#∅. ─── NOW LOADING... // [ GROUP PROFILE]

[chiming-bluebells]

༘⋆ ꙳ now introducing: lexi in her maze runner dr !!!! ⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ˚｡

close relatives: an oak tree and a human.

˖˙ ᰋ ⋆ ˚ ⊹ യ *◞ ˚ ꕀ .*

LOADING . . . W.C.K.D. SUBJECT FILE.

[ AUTHORISED ] password: **********

ꗃ a͟c͟c͟e͟s͟s͟ gr͟a͟n͟t͟e͟d by AVA PAIGE

project.LILITH

[ 24 / 6 / 2xxx, 21:00 ]

PROFILE. DAY 862 : THE MAZE TRIALS

「 S͟U͟B͟J͟E͟C͟T͟ A͟2͟2 ⊹ LEXI ⊹ ,,LILITH” ⊹ 21 Y/O

full name: classified.

subject information: arrival of subject A22 marks the 365th day since the initiation of the maze trials. notably, A22 is the first female individual assigned to group a. while she does not occupy a leadership position within the group, she actively participates in group meetings, and her contributions are frequently regarded as valuable by peers.

subject demonstrates extensive knowledge in medical care and human physiology, consistent with expectations given her prior specialized training. despite undergoing memory surpression (the swipe), A22 appears to retain vague memories from her pre-trial life. she has been observed engaging in discussions regarding the nature and purpose of the trials, often hypothesizing with other group members. distinctive feature of subject is a dragonfly tattoo located between her shoulder blades.

memo: subject A22 submitted a request for items (1) an unspecified quantity of medjool dates and (2) a new skirt. request for medjool dates has been approved. send up a bundle of dates with the box 1/7. request for a new skirt has been denied. no clothing item will be issued at this time.

HER‎♡ : S͟U͟B͟J͟E͟C͟T͟ A͟5 ⊹ NEWT ⊹ ,,the GLUE” ⊹ 22 Y/O 」

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ᨳ

GLADE MOTHER ꕤ since the moment she arrived in the box, LEXI WITHOUT-A-LAST-NAME has disjointed the predictable monotony of the glade in more ways than one. as the first and second-to-last girl to join group a, she quite stirred things up her first few days. ( scene: confusion, chaos, gatherings in the council hall, and… oh, she’s alright… wait, why do the farm animals have bows on them? in that precise order. end scene. )

despite the initial havoc that her unforeseen appearance caused, she quickly established her presence in the glade as a level-headed and skilled med-jack. together with fellow colleagues, best friends and partners-in-crime clint and jeff, lexi spends her daily hours tending to hurt gladers; using her extensive medical knowledge to soothe the runners’ swollen ankles, stitching up slicers, and acting as an anchor for any soul who happen to stumble into the med-hut that day; earning her the endearing nicknames ”glade mother” by some, ”doc” by others, ”the little lady” by most, and ”lexapexaroo” by those wanting to annoy her.

first swede in the american crowd. second european (first would be newt. and yes, the two best friends have indeed trauma-bonded over this fact more than once. they have an agreement: he lets her speak in swedish to him, she lets him speak in gaeilge to her…….not that they understand each other’s mother tongues, but she has indeed memorised the irish expressions ”mo ghrá” and ”grá mo chroí” by heart. i digress…..) lexi’s infamous first words to being asked whether she speaks english or not was ”sparingly.” don’t assume this is her admitting incapability; she is rather well-versed in the english language. this is simply her nordic humour peaking through — she’ll speak to you only when she wants to. and how much she speaks is entirely up to her. better get used to the swedish silence.

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ᨳ

if she’s not in the med-hut playing doctor, then she’s most likely in the kitchen together with frypan acting as his sous chef. and if she’s not doing that, then she’s probably lying in the grass somewhere or on the floor of the homestead. despite being warmly received and considered part of the glader family by now, most still have a difficult time figuring her out. maybe it’s her (at times…as in rarely exhibited…) stoic nature, or the way her mere presence hums of something ancient and otherworldly; the way her intuition leads her with scary accuracy, or how she just manages to know the unknown with little to no explanation….there is something about lexi and her nature that is both fascinating and terrifying to the other gladers.

her free time is spent reading any book that gathers dust in the library of the homestead (yes, the homestead has a library. and yes, lexi is probably one of few who ever steps inside of it….. she reads. how she reads. too much, some would argue. but all-round education has never hurt anyone, she usually tells them), petting the cat ginger and cuddling bark the non-barking dog, creating mischief and pulling pranks on minho (while she’s tying his shoelaces together in impossible knots, he’s filling her ballet flats with mountains of glitter the creators decided to entertain him with), or painting artworks of gladers and and the glade itself in her little sketchbook. she takes great pride in her artworks, which she deems as an extension of herself, and in turn a way to subconsciously connect with her forgotten past. if she shows up with hands covered in charcoal or watercolour paint, don’t worry, she simply tried to remember something.

all in all, lexi has cemented herself into the glader culture with pure stubbornness — the same old stubbornness as she so often uses to her advantage. her loyalty lies not in the glade, but rather in its people. and she shows her deep-seated love for them with her ways to create a home out of this god-forsaken place. from weaving flower crowns for the farm animals to hanging bouquets of flowers upside down in every corner of the homestead, she is indeed a tiny speck of colour (all white linen outfits) inside the towering walls of the maze.

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ᨳ

FRAGMENTS OF HER SOUL ꕤ ⋆ sentimentality and a sense of wistfulness ⋆ sweet love letters dedicated to life and the universe ⋆ chaotic and artistic collages ⋆ messy watercolour palettes ⋆ lace and linen ⋆ eyes sparkling with mischief ⋆ wishing upon a shooting star ⋆ a sense of belonging and acceptance ⋆ a genuine smile from a stranger ⋆ pressed flowers and dried bouquets ⋆ flickering candles ⋆ pink carnations and baby’s breath ⋆ wooden stairs and pillars ⋆ cocooning oneself in a soft blanket ⋆ hands smudged with charcoal ⋆ birches and sturdy oak trees ⋆ warm summer rain ⋆ almonds and fresh medjool dates ⋆

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ᨳ

THE RECORD PLAYER IS ON . . . ꕤ the songs that best encapsulate her character. lyrics accounted for !!

◞ välkommen in by veronica maggio

◞ jako by ladaniva

◞ genesis by alkyone

◞ human by daughter

◞ soft universe by aurora

◞ hela huset by veronica maggio

so. there it is: my maze runner dr intro. it’s actually a rework of my first tmr dr intro from my old blog; now vastly improved, i hope. wanted to try something new with the wckd file intro, as well. also!!!! finally figured out how to make the gradient text thingy on tumblr, and i might’ve went a biiiiit overboard with it (or not. pretty colours pretty colours pretty colours!!!!!!).

the layout is, as always, inspired by @elysian-fawn , @girlberrie , and @kerryshifts !!! ·˚ ♡⸝⸝

[sage-lights]

i just watched the tiktok ban go live in real time what is life

[xe-company]

❝ WELCOME TO THE WASTELAND! HELLO, WE'RE DOOMSDAY! ❞

DOOMSDAY, also written as D𝚹𝚹MSDAY, is the first all-Thai-membered female group to debut under REDRUM RECORDS. They marked one of the beginnings of the newest phase of the company after the CEO's daughter and son, respectively, took over. The group lineup consists of three siblings with MADEE being the youngest and CANTANA and KAEO being her older twin sisters. The trio debuted on OCTOBER 27, 2024 with a 4-track mini album DEJA-YOU with the title track of the same name. The girls are known for their dark and punk vibe and are the third band that has debuted under the company.

⸻  ⧓  BASICS

DEBUT ALBUM — DEJA-YOU

type of album — mini album title song — DEJA-YOU how many songs — 4

NUMBER OF MEMBERS — 3

age range of members — 1997 - 1999

CONCEPT — Hex Girls inspired, Dark, PopPunk/Rock Genre,

FANDOM NAME — Seekers

OFFICIAL COLORS — Cal Poly Green [ #2A4626 ] ; Moss Green [ #858C55 ] ; Raw Umber [ #915E43 ] ; Lion [ #B79C78 ] ; Bistre [ #2D231A ]

⸻  ⧓  MEMBER LINE-UP

Madee 'JINX' Sangsorn . . . [ 1999 ] . . . Keyboardist, Bassist, Back-up Vocals

Cantana 'LILITH' Kedmanee . . . [ 1997 ] . . . Guitarist, Lead Vocals

Kaeo 'NYX' Kongkatitum . . . [ 1997 ] . . . Drummer, Back-up Vocals

⸻  ⧓  DISCOGRAPHY

DEJA-YOU ... [10/27/24] ... '1st Mini Album'

[yvesismywife]

IWH2BMX ᝰ.ᐟ DANIELA AVANZINI

synopsis

y/n l/n, the 4th member of the rnb girl group flo, is notorious for her very noticeable lack of pr training. once she goes through a very public breakup, her pr team finally decided it was time to control her online presence. daniela avanzini, the main dancer of the girl group katseye, found her reputation getting caught in the cross fire of her band mate’s blunt personality. so when both groups are caught at the same party, management gets a not so great idea.

status loading... in progress

tags smau, crack, fluff, (semi) love-hate relationship, coarse language, suggestive themes, celebrity!au, sexual jokes, poor humour, (semi) toxic relationships, angst…maybe.

featuring flo, katseye, lizeth selene, possibly others

pairing daniela avanzini x black female reader.

now playing... access all areas

notes did i make this in hopes of a flo x katseye collab?? well, yes. also imagine that there’s a 4th member in the pictures of flo lol. this was made for fun and entertainment and is not an actual portrayal of the people mentioned. i’m not sure if i want flo to be based in california or keep them in the uk, so for right now they are doing press in america 😭. there is no set face claim for yn. also this is my first time making a smau, so if it’s bad, tell me 🙏

profiles the children of the destiny’s | new crazy

put a finger down

cool and collected

not to point fingers

hater syndrome

that’s bae right thurr

i am a strong woman

where baddies unite

mommy manager

not my type

kitty group

you’re buying

mindless behaviour

gay awakening

hey avanzini

might be panicking

friends

the terrell show

officially (not)dating

come inside

monster high

besties

fighting through sza

out now on netflix

the girls are fighting

fake girlfriend

santa monica

vacation with selene

a rekindling

nailea devora

oh bloody hell

rain check

…more in progress

taglist ! (open) @1luvkarina @yjiminswallet @sunshinez4 @winnmin @lara4eclipze @wtfisthisnoclueman @flowerluzx @meizinisnumberone @leotapes @meganskiendielsbtc @reey0w @haerinkisser @cassiespoiler @peanutbutterlover05 @p1hbrook @kristalag @yeetaberry127 @blushmimi @xochitlisbest @urmom2314 @bowforgodjihyo @vvyuqi @linnnsworld @vampireris @loverofannabeth @mei2yok @yunalvrrr @ratzeye @hotluvlet @vivilvr @reiiaokii @skz-xii @modernvenuss @aloneinacity @liancacoltrane1 @tamberverse @idontwannabeable @idkbruhdoyou

COMMENT TO BE ADDED

[sl-vega]

SWEET N' SOUR ! - a scaramouche celebrity smau

-> PROLOGUE; all because I liked a boy

additional notes:

HI HI

i wanted to post this chapter yesterday but i'm SUPER sick right now so staring at a screen was basically a death sentence for me

so to make it up to you guys I wanted to make this chapter longer than I originally wanted it to be!

i was debating whether I wanted to release to prologue or the profiles first, but seeing as how scara's fg isn't relevant yet (and how y/n's entire gc was shown in the second teaser, I decided on uploading the prologue first!

and part of me also want you guys to guess some of the irl equivalents to some of the characters here!

aka half of them

only half of y/n friend group (including y/n mind you) are essentially au versions of another celebrity/semi famous person

so leave your guesses in my ask box/comments!

anyways LMAO other random notes

while this smau won't be an exact one to one of how the music industry works (ie me taking creative liberties with fontinalia being based off of broadway records even though it functions VERY differently from the source) I do like to include accurately depicted parts of it when I can!

when Beidou was talking about qixing showing an interest in y/n, the A&R team that she mentioned is a very real part of any record label!

A&R stands for artists and repertoire, and it's basically a fancy term for talent scouts who find new artists to sign to the label they work for!

anyways lmao this was a VERY long a/n, so thanks for reading all that if you did

as per usual, taglist is always open and please let me know if you want to have a cameo as a fan username (and thank you to all the people who let me use their's as fans in this chapter!)

also let me know if any of y'all are comfortable with being scara haters, venti can't keep doing the work for you

˚୨୧⋆｡ synopsis:  the bright lights of fame and fortune aren’t for everyone, and you’re starting to think you’re part of that majority. You just can’t seem to catch a break! Every movie you’re in goes straight to DVD, every album you drop just barely gets any streams. From child star to sub par popstar, it seems clear that the world has some kind of vendetta against you and you love to blame it on a certain rising musical sensation; Scaramouche. Thanks to your godforsaken luck you happened to go out with the wrong guy at the wrong time because he just so happened to be Scaramouche’s ex, next thing you know you wake up to truck loads of death threats, your record label dropping you, AND a whole album labelling you as the ‘other woman’! After what seemed like a never ending onslaught of straight bullying and harassment, you had long since retreated from the limelight, the only thing left from your music career being ever so occasional covers on YouTube that only your few close friends watched religiously. However, after writing a heartfelt original piece and uploading it from your humble bedroom, it goes viral! A single song has thrusted you head first into stardom once more, and face to face with the person you ruined it for you.

