#RIGHT queues and writing

[utilitycaster]

The "labor is entitled to everything it creates" leaving people's bodies when it comes to artistic works. like yes yes yes you think the artist is the bourgeois class and the real enemy is capitalism and also it's so interesting how so many self-proclaimed white leftists in fandom specifically are going after a field in which it is famously difficult to support yourself and which has stuff that they want for free, instead of like. finance.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[serickswrites]

Pick

Warnings: captivity, restraints, threat of death, bruises, blood, forced to choose, forced to watch, begging

"Please, you can't do this!" Sidekick cried out as they struggled against the power suppression cuffs. They watched in horror as Superhero slowly stalked towards them.

"Oh, but I can, Sidekick. I can." They smiled, their white teeth gleaming in the low light. "I can do whatever I want, Sidekick. I'm the hero and you're the villains. And now I have you all in my grasp."

"I won't do it!" Sidekick shouted. They didn't tear their gaze away from Superhero. They couldn't bring themself to look at Villain and Right Hand. If they did, they would crumble. This was all their fault. They didn't deserve to see forgiveness and pity in their mentor's and friend's eyes.

"Leave them alone, Superhero, it's me you want," Villain rasped. Their bruised throat sounded painful. Sidekick knew Villain's blood had dried on their collar, their split lip now scabbed over. Superhero had grabbed them by the throat and thrown them into a wall before they could escape. Before Sidekick and Right Hand could respond.

And now they were all bound and at Superhero's mercy.

"You are the one I want. But I want all of you. And I am so enjoying Sidekick's pain."

"You're a fucking monster," Right Hand hissed.

Superhero smirked. "It doesn't matter what I am right now. I have all of you. And at the end of the day, I'm the hero, and everyone always trusts the hero."

Sidekick continued to struggle even though they knew it was useless. There was no way they were breaking out of their cuffs. If they could just slip one finger, they could access their power. They could access enough power to free Villain and Right Hand.

Superhero turned back to Sidekick. "You need to pick, Sidekick. Or I'll pick for you, and you won't like who I pick."

"I won't do it!"

"Pick who dies, Sidekick. Villain, your beloved mentor? Or perhaps Right Hand, your friend and confidant."

Sidekick shook their head. They wouldn't pick. They couldn't pick. They couldn't betray Villain or Right Hand. Someone had to be coming for them. For all of them. Hero had to be on their way. Or maybe even Supervillain. Someone had to stop Superhero.

"It's ok, Sidekick," Villain said gently, "pick me. Right Hand will get you out of here. It's ok to pick me."

"Absolutely not! You cannot pick Villain, Sidekick. You have to pick me. I'm expendable. Villain is not. Pick me," Right Hand urged.

"What will it be, Sidekick?" Superhero gestured at Villain and Right Hand. "Pick, or I will pick for you. And you won't like my choice."

Villain nodded, giving Sidekick a small smile. Sidekick closed their eyes and opened their mouth, "I pick--"

And the room erupted in a bright light and explosion of sound and Sidekick knew no more.

Tags: @mousepaw @jumpywhumpywriter @knightinbatteredarmor @hufflepuffwritingstuff2 @anightmarishwhump

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @celestialsoyeon @st0rmm @ay5ksal @pedro-pedro-pedro-pedro-pe

@pepeniascat

[thekidsarentalright]

‼️ Attention Fob Fan Reading This ‼️

A few weeks ago, I posted the fourth annual fob census asking you all to answer a bunch of evil questions regarding fall out boy, and after getting 1.3k (!!!!!) responses, the results are finally in (below the 'keep reading'). I wanted to quickly say thank you to everybody who participated in this, it's so fun to do every year and it makes me so happy to see so many others enjoy it too!! Without further adieu, here are the results:

Disclaimers: Quickly I just wanted to warn that this is a long post- it's worth reading, the results are very interesting! But it's also a lot to get through, be prepared for that! Secondly, tumblr loves to destroy image quality- click on the image to see it better!

Question 1:

For the first question, you were simply asked what era you became a fan. The top 3 results were, as shown: 1. Save Rock And Roll Era (345 Responses) 2. American Beauty/American Psycho Era (268 Responses) 3. During The Hiatus (132 Responses) Not much to say about this one, every year the results are very similar. Most interesting is that over 100 people have become a fan in the last year!

Question 2:

The second question asked you for your favorite era, and the results were, as shown: 1. So Much (For) Stardust Era (550 Responses) 2. Infinity On High Era (191 Responses) 3. Save Rock And Roll Era (170 Responses) The impact of the newest era is clearly seen in this question! Some could say it's recency bias, only time will tell, but regardless smfs era absolutely dominates as peoples favorite!

Question 3:

Question three asked what your favorite album was, and this was one where I was incredibly interested to see if so much (for) stardust shook things up that much... And as shown in the top responses, it did not! 1. Folie A Deux (550 Responses) 2. Infinity On High (270 Responses) 3. From Under The Cork Tree (153 Responses) Last year, the order of the results was exactly the same. As I believe it has been every year... Folie is unbeatable

Question 4:

The next question asked for you to objectively say which fob album is the best, to see if the responses between favorite and best differed, and as you can see, they did: 1. So Much (For) Stardust (457 Responses) 2. Folie A Deux (389 Responses) 3. Infinity On High (297 Responses) It's so interesting to me to see that so many people believe stardust to be fob's best album, but even then do not consider it to be their favorite.

Question 5:

Now that we've gotten the favorite/best albums out of the way, it's time for least favorite/worst, with these being your least favorite fob albums: 1. Take This To Your Grave (375 Responses) 2. American Beauty/American Psycho (371 Responses) 3. Mania (308 Responses) Most interesting about these results, to me, are how much the top three responses sweep in comparison to the rest. While for the last two questions, the results were more spread, these are much more unanimous.

Question 6:

Question six asked for the objective worst fob album, and you responded as so: 1. Take This To Your Grave (517 Responses) 2. Mania (347 Responses) 3. American Beauty/American Psycho (328 Responses) All I have to add here is that the responses are even More unanimous... Tttyg sweep ig! fdjsnf

Question 7:

Going away from albums, the next question asked for your favorite EP, and you all responded as such: 1. Lake Effect Kid (404 Responses) 2. My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue (374 Responses) 3. Pax AM Days (337 Responses) Last year, lake effect kid was second and my heart was first- always very interesting to see how things shift, even slightly!

Question 8:

The next question had you saying your favorite album cover art, and you all decided these are the best covers: 1. Infinity On High (664 Responses) 2. Folie A Deux (195 Responses) 3. From Under The Cork Tree (176 Responses) I was very interesting to see where smfs would land, with it falling in the bottom half, not disrupting the top three at all. However, folie moved up a spot, swapping with futct. Ioh reigns supreme though!

