#really should draw my human cars again

[sukibon]

jassault art

[opennwindows]

If you can, could I request BEN Drowned fluff / smut headcanons like about himself, with his headcanon age, hobbies, facts, what he is into or would like & want in a relationship, and what he would be like with a gamer girlfriend/ s/o?

If ya taking requests rn still?✨😇😊💖

Ben Drowned general + NSFW hcs

A/N: yes!! absolutely. i love getting to talk about how the pastas do their pastaing in my mind. i have so many headcanons for everyone that im excited to share!! also sorry i forgot to include the gamer gf part but i don't think it would change a lot of what i wrote!!

btw sorry for fucking dying i have been busy 😭😭 but no one worry i will still continue to work on requests!! if anyone has any marble hornets stuff they wanna request i will zoom you to the front of the queue so fucking quick. anyways enough of me yapping.

cw: 18+ nsfw, toxic relationships, crying kink,

GENERAL

ben is mentally and physically 22, but he can be quite emotionally immature at times. when he died he never stopped growing and maturing, his soul was just stuck in limbo. think like the worst waiting room ever.

he's surprisingly tall, standing at about 5'9. he's lanky but not bone thin. could easily get pretty far in a fight without his ghost powers.

the link costume only appears when he’s in his ghost form. so for example, when he’s messing with someone on their computer he’ll appear as the canon BEN we’re most familiar with. when he’s just chilling in his physical body, he mostly wears beat up hoodies and sweatpants.

contrary to popular belief, ben's not the hardcore gamer everyone thinks he is. sure, he'll play some overwatch or whatever when he's bored but he honestly just prefers to watch tv and browse the internet. understandably REFUSES to play any zelda games. if you were trapped in a video game for decades would you ever wanna touch it again? exactly.

ben loves to draw little comics and troll (see: horrifically traumatize) people online. god forbid you get into twitter beef with this man because he will crawl through your monitor at 3am and leave you with a crippling fear of technology. dude thinks it's absolutely hilarious. a true knee slapper.

lowkey has a sugar addiction. will slam down 4 cans of pepsi in one sitting. he's very lucky that he's basically a ghost because the kidney stones would be plentiful.

ROMANTIC

you know that guy with the blown out speakers in his car, lives off of energy drinks and burnt blue razz ice elfbars, swears aphex twin is the modern mozart and works on the grill at your local wendy’s? yeah thats ben. or at least would be him if he was still human.

“why would you need a chair, my lap is literally right here babe.”

would absolutely wear your skin if given the opportunity. not in a weird way. he’s just EXTREMELY touchy.

he needs someone who is significantly more organized and motivated than him. he can go almost a week without showering and it should honestly be considered biological warfare when he tries to smother you with affection during these episodes.

after awhile of you guys dating he LOVES the idea of y’all showering together. he has a fear of water and while showers aren’t too much of a trigger, your presence helps ease his anxiety.

favorite pet names: bro, dude, dawg, babe, bitch (non derogatory)

not really a romantic but he tries his best. a perfect date for him is just getting some takeout, watching youtube, talking about stupid shit and play fighting. if you want something more traditional or extravagant then he’ll oblige to make you happy but those types of dates make him feel quite suffocated and nervous. try to save those for special occasions.

now let’s talk about his problems because just like the other creeps he is ANGSTY.

he’s probably the most emotionally stable and healthiest of the group but he definitely still has his toxic traits, after all this man is a ghost that mentally tortures and kills his victims through manipulation.

ben would never ever get physical with his partner no matter how enraged he is but he absolutely is the type to do some mental damage when he gets carried away. ben drowned? more like ben gaslighted.

the type to say some shit that would keep you up for years and then kiss you the next morning like the argument never happened. he finds it easier to ignore problems than to actively talk and fix them. you’re gonna have to teach him some important communication skills or else you’ll grow to resent him after all the bottled up rage.

a bit too brutally honest and blunt for his own good so if you have thin skin the relationship would fall apart pretty quickly. he wants someone who can drag him twice as hard as he dragged you. bonus points if your insults are consistently funny as hell.

please watch anime with him and discuss it. he would propose on the spot, especially if you play with his hair.

pro player tip: if you want him to clean his disgusting room, help him and make it fun! he just needs a little push and motivation at times. and being around you makes him want to get his shit together.

big fan of late night make-out sessions. i’m talking like 45 minutes straight of just slobbering on each other’s faces with tongues down throats. if you don’t want his hands running over every inch of your body then you’ll probably have to chain him to the wall.

NSFW

okay. so he’s a little inexperienced with his hands. he’s just a slow learner. be vocal with him about what you like!!

ben's about 7inches and slightly skinnier than average but he will have you seeing stars in record time. the dick game is no joke. he tends to go fast and deep most times.

i can see him being a switch in the idgaf-as-long-as-i’m-fucking way. dude will go with the flow and will try mostly anything.

definitely one of the least aggressive pastas during sex. he has sadistic tendencies but he’s more of a edge/overstimulate you until you cry versus a beat the shit out of you and rip hair out of your scalp type. he’s pretty vanilla given his occupation.

despite his love of roasting the fuck out of you on a daily basis, the only words that come out of this man’s mouth is heavenly praise. he looks at you like you’re the most gorgeous being on the planet and he’ll let you know it.

he loves to whisper praises into your ear while you ride him.

he's more of a receiver than a giver when it comes to oral. he'll absolutely spend hours between your legs if given the chance but nothing beats the sight of you on your knees and teary eyed with his length in your mouth.

he can be a bit of a head pusher but just let him face-fuck you every now and then, hearing his loud moans will be worth it.

did i mention how much of a crying kink this man has? you guys could be on round three and if he stares at your teary eyed fucked-out face for longer than 10 seconds he'll immediately get hard again. you'll have to beg him to give your poor body a break.

he's also into choking but only if he's the one doing it. if you try to restrict his breathing he'll panic and the mood would get ruined.

[merlinmarvelandother-oneshots]

Sorry, I meant to send an ask yesterday, but I got carried away 😅

So what about ut, us, uf and ht (you can ignore the last one if you want to don't worry) and how they would be with a reader that hides the fact that they're physically hurt.

Maybe they went hiking with the skellie, and they tripped and pretended that it was only a little scratch when days later they see quite a big wound that's infected.

It's a bit gross, so it's okay if you don't do it, don't worry :)

Have a good day/night and be safe

-💀

UnderTale, UnderSwap, UnderFell, and HorrorTale skellies react to a reader hiding that they're injured

you had gotten in a little tussle with a fallen branch walking home. you were completely oblivious, and tripped right over it. it hurt to walk on, and you soon noticed it swelling. it wasn't... sprained, right? nah, of course not! you brushed it off, thinking that it would be just fine in a day or two.

but until then, you might want to put some ice on that.

and so you did. for three days, with no sign of improvement. you tried keeping it a secret, but then your s/o came home while you were putting ice on it, right on the couch beside the door, and...

UnderTale:

Sans:

-he walks into the house, immediately heading for the couch.

-"hey, y/n, i'm ho- you alright? what happened to you?"

-"oh! sans, hi, i didn't expect you home so early!" you wave frantically to draw his eyes away from your ankle.

-"yeah... work was slow, so i came home. whats going on? you're acting weird."

-"pshh, don't be silly, nothing's wrong! absolutely nothing!"

-he sighs.

-"my whole shtick back in the underground was that i can see peoples stats. your HPs lowered, you're acting really awkward about your leg, and you're trying to hide an ice pack from me. i know, i saw it when i walked in. so, im gonna ask you again. whats going on?"

-you sighed. he caught you, he always did.

-"i dont know what's up. I tripped a few days ago and my ankle just started swelling. I'm gonna give it a few more days before I see a doctor, just to see if it heals on its own."

-"alright then," really? that's it? not going to insist you see someone? well, that's great for you! "I'm going to grillby's. wanna come?"

-you nodded your head.

-"cmon, let's take a shortcut."

-he took you to the fucking ER.

Papyrus:

-you look up after hearing the door open and you heard a crash.

-he had gone grocery shopping, apparently, because his bags were sprawled on either side of him on the floor.

-his jaw was only half hinged, that's how bad you scared him.

-as in it dropped. almost fully.

-he suddenly runs to your side (re-hinging his jaw on the way) and kneels by your side.

-"HUMAN, what ever is the matter? is it serious? does it hurt? will it need stitches? should i take you to-"

-"Paps! i'm okay. i think it's just sprained, i'll be alright," you tries to reassure him.

-"SPRAINED? oh, HEAVENS no, i must take you to the doctor right away!"

-you sigh. "Papyrus, it isn't that big of a deal. i'm sure it'll be alright in a few days."

-"absolutely not! what if it's worse than you think? it could kill you!"

-he really thought a sprained ankle could kill you? he may be clueless about human injuries, but at least he cares!

-you don't have too much time to reply before he picks you up, puts you in the car, buckles you up (because heaven forbid something ELSE happen to you, ESPECIALLY under his watch) and brings you to the ER.

UnderFell:

Sans:

-he literally did not notice.

-he grumbles a quiet, "hey," before trotting upstairs into his room.

-it isn't until several days later when the pain has worsened and you cannot walk on it that he asks what the fuck is going on.

-you explained that you had tripped a few days ago, and it got swollen, and you thought that it would just go away, but it's been getting worse and worse since it happened.

-"fuckin' idiot," he groaned. "i'm dating a goddamn moron! alright, get in the car. i'm takin' you to a hospital."

-he's groaning the entire way.

Papyrus:

-as soon as he lays eyes on you, he sighs.

-"what did you do this time?"

-what the hell did he mean, 'this time'? he CANNOT be holding you accountable for that one time you got a concussion! that was HIS fault!

-"hey! you BETTER not be talking about-"

-"about the concussion," he cut you off. "yes, yes, i'm aware, you believe that incident to be my doing. however, i can GUARANTEE that this is not! now, tell me what happened. i expect a full explanation."

-you rolled you eyes and told him, feeling a little pissed off about his crossed arms and tapping foot, although you couldn't fully blame him. the whole situation WAS a little silly, now that you have to say it out loud.

-he scoffed when you finished talking. such a silly thing! why the HELL didn't you immediately see a doctor? swelling is NEVER normal!

-how did he, a skeleton monster who had gone most of his life without so much as seeing a human, know more about human anatomy than a fully grown human adult?

-and how did he, an esteemed member of the royal guard, end up in a relationship with such a fool?

-"get yourself looking decent. we are visiting the hospital to get you proper treatment."

-'looking decent', you looked fi-! no, you didn't, nevermind.

UnderSwap:

Sans:

-"hey, y/n, Alphys let out training early, so i'm back! what are you doing?"

-you scrambled to hide the ice pack and hike your pants back over your ankle. "oh, uh. . . nothing," you said sheepishly in reply, a fake grin appearing on your face.

-"oohhhh, no no no. i know that look. you're hiding something. best be honest now."

-damn him! how DARE he know you so well!

-"i think i did something to my ankle," you muttered.

-"hmm. . . let me see."

-he walked over and inspected your ankle for a few moments.

-"it looks sprained. when did this start?"

-"a few days ago. i tripped and it started swelling."

-he gave your ankle ankther quick look.

-"and why didn't you tell me?"

-"well, i thought it would go away at first. i was going to tell you, if it didn't. i was just going to wait a few days."

-"well, there's no need! i'm taking you to a doctor."

-he helped you stand and let you use him as something like a crutch, so you wouldn't have to put too much weight on your injured foot.

Papyrus:

-you look up to see him standing, eyebrows furrowed (you know what i mean sans does it in the main game) looking at you.

-"anything you want to tell me?"

-"ah, nothing. . . i'm just gonna go to a doctor if this doesn't start getting better."

-you knew the look he was giving you. he wanted to know what happened.

-"i tripped a few days ago and my ankle started swelling. nothing major. it's just a little sore."

-"mmm. i'm sure. you have five minutes, then i'm taking you to a doctor," he said as he laid on the couch beside you.

-"no, Paps, there's really no need-" you were interupted by snoring. but you knew that didn't mean you were off the hook. he would be awake in five minutes EXACTLY, whether you were ready to go or not.

HorrorTale:

Sans:

-he kinda just stands there for a few moments after he sees you with the ice pack.

-ice pack means something's wrong, because he doesn't see food around, but his skull injury makes figuring anything else out difficult.

-ice pack. . . on your ankle. . .

-it doesn't matter what's wrong. he just knows something is. so, he comforts you! in the only way he knows how!

-which is a BONE-CRUSHING hug.

-and because you're sitting, and he's standing over you, leaning down to hug you, it's a very awkward angle. leading to a lot of bones jabbing into uncomfortable places.

-you know you can't really do anything to get him off of you, so you just wait it out.

-"i'm alright, Sans. it isn't anything major. i'm about to go to a doctor!"

-he was going to tell you to anyway. you just got that part out of the way.

-his time in the underground under Undyne's rule made him very paranoid about the health of those he loves, so no matter how big the injury, you MUST see a doctor.

-it's not up for debate.

-he drives you because he doesn't want you to have to put any more strain on your ankle.

-(should he even have a drivers license? questionable...)

Papyrus:

-he has a puzzled look on his face.

-that. . . he suspected that wasn't a good sign.

-"y/n. . . i don't suppose you want to tell me what is going on?"

-"oh," you nervously laughed. "no biggie. just tripped a few days ago, it kinds hurts. if it doesn't feel better tomorrow i'm seeing a doctor."

