#listening to the outsiders audiobook again

[jamandjazz]

Quick drawing :D

[oh-katsuki]

i love reading a good book and feeling rejuvenated going back to my own writing. it's like getting a new perspective on storytelling and the different ways to do it. wonderful feeling.

[theladysunami]

I listen to a lot of audiobook murder mysteries, which has me thinking:

Shen Yuan transmigrating into a murder mystery… as the killer!

There are a couple of ways the story could go.

First Option: Shen Yuan lets his System know, in no uncertain terms, he will not be murdering anyone.

Its response: [Alternate Plotline Initiated. New Assignment: Designated Red Herring].

Poor Shen Qingqiu finds himself stuck in a whole murder mystery series, and any time anyone is murdered, he somehow ends up being the number one suspect!

The victim? Probably picked a fight with Shen Qingqiu at some point. (Shen Qingqiu tries to avoid such arguments, but it never seems to work!)

The murder weapon? Yeah, Shen Qingqiu is almost guaranteed to have touched it. (Shen Qingqiu is severely tempted to start wearing gloves 24/7.)

The body? Either Shen Qingqiu finds it himself at some inopportune time, and/or it was stashed somewhere “only” he is supposed to have access to. (At some point it's just: Shen Qingqiu opens a door… sees a body… closes the door. “Time to call the cops, yet again.”)

Shen Qingqiu ends up a tad paranoid about the whole thing, setting up cameras outside his house, in his office, in his car, etc. just to (hopefully) stop people from planting evidence any of those places.

If anyone asks about the truly absurd number of (eventually dropped) murder allegations, Shen Qingqiu insists he's cursed. Even with genre blinders on (making the number of convoluted murders in the area seem normal somehow), it's hard for anyone to argue the point.

For Shen Qingqiu's day job (when he's not busy being charged with murder) he works as a professor at a university with a highly regarded Criminology & Criminal Justice program. I'm thinking the original goods was a literature professor, with a strong distaste for cops, who was known for grading anyone in the criminal justice program exceedingly harshly. Naturally one of his students is the protagonist, Luo Binghe.

After his transmigration, professor Shen Qingqiu suddenly becomes a very kind and doting professor with a real passion for literature. This leaves Luo Binghe quickly smitten and makes him a very motivated amateur detective, since he's determined to prove his beloved's innocence as quickly as possible and as often as needed!

Second Option: Shen Yuan takes over after the original goods already committed the murder.

He wakes up with a splitting headache (the victim attempted to defend themselves presumably), looks at his bloody hands… looks at the victim… looks at the weapon… looks at his bloody hands again. “Damn it, Airplane.”

He decides he doesn't want to try and hide a body actually, just to be caught by the protagonist later and charged with a whole slew of things in addition to murder, so he calls the cops himself. He might as well take advantage of the fact he has a concussion and literally doesn't remember a thing. Maybe he can get the charges reduced somewhat and get a lighter sentence.

Of course the first cop that arrives at the scene is Yue Qingyuan, who as the #1 Xiao-Jiu stan gives Shen Qingqiu way too much benefit of the doubt. The most obvious evidence also keeps being erased or damaged by weird as hell coincidences.

Shen Qingqiu knows he certainly isn't responsible for damaging evidence and wonders if the System is working overtime behind the scenes to ensure there actually is a mystery for Luo Binghe to solve. (After all, it wouldn't be much of a story if Shen Qingqiu was already charged and sentenced before Luo Binghe had a chance to even do anything.)

To his complete bewilderment, after a few days leave to recover from the concussion, Shen Qingqiu is actually allowed to return to his university teaching job. He decides to make the best of it, since who knows how long he'll be a free man.

As in the first scenario, a few months later and Luo Binghe is absolutely smitten, not to mention all the other students and faculty that have come to adore him.

As Shen Qingqiu has successfully endeared himself to pretty much anyone and everyone local that could actually charge him or provide eyewitness testimony, not to mention all the shady shit about murder victim Qiu Jianluo the ongoing investigation keeps digging up, the plot stalls for a bit until the state police (aka Huan Hua Palace) are finally called in by Qiu Haitang.

Unfortunately for the ‘HHP’ folks, the protagonist himself is on Shen Qingqiu's side, and Luo Binghe is perfectly happy to muddy the waters by conveniently “losing” evidence, sending them after every single red herring he comes across, and “accidentally” digging up dirt on all the shady dealings going on in their department.

The System keeps trying to motivate Shen Qingqiu to hide evidence, lie, or do literally anything suspicious to progress the plot further, but all its punishment protocols involve sabotaging Shen Qingqiu's coverup attempts (of which he has none) or revealing information to the protagonist (who is complicit by this point) so it's fresh out of luck.

Eventually the System gives up and Shen Qingqiu is congratulated for “getting away with murder!” despite the fact he didn't actually do anything.

“Seriously? Does it even count as getting away with murder when the original goods was the actual murderer? I didn't kill anyone!”

[...]

[iliketangerines]

Hihii I was wondering if you could do kenshi x Gender neutral reader with a nice voice (aka kenshi with a voice kink)? If you did this already I apologize 🙏

the sound of you

a/n: i have a voice kink for kenshi...he's so nice to listen to

pairing: kenshi takahashi x gn!reader

warnings: none :)

Kenshi sits in front of the TV, listening to the plot of some terrible movie, and he sighs and leans his chin on his fist, waiting for you to come home

he had a rare day off, and you still had work unfortunately, meaning he couldn’t spend his one free day with you

it frustrated him to no end, but he supposed it was better than not spending any time with you

often, he came back when you were already asleep or too sleepy to really hold a proper conversation with him, or he was too tired to even talk with you

he clicks away from the film, turning the tv off and letting the droning silence fill the apartment, and he gets up from the couch to get some food for the both of you

ordering your favorite food from your favorite restaurant, he just sits in silence, fiddling with his phone in his hands, unsure of what to do with all the spare time in his hands

it felt like he almost never had spare time before, and now he had all the time in the world to decide what to do

it felt unnerving, but he supposed it wasn’t a bad thing to have more free time on his hands

tapping his foot on the floor, he decides to just look for a good audiobook on his phone, and he listens for a while, trying to imagine the characters and the setting

he hears the familiar footfall of your steps outside, and he stops the audiobook, jumping out of his seat on the couch to walk over to the door

just as your key enters the lock, he opens up the door, and you say hi to him warmly and throw your arms around his neck

he laughs and welcomes you inside, taking the keys out from the door and locking the door behind him as you walk to the kitchen table and start unpacking

you tell him about your day, all the ups and downs and the mundanities of your job as you unpack your lunchbox and put away your backpack of your belongings

he listens attentively, sitting down at the kitchen table and leaning his chin into a fist with a small smile on his face as he listens

Kenshi loved listening to you, voice never too dull or too grating or too mumbled

it was sweet and honeyed, sometimes breathy when you got too excited or too raspy when you got a bit too loud

but it was your voice, and he quite loved your voice and you as well

the doorbell rings, and you ask him in a confused voice if he was expecting anyone

he just chuckles and says he ordered from your favorite restaurant, getting up and retrieving the order with a simple pleasantry between him and the driver

Kenshi hands them a hefty tip and closes the door again, locking it once more and listening to it slide in place, and he turns to you holding up the plastic bag of food

you let out a laugh, beautiful and just so like you, and you walk over to him and hug him tight, saying thank you and then giving him a small kiss

he smiles and squeezes your ass as you turn around, drawing a gasp out of you

you sigh, but he knows there’s a smile on your face by the slight laugh you let out at the end

he sits down and unpacks the food slowly and carefully as you sit down and tell him something interesting that happened on the road, and Kenshi smiles and listens as he hands you a utensil

he really could listen to you forever

[jccatstudios]

Hii I just wanted to let you know that when reading the book I imagined Van Eck exactlyyy as you've drawn him! No joke! His hair especially, the slightly wavy texture and light color and style! I also love his facial expressions, literally can't wait to see Pekka Rollins (that's something I never knew I'd say..)

