#also that project amanda idea

[clockworkcheetah]

i have serious brotzman siblings brainworms rn

[glass-noodle]

What would a role reversed merman AU scenario be like? And most impotant, what kind of fish species would Hank be? (Not meant as a drawing request or super elaborate essay or anything, I just love reading your ideas ✨️)

I know you said this isn't a drawing/essay request but HOW COULD I RESIST!!!

I am not a fish expert but I like to think of Hank being either a dwarf gourami (for that good ol' in-game symbolism hehe) or a tiger shark, because stripes and big teeth and bad temper. Or maybe he could be some sort of tropical fish that's super vibrant and colourful, yet also deadly (poisonous fin spikes?). Marine biologists please weigh in!!!

Some half-formed unofficial notes:

Hank is more outwardly aggressive towards Kamski and the scientists in comparison to Connor’s cold-shoulder approach. They went through their entire tranquilizer supply in the first few months just to get a handle on the roaring, thrashing beast of a merman, and he’s caused more than a few major injuries amongst their team. Just like Connor, he bares his teeth and resists every time they come to take him for experiments; they have to sedate him from a greater distance and with a much heavier dose than they use for Connor, however.

Hank is a little less malnourished than Connor, but only because he doesn't refuse to eat. He's still thinner and weaker than he would be normally

Connor works the night shift. Not sure if it’s because he has another job during the daytime or if he’s going to school, but either way he manages to catch up on sleep during his breaks. He sacrifices this sleep once he and Hank start growing closer, however.

Hank takes much longer to warm up to Connor than the reverse. He snarls and snaps his teeth whenever Connor gets too close; it takes weeks for Connor to be able to approach the edge of the tank. He has to leave the fresh fish on the deck and back away before Hank will even look at it, ice-blue eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Connor is a bit more hesitant to get close to Hank, but that's only because he's always taken his job seriously and he doesn't like breaking the rules. He can't help but stare in awe whenever the large merman swims by, however, vibrant fins flashing and his muscled body cutting powerfully through the water. It's only when Connor starts noticing the scientists taking Hank away - and his glimpses of Hank's violent resistance - that his curiosity and empathy override his sense of obedience and his desire to make a good first impression.

Because Hank doesn't talk, Connor is given even more of an opportunity than usual to run his mouth. He blabbers away, asking question after question as if Hank could answer, sometimes philosophizing and sometimes talking about nothing at all. Hank tries to tune him out as he eats, but the human is annoyingly persistent. Eventually he grows used to the babble, but only after he starts begrudgingly warming up to the kid.

Because Connor talks so damn much, it's alarming when he goes quiet. Hank initiates contact for the first time by taking off his glasses when he has his breakdown. It's the first time Hank has ever been so close to him.

I think that Hank would still have lost Cole when he was a baby mer; possibly to humans and their trapping practices, giving him even more of a reason to hate them. I'm torn on what Connor's backstory should be, though. Perhaps he lost Nines (to an ocean storm?)? Or maybe it’s post-fight with Amanda and he’s feeling directionless in life, suffocating under the weight of his family’s expectations and feeling like he’s a burden and a disappointment despite everything that he’s achieved? Maybe it’s just a good ol’ panic attack because I love forcing anxiety onto human!Connor (no I’m not projecting what do u mean)

Hank's power and girth take on a whole new light after they’ve grown close. Connor is more distracted during their time together, his stream of chatter faltering uncharacteristically whenever Hank shifts a certain way or rips into a fish easily with his powerful jaws. He swallows when he imagines the full strength of the merman pressing him down against the deck, of Hank dragging him into the water and grazing those razor-sharp teeth along his skin, tail wrapped around his body like a serpent and trapping him in place.

Hank could hold the skinny human down with one hand. He knows he could. He imagines wide dark eyes staring up at him, skin flushed prettily and neat brown hair dripping, wordless for once in his life, and nearly loses his self-control. If they were both mermen, he'd be courting the kid to the ends of the ocean. Or...maybe Connor would be the one wooing him. He's certainly brought him enough fish and stared at his chest and arms enough that any merperson worth their salt would consider it mate-like behaviour. It's a weird cognitive dissonance to be feeling this way about a human, but Connor is — Connor is different. Hank likes Connor; he likes him so much that it's stupid.

[mandycore420]

my opinion on every saw ship i can remember off the top of my head (that nobody asked for)

chainshipping: the thing that got me hooked you really don't even have to get crazy about interpreting anything to reach the conclusion that lawrence is a repressed bi/gay man and then the embrace at the end it's not even a stretch id call it semi canon atp i love it there is so much potential for fluff for angst they can be apprentices together they can feel super guilty over what happened they're two polar opposites attracting the possibilities are endless top tier ship

shotgunshipping: the way their scenes are filmed is crazy there was no need for all that moaning and yet they delivered i think theres potential with the drug use, similarly to chainshipping one of them is poor on the margins of society and the other is a well off doctor so again opposites attracting, you can have lynn caring for and seeing potential in amanda to be a better person trying to pull her out of the jigsaw life you can have amanda try to pull lynn into the jigsaw life, and also theyre incredibly hot together so thats another point in favour

coffinshipping: it was an acquired taste but now they have infested my mind people have written essays on the coffin trap i think it will take a doctoral dissertation to get to the bottom of their fucked up cat and mouse game i should probably reread doztoevsky's entire catalogue now

pintshipping: i dont care for successful woman x pathetic failman but theyre nice them collapsing side by side but still surviving bc of eventual team work is cute

piranhashipping: it's a little crack idea i get every time i watch that scene because "that was even smoother in fact that was downright slick" exchange is sooo funny their faces are diabolical but otherwise i dont see it its goofy :3

john/amanda: ew get away from me disgusting saw 3 does have this element of her being super jealous over him which is kind of peak 2000s jealous girlfriend but theres room for interpretation and i choose to interpret it as far away from that as possible especially after saw x its pretty clear he is a father figure and a teacher maybe even a thought/cult leader type of figure to her so yeah

john/jill: first time im saying this about a straight couple but i wish we saw more of their past and i read a post about john building the coffin for jill and i forgot what their explanation was but the idea of the coffin being this romantic thing for both ships it makes me smile i dont think jill could be a full on apprentice but i think it would be cute if she knew all about the games and just tolerated them like you would tolerate your partner's funko pop collection shes leaving for work and gives john a little kiss while he's screwing together some contraption

hoffrigg: underrated i really like rigg he was the first victim of hoffman's weird way of saying "i love you" (putting your beloved in harm's way) hoffman trying to make him into an apprentice and "feel what i feel" there's definitely potential there BUT i feel if i started imagining a narrative with them they couldn't be endgame i think strahm would homewreck their shit every time

hoffdon/3dshipping: i think hoffman is sitting in that bathroom full of regrets he hasn't met gordon earlier since rigg failed his test and strahm got too close to the sun i think gordon would've been the next victim of his weird psychosexual games but alas the movie is bad and they have a minute and a half of interacting where larry just gets to be super cunty evil and reminisce about adam so i dont think he's on the same page

amanda/gabriella: i really like how amanda cares for her bc she sees her past in her and stuff wish they had more conversations it's a nice concept

amanda/laura: also a nice concept i love seeing amanda care for the victims but theres like 2 minutes of them interacting

strahm/perez: i think they work as exes who remain friends i kinda project me and my guy best friend on them so i don't really ship them but i can see why people would

adam/hoffman (pipeshipping?): i just don't care for the "characters who have never interacted" ships i need something to bite into and also adam would be an acab type of guy

adam/strahm: same as above BUT i kinda want to write them be ghost friends or whatever and also the concept of strahm shooting adam in the alternate saw 4 concept is delicious

adam/amanda: they're kittens from the same litter but at the same time she's way too cool for him

[sphaxcca]

My Candy Love New Gen ep. 4 Review

Here I am after finishing the last episode of MCL New Gen ready to give my honest and unasked opinion about it. Fasten your seatbelts cause we are about to start and i'm not gonna be gentle

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT...

So the episode opens with Elenda who's basically trying to drag us so bad to the Cosey Bear because apparently Castiel was serving there ( No judgement toward Elenda, i wanted to see my husband too). Unfortunately for me and her, he already had left when we showed up to the Cafe. >3>.

Seeing Lynn animated was so cute and a little bit nostalgic but nothing compared to the GASP I emitted when she started talking to Thomas and he told her he was in love with her. GEEEEZ, now i get why that kid was a pain in the ass and RUINED my pic-nic date with Tomato head, THE DOTS CONNECTED. Btw it was a very cute scene and a tribute to Iris that I hope she will show up in Thomas' route.

Moving on, inspired by Thomas' love confession, everybody starts talking about their love life (expected since the episode's name is hearts looking for love). And this is where things went horribly cringe and outrageous: Ofc i'm not talking about Elenda and Devon ( It was cute to know that she had a crush on Devon and, about him, a little peak to where the story is possibly going to lead - a busy man that works his ass off so bad for Devenementiel and has no time to date)or Amanda but about ROY and BRUNE.

Hoooooly shit, the chill of second hand embarassment that I got just by reading the interractions between these two was undescribable I swear( Elenda became basically my guide spirit: her reaction was the same i had. ). Everything was so outofcontext and nonsense that I'm actually wondering why Beemov decided it was a great idea to give space to something so....childish? I mean, we're talking about (almost) 30yo people.. and they got together because they were...desperate??????? - "Yeah with my exes things weren't doing good so we decided to date even tho we don't talk, don't touch and fell uncomfortable with each other" - COOOME ON, BFR, you guys ok? Also, I really hope that we're gonna discover something deeper about Roy (or that he's going to get a development at least) that makes him more that what i can pick up and feel from him right now: childish Gymrat fixed on pool that give us nothing. I'm genuine deluded about the way they handled this.

Moving on to JASON PART. He basically shows up when we're still talking sitted by the table. I was obviously expecting the part where he was going to be pointed out as a "womanizer" but what I DID NOT EXPECT was the reaction he had when he overhears our conversation: I felt him being sarcastic as usual but at the end i felt he was kinda....hurt??? idk if you get what i mean, he literally said he had REASONS why he doesn't want to be in full term relationship and this opens my mind to an INFINITE AMOUNT OF THEORIES

Connected to what I've read on some theories here, someone said it's because of the condition ( or the pathology) that made his hair go white...

This is a really good point but I genuine think about something else that is connected to this and the SHOCK NUMBER 2: Why Devenementiel hates Jason so much?

Apparently our "proud and superior" man with an incredible fragile ego had PLAGIARIZED the project the would have helped Devon to found Devenementiel and, because of that, he was fired and disqualified by the contest. So...first things first: PIECE OF SHIT. Secondly, I genuine would have never thought about him doing something like this and that's the reason why i don't think he did it because he wanted to but perphaps he WAS PUSHED to do so.

Another theorie said that probably he was helped by a third person that played dirty and suggested him the same project Devon did

And I have to admit that this is something very likely, but stil don't really convince me too much.

We can clearly see that Jason has a lot of money, A LOT, and by the way he has so much money i'm assuming he comes from a family that at least has the same amount of capital he has now. We got told that he was basically working as an employer (if i remember correctly) so why trying to steal something from others if you are satisfied and don't need a job? perhaps because you NEED that first place to REDEEM yourself and PROVE someone wrong at least so that.. THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. That's where his family and the white hair make their part: A Dad Ceo that basically disgraced his Son because he couldn't follow or keep up with the family business or - he wasn't good enough- for the role ( and that's why the white hair, because of the stress) . Another thing that might prove this is the fact that Devon told us that he had "private investors" and...i mean, if you're broke, i don't think you can find them just by snapping your fingers and make them appear in front of you, especially when you get fired and disqualified in a competition. He could have use the "family" name and hi charisma to persuade the investors to help him found Goldreamz. And THIS leads me to the last point: Why no long term relationship? Because his family has to end with him and he's scared of the consequences that a partner can have in his life. This reminded me so much Simon from Bridgerton btw. So yeah...I might be wrong (99%) but i want to think that he's a piece of shit just because he's hurt.

His special scene was normal i guess, i love the way my candy was looking at the instagram photos be like - "i'm just studying the enemy...not doing something wrong..maybe".

In the end i decided to try for the Thomas illustration and nothing to complain about, the scene was genuine one of the most cute one in the game so fare and the ilusstration 10/10 chef's kiss and handshake by the president.

[petercapaldi]

✨ GOMENS FIC RECS ✨

i asked for people's favorite fics and sharing is caring :)

(i included my own recs as well)

feel free to reblog and add more!

❤️ recommended by @oldzhishen ❤️

Crown of Thorns series by irisbleufic (rating G-E)

This series was never intended to be a series as such: I wrote "A Better Place" in the wake of rather accidentally getting to ask a certain question (What are Aziraphale and Crowley doing on the South Downs, anyway?) of both authors within a week of each other back in 2005 and actually getting an answer (Sharing a cottage), thinking it'd just be a happy little one-off. But something curious happened when my Good Omens Exchange 2010 assignment resulted in "The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse." From that point onward, interest in this little 'verse slowly, but steadily picked up momentum, and I kept finding more stories to tell. Some of the characters that appear herein (Phillippa [Pippa] Morrison, the Mouse, Amanda [Mandy] Tomlin, Uriel, Raphael, et al.) first turned up in my one and only attempt at a second-Apocalypse dark mirror universe, A Crown of Stars (AO3 posting of same) and its follow-ups, which predates this series considerably. The two universes parallel each other, but this one is, for our purposes, post novel-canon and set in our reality. That's pretty much what you need to know. Thank you all for continuing to read and also for giving this project life. I'll continue to add stories and ficlets until I run out of ideas or until my heart stops (whichever comes first)! The current existing pieces are complete; the series overall is ongoing on an as-and-when basis, which means that the time between additions may be weeks or months or, in rare instances, up to a year.