-"hmm. i shall hold you to that."

-you laughed. you bet he would.

-spoiler alert, he did.

(a/n: sorry if this is totally inaccurate to having a sprained ankle, it just seemed like a good scenario, and i was too in the writing groove ((once i actually started)) to do much research)

[quillcraftconquer]

John Price x Ex Wife Pt III

Part Two

(More to come)

John had been avoiding you.

4 long weeks had passed since you last saw John, the night he took your son with him. He had brought him back, of course, during those weeks. Or rather, his family did. When his mom and sister showed up to exchange him, you furrowed your brow. John never had someone else drop him off, it was always him. You tried to reach out to him on his cellphone - straight to voicemail. You called his family. Yes, he was home. Yes, he’s okay. It finally occurred to you that John just didn’t want to see you. 

That hurt. 

Really fucking bad. 

And you knew it was a bad idea, but you continued down John’s street, back to your old house, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

John was going to see you, whether he wanted to or not.

You didn't have a good excuse to show up, he had your son, had all the necessities, his sister even gave you a rundown on their weekend plans.

“Just a lazy weekend, spending some time cooped up inside. We said we’d come by, he said no. Said he wanted to spend some time alone with the baby.” 

A lazy weekend, some alone time, didn't explain why there was a stranger’s car in your husband’s, or ex-husbands, you had to remind yourself, drive. The leather of the steering wheel squeeked as you gripped it painfully tight, knuckles whitening atop it.

Who the fuck was in the house with your baby?

The car door slammed shut with a kick of your shoe, hands already fumbling for the old house key John never took back. Your hands shook slightly as it turned in the knob, battling with the decision to shoot first and ask questions later, or enter quietly and catch them in the act.

Hearing your baby's laughter from the kitchen answered the question for you. 

Like an animal stalking its prey, you rounded the corner to the kitchen, hand tightening around the cold metal of the key still in your palm. 

There your baby was, wrapped in someone else’s arms, perched on their hip as if he belonged. His tiny feet kicked in delight, another squeal escaping him when his eyes met yours. Slowly, the person turned from the sink, the empty bottle in their hand still filled with soapy water.

Except, nothing about the person was feminine. The arms wrapped around your baby were thick, hairy arms with tattoos. Your eyes slid upwards, meeting a pair of familiar brown eyes that were staring at you with confusion and surprise.

“Simon.” Your voice came out steelier than intended, and Simon’s eyes darted to his cellphone laying on the kitchen island before meeting yours again.

“Where the fuck is my husband?” You grit out, and Simon’s adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.

“Range.” Simon answered, depositing the soapy bottle back into the sink and wiping his wet hand on his jeans. 

“The range?” You asked dryly, not believing him. Simon nodded his head. You stepped forward, sliding his phone towards him.

“Call him.” You ordered. Simon sighed, picking up the phone and tapping on the screen before laying it back on the counter, speaker on.

“You alright?” Johns voice answered immediately, concern lacing the question.

“We’re alright. You about done?” Simon asked, eyeing you.

“About 5 minutes out, got to run and get more ammo. You fancy a trip?” John asked good naturedly. 

“Your wife is here.” Simon said, and there was a long beat of silence before John answered.

“I’m on my way.”

Simon reached down and hung up the phone, warily watching you. Your shoulders slackened slightly, knowing he was telling the truth.

The possibility of John being on a date, being with someone else, shouldn't have bothered you. If anything, it should have made you happy. John moving on, being human, taking time for himself, should have been something you wanted, shouldn't it?

Simon slid past you into the living room, the movement drawing you out of your daze as he settled onto the couch, still holding your son.

“Let me take him.” You said, holding out your hands towards your baby, now ignoring you as he played with a toy.

“No.” Simon answered, his grip tightening around your baby as he drew him closer onto his lap.

“No?” You scoffed, rapidly blinking in disbelief. 

“You wont hurt me if I’m holding him.” Simon answered calmly, picking up the remote to turn on the TV as he relaxed into the couch. You bit the inside of your cheek, holding back the smile that threatened to escape. You loved Simon, he was almost like you and John's little brother, and he was right. 

The sound of tires on pavement broke the silence, John’s keys clinking into the dish next to the door before he strode into the living room, the scent of gunpowder and lead still clinging to his jacket. 

“What did you do?” John asked accusingly, and your head whipped to face him.

“I haven't done anything, John.” You answered, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

“If you haven't done anything, why does Simon look like that?” John asked, pointing to his lieutenant who was now stretched across the couch, absentmindedly biting at a piece of skin on his thumb while your baby laid on his chest, yet his eyes flitted between you and John like a child watching his parents fight. You pinched the bridge of your nose, fighting the annoyance that crept upwards. When neither of you answered, John sighed, making his way to the back bedroom. You followed him, and John didn't argue, the door closing with a soft click behind you.

“Why are you here?” John asked, facing you. You opened your mouth to answer, until John reached behind his head, grasping at his t-shirt and peeling it over his head. Soft, coiled muscles littered with dark brown hair spanned his broad chest, meeting tight abdominal muscles that fell into his nicely tapered waist. You watched as his fingers snapped the button of his pants open, the fabric falling from his hips, along with his boxer briefs. Your mouth continued to open and close like a fish gasping for air, your eyes hooded as you watched him peel off his socks, depositing them into the laundry basket along with his other clothes.

“I…” You started to say, trailing off as John ignored you, stepping into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

Fuck, why were you here?

[anonymouse9172]

They meet (again). Part 1. (Yandere! Poly! Twisted Wonderland x Male Reader)

Malleus and Leona: M/n is Divus Crewel's much younger half brother by 16 years. M/n and Divus did not really get along but neither hated each other either. Due to their age difference they didn't grow up together so they just never truly knew each other and were fine with that. That is until their Dad and M/n's mother died in a car leaving the just barely 18 year old boy, M/n, with no place to go. Though most argued in his family that he was old enough to live on his own and take care of himself even though he had not finished high school and refused to take him in but Divus surprisingly offered him a place to stay until he at least finished high school.

M/n had to move to Night Raven College. He knew it would be rough moving in the last year of high school but he didn't really see a choice other then dropping out and he didn't want to do that either. So he moved and was sorted into Scarbia. He did not interact with anyone outside of Scarbia, his brother, and other teachers for the first week. On the 8th day though he decided to wonder around the campus. He ended up lost in the woods though.

He was trying to determine how to get back to Scarbia when he heard two voices arguing. M/n quickly hurried to the voices. He stumbled upon the sight of a lion beast man in a savanaclaw uniform and dragon fae in a Diasmonia uniform looking ready to either go to blows with each other or kiss. M/n could not tell which.

He wasn't sure if he should interrupt them but he realized he didn't really a choice, he needed to get out of this damned forest one way or another. He cleared his throat drawing of their attentions sharply. "I'm sorry for interrupting but I'm completely lost. Wou...?", he starts but is cut off by the Lion beast man.

"So? That's not our problem, herbivore.", says the says the Lion beast man. "Don't be so rude, Kingscholar. The child of man is just trying to get out of the woods and we are the only people around. It's not like he insulted our gargoyles or something.", says the dragon fae.

The beast man glares. "There you go again talking about gargoyles. There are more important things in life then gargoyles.", says the Lion. The beast man and the fae begin to bricked again back and forth. It was really getting on M/n's nerves. "Can someone please just tell me the way out of here?", says M/n so loudly it verges yelling at them.

The Lion glares at the human Scarbia student. He starts to open his mouth to say something sarcastic but the dragon far beats him. "My apologizes child of man. There is a path about 12 feet behind me. If you follow it west towards the sun it should take you to the main campus.", says the dragon fae. "Thank you.", says M/n and then he quickly sets off down the path.

A minute after he is gone the dragon fae and lion look at each other. The lion grumbles out, "You were right. He's perfect." The dragon smiles. "I know.", says the fae.

Kalim and Jamil: M/n meet Kalim and Jamil as children. He was Kalim's other servant and Jamil's coworker. He wasn't quite treated on the same level as Jamil though. He wasn't as smart, polite, cunning, handsome, or as good a cook. He kind of just belonged in the background doing the more menial things for Kalim, and sometimes even Jamil, and he didn't mind that. When they went NRC he didn't go with them at first so he did not see them for two years. He didnt think much of it or really care.

Then at what would have been the beginning of their third year at NRC it was announced that Jamil and Kalim were dating and M/n was sent by Kalim's family to NRC to take over Jamil's work so that Kalim's boyfriend would not have to servants work at all anymore. M/n had expected to do much of the same as he had before Kalim and Jamil went to NRC and be in the background behind them. However when he arrives and enters the Scarbia dorm he is surprised when Kalim sees him that he rushes and sweeps him off his feet literally.

M/n had always been even tinier the Kalim so it was not all that surprising that the tanned albino prince could do this but that he would was shocking. Kalim had always been friendly to M/n but not overly so like he was with Jamil. When Kalim finally set M/n down again he was even more shocked to see Jamil smiling behind Kalim.

"Follow me, M/n. I'll show you to your room so you can get settled in.", says Jamil. Then the tall brunette turns and starts walking. M/n and Kalim follow while Kalim chatters away and M/n simply nods along with him. After enter his room and shutting the door M/n hears Jamil and Kalim walk away but he doesn't hear them whispering to each other as they do so.

"He's finally here. I want to play with him. It'll be so much fun. We should throw a party.", says Kalim to Jamil excitedly. "Patience, Kalim. We need to slowly ease him in before we officially make him ours. We can't just rush. He'll try to run. We need to play the long game.", says Jamil. Kalim pouts but nods.

Ace and Deuce: M/n's twin brother Yuu was always gallivanting around with Ace and Deuce since they ended up in Twisted Wonderland. However M/n did not think much of them or know them well. Instead he focused on trying to find away home. He spent the longest time scouring books for information and consulting books. After finding nothing the first three months he decided he needed help. First he tried going to Dire Crowley who he thought was also working on a way for them to go home. After a weird conversation he realized that Crowley knew nothing. Then he tried talking Divus Crewel who promptly slammed a door in his face upon realizing he wasn't in fact Yuu. So then he decided to go find the smartest students at NRC for help. He decided to start with Heartslabyul's dorm warden.

When he got there he found his brother in the garden with Ace, Deuce, Trey, Cater, and Riddle, who was the dorm warden. When Yuu saw his brother he eagerly waved and yelled, "M/n, get over here." M/n sighed as everyone else's attention flew to him.

He waved awkwardly and walked over. Riddle, Trey, Cater gazes went of M/n but Ace and Deuce stared so unabashedly that M/n felt uncomfortable. Yuu however was about ready to bounce off his seat. "You finally took your nose out of a book and come to join us. I thought you were to good to hang out with the likes of us.", says Ace with a sneer that did not quiet reach his eyes.

M/n felt confused. "What are you talking about? I'm just trying to find a way home for me and Yuu but I couldn't find anything and I scoured every book in the library. I need help.", says M/n. Yuu frowns at M/n and looks down. Everyone falls quiet and Ace and Deuce look pissed. Riddle doesn't say anything and neither do Trey or Cater.

Ace clenches his fists and Deuce grits his teeth. Deuce speaks coldly. "So you don't really want to get to know us? You just want to get out of here and never think of us or see us again? You think that is okay? Like we are nothing.", hisses the blue haired male.

M/n's eyes widen and he feels afraid. He tries to backtrack. "Whoa. No. I just want to go home because I miss my family and friends there. I wasn't trying to insult or belittle you or anything.", he says quickly attempting to placate the blue haired guy.

"Well, you did. Now get out of our fucking faces.", says Ace. M/n feels defeated as he turns and walks away. He just wants to go home not hurt anyone.

When he is out of ear shot Yuu places a hand on Ace's upper arm. "Don't worry. He'll come around soon and you and Deuce will have him in your arms. Then he'll give up on going back to Earth.", says Yuu. Ace slumps, scowls, and says, "I want him now." "Me too.", says Deuce starring wistfully off in the direction the M/n went.

(Sorry this took so long. The other to ships will be in the second part. I got stuck of Leona and Malleus for the longest time and now I am stuck Riddle and Floyd. After the second part I will start of the second scenario and after that I will start taking requests but do not rush me.)

[feyhunter78]

Hi!! I’ve been thinking about that one scene in 10 Things I Hate About You, when Patrick walks Kat to the swings when she’s drunk and he says “Leave it to you to use big words when you're shitfaced.” Except! Kat is Nerd Miguel who somehow ended up drunk at some frat party or something, and Patrick is reader who has to deal with his antics. I imagine him spewing random scientific words/facts that reader tries her best to understand. All while she’s just trying to sober him up a bit. This lil scenario has been running through my head, and who best to share with than you!

(The chokehold you’re Miguel, specifically nerd Miguel, has on me is insane! It’s a great distraction while at work! <3)

I love that scene so much!!!! I made this a bit different, but I think I still hit the mark for ya anon <3 (Also this is a normal house party bc guys that are not in a frat are not allowed to attend frat events just like with sororities!)

House Parties

Art cred: Treelover_5

Nerd!Miguel masterlist

You weave through Brett’s parents’ guest house on the edge of town, downing your drink as you search for Miguel. It was really nice of Brett to invite you and Miguel to his pre-winter break bash. You know Miguel doesn’t party much, and Brett has been trying to encourage him to come out of his shell, so this was the perfect opportunity.

