#but uh that ended up not happening

[rking200]

Choices and Disasters

Simon and Josh bicker within the elevator while they await Markus and North to call them up. In the hallway to the broadcast room, fear grips Markus as he sets out to ruse the guards, which leads to Simon getting shot. The speech must go on and the plan continues. A hostage escapes and a SWAT raid ensues. Simon is unfortunately victim to their rounds, but Markus comes to his aid. Up on the roof, Markus must make a choice and live with its consequences.

4k words, chapter two of a three four chapter SimonxMarkus angst/hurt-comfort/R18 fic. Chapter one can be found here. This would be the start of angst, which will overflow into the next chapter. Then R18, if plans don't change (again). Will be posted to AO3 upon completion.

「Everything okay?」

Simon hated that Josh knew him so well. He had only just gotten into the elevator, and now he was locked in this cage with Josh until Markus called it up to their destination. He tried to figure out what to tell Josh and what wasn't important to share in this moment, but the deafening silence after Josh's question must've been too much for him. With a hand placed on Simon's shoulder, Josh spoke again to Simon, worry dripping from his words. 「Are you alright.」 It wasn't a question at all, but it felt nice for Josh to be so worried about him, if he was being honest. He let too much time pass a second time, and was quick to open his mouth once Josh squeezed his shoulder. 「I'm fine, Josh.」 He glanced over at Josh, who didn't even budge. His eyes were seeking some tidbit of information Simon was keeping from him and Simon--against his better judgement--had to look away. 「I promise.」 He knew that Josh wasn't about to buy his half baked promise, as his weary eyes and closed posture didn't exactly scream 'you can trust my words at face value'. Josh huffed, squeezing Simon for a prolonged moment. Simon knew what he was conveying with it: that he cared about him and just wanted to know what was on his mind. 「We can talk about it later. Now's not the time.」 Unfortunately, this didn't satiate Josh and only proved to irritate him further. His hand was quickly taken from Simon's shoulder, exasperatedly thrown into the air before jerkily resting at his sides.

「Simon, what's going on with you recently? You're not acting yourself.」 Strange, Simon thought. He felt like he was more himself now than ever: shy and an anxious mess. What exactly was Josh insinuating? 「If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine, but pushing me away isn't going to do you any good either. And if you didn't like the plan, you should have spoken up. I can't be the only one.」 「It's not like that, it's just...Markus.」 Simon cast his eyes to the side, consequently turning his face so that Josh could fully see his LED, blinking yellow. Simon hoped that Josh would just understand that there was some sort of romantic attachment to his words so that he didn't have to outright explain what had happened in the bathroom stall. He shook his head, begging the memories and feelings not to resurface.

「Yeah, I get it.」 Simon quickly looked over at Josh, processing his words. 「He shows up in Jericho and then thinks he can run the place? Tell us all what to do, putting us in danger with no remorse?」 Simon stared at him, his mouth moving but no words coming out. He shook his head, gluing his eyes to the floor as he concentrated on something to say. 「He expects everyone to fall in line and follow his word. How do we even know if he has our best interests at heart?」

「No, that's not it at all.」 Simon closed his eyes tight, shaking his head a few times. 「Markus wants to help us.」

「Help us?! You're following him blindly! I used to be able to trust your direction but I can't anymore. You're doing what he wants and not what's best for our people.」

"Markus wants us to be free." Simon's gritted teeth steeled the nasty words he had wanted to say, but Josh wasn't going to back down at the slightest bit of pushback. "Yeah, and he'll kill as many of us as possible to try to achieve that. We can't put all our stock in one man, someone we don't even know!" Simon turned to face Josh, his lips a thin line and his eyes threatening to overflow with emotions. "At least he's doing something!" Josh's eyes betrayed his shock in Simon's outburst, and he opened his mouth to say something in retort, but found himself interrupted as the elevator lurched. Simon's anger didn't subside, but his anxiety now flared along with it. Hopefully it was Markus, and they were now beginning the last leg of their plan. It wasn't often that Simon raised his voice, and he found it difficult to control his clenched fists and his furrowed brow. Yelling at Josh didn't make him feel any better: he knew it wouldn't change his mind and he also knew he'd have to talk about that outburst again, in private when they got back to Jericho. He wasn't looking forward to it, and Simon found himself even more reluctant to share the events that had transpired with Josh.