Question 9:

These results came out identical to last year, but here are the top first fob songs you all heard: 1. Sugar, We're Goin' Down (347 Responses) 2. My Songs Know (171 Responses) 3. Dance, Dance (134 Responses) 4. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (132 Responses) 5. Centuries (91 Responses)

Question 10:

Question 10 asked for your favorite fob song, a very subjective question that garnered many different responses, these came out on top: 1. Headfirst Slide (105 Responses) 2. Disloyal Order (73 Responses) 3. Hum Hallelujah (69 Responses)(nice) 4. Ginasfs (65 Responses) 5. 27 (55 Responses) I have many thoughts about these results and don't want to ramble too much, but will say, most interesting: This is the first time disloyal order isn't first for this question. A big change, I think!

Question 11:

We know now your subjective fav songs, but what about objective best? You all said: 1. So Much (For) Stardust (244 Responses) 2. Headfirst Slide (136 Responses) 3. Love From The Other Side (83 Responses) 4. What A Catch, Donnie (70 Responses) 5. Hum Hallelujah = Disloyal Order (66 Responses) Once again, lots of thoughts! We have our first tie, both smfs the song and album sweeping, and disloyal order once again Not topping the list! Huge changes!

Question 12:

This question is always the one i get the most excited about each year. It's also the one that gets the most varied responses, but these came out in the top: 1. Sunshine Riptide (56 Responses) 2. "From Now On We Are Enemies" (49 Responses) 3. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave (47 Responses) 4. Rat A Tat (40 Responses) 5. It's Not A Side Effect = Heaven's Gate This question changed a lot from last year, with sunshine riptide moving up three spots, and rat a tat, it's not a side effect, and heaven's gate showing up when they didn't before!

Question 13:

With underrated songs come overrated ones, and you all said these were the most overrated: 1. Centuries (330 Responses) 2. Sugar, We're Goin' Down (96 Responses) 3. My Songs Know (87 Responses) 4. Bang The Doldrums (67 Responses) 5. Immortals (62 Responses) Most of note- Bang the doldrums is here, when it simultaneously was voted pretty highly as a favorite song!

Question 14:

This was the first time I asked the question of what your favorite fob cover is, and you all decided these are the best three: 1. Love Will Tear Us Apart (297 Responses) 2. Beat It (278 Responses) 3. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (224)

Question 15:

Asking which song has the best lyrics is another one of my favorites to see, and this year you all said: 1. Hum Hallelujah (172 Responses) 2. So Much (For) Stardust (75 Responses) 3. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave (72 Responses) 4. Ginasfs (70 Responses) 5. Disloyal Order (67 Responses) It's not surprise these results are very similar to best song, and it's very deserved! These songs are on top every year, save for smfs being newly one of their best written songs!

Question 16:

This question asked how many times you've seen fob live, and the results are as shown: 1. 1-3 Times (780 Responses) 2. Haven't Seem Them Live Yet (353 Responses) 3. 4-6 Times (138 Responses) 4. 7-9 Times (42 Responses) 5. 10+ Times (37 Responses) Last year, a majority of people said they hadn't seen them live, so it makes me really happy to see now, a majority has! And i hope those that haven't get to soon!

Question 17:

Continuing with the tour theme, specific to this year, I asked what your favorite medley song was, and you all said: 1. Spotlight (New Regrets) (272 Responses) 2. I've Got A Dark Alley (165 Responses) 3. What A Catch, Donnie (146 Responses) 4. WAMS (133 Responses) 5. Get Busy Living (117 Responses) Seeing spotlight sweep made me happy, as it genuinely was the craziest moment. All of these were crazy, and so special- seeing each medley song get so much love just shows it <3

Question 18:

Now continuing with tourdust questions, I asked for your fav 8 ball song, here were your top 5: 1. Pavlove (372 Responses) 2. Ginasfs (184 Responses) 3. Bang The Doldrums (144 Responses) 4. "From Now On We Are Enemies" (80 Responses) 5. 27 (69 Responses) Similarly to before, each of these was so crazy and special, it's great to see they all got love. Pavlove swept massively, tho, as deserved i think

Question 19:

I think it goes without saying that each band member is loved and very important, but we all have our #1 babygirl, and here's who you all said was yours: 1. Patrick (676 Responses) 2. Pete (402 Responses) 3. Joe (160 Responses) 4. Andy (112 Responses) All i have to say is... kill that thing patrick <3

Question 20:

Our next miscellaneous question asks for your fav music video, and this year you all said these were your favorites: 1. A Little Less Sixteen Candles (275 Responses) 2. Dance, Dance (109 Responses) 3. Hold Me Like A Grudge (89 Responses) 4. America's Suitehearts = Miss Missing You (74 Responses) 5. I Don't Care (67 Responses) I was curious to see if a stardust mv would make it in, and was glad to see grudge did! Otherwise, very similar results to last year. Old favs die hard i suppose <3

Question 21:

Here, I asked for your favorite band that isn't fob but is related/adjacent to fob, and you all said: 1. My Chemical Romance (576 Responses) 2. Paramore (302 Responses) 3. I Don't Know How But They Found Me (88 Responses) 4. Cobra Starship = Green Day (75 Responses) 5. Gym Class Heroes (58 Responses) Not much changed from last year, other than green day getting more love, which is interesting to see! (Also, wanted to note that i did forget to include panic!... however less than 10 people wrote them in as an 'other', so results were not affected by that oversight!)

Question 22:

These last questions are all this or that style ones, with our first pairing being disloyal order and hum hallelujah: 1. Disloyal Order (762 Responses) 2. Hum Hallelujah (588 Responses) Interestingly, last year this match-up was a solid tie. Clearly, opinions have changed to make disloyal order sweep!

Question 23:

Our second this or that pit snitches and talkers vs you're crashing: 1. You're Crashing (808 Responses) 2. Snitches And Talkers (542 Responses) These were the top two underrated songs last year, so it's interesting to see which one is truly preferred!

Question 24:

Our last this or that, and last question, put centuries and my songs head to head: 1. My Songs Know (977 Responses) 2. Centuries (373 Responses) All the commentary I will provide is saying: is centuries even overrated anymore with it getting destroyed like this.... fkjdsnfks

And with that, the 2024 fob census comes to a close! If you've read this far or, really, participated at all in this in any way, I want to say thank you again! and that I hope you had fun with it, and that these results were interesting to look through! Also, will throw out there, I worked very hard on this and would appreciate a rb if you read all the way through it! <3 If you have any questions about any data or questions, want to see more in depth results or commentary or analysis from me, feel free to shoot me an ask/dm! See you next year for year 5! :-3

[nonuggetshere]

CRAWLS OUT OF THE TRENCHES COVERED IN BLOOD

IT'S DONE

Somehow they took longer than PK's reference did. Here's to hoping I don't change their design again so I don't have make a 4th reference sheet for them 🥂

I forgot to add the fact that they start growing leaves and flowers in their fur after they recover and aren't stressed 24/7 onto the ref, AH WELL- I might just make a version for when they are older and not a complete wreck

Some notes;

They now have pernament wings that are usually tucked under an elytra, identical to Pale King's (monarch) wings but black and white instead. My friends also voted the pubic fur out ✌️😔 probably for the better, I couldn't come up with a way to NOT make it look awkward as hell.

