#may be a few years before I really need to keep tabs on them

[gulliblelemon]

I’m at that point in my life where I worry about my parents. We live a few hours away and my mum hadn’t replied to texts in 2 days so I started to worry.

Then I noticed my dad had only done one Duolingo lesson a day for the last few days, so I’m having visions of one of them being seriously ill (but not so ill that my dad’s willing to lose his Duolingo streak).

I ring their landline to check - no answer.

Now I’m bricking it.

My dad finally answers my (only slightly panicky) text.

My mum’s on a fucking cruise in the Mediterranean and he’s at my brother’s flat in a different city helping him reinstall his kitchen.

FFS.

[artificial-transmutations]

Beating Recession

Recession sucked, that much was clear to Logan even before he checked his email inbox. When he saw a few replies to his job applications from the last days, he sighed. He didn't need to open the mails to know that the news was bad, but he did so anyway.

"We regret to inform you..." - Logan didn't even read on. He had lost his job as an apprentice electrician about half a year ago. The company was going under, and Logan, the youngest and least experienced worker, was the first to go. That's how it was in this business. Since then, he had applied to every single position that came up - but apparently, the current economic situation was so bad that nobody needed another worker.

Logan had hoped that his apprenticeship would get him a job, but the fact that he was only 20 and had not much practical experience hurt him. Slowly, money was becoming a pretty big problem. Whatever savings he had (for some real estate of his own! As if that was going to happen!) had melted away over the last months. His rent was due, and he had no income.

In fact, he was one month late with his rent already, and although his landlord had been cool about it, Logan did not see how he would be able to keep his apartment. He really, really wanted to avoid moving back in with his parents who had their own problems, too.

So, what was he going to do? There wasn't much more to do than keep looking for a job, even though his chances were slim.

He opened LinkedOut and looked for openings, just as he had done multiple times before this week. The sparse list of jobs had not changed, so Logan scrolled on.

He was about to give up again when a listing caught his eye.

"Escape unemployment today! Change™ job agency will find the perfect job, for the perfect you. Apply here!"

He had heard of such agencies before, and the results were not pretty. Usually, they just took the applicants' data and sold it on. They would claim to have found a job for you, but it usually wouldn't work out, and the applicant would have paid money for this useless service. Still, Logan was curious enough to click the link. If they wanted money, he would back out immediately - it was not like he had any to spare.

To Logan's big surprise, when he clicked the link, a new page opened, with a web-based chat interface. Before he could close the tab again, there was already a message in the window. It read:

"Kevin: Hey, and welcome to the Change™ job agency. My name is Kevin. How may I help you today?"

It was a nice surprise that they didn't try to sell him anything or even ask for his data before he had entered the website. Well, no harm done. He might as well give them a try. Hesitating slightly, Logan's fingers hovered over the keyboard before he typed:

"Hi. I'm Logan and I'm looking for a new job."

The answer came quickly, but not so quickly that Logan would suspect the other person to be a chatbot. After some moments, Kevin's reply appeared on the screen:

"Great. What kind of job are you looking for? And what kind of salary are we talking?"

Logan considered the questions. This was probably the point where they would ask him for his data. He silently cursed his excessive caution. Of course, they had to ask these questions. How else should they offer him anything?

"Uhm. My last job was as an apprentice electrician, but at this point I would be pretty happy about just any job. The salary should be high enough to pay my rent."

Logan hesitated before hitting enter. He didn't want to come over as quite so desperate, but the truth was, he was.

"Okay, no problem. Do you have a preferred working sector?"

What a weird question. Why did it matter what industry he preferred?

"Uhm, not really. I guess anything is fine."

"Very well. Before I look up what's there in our database, I would need some basic information about you. Namely gender, age, ethnicity and sexual orientation."

"Wait. What does my sexual orientation have to do with a job? Besides, why do you need to know my ethnicity? Is this even legal?"

Logan had typed furiously and pressed enter before thinking about his reply.

"I understand your confusion. We here at the Change™ job agency strive to find not only a job, but the best job for the best you, so we need to know what we're working with. It wouldn't be very appropriate to apply a person as an actress who is really good at sports, now would it? Of course, you have to understand that your answers are confidential and will not be disclosed to any third parties, especially not your future employer."

That was fishy deluxe. Logan really didn't want to feed some unknown job agency all that highly personal information. On the other hand,... what did he have to lose?

"Well, I guess it can't hurt. Uhm. I'm a male, 20 years old, I would call myself white and I'm heterosexual."

"Wonderful. One last question: Are you comfortable with nudity and public sexual activities?"

"Wait, WHAT? I mean, uhm, sure, I guess? I mean, why should I need that?"

"This question is purely to determine if we should also have a look in the adult entertainment section of our job offerings. Alright Logan, please stand by while I enter your data into our search engine."

Logan leaned back. He felt a bit uneasy about all that. But it was not like his answers could lead them directly to his apartment, so he felt relatively safe.

A minute or so passed, and Logan started to think that he had been tricked after all, but just as he was about to close the tab, a new message appeared.

"Sorry for the delay, I had a few calls. We found two jobs that could be a fit. The first one is an office job in a big insurance company. To be honest, it's not that good of a fit and it doesn't pay very well either."

"That's fine." Logan wrote. He was incredibly on edge now. Could it really be so easy to find a new job? And he even had a choice?

"What's the other one?" he added to his previous message.

"Okay, the other job is a bit more unconventional, but we have the feeling it could be a great match. It's an actor position in the porn industry, at the famous XXX Incorporated."

"Porn? What? Are you serious? I mean, I don't have anything against porn or nudity or whatever, but I'm not sure if this is the kind of job I want."

Logan felt mixed feelings. The prospect of being some office drone sounded pretty uninteresting and a low pay wasn't all that good either. But a porn actor? Logan had to admit, the thought felt somewhat interesting, but he doubted he had what it took for that? Weren't porn stars famously hung and well-built? That was certainly not Logan. Just as he pondered those thoughts, Kevin's answer appeared:

"I understand Sir. So, should we continue with the first job opening then?"

Logan bit his lip, but the curiosity got the better of him.

"Wait. What does the second job entail? I mean, I'm not exactly... equipped for the porn business."

"Well, as I have said: It's an actor position, so you would star in some new adult entertainment productions. While I understand your modesty, our records show that you are more than adequately gifted for this kind of job."

Logan felt confused. He absentmindedly scratched his crotch before he replied:

"Uhm, sorry, I don't think you understand. I don't really think my..." Logan paused. Was he really going to write that? It was embarrassing, but at least he could be reasonably sure he would never meet this Kevin in real life. So, he continued:

"... penis is big enough for such a position."

The answer came promptly.

"Really? Better have a look to be sure ;-)"

A winking smiley? That wasn't very professional. Actually, the whole sentence wasn't. Still, Logan couldn't stop himself from glancing at his crotch. What he saw made him take a double take. His soft cock was forming a visible and ample bulge in his jeans. Logan knew that he was slightly smaller than average, so that was ridiculous. It was almost a... a porn star-sized bulge!

He stared at his package, but it wasn't growing any smaller. With trembling hands, he opened his jeans. Immediately, a well-filled pair of boxers escaped the confinement of his jeans. The dick print of his soft member was clearly visible in his underwear, and it wasn't just much bigger than Logan remembered. It was among the biggest bulges he had ever seen in his life!

His hands explored the impressive manhood through his underwear and felt every centimeter of the hardening dick. He had no idea what had caused this growth, but he wasn't complaining. Before he could interact more with it, however, he noticed another message on the screen.

"Are you still there, Sir?"

"Sorry, yes." Logan hurried to reply. What was he going to write? "I was below average just a few moments ago but now I have one of the biggest cocks in human history"?

Instead, Kevin answered.

"Good! I trust you had a chance to inspect your assets?"

"Uhm, yes."

"So, have you made up your mind, or should I look into the office position?"

Logan was torn. He wasn't sure what he had seen just a moment ago. Still, his enormous cock that was half-hard in his boxers was there, undeniably.

"Let's go with the porn star position." Logan finally typed, and his heart was racing.

"Very good! Now, as I mentioned, the position is in the adult entertainment sector. Do you know the company XXX Incorporated?"

Logan thought quickly about it before replying: "No, sorry, never heard of them."

"That is not at all surprising, since they specialize in the adult sector for homosexual men. According to your data, you identify as heterosexual. I hope that won't be a problem?"

Of course, there was a catch. Logan had heard about these gay for pay people and he hesitated yet again. They paid well, supposedly, but...

"Uhm. Would that mean I would need to be on the receiving end?" He wasn't too close-minded and could imagine kissing another man if he had to, perhaps even receiving a blow job from one. But having another person fuck him in the ass? No, that was way beyond his comfort zone.

"I believe the technical term you are looking for is 'to bottom'." Kevin replied, and added another message shortly after:

"But the company is, in fact, looking for a 'top' actor. They put it like this: 'We are looking for a well-built top for our new productions.'"

Logan was relieved. While he was a gold star gay man (why did he put 'heterosexual'? That was utter bullshit!), he was a strict top. This position sounded better and better. Still, one thing raised some new doubts.

"Hold on. I'm hung like a horse, but I wouldn't say I'm very muscular or even fit. I'm not much of a gym goer."

"Are you sure ;-)?"

Again, with the winking smiley! Kevin sounded so very professional most of the time, but then there were these messages. Logan scratched the back of his shoulder with some effort. Whenever he raised his arms so high the mountains of muscle on his upper arms danced and made it difficult to reach his back. Logan suddenly realized that something had changed - again! His shirt strained against his muscular chest, and as he lifted his shirt, he could see some cobblestone abs on an otherwise flat stomach. His calves had become thicker and strong. His jeans, which had felt slightly loose earlier, now seemed to be getting tighter.

Logan had never been very athletic. His body was lean, but not fit or muscular. That had certainly changed. When he looked at himself, he hardly recognized himself anymore. A huge dick, and a studly body.

Logan shook his head and let the shirt fall again. Whatever was going on, it was not a bad thing, was it?

"Alright, so I'm a buff top with a big cock. Is there anything else?" he smiled as he wrote that.

"Actually, there is one further requirement, but given your cooperation so far I don't believe it will be much of a problem either." Kevin replied, in his professional tone again.

"And what would that be?" Logan was intrigued.

"The company is especially looking for a, and I cite, 'huge, dominant Black top with large dick. Intellectual capabilities are not required'. Are you feeling up to that task? ;-)"

This time, Logan immediately raised his shirt to watch his body change. As soon as he read the words, his skin began darkening, first a golden bronze and then a rich black. It was a gradual change but happened very quickly. His muscles became even more defined, and his body hair thickened and grew even darker.

He didn't know what 'intellectual capabilities' meant, but as his body grew larger and thicker, he felt a strange fog entering his mind. It was a little unsettling at first, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. His usual thoughts quickly became overshadowed by his raising libido. As he grabbed his huge, Black throbbing cock, a dominant smirk crept on his mouth.

He turned his attention back to the computer and typed:

"Yeah, baby. I think I can make that happen. Just tell me who to fuck and I'll be there!"

He saw Kevin reply with a street address and a date and time, but Logan decided he would read that later. Now, his cock demanded his entire attention. He absentmindedly noticed his webcam turning on but paid it little attention. If Kevin wanted to watch him jerk his fat cock, he was very welcome to. After all, he just helped him find the job of his life!

That's certainly a way to beat recession! Also check out this blog!

[minnesota-fats]

The Ghost and the Runaway

Tim, done with the constant degrading comments from Damian and his older brother and father figure both downplaying the atempts on his life he decided he was done. And what better way to show that than going out in a blaze of glory. He sets a building to explode with everyone believing he was inside before walking away.