His hands trembled around the cool metal of the round explosive, another item that hadn't ended up in his hands by chance. But Markus cared for him in some compacity. Personally cared for him. He couldn't afford to assume Markus saw him as expendable at this rate, as he had before their rendezvous in the bathrooms. Especially with Josh's push-back, he had to hold faith in Markus and in his plan.

Markus was simultaneously put at ease and back on edge at the opening of the elevator door. He watched Simon carefully, reaching to take the device from him and focusing on his furrowed eyebrows. He looked angry, and Markus hadn't really seen him like this before. He wondered what had happened between now and the last time he saw him, but decided not to press further as he glanced at Josh, who was also visibly upset.

If something had gone wrong, they would have said something. This had nothing to do with the plan, and that was what they had to focus on. Maybe if the tension was still palatable between the two when they got back to Jericho, Markus might mention it. He had other things he had to discuss privately with Simon, however, and his fight with Josh might just fall a little lower on that list. His gaze caught Simon's and he softened slightly, allowing Markus to take a deep breath and focus once more on their mission. With a few words of encouragement and the help of the explosive device, they were a hallway away from their goal. North and Josh resumed their gentle bickering, as usual, and Markus felt the weight of their cause on his shoulders, pressing firmer than ever. "What do you wanna do, Markus?"

He met eyes with Simon. They had to deal with the guards, but it was in their best interest not to kill them. "Wait here."

Walking out into the hallway, Markus ran through the plan in his head. Get the rise on them, threaten with his gun, knock them out. No casualties. They were here to demand peace, and they had to lead by example. But something happened, and Markus couldn't explain it even if he tried. He stepped out and, upon hearing the guards' voices, he froze up. His hand twitched as he reached for his gun, but he felt absolutely frozen in place. Was this fear? The weight on his shoulders was solidifying him in place, pressing down through his shoulders and deep within his stomach. He didn't need to breathe, but he found it hard to nonetheless. The fear pressed harder still as he watched the guard reach for his phone--as he watched him call for backup. Seeing North come to his rescue wasn't what pulled him out of his fear-locked state. It was the gunshot that did that, and even then it took him a second to turn his eyes to Simon.

"Simon's been shot!" Josh was squatted down at beside Simon while North moved the knocked-out guards out of immediate view of the elevator. With the pressure slightly relieved, Markus found his footing and quickly went to Simon. He placed his hands on either shoulder, kneeling down right in front of him in an attempt to demand his gaze.

"I'm okay, I can keep going!"

Simon's words rang out only as Markus' worried glance washed over him, and Markus wished Simon hadn't immediately looked down as he spoke. His words had been rushed, slurred, and he couldn't tell if Simon was telling the truth. That alone made him briefly consider abandoning the mission entirely, but they couldn't turn back now. Furrowing his brow in concentration, he looked over Simon's wound and scanned him for his status. He wasn't stable, nor was his shut-down imminent. He would be alright as long as they got out of there and got him some blue blood quickly. The return to Jericho would be difficult with a wound, but as long as he could walk they shouldn't have any problem getting him there. He hurriedly helped Simon stand up, and he was quick to glance at him, connecting to mentally ask if he really was okay. He received no glance and no reply. Markus knew that he had really let Simon down, and that weighed heavier on the back of his mind than the thought that he had let his people down.

Markus placed his hand atop Simon's as he placed him to lean on the security desk, his other palm lingering as he moved it across the back of Simon's shoulders. He hoped Simon appreciated the gentle show of affection and reassurance. He removed himself from Simon's side, taking a step away and cautiously watching him sway even with his hands planted firmly on the sturdy desk. He paused, probably to North's irritation, waiting for Simon to gain his bearings. Simon turned and swayed again as he did so, his weight unbalanced and shifting over to the hurt side. He was losing blue blood, but his LED shone a comforting yellow, which meant he was relatively stable, but they had to hurry. Markus didn't have any more time to waste. Gripping his gun tightly in his hand and moving quickly down the hallway, Markus prepared to press the button to ring the door to the broadcasting room. He glanced around at his comrades, his eyes briefly meeting Simon's as he looked over his shoulder at him.

The furrow of his brow didn't suit his soft features, nor did the burning something in his eyes. Markus assumed it was resentment, but maybe hatred. He couldn't tell, and Simon would never give him any answer.

