#☆•⍟•☆ Mariana // Mannerisms ☆•⍟•☆

[mantlehold]

look at the dad.

then look at his step kids (who he sees as his babies, his children).

[booksandchainmail]

I've started reading Anne Lister's (early 1800s lesbian) journals, some highlights:

where they start off, she's accompaning her ex-its-complicated (Mariana) who just got married on her honeymoon. Anne responds to this heartbreak by fucking Mariana's sister (also along on the honeymoon)

she is also an absolute dirtbag towards this sister (confusingly also named Anne aka Nantz), "she would gladly have gotten into bed or done anything of the loving kind I asked her", "I said she excited my feelings in a way that was very unjustifiable unless she meant to gratify them"

part of how she explains she's gay to Nantz is saying how pretty hr sister Eliza is. Notably this is not the sister that Anne has been dating.

then she immediately drops Nantz and makes a snide note that "superior charms might not be so easily come-at-able on such easy terms"

Later she meets back up with Mariana and then proceeds to spend so much time hanging out with yet another sister (Lou) that Mariana gets jealous, which Anne glosses over in a way that might read more heartfelt if she had not previously a) noted that one of Mariana's sisters was very pretty or b) slept with another one

On the one hand she is such a snob towards her neighbors, but on the other its clear she's acutely aware that they are all aware she is Different and are gossiping about her, so I find it hard to hold the classism against her

her idea of flirting with a local middleclass girl she meets is to send her a poem about having a temporary fling with a social inferior. Luckily she does not go through with this idea, but big Darcy energy

at one point she buys a pistol and shoots out of her window and the recoil knocks it out of her hand so dramatically that the pistol smashes the glass

so much of these journals are about finances, which I'm sure the historians adore, Anne keeps noting down how much everything cost

There's some interesting gendered bits going on in her: Anne mentions at one point sitting in just her underwear and men's suspenders, and mentions "the abuse I had received for [...] manners like those of a gentleman". She's also very focused on getting a full (masculine) education: classics, math and science, etc, and there are multiple places where she notes particularly when a(n unfamiliar) man treats her intellect as an equal.

there's one long bit that really gets me where she goes on for a while about the various expenses of traveling by coach and ends it with "Any gentleman might travel on these terms, if he chose to go into the traveling room & was sure of being well received so long as he did not give himself airs, but behaved like a gentleman. Indeed, he said, many gentlemen did travel in this way..."

gods I wish she lived in a time where she could be butch

Anne Lister kept parts of her journals encrypted, mostly the lines to do with her sexuality, and there's a strange poetry in the way this collection renders the encrypted text in italics, queerness once unreadable but still written plainly alongside the deniable straightness, "Had a hot supper & did not get back until 3. I slept with M---"

[zooliminology]

i know a lot of people have talked about the far planes entities, but will there ever be an explanation (or run down) encompassing all the different places of the far planes? or, because this is dedicated to zooliminology, will this only encompass the entities? i am simply intrigued by the places in which all these creatures reside, and would love to learn more

A list of all known areas at the time has been posted here before, but a post of that manner can be reapeated due to new discoveries.

Here is an updated list of all known areas:

The Far Plains The first area discovered by the Zooliminology Project, and usually the initial area you can clip into. Primarily is comprised of vast, open, green planes and rolling knolls that sometimes sport fences. The sky projects the impression of being around midday and usually have large clouds. The grass found here is not confirmed to be related to real-world poaceae. Large black monoliths known as "gateways" can be found scarcely scattered throughout the area. Home to striders, kytes and maax.

Brutalia A large, geometric area of concrete that sprouts in random directions and does not truly superficially resemble any real-world architecture. The concrete gives way to many interiors and corridors that make it easy to get lost or separated from groups. The sky seems to be in a perpetual state of sunset. The only entities recorded here are longlegs.

Winter An exterior part of the Far Plane that is characterized by a constant state of snow and darkness. This area seems to closely resemble a real-world landscape, but the pseudofloran life here does not seem to grow or decay. The sky routinely shifts between being in either sunset or sunrise to being fully night. The area is covered in a constant mist that obscures faraway landmarks. This area houses fogwalkers and light mimics.

The Rain Lot An exterior area of the Far Plane is categorized by perpetual darkness and constant rain. The area, unlike Winter or the Far Plains, is almost completely flat, leading to light flooding in many areas. Natural light sources include clusters of floodlights. The only entities recorded here are ghosts.

Gamezone A dark interior area characterized by its resemblance to soft play areas and arcades. It is filled with ball pits, tubes, slides, non-functional arcade machines and nets. Rooms in this area tend to be very large with high ceilings. Tubes and other climbable areas in soft play areas can sprawl out by a large magnitude and become difficult to traverse. Sockwyrms are native to this area.

Greenhouses A purely interior part of the Far Plane that houses an abundance of pseudoflora. This area typically has an abundance of natural light sources compared to other interior areas. The pseudoflora inside of this area can vary, along with the style and size of rooms. Entities found here are golbos, princes and queens.

Mariana A dimly lit area characterized by its resemblance to an aquarium. Mariana is perpetually in dark, blue lighting and reflective surfaces caused by large, empty tanks of pseudofluid that hold nothing but pseudoflora. These large containers of water can be open to its surroundings or along walls and thus inaccessible. This area is home to miish, night skies, and spumes.

Miscellaneous Other areas of the Far Plane exist, mostly including interiors, but have either not been explored enough to find their true scope or have not been confirmed to be their own area rather than a subarea of a larger expanse. These places are home to various other entities that have been recorded in prior photographs. Please note that these areas are categorized by researchers and are not a full list nor is it a hard-fast rule. Many areas blur into each other due to the nature of the Far Plane and categorizing areas is done for the purpose of ease of cataloging explored areas and found entities.

[xgraavyx]

My Thoughts on The Three Students

Is anyone else worried about Watson's drinking? Like throughout the entire episode he is either craving a drink or being drunk/hungover. I wonder if this will be mentioned more later on. With all the Moriarty forshadowing it is very worrying to see Sherlock be put back into a school setting. With Watson longing for his "glory days" from university and Mariana being so over it Sherlock doesn't comment much on the conversation. We know Sherlock got his old principal fired, and that may have been Moriarty but we don't know yet. Seeing Sherlock not only not want to go to this school setting but also not want to give this speech is so real.

I loved the Mariana love in this episode of course. Watson is seeming to get some (maybe negative) development with his drinking. I wonder if there is a reason for his habit as it hadn't been this notable in previous episodes. He also didn't rewrite the speech as he was supposed to. You can hear the part he read out being verbatim the words Sherlock reads througout the episode. Seeing Watson make such irresponsible choices is common, as he isn't as "graceful" as Mariana or Sherlock, but seeing him fumble something he knows is important to his best friend just to go party is notable.

Sherlock's unsteady tone of voice when talking about public speaking is such a contrast to his usually so firm tone. It is very interesting to see this development for him. I loved the little bits and parts of the speech we hear throughout the episode. He sounds so out of his element it is so interesting to see these sides of him. As Sherlock (even to Watson and Mariana) has been such a firm almost constant character to them. His voice is often very steady and flat, and he is very consistent in his routine and mannerisms. Seeing him so vulnerable is interesting not only to us as listeners but to Watson and Mariana as well.

Him not understanding if his experience is abnormal or not is also so real. He is so used to being the outlier that he is concerned about his feelings being rational or just being another thing to distance him. That is such an accurate feeling too, being autistic I also struggle to know if a feeling is typical or divergent. We've had a lovely Watson focused case in Shoscombe Old Place and I am very excited to see a Sherlock based case here. I have loved the epiosode thus far.

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (15)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: None

BETA READ (@mariana-mmtz)

It had been two weeks later by the time any of the boys came back to tell you about the others. Yeosang and Seonghwa had been staying with Jongho and Yunho in the meantime, rather than going back to the camp. The whole thing with the outlaw and you, made you feel unnerved. Your neighbors would look at you like you were dirt, sneering when you would pass by.

You realized the only people who didn’t look at you a certain way were the ones who stayed out late at night. Word hadn’t spread far for the real reason why you were sent to the police station, but you already knew that whatever the sheriff thought of you was what he told everyone else. 

The girl who you had saved, you learned worked in the stables of your neighborhood. She was 17, only a year older than your sister. In fact, your sister expressed how they went to school together, telling you that the girl had always been shy but after the murders she didn’t dare to look at anyone. 

It made you upset knowing she was traumatized. You wanted to get to know her, try to make her return to normal. But going through something like that, you guessed it wouldn’t be easy. You sighed to yourself as you were brought out of your head with Jongho and Yunho walking up to the front desk. 

Yeosang and Seonghwa walked out of the office, coming to stand next to you as you leaned your torso over the wood. 

“We might have found something.” Yunho spoke up. 

“What do you mean?” You frowned.

“Captain left a message for us.” The tall man leaned closer, glancing around to make sure no one was near. “They made tracks going one way but the ashes left from the campfire were blown another.” He explained. “They left in that direction.” His eyes found his friends, watching as they understood what he was talking about. 

“We have to find them.” You quickly said. 

“One step at a time, Love.” Jongho sighed. “Me and Yunho will take care of it, seeing as you all need to stay for work.”

