#post-event

[teddy-byrne]

The wine festival was over and just like that, Teddy Byrne was back to business as usual. Purpose, as he liked to call it. But it was more than just work that had brought him to Crimson Vale that evening. He had spoken to a doctor, the subject personal, then professional, and then left to smoke.

It was lucky that he found the little patio, and that it was not as crowded as usual but he was missing something, wasn't he? Right outside, staring at that hospital like it was a murder house or some shit, was Chris Elkar. Teddy lit his cigarette and walked up to the other with the intention of being polite. "Chris." he frowned, exhaling a light puff of smoke, "..you here for work?"

@chris-elkar

[foxedthecards]

The light in the bathroom clicked on and Jonas staggered towards the bathroom sink, turned the water on and just stared at the basin filling up for a moment.

He crouched down over the sink, cupped water in his hands and splashed his face several times. He rubbed the heels of his hands hard into his eyes, blinked while little glitters of light receded from his vision and grabbed the hand towel, burying his damp face in it a moment and just.

Breathing.

The sound of it was too loud and harsh in the silence of the bathroom. In fact everything about his senses seemed overstimulated. The towel normally soft felt like sandpaper. The smell of the fabric softener made his stomach churn, the chlorine of the water seared his nostrils. The fluorescent lights made him squint, their buzzing hum lacerated his ears.

He wasn't sure what time it was nor did he really care. Apparently he'd lost a couple of fucking months of time so what did it matter knowing anyway?

And of those months he only knew what had happened most recently: he'd gone to a festival dressed up like a plague doctor. Done a whole hell of a lot of stuff, some he remembered, some he didn't. Even then...fuck who knew? Maybe that was all a dream or hallucination too.

The pillowsheet he'd thrown over the mirror slid off and he gave a tired little groan and picked it up. His eyes flickered automatically towards his reflection in the mirror...what was that on his neck, dirt or makeup or something?

Then he stopped and really stared and did something he rarely did, get closer to the mirror. His fingers touched his neck.

That was bruising. Shaped like fingers, like hands. Not terribly prominent so they probably had to have been made some time ago.

Still bruises. Bruises he had no memory of. Bruises that made him feel just very slightly unsettled

He rubbed his neck and climbed up on the sink to once more drape the pillowsheet over the mirror. Ok so gone to a festival during his lost months and done...some kind of kinky shit at some point? Oh OK. Whatever. That checked out he guessed.

Abruptly he felt really exhausted. He wasn't even going to bother changing out of the drapey blouse and the pants. He flicked off the bathroom light and stumbled out of the boots before just faceplanting into his bed.

He needed to sleep. He hoped to fucking christ he wouldn't wake up and it'd be like...Christmas or some other kind of bullshit.

He dozed off.

[thejax-reed]

Few things were unpredictable these days. Fewer still when it came to their law abiding alpha. So you can just imagine Jaxon's surprise when he heard about the young Remington boy sitting in their basement, apparently for some time now. Elijah sure had kept that whole shit to himself! However, little mattered now, particularly after the ordeal they had all gone through and Jax was feeling like it was time to set his ground and really fill that role Caleb has so gracefully handed over to him. So he picked a random day, got the boy lunch and moseyed down to the basement.

It was perhaps just a little bit early and caught him sleeping still. Nevermind that - pulling out a chair and instructing the fellow pack members to leave after he'd placed the plate of food on a table, Reed cleared his throat and smirked. "Wakey, wakey, young man. Time to raise and shine." he chuckled, "Lunch's here."

@theleastfavoriteson

[marshmallowsinclair]

• Openstarter: @aurorabaystarter

• Location: Outside of Ocean Crest Apartments

Mal woke up to a gloomy morning, the kind of morning that usually set her mood for the day. But today was different. Yesterday, the storm hit Aurora Bay harder than anyone expected, and the effects were still being felt a day later. Mal checked her phone, hoping to see some updates or messages, but she knew deep down that the phone lines were still cut off. She sighed and got out of bed, feeling the cool air hit her skin as she walked around her dark apartment. The power was still out, and she knew that her food would soon spoil if the electricity didn't come back soon.

Despite all of this, Mal knew that there were others in town who had it worse. She decided to check up on some of her neighbors and friends, to make sure that they were okay. As she walked through the streets, she saw the aftermath of the storm: fallen branches, debris, and even some uprooted trees. But more importantly, she saw people helping each other out, clearing the streets, and checking up on their neighbors.

