#tumblr is a piece of work today...ugh

[fairiily]

I ALMOST SHIFTED AFTER 4 YEARS THANKS TO SHIFTBLR

i didnt think i would end up posting on this account but im too excited to not say anything about it.

so ive been apart of the shifting community on tiktok for about 4 years, but ive never had any success.

i just downloaded tumblr a couple weeks ago after deciding that shifttok was annoying LOL. i started to look at shifting here and take in some better info. i was focusing more on loa and myself rather than scavenging for some perfect “method” that was going to work.

ive been doing a lot of affirmations with loa and changing my mindset from “ugh this is so hard i cant do it” to “i have everything i want”

something felt different today, before my attempt i just knew i was going to do something and i kept telling myself how easy it is and how in control i am.

i laid down with no method in mind, just trusting my intention. i affirmed and visualized, occasionally drifiting off to sleep but never sleeping. i noticed i wasnt feeling my body much, and really tuned in to keep affirming.

i ended up seeing a bright light and then suddenly i felt like i was rising and falling and spinning all at the same time. i just *felt* something different like i was somewhere else. i kept affirming but the sudden onset of symptoms overwhelmed me bc its NEVER happened before. i ended up opening my eyes and i hadnt shifted, but i literally dont care because ive never been that close before. i just know i was so close and its because i had set intention and just knew how powerful my abilities are!

i realized ive been overcomplicating everything, theres no magic special method to make you shift, theres not one piece of advice that you havent found yet thats holding you back, all you need is you.

basically i love everyone on shiftblr fuck shifttok sorry this was so long

[judesmoonbeauty]

SurpriseBag2024: A Happy Switch-Up Between The Cunning Mobster & The Happiness-Obsessed Oddball

This is a repost. Due to the original being deleted by Tumblr, my tags list will not be included nor will CGs be uploaded per my previous announcement. This is a fan translation only, so please expect grammatical errors and lack of nuance. While I appreciate your support and welcome re-blogs, please do not repost my translations elsewhere. Thank you for you support! ☾.

I got involved in Roger's egoistical cursed research.

Ellis: Huh? Why is Jude me?

Jude: That's my line. Why’re ya me?

I was asked to watch over Jude and Ellis, who had switched places.

(As a fairytale keeper, I wanted to watch over them until the end.)

(......But I want to watch over them anymore.)

Jude: ………

(Jude in the form of Ellis is in an even worse mood than usual!)

Child Passing By: Mum, there’s a demon.

Mother Passing By: Hey. It’s dangerous so don’t go near him……

(Ellis' face is so handsome, but when he’s irritated, it's very powerful.)

(Ugh, I miss the usual gentle Ellis.)

Kate: Kate, this gelato I just bought is delicious.

Kate: Ah, yes. It has a rich flavor, yet it's not too sweet.

Jude: Lickin’ ’n lickin’ while workin’. Are ya dogs.

Ellis: Dogs don't eat gelato, right?

Jude: So, ya eat sweets in another’s body.

Jude takes a cigarette out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth with a natural gesture.

Kate: Oh, Jude, you can't smoke. That’s Ellis' body!

Kate: Besides, if you smoke it, you'll end up choking again.

Jude: ….Tch.

The reason we’re on the platform at Paddington Station, is because we’re on an important mission for Crown.

Actually, the two of them were planning to work at Jude's company as usual.

[Screen shows a pic of Jude in Ellis’ body.]

Jude: Yer in breach of the contract ya piece of shit…….I’ll show ya hell.

[Show a pic of in Ellis’ body.]

Ellis: Are you okay? Shall I make you happy?

(They stopped so that the people at the company who knew the two well wouldn't get confused.)

The two are now on Crown duty, while Victor and Harrison are at Jude's company posing as friends.

(I have to keep an eye on the two of them and keep up with my assignment!)

Kate: …..Still, the target doesn’t seem to have shown up.

Today's target is the capture and decimation of members of a corrupt business association who are committing theft in the country.

A man believed to be the main suspect was recently arrested by police but escaped from jail.

The Crown received word that he was planning to flee the country.

(The main culprit has a bad leg and limps. I have to make sure I don't miss him.)

Ellis: Kate, I'll give you my berry flavor, too. Okay, ahhh.

Kate: Ahhh.

Kate: Mmm….it’s delicious.

Ellis: Right? We don't know when the target will appear, so let’s just take it easy.

Kate: ……Thank you.

(…….When Jude treats me kindly, the gap is shocking.)

Jude: Oi, Ellis. Don’t do gross things with other people’s faces.

Jude: What’re ya up to?

Kate: I’m not up to anything.

Kate: It's just... it's refreshing and nice to be treated kindly……by you Jude.

Jude: Ha, don’t lie.

Jude’ lips in Ellis’ form twisted cruelly as I was grabbed by my chin.

Jude: Yer a masochistic pervert who needs to be tormented to get excited.

Kate: That, that’s not true……Please don’t treat me like a pervert!

Jude: Doubt that.

(I can never say I’m excited.)

While I was secretly excited, Ellis lifted himself off the bench.

Kate: Are you going somewhere, Ellis?

Ellis: I thought I'd get you something warm to drink.

Ellis: You must have gotten cold from eating gelato, Kate.

Ellis: Ah.

Jude: ……Didja see the target?

Ellis: No. When I stood up, I was just a little surprised that my gaze was lower than usual.

Ellis: Jude, you’re so short.

Jude: ….Ha?

Kate: ….He-hehee.

Jude: It's not that I'm short, it's just that yer a big guy.

Jude: Why’re ya laughin’, too? I'll knock yer head ‘round ‘n make ya shorter!

Kate: I’m sorry. It’s just sometimes you can learn something new when you change things up.

Jude: That’s damned useless information.

Ellis: I'm enjoying being Jude, though.

Jude: Shuddup.

Jude: Yer fluffy conversations are drivin’ me crazy.

At that moment, Jude’s gaze, which was clad in Ellis’ twilight color, were filled with sharpness.

Jude: ……..

Kate: Jude? No way….

Jude: There he is, that guy with the limp.

Jude: It'll be troublesome if he leaves the country. Follow him.

Kate: Ha, …..on it!

We board the train and pursue our target, weaving through the passengers.

Just as I stepped into the last row of the empty cargo area.

Main Culprit: Thanks for following along.........You guys, surround them.

As if on cue, several men jump out from the shadows of the seats and surround us.

(…….we’re surrounded.)

(I had no idea his friends were on board too.)

Jude: Yer very gracious to welcome us. Thanks.

Main Culprit: I knew the coppers were after us. I let you come, so I could get revenge.

(They think we’re the police.)

(Whatever it is, it means they were reading our moves.)

As we stare at each other, our feet shake and the train begins to move.

Main Culprit: We can throw your bodies out of the train and into the river, and there won't be a single piece of evidence left behind.

Main Culprit: It would be the perfect place to die. Go ahead, kill them.

Ellis: …..Kate, stay here so you don’t get hurt.

Kate: Yes….

Ellis tried to jump up as easily as usual, but wasn’t able to do so.

Ellis: Oh, whoa.

Ellis, who’s still in Jude’s form, lost his balance and fell on the spot.

Isla: Huh, Ellis….?

Ellis: Surprising. That’s right, I’m Jude.

(Oh, because his body is different than usual!)

Jude: What’re ya waitin’ for?

Jude:….Damn, what’re these uselessly long legs. They’re difficult......

Main Culprit: I thought you were an elite group, but you’re just a bunch of small fry.

Main Culprit: Take care of them kindly in “moderation”.

Ellis: ....... Hmmm, Jude has strong legs.

Ellis: I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Ellis: ……..Like this.

Ellis’ raised leg strikes into the jaw of the main culprit’s subordinates.

Subordinate: Gah……

(Wow, that's amazing...)

Kate: Oh, Jude, behind you!

Jude: I can see ‘em without ya tellin’ me.

Jude, using Ellis’ body, flew through the air and touched their heads one after another.

Subordinate: Whoa our hands are stuck together! They won’t separate. What is this……

All the men knelt on the spot in a prayer pose..

Jude: I can barely breathe in this body….I hate it.

Ellis: I wanted to use Jude's ability to put them to sleep.

Jude: Ya can't torture ‘em if they’re asleep.

Main Culprit: Hic…..

Jude: …..Let’s make a deal.

Jude: Right to left, James Spencer, Simon Harris, Oscar Perry.

Main Culprit: ……How did you know our names?

Ellis: The names of business partners, family members….he says it's basic to know everything.

Jude: Didntcha guys anonymously transfer the money ya stole to orphanages all over the UK?

(What…..?)

Jude: I did some research ‘n found out that ya ‘n all the other members of the vice society came from the same orphanage.

Jude: Yer all in on it, stealing money from the crooks ‘n usin’ it to give to poor children.

Main Culprit: ……yes.

(You mean he was committing evil and helping people?)

Jude: How admirable, tear jerkin’, think I’d overlook it.

Jude: —What can I say idiot. Yer tears ain’t an excuse.

Whatever the motive, evil is evil.

The fact that once you have been involved in evil, it will never go away.

Jude: I'll letcha choose. Either you’ll be sold abroad, or you’ll be forced to work in a coal mine until your last breath?

Jude: Do you wanna stay alive, be my slave ‘n work for the rest of yerr life?……..Whaddya choose?

Main Culprit: I thought you guys were the coppers……

Ellis: Is that relevant now? He’s asking if you want to die or live.

Main Culprit: ……

Main Culprit: Please just save my life. Please......!

Jude: The slave contract is complete. Congratulations on yer lifetime employment.

Jude: Remember, a promise is a promise…..If ya break it, I'll give ya hell, so much so, that you’d wish ya were dead.

We boarded the turnaround and made it back to Paddington Station without incident.

Kate: ……that was still surprising.

Kate: Jude you wanted them as part of your company's workforce from the start, and Ellis understood that.

Jude: What’s with those eyes? Ya act like I helped somebody.

Jude: I was forced to do a mission that wasn't planned, ‘n I got something out of it.

Ellis: I think it's okay as long as Jude and Kate are happy.

Kate: I….will work even harder as a fairytale keeper!

Jude: Fuwaha, that useless guts argument. That's all ya do.

Ellis: You’re a hard worker Kate, I like that.

(Oh, that’s.......?)

Ellis: What's wrong, Kate?

Kate: Um...even though you look different, for a moment both looked like you usually do.

Jude & Ellis: ……….

Kate: Jude is still Jude and Ellis is still Ellis, no matter what you both look like.

Kate: But ...…..I kind of want to see the two of you as usual.

Jude: I knew ya were a pervert who wanted to be tortured.

Kate: What, that’s not true!

Ellis: Shall I tease you? I've never done it before, but maybe I can?

Kate: ……Please stop teasing me Ellis.

Ellis: Hehe, sorry.

Jude: Let’s switch back quickly. It's about time that quack finished the medicine.

When we returned to the castle, Roger had successfully completed the antidote.

After drinking it, Jude and Ellis safely return to their normal forms and the matter settled.

Or, it should’ve been -

Kate: I am so glad you’re back to being whole!

Kate: Hey, Ellis. What's with the wine and book in your hand?

Ellis: Victor and Harry went to work for us. Thanks for that.

Ellis: So, I picked the wine, and Jude picked the book.

Jude: It’s just a matter of amassin’ debt.

Kate: Hehe, that's right. Because “nothing is more expensive than free”.

Jude: What's with that grin on your face? It’s stupid.

Ellis: Should l I call Victor and Harry?

Victor: That’s not necessary, for Victor has come even before he was called!

Kate: Harrison……?