Yeosang and Seonghwa both pursed their lips, realizing that they couldn’t just take off with a good enough excuse. 

“That's not fair.” You softly cried. 

“Honey, it's how jobs work.” Yeosang wrapped his arm around your waist, rubbing his thumb in a soothing manner.

“I'll find something to tell my parents.” You shook your head, turning to look at the man. “I have to go see them too.”

While you knew they were safe from the law in Cromer, it didn’t stop you from worrying about other towns being on the lookout for the outlaws as well. It was common for towns to be in the know about other crimes happening nearby. Who knew how far they had to go to find a safe place. 

“We'll come up with something.” Yunho sighed, watching as your eyes seemed to become downcast. 

You took in a deep breath, trying to come up with the best idea you could. The only issue you had at the moment was coming up with an excuse to give to your parents. There were a lot of things you could tell them, however it was best to create a full story just in case cracks started to show. 

Looking over at the boys, your eyes stopped on Seonghwa which caused him to look at you with wide eyes. 

“Seonghwa never told my parents where he was from.” You spoke up. “What if we say he has sick family in Dune. It's a few hours by horse. We'll be back in two days.”

They all began to think over the story, nodding to themselves when they saw it as a good excuse. However, while that would be able to get the boys free from work, they couldn’t guarantee your days off. 

“That settles our story, but why would you need to be going?” Yeosang questioned. 

“I'll tell them I'll be your navigator.” You quickly prattled off. “That you don't know how to get to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa raised a brow as you looked at him. 

His gave Yunho a side eye, trying to fight off the grin that threatened to overtake his lips. There were things you wanted to do in life and you would do anything to achieve them. At the moment, going to find the rest of the boys was all you wanted to do. It made heat bloom within his chest to see you care so much about wanting to see all of them.

You had four very capable men standing in front of you and yet, you knew that they felt lost without the rest of them. You couldn’t choose to stay with just one, you wanted to make sure they were all together. He had never met someone who thought of others needs before their own. You were selfless, and it caught all of their attention.

“You sure about this?” He asked you.

“I have it planned.” You smiled, nodding your head. “You two go to tell them about Seonghwa’s family. Once they accept your leave, tell them you need a navigator.” 

As they boys all took the moment to come to an understanding, they all set off in the direction they needed to. When the deputies went back to their room to gather their things, Yeosang and Seonghwa went to find your parents. 

When they came across your father in the saloon, deciding to ask him, seeing as he was the boss. With a smile on his face, Yeosang was the one who spoke to him.

“We would like to speak to you about asking for some days off.” The man softly asked.

“Oh,” Your father raised his eyebrows. “What is it?” 

“I got a letter that my grandmother is sick.” Seonghwa sighed deeply, trying his best to sound like he was worried. “She's currently in Dune where my family is taking care of her. I would like to go see her, just in case the worst comes.”

“Well, I mean of course. You can take however long you need.” Your father was a kind man. He knew what it was like to have sick family. 

Your grandmother left this world before your grandfather, having died of fever. Your grandfather died shortly thereafter to a broken heart. While your father wasn’t an only child, he was the only son and the eldest. His sisters left the home to care for their husbands, which left your father in charge of caring for his parents. 

It wasn’t Seonghwa’s duty to take care of his grandmother, but your father remembered how upset you were to lose your grandmother. If Seonghwa was as close to his grandparents as you were, your father knew how much it hurt to know they were sick. 

It pulled at your chest to know that it was all a lie. But when you returned, all you could easily say was that it was a normal sickness and that she would be fine in the following weeks. 

“Three days should suffice. It's enough to rest and travel.” Seonghwa continued on.

“Both you and Yeosang then?” Your father questioned. 

“Actually, we were hoping we could ask for a navigator. I don't really know the route to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa took a glance at you, watching as you came up behind your father.

“Well, I guess you can take (B/N)-”

“I'll do it.” You spoke up, a grin on your face as you looked at your father. 

“You?” Your father says skeptically.

“You told me to talk with Yeosang. I'll have plenty of time on the trip.” You tried to explain to him. 

“I don't know about that anymore, (Y/N).” While he did tell you to act buddy-buddy with Yeosang, going out for three days with two men was not exactly something your father saw as a good idea.  

“It'll be fine. I promise.” You told him, giving him a bright smile to show there was nothing to worry about. 

“Well alright.” Your father said slowly. “You all be careful.” He was looking at you, worry showing in his eyes. 

You gave him a hug, turning to give the boys a smile. “I'll go pack. We can leave in a moment.” As you turned to leave, your father was left with the two boys. 

“You boys better take care of my daughter.” He told them. 

“With our life.” Yeosang nodded his head. 

It took 30 minutes to pack up all you needed. With a tearful goodbye from your mother, you went on your way, riding on your own family horse this time rather than sitting behind Yeosang or Seonghwa. 

You sighed to yourself as you started your journey once you hit the road out of your family's estate. It was the first time you were leaving the house alone for a couple of days. You understood why your mother was upset, but also you felt like this was the first time you were someone. 

You had spent your entire life up until then doing what your parents told you to. You never went out when there was a curfew, never stayed with friends for sleepovers. Not that you ever wanted to do those kinds of things. You were living day to day, thinking that what you saw and did was all you were ever going to know. 

Meeting the boys really seemed to change the way you looked at the world. Things that you used to do in the past were so dull in comparison to what you were so used to. You had always known the kind of person you were, but having met the people you call friends now, put your thoughts into actions. 

You would have never dared to interfere with those thugs, probably living the rest of your life in guilt that would eat you away from not going to investigate. But they brought a sense of adrenalin into you. A push that leads you to want to be the hero in this story. 

“The ashes were blown that way.” Jongho showed you all where the fire pit was moved to point in another direction. 

You watched how the ashes were brushed to the side in one single direction and knew that had the wind blown away the ashes it wouldn’t look so clean. You pursed your lips, thinking about how anyone could have missed something like this. As you looked off into the direction the ashes pointed, you tried to map out the surrounding area you knew.

“There's a creek that runs off the river.” You called, pointing in that direction.

“The police of Cromer already checked it.” Yunho told you. 

“Yes, but they didn't follow along it.” You moved to climb back onto your horse. “Look around for more clues.” You told the others. 

“Are we just going to ignore that the way she bosses us around is actually really sexy?” Seonghwa placed his hands on his hips, watching you look around the area. 

“Who are you?” Yunho teased. “Wooyoung?”

It took a good 30 minutes of searching around the surrounding area of the creek to find something out of the ordinary. You came across a tree with what looked like bear claw marks on the bark. There were four slash marks going down the tree bark, but there were four more going up in the opposite direction. 

The first two marks seemed to be overlapping on another, creating an H that immediately stood out to you. “I think I found it.” You called over your shoulder. “It looks like bear marks.”

Yunho moved his horse alongside yours, raising a brow at the marks on the tree. “Yes, but Hongjoong leaves the scratches diagonal as well.” Yunho explained.

As you both looked around, you started to notice the trail of marked up trees. They all lead in one direction, making you smile brightly at the fact. “They're this way.”

You quickly tried to get your horse to move swiftly, feeling all the more hopeful that you will get to see the boys again. 

Series Masterlist

@thefrog3223 , @iarayara , @0rangemilk , @explorewithd , @detectivedoodle , @bangtanxberm , @a1i33a , @loveforred , @drunken-deitence , @0325tiny , @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest , @atinyreads , @atinytinaa , @lexiigom , @smilingtokki , @mismatchfluffysocks ,

[vivwritesfics]

Shine A Light Into The Wreckage

Chapter Five - The Hard Deck

Bob Floyd was many things. He was an instructor at Top Gun, a lover of Tolkien books and a huge fan of coffee. But Bob was also clumsy. That was how he bumped into the table, knocking her drink onto her notebook. He felt bad about it. Bad enough to come back time and time again, in the hopes that she would be there. And, every time, she is. Each time looking a little worse for wear. It doesn't take Bob long to realise he has to save her.

2.6K

Warnings: Abusive relationship! Abusive hair pulling! Abusive choking! Forceful sex! Domestic abuse! Seriously don't read if you're affect by stuff like this! Talks of stalking (but in a non serious manner), talks of non consensual groping

Series Masterlist

"Are you guys going to The Hard Deck tonight?"

Bob turned at the voice behind him. He'd scanned the room for her when he first walked into the café, but she wasn't there. 

He couldn't hide the surprise on his face as he turned around. There she was, in a black pencil skirt and a navy blue blouse. She wasn't in her usual sweater and Bob couldn't help but miss it. "You wanna come with?" He offered. 

Her smile was tight, barely a smile at all as she looked at him. She wasn't going to ask this soon, was gonna wait until she needed an escape. 

But the need for an escape came sooner than she expected. "I'd like that," she said, adjusting her grip on her bag. "What time should I meet you there?"

"Seven, at the earliest," Bob answered as he payed for his coffee and took it from Mariana. 

Her smile grew. "I'll be there at seven thirty." She ordered her drink, silently waiting for it. As desperate as Bob was for conversation, she didn't initiate it, staying quiet as Mariana passed her the hazelnut oat latte and rushing off. 

Not staying for her work break, like Bob was used to seeing. He followed her out of the café and climbed into the truck, watching from his mirrors as she walked down the street. 

