#this was a marathon 5 hour drawing

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

"You've been broken and reformed..." "Do you really think a monster like you could be a Voltron Paladin?" "Crystal Venom " lives rent free in my head. Shiro spends that episode making so many exceptionally distressed expressions.

[mr-malumm]

Umm.... Alien stage but its human radiostatic...... 🏃💨

@chrizzisdead thanks for making the yummiest alastor ever and for watching videos with me during this 5 hour drawing marathon i lovr you

[hyperions-light]

Okay so clearly the Lighthouse book club is kind of like movie night except those haven’t been invented yet

But hypothetically

Here’s movie night with the crew

Harding: you know it’s a complete gore fest. Every single Saw movie you’ve ever heard of, plus the ones you haven’t, Hostel, Terrifier, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc. you definitely lose some people before the night is over bc it’s just TOO bloody but at least Harding and Taash are having fun. Lucanis and Davrin sit there complaining about how that’s not what it looks like when you draw and quarter someone

Neve: It’s all noirs, murder mysteries and psychological thrillers. Maybe some Blade Runner for diversity. She solves the mystery 5 min into the movie but won’t tell you the answer. Bellara is taking notes on everything and Neve looks over occasionally and nudges her in the right direction. The tragic antagonists make Emmrich sad

Bellara: Think she’d do a little bit of everything? But there’s definitely at least four documentary feature films on wildly variable subjects. She’s going to put on like Planet Earth, and then an Elvhen history one, and then like How It’s Made for some number of hours and then you look up and you’re halfway through the extended edition of Lord of the Rings

Lucanis: oh man. You’re watching Atonement, The Notebook, 50 First Dates, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle; whatever corny romcom you can think of. And then he’s playing the entire catalogue of Hallmark movies. You thought this movie marathon was only one night? Ha! This guy is mainlining caffeine and hasn’t slept in four days, you’re going to exist in a haze of sleep deprivation interspersed by emotional confession scenes. Have fun

Davrin and Taash: they are teaming up to make you watch the entire Fast and the Furious franchise, all the John Wicks, the Independence Days (I think it has sequels?), the Expendables, the Top Guns, I don’t know any more action movie franchises. Things are going to explode, preferably with a lot blood so that Harding is happy too. When everyone falls asleep Davrin puts on Marley and Me to watch with Assan

Emmrich: Mr Art House Cinema over here. I hope you love reading subtitles because at least 50% of it is in other languages and involves people soliloquizing for three minutes at a time and then staring at barren landscapes forlornly. Also at they’re all preoccupied with death in some way. What was that movie where Daniel Day Lewis was a clothing designer and his wife was poisoning him but he was into it? You watch that. You only watch a movie per week though because you have to have time to think about the artistic merit of each one

*I forgot Bellara would love Mythbusters

+ check reblogs for bonus features

[midnighthazee]

Greenridge ABO Series

a/n: I'm sorry if the pace of this story is slower. Most ABO fics I've read have the person of trauma acting totally normal and comfortable after like a day or two with the new pack. I wanted to have a more realistic approach where she gradually warms up to them. :/

Series Masterlist Masterlist

Warnings: angsty, explicit language, mentions of past abuse/neglect, fear, name calling, violence

WC: 4122

Chapter 5

It was the next day when you woke up. Doctor Quinn had brought you some clothes yesterday so you decided to shower and get dressed in one of the outfits. They were a little big, but you didn’t mind. Afterwards, you made your way downstairs and Felix was quick to ask you if you wanted to watch more Harry Potter. You nodded, but Changbin insisted you eat some breakfast first.

There was another spread on the kitchen island and you filled your plate the same as yesterday’s. The food was so good and you wanted to eat more but your stomach was full. Hyunjin had joined you and Changbin for breakfast, clearing your dishes for you when you were done.

“Thank you.” you muttered.

“Anytime.” Hyunjin flashed that cute smile of his and you looked away blushing.

Felix ushered you over eagerly, the movie already queued up. You went to sit but Jisung scooted away from Felix and patted the couch between them.

“Sit here.” He smiled.

You hesitated, not wanting to be trapped between two of them. 

“We don’t bite.” Felix chuckled.

“Don’t lie to her.” Changbin called from the dining table.

Your eyes grew wide and Jisung started laughing.

“You’re scaring her!” Felix glared at Changbin before reassuring you. “We won’t bite you.” 

 Swallowing, you cautiously sit on the couch between Felix and Jisung. Felix hits play on the movie and soon you were too into what was going on to worry about what Changbin had said. 

The three of you decided on a marathon for the day. Hyunjin joined too, his sketchbook in hand. You watched as his hand moved the pencil across the paper in calculated strokes. You couldn’t see what he was drawing, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t curious what it could be.

“Hyunjin is our artist. Painting, drawing…he does it all. And he’s so talented. That art up there on the wall, he painted that.” Jisung pointed to the right hand wall.

You looked over at the canvas displayed, admiring the art. It was abstract with dark colors, a pop of red mixed in. You didn’t fully understand it but it was still beautiful. 

Meanwhile, Felix was too distracted by his phone as the movie played. He leaned over, showing you his screen and insisting he has to buy you merch for your house so you can represent. You didn’t really understand why you would need it but he was too cute when he was excited so you didn’t object.

A couple hours passed as you binged the movies. Most of the others were all scattered doing their own thing or working. Chan surprisingly wasn’t working. Instead, he was fixing himself a snack in the kitchen. He kept an eye on you, making sure the boys didn’t get too rowdy near you. Last thing he wanted was for them to spook you.

“Y/n, you hungry?” Chan asked.

You shook your head.

“You sure? You had a small breakfast.” Chan frowned.

You nod.

“You need to eat more, y/n” Hyunjin says, mouth full of popcorn.

“Just wait until you start working out with me.” Changbin smirks.

Your eyes widen.

“Yeah, we gotta get you in shape girl. That way you can fight back and hold your own.” Changbin nods, sipping the smoothie he made. He offered you some but you just shook your head.

The idea of not being so weak was appealing. Maybe you could even get strong enough to kick Hayes or Milo’s ass.

The doorbell rang, interrupting your thoughts, and you wondered if it was the Doctor here to check up on you again. Didn’t she say in a few days?

Chan hopped off the arm of the couch and disappeared behind the stairs to answer it. You listened in, hearing him open the door.

“Hello. Can I help you guys?” he asked.

“Hopefully. We are looking for a lost member of our pack. We believe she got injured and wasn’t able to make it home last night.”

You froze.

You’d recognize that voice anywhere. It was Hayes. Crap. They found you. The blood drained from your face, heart pounding in your ears. You felt like you were gonna be sick. Feeling a hand on your arm, you flinched hard.

“It’s okay. It’s just me.” Felix pulled his hand away.

“What’s wrong?” Jisung whispered.

Changbin looked at his phone, only to abruptly stand up. He came over to you and slung you over his shoulder before you could get away. He moved quickly, getting you outside and on the back deck. You squirmed in his hold, praying he wasn’t giving you back to your old pack. You wanted to scream, but then that would alert Hayes. When you got outside, the fresh air hit you and you stopped fighting. He put you down and gestured to everyone to come outside as they sat on the couch staring in bewilderment. 

Minho heard the doorbell and listened out to see who it was. When he heard the man at the door say he was looking for a lost pack member, he knew who. He immediately texted in the group chat to get you away from the front door and out of sight. Then he made his way down the stairs, ready for a fight if it came to that.

Changbin had been the only one who saw the message and moved quickly. He could see you were frozen in fear and had to act fast. When everyone came outside, Changbin explained, the pack growing tense. You had squatted down behind the group, shaking and hugging your knees to your chest.

Minho was next to Chan, listening in on the conversation. Both Hayes and Milo were here, looking angrily at them.

“There’s nowhere else she could have disappeared to.” Hayes argued.

“I don’t know what to tell you man. She’s not here.” Chan insisted.

Hayes, growing tired of dealing with the “drama” you cause, forces himself into the house. Milo pushes against Minho, instantly regretting it as he gets knocked back down to the ground. Minho then saw at least ten others approaching from the driveway. He shut the door and locked it before coming over to pin the intruder down so Chan could deal with him.

The door swung open, nearly falling off the hinges as the wood splintered. One of them had kicked it open. Minho looked up to see Alpha Lewis.

“Find the girl.” he seethed.

His goons spread around the house, Minho fighting a few of them.

“Hayes, this one is mine. Find that little bitch and bring her to me.” Lewis said.

You watched from the window, Changbin standing in front of you. The others moved into the house to fight off the intruders and keep them from you. It wasn’t until Hayes saw you, that you knew you were done for. He would kill anyone that gets in his way.

You were shaking as Changbin took a defensive stance, fists bawled and ready to throw a punch as soon as Hayes gets close enough.

“Finally have someone standing up for you? I’m impressed.” Hayes stepped outside onto the deck. 

You don’t say anything.

“You’re not taking her so fuck off.” Changbin growled.

“That bitch belongs to us. Not you.” Hayes gritted through his teeth.

Changbin lunged at him, catching his jaw with a right hook. Hayes stumbled, wiping his lip and seeing blood on his finger. He chuckled.

“That’s the only one you’ll get.” Hayes taunted.

They began fighting and you scooted back, afraid of all the growling and punching. This was all your fault. You brought them here. And now these innocent people were getting hurt. Maybe you should go back…

You look inside and see Lewis with his foot on Chan’s chest as he smirked down at him. The world was slowing and yet it felt as if everything was happening too fast. It made you feel sick. You had to do something. But what?

Lewis lifted his leg and, with force, slammed it down-

You jolted awake with a scream. Sweat on your forehead, you looked around to see yourself in a bedroom - your bedroom. Light trickled in from the bathroom where you left it on, illuminating your surroundings. You place your hand on your chest as you try to catch your breath. What time is it? You look at the nightstand and the clock’s LED lights tell you it’s 3:25 am. Your door opens slowly and you look up.

“Hey…you okay?” It was Seungmin. “I heard you scream.”

You nodded.

Seungmin slipped in, closing the door behind him. He made his way over to the side of your bed. “Bad dream?”

You nod, running your fingers over the comforter absentmindedly.

“You ever going to talk to us?” he asked with a little chuckle.

“Sorry.” you mumbled.

“You don’t have to apologize. I just like hearing your cute voice. I wanna hear it more.” He sat down on the edge of your bed next to you.

You look up, blushing, and see Seungmin smile. You smirk, looking down at your hands in your lap.

“I get a smile too?” Seungmin feigns shock. “I am so lucky.”

You shake your head at him, rolling your eyes.

“Want me to stay with you till you fall asleep?”

You nod but then quickly add, “Yes, please.”

Seungmin smiles as you remember to speak for him, moving over to the chair in the corner of your room. “Sweet dreams, y/n.”

You snuggle back into the bed and try to not think about the nightmare you just had. You prayed they would never find you here. 

Seungmin watched you, listening to your breathing and still elevated heartbeat. He could only imagine how bad your nightmare was, wanting to comfort you desperately. But he knew the time would eventually come when he could hold you in his arms and sleep. 

For now he just listened. It took a while but your heart rate finally slowed, your breathing steady as you slept. He was so sleepy, he ended up falling asleep to the sound of your heartbeat.

Morning came and Seungmin woke up from the light shining in through your windows. His room had a darker theme, and his curtains were always closed as night so the sun wouldn’t wake him too early. This was too bright for him. He leaned forward and found you sleeping soundly. He couldn’t help but notice the way your lips were slightly parted. They looked so kissable that it took all his resolve to not move closer to you. 

Instead, he stood quietly and snuck out of your room and back across the hall to his own. His room was dark like normal and he happily climbed back in his bed, body stiff from the chair he had slept in. Within minutes he was back asleep.

He only managed to sleep another hour before Minho woke him up and called him downstairs. Groaning, he got up and headed downstairs. Everyone else made their way downstairs as well, some already awake and some still sleeping. Hyunjin nearly ran into the wall twice since he was still half sleep.

They all gathered out on the back deck, the morning air awakening their senses. Chan had made coffee for those who wanted it, and tea for the non coffee drinkers.

“Did anyone else hear a scream last night? Or did I dream that?” Jisung asked, rubbing his eyes.

“It was y/n. She had a nightmare.” Seungmin informed as he sat down.

“What?!” Hyunjin and Changbin were awake now.

“She’s fine. I fell asleep in her room waiting for her to fall back asleep though.” Seungmin yawned.

“Morning everybody,” Chan joined everyone outside. “We need to have a discussion about y/n.”

“Is this about her nightmare?” Changbin asked.

“No.” Chan shook his head. “She’s okay though, Seungmin?”

“Yes. Sleeping peacefully.” Seungmin smiled.

Chan had heard her scream last night, Minho too, but when they went to check on her, they heard Seungmin in there. Chan eavesdropped outside for a bit before heading back to his own room. He worried for her too but eventually fell asleep.

“We are keeping her, right?” Jisung asked.

“She’s not a pet…” Changbin glared.

“I didn’t mean it like that….” Jisung rolled his eyes.

“She is staying with us, yes.” Chan stated. “She is a part of this pack now. We do not abandon our own. And I want to thank each of you for being on your best behavior. You guys have been very welcoming and patient with her. I can see she is slowly getting used to us and opening up.”

“I can’t wait for her to trust us enough for hugs.” Felix sipped his tea.

“She’ll get there.” Hyunjin comforted, rubbing Felix’s lower back.

“Now… Raise your hand if you feel the soulmate pull to her.” Chan looked around.

Felix shot his hand up and slowly everyone else’s hands were raised, Minho slowly raising his last.

“Wait, where’s Innie?” Chan looked around, taking a headcount.

“Must still be asleep.” Minho answered.

“Aish…I’ll get onto him later.” Chan grumbled. “Anyways, I’ve been watching everyone and I had my suspicions. Looks like she’s a rare case of an omega with multiple soulmates. I know we are all mates and we have found a way to balance and care for everyone’s needs so we will do the same with y/n. I don’t want any fighting over her, understand?”

“Yes.” They all agree in unison.

“Great. And if you’re out on the property, keep your ears open. I don’t want any surprises. If you’re outside with y/n, remember to be aware of your surroundings. Last thing we need is for her to be spotted or snatched away. Stay far from the Nyko territory.”

“Does that mean we can take her swimming in the lake?” Felix asked.

“If she wants to, I don’t see why not, Lixie.” Chan shrugged. “But don’t go alone. If you’re outside the house, one or two members with you.”

Felix clapped his hands excitedly, making Hyunjin smile and kiss his temple.

“You wanna come with us?” Felix asked Hyunjin.

“I’ll go if Hyunjin is going.” Changbin was quick to interject.

“Yah! Because of you I couldn’t walk back the last time.” Hyunjin pointed an accusatory finger.

“You found the cave. AND THEN was telling me harder...faster. So who’s fault is it really?” Changbin mocked Hyunjin’s pleas from their previous time together.

“I don’t sound like that.” Hyunjin pouted.

“You do.” Felix, Minho, and Changbin all agreed in unison.

Hyunjin sat back in his chair, arms crossed.

“Let’s get breakfast started.” Chan said before heading towards his office.

Minho and Felix got up to start working on breakfast. Jisung set the table, and got out the juice. Changbin decided to go for a quick run. Hyunjin went back upstairs, wanting to sleep more and Seungmin went to take a shower.