Kate:  .......What's going on? You sound like Victor.

Jude: Have ya finally gone nuts after bein’ smeared in all those filthy lies.

Ellis: Harry is kind, so I wonder if he forced himself...

Victor: ?? What are you talking about?

Victor: No matter how you look at it, it's your dearly loved Queen's aide Victor, isn't it?

Ellis: …….Harry.

Jude: Imitatin’ someone you hate is unpleasant, condolences.

Kate: Very......, -you need to get yourself to the hospital as soon as possible!

Harrison: ……I finally found you.

Kate: …..Victor?

Victor grabbed Harrison's chest with a look of anger on his face that he had never seen before.

Kate & Ellis: !

Victor: Oh.….I'm right in front of me. Why?

Harrison: ……Haven’t you noticed? Look at your reflection in the window.

Victor: Wow, I became you Harrison?

Victor: C-CUUUTE~~! Your hair is so smooth! And the tear mole is cute! 😭 LMFAO

Harrison: Don't touch my body!

Kate: Um, wait a minute.

(Harrison is Victor and Victor is Harrison.)

Kate: Does that mean ...…..the two of you swapped places!

Harrison: Aaah.

Harrison: Victor .……You're the one who got us into this mess, aren't you?

Victor: It wasn’t me! If I were the culprit, I'd probably notice the switch right away, right?

Harrison: …..That’s right.

Ellis: Oh.…on there’s needle marks on Victor’s and Harry’s arms.

Harrison: Someone drugged us with a syringe while we slept.

Victor: Judging from the brilliant puncture work, I'd say there's only one suspect.

Harrison: Roger! That egoistical bastard.….He used us as test subjects for an experiment, didn’t he?

Victor: Wow, Roger’s so passionate about research.

Victor: Ah, Kate. Would you mind telling me a little lie?

Kate: What? Well, I hate you Victor.

Victor: Yes, it's a lie! Wow, I can see them like this, that's amazing.

Harrison: Don't get excited, old man!

Ellis: ...Hehe, it looks like fun.

Ellis: Hey, Jude. Shall we switch places again?

Jude: Ain’t happenin’, I’ll never do that again.

…..To be continued?

[Master List]

If you'd like to be added to my translations tags list for current event translations, please comment or DM me.

[bellaxgiornata]

Falling For the Devil [Part one: "The Night You Met"]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader [Series Masterlist]

Summary: You have a bad Monday back at work and grab a few drinks at a nearby bar with a co-worker who takes the opportunity to have a certain attractive lawyer buy you a drink.

Or

How you meet Matthew Murdock and then repeatedly embarrass yourself.

[Series of one-shots about Reader meeting, falling for, and dating Matt Murdock.]

Warnings: 18+ for this series; contains humor, fluff, romance, angst, smut (like...a lot of it later in the series), language, some violence

Word Count: 4.2k

a/n: So I'm finally sharing a few of these installments on tumblr, but I've been posting them on AO3 since the beginning of the year. Currently there are 74 parts posted on AO3 (almost 300k words total) and still counting. I update this series a few times a week and I figured I'd finally share a few installments here and maybe, eventually, post them all on tumblr? Please heed the warnings--there is a ton of sex later in this series (y'all who've read it know what I'm talking about) and some hurt/no comfort for a bit later during what I deemed Big Angst. If you haven't heard of this series, I certainly hope you enjoy it!

Tapping your fingers lightly against the cold bottle in your hands, your eyes fixed on your beer, you blew out a rough breath. Classic rock was playing in the dimly lit dive bar, a random one you and Katy had last minute ducked inside after work. Neither of you had been here before but after the rough Monday back at work, both of you were dying for a drink and it didn't really matter where.

"I feel like I'm chasing a goddamned dead-end," you complained, glaring at the half-finished beer. 

"Maybe you need a new angle?" Katy suggested. 

She threw back the rest of her beer from her place beside you before raising a hand, flagging down the surly bartender. The older woman behind the bar headed back towards you both and Katy ordered another drink. 

You were lost in thought for a moment, focusing on the story Ellison had been telling you to drop for over a week now. Running a hand through your hair exasperatedly, you picked up your beer in your other hand and took a long pull from the bottle. Your head was buzzing from more than just the alcohol in your system as you swallowed the drink down. 

"Didn't Ellison give you a new piece today?" Katy asked, her attention returning to you when the new beer was set in front of her.

"Yeah," you answered her with an eye roll. "Fluff piece on the local animal shelter. Which, don't get me wrong," you said, raising a hand, "I love dogs and all, but I'm not really in this to write about dogs. I didn't bust my ass to get onto The Bulletin to write fluff." You sighed, eyeing Katy beside you. "What's he got you working on now?"

"That warehouse murder last night," she answered.

"Fuck," you grumbled, slamming your head to the bar counter. Immediately you regretted the action, raising your head and pulling a face as you rubbed at the sticky dampness the bar counter had left behind. "Ugh," you grunted. "I'm on his shit list this month, aren't I?"

"Yup," Katy answered bluntly. "You know he doesn't like any of us chasing dangerous stories about mobsters after…everything that happened a little while back."

You groaned in frustration before picking up your beer and finishing the last dregs of it. Katy nudged you abruptly in the arm, just about causing you to spill the beer. You swallowed, turning to shoot her a pointed look. 

"Isn't that Karen Page?" she whispered, gesturing her head towards the blonde at the pool table. "The one everyone whispered about saying Ellison supposedly fired her because she might know Daredevil's identity?"

Your eyes turned to the pool table, examining the blonde who was laughing with two other gentlemen. "Yeah, looks like her," you answered. 

"Now she had some good shit she wrote," Katy said with a grin. "You know, before Ellison started doling out pieces on animal shelters."

Your eyes returned to your empty beer, but Katy continued to stare at the pool table, fingers drumming on the bar.

"Maybe we should stop talking about work," you said. "The point of grabbing a drink was to forget about this shitty Monday. I'm currently not forgetting."

"Mmm, I wouldn't mind forgetting about my Monday by getting underneath him," Katy replied, her eyes still on the pool table as she gestured her beer towards someone.

You glanced back over, your eyes landing on the man drinking back a beer with Karen Page. It was obvious Katy was drooling over the dark haired gentleman with the red glasses and cane. His jawline was perfect, his hair practically begging to have fingers run through it, his body clearly well-built under that tight dress shirt with buttons tempted to pop when he moved just right, and he had an absolutely breathtaking smile.

"Isn't that Murdock from Nelson, Murdock, and Page?" Katy said after a moment, her eyes narrowing. "They're the guys who took down Fisk. Shit, he's hotter in person." When you didn't respond, Katy glanced back at you, eyebrows shooting up on her forehead. "Is your silence you disagreeing about that man’s perfection?"

You shook your head, your eyes landing back on the man. It almost seemed like he was looking at you and Katy at the bar, but considering he was blind, that would have been impossible.

"He's attractive, yeah," you agreed with a shrug. 

Katy's eyes widened at you. "Really? That's it? That guy looks like sex on legs and I'm pretty sure I've heard rumors that he is amazing in bed and…that’s all you’ve got?"

"Your point?" you asked.

"Are you serious right now?" she asked in disbelief. "You wouldn't want a night with that guy?"

You let out a heavy breath, your eyes returning to the now empty bottle of beer as you debated on another or just going home and making dinner and writing that pointless article for Ellison.

"I wouldn’t know what to even say to a guy like that," you muttered. "You know outside of interviews I am shit with human interaction."

Katy chuckled lightly before shaking her head. "You do have a knack for being awkward. But you wouldn't need to say anything, just let him fuck you senseless as you're screaming his name on your back." 

Katy abruptly threw out some light, breathy fake moans that had you slapping her arm sharply and your face burning up. 

"Pretty sure you could handle that ," she teased you with a light laugh. 

"You're a fucking animal," you joked, burying your reddening face in your hands.

"You're thinking about it though," she shot back. 

You glanced at the man between your fingers, face still buried in your hands. He was holding a beer in one hand as something that looked like a smirk broke across his face. He was standing by the pool table, his gaze in your direction as his friends focused on the game they were playing. Your heart sped up at the thought of him throwing you onto your bed and you swore you saw his lips pull up even higher before you turned away. 

"Would literally never happen," you mumbled. "Guys who look like that don't talk to chicks like me." 

"Sexy and awkward?" Katy supplied. 

You snorted, rolling your eyes. "Only one of those is an accurate description," you replied. "Anyway, I should probably get back. Make dinner and slam my head into the wall repeatedly as I write that piece for the next issue."

"Or you could stay and see if you're awkward enough to scare away Hell’s Kitchen’s sexiest lawyer," Katy suggested with a playful grin. "Maybe end up finding God on your back."

She opened her mouth and got out one moan before you kicked her shin. 

She laughed, waving a hand at you. "Alright, fine. Let me chug this and I'll leave, too. I've got a lead I need to check out tonight anyway."

You watched her raise the beer to her lips and toss it back, downing the last half of the bottle before slamming it to the counter. You slid off the bar stool and turned to leave only to run head first into someone. You stumbled backwards muttering out an 'oh shit' as your back hit the bar counter, and then your eyes went wide when you saw it was the attractive lawyer you and Katy had just been talking about.

"Shit, sorry, I didn't see you there," you blurted out an apology. 

"Neither did I," he answered, a grin spreading across his mouth. 

"Right, because you're…" you trailed off quickly realizing how rude it would be to point out his disability. 

Katy appeared just beside him, her eyes going wide as she gawked at you, shaking her head sharply. 

"Blind?" the man finished for you. 

Your cheeks burned as you awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. He was somehow even more attractive up close and he had a nice, deep voice. For a moment you couldn't help but imagine him on top of you in your bed again and your heart stuttered in your chest.

"And I'm tactless," you breathed out. "Sorry, I didn't mean to literally run into you and then be completely rude. I'm just going to go," you said quickly, trying to skirt around him.

"Or you could buy her a drink," Katy blurted.

Your eyes widened as you stared open-mouthed at her, entirely taken aback. Katy shot you a look, shrugging a shoulder. The man chuckled, the sound drawing your attention back to him beside you. He was grinning in your direction and you internally groaned.

"You want me to buy your friend a drink?" he asked curiously.

Your eyes narrowed to a glare at Katy as you quickly answered him. "She's kidding," you told him. "You know, just a bad joke ," you said, the last two words coming out at Katy between gritted teeth. 

"Well," the man mused, "I may not be opposed to the idea."

Your palms immediately began to sweat as Katy sent you a wicked grin. Your heart was thundering wildly in your chest as you chanced a glance back at him. He looked entirely calm and collected as he stood there with a charming smile on his face.

“That’s uh, that’s nice and all, but I actually have work to finish tonight–”

“No you don’t,” Katy cut in sharply, eyes narrowed. “You could write that article in thirty minutes with your hands tied behind your back using only your tongue. You don’t have work.”

The man whose first name you were still unaware of chuckled good-naturedly beside you at Katy’s words. “I have absolutely no idea what she’s talking about, but that sounds like quite the talent you have,” he teased.

Katy snickered loudly as you audibly groaned, shrinking back into yourself. This was easily the most humiliated you had felt in a long time. 

She turned towards the man next and pointedly told him, “She had a bad day, she’d love another drink.” And then her attention returned to you, a sly grin on her face as she said, “Now I actually have a lead to follow up with. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” She proceeded to mouth ‘you’re welcome’ before she turned and left.

You were torn between trying to chase after her and feeling obligated to converse with this insanely attractive man who was for some reason giving you the time of day. You were tightly gripping the strap of your crossbody bag with indecision as you stood there uncomfortably. Thankfully he spoke and broke the awkward tension.

