#wasn't easy folks. i'll tell you that for free

[unearthly-angel]

as long as i don’t drop dead between now and 2:10 pm tomorrow, i have officially survived the offseason :))

[katsune-nya]

Just some lines/songs that remind me of TR characters

Manjiro "Mikey" Sano:

I feel so alone on the Friday nights,

Can you make it feel like home if I tell you you're mine?,

It's like I told you, honey (louder),

Don't make me sad, don't make me cry,

Sometimes love is not enough,

And the road gets tough, I don't know why,

Keep making me laugh,

Let's go get high,

The road is long, we carry on,

Try to have fun in the meantime. - Born To Die by Lana Del Rey.

Baby, how do I get in?

I want you.

I want you to call me daddy,

Lay your pretty head down,

I'm in control now,

I wanna be your daddy.

Oh you're a big, strong man,

So Imma do what I can.

You spend so much time being tough, honey,

I know that job can get a little rough,

So let me be your daddy,

Lay your pretty head down,

I'm in control now.

The way that you're lovin' me.

I wanna lighten that body of steel,

I won't undermine your masculinity, baby,

It's just how I feel.

So you can come on over,

Lean on my shoulder,

Let yourself heal. - Daddy by Cera Gibson.

I run away when things are good

And never really understood

The way you laid your eyes on me

In ways that no one ever could

And so it seems I broke your heart

My ignorance has struck again

I failed to see it from the start

And tore you open 'til the end

And I'm sorry to my unknown lover

Sorry that I can't believe

That anybody ever really

Starts to fall in love with me

Sorry to my unknown lover

Sorry I could be so blind

Didn't mean to leave you

And all of the things that we had behind

And someone will love you

Someone will love you

Someone will love you

But someone isn't me

Someone will love you

Someone will love you

Someone will love you

But someone isn't me. - Sorry by Halsey.

I'm 23, and my folks are getting old

I know they don't have forever and I'm scared to be alone

So I'm thankful for my sister, even though sometimes we fight

When high school wasn't easy, she's the reason I survived

I know she'd never leave me and I hate to see her cry

So I wrote this verse to tell her that I'm always by her side

I wrote this verse to tell her that I'm always by her side

I wrote this verse to tell her that

The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad

If we got each other, and that's all we have

I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand

You should know I'll be there for you

When the world's not perfect

When the world's not kind

If we have each other, then we'll both be fine

I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand

You should know I'll be there for you. - If We Have Eachother by Alec Benjamin

Shuji Hanma:

He's so tall, and handsome as hell. He's so bad, but he does it so well,

I can see the end as it begins,

My one condition is,

Say you'll remember me,

Standing in a nice dress,

Staring at the sunset, babe. - Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift.

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street,

Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly,

Loving him is like trying to change your mind

Once you're already flying through the free fall,

Like the colors in autumn, so bright, just before they lose it all. - Red by Taylor Swift.

But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain,

And it's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name,

So in love that you act insane,

And that's the way I loved you,

Breaking down and coming undone,

It's a roller coaster kind of rush,

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you. - The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift.

Do you remember, we were sittin' there by the water?

You put your arm around me, for the first time,

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,

You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe for the first time,

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,

You are the best thing that's ever been mine. - Mine by Taylor Swift.

Ran Haitani:

Push me, shove me,

I don't wanna have no gushy loving,

Make it hot till your makeup's coming, off your face but

Baby you aren't looking ugly, yeah,

Hit me, punch me,

Give me more, baby, this is nothing,

Feel the sweat on your forehead, soaking all of your bed.

When we're fucking,

I feel your nails in my back,

Punish me for my past,

Like how you're making it last.

If you're gonna hurt me, hurt me,

I feel your nails in my back. - Nails by Call Me Karizma.

Takashi Mitsuya:

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go,

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home,

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew,

This night is flawless, don't you let it go,

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone,

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you.

Please don't be in love with someone else,

Please don't have somebody waiting on you. - Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

In a world of boys he's a gentleman. - "Slut!" by Taylor Swift.

Wakasa Imaushi:

I could suck a titty while I'm standing up, don't ever fucking tell me I ain't man enough. (Lmao, sorry). - short kings anthem by blackbear ft. Tiny Meat Gang.

You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt

And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt

And when we go crashing down, we come back every time

'Cause we never go out of style. -Style! by Taylor Swift.

Senju "Kawaragi" Akashi:

If you have a mother, daughter or a friend,

Maybe it is time, time you comprehend

The world that you live in ain't the same one as them,

So don't punish me for not being a man.

Spring appears when the time is right,

Women are violets coming to light,

Don't underestimate the making of life,

The planet has a funny way of stopping a fight. - Man's World by Marina.

Why are you cranky, boy?

What’s all the frown on your face

Do you want a blond barbie doll?

It's not here, I'm not a doll. - Tomboy by G-idle.

"Sanzu" Haruchiyo Akashi:

I only call you when it's half-past five,

The only time that I'll be by your side,

I only love it when you touch me, not feel me,

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me,

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, yeah,

I only call you when it's half-past five,

The only time I'd ever call you mine,

I only love it when you touch me, not feel me,

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me,

When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, babe. - The hills by The Weeknd. (Bad timelines).

Yuzuha Shiba:

I could be a better boyfriend than him,

I could do the shit that he never did,

Up all night, I won't quit,

Thinking I'm gonna steal you from him,

I could be such a gentleman,

Plus all my clothes would fit. - Boyfriend by Dove Cameron.

Hakkai Shiba:

I can't break the cycle, am I just a fool?

Falling down like dominoes, hit by family jewels.

Pass it down from kid to kid, the chain will never end,

'Less I decide to go to it, will I see the end?

Ooh, don't you find it strange?

Only thing we share is one last name.

Did I beat you at your own game?

Typical of me to put us all to shame.

Welcome to the family jewels,

Coal to diamond, sold to fools.

Welcome to the family jewels,

Simmerin' sapphire can't keep his cool.

I can't keep my cool,

I can't keep my cool. - The Family Jewels by Marina.

Places, places

Get in your places

Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces

Everyone thinks that we're perfect

Please don't let them look through the curtains

Picture, picture, smile for the picture

Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?

Everyone thinks that we're perfect

Please don't let them look through the curtains

D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E

I see things that nobody else sees. -Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez.

I just turned 14

And I think this year I'm gonna be mean

Don't mess with me, I'm a big boy now, and I'm very scary

I punch my walls, stay out at night, and I do karate

Don't message me 'cause I won't reply, I wanna make you cry

Ain't that how it's s'posed to be? Though it isn't me

Boys will be bugs, right? - Boys Will Be Bugs by Cavetown.

All their little gangs:

They're gonna rip up your heads,

Your aspirations to shreds,

Another cog in the murder machine.

They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' shit out of me",

They could care less as long as someone'll bleed,

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose,

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me. - Teenagers by My Chemical Romance.

[katrinafaire]

My 2¢ on "quitting" a story.

I think you should allow yourself that. Sometimes we outgrow a story, sometimes we realize that's not the story we want to tell, sometimes we're just bored. So drop it, if you really want.

BUT.

Don't get rid of it. Archive that notebook, put that Scriv on a USB / external hard drive, tuck that doc into a folder. Keep it.

Unless the reason you're quitting it is that it was harmful to someone (maybe you used to have harmful beliefs you've outgrown? growth is good, bigoted fiction is not; same for anything that was hurtful to you) then keep it. If its only crime is you're bored, or your skill set isn't high enough to write it (hooo, been there!), or you've lost motivation...

Set it aside. You're allowed to have new interests, though I will say that it's very easy to snowball from here into never sticking with a project, so KEEP IN MIND that that isn't what we're talking about. Huge difference between:

I will set this story aside because (it doesn't appeal to me, I'm not ready as a writer, I've outgrown it) AND

I want to write this story but I have lost motivation / gotten bored / need to put in some more perspiration to get to the inspiration

The first one is freeing you to leave it behind, but to learn from it. Take it at its value, keep it in case that passion returns. The second is that call out we all hate and all need: don't quit writing the story you want to tell, just because it's hard. Don't stop writing it because you have a ton of worldbuilding and research to do. Don't stop writing it because you're stuck -- stuck is a temporary issue, you'll find your way again.

Folks I've been trying to write Cure since 2019. It's 2024, I had a blazing fire of inspiration hit me in May, and I think even with a stretch of health issues I'll be done with the first draft before January.

It wasn't the right time, then. I set it aside. And there are a ton of other stories that I've abandoned; I still have their workshopping folders of lore and bits and pieces of story. I have no intention of writing them. I don't really care about them? It's reason enough.

The average writer has way more ideas than they're capable of writing out in full, literally. Not the time, not the energy. And that's okay! You're allowed to step back, even quit, the things you don't love anymore. Use that energy to fight for the pieces you've vowed to stick to.

TLDR: Quit the pieces you don't love. Use that energy to fight for the pieces with stories you really want to tell.

[fire-emblem-drabbles]

Oh man I just beat Baldur's gate 3 like for real for real and since it's spoilers I'll put it under a read more but folks!!! this aint it!!

So before the big battle, when you have to dominate the brain... blegh. Listen I can accept that maybe my mortal brain just can't comprehend a netherbrain, but it make it so that even half ilithid characters can't even do it? I feel like that's such an oversight. No matter who you pick for this out come it feels bad! You could have the Emperor eat Orpheus, but this pretty much mutes Lae'zel's whole quest line and leaves the Githyanki to suffer. Free Orpheus, and the Emperor immediately defects? Like... squad could we not set aside our differences for 3 hours to deal with the netherbrain? no? okay.

So if you do choose to free Orpheus, your options are: make the poor guy become ilithid himself and make his people hate him, became a mind flayer *yourself* and laugh in the face of this whole fucking adventure, or have Karlach sacrifice herself and become one! Litterally no winning here.

The fight itself also fucking sucked btw. It's annoying and every time I summoned Dame Aylin she would drop her weapon. and couldn't pick it up. because she's controlled by you Ig?? Beyond the dragon and the mindflayers casting level 6 magic missles every turn, it is interesting (at least) to see your companions dream guardians. And once you get into the brain fight proper it's easy enough to kill, just annoying to get to that point.

Now, if there were anything of substance in the post ending, I could ignore some of the graphical issues. My game immediately became a smooth untextured wasteland if it wasn't a character that hadn't been previously loaded from the fight (so pretty much myself, Mind flayer Karlach, Orpheus, and Gale). I could have forgiven that if there was anything else! You get one tiny scene with your romanced companion, an even smaller scene with all your companions after its done, and some stuff around Baldur's gate that reflects the choice you make (dominating the brain vs defeating it).

That's it!

The credits are longer than any post battle cut scene your gonna see. Which is like fine it's a huge game and people deserve their due, but when I say there's nothing of substance, I'm telling you it's almost like they forgot the had to end the game at some point. It really feels like it drops off at nothing! If the rest of the game itself wasn't amazing, and if larian as a team weren't fixing stuff as often as they are, it wouldn't be worth it.

Alas, I have faith that something is gonna be done. Surely im not the only person to put (checks game time) 300+ hours in a game only for it to come to such an ending... yeah.

