#which she never gets info from him and then they just write him off screen in a random chapter

[the-blue-phantom]

the whole thing about This Girl's a Killer by Emma Wells is that it COULD have been a good book if it had taken its basic premise (female serial killer that only kills abusive or predatory men) and gone one of two directions with it: either making it a full satire of that genre of book or by making it a more serious analysis of it all. Instead it played it completely straight.

Which, sure, whatever that's fine and the story they wanted to tell and I could have probably enjoyed it just fine if it weren't for the fact that Cordelia Black is sooooo fucking bad at being a serial killer and if Wells hadn't set up the first half of the book for a perfect twist of "Cordelia is absolutely losing it and spiraling further and further". Or even if Wells hadn't been so desperate for Cordelia to be someone you like and root for.

I spent the first 40 pages of the book being beaten over the head with Cordelia telling us how meticulous and careful and good at killing she is, and then the rest of the book she's stumbling around barely able to cover up the murder she impulsively committed (as opposed to the ones she carefully planned out). I could have forgiven that as a side effect of her being off her game, but I did get the vibe that I was supposed to think that all the bad decisions she was making were a sign of her meticulous planning and it was just other people getting in the way of it, rather than a fundamental flaw with the whole plan.

But really the biggest crime is everything with Simon, her best friend's boyfriend. Cordelia meets him and is immediately under the impression that he's a bad guy. He's a bad man and shouldn't date her best friend. And he is a bit of a creep--he's possessive and controlling, but so is Cordelia. And one of the first things you find out about her is that she's a control freak with a temper and has driven off all of her best friend's boyfriends! So when she kills him on impulse and was desperately trying to convince herself that he was actually a monster who deserved it I was like yes! yes! She's going to have to deal with the fact that she killed someone who maybe didn't "deserve" it! And we'll dig more into her negative traits and how they damage or affect others around her! BUT THEN A PAGE LATER SHE FINDS PHOTOS IN HIS PHONE THAT CONFIRM HE WAS A PREDATOR????? Which killed the rest of the book for me tbh, but I shouldn't have been surprised because two things we find out about Cordelia (and this world as a whole) is that a) only men are predators and women are perpetual victims and b) Cordelia can simply tell when men are horrible evil bad people she should kill for the betterment of everyone else.

There was also an absolutely laughable line where she says she "unlearned internalized toxic misogyny" which essentially means that she's a girly girl now and hates her past self who was a huge loser and pathetic or whatever and now every single woman she doesn't like (or that is just poorer than her) is an ugly redneck loser who is vapid and only wants designer bags, as if Cordelia herself isn't so shallow that she name drops every brand name in existence.

This book set itself up to have something interesting to say and explore and then completely dropped the ball at the halfway point because the author had no interest in anything other than making Cordelia a hashtag girlboss girl's girl with a ride or die bestie who was also way too chill with helping her best friend hide her boyfriend's body after finding his head in Cordelia's fridge. Also why did Cordelia leave it unwrapped? Why did she let her best friend help dispose of the body when the entire rest of the book she was desperately trying to keep her from getting involved? Who knows! I certainly don't and I'm not sure Wells does either outside of "ride or die best friends".

[6feathered6siren6]

Paradox

Author's note: Part 4!! I honestly struggled getting this next part out, but I did it. I have more ideas, drabbles of things I had planned for this one. But hope you enjoy! :)

Trigger warnings - Self-neglect - Torture

P1, P2, P3, P4, P5

『01:00』

Triple digits. You stared at the computer screen. The document of the novel you wrote. You felt so mixed. All you wanted is to write something perfect. Something different, something gorey, and filled with something that other novels would not have. Yet, you were trapped into this time loop, writing the novel differently each time when you did. You wanted to be able to leave it, be with your lovers. 

Looking at the link on your computer. You know you can’t leave the loops until you kill whoever is Victim, but… You can get everyone a better future. You already know almost everything that would happen, hell, you rewrote a loop once without joining. But in the final loop, you want everyone to have a happy ending.

Angel’s manager needs to go, get V to understand he is a softy towards the server, Misaki to take a different job but higher paid(Would giving them a task with a lot of money work?), and Ronin.. He just wanted to play games with you, just do that again? 

Sighing and leaning back into your desk chair. Before an idea pops in your head… What if using the server to find them, like what if they are connected? But you also remember what they say is either very similar or the exact same thing. So it couldn’t be them. 

Victim only got in contact with you in a loop… come on remember… it was in the 70’s, somewhere there… And they have been watching but from where? They only send 3 letters. 

1. Telling you that you have to kill them in order to stop the loops.

2. That killing randomly won’t work. 

3. 

What was number 3…  It felt like a blur, but you paused. 

You need to remember the smaller details, if Victim wants you to kill them, then you really need to become a perfect killer. 

Ping!

Luckily, there is a server that can help you. 

-

Misaki is a professional hitman or assassin, they have killed many before, so surely they can spill some secrets. You had a paper notebook, not trusting putting your notes into your computer. You never know when someone hacks into your computer. Misaki has told you before in another loop, that they had you on call when they were assassinating someone. So they might have some info for you. 

–

Slight bust. But she did bring in good points. You don’t even know what they look like, nor much, all that they want is to die and die by your hands alone. Always gifting you a bat, plain wood, same shape with slight color changes. Red most of the time, while blue in a few. Could it be morse code? 

No, you’re overthinking it.

You click your pen against the notebook. Looking at your very little notes. Would V help? He does detective work… only for killers but would he help?

Shit… would it be a bit late to send a message to him now? This far into the loop? Fuck it, now or the next loop. 

You started typing the message to the server’s vigilante, he has to help just a bit or you will text him the next loop, annoy him to get some lick of info.

-

Surprisingly, he pulled you into a call. A video call, you don’t bother to see your camera, just looking at him. He answered the questions you asked, he was even giving you ideas to look at. Which helped you immensely. When he left the call, you left the server, also making sure the server notification sound was off. You don’t need any distraction. 

-

You were writing in the notebook, writing for questions and ideas. How to get them? Like traps would work. But which ones?

Knock, knock.

Who was there? Getting over to the door, opening to see no one was there. Looking down to see a box wrapped in white and light pink. You slowly look around to see if you can find who did that. But no one. Picking it up and going inside your place, opening it, and it’s self care spa items. It was from Angel. 

‘So a few people on the server are worried about you, and said that your next murder is taking a lot of your time, so take a spa day and relax. (Trust me, I’m taking my advice right now!🤍) Enjoy these items courtesy from Angel and - - - -’

The second name was crossed off, then another note, it had dry blood on it. Most likely from Ronin. 

‘Get your mind in gear, you are freaking out a few people, so rest fucker. - Ronin’

He drew a middle finger for you. How lovely. 

You look at the gift then to your notebook. You had something to do. But… You do know where they live so you can send a gift back, if not this loop maybe another. But for now.. You need a shower. Then back to work. 

–

“Damn, Darlin’. Every time I see you, your eyebags seem to grow, you can probably hold about half my baggage in those.” He smirked as he saw you through the screen. You haven't slept for… 2 weeks? Damn… 

“Oh, hush, I have a reason.” You said, leaning back into your chair. You already thanked both Ronin and Angel for the gift. Angel was glad it was delivered without blood(Ronin was gonna apparently deliver it with blood.)

“Well, staying up for a long time can hurt your pretty little face. And no one wants that, do they?” Ronin did sound worried for you, but… it was… fuck. It was January. Two more months. Then everything would be gone, all the planning, the ideas, the traps, everything…

Darlin’…

Darlin’...

“Darlin’!” Ronin shouted, you looked back at his camera on your screen. He seemed a bit panicked, he was definitely worried now. “There you are, shit. You really are out of your mind, huh? Go rest, you really gonna need it.” 

He ended the call, he was right, but if you can retain any information about Victim, you will. As you stood up, you fell to your knees, barely any strength. You really need to eat something. 

-

You were passed out in the room you were working at. The corkboard holding red rope and notes of things. The room was dark as the moon rose to gaze its light to you. Paper garbage was surrounding you, time was ticking and you only felt further now than before. But to begin with… Who was Victim and how did they do this? And why? Why did you have to be stuck falling in love only to lose them in the end? By your hands or not. They have your answers.

『01:05』

Walking to Ronin’s alleyway, seeing if there was anything in the path that could be significant. In past loops, you scared the people in the server to the point they needed to intervene. Hell, Ronin visited you before the usual point he does. But, you are taking their advice to relax more. Light research. Nothing more. When you got to the middle of both your place and Ronin’s alleyway, a note. With Victim’s handwriting. It had dry blood on the note. 

“Nothing will save you. You deserve the pain you will receive, reawakening that thing, will only make you burn harsher in hell. I will make sure you die each time, with harsher and harsher death, making you suffer with the creation you made and regret who you killed. – “

The name was covered in blood, making it harder to read. Victim is after someone in revenge. Killing them over and over in these loops. But why? 

You know a bit more, Victim and there is someone else in these loops that remembers. But that ponders the question, did these loops start because the Victim wanted someone dead and revenge for someone else? Was it Victim or their… There is no name addressed to this, so what to call them for now… Creator? They created something apparently to the note, so was it Victim or Creator that started these loops? And why did they?

You feel like there are so many questions. But for now, you need rest, before Ronin goes victim hunting. You don’t need to die now, Misaki is requesting to watch an anime that's coming out, even though you memorize it by heart, seeing them smile is important to you right now. At least to pay back a favor from another loop.

『01:09』

You were out with V, patrolling with him with his route. He allowed you to follow him, after asking him politely, of course. You gained his trust, and you were seeing how he did things, you knew some, but not the whole thing. You looked at your hands, you haven’t killed anyone in the past couple loops, which in your opinion, was good. But you still got that bat from Victim. Taunting you? You still don’t know now. 

“Reader. Thank you for keeping me company during my patrols, I didn’t expect you to join me.” He said, the frost chill air surrounded the both of you, basking in that winter about to come to a close. 