<- prev ll masterlist ll next ->

🍬 (open) taglist: @shrii-kk @freyao7 @analiee6 @thetwinkims @bellflower1257 @blvdmrcnry @bloukoup @yuan1819 @yourstrulymauki @fungaltoehehe @enrions @atlatcaheart @mywillt0live @myeomiz @adornavia @automaticpatroltragedy @scaraenthusiast1 @sesamemin @syunifu @blueberrybxba @fishii28 @a-sorrowful-tune @emvss @jiminscarmex @mwaiu @lloversss @d4y-dr3am3r @usagiarchive @idaissupercool @raytoebiter @lizzie-harper @anqelkoz @blue-moonies @lalalaloveallmydays @jinjjjia

[idekkkjja]

idol sugar mommy aeri with reader !!! (inspired by her recent ig post !!)

BLING BLING ˚₊‧꒰ა $ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ G!p Giselle x fem! reader

-`💳´- Being an idol who’s extremely successful with money loading in bank accounts was worth the pain and sacrifices in the past; the non-stop preparations for the public’s eye and endless concerts had the satisfying flickering of the green papers brushing against each other in stacks all worth it.

Oh, and the look of your adorable eyes shining in happiness is worth it too.

Heads-up: English’s not my first language so soz, sugar mommy Giselle, public(?) sex if fucking in a changing room is in that criteria, a bit rushed smut IM SORRY THIS MY SECOND EVER G!P.. and rushed ending, oh she has a mommy kink too. She’s a bit of a loser too. You both are and that’s okay x. Fluff too, Giselle’s so down bad.

🧾⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ It all started with you using K-pop as an internal escape from the stress of your two bare-minimum jobs, and it barely paid off all your needs including college.

Specifically, one girl group called Aespa. Their new hit ‘Girls’. Captivated by this mixed Japanese-Korean member, named Giselle, your little obsession occurred when startled by her viral red hair fan cam dancing to the song.

Oblivious to the extreme backlash received by haters and annoying K-netizens, your whole phone was filled to the brim to the point of Giselle.

Giselle wallpaper, Giselle home screen, Giselle profile picture, Giselle desktop screen, and you name it. Anything that came along with the beautiful woman that is free merch, you snatch it. Not that you were a solo stan, the opposite actually, you despised those species.

You loved all the members, maybe your bias was one percent higher although that was not the point. Rather, whenever you caught your subconscious having favoritism towards her from the others in videos and such, you made sure to pour all that your heart had to the rest.

Luckily—this fan-girl phase (or not)— has motivated you to save up the spare money you barely had after using it on rent, monthly tuition fees, food… oh, and taxes. This would take a while, wouldn’t it?

And your thoughts manifested to life, because it did. Taking long, exhausting months to more months, (including the cruel coarse work piled up on your aching shoulders) leads to a new comeback from their long break called ‘Spicy’.

Were you desperate to buy the newest album? Of course, one hundred and one percent. You would sell your infuriating younger sister to buy this gem.

Knowing this severely anticipated moment quote on quote, your trembling hands had money enough to buy the plastic-covered album at the front of the music store, the unbothered cashier carefully placed the single item in the plastic bag provided and handed it to you without a single peek; already yelling out the another squealing customer behind you.

Dashing straight home to your pity, cramped flat, you screamed in pure joy and jumped around in celebration. This was the reason why you grinded so hard!

Opposite to the influencers online who carefully and precisely nit-picked their packages open, you ripped it apart like a starving banshee, exploring the first-ever album and caressing it lovely.

Now, the photocards time! Praying internally to win one single photocard of Giselle, since it was enough for you to last a lifetime… you inhaled sharply, and your nerves jumbled for a moment that would last a minute maximum.

Embracing the darkness, you counted three to one snapped your eyes open to Karina, and screeched your lungs out in delight nonetheless! And found out you had all the ot4 member photocards individually, just an extra Karina one, and that made you die of happiness.

Rummaging throughout the whole album, exploring every single inch and leaving them not untouched: you made sure that the money that brought you into sweat would not go into the drain.

And it didn’t.

Gasping in horror, your heart paused for one single beating moment processing what’s displayed in front of you.

A fan call… with Giselle. Your parasocial wife.

Tomorrow at 13:00 sharp.

This whole day from morning to early evening went by too well, you narrowed your eyes in suspicion and the official logo confirmed it was true.

Stunned, you sat there for about five minutes still and blankly stared at the wall. Not knowing what to do.

You can’t write a script, you wanted this whole ordeal to go as smoothly as possible not wanting for you to mess up or your outrageous phone and wifi to ruin meeting the love of your sob-story life!

Time skip to tomorrow, you didn’t have one wink of sleep last night, pondering about the haunting fan call and what you would do and say.

Did you want to be part of those ‘cringy K-pop fan call complications’? Never, over your dead body.

12:56, you got ready to look well resembled and fit for this situation and made sure to be in the best corner of your home to get the best quality despite you knowing greatly that it wouldn’t benefit the terrible camera quality.

Each minute, your keen and expectant gaze stared without blinking at the screen hoping the notification would buzz on your phone anytime soon.

Please. Please.

And it happened.

Buzzing in the background was heard, and your breath was stuck in your constricted throat, witnessing the most gorgeous woman you've ever seen in real-time. That she is actually real.

"Hello!" Giselle formally greets, being polite as she could and looking at the phone expectantly for a response. You were very pretty, she could tell even with the trashy quality.

Nothing came, you were stunned, eyes popping out of your eye sockets as you just subconsciously had a staring contest with her. The idol was... confused, yet interested and she tilted her head, trying to catch your attention.

Were you perhaps lagging?

"Hello?" Again, she repeated herself and cleared her throat.

"H-hi, h-hello," you babbled out, being the epitome of a broken record itself. Visibly amused, Giselle leaned back in her seat and laughed softly.

She's never seen you before, not at fan meetings, concerts, or fan calls with any other members. A new fan, she saw countless of the same individuals in these events, but it isn't hard to admit that seeing a new face is refreshing.

Since it is the last call of today, it doesn't hurt for it to last a little longer than necessary, right? You were entertaining after all, despite not speaking too much yet.

"U-uh, this is my first ever fan call..." you admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of your neck like a loser, a cute loser to Giselle.

The latter leaned closer, noting how easy it would be to tease you playfully. "Ah, really? I couldn't tell." Sarcastically, she remarked, holding her breath not to burst into laughter at your reddening face.

"Ask me anything, baby, I can be here all day if you'd like." Unintentionally, her flirty demeanor confidently stood out; it was all because you were so shy... and adorable, how could she not resist?

"I-I... well, it's been a while since your world tour ended, and you guys, I assume, stopped your deserved break?" Taking a deep breath to carry on your nervous rambling, you shyly peeked at the screen again, seeing Giselle so keenly listening to you, which just made you more flustered than ever and snapped your gaze back to your fidgeting fingers.

"I wanna ask when are you guys going to resume your concerts?" You finished your sentence, glancing up again at the camera, finally having a spine and meeting her eyes. Though obviously it didn't last longer than a maximum of three seconds.

Her perfectly done eyebrows furrowed together in a moment, deeply thinking about an appropriate answer to say without spilling out too much because of the company's annoying restrictions.

"Don't worry, it will be soon, very soon," Giselle emphasised, a knowing smirk tugging up on her glossy, scrumptious lips... don't ask how you knew which lip gloss she was wearing. You did your detailed research and should it go to waste? No, obviously!

“Really?” Excitement wavering in your face, you leaned closer, and the cracked lenses gave your blurry-ish face justice to your features that got the other woman captivated.

The manager hopefully wouldn’t notice, right?

Subtly, in her scrawny handwriting, she gestured the wrinkled paper with her phone number on it sneakily to the screen trying to signal you. “You can screenshot,” she whispered and your trembling hand gripped your phone into a death grip and screenshotted repeatedly.

Your dreams came true! Maybe, you could become friends with your beloved idol.

As the loud buzzer went off repeatedly signaling the fan call was about to end, Giselle smiled and winked at you with a charming small wave. “Text me,” she mouthed and the fan call ended abruptly.

Was it unfortunate? A little… you did want to talk to her more, but at least you got her phone number!

Later on to the night, you texted her and she was extremely kind.

Little did you know, this led onto ‘friendly’ dates where she paid for every expense, even reaching out to buy luxurious items for you that you couldn’t pronounce the names of.

Wow, all you thought was how much of an idol life benefits to the never-ending money.

Back to the present, oh and the presents she gets you on a nearly weekly basis? It was a variety of watches, clothes mainly, or money itself! This was heaven, you know, although it did catch you off guard by how bold she is sometimes.

Subconsciously, you assumed she’s just a very caring friend and rich. Oh, did you mention that she was rich?

In one of her two-seater cars, leaned against the comfortable beige seat that you never thought you would get the chance to sit down ever in your life; Giselle drove with one hand and another splayed casually on your thigh, the sunlight flashing on her branded glasses.

Noticing how bright red your face was, and not from the heat but from her hands, she bursted into laughter: the laughter that could pay all your debt, college fees, and bills alone.

“You okay there?” She blurted out, raising a curious perfectly-manicured eyebrow.

Shy, you wanted to question on her behaviour and why she pampers you so much specifically with buying things for you. It was a little odd considering the friendship.

“I don’t want to get the wrong idea here…” you started off gingerly glancing at the side window before looking at Giselle, who’s distracted by your conversation to concentrate on driving.

“But you keep spoiling me, like too much for a friend, y’know? Like a sugar mommy.” Immediately, her ears perked up at the phrase and snapped her head towards you, her eyes full of lively emotions and a growing anxiety that maybe you wouldn’t accept her offer behind the blank lenses. Maybe, you would lash out at the offer she so desperately wants to give you.

“Would you be surprised if I…I want to be your sugar mommy?” Jolted in your movements, your eyes slowly went onto hers as she took off her glasses to meet your gaze.

“Huh?” Simply, that was your response, an unnerving answer heavy with uncertainty that gnawed at Giselle’s insides.

“I can’t bear to repeat myself, Y/n.” Ashamed visibly, she looked down before facing the front, her face carefully constructed into a stoic mask to not reveal that she was crumbling inside by the assumed rejection.

Yet, she continued awkwardly, to make her point across at least. Not wanting to seem as if a perverted older woman behind the polished-clean perfect image she had as an idol.

“I've… you told me about your college fees, right? How when you paid them, you barely had the rest to scrape by food, right?” Desperately seeking your audible approval to carry on, she subtly glances over.

“Yeah.” Lazily, you drew out, listening to the bizarre idea of justification having a sugar mommy… that was your favorite idol; it seemed forbidden, too risky to agree to.

“And… and it’s not out of pity or charity work. I want to see you happy, Y/n. And it makes me happy too, and my love language is… gifting, you can say.” Unable to repeat the unspoke unallowed term in the conversation—knowing well that it would just make things more awkward than necessary—Giselle resorted to it to brief it out and glorify it a little.

Not so hesitant now, you peeked at her gingerly, fidgeting with your fingers. “I’ll… I can consider it.”

“Can I convince you?” The red light lit up, indicating a stop, and Giselle swiftly slowed down to a stop, using the short time as an excuse to discuss this.

In anticipation, you sighed, tilting your head in rising curiosity about what she meant in the vague question. It could be anything.

"As in?" You urged her on to continue, and the woman didn't hesitate either.

"Shopping trip." Was the offer mouth-watering and enticing? Yes, really so. Oh, you had to. You hadn't gone to a mall for so long to shop for yourself.

Finding yourself in the buzzing crowds of the mall, bold signs of high-end brands everywhere, with passersby drooling at the sight of the clothes displayed in the windows. Like a child spotting a bright, huge lollipop, you surprisingly shamelessly bought nearly everything in most stores you just wanted to 'look around' in.

Good for Giselle, her money you're spending so carelessly for wasn't even 10% of what she got in her bank account.

Brushing your fingers affectionately against the high-quality, silky fabric, you sought a beautiful dress to wear to a party that would occur later in the week. To enhance your beauty, to make a difference and shock everybody at your college that your wardbrode isn't limited to trashy shirts and baggy jeans.

Giselle noticed how your eyeballs burst into love hearts seeing the tempting dress, so, she whispered against your ear, "you want that?"

Flinching, your face turned into a tomato. "W-well, if you want to spend your money on it... it's a bit pricey. I don't need it, you don't have to!" All acting shy now, the other woman wanted to laugh, finding it endearing how boldly you were using her card for other clothes that were more expensive, and you don't want to spend a little on this one.

She had to buy you this.

Gently, Giselle slid one arm around your waist, leading you to the changing room and gave you the dress supposedly in the right size for you. "At least try it on," she insisted, persistently waiting outside.

Then, a sheepish murmur called out of the changing room for her.

"Giselle?"

"Yeah?" Giselle automatically answered, a little inquisitive about why you were calling her.

"Can you please... uh, help me out for a sec?" Despite how timid you sounded, she rushed in as if helping her baby mama in a labour room and saw the button-up undone on your bare back of your dress.

She swallowed hard, trying to focus on the task at hand. You tried to seem unbothered, too, ignoring that her cool breath was ghosting the back of your neck, making you involuntarily shiver.

"Is this okay now?" You nodded to her question, though the tension in the cramped space made you dizzy.

Subconsciously, her slender fingers stroke up on your sides to caress your exposed collarbones lovingly, pressing her fingertips into the soft skin as if illuminating a sensual massage as her eyes locked with yours in the mirror.

“You like that?” Giselle breathes out, knowing well what the answer would be.

“Yes...” Your voice cutely cracked, making her laugh lightly against your shoulder.

Leaning closer to your face, the other woman paused in her overflowing affection. “May I do a little more?”

Is that even a question?

“Please.”

Desperation was clear in her hasty movements, pinning you against the side wall carefully, kissing you messily as if planning to have something more since day one of knowing such a pretty girl like you.