Madman and a Fool by loserchildhotpants (rating E)

God considers Crowley's unyielding pining for Aziraphale, his acts during the End of the World, and his very genuine desire to protect Aziraphale, worth rewarding. She can't make him an Angel again, but She can nudge Aziraphale in the right direction. If nothing else, She'd really just like Crowley to stop using Her prayer inbox for endless soliloquies about Aziraphale.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm (rating T)

As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. At first glance, she paid attention to the following: --His clothing was expensive and stylish; --He wore very strange but noticeable cologne; --His relationship to the seat he occupied could only, very loosely, be described as “sitting;” --He looked angry; --He was wearing sunglasses. What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?

A Home at the Beginning of the World by stereobone (rating E)

"Oh," Aziraphale says. "I think Crowley might have moved in with me."

For the Angel Who Has Everything by triedunture (rating E)

Crowley likes giving Aziraphale things. Whatever he wants, actually. Which, happily, includes Crowley himself, as it turns out.

I'm the treasure baby, I'm the prize by stereobone (rating E)

"Are you working for Mrs. Sandwich?" Nina asks. "No," Crowley says. "Well, yes. Well, define 'working'." -- Or, Crowley is very good at faking sex work, as it turns out.

🧡 recommended by @reloha 🧡

let me feel your heartbeat (grow faster, faster) by thehoyden (rating T)

Aziraphale saw him sometimes in all-staff meetings, sitting toward the front but off to the side, lounging against a wall. Even then, he’d had style—wings tipped in gold and face painted with gold flakes in the pattern of the first constellation he designed. He was amazing, and eye-catching, and it was no exaggeration to say that he did not know Aziraphale even existed.

You'll Find Something Waiting (Right There Where You Left It) by PrimalBeatsOurHearts (rating T)

"Lets go in the Garden, "You'll find something waiting" "Right there where you left it" "Lying upside down" ------------ Or What if Crowley was Erased from The Book Of Life?

Moving Forward While Standing Still by Justanothernerdsstuff (rating G)

“Uh, yeah, sure! Thanks,” They replied and walked away, not sure why this specific book was so important to the angry man, but they were £50 richer, so they didn’t really care. Crowley flipped through the book, stalling making the decision to go into the bookshop to confront Muriel. He turned to walk away, stopped, groaned, and stalked his way into the bookshop. *** Crowley finds himself at Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death a month after Aziraphale left to run Heaven, and ends up back at the bookshop, something he never planned to do again.

7 minutes in heaven by waddlesthejoghog (rating T)

"If Crowley and Aziraphale couldn’t figure it out, Muriel would have to take a different approach. It wasn’t enough to put them in the same location. They had to plant some seeds of conversation. They had to come to a conclusion naturally, but with a push." OR Muriel reads every book in the shop, then comes up with a plan to get Aziraphale and Crowley back together.

In the Pocket of the Universe by indieninja92 (rating E)

Immediately after the church scene (and The Slow Zoom of Homosexual Panic), Aziraphale takes Crowley out for dinner in the only place still open in the middle of an air raid. Feelings closely follow.

How to Run a Bookshop by IneffableDoll (rating T)

Muriel has been running Aziraphale’s bookshop ever since his promotion Upward. Mr. Crowley seems intent on sticking around, and Muriel has no idea what to do about that. Then, Muriel stumbles upon a collection of sketchbooks full of a familiar redhead. Did…Aziraphale draw these? Has Mr. Crowley seen them? * (“No. No. Put that back.” “Oh, but isn’t it cute? A little cup with wings! I don’t suppose it can fly like those birds can? I don’t see what a cup needs wings for, really.” “You can’t use that.” “Of course not! These wings are too small for me, and I have my own if I want to get around.” “Wh – okay, first off, you can’t go flying about London. You’ll freak people out, cause a bunch of chaos – actually, you know what, do what you like. Heaven if I care. But don’t touch that mug.” “Is it dangerous?” “…No. But it’s not yours. And it’s not polite to use something that’s not yours. Not very angelic of you.” “Oh! Of course. I knew that.”)

💛 recommended by @cheeekycharchar 💛

Together We're Golden series by Guardian_Rose (rating G-T)

Crowley & Aziraphale move to a small town, into their own little cottage but it's not without its difficulties.

True Disaster by NuriaSchnee (rating E)

After Crowley saves him in 1941, Aziraphale realises he's fallen in love with the demon. Scared this dangerous feeling of his will cause problems to his friend, he tries to break their relationship. However, his plan to push the demon away fails and they end up admitting their feelings to each other. To be able to be together and keep it a secret, Crowley stops time every time they meet. However brilliant this seems at first, it doesn't take long to backfire, opening new wounds and raising more barriers between them.

Nanny Knows Best by DictionaryWrites (rating M)

Being a nanny, that should be simple. Simple. Easy as pie. Crowley wished that were true.

💚 recommended by yours truly 💚

Strange Moons series by racketghost (rating G-E)

“At least they were together for a time,” Crowley says, staring at the lit end of his cigarette, “maybe that’s enough.”

tales from a bookshop by Rizandace (rating T)

Post-season-two. Crowley's moping, Aziraphale wants to fix things, and turns out, there's enough blame to go around. ----- "You're being ridiculous." Crowley very nearly falls over. Like, actually. He very nearly loses balance for no reason at all and tumbles to the sidewalk next to his car. He’s been playing Aziraphale’s voice in his head for weeks, he’s been trying very hard to drown out the sound of it, in fact, and now suddenly, abruptly— “What are you doing here,” is all he can think to say. He whirls around, and there he is. on Crowley’s right, standing there like he’d never left. Where he belongs, Crowley’s mind helpfully supplies. He wishes he could punch himself in the brain, knock the thoughts right on out of there.

Meanwhile the World Goes On by lineslines (rating G)

Crowley looked at him. He was still wearing his suit, there was tartan in it, but it had become polished, the worn edges returned to pristine, boring perfection. He looked prim. Proper. Perhaps this hurt most of all. (Crowley is on earth, Aziraphale is not. Meanwhile the world goes on. Plans, great and possibly ineffable, are set into motion. They are--always, inevitably--drawn back together. Long before reconciliation, long before they can bear it. The only thing they can bear less is staying apart. Oh, and Heaven seems to have misplaced Jesus.)

So You Need To Get Into A.Z. Fell & Co.; Now What? (A Guide For Unfortunate Bookworms) by c4llistrad (rating G)

London’s antique enthusiasts and rare lit nerds alike know that if you’re looking for a specific vintage or antique book, you have a good chance of ending up in A.Z. Fell & Co. as a last resort. And if you’ve ever been in (or are currently in) this predicament, you know how much of an absolute nightmare it is trying to even get in the door. Luckily, this handy guide, the fruit of a months-long collaborative effort to create the perfect formula for gaming the A.Z. Fell system, will tell you everything you need to know, complete with a comprehensive breakdown of what, exactly, the opening hours are. Compiled by pageknight and inky of the Rare Antique Forums.

Like Icarus Before Me by Arokel (rating T)

If Aziraphale were a Good person, a virtuous person, he wouldn’t have taken Crowley’s hand at all. Aziraphale muses on the nature of Goodness, and finally shares those musings with Crowley.

It's Something Like a Corkscrew by Arokel (rating G)

“How do you live with this… this inevitability? This knowledge of what’s to come?”

So let us melt by Arokel (rating G)

Of the two of them, Crowley thinks Aziraphale has held on to more of his faculties than Crowley has, but then again, he is putting off angelic heat like a particularly virtuous furnace.

So Much to be Consoled as to Console by Arokel (rating T)

“What are you,” Crowley drawled, “the patron saint of queer kids?” A series of lost souls over the centuries who prayed, whether they knew it or not, to the Angel Aziraphale.

Factory Settings by Anonymous (rating T)

Crowley gets reinstated as an angel.

such surpassing brightness by bibliocratic (rating G)

The revelation that Aziraphale might have been in love with him for thousands of years is surprising. The fact that literal books have been written on the subject comes as even more of a shock.

knowing this will I reach for you by Aria (rating E)

It wasn't as though his interest in Aziraphale was entirely appropriate. Of course it wasn't bloody appropriate. He was consorting with the Enemy, nothing about it was appropriate.

The Sandford Flower Show by Mussimm (rating E)

Crowley had waited six thousand years, kept it all in check. But this was the slipperiest slope he’d ever set foot on and as soon as he’d indulged in a few discretionary acts of kindness he was falling face first into pining, tumbling into flirting, about to dislocate his knees on the sharp rocks of intimacy. Was this really it? What he had waited six thousand years for? A stupid flower show? Aziraphale wasn’t pulling away from him. Maybe… maybe this time he wouldn’t? Maybe they’d hold hands again. Maybe tonight with a bottle of merlot in them he’d finally work up the courage and just kiss him and he wouldn’t pull away. The very moment he’d thought it he spotted the problem at the flower show.

you knew my name on sight by brinnanza (rating G)

“This wasn’t me, you know,” Crowley says, the words out of his mouth before he’s made the conscious choice to utter them. “Not just the library, but the whole civil war. You know me; I’ve mostly been getting drunk at Bacchanals.” “I know,” says Aziraphale.

The Longest Night series by charlottemadison (rating T-E)

The night the Apocalypse doesn't happen, an angel and a demon share a bus bench on the way home to face their fates. This is the story of their evening spun out line by line, all the little moments that carried them through the night they knew might be their last.

Witness the Fall by Waifine (rating G)

Crowley never talked about his time as an angel. Aziraphale never asked. But when Hell sends Crowley a package containing his most painful memories, it is Aziraphale who is plunged into the nightmare history of when his beloved friend, the angel who had once been Crowley, was hurled from the Heavens into the bowels of Hell.

An Angel who did not so much Fall In Love as Settle Into It Gradually by TheLadyZephyr (rating G)

Crowley was standing in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets, looking a little lost. Aziraphale eyed the distance between them. Five steps. Five steps, and six thousand years, and a battlefield spanning an eternity. The story of the little moments over the millennia that shape an angel’s regard for a demon, and the way he slowly, with great reluctance but inevitable surety, falls in love.

This Soul Outstreaming by Rend_Herring (rating E)

“Why did you come here?” Aziraphale interrupts. “Why do you keep doing this?” All the saving, he means, all the chasing after Aziraphale he does. It can’t only be that he’s not keen to endure a replacement. That can’t be it, not anymore. He’s going to get himself in trouble, and then it’ll be Aziraphale’s fault. Crowley’s mouth shuts with a click. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, reaches for the handle of the fork and taps his fingertips against it before setting his hands in his lap. When he speaks, it’s very soft. “Don’t you know?” he asks. Aziraphale, unnaccustomed to his heart refusing to translate why it throbs with such haste, shakes his head.

a lighthouse (burning) by books-and-omens (rating M)

In good weather, one can see the lighthouse at the Rock from the shore: a dot on the horizon, a distant star flashing red and white and red again. It’s been dark for a fortnight, of course—ever since the incident that every newspaper had breathlessly written about, that the paper-boys on the corners had shouted themselves hoarse over. This is where Aziraphale is headed: it is his duty, after all, to find out what happened, to make sure that the beacon can be safely lit once again. He does not expect Crowley to follow him to the windswept isle, to the lonely lighthouse at what could just as well be the edge of the world. Crowley follows him anyway.

paint the skies by ToEdenandBackAgain (rating G)

“This was one of yours, wasn’t it?” Aziraphale remarks casually, and Crowley feels like the warmth of the room has been sucked into space. A cold, uneasy feeling begins to creep into his gut. One of yours thrown out so casually. One of yours said like he... like he knew “What.”

Good Endings by WyvernQuill (rating T)

A Narrative of Certain Events following the Ending of the World (Except Not Quite), as vaguely hinted at in The Slapdash and Not Very Helpful Prophetic Tidbit of Agnes Nutter, Witch (And Matchmaker.) "Their lives are in horrible, terrible danger that only we can save them from!" Anathema held up the Prophetic Tidbit. "It says so. Right here." Madame Tracy peered at the page. Raised a meaningful eyebrow. "Dearie, as a woman of, well, considerable experience, I really don't think that's what 'the lyttle Deathe' means in this context..." "Huh." Anathema squinted. Flipped the page. Read another bit. "....huh." (Or, alternatively: Eight - give or take - matchmakers trying really, really hard, honest; two clueless ethereal/occult beings mutually pining their endless days away; and one witch, who can't leave well enough alone when it comes to matters of the heart, no matter how many centuries ago she died.)

If We've Got Nothing (We've Got Us) by Kedreeva (rating G)

Two months after the failed apocalypse Aziraphale finds the first dark feather growing in his wings. A story about middle grounds, ineffable plans, and what happens when the world doesn't end.

lit in the darkness by ToEdenandBackAgain (rating M)

Aziraphale returns to Crowley's flat for the night after Armageddon. After all, it's hardly the first time they've shared sleeping arrangements. Or: Times throughout history Crowley and Aziraphale have shared a bed.

