#like what the FUCK they're all way cooler than i am i need to get cooler

[svtskneecaps]

returned from the family reunion. the verdict: my cousins are all way cooler than me. i must become cooler.

[astonmartinii]

worlds biggest fan part two | max verstappen social media au

pairing: max verstappen x reader

y/n is the president of the official max verstappen fan club, but nothing can come of that, right?

part one

masterlist

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, martingarrix and 6,708 others

yourusername: not much going on right now

view all comments

user28: and now we're quoting taylor swift huh?

yourbff1: you're fake as fuck for posting this after not replying to me for two days

yourusername: what if i told you my phone died?

yourbff2: i would fight u

yourusername: i'm outside pull up

user29: the way they're still bickering as if y/n isn't well known now

yourbff1: she'll never dodge these hands

maxverstappen1: 🧡

user30: you ever gonna progress past an orange heart WHERE'S THE FLIRTING?

yourusername: blushing

user30: there's something suspicious amuck here

user31: ur right

maxverstappen1

liked by yourusername, danielricciardo and 1,309,561 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: i'm her biggest fan

view all comments

user36: i am going feral i need to be put down

danielricciardo: who is this man and what did you do with max verstappen?

maxverstappen1: i'm not allowed to appreciate my girl? danielricciardo: my bad, y/n is a very beautiful girl you're very lucky maxverstappen1: I AM AWARE

user37: yall i think max is losing his mind

yourusername: wow who is this girl who definietly should be in a lecture and not monaco

maxverstappen1: but i'm more fun than your professor yourusername: better take that maxy he's a big fan of yours maxverstappen1: okay he's a cool guy but i'm cooler yourusername: i'm not going to debate that

user38: so like did he fly her out for the dinner or did they go to dinner and then get on so well they went back to max's in monaco? i like desperately need to know

yourbff1: so this is where you've been @yourusername

yourusername: sorry not sorry yourbff2: we've been collecting notes and work for you and this is how we're thanked maxverstappen1: name a race and i'll get you there yourbff1: i take it back you can fuck off to monaco whenever you want yourusername: you change your tune fast

maxverstappenarchive

liked by maxverstappen1, yourusername and 39,671 others

maxverstappenarchive: max enjoying his summer break

view all comments

user39: i know y/n is loving reporting on herself on this account

yourusername: maybe am i, maybe i'm not

yourbff1: she definitely is

user40: not to sound cheesy but i've never seen max this happy victoriaverstappen: neither maxverstappen1: i'd rather wait this long for a love like this, than have something less than what i feel right now yourusername: awwwwwwww i love you too maxy user41: i'm sorry ? LOVE ? user42: i feel like this is way too fast maxverstappen1: i'm an f1 driver all i know is fast charles_leclerc: good lord that is cheesy mate user43: @charles_leclerc what are you doing in the comment section of a max fan account charles_leclerc: being nosey and gathering data for the group chat user43: what group chat? charles_leclerc: the one where we make fun of max for being a softy

f1wagsandtea

liked by user44, user45 and 2,198 others

tagged: yourusername, yourbff1, yourbff2, yourbff3

f1wagsandtea: y/n y/ln, the girlfriend of max verstappen, will make her debut this weekend at silverstone and has brought along three of her closest friends and housemates.

view all comments

user46: omg y/n is finally going to a race

user47: i want her to go to zandvoort at some point i know the girlies there would treat her well

yourbff1: we're famous now oh wow

yourbff2: i mean it's just a wag account bro don't we hate these?

f1wagsandtea: catching strays on my own post

yourbbf3: deserved xoxo

user48: i am so excited for y/n omg this has all happened so fast

redbullracing

liked by maxverstappen1, yourusername and 569,341 others

tagged: yourusername, maxverstappenarchive

redbullracing: a famous face in the orange army was with us in the garage this weekend. y/n has been a long-time fan of her boyfriend max and finally got to attend her first race here in silverstone

view all comments

user49: this shit is straight out of a damn fanfiction

yourusername: thank you so so much for having me, truly an insane experience i am so grateful

redbullracing: there's still race day to go

yourusername: don't remind me i'm so nervous

maxverstappen1: i thought i saw an angel in the garage after fp1, turns out i wasn't hallucinating

yourusername: you're too sweet

user43: @charles_leclerc i got one for you

charles_leclerc: thank you for your service

maxverstappen1: how many of you are in this group chat

charles_leclerc: none of your business

user50: god when will it happen to me

f1

liked by lewishamilton, lancestroll and 881,208 others

f1: RED FLAG. the marshals have thrown the red flag after a collision between max verstappen and lewis hamilton. the impact was 51g and verstappen has been escorted via helicopter to the local hospital but is awake and talking. we will resume within the hour.

comments are restricted on this post

maxverstappenarchive

liked by maxverstappen1, victoriaverstappen and 67,033 others

maxverstappenarchive: i cannot express my disappointment enough in the way the situation was handled this afternoon. it is to my understanding that the fia have considered this to be a racing incident, though i do not agree, that is the ruling so i nothing i can say will change that. HOWEVER, i am deeply disappointed in the manner in which lewis decided to celebrate despite the severity of the crash to max. i am lucky enough to be with max now, he is okay and his scans indicate that there is no internal damage, but i do believe there should be some introspection to how we celebrate while being unaware of the wellbeing of the other party. you can call me bias, but max will come back stronger and this will only motivate him more for the title fight. game on.

view all comments

user51: holy moly she did not come to play

user52: i don't even know how to feel about this whole thing

user53: i was there and oh my god it was so intense

user54: i'm just glad both parties are okay

user55: this title fight is so intense oh god

user56: i have a feeling this is not over

maxverstappen1 added to their story

[caption: thank you for being there for me, we'll come back stronger]

note: HOLY MOLY this felt like it took so long to write lol. i've been at work every day and finally sorted my living situ out (i.e. i'm gonna move into the dodgy house and just wait to be evicted lol). i like writing cause it's such a distraction from my current shit show life lol - i may make a part three of this if y'all want idk i love the drama of it all xxx

[infernumequinomin]

I think everyone for the start assumes that Marcille is the fucking normal member of the party and is just that typical high strung elf trope when in reality, of the og party, Marcille and Laois are the biggest fucking freaks for the dungeon. It just makes sense that they're the ones the winged lion focuses on.

Marcille spent god only knows how many years studying dungeon design and how the magic of the thing works, on a very foundational level to the point of actively trying to design her own "safe" dungeon, Laois focused on the ecosystem and food chain simce he was a small child, Falin was obsessed with the dungeon as this mystery to explore so much she dropped out of school and joined her brother bc this was a Bigger Cooler dungeon than the one she had at school to explore. These three were absolutely fucking insane for the dungeon. They may have been some of the only people down here at first, NOT just here because they were trying to strike it rich.

Imagine being Namari like "oh these people just need a little help getting to the deeper levels for normal adventuring stuff" and then over your first meal together in like, the forest level, Marcille and Falin both start going off fucking science geek style about how the spirits are collecting in the area and what that means for monster cultivation and mandrakes and shit while the knight of your party is drooling imagining what a fucking ghost tastes like and being like "Oh no, I am the only normal person here" all the way up until you get to the fourth level and find a rare sword and spend four hours yelling abt metal composition and edge maintenance and then realizing "oh fuck oh god oh no we're ALL freaks".

Like high opinions of the siblings or not, why this party gravitated to each other makes sense, they're all fucking nuts abt this place in different ways. Even Chilchuck, who is arguably the most levelheaded of the group and arguably not here for insane reasons like "basically born here" or "wants to taste new and exotic food" or "needs to know how magic works or it'll drive her fucking insane for the next half millennia", is still clearly enamoured with how novel and interesting these locks and traps are. He likes the challenge of his skills! All of them are excited about the dungeon as a place to grow and feed their own desires for the future, and I think that is beautiful!

But fr Marcille is a freak and of the party. I don't think if the demon hadn't happened she, OR Laois, would have stopped adventuring.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @steddie-week.

Can't Miss Us.

Day #5 - Prompt: Reunion/Exes to Lovers | Word Count: 1979 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Steve | Tags: Post S4, Future Fic, Corroded Coffin Eddie, Hawkins Steve, It's Wedding Season, If They Didn't Have Their Besties, They'd Still Be Floundering Alone, Platonic Stobin, Eddie and Gareth are BFFs

He's in his pajamas. 

And they aren't even his good pajamas. They're just a ratty-ass pair of plaid sleep pants that Robin and him fight over ownership of, and a soft, but ragged, t-shirt that the logo wore off long, long ago, with holes all around the neck and under the arms. 

Steve was just running to the store for ice cream before they closed at midnight. He didn't think he'd see anyone, let alone Eddie Munson.

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

Maybe he will go unnoticed. He backs up out of the aisle, and runs his back straight into someone else's chest. He turns to say sorry, and it's Gareth.

"Steve?" Gareth questions, and he sounds just as surprised as Steve feels.

Eddie looks up at hearing Gareth speak. Steve sees the movement out of the corner of his eye, and there'll be no running from this. From them.

From him.

"Hey, I didn't know you guys were in town," Steve says, trying to play it way cooler than he'll ever feel about the situation. 

Eddie left, Steve stayed, and that was that. They don't hate each other or anything, but it has always been far easier for Steve to just keep a healthy amount of distance between them. 

"The wedding, you know," Gareth says, and Steve doesn't know. 

Is Eddie getting married? Is Gareth? 

Steve lives here. Surely he would have known if a big wedding was happening right under his nose. But he's heard nothing, from no one. Surely, Henderson would have let it slip if Eddie was coming home to get married.

"Oh, no, I didn't know," Steve says, "Congrats?" 

That shouldn't sound like a question, and he feels dumb, dumb, dumb. 

"Well don't congratulate me, I'm not getting married," Gareth says, then holds up his hand, "mainly because I already am." 