[shrieking-aristocrat]

I posted 150 times in 2021

11 posts created (7%)

139 posts reblogged (93%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 12.6 posts.

I added 157 tags in 2021

#house of wax - 21 posts

#bo sinclair - 19 posts

#echoes of the outsiders - 18 posts

#mary mason - 16 posts

#american mary - 16 posts

#vincent sinclair - 15 posts

#leatherface - 14 posts

#michael myers - 13 posts

#house of a thousand corpses - 13 posts

#bubba sawyer - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 54 characters

#the only manga i've read from beginning to last update

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Love the blog name…

So, requests.

A reader getting the upper hand on bo and boutta beat the shit outta him before deciding to teach this dumbass how to life instead

- Lily

Thanks I wanted scream-queen but it's taken 😂 I like this one better now though

Reader gets the upper hand on Bo

Bo Sinclair x Fem reader

TW: light torture, threats, Bo is a bit of a masochist.

Things had gone sour quite fast. Whoever that Bo Sinclair guy was, he was more than the shamelessly flirty but respectful persona he put up when they arrived to the town. Being a hitchhiker meant taking quite a few risks, but she hadn't been expecting a serial killer, no, those were the kind of risks people who hitchhiked joked and told exaggerated stories about, stories people claimed were real but were actually just an urban legend at most, vaguely based on events that took place decades ago on the other end of the country.

This wasn't an urban legend. This was very very real.

The hitchhiker, that's what the folk she came with'd called her when Bo asked. Besides her, there were two ladies and two guys, none of them seemed to know much about her other than she needed a ride to some place that was close to where they were headed. He caught her looking his way once, and shot her one of his most charming smiles, being faced with a look that was almost judgemental before she turned back to looking around.

Her indifference got his attention more than the other two's flirty attempts at getting him to stop glancing her way and their boyfriends's glares could. It was why he'd decided to go after her first, lock her away and save her for last. That was his first mistake.

Catching them off guard was easy, people's first mistake when they arrived to Ambrose was not thinking much of Bo, and he made them regret that. The hitchhiker followed him into the basement with annoyed resignation, and by the time she realized just in how much trouble she was, he'd used the moment of realization to tackle her and get her cuffed to his chair. He left her there, going after the others so that Vincent wouldn't have all the fun.

Two kills and two unsuccessful chases later, Bo retuned to the basement, finding the door open and the chair empty.

"Damn that bitch," he cursed through gritted teeth. Something hard collided with the back of his head before he could turn around and realize he'd fallen into a trap.

When he opened his eyes, Bo's head was throbbing, it took him a minute to realize he was strapped down to his own chair, and as soon as he did, he began to trash and scream, much like he used to do when he was a child with parents who didn't know nor care to learn how to properly deal with his bursts of emotion. His chest heaved as he glared to the side, spotting the hitchhiker leaning against the wall, watching him as she held onto her own thumb in a way that confused him until a snap noise made him realize that's how she'd broken free: she dislocated her thumb and was now putting it back in place.

"That look tells me this hasn't happened to you before," she hummed, pushing herself away from the wall and stepping towards him. "Rookie mistake, should have at least knocked me out."

"I don't hit ladies," Bo spoke, making another attempt at breaking free. "But I'll make an exception just for you."

She snorted, the noise only made Bo's blood boil. He considered dislocating his own thumb to break free, but didn't quite dare to do it, he'd dislocated it once as a child, while his father was trying to place him on the high chair, and he still remembered how much it'd hurt despite how young he'd been. It wasn't something he wished to repeat anytime soon.

He straight up tried to bite her hand when it moved towards his face, but her fingers went to a spot over his ear, fingers digging into an injury made when she hit him, making him curse through gritted teeth and struggle against the straps.

"Look at me," she demanded, grabbing a handful of his hair and making Bo tilt his head back to meet her eyes. "How many of you are out there?"

"Fuck you," Bo growled and once again cursed when her knuckles pressed hard against the injury on his scalp. "Just me, damn it!"

"Bullshit," she spoke, her tone calm yet stern in a way that made Bo's heart race. "You wouldn't be so confident about taking out five people if it was just you." her hand once again dug onto his injury before she let go of his hair, the now bloody bands sticking to his head.

"What are you, an expert?" he questioned, struggling and being met only with the chair's rattling as he watched her move to where his tools were.

It was as she reached for the pliers that he saw something familiar on her arm, a tattoo of a geometric butterfly in different shades of blue. He remembered finding a newspaper in one of their previous victims' car showing that exact same tattoo as an identifying mark for a criminal that'd escaped prison. It then clicked in Bo's mind that he might have met his match.

"Well shit, darlin'," he snorted. "and here I thought you were just some chick."

"Oh, I am," she hummed, moving over and taking a hold of his hand, placing the pliers over the first knuckle. "Just some chick that will start cutting fingers unless you start being honest."

Bo glared at her, the look in his eyes almost challenging him to try. He would kill her if she did– hell, he didn't even believe she would dare; he was the deranged one, the one that made people scared. But now, as he stared into the eyes of someone who looked at him with the same look of superiority he often looked down at his victims with, he wondered if this is what they felt. There was panic as the pliers began squeezing down on his knuckle, harder and harder each passing moment; and there was something else, something stirring in his lower belly.

"Okay, wait," he breathed out, his gasp turning into a sigh of relief when she paused. The pressure of the pliers was so far enough to make him thing there'd be a bruise. "It's me and my brothers. Two of 'em."

She stared at him like she could read him mind, or was trying to, and that stirring in his lower belly turned into a tightness in his pants that he hoped she wouldn't notice.

See the full post

61 notes • Posted 2021-09-26 04:03:51 GMT

#4

Vincent and a soulmate au holy sheeeeeit

Soulmate AU

Vincent Sinclair x Reader (GN pronouns)

You were alone when you got to Ambrose, a long walk after a falling out with the group of people you'd hitchhiked with. Coincidentally, their car was parked just outside the mechanic shop, with none of them in sight. You figured they'd had some issue and they were off doing whatever it was they were doing, after how they'd left you to walk, you didn't really care.

All the stores in town were closed, it didn't surprise you because it was the afternoon and small towns tend to be really vacant when it's nap time. This town was certainly small, to the point you questioned if it could really be called a town or if it was more of a village. While walking around, you ended up deciding to check out the Wax House.

The door was open so you let yourself in. After all, it's an attraction, people are supposed to go in and check it out otherwise it isn't profitable for whoever was showing their art there. The sculptures were uncanny, but you had to admit this Vincent guy had talent, you couldn't help but feel watched, but you blamed it on all the way-too-realistic statues. Little did you know that you were actually being watched.

Vincent knew the moment his eyes landed on you, and he hated it. He hated you, he hated himself, he hated the sudden throbbing and tightness inside his chest. He didn't want a soulmate, he didn't need one. Who could possibly want him when his face looked the way it did? Surely not someone who looked like you, no one normal could love him. That's why only his brothers loved him.

He cut the chase short, going straight to making an attempt on your life. Before you could even fully process what was going on, he was on you, a calloused hand to your throat and a knife hovering over your heart, but he couldn't do it, his knuckles were white from his grip on the knife and his hand was shaking, his pulse never failed him like this when it came to killing, wielding a knife was as natural as wielding any of his sculpting tools. He'd just met you and you were already ruining him.

You apologized, thinking you were trespassing, and he moved off you like just touching you hurt him. You moved away from him until your back touched the back of the wax couch, and he stated —or more like glared— at you, while you stared at him in a mix of fear and realization.

He couldn't kill you, but he also couldn't bear the thought of letting his brother do it or letting you go, of losing the person that he was made for and who was made for him.

Looks like you're stuck together now. Shit, what would he do with you?

67 notes • Posted 2021-10-13 23:11:56 GMT

#3

yautja x reader. sfw/soft!! maybe some cuddles that involve a dreaming yautja and getting kicked off the bed. 🤣 thank youuuuuu 💕💕💕❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Yautja dreams are made of this

Jungle Hunter x reader (GN pronouns)

There were a lot of things you learned about the yautja you'd once known as Jungle Hunter. For starters, his real name was impossible for a human mouth to pronounce, but he liked being called Wiin: a name given to him by the locals, referencing a once human now monstrous creature known for its chaotic behavior. He'd spent decades in the Guatemalan jungle, hunting whoever was brave or stupid enough to not only enter his territory, but challenge him; but he was nowhere near old, and he liked to leave that clear with displays of his strength and youthfulness.

One thing you never expected to learn about Wiin was that he had quite vivid dreams.

It was one of those nights where he'd appeared in your room, tired but content in a way that left it clear he'd been successful in a hunt– in case the spine the dropped on your bathroom's sink wasn't enough proof of that. He hadn't said much, just pulled you to the bed and nuzzled you until, sooner than later, he was snoring. It was not at all a cute snore, but you'd already gotten used to the noise, and you weren't tired yet, so you didn't mind continuing with what you'd been doing before his arrival on a now horizontal position.

That is until the snoring turned to rumbling, and the rumbling into growling. His legs moved, his knees bumping against your ass in a quite insistent way, for a moment, you considered the possibility that he was awake and playing some kind of prank on you, but upon turning in his arms to lie on your back, you saw that he was fast asleep, his eyes squeezed shut and mandibles tight but twitching against each other.

Then he threw his left knee back, body tensing in a way that gave you just enough of a warning on what was about to happen for you to shake your way out of his grasp and avoid the knee that kicked in your direction full force by a mere inch, hitting the air where your ribs had just been.

"Wiin!" you called out, and he startled awake, holding his arm up and then staring down at his forearm, caught off guard by the sight of himself unarmed. "You almost kicked the shit out of me!"

He stared up at you. Wiin couldn't speak any human language without his mask, he'd been trying to learn, but had only managed a few words so far. But the look in his eyes was a clearly apologetic one as he shifted, holding himself up with one hand while holding the other out to you.

You hesitated only for a moment before taking his hand, but instead of letting him pull you back to bed, you pulled him to get up.

"How about we clean your trophy and you tell me about your hunt?" you offered, and he seemed thrilled by the idea, pulling you by the hand the rest of the way to the bathroom like a child with something to show to someone they admired.

You hoped having something to do and talking about his day would calm him down enough for you to not end up getting kicked into next week in your sleep. Though you had to admit, up until that point, the growling and clicking had been quite adorable. You doubted he'd appreciate you calling him anything other than fierce, but hey, he couldn't be offended by your thoughts if you didn't share them with him.

The look of confusion on his face as he watched you grin at the memory was just as adorable.

142 notes • Posted 2021-10-06 00:59:02 GMT

#2

Something with our humble provider man?

Maybe the reader is with a group of victims and runs to him for protection from Hoyt even though Tommy is the one with the chainsaw because something about big chainsaw man protecting me does things

Running to Thomas for protection

Thomas Hewitt x Reader (GN pronouns)

Tw: Hoyt.

They say that there's nothing better than a roadtrip to solidify friendships. You were doubting the truthfulness of that statement even before you and your group ran into the family of cannibals. It all started innocent enough, a tire giving in to the scorching heat of the Texan road and popping in the middle of nowhere, hours spent sweating in the car or walking around nearby until a sheriff's department car pulled up and the Sheriff inside offered to take you and your friends to his home to spend the night because nothing was open that late in the evening.

