#sticks and coins are getting stuck in the body

[bizarrelovetriangel]

greed.

sylus says a gold coin isn't enough, i need to be inside my girl. based on an excerpt from his birthday event.

mdni. 18+ only. sex in his private pool.

additional inspiration art: x

While watching Sylus swim in his private pool, you quietly pull out a coin and toss it into the water.

"...Why?"

"To enrich your pool. I've always thought you should be surrounded by gold coins, but since I don't have any, the regular one will have to do."

"One coin isn't enough to enrich this pool, I'm afraid. At the very least, I need — "

Sylus reaches out and pulls you into the pool, soaking you and your clothes completely.

"This is better." He wrapped one arm around your thighs, holding you up and against his body.

"A coin's not enough for you?" You raised a row, looking down at him while he gazes up at you. "You have to grab me too?"

His lips softly meets yours.

"I'm just taking what I want."

He slowly kisses you over and over again, every one of them gentle and filled with love. "You can't imply that I'm being greedy."

"Then what are you being?"

"A perfectly normal person doing perfectly normal things."

You're unable to suppress a smile, especially with the way he's looking at you, making you feel as if you're the most precious thing in the room.

Feeling your clothes stick uncomfortably against your skin, you decided to remove them and strip down to your underwear.

Luckily, you didn't have your phone nor anything important on you other than the coins and crumpled receipt in the pocket of your shorts.

Sylus enjoyed the show for a second, watching you lift your shirt over your head and exposing the red bra that he had gotten for you some time ago. His eyes shamelessly looks at your chest right before you got the shirt off and threw it at the side of the pool.

You moved your hands to get rid of your shorts, but Sylus stopped you.

"I got you, sweetie."

He first took your hands and placed them on his shoulders before releasing his hold on your thighs. Once they were free to move around, his fingers tugged on the waistband of your shorts, then he pulled it down so you can kick them off you and place it next to your shirt.

You took the moment to admire Sylus up close as he combed his soaked hair using his fingers.

Droplets of water embellishes his skin as he stretches his muscles after working them out during the swimming session that you've just interrupted.

"Other than a single coin, do you have anything else to offer to me?" he asked, resting his forehead against yours.

"I'm afraid not." You wrapped your arms around his neck, enclosing all the distance between your bodies. "Just me."

Sylus smiled softly. "Are you sure? That's more than enough treasure than I could ever ask for."

His hands caught your legs and urged you to wrap them around his waist. Once you're locked onto him, he took several steps forward until your back hit the wall of the pool.

While both of you have your eyes closed, he gave one quick kiss on your cheek before his lips covered yours.

As you were distracted by a series of brief yet tender kisses that caused you to melt under his touch, Sylus' hands made their way to your ass. He squeezed them right before one of his hands crawled to your underwear and traced your folds with his thumb.

You gasped against his lips as your body tensed up with surprise.

Sylus' eyes flickered to your face for a moment, checking for any signs of discomfort. When he found nothing but pleasure in your half-lidded eyed and parted lips, he slowly continued to feel you with his thumb.

The soft moans that you desperately try to muffle by burying your face against his neck only encouraged him to go further, and so he moved your panty aside and massaged your clit and took satisfaction at the way your body stiffened.

He took his sweet time making sure that you're feeling good. Once he could sense that you're losing your patience, he stuck a finger inside you and moved it back out slowly for a few times before adding another one.

"Sylus..."

The way your nails dug through his shoulders while your insides clenched caused Sylus' breaths to grow heavy. His swimming shorts felt uncomfortably tight as his cock hardened, needing to replace his fingers that's making you fall apart.

He ached to be inside you.

But first, he wants to taste you.

Maybe he is being greedy, after all.

But it doesn't matter.

He'll gladly be the greediest man alive, if it means he gets to have every part of you.

Your heart, your body, your soul.

Sylus withdrew his fingers out of you, much to your confusion and disappointment. Before you could even wonder if something was wrong, he suddenly grabbed your legs and lifted you up, placing you on the deck of the pool.

"What are you — "

He remained in the pool, lower body still submerged. He stands in front of you, right between your legs, face perfectly aligned with your thighs.

He intertwined his fingers with your left hand. "Just making sure I enjoy every part of your generous offering."

And with that, his mouth busies itself by diving into your core.

Your other hand rested on the back of his neck as his tongue laps on your cunt and juices. He grunted against your pussy and the vibration it created emitted a squeal out of you.

You could've sworn you felt him smirk smugly as he's eating you out.

So you gave his hair a slightly rough tug.

And he grunted again, this time even louder.

And this time, you really did come and squirted right on his face.

"Fuck...!"

Without much time to recover, Sylus took both of your hands and pulled you back down in the pool with him.

His lips desperately devoured yours. His tongue slips inside and roughly crashes with yours. You caressed his jaw while he pulls your hips against his body, letting you feel the bulge that's ready to burst out of his shorts.

He wanted you to know what you do to him.

All this time when he had been pleasuring you with his hands and mouth, blood has been rushing south, right between his legs.

As soon as your fingers rubbed against his cock through his shorts, Sylus' heart raced and his face heated up even more than it already has from the way you'd stolen his breath from all the deep, heavy kisses.

This time, it was your turn to smirk and tease him.

You enjoyed the way his chest started to heave as you stuck your hand inside his shorts and stroke him slowly, running your thumb around the tip of his cock.

He quickly grew impatient and started to thrust against your hand, groaning quietly in between leaving marks on your neck.

You felt him throb under your touch, and it made you squeeze your thighs together as you grew excited to feel him inside you.

At last, you pulled down his shorts and threw it aside once it was off. Before you could do anything else, Sylus let out an impatient growl and wrapped your legs around his hips.

His cock brushed against your pussy and both of you hissed at the short-lasted friction. He guided the tip of his cock in the entrance of your cunt and slowly eased inside.

His gazed shifted to your face and his eyes softened at your half-dazed expression. One hand reached up from your back to brush some strands of hair away from your eyes, then he wiped some specks of sweat that formed on your forehead, as a result of all the steamy actions you've done.

He gave you a gentle kiss on the nose, then at your lips, before filling you up with all of his length. He stayed still for a moment, savoring the way you're clenching him so tightly.

His cock twitched while already inside you as he does his best to restrain himself, to stop his urges to fuck you hard and fast, just for a moment to appreciate your warmth.

But it was you that started to move first.

Your hips began to sway back and forth while your arms enclosed around his neck and shoulders, eliciting a moan out of him that echoed throughout the private pool.

Sylus gripped your ass and encouraged you to take him in deeper. The water around you rippled at every movement you made, and its splashes joined the sounds that the two of you would cry out of pleasure.

The private pool isn't soundproof at all, but there's currently no one else around so there's no reason to hold back your moans.

Unable to stop himself, Sylus' hips snapped foward to meet yours and picked up the pace until the two of you are chasing after your breath.

His eyes focused on your face as he drilled into you right before reaching his climax, pulling out of you to empty himself.

You came not long after him, resting your forehead against his chest while you try to calm your racing heart.

Sylus planted a kiss on top of your head. "My birthday has been over since yesterday and yet you've given me another wonderful gift. So, this is what it feels like to be spoiled."

[faegoddessog]

Day 5: Daddy

OMG, I just barely made it. I'm riding the raggedy edge of time with this month's challenge my dears!

Warnings: Adult themes 18+, an expected vistor makes and unexpected offer. How will they both handle it. Some grabbing and groping, over all not too explict. LMK if I'm wrong

I've been forgetting to mention @dailydoseofaustinbutler ! head over there if you feel like participating!

Here is my Master List which includes the og 72 hrs of Bliss that these two come from. Also here it is on AO3 if you like that better.

The other new enstallments are listed here .

Enjoy!

Day 4: Daddy

They both freeze, staring at each other.  He’s buck naked with one hell of  a rager and she is not only disheveled, but so keyed up she can barely think straight.  

“I’ll go wash my hands and you get the door,” Austin says, jumping up from the bed and rushing to the bathroom. 

She does her best to reseat her robe around her shoulders and tie it. It sticks to the lube on her backside. The first step she takes makes her hold back a moan with the shifting weight of the plug. 

She manages to get to the door, each step turning her on. 

A handsome young man in a hotel uniform looks up from his shoes. His green eyes widen when he sees her. She gestures for him to come in and he dutifully pushes in the cart carrying several domed silver lids. 

She follows him to the balcony.  

His tailored pants show off his ass and his shoulders are just broad enough to create a nice V down to his waist. He walks with the surety of a man who’s dick might just have its own area code despite the fact that he was in service.

‘I wouldn’t mind a little service from that,’ oh hello Succubus. ‘Oh come on, you’d love to get it two ways at once.’ 

Kitten stifles a  little groan. She watches appreciatively as he lays out the dishes, leaving the domes on.  

“Merci monsieur,”  she says, trying to sound as neutral as possible.  

“Mademoiselle,” he nods his head. 

“C’est Madam en fait,” dammit, it’s impossible to sound ‘neutral’ in French. 

“Pardon Madam. If I may say, your French is very good. I heard there were Americans in this room. Was it your husband that ordered, or perhaps your lover?” he says boldly. 

“And your English is very good. My husband, yes, he is learning,” she can’t help squirming her hips with the weight of her adornment.

The server looks her up and down in the most French way possible. 

“You are very beautiful Madam,” he states, matter of fact. 

She looks almost bashful as she bites her lip and looks down and sees half her tit hanging out from her hastily tied dressing gown. No wonder.  She could be embarrassed, but this is fucking France. Boldly, she decides to just leave it. 

“Et tu es très audacieux,” she fires back. Then turns back to the room to get a few euros as a tip. 

He follows, seeing how the hem of her robe is stuck, exposing just the barest hint of her glossy round cheeks. 

She holds out the few coins with a smile. He steps close, not too close but enough to get his point across.

“Non Madame,” he pushes her hand down, “Allow me to be even more bold. I can see I have interrupted you and your husband. A shame really. If you wish, I would make it up to you…both. A true French…” his eyes drop again to her partly open robe, ”liaison.”  His hand dives into the pocket of his pants, her eyes follow the motion to see his not small bulge. Yup, at least it’s own prefix. 

She looks back up as he presses a card into her hand. 

“Talk to him. My shift ends at four, text me.” 

He looks her up and down one more time inhaling appreciatively. Then he’s gone and she’s left standing, holding a card that simply says:

 

‘Arsène’ 

98 65 76 43 21

Wow… the French. 

She feels hands wrap around her waist. 

“Baby, did you answer the door like this?” 

“Um… yeah, I guess I did,” Kitten leans back into him, finding comfort in his familiar body. 

“You gave them an eyeful then,”  he cups her breast, looking over her shoulder at her hand. “What’s that?” 

“Let’s eat and talk,” she says. 

“Alright, How’s this? his hand drift to her ass. 

“Mmm, it’s okay for now,” she purrs at him.

He ties on a robe and after they settle into breakfast, she recounts what happened with Ars

He eats quietly for a minute, pondering that he had been thinking of this exact thing not a half hour ago. Oh how the universe provides. 

“Okay,” he nods thoughtfully, “How do you feel about that?”

“I remember you saying you might share me back in Brisbane, that night. And ever since it’s been a fantasy. And where I’m not going to say no to two hot men at once, I also wouldn’t agree to it unless you were ok with it too.”