Mal felt a sense of pride for her town and its people. Despite the chaos and destruction, there was a sense of community that she had never seen before. As she checked up on her friends, she realized that they were all safe, but some of them had suffered damages to their homes.

Mal knew that it was going to take time for Aurora Bay to recover from the storm, but she was glad that the people were coming together to support each other. She knew that she had a role to play, even if it was just checking up on her friends, and she was grateful for that.

As Mal continued walking down the street, she suddenly bumped into a random person. "Excuse me," she said, before realizing that it was someone she had never seen before. "Are you doing ok?" she asked the stranger.

[ambercast]

where: commune who: carter & riley (@endlessreruns)

Riley knew he had to make up for what happened at the festival. It wasn’t that he believed he’d said anything untrue, really, but the way he’d said it and the way he treated Carter was regrettable.

So he sought them out at the commune, hesitating a few feet away from where they were. “Hey . . . um, can we talk?”

"Here or did you want to go somewhere else?" They asked, knowing that while there weren't very many private places in the commune there were places more private than where they were now

Riley glanced around, confident he didn’t want to do this in front of people. “Can we go somewhere else? I’d rather talk in private honestly.”

"yeah, of course" they nodded, figuring there was an unused room somewhere

Riley hesitated before turning and walking out, doing his best to find an unoccupied room. Once he did, he stepped inside and shut the door behind Carter.

“I, uh, wanted to say I was sorry . . . for what happened at the flower festival. I was drunk and high but that’s no excuse really. I was pretty horrible to you so. I’m sorry.” He ran a hand back through his hair, not sure what else to say.

Carter wasn't sure what they were expecting when they got to the room and Riley shut the door behind, providing them with even more privacy.

"I accept your apology" they told him, moving to take a seat on the bed. "And you're right it isn't an excuse"

Riley bit his lip, watching Carter. “Are you really in love with me?” he asked softly after a moment, sounding a bit more vulnerable than he would’ve liked.

There was a moment before they answered, but it soon came accompanied by a nod, "yes." They didn't think it mattered anyways. Not with how Riley had reacted at the festival.

“I just . . . why? I’m an asshole, like . . . I’m seriously questioning your taste right now,” Riley said with an awkward laugh, rubbing his hand on his thigh.

"you can act like an asshole sometimes, there's a difference between that and actually being an asshole"

Riley stared at Carter a moment, still rubbing his hand anxiously on his thigh. “I’m a murderer,” he said helplessly after a moment. “And I’m not sorry I did it. That’s fucked up, right?”

"maybe, but I don't think anyone is going to blame you for killing your abuser. I don't."

Riley hesitated before finally moving over to sit next to Carter on the bed. He inhaled shakily. “I know I said I don’t feel anything except when I’m drinking, doing drugs, fighting, or fucking, but that wasn’t entire true. I feel things when I’m with you. I feel . . . kinda happy. Warm. Like . . . maybe I’m okay. I don’t want to lose that, and . . . the last time I loved someone they died.” He swallowed hard.

"I make you feel that way?" They asked, looking over at him as Riley came to sit next to them. "You know I can't promise you I won't die, right? I mean that's kind of what humans do. We die, but I can try my best to make sure you always feel happy and warm and maybe like you're okay while I'm here. Even if we're nothing beyond being friends"

Riley hesitated again, his hand flexing at his side before slowly reaching for Carter’s hand. He’d never felt this nervous in his life. It was a foreign feeling. “I don’t know if I can change. I’ve been this way for so fucking long. I’m . . . I’m afraid I’ll just hurt you,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't want you to change, I just want you to take care of yourself" they looked down at their hands, Riley's now holding theirs. "I'm not as fragile as you might think"

“You’re too good for me,” Riley said with a wry half smile. “I really don’t deserve you. I don’t know if I’ll ever deserve you.” He also looked down at their hands, lacing his finger’s through Carter’s. “But . . . maybe . . . if we go slow . . . I can learn to be better.”

"really?" They asked lifting their head to look up at him. "I think I can do slow."

Riley nodded. “Can I kiss you? I’ve kind of been wanting to do that for a long time now,” he admitted with a sheepish smile.

"yeah" Carter nodded, with a grin "you can kiss me*

Riley’s smile widened and he reached up with his free hand to touch Carter’s cheek gently. His stomach felt full of butterflies, which he’d never gotten before when kissing someone. But this was different. This was Carter. He leaned forward slowly, hesitating only briefly before he pressed his lips against theirs in a simple but deliberate kiss, his heart pounding wildly in his ears.