“Would you like another drink?” he asked, gesturing towards the bar beside you both. “You could maybe tell me your name?” he suggested. “And why you’re having such a bad Monday?”

“Look,” you began, “you really don’t have to. She was just being a pain in my ass thinking that she was–” You stopped short. You couldn’t exactly finish that thought and tell him she was trying to help you talk to him because you obviously thought he was attractive and you would never approach him on your own. That would have been even more embarrassing. “I just–you’re clearly here with your friends and I don’t want to pull you away,” you quickly shot out instead.

His dark brows rose up behind his glasses, a slight amused grin forming on his lips. “Oh? You were paying attention to who I was with before you even ran into me?”

Wincing, you wished a bus would just barrel through the bar and hit you, putting you out of your misery and ending this embarrassing conversation. How the fuck were you even supposed to deny that?

So you decided to do what you always did when things got too uncomfortable–run.

“You know what, I really do need to go,” you said, quickly turning and stepping away.

“Wait,” he called out.

And you did. For some unknown reason you actually paused, back still towards him. You could see his two friends at the pool table still enraptured in their game, currently either unaware or uninterested in the fact that he wasn’t back with them.

“Okay, I really am blind, so you’re going to have to actually, you know, acknowledge that you’re still here so I know I’m not just talking to myself right now,” he said.

You cleared your throat nervously, your eyes dropping to your scuffed up dress flats. “Wouldn’t exactly be too out of place in a bar, at least,” you muttered.

He laughed lightly, the sound causing you to glance back at him over your shoulder. He was smiling and the sight nearly gutted you. You wished he’d take off the glasses so you could see the entirety of his face–his eyes were probably as beautiful as the rest of him.

He slid onto the bar stool beside the one you’d just been on, folding up his cane as he patted the seat beside him. “Please, sit. Let me get you a drink,” he offered again.

The words flew out of your mouth before you could stop them. “Why, are you just that curious how far I can shove my foot into my mouth?”

Your mouth immediately clamped shut, one of your hands flying up to cover it as your eyes grew wide in horror at how your sarcastic comment actually came across. His eyebrows once again flew all the way up to his forehead, his lip twitching up at the corner in amusement. 

“Another one of your curious talents?” he asked with a slight laugh.

“Fucking hell,” you groaned, taking a step back. “This is the most embarrassed I’ve probably felt in years,” you blurted. “Which is saying something because I have a tendency to make things incredibly awkward and uncomfortable and I should just really go home now.”

He was fighting the grin on his face as he shook his head. “No, please, don’t be embarrassed. This conversation has honestly been the highlight of my day.”

“I’m glad my mortification brings you joy,” you said flatly, taking another step back, “but I’m pretty sure I’m teetering on the edge of being the first person to actually die of embarrassment. So I should probably really go now.”

“I’m Matthew,” he said, extending his hand out towards you. “Usually I just go by Matt.”

Your eyes dropped down to his extended hand, staring in silent confusion at it. Why the fuck was he offering his hand and introducing himself to you?

He cleared his throat, hand still outstretched. “I know you said you’re a bit awkward and all, so I’ll let you know this is usually the part where you shake my hand and introduce yourself, too.”

“I–” you began, hesitating as you continued eyeing his outstretched hand. “I just told you like five times that I should go…”

“I know, I’m blind, not deaf,” Matt said, grin still intact, causing you to flush further. “But yet you’re still standing here instead of actually leaving. So,” he continued, extending his hand out further towards you, “my name is Matt, and you are?”

“Dying of embarrassment,” you muttered, unable to resist the slight smile on your mouth when he chuckled again. 

And then you caved and against your better judgment you shook his hand, offering him your name as you sat on the bar stool beside him. 

“That’s a pretty name,” he told you.

“And that sounds like a line,” you quipped back.

He raised a single brow at you this time, the corner of his mouth quirking up. You watched as the bartender made her way over towards the pair of you, the surly expression on her face morphing into a large smile when she saw Matt.

“What can I get you, Murdock?” she asked.

Matt turned towards the woman, a charming smile on his face as he said, “Just another beer, Josie, and whatever this lovely lady is having.” His head tilted towards you and Josie’s eyes followed curiously.

“Uh, just a beer, thanks,” you muttered awkwardly.

She nodded, lightly tapping a hand to the counter before sauntering off to grab two beers. You took a moment to take a deep breath, not entirely sure what to make of the evening so far. Normally you’d have scared someone off by now, making them entirely too uncomfortable to try to endure conversation. But not Matt. He was still sitting beside you, clearly relaxed and comfortable.

“So why’re you having a bad day?” he asked.

You glanced over at him. He was studying you, head tilted to the side and one arm resting along the bar counter, the cane folded up on the surface beside him. With the way he was turned towards you in the bar stool, and you towards him, your knees were almost brushing.

“Just a bad day at work,” you mumbled. 

“Where do you work?” he asked curiously.

“The Bulletin,” you told him.

He appeared to perk up instantly, sitting up straighter in his chair as his head shifted further to the side. “You’re a journalist?”

“Uh, yeah,” you answered. “Or at least, I try to be when my boss isn’t throwing fluff pieces at me instead of letting me chase real stories.”

You briefly noticed the thinning of his lips at your words before Josie’s return with two beers caught your attention. You thanked her with a smile, surprised when she returned one, and watched as she disappeared. You took a deep drink from the beer, definitely feeling like you needed it to survive in Matt’s presence. When you set the beer back on the bar, your right hand absently playing with the condensation on the bottle, you turned your attention back to Matt and noticed the slight frown on his mouth.

“So you’re…chasing a dangerous story and your boss doesn’t want you to?” he asked curiously.

“Yeah,” you answered simply.

“Maybe you should listen to him,” Matt suggested.

Your eyes narrowed at him. “And what, write about the upcoming adoption event at the animal shelter forever?” You shook your head. “No, that’s not what I signed up for with this career. Your friend over there is Karen Page, right? She was the same way when she worked at The Bulletin, too.”

“Yeah, and you see how she no longer chases after the dangerous stories for a newspaper anymore, right?” he replied, his tone more serious than it had been.

“I’m sorry but, I just met you literally minutes ago and now you’re trying to dictate what I should be doing?” you asked skeptically.

Matt abruptly shook his head, his charming smile returning. “You know what? You’re right. I just remember Karen having some terrible situations arise because she was chasing a story. I shouldn’t project that onto you. I apologize.”

You continued to study him curiously as you raised your beer to your lips, taking a drink. You swallowed, voicing your thought aloud as you asked, “Why’d you want to have a drink with me so badly?”

“I liked the sound of your voice,” he answered easily. “You sounded nice and I thought I’d like to continue hearing you talk for a bit more tonight.”

You snorted loudly, shaking your head. “Okay, now that is a terrible line,” you said.

“Says the woman who wanted to show me how far she could shove her foot into her mouth before she even knew my name,” he countered.

You blushed furiously, shaking your head with a grin. “No, I said you wanted to see that, not that I wanted to show you,” you shot back.

“Well,” Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders as he brought his beer to his lips, “I’m blind anyway so I couldn’t actually see it one way or another.”

“How many blind jokes are you going to make tonight?” you asked him.

He grinned smoothly back at you, swallowing down his beer. “As many as you continue to easily drop into my lap,” he answered.

You laughed, your eyes darting to the beer beside you. Matt’s knee nudged yours and you glanced back at him.

“What’re you thinking about?” he asked softly.

You shrugged a shoulder, eyeing the beer again. “I can’t decide if I’m regretting staying for this drink or not yet."

"Oh, ouch," he said, feigning hurt. 

You laughed, rolling your eyes. "I mean I’m still debating whether or not you laughing at my intense embarrassment has been worth it or not yet for the current conversation."

"Uh huh," he replied. "So where are you landing with that? On a scale of one to ten?"

You pulled a face, head tilting to the side. "How would I even rate that on a scale?" you asked him curiously. 

"Well, one would be 'Oh shit I'll just stop talking and slip away since he can't see me’–'"

"Jeez, has that happened to you before?" you asked, cutting him off.

He shook his head, bringing his beer to his lips again as he answered. "No, but I get the feeling you might."

Your face reddened further as you watched him take a drink, eyes lingering on the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed. "No," you corrected, "I'd at least blurt out something weird and then sprint out of the room. You'd at least have some warning."

"Oh, well I appreciate that at least," he teased. "But really, scale of one to ten how much are you regretting staying for the drink?" 

You eyed him, bringing the bottle to your lips and thinking over your answer for a moment as you studied him and took a drink. He was charming, that was obvious, and he didn't seem even remotely put off or like he was struggling with conversation no matter how awkward you'd been so far. In fact, you'd go so far as to say that you were surprisingly having fun.

"Okay I'm pretty sure you just told me you'd at least blurt something awkward before you disappeared on me," Matt joked.

You grinned, unable to help it. "A seven," you answered. 

His eyebrows shot up onto his forehead again, an amused smile still on his lips. "A seven isn't bad but I was hoping for higher," he mused. "Why so low?"

"You could do with some better jokes and your lines are terrible," you told him.

"Duly noted," he answered quickly. 

"So what about you?" you asked somewhat nervously. "On a scale of one to ten, how much do you regret asking me to stay for this drink?"

You anxiously took a sip of your beer while he cocked his head to the side as if he was in thought for a moment. 

"An eight," he answered. "But only because I'm still waiting to find out how far you can shove your foot in your mouth."

You choked on the beer you were drinking, coughing lightly as Matt laughed and asked if you were alright. It was a moment before you recovered but his next question had you reeling again.

"You want to stay longer than that one drink? Meet my friends?" he asked when you'd recovered. 

Your cheeks flushed as you bit your lip, taking only a few seconds to think over your answer. "Yeah, sure," you said. "I've got time."

"Considering your friend said you could write your article in a half hour with your hands tied behind your back using only your tongue," he mused, "I imagine you do. You need any help with the restraints for that, by the way?"

You threw your face in your hands, groaning loudly as Matt let out another bark of laughter beside you. "I cannot believe you just said that," you mumbled.

"Really?" he asked curiously. "In the probably fifteen minutes you've been conversing with me you really can't believe I would say that?"

You began to laugh behind your own hands, turning your face to peek at him through your fingers. He was smiling wide, perfect teeth exposed, as he gazed in your direction. 

"Okay, yeah, maybe I can," you answered. 

"But you seem a little more relaxed now," he pointed out. 

He was right, too. Somehow after all the awkward tension and comments you'd found him funny and a little disarming. And he still hadn't run off, instead he seemed like he was also enjoying your company and he clearly didn't want you to leave yet. Which you certainly hadn't expected.

"Yes, maybe marginally less embarrassed," you agreed.

"Good," he responded. He slid off the bar stool, knees briefly grazing yours before he grabbed his cane and began to unfold it. "So, would you like to meet my friends? Stay a bit longer?"

You smiled, shrugging a shoulder. "Sure, let's give my anxiety a bigger audience," you joked, sliding off of your bar stool. 

"I have a feeling they're going to like you, too," he assured you.

You smiled nervously, feeling your palms sweating a bit again and trying to discreetly wipe them against your dress pants as he led you towards the pool table. He'd just said he liked you and you felt yourself becoming a bundle of nerves all over again.

But he couldn't possibly have meant it like that , right?