The car was left behind, because no one had driven past besides the sheriff in those hours you and your friends spent stranded, so what were the chances someone would drive and would want anything to do with the car? That had been the sheriff's reasoning, and it'd been pretty convincing to a group of young folk on the brink of heat stroke.

It was an about twenty minutes long drove to the rundown farm that you wouldn't have guessed was inhabited if it wasn't for the man driving you calling it his "home sweet home". You and two of your friends had travelled in the back of the police car while your friend Ethan rode shotgun. Ethan didn't make it far. Almost as soon as he got off the car and went to open the door for you and your friends, a gunshot broke the silence and blood —Ethan's blood— splattered the window.

Everything went to hell after that. Your memory a haze from the rush after rush of adrenaline that coursed through you. Your body aching from each moment of struggling to break free of one of the family members's hold and of being chased around as soon as you'd succeed at that.

Sheriff Hoyt had it out for you, you weren't exactly sure what it was that you'd done or said during the drive there that made him single you out, but one thing was for sure: he had it out for you and wouldn't stop at anything.

Or well, perhaps someone could stop him.

You'd once again narrowly escaped the sheriff impersonator, rushing down a hall only to stop halfway because at the other end was the man you'd heard the family call Tommy, a tall, hulking man wearing a mask made of some previous victim's face, holding a chainsaw like it weighed nothing and revving it once, twice, grunting in frustration at how it wouldn't turn on while glaring at you.

"Get back 'ere you piece of shit!" Hoyt called out behind you.

The anger in his voice was enough to trigger your legs into motion again, desperation winning over logic as you ran towards the man with the chainsaw, not with the intention of attacking, but with a brewing plan that might as well be the death of you– not like you had much choice anyway, considering the other option was dying by Hout's hand. At least this Tommy guy wanted to kill you and not other disgusting things.

You ducked under his arms when he stopped revving the chainsaw to try and get a hold of you. But instead of continuing your way down the hallway, you stood behind him, wrapping your arms around his torso and pressing your self against his side when his hand grabbed your shirt and tried to pull you away.

"Help me," you begged, looking up at the masked man with teary, desperate eyes as you clung to him like a scared child to someone they trusted. "Please, help me."

Thomas's eyes were wide under the mask he wore, lips parted into a surprised exhale as he tried to make sense of this situation, make sense of you. Pretty little things like you didn't go to him for protection, they went and hid behind the conventionally attractive guys that had also been unlucky enough to end up falling into the Hewitt's trap. But you– you'd chosen him.

"Atta boy!" Hoyt exclaimed, staring at you like a wold eyeing its next meal. "Hand 'em over, Tommy, I'll teach this bastard some fuckin' respect."

His hand on your back tensed, grabbing a fistful of your shirt, and for a moment you thought he was going to yank you away and push you towards Hoyt, but instead, Thomas pushed you back, further away from the fake cop, with a growl that came from somewhere deep in his chest.

It felt unreal, you were certain that this was an hallucination and you would wake up still tied in that hellish butchery with your friends being bled out like pigs and the only reason why you hadn't joined them yet being that the Hewitts didn't have enough hooks. It felt even more unreal when Thomas got a hold of the back of your neck, making you walk in the opposite direction while Hoyt stomped after the both of you, being called off by Luda.

"Leave my boy alone, Charlie!" the woman called out. "Y'all never let 'im pick first. Go do somethin' useful!"

You didn't get to hear Hoyt —or Charlie, whatever his name was—'s response to that because you were led through a heavy metal door and down to a basement that somehow looked even more terrifying than the butchery. Thomas's hand didn't leave the back of your neck until he forced you to sit on a chair, his hands coming to your face and touching it all over, two fingers forcing your mouth open and checking inside like a veterinarian inspecting the health of cattle.

"Tommy," you spoke when his fingers left your mouth, your heart hammering inside your chest as you tried to think of a way to not end up as this people's next meal. "Tommy, please."

Once again, you caught him off guard. He pushed you just hard enough to have you stumbling off the chair, and you stepped away the rest of the way until your back touched the wall. Thomas stared at you with an intensity that made you want to run and at the same time made your legs feel weak, then he turned to his work table, beginning the process of getting things ready for his next craft.

His gaze suddenly snapped back towards you over his shoulder. Staring at you then at a vinyl player closer to you than it was to him, you didn't need to be told twice, moving slowly towards the device and playing one of the records on, setting the needle on a random song because, truth be told, it was hard to see what you were doing. Your shoulders sagged with relief when it began to play an old tune and he let out a content hum.

God, what did you get yourself into?

180 notes • Posted 2021-10-10 06:46:14 GMT

#1

Thomas hewitt eating you out a little different than normal ;)

I mean, his normal is cannibalism so I'll assume this means in a sexy way.

Leatherface eating you out

Thomas Hewitt x AFAB reader

You'd learned many things from your time with the Hewitts: like not to question anything about Luda Mae's cooking unless you want to be told a limb of yours will end up in her next dish —an empty threat because Thomas would never allow it, but a thread nonetheless—, and to never go anywhere near Charlie for way too many reasons to count, but the one thing that stuck was that Thomas stressed very easily; and the one thing he learned while with you was that he had the perfect way of de-stressing right between your legs.

It wasn't hard to tell when he's stressed, he'd walk into the room you two shared and stare at you, switching glances from you to the bed if you weren't on it already. This time around, he caught you reading some book Luda Mae gave you, the title something along the lines of "Cooking for your family", her not-so-subtle way of telling you that she wanted grandchildren. Yet another thing that stressed Thomas out, the constant pressure to make the family bigger. But he didn't have to worry about that with you, you'd both agreed it was not the time for that.

"Everything alright?" you asked, watching him as his shoulders slumped with a heavy sigh, his feet dragging as he walked in and closed the door behind himself. There was a light click that told you he'd locked it too. Which he only did when he didn't want anyone to interrupt whatever he was planning to do.

You left the book aside, it wasn't an engaging read anyway, and watched him get one knee on the bed, towering over you and placing a hand on your chest before he slowly, gently, began pushing you down to lie down. This was his way of asking if you were in the mood, leaving his intentions clear but giving you time to tell him no before your back touched the mattress. You shifted to lie down faster, and that was all the permission he needed before he rested a hand over your neck, keeping you pinned to the bed as he dragged his masked face down your clothed torso, pushing your shirt out of the way with his free hand to nuzzle his forehead against the softness of your belly. Gentleness was put on hold as he took your pants off, your underwear soon to follow.

He stared down at your sex, dragging one thick finger between your folds and letting out a heated groan when he felt the dampness gathering there.

His hand on your neck left you with no choice but to stare at the ceiling, Thomas didn't like you seeing his face without the mask, no matter how much you reassured him that he was perfect just the way he was. But he couldn't do what he wanted to do with his mask on, so he'd found another way, his hulking size allowing him to hold you by the throat while his mouth was busy down south. You only knew his mask came off when you head it hit the mattress beside you. Thomas's free hand held your right thigh, his head coming to rest on your left thigh as he began lazily licking, sending small jolts of electricity up your spine.

Thomas always started slow, but it never lasted long, once the scent and taste of you overwhelmed his senses, it was like a switch was flipped.

"Tommy," you moaned when his tongue went deeper, his nose pressed right against the hard bud of nerves, breathing you in like he wanted to memorize your scent– as if he hadn't already.

His ministrations were always thorough, but this time it was like a man starving, like he thought he'd never get to taste you again and wanted to make the last time the most memorable of all. He was a man on death row and you were his carefully picked last meal. His grip on your neck tightened when your chin touched the back of his palm in an attempt to look at him, the growl he let out making you throw your head back and cry out in pleasure, back arching off the bed as your toes curled.

The mattress sank when he shifted, lying on his chest between your legs as your legs were placed over his shoulders, framing his face, and his free hand joined his tongue in pleasuring you. Two thick fingers massaged you before slipping in, speeding your thighs, soaked walls for his tongue to further explore.

Your heels dug onto his shoulder blades as you tried to grind your hips against his eager mouth, but he was not that eager for this to end. Thomas growled, going back to slowly licking at your folds until it was left clear that you had to stay still and let him do the work if you wanted to come. So your strategy changed, your hand went to his hair, stroking his scalp as you moaned.

"You're so good to me, Tommy," you praised, a smile pulling at your lips as you heard the way his breath caught in his throat. "So damn good for me."

The springs of the mattress creaked when he began to move his hips against them, seeking a friction that went in tandem with the way he stimulated you. It didn't take much praising before he was back to eating you out like a man starved, your thighs shaking as they squeezed his head to keep him there. He didn't seem to mind, if anything, the louder creaking of the old springs told you he liked it.

The family'll hear, you thought in a brief moment of clarity as you felt the cooling pleasure in your lower belly tighten, threatening to unravel any moment now. But it was a short lived thought, followed by a careless: fuck it, as Thomas's tongue drove you to climax.

You moaned his name as you came. But his licking didn't stop, or course not, he wasn't done yet. Eating you out was a means to an end, this was his reward. He licked you clean, didn't stop until your hand came to push his face away due to the overstimulation becoming too much. Your chest rose and fell as you panted, hearing his own labored breaths before he licked his fingers in a way that sounded so obscene you almost looked, but you'd promised him to respect his one boundary, and you wouldn't break his trust.

It wasn't until you heard him strap his leather mask back into place that you stopped pretending the humidity stains on the ceiling were interesting and looked at him, watching the way he knelt at the bed's feet, adjusting himself in his pants to try and be comfortable.

"Come here," you breathed, voice still hoarse from your orgasm. "It's my turn."

280 notes • Posted 2021-09-26 20:04:31 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[baybee45]

A/N: Lieutenant Thire!Reader/"criminal reader"

Anything in italics is your internal dialogue hopefully that is clear but just case it wasn't. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: PG, unless Star Wars swearing counts, If it does PG-13.

It's pretty fluffy with a a dash of spice.

Our Story

    "Stop right there!" The red and white armored trooper sternly warns. You freeze and slowly turn to face him, his blaster aimed and ready, as you nonchalantly raise your hands. You take the moment to catch your breath and think of a plan.

    "You're very fast sir, ya really must be something under all that armor. Maybe we can settle this with a drink? See where the night takes us?" You coyly ask, edging slowly towards the ledge. The updraft off the building blows strands of your messy hair wildly.

    "Your attempt at flirting isn't going to work with me. I will shoot! Now Stop Moving!"

    You come to a halt partially listening to his warning, but mostly because your heels were already teetering off the ledge of the roof. There was a decent 10 feet between you and jail time. Your mind races through the dwindling option for escape as two other troopers make their way up to the roof. The initial trooper with a pauldron-- that means he is higher rank, a lieutenant or captain maybe, you couldn't remember-- motions to the others and they make their way towards you with binders in hand.

    "I mean I don't even know your name yet sir. And honestly, I've never really been into handcuff but if that's your thing..."

    The troopers blaster waivers slightly and you swear you heard him chuckle as he shakes his helmet nearly imperceptibly. Tilting your own head to the side, you look at him through batting eyelashes and give him a mischievous smile.