Steve nods, dumbly, not really listening to Gareth at all. But Eddie hasn't moved an inch to come closer. Apparently he's not going to. He's just standing there holding two tubs of orange sherbet. Eddie as frozen as the sherbet.

Time to get the fuck out of this awkward situation.

"Okay, well. Good to see you," Steve says, and leaves without the ice cream. 

Robin will understand. 

"He was just standing there staring at you like a creep?" 

"Well, it didn't seem creepy, as much as shocked to see that his ex-boyfriend is now apparently homeless. Look at what I'm wearing, Robin! Look!" he shouts, tugging on the collar of his shirt, and it rips a little further. 

Steve's spiraling. 

"Calm down. You look comfortable. It's midnight. Eddie's not dumb. He doesn't think this is your new style. He knows."

And Steve knows that. He does. But it's still terribly embarrassing. You don't want to go years without seeing the guy you'll probably never quite get over, and then be wearing your scrubbiest clothes.

It's tragic.

"He might be getting married," Steve says, dejected. That's the real problem here. Not his clothes. 

"In Hawkins? Get real. Eddie would never. He hates it here." 

He wouldn't. Steve knows that, too. Eddie hardly ever comes back, saying it's not his hometown, not anymore.

Steve understands. Hawkins kind of lost that right when they tried to burn him at the stake for something he didn't do. But Steve likes to think it's changed, at least a little, after the ones that did stay have worked to make changes.

Like Robin, and him. They stayed, and they aren't unhappy about it. 

"I'd say get some ice cream and calm down, but we don't have any," Robin snarks, and it's just what he needed, as he laughs and leans against her shoulder.

The next afternoon, they drive around in Robin's car, Steve slunk low in the passenger seat, checking every possible venue in town, trying to determine where this wedding might be. They check the churches. The best hotel that has a shoddy excuse for a ballroom. 

And in an act of desperation, the school.

Lover's Lake. 

But it's not in town. Can't be. There are no crowds anywhere.

However, out near the country club, they spot balloons stuck to a sign. 

Green/Goodwin Wedding

"See!" Robin crows, "It's Goodie! It's not Eddie. I told you so, dingus. Can we go home now?"

Steve nods. It does make Steve feel a little better, but Eddie still didn't tell him he was coming home. Still didn't want to see him while he was here, obviously. 

Definitely didn't expect Steve to be loitering around the Big Buy at closing time. 

And that kind of stings, just a little.

The whole "we'll still be friends" thing was a load of horseshit. They aren't anything to each other, not now.

"Home, Jeeves," Steve says.

"Ice cream first?" Robin questions.

Steve nods, "Only if you go in. I'm traumatized."

Robin looks over at him, "Well. I'll do it just this once, but don't think this gets you out of ice cream duty, dingus. I can drive. But I still don't want to."

"Deal," he says, because once Eddie's gone back to his life, things can go back to normal.

"Door!" Robin shouts from the bathroom, and Steve looks at his watch. It's after ten. He didn't even hear anyone knocking from his room. And it's a little late for anyone they know, unless Henderson is in town for this wedding, and just said nothing. 

Steve eyes the bat leaning near the hall tree, and then opens the door. 

It's Gareth.

"How'd you know where I lived?" Steve asks, skipping the hello.

"It's Hawkins. I just had to ask the first person I saw. Which was my mom," Gareth says, and Steve looks out beyond him. Checking to see if Eddie is lurking in the bushes. He doesn't seem to be.

Gareth just reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tape, "Here."

Steve takes it because he doesn't know what else to do.

"If you think it's what I think it is, we're at the club all night. We're out back. In a tent. Can't miss us."

"It's a wedding," Steve says, "one I wasn't invit-"

Gareth pulls an envelope out of his jacket pocket, "From Goodie."

Steve doesn't know what to say, but Gareth doesn't make him, because he just turns and leaves.

"What?" Robin asks, coming out, her hair up in a towel.

"It was Gareth. He gave me this," Steve says, holding up the cassette.

"Is it 1986?" Robin asks, and Steve laughs. The stereo still has a tape deck, but a CD would have been more convenient. "What do you think it is?"

Steve shrugs, but he knows. Down deep. He knows.

And he's right. It's a tape of songs that are very clearly about Steve, and by Eddie's voice, and the way it's matured as the tape went on, they've been laid down over many, many years. 

Steve doesn't know what to do with this information.

Eddie didn't give it to him, Eddie didn't come to him. 

Why does Steve have to be the one to stick his neck out?

Because, Eddie won't. Eddie will run for ten, twenty, forty more years. 

And these songs? They say that he regrets it. That he doesn't want to have ever done it in the first place. 

So. Steve pulls a suit out of the closet, and demands that Robin put on a dress, any dress, or slacks, anything she owns other than her yummy sushi pajamas.

She does. They both do. 

And Robin drives.

And Steve frets, worrying the tape case in his hands, the whole way.

Gareth wasn't lying. They couldn't miss the tent. It's a beacon in the night. Edged up to the woods, and it's a testament to what they all did, that that's a safe thing to do, here in Hawkins. Steve just hangs back, and looks. Sees the blur of people moving around, dancing, having fun. 

The music is decidedly wedding reception, and not Corroded Coffin. 

But Steve doesn't see Eddie.

"I don't see him," Steve says, not taking his eyes off the tent to look at Robin. She'll tell him if she sees him first. "Do you think-"

"I'm right here," Eddie says from behind them, and Steve turns. Slowly.

Robin pauses, for just a second, and then bolts for the tent, like a little traitor. Leaving him alone, staring Eddie down in the near dark. 

Steve fishes the tape out of his jacket pocket, and holds it out for Eddie to see. Eddie takes it, but doesn't look shocked, or betrayed, or anything really. Until he cracks a smile.

"Kid's a meddling little shit," Eddie says, meeting Steve's eyes.

"Was he wrong?" Steve asks.

"No," Eddie answers, "but he rarely is. Which is part of the problem. It's annoying."

"Well, I have Robin. So I get it," Steve says, and Eddie smiles.

"You want to go to the tent? I think it's about time for Cotton Eye Joe," Eddie teases.

"Oh, well, in that case…" Steve laughs, because seeing Eddie do that Cotton Eye Joe dance would be worth it.

"Or, we have rooms blocked off in the lodge," Eddie offers.

Steve raises an eyebrow, and Eddie keeps talking, "Meeting rooms. Sitting rooms. Not bedrooms," Eddie rambles, "I mean, we do have those. But I meant the other options."

Steve laughs, because he's still Eddie. He wasn't sure he would be, but yeah, this is Eddie. Just polished up a little, not as rough around all the edges.

Grown up. 

"Okay, Munson. Take me to one of your non-bedroom rooms," Steve teases, and Eddie lights up, offering Steve his elbow. It's goofy, and silly, but Steve slides his arms through the loop of Eddie's elbow, letting himself be led. 

Eddie stops at the open bar, gets them both a drink and a huge tray of the leftover passed appetizers. And they sit in the room that the guys clearly got dressed in. There are garment bags, and street clothes, and stuff on every surface. Eddie scoots a bunch of it down the bar, making room for the two of them.

"Sorry, it's a mess in here," Eddie says, "we weren't expecting company."

"I don't think I count as company," Steve says softly, picking up what looks like a fancy little pig-in-a-blanket and popping it in his mouth. Even cold, it's pretty damn good. 

Maybe he's just hungry.

They make small talk. Catching up, skirting the real reason they are both sitting here, together. The tape. The songs.

They eventually fall into a lull, and Steve doesn't feel like he needs to fill the silence. They can just sit together, that's okay. Eddie still feels comfortable, even after all these years, those miles, this distance.

He's still Eddie. And Steve's still Steve. 

"They are about you, you know?" Eddie asks, and Steve knows. "The songs."

"I know," Steve admits. 

"But they were private, so they didn't make any albums," Eddie says, "not because I didn't want you to hear them. I just didn't want anyone else to hear them."

Steve puts his hand on Eddie's forearm, and squeezes, "I get it."

"I have missed you, you know? Leaving you? The hardest thing I've ever done."

"Harder than fighting off demobats?" Steve teases. They can do that now. Time has passed, and enough of it, that it's in the past. Which is wild. He wasn't sure that'd ever be true.

"Way harder," Eddie says, smiling a shy smile.

"Staying was hard, too," Steve admits, softly.

Eddie nods, leaning his face down, until it rests on Steve's upper arm, Eddie rubbing against him, like a cat. Steve had almost forgotten that was a thing he'd do. 

His chest constricts, squeezing.

He wants Eddie. All of him. Everything he can get, for however long.

"So, about those bedrooms…" Steve trails off, smiling as Eddie meets his eyes, smiling right back.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddie-week and follow along with the fun!