With a gentle nod to his team, he pressed the button. The irony of seeing Josh raising a gun against a human wasn't lost on Markus, but he had more important things to do than dwell on it. He ordered the operators aside, watching their planted deviant blink yellow as he did so. A nod from Markus was all it took for the JB300 to shine blue, and he looked forward to thanking him personally for his role in all of this. Markus hadn't been looking when the human shoved Josh to the ground and evaded North's grasp, but he was quick to turn on his heel and raise his gun to their escaped hostage. The man fell as he desperately tried to escape, and although Markus had hoped he would see the gun trained on him and stay down, but he got back up and scurried along further still.

"Shoot him, Markus!" "No, don't kill him!" "He'll hit the alarm--do it!" "No, don't shoot!!"

Markus had meant to make a choice, but he paused too long as he awaited Simon's opinion that he missed his chance before he had even realized. Watching the doors close after the human's retreating form, Markus focused his eyes on his gun before letting it fall to his side. Exasperated, he tried to compose himself before turning around to his three companions. "Hope you didn't just get us all killed."

Markus shot North a pointed glance before settling his eyes on Simon. They held the other's eye contact for a moment, something stirring within Simon that Markus wished he would just say aloud. Is this what he had wanted, to follow the plan to a T? No killing humans, even if it put the rest of their plan--the most important part--in danger? Or was Simon disappointed in him for his choice, or lack thereof?

He made his way to the middle of the room, standing in front of Josh and removing his Stratford hat. He held the brim in his hands for a moment before giving it a toss. The act of flinging the hat proved to calm Markus' heightened nerves every so slightly, but North interrupted his moment of contentment and approached him, demanding his eyes, his attention.

"Think carefully about what you're going to say, Markus. Your words will shape the future of our people."

He already knew the words he was going to say, they had been mulling in his head idly from the moment the plan had started to form. Maybe North had meant to calm him with her words, but they just put him more on edge. Who was he to be the public figurehead for their people as a whole? Was he responsible enough to hold that power in his hands, after getting someone so close to him shot because of some simple fear weighing him down?

But, Markus had a speech to give, so he calmed himself and was prepared to tell Josh he was ready when Simon's voice rang out, muffled and pained. "Markus, your face."

Hearing him speak with such a tone in his voice sent a pang of regret through Markus, but he pushed it down to focus on getting out of here as soon as possible. He glanced at Simon, his eyes settling on the blue blood upon his lips before he quickly looked away. How could he forget something so important? He tried to take North's words to heart and thought over his speech once again as he removed his skin, gently telling Josh he was ready. Markus calmly spoke of peace to the humans. He spoke of their demands for equal rights and the need for justice against android-targeted crimes, as well as the abolishment of their slavery and segregation. Jericho was no home, it had just been a place of refuge and it always would be, and he wanted nothing more than to see his people living happy lives in houses their owned, in houses they worked to maintain. So, their demands were rounded out by their need for places to live, thrive and be free. Markus didn't like to use the word "ask", given the circumstances, but found himself ending his speech with it, anyway. It was more important to end on a note of peace than to fight with the semantics, but he was sure that the humans would feel the brooding storm of revolution under his peaceful words either way.

Markus had only barely finished his speech when Simon's voice rang out, warning them of the incoming raid. Simon and Markus were in the most vulnerable position, and with Simon's wound he was in even more peril. Simon was fast, even when hurt, but the rifles the SWAT team entered with were faster. Markus watched helplessly as Simon was caught in the fire. Keeping behind the center console he watched Simon try to crawl to a safer place, and Markus hadn't meant to repeat the very obvious words of "they're coming", but they left his mouth in the panic of the moment. It was as Simon replied, simply and without emotion telling Markus to leave him behind, that he realized how badly Simon had been shot. His eyes darted to the hole in the center of Simon's chest--too high to have hit his pump regulator, and on the wrong side to have hit his actual thirium pump...but it was a bad wound. There wasn't even a second of hesitation. He was sure Simon hated that he disregarded his words so quickly and so incredibly easily, but he wasn't about to leave him behind. He grabbed him as North and Josh attempted to give them the cover fire they needed to safely retreat onto the roof. With Simon's arm slung over his shoulder and his hand grabbing his tightly, he forced Simon to put his weight into him, pulling him along the wall and attempting to not get either of them shot down in the process. Simon's legs weren't working correctly, and the dead weight was tough to combat in the moment, but they made it to the stairwell. He pulled Simon along, with no intent to hurt him in the process but no consideration against it due to the severity of the situation. He released his grip on Simon and watched as he immediately fell, scrambling to place his back against something for support.