He headed back to Top Gun, three coffees on the seat beside him and reader to force Natasha and Jake out to the Hard Deck. 

But he couldn't help but wonder, why not stay in the café for lunch? Why break her usual pattern of behaviour? Bob had been on the coffee runs for the two previous days, and each time she was there for her lunch break, sitting as she wrote. Each time Bob spent at least five minutes with her before he had to get back to Top Gun. 

Bob didn't know that she didn't get a lunch break that day, not when she had been over half an hour late for work. She didn't mean to be over half an hour late, but Ken had woken up in a mood and using makeup to cover up bruises took time. 

There was only so much her long sleeves could hide, and she couldn't wear a scarf all day. 

It was the first time Ken had utterly lost control like that, the first time she was forced to use makeup to cover a bruise. She had do doubt that she hadn’t done a good job this first time around, that some of the bruising around her neck was still visible. Just as long as it didn't raise suspicion. 

It was the slowest work day of her life. Yet, the end of the work day came much sooner than she would have liked. She packed up everything slowly and was the last one out of the office. Her walk down the street to her apartment was slow, her feet refusing to take her any faster. 

She pushed her way into the apartment. The moment she opened the door to the apartment, the smell hit her. Cheap beer, cigarette smoke and piss. Fuck, it was poker night. 

Several voices filled the room at once. "Hey Barbie," said several of Ken's friends. She looked towards the table full of Ken's friends and offered a weak smile. A shiver ran through her body when one of them whistled. 

She walked past the poker game, walking straight into the bedroom. Ken had left the door open, and the smell of smoke had ruined her sheets. She let out a breath as she shut the door and dropped her bag onto her bed. 

It wasn't the first time that Ken had hosted poker night and not warned her. Actually, it was a regular occurrence. She sat on her bed and pulled off her shoes. Even with the door shut, she could hear their shouts and their laughter. It only served as further motivation to get to The Hard Deck. 

As she unzipped her skirt, her bedroom door flew open. She let out a small gasp, keeping her skirt tightly held to her body. "Ken, what the hell?" She cried as he stared at her. The way he was staring at her, like he was a starving wolf. 

"You should come and say hello to everyone, Barbie," he said as he pushed the door shut. He strode over to her drawers and dug through them, pulling out a too short, baby blue and white skirt. He threw it onto the bed and pulled out a tank top. 

'Come and say hello' wasn’t literal when it came to Ken's friends. It was an excuse for them to cop a feel and eye her up. "I'm not doing this," she said and threw the skirt towards him. 

"Barbie-" 

"No!" She insisted as she grabbed her favourite pair of jeans. "I'll go and get you some more beer but I don't want the guys touching me, okay?"

Ken let out something of a laugh. She'd put her foot down with him only once before and he had pushed her against the counter top and threatened worse. She hadn't dared since. But, if he was getting beer out of it, he'd let her get away with it. "C'mere," he said as he strode over to the door. 

She tried not to come across as reluctant as she walked over to him. His touch was gentle as he stroked her cheek and pressed his lips against her own, his tongue down her throat. 

He left her to it and she quickly got dressed. She pulled on her jeans and the tank top that Ken had thrown her (Ken was an asshole, sure, but the tank top was cute). She pulled on her jacket, grabbed her keys and headed out. 

She couldn't stop herself from shivering as she walked to The Hard Deck. The sun was setting as she made her way. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. But, as The Hard Deck came into view, she realised it was too late to turn back.

She sucked in a breath, steadying her nerves, and walked in. 

***

"Come on, Bob," Jake Seresin muttered as he chalked yo the pool cue. "When if your little friend getting here?"

Bob surveyed the faces of everyone that walked into The Hard Deck. His eyes moved across everyone, but none of them were her. "She'll be here," he said as Natasha went to get another beer. "I know it."

Maybe five minutes later she walked into The Hard Deck. For a moment she stood by the door, trying to look for Bob. Sweet Bob. Bob who would never ask for her to let his friends have a grope fest. She pulled her jacket tighter and walked further in. 

Bob spotted her before she spotted him. "Hey!" He called as he walked around people trying desperately to get to her. Hey eyes lit up when she saw him, and Bob moved somebody he recognised from the class he caught at Top Gun out of his way. "You made it."

"I made it," she responded, releasing a breath. Her eyes moved to the Styrofoam cup in his hands. "What're you drinking?"

"Just water," he replied and finished what was in his cup. "Let's get you a drink."

Bob didn't expect her to grab his hand. But she did. As he led her over to the bar she kept a hold of her hand. "Penny!" He called over the noise. As soon as she recognised him, the woman behind the bar brought over another cup full of water. "What would you like?"

She told Bob her order and he put it on his tab. With their drinks in the hands, Bob led her over to the pool table, over to the pool table. There were eyes on her as Bob brought her to two of his fellow aviators. Well, everybody in this bar looked like an aviator. 

"These are my friends," Bob said as he gestured to the two playing pool. "Natasha and Jake." 

She gave them a wave and introduced herself as she sat in the stool that Bob had been occupying. Not that she knew. Bob didn't say anything, either. He just wore a blushy smile as he watched her shake Natasha's hand. 

But then it was Jakes turn. He held the pool cue as he sauntered up to her, that usual flirty smile on his face. "Hey there," he said, grin almost sly. "I'm Jake."

She took a moment to sip a drink, took a moment to answer him. But the she placed her drink on the table behind her (Bob was sure to keep an eye on it) and turned her attention to Jake. 

"We've met," she said , trying to paint a flirty smile that matched Jakes onto her face. "Good to see you again, Hangman." She held her hand towards him. "Try not to get me kicked out this time."

Jake laughed as he shook her hand. "Very sorry about that, miss. But you're here with Baby On Board, now. You're not going to get kicked out."

Bob's smile dropped from his face at that. His fists were clenched at his sides as Jake laughed. She turned to him, her eyebrows furrowed. "Baby On Board?" She asked and picked up her drink. 

"It's not Baby On Board," he muttered beneath his breath. 

The way Jake was looking at him, it was like they were back in Top Gun together. "What is it then, Baby On Board?" He challenged as he stepped towards him. 

Bob wasn't a fighter. Natasha knew it, Jake knew it, and she knew it. He picked up his water from beside her own drink and finished it one. Bob wasn't going to challenge, but he wasn't going to let his head fall in defeat. 

Suddenly she was on her feet, getting between herself and Jake. "If he says it's not Baby On Board, then it's not Baby On Board," she said, levelling him with a glare. 

Holding his hands up, Jake backed off. Things fell normal for a little while. She spoke to Natasha and Jake as she drank (Bob happily got her another drink when she ran out), the three of them learning about each other. 

When Natasha beat Jake, she gave her pool cue to Bob while Jake offered his to hers. But she shook her head and Jake went to play again (but Natasha took it off of him to play against Bob instead). 

"So," Jake began as she began her third drink. "Baby Bob tells us you've got a boyfriend."

"Don't call him that, dude," she said as she held her beer between her fingers. 

Jake raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't call him your boyfriend or don't call him Baby Bob?"

She glared. 

"Anyway, Bob said you've got a boyfriend."

By the time she replied to him, she had nearly finished her drink. "So what?"  She spat. She was trying to be nice, but any mention of Ken immediately changed her mood. 

"So, if you've got a boyfriend, What're you doing here with him?" 

Jake was an asshole. That much was clear to her. "Excuse me," she said and hopped off of the stool. 

Bob watched, completely missing his turn as she walked out of The Hard Deck. He thrust the pool cue into Jakes arms and ran after her. "Wait!" He called, moving around people to get to her. "Wait!" 

When Bob made it outside, he found her sitting on the sand. In the doorway, Bob watched her for only a moment. There was a slight breeze, but she had left her jacket inside. But she stayed sitting there, keeping her arms wrapped around herself. 

Slowly, Bob approached. 

"Hey," he called and she ever so slightly turned her head towards him. Bob sat on the sand beside her, his long legs stretched out in front of him. "Are you okay?”

She sniffed and nodded her head. "You told Hangman about my boyfriend."

He breathed in and nodded. There were several excuses he could have come up with, but he didn’t want to. He didn't want to lie to her. 

And he didn't have to. 

"I asked you to come here tonight because I needed to get away." Her fingers dug into the sand. "When we started dating, everything was perfect. For the first few years, everything was perfect. And then we moved here together and everything changed."

She never would have admitted this sober, but she kept going. "We've lived her for a year. It's been a year of him..." she couldn't finish the sentence. 

Bob could guess. When she pulled her hair back, revealing her neck, he noticed. The lights from The Hard Deck that illuminated the beach were so bright, it was impossible to miss. Slowly, Bob lifted his hand, gently touching the skin on her neck. "Did... did he do that?" 

She didn't answer, couldn't answer. Her hands frantically patted her pockets. "I left my phone inside," she mumbled and stood up.

Bob stood with her. His gentle touch stopped her from running back into The Hard Deck. "Please," he whispered. "Talk to me."

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder. "Another time, Bobby. Maybe."

She pulled away, but she didn't move away. She couldn't, not with the way he was staring down at her. Bob was still as her hands travelled to his shoulders. She didn't placed them on his neck, didn't play with his hair, it would have been too intimate. 