P.S. huge, huge fan of your Six of Crows comic, every time you post new pages I reread all the previous chapters all over again. Absolutely love, love, love what you're doing!

aw thank you!!! The fun thing about drawing the villains is that there really isn't much visual reference to go off of, so I'm trying to capture what I imagined without any outside influences. People in the reblogs on the last pages mentioned that they've never seen people draw Van Eck before, and I haven't either! There are like only a few pieces of fanart from pinterest I've seen in my research. That's it. As for Geels, there was nothing. I think I officially hold the world record for Geels drawings.

Here's a quick Pekka for your kindness :)

He's very much based on what I first imagined while reading the book, but this design is also influenced by hearing his chapters in the audiobook and working from the sound of the actor's voice. Shame he only gets two chapters. I absolutely love listening to him read.

[gremlin-girly]

Kinktober Day 6

Kink: Handjobs

Pairing: Room mate!Steve Rogers x f!Room mate! Reader

Tags/ Warnings: SMUT, room mates to lovers (ig?), listening/watching of porn, JOI porn, smutty audiobook mentioned, descriptions of masturbation (m and f), praise and petnames (good boy, baby, sweetheart), handjob (m recieving), soft!dom!reader X submissive!Steve (the man just needs some taking care of)

Not Beta read (I'll have to edit my mistakes when I have the chance!)

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: Your roommate forgets to disconnect his Bluetooth headphones from his phone, leading to an embarrassing moment between you both that segues into something more.

As always I do not give permission for my work to be reposted, translated or copied. My warnings are non-exhaustive (even though I do try to capture everything) but please read at your own risk. I am not responsible for your content consumption.

I hope you enjoy; likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated!

Part 1 (you're here) | Part 2

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A/N: And they were roommates...

Originally, I had planned for this to go in a slightly different direction - but prefferred this!

But I have to admit, I do like a good roomates to lovers and have been playing with a few ideas of a Roommate!Steve (and potentially a Roommate!Bucky) so I may have accidentally started a little collection... Sorry for posting late, migraines all day had me conked out, just a double whammy for tonight!- Love, Grem x

You’d fallen into a nice routine since moving in with Steve. He was the perfect roommate, an utter gentleman, and easy on the eyes too. You knew being Captain America was a stressful full time job, and you were surprised to find that behind the stoic, stern symbol of hope was a friendly artist from Brooklyn.

It had taken Steve some time in getting used to you being around. When he went away on his first mission outside of the US , he’d forgotten you now lived with him and had startled you on your way to the bathroom. He’d been so apologetic about it and you'd just laughed. From then on, he’d text you when he was on his way home from a mission and from then on you always made sure there were leftovers in the fridge for him.  

Occasionally you’d spend time together, watching a movie, or idle chit chat as you cooked breakfast for you both. Steve slowly but surely came out of his shell and relaxed around you – and you him – cracking jokes, gently ribbing each other. You didn’t miss the way the tips of his ears burned  when you complimented him or how your heart fluttered when he’d brush past you to throw a dirty mug into the sink. But you were just roommates.

And you were currently a roommate with dead headphones.

“Steve?” you emerged from your room and padded out into the living area, spotting Steve who quickly locked his phone looking at you with wide eyes. You locked an eyebrow as you approached. “You alright?”

“Y-Yeah.” He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “Thought you were in bed.”

You shrug helplessly. “Dead headphones. Could I borrow yours whilst mine charge please? If that’s okay?”

Steve nods and twists to point over at the kitchen counter. “Yeah, sure. They should be over there somewhere.”

You waltz over to the counter and find the headphone case easily, missing how Steve’s eyes follow your figure. You turn back to him and smile, wiggling the case.

“Thanks, lifesaver. Couldn’t miss the next chapter of my book.”   

Steve smiles back  but his expression looks like a mixture of disappointment and relief that you seem to be leaving to head back to your room.  “No worries. Night.”

“Night. Don't stay  up too late, Stevie.” You say as you grasp the handle to your door.  Steve only hums in response and waits for you to be safely shut away in your room before unlocking his phone again.

He runs his hand over his face as he looks down at the videos before him. It wasn’t the first time he visited porn sites, but lately he’d found  the perfect stress relief after a day of being Captain America. He felt the shame trickle down his spine and pushed away the guilty thoughts that plagued him in moments like these. Captain America being told what to do? Having powerful women instruct  him to jerk off, shower him with praise, and tell him when to cum was more than enough for blackmail, let alone the jokes that Tony would make if the information ever saw the light of day. And you had almost caught him.

Steve shivers, palming his growing erection over his joggers. God, it was worse knowing he liked you almost catching him. Would you have flustered? Or would you have complimented his cock with that teasing smile you always seem to wear? 

Steve curses under his breath at the thought, cock twitching. He shakes his head to try and rid himself of the thought but it sticks, and he scrolls through the myriad of videos until he finds a promising one. With one final cautionary glance at your door, he shuffles his joggers and boxers down to take out his hardening cock. He only needs the volume low thanks to super soldier hearing and you’d either be fast asleep or listening to whatever audio book you were listening to this month to hear what has about to happen. Steve makes himself comfortable again the sofa pillows, leaning into them and pumping his cock a few times thinking about how good you must look right now cuddled under the covers in those tight pyjama shorts. Before he gets lots in the daydream, he hits play on the video, continuing to stroke himself but slowly now; awaiting his instructions. After a moment there’s still no sound. Steve clicks the buttons to up the volume, continuing slow ministrations and thinking of you.

Before Steve had pressed play, you had been lying in bed with the headphones in, debating whether or not you would go to hell for using your hot roommate Bluetooth headphones to listen to smut. Your body flushed at the thought but... you needed an extra helping hand before bed tonight since you’d had a particularly stressful day too. Steve didn’t need to know.

When the audio kicked in, you thought you had accidentally hit play, and allowed yourself to be subjected to your fate. You heaved a contented, almost smug sigh, eyes fluttering closed as you  reached down under the band of your pyjama shorts. The narrator’s voice sounded different somehow. Maybe they’d changed actors? Then she started giving instructions. Your frown with your eyes closed, fingers finding your clit but not moving. It isn’t until you hear the words “good boy” being uttered that your eyes fly open in horror.

Steve’s headphones are still connected to his phone.

Steve is watching porn.

Steve doesn’t know you can hear it.

Your face burns red with embarrassment and you scramble to get the earphones out of your ears. Even though you shouldn’t, you feel heat pool between your legs. You should tell him. He hasn’t realised. But would it be weird? If you disconnect the headphones he might suspect it but if you text him it’d be worse. And God forbid you see what he’s doing in the living room.

Your fingers hover over the Bluetooth icon on your phone. Your imagination is running wild and now you really don’t think you need your smutty little audiobook anymore.

The volume gets turned up on the headphones again and you can hear the woman continue talking  through instructions in a sultry voice.  You panic, blushing furiously, and rip the covers away from you. You trip out of bed, grasping at the headphones and call out.

“STEVE!”

Big mistake.

You balk. Why did you call for him? You hide your head under your hands as you hear Steve scramble in the living room, cursing as he knocks a foot against the coffee table. He bursts into your room, face flushed, and sees you lying on the floor. You don’t look up. You can’t meet his eyes.

Steve opens his mouth to ask if you’re alright, you look like you’ve fallen out of bed, but as he does he hears it. In the blind panic to help you, he forgot to hit pause. The sounds from the video echoing from the headphones in your grasp. Red creeps up Steve’s neck and face and he stammers. This was a nightmare.