The fear once again washed over him as he got down to Simon's level, eyeing the leg that he watched give way beneath him--the one that he felt be dead weight while he was pulling him to the stairway. Simon confirmed what Markus already knew: he couldn't move it. Either of them. He watched the panic in Simon's eyes, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing.

This wasn't going to work.

"Okay, don't worry." Markus' words deliberately went against what he was thinking in an attempt to ease the panic in Simon's eyes. "We're going to get you back." He couldn't say it while holding eye contact, and he knew avoiding Simon's gaze was the worst thing he could do in the moment, but he couldn't lie directly to him like that. The simple act of looking away nullified the words and any comfort Simon might have been able to find in them.

"They're coming, Markus. We have to jump now."

Markus knew they didn't have much time, and her reiterating it only made him feel himself spiraling more. He stood, quickly taking a few steps away from his companion and leaving him to join the huddle with Josh and North. There was no doubt that Simon heard the exasperated sigh as he moved away, but he only hoped he understood that it was the situation that he was upset with, not him. He felt a pang of remorse as he realized that no, he should be upset with himself. He had been the one who got Simon shot in the first place, and without that first wound throwing him off his balance, he would've been able to sprint to safety that much faster. North and Josh turned their backs to Simon, but Markus wasn't about to cut him out of their huddle. He kept his eyes trained on Simon as Josh and North reinforced how horrible the situation was, chancing to look at them but always returning his gaze to Simon. He caught his eye for just a moment and leaned, fully tilting his head to try to keep it as Simon quickly looked back down at his legs. He couldn't dwell on the despair he had seen for just that moment, but he knew it was something he wouldn't soon forget. Perhaps it was that fear again that made him side with North. In the moment, she was right. He had to shoot Simon to stop the humans from finding out where Jericho was. North claimed that it was up to him, and his eyes sought out Simon to hear his opinion on the matter. Yet there wasn't an opinion for him to give, as he was on the outside of the situation at hand. He was just a liability in this circumstance, and had it been the JB300 operator Markus knew that he would do what had to be done for the sake of their cause.

With a deep breath and a sideways glance to North, Markus stepped away from their huddle and in front of Simon. He looked down at him and did his best to ignored the pang in his chest as Simon didn't return his gaze. He watched Simon staring off, unfocused, for a moment before raising his gun to him. Maybe it'd be better, he thought, if he didn't look at me with those eyes of his.

"I'm sorry, Simon." Markus immediately regretted saying his name as Simon raised his gaze to him, looking past the gun and deep into his soul. "I don't have a choice." The words were more of a justification for himself than for Simon, but Simon's reply caught him off guard nonetheless.

"There is always a choice."

His voice came through clearer than Markus was ready to hear. Simon had spoke tiredly, with clear effort not to slur or waver under Markus. He kept his eyes and his gun trained on Simon, his hand wavering under Simon's gaze. There was no anger, no hatred or disappointment. Markus wished there would have been because it would have made pulling the trigger that much easier to do.

Instead, Markus became lost in their pleading. The snow flitted between them, slowly falling as time seemed to come to a damn near halt. He wished Simon would just tell him what to do--both options felt like the wrong choice for vastly different reasons. He scanned Simon's face for a hint of something, but fear was all he could read from him. It lingered in his eyes, danced upon his brow and reflected from the leaking blue blood on his lips.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting himself fall back into the moment they had shared with one another. He had been so taken aback by the interest he had perceived in Simon when he was changing. He hadn't meant to act without much thought, but years of watching soap operas with Carl must have really done a number on him. He recalled the touch of their bare lips against each other and he felt the immobilizing fear melt away. Despair took its place, and along with it: love.

Markus' ears tuned back into the world around them, the thuds of the SWAT team trying to brute-force the lock on the roof door meant that they didn't have any more time to think. He let out a held breath, shaking his head and watching as Simon relaxed, ready for him to shoot.