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

birthday countdown 2024, day 7: bodyswap snippet

it's my birthday next week! and while i'd love to have a new fic to share with you on the day, the fact is i don't have anything ready to post, unless you count the short little notfics i throw out now and then—and if i shine one of those up, it's more of a present for my ao3 subscribers than for y'all.

but i do have a lot of works in progress, so i thought i'd share a couple snippets from my wips here on tumblr!

today, i have for you a bit of mihawk pov from the shuggy bodyswap fic, tentatively titled let's exchange the experience:

Mihawk set the flat of Yoru under Buggy’s chin and lifted, and this pressure he could not use his powers to get away from.  He raised his head up, staring at Mihawk without a trace of fear in his eyes.  He was defiant, and furious, and… amused? Mihawk knew those eyes. Those weren’t Buggy the Clown’s eyes.

(about 1k below the cut)

Bad enough to be associated with Buggy the Clown on paper.  Worse still for the posters, newspapers, and gossip to suggest he was subordinate to that clown.  And to be surrounded by his garish aesthetic at every turn—well, that was beyond words.  It was too awful to be described.  But somehow, being forced to participate in that ridiculous treasure hunt… that was the worst thing yet.

Fortunately, his co-conspirator in this little operation seemed to be fully in agreement with Mihawk.  It was with no small amount of pleasure that he watched Crocodile shove the clown face-first into the carpet, the heel of his shoe grinding down on Buggy’s skull and forcing his nose down and out of sight.

Mihawk briefly fantasized about leaving them like this, about smothering the thorn in his side until it was no longer his problem.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  As trying as Buggy was—and he was very, very trying—he did have his uses.  When Crocodile lifted his leg to get a better angle for the next round of attacks, Mihawk interceded.

“Remember,” he said, the blade of Yoru all that separated Crocodile’s ire from Buggy’s body, “he still has a purpose to serve.”

Crocodile chewed on his cigar furiously for a moment. “You sure about that?” he asked.  They could still hear the ecstatic cheering echoing from across the island; Buggy’s loyal followers, inspired by his ridiculous declaration of intent to acquire the One Piece.  Almost certainly the biggest waste of time and money Buggy could have thought of for Cross Guild—and with the numbers on his side, there was no way they were getting out of it.  “If I haven’t reached my limit by now, I don’t know where it is.”

“We’ll know when he’s outlived his usefulness,” Mihawk said, staring Crocodile in the eye, “when both of us are too furious to hold back.”

“’Ppreciate… your restraint…” Buggy mumbled around a mouthful of bloody carpet, struggling to get to his knees.

Mihawk had Yoru’s edge against his neck in an instant.  “Don’t sass me, clown,” he said, walking a slow circle around him, until he was at Buggy’s back and by Crocodile’s side.  “I’m not advocating for your life here—just against your death.”

“The nuances are beyond his comprehension, I suspect,” Crocodile muttered under his breath, giving one last kick to the clown that knocked him flat on his stomach again.  “But you’re right,” he said, acknowledging Mihawk’s point.  “It’s too early to give in to such petty impulses.  And besides… if I’m to have any hope of my plans coming to fruition, this childish little venture may provide a decent smokescreen.”

Buggy made another muffled comment, but he seemed to have given up on trying to stand.  His shoulders shook as he sniffled—ugh, was he going to start crying again?  The emotionality repulsed Mihawk, but he wasn’t about to withdraw.  Not until he was certain the clown had conceded—and what had become clear today was that, so long as he was making smart comments, he hadn’t fully given up.  Buggy’s shoulders went stiff, then spasmed, and Mihawk realized he’d given the clown too much credit.  It was only a sneeze.

On the far side of the room, the former senior officers of Buggy’s Delivery, now occupying reduced positions in Cross Guild, went silent.  They exchanged indecipherable looks, then turned as one to stare at Buggy.

Buggy pushed himself up on his elbows, saying, “Oh, ow, that smarts.  Did things really need to come to this?  Surely…” He turned his head and froze, that bulbous nose not half an inch from Yoru’s blade.  His eyes flicked up to meet Mihawk’s, and there was something wrong about them.  “Surely, Hawkeyes, we could have come to some kind of an understanding without things getting… violent.”

“You’re the one undermining the understanding we already had in place, clown,” Crocodile griped, stepping forward and squatting down to talk to Buggy on his level.  Raising his golden hook to press against Buggy’s cheek, he slid it back into his hair and got the hook thoroughly tangled there.  He yanked, to pull Buggy’s head back, and said, “How quickly you forget—” before his words fell away.

Because Buggy’s head had not been pulled back; his hair was still tangled around Crocodile’s hook, but it was a free-floating piece, chopped free by Buggy’s Devil Fruit powers.  And his eyes…

Mihawk set the flat of Yoru under Buggy’s chin and lifted, and this pressure he could not use his powers to get away from.  He raised his head up, staring at Mihawk without a trace of fear in his eyes.  He was defiant, and furious, and… amused?

Mihawk knew those eyes.

Those weren’t Buggy the Clown’s eyes.

“I was wrong,” he said to Crocodile, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him away from the impossible thing before them.  “You should have killed him.”

“Oh?”  Crocodile glanced between Mihawk and the blue-haired man on the floor.  “Why the change of heart, Hawkeyes?”

“That isn’t Buggy the Clown,” he said.

They watched as the man carefully got to his knees and turned to face them.  He sat before Mihawk and Crocodile in a casual, sprawling posture that still managed to radiate unbelievable power.  His jaw shifted, and without breaking eye contact he spat out a broken tooth.  “Gee,” the man with Red-Haired Shanks’ fearless eyes asked, voice almost cheery, “what gave me away?”

[moonlightspencie]

hear me out… washing the impala at the bunker with dean when you’re bored. please and thank you 🫶🏼

literally rbed a gifset of him doing that exact thing earlier today. i’m feral for this scene {and the entire episode} so my brain is running wild rn hehe (also the quote from said episode, “i’m mostly confused” was one of my first handles on tumblr)

pairing: dean winchester x gn!reader

—————

You strolled around the bunker, frankly unsure what to do with yourself without the absolute urgency of chasing down some big bad. Not even a casual case had come up in a couple days, and you were growing a bit restless.

You finally ran into Sam after wandering for a while, catching him as he made a sandwich in the kitchen.

“Hey,” you greeted briefly, walking over to steal a piece of ham.

You chewed on it as he glanced at you with a quirked brow. He chuckled softly, then sighed.

“Hey,” he finally said. “You done eating my sandwich ingredients?”

“It was one piece of ham, Sammy.”

“Sam,” he corrected.

“I’ve been living with y’all for how long?”

He paused, then shook his head softly with a smile.

“You doing anything today?” you asked, hopping up on the counter.

He watched you for a moment. “Not really.”

“Ugh,” you groaned.

“What?” he asked, laughing.

“I’m bored,” you exclaimed. “We’re all cooped up, I need to… I need to do something.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he shrugged. “I’m gonna eat my sandwich.”

You sighed hard. “Where’s Dean?”

“Garage. I think he’s washing the cars.”

“All of em?”

“Probably,” he said with a smirk. “Go bother him.”

“Bother him? You think I’m bothering you?”

“Yes.”

You scoffed playfully, hopping off the counter. You started walking away, but made sure to get the last word in.

“One of these days I’ll be long gone and you’re gonna miss me like crazy, Sammy.”

He smiled again, not able to get in a word as you left for the garage.

You heard music playing before you even got to the door, opening it carefully and walking inside. You saw him, soaking the impala in soap and water, just a black t-shirt and jeans.

At least he wasn’t wearing the short-shorts this time.

You let yourself watch him for a few moments, never not in awe as to how someone could look so good in a plain black t-shirt. Eventually you decided to stop creeping on him and headed towards him instead.

“Hey,” he said as soon as he saw you.

“Hey. You need help?” you asked, lingering near the hood as he wiped down the windshield. “And by that I mean, please let me help. I’m dying to do something.”

He smiled, nodding towards the suds-filled bucket.

“Grab a sponge.”

You picked up the other sponge from the bucket, wasting no time in scrubbing down the roof of the car. You both listened to the music, slowly but surely getting every nook and cranny of the vehicle. You were working on one of the back wheel wells when Dean grabbed your attention.

“Hey, trade-off,” he said, tossing a newly-wet sponge in your direction.

Unfortunately for you, he didn’t give enough of a verbal warning. The heavy sponge hit you in the leg, knocking you off your balance and making you land straight on your butt. You opened your mouth in a feigned offense.

“You dick,” you said, laughing lightly.

He laughed at you, not even bothering to help you back up. You scrambled up, slamming the sponge on top of the car and grabbing the hose. You called for him, stopping him from laughing right as you sprayed him with the hose, effectively soaking his shirt.

His eyes went wide, freezing in his motions for a few seconds.

“You little—”

He started after you, not stopping even as you started spraying him again.

“No!” you squealed.

He closed in, grabbing you and effectively trapping you against the car. He wrestled the hose from your hand, turning it on you.

“How do you like it?”

You screamed and laughed, trying to push him off. He was relentless, giggling with glee as he soaked you completely. You reached behind you to get the sponge, wringing it out over his head. Luckily for you, it shocked him enough to get out of his grip. Unluckily for you, he quickly recovered and caught up to you before you could get far.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” he muttered.

He grabbed you from behind as you tried running, pulling you into his chest. His arms wrapped around you, holding your arms to your chest. You laughed hard, trying to wriggle away.

“You’re so mean,” you yelled, his grip only tightening.

“Don’t start what you can’t finish,” he said into your ear, clearly proud of himself.

“Whoa,” you heard Sam’s voice. “Should I give you two some privacy?”

You stood up a little straighter, looking in his direction. Dean only slightly loosened his grip.

“We’re washing the car,” you stated as if he didn’t just walk in with fully functional eyes.

He merely quirked a brow. “You two look cleaner than the car.”

“She started it,” Dean said quickly.

You craned your neck to see him behind you, giving him a sour look.

“You threw a sponge at me.”

“You hosed me down.”

Sam nodded slowly, backing out of the room quietly to retreat.

“Not fair,” you said, almost smiling again.

“Very fair,” he stated.

“Let me go,” you laughed.

“No way,” he said, only holding on tighter. “This is your punishment.”

You smirked. “If you really wanted to cuddle this bad, you could’ve just asked, you know?”

“How much you gonna let me ask for?”

“Not much I wouldn’t,” you said, hoping this wasn’t crossing any lines.

He hummed, an obvious smile in his voice, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Apparently, he didn’t care much about a crossed line or two.

check out the drabble masterlist | send requests for more

[orinokomcgee]

The Birthday Countdown so far:

It's the weekend and I'm still ill. This dodgy cough will not leave and it's very annoying. These are the art work for the Fifteen, Fourteen and Thirteen.

The theme of Halloween was accidental but considering my Birthday is on the 10th of October I think it suits.

More is on the way I've just got to work out what to do for today's (Twelfth Doctor).

That and because it's the weekend I'm going to try to fix my stories so that their at least readable.

Starting to think that giving myself a challenge on creating a piece of artwork and write a short story, on the same time, around the same timeframe was probably a stupid idea...😬

Ah well...

Hope you enjoy and I appreciate any comments.

1st October Update: I logged myself out of Tumblr oops.

BUT I MADE MORE!

28th September '24 (Twelve days)

29th September '24 (Eleven Days)

30th September '24 (Ten Days)

Now onto to today as in 9 days.

There's only one story that resonates horror with me...stay tuned.

1st October '24 (9 Days) [Finished a minute before Midnight - ugh]

Have to say there wasn't a lot to use from this episode image wise so I had to wing it.

I'm out of sync now. Oops.

Finished off the piece for Eight but I'm not happy about it...

Curses!

It looks so bad.

