#is a badass

[nosferatini]

🩸Unhallowed Providence

(Fic + Podfic)

I finished chapter 2! Time to meet our delicious demon's angel boi! 🪴

I've also remastered the podfic for chapter 1! All for my friend, @theonevoice on her special day!

Inspired by the extraordinary art she created, (and continues to indulge me with), I give you Chapter 2 of…

Unhallowed Providence 

Being a narrative of certain events occurring in the stygian past of human history, in strict accordance, as shall be shown, with the Dark and Distorted Prophecies of Angus Nutter, Warlock.

🎧🩸Listen From The Beginning🩸🎧 Or 👁️Read From the Beginning

Tags: Reverse Omens, Vampirism, dubcon due to power imbalance

Chapter 2 excerpt:

Even the owner enjoys flitting about like a tree sprite in the seclusion of his abode. Often he finds himself disappearing into the dark sub-jungle of the lower floor among the philodendron and the fungi; or rediscovering a rare, flowering cactus in the sunny bay windows on the upper levels, or planting a new species into the flower garden before humanity manages to vanquish it from existence. The winding paths are narrow between his cultivations, yet not a speck of dirt can be found out of place.  Nor a single pest.  Nor a single weed.  The plants are too proud for such indecency. And too right, because their caretaker dotes on them daily, pampering and singing with all the tender love and affection one could ask. For in his home are kept his darlings. 

Catch up from Chapter 2: (Listen | Read)

Immortal gratitude to @blackjeans93 and u/ckocek from @goodomensafterdark for their beta services! 🖤

PLEASE for the love of all things sinful, go check out @theonevoice other work on her tumblr! I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with her on this project and am excited to continue as the fic moves forward.

NOTE: I am not quite ready for regular chapter updates yet. But as I’ve said before — I fully intend to finish this gorgeous project! Please go read about Voice’s angel boy! I promise it won’t leave you in a bad place <3

If you need a reminder, here is Voice’s original art that inspired the fic:

[bucknerdycore]

THIS NEW EPISODE WAS AMAZING. The 118 and the bees?! Bobby and his new "bestie" at work? Badass Athena?! Bucktommy?! Plane accident?! Eddie running?! Hen, Maddie, Karen, and Chimney with Mara?!

[edutainer2022]

There's a bit of headcanon backstory of Scott's disastrous trainwreck of a lovelife I always kinda mean to write out (shout out to @janetm74 and @liseylou!). So it features here. Gordon watches celebrity news. Fischler's brother (of all people!) gets married. Nothing goes as planned. Scott is NOT having a good time. Nor has he been for a while. Bereznik gets mentioned. An OC that might be relevant later gets mentioned. The GDF units I think may have IR on the radar get mentioned. Scott has great brothers and good friends. He's still not having a good time.

PAGE SIX

Ever since Kat Kavanaugh buried a hatchet and wasn't chasing conspiracy theories about them on Global Holovision anymore, watching the news live was a once in a blue moon activity in Casa Tracy. They followed the major world events through John and Eos (maybe a bit of social media on a relatively quiet morning), and they were likely to be part of those in some capacity at least a third of the times. Sometimes a half. But it was one of those days. A relative lull in rescues compiled with the exhaustion of the previous fortnight streak of disasters bred mildly numb boredom. Batteries too low to pursue their usual hobbies, they gravitated to the lounge.

Scott was ever at the desk with holo screens full of quarterly budget reports, because their biggest brother did stock market numbers for LEISURE, apparently. Virgil was playing, as usual, but the music was slowly fading to a halt. Alan was gaming, or pretending to be while napping, his VR goggles on. Kayo was going through some specs, half leaning on the couch cushions. Even John was in a quiet lull up in orbit, his hologram just bobbing at the comms unit, hanging out with everybody, but not really a part of any conversation. That left Gordon scrolling lazily through newsreels. The sudden yelp sent Alan tumbling on the floor and Scott at least half an inch closer to a cardiac arrest under thirty. A keen observer would have noticed Kayo reaching for a knife in the ankle holster. The piano music keened on an abrupt note and stopped. Several pairs of VERY unamused eyes stared Gordon down.

The Fish was on his feet already, bursting with excitement, sending the news holo to the center of the lounge.

"Did you guys know Fischler has a brother?!?!"

The assorted grumps and groans across the lounge indicated that they not only didn't know, but weren't in the least thrilled by that information. Only John and Kayo shared a quiet look, because OF COURSE they would know.