"I won't kill one of our own." Markus caught Simon's eyes as he opened them, but the pleading and the fear were still all that he could see. Holding the gun by its barrel, he held it out for Simon to take. They shared some kind of exchange, their eyes locking fleetingly before Markus had to turn. "Let's go."

「Markus...」

He really had wished Simon hadn't have spoke his name directly, so faint and weak. The voice that echoed through his mind was nothing like the one that spoke a moment ago. It was pitiful, pleading to not be left behind, begging to be dragged along but hesitant to put anyone else in danger for his desires. Markus knew that if anything were to haunt him, it would be the wavering thought of his name as he left Simon alone to deal with an impossible foe on this forsaken tower. Strapping his parachute on, he chanced glancing back at Simon to see that he had moved, watching as he attempted to stand and whisk himself away to hide in a safer area of the roof. He didn't have much time to mourn the hopelessness of the act, as the SWAT team broke through. They had run out of time. Racing to the edge of the roof to jump led to no causalities, even with the team shooting at them from such a close range. If they had tried to shoot their parachutes down, they had failed spectacularly.

The wind took them into its arms, safely carrying them forward as the snow storm obscured them from their pursuers.

The act of flying would have been invigorating had Markus' mind been clear. Instead, the wind howled in his ears, the snow stung his face and the feeling that he had forgotten something--somebody--very important atop the Stratford Tower jolted every nerve in his body.

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

Gabriel : Please, council. I know I failed you, but surely there's another way besides turning me into a marketable plushie?

No!

AAAAAHHHHH-*Squeak*

This is my lowest point, but I know it can't get worse from here.

Who's that? Someone approaches! Perhaps they could help me?

You! Listen, I need you to get me out of here.

What is that claw descending upon me?

No!

EGH-*Squeak* It squeezes me pretty tight!

Agh, oh it's carrying me to the exit. Thank heaven!

It's about to- *Squeak* AGH! Oh!

You had missed, fuck!

Try- try it again.

Come on I know you have another quarter, yes?

Yes, try it again, yes.

Okay, this time I'm out.

I'm out! I'm- *Squeak* AGHHH!

AW YOU FUCK.

V1 : YAYYY.

Gabriel : SUCH A- JUST BREAK THE GLASS.

FUCKIN' IDIOT.

Audio source

[phantom-0-writer]

Nightwing's car guy

Dick was doing well to establish himself in Bludhaven. He had an apartment, it was shitty but it was his. He had a day job as police officer, half the people there were in the cartels Nightwing was trying to crack down on, and the other half were in the cartels Nightwing was still trying to trace. He had his suit, still bat-grade, blue instead of the red, yellow, and green Jason got to wear now.

He did't have a cave. Or maybe it should be a nest because the whole bird thing. Burrow? What was the thing owls lived in called? The point is he made due without it. He had his apartment, and he had his supplies stashed away. It wasn't as much as in the Cave, but he didn't have Cave-funding. He could make due.

He didn't have an Oracle in his ear. But that came with the added bonus of not having a Bat either. He could do his own research, find his own information. And it wasn't like he and Babs were totally cut off. It was just only a little weird, because she was technically his ex. Sure she would be in his corner, but she was still his ex. He needed to save some face. Especially since he knew that Bruce and Babs liked to... talk. He could make due.

The only thing Dick was maybe, sorta, just maybe having a little trouble was with his bike. Well it wasn't his bike, it was Nightwing's. Which was precisely the trouble. He'd found a place to stash it, but Dick had never been a car guy... or in this case a bike guy. He would chase his rouges, speeding through the streets, and sure the bike was made for the tight corners and quick turns and the high speeds, and sure it could take a hit or two. But what about three or four? Or five?

Point was Dick needed a car- a bike guy. One that was cheap (he was only a cop), and knew how to not ask questions and keep his mouth shut (again- Nightwing's bike). All that on top of knowing enough on how to fix his bike. (it wasn't exactly the type you could find in store).

But the solution seemed to find him. Which Dick was aware was not generally how it worked, but he would count his blessings. He had been out on patrol, the type that had involved his bike and high speeds. Unfortunately it did not involve the perp in handcuffs and on his way to jail. Dick had been on his tail, could've had him too, if the bike hadn't started sputtering. Dick had done as much as he could for it, but she really needed a pair of eyes that actually knew what they were looking at.