She pressed her lips to his, kissed him. Why the fuck did she kiss him? But, even as the doubt went through her mind, she didn't pull away. And Bob didn't push her away.

He didn't want to. 

But he didn't move. As much as he wanted to hold her waist, he couldn't. She still had a boyfriend, even if she was the one kissing him. 

She pulled away and released a breath. "I'm sorry," she said, forehead pressed against his chest. "I just..."

She moved away from Bob, practically running back to The Hard Deck. She pushed her way inside and ran around the other patrons, getting back to Phoenix and Hangman. 

"Hey," Natasha said as she moved last them. "Everything okay?" 

She swiped her phone from the table and shoved it into her pockets. 

As she turned to leave, as she moved away from the pool table, she smacked straight into someone. "Fuck," she said as familiar arms wrapped around her. 

She looked up at the person holding her. Her heart sank. "Sneaking off?" 

"Ken." 

She could feel Natasha and Hangman watching as he squeezed her. The smile on his face was supposed to be sweet, not sinister. But it really was sinister. Ken kept wearing that smile as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Get your ass outside. Now."

She couldn't even turn around to say goodbye to Natasha and Jake as Ken moved her along. Embarrassment filled her as she walked past the other pilots, as Ken walked her outside, feeling like a prisoner and their prison guard. Because, really, what else was she?

The moment she stepped outside, her eyes met blue ones. The way Bob was looking at her, she couldn't stand to keep looking at him. But he kept watching, watching as Ken marched her towards the parking lot with his hand on her shoulder, grip bruising. 

It fucking terrified Bob. 

Scared him to the point where he had to follow. He couldn't leave her at this man's mercy, not with what he had seen.

lmao none of my tags are working ffs

Taglist: @biancathecool

@nurse-sainz

@not-nyasa

@burningwitchprincess

@darksparklesficrecs

@primroseluna

@littlemsbumblebee

@wretchedmo

@imaginecrushes

@calpalsbestie

@hiireadstuff

@lyn-js

[marypickfords]

5 brazilian horror movies

since it’s october i wanted to make a post to recommend some of my favorite old brazillian horror movies. i tried to add links to watch them but not all have subtitles unfortunately! this is mostly in the order i thought of them, not exactly of content/quality/whatever. i haven’t watched many myself yet but i figured this would be a nice introduction to anyone who is interested!

1. as filhas do fogo (1978) dir. walter hugo khouri 

ana & diana are a couple who go on a trip to diana’s family estate - an old house owned by old money, german colonizers. there we learn about diana’s family, her controlling & wwii-obsessed grandfather who wanted to get away from everything and bought this land & her mother who commited suicide years ago. we also meet the groundskeepers who live there, including the mysterious mariana. a heavily atmospheric, dark (both in content & the poor quality of the available print..), quiet, haunting & wonderful movie. khouri was mostly disregarded by critics because he seemingly went against the grain: while directors at the time were documenting concerns re the brazilian working class, khouri was mostly in old big homes, filming the ennui of a middle to upper class. that’s not to say that his movies are without a critique, however, and as filhas do fogo is a good example of his cinema that was well aware of, not only the history of the country, but the current political climate of a dictatorship. besides all that, most importantly.. it is so creepy! this is my favorite from khouri (and not just because it stars a lesbian couple) and possibly my favorite movie on this list.

watch on archive.org (w/ eng subtitles)

2. barão olavo, o terrível (1970) dir. júlio bressane

in this lovely experimental film, bressane pays an homage to horror & insanity in a very brazilian manner. the titular baron olavo owns the home which is the central point of the film and the inspiration for bressane, who saw this 19th century house as a laboratory of light. there’s no central plot exactly, but a spectacle of colors, horror, tenderness, absurdity and indulgence.. i love it. and yes, maybe lesbians are involved too.

watch on archive.org (no subtitles)

3. estrela nua (1984) dir. josé antonio garcia & ícaro martins

a very recent watch, estrela nua is a movie that could be easily paired with perfect blue or any of those 2girls1persona films. carla camurati plays glória, an aspiring actress who is suddenly cast to substitute troubled actress ângela, who has recently died in a car accident. ângela was working on an incestuous erothic thriller, and as glória starts working on the film she begins to.. maybe blend with said dead actress?? obsess over her?? dream about/with her..?? you know where this is going. there’s the clear element of a film within a film in this, but as it ends we realize we might have watched more than a couple movies - and they all work. carla camurati & cristina aché are phenomenal and the great selma egrei (from as filhas do fogo) also shows up as a lesbian actress.. it's just so strange and good.

watch here (no subtitles)

4. excitação (1977) dir. jean garrett

i opted for his garrett instead of a mulher... even though i consider both great brazilian horror films. both lean heavy on the erotic (or rather, the pornochanchada) and deal with, among other things, The Gaze. but i think excitação’s atmospheric beach scenes fit this list better. helena's husband buys a beach house hoping that she'll be able to rest & recover from whatever has been ailing her (hysteria..? paranoia..?). there, she finds out the past owner killed himself and that perhaps is what has been haunting her.. or is it maybe all the electronics in the house? excitação is, as i said, incredibly atmospheric. helena is mostly isolated, away from her husband, walking around the beach alone at night. she looks and looks: at the sea, at beautiful women, at every possible machine around her. this is one for the psychotic women enjoyers. kate hansen is so good.

watch on youtube (no subtitles)

5. as noites de iemanjá (1971) dir. maurice capovila

as noites de iemanjá is in my mind reminiscent of 40s val lewton films like i walked with a zombie.. both in the sense of women at the beach & also the vital element of african religions/deities, in the case of this movie the afro-brazilian iemanjá. and also because while that is the background (and it is very important to the story), the movie centers women that aren’t exactly a part of said religions, even if they are influenced by them. it’s a mysterious one, i can’t remember much of the dialogue, but joana fomm is hypnotic in this. she plays a nameless character who goes to the seaside with the lover because she is ignored by her husband. there, they watch together a group of people making offerings to the sea, to iemanjá. after this her lover disappears. it’s another good example of the mix of horror, folklore and the erotic, so characteristic of these brazilian movies of the time. this one (along w/ as filhas do fogo) shows up on kier-la janisse’s folk horror doc and it was a lovely surprise! 

watch on youtube (no subtitles)

[starrystrawb]

See now: Water Mother Nature. Water has been around as long as the planet has been. She will be here long after we are all gone. She is has seen it all and will witness everything that is to come. She is the depths of the Marianas trench, she has been the shallows of a back-yard creek.

On to the eco-tips!

1. A lot of phone cases are made of plastic. Even ones made of recycled plastic are well... plastic. But worry not friends! Some phone case companies take old cases and recycle them for you! Castify is one of them, and one that I regularly send my old cases to! To get an address to send the old cases to, email them on their website. Pack those old cases up, and ship them off to be reused! They even offer a discount on orders for sending them the old cases, and they take any brand!

2. Speaking of phone cases, Pela is a phone case company that makes compostable phone cases! They are made from plant material and are actually pretty cute. They are a bit pricey, so they're not for everyone. Other companies have similar cases that are made of plants, made from recycled plastics, or made in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner! Re-Castify is castify's version of this, ecoblvd also makes phone cases, and otterbox has a series called Core. And of course, keeping one phone case for a long time and reusing it over and over is always great!

3. Phone cases usually go on phones, so lets talk about those little guys! It feels like every year, the phone you just got is slowing down, dying faster, and is rapidly collecting more and more issues. Technology is always advancing, which is great! But a lot of the components in electronics end up being tossed in the trash. If you have things like old phones or tablets laying around, and you're unsure what to do with them, worry not! Research your options! Some places like zoos, tech shops, or second hand shops might have tech recycling programs. And of course, selling to a shop that refurbishes and sells tech is always an option. A lot of phone companies and providers have started offering trade ins! Don't feel guilty for upgrading, trade in, sell, or recycle your old phones, tablets, and other electronics!

4. Moving on from tech, lets talk about paper! Did you know you can make your own paper? It was a pretty popular trend in 2020-2022. You do need some supplies, like a blender, a picture frame, some sort of netting, and usually glue or tacks of some kind. But I've done it before, and it's actually pretty fun! You can even sprinkle seeds into it to make a card that you can plant! Google and youtube have some very handy and easy to follow tutorials!

5. Talk to people! Online, in person, over the phone. Everywhere! Share eco-tips (like we're doing here), talk about legislation, organize groups, everything! Keep each other moving and keep spreading information and helping others. It is so important to involve your friends, family, and community in eco-friendly living! We all share the planet, friends!

Base

[sexhaver]

If I remember correctly, isn't the deep sea creature posting like, until you get your gf a cat? Get a cat already! It's kitten season. Get 2 so they learn manners. Name them mariana or some generic nicknames thatre actually short for the latin names of deep sea creatures.

ok look. the issue is not that i don't want a cat. i love cats. i want a cat so badly (but not as badly as bailey because nobody loves cats more than her). the issue is that we live in an apartment complex that does not allow pets and has "evicted" cats in the past after seeing them sitting in front of a window. so we will need to move. and that isn't happening until [PERSONAL LIFE/FINANCE DETAILS REDACTED]. stop sending me anons like this and slandering me by saying i don't like cats

[amphibious-thing]

I wish I realised how heavily edited Helena Whitbread's version of the diaries of Anne Lister was before I bought both volumes. Take for example Anne's entry for the 13th of November 1816.