Their adolescent stage is around 13-14 years of age and around Pale King's height, outgrowing him ever so slightly.

The hatchling stage is EXTRA potato shaped and EXTRA fluffy now, instead of the fur being mostly on the back of their neck and lower back they have a full mane that runs down their back, much like their dad. The hatchling and child stages also have much dimmer light, it gets brighter with age.

But most important addition; they have ✨️HEELS✨️

Not sure if the white bits behind the ridges on their feet and forearms wi stay but they are here for now, I'll see how I feel about them as I draw them

They mostly take after their father in all but height but they do have some traits from their mother, which will be more obvious once I will make a proper reference for her

[velvetcloxds]

if you're too shy- send me a character and a scenario and I'll write a little baby blurb for it

Enemies to lovers kinda thing where reader or spencer admits feelings accidentally, like a slip of tongue maybe.

I'LL KEEP YOU WARM | S.R.

word count: 1.6k (stop)

warnings: one-bed trope, fem!reader- also I didn't literally have them say ily but he does admit to not hating the reader and in fact caring for the reader which is basically ily in enemies to lovers

You had spent nearly an hour next to Spencer considering the very creative and unprofessional things you’d planned to text Penelope in the morning once you could charge your phone on the jet, all of which would surely be forgotten in the morning, but it was a very good distraction from your current situation. You and Penelope had a general disagreement about the status of your relationship with Spencer Reid, your partner for the last few months. You were sure without a single doubt that he absolutely hated you, Penelope believed that what felt like hate was really pent-up tension that needed to be released- by putting the two of you together in one room with only one bed, she had clearly decided it was time for the tension to be released.

You were lucky the case had taken so much out of the team, neither of you thinking too much of the little double bed you were stuck in, just skipping through the shower and crawling under the questionable sheets. Spencer was asleep by the time you got into bed, and you were quite grateful he didn’t have to witness the sight of you shivering in the skimpy Bambi pajamas that should’ve been thrown away ages ago. How were you to know on the night you’d be there it would all of a sudden be cold? Basically, the sleeping arrangement wasn’t all that encouraging to sleep, you were cold, in the bed with someone you found alarmingly attractive that just so happened to hate you, and being in said bed with him meant you had to leave your comfort stuffed animal in your go bag.

You were careful when you rolled over, knowing you’d be much closer to Spencer than you should be, balled up still, holding an extra pillow against your chest and the neon sign just across the street made for good lighting in the supposed to be dark room. He was much prettier like this, you decided, quiet and unconscious, perfect to look at without being met with some dismissing comment or gesture that you’d replay for the rest of the day. Like this you could appreciate the little dimple that dipped right beside his lips even when he wasn’t smiling, or the little beauty marks you wouldn’t see if you weren’t looking for them, or the fact that his hair smelled like pomegranate- you were always sure it was something fruity, never sure which fruit but now you knew, you’d think about him every time you smelled pomegranate.

Your head dipped further into the pillow when he moved, sighed as if something interesting was happening in his head even asleep, of course it would, his hair fell over his eyes, and you had to clutch the pillow tighter to stop yourself from reaching forward and moving the hair away from distorting your view. You wondered as you wondered before what had made him so very set in his distain for you, you’d been very encouraging of all his quirks and habits, in fact you thought they accommodated your own surprisingly well. Yet he’s been acting a proper nightmare since Hotch reassigned the two of you to the same car, as if all of a sudden, your very existence was a thorn in his side and you wished you could remove yourself for his sake but Hotch was adamantly against the paperwork of it all.

“Why do you hate me, Spencer Reid?” you sighed, the question too quiet for even you to hear but you had to put it out there for even a second, shifting into the little cocoon you’d created by tucking the blanket under your bum and around your feet, but you were interrupted. Spencer was still moving, another sigh, much less dreamy this time as he tried to tug on the blanket, probably just as cold as you were, one more tug and you realized he was trying to pull it away from where it was tucked under you, his eyes opened with a disgruntled question.

“Y/n?” it sounded like a mixture of surprise and realization, like he’d somehow forgotten you were there in the first place, or like he’d assumed you’d find some other sleeping arrangements after your shower- you’d tried, Emily wasn’t fond of sharing or rather wasn’t fond of kicking you off the bed through the night and JJ was stuck in a single bed, not like you’d ask Derek or Hotch though the thought had definitely crossed your mind.

“Sorry,” you whispered almost on instinct, moving forward completely accidentally and his tired gaze focussed instantly. “Sorry,” you whispered again, and when you allowed him to take more of the blanket his hand brushed over your shoulder. The shiver it created was both due to the sudden touch and the sudden warmth. “Sorry,” you tried to move back, save him from the cold of your skin.

“You’re freezing,” he noted, and you wanted to explain yourself, apologetic even for your own disdain of the weather but he didn’t give you much time, gently stealing the pillow from your grip and chucking it across the room, silencing your indistinct questions by pulling you against him. “I was waiting for you to get out of the shower and I must've fallen asleep," he explained, and you didn’t know what to do with yourself when he gently guided your head to rest against his chest, on his pillow, in fact, you were sure this was some sleep-deprived hallucination that you’d have to scorn yourself for conjuring. “I assumed that you hadn’t packed for the cold even though I always tell you to.”

“It was supposed to be sunny,” you argued, and he scoffed a soft sound, you felt it against your ear, and you didn’t know what to do about that either. He dragged a finger up your arm, flicked the frilly pink sleeve of your shirt, and shook his head, you felt that too. In fact, you could feel him breathing, could feel his pulse right through his long-sleeved shirt.

“I told you it wouldn’t be,” he fought, and you had to see him, couldn’t let him scorn you with your face buried between his pecks, so you tilted your head back, trying to ignore that it forced your bodies to shift closer somehow.

“And you know more than the weathermen now?” he shrugged, and the roll of your eyes was the closest you’d ever come to taking him on for his attitude towards you, it was also his signal that you were done so he tightened his hold, fighting a smirk when you didn’t fight him. He was warm, impossibly warm considering the room, you wished you could steal every ounce of warmth right from him, and the hand that slid up his arm under his sleeve to wrap around his wrist had a mind of its own and you’d be embarrassed were you not so desperate. “Sorry,” you realized but he stopped you before you could pull away, fingers circling your arm to keep you still.

“Stop apologizing,” his tone was odd, you couldn’t read it, you could rarely read him to begin with but enough to know just how far to stay away from him that day, but this was new, rushed, forced, like he didn’t think it through which isn’t a characteristic the man holds. “I don’t mind, I don’t want you to be cold,” he explained and he made it sound just as logical as one of the little facts he’d share with the team, as if cuddling someone you disliked was entirely logical as well.

