#little to no dialogue

[lire-casander]

as the world shifts off its axis

[1,280 words] [teen and up audiences] [beta'ed by the always wonderful @morganaspendragonss. special thanks to @moviegeek03 for her constant support and her hand-holding.] [tk strand] [angst, tk is an unreliable narrator, little to no dialogue, spoilers for s04e01 the new hotness, religious discussion, mentions of recovery]

it seems i'm back for the time being! this story has been written in bits and pieces throughout the day, in between work meetings and arguments with my boss. all in all, i don't think it's taken me over an hour and half to put it together, which is a record for me. religious discussion comes from pope francis' interview to associated press, recovered from the cbs news webpage. i think it could be used to understand where carlos is coming from and his reasons. it's also a way for me to sort through the feelings of being a catholic bisexual woman within this twenty-first-century church.

His fiancé is already married. To a woman — to his best friend. As much as he tries to wrap his head around the fact, he can't.

as the world shifts off its axis

part 8 of as the world whirls

catch up on the series on ao3 | read on ao3

He leans into the wall once he's left on his own. A sigh escapes his lips, a puff of air finding its way into existence. He rubs a hand against his eyes as he tries to make sense of what he's just learned.

There's no way he would have believed it if anyone had told him three years ago.

His fiancé is already married. To a woman — to his best friend. As much as he tries to wrap his head around the fact, he can't.

Carlos Reyes is married to Iris Blake. They've been married for years. They've been married for longer than he's known Carlos. They go way back — back to high school, back to when Carlos needed a mirage of normalcy to get through his days.

As much as he understands the reasons behind Carlos' decision to tie the knot with Iris, it's still a hard pill to swallow. His mind is racing ten miles a second as he thinks about the implications that Carlos' confession has — how their whole life, his whole life in Austin since he decided to take a leap of faith and grab Carlos' hand on top of the Camaro, everything they've built together is now a lie. Has been a lie all this time.

Their love is built on an omission of truth that Carlos has been keeping close to his chest for years.

He can feel anxiety and dread pooling in equal measure in his gut. He takes a deep breath, then another one, but the feeling isn't budging. He can't shake it.

Carlos hadn't told him because he never thought they'd reach a moment when he'd need to come clean. Carlos never thought they'd get past the fun stage of their relationship, they'd never make it to serious stuff like living together or getting engaged.

Carlos never thought a New York firefighter turned paramedic transplant with an opioid problem would be his forever.

There's a staccato tapping grilling his nerves. He looks up from where his eyes have been inspecting the floor to tell Mateo to stop it — because it's always Mateo — only to find out that he's all alone in the dormitory. The bunk beds are aligned in perfect rows, the pillows glaring at him as he searches the room.

His own fingers are abusing the wall behind his back, playing a hard tune to the turmoil that dominates his soul. When he lifts his hand to assess the damage, he can see he's drawn blood from knocking too hard on the wall. He sighs again.

The thoughts keep piling up in heaps of heat and dread in his mind. His soul is torn between the need to understand why Carlos hadn't trusted him with this secret before and the sheer belief that Carlos loves him dearly. But there are underlying issues, things unsaid, that press against everything he's ever known to be true. There's the fear of being left behind; the knowledge that he isn't good enough to be put first, a belief that's tattooed in his soul. But Carlos has proven, once and again, that he doesn't care about anything but their happiness. Sure, there's been a few bumps along the way.

But love has trumped them all.

Still, he's married. To a woman. A small, tiny detail that Carlos could have disclosed before — when they first moved in together, when he bought a loft and put both their names in the deed, when he said yes at 3:18 in the morning. He chose not to.

Carlos purposefully kept him in the dark about his past.

He isn’t sure how they’ll be able to come back from that. If there’s a way back from a lie like this one.

The television is on when he reaches the open common room. Mateo is tinkering with the remote until he settles for a news channel, where the anchorwoman is unveiling a recent interview with Pope Francis, who apparently has something to say about gays.