“ohmygod,” he breathes out, hiding his face. “Oh- Y/N – God- How long were you-?” He stops himself clearly even more flustered by the fact you may have (totally) been listening.

You remember you still exist and your head snaps up, equally as red as Steve’s, meeting his glimmering blue eyes with an apologetic look.

“I thought it was mine.” You clarify, and Steve looks like he might pass out.

“What do you mean yours?”

“I... thought it was my audiobook.” Your voice grows quieter at your admission and you give Steve a sheepish look. You both stare at each other for an age; each wrapping your head’s around the new information you’d discovered about each other, and trying to come to terms with the tension that was now entirely palpable between you.

You were the first to speak, lips twitching into a smirk slightly. “So.... do we want to talk about this?”

The smirk made Steve’s cock twitch. There it was, the same teasing smirk you always gave him. He had been so close to cumming when you’d called out for him, and the embarrassment that followed ruined the high, but at least he’d have material to work with when he went back to his bed.

Steve held up his hands and found himself smiling nervously down at you. “No thanks, I think I’ll pass.”

“That’s it, good boy.”

You have to bite back a laugh as the woman’s voice erupts from the headphones in your hand. Steve looks like he wants the ground to swallow him.

“She’s really going for it,” you comment, trying to break the ice. Steve starts to grin but he groans. You’d heard him sigh and groan before, and it never ceased to make you hot and bothered. “I see why you like it so much.”

“Please don’t.” Steve chuckles softly. “My old heart can’t take it. I’m sorry I forgot to disconnect them.”

“S’all good.”  You clamber to your feet and hold out his headphones to him, Immediately  wiping your sweaty palms onto your pyjama shorts. “And for what it’s worth, totally normal. Don’t be too embarrassed.”

“Hrm,” Steve grumbles, looking at the headphones in his large palm. When his gaze shifts back to you, he’s smirking slightly with a raised eyebrow. “And you thought this was your...?” He can’t quite get himself to say the word porn, but you roll your eyes playfully at him.

“My porn audiobook – yes.” Your eyes narrow teasingly at him. “But I’ll only share it with you if you’re a good boy.”

Steve’s body goes rigid,  and your expression softens. “Sorry. Too soon to joke about it?”

Steve’s looking down at you, pupils blown wide, trying to learn how to breathe again and hide the fact that his cock is rock hard between you. He shakes his head gently and clears his throat.

“N-no. It’s fine.” Steve huffs, eyes still fixated on you. Heat unfurls between your thighs under his gaze.

“Steve?” Your voice is so quiet it’s barely audible. Your heart beats in your ears and you watch Steve’s Adam's apple bob as he swallows thickly.

“yeah?” his voice is hoarse, bordering on desperate.

“Do you want me to call you a good boy?” You murmur. You watch as his eyes flutter and he bites down on his plush lip, suppressing a throaty sound that you’re sure sounds like a strangled whimper that makes your pussy throb with excitement. “It’s okay. You can say it. I don’t mind.”

“Fuck.” Steve curses, half turning away from you. When he turns, you can see the tent in his joggers and you almost swoon at the sight. “We shouldn’t-“

“Not what I asked, Stevie.” You say firmly. Steve’s eyes betray his thoughts and he only nods. You offer him your hand with a soft smile. “You’re okay – I’ve got you.”

The reassurance seems to be what he needs because the super soldier allows you to lead him to your bed. You let him sit down first and you stand between his muscular thighs. He’s still almost as tall as you sitting down, but you’re just that little bit taller like this to cup his face and tilt it up towards you to capture his lips in a sweet kiss. Steve breathes hard through his nose, his eyes close, and his shoulders slowly sag as you kiss. His big hands ghost over your thighs to settle on your hips. When you pull away to take a breath, you smile down at him, still cupping his soft clean shaven face.

“Good boy,” Your murmur against his lips and Steve audibly sighs in delight. “Now, undress and lay back for me. I wanna take care of you.”

You don’t need to tell him twice. His shirt is the first thing to go, tossed to the floor somewhere. Your eyes rake down his chest and your hands follow tracing the outlines of his taut muscles. He shivers underneath your touch and his breathing hitches when you reach the waistband of his joggers. There's barely anything left to the imagination with Steve's length straining against the thing fabric and you watch as Steve's blue eyes look up at you one last time; searching yours in case you want to back out. Before the point of no return.

He obeys, quietly shuffling back. His breathing is deep and laboured, his eyes never leave you as you kneel between his legs on your bed. You're hot all over - you dreamed of having him in your bed but now that he was here you almost felt self-conscious. But you had meant what you said when you told him you wanted to take care of him. Gently wrapping your fingers around his cock, the heat and hardness of the smooth skin making your mouth water, you pump a few times to adjust your grip. Steve lets out a breathy sigh but watches closely.

You swallow and nod at him, urging him with a barely audible "Go on," as encouragement. When Steve's cock is free, you lick your lips subconsciously at the sight. Big was an understatement and there's a dribble of pre-cum leaking from the tip already. You can feel Steve watching you, patiently waiting instruction, and your eyes meet his again.

"Further back onto the bed, Stevie."

You set a steady rhythm, Steve's breath hitching as you pump his weeping cock and shower him with praises making his head fall back into your pillows with muffled moans. As sexy as it was watching Steve try to suppress his moans by biting his (ridiculously) soft lips, you were desperate to hear them. Especially if, after tonight, things became... awkward at best.

"Don't keep those pretty sounds from me," You coo lasciviously at him, letting a blob of spit slowly roll from your tongue and drip onto the tip of his cock. The gasp Steve emits makes his whole body jerk, and heat rushes to his face. His cock twitches as you pump him harder, faster and now slicker, smirking up at him with that devilish grin he sees every night before he closes his eyes.

"Oh, fuuuuck." Steve moans loudly, and you chuckle; pleased he listened and pleased by how his eyes roll back and how he can't seem to stop his hips jerking.

"You were such a good boy Stevie but you should have said something. And let me take care of you." Your voice is low and seductive, you barely recognise it's you who's speaking. It's not often you get to be like this and your brain (or another organ entirely) is speaking without thinking.

"That's it baby, be nice and loud for me."

Steve huffs, brows furrowing softly trying to focus himself; which only spurs you on more. You grip his cock a little harder, expertly gliding your hand up and down.

"You like thinking about this when you're alone, Stevie? When I've been across the hall this entire time?"

"Shit, yes - oh." Steve groans again, cock twitching in your palm. You feel a sense of pride, and a flutter of something you dare not mention, at the confession. You're glad it's not just one-sided attraction, at the very least.

"Mm, I should have." Steve hums, breathing becoming heavier and heavier by the second. You are relentless, pumping him with the occasional trail of drool, and unabashed praises of him just to watch him squirm under your touch.

"Your cock is so pretty Stevie," Your murmur to him, watching his sac tighten as you fist his cock faster. "I can't wait to taste it."

Both the comment itself and the very thought of having your lips around his cock, make Steve cum so hard his vision blurs for a few seconds. His face and neck are flushed and he's coated in his own cum, panting hard with his eyes closed. You smile at the sight, committing it to memory before any guilt or shame sets in. You stealthily move over him to your bedside table to grab some wet wipes. Steve barely moves at the shift on the bed, but his eyes peek over to you and you gently smile down at him. You pull a wet-wipe free and hand it to him, unsure how he'd react to you cleaning him up.

"You okay, sweetheart?" You ask softly, sitting against the edge of the bed as Steve graciously takes the wipe from you. His face his bright red still and you start feeling the nibbles of guilt at the edges of your mind. You had both been willing and horny... but perhaps jeopardising your friendship to make Captain America cum wasn't the smartest idea.

"Mm." Steve clears his throat, still avoiding eye contact, and takes another wet-wipe. You fight the urge to make a joke about the super-soldier amount of cum. Not now.