This is Whitbread's version:

She asked if I thought the thing wrong - if it was forbidden in the bible & said she felt quere [sic] when she heard Sir Thomas Horton mentioned. I dexterously parried all these points - said Sir T.H.'s case was quite a different thing. That was positively forbidden & signally punished in the bible - that the other was certainly not named. Besides, Sir T.H.was proved to be a perfect man by his having a child & it was infamous to be connected with both sexes - but that [there] were beings who were so unfortunate as to be not quite so perfect &, supposing they kept to one side [of] the question, was there no excuse for them. It would be hard to deny them all gratification of this kind. I urged in my own defence the strength of natural feeling & instinct, for so I might call it, as I had always had the same turn from infancy. That it had been made known to me, as it were, by inclination. That I had never varied & no effort on my part had been able to counteract it. That the girls liked me & had always liked me. That I had never been refused by anyone & that, without attempting to account for the thing, I hoped it might under such circumstances be excused.

This is the full transcript:

Made a trial for a kiss last night and did not succeed had a good one on a second trial very soon after had a long conversation on the nature of kisses Anne said she sometimes felt odd when I looked at her but that when I was so very near her that is when I was getting a kiss it was rather pain than pleasure but that she knew when I was happy and said my feelings were very warm she asked if I thought the thing wrong and if it was forbidden in the bible and said she felt quere when she heard Sir Thomas Horton mentioned I dexterously parried all these points said Sir THs [Sir Thomas Horton’s] case was quite a different thing that was positively forbidden and signally punished in the bible that the other was certainly not named besides Sir THs [Sir Thomas Horton] was proved to be a perfect man by his having a child and it was infamous to be connected with both sexes but that were beings who were so unfortunate as to be not quite so perfect and supposing they kept to one side the question was there no excuse for them as it would be hard to deny them all gratification of this kind I urged in my own defence the strength of natural feeling and instinct for so I might call it as I had always had the same turn from infancy that it had been made known to me as it were by intuition that I had never varied and no effort on my part had been able to counteract it that the girls liked me and had always liked me that I had never been refused by anyone and that without attempting to account for the thing I hoped it might under such circumstances be excused I mentioned the wickedness said to be practised by girls at schools but explained how this was quite different such as making use of instruments named the girl in Dublin who was obliged to have a surgeon to extract a stick from her (Jane Duffins story to Eliza Raine) secret and solitary vice in all which I had never any concern that in fact ther[e] would have given me no pleasure and that I abhorred them all in naming my peculiar detestation of solitary vice Anne suddenly exclaimed surely you don’t suspect me of that in a tone and manner that at once convinced me she had been a culprit however she seemed quite satisfied with my logic I told her I thought the sin was in my violating my engagement said I was doubtful about this point and asked what she thought she waved this part of the subject and we fell asleep

Took a lit[tle] walk on the terrace bef[ore] din[ner]. Told Anne π [Mariana] made me promise not to kiss her that I did promise had broken my promise and should be obliged to tell a lie as π [Mariana] was certain to ask this I said made me unhappy as I was sure if π [Mariana] knew she would never forgive me Anne turned pale and complained of feeling very sick when I told her of π’s [Mariana] making me promise she asked me how such a thing could be how it could enter her head I explained this away by proving that nothing was more natural as I had all along frankly told π [Mariana] every circumstance every folly of my life that she was the only real judicious friend I had and always advised me properly I said I loved her because she kept me in order and strange to say because she was the only woman whose conduct to me had been at all times what it ought to be thus was the rising suspicion at once quashed in Anne’s mind and π [Mariana] is literally the last being in the world whose affections in this sense of the word she could believe it possible for me to gain -

a note from Mrs Edw[ar]ds, Pye Nest to ask Nantz and me to dine there tomorrow and stay all night – Last night very stormy – rain and boisterous wind – today the same – aft[er] tea r[ea]d al[ou]d fr[om] p[age] 201 to 319 of Humboldt’s Researches – aft[er] Anne and I came upst[ai]rs to bed we had a good deal of conversat[io]n about C[harles] and M[ariana] I show[e]d Nantz C[harles]’s note of the 19 M[ar]ch 1816 and also r[ea]d her the copy of the story I wrote to M[ariana] ab[ou]t the pass[in]g thro[ugh] H[alifa]x. It appear[e]d how[eve]r th[a]t M[ariana] had been beforehand w[i]th me and had told both Mrs Steph and Nantz how I abus[e]d C[harles] what the peop[le] of H[alifa]x – s[ai]d of him etc etc L mention[e]d the remarks I had sent her – I partic[ularl]y desir[e]d her not giving as a reason the impropriety of my being known to make such communications to π [Mariana] besides I told her I had kept a copy of the story and should send it verbatim to Anne when I wrote tho I afterwards changed my mind and told her so I read Nantz my journ[al] of the 18 and 19 of M[a]rch 1816 and some previous passages that of surely no other wife would deny her husband putting his hand up his wifes petticoats and feeling her cunt astonished and disgusted her not a little she had not believed him quite so brutal -

[bee-bzz]

some Brazilian songs that represent some ppg couples because I think you guys are missing out on Brazilian music and I'd like to share.

(this is gonna be a long post so buckle up)

Blossick

"They tell me: the world is in your hands

I guess I let it go then

no, of course I don't love you

but in trying to forget you I'm already remembering us

and if I remember, don't answer me

I swear I don't love you, I just had too much to drink" - Não Te Amo (don't love you), Jão

"I won't talk about love, no

because I don't like anyone

if one day I did, what a shame

(...)

and I won't talk about your eyes

it makes me say the things that I'm afraid to

because they show me what I didn't want to see

and I won't even mention your mouth

I won't say I love you

after spending so long trying to hide it

and I don't even know what I'm talking about

every time I open up I give you an opening to fuck me up" - NÃO VOU FALAR DE AMOR (won't talk about love), Lagum

"Why did you never love me?

why did you hurt me

pretended, lied, never loved me

I wish I could tell you that I

never felt anything for you

I wish that I could uncry

the tears that already ran

and if it already ran (it'll dry)

and if it already dried (no one saw)

I will send it there, to the bridge that fell

this letter that doesn't say" Carta Que Nao Diz (letter that doesn't say), Mariana Froes, Rodrigo Alarcon, Ana Muller

Butchercup

"I like being immature with you

I like to give myself and get lost

I want to be able to nag you on your every manner

smoking anything, just to entertain myself

I risk my life just to see you

all of our youth runs through our veins

it's just, I'm weak, fragile and stupid

to talk about love

but if it's with you, I'll do it" Imaturo (immature), Jão

"The first time I saw you

something told me

"this is gonna end badly"

on the second time, I had the same impression

but I'm not one to listen

to my intuition

it's like something between chaos and stress

but that kind off messes me up

in a good way

baby, don't make me crazy

because I already am

it's just, there really should be a test

anything, a simulation perhaps

to avoid getting into a trap

instead of a relationship

you tell me you hate my outfit

and I really love your dress

when I have the chance to take it off

you tell me that you love me

and I hate you

in a strange way

because nothing is weirder than loving" - EU TE AMO (I Love You), Lagum

"Tell me you hate me

but say you don't live without me

I'm a plague

miss "no shame" from your garden

you're jealous

but you love to watch me dance" - Bem-Me-Quer (He Loves Me, like from the "he loves me, he loves me not" thing), Rita Lee

Boomubbles

"I made these blues for Bia

but Bia won't come and hear

I won't censor the beauty

it's in her nature

living loose around here

I composed sweet melodies

so she would be moved by them

I rhymed with melancholy

my day-to-day without Bia

but Bia doesn't care" - Blues Pra Bia (Blues for Bia) , Chico Buarque (he's like a father to me)

Note: translating this man's songs is almost sacrilegious. Please go listen yourself to at least feel the vibe a little bit. He's a master of lyricism.

"Whoever sees you walking past me like this

doesn't know what suffering is

having to see you in this way

always so pretty

contemplate the sun of your eyes

losing you in thin air

in the certainty of a love

thinking of myself as nothing

because without your kindness

I feel so alone

I drown myself in loneliness" Anna Júlia, Los Hermanos

"Love of my life

from here until eternity

our destinies were traced since maternity

cruel passion, unbridled

I bring you a thousand stolen roses

so you can forgive all of my lies

and all of my blunders

exaggerated, thrown at your feet

I really am exaggerated

I adore a crafted love" - Exagerado (exaggerated), Cazuza

[booksandchainmail]

continuing my read of Anne Lister's diaries, now up to 1820 (part 1 here).