Meanwhile, you had woken up and stretched. You grabbed the bag of clothes from the floor and dumped them on the bed. Doctor Quinn had in fact given you clothes yesterday so you picked out an outfit and went into the bathroom to shower. 

The water was warm and soothed your muscles and joints. You took your time, lathering the soap and standing under the waterfall. Eventually you got out, looking at your reflection in the mirror. You wrapped the towel around you and took your braids down from where you pinned them up. You then reached for the moisturizer Felix said to use after your shower and applied it to your face. It wouldn’t cover the bags or small scars but you did it anyway.

Afterwards, you slipped on the clothes, tying the drawstrings as tight as you could on the pants to help them fit. The pants were a bit big but you didn’t mind. After getting dressed, you removed your hair from the braids, letting it fall in waves down your back. You adjusted the front and sides before being satisfied with your reflection. You had never seen your hair look this good - or good at all.

You take a breath, bracing yourself, and open your door. The aroma of breakfast foods hits your nose and you smile. It smelled so good it made your mouth water and your stomach grumble. You quickly hope that today isn’t like your dream as you walk down the hallway. 

You notice the young alpha also heading towards the stairs. Jeongin was walking slowly, wiping sleep from his eyes when he spotted you. His eyes went wide and you caught his scent. You froze dead in your tracks, knowing that scent all too well. It wasn’t exactly the same, having Jeongin’s own scent to it, but the base of it was the same for any male hybrid.

He took a few slow steps forward, closer to the stairs than you were. You begin to back up, studying his movements. You swear his eyes flash red and then he charges at you. You yelp, running from him. The chase only entices him more and he loses himself.

You reach your room, but before you can enter, he lunges at you. You both tumble to the ground, Jeongin pinning you down. Wow he’s fast. Terror filled every cell in your body as every previous time with the Nykos flashes in your mind. You cry out and sob, squirming underneath him.

He growls, silencing you as he pins your arms above your head. Jeongin leans forward, sniffing at your neck above your scent gland. He groans, enticed by your smell. He leans down to kiss you-

“Jeongin, NO.” a deep voice roared in the hall. 

Jeongin’s red eyes faded back to his usual dark brown but he didn’t release you. Chan and Minho were quick to grab Jeongin and pull him off of you. He fought their hold, growling. Chan growled back - an alpha growl - and pinned him to the wall. Jeongin blinked rapidly, instantly stopping all protests.

“Wha-” he panted out confused.

Felix had run up the stairs with the others when they heard your scream. Seungmin quickly threw on clothes, stepping in the hallways as they pulled Jeongin off you. Now, Hyunjin and Jisung hurry over to your body, as you’re curled up in fetal position. You shook, your eyes squeezed shut, as you tried to push the awful memories away. They reached out to help you up and you flinched, yelping.

“Seungmin.” Minho said.

He hurried over, switching places with Minho and keeping hold of Jeongin. Jeongin wasn’t fighting them, instead panting as he watched them tend to you. Minho squatted next to you, releasing calming pheromones. The shaking subsided but you didn’t open your eyes.

“We’re gonna lift you now.” Minho said in a calm voice.

Minho nodded at Hyunjin and he reached out to pick you up. He too was releasing calming pheromones and you found yourself relaxing into his touch. They brought you into your room, Hyunjin placing you on your bed while Jisung stepped inside and closed the door.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Jeongin sobbed, sliding down the wall as they let go of him.

“It’s okay, Innie. We know…it’s your rut instincts.” Chan comforted with a clenched jaw.

Felix was fidgeting behind Chan, biting his lip as he breathed heavily. Jeongin’s heightened smell from his rut was getting to him. He smelled so good, Felix couldn’t help but get hard despite the situation. Seungmin too was hard, but he focused with all his resolve.

“I don’t understand. It’s too early. And now she’s going to hate me.” Jeongin hid his face in his hands.

“Innie…it’s okay. Sometimes omegas can induce an earlier rut. It was bound to happen to one of us. And you’re still learning control. She will understand.” Chan moves Jeongin's hands from his face and wipes his tears.

“He’s going to have to go to the rut house while she’s here.” Minho notes.

Chan nods.

“I’ll go.” Jeongin says, standing up with drooping shoulders.

“Who do you want to go with you?” Minho asked.

“No one.” Jeongin says. 

“You’re going to need someone to help.” Seungmin reminds.

“I don’t deserve it.” Jeongin says, walking down the stairs and out the basement doors.

Chan sighs, looking to the others.

“He’ll be okay. I’ll check on him in a bit.” Minho says.

“Y/n….?” Hyunjin whispered. 

You didn’t say anything.

“Can we check you? Make sure you’re not hurt?” Jisung asks.

You don’t move.

“Innie is still learning to control himself as a new alpha. His rut makes this harder. He didn’t mean to….scare you.” Hyunjin explains, choosing his words carefully.

“I know.” you whisper.

“Are you hurt?” Jisung asks.

“No.” 

“Okay.” Jisung pouts and looks at Hyunjin, unsure what to do.

Knock, knock.

You jump, but Hyunjin instinctively rubs your back. You let him as the door opens, Chan coming in.

“Y/n? Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Chan rushes to your side, Hyunjin moving out of the way.

“No.” you sniffle.

“Let me see.” Chan says, lifting your arms.

“I’m fine.” you say, pulling your arms back towards your body.

“Okay. Well he won’t be in the house for a few days. So you don’t have to worry about running into him again.”

“I got him in trouble?” you question.

“No. He’s not in trouble. We have a little house on the property that we sometimes use for our ruts, if we need to be alone, or just want some privacy. He’s gonna be there until his rut is done.”

“Oh…” you sit up.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jisung asks, scanning your body for any injuries.

“Yes. I’m fine.” you say, not used to being doted on so much.

“Hungry?” Hyunjin asks. 

“No.” You say.

“Liar.” Jisung smirks. “Let’s go get breakfast.”

Reluctantly, you follow Jisung downstairs and fix yourself a plate. As you sit at the table you nibble on the food, not really wanting to eat. 

Jisung didn't push you to eat more, knowing your morning was rough. 

Hyunjin informed Chan that he would go be with Jeongin for a while, helping him and making sure he's not punishing himself. Chan nodded, thanking him for his help and telling him to take some food with him. 

Chan had wanted to have a conversation with you and all the members, informing you about the soulmate pull he knew you were feeling too. But with Jeongin and Hyunjin out for a bit, he figured he would wait. If it came up naturally, he would address it. But for now, they would just focus on making sure you’re comfortable.

Felix had come downstairs after you finished breakfast, cheeks flushed a light pink and a smile on his face. He fixed himself a plate as Seungmin came and stole a strip of bacon off it. Felix groaned, grabbing another one before sitting down. 

Changbin returned from his run and looked around.

“Everything okay?” he asked, taking in the tense atmosphere.

Jisung pulled him aside and explained what happened. Changbin was appalled and came back to the kitchen to check on you. But you weren’t there. They panicked, searching the house for you and eventually found you in your room.

“You okay? I heard what happened.” Changbin came into the room.

“I’m fine.” you mumble, wiping a few tears so he wouldn’t see.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

You looked over at him confused. “Why are you sorry?”

“I promised myself to always protect you. I’ll be like your own personal bodyguard. No one will hurt you ever again.” Changbin stated.

You smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to shower. Then we are going to hang out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Changbin nodded, heading off to his room down the hall.

You were quiet the rest of the day despite having left your room to hang out with Changbin. He gave you a tour of his room and then you joined a few of the boys in the living room. You all sat watching tv for a bit, but you were hardly paying attention. 

Felix wanted to make some brownies and asked if you wanted to help. You had never been allowed to cook so you eagerly went into the kitchen with him. He taught you how to bake, Changbin and Jisung sitting at the island and chatting with you two. You didn’t say much, but enjoyed feeling like part of the conversation.

Chan came in from his office, seeing you in the kitchen and it warmed his heart. He had hoped this incident wouldn’t set back your progress of trusting them, but you continue to surprise him. 

TAGLIST:

@estella-novella @lxvxchxrlxttxbxrsx22-blog @butterflydemons @readr1221 @gaby105-skz @notevenheretbh1 @bah2004 @sinfulfic @bowsnbang @just-a-blackthorn-cookie @dreamerwasfound

Shout out to my beta for inspiring, motivating, and pushing me! @its-the-solar-system

[toournextadventure]

hate crime

Summary: No one knows what happened to Ghostface after his initial onslaught on New York City. Unfortunately for the population, he didn't disappear; he just got better.

Word Count: 3.6k Warnings: swearing, Scream violence, suggestive themes Pairing: Tara Carpenter x Reader (movie night & a novel life masterlist)

Rainy nights in New York City were the best. They gave way to those calm nights in the apartment that led to soft evenings and the best sleep of the week. If one was lucky, they would be able to grab a bite at Sofia’s and really live it up. A nice night, movies on the TV, and a half-finished pie on the counter? What else could a girl want?

A date. Cassidy wanted a date. Her boyfriend wasn’t a prick, but he was just stupid enough to not know the basics of a relationship. For instance, it was raining on a Saturday night? You invite your fucking girlfriend over so you can both get fucking laid. It wasn’t fucking rocket science. But no, he just had to watch the game with his fucking friends, and leave her to do absolutely nothing in her empty ass apartment.

Instead, she was alone. All alone, watching some shitty movie while he was probably having the time of his life.

Prick.

Well, at least she had ice cream to accompany her. A delicious pint of raspberry cheesecake. Just one bite was enough to transport her to heaven, and she would argue with anyone who thought otherwise. It had been long enough since Cassidy had put it in the freezer that it was just hard enough to make a nice bite, but not too hard to put up a fight.

It was perfect.

Cassidy’s phone vibrated loudly on the counter when she opened the cutlery drawer. It wasn’t all that unusual to get calls at odd hours; work, school, and friends made sure she kept her phone available at all times. And she answered them. So it was instinctual to pick up the phone and accept the call as she fished out a spoon and closed the drawer.

“I’m not interested,” she said before her friend on the other end could even speak.

“Uh, that’s good,” an unknown voice answered, “because I’m not selling.”

Cassidy’s brows narrowed. “Who is this?” She put the spoon in her mouth as she waited for an answer. A warm spoon was optimal for ice cream.

“A friend of a friend,” the voice said. It was hard to tell if it was a guy or a girl. “They dared me to call.”

“Friend of a friend?” She hummed, thinking about who it could be. “Was it David?”

The person on the other end of the line laughed. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“I knew it, that prick,” she sighed. It was no surprise it was David, he would do anything for a cheap laugh. “What do you get out of this shitty prank anyway?”

“Well, it depends,” the voice answered.

Cassidy leaned forward on her counter and smiled to herself. “On what?”

“How long I can keep you on the call,” they said, matching her tone. “Wanna split the $60?”

“Well,” she said, drawing the word out far longer than necessary as she grabbed her pint of ice cream and made her way to the living room. “I guess I can’t turn down $30.”

Cassidy pressed the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she moved. Her hip bumped against the recliner, but it didn’t phase her; she hit it more often than not. As she sat down in the chair, she could hear similar shuffling on the other end of the line. Nothing about it phased her.

“So,” the caller said, drawing out the “o” for far too long. “You doing anything exciting tonight?”

Cassidy chuckled humourlessly. “Yeah, me, myself, and I are really living it up.” She put a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and left it there as she turned on Scary Movie 5. How exciting.

“Well,” the caller said with a barely hidden laugh, “what are the three of you doing tonight?”

“A Scary Movie marathon.” She took another bite of her ice cream. “Probably for the fifth time this semester.”

“So you like them.”

“Love them,” she answered instantly. “I could watch them all day.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, then what’s your favourite Scary Movie?”

Cassidy looked down at her ice cream and scraped the spoon over the top. That was a pretty good question. The humour in each movie was top tier to her, and that wasn’t negotiable. She couldn’t compare them on that aspect because they all depended on which movies they were making fun of. But there was one movie that stood out from all the rest, she supposed.

“Probably the first one,” she finally said. “It’s a classic.”

“Isn’t that the one based on those Stab movies?”

“That’s the one,” she said with a singular nod that no one could see.

The movie continued to play on the screen.

“Have you ever seen the Stab movies?”

“Fuck no,” Cassidy said before the unknown voice could even finish the question. “Horror movies give me the creeps. Especially when they’re based on real people.” A minuscule shiver wracked her body as if to prove her point.

She heard a deep breath on the other end of the line. “You know, you really should watch the original.” Another breath. “It’s to die for.”

Something about the tone of that last sentence put Cassidy on edge. Perhaps it was simply because she was home alone while the storm continued to rage outside. None of her friends talked like that. Sure, this person was a friend of a friend, but it was still a bit odd.

This person was a bit odd. Was the $30 really worth talking to a weirdo all night? She could be settled with a blanket and paying attention to her movie. But no, she just had to answer the phone and accept a shitty deal. She would need to tell Heather about this whole weird situation later.

“Hey, how much longer until we get that money from David?” Cassidy asked. She couldn’t stop thinking about that last thing the person had said, but she chose to try and ignore it.

“Just a few more minutes,” the caller said in a breathy tone. It was creepy. “Which movie are you watching?”

“What?”

“For your marathon,” they clarified. “Which one?”

“Oh,” she chuckles humourlessly. Nervously.

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to tell the truth anymore. There was an uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach. She hesitantly placed the half-empty pint of ice cream on the side table, soon accompanied by the spoon she had licked clean.

“The third one,” she finally answered.

“No you’re not.” A lump forced its way into her throat. “That’s the fifth.”

Her entire body was frozen while the words ran laps around her mind. What the hell was going on? Her nerves felt like they were engulfed in fire, leaving her simultaneously too hot and frozen. That wasn’t right. The words didn’t form any proper reason in her mind, but she understood the sinking feeling it left in her chest.

“How do you know which movie I’m watching?” She asked as she slowly stood up from her chair.

A heavy breath. “Because I can see your screen.”

As soon as the words pieced together in her head, Cassidy ran to her balcony window. The curtains were closed. They weren’t the only windows into her apartment, but they were the only ones that faced the TV. As far as she knew, no other window could see her screen; a deliberate furnishing choice on her part.

“Listen,” she said breathlessly as she stared at the closed curtains. “I’ll tell David we talked all night if you want.” There was no response. “You can even keep all the money.”

A taunting laugh.

“I never said I talked to David.”

Shit. Shit shit shit. She knew she should have hung up at first. Who the hell was this freak? It was New York City, there were plenty of freaks around, but this? This was just psychotic. Nobody in their right mind would do this shit!

She quickly tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder again and grabbed the curtains with both hands-

“-Open it and I’ll slit your fucking throat.”

They wouldn’t. They couldn’t. How would they even get into the apartment? She froze and reconsidered. How else could they have known what was on her TV? God, what was going on? She thought about the ramifications for far too long before letting go of the curtains. They shifted for a few moments before finally settling back into place.

“Who are you?” Cassidy’s voice was weak.

“You assumed our mutual friend was David.” She waited impatiently. “But surely you haven’t forgotten our dear friend Anika.”

Cassidy laughed bitterly. “Are you fucking serious?” She stomped through the apartment to grab the ice cream and dirty spoon. “Did that loser and her freak girlfriend put you up to this?” She practically threw the ice cream back into the freezer. “Because it’s pathetic.”

