddamn embarrassing to sing "seriously" and he can only bellow shit drunk in a crowd

[foxboyclit]

love, me mercilessly

for day 25 of @absurdthirst's kinktober prompt, in which Chena'stra gets caught cheating

content warning for noncon

Chena’stra slides a knife under the windowsill, wedging it just so there’s a large enough gap for her fingers. The pane slides up with only a whisper of a draft, and with the grace of a spider on her web, she slips in. Her worn leather boots are soft against the stone floor, her footsteps not even a muffled sound. Now all there is to do is shut the window, undress and crawl into bed.

The evidence is destroyed with a soft click, but Chena’stra has little time to sigh in relief. She turns around to face Ang’dra, towering over her with a carving knife and an unfinished zhurkwood piece in hand. 

“Nice of you to join me in bed,”  Ang’dra growls, grabbing her by the forearm, “had your fill of staining another’s?”

“This is what you stoop to? Baseless accusations of me sleeping around?” She retorts, praying the venom in her tone masks the lie. It doesn’t, of course not, she’s so obvious someone like Ang’dra could see it. Entering through a locked window, hands red as her short silk dress.

And she calls her bluff, because why wouldn’t she. Ang’dra’s grip tightens as she pulls her closer. She smiles, treating the smaller drow to a flash sharp teeth.

“‘Baseless accusations’?” Now a breath apart, she shifts to grasp Chena’stra’s lower back. “How can you say that when you’re dressed like this?” 

“You don’t know shit.” Chena’stra cringes internally for the shrillness in her voice, her pitch not dissimilar to Ang’dra’s mockery. She strikes with her newly freed hand, aiming her fingers toward Ang’dra’s one good eye.

She flinches, hands dropping the knife and her carving with a sharp clatter, and Chena’stra makes a break for it. She makes it past no further than the hallway before Ang’dra catches her again, this time using her full strength to crush their rib cages together. A hand finds its way to the back of Chena’stra’s skull, jerking her head upwards to meet that carnivorous grin. Chena’stra struggles in her arms, a pathetic endeavor. Ang’dra’s breath is hot against her skin as she speaks. 

“I don’t know what’s funnier, you thinking I wouldn’t find out or that you could find someone better. You can put on a skimpy dress from your noble days and lure a sad fuck into taking you home, but it won’t change the fact that you’re mine.”

“I’m not yours.” Chena’stra spat, taking any angle she could to hit and scratch as Ang’dra carried her back to the bedroom. “You need me, I don’t rely on you for shit-”

Her protests dissolve into muffled screams as fingers shove themselves into her mouth. She bites down, hard, but Ang’dra’s grip is unyielding as she pins her to the bed.

“Even after being filled by someone else, you still act so hungry for me.” 

Ang’dra’s laugh is sharp, plunging into her nerves as her mouth slicks up her fingers. They’re drawn out of her mouth and trace themselves over her underwear without warning, and Chena’stra doesn’t know if her body’s moving away or into her hand.

“Get. The fuck. Off me.” She warns through gritted teeth, her wrist desperately trying to find a weak point in the hand keeping it down. Ang’dra may have her full weight on her, but all she needs is a single free hand to turn this around. Ang’dra’s hand cups her beneath the short skirt, and Chena’stra grinds into it despite herself. 

“You don’t actually want that, not by how your hips are thrusting and your cunt’s drooling. You just want your dignity, and I’m afraid you’ve lost that long ago.” 

Her fingers circle around her clit as Chena’stra tries to use the gap between them to kick her. It’s impossible, with how she’s practically crushed, but she succeeds in driving a knee into Ang’dra’s stomach. To her familiar despair, it takes more pain to get a reaction.

“All you have left now is me. It’s why you snuck in instead of staying the night with that poor bastard. You know no one else will have you.”

Fingers slide beneath her waistband, pushing their way inside as Chena’stra locks her teeth into Ang’dra’s shoulder as she tries to stifle her moans. She thrashes, spits out curses as her attempts to conceal her pleasure melt beneath her.