For 2nd October.

Sylvester and Colin are on the way tomorrow.

man I need sleep...

Like a proper big nap.

I'm so tired man...

Did I mention how tired I am yet?

I shouldn't complain. I have a week off work and my Birthday's on the Thursday. 4 day *checks computer clock* THREE DAYS LEFT!!! D:

God I hate this one...ugh. Don't look at it.

[zorda-27]

Embrace

Summary:

A reader returned from work angry and tried to calm down in a rather destructive way. (All characters are adults)

(This work is also posted on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58076185 ) Hi, welcome to my first TMNT fanfic! I am a huge Leonardo stan, I love him in every adaptation ^^ Bayverse turtles are probably my favorite ones, like, they are so cute and ugly and their personalities are so good, even our edge lord Leonardo is so perfect for me!!!! But! My mood is kinda bad so I decided to write something more angsty? It's just an angry reader ;3 Hope yall like it!!! (I borrowed the nickname Tiny from Desceros https://archiveofourown.org/users/desceros/pseuds/desceros , you must check their works! Also they are on tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/desceros ) -----------------------------------------------------

- Motherfucker! - an angry, female voice called from the door, their backpack fleeing to the corner, as they stomped to the center. - Fucking piece of shit, I hope his family is cursed - they gritted, passing by the couch and entered the kitchen.

- Nice to see you too Tiny - said Raphael, currently sipping on his protein shake.

- Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I'm so done, I had enough of this hell hole. Why do I need to work? Can’t I just… ugh - they threw their fists in the air, trying to transfer their anger somewhere. It was too much for them. Work makes them super irritated, even if they like it. Mostly it was customers that tried to ruin Y/n mood, but today it was the customer-coworkers combo. All of them were so fucking stupid today it was probably illegal.

- Well, we already told you, If you don’t want to work to take care of your mental health, you can live with us - said Donnie, making himself a coffee. Y/n loved the smell of freshly brewed, perfectly burned beans, but today was different.

- I like working as a barista I just fucking hate people! - they yell, remembering all of the things that made them angry.

- We know, Tiny, you are fucking with our brother - Raph’s words should make them laugh, but instead, Y/n’s body started to slightly shake, their fingers spread in clawed motion, only to turn them into fists a second later.

- Should’ve fucked with you only to slice your dick off - they almost roared and ignored the need for something to eat, turning on their heel and walking off. They need to calm down, or they’ll do something actually stupid. Like challenging the god himself, or running into the wall. Both ideas were good at this moment, but there was something else. As Y/n couldn’t properly calm down, their sick mind turned into a more auto-destructive side. There were enough sharp weapons in the lair to ‘accidentally’ hurt themself. Stupid or not, they needed to blow the steam from their head off.

The dojo was surprisingly empty, with no training Leo or meditating Splinter. They probably drink some tea in the Sensei’s room. Y/n was the one to buy some new floral mix, hoping the two tea lovers would like it. Even If they didn’t, the dojo was empty and Y/n was so grateful for it, they almost decided to stop their stupid plan. Because what if someone notices? Or worse, someone will get worried? Hurting themselves was too stupid, even for them. But there was another way. Y/n closed the door to the dojo and walked into the gym section, with punch bags, weights, and this type of shit. They were too angry to register anything at this moment. The white fury behind their eyes as they walked to the bag, looking at it, dulls everything around them.

Leo cleaned the teapot and the cups after his afternoon tea with Splinter. The new tea was indeed very good, his father wanted to thank their human friend, but Y/n was nowhere to be found.

- If you are lookin for ya girl, they probably fight the god now - said Raph, all innocently, still drinking his shake. Leonardo looked at him, his brows furrowed a little and he looked at Donnie, waiting for the explanation.

- Y/n came back very angry, I think they headed to the dojo - said the purple one, cleaning his eyeglasses.

- Did they say anything? - asked the leader, already worried about his partner.

- Yea, something about snapping my dick off - chuckled Raphael, immediately meeting the angry gaze of his brother. - Well that’s true, go and ask’em - he said, raising his hands in defeat. Leo sighed deeply, turning his head in annoyance. Without a word, Fearless went to the dojo, respectfully knocking on the doors first, but there was no answer. Slowly, he entered the room, looking around. The sliding entrance to the gym section was closed, as probably someone was working out right there. The blue turtle knocked on the wooden surface, but again, there was no answer, so he slid them open.

Leo wasn’t entirely ready for the view that greeted him. Yes, Y/n was training with them from time to time, but not too hard, as their body was much softer than his. Whatever was going on in Y/n’s head was enough to numb the pain of the bleeding knuckles. The blood was dripping from their fists and from the punching bag, that they were trying to hit harder with every move. They didn’t even realize someone was watching them, tears streaming down their face, the huffs and puffs from their chest indicating how tired they were, and the iron smell was sealing them in their own little world.

- Y/n? - Leo’s voice was soft, calm, trying to ground his partner back, to patch their wounds and ask what was wrong, but it wasn’t enough. He repeated their name, touching their arm slowly. Immediately Y/n jumped back, startled by the touch and the presence of someone else. Their butt collided with the hard floor and they turned away, to hide their embarrassment, anger, and frustration.

- Go away - they said, as they realized what was going on. They raise their hand to wipe the sweat off of their forehead, realizing what happened to them.

- What happened? - asked Leo, standing still, trying not to grab his partner and run to the med bay.

- Nothing, fuck off - they answered, but the tears were still there. The leader spotted the bad condition Y/n was in. They were still having their go-to-work hairstyle, their work uniform sticking out from the hoodie and bags under their eyes. So they just came back from work. Something must’ve happened in there, something that made them fall into the spiral of anger, self-doubt, and self-destruction.

- I will if you let me patch you up - he said, pointing at the Y/n’s hands covered in blood.

- Fine - they huff out, still looking away. They stood up, adjusting their hoodie in a grimace, the pain was now present and very, very bad. It stings as hell, their arm hurt to the elbow like they were smashing the bag with their bones. Well, it wasn’t probably far from true. Leo waited until Y/n headed out first and followed them. He sends a text to his brothers to not freak out about the blood in the gym. Obviously, when the leader and his partner were crossing through the main area, there were curious looks from the kitchen.

- What happened to Tiny? - asked Mikey, sniffing the blood.

- Later - Leo answered, hoping it wouldn’t scare Y/n off, as they were still hesitant to the idea of calming down. They even stopped by the entrance of the med bay, but Leo lightly pushed them in. The human was seated at the chair by the counter, where all the medical supplies were. Leo first washed his hands and began to take care of his partner. As he was working on cleaning the wound, Y/n’s face was adored with new tears.

- Hurts - they whimper, but they sit, now scared of being reprimanded. - I- I don’t know why I was punching so hard. I was so angry, this day- this day was so fucking bad, everyone was getting on my nerves, one of the coffee machines broke and some fucking kid run into me, behind the fucking bar. I’m so done, I don’t want to work anymore but I can’t be some fucking unemployed piece of useless shit. I’m already useless - the last part was silent, even for Leo. He let them speak, as he knew how much decompression his love needed. Only when he wrapped Y/n’s hands in clean bondage, he took them in his arms, sitting on the floor.

- Shh, I'm here with you. I know it's hard sometimes, but you will get through this - he said, ignoring the part where Y/n was doubting themselves. If Leo would touch this subject, they would only disagree and argue.

- I'm so tired, the work, the fear of the foot clan attacking you, all the duties and responsibilities, the taxes to pay. It's just. Too much. - they said, their voice finally calming down as they let them sink into Leo's embrace.

- You're managing all of this and you are not alone, baby. I'm here for you - he kissed their temple, tucking their messed hair away.

- I feel like I disappointed you, being so weak, unable to take care of myself - Y/n sniffed, but they slowly came back to the world, grounding themselves back into reality, to their partner.

- You're not, I'm even glad for having you, even in this state, as I can help you, listen to you, and make you feel protected and loved - he said, smiling warmly, carefully taking Y/n hand and kissing their fingers.

- I'm sorry - they sobbed, hiding their face in Leonardo's chest, letting themselves feel like a wounded child.

-It's okay - he said, hugging them tightly. They sat like that for almost an hour when the Leader decided to take Y/n to their shared room. Passing by the living area, worried looks were pointed at the lovers, Raph even stood up.

-The fuck happened there? - he asked, seeing Y/n's hands covered in bandages.

-Later Raphael, let them rest - said Leo and disappeared into the area. He placed his little human on the bed and turned around to take off his gear, to snuggle a couple of moments later with them on the bed. He kissed their temple, hugging them tightly.

-Take a few days off, Donnie can place you on sick leave - he said, adjusting the duvet around Y/n.

-Mhm - they muttered, eyes closed, hand curled on Leo's chest, letting be surrounded by a loving embrace of his love. Maybe one day everything will be alright and they will feel good with themselves, but in this moment they sink into Leonardo's arms, which makes them feel loved and protected from the evil of the world.

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

Hope yall like it, I know it's not much, but I really tried to slip into tmnt fandom with my writing and my love for our god and savior edge lord Leonardo :'3 Please, leave a comment, let me know if you liked it!! Have a nice day/night!!

[ollie-lolly]

The little things♡

One piece

Law x gender neutral reader

Date of start and finish: 10th of march 2023

Note: I just felt like writing again, sorry if it will take a while to post after this. I have exams coming up :( . As always constructive criticism, help on how to run a tumblr blog and reblogs are always appreciated!

Warnings: None!

Word count: 359

"Ugh" Law groaned for the millionth time today, his workload slowly getting the better of him. With a sigh he opened his drawer for a new ink cartridge, "huh?" There layed a small box with fresh grilled fish pieces. A note rested on top of the now identified bento.

"Dear grumpy captain. I really appreciate all the work you do for us, but I get the idea that you don't do the same for yourself! Sooo I finally decided to put the recent Sanji cooking classes to good use! PS, tell me what you thought of it afterwards.

-Love, your "annoying" apprentice.

He stifled a laugh. Of course you would do such a thing. Grabbing the utensils resting on the side he finally dug in "Huh it's actually not bad". A knock on this door brought him back. "Come in". The door creaked open "Good Evening Law!" you came into his workplace with a tray with hot steaming coffee. "How is the work treating ya?" you put the tray on his table.

"To be honest it's more of a challenge then i thought" he said with a sigh. "I am sorry too hear that. Goodluck with the rest!" You turned back towards the door. "Actually" you quickly turned around, "yes?". "Thank you for the food…I appreciate it". "Your welcome Law" you returned with a shy smile. "Could I do something in return?" Law spoke calmly. "Well there is this one thing" you trailed, "And that is?"

"Please, for the love of god let me fix your hair" You said waiting for the opportunity. After a long contemplating silence "Ugh fine" he groaned, being well aware of the problem but never truly addressing it. You excitedly hurried over to his side. Putting his hat off and tray hairs right. Law closed his eyes. Finally being able to relax due to the massaging-like motion. When you finished up you slowly lowered yourself forwards quickly putting a soft kiss on his forehead. "Hm?" The gesture finally set in Law's head. You quickly rushed out of the room. "Name" "I am sor-!" 

"Thank you" Law uttered, tugging his hat over his reddening face.