    "You know if you shoot me, I'd most likely fall off the side of this building." You sigh. "Not a great ending to our blossoming story."

    "Well, don't move and Our story will continue, uh blossoming on... Lieutenant Thire" He clarifies. You hear a flapping sound, glancing down you see curtains blowing in the funneled wind.

An open window.

"Staying Still? Hmmph, now where's the fun in that Lieutenant!?"

    "Don't you dare! Hurry it along troopers!" He quickly barks. Thire must have seen the the glimmer in your eyes, or maybe the glint of the knife hidden in your sleeve. Giving them all a quick farewell salute, you jump back diving feet first down the side of the apartment.

    "For kriffsake!" You hear Thire yell, as you fly down the side of the building only slowed slightly by your vibroblade slicing into the duracrete. It was truely a beautiful firework display of sparks, flashing this way and that, off the speeding wall. Then with some skill and a lot of luck, you catch the top ledge of the window and swing yourself in.

A slight wobble in the landing, but a solid 9 for the overall execution.

    You try to orient your self in the dark room and then are momentarily blinded when the lights turns on. When your eyes are finally are able to adjust and focus you see a very, very large green Twi'lek. He is blocking you from an easy exit. His tiny human partner cautiously comes up behind him holding a bat.

Great!

    "Good evening folks" you greeted them with the ease of second hand speeder sales man.

    "What in the kriffing hell! What are you doing in here!" yelled the foreboding Twi'lek.

    "What do you mean..." You pretended to be shocked looking to the Twi'lek and then his partner who is still nervervously holding on to the bat.

    "You didn't get a written notice from your land lord?" You questioned and suddenly act as if you just now saw the weapon in her hands. The green giant looked down to his partner and his partner back up at him. Both looked equal and extremely confused.

You can work with this.

    Pulling out your datapad from your bag and start angrily taping the keys, pacing slightly with your back turned to them. "Steve! You son of a bantha! I could throttle you, just kill him!" You fumed to your small audience, trying to quickly put together a holonet site to give the story your weaving some actual weight.

    "I try, You known, to tell him," you said sounding exasperated. "I tell him a partnership takes two people... Two people working as a team." Your two suspicious hosts look to each other and back at you. Still unsure of what to make of this intruder and the verbal diarrhea of new information being spewed at them.

A troubled partnership with someone named Steve. That will be the key out of this situation, the legend that will be Steve and his inability to do his job.

    "When he doesn't do his part I get shafted." You practically wept, still avoiding eye contact with your increasing worried audience. You let out a resigned sigh, rubbing your temples trying collect yourself. Buying enough time for your site to become live. With a relieved but tired inhale you continue your one man show.

    "I'm so sorry, My name is Maree Jakorr" you said thinking of a grade school classmates mother. "And I'm part of a start up security company." You turn your datapad over and show them the holonet site you just put together. Its was barebones but got the job done.

It's Steve for kriffsakes, he can't even call up potential clients, and make sure the tenants are informed. There isn't much hope for his holonet site design abilities.

       You take another deep breathe you were getting a little too deep into lore. "As you can see we do mock break-ins to find weakness and then try implement different measures to increase security and safety. Of course this is supposed to be done with the home owners knowledge and consent." You explain. With a partially exaggerated groan you put away your datapad. "Well this is going to be fun to explain to the CG."

    "The gaurd doesn't have to know" squeaked the human. "I mean we don't need to call them." She said more confidently looking up at her partner. The Twi'lek looked lovely down nodding his head and pulling her in close.

You instantly adore these two, and make a mental note to send them something later for their trouble.

    "Oh you're too sweet hun, but as part of the test we call the CG to see how long it take them to respond to a threat. You know, extra data points for the algorithm, if that makes sense."

"Oh."

    "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience." You say truely apologetic. "Well I guess I should leave you two be, so you can get some resemblence of a normal evening back."

    "Feel free to use the front door... or window if you prefer." Joked the Twi'lek. They both chuckle and she stands on her tip toes giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Gosh these two.

    "I'll try my luck with the front door I think." You laughed. As you hand reaches for the handle, you can hear the sounds of troopers knocking on doors as they sweep the hall. Their footsteps and voices getting louder as they near.

Crap!

    "Do you mind if I use the fresher quickly before I go?"

They both nod their heads and the Twi'lek takes the bat from his partner and puts it away in the closet. "Just that door there at the end of the hallway."

    "Thank you so much, I promise I'll be out of here in no time." You say closing the door behind you, making sure not to lock it. You search the cozy room, looking for an alternative way out. Not to thrilled with the prospect of using window again for escaping. Hopefully it wouldn't be needed, only a options, the last resort, hopefully.

    Depsite the nerf burger, extra fries and large shake you devoured for dinner, you manage to squeeze yourself from the air vent of the apartment and into the slightly larger main vent of the building.

    Without a second to spare you see the troopers through silted grate, knock on the door of the apartment you once occupied. Your tempted to eavsedrop on the conversation, knowing you had given that beautiful couple enough information to give the undoubtedly handsome Lieutenant a headache. You think better of it, and make your long overdue escape.

    Once out of the building you causal walk the back alleyways making your journey home. You send Lieutenant Thire a link and a small message;

"Dear Lieutenant Thire,

I hope this holonet link clears up any misunderstanding between you and the lovely and completely unsuspecting couple in apartment 459.

Sincerely, 'Our story lives on for another day.'

P.S. Please excuse the poorly designed website, Steve did his best. Best regards xox 💋. "

[punkscowardschampions]