“For the record, Kitten, the idea of watching you in so much pleasure is very hot for me. But I would have to meet this guy and see how I feel about him.”

“Oh me too,” she agrees. 

“Were you attracted to him?” 

 From anyone else it would be a loaded question, but from Austin, the inquiry was genuine. 

“I mean superficially, yeah. I was also fucking turned on already. But am I willing to have sex with him?” She shrugs, “we’d have to talk to him more and see. And I’d have to kiss him first.” 

“Maybe we start there, then I’d know better how I feel about it too,” he had sudden visions of watching her tongue tangle with another man’s. His cock, which had finally settled partially down, twitches back to life.

“Austin, do you know how hot it is to hear you take this all in stride?” she shifts in her seat, reminding herself of what is on the agenda after breakfast.

“Oh I like the idea, we just need to see if I like the reality as much, “ he reaches out and takes her hand, “but we need to agree that if either one of us is not ok, we need to be able to stop and the other not get mad.  No harm, no foul.”

“100% agree, it’s about us together, not just one of us,” she squeezes his hand. “I’ll text and tell him we’ll meet for drinks just to talk.” 

“God I love you,” he leans over and kisses her, feeling once again like the luckiest man in the world. 

“I love you too Austin,” she murmurs against his lips, wondering just how sad it must make people knowing she got the best man on the planet.

He stands and stretches, looking out over the ocean. A stray breeze blows up his short robe from behind.  

His ass was always lovely, but since he put on those 25 lbs, it was beyond  delectable. She found herself standing behind him, palms tracing the curve of his perfect orbs, ripe for the picking. 

“Mmm my very own Cake Daddy,” she thought to herself. 

He turns in her arms, frowning and looking at her like she is out of her mind. Apparently it was her outside voice. Oops. She bursts into giggles.

‘Come on, you know, you got Cake��� she squeezes his ass, pulling him close.

“Yeah, but Daddy?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“It just came out, okay?” 

“Did it now. Well, you know what’s gonna come out next,” he grabs her in his arms, cupping her ass. His fingertips wiggle the base of her plug. 

“Mmmm yeah I do,” sex oozing from her as electricity zaps into the pelvis and up her spine, “and what’s gonna go in.” She snakes one hand around to his cock and squeezes. 

“You little minx,” he walks her backwards into the bedroom, kissing her as if it were his one job in all the world. He kicks the doors closed behind him. He wants no distractions or errant drone photos taken of what he is about to do to her. 

To be Contined....

(although it might be late! we'll see!)

Peeps who may want to know! , @purejasmine, @slowsweetlove, @richardslady121, @austinbutlerslovers, @tadpoleteef, @allittakesisoneflight @thisworldisntrealhoney,  @1nho,  @megangovier, @briaandthephantoms, @andro-inherdreamworld @callumsgirl @blombardo  @fefeisastar @hacunamy @nestito702 @denised916 @jayydep @r0m4nitcl0v3r @heyidc03, @secondchild-2, @flander42 @natural-born-rebel-spirit @lecosymood @kathrynzaragoza @bsunshinexo @jayydep @ifyouloveweedletsgosmoke @peggyao3, @sunflowers-77, @estrogensensuallovegasm  @ivycjl @jjubilee-fluff @psycheetamore @austinshirogane @ab4eva

WANT TO BE ADDEDD TO THIS LIST SO THAT EVERY TIME I POST SOMETHING NEW YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED? ☝🏼 DM me or toss it in the comments below.

[xcerizex]

"Charles"

"Yesterday will slowly fade away, so why not smile today one more time?"

I want to say;

"It's okay."

(awakening!Lars, lars x little painter, mild angst, 600+ words)

Lars breathes an internal sigh of relief as the last of the extraterrestrial creatures dissipate into the darkness. There are no more of them to be found, so he switches the mech back into neutral mode and leans back in his chair.

Breathe in, and breathe out.

The battle has taken a toll on his body, and he feels his mind strain against the psychological damage dealt to him.

"Assessing physiological stats, determining countermeasure..."

Her voice chimes through the mech and Lars smiles.

Tilting his head upwards, he sees the endless void of space. The sight of it makes him feel claustrophobic, and reminds him of the time he hid in a closet afraid of the monsters in the night. Back then, he had a toy lion someone gave to him on his birthday for company.

Now, he has an avatar resembling her to accompany him instead.

"Return route has been decided, initiating transportation..."

Lars feels the Paradise system take over his mind, making him feel drowsy. He hates it, but no matter how hard he tries to fight against it, his eyes flutter shut like a butterfly's wings.

"Please rest well, Captain."

The last thing he does is remind himself that person is not her.

Before, Lars would occasionally take her out on spontaneous trips to the beach at midnight. He'd prepare something new everytime; a blanket covered in lions, a portable disco ball, and pink potty for Beanie whenever he tagged along.

He almost lost his eyes for that, but it was worth it.

She would grumble most of the time, complaining while rubbing her eyes sleepily whenever he showed up at her doorstep. But she still went along with whatever he presented to her.

He once convinced her to lie on the sand with him to gaze at the stars, the both of them laughing together as the sand got into their hair. Not giving a damn even as they talked all night till the morning came at dawn.

She always stayed with him no matter what.

"So if she left me, she must have had a good reason right?"

Lars faces the Navigator looking up at him mutely. Even with her monotonous expression, he can still see the pity in her eyes.

...She resembles her too much. He thinks he might go insane.

The Navigator shakes her head.

"I cannot assume the reason for her departure, in case I am wrong. Even with the records I've looked through and the data you've provided me, it is difficult to determine if it was an abduction, or if she left of her own free will."

The both of them sit down on the boat as it flows through the canals on its own. He knows better, he knows that it's all fake and the pufferfish he sees swimming off at the distance could very well just be more extraterrestrials hiding, waiting to tear him apart.

He doesn't mind them for now, and takes his coin out of the lapels of his pocket. If he flips it and gets heads, it's an alien. Tails, it's not an alien. Maybe it could be her.

He flips once, heads.

He flips it twice, heads again.

He flips it for the third time but the boat suddenly jolts to the side out of nowhere and it falls into an odd sort of position. It sticks out between the seams of the wooden boards upright, being neither heads or tails.

"Forgive me Captain, but the return route has been recalculated to ensure your safety."

He doesn't hear the Navigator and stares at the coin stuck in the floor. Sighing, he picks the coin back up.

Lars wonders, today and tomorrow, how many more times must he flip the coin to see her again.

He misses her.

[theomnilegent]

I just finished No Body, No Crime by Tess Sharpe.

What a book! I thoroughly enjoyed this wild journey from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley and MCD for providing this ARC!

Mel was such an interesting protagonist - her characterisation was layered. She was a genius, she was a survivor, she was tough. And all of those skills come in handy for getting away with murder...and surviving the consequences. The other side of the coin is Chloe: Mel's partner in both crime and love. Except six years ago, Chloe disappeared.

When the two women meet again, we're thrown into a fast-paced, nonlinear narrative that explores Chloe and Mel's relationship, both before the crime that initially throws them together and after. The two come from different worlds, but together they're unstoppable, and it is thoroughly satisfying to watch them survive everything the novel's author, Tess Sharpe, could throw at them.

The villains seem predictable at first, but there's a few surprises with Rick, Richard, and Junior. The Newell family have had untold political power in the town Chloe and Mel grew up in, gained through a life of drugs and crime. They make formidable enemies over the course of the story, mostly through the patriarchal cycle of violence they've been upholding for generations.

I did start to think, about halfway through the story, that I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it - it seemed pretty surface level, not super deep or introspective. But I was having fun, at least, reading about the complicated and at times toxic Mel/Chloe situation. I am really glad I stuck with it! There are some twists in the latter half of the second act, and again in the third, that surprised me!

I think this would be a fun read for anyone who enjoys a crime/thriller type novel. I had fun with it, and I really enjoyed how the third act brought everything together.

[luxuryjades]

The Ghosts We Carry

𝓐 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

Mae Mobley is a white girl in 1930’s Jim Crow Mississippi born into a broken family. In the midst of her trying to find her way through this segregated society and keep up her flawless facade, she meets Elijah, a black boy that unexpectedly tears it all down.

It was hot as sin. Sweat stuck to her back, hair curling at the edges no matter how tight she’d pinned it that morning. She kept her shoulders squared and her chin high, giving off that air she’d practiced since she was thirteen—the “I’m fine, I’m proper, and I got somewhere to be” look.

“You lost, sugar?”

The voice came low and close to her ear, warm with something that sounded like trouble.

Mae stiffened before turning. He stood there, leaning against a wooden post like he owned the air around him. Slim, dark skin catching the late-afternoon sun like oil on water. A lazy smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I ain’t lost,” she shot back, narrowing her eyes. “Just lookin’.”

“Uh huh.” His gaze dragged slow across her face like he was reading every lie she was telling. “White girl don’t end up on this side of town by accident.”

“Maybe I like cheap peaches.”

“Maybe you like attention.”

Mae’s mouth twitched, but she swallowed whatever sharp thing was about to come out. Couldn’t risk anyone noticing. Not with old Mr. Langley watching from behind the counter and a couple dusty kids sitting barefoot on the curb, staring like she’d grown two heads.

She stepped in closer, voice dropping to a hiss. “You think I won’t get you fired for talkin’ to me like that?”

“You think I got a job to lose?” He grinned wider, but it was mean. “Go on then, run back to your daddy. Bet he’d love to hear how his little girl’s flirtin’ with the help.”

Her stomach twisted at that, and for one sharp second, she wanted to slap him. Instead, she shoved a coin onto the counter, grabbed two peaches—one overripe and soft, the other rock-hard—and stormed off down the dirt road like her life depended on it.

She didn’t turn back. Not when she heard him laugh, not when the boys on the corner whispered, not even when she felt that tight, sour heat building behind her eyes.

That night, after her father stumbled through the door smelling like whiskey and gasoline, Mae sat on her bedroom floor with the lamp off, bruises blooming under her thin cotton dress.

“You’re too mouthy,” he’d slurred before backhanding her into the doorframe. “Ain’t no man ever gonna want you like that.”

She stared at the ceiling long after he passed out, tracing the cracks like she could fall through them if she stared hard enough. By morning, she found herself back at the market, standing too long near the fence by the loading dock.

And there he was again.

“You followin’ me now?” he asked, voice rough with sleep. Mae lifted her chin, forcing a smile she didn’t mean. “Maybe I just like bad decisions.”

He laughed at that—not the mean kind this time. The kind that sounded like he didn’t know what else to do with her.

“Elijah,” he said, sticking his hand out with mock formality. “Elijah Watkins.”

She hesitated, looking down at his calloused hand before reaching out, shaking it firmly. “Mae Mobley.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, like he already knew more than just her name.

After that, they kept running into each other. Some days, Mae would walk past the train tracks just slow enough to catch his attention. Other days, Elijah would show up behind the gas station while she filled her daddy’s truck with two gallons of fuel she barely had money for.

It was always quick, always sharp.

“You followin’ me again?” she’d say, chin up like she wasn’t hoping for it.

“Could say the same,” he’d toss back, leaning against whatever surface was closest like his whole body was made of slow-moving electricity.

Sometimes they fought.