[ladyofthelake]

Not talking about anyone here on tumblr with regards to this incoming rant just to make that clear you guys are awesome <3

Okay but on x some Jared fans really are getting on my nerves saying shit like how they miss him and using words like devastated because they aren't hugging him 24/7 and they've literally just been to a con

and Im here grieving my soul cat I FUCKING MISS HIM everyday is Hell without him I wish I could hug him like these Jared fans are gonna keep getting hugs from him because they go to every con

and I dunno but crying over inconsequential shit like oh I didn't hug my fave actor today I only hugged him last week sadface

the privilege is gross and it just really makes me feel shit barely anyone cared on X about when I posted about my cat dying all they care about is bragging about their cons and saying shit like this

and I'm not even jealous I don't care about hugging Jared if someone said I could right now that he's here I wouldn't care, even if it was Colin I wouldn't care right now, I just want my cat back the one who loved me unconditionally and so many people irl don't understand how much pets mean to someone

and like the girl at work who said nothing when I said my cat had died and tried to shove her puppy pic in my face and I told her as politely as possible (because all I want to do is cry) that I wasn't in the mood to look at the pic and I also said to her my life is shit right now and she said nothing to comfort then went on about how she's going on holiday to France next week. Cool. I don't fucking care. I've lost my soulmate and am shattered.

I think people need to relaise sometimes someone needs space and as long as they're not being an asshole about it its okay to not wanna talk or socialise. People go on about mental health but rarely actually help someone who is going through a rough time.

ugh this is why grief is the worst my mood is bad I miss my cat so much he always made my day and I'm lost and just so tired of seeing privileged people moaning about nothing when I've lost a piece of my heart

Just wanna say everyone on tumblr has been super lovely to me about my cat Sam and ily guys <3 and this is my home and seeing merlin gifs made me happy today even if Im still kinda taking a break

but x truly is a dumpster fire

Tumblr is my home always

also this is me venting and being in a heartbroken state at 3am

people are allowed to feel things and stuff of course, it just hurts me more right now because of everything so yeah ignore and hope you guys are doing good xx sorry if I have missed any notifs

[irisxstardust]

1 | Shut Up

SUMMARY: You and Ellie used to be friends until one day when she decided she was done. You hadn't spoken to her since and now, five years later, you are given the unfortunate task of going on patrol with the girl. A little argument and one stalker later, you're playing her hero. But is it enough to repair the damage made to your relationship all those years ago?

A/N: wowzers. ive spent like two weeks going back and forth on this piece bc UGH i want to get into the cutie stuff but i like want that angst and slow burn yk. and i also want it to be good like this is my first real tumblr post and yall are such good writers ive got a lotta standards to meet. ugh pls tell me its not boring i dont want it to be boring since its not fluff. anyway there will be more but im not sure how fast ill be able to write it. i like really dk how many more parts i could make of this ngl like i just wanna make a happy amazing pt 2 where reader and ellie just like live happily ever after. also this is my first time writing in second person so pls give me grace if its bad lmfao. love you🫶🏻

CW: cursing, angst?/slow burn, fem!reader (she/her), CAT (🤮🤧😵‍💫)

WC: 3,688

You didn’t hate Ellie Williams, not in the slightest.

In fact, when you first met the girl you were impressed by her nonchalant attitude and how quickly she adjusted to life in Jackson. You admired the bond she shared with her companion, Joel - the closeness they shared, the softness of his voice when he spoke to her, the glint in her eyes when she looked at him. That didn’t mean you missed the way she stared off distantly in her free time, or the way she would talk to others with a certain tiredness in her voice; but it wasn’t like you could talk to her about it.

You weren’t friends with her. Well, not anymore.

Ellie and you were friends when she first arrived, you made sure of it. You were always bringing her things to make the adjustment easier: blankets, sweaters, new socks, ammunition, and a new hairbrush, among other things. She was grateful for it at first, always thanking you, hunting you down for movie nights, and inviting you over for dinner with Joel. But at some point you messed up - you did something wrong.

She slowly began to ignore you, she started returning your home-baked goods and stopped inviting you to her house to watch movies. She started to talk to you just as cold as she talked to the others. She didn’t like you anymore.

Eventually, probably tired of your haphazard attempts to fix your friendship, she snapped. You left her house in tears that day with your head down, shoulders hunched and wobbly, trying to cover the tear streaks with your hair.

Ever since you’d tried to ignore her, her words, and the wounds they made. It was hard when she consumed your every waking thought. You thought about Ellie all the time - what you did wrong, the way her hair bounced as she walked, what you said to make her hate you, that one time at dinner she accidentally choked on water and spit it out her nose, the look in her eyes as she yelled in your face, all of the science stuff she had hidden away in every crevice of her room.

Every thought you had about Ellie contradicted the other and it was all so confusing that every time you thought too hard about it your head spun.

So you quickly found yourself doing simple, menial tasks to keep your thoughts at bay. You were picking up every patrol you were allowed, volunteering at the daycare to help your mom care for the kiddos, spending any and all free time at your friends houses instead of yours. You always finished your house chores early in the morning, always walked your neighbors dog once before noon and once after, always doing whatever you could to stay out of your own mind.

So you forgot about Ellie - as best as you could, at least.

It almost worked, too. Five years you got away with it, hiding from your mind and from Ellie. Until today, the one day you had been dreading for years. The day you knew was coming.

You were partnered with Ellie for patrol.

At first, you'd spent the first three hours complaining to your friends - Jesse mostly ignored you, only cracking jokes here or there, and Dina just didn't understand why you hated Ellie so bad. Eventually you just gave in and stopped complaining, finding some solace under the heavy duvet on your bed.

Before Dina left your home she gave you a warm smile and said, "You're gonna do great." And then left you to your own devices, not realizing she was leaving you to rot in your own brain.

When the time came to get up and get ready, you found yourself picking through your clothes, trying to find the cleanest shirt to wear and the pants that fit you the best. You wanted to look nice, most people would, but you weren't sure if it was for you or for her.

You walked nervously towards the stables, taking firm, heavy breaths as you shoved your hands into your jacket pockets.

"It'll be okay... It'll be okay," you chanted the words under your breath as you neared the stables, clenching and unclenching your sweaty fists.

When you arrived, Ellie was already leading Shimmer along to the exit, hardly glancing at you.

"You're late." She said, sucking on her teeth.

You nodded slowly, inhaling sharply, "I am aware..." speaking slowly and cautiously, trying not to poke the bear. "I kind of have my own stuff, though," the pitch of your voice raised slightly, as if you were unsure of your own words, "so I got here as fast as I could."

She scoffed, her head shaking slightly which sends her short strands of hair bouncing around her ears. "Just get the fucking horse."

You walked off hastily, unfurling Japan's reigns - when Dina didn't take him out, you did, because you both liked to make sure he had enough exercise everyday. You walked him down to meet Ellie at the gate.

Ellie was standing on one foot, shifting her weight every now and then and rubbing her palms down the length of her thighs; almost as if she was rubbing something off of them. She rubbed her thumbs on Shimmer's reigns nervously, head darting back and forth to see if you were close or not.

When you came into her line of sight, she hardened up and stood taller. Her face sharpened and her eyes filled with the same distance that kept you up at night, though today they also harbored another emotion, one you were no longer privy with.

It filled you with a sense of confusion and dread, causing you to mumble incoherently under your breath.

"Fucking Williams... cold as shit... pain in my ass..." you muttered as you mounted your horse.

Giving you one last weary look, Ellie also mounted her horse. She pulled her fingers through her hair, tucking it back behind her ear as the two of you left Jackson.

The horses trotted slowly, easily stepping over the tree roots in the ground as if they had the whole route memorized.

For you, this was one of the few routes you hardly visited. It wasn't too far from Jackson, but it was just far enough that you knew it'd take up the rest of your day.

As your eyes danced between the trail ahead of you and Ellie beside you, you didn't know what to think.

Sure, you'd thought of all the ways you would yell at her and all the things you'd say if you ever got the chance again; but you'd also thought of all the ways you'd make it up to her, all the things you wanted to say to let her know you weren't the same person you used to be.

What did it matter, anyway?

You were stuck here, letting your old wounds sit and fester in the bitterness of it all. You were stuck here, next to her but unable to fill the empty silence with words. You were stuck here, on patrol with the one person who hates your guts and you couldn't do anything about it.

"It's not polite to stare, you know."

Her voice echoed through the dense trees, bouncing off branches and leaves only to worm its way back into your brain.

"I'm sorry?" you hummed, caught off guard by the sound.

Her head slightly turned in your direction and Shimmer slowed down to a light trot, matching Japan's speed. "It's not polite to stare."

Her words were much sharper the second time around, with much more emphasis placed upon them.

She's angry. Amazing. You scoffed to yourself, trying to keep hold of your composure.

"I wasn't staring..." you paused. You almost said her name, but the word caught in your throat. "At you. I wasn't staring at you."

She glanced at you sideways before she continued, "you were."

"Was not!"

"Were too."

"I wasn't staring-!"

There it was again. You'd almost said her name, but it got caught in the back of your throat, which left you to haphazardly cut off your sentence and leave her hanging, waiting for it.

She scoffed. "Yes, you were."

You closed your mouth and pressed your lips into a line, "I wasn't fucking staring at you, Williams."

"So you stare at me, deny it when I tell you it's impolite, and then can't even use my name?" She stopped her horse, leaning back in the saddle as she spoke.

And the words get caught in your throat. Your mouth dried as you slowed your own horse.

"I used your name," you whispered, blinking away the wetness in your eyes.

She laughed sourly, pulled on Shimmer's reigns and began to trot ahead of you again.

You sighed at the bitterness brewing in the pit of your stomach. You certainly fucked that up - but was it entirely your fault? Surely some of that had to go to Ellie too - I mean she's the one who broke off your friendship... she's the one who yelled at you for "staring." You weren't staring in the first place... right?

You began to question yourself, yet again, as Ellie spoke up once more.

"You're still staring."

And suddenly it's almost as if you could hear the smirk she had on her face.

"Could you fucking not? Please? I'm just trying to get to the tower and go home alive. I don't want to deal with this bullshit too."

"Stop fucking staring then," she whipped around to face you. "I definitely didn't ask for this either, so stop being a baby and get over it."

You clenched your fists and brought one to your face, rubbing your eyes with your palm.

"I'm not staring at you, El-"

You stopped talking after you finally looked directly into her eyes, catching sight movement behind her.

She began to scoff but suddenly stopped as your face changed.

"What?"

"Shut up."

You tilted your head to the side, narrowing your eyes as you focused on a shadowy figure hidden in the trees.

The figure stilled under a long branch, the leaves creating long shadows which warped around the curves of the figure.

Slowly, you reached for the pistol strapped to your thigh. Ellie's face scrunched in a mix of confusion and worry.

"Don't," you breathed, "move."

At the sound of your sharp exhale the figure screeched and aimed for Ellie, its dark eyes fixated on her.

You brought the gun up, aiming and pulling the trigger as fast as you could, but the stalker was hardly affected by the single bullet.

Ellie whipped around, yelping once before the stalker jumped on her and yanked her off of Shimmer. The stalker pinned her to the ground, its teeth already bared and ready to bite.

You pulled the trigger again. And again. And again. Until eventually the stalker slumped down above Ellie.

She pushed it off and brought herself to her feet, head whipping around to look for others.

"Do you see any more?" you asked as you scanned the area.

She shook her head, "I don't think so... holy shit."

You both sat quietly for a moment as you tried to process what just happened.

"Thanks- thanks for uh, for that," she panted, mounting Shimmer again and looking around, "that was close."

For a moment you were rendered speechless, trying to piece the puzzle back together in your brain before responding. "Yeah... of course," you paused, adding lightly, "s'what friends do." It came out a little mumbled but you knew she heard it.

You didn't keep your eyes on hers long enough to gauge her reaction, but you figured it was one full of something negative. You looked up one last time and caught her eyes, the strangest look on her face, before turning back down and looking away.