💙 recommended by @vonlipwig 💙

Petrichor & Parchment by MrsNoggin (rating E)

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face?

💜 recommended by @darthbreezy 💜

post-professional endeavours by darcylindbergh (rating T)

Retirement is a four-letter word.

💗 recommended by @thegeekyartist 💗

Fire, Bridges, and other Sensible Idioms by KiaraMGrey (rating E)

To: The person who stopped the washer in the middle of my wash cycle and took my clothes out just to wash your own… You are an arsehole! Unfortunately for you, so am I. You can find your wet clothes frozen outside in the snow. If you have any problems with this, come see me in 301. or Aziraphale has a new neighbor, and they certainly don't start off on the right foot.

❤️ recommended by @weiwnxian ❤️

Any Other Name by mostlyanything19 (rating T)

“The Angel of the Eastern Gate.” Crawly grins. “What’s your name, anyway? You never said.” “Oh...” Apologies, Aziraphael almost says, but then he doesn’t. That would be taking things a bit too far. This is still the Enemy. “Aziraphael.” “Aziraphael,” repeats Crawly—or tries to, because halfway through the word he chokes. Quite badly. Or: What if Aziraphale’s name was originally "Aziraphael", in keeping with the conventional spelling and pronunciation of angel names, but because of its divine nature Crowley is physically unable to say it out loud.

[outlastisms]

Sawtism Bag Project Plan

A leather shoulder bag based on the Saw franchise. The vision is basically bloodstains, a bunch of Saw-related charms and/or keychains/badges, plus a shoulder strap with chains on the ends. I am somewhat new to DIY in the realm of modification like this, so this project will probably have a lot of trial and error in some aspects.

The base bag looks like this;

And here's a (rough) idea of what I'm going for;

Evidently I need to get a longer strap and some chains first of all, because I'm not fond of the shoulder bags that don't cross over my body. I've found some of both that look like they suit my needs online so hopefully with some time I'll acquire them gradually. I'm thinking I will try my best to make some natural dyes for the bloodstains but failing that I'll try other mediums. As with the strap and chains, I've already found some charms and keychains/badges I plan on saving for and acquiring gradually. For the inside the florals obviously have got to go; they don't fit the theme of the bag or my sense of style, so away with them it is and I'll try to find a decent replacement when I go to a department store this week with my friend. I'm also thinking of adding spikes but I'm focusing more on the Saw theme - and of course making it an over-the-shoulder bag so I can wear it comfortably - first and worrying about extras like that more towards the end of the project.

The replacement of the lining is, admittedly, the part of this I dread the most because of the amount of hand-sewing it will take as I don't own a sewing machine. Pray for my poor wrists because no god could possibly hear them where they're going.

If anyone would like to plug anything in the way of Saw memorabilia to potentially add to it (keychains, badges, charms), please do send them my way as I'm definitely looking for as many little trinkets and knick-nacks as possible for it. The farther away You can hear me coming from with this thing on the better.

On the subject of the specifics of the types of those things to suggest for this I am mostly looking for the Jigsquad (especially Amanda because she's my favourite by a mile) but I would be lying if I said Brit Stevenson Jill Tuck or maybe a Daniel Matthews wouldn't tempt me so send anything Saw-related!

[theaviatorthatcouldnotfly]

I miss Milo Murphy's Law :(( did you have any Season 3 ideas?

jsbfksjflls I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS ANON YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE-

of course milo and zack getting chased by something big and round in the first episode (maybe some topiary thing because it would be spring)

milo and his new telepathy!! chad feels kinda down and milo gives him a hug and tells him he hopes he feels better soon. joni is uncomfortable in class because it's way too cold and milo gives her a spare jacket. bradley is nervous about not doing well on his math test and milo wishes him good luck and tells him he'll do great. amanda forgets her eraser at home and panics for a second before milo, from across the room, tosses one onto her desk.

(and all the whole everyone's just like ".........how'd you know when I didn't even SAY anything" and milo's all "well, what doesn't kill you on an alien planet only gives you telepathy!" and no one can tell if he's joking or not)

oh and speaking of bradley: an episode where he and milo get trapped in a classroom or just have to spend the entire day together and within the span of 11 minutes of one-on-one interaction with milo he kinda has a "huh. you're not so bad" kinda moment. he even lets milo hug him for an entire 2 seconds at the end!!!!

for the sake of continuity some recurring character/s have their "a big round thing is rolling through the school and it may or may not be caused by my own actions so I need to stop it before things get destroyed!!! also 'just roll with it' is magically playing in the background idk how that happened" subplot

an episode with the kiddos (the entire mid-afternoon snack club group + chad pls) spying on mr drako (chad insisted) to determine whether he really is a vampire. in the end there is still no definitive answer and everyone but chad is tired

i need dakavendish follow-up i need them to be the biggest losers in existence with each other

they absolutely have to call each other "balthazar"and "vinnie" at least once

joshua pruett mentioned that they were playing around with dakavendish being promoted and actually getting opportunities to save the world but they (particularly cavendish) end up hating it. I need that to happen. I NEED IT. the angst potential has entered the room

ZALISSA FOLLOW UP!!!! a bit of awkwardness perhaps bc they are dorks. romantic directness on the same level as S2 milanda please

also more milanda more milanda more milanda im-

another school dance episode!!

zack has to take care of his twin siblings for the day and they want to meet the other two members of the infamous trust triangle so he goes and invites milo and melissa over. chaos ensues and by the the time milo and melissa leave the house the front section of zack's lawn has been burnt to a crisp and the twins have fallen fast asleep even though it's barely 7 in the evening

MEETING YOUR SECOND DIMENSION COUNTERPARTS???? since season 3 was supposed to be directed towards interdimensional stuff??

bonus points if dakavendish is canon in the second dimension

milo goes over to amanda's house to work on a project at one point and amanda already warned her parents about murphy's law and told them to baby proof their most prized possessions. they both end up taking a liking to milo and his positivity while also being slightly terrified of him. by some miracle the project does get finished but not without the typical dose of chaos and fires

an episode dedicated to bradley, mort, chad, and amanda and what they do all day when they're not actually part of the main plot

and more bradley mort chad and amanda in general I just love of all of them

more saneal!! I need them and milo to go to a dr. zone comic con together and dress up and be the gigantic loveable dorks that they are together

doofenshmirtz still needs to continue his professor time arc so he's still gotta be there ofc but give him less screen time than s2 pleaseeee. it's milo murphy's law and at the end of the day the focus should always be coming back to milo, zack, and melissa as well as dakota and cavendish

MORE JUST GETTING STARTED!!!

dakavendish finally gets that trip to hawaii

the murphys go on vacation for spring break and yet again total chaos ensues

more school field trips to the museum

for the sake of middle school shenanigans and continuity another sports-academics thing. I'm coining the term cherography (chess-marathon running-geography) but literally anything would be fine by me

the kids go to a public middle school so the inevitable standardized testing episode must be done

I'd love to see a school talent show or a school play episode (run by amanda and assisted by milo of course)

episode/s where melissa is just trying to go about her day with milo and zack when she suddenly disappears after getting caught up in the newest Time Travel Related plot of the week. zack and milo are confused until suddenly she and savannah reappear out of nowhere to deliver an out of context warning ("DONT GO NEAR THE DUMPSTER" or "GO BUY COTTON CANDY NOT ICE CREAM") before disappearing again to fix things

just more melissa and BOTT shenanigans in general honestly i love to see it

an episode focusing on the mml gals!! it could be brigette and sara it could be amanda and melissa and lydia it could be all of them it could be other characters but just an episode like that!

there's a mandatory science fair thing and milo and zack are partners so they decide to go with the most convenient option possible which happens to be a potato-powered lightbulb. somehow they literally flood the school gym with their potato-powered lightbulbs but as it turns out half the class didn't bother to or forgot to do their projects so they just take the lightbulbs and use those as their projects. by the end mrs. murasaki gives everyone a 'C' for functioning but unoriginal projects apart from melissa and bradley as well as amanda and joni

yeah that's all from me but first and foremost I wish mml would get renewed!!!!! for s3!!! usvfkajnfkajmfmalmdlanfms

[japhan2024]

I had no idea you liked star trek too, I just knew you for smosh and Dan and Phil. That's so cool!! Would you be willing to write a little ianthony star trek au? Or have you already? No problem if not, I know that's kinda vague. Love your blog btw :)

Yes I LOVE Star Trek! I literally had so much fun writing this, it got a bit out of control LOL! But yeah I hope you like it!!

The logical choice

Words: 2,436

Genre: action/adventure, a Star Trek episode, first kiss

Rating: teen or general audiences

Read on AO3:

"Captain's log, stardate ???[writer's note: I can't do math!]. What would have been a diplomatic mission to Vulcan, a completely safe route, turned out to become something quite different. Ian was going to let our starship T'hy'la be blessed, and we would join a Vulcan fleet to covertly inspect the edges of Federation space. But all of a sudden, we were violently sucked into a wormhole, and were spat out, smack dab in the middle of the Delta Quadrant."

Anthony paused. He looked out of the window of his suite. He'd read a lot about Captain Janeway's voyages through this quadrant, and her years long quest to get back home. Panic stirred deep within him. He shut his eyes tightly and took a few deep breaths.

"We've been stranded here for a few days now. Chief Agnew, Ensign Bowe and their crew have been hard at work to repair the damage done by the violent yanking through space that T'hy'la has endured. Our deflector shields malfunctioned and structural integrity scraped by within an inch of collapsing. I truly believe that a bout of fate has saved us."

His communicator chimed. It was a benign sound, but it still made him jump.

"Captain, we've done all we can. Technically the ship works, but we lost a lot of deuterium. We repaired the injection subsystem, Tommy really outdid himself. But it's no use, we can't start with this little fuel."

"Thank you, Spencer," Anthony answered, trying to sound comforting. "You've done well. it may be time for us to try and reach out for help."

The door beeped.

"Come in."

"Captain," Ian strode into the room.

Anthony's Number One, and a Vulcan, Ian somehow always calmed Anthony down. And it was better, the closer they stood to each other.

"Number One, please tell me what you think of the situation?"

"We have done short- and long range scans, and have found no life-forms or ships. However," Ian raised one sharp eyebrow, "We did scan a gaseous nebula. It's all around us and could be the reason our sensors didn't pick anything up. Although it is not without risk, logic suggests we send out a distress signal."

"Agreed." Anthony sighed. Who knows what kind of aliens were out and about here, but they might as well try.

~

"Amanda, what's the matter?" Mister Topp, the ship's EMH, asked with kind, light-blue eyes.

"Shayne, I feel something big," she collapsed dramatically on a medical bed in the sickbay. "It's something I've never felt before, and you know I sense almost anything, being quarter Betazoid. "I- I don't know. It's not good, but also not evil. It's just... something infinite, almost. Like an ultimate power. It makes me dizzy."

"Well," Shayne smirked, "Courtney was just here, and her ego does tend to be infinitely big. I guess her Klingon side gives her the extra confidence." He sighed. "But she could be a bit nicer to me."

"Shayne," Trevor intervened. "You were flirting with her the entire time. She wasn't even here for a medical exam. She just checked in on us to see if everything was safe and you insisted she take three different blood tests! I'd be annoyed too," he laughed.

"I wish I could sense how you're feeling," Amanda beamed at Shayne. "But I can't sense a hologram. I do know how Courtney feels, though..." She winked at Shayne, who blushed.

"Amanda, it seems like you're back to normal. Please report back here if that changes again. Bye now!"

"Not without my hug," she teased.

"Why do Betazoids always want to hug!"

"I think it's just her," Trevor giggled.

"Get in here!" Amanda commanded. After the group hug, she went back to her Ship's counsellor's office.

Her communicator chimed.

"Hello commander Hecox," she smiled, as she sat down and crossed her legs over the couch, usually reserved for her patients.

"Counsellor Lehan-Canto. We need to talk."

~

Keith, the ship's Conn officer, observed the Bridge while captain Padilla was resting. He had never thought he'd be this far from home, but there he was, in the Delta Quadrant. Strangely, he wasn't worried. He looked at the beautiful multicolored nebula outside.

Suddenly, he got a transmission request.

"Captain, to the Bridge, we're being hailed!"

Not a moment later, Anthony walked in. "On screen," he commanded.

"WELL WELL WELL," a grinning, huffing alien said to them. "WHAT HAVE WE HERE!!! A NICE STARFLEET SHIP, NO LESS! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO FAR FROM HOME?"

"This is captain Anthony Padilla of the starship T'hy'la. I assume you received our distress call."

"WE SURE DID, RIGHT, GUYS?" the alien looked at two very beautiful and scantily-clothed people on each side of her.

"Oh yes, Angela, we sure did," one of them replied with a honey-sweet voice.

"YES, WE DID, CAPTAIN. LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF. I'M ANGELA, AND THESE ARE MY FRIENDS CHANSE AND ARASHA. And..." Angela lowered her voice menacingly, "you have invaded OUR space."

"We've been sucked into a wormhole against our will and are stranded here without deuterium. We could trade you for it, We have latinum on board. Don't Ferengi always like a good deal?