[notmorbid]

dead like me, season 1.

dialogue prompts from season one of bryan fuller's dead like me.

i excel at not giving a shit.

a sunny disposition goes a long way in any line of work.

if it's my lunch hour, why is it only 35 minutes?

i know what might cheer you up.

everyone always says the same shit at funerals.

why do you have to be such an asshole?

they're not invisible. you just can't see them.

leave the plastic. cash is king.

isn't stealing from dead people kind of tacky?

i'm sorry, i tuned you out. were you whining?

as childhood traumas go, nothing beats the realization that everything dies. including you.

unhappy people do unhappy things.

you need to leave now. you're making me tired.

souls go bad in all kinds of ways.

all you can ever hope to do is make it easier. that may not seem like a lot, but it is.

i think for me, death was just a wakeup call.

you know what your problem is? you wake up every morning wondering what the world's gonna do for you.

i'm going to say this as politely as possible: i will fuck you up.

i am really trying to respect you. i am. but it's really hard sometimes.

carving my own path seems like way too much work.

just so you know, i'm very prone to anxiety attacks.

most of the time i'm talking out of my ass. i don't know shit.

just smell some fucking roses already.

you know, you can talk to me about stuff. if you want to.

monotony is the mind killer.

what you do now matters. what you don't do matters.

what is an average heart, anyway?

the password's 'rimjob', if you want to get on.

i wish people were more complicated, but they're not.

i don't want my picture taken.

it's very tempting to think the little jewels from our lives will bring it all back. but they won't.

i was dreaming about frogs.

i'm pretty sure they put mind control drugs in the water cooler.

you can't come up with a more original way to act out?

intuitive thinkers are the worst.

people lie all the time. it's not a bad thing.

if a lie is big enough, there's an instinctive need to protect it. it's almost maternal.

i need somebody to give me lessons on how to communicate with you, because i'm at a loss.

i need to be unconscious.

have you ever kept a scrapbook?

the lengths i go to for free food.

you've got a worldly quality. a certain je nai se quoi.

falling's easy, you just fall. jumping requires strength of will.

my face gets sore if i smile too much.

do you have to be such an asshole?

there's a finite number of personalities in the world, and i have met them all.

no wonder your children don't come and visit you.

jesus christ, fella, cut the cord.

you always seem to go a different way than everyone else.

open door's an invitation. gotta jump while the door's open.

why do i keep losing all the things and people that i care about?

when you can't make sense of someone leaving, you try to make sense of what they left behind.

i just don't get our culture's obsession with moving on. what are we afraid of, remembering? being sad?

you want to steal something, don't you?

you want to be a bowling pin your whole life, or would you rather be the ball?

i'm sorry, i'm trying to flirt with you. it's not really my thing.

why are you stalking me?

i could burn you a really great cd, if you want.

your perversions are coming into disturbing focus.

not in that life, not in this one, not ever.

you get close enough to see the pain, and it's no longer funny.

i really liked kissing you.

we all create, in our heads, who we are. who we want others to be.

what fresh hell is this?

just because you're dead doesn't mean you have to give up.

i'm not good at the pet thing.

i don't exactly know where home is, these days.

if you don't know the difference between flipping and flopping, we're knee-deep in water without a paddle.

i'm concerned you don't know what you're asking for.

i think some people wander because that's who they are.

you are a very internal little creature.

is it wrong to decide someone's a great person because they're so much like you?

you want to get coffee? i think that's what you're supposed to say when somebody's having a fucked-up day.

you do know the story, right?

you didn't do anything wrong. i'm just screwed up.

i didn't know that was all the time we'd have.

a girl's got needs, you know. even a dead girl.

i'm sure there's going to be some karmic reward for you down the line.

how's the whole 'dead' thing working out for you?

everybody grieves in a different way.

i could've, should've. didn't.

when you're mourning yourself, closure is a little tricky.

the one death you never get over is your own.

you can go fuck a duck.

i think i'm going to miss you the most.

do you want to do some acid?

i feel that my current reality is altered enough.

traveling alone has a certain magic.

what, did you all get together to vote me off the island?

the world is a very big place, and you are not the center of it.

let's just pretend everything is back to normal.

if you stand too close to a painting, all you see are patches of color. stand too far back, and you're missing all the detail.

haunting is all about envy.

i've always wanted to knock over a liquor store.

people mostly just want to hear themselves talk.

i work better alone.

i love the books that people leave here.

if a tree falls in the forest, who gives a fuck?

you can't smoke in here.

you have no respect for authority, you know that?

this job is really getting in the way of the business of living.

you only have one shot at life. this isn't a dress rehearsal.

i'm sorry i wasn't sweeter.

i'm sorry i didn't show you as much affection as i felt for you. i did love you.

i keep forgetting how young you were.

i love cemeteries. the quiet. the stories on headstones.

[musedisorder]

Nerdy Prudes Must Die! Part 1.

This is a sentence / prompt meme with quotes from Starkid's nerdy prudes must die for roughly the first half of the show. I will make one for the rest at a later time! Feel free to alter / edit the quotes as needed! Lots of sexual implications / foul language / and mentions of violence in this one

"Help! Somebody help me! Please!"

"Wait until you get a load of this mess."

"Face down in the fucking john. What a way to go."

"The killer left a little love note for us. Penned in the victim's blood."

"Hey, do you think they're connected?"

"The nightmare started there but now has spread."

"I'm scared. Someone comes for me. I'm unprepared."

"I can't cut through all the tension"

"It's hell on earth, you know."

"I'm tweeting all about it."

"High school is killing me!"

"I'm so fuckin' dead."

"Shit."

"I was up all late last night and I couldn't fucking study."

"Hey, hey geek?"

"Me?"

"We've been in classes together a long time, haven't we?"

"Well, since the first grade."

"There's an unspoken bond between us. We're classmates. We're comrades."

"I got left behind this morning. Bus driver's a fucking asshole."

"We succeed together or we fail together. And I won't mince words. I'm gonna fail this test. Unless you help me cheat."

"Won't we get in trouble?"

"Cheaters!"

"That little snitch!"

"Oh god. I am dead! I am so dead!"

"What's the matter? This your first academic misconduct?"

"I don't need this kind of attention!"

"This outfit is a tapestry of my trauma! It is designed to provoke as little teasing as possible."

"I didn't know you were funny."

"I like funny guys."

"You better leave your hopes behind."

"I never intended to walk through YOUR hallway."

"Oh, well there's a difference between intent and impact. I learned that at an anti-bullying last month, fuck-nugget!"

"Now move along, bitch!"

"Really? That's a hot take."

"Now you listen to me, you stuttering prick."

"Homecoming's just an excuse for kids to dry hump in the gym."

"You're funny!"

"Can I carry your books for you?"

"Carry my books? I don't think either of us are ready for that."

"Come on. You're breaking my balls."

"Just one little date."

"You don't know me very well, do you?"

"I know that behind closed doors, repressed chicks are the biggest freaks."

"Watch some porn."

"Don't call me that."

"I am only one man's girl. And his name is Jesus Christ. I suggest getting acquainted with him before you end up roasting on a spit in Hell."

"Forbidden fruit, dick-hole! It's always the sweetest."

"I'm the reason you run and hide!"

"Don't need no one to tell me high school with be my peak, so I'm willing to take advantage."

"So keep on judging me. That comes with infamy."

"No one's gonna stop me!"

"This is politics! Learn to multi-task!"

"I'd like to have an intelligent conversation with you. In other words, shut up."

"Hey that looks like my... phone."

"I've found a weak spot, haven't I?"

"Ready to make like Newton and get this physics project 'in motion'?"

"This project's on thermo-dynamics. What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I got it on good authority that I'm actually pretty funny."

"What was it like when she touched your arm? Did you cum?"

"Silence your cellphone in the library!"

"Nani?!"

"What's the matter with you guys? You just told me not to get my hopes up!"

"A naughty schoolgirl wants you to help her study?"

"Stop being gross, both of you!"

"You're telling me I gotta be funny again? I didn't do it on purpose the FIRST time!"

"I bet you'd call this luck. Well, that's your perspective."

"But what if all my thoughts were stronger? What if my beliefs were taller?

"Way cooler than I think I am."

"But what if I were wrong?"

"What if people see me as someone other than who I am?"

"Am I cooler than I think I am?"

"If I can finally be cool I will know that I'm not a loser."

"But is that who I think I am?"

"Who do I think I am?"

"Think you're better than me because you come from money?"

"Uhg! So you're a poor piece of shit then?"

"Had to sell your bowtie to feed your fucking family?"

"Look, I know what you want me to do, okay? You want me to grovel. Run so you can chase."

"Well I'm sick of your... s-shit..."

"I don't seem scary to you?"

"You're just a bully. And when you stand up to a bully, they lose their power."

"Does it feel like I lost my power?"

"I did not cosent to this rendez-voos!"

"I decide who's cool and who's not."

"I'm your god. Now on your knees, bitch. It's time to say your fuckin' prayers!"

"It's haunted. Everyone says so."

"This is wrong! This is so wrong..."

"I'll never tell ya to behave."

"I am expecting you to betray me."

"I'm only in if your over it, a one way ticket power trip with no room for censorship."

"Won't you love me like you don't care?"

"You talk to me like you're in a locker room. It's clear you never stepped in a classroom."

"You want me? Can't be skipping school."

"I am expecting you to behave."

"I don't care about you!"

"You got my judgement all muddy and cloudy!"

"I'm a good girl."

"I won't care about you!"

"We thought you were waifu material, but you're just a bully!"

"Come on. You can't stay in the bathroom all day."

"What a fucking psycho!"

"That's some cool-kid privilege right there."

"Isn't this like, breaking and entering?"

"You're the bait for our trap!"

"We're gonna bully the bully."

"We're gonna make it spooky!"

"It's goofy!"

"Got a better plan?"

"We're gonna make a dirty movie where the losers win."

"We're gonna cut off his nips!"

"No, we're gonna be real cool!"

"So we're not gonna kick his ass?"

"No, we're gonna be cool beans."

"Well then I'm gonna have to shoot the whole thing in a wide and it's gonna look like shit!"

"I don't know. I'm nervous."

"You're like, super nice to me."

"Not really. I'm just doing the bare minimum here."

"I brought the brews!"

"Oh shit. Where's that creepy music coming from?"

"Oh shit! Oh fuck! It's a fucking ghost! I always knew you fuckers were real!"

"I've been scared of you my whole life!"

"Float over here ghost! I'm gonna kick your fucking ass!"

"I make the dead run in fear!"

"Maybe I should just run!"

"Where? Back home so dad can call you a little cuck?"

"We can't have a party here! This place is hella haunted!"

"Get behind me! I'll protect you!"

"It's not real, stupid!"

"This was all a prank. A trick to scare the shit out of you 'cause you deserve it."

"I thought you guys hated me."

"Mission accomplished?"

"I'm gonna kill you all!"

"No, no no! This was an accident!"

"This wasn't murder. And it wasn't an accident. It was an act of God."

"Don't you see? We're free."

"We're gonna bury the body right here in the lobby underneath the wooden flooring."

"This is a lot."

"We're gonna hack all his limbs off."

"Did you say hack all his limbs off...?"

"Stop saying it!"