“Why not?”

“What do you mean, why not? Why would I want you to be cold?” why on earth was that such a silly thing to expect of him, you shrugged, you didn’t know what to say, like you’d ever for a second considered that the man cared enough to even think about what you feel let alone care about how you feel. “I don’t want you to be cold,” he was softer when he repeated it and the grip he had turned to something so soft there wasn’t even a word for it, like he’d realized what he was doing and in a second it became less about keeping you warm and more just about keeping you in his arms. “I care about you, why wouldn’t I care about you being cold,” Your thumb brushed up and down his skin, too comfortable.

“You care about me?”  he’d never admit to anyone, let alone himself how much it pained him to hear the surprise in your voice, the genuine disbelieve you’d feel towards such a simple statement, such an obvious declaration, you were his partner, his teammate, his friend, his- well you were someone he cared about, and he’d made a proper mess of things if you thought otherwise.

“Well, I sure as hell don’t hate you,” you bit your lip, of course he’d heard that, even in his sleep he’s a proper pain in the behind, hear all, know all. “It’s late,” he decided even though he had no clue of what the time was, he just couldn’t talk about this anymore. “We’ve had a long day, you should get some sleep.”

“Spencer." Why you wanted to explain yourself you didn’t know, it’s not like he hadn’t given you copious amounts of evidence proving he disliked you, so why would he expect you'd thought he felt anything else. “I’m sorry,” he scoffed, squeezing you lightly.

“Stop apologizing to me,” his chin rested on the top of your head, the most foreign feeling yet it came so naturally to him, just like leaning into him felt natural to you, like your bodies knew what to do when your minds didn’t. “Get some sleep,” he relished in the feeling of you melting into him, like he was giving you permission to do so. “I’ll keep you warm,” and he did, even when he’d convinced himself to fall asleep, he was sure to keep an arm around you in whatever position you’d shifted to, to keep you warm, only to keep you warm- even when the sun came up, even when the cold fled the room. In the morning he’d wonder when the cold had fled from his heart.  

[cupcakewebkinz]

Replacement.

𖤐 Woo Kai tries angst again lol (it sucks probably sorry) ahem anyways- Shelly's first meeting with Vivi didn't go over so well, I'm sure you know why. They both leave the encounter feeling horrible, but at least they have happier lives in the future right? 𖤐

☆ Caretaker Shanon au + Vivi are mine! ☆

★ @soupiestzilla tell me how horrible I did here lol /silly /joking (I hope you enjoy it girl lol) ★

────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────

That day was a horrible day for Shelly, and she definitely was showing it. Her dino nuggets were untouched at her table, her body being curled up in the corner of her sandbox, forehead against the wall. Shut off from the world, eyes red from sobbing all day, body trembling from exhaustion. She didn't even flinch when the museum doors opened, she just assumed it was Shanon coming back to try to make her eat something, or drink something. She didn't want to move, so she didn't even budge. Not until she heard the other person with her gasp in shock anyways.

"Shelly-? "

"Oh... Hey... Version 2... How's it going..?" Shelly quietly uttered, barely wanting to talk to the other, or anyone honestly. The robot cringed hard at how pained and depressed the fossil sounded, but slowly walked over and sat on the side of the sandbox anyways, putting a box of tissues nearby Shelly like it was a peace offering.

An offering Shelly didn't even look at.

"I'm... So sorry, for what happened to uh, your girlfriend. I just... Thought I'd let you know that- even though I'm definitely not her, I'm still right here for you and... Maybe sometime we can, just, talk a bit and be friends, at least? I get it if you don't want to be, I do, I just thought it would be nice to uh- offer some company, ya know?" Vivi- well Vee Version 2 at the time- softly offered. She was obviously trying her best to help Shelly out, obviously concerned about the fossil, but Shelly couldn't make herself believe it.

"I would rather be alone right now, if that's okay." Shelly replied weakly, shifting further away from the other, tail flicking the box of tissues away gently. Version 2 just sighed, crossing her arms a little.

"You know I'm not trying to replace her, right? I'm just-"

"If you want to be my friend, you'd just fucking leave when I ask you to leave." Shelly snarled angrily, annoyed and just, honestly going through the worst pain in her life right now. She wanted to be alone, especially away from the one that literally replaced her girlfriend, she didn't even want to get to know anything about this version. She didn't want to get attached again, to fall in love all over again just for her heart to be ripped to shreds. They promised that Vee would've been right back, that it was just a routine repair, that it was just making sure everything was running right. Shelly gripped her arms tight and accidentally cut herself with her claws, tears and ichor dripping down into the sand yet again.

"Miss Mendez-"

"They lied to me... They lied and I can't trust a thing... I can't... I can't trust anyone..." Shelly cried, spiralling into another meltdown over the entire situation before the other could even leave. The brand new robot just watched in horror, uncertain, unsure of what to do and how to help. So Vee V2 just followed her protocol and went to Shanon, who was bummed out herself and tiredly eating a salad in the employees only room.

"Just Shanon, please."

"Miss Shanon, Miss Fossilian is crying in the sandpit again, I'm also 99.9% certain she had said a swear word at me. I don't blame her but I know I'd be in trouble if I didn't tell you, I'm sorry." Vee V2 softly told the human, making Shanon nod once as she packed up her salad again.

"If you could pretend like you witnessed me scolding her, I'd appreciate it. Shelly... Couldn't take that right now. I'm so sorry she said anything like that to you, we'll talk to her about it when she's better, okay?" Shanon reassured, giving Vivi an exhausted smile as she stood up. The robot didn't move, just watched silently.

"Do you think they'll ever like me like they liked Version One?" Vivi softly asked, making Shanon pause and look at her. She didn't have a genuine answer for her, she really didn't. No other toon has been replaced like this, COULD be replaced like this, so this was a first for everyone. Instead of showing her doubts though, Shanon knealt down and gave the robot a gentle yet firm hug, letting her cling right back to her.

"I'm sure one day they'll appreciate you for who you are, that this will pass and everyone will be okay and love you for you. But right now, they're in a lot of pain, so they don't know how to accept you for you. But I promise, one day- they'll see how much of a great friend you are."

Shanon then let go of Vivi, waved a little goodbye to her, then quickly rushed off to grab Shelly before she did anything too drastic in her mix of rage and sadness. Vivi looked down at herself, then slowly walked to the door of the museum and left without a word. She hoped Shanon was right... That one day they all could be friends... That one day they'd be able to see who she really was.

That day definitely wasn't the day though, definitely not for Shelly at least. She was found curled up, fast asleep, exhausted from her crying fits and meltdowns, tucked away in a hidden corner of the sandbox. Tight in her arms was Vee's favorite plush, the yellow and green stegosaurus Shelly had made just for her, the one she gave to her for Christmas, the one Vee always carried around and showed off to everyone that would listen. Shelly wouldn't let go of it, not for a very very long time.