"HA! YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE FERENGI HUH! Yeah, we do always want a good deal. But I don't think you'll be able to give us one. Your starship is called T'hy'la? HA! What a weak Vulcan/human hybrid concept. Don't you know the Rules of Acquisition? Rule 21: Never place friendship above profit. So, my little FRIEND, why don't you give your ship to me, and I will send you on your way back to the wormhole?"

Anthony scoffed. "I'm sorry, but have you scanned our ship? We could easily defeat you."

"Well..." Angela smirked even wider, and scratched behind her enormous ear. "I guess I didn't make myself clear. If you DON'T give me your ship, you will be dealing with my friends. Not these idiots here," she gestured to Chanse and Arasha. "I mean them."

And in one moment, all hope left Anthony's soul: two large, square spaceships emerged. It was the Borg.

" HAHAHA! You have one hour to respond!"

Angela disconnected.

"Red Alert," Anthony commanded.

~

The sirens were wailing through the ship.

"Not Red Alert again? We just fixed up the entire ship!" Tommy threw up his hands in exasperation.

Spencer put his gloved hand on his shoulder. "I was really hoping we could go to the holodeck and play DnD again. But it's not in the cards for us this time."

"Sword and shield in hand," Tommy bumped his shoulder into Spencer.

"Saving the day, just like we do everyday at work!"

"Even though I never get a promotion!"

"You really should, Tommy."

They were play-fighting with their engineer gear, and seeing Spencer laugh and goof off, suddenly made Tommy realize something. He was in love with his boss.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Spencer was still booping him with a pretend-sword.

"You're adorable."

"Dude. I know."

"I mean... I..."

"AB," Ian said, walking quickly past them.

"Did he make up a nickname for us?!" Tommy said, wide-eyed. "Do Vulcans do that?"

"I think Amanda has been teaching him to be more normal, I mean, better at communication. Not doing that is normal for a Vulcan, of course."

"Imagine them together in a room!" Tommy laughed. A Vulcan and a Betazoid, they couldn't be more opposite!"

"Well, if I can sense anything, it's that those two have some chemistry going on," Spencer said with a smug look on his face. "I mean, she calls everyone 'imzadi' but her voice is softer when she says it to Ian. Huh... But sorry, you were going to say something?"

"Oh..." Tommy blushed. "Nevermind..."

~

"Ian, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Amanda visited Ian's quarters. It was very clean and neat and indeed very Vulcan.

"Please, sit," Ian gestured to the one table in the room, with two small chairs.

They both sat down. Amanda couldn't help but feel attracted to Ian's stoic earnest. And he was cute, too...

"I heard you sensed a presence, ever since we've been stranded here."

"Yes! I have been, and it seems like it's getting stronger too! If that is even possible. It's like we're at the epicenter of something."

"I sense it too."

"You do?"

"Yes. We Vulcans might not show our emotions, but we feel a lot of things. And I have felt this once before. Amanda, we are in grave danger."

~

"Ia- Number One!" Anthony was so glad to see Ian as he walked onto the Bridge.

"We are very much outnumbered, captain," Ian said. "It would be logical to surrender."

Ian walked closer to Anthony. Anthony sighed in relief. Whatever would come next, he could bear it with Ian at his side.

"But I advice against it."

"What?"

"The Ferengi woman is the obvious culprit, luring ships here to loot and then let them be assimilated by the Borg. However... She is not the one in control here."

Ian and Anthony heard clapping behind them.

"Well done, commander Hecox," a woman with long black hair, dressed in all black, spoke.

"Who are you?" Anthony demanded.

"She is Q, the most powerful being in the universe."

"You know her, Ian?"

"I know her, from long ago. She called herself Olivia Sui then."

"And I kept my eye on you, Ian. I expected great things from you! And even though you are obviously the smartest one on this ship of idiots, you've become boring! You used to make me laugh, Ian..."

Anthony felt a sudden annoyance at this Q. Why was she so interested in his Number One?!

"What do you want, Q?"

"What do I want?! I want to laugh again, damnit! So," and she snapped her fingers, and the entire ship was gone. Instead, he, Ian and Amanda stood in an empty, white world. Angela, Arasha and Chanse were also there. "If you make me laugh first, I'll zap you straight home! But if not... then you're back at the mercy of Angela here."

Amanda, Anthony and Ian huddled together.

"So, is she an ex of yours or something?" Amanda whispered.

"We were betrothed once."

"What?!" Anthony fumed.

"Ha, your anger amuses me already, captain. But I'm not laughing just yet!"

Anthony looked straight at Q, and began to mime. Physical humor was his strong suit. He fell over, mimed that he was stuck, rolled over the ground... to no avail.

"You failed! Next!"

Angela walked forward.

"SO, HERE'S THE JOKE! TWO BARS OF LATINUM WALKED ACROSS THE STREET! AND ONE OF THEM SAID, LET ME WALK IN THE MIDDLE NOW"

"Elementary concept, expertly executed," Q said. "But not enough to make me laugh. NEXT!"

Amanda walked forward. She got really close to Q, and Anthony felt Ian tense up. He took his hand. Ian squeezed extremely hard. He probably forgot his Vulcan strength for a second.

Wait, did Ian care this much about Amanda? Were they- was Ian just dating everyone and Anthony didn't know it? He figured, he couldn't blame the girls. Ian was so handsome, so strong...

"I guess you don't know who I am," Amanda began. "I am the daughter of Deanna Troi and William Riker. That makes me one quarter Betazoid... and I sense that you don't want to laugh at all. You want to FEEL something. And I'll give it to you. I've reached a certain age, you know..." Amanda tip-toed her fingers up Q's arm.

"Give mommy a smooch!"

"Noo, no, get away from me!" Q took a few steps away.

"HA! THERE, YOU GIGGLED!"

"Did not!"

"I saw it! You laughed, Q!"

"Okay, fine, I did! But I'm not done just yet! I guess I will zap you and your stupid ship back home.... after.... THEY kiss."

"Who?"

"The captain and his Number One."

"What?" Ian and Anthony said in sync.

"Yeah, hahaha! That will really make my day! Don't tell me you haven't sensed it, Betazoid? They are all in."

Amanda looked down. She really liked Ian and he liked her too, but she knew that his heart belonged to his captain. On all their intergalactic adventures, Ian had saved Anthony so many times and vice versa, they had developed an unbreakable bond. They had never acted on it before, but now, apparently it was the only thing that would save them.

"So, you cooked up this whole charade, just to get them to kiss?"

"What? It's not a charade, I'm eternally bored, I had to think of something!"

Q walked up to Ian and Anthony. "Now, do the thing," she said, pressing her two index fingers together.

Ian looked at Anthony. The intense warmth of his brown eyes overwhelmed the Vulcan. He would normally never show it, in fact he had never given Anthony a clue that he was interested. But he was. All the times he had seen Anthony change clothes, when Anthony had hugged him after they were safe from danger, he had never reciprocated. But now, he had no choice.

"It's only logical that we do this. But I have to confess, Anthony... I've been longing for a kiss from you for an eternity. And I need to know if you're okay with it now."

Anthony blushed deeply. Was Ian just saying this because of the situation? Why did he make it more dramatic than it needed to be? "Ian... Have you really? I've loved you for such a long time... And I've also always wanted an opportunity to kiss you. But I never dared, I never thought it was appropriate, seeing as I'm your captain and all."

"Yes, you acted logically as well."

"Ian..."

Anthony took Ian's chin between his fingers and pushed it upwards.

"Excellent!" Q said, but they didn't hear her.

"Anthony..." Anthony saw a wild fire ignite between Ian's eyes. It was scary but Anthony wasn't afraid. He pressed his lips agains Ian's.

Ian growled and kissed him back, grabbing on Anthony's curls. Anthony couldn't believe the feeling. It was scorching hot, but so, so comfortable. He wanted to stay like this forever.

When he opened his eyes, they were back on the T'hy'la and back in the Alpha Quadrant.

"Are you okay, captain?"

Anthony looked at Ian. He could cry. Nobody remembered anything, except for him.

"I- I need to take a break..."

He walked off the bridge. As if by magic, Amanda was waiting for him there.

"Captain, I sensed your emotions, they quickly heightened. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I think that's best, Counsellor."

"Come on, I'll take you to my office."

[corn-fanfiction]

ARMS TONITE (PT 2)

18+ ONLY

CW: canon-typical violence, language, smut (p + v sex), dub-con, mentions of r*pe. If I missed any, let me know.

"Easy, easy. No, no, tighten that one first."

"I'd do a lot better without you hovering over my shoulder."

"Someone's gotta make sure you don't blow up the warehouse."

You stick your tongue between your teeth as you do when you're concentrating. Mark's eyes flick to it. He never slows down. Never stops.

Whatever bolt you're supposed to be tightening you manage to get it done. Mark exhales and straightens behind you. You feel a kiss on the back of your head.

"Good girl. Proud of you."

You giggle but he can't see your face drop and the way you suppress a shudder. He thinks you're brainwashed. He thinks you've fallen. He doesn't know you despise his touch even still, months later.

Laying it on thick, you turn your body that's trapped between his and the table.

"Did you sigh? You're not supposed to sigh. You're the one showing me what to do."

Mark leans in and you lean back. It looks like you're teasing him. He doesn't know you're doing everything in your power to create distance.

"Well, I'm not the perfect teacher."

He's fishing. You'll bite.

"Well maybe I'm a bad student."

Oh he likes that. He seizes your lips in a kiss and you inhale to distract yourself. He takes this as enthusiasm. A hand travels up your shirt to grab a breast but you gently push it away.

"What if Amanda comes in?" You smile against lips.

"Let her watch, she's just jealous anyway."

"No, Mark..." You squirm, but don't want to put up too much of a fight. However, thankfully, he pulls back.

"Ah, you're right. I'm a selfish man after all."

No kidding.

He places one final kiss on your cheek and finally frees your body.

"I'm gonna wash this grease off my hands," you say and head to the bathroom. He doesn't respond, which is a good thing. Mark doesn't keep a super tight leash on you, at least not in the warehouse.

In the bathroom you scrub your hands raw under hot water. You imagine you're also scrubbing off his touch, his smell, even his taste.

"Scrub all you want, Princess. No washing that away."

You look into the mirror and spot Amanda behind you, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. You turn off the sink and dry your hands.

"What do you want, Amanda?"

"Oh, that's not very welcoming. How do you greet Mark?"

She steps up behind you and brushes hair away from your neck. You do your best to act unbothered.

"Wouldn't you love to know."

"Actually, I would."

She allows you to duck away from her touch and leave the bathroom. Anywhere you can go to be away from Mark and Amanda is top of your list.

Amanda follows you out of the bathroom and into the expansive center space. It's decently organized for what it is: some long abandoned warehouse fitted to all the Jigsaw's personal and business needs.

Mark catches you by the waist before you can get too far and an immediate spike of panic shoots through you. But a wet kiss on your cheek lets you know that he's only trying to be affectionate. In his sick way.

"Get a room," Amanda groans, going to work on her own project.

"Not such a bad idea," Mark nuzzles into your neck. How much longer, you wonder. How much more do you have to endure to secure your freedom?

As much as it takes, you know. You'll only have one shot and you have to make absolutely certain you don't throw it away.

So you let him lead you to a specially locked room- your room. Or at least, it had been for a while. He knew he couldn't keep you there forever, and you had a sneaking suspicion that John Kramer wouldn't let him. Not that you've ever met the man. It's almost like a rite of passage you've yet to earn.

Mark had always kept the room nice for you which you could appreciate. It wasn't a dirty stained mattress on the floor with handcuffs hanging from the walls. It was as nice as a makeshift bedroom in an abandoned warehouse could be.

After the initial shock of having kidnapped a coworker wore off, Mark started keeping you at his apartment, then occasionally bringing you to "work" with him.

The deal had been, in his words, 'simple'.

"You're gonna quit your job at the precinct-"

"No!"

"Yes. You're gonna drop school. You're going to tell everyone in your life that you found a better situation. No forwarding address."

"And you don't think anyone would look for me when they realize I'm gone?"

He gave you a villainous grin. "Like who?"

And now, he's got you on top of him. Once he realized he could basically force you to ride him (like he could force you to do anything) it had become his favorite pastime. Him with a bruising grip on your hips, you will nails carving crescents into the headboard. You've found ways to make this as enjoyable as possible for yourself, of course. Disassociating, pretending he's someone else. It started as anyone random but soon your fantasies had zeroed in on one specific guy; some poor man you went on a single date with months ago. You'd wanted to keep seeing him. For obvious reasons, it didn't work out. It's easy to see him under you now instead of Mark.

And then, there are the times that you can't imagine anyone else. These aren't the times you're proud of.

Call it Stockholm Syndrome. You're doing what it takes to survive. You've got your eye on the prize. Your race to freedom.

Sometimes, it is enough to just have his thick, veiny cock inside of you. It makes lying to him easier, anyway.

"Fuck Sweetheart. You're so good for me, aren't you?"

You can't stand his dirty talk. But you're not going to tell him that.

"Yes," you moan.

"So good at taking my fucking cock."

He's close. You know by now when to tell. If you really play into the moans it'll get him there even faster. Faking your own orgasm helps, too. So does letting yourself have a real one.

He does want you to feel good, for his own fucked up reasons. He wants power. He wants you to hate yourself. Or at least that's how it started.

You still can't imagine why he's kept you alive this long. Surely the complacency has bored him. Surely there's nothing else he can want from you.