It has to be incredibly awkward at these houseparties where Anne has had liaisons with multiple women there, but I'm given to understand this is also how modern lesbian socializing works

It gets brought up that the only thing preventing Anne and Mariana from living together (at least in retrospect) was money, with Anne needing to be able to provide ~30 pounds a year for Mariana, which sheds a new light on how focused Anne is on her financials and potential inheritance

Class keeps coming up! Mariana would be okayish with Anne having a lowerclass girl on the side, but not someone in their social circles

Notably Anne did not encode this passage: "Sat up lovemaking, she conjuring me to be faithful, to consider myself as married, & always to act to other women as if I was M---'s husband." And from then on she does! They talk it over a bit more through the next few days, and from then Anne focuses on how in time they may live together, and refers to Mariana as her wife

Mariana's later letters also reflect this: "I shall not lose you, my husband, shall I? Oh, no, no. You will not, cannot, forget I am your constant, faithful, your affectionate wife."

It is noted again that Anne has a gentleman's manners towards other women, and there's a bit where a woman stops to visit Mariana and says that other girls are scared of Anne, particularly citing her "deep-toned voice as very singular"

"Yet my manners are certainly peculiar, not at all masculine but rather softly gentleman-like. I know how to please girls." No one every accused Anne Lister of lacking self-confidence! Also, interesting to see the Takarazuka-style butch ethos of "woman who is better at being a man then men are" already present here.

"Musing on the subject of being my own master. Of going to Buxton in my own carriage with a man & a maidservant. Meeting with a elegant girl of family & fortune; paying her attention;taking her to see Castleton; staying all night; having a double bedroom; gaining her affections, etc. Mused on all this but did not let it lead to anything worse."

one of Anne's acquaintances mentions a local cook/housekeeper, Mrs Ruspin, who after several years "turn[ed] out to be a man", and then eloped to London with the housemaid and opened a shop

The most common word in this book is probably vulgar. Anne thinks everyone is vulgar: her neighbors, her family, random townsfolk, girls she's flirting with...

We now come to the house party from sitcom-hell: present are Anne Lister, Isabella (her longterm ex who she's trying to extricate herself from), Isabella's sister Charlotte, Nantz (the sister of Anne's wife, who Anne had a brief fling with), Nantz's sister Harriet, and Miss Vallance (new and pretty).

I truly cannot summarize the amount of fuckery going on in this section. Anne spends every evening hanging out for a bit in someone's bedroom, then she'll switch rooms and whoever the new room belongs too will pout about her having been somewhere else beforehand. Anne is paying a lot of attention to Miss Vallance, Isabella and Nantz are jealous, Anne is trying to console Isabella without changing any of her behavior, Charlotte is indignant on Isabella's behalf, Anne is half-heartedly and smugly sleeping with Nantz, etc

And of course Anne caps this off by starting to flirt with Harriet, meaning that she has now hit on all four of her wife's sisters

[razberrypuck]

obligatory qsmp zombie au thoughts that have been swimming in my brain (except its a little bit charlie/slimeriana centered bc im a sucker for them)

zombies are (more or less) the same functionally as normal zombies, but significantly more... sludge-y. as the infection spreads throughout the body, anything that can rot is overtaken by a disgusting, slime-like substance (jrwi fans think victims of the black sea). this substance, in its "purest" form is bright green; however that color may change when mixed with rotting flesh. this substance is extremely maliable, sticky, and can stretch quite far- but should not be handled without proper protection, as infection can and will occur.

direct contact with this substance is the only way to be infected by it. however, when an individual is infected, after a certain point slime will begin leaking from the eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as any wounds the individual may have.

behaviorally, changes don't typically occur until the previously described stage. then, infected individuals will become noticeably more hostile. an individual won't lose their sentience in full until the infection reaches the brain.

charlie slimecicle is patient zero. my man cannot catch a break. because of the manner in which he was infected, he seems to be partially exempt from the behavioral changes the other infected show (hostility comes and goes, essentially. he's usually able to control himself.) charlie is missing his left eye and entire right arm and shoulder; the latter has been replaced entirely by slime (though he usually wraps bandages around it to cover it up). he also as a large gash on his forehead, above said missing eye.

the first group survivors were originally two groups that merged into one (the two train groups minus charlie). the "eggs" are children they found about a month after joining forces. they split up the work of raising the kids between them, but it is very much a "it takes a village" situation. the brazilians and french are small groups of survivors that found and joined the larger group at later dates.

anyway uh at some point, somehow, juanaflippa is separated from the group. for almost a full month, no one has any fucking idea where this kid vanished to, and many are convinced that she died- but surprise, she didn't! eventually she finds her way back to the group, with a new friend in tow. another survivor, they think-- until they get a better look at him.

enter patient zero. as it turns out, flippa got very lucky, being found by charlie. injured and being hunted down by a hoard, he saved her life. it didn't take long for flippa to figure out just how infected he was, and how much danger she was in just being AROUND him- but he was kind, and took care of her as best he could in the month spent searching for her makeshift family. she was the one who insisted he join her when they found them.

it took a little bit of convincing, but they didn't immediately kill charlie. but, for fear of possible infection (though she had no way of spreading it if she WERE infected) the adults very strictly instructed the rest of the children to stay far away from flippa, and charlie as well. mariana, though relieved to have flippa back, was in the same boat regarding charlie's presence. they tended to argue a lot- but flippa still insisted upon being around him, so he and mariana spent more than enough time around each other.

I don't have many specific thoughts after this point yet but like. I have so much brainrot over this ik I don't normally post abt au's but I NEED to share this

if you have any ideas for ANYTHING w/this (absolutely doesn't have to be centered on the characters I talked abt specifically) even if it's just possible worldbuilding PLEASE add on I would love to hear more ideas!!!!!!!

[goingferalapparently]

The Cursed Team: A Discussion

Cursed Team Mechanics:

One team is cursed. If the cursed team loses, say goodbye to all of your lives and eggs. What team is that? Can you figure that out? No. So make sure you do your best to win. But if any of the other teams win, they can pick some of the eggs to come back with you.

How I understand it:

If the cursed team (left unknown/unknowable) loses, all islanders lose their lives and all eggs except those chosen by the winning team.

Likely, the islanders losing their lives is in taken in a non-literal manner. Otherwise, there is a story in place for the world beyond permadeath.

(i.e. Lives as Livelihood versus Lives as Living)

Possibilities favour the first option, due to the line "But if any of the other teams win, they can pick some of the eggs to come back with you." They will likely return to Quesadilla Island.

-

Summary of Tickets:

In Order: Fit, Etoiles, Quackity, Roier, Iron Mouse, Bagi, Forever, Maxo, Antoine, Kameto, Rubius, Mike

16, 8, 27, 11, 7, 1, 15, 17, 20, 33?, ?, 5?

In Order: Tubbo, Pierre, Tina, PacTW, BBH, Pol, Luzu, Lenay, Nihachu, Mariana, Missa, Rivers

25, 4, 14, 21, 3, 6, 30?, 28?, 29, ?, 19, 22

In Order: Ph1LzA, Foolish, Cellbit, Slime, Jaiden, Baghera, Felps, Carre, Wilbur, German, Vegetta, Willy

18, 9, 10, 12, 23, 13, 26, 2, 34?, 32?, 31?, 24?

Modified Tickets (*): Quackity, Philza, Slime(, Wilbur, Vegetta)

Loading screens (**): Mouse, Philza, Roier, Baghera, Cellbit, Etoiles, Foolish, Jaiden(?), Maxo

Observer's screen (+): ElQuackity, Cellbit, Etoiles, Jaiden, Maxo, Slimecicle

All *, **, and + are in Red and Green.

There are 4 +/** pairs. There are 2 +/* pairs. There is 1 */** pair. There are 4 lone **s. All + and * are paired.

For Red and Green, all "?" tickets are at the end of the list. For Blue, the "?" numbered tickets are scattered in the middle.

Green and Blue have 3 "?" numbered tickets each. Red has 4 "?" numbered tickets.

(

Update:

There are 4 +/** pairs. There are 2 +/* pairs. There is 1 */** pair. There are 4 lone **s. There are 2 lone *s.

All members of Red have tickets via the modpack. Blue and Green lack one each - Rubius (makes sense) and Mariana (?? he even showed up before the event he just didn't get one).

In RGB, the * Tickets are split 4-1-0, the ** Islanders are split 5-3-0, and the + Islanders are split 3-3-0, averages are 19.5-14.545-18.273

Tickets in order by Team are (in groups of 5 for easier viewing): GRBBG BGGRR GRRBG GGRBG BBRRB RGBBG RRGR? ?

)

-

Green Team: Pomme (3), Richarlyson (2), Ramon (1*)

Blue Team: Dapper (1*), Pomme (1), Chayanne (1), Richarlyson (1)

Red Team: Leo (2*), Richarlyson (2), Pomme (1), Chayanne (1), Tallulah (1*)

(* - All parent(s) of this egg are in this team)

(Bold - Eggs that have clips posted pre-event)

(Note: Only counts parents as given initially. e.g. Richarlyson is the child of only the 5 Brazilians who came by cargo ship.)

All three Bold eggs are in Blue Team.

Each Team has at least one egg whose life hinges solely on that team. Red Team is the exception with two eggs.

Green Team has 3 eggs and 6 egg parents in a 1:2 ratio. Blue Team has 4 Eggs and 4 egg parents in a 1:1 ratio. Red Team has 5 Eggs and 7 egg parents in a 5:7 ratio (greater than 1:2 but less than 1:1).

Green Team's Pomme is the only egg with 3 parents on 1 Team.