You smiled softly, you missed the sweet domestic moments. “No problem! Plus, I do too, and I needed to get some fresh air.” You have been out constantly in the past couple loops, nope, it’s a break loop, no thinking about the loops. Just… enjoy the moment with them. 

V smiled back as he looked away from you to scan around again. Joining in, you also help scan, luckily from the last few loops looking for more notes from either Victim and Creator, you were able to scan for small details. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. The moment might have been quiet but it was a nice silent moment with V. 

He offered you tea afterwards. The tea was bitter but sweet at the same time. 

It was a peaceful moment, but you felt like something was off through the whole time. A pain in your heart. Like you were hurting again. God, you miss the moments, where you smile with the others. Loving them with your heart. Without worry about these loops.

These loops fucked you up, killing so many people, fucking with your memory, you knew so much about Angel, V, Misaki, and Ronin, but you barely felt like you knew yourself, then also messing with your mental health. You could barely look at yourself in the mirror anymore. Your moral compass was so fucked. You want out, but it seems Victim was calling your name, ending these loops. So much time to do so, but so little as well, from October to March. You still have so much to do. So much detective work. Closer to the end of loops, the better. 

『--:--』

Combat shoes could be heard walking through an abandoned building, a bat was in their hand, the wood was being dragged through the concrete floor. Untouched by blood. A chuckle filled the room, it sounded deep, a male. 

“Go fuck yourself.” Another figure was heard. That one was tied up on a chair. No way out. “You can keep killing me over and over, there would be no difference, I will come back the next loop.” 

“Maybe, maybe not. But, at least I get the joy of hurting you over and over, hearing your screams for what you have done.” The male had a grin, one of sadistic tendencies. “So be loud for me, won’t cha?” 

A loud crunch and a scream was heard for a couple blocks. A scream you couldn’t hear as you walked with V, talking about cooking and animals. A domestic moment away from the gruesome scene that was playing a few miles away from you.

[laniemae]

Chances Ojima dies this chapter? /Genuine

Hate to admit it but the chances of Ojima dying this chapter are incredibly likely, I’d say around 80%.

I know I’m usually the one to scream about how Ojima is “certainly gonna die” like every chapter but this feels different as usually it starts off with me feeling safe about him and close to the bda he shows up a bit more and suddenly I freak out about death flags. But the motive hasn’t even dropped yet and he’s already got a ton of screen time, big scenes and info about his character. With the bleeding plot coming into play, his relationship with monomoko and being her favourite student, painting the balcony shutter, and us learning more about his trauma. Like legitimately we’ve gotten so much content of him so early on in the chapter I cannot believe how he won’t die this chapter because he’s been so important. I don’t think a tetro character has raised this many death flags up until now and I’m usually the type to say that we shouldn’t scream death flags at every scene, or we should wait until the motive, but like this is just so much Ojima content. Like I should be happy getting a lot more screen time with my favourite boy but I’m just in complete anxiety knowing that this most likely is his last development before he dies.

Like and even going to story themes, we’ve been getting a ton of development with monomoko and her empathising with the students and questioning the killing game. And since Ojima is her favourite student it makes so much sense for him to die this chapter which could lead monomoko into even more of a spiral as she values his life which could lead to her potentially standing up in the finale of chapter 5. And I could especially see this being the case if Ojima is a killer where she has to send him off to be executed himself, and with how much Ojima is saying how he believes he’s gonna die in the school but also saying that he knows he won’t kill anyone would be ironic.

Also with the mural he’s painting on the balcony, I can’t stop thinking of how perfectly devastating for him to die there would be if he’s a victim. Being killed in front of the painting of the outside world you’ve been yearning for, having your last chance of freedom stripped away like that. Just imagine the unique 5th bda with Ojima’s blacked out sprite in front of the colourful mural unique to that one location. It’s such a perfect setup for him to die there that I can’t possibly imagine that it could go any other way. I heard someone say that if this is the case the student reconvening at the body would be called [Sunset] and just ouch…

God just writing this is making me tear up. Even hearing any discussion or even mention of the likelyhood of Ojima dying this chapter just makes me feel sick despite how much I also say it myself. It just feels different this time as the signs are here right from the beginning of the chapter that I am so so confident he’s gonna die and can’t let myself rest as every day feels like I’m getting closer to my comfort character dying and never being able to see him in an episode again. Like I wanna give my reasons for maybe how he could not die this chapter but at this point it’s so certain I don’t wanna get my hopes up at all so I’m just gonna be sitting here until he dies this chapter and I’ll have to deal with the fallout. If anything I hope an Ojima interview is our one way of giving him some extra screen time before he’s gone forever.

[epwritten]

kiss of life ~l.f

"there must have been an angel by my side..."

Description: You're slumped working on your thesis. You're convinced Felix is your angel.

Word count: 1K

Author's note: This little drabble is me because my thesis is STRESSING me out, but the weather's getting warmer and I thought of this on the way back from the library this morning.

Additional info: college you, 2nd pov format, non-idol!felix, non-idol!hyunjin, fluff, small drabble

GUYS WE HAVE THE LV SHOW IN LESS THAN AN HOUR IM SO EXCITED TO SEE OUR PRINCE

Thank you all in advance for reading! Hope you enjoy <3

You squinted hard at the screen, rereading a series of words for what felt like the millionth time.

You've been at the public library once it opened early in the morning, trying to continue to work and research for your thesis. Your mom had dropped you off at 7:30 before she went to work. The morning routine of yours was usually how the weeks worked. Mom would drive you to the library, you'd try to get a lot done by twelve, and then take the bus home.

Today was different, however, because your boyfriend Felix wanted to pick you up. He said no pressure, understanding if you would rather go home by yourself, but made the offer that he was there, to which you gladly accepted. You hadn't seen him in over a week, not that it was a huge deal for most people, but with the thesis underway you managed to shut out a lot of human interactions. Felix understood how much you wanted to focus. He never wrote a thesis but commended every student he knew that did. Especially you. You worked tirelessly, even on days when you didn't feel the motivation.

Days like today, for example, annoyed you because all you were currently doing was staring at the screen.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Your voice muttered, trying to reread the journal article once more.

You sat up straighter in your seat, clicking back on your document tab to update what last was added 13 minutes ago. Today wasn't your best work, you knew that.

But you weren't going to beat yourself up too hard. Life had a way of making it so that some days were high energy productive days, and others were ones where you could only manage writing 100 words before heading back home, fully neglecting your paper until the next morning you met again.

The staring contest between you and reference papers continued for what felt like long hours before you heard soft footsteps across the floor in the quiet of the library. There weren't a lot of people when you came, but only because you were there as the doors opened. If you weren't a regular and nice to those who worked there, you were sure they would be annoyed at you. But you didn't bother anyone, just went straight to your desk and worked. As the hours let on, more people would start to show, and your usual space of solace would be...slightly altered.

You craned your neck slowly, not trying to look too disturbed from your work and the sound of footsteps drawing nearer to where you were, but it wasn't until you felt people were right behind you and your desk did you turn, angling your body in your seat.

And then you smiled when you saw it was Felix, dressed in blue jeans and your campus crewneck (that he grabbed from your closet no doubt) next to Hyunjin, dressed in black ripped jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Hey," Felix greeted warmly, as he placed his hands on your shoulders, leaning forward to anticipate a kind of hug from behind. You smiled, putting your hand on his and squeezing it as he leaned back. You turned to smile at Hyunjin as well, who waved at you with a friendly smile.

"You ready to go?" Felix asked lowly. At his question, you looked at the time. It was now 12:03pm, and you asked Felix to come get you at 12pm. But you still had a bit more work to do. You sighed.

"Can you give me a few more minutes?" You asked, pointing the screen. "There's this chapter I wanted to finish reading, but..."

Felix nodded, his gaze darting to Hyunjin who nodded as well. "Of course. Take all the time you need."

You never liked when he was so nice to you, you felt bad. "I'm so sorry, you came all this way-"

Felix rubbed his hand on your upper back affectionately. "Don't be sorry, lover. You're working on your thesis. It happens." He said, his voice gentle.

Then Felix looked at Hyunjin, and back at you. "I picked up Hyunjin from the gym but he didn't eat breakfast beforehand. We'll be at the cafe and then when you're ready, you'll come down?" He asked.

A reason why you loved the public library you were always in, was because in the same building downstairs, there was a cafe. It was nice for students, anytime they finished with tedious hours of study, they could go down and relax, grabbing something to refresh their minds hard at work. You nodded at the arrangement. "Sounds good."

Felix smiled and then pointed at you. "Cold cut chicken sandwich, raspberry lemonade, and a blueberry scone?" He said, reciting your go-to cafe order.

You smiled. "You're the best."

Felix leaned down, once more. "Let me know when you're done, yeah?" He said, kissing your forehead.

You nodded, watching the two best friends walk through the book aisles and then down the stairs. You couldn't be more grateful, more lucky, that you had such an understanding boyfriend.

Through that alone, you didn't take long to actually allow your eyes to focus on what you were reading. You were there for fifteen more minutes before you shut everything down and left your workspace. You knew that you could technically text Felix and have him come find you, but he already came all this way and thought it would be easier to go downstairs and meet him and Hyunjin where they were.

Down at the lobby, there led a hallway where you could directly go from the library to the cafe, or, you had the option of stepping outside through the exit doors and then walking a bit to the front doors of the cafe. Although it was beautiful outside, sun cast and blue skies with the smell of springtime in the air, you went through the hallways leading to the back of the cafe.

There were a few college students, but not a lot as you could easily spot the sun and moon duo.

Their backs were to you as they sat down, eating and talking. Whenever Felix and Hyunjin would eat together, it was never across but beside and you found their friendship endearing. You couldn't help the smile that drew on your face at just the sight of Felix wearing your shirt. It was something so simple and not a big deal. The two of you shared shirts like siblings would, but it was so nice seeing something of yours on him.

You joined them now, tapping Felix the right shoulder and then being on his left side. You couldn't help but laugh. He fell for it every time.

"Hey!" Felix exclaimed with a gasp.

You smiled, slinging your bag down as you say across from them.