He cums and makes sure you do as well. You can let yourself enjoy it. Even as he cleans you up and insists on cuddling afterwards. You'd never ever pegged him as a cuddler. Well, maybe you could've, before you knew what he was capable of.

It goes on like this. Mark teaches you more and more about how to build Jigsaw traps, though you and Amanda both know he's not the best at it. He's too aggressive, sloppy. You're more careful.

"You're gonna help me build traps."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you're smart, and capable... sometimes. But we'll work on that. Or, if you prefer, you can end up in a trap. One of mine, too. And mine are rough. Maybe I'll even be assigned your case. Distraught with grief because 'oh, she was such a sweet girl. Such a diligent worker'. And oh, when we find your body... I might even cry. And no one can believe it because 'what could she possibly have done to end up in one of those?'"

"And if I don't? I'd rather kill myself the first chance I get."

"You won't. You're too stubborn. You hate me too much. You'll go on for forever trying to beat me."

Not that you'd ever tell anyone, but he was right about that. He was right about that.

-------

"Fuck, fuck!"

You zap yourself as you try wiring a head trap for the fifth time in a row. Giving up you toss the wires onto the table and sit back.

"You're rushing," Amanda says over her shoulder. Mark is out.

"I don't know why he wants me to do the electrics. I'm not good at it."

"That's why. He wants you to learn."

You huff. "I don't get it. Why hasn't he just killed me yet?"

Amanda snorts. "Don't let John hear you say that."

You know that Jigsaw has the place bugged with mics and cameras.

"I'm not saying I want to die, I'm saying I don't understand it. And why would John give a shit about me asking questions when Mark is a rapist?"

"Ooh, nasty word."

"Accurate one."

"I'm not arguing." Amanda turns to face you. "To tell you the truth? I don't know why either. I've wondered a lot, myself. But, it's John. If he's doing something it means he has his reasons."

You slam your hand on the table.

"That's not good enough!"

Amanda looks at you, shocked at your bravado. Then, a smile creeps onto her lips.

She's impressed.

"Look, you have pull with John. You could talk to him!"

"Why would I do anything to help you? Letting you live was a mercy. You should be thankful. Anything more and you would've ratted us out in a heartbeat. You still would."

An idea strikes you.

"You hate Mark."

Amanda crosses her arms.

"It's no secret."

"Wouldn't you wanna see him squirm? Pissed beyond reason? Being beat by the two of us would wreck him. If I can get satisfaction out of that I know you can too."

Amanda looks you over.

"Shit. You might be as clever as Mark thinks you are. Alright, suppose I agree. What do you suggest, short of me just letting you walk out of here?"

"That's not enough?"

Amanda clicks her tongue.

"Aww, you think I'm not gonna make you work for it even a little bit?"

You close your eyes. Sigh. Shudder.

"What do you suggest?"

Amanda wanders around, finger to her chin for effect. But then you see a gleam in her eyes that you know is real.

"How about...you go into one of my traps?"

The words send you dizzy.

"No..."

"Come on. If you're half as smart as I think you are, you may just stand a chance."

You know the kind of traps Amanda does- the kind that are impossible to escape. She and Mark share a brutality; hers is just better crafted.

"If you get out, then I'll help you escape. If you die, I get to watch Mark suffer anyway. At least this way I get something in return."

"Will it even be possible to get out of?"

"Come on. If I made it impossible it would ruin the game."

You chew the inside of your cheek. If this is your only option, it may as well be the best one.

"So how do we dress this up? Make it look like anything other than you just trying to kill me?"

"Practice. What better way to learn traps than to be in one?"

You comb over the possibilities in your brain. What could she possibly use against you to create some twisted form of poetic "justice" in her game?

"It'll be survivable?"

She crosses her heart. "Scout's honor."

You exhale a shaky breath. "Okay. Fine. Let's do it."

---------------------------------

It was a hard sell to Mark, but once you backed Amanda's reasoning, he hesitantly agreed to it, even though you and Amanda working together prompted some suspicion. One kiss and fuck session and he forgot about that real quick.

Amanda was going to drug you beforehand to give you an "authentic" experience. Beforehand, Mark gives you a quick, almost gentle kiss.

"You've got this, okay? If it gets to be too much, I'll pull you out."

You search his eyes and you're surprised to see them filled with concern. Holy shit. He means it.

Amanda jabs you with a needle a little harder than necessary and soon, you're asleep.

When you wake up, you're in a room unfamiliar to you, secured to a chair with mechanized wrist cuffs, the outsides of which are patterned with rusty spikes. You wonder if she took you from the warehouse to a different location. The walls are tall, and when you look up you see a window on some sort of office- likely a factory floor or something. Behind the grimy glass you can make out Amanda, Mark, and another silhouette. White wispy hair, calm demeanor, eyes like a hawk-

Holy shit, you think.

Holy shit.

It's John Kramer.

Suddenly you get a feeling almost like stage fright. Like, if you weren't afraid of dying in this trap or never being able to escape Mark, then you'd be afraid of disappointing Jigsaw.

Okay, so maybe there was a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome.

"Hello. I would like to play a game."

The familiar, altered voice plays out over a speaker.

"You've ended up in our...strange little family due to your inability to know your place. To know when to stop looking. Perhaps now, you'll learn a lesson."

As if you haven't already.

"You will notice that the cuffs attached to your wrists are mechanized. The spikes on the outside are rigged to a timer. If you do not complete your task in time, the spikes will be forced inward, puncturing your veins. Apart from being excruciatingly painful, it will also cause you to bleed to death.

"To your left you will see a table with a tray holding a syringe. This is a chemical that will heighten your pain receptors. Inject it into your bloodstream when the timer starts.

"Once you have completed that task, you will search the desk behind you for a key. Get the key, secure your freedom. Allow the timer to run out, and face your demise. Live or die. Make your choice."

The directions swim in your head but all you can think is the word death. Something releases the cuffs from the chair and you launch yourself forward and face the window.

"Amanda! You said it was survivable!"

Amanda leans over to a microphone with a grin. "It is. You just have to survive it."

You don't bother looking at Mark to gauge his reaction because the timer is ticking down from three minutes.

Whatever pain you will suffer here is nothing compared to what you have, and could possibly feel.

You run to the tray and uncap the syringe with unsteady hands. You inject it into your arm and wince as you inject the heavy fluid. Almost immediately, the sensation of the needle in you arm is unbearably present and you jerk it out and throw it to the ground.

Okay, first part done.

You rush to the desk. You go to yank open the first drawer but an electric jolt is sent through your body and you fall, twitching against the ground.

Damn bitch electrified the handles.

You sit up again and look at the timer.

2:00

You fumble and remove your belt and bite onto it. You yank open the same drawer, screaming through the pain only to find it empty. There's three more.

You open the second. Empty. Tears are streaming down your face.

You open the third. Inside, thin shards of glass. Sharp as knife-point. Beneath them you can see a key.

You barely spare a thought for the pain and plunge your hand inside.

The screams escape you anyway and the belt falls from your mouth.

If you were in the room above, you would hear the ensuing argument.

"Amanda, that's enough. She's gonna bleed to death," Mark says and makes his way to the release button.

"Don't you even think about it, Hoffman. She knows what she signed up for."

"You can't kill her!"

John Kramer watches you. You tug on the drawer to remove it from the desk, presumably to dump it to the ground. Smart, he thinks, but it's secure in its place. You curse and continue digging your hand inside.

1:00

Mark tires to shoulder past Amanda but she pulls a gun on him.

Meanwhile, you're losing the skin on your hand. But, right as you think you'd rather just die and get it over with, your fingers wrap around the key and you yank your hand out, passing the key to your unmarred hand.

There's a door behind the desk.

00:30

You struggle to fit the key in the lock through your tears and your entire body shaking.

00:24

You slot the key in and turn it. An alarm blares. The clock stops. You cry out in relief and throw the door open.

But your relief is cut short when you see two bodies kneeling in the adjoining room. You don't recognize either of them.

You turn back to the window.

"Amanda? What the fuck is this?"

But Amanda just smiles as another recording begins to play.

"Before you are two corrupt businessmen. Never mind their crimes. You absence at the precinct has caused certain things to slip through the cracks, including any justice for the individuals in the room with you. You have a choice. Pick up the knife on the floor next to you. Kill one of them. You have one minute. If you do not, the wrist bands will deploy. One sacrifice for two lives. Make your choice."

You can't think straight and the timer has already started. Both of the men are shouting at you, begging, pleading, telling you about their families and their hardships. You're going numb.

"Amanda, you can't make me do this!"

"You're right. It's your choice."

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" You yell. You pick up the knife.

00:28

To you, it doesn't matter who you kill. You look between them. One looks to be a bit older than the other. Wedding ring.

You look at the younger man.

"I am so sorry."

Whatever it takes.

00:17

The man hardly has time to respond before you plunge the knife into the left side of his neck, aiming for the carotid artery to give him as quick a death as possible.

You hear the timer buzz. The shackles undo and fall from your wrist. You drop the knife. The man's blood has sprayed onto you. You ignore the other man's relentless thanks and wander back into the main room.

The sound of a door opening and closing doesn't register to you. Hands come to your shoulders, then your face.

"Hey, hey, look at me. You're okay." A kiss on your forehead. "I'm so proud of you. You're safe now."

No, not now.

But soon.

[highfiveheroes]

4 and 20 (haha nice) for the rat grinders!

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter? (rat grinders for both)

OOOH an excellent set of questions.

kipperlilly i’d throw into some kind of nancy drew-esque mystery video game on desktop, but it’d definitely take like a slenderman/amanda the adventurer twist where as the game progressed if you weren’t solving it fast enough she’d try to come out of the game and murder you in the woods. as far as friends, i do feel like she and oisin have a kind of camaraderie, but i LOVE the idea of her and ivy being on good terms and bitching about everyone all the time.

ruben belongs in one of those visual novel apps like episode where fantastical things happen and, as the love interest, he’s always right, always perfect, and never looked down on because he’s everyone’s favorite. i just think he’d thrive in an environment where it’s all love all the time and consequences aren’t real. i think he’d be a horrible influence on buddy but once buddy removes said stick from his ass i like to think they’d make each other worst (in the best way possible) but also ruben and fig as musical bffs who write songs together and have twitter beef that nobody can tell is a joke would also be fucking incredible.

oisin i think would be great in something like psych as the straight character, giving like carlton lassiter vibes. surrounded by chaos and always getting shown up, but he is genuinely good at his job when he lets them be. controversial opinion i think he’s only really good at being friends with ivy, i have a hard time seeing him bond with anyone else except maybe ? mary ann, and even then

speaking of mary ann. i would love to see her in the same episode stories as ruben as his voice of reason that gets ignored all the fucking time and she doesn’t give a shit so she gives up. for some reason i think she and buddy would also get along really well, mostly because she doesn’t care enough to tell him to shut up and he doesn’t care enough to ask her about herself. if not him then ivy as well, for similar reasons, except sometimes mary ann makes one bitchy comment after hours of ivy ranting and it’s so hysterical and well placed that ivy just loses it

ivy!!! put her as a judge on like project runway or master chef so she can be critical as hell and get very little slack for it because she’s just nice enough that everything is "constructive" criticism. she and oisin are made to be best friends of course but she could realistically slot in with anyone (the nature of being fake as fuck <3) so default to oisin, but if she’s having lunch with anyone else, it’s allowed

and buddy!!! buddy would ABSOLUTELY be cast on the fucking wiggles or something. or live action veggie tales. i think he’s really good with kids probably, nature of being family with the head of the church and needing to step up sometimes, so if he can spread the good word and teach the kids how to be polite and proper (and nonfunctional shh) he’d thrive. and as before, having him hang out with mary ann (out of pity on his part, nonchalance on hers) is a great combo but also he and ruben could make each other so much worse. if anyone sees ruben release a screamo hymnal, blame buddy

[romancomicsnews]

5 DC Animes I want to see after My Adventures with Superman

My Adventures with Superman opened the door for DC in a big way. Not only did it revitalize fans for more Superman content ahead of Superman: Legacy, but quickly put Jack Quaid up there in the conversation for best portrayal of Superman.

While that conversation is yet to be determined, I think the fact that this version of Superman connected with people made one thing clear, people are hungry for more quality animation.

While I am excited at the potential of more Jack Quaid Superman, I think DC would be kicking themselves if they didn't branch out this universe and try to build to something greater.

I have 5 pitches for characters who I think should get a My Adventures with Superman style show, ideas of who could play them, and what they could bring to this already fantastic universe. Also I gave them all fun titles. Enjoy.

5. Mysteries of the Question

The Question is a character many know from the hit DC show Justice League Unlimited. A wack job with a theory about who is pulling all the strings in the DC Universe, The Question is a ridiculously fun character I'm surprised hasn't been seen in a while.

Putting the Question at the center of a mystery and having to solve cases day to day would make for classic television, all while setting it in a crazy DC world.

The cop chasing him could be the 2nd Question: Renee Montoya, and the mystery could be something as big as an incoming alien invasion or as small as who is leaving riddles across Gotham? Hell he could be after Amanda Waller.

He can run into other detectives like Detective Chimp, Martian Manhunter, even the Batman, and through this side character we introduce half the Justice League.