He makes Kon promise not to out him cuz his heartbeat. Kon agrees cuz tim if better off somewhere where his isn’t in constant danger. And attending his own funeral was more fun in a way he never thought possible! He hated to admit it, but he as glad to see how distraught everyone seemed; even damian.

He travels back and forth across the world, keeping tabs on everyone from his old life. At 18 he finds himself in amity park, meeting a ghost boy who makes him feel seen in a way he has never felt before.

Then said ghost boy is revealed to be the son of the local ghost hunters and abducted. Tim goes to the only people he knows can help him, the bats.

Feel free to take this idea and run with it!

—

And now, an unedited start of draft that I’m probably not gonna finish:

Tim has had enough!

He has had enough for a long time, but this was the last straw!

Damian had entered his room during patol and threw Tim’s camera onto the floor, shattering it to pieces. He didn't know why the brat did that, nor did he care—but if he could guess it was probably how, for once, Dick chose Tim over Damian for patrol. The reason he knew it was Damian who did it was because of the hidden camera’s he had stashed all over Wayne Manor. Sure, he could buy a new camera, maybe even repair the one he left laying on the ground as he pulled out his laptop to investigate. But this camera was given to him by his parents, years ago. It was the last thing he really had left of them. They may not have been the most present, but they still showed their love in the only way they knew best: material gifts.

Tim closed his laptop and set it on his bed before he slowly stood. He crossed the room in a few steps and stared down at the broken camera. He didn't realize he was crying until he saw droplets of tears hit his socked foot as well as the hardwood floor. When it dawned on her he took a shaky breath before saying out loud, “kon, I need you.” He knew if he didn't have a buffer right now, he might do something that would really get him into trouble.

After a few deep breaths Tim turned at the tapping at his widow where superboy floated just outside in the dark. He waved but faltered when he saw the tears in Tim’s eyes. Tim walked over to the widow, disarming the basic traps, before opening it for the super. Kon entered quickly and pulled Tim into a hug. At the warmth, Tim felt himself melt into the firm yet gentle embrace. He wrapped his arms around Kon and buried his face into his neck, letting out a shaky breath.

Kon picked Tim up and walked over to the bed so they could lay down and cuddle him. Kon’s eyes flared red when he finally spotted the broken camera, he forced his eyes shut to keep from burning a hole into the floor. Kon took a deep breath before stepping over the camera and continuing to the bed. He lifted the covers and layed Tim down first before removing his own shoes and following after him. As he laid down Tim curled up into his side and began to let out silent little gasps and sobs.

For as long as Kon knew Tim, Tim had never been a loud cryer. Later he found out that that was because of his parents before Bruce. Despite the past neglect, Kon knew Tim still loved his parents. Kon also knows that he only kept a few things from his parents, one item being an older camera that now layed broken on the floor.

When Tim’s sobs lessened, Kon spoke up. “Rob, what happened?”

Tim didn't answer, only looking up at his laptop weakly. Kon pulled away slightly to grab the item before returning to Tim’s grasp. He opened the laptop and typed the password in not knowing what to expect. Yet when he saw the video frozen on Tim’s little demon of a brother holding the camera above his head and about to throw it on the ground, Kon couldn't bring himself to be surprised.

From all that he has witnessed and heard about the brat, he had decided that he hated the little monster and was angry on Tim’s behalf.

[cryptomiracle]

hoodie with a s/o hcs?? :D

Tysm for the request, it means a lot <3

WARNINGS:

Manipulation

Gaslighting

These aren't ordered, I usually categorize hcs but not this time!!

Obsession(?)

Stalking

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

he keeps a photo of you with him at all times, one in his pocket, and one in his wallet.

He has so many photos/videos of you, he genuinely does adore you

he especially likes to take candid photos of you when you're doing random tasks, whenever he's away from you, he'll scroll through his phone's gallery looking at the many pictures of you, they remind him of his home, with you.

he still actively pursues cinematography and gets you to star in his little films.

he's a heavy sleeper, and when he sleeps he spawls all of his limbs out, kinda like this "🤸" taking up the whole bed

If you wanna sleep, you're either gonna have to sleep on top of him, or on the couch cause that man is NOT getting up.

he has a box fan going at all times, all year round, no matter what season it is.

He's a morning person, he'll be up at 5 in the morning filled to the brim with energy, no coffee needed.

Sometimes, he'll accidentally wake you up, but he always makes up for it by making you breakfast.

he listens to yacht rock (america, the doobie brothers, steely dan.. the works)

he has a slight southern accent, but it's not too heavy.. until he says something like "oil" or "white" then it really comes out

he has a few freckles on his back

He enjoys tracing your features, gently gliding his fingers against your eyes, nose, cheeks, etc.

Sometimes he'll just look at you and smile, like if you're doing laundry or dishes he'll just stare at you with a grin, admiring you.

he enjoys a little gossip I won't lie

He's the type to sit in the car with you after picking you up from work, and let you tell him all about whatever drama is going on at your job.

If it's something REALLY messy, he'll ask you about it later.

He drives an old, blue and white 1972 Chevy C-10

he follows you around like a lost puppy, a creepy, kinda off-putting puppy that you don't know is there unless he wants you to know, but a puppy nonetheless.

He keeps mental tabs on people you interact with, he won't follow them around or anything, but he remembers things about them.. their name, age, how you know them, their home address, etc.

You'd be surprised at how much you could find out about a person online

The quote "I'm not a stalker, I'm an investigator" fits him perfectly

he has to make sure you're safe, it's a dangerous world out there yk.

he never ever talks to you about his emotions, or how he feels, unless you ask him directly. but all you'll get in return is:

"Honey, I'm alright.. really."

"I'm fine, how are you though?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

he feels that his problems are his own to deal with and that he shouldn't bother you with them.

when you two fight for whatever reason, (which rarely happens because he purposely goes out of his way to avoid making you upset) he has a habit of gaslighting you

he'll say things along the lines of:

"I understand but.."

"I never said that.."

"we talked about this.."

he only really manipulates/gaslights you when he's genuinely worried you may leave, (even if you aren't actually going to) he uses it as a way to make sure you stay.

for him, there is no stopping point unless knows 100% that you're gonna stay.

He will literally fall to his knees, and break down in (fake) tears in a public area and BEG you to stay with him.

He doesn't get embarrassed by it because he knows it's "necessary"

If an argument is getting too heated, he may bring up your ex-partner(s), or people you just went on dates with before you two got together, even if it didn't go any further than that. Especially if you didn't tell him about them previously.

Don't ask him how he knows about them, he'll immediately take that chance to shift the blame onto you, asking why you didn't tell him about them beforehand if you had told him about them earlier, he wouldn't have had to go digging to find out about them.

when he does that, It's really just him grasping for straws, usually in an attempt to change the subject.

If you couldn't already tell he's a smooth talker, not just in a manipulative way.

he is such a flirt, there's rarely a conversation between the two of you where he doesn't slip in a little flirting, whether you pick up on it or not.

He's sneaky like that

Since we're on the topic of him being sneaky, he's a bit of a thief.. he'll steal your things and carry them with him whenever he leaves you for more than one day at a time.

that old T-shirt you haven't worn in a year that was sitting in the back of your closet collecting dust? yeah, that's his now.

If you collect little trinkets, you'll definitely have to buy a lot more of them because he'll steal them and hide them away in the glove compartment of his truck.

He doesn't steal with malicious intent, he'll return them eventually (except for the trinkets) he just feels like he needs something of yours, other than pictures to be close to you when he can't be, yk?

Something that smells like you, to remind him of what he has waiting for him at home.

Kind of like when you randomly catch a whiff of a nostalgic smell from your childhood, how it brings you peace, even if it's only for a second.

honestly, he's not very big on physical touch. he does enjoy having little intimate moments with you, like cuddling or playing with your hair, but other than that.. he's never one to initiate it. unless of course he really needs your touch.

just being in your presence eases his mind, you're like a lighthouse standing still in the vast, dark, uncontrollable ocean he considers "his life"

You're the only person in his life whom he feels he can be truly vulnerable, truly safe with.

which is why he won't let you go, no, can't let you go. you're the only stable thing in his life, and he'd be damned if he just let you walk away.

I've decided to try a new writing style cus I like rainbows and stuff! ^^

I will be re-reading this later, please tell me if you spot any errors !!

Also, I apologize for this being short, but I kinda ran out of ideas so-

[sparklypinkflightsuit]

Predator and Prey: Chapter One

Pairing: Tommy Cahill x Reader

Ongoing Series - Loosely based on ‘Sleeping With the Enemy’

Warnings: 18+ ONLY, Minors do not interact, Slow Burn, War Inaccuracies, Mention of PTSD but barely, Stalking, Abuse, Sexual Themes, Alcohol, I think that’s it?

Summary: You move to a small town following a bad breakup around the time Tommy goes to Prison, 3 years later you meet and build a relationship, but will your jealous, angry ex ever really let you go?

Notes: Hiiii! This is my first fic since I was like, 13? So apologies if I’ve missed anything! I’m also UK based trying to write as an American so writing styles and words may differ, but I do try! I just feel like we need more Jake Gyllenhaal fics, and I love a slow burn and some thrills so enjoy! Reblogs and comments welcome :)

—————————————————

You groaned as your phones alarm clock chimed on your bedside table, the repetitive high pitched dings already putting you in a bad mood for the day.

You slammed your hand on your phone and blindly prodded the screen in the hopes of turning it off, eventually managing to hit the correct spot.

You lay in your dark room, preparing yourself to get up and out of bed for your day of work. It was only Tuesday but it had already been a long week.

After getting dressed, brushing your teeth and hair, and putting on a little bit of makeup, you set out the door. It was still dark out and the only light illuminating the street ahead was from the old street lights that lined the pavement.

The walk to work was only 10 minutes long, but that morning it felt a lot longer, as you couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on you. You turned around to check if anyone was around several times, finding nothing but the odd cat or trash can lining the street.

You eventually made it to work and had enough time to make yourself a cup of coffee before flipping the ‘Closed’ sign to ‘Open’.

The day was slower than normal with very few customers walking into your little book store, which was something you could understand with the town being as small as it was, but you had a few regular book worms who would frequent your shop due to the lack of a library in the area. You bided your time by straightening the shelves and readjusting the pillows on the couches in each of the cosy corners by the windows, counting down the minutes and hours until you could close up and go home to your dog, just to do it all again the next day.

On Wednesday evenings your store played host to a soup kitchen due to the large prep area in the back, as your store was once a small Chinese Restaurant before you bought it. You’d agreed to it being used when your store was closed but soon found yourself volunteering to help chop up vegetables and serve, and you enjoyed it more than you thought you would, making it a recurring Wednesday tradition, so at least tomorrow you’d have something to keep yourself busy with.

It wasn’t all bad though, the time you had on your hands. Most afternoons once you had closed up shop, you’d take your dog, Jet, down to the local park to play fletch. Or you’d catch up on your own reading, or try a new recipe only for it to cost you more than takeout and taste nothing like what you’d hoped. It did get lonely though, with the only family you had living on opposite ends of the country, at times you’d considered moving closer to them, but you’d come to love the little town you’d stumbled across 3 years ago.

You’d only moved here from New York when your breakup with Jason had reached boiling point, with him knowing all of your friends, rumours about you soon spread and it became unbearable to stay. He had started stalking you and had your friends keep tabs on everywhere you went, eventually you even opted to forego all social interactions. You had welcomed the fresh start, and once you’d blocked Jason’s number you could finally begin to move on.