"Did you get a lot done?" Hyunjin asked.

You nodded. "I tried. But only a small effort." You replied.

"Awww. Well, small wins stay wins, and here's to celebrate what you did today." Felix said, sliding your plate over.

You smiled. "Thank you so much."

The three of you continued to talk as the day shone. You knew that even as stressful that the semester was, now that everything was starting to wrap up and the pile of deadlines was demanding, you were grateful that you had moments like these, the ones you knew you would look back on as the most important.

[redheadspark]

For your August prompts:

14. Watching TV & movies together.....I wanna watch TV with Druig that'd be fun!!!! 😆

A/N - STELLA! Thanks for requesting this, I loved writing this! its short but cute!

Sunday Nights

Summary - It was tradition: Sunday Nights are for the trashy shows

Warnings - Just fluff

“Are you ready yet?”

“Patience is a virtue,”

“Not when it comes to our reality show nights!”

Druig grabbed the remote control from the coffee table, turning the TV on as you were finishing the last of the popcorn that was freshly popped.  The aroma of popcorn was filling the small and cramped kitchen while you poured out the bag into a massive bowl, knowing that you had other pop two bags instead of one.  It was something you learned early on in your relationship with Druig when you two got together: Druig was a snacker.

He especially loved snacking while watching reality TV.

That was a shocker to you when you two met some time ago, Druig always seemed to have his nose in a book or digesting what was going on in the newspaper.  He would rather curl up in a book than go out to parties that his roommate Kingo would throw, which was fair since most of those parties were pretty rowdy.  That’s how to met him in the first place: trying to find the bathroom and accidentally walking into his room where he was perched on his bed reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

You ended up staying in his room and chatting about literature for three hours, and the rest of history.

Two years later, you both found a decent apartment that was close to his work at the University and it was perfect.  The views of the city, the walking distance to several restaurants and a few parks, even some of the neighbors that were on your floor were great.  The first night you two finally moved into your new shared home, you popped in a movie a brought out a new snacks for you two to share between.

Druig ended up eating most of the snacks without realizing it, which was quite amusing.

To his defense, Druig loved watching the Tracy reality TV shows that were everywhere, both on cable and streaming. It shocked you, a hobby that never really fitted his personality and lifestyles.  When you asked him about it once morning during breakfast, he simply shrugged.

“It’s a good way to turn my brain off for an hour or two,” he replied, you realizing that it was his own way other than decompressing.  He loved his job, though it would be very stressful at times.  He also was still iffy with his adoptive brother Ikaris, they would butt heads from time to time and it brought him down a bit.  You hated seeing him in those hard moments, it wasn’t like him at all.  

You made it a tradition then: Sunday nights were for there reality shows

“Here we are,” You said, walking into the living room and seeing your TV qeued up and Druig looking at you with a grin on his face.  You showed him the big bowl, popcorn was about to overflow as you made it to the couch and place it in his lap.

“Thanks, babe,” he replied, pecking your cheek as he the gestured to the TV screen, “This episode is supposed to be a cliffhanger,”

“Since when do you indulge the spoilers?” You asked in a teasing manner, seeing him grab some popcorn to pop in his mouth.

“I don’t, but one of my co workers told me on my lunch,” He explained as you ate some popcorn as well, “She knows I hate getting that kind of info, so I know she did that to pull my leg so to speak,”

“How nice of her,” You joked as he poked your side.  As he wrapped and arm around you to tuck you in his shoulder, you breathed in the cologne that he was wearing and the small hint of sweat that still lingered since he went to the gym earlier that day.  You both looked forward to this time together at the very end of the week before your work week would start up again.  Both of your schedules were full time, making it hard to enjoy some quality time together at the end of the day.  Hanging out with mutual friends or going out with co workers, attending family events, they were fun but also draining simultaneously.  

So having this small moment with Druig, it was more than enough. 

You phone lit up, showing a message on the screen,  You reached over to grab it from the coffee table, reading the message and then chuckling, “Makkari is going to rooftop party tonight and wants us to come,” 

“Sounds like fun,” Druig replied, then looking over at him and see him eye him with a smirk on his face, “This is better though,”

You laugh, typing the quick rejection to the invitation as he stared the show and you placed the phone to the side.  

The End

August Prompt Session

[tarithenurse]

Inhuman

Fandom: MCU Pairing: Bucky x fem!reader, eventually Loki x fem!reader, Stucky, more (some canon, some not). Word count: 3110. Contents: Nurse-work, medical situation, blood and gore, trauma, human experimentation, mass murder. A/N: Yes, I update irregularly but very frequently - sometimes several times aday. Any questions are welcome. Please comment and like and reblog. Let me know if you want a tag.

Chapter 17

... Reader’s PoV ...

You’re kept busy at HQ with work and training with May as new teacher. She is, if possible, even stricter than Natasha which doesn’t leave you a lot of extra energy to worry about things.

When there’s a quiet moment at home, you spend it writing proper old-fashioned letters about what’s going on. All of them addressed to Bucky though you haven’t had the courage to mail them. Instead, they’re kept them in a small safety box that you’ve installed in the room with the washer and dryer.

Today at work, you’re going through the notes on a procedure done during the night when one of the doctors, Mohinder, comes running. Out of breath, he explains a patient’s incoming by jet whom you need to be ready for as soon as it touches down.

He’s sucking air in between every other word. “What do…you need me…to do?” He’s right behind you as you’re are sprinting down the hall.

“Prep a pod and get me any info on him.”

Bursting through the doors, you’re in time to see a quinjet descend. Inside are a handful of people, three of which are hunched around a figure on the floor. There’s always a gurney or two standing next to the infirmary’s exit. Grabbing one, you continue over, already assessing the injuries: the guy, an Inhuman, is in shock and has several fractures, bruises, and smaller wounds as well as a seeping internal bleeding making his pulse erratically fast and weak. The agents escorting him have done nothing to stabilize him! But as the ramp lowers and you get a clear view, you see why...or rather...you don’t see. The guy’s nowhere to be found, only his glittery shape and self-suspended blanket and clothes indicate that he’s actually there.

“What’s his name?” You lock the gurney’s wheels and step aside to allow the agents to move your patient.

“Alejandro...”

The agents that are with him fumble for a second trying to find the right places to lift him by and moments later you’re wheeling him away.

Mohinder meets you just as you get to the infirmary and helps you get the guy, Alejandro, to one of the white cells that you once inhabited. They’re supposed to contain the powers of Inhumans, shielding any outsiders from sudden outbursts and potential danger so you’ve never dared to tell them that it doesn’t work on your radar even though it does dampen the range, and now you hope that whatever this guy’s capable off will be fully contained.

This pod’s fitted as a hospital room with all the best equipment money can buy but before you even start to hook the Inhuman up to any of the monitors, you’ve got to stop the internal bleeding that’s coming from the liver and the big arteries there.

“Mohinder, drain the bleeding and find me a bag of universal to top him off.”

Without complaints, he scuttles off to do as asked. He would never question who gives the orders in a situation like this and soon he’s back with what you need just as you can move the hands away. The bleeding’s stopped, securing time to place the electrodes to the equipment on the patient and finding a suitable vein for the donor blood.

“It’s a strange thing…seeing you work with thin air...”

Mohinder’s standing at the foot of the gurney removing a shoe that’s seemingly floating on its own. Getting the torn, bloodied clothes off an invisible figure can’t be everyday life even in a place like this.

“You can get one of the new scan-screens in if you want.”

His face lights up with the idea of getting to use one of them. They work like refined CT-scanners allowing to see the entire body, temperature, electrical signals, and potential injuries in real time…and it’s small enough to be wheeled to the patient rather than the other way around.

Of course the dear doctor isn’t going to miss out on the opportunity, and when he comes back with it you’ve managed to place the tube to drain the chest and abdominal cavities for stray blood. It’s a lot easier for you to cover the pain management in the beginning than having to wait for anaesthetics to work, but it’s still worrying that Alejandro’s shown no reactions at all to anything you do, and you fear that the patient might be slipping into a coma.

You’ve been talking to the patient, but now you glance at Mohinder. “D’you know what happened to him?”

You’re starting to heal the many fractures while Mohinder’s watching the progress on the scan-screen, dark eyes growing bigger by the minute.

“I don’t have the full report yet…apparently he was on assignment.”

Crap. “Any other injured or casualties?”

His expression says it all. “...also his sister...” Poor Alejandro, no wonder you’re in shock.

Your hands are moving from injury to injury, numbing the pain and fusing bones or healing wounds as they go. Two of the other nurses are standing outside the pod, watching through the window together with Alejandro’s team mates. It isn’t until Coulson appears that they get moving again, allowing him to get in.

“Mohinder. I’m sorry, but can we have the room for a moment?” His face’s grim, making the doctor understand the severity of the situation.

By now you’re working on the patient’s head, stabilizing the cranial structure as you wait for a word from Coulson, then trying desperately to stabilize the flow of hormones carrying Alejandro further into unconsciousness. It’s not something you’ve done before, and you only have theoretical knowledge of which chemicals a healthy body needs to go on, meaning that the aim’s to get the serotonin and dopamine levels up and especially the cortisol down.

For a moment, the young man flickers into view, but soon his body’s fighting the changes you’re trying to impose on him as if he’s defending himself. He disappears again.

“They were on a rescue OP.” Coulson’s voice’s surprisingly tender. “Marisol, his sister, and another seven Inhumans had gone missing over the last month. Alejandro and his team had tracked them down to an old hurricane shelter on a farm in West Virginia.” Again, he stands quietly, probably seeing the events unfold in his imagination. “They’d been experimented on.”

Your head snaps up. “How?”

“Every way possible. The team managed to document a lot of it...then they found Marisol and…when Alejandro lifted her...” The director actually shudders at the thought. “Place was rigged to blow. As far as we can tell…the triggers were in the victims.”

You look at Alejandro. There are still so many small injuries to heal, but even so...he came in with all body parts.

“He’s lucky to have survived...” Sort of.