"You want me to film this?!"

"This has been the best two weeks of my life!"

"We could go sarcastically."

"Things really are different around here!"

"You want me in the huddle?"

"You smell like an open asshole right now."

"You fucking reek, man."

"They're my bros for life."

"I love this school!"

"I love being alive!"

"You said you wouldn't bully me anymore. Remember what you said?"

"Oh, I remember what I said."

"You fucking NERD!"

"No! No no no no! That's can't be! You're DEAD!"

"I'm free!"

"And you know that that means, bitch? No more Mr. Nice Guy."

"Did you miss me while I was gone?"

"Did you really think you'd get away?"

"You can see I'm much improved."

"That ain't good news for you, ya bitch."

"I got a list, and you're on it."

"You think I seek revenge?"

"You pushed me off the edge!"

"I'm on a new crusade."

"The world is just to well behaved, it needs to be saved."

"Expose the bloody lie!"

"I want you to repeat after me."

"Who will pray for me when I'm gone?"

"Can you repeat that one?"

"Is this the eternal dark without a dawn?"

"Who will pray for you when your body's gone?"

"This is the consequence for what you've done!"

"I'm not a loser!"

"What did you say!?"

"Don't kill me."

"But you have lost... everything."

[quillkiller]

do you think you could...share more of your thoughts about regpeter.... they're in my mind constently...

i was going to answer this and then my fucking rat died…….. but in honor or my babiest of boys i will talk about another rat (peter) and his boyfriend <3

so. i’ve been thinking a lot about how they would get together….. and ive been thinking a lot about unrequited jegulus. so i think peter has had a crush on regulus for a very long time but a very managable one. he thinks reg is pretty and lovely and likes looking at him a lot but he hasn’t ever felt the need to like make a move. my peter has the ultimate autism swag and i think he does hook ups rather than relationships because he’s never really met anyone or considered trying to add someone into his daily routine. hes very comfortable on his own i think!!!! likes his independance and hasn’t ever felt the urge to date someone seriously. he fucks a lot tho i think like hes definitely a dating app person sending the ’u up?’ texts when he’s high

anyway. james starts talking a lot about regulus at some point. that hes started noticing him more and what not and now peters bothered. hes never really been that bothered when reg has been seeing someone except for like mild jealousy and a more sour mood than usual when he has to be around reg and whoever hes dating. but now hes bothered because like james is his friend…. and no one ever says no to james.. pete doesnt think hes ever met someone who doesn’t instantly want him. and so ofc reg would want james. james is james. and that would mean seeing more of regulus if he would be james’ boyfriend . thats when the very serious jealousy starts to settle in. peters always in a foul mood and james is always flirting with regulus now

i havent really gotten to how they actually end up together. i think they haven’t spent a lot of one on one together before but now james starts inviting him to parties or whatever. so maybe they end up somewhere smoking a joint together and spend the entire time just. talking . sitting close together with their shoulders touching and talking in soft voices

so maybe reg starts going to the parties as a way to see peter. i dont think reg is used to calm. and peters very calm. hes a quiet guy but its never really awkward. its just nice ?? reg loves being invited into peters solitude and space. he apologizes profusely for never shutting up and for maybe bothering peter but peter is amused and smitten and realising that letting someone in isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. maybe its not bad at all !!! maybe its actually sort of lovely listening to regs voice while smoking

and thats where i am ????? i think ?? also this is a university au <3

im also a little obsessed with demanding stubborn goth twink reg and his dealer who lets him get away with a lot more than is probably customary in dealer/buyer relationships ahdjdkakf. soft swag cooler than he understands peter and reg who’s a chattering mess whenever they meet up because he wants to Impress Him

[2-m0use]

Huge ramble below.

At a hotel resort rn and seeing all these beautiful thin girls is making me so jealous. I need their bodies so bad. I feel weirdly gross.

Also I got told to use a different body slide bc the one I wanted to go on had a weight limit of 150 pounds and I am NOT that heavy! This is the second time someone assumed I was 150 when I was not! And I weigh les now than I did the first time. I hate to admit it but I'm honestly offended? I wish I wasn't bc that makes me feel shitty, like. I wouldn't judge someone who is bigger.

(SH talk under the cut)

Also I saw a lot of my little cousin's scars, bc they're open about it since they're healed and the whole family knows anyway and it made me feel weirdly jealous too? Idk what to make of that. It was something between feeling invalid and just wishing I could be as open as they are? Like. I'm so jealous of them. I know their only 14 but they're so thin too, and yeah, I was almost that thin at their age too. But it's more than that. They (seen as a girl by the family) are dating a girl, clearly openly enough that I think their dad (and maybe their mom too?) knows and I just.

Idk. I wish my parents were cool with me liking girls. I wish I could be more open about my self destructive behaviors and my mental health struggles with my family.

My mom even asked me to be a "strong female role model" for them when they went to an inpatient facility and had also recently tried to come out as nonbinary. And I was just like. You don't even fucking know I SH too, you seem to have forgotten that I came out to you years ago (probably actively ignoring bc my family is not accepting other than my sister kind of)

I'm just rambling but I feel weirdly jealous and competitive about them. They left already bc they have an early plane ride home, but I was feeling all weird around them wishing I could be more like them and feeling inferior on so many levels. (They even dress cooler than me, and a lot of it is they're thin enough to wear baggy pants with a baggy shirt without looking bummy, like I do) even their older brother is cooler and thinner than me, and yeah he's taller than me but proportionally I was not that thin at his age.

I'm just feeling all kinds of bad about myself and my body and about.. living with my parents? And not having my drivers license? I want more independence. I want to be myself openly. I want to date people. Etc etc. I don't have a good way to close this out I'm just processing.

Anyways I have just under 4 months until my 21st birthday, and then another hotel resort trip a couple weeks after that, so those will be new motivation and deadlines for reaching a weight goal. I'll just see how fast I can lose weight in the next couple months and then pick a specific number goal as it gets closer. I'm still racing myself to 120.. every time I get close (under 125) I gain period weight..

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Interlude 2 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

There were very few things, in Victoria Dallon’s estimation, that were cooler than flying.  The invisible forcefield that extended a few millimeters over her skin and clothes just made it better.  The field kept the worst of the chill from touching her, but still let her feel the wind on her skin and in her hair.  Bugs didn’t splat against her face like they did against car windshields, even when she was pushing eighty miles an hour.

I mean, there's a reason why people objected to Victoria being the MC of Ward way back when. Her first introduction really doesn't jive with the rest of Worm's general tone, sets the mood, etc. Collateral Damage Barbie and all.

Really, Ward may take place after Worm, and may be in the same verse, etc, but it's not a sequel in the conventional sense. it's not telling the same story, the theming and narrative is wildly different - plus, Worm is 1.6 Million words long. 1.6 Million is over 3 times longer than Lord of the Fucking Rings. That's not a Book, that's a series. Ward isn't a sequel to Worm, it's a new series in the same world, after the previous series. Which is definitely a thing.

Granted, this is nitpicking, but Ward sucks, so fuck Ward.

Anyway - this opener for Vicky here does set a tone for her. I know she 'gets better' even within Worm itself, etc, but at this point, all the reader really knows (bar spoilers) is that some heroes are apparently dicks, and some villains are apparently halfway nice people. I'm going to guess one of the main purposes of this interlude (since, if I have picked up things right, is an instance of Amy healing another one of Vicky's victims) is to further the case, to the reader, that the heroes aren't all bright and shiny.

(To be clear, based on my fic reading/wiki walking/reddit thread reading, I am actually a fan of Victoria Dallon overall)

She stayed in that kneeling position for just heartbeats, letting her platinum curls and the cape that was draped over one of her shoulders flutter in the wake of air that had followed her descent.  She met the eyes of her quarry with a steely glare. She’d practiced that landing for weeks to get it right.

We see her reveling in her power in a way Taylor never does, never wants to. We also see her being an overdramatic teenager, but then, If I'd had that sort of power when I was her age (17? 18?) I'd also be overdramatic as fuck, so I'm not blaming her.

“I didn’t do anything,” the man snarled. “Andrea Young!” Victoria raised her voice.  As she shouted, she exercised her power.  The man quailed as though she’d slapped him.  “A black college student was beaten so badly she needed medical attention!  Her teeth were knocked out!  You’re trying to tell me that you, a skinhead with swollen knuckles, someone who was in the crowd watching paramedics arrive with an expression bordering on glee, you didn’t do anything!?” “I didn’t do nothing worth caring about,” he sneered.  His bravado was tempered by a second look over his shoulder, as though he’d very much like to be elsewhere right that moment.

I mean, no one ever accused Neo-Nazis of being smart, but you do know who this is, you little shit, right? You may not care, but she does, so keep on denying it. It won't work, but you have to at least try.

God, his stupidity almost offends me more than his racism.

  For just a moment, she contemplated slamming him up against a wall.  It would have been fitting and satisfying to shove him hard enough against the brick to crack it, then drop him into the dumpster that sat at the wall’s base.

Intrusive thoughts, entirely understandable.

“I think it’s a safe bet to say you’re a member of Empire Eighty-Eight,” she told him, meeting his eyes with a hard stare, “or at least, you’ve got some friends who are.  So here’s what’s going to happen.  You’re going to either tell me everything the triple-E’s have been up to, or I’m going to break your arms and legs and then you’re going to tell me everything.”

Well. Not a great look, even as an empty threat, Victoria. Not a great look at all.

“Fuck you, you can’t touch me.  There’s laws against that shit,” he blustered, staring fixedly over one shoulder.

Okay, so I know police brutality still happens on Earth-Bet, so does this guy really think this will work?

(also, why is it in superhero fiction superheroes always seem to be better regulated and more likely to actually be punished than cops? Apart from author fiat, I mean? Probably Police Unions are a huge contributing factor, tbh)

Her body thrummed with current – waves of energy that anyone in her presence would experience as an emotional charge of awe and admiration.  For those with a reason to be afraid of her, it would be a feeling of raw intimidation instead.