One afternoon behind the schoolhouse, Mae sat on a low stone wall picking at a scab on her knee. Elijah kicked at the dirt, tossing pebbles at her feet like a bored kid.

“You ever get tired of pretendin’ you’re better than this?” he asked.

“Better than what?”

“This.” He gestured at the space between them. “Sneakin’ around like you ain’t the one who started it.”

“Started what?”

“You know damn well.”

Mae stood up so fast the world tilted. “I ain’t start nothin’. You the one that came up to me at the market.”

“And you came back.”

They stared at each other, neither willing to blink first. Then she laughed—short and ugly. “God, you’re insufferable.” “Yeah? So why you keep showin’ up?” Elijah smirked.

Mae didn’t have an answer for that.

By late August, the air got heavier. Not just from the heat—but from eyes.

Mrs. Calloway from church started watching her too long after Sunday service. The neighbor boy, Johnny, started following her halfway down the road before turning back with a red face and guilty hands stuffed in his pockets. Even Lila—usually too wrapped up in gossip to care—started giving her sideways looks.

“Mae, you alright?” Lila asked one afternoon while they shelled peas on the porch. “You been… different.”

“Different how?” Mae said too fast.

“Just… I dunno. You goin’ places alone. Talkin’ to yourself. Like… full on conversations.”

Mae’s hands froze mid-shell. “I ain’t.”

Lila shrugged. “Alright. Just… folks are talkin’, that’s all.”

Mae stood up, muttering something about chores, and disappeared inside before her stomach could twist worse. That night, she found Elijah at the river’s edge, skipping rocks like he had nothing but time.

“You been runnin’ off more than usual,” he said, without looking at her.

“You ever think maybe I don’t like bein’ followed?”

“You keep comin’ back though.”

“Maybe I’m just bored.”

He snorted at that. “You’re a bad liar, Mae Mobley.”

Something in her chest twisted.

“I hate this town,” she said finally, kicking at the dirt near the water. “Hate the way everybody looks at me like I’m some—some broken thing waitin’ to be pitied or married off or both.”

Elijah stopped throwing rocks. “You ain’t broken.”

She laughed, sharp and humorless. “Yeah? You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

Mae crouched next to him, knees digging into the soft ground. “You don’t know what it’s like in that house. What he’s like when he’s drunk. What he says to me. What he does.”

Elijah’s mouth tightened. “Then leave.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Where would I go? Who’d have me?” Her voice cracked, and she hated that he heard it.

Elijah reached out, thumb brushing a stray tear off her cheek like it wasn’t nothin’. And God help her, she let him.

“You’re real stupid,” she whispered against his neck.

“Right back at you.”

They stayed like that until the sun disappeared and the air turned cool and thick with night.

The next couple weeks blurred. Mae ducked out of the house more and more, even when it meant coming back to slammed doors and curses thrown like fists.

At school, she stopped answering when her friends called her name. At church, she sat stiff as stone, staring at the hymn book but never turning the pages.

Her daddy started asking questions too.

“You seein’ somebody?” he asked one night over dinner, eyes narrow, voice low.

Mae choked on her cornbread, shaking her head. “Ain’t nobody.”

“Mm.” He didn’t believe her. Not for a second.

That night, she heard him loading shells into his shotgun.

One afternoon, Mae met Elijah behind the Miller place.

“You ever think about runnin’?” she asked him, breath short from sneaking out.

“All the time.”

“Where would you go?”

He smiled at her like she was the dumbest thing he’d ever seen. “Ain’t about where. Just about goin’.”

She bit her lip. “If I left… would you come with me?”

He studied her then, long and slow. “You serious?”

Mae swallowed hard. “I think I am.”

Elijah’s face softened just a little. “You’re trouble, you know that?”

“Yeah. You love it though.”

The night she kissed him again—full, desperate, messy—she felt like she could finally breathe for the first time in years.

The air felt wrong the night it all cracked open.

Mae slipped out barefoot like always, breath catching with every step toward the woods. The air hung thick, the moon too bright, too still.

Elijah stood by the tree line, hands shoved deep in his pockets, shoulders tight like he felt it too.

“They know,” he said before she could speak.

Her chest tightened. “Who?”

“Everyone.”

Somewhere in the distance, she heard engines start. Voices shouting. The low thrum of men gathering.

Her stomach twisted hard, and she grabbed his arm. “We gotta go.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere—just—just run.”

But Elijah didn’t move. His face flickered, something unreadable crossing it like shadow and light both fighting for space.

“Mae…” he started, voice different now. Softer. Almost sad. “You need to wake up.”

Her mouth went dry. “What?”

He touched her face, palm warm against her skin. “Ain’t no runnin’ from this.”

Then—just like that—he was gone.

Not walked away. Not faded.

Gone.

Like he’d never been there.

Mae stood frozen, the air thick and hollow, her heart pounding so hard she thought it’d split her chest.

Behind her, she heard voices. Real ones. Her father. Mr. Langley. The Parker boys. Lila. All of them.

“Where is he, Mae?” her father screamed, drunk rage thick in his throat. “You been runnin’ round talkin’ to yourself like a damn fool—where is he?!”

Mr. Langley stepped forward, eyes wide with something close to fear. “She’s been down at the river for weeks now. Sittin’ there talkin’ to the air. Ain’t nobody with her.”

“I swear I seen her laughin’ at nothin’,” one of the boys said, voice shaking.

Lila covered her mouth, already crying.

Mae backed away, stumbling over roots, breath coming too fast, mind spinning.

“No,” she whispered. “No, y’all lyin’—he was—he—”

But when she looked back at the tree line, there was nothing.

No footprints. No cigarettes left half-burnt. No worn jacket hung over the fence post.

Just dirt.

Just air.

Just Mae.

Alone.

Like she’d always been.

Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground, fists digging into the cold earth like she could pull him back if she just clawed deep enough.

“Where is he, Mae?” her father’s voice cracked through the air, thick and furious.

And that’s when it started unraveling.

In her head, Elijah had stood beside her that day at the market, tossing insults like coins, laughing in the sun. But now—now she remembered Mr. Langley’s eyes following her as she argued with no one, shouting at bruised peaches and empty space.

That afternoon behind the schoolhouse, she thought she’d cursed Elijah out, thrown rocks at his feet. But it was just her, screaming at dirt, throwing stones at nothing while Johnny Parker slowed his bike to stare, then sped off, eyes wide with something close to fear.

She remembered sitting by the riverbank, knees pulled to her chest, whispering secrets she thought she’d told Elijah—only now she saw it for what it was. Her, talking to herself, laughing too loud, crying too hard, with Lila and the Calloway sisters watching from the path, murmuring to each other, walking faster.

The kiss—God, the kiss.

Mae’s breath hitched as her mind twisted on itself. There hadn’t been lips against hers behind the Miller place. No warm hands pulling her close. Just her—back pressed up against the barn wall, kissing air, clutching at herself like a lunatic. The neighbor’s dog barking in the distance, tail tucked, too scared to come near.

At church…

She could see it now. The preacher mid-sermon, pausing as Mae sat stiff in the pew, mouthing words to someone who wasn’t there. Lila tugging at her sleeve afterward, voice shaking. “Mae, you alright?”

And that night by the river, when she said she wanted to run away… she hadn’t been speaking to anyone at all. Just standing knee-deep in muddy water, talking to fog, her voice carrying across the field where two boys fishing had packed up and run home, saying Mae Mobley was cursed.

Her head spun, nausea crawling up her throat.

The last thing she remembered—the mob behind her, torches shaking in their hands, fear turning to confusion, then horror, as they all realized together:

Mae had been screaming for a ghost.

Her father’s grip tightened around her wrist, dragging her backward toward the truck, toward home, toward more locked doors and darker nights.

Mae’s fingernails scraped at the dirt, one last cry breaking from her throat.

“Elijah!”

But the woods stayed empty.

The night swallowed her whole.

Fin

[mikaela-granger]

The Long Wait Chapter 23

Woman in Black Part 2 (Sean’s and Lorelei’s POV)

Fandom: Grimm

Pairing: Sean Renard/OFC

The Long Wait Masterlist

A/N: This is the last chapter of Part 1, or as I have taken to calling it Season 1. I have already started working on Season 2. First chapter of that will be uploaded tomorrow or even sometime today. Thank you to those of you who have stuck with it so far. Season 2 will see a shift in Sean and Lorelei’s relationship, especially as Lorelei and Nick find out about Sean’s true nature. What Grimm season 2 moments do you want to see included? Let me know in the comments.

***Sean’s POV***

It was a rare day when Sean was able to head home early. Although there were active cases, he knew he could trust his people to work without him hovering. As he headed to his car, he pulled out his phone, deciding to invite Lorelei over for dinner. He hadn’t seen her much lately, despite living in the same building. They were both busy people. He had seen her in the elevator several times, getting the chance to meet her new dog, Molly. However, no prolonged one on one time. It was annoying him, being so close yet so far. By the time he reached his car, Lorelei had responded affirmatively. A smile crossed his face as he climbed in. He knew his housekeeper would have just restocked the kitchen; he would surprise his soulmate with a home-cooked meal.

To his surprise, he ran into his soulmate leaving the parking garage in their apartment building. “Hey, fancy running into you here.” She joked, a big smile on her face as she approached him.

Sean smiled at her, feeling his heart warm at the sight of her. “Indeed.”

“I’m just going to take Molly for a walk, have a shower, and then I’ll be right up. Should I bring anything?”

Sean shook his head. “Take your time. And just your charming personality.”

Lorelei laughed as they stepped into the elevator. “I don’t think Nick would agree with you about that.” She commented.

“Yes, well, you are his annoying younger sister.” He joked, pressing the buttons for both their floors.

They went their separate ways and Sean continued to his apartment, still contemplating what to cook. He should have the ingredients for spaghetti. His plans were changed when he entered his apartment to see it had been trashed. Quickly, he withdrew his gun and slowly entered, sweeping the area quickly. He placed his phone down on the side table and entered the living area. Sean spun around to face the kitchen and paused as he saw a pair of feet sticking out from behind the kitchen island. Dread filled his gut, as he cautiously moved forward. He stared in surprise as he recognised the person. He knelt beside the body. It was his housekeeper. “Oh no, Patty.”

Just then his phone started ringing. He looked towards it, as someone stepped in his line of sight. He heard a roar, before he was attacked and knocked out. His last thought was hoping Lorelei took Molly for an extra-long walk.

When he came to, the sun had set. Sean was in pain and had a hard time focusing. Sean shifted slightly and realised his hands were bound. He became aware of someone in front of him. They seemed to be asking him something, however he couldn’t hear properly or move. It didn’t take long for Sean’s vision and hearing to clear up. There was a man standing in front of him. Asian, Sean wasn’t one percent sure which part. And he was asking him where the coins were. The man continued beating him, even after Sean gave in and told him he longer had them. Apparently, Farley Kolt didn’t have the coins either. The man grabbed a large knife from Sean’s kitchen and walked towards him, asking him again where the coins were. Just as he went to slit Sean’s throat, there was a knock at his front door. For a moment, Sean felt his stomach drop, praying it wasn’t Lorelei. Immediately, he felt relief when he heard it was Sergeant Wu. The man went and peered out through the peephole. Sean couldn’t quite make out what was happening outside the door; the man returned to his side mentioning something about it being his lucky day and then everything went black.