There’s no more you can do right now, so you go to wash and sanitize your hands, unsteady on your feet from spending too much energy. Someone else will have to get on top of his pain management in a moment.

“Is he?” Coulson’s still standing, looking at a sheet going up and down where there should be a chest. “We didn’t know his sister would be there...but of course I was aware of the possibility...”

You know what Coulson means and it gives you an idea. “Could Wanda help him? Maybe she can reach him in there...”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her.”

“Do you know who’s behind it?” You do...

He nods, finally meeting your eyes. “Vasiliev. He’d left a message for us to find.”

So far, he’s seemed like a frail, sad man, but now Coulson snaps back into action, striding towards the door and telling you to be available for a meeting at 9PM, the “rest” won’t be able to be there sooner. He’s barely out of the radar before Mohinder, Keith, and Kate arrive to take over.

...

You’ve been back to check on Alejandro before heading to Coulson’s office. It’s not time for the meeting yet, but you’re too restless to wait after having downed about a litre of energy drinks and anything you could find to eat, scaring Fitz when you demanded to know where he’d hidden the chocolates.

Stepping out of the elevator, you see the door to the director’s office’s open, but there’s no one around. Should I wait outside? You’re way too curious.

Entering, you look around the office properly... the last (and only) visit you made to this place didn’t leave you a lot of room to focus on the decorations. It’s almost like in a museum with old books, models of cars and planes, a collection of funky and antique gadgets, and other memorabilia on any surface available. The room itself stands in stark contrast with the sharp lines of metal, glass and black leather centred around a desk facing the door and a tall window behind that. On either side are white book cases and smaller comfortable chairs in grey fabric and tables leaving the room with a somewhat crammed impression.

Scanning the books, you notice a volume sticking out, “Norse Mythology”, but there’s no time to get it out for inspection because Coulson and Steve are about to step out of the elevator. Instead, you sit down to wait for them, pretending to analyze the ongoing game of chess that’s placed between the chairs on one of the end tables.

“We’re certain about that?” Steve’s asking.

Coulson’s answer’s gruff. “Yes, all of them. The combination would be devastating.”

They don’t know I’m here...I shouldn’t be hearing this! In your bafflement, you accidentally knock over one of the beautifully carved chess pieces. Klutz! That’s not something a real spy would do! You see both men hesitate for a fraction of a second before they take the last few strides into the office to find you with a hand hovering above the wooden game board. Sure, they seem partially relieved, but for the rest...worried.

“You’re here early...” Coulson recovers.

“There’s nothing more I can do for Alejandro.” You aim for calm and think you might’ve achieved it. “I’ve been talking to him, promising that it’ll be alright in the end...”

Waiting’s always the worst. With a patient on the brink of coma it’s like painting a rotten wall – you might make it look right, but it’ll never be fine until the rot’s gone. It’s an odd analogy which you’re happy the others don’t hear, ensuring instead that they understand the meaning of the predicament.

The fatherly qualities Coulson possess shine through as he places a hand on your shoulder. “Wanda’s going to see him after the meeting. She couldn’t promise anything when I spoke with her, but she will try.”

Even so it’s a relief to know and a big sigh escapes you, making the little plant in the bauble hidden under your clothes shiver and stabilize its stream of light and glitter.

Within 15 minutes the rest have arrived too. Vision, Wanda, Stark, Natasha, Bruce, Clint, Rhodes, Sam and even Thor...the latter resulting in a lot more activity going on near the office. You’d half expected Fury to be here, but apparently, he’s off negotiating a sort of partnership somewhere overseas.

Coulson starts while a screen emerges from his desk. “At 11AM this morning one of our teams had managed to find where several Inhumans had been kept captive and experimented on.”

With the push of a few buttons, he shows them images of a bunker-like place...then the screen shifts to showing old and rusty operating tables with rubber tubes connected to what looks like 15mm needles in one end. Across the floor of the place’s caked blood and...other bodily secretes. Next image shows chains and straps hanging from the walls and ceilings, most with electrical wires attached to them.

“The victims were no longer alive when the team got to them...”

With a look of dread Coulson makes the screen flicker again and a picture’s shown that would’ve been fitting a book describing a WW2 concentration camp and you have to fight to avoid gagging. The shapes are barely human looking. A few still show skeletal structures, but most of them have been transformed into empty bags of skin, leaving just the skull and other flat bones. Bones without marrow and usable living cells. All of them have been sort of dumped in a corner of the room, like garbage.

You can’t take the eyes away from the horror even though you want to. The others are just as horrified but manage to keep their cool a lot better than Wanda, Bruce, Tony and you. They’ve all had to steady themselves on something too, and you’re sick to the stomach and grateful when Coulson finally turns off the horror show.

“Who did this?” Wanda’s voice’s shaky.

Her red glitter-tendrils are whipping around but she has not dared to touch down on anyone with them yet, she knows privacy’s a virtue.

There’s a faint click, and a new image appears. This time it shows a wall with paint smeared onto it forming the pattern of a glove of sorts and below it Cyrillic writing. Both Wanda and Natasha swear under their breath, leaving those in the office that don’t read Russian to wonder why.

“It says…Merry Christmas, from Ivan Vasiliev.” Natasha explains.

“He took their blood and marrow...why?” You’ve got a sinking feeling inside that you won’t like the answer.

Coulson and Steve exchange a glance before the director of SHIELD speaks. “Our theory’s that he’s trying to extract any usable DNA from them to fuse with either someone’s or, more likely, his own in order to gain the powers.”

“What powers are we talking about?” Cautious and practical Bruce.

“We don’t know all of them yet, but the ability to walk through walls and some kind of pyrokinesis and levitation or flying’s involved.” Coulson’s worried with good reason. “We’re trying to establish what the other victims were capable of, but many of them were still unknown to us.”

“Pyrokinesis...so he’d be able to start a fire and potentially set off an explosion just by thinking...”

“Yes, but clearly he couldn’t have had that ability in San Fran as the Inhuman with this power was only just...used. So our theory’s that he turned against his own, had a hidden agenda...” Steve points out.

Both Rhodes and Clint want to know about the icon, unfortunately Coulson’s no information on that. “There’ve been several organizations throughout history using a fist or a hand, but none that would logically be involved in this kind of work.”

“Actually...” Thor’s face is grim as he talks, “I believe I may know to whom this icon refers. We have legends near forgotten in Asgard recanting the old times of our people before balance and peace was achieved for the first time among the great realms. By now these legends are but myths, tales to tell the little ones as we sit by a roaring fire in the evening. Most do not believe the occurrences of these events.” The god’s lost in memory for a moment and no one dares disturb him. “He was the destroyer, the herald of chaos and disaster as he sought his bride, Death. Many lives were lost before his reign was ended. Thanos…the Mad Titan.”

“You’re saying he’s dead though...” Sam’s voice trails off as Thor shakes his head.

“During the battle, the Gauntlet of Thanos was fractured. The force released tore the realm apart and sent the Infinity Stones sailing through the verses. Once the dust had settled, Thanos was nowhere to be found...most likely he fled amidst the chaos...”

Vision points out what you’ve all noticed. “He used to possess the Infinity Stones? Then it must be beyond doubt that he wishes to regain them.”

“But why side with a human?” Ten points to the Director.

“Without the Stones he doesn’t have his full strength. He pro’ly didn’t want his involvement to be revealed yet....right?” The tacticians are nodding thoughtfully at your suggestion.

...

By the end of the meeting, Thor’s decided to find out what he can from his end while the rest continue searching for Vasiliev and try to reach as many Inhuman as you can to warn them about him and what he’s done. Coulson decides setting Daisy on that part of the case as she’s good contacts in the Inhuman network. This also means you’re all going to stick together using the Headquarters as base of operation or maybe the Tower.

On the way out you grab Steve, but you don’t get further than drawing in breath.

“He’s alright. Don’t worry.” Blue eyes are gleaming softly.

Not goo enough. “Where is he?”

“Wakanda. Can’t tell you more than that. You have to trust me.”

It takes a moment after he walks away before you get the swirling thoughts under control and apply logic to what you know. Like the fact that Bucky would go to T’Challa if he thought he was a danger to people around him. Now he’s there...probably on ice which would explain the lack of contact. But why?

Pulling yourself together, you head back to the infirmary again where Wanda’s sitting at the head end of Alejandro’s bed, fingertips softly touching his temples and red tendrils weaving around and into the patient’s head. Vision’s floating in a corner, like a guardian angel watching over the situation.

It takes a while before you realize that tears are streaming down Wanda’s cheeks. She lost her brother...the only one she had. If anyone can convince him to come back to the world, to not give up, then it’s her.

Clearly your help’s not needed here.

...

You wake up with a flinch, realizing you’re no longer alone in the break room. The sandwich’s lying half eaten on the plate next to you and standing in the door’s Coulson.

“Sorry to wake you, but I thought you’d like to know…Wanda did it.” A halfhearted smile graces the features of the director. “He’s asleep now, but this time it’s a healthy sleep.”

“And how’s she?” Worry gnaws at your insides.

“Okay…considering the circumstances. Vision’s taken her to the Tower for now.” Sitting down next to you, he checks his watch. It’s well past midnight. “You should go home too. Get some proper rest.”

He’s looking tired too, head hurting from tensions and worries. Wordlessly, you carefully place a hand on his skull, making the muscles release their tug and cajoling the pain go away. A few minutes are enough before you let go, revelling how his face is “open” and relaxed as Coulson enjoys the change.

“Seems like I’m not the only one who’d use a night’s rest...”

[mdhwrites]

Even When Aventurine is Good, He's Awkward

So I've gone on record for saying that in 2.0, Aventurine was... Bad. REALLY bad. Whoever was writing him missed the mark by a just astounding level. I like Aventurine now thanks to 2.1 but... 2.1 is also an interesting study for the fact that anyone who despises him afterwards is probably going to do it for one of two reasons:

1: He took up a fuckton of time while ending up with little to actually do with the overall story.

2: Yeah, I get it, you love your OC. Can you not try to hammer that into my skull until it's flat like a pancake?