Of course that freak had caused this. She hadn’t bullied Anika and Mindy for nothing. Cassidy was a patient soul, it was true, but even she had her limits. No one wanted to hear those weirdos talk about stupid movies 24/7, especially when it wasn’t necessary. Didn’t they know there were better, more important things in the world?

“Those are some strong opinions to have,” the caller said over the sound of the spoon hitting Cassidy’s sink. “Especially for someone in your position.”

She rested her hip on the counter. “And what position would that be?”

“You can open your balcony window now, Cassidy.”

The curtains of the balcony were swaying. If she strained her ears, she could hear the rain falling a little louder. Would it be smart to open the curtains and see what was out there? Or maybe she should just hang up, call the police, and let them deal with it. After all, the police had never done anything wrong to her, surely she could trust them.

But she wanted to know. She wanted to know what those freaks had managed to pull off all on their own. Cassidy wouldn’t have called them stupid; at least not Anika. But there was no way she would have said any of them were smart. They were all just a bunch of down on their luck kids who had gotten into Blackmoore out of pity, not intellect.

Whether she had fully intended to or not, she let her feet carry her toward the balcony. As she got closer, she could hear the rain and wind clearly; the balcony window was open behind the curtains.

“How do you know my name?” She asked even though it was a stupid question. If this person was friends with Anika, then that was how they knew.

Still.

“Everyone knows your name.”

She reached out and grabbed the curtain with both hands.

“Or they’re about to.”

Cassidy closed her eyes, threw the curtains open, and screamed. She used every ounce of breath and energy in her body to release the most blood curdling scream she could manage. But when she opened her eyes, the scream died down in her throat.

There was nothing on the balcony. The door was open, but there was nothing there. Not in the doorway, not on the actual balcony, and not across the street. Hell, the only thing she could see was the poor potted plant that she had let die last year and hadn’t thrown out yet.

This was all just some sick joke.

“You know, this is really pathetic,” Cassidy said calmly even though her heart was still pounding in her chest. “I’m calling the cops.”

“Fine, call them.” She grabbed her phone and looked for the “end call” button. “They’ll find out all about your dirty little secret.”

She froze.

“Turn around, Cassidy.”

Her heart was beating loudly in her ears. Mixed with the rain and wind coming in through the open balcony window that she couldn’t bring herself to close, it was deafening. She didn’t want to turn around. She didn’t want to see what could possibly be hiding behind her. It could all be some cruel joke and the apartment could be empty.

Or not.

She took a few short, quick breaths and braced herself before finally turning around quickly, nearly tripping over her own feet. There, in the middle of her apartment, was Heather. Heather, the best fuck she’d ever had, tied up in the chair like a piece of meat. There was a gash on her head that was dripping blood into her eyes, but aside from that there weren’t any other physical injuries.

“Heather?” Cassidy said in disbelief.

“Please help me,” Heather cried. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Cassidy dropped the phone without hanging up. She didn’t care anymore. All of this had gone too far. Those creeps had crossed too many lines. Messing with her? Fine. It was pathetic, but fine. But finding her secret hookup? Didn’t they know she had a reputation? What would her boyfriend think if he found out? Actually, he would probably think it was hot. Maybe that was worse.

“Did Anika do this to you?” She asked as she attempted to untie the knots in the rope. It was probably the first time in her life she had ever regretted having acrylics.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Heather said with a sniffle. A drop of blood fell onto the rope. “Her and her geek friends are obsessed with this shit.”

“We’ll call the cops later,” Cassidy said. “I’m tired of their freaky, “poor us” bullshit.”

The ropes weren’t budging, and her fingers were feeling raw. How had they managed to do such a thorough job so quickly? Perhaps because, like she had known from the very beginning, they were all a bunch of freaks. A bunch of freaks who had no lives, no real friends, and no chance of living like normal people. She smirked to herself. They’d have one hell of a time getting any sort of job after college if she had anything to say about it-

-the floor creaked.

Cassidy’s fingers froze. There was only one place in her apartment that the floor creaked. And it wasn’t underneath her or Heather. She looked up slowly. First she saw Heather, sitting there impatiently and waiting for her to get her out. Then the gash on Heather’s face.

Then the cloaked figure standing behind her.

Then the Ghostface mask shrouded in a black hood.

The Ghostface tilted his head at her. She couldn’t move. It felt like the air had frozen in her lungs. She just had to kneel there and watch as he lifted a gloved hand with a giant knife and waved at her with two fingers. The knife was huge. His free hand lifted just as slowly and pushed the mask back inch by inch until she could see the bottom of his face.

The smile was accentuated by the deep scars stretching across both cheeks.

Cassidy opened her mouth to scream before something came from behind her and pressed against her throat.

She never made a sound.

—---

The pool of blood slowly inched across the tarp that had been carefully arranged underneath the two college girls. It was wide enough to catch any accidental splatter, yet thick enough to keep it from spilling out. A wise purchase for a wise killer. Or two.

Ghostface stepped forward, standing over the corpses. It wasn’t their proudest moment; there had been a few hitches in the plan. But when the result was the same, well, they supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. They grabbed the mask and yanked it off.

“You jumped the gun,” Tara said breathlessly. The adrenaline was still running through her veins; she had grown to love it.

The second Ghostface removed their mask next.

“I know,” you said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.” You looked down at the corpses of your enemies with glee and disgust. “She’s just such a bitch.”

You both continued to stand there, neither one daring to make the first move. The silence after a kill was one of the more satisfying moments to you. No more screaming, no more steel cutting through flesh. Just the sounds of your breathing and the blood rushing through your ears.

“I didn’t know they were gay,” you finally said. “Or closeted, I guess.”

“I think Mindy said they were experimenting,” Tara speculated. “They both tried to hit on Anika at one point.”

You hummed in response and continued to look at them. Not that you had stopped. That was the one thing you didn’t think you would ever really get used to. Sure, your family business was… a bit risque on its own, but this was different. You would argue with Dicky all day every day, but knife wounds were more gruesome than gunshots.

“Does this make us homophobic?” You asked. “Was this a hate crime?”

“I-” Tara stopped and closed her mouth. It made you feel a little better that she had to think about it too. “No,” she finally said with a slow nod. “We’re doing the world a favour.”

You smiled. “God, I love you.”

“Love me while we clean up,” she demanded even though you saw her smile. “Get moving.”

The cleanup process, all of you agreed, was the worst part. It was methodical, time consuming, and boring. You would much rather spend the time with Tara, not cleaning up after the two bitches that bullied all of you like you were still in fucking highschool. Truly, it was almost embarrassing for them. You didn’t want to clean up after their mess again.

But you liked the time you got with Tara. Since the whole original Ghostface debacle, she had lightened up. She still bullied you, but honestly? It was a turn on. You wouldn’t dare tell her to stop. If there ever came a day that you didn’t want Tara Carpenter to bully you? It would be the end of the world.

Cleaning up with Sam, however, was a beast.

That’s why you stuck with Tara. Not just because you loved her, of course, but it was a wonderful bonding activity. You hadn’t wanted to bring her into the family business because, well, that was just dangerous. But this? It was nice. And honestly? It got the both of yours adrenaline going and usually led to some of the best date nights.

…

Maybe you both needed more therapy.

“The scary movie question was clever,” you said after you had finally managed to haul the tarp - and the corpses - to the trash chute.

“Thank you,” Tara said with a genuine smile. “I’m pretty proud of it.”

“You should be,” you encouraged. “I thought Cassidy was gonna hear me laughing.”

“You would’ve been sleeping on the couch,” Tara replied. She was serious, but you knew the truth; she would’ve slept on the couch with you.

The next stage of cleaning was far easier on the back. It was basic cleaning, to make the apartment look lived in, but not abandoned. And certainly not like a murder had occurred. Or, you supposed it was a double murder. God, you still couldn’t get over how much of a bitch Cassidy and Heather were. You really did feel a million pounds lighter now that they were gone.

“You know,” you said as you rested your hip on the counter while Tara made sure no fingerprints were anywhere. “Blood looks really good on you.”

“Shut up,” she said quickly. You still saw the blush on her cheeks.

You weren’t lying though. The dark, now-dried blood was a wonderful match to her eyes. It also looked lovely on her skin. You couldn’t really explain what it was; maybe it was the taboo of it all (you definitely needed more therapy). Whatever it was, it was almost like she was glowing.

Maybe you were just in love.

Tara was still checking the kitchen counter when you stepped up behind her and wrapped your arms around her waist. Her body seemed to relax in your arms. Like instinct, she leaned back into you and you could hold her closer. You were like two pieces to the same puzzle; your bodies fit perfectly together.

“It’s kinda hot,” you said before placing a kiss on her cheek. She tasted faintly of copper.

“You’re just deranged,” she said softly.

“Only for you,” you said. Your next kiss was placed on her jaw.

“We can’t do this here,” she said with a sigh. “We’re almost done.”

“We haven’t cleaned the bedroom yet,” you offered. “And I’ve got another tarp in my bag.”

She didn’t argue.

“Think of it as an extra “fuck you” to Cassidy,” you continued. “We both know how much you hated her.”

Your arm pulled her tighter against you as you placed a third kiss right behind her ear. Just going off her silence alone, you knew she would cave. Tara did her best to keep things professional on the scene, but you knew how to win her over. And you knew how much she loved it.

“Okay,” she finally said. Whether she was aware of it or not, her head tilted to give you more access to her neck. “But only a quickie.”

“Seeing you like this?” You said as you bent down and swept an arm under her knees. She shrieked lightly before wrapping her arms around your neck. “I don’t think I could last very long anyway.”

You carried her to your bag and bent down so she could grab it before heading directly to the bedroom.

In the background, the credits of Scary Movie 5 rolled on the TV.

[loveinhawkins]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 ao3

Eddie stirs into semi-wakefulness at the feeling of his hand being moved—he had been tracing slow, looping spiral patterns across Steve’s palm until he simply couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He makes a small noise of bleary confusion, and he hears Steve whisper, “Shit, sorry, go back to sleep.”

“You okay?” he just about slurs. He pries his eyes open, sees what had woken him—Steve stretching out his arm.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just.” Steve gingerly places his elbow back down on the bed. “Twinges.”

Eddie blinks away sleep, and then he sees it, right in the crook of Steve’s arm: a dark bruise. There’s a sudden prickle on the back of his neck that tells him this isn’t from an IV.

Steve floating, one leg broken. An arm beginning to twist unnaturally at the elbow—

“Oh, fuck,” Eddie says, abruptly wide awake.

“It’s fine, Eddie,” Steve rushes to reassure. “Doctors said it was like… psycho… psycho-something, ‘cause I guess the whole, um, you know, it didn’t technically happen so—”

“Well, fuck what they said,” Eddie says, “I’m literally looking at proof that something happened.”

Steve’s lips tilt upwards into something that’s almost a smile, and Eddie again feels a rush of anger on his behalf: that, when left alone, he’s just accepted whatever dismissive explanation the doctors have given because it’s easier. Even the now expected half shrug he gives seems to say, Don’t fuss.

Eddie’s fingers twitch unconsciously, brushing against Steve’s forearm; he immediately draws back, not wanting to get too close to the bruise.

“It’s okay,” Steve says. “You—you can touch it, if you want.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you, man.”

“You won’t.” Another shrug—this one has a more self-conscious air. “Might help, honestly. It’s like a… cold sorta ache.”

Eddie returns his hand to the bed. His fingers barely skim the bruise at first, but when Steve doesn’t flinch, he resumes his touch, lingers. The bruise is slightly raised in the middle, where there’s a vein, and Eddie can feel a strange chill from it; makes him think of taking the plunge at Lover’s Lake, emerging into a nightmare.

Steve relaxes by degrees, exhales slowly. “Yeah, that’s… good. You’re warm.”

Eddie yawns; the repetitive movement is starting to lull him again. “What time s’it?”

Steve winces. “Too early.”

Eddie raises his head slightly, squints at the clock. It’s just gone 3AM. “Ouch.” He settles back, catches Steve’s eye and smiles against the cushion. “Guess I’m gonna have to bore you to sleep, Harrington.”

Steve scoffs. “By talking? Think that’s impossible.”

“Well, I’ve not chosen the topic yet.”

Steve smiles, slow and sweet. There’s a pink mark on his cheek from where he’s leant more into the pillow. “You’d make it interesting.”

Eddie chuckles, feels, for just a moment, unaccountably warm. “Okay, then you talk.”

Steve snorts. “Wow. You saying I’m boring?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Eddie says, and it’s meant to come out teasing, but the early hour of the morning seems to soften it, makes it sincere. “Just meant I already know what you should talk about.”

“Oh?”

“Recite all the movie musicals you own.”

Steve laughs. “Those shitheads,” he says, so fondly. “I can’t believe they found those.”

“Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Hmm, not really. Just some tapes left from my grandparents.” His eyes drift down for a few seconds in silent, distant melancholy, then he adds, “Both sets. Seemed like a waste to get rid of them, so I…” He sighs, laughs a little. “Starting at Family Video reminded me of them again. Me and Rob got through a few before… oh. We were gonna have a marathon at Spring break. Guess we got a little busy.”

“Sorry.”

Steve waves him off, hand barely lifting from the bed. “Don’t be. Kinda par for the course for me, at least.”

“What’s your favourite?”

“Huh?”

“Musical.”

“Oh.” Steve grins. “You gotta guess.”

“What is this, a test?”

“Yup. You get it wrong and a trap door opens underneath you.”

Eddie laughs again. “Careful, Harrington, you sound like a DM.”

“You sound like you’re avoiding taking a guess.”

“Uh, I can’t just jump in, I’ve gotta…” Eddie makes a show of leaning forward to scrutinise Steve.

“Are you analysing me? I’m not that complicated, dude.”

“…Grease,” Eddie says eventually, and Steve laughs through a yawn.

“Nope. Why’d you pick that one?”

“Mostly the hair.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Steve says, rolling his eyes; but he’s smiling, too.

“C’mon, put me out my misery.”

“The Sound of Music.” Steve’s smile turns more thoughtful. “Not even cause of the music, more—Robin put it on one night, and she started laughing, said I had my own little gang of von Trapps.”

Eddie grins. “Yeah, I can see it.”

He resumes his gentle strokes across Steve’s bruise—watches as Steve’s eyes close, feels it when his arm goes slack. He thinks that Steve has fallen asleep until the question is asked.

“Have you… done this before?” Steve opens his eyes, as if sensing Eddie’s confusion. “Like, when I was… when I wasn’t…”

It takes a couple of seconds for it to click. “Oh. Oh, yeah, I…” Eddie trails off, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “You looked, um… in pain, so I…”

It feels like a much bigger thing now that Steve is awake and looking right at him, but Eddie gathers himself, raises his hand to demonstrate.

His fingertips brush across Steve’s forehead, lightly moving stray strands of hair. Steve’s eyes close again—only momentarily, like he’s taking it all in.

“Yeah, that was… I could feel you.” There’s a sudden fragility in his eyes. “It—it helped. Thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank me.”

“No, I… seriously, it… I was trying to… remind myself what it felt like to… to feel things, you know? Like, physically, that I could—that I was still…” He drifts into a silence that Eddie doesn’t dare break before continuing. “I was talking to Nance ‘bout Christmas from a few years ago; I was wearing this stupid sweater that itched, but thank God it did. I remember holding Holly, the weight of her, just…” He draws his non-bruised arm briefly to his chest. “And…” His eyes widen in sudden realisation. “Oh, that’s right, you were—you were talking, weren’t you, while you were playing guitar?”