Ah yes. The Aura. Nothing ethically dubious about this. Aura Theory may not be true, but really, wtf Vicky. Don't go running this thing like it's Candy Crush on a boring Thursday Night.

Was Candy Crush around in 2011? Does Earth Bet have Candy Crush?

He was utterly for still for long enough that Victoria had begun to worry that he’d somehow snapped his neck or broken his spine as he’d rolled.  She was relieved when he groaned and began to pull himself to his feet. “Ready to talk?” she asked him, her voice carrying down the alley.  She didn’t move  forward from where she hovered in the air, but she did let herself drop closer to the ground.

There is a reason Vicky's detractors (and even some of her fans) call her 'Cop' as a middle name.

Like, character doing torture in fiction happens, and in a story like Worm, might even still be an overall good person, but someone like Glory Girl really shouldn't fucking be doing this shit. Not with New Wave's whole schtick and her whole general... vibe as a superhero.

Then again, that she's doing this despite that is probably the whole goddamn point of the interlude.

What was this asshole thinking?  That she would just let him go?  That, what, she would just bend to his witless lack of self preservation?  That she was helpless to do any real harm to him?  To top it off, he was going to insult her and try to walk away?

Shards, Shards, my dudes. my guys - DON'T GIVE TEENAGERS THIS SORT OF POWER

This time, he didn’t get up. “Fuck,” she swore, “Fuckity fuck fuck.”  She flew to him and checked for a pulse.  She sighed, and then headed to the nearest street.  She found the street address, grabbed her cell from her belt and dialed. “Hey sis?  Yeah, I found him.  That’s, uh, sort of the problem.  Yeah.  Look, I’m sorr- ok, can we talk about this later?  Yeah.  I’m at Spayder and Rock, there’s this little road that runs behind the buildings.  Downtownish, yeah.  Yeah?  Thanks.” Victoria returned to the unconscious skinhead, checked his pulse, and listened intently for changes in his breathing.  It took a very long five minutes for her sister to arrive. “Again, Victoria?” the voice disturbed her from her contemplations.

Again.

One word. Conveys so much character and worldbuilding, doesn't it?

“Use my codename, please,” Victoria told the girl.  Her sister was as different from her as night was from day.  Where Victoria was beautiful, tall, gorgeous, blonde, Amy was mousy.  Victoria’s costume showed off her figure, with a white one-piece dress that came to mid-thigh (with shorts underneath) an over-the shoulder cape, high boots and a golden tiara with spikes radiating from it, vaguely reminiscent of the sun’s rays or the statue of liberty.  Amy’s costume, by contrast, was only a shade away from being a burka.  Amy wore a robe with a large hood and a scarf that covered the lower half of her face.  The robe was alabaster white and had a medic’s red cross on the chest and the back.

Like, I've seen people give Wildbow grief for describing Amy's outfit as like a burka, and it wasn't a great choice of words, but is evocative.

He really should have picked another term tho.

Also! AMY! AMY! My Poor Borbo Sopping Wet Babygirl Little Meow Meow Who Did Nothing* Wrong! Finally she appears! Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie!

*As a necessary clarification for people who are Wildbow or who otherwise don't understand Fandom and/or tumblr Humor, yes, Amy of course did so fucking much that is wrong. I really shouldn't have to clarify this, but this fucking fandom (and this fucking Author)

“Our identities are public,” Amy retorted, pushing the hood back and scarf down to reveal brown frizzy hair and a face with freckles spaced evenly across it. “It’s the principle of the thing,” Victoria replied. “You want to talk about principles, Glory Girl?” Amy asked, in the most sarcastic tone she could manage, “This is the sixth – sixth! – time you’ve nearly killed someone.  That I know about!” “I’m strong enough to lift a SUV over my head,” Victoria muttered, “It’s hard to hold back all the time.”

Yes, but that's also why you don't... like... do those things, Vicky? If you can't be sure you will hold back, then don't do a thing where if you don't hold back, you leave a guy like this. At least if it's not an actual life and death situation.

Amy's not wrong here. Six fucking times is a lot, for a girl who hasn't had her powers for more than a few years.

Carol? Carol?! Who said you could let your teenage wrecking ball patrol around like this unsupervised? Caaaarol!

(God, Carol is just... the worst fucking mother all around, isn't she?)

“Look, can you just fix him?” Victoria pleaded. “I’m thinking I shouldn’t,” Amy said, quietly. “What?” “There’s consequences, Vicky.  If I help you now, what’s going to stop you from doing it again?  I can call the paramedics.  I know some good people from the hospital.  They could probably fix him up alright.”

I mean, on the list of things that's weighing Amy down, all the people that she's healed for Victoria is probably a bit lower down, but it doesn't help.

Don't help her Amy. I know you will, and I love you anyway, but don't. Please don't. You're right. Vicky does need to learn.

“I know you’re not keen on the superhero thing, but you’d really go that far?  You’d do that to us?  To me?”

Look who took guilt redirection classes from Mommy!

(Not that this is like, some horrible sin revealing Vicky as a garbage person, teenagers learning moral lessons from their parents is inevitable, and Carol, again, suuuuucks. Bad mom, bad superhero, bad human. All my homies hate Carol.)

Amy pointed a finger at her sister, “That’s not me.  It’s not my fault we’re at this point.  It’s you.  You’re crossing the line, going too far.  Which is exactly what people who criticize New Wave are scared of.  We’re not government sponsored.  We’re not protected or organized or regulated in the same way.  Everyone knows who we are under our masks.  That means we have to be accountable.  The responsible thing for me to do, as a member of this team, is to let the paramedics take him, and let the law do as it sees fit.”

Again. She's really not fucking wrong. If Vicky makes a bad first showing for a work like this, Amy makes a really good first showing.

“My adoptive family,” Amy mumbled into Victoria’s shoulder, “And stop trying to use your frigging power to make me all squee over how amazing you are.  Doesn’t work.  I’ve been exposed so long I’m immune.” “It hurts,” the man moaned. “I’m not using my power, dumbass,” Victoria told Amy, letting her go, “I’m hugging my sister.  My awesome, caring and merciful sister.”

Being exposed to a mind altering power so much that you're 'immune' is still not the sort of thing a person should really be going through at all, you get that, right? Vicky? You do get that, right?

Are you really not? You sure? Because you just did lose control of your other power (super strength) a few minutes ago.

Aura Theory isn't true, but the Aura is still 17 kinds of bullshit, Vicky.

Amy frowned at Victoria, “I’ll heal him.  But this is the last time.”

Amy, I love you, I love you to pieces and to the moon and back, and I wish for nothing but happiness for you, but you and I both know this is not the last time.

Amy leaned over the man and touched her hand to his cheek, “Slingshot break to his ribs, fractured clavicle, broken mandible, broken scapula, fractured sternum, bruised lung, broken ulna, broken radius -“ “I get the point,” Victoria said. “Do you?” Amy asked.  Then she sighed, “I wasn’t even halfway down the list.  This is going to take a little while.  Sit?”

Vicky, you're really not sounding like someone who is getting it. You really should be hearing Amy's whole list.

Like, I get that Vicky's probably not supposed to be coming off great in this scene, and if so, task fucking successful.

“Better than ever, physically,” Amy replied, “I grew her new teeth, fixed everything from the bruising to the scrapes, and even gave her a head to toe tune-up.  Physically, she’ll feel on top of the world, like she had been to a spa and had the best nutritionist, best fitness expert and the best doctor all looking after her for a straight month.”

Powers.

Are.

Bullshit.

“Yeah, yeah.  Not can’t.  Won’t.  It’s complicated and I don’t trust myself not to screw something up when I’m tampering with someone’s head.  That’s it, that’s all.”

This isn't the (only) reason Amy has this rule, of course, but it's a damn fucking good one.

As far as she was concerned, Amy was doing herself a disservice by not practicing using her powers on the brain.  It was only a matter of time before her sister found herself in a situation where she needed to do some emergency brain surgery and found herself incapable.  Amy, for her part, refused to even discuss it.

...On the other hand.

Vicky's not wrong. Holy shit, is she not wrong. And not just for reasons stated, but for a bunch of other reasons Vicky doesn't know about.

The problem with rigid rules, and pinning your entire sense of morality to them is that if you break one, and you made it so rigid it's brittle, the whole moral edifice falls down.

Amy, babygirl, please. Someone needs to get this girl into at college level ethics course, STAT. She needs a moral worldview that she didn't inherit from Carol that isn't so black and white and rigid yet brittle.

“I… sue you, he gasped out, then managed an added, “Whore.” “Try it.  I’d just love to see a skinhead with a few broken bones go up against a superheroine whose mom just happens to be one of the best lawyers in Brockton Bay.  You know her, right?”

Aaand back to the Police Brutality analogues.

“And erectile dysfunction,” Amy said, just loud enough for the thug to hear her, “You fractured your ninth vertebra.  That’s going to affect all nerve function in extremities below your waist.  If I leave you like you are, your toes will always feel a little numb, and you’ll have a hell of a time getting it up, if you know what I mean.”

Always the best way to get to a guy poisoned on the kind of hypertoxic 'masculinity' that fascism and adjacent ideologies fill their supporters with: Go after what they love most.

“I have an honorary medical license,” Amy told him, her expression solemn, “I’m not allowed to fuck with you about stuff like that.  Hippocratic oath.”

Amy Dallon, Bullshittter Extraordinaire :rofl:

“This guy, Coil.  Don’t know what his powers are, but he’s got a private army.  Ex-military, all of ’em.  At least fifty, Kaiser said, and every one of ’em has top notch gear.  Their armor’s better than kevlar.  You shoot ’em, they’re back up in a few seconds.  ‘Least when you shoot a pig, you can be pretty sure you broke a few ribs.  But that’s not the fucked up thing.  These guys?  They’ve got these lasers hooked up to the machine guns they carry around.  If they don’t think bullets are doing it, or if they’re after people who are behind cover, they fire off these purple laser beams that can cut through steel.  Tear through any cover you’re standing behind and burn through you too.”

