#Weird direction for both of these

[thebrokenmechanicalpencil]

@quibble-auk

(Tw. Panic attacks, violence, angst, gore.)

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Comet was laying with his back to Dropmix.

Comet couldn't breathe.

The large mech  had gestured and not so kindly asked him to lay down on the extra berth in the room. Now revealed by the bright sterile lights. Comet remembers it as not so kindly because he knew what the mech was unintentionally signaling with his clenched jaw. 

It revealed a hardly grasped anger.

 Dark blue optics sharp and lips in a tight line, the very moment Jeopardy had slipped from the room like a clueless child. Cometeater wasn’t supposed to have seen that though. Wasn't supposed to smell the flash of fear. Nor witnessed the way Dropmix had smoothly hid it. The fear and concern was the first to plunge. The ripples of his cold facade drowned any emotions he allowed on his face.  With that, and a sharp gesture, Comet was ordered onto a table.

That glimpse of Dropmix’s anger did nothing to soothe the Pretender. 

His throat still throbbed from their earlier squabble, his back plating burning from the impact on the wall. Comet did not want this medic near him, medic now right? When he allowed his eyes to cut up at the imposing “medic,” all he saw was the same mech who had fought in the arena. Mercilessly ripped the heads off of mechs who had tried to run. Tried to escape. To hide. Comet felt his heartbeat pick up as the old battered memories peeked over the wall in his mind. Their wet bloodshot eyes winking in dried blood. 

“I said, you need to lie down.”

Comet jolted at the firm growl, Dropmix watching him carefully from the opposite side of the berth. Comet felt his muscles stiffen at the very idea of doing so. Sitting next to him was bad enough. “Don’t make this difficult Cometeater, the sooner we get this done the sooner I go.” The large mech kept his face perfectly neutral, but a raise of an eyebrow showed the smallest twitch of tension. Comet knew if that tension broke he wouldn't survive it a second time.

“How?” He didn't like how quiet he sounded, he was never supposed to put himself in a situation like this. Weak, vulnerable. Where had his bravado gone? It's probably stuck in the heavy joints of Dropmix’s fingers, where they had locked so tight on his throat Comet had lost any and all sense for far too long. 

Weak.

“On your left side, you said it was your right hip?” Dropmix gestured slowly at the slab of metal gleaming in the lights. Dropmix had wanted them on. 

Comet didn't want to.  It was too much like laying with his belly exposed. Begging to be gutted. His whole body screamed as he cautiously laid down on his side. Making sure he faced the ex gladiator. You need to be awake for Sideswipe, he reminded himself to maybe soothe the growing fear. 

Dropmix was staring at him. 

You need to agree to this to keep him safe. Comet clenched his fists to ignore the shaking. He was doing this for Sideswipe.

Dropmix moved out from in front of him and Comet felt his back scream in warning. In a chain of muscles his whole back tensed for an impact, instead Dropmix spoke again. His deep baritone shook Comet to his core, “I’m going to run a couple tests,” No choice. No room for argument. Those awful optics bore into his skin as the mech moved. His once faint scent now wafting and smothering everything else. Cold and cloying. Comet felt his breath pick up as his skin tightened. “Relax, I can’t do these properly if you're stiff as a board.” Comet forced, and it was an exhausting effort, himself to relax. His muscles twitched in disagreement, jumping under his skin. 

He could feel Dropmix.

In a warm heat behind him. Too close. His leg twitched with the need to run, to hide. Dropmix was too close. He needed to run, now. Comet felt his armor start to tremble with tension at danger being so close. Shame bloomed in all its ugliness, he needed to calm down. Comet was better than this. He had been examined before. Ratchet had done this before.  Comet slowly breathed in and out, lowering his head onto his folded arm. 

Ratchet had never ripped a mech’s face off.

Dropmix slowly grabbed his thigh, allowing enough of a warning for a normal bot. But it did nothing to ease the influx of panic. It whirled over Comet in deep gusts. His heart was beating so fast it hurt, pounding in his chest as Dropmix lifted his leg to test its limits.

The shot of agony sent a sudden sharp chirp from Comet’s mouth.

Comet shoved his face into his arm, as that awful shame and fear mixed. He didn't dare look up at Dropmix. What was wrong with him? He was better than this. Comet tried to shake out the fear and panic as Dropmix began to slowly move his leg again, after a long moment that had Comet’s face burning. 

He’s going to rip your leg off. 

The rogue thought sent a wave of terror down his spine. Thick and cold he felt like his lungs were about to collapse.