Of the remaining parent pairs from the initial event, Leo's parents (Foolish and Vegetta) are in the same group while Chayanne's parents (Philza and Missa) are in different teams.

Of the parent pairs whose eggs are deceased, Bobby’s parents (Jaiden and Roier) are in different teams. JuanaFlippa’s parents (Slime and Mariana) are also in different teams. Tilín’s parent (? Quackity) and Trump’s remaining parent (Maxo) are both in Green.

-

The Egg War:

Red Egg - Tallulah*, Dapper*, Ramon*

Blue Egg - Chayanne, Leonarda*

Green Egg - Pomme, Richarlyson

Red and Green's Eggs have connections to all teams. Blue's Egg lacks a connection to Green Team.

Blue Team's egg is set up to be killed by Green Team in terms of emotional connection.

(

Update:

Blue Team's egg got? Removed before it could be killed? But Green Team was the one dealing damage there.

)

-

Picking Winners:

Following the logic of the following,

If the cursed team (left unknown/unknowable) loses, all islanders lose their lives and all eggs except those chosen by the winning team.

Richarlyson and Pomme will never die. Due to the split of eggs by parents, at least two eggs will die if the cursed team does not win. The choice between eggs thus falls to the following:

Green Team: Ramon (1*)

Blue Team: Dapper (1*), Chayanne (1)

Red Team: Leo (2*), Chayanne (1), Tallulah (1*)

If Green Team wins, 4 eggs die (Dapper*, Leo*, Tallulah*, Chayanne). If Blue Team wins, 3 eggs die (Ramon*, Leo*, Tallulah*). If Red Team wins, 2 eggs die (Ramon*, Dapper*).

Note: This assumes that the eggs chosen to return belong solely to the team they come from. If there is a limitation to the choice of eggs that is under 5, the choice of non-self, non-cursed winner becomes Green, followed by Blue, as opposed to the current Red, followed by Blue.

-

Anomalies:

Green Team:

Only team to have 3 parents of a single egg in a team

Has ElQuackity, who has contact with... something Purgatory sabotaging something, I'm not sure

Has literal fallen angel Rubius, cast down from the heavens by.... Angel Cucurucho???????

Egg War egg is made of the two community eggs (Pomme, French + Richarlyson, Brazilian) and has connections to all teams

Blue Team:

Only team without fancy tickets

Only team without a loading screen (that I could find)

Only team not featured on the observer's screen

Has Luzu

Has the least egg parents

Egg War egg has no link to Green

Has exactly one parent from each egg that sent a message

Was split up during the Egg War

Red Team:

All members have a ticket, or at least a ticket designed for them, whereas Green has Rubius and Blue has Mariana

Has the most eggs directly linked to their members

Has the most (2) eggs whose parents are solely on one team (excluding deceased eggs)

Egg War egg is made of the three surviving eggs with single parents (Tallulah, Dapper, Ramon) which each has a connection to a separate team

-

Ideal Strategy:

The options for all teams are as such.

1. Win and guarantee that they can choose their eggs to be brought back. (Works regardless of who the Cursed Team is.)

2. Let one of the other teams win in hope that that team is the Cursed Team.

3. Figure out who the Cursed Team is.

When offered a choice between a chance to achieve community-wide goals and a guarantee to achieve a personal goal, the rational self-interested individual will work towards a guarantee.

This situation is reminiscent of a cartel game - of the Prisoner’s Dilemma - but with more stakes involved. Please search it if you want to know more, I am not looking at that. A fun one to look at is "The Evolution of Trust" - the Prisoner's Dilemma is the basis of the game.

The gist of it is that sabotaging each other is always the better option in terms of self-interest, though a socially optimal outcome can be achieved by working with each other. The achievement of the socially optimal outcome is reliant upon trusting each other not to sabotage the operations. Therein lies an issue already, as ElQuackity was sent to sow chaos or something.

-

For Further Consideration:

The Cursed Team criteria is phrased weirdly. Usually, it would be expected that if a cursed party were to win, everyone else loses.

We only know what happens if the Cursed Team loses, not if they win. This is a loophole that may be exploited by the Observer.

“If the cursed team loses, say goodbye to all of your lives and eggs.” While the direct implication of saying goodbye means to lose in a permanent sense, taken literally, it could simply be an exchange of words.

“But if any of the other teams win, they can pick some of the eggs to come back with you.” The implication is that the eggs will be brought back alive and the eggs not brought back will be killed. There is no guarantee that this will be the case. The eggs brought back to the main island may be deceased and the eggs left behind may not necessarily be killed.

The Cursed Team could be a team not of the three existing RBG teams. In that sense, it could be non-existent and a ploy to encourage fighting, it could be a completely separate party acting as a benchmark, it could be a combination of members across the three existing teams.

-

Straightforward Conclusion:

The order of preferred winners in terms of minimal egg death (taken at surface level) is as follows - Cursed Team, Red Team, Blue Team, Green Team.

The most likely Cursed Team is (if the Cursed Team is one of the three) Blue Team (has the most anomalies).

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (42)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: SMUUUTT (mdni, please)

A/N BETA READ (@mariana-mmtz).

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You gave Seonghwa a grin as he handed you a glass of soju, moving to sit in front of you between your legs. He got comfortable as his shoulders squeezed between your legs, cheek pressed against your knee. 

“Did you see his face!?” Wooyoung cackled. “It was great to see that man all sweaty and practically in ruins!”

You had taken the night to spend it with each other celebrating the heist that had been pulled off during the day. Once again they brought out the alcohol–only this time they weren’t holding back on how much they drank. 

It seemed the boys were letting loose for once. You knew they were the same way the other night but rather than be anxious about something wrong going down, this time it was more of a relief they all felt. They were excited rather than thinking of the negative. 

“Quaid deserves it!” Yunho shouted, spurring the younger boy on. 

“You think he'll get in trouble with Z?” You asked out loud, looking around to see who would answer you. 

“Depends on how much funds they need at the moment.” Hongjoong had answered, taking a swig of his drink as he threw his head back. 

“Either way!” Wooyoung waved. “It's been a great day and an even greater heist because it was sweetheart's first one!” The boy got up skipping over to you. “Cheers to her!” He took a seat next to you on the log, planting a wet kiss on your cheek. “You are absolutely gracious.”

“I tripped over a bag of coins.” You spoke nonchalantly. 

“He won't remember it after all the drinks.” Jongho told you from the other side. 

You turned around taking notice of how the boy seemed to be slowly sipping from his cup. He wasn't as inebriated as the others, which you found odd seeing as you all started drinking at the same time. 

“Are you not drinking?” You asked, trying to take a look into Jongho’s cup.

“I am.” Jongho swirled his cup around. “I just know how to hold my own compared to those idiots.”

You giggled, looking around at the other seven boys. Wooyoung was laughing to himself on your shoulder and Seonghwa was playing with your legs as he squished his own cheeks with your thighs. Yunho and Mingi were playing drunk games with Yunho having a large smile on his face and Mingi aggressively trying to win at something. Hongjoong and Yeosang both watched the two tallest boys, making sure nothing escalated. 

San was the only one who was watching everyone with sharp eyes–quietly humming to himself and he tried to keep his eyes open. 

“San is out of it.” You smiled lightly, wanting to help the boy to bed. 

“He's had five shots of soju.” Jongho wiped his hands on his pants, coming to a stand as he gave his cup to Seonghwa who got excited. 

“Come on—I wanna talk with you alone.” He held his hand out for you.

You untangled yourself from Seonghwa and Wooyoung’s holds, both of them whining at how you left them but quickly turned to each other for comfort. 

“Everything okay?” You asked as Jongho led you to his tent. 

“It is.” Jongho shrugged, smiling softly at you. “I just want to have time with you.”

A blush overtook your face as he got comfy in a bedroll, waiting for you to lay down with him. “The others have gotten it, so now I shall take advantage of your time.” He grinned, looking down at you as you laid your head on his chest. 

“If you want me alone all you have to do is ask.” You laughed. 

“You're amazing.” His lips were pulled up in a soft manner, making you blush from how he looked at you. “Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you.”

You suddenly frowned, leaning up to lay on your stomach and look at him directly. “Jongho, you are all special to me.” You told him. “In your own ways too.” 

You smiled at him, moving a hand up to rub at his cheek. “I can remember the first time you walked into the hotel and were scoping out the place.”

“You were glaring.” He laughed. “I wanted to say something but thought against it because I just wanted to find a place for Yeosang to rest comfortably.”

“And here we are because you didn't open your mouth.” You smiled, thinking back to the first day you had met them all. 

You would have never guessed the day you were tied to a chair would be the one that changed the course of your story. It feels like it was so long ago, when really it was only a couple of months. You had never thought that finding people who would like you for you would come in the form of 8 boys who were criminals. It was such a crazy story to tell. 

“I used to fight a lot with Mingi.” You turned back to him as he spoke up again. “We were both hot headed so we always clashed. We grew out of it obviously.” He chuckled at the end. 

“I'm glad you did.” You hummed. “You all love each other so much.”

“I owe everything to them.” Jongho smiled. “They gave me a new purpose after I got injured.”

“What happened?” You asked him. 

“I used to play sports.” He began, taking in a deep breath. “I wanted to play professionally but I got my knee injury before I got the chance. So now I'm here with them. It might not be the same but it feels right.” He spoke to himself at the end. 