Lux & Amber

Lux: Hey, Amber, I was wondering if I could talk to you, when you've got the time to 💬 back and forth for a bit 😌 Amber: Hi Amber: this'll work... Amber: are you okay? Lux: Yes in the sense this isn't a total emergency Lux: but no in the sense I'm not bothering you for no reason Lux: I don't know how to start this Amber: total emergencies are what my mama's for anyway, but I'll still try to help, if I can Lux: Yeah Lux: not that I'll be having that kind of emergency ever Lux: well, it was his idea Lux: and I don't know whether he expected me to follow up on it or not but I'm going to Lux: so maybe I don't feel as insane Lux: it's about Dash Amber: Oh Amber: we're not together if that's what's worrying you, it was just once Amber: and it won't be happening again Lux: I knew you weren't Lux: maybe knew is an overstatement, thought, anyway Lux: what do you think of him? Amber: you did, because he doesn't do 'together' and we all know that Amber: what did he do to make you feel insane? Amber: I think it's probably similar to the way he made me feel stupid, but I'm ready to be wrong Lux: How did he make you feel stupid? Amber: I thought we were friends, we're not Amber: and I thought that maybe he was just a little lost, but he knows exactly what he's looking for Lux: Yeah Lux: I think it might be the same Lux: he said one thing at the time Lux: but then today he said something that made that all so Lux: gross Amber: because he wanted something different from you today from wanting to have sex with you Lux: he said it was part of the tour Lux: which in itself...but then he said he only did it to 'tourists' Amber: I've been here for months, how am I a tourist? Lux: I know! Amber: my family lives and works here and he goes to school with me, I see him every day for like hours, on the commune and outside of it Lux: I wanted him to admit that it was a lie, that this was like family, because that isn't what you do to family, even if it's totally chill or whatever, you still don't view all these girls as your sisters, like you clearly do the boys as your bros Lux: but he couldn't do that, 'cos if this is all bullshit then what is he doing Lux: but then that amounted to him essentially saying he did it to the most fucked up, vulnerable girls, who he knew would go away before it became an issue for him...and that's me, so, everything else he said is untrue and manipulative and Amber: I don't think he understands family for what it's worth, whether he really believes this is one or he's hiding behind that Amber: but if that's his perspective, I understand now why he seemed to immediately regret sleeping with me, because it's unlikely I'm leaving any time soon Amber: even if my 'vulnerability' did jump out Lux: you've at least confirmed I'm not hysterical Lux: he said I should ask you, that it's cool Amber: I'm sorry he hurt and used you like that, I didn't realise I'd have to start warning every girl here Amber: or that he was THAT person Amber: yes, he lied to me and stole from me but he's not the first hippie boy I've met who tried to do some kind of free love revival Lux: he said he wasn't scared of me 'telling' on him to these girls because everyone else is into it too Lux: but he asked me not to multiple times so clearly he doesn't think everyone would still be down if it was total transparency Amber: plenty of people here are into it and whatever you say or don't say, there'll be girls who are still into him Amber: I fell for it after everything I'd seen and heard because he made me want to, I was still willing to give him another chance afterwards Amber: pretty face and prettier words, right? Lux: I'm just sick of dealing with people who are shitty Lux: just because they're not as shitty to me as everyone else Amber: there are people here who would listen, I hope, hold him accountable instead of falling into the forgiveness and understanding speech immediately Amber: my mama, for one, if it came from you instead of me Lux: there's people here who don't like me too Lux: more than that Amber: Who? Lux: I'm not trying to turn this into a big tattle-tale party Lux: I tried to tell him but he wasn't listening Amber: you can tell me, I'll keep my temper and listen Amber: nobody wants to listen to teenage girls and I'm not feeding into that lie that we're all hysterical, even though I am angry Lux: some of the older ladies Lux: they don't think I am a teenage girl Lux: that I've co-opted the experience of being a woman for the aesthetic, without ever having to face the adversity and struggles they do, as biological women Amber: I don't have the vocabulary to express how disgustingly narrow and dangerous that thinking is Lux: it's interesting to hear it from a perspective other than religion, I guess Lux: but still Lux: he thinks it's perfect here, and everyone is Amber: and his brother thinks it's hell on earth Lux: you know his brother? Amber: I met him and my 'aesthetic' jumped out for him Amber: he decided who I am because I live here Lux: I almost thought he'd made him up Lux: in a weird way Lux: I don't know how you get Dash and then him, from what he sounds like, anyway Amber: their experiences are actually entirely different Amber: Dash has opted out of any of the struggles, by being here, so it is perfect for him in that way, I guess Amber: like a utopia Amber: it's no wonder his brother thinks none of us live in the real world Lux: He doesn't 'do' responsibility, he said that Lux: responsibility to be an alright person really is the minimum Amber: plenty of people here obviously don't either Amber: those woman you mentioned don't even understand their own privilege, they just want to tell you yours Lux: don't get me wrong Lux: here is fine Lux: and lots of the people are nice and whatever Lux: but whenever I talk about my family it's like this smugness of how backwards they are when I've got the same treatment from plenty of non-religious folks for no reason but disagreeing Lux: my parents think they're saving me from eternal damnation, because they love me, that's not nothing Amber: like the thinking that anything about living this way makes us superior isn't backward Amber: they're pretending to be free and open is the key to the kingdom and the only way anyone gets to be here Amber: but it's not Lux: I just need somewhere I'm safe Lux: so I can actually sort out what I'm doing with the rest of my life Amber: I know what you mean Amber: I feel like I'm always asking for time to figure things out but it doesn't happen like that Lux: Sorry to put more strain on your time right now Lux: it just Lux: ugh Amber: honestly, it's a relief that there's someone else who feels the same about this place Amber: I can't talk to my parents about it, they love it here Lux: You can talk to me about it any time Lux: even if I am your dad's teacher's pet right now Lux: I just get really bored of the manual labour here, I don't mind chipping in, obviously, but being stuck here all day every day, I want to be using my 🧠 Amber: he talks about you A LOT and I am jealous but I'm not holding it against you personally Amber: if only you could take my place in school... Amber: but for now, do you want to come with me? Somewhere where everything is concrete and plastic? Lux: Dash would be so upset we're not talking about him right there Lux: sounds like heaven Amber: does he 'do' upset? 🙄 Lux: I'm trying not to care right now Amber: we're caring about 🛍💅 like teenage girls with like ZERO struggles Amber: I full intend to buy the most uncomfortable and impractical bra ever and wear it everywhere those women are Lux: 😆 Lux: as long as I can find some falsies to fill mine Amber: I probably should too, there's not much going on here Amber: and when you're in a better headspace, I'll introduce you to my friends from school Amber: I think it'll help Lux: really? 😀 😃 Amber: Yes, some of them are so 'normal' it makes me feel 👽 Amber: but in a good way Lux: I could use that Amber: the conversations hit different because they are Lux: I liked talking to him Lux: 'til he messed it all up Amber: not to be ✌☮🕊 but do you want to give him another chance? Lux: I really don't know what I think or what I'm going to do yet Lux: I've got no desire to hate anyone or be petty Lux: but he isn't sorry so Lux: I'm just a pushover and an idiot if I give him another chance Amber: caring is important but you need to care about yourself too, especially if he isn't sorry Lux: I just hope he can make some better choices Lux: but unlikely Lux: he's happy with how it is right now Amber: treating girls right instead of passing them around like 🚬🌿 isn't growth he's ready for Amber: yet Lux: its hard to know what I should say Lux: if anything Lux: to these other girls he was openly being nasty abouy Amber: his honesty was brutal, why soften the truth if it only protects him? Amber: you can always show them the relevant parts of the conversation if you kept it Lux: I'd feel like crap if other people got hurt needlessly when I knew Lux: but I'm hardly endearing myself to them if they don't see it how I do and they just think I'm trying to like, claim him or whatever nonsense Amber: I can do it, he's already made all those jokes about me being 💔 Amber: and I've been here long enough for everyone to know who I am Lux: 🙄😒 Lux: why are guys like that Lux: they say they wanna chill with down girls but then their ego makes them wanna believe you're actually in LOVE with them Amber: I wish I knew, and that I didn't have sex with him Amber: but he probably would have said I did anyway, I guess Lux: He's the second person I've ever Amber: well now I'm really 😠 Amber: my dad'll be upset about it but if I see him around I will hit him Lux: I mean, I'm straight Lux: so I was gay Amber: that's adversity if those judgemental woman would like to get into it, liking boys is the biggest struggle Amber: they really don't make it easy for us Lux: Are there any boys you like that aren't him Amber: I need to make better decisions, so that means saying no to that question Lux: Gotcha Amber: but it's a lie and I'm not lying to you today too Amber: just so you know Lux: I appreciate it Lux: probably got enough frivolous boy chat for the both of us though, so you can try to be better Amber: he did say he likes me, I do have that in writing, but what have we learned today if not to trust stuff like that Lux: is he from school? Lux: not all guys can be total assholes, right Lux: that sounds like something those old ladies would say Amber: he's a good person but he insists he's bad for me, I have to listen to that, don't I? Lux: depends why he thinks that, I suppose Lux: it could be an insecurity thing Lux: or a genuine warning Amber: he thinks it's genuine, and I know why he does, we are very different Lux: good different like your school friends Lux: or the bad kind Amber: I don't know Lux: Tricky Amber: it's another thing I need more time to figure out Lux: You'll have it Lux: boys wait for girls like you Amber: girls like me? Lux: Beautiful Amber: that's girls like US Lux: 😌😚 Amber: beautiful and weird and getting out of here for a while even if boys are waiting for us Lux: heck yeah! Lux: he's waiting on Cleopatra though, currently Amber: who? Amber: is she new here? Lux: oh, that's not her real name Lux: umm Lux: another 💎 Amber: he's not waiting for me Lux: Sapphire! Amber: of course Lux: I don't know her Amber: she got here a few weeks ago, her brother Onyx tends to speak for her more than she does for herself Lux: don't love that Lux: was picturing Liz Taylor Lux: wouldn't need to worry about her Amber: did he say she looks like Elizabeth Taylor? Lux: just Cleo Lux: well, 'vibe' which can mean everything and nothing, I really don't know Amber: I don't 👀 it Lux: like you said, if anything his words are pretty Lux: which is nice, in a fucked up kinda way Amber: I don't think I'll try and remember how he described my 'vibe' though Lux: just let me know if he's doubling up on 👼s Amber: there are less 👼🏽 it would be creative Amber: but no Lux: not going to keep a list for him so he can keep track or anything Amber: if he keeps one himself I didn't find it when I searched his room Lux: wait, WHAT??!? Amber: he stole my stash, I didn't want my dad to get upset with me so I went to his house to see if I could get it back Amber: that's how I met his brother Amber: I didn't find it, if he smoked with you, that was on me Lux: asshole Lux: I need to find something cute to wear at the shops Lux: it's the most teen girl response possible Amber: [tells her where she can find all the best clothes because it'd be such a free for all cos nobody has proper rooms or storage like] Lux: 🤞 having my ankles on display is a CHOICE LEWK Lux: ['cos how many of these malnourished girls are 5'10 lol] Amber: ✂ Amber: short shorts are a teenage girl staple Amber: I'm going to get something else pierced while I'm this young and beautiful Lux: 😄😄 I have the legs for it 💁 Amber: and if you get 😽 called, you get to say everything Dash refused to listen to earlier Lux: Alright, I'm ready 😎 🤩 🥳 Amber: 🙃 Amber: let's go!

[sagemoderocklee]

2, 17, 25 and 33

Also, how are you feeling?

thank you for asking these questions and for checking on me! i'm recovering... it's been rough, ngl. I'm very grateful that I'm vaxxed, because it was definitely not an easy experience getting covid. I'm still sick--coughing, sore throat, weak, fatigued, general congestion and such. But tragically, I am back at work--I went back yesterday, and it's proving to be a challenge. I get winded easily--even talking--and I'm just generally so weak that being on my feet all day is much harder than before (and it wasn't exactly easy before with chronic pain). i am on the mend, and im hoping to get better as the days progress!

onto the questions:

2. Why do you write fanfiction?

oh man. that's a hard question. i have always loved writing. i did my first piece of independent creative writing when i was seven, and i just... always remember being into it. When I discovered fanfiction as a teen, it just kinda seemed like a fun, self-indulgent hobby, and then i got more invested in it and just kept doing it. I think it's like with any creative thing. it brings me joy. and i stick with fanfiction because even with all the work i put into my stories, it's still less work than original stories so it's easier to do when I'm coming home from work. plus it's fun to work within media i already love and have an attachment to, and i love the challenge of coming up with different scenarios for the same two ppl to fall in love in lol

17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for.

A/B/O is def a top contender. Also soulmates. Hate soulmate AUs. utterly boring. cannot get over how bad the concept of like soulmate marks and all that shit is. i don't want my characters together by fate i want them together by choice. that's romance. only soulmate type thing i'd ever write is a deconstruction of the trope.

i actually have a deconstruction, but it is tragically a Harry Potter fic that will probably never see the light of day given JKR is a terf, a racist, antisemitic, etc.

if i can ever figure out a good idea for a GaaLee soulmate deconstruction, i will, but so far HP was just so primed for it--i mean given that love potions exist, it provides such a good base for discussing the concept of love and free-will, and applying that to the fandomized concept of soulmates... anyways im rambling.

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

Yes, actually! I have a lot of stuff for Absolution that I might even post someday. I have two side-stories that were just writing exercises to help me out of a slump/work through a problem in a scene. Both are just scenes that took place when Gaara wasn't around. One is between Lee and Temari, one is between Lee and Kankuro.

but I'm very attached to the Absolution timeline, so I also have some stuff in my head for after the events of the fic itself, so it's very possible I'll write some extra stuff to share if folks are interested in seeing it.

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

Uh. I don't know why I'm so stumped by this, but I really cannot think of anything. I think I made it pretty clear that most of my work is research heavy, so I honestly cannot think of... anything else I'd wanna say? My brain is also mush, so maybe there's something but it's really not jumping out at me.

EDIT: i figured out what i wanna say for this!

All of my canon-verse fics (TAoL, Absolution, The Ballad, PomSun, 13S etc) are essentially just AUs of each other. It’s all the same versions of the world, the OCs all exist across each fic whether you see them or not, and the only difference really is just the story that’s unfolding.

Like in TAoL Rurriwa is never under attack by pirates because of what’s happening elsewhere in the shinobi world, but Rurriwa exists, and if there’s any characters from Rurriwa that get mentioned or show up (hint this is a spoiler) they also exist, they just aren’t relevant to TAoL.

So I tend to put lil easter eggs in fics, like name droping OCs or places. Ruri (not Temari and Shikamaru’s baby), who first appears in TAoL--she’s the fried abalone maker Lee befriends at the fishmarket--has a cameo in Absolution. She doesn’t get named in Absolution, mostly to avoid confusion since she and Ruri (the baby) share a name, but she’s the woman at the festival that Temari buys mackerel from. ‘Ruri’ means lapis lazuli, which is a reference to Karura, and per my worldbuilding, Karura is from Gyokukakushin, and so Ruri is a common name in that region of Wind because lapis lazuli is a very important stone in Wind overall--ya know as an example of all this interconnectedness

[lizzybeth1986]

Nuestra Familia (RCD MC: Astrid)

Book: Red Carpet Diaries

Rating: G

Pairing: Astrid-centric, minor Seth x Astrid

Summary: Astrid realises she doesn't know her family as well she had thought. Minor crossover with The Freshman/The Sophomore/The Junior.

Author's Note: This is a bit late for MC Appreciation Week, but I figured I'd put it out there anyway. This is my origin story for Astrid Ortega, my second RCD MC, who is involved with Seth. There's a cameo of one character from TF/TS/TJ in the end and I have a feeling you folks have already figured out who it is 😅 I used (of course) the "crossover" prompt from this list for my fic. I'm tagging @choices-mc-rules, in case they would still like to reblog this.

Translations:

Nuestra familia - "our family" in Spanish.

Chanclas - slippers/flip-flops

Tres leches cake - Typically a very moist chiffon cake soaked in a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. Tres leches literally means "three milks".

Abuela - one of the terms used for ‘grandmother’ in Spanish.

Ita - Short for Abuelita, also used for grandmothers. Astrid calls her grandmother the former, her mom Teresa calls her grandmother the latter.

Manda Huevos - Can mean a lot of things according to context, but generally used to express a range of emotions, such as annoyance, disappointment, contempt or disbelief. In this context, Teresa means “it's not fair”.

If I've gotten anything wrong in terms of references, please do tell me, and I'll definitely fix it in the fic.

“One more foot inside my kitchen and it'll be my chanclas for you later.”

Teresa Ortega said these words to her daughter Astrid, in the same tone one would use to offer a guest some tea.