One time he had written you a letter after having found your new address on a piece of mail with your forwarding address attached, which somehow made its way to your old apartment instead. The letter was full of threats, demeaning words and also promises of a better life if you returned, but you dismissed these as empty threats, threw away the letter and got on with creating your new life.

You were just about to close up shop early, when the ding of the bell above the door sounded. You turned around to see a tall, dark haired man with a buzzcut, white t-shirt and a brown jacket walk in. You noticed a small tattoo on his neck.

“Hi, are you after anything specific?” You asked with a small smile, trying not to seem overbearing.

The man smiled politely, but didn’t maintain eye contact for long, and went back to scanning the low shelves near the front door.

“No I’m fine, thank you though.” He said. His voice was deep and gruff, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything.” You smiled back, and turned back to the counter where you were organising receipt rolls and pens. You hated it when you went into a store to browse and the staff lingered, so had never done this to your own customers, giving them space.

After a minute or two, the man cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Actually, sorry, yeah. I’m after a book on PTSD, like how to manage it and stuff, do you have anything like that?” He said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up at you sheepishly.

Oh, perhaps he was one of those army guys, who had seen some horrible things in the war.

“Uhh, yeah we do actually. It’s just overrr…. Here!” You said walking over to a shelf on the left of the store, under the “self help” section.

“We only have the one though, I’m not sure if it will be much help?” You said handing him the book.

“Thanks.” He said, taking the book and scanning over the cover, “It’s not for me.” He added, looking awkward.

“Say no more.” You smiled and laughed a little to ease the tension he may have been feeling.

You walked back to the counter and waited for the man to follow. He took out a twenty dollar bill and waited for you to ring up how much the book would cost. You thought for a moment, and decided to do your one good thing that day.

“Uhh…. It looks like we don’t actually have the book in our system, and no price is showing up, I guess it’s free.” You lied, laughing lightly and pushing his twenty back to him.

The man thought for moment and looked you in the eye. “You really don’t need to do that, I promise the book’s not for me anyway. It’s for my brother.” He shrugged.

“Well then I guess your brother gets a free book.” You smiled, putting the book in a paper bag and handing it to the man.

He smiled, a genuine and slightly crooked smile, and thanked you. He took one last look at you and went to head out the door.

“Wait!” You called suddenly, your bravery getting the best of you. He turned around.

“I haven’t seen you around before, are you local?” You asked.

“Yeah… I’ve been away for a while. My names Tommy.” He smiled.

“Nice to meet you Tommy. I’m (Y/N), hope to see you around.” You smiled back, and turned to go back to your tidying.

Tommy left feeling happier than he had in a while. He hadn’t had a friendly encounter with the towns folk since coming out of prison, or with his family since Sam came back from Afghanistan and the news had come out that he and Grace had kissed.

Tommy didn’t have feelings for Grace, not real feelings anyway, and he realised this once Sam returned. Tommy chalked it up to the grief they both felt having thought he had died, as well as the happiness he felt when he was in a family environment. No, the only feelings Tommy had for Grace now were guilt, and he struggled to be around them.

He had decided to buy a book on how to manage PTSD so he knew how to handle Sam, who was due to come home from his stay at the psychiatric unit. Tommy felt sad that things had become so hard for Sam, and he was determined to not make things any worse.

Your act of kindness towards Tommy had turned a bad day around, and as he drove home that evening, he couldn’t help but think about the warm smile and beautiful eyes that he found at the little bookstore on the corner.

You had just closed up the shop, and began to walk home as the light dipped behind the horizon, casting the sky in a blue haze, the street lights had since flickered on and you watched your shadow grow large and then small as you passed under each one. Jet’s dog walker would have left around 3 hours ago and you bet he’d be itching for another walk, so hurried as fast as you could.

About a block from home you stopped suddenly as your breath caught in your throat and your heart sped up. You could hear footsteps close behind, and the they were closing the gap between you quickly. You spun around prepared to come face to face with an attacker or someone hoping to snatch your measly purse, but were met with an empty sidewalk dimly lit by street lamps and lined with trees.

You strained your eyes for any movement, but eventually convinced yourself you were being paranoid, and speed walked the rest of the way home, only letting your breath go once you were safely inside and you had locked your door.

———————

-Chapter Two Here-

[craftspace]

Y'all, im so proud of this one. Idc the pics aren't great, the finished item wasn't so perfect either. But I had so much fun making this one. Story of the piece first, then pattern info below

This project has tons of meaning to me n I figured I'd share the story here.

I made this project for a friend who also crafts. We chat regularly about our crafts and she often makes art for me and everyone in my apartment. We have some creative overlap, but not a ton. Historically, I've not been so great at crafting for others and hadn't made anything for her yet.

In any case, we chat with each other about crafts we see that we are excited about or think the other may be excited about. One day when she was over, we were chatting crafts again and she mentioned she was seeing lots of temperature blankets in her feed n wondered if I'd ever thought about making one.

Truth be told, I'd never made one for myself and couldn't see myself wanting to make one. I let her know this as well. Not for any particular reason, just never felt the need to. It was a pretty casual conversation and we moved onto other topics.

Fast forward a bit and we are chatting again and she lets me know her partner had proposed. She said yes and they had set a date for two years in the future for a special date for them.

It clicked maybe a month later that this time frame, their engagement period, would be perfect for a temperature blanket. I had doubts at first if I wanted to make it, but started getting thoughts on how to work it all out. The only thing I had for certain was fall pallet for the colors as it's their favorite season. I talked it over with some other friends who also know her, and after many many many reassurances, I decided to go for it.

Honest, this is the most I'd ever planned for any project. I researched types of temperature blankets, typical temperature ranges for our area, how to divide the time frame and temperature range, I swear, it's a whole spreadsheet with many tabs of research and planning. In the end, I decided on 9 colors with about 7°F increments where each chevron represents the average temperature for one week of their engagement. I also made a knitted scale (not pictured) of the colors in order from coldest to warmest and wrote on the card for the gift how the scale lines up to actual temperatures just so she and her family could look back and get more info from it if they ever wanted.

It was helpful to tell myself during the process that she would never see it coming as I'd previously mentioned I wasn't interested in making one. And if she didn't know I was working on it, I could ditch it at any point if it wasn't turning out.

I managed to keep the whole project a secret as I worked on it. Making sure I got advance warning when she would come over so I could make sure it was hidden away, sometimes even just making decoy projects to keep her off the trail. She would definitely suspect something if I all the sudden stopped talking about crafts. It was honestly incredible as it expanded my ability to work on multiple projects at once, which I was definitely not so comfy with when I first started crafting.

As common for gift projects, there was a clock and oh gosh was it a race! I barely had it blocked before I wanted to give it to her (yeah, I know the deadline was only enforced by me), but I wanted to give it to her as an additional wedding gift. I ended up being able to gift it to her at the rehearsal dinner, so really just in time!

I'm so happy with how it turned out, and had so much fun playing with the process and planning for this project. I definitely learned a lot and would have done a few things different if I could go back, but overall I'm super proud of it 😊

Pattern is Frankie Brown's Ten Stitch Zigzag

[eternalmink]

Don't believe chellyscatbox/iychodon/zinzo's "apology"

In the first sentence, chelly says it will explain how it will make up for its actions, yet it never does nor does it ever even say it will never do these things again(besides keeping tabs, which that's the bare minimum. It never says it won't continue sexual harassment) This may sound like nitpicking, but it's because these things are all stuff that chelly has done multiple times. Some things it still does even after supposedly "apologizing". One example being sexualizing people it's mad at (calling them names or slurs or talking about their privates) or invading their privacy and boundaries("accidentally" stumbling upon people's nsfw accounts).

Not to mention it tries to downplay its actions in the document as well. "no physical action happened during this encounter, therefore it classifies as cyber sexual harassment, not sexual assault as that is something physical."

"but he isn't exactly innocent either as he has fakeclaimed us and has used one of our alters to the point he became semi-verbal along with other allegations which we will not discuss in this doc." This is supposed to be an apology and an explanation, yet chelly itself admits it doesn't go over everything.

"all of me either being really mentally unstable or having psychotic/manic episodes and taking them out on people. because you see, i can't think rationally when i have episodes like these, and i can't track them either. but even then i fully take accountability for my actions. " just because it says it'll take accountability (it doesn't even say how) doesn't make this "apology" any less awful. It just sounds like it's using disorders and mental illness as an excuse yet again.

Also, the stuff here is only a few months old. There are also things that chelly simply just did not go over, either.

Once again, chelly sexualizing people it dislikes, and the person in question is triggered by things like this too. When chelly deleted it, it apologized to its followers for having to see this. Not the person being spoken of.

Notice how chelly gets defensive for being called out instead of apologizing as well. If it's really sorry, why react like this to being caught?

If it has really changed as a person, why does everyone continue to get the hell away from it?

If it has really changed, why does it keep doing these things? Why does it keep needing chance, after chance, after chance?

i doubt I need to explain this but: chelly confesses to someone it doesn't even know whether or not has a partner, proceeds to lash out them.

This was a private thing, yes, but it still wasn't addressed anywhere as if it never happened and makes it seem like chelly only apologizes for things it actually gets in trouble for.

Chellys words underlined above contradict stuff in the doc

To this day it is still in denial that it can't use the n word. Its own brother said it couldn't use it during call.

There's still more that will never even be put here because its victims have left the internet, and the ones that haven't— as said in the doc— don't want to be bothered anymore. And most of that is because Chelly will never be able to provide the proper closure they all deserve, and they know it.

Chelly says it wants to move on and do better, but it's said that before and now look where it is. It's had so many chances. All the way since 2021. Three years. It's had three years, yet it expects us to believe it has changed within the past few months.

Not only is this so called apology garbage, it lacks sincerity.

[lucyfrostblade]

i have committed voter fraud for ratgrundlr, may i request a drabble focusing on kristen and kipperlilly? some kipperbees would be a bonus but id love to see anything that focuses on their dynamic in general ^_^ i’m curious how youd interpret them :3

want a drabble? vote for ratgrundlr and submit your prompt. commit voter fraud once and get two drabbles!!

word count: 834

The rune on Kipperlilly's chest pulsed in beat with her heart. It was warming than she expected it to be, made the sweater vests that she'd taken to wearing to cover it up even warmer than they already were. She glared across the cafeteria at Kristen Applebees.

Spring break ended, and the Bad Kids were enjoying the high pedestal they were on. Kristen Appleebees was the belle of the ball, it seemed. No one shut up about her. Kipperlilly heard a thousand whispers about her. How brave she was to go into the Forest of the Nightmare King. How gifted she was to master self-resurrection. How devoted she must've been to bring a dead god.

Kipperlilly's own spring break had been eventful—Porter's knife against her throat while she knelt in front of an alter to another long dead god. She'd had help coming back, but at the end of the day, it'd been her that welcomed in the rage that burned within her chest. Soon she'd bring back a god herself. Soon she'd kill that god and christen Porter the new ruler of her domain.

“You could always talk to her.” Lucy said from her place at Kipperlilly's side.

She kicked Lucy under the table. Her glare remained glued to Kristen Applebees. “Please explain to me why I would ever talk to Kristen Appleebees.”

“Well, you have been staring at her for a while.”

From across the table, Ivy snorted. “Pretty sure she's calling you gay, Kip.”

“If any of you are deluded enough to think that I have any sort of attraction to Kristen fucking Appleebees I suggest you go talk to Jawbone before you hurt yourself.” For the first time since lunch started, Kipperlilly turned away from Kristen Appleebees.