Eddie’s heart constricts at the reminder. “Yeah, sure was.”

“With Robin, too, right?” At Eddie’s nod, Steve begins to smile again. “Yeah, I could—I could hear you. Thought I was in Scoops at one point.”

Eddie laughs. “Yeah, me too.”

“Don’t tell Robin, but the Material Girl routine? Totally knew she could see me the whole time.”

Eddie is about to crack a joke about how the secret’s safe with him, but then he sees Steve’s smile slowly fade away.

“What is it?” he asks quietly.

Steve shakes his head—not in answer, looks more like he’s grounding himself. “Just… remembering some…” His eyes move to the door before returning to Eddie. “You said you heard my song on the radio?”

Eddie nods.

“Yeah, I—it was faint, but I could still… It’s just… wherever I was, it was just—not just dark, but there was… nothing, and I couldn’t feel or see or… and before—before you… I thought oh, this is it, this is all there’s…” Steve swallows, voice growing thick. “S’just funny what comes back to… I kept thinking, just… little things, like how I left some of the tapes a mess at work, or how I was never gonna give anyone a ride home anymore, or even just—driving with the radio full blast. Still. Now I can—well, gotta wait a little while, with the cast, but—”

“I’ll drive you,” Eddie says suddenly, and he can’t stop himself from adding, “Any time. Anywhere you wanna… just—just say when.”

Steve’s mouth parts. His hand drifts up, and he blinks, and it’s only then that Eddie notices one subtle tear clinging to his eyelashes.

The moment stretches until Eddie’s vision becomes hazy at the corners, exhaustion muffling the emotion like a blanket.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Steve says eventually.

“Good,” Eddie says, or thinks he says—his eyes have drifted shut of their own accord.

“Night, Eddie.”

“S’morning.”

“Ha. You always need the last word?”

“Mm-hmm. S’an… affliction.”

“Good morning, then.”

Eddie feels Steve’s fingers curl against his palm; sinking down into sleep, he’s too tired to figure out if Steve’s spelling anything at all—but he thinks, even if it’s a nonsense pattern, the meaning is the same.

I’m here. I’m here with you. I’m right here.

[astral--horrorshow]

Around-The-Clock Shadows

Platonic Yandere ROTTMNT x Reader

Info: This will be a full-length fic including multiple ROTTMNT characters, the main storyline revolves around the Mad Dogs

Fic Summary: You sure are likeable, aren't you?

《Directory》

Chapter 5: Shakedowns and Tranq-Downs

Characters: Raph, Leo, Donnie, Mikey

A/N: Sorry for being late! I had a very busy week, so I was very tired and didn't have much energy to write. I kept S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. with his new design, but his old voice, and a slight bias towards Donnie.

If you want to be added to a taglist, just say the word! If you want to draw fanart or make anything based off of this, I would be literally honored. Please don't be shy, I will love whatever you make! If you have any questions about the fic, feel free to ask!

TW: Kidnapping, drugging, mentions of roofies, non-serious hand injuries, toxic relationships, manipulation, condecension, you watch a movie with violence but nothing graphic

I do not condone any of the behaviors found or done in this fic. This story is purely for entertainment purposes. If you or someone you know is being treated like this, please contact the authorities.

Chapter Summary: You are not enjoying watching Lou Jitsu: Teriyaki Shakedown, but you don't really catch a lucky break when it has to be paused.

Word Count: 1926

☆~☆~☆

"Where's our free grub, noodle man?" One of the actors on the screen said, glaring at the pompadoured head that was turning to look at him sideways.

"Okay, ha, how 'bout some... hot soup?" Lou Jitsu said, grabbing the on-screen mobsters and tossing them in the aforementioned bowls of hot soup, making noodles and broth fly all around the shop.

You were distracted from the movie by something poking the edge of your mouth. You looked to to it with your eyes, and it was revealed to be a spoon with ice cream on it. At least, it used to be icey. Seven hours into the Lou Jitsu marathon the brothers had dragged you to watch when they found out you had only seen one of his many, many movies, and you were barley hanging on, but the ice cream had given much sooner, melting into sugary milk soup hours earlier.

Not that Mikey noticed, because he continued to mindlessly feed you spoonfuls. You didn't mind too much that it was melted, because you were going to need whatever form of sugar you could get to make it through the rest of Teriyaki Shakedown.

You opened your mouth, eating the soupy dessert while Leo tightened his arms around your shoulders. At the start of the marathon, Leo had snatched you and settled you down you on his lap while he sat criss-cross on the chair in the middle of the projector room. This earned him dirty looks from his brothers, but he didn't seem bothered at all. They had attempted to steal you from him a few times, but Leo was persistent. He wouldn't let go of you or entertain his brother's complaints, demands, or arguments.

After another thirty minutes of watching Lou Jitsu beat up bad guys, Donnie's phone buzzed. He almost lazily held it up to his face, but his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates upon seeing whatever text he had received. He immediately jumped up, grabbed the remote, and switched off the movie, earning complaints and shouts from his brothers, but secretly earned your gratitude. You weren't sure that you could take much more of Mr. Jitsu.

"What gives, Donnie?!" Leo snapped, pulling your back closer to his chest and leaning forwards, glaring at his purple-clad twin. Donnie held up a hand at his angry brothers, "Bad news, April texted, and she's going to be over in 5 minutes," he said this with a hint of panic in his usual voice, and his brothers immediately panicked and yelled and dashed around the projector room, tidying things up. "Who's April?" You asked from the chair, now sitting alone on it after Leo had dashed from it. The turtles stopped in their tracks and went quiet at your question for a moment, before Leo answered, "Nobody, hermanito!" He nervously laughed, and the brothers resumed their living-room clean up.

You watched them throw things back into place, so focused that you didn't notice Donnie sneaking up behind you, a syringe in the claws of one of his metal arms. He plunged it into your neck, which made wooziness overtake you. You fell off the chair because you couldn't hold yourself upright, but Donnie's metal arms caught you before you could faceplant on the floor. He held you up as he carried you away, all of your senses fading as whatever drug he had injected into you took hold.

☆~☆~☆

April O'Neil strolled into the projector room as she had done many times in the past to see three of the the Hamato brothers looking like somebody had yelled "Act natural!" five seconds before she had walked in. Leo was "reading" his favorite Jupiter Jim comic book in Splinter's chair, his eyes unblinking. Mikey and Raph were both hunched over at the table behind the chair, playing chess.

That was when April knew something was up. Those two played chess once and then swore to never touch it again. Raph couldn't remember all the rules and got super frustrated, and Mikey was of the opinion that the game was mind-numbingly boring. "What's up?" April asked, her hand on her hip and her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Mikey snapped his head in her direction, feigning casual surprise, "April! We-did-not-hear-you-come-in!" He said, his words and the way he said feeling scripted, like a laser tag or escape room employee. "Yuh-huh, yeah. What's goin' on? You never play chess!"

The three turtles were now all sweating, beads of it falling down their faces at a rapid pace. Raph held up a finger and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

A wave of relief washed over the brothers when Donnie walked back into the room, casual as ever. "Hello, April," He said, stopping to greet his friend. "Hi there, Donnie," She answered back, turning her attention to the semi-scientist, "Your brothers are acting real-" "Weird? Yeah, they do that a lot. Haven't you noticed by now?" April looked like she wanted to say something more, but kept her mouth shut. She would investigate this later.

☆~☆~☆

You opened your eyes, your vision blurry. Outlines in your view bounced around like a windows screensaver, the pounding in your head doing nothing to help your vision. You opened your mouth in a silent groan. You had only been trapped in the Lair, as the turtles called it, for a few days, but aside from when they knocked you out to bring you there, this hadn't been the first time Donnie had done this. He claimed he was a genius, so couldn't he make a tranquilizer that didn't make you feel like what adults described having a hangover was like?

You leaned your head back on the desk chair you were sitting on and waited for the headache to wain, and wondered if people were looking for you. Maybe, maybe not. The police probably weren't. People leigons more important than you were going missing, and other crimes were being committed, too. The NYC police force would spare a glance to a random missing teenager when Hell froze over, world peace was achieved, and no packs of gum had been stolen from any pharmacies.

Despite all of your thinking, your headache became manageable in the time of your reflection. You cautiously stood up from the chair and walked a few steps, and when your brain failed to feel like it had a bullet in it, you began to trek around in the unfamiliar part of the lair.

It appeared to be some sort of laboratory, which along with the purple theme, immediately informed you it was Donnie's turf. It was dark, the only source of light being an indigo beam from high up on the ceiling, which you didn't bother to walk to the fancy table in the middle of the room to look up at. You wandered behind the desk you had woken up at, eyes adjusting to the near-darkness, when you had tripped over something large and heavy. Your hands had shot out in front of you to stop you from face-planting onto the tile.

As soon as pain burst across your palms, a door to your far right that you didn't know was there opened, the light from that crept through the doorway and between whoever had opened the door shining in your eyes and practically blinding you.

"What happened?!" The voice, which revealed itself to be Donnie's, sounded shocked with a hint of annoyance seeping in, "You weren't supposed to get up!" He switched on the lights, blinding you further, and rushed over to you. His metal robot arms scooped you up from under your armpits, like how one might hold a cat, and plopped you down on the table in the center of the room.

He turned your hands over to inspect your palms for any visible injuries with a furrowed brow. When he concluded that your palms were only reddened, he relaxed the slightest bit. “I have to get bandages for your hands. Stay here.” He walked off and through another door that presumably led to another part of the lab. You watched his battleshell disappear around the corner, lowering your head and sulking.

“Greetings.”

Your head snapped up to find a purple, aviatic robot flying about a foot from your head. You gasped as your eyes widened, staring in surprise and curiosity. “My apologies, it was not my intention to frighten you. I merely desire to introduce myself. I am S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N., I was created by your brother, Donatello, as an assistant to him and your other brothers, and your father, as well.” You didn’t bother to tell S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. that they weren’t your brothers, and that their father wasn’t yours. You had already tried it with the turtles, and they would either shut you down completely or act like you didn’t say anything at all.

“Oh, okay. Donnie made you?”

“Yes, that is correct. He is quite the genius.”

“Okay.”

“Ah, I see you’ve acquainted yourself with S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. in my absence.”

You and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. both glanced over to see Donatello in the doorway, first-aid kit in hand. He strolled over to the two of you, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. moving to the side so Donnie could patch you up. He set the first-aid kit down on the messy table beside you, opening it and pulling out a balm of some kind and a single glove made out of plastic, akin to one a doctor would wear. Donnie pulled it on his hand, the other two fingers left dangling as there was no use for them. He dipped two of his fingers in the balm, using his other hand to hold one of your palms up at time as he spread the balm over them. You had to admit, it was soothing.

"Donnie?"

"Hm?" He didn't look up at your face, busying himself with wrapping your palms with bandages.

"Why do you have to use that roofie thing every time you wanna take me somewhere? You could just ask me."

He let out a sigh of annoyance, "It is not a 'roofie'. Roofie's are used by degenerates with malicious intentions. I merely subdue you because you are adjusting to life here and you cannot handle overwhelming visual stimuli that will come with seeing too much of the lair at the moment." He said, as if every Lou Jitsu movie wasn't "overwhelming visual stimuli".

You hung your head again, pouting at his dissmissive answer. He noticed this and furrowed his brow again, lifting your chin with a single finger to make you look at him, "I am doing this for your own benefit. I'm only doing what's best for you." You nodded to get him to stop talking, feeling a ramble was coming on. Normally, you didn't mind rambling in the slightest, but his opinions on your competence in taking care of yourself often left you with hurt feelings and tears in your eyes.

Donnie's phone buzzed, and he opened it to find much more pleasent news for him. "April has gone home. It's time to finish Teriyaki Shakedown, don't you think?" He said, it obviously not being a question despite it's phrasing. "Don't worry, I won't let Leo hog you again." You merely nodded. Maybe after the movie, you would finally get to go to sleep or eat some real food.

☆~☆~☆

A/N: Be careful, April!

Taglist <3: @yanteetle @yandere-toons @averagerottmntsimp @whyiseveryonesodamnfinetho @writelikenobody @takottai

[stnkiconverse]

Can you do a creepypastas characters x scene and emo reader

Creepypastas x ScenEmo!Reader

Ticci Toby

1. Music Bonding: Toby enjoys listening to your favorite scene and emo bands. Your shared love for music becomes a significant part of your relationship. He loves watching you get lost in the lyrics and often joins you in your room for impromptu jam sessions.

2. Supporting Your Style: Toby is fascinated by your scenemo style, from your brightly colored hair to your layered band tees and skinny jeans. He might not adopt the style himself, but he admires your confidence and uniqueness.

3. Quiet Company: Toby appreciates the time you spend together just sitting quietly, working on puzzles, or doodling in your notebook while you’re playing your favorite music. These moments bring him a sense of peace and comfort.

4. Late-Night Conversations: With Toby’s insomnia and your tendency to stay up late, you two often find yourselves chatting through the night. These conversations can range from deep talks about life to silly debates over which band is better.

5. Shared Love for Cats: Your shared affection for animals, especially cats, is something you both cherish. You might even have a few stray cats that you take care of together, creating a little family of your own.

6. Adventurous Side: While Toby isn’t a fan of crowds, he loves going on nighttime adventures with you, whether it’s exploring abandoned places or just walking around the neighborhood in the early hours.

Ben Drowned

1. Retro and Scene Aesthetic: Ben loves your scenemo aesthetic and often admires how you blend modern emo culture with retro elements in your style. He might even introduce you to old-school video games with similar vibes.

2. Gaming Together: Ben enjoys spending hours gaming with you, especially since you share his love for all things retro and nerdy. Whether it’s a multiplayer match or just watching each other play, gaming is a major part of your bond.

3. Late-Night Gaming Marathons: Since you both have a tendency to stay up late, you often find yourselves in front of a screen at 3 AM, either gaming, watching YouTube videos, or scrolling through meme pages together.

4. Thrifting Together: Ben enjoys your love for thrifting, and it becomes a shared activity. You both have a keen eye for finding the coolest band tees, old video game merch, and other quirky items that suit your styles.

Eyeless Jack

1. Calm Presence: Jack’s calm and quiet demeanor complements your energetic scenemo personality. He finds your style fascinating, though he’s more reserved about expressing it. He’s supportive of your choices and admires your boldness.

2. Music and Silence: While you blast your favorite emo music, Jack often prefers classical or instrumental when he's alone. However, he finds a middle ground with you, appreciating the emotional depth of the lyrics even if it’s not his usual taste.

3. Shared Love for Exploring: You both enjoy exploring abandoned places, though for different reasons. You’re in it for the thrill, while Jack enjoys the quiet solitude these places offer. These outings strengthen your bond, with Jack providing a protective presence.

4. Artistic Expression: Your love for drawing and doodling catches Jack’s interest. He might even offer some anatomy tips to improve your sketches, finding joy in your shared creative outlet.

5. Comfort in the Dark: Jack understands your affinity for the darker aspects of life. He appreciates your ability to express yourself through your style and music, and he offers quiet, comforting support when you’re feeling down.

Jeff The Killer

1. Chaotic Duo: Your style and Jeff’s chaotic energy create a unique, unpredictable dynamic. He loves how fearless you are in your fashion and attitude, finding it refreshing and a little bit challenging.