Both hands protectively splayed on your back, holding you still as her lips devoured yours as if she had touch-starved for years, her breath stuck in her throat when her aching bulge grazed against your throat in her skirt.

Embarrassed, Giselle’s breathing quickened and she pulled away slightly. Her doe, regretful eyes met yours slowly, an unspoken question hanging in the air.

“It’s fine,” you murmured, shy too. This was a hopeless scenario.

Feeling the thick tent, brushing insistently on your revealed thighs, you hung back your hand just yet. “Can you… you know.”

Regardless the situation being painfully awkward, Giselle found herself falling over heels for you.

Unbuckling her belt, she zipped her jeans along with her tight boxers, revealing her cock springing up and pre-cum already leaking on the pink tip like her pink hair.

Her mini handbag hung on her shoulder, she zipped it open and got a condom, opening it quickly she put the oil-drenched plastic over her dick which was so, so, painfully hard and ready for you.

Propping your legs around her waist like a belt, Giselle sloppily pampered kisses on your jaw, plastering her chanel lipstick stains all over to brand you as hers.

Unbothered to take your skirt off, she tucked it up and nearly tore off your panties but knew it wouldn’t cost much anyway to get you a new pair.

“My underwear, I just bought them a few days ago!” You whisper-shouted, annoyance etching on your face.

“I’ll buy you a better pair, today maybe,” she husked through gritted teeth, lining up her tip and rubbing it against your dripping clit enhancing a low muffled moan out of your lips.

Too much dazed in pleasure not even when the sex started, she rammed up her girthy cock in you and clasped your mouth to muffle your moans; she forgot this was in public.

“Shh, shh, I’m sorry baby… mommy’s got you,” Giselle bit her lip to stifle her groans, slamming in a little more reluctantly to not make too much noise in a dressing room.

Creating a soothing tempo for you specifically, she pants hard, leaning a little away to see your glazed-over eyes and holding eye contact. Oh, that alone was enough for her to cum as your inner walls hugged her cock so snugly.

“Oh fuck!” Giselle whined into your shoulders, trembling uncontrollably, thrusting up against you desperately as she rode through her shattering orgasm.

Trying to catch her breath, she felt sweaty and hot, her jaw slickened with sweat trailing down to her collarbones, and that alone made her want to give you babies too instead of merely being her sugar baby as she requested.

“Pull out…” you gasped out, feeling a missing part of you as her softened cock popped out of your empty pussy.

Weakened knees gave away immediately anyway as you dropped down to the floor, looking up at her and her face flushed at the implication of where this was going. The sight of you potentially ruining this gorgeous and expensive dress just to suck her off made her hard all over again.

“I’ll be careful, okay..?” Giselle tried to reassure you, not wanting to leave any evidence of your fucking in a public changing room. Throwing the cum-filled condom into a bin nearby, she made sure the other rubbish covered it before leaning against the wall and biting her lip, staring you down and signaling for you to start.

“Mhm,” you barely hummed, spitting on her cock and pumping it up and down having her teeth mumbling to her bottom lip to stifle her impending moans and whimpers.

Your wet, swollen lips from the earlier messy make-out session cupped her leaking cockhead, sucking lightly and your cheeks hallowed out.

Twirling your tongue around the tip like a sweet lollipop, tasting the subtle salty flavor of the pre-cum, you opened your mouth further and bobbed your head up and down urgently stroking the parts of the dick that you couldn’t fit in your mouth.

“Mm… good girl,” Giselle gritted out, “suck mommy like that, yeah? Oh, just like that…” her legs shook from the overwhelming sensation itself of your warm, welcoming mouth embracing her cock.

Occasionally, you did gag when her dick hit a little too deep and Giselle’s hand reached down to nestle the back of your hair softly to control the rhythm of your sucking so it wouldn’t be painful for you to take her length that could be a bit too big for you.

“Mommy’s so proud of you… you’ve been such a good girl for mommy, haven’t you? Ah… suck like that and mommy will buy you the whole fucking mall…” she rambled on mindlessly but in the back of her barely-functioning brain knew there was a ninety percent chance that she would act upon her words later on.

In pure bliss, her eyes closed contentedly and covered her own mouth to muffle her moans when she felt the orgasm rushing to her dick.

Before she knew it, her cum painted all over in your mouth and you swallowed it all obediently. That fact alone was going to make her cry out of happiness.

Then, you released her now completely soft cock out of your mouth and coughed slightly on your breath. “Oh, fuck…” you mumbled, stumbling to your feet with the help of the other woman as her other free hand tucked herself back in and fixed her jeans.

“I’m so proud of you baby,” she wiped your wet lips dry, and let you get out of the dress by yourself to your old clothes.

Gingerly, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Hopefully nobody noticed that outside.”

Humiliated at the thought, you choked again and she rubbed your back instinctively to calm you down. “Oh God.” Peeking through the curtains, nobody was around in the store anymore and only some staff lurked at the entrance of the store oblivious to what just occurred.

“Hopefully not.” Giselle nodded grimly along, not wanting to seem too suspicious, she got out and put your dress away before exiting.

And when you stumbled out a few minutes later after composing yourself, she smiled innocently at you and held the many bags for you as if roughly about ten minutes ago didn’t fuck the shit out of you.

“Come on, baby, I’ll order that dress for you when I’m home.” Linking arms with you anyway, Giselle’s eyes crinkled at the fantasies fogging her brain up at how there was a chance with you that now… you could be her sugar baby.

Giselle was going to explode.

[the-oblivious-writer]

With Her Die |23|

Past J.T to Eventual S.S x Female Reader

Chapter Twenty-Three: A New Order

warning(s): psychological trauma, guilt and grief, religious/cult-like behavior, death, emotional manipulation, survivor's guilt, isolation and abandonment themes, ritualistic behavior, leadership power dynamics, interpersonal conflict, and mental health deterioration.

notes: happy gay month 'cause yk you gay n' stuff.

taglist:@morganismspam23 @slutforabbyanderson @serendippindots@mikuley@sleepyjackets@wnbawag

masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

Days blurred together in the aftermath of the fire, measured only by the constant feeding of the camp fire that had become your lifeline. The flames devoured everything you could find—broken furniture salvaged from the charred remains, branches torn from unwilling trees, scraps of fabric that no longer served any purpose. The fire breathed like a living thing, hungry and demanding, its warmth the only barrier between you and the wilderness that pressed closer now, more intimate in its threat.

You sat on a fallen log, watching Taissa and Van work to clear debris from what had once been the cabin's foundation. Their movements were mechanical, efficient, but you could see the exhaustion in the slope of their shoulders, the way they paused just a moment too long between tasks. Everyone was running on empty, had been since before the fire took even that meager shelter from you.

The assumption had settled over the group like ash—unspoken but pervasive. Coach Scott's convenient disappearance, the timing too perfect to be coincidence. You'd heard the whispers, seen the glances exchanged when they thought no one was looking. He'd burned it down, they said. Lost his mind with grief and guilt and set fire to everything.

You knew better. The weight of your last conversation with him sat heavy in your chest, a secret that grew heavier with each passing hour. But how could you tell them the truth? That you'd encouraged him to leave, that his departure was mercy rather than madness?

"You're doing it again," Shauna said, settling beside you on the log. Her presence was both comfort and complication, the way it always was now—this strange intimacy born of shared trauma and necessity.

"Doing what?" you asked, though you knew what she meant. The thousand-yard stare, the mental absence that had become your default state since Jackie's death.

"Disappearing," she said simply. "Even when you're right here."

You shrugged, not trusting your voice to remain steady. Everything felt fragile now, like speaking too loudly might shatter what little remained of your composure.

Shauna was quiet for a moment, studying your profile in the flickering firelight. "Do you really think he did it?" she asked finally.

The question hung between you, loaded with implications you weren't ready to explore. "Coach?" you said, stalling for time.

"He was the only one not accounted for when it started," Shauna continued, her voice carefully neutral. "And he's been... different. Since everything."

You felt the familiar surge of defensiveness rise in your throat, sharp and protective. "He wouldn't do that to us," you said, perhaps too quickly.

Shauna's eyebrows rose slightly. "Wouldn't he? We've all done things we wouldn't have done before. This place—"

"He's not like us," you interrupted, the words escaping before you could consider them. "He never... he didn't cross that line."

The unspoken truth settled between you—the meals Coach had refused, the humanity he'd maintained while the rest of you had descended into something primal and desperate. Shauna's face tightened, understanding and hurt warring in her expression.

"So what does that make us?" she asked, her voice quiet but edged with something dangerous. "Monsters?"

You turned to look at her fully, seeing the pain you'd inadvertently caused written across her features. This was the thing that lived between you now—the knowledge of what survival had cost, what it had made you both become.

"That's not what I meant," you said, reaching for her hand.

She pulled away before you could make contact, the rejection sharp and immediate. "Isn't it?" she asked. "We're all contaminated now, is that it? All of us except precious Coach Scott, who was too good for us?"

The bitterness in her voice cut deep, because part of you recognized the truth in it. There was a cleanness to Coach's absence from the group's desperate measures, a moral purity that felt both admirable and somehow accusatory.

"Shauna—"

"No," she said, standing abruptly. "I get it. We're the ones with blood on our hands, literally and figuratively. We're the ones who—"

"Stop it," you said, your own voice rising now. "You think I don't know what we've done? You think I don't carry it every single day?"

Shauna's expression softened slightly, but the hurt remained. "Then why defend him? Why make excuses for someone who abandoned us when things got hard?"

Because I told him to leave, you wanted to say. Because I couldn't bear to watch this place destroy the last good thing from our old life. But the words stayed locked in your throat, too complicated to explain, too dangerous to reveal.

"I just don't think he'd burn down our shelter," you said instead, the partial truth feeling like a betrayal of them both.

Before Shauna could respond, Lottie's voice cut through the night air, clear and carrying despite its softness. "Come," she called, though she wasn't looking at anyone in particular. "It's time."

You and Shauna exchanged glances, your argument temporarily set aside in the face of this new development. Around the clearing, others were already moving toward where Lottie stood near the fire, her figure backlit by flames that seemed to dance in response to her presence.

The group gathered in a loose circle, the formation feeling both natural and ritualistic. Lottie stood at the center, her eyes reflecting the firelight with an intensity that made you want to look away. Since Jackie's death, since the winter had taken its toll on all of you, she'd become something else—oracle, prophet, conduit for whatever force moved through this wilderness.

"The fire was a message," she said, her voice carrying easily through the night air. "A cleansing. The old structure burned away so something new could be born."

Taissa shifted uncomfortably, her skepticism still intact despite everything. "Lottie, we need practical solutions, not—"

"The wilderness rejected her," Lottie continued as if Taissa hadn't spoken, her gaze finding Nat across the circle. "We offered her up, and she was refused. Do you know what that means?"

Nat looked like she wanted to disappear, her shoulders hunched as attention focused on her. "That I'm lucky?" she said, but there was no humor in it.

"It means you're chosen," Lottie said simply. "The wilderness doesn't accept sacrifice from its own children. You belong to it, and it to you."

A strange silence settled over the group, heavy with implication. You could see the others processing Lottie's words, weighing them against their own desperate need for meaning, for structure in the chaos that had become your existence.

"Lead us," Lottie continued, her voice gaining strength. "Not because we choose you, but because the wilderness already has."

Nat's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Lead you where? We're all just trying to make it another day."

"Exactly," Lottie said, and something in her tone made the word sound like prophecy. "Survival requires leadership. Direction. Purpose."

You watched Nat's face, saw the war between resistance and recognition playing out in her expression. She'd never asked for leadership, had always been more comfortable on the periphery. But there was something in her that understood necessity, that had always been willing to do what others couldn't or wouldn't.

Travis spoke up from across the circle, his voice hoarse from days of grief. "She tried to save him," he said simply. "When the rest of.. when we lost ourselves, she still tried to save him."

The words hit you like a physical blow, guilt crashing over you in waves. You'd been avoiding Travis since that day on the ice, unable to look at him without seeing Javi's face disappearing beneath the surface. The knowledge that you'd failed to protect his brother sat like a stone in your chest, growing heavier with each breath.

One by one, the others began to move toward Nat. Van approached first, offering a simple handshake that Nat accepted with visible reluctance. Taissa followed, her acknowledgment more formal, like a diplomat recognizing a new government.

Mari bowed her head slightly as she approached, a gesture that seemed to surprise even her. Akilah did the same, though her movement was more uncertain, seeking approval for her instincts.

When Misty approached, she dropped to her knees without hesitation, taking Nat's hand and pressing it to her lips in a gesture so theatrical it might have been funny under other circumstances. Nat's startled laugh broke some of the tension, a sound more genuine than any you'd heard from her in weeks.

"Jesus, Misty," Nat said, but she didn't pull her hand away immediately. "Get up."

As the others continued their acknowledgments, you remained at the edge of the circle, paralyzed by your own guilt. How could you pledge loyalty to someone whose leadership was built on the foundation of your failure? How could you look Nat in the eye knowing that Javi might still be alive if you'd been faster, stronger, better?

Shauna approached Nat with quiet dignity, her acknowledgment simple and heartfelt. When she returned to the circle, her eyes found yours across the firelight, a question in her gaze that you couldn't bring yourself to answer.

Finally, only you remained. The weight of everyone's attention pressed down on you, expectant and patient. Nat's eyes met yours across the distance, and something passed between you—understanding, perhaps, or recognition of shared loss.

You took a step forward, then another, your feet carrying you toward her despite your reluctance. When you reached her, Nat extended her hand, and you took it automatically. Her skin was warm, roughened by weeks of survival, but steady in a way that reminded you why the wilderness might have chosen her.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, the words meant for Javi, for Travis, for all the ways you'd failed when it mattered most.