When he came to, Burkhardt and Griffin were there. He was seen to by medical personal and his apartment was filled with police. Once he felt well enough, he started to fill them in on what had happened.

“He wanted the coins that were stolen from the jeweller.” He was explaining to Nick. “I told him that Farley Kolt had them and he said that he found Kolt in Los Angeles, spent three days with him, and was sure he didn’t.” Sean paused to press an ice pack to his cheek. “You might want to check with LAPD if Kolt’s body has been found. I doubt he left him alive. If he didn’t end up with the coins, who did?”

“Maybe he got rid of them before this guy caught up with him.” Burkhardt suggested.

Griffin piped in. “I don’t think this guy thought so, that’s why he’s here in Portland. He had photos of all of us. Me, Nick, you Captain, and even Nick’s sister.”

Sean froze slightly and glanced at Burkhardt, who had tensed up at the mention of his sister. “He had photos of Lorelei as well?”

Burkhardt nodded and Griffin continued. “They were taken by a private investigator from New York. His body was found this morning at a downtown hotel.”

“Yeah, and we found a camera in the trunk of a rental car, downloaded the photos. That’s why we came after you.” Burkhardt explained.

“Lucky for me. He had no intention of leaving me alive.” Sean said, glancing at Burkhardt. “Is Lorelei, ok? He didn’t visit her first?”

Burkhardt shook his head. “No, she’s at her place. Officer DeMarco is with her. Wu says they met her at the elevator as she was heading out.”

Sean felt relieved. She was safe. He was grateful Wu had arrived before Lorelei made her way up. He had no doubt that if Lorelei was on his list, this man would have grabbed her had she shown up at his door.

“You get a good look at him?” Griffin asked.

“Yeah. Asian, mid-forties.” Sean told him before looking toward Burkhardt. “He had a tattoo on the side of his head.” Sean gestured to his temple.

Burkhardt glanced up at Griffin. “Sounds like the picture of the guy up in New York.” Griffin said.

“What picture?” Sean asked in confusion.

“Akira Kimura.” Burkhardt answered.

“Who is he?”

Before Burkhardt or Griffin could answer, Wu approached them. “Uh, Baby Burkhardt is on her way up. DeMarco tried to hold her off as long as he could, but…she wants to know what is going on and to check on the Captain.”

Sean felt a warm feeling fill his chest; his soulmate was concerned about him. Burkhardt, however, sighed in exasperation and stood up. “I’ll get rid of her Cap.”

“No, its fine. Let her in. She’s just being a good neighbour. And she also may still be a target.” Sean assured him, even though he wasn’t fond of the idea of his soulmate seeing him in such a state. However, he needed to see with his own eyes that she was ok. Furthermore, there may still be a chance that this Kimura could still go after her.

Burkhardt nodded before walking toward the door. “Hey, what the hell is going on?” Sean heard Lorelei say.

“Well, you’d know if you answered your damn phone.” Was Burkhardt’s reply.

“I left it at home charging when I took Molly for a walk.”

And there she was, Sean’s soulmate. He had to work hard to keep the smile off his face, the one that was meant only for her. She looked beautiful, although her face was filled with concern. Her long dark hair was tied in a low bun, and she was wearing a light blue sundress. He hadn’t seen her in a dress before. Had she dressed up for him? For their dinner? He internally cursed this Kimura. Tonight, may have been a turning point in his relationship with Lorelei and it had been ruined. Not only had he ruined their date and threatened Sean, but he was also a threat to Lorelei. He was going to kill him.

Lorelei’s gaze fell on Sean and her eyes widened as she took in his appearance. “Oh my god, are you ok Captain Renard?” she asked, taking a step closer to him. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but it seemed like Lorelei was trying to stop herself from running to him.

Sean offered her a smile, not his usual, he did have an image to maintain. “I’ve been better, but I am ok. Thank you for your concern, Lorelei.”

Biting her lip, she turned to her brother for answers. He and Griffin began filling her in on what had happened, the threat Kimura posed to all of them, including her. “But why me? I don’t know anything about these coins.”

“He might try to get to me through you.” Burkhardt told her. “It might be a good idea for you to stay somewhere else tonight.”

“This place is crawling with cops. Do you really think he’ll come back? Besides, where would I stay? If he does come after me, whoever I’m with is at risk. He killed Captain Renard’s housekeeper and attacked two police officers.” Lorelei pointed out. “I’ll just stay at home. You were going to have officers watching me anyway.”

It was decided Lorelei would stay in her own home with two officers. Officer DeMarco and Officer Chen escorted Lorelei back downstairs and would be staying with her overnight. With his soulmate safe for now, Sean cleaned himself up and got changed, heading back to the station with Griffin and Burkhardt. He was determined to catch this guy.

“Yeah. That’s the same guy.” Sean said, looking at the picture provided by Burkhardt. “Akira Kimura.”

“He was somehow connected to my case at Roth and Flynn.” Hank told him.

“The guys who came for the coins.” Sean stated and Burkhardt confirmed. “God knows those coins aren’t healthy to be around.”

They entered his office. “We did a little more digging and found out Kimura is tied to a secret organisation called the Dragon’s Tongue. It was founded in 1901, connected to the Japanese Imperial Army.” Burkhardt explained.

“It went underground after the Japanese defeat in World War Two.” Griffin continued.

“But it appears the organisation has resurfaced with ties to the Yakuza.” Burkhardt added.

“We got a report that Kimura was identified by state police in Hamburg, Germany three months ago. Now he’s here.” Griffin finished up.

“I want you to tear this town apart and find this son of a bitch.” He told the pair. They both nodded and left his office. Sean looked down into the face of the man who had attacked him, who was a threat to his soulmate. The only person Sean cared for, apart from his mother.

***Lorelei’s POV***

When Lorelei returned to her apartment, escorts in tow she decided to order a couple of pizzas, figuring she might as well feed her guests. Ben and Lucy, she had gotten their given names from them because she wasn’t going to keep calling them Officers DeMarco and Chen, had tried to tell her not to worry, but she insisted. Once the three had eaten, Lorelei decided to retreat to her room for the night but told her guests to make themselves at home. Molly followed her in; however, Daisy had decided that Lucy’s lap was the best spot for a nap.

Lorelei moved around her room, changing into something more comfortable before settling on her bed, Molly curled up next to her. She had her laptop playing a documentary in the background. If she was honest with herself, the whole situation had her worried. This guy had broken into a police captain’s home, killed his housekeeper, beaten him, and knocked out a cop. When Lorelei had first seen Sean, it had taken everything in her not to run to him and take him in her arms. Seeing him looking so vulnerable…it did something to her. She wanted to be out there, tracking this guy down. Not only had he hurt someone she cared for deeply, but he may have been involved in the death of her parents. However, she couldn’t do anything, not with her protectors outside. There was no way to sneak out. And she had no doubt her brother would want her to sit this one out.

Lorelei sighed, absent mindedly running her hand up and down Molly’s furry back. She heard the chime of her phone, indicating she had received a message. It was Monroe, checking in on her. Nick had filled him in, and they were currently looking for a way to apprehend Kimura. Nick wanted to question Kimura about their parents. After replying, Lorelei decided to message Sean and check in on him. He confirmed he was alright and still at the precinct. Putting her phone down, Lorelei laid down and tried to focus on the documentary. There wasn’t much she could do right now. Hopefully tomorrow she could move around without her guards. She made note to contact her supervisor in the morning; she didn’t think she would be able to focus on work.

Lorelei jumped as her phone went off. She sat up, feeling groggy. She must have fallen asleep. Glancing at her beside clock she saw it was just after midnight. With a slight groan, she reached over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. It was Monroe. She answered it, and Monroe started talking straight away. His words were a bit jumbled. Something about Juliette, hospital, a cat, Adalind Schade, and the spice shop. After getting him to slow down, she finally understood that Juliette was unconscious in the hospital. Apparently, she got scratched by a cat that Adalind had brought it. He and Nick had the cat in question and were on their way to the spice shop to figure out what Adalind had done to Juliette. Lorelei told Monroe that she would meet them at the spice shop.

She got up and quickly got dressed. Molly was dead to the world, dreaming about whatever it was that dogs dreamt about. Lorelei slipped her phone into her pocket as she walked to the door. Then froze. There was no way she was getting out of this apartment without the police officers in her living room finding out. She groaned in frustration debating what to do. Lorelei couldn’t exactly stroll out her front door. Moving quickly and quietly, she tiptoed out toward her living room. The TV was on. Lucy was where Lorelei had left her, Daisy still in her lap and Ben was watching the TV, clearly trying to stay awake. No way to slip by without him noticing. She went back to her room, trying to come up with another solution. Climbing out the window was not an option. There was a vent, but she wasn’t sure where it came out. She suddenly remembered something she had bought from the spice shop. A powder that according to Rosalee acted as a powerful sedative. Lorelei thought it might come in handy one day. She quickly checked her bag and yep, there it was. Digging it out, she kept it in her hand as she made her way back toward the living room. She dug a handful out of the pouch and approach the resting officers. Ben glanced up; however, she quickly blew the powder in his direction. She watched as it settled over the pair. It worked fast, Ben was out before he knew what hit him.

After checking their pulses, and Daisy’s as well, Lorelei left.

Lorelei arrived at the spice shop, both surprised and a little grateful that Nick had already left. She wasn’t sure how he would feel if he knew that not only did, she slip protective custody but also drugged his fellow officers. Rosalee was mixing up something, hoping to knock the aggressive cat out. It was currently in a carrier on a bench in the side room.

“How’d you get out?” Monroe asked. “I thought you had two cops hanging out at your place.”

Lorelei bit her lip and glanced sheepishly at the floor. “I may have…sort of…drugged them.”

Monroe and Rosalee looked at her in surprise. “With what?”

She looked at Rosalee. “You know that powerful sedative I bought from here?”

A look of understanding crossed Rosalee’s face as she continued mixing the ingredients she needed. “They should be fine. They’ll be awake in a couple of hours.” She said, referring to the officers.

Lorelei walked over and peered into the carrier, jumping back when the cat screeched and threw itself against the carrier door. “Wow, that is one angry kitty.”

Monroe chuckled. “It certainly is. Although we aren’t sure if it’s the effects of whatever Adalind did to it or, you know, how the cat is.”

“You’re sure this is going to knock that feline out?” Monroe asked, returning to the side room, a steaming pot in hand.

Rosalee followed him in. “It won’t knock it out, it will paralyse it for about 30 minutes. That should give us enough to check its claws and saliva.” She answered, placing the mortar and pestle down on the table. Lorelei joined them. “Ok, lift the cover.” She said, referring to the cover they had placed over the carrier. Monroe did so, while Rosalee added the final ingredients to the steaming pot before sliding it to sit beside the carrier. They quickly dropped the cover, allowing the steam from the pot to do its work.

THE END OF SEASON 1 – STAY TUNED FOR SEASON 2 – CHAPTER 1 NOW AVAILABLE

Next Part

Taglist: @zoexme

Banner by @cafekitsune

[small-sinclair]

Can you do more slasher band au headcanons for bug infested bodies???

PSA: Never watched the movies or know who they are, but looked and fanart and fics to get personality.

Au by: @arkunder

Jesse Cromeans and Asa Emory as “Bug Infested Bodies”.

Jesse doesn’t drink water. No one knows why. Asa has to force him to drink water.