“I believe you, Lilly, don't worry.” Lucy said, and Kipperlilly focused her glare on Lucy.

Lucy pressed her hand to her mouth, poorly suppressing a laugh. “What? Why are you glaring at me now?”

“Really Kipperlilly, you need to learn about to talk to the girls you like without pulling their pigtails. We aren't in middle school anymore.” Oisin added.

***

Kipperlilly glared at Kristen Applebees from across the room. Another Seacaster party raged around her. Music thrummed from the speakers. The scents of milk and vodka and sweat mixed into a truly horrible combination. And the body heat of a hundred or so teenagers crammed into one house left Kipperlilly coated in a thin layer of sweat.

Not very becoming of a presidential candidate. Not that anyone could see Kipperlilly's anyway. She'd kept up invisibility since she slipped into the party, easy to keep tabs on her opponent then. She watched Kristen Applebees with the intensity of the sun that her the unnamed goddess of rage once ruled over.

Her eyes lingered on the sliver of exposed skin where Kristen's tracksuit jacket had slipped off her shoulder, the purple of the sports bra stark against her skin. She blinked, focused back on Kristen Appleebees in the abstract, and not the reality of her across the room.

In the month or so since the start of the school year, Kristen Appleebees's hair had grown a bit more unkempt than it already was. Her bangs were long enough to get into her eyes, and she raised a hand to tuck a few of the worst offenders behind her ear. Kipperlilly's heart rate spiked. It was so horribly presidential, she thought.

She leaned closer to Adaine, whispered something in her ear, but as she leaned closer, some of that horrible milk and vodka combination sloshed out of the red plastic cup and onto her hand. Kristen raised her hand to her mouth and licked the split drink off her hand before it dripped onto the floor. Kipperlilly blinked again.

Kristen Applebees walked away from Adaine then, waved as she walked towards the kitchen.

Kipperlilly pushed herself off the wall and followed. She re-upped her invisibility, just in case. In that moment, in that horribly inopportune moment, Lucy Frostblade haunted Kipperlilly.

You could talk to her. Lucy's words from last spring rattled around in her skull as she followed the path Kristen Appleebees took. She remembered Lucy's hidden laugh, rage bubbled within her chest.

If she saw a flash of blue in the corner of her eye,startled so abruptly that her invisibility dropped, and then realized it was nothing more than a painting of the Hangman on the sea, that was her business

“Didn't take you for the sort to admire art.”

At the sound of Kristen Appleebees's voice, rage grounded Kipperlilly back in Seacaster Manor. “I highly doubt you understand the nuances of admiring art.”

Kristen opened her mouth, shut it as quickly as she opened it, and then downed the rest of her drink. “Fuck it, do you want to make out?”

Kipperlilly clenched her fists, turned to glare at Kristen. Her eyes caught on her lips. “If you tell anyone about this I will bury you, Applebees.”

“Wouldn't have it any other way, Copperkettle.”

[previousloversandmuses]

FREQUENCY: Episode 1 - A Soldier Boy Story

FREQUENCY: A Soldier Boy Story

EPISODE 1: “Frequency”

WORD COUNT: 5,118

PAIRING: Soldier Boy X Reader

WARNINGS: (NSFW) Mentions of suicide, mental illness, rape, and self harm. Foul language. Mentions of sex, or sexual innuendos. 

A/N: This story is dark, and covers mature themes. The main character, as well as other major characters, are offensive in nature, and may offend some people. Please peruse with caution, and remember that this is fiction. Reader discretion is advised. Please message me for any questions, comments or concerns. 

This is introductory, we do not meet Soldier Boy just yet. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors.

Masterlist

I was pumped full of V at Vought Laboratories when I was born. My mother took a thousand dollar bribe for some dope in exchange for her newborn daughter. They placed me in a NICU unit, hooked my veins up, and hoped for the best. 

The scientists were worried at first. I showed no physical symptoms of compound V. There were no laser eyes, no fire aura, no electricity flowing from my fingertips. They kept their tabs on me. Ran test after test. Colic. They said I had colic. I cried over everything. There was no consolation. They thought I was a lost cause. Ready to pretend like this test subject never existed. A late term abortion ex-utero. Thank God a few of the doctors started catching on. 

It was door slams. Creaking floors. Burners boiling. Cleaning supplies. Microwave lunches. Music from a few floors down. The overhead lights. Open windows. High blood pressure. A baby crying. Tuna fish sandwiches. Bleh. Spoiled milk. Fireworks. Gunshots from the Police Academy in upstate New York. Ship horns. Cigarette smoke. Low blood sugar. An earthquake in Siberia. Nuclear detonation testing in the Pacific ocean. Car horns. Rush hour. 

See, they didn’t notice my abnormalities because they weren’t seen by the naked eye. They weren’t paralyzing mind tricks. Compound V took every ounce of my five senses and shot them up with gasoline, tequila, adrenaline, cocaine. A high voltage defibrillator to my nervous system. As if my sinuses were stapled open. As if my eardrums were plucked out by tweezers. I heard everything, even with my ears plugged. I saw everything, even with my eyes closed. I tasted everything, even with my mouth shut. I was everything, everywhere, all at once, and for an infant, that can be overwhelming. 

As I grew older, I was still kept in the lab until they were fully aware of my capabilities. Until they had studied every strand of DNA in my body. 

I didn’t have super strength, I didn’t have superpowers. They made sure of that. One time they strapped me to a chair, sticking ekgs on my chest. I passed out before they could even run a test. I could never stand velcro. 

Frequency is what I was called. My supe name, at least. They called me Freaq for short. Which I guess if you think about it, isn’t really a lie.

My hearing was my most valuable asset. What’s this radio frequency? They’d ask. Can you make out the voice in this? Is this a bomb or just a backpack? Listen in on this meeting. I need collateral. We have to know everything that’s said. Is this person lying? Is that person lying? Keep in mind, these were the tasks I was given at around six or seven. It was easier for them then too because I was so small. I would slide into the air vents and stay as quiet as I could, absorbing as much information as possible. I’d spew it back to them like a pawn.

Teen years the work really started. They’d be strong in their threats to others. People would get hurt. People would have their lives ruined. I’d spy on them for weeks, getting all the information I could. Listening in on their most intimate conversations. Their most profound, and personal moments. I’d spew it all back to Vought. And they’d use what I’d told them as collateral.

Thanks to my hearing, thanks to my sight, I was able to snipe better than any experienced veteran. I never even needed to use the scope. For the most part I would snap my fingers, or click my tongue, and sense the vibration of the objects around me. I’d shoot whatever I needed to right between the eyes. Everytime.  To this day I still can't get the sound of hot, metal rounds, piercing through brain matter out of my head.  Me stealing the life of a defenseless victim who unluckily got caught up in the mess. Even when I plugged my ears, screaming, nothing kept me safe from the deafening silence from their no longer beating heart. I was never caught. 

I had been cursed. By God? By Vought? Who knows. Mothers mourning the loss of their stillborn child. Smelling the cancer in people who walked by me on the street, on the way to pick up their young child from school. Gang violence. Break ups. A father beating his son to a pulp for not taking out the trash that day. Suicide. A young woman, screaming, begging for him to stop. This takes a toll on a young kid. No one should be forced to listen to the struggles of others, we have enough to deal with on our own. Hell, I’m sure if I focused hard enough, I could've heard the sound of my mother crying out to me, sullen and alone, from her perch on a rundown curbside. 

I had lost it, as expected. Cutting, acting out, pathetic suicide attempts. It got bad enough to where they had to isolate me off somewhere in Appalachia. Somewhere I could enjoy the peace and quiet. The nurturing lull of nature. Waterfalls, and animals, and the rustle of trees in the Eastern winds. Native music, and arts and crafts underneath a big, red harvest moon. I could see every crater out that far in the mountains. There was no light pollution. That was always the best part. If I looked hard enough, sometimes I could see Saturn's rings without a telescope. Of course they’d still call my handlers whenever they needed me, they weren’t that concerned for my wellbeing. But hey, at least I no longer had to deal with the sounds of the city on my off days. 

I had learned to resent Vought, which is understandable, and honestly a given. I mean what did they expect? I was cursed, to say the least. Every day was torture, and unpredictabe, even when I was all the way out in West Virginia. Some nights I’d hear a distant shotgun fire, and torpedo into the heart of a beautiful buck, with a sleepy, quiet family waiting for him a few hundred yards away in a clearing.

I wanted nothing more than to watch these people crash and burn. To listen to each and every one of them take their last breath. The only deaths I could, or would ever enjoy. The sweetest sound I’d ever heard. I could get off to it. And I would surely avenge that. That was a promise. 

After I turned eighteen I did end up getting a place back in the city. Which is where I am now. I cope with the overstimulation in my desperation for revenge. A desperation so wild and intense I would do anything. I would do absolutely anything to get what I want. 

The Homelander would tour the labs after his graduation every once and a while as I was growing up. He’d be intimidating. Stiff, and brooding. No one would ever amount to the power he held. None of us would ever become the specimen that he was. I’d look up at him with innocent, wide eyes. His body always sounded different than everyone else's. His organs moved with a horsepower. It was like his body took diesel. No one's insides ever sounded like his. I could feel the vibration of his cells dividing from half a mile away. He was so enchanting to a little gifted girl like me.

“What’s this one?”

“Heightened senses, Sir.”

“All five?”

“Yes. We find her hearing very promising.”

He had hummed in response. Staring back at me with an emptiness I’d get to know very well. He had only gotten worse since then. 

After I had moved back to New York, Vought would still use me on occasion, but for the most part they just saw me as damaged goods. I was invited to parties, and events multiple times, and got paraded around like a fucking circus freak. Advisors would bestow me upon rich donors. “Ooh, let me stand across the room! I want you to guess what I’m saying.” I’d shake my head. There was no “guessing”. It was a stupid game if you ask me. They could have stood twenty miles away and it still wouldn't be much of a challenge. 

I had felt him before I heard him.

“Repetitive, huh?”

I didn't even have to look at the donor across the room to know he was saying "orange". He had the audacity to whisper too. Your money paid for this, I thought. Don’t you have a little faith in me being more than a party trick?

“Yes, actually.” I said, turning around to see the symbol of patriotism.

“I didn’t know you had moved back to the city.”

I looked at him with the same eyes I did all those years ago, and he still stared back at me just as broken.

“Yeah, I’ve been here for a few months now.”

He placed a hand on my lower back. My skin tingling from the brush of his augmented fingertips. He walked me over to one of the large windows that overlooked the skyline. I had worn a tight dress, which he had taken notice of. 

“You’re not so little anymore.”

I had laughed at that. 

“If I’m honest I can’t remember the last time I felt like it.” 

He looked at me with a gleam of recognition. Realizing we weren’t so different. Sure, he could break my spine if he clapped too hard, but we were both stripped of the innocence we so desperately needed. John and I were never friends, we were just two children starved of loving parental affection. 

And now, a few years later, I sit perched on his lap. My legs falling off either side of his sturdy frame. His hands don't touch me. But he is smiling softly. His eyes glazed over and heavy. His nose rubs mine as I whisper to him. My hips moving up and down on the heat of his crotch. 

“Do you like what I’m wearing?” 

He tilts his head down, his thumbs sliding across the trim of my black lace underwear. He hums, a goofy smile spreading across his face. 

“I do,” I brush my lips against his, his teeth catching on the skin of my cupid's bow. “Although, I can’t help but think there is an ulterior motive here.”

My eyes shoot open, glaring at him. He's still smiling at me. 

“I needed you…” I’m an awful liar. 