2. Shared Rebellion: Both of you share a rebellious streak. Jeff admires how you don’t care about societal norms, and he encourages you to push boundaries even further. Your relationship thrives on challenging the status quo.

3. Music Matches the Mood: Jeff fully gets your music and he appreciates the passion you have for it.

4. Adventurous Spirit: You often drag Jeff on adventures, whether it’s to concerts, late-night walks, or exploring sketchy areas. He loves the thrill of these outings, especially when they end in some kind of trouble or excitement.

5. Fashion Influence: While Jeff isn’t one to care much about fashion, he appreciates how your style contrasts with his more haphazard appearance. Sometimes, he’ll let you dress him up a bit, just to see your reaction.

Nina The Killer

1. High Energy Bond: Nina’s adrenaline-fueled personality blends well with your energetic vibe. Together, you form a high-energy duo that’s always looking for the next thrill or adventure.

2. Music Sharing: You introduce her to your favorite bands, and she does the same with hers, leading to an eclectic and fun shared playlist.

3. Expressive Style: Nina adores your style, often complimenting your bold fashion choices. She might even borrow some of your accessories to add an edge to her own outfits, loving how the mix of styles looks on her.

4. Emotional Understanding: Nina understands the emotional depth behind your person, and she’s always there to support you through your highs and lows. In return, you help her channel her energy into more positive outlets.

5. Fashion and Makeup You both enjoy experimenting with makeup and fashion, often spending time together getting ready for your next outing. Your bold styles complement each other, making you an eye-catching pair wherever you go.

Homicidal Liu

1. Grounded Connection: Liu’s calm and introspective nature provides a grounding influence on your energetic and sometimes chaotic scenemo personality. He appreciates the passion behind your style and music, finding it inspiring.

2. Late-Night Conversations: Both of you tend to stay up late, leading to deep and meaningful conversations. You talk about everything from music to life’s struggles, finding comfort in each other’s understanding and support.

3. Artistic Collaboration: Your love for drawing and expressing your emotions through art resonates with Liu. He’s a fan of your artwork and often joins you in creating, offering his own insights and techniques.

4. Fashion Support: While Liu’s style is more understated, he supports your fashion choices. He enjoys seeing the creativity in how you express yourself and sometimes offers to help you pick out outfits or accessories.

5. Music Appreciation: Although Liu has a more subdued taste in music, he’s open to exploring your bands. He appreciates the emotion behind the lyrics and finds a few songs that resonate with his own experiences.

6. Quiet Moments: Despite your high-energy style, you and Liu cherish quiet moments together. Whether it’s watching the rain, or simply enjoying each other’s presence, you find a sense of peace and connection.

Jane The Killer

1. Mutual Respect: Jane is drawn to your strong sense of identity and the confidence with which you wear your style. She respects your boldness and independence, finding it aligns well with her own values.

2. Music as a Bond: Your love for emo and scene music intrigues Jane, and she begins to understand the emotional depth behind your favorite songs. She often listens to your playlists and finds comfort in the intensity of the lyrics.

3. Shared Silence: Both of you appreciate the value of quiet companionship. Jane enjoys the moments when you’re together, even if you’re just listening to music or reading. Your presence is comforting to her.

4. Fashion and Stealth: Jane admires your fashion choices and how they reflect your personality. She might not adopt the scenemo style herself, but she appreciates how you express yourself.

5. Protective Nature: Jane’s protective instincts extend to you, and she’s always ready to defend you if needed. You, in turn, offer her support and understanding, helping her navigate the emotional challenges she faces.

6. Exploring Interests Together: Jane introduces you to her collection of books and enjoys your take on them. You often discuss the themes and characters, finding common ground in your love for intense, dark stories.

Hope this was good enough!!

[amiserableseriesofevents]

Wherever you find love (it feels like Christmas)

24 Clegan Christmas drabbles for 24 days!

Prompt from here (but randomized)

[Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7] [Day 8] [Day 9] [Day 10] [Day 11] [Day 12] [Day 13] [Day 14] [Day 15]

[Read on AO3]

Day 16: Gingerbread house

Modern AU, wc 1001

It all started as a game, a small festive activity to do with their friends, to spend some time together and have fun during the holidays. Something casual, stress-free.

Bucky should’ve known Buck wasn’t one for casual.

“Buck, wanna build a gingerbread house?” He’d asked him, showing him a shopping bag full of edible decorations, funfetti, and a whole build-your-own-gingerbread-house kit.

Buck had only raised one very unimpressed eyebrow at him from where he was sitting on the couch — he was a bit of a Scrooge, didn’t like Christmas stuff, but he still looked lovely with half his face illuminated by the blinking lights of their tree. “Why would you want to build an entire house just to eat it afterwards?” He’d asked.

“Ah but you see Buck, I’m not gonna eat it! Not right after, at least. We’ve organized a little competition, whoever builds the best house wins.” Bucky had explained with a grin.

“Oh? What’s the prize?” Buck had asked, a lingering current of interest in his voice impossible for Bucky to miss.

“We’re all putting in two bucks so… twenty dollars, if you’re in too. And the glory that comes with winning, of course,” he’d added, as a joke.

Buck didn’t do jokes. Not with stuff like that. Not with competitions.

Bucky had watched him put aside the book he was reading, a Christmas postcard carefully folded between the pages to keep the sign, and rise from his armchair with an ominous look on his face — and still, that wasn’t when he knew he’d put himself into something so much bigger than him.

“Of course I’ll help you John,” Buck had said with a menacing smile on his face.

“Great! Here’s the kit, do you want to glue the walls together or think about the decorations?” Bucky had asked, but his voice quickly died in his throat at the wicked edge of Buck’s smile.

“The kit? Oh no John, that’s not how you win a competition. We’re gonna bake the gingerbread ourselves, and ours is gonna be the best gingerbread house ever made,” he’d said.

That’s when John knew, he’d fucked up.

They’ve been baking for hours now, and Bucky is sweaty like he’s just finished running a marathon and there are more blisters on his fingers and forearms than he can count, he’s sore everywhere and he would’ve given up a long time ago if it wasn’t for the fact that Buck finally looks like he’s actually having fun doing something christmassy together, effectively bullying him into making the perfect gingerbread house.

He’s pulled out some sheets of grid paper and a big ruler and he’s sketched out what looks more like a mansion than a simple house, taking precise measurements and commanding John to bake the gingerbread sheets in accord.

“You doubled in architecture and didn’t tell me, Buck?” Bucky asks him, stirring some melting sugar for Buck only knows what

“I’m just being precise, you don’t win if you’re not precise,” Buck answers, checking the oven to see if the last sheet of gingerbread is ready. “Stir that quicker or it’s not gonna be clear, and we need our windows to be clear.”

“Fucking windows, Buck? Really?”

“How else are the gingerbread people living inside supposed to see what’s going on outside?” Buck shoots back. Then, after a beat, “Oh, I didn’t think of that! John-”

“Don’t. Please, Buck. Don’t.”

“Come back here and make two gingerbread men, I’ll take care of the sugar,” Buck commands, merciless.

Some more baking — and some more blisters — later it’s finally time to decorate. Buck has a very precise list of what kind of decorations they’re gonna make, but he grants John freedom to play a little with it. They draw little white tiles on the roof with the icing, a line of colorful smarties at the very top. They use pieces of meringue, stuck together with icing, to make the smoke coming out of the house’s gingerbread chimney, and some more crushed meringue and cookies to build a little front yard covered in sugary snow.

Buck uses his steady hands to draw white curtains for the windows — which Bucky has to admit, look absolutely badass and are definitely going to make them win first place — and clusters of bricks to add texture to their walls. They they glue all the walls together with extreme care, using tons and tons of icing that ends up basically everywhere, even on Buck’s face when he touches his cheek with white, sticky fingers.

“It’s amazing, Buck,” Bucky tells him when they take a step back to admire their creation. “It’s definitely gonna win us the big prize,” he adds with a chuckle.

Buck smiles back at him, a bit sheepish. “I’m sorry I got a bit intense,” he says. “But you know, when I hear that there’s a competition I-”

“Get excited, let’s put it like this,” Bucky concludes for him. He pulls him closer, and licks the icing from his cheek eliciting a groan from Buck.

“Let me see the gingerbread men instead of licking me like a puppy,” he says but without bite, pulling him even closer. One handed, with his other arm around Buck’s waist, John pulls up another baking tray with the two cookies on it, that he’s decorated without letting Buck see them: one gingerbread man has dark swirls of icing for hair while the other’s are yellow, and both have exaggeratedly big blue eyes and red smiles, and there’s a small, red, heart-shaped smudge on both their gingerbread chests.

“It’s us,” Bucky says. “Gingerbread Buck and gingerbread Bucky living in their beautiful mansion designed by human Buck and human Bucky.”

“They’re lovely,” Buck says with a kiss to Bucky’s jaw. “And they’re gonna be award winning gingerbread men, which makes them even lovelier.”

Bucky laughs at that. “I love your competitive side, ya know?”

“Just that?” Buck shoots back with a smirk.

“No, not just that. Definitely not just that.”

[etoiline]

One Hundred Hours of Writing

Hey, everything seems awful, but that doesn't mean you should stop creating. Life is crushing right now, and last night I had to force myself to write. But I did write, and I felt a little better for it.

So if you need a little push to find your words, or your drawing, or your music, or whatever makes you happy...

Join us for the One Hundred Hours of Writing marathon on Twitch, starting this afternoon (7th Nov). For 100 hours straight, two hours per streamer, someone will be on screen leading writing sprints, offering advice, and otherwise encouraging you on your writing journey.

I myself will be streaming in the Saturday (9th) night prime time slot (8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central/5 pm Pacific), and I'd love it if you'd join me (I'm on Twitch as starryjen), but you can find a writing stream the whole weekend long! Find out who's streaming at ohhow.net or check out the graphic (note times are in Eastern). You don't have to have a Twitch account to watch, but you will need one to comment your word count!

[black-arcana]

WITHIN TEMPTATION Shares Preview Of New Single 'A Fool's Parade'

On April 5, 2024, WITHIN TEMPTATION will release their brand-new song, "A Fool's Parade", which marks a collaboration with the talented Ukrainian producer Alex Yarmak. According to a press release from WITHIN TEMPTATION's publicist, "A Fool's Parade" "highlights Russia's pretense regarding the war, and condemns its lies, ongoing crimes and brutal intentions."

A preview of "A Fool's Parade" is available below.

The song, released as a harbinger of the much-anticipated "Bleed Out 2024 Tour", is a powerful expression of what the press release calls "WITHIN TEMPTATION's commitment to continue shedding light on the ongoing existential struggle that Ukraine is facing against Russia's cruel invasion."

For the recording of the accompanying music video for "A Fool's Parade", Sharon den Adel — the frontwoman of WITHIN TEMPTATION — traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine. The music video is being directed by renowned Ukrainian video director Indy Hait.

With involvement in initiatives such as the Ukraine Aid OPS foundation, WITHIN TEMPTATION aims to keep drawing attention to Europe's much-needed support for Ukraine's defense.

In a June 2023 interview with James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound, Den Adel spoke about the lyrical inspiration for WITHIN TEMPTATION's "Wireless" single: "When the war started in the Ukraine, we were in the studio writing songs, And it's one of the songs that we wrote. And it is about war, of course. It's about a soldier going to war and thinking he's going to liberate people, do good stuff and be a hero and everything, but then he finds out that he's been lied to by media but also government. And then he finds that he can't go back because he's already in his army gear, for instance. You can't go forward, you can't go backward because you have your buddies next to you and you'll all die in the field. And in front of you, you have a mission impossible almost."

The Dutch singer continued: "So that's what we try to do — maybe also shine a light on certain situations within the war. It's just we're storytellers — it's like amplifying a certain kind of emotion that people could feel in this situation."

Asked how she and her bandmates decided to use Russia's invasion of Ukraine as inspiration for one of their songs, Sharon said: "Well, from my point of view, it's not just their war. I really believe what some people are saying — it's really our war as well. Because it's next to us. They already said, they're not gonna stop at Ukraine; they're gonna go further. And a couple of hours flying from my home, it's already Kyiv. So it's also our war. I think we should be aware of the fact that this is a danger for all of us. They won't stop. And hopefully — we wanna keep this a little bit alive in our own small way by writing about it and talking about it and waving a flag on stage about it."

In March 2022, WITHIN TEMPTATION was one of the artists who took part in a telethon concert in support of Ukraine. "Save Ukraine - #StopWar" united more than 20 countries and bring together more than 50 participants. The marathon was broadcast from Warsaw on the Polish TV channel TVP. In addition, broadcasters from many countries around the world, including Estonia (EBR),Lithuania (LTR),the Czech Republic (ČT2),Georgia (GPB / First),Albania (RTSH 2),Montenegro, Slovenia, Latvia (LTV),Croatia (HRT),Slovakia (RTVS),Austria (Puls 4),Cyprus, Canada (OMNI) and others, rebroadcasted the marathon on their local channels.

In an interview with Greece's Rock Overdose, Den Adel stated about her band's participation in the event: "For us, it was an honor to be asked for it. I think as a band and as people, we really value freedom of speech and freedom and democracy. I think as a band, people sometimes say, 'Don't be so political,' people say, 'Don't be so expressive and don't take a side on things.' But as a musician, I think it's important to represent who you are, not just in music but really stand for what you make and what you are saying in your lyrics in a way. And things that are happening in the world inspire us to write music, and then you also have to take a stance and what side you are. I think when it's so obvious where there's an aggressor and where there is a country being violated, invaded, you should take a stance and then it makes it much easier even to be very clear about where you stand in this whole conflict. Of course, it's something that we are keeping ourselves updated with every day because we find it very sad to see that a country that wants to be a democracy is invaded this way. So we are very honored to be asked also to play for this event, this marathon, and happy to do it."

Released last October, WITHIN TEMPTATION's latest album, "Bleed Out", signifies a bold leap forward for the band. From contemporary, hard-hitting, and djenty riffs to soaring melodies displaying their symphonic roots, WITHIN TEMPTATION has created a sonic journey that fuses diverse musical styles and thought-provoking themes. This is an album that is as epic as it is unflinchingly outspoken, and now more than ever, this is a band who isn't afraid to make a stand on issues the members care about.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, WITHIN TEMPTATION have shifted their focus from writing about personal emotions and societal subjects to tackling global injustices and reflecting the tumultuous state of the world in a way that other artists seem unable or unwilling to do.

While songs such as "Wireless" and "We Go To War" examine the authoritarian aggression on display in Ukraine and other warzones, the title track itself addresses the plight of women fighting for their rights in Iran after the murder of Mahsa Amini.

The album also grapples with the complex issues around a woman's right to choose in recent single "Don't Pray For Me" and throughout, this impassioned and political focus is reflected in the intensity and heaviness of the music. Embracing a new era of musical exploration and lyrical depth, WITHIN TEMPTATION have pushed boundaries and showcased their artistic evolution, delivering a fist-in-the-air proclamation of both their moral convictions and their fearless approach to music.

[blackjackkent]

Extra Life Updates - New Donation Incentives!

The time is drawing near for my 24-hour marathon stream for Extra Life, fundraising in support of Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago! As part of my fundraising efforts, I’ll be participating in the Game Day events by livestreaming at http://www.twitch.tv/blackjack_kent for 24 hours straight from 12pm, Sat Nov 2 through 11am, Sun Nov 3 (Central Time) (a full 24 hours due to daylight savings time), playing all sorts of games!