Nat's grip tightened around your hand, her thumb brushing across your knuckles in a gesture so gentle it nearly broke you. "We all are," she said quietly, her voice meant only for you.

You lingered a moment longer than necessary, drawing strength from the contact, from the absolution she offered even if you couldn't accept it. When you finally released her hand and stepped back, something had shifted in the group dynamic—subtle but significant.

As the ceremony concluded and people began to disperse, you found yourself drawn to the edges of the firelight, seeking shadows where you could process what had just occurred. The weight of leadership now rested on Nat's shoulders, and with it the responsibility for decisions that might mean the difference between life and death for all of you.

Shauna approached you as you stood apart from the others, her earlier anger replaced by concern. "Hey," she said softly.

You nodded but didn't turn toward her, afraid that meeting her eyes would shatter what little composure you'd managed to maintain.

"Talk to me," she said, stepping closer. "Please."

But how could you explain the guilt that ate at you from the inside? How could you articulate the way Javi's death had changed everything, made every breath feel like theft, every moment of warmth or comfort feel undeserved?

"I can't," you said finally, the words barely audible above the crackling of the fire.

Shauna's hand touched your shoulder, a tentative offer of comfort that you wanted desperately to accept. Instead, you stepped away, putting distance between yourself and the kindness you didn't deserve.

"I just need some time," you said, hating how the words sounded, how they pushed away the one person who'd tried to anchor you through the worst of it.

You saw the hurt flash across Shauna's face before she could hide it, saw how your rejection landed like a blow. But she nodded, stepping back to give you the space you'd asked for, even if it wasn't what either of you needed.

As you walked away from the fire, from the group, from the comfort that felt like betrayal, you carried the weight of too many secrets, too much guilt. Behind you, the fire continued to burn, hungry and patient, consuming everything you fed it while giving back only warmth and light—a mercy you weren't sure you deserved but couldn't bring yourself to refuse.

The wilderness pressed close around you, dark and knowing, holding space for your grief while offering no easy answers. In its depths, you thought you heard the echo of Javi's laughter, the memory of innocence lost, the sound of ice cracking under the weight of choices that couldn't be undone.

Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new tests of survival and sanity. Tonight, there was only the fire, the darkness, and the terrible knowledge that some forms of hunger could never be satisfied, no matter how much you fed the flames.

[soapcloth]

Love, and it’s teeth {prologue}

Dark au -> gourmand cannibal!Price x reader

Series CW: 18+ MDNI, cannibalism, stalking {will update as I go}

not edited - 1000 words - dividers -> @/cafekitsune

Price, for all intents and purposes had not meant to engage in Internet forums on the topic of cannibalism. He would sooner paint a bright red target on his back accompanied by the words ‘I eat people’- and yet, something about the way you defended ‘cannibalism as a metaphor for love’ with your whole chest had piqued his interest.

‘It’s a load of shite, love.’ he typed out simply in response to your post, blunt thumb jamming the send button on his touch screen. His phone buzzed almost instantly with your response.

‘lol, don’t call me love. Just say you lack whimsy and move on 😭 anyways I’m not arguing with an old British man, ‘JohnP1977’’

He scoffed, shoulder bulk shaking as he pawed at his jaw incredulously. He spent the next few minutes typing and deleting as he puffed on one of his cigars; every response coming off far too incriminating. He finally settled for tapping your icon to snoop around your profile, there was no discernible personal information at a glance aside from the fact that you were an adult, but digging into your media tab rewarded his diligence well. There you sat on your bed, oot’d? ooted? Whatever that meant. He grinned, double tapping on the photo.

Like clockwork, his phone buzzed in his hand- a direct message popping up. He smiled, languid and knowing. ‘creep 👎’ was all the message said. ‘Just showing you how whimsical I can get x.’ He responded.

Your typing bubble popped up and subsequently disappeared in a seemingly infinite loop. ‘fine’ you finally sent. ‘what do you have against cannibalism being used as a metaphor for love?’

You- all too cozy in your bed, watched your screen with your lip drawn up past your teeth. ‘Nothing, love.’ He acquiesced ‘Just not realistic, that’s all.’ You rolled your eyes. ‘ok? not exactly going for realism here, buddy’

‘Buddy? We’re friends now? What’s your name, love? Since we’re buddies and all.’

You bit out a weak laugh at his gall. ‘you sound like a serial killer’

‘Would that be okay if I was doing it as a metaphor for love? x’

-

You hadn’t thought much about that man with the blank profile since blocking him after he had spammed you with likes, notably on pictures with places you frequented as the subject. It had freaked you out enough to make you deep clean your little personal account and set to private. The right choice, evidently, seeing as a few blank profiles had requested to follow you before he had finally given up. Soon, over a month had passed since you had resolved not to visit your favourite- that fact well-documented, local bar due to the aforementioned string of incidents.

As luck would have it, this seemed to be a good choice, burnt toast theory or whatever you wanted to sum it up to. It was all over news and radio in your town, two patrons, a man and a woman, had gone missing right after leaving in an unmarked ride share. Reports had suggested that they had gotten into the wrong car and local officials spoke about the possibility of a curfew and urged towards the use of established taxi services and public transportation for those getting around.

You currently sat back at that same bar, a bleeding heart for the poor owners that had lamented in a local social media group about the winter business they relied on to pay the ever-increasing bills all but dying out, putting them out a good chunk of money since investing in higher quality security measures in hopes of instilling greater public trust. You watched the blurry, soundless released cctv footage play on the news between sports game coverage as you sipped on your drink, eyes flitting between the yellowed flatscreen and a group running a trivia night. You sighed, taking another sip as you overheard someone beside you talking about how this whole disaster had been great for his cab business, likening it to a boon.

“Christ, have some respect.” A deep voice grumbled from your other side, causing your head to rip to the new stranger being dismissively jeered at by the offending party. A bearded man had somehow silently slotted himself into the seat to your right without alerting you. Catching his gaze, his eyes appraised you for a moment before he tutted and shook his head. “Distasteful lot they are.” He hissed, “Don’t even know if they’re gone yet.” You huffed out a quiet breath and nodded in response, not too keen on being cordial. His voice carried a proper British lilt, the accent a reminder of your short-lived cyber stalker. “This town always so crass?”

You sniffed and looked back, shrugging. “Maybe, dunno.” You mumbled. Something about this guy gave you the creeps. He was handsome enough, older, well kept, and filling out his wool-lined Levi’s jacket like it had been tailored around his body specifically, but there was something in the way you caught him licking at his teeth and gums out of the corner of your vision- the smile you could make out as he watched the news pop up once more, it twisted your gut- made you feel like it was a mistake coming here.

“Can I grab my tab?” You spoke, flagging down the bartender that you had caught making eyes at the patron beside you. She smiled and nodded, and you desperately wished her face would have hinted that she had caught the same vibes from him that you had, something to make you feel like you weren’t reading into it or making things up. “Leaving?” The man asked as you grabbed your winter coat. You nodded, causing him to dive into his pocket for a well worn wallet, treated hide of some sort. “Let me, love.”

You nodded, the less you’d have to talk to him the better and something told you that he wouldn’t drop it if you had refused, anyway. “Thanks.” You breathed. “Have a nice night.” See you never, hopefully.

“Get home safe.” He replied, grinning with teeth.

[fratttymatty]

Update Complete

(All characters are 18+)

Eliot Raynes was everything you’d expect from a nerdy senior in high school. Scrawny build, thick glasses, an encyclopedic knowledge of comic book timelines, and a long-standing crush on the quiet barista at the corner café. He was 18, openly gay, and proudly spent his weekends coding mods for indie games and watching queer cinema on his tiny laptop.

Eliot didn’t care much for sports. In fact, he actively avoided anything that involved shouting, sweat, or "bro-ing out." His locker sat three rows down from the football team’s, and every time he heard them slamming their fists or belting out obnoxious chants, he rolled his eyes so hard it nearly gave him a headache.

But it all changed after one strange afternoon.

It started with a new phone.

He hadn’t ordered it. It just... showed up. Black box. No label. No return address. Inside was a sleek, matte-black smartphone. No logo. Just a post-it note stuck to the screen:

"Tap to update your reality."

Eliot chuckled. “Some weird ARG?” He loved that stuff. So he tapped.

The phone blinked. The screen flickered like static. Then a loading bar appeared:

"Reconfiguring: Nerd Mode -> Bro Mode... 5%..."

“What the—” he tried to turn it off, but his fingers didn’t seem to work. His hand stayed locked on the phone. The progress bar jumped.

20%... 45%... 78%...

He gasped and doubled over as a shockwave of heat spread through his body. His hoodie tightened around swelling muscles. His arms cracked and bulked, gaining definition in seconds. His narrow chest ballooned outward with thick slabs of muscle and a sudden V-shaped torso. He yanked off his glasses — only to find his vision had gone perfect.

“Dude…” His voice came out lower. Deeper. Lazier. Confident. “What the hell is this?”

His thoughts scrambled. His brain, once sharp and meticulous, was being rewired. Long-form essays and art-house films were replaced with protein counts, fantasy football leagues, and bench press PRs. A sudden flood of aggression and cocky swagger bubbled to the surface like it had always been there.

He tried to fight it.

“I’m… Eliot… I like—uh, I like guys, I—”

99%... 100%

Transformation complete. New profile: Matthew ‘Matt’ Brody. 18. Hetero. Athlete. Confident. Alpha.

His phone chimed again. The screen now read:

Welcome, Matt. Let’s get you caught up, bro.

Matt blinked. His room wasn’t even his room anymore. The posters had been replaced with jerseys and flags of college football teams. His mirror now reflected a 6’2” muscular jock with a backwards cap, tight Nike tank, and a cocky smirk. His jaw was sharp, his skin tan, his eyebrows trimmed just so. He looked like the type of guy who said “no homo” before chest-bumping his friends.

He gasped as a weird tingle hit his scalp. A sudden heat surged through his hairline. His usual stringy, unwashed mess vanished strand by strand, replaced by clean, thick brown locks that shifted on their own, slicking into a perfectly careless middle part, with strands falling naturally in that casual, sporty way that made girls giggle and guys jealous. It screamed “I don’t try, I just look this good.”

He flexed one arm and nodded to himself. “Damn, I look shredded.”

No memory of Eliot remained. No coding. No crushes on baristas. No indie films. Just parties, protein, and pounding out reps at the gym.

His phone vibrated again. A group chat with names like "Chad 🔥," "Zack 💪," and "Tyler 🏈" popped up.

Tyler: Yo bro u hittin’ the house party tonight? Zack: Don’t ghost again, Matt. Rachel’s bringing her friend 👀🔥

Matt grinned, typing back:

Matt: Hell yeah, bros. Leg day first tho. Let’s get fkn jacked 💯

As he strutted out the door, he passed a shy, glasses-wearing kid standing by a locker—someone who looked familiar, but Matt didn’t think twice.

“Sup, nerd,” he muttered with a smirk, shoulder-checking the kid on his way out.

There was no Eliot.

There was only Matt Brody — jock, straight, confident, conservative, and loving every second of it.

And he never looked back.

The house was packed. Music thumped. The air was heavy with cologne, beer, and fake confidence.

Matt walked in like he owned the place, dapping up other jocks, throwing casual “yo’s” and flexing abs he didn’t even know he had this morning.

That’s when he saw Rachel — cheer captain, blonde bombshell — waving him over.

“Matt! Finally! This is my bestie, Cassie!”

Standing next to her was a cute brunette, dressed in a pink crop top and high ponytail. She blinked when she saw him. And then…

She changed.

Her eyes widened. Her lips parted in a giggle. Her posture shifted to something bubbly and air-headed. Her already-short skirt seemed to shimmy just a bit higher. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and tilted her head with a dazed little smile.

“Ohmygod, like… hiiii!” Cassie said, voice high and sugary. “You’re Matt, right? Rachel said you were, like, super hot, but I didn’t think you’d be, like, this hot.”

She stepped closer, practically bouncing.

Matt smirked. “Haha, yeah, I guess I’m kinda shredded.”

Cassie gasped, placing a hand on his bicep like it was involuntary. “Ugh, totes! Like, I can feel the muscles, ohmygod. Do you, like, work out every day?”

“Duh,” he grinned, flexing casually. “Gotta stay alpha.”

Cassie giggled again, looping her arm through his. “That is, like, soooo hot.”

She was hooked. It was like the universe had rewritten her just to match him — the perfect bimbo cheerleader for the perfect bro.

As the music pumped and the crowd chanted for beer pong, Matt leaned back with one arm around Cassie, sipping a Solo cup of something cheap, not a single memory of who he used to be. No Eliot. No comic books. No shyness.

Just Matt Brody — confident, straight, conservative, jock legend. And he was loving his new reality.

[msschemmenti]

fun police - 2

eventual emily prentiss x reader / bau x reader

a/n: another fun police installment :)

everyone was in the office today, no one out on cases and this was going to be as good a time as any to introduce their new addition to the rest of the team. after some negotiating emily and y/n had scheduled their first session for tomorrow morning. she planned to say all the right things to get it over with and hopefully keep the young woman’s attention off of her for as long as possible.

“could you all join me at the roundtable?” emily called as she exited her office. y/n had found her way down to her office before everyone started filtering in and emily thought it best to ease them into this new idea.

“do we have a case?” tara asked looking from garcia to emily as they all sat around the table.

“no, we don’t. i just wanted to make you guys aware of a new thing happening.” emily vaguely said crossing her arms with a sigh.

“new thing? what does that mean?” jj asked suspiciously.