He takes a deep breath in through his nostrils. Placing two big hands under my ass while he fixes his posture on the chair. He cradles the back of my head, lacing rough fingers into my hair. Pulling me back until I’m looking him in the eyes.

“What do you want?” He asks plainly. I sigh, rolling my eyes, trying to pry myself out of his grip. “You know this doesn’t work on me.”

He pulls me tighter, my hair follicles hanging on to my scalp by sheer luck. I whimper, the feeling knocking the breath out of me for a second. 

“You come up here to see me, of all people, wearing this pretty little get up.”

He uses his other hand to pull my lower half closer into his, wrapping his arm around my waist. My ribs could turn to dust under this vice grip.

“You know what I’m here to ask for.”

“We’ve been over this so many times now.” He tsks at me. “Tell me what’s in it for me, and I’ll consider it.”

I glare at him. This routine is like clockwork by this point. I come to him with a plan for revenge and he shoots me down everytime. I know he agrees with me, I know he wants it just as bad as I do, but this is his leverage. He can be so fucking evil. 

“Does the idea of getting back at these people not give you a hard on?”

He laughs at me, releasing his vice grip. I pull myself off of him, walking over to my jeans discarded on the floor. 

“Now why would I, of all people, want to get back at Vought?”

I pull my tight jeans up, one leg at a time. He walks over to me, looking down as I button my pants.

“You would be fine without them. Fuckin’ buddhist monks have your photo up at shrines in the himalayas for Christs sake.”

I walk past him, grabbing my shirt from off the ground. He slaps my ass as I pass by.

“I’ll think about it.” He suggests. I roll my eyes- he won’t. 

I pull my hair out of the neckline of my shirt. He stands in front of me, his gloved fingers pulling out my necklace. He adjusts it so the clasp is back where it needs to be. I look up at him through my lashes.

“Just the scientists that worked with Vogelbaum.” I whisper.

He brings his hand up to my chin, pinching it with his thumb. He places an out of character, gentle, chaste kiss to my lips. 

“...And Stan Edgar, and all the other top Vought executives…” He teases.

“No!” I pout.

“Yes,” He taunts. “And last time I checked you are perfectly capable of taking these people out all by yourself, one at a time, without ever getting caught.”

He's trying to pull it out of me. He knows why I need his help. He’s so smug. He wants to hear me say it. 

“Why do you really want my help?” He torments. 

I sigh, moving to grab my purse from off the chair in the corner of his living room. He stops me, gripping my wrist tight into his hand. I glare at him. Anything but this, I think. I would never beg him for anything…but I do.

“The gala…in the Summer,” I mumble, defeated. “Everyone will be there, even the scientists.”

“Ah, yes, the gala. Being applauded for their efforts in the creation of Temp V.” He smiles. “That wasn’t so hard was it?”

I shake my head, making my way back over to his front door. He doesn’t stop me this time, too satisfied in his successful grilling. 

“One of us has lasers for eyes, John, and it’s not me.”

“Why would I want to ruin my own party?”

Before I leave I turn to him, pointing my finger. My eyes welling up with tears. Why does he do this? Hes been fucked over by Vought more than I have.

“All of them are going to be there at the same time. In the same building. We could end this, we could fucking destroy these monsters, once and for all.”

He glowers at me.

“Compound V made me a hero.” He argues.

“Compound V made you despicable,” I counter. “You’d finally be a real man without them.”

I open the door, him tripping at my heels.

“Vought made me a God.”

“Made you a sad fuckin’ excuse for one. Come find me when you grow a pair of balls.”

I slam the door in his face. 

I met Billy Butcher at a speakeasy a little over a year ago. He was downing a bottle of whiskey at the bar. It was only 2PM. 

“William, I’m assuming,” I reached my hand out for a shake. “A little early for the bottle don't you think?”

He looked down at my gesture, ignored it, then slammed his booze back on the counter. 

“Freak, I'm assuming?” He had added an obnoxious emphasis to the ‘K’.

I nodded, pursing my lips. Extending my awkward, unshook hand back into my pocket. 

He reeked, and I mean, reeked. His insides had smelt like a nuclear bomb had gone off. His liver was already in the later stages of decomposition, to say the least. His eyes were sunken in, and dark around the edges. Irritated too. Like he'd been rubbing them raw. 

I took note of his entire presence, leaning over to the left a tad to take in all sides of his bloated, depressed body. I looked closer. His right ear was oozing what looked like old blood. It was black, like tar. It didn’t smell like blood though. It was pungent and harsh, almost similar to ammonia- radiation, maybe? The nuclear bomb inside him, I considered. 

“You have black rot coming out of your ear,” I stated plainly. He had reached his hand over to wipe it. “It’s disgusting, whatever it is. I’ve never smelt anything like that before. You should really think about getting that checked out.”

He ignored me, picking up a napkin, and wiping his tar-coated hand on it. 

“Let's get down to business, ey?” 

“Alright.” I added. Breathing through my mouth wouldn’t have helped either, I thought. 

“Me and the boys are going to Herogasm.”

“Congratulations. I’d recommend cleaning those ears out before you go.” I said, unimpressed. 

He rolled his eyes, then looked around the room. No one was in there besides a bartender, and an old man asleep at a rounded booth. He leaned in closer to me. 

That's when I caught it- a familiar scent. I couldn’t put my finger on it. A certain chemical compound I remember smelling often during my recent visits to the tower. 

“Look, to make a long story short, I got ten grand with your name on it, and a party infested with obnoxious supes. I need you to sit at high ground, and keep watch.”

“Why don’t you get one of your boys to do it?” I grill.

“None of ‘em have aim like you, sweetheart.” He said it with such a shit-eating grin.

I rolled my eyes, “I’m flattered, truly.”

He took a deep breath, getting even closer, I could feel his hot breath on my ear.

“We’re going to be...taking him out.”

I looked at him, hard. I squinted my eyes. Listening in on his slow, heavy heartbeat. His unrelenting, static blood pressure. He wasn’t lying, I thought. He knew better than to anyway. 

“Good luck with that,” I chuckled, beginning to stand up to leave. Had he lost his mind? I thought. I didn’t have the time for this. Plus, thinking hard on it, I didn’t even know if I had wanted John to die. I had people to get revenge on, y’know?

“We have a weapon,” He added, yanking my arm back down, nearly pulling it out of its socket. “The same one that killed Soldier Boy.”

The blood had rushed out of my face then. He really was serious. I looked around, trying to focus on anything, but my thoughts were racing, and my eyes had gone cloudy. 

“Want to know something even crazier?” He probed. “The weapon is Soldier Boy. The cunt was still alive. Had to fight a handful of Ivans to get the bastard out.”

“That's impossible,” I laughed, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Soldier Boy died in Nicaragua.” 

“Ten thousand big ones for a few hours of your time, sweetheart.” He smiled.

I swallowed hard, grabbing his bottle from off the counter and taking a big swig. 

“You have to make me a promise,” I held my finger in his face. “If homelander dies, you and your boys have to help me finish something.”

He put his hand out for a shake. 

“Anything you need.” He grinned.

“Anything I need if he dies.” I nodded along, grabbing his hand, my mind off worrying, my eyes glazed over with fear. 

“Anything you need when the cunt dies.” 

And that’s when I had smelled it, the Temp V. My eyes widened at him. Now that explained why his organs were rotting. The bastard had been shooting up liquid radiation into his veins in a lame attempt to put up an equal fight. His grip tightened around mine, threatening to shatter my wrist. 

“I’ll give you the address, you’ll need your own car. Don’t be seen by anyone.” He declared, beginning to stand up from his stool.

“I wasn't born yesterday,” I mocked. “And by the way, if you do any more of that Temp V, you can go ahead and sign your death certificate.”

As we all know, that plan never worked. Homelander survived, and Soldier Boy is off somewhere frozen solid, I’m assuming. I never ended up getting the chance to see either of them that day, my shitty car ended up breaking down on the side of the road only twenty miles out of the city. Maybe it was for the best, I thought. A lot of people died that day. 

And so here I am, a year later, still willing to help him, but now for a different reason. If John wasn’t going to help me with my plan, Butcher and the boys surely will. 

Butcher had told me to meet him at a sketchy apartment building in the Bronx, so here I was. Looking around, there isn't much to see. Piles of trash and hoards of rancid homeless people litter the streets. Gross, I think. Why can’t the city grant these invalids a communal shower or something? Doesn’t the mayor know some people can practically smell atoms? 

Before I buzz in for him, I catch the wind and listen for their lingering voices upstairs. They are on the roof, and I think by the heartbeats I can count four- no- five. There are five of them, and one of them is definitely a woman. Her heart is delicate, small. But pumped full of V? I think. It thumps with an exertion only jacked supes would understand. Sounds like a panic attack waiting to happen, if you ask me. 

“Any of you ever use one of these before?” A voice asks. 

“Eh, maybe a rifle but not a scope.” Someone replies, an accent thick...present.

“Frenchie, hasn’t she had combat training?”

“Combat training, yes, but not a fucking sniper.”

“Butcher, would you come over here please? Hughie, would you grab him?”

A giant group of idiots, I think. Maybe this wasn’t the greatest idea after all. I pull my hands into a finger gun and shoot it into my open mouth. This is going to be a long night.

I walk over to the entrance, looking down at my phone. Butcher is taking too long to answer me. I slap the side of the code box, listening to the stops on the inside. A thicker metal, and rusted too. But I can still make it out. 1111? Really? No wonder everyone gets robbed on this side of town. 

Typing in the code, I begin to saunter my way upstairs. I'm slouched over and panting by the time I reach the top floor. Man, it’s times like these where I wish I could’ve been V-blessed with some fucking stamina. Fuck you Vought. I slip my way out onto the rooftop. Everyone's heads fly around to see me as I walk towards the group. 

“Could you guys be any fucking louder?” I ask, walking right up to Butcher. He smiles down at me.

“Glad to see you’re in a good mood this evening.”

I roll my eyes, “Too bad I could smell your insides rotting from half a mile away.” I pat him on the shoulder as I walk by, heading towards the man at the edge of the roof with a rifle. 

“Butcher, what the fuck?” The scrawny one asks.

“He doesn’t bring too many girls around, huh?” I say. 

“Who the fuck is this?” The French one questions. 

Butcher smiles as I go up to the man holding the gun. I shoo him away, squatting down, and placing my finger on the trigger. I squint my eyes and look down the scope. 

“Which one is it?” I ask.

Butcher comes over, squatting next to me, as well as the guy who was holding the gun before. 

“Blue tie,” Says butcher. “Bad haircut.”

“Balding or buzzed?” 

“Neither. Short mullet.” He adds.

I nod, and suddenly stand up, moving to another spot on the rooftop.

“What the fuck are you doing? I just spent two hours setting that spot up!”

“The glass is bulletproof,” I state. “Can’t you see the reflection?”

I start laughing then, “I mean, can’t you hear the way it sounds as the wind gusts off of it? There might as well be a sign.”

He looks at me quizzically, they all do. It usually takes a second for most people to recall my pathetic existence. 

“This window here must've just been replaced, because it’s temporary. Not bulletproof, and frankly, not strong wind proof either. This thing is just asking to be shattered.”

I crouch down again, squinting my eyes, and looking down the scope. I hold my hand up, snapping quietly. In fractions of a second, I can feel, hear, and see sound waves bouncing off of every nearby surface. They rush through the open air towards the glass window, bouncing off, only then to reverberate around the inside. It wraps around the target's stature like a sheet in the wind. Bullseye. I pull the trigger, hitting him directly between the eyes. We all watch as all hell breaks loose within whatever party I just ruined. 