Aaaah Thomas Fuckface Calvert. First introduction of what is probably the closest thing Worm has to like a real 'main villain'. Jack Slash is a close second, but it takes too long for him to be relevant for that to count. Calvert looms over the entire narrative from midway through Arc 2 until he dies in what... I'm going to guess from what I know is somewhere in Arc 20? 21?

The skinhead laughed, then winced, “Are you dense, girl?  Everyone’s going to make a play.  It’s not just the major gangs and teams that are looking for a slice of the pie, there.  It’s everyone.  The Docks are ripe for the taking.  The location’s worth as much money as you’d get downtown.  It’s the go to place if you want to buy black market.  Sex, drugs, violence.  And the locals are already used to paying protection money.  It’s just a matter of changing who they pay to.  The Docks are rich territory, and we’re talking the potential for a full scale fucking war over it.”

Nature abhors a vacuum, and that's one reason you have to be careful about taking out whole gangs.

He continued, “You want to know my guess?  Empire Eighty Eight is going to take the biggest slice of the Docks, because we’re strong enough to.  Coil’s going to stick his thumb in just to spite us, ABB is going to hold on to some.  But you’re also going to have a bunch of the little guys trying to take something for themselves.  Über and Leet, Circus, the Undersiders, Squealer, Trainwreck, Stain, others you’ve never heard of?  They’re going to stake out their ground, and one of two things is going to happen.  Either there’s war, in which case civilians get hurt and things get bad for you, or there’s alliances between the various teams and solo villains and shit gets even worse for you.”

Chatty (and surprisingly insightful) little shithead, isn't he? Where were all these brains earlier when he was Mouthing Off to Alexandria Jr?

 “Try it.  My sister just healed you… most of you, with a touch.  Did you ever wonder what else she could do?  Ever think, maybe, she could break you just as easily?  Or change the color of your skin, you racist fuck?  I’ll tell you this, I’m not half as scary as my little sister is.”

Does Vicky realize how true this is? Like, really, truly, how easily her sister could become an S-class threat?

Also, just once, it would be funny as fuck if Amy did make a member of E88 black. Horrifying implications, but funny as fuck.

“I’ll be good.  I’ll be better,” Victoria promised as she dialed with one hand. 

If I'm Amy, I'm thinking 'You mean that now'.

But again. What 17 year old doesn't say "i'll do better" and, even when they mean it, sometimes fail?

“Amy!” Victoria laughed, hugging her sister with one arm, “Weren’t you just saying you weren’t going to mess with people’s heads?”

She said she wouldn't mess with their brains.

(Not that this shithead racist fucker seems to have many of those)

Overall, fucking love this Interlude, and even if I didn't have Amy Dallon Brainrot™ as a pre-existing condition, I think I would anyway.

But ooof. So many fucking oofs, given where I know the story is going.

[narcissisticpdcultureis]

im super sorry if this isnt the place to ask for advice but i wanted to know if it seems like i have npd or not (i do have bpd and hpd)

reasons why i might have it: it takes me a super long time to realize when i fucked up, i have daydreams of saving people and being a hero and being cooler than i am, i have main character syndrome /lh, when i'm hurting and other people are hurting i tend to center my pain even if they're hurting worse, my view of myself depends very heavily on what others think of me, i have dated no less than 3 people for the sole reason that they liked me/asked me out and i wanted to feel loved even if they werent really my type

reasons why i might not have it: at least every three days i have a big breakdown where i hate myself an incredible amount, i have high empathy which is likely because of autism

heyo! unfortunately i can't diagnose you or tell you if you have NPD or not, but i will say i do relate to some of what you've mentioned here (though tbf, i have BPD and HPD as well 😭.) it is also possible that the things you've listed here are due to your BPD and HPD. being in the same cluster BPD, HPD, and NPD absolutely can share traits among themselves and imo, the things you've listed here seem like they could be attributed to either your BPD or HPD.

if you still have concerns thoughs, it'd probably be best to look deeper into resources about NPD to see if you meet the criteria. i can link some posts that may be helpful:

this is a post that explains the diagnostic criteria of NPD, basically giving examples and elaborating on on what each symptoms means/how it can present. i will say this most likely isn't an exhaustive list and each symptoms can show up in different ways than listed in the post, but it's a good post for getting an idea of what the symptoms look like in action.

this is a checklist and basically elaboration of the diagnostic criteria. all the information in this checklist is things pulled from the DSM itself.

i also have a resources tag with other helpful things if you'd like to check that out!

i do also want to put out that while having no or low empathy is very common in people with NPD, it's not diagnostically required. the primary host of our system is an NPD symptoms holder and they actually had consistently very high empathy for the first around 13ish years of our life. things changed because of trauma and they now have more low or fluctuating empathy, but their high empathy at the time existed along side their NPD symptoms.

edit: i wanna make a little correction! sorry, it's been a sort of a long day and my dissociated ass seems to have forgotten what the critera says. so, from what i'm getting, a lack of empathy is in the criteria, but i will say it's still possible to have high or average empathy with NPD. you only need to meet 5 of the 9 criteria to be diagnosed and you may just not fit that criteria while fitting the others.

[ohshy]

Apart from Hipercy, what are your favorite punch out fics?

im assuming u meant ships right?? IN AAANY CASE, here u go bro !!

Royal army (von kaiser x king hippo) is definitely up there as my favorite PO ship. I love how it started out as a crackship from a joke in animal crossing but then just delved into Whatever the fuck w/ maber KJDHKSJF.

But seriously though !! they just Work somehow... like you have both of them having royal names (albeit i hc hippos is an actual title he carries, and kaisers more of a stage name bc of his interest in royal n military history). Plus, I think kaiser would b very interested in learning more ab hippos culture n hippo would b happy to indulge him. It's what elevates Kaiser from ''just another peasant'' to Hippo as someone who he's willing to talk to! Not many people take his title seriously as hippo island's fairly unknown outside of the south pacific hes from, so when they first meet, Kaiser's a huge breath of fresh air to him.

Seeing as Kaiser is a polyglot as well in my HC, I like to think he was one of the few people in the WVBA who had prior knowledge of Hippo Island and it's language. Although Kaiser can only speak a couple basic sentences and struggles with the pronounciation, Hippo still appreciates the effort. In turn, Kaiser has also taught Hippo some German, the language being easier to Hippo due to the sounds made.

Totally T4T (tism4tism).

ALSO imagine the hippo island kids n kaiser's academy kids going on some type of exchange w/ one another !! theyd have the time of their lives !! The kids would totally get into an argument over who's cooler too.

They're a lot like opposites attracting as well. Hippo, although he is responsible to his people, is generally a lot more easygoing n defo helps kaiser let loose a bit more like how he did in his 20s (berliner party days baybe !!!) But Hippo learns a lot from Kaiser too ! he really admires his work ethic, and loves how much of a leader n fatherly he is to the kids he teaches. He admires his resilience as well, both having confided much into eachother. His resilicience almost like a... MACHINE?!? Either way, both have positions in which they lead in some way, and theyve both taught eachother a lot.

Also they bond over dead mother figures (hippos who died of illness, and kaiser's who went missing when he was very young.)

As for how they'd butt heads, would be kaisers endless need to seek approval due to his dad being emotionally constipated, and hippos occasional emotional outbursts (poor emotional regulation). also hippos friendly teasing (how he shows affection, aside from physical contact) sometimes strikes a nerve w/ kaiser, esp if it's about his age or career.

One time, after a particularly exhausting match, kaiser just fell asleep on hippos lap as the latter was holding him. Aran walked by in disbelief, w/ hippo going ''heh, jealous? ;)'' w/ aran going ''Nah, not at all''

One last thing.... hippo sees kaiser as a kitten (thank you maber for that idea i am obsessed); kaiser's height n physique r significantly smaller than hippo's, leading to hippo often times patting him on the head n even picking him up like he weighs nothing. Kaiser secretly rly likes it, but he won't tell him directly because yknow... hes got a rep to protect.

^ Kaiser to Hippo

other ships i like include.... Red bull (soda x bull) burnt bread (joe x aran) u can blame charlie for both those (jk jk bro im glad u got me into those ships. But please read his fics, thats how i got into them) and disco kid x heike kagero !!

Red bull is just very neat bc of the whole, in simple terms, sunshine x grump dynamic (and im saying simple terms bc charlie's fics flesh out their relationship A LOT more n its basically the best ok go read his fics), burnt bread bc of how unlikely yet funny it is, and disco x heike bc, eventhough theyve never interacted, you KNOW theyd absolutely be bffs at the very least.