Gordon surveyed the lounge in triumph, setting the stage for a punchline.

"He has a brother and he's getting married!"

"Who, Fischler?"

Alan was still scrambling up from his hardwood landing and making a show of rubbing an ouchie. Scott at least looked ready to switch gears to the full "hurt brother!" mode. Gordon was not deterred.

"No, dummy, not Fischer! His brother is getting married!"

"And that's any of our business how?"

Alan was still not ready to relinquish attention from his boo-boo. Not with so many big brothers in attendance. But John, Kayo and Virgil were already sharing concerned LOOKS. Any widely publicized event with cameras rolling and hundreds in attendance, involving Fischler, could potentially turn into a showcase of his latest "invention", or ten. Which would mean potential casualties and work for IR. They would need to be on the look-out and on standby. Scott waved at the comm to get the volume up.

The holo displayed a close pic of a younger and significantly more polished version of Langstrom Fischler, hair sleecked back, but a weaselly smile just a tad on the manic side. The celebrity news anchor was gushing about a "dashing fresh face on the World Senate, a philanthropist and patron of innovation, a devoted brother and a consummate athlete, setting off to be a force of a positive change in the world" and "his drop dead gorgeous fiancée, a once Miss Brazil runner-up, who dedicated herself to the selfless life of service, decorated for honor and courage". The picture on the screen changed for an official GDF snapshot of a tall young brunette in dress blues. The insignia on the collar indicated the rank of Captain and breastplanks - several high ranking awards for valor. The picture changed to a series of candid paparazzi snaps of the "happy couple". The show host droned on with one corny cliche after another about the "match made of dreams" and a " high profile dream wedding" scheduled to take place on a cozy remote island.

Gordon interrupted the stream of saccharine platitudes:

"Huh? How come we're not invited? Scott, you know like everyone in the World Senate!"

But his voice was drowned out by the deafening snap of the metal stylus, broken in Scott's fingers. The sound of the desk chair hitting the floor, as Scott stood up and all but ran from the lounge, was even louder.

"Huh?!"

Gordon, yet again, surmised the bewilderment of everyone present. Virgil was half out to follow Scott, when a ping came through on Gordon's comm. The sign flashed pink.

"Yay! Looks like I'm going after all! Penny needs a plus one! John, can I borrow your tux?!"

John half waved his brother off, brows furrowed and hands already flying over invisible files, when another pink ping came through. It was Kayo's turn for a "Huh?" moment.

"Looks like Penny needs a plus two, as well. I'm invited".

That deflated Gordon's initial excitement enough to notice Virgil leaving in the general direction of Dad's office, where Scott had locked himself. Before he reached the door to try and reason with big brother to talk about... whatever that was, John sent two files to his comm. One - a picture they all saw a hundred times on Dad's desk back in Kansas, but it didn't compute out of context. Scott's Airgroup Wing after a training flight. All hugging and laughing, still in flightsuits. Scott and the girl from the news today - Fischler Jr.'s fiancée - at the center. The other Virgil never saw before. It would figure since it was a screenshot from, what he recognized with some dread, was Dad's old phone. There was a picture sent to a private chat with Dad of the same girl, in a sundress, and Scott in a polo shirt, apparently both on leave. An almost ten years younger Scott was smiling like he could power up a sun. The message to Dad read "SHE SAID YES!!!". The date of the message indicated about a month and a half before Scott's mission to Bereznik. Virgil sank to the floor, leaning on the wall, never going through with the knock on the locked office door.

***

It was such an unbelievable cliché it felt surreal. The thunderstorm, the lightning, the lash of downpour across his face. Then again, it was fitting, as his world was going crashing down around him. Yet again. There was nothing surreal about the hard edges of Mom's ring she just gave him back. For about six weeks he was the happiest man alive. Dad's IR project was well underway, and he was to share that dream not only with Dad and brothers, but with the love of his life. He should have known better... The words were real too - hard and ruthless. About Dad yanking his leash, and expecting nothing but dutifully following in his footsteps and his vision, concealed by his looming shadow, and giving up what they both dreamed about and worked so hard for - test flights, command ranks, career in service. The echo came back to him often, in one dark hour or another, after his world shattered to pieces yet another time. Dad voiced his reservations clearly, but did agree to give him Mom's ring. "When you know, you know". Wasn't it how he and Mom got married? It WAS too soon, they WERE too young, and frateenization within a unit WAS an issue, but with IR lifting off that wasn't to be a problem, once he told her the full scale of the classified project. He should have known better...