“That’s what makes me pathetic, the fact I put up with this stain on a noble lineage.”  Her lover groans, her hand slamming into her at a brutal pace as blood fills her mouth and arousal drips onto the sheets. 

“You’re pathetic for much more than that. You were nothing even before we met, before your House fell. You’re too small to leave a stain.” She spits, and Ang’dra crooks her fingers at the spot that cuts all language short. Each moan is a curse at her body, her weakness, her violator.

Ang’dra cradles her skull with a free hand, drinks up her stiletto glare as Chena’stra rakes her nails across her skin, pushing with the little strength she has. She’s rewarded with a venomous laugh as she fights through her orgasm. When she’s thoroughly out of breath,  Ang’dra wordlessly undresses and crawls beneath the sheets. 

Chena’stra curls into herself, and waits for her twitching body to fall asleep.

[dawn-of-worlds]

Salt

The King Irradiant begins turn 4 with 12 points: 2 (left over) + 2 (non-hoarding bonus) + 8 (roll)

Shape Land (-3): An arterial spatter of rocky little islands where, no doubt, nothing of importance will ever happen.

Shape Climate (-2): Jungles in the south, Mediterranean/monsoon in the north.

Create Race (Cooperative), -6 (total cost 15, 9 from others, 3 each from Siarruk, Aatos, and Zoreinak):

Between the storms that shake the new-wrought jungles, bright and clouded, calm and tempestuous, bursting with life and alive with death, there is a rain of dust:

Some from the mountains that force themselves through the skin of the weary land...

Some that slipped the grasp of the many-coursed moon...

Some kicked up by the joyful wars of the elder race...

Some from the crashing fire that burnt the skies and clove the earth...

...and some from the stars above.

For three days, it settles like a scent, lies down in the gullies and the mud, soaking it in dryness.

Then the rains come. Hot, too hot for rain, sickening whatever drinks of them, withering the green. Where the pools and puddles dry, the monkeys gather to lick at the thin white stains...

For a night and a day, it rains salt water.

The mud it leaves is warm and thick and supple, and, at night, the brightest star just visible, hanging on the horizon above the canopy, the monkeys work with their hands at an art they know not, dim ambitions flitting in their starstruck minds.

And what a piece of work they make! Four gracile limbs, hair on the head, two eyes big and expressive and rich in many colors. In the end, there’s only one thing to be made in the image of.

From Kirrik, mother of all flesh, the new race takes the gift of life; from the King, the gift of death — a soul and a bargain to keep. And...

...from Siarruk:

“They walk sideways like a crab, brachiate, or otherwise have unusual means of locomotion.”

Let’s, uh, get into the swing of things. (They can still walk.)

“They have great powers of speech and song.” Man is like God because he speaks, but he sings like the devil himself. Or the Moon herself, if you’d rather. In the jungles, they howled to summon the moon and sang to mourn the dead. The cities of the world to come will echo with song — shrill, haunting, wild, even to them, echoes bouncing in the hollows of the soul.

“They clean themselves often with water or other substances.” They have a thing about baptism.

“Regardless of the above, their eyes will be beautiful to Siarruk in some way: very rounded, faceted, and/or having many colors.” This race has large, round, charismatic eyes — blue, brown, lavender, pink, amber. Many are a lunar shade of pale grey. Sometimes, in the half-light, ever so slightly, they shine. In the blind elders of this race, they will turn starry.

...from Aatos:

“they favour innovation, experimentation, and industry.”

“they experience euphoria when separating living or dead flesh, whether by butchery, vivisection, execution, or self-mutilation.” They nurse a perverse attachment to the destruction of flesh, to its separation and division. They will feel it in the throes of their white-hot rages and the deepest folds of their desires, in their nightmares, in their mythologies and psychopathologies, in the rituals of their religions and sciences. Does the heart not war with itself? Does the will not turn over and over in its sleep? Does what is one not yearn to multiply? The desire to bring forth children, fictions, innovations — the procreative act itself — all a sort of mutilation, self from cosmos, future from past, desire from self, self from self.