Asa has a collection of ski masks that are all different. One has a lot of eyes, one looks like a disco ball, and another is white.

Asa’s fans like to give him crow gifts. Buttons, pins, coins, acorns, leaves… it’s kinda out of control.

Whenever Asa is stuck on a question, he likes to rub Jesse’s head, saying, “Magic 8 Ball, Magic 8 Ball. What should I do?” Then Jesse would answer, “Whatever and whoever the hell you want.”

Asa has a PhD in bugs and science. He could be a professor if he wanted but he likes writing music more.

The band was made by accident. Jesse was playing music one day in a bar and Asa told him he sucks. So, Asa got on stage with him and did a song together.

Asa and Jesse have a bro-mance. They’ll fight and throw hands one moment then hug it out the next.

Jesse has a photo of him at the beach with his adopted daughter and son in his wallet and back pocket when he performs. (Yeah, he has a family)

Jesse loves making the music videos and Asa makes the props.

Asa’s dogs do come on stage from time to time and the crowd goes nuts. They have merch and a fan base around them. They’re also featured on some songs, too, like barking, howling, and panting.

Asa is good friends with Lester Sinclair. Jonesy and Asa’s dogs have play dates on the road while the Sinclairs, Asa, and Jesse do a LIVE Jam on social media while raising money for an animal shelter.

They like to do backflips on stage.

Due to Asa’s resting bitch face, it’s hard to show his emotions. When he does smile and show joy, he brightens up the room.

If Jesse has his black jacket off and his back turned, you can see where he got stabbed on his shoulder.

Jesse likes to collect new skull masks from fans. His favorite one he gotten was from a little kid; it has a unicorn and some butterfly sticks.

There’s a segment in the show called “Bug Facts with The Collector”. During this time, a bug comes out and Asa gives a little science lesson about the bug and what it does.

Side note: There was a Boy Scout troop and he invited them on stage so they could get their Bug badge.

They like to perform near museums because they visit the day before the show. They meet fans, take photos, do autographs while looking at historical stuff and the big bug displays.

Jesse has been arrested for public intoxication and assault.

Asa sleep walks.

Jesse screams in his sleep.

Both go to therapy.

When they are on break, Asa likes to guest speak at schools about bugs and shows off his collection. Jesse goes home to his kids and partner; he takes this time to be a father and go to important events like ballet and games.

[fablesuntold]

@musingmemories sent: “you are remarkably well-behaved tonight, what have you been up to?” — Kang Mi-na to High!Thanos ✨

Neon colours and bright flashing lights. They flickered across his field of vision, occupying every nook and cranny of the fluorescent lit room in where they resided, making it look more like a rave than a bunker. Having just popped a luminous yellow pill onto his tongue to let it dissolve seconds ago, its effects had already began to take ahold of him. His whole body tingled. Enough so that his limbs weren’t his own to control anymore, each movement feeling slower than what they actually were.. but at least the anxiety for the next game was well and truly quelled, excited anticipation replacing trepidation in the form heightened confidence. He’d voted O for a reason. Thanos wanted to be here participating in these crazy death games. After all, this place was the answer to his prayers.. a way out of the crippling debt MG Coin had gotten him into.

But he’d be fibbing if he said there weren’t some left over nerves that even the drugs couldn’t subdue. Despite his slower motions, his mind raced a mile a minute wondering the endless possibilities of what the next playground game could be. Hide and Seek? Simon Says? Tag? It was impossible to prepare a strategy with the unknown hanging over every player; an eerie tension sitting silently in the room as they awaited the countdown to end and the pink suits to march in and whisk them away once more.

Rocking erratically in the corner beside his bunk bed in an attempt to let out some of the pent up energy within before the games began, Thanos showed no signs of stopping.. not until the snide remark of ‘you are remarkably well-behaved tonight, what have you been up to?’ aimed right at him in the most alluring tone he’d ever heard had his head whipping upward to find none other than Mi-na positioning herself on the edge of his bed; stare unfree of judgement as usual. Could she get any sexier~? If only she’d give him the time of day instead of keeping on with her hard to get charade Thanos was more than glad to play along with. Truthfully? He liked a challenge.

“Yo yo, pretty lady. Come sit that cute little ting over here right next to me, won’t you~?” Wiggling his index finger at her in a ‘come hither’ motion as well as his eyebrows, Thanos then gestured to the spot on the ground next to him, fingers snapping as though to tell her to sit there— what most would have considered a rather rude gesture, meant with no obvious ill-mannered intent.

He’d already had his candy.. some eye candy couldn’t go amiss either~

Wide eyed and clearly spaced out on another planet, Thanos reached for the cross necklace tucked away under his sports jacket, giving it a little shake when presented until the remaining pills inside the hidden compartment could be heard rattling around against the metal. “To answer your question.. I’ve been talkin’ to God. He isn’t one for conversation though.. guess he sent an angel to do the talking for him~” Looking her up and down with a cheeky smirk pulling at both corners of his lips, Thanos nudged her shoulder with his own before flipping open the lid of the cross to reveal the colourful contents varying in shapes and sizes.

From ecstasy to LED— Thanos had it all. There was plenty to go around too, but would he ever consider sharing his treats with anybody else? That depended. “What d’you say, Señorita~?” Without waiting, Thanos fished out a vibrant pink colour and stuck in between his teeth until the tip of the pill was sticking out right at her, staring expectantly as though attempting to entice her to take it from him if she dared.

[sol-shines]

@ your tags PLEASE talk abt your parker designs!!!

this is for you and @dreaming-of-stories-and-stars THANK YOU for enabling me :3 sorry this took a little bit

if you don't know what this is about i drew my takes on the parkers here !

rambles under the cut:

SO what i sorta wanted to do was make. each parker flow into the next while subtly changing in between ,,, something something losing yourself to the game, becoming unrecognizable. so let's cover it parker by parker:

prime: i personally Love the hc that the coin is parker's mom. so prime is a lil ancient roman coded guy. he's SOOOO eldest sibling coded help. like he and his mom have a very strained relationship but also he thinks that if he just does whatever she wants she'll finally be proud of him :P whoops! and yeah v explosive anger (firewalker reference!), leading to ego, leading to. You Know. anyway. oh ALSO the parkers get younger as we progress so :))) they all STARTED at 19 but have varying degrees of age. so prime is in his mid-thirties.

parker ii: AH the most elusive of the parkers. SO: in my personal lore interp, parker ii was created when prime starting to push back against the coin more and more to the point where it was becoming a problem. and prime of course is very destructive and makes a mess when he's angry. so ii came about from me going "...what if parker just. said fuck it and left. didn't give a shit about ego just didn't wanna play the game anymore and found a way out." and that's exactly what my ii did. absolutely fucking vanished and quit the game for good. somehow. which uhhh MIGHT have been what caused prime to go apeshit ("why does ii get to leave and i'm stuck here?") and end prehistory. whoops. so i wanted to make them look very vagabond-y. somehow got even edgier than prime (impressive). also they're abt 30-ish. and have crazy gender stuff going on. possibly transfem. "but how is that possible if you hc the parkers as transmasc-" shhh. i don't know <3

park3r: GOD i loved doing this one. this parker is such a bitch and i love him. the first commissioner parker, created bc "OKAY so we gotta make him more young and impressionable and less unstable AND take him out of this game bc very clearly Bad Things will happen if he stays" so they made. a chronically online teenager and made them commissioner AMDNFM. god yeah i love this design he's sooo. just a 19-year-old trying to fill an impossible role and putting on a cool face about it. tragic, yes. but they're gonna complain the whole time and make everyone else miserable too. fully believe he was just scared and out of his depth the whole trial :( oops why are parkers iii and iiii so sad. i drew him closer to mid-20s here but honestly he could easily be younger

p4rker: LOVE this guy's lore so my hc is that after the trial that killed park3r it was like "uhhhh FUCK we need a new one of those. stat." so. they just. took park3r's incin'd body (ik it's not really Canon that park3r was incin'd he just Died but. let me have this) and like. stitched it back together. so p4rker is covered in burns and stitched together like frankenstein all over, and they just threw a mask on them like "see!!! new guy!!" the result of this being they didn't have. a whole ton of time to add shit like Personality, so p4rker is the outlier in that they're very naive and even polite? they don't understand what all the fuss is about them and just wants to be. nice? shame he didn't stick around long :/ the drippy bits are a little percolation nod! in this particular drawing he's like 20 :(

pvrker is. obviously the least human. park3r was more of a prototype of a commissioner, p4rker was a temporary placeholder at best, pvrker... was well and truly made For The Game. and his appearance reflects that. kinda a combination of iii's bluntness and 4's naivety. in-universe some people think he's the most sinister or whatever bc he's so directly Controlled By ILB Shit and that's not NOT true but like. give him a break guys he's like 6 days old he's new at this :(

ANYWAY that's so long holy shit. here are my rambles i hope u like them. im So Bad at blaseball lore so someone yell at me if something i put in there isn't accurate but. yeag :)

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Title fic:The wind that shakes the Barley.

 Here’s the thing about memories. They don’t make you older. They’re just there. They’re feelings and thoughts and can fade over time, disappearing into the ever never to see again.

 However, sometimes they don’t always fade. They linger in your mind, playing over and over again. Sometimes they stick in your brain, making you unable to forget. Ever.

 Sometimes, you die and wake up again, remembering a life long past. And sometimes that changes things.

---

 A small bang echoed through the apartment, Midoriya Inko barely looking up from her book as she sat on the couch.

 “Any injuries?” she called out, turning a page. 

 “No!”

 “Anything damaged?”

 “No!”

 “Alright,” Inko said, picking up her cup of tea to sip. Elsewhere in the apartment, a young boy named Midoriya Izuku sighed as he turned to his notebook, crossing off a line.

 “The addition of vodka to the mixture did not cause a significant change in freeze point. Rather it exploded.” Izuku muttered as he wrote down his words. “Possibly add antifreeze? Mom said she’d only allow it if I can prove I won’t be harmed by it. Do more research.” Izuku closed the notebook with a sigh, turning back to his experiment. Recreating the Flask of Frost from his old life was more challenging then he’d hoped. The Flask of Fire had been pretty simple, as had remaking the flame proof liquid to treat his clothing and body with. But he found himself stuck with Frost. 

 The boy quickly began cleaning up the mess created. He tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of it’s bun behind his ear with a shoulder, juggling his mess. He missed Kihm and Sera. Those two would have delighted in helping him figure this out. Honestly the two would have had a blast in this world, the science so far ahead of everything. Izuku certainly enjoyed it.

 He dumped the items in his arms into the box in his room, meaning for disposing of his creations before he removed his soot-covered apron and goggles, dropping them into the hamper. Leaving his room, Izuku passed by his mother who simply glanced up to make sure he was okay before going back to his book. 

 “I’m going out tonight,” Izuku told her as he went to the kitchen for some water.

 “You have school tomorrow.”

 “Ha.” Izuku snorted. “School.”

 “Izuku,” Inko said mildly. Izuku groaned, rolling his eyes and dramatically flopping onto a kitchen counter.

 “It’s so duuuuuumb. And the teachers are assholes.”

 “Language.”

 “Mother I have heard you during poker night.”

 “Trying to be a good parent.” Inko said quietly. It made Izuku get off the counter to walk over to where she sat. He hefted himself over the back of the couch so he could lean into her, arms wrapping around her.