It wasn't that her mom didn't allow her kids to help with the cooking. She did. Salome was too young to do much but set the table yet but Astrid (and her big sister Letitia, whenever she was home) often pitched in to help with the meal.

But heaven help anyone who tried to help Mom with her tres leches cake.

This recipe was from Mom's Ita’s faded little diary, passed down to her by her mother on the condition that she would learn its recipes off by heart. It was her pride and joy, Mom would often say. Her baby before her actual babies came along.

And today it was even more essential Mom get this cake right. Astrid's abuela was visiting, and ever since Astrid's mother insisted on naming her Astrid (“She’s already named my first and last - at least leave the middle one to me!”) she could do nothing right.

Perhaps it would've been easier to handle if Dad wasn't Abuela's only son, if Mom had someone she could jointly ignore Abuela with, if they had cousins they could play with while the adults sorted out their issues. Or perhaps not. Still, it would have been nice to know.

“Easy, mom, I'm not going to touch your precious cake,” Astrid said, grinning, “Lemme demolish it at lunch instead.”

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted, though. She could get the scent of baked cake wafting in all the way from her bedroom, and her mother was already starting to combine Carnation milk, condensed milk and 1/4th of a cup of heavy cream into a thin, but somewhat creamy, mixture.

Mom raised her eyebrows. “Why are you here, then?”

Astrid felt the muscles around her neck tense up, but schooled her face to a look of injured innocence. “What, can't I just want to talk to my mom once in a while?”

She craned her neck a little further behind Astrid, a tiny frown beginning to form between her brows. “What's that you're holding behind your back?”

Ding! The cake was ready now, just in time for soaking. Astrid let out a sigh of relief. She wanted Mom to see this wedding card, yes - it was why she came to the kitchen in the first place - but now was probably not the time for questions. Questions about family or about secrets. Not when she knew how important it was for her mother to get her weekend cakes right.

“Family” was always a big deal around the Ortega table. Dad was his mother's only child, and Mom’s parents passed on long before any of them were ever born. Her father was as annoyed by Abuela's antics as her mother was, but it never stopped him from having her visit every Sunday because “she's the only family we have left”.

It was as if he needed her to keep himself rooted, as if without her he would be floating aimlessly, no aim or identity, taking his wife and children down that path with him. Abuela knew this. By God, did she know this.

Or so I thought, Astrid said to herself, gripping the wedding card tightly and creating new creases where the word Ortega was written.

Mom was gritting her teeth now, carefully pouring the three-milk mixture over the cake and muttering to herself. “One more word about dry cake this time and I'll give her soggy toast, I swear I will.”

Astrid would have stood up last week and said something to Abuela, if only Mom would let her. It was probably a good thing Leticia wasn't around, she'd fire shots at Abuela for less. She was protective over all of them and often in the heat of the moment she'd forget she’d be landing them all in further trouble.

She was still muttering. “Wants chiffon cake. Screams bloody murder if I use box mix. What, Teresa, looking for shortcuts again?” Mom's voice was raised in an accurately nasal imitation of Abuela's voice. It was almost like she'd forgotten Astrid was there. “Then I make it from scratch like she wants. Then it's Oh Teresa this is so dry oh Teresa it tastes like sawdust. Why else do you think I use box mix, eh? You want it from scratch and you want moist. ¡Manda Huevos!”

The diatribe kept Mom occupied while she finished pouring, so Astrid kept silent. Mom needed this. This wasn't something she can say in front of Letitia (resulting in another Sunday screaming match) or Dad (what would he do?) or Salome (no way would the kid ever take Salome, language! seriously again). Mom needed someone to have her back, no matter how silently or secretly. And that someone had better be her.

“If only Linda had stayed…”

Astrid froze. “What did you say?”

Mom looked up, blinked twice, then stiffened. “Nothing. Nothing.”

Silently, Astrid handed over the card she'd been holding, all this time. She found it while searching for her dad's treasured García Lorca poetry collection, hidden between a page that exalted love and a page that mourned loss.

Mom took it from her, her eyes widening as she read the words.

LINDA ORTEGA

and

DOMINIC SANDOVAL

request the honour of your company at their wedding.

“Dad always told us he was all Abuela has, right,” Astrid said, “The only Ortega for miles around."

Mom answered by busying herself with more activity than ever. Keeping the soaked cake in the fridge. Pouring the remaining milk mixture into two glasses. Washing her hands. Washing the dishes.

“I'll do that for you,” Astrid took a plate from Mom's hands, “Just talk to me.” She grabbed a sponge and dish washing soap, cleaning vigorously. “All this time, Dad's been telling us Abuela's the only family he has, Mom. Like, he has no one else. Like, we have no sisters or brothers besides the three of us. Was he lying?”

“You're wrong,” Mom said, her voice suddenly sounding sharper, harder, “Abuela's the only family he has left. Your father didn't lie.”

“Just omitted the truth, yeah,” Astrid wished she knew how she felt about this. Right now there was so much she was feeling that she didn't exactly know where to begin. “There's no “together with our parents” above their names either. Not like yours’.”

Mom sighed, picked the card up, then held up two glasses of milk-mixture in front of her. “Take one and give the other to your sister. I have a lot of work to do.”

On any other day, Astrid would have grabbed that glass and relished its creaminess, wiping the milk-moustache off her mouth with a flourish. But today no amount of sweetness was going to take away that weird metallic taste in the roof of her mouth.

“I'm not done asking about this,” Astrid said, scowling, “to you or to Dad. If I have aunts and cousins out there, that's something I wanna know.”

Astrid did try in the weeks to come. But she never saw the wedding card again, and neither Mom or Dad ever responded when she raised the topic again. Still. It felt nice to dream.

Every time Abuela made a snide remark at lunch, she imagined her cousins there. A snarky younger girl who’d make smartass comments. A strong boy her age who’d shut Abuela up with just a glare. A nice aunt who’d take Mom's mind off all this nonsense. It didn't help much, but it felt nice.

It felt nice knowing she had company out there. Somewhere.

--

6 years later.

“Donuts, Iowa?” Seth’s eyes were gleaming at the prospect. He was more a bag-of-chips kinda guy most days, but he also liked having massive sugar rushes before a comedy gig.

“As long as the insides of six of those are practically spilling over with fruit jam, I'm game,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. It felt exhilarating, freeing. She hadn't felt this normal in a while - normal enough to kiss her boyfriend without worrying about paparazzo jumping out from a bush. There was a guy in a leather jacket she didn't recognize - three blocks across - looking at her like he wanted to talk, but not in a way that made her feel unsafe.

That was the nice thing about Northbridge. People looked, sure, but they were less likely to make you feel like an exhibit from a zoo.

“Wait here, yeah?” Seth said, planting a kiss on the lips instead, “I'll be back before you can finish spelling “OHIO” with your arms.”

Astrid laughed. Seth said the most Ohio things sometimes. Neither of them had had this much fun since she was offered a lead role in Tender Nothings, which was why Seth always jumped at a chance to take up gigs in Northbridge, and why he always offered to take Astrid along when she was free.

The guy from before stepped forward a few minutes after Seth entered the donut shop. The summer heat must have been too much for him - his leather jacket was now slung over his shoulders. “Um, hello. Astrid Ortega?”

He stood with his hands in his pockets, mouth pursed into a thin line, a tiny curl slipping carelessly from his hair and resting on his forehead. She caught a peek at the tail end of a bird tattoo (Owl? The tail looked pointy) on his left arm.

“Yeah,” Astrid said, wondering whether it was her or Seth he wanted to talk to, “but I don't know what your name is.”

“ Zigmund. Zig for short,” he replied, looking behind him from time to time, “My sister Lucy’s a big fan. Asked me to help her get an autograph from you.”

“Is she here?”

“Yeah. But she doesn't want to come out. She's shy.”

Ah. So that was the cherry-red blur barely hidden by that building. She learned long ago that no matter how friendly you appeared, your image would precede you and intimidate people anyway. Autographs were great, but somehow she didn't want to stop at just that.

“Would she come out now if I asked?” she gave him her sunniest smile, “Tell her I won't bite.”

Zig hesitated, then nodded. Astrid watched him walk to the other building, move his hands expressively as he tried to convince his sister to join him (from that angle he almost looks like Letitia, Astrid thought), and return with a curly-haired, starry-eyed teenage girl.

“H-hey,” she said, then blushed, clearly embarrassed by her nervousness. Silently, she hands over her autograph book. She keeps her eyes studiously away from Astrid's face. “I, um, I like mystery films, and I really, really liked Tender Nothings.”

A girl after my own heart. “Maybe you'll like Sunset Boulevard, then,” she said, smiling.

Astrid could have just signed and left it at that, but there was something about these two. Something about the way they stood together, or exchanged glances, or something, that reminded her of home. Which was silly. But it didn’t change the fact that she wanted to leave a good impression on them.

“What would you like to be when you grow up, Lucy?”

Lucy didn't miss a beat. “Ballet dancer. Like my brother.”

Astrid smiled, particularly at the look the girl gave Zig. Yes, she could see on second glance that even though some people would say he didn't have the body of a dancer, he held himself with a certain grace, a certain lightness that belied a stronger core. Hit by a sudden rush of inspiration, she quickly scribbled a little note to go with her signature, and asked Lucy to read it.

To Lucy and Zig, future (hopefully!) best ballet dancing duo in America. Be sure to save me a seat when you folks get famous. Love Always, Astrid.

“Wowwww,” Lucy whispered. Zig suppressed his smile, trying not to let how he felt show, and failed. A corner of his mouth lifted upwards, revealing an almost-invisible dimple.

The two left before Seth brought his box of donuts,but they thanked her at least thrice as they walked away.

“Wait till I tell Mom about this,” Astrid overheard Lucy tell her brother as they left, “I told you she'd be really, really nice.”

“You did,” there was a note of indulgence in Zig's voice.

"Ortegas all around the world. Wherever we're from, we're nice.”

Had Seth come out a moment later, Astrid would have probably walked up to them and asked. Perhaps asked them where they were from and their parents’ names.

But Seth was here, with donuts, and there was never a moment she could take her eyes off either.

“Do you know those two?” Seth asked her, passing her a tres leches cake donut that was claimed to be one of their best, “They looked familiar.”

“”No,” Astrid replied, closing her eyes in bliss. Mmmm. The treat was taking her back to Des Moines, back to home, back to her mother's little kitchen. “But I wouldn't mind meeting them again.”

--

[nayliwrites]

TO KILL A KINGDOM - Alexandra Christo (2018)

genre: Fantasy Romance YA

my synopsis: A twisted re-telling of The Little Mermaid that young adults would enjoy.

Series?: No, its a stand-alone but I WISH it has a sequel. (and I'm sure if you read it you would feel the same)

First question, why did this book NOT blow up on Booktok??

Possible answer, maybe because in 2018, Tik Tok isn't as populated as it was today. (I actually checked and the app was since 2016)

Okay, my actual thoughts are that the world building in here was not too complicated so it doesn't feel to vast or complicated for readers to keep up. It's very easy for me to remember the kingdoms they mentioned and characters' backgrounds etc.