"Hey," You reach out to touch his shoulder but stop when Steve looks over at you with his baby blues still blown wide. "This doesn't have to change anything if you don't want it to. We can pretend this never happened."

You shuffle awkwardly on the edge of your bed, grasping your hands in your lap. "But I... liked it. And I wouldn't mind if you wanted to... spend the night in here."

"I think I'd like that." He mumbles. "And I think I'd like to do it again sometime."

You can't tell if you've crossed the line from reassurance to worry for a moment. The silence drags for what feels like an eternity until Steve's features go from flustered to soft, with that cute smile he does so well.

Now it's your turn to go red. "Good. Great."

Steve chuckles. "But first, since you heard my audio... I think it's fair I heard yours."

[mars-and-the-theoi]

Low energy Devotional Acts for when you don’t have a lot of energy (or time, or money, etc.) pt. 8

🌾Demeter🌾

- if able go on a walk and enjoy the outdoors doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy it could literally just be a walk around the block

- if you can’t go on a walk either sit outside for a bit or just open some windows for some fresh air

- play farming simulator (you think I’m joking but I’m not) or watch vids of ppl playing it

- watch documentaries or do a deep dive on farming and all the stuff that goes with it (maybe you’re wanting to know more about tractors, or farming techniques over the years, etc.)

- if able attend a farmer’s market or look into any that are in your area you don’t necessarily need to buy anything you could just go look around (I do that regularly)

- learn about the role of a farmer and what it’s like to be a farmer (I worked on a farm for a bit in high school and while I loved it I couldn’t do it as a living it takes a very special someone to do it) and look up ways you can support them

- learn about the native plants in your area

- watch foraging videos and learn about it (how to safely do it especially, if it’s something you wish to do at some point)

- if able support local farmers by buying their products (I know here in wi it’s not uncommon for farm stands to pop up this time of year and they sell all sorts of stuff for good prices! One in my town sells the best corn and for only $1 a piece which is perfect)

- point out cows, horses, sheep, goats, etc. while going by them in the car

- learn about homesteading and watch videos about it (though I will issue a heads up that some of these folks veer into uh….’crunchy’ beliefs so just be careful I guess)

- look up recipes you’re interested in trying, try to write your own recipe, or cook something using a family recipe/you’d own recipe if able

- enjoy a fruit, vegetable, or grain/bread product! Have some toast with jelly/jam! Have a salad! A fruit cup! The fruit/veggies can be frozen as well. It’s still that fruit/veggie.

- listen to a devotional playlist for Her

- listen to nature soundscapes

🦉Athena🦉

- learn your rights and by the gods I can’t stress this enough (if you rent learn your tenants rights, learn your workers rights, etc.)

- watch a war movie, show, or documentary (plugging Band of Brothers again because there’s some examples of excellent leadership and all that)

- read or listen to an audiobook about war (can be fiction or nonfiction- my personal favorite is Conversations With Major Dick Winters it’s great)

- listen to a devotional playlist for Her

- is there a weapon you’re interested in? Or maybe a style of combat? Or something else pertaining to combat? Read about it! Watch a video about it!

- if able pick up a handicraft of some sort: knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc.)

- if unable to do that watch tutorial videos for it (I can knit but can’t crochet to save my life but I love watching crocheting videos)

- read or listen to an audiobook about literally anything

- if you’re a student, and are able, do some studying

- or just watch documentaries or read articles and such about stuff that interests you

- if able play a strategy game if unable to do so look up videos for techniques for strategy games you like and pick up some new tricks for when you next play!

- if able do a puzzle (can be as simple or complex as you want)

- if able do something like a word search, sudoko, crossword, etc.

[anonymous-dentist]

In my head, the Evil Dead au would go a little something like:

-

When Roier finally pulls himself out of the shower, the cabin is silent save for the faint scratching of the record player from the other room. The record itself must have run out while he was distracted, whoops. He hopes Cellbit isn't too annoyed at him.

So Roier is quick to dress, and he's up to his shirt when he realizes, oh no! It's Cellbit's shirt! Just a bit small on him, small enough to make Roier's muscles really pop out. Just the way Cellbit likes.

He winks at himself in the mirror before unlocking the bathroom door and opening it. He shivers at the sudden cold- Cellbit must've finally found the air conditioning panel. Fucking finally, it was hot in the bedroom earlier.

"Gatinhoooo!" Roier moans, throwing his head back dramatically. "Dónde estás?"

He walks into the cabin's main room, and-

"May the blood of the plenty fuel the forsaken souls of us few," the record abruptly says.

Roier jumps and swears, pressing his hand to his chest. He stares at the record- now silent again.

Slowly, he relaxes, shoulders slumping as he looks about the room.

"Cellbit?" he calls.

He frowns. It's a one-room cabin, what the fuck? Where did he go? Back to the car?

The record skips. "When the oceans ran red with blood, the world was full of what we now call the living dead."

Roier shivers. Ugh, creepy much? Maybe it's a good thing he missed out on the whole 'listen to the supposedly-cursed audiobook of the damned' thing. He loves his boyfriend, but this is a bit much.

Suddenly much less happy than he was a second ago, Roier huffs and turns the record player off.

"Cellbit," he says, "this isn't funny. Where are you?"

The room is still empty. There's no other room in the cabin- it's just this one big huge room and the crummy bathroom, and that's it. And with the car stuck in the mud down the road, there's nowhere Cellbit could be besides that creepy-ass basement or the toolshed out in the woods. And Roier does not want to go out there, not this late at night.

It's as he's sulking his way to their bed that he notices the curtains fluttering over one of the windows, the one closest to the record player and the chair Cellbit was sitting on when Roier had gone in to shower. But the windows were all boarded up when they arrived. For the weather.

Confusedly, Roier makes his way to the curtain. He pulls it back and sees... nothing. Just the woods outside.

And a big, splintered hole in the center of the window, bloody glass shards sticking out from behind the equally-bloody remains of the wooden boards.

Roier yelps and drops the curtain, skittering backwards and slipping on-

"And when the dead shall return, they will go for the wicked first, for they shall be the easiest to convert to their cause."

Roier's head snaps towards the record player as he tries to catch his balance. Its static is loud, almost as loud as the beating of his own heart. What the fuck?

Swallowing a growing lump in his throat, Roier looks down to see what he had slipped on, and he sees...

"Oh," he weakly say.

He crouches and picks up Cellbit's glasses. He holds them in both hands, biting his lip nervously as he takes in the cracks in the glass and the... and the blood across one of the lenses.

"The second to go shall be the mortal, for they shall be the easiest to kill. The dead's ranks will swell like the rising tide, and it shall be glorious."

And then he hears it from outside, a quiet whisper. A whimper, even, pained and pitiful and all too unpleasantly familiar.

"Guapito?"

Roier's eyes snap to the window. The curtain has been blown aside by the wind, and there he is. Cellbit. Right in the window with his hair plastered to his head pathetically like a cat stuck in the rain.

But it isn't raining.

But this is Cellbit.

So Roier carefully approaches, clearly hesitant, and that's fine, okay?

"I think I want to go home," Roier says.

Cellbit pouts. "What? Why? We just got here!"

Oh, why does he have to be so cute?

This is. Weird. Bad. Weird.

The record skips. And then it says, "The end of days will not come in a storm. It will come as gently as a lover through the window..."

Cellbit glares at the record player. "Shut up!"

The record stops.

With a cheesy grin, Cellbit slumps against the window, his arm propped up on the sharpened edges without a care. He leans his cheek against his arm, pleasantly ignoring the fresh blood dripping down his arm.

Roier, frankly, stares. His grip on Cellbit's glasses tightens, and he backs up a step.

"Ignore them." Cellbit rolls his eyes. "Come here, guapito, they don't know what they're talking about."