"The tower's just up that way," you hesitated, waiting for her to say - or do - something. To do anything. But she didn't, so you continued, "there shouldn't be any more in the area, they just cleared it last week."

You shifted on the saddle, cringing slightly, urging Japan to move forward again.

The rest of your route went okay - you didn't encounter anymore infected and the area is mostly barren anyway so you didn't find anything worthwhile. The tower was cleared already, too, so you and Ellie mostly found solace in your own thoughts for the rest of the route.

She didn't mention the staring thing again, opting to keep quiet instead, but you could feel her eyes meeting the side of your head every now and then.

You didn't say anything to her as you re-entered Jackson, walking side by side to the stables to put the horses back.

Ellie was brushing out Shimmer's mane as she opened her mouth to speak, "hey, thanks for earlier. Seriously. It means a lot."

You nodded, "no worries," and you paused, unsure of what to say next. Before you could, Ellie spoke up again.

"And sorry, by the way," she said, eyes darting around the stables, "for being mean."

At that, you found yourself completely dumbfounded, eyes wide, staring across the stables at her. And before you had the chance to recover from the shock she was flying out of the stables, probably heading back to Joel's house.

Within the next four minutes you'd rushed to Dina's, tripping and stumbling over your own feet, heart pounding and mind racing.

"She apologized?" Dina asked incredulously, eyebrows raised and lips turned downward, "for real?"

You shrugged, "I guess. I can't believe it either."

"Yeah, dude, she hated you for years but you play hero once and now she likes you again?" Jesse laughed, shaking his head, "bullshit."

"I never said she liked me again, Jesse. I was just telling you what happened. She apologized. That's what happened."

"Maybe she realized you aren't that bad," Dina smiled.

"Oh thanks, Dee, I'm honored."

Dina chuckled, leaning towards you and smacking your shoulder playfully, "and it's about time."

You paused, chewing on your lip as you thought of the day's events over and over and over again.

"I hope this is a new beginning for you guys, you deserve it."

You stopped your thinking, pulling yourself out of your thoughts to respond with a smile, "thanks, Dee."

"So, now that that's out of the way," Dina smiled suggestively, narrowing her eyes and raising her eyebrows, "you want to come to the bar with us later? Everyone's gonna be there."

You couldn't miss the suggestive tone in her voice, the way it dropped a pitch and she gained a mischievous glint in her eyes.

You hummed, "are they? Good for them."

Dina sighed exhaustedly, "c'mon! You never come with us! It'll be so much fun, I promise!"

"I don't know, Dina. You know I'm not one for parties."

"Well, you are tonight," she tapped the palm of her hand against the table, "because you are coming with me and we are going to dance all night and have so much fun. So much so, in fact, that you're going to completely forget how much you hate parties!"

"Oh, is that right?" You smiled as you began to chuckle.

She hummed, a particularly big grin splattered on her face.

"Yeah, your new best friend might be there too," Jesse added, which earned a nasty look from you and a disapproving look from Dina.

"Shut up!" Dina shouted, turning her attention to Jesse - which only threw you right back into your own head.

After Dina snapped you out of it, and after a lot more begging and pleading on her part, you agreed. It couldn't be that bad - right?

The party was nothing short of what you'd expected.

It was loud, crammed, kind of smelly, and definitely not the place you wanted to be spending your time.

But every time you caught Dina's eyes or you looked over in her direction, the smile on her face was enough to make you feel so deeply guilty that you stayed put. You stayed with her if she brought you out to dance and you stayed with her if she brought you to the bar to get a new drink.

It wasn't a surprise when you noticed Ellie at the bar, nursing a cold cup, staring at you with a conflicting expression. It also wasn't a surprise when Dina grabbed your hand and started dragging you in her direction, giving you one last reassuring smile.

It was a surprise, however, when Ellie greeted Dina with a hug and you with a smile.

She smiled at you.

Completely unable to quickly recover, you let Dina do the talking, trying to calm your racing heart.

"Hey, El! How're you doing?" she had to shout over the music but you knew Ellie could hear her - everyone could hear Dina.

"Pretty good! You okay?"

They began to exchange pleasantries and all the usual small talk, so you spaced out for a moment, waiting for the moment Dina would pull you away again. That moment didn't come, however, because Dina ran off without you.

"Wait - where's she going?" you yelled, eyes finally meeting Ellie's.

"Said she was gonna grab Jesse," Ellie began, eyes scanning over your outfit. "You want a drink?"

You hesitated, thinking over what happened during patrol. You lost yourself, again, and began mulling over what you could say and how she would possibly respond.

But then you began speaking, your mind not caught up yet.

"Sure!"

Ellie's face relaxed a little, and she waved you over towards a quieter area of the bar. The flannel tucked up to her elbows showcased the way her muscles flexed as she signaled Seth over to your side of the bar.

"You doing okay?" You asked as Seth walked away. "It just... looked like that stalker shook you up a bit."

She nodded, "Yeah, yeah. It was a little," she shrugged and let out a mangled noise, "nerve wracking." You both laughed.

Seth dropped your drink in front of you, giving you a sideways glance before returning to the packed end of the bar.

"You know how it goes, though," she finished. "I'm good."

"Well, that is certainly a plus."

Her lips tugged into a small grin, making you mirror the expression.

"Thanks again, by the way."

"Hey, we were partners. It was my job to have your back."

You both laughed again.

And you fell back into it. Into that easy-going, comfortable rhythm you had with her so many years ago. It was like no time had passed at all; like you were fourteen again.

And even when Dina came back she didn't hide it. You were finally able to openly talk to your two friends together again. It was like a dream.

"Hey, Ellie!" No. "I haven't seen you in forever!" No. "You look so good!" No.

"Oh! Hey, Cat!"

No.

You could almost taste the tension that had suddenly built up around the three of you; the sudden change in the air sending your head reeling and heart pounding.

Ellie and Cat exchanged pleasantries (not like you were interested or anything) as you suddenly honed in on a weirdly shaped ice cube in your drink. Poking at it with your straw, you waited for Cat to leave, holding your breath.

And in less than five minutes, you fell out of it.

You fell out of your rhythm, Ellie already ten beats ahead of you while you seemed to have changed rhythms completely.

When Cat did (finally) leave you let out a shaky breath, watching as even Ellie noticed the shift in you.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, mostly directing the apology to Dina. She turned to face Dina straight on now, no longer moving her eyes between the two of you.

"You're fine," Dina brushed it off quickly, seemingly unaware of the sudden awkwardness.

"I should uh... go anyway. Joel's waiting for me, so... you know."

"Oh, yeah, sure. We should go soon too," Dina draped an arm around your shoulders, "I have kept someone here for way too long. She's getting a little antsy." She gave you a pointed smile, a teasing tone lacing her voice.

Ellie gave Dina a half-hearted chuckle before standing and hugging her. She gave you a very awkward, sideways, one armed hug before turning around and almost running out of the building.

"You want to go now or wait a little-"

"Can we go, Dina?" you rushed, clenching your eyes shut as you rubbed the balls of your palms into your eyes. "I'm just... really tired."

Dina stared at your face, her eyes scanning yours, for an extra beat before nodding, "Yeah, of course."

At home you spent the rest of your night hiding under your duvet, pulling at large chunks of your hair with your fists, digging your heels into your bed; all the way until you finished the night tiredly blinking away tears and chewing at your lips.

It was all so confusing. One minute you're dreading even looking at her and the next you're talking and laughing with her like you're best friends - and then? Then you're sitting there like the two of you never started talking again at all, all because Ellie said hi to an old friend.

One minute she's talking to you, then the next she's talking to you through Dina.

You woke in the morning with blood dried on your lips and dark bags under your eyes. You found it hard to keep your eyes open as you brushed your teeth, and one look in the mirror showed that you were in no state to leave your home anytime soon.

Your parents left quickly for work, not giving you a second glance even as you asked them to clear your schedule for the day.

Around noon you received a familiar knock at the door, and when you opened it you saw a face that hadn't graced your porch in a few years.

"Hey, Ellie," you paused, panicking internally. "What's up?"

"Do you want to talk?"

[atkesariart]

Happy trans day of visibility everyone!!!!

As a small artist under the trans umbrella I wanted to take today to celebrate yet ANOTHER milestone !! Ugh 🩷 my heart is full of love

Thank you EVERYONE who has been wildly supportive to me starting out and making me feel like I belong in my community

Anyways enough sappy yapping.. here’s a recap 💀

Mail for Eggs Benedict - 40+ notes

This one getting attention genuinely caught me off guard. Didn’t realize anyone else would find it funny too.. I love making helpy seem to be a goofball and I’m really proud of my color work

Fred Fartbuck - 19+ notes

Another surprise uhh I have nothing to say except Marvin gator looks more like yoshi than anything,, anyways this is kinda a joke about the fnaf franchise getting rly popular and rich lmao

These two are notably the pieces that got the most attention so thank you fellow fnaf fans for showing the love

I have something creepy coming soon :3 I’m curious to see if fans of this community are still on tumblr but anywayssss stay tuned and THANKKK YOOOOU for the love

The BEST WAY TO SUPPORT ME is to SHARE AND INTERACT WITH MY WORK!! <3

[wonderwafles]

Cruelty and Creativity: A Forerunner Saga Exchange SIGN-UP!

Attention, all ye ravenous fans of an obscure book series written as the deep lore backstory of a first-person shooter game that hit its peak popularity in the mid-Aughts, whom are present on Tumblr! The day has come! Utúlie'n aurë, the day has come! Er, sorry. Wrong fandom.

What I should say is, aya. You are what you dare. Do you dare to sign up for this fandom exchange, in defiance of the strictest laws laid down by the Master Builder and the Old Council? What's that? You want to hear what it's about first? And what you'll have to do?

Ugh, fine.

The Exchange: This works sort of like a Secret Santa. Reply to this post confirming you're interested in participating! Sign-ups will be open from today (October 21, 2023) until November 4, 2023.

For the most part this exchange will be conducted on Tumblr, but if there is a platform you'd prefer to receive or give your gift on let me know in your reply. Also indicate if you'd rather have your gift given to a different blog than the one you're replying with. (NOTE: I will be participating in this exchange and you may be asked to make a gift for me.)

Gifts: Once sign-ups are closed you'll be asked to write up your preferences for both giving and receiving a gift; i.e. if you'd prefer to make art or fic, as well as what you'd like to receive. Here you'll also be able to prompt your gifter with the subjects or areas of Forerunner lore you're interested in. The deadlines for that will be decided as we get closer to the 4th. (I'll create a form for this when the time comes. I think.)

The area to aim for with your gifts is a roughly 1000 word fic or a flat, colored piece of art. These are not strict minimums, but probably don't do too much less than that. And of course, feel free to go beyond if you like!

Guidelines: In general I will be pretty laissez-faire about the topics and themes of your gifts; if someone wants an Ur-Didact pinup far be it from me to say no! But this is the big one: This is a Forerunner Saga exchange, not a Halo one. Although I won't disallow references or scenes taking place in other areas of Halo canon, the main focus of your gift and your request should be on events or characters or OCs or concepts from the Forerunner Saga.

Oh, and make sure your gift aligns with what your giftee asks for. Naturally.

Deadline: The... currently stated... release date for Halo: Epitaph is February 27th, 2024. I hoped to time this exchange so that we are all receiving our gifts shortly before the novel is released, as a kind of celebration of the Ur-Didact's return. To that end, please post your gifts on or between February 24th and February 26th.