They smiled back at him, noting how gentle the other's touch was. They met his lips as Riley leaned to press a kiss to them, returning it lightly, thumb stroking the back of his hand

Riley pulled back after a moment, his cheeks warm as a blush spread over them. “I’ve never actually kissed anyone I liked before. Like, actually liked. In a more than just friends way. My heart feels like it’s about to explode.” He took Carter’s hand, pressing it to his chest so they could feel the rapid heartbeat.

Carter can't help but smile wider as they noticed the way Riley was blushing from the kiss. A kiss they had been waiting for. It grew further as their hand was placed against his chest and they could feel his heart beating beneath it. "Well let's hope it doesn't because I'd like for you to be alive for me to kiss more" they said before leaning in to kiss him this time.

Riley had to admit that was a very good line, and he kissed Carter back, deeper this time. The urge to push them down onto the bed and fuck them was strong, but he resisted. He didn’t want this to be that. This was special.

Carter squeezed his hand while moving the other up to the side of his neck. Their fingers curled gently around it and their thumb stroked back and forth against his jaw. After a few more lingering moments Carter pulled back, "has anyone ever told you you're a lovely kisser?" They asked with a soft grin.

Riley snorted softly and it broke some of the tension. “They’ve never used that exact word, no,” he admitted, shaking his head. “Not everyone is as poetic as you, though.” He grinned faintly, looking over Carter’s face. “We might want to head out because if we stay here it’s gonna be really hard not to fuck you.”

"yeah that's probably a good call" they nodded. It wasn't that they didn't want to, it was that they didn't want to yet. It didn't feel right to do it right now. They wondered if Riley felt the same.

“I want to, though. Fuck you, I mean,” Riley said, moving to stand and pulling Carter up next to him. “It just . . . never felt right before. To use you like that. I didn’t want to use you like that.” He shook his head.

"I want you to too just not yet. Is that okay? We said we were going to take things slow after all. Which if you still want to have sex with others I'm not going to tell you no. Just I want it to be not that with us"

Riley bit his lip. “You’re really okay with me having sex with other people while we’re taking it slow?” he asked hesitantly. “I’ll stop . . . when we make it official if you want.” He really didn’t want to fuck up with Carter.

"like I said I don't want you to change, I don't want to ask that of you"

“Honestly, I just do it because it’s better than feeling nothing all the time,” Riley admitted. “Like, yeah it feels good and it’s fun, but . . . if I’m getting it from you I don’t think I’d need it from anyone else anymore, you know?”

Carter smiled again at his words, "how about this, if it does happen just tell me. I won't be mad, I just want to know"

Riley hesitated. “You promise you won’t be mad? I don’t want to hurt you.”

"I promise. Just don't y'know lie about it"

Riley shook his head. “I’d never lie to you,” he said firmly, giving Carter’s hand a squeeze.

"thank you" they smiled giving him a quick peck of a kiss. "now we should probably figure out somewhere to go that isn't so tempting to have sex in"

“That’s gonna be a hard find,” Riley said with a small laugh, opening the door to the room and stepping out into the hall, finally feeling happy and hopeful for the first time in a long time. Maybe, hopefully, he wouldn’t fuck it all up.

[politijohn]

Source

Good

[sayruq]

Some quotes:

[jesncin]

"Who Is Superman? A Private Interview with Lois Lane" a fancomic about hope and connection. I've had this story in mind for so long and I'm very excited to be able to share it at last. Thank you for reading, and happy Lunar New Year!

[aanews69]

What happened to San Francisco after Dreamforce? The city's issues resurfaced, prompting a call for permanent solutions. Share your thoughts! #SanFrancisco #DreamforceAftermath #SFCleanup #HomelessIssue Subscribe👇: https://vist.ly/3mhd4nq Get Gear 👉: https://inspiredgear.vista.page/

[troythecatfish]

[crowkip]

yeehaw, baby!

[aphel1on]

i have such a love for characters who descend into madness or villainy out of deep, deep empathy. characters who fundamentally cannot cope with the cruel realities they find themselves in and blow up about it in spectacular fashion. fallen angel type characters with tears of outrage in their eyes. characters who break before they bend, and break so badly they splatter blood all over their noble ideals. every variation on it gets me so good

[lilithism1848]

[wearenotjustnumbers2]

Just wanted to remind everybody that today is the last day of the "humanitarian pause" in gaza. Starting from tomorrow Tuesday 7:00am, Israel will go back to carpet bombing gaza.

We need a permanent ceasefire. Keep speaking up!

[heartorbit]

and so love has come to an end

[clouvu]

I missed them sm