"I don't knooow, it sounded pretty sure..." Roier awkwardly says. He laughs, unsure, and he stops completely when Cellbit laughs with him in a voice that probably isn't his. Probably?

He glances at the record player, and then back to Cellbit, and then back to the room when he hears a sudden crashing noise from the bathroom.

"Will you marry me?" Cellbit asks.

"What?" Roier faces him incredulously. "Now?"

Cellbit shrugs. "Why not?"

"I mean, yeah, but-"

"Yes?"

Cellbit's eyes light up... literally. Bright blue, and in a way that's probably beautiful to, like, a moth, but not a Roier because what the fuck what the fuck what the fu-

Roier can't help the little scream that escapes him as Cellbit pulls himself up and drags himself through the window, bringing him into the light for the first time since- since he-

"What's wrong?" Cellbit asks, head cocked at a dangerous angle. It's hanging off of his head, barely hanging on by a literal thread. His legs are mangled- his jeans shredded and his skin red and slick and wet and his bones and his-

Roier covers his mouth with a hand to keep himself from vomiting. Because one of Cellbit's arms is turned backwards, and that arm has a hand turned the right way around, and that hand is holding a little white ring, and that ring is the same color as the bone sticking out of Cellbit's knee awkwardly.

He skitters backwards, tripping over the rug and falling right onto his ass. Fuck.

"Guapito?" Cellbit frowns. "What's wrong?"

Only he doesn't speak it. His mouth doesn't move.

The record player skips and repeats the question, this time in a much less concerned tone of voice.

"Ooooh," Cellbit gasps, this time with his mouth. He raises both hands and sets his head on straight, wiggling it slightly for grip.

Seemingly happy with himself, he grins- sharp teeth stained black with his own blood. "That better?"

"What the fuck, Cellbit?" Roier chokes out. He likes to think of himself as a badass, but this?

Cellbit shambles closer, and then he crouches next to Roier and takes his hand gently in both of his.

"I promise it won't hurt," he promises, and Roier only has half a second to wonder what the fuck that's supposed to mean before Cellbit laughs with a dozen voices in one and he grabs Roier by the throat and he squeezes.

Roier drops Cellbit's glasses to the floor in his panic, his hands scrambling to try and push his dead boyfriend away but he can't see and he can't breathe and there are lips on his and there are teeth and they're biting and-

"No!" he screeches, and he manages to grab Cellbit's head by the hair and he fucking rips it off.

Cellbit's body goes limp, collapsing over Roier oozing blood onto his- Cellbit's shirt.

Roier looks up at Cellbit's head, out of breath and wide-eyed and crying sobbing panicking confused-

Cellbit frowns. "What the fuck, man?"

Roier screams and throws his boyfriend's head across the cabin. He cringes as he hears Cellbit swear in Portuguese. He watches Cellbit's body push itself up off of him and crawl its way blindly to its head.

He stands, and he slams the cabin door open, and he fucking runs.

[novelconcepts]

It has taken me seven days to run a marathon. Seven days to pound out a little over 26 miles. Seven days in which I coax my body into motion despite my perpetual fatigue, despite my aching chest, despite the fact that my brain is on fire what feels like three-hundred percent of the time.

There was a time when the idea of running 26 miles in any number of days was laughable. Beyond laughable; it was a concept so nonexistent, I did not know how to dream it up. I did not grow up a runner. I grew up with a stellar baseball swing, a killer capacity for sinking free throws, and a vomitous terror of being seen by any kind of audience during a game. I grew up a graceless, sports-focused tomboy. I grew up terrified of embarrassing myself via athletic feats. I talked myself out of almost every game I could have excelled at. I talked myself out of so much.

I picked up running a few years ago just to see if I could. To see if it was in me, despite my breathlessness on flights of stairs, despite convincing myself at age twelve that I had a bum knee. I picked up running a few years ago to see if I could, in the comfort of my own living room, squirming out of binders and into sports bras and feeling a little bit insane all the while. I kept up running anyway. Even though my personal best was seven minutes. Even though a mile felt like drop-kicking my own sternum off a mountain. Even though my body felt wrong with every step, because--let's all be honest now--my body had felt wrong since I hit puberty.

I kept up running in the privacy of my own living room, and then the privacy of my home office. Wherever I could fit a treadmill. I kept it up because I'd already told people I'd started, and I have a propensity for stubbornness. If people know, I can't give up, or I will be a failure. The potential for shame kept me driving forward. I kept it up, and, slowly, I began to dream about it. I dream of running the way other people dream of flying. In my dreams, I am weightless. I do not even have a body with which to battle. My lungs know how to do nothing but breathe easy. My legs could carry me across oceans. I run, and I run, and I am running not away from anything, not towards anything. I am just running. Humans are like that. Humans are supposed to be like that. We move because moving is innate, because momentum is beautiful, because in motion, we are alive.

I kept up running in private, and then, in 2022, I had top surgery. I couldn't run for months. I had to heal. I had to relearn the angles of a body I had been at war with for over half my life. I spent weeks in bed, my brain foggy, my depression worsening not because I regretted my decision to get the surgery--I have never regretted anything less than that surgery--but because I had taken off the table one of the biggest obstacles to my own joy. My body was more my own than it had ever been, and I was...still unwell. Still very much not okay. I laid in bed, and I listened to audiobooks, and I rewatched my favorite shows, and I ached to fill the spaces in myself with something joyful. Something as positive as the miracle I'd just enacted on my own body. I healed slowly. I accepted needing medication for my depression. I returned to running.

I ran outside for the first time in my life. I ran outside, and everything I'd already learned, I had to navigate through fresh eyes. The upheaval of sidewalks that twist and turn, that slope unexpectedly upward before sending you skidding downhill again. The presence of other runners, of dog-walkers, of cars and children and unexpected rainfall. I began listening to podcasts. I listened to podcasts about queer joy. I listened to podcasts about movies worthy of love and hate simultaneously. I listened to podcasts that made me laugh, and stories that made my chest feel like it would cave in. Sometimes, I listened to music, and I wrote a soundtrack for a revolutionary kind of cinema in which I, at last, played the lead. I ran, and I learned how to breathe through my new chest, and I learned how to straighten my spine and twist my hips and feel, for once, as though the body I inhabit is one that wants me around.

I run now, in the summer, mainly in my office again, because climate change is a bitch. I run shirtless, watching my reflection out of the corner of my eye in my cabinets. I am still not in love with my body. There is too much about it that feels outside of my control. I am even less in love with my brain, which--despite the exercise, despite the Lexapro, despite the happy home life and loving community I am fortunate enough to have around me--wants me dead more than ever. I run largely because I am trying to outrun the negatives. The anxiety burning a pit in my stomach. The self-loathing I can't switch off. The fear of the future. The burden of observation in a world where every bit of bad news is available at all times. I run as though I am trying to escape a tiger, and I know it can't get through my front door, but I can sense its teeth in my neck all the same. I run two miles. Three. Five. Six. I run, and I keep track of my running, because every mile is another day I've won the war.

I am not well. I am not okay. I know this. I say this to my wife in tears. I say this to myself in stoic, flat tones. I say this, and I feel my mouth shape in a crooked smile, and it is not funny--but I sometimes laugh, anyway. Sometimes, you have to. That's human, too. The momentum. The graveside humor. The miles scorched into the soles of shoes you must, someday, replace if you're going to keep going. I am not well. I am not okay. I did not, quite honestly, expect to make it this far. Thirty-five is a country unexplored. Thirty-five is a galaxy I've only just found the keys to. Sometimes, I think this will be the last year of my life--but then, I think I thought that last year. And the year before. In 2020, in 2016, when I was 19 and 17 and 12.

I've run a marathon in seven days.

Time to look ahead to the next seven.

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

On The Road Again ask game for @copperfirebird!