The sound of chanting draws your attention, and you see Miguel surrounded by a few other friends of Brett’s. Brett seems to be explaining something to him, car keys in hand. You drove here, so you know the keys aren’t Miguel’s, which makes you feel a bit better.

“Chug, chug, chug.” They chant, and you watch as Brett and Miguel simultaneously shotgun their beers, the foam dripping down Miguel’s tan skin.

Smash. You think instantly, your brain supplying you with images of what Miguel might look like as he comes up from between your legs, his lips, and chin slick with your arousal.

Then Miguel throws the beer down and throws his arms up victoriously.

Brett finishes, then throws his beer down as well and hooks an arm around Miguel’s neck, bringing him down to his level. “My boy Miguel has done it again! Absolute beast of a man!”

The other guys cheer, and you see Miguel smile shyly.

He’s been gaining in popularity, not that he really cares, nor do you, but it makes you happy that he’s made some new friends. Even if those friends challenge him to shotgun races.

Miguel spots you before you can even breach the circle and latches onto you. “Y/N, I won, did you see?”

Brett gives you a look that means dude should probably get some air, and you nod in response.

“Yeah I did, hey Miguel, you wanna step outside with me?”

“Yes, always.” He says instantly, his lips far too close to your neck for you to feel normal about.

You guide him through the crowd and out the door, his arm slung over your shoulders. He’s so heavy, all those stupid hot muscles making him dead weight as he mumbles to himself incoherently.

“What was that sweet boy?” You ask, when you hear something that sounds like your name.

“Did you know that the hydrochloric acid in the human stomach is so strong it can dissolve metal? Thin metal, mind you, but still, metal.” Miguel says, his cheeks red, his glasses perched precariously on the edge of his nose, and a goofy smile on his face.

“Wow, that’s crazy.” You say, struggling under the weight of him as you try to lug him over to a nearby porch swing, the neatly trimmed grass around you littered with solo cups and soaked with various spilled drinks.

“And beer—beer is twice as fizzy as champagne. I know this for a fact, I had four or so beers? They taste bad, did you know that?”

“Yeah, house parties usually have pretty cheap beer.” You laugh, swaying a little when Miguel leans on you.

“And cheetahs, super inbred, ten thousand years ago, taboos were broken, and now they’re all…ya know, the way they are.” He continues on, letting out a surprise oof, when you slide him onto the white porch swing, the weathered green cushions not doing much to break his fall.

“Very cool, so now can you tell me what the hell you were drinking in the twenty minutes I left you alone? Besides beer? Because Miguel, you are so fucked up.” You ask, sitting next to him, your legs tucked beside you as you turn to face him, an affectionate smile on your face.

He drags a hand down his face, and his glasses fall into his lap. He pouts at them, a small aw leaving his lips.

You pick them up and hand them back to him, and he clumsily puts them back on.

“Brett suggested we do shots before the races, he passed his midterm, we were celebrating with him.”

Fucking Brett. You loved the guy, he was nice, nonthreatening, watched out for you when you were in the Sig Epp house, but he also was a menace, who wanted everyone to be as drunk as he was.

“Miguel, you’re a big guy, but you don’t have Brett’s tolerance.” You pat his chest consolingly.

Miguel looks at you, eyes a little hazy, his shirt unbuttoned far more than it normally would be, his hair ruffled. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He leans his head back against the swing, staring up at the stars. “You know a cloud can weigh around a million pounds?”

“I did not know that.” You respond, trying to see if you can check his pupils without him noticing.

He notices and rolls his head to face you. “Everyone blames women when they don’t have sons, but it’s actually male genes that decide it.”

“I did know that one, actually.” You say, as you run your hands through his hair, pushing it out of his face.

He smiles, and you swear it’s brighter than any star in the sky. “You’re so smart, y/n.”

You’re taken aback for a second, heat rushing to your cheeks. “Thanks, that means a lot coming from you.”

“So smart and so, so pretty. I know I said it’s on me, but will you give me a girl y/n? I want a daughter with you, my brains, your everything else, she’d be unstoppable.” He says, his words slurring together. Then he falls forward with a yelp, hands, and elbows hitting the dirt.

You sit frozen in shock, staring down at Miguel, before you snap out of it and scramble to help him. “Shit, Miguel, are you okay?”

He holds up his right hand, it’s bleeding. “Just put some sugar on it, it’ll heal faster.”

“Full of fun facts, aren’t you?” It’s another trip back inside to find a sink and a band-aid, his words still bouncing around in your head.

I want a daughter with you.

Fuck, he’s going to kill you one day, and you’ll let him.

Not me doing a little callback to what Miguel thinks at the end of his encounter with drunk y/n hehe

TL: @bat-bae, @nyctophilic0vitnir, @smokeywhalee, @obi-mom-kenobi, @prowlingforfood, @penggion, @crystal-crax, @oharasfilipinawife, @generalkenobitrash, @melsimps, @chrishy973, @farrowroyale, @palesatan, @scaryplanetdestroyer, @denzmallows

[topazadine]

How I Am Kicking Agoraphobia's Ass

With a little help from Horse, of course

I have struggled with agoraphobia since 2017, when I was sexually assaulted. This is a common cause of agoraphobia, and it is more likely to develop in people who have CPTSD (ding ding guess who).

Anyway, I got so fucking sick of people telling me to "just go outside" as if it's so easy-peasy. Maybe for someone without agoraphobia, it feels seamless to stroll out to your car, but it's not so simple when your brain tells you that Bad Things happen when you leave the house. What are those Bad Things? idk, brain never told me. Just Bad Things.

I organized my life around my agoraphobia for many years; it's the reason I have a remote job. And the "just go outside" advice never, ever helped. The best I could do was leave the house with an Emotional Support Human (or dog), but rarely, if ever, alone.

Now I'm leaving the house at least four times a week! Voluntarily! ALONE! Without getting scared!

And sometimes I even spontaneously decide to leave the house and go to big events where there are dozens of people. Just because I feel like it.

This is momentous. If you have agoraphobia, you know how intense that is.

So what did I do? What can you do?

It's actually so simple and I have no idea why no one told me to do this years ago.

Schedule a regular event that is so exciting that you simply cannot afford to miss it.

Something you care about. Something that's so insanely tempting that you would walk over hot coals to do it. Think about something you used to care about before you became housebound, or something you've always wanted to try. For me, it was (and still is) horseback riding.

But! It must meet these conditions:

It has to happen on a regular basis at a scheduled time. Say, 6 pm every Friday. If it's just "whenever" or "once every few months," you probably won't agree to go to it every time.

There has to be a cost to missing it so your Sunk Cost Theory is triggered. Ideally, there will be multiple costs: that could be disappointing someone who has agreed to go with you every time, and that you have already prepaid for it so you'd lose money.

It has to be something that makes you happy and is just for you, not an obligation. So, therapy doesn't count. Going to the gym also doesn't count if you feel like you have to do it for social reasons or health reasons.

If you want to make this an ironclad thing, it should ideally meet these conditions too:

You learn something while there, which develops a sense of efficacy and confidence.

It's a social activity where you will make friends.

It is a physical activity that releases endorphins. (Again, pick something fun, not just going to the gym if it's not fun for you.)

There are no costs to failing. If I screw up at horseback riding or rock climbing, I'm not going to miss out on a promotion or whatever. I might be mad at myself, but I don't really lose anything by not doing it.

It has an indefinite end date; ie, this is something you could theoretically do every week forever if you want to. So if it's a class you want to take, make sure it's one where you can sign up for more classes if you feel like it.

So how do you find your thing??

Think back to a time before you suffered from agoraphobia. Might be hard if you've struggled with it for most of your life, but you might have glimmers of what you liked before.

What did you enjoy doing, or what did you want to do but couldn't? For me, I got to horseback ride as a little kid but then had to stop for money reasons. Now I can afford to do it because I'm an adult with my own adult money.

Find classes or groups in your area that cater to Thing. If they don't exist or are out of your budget, go back to the drawing board and workshop a new Thing.

Sign up for the class ahead of time. Pick a time that is within the next two weeks but preferably within the next week so you have time to prepare yourself.

If it's a paid class, pay your deposit before you get there.

Tell people you are going - as many people as you can. Now you have social and financial pressure that will make you commit.

Now, the most important part.

Research the particular place you will be going during the time between when you sign up and when you go. Learn what to expect when you get there.

Read reviews. Look at pictures online. Analyze the Google Street View. Practice driving or walking there with directions.

If you're trying a new activity, read up on it. Get beginner tips for what to expect in your first session. Watch videos of other people doing it, and read other peoples' experiences trying it out. Visualize what it will feel like to be there and what you will be doing.

This is mental rehearsal and it makes it less scary to actually step into the place for the first time. You will feel more confident when you arrive because you know what you are doing, where you are going, and what to expect as soon as you arrive.

The climbing gym I go to had a "What to Expect On Your First Visit" page that helped me a lot, and then I watched a lot of rock climbing videos and learned about the techniques so I wouldn't feel stupid. I even looked up what climbing shoes look like and how harnesses feel so I wasn't scared when I put them on.

I can't promise it will help you, but I encourage you to give it a try.

Having something to look forward on a regular basis will make it less and less scary to leave the house because, after a while, you won't even think about how unnerving the transition from Safe Space to Unsafe Space is. More and more places will become Safe, and less places will become Unsafe (within reason).

The route you take will become familiar, as will what to expect when you get there. You'll be able to practice and perfect the technique of psyching yourself up to leave home until you no longer need to; it becomes automatic.

And, most importantly, you'll see that your home isn't the only place in the world where you can exist comfortably. Everything's out there waiting for you, and you deserve to be there, too!

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #102

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 6, Every Day, The Door Trick

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are longest-length.

My theory goes that it is mainly from a combination of stillness and Crowley's left arm being so focused on touching the threshold of his car that is his home.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

For the first cut, I can't really confirm that the streak is a streak since Crowley's left-side hair tends to be more saturated anyway.

In the other two front-facing cuts, there does seem to be a thinner, findable streak.

...

Hairstyle Changes

Instead of the top hair above Crowley's left eye going more straight and upward, his overall top hair tilts to Crowley's right and curves upward. The streak is not as clearly defined for where it is.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects | The Door Trick Visual Representation | The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch)

Well, this is it.

Finally.

I am going to go over The Door Trick in detail after a lot more thorough play in trying to grasp the more advanced pocket mechanics of this game.

I'll start by saying I believe quite firmly that the core Trick of The Door Trick here is as follows:

Single accessory touch with the watch.

Double clothing touch with the jacket and pants. Double multiplier because the legs are crossed.

Triple skin-contact touch with the left hand. Triple multiplier because three fingers are touching each other.

These touches are considered simultaneous in the last video frame of the third cut of Crowley from the front.

There's a Rainbow Connection and imaginary Tied Hands doing more because of The Door Trick linking to The Door Catch, but that's the core nonetheless.

This Threshold Trick was the first one I found and when I started to grasp that the sideburns respond to thresholds.

...

Because of that pocket touch, Crowley is using the Pocket Chain found within The Pocket Trick.

The pocket touch itself resembles most of the touches within The Pocket Trick. It has the right hand fingers pocketed but keeping the thumb outside the pocket.

Since there are a million things happening, let's try starting from the bottom and working our way through where things take us in the first video frame.

There is a mirror on the lower left side of the screen. That means Crowley can see that his sideburns are the length they should be for this Threshold Trick. They are longest-length.

The mirror is also part of his Pocket Frame of Car Mirrors. This mirror is to his right. The rear view mirror inside the Bentley is to Crowley's left. The hood ornament of the car is drawing attention to itself and that mirror.

There are four humans to Crowley's right.

The one closest to Crowley just so happens to have their heel aligned against some lighting on Crowley's own shoes. The lighting is a hint that something is happening or being allowed. At a guess, there is a mirrored touch between the lower legs and one foot between this pair of characters.

This mirrored touch is captured into the wide open pocket Crowley has constructed between himself and his car.

The human's other foot then creates another pocket between it and Crowley's shoes.

Since Crowley is aiming for a double-clothing touch and the episode does not show his shoes again after this camera shot, my play and imagination goes with saying this human is taking Crowley's shoes to get them out of the way for the touch. Unlike Crowley's upper apparel with the jacket, the shoes are outside the pants.

There's a shoe locker idea I have, but let's put that idea on hold for now.

One of these four humans is carrying an orange bag. Orange is the current color in the Rainbow Connection. For this Threshold Trick, my play guesses that there are Bullet Catch magic word references. I think this one is "Fish" because the pattern on the skirt reminds me of fish scales, and I can't find any other visual references that I think are better.

Of note, the magic words are supposed to go, "banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with dash of nutmeg," so they are out of order though the last will be ensured to be "dash of nutmeg".

The car door handles are visible on either side of the car, and I assume these door handles are the car's equivalent of doorknobs, which will be the Pocket Frame for the Metatron.

I think Crowley's crossed legs are reflected in the Bentley.

On Crowley's right, due to the design of the coffee shop, there are flames represented on that nearby structure.

Inside the car, his plants are visible. Due to the lighting, their green does not actually look all that green yet.

Over to Crowley's left are more humans. Eventually, we'll see some hats.

Crowley's left hand fingers look to be claiming Yellow, Green, and Black for use. The index finger is visually over a Green and Yellow sign. Zoomed in, I can't actually tell if the index fingertip is on one more than the other. His other fingers are visually over a human's Black attire.