[starswallowingsea]

okay i just finished sleep tight by jh markert and christ alive what the fuck was that. i gave it 1.75/5 on storygraph and 2 stars on goodreads bc like. girl.

so the first thing is like. the most minor thing i'm going to complain about but it definitely needed one last line by line edit. how did they fuck up the daughter's name at the end and call her julie instead of julia when julie hadn't been an established nickname for her. there were a bunch of other lines that just felt like they were repeating what we already knew or didn't need to be there like we didnt need a line saying "that tess already knew because noah had told them in the car" <- not exact idc enough to go back and look but we know. we were THERE you do not have to remind us that they know this information okay.

now onto the rest of the book. so the concept is that after serial killer posing as a priest to lure victims in is executed by the state, a cult that formed around him decides they're going to get revenge on the people who locked him up and ultimately revealed that they're going to revive him with the help of the real mastermind. which i thought the serial killer priest would have been cooler than it was but whatevs thats on me. howeverrrrrrrr one of the early chapters was from the pov of a gravedigger/grave security guy and he talks about the group he just joined but explicitly called it a cult which was so. the word cult is very loaded and high control groups do not like to use it for themselves because of that and they'll use something else like group or religion for their cult even if people on the outside are calling it a cult. have you ever met an mlm girly like come on.

the mystery itself was laid out decently enough with the eyes and not so subtle hints that were dropped but the worst part of this was the fucking weird ass attempt at portraying DID. I am going to give markert the benefit of the doubt that he was trying his best and anyone reading this review who has DID is free to comment on this but i am not under the impression that most people know when a new alter fronts and that voices don't really change especially around strangers. also other than oskar and ruth, all of noah's alters were real people and 5 of them were people who he watched die and he just took on their personalities in his head and they don't age because the people they were based on stopped aging (ie died). they talked about it like he just absorbed their souls into his headspace??? and yes they could tell when someone switched to front because of his voice and like. the fact that two of them wear glasses and will put them on to front. i might be wrong and again correct me if i am but this does not seem like how it works when systems meet strangers for the first time especially ones that get violent and upset when they cant get the alter they want to front to front.

sticking with the theme of weird insensitivities about trauma, why was fuckhead justin so insistent that tess needed to forceably relive her trauma (which was revealed at the end of the book and ngl kinda anticlimactic) to try and fill in gaps in her memory from when she was 13 because it made him upset? like dude she probably shouldn't be doing that if she doesn't want to its buried for a reason leave her alone!! and the fact that their relationship went back to business as usual after everything was so!!!!! i think they should have gotten divorced anyway there is no way this is going to work out long term sorry.

and finally i get that american police just shoot indiscriminately but killing benjamin in front of 11 young children seemed kinda unnecessary. especially when they were crowded around him and could easily have been caught in the crossfire but magically weren't and the bullets only hit ben. sorry but at least one of those kids should have had some sort of gun related injury from that if not more if you were going to kill ben.

[castlebyersafterdark]

you've mentioned you love upbeat pop and 80s tunes... can you speak a little more on what you'd like for musicality in the final season, soundtrack and score?

i personally think that pop culture is missing the sincerity of 90s/2000s film scores like john williams and swelling violins, and if any show could bring back unabashed sincerity (today known as cheesiness because we are still allergic to being genuine instead of ironic somehow) - its ST! the overall themes and story, the 80s ET-esque influences, and they already went there with an orchestral version of eleven's theme in s4. i really want to feel hopeful and uplifted by this story in a way that makes me feel like a kid again, even though edgier endings are seen as cooler. the score has some beautiful classics like the Eulogy motif that played when bob died, when el searched for her mother, and when mike and el broke up lmao

as for soundtrack, people seem to discuss that a lot and im up for almost anything. i think cyndi lauper will return. we know the clash will return too, and seeing as we centre around will i think more alternative and rock might be the way they go instead of mainly the new wave pop classics.

One of the things that made me fall in love with Stranger Things was that it had such a unique, distinctive score. The synths and specific motifs. Super engaging, really different than what a lot of shows were doing. It's always given the show more of a cinematic quality. I'm hoping for more super cool moments like in season 4 - the Journey revamp, Separate Ways?? So good. And listen, as cheesy as it is, I still get chills when I watch the sequence that mixes Running Up that Hill with the Main Theme, like are you kidding?? I was transfixed, hands white knuckling the couch during that whole sequence. The music just took you there, you know?? And that was just the penultimate season, can you imagine what these fucking insane composers are cooking up for the series finale? Whewwww. Because that moment felt like a series ender based on music usage and YET we get 8 more episodes. I'm so excited for the score choices almost as much for the answers to the mysteries and the shipping payoffs. I really really love movie/tv scores. ST has one of the very best. And the influence! You know how many remixes and covers of common songs have been done with synth stuff over the last decade and they're referred to as "Song Name: Stranger Things Mix" despite not having anything to do with the TV show? Her influence. Respect.

One thing that I disagree with the majority on is a reprisal of Heroes - sure, it can return! But I'd really prefer a score track than a song played whenever Byler gets together. More emotional that way. I don't know where it would fit, and I know everyone loves the lyrical connotation of Heroes, but I think this moment deserves something unique. Pinnacle of all the relationships in the show and no I am not exaggerating. Truly.

I have a playlist of potential season 5 song choices! I'll just list some highlights:

Edge of Seventeen - for the Party! When it skips to 1987. Especially for Will. These lyrics are so Will coded they make me insane.

The Breakup Song - This would be so on the nose cheesy fun, but it's a good song, it sets a mood. Mike and El break up and then some danger strike and boom, needle drop.

We need some Judas Priest for Will, since it's 80s, it's rock, and the lead singer is gay!! I never see this mentioned. He came out in the 90s but that would be so cool for future Will to learn that having known this band from his childhood. There's a lot of relevant songs of theirs to use in s5 but even some of the more obvious ones would be cool.

Love is a Battlefield was briefly in s2 but it would be perfect to get a feature in s5.

I honestly love a Billy Idol White Wedding badass moment for Nancy. It just fits her, I think.

I Ran So Far Away for something with Mike, I think this song is very necessary for him.

Only You by Yazoo for the Lucas/Max reunion!! It's so cute and so them.

A friend posted about this before so I'm not the one who came up with this idea, but they predict that Video Killed the Radio Star is going to be featured in promo, using the Radio Station hideout whenever we get the first teaser trailer and I think that's a very possible route. I see the vision so clearly, kinda can't get that out of my head. I think it also ties the 50s/Creel vibes to the present day characters with the radio vs. video imagery for both promotional stuff and the actual show itself.

Listen to Your Heart, Roxette. Again, for Mike. Introspective moments. Figuring out some heavy truths. Facing feelings.

The Man Who Sold the World for Will in some conjunction with his Henry issues. It's evocative, it's dark, it's Bowie, baby! Maybe remixed and slowed and made very creepy.

I don't think Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division has been in the show yet? But, it should.

Self Control - Laura Branigan

Wake Up the Neighborhood - Holland

No One Lives Forever - Oingo Boingo

Running With the Devil - Van Halen

Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil (can be used for a scene to demonstrate the absurdity of going about life, going to school, under military lockdown, end of the world vibes etc.)

Shout - Tears for Fears

Break on Through to the Other Side - The Doors (WillEl moment or something, I've heard some great remixes of this song!)

I'm mad they already used Thriller in the trailer for s2 because I've heard some fantastic synth remixes and the lyrics are soooo perfect for a scene where monsters are running rampant in Hawkins or something. It would be so 80s and I eat that shit up.

Eye in the Sky - Henry inside the minds of the town, tormenting our leads. Make it creepy. Make everything with him fucked up and dark.

If we don't get a really poignant needle drop with the core four Mike Will Dustin Lucas gearing up for battle to Kids in America, what has all this been for???????

PLEASE. Will in a pivotal moment very late in the season with Should I Stay or Should I Go! Seems obvious but worth listing. Some big scene is going down. Then quiet. No score. Then those first few notes cut the silence. Willlllllll. This to me is in the same vein as the lead up to the scene in Endgame when Cap lifts the hammer?? Sorry, haha you can take the boy outta Marvel but...🤣

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

went to a sim racing facility for the first time!! having never raced or driven in my life, I set a somewhat ok 58.1 in a Fiat Abarth 500 Assetto Corsa around Brands Hatch Indy.

In honor of this, do you have any Fun Fiat Facts?

Whipped out me sim rig to find out how good a time that was, and it must have taken me around ten laps to manage less (a 57.8)! (Gamer excuses for this sessions are a framerate barely at illusion-of-movement levels and some clutch mapping issue that made most shifts crunch.) For someone who never even drove, that's quite good! Now, maybe not "Run get a sim wheel right now for the good of humanity" good... but maybe "Finding out a used Logitech G25 is Christmas-present cheap may enrich your free time" good.

As for the Fun Fiat Fact request, it's denied: not only because I've already written about Fiat -and for my very first post no less- but most importantly because that car is not a Fiat! Indeed, since 2007 Abarth is, officially, a brand unto itself, that sells models like the 500 and the 124, just like Fiat sells models like the 500 and the 124. Now, I don't think anyone is going to try and pretend the similarities are just a coincidence or that an Abarth 500 is in any way not objectively a Fiat - but it's not a "Fiat 500 Abarth" any more than the one below is a "Chevrolet Cavalier Toyota".

That's right, there once was such thing as a Toyota Cavalier. Oh, brand engineering.

This is a rare but not completely isolated arrangement - see for example Ruf, German brand that makes vehicles based on Porsches, best known for the Ruf CTR -nicknamed "Yellowbird"- that bested the Ferrari F40's incredible top speed record.

Be careful who you call ugly under the 200mph barrier.

But yeah, all that is to say, I am not going to give you any fun Fiat facts. >:(

Let's give you fun Abarth facts then! Let's talk about fake exhausts. Big engines move a lot of gas -that's kind of the point- so they have big exhaust pipes for all that gas to leave, and high-tier exhausts are made of fancy materials that shine.

This -and our love for fancy shiny things in general- makes people like big shiny exhausts. But exhausts are very long, and making them big and shiny is costly. So people figured, what if we only make it wide at the end, where you actually see it?

After all, if the tip is large enough, it will satisfy regardless of what the rest of its length is like - sure, people may think it looks a bit weird when you take it out, but that only happens by the time you've already scored, doesn't it. But now, back to exhausts.

If you can just attach a bigger tip to the end of your exhaust, surely you can attach a tip of a different material and have a bog standard exhaust with a cool shiny tip, that now you can also shape to your designer's content!

(Fun fact: an aftermarket exhaust system that only replaces the components that come after the catalytic converter -which, contrary to the popular misconception that confuses it with the muffler, is mounted right beside the engine- is called a "catback exhaust". Picture unrelated.)

But then, if the tip material is completely separate from the exhaust pipe, you can now just make it a plastic part of the bumper and it doesn't need to withstand temperatures as high and is even cheaper and easier to style!

And now that they're not mounted on the tip of the exhaust, they don't have to coincide with it, so you can split the exhaust into two tips, which is cooler because they're more! Hell, you can also do that by just making the exhaust coincide with one tip and have the other blanked off!