My Favorite Scene: You guys haven't seen it yet, but the epilogue is definitely one of my favorites. I wrote it before chapter 6 because I was just very ready to write that specific scene. It's very reminscient of my night's epilogue, in my opinion. I actually really love every single argument X and V have throughout the entire fic.

Favorite Chapter: I am torn between 1 and 5! I love the phone call from Ridoc, and the beginnings of their banter in 1, but I love the roller coaster argument in 5, as well as the climax.

Hardest Scene to Write: The morning after in chapter 6! I know you guys probably didn't notice, because I still updated relatively fast, but I felt like me and OTRA 6 were locked in a boxing ring for weeks on end. In part it was because of outside influences within the fandom, how much attention the fic got and what I knew people were expecting, and then how those that warred with the ending I saw for the fic. I was trying to strike the right balance between X and V being BETTER now, but not all the way good.

The rest is below the cut because I am yapping once again!

Favorite Character in the fic: Violet!! My sweet baby. This particular Violet is very personal to me, for Reasons, and I just love her so much. I actually have another fic in the works right now, and @maethologies and I were discussing how it's like OTRA Vi with Nights Xaden.

Favorite Dynamic: I really liked the four-way conflict at play, and especially the Ridoc and Xaden beef! Ridoc is very nuanced here, and I wanted to highlight for Bodhi how stressful it is to have a significant other who's actively beefing with someone you love.

Why I Chose That Title: One Direction's fourth/last tour was called the On The Road Again tour. Not to be deranged, but I was thinking about like road-related titles, and that popped into my head, and I analyzed it further, and it REALLY worked. If you are a one direction enjoyer, you'll know what I mean I think.

A Fun Fact About the Fic: I re wrote all the argument scenes at least once, so I have a lot of scraps in my docs that didn't end up making it in. In chapter 3, the audiobook V and X listen to on the way up is Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and the commentary Violet is pointedly not telling Xaden is about how in the show, they changed the quest companion selection process to have Percy WANTING to pick Annabeth, where in the book, he's like ugh! of course that nerd wants to come. In the original cut, Xaden reads her like a book accuses her of having issues with her mother, MUCH like Annabeth does.

[dice-sociation]

Girls Who Don’t DnD

Quick Info

Audio Quality: High-Quality Audio, Effects, Music. (Occasional fan-submitted recordings)

Vibes: Throne of Glass, Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Princess and the Pauper

Extras: Patreon rewards, Discord Community with Book Club, and more!

System: 5e DnD

Campaign/ Show Length: Long Term Campaign

Average Episode time: 1.5 Hours (varies a bit)

Uploads 1 episode a month. 

Diversity: Majority Women

Platforms: Podcast, Audio Only. 

Number of Episodes This Review is based on: 30+ 

** If you want the TLDR, scroll to the bottom of the post **

Why Girls Who Don’t DnD?

How often have you said to yourself, “Man, I wish I could experience that for the first time again?” While we can’t reset your brain, you can live vicariously through the Girls Who Don’t D&D podcast. 

If you're looking for a podcast with relaxed gameplay, fantastic humor, great editing, and effects, you should read on to learn more. This wonderful adventure showcases the beautiful experience of watching three girls fall in love with Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). 

Starting the Pod

The podcast starts with Cory, the Dungeon Master (DM), explaining that he has invited three girls, Indy, Alana, and Stacey, who have never played D&D, into his world of Kalee with premade characters. If you, the listener, haven’t played before, you’ll learn a lot just from listening. Cory purposely doesn’t edit out explanations of how to play. I’m confident my experience was better because I was still learning to play the game myself as I started listening.

Right from the start you will hear how much work Cory puts into editing and pre-recording. He recruits people to voice-act for non-player characters (NPCs) or to play out memories or scenes. Some additions are just for the listeners, giving us a little extra information about the lore of the world. This includes the origin of magical artifacts, gods, and sometimes an NPC’s perspective that the players don’t get to hear.  It feels like listening to an audiobook and honestly, I think “booktok” would love Girls Who Don’t DnD. 

We learn that the three player characters, Freya, Kaa'Riin, and Morrigan, have lost their memories and need to recover them. The story and the discovery of who the player characters are and what happened to them work in tandem with the players themselves learning the game in a beautiful way. 

Power gamers and hardcore strategy? We don’t need that here. (Tosses book over shoulder). This group is made of story-tellers who usually choose to progress the narrative over strategy. At first, it's like watching Without A Recipe or the British Bake Off challenge where they have no clue what they are supposed to be making. This makes it all the more special when the players get more comfortable with the gameplay and more grounded in their characters. 

About the Team

Cory, "(who owns all the books but hasn't read them)"* completely absorbs the chaos the girls bring to the table and somehow also keeps them immersed in the story. He holds onto the rules of D&D loosely, letting his players use their abilities in different and unique ways. You still get full epic fights with no pulled punches, yet they feel more cinematic than the usual D&D grind. Outside of combat, Cory introduces challenging puzzles and encounters that present more opportunities for his players to think outside the mechanics of the game.

I adore Alana, Indy, and Stacy. I have some difficulty with telling their voices apart, but I never felt like that took away from my enjoyment of the show. Over time they develop their characters and have different play styles. They all have so much personality and bring their own flavor to the table. 

Indy, playing Freya the Rogue, has to be the most classic of first-time players, starting a little hack-and-slash happy, but eventually, she gets really into the strategy of the game. Freya is a cheeky scamp of a character and Indy leans naturally into the rogue class.  

Alana, playing Morrigan the Sorcerer, is usually the most sensible of the group. She is a leader in a way. There is so much more I want to say but I can't think of anything that isn't a big spoiler. Playing a sorcerer for your first time playing D&D is never easy, but Cory was able to ease her into the role and she runs with it.

Stacey, playing Kaa'Riin the Bearbarian (Druid with some Barbarian), has some epic combat moments. She can change from one animal to another without reverting to humanoid form, which deviates from traditional Druid rules. This decision, as well as other tweaks of the rules, help the pacing of the overall production. 

And sure, you're probably thinking their whole schtick is that they don't know D&D, so wouldn't it lose its charm after they get better? Absolutely not. Not even a little bit. This table is casual, silly, charming, and gripping. They make me feel like I am with my best friends playing our chaos gremlins together. 

A special shout to Mia Stegner (https://www.miastegner.com/) who composed and performed the opening and closing songs. It’s the cherry on top of this podcast sunday.

*Referenced from the Podcast Description. https://www.girlswhodontdnd.com/ 

About the world

“There is a saying among the good people of Kalee, when you know what is right, do what is right, and then deliver it all into the endless sea” From Episode 1: Throw it Into the Sea, Aug 16, 2021.

Cory presents a world both complex and informed by the player's choices and features some of the more bizarre parts of typical High Fantasy settings. 

There is just something so satisfying about learning the characters' backstories and how their stories are expertly baked in the many-layered cake that makes the world. Flavors include; wild magic, strange and whimsical characters, Evil Queens, “timey-wimey” stuff, super cute plans, snails, Gods, magic crystals, trapped souls, and Alan (the real star of the later episodes).

Extras

There are so many Patreon perks! You get behind-the-scenes talks, recipes from Indy, DMing tips, Lana's book reviews, and more! You can also join their Discord server where Cory is pretty active and they encourage community gaming and have a book club.

TL;DR: 

This podcast is about girls learning to play D&D using premade characters with amnesia. The girls learning to play parallels the story’s progression as they regain memories. 

Reliving the experience of learning to play for the first time all over again. 

Loosely follows the rules of 5e to keep the pacing up.

DM Cory recruits people to voice act for NPCs or to play out memories or scenes. Some additions are just for the listeners, giving us a little extra information about the lore of the world.

It's a little hard to tell the girls apart, but I don’t think it takes away from my enjoyment at all. 