Because of how things work out, my guess is that's to help Crowley's use of Black do things other than block and what he wants from his own imagination.

The face of his watch is visible.

His right hand CMC thumb joint is lined up with a jacket edge and Crowley's belt.

He has a self-made pocket of hair, and his left vest tip is near his Belt Head, probably to alert us that the Belt Head is active and playing its role in this Threshold Trick.

The sun can be found in the upper right corner of the screen and is to Crowley's left, above his left ear.

I have noted many times that I am left with the impression the sun here is supposed to be significant and acting as Crowley's Overhead Light for this Threshold Trick.

The sun is the most powerful source of light on Earth without actually technically being on Earth.

As the camera pans up and zooms closer, some things change.

In an earlier video frame, I suspect that the imaginary mirror of the Tied Hands has a Rainbow Connection Reflection and flips. A flip does not usually mean a switch to a new color, so I assume the Rainbow Connection is still on Orange.

Shoes on humans are shown as walking away in the car window pane behind Crowley.

There is an actual rainbow found between the left side of Crowley's torso and his left forearm. That's the official rainbow for this Threshold Trick. The rainbow places itself over the closed rear car window, the open front car window and well past the edge of the left forearm, questionably all the way to the other edge. This rainbow helps emphasize those shoes that are walking away in the window pane.

Time to play with some words for the shoe locker theory.

The word "locket" rhymes with "pocket". The word "locket" is associated with hair. Taking note of the "r" in "hair" and "rainbow," I'm going to change that "locket" word to "locker," so that the people on the sidewalk for this side of the street and passing by Crowley have a place where they can put their shoes until later.

It becomes evident that the Bentley's driver window is open. In The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2, my guess for a Rainbow Connection Reflection with Yellow happened with a human pocket user near an open window. Since Crowley is going to be stuck standing still and receive a lot of human assistance, including from pocket users, that is theoretically the reason that window is open, besides being useful for The Window Trick later.

For the rainbow mentioned earlier, that looks to be the game's cue that this rainbow is either what allows the incoming flips or is telling an audience player that the over-the-rainbow touches are due to how Crowley's apparel-to-car pocket is structured.

According to this post, the rainbow "doubles up," and there are two of them. Honestly, that's not what I see. The second seeming-rainbow is almost certainly contributing for whatever it is because great care is taken with the lighting overall, but I personally would not fully qualify it as an "official" rainbow because I can't distinguish its color set well enough, even with some tweaks in trying to edit the screenshot with brightness or saturation. Still, there is going to be a link to the Pocket Chain, and two characters are going "up" later.

Another thing that happens as the camera pans up and zooms in as that a car with headlights shows up on screen. That looks to be at least a general callback to The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2 and giving the Belt Head an Overhead Light, before the belt is fully obscured from view with the zoom.

Crowley's left thumb and its thumb joints are cast in shadow, but they are there. He's going to be relying on a different human for the usual hinge touch that his own actual thumb joint manages.

This cut is front-facing view of Crowley #1 out of 3. He will get 3 shots for his part of this double act with Aziraphale.

...

Up next is a back view of Crowley as we see the Metatron and Aziraphale walking.

This cut has both Aziraphale and the Metatron with their feet visibly on the ground as they walk toward the pub.

There is a human wearing all black. She has a black bag and a black hat. As she hurries along, she is slightly hunched over. She passes along the sidewalk near the pub before Aziraphale and the Metatron reach that area.

As she passes, yet another human visually passes in front of her.

The one in black is my guess for the "Gorilla" of the magic words.

The other is wearing a striped shirt and has some brown. She'll be swinging her arm as a visual representation for the Tied Hands since they'll be aiming to use Rainbow Connection Reflections twice for Yellow.

Through basic word association of Gorilla, Tarzan, Jane, I name this human, "Jane."

Another notable human rides along a scooter. I don't know if they're doing anything really important besides the general clue about the shoes and Ground Zero or helping to handle the Rainbow Connection, but they do stick out as someone with a self-made pocket using their legs.

Eventually, another human appears in front of Crowley. She is wearing a mostly black hat and black jacket or sweater. I call her "Nutmeg" since she will eventually be the "dash of nutmeg" to link Aziraphale into the Pocket Chain.

When she appears is when a red alert seems to happen, but like I said, I'm hoping something somewhere is stalling the switch because of other things found in the upcoming cut.

Oh, I have an idea, given what happens frame-by-frame. The red alert can hold out and be stalled because when it appears, that's also when the Metatron's and Aziraphale's shoes are obscured from the camera by the car with that alert.

...

Now it's time for shot #2.

We are back to Crowley. His watch and left hand fingers are obscured by the car.

A lot is happening for the Rainbow Connection here.

Nutmeg has moved from being on the street to being on the sidewalk. She has some of her boots in the cut but not the actual bottom of those boots. She has her right hand aligned specifically with its thumb joints along a red line that's part of her attire. My guess is that's something hinge-related to pass along to Aziraphale. Her Black is blocking out anyone or anything from taking it until that "dash of nutmeg" later.

Behind her is another human with an orange jacket. This one is my guess for "Shoelace."

The type of shoes she wears are what we U.S. English speakers call....sneakers.

Why would the scene hide everyone's shoes but let that one lady show her sneakers? Oh...oh...it's because the sneakers sneaked by the shoe locker. Haha.

Because the shoes are sneakers, her shoelaces are visible.

Based on what I've read, British English is more likely to call them trainers, so they could alternatively be trained enough to sneak by.

Speaking of silly puns that appear here, I can finally share this one that I've been sitting on for months.

Take a look at this image with the red lines:

Do you know what those are?

Can you guess?

Do you know how I "know" that Crowley's the one who's going to summon the elevator?

Those are...Holey Crowley pockets to help Aziraphale get into Heaven.

Ba dum tss.

This game is so ridiculous. How dare they make such a joke with all this ~drama~ happening.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes, the Rainbow Connection.

A lot of it is covered here, The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch, so I'll be simplifying things some.

Shoelace has her left thumb joint aligned with a lapel edge of the jacket. Crowley will be using that hinge touch instead of having his actual left thumb joint do it.

After Shoelace shows off her shoelace, reflection trickery takes in her hinge touch and switches the Rainbow Connection to Yellow #1 while also flipping the mirror for the Tied Hands. Yawning Yellow and Banana contribute to making it happen.

Shortly after that, more reflection trickery causes a skip to Purple and back so that Yellow can be hit twice. As such, the Connection reaches Yellow #2 and another mirror flip. There's something akin to a color wheel involved with humans and their bags fully pocket-framing the "Life begins after coffee" sign.

Part of such trickery involves the human most directly behind Crowley. That human is wearing a hat. He has a brown jacket and an excellent alignment of his arm with Crowley's existing pocket between himself and his car. That human's elbow is like the other side of a diamond from what can be seen of Crowley's left hand. I think of him as "Diamondback". He's also a pocket user himself.

Yet another significant human to the reflection trickery is one wearing a yellow shirt and dark gray vest. He has his left hand pocketed and his left arm making a pocket with his body. He is my guess for "Banana" with the magic words. His reflection appears in the two different window panes of the coffee shop during this cut. I assume he's helping out Yawning Yellow, Crowley, and ensuring there is a reflection involving the color yellow for the Rainbow Connection switches.

Because of the color skip, that means the Rainbow Connection is going up instead of down.

The goal for Crowley and Aziraphale is to actually switch to Green next, not Orange again.

So, along comes inadvertent assistance from the Metatron.

...

The next cut has Nutmeg link Aziraphale into the pocket chain due to how her bag strap aligns with another human pocket user near Aziraphale.

As this action happens, humans and Aziraphale pass by his ears in particular ways. Aziraphale places the something Crowley gave him back in his mouth.

...

Aziraphale stalls the Rainbow Connection by talking to the Metatron and asking a question.

Due to the mistakes in the Metatron's play, he enacts deflection, redirection, and disconnection. He's also lacking any Overhead Lights.

In the process, a miracle sound is heard for the elevator, but it's not clear who summoned it. The Metatron gave no indication he did it. Most of the miracle sound is similar to Aziraphale's though a little different. There's an extra hiss at the end that's more like something one would hear from Crowley.

Aziraphale himself seems surprised by it and turns his head in Crowley's direction.

I suspect Crowley due to his supernatural zone work that's been happening with the sideburns game and that silly pun mentioned earlier. Back in The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2, Crowley asked, "Do you need a lift somewhere?" Aziraphale declined.

But now, Aziraphale does need a lift somewhere, and Crowley has one ready by using the double meaning of "lift" for elevator.

Aziraphale looks over to Crowley.

Thanks to the word play with the advanced pocket mechanics, that look is Ground Zero of The Door Catch. There is zero ground in it. No one's shoes are on screen. We can't see the sidewalk, the road, or the floor of the elevator. Green is on screen with him, and the nearby humans are, I assume, assisting with getting that Green.

I've already mentioned the hidden message many times by this point, but nonetheless, there is one.

Aziraphale's thinking or saying, "Here goes nothing," because here we are at Ground Zero.

...

Now it's time for Crowley's shot #3 to finish The Door Trick.

A lot of the humans have cleared out of the way.

During this cut, Crowley's Green is ready.

One human is walking from behind Crowley and toward him. She will not pass him in this cut.

Instead, the cut will finish when Crowley's index finger is between the edges of of a black strap on her bag.

That's the Touch Point of The Door Trick. Most Touch Points in The Pocket Trick happen before the last video frame of the cut, but this touch is different since Crowley is working with Aziraphale.

His Pocket Chain reference of Door Windows from the Single of The Pocket Trick is actually all the way across the street with Aziraphale.

The watch is visibly touching the door.

Mainly through my own imagination and guessing at how games generally work, that's when the index finger and thumb are considered to touch his pants together.

Crowley's skin is visibly touching the door. Thanks to a pocket, the skin contact touch is separated into three parts.

It's the front edge of the door for the accessory skin contact touches, but still, he's touching the threshold of his own car door and avoiding the earthly object parts of it in the process.

Thus, he earns his Single, Double, and Triple at the same time here.

Because his legs are crossed, he earns a Double multiplier with the Double.

Because he has his pinky, middle, and ring fingers touching each other as they touch the door, he earns a Triple multiplier with the Triple.

This Threshold Trick was done by Crowley for Aziraphale.

...

I may as well cover The Door Catch since the two Tricks are linked.

Aziraphale's shot #1.

Aziraphale's shoes are shown on the sidewalk now that we're no longer at Ground Zero.

Before Aziraphale enters the elevator, his Green is ready.

Due to a pocket of light and two humans reaching it together at the same time, the Rainbow Connection switches to Blue and Purple at the same time.

...

Aziraphale's shot #2.

Aziraphale takes a breath. His bow tie touches his skin. He has his own Tied Hand(s) now. There's a little shine in the lower middle area of his teeth, that I assume is what Crowley passed to him through the kiss.

I don't know what happens to Blue for going back up, such as being nullified or accounted for through the Metatron's play or what, but the Rainbow Connection is starting to go up again.

...

Aziraphale's shot #3.

As Aziraphale walks forward, the shadows of the green leaves on his coat are visible.

Somehow, he's able use the shadows to stretch back, or something, to use them and switch to Green again.

A contributing factor is likely that Door Windows were the previous link in Crowley's Pocket Chain from The Pocket Trick Single. Aziraphale's collar is visually at the corner of one of the pub door windows in the first video frame of the cut.

In the last video frame of the cut, he has precise alignment with edges that are very reminiscent of what happens with touches in The Pocket Trick.

This last video frame is the Touch Point for The Door Catch.

For Aziraphale, he has a Pocket Frame of Elevator Edges.

As he moved forward, due to his play, the Metatron's reflection switched from having the Metatron's head reflected in both window panes to instead be in the window pane closest to Aziraphale and on Aziraphale's left.

This reflection is caught in a Magic Trick named The Door Catch, so that's supposed to matter even though I don't have better words or ideas besides this basic one. Clues are likely found in the 1941 minisode with the three-rope trick, but my play isn't good enough to put the pieces together.

My play is good enough to see that this video frame has Aziraphale with vertex touches involving his right arm and the Metatron's right arm. While no thumb joint is aligned with an edge, Nutmeg had one, and Aziraphale has that thing in his teeth. Somehow, those things are supposed to assist for what he needs of a hinge touch, while managing to not pass it to the Metatron, I am guessing.

Meanwhile, the Metatron has no such hinge involving his own thumb joints or anything I can find from human assistance or Aziraphale.

Because I'm familiar with the framing and types of things to look for, something else that I take note of is that his coat does not have its edges meet and avoids creating a pocket of itself.

For the Metatron, he has a Pocket Frame of Doorknobs.

He is pocketed between the doorknobs of the pub doors. However, in the elevator, its buttons are the equivalent of doorknobs so still considered his Pocket Frame. Possibly related, we never saw him cross the threshold from the street into the elevator. Crowley and Muriel both showed themselves to cross for entry. Aziraphale did here for his own entry.

The Metatron's index finger is touching his Pocket Frame.

Crowley has touched his Pocket Frames as well but usually avoids skin contact. His turtleneck made sure skin contact was avoided with Cars in The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2. His tie tassels were what touched the window pane of the Door Windows in The Pocket Trick Single. He did have some fingers touch door frames in the Double, but the index finger was not among them. Additionally, that was a rather different touch since it involved soon pocketing only his thumbs.

The Metatron doesn't care about his thumbs with his pocket touches. The whole hand goes in with his play.