 “You’re a great parent. Fuck anyone else saying otherwise.” Izuku kissed her head, Inko putting the book down to hug her son’s arm.

 It really was true for Izuku. He wouldn’t call Inko perfect; he’d never believed anyone could be perfect. But she was a great parent. Better then his old life where his parents were criminals who only had him to continue the Cadash family. He’d loved them distantly but man they’d been terrible parents. Inko though? Inko was great. She took every bit of his wildly scattered personality he’d had to rebuild in stride and loved him more then anything. He’d heard her threaten Hisashi within an inch of the bastard’s life. That meant a lot.

 “I love you baby,” Inko said, squeezing his arm. “School is still mandatory.”

 “Uuuuuuugh,” Izuku groaned. “Fine I’ll only hunt for a few hours and come back before midnight.”

 “Good.” Inko patted his arm as he let go. “Now go and clean your room.”

 “Fine.” Izuku shook his head with a laugh as he got up. He loved his mom.

-0-

 Izuku used to be known as Malika Cadash. He’d been a she then, a criminal who was told to go spy on the Conclave to see how things would work out. Back to buisness or would they need a new way to make coin. She’d ended up surviving an explosion and somehow found herself leading an entire organization where people claimed she was the face of a human god. Funny given she was a dwarf and the Chant said she was less then any human in the world.

 It hadn’t been all bad, Izuku knew through the shattered dreams and memories. Malika found friends, love and even became a hero. All with just a pair of daggers and some science knowledge. 

 Frankly she’d also sucked at daggers and took to the more sinister side of rogue work easily. So it really was a surprise to Izuku to remember that. 

 It was what inspired him to try and recreate his old tools, learn his old tricks. He would be a hero again. Even if he was Quirkless. 

 Sitting on a building’s roof edge, Izuku peered down at the fight going on below. Amplifier was fighting a pair of villains with what looked like the same Quirk but… it felt off. Izuku squinted, seeing one of the men fighting spit and the other… oh eww.

 “He just swallowed the spit,” Izuku said in disgust. He wrote that down in his notebook anyway. “He probably has a Copy Quirk. Works with spit the guy swallows…  ewww.”

 “Good to know,” a voice said from behind Izuku. He didn’t flinch.

 “Hi Eraser!” Izuku said as the erasure hero settled beside him for the briefest of seconds before dropping down into the fray. He watched as the two heroes worked together to take the villains down. When they finished, Eraserhead spoke with Amplifier, motioning up to the roof. Izuku waved as the heroine looked up. She shook her head, probably amused. 

 Eraserhead used his scarf to scale the building after they secured the villains, Amplifier obviously calling for some police. Izuku waited patiently.

 “It’s late kid.” Eraser grunted.

 “I’m aware. I’m going home soon.” Izuku groaned. “I hate school but mom can’t get me into online stuff.” Izuku would think the woman hadn’t even tried if he didn’t know her so well. She had, multiple times tried. But nothing worked. 

 “School is important.” Eraser said.

 “Well duh.” Izuku snorted. He went back to writing down his analysis of the fight he’d seen. “But between the Quirkist teachers, the bullying and the fact it’s a very low ranking school it’s not worth it. Particularly with Bakugou around.”

 “Bakugou?” Eraserhead asked. Izuku hummed. He’d known the hero for a while, hunting heroes at night tended to do that. While at first the guy used to try to make Izuku go home it evolved into him just nagging about the time and chasing him around when Izuku decided to mess with him. Most of the other underground heroes were the same.

 “Guy whose been told for his entire life he’s got a perfect Quirk. Never faces any consequences for bullying or using it either.” Izuku shrugged. “System worked against him but he’s also been always a bit of an angry brat. Knew him since we were born. Very vivid memory of before age four the kid giving me a nickname to mean useless.”

 “Personality disorder?” Eraserhead asked.

 “Possibly. Or could just be an angry child who never got taught consequences are things that can happen.” Izuku shrugged. “Honeslty he’s really not creative with his bullying either. Typical smart jock who is the apple of the teacher’s eyes. Loud bragging, some Quirk use on other kids. Not as much as when we were little but like…” Izuku shrugged.

 “So a budding villain,” Eraserhead said.

 “Oh no. Well maybe not. A budding Endeavour yeah. He’s got skill and drive but needs a cold hard reality check more then anything.” Izuku said in disagreement. “I hope he does get into UA cause I think having super strong people from all around the country be in his class might shake him from his big fish mentality.” Izuku shrugged. It wasn’t like Bakugou bothered him. Not really. The bullying was boring frankly after years of being poisoned by his trainers to build up an immunity coupled with the backstabbing the Carta had in its ranks. Oooh I’m going to hurt you with my Quirk. Izuku started dumping his fireproofing on himself in their third year of elementary school. Oh I’m going to beat you up. Izuku could climb and hide better then the other kid. Izuku did step in when Bakugou bothered other kids, but that was about the extent of his involvement. More so when Bakugou realized he couldn’t hurt other children like he could try to hurt Izuku in school.

 Systematic bullying and abuse was awful. Izuku though could withstand it.

 “Well you are tweleve. That gives you time,” Eraserhead said.

 “Ha! I knew you knew who I am!” Izuku grinned. “Yeah, it does. Hoping for a different middle school honestly. Aldera suuuuuuuucks.” Izuku rolled his eyes. “Maybe look for an analyst specialized school.” 

 “Smart.” Eraser hummed. “And of course I know who you are you problem child. The only reason I don’t do anything is I’ve seen you use that chain of yours.” Izuku grinned. He closed his notebook with a sigh.

 “Alright I’m going home.” Izuku announced. He stood up to stretch before reaching under his hoodie to pull his chain out from where it was wrapped around his hips. “See you Aizawa.” With a hard snap, Izuku used the chain as a whip, wrapping it around a fire escape on another building before jumping off the one he stood on. A nice trick he’d picked up from Aizawa actually. He used to use chains to wrap around enemies and launch himself forward to them, and this new trick wasn’t much harder.

 “Wait you know-“ Eraserhead said before his voice was lost in the wind. Izuku just laughed. Hacking was easy, and his new worlds form of lock picking. It wasn’t hard to figure out who Eraserhead was with that. 

-0-

 Izuku tapped his fingers on the desk, staring at the screen in front of him. He’d been randomly wandering social media when he saw it. A post from a random account on Tumblr. Not something he’d pay attention to normally. If it wasn’t for two things.

 One, the name of the blog was IronFuckingBull. A phrase the Iron Bull, his husband, used in Izuku’s past life. 

 Two, the post had the same message written out in Qunlat, Tevinter, Elvish, Dwarven and Inquisiton code.  A code Izuku helped his spymaster develop his past life. 

 There were others like him out there. And… a very strong possibility Bull was one of them.

Notes: Ran out of steam, this is one I DO want to do. Basically it would be following Izuku as he and his friends adjust to their new lives. Some other notes: Nezu is Solas who died at the hands of the DA4 protag. Izuku had been with them and sat with him while he died.

Iron Bull is Tetsutetsu. Krem is Awase.

Momo is Varric while Hawke is Kaminari.

Fuyumi is Vivienne and has already exposed her father and entered politics with her husband Hawks (Duke Bastian reborn to)

Others would come.

Pairings: Izuku/Tetsutetsu, Momo/Kaminari, Fuyumi/Hawks. Others TBD

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Now that I've released the fic, I figured might as well post this little snippet of me blurping out some writing to figure out how I was going to write Nova and Evie's dynamic and where they'd be similar and different

It's heavily my headcanons and my interpretations of the text we've been given of Maggie and how the two of them interact in canon vs how they eventually interacted in my fic

Was trying to figure out mainly how to get Nova from point A to point B in terms of sympathizing with Maggie, while keeping Maggie as best in character as I could while simultaneously adding characterization I felt would fit

I'll stress that these are BLURBS and since I haven't edited this, it isn't always adjectives and descriptors I'd say fit the best. Lots of keeping things black and white rather than morally gray. Not necessarily because their situation is black and white, but more I was jotting my thoughts down and how I'd make things work

Not everything perfectly aligns with the end fic, but might be interesting addition to read for anyone interested

ig character study? But not polished and edited cleanly:

Nova wanted what she thought was best but stayed on the wrong side

She always thought it was the good side

Evie focused on herself, sticking to the side of good

She always thought the renegades were flawed

Nova defended her close ones till the end. Had a hard time accepting new friends

Evie brushed everyone away. And when the only one that mattered died, she crumpled.

Evie stuck to the side of good since there was some inspiration to do some good. Full in the gaps of her past, pretending to be selfless. Callum was the true selfless one. He saw how Evie was tired of having hope that she'll connect back to her roots.

He encouraged a new purpose for her and she ignored it

And now she can only do what she thinks is best. Stop pretending.

Nova and Evie lost the person that knew them best

Both were on the wrong side.

Both have been hurting

Nova felt like her past actions were a permanent mark on the renegades if she joined.

She wanted to leave but keep in touch. Do good but isolate herself

After all she's done for the person that ruined her life.

But that person also saved her life and knew her best

She could have been to her family's funeral if she hadn't gone with Ace. Made sure her sister's body was found and given a proper send off

She should have noticed the intentions of other anarchists and prevented bloodshed

She should fully pay for her actions. She's failed to avenge her family

But people wanted Nova around. They loved her.

Nova's heart was in the right place and now she can make a change with the support she needs

Evie has been "selfish" in order to survive. She's been alone. She had to give up hope for someone else to come in and name her

Joining the Renegades could have been the Anarchists without Callum who saw her potential

She thought she could try history/artifacts. Look for herself to fix herself

She didn't focus on others

Callum knew her more than anyone. He was selfless. She was not.

Now he's dead. Evie doesn't believe she can be selfless, so may as well fit into the category she belongs. 

And at the very least she can uphold her choice with the realization that the renegades are more corrupt than she thought. No one was as selfless as Callum. They should admit it like she did.

She's been making an effort to isolate herself for so long to protect herself

She's only eleven [Edit: This changed when I figured out timeline stuff. She turns thirteen in the fic]. She hasn't healed. She hasn't had a real family. Ironically something Nova had with the Anarchists

Nova and Evie are two sides of the same coin. Noble intentions on the side of evil and Selfish intentions on the side of good

The bad died for Nova to realize to join the "good"

The good died for Evie to split to the "bad"

Evie hates herself

Nova hates herself

Evie is thirteen years old

Nova's eighteen 

Nova can't fully relate to Evie. But she does see herself in Evie when she talks about the hypocrisy in the renegades. Feeling hurt

But when Evie talks about aligning herself to the side she fits. Nova remembers her discussion with Leroy.

With support, Evie could reach out again. Callum saw potential in Evie. Evie wants to connect again. 

With support, Nova got friends. On a path to actual happiness and resolution to avenging her family.

Nova sees a hurting girl, mad at the world for what it's done.  

Maggie doesn't believe she [Nova] gets it. She had family in the anarchists

Nova talks about the disconnect she felt too. Even now she can't get everything back, her sister's corpse never found

Maggie listens for once

Nova continues about how she's been selfish in her deceit, not so different from Maggie except Maggie's only cunning was her sticky fingers. Maggie was clear she didn't want people to get close while Nova manipulated the situation

[decadentpandawasteland]

Hello! Today marks Day 2 of my self-imposed writing challenge. While I may only be on the second day, it's been really fun to actually share my little creations of things and getting out of my comfort zone.