Let's start in order. First we just have to recognize that 2.1 has nothing to do with the story of The Order rising to power. It is between patch content. Flatly. It has nothing to do with this story and mostly serves to prop up future stories, like Topaz's visit to Belobog. This at least applies to everything that happens with Aventurine because... Well, literally none of it comes back until 2.2's post credits scene and him dying is resolved OFF SCREEN. We never get info from him or take a step forward along our path to figuring everything out.

That, bluntly, from a storytelling perspective, SUCKS. It sucks harder when Penacony was a VERY slow planet. A lot of speechifying happens in it. It took me over ten hours I think to get through 2.1 because it's just SO. MUCH. TALKING. I literally had to take a break in the middle of it because it was all becoming a monotonous drone, not helped by a lot of the dialogue lacking much character. I damn near cried when Boothill spoke because I was like, "OH MY GOD! A PERSONALITY!" Because everyone else is being so serious and so to the point that it's just very flat and to spend a lot of that flatness on a story that doesn't serve a point here is REAL BAD.

It'd be like if the students we befriended in 2.6 had no pizzazz to them or we didn't interact with them but they still took up 70% of the patch instead of the 30% they do. It'd be hell. But... That honestly doesn't compare to the second problem.

If you felt manipulated by Aventurine's journey of the self... You should? It uses TWO different, very blunt tricks for showing the tragic side of a character. Neither is bad but either one could get you called out for not having nuance, let alone depending on the length of the sequence. Aventurine's chat with both himself and his younger self are not short and they're not really all that interesting. We do get to see into how little he values himself and how he is quite likely suicidal but not much else. It's just look at the sad boy as he trudges along to get to the place he could have in five minutes. It's the sort of thing that makes more sense for a companion quest or maybe a larger scale event. Like, I dunno...

The Wardance or Fyxestroll Garden, the two best events in Star Rail. Both are just telling a character story at the end of the day but the acceptance of that, and the fact that it's not taking away from a story already happening, puts you in a better mindset. Better yet, both only use the trick of diving into the mind. They don't feel insecure enough to also include a small, cute, child version of the character just to make it hit harder.

It IS well written enough and compelling enough with Aventurine that it works... But if these two problems did break it for you, you're not wrong. Penacony is LOADED with stuff that feels bad in the moment and then comes together in the end. Sparkle is the ultimate version of that with finding out how she knew all she did but Aventurine is still a version of it. Of things that from a strict writing perspective are NOT GOOD. They come together... But if you can't forgive what came before, I can't with Sparkle, it doesn't matter how good the climax it is.

It's a gamble, which I guess makes sense for Aventurine. It was not the complete win he's used to though.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[spaceorphan18]

Your segment of the podcast was wonderful! Honestly I got emotional. I’m so glad they talked to you.

SNARKY!!?! I'm so glad you listened and got emotional. Did you catch my shout out to you? ;)

If you don't mind, I'm going to just give some little tidbits about doing the zoom call with Kevin and Jenna

There was no intro with me. The only person I talked to before the call was the producer and that was through email. I had no idea what to expect, and I was really nervous going in. I made a few small notes of things I'd like have said, and I think most everything got covered.

I didn't think it was real until Kevin and Jenna popped on screen.

I was a little shocked when Kevin was so enthusiastic about me A) being an OG glee fan and B) about my real job.

I was taken aback, a little, by how very good looking Kevin was.

(I tried to look nice - but I looked ultimately like me and not like someone who has a lot of money, lol)

The conversation felt mostly like it was me and Kevin, who seemed to be driving it. I had to remind myself to look at Jenna as I talked, too.

(I'll talk more about Jenna later in another post)

I tried to be polite and professional. As the convo went on, it felt really easy to do the conversation. It felt both longer and shorter than I expected.

Funny thing about when I started writing fanfic -- I lied a little, but I didn't want to go into the biggest reason that I was held back so long from writing fanfic is due to my severe social anxiety and the scariness of the glee fandom. But I felt like that was too complex to get into.

Also did you notice Kevin's insulation that I started writing after the show started getting bad after season 3? After the convo was over -- I was really bummed I didn't defend the later seasons in that moment.

I felt really bad when I said fanfic isn't for you, and I hope my reasoning was clear. They seemed to be understanding, though?

Kevin just beamed when I brought up that I wrote Office fanfic. Btw, I COMPLETELY forgot that he was on an episode of Office while doing the interview.

There was one point that I thought, maybe, Jenna had snapped with me -- and it was when she mentioned that they were fans of things, too. Mom (who told me she noticed Jenna's oddness and apathy) said she didn't notice that moment, so it may have been just me.

(Mom did say that I should not have said Kurt was my favorite character - but I reminded her that she already knew since the producer had already asked me that as a vetting question)

I was a little surprised when they didn't ask me about my favorites like they did with a lot of the other fan guests they have. I did mention Kurt in the episode. But I was a little bummed I didn't get to do the usual. (Apparently, they didn't with the first woman either?)

The ending was super, super awkward, and I believe, the only point that was edited. At the very end - Kevin asked for my goodreads account. I was so stunned that all I could say was that it was my full name. I kind of wonder (now) if he was trying to get me to plug some kind of social media? Anyway, the producer jumped in and said she'd get him the info.

It kind of then ended abruptly, as they were saying goodbye. They shut down and the Kevin popped on again to say goodbye again. I could also hear Jenna going straight into asking about what they were doing next.

Fwiw - Kevin never did slide into my Goodreads DMs, which is fine. I didn't really expect him too.

The producer then sent me a message a half hour later saying that Kevin and Jenna 'genuinely' liked talking to me and that I was an awesome guest. (and that she'd be in touch).

I really liked how the conversation went (mostly) but afterwards, I was kind of bummed that that was it. I have so much more I wanted to say --- and there was a part of me that kind of wanted to speak up about a lot of things that we always talk about here. But I'm glad I didn't get off topic, and that I did have a professional, honest, and hopefully education conversation about fanfic.

Fwiw - the producer sent me one last message letting me know that the podcast had aired. I did send a thank you email back, but have not yet heard a response -- so I'm guessing that is that.

I am grateful for the experience. Everyone has been so lovely about it, and people even in my real life have had a lot of good things to say. I suppose it's my little fifteen minutes of fame.

I hope people listening got something out of it, too. I haven't listened to it myself - but I just feel awkward about it, and don't really want to.

It does make me want to podcast again, though, and really dig into all the things that Kevin and Jenna don't get into. Maybe someday I can talk Snarky into another podcast when we both have time.

Thanks dear for supporting me and helping me. <3

[maddsmallow]

hi i badly drew smut of human au age swap hankcon with fem hank look at it on my bsky, please enjoy the background info under the cut, aka basically the closest thing to a fanfic i will ever have the patience to write

hank (i always have fem!hank still just go by hank lmao) is a young rookie detective, maybe like mid-late 20s, and is assigned to connor, a silver fox middle aged and very accomplished detective who's also a bit of a loner and has a massive superiority complex which definitely doesn't help with the whole "being a loner" thing. tensions between the two of them are immediately high because connor tries to brush her off and keep her out of his way, thinking she'd just be a hindrance to himself, but hank continuously asserts herself and demands to be part of their "team" and not just designated to the sidelines—she's worked too hard to get to where she is to be pushed to the side now.

the ironic thing is that, hank is actually a really good detective, connor just doesnt notice until she ends up possibly saving his life. he didnt mean to have them engage in an active chase so soon into her apprenticeship with him, but they came across a suspect at a scene and he, being the accomplished detective he is, immediately went into "must complete the mission" mode and pursued. and even when he was pulled up by hank from the side of the building he was dangling from, multiple stories above the ground, after being pushed by the suspect, and likely saving his life, he still grilled her on why she would let the suspect go to pull him up. and hank just looked at him like he was crazy and without missing a beat said, "because you're my partner."

connor had gotten hurt once early in his career and was left by his then partner to pursue their suspect, and he'd always had the stance of "i can only look out for and trust in myself, because the only thing that matters is the mission" ever since, which lead to him never (willingly) having partners, or his partners bring driven away quickly because of his ideology, and him becoming such an efficiently solo detective. so of course, when he found himself in another predicament all those years later after having been accident-less as a solitary man for so long, his immediate reaction was to think his trainee would continue the chase without him, much like his partner in his early days had left him. but then hank didnt even blink when it came to deciding on what to do when she saw her partner in a life threatening situation—she helped him immediately. possibly saved his life. and it shatters his worldview. for the first time in decades, he thinks... oh. i can trust somebody else.

and after that, he really starts to see all that hank is capable of, and even comes to appreciate hank's no-bullshit attitude, something he at first felt was brash and a disrespect to his senior authority, but comes to realize is the same efficiency he prides himself in having. and hank can feel the shift between them too. that trust that connor finally grants her, and no one else.

and things just escalate from there lmao

connor had always been a loner in his personal life as well as his professional, but any sort of "companionship" he sought out was mostly with other men. but as their professional relationship grows into a personal one, connor can't seem to stop... noticing hank. the way her blonde curls never stay in her messy bun and end up framing her face, how it makes her steely blue eyes stand out even more, the gentle curves of her strong form that she works hard to maintain with rigorous strength training. the way she squints and how her eyes crinkle when she's really focused on her computer screen. the strong shape of her nose and her downturned eyes. just little things that add up to everything until he realizes, it's just her that he likes. he likes her. in a very unprofessional way. and he has no idea what to do with that.

and hank isnt an idiot, she's a goddamn detective lmao. she sees the change in the way connor looks at her. after the incident, there was just. a new softness in his eyes when he looked at her that never went away, and it's only ever for her. she can't help but let herself get sucked into letting their personal relationship grow, not just to strengthen their work partnership but also maybe a bit out of curiosity just to see what this loner is really like, to be the one person he lets in to see who he really is. and she's not blind, connor is a goddamn handsome man. the silvering hairs around his temple and in his short well-groomed beard, and the crows feet on the outer corners of his eyes give him a mature, sophisticated charm that's hard not to be drawn into. not to mention how his brown eyes feel so deep, and now kind and soft, just for her, it feels like she could fall into them. and in a way, she does. she comes to like who this old stick-up-his-ass guy is. like, a lot. and when she catches him staring at her months into the start of their friendship, it makes her feel warm deep and low inside herself.