I stand up, handing the rifle over to Butcher. I wipe my hands off on my pants.

“We have five minutes before a swat team barrels up here. Do you mind if we talk in private?”

Butcher nods, he and I both begin to walk downstairs. Everyone grabs their stuff, and from the scrawny boy I hear a snap, like he's finally put his finger on it. 

“Frequency!” Ego boost, I think. “God, that makes so much sense.” 

That recognition hasn’t happened in a while. I'm embarrassed to say I’m beginning to blush.

The french one nods to him, “A freak of fucking nature. That is a hell of a gift.”

A hell of a curse, he means. If only they knew the half of it. The boys chuckle as Butcher and I disappear into a dark alley. There are sirens in the distance.

“I need a favor.” I say, stopping and turning to him. The only thing illuminating us is a musty street light. It's hazy and orange. He looks down at me with damp skin. His body is trying it’s hardest to detoxify itself. There is no use. 

“What's that, love?” He chuckles, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He brings one up to his lips, inhaling and lighting. He gestures the pack to me. I shake my head. I always end up tasting the pesticides. 

“Look, I’ve asked everyone. You and your boys are the only thing I have left.”

“Well, spit it out then.” He coughs.

I take a deep breath, looking down at my shoe and kicking a little rock with the toe of it. 

“I want revenge on Vought.”

“Get in line sweetheart.” I roll my eyes at him, why does everyone always say that?

“But listen, I have the perfect idea,” I explain. “Over the summer they will be throwing a huge event in celebration over the success of Temp-V. I’m sure almost, if not all of the major Vought scientists will be there. Oh, and executives too. And all of the supes we all hate as well.”

He watches me as I talk, just smoking his cigarette. He’s hard to read these days. His expression is always pained. Not surprising though, I can literally hear his body decomposing. 

“I just- this is my best chance to get back at these people for cursing me. For making my life, and everyone else's life a living hell. Think about it, you can avenge your wife!"

“Why don’t you ask the big man in the sky?” He scoffs.

“I did, he said no.”

“Well, there is your answer from me.”

“I’m sorry?” I glare at him, appalled. “Last time I checked all you wanted to do was avenge your wife! Say 'fuck you' to Vought, and to Homelander. Why do you suddenly have cold feet?”

He reaches around me, placing an arm on my shoulder. He begins to walk me down the alleyway. 

“If the cunt says no, then it’s a no. We show up there ready to blow a crater into the ground, he’ll be the first to know. You know better than I do that he ain’t gonna like it. Also, we got ties to the FBI and the CIA. The last thing they need is for their agents that are integrated within Vought to be a part of Supe 9/11.”

“You’re telling me the CIA isn't looking for an excuse to destroy these bastards?”

“They are,” He smiles. “Just in a way that won’t have a trail leading back to ‘em.”

We’re at the opening of the alley now. Police cars fly by as they respond to the murder I just committed a few blocks away. I should be in the clear, I’m hearing a lot of “Arab Supe-Terrorist” static over the vibrations of police radio. 

“Get Soldier Boy back, thatll make it even easier for everyone. They can just blame it on him.”

“That’ll come back on ‘em too, Love. They have him hidden with a frostbitten dick at a military compound. If the cunt got out on their terms they’d never hear the end of it.” 

Huzzah, I think. Now that is a good idea. I go to shake his hand. If he's gonna reject me too, I guess there is only one thing left to do.

“Where'd they end up keeping him anyway? My bets on upstate.” I question.

He squeezes my hand tight, smiling at me mischievously. 

“I know better than to tell ‘ya that, sweetheart.”

I laugh, not genuinely, more out of frustration by this point.

“Right,” I say, beginning to walk off in the direction of my subway. “Let me know if you are ever need any of my services. You know where to reach me.” 

He walks off the opposite way, his radioactive stench leaving a trail behind him. The plot thickens. Soldier Boy is upstate alright. And if no one is willing to help me, then I’ll just have to do it myself.

Masterlist | Episode 2

[beestriker015]

Yandere Ryukyu x younger male pro hero s/o

Despite being only 21 years old, s/o has already caught the attention of a few of his fellow pro heroes, one of which being the number 10 hero herself.

Ryuku first saw s/o on television when he made his debut and was quite impressed with his abilities as well as his relatively shy and kind demeanor.

However, Ryukyu also felt something peculiar when she saw s/o on the screen, something that worked up her dragon side.

“W-what is this I’m feeling? My heart is beating so fast. This new hero…why do I feel so drawn to him?”

As time passed, Ryukyu became obsessed with s/o and kept a close tab on him until one day when she couldn’t take it anymore and finally decided to meet the object of her obsession in person.

“Hello s/o, my name is Ryuko Tatsuma, but I prefer to go by my hero name Ryukyu. I’ve heard much about you, and it’s a pleasure for us to finally meet.”

“Likewise. It’s a huge honor to meet an amazing hero like you!”

S/o says with a smile that almost causes Ryukyu to lose her calm composure.

“T-thank you s/o, that’s very kind of you to say. Since you’re still relatively new to being a pro hero, may I offer you some help and advice on things you need to know?”

“Really? I’d greatly appreciate that Ryukyu! Thank you so much!”

“No problem, we can talk more over lunch at a cafe nearby. Don’t worry about paying though, it’s my treat.”

Since that day, s/o and Ryukyu have grown close to each other, leading to s/o developing romantic feelings for the 26 year old dragon hero.

When s/o eventually confesses his feelings for her, Ryukyu smiled widely and happily told him she felt the same way before pulling him close and roughly kisses him on the neck, leaving behind a very noticeable red mark.

“There. I apologize if I was too rough darling, but I had to mark you. Now everyone will know that you are mine, and no one will take you from me.”

She says with a smile and a glint in her eyes that makes s/o slightly unnerved for a brief moment.

Despite being a yandere, Ryukyu is still a genuinely good person and would never hurt anyone without a reason to.

As a girlfriend, Ryukyu is extremely affectionate with s/o when they’re alone, but won’t do much more than brief kisses and holding hands when in public or during hero work due to her professionalism.

Ryukyu is extremely possessive over s/o because of her dragon side, and will glare at anyone who flirts with her boyfriend as she holds onto him protectively while letting out a low growl, which s/o admittedly finds kind of adorable.

S/o and Ryukyu try to spend as much time together as they can despite their busy schedules as pro heroes.

Almost everyday, s/o takes time out of his day to visit Ryukyu’s agency to drop off a bagged lunch he made for her and to give her a quick kiss before she goes out on patrol, which Nejire and Ryukyu’s first year interns find really really sweet.

Speaking of Nejire, she is a huge supporter of Ryukyu and s/o’s relationship and to quote her when she met s/o for the first time “totally ships them”, which caused s/o to blush a little and chuckle as Ryukyu looked at the two in confusion due to having no idea what shipping is.

Knowing how insecure his girlfriend can be, s/o will passive aggressively defend Ryukyu if anyone were to say anything negative about her quirk or appearance.

“My Ryukyu is the most beautiful woman in the world, and her quirk has saved so many lives! You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. So either apologize to her now, or keep your ignorant comments to yourself!”

Hearing him defend her only makes Ryukyu fall in love with s/o even more.

When they get back to their shared apartment (because Ryukyu insisted on s/o moving in with her shortly after getting together), Ryukyu hugs her boyfriend and gives him a thankful smile.

“Thank you darling, I appreciate you coming to my defense, please know that I love you dearly.”

Despite her protective and possessive tendencies, Ryukyu would never kill anyone, as that goes against her beliefs and status as a hero.

That used to be the case, until one day during an intense operation to take down a large villain group, s/o was brought to the brink of death by the leader of the villains.

“You and the other heroes were fools to come onto our turf and interfere with my plans boy! I’m going to enjoy killing you in the most excruciating way possible. It’s game over for you hero!”

Upon seeing her s/o at the mercy of the villain leader, Ryukyu’s eyes glaze over in pure draconic rage as she transforms into her dragon form and rushes at the villain as she begins mercilessly tearing him apart, much to the shock and horror of any onlookers.

With the villain leader dead, his subordinates are quickly apprehended by the other heroes and sent to Tartarus, with s/o taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries.

No one dared speak to s/o of what happened to the villain leader when he came to after falling unconscious during his transport to the hospital, both out of fear of angering Ryukyu and a little understanding of the lengths dragons will go to protect their mates.

When he wakes up, s/o is warmly embraced by his teary eyed girlfriend, unaware of the grisly murder she committed.

“I missed you so much darling! Are you in pain at all?”

“I’m ok now Ryuko, just a little sore. Hey babe, what happened during the mission? I don’t remember anything after almost getting killed by the leader.”

“…that villainous scum has been taken care of.”

“What do you mean ‘taken care of’?”

“D-don’t worry about that darling, he and the other criminals working for him were all taken to Tartarus and imprisoned.”

She lied to him as she continues to hug her boyfriend with a dark smirk on her face.

“He will never hurt you again darling, as he is now burning in hell where he belongs for hurting you. I promise that I’ll protect you no matter what, and whoever dares lay a finger on you won’t live long enough to regret it!”

Ryukyu thinks to herself before breaking from their embrace and kisses s/o on the lips with a loving smile on her face.

“I love you so much s/o.”

“I love you too, my beautiful dragon.”

He says while returning her smile as they proceed to share another kiss.

Meanwhile in the criminal underworld, word spreads around about the villain leader’s gruesome death thanks to one of his henchmen managing to escape from the heroes, leading to many growing an intense fear of the tenth ranked hero.

And if any of them intend on doing anything to Ryukyu’s darling…

They should be afraid…

[solarpunkani]

Hey do you happen to know of any resources for someone in Iowa looking to get into native plant gardening? Thanks in advance! (Love your blog btw)

*cracks knuckles* sorry for keeping you hanging since November 3rd, homie, but I'm back home and down to get started!

Before I do, a special reminder that I'm not based in Iowa! I don't think I've ever even set foot in Iowa. I'm a Florida girlie lol. However, I will do my best to give you my advice and find some resources for you!

In my experience, many native plants grow slowly from seed. This could be because I mostly prefer perennials (I am way too lazy to replace an annual every year), but they can take awhile to germinate and an even longer while to size up. I've gotten seeds that say to wait upwards of 3 weeks to see any germination, and that's often after waiting a month or more for proper cold stratification! All of this is just to say--you gotta have a bit of patience when it comes to all gardening, but especially with native plants!

If you can get your hands on some seeds now, they'll likely need cold stratification. Fortunately, cold stratification is happening right now--put the seeds where you want them to grow, and let chilly winters do the work for you! Needing cold stratification basically means the plant has evolved to know it needs to wait until after winter to start germinating, so as things warm back up in spring, your seeds'll start growing!

Once they start growing and get established, they'll really start going--if they're in their perfect conditions, they'll be more than ready to take over a bit and manage on their own! Keep an eye out for watering needs, but generally I find native plants don't need much when it comes to fertilizer and pesticides. If you don't want things to spread a lot, you can always choose to grow certain plants in pots instead--or if you're really determined to grow a plant your soil isn't quite right for, a pot does wonders. My soil isn't very moist, so I grow a good chunk of my swamp milkweeds in pots to keep a better eye on their care.

Iowa's got a handful of growing zones going on, so knowing what the zone for your region is will help you pick the best plants! You can also pick plants known to have grown historically well in your region--I've seen plant range maps break things down by counties for my state, which helps give a good idea of whether it's a good idea for me to grow something touted as a native to my state. It's entirely possible for something to be native to your state, but not your half of the state, for example!