Today's post is about character creation. This character was inspired by one of my favorite web serials, Worm. If you haven't read Worm, the story is set in a world where superpowers and superheroes, referred to as capes, exist. It does a wonderful job going into the nuances of good and evil. I highly recommend it.

Feedback is always welcome, I greatly appreciate it! :)

Edit: This is still a WIP, which is why it feels unfinished.

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

Prompt: Create Character and explain their style

Sera ‘Pocket’ Blossom

Backstory

She lives in a world of heroes and villains, where superpowers and magic are one and the same. Sera Blossom, 17 years old, having grown up in the streets of the city. Her parents died in a villain attack, leaving just Sera. Even in a world of powers, people can still fall through the cracks, Paul and Sasha being two of them. This left a distaste in heroes and villains with Sera. The villains created the world she now finds herself stuck in and the heroes did little to nothing to help. It irked her, growing into a full hatred of both sides of the coin.

Description

Sera is short for her age at about 5’ even. She has a slight frame, usually covered in baggy clothes of some kind. Blonde hair that goes about to her shoulder blades, but generally kept up in a ponytail. She has green eyes. Under the baggy clothes, usually a hoodie or sweater, her body is deeply scarred. Burn marks run up and down her forearms, while one very nasty one runs from her right shoulder to her left hip. Sera mostly is quiet sound new people, but very loud and full of energy towards friends.

Power

Sera does have a power. She can create a small, extra dimensional space, about the same size and shape as a backpack. This nifty little trick is what had helped her survive the past 5 years on her own. The space is physically limited by the amount and size of what is stored in it. Bigger items take up more room. If she wanted to steal a cooked turkey, she could, but it would require her to empty out everything else in the storage space. She cannot store living things within the space. If she attempted to store more than what was physically allowed, it would create a backlash, causing Sera pain. The attempted-to-be-stored item will be thrown in whatever direction Sera is facing.

Pocket

Her vigilante persona goes by the codename Pocket. Pocket's weapon of choice is an extendable baton kept in her dimensional space. When out in jobs, Pocket is dressed in dark clothes, usually a long sleeved shirt, dark slacks, ponytail sticking out the back of a ball cap, darkened goggles, and gloves. Under the glove of her right hand she keeps big things on each finger and taped down, creating a makeshift brass knuckle. Her left hand is always ready to pull mace out of her dimensional space at any time, mainly to catch enemies off guard.

Style

Both Sera and Pocket are two sides of the same coin to create Sera Blossom. Sera is more level headed, nose to the grindstone when going about her daily life. She wants to be a more avid reader, something her mother would do a lot with her. She prefers to not really be seen and blend in into the background if at all possible.

This, however, is in stark contrast to Pocket. Her vigilante persona doesn't mind being loud and creating a scene, knowing that any possible distraction she can make might help aid her in escaping a job. Pocket works for a group of loose knit vigilantes called Phantom, led by a man with ghost-like powers called Caesar's Ghost or CG.

[waters-and-the-wilde]

okay so one of the fun and neat things about going on T and shifting into boy mode is. i'm hot now??

it's not that i've changed that much or was dealing with negative self-image stuff, like i was already the prettiest boy you've ever seen before i got on T. back in girl(?) mode i dodged the worst of the usual body image issues due to a confluence of factors, such as

a.) enough early messaging to the effect of 'hey trying to make girls be attractive all the time is kinda fucked up' and me going 'yeah! that is fucked up! fuck being pretty'

b.) just. extraordinary amounts of asexuality. and with that came the primary incentive to go 'oh fuck i don't want to be attractive. dear god get that away from me. engage the Somebody Else's Problem Fields to maximum capacity!!'

c.) 'but also hey i've got great hair and look dashing in a waistcoat, i just do it for me you know? i'm like if a vain creature spent a lot of time scrabbling about in a tree hollow'

like i felt like i looked fine as a girl(?) and i didn't want to deal with the social baggage of being pretty (TM) or hot (TM) and clearly all that took so much effort anyway so it was super easy to just. not. although I liked wearing fancy costumes so in a lot of ways it's easier to look back on like. girl formalwear moments and be like 'oh yeah. that's drag. i was in drag.' without getting hit with the dysphoria stick. and the moments i felt really good about myself, like, 'flirt with myself in the mirror' moments were. boy drag. but i wasn't going to call myself hot. (also probably an autism thing, bc The Neurotypicals and the CisHetAlloNormies love to take the things you say literally and contort them to fit their assumptions so i couldn't risk them conflating 'hot' with 'sexually available'.) i was 'allowed' to be hot when i was dressed as jack harkness but under all other circumstances i didn't want that and wasn't willing to risk being thought of in those terms. never mind nipping it in the bud i was gonna salt the earth first.

which, maybe was a little overkill, i've got a bit of a tendency there but tbh i'm incredibly grateful for how much that kept the background society noise from getting the worst of its hooks into me. like the rampant asexuality and baby's first genderqueer shenanigans did me so many favors for maintaining a neutral-to-positive outlook on my relationship with my body. especially when it came to keeping prospective attention at bay so any time someone actually tried to ask me out it was just like. reaction gif of those girls with the red cups at the party. how did you get past security.

didn't hurt that i didn't want to hang in the kind of environments that made a big deal about appearances slash recognized it's rude to be a dick about peoples' appearances, but also there was probably a certain amount of baseline white/able-bodied/skinny privilege that i wasn't really aware of at the time, and lately i've been suspecting that contributes to other people trying to reinforce their idea of my place in 'the girl club'. something something same coin as those standards that also exclude and deny cis women for not measuring up.

recent years it's been weird because it sort of hasn't mattered how obvious i think the transmasc cues are, how much i look in the mirror and go '!!! hell yeah look at that handsome little guy!' because it just wouldn't translate. there was just a lot of 'yes fine i know i know i kNoW what people see when they look at me. it is still weird to me but i have to maKe Allowances for our soCiAL coNText riGht?? just because i got sick of being low-effort nonbinary and decided I wanted a turn at the blue hair and pronouns thing doesn't mean that other people aren't stuck in their assumptions. yes i know who i am but i have to wear a little sign and point it out to people and most of the time they don't notice or remember and if i'm lucky they'll wring their hands and get all conCerNed about having oFfEnded me instead of telling me they don't think they should have to make the effort of trying.' and don't get me wrong i love meeting cishetnormies who are cool and onboard and supportive or just baseline chill about it, but there are a lot of them where there's this definite undercurrent of knowing they're just humoring you and it itches like a shirt with the bad textures.

anyway it's not as if i didn't know i built in a bunch of defensiveness around knowing I was being perceived female and trying to control for the implications of that. (it's been a perennial topic of household conversation bc sibling and sibling-in-crime are a bit more settled into their own flavors of genderqueer especially in terms of dealing with other peoples' perceptions and i've still been grappling with a lot of 'i need to look GAY i need to look QUEER i need to look LIKE A BOY I need to look COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE. do NOT perceive me. ENGAGE 'SOMEBODY ELSE'S PROBLEM FIELD' to MAXIMUM CAPACITY. i am JUST SOME GUY. FUCK i dress like a 12-YEAR-OLD and people think i'm in HIGH SCHOOL but they STILL DON'T THINK I'M A BOY' 'buddy hey do you think maybe you're overthinking the way people perceive you and trying to accommodate for that instead of being yourself' 'I KNOW BUT HEY'

i think starting to working in a much more public retail job kind of threw it into sharp relief because before I wasn't doing that on purpose, i just got so used my Whole Deal just sort of automatically flying under the radar. and suddenly every day i'm having to deal with other peoples' assumptions. and every day i'm still kicking and yowling and biting because all i'm getting is other people trying to shove me into a box. they see a girl-shaped person and it doesn't matter about the collared button-down shirt and what's usually a boy's name on the apron, lol what's a pronoun button, she's young and skinny and cute and white and that's what the quirky young ladies do these days because androgyny is trendy right??

(do not get me started on how women are not allowed to age and how trans guys get infantilized and how i keep getting clocked as much younger than i am, what does a guy have to do to get treated like a goddamn grown-up ah fuck i gotta show up with healthy boundaries and self-respect probably because i'm not about to stop dressing like a twelve year old because i am fighting for my life to retain my youthful whimsy on this godforsaken bitch of an earth)

and then. not much changes but I change. six weeks on T and i'm like ugh nothing's happening it's fine it's fine it's gonna be gradual it's gonna take its own time. and then two weeks later, holy shit. the goddamn second i unlocked the slightest bit of facial hair and boom. 'not my fault you think i'm a girl. skill issue. oh shit i look GOOD'

they (the charming and helpful transmascs who make youtube videos) said T won't just up and fix your confidence issues, and yeah okay they're right because something something gotta find that in yourself or whatever, but also. they were right when they said it doesn't not fix your confidence issues.

now. sometimes it's even more fucking jarring when it's easier for me to forget that it still doesn't always translate. last week some middle-aged guy tried to ask me out while i was at work (it was a short and not ill-mannered interaction but pretty obviously 'area man has interacted with a Young Lady for five minutes and decided to go for it' way) and it was like. The FUCK? now?? like. sir. babygirl. you are not only barking up the wrong tree you are not even in a forest right now. this is in fact. a lumber department. 'you look lovely' my ass i am the grubbiest little dweeb you have ever seen and these aprons flatter nobody, not even me. who the fuck do you think you're trying to kid. also i'm a boy. no sparing your feelings no laughing it off no 'easy mistake to make' i hope you feel super awkward about this. not my fault you tried to pick up a grown-ass man with a mustache. i don't care if you were polite about it you're old enough to be my dad and this is my workplace. i am once again asking how the fuck did you get past security.

(work-life gender is totally a thing too. at work i am 'actually a boy but thanks', i'm they/he and uh him actually when people use 'her', i am just some guy, fuck you i am a grown-ass man stop telling me how to do my job boomer. and then i get to go home and be a creature and a weird little man (nonbinary) and i'm suddenly more comfortable in a bunch of the girl(?) shirts i had stopped wearing and i'm looking forward to approaching more of a queer guy flavor of femininity on my own time)

it's weird too in that materially very little has changed, like it's been all of four months, i sound like i'm getting over a cold and my face can do a new party trick. it's all still mine, it's just that maybe it feels a little bit more mine now.

anyway the point of all this was that. i couldn't be hot because i couldn't act like i was hot because i couldn't envision a version of events where people didn't make this my problem. and suddenly I'm Just Hot Now. because I Am. like it's just a fact now it's an immutable law of the universe. all those posts about 'i'm transgenedner and sexy' and i was like 'love that for you, couldn't be me tho' and now i'm transgedener and sexy. am I going to do anything about it?? god no. i'm gonna make this everybody else's problem.

(be funny if i had a slut era in an asexual way but one thing at a time perhaps)

[fangirlmary]

"Kane's Christmas Visit part 2"

Summary: Ashley, her children, and her parents give Kane Christmas presents. 26th installment of Two Brothers, One Friend, Many Stories series. Kayfabe details used only.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the pro wrestling gimmicks/characters used here. I only own my original characters.