...from Zoreinak:

There looms in the future of this race an immanent confusion and profusion of tongues whose details are yet to be settled upon but which will take on an appropriately MYTHIC register, that it may echo menacingly from the pulpits of a million churches yet unbuilt.

...and a little more from the Lighter of Paths:

The secret word caught in them like sand in a pearl, the word all their songs will try to sing and every mutilation try to reach.

A fascination with laws and contracts, the terms that structure the world.

The pull of the stars — astrology, divination, an ear for the tick-ticking of the divine clockwork.

An overweening ambition which will, before the game ends, destroy three great things.

These are humans, a little long in the limbs; their skin is a medium brown, their hair black, brown, or sandy blonde. They will diversify and differentiate as they spread.

And afterward, the clay knew rest, but the newborn race did not, and nor did the gods.

1 point remains.

[There was absolutely no way to make this one short. It works if you consider each contribution an action.]

[originemesis]

A forceful removal from the dark recessives of purgatory would leave her listless in a new environment that- upon closer inspection once the vertigo settles, was not really all that new to her at all. A slow breeze scented with honeysuckle and bloodied dirt brushes the bangs across her brows as twilight settles pink over the garden of Eden.

In the spanning shadows of the gnarled tree that towers overhead, there were no apples yet to find amongst the many diverting paths of branches that blossom skyward as leafless and skeletal as its root system within the ground. As above so below- it would take a balancing act of branches soaked in sun and roots basked in a rain storm's run off to ripen the red peels of fruit that seemed no better to the tree's skyward veins than clots of blood. When blood replaced water in the equation, would the fruit taste of copper and split lips?

As the light in the sky blackens and the world tips its scales, the branches become the roots and the inescapable fact of every vast and branching universe becomes apparent- locked within the root system, the limp form of a man hangs amongst the lively tendrils twisting around wrists and calves to hold him suspended in place above her. It's only when the patter of warmth strikes her cheek that it becomes evident the roots run deeper than that- emerging like slow snakes through a chest cavity as extensions to the ribs they'd wrapped around as if drawn to a heat source at the center of its nutrient source. There is one inescapable fact to every universe there has ever been, and it hangs in the ever frail balance before Eve under the ground and in the dirt soaked with the blood of a sacrificial lamb.

He is meant to die in each and every one of them.

Pinpricks of gold awash with muddled understanding slowly open as an attempt to raise his head is met with the python grip of a root around his neck tightening to raise it for him. Look at your mother. The lambs taken early taste sweetest.

A wet cough and an adjustment of the root with a strategic swallow later, muddled resignation fades as a sheepish smile brightens the captive's face the same way it always had when he'd drag himself home muddied and scuffed up from rough housing with the rams.

"You... you shouldn't be here, you know?" And the roots seem to agree, tensing around the plates of angelic armor they had already burrowed under to pierce through flesh and within the life granting heat that was the anchor point of all timelines. Outside tendrils turn inward to regard the woman below as if just taking notice, a shrill, ear splitting screech emanating from their tips in a warning that boasted the sound of her cries from every instance of her happening across his body in the fields morphed into a pitch so unrecognizable that it became its own voice forcibly fed through his bloodied lips.

"Ỏ̷̙̠͍̦̀̿͛̔͒͋̌̽̈ư̶̹͚̣͙̗͖̿̓̊̈́͌͝r̶̳͗̈́͂s̵͓͋̾͌̀́͒͂.̷̨̹͇̩̩̯̦͉̬̦̑͂̌."

Abel - the Blood that Anchors

• Group Limit - 1 @flowercrxwned ��� Win Conditions - Core destruction by 5 direct hits to Abel with one needing to be crit 20, or 4 direct hits to root system and 1 to Abel. • Battle Requirements - Either: score a minimum of one crit 20 in one of five hits to release Abel's core (he respawns if this condition is not met). Or, hit the root system 4 times to free Abel before the core is available to be destroyed in any one hit afterwards (no AC roll required). Root hit counter restarts if roots injure/feast on Abel successfully 5 times and Abel respawns. • AC for root system: 16. AC for Abel: 18.