Wild magic, strange and whimsical characters, Evil Queens, “timey-wimey” stuff, super cute plans, snails, Gods, magic crystals, trapped souls, and Alan. 

DM Cory presents a world both complex and informed by the player's choices and features some of the more bizarre parts of typical High Fantasy settings.

Special thanks to Artax of Who's Taking Watch for helping with editing!

No Context Gifs:

[twowhoodles]

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland - Audiobook Review

You know when the main character is greeted by old mates with approximately seven "No"s of dismay, that this book is not going to be a normal ride. Irrepressibly funny, horny (but not in a weird or creepy way), and sweet, this latest entry into Alexandra Rowland's Mithalgeard/Chantiverse world of books is once again unlike all the others. It's rife with satire, references, and puns. The dialogue, the descriptions, and the situations the crew of the Running Sun get into are all literally laugh-out-loud funny at times, interspersed with some real discussion of emotions, what to do when boat cops pull you over, what happens when governments start to consider people "meat", and the most unhinged cake competition you'll ever wish you could attend. On top of all that, it features multiple LGBTQ+ characters in variety of roles and jobs.

Running Close to the Wind is, in part, a love letter to every pirate movie you've ever seen. Its main characters are all ADULTS - over age 30! - who hilariously refer to the single 17yo member of the crew as "an infant, a baby, still wet." It's so refreshing to see adults having adventures and real struggles.

I cannot summarize what happens, but here's some highlights: a spy cursed with luck, a captain having the WORST time, a celibate monk whose main tenet is Rational Thought, a secret pirate cove, giant sea turtles, ghosts, curry, a new ambassador, boat cops, seagulls, cake competition, luminescence, SO MANY TEETH, and a guy carving a giant skull into a mountainside.

I loved this book so much that I can't even write about it in a normal way - this review would become entirely too long if I listed everything I enjoyed about it. There is SO MUCH BOOK IN THIS BOOK! Even outside the plot, it adds a ton more detail to the world of Mithalgeard that Alexandra Rowland has been creating across multiple books (this is the 8th, and completely standalone).

Audiobook notes - Casey Jones from Rowland's A Taste of Gold and Iron returns for this one, and does an absolutely stellar job. There are MANY voices and accents, and Avra is an absolute goblin/gremlin/muppet of a man who absolutely cannot carry on a normal conversation for more than half of this book, and Casey does so well with the weirdness. Avra's annoying - and he's meant to be! - but that's balanced by Captain Teveri and Brother Julian's calmer tones as well as the normal 'narrator' voice. When we have group scenes, each character has different accents AND vocal tones, so everyone is easy to keep track of and connect to. This is among my top 5 audiobooks of all time, easily.

My eternal gratitude to Netgalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook ARC for Running Close to the Wind!

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

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123 for 🧟:

---

Buck feels relieved. She didn’t travel all this way not to have a support system in him. 

“Hershey didn’t get the worst of the outbreaks,” Maddie says. “Roads closed from Harriburg, and… Well, it was stemmed.”

Buck remembers that, from the early days. Before the internet went out. He’d tried to reach out. Even to his parents. 

“But everyone went into lockdown mode,” Maddie says. “At first I thought that would exclude me, being in healthcare. I thought I was needed more than ever.”

“Weren’t you?” Buck asks. 

“Oh, I think probably.” Maddie admits. “But Doug came home one day with new guns and told me neither of us was leaving the house again. Not without his say so.”

“What the fuck?” 

“I think he was happy, honestly. Society had gone to hell, and he didn’t have to be careful anymore.” Her eyes tear up a little. “He could do whatever he wanted.”

Buck’s blood goes cold. He knew Doug didn’t treat her right. Didn’t treat her well at all. But what she’s implying? If he had known… Oh god. He would have never left her. 

“Maddie…”

“Don’t say sorry,” she says firmly. “I worked hard to make sure you didn’t know, okay? It’s why… It’s why we lost contact.”

Buck’s head hangs a little. “I would have helped you.”

“I know. That’s why. He would have killed you.”

Buck sighs. “So what happened?”

“He got sick,” Maddie says. “Went out on a supply run one afternoon, came back sick. Infected.”

“Shit.” Buck hisses.

“So I shot him.” Maddie says, very quietly. 

“My god, Maddie.” Buck exhales. “I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”

“It was,” she agrees. “But I wasn’t going to die there. Become infected or wait for him to fully turn and… Eat me.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t,” Buck replies. “I’m so glad you survived.”

“Me too,” she says, inhaling a little. Like she’s convincing herself. 

“Can I ask what happened to Mom and Dad?” Buck asks. 

They’re obviously not close. Never were. He hasn’t worried for them, the same way he’s worried for Maddie. But it’s not like he wishes them harm. Though, harm has come for most people anyway. 

Maddie shakes her head a little.

“I don’t know entirely,” she admits. “By the time I left and was able to check on them, the house was abandoned. No trace of them. No remains.”

Buck bites the inside of his cheek. So it will always be a question, then. 

“Sorry,” Maddie says. 

Buck shakes his head. “No, that’s… I mean, everyone has people like that, right?”

She nods. “I’m glad you’re not one of them, now.”

Buck throat feels tight. “Same with you.”

▪️▪️▪️

Buck starts his shift on cams after Maddie is asleep. He’s on from eight until two in the morning, when Bobby will switch with him. 

It sounds painfully boring, but Buck doesn’t hate cam shifts. He did at first. The stillness was grating. Drove him crazy. He learned to entertain himself, over the past months. He can’t read, really. He could miss something. But he can listen to music or audiobook CDs. Not just CDs, either. Karen’s iPhone is still in good shape, and it had dozens of audiobooks, podcasts, and music downloaded onto it. She leaves it in the cams room with a charger for whoever is on shift. So there is a lot for Buck to do to occupy his mind. Even if some of the podcast episodes and audiobooks start to get repetitive on the second or third listen. 

Tonight, he’s listening to a nonfiction selection of Karen’s. Something academic and a bit smarter than Buck. But the only way he learns is by challenging himself, so he’s trying to focus. It’s nearing ten o’clock. Most everyone has gone to bed. It’s been a long, tiring day. Full of activity. 

All this to say, Buck is surprised when he sees someone pop up on the security camera. Not just someone. Eddie. He’s walking, purpose in his step, down the hallway connecting to the front foyer, right out the big glass entryway doors. Oh. Well, that’s stupid. The doors lock from the outside. Bobby locks them before he goes to bed. Buck will have to leave his post to let him back in, which is annoying. 

He’s about to do as much, making the short walk to bang on the glass and let Eddie know, when what he sees on the screen stops him short. Eddie walks to the side of the building, leans against a brick wall, and starts to cry. 

Oh.

Well, this is very awkward. 

And, hey, there’s nothing wrong with crying. Buck has cried twice today. One over the radio, once over his sister returning. No shame in it. It’s just that, Buck has all the off-cam good crying spots down. Including his private room. This poor guy doesn’t realize Buck can see him. 

He shouldn’t watch. Surely no zombies or other forms of villain will come in the next… Well, how long does it take to cry? Buck doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anything about this guy. Other than that he saved Maddie. Really, the polite thing to do would be to turn away and give him a minute. He’s going to. Definitely. 

Except, he finds he can’t look away. 

Something in his heart cracks, watching this guy. He’d seemed friendly and collected earlier. Steady. Not like someone hours away from weeping. Maybe that’s just a front. Maybe he wants to seem tough in front of his kid. Buck thinks he could understand that, despite not being a parent. 

The crying lasts less than ten minutes. Buck watches Eddie straighten himself up, rub his eyes, and turn back towards the entrance. Which is still locked. Shoot. Buck bounces to his feet, leaves the cam room, and jogs down the hallway towards the entrance. By the time he reaches the door, Eddie is trying the handle to no avail, a panicked expression on his face. 

Buck reaches forward and opens the door. 