Shanon didn't dare attempt to move her either, she just gently covered her in a blanket and left a bottle of water nearby and just hoped for the best. Even though she knew that the best was already gone, she wouldn't give up hoping.

Vivi felt the same way, now curled up under her own blanket, hoping that she didn't just ruin everyone's lives for just existing. She wasn't programmed to feel anything- but she definitely felt something that day. She couldn't explain it tho... She did wonder if she belonged though, as Shelly definitely wasn't the only toon to snap at her that day. She tucked herself together closer, closing her eyes as she sniffled. She knew she was not Vee... But she hoped she'd fit in one day.

She didn't want to be just a replacement... She wanted to be loved for who she was, but she wasn't.

She felt like just a replacement for someone so loved, and it hurt. Even though she didn't even know what hurt was... It hurt so bad that day, and nothing could make it any better for either of them.

[phantoms-lair]

Recovery Girl better sleep with one eye open

Continues from here

It took him a bit longer than he wanted to get back to the kids, but he didn't think it would help their peace of mind for him to show back up covered in blood. But he had made absolutely sure Overhaul was not getting up again. The remains were being brought to a crematorium he'd bribed for disposal purposes. Not even enough left for a Pit to revive. He was glad to see several of his men still there, on the outside and more in the interior.

They were guarding the kids. Good.

Eri had fresh bandages, and they were placed locally, rather that covering half her arms and legs. it seemed her injuries were more on her wrists and elbows. Her legs were bare, showing old scarring and not fresh wounds. Maybe an incentive not to run? Hood regretted not killing Overhaul more slowly.

The boy had his gloves off and his hands were mangled. "Did Overhaul do that to you?" Hood growled.

Deku shook his head. "No sir." he answered in English. Jason mentally kicked himself for forgetting to talk to the kid in his own language. "My quirk used to break me. It still does if I push it too far. Eri's power in the only reason I was able to use so much and not be injured." He smiled brightly at the small girl next to her."

"Your own power did that you?" Dr. Thompkins asked softly.

"Yeah," Deku ducked his head. "I'm sorry and I'll try to be a lot better about it. I have gotten better, it's just Overhaul was so overwhelming, if I didn't go all out I would have died and Eri would have died, and I'm not being reckless, really I promise I'm doing my best." Try as he did to hold them back, tears sprang unbidden from his eyes.

Eri reached over and hugged him, looking warily between Hood and Leslie. Right, she probably didn't speak English and had no clue what was happening.

"Hey, Kiddo, breathe." Hood used his gentlest victim voice. "You did good. You saved Eri. You were no more reckless than anyone else who puts on a costume, got it?"

"I'm sorry, I really am trying." He wrapped his arms around Eri, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"Who said you weren't trying." Hood said, keeping his tone light, but the moment the words left his mouth they suddenly felt heavier. Because that was it, wasn't it. Kid had had a major victory tonight, even if Hood had dealt the finishing blow, but rather than celebrate like the Titan would have his first instinct was to plead that he's done his best and was putting effort into what he was doing. Someone had told this kid he wasn't good enough. Frequently.

"Well it's true, isn't it? I need to be better. Aizawza-sensei said my not being able to control my quirk is an excuse and I need to be better. And Recovery Girl, our school nurse (she's got a quirk that can fast heal anyone's injuries just by kissing them, it's so cool), got so fed up with me she said she wouldn't heal me anymore if I hurt myself with my quirk."

"She said WHAT!"

Hood had thought he'd seen all the different flavors or tired, overly annoyed, and frustrated Dr. Thompkins had. He'd not seen this one before. He could see her pupils constrict, her breathing quicken, and suddenly wanted nothing more than to get out of her way.

"She said her healing me was enabling me in being reckless, so she wouldn't be a part of it anymore." Deku said softly, as if he was ashamed and not the so-called nurse.

"Did she offer you any resources to help you?" Leslie pressed.

"Resources?" Deku looked confused.

Leslie exhaled deeply. "Hood, Eri has been very sheltered and her immune system is not used to Gotham. I know you center around Crime Alley, but if you have any safe houses in upper middle class areas or better yet out of Gotham, that would be preferably till she recovers more fully." Leslie than switched to Spanish. "And when you find a way back to where ever they're from, let me know."

"What makes you think I'm letting either of them go back?" Hood responded in kind, once he confirmed Deku didn't seem to understand what she had said.

"They're not. I am." Dr. Thompkins was resolute. "I have a 'school nurse' I need to have some words with."

[ginevrapng]

you're making adomordica today and you're dreading it. all thanks to your boyfriend. he's been bugging you all week about how you'll only be able to smell him and the classroom will be filled with his scent. he's been grinning at the idea that slughorn might call you up and ask you what you smell. you've debated on feigning ignorance and naming a scent that isn't his. of course it's james' lucky day as slughorn does call on you, you think about lying about what you smell to see james' reaction but you couldn't bring yourself to do that to him. he knows you'd be joking and make you tell him the truth later on but but other people in the class wouldn't but god is it annoying when slughorn calls you to the front and you reply with, "petrichor, pine and broom polish."

as soon as the class is dismissed james comes bouncing over to your desk, beaming, "i wonder who smells like that love?" you fling your bag over your shoulder and roll your eyes.

"i dunno pretty sure it's sirius though," you say while walking away.

"hey!" james catches up with you with a pout on his face. "s' not funny sweetheart." he throws his arm over your shoulder, the other dramatically over his forehead like he's in pain.

"you're right james, it wasn't funny. it was hilarious." you flick his cheek and grin, "that's what you get for teasing me all week, two can play at that game. anyway... what did you smell, huh?" you ask expecting to hear you but you don't.

"you can't tell anyone but i think i smelled snivellus' greasy hair or somethin'" he whispers to you. you burst out laughing and nearly have to stop in the corridor because you can barely concentrate on walking after listening to james.

james' heart bursts with joy when he hears you laughter and your pretty smile knowing that he's caused it.

[flowersforthemachines]

Ghilasara Codex: Day 6 - Letters between two of your OC’s companions about them

Masterpost of all Ghilasara codex entries can be found HERE.

[written in 09:56, one month before Rook’s 35th birthday]

Letter delivered to the Weisshaupt Fortress 

Bel, 

I wanted to drop by to give you an update in person, but I’m afraid Rook can catch on that something’s up. Letter’s safer. Don’t want the surprise to fall through right before the finish line, right?

Taash and Lace are good for the party, so is Emmrich. Checked in with Lucanis — they seem to be in the “on” part of their on-and-off (hope that sticks), and haven’t seen each other in a bit, so him just being there will already be a good surprise. Not to mention the gifts. He also said we should invite Illario. Not sure that’s such a good idea, but I trust him more than myself on that one.                         