You reached up, to give his lips a kiss. “You're an amazing person, Jongho.” You smiled at him. “All of you are.”

He sat up pulling you along with him as you sat facing the other way. “And you make us feel complete.” He told you, giving you another kiss. 

This one lasted longer though. You let out a breath through your nose as your body relaxed into his touch. Everytime you kissed any of them, you felt as though your problems were small and didn’t need all your attention. They gave you a reason to let go of everything. They made you feel taken care of. 

Before you realized it, you had shifted to sit on Jongho’s lap, the man pulling at your pant legs to help you sit comfortably. Once he found the place he enjoyed you in, his hands moved to your shirt softly tugging at the fabric to pull it out of your pants before stopping. 

“Is this okay?” He asked you quietly. 

You smile gratefully, knowing that Jongho was someone who minds his manners a lot more than the others. “More than okay.” You spoke up, moving your arms as you took your shirt off on your own. 

His eyes went wide as a little laugh fell from his lips. You giggled lightly at his expression, moving to hold onto his cheeks to make him look up at you. Your nose bumped along his, making his lips stretch over his teeth. He moved to give you a peck, and then another. 

Your hands moved down to his shoulders, feeling at his skin as your fingertips heated him up. Jongho moved to take his own shirt off as well, wanting to feel your skin against his. 

“You’re bold.” Jongho hummed, lips skimming over your neck. 

“You bring that out in me.” You replied with a smile. 

Jongho pulled back, giving you a grin. “You think you know what you’re doing?” He questioned with a teasing smile. You gave him a challenging look waiting to see where he was going with things. 

“Then be my guest, Love.” You squeaked as Jongho laid back down, hands moving behind his head. 

“Go on.” He smiled. “You were the one who started this.”

“Jongho!” You whined, pouting as you didn’t think he would allow you to take charge. 

You had no idea what to do, aside from when you stroked Mingi’s length you didn’t think you had much information on how to make Jongho feel pleasure. But you did try your best. So you moved to pull his pants down, causing him to look at you with a confused face. 

He didn’t expect you to go for it immediately, in fact, he was expecting you to give up and let him take control but here you were doing what you knew so far. Jongho’s cock was soft when you took it out of its confines. Blood was still rushing in so you had to figure out how to make it hard. 

And when you looked up at Jongho, you caught his teasing gaze, as if he was waiting for you to ask for help. You pouted though, not wanting to give up that easily. So you took his length in your hand, gripping onto it. 

“Love.” He immediately sat up, grabbing your hand to keep you from doing anything else. “Stop being stubborn and ask me for help.” He told you pointedly. 

“You have to be soft when I’m still getting hard.” He explained to you, moving to lean back on his hands as you kneel between his legs. 

You shuffled closer looking down at his length as you nodded at him. You knew you were in the wrong and probably shouldn’t be taking any lead yet, so you decided it would be best to follow Jongho’s instructions. 

“Just message it.” He explained to you. “Gently, until you feel it gets hard.” He flexed his thighs for a moment, making you look at them. 

You had to keep your mouth shut from how mouth watering them seemed to you. Your legs rubbed together as you followed Jongho's instructions. You used your fingertips first, watching as he twitched at your touch. You looked up at him, catching his small smile to encourage you. 

So you softly took him into your hand, lightly applying pressure. It took a bit until you felt him get hard like you remember Mingi to be. When he did, he wrapped his hand around your own, moving it up and down as he squeezed. 

“Just like that, Love.” He breathed out. 

With your eyes focused on how you moved your hand, your head was pointed down which allowed Jongho to run his fingers through your hair. You hummed in, closing your eyes as you moved along with his hand. He laughed a little, watching your pleased expression as he messaged your scalp. 

“There’s something you can try but I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to.” He told you. 

“No! No.” You immediately opened your eyes, scooting closer. “Tell me.” You leaned up to get closer to him. “I want to make you feel good.” You bashfully spoke. 

“If you don’t like it you can stop. Okay?” He told you. 

The eager nod you gave him made him smile, brushing a thumb against your cheek. “You know how the others kissed you down there?”

Seonghwa had been the only one to do that, and you knew that it felt amazing. So you nodded his head, realizing where it was he was going. You looked down at his cock, watching as he moved it again. 

“You can do the same thing to us.” He explained to you. “Do you want to try?” 

“Yes.” You told him, scooting back to allow yourself room to lean down. 

“Come this way.” Jongho told you, moving you over his thigh and to his side. 

He pulled you up first though, taking your own pants off to leave the both of you naked. “I’ll take care of you too.” He said. 

You frowned, confused, but listened to what he was telling you to do. Your thighs rubbed together as you felt your slick coming down them. When Jongho’s hands fell between your legs, you flinched, further pushing into his limb as your legs fell shut. 

“You can kiss it when you feel like it.” He explained before laying down as he found a comfortable spot for his hand without having it cramp up. 

You moaned out when his fingers began to play with your core, softly stroking. You looked down at his red cock, leaning down as your tongue fell out of your mouth. You kitten licked it first, trying to gauge out how you would react to the skin. Jongho only flexed his thighs at the lick while you had to brace yourself from his menstrations. 

You frowned, wanting to get something more from him. So you began to use the flat of your tongue, wrapping it around his length. You heard his breaths grow heavy and his hips move up slowly, trying to chase your mouth. 

When you reached his tip, that was when you got him to buck his hips up and stop his fingers for a moment on your core. Your mouth paused at his tip, noticing how he had reacted. So you chose to pay close attention to the spot, licking and kissing the soft skin. 

His moans weren’t as loud as Mingi’s or Seonghwa but he did let out a few quiet grunts and pants of air that made you clench around nothing. He must have noticed though because his fingers were quick to find your entrance and sink in carefully. 

Your quiet whine fell from your lips and onto his cock leading him to let out a breath as he felt your walls squeeze around his fingers. He began to pant, eyebrows pinching together as his hips began to rut up thinking about how it would feel to have you wrapped around him. 

He grunted when your lips seemed to wrap just lightly over his tip, tipping him over the edge of wanting to feel your warmth. 

“I can’t wait, Love.” He sat up, softly dropping his wet fingers from you and moving you up to look at him. “I need you wrapped around me.” 

You watched as he licked his fingers clean, sitting up as he made you move across his lap again. You shuffled to straddle him, remembering this position from Mingi. You were going to ride Jongho, you remembered that one. 

“I know this.” You told him. 

Jongho snapped his head up to you, laughing a little. “Well don’t let me stop you, Love.” He grinned. 

So he leaned back, waiting again for you to do as you pleased. And you did. You took his length in your hand lining yourself up with it. You sighed to yourself, trying to not make a fool of yourself. It took you a bit to find where you needed to go and how to sit, but the soft smile Jongho had made you less nervous. 

The moment you fully sat down on him and felt him all the way in, your head dropped back and a whine left your lip. Jongho took in a deep breath as his arm wrapped around your waist on instinct.  You could feel his breath hitting the skin of your neck as he dropped his head. 

Unlike the others, Jongho didn’t move his hips. Instead he braced himself with one hand as he held you up with the other. He leaned back, planting his feet into the ground so that he could shove himself all the way into you again. 

You groaned out in pleasure, feeling a type of cramp as his tip hit the end of your heat. It made you see stars, wanting to fall forward onto him as he seemed to have slow but powerful thrusts. It made him groan, each time your walls would tighten to keep him inside. He bit his lip each time he would try to pull out, your core trying to suck him back in. 

He did it for a couple more thrusts before grunting at the last one. After that he began to softly move his hips, allowing you to rest as it was only grinding movements that allowed you to keep his cock warm inside. 

With you bouncing at your own pace, Jongho moved both of his hands to your hips, lips returning to brush softly against the flesh of your throat. He moved to thumb at your nipples, making you flinch from the tickle. But you still arched your back into him, not wanting him to stop. 

His breathing was turning ragged as he felt your walls starting to close tightly around him. You moans were turning into whines, soft hahs falling from your lips letting him know you were close. As your head fell back and your eyes squeezed shut, Jongho took a hold of you again, thrusting faster to reach his own high right after you had reached yours. 

He was quick to pull you by the hips to get you off him, shoving you forward to lay on him knowing you weren’t going to be able to hold yourself up. He jerked off as his cum came out, splaying across his thighs.

Once he was spent out, he fell backwards with you on his chest. You whined at the sticky feeling of his cum spreading across your thighs and onto your core. Jongho felt you grind down on it, your hips moving along his thighs. 

“Love, give me a moment.” He laughed out breathlessly. “I know you’re needy, but I didn’t think it was this much.”

You couldn’t open your mouth to talk back, only reeling from the high you were feeling. You needed to be in contact with Jongho’s skin, some kind of mindset you had post orgasm. Maybe you were ready for another round but right now you wanted to be cuddled. 

“Ya! What do you mean you don’t know where they are!?” You heard Wooyoung’s voice. “They are literally fucking right there!”

“We’re drunk but we can still hear!”

Series Masterlist

[bourbonificould]

Context being like... David and the others aren't around I guess and Javi still has Kate, Mariana and Gabe. Carver is still crazy as hell, but this time he's running a city and not a store.