Paul watches him as he enters the space and flops himself down on the couch. “Pope Francis has called laws criminalizing homosexuality fundamentally unfair, since being homosexual is not a crime,” the blond woman is reading from the cue in front of her. “However, he remains unmoving in the fact that engaging in homosexual activities is sinful, and same-sex unions are still out of the question in the Catholic Church because God cannot bless sin.”

“Nonsense,” Judd mutters under his breath. His voice is thick with disbelief. “How come homosexuality is not a crime, but is it a sin?”

And then, in just seven words, his world is upended.

Homosexuality is not a crime, but it is a sin.

There's a finality in those words, a sense of supremacy that fills all the spaces in his soul that could have been open to listening. He's Jewish — albeit not really observing, not anymore even though he's been trying to do better since his mom passed away — so he doesn't have to fold into what some old man at the Vatican preaches to his Catholic followers. But Carlos does.

Carlos has been listening to what Catholic Popes have been preaching his whole life. And those Catholic priests and religious minds have repeatedly told him, in no uncertain terms, that the way he was — the way he is — is a sin. There's nothing worse than going to Hell, he knows that. He closes his eyes, his knuckles white around the chip he's recently earned during his group therapy, as he searches for calmness.

No doubt Carlos thought there wasn't any other way around to normalcy. His parents hadn't acknowledged his identity when he'd come out to them. His Church considered — still considers — him to be unworthy of Heaven because of who he loves. Iris Blake had been his only option at having a somewhat normal life; she'd been someone Carlos had cared deeply for, his best friend in his own words. His fiancé had been lost and had felt unsafe for most of his life; he'd thought he'd had a chance at happiness that way.

And then Iris had disappeared. And, with her, Carlos' opportunity to be deserving of salvation according to his upbringing.

"You okay?" he hears Judd asking, voice muffled by the hammering of his own heart against his ribcage. "Brother?"

He manages to nod slightly. He opens his eyes to a different show on the screen, to Mateo flirting unashamedly with Nancy, to Paul and Marjan teasing them endlessly.

"I am," he whispers, smiling softly at Judd.

He will be, he's sure of that.

Because, despite everything, Carlos chose him. Despite the struggles, despite him always running away, despite Carlos' fear of rejection from his own family, they've remained strong. Even through the worst breakup of his whole life — and he's had a few, including the one that led him to Austin and eventually to Carlos — their love has been the beacon guiding him through the darkness.

He can't shake his own pain and his abandonment issues that have flared up in the span of a few minutes. He isn't supposed to.

That's why he picks up his phone and shoots a quick text to Cooper, a simple convo after meeting tonight?

And that's why he swipes at the screen until he finds the dream venue contact info and presses the dial button. Once the call is picked up, he says in the steadiest voice he can muster, "This is TK Strand. You called my fiancé earlier today. I'm calling to confirm that we're taking the date. Eight weeks from now."

There should be enough time, he hopes. After all, love should conquer everything, in the end.

[dingledraw]

Well, that went down like a lead balloon.

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Shit Fae!Danny Has Said While Living With Waynes

Danny, making a 'got your nose' gesture: Hey Jason, look, I've got your name!

Red Hood, who suddenly can't remember his own name: What the fuck

Bruce, in a tired dad voice: Danny, please, we talked about this, return your brother's name back

Danny: Oh, come on, it's not like he even uses it

Jason, thankfully remembering his name: And I repeat, what the f u c k

Steph, at dinner: I was wondering, what do faeries even eat normally? Like, flowers and stuff?

Danny, his eyes two black voids inside his eyesockets: The souls of the innocent

Steph: So that's a 'no' on the flowers?

Danny, back to normal and shoving a bagel in his mouth: I mean, I can, but would you want to stay on the crumbs-only diet when you are in a 5-star Michelin restaurant?

Tim: It's actually 3-star. Michelin rating system only has three stars, not five.

Dick: Are you saying that people are basically food joints for Fae?