...

Aziraphale's three shots are done, but there's one more thing to close out the whole Trick.

The Metatron uses a close-up touch of his index finger touching the button.

I am reasonably sure that Crowley has never used a close-up touch for his hand touches in The Pocket Trick.

Because of assorted clues about non-rainbow colors, my play interprets this overall move as the Metatron making a mistake.

Here's a findable poem about the non-rainbow shades.

Black blocks.

Brown borrows.

Gray shades.

White keeps.

The "H" of the Heaven button is gold, so it is not considered a proper Yellow by itself.

The gray in the elevator could shade it to Yellow, if the Metatron could do something like use his Brown to borrow it.

Crowley and Aziraphale want their Rainbow Connection to stay at Green and not switch to Yellow.

The design of the button itself is such that Black blocks out the Gray, and White keeps the gold as gold.

Thus, the gold is disqualified to allow a switch up to Yellow.

The really big mistake, I think, is supposed to be that the Metatron's left thumb CMC joint is not visible.

There might be other mistakes, such as using a close-up touch at all or the index finger touching the gold and the white at the same time so being over edges of a disqualified color.

But the main mistake I'm sure of is the left thumb CMC joint.

Only a little bit of his skin near his MCP joint is visible, so I suspect that that thumb joint is disqualified too.

The Door Catch is done.

The Rainbow Connection ends at Green thanks to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

There are two more cuts before we get back to Crowley.

The Metatron breathes a sigh of relief, so that suggests he either doesn't know the game is happening or didn't pick up on the advanced pocket mechanics in play, if he does know the game is happening.

Aziraphale also takes a breath and possibly swallows that something that Crowley passed to him.

...

Story Commentary

The first time I watched Good Omens 2, this scene confused me so much, especially with the Metatron entering the elevator.

I didn't know who summoned it. I didn't know if I was supposed to know.

Things were happening too fast, and I had a lot of questions.

I had too many questions and too much confusion for the drama to hit me.

What's with the Metatron touching that button anyway? What is he, human? I see clues of both demon and human with him so am not really sure either way.

...

After months of play, I'm glad for the confusion and questions because I have a deep appreciation for the Threshold Tricks through playing The Sideburns Scheme and Earthly Objects.

I'm not sure season 3 will explain things to anyone's satisfaction, but I've found the games worthwhile enough to play nonetheless.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

[maltmealo]

Chapter 15: creature

"I envy you."

"What? Why? My life sucks."

"Your life sucks, but you can still see through the pain, And I envy you for that."

“Miss! Please stop running off like that!” he said, running after the laughing woman, ducking and weaving through the crowd.

“Why wouldn’t I run, this place is incredible!” she laughs, leaning over one of the rails that blocked her from falling off.

The man quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her away as a transportation car flew by.

“Miss, I told you not to do that.” he chastises as he yanks her out of the crowd.

He spoke more but you could hear nothing, a voiceless mouth opening and closing without purpose.

“But that’s boring! I don’t want to sit around in some stupid chair, I want to go places!” she scoffs, tearing her arm out of his grasp as he rolls his eyes.

“It is your birthright- your destiny. You need to.” the man stammers, grasping her wrist again as he pulls her towards the gleaming palace.

“She does not need to do anything.” A man in armor steps out in front of the two, the once shiny black metal coated in rust and blood, ancient and unyielding steely gaze meeting the offender, “let her go.”

“You-” the man says, backing off as he lets go of the woman, a look of fear on his face, “You are not supposed to be here.”

“I am wherever I wish to be.”

You wake up with a gasp, a thin sheen of cold sweat covering your body as you sit up, your surroundings coming back to you in a dizzying blur. You’re met with the bright cyan of Ratchet’s optics, a worried look on the giant doctor’s face.

“Are you okay?” A gruff voice asks from beside you, Ratchet looking down at you like a steel sun cascading nothing but blue light.

“Yeah, bad dream,” You say as you pull a blanket around your shoulders, shuddering at the cold sterile air surrounding you. It wasn’t hospital sterile, that would have been better than this, it was nothing, just cold air biting and cracking the inside of your nose.

“A nightmare?”

“How do you know that?” You ask, furrowing your brow as he mentions that, “I thought-”

“Arcee told me, I heard they can be quite…” He trails off, frowning, “vivid.”

Vivid was an understatement, vivid was an understatement for all the bullshit you’ve been put through because you decided to walk home once. The crash wasn’t scary, the fall was, waking up to a giant who wanted to crush you was, not being able to see the only human that interacted with you consistently was, but the crash wasn’t because technically it wasn’t a crash.

It was everything but a crash.

A crash would have been that night, the truck barreling towards you as the man grins, it was inhuman, flat teeth spread wide as the oddly blue eyes stare you down. A jack-o-lantern was a bad description, it was worse than the fear you felt as a kid when your parents let you go up to your first house alone, the eerie decorations seemed too real for your eight-year-old mind, and the glowing orange grins turned demonic.

But that was worse.

But this dream, nothing was inherently scary about it, but it made your heart race, and your mind grew fuzzy as your legs screamed at you to run away.

“Yeah… a nightmare.” You nod in agreement, not really sure what to think about the faceless dream people.

Now that you think about it, their whole bodies were blurry, like memories you couldn’t quite catch between your fingers, the faceless people you swore you’d met once but can’t remember for the life of you.

He nods, turning back to the monitor as he focuses on whatever is displayed on the screen.

You lay back down as the silence draws your mind to home, where your family was waiting. They must have been worried, your friends must have been worried. You missed home, the smells, the sun, only having to worry about whether or not you you’d pass that stupid exam for becoming a biologist or whether or not you should drop out.

“Ratchet, who's Primus?” You ask, rolling over on your side to look up at him. Yes, him, that ancient god would have been guiding Optimus and supposedly the creator of the entire race, he certainly must be able to help you get back home, if not send you home immediately.

“Primus?” he asks, surprised by the question, turning back to look at you with a furrowed brow, “He’s our creator, some like to think of him as our god, who told you about him?”

“Optimus told me,” You say as you prop yourself up on your elbows, “If he’s your creator, then he could send me home, And stop the war! Why haven’t you guys tried to find him?”

“Because he’s been dead for eons, he gave up his life to defeat Unicron,” Ratchet said with a pained look, he ran a servo down his face before he crouched down in front of you, “unicron is the destroyer, he eats planets, he saw what Primus had created and wished to use us to fuel his own desires to destroy the universe.”

“Then how could Optimus-”

“He didn’t,” Ratchets speaks grimly, his voice low, “You cannot speak of this to anyone else, understood?”

“Why? If it isn’t Primus that he’s speaking then maybe we should figure out who is-”

“(Y/N),” Ratchet says firmly, a stern look exchanging the grim look of fear on his face, “Human and cybertronian processors aren’t so different.”

“What does that mean?” You ask, frustrated from not getting one straight answer out of him. You wanted to help! And yet Ratchet treated you like a child listening in on something they shouldn't have.

“It means that everyone on this team is under incredible stress,” Ratchet answers, eventing before he pokes your head with a finger, “Just like you, a cybertronian processor does all it can to cope with that stress including…”

“Visions from god.” You finish, the frustration fading as you understand what is truly going on.

“Yes,” Ratchet confirms, nodding as he stands back up and goes to his monitor, “You understand why you cannot tell anyone this?”

“Yeah… I get it.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Optimus stands at his berth, looking down at the flat dreamless surface that seemed to have been the chosen medium of his god. Primus had offered him guidance before, but now, it was fragmented, sort flashes that slipped through his servos as soon as he woke up. The final message was to protect the little human that had been tossed haphazardly in the middle of an eternal war.

He would have done it regardless of whether or not Primus had told him to, you were innocent, simply a bystander who had gotten pummeled by luck and fate, now on the constant verge of danger, death, and pain.

You had looked so… afraid when you woke up on the cold metal table, he knew you were in shock but it didn’t stop the fear from twisting the squishy faceplate, or the scream of fear that left your intake that seemed to make his spark jump.

His berth was taunting him now, laughing at him for ever believing he could recharge in peace, he had people to protect, plans to make, and someone to change. He spins his dentra clenching as he looks back at the data tablet on the table.

He had a plan, or was supposed to, he was only a mech, not Primus, not even a good prime at this point, the blood of countless autobots-his friends on his hands.

They were scattered across the universe, either floating in fragments in the void of space or in hiding from those who would have no quarrel ripping them apart and feeding them to scraplets. He needed more, more technology, more fighters, more everything.

Humans, they could help.

no, they couldn’t, they'd be decimated within a second, they were strong, ready to jump in head first without even looking to see what was waiting for them. He had seen countless species just as eager to help, just as strong willed and stubborn. Just like humans physically and mentally.

They were gone, now humans were the last of a rare breed that seemed to have a deathwish, even if they didn’t know it. You and the rest of the humans wanted to help, but he knew what happened if they did.

‘Not even enough for a cremation’ he once heard Fowler say when he looked at the remains of one of his men, only recognizable by the dog tags in the middle of the puddle.

The men were crowded around the body, some kneeling with their hands clasped together and their heads down, Fowler had told him it was a religious practice to communicate with a god. Faith was one of the many things keeping humans from giving up, some more then others but they had faith.

He had it, he knew Primus was helping him, but was he enough? Was he enough for those who had faith in him? For those who had looked up at him with reverence only for those very optics to reflect right back at him when they offlined in his arms.

And yet he felt shame for the humans, the puddles that were once somebody. He felt guilt, shame, anger, all things a leader was not supposed to show.

He felt it for you. For being thrown in the middle of this, for being put on a chair on the edge of a cliff and not being able to get out of it without falling off. And he didn’t know how to help.

You two were talking again, Ratchet was explaining something Optimus couldn’t hear and you were sitting on the pillows ever so diligently listening to the old doctor speak with a concerned look on your face.

“-But you shouldn’t worry about it, you need to rest and heal,” He catches the end of the conversation as Ratchet stands up and turns to him, a look of frustration laced with worry.

“Ratchet, (Y/N),” Optimus greets, coming up to you and nodding, “how are you feeling?”

“Good, my arm doesn’t hurt as much as yesterday,” You say back, smiling up at the big Prime, “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“That is good, I am glad you are healing,” He says, his optics darting off to the side.

He need something other then starting at information that never changed, the only thing rising were the death counts of the desperate organic species living on this planet.

“Um… Optimus?” You start, standing up off the blankets and stepping onto the cold metal catwalk, “Do you remember me asking you to teach me your language?”

“I do,” A distraction- no a new job, a refresher, “Why do you ask?”

“Can you teach me it now? I mean, if you’re not busy,” you ask, a hopeful glint in your eyes as you step a bit closer to the towering leader, “Please?”

He’s silent, he could, he wanted to, to spread the knowledge he had learned back on Iacon, but what if he was needed? What if something changed and he wasn’t there to immediately catch it?

“I will teach you,” He agrees finally, it would keep you content and busy, keeping you from getting involved and crushed anymore then you already are.

This was for you, he repeated in his helm, like a mantra as he picked you up from the pile of blankets securing you, being as careful as he could and setting you on his shoulder, the warmth and rhythmic pulsing of a spark with a song easing his own.

Yeah, definitely for you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Molded by cruel hands but meant to be soft

Metal and rust are the main components

It was jealousy perhaps

Creatures far below my status gaining what I could never have

Change, a chance

Soft clay against molten metal

One will harden and stay

One can change, the other will remain

“Lord Megatron,” The weasel wails as his wing is twisted, “It was an accident!”

“Accident or not, you almost cost us a way to get back to Cybertron,” he growls, tossing the seeker aside, and walking up to the sniveling second in command with a scowl, “You are lucky Breakdown managed to keep that organic alive.”

“I had that stupid wrecker in my crosshairs-” He choked as Megatron kicked him into the wall, his chassis dented and energon spilling from his intake, “I was aiming for him!”

“Enough of your lies, worm,” A word he had picked up from one of the spiteful humans Soundwave had spied on, he found it fitting for the pathetic mech before him, “Leave, before I decide to get rid of you permanently.”

The sliver seeker skitters out of the room, leaving a trail of bright blue liquid behind him, it was disgustingly pathetic, a mech with a bruised ego not fighting back.

The bridge was silent once more.

Megatron moves to the display, his energon-covered pedes leaving a trail for whatever poor Decepticon to clean up later.

“Soundwave, any further reports on the human girl?”

“Okay.” he parrots from one of your previous conversations, your voice clear from his speakers, a different voice comes over, “Healing wonderfully.”

“I doubt the Autobots will let her out of their base anytime soon,” He growls, turning to his scientist as he narrows his optics, “Have you discovered where they are located yet?”

He shakes his head.

“Fine, continue with your research then,” Megatron says, turning back to the holographic screen in front of him and putting his servos behind his back, “and don’t let Breakdown near the bridge until he gets that human’s stench off of him.”

A nod and then he turns away, leaving the brooding leader alone on the bridge in a brewing stew that had been bubbling for centuries, just now starting to boil over.