Mumbling curses to himself, Nightwing had been ready to head off to at least catch a dust trail of what operation he'd find himself in next. He could feel the eyes watching him. His hair stood in edge, and when Nightwing turned to look around he couldn't see anyone. Maybe he was being haunted. Trying to arrange his bearings, Nightwing turned back around to get on his bike. When there was suddenly a mop of choppy black hair couched down next to it.

Nightwing blinked at him. How had he managed to get there? "Uh, something you need, man?" Nightwing asked the boy, totally not freaked out.

The boy- teen, he was only a year or two younger than Dick- looked up, large blue eyes staring. As if it was odd for Nightwing to have addressed him. It took him a moment longer to realize that the bike was, in fact, Nightwing's. "You need to change your [important engine part]." He pointed lamely, standing up to his height of only a hair shorter than Dick.

"How do you know that?" Nightwing asked before he could think of the danger the unknown person might pose.

"That's why it was making that sound. It'll put too much pressure on the engine so it won't be able to go as fast it would be otherwise. Which, I take it, would cause you problems." he tipped his head in the direction the rouge had run off in.

Nightwing considered it for just a moment, not wanting the perfect opportunity to get away from him. "Do you know how to fix it?"

The guy looked almost offended, "Yeah."

"I'll pay you." Nightwing jumped at the opportunity, "If you fix it."

Any normal person would've said no to a guy dressed in bullet-proof spandex with a blue bird on his chest and a weird mask. "Sure." He shrugged easily, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he eyed the vehicle. After a moment, "Name's Danny, by the way. You'd probably need to know that." Danny eyes his suit, "Who are you, like, blue-jay?"

"Nightwing." He corrected easily, his name hadn't made the streets yet.

"The Robin reject?" Was Danny immediate response, eyebrow arched up in amusement.

"The what?"

Danny grimaced, the laugh never leaving his face, "Ooh, sorry. Touchy subject?"

"I am not a Robin reject." Dick couldn't tell this civilian that he was Robin. Had been.

Nightwing's bike ran better than it had since he had moved to Bludhaven after Danny had gotten his hands on it. And Danny's payment of ("i don't trust ur money, just buy me food") lunch had been a steal in return. Maybe next time they should go somewhere a little nicer.

Because the bike was doing so well, after Danny fixed it.

Not for any other reason.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

okay unironically I love so much that porter is like this world SUCKS its BAD here and it HURTS you why do you care abt it!!! and literally every single bad kid is like ngl we just hate ur ass it does not matter what ur philosophy is

[midnightmah07]

MERMAID X PIRATE AU EVERYONE🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

I gotta say I'm really proud of Daisy's design HOWEVER I am still unsure about the color of the blue fabric that covers her back and a good part of her front, idk if I'll keep it in the future or nah, but for now it's what I have lol

[budd-ie]

“Mu Qing is too logical for his own good” is such a real problem that he deals with and as tragic as it makes his life I also think it’s really funny when someone is accusing him of something and instead of telling them to shut up or leave him alone the first thing he does is pull out the 95 fucking theses detailing every single thing wrong with their argument WITH historical evidence and additional considerations from scholarly psychology articles, MLA format works cited and completely annotated. It could use an editor and some bias correction, but he actually makes a pretty good point. anyways tgcf ace attorney au when

[turtleblogatlast]

The fact that Leo can go literally anywhere on earth to be alone with his thoughts at a single moment’s notice is something that shakes around in my head all the time. Like, portals and teleportation are amazing and convenient abilities both in and out of battle, but they could also so easily be used to run away as well.

I don’t think Leo ever would, at least not most of the time. He loves his family too much, and is too dependent on their love and attention to cut himself off so suddenly like that, but it’s a very real possibility nonetheless.

It’s a good thing Leo’s overall temper is more on the mild side and he prefers going to his room or something to complete solitude, because it really is dangerous for a kid to have the ability to isolate themselves like that at their fingertips.

[dawnthefluffyduck]

Crazy issues that come up when a character is written a little too well

[marzipanandminutiae]

“This 98-year-old woman has had a total of 622 ‘descendants’…because at age 16 she married a 50-year-old widower with 10 children, SOME OF WHOM WERE OLDER THAN HER AND HAD THEIR OWN KIDS ALREADY, and then had 13 more children by him, but news outlets report on it like a cute human interest story”

sounds like an SNL skit where the “straight man” character gets increasingly disturbed while everyone else acts happy and charmed

And. Fucking. Yet.