so yknow. things comes to a head while on a stakeout of course lmao. stuck in a car, a tight enclosed space for hours together. hank stretches her spine and catches connor looking at the way her breasts pop with the arch of her back, and she gets that low warm feeling for the umpteenth time, and calls him out on staring. and she tells him she likes it. and one thing leads to another and soon enough she's swinging her legs over the older man's smaller frame and they're kissing hard and deep. hank brings connor's hand up to her tits since he'd just been staring, and connor doesnt waste any time getting them free to get his mouth on them, and ohh the scratch of his beard and the warmth of that mouth of the man she'll soon learn has an oral fixation is heavenly.

they don't get much further than that because they actually spot their suspect and have to go back to being professionals real quick, and immediately the case escalates and they're too busy working day and night to continue what they started. but the memories of the feeling of connor's hardening cock underneath hank and hank's heavy tits in connor's hands and mouth of course linger in the forefront of their minds. that same night, as connor gets situated into bed and starts to stroke his half hard cock at the thought of hank, he gets a text from her which leads to an image, which leads to a phone call, both breathing heavy into their receivers as they fuck into their hands and tell the other how much they want the other and have for a while.

they probably decide to keep things professional at work and not allow themselves to do any fooling around there, but with the case escalated and the early mornings and late nights keeping them apart despite being right there next to each other, it's an agony they didn't anticipate. it doesnt take long before they're finding excuses to touch each other in otherwise innocent ways that end up just riling them up more, until one shift hank breaks and gets connor to meet her in one of the storage closets where she immediately pounces on him, and connor is so on board with it. all agreements about keeping things totally professional at work go right out the window because hank is right there and begging for him to touch her, and connor internally has been begging to touch her again for so long. he wouldn't in a million years say no.

(am i basically copying and pasting the rest from my rambling of this on the hankcon server? yeah)

then it's a flurry of hands to get her shirt open for connor to lick one of her perking nipples into his warm mouth, and to get her sat somewhere so connor can rub his rock hard cock against the already wet crotch of her pants from how desperate she's been for him. connor lets his oral fixation go wild on her tits, sucking and nibbling all over, squeezing and pinching to get those pretty gasps out of hank, all the while taking her shirt and bra off completely and out of the way. her tits are so nice and heavy in connor's hands, so sweet in his mouth, and her skin is so soft all over.

and once he's done with her there, he dives in to kiss her deep and filthy on the mouth and moves his hands down to her crotch to tease her a bit before getting permission to rip her pants off and make use of those long nimble fingers he has. at that point it's good he moved to kissing her mouth because he needs to to keep her voice muffled. he is an experienced man after all, and the sounds he so easily works out of her are beautiful, enough to come to just on their own, but they're still at work.

he circles her clit and gets her bucking into his hand, and then moves down to sink a finger right inside her—she's so wet and hot, it's so easy for him to slide right on in—and she gasps and throws her head back. the sound from her wetness alone is obscene, connor shivers just from the idea of that feeling around his straining cock just a few inches away. and hank's already shivering with pleasure and the need for more, begging in hushed whispers for more, more, please i need you, practically dripping slick down whatever she's sitting on.

connor finally pulls back to let his painfully hard cock free and hank pulls a condom out of her pocket and kind of smirks, like, i was really wanting this, i fucking came here prepared lmao

connor somehow still has the braincells to put the condom on quickly and gets his hands on the undersides of hank's knees to lift her legs way up, and then pushes in. and it's sooo hard to muffle the sounds they make as he rocks slowly all the way in, filling hank up and encompassing all of connor's cock in her perfect soft, wet warmth down to the hilt. and then he starts pounding into her like their lives depend on it. hank hold onto connor for dear life with her arms around his shoulders.

they're trying so hard to keep it quiet enough to not get caught, but connor can't help blabbering about how beautiful and smart and fucking amazing hank is and how badly he's wanted this for weeks, and hank is just so blissed out she can hardly think about what noises are coming out of her mouth, because yeah, she's been wanting it too. craving it. her hair's fallen out of her usual tiny messy bun by then and connor just finds her blissed out face curtained by her blonde curls so beautiful.

connor's slim waist and hips work overtime, his pants hardly staying up on his hips and his shirt mostly untucked as he pounds into hank's fat pussy like his life depends on it, and hank's leaking all over and making obscene wet noises with every thrust. it isnt long until she grips connor's shirt so tight he's surprised it doesnt rip and tightens up so hard she shakes as she orgasms with connor still inside her, and connor holds her head to the crook of his neck to try to muffle her cry as she comes. connor slows with the intention of pulling out but hank keeps her hold on him and tells him, "no, keep going. come inside me, you can keep going, it's okay." and it doesn't take long with her tight heat around him for connor to come inside her with nothing but the condom between her and his twitching, leaking cock.

anyways. amanda (who we'd decided was the captain of the dpd in this au) is waiting for them outside the door and she's gonna make sure they both go to positions within the dpd that work for both of them, so that they can date and also do their goddamn jobs without any conflict of interest. but not before yelling at them for being stupid first LMAO

that's it that's my human au, age swap, fem!hank background story for my shitty doodles, hope u enjoyed

also hank absolutely pegs the hell outta connor later, okay byeee<33

[devastatinglygreen]

The change in the Polin dynamic from book to show always made me think the betrayal of Whistledown would be different and lead to a different reaction from Colin. Show!Colin my baby boy, not needing to be told to go dance with Pen and also “seeking her out at every social assembly” 🥹 He didn’t need 12 years to realize she was great company. I’m not too upset at Pen/LW reading him for filth for story purposes bc I don’t want to imagine a scenario where they leaned more on the S1 of it all. It’s just unfortunate that they amplified his hate/anger to give something for Pen to be punished over. That’s where I think the “girl boss” writing fails bc the show clearly likes LW as a narrative concept but Pen has to suffer consequences for it.

I also don’t mind that they wanted to keep LW for the story but how are they gonna pull off her getting info now? Everyone knows her identity and girlie is married to a Bridgerton. Unless they’re going to argue no one sees her bc of how short she is, I can’t see her just blending into the wall anymore.

oh yeah for sure.

they have a much closer friendship in the show from the start which is good, tbh. so there was always going to be a different reaction to him finding out that she was LW. book!colin being aware that she has some feelings for him so him treating her extremely appropriately makes sense. he likes her and doesn't want to lead her on so there's no fun flirting like he does with the other girls he's also not interested in but i always found that a little sad for penelope since the man who is probably the friendliest with her still maintains some distance to spare her feelings until she finally "lets him off the hook" when she is pretty firmly on the shelf. which, of course, immediately annoys him, ha. protesting too much, my guy.

show!colin having no idea is great and i love it, ha. also he's got no concept of propriety with penelope most of the time and that just makes for fun scenarios.

yeah, leaning into his anger over it was wild but also the show trends towards internal conflict over external, which is a weakness in the writing when it comes to polin because their conflict was a mix of both. there's nothing to really punish colin for and all of pen's biggest fumbles have been both colin and eloise related so i get it but it was overdone in my opinion. bringing in the queen as a foil was a wild choice since the whole "LW has as much influence as the queen" is lip service at best.

i think it also throws people because there's no 3rd act breakup (which i appreciate actually, i think that's overdone because if you tell me these people are desperately in love and then at the first struggle they break up, uhhhh are they in love? you sure?) so there has to be some sort of issue/angst to cause emotional distance over physical distance and with colin having more reason to be distant vs penelope, you get a dude sleeping on his sofa.

you know, i think that's going to be the biggest thing for the LW storyline from now on. outside of the queen or whatever, she's got a husband who never lets her alone and people will be aware of who she is now. maybe she has a network, there's no way the servants aren't loyal to her and you know they knew what she was up to. rae was on screen for less than 2 minutes before you knew who she was loyal to. and penelope has been shown to care about the working class and be fair minded so if they're smart, they'll use that to their advantage.

[acewizardinspace]

So Sabine is training as a jedi. Lets just say I have mixed feelings.

On one hand, I actually love the idea of a jedi who is not very force sensitive. In contrast to characters like Anakin who were just naturally talented, a jedi character who has to train much harder has a lot of narrative potential. A jedi that is only a little force sensitive sounds really cool! (A little force sensitive, not not-force sensitive. Two different things, one is a cool idea, the other sucks.) This is a story I would absolutely be down for seeing and I think there is a lot of potential here.

I also think giving Ahsoka a student is a fantastic idea. Giving her a padawan would force her to face her past and make peace with the reality of what Anakin did and who he became. It could allow her to finally embrace her lost culture by following one of their most important customs: teaching. It would functionally let the audience know that even after tragedy their culture survived. This could be an amazing story.

So, in theory at least, I should love this idea, right? But I don't.

If this has been another character, I think a new one would work best, I would love this! But it just doesn't make sense for Sabine.

For one, it is a huge retcon and causes rebels to retroactively not make sense. There was no foreshadowing that I can recall about Sabine being force sensitive. This just comes out of no where. (Don't say using the darksaber is foreshadowing. Its not. Other, none force sensitive people have used a lightsaber before.)

I think the explanation they are going for is that Sabine has so little force sensitivity that no one ever noticed before, but that just doesn't make sense. If she had meet a jedi once or twice, sure maybe they didn't notice, but for how long she was with Kanan? This leaves three possibilities.

Kanan really never noticed, which retroactively kind of make him look bad? Like you were with her for how long?

Kanan noticed and didn't tell her, which makes him seem like a jerk tbh. You have no right to keep info like that from someone.

Kanan did notice, and he did tell her, but it was so unimportant that it happened off screen and was never shown to us. I don't think I need to explain why that one is bad writing.