Hope

They had hope

Cynical machines meant to despair

Hopeful children covered in bruises holding flowers

One can change, the other will remain

[transingthoseformers]

Regarding the humans finding eggs in their car- actually that is kinda cute? Imagining a scenario where you have a human who both loves their car enough to be outraged but also like clearly loves other creatures enough to have this begrudging need to care for the babies that clearly have been thrust into their care

I mean I don't think the transformer who laid the eggs intended for it to happen this way. But maybe it was someone a little scared. Those eggs had to come out and they panicked. They're not quite ready for sparklings and aren't super sure what to do. They find a nice vehicle that's secluded enough and make it their nest, guarding it with their life

But then the human owner of the car comes back and is like HEY. GET OFF. THATS MY CAR. A weirdly brave fellow even though the mech snarls as a threat (but not quite at the point of drawing a weapon yet)

The human is clearly annoyed about the stealing of their car- but what surprises the mech is that the human is like "Look. You lay eggs in my care then they're my eggs now." Which. Which is RIDICULOUS! Who does this human think he is! The cybertronian leaps onto the car and snarls again, but the human is unbothered as he walks up to peer into the windows

"Ew. Gross. You reuined my interiors." But the human does nothing more. He just keeps coming back every day, to check up on his car and the "gross mess" inside. Every time he is there, he also asks the mech if he's been well, if he's been fuelling. The mech always looks a little too weak and shaken to be taking care of himself.

Eventually when the eggs hatch, the human is there to ease the overwhelmed mech into it. They both hold these weird slimy protoforms that by all means should freak the human out. But the human is still very firmly like "Look. You put them in My Car."

Weirdly the cybertronian starts to feel less jittery around the human. He's always there, trying to swaddle the bitlets like human offspring, always making sure both he and the sparklings are fueled. Despite how monster-like the sparklings may look to humans, and how feral they are rumoured to be, they clearly don't mind the human. They climb all over him, chew on him and his belongings but gently. They never really hurt him.

The mech who's so overwhelmed by having bitlets and everything is.... is actually kind of calmed to see this. Every time the sparklings he so loves but also is not sure what to do with are swaddled and fed by the human, it makes his spark chamber warm and fuzzy.

Oh definitely he didn't intend for it to go this way

This feels either like a decepticon or one of the spicier autobots, definitely a young one

Awww yes

AWW YES, THEY'RE BOTH THERE WHEN THE EGGS HATCH

How many do you think there are?

that's so adorable how the bitlets and human interact

Am I misinterpreting this or is there a shippy note in the end?

They'll figure things out, they're already finding a rhythm

[haven-dark]

Idk what to do with this but it's gonna spontaneously combust if I just let it sit in my drive, so I guess I'm just gonna put it here for now?

A little scene(s) I whipped up after a discussion with some friends about the idea of middle-aged Stu and Billy moving into a picturesque suburban town and their neighbors slowly getting suspicious as people go missing.

---

The neighborhood’s newest resident easily has fifteen years on the most recent Mrs. Jones, but so does her husband, and Dennis doesn't have a smoothly sculpted jawline and lusciously thick head of dark hair. 

The moving truck is still mostly full when she comes by with her youngest stepson in tow. “Mason, leave the bugs alone,” she orders, taking his little arm firmly and dragging him away from a beached earthworm and towards the new neighbor's house. 

She fluffs her curls and double checks her lipstick in a car mirror before approaching the man from behind.

“I was wondering when the new family would arrive,” she says as a greeting. “The sign said sold for a little bit there.”

He glances at the lawn sign bearing the fake smile of the fake blonde who’d been responsible for selling the place. She’s one of those PTA bitches, but Cassidy is sure that she told them every charming story they could possibly want to hear about how great Arbor Village is. “Yeah, some stuff took longer than expected to sort out.” 

“Can we go home now?” Mason whines.

“It's not nice to interrupt grown-ups,” she reprimands. She looks to the man apologetically, but he seems unbothered. “Kids,” she chuckles. She bends to pick Mason up so she can sneak a look at the man's left hand. No ring. “Do you have any?”

“I've got these three.” He raps the knuckles of his right hand, which does sport a couple of rings, against the cab window. Three canine faces appear on cue, a small light one squished between the larger, darker two. 

She giggles at the reveal. “So no human children? How about a wife?” she ventures. 

“No wife,” he says. “And these three are more than enough.” His head is tilted toward the window, and she lets her eyeline drop to his lips as he talks. They look soft. 

He looks back to her more quickly than she’d expected and she’s sure that she’s been caught. She blushes slightly. He turns his full focus on her, looks her up and down. 

Having had no specific plans of running into a charming older bachelor, she hadn’t selected her outfit for Mason’s park day very intentionally. Her workout pants are visibly faded and she’s pretty sure this jacket has that collection of stains speckled along the bottom, but she doesn’t want to check and draw attention to it. 

His gaze is intense. It feels a little like he’s peering into her, breaking her into her components with his dark eyes so he can review each piece. Despite starting to overheat as she stands in a patch of sun in her sweats, she feels a little naked. She doesn’t dislike it.

If he concludes his assessment with a negative impression of her, he gives no sign of it. He rubs his beard and gives her a warm smile before offering his ringed hand for her to shake. “I'm Billy.” His grip is almost gentle for the rugged look of him, though it's strong. She doesn’t want to take her hand back, so she lets it linger as long as she thinks she can get away with it.

“Cassidy Jones. Although,” she offers, “friends call me Sid.”

His eyebrows go up slightly. “Sid,” he repeats, and she wants to melt at the sound of it. She loves the way it drips off his tongue, almost musically. “That’s great. It suits you.”

She blushes again, pleasantly this time. “Well, thank you, Billy.” Mason’s been patting and grabbing at her to get her attention, though he’s miraculously stopped talking, like he was told. She irritably sets him back on the ground. “You know, by the time you get all of this unpacked it’s going to be far too late to start cooking, and you should really have a home cooked meal on your first day in town. If you’d like–”

“Who’s this, Babe?” A second man appears by Billy, wrapping an arm around him from behind and setting his chin on Billy’s shoulder. He’s at least as attractive as Billy, but the way his eyes scan over Cassidy makes her feel like she’s being not just undressed but completely skinned. 

Billy smirks downward, to himself, then looks over his shoulder. “Stu, this is our neighbor from across the street. Sid.”

There’s something unsettling in the grin Stu responds with. “Nice t’meet ya, Sid.”

She wants to retract the invitation to the nickname, but she can’t just ask one of them not to use it. “You too,” she says, because it’s just the thing to say. She lifts Mason back up, ready to exit the conversation. 

But Billy continues it. “She was just inviting us over for dinner tonight, so we can have a home cooked meal on our first night in town.” Shit. Yet another invitation she’d offered too early and can’t rescind. “Isn’t that nice?” He looks at her again, even though the question is clearly directed to his partner. His smile is so kind that she wonders for a second if she really wants to take it back, but she hopes that they’ll make a polite attempt at declining so she can use it as a window to renegotiate.

“Oh, that’s really generous,” Stu says. “Putting yourself out like that for a couple of strangers.”

She feels like Mason’s worm, wriggling here in the sun, so close to safety, but unable to get out of this alone. The sad irony is the only ones who can release her are the ones who put her here in the first place. And at least one of them seems set on watching her squirm.

Billy’s turned to look at Stu on his shoulder again. “It might be late by the time we finish unpacking…”

Cassidy tries to wedge herself back into the conversation at that moment, but Stu’s too quick to close off the opening. “Don’t do that. Look how uncomfortable she is. You’re being so rude to turn down a neighborly welcome.” He gives a broad smile and tells her, “We’d love to come.”

---

Stu watches Billy, standing in the street in front of the moving truck, through the half-shut kitchen blinds as he sets a stack of boxes on the otherwise empty counter. He can tell by the body language that he’s talking to someone, but it takes a second for her to swoop into his line of vision as she bends to pick up a small boy.

Some neighborhood mom here to chat him up. Of course. What is it with moms and Billy? They’re fucking magnetized to him anywhere he goes. Stu had been inside for all of a minute and she’d just materialized.

She’s cute, too, with a mess of dark curls and a set of curves that aren’t completely swallowed up by the track suit she’s wearing. Billy’s probably going to flirt back just so Stu can catch him doing it. He’s such a little shit.

Billy makes eye contact with him through both of the truck’s windows just as he steps out onto the front porch. “No wife,” he says to the woman, with a smirk at Stu. 

Fucking asshole. Predictable but still infuriating. 

As soon as he knows Stu’s seen him, he turns back to the woman, angling his body so Stu can watch in profile as he roughly rubs at his facial hair, a move women for some reason seem to find charming.

Stu fumes for a moment before charging over to make his entrance and mark his territory. 

“Who’s this, Babe?” He adds the pet name with a slight emphasis as he slips a possessive arm around Billy’s midsection. He sets his chin on Billy’s shoulder as if in an affectionate embrace, but he lets its point and his fingertips push just a little too hard into Billy to make sure he gets the message.

He plasters on a friendly smile as his eyes devour the woman in front of him, not hungrily but angrily. Maybe a little hungrily. She really is cute. A little young for his taste, but definitely something he could have been into a decade ago.

When his eyes return to hers, he can see that she’s recalculated the scenario and realized her mistake. That’s right, bitch, he broadcasts telepathically. This is mine.

Billy’s looking at the ground, silently laughing to himself. Stupid asshole’s gotten exactly what he wanted. He turns to look at Stu and the broadcast changes to, You’re gonna fucking pay for this later, you dick.

“Stu, this is our neighbor from across the street,” Billy introduces, the stupid smirk still tugging on the corner of his mouth. He pauses, just slightly, and adds an emphasis that probably only Stu can pick up on as he delivers the name. “Sid.”

He’s still pissed at Billy, but he can’t contain the grin that splits his face at the coincidence. He’d thought he was so funny picking a town called Arbor Village because of its parallel to their hometown. But to have the first neighbor they meet be called Sid? That was too good. He couldn’t have scripted it any better.

“Nice t’meet ya, Sid.” He eyes her again and, maybe he’s imagining it, but he can even see a certain resemblance to the Prescott women in her face. Especially when her eyes widen and brow furrows as he smiles down at her. She looks enticingly like a spooked deer.

She picks up her kid as she’s returning the greeting like she’s about to make a run for it. Billy gives a watch this grin sideways at him before showing off the trap he’d built while Stu was away.

“She was just inviting us over for dinner tonight.” Stu shares his grin. The sentence shackles the woman to the spot in front of them. “So we can have a  home cooked meal on our first night in town. Isn’t that nice?”

Sid’s no longer merely spooked. When he looks back to her, she’s a caged animal, looking across the street to freedom through invisible bars. She, seemingly unconsciously, takes a step backward. There’s a plea in her eyes for them to let her go, but to uninvite them would be so impolite.

And to expect your captors to be your saviors is just naive. He can’t resist rattling the cage a little.

“Oh, that’s really generous,” he joins in. There’s a hint of mocking in his tone. He can’t help it. He’s having too much fun. But he’s sure to add a little earnestness, too, like he’s genuinely touched by her offer. “Putting yourself out like that for a couple of strangers.” 

God, she’s starting to look genuinely scared now and it’s delicious. He could almost salivate as the line about them being strangers registers in her eyes. 

The kid’s wiggling in her arms and she really looks like she could sprint away if the unanswered invitation wasn’t holding her in place.

Does he really want to go to her house for dinner? Who knows? Who cares? But he really fucking wants to keep playing with his prey.

Billy turns his head back to Stu. “It might be late by the time we finish unpacking…”

Sid’s muscles relax. Stu’s smile wilts. Billy’s just unlocked the door, unbound her, and offered up an escape route.

Is he the one Billy’s been fucking with this whole time? He’s been dangling her in front of him just to let her go at the last second?

But when he looks over, there’s a command in Billy’s eyes. He’s lining up Stu’s shot and ordering him to take it. Giving her a little false hope just so Stu can bat it away. How’s he such a piece of shit and also the perfect man?

She opens her mouth to respond, to dash through the open cage door. He cuts her off.

“Don’t do that,” he pretends to reprimand Billy. “Look how uncomfortable she is.”

He suppresses his smile as he does exactly as he’s just instructed Billy. She’s uncomfortable and now also confused. She doesn’t know which direction he’s moving with this. She's praying that he's about to show her mercy. 

Her prayers are going to remain unanswered.

He takes just a little too long to continue speaking, to let her suffer an extra half a second before he pulls the trigger. “You’re being so rude to turn down a neighborly welcome.”

Billy’s snicker is silent, but Stu feels the vibration against his body. That, along with the despair in their target’s eyes, warms his bones with sweet satisfaction. 

Maybe he’ll actually be thanking Billy later instead of punishing him. 

The smile on his face is completely genuine when he answers. “We’d love to come.”

[kunosoura]

Thoughts about what makes a good villain!

Hello <3 sorry this took so long to answer but I'm in the middle of planning and executing a move to a different country.

I think the only real crime a villain can commit is being boring. They can be contemptible, stupid, cartoonish, completely detached from reality, or they can be brilliant, dangerous, sexy, literally correct; they can be all style or all substance; the only real litmus test is whether they're entertaining.

Some of my favorite fictional villains and why I like them:

Currently, I'm reading the Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliot, and Hugh is absolutely one of the most contemptible villains I've ever encountered. The first book was genuinely hard to read because of what a fucking monster he is, and Elliot knows how to draw the most out of it - stretching his comeuppance over 6 books because even though he's fucking despicable, he's also unfailingly polite in most circumstances, and a beautiful man of noble though illegitimate birth and high rank in the clergy, so people have a hard time believing him to be as evil as he is even if they've wronged him before. At the same time, Elliot also does a very good job of making sure you never forget exactly what he is, so even when he returns to the people he's wronged acting contrite, you see through it. The ultimate effect is that even 5 books in, I'm hollering at him to kill himself (usually when driving alone in my car), and I dunno if I've ever been that profoundly affected by a literary antagonist before.