I'd love a comedian like Charlie Day to voice this mad man, but a good friend of mine brought up Will Arnett and I can't unhear it. The role could be overly dramatic and silly, but can go to the sad levels of Bojack Horseman. He'd be perfect for this universe.

Having a detective who needs to get the a major story out could lead him to our three favorite journalists, making a fun mini crossover imminent.

4. Strange Tales from Arkham Asylum

While What If? Is not my favorite MCU project, the premise itself is quite fun. A narrator telling warped tales of stories we know in a freshing new take.

I'd like to take that concept and add it to DC by exploring Batman's Rogues Gallery in one off, anthology episodes narrated by one Hugo Strange.

Fan favorite characters like Clayface, Mister Freeze, Catwoman, and yes, even The Joker, can be introduced via their backstory with exciting different voice actors, all leading to a breakout in Arkham.

I'd like this to serve as a partial retelling but also reimagining of new characters with an emphasis on the creepy, the macabre, but also the sympathy. I want this to fix the mistakes of past villains in My Adventures with Superman and make them more 3 dimensional and iconic.

For Strange we need a maniacal evil voice who can narrate and keep us captivated. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor for this, and will be happy for the inmates to take him down by the end.

3. Evil-Doers fear the Wrath of Wonder Woman

I'm having fun with these titles.

It is incredibly insane we do not have a definitive Wonder Woman show. I'd like a classic Spectacular Spider-Man or My Adventures with Superman style show centered around ya girl Wonder Woman.

Ares, Giganta, or Cheetah can be the main villain. Hell make her main antagonist Black Adam, but having a magical god character immediately makes the world bigger and the threats greater.

She can run into Shazam (due to their god powers) and round out the League more, but really this is just a project that should already exist. It's wild it doesn't.

Since it is voice acting and we can go any which way with it, I love the voice of Ming Na-Wen. Having a powerful Disney Princess playing Diana also feels appropriate, and brings a sort of wisdom to the League.

2. Blue Beetle Back in School

Blue Beetle in a character basically built for anime.

With the overall critic and audience reviews being positive but the film underperforming, it's clear Blue Beetle has an audience that can steadily grow over time. I think animation is a great way to softly continue the story without it technically being in continuity.

The story should center around Jaime continuing college post getting the scarab, and meeting young heroes like himself along the way all while trying to having a normal life. Classic superhero stuff.

This leaves room for it to be part of any universe you want it to be, or mostly be true, or not at all. Either way, we grow with the character of Blue Beetle, and await his return in the DCU.

This could be a fun way to flesh out the young heroes of the DC universe: Robin, Raven, Cyborg, etc.

It could also start a fun trend of Xolo playing the character across mediums. It's clear Xolo Maridueña loves the character, and if the voice fits, why change it? If Mark Hamill can play the Trickster across animation and live action, so can Xolo.

1. Green Lantern: Cosmic Chronicles

The character done most dirty since his live action debut, Green Lantern could add dynamic interesting fighting to an anime universe. Take Atom Eve from Invincible and her spin-off episode.

Using that type of animation and fluid fight choreography would make for excellent television.

Although we already have a fantastic Green Lantern show (Green Lantern the animated series) with an excellent narrative, I think introducing more Lanterns and wider universe of DC aliens could be really fun. Martians, Thanagarians, Lobo, Mongul, etc all trying to be contained by Lanterns but failing horribly would be awesome. It could all leading to an alien invasion on Earth, putting them directly in line with Superman.

A Green Lantern show could rejuvenate faith in Lanterns before its release, and lead up to the big anime crossover we know we all need.

While I'd love to see all Lanterns, I think having Hal Jordan at the center of it and bringing in others down the line is a good way to go.

Alan Ritchson has played Aquaman, Hawk and even Raphael in Ninja Turtles. A little more hard headed Jordan could be fun to pit against Jack Quaids more hopeful Superman.

While all these shows should get made, I think Lanterns is the most likely. Honestly, I'd be happy to see anything more in the DC Anime Universe.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me you can:

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[gigglemugger]

Mandy Goes to Med School.

Fandom: “Saw” Franchise

Pairing: None.

Synopsis: Amanda Young had no idea she'd have to become a surrogate cancer doctor, but then again she had no idea she'd start killing people for a living either.

Basically a character study of Amanda, my own take on her, through snippets of scenes from the movies all the way to Saw III.

Word Count: 4,127 (used to be less but I added a few things after a reading pass, lol, nothing major).

CW: All canon typical violence PLUS the horrors of being Amanda Young. So it's a bit heavy on the depression, self-harm, even a little bit of OCD.

AO3 link.

Notes: So not to sound totally pretentious but remember when Joan Didion said that she wrote Play It As it Lays to be a complete blank space of a novel? This fanfic is sort of like that. It's a bunch of snippets like the synopsis says and what Amanda might have been thinking during them. Title is from the Dresden Dolls song where they perform back alley abortions and while Amanda and Lawrence don't go around doing that in this fic, man did I think about writing that too. The timeline was borrowed from the wiki but boy is the Saw timeline complicated. Also things are not completely faithful. I hope you have a good time anyway!

When Amanda decided to join Jigsaw in his ‘business affairs,’ she didn't know that she would double as a medical orderly, but in retrospect she should have known better by the looks of everything.

She was presently standing in the middle of hers and John's shared working space, looking at him as he put one piece after another together in their newest contraption. He wanted to make a chair that twisted the limbs of the person sitting on it. It was still a long way away, this being more of a prototype at this point, and he was working meticulously at it, but all Amanda could see was how washed out he seemed. 

John didn't seem that sick when he met her at her apartment, all those months ago, but now, it was too plain to see that things weren't so hot. He'd cough more often. He'd also walk slower. Sometimes, he'd need longer time to breathe from one project to another. 

When they were preparing the bathroom game, dragging bodies, making sure everything was right and John told her he wanted to be in the center, she remembered being worried about him simply because he was, well, older. Nowadays though, she thought that if he did lay down in another bathroom for hours, he'd probably never get up. 

So, the decision to talk to Lawrence came from her. 

“I see,” John said, briefly looking up from his work, but focusing back on it again soon enough. 

Amanda went from one foot to the other.

“Maybe it could help.”

“I'm dying, Amanda,” he said, slowly. “Nothing can help.”

“I know. But you don't have to suffer just because of that.”

In the background, in the many televisions John and Amanda had in their space, people screamed while having their limbs torn out. 

...

John decided to let her talk to Lawrence, so he knew she was coming. She sat there on a chair at Saint Eustace Hospital, and could see the nurses passing her by, making sure other patients were okay. It reminded her a lot of the Homeward Bound clinic Jill used to run and her arm started to itch.

“Amanda?” A nurse asked. She looked up at a kinder face than hers. “The doctor is free for you now.”

“Thanks,” she said, getting up. No one knew she was Jigsaw, or at least an apprentice Jigsaw, but that didn't make it easier. As she walked, it was as if they knew. She wasn't, obviously, ashamed of it, or at least not as much as her rational brain told her she should be. That being said, the brain is weird, she would know.

Besides, if all the apprentice Jigsaws in this hospital were discovered, Lawrence would probably be in way deeper shit than a former drug addicted felon would be. That brought her some level of comfort.

“Amanda,” Lawrence greeted from his desk when she showed up. He pointed at the chair. “Close the door, will you?”

“Yeah,” she said, doing just that, before making way towards him. She didn't wanna sit down, not yet. “I'm assuming John told you why I'm here.”

“You want to make sure he's OK.” It was a statement. She nodded. “You understand that people go to medical school for years before they can do this stuff right?”

“You're saying I'm not capable of it?” Obviously not. Why are you challenging him? He's a doctor. He would know. Maybe this is stupid.

“No,” Lawrence said, cutting her thoughts. “I'm simply saying that I can't exactly teach you how to operate on someone. Not on the spaces we have,” and she knew he meant “we” as a team here, not “we” as the hospital he worked at “Not with the resources we have. The most I can do is give you books, talk you through treatments John was already going through that ended up interrupted because of his… Well. New status.”

“Yeah. I'd like that.” Lawrence never stopped looking at her. She thought she knew why.

“Alright. I'll see what I can do. I'll gather some resources, I'll… Steal some medicine.” She looked at him up and down, in that expensive suit, the expensive office, the job. The only thing out of the ordinary was the divorce, but then again how really out of the ordinary was it for a man of his age to be divorced from his first wife? Almost perfect or too perfect. And he's was gonna steal meds for her.

Apprentices come in all shapes and sizes.

“Thanks, Lawrence,” she said, and turned around. 

“Wait…” Slowly, Amanda did an about face. She knew her hair was getting longer, but her clothes were still, alternative enough. So she could guess at what he was thinking, or remembering.

“It's ok, you know. I suppose it's not easy to look at the person who kidnapped you and put you in a bathroom for hours. But if this is about him, he didn't suffer. Not really.” You know, apart from the three days of complete starvation.

Lawrence looked relieved. Amanda always thought she probably reminded him of Adam. Well… Who knows what he really thought of her or of Adam. Neither she, nor John actually knew what went through Lawrence's head about that. He hadn't even recovered completely when she went back down to the bathroom to kill him, considering Lawrence had been battling general infection and dehydration at the time. However, the first thing he asked about was him, and when John told him he was dead, he never asked again. Whenever they saw each other, she felt like he wanted to, though. They barely talked, so no chance. Not without John hearing. 

Amanda nodded and left the room, with no more words, but still thinking. John wasn't dangerous. Not really. Still, it was better if he didn't know that Lawrence was still hooked on Adam. Probably. Again, who knew what went through Lawrence's head. Amanda thought he probably caught feelings and snorted through her nose a little bit at a middle aged man's gay awakening being in a kidnapping situation. She'd plead insanity if she hadn't heard him in his sleep before, one time when John let him stay the night. Apparently he had problems with his wife, no new apartment yet, all of that. Amanda had slept with her arms on top of the workbench, her head against the cold metal, all of which helped to keep her sane, so the pain didn't matter. 

He, Mr. Perfect, had slept on the couch, another dent in his façade. 

Lawrence was lucky John wasn't around when he murmured Adam's name. Amanda was, though, half asleep. She wondered if Adam knew that he haunted not one, but two apprentices’ nightmares. That's gotta be worth something. Who knows, maybe he even haunted that little asshole friend of his, Scott whatever, who tried to harass her that one time. John didn't let her make a trap for him, because it would be a waste, but Amanda was increasingly of the opinion that people like Scott are a waste. 

...

Lawrence kept good on his word. He came by the workshop while she was alone. She did point a gun at him, though. It had been a lonely day at that particular workshop. The cop, Hoffmann, was nowhere to be found, and John had to take a break, so Amanda was antsy and stressed by a number of things, John's new treatment one of them. She even forgot she went up to the hospital until she saw him, a ghost with blonde hair and pale skin, almost too perfect to be there in the fifth and rust.

“Shit. Sorry,” she put the gun down, scratching her arm idly, going from one foot to the other, noticing how Lawrence didn't even flinch. She didn't see the usual fear in his eyes, the one she was used to.

“It's ok,” he said, and approached her, cane hitting the floor with each step, handing her a bag full of things: Books, pills, syringes. “How was the game?”

“Eventful,” she said, shrugging. “Joan survived.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” Lawrence said, sounding sincere. She gave him half a smile, before turning around and dumping everything on the metal table with a distinctive loud sound. Both were unimpressed. “Where's John?”

“He's at home.” She stopped herself. How much can I tell this guy? “He's uh… Doing research about a thing, preparing to go to Mexico.”

“Mexico?” Lawrence repeated. “Why?” Amanda shrugged.

“It's a new medical thing. Cause John wants to find other ways to treat his cancer. It's… I just let him do it. It can't hurt. He wants to live, even if these people don't.” Amanda saw that Joan survived, yes. But people like her were an increasing improbability. 

She looked down at everything on the table, the books, the pills and wondered if she was gonna need all of that. If John came back cured from Mexico, or whatever, there might be no need. That would be a relief. She wanted John to live. Still, how much hope could she really put into an experimental treatment?

“We survived,” Lawrence spoke, making her turn her head. “We wanted to live.” Amanda snorted.

“Yeah well, great stuff.” The corpse of Adam might as well have been between them.

“As John's doctor,” Lawrence began, despite the stench of rotting flesh, “I have to say I cannot recommend any alternative treatments…”

“Last time you said that, he put you in a trap,” Amanda said, opening a particularly thick volume. “Maybe it's best if you stay in your lane.” She didn't mean for it to sound like a threat, but increasingly she found that most things she said did. It's better than the desperate, lost tone she had before, she guessed. Lawrence chuckled.

“Yes, maybe.” He then approached the table and Amanda looked up. “Let me teach you how to use some of this stuff anyway. Just in case.”

...

“Just in case” turned out handy, as John's bogus treatment turned out, well, bogus and their trip to Mexico was way worse and much more nerve wracking than Amanda could have anticipated. She was silent looking out the window down to the world below. She wondered how many people in those houses deserved to die. 

“Amanda,” John called, and she turned to look. “Did you speak to Dr. Gordon recently?”

“Right before our trip, yeah,” she answered. John stopped for a second, pondering.

“You were right about asking for help,” he finally said, looking at her. “Thank you.”

She nodded and he went back into silent thinking while she turned her face towards the window once more, trying not to cry.

Amanda really, really, didn't want him to die.

...