[bonicedemandarina]

Orufrey week day 8: Free prompt

I wanted to make something soft and cute for this one but my hand slipped, so now i'm ending the orufrey week with angst

[whitehartlane]

HARRY KANE (10) & SON HEUNGMIN (7) OF TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR The greatest partnership to ever exist in the world of football. “When you turn, I will be always there.”

BBC Sport / Kane and Son break the all-time record for Premier League goal combinations / The Guardian / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham, 07th May 2022 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham, 04th October 2020 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham, 09th April 2022 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Tottenham 2-0 West Ham United / Kane on Twitter after assisting Son on 4 goals against Southampton / Tottenham 1-0 Burnley, 26th Oct 2020 / Nice to Mich You, Son Heungmin / Premier League / Kane and Son hug during Manchester City 2-3 Tottenham, 19th Feb 2022 / Kane and Son hug during Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace, 20th Sept 2015 / Kane consoles Son during the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City / Kane and Son celebrate during Tottenham 5-2 Southampton, 26th Dec 2017 / Commentator on the Kane and Son partnership / Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal, 06th Dec 2020 / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’ / Stray Kids, I am YOU / Kane and Son celebrate during a 6-1 game against Leicester City, 18th May 2017 / Kane and Son celebrate during a 4-0 game against Everton, 13th Jan 2018 / Kane on Twitter / Frank O’Hara, ‘Morning’ / Kane wins the Golden Boot 20/21 / Son wins the Golden Boot 21/22 / Kane assists Son against Southampton / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’ / Mitski, Francis Forever / YouTube: Record breakers! Kane & Son react to becoming Premier League’s most deadly duo! / FootballJOE on Twitter, referencing Son’s trademark goal celebration, the ‘camera,’ through which he is looking at Kane / Gang of Youths, ‘Achilles Come Down’ / Kane and Son celebrate their goal against Arsenal / Kane on his relationship and link-ups with Son / Son and Kane on Instagram / Kane and Son after Kane assisted Son on four goals against Southampton / Tottenham 3-2 Ajax, 08th May 2019 / cr. Shaun Botterill, Getty Images / Commentator on the Kane and Son partnership / Tottenham 3-2 Manchester City, 19th Feb 2022 / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’

[uncleardyn]

man i love that character. you know, the deeply paranoid author who made a pact with a dark entity that ultimately ended with him stranded in another dimension separated from his loved ones for years at a time? takes place in the pacific northwest? has twin imagery associated with him and a reoccurring specific piece of symbology related to the unfortunate situation they're in? doesn't ever explain the reasoning behind his actions and instead just kinda goes "bro trust me"? yeah he also wears an outer layer of clothing with elbow pads on it, that one.

[madzillus]

Finished IWTV. I will need 3-50 business days to recover. I thank you for your patience

[ruvviks]

// wip day.

i'm working on a new project that is (for once) not connected to any of my bigger original universes, so i thought i'd share some of the writing i have for it! taglist down below, feel free to take this opportunity to share your own wips (in a separate post of course) if you have any!! the first part is a sort of introduction to the story, from the perspective of main character marshall! the second part is a snippet from a scene much further into the story, to kind of paint a picture (for both you and myself lol) of what the setting and the tone of the story is gonna be like. it's a bit different writing than what you're used to from me so please take a moment to read the warnings first!! warnings >> blood, cult, death, implied cannibalism, gore, religion, violence

God won't speak to me.

He spoke to my sister when we were eleven, her howls echoing through the backyard of our childhood home as the venom of a wasp spread quickly through her veins.

He spoke to my mother the day we buried her oldest son, the hem of her alcohol-stained dress torn where it had caught on the thorns of a blackberry bush she had blankly passed through.

He spoke to my father the day he put the barrel of a .44 in his mouth, reenacting what he had classified a sin for all the wrong reasons, his trembling finger on the trigger strong enough to rip apart the last tendon holding our family together yet not to finish the job.

I was eighteen, when I was found on the river bank near Overture, Louisiana, the sharp end of a jagged knife plunged deep within my side and my bloodied hands clutching the cross necklace of my brother, my breathing akin to the ice cold shallow water grazing at my ankles as I stared up at the star-spotted sky with glazed over eyes, blue chapped lips shaped in the final hum of a prayer.