Kuja from Final Fantasy 9. He's spoiled, he's beautiful, he's a babygirl, he's pathetic, he's 24 and should have been at the club. I like how he isn't afraid to spam his most powerful spell whenever he's losing. Honestly whenever you see me rooting hard for a villainous sorceress (or occasional prettyboy sorcerer) it's for similar reasons.

The Obligatory Sasuke mention, which is wild because I think everything that I find compelling about him is something you have to read in direct contradiction to Kishimoto's intentions with the series. In a meta sense, I find it super compelling how he's the sort of villain whose motivations unavoidably invoke the fundamental problems in the setting that the tepid liberalism of its core themes and protagonists cannot address, and how that's subsumed into an emotional arc so he can be the redeemed shonen rival in the end.

Inspector Javert is a favorite because he forces the audience to separate legality from ethics; past that, he's also just a really good examination of the sort of person you'd become if you gutted everything that made you human and replaced it with legalism.

Cersei Lannister from the ASOIAF is a great example of a book letting you into the internality of a villain, showing you they're a complete wreck of a person, and it not doing anything to soften the blow when it comes time for them to ruin things for everyone again.

Death from The Seventh Seal is one of my favorite cinematic depictions of personified death. He isn't gentle or comforting like some depictions - he's underhanded, merciless, and for all his affability, relentlessly pursues Block such that his inevitably end claims the lives of just about everyone he loves, as well. It's nightmarish.

my boy SHEEV. Maybe the purest example of "it's good as long as they're fun". His inclusion in TROS is NONSENSE but I don't mind because I will literally never say no to more palpatine screentime.

Goku Black from Dragon Ball Super is great for the sole purpose that, when he's on the scene, a character you care about will die.

Those are a scattered selection of some of my favorites. I wish I had a more compelling analysis for who was in or out, but it really does boil down to don't bore me and there are a lot of ways for a villain to be compelling. Thank you for the ask ^_^

[jadetheblueartist]

IM SO SORRY I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED YOUR TEGAN ASK

I feel so bad :( you said it took you three hours and also I had written a huge response and now it’s gone ;-;

Okay so I’m going to rewrite my response but I’m really sorry if I get things wrong since now I can’t review what you sent ;-;

————

I LOVE THE IDEA SO MUCH!!!! And I would love to hear more about their training and life on the ship!

I may be obsessing over Talon and Megan a tad bit…

I love all the possibilities of how they passed the time in the car so much. It would be so awkward at the start and I’m all here for it!! I imagine Talon carried most of the conversation from the beginning until after they really got to know each other. I feel like at the start Talon would just awkwardly try to tell her what has happened to the earth while she was gone in hopes of starting some conversation. I’m imagining the parking lot picnic with them just drinking slushees and eating whatever gas station food seemed good (I’m assuming everything is kind of run down?)

Car karaoke. Oh it would be amazing. Talon trying to find songs Megan likes and trying to get her to sing along, windows rolled down, it’d be such a vibe.

With the race scene I can’t stop picturing the scene from princess bride where they both are rolling down the hill XD

Their relationship is so great, two strangers bonding in a long car ride… oh wait they already knew each other? They were already in love from book one? But Megan’s memory was wiped- WAIT NO THEY WERE IN LOVE AND HER MEMORY WAS WIPED!?!? Okay, okay, it’s fine at least they became close again, just a fresh start nothing to worry about… HER MEMORY WAS WIPED A SECOND TIME!?!? TALON THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (this is so tragic but I love it so much)

Talon nooooo why the tragic backstory ;-; (I love it very much)

Oh and the art? I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I love Talon’s design!!!!!! The drawing of him saying happy birthday to himself makes me so sad ;-;

Also question time!

Do you have designs for the sci fi ppl? Are they like aliens or just advanced humans chilling in space? Does Talon hide his tattoo? (I love that type of angst so much mhm hidden scars [in this case a tattoo tho]) and you said there was an image limit… could I see those drawing you couldn’t show? Also why is it called Tegan (is it bc Talon + Megan = Tegan…)? That should be all of my questions…

Anyway I absolutely love this story and please feel free to tell me more whenever! (I’d love to hear a lil more about Ivan too)

Again really sorry abt deleting the ask ;-; I hope you have an amazing day though!!

(I feel like I’m forgetting things I wanted to mention but idk)

Oh my I wrote out this whole thing and it deleted it for me hahaha let’s try this again

No worries about deleting the ask it happens hahaha and it doesn’t look like you got anything wrong so yay!

I’m gonna answer this paragraph by paragraph

-IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT and I’m pretty sure I have either the original google doc or a “Megan’s POV” doc that I can look into to give you those details :)

-I’m so glad you’re obsessing so we can be in the same boat

-I’ve been mulling over that car scene for years and somehow you managed to squeeze out even more serotonin for me to devour I thank thee. And I think it’s run down ish, like people are still there but WW3 is kind of happening/ just happened soooo you know

-it would be the vibiest ^^

-I’m so glad you said that bc I couldn’t connect the dots as to what that scene reminded me of but yeah that’s amazing

-IKR the mind wiping rocked my world. My friend was at the point where she was writing the post separation explosion and we were on face time and she casually mentioned “oh you know the cars weren’t the first time they met, right?” I went feral trying to get all the info out of her hahaha

-yes his backstory makes me so sad…

-I’m glad you like the design! It was our group’s “hot guy” design hahaha I’ve tried to make it more individualized to him over the years tho, and that happy birthday one gets me every time (especially since that’s probably how he spent most his birthdays…)

Yay Question Time!

-I believe I could at least get the designs for those people sometime soon. They are just random people who decided to work for big bad (aka the voice, bc they only heard his voice through speakers at first). The voice decided he could make some good money abducting children and forcing them to be assassins so he did that. The government doesn’t know about them bc they hide in space. The few organizations trying to take them down are the only ones who really know about it

-talon has a few different tattoos, the one he got initiated with is a tattoo/ permanent burn so it has to stay covered to protect it, the other is just on his neck and he leaves that one in the open (I can point it out in the pics below)

-and yes! Tegan is the ship name for Talon and Megan (it was that or Melon hahaha)

-Ivan didn’t really have much personality in the oh other than he was angry bc the scientist that snuck into the escape ship was dating his crush, I’ve made some personal modifications to him in my head though making him more protective rather than just angry (he’s also Megan’s cousin) and I just remembered I have a drawing of him? So cue the picture section :)

Picturesssss

Here’s Ivan, the permanent third wheel (he doesn’t know tho)

The first ever drawings of Talon and Megan 😬

Moving on… idk which of these are repeats so lemme know if they are and I could probably substitute them for new pics

And now the og Megan design vs the much needed redraw

Ughhhh the one on the left still haunts me…

I was struck by the limit again so I might reblog this with a few more, idk hahaha

But reading through this ask made me so happy you have no idea (insert the “I don’t normally feel things but that one got through” donnie gif)

Thank you so much and I’ll look into the daily life on the ship and the sci fi guy designs :)

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @sparklenarniawizard @imobsessed123 @thoughtlescat @ilikebookssomuch

Broken Heart/Broken Mind

Chapter Forty

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

A horn honked in front of the house. Sophie went to go investigate why a gray truck had been outside for the last five minutes. On the way out, she grabbed the baseball bat by the door, just in case.

She peered out the door. The horn started honking again. She sighed in relief when she saw who was in the driver's seat.

Keefe rolled down the window. "Hey, Foster! Guess what I got for my birthday!"

"No way!" She ran down the steps and up to the window. "Your parents got you a car?"

He snorted. "No, Ro did. Remember, she's richy rich, now."

"That is awesome!"

"Wanna ride around?"

"Uh, yeah!"

She ran inside to go tell her parents, then jumped into the truck.

They rode around the neighborhood a couple of times. When they drove by the grumpy old man's house, Keefe blasted the music.

Mr. Forkle came out of his house, yelling at them to shut up. Keefe stopped and turned up the music so loud, Sophie thought her eardrums might burst. The bass rattled her teeth.

The next go around, Mr. Forkle was waiting for them. He got up out of hus rocking chair and aimed his BB gun. Before he could pull the trigger, Keefe sped off.

Sophie couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, he is going to murder you if he gets his hands on you."

He smirked. "Good thing he won't."

She shook her head. "You're awful."

"I try."

They steered into Sophie's driveway.

"After the game Friday," Keefe began, "We're gonna go to Ruby Tuesdays. It's going to be for our championship and for my birthday. Do you wanna come?"

Sophie grinned. "I'd love to."

Sophie fiddled with the ribbon of Keefe's present. She really wanted him to like it, she just didn't know if she should in front of the entire team.

At the table, Fitz ended up telling the waitor that they were celebrating Keefe's birthday.

"Aw, come on," Keefe complained. "You know how embarrassing that is."

Fitz raised an eyebrow. "Then where was that courtesy when it was my birthday?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Touche."

A couple of times, Sophie nearly slid him his gift. But every time, she held back. She knew how big of a deal it would be for him. She wasn't sure how he'd react if it was in front of his friends.

Finally, when it was time for everyone to go, she pulled him aside.

"Hey," she murmured. "I got you something." She held it out to him.

"Oh," Keefe took it from her. "Thank you."

He slowly unraveled the ribbon. When he tore the paper off, he gasped.

It was a green sketch book, covered in little swirled engravings. There was also a set of colored pencils and watercolor paints.

"I've seen your art," she explained. "And I know how much you enjoy it. But whenever I've seen you draw, it's always in crayons and pens. So I figured you'd like something a bit more professional. Do you like it?"

Her awnser was the wind being knocked out over her from Keefe's crushing embrace.

"I love it, Sophie!" He pulled back to reveal his slightly teary eyes. He leaned down to kiss her, palm lingering on her cheek when he pulled back. "It's fantastic."

Sophie giggled.

[theriu]

River Reads Midnight Sun

Chapter 3: Risk

In which Ed struggles with his Plot-driven feelings and Bella is almost squashed like a bug.

<-Chapter 2

(NOTE: So it occurs to me that I’ve not been clear about how hard Edward has been working to do the right thing these past couple chapters. While he has his faults, Edward and his vampire family have sworn off eating or killing humans, and he very much does NOT want to kill and eat Bella, morally speaking. He’s struggling against unusually strong vampiric urges her smell is setting off in his system, and the question of whether he should run away from his Found Family and avoid Bella for her safety, uproot his whole family from their current home if they choose to go with him, or face and overcome this trial, the face of whom the Plot has unfairly branded onto his brain. Also, Alice and Carlisle have been very supportive yet sensible, and I love them unironically.

Okay, got that off my chest! Now we can get back to mocking the teenage angst!)

So the opening scene of this chapter is genuinely nice, in my opinion. Edward and Dad Carlisle go hunting together (deer, because this family only drinks animal blood), and we get a little review of Carlisle’s concern and understanding a week ago when Ed had to leave (including how he let Ed take his car). Carlisle seems a genuinely good person (and a doctor) who fully supports Ed doing whatever is necessary to stay sane and keep from taking a life, even encouraging him to leave if that’s what it takes (despite how much they would miss him). He checks with Edward that coming back isn’t just about Ed’s pride. He’s even openly willing to go with Ed and start over somewhere else if it will spare a needless death while letting their family stay together. +100 Dad Points, Carlisle gets an award for top tier dadding.

Of course, Ed can’t quite put into words for Carlisle WHY he is now so determined to stay, other than it not being pride anymore. This is probably because it is difficult for a protagonist to describe the irresistible pull of The Plot on his affections and sensibilities. The scene changes as they go gallivanting into the woods, and Ed, now fat and unhappy on deer blood, chills by an icy river and spends more time pondering why he cares so much about this girl and why he is risking her life by staying.

I find it hilarious that HE keeps noting how his feelings make no sense. Why does he care about this girl? What about her draws him to her? Why is he unable to think about anything but her? GREAT QUESTIONS, ED! IF ONLY THE ANSWER WASN’T “YOU’RE IN A PARANORMAL ROMANCE”! The poor boy doesn't know what powers he is truly struggling against, even as he considers such self-aware drivers as his “obsessive curiosity” and “unsatisfied appetite.” However, he DOES decide he is going to follow Carlisle’s advice and leave after one more day, because he DOES want to be responsible and selfless! A fruitless determination, no doubt, but let’s give the guy some credit: That was a valiant effort to resist the unstoppable hands of plot-fate.

When he goes back to the house, he chats with Alice, who once again foresees him planning to leave. She doesn’t want him to, and NOT for romantic reasons but out of genuine sister/friend love. They have a moment of mental movie time watching her highly scattered visions about him, wherein she predicts his life is at a crossroads. He makes a joke about her sounding like a carnival fortuneteller, which is actually a good jab, well done Ed. He and Alice go get ready for school, with her still openly sad that he might leave again and making sure he knows she will miss him if he has to go. ALICE AND CARLISLE ARE REALLY NICE OKAY, HUZZAH FOR LIKEABLE CHARACTERS

Off they go to school! During which drive we learn Rosalie and Emmett are sickeningly in love, which…did NOT seem apparent in the first two chapters. Seriously, they've barely interacted onscreen so far, and Ed only mentioned that Alice and Jasper are a thing, so these two staring adoringly into each others’ eyes felt a bit outta left field. Turns out the other six vamps in this family are paired off in sweet adorable couples and Ed is the self-proclaimed grumpy old man, which amuses me greatly. Of course, Singleness Is Bad, so naturally Ed will find his soulmate, even if The Plot has to ram feelings of attraction for her down his cerebral cortex!