The venue’s ready for us, too. I booked it for three days — celebrating Rook’s name day on the day of would be ideal, but I thought we need to have some back-up dates to account for her schedule. Just in case.  

Let me know how things are looking up with Rook and if she suspects anything. Don’t worry even if she does — I’ll think of a diversion. Just need a heads-up.  

Neve

Letter delivered to Threads headquarters in Docktown

I am Neve Gallus’s woman on the inside. Can’t believe it! 

(Know you still hate the flattery. Just couldn’t resist. Sorry!)

Don’t think Rook knows anything. Or suspects anything. She’s busy lately. Not busier than usual. But her usual is already pretty bad, so that’s not saying much.

Did a test run with Antoine the other day to see if we could pull her out of Weisshaupt on short notice — she didn’t protest much, so there’s hope. Also working with Evka and the others to make sure she can get a proper day-off for the party. Don’t think it’s going to be a problem to get her out on the name day. Unless something happens. So let’s hope it won’t!

I know she’ll be happy to see everyone. It’s been a while. Checked in with her about Lucanis just to make sure things are good from her side. She said they are! And I think Illario’s a good call. Saw him at Weisshaupt just the other week, actually. He and Rook seem to be getting along. In their own Rook-and-Illario way. 

So excited about the party! Will be good to see Rook smile. Hope that will distract her from the First Warden things. At least for one day. 

I’ll keep you posted!

Bellara

[front-facing-pokemon]

[serickswrites]

Right?

Warnings: destruction, violence, explosions, fear

Superhero couldn't believe what they were seeing. They had arrived fully expecting an all out fight to be threatening the city. They had expected Sidekick to struggle with keeping the villains at bay until Superhero arrived.

They could not have been more wrong.

One crumbled building still burnt nearby. Trees had been broken and flattened around an epicenter of what had likely been a massive explosion. The villains had been defeated thoroughly. Sidekick stood in the center, a massive grin on their face.

"Superhero!" They called excitedly. "I did good, right?"

Superhero looked around the destruction. No civilian casualties. Only buildings destroyed. Those could be rebuilt. "Yeah, you did great," Superhero said, trying to ignore the panic that was filling them. Sidekick was still coming into their power, they were still weak. And they had leveled a city block in under fifteen minutes. What were they going to grow into?

Tags: @mousepaw @jumpywhumpywriter @knightinbatteredarmor @hufflepuffwritingstuff2 @anightmarishwhump

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @celestialsoyeon @st0rmm @ay5ksal @pedro-pedro-pedro-pedro-pe

@pepeniascat

[mushroombo]

So I called up the captain: "Please bring me my wine," And he said: "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969."

Hotel California - The Eagles

close ups! my wrist hurts. I started this when I finished Turnabout Succession in the aj:aa trilogy, easily one of my most replayed cases after Farewell, My Turnabout. also, aj:aa is also the strongest main series ace attorney entry after aa1 and i wont be taking criticism. also rip quality, i refuse to use a smaller canvas sorry

in game screenshots used in the background belong to Capcom, modified by me :)

[anotherferalrat]

LINK CLICK BRIDON ARC SPOILERS AHEAD

I DONT WANNA HEAR NONE OF YALL BEING MEAN TO EITHER OF MY SONS EVER AGAIN AND I NVR WANNA HEAR EARTHQUAKE ARC DISCOURSE EVR AGAIN

LOOK

DOES CHENG XIAOSHI NOT LISTEN TO LU GUANG SOMETIMES? YEA. DOES IT SOMETIMES (ALL THE TIME) GET HIM IN A PICKLE? YEA.

BUT DO U SEE LU GUANG BLAMING HIM? NO. BC HE UNDERSTANDS WHO HE IS. AND HE WILL NOT CHANGE THAT.

Bc he loves his self sacrificial lil idiot (he's one too)🫶

[fictionalsownme]

More Than A Woman | wilford warfstache x gn!viewer / reader |

chapter one - "I've known you very well"

A/N: hi everyone!! I'm so excited to post this! Usually I spend a long time on the stuff I write but I wrote a good chunk of this in a feverish burst haha, I've been wanting to write for Wil and had such a clear idea of how I see him in my head for so long :)) This fic will probably be around 10 chapters~ish and progress will probably be a little slow but I'm also trying to get faster at my writing so I guess we'll see! Getting it down is always the hardest, then you spend a bit of time hating it, then the fixing can start! Anyway, I hope you guys like this, I love this dorky weirdo a lot for whatever reason, and I'd love to write for other egos too :) ((there might be a guest appearance or two in here in the last few chapters if plans don't change 👀)) hope you guys enjoy the first chapter at least! lmk 🥰! word count: 2.9k notes: reader is gender-neutral, similar to all of mark's stuff :) -- the title is just after the song! no pronouns or descriptors are used other than the occasional they/them. reader is the viewer (& district attorney) from wkm, adwm, ahwm, iswm, etc, but that won't come up until later. wmlw wilford. story will be mostly fluff, some hurt/comfort & angst, lots of romance and flirting! story is adapted from an idea I had for my self insert. we will get into some lore stuff (or at least my understanding of the lore 👀) and filling in gaps with headcannons, but it's mostly about wilford & reader and I'll try to explain as we go so don't worry about it too much if you don't know all of it. especially since I don't know if my understanding is always 100% accurate 👉👈 let's have fun yall! 💞

masterlist | AO3

The music playing softly over the convenience store speakers was pleasant, if slightly boring. Like elevator music— there only to help ease the passing of time. Your night shift would end soon, and the sky could be seen as it lightened more every minute through the windowed front of the building.

Other than that, the old store was quiet. Dusty. Pink and orange neon strips lined the walls near the ceiling. They overpowered the dated fluorescent lights, casting everything in a slightly peach haze. Like a dream. 

Different sections of the store were marked with neon too, the letters glowed against the wall denoting the drinks, the snacks, the hot food… You liked your little store. Even if the unyielding isolation of your work made you a bit… complacent. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d truly talked with someone.

The ice creams chilled your fingers through the wrappers as you pulled them from their box and slotted them into place. Even with the cold air of the freezer wafting over you, you could smell the cool summer air coming in the sliding front doors.

You liked to prop them open on dawns like these. The convenience store lights did draw in the occasional pestering bug, but they usually found their way out again before long. You did get a bat once. Albeit a little crazed and frantic, you were surprised to find it harmless. Maybe a little lost. Now that thing seemed like it would never leave. 

Refocusing on your task, you brushed your condensation-soaked fingers on your work apron, tied tight behind your neck and around your back, and shut the freezer door. 

The motion alert chimed a pleasant tune through the staticky old speakers as a customer entered the open doors from the street.

You called an automatic, “Welcome in~,” and went about straightening a shelf of snack bars and chocolate. You didn’t bother to look in their direction as you heard them make their way through the aisles.