Damian, at Constantine: It would do you well to choose your wording better when speaking to fair folk-

Danny, very much a fair folk, appearing out of thin air in the Cave: Yolo, s'up bitches, guess who's back in town!

Damian: -even when they do not necessarily do so themselves.

Constantine, looking between them: Are you sure you're the human and he is the changeling?

Tim, 46 hours of no sleep: Hey, if you can take a name from someone, does it mean you can take, like, other things that have no real shape or form?

Danny: Names do have shape and form, they even have taste. Yours is like a ping-pong ball made out of really dense cotton candy with banana-caramel flavor.

Tim, losing his touch with reality: Dense banana cotton candy...

Danny: By the way, I know you wanted to ask me if I could take your need to sleep from you, and theoretically, the answer is yes.

Tim, his whisper full of hope: ...will you?..

Danny: No. Either go to sleep or keep suffering. I'm not here to make your life easier.

Danny, after a half-an-hour rant on the Fae customs and traditions: -and Fae never tell the truth, but also never lie. It's a work of art, you know, say what you want but never in a way that makes sense.

Jason: So Fae just like to fuck with people.

Danny, looking him in the eyes, smiling and winking: Sure, humans are very fuckable.

Bruce, trying very hard not to pay attention to this: Can you make an example?

Danny: Sure. I lied.

Bruce: Where?

Danny: :)

Bruce, feeling like he is about to lose his mind: W h e r e ?

Alfred, right after he heard Dick's muffled screaming in the hallway: Young Master Danny, would you mind returning Master Dick his ability to talk in coherent sentences?

Danny, obediently standing up and walking out of the library: ...okay.

Bruce: How come he always listens to you?

Alfred: He knows what I will do if he doesn't.

Danny, returning to the library: He will change all the silverware to iron-ware. As well as the doorknobs and hairbrushes and lightswitches and everything else.

Alfred: Did you fix Master Dick's shoes?

Danny: I did. But I still think that making all of his shoes left ones was funny.

Alfred: Indeed, it was.

| <-prev | next-> |

There's also a fic now.

[movedtodykedvonte]

*Spidey and the Sinister Six having their usual fight*

Doc Ock, landing a hit: You’re getting slow Spider-Man! Age finally catching up to you?

Spider-Man: You wish! I haven’t even hit my 30s! From those costumes I can already tell I failed to save you guys from those midlife crises! Sorry by the way.

Vulture: Watch it wallcr- wait… Did you just say your not in your thirties yet?

Spider-Man: Surprised that this spiders so young and spry? Well-

Electro: Dude I’ve been fighting you for at least 5 fucking years! How old even are you?

Shocker, joking cause he’s the only one who picked up no grown adult acts likes Spidey: Don’t swear in-front of the boy you don’t want him to pick it up.

Rhino: Christ! You’re tellin me I almost crushed some 12-year-olds skull all those years ago?

Spider-Man, regretting his quipping: I was not that young! Like just starting freshman year but-

Sandman, horrified as he’s the only one with a kid and dad instincts(as of my iteration): I could’ve killed a kid…

Shocker, genuinely curious: Are you even old enough to drink? Cruel to kill a man who ain’t had his first drink yet.

Electro: Please tell us you’re at least over 25 as of this fight. Hell, I’ll take over 21!

Spider-Man:….

Sandman, realizing just how young he really is: Oh my god.

Spider-Man: My birthday’s coming up soon so I guess it counts?

Doc Ock, exacerbated: It. Does. Not!

Vulture: What would your mother think if she knew her son was out here risking his life telling poorly constructed jokes?

Spider-Man, offended cause it quips slap: 1. My jokes are great 2. She and my dad are dead so-

Sandman, hysterical cause holy shit he almost killed a kid orphan: OH MY GOD!