No he’s not. Why would he? Cometeater forced even breathes, closing his eyes against the now horrendously bright clinical lights. 

Because he has done it before.

The faint smell of the pits from the gladiator behind him made Comet’s mouth water like he was about to throw up, images of Dropmix doing that very thing echoed across his closed eyes.

A thick limb in the gladiator’s hands, energon cascading in a pink waterfall. 

Comet forced a breath, he needed to calm down. He needed to stop.

His red and black helm coated, teeth clamping on the mech’s face.

Comet’s heart hammered as he felt his chest cramp from the force of his scattered breathing.

The ripping of wiring, the horrible gurgles as energon erupted from Dropmixes mouth as the bit into another gladiator's belly.

Comet couldn’t smell Sideswipe anymore, only the Pit. Only Dropmix

The arena smelt hot and dry, it hurt. Why did everything have to hurt?

Dropmixe’s clean scent choked him. His breaths were too erratic. Why was Dropmix closer now?

Dropmix was in the arena. It stank of him. He glared from the back of it.

Dropmix had a firm hold on him. Pinning him. Touching him.

Those horrible hands clenched around him. “Don’t be so scared little one.”

Optics flashed. Cold and unforgiving.

She smiled, his blood painting her face.

Comet screamed.

The scent was everywhere. Dust was choking him.

Comet could only hear his own breaths. Haggard and loud.

Its too loud.

The hands tightened.

“STOP!”

He wrenched himself away, cold tears marking trails of liquid terror down his face.

Her breath fanned him, she smelt like Sunny’s energon.

“PLEASE!”

Comet hit the ground as the sobs overwhelmed him. 

He couldn't breathe.

[barbreypilled]

u will never sell me on born sexy yesterday useless adult baby Annie Cresta MY (correct) Annie is a FREAK who loves smoking a pack a day and illegally feeding wild harbour seals and having problematic sexual dalliances and got so bored being unemployed that she started trafficking contraband literature. she gave up trying to teach Finnick how to read above a 3rd grade level bc he kept asking her if she’d still love him if he was a worm (she would but like can u please fucking focus like sound it out it’s not hard)

[angeldaisies]

i’ll be honest, i don’t always like the way people talk about what happened to james. i feel like people let themselves be tricked by the supernatural element of the bracelet into thinking that this can’t possibly happen in real life, when the truth is that what happened to him after the bracelet was put on and everything he felt once it was over is indicative of real life experiences. sure, no one is ever gonna put a magical bracelet on your wrist that forces you to love them, but the bracelet is merely a metaphor for real feelings that real people experience when they’re in such a situation: feeling stuck and trapped, feeling like they’re forced to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise. these are feelings james himself explicitly talks about multiple times in the text. he feels ashamed, he feels disgusted with himself, he feels weak for not getting out of it sooner, he feels sick at the thought of talking about what he experienced with anyone, including the people he feels safest with. these are all feelings drawn from the experiences of real life survivors. so whenever you’re tempted to make a joke about the bracelet, or to feel frustrated that he ‘wasn’t even the one to tell cordelia the truth about the bracelet’, or even to say that some other male character would have handled the situation better, please remember that this might be a sensitive topic for some people on your dash. james is fictional, so he’ll never be hurt by what you’re saying, but the people reading your posts are real.

[lazzarella]

This is going to sound SO weird*, but the way Aou and Boom kiss is so pretty. It's just... There's always so much passion, and, yeah, the way they kiss is hot—I never have any doubt their characters are into each other—but it's also so very aesthetically pleasing to me in a way I could possibly articulate if I tried, but I think this is weird enough already 🙈

[hanzajesthanza]

geralt of rivia thoughts summarized

this city is too congested and loud

i don’t like the way my clothes feel

it’s super hot out right now but i’m gonna keep my outerwear on

i’m just gonna sit in the corner and do my thang

what’s wrong with me why do i feel emotions so strongly

people keep telling me i was made wrong

there are so many smells out here right now

i don’t like the way these clothes feel either

i don’t know how to break up with my girlfriend so i’m just going to leave i guess

wrong decision i’m going to apologize now. … by giving her some cool rocks

i kind of messed things up with my girlfriend again but i want to talk to her BUT i don’t know how to address her. we made passionate love many times. can i call her my… hmm… ummm… friend…?

i could piss in this flowerpot but… that wouldn’t be nice to the flowers

it’s time for a scathingly eloquent rant

never mind i forgot how to say words

i’m just going to tell you what happened straight up. no poetics from me

but let’s critique society

I HATE INJUSTICE AND UNFAIRNESS !!!

why are people so corrupt and evil. i don’t get it.

more importantly. WHY do i keep falling for it.

i am a relic of an older time. change is already here and i’m not ready

apart from my immediate family i’ve had one best friend for a decade and that’s my extent of socializing.

unless someone comes to me first with that. and we have shared interests. then we can roll together for a bit

i have not changed my sense of style or the type of clothes i wear since i was eighteen. i even tie my hair in the same way

[scoriarose]

She came up with a new activity

[echodoctor]

I am rotating some Thoughts about Loop and Siffrin seeing each other as two halves of the same person- specifically, Siffrin as the body (kept the actual physical form of Siffrin that everyone recognizes, can go out and interact with things directly) and Loop as the soul (was the original person and still has older memories of things that no other person can know, has knowledge and spiritual? connection to the greater mysteries of the universe but has to work through Siffrin instead of acting themself).

Mostly because I got reminded that this poem exists and the idea of it as Siffrin and Loop arguing is delicious to me.

They both badly need something that the only the other one can truly give them, and they seem to be at their best when working together in harmony to achieve a greater goal.

...Also from a Sifloop perspective, the idea of having a body be in love with the soul its supposed to hold and shelter and act on behalf of/a soul in love with the body that its supposed to guide and awaken and lead on to better things? Mmmmm, tasty tasty symbolism, yes please.

Or, you know. Very literal, if you want them to get freaky with some body-sharing scenarios. I'm just saying, the idea of Siffrin being self-sacrificing and lonely enough to go "wait, you were supposed to be in this body and you're clearly unhappy out there, come back in so we can be together and you can be who you want to be again!" has some interesting potential.

[horsetailcurlers2]

anyway do u guys remember in greys anatomy season 2 episode 14 when meredith gives derek and addison her dog, meredith hands addison the leash and their hands brush against eachother? and how meredith thanks her because it’s “a lot to ask” and addison says (in voice that in my head is distinctly “addie” and not “doctor montgomery (-shepherd)”) that it’s alright because it’s just a dog? anyway i know it’s like a two second interaction but there’s something about the look in meredith’s eyes and the sound of addison’s voice that makes me go fucking nuts. like, meredith looks so bewildered at how soft addison can sound when she’s not busy being Intimidating Surgical Attending or Scary Surprise Wife. idk if i’m even making any sense. they’ve soupified my brain. ughhhhh.

[purrplecatart]

Ferdilix propaganda

[thatneoncrisis]

my memory of homestuck is fading in pieces as i dont read it literally every day like i used to. all trolls are at least COMPETENT at combat, its the basis of their society to prepare them for offworld military service and eventually the 12 of those guys playing the game. gideon also grew up in a heavily militarized and harsh environment, and spent every week if not every day getting her ass summarily handed to her by a gaggle of skeletons for a horrible little girls entertainment. we all know that harrow probably wasnt TRYING to kill her, but crux definitely was at points. however she never had to FIGHT crux, just a very nasty old woman with a sword who cared about her (poorly) and an even nastier girl who also cared about her (the worst anyone has ever done it)

terezi has endured life or death scenarios via FLARP sessions with vriska tavros and aradia, but she at the very least seems concerned with who "deserves" to die, shes beholden to rules. she got her ass beat by gamzee but that isnt a fair comparison because hes just some weird wild card thats seemingly capable of beating anyone in combat so long as they dont sneak up on him (kanaya with her chainsaw). or maybe he just wanted to die then point is she had no chance in hell. she seemingly had no issues with the imps in the game, and when she faced vriska that wasnt even a fight, vriska just got cocky and let her guard down.

both of them are so context based in fights, i cant just plop them in an arena and make them do bloodsport. well actually terezi might be more game, but she might still at least question it before going full throttle. cant really say the pain threshold for either of them, gideon has passed out from pain so she has her limits but you have to get her on the ground first. she shattered her knee during that cytherea thing but adrenaline was keeping her conscious. terezi IS blind, if gideon has her stupid cav robe with the hood on it might through terezi off if shes just this massive blob of black against a dark background. it could help if she draws blood but shed have to find gideon in the first place. ill probably give it to gid just for that

[sysig]

Talk yourself into it (Patreon)

[arsenicflame]

steddyhands modern au inspired by this post:

(1828 words, themes of kink but nothing explicit, established blackhands & gentlebeard-centric. Happy Pride!)

Stede picks up leatherworking in the wake of his divorce. He's not exactly sure how it ended up being such an important hobby for him, only that he had always admired the intricate designs on his horse's best bridles, and with little else to do with his time, he decides to give it a go.

It's rocky going at first, but he's having fun working with his hands for the first time in his life, and there's a sense of satisfaction in seeing the design come to life as he works. With practice, his skills improve, and he learns how to make things that are truly one of a kind.

He starts off posting his pieces online, as a way to reach fellow enthusiasts, but quickly finds himself with a rather large audience. Stede’s style is unique, and, after many requests from his followers, Lucius encourages him to make some more basic pieces he can sell. It's not about making money for Stede, but another way to meet new people who share his interests- as Lucius keeps telling him, it's sad that his personal assistant is the main person he talks to these days. 

So Stede sets out on a new adventure, and has quite the time designing a new range of patterns for the market. He makes purses, belts, bracelets, and, most importantly, dog collars- all still with his unique designs embossed into them, of course. He rents a booth at his towns monthly craft fair, and very quickly finds himself with a new group of friends in the other regulars- Pete, his usual neighbour, who sells an array of wooden figures he carves, Roach, who runs a stand for his bakery, and Frenchie, who isn't actually a stallholder, but is almost always busking near his friend Wee John’s stand of knitted goods, bringing life to the market even in the pouring rain. There's also Buttons, another regular at the market. Nobody is exactly sure what he does there- he doesn't sell things, or seem to buy anything either, but rain or shine, he's there with the birds.

Stede’s been doing this a few months by the time June rolls around. As he's setting up his stand, he notices that the area is much busier than it’d normally be at this time of morning. Lucius, who got roped into helping run Stede’s stall somewhere down the line (despite his protests that this is not what personal assistant means… But hey, he got a boyfriend out of it, at least), reminds him that there's the parade today, too- not realising that Stede had no clue there was a parade today, and especially not that it was pride. Stede immediately jumps to fretting about the amount of stock he’s brought, and Lucius takes the cue to escape, saying he’ll go and grab them coffee (but really, he's off to flirt with Pete)

Lucius is still missing when Ed stumbles across the little leather stall. Stede’s just ran back to his car to fetch his last boxes of inventory, and by the time he returns, Ed’s already begun to narrow down his choices. Stede greets him, starting to tell him that they're not actually open yet, but before he gets more than a couple of words out, Ed’s exclaiming “You're a Kiwi!!!”

The two of them smile at the shared recognition, and Stede says he’ll make an exception, just for Ed, and asks him what exactly he was interested in. Ed tells him that he's looking for a collar “for his boy”, and points out the particular design he was looking at. It happens to be one of Stede’s favourites from this latest run of work, a fact he mentions to Ed. It leads them into a discussion about Stede’s craft, and Ed’s Izzy, and then everything in between. Ed’s listening intently to the things Stede’s telling him, completely drawn in by the process, and by Stede himself. He watches as Stede stamps Izzy's name into the collar, and Stede even lets him have a go at one of the stamps. 

Lucius reappears sometime in the middle of this- only to immediately retreat again, seeing Stede engrossed with Ed. He sets up camp at Pete's booth opposite, watching this man flirt intensely with his boss- and Stede flirt back just as hard. Does Stede even realise he’s doing it? Lucius had known Stede was gay since before Stede even admitted it to himself, but this is on a whole other level.

The pair stand there so long that Izzy comes to look for Ed- the two of them are manning a float on the parade with their crew, and it's past time for them to get geared up. He's already worked up, frustrated to have been left to set up everything alone, when Ed had just gone to see if he could get them both coffee. So maybe he's a bit of a prick, approaching with a brash “where the fuck have you been, Edward”, to which Stede brings the same energy, giving a bitchy “Ed! Do you know this guy?” Izzy tenses, ready to snap, but then Ed cuts in, excitedly telling Stede that this is “his Izzy!” Which confuses the hell out of Stede. 

Forgetting his earlier attitude, he asks Ed if he “really named his dog after his friend”, only to be met with confusion right back from Ed at where the hell Stede got the idea he had a dog from. Stede gestures at the bag with the collar in it, to which Ed has to tell him, “oh, no, that's for him.” Ed tells Stede that they're here to run a float for their local leather society, and while Stede is certainly shocked by what Ed’s saying, he's not finding himself… uninterested. It's simply that he’s never even considered any of this before, especially not that people would use the things that he made for this, but Ed sounds so enthusiastic about it all. He tells him about how his friends would love to see Stede’s work, about how classic leather gear is always so fucking boring- but not Stede’s stuff, no, Stede’s stuff is “fresh” and “fascinating” and unlike anything Ed’s ever seen before. 

Ed's enthusiasm is incredibly infectious, so when he invites Stede to come back to see their float, he readily agrees. It’s a concept Izzy’s less than enthusiastic about. He doesn’t really want to bring this man who’s dressed like he just walked out of a HOA board meeting to their kinky little corner of the world, but he is having a lot of fun watching Stede squirm, so decides not to raise a protest. He does demand he gets his long-overdue coffee first, though (Stede pays for it- as “compensation for him distracting Ed from his job”, he says, not giving Izzy a second to process before he's tapping his card)

By the time they return to the float, Fang, Ivan & Jim are waiting for them, all already geared up. Stede is stunned silent at the sight for about 5 seconds, before he starts actually looking at the quality of Jim’s harness, and proceeds to go off about the poor quality of the craftsmanship, about how the hardware is tacky and completely the wrong choice with this leather, how his “ten year old daughter could do a better job!!!” 

There's complete silence from the group, until Izzy, of all people, bursts into laughter at Stede’s audacity (and, the fact he was staring at Jim's tits completely unabashedly, like he hadn't even noticed them in the first place). Izzy's laughter sets Ed off as he tells the group about Stede’s misunderstanding- “you didn't say he was a person!” “I mean, he's my dog”- and soon everyone's having a friendly giggle at Stede’s mistake.

It's somewhere in the middle of the retelling that Ed remembers that this whole thing happened because he was buying Izzy a gift. After a moments fumbling, he presents Izzy with the collar-  It's a rich, deep black, embossed with a rolling pattern that resembles waves. It’s made from a firm enough leather to take the tooling, and to remind Izzy that he’s owned while he’s wearing it, yet still soft enough for long term comfort. Izzy's eyes immediately lock on to it, an unreadable expression coming over his face, and Ed turns it; first so he can really see the design and Izzy’s name embossed into it, and then so he can see the small “Ed ♥” on the inside of the collar, right over his swallow tattoo. 

“I did the heart,” Ed says to him softly, intended only for Izzy’s ears. Izzy's eyes flick up to Ed’s, and he raises his chin to give Ed the room to put it on. Ed buckles the collar around his neck almost reverently, a test of the tightness turning into a caress of Izzy's neck. It's a perfect fit.

It's as though something comes over Izzy; so twitchy and abrasive earlier, now silent, staring at Ed with a look akin to worship in his eyes. He obediently tilts his head for a kiss as Ed's fingers move to his chin- It's a sight to behold, and one that has Stede intrigued. He wants to know more about this lifestyle, and these men in particular. He wants to be the one to put that expression on Izzy's face.

The moment breaks as Ed and Izzy pull apart, and Ed calls for the crew to finish the last bits of set up. Izzy shakes himself a little before running off to bark orders again, but even still, there remains a softness to him that wasn't there before. 

Ed turns back to Stede with an apologetic smile, already obvious that he has to get going. Before he can speak, however, Stede jumps in -“My business numbers on the card in the box… I'll be around all day”- Ed’s smile turns more genuine at that, promising to stop by if he gets a moment, and that he’ll send his friend's Stede’s way- “if he wants that kind of business.” Stede says that he does, actually- that he's seen a whole new world already today, and, while he was a little taken aback at first, he can feel the passion Ed and his friends have for this life. If there's one thing that's ever mattered to Stede, it's other people's enthusiasm. Maybe he doesn't completely understand yet, but he would like to try.

One year later, Stede’s back at the market on pride weekend again, far better stocked for the crowds this time around. Lucius is finally free to spend the day flirting with Fang & Pete to his heart's content, now that Stede’s roped his own boyfriends into helping him run the stall- and into modelling the merchandise. Ed loves that part, while Izzy needs a lot more convincing, but the puppy eyes Stede & Ed weaponise against him make a very good argument.

[corvus-frugilegus]

Man, so often on here I'll see something where I feel like the post is making a really great point, but then is also turning around and being mean spirited about people doing their own thing?

Like not liking a ship is fine. Not liking that other people like a ship for reasons you don't agree with and dragging people over that sucks? You can critique a ship, but you don't have to make it out that other people are doing it wrong for liking it.

[hum--hallelujah]

I just think they're neat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Going through an ANCIENT extremely MCU!Loki apologetic blog like "I don't agree with anything you say, but I was not here for that take " so I am being a fandom archaeologist right now.

[kaxtwenty]

What if I said that Atra was more yuripilled than either Suletta or Miorine?

What then?