As the others head into school, Ed and Alice hang out by their car to watch Bella drive into the parking lot. Bella is obviously very nervous about snow-driving, which Ed realizes must mean she is Serious and Responsible. Ed finds her worry and Bambi-like clumsiness on the ice endearing, and notes when her snow tire seems to make her emotional. (???) 

Ed is working himself up to possibly go talk to her, which would be unwise and bad probably, when suddenly Alice has a VISION OF DOOM!!! In SECONDS, a van will come careening into the parking lot, and Bella will be CRUSHED LIKE A BUG!!! Woe!!! Calamity!!! Convenient!!! (Seriously, what are the odds someone would have a life-ending car accident in THIS school parking lot with ACTUAL vampire students watching, and of course the target is one vampire’s new obsession? I don’t care what the OC shows have taught us, fatal car accidents on school grounds are NOT common enough for this.)

So Ed ROCKETS into action, SWOOPING her out of the way in the nick of time! But oh no, the van is bouncing back towards them again! He’s risking exposure already, but dangit, this homicidal vehicle shall not take the girl! Edward grabs it and is slammed back, leaving a nice imprint of his shoulders on another car for his trouble. And NOW he’s stuck holding the van up because if he lets go, Bella will probably lose her legs under the tires.

Ed is so done with everything by this point, resulting in my favorite line of the book so far:

“Oh, for the love of all that was holy, would the catastrophes never end?!”

(Dangit, Ed, why can’t you always be this relatable)

Fortunately, between supermanning the van and Bella into safer positions and panicking over Bella having bonked her head on the ice, he’s able to resist his homicidal cravings, even when he tucks her neatly against him. Now he notices she is alert and seems mostly okay aside from the head bonk. To his consternation, however, she immediately asks how the heck he got over here so fast. Ed lies like a professional and badly wants to get her to Carlisle, who has ACTUAL medical experience as opposed to Ed’s “theoretical medical study” (so that answers the question of how useful Ed’s two medical degrees are). 

Despite them lying under two vehicles on ice (and Bella complaining that it’s cold when he won’t let her try and crawl out because she could have a neck injury, which YES THAT IS A REASONABLE CONCERN BELLA), Bella chooses this time to call Ed’s bluff. She is DARN CERTAIN he was OVER THERE and NOT right next to her, and Ed is NOT convincing her otherwise. He finally gets her to shush by promising to explain it later, all the while plotting to use her possible head injury to gaslight the heck out of her and everybody else into believing he was definitely standing right beside her and didn’t practically teleport.

People finally get the van away from the trapped duo, and Ed knows the registered nurse who pops up. He discloses Bella’s head injury to said nurse, and Bella acts BETRAYED, reminding Ed that she likes to suffer in silence, to which I say BELLA, POSSIBLE CONCUSSIONS ARE NOT THE KIND OF SUFFERING YOU DO IN SILENCE!!! The girl needs her head checked in MULTIPLE ways!

As Bella is humiliated over enduring standard medical care after an accident, Ed uses his foot to rearrange the reverse sculpture of his shoulders in the other car. Then Bella’s dad, the chief of police, shows up, justifiably freaked out, and Ed realizes how accurate it was when Alice said killing his only daughter would kill him. (AWW!!!) Ooo, ALSO, Ed notices Charlie Swan’s thoughts are a little hard to read! Not as much as Bella’s, but it seems this cerebral lead lining against mind radar is genetic? And here he thought Charlie was slow in the head! (Ed gets +2 points for noting that HE (Ed) was the slow one for assuming that and never noticing he actually just couldn’t hear Charlie’s thoughts clearly.)

Anyhoo, they get to the hospital, and Ed keeps a mental eye on Bella via the paramedics while he finds Carlisle. He’s ashamed he might have revealed their secret, but Carlisle is just proud of him for doing the right thing and saving the girl’s life. THEY HUG! Carlisle is the BEST, guys!!! 

After a chuckle about the irony that Ed ended up protecting the girl he was afraid he’d hurt (and Ed quietly angsting about how likely he still is to hurt her), Carlisle goes to check on Bella. Ed fidgets and watches Hospital Brainwaves TV for a while, so despite the agonizing wait, he has plenty of entertainment. Tyler, the van driver, is hurt bad and feels horrible that he almost smashed Bella, and won’t stop apologizing. To Ed’s relief, Bella is sticking to the story Edward gave about his standing right next to her, even though Tyler also didn’t see him. Ed hears Bella say his name for the first time, via Tyler’s thought-ears (???), and wishes he could hear it with his own ears! He also notices Tyler thinking about asking Bella on a date to make up for the near-death experience, and that is somehow so VERY dumb and also feels accurate to how some high school guys might think, so I can’t really argue with it. Ed, naturally, continues to struggle with the realization that his understanding of his own emotions is nowhere near as comprehensive as he’s believed for the past century.

Ed and Carlisle soon have a brief chat over Bella’s X-rays; she’s fine, although Carlisle notes how many healed fractures her skull has and jokes about how often her mom dropped her as a baby. (No, the jokes are too easy, I mustn't. He’s already claimed the best one anyway.) Ed goes on ahead to smooth things over with Bella, who is impatiently pretending to sleep in hopes Tyler will stop apologizing. She also manages to be pouty that Ed didn’t also have to endure the humiliation of a stretcher, be impatient about being asked about her head again, and deny to Carlisle that her head bump feels tender. Ed, who isn't at ALL influenced by his inexplicable sense of attraction to this girl, determines that because she doesn't like to show weakness, she is Brave. I might argue that she is showing more signs of being a self-focused pity-partyer who thinks she knows better than medical professionals and has low tolerance for petty annoyances, but who am I to disagree with the male protagonist?

Bella is released to go home with her dad, which she…doesn’t want to do? Is it going home or being with her dad that bothers her? Between being annoyed at Tyler for his understandable (if repetitive) remorse, being annoyed Edward didn’t have to be fussed over by hospital staff like she did, and apparently not wanting to hang out with her clearly concerned father, she isn’t doing the best job of earning that Selfless tag Ed gave her last chapter. She’s also highly embarrassed that, as Carlisle puts it, “most of the school seems to be in the waiting room.” Ed, on the other hand, is pleased he guessed her reaction correctly. (He’s also envious that Carlisle can touch her like a normal person and not be tempted to eat her like Ed is, but he doesn’t make it awkward. Apparently different vampires don't find the same human hyperdelicious, which is definitely a positive.)

Naturally, Bella is determined to talk about what REALLY happened before she goes home. Ed, once again gripped by the struggle of not eating her, agrees to talk it out in private. It’s time for Vampire Gaslighting! He’s determined to be mean and a jerk and make her disbelieve her own senses (despite aching for her to trust him), and then he will disappear from her life forever. It starts out pretty well, with him being cold enough that she drops her tough girl act. However, she’s still pretty dang determined and reveals just how much SUPER WEIRD STUFF she DEFINITELY NOTICED, like him leaving dents in multiple vehicles but being fine as sunshine!

Ed’s getting a bit nervous at this point and doubles down on the dismissive act, but then she startles him by saying she’s not going to tell anyone. Regaining his footing, he wants to know why it matters, then. She says she doesn't like lying, so she’d rather know the reason why she’s lying for him. I’m given brief The Princess Bride vibes as Ed essentially tells her “get used to disappointment.” 

They scowl at each other for a bit, until finally she, once again more annoyed than self-preserving, wonders why he even bothered to save her. To which he gives what he feels is his first honest reply of this conversation: "I don't know." With that, he ends the discussion by walking off dramatically, as one does.

AND SCENE!

I'd say this chapter was more interesting than the last two! Carlisle is a gem, I am ALWAYS down for a positive and supportive dad character and I will fight for this compassionate good-humored doctorpire. The exposition was SLIGHTLY less focused on Ed’s INNER TURMOIL thanks to the action scene, but don’t worry, there was still plenty of inner turmoil. Bella continues to act contrary to the definitions Ed labels her with, although I can kinda respect her refusing to be gaslighted and standing firm on what she knew she’d seen. Despite Ed’s numerous declarations that today would certainly be the last day he sees her, however, I do not hold out much hope for his success.

As we leave this chapter, here’s my recreation of the “small list” Edward is reportedly keeping of Bella’s character traits! I sure can’t wait to see what else gets added in the coming days!

Ed’s Questionable Bella Vocab List:

Advanced (See Also: Intelligent For A Human)

Selfless (See Also: Martyr)

Fascinating (See Also: Interesting, Not Like Other Humans)

Discerning (See Also: Intuitive, Perceptive)

Amusing

Serious

Responsible

Brave

Chapter 4-> (Coming Soon)

[robobrainrot]

@deliicacymercy made this amazing fanart for the fic snip-it I posted of Rory, so who am I to deny them the full chapter.

Here's the first chapter of "The Knack," my Transformers OC fic.

Notes: its a Knockout-Centric Fic with a human OC. Breakdown is alive and well. Optimus is alive and well. Set in the Prime Universe: Post Predacons Rising, Pre-RID15 (or disregarding RID15 in general)

Chapter 1: Never Happened

“Knockout. Are you coming back soon?” Breakdown asked through his radio.

“Soon enough.” He replied. Even though he was in vehicle mode, it sounded as if he was gritting his dentaplates. “I have a human watching me.”

His partner laughed through the intercom. “What? Afraid to blow you’re cover? You’ve never cared about that slag before. Where are you?”

“Sending my coordinates. I was on my way home but ran into some… trouble. I’m trying to keep a low profile. This human looks like a screamer.”

“Speeding again?”

“Bingo, BD. This area is flooded with human law enforcement vehicles. I swear it’s like there’s one on every corner… Prime said we’re supposed to be ‘robots in disguise.’ If I make another scene Ratchet will make me do hotspot duty. Again.”

“Right. Well-”

“Finally! The human is leaving. Knockout; Out.” He ended the transmission quickly as the human in question walked closer to the car. Instead of continuing down the sidewalk, they stopped next to Knockout’s side mirror. They pulled a piece of paper off the thing they had been fiddling with, then flipped it over and scribbled something on the back.

It took everything Knockout had not to smack them away as they lifted up one of his windshield wipers and tucked the paper neatly under it. He was trying to be a better bot. If he kept causing issues, the Autobots might have second thoughts about giving him so much freedom. He remained tense as the human placed their hand on his hood.

“Don’t see many beauties like you around here.” They said under their breath. “Thanks for letting me draw you. Love the sticker thing.” Then, they patted his hood and walked away.

Knockout sat there for a moment stunned. First, yes, he was quite beautiful. More humans should be like this one and notice that. Second, they had spoken to him. Not at him. Not to some fake driver. Him. Third, they had touched him. Their grubby little human fingerprints were no doubt on his hood now. He was going to have to pull over and fix that before returning to base. Not to mention whatever it was that they stuck under his window wiper. It was terribly itchy.

Still, he watched them turn the corner down the street. He had many questions. Were any of them worth pursuing? The blinking missed message from Breakdown on his dash told him no.

“Stay out of trouble, Speedster.” The text read.

He turned on his engine then rolled out. He would stay out of trouble… for now.

…

Knockout pulled over at an abandoned gas station far outside the city. He ran a quick scan and found no incoming vehicles in the immediate proximity. He was far enough from the highway to be out of sight as long as he remained under the canopy. He took a ‘running’ start and flipped into robot mode inches before ducking under cover.

First thing first; he pulled the thin sheet from between his plating. It had ended up in his abdomen under his central chest plate but it was easy enough to remove. Really, it was remarkable the little thing didn’t tear.

He was about to toss it aside but a streak of cherry red caught his attention. On the paper was a loose render of his alt. mode. It looked like the concept cars he’d seen in automobile enthusiast magazines. Knockout stared at the little image for a long moment.

It was beautiful, in a sort of imperfect way. Even the stray lines worked in its favor.

Artistry was not foreign to him. While he didn’t exactly consider himself an artist, he knew artistry well. When someone is passionate about something, it shows in their work. Which is how his finish looked the way it looked; Breakdown was always incredibly meticulous and careful. This had a similar level of care.

Why would the human leave this for him?

He turned it over to the back and found a short message. “Love the paint job. - @ky-ltd.”

“Kai L-T-D?” He repeated aloud incredulously.

Was this some kind of bribe? If they knew he was sentient, then was this some passive way of sucking up to him? Was he that obvious?

He shook the thought away. Maybe it was something he could ask Fowler about at a later date. Though, the agent was skeptical, at best, of the former Decepticon. Who’s to say he would answer him honestly.

Next problem: the smudge on his now chest plate. It was extremely tiny. Barely visible. But ‘barely’ might not cut it. If the Autobots thought he’d been hanging out with a human, he’d never hear the end of it.

He chuckled to himself at the thought.

Humans were disgusting.

Knockout pulled a microfiber cloth from his glovebox, which was now a small compartment in his chest. The graphite smear came off with a single swipe.

“There.” He sighed as he tucked the cloth away. “It never happened.” He paused to look at the little piece of paper between his digits. “It never…” Before he completed his thought, he shoved the paper in his glove box and flipped into vehicle mode.

[CHAPTER 2]