Browsing through a couple of sites, I hope these'll be helpful to you!

This is a link to Iowa Native Plants, which has a nice primer on the importance of native gardening as well as a few guides to native plants in their Finder tab! They also seem to sell a hanfdul of books on native gardening that may be an interesting read for you!

My Home Park appears to have a lot of information on native plants, and sells native plants that can be shipped to your state! I can't say I've ever had a plant shipped to me before, let alone from them (they don't service my state) but it could be worth a shot! If anything else, could be a good source of information! They also have a blog, and a feature that lets you mock up a garden to see what it'd look like (I didn't try it though). They also seem to service North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine.

The Tallgrass Prairie Center links to a ton of resources on learning about native plants, planting them, landowner incentive programs, and organizations you can join that are full of others who are passionate about native plants! The Tallgrass Prairie Center itself aims to establish and protect native plants, restore ecosystems, and increase awareness and appreciation of the Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem. I think their site's definitely worth a look-through, or you can use it as a bouncing off point to find other sites full of info!

The Iowa Native Plant Society is a nonprofit organization full of people who are enthusiastic about native plants! They host field trips, workshops, have a newsletter, and more! It could be a fun way to learn more about native ecosystems on their trips, and if they're anything like the native plant society for my state, the calendar on their site will probably start lighting up with different chapters' native plant sales as we get closer to spring, so keep an eye out! They've also got books and lots of resource links on their site!

Oftentimes when I look up information on how to grow a particular plant in my state, the university extensions office is one of the best resources. As such, I think the Iowa State University's Extension and Outreach website is likely to have some good info for you about gardening! I've also in the past emailed some staff from various offices questions about native gardening and gotten good answers, so they're definitely a resource to be utilized!

I almost forgot to link the Xerces Society! The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has a primary focus of protecting insects in the US, but that often goes hand in hand with native plants, so they're a great resource for learning about plants and the insects that rely on them! Especially helpful is their Pollinator Conservation Resource Center, which has lists of plants and suppliers by region! You can also find just their plant lists here!

Speaking of plant lists, The National Wildlife Federation has a list of keystone plants by ecoregion! Keystone plants are highly important, as they're vital to the lifecycle of many species of insect, which then help feed birds and other creatures--you get the picture. I used the National Wildife Federation a good bit when I was writing my Biodiversity Saga on increasing biodiversity in your yard/on your balcony/in your area on a budget.

iNaturalist is a fantastic website for cataloguing the cool insects you find in your new native garden, as well as learning about the variety of plants, animals, insects, etc. that are in your area! Make an account and just vibe around!

Books can be a great resource! Unfortunately, my attention span is frequently lacking when it comes to books, and I definitely haven't read any that focus on Iowa's native flora. However! I've got a few general books that are nice reads, so you can definitely see if you can find these in a library or online (I'm including Thriftbooks links because fuck Amazon).

Hellstrip Gardening by Evelyn J. Hadden is a book I read last month that honestly inspired so many new projects out of me that next year is gonna be busy. Might as well get a healthy dose of inspiration now so you can do some planning and be roaring and ready to go come spring! I liveblogged it on my gardening blog, and shared some of my favorite notes as well!

Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society is a book that offers a generalized view on why its important, ways you can utilize native plants at any scale from swaths of farmland to a school garden or a small yard, and provides lists of plants that can be good for your region near the end! They also have Gardening for Butterflies, which I honestly haven't read yet, but I checked it out from the library so Mayhaps Soon. PS: you can buy Attracting Native Pollinators and Gardening for Butterflies from the Xerces site directly, and support their work! However. Hoo buddy, the pricing.

(Psst, here's the plant list from Attracting Native Pollinators, don't tell Xerces)

My final message to you, young padawan, is to grow milkweed. If there's a milkweed native to your state, grow it. If there's several native to your region, grow a ton of it. Milkweed is the host plant for Monarchs, but it's also such a high-value nectar source for so many other insects you've just gotta try and grow some in my book. Also a lot of the sites I saw for your state had pictures of blazing star and black eyed susans and let me tell you. Plant those. You'll have so many happy pollinators.

I can't think of anything else. If any Iowa gardeners wanna chime in with their favorite resources and such, feel free to!

[bryan360]

JSAUX Nylon Braided Cords (Micro USB/Lighting) - Part 2 (second half recorded)(final) (April. 6th, 2024)

No need for another “On This Day” throwback post.

Hey guys. Sorry for keeping it waited on this before this month ended. So anyways, welcome back to this continuous topic review of my new braided cables. Last time where I’d covered my long awaited charging test to my Samsung Tab E device, It’s time where I also covered my recent iPad tablet device here. Thankfully at the same day after did with my Samsung device’s charging test, I’d moved quickly to another one with my next device I’d mentioned. Without further ado, onto this final part share.

⬆️ (29th Image; back in 2:41 P.M.)

Switching things right along, I’d now recorded with my recent iPad device to charge up. Since now that with my Samsung Tab E full on battery; all thanks to my new blue braided cables from the first half review, I’m able to use it to take photos with its camera app. It worked fine from years later and the image quality was good. 👍 There’s more photos from during this second half review I’d gotten. Anyways, this here’s after letting my iPad device’s battery life drained about hours later.

⬆️ (30th to 31st Images; from 2:45 to 2:47 P.M.)

It’s a right time to bring my red colored braided cable in good use. I’d took it out to give a good look before plugging with my Apple charger adapter. It was exactly designed from my blue braided cables, but ya know; differently designed lighting type of cable.

⬆️ (32nd and 39th Images; from 2:48 to 2:57 P.M.)

Now I’m plugging to my red colored braided cable into this Apple charger adapter. Good thing now that for the adapter stills functional, but also alongside with its original lighting cable I’d previously used for my recent iPad device in few years or less. I’ll do in comparison post with my normal cables for another time. Now back to this topic review, its charging progress had finally started when checking onto my iPad device. Looks promising that I’m good for having those new charging cables; from my mom’s help we’d ordered from in Amazon.com. 🙂👍

⬆️ (40th to 41st Images; from 2:58 to 7:20 P.M.)

Hours later when checking on my iPad device’s battery, it’s now fully charged at 7:20 P.M. that sure felt this long. That’s my opinion before going to bed during nighttime. 🥱 Nevertheless, at least its get the job done with my red braided charging cable; same goes for my blue braided cable from my first half review. Though looking back its charging time from where the beginning; at 2:53 til 7:20 P.M., it took about less than 4 hours in comparison with my blue braided cable to my android tablet for 5 hours. Doesn’t matter which is charged better or quicker, I’m very glad when going through my new braided cables for the first time.

My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: ⬇️

Completed through this second/final half review, my red colored braided lighting type cable definitely fits to my recent iPad device. Though having to wait hours later for its charging test to get through before bed regardless. That being said, I did my best to get by when writing this review from it. All in all, I’m very happy for my new cable upgrades to set up. Do wish them last longer for future uses and among with my other tech items I can charge with.

⬆️ (From April 6th, 2024 to May. 19th, 2024)

Before signing off, here’s another close up for both braided cables that includes putting both straps in. As for its length, this is far I can get before photo shoot on my bed. Nevertheless, I’m sure they’re both similar in length beyond their differences.

Hope you guys enjoy this final review topic I’d really wanted to have. I’ll be taking care with my new braided cables as I can, but taking a break before saving some new topics and continuing ones soon. For now, here’s to a final week til June 2024 and to everyone gotten plans for the summer. Good luck! 👋

Also, this. ⬇️

Previously: ⬇️

JSAUX Nylon Braided Cords (Micro USB/Lighting) - Part 1 (first half recorded) (Apr. 6th, 2024) - Link Here

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @shadowredfeline @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4 @coda-archive

[dayeongi]

Hi, shikatema lovers here! ☺️

So I've been in my feeling lately and want to reminisce the feeling of all the good shikatema stories. Do you have any recommendation of shikatema's ff that is a lil bit angsty? Or any great shikatema stories that I really need to read for my mental health?

Thank you and I love your stories too!

Hi there!!!!!!!

This is all based on my history from AO3 and over 10 years of having a FF dot net account so some of these may not be to your taste, and some of them I read a long time ago, but what I can promise is they’re memorable. Blanket recommendations are very up-to-date and can definitely vouch for! 

Some of this may be incomplete so please keep an eye out before you read if you’re only looking to read completed work!

Yeongi’s faves:

Truth or Dare (Astroboy) by ChlorineObsession

coffee shop soundtrack by viiisenya - “Goddamn it, Chouji, I thought the second-coming of Hagaromo walked in,” Shikamaru groaned, exasperated. (HILARIOUS)

The Levels On Which We Lie by pearlsong

Between Then and Now by Snooparty - such a fun concept!

The Theory of Effort & Will by SimpArmy

The Torn by ShatteredAwe (no words. But prepare thyself, I cried again just thinking about it.)

and I'll be good (if you can tell me how) - by lollipopmania - fake dating? Spies???? YES. You can’t miss this.

Rain in Konoha by OstaraNight

Bodyguard by ArmchairAnthropologist

Hotel Rooms by ArmchairAnthropologist

Intertwining Fate by glockcourage - Such an interesting AU that I need to re-read, very memorable

Secrets and Shadows by SillySnowden

There's a Head in the Forest by greenho4

Valerie Sabrina Verzoe - always interesting concepts and dynamics - AUs so different I didn’t realize all these fics were by the same person until I started putting this together. I haven’t read their other stuff though so be warned!

Limelight

Chains

A Dance of Wind and Fire

AUTHOR BLANKET RECOMMENDATION:

Here is a few of my favorite authors that have more than 3 shikatema works I’ve read and I’m obsessed with. I will link their profile as well as what I consider my favorite of their work.

Notquitejiraiya - @notquitejiraiya

My faves:

Love Means Nothing - “It’s your problem if you’re in the firing line. You’re on a tennis court; there are gonna be tennis balls.” - This line solidified the idea that I’d made the right choice of Meet Ugly for my fic, Setting Sun

CHESS - “Chess?” she muttered. “You come to a psychiatrists office and you want to play chess?” - made me chuckle

9/10 - Only one chapter but my god, what a chapter, and I’m not spoiling a single line of it!

Majsasaurus - @unioncolours

My faves:

Trial of the Heart - I wasn’t strong enough to finish this one yet, I still have it open on a tab.

no one cries for unknown soldiers - a masterpiece and one of my favorite fics ever

SpookyMoth - @thespookymoth

My faves:

Treasures - Just such a creative AU! I love it

Torn - PREPARE THYSELF I SAY

I Want You To Want Me - BAND AU!! HECK YEA! You can’t miss this. It’s part of a series

SpicedGold

P much anything by them! But my current favorite is When All Is Said And Done

Cinder_Rose - @cinder-rose22 - a person with very evil writer plans and the will to carry them out - very scary

My faves:

Of Sand and Shadow - “Those disgustingly arrogant eyes,(...) He had never hated anything more than those eyes.” - YOU CAN’T MISS THIS

The Ruins of Us - This one is the entire reason Asuma has a bookshop in Setting Sun. Originally he was going to have an antiques shop or a stationery shop.

Clumsydragon28 - @clumsydragon28

My fave:

The Meeting Place - I had never read poetry in the context of fanfiction before but I really think this was the perfect intro!

Sunaprincess7 - @sunaprincess7 - I’ve loved their stuff for more than a decade

My faves:

Anthem for a Doomed Youth - no words.

She dances for me - one of my all time favorites! I re-read it regularly. Inspired by Memoirs of a Geisha (which is a great story, but has some controversy, which I recommend reading up on. I suggest reading “Geisha of Gion” by Mineko Iwasaki)

The Woman - "To Shikamaru Nara she is always 'The' Woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex."