“Sorry, man,” he says. “It locks from the inside. Safety.”

“No, right,” Eddie nods. “That makes sense. Thanks for letting me in.”

“Don’t mention it,” Buck shrugs. Really. He literally saved Maddie’s life. Buck opened the damn door. Not the same level of effort.

“How did you know I was here?” Eddie asks.

Buck’s cheeks go a little red. “Uh…”

[dullgecko]

I've been listening to an audiobook about animal senses, and I've just learned that humans can learn to use echolocation.

So. I feel like goblins may have some level of echolocation from living in dark caves. Once Riz figures out that Fabian hates being in dark places, he starts teaching Fabian how to use echolocation which helps him feel more comfortable, even in magical darkness.

In return, Fabian starts learning sign language so he can communicate with Riz, even once Riz's hearing starts getting increasingly worse.

Fabian asks Riz about it once, wondering how the rogue is so good at telling where people are even when couldn't actually see them. The rogue had given him a puzzled look, tipping his head to the side and simply stating that he could 'hear' where they were even if he couldn't see them. He didn't explain more than that though and the half elf had dropped the topic.

It wasn't until months later that he brought it up again. Riz had been sealed off from the rest of his party but they could still see him, the rogue trapped inside a magical dome with their attacker and unable to hear anyone outside the little bubble as he was forced to face off with them alone.

Their enemy didn't play fair though, a stinging, irritating powder getting thrown into the rogues face to blind him as his opponent tried to silently change positions. Hunching down in a spot the rogue wouldn't expect as they readied themselves for another attack.

Riz was completely blind, staggering backwards as he tried to blink the irritant away with tears streaming down his face. He knew his opponent would have moved but he couldn't hear any footfalls, ears held high and alert as he shut his burning eyes and tried to hear where they had gone. Other than his own breathing the space inside the dome was completely quiet though so he brough up his hand not holding his arcubus, clicking the fingers loudly once before he swung around and shot. The arcane bullet nailing his attacker dead centre of their forehead and killing them in one go, the dome dissolving as the spellcaster was taken out of the fight.

Kristen and Fig had jumped in to try and heal him immediatly, their cleric having to help him pour water over his face and eyes to wash out the irritant before magic was able to make the pain go away. Fabian was worried about Riz sure but he stood back and out of the way, thinking hard about the spectacle he'd just witnessed and trying to work out what had happened. Riz was blinded, their enemy was hidden from him, yet he still somehow managed to just... snap his fingers and instantly know where they were in order to land a killing shot. It was bizzare.

Riz had explained it to him better when he was pressed for answers again. Telling the half elf that when he needed to he could use sound itself to tell where something was in a room simply by listening to how noise bounced off of objects. Goblins were described as having 'bat like ears' for a reason after all, they weren't just decoration.

The rogue had offered to help Fabian learn how to do it too, even though he wasn't sure it would work particularly well. He'd been surprised when the half elf seemed to pick it up after a while but figured Fabian had pretty good hearing so it shouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.

By the time they reached the end of their senior year Fabians hearing was the better out of the two of them. Years of firing an arcubus at close range having taken its toll, especially on Riz's right side, meaning that he couldn't realiably echolocate himself anymore. It wasn't getting better either, the rogue constantly having to ask people to repeat themselves when talking because he'd missed half of what they said.

Riz was starting to get frustrated by it, especially when he had to ask someone to repeat themselves three times and they'd just said the same thing at the same speed and volume as before and he'd STILL completely missed it. The rogue blinking in surprise when Fabian made an annoyed face, tapped the rogue on the shoulder, and signed out exactly what the person had said in slow and deliberate hand motions.

Riz had learned sign language in his first year rogue classes, mostly because it was a silent and effective way to talk with your teammates without being overheard on a battlefield, but he didn't expect any of his party to actually know how to do it. He was touched that Fabian had noticed the goblins increasingly bad hearing and had taken the time to learn how to still communicate with him.

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

Another lovely year in this wonderful fandom. Here’s a little recap of how my year went:

My Writing:

Depth of Reason - Mature - 70k

How to Avoid a Scandal - Teen - 43k

Episode 3: The Diplomat, A Star Trek Redemption story - Teen - 13.5k

This list is much shorter than my list of fics written in 2022, but my fics last year were much shorter. Also, this word count is deceptive, because I wrote about 22k of Depth of Reason last year and about 20k of How to Avoid a Scandal last year as well. But! My writing goals this year were to finish these two WIPs and not take on any other projects until they were finished and I very nearly did that! Took on two projects (and more below), but I still finished these before the year finished, so pretty good!

Total words:

About 83k. Last year was more like 120k.

Other works:

Podfic of Petrichor - Teen - 34 minutes

Themes:

Finishing long works apparently! One was for my 2022 COBB and the other for my 2022 CORB. Even though these were started last year, they are the longest things I wrote since my first fic (49k) back in the second half of 2021.

Also, trying new things! Writing sci-if and recording a podfic felt very outside my wheelhouse at the time, but ultimately, I’m glad I went for it.

Top 10 fics I read in 2023:

Someone Wicked - Explicit - 60k by @artsyunderstudy

Three Months or 3,000 Miles - Gen - 3k by @larkral and art by @theimpossibledemon

Blood, Salt and Hummingbirds - Teen - 32k by @hushed-chorus

Restoration Ecology - The REmix (Baz’s version) - Explicit - 62k by @royalasstronaut

Good at Something - Explicit - 19k by @larkral

A Gift From the Propheseals - Mature - 6.5k by @skeedelvee with art by @letraspal

What Remains After the Storm - Mature - 86k by @hushed-chorus art by @erzbethluna

To Do, to Know, to Want - Mature - 8.5k by @facewithoutheart

Mishaps on Zoom - Explicit - 10k by @eelwinks

Swords Into Plowshares - Teen - 6.5k by @ileadacharmedlife

WIPs I’m excited to keep reading in 2024:

I Knew A Boy, I Knew A Man - Teen, by @shrekgogurt

Hiding Out In The Open - Mature, by @cutestkilla

A Little Bit Deadly- Explicit, by @emeryhall

Basil Pitch’s Diary - Teen, by @bookish-bogwitch

Other notable fandom things:

I helped to run @carryon-reverse-bang again with @angelsfalling16 as well as helped to put on a new event this year, @caught-on-tape-fest with @cutestkilla and @sillyunicorn

I met up with fandom friends while on a trip this past summer. Making personalized friendship bracelets as gifts, doing fic readings and crafts, and putting on our own Lady Ruth style tea party were some of my fave moments <3

I did a book club style reread of some of my fave fics with friends. I hope we do a few more in 2024!

It’s safe to say I engaged with this fandom everyday of 2023. I might get quiet on the main Discord server or Tumblr, but I’m certain I read, reblogged, wrote, DMd or otherwise participated in some way, shape or form throughout the entirety of the year.

Goals for 2024:

Read more fic! This fandom has such a wealth of works, my TBR list is a mile long and isn’t organized. I’d like to formally rework my AO3 bookmarks to exclusively show recs and either utilize the Marked for Later function or make a spreadsheet or something to better organize a proper TBR list so i don’t lose track of what I want to read next. Currently, having a dozen tabs open on my phone and another dozen on my iPad doesn’t really work well. If anyone has a brilliant system you’d suggest, please enlighten me!

I also want to read all of my physical canon books this year. I’ve only ever listened to the audiobooks! I’m currently reading my anniversary edition of Fangirl. (I think this is the prettiest book I’ve ever owned.) Up next, the Fangirl Manga, followed by the trilogy and Snow for Christmas.

More fandom meet ups! Already planning for June…

I don’t have any writing plans currently, so we shall see if/what I decide to create. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but nothing I’ve felt urged to put down in words. I’m sure I’ll write something, I just don’t know what it’ll be yet.