He last remembered the ring yanked off his neck with the dogtags chain by a smirking Berezniki guard. He put up a hell of a fight for that and was beaten within an inch of his life. The first time. Next time he found it, inexplicably, in Dad's safe on the island, after the search for Zero-X was called off. He meant to ask Kyrano, as he wasn't conscious or coherent enough for the extraction op, or for months after, but the man never returned his calls anymore, sending in a resignation after half a year of following leads on the Hood. There wasn't much room in his mind or hours in his days to give it more thought for years after. Or more pieces for his heart to break into. He should have known better. And now she was getting married. To someone bright and promising, changing the world for the better, who wasn't him. He should have known better as well. The sound of glass shattering against the wall and a visceral scream finally sent Virgil in, wild-eyed, breaking past the lock.

***

John lifted an eyebrow in a perfect quizzical arch, putting the tablet down, as the "wedding party" poured, or rather, limped into the lounge. Gordon's tuxedo sleeve was torn clear off, his bowtie, undone, served as a makeshift tourniquet. Parker sported cuts, bruises and a glorious shiner. Penelope's elaborate updo was in disarray, one heel of a golden pump broken. Kayo's slip dress hem was torn, exposing a garter holster. As John hurried to the kitchen for the first aid kit, he heard her hiss something to the effect of "You should have seen the other guys".

The villa was quiet. Grandma had Alan on the mainland for the weekend. Virgil chased Scott up the volcano. There was a good chance biggest brother and his stormy mood was best quarantined at the Round House for the rest of the day. John was waiting in the lounge for the fallout, one way or another. He wasn't quite prepared to the sight on display, handing out ice packs.

Gordon hissed too and bit off a curse, as John set about cleaning the bullet graze on his arm.

"Pen, do all your friends whip out a standard issue gun at the altar and read the groom Miranda rights instead of vows?"

Lady Penelope was busy trying to look poised while breaking the second heel off a designer pump, to make them even.

"It was a deep undercover mission to round up a drug and slave trafficking ring. A destination wedding was a most fortunate venue for the occasion."

Kayo looked up from the kitchen isle at that, not pausing to stop extracting a considerable arsenal of throw-knives from her bodice.

"Looks like the Fischler brothers were bankrolled by mafia. The crazy inventions AND the World Senate election. In exchange for some... perks."

Kayo snorted and went back to her inventory of weapons.

Gordon perked up as the anesthetic cream kicked in and forgot to NOT wave the injured hand around to assist his narrative.

"It was actually kinda cool! The bride barked out "Hands up!" instead of "I do"! The bridesmaids all dropped their bouquets and brandished guns. The bridal party were all Organized Crime and Counterterrorism. Well, and us... A little  heads up wouldn't have hurt, Penny. Then all hell broke loose. Rose petals and confetti everywhere. You should have seen Fischler's face!"

Gordon was nearly flailing with excitement, so John's hands pushed him mildly back into the seat. Turquoise eyes found Penelope's line of sight:

"So... no wedding?"

"No wedding indeed."

Up on the Tracy Volcano Virgil's comm vibrated, switched to silent mode hours ago. John's message read "No wedding."

Virgil exhaled a sigh, but didn't yet know how to break the subject with a brother, seated next to him on the sun-warmed boulder, overlooking the ocean. Blue eyes were fixed on a point far away in the distance, or maybe far away in the past, Scott still wouldn't talk about.

[tacticalanxiety]

Hey! So I'm nearing platinum #200 (at 196 now) and I've narrowed down a handful of games to pick from for the milestone:

1. Assassin's Creed II

2. A Plague Tale: Requiem

3. Death Mark II

4. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

5. Red Dead Redemption (the PS4 port of the original game)

My fate is in your hands and no rush deciding, of course 🩷

*GASP*, I GET TO PICK?!?

1. Thank you so much for updating me, I think about this randomly sometimes so it's cool to see it come to fruition

2. You don't have to let me decide and I'm so torn... I'd pick Final Fantasy VII Rebirth BUT this is for 200 so I feel like a 2 is just necessary...

Personally, I can't NOT pick Assassins Creed II.