A very interesting re-telling because the parallels from TLM are mostly there but I would say Miss Alexandra made this alternate universe really interesting. As I read further into the book, I noticed the parallels did become more and more subtle. Like there's so many times I noticed the subtle parallels, I went "omg, this is JUST like that part in TLM" but I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't pay attention which makes it a fun read.

Plot wise: The climax was right before the end so it felt very rushed? But I kind of understand since its a standalone. Still, it was the kind of rushed where you see the pages left to read was so thin that you DREAD for it to end yet.

The romance wasn't THAT of a slow burn (I hate slow burns) and it was rather subtle so you get to focus on both the drama AND romance at the same time. It is enemies-to-lovers and Miss Alexandra dropped hints on how both of them are not destined/ suitable to each other because of their personalities and different races (one's a prince that hunts sirens and the other IS the princess siren). One thing you should look forward if you do like the enemies-to-lovers trope is THE BANTER! It's so witty and kind of bittersweet at some point so I really love it but I'll let you also be the judge of that when you read it.

And that's all, folks (or whoever stumbled upon this small blog)! Thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts <3

P/s: I bought the paperback from bookurve.com for RM54 + free delivery!

[qdwriting]

26 Feb 2019

*This entry is very stream of consciousness and I can't figure out how to give it proper structure without further muddling the scattered plot points*

Today brought a 7 month dry spell to an end; I hooked up with an average looking but very kind and very horny adjunct professor. He kittenfished me, the photos were definitely him, but they evidently depicted his summer body. The difference wasn't drastic enough for me to leave. Thank heavens for versatility, I thought he was a big burly top, turns out he was a brawny power bottom. It happened again, that thing where I meet a guy to hook up and he feels compelled to tell me all his secrets. The script has become predictable but I'm still a little awed every time it happens. I have to resist the urge to respond with "I get that a lot" or "It happens to me all the time." They always say some form of "I don't know why I'm telling you all this" and/or "You're just so easy to talk to." I try to maintain a healthy level of scepticism but the evidence that a) empaths exist and b) I am one, just keeps piling up. After 4 rounds of sex he felt compelled to tell me all his fantasies and his queer history. I learned of his fondness for (and borderline fetish over) black men and how it stemmed from his childhood. Yt people are the only one's to ever pin their attraction to other races on childhood events and exposure. I know plenty of black and asain guys who exclusively date yt people and women of color who date many races outside their own and they've never told me it was because of some experience with someone of that background that they'd encountered as a child. It also seems that yt folks are more likely to have childhood stories of some sort of racial unconsciousness until some specific event brings it to their attention. I don't recall the time when I didn't know I was black or didn't recognize that other people weren't. It wasn't tied to trauma, as early as kindergarten and first grade I noticed that some of us were black or yt or Latino or Asian and it didn't come up as a problem but it was evident. He must have kept me for over an hour post-coitus just spilling his soul. Then I somehow wound up helping him figure out Uber and Walmart apps on his phone. He was incredibly appreciative and insisted on dropping me off as repayment for helping him. He also got another round out of me. Wanted me to hold him down and play a little rough. How I managed a fifth erection I don't know, I'm almost certain that orgasm had no viable fluid to it, but I'm a people pleaser, and I have a hard time saying no to nice people. When got in Ira was just sitting down for dinner. Josh and I chatted though that. We were supposed to finish the movie we started last night, but I opted for a nap while he prepared Ira for bed. Nap time was precisely when Jesse decided to contact me so I was texting him through the time that I intended to nap and then fell asleep without readjusting my alarm. I woke up just after midnight having missed Josh by an hour. I'll have to make it up to him somehow. Jesse is in the midst of a bout of depression. I'm glad that they're comfortable coming to me in such a time. They're also trying to navigate poly nonsense and I'm the go-to source on that, though I must say every relationship brings me a deeper and more thorough understanding of polyamory. Today Jesse introduced me to Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love. One of the benefits of dating someone new to poly, particularly with the type of folks I'm into, is they get wrapped up in the research phase and while they're learning they can find information I didn't know about or literature that didn't exist when I was all about learning polyamory. I mean, monogamous and polyamorous folks alike could stand to benefit from regular relationship and emotional education but in monogamy we're taught that these things should be intuitive so many don't want to learn and in polyamory once you get in the swing of it there is so much repetitive information that you don't want to bother or worse you assume you know all there is to know. Much like working with school-age children, newly poly people keep me fresh.

Completely non sequitur, these leggings and earrings got me this donuts for free. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to soak up the Wi-Fi but I didn't want to be loitering so I tried to buy my favorite donut, strawberry frosted, but the guy behind the counter was so enamored with my outfit that he told me not to worry about it, just take the donut and go enjoy my day.

[bobshollyworld-blog]

Weekly Roundup #4

Happy Monday, everyone! I told myself that I wouldn't hunt as hard this week as I did the week previously, and wouldn't you know it... I failed. 😫 I failed hard. I failed so hard. I didn't mean to get carried away, but I saw one thing that I liked and then another that I could use for project A, and then I couldn't get this without also getting that. You know how it goes. This week's haul was massive. Thirty-six, count 'em, THIRTY-FUCKING-SIX figures in what is the largest bounty so far. ost of them were in multipacks, but that just means I got more bang for my buck. I also got a few things that aren't figures this week as well. That's rare for me, I know, but when yer crafting a tiny plastic world of imagination, you need to, you know, actually craft that world. That's enough of the jibber-jabber; let's check out the haul for Weekly Roundup #4:

First up, we have a single loose figure. He's some sort of knight, judging from his armour, and I'm going to use him as a background piece. He's cool looking. No articulation other than his axe that goes up and down in his hands, but since he won't be the focus of any scenery, he's not hindered by his limitations. This is a Schleich figure, and is probably the only one I've ever owned.

What year is it? 2018? Then why do I keep buying twenty year old toys? Because they're my heart and soul, that's why. I actually already own a Black Cat, loose out of the package, which I bought eight or so years ago. She came in her packaging, so I have all her accessories and everything. I didn't buy these off of eBay for Black Cat. No, I bought this lot simply for the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman. I have this same figure, but the dark blue and white Julia Carpenter version. I don't know if I've mentioned it previously, but I'm not a fan of Spider-Man AT ALL, but I own more of his action figures than any other character. That collection includes his allies and villains, of which this is my second Jessica Drew figure, with the other being an older Marvel Legends figure. I'll likely resell the Black Cats just to free up space.

I'm not super pressed on these WWE zombies, but I told myself that I would buy all of the third wave so I can make an awesome Halloween diorama. I would've waited until closer to that holiday to scoop them up, because Five Below has a healthy stock of them, but as you can tell from the photo these were on clearance at Target. Sure, I only saved a wee bit over a dollar for each figure, but that's three plus dollars that can go towards something more important. I'm only missing one of the set of six and that's the 'Phenomenal One'. I'll own him soon enough and I'll get started on that diorama.

Here's that bit of random that I have to get every week. I saw these little toilets in Five Below one day when I was with my kids, but they were five bucks a piece, and the way my wallet is set up... Let's just say that they stayed where I saw them. Then I saw more at a different store, and they were cheaper, but I couldn't justify the price still. When I saw them in Target on clearance, I grabbed two. I don't know if that's enough. I bought them simply to set up some bathroom scenery. Their for 5"/6" figures, so my new favourite childeen won't get to experience them, but you can't have yer cake and eat it too. The Ready Player One figures were bought at FYE, for dumb cheap. For those not familiar with the slang, in this case "dumb cheap" translates to just over two bucks for them. I had been eyeing them in Target for a few weeks, because they're 1:18 scale and they're not what most people collect, but they were too much at Target, even after they hit clearance. I'm glad I saw them when and where I did. I scooped them right up.

I was trying to post these photos from least excited about to most excited about, and to a certain extent I've succeeded at that, but I'm actually very excited about this lot. They were all bought at Collectors Corner, as was most of the remaining items. I bought both the Mace and Lando as potential fodder for modifications to the Rage I bought a few weeks ago. Sadly, I couldn't get Lando's head off, and Mace's didn't fit onto Rage's body, so I still at the drawing board with Rage. They're cool figures. The Lando is probably my second or third favourite figure that I bought this week. He's damn cool. Lieutenant Yar was just a random purchase. I have some ideas for her, but we'll see.

So here's the thing: you can't collect 3.75" figures without at least getting a whiff of G.I. Joe. That brand is inarguably the one that made the 1:18 scale line what it is. With that being said, Joes are dumb expensive. Like, really bloody expensive. And they're hard to find in the wild. That's why lines like Lanard's The Corps, which has been riding the wave of Hasbro's Joes almost since the beginning, is an excellent fill-in. The two three-packs of figures weren't even twelve bucks. I'm not sure right now, but I don't even think they were ten bucks total. That's insane. Then there's the US Army figures. I didn't even care too much about them, but I wanted their accessories and setting. They'll blend in perfectly with the other soldiers.

We're getting down to the nitty gritty here. Fun fact: I've never typed the phrase 'nitty gritty' in my phone prior to the previous sentence, but auto correct knew that that was what I was going for after only typing in the first word. I digress. If you've been paying attention to the way I do the photos, I typically keep DC figures with their brand, and I do the same for Marvel. This week I've got a healthy amount of each, and I wasn't entirely sure which brand deserved to go on last. Ultimately, I went with Marvel because of volume. Simple as that. Now that that's out of the way, I would like to add that these DC offerings are fine figures. The Hawkman is fantastic. As the same with all the DC figures I've bought, I notice that they lack the same size and articulation as Marvel, but that doesn't stop them from being good toys. Hawkman looks cool in animated form. I honestly can't imagine him being in a more realistic sculpt. By the way, everything in this photo is from Collectors Corner. The last time I was there, there were three of the Green Lantern film two-packs, but this time there were only the two. I honestly only went back to pick up all three. The other characters were Kilowag and Ranakar. I'm disappointed that I missed out on him, but I'll get him eventually, along with some other Lantern Corps members.

Another thing Collectors Corner had an abundance of the first time I went was 3.75" Thor-related characters. Last time I picked up a bunch, but they also had multiple actually Thors that I didn't pick up because I didn't really like the look of Chris Hemsworth. They didn't have any this time, although I had decided to buy them if they had. While I was searching high and low for Kilowag, I came across most of what you see in this photo buried at the bottom of the bin they were in. The Spider-Men are meh, but the Lokis are amazing, and the Daredevil is the best figure I got this week. He actually was on a peg, so he was easier to find. The Spider-Man Homecoming two-pack was found at TJ Maxx, and what a find it was. There were three of them, and I was contemplating getting at least one more but decided against it. I haven't seen that film, but the suit Spidey is rocking is fucking sexy. Vulture is Vulture, and he's cool, too, but I was more impressed with the Spider-Man. It's crazy; although I don't care about Spider-Man, he's still managed to be the most numerous figure in my quickly growth 1:18 scale universe.

Well, there you have it folks. Another week, a other crazy, THRIFTY haul. I'm proud of myself, and I mean it this time when I say next week I'm going to take it easy on the figures. I'll be super busy with work so I won't have any time for figure hunting. 😉. Have a good week, y'all.