“Pardon me,” said their strange, nearly British accent from beside you now. You turned to the source of the voice, the man who’d just walked in, and your eyes went to his outfit first. 

A silky-- almost sparkly in how it caught the light-- lavender shirt with mismatched buttons revealed expanses of his bare chest. It was paired with white bell-bottoms and a fake pink afro hanging half-off his head, about to fall off. He had olive skin and dark hair-- nearly black--, fluffy and sticking up every which way like hands had been running through it. Scruffy facial hair framed a thick mustache that tinted slightly pink where it turned up at the ends.

He looked… honestly, he looked ridiculous. But the 70s getup was fun, you supposed. And his eyes-- dark brown and monolid-- were handsome. Underneath all the… extra mess. You blinked, slowly, in a way that felt like waking up.

“Uh, hi. Are you coming from a costume party or something?” It was August, but you supposed it was never too early to start the spooky season. 

“Oh! Do you know of one? I do love a good costume. But no. Just the regular-sort. Just woke up from one.” He scanned the products near his head, grabbed a protein bar, sniffed the wrapper, guffawed, and put it back.

“You just woke up? Are you alright?”

“Oh, worry not, friend, this is normal for my level of reverie! I’m not even hungover!” He laughed, his hands going to his hips.

You stared at him.

“I was just looking for something to gnaw on! To nourish myself before I’m on my way.” His eyes were still traveling all over, not really seeing you.

Now in theory, a strange man coming in at this hour, acting even stranger, with his clothes disheveled? You knew you should be on your way to your safe space behind the counter to get him checked out and exiting the store as fast as possible. But there was something about him… 

Something you couldn’t place…

Instead you raised your eyebrows and relaxed against the cooler door. “Uh, I guess that depends on what kind of food you like,” You offered. After a moment, his gaze landed on you and he seemed to finally take you in. Your uniform, your crossed arms, your patient expression, your features. His face scrunched into confusion.

A moment passed, staring at each other like that. “Your shirt’s looking a little rough, you know.”

“Have we met, friend?” He asked as he began to fix his buttons. 

You watched passively as more of his chest came into view. He either didn’t notice or didn’t mind your blatant staring. You weren’t sure why you were staring, or what you were feeling as you did so. 

You weren’t gawking at his abs or anything-- well,-- not that he didn’t have abs. He did, sort of. The expanse of his chest and abdomen were tight with toned muscle. He definitely wasn’t lacking abs, anyway. Either way… this was about something different. 

You wondered for a moment if a vague familiarity was what you were picking up on, but quickly dismissed it.

“I feel like I’d remember meeting you.” 

You realized with a start that your comment could be seen as flirtatious, and added quickly, “Just, you know-- generally.”

But he just hummed and spun on his heels, turning away. You sighed and found yourself in-step behind him, hands in your uniform pockets. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

“Well, either way!” He started, his energy returning tenfold. “Let's see what this cute little shop has to eat!” 

For some reason, you asked, “Do you have money?” 

He froze. “Er, no~. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Mind what?”

“Well, spotting me of course! Let’s just say I owe you one, eh friend?”

You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Thought so.” 

Thought so? Maybe you did know him… 

It was your turn to squint in displaced confusion. “What’s your name?”

His voice came from behind you and you spun around, your shoes squeaking on the tile floor. When did he sneak around you? 

He bent over and twirled his hand, a flamboyant bow finally knocking the afro off his head. “Wilford Warfstache, at your service.”

“That’s your name?” 

He righted himself. “For now.” It suited him well enough, but for some reason it sounded misplaced.

… But no, either way, you definitely hadn’t met him before. You didn’t know many people in the first place, let alone someone so eccentric.

Still, you were curious about him. Curious about his personality and who he was. He felt sort of like a puzzle waiting to be solved. And so far, despite his quirks, despite how admittedly weird you’d also been acting, he’d been friendly. You couldn’t say the staring and prodding questions were too in-character for you. At least not when it came to customers. 

His hair looked softer without the wig to weigh it down-- parted at his brow and long enough to fluff over the tips of his ears and end where his neck met his spine. You reached down to scoop the curly mop of synthetic hair up off the floor.

“Where did you get this thing?”

He hummed something like ‘I don’t know’, his eyes sort of wide like a clueless puppy’s. 

“What, you just kind of have it?”

“Yea’p.”

You squinted at him, a smirk forming on your lips. “How about I do you a favor and throw this away?”

He shrugged, hummed an ‘alright’ sound, and turned away. 

“Oh no, I was kidding! God, here--!” You had to grab his wrist to stop him from wandering off further and placed the pink afro in his hand.

You had just been trying to tease him, but now you just felt bad. “Look, Wilford, you want something to eat? We have to throw the hot food out every night. You can have a taquito or a slice of pizza or something if you want.”

Then he was frozen again-- staring down at where your fingers wrapped around his wrist. Your eyes followed his gaze down and then you were staring too.

A moment passed. Then two. Finally, you let go and crossed your arms again, tucking your hands away where they couldn’t embarrass you again.

“... Fuck, I’m sorry. I-I don’t know why I did that.” You did your best to clear your throat.

But he was still stuck there. He blinked a few times and his gaze met your eyes, his brows gathering together. 

“Wh-What did you say your name was, friend?” He seemed so… serious all of sudden. So dire.

You hadn’t mentioned it yet, but told him with a hesitant voice. 

His expression blanked, eyes widening. He brought his arm, the offending afro in tow, to his chest, touching his wrist where you’d held it.

“Oh…” 

You raised your brows and asked softly, “Sorry, do you know me, then?”

“Hm?” And he blinked like his mind was clearing, like he’d forgotten you were there. 

He cleared his throat, smiled-- ear to ear-- his mustache lopsided like a cartoon. “Oh-- nevermind about that! Some food would be lovely, if you don’t mind.”

His eyes were sparkling. 

“Sure. I mean, it’s nothing fancy. Here,” And you walked over towards the front counter. Wilford trailed close behind you-- holding onto the wig in his hands like a school kid holding a lunch box-- his gaze wandering over the store again like he hadn’t seen it the first time.

You arrived at the hot foods section, a glassed-off section of day-old food over heated rods. You shrugged. “If you have a sensitive stomach, maybe don’t,” you started, “but it’s mostly fine to be honest. I eat it if I’m in a pinch, you know.”

You hopped up to sit on the counter, your legs facing Wilford, and leaned back to reach around and grab the tongs waiting there. You straightened and clapped them together twice. You offered him a smile. “What’ll it be, Mr. Warfstache?” Then a quieter, “--that was your last name right?”

“Do you gravitate towards anything yourself?”

“Can’t go wrong with a slice of pizza, I guess. Even here.”

His smile grew sort of soft. “Then that. If you please.”

“You got it.”

You leaned over again and served up the slice of moderately warm and slightly greasy pizza on a brown napkin and passed it off to him. 

“Much obliged.”