“well it seems our team has been flagged for our lack of self-care. i’m assuming they took a look at a variety of things like number of vacation days to working days, our case loads and things like that. and since we’ve been flagged, we’ve got the pleasure of a personal wellness agent who will be working with all of us to establish healthy coping mechanisms to rely on during tough times.”

the room was bathed in silence. shock washing over everyone’s faces and emily rubbed her temples in anticipation. she readied herself for the questions she could feel forming but was interrupted by a knock on the open doorway. she looked up and met y/n eyes.

“i see you’ve queued me up pretty nicely.” y/n smiled tentatively as she eyed the faces in the room.

“everyone, our personal wellness agent y/n y/ln. i’m sure she can explain a bit more about this process.” emily gestured welcoming the younger woman into the room.

“of course! hi everyone, as your lovely unit chief said my name is y/n and i’m here to help. i’ve been hired on to make sure that the most hardworking team in the FBI is taking care of themselves.”

“oh that’s nice.” garcia smiled at the praise.

“flattery will get you far with this group,” rossi mumbled from his seat.

y/n rolled her eyes humorously before continuing, “as i’ve explained to your section chief, i’ve found that for teams like this individual meetings or wellness sessions seem to work best. it’s completely up to you how we spend our time but we’ll be working toward building in self-care where you can.”

“and if we don’t want to participate? not in defiance or anything, i just think i’m pretty well adjusted.” tara asked crossing her arms.

“then i’d unfortunately have to do my least favorite part of this work, report my findings and determine who is and is not fit for the field. and i’d really hate to do that.” y/n smiled sweetly causing the room of agents to groan. “no need to sound so excited. we’ll do whatever you like, you just gotta spend a lil time with me.”

“how soon can we get this over with?” rossi asked.

“we can start as soon as you like, except for tomorrow morning. that slot’s already been claimed.” y/n gestures to emily with a smirk.

“ohhh,” the agents choruses teasingly, causing emily’s cheeks to heat.

“alright alright, now you know. i expect you all to cooperate.” emily dismissed and headed back toward her office.

“i’m just down the hall if anyone feels compelled to come chat.” y/n grinned and waved before heading back down to her office. leaving the group of profilers more than a little irritated.

“well this sucks.” luke grumbled. “mandatory wellness time. is spending time with roxie not enough?”

“afraid not newbie. you all having to do this doesn’t surprise me, i don’t get why i have to do it. i’m probably the most zen person in this whole building. i prioritize me almost 75% of the time now. i’m very well thank you very much.” garcia rambled.

“do you think she’d accept me asking to take a nap in her presence as my wellness session?” tara asked the group.

jj shook her head at the groups adamant distaste for the new setup, “oh come on guys, it can’t be that bad. i mean she got emily to agree. and of all of us— she’s the least likely to take a even a minute for herself.”

“you’re right jj, but im not sure she agreed solely for the health benefits if you know what i mean.” rossi hinted.

“oh yeah, i’ve got a feeling she was thinking with more than just her brain.” tara nodded in rossi’s direction.

“emily being seduced into participation?” garcia gasped, scolding the profilers.

“can you blame her? we all saw our wellness agent right?” jj asked with a knowing shrug. “i’m just saying, we should all suck it up and do our little wellness sessions. it could be fun, who knows.”

“well wants first? i mean second…” garcia asked looking around the table.

“why don’t you go miss ‘im the most zen in this whole building’? should be pretty easy for you.” luke teased.

“i know you’re being annoying but i don’t care. i will go second and ill make a chart to keep track of the schedule.” garcia glared.

“great, im sure y/n would love that.” tara smiled with a shake of her head.

-

her session came a bit sooner than she would’ve liked. but she’d prepared for this mentally. anticipated all the questions y/n might ask and gone through the appropriate answers that would eliminate the need for this to happen again. she’d told y/n to meet her in her office similarly to how she did her first day. starting her morning being interrogated wasn’t ideal but it definitely didn’t hurt that y/n was…attractive. but that wasn’t important and she was trying very very hard to remember that when the younger woman knocked on the door frame of her office.

“ready to get started?” emily quickly, motioning for y/n to step into her office.

“wow, not even a good morning? you’re failing already, section chief prentiss.” y/n tsked as she sauntered over to the couch in the office.

emily gaped at the woman getting comfortable on her couch. “i’m failing already? doesn’t sound like you have high hopes for this at all.”

y/n didn’t even flinch at emily’s accusatory tone, “i’ve read your file. my expectations for your self-care practices are pretty low. now let’s get started, come relax on this nice couch so we can chat.”

“i’m relaxed plenty over here. start your questioning.” emily refused, straightening her back defiantly.

y/n eyed emily, one eyebrow raised in challenge. “if that’s relaxed, what does it mean to you as an individual to relax? define it in your own terms for me. because i’ll be honest— you don’t look relaxed at all.”

emily scoffed indignantly, “i know how to relax,”

“i didn’t say you didn’t, but im just curious. just humor me, what does emily prentiss do to relax?”

“i relax. i nap. a warm shower is always nice. i eat. i read. i do very relaxing things.” emily listened.

“almost everything you just listed is a basic necessity. and im struggling to believe you’re picking up a romance novel instead of a case file.” y/n spoke eyeing the older woman and when emily only grumbled y/n chuckled and continued. “how do cope with stress?”

“perfectly fine-ly.” emily quipped.

“uh huh, let me guess. a bottle of wine stashed in a drawer somewhere. and when you’re really struggling— puff through a pack of cigarettes?” y/n guessed and watched as emily tried to mask her facial reactions. she may not be a profiler but she had lots of experience reading clients for filth when it came to taking care of themselves.

“uh-“ emily started but the red of her cheeks was all y/n needed to know.

“okay, i have another questions. what activities bring you enjoyment?”

emily’s eyes raked over y/n involuntarily, and she found a way she’d be able to take back some control of the situation. “i don’t think that’s appropriate for work.” emily smirked.

“oh ho ho, i see agent prentiss. and how often do you do this task?”

“probably more than you can think of.” emily bluffed and ran her hands through her hair.

y/n’s eyebrow seemed permanently posed under her eyebrow at this point. this woman was going to do anything she could to get out of this. and as stubborn as emily was, she was just as frustratingly beautiful. “ah now agent prentiss, i thought you of all people would know not to judge someone by their looks. trust me, im well acquainted with the task you’re alluding to.”

and just like that— the ball was back in y/n’s court and emily was a blushing mess. also didn’t help that as soon as that image was in her head, that’s all she could really think about.

as y/n watched emily rub her reddened neck nervously, y/n chuckled sweetly and rose from the couch. “you know what, this was a very informative chat. same time next week?”

“next week?” emily squeaked.

“yeah, hun. next week. i’m gonna give you some homework too. next time we meet, i want you to have done at least four things to relax that aren’t basic needs.”

“homework?” emily spluttered in disbelief.

“yeah. if you’re good, there might’ve been a prize waiting for you.” y/n teased before heading out of emily’s office. “four things agent! just four.” y/n called over her shoulders as she headed out of the bullpen.

well that certainly didn’t go as well as emily had planned.

[imaginesig]

"I think he knows... he's gorgeous"

Paul Aron x singer!Reader

SMAU

I had such a hard time hunting down f2 wags so only Estelle is mentioned despite me wanting others-- sorry! Also the timeline doesn't fit reality but I do what I want and I made up a new gp for my own personal gain

Inspired by: Eras Tour Stockholm Night 1 Mashup

All songs mentioned are tagged at the very bottom

Music themed masterlist

Complete masterlist pinned on my profile

yourusername

liked by taylorswift, paularon_, user54, and 829,938 others

yourusername: I've taken my final bow on the eras tour stage today... I'm so upset it's over but so so happy to have had the experience. Taylor, you've been such a fantastic mentor and supporter! Thank you for bringing me along 🫶🫶🫶

tagged: taylorswift

taylorswift it ws an honor to have you!! Can't wait to work with you in the future 🫶🫶🫶

user1 omg collab????

paularon_ you were incredible! now hurry up and get to Melbourne

yourusername otw 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

taylorswift thank you for letting me borrow her on off season!!

user2 my fav opener!!!

user5 lmao Paul's comment 💀

user6 they're literally my fab couple on the grid

user7 same!! I need more songs about him

user3 im so glad I got you for my show!!!!

user4 ugh you put the rest of us swifties to shame

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Paularon_

liked by yourusername, kimi.antonelli, dinobeganovic, and 927,838 others

Paularon_: "I remember how we felt sitting by the water, and every time I look at you it's like the first time"

tagged: yourusername

yourusername you did not need to expose me playing mermaids

paularon_ you looked to cute, what's a man supposed to do 🤷‍♂️

oscarpiastri enjoying Melbourne then??

paularon_ you know it

hitechgp our fav couple 😍😍

user1 the rings 😭

user2 ok Paul with the Taylor caption

user3 he's every girls dream man

user4 I need to know where Y/n got her swimsuit-- I love that color

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yourusername

liked by lettiemng, olliebearman, taylorswift, and 783,939 others

yourusername: 🏄‍♀️🌺

tagged: lettiemng

paularon_ so nice to see you left me out of all the fun

olliebearman right

yourusername you guys had gp stuff

lettiemng plus being a surfing wag was way more entertaining and I got to work on my tan

lettiemng please teach me soon!!!

yourusername ofc ofc

user1 Aussie surfing is the best

user2 this post is to Pinterest

user3 you look gorgeous

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paularon_

liked by user5, user58, hitechgp, and 968,976 others

paularon_: thats P1 in Melbourne!! My good luck charm is back baby🍀❤️

tagged no one

yourusername THATS MY MAN

yourusername WHOOOP WHOOP

yourusername CELEBRATION TIME!!!!!!!

yourusername I LOVE YOU MY CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER

paularon_ I LOVE YOU TOO

user5 I love that they match each others energy

user1 Y/n is the gf we all need

hitechgp there's no way to beat Y/n, but congratulations anyway 👏

user2 yes sir 💪💪

user3 not him calling her his lucky charm 🥹

user4 ugh Pauls out here raising relationship standards one post at a time

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Time Skip: a few races later, about midseason

yourusername

liked by paularon_, danielseavey, user54, and 928,938 others

yourusername: I've spent these past few weeks traveling the world with the love of my life and the best group of friends I could've ever asked for!! I've enjoyed our endless lights of exploring, partying, and racing 🩵 To celebrate, my newest album, "Little Calm," will drop next Friday!!

tagged: no one

taylorswift so excited!!! I can't wait to hear the rest of what you cooked up, Enchanted is already so special 🫶

yourusername thank you for adding you special sparkle to the mix 🫶

danielseavey best writing season ever, thank you for reaching out

yourusername ofc!! It was magical to see how closely our experiences were and how they shaped into such a beautiful song

paularon_ so so proud!! I can't wait to hear it ❤️

yourusername I love you much ❤️ but you've def heard all of these to some degree

paularon_ but I can't wait to hear them all put together

lettiemng ugh the perfect soundtrack for our epic summer ☀️

lettiemng I say we have a windows down in the car listening session

yourusername yesssssss

user1 oh please have songs about Paul!!

user2 right I've listen to Gorgeous so much we NEED more

user3 and they weren't even together when she wrote it, imagine the stuff now!!!

user4 AHHHHH TAYLOR COLLAB

user5 yk its a good summer when Y/n covers One Direction and Billy Joel

user6 duality of man

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paularon_

liked by yourusername, hitechgp, user84, and 244,937 others

paularon_: wonderful album, kullakallis 🩵

tagged: yourusrname

yourusername ma armastan sind 🩵

dinobenganovic wonderful album, me and my gf love it!!

user1 Im not crying you are

user2 who's cutting onions in here 🥹

user3 "we can follow the sparks, ill drive"

user4 not Paul beating all of us (including Y/n) with the post

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yourusername

liked by user4, lettiemnd, user5, and 928,389 others

yourusername: "Little Calm" out now!!

tagged paularon_

user1 omg I NEED surfer Paul content

user2 this IS the summer of Y/n with this drop

paularon_ so so so amazed by you

yourusername so so so amazed by YOU

danielseavey on repeat 🔁

taylorswift adding to the pre-eras playlist now!!!

user3 this album is gonna own my sporty wrapped

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paularon_

liked by yourusername, user5, user9, and 893,039 others

paularon_: "Feels like I'm falling and I / I'm lost in your eyes / You make me crazier"

tagged: yourusername

lettiemng I just looked at my boyfriend and signed

olliebearman HEY

yourusername LMAO ESTELLE

username awww baby 🥹

paularon_ ❤️❤️

user1 God its me again

user2 yes marriage is scary, what if he doesn't treat me like Paul does Y/n

user3 live laugh love PaulY/n

user4 the paddock pic 😭 she's so us

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yourusername

liked by user3, taylorswift, lettiemng, and 829,093 others

yourusername: I'm going on tour!!! Dates/tickets on my website 🩵🩵

tagged: no one

user1 not the tour dates lining up so she can be at Paul's races

user2 we praise him for being the ultimate boyfriend, but Y/n is the ultimate girlfriend

lettiemng do I like that you'll be away from me, no, am I still so so happy, yes

yourusername 💋💋

paularon_ so proud!! You're gonna kill it

yourusername with your support?? Yes I am!!

taylorswift brb grabbing tickets now

user3 just got my tickets!!!

user4 im so excited

user5 wdym Y/n's going on her own tour?? Didn't she just drop her first album?? She's not popular enough for her own?? She's still out little secret??

user6 me fr fr

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Time Skip- a few more races

paularon_

liked by yourusername, hitehcgp, user54, and 839,928 others

paularon_ so blessed to win at my home race!! Thank you to my family for supporting me

tagged: no one

yourusername so so proud baby!!

paularon_ ❤️❤️

user1 this was enough to make me cry

user2 more points closer to the championship

user3 I love this!!!

user4 first I get to watch Paul win and tomorrow I get to see Y/n perform

user5 what a life!!