Very excited, and since it's my 10th year doing Extra Life, I am adding new fundraising incentives. As usual, a $25 donation allows you to select a game for one hour of the stream; however, I'm adding a bunch of new incentives as well:

$5 - make me eat a Beanboozled (https://www.jellybelly.com/beanboozled-jelly-beans/c/341)

$5 - exercise redeems (10 pushups, 10 bicep curls, 10-second plank)

$10 - summon Alonzo for a treat

$10 - force me to play blindfolded for 5 minutes

$10 - force me to play with mouse and keyboard reversed for 5min

$20 - make me eat 5 Beanboozleds

$25 - Request game for an hour of the stream

$50 - Request horror game for an hour of the stream

$100 - Make me play with a "swear jar" for an hour (I must donate $2 to the campaign myself for each time I swear)

$100 - I will hook up my drawing tablet and draw a (probably bad) sketch of your choice

$250 - Determine the next color I dye my hair (first donation only)

Some cumulative incentives as well:

If we reach $1000 before or during the marathon stream, I will do the remainder of the stream in my old renfaire outfit, including my bigass feathery musketeer hat.

If I hit my $2000 goal, I will finally conquer my fear and play Five Nights at Freddie's on stream. 😅

If you'd like to donate to my campaign, you can do so here:

Thanks for reading! Extra Life is always a super fun time for a good cause, and I’d love your help to make my tenth anniversary something special.

Please donate if you can, share this post around, or come by on stream day to help keep me hyped up! Hope to see you there! 💜

[jolienjoyswriting]

Purrsuing Pawsibilities (ft. Nane Mau), Ch. I

Chapter 1 of 5 for "Purrsuing Pawsibilities," a Bellville High an I Was a Teenage Monster fan fiction story.

A new sub has come to Bellville High, and with her… a teacher's aide. Lonely werecat Nane Mau is intrigued.

Word count: 3,212 — Character count: 17,930 Drafted: September 14th / 15th / 18th / 25th, 2024 Revised: September 25th / 27th–29th, 2024 —

Hi, I'm back. Miss me~? … hello?

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Nane Mau.  She is the epitome of the "lovable loser" trope. (Or maybe I just relate to her way too hard.)  This girl has captured my heart and possessed me to write a terrible, trashy romance fan fiction story about her. I'm sure Josh is going to be "thrilled" about this.  (,:

Anyway, if you like this story, check out Josh's stuff.  Even if you hate the story, check it out.  I don't even know how I found him, but I'm glad I did! He draws very cute things that I have a great appreciation of. 👍

10/31 Edit: So, the name of the series is "I Was a Teenage Monster", apparently… Well, The More You Know, I guess.

Nane Mau, Renée, Shelly Screwloose, Dimitri Graaf, and "Bellville High" "I Was a Teenage Monster" series and related characters and concepts created by and © joshdamn23

[ ← Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter → ] —

    On an early morning, some rainy day, a lady was lying on her couch, watching old cartoons on a local channel.  She was laughing loudly and really enjoying herself as she relaxed in her favorite dinosaur pajamas, eating nacho-flavored chips.

    "Mau?"

    The lady looked up from her prone position.  Standing at the end of the couch was her roommate and friend, Renée.  She was dressed in a tank top and sweatpants.

    "Heeey, what's uuup, home slice?" the layabout greeted.     "Uh, hey…" Renée answered, a sound of skepticism in her voice.  "Have you been up all night?  You look terrible."     "Mm-hmm!" Mau proudly answered.  "Been watchin' a Flintstones marathon on the local channel!  Oh— look!  This one's a classic!  Fred got into tinkering with cars and wants to win a race for Pebble and Bamm-Bamm's college tuition.  Look at him go!  He's driving on the wall like it's nothing!!"     As Mau burst into uproarious laughter, Renée just kind of cocked her head.     "Okay, well…" she began, "I'm gonna go do my morning workout.  You should probably get cleaned up."     "You're not the boss of me!" Mau playfully countered with a toothy grin.     "No, but the Superintendent of Bellville is, and I don't think they'd like it if you turned up late for work.  Again."     "Pfft.  Silly Renée!  There's no work on Sunday!"     "No— Mau.  Sunday was yesterday," Renée explained.  "You stayed up all night so today is Monday.  It… would be Monday either way, but—"     "T-today is Monday?"     Mau's golden eyes stared, her creamy fur bristling under her lizard onesie.  She looked genuinely spooked by this revelation.     "Uh, yeah," Renée confirmed.  "Today's Monday and you have work in, like, an hour."     Well, that was all Mau needed to hear.  She let loose a loud expletive and leaped from the couch, throwing chips and cheese dip all over the place.     "H-hey!"     "I'll clean that later!" she yelped at her roomie.  "Sorry!"

    As Mau left the room, Renée stood there in silence, examining the mess.     "That girl…" she sighed, pinching the bridge of her muzzle.  "I swear…"     A moment later, her gaze fell upon the television set.  Her ears perked and her eyes widened, a look of surprise coming over her.     "Oh… hey!  This is a good episode!"     As the previous episode of The Flintstones ended, Renée moved the couch and coffee table, deciding to do her morning calisthenics while watching the old cartoon.  She decided that she, too, would clean the couch later.  It was already covered in stains anyway — what was one or two more? —

    Mau was a feline dervish as she made herself presentable.  A quick shower and change of clothes put the cream-colored cat back in her usual outfit: a sandy skirt, blue T-shirt, and comfy letterman jacket.  She accessorized with her segmented belt and collar, put a snake charm earring behind her right ear, then started to apply her makeup — eyeshadow under the eyes with a cute little curly mark at the corner — all the while grumbling at herself for being so careless.

    I can't believe I lost track of time like that! she thought as she drew on her face.  Actually… yes, I can.  I'm always screwin' around when I should be doing things.  But, damn it, I'm a grown-up and I deserve to be able to screw around!     She nodded to herself in affirmation.     Yeah.  Yeah, everyone else takes things too seriously!  They need to lighten up—     Another expletive passed her lips followed by a hiss.  She'd jabbed herself in the eye with the eyeliner pencil.     "Stupid makeup!" she snapped, throwing the marker in a snit.  "No, wait—!"     She reached for the marker, jamming her hand on the sink's smooth surface.  Alas, she was too late.  The thing had gone down the drain and was probably sitting in the bend of the pipe.  Three more expletives came out of her mouth and she kicked the cabinet, screaming as she jammed her toes.  Not long after, she hopped around the bathroom holding her injured foot.     "Why you…!"     Once the pain subsided, she stood on her good foot and started to swing toward the cabinet again!  However… she stopped short before standing up straight.     "No," she told herself with a sigh.  "You can smash the cabinet door later."     With that decision, she retrieved another pencil, finished her makeup, fixed her outfit, and headed back into the living room.

    As Mau re-entered the main area of the apartment, her ears picked up on the sound of Renée giggling about something.     "What's so funny, Née?" she asked.     Mau quickly noted that her roommate was seated on a clean part of the couch, watching The Flintstones with amusement.     "Hee hee hee!  Wow, Fred and Barney can't sing!" she replied, giggling all the more.     "Oh!  I love this episode!"     Mau leaped over the back of the couch, sat down, and… splat!     "What the f—"     She quickly stood back up, raising a leg and looking down.  Renée covered her mouth, staring with surprise.  There was a long strand of cheese dip stretched from the couch cushion to Mau's butt and, though she couldn't see it, a new sizeable stain on the back of her skirt.     "What in the—?!  Who left cheese dip on the freaking couch?!"     Renée's hands slid down to her collarbone.  She was trying not to laugh at this point, but she also felt bad for Mau, who was trying to rub the cheese off her backside.

    The rest of the early morning was spent cleaning the spilled chips and cheese dip off the couch, ensuring that no one would sit in a mess again.  Until next time.

    "Gods…  You'd think today was Friday the 13th or something, given my morning…"

    With the couch cleaned, Renée and Mau headed into the latter's room.  They were looking for a clean pair of pants she could borrow.     "Maybe someone put a curse on you?" Renée offered, still holding back a fit of giggles over the "cheese incident".     "It wouldn't surprise me…"  The black-haired lady sighed.  "Well, anyway… thanks for letting me borrow some pants, roomie."     The roommate nodded before idly commenting, "We should probably do laundry this weekend…  We're both getting low on clean clothes."     "Tell you what…"  Mau smiled, slipping into a pair of black yoga pants.  "I'll pay for the wash cycle, this weekend."     The white cat's face showed strong disbelief.  Her roommate had some nerve…  For better or worse, Mau seemed to misread this as appreciation.     "No, no, it's the least I can do for the best roomie in the world!" she laughed.     "I… thaaanks?" was what Renée decided to say.  Her roommate was trying… in more ways than one.

    Once the clothing issue was sorted, the two returned to the living room.  As Mau got ready, Renée looked at the stains on the couch again.     "You know, you should really stop eating on the couch…" she suggested.     "But, how else am I gonna watch The Flintstones while I eat nacho chips?" was Mau's answer.  "Besides, I've seen the way you rip through sushi while sittin' there!"     Renée blushed a little.  Rather than get angry, though, she tried to be understanding.     "Sorry…" she quietly responded, her ears curling back.  "I—"     "Hey, hey, hey…  It's okay."     Renée blinked a couple of times as she got a pat on the head from her roommate.     "Everyone has their quirks, right?" Mau offered with a chipper smile.  "Yours is sushi, and mine is…"     She paused for a second, her ears flicking and tail twitching.  Her mind was reeling with all the "quirks" she had — many of which she was self-conscious of, thanks to other people.

    "A-anyway!" she started again, "the couch is clean… er.  I'm dressed.  And… what time is it?"     "Oh, it's—"     "Scarabs!!"     Renée's fur bristled as Mau shouted.  She looked stressed again.     "I gotta get the heck outta Dodge, Née!" she said before breaking into a fast jog across the room.  "Have a great day and all that!  'Bye!!"

    Mau ran out the front door, slamming it behind her.  Not a second later, she burst back inside and ran over to Renée.  As expected, she was holding Mau's purse and smirking.     "Stop that," Mau said, wearing her own smirk.  "Thank you."     Renée's eyes rolled upward and her smirk became a grin.  "Mm-hmm."     With that, Mau slung her purse over her shoulder and ran back outside… only to come back in another second after.     "What'd you forget now?" Renée teased.     "This."     The white cat's blue eyes widened as Mau gave her a quick hug.     "Thanks for putting up with me."     Renée softly nodded, a blush barely visible under her fur.  She smiled, though.

    "Alright, 'bye for real now!"     For the third time, Mau ran out the door, shutting it loudly.  She didn't run back inside this time.  However…     "Gah!!"     She wound up garroting herself with her purse strap, the bag getting caught in the door.  Just another typical morning for her…

    Eventually, Mau did manage to get on her way.  She ran to the nearest bus stop and, luckily, managed to catch it just in time.  She flashed her pre-paid bus pass through the scanner and quickly found a seat.  There was an amusing irony about a teacher like her taking a bus to school, just like her students…  Less amusing was the fact that the Bellville High wouldn't spring for bus fair for any of the faculty… not that anyone else actually needed it.  As far as Mau knew, she was the only staff member from Bellville High who used public transport to get around.

    Part of that was because she didn't own a car.  Not since the twelve-car pile-up she was part of, anyway…  She also didn't make enough money to actually buy or even lease another one.  Cars were prohibitively expensive… especially for someone who likes spending a lot of money on junk food and random impulse buys.  She always made sure she could cover her half of the bills, though!  Mostly!  Sometimes.  Usually…     Part of it was also because nobody wanted to carpool with her.  Most of her work friends were pretty set in their ways and no one lived near enough to her to swing by.  She joked about what a "lame excuse" that was, but she knew gas was pretty pricey, too.  She could probably afford to kick in for gas… but did she really want to?  Probably not.     Lastly, and most embarrassingly… Mau had her driver's license suspended due to the aforementioned accident.  She was the cause.  Now, that happened a while back and she could have gotten her licensed reinstated, but naaah.  She figured that if she needed to get anywhere fast, she could always bum a ride from her roomie.  Otherwise, she was in no real hurry… most of the time.  That morning, however, she needed to expedite her travels and get to school.  Unfortunately, something was preventing her from getting there.

    "Road work?!"

    Mau stood at the front of the bus, staring out the windshield with anger.  Laying ahead was a whole heap of cars and trucks all packed into one lane of traffic.  This was because the other lane — the one going toward town — was shut down and being repaired.  And this, of course, meant that she and the other passengers on the bus were going nowhere fast.

    "Siddown, miss," the driver told Mau as she leaned on the token taker.     "No, you don't understand!" she countered, looking distressed.  "I need to get to Bellville High!  I teach history there, and—"     "Lady, I don't care if you teach orphans how to do basic math!" the gruff driver snapped.  "Sitcher ass down whilst the bus is in motion!  Capisce?"     Mau looked at the driver with disbelief, mouth hanging open.  Sure, the engine was running, but the bus was very clearly stuck in traffic.     "Lemme out," she flatly countered.     "Lady, I can't do that," was his response to that.  "The bus is— hey!!"     "Sorry!" she half-heartedly apologized, yanking the door lever and opening the door.     "Get back on the damn bus!!" the driver shouted from his vehicle.  "I could get in trouble!  I'll… I'll have you banned, ya know!!"     Mau wasn't listening.  She had broken into a full sprint, umbrella out as her paws carried her as fast as they could toward the school… which was still a couple of miles away.  Through rain and wind.  Damn it.

    The run from the street corner to the school was quite a trek.  It took Mau about forty minutes' travel time — partly because she wasn't in the best physical condition, and partly because she'd slipped and fallen a couple of times.  When she arrived, she was gasping and heaving for air, her hair disheveled, and her clothes and fur wet in places.

    "Oh.  Hey, teach'."

    As Mau leaned on a bike rack to catch her breath, she heard a familiar voice.  Looking over, she saw the green-skinned, red-headed form of Shelly Screwloose — one of her students — standing there.

    "What happened to you?" Shelly asked with concern.  "You look like death warmed over!  I'd know.  Yesterday, I was workin' on this experiment with—"     "Water!"     "What?  No.  More like melted-down—"     "Water!" Mau repeated in a wheeze.  "Please…!"     "Oh, you want some water!"  Shelly laughed.  "Well, you're just in luck!"     With a grin and a wink, she reached into her long jacket and withdrew a corked tube of some kind of blue liquid.     "I just happen to have my latest experiment with me!" she continued.  "See, I—"     "Gimme!"     The synthoid girl blinked as her teacher snatched the vial out of her hands.  She then watched as Ms. Mau chugged the thing down in a series of loud gulps.

    "Pwah…!"