John's fate sealed, Amanda watched as he prepared instructions and tapes for a lot of tests to come after he was gone. The tapes were supposedly for her and the cop. He seemed to be around more and more.  

“Do you like that guy?” Lawrence asked one day. They both looked at an unconscious Michael Marks on the table. He was supposedly that fuckass Matthews’ informant. She was happy to kidnap him, to put him in a slab, to make him suffer just a little bit. She wished that he was conscious for his procedure, but John thought differently. In any case, Amanda was there simply to learn how to administer the drugs John needed, how to hook him to a machine, anything that she could while Lawrence was away on a trip with his daughter, which would last a while.

She was also aware she was on tape, but she knew her body and face were concealed from the camera lenses, considering she helped install the thing.

“What? Who, the cop?” Amanda asked, disgusted. Lawrence smiled.

“I guess not,” he said, threading the needle one final time, before he observed his handy work.

“Good job,” she said, strained, in lieu of anything else. 

“Thank you,” Lawrence said, dignified. She looked at him the same way someone would look at a particularly intimidating teacher. “So, shall we?”

...

Amanda is sitting at the Wilson Steel Plant, looking down at her hands, shaking. John's supposed to welcome the cops in a few hours. She's panicking, slightly. 

“Is this comfortable?” Lawrence asked, still there for this last checkup.

“As much as it can be. Thank you.” Lawrence took a last look at the bags and made sure he had enough oxygen in his tank, before nodding. 

“Alright. Guess I'm going now.”

“Yes, go spend time with your daughter.” John said, somewhat painfully. Amanda raised her head to look at them both. “These are precious moments you have with her.”

These are precious moments… The sentence was precisely what she had in mind too. Precious. She needed so much to get up and leave the room for a second, and it didn't matter if John followed her with his eyes all the way outside or if she felt so tired she could barely push the door.

Lawrence met her at the hallway.

“Amanda. It is my understanding that you're going to participate in this next game.” John didn't tell Lawrence everything, just the basics. She nodded anyway.

“Yeah. I'm supposed to make sure this kid is ok. And to make sure everybody knows the rules.”

“A valuable addition,” Lawrence gracefully added. “Who's gonna take care of John while you're gone?”

“No one,” Amanda said. “He's gonna be alone for a while. I trust him, though,” she said this, but looked down. Where she comes from, that was an admittance of guilt. 

“I see.” Lawrence said, knowing she was hiding something. “Well, good luck.”

...

Fuck fuck fuck!

“What happened to him?” Hoffmann asked Amanda as she brought a seriously injured John in.

“That animal Detective Matthews," she shouted at him, vitriol in every word, face horribly contorted. "Or should I say your fucking partner?!” Amanda asked, while Hoffmann helped her with John. “He fucking did this!”

“Amanda…” John murmured. “Don't.” She looked at him, feeling her eyes water, feeling herself to be ridiculous for this. Her only consolation was that Eric Matthews was gonna die. He couldn't survive what she did to him. 

“Where is he?” Hoffmann asked.

“I left him in the bathroom, like you said,” she lied, making sure to hook John into the IV, making sure to look for the right pills.

It's not heroin, but it might take the edge off. It's not heroin, but it might take the edge off. It's not heroin, but it might take the edge off. 

“Here,” she said, bringing the pills back instead of taking them, one by one until she was full. “Give these ones to John, it'll numb the pain. Then we'll hook him on morphine.”

Morphine, morphine, morphine…

“Are you telling me the truth?” Hoffmann asked. Amanda looked up again.

“What are you implying?” She asked, this time the threat being real. As insane as making an unlikely friend in a man you helped tie to a pole, Hoffmann was different. She had no idea why John let him stay for as long as he did. Why did he trust him so much? He smelled like a rat. 

“Nothing,” Hoffmann said with a half smile, and Amanda went back to making sure John not only stayed with them for now, but took some damned painkillers. 

...

Hoffmann disappeared somewhere, thankfully, and Amanda stayed to watch over John. She made sure to count the pills, the few bottles Lawrence brought, plus the stuff they already had, and she made sure to brush up on some reading. Turns out cancer wasn't as complicated as everyone made it seem. Didn't make it easier on anyone's body though, and John being as old as he was and as advanced as he was… 

There's not much time.

That was the crux of the matter. She bit onto a very sensitive skin on her lip until it bled and tasted it. She wondered where Lawrence was, if he and Diana were having fun. He was so removed from all of this, with his little suit and his little medical practice. 

Maybe in another life she could have had a Diana. Not that she felt particularly motherly. Cecil was the last man she fucked and he wasn't really a fatherly type, either. She wondered how it would be to fuck Lawrence and laughed a little at herself, a little secretive silent laugh, while reading the same sentence over and over. It would be like fucking a very specific type of white concrete wall. It would probably suck too. She wondered if he'd cry. Nothing wrong with it, she cried on most days now.

There was no way she could have a relationship like this. John coughed on the slab, and when she looked up his vital signs were stable. It's just a cough to indicate he's dying. No big deal.

...

Gordon is back from his trip just in time. Amanda was working on her own trap, the Angel Trap as she called it. It was supposed to rip a person to shreds unless they could get the key in a minute. It was poetic in a way, somewhat beautiful. John approved of it. What he doesn't know, he can't feel.

She kept working at it so she didn't have to hear the coughing, so it was incessant work by now.

“Amanda.” Lawrence said behind her, and she didn't point a gun this time. Instead, she just turned around.

“Hi.”

“Your hair grew.”

“Yeah,” she said, touching it reflexively. He looked somewhat sad. I look less like him by the day, huh? “How was your trip?”

“Good. Diana was particularly fond of the beach.” She smiled and turned back to her work.

“I liked the beach when I was younger.”

“You went with your dad too?” Amanda stopped. 

“No, not really.” She retrieved a screwdriver from the table. “John wants to talk to you. He's in his office.” There was a pause.

“I see. Thank you.” 

She watched as he made his way towards the door and went back to her work. Her dad really didn't do much good. It was useless to try to talk about him or even think too much . She looked at the office and could see they were talking through the window, wondering what it was about.

“So that's it?” Lawrence was crossing the room. He stopped to answer her.

“I'm supposed to come back for another stitching procedure.”

“I see.” Amanda stretched her back. “Is he OK?” His expression softens.

“Yes. He's alright.”

What a lie.

...

Troy's trap is set. He will not survive. Amanda is giddy, but tries to hide it, when everything goes as planned.

“What a waste,” John says, looking at the footage. He's sicker. More frail. She checks the bottles every day. She makes sure he has enough supplies, enough rest, food, water… 

“Yeah,” she agrees vaguely, pushing John, now in a fucking wheelchair. Everything has been hectic lately. John's worsening, Hoffmann being around more, the cops closing in, the kidnappings increasing. All of that. A Lynn Denlon is supposed to be around next, Lawrence suggested her. Amanda didn't get why, but John told her she's a neurosurgeon. The best. 

How convenient, a neurosurgeon who happens to be great at what she does and who is also throwing her life away. 

Amanda's thinking all of this while reading and looking at her trap from time to time, just to make sure it's still there, as if it would disappear. Turns out the cop is useful after all. He helps her put that bitch Kerry into it and she is elated to see as her creation finally takes her ribcage apart, revealing everything about her, good and bad.

John is wrong about killing. This can't be bad if it feels so cathartic. Some people just deserve to die. 

Did you? 

The illustrations in her medical books are beyond accurate.

...

Lawrence comes back, sews Art and some other guy's eyes shut. Amanda helps. She also helps Hoffmann kidnap a bunch of other people. John says they're human beings, but truthfully she can't remember who is who. She likes when Hoffmann gets a snide comment though. She doesn't like when Jill comes to see them. She can only remember the baby.

Hoffmann is looking at her weird, but Amanda is finishing yet another book, the last one Lawrence brought her. What was it, five books? She read some multiple times. She checked the bottles again.

“Amanda,” John's weak voice awoke her from her counting trance. “Are you resting?” 

“I'm alright.”

“I don't think so. I think you should have a good night of sleep.”

“How can I sleep when you're here?” She asked, distraught. His vital signs were so weak. She couldn't even fool herself about it.

“You have to accept what you can't control.”

“But I can't…” Amanda said, knowing her voice came out as a weak murmur.

“Counting bottles won't keep me from dying, but it will keep you from doing an acceptable job tomorrow. You must rest.”

But the letter was waiting for her. And her knives.

She cried the whole night through.

...

Everything smelled like a hospital. It was just a matter of time. John was laid down, at his likely final resting place. Hoffmann's letter kept ringing through her head.

Kill Lynn Denlon. Kill Lynn Denlon. Kill Lynn Denlon.

“You did a good job,” Lawrence said after checking John's heartbeat. Amanda’s wet eyes went to his face. He had a firm smile. “You could have been a good medical student.”

“Amanda is very bright,” John interceded. “She has a bright future ahead of her.” Lawrence nodded.

“I have no doubt about that.”

...

An hour later Amanda is screaming at a doctor about drugs and having a collapse. The room is somehow green, somehow closing on her and she wondered if these were symptoms of anything at all before coming back to reality.

Too many medical books.

“He needs surgery,” Lynn keeps repeating but honestly she needs to shut the fuck up before Amanda puts a hole through her head. 

She grabs and pulls hair, she cuts, she bleeds, nothing seems to be really enough. Everything is coming down. John is dying in a room, people are dying in the game and Lynn Denlon needs to die too.

Will John even survive? Why would I do what he says when he won't have time to tell him?

Because she wanted to kill Lynn. Why did he keep smiling at her? Why did he choose her? She was the best, right? That couldn't be it. That was one of the reasons, he said.

Then why? Was she special?

Amanda went out to get more drugs. Lynn wouldn't be stupid enough to try to escape. She was a smart type, a pretty doctor. Just like Lawrence, but even more put together. She had brains and even more. Lawrence didn't even look like himself halfway through his game, but Lynn was holding up fairly well. It was sort of impressive. She herself would be a pile of nerves.

In fact, she couldn't even put the key in the ignition. Could she run to Saint Eustace? That would be stupid. 

She tried again. And again. 

“Jesus fucking christ!”

Amanda, get a fucking grip. Now! John's gonna die! Get your shit together!

She drove to the hospital and back in record time, even if people screamed at her from their cars. Fuck them.

...

Lynn cut John's head open like she was cutting meat for dinner. Amanda had been lucky that Lawrence was on duty. Lynn couldn't even suspect he put her through this. 

“How is she?” Lawrence had asked. Amanda shrugged.

“We'll see.”

The machines were beeping. They were so loud. Oh my God. John.

“Amanda, I need your help!” Lynn screamed and her eyes were alert again.

...

Getting shot was as intense as she thought it might be by the looks of everyone else. Not that she had time to think about it as she collapsed to the floor, a relief considering the last few months or even years. Amanda wondered when was the last time she stopped thinking. John kept telling her things. She had failed. She looked up at the counter, at the bottles she had counted. She looked at him, she looked at Lynn. She couldn't see through the tears and she felt the warm blood gushing through her wound, through her fingers. It was her own this time.

She thought about Lawrence. She thought about her dad. She thought about Adam. 

You're dying, Amanda. She looked at John one last time. Maybe he would forgive her before she went.

“Game over.”

Yeah. It surely seemed that way. 

[djservo]

HI CAS! 😁 it’s that time of month again… 🎄🎅❄️☃️ are you a christmas music enjoyer? what’s your november reading looked like? what are the final books you’ll read in 2023? any wintery vibes these are all important questions

I always think I've become indifferent to if not completely turned off by christmas music but just last weekend my coffee shop was playing 'christmas (baby please come home)' n I was like hell yeah this song rules...... & one time my crabby hater coworker put on springsteen's 'santa claus is comin to town' for me + that was such a kodak Magic Of Christmas moment for me I was like wait the grinch really does have a soul.... im a sporadic xmas music enjoyer merely by happenstance 🧘‍♀️ + my november reads were magical!!!

Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag

wanted to pair this with Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva as a brief little study on representing/projecting and relating to terror but this one was so apt that I thought it'd be best standing alone and allowed to sink in for the month. really interesting/important points about the origins of the 24 hour news cycle + "the CNN effect" + a mass desensitization to the suffering of others, disheartening but necessary things to understand especially now when every feed is so casually interspersed with it. and ofc Sontag is just so graceful with her framing of ideas that I think this is quite an accessible read to those who've never ventured into philosophy/theory

Manila Noir edited by Jessica Hagedorn

MILF (MAN I LOVE FILIPINOS)!!! learning that I maybe love crime fiction? or maybe specifically written by Filipinos bc the Philippines is kinda the perfect place for so many intersections/dissections of class and power and exploitation and all the things that make crime/mystery so juicy to me. the selection here was so strong, I think I ended up shelving something by each of the contributors I could find english translations for. so many women too which rules x10000. also saw that this is part of a series of 'noir' collected works based around a specific area (like SF, Brooklyn, Mumbai, Istanbul, etc) which I think is a super cool concept and I can't wait to track down the others. think this is gonna have to be a noirvember tradition

With my Dog Eyes by Hilda Hilst

read this in one sitting before a wedding so it's admittedly a bit of a blur/I didn't get to sit with it as much as I should have bc Hilst's prose is so dizzying (in a good way!!!) but I've asked for one of her translated works for xmas so I'll defo be giving that one my full + stoic attention 🧘‍♀️ I can vaguely remember the shape of the story but what most sticks out to me when reflecting is really specific phrases... the gold of your name — an armless embrace of you — sado-slippery I’m sweating and laughing... I'm empty of anything good. Full of the absurd.... just really gorgeous syntax and images and I can see why Hilst + Lispector's styles are compared so often

Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction edited by Sabrina Chap

admittedly wanted to hate this from the very start with Amanda Palmer's intro ugh like I braced myself for this to be some corny contrived #AngryWomenInArt but I ended up adoring this and hating myself for my initial haterisms.... women in art is actually so real..... really great + diverse selection of artists (I was worried this would be overwhelming white + cis + het but luckily it wasn't!) and it honestly didn't even occur to me to read this as like a guide on how to work through/with creativity, but rather glimpses into other artists' processes and journeys with their own creativity (I initially picked this up for Eileen Myles I think). so personal and honest and inspiring because of that intimacy and honesty. felt good when I recognized some of the other names too, but ofc added a bunch to my TBR as well. made me miss rookiemag and generally a time when feminism didn't seem so glazed in layers of girlboss irony + terfism real bad </3

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

MILF PT. 2!!! another Filipino crime fiction win.. I did see the reveal coming the moment the character was introduced but all the build-up made it worth it. I loved that no form of power was safe from criticism—sleazy priests/prominent figures from the church, useless police, sensationalist media, mayors blind to the true needs of their community, the smaller and smaller circles (hehe) of unchecked trauma and abuse, the ways these all tie together to inevitably harm those without a voice or pedestal.. does such a great job shining a light on the hypocrisy and corruption of it all which isn't specific to the Philippines but from the few Filipino works I've read, it really does feel like a reoccurring core theme. with such a vengeance too! watched the movie adaptation last night which cut out a lot of the good/necessary stuff in my opinion but the vibes + casting were spot on so it was just cool to see the gritty world come to life in that way

Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector

BONK this was everything to me like exactly the kind of writing I've been aching for since I was a teenager........ a similar blissful dizziness that I felt reading Hilst — gorgeous sensual painfully moving prose, it's wild to me that a work of fiction could hold this much introspection, each character's state of mind so crystal clearly expressed you can't help but feel a little lost in it. and this is her first book??? I'm thrilled just thinking about how she could possibly hone her craft in later works, I'm so excited to see for myself. this is a sidebar but I pretty much lost all my steam for creative/fiction writing during the pandemic and randomly pushed myself to get back into it in october and between this + Hilst's book I rly do feel more inspired than ever..,. crazy what some beautiful & dreamy sentences can do to you!!

i DONT want to prematurely toot any horns but I think I may actually reach my original reading goal of 50 books this year? just started the last book (Something Wicked This Way Comes) in the 'dark boyhood' trio I planned with my friend and it's going by super fast (probably because it's a childrens book basically LOL) and then I checked out Nana vol 1 & 2 bc I found out my library randomly has them (despite never having anything else I'm ever looking for... like ok) and I usually whiz through graphic novels. I think I may read Powers of Horror as mentioned earlier to balance out the fiction, and I downloaded a few free books by Palestinian authors from here (free to download til Dec 5th) so I'll choose from one of those.. maybe end the year with some poetry, all of which isn't necessarily wintery but simply reading my lil book w a hot drink is cozy enough <3

[kanraandchrome]

Opinion on the LIs of MCL New Gen

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT RED SHADOW LEGEND. Anyways, here are my two cents about the characters, their designs and hopes I have for their routes.

Devon

I really love his eyes full of wonders, since you have to be extrovert and always searching for new ideas when you work in event management (how to market it, how to please both the clients and the people you're going to source the project to, finding catchy sentences or downright awful puns) but I love his hands even more, the way the interior is lighter, his long fingers, it reminds me of Mahershala Ali's hands and I hope he was one of the models to create the character. His hair are also a nice touch, especially the colors blending ! Seeing him in bright colors is refreshing, he seems fun and full of peps ! Sure black clothes give a more classy vibe, but we're managing events not burials. And do you even know how bright are the colors of some African clothes (search for dashikis, they are amazing and bright and joyful and...) ? I'm overall really happy to see a black man not bald nor fully dressed in black because god forbid they wear colors.

I'm hoping for a route like Rayan's, with a bit of conflict because dating your boss can lead to a lot of inequalities and risks for the low-rank involved, but I'm pretty sure we won't get a lot of dramas this season (apart coming from players who are so chronically online they can't not play a game that will make them miserable but that's another issue). I think he might have an ex ? Or past relationships that failed because his balance between work and personal life is bad ? Maybe Candy and her freshness/ability to surprise him and take him out to touch grass will be the balance he needs ? Honestly I'm hoping for praises from him, awful puns, dad jokes and a lot of complicity.

Roy

Oh, is he gonna be the Castiel of the game, but more chill ? People seem to love him a lot already and I can't fault them, he's handsome, looks nice and has tattoos (you can see it on his right shoulder, the black strip). His long hair looks very nice to braid, and I can just picture him as the outdoor guy, the one who always want to see the places the events are gonna take place since he's probably very good with spatial thinking !

He looks a bit "bland" at first sight, but I'm sure he'll show another side, probably more caring once he notices MC is not here to only get in his pants. He looks like he'd listen to any rant without taking side and just feed you until the anger dies down. Himbo maybe ? We'll see ! But he looks like the most gentlemanly of them all and I'm sure he'll be the one to ask Candy out first, probably after a date to the beach or so. Dake style but less flirty ? he's my least liked LI so I have a hard time thinking about possibilities about him.

Amanda

Oooooh she looks like a Targaryan !! Joke aside, she looks preppy enough and is probably the most down to earth of them all (and not just because she's a Taurus). I'm thinking that maybe, she'll get Yeleen's kind of personality ? The fair but harsh one ? She'll get the job done for sure, and the color palette is really soft and fashionable. Having a plus size LI is already a remarkable step forward, but making her so pretty AND dateable ? Now that's improvement.

And I can already picture people saying "they'll ruin the wlw romance like they did with Priya" but Jesus Christ and all his Apostles combined, didn't you notice Chino wasn't the one managing it ? That all the mistakes you blame on her are actually Uncoven's creators' mistakes ? That they sabotaged everything (MCL, Elda S2) just because they were so woke and so enlightened ?? Now that they're out of it, I'm pretty sure we'll finally have nice things, and without misandry nor biphobia. I'm hoping an enemies or rivals to lovers with her, just like I hoped one with Yeleen uwu.

Thomas

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT HIM FROM THE START. Ok time to be serious, his design is really nice, the high cheekbones, the milky white skin, he lost his freckles but gained piercing eyes looking directly in your soul and his curls look so nice to ruffle. He has the most guarded pose out of the four and is skinny, which gives us two "no six pack abs" characters (thank Gods beemoov). I don't know if he still plays the guitar, but that could be one of his special interests along a lot of things we need to discover about him.

My guess is that, as we saw him being precocious, he's neuroD and will be the harshest without meaning harm. You ask him something and he answers the raw truth, which could give a very good dynamic depending on the Candy's personality, which could also give us an interesting dynamic when dating or falling in love ? Like not touching but hesitantly grabbing her sleeve between two fingers, or gifts, or stuttering, or all of the above. I just hope he's aloof enough for Candy to have to "run after him" (no harassment involved) just to show him she cares about him, and so he could open up at his own rhythm. A soft slowburn or an abrupt hook up ? I don't know, I hope he surprises me a lot !

[curiositydooropened]

What I've Been Up To

Besties. Comarades. Bros.

The sun is out, and I feel better than I have in months, and I’ve been writing. Boy, have I been writing. I feel like I’ve got my sunglasses on, and I’m floating on an inner tube, sipping seltzer water with a straw, trailing my fingertips beneath me, and in my wake, floating along behind me, is just WIP after WIP after WIP.

None are finished yet, but sometimes you just get antsy to share about your ideas and just have to talk about them. 

But please know that I’m taking it easy this time around. There will be no deadlines, and there’s no guarantee all of these will ever get finished, but know that I’m working on them and ruminating in these worlds, and I love them so much. And therefore, I’d love to chat about them. xoxoxo (Pssst, look under the cut. They're under there.)

Steve Harrington x Reader WIPs

Ranged - partner!Steve x Agent!Reader - After Hell brought Horror to the Heartland, America’s dirt roads and open woods began to fall to rot and ruin. To prevent further inter dimensional slips, the government dispatched several workers, such as yourselves, to travel the country saving small communities. 

Hell Hound - Bodyguard!Steve x Photographer!Reader - Being FWBs with metal rockstar, Eddie Munson, is all fun and games until a dozen red roses show up at your door with a warning: Stay Away from The Devil or I will kill you. Despite your protests, Eddie appoints his personal bodyguard to keep an eye out for you.

Guilt - FBI!Steve x Vigilante!Enhanced!Reader - When the buzz of other enhanced individuals enters your city, you take up your watchful post. You intend to protect your city, this city that raised you, that cared for you, that healed you. Your efforts go unnoticed until a particularly nosy government agent catches scent of your trail. Can you stop the surge before the G-man stops you?

Untitled - Rancher!Older!Steve x UFO Enthusiast!Nomadic!Reader - You're looking for your dad in the stars, and nothing and no one can stop you, including the crotchety rancher who's letting you park your airstream on his land for a small fee.

Eddie Munson x Reader WIPs

The Boy is Mine (Amanda’s Version) - Eddie x Reader - Your sweet, sweet boy wrote some sweet, sweet love songs about you

Stuck - Wildfire!Eddie x Reader - Finally rid of the Vecna and all of his horrors, Eddie moved to Chicago. He had to get out, get away from the compound, from Hawkins, all of it. His fantasy novel is being edited, and he makes regular phone calls to the Harringtons, and on a Saturday around Christmas, he stumbles into a little music store two blocks from his apartment. There, he meets you. 

Dearest - vampire!Eddie x Reader - Ms. Nancy Wheeler’s birthday seems like the perfect night for a get-together and gossip. You’re intrigued by the Stranger with the wolfish grin. Then, at the strike of midnight, tragedy strikes. 

I’ve also been writing my novel, which I’m just calling my Camp Project, but you can find more information about it on my Writeblr, if you’re interested! I’m madly in love with my characters for that project. My group of 20-somethings in the 90s are so Robin, Steve, Eddie, Nancy, and Jonathan-coded. 

I really, really can’t thank you all enough for all of your support over the last few years. You really have all pushed me to be a better writer, and you’ve helped me to really embrace and love my writing. I’m so happy about this little pocket of the internet. I love this community. xoxoxo

[tomhollandnet]

Tom Holland declares his love for Brazilian football and talks about his meeting with Neymar: “We’ve been trying for a long time”

The British actor Tom Holland, widely known as the current Spider-Man in the MCU, didn’t need to read a single page of The Crowded Room script, which premieres next Friday on Apple TV+, to accept the project. Especially because there was nothing at all to read. Tom was enchanted just by the story he was told by the show creator, Akiva Goldsman, Academy award winner for A Beautiful Mind, in 2002.

“I was excited to be in the project even before there was a script because it was something I’d never done before. Akiva sold the idea in an incredible way,” says Tom. “No doubt it was the hardest job I ever had. There was nothing remotely similar to this show.

There’s not much to say about the thriller that captivated the young actor as much as his co-star, Amanda Seyfried. Anything could reveal important plot details, but we can say that Tom plays Danny, a young man involved in a shooting in Rockefeller Center, New York, in the summer of 1979. In prison, he crosses paths with investigator Rya, played by Amanda. [...]

“I shot this show before The Dropout was released. I was looking for a project that allowed me to interpret someone completely different,” says Amanda, who in the Star+ production interpreted the con artist Elizabeth Holmes.

Amanda and Tom had never worked together before. The American actress knew the blockbusters he had been in and his performance in Lip Sync Battle, in 2007: a cover of Umbrella by Rihanna.

“I’ve seen him in big productions, such as Uncharted, and I’d seen his Umbrella performance. I laughed so hard. I thought: ‘this kid is really talented’,” she recalls. “I thought it was really cool that he wanted to take this deep dive now.”

CONTROVERSIAL HAIR

For this show, Tom also had a job as producer. Although he had taken a similar position in last year’s Uncharted, he was even more present in the making of this new show.

“In Uncharted, I was part of the script writing process, looking for directors. But in The Crowded Room, I went deeper: I got involved with costume design, hair and makeup, I discussed which directors and cinematography director we wanted. It was a much more immersive experience,” says the young actor, who fought for the look his character has on the show. “Danny’s hair was my choice.The studio wanted me to keep the hairstyle I had at the time, but I cut [my hair] just the same. Apple ended up accepting that we’d made the right choice, but they were very, very hesitant at first.”

IN THE PIT WITH NEYMAR

Sporting a completely new look, the Brit went to the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco, on the 28th [of May], and drove Brazilian fans mad by taking a photo with Neymar at the event. When he heard the commotion it had caused on social media, he laughed and didn’t spare any compliments:

“I think the way you play football [in Brazil] is a form of art. I’m a big fan of Neymar. We’ve been trying to meet for a long time but any time we arranged anything, it ended up not happening,” Tom says. “The only time we didn’t plan to meet, we bumped into each other. It was good to finally meet him. I love Brazilian football.”

Loosely translated by tomhollandnet