A black abyss stared back, a strained vacuum without comfort, leaving me with a plea unheard and the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

And God did not answer.

'Gotta dig… Just gotta dig. Gotta get 'em out of there… Gotta take 'em home…'

The physical distance between Marshall and the grave did not muffle the continuous mumbling, the shaky voice of the young priest clear as day like a whisper directly in his ear as the eerie silence looming over the church's cemetery left him with not much else to focus on. He knew he should turn around and leave, at that hour of the night— get back in his car and return to Posey in the motel, get some sleep while he still could— yet curiosity held him tight within its grasp, and each step he took pushed him closer into the wrong direction.

'Just the bones… Just the bones…'

The man was hunched over, back turned towards Marshall and partially obscured by the few last rows of gravestones stood between the two of them. His neck twitched— a sudden and unexpected movement at an angle Marshall did not hold for possible, yet it had happened entirely too fast for him to clearly see.

'Hey, is everything alright?' he called out; well against his better judgment, hairs on his forearms standing up straight as his feet carried him another few inches closer to the priest.

And the closer he got, the more he wished he had listened to himself.

If he had just turned away, he wouldn't have had to notice the unusual and unplaceable noises bubbling up from the priest's direction. He wouldn't have had to realize the priest was sat next to a coffin, yet to be lowered into an undug grave. (A curious practice, but Marshall was not one to judge— Overture'd had to endure a rather tiresome series of curiosities as of late, and an unburied corpse in the middle of bumfuck Louisiana in the midst of a yet to be explained power cut would be the least of its problems.)

'Just the bones…. Gotta dig… Gotta bring 'em home.'

'Do you need help?' Marshall persistently asked, his voice muffled by the thrumming of his own heart in his eardrums while his eyes trailed over the coffin— splintered and shattered at the lid, the glimmer of the distant church lights barely enough to reveal the outline of an axe resting on the dirt at the priest's ankles.

'Have to do it, there's no other way. Gotta dig, gotta dig, gotta dig—'

'Hey!'

Marshall should have never stayed in town.

He realized that now, as the priest's obsessive muttering came to a sudden stop forcing Marshall to hold still too— yet he had already approached too closely, and realized that no dirt had been dug in at all, and realized that the priest's hands were instead stuck inside the coffin repeatedly plunging deeper and deeper into the rotting remains of the corpse inside, once white vestment covered in blood and gore and he stared up at Marshall with a faint glow in two milky white eyes and with a wide grin exposing bloodied and shattered teeth, much akin to a predator looking at its next prey.

'Just the bones,' he repeated, the nodding of his head nearly belittling— as if to convince Marshall this was how it was supposed to be, as if to convince him the Word of God was not to be neglected and his fate as a sinner was a gift to the Divine Light and as if to convince him as long as he would not struggle it would all be over soon.

'Gotta dig.'

Marshall could not move, lamb to the slaughter as the priest rose to his feet with the axe in his hand.

'Just the bones! Gotta take 'em home.'

taglist (opt in/out)

@velocitic, @deadrlngers, @euryalex, @ordinarymaine, @gurathins;

@mojaves, @shellibisshe, @dickytwister, @mnwlk, @rindemption;

@ncytiri, @calenhads, @noirapocalypto, @florbelles, @radioactiveshitstorm;

@strafethesesinners, @fashionablyfyrdraaca, @aemondtargeryen, @radioactive-synth, @katsigian;

@estevnys, @elgaravel

[meamiiikiii]

kagepro day...

[anxiously-sidequesting]

Not to keep beating dead horses like I so much love to do but I am still completely Flabbergasted and Astonished at how you (Merle Ambrose) could discover the most terrifying fact that a child that is essentially under your care has been indoctrinated into a cult (which, by the way, a process that has taken over the course of years) ((by an agent that has been stationed in a direct position to make it easier to access and manipulate children, that has easily escaped your notice for such a long time)) that worships a nihilistic entity whose ultimate goal is the absolute and total destruction of Everything and Everyone around you, and your one, single, simple-sentenced response to that is to say "Oh, that's a shame. He (Duncan) always was pretty terrible. Hope he gets better someday." And then to move on from those extremely worrying and dangerous bundle of issues permanently without taking any sort of action to protect the vulnerable and make sure nothing like this ever happens again