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paularon_

liked by user3, yourusername, aronralph, and 827,720 others

paularon_: ma armastan sind ❤️

tagged yourusername

yourusername ma armastan sind ❤️

user1 estonia won best show

user2 right im so jelous

user3 a Paul win and a love mashup?? I can't take it

user4 when will it be my turn

user5 looks like ill be sleeping in traffic tonight

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yourusername

liked by taylorswift, paularon_, olliebearman, and 823,929 others

yourusername: Estonia you've been my favorite show, but im a bit bias ;)

tagged paularon_

comments have been disabled

Bonus, sometime in the future

paularon_

liked by auroralf, dinobeganovic, lukebrownracing, and 983, 938 others

paularon_: "Home was a place, now home is a person and you're looking at rings 'cause you swear that you're certain"

tagged yourusername

yourusername ❤️

aronralf I've waited too long for this, congrats!!

lettiemng ahhhh im crying!!!

olliebearman congrats!

dinobeganovic so happy man!!

lukebrownracing party time!!

comments have been limited

~~~

Songs mentioned:

I Think He Knows by Taylor Swift

San Franciso by 5 Seconds of Summer

Fearless by Taylor Swift

You, Me, and the Beat from Liv and Maddie

Crazier from Hannah Montana

You're On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift

The Older You Get by Daniel Seavey

Enchanted by Taylor Swift

Live While We're Young by One Direction

Vienna by Billy Joel

Gorgeous by Taylor Swift

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: hagfish

After taking last week off for mental exhaustion I have returned! And what better way to mark my return than with a shitload (or perhaps a highway load) of slime? Today I'm returning to the agnathan trenches to dredge up one of two living groups of jawless fish. I covered lampreys before, so now it's hagfish time. These ooey gooey critters are both fascinating and kinda gross. Now get ready, because it's time for slime.

(Image: a hagfish in profile. It is a long, brown, eel-like animal with a fin encircling the tail and a small head with no visible eyes or mouth. End ID)

Hagfish, also known as slime eels, are approximately 76 members of the class Myxini. In addition to the living species, hagfish have been preserved in the fossil record, letting us track their evolution through history. Hagfish are one of two living groups of agnathans, commonly known as jawless fish, with the other being the lampreys. As the name suggests, jawless fish are vertebrates without hinged jaws. Way back when bones were the cool new thing in town, agnathans represented the entirety of the vertebrates and were extremely diverse, but the evolution of jawed fish resulted in them getting largely outcompeted, leading to all lineages but the hagfish and lampreys going extinct. Genetic studies indicate that hagfish and lampreys are more closely related to each other than either group is to any other vertebrate. Because they are the only jawless fish left, hagfish and lampreys are of interest to scientists studying the evolution of vertebrates.

(Image: a hagfish coiled up, under orange light. The head is visible, featuring small sensory barbels and a large hole that resembles a mouth but is actually the nostril. End ID)

Hagfish are eel-shaped animals that range in length from a few centimeters to over a meter in the largest species, Eptatretus goliath. They have no scales, flattened tails that bear the only fin, and simple, eyeless heads. The heads bear sensory barbels, a single nostril, and the mouth. The mouth has two pairs of rasping plates that normally sit within the mouth, but can be everted to face outwards. The plates can grab food and pull it into the mouth to be swallowed. Hagfish do not have true eyes, but they do have eyespots that can sense light and dark. Interestingly, their fossil ancestors did appear to have fully-developed eyes that reduced in complexity until the present state. Likewise, ancestral hagfish had a true vertebral column made of cartilage, but modern hagfish only have remnants of their ancestor's vertebrae. Hagfish skin is very loosely connected to the internal body, only attached along the spine and slime glands. This makes the skin very flexible and harder for predators to grab. A third of the blood is contained between the skin and body and is pumped around with the heart as well as a few additional pumps that act as auxiliary hearts. Hagfish have some of the lowest blood pressure of any vertebrate and the highest blood volume to body mass ration of any chordate. Hagfish are also the only vertebrates that do not osmoregulate, meaning they cannot regulate the amount of salt in their bodies. Changes in salinity, especially moving to a lower salinity environment, are very dangerous to hagfish. Hagfish skeletons barely qualify, consisting of only a skull, notochord, and fin rays, all made of cartilage. The gills are internal. Water enters through the mouth and is forced over 5-16 internal gill pouches, then ejected through pores in the side of the body.

(Image: a closeup of a hagfish head with the rasping plates everted. The plates are mounted on pink tissue around the pharynx. there are two plates on either side of the pharyx which look like rows of small, sharp teeth. End ID)

That's all well and good, but you're here because of the slime. The hagfish's main defense is to create lots and lots of slippery slime. The slime helps them slip away from predators. If a fish tries to eat a hagfish, the slime can clog up its gills, forcing the fish to either release the hagfish or suffocate. A common factoid is that a single hagfish can turn a 5-gallon bucket of water into slime in seconds. To produce the slime, the hagfish releases threads made of special proteins into the water from glands on its skin. These proteins react with seawater to create a matrix of trapped water held together by filaments similar to keratin. The slime matrix can expand 10,000 times its original size in 0.4 seconds of exposure to seawater. The slime is quite durable and resistant to breaking and dissolving in water. After sliming, hagfish have been seen wrapping their bodies into an overhand knot and running themselves through the loop to scrape the slime off of themselves. Its possible that the slime also impairs the hagfish's ability to use it's gills and it needs to do the know to get the slime off and breathe again.

(Image: a person reaching into a holding tank full of hagfish and pulling out an armload of thick, viscous, white slime. End ID)

(Video: a hagfish in the wild demonstrating its knotting behavior. This one is going in the opposite direction usually seen: tail-to-head instead of head-to-tail. End ID)

Hagfish are found in most of the oceans, with range varying based on species. They are benthic animals that rarely swim far above the seafloor. Some species dig burrows to shelter in while others will shelter under rocks and other structures to avoid predators. While lying on the sediment, some hagfish species will coil up while others will lie straight. Hagfish are carnivorous and feed with a combination of hunting and scavenging. A large portion of the hagfish diet consists of polychaete worms and other known prey species include small crustaceans and echinoderms. Some species have been known to hunt burrowing fish, possibly by clogging up the burrows with slime to suffocate the prey. If you've seen a documentary about deep-sea fish you probably know about hagfish scavenging. Using their large nostril and sensitive sense of smell, hagfish can sense carcasses from long distances and are often some of the first scavengers to arrive at a new body. They use their rasping plates to pull bits of meat off of the carcass. A similar behavior to the slime-cleaning knots is seen when scavenging, but in reverse, going from tail to head instead of the other way around. This grants the hagfish additional mechanical advantage, allowing it to rip off larger chunks of food. Hagfish will burrow into larger corpses, possibly to get access to a food source with less competition than the outside of the body. Hagfish act as part of the deep ocean's cleaning crew, consuming corpses before they can decay and release potentially harmful chemicals into the water or act as sources of disease. Unlike any other living chordate, the food a hagfish swallows is encased in a permeable membrane during digestion. Hagfish can also absorbed dissolved nutrients through their skin. Hagfish have a very slow metabolism and ones in captivity have been observed going for up to 7 months between meals.

(Image: several hagfish feeing on the body of a fish. The hagfish have their heads on the fish's body and one hagfish is entering the fish's mouth. End ID)

Hagfish reproduction is still something of an enigma as so many of them live in the deep sea, making it difficult to observe them reproducing. It has been observed that females seem to outnumber males, with the exact ration varying depending on species. In some species, the sex ratio is almost even, while in others, there are 7 females to each male. however, it should be noted that females mature sexually faster than males and it has been suggested that this is responsible for the apparent skewed ratio. Hagfish eggs have tufts at the end that cause them to get stuck to each other like velcro. It has been suggested that eggs are laid in clusters possibly in burrows, beneath rocks, or protected with slime. Some species seem to have a mating season and seasonally migrate. Hagfish have only a single ovary or testicle (the latter of which has been described as unusually small by scientists and bullies in the deep-sea locker room) and they have no specialized reproductive tract. Instead, gametes are released into the main body cavity and must find their way to the anus to leave the body. Hagfish embryology is poorly understood, though it has been reported from studies of Eptatretus stoutii (Pacific hagfish) that the eggs can take up to 11 months to hatch. Hagfish have no larval stage, unlike lampreys and bony fish.

(Image: a group of 9 hagfish eggs in a plastic tub. The eggs are ovoid and dark yellow, with tufts of fibers at each end. End ID)

The conservation status and needs of most hagfish species is hard to discern because of the depths they inhabit. Threats to them include bycatch, as hagfish are often caught during deep-sea dredges. It is alos possible the chemical pollutants may be passed to hagfish through scavenging. There is a commercial fishery for hagfish, which is largest off of the west coast of the Americas. Hagfish are eaten as a delicacy in Korea and less commonly eaten in Japan. Most of the hagfish fishery goes to Korean food markets. Hagfish skin is also values as a durable leather and often marketed as "eel leather" or "yuppie skin". Study of the slime and the highly durable threads that produce it indicates they could be used to create very strong materials, similarly to spider silk. Research is currently being undertaken to find uses for hagfish slime and threads.

Once again, these cards show up in my posts (Image the Weird n' Wild Creatures card for hagfish, featuring an exaggerated drawing on a hagfish. End ID)

[neysaadept]

🫶🏻💫CONGRATULATIIIONS ON 175!!! 💫🫶🏻

For my request (if you’re comfortable with it!!) :

Reader has been struggling with her mental illness, sometimes weeks go by without any issues but lately it’s been definitely more on the worse side and she tries to put on a brave face but somehow Emily gets through that barrier and to readers surprise isnt disappointed/leaves but stays and offers comfort?

Prompts 18 ‘I’ve got you’ and 20 ‘you don’t seem like yourself tonight’ made me think of this (and maybe my own shitty mental health lately and a hug from Emily would fix so much)(a very self indulgent request)🫣🥹

I know we talked a bit and I hope you enjoy what I came up with. Thank you for celebrating with me and being my first request! I hope you like it,

It's Okay Not to Be Okay

Emily Prentiss x Female BAU Reader

Tags - No use of Y/N, swearing, angst, mental illness themes. Set before anytime Emily faked her death. Minors DNI

Summary - Please refer to the ask for summary!

AO3

Word Count: 1.5k

It’s been rough these last few weeks. With the weather shifting colder and the nights getting longer, your thoughts become difficult to rein in as they quietly turn into a self-imposed emptiness that is near impossible to shake this time of year. You love the Fall leaves, the magical colors of orange, red, and yellow bring a smile to your face on the drive to and from Quantico and it briefly blocks the struggle you’ve become proficient in hiding all these years. And man has it been a challenge the last week to keep it from the BAU. Just had to go and get yourself a job with the best profilers in the country that can sniff out any emotional turmoil. It’s been amazing to learn from these people in the last few months, but one slip up and you’re going to be hounded by questions you really don’t want to answer right now.

So far, so good. No one has guessed you’ve had sleepless nights with masterful use of makeup, and you are skilled in looking busy while getting the minimum work done. You’re clever enough not to rouse suspicion as to why your concentration is off during this downtime. There are piles of paperwork to catch up on since there hasn’t been a case in a while. Not a bad thing, but you know it’s only a matter of time before Hotch will be quickly going over a case and saying, ‘Wheels Up’ and JJ is giving you all the basics on where you’re going.

Currently Hotch is the only member of the group besides you who had declined to go out with the group for dinner. You provided a half-truth that your orientation modules are due soon, gesturing to the screen when called out on this fib, showing six of them unfinished. With the case load the past month, you had no time to complete them and refused to do them at home. HR was fine in pushing back your due date over and over again with Hotch’s approval.

So, did you have to complete them right now? No. But should you? Yes. And was it a brilliant excuse to be anti-social when you just wanted to be alone? Hell yeah.

What you didn’t anticipate is a certain dark-haired profiler that supposedly had left with the team but was walking right into the bullpen. Your brows furrow with confusion but it’s plausible that Emily had forgotten something at her desk. You smile politely which she offers a scrunch of acknowledgement, seemingly pleased you took notice.

What you realize is she was not going to her desk but striding over to yours with cautious purpose.

“Hey,” she offers simply while still heading your way.

What the fuck is this? Your mind startles, panicking why this was happening. Maybe this is work related? But that made no sense. Why the hell would she want to talk about work since everyone was adamant not to do that and go out for a casual dinner with the group. You think back if you offended her in some way but that’s a joke. You’ve been getting along well with everyone despite the current arms-length approach you are taking right now. Before your mood shifted, you were trying to get on Emily’s radar more often since you were low key crushing on her. Who wouldn’t? She was an attractive woman with intelligent brown eyes, and it was a privilege to hear her mind work during a case – piecing all the intricate puzzles together for the profile. She encouraged you to be the best at work and made this place feel less like a job and more like a home away from home.

Okay, okay. Relax. Just breathe.

You lean back in your chair and play it cool despite the spiraling thoughts. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your way to dinner?”

She takes a half seat against your desk and crosses her arms as she faces you. “Took a raincheck on them and came to collect you.”

Your confusion is evident, and you point the pen in your hand at the computer screen. “Nothing’s changed. I still have modules-“

“-to do, yeah. I know.” She tilts her head studying you. “But I thought I could entice you out anyway.”

You felt your chest briefly clenching with the realization that Emily stayed behind for you. It’s only been a couple of months since you two first met. Why the hell would she have a reason to give a shit about you. You don’t deserve this kindness, and you certainly don’t want to bring her down with your bullshit.