If the book is delayed again, the current plan is not to delay the exchange. I want there to be some stability in the dates for this thing... as much as we can manage, anyway. But also, if enough people want to delay it as a result, I'll think about that too :)

Let's keep our fingers crossed the book will come out on time, and our celebration of Shadow-Of-Sundered-Star proceeds as planned!

Is that it for now? I think so. Remember to reply to this post on or before November 4th if you're interested in participating! If you have a friend who's not on Tumblr but is interested in participating, let me know, and we can work something out.

(Fun fact: This is posted exactly one year to the day from when Halo: Epitaph was announced at Halo World Championship in 2022 :))

[iloveyou-writers]

How do I get people to care about me personally as a writer and my work? I only got three likes on a piece of work while this another writer literally got 6 likes on a post with someone asking if they were okay and 7 likes on another post congratulating them on her fic count while literally my fic count post congratulating myself only received 1 like and my other only received 2. It just shows me that my followers don't care about my works at all because I'm not good enough and I think I suck at canon character portrayal. It makes me think that the person who was over critical about my work was right I suck as a writer and as a human being.

I have been trying to think of the best way to word my response to this and it's been a struggle, honestly. It's not that I don't have an answer, it's that the answer may be a bit discouraging because the unfortunate truth is that there isn't a simple answer for how to get people to love your writing.

It's a lot of hard work. It often takes a long time, especially with today's writeblr. Back when I first joined writeblr, there was a lot more interaction. It was much easier to get your work in front of people because people were actually reblogging works and sharing them with others. Now-a-days, most people will just like it and move on, essentially cutting out a VAST majority of the readership you otherwise might get.

So, today, people getting enthusiastic about your writing not only takes a whole lot more work but it also takes a whole lot of luck. Getting your writing in front of the right person and HOPING they'll get into it enough to get their readers to get enthusiastic about it.

On top of that, a lot of writers now have "reblog blogs" which also cuts down the amount of people that will views your works because if their followers don't care for what they reblog usually, they won't follow that blog even though they're following the writing blog, so that cuts out another chunk of people that might be into your writing.

Then you also have to worry about timezones and the right people being online. There may be people that follow you and love your writing but if you're not posting it or reblogging it when they're online, they might not see it. A lot of people don't do what used to be much more common (me included, tbh) and scroll all the way down their dashes til they catch up to where they last were. So they could be missing your writing even if they love it. People often follow an impossible amount of blogs to keep up with fully, so they often miss things, even if they'd love it.

Basically, it boils down to you have to work hard to get your works in front of the right people at the right time. It's hard work, it's a lot of work, but if you're lucky and a great writer, you might be able to get the views. But even if you get the views, that doesn't mean that you'll get the notes because these days, people feel discouraged to actually interact with works.

So it's just a whole lot of mess that is causing writers and artists (especially writers, though, since it's a lot more work to read than it is to view art and a lot of people don't have the energy to read long stories these days) to not get the interaction or views they would have in the past.

Ugh, I know this is probably a really discouraging reply, but to be honest, these days I even struggle to get many notes on my actual writing. This blog gets lots of interaction, but that's because I'm GIVING something to people. Not many people are willing to react to a post that isn't giving them something (such as the encouragement from this blog)... so it's been hard for me too. I don't get nearly the interaction on my main that I do on this blog, so I'm not sure that I could give any specific advice on how to better get the interaction you're craving.

Maybe if you'd asked me 2-3 years ago, but tumblrites (especially on the creative side of tumblr) have changed a lot since then, so it's more of a struggle for everyone to get views, yes, even the popular ones. We're all feeling the changes.

I hope you get the interaction you're craving, my friend. I'm hoping to start a blog soon that'll help with writers create more of a community and interaction with one another, but we'll see if it works.

Sorry for all the depressing responses. I hope that you still push forward and that you find a way to get those interactions you're craving.

Good luck and happy writing, my friend. 💖

[ficsforeren]

thank you for telling me not to apologize for being awkward instead of saying im not awkward >///<

SPOILER!!!

aaa.. i really love your fics. i havent read them all yet but im in love with your The Last Song, especially In Another Life. TLS broke my heart into pieces (the last chapter), i wont lie that i didnt read it in full (i cry easily at puppy videos, im not sure i can handle Eren dying. especially that version of him). nonetheless i will apply what Eren said in IAL, the series has been a great experience for me. not only because Eren was literally written ineffably, but because i really learned a lot and i was able to relate so much.

im still having a hard time accepting the whole death talk in general, because (i feel like such a loser hahaha, but im happy because—-) i love him so much, but i should try and learn (note:try). and apply.

i just want to say.. thank you. and i dont know how to make that sound like i mean it (i tried formatting after much thought, hopefully its not cringey). its so hard for me to express it in words how grateful i am sometimes, but i really do mean it. maybe its because its probably just one thank yous that you get out of probably hundreds a day—- i think youre an amazing writer.

thank you. not only for bringing Eren to life, for helping me get through shit through your stories.. thank you for sharing your knowledge through your writing. thanks for inspiring me. to be and do many things. thanks for helping me cope through Eren. i know it probably sounds so sad, but i really imagined him comforting me in actual.

man, hopefully i dont sound too much like a creep. i often tend to be overwhelming. just ignore this if its toomuch anksksks i really dont mean anything bad. its just that.. i think a character is only as smart as the author is. and.. man, im so in love with Eren Yeager 😭😭😭

he deserves so much love.

and you do, too.

BABEEEE HIIIII SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY!! I've been busy with life so I just got back to tumblr today 😭

can I tell you just how HAPPY you made me feel with your message??? "its probably just one thank yous that you get out of probably hundreds a day" BABE ONE THANK YOU COMING FROM YOU MEANS THE WORLD TO ME WHAT ARE YOU SAYINGGGGGG

I don't know if you've read my other asks before but I think I've mentioned a few times just how insecure I am of my writing and that I constantly have this feeling that I want to delete all of my works 'cause I think they're cringe and embarrassing and just in desperate need of improvement, so whenever I receive messages like this, it really makes me feel appreciated and I'm really REALLY happy that my stories mean something to you 😭😭😭

UGH I JUST WANT TO HUG YOU AND KISS YOU AND GIVE YOU ALL MY LOVE YOU'RE SO SWEET AND KIND AND THIS MESSAGE MAKES ME SMILE SO MUCH THANK YOUUUUUU

(also, this message is so heartwarming and thoughtful and you sound lovely!!! please don't apologize for being who you are, I think you're very sweet and adorable 🫶 I wish I could write a reply as good as the message you sent me but I hope you can feel how grateful I am to have a reader like you)

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph!!

I just wanted to say how overwhelmingly happy I am that I've found someone who is still 'at it' after so long…

Ever since I was little, I wanted to study forensic science just like my mother was, I've since decided i'd like to study a double degree in criminology and criminal justice/psychological science.

i'm in year 12 now, and we are finishing up the last of our units before our external exams at the end of October. counting down the days has me looking back on my past and life in general while also looking ahead to a hopeful future of academia in honour of my mother... you could say i'm sentimental (hehe). sorry, i'm getting way off-topic. anyway, our last English unit is looking at representations of death. And by chance, my lovely english teacher introduced us to the wonderful world that is sherlock.

Honestly, sherlock and john - the whole universe, really - have saved my life. I had got myself in a really bad way and was struggling. The media, theories, and possible research from all of the renditions of sherlock, including the original text, gave me something to occupy my mind with. It ended up reigniting my love for learning and criminology/psychology.

Even more so, i'd say it was the fandom that saved my life. From hilarious old theories on tumblr to the fandom's general crack and chaos, it made me smile and brought back some joy when i could see it nowhere else.

i'd like to thank you personally. simply put, your blog and, more specifically your fanfic recommendations are the reason i am still here today. reading through them has helped me to laugh and cry when i needed it the most.

i'm getting to a much better place and finding my feet again. But I wouldn't have made it to this point without you and the fandom. so thank you. thank you so unbelievably much Steph.

... so yes, many of the blogs I've come across have long been inactive. So it's lovely to see the fandom still thriving :) i think i'd like to be you when i grow up. thank you again! <3

Have a lovely day!!!

Warm regards, Baie x

p.s: a note on johnlock... (after we watched the hounds of baskerville in class) my first exposure to sherlock was actually the bbc series which i binged. twice. then read acd's novels. somehow, the possibility that johnlock was not cannon never crossed my mind? like idk. maybe my view of love is skewed, but i tend to think love manifests in so many different regards. and to me, john and sherlock look at each other like a couple of old married best friends. so imagine my supprise when i made my way to the online discourse on the matter!! seeing people trying to prove their relationship exists was so odd to me at first. anyway yeah, point being, i'm asexual, so seeing a relationship dynamic portrayed in such a way that resembles my own relationship is very comforting. i love johnlock and the fandom to pieces <3

HI BAIE!!

OMG I am SO SORRY that I took so long to reply to this quick-reply ask, UGH.

First off, thank you SO MUCH for your unbelievable kindness in this ask. I am humbled and undeserving of such praise, but I am SO honoured that my blog has played a major role in your fandom experience. It always shocks and humbles me to read such praise.

Secondly, thank you so much for sharing your fandom story. I too had a lot of life-changing things happen because of this fandom, and I wouldn't change that for the world. It helped me understand myself in ways I never would have without it, helped me cope with a lot of family drama, got me through a sexuality crisis, encouraged me to finally seek the therapy and diagnoses I really needed, and just... helps combat the loneliness, honestly. My blog keeps me busy, so it does feel like a joy to work on it and KNOW that people enjoy being here as much as me.

I feel you on the asexuality, and on the personal interpretation of their relationship, and I do get it. I think for me it's just I spent SO MUCH TIME analyzing their characters that the only logical outcome of the series Pre-S4 was canon Johnlock. But alas, LOL.

This fandom is a fantastic place, and good golly I would not wish my neuroses on anyone to "be like me" LOL. I'm only still around because I have weird obsessions and I love running this blog and being a beacon for newcomers and old friends alike. BUT I am humbled that you aspire to be like me, so thank you <3 But you should be like YOU, because there's only one of you, and we admire you for that!!

THAT ALL SAID, good luck on your studies, sounds SO exciting! You'll be amazing!!!!!

Thank you again for this beautiful ask; now that I had a chance to sit down and read it, I am floored and sobbing, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Thank you so much <3

Have a fantastic day, Lovely! <3

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

today is my friend saint's birthday. i dont want to get too emotional. i just want to say thankyou for being there thru some of the hardest times in my life. reading thru our old dms, i remmeber how there were periods where they were literally the only person who encouraged me to keep going. looking thru my old tumblrs, if a post had 2 notes, u were one of them. ur death literally rearranged my dna & forced me to reevaluate everything i thought i knew about time & legacy & foresight. idk if i'd be back on tumblr or social media period if u didnt die. idk if i'd feel compelled to share anything about myself. but everything about u was an open book and it created new positive feedback loops in each of the many lives u touched. i can't let that all be in vain...i think of my little sagittarius north node all alone in the 12th house and it's you. i can never be you but i can honor what you lived for w every move i make. your knowledge of the stars and god and angels, constantly i find little pieces of it dispersed amongst the atmosphere. it's not lost on me.. i'll live the most beautiful life i can so u can watch it thru my eyes. i wish i ever got to meet u irl so i could've tattooed "great grief" on ur chest like we planned. the irony ugh. i love you dude and i wish i knew what happened. happy birthday and thanks for being the best angel ever🤍 if anyone would like to read some of saint's work, their instagram is still up, @1_800_saintchiron. ALSO jsyk that was iconic of you to be a life path 36/9 and then die at age 36. lol. iloveyou.