-Bob Hollywood, 6 August, 2018

[duanecbrooks]

The Return Of Girls Gone Write     Further unmistakable evidence that women, by and large, are the superior writers: the former George W. Bush press secretary and current Fox News host Dana Perino's my-life-with-my-dog-Jasper memoir Let Me Tell You About Jasper...: How My Best Friend Became America's Dog and the large-screen sprite Anna Kendrick's personal/professional memoir Scrappy Little Nobody. These two books are, frankly, flat-out joys to read, the former being a frequently warmhearted, often humorous, always heartfelt telling of her life and experiences with her pet dog Jasper, who, as she convincingly claims, has become the real and true star of the Perino family; the latter being an engaging, sprightly, consistently witty literary self-examination of one of the modern-day American cinema's most succulent and most appealing chicks. To partake of these tomes consecutively, both from beginning to end, is to spend quality time with a pair of delightfully quirky, keenly aware, firmly articulate she-babes who, each in her own way, have a marvelous sense of proportion, a marvelous refusal to see themselves as having any kind of Greatness.             Before getting into just exactly why these superb books are superb, allow me to go into how I first became aware of Kendrick (If you'll remember, Perino first came into my life via her first-rate within-the-George W. Bush-administration memoir And The Good News Is...: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side). Kendrick caught my attention, as do many other other folks and things these days, via YouTube. Specifically, first, during a compilation of Kathie Lee/Hoda's "best" Today "celebrity moments," wherein, when Kendrick was asked whether or not she'd like to play a game, she facetiously mimicked Nader and replied mock-earnestly: "No! I hate games! I hate fun, I hate laughing!" (Later, she was shown doing some mock-dirty dancing with said girls); second, during a trailer for one of Kendrick's more recent theatrical films, namely Get A Job, the aforementioned trailer's two highlights, for me, being 1) this scene where Kendrick's filmic character, Jillian by name, is sitting on the floor lamenting the fact that she spent almost all of the money she had on a BITCHIIN' pair of shoes, while clad in a pair of equally bangin' black toreador pants that, given her sitting position, magnificently show off her magnificently long, lean legs and her magnificently-proportioned bare feet; and 2) a long shot of Kendrick adorned in a man's white shirt and tie and black high heels and again displaying those stylishly long, lean legs. Thus I was already primed, due to being previously turned on by Kendrick, to favor her tome.             It's here where I'll deal with the highlights of both books, the places where our memoirists especially grab ahold of and, simultaneously, charm and delight us.               .Perino, on the vast network of fans/friends that has developed due to her having Jasper: "It is a bit wonderful that through television and social media, Jasper and I became friends with so many people across the country. I enjoy interacting with my followers and fans, and I really feel that we have modern-day friendships--people I've never met, but that I've come to know over time through short digital interactions. It has widened my circle of people I talk to, and it's deepened my appreciation for people from all walks of life. I now get a chance to communicate with people I wouldn't have ever known; the Internet has given us a way to connect and network that didn't exist before. We're all neighbors now (with the proper amount of fencing to keep things friendly).               "Often this new group of people has cheered me up or warmed my heart just when I needed it. Working in politics and live cable television can be stressful, and switching off at the end of the day isn't always easy. Jasper's following has actually given me a way to set aside the work portion of my day and exchange some messages with my electronic friends, which helps me keep grounded and cheerful."                 .Kendrick, on her brother Mike: "My brother is my hero. I've idolized him since the day I was born and I still do. He's responsible for at least sixty percent of my personality, for better or worse. I'm told that if you're an only child, you grow up thinking you're the center of the universe, and if you have tons of siblings you grow up with a healthy perspective on how small you are in the grand scheme of things. I'd like to think that my brother told me I was a worthless brat often enough that I got the same effect...     "Mike's main interests [when we were kids] were watching Star Wars, playing Magic: The Gathering, and avoiding his annoying little sister. The only time he happily included me was when he wanted to play 'Pro Wrestling Champions,' as I was an ideal partner on which to inflict moderate injury."           .Perino, on Jasper's television debut: "Jasper made his debut on The Five [Perino's Fox News political talk show] as a sleepy puppy at just two months old, and a star was born. I brought him on set and when we were back from commercial break, I showed him off for the camera. He looked right into the lens with his deep blue eyes (a Vizsla [Jasper's breed] is born with blue eyes that eventually turn amber). He snuggled into me. Hearts melted.             "Jasper has tons of personality and is as photogenic as any dog I've known. On Jasper's birthday, my [The Five] producer lets him come on the show and he sits on a chair, for the most part, wearing a bow tie collar, and you would think he knows exactly what he's doing when he looks into the teleprompter. He's certainly better behaved than [Five co-host Greg] Gutfield."             .Kendrick, on her early period as an actor: "Starting in theater gave me a basic work ethic that I may not have gotten if I started in film and television. I worked six days a week, eight shows a week (two shows on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Mondays off). It wasn't so much the schedule--I worked in accordance with child labor laws--it was that I was held accountable for my work.             "Once, during rehearsals, our director was playing with the shape of a musical number that involved most of the cast--which jokes should stay, where they should go, etc. He decided to try reinstituting a small joke I'd had in a previous draft, and we started the number again from the top. I lost where we were in the music and I opened my mouth to say the line, a measure too late. He was already shaking his head and signaling the pianist to stop.             "'Anna just lost a line. Let's go back to how it was before and start again.'"         .Perino, on her period as W.'s press secretary: "[B]ecoming the White House press secretary was the best thing that ever happened to my career. I learned so much--about policy, world affairs, management, and politics.             "But the most important lesson I learned working for President Bush was about character and how to conduct myself under stress and attack. I found out how to be productive despite obstacles, and appreciated how a communicator can help calm a situation, advance a negotiation, or lead to a solution.               "The press secretary is the pinnacle for a public relations professional--it was the opportunity of a lifetime.                 "But having worked in politics for so many years, I'd built up a fairly tough exterior. The daily battles can wear a person out, and in some ways, I became edgier and harder than I'd ever been.         "It was also a lofty position, and the surest way you can lose your way in Washington, D.C., is to let any of that power or prestige go to your head.             "Throughout those years [first dog] Henry kept me from losing sight of what was important in life: appreciation and gratitude for my health and blessings, and the love I shared with [hubby] Peter and our dog."     .Kendrick, on her early life as a struggling actor: "The next pilot season [for television series] was starting up, which meant I was usually sent on one to four auditions a day. I discovered MapQuest and wrote down directions by hand since I didn't have a printer. Between that and my growing knowledge of the city, I was only getting lost, like, six times a day. Pilot season is grim because you're sent in for everything, no matter how wrong you are for it. I kept a mountain of clothes and accessories in my trunk so I could go from the fourteen-year-old goth daughter on a TNT drama to the spoiled twenty-two-year-old receptionist on a workplace comedy. It's obvious now that splitting my focus made it responsible for me to do well on any of them, but I was in no position to turn down auditions.               "How do I describe my personal life during this time? I met funny, interesting people. I went to art galleries downtown, I performed a one-woman show for free on the street corner. Except none of that's true. I spent most of my time trying to find ways to occupy myself without spending money or ingesting calories."                     .Perino, on what she terms Jasper's "protest pee": "When I wrote And the Good News Is... I received a lot of gifts for Jasper, including an embroidered quilt with the Great Seal of the United States. It is beautiful and functional. [Peter and I] take it with us to our friends' homes if we are invited to stay the night, because, well, you try telling Jasper he can't sleep on the bed. With the quilt, we're covered. Literally and figuratively.                   "When we're at our place in South Carolina, leaving him in the house is even more stressful. For a while, whenever we'd go out, we'd come home and find that he'd peed on the floor. As soon as we'd walk in, we'd know something happened, because Jasper would grab a toy as he always does, but instead of frantic joy and butt wagging, his tail would be down and he'd look guilty. It was hard to discipline him because you're supposed to catch them in the act. [Hubby] Peter would get pretty made at Jasper, and I'd feel terrible.                 "'He's so scared to be left alone,' I'd say.           "'No, he's being a brat,' Peter responded."                   .Kendrick, on behavior at showbiz events: "There's a campaign called #AskHerMore, which was started by some thoughtful, intelligent females (Lena Dunham, Reese Witherspoon, Shondra Rimes, etc.). It aims to ensure that when women attend events, they are asked about more than their dresses. Men don't answer questions about their clothes; why should we [women]? A simple and understandable request.                 "However, if people could ask me less, that would be great. I would love it if we could limit my red carpet topics to my favorite colors, what sound a duck makes, and my thoughts on McDonald's All-Day Breakfast--blessing or curse?"                 Also: Nearly the final half of Perino's book consists of various @FiveFanPhotoshops pictures that very humorously show Jasper in a collection of quite colorful poses--Jasper painting a portrait of Perino's former boss, W.; Jasper as a race-car driver; Jasper and Perino involved in the Kentucky Derby with the latter on top of the former, et al. And Kendrick's tome closes with a "Bonus Reading Group Guide," wherein there are "a few questions to help you get the most out of your reading experience."(As an addend, Kendrick wittily 1] apologizes for the "fact" that her "Guide" offers no red meat for those of us who "happen to run a trashy celebrity news blog that requires you to peruse the content of privileged cretins like me"; and 2] gives us permission to "use these questions [in the "Guide"] as a template for creating misleading but juicy headlines." She winds up by, also wittily, summing up what she, so she claims, is conveying: "[F]amous white girls are really fun to be mad at") Among the queries asked in the "Guide":                                        .."Though every page of Scrappy Little Nobody is perfect in every                           way, which part is your favorite? Make a list (it can be a Post-it that                           says, 'Every part is my favorite') and tape it to your chest for the rest                                 of the day."                                        .."When Anna compares Zac Efron to Charles Manson, is she making                                 a joke or trying to warn us about a potential murderous mastermind?"                                .."In the sections about Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo, the author                           viciously maligns two innocent and very fashionable girls. Is Anna a                           shady, basic bitch, or the shadiest, basic-est bitch?"                                       .."Anna makes a lot of bad decisions. Can you think of a time when                                 you've made a bad decision? Oh wow, really? We're gonna pretend                                   you can't think of a single example? YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER                             THAN ME?!"             And thus there are the books of Dana Perino and Anna Kendrick, the former being a greatly stylish, consistently witty, always loving paean to a dog who is not only a beloved pet but, as Perino very convincingly limns, one of the most well-known and well-regarded personalities in America (easily, happily, well above and beyond any yammering about "animal rights"); the latter being an engagingly lively, undeniably honest, unrelievedly funny self-portrait of a celebrity gal who is obviously on the sides of life and living, whose unflinchingly upbeat, never-say-die attitude comes through in literally every paragraph.                 In the much-lauded theatrical film The Magic of Belle Isle, the single Mom Charlotte O'Neill (Virginia Madsen), during an evening dinner with her daughters and that evening's guest, the renowned Western novelist Monte Wildhorn (Morgan Freeman), asserted: "I've always felt that a book does something no friend could: Stay quiet when you want to think." To partake of the Perino and Kendrick tomes as they "[s]tay quiet" is to have you "wanting to think" about them--always favorably and, very often, with unsheathed laughter.