The second reason it doesn't make sense for Sabine is that she already has an established backstory and culture. There is literally so much you can do with Sabine's character already! You don't need to add jedi stuff, or if you did, it could (and should) be showing what she learned from living with jedi. Things like handling your emotions, letting go and living to help others.

Frankly, a lot of people love the mandolarians. It seems odd to me that they wouldn't want to center the plot on that part of her heritage? She would be the perfect opportunity to show off non violent parts of their culture. (I think this is the consequence of forcing Ahsoka's show and the rebels sequel together.)

This writing decision creates plot holes were there were none, and for what? What was gained with this decision. The only thing I can think of is that they wanted two popular characters to interact and this was the best they could come up with?

When it comes down to it, I just really dislike that they keep wanting to retcon stuff. We liked rebels the way it was, please don't retroactively change it!

But, even taking my initial dislike of the concept into consideration, I am still hype for the show tbh! I don't want to be negative, I want to like the show so so bad. I truly like the idea of Ahsoka getting a padawan and barely force sensitive jedi. So, I'm staying hopeful.

[iamunabletothinkofablogname]

Oo maybe 6? For the ask game :O :D

i treid sleeping i swear- anyways--

Uh this triggered something long, SHIT , you don't have to read it lol sorry QWQ MY DREAMS ARE MOVIES ATP AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA alr well it was a little weird but bassically: me and my fam [even my dad for some reason but not my lil'est sis] were in a barn, and there were a lot of people there also sick, my dad was really sick [to the point where he was laying down, unable to open his eyes], the most sick. He was on one of the hays in the corner, the only one without doctors around him for some reason I was at the entrance of the barn area so I walked forward a bit and I saw a pig/white dog [can't remember], and I walked up to it cause why not. There were 2 men also next to the animal, 1 of them was js there so i dont remember him well, but the other one looked like litterally straight out of the 1890's, he had a tophat and a walking stick for some reason lol. I looked at the animal and made some kind of remark [i forgor, sorry, my memory is shit and i'm writing this at night, probably will continue in the morning], the man laughed and [im going to translate it but it might not make sense, since it was in arabic, which is something i rarely dream in?] said "remember that people and animals are the same [/neg, as in, animalistic], don't view them any different". I just nodded and then walked away, exploring the rest of the place. [although i believed the info] It was mainly just me like looking at the sick peeps and i saw the pig/dog running/jumping around from area to area, also looking at the sick people, pretty quickly, but they still never went to my dads area. [idk why but that was an important detail in the dream lol]. So after i finish inspecting and stuff, my mum tells me we need to go somewhere and we needed to go get stuff [she wasn't specific, and again, it makes more sense in arabic]. So we go, leaving the middle sibling as she became sick and a little tired as well, and the dream then skips to when me and my mum come back, my mum is holding a plastic bag filled with stuff i didnt know and im js holding chocolate [granted, i ate chocolate before bed so that may have affected it lol], but when we came back the place was mostly empty, only my dad in the corner [it was very far away and barely noticable but he was there, it was a really big place, more than 100m fs], and my sister in the middle-ish front of the place, next to a doctor in the barn and yk the docters stand in hospitals that they wheel around? with a screen? yeah she was next to that. My mum was mad at the doctor cause she was like 'oh as soon as we left, she got sick, it's the doctors fault, blah blah blah', and she started being angry at the doctor. After hearing my mum yap for a bit i js went up to my sister and she was very tired and she looked very sick, i bassically chilled with her, and we were talking as i ate my choc bar. I thought she was going to die in the dream but at the end she didn't, so yippee! Then another time skip happened and we were now all sitting at the side area of the barn and sitting on hay [btw i've never actually lived in a barn? or been to one that looked like that lol], and the doctors came up to us and were like "Oh yeah your husband [they were talking to my mum], died". and my mum deadass turned away from him and then the vibe suddenly was off [anxiety, it got like a scarier feeling for some reason], and she said "But his soul is still alive". I looked at her, then at his place, where his body was still there, but the body was dead, and a bad vibe hit me [idk how else to explain feelings help] and i said "His body is dead but his soul is still alive, he's alive" And then the dream fucking ended MY DAD ISN'T DEAD AS FAR AS I KNOW???

[phantomoftheorpheum]

okay christian has finally started giving me weird vibes. and where the heck did jen come from?! bloody rose wanted jen and shawn to not be around. and why introduce the fiancé of imogen’s dad? it kind of feels like she burned that bridge…. and if it weren’t for her grandmother partaking in suspicious activity, would mouse even have much of a storyline this season? haha i’m not sure. general questions floating in my head.

i think the bloody rose movie theory makes so much sense. but then that only leaves wes and christian??? and who is playing the lead role of bloody rose? one person who cares about the filmmaking aspect and another person who only cares about terrorizing the girls? i agree with the other anon about the Scream connection. it’s giving scream 4!

Adding my answer below the cut, due to basically all the spoilers from the first half of the season.

ALSO, spoilers for the Scream franchise!

I was completely ready to write Christian off as an antagonist because I was just so sure that the girls would immediately get suspicious of him when they realized the BR was "real" and not just internet rumors, and that would be a big red herring. And then they just... weren't? I mean, you find out someone is running around town dressed up in an elaborate BR outfit and you're not even a little suspicious of the new guy in town who makes horror movie masks and props for fun? Even though you know he has an Archie and Rose one? I know Tabby might not have been super familiar with the Rose mask initially when she saw it (since she wasn't really on SpookySpaghetti), but even if she never connected what she saw in Christian's basement specifically to BR's mask, he's still a guy who literally specializes in practical horror effects. It's so weird to me that they've not questioned that at all. They've acknowledged that "Rose" is likely appropriating her image from rumors originating with Mouse's posts about Archie, so it's not like they think this person is actually Rose Waters. They became immediately suspicious of Sullivan for her recordings, but not Christian for his horror obsession and possession of the correct props for this scheme? That's the most suspicious thing about him (that he's not been a suspect for them when he should be), even though it looks like Noa is starting to question Christian and Johnny in the upcoming eps. I'm not 100% convinced he's an antagonist, but it feels weird.

It definitely feels like Jen has secrets that need to come out before the end of the season, I'm just not sure if those secrets are directly antagonistic or not.

The introduction of the fiancé is something I am questioning, too. It feels like a unnecessarily complicating factor, and I'm still not sure if that's all it is (a complicating and distracting factor), or not. It felt so out of the blue that I can't understand wasting screen time on it if they don't need it. And it does feel like Imogen's mom is possibly connected to the events of this season (like when Imogen dreams about telling Johnny that she sees Bloody Rose as her mom), but I don't know how. This season is just packed with so many subplots.

Yeah, ngl, I'm disappointed with what we've gotten for Mouse this season. In season 1, her storyline was probably my least favorite of any of the girls (not just because it was weird, but also because I think it lacked some depth that the others had), but she had my favorite romantic arc, so things balanced out for me. This season, she is basically just there to info dump and her grandmother feels more active in the story than she does and Ash isn't even around that much. I want to really enjoy Mouse's story, I just feel like she's gotten the least character work out of all of the girls.

I am getting the vibe that our antagonists (because I do think there's more than one) might not be unified in their goals. Which would also be very Scream of them, wouldn't it? And making a movie would be very Scream of them. Also, Jordan Gonzalez (Ash) keeps posting stuff about Scream & Billy Loomis, specifically, on instagram. The first time I saw something about that in his story, it had to do with someone thinking Ash would have a Billy Loomis style reveal, and I thought, "Well, he wouldn't share it if that were true, right?" but then, if that reveal isn't actually about Ash, but another character like Shawn (the "perfect" boyfriend plotting revenge on his girlfriend for perceived sins [in Sid's case her mother's, rather than her own] she has no idea he's aware of), then maybe he would. I do like the idea several of you have mentioned that we could be getting a kind of Scream 2 team up (Wes or Christian making a movie, some maternal figure seeking revenge), but IDK. I'm not sure how they're going to tie all these different threads together, but I think it's going to be fun to watch them try!

[protege-not-protagonist]

And it's not just JJ, most of his love interests belittle him, use him and point out that he is weird. And he also seems to be a lot more invested and interested in them then they are with him. And it feels like the writers make his awkwardness and autistic traits seem like a flaw in that aspect of his life, and they never give him some who just love him for him. It's so sad.

The only time JJ is shown being extra 'loving" on screen to Spencer for more than a few sentences a season, is when he is in prison. But JJ shows nothing past like episode 4 of season 1 that's even close to romantic interest in Reid. That's why it's not believable that off screen JJ developed stronger feelings for Reid. Which is what make the episodes leading up to truth or dare in season 14's interactions feel so forced and robotic. If we were supposed to pick up on a romantic relationship between the two before that it was not well written and shouldn't have been there. But I think what it really comes down to was it was an easy way to create internal tension with the team, and it was a bad way to create drama.

That being said I disagree that JJ never does anything nice for Spencer. I like them as friends. Which I why I hate the ship so much. ... Sorry just had the sudden urge to write an essay below the cut,

So I don't think JJ is a bad friend or person. she is not my favourite character.

In Defence of JJs FRIENDSHIP with Reid: they imply Reid spends a lot of time with her family outside of work and off screen. There are things that imply that JJ does nice things for Spencer, we just don't see it on screen or it's small gestures that are unnoticeable like bringing him coffee, pulling out seats for him sometimes. The prison arc shows this, with the fact the boys draw him pictures and JJ check on his mum. Even though we see JJ shutting down his info dumps, it is back up by friendly, platonic behaviour else where, which make the friendship seem believable.

I think what a lot of people get upset over is they relate and empathise with Spencer because they have been there. So we are extra sensitive to situations in the show that involve him. I mean, a lot of characters have the writers do them dirty and bad love interest, but we are drawn to charecters we empathise so we notice it more with Reid.