[sirlancenotalot]

[druid-for-hire]

hawkeye and trapper get fake septums

(id under the cut)

[image id: a three-page digital comic about characters from the TV show MASH, illustrated by "druid-for-hire." On page 1, frank burns squints at Hawkeye from a short distance, who is next to Trapper, who is reading a newspaper that obscures his face. "Pierce," Burns asks, "what's on your face?" Hawkeye turns to face him, revealing a septum piercing. "what's what, Frank?" he asks. Shocked and affronted by this breach in army regulations, he shouts, "I can't!! Believe you!! It's not enough for you to disagrace the army uniform by being out of it all the time? You have to go and--and do that! You look like a punk! Or a cow!"

On page 2, Hawkeye, unbothered, replies "Y'know, Frank, I'm finally living up to the Pierce name. I was thinking about going for some ear tag earrings. Maybe I can get a nurse to pull my udders." Frank howls, "That's disgusting!" Turning to Trapper he shouts, "Did you have anything to do with this, McIntyre?" Trapper pulls down the newspaper to reveal that he's wearing three septum rings and says, "I sure did! He stole my look!"

On page 3, Frank says "You're both terrible. Both of your butts are going on report!" while Hawkeye takes out his apparently fake septum ring behind his back. "Report for what, Frank?" he asks; Frank turns to see that the piercing is now missing. "Yeah, what's the matter, Frank?" Trapper says, whose piercing is suddenly missing as well. Frank storms off, yelling "Neither of you can pull the wool over my eyes!! Just wait until General Barker hears about this!" Some time later, Frank is standing next to General Barker, pointing at Hawk. "General, I'm telling you, the hole is THERE!" he shouts. "Go and take a look in those nostrils for yourself!" There is a long and awkward pause. The General did not like that. Hawkeye remarks, "Gee Frank, take a girl to dinner first." end id]

[nidbaesenpai]

Dare you say this love could just save you

[lilybug-02]

He's gotta zoom!

Bug Fact: Giant wētā are endemic to New Zealand and many species are alpine specialists. They are also as big as a gerbil 😳. Photos Below

First || Prev // Next

Masterpost

He eat carrot. 🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥺 also he is super duper endangered do not hurt him

[milesofstars]

im finally getting out of my art slump so my style is getting a lil better/ more natural again

some doodles based on my gameplay of drv3 from last night,, im at the start of chapter 2 still (i already know all the trial outcomes but its fun anyways cuz i never watched/played it fully)

if you couldnt tell i am spending all my free time events with kokichi.. hes silly please.. i gave him a hammock and he was flabberghasted

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

"For the Wolf, we originally considered a stylised CGI model, but that would've cost millions. That's something an American studio can afford, but not a Czech fairytale movie. So we had to resort to puppetry."

*whips out a puppet Jim Henson would be proud of*

[axoqiii]

pony thieves 💥💥

au notes ⬇️

[octarineblues]

so you know how in space babies ruby is all like, are they growing the children for food, and the doctor responds really strongly how that's a silly idea? my dude, like a day ago you were both literally fighting goblins that feast on human babies, ruby made a perfectly reasonable guess here

[soft5ku11]

He is NOT making it back on the gridball team... Unless they have a fatboy division

[khalliys]

We're not so different, you and I. Part 1, Part2

From Critical Role C2 E92: Home Is Where the Heart Is

[chaos0pikachu]

"are bls to raunchy nowadays?" No, go outside. "where are all the sweet bls with no sex, violence, porn or drugs?" there's 26 coming out from one studio and offgun are starring in 16 of them while geminifourth star in the other 42 open your eyeballs

[egophiliac]

What do you think of Rook's savanaclaw card? <333

I didn't get him (and I need to save my keys for Silver's birthday, sob) so I looked up his groovy, and I'm not over how incredibly dramatic and epic and cool it looks in direct contrast to the absolutely ridiculous context. just look at that dynamic action and his majestic sparkling tears and keep in mind that this is pretty much right after a bunch of characters have been dance battling for his soul.

and then even the actual moment of the groovy is just like

this is NOT a negative in the slightest, I love it all, this truly was an incredible update in so many ways