    Once emptied of its contents, Mau returned the vial and offered a tired smile.     "Th-thanks…  I feel better already!  Kinda tart, though…"     The teacher paused, her fur beginning to bristle.     "Wait, what was in that tube?" she asked tensely.     "Blueberry juice."     "Bl… blueberry juice?"  Mau blinked.  "Wait, just normal blueberry juice?"     "More or less!" Shelly laughed.  "I mean, it had some electrolytes 'n stuff in it.  Coach cut me a deal, see…"     "A… a deal?" the teacher asked, cocking her head.     "Yeah!" Shelly responded with another laugh.  "Coach said if I made something good for the team, I'd get a guaranteed A+ without even doin' Gym Class!  It's a win-win for everyone!"     "I… see."     Mau chuckled a little before she smiled.     "Well, I feel refreshed, so I'd say you're doing a good job!  Thanks, Shelly!"     "Yeah, sure…"     Shelly drew a notepad and a pen from another pocket.     "Any weird aftertaste?" she inquired.  "Do you feel anything weird in your gastrointestinal tract?  Any heart murmurs?"     Mau stiffened up.  "What."     At that, Shelly just offered a mysterious smile, patiently waiting for an answer.

    Mau walked into the school after a short survey about her student's "blueberry juice"  and headed to the teacher's lounge.  Normally, she would have had a coffee with creamer, but after all the weird questions that self-proclaimed "alchemist" student of hers asked, she thought it would be best to just stick with water.  While she was drinking, though, she saw a familiar face wander in.  It was Dimitri Garrf, the school counselor and a good work friend of hers.  He was looking as semi-professional as ever in his gray vest, slacks, and pressed white shirt.

    "Hey, Mau!" the wolfman greeted.     "Hey," she answered with a nod and a smile.     "Good weekend?"     "You know me, I'm always keepin' busy!" she half-lied.     "Hey, that's great to hear!" ��    The man got himself some coffee.  He liked it black, Mau noted.

    "So, did you get the e-mail about the sub?" he asked before taking a sip.     "The what?" she answered between gulps of water.     "The sub," he patiently repeated.  "The English teacher is out for a couple of weeks, so we're getting a temporary replacement!"     Mau tilted her head.  "Really?  Huh."     "Yeah…"     Mau noted that there was a hint of apprehension in his words.

    "No one knows anything about her," was the next thing Dimitri mentioned.     "What?  Why not?" the cat lady answered.     "Well, she's not from around here, for one," he explained.  "She just kind of arrived on-demand, I've heard…"     "How mysterious!"     The wolfman grinned as Mau made a grand gesture and smiled.  He liked her silly antics.     "That's one way to put it," he offered with a chuckle.  "But, what's really weird is that she brought her own assistant."     "A teacher's aide?" she asked as she worked on her tenth paper cone of water.  "That is pretty odd.  I've never heard of a substitute teacher having a teacher's aide…"     "I know, right?"  He chuckled again.  "I asked around and I think they're a sister-brother team.  Not sure.  But, I guess we'll see later today!"     "A sister-brother team…?"     Mau paused to ponder that possibility.  Specifically, she pondered the possibility of asking the sub's aide out.     If this new sub has a brother… and the brother isn't ugly or smelly… she thought, maybe I can make this work.  It'd be nice to date a guy who doesn't have any expectations of me.     The lady quietly sipped her eleventh cup of water, a cat-like grin forming on her lips.

    "Anyway," the counselor continued after finishing his coffee, "I just figured I'd ask and see if you knew anything.  See you at lunch, Mau!"     "Not if I see you, first!"     He laughed.  "Right!"     As he left, Mau took a twelfth cup of water, her tail swaying as she continued to think about the sub's aide.  Excitement built inside her at the thought of some handsome guy from far away arriving at the school.  Something else swelled inside, too.     "Crap, I gotta pee!"     With that declaration, she escaped the teacher's lounge, eager to start her day properly… among other things.

    While her morning had been full of excitement and typical bad luck, the day proceeded pretty calmly.  She taught one of her classes about Ancient Egypt — specifically about the pharaohs and other royalty.  When she made note of how cats were basically gods in that culture, one student smartly asked, "And what are you the god of?  Being lame?"  Laughter filled the classroom as she sent that student — a regular troublemaker — out.     The next class was a little more interested in what she had to say about Iceland and Greenland, asking a lot of questions she didn't know the answer to.  She did her best to try and act like she did, though no one was fooled as she "subtly" asked her phone for answers.  Still, they were a lot more respectful than the previous class, which made her happy.     One last class went by in a flash with Mau resuming a lesson about United States presidents.  There was a disagreement between two groups about the way some presidents ran the country, but luckily, a particular student moderated the impromptu debate.  She was kind of a "teacher's pet" and didn't care if anyone knew it, but Mau tried not to give her special treatment.  She did thank her student, however.  Shortly after, the bell rang; it was lunchtime.

[dorihey]

Today is the birthday of the late Ed Asner. Many are familiar with him as the voices of Carl Fredricksen from Up, Santa from Elf, and Hudson from Gargoyles, as well as Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the aptly named, Lou Grant (series).

Back in the mid 2000's, my family and I were staying at a very large expensive house that belonged to friends of my parents as guests. They had a larger cable package than we did back at home, and they had ToonDisney. I remember seeing Gargoyles while staying there, on the "Hangin' with the Heroes" block in the evening. I remember seeing this show very vaguely as a younger kid, but I must not have been older than 6 or 7 or so given the original air dates.

I was totally enamored with these characters almost instantly. I hopped on their upscale internet, and immediately perused various Disney media sites at the time and started going down the rabbit hole with what little material the internet had back in like 2004 about the show. I learned about the cast, Greg Weisman's blog Station 8, and somehow convinced my parents to upgrade our cable so I could watch it. I even made a Neopets Fanpage about the show, and I have no idea if it's still around.

I don't have a lot of specific memories about Hudson being my favorite, or even having a particularly verbose knowledge of the show back them, but I DO remember becoming familiar and fond of Ed Asner, seeing a teaser for Up, learning he was in it, and that detail making it NECESSARY for me to watch it on release day.

I remember the evening before watching Up, and enjoying it, but I rewatched it with my mom a few days later. I am not sure what was different here, but I became OBSESSED. I joined a Pixar fan site, became a highly active member, and began absolutely marathoning this film. I also spent 5 hours one evening with a mechanical pencil, very little drawing skill, and drew this. (apologies, the picture is 14 years old and washed out)

To be clear, this was EXTREMELY out of nowhere. I had never drawn anything remotely this detailed before. So I (quite ignorantly, but still strongly) decided to change college majors and pursue art. Still workin' on that one...

Down the line, I ultimately watched Up in theaters 50 times, held movie nights for the fansite over Skype, made multiple forum signatures for myself and other members, and even got invited to Pixar, and met a lot of Pixar leadership (albeit briefly for most).

At the center of this though, Ed Asner was responsible for me gravitating to these characters. I've been pretty consistently enamored with his brand of wholesome curmudgeonry.

(I just made up that word, and I like it, so it's real now)

In any case, I've always felt a bit odd for having an attachment to an actor that hit his acting stride while being middle-aged in the 70s, 20 years before I was even alive - like I'm the only person my age that even knows this guy existed.

I had never gotten to meet Ed, but I did make an attempt shortly before he passed. It didn't work out, but his son Matt runs a charity organization called The Ed Asner Family Center that focuses on supporting individuals and families with autism and neurodivergence. I was fortunate enough to join an early screening of Dug Days before it released on Disney + thanks to a fundraiser by the center, including a Zoom Q&A with Ed. The thing I noticed during the call is that Ed was so immensely quick-witted, absolutely hilarious, and would not leave his piece unsaid. He had an astoundingly magnetic personality. It wasn't open mic, but I managed to get a question through - "What was it that got you into acting?"

Jonas Rivera, the Producer of Up was moderating the call and Ed about verbally trampled the guy by the time he was getting the last few words out, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

I don't have the exact words, but it boiled down to "escapism" - which was a bit shocking to me. You've got a former president of SAG, who'd been acting for longer than I have been a living person, and he was immediately compelled to tell everyone that the reason he got into showbusiness is to run from the world and its problems. It was remarkably humble.

Ed passed away exactly a week later. I couldn't eat for 2 days, I was so distraught.

I highly recommend that folks check out a lot of the acting Ed has done. He's absolutely brilliant, and one of the most fun people to watch. He was intimidatingly witty, and yet seemed like the guy who would talk to just about anyone. And then make them laugh their sides off.

I haven't shared my deep admiration for Ed too often other than with folks closest to me, but Ed Asner was a precious gem of a human being, and embodies a lot of things I think the world - particularly folks of the male persuasion - should have a bit more of.

Here's to you, Ed. Have a happy birthday up there for us, big guy. We love ya. <3

(side note, the portrait at the top, I drew to commemorate his first birthday after he passed in 2021. The picture at the bottom was drawn, but not adequately finished imo, about 2 weeks before he left us. I need to give it a proper redo someday)

[trialbystory]

Donations are open and all prizes are now visible, including the above-linked crocheted pokemon you may have seen me posting about earlier this year. I have additional good news about them: They're not a silent auction! This means if you'd like to get my lovingly-made creations you don't have to drop $1200+ to do it. Instead it'll be a raffle-style giveaway where sometime during the specified shift (3am-9am eastern on November 12th, a little rough for us North/South America folks) they'll announce the giveaway, pick a number greater than $5 but typically less than $12, and for the next hour anyone who donates a multiple of the chosen number gets that many entries into the drawing for the prize, so long as you've signed up for a donor account. Oh, and check out all the other giveaways and auctions, because there is so much cool stuff. Seriously I wish I had anything resembling a warchest this year because there are at least 5 prizes I'd love to get my hands on. Maybe if I'm nice in chat I can ask the other crochet folks who participated where they found the patterns they used. (My Kanto Starter Trio were made with the patterns from 53stitches, if you're curious. They have some other free pokemon patterns as well if you also forge constructs from yarn.)

[saintsstranger]

Wild Child | N.F. (The Quarry) - Chapter Nine

Chapter Summary: Would you be selfish once more or let your dad dictate what he wanted you to be?

Nick Furcillo x Female!Reader (no use of y/n) Warnings: Bugs, Insects, and Cursing (I'm not great at tagging). Reader is an entomologist expert of camp.

Chapters: Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine

Summers were supposed to be spent halfway across countries. Lounging in beach chairs, eating different cuisines every day, and living the nightlife until you could see the morning sun. Rinse and Repeat. Summer was supposed to be your escape. A small time away from your real life.

Now this year’s summer was spent in Northkill, New York. Somewhere secluded, somewhere where you thought a 5-star hotel would be located. Somewhere you thought you would just be able to laze around, lounge in a sauna, or poolside. Explore the gardens, party in the evening, or just simply get away from your father. An escape. 

And yet you are here in Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp.

Here you are spending your time teaching about insects, giving out guides on what type of species the insects are. Here you are spending your day, looking for different types of butterflies for your collection. Here you are having fun winning in a team-building activity. Here you are tolerating the children you previously called ‘devil spawns’. Here you are stuck eating the simple dishes Nick had prepared for the camp. Here you are having the time of your life in an environment you are not accustomed to. Here you are enjoying the morning view of the lake had given. Here you are having fun with people who you thought wouldn’t be your friends in this lifetime. Here you are, more like the real ‘you’.

And now you stood in the middle of the kitchen wiping your ugly tears. That at first, is a place you’d hate ‘cause it stereotyped women belonging in the kitchen. Now you have grown to appreciate and see it in a better light. Now it is your safe space.

Here you have shown all your faults and flaws, here you have split yourself open, ready to bare it all to the person you knew who wouldn’t judge you. To someone who would listen to you talk for hours, smiling with every word uttered. To someone who made you enjoy the simplest things in life.

Simple things like:

Preparing simple dishes with Nick and washing the dishes together.

Sharing thoughts with Max about what movies would be best for movie marathon day.

Having fun listening to Ryan’s campfire stories and always getting scared shitless of course.

Kaitlyn sings the obnoxious Summer Camp Song that she likes to annoy you with whenever you wake up late.

Being competitive with Jacob whenever there is a sports competition and winning against him sometimes.

Talking with Emma about fashion, and the ‘Fancy Dress’ schedule you share together.

Looking in awe whenever Abi is painting the insects you had provided for her to draw.

Playing pranks on each other with Dylan, and even teaming up to do it to other counselors.

Shared schedules with Laura and her insightful knowledge about animals. Also, the gossip you share together, hidden behind hush whispers.

The silence and calmness of the morning air in Hackett’s Quarry, whenever you wake up early to look at the stillness of the lake. 

There you realized that your weird hobbies of adding different insects to your collection weren’t hobbies at all. Those meaningless activities you do in your free time (that’s what your father had called them) are something now you have grown to love. The small act of collecting and taking care of it just like your mother had done, had been a great influence on you. And how those summers you spent with your mother affected what you wanted to be when you grew up. Especially now you got your acceptance letter, you wanted to pursue it even more. This is what you had been dreaming of, your future to become the real you. Something your father had not tainted. 

When you calmed down, you stayed in his arms. Unmoving until you wiped your tears with the back of your hands. Rubbing your eyes roughly to prevent yourself from breaking into pieces once more. You laughed.

You laughed at how pathetic and ridiculous you looked. Not realizing you were still in Nick’s embrace; he rubbed your back in small circles.

“There are probably snot and tears there, you might want to change.” You joked, not looking at Nick directly but just pointing at the tear stains on his shirt.

“It’s fine.” He smiled at you. Not even prying about why you suddenly cried in front of him, he was just there comforting you in silence. Giving you something to hold onto, he took the pain away with his soothing hug.

And you felt your heart melt and your stomach flipped on itself. Nick understood what was going on, and he didn’t pressure you to talk. You see Nick didn’t just make you realize to stop and just enjoy even the simplest of things. 

So now it’s best in memory — To him taking the onion for you so you wouldn’t cry, giving you a glass of water when you didn’t notice it, cutting fruits whenever your campers get tired, handing you cleaned jars for your insect collection, teaching you how to cook, giving you his shirt when you were half-naked, cooking you dinner even when you both had stayed in the kitchen hours late; and even when you hated doing the dishes, it became tolerable with Nick.

You had found someone you could lean into, something you haven’t done in a long time.

With one last inhale, you faked a smile and tried to wipe traces of your breakdown. There are tears still evident on your cheeks, your eyes were puffy and the tips of your nose as well. You probably resemble a tomato.

“There. Do I look pretty?” You asked him, lifting your eyes to meet him. With an expression you couldn’t read; he looked at you. You felt his hand hovering over your cheeks, wiping faint traces of mascara that lay at the corners of your eyes.

You feel the warmth of his hands, and you almost have leaned yourself to them. But you forced yourself to stay still, to not hurt yourself furthermore. If you had gone in with your desires, the temptation to be held once again, you wouldn’t know what would happen next. You wouldn’t know what you do.

“You always look beautiful.”

You paused. Nick had been looking at you directly. Staring with a certain look in his eyes, unlike the first time that you had met. It almost looked like he was challenging you to it, to look at him the same.

It was you who had looked away from his honey-molten eyes, only that his intense gaze left a make its way to the pit in your stomach.

Was the room too hot?

You were the first to yield only for it to land on his lips.

There were no words, no witty remarks, no sharp wits, or an ounce of confidence. Your heart was thumping wildly on your chest. 

This was different. This is uncharted waters, something you haven’t traversed yourself in. You feel yourself swimming in a pool of fire, your mind becomes a jumbled mess, your face overheating and the only distance between you and him are mere inches.

“I—I…” You were stuttering. Tongue-tied with how soft and sincere he had said it.

Slowly he placed his hands back to his sides, and the warmth was gone. You stared at the dishes like it was the most interesting thing you had seen, immediately you submerged your hands in water, ready to splash it in your face as well. Your heart was still pounding, and you couldn’t calm down, you had to walk out of this room. Get another breath of fresh air, somewhere away from Nick.