In the real world, friendships aren't perfect. And as a Neurodivergent person, having neurotypical friends can be like that. There is like a language barrier with certain gestures and social cues that both parties use and both parties misinterpret. People will listen to your tangents sometimes but another time they will be busy or not be interested. They also think that by saying things like... 'Sorry I'm not interested' or 'okay, back to what I was saying' is helpful (it's not, it feels like rejection) but it is often well meant. In the show they are also at work and have a job to do, so maybe if we give JJ ( and the team btw) the benefit of the doubt, she may be a bit more curt and direct at work in shutting him down than normal. (I still don't like it, being shut down makes me sad) BUT compare this to where we see a definite instance of where it's not meant well, and that is from Seaver when she says 'Sorry I asked.' (way to make a character instantly disliked.)

Spencer's gestures are also different to JJ's and a bit more visible to the viewer of the show than they would be to JJ. JJ shows affection through touch, affirmations and spending time together. Some examples are the scene where she invites him to feel the Baby in her tummy, making him the godfather of henry, she also calls him a nickname, and often is one to ask if he is okay after something happens, she also plays poker with him, so much so that she is able to beat him at it because she knows, that he know her tells. These are all things that JJ does for Spence, but they aren't really gestures that need to be shown or explained so we don't notice them as much.

Reid on the other hand seems show his affection in acts of service, gifts, and is very thoughtful. An example of where this is more apparent to the viewer than JJ is him memorizing the labour manual for if she went into labour in the field. We only know this because he explains why he knew what do. Before that explanation I doubt he would have told the team about it and JJ would not have known that he had done that for her. Spencer's gifts are also well thought out, and meaningful but only for people who also think like that. The encyclopaedia set for Henry is an example. Excellent gift from Spencer's (and my) POV, but for someone like JJ, it's not really a good gift. BUT she showed that she understood the thought behind it and why he thought it was a good gift. She appreciated that thoughtfulness, but not the gift itself.

SO, I don't hate her as Reid's friend. Could their relationship as friends be better... of course. (She's not off the hook for the whole 'you're upset because I controlled my micro expressions' argument.) But I hate that they tried to twist that friendship into something else that no one wanted. I think that's an issue with inconsistent writing and also just writing something to create drama for shock value.

nice things spencer has done for JJ:

- invited her to events outside of work

- been a good godfather to her son (offering to babysit, bonding with him, etc)

- been concerned when she was hurt, counting her injuries and generally being worried

- helped her get closure on the man who tortured her in afghanistan and listened when she expressed her anger and hurt at the situation

- many more things

nice things JJ has done for spencer:

- ???

(your post got me thinking lol…)

lemme make a list rq

things spencer has went out of his way to do for jj:

swallowed his feelings so she didn't feel bad about leaving him at the barn.

let her confide in him about countless things over and over.

did nothing but be a good godfather to her kid, who loves him dearly, probably more so than his mother!

showed genuine real concern when she was hurt.

invited her to a sports game bcs SHE likes sports and he wanted to hang out with her even though he hates sports.

showed up for her even when he was still grieving the "death" of emily.

never second guessed her.

made sure she was included and invited to things even if she turned it down.

put on a smile just so she wouldn't worry about him.

gave her all the support she needed whenever she needed it no mather how much he was struggling.

bad things spencer has done to jj:

was a little sassy.

good things jj has done for spencer:

gave him a little hug like once.

celebrated his birthday.

bad things jj has done to spencer:

killed him.

lied to him.

broke his trust.

gaslit him.

was ableist to him.

belittled him.

invalidated his feelings.

watched him suffer and did nothing.

never apologised for being the reason he almost relapsed.

laughed at his interests.

didn't visit him in hospital.

took her anger out on him.

undermined his abilities to do even basic things.

basically told him to shut up multiple times.

ruined his life.

confessed her love to him after all of the above.

ladies and gentleman, the fucking audacity!

[noforkingclue]

Information (Batman x reader)

Summary: being an info broker was never an easy job but a certain mask vigilante was making it a hell of a lot harder.

Author’s Note: So I kind of had this idea bouncing around my head since watching the latest Batman film. I wanted to write something with a morally dubious reader, where you’re not entirely sure whose side she’s on. Hope everyone likes the fic!

DC tag list: @mxacegrey

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary, @byebyebreezywrites, @spngingerbread21, @layazul, @lov3vivian, @simonsbluee

“Don’t you ever fucking sleep?”

You rubbed your eyes and you glared at the man in front of your computer. Batman half turned his head over his shoulder before looking back at the monitor. You winced as the bright light assaulted your eyes as you grumbled as you tightened your dressing gown around you. You cringed as you bare feet hit the cold ground.

“What exactly are you looking for?” you asked

“CCTV footage.”

“Of what?”

Batman didn’t reply and you sighed. You perched yourself on the edge of your desk and folded your arms.

“It would be a lot easier if you told me. I could help, y’know. Isn’t that why you come here?”

“I come here because you have access to information that I cannot get.”

“Either through Gordon or through beating people up.”

You had become immune to Batman’s glares. You leant closer to the screen and squinted at the screen, trying to work out what Batman was trying to find.

“If someone wants information from me they usually go about it through different means. You breaking in won’t be any good for business.”

“No one saw me.”

“I don’t doubt it. And speaking of business, you are aware this is how I make a living. You going to pay me or…”

You trailed off under Batman’s stare and held up your hands.

“Or, me providing this for free in return for staying out of jail enough.”

Batman turned his focus back to the completely legally obtained footage and you knew that it was your time to shut up. You looked at the clock on your desk and grimaced. Despite it being early you knew that you wouldn’t get back to sleep. You pushed yourself off the desk and moved towards the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

You pursed your lips as you looked at Batman out of the corner of your eye. It was the first time he asked you that type of question. Usually he just got what he wanted and left, no questions asked.

“Making a cuppa. This is still my place, in case you’ve forgot. You want one?”

You could feel the brief flicker of surprise from Batman and you didn’t know why you offered. You wanted him gone not stay and have a cup of tea. You took Batman’s silence as a rejection of your offer. You leant against the kitchen counter just as Batman stood up.

“Found what you were looking for?” you asked

“Yes.”

“Going to share?”

Batman didn’t reply as he walked towards the window. No, of course he wouldn’t. You stayed where you were as he opened the window. You shivered and hugged yourself as a cold breeze cut through the room.

“Hey B.”

Batman paused just before leaving.

“Next time some warning would be nice.”

Batman’s blue eyes locked with yours. For a tense second he didn’t speak. The only sounds was from the city below. Even at this time Gotham was alive. Innocent civilians mixed with the villains that he was so desperate to stop. Then Batman nodded and disappeared into the night. You let out a sigh of relief and ran a hand over your face as you walked towards the window. You weren’t surprised when you couldn’t see him and you shut the window with a snap. You turned your attention back your computer.

It didn’t take you long to find what Batman was look for. He had been careful to wipe what he was looking for but you were better. You slumped in your seat and put a hand over your face in despair.

The person Batman was looking for was one of your clients.

You operated on client confidentiality which you took very seriously. However, you guessed that Batman wouldn’t be so understanding.

If Batman was looking for him then it wouldn’t be long before he found out your involvement with him.

Fuck.

[now-that-i-saw-you]

I'm sorry to hijack your post op, I just finished season 1 and I've been thinking about this!! I couldn't help comparing the show to Succession since both shows are so similiar, except Succession did a much better job.

This is going to contain spolilers for Succession's finale

One element of the two shows is that everyone's a shitty person, but I feel like narrowing Succession's characters to "just a shitty person" does a disservice to the show. Because Succession tricks you by making you dislike a characters and find them completely irredeemable, then making you feel really bad for them and showing they are capable of caring about someone else. There's not much info about the Roy siblings childhood, there aren't any flashbacks scene, but the writers make sure we know Logan was emotionally (and physically) abusive through the current actions of the characters (and that's fucking brilliant writing) and it's why the characters keep coming back to him (and because they're all power-hungry rich people)

The White Lotus doesn't do that. Everyone acts in ways and displays behaviours. Why do they do that? I have no idea, I literally don't know anything about any of these characters. I kept waiting for the plot to start and it just didn't. It gets frustrating watching the characters do things without understanding why. Why does Paula hide her relationship with Kai from Olivia? Why does she resent Olivia so much? She mentions a power imbalance in their friendship (Olivia always has to have the best cards) (I do think the theme of Power Imbalance in relationships was very interesting) but Olivia doesn't do anything that paints her as a bad friend. Even when she knows her mom got robbed and her dad got beaten because of Paula, she still protects Paula ((she's gay, you're honour)). The only bad thing Olivia does is treating her brother like shit which I thought was such a cliche. Oh wow, another cool older sister who's so mean to her dorky little brother. And that brings me back to Succession because the Roy Siblings are cruel to each other but they love each other so much. Shiv would stab Kendall in the back for a bag of chips but she would give him her left lung to save him. There's an aspect in the show wherein it's clear that things get so much better when the siblings cooperate, and then it all falls apart when Logan makes one of them betray the others. And really they all want his love so why wouldn't they do anything he asks?

No one in The White Lotus pays the consequences for their actions. Yeah you could say it's criticising the fact rich, privileged people never pay for their crimes but...why would I want to watch it? Succession's ending was fantastic because everyone lost but not in the way you expected. Logan never gets properly punished, but he dies off-screen in an episode not even named after him. Tom betrays his wife and ends up the CEO but he's just a puppet on strings. Shiv sucks for several reasons (I love her tho) and she is still the rich wife of a CEO but then, that's all she is - a wife. Kendall and Roman lose the prize they dedicated their entire lives to winning.

I think The White Lotus did a good job showing Shane is the epitome of Privileged, Whiney Manchild and a Mommy's Boy...but he's not really that interesting. He's just supposed to highlight Rachel and Armond. We know there is a power imbalance in Shane and Rachel's relationship which is probably why Rachel doesn't break up with him by the second episode. But then she has an epiphany and decides to break up with him and then comes back to him after he stabs a man?? Why?? Why does Shane not get arrested or detained for fucking killing a man?? Even if it was for self-defense???

it really didn’t hit me that there’s no show like succession in terms of the funniness and wit until it was over . like ive been trying to watch the white lotus over the course of like two weeks and im still stuck on episode four and there are six episodes in s1 . this shits boring