It was difficult to maintain contact with the sincerity in her eyes, but you fight through it to put up a wall of feigned strength. “That’s really nice of you, but I’m good.” Her eyes widen in challenge and you half smile. “Really. You should go.” You wave off towards the elevators. “Catch up with the team and have a nice night.”

“I could, and I will,” she says, you start to believe that she’s going to take your suggestion. Yet that isn’t what happens at all. “But I think I’ll have a better night hanging out with you.”

You lock eyes with her and are unable to quell the quickening pace of your breathing.

Fuck.

“I … I uh, don’t understand.” Your attempt to cover up your anxiety fails.

“I think you do.” She softly speaks your name with gentle eyes. “You don’t seem like yourself tonight.” She watches as you deeply frown and knows she touches a nerve as you cross your arms. “Or if I’m being honest? For quite a while.

Your response is jumping into action and shutting down your workstation with haste. You wanted to get out of here, run away and not have to deal with feeling so raw because of Emily.

Fucking profilers.

But before you can stand, a hand touches yours still on the keyboard and you freeze. You don’t dare look up because you’re too focused on Emily’s hand atop yours. How the weight of it was so light, but so profound, that it kept you grounded.

“You don’t have to be alone in whatever you’re going through.” Her voice is a source of comfort trying to halt your escape, coaxing you to stay and listen. It works perfectly.

Then in another shocking move, Emily squeezes your hand. You tentatively shift your eyes towards her which elicits a smile from Emily. “And I don’t even have to know what’s going on. But at least consider coming with me. Maybe forget what’s going on in your head for a bit. Or if you want to talk, we can.”

You try to fight and fail the trembling of your lips. Your eyes begin to betray you, wet with unshed tears that you are trying valiantly to force away. The simple kindness and lack of judgement makes your heart ache that Emily was doing this for you, that you were undeserving of her attention. She should be out with the rest of the team, not wasting her time here with you.

The guilt hits you hard and you choke back a sob, forcing your free hand to cover your mouth with embarrassment.

“Hey …” Emily says your name again as she slides closer to you and begins stroking the top of your hand with her thumb. “It’s okay. It’s okay to feel this way …”

Your laugh was joyless, and you respond crankily. “Sure, it is.” You want to push her away. You deserve to be lonely, yet you allow Emily’s hand to slide up your arm before it squeezes your shoulder. Your chest clenches when you look away and your eyes clamp shut as tears dare to break free. Your teeth grind to stave off the rumble threatening to erupt into a scream. You feel you’re going to lose the fight and break down when Emily stands up from the desk and tugs you up with her.

“Come here,” she coaxes gently.

You sigh and finally look up at her to find nothing but patience in those brown eyes. In your moment of weakness, you allow yourself to lose yourself in them. You feel undeserving of her time, but also feel lucky that someone like Emily was trying so hard with you. So, you stand and immediately when you are on your feet, she pulls you into an embrace. The hand on yours slips under your arm to connect with the other that goes over the opposite shoulder. She tests the waters and tightens the hold when you don’t tense or try to pull away.

“It’s okay,” she says again as you start to sag into her arms, pressing your bodies together more fully. “I’ve got you…”

And as you ultimately give in to vulnerability, perhaps Emily does have you, and she will help you find a way to dig yourself out the depression that has resurfaced. And maybe, just maybe, you won’t have to keep struggling by yourself this time around ... or the next.

[mariacallous]

By now, the images of Donald Trump’s March 15th flights to El Salvador are all too familiar: shackled Venezuelans being off-loaded from U.S. planes at the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, and cowering as their heads are forcibly shaved by other prisoners. But in those same scenes, some Salvadorans recognized a face: César Humberto López Larios, alias Greñas de Stoners, one of three leaders of the street gang MS-13 who was indicted in 2020 on terrorism-related charges and had been brought to the U.S. for trial. Four days earlier, U.S. Attorney John Durham had informed a judge in the Eastern District of New York, where Greñas was being charged, that the prosecution was requesting the case against Greñas be dropped, “due to geopolitical and national security concerns of the United States, and the sovereign authority of the Executive Branch in international affairs.”

Greñas was among fourteen MS-13 leaders indicted on terrorism charges in 2020. American investigators were able to capture only three of them—the two others in custody were Elmer Canales Rivera, alias Crook de Hollywood, and Fredy Iván Jandres Parada, alias Lucky de Park View. For the U.S. Department of Justice., the arrests were a major breakthrough in one of its most high-profile anti-gang initiatives. But for Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, the D.O.J.’s case has always carried a significant risk. Greñas, Crook, and Lucky reportedly knew the details of a secret, illegal agreement that the Bukele administration made with MS-13 that both expanded the Salvadoran President’s power and eventually unleashed a wave of bloodshed across the country. “He has presented himself as a man with an iron fist, a man who is firm and intransigent with criminals,” Luis Enrique Amaya, a Salvadoran security expert, told me. “That image could be compromised by the details of the negotiation that the President allegedly sustained, of which there is a lot of evidence.”

The Trump Administration now appears to be helping Bukele sweep away the case. In early February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to El Salvador and announced that Bukele had offered to warehouse deportees from the U.S. Rubio called the deal, which specifically included members of MS-13, “an act of extraordinary friendship.” Noah Bullock, the director of Cristosal, a human-rights organization based in Central America, told me that, as a result, there is now “an irreconcilable difference between how the State Department and the Justice Department view the Bukele regime. State says that Bukele is one of their key allies in combating gangs and organized crime, while Justice’s investigation indicates that Bukele benefitted politically through a partnership with those same criminal groups.” He added, “The fear there, and the motive, is to try to manage the optics and cover up the truth.”

The D.O.J.’s terrorism case against the leaders of MS-13 was the result of a years-long bipartisan effort. In 2011, President Barack Obama declared that so-called transnational criminal organizations, or T.C.O.s, posed an emergency national-security threat to the U.S., and that combatting them required an enhanced law-enforcement effort. The Department of the Treasury, which managed a sanction list, added a section for T.C.O.s. The following year, MS-13 was added to it. The designation enabled the U.S. to bar financial transactions with the gang, freeze its assets in the U.S., and sanction some of its individual members.

Five years later, during Trump’s first Presidency, he used the spectre of MS-13 to justify more draconian immigration policies. Both of the Attorneys General during Trump’s first term—Jeff Sessions and William Barr—travelled to El Salvador to observe an ongoing effort to dismantle the gang. In 2018, Sessions called MS-13 a top transnational criminal group threatening the U.S., alongside Hezbollah and Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. In August, 2019, Barr established an interagency task force called Vulcan, through which the D.O.J. would collaborate with foreign law enforcement to systematically target the gang’s leadership. “There’s never been any move like this before,” Trump said of the initiative, in July, 2020. “My Administration will not rest until every member of MS-13 is brought to justice.”

Through Vulcan, D.O.J. investigators were able to access evidence that Salvadoran authorities had gathered, assembling a trove of information from confidential sources in the underworld, forensic data extracted from confiscated gang cellphones, and messages gleaned from wiretaps and wilas—jailhouse notes between MS-13 members. Five months after Trump touted Vulcan in the Oval Office, the D.O.J. charged the fourteen leaders of MS-13. The indictment maintained that the Salvadorans should be prosecuted in a U.S. court because they “exercised control over the activities of MS-13 in the United States, including in the Eastern District of New York.” According to the D.O.J., the leaders exerted power through practices like “opening the valves,” to allow for a spate of killings of anyone believed to have done something to deserve that fate, then “closing the valves,” or ordering the killings to end.

At the time, authorities also alleged that the gang gained influence by negotiating with Salvadoran political parties and leaders. In 2022, in an indictment of a second group of MS-13 leaders, the D.O.J. expanded on the allegation. By then, Salvadoran journalists and courts had already revealed that the main political parties in the country had negotiated with the gangs in some form since around 2012. But the D.O.J. now claimed that, in 2019, shortly after Bukele first won the Presidency, his prisons director, Osiris Luna Meza, and his director of social-fabric reconstruction, Carlos Marroquín, orchestrated numerous encounters with a handful of incarcerated gang leaders. (Additional members of the Salvadoran government were also involved, according to the indictment, but the D.O.J. has yet to name them.) U.S. federal prosecutors described how the Salvadoran authorities “secretly attending these meetings at the prisons often wore masks and refused to identify themselves when entering.” At other times, Salvadoran prison officials escorted other gang members into the prisons for meetings, providing them with “identification cards identifying them as intelligence or law enforcement officials.”

As a result of these talks, according to the indictment, the two sides struck a deal. MS-13 demanded “financial benefits,” “control of territory,” “less restrictive prison conditions,” “legislative and judicial changes,” and a promise from the Bukele administration to refuse to extradite the gang leaders to the U.S. for prosecution. (Bukele has repeatedly denied the pact.) In exchange, the gang agreed to kill fewer people, “which politically benefitted the government of El Salvador, by creating the perception that the government was reducing the murder rate,” the D.O.J. alleged. Indeed, between 2018 and 2021, the rate fell from fifty-one homicides per hundred thousand people to eighteen homicides per hundred thousand. And, when the U.S. government began requesting the extradition of the leaders, the Salvadoran courts, subservient to Bukele, repeatedly found excuses to avoid handing them over.

The Vulcan investigation led to another explosive allegation: that MS-13 had promised to use its influence in the neighborhoods that it controlled to force a mass vote for Nuevas Ideas, Bukele’s party, which won a supermajority in El Salvador’s 2021 legislative election. It was not the first time that a U.S. agency had made such a claim: in December, 2021, when the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Luna and Marroquín, the two Bukele officials, a department notice said that investigators had found evidence of an election scheme brokered between MS-13 and the Salvadoran government.

Much about Bukele’s pact with the gang remains unknown, but the timing of its demise is clear enough. On March 25, 2022, MS-13 began a three-day massacre on the streets of El Salvador, indiscriminately killing eighty-seven people. According to an investigation by the Salvadoran news outlet El Faro, most victims were not gang members: they were housewives, cobblers, fruit venders, municipal employees, surfers. In response, Bukele declared a state of exception, which is still in effect, suspending many of the country’s due process rights and commencing a wave of mass arrests. About eighty-five thousand Salvadorans have since been detained on little or no evidence. The CECOT prison was built as part of the crackdown.

Meanwhile, Bukele’s party, with its legislative supermajority, fired the sitting Supreme Court justices, then stacked the bench with judges who reinterpreted the constitution to allow Bukele to seek reëlection to a second consecutive term. The legislature also fired the attorney general and handpicked a replacement who promptly halted a series of investigations that were encircling Bukele, including an inquiry into the administration’s negotiations with the gangs. (The prosecutor in charge of the investigations fled into exile; Luna and Marroquín, the officials sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, remain in their posts.) The U.S. government’s evidence implies that the gangs were Bukele’s “partners in dismantling democracy,” Jeannette Aguilar, a Salvadoran security analyst, told me. “If the D.O.J.’s cases are able to move ahead, it could be the end of the Bukele regime.”

The MS-13 leader whose testimony in New York could most imperil Bukele’s grip on power is Elmer Canales Rivera, a.k.a. Crook de Hollywood. When the D.O.J. announced his arrest, in November, 2023, Crook was supposed to be serving forty years at a Salvadoran maximum-security prison in Zacatecoluca, a facility popularly known as “Zacatraz.” (While much attention is now being paid to the miseries of CECOT, conditions are even worse in the country’s other prisons, where most incarcerated Salvadorans are kept.) But U.S. authorities soon learned a disturbing fact: Crook was no longer behind bars.

According to investigations by both U.S. authorities and Salvadoran journalists, as part of Bukele’s deal with the gang, the government freed Crook from Zacatraz and put him up in a luxury apartment. Marroquín then personally escorted him to the border with Guatemala and gave him a firearm for self-protection. (El Faro published leaked audio that confirmed Marroquin’s role.) Crook eventually made it to Mexico. When the D.O.J. began to search for him, the Bukele administration reportedly grew so concerned about what Crook’s arrest might expose that it sought out a member of one of MS-13’s rival gangs to help recapture him. Later, a Salvadoran official promised to pay a million-dollar bounty to a Mexican cartel if it could take Crook into custody. Crook was ultimately arrested by Mexican authorities, on November 7, 2023. He is now being held in a Pennsylvania prison.

Crook’s testimony could have an outsized impact in El Salvador, where, even after the news reports and U.S. sanctions, many people remain unaware of the evidence against the Bukele administration. “The news didn’t make a splash, because there aren’t independent institutions in the country that could react to it,” Bullock, at Cristosal, said. “There are no powerful political opposition parties that would elevate it, no legislature that would open hearings to discuss it, no attorney general that would look into the case. The news fell into a void.” The White House recently noted in a press release that Greñas was included in the flights of “illegal immigrant criminals” sent to El Salvador. Crook, in contrast, still appears in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons database. It seems probable that he has not yet been deported.

On April 14th, as Bukele sat smirking beside Trump and Rubio in the Oval Office, he dismissed the idea that he has turned his country into a police state. “They say that we imprisoned thousands,” Bukele said. “I like to say that we actually liberated millions.” Trump raised his eyebrows, impressed. “Who gave him that line?” he said. “Do you think I can use that?”

Four days earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had ordered the White House to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant whom the Trump Administration had mistakenly sent to CECOT, owing to what it called an “administrative error.” Police had arrested Abrego Garcia outside of a Home Depot, in 2019. An immigration judge had subsequently granted him a legal status protecting him from deportation to El Salvador. He was living in Maryland, with his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and three children, when he was pulled over outside of an IKEA on March 12th of this year; three days later, he was on a flight to El Salvador. In the Oval Office, Bukele was asked whether he would help bring him home. “The question is preposterous,” Bukele said. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?”