You washed it quickly and in silence, ready to bolt out once again. You were nervous, almost dropping a plate or three, and Nick was always ready to help you.

“Thank you.” You muttered. It was almost like a wisp in the wind when it left your lips, but nonetheless, he hummed in satisfaction. He understood like he always did.

When both of you were done washing the dishes, you almost forgot your troubles. Nick had replaced your anxieties with the tenderness of his embrace and overall, just being him. While you were both in the kitchen, you were more worried about whether you looked ridiculous after your crying fest, not about your father’s call. He had simply wiped away your worries.

God, you were fucked. You have truly, madly, and deeply have fallen. The great and unmovable you had already raised your white flag; you’d admit to the whole world. There was no saving you from the bottomless trenches you had put yourself. This was you in love. Something you never thought you would feel.

After putting the remaining clean dishes in their respective places, you trail behind Nick. Only this time, your co-counselor could see a glimpse of your features, not the dead-man walking earlier. A sliver of you had come back in that short time in the kitchen, it wasn’t no secret that you were blushing or that you looked nervous, not the fear-stricken nervous earlier more like schoolgirl-crush-nervous. They were ready to tease you and bombard you with questions. They knew you would bounce back like you always did, and it wasn’t no secret that Nick was your cure.

“Did you fuck in the kitchen again?” Dylan teased; both of your eyes widened. Your mouth gaping like a fish, the cogs in your brain weren’t working. You haven’t thought of a comeback to his comment when Nick pointed behind Dylan with a disgusted look on his face. 

“Dylan, your camper is eating one of their boogers again, you might want to—” Nick distracted Dylan. Dylan immediately turned around with a horrified look on their face. It did capture the attention of your co-counselors who were more intrigued at how Dylan would handle the situation when the kid accidentally wiped it on him.

Looking at Nick who gave you a small smile and a wink, and you tried to hide your laugh. 

Mr. Hackett suddenly called upon his campers for the next activity. You were standing behind Nick, ready to walk with him. While he distracted your co-counselors from even talking to you.

You weren’t ready to answer their questions. Maybe a little bit more time and then you’ll be back to your old self. You just need a little bit more time to collect yourself once more.

Before you could follow them, Laura had gently dragged you to the back of the pack. Worry was written in her the crease of her forehead, looking at you intently.

“Hey, do you want to talk about it?” She softly said. Nick turned around to look at you once more when he realized that you weren’t by his side. You smiled reassuringly at him ‘Don’t worry I could handle it’

“Oh, I’m now okay.”

“You don’t look fine; I can see you’ve been crying.”

“My father called… it’s about my Cornell’s acceptance letter.”

For a minute of silence, Laura was still processing the details. Suddenly you can see the shift of thinking to excitement. She hugged you tightly, and you accepted it. This was the most affection you had received in a day, and you almost melted once again.

“You did it! I’m so proud of you.” She let go of you, grabbing your shoulders. 

“I did it Laura.” You softly said.

But your friend knew, something was bothering you and that you don’t look too ecstatic. The tone of your voice was your tell-tale that things aren’t fine at all. You were considering not saying it to Laura, but she deserves to know. She had been nothing but supportive of you.

“He doesn’t want you to take it, doesn’t he?” Laura asked and you nodded. Gulping down a large lump in your throat, you had already cried enough, but it still stings. It still hurts to see you get your dreams crushed.

“I’m sorry.” Laura said, not really knowing what to say next. But only she hugged you tightly and exhaled deeply. You have already accepted your fate.

But you smiled, not the one that reaches your ears, a tight-lipped smile, like it was forced out of you. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, I should never been silly and selfish.”

“No, you’re not.”

She looked at you sadly. But before she could continue what she was saying you walked towards the campers, avoiding her stare.

Laura was left watching you go; you weren’t fine at all. You were hiding, running away once more. Trying to hide your pain in smiles, distracting yourself to numb you from the pain. There stood not a person, but a mere reflection of you acting like everything was just okay.

When Nick realized that you had gone to your campers, talking with them in smiles that couldn’t seem right to him. He frowned, not even realizing Laura had situated herself beside him. You were far away from their conversation, too busy trying to distract and occupy yourself with the task at hand to even hear their conversation or see that they were talking together.

“She’s pretending.” Laura whispered, and Nick nodded.

“Did she tell you what the call was about?” Nick asked, looking at the small blonde beside him. Laura shook her head no.

“No, but I could make enough conclusions to know that she wants to go to Cornell.” Laura commented, arms folded across her chest.

“But she couldn’t.” Nick added. “Could we do something?”

“I don’t think we can. We can’t just change a man’s iron will and he is a difficult person, her words not mine. The decision lies with her, whether she wants to go or not.” Laura concluded.

“Maybe we can convince her? It wouldn’t be hard right?” It almost looked like Nick was grasping at straws, and yet he remained positive. Always thinking about the bright side to making you happy, remembering your talk with him.

‘Oh, I hope whatever course you end up in you’d be happy.’

‘I hope so too.’

It was clear as day, you were happy talking about insects and teaching about them. He could see the fire in your eyes, the genuine happiness you felt whenever you got something to add to your collection. Nick isn’t blind, you were happy here. You were content and he could drown himself in the euphoric sound of your voice, talking about something you truly love.

Even if Nick is afraid of spiders, he would face his fears just to hear you ramble about them. He could tolerate being surrounded by bugs if it meant being close to you. He would be fine with scrolling through hundreds of cookbooks just to teach you every meal and recipe if it meant spending every second with you. He would be okay tasting your cooked meals (they weren’t good, but he would never say that to you out loud) if it means he would be here for those sweet moments. He would be fine walking in the dark towards your respective cabins if it meant you’d be beside him. Hell, he was more than okay washing the dishes as long as it is with you, whether you work in chatter or in silence. He likes it. He loves it. It was those moments, those sweet and intimate moments that are worth loving you for.

At first, he didn’t realize the kind of hold your father had in your life, you had played it with vague sentences and downplaying it all the time. But when you cried in his arms earlier, then Nick truly understood it finally. The weight on your shoulders, the responsibility that you had to carry and live up to your name, and how much it is burdening you. How you wanted to take control of your life, only for it to be snatched away. Nick had heard how heartbroken you sounded, and how hard you tried to put your broken pieces back together.

“I mean… it wouldn’t hurt to try….” Laura pondered “She listens to you Nick, try it and we’ll see.”

With Laura’s advice, Nick was left with one thing in his mind. He would try his damn best to change your mind, to make you realize you can take a hold of your life once again.

He knew you were a tough person to crack, a closed book hidden with chains and locks. He’d talk to you, stare at your eyes like he had done earlier, make you listen. And if it meant to see you smile, one that makes your eyes crinkle in delight, he would crawl to the end just for him to see it again.

You, unknowingly standing there chatting with Jacob, oblivious with the talk your two close friends had in the span of minutes you were gone. You had only seen a split second of their serious talk, but decided to preoccupy yourself elsewhere after all the best medicine for your pain is distraction. 

The kids were a good distraction, they didn’t notice the red puffy eyes you had or that you had spent yourself playing with them. It was a sorrowful experience to see the childlike innocence that gathered in their eyes, and you were once a child, you had dreams. 

Dreams where your mother was well and alive.

Dreams that consisted of staying together with your mother, not with your father. 

Dreams where you spent your afternoon together catching butterflies in her garden, drinking the same iced cold juice she likes to make.

Dreams of graduating with her beside you, smiling proudly. 

But you had to grow up, this is real life and most of the time, real life hurts a little too much. Too much you couldn’t handle and hold it in your small fragile hands, hands that were once a child. 

“Are you listening?” Emma waved a hand over your face, a worried knot on her eyebrows. You hummed for her to repeat the questions.

“You look so out of it? Are you okay? Did Dylan hand you one of his joints again?” Plastering a smile, you shook your head no.

“Honestly, I’m just so tired.” Exhaling deeply, you didn’t even realize the underlying meaning of your words. Emma frowned, worried that you might be sick again. 

“Maybe you can sit this one out, I’ll distract them, after all I’m great at being the center of attention around here.” She reassured you with a pat, and you shook your head no. You couldn’t deal being left alone with your thoughts; you were scared. 

“I think I’ll be fine. Thanks.” This time when you walked away, in the corner of your eye, you had seen Emma frowning and crossing her arms across her chest. Clearly, she had seen your act, of course, the theater girl would know what is acting and is genuine.

This time, you tried your best to avoid Nick, Laura, and Emma’s worried glances, if Kaitlyn or Abi noticed your behavior you’d be doomed. With Abi, being too kind, she’d try her best to cheer you up and Kaitlyn’s strong intuition would let you just take the rest of the day off. You didn’t want them to question you anymore, so you approached one counselor who’d probably distract their eyes off of you with their loudmouth.

Dylan wouldn’t notice, right? And besides, you could deflect him easily if he caught a whiff that something is up. Right? 

“How are you, booger counselor?” You teased, and he immediately turned around to meet you with a horrified look on his face. Recalling a certain event earlier.

“Just because you have a nice nickname, doesn’t mean you get to call me ugly ones.” He pointed out. “But I’m fine since you asked nicely, I’m clean, Ryan helped me.”

“I’m sure he did.” You teased, trying to avoid the glance from your worried friends halfway across the camp, which Dylan didn’t fail to notice by the way. You were side-stepping to place yourself directly in front of him, avoiding the glances of Nick and Laura.

“Are you up to something, ‘cause if you are I am so not ready to face your dragon that guards your castle.” Dylan raised an eyebrow. You almost choked on your own spit, were you really that obvious?

“No… I just like the shade here. Nicely placed shade. Also, what do you mean by a dragon? Who the fuck is the dragon?” Trying to distract him from questioning you.

“Hmmm, I’m sure you do.” He repeated your tone earlier. “Your dragon, the one who had buried Jacob 6-feet on the ground earlier during tug-of-war.”

You were confused, dragon… and tug-of-war, did he mean Nick?

“You mean Nick?”

“Yeah, your boyfriend.”

“We’re not together.”

“And I’m not the best-looking counselor here. Stop spitting lies, didn’t Nick ask you out already? He said he’d do it by lunch earlier.” With a roll of his eyes, you both stood there for a second. Processing his words.

“What?”

“What?”

With the look of confusion on your face and you not saying anything back, Dylan then concluded that Nick hadn’t done it yet.

“Oops?” He looked horrified. Darting his eyes between you and Nick. Then he ran away, leaving you alone with your thoughts. Only this time it wasn’t with negative connotations. Even a mile away, everyone could see your face light up bright red, not in anger but flustered.

Now that 78% chance that Nick likes you back just jumped to a hundred. Another positive thing happening in your day. Your day turned a complete 180 degrees with Dylan’s revelation.

In the distance, Nick had been watching you, worried that your mood would turn sour, but in the back of his mind a gnawing thought had been bugging him. Something along the lines of Dylan, not so great secret keeper, and you. When you ran away, Nick had followed you.

Nick had called your name, and you turned around quickly stopping right in front of him. Your face was flushed red as you looked anywhere but at him. Nick’s heart was jumping out of his chest, with Laura’s advice earlier he felt like he could persuade you. Seeing you happy was the top of his priorities and if Cornell was the university made for you then so be it. He’d convince you if it is the last thing he’d do.

“I need to say something…” Both of you said at the same time. 

“You go first.” You told him.

With a deep breath, the next words he blurted you didn’t expect. “Fuck your dad’s expectation.”

“Fuck him, you were happy with Cornell so take it. I’ve never seen someone as passionate as you talkabout insects, and those weren’t meaningless activities. Go for it, I know first-hand how hard it is to find something you’d excel at but you… this is your calling. This is you. I don’t want to see you waste your life from something that is never going to make you happy, don’t tolerate it please. I know how hard-headed you are sometimes, and how you go to these intense rambling when you find another insect for your collection. You are happy with taking entomology, that’s why you took an entrance exam because you knew you could do it. This is your calling, so take it please.”

“And I know I’m rambling when I say this, but you deserve it—” 

You caught him off with a press of your lips against his. You held his face with both of your hands, kissing him passionately. At first, Nick was blinking, too shocked but when you felt his shoulders relax, he reciprocated and kissed you back as intently as well. 

“I do deserve it.” You smiled against his lips, leaning your forehead against each other. You didn’t mind that your confession wasn’t as romantic as you planned, or that you were surrounded by nature or possibly the bees that followed you to the lake, it felt right. It felt perfect, so simple, so right. 

“I do deserve to be selfish sometimes, and let me be selfish with you.” You whispered to him. With your hands still holding his face, he gently held your wrist and kissed it softly, looking at you with his brown eyes filled with desire. Sighing everything felt at peace.

“So that’s what has been bugging me. Did Dylan expose my secrets to you?”

“I guess you can say that”

“Nick, I wouldn’t kiss you like this if I hated you. At first, I thought you didn’t like me. I mean, you were always generous. So I wondered if you were interested in me as a girl or something.”

“I’ve been interested in you from the beginning, but I would not lie to your face when I tell you that you scared me a little bit.”

“I don’t bite, but if that’s what you want, I can adapt.”

You teased him as his face went red from the tips of his nose to his ears, he buried his face at the crook of your neck while you laughed. 

With his face buried on your neck to inhale your scent: “Did I ever tell you, I liked the way you smell?”

“No, it's probably the pheromones.” You smiled as he embraced you tightly, feeling he was weaving himself to your body with the way he clings towards you. His hands were making small circles of comfort on your waist, touching where your shirt and jeans meet. You felt feverish with his touch, too drunk with everything about him.

“You smell like home to me.” He uttered as he looked at you intently.

“Why'd you say that?”

“We have Philadelphus planted near our yard…”

“You're the only person to get it right.” You kissed him once more, smiling as you felt at peace around him. “Let’s get out of here.” You whispered and felt him drag you in excitement as well.

— EXTRA —

It was morning the next day when you walked inside the lodge looking as bright as the sun. It seemed like all of your worries were forgotten.

“What are you wearing?” Laura asked.

“A hoodie.” You plainly said.

“It's 90 degrees outside and it's summer, aren't you hot.” Laura was suspicious, too suspicious.

“I have colds.” “No, you don’t, no signs of fever.”

“And you look glowing, not sick. Did you fuck in the kitchen?” She exclaimed, her jaw slack with the revelation when you smiled.

“Why is she wearing a hood?” Jacob asked, grabbing a banana right off its basket.

“Oh ‘cause our favorite counselor just got bit by a large insect we liked to call Nicky!” Dylan's voice boomed. The only sound that could be heard was the large smack of a flying object straight at Dylan’s head.

What an eventful summer indeed. a/n: after 6 months wild child is finally finished..... that was quite a long fic. now i have other duties such as ghost waltz and now im back in univ, but let me tell you i had the longest writer's block (ehem not like the first one where it was 2 years before i had written something). i know it feels like it was rushed but wild child was always supposed to end at chapter nine. i never plan on writing until the events of the game because i feel like it would be repetitive to tell the story once more. but am i happy with this ending, yes i am.

the moral lesson is its okay to put yourself first and that i liked the smell of mock oranges. but if you were curious as to what would happen, our dear reader gets bit first. ready to be the sacrificial lamb, with them being unathletic they’d be the first one down.