But at that point, why even have the exhaust show up back there at all? Just make the tips blank and make the exhaust go down behind them!

And at that point why not just fuck it up to the point where you need this exhaust evolutionary biology 101 course to even recognize it is meant to be an exhaust, if we can kill God who's left to stop us from dancing on his corpse.

Well, the Abarth 500, as you might have guessed by now, has fake exhaust tips. But here's the weird thing: the real exhaust tips are not any less shiny and prominent than the fake ones. See for yourself in this sound video.

Oh also, I hope the devil got some killer stuff from the deal he made with the Abarth exhaust engineer, because if he only got a piddly little soul in exchange for the ability to turn 500 engine noise into this he got majorly screwed over.

Links in blue are posts of mine explaining the words in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!

[actuallyitsstar]

CHARACTER ASK GAME

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell + 21, 24 and 25?

✨ send me a number and a character! ✨

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

i actually already answered this question here, so i will give an honorary mention for this ask, in addition: i am a big fan of the whole tgm-mav-lowkey-being-the-daggers'-friends'-cool-dad trope. like. the idea that they get to know him after the mission and he's obviously taken a genuine interest in all of them and their wellbeing so they all just...stay in touch. the idea that the call and check up on him when they know rooster is deployed, that they start to leave a few extra things at mav's place because he usually hosts their squad movie nights and it's just easier to crash there sometimes, that they realize he doesn't have many people to spend the holidays with now outside of obviously bradley, and they all come together and drag him to a surprise christmas party with them before they go on their own leave for their respective family christmases. that's their emotional support old navy captain and if u wanna mess w him u gotta get thru 11 daggers and 1 son first so good luck!!!

that being said, tho, it can go too far i think, if we're not careful. barring a couple specific circumstances (jake and whatever fucked up childhood/non-existent parental relationships he has had comes to mind) the daggers all have families of their own, and entire lives before meeting mav. i don't think he's like. their DAD per se. he's their friends' cooler than expected dad ('your dad is an ace? that's so cool! i wonder if he has any stories to tell us! he once flipped off a mig while inverted? THATS SO COOL') that they can become friends with and look out for too, and i KNOW he'll be looking out for them. if they need anything he's right there, because that is within his nature. but for the most part, they're all adults who have friendships, and not like. Extra Children. if you know what i mean. except for jake idk i think he needs a role model or something but i guess that makes mav a secret third thing to him idk

24. what other character from another fandom reminds you of them?

oof that is tough!! i think that on most levels, mav is very different from the characters in other fandoms that i have imprinted on the most, so i'm not going to be able to do a 1:1 comparison here. but believe it or not the very first character that came to mind for me is ezra standish from the magnificent seven tv series, and it's not an exact match but i'm just going to provide my presentation on the matter (i am specifically comparing tg86 mav with ezra bc i have no one to compare tgm mav with lol):

horrible quality images (yes i did make these gifs but theyre very old so lets not talk about it lol) bc this is an obscure 1990s b-budget tv show shot on vhs probably. but this guy right here is either the second or third youngest member of his found family group (the seven ~lawmen~ a local circuit judge hires to manage an old west territory because it's so dangerous the sheriff and deputy he'd previously appointed ran out on the job). he's very accomplished at what he does, for his age, and has had way too many shitty life experiences and is much too world-weary already. everyone who works with him comes into it with a preconceived notion of how he's going to be. and how could they not? it isn't that the other six guys are short-sighted in assuming, exactly. ezra is direct about who he is and what he stands for, downright in your face about it, actually. you expect him to be kind of an arrogant asshole, and he tells you he's gonna be one. and then, for a while anyway, he kind of is.

loner type, doesn't need anyone, he's going to do everything his way because he knows best, needlessly theatrical about it in the process. they expect him to run out on them during their battle, and he does.... kind of. but he also comes through for them in a critical moment when he's needed most and they least expect him to do it, single-handedly taking out multiple enemies to save their lives. immediately, he adopted into the group, essentially, but ezra doesn't know enough about really having friends to recognize that it's happening until much later. additionally, his entire life and livelihood is overshadowed by his mother (who can be seen sitting in the bg of the larger gif), who is still very much alive, in his case, but whose actions and words define him, whether he wants them to or not. he had a shitty childhood bouncing between a hundred strangers' and distant family members' homes alike and is just overflowing with abandonment issues, and he expects the other six to give up on him at the drop of a hat, but they never do.

25. what was your first impression of this character? how about now?

the very first time i ever saw top gun was before tgm was ever a thing. i remember my favorite character being goose (isnt he always tho <3) and thinking mav was kind of a bland action hero guy with a story arc i did not understand at all or care about. i was like fifteen, tho, and hadn't seen hardly any movies or tv shows at the time because i had a kind of weird sheltered from media sort of childhood, so i don't think i had rly learned HOW to watch and interpret media and characters yet, tbh. when the sequel was coming out i rewatched top gun with my partner in preparation bc my parents were making me watch the new one, and they had never seen it. i was like oh !!! he's smol and traumatized. i bet there's fic about him and that blonde guy. i should look that up later. and then we watched tgm and that was it for me. i was like never mind him and that blonde guy i need to know if hIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON TURNS OUT OK......MY HEART..... and that was that lol. my dna has not been the same since <3

[volfoss]

Cordelia faceup take 3 :3

So the second attempt did not even MAKE it online because I wasn't happy with it. The sealant and paint just were not cooperating with me and the pastels were too pigmented. On a whim I wanted to work on it this morning and mixed up a really good pastel color for her blushing, which then inspired me to wipe the old faceup and start fresh :)

^ the boring steps of well. White as fuck -> painted the right color to match the body. This image is showing how it's slightly off from the head cap (which I painted during the initial faceup) but it DOES match the body really well.

My first step with the faceup was starting by using a pale watercolor (peach color pretty much) to map out the moles on the face, and then another sealant layer before I started blushing. The peach watercolor isn't the permanent color for the moles but it helps me map things out (same thing I do with the eyebrows, starting with a lighter color and then building up the color/adding watercolor pencil hairstrokes on top. Or at least I should because some dolls have such thin eyebrows that I have to do only acrylic. But that's besides the point)

^ much more subtle blush color than I can normally achieve with her :) normally it's MUCH too dark but I feel this really subtly brought some life to her face and some warmth (which I always love to add to my dolls with yellowed resin as I prefer leaning into how it looks instead of trying to use cooler colors to counter balance it)

^ added more blushing here, and added the eyebrow vague shapes and slightly more color added onto the moles to help them not blend into the blush as much lol. I wanted her to have a youthful and happy appearance so the flush is helping to me :). The brows were VERY faintly done (to the point idk if they will survive the sealant lmao) and the moles were touched up slightly, as well as the color on the lips more built up. I promise the brows will get darker it's just scary right now bc of how pale the resin is, if I make ANY mistakes it will show up unless I use a super light pastel. And if I have to redo the faceup well. I'll have to repaint the entire head all over again. So I'd rather build up slow and careful than too fast and make a mistake (although I'm sure I'll make plenty of those the further I get lol, esp since I'm doing a lot of this on nearly 24 hours awake <- not a good time to rely on my hands to be steady sadly)

I went a bit silly watercolor mode but I added some pink to the lips (to mix with the more orange-peach pastel color underneath) and added some medium brown on the moles to do their final highlights. Continued to work on the brows and next layer will be the pencils on them, pencils on lips (since the color underneath is pretty much perfect for what I'm going for). And then the eyeshadow time <- dreading this

^ sideways image bc I stay silly okay. And also far too sleepy to edit it. I've committed to doing this all in one go at this point (at the very least to get to a passable basic faceup). This is not a good idea. Just to be clear. I'm very sleepy.

^ eyebrows and lips done :) also did the waterline, I'm really happy with this. Atm unsure if I want to do a ton of pink eyeshadow or what but I think I will add the freckles next and then try everything on the doll to see if I need it. It was one of the features I rly liked about the original faceup so. Honestly unsure. Do firmly think the lips look a lot better here because well. The first attempts lips were supposed to be pretty natural looking and didn't really end up that way. Very happy with brows even if they're not symmetrical because I think for whatever reason everything is clicking on this faceup like by FAR much more than other times. We will see how it progresses tho lol.

With everything put together, it confirms I do def still want to mess with the eyeshadow but due to the physical symptoms I am stopping for the night. Tomorrow tho? Silly style (eyeshadow and eyeliner and probably freckles and gloss on the lips. We will deal w that later tho)

^ eyeshadow layer one and thankfully going at it on a day where I'm much more awake is helpful. I need to keep building it up as both my sealant method + just how pastels work can take some of the color away but I think it's all coming together. Mainly I want to have a darker layer of pink on her eyelids, as I think that'll look nice, and then I have to do the eyeliner <- dreading this step the most of all I fear. At some point I also need to add freckles which I think is also quite scary. For me, I've done a faceup with all over freckles (Theo's) and was happy with it, but I want these just on the cheeks. And I think hand painting them just doesn't look as good as using the brush flicking method. So I have to also figure out a way to cover the areas I don't want freckles on.

Eyeshadow layer 3 or 4??? + freckles. They will not tell you that toothpicks really work well for freckles but they do. I'm going to seal this layer and then keep working on eyeshadow and eyeliner but I'm nearly done :) I might go in after a couple layers of sealant and do the brush method to kind of add the very small freckles in but using a toothpick is a million times easier than a brush (for me at least. But I have very shaky hands so). I added some light pink paint on the eyelids to emulate a slight color change and then did an even lighter color, blending it together with a wet paintbrush. I am hoping to be able to get the eyeliner thinner than the light pink color but we will see :) so far happy with it since I did want a very vibrant pink on the lids :) unsure what ill do with the eyeliner color (I did a copper/gold combo to make it be a bit more natural looking for the first time but i dont think it popped enough so we will see :))

Ended up on deciding on black eyeliner but here's it done :) the watercolors on the lips still need to dry and I need to gloss stuff properly but that will be in its own post once she's all back together :)