I’d love some recommendations myself so if you feel I’m missing some let me know!! And thank you for your kind words about my stories!

[tixdixl]

DING DONG! for the dynamic ask meme!

malleus, silver and sebek for oisín!

OH HELLO!!! HI WELCOME IN

Thank you so so much for the ask. I really appreciate it!

This is incredibly fun- and your timing is impeccable because I've been writing a little ficlet that explores one of these dynamics a bit more.

I warn you, one of these is gonna be a bit of a read, so feel free to read below if you are so inclined~.

Malleus and Oisín: This dynamic is incredibly fun for me personally because it's a bit complex. See, first and foremost, I have to provide a bit of context here. For starters, with Malleus being the heir to the throne of Briar Valley, I'm under the impression he would know of the few dullahan and their respective territories in Briar Valley as they change and develop over the centuries. Naturally, on inverse, I'm under the impression everyone in Briar Valley knows of Malleus even if contact isnt made. So for them to enter NRC at the same time, in the same year, but to go into different dorms? I'm sure they start off respectively keeping tabs on each other- especially with the consideration pre-established relationship that Oisín develops with Lilia prior to their induction to the academy.

However, things change over time as Oisín runs into a bit of a snag. See, Oisín came to NRC for 4 reasons. 3 are known to Crowley. 1 is kept secret from Crowley. That secret? Oisín's next target to bring to the other side has been identified as a student from Royal Sword Academy. And because of the nature of the situation, in which Oisín knows the location of their target but not their true name, Oisín realizes that this is going to require a conspired assassination of sorts. But they run into a block when it comes to gathering information and realize that Malleus may actually have some insight that could prove useful to their mission. As a result, they approach him with a deal: [If you can provide me with insight and information, I will pay it back with anything you perceive to be of value.]

And Malleus asks for a friendship of sorts. He asks for someone not from Diasomnia to share information and hang out with him- oh, with the idea in mind that they wouldn't need to be watched by Sebek or Silver, and Oisín would be able to exist in a space without having to hide their true nature. While the power imbalance leads the two with a bit of an awkward start, they do evolve into having a very amicable and casual relationship for the duration of their studies... or at least, until such time as Oisín finishes their task.

Silver and Oisín: So this relationship also has a lot of history, but explaining their dynamic takes less context. You ever think about what its like to interact or worse go to school with the person dating your dad? Well, Oisín has been courting and dating Lilia since WELL before Silver was found. Silver certainly appreciates how much Oisín consistently loves and respects and values Lilia, and that in everything that has happened, that has never changed. But also, thats his dad's partner.

On the other hand, Oisín has a lot of compassion and respect for Silver. They never once pressure Silver to see them as like a step parent, and they have no intention to intrude in his life or force any kind of dynamic with Silver. But that's their partner's kid. And they just want him to thrive as he grows into becoming an adult.

Sebek and Oisín: Sebek grows to respect Oisín as they become a consistent presence in Malleus's life and as Sebek learns of their relationship with Lilia. But that doesn't mean he's not incredibly frustrated by the circumstances that Oisín is in. He hates the fact that Oisín is sorted into Ignihyde, and even when Lilia tells him that it makes sense and to not press on the matter, it still doesn't sit right with him. He also doesn't like that Oisín actively hides their identity as a dullahan and that they wear a TV monitor on their head. He fails to empathize and understand, despite many of the others making efforts to dissaude his apprehension and confusion.

Oisín tolerates Sebek. They acknowledge and respect his role and his background, what little they do know about the boy. But Oisín is a very subtle and often introverted and quiet fae. Sebek has absolutely caused their circuits to short on a time with his sudden yelling. They also find it difficult to navigate their passive secrecy around Sebek, and try their best to be respectful when he won't stop asking blunt and prying questions.

[coridallasmultipass]

It took me, ugh, MONTHS (2), to get to cleaning the two shrimp tanks I have... I had IRL issues going on that would have made it extremely difficult to do a water change especially while injured, and I just had to keep putting it off. It's just shrimp, so it wasn't like, the worst situation, especially since I have established plants and the tanks are a couple years old. There was just a lot of algae build-up on the glass, and, well... Let me just say it was not contributing to my mental health and well-being while the tanks were in that state.

I tested the water before I started cleaning and the parameters were fine (like, I could have left the tanks even longer if I would be okay with selling my soul to the Algae Collective), and the plants and shrimp look fine, too (I mean, I've obviously been keeping an eye on the tanks bc I sit right next to them). Actually, I'd wager to say that the plants are looking really great (the lilies haven't died off [yet? This is the longest period of time I've seen them stay... foliage... fol... foliated? Idk.] and the cryptocoryne in the 10gal is fucking huge and needs to be rearranged, just not right now). That fucking algae was a motherfucker to get off the 10gal (it's a plastic tank and I think that makes the algae grip harder than the glass 5gal).

[Also, fyi, depending on the tank's needs and stability, recommended water changes are a small one every week or every other week. My parameters don't seem to do anything dramatic, so I usually aim for a 20-30% water change every third week (just depends on how much vacuuming needs to be done and how cooperative the shrimp are with moving aside). So 2 months is still a lot. I still did the normal 30% ish amount, since doing more will risk the shrimp's well-being if there's a sudden change in everything, and my water parameters indicated a change was unnecessary - but I don't test for more than the minimum freshwater tests, so there could be a buildup of some mineral I'm not testing for, which is why the change IS actually necessary regardless of what my test kit says - because these tanks were evaporating a lot in summer, it condenses the minerals added with each water addition, even tho I usually top up with R.O. water.]

My back is fucking killing me lol. It has been killing me since spring when it 'went out' for the first time, and I'm not getting any relief, it sucks. But this had to be done.

The 5gal is looking pretty cloudy still, since the filter was super gunked up and I accidentally spilled gunk back in, so I may need to retest the 5gal parameters tomorrow just to make sure I don't have to do another water change, but it'll probably be fine, right? Shrimp love mulm and detritus. I did give both tanks a big ole algae tab for their trouble, tho. (I need a fuckening dish for the big tank. I really wanna clean off that white quartz rock again, but being white means it's an algae magnet, and it's just gonna go green again after a month or two.)

Anyway, shrimp tax:

I lov thees widdle oange bebies.

Wish I could take better pictures rn, but I am. Like. Dying. My recommendation: never live in an A-frame style room if you have the option. The wall above my tanks is slanted, and NOT fun for my back to bend underneath the wall for maintenance. (My only flat wall in the room is for my TV/PC.) Also, treat your back nicely, in general. I unfortunately have not had the option to treat my back nicely since spring (fall now), because 'when it rains it pours,' and heavy shit that needs to be moved will not move itself. Once I get a few more things in my room in order, I will hopefully be done with the IRL chaos, bc I have Halloween socks to knit, and I'm not putting that off for another year. (I'm still mad that I couldn't make the ones I planned last year. And I found more Halloween yarn I forgot I bought, so I'm gonna try to make multiple socks.) And I just really need to fucking chill and knit and stop having panic attacks and meltdowns.

[athanasia-day]

In honor of the Suicide Prevention Month I think i like to share some thoughts about it and some realizations I just had. I'll be writting this in English and it isn't really my native language, so bare with me.

It was early December of 2021, I was a few months over 16 when I decided that I was finally done with life. Being honest, the idea of suicide had already crossed my mind since I was really young, when? I couldn't exactly tell you, but I was really young when I came to understand that, I wasn't scared of death like everyone else, instead, I crave it.

I can not by any means tell you what made me and still makes me so sad. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't love myself enough, that I didn't feel loved or maybe I was just born sad and tired.

Since kid, I was one of those smarty pants girls who loved books and praise from anyone around me, I craved validation.

So, in 2021, when my anxiety and depression hit me the hardest, I simply dropped, there isn't other word I could use to describe it. I stopped caring about grades or making friends, I only wanted to sleep for hours and to read in a quiet place.

A fact that I always remind myself now that I'm in uni and everyone keeps asking why I choose this career, I always said "it's what I wanted to do since I was a kid" because that was the last time I imagine myself as an adult. After that? I didn't see myself living past my sixteens. Even now it's difficult for me imagining a day where I'll be 30.

That December, when my grades arrived I just knew that I had disappointed my family, and I think that was the last straw at that moment, the only thing keeping me sane was the need of validation. Without that? I was lost.

So, 16 years old me decided that I was gonna take advantage of my family not keeping tabs of the multiple pills we had. I didn't know how It worked, and I'm thankful that it didn't cross my mind to do more research.

I remember my mother screaming at my dad because of my grades as my older brother hugged me, saying that they were just grades, that I least didn't fail any subject or something.

That night, while I was hiding in my family room (where we all slept together except for my older brother), I was lying on my little brother's bed while I was planning.

When it was midnight, I went down stairs knowing mom would be asleep and I checked the pills and grabbed some. I went to my brother's bed again and lay there with the pills.

And yes, as horrorific as it sounds, I was ready to die in my brother's bed, and thinking about that, what the hell was I thinking? The twins were both 10, and they would be the first ones to find my body, how could they ever sleep on those beds again? Knowing that their sister died there?

I was just lying there and processing if I should really go on with my plan when I decided to text my friend to get some help or to simply say goodbye, after all, my parents' goodbye letters have already been written years ago.

So, it was like 2 a.m when I texted my friend, Andrea, and yes, I'm name dropping her because she's an amazing human being and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

I got into a long talk with her, and even though it didn't change my mind, she made me promise to go out with them some days later. I didn't know that she shared our conversation with our others friends till days later on the outing I saw my friends conversation with another one.

And, it may not sound like much, how could a simple hang out mean so much that it makes you change you mind on suicide? But it meant the world to me, but it reminded me that I am loved, that there would be people who would cry and miss me. It gave me what I had lost sight of, that I was more than some value defined by the things I did or haven't done.

A month later I made a new letter that I personally read to my dad, and I don't think he really understood how deeply hurt I was or how bad the situation was before, but the hug he gave that day cured a lot of wounds that I didn't even knew where there.

Today, I had a very good day, and I'm thankful to say that I enjoyed so much more of life that I would have if I had taken that choice when I was 16.

I realized that, if I had taken that choice, my mom and family would had buried two bodies in a month, my grandpa's, my mom's dad who passed away a few days after my outing, and mine.

Today, I'm 19, because I was reminded by the people who really cared about me that I was more than what I saw in the mirror, that I was more than some bad grades.

Today, I'm 19, studying a career that I can't tell you right now if I love, but that I certainly like. I go to uni Monday to Friday, I work in the morning, I'm studying English and looking to study more languages.

Today, I'm 19, because even if my mom and I fought a lot, I still love her enough to stay by her side, because I love our fights even though I cry a lot during them, because I love how she bakes chocolate cakes and hears me when I talk about Taylor Swift, Doctor Who, Percy Jackson or whatever I'm obsessing at the moment.

Today, I'm 19, because Andrea, Vicky, Jonathan and Maru where there for me and loved me even when I couldn't do it myself. And I'm so very thankful for that, and I swear that I'll live to the fullest with the new life they gave me.

And you, who is reading this, stranger, friend or someone I know that I decided to share this with, know that you're loved, even if you can't see it.

I won't lie to you, it will hurt, you will have your drops, but, and as cliche as it sounds, life is not only about the bad things in our life. It's about that chocolate cake that awaits for you at the table, about that book you still haven't finished, about that friend who would forever remind you as a more than a depressed person, but as their soulmate.

Take care, and thank you for reading.