Ricardo Flores, a Salvadoran journalist who has followed the MS-13 prosecutions from the beginning, noted the irony of Bukele’s response. “The D.O.J. has accused the Salvadoran government of escorting Crook, an actual accused terrorist, out of El Salvador,” Flores said. “And now another accused terrorist, Greñas, has been quietly delivered by the U.S. back into Bukele’s hands.” 

[bogkeep]

it was always a strange dichotomy. every middle school classmate i had told me i'd be a millionaire when i grew up, a Famouse Artisté. it's easy enough to imagine as a teen, i suppose: skill equals fame equals money. i was doubtful about this prophecy, not because i wasn't confident in my ability to draw, but because it was hard to imagine a world where i'd be paid for it.

it was an ice breaker game at summer camp. horrible one, really - everyone in a group were given a character profile. now we had to imagine that it was the zombie apocalypse, and the helicopter to safety was two seats short and we had argue why we deserved a spot. the character i got was an asshole doctor of some kind. i don't remember if i argued my way into the helicopter or not, but i do remember the feeling that's been hanging over me my entire life - if the apocalypse happens right now, i have nothing to contribute.

there's something really painful about it. i have cultivated a skill for my whole life, i can make art and tell stories that are entirely unique to me, there is no way to get someone else to create in the exact same way i can, and yet - i've contributed more to capitalist society by sitting in an empty hotel reception for eight hours a day.

which made me develop anxiety, to boot.

i illustrated two children's books. they're some of my best work. the contract i signed was industry standard and the indie author who had hired me was incredibly kind... but even after stock sold out i had earnt little more than some pocket change.

in high school we had an outing to dig our own snow caves that we would spend the night in. in teams, thankfully. i have so little physical strength to speak of, most i could do to help was clear away the snow rubble and toss it outside. i know, i know, my classmates reassured me it was an important job to do, i was an invaluable member of the group, sure - but it's that feeling, you know?

what would my task be in the communist solarpunk commune?

a person cannot be useless. it's a human being. they just exist, no ifs and buts about it. one can only be useless in the eyes of an ableist, capitalist society that sees no value in being alive beyond production and profit.

sometimes i receive messages from internet strangers to tell me something i said - often several years ago - was helpful to them. maybe it was a throwaway comment on a forum. maybe it was replying to a question they could've googled the answer to. maybe it was an encouraging reply to someone's artwork. turns out it mattered to someone. huh.

of course you can learn new skills. i have learnt plenty over the years! i have also learnt that there are limitations to what i can do. that some of the obstacles i face are not in fact obstacles everyone faces. it's not that i can't break tasks into smaller steps, it's more that half of those steps are going to be "rinse your hands because you Touched a Thing and now you're going to have to touch Another Thing." i wonder if that's adding to my cognitive load or something.

i was never raised to be a man, so by all accounts i do not understand why i'm so haunted by the spectre of toxic masculinity - what would i do if i was a medieval peasant and a war broke out? what if i was in a pre-historic hunter gatherer society and i was expected to hunt? what if i was a humble farm boy discovering the sword of the chosen one and the world depended on my non-existing courage to face certain death?

look, it's stupid. these are not scenarios i will find myself in. besides, pre-historic humans depended on community and taking care of each other. that's how we survive.

i'm not useless and i decided to make peace with being useless anyway.

we're surrounded by digital clocks. we can't really escape them. do we need watchmakers? would they save me a spot in the zombie apocalypse helicopter? no, don't answer that. i'm just happy i found something that requires a light touch and an observant eye.

[lutawolf]

The Sign Commentary Review Ep 3

I'm saying fuck it and doing this commentary anyways, even though it's way late. (my kid got into a car accident. Fuck this year.) Anyways I think I'm hilarious so here we go.

Home dude really just let Tharn get kidnapped and looks so lost about it. Hahah! The friend group drinking at the idea of Phaya and Tharn having sex. So dead.

The way these coconuts are stirring up Phaya. And why did his brain go straight to shower. He is so obvious and doesn't even care. Then races out to call the man. Like, are you just now realizing what is going on. This is real life drunkenness, I swear. When Chalothon shows up in the camera feed, it's a total audacity of this bitch moment.

Good news, Chalothon is not having any luck controlling Tharn either. The faces Phaya makes at his phone.

HAHAHA! Phaya's face when he gets back to the table and sees all the guys. He went from being on top of the world to a no good, shitty day real fast. Poor baby, lol.

Phaya's book collection has me jealous. The music playing while he is visualizing the girl. Especially with those subs (mysterious music playing). 🤣🤣🤣 The whole scene with the sister, omg. (mysterious music) (footstep sounds) (footstep sounds) (mysterious music) Phaya's eyes shifting as if in panic. All very dramatic.

Grandma is so pretty!!! She's hilarious too.

Somebody got romance on the brain! I mean, I'm only guessing, between the closeness and the subtitles telling me that romantic music is playing. Then dreams of cuddling Tharn. Cute! I like how the lighting makes them look like they are underwater.

Boy woke up so confused. "I must have thought about him too much." Ya think?!?

Phaya is a talented artist. He has a lot of art of a boy also a side profile of a female. The one we can't see clearly makes me think of the dragon from the water. Is the cat a Cha Kla? Cha Kla is a mythological cat from Thailand.  Legend says that the Ch Kla are terrified of humans and will hide from them, but if they are seen or touched, that person will eventually die. However, they are usually black, where this is white with black surrounding it.

Grandma, "Are they twins?" Then Phaya goes on to fill her in on everything. These two have a very close relationship.

"Did I do anything weird last night?" Boy, that is a loaded question. Ya'll Yai is adorable. He is for sure one of my favorite side characters.

Doc... I'm having doubts that I'm gonna like you. You've barely talked, but you have slime ball written all over you. And what is up with Tharn saying that him and Phaya aren't that close??? Clearly he isn't that close to the Doc if he is hiding stuff.

Nong Khai!!! Nong (low area like a swamp) Khai (lost) is situated on the banks of the majestic Mekong River, one of the world’s longest and most iconic rivers. It's also a very important pilgrimage for Buddhist because of a revered Buddhist stupa that dates back to the 16th century and is believed to contain relics of the Lord Buddha. You know what else it's known for?? Nagas. These mythical creatures are semidivine beings that are serpent shape-shifters. Whether it is a human form, full serpent, or half serpent, half-human form, the Nagas can take up whatever shape they prefer. They are a strong and attractive species, who are regarded as guardians of treasure which resides in the underwater kingdom of Patala-Loka or Naga-Loka, a stunning place decorated in gems.

Now I'm really excited!

💜💜💜 I'm dying. "She's gorgeous." "I know that, but she's also very scary. I'm afraid of her." This honestly makes me like him even more. NGL. They are pretty close with the Abbott. Aww, poor Yai getting ganged up on. *Snickers*

Clues! "While you’re staying here. Let me warn you about something. Make sure you often meditate and dedicate the merits to those whom you have wronged in the past. So that it would help lighten the consequences of your karma. Got it?"

"Is he still not free from them? They’ve been after him since when he was born. That’s why he had to live at the temple. What do they want from him? Why are they so vengeful?"

Shot to sad Abbott and sad Tharn.

Phaya asking the Abbott if he remembers him. Give me answers! Give me! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Finally!!! It's come out that he is the boy that was saved by him!

And we crash again. That's so fucking sad, is this why he thinks the people he loves dies??? "Everything has already been destined. His life is written by the karma he did in his past life." This is so fucking sad. But wait! There is hope! "His destiny has been entwined with someone since his past life. That person will lead him to experience bad things. But it is also that person who would be able to free him from his karma."

Okay, so the Rocket Festival they are talking about and why the date is significant. The Rocket Festival is usually celebrated on the weekends in the middle of May, just before the start of the crop plantation period (the rainy season). This ancient festival is a merit-making ceremony which involves firing home-made rockets towards the heavens to captivate the rain gods and hope for a good monsoon season before the crop plantations take place.

"Whether you’d be free from those whom you have wronged in the past... depends on whether you’d be able to find the owner of this amulet tonight." Damn, that's not ominous. Poor fucking kid.

Ahhhhh, this is when his visions started! No thoughts, he just dives in. This boy does not deserve to have to pay for his past life! I absolve him! You live by a river, and you're just shaking him? Fucking turn him over and smack his back!

Past, Phaya is so puppy dog.

Wait! You forgot to give him the amulet!!! Dumbass kids. Always forget the important part. I mean... Well, I guess saving a person from drowning is the important part, but you know what I mean! Oh good, Phaya found him.

"So, he would probably live for a very long time. But you have to be careful though. If both of your destiny are entwined like what I think... You would eventually find each other again."

And clearly, Yai has always been the way he has been since forever.

Naga! He dreams of Nagas! Usually the festival associated with Naga is the Naga Fireball Festival. Which is celebrated in the fall or Buddhist Lent period. In this festival, people gather along a certain stretch of the Mekong River, to witness glowing red 'fireballs' shoot up into the sky. The number of fireballs sighted can range from hundreds to thousands. The local people attribute this phenomenon to the mythical 'Phaya Nak', a giant serpent that they believe resides within the river.

Okay, I'll shut up now and get back to the show.

"He doesn’t know how to swim. But he still wants to go and play near the riverbank."

"Grandma, I really heard someone calling me there last night."

That's just a great kid. We almost saw the Darwin Theory in action. The stupid shall not inherit the earth. Gee wiz, I hear disembodied voices, let's go investigate near water where I can not swim. This is like me hearing a gun shot and going to check it out. No, I don't want to die, I'm not that noisy. The unknown can stay unknown. Phaya as a kid was so soft and shy. Boy has he changed!

WTF is not wanting to take the amulet. Don't be an ungrateful asshole, kid. Tharn takes no shit, even as a kid.

"What you saw wasn’t a dream. It was your karma." "Are you saying that... they are those whom I have wronged in my past life?"

We're getting closer to answers! Ahhh, we're talking more about the Naga!!! So Tharn was a Naga in a past life??

"You both are destined to help each other Trust each other. Only then, you would be able to free yourself from your karma. Your kind hearts are your best weapon. And remember to always trust each other. Help each other. And you both would live a happy life, like you’ve always dreamt of." Sounds simple enough... (dumdumdum aka thunder sounds)

Oh snap! We got some bad weather! Okay, so Naga have different classes. From the general Nagas who have large bodies like great serpents with a crest on the head and strong poison to the celestial ones who have several heads with lethal poison and supernatural power such as disguising themselves more than just as a human being. Furthermore, certain ones can effect rain. The power to bring rain or cause drought by stop giving it. Some beliefs say they can disguise themselves as rain clouds and/or rainbows. That is why the quote for the Rocket Festival is "How much water will the Naga give this year."

Ohhh, who could this be? The king of Naga? There are a few options, so I won't hazard a guess just yet.

Can I just say that I'm loving that Phaya is chasing after scared Tharn. Yai and Phaya hugging like they didn't just get drunk together the night before. 🤣🤣🤣

"It was quite dark, so I didn't know he actually looks like this." OMG, I'm Dead. Hahaha Yai... I can see why you and your gf fit together.

Ahhhh I'm loving this so much!! You see the Naga decorations on the bridge?? This is in association with their connection to rainbows. The rainbow signifies the bridge between earth and the underworld. Sorry if this shit is boring, you guys! Like I said earlier, I'm way late, and so I'm just writing about what I find interesting. Because I refuse to force beliefs on my children, I give them books on world religions and beliefs. I read it so that I can help them as they read what they are interested in. I find all this stuff so captivating.

The way Yai looks at his girl. So sweet.

Okay, I see what they are doing here with the dream, but I'm dead. That hair and his facial expression. Like he is seconds away from laughing at himself. I would love to see BTS of this part right here.

Look at Phaya just calling Tharn out. Like Bitch, try and run from me. "Why didn't you want to tag along with us."

Isn't that where he was sitting when he had the vision? Phaya, you wish he was hitting on you, lol.

Not matching clothes!!! Tharn bitching all the time but damned if he didn't put on the matching clothes.

He left her cause she was naga! What!

Yes, he is telling you that you are the cause of his bad dreams. But he still wants you to stick around so nevermind.

I love these fools. I love grandma. Now everyone knows that Phaya is the boy that was saved.

I like Sand.

"If what you said is true, Yai and I both love you like our own brother... but we’re still safe and sound."

"Don’t let what the Abbot has predicted come true." Grandma come back! Explain this to me...

Hahah! Tharn is so sassy. "Did you use this kind of story to hit on the girls in France?"

See, no hiding for Phaya. He just straight up tells Tharn that he likes him. I think evil jellyfish is a new favorite nickname for me. I really want to read this book but it's like 15 bucks. Crazy!

AHHH! They finally kiss!!! "And this is called a goodnight kiss."

Tharn's face when Phaya says goodnight. Bless the poor boy. Well fuck, we getting stormy weather over a kiss? What the hell is gonna happen when they do more!?! I think I liked it better when the sex just woke up the evil twin, not cause destruction of humanity. Tharn is cute but I don't know that he is Noah Arc worth it kind of cute. Just saying.

Running scared! But that's okay cause Phaya is very willing to chase. Even tackle.

"Do you want to get hurt?" Phaya over here like, yes please. With a cherry on top. I love the cockiness of both of them. I adore when Phaya puts his tongue in his cheek. These two! Thank you Saint! You are a blessing amongst men. I really enjoy this kind of foreplay. No punches were pulled. Noticed Phaya is wearing the talisman.

Ahhh, it's the forcing him to submit and then telling him he is a good boy for me.

I’m Police Major Akkanee Assawawaisoon, your team leader. Yay! He is back!

I love these coconuts. Tharn going and sitting by your brother, Phaya is going to kick your ass again.

Ahhhhhh. I'm so excited for this saturday!