After going to bed on Christmas Eve 1998, Kane had a strange dream about Ashley. In the dream, she asked him to help keep her safe and warm. Then, one thing led to another. During the more explicit portion of the dream, he was talking without the electro larynx and didn't have his mask on, but Ashley didn't seem to care. That was the moment that the dream ended, and Kane woke up.

The Big Red Machine was confused as to what might have brought on that dream. He shrugged it off, though, as he changed into a clean red and black outfit and then put on his boots and his mask after brushing his hair. Then he went to take a bathroom break and after washing his hands, he went down to the first floor. He went into the kitchen and saw that there was a note on the refrigerator. It said, "We'll return from church soon. Help yourself to some cereal or whatever else you'd like for breakfast-Ashley. "

Kane heated up a frozen breakfast sandwich made of a biscuit, sausage, eggs, and cheese in the microwave oven and got himself a glass of orange juice. He took off his mask after making sure that the kitchen door was closed before sitting down at the table to eat. It wouldn't be long until Ashley McCormick and her family returned, and he was curious as to what they had gotten him for Christmas presents. It had been way too long since he had gotten gifts for Christmas or his birthday (though Paul Bearer had gotten him a small cupcake for his birthday back in March). He soon finished eating and put his dishes in the sink before putting his mask back on. The Big Red Machine then ran up and got his electro larynx as he had realized he had forgotten to grab it.

When the McCormick family returned, Kane was sitting in the living room and reading a newspaper that had been left on the coffee table. They greeted him before going upstairs to change out of their church clothes. A few minutes or so later, they had come back down dressed in long sleeved shirts, blue jeans, socks with Christmas themed patterns on them, and their regular sneakers and Christmas sweaters. Kane set the newspaper aside as Ashley, Lucas, Colin, Meredith, Caroline, and Thomas came into the living room after grabbing the stockings and bringing them in.

"After we get everything out of the stockings, you can open one of your presents from us first, Kane." Colin said to him, smiling as he adjusted his glasses and his blue sweater with a snowman on the front.

Each of the kids' stockings had candy, pencils, a small bouncy ball, and a five dollar bill. Kane's stocking had a container of dental floss, a toothbrush, and small travel sized bottles of body wash, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner in it. They may have been things that most would find boring, but they would be put to good use. Caroline's stocking had gift cards, small packages of stick-on earrings, and a new pair of yellow rubber gloves, while Thomas' stocking had collectible coins and stamps plus some new ties. Ashley's stocking had recipe cards and a small box of chocolates.

Then Kane opened his present from Ashley. It was a white shirt that had an image of two boys in the form of stick figures, one boy being bigger than the other and casting a shadow that the smaller boy was stepping out of. Underneath the image was black lettering that spelled out the phrase "I'm not stuck in my brother's shadow anymore!"

"Thank you, Ashley." Kane said through the electro larynx, starting to tear up.

"You're welcome, Kane. It's okay to cry if you need to. Like Lucas said, we won't tell anyone that you did." Ashley reminded him gently. She put an arm around him as they got out of the arm chairs they were in and then gave him a hug.

Kane returned the hug; he genuinely loved the shirt. The fact that Ashley seemed to believe that phrase on said shirt would come true someday probably helped. There was also the fact that it was the first meaningful gift he had gotten in a little over two decades.

Lucas, Colin, and Meredith had gotten Kane some stationery, stamps, and pens and pencils to use to continue to write letters to Ashley. Thomas and Caroline had gotten him a kit of things that could be used to take care of leather objects as they knew that he wanted to keep his mask in good shape. Kane thanked them and let them each hug him as well. He didn't want this happy occasion to end. He knew it would have to, as tomorrow, he had to go back to work. He would enjoy it while it lasted, though. While Ashley's family could not replace his parents, he still hoped that he could spend time with them again at some point, even if it was on a different holiday. They had made him feel welcome and respected his boundaries, and that was enough to make him like them. Kane would certainly give anyone who targeted Ashley or her family a beating that they would never forget should they be foolish enough to attack. That possibility was thankfully low as of right now; whether that would change was another matter entirely.

[zeroghosts]

                 meet  ezekiel 'zero' mortensen  !

                                 21 (64) — UNEMPLOYED

favorite song? in between by willis

sexuality: heterosexual 

pronouns?: he/him 

those that knew ezekiel when he was living knew he didn't have a great time. he could never quite get used to the social aspects of living, he was quiet and tried to seclude himself as much as possible. and when others from school would neglect him on purpose or not, it suited him. he never gained too much attention other than from bullies who coined the nickname 'zero' for him. the name stuck but he didn't care, in fact, he reclaimed it as his own. zero moved through life rather tame, very little excited him other than keeping his nose in books and writing short stories.

it's a bit hazy to him when his life ended and when he became a ghost, the two facets of life naturally blended in together. he recalls suddenly waking up one day and recognizing that he was perpetually cold but that didn't mean much since it was the wintertime, he was ignored by others but that didn't raise any flags since he didn't want to be acknowledged by anyone anyway. it wasn't until a stroll through the local graveyard informed him that he was dead.

death turned out to be not that bad, his ghostly body could remain unnoticed and move through planes of existence whenever he wanted. it was the best parts of living but without all the trivial, mortal agony. he could listen in on conversations without the need to hide away, his ghostly presence did that for him. he rarely ever showed himself, maybe to fuck with a couple of people but hiding away was how he remained, and that's how he liked it. he made friends with other ghosts and other magical beings, with the rare human ever catching his attention. one in recent years did though, the girl that hung around his grave seemed to be interesting.

the graveyard was where he situated himself most of the time for the quiet. as it turns out, others liked to hang around there as well. the average person took a stroll, mourning for a loved one, or sometimes on halloween a group of kids would try summoning a ghost (zero did show up sometimes for his own amusement). one day, from a distance, he did notice someone approaching his grave. they sat down and started reading aloud, this was one of the few moments zero didn't want to disturb so rather than stick around, he awarded them complete privacy. that girl came back often and through a series of days, he listened on as she talked about her life. she spoke to his grave as if he was there, which he was most of the time but he kept his distance when he found out she could see other ghosts. it was a bit exhilarating having to hide as if he was human all over again, he supposed in very limited instances there were times he thought being a human wasn't so bad. those thoughts were merely fleeting and were never to be taken seriously but unfortunately for him, he was given a chance to live once more.

HC's:

not happy with the whole living undead situation. he theorizes he could become a ghost again under the right circumstance, it's just a matter of finding the right way of getting there that's the problem. he's tried jumping off a cliff, chopping his hand off, and drowning himself but nothing gets him the results he wants. he's determined to get there though, in the meantime he'll stick around boo as she stitches his body back up.

now that he cant just sleep anywhere or ghost into some spirit world, he lives in hotel transylvania as that is the only place that has ever truly called out to him because of the diverse cast of characters around. he likes the fact that he could walk into the restaurant and find vampires hanging out with werewolves, and that fairies caught dinners with warlocks. it all excites him more than he lets on.

tldr; he's essentially a ghost turned reanimated corpse thanks to boo. think of his vibes as introvert forced into extroverted nature

[gender-buddies]

Artist Commentary for Phase Five!

We're halfway done with the Gender Buddies project! Below are some notes on each Buddy released for this phase.

Transfeminine and Transmasculine: These two have designs split down two paths - an emphasis on antlers and hooves for the masculine version of Transgender, and an emphasis on fluff and feathers for the feminine version. They’re the Transgender Buddy separated into two new designs. All three of them have features based on rabbits, deer, and birds, some features being more apparent depending on which Buddy it is. This entire set of designs was my absolute favorite to work with and I’m definitely looking forward to making more.

Demiboy and Demigirl: More counterparts, this time based on moths and birds. They're only vaguely moth-like ("demi"-moths) and based on a pollinator and a flower. If I didn't make them moth-like, I wanted to try to make them vaguely mammalian instead. They do have some mammalian characteristics, such as having hair and four limbs with dewclaws on them - this ties in with the demi- aspect of being demiboy/demigirl.

Gender Hoarder: This one was almost a tiny dragon with a hoard of coins, but it felt too obvious to go that route. Instead, I made it a sticky creature that objects can stick to, which can be another way to portray collecting genders. I wanted it to have the Water element since it’s a gooey blob and it only made sense to draw seashells stuck to its body to tie in with that element.

Gxrl: A counterpart to another culturally-inspired design. I made this one a Chinese lantern with the word “Light” written on its body. The nighttime theme ties in with the “darkness” of agender colors and the pink was a good representation of the red that Chinese lanterns have. Instead of the typical gold, I used silver. I think it turned out quite nicely and the glowing orbs around it are a nice touch. I wish I had incorporated black a bit more, but the design limited what colors I used. I think some black beads on the tassel would have helped give it more detail.

Bxy: The other culturally-inspired Buddy, based on a yakhchāl which is an ancient ice house. It’s being carried by a Russian tortoise because I liked the idea of a hardy, slow-moving animal carrying a large object. The clay ice house worked really well to be like a shell for the tortoise. I can never get the feet right when I’m drawing tortoises but I’m trying! The Shadow element actually reflects the dark and cold features these ice houses have and while Ice would have been a very easy and obvious element to give this Buddy, I like the opportunity to expand what the Shadow element can be.

Gendervoid: This Buddy was originally just a simple bat that enjoyed dark caves, which played into the “voidness” of the gender it represents. But I wanted the design to have a few extra elements because even an identity like gendervoid can be multifaceted and complex. I added features that actually make it look like a little wyvern. So it isn’t a bat, but a draconic lookalike. Dragons are super cool and I’ll never hesitate to have at least something dragon-like in each phase of this project.

Libragender: This is based on a kirin! I knew I wanted it to be something mythical and I almost made it a nine-tailed fox but I was so fixated on making it an Earth element since I don’t have a lot of those planned for this project, so I felt that something more horse-like would work better. It has two forms based on two different flags. It sort of shows the “balance” aspect of the Libra sign, having the choice out of two. I always want the more rare Buddies to have interesting gimmicks and two color variants was chosen for this one.

Dulcigender: “Dulce” is a word for “sweet” in many languages in one way or another, so I just had to go with something candy-themed. The wrapped candy on the back looks like a big bow (something “girly” and frilly” and the body is konpeito, a Japanese candy. I think konpeito looks like stars so I gave this design the honor of being the first Lunar Buddy. It has other candy-like features to make it fun, and I added the tiny candy corn critters after I was done with the whole thing just to give it a little more charm.

Orientationgender: This one was made on-the-fly (no pun intended) because I drastically changed the design last minute. It originally was some kind of cosmic teddy bear with stars in its eyes, I guess to relate to attraction, but I couldn’t make it look interesting enough. Instead, I decided it would be a bird of paradise with a mix of features, and a rainbow tail to incorporate all the colors of the flag without it looking like a mess. The ends of the two longest feathers have hearts on them to represent attraction but I didn’t want to go too heavy on the heart motif, since arospec identities can be an orientationgender.

Cosmonautic: I had a giant flying space whale design in mind for a long time and was waiting to find a good place to use it, and Cosmonautic was perfect! I added the dome on its back late in the development phase and thought an enclosed alien environment would help this Buddy stand out in a very unique way. The ghostly fish are just something fun to make it feel like this whale is actually swimming, but through the void of space. If you look closely, there’s a person in the dome, and that tells you just how enormous this creature is. It’s one of my favorite designs.