You got one for yourself too, and when you righted and your eyes found Wilford again, he was sitting in a retro-style diner chair you’d never seen before-- his feet against the edge of the counter beside you.

You couldn’t help the surprised laughter that choked out of you. “Wha-- where did you even find that?”

The chair teetered on its two legs as he leaned precariously back, tilting his head at your question. The pink wig sat in his lap and you couldn’t help thinking it looked like some weird dog.

“Well, there’s no need to worry! I’m only borrowing it, I’m not a barbarian.”

And you just knew you weren’t getting more of an answer than that.

“So who even are you?” You asked as he took a bite of the pizza, somehow pulling all the cheese right off the top in one piece. He pouted down at the offending mozzarella, slurping it into his mouth and swallowing it. “Do you live around here?”

“Mm. I don’t really live anywhere. Much more the exploring-- ever on the move-- type.”

He was so expressive. It really felt like talking to an old cartoon come-to-life or something. You turned to lean against the side of the glass cover, swinging your legs so your feet rested on the counter, not far from his still against the edge. You weren’t touching at all, but you were surprised at how quickly the two of you fell into a casual-- albeit timidly curious-- rhythm. 

“So what do you do?” And you began to eat too.

He beamed, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes. “I’m an interviewer! Warfstache Tonight, that’s what my show is called! It’s quite a professional endeavor!”

You smiled and hummed around your bite of pizza, impressed. That actually explained a lot. And it suited him nicely enough. “Sounds pretty glamorous.”

“And what about you? You can’t just be a convenience store clerk!” He seemed so affronted by the idea. Crinkling his nose, dropping his voice an octave. “How dreadfully boring.”

You winced. “‘Just a convenience store clerk?’ Ouch, Wilford…” You couldn’t help frowning down at your slice. 

 “Oh! No no, pardon me!” He let the chair fall back to four legs, waving the idea way with a panicked hand. “I only meant that… this isn't what truly stirs your passions, is it? Do you do anything at your leisure? For work or just… something you enjoy?”

You squinted at him. But you didn’t really think he was trying to insult you. And he wasn’t wrong. It just… wasn’t always the most fun when someone pointed it out. Especially like that. 

You sighed, fidgeting as you considered his question. “Not right now… This job keeps me pretty occupied. But you know, it’s not too bad. It keeps me, I don’t know, grounded I guess.”

He thought for a moment, then nodded, taking another bite. “I do hope you get more opportunities soon, then.” He said, surprisingly grounded.

You looked at him. “... Thanks.” And you meant it.

“And… my apologies for the earlier, uh, miswording.”

 “That’s fine… I’d be curious to hear more about your show, though! Have you interviewed anyone interesting or anything?”

A beat. A sort of tiredness settled into his shoulders and he peered up at you. “The odd gold-star guest did wander in from time to time. I’m not sure if my skills were quite deserving of them at the time.”

Was that… shame?

“The truth is, I couldn’t quite live up to the role. I--” He laughed, pained. He cleared his throat. “I’m taking a bit of a break from show business for the moment.”

Ah. So that’s what happened. You offered him a sympathetic smile. “To party? That’s probably why you don’t have any money, Wilford. And why you have to rely on shitty convenience store food?” You held up your greasy napkin like it was evidence.

“Now don’t underestimate the power of a good party! And this food is fine, I’m grateful for it,” He crumpled the now empty napkin and gestured wildly with it. “The truth is I get by just fine. I’m just not sure what else I should be doing.”

You looked out the front windows. The sky was getting lighter. The timer marking the end of your shift would go off any minute.

So maybe that’s why he’d been asking you about your passions. You felt bad for him. He was strange, to be sure. And a little hard to follow. But he was also… sweet. He had a softness about him.

And still… there was that feeling that hadn’t disappeared since meeting him. Like… like your soul recognized him. Maybe not deeply. But distantly. Like you’d met him in a dream. It was a ridiculous notion. Ridiculous didn’t seem beyond his territory.

You turned, legs coming down from the counter once again. You leaned forward, your hand landing at the junction of his shoulder and neck. His silk shirt was soft under your fingers. His eyes jumped up to yours and you looked down at him with a smile. 

“You liked doing your show right? You want to be an interviewer?”

He nodded slowly. His lashes fluttered. 

“Then that’s what you should be doing! You just have to try again!” You shrugged with one shoulder. “It might suck a lot. And you might fail again. But pick yourself back up. Keep going. I’m sure you can do it if you keep at it and think outside the box, you know. Failing only means failing if you stop.”

You leaned back, your hand sliding away. He stared at you.

“That’s what the rest of us do, anyway. Honestly, maybe you should do your show online! You know, livestream it or something. I’m sure you’d find your own way to it.”

Slowly, a smile crept back in, the corners of his eyes creasing. 

“What a wonderful idea…” 

God, his eyes… 

You looked down at your own napkin, laughing a little at yourself. “Wilford, I promise, the advice I just gave you was nothing crazy.”

“Well, perhaps it’s just a little too rare that I get a pick-me-up.”

You hopped down from the counter. “Swing by whenever, I’ll hand them out for free. Though, if you’re always on the move, I guess you’re probably not in town for long, huh?”

He quickly followed your lead and stood, his chair nearly falling in his haste. “Uh— w-well I, I don’t know, I could always… linger for a day or two. Hard to say really.” 

“Uh huh.” You smirked at him, raising your brows. “Well, if that constant partying you have going on brings you back here, feel free stop in, okay? … It’d be nice to have someone in here every once in a while. Well, someone friendly, anyway.” 

“Right. Will do. Of course.”

You gave him two solid pats on the chest and turned to throw the napkins away behind the counter. When you turned to face him again, he was gone.  Only slightly confused, you quickly recovered and yelled a quick, “bye~!” to the now empty store.

[lunasilvis]

Currently done with grown-ups renouncing or deciding not to communicate their problems and stumbling points by avoiding the hard parts – especially when it’s replaced by exiting via easy ways out, suiting their styles and energy best.

Holy damn, I get that this modern world teaches us that nobody is entitled to our words and explanations. That we firstly should preserve ourselves, protect our own peace, before looking after another. I agree with it- until the point when it involves a bond both people are clearly invested in, repeatedly have showed up for one another in the past, for better or worse. Wouldn't trip over it if it involved casual friendships. So it crosses a line to me when it gets to the point where you know that your actions (and inactions), absence of communication and willingness to mend by talking are affecting someone else's well-being.

Yes, I get it too that life is hectic as it is - it yanks & tugs at us from all directions and drains our capacity to communicate. So many things require our attention and energy already, so I resonate too when said "communication is easier in theory".

However, it's really not cool to be left hanging mid-air, spend the remainder of your time guessing about whether or not there's any unspoken full disclosure.

It is not ok to pop up out of the blue over something ridiculous and questionable, avoid a knotty problem, then right before a specific date, back out again. To both, how is that fair? How could this ever gratify?