But whatever you decide, please update me when you hit it. I love this

[strangenewwords]

Mr & Mrs X #12 (2018)

[hislittleraincloud]

I stole Screen Rant's pic because I hate them (like...throughout the years they've just been getting worse, dumber, and less insightful about the shows and movies they "review").

A short word about Afterburn Bianca: She's pretty canon. I see her as reasonable and that she is right about everything: (Afterburn and canon) narcissist Wednesday does think she's better than everyone else. And it pissed her off that Bianca could read her so well in so little time of knowing her. Bianca's ability to read her will come into play in After the Burn, where there will be some interesting pairings.

The Morningsong cult will also be explored (though probably to a smaller degree than the Goodmen). Gabrielle is...well. She is useful, put it that way.

*sigh* I just love non-main characters as much as the mains.

[lemonluvgirl]

i love Johanna. I wanna kiss her TBH. 

Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games (2012-2015)

[decamarks]

Guy in front of me has spent the past hour creating our professor in Monster Hunter Wilds

[rubyleaf]

Honestly? My main piece of advice for writing well-rounded characters is to make them a little bit lame. No real living person is 100% cool and suave 100% of the time. Everyone's a little awkward sometimes, or gets too excited about something goofy, or has a silly fear, or laughs about stupid things. Being a bit of a loser is an incurable part of the human condition. Utilize that in your writing.

[nosferatini]

Stuck on You [PODFIC]

Chapter 7 - Set Me As A Seal

Chapter 7 of the gorgeous fic written by @zin-lynn-c! With enchanting music by my talented friend @paperclipninja and beautiful cover art by the one and only @gleafer! (Find Gleafer on Patreon!)

Summary:

After a drunken handfasting ceremony goes awry, Crowley and Aziraphale find themselves magically bound to be touching at all times. In order to set the situation to rights, they must embark on a multi-day journey to seek help from the last true witch in England.

🎧Listen from the Beginning🎧

Or.... Find the latest chapter HERE!

Chapter 7 Excerpt:

“Oh my,” Agnes finally sighs through her tears. “I thank thee. Needed a good laugh. What a right mess, indeed. Quite a predicament. Come. Sit. Please. Tell me how ye’ve managed this one.”

How indeed, boys?👀

Updates each week on Wednesday!

As always, I am thoroughly indebted to my beta listeners @firstvisittoearth @theonewiththeshippinggoogles as well as my lovely brit pickers u/Glittering_Rock1665 and u/blackjeans93 from @goodomensafterdark 🖤

[zillychu]

everyone sh. shutd up im cooking smthn

[haveihitanerve]

I have this idea/theory that like when Bruce was just starting out, early twenties, “im going to make a difference!” batman, he was like known, somewhat, by at least most of the crinimals, oh some dude dressed as a bat beat up larry the other day? Hm. skill issue. Type of thing..

And then one night, theres a goon on patrol for some little operation. A more… violent goon lets say. And Bruce lands in front of him, cape billowing, white eyes narrowed, and the goon is like “shiii he does look pretty cool. Fuck ‘im tho.” and he does what any other goon would do, he pulls out his gun and fires. Once. Twice. Three times. 

He sees the bullets make contact. Watches as they hit the suit. Go through it. Because this is still prototype four or five, its not fully kevlar, atp its still basically just cloth with some armor in certain places. 

The goon can see blood circles forming where the bullets hit. Blood drips to the floor. But Bruce? Bruce keeps on walking towards him, not a limp or waver in his step. Because its Gotham. Because if he wasn't willing and prepared to get shot at he should've picked a different city. 

And thats when The Bat becomes infamous. Because what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck he just keeps coming- i shot him three times-!

And years later, when Dick is on clean up duty as punishment for some elaborate stunt he pulled, organizing old files and plugging them into the batcomputer, he finds the file. And holy shit. Thats- actually kinda cool…

[batfam-stuff-posts-0]

Imagine: Bruce gets the ability to see people's kill counts

He's not surprised to see that Damian's and Jason's are pretty high.

He's not surprised to see that Dick's is pretty low, for a vigilante.

He's shocked to see that Tim's is way higher than he'd thought (he would be asking about that later...).

He faints when he sees Alfred's.

[sableeira]

2025 sounds like the perfect year for the release of a fourth and final book in a sci-fi fantasy tetralogy with lesbian necromancers in space and a beautiful, strong, and angry barbie titular character

[thatonekimgirl]

Simone Biles (hilariously) nursing a calf injury || Olympics 2024

Literally moments later: