#can't believe he's selling his worms like that

[tiredela]

mannimarco's spiced space worms

[ashs-nerd-den]

Gearrscannán ar YouTube

Short films on YouTube

(Don't worry, everything has English subtitles in the videos themselves)

Fán https://youtu.be/e3xnvkMp_1Q?si=i-4pmljDbzA8bRtu

Created by the incredible @nibmoss, an absolute queen (Bánríon). It is a short sapphic story about 2 best friends who end up together and it is my favourite short story ever!!! It is also my favourite piece of Irish media in existence!!! I love it!!! It is incredible!!! BEYOND AMAZING!!!

Yu Ming is ainm dom https://youtu.be/JqYtG9BNhfM?si=jnZjP4LozqOhNxkI

This is a classic. Ive had 4 different teachers show me this over the years, and my first year Irish class studied it exam style. It was the first piece that we studied and everyone LOVED it, people were quoting it all the time. Every second conversation had someone using a line from it. It's a crows pleaser and simple to listen to even without the subtitles provided. It also has a great storyline about a man who is fed up with his life in China and learns Irish to move over here, and well (bhuel) , I won't spoil the plot twist for you

Lipservice https://youtu.be/4QP0eEhhTSo?si=1DLvo_ECRhwGI5s8

It's the day of the oral exams and everyone is terrified (bhí imní an domhain ar gach duine), people are rehearsing in the bathrooms and speaking French instead of English, the stuff that half of them come out with is absolutely gas, this one is such a bit of craic, I was in stitches. And the bit at the end is so sweet. Is breá liom an gearrscannán seo agus beidh mé mo scrúdú béil i dhá bhliain 🙈🙈🙈 (I loved this short film and I've my speaking test in 2 years🙈🙈🙈

Filleann ar feall https://youtu.be/Tay7eMxas2k?si=q3ksVJVYJ7E_xxoa

IT'S CILLIAN MURPHY AG CAINT AS GAEILGE!!! You can't beat a bit of Cillian, he's a national treasure. And this is 2000 Cillian, he's so young (this was before I was born) he's in the Gaeltacht for his holidays with a grumpy friend, on a job to sell some Putchín, and he is everyone's favourite sweetgeart, a bit of a himbo, and a respecter of old ladies. Agus deir duine sa sna tuairimí (a person in the comments said that it's like Breaking bad, but with an Irish teacher that instead of a chemistry one (I've never seen Breaking Bad, so I don't know how true that is, but I do know that this was AR FHEABHAS!!!

Rúbaí https://youtu.be/jjYx5v2BUWo?si=tFu1ektBvHNkoQFB

This is a short story about a little girl (cailín beag) who's class is about to make their 1st Holy Communion, but she doesn't believe in God (ní creideann sí i nDia). She's everyone is trying to convince her that god is real and she's just like "nope, read a bit of Darwin, he's great, I'm off to collect worms", even to the priests face and towards the end there's a bitter sweet twist which gives a LOT of background. This was a nice, easy watch, the little girls was so cute, there were a couple of laughs (cúpla gáire) and the vocab was nice and simple

Gaiste https://youtu.be/Xr-V7vg_Y2Q?si=cMMNqPLkmtugbg8t

Very simple vocab, good message, kind of like a fable, big "One of us is Lying" vibes. Nice short film overall

Fíorghael https://youtu.be/t3Kv4fZ2SOE?si=bHibiFJyRUcvZ-TZ

This ones a bit older, but it's still a good bit of craic. You need to wait a couple of minutes to get into it, but the end is brilliant (Caithfidh tú cúpla nóiméad a fanacht chun dul isteach ar, ach tá an chríoch go hiontach)

Sylvia https://youtu.be/fi_4aweOP4w?si=ZCfUAfYaD73IVn8r

There are plot twists, and then there plot backflips, this was the later. This is so weird, but I really enjoyed it at the same time

Ciúnas https://youtu.be/cGfuQ-HeTmk?si=WRPGmo-UNQ0bw9mA

There's not much dialogue, but all of it is very casual, so you still get to pick up a few words that you wouldn't find in a textbook. The storyline is quite sweet, but please be careful watching because it although it centres around her family's love for her, it is set on the way home from the hospital after she tried to end her own life

[sunnyseungup]

Skz reactions / headcanons / texts | fic recs 5

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Masterlist

[ updated 240726]

Sfw

Them accidentally pissing their crush off @svngiem-remade

Making up with them after a fight @blue-jisungs

Pranking them with another members sweater @silv3rswirls

Skz having their tummies’ kissed by you @svngcore

Stray Kids Most to Least: House Husbands @kiestrokes

When you have plushies @cheeseceli

You speak another language @/cheeseceli

Ribbon,Bicep,trend!! @jz12luvscl16

Nsfw

Favourite time and place to eat you out (maknae line) @becomingmina

Someone walking in on you @/luvyeni

How they are when they eat you @roseykat

Kisses @bbyquokka

Morning wood @/notsosweetchan

how often will skz and y/n have sex? @seungisms

Texts

I should call him… @skzfairyyydreamz

He accidentally spoils the proposal @sunboki

You’re on a business trip and they’re clingy little babies @giddyfatherchris

Random bf texts @pretty-blkgirl

Skz try to check up on you @thevampywolf

Can you peel an orange for me @channie-143

Skz try to flirt with you @/thevampywolf

“Skz as texts I’ve exchanged with my friends” @markiv3

Skz road trip @starrgaziinggg

Asking them if they believe in love @/thevampywolf

I’m not jealous @daaawnnn

Selling my boyfriend (smau) @luvyeni

Sending them a nude and then saying wrong person @imagine-a-life-like-this

You autocorrect “love” to “hate” on his phone @jinhyun

You got into a stranger’s car because they offered you chocolates @lixie-phoria

How skz would confess to you over text @1025flora

Random texts @cinnamostar

“Would you still love me if i was a worm?” @imagine-a-life-like-this

“Would you still love me if i was a worm?” @ft-3racha

Skz as your doordasher texts @taetr4ck

Princess treatment @wegc

What position y’all in ? @/luvyeni

Finding your tumblr account @/luvyeni

Skz ask you out on a date @/thevampywolf

Cancelling on bff!skz [valentine’s day edition] @jinnify

jealous, jealous, jealous, boy! @diddybok

STRAYKIDS FINDING OUT YOU CAN'T CUM @/luvyeni

bff skz finds out you read fan fics about them @snowyquokka

maknae line — crushing on their member @shoverse

↬"would you kiss the most beautiful person in the world for $1,000,000?" @/jinhyun

Sugar Daddy Stray Kids Hyung Line Maknae Line @thefantasyden

drunk texting stray kids @bbyquokka

"Could you pick it out of a lineup?" Hyung Line @/thefantasyden

"What position y'all in" @/thefantasyden

random skz text @/cinnamostar

Best friend Stray Kids knowing you had a bad day without you needing to tell him @bluejutdae

Random texts with BFF!SKZ Part 2 @/feelbokkie

Texting Skz “Happy Anniversary” Maknae Line @pretty-blkgirl

They dont want to be clingy @charmerchannie

'HE SAID HE LIKES CRAZY GIRLS' @/luvyeni

Easter Baskets from BF!SKZ @/feelbokkie

Drunk text with Stray Kids Maknae Line @/thefantasyden

random boyfriend texts @/thefantasyden

skz forgot your birthday @/snowyquokka

“there’s a man in my bed” @/sunboki

Jealous Stray Kids Texts @/thefantasyden

stray kids being bratty Hyung line Maknae line @crazyco0tz

"So this is how victorian men felt seeing ankles for the first time" @charmerchannie

Note: please let me know if the links are not working! I will try to fix them as soon as possible ^^

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Where Are We Going? (And Where Have We Been??)

@littlemissartemisia @tmntaucompetition

Prev || Next

Dee-Dee -- er, Donatello took Misa to a small side desk in the far corner of the room while April and Karai took the three boys into the bathroom to wash their faces and brush their teeth.

Misa was so confused and nervous. She wasn't sure why she felt so anxious about this whole situation. It was only Donnie... It was just "DvD". Huh. She'd forgotten that nickname...

"Alright then, Misa, sit down," he instructed. His voice was stern, commanding, but not at all scary like she'd figured he would be. He seemed pretty steamed when he'd first seen her.

Misa sat down at the corner of a bed, while DvD got the chair out from the desk and turned it around, sitting the wrong way down on it so that he could rest his arms on the back, his legs dangling out from the edges.

"So," he said, pure exhaustion in his voice, "How. Did. This. Happen."

"I don't know," she responded. "Last thing I remember, I was with my dads --"

"Wait, what? What do you mean, 'last I remember'? You were here with us the whole time."

Misa stared at him.

"...No, I wasn't. I was home with Hypno and Warren, we were getting ice cream, when suddenly a pink cloud exploded around me and then I was here!"

Donnie's eyes went wide. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to understand.

"Okay, so either you just somehow... got pulled through time, or the magic that turned you into an adult transformed your memories to fit accordingly. Which means you're either a time-traveler, or a precognitive clairvoyant. Both are equally terrifying and incredible."

Misa swallowed, her fingers twiddling as she looked around the room.

"Where... where are we?" she finally asked.

"The TMNT AU Competition. More specifically, the apartments they give to the contestants. Do you... remember that?"

Misa thought hard.

"I... kind of remember the competition. It was this big arena, right? Lots of stalls and stands selling all kinds of stuff, and people giving out gifts, and the med ward where I met --" she froze, suddenly remembering it all. "Mikey. I met Mikey in the med ward. I gave him..."

Her hand went down to the friendship bracelet on her wrist. It was old and frayed, the colours were slowly fading, but she wore it every day. Even after she'd forgotten who she'd given the other bracelet to. She made so many and gave away so many as a kid, she couldn't keep track after a few years. But each one had signature colours, and this one was a mix between bright orange and cotton candy pink.

"...I gave him a friendship bracelet and 'adopted' him. I forgot that, I can't believe I forgot that." She smiled before her eyes started to sting with tears. She looked up at DvD. "Why did you leave me?"

"What are you referring to?" he asked, obviously confused. "Misa, you've been with us the entire time!"

"I... what? No, I told you, I--"

"Based on what you've told me, from your perspective you left the competition and went back to your own home dimension?"

"Well, yes!" she exclaimed. "Most of my early childhood is kind of a blur... hopping from one dimension to the other... but I did go back to my own world, where I was taken in by Warren Stone and Hypno Potomus! They raised me, pretty much."

"You mean... that mutant hippo and the worm guy? I think I remember them from my universe..."

"Yeah, Hypno took me in to help me learn how to control my powers."

"What powers?" Donnie asked, eyes wide as he stood up suddenly. "You never said you had any powers!"

"You didn't know?"

"No! Of course not! Obviously not!" DvD calmed himself down, smoothed out his shirt, and sat back down. "You were four years old... possibly you didn't know that you had abilities, or more likely you just didn't think to tell us. Perhaps you purposefully didn't tell us..."

"Has it really been nine years?" Misa wondered out loud. Wow. So much could change and be forgotten in only nine years...

"So you're thirteen now?" DvD asked.

"Yup."

"You're the same age as Mikey is-- was."

Misa looked up in fear.

"Was?? What happened to Mikey?"

"Didn't you see the kids go into the bathroom?"

"THAT was MIKEY?!" she yelled, standing up and looking back to the door, behind which three toddlers were getting ready for bed. "He's... he's teensy! What happened to him?!"

"The exact opposite of what happened to you," Donatello said with irritation, as he slapped his face and slid his hand down his face.

"That doesn't explain much..."

"I suppose not. Basically, there's been a weird epidemic of people being turned into different ages. So far, it turned Leon, 'Phael, and Mikey into 7, 6, and 4-ish years of age. Apparently, it turned you into a 13 year old."

"That's weird."

"No weirder than a talking mushroom with a musical fetish."

"OH MY GOSH, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!" she laughed. "I thought I dreamt that up!!"

DvD smiled softly as she cackled at the crazy memories.

She could just barely catch the dark circles under his eyes, the weak hold he had on that fragile smile. When she was a kid, she remembered seeing him and thinking he was kind of scary or grumpy all the time... Lee-Lee Leo had called him 'Grumples' once, didn't he? But she remembered seeing him sometimes with a wide grin and strange smile. He would say funny things about arson and world domination. While she hadn't understood it at that age, it made her giggle. She smiled at the memory...

"So your brothers are basically toddlers now?"

"OUR brothers, yes."

Misa smiled.

Well, at least one thing never changed. Once a family, always a family.

She had assumed that because they'd never visited her world, that meant maybe they hadn't cared after all, or they'd forgotten her. But that didn't seem to be the case after all... if anything, it might have been the other way around.

"So... we should probably catch each other up to speed, hmm?" Donnie suggested.

"I guess so..."

"Alright then, you start."

Misa began giving him the gist of her life, her abilities, her friends and family and the many adventures she'd been on during her 'absence'. Donnie filled in some details about their situation afterwards, how the pink mist had transformed their little brothers into little-er brothers, and even helped fill in the blanks from some other memories, such as Karai's arrival, the fear fungus, the other competitors that met her, and so on. After a few minutes, Karai and April took the boys out of the washroom.

Misa couldn't help but stare at the boys. Mikey was all smiles, and had to be held back to keep him from running up to her and slamming into her knees for a hug. Raph looked at her with curiosity, but held onto April's leg with desperation. Leon just simply glared at her, half-hiding behind April and Karai.

"Hi, guys!" she said with a smile, kneeling down on the floor to get closer to their height.

Mikey wriggled himself free and pounced on her, giggling like a madman as he wrapped himself around her like a monkey.

"Meezie!"

She laughed at that nickname. The vaguest of memories came back, of a tiny toddler in rags calling her that...

"Is it really Misa?" Karai asked. She hadn't apparently witnessed the transformation, having been in the kitchenette making some tea.

"Yep. It's her," Dee said with a nod.

Leon grumbled angrily.

"Traitor..."

"Leo, be nice," April rebuked.

Raph slowly meandered out from behind the teenage girls and crept towards her.

"Misa? How'd ya get so big?"

"Magic, apparently," she said, rubbing the back of Mikey's shell. He was still clinging onto her.

"Stupid, bad magic," Leon grumbled again.

"Aw, c'mon Lee-Lee, I'm the same as before! Just... taller."

"You're a stinky grownup now," he said, crossing his arms and pouting. "You're a traitor."

"You'll have to grow up one day too, ya know."

He pouted again, hot tears in his eyes. Tears? Oh, he wasn't mad that she 'betrayed' him and grew up. What was he mad about?

"I don't wanna be a stinky grownup. They're mean."

Misa slowly recalled his adverse reaction to Raphael when he'd first been turned into a tot. He hadn't even trusted Mikey when he saw him! He'd said something about... what was it, a mean place? The orphanage! He'd grown in an orphanage. With mean adults... and now Misa was an 'adult'. So to him, did it correlated that since she was now a grownup, she was automatically going to be mean to him, just like all the others. He thought she was a 'traitor'...

Misa tried to smile at him, to reassure him that she wasn't going to betray him or hurt him. Leo refused to meet her eyes.

"Hey, I promise that I'm not a stinky grownup," she said, scooting closer to him. "You're still my big brother, okay?"

Misa held out her pinky to him. He eyeballed it with concern, trying to decide whether or not to trust her... Well, if he could trust Miss Karai and Miss April... he could trust Misa again, right?

He wrapped his pinky around hers.

"Okay, big sister."

[lakesbian]

thinking meanderingly about early worm undersider sitchuations to procrastinate actually collecting the lisa meangirl moments i told myself i would collect before continuing to reread worm. it's so sad how taylor (for obvious insecure reasons) is like Ah....Confident collected teenagers who hang out and are cool...upon witnessing the undersiders but they're all very much experiencing their own forms of slowly building lonely misery. rachel having been homeless & victimized by the legal system for years on end, brian trying 2 prop up his Special Professional Masculine Boy Man Who Can Handle Everything lifestyle by regularly putting himself in life-threatening danger, lisa going on a year and a half of forced service and lying to her teammates face that everything is normal every day, and alec having just escaped from a ridiculously abusive cult, still unable to start processing, healing, or forming any close social connections. lisa particularly is so . Augh. here. because she knows all of this, she can't not know it, and she is still so desperate 2 save taylor that she tries to sell her the complete lie of the undersiders lives just being happy fun times where they make easy money and then go out for burgers together. so so shortsighted in a way that reads to me as an immature & desperate reminder that she is Very Fifteen. she is fifteen and having a bad time :(. & the shift in group dynamics post-leviathan isn't just a result of leviathan forcibly stripping away the city's/narrative's ostensible pretenses wrt capedom--the pretenses lisa wants taylor to believe--it's a result of taylor really starting to probe into what's actually going on w/ the undersiders + connect w/ them in a way that will ultimately b life-altering for them. (except for alec, who remains a Silly Background Guy for so much longer because taylor is not paying attention to him, and is juuust as lonely as always right up until he finds aisha to latch onto)

[steddielights]

*steve and eddie listening to music lying on the bed*

eddie: i have a question for you, i promise not to judge your answer

steve: tell me

eddie: would you love me if I were a worm?

steve: what?

eddie: that, if you would love me if i were a worm

steve: what are you talking about?

eddie: answer me

steve I don't know, I mean...

eddie: come on it's a yes or no question

steve: but why would you ask that?

eddie: because you are always saying that you love me in all the universes, lives, etc. So there you go

steve: i mean i know i said that but if you were a worm i'd probably kill you because i don't like them and... *steve looks at his boyfriend's eyes* eddie?

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

robin: so you're telling me he asked you if you would love him if he was a worm

steve: yes

robin: and you said no

steve: yes

robin: so he got mad

steve: obviously

robin: this is amazing *can't contain laughter*

steve: I'm in a panic here I would appreciate a little help *looks at her badly*

robin: I'm sorry! I just can't believe a metalhead who sells drugs would get mad over something like that

steve: you know what, i better go

robin: nope! ok, I'm going to help you, buy him flowers, you said?

steve: yes

robin: and chocolates?

steve: yes

robin: ok

steve: ok

robin: fine

steve: fine

[brothersonahotelbed]

hiiiii happy dff <3 Would John love Dean if he was a worm? OR (if you prefer a serious question) Was selling his soul to the demon that he'd been hunting for the last 22 years, half a lifetime, John's first resort for saving Dean? What was his thought process there? Was it instinctive and out of love or did he think Dean had a better chance of killing the demon and saving Sam than he did?

hi angel <33 so here are my thoughts.

the relationship between john, his family, and hunting is equal parts obsession and equal parts love. he's obsessed with killing azazel, obsessed with protecting sam & dean. everything in his life for the past 2 decades has been about those 2 things. but this obsession only came about because of john's love for his family. like. do i think asking dean to take on the responsibility of both killing the demon and protecting sam once john sacrificed himself was fucked up? yeah! do i think john's obsession with hunting has damaged dean & sam in unique but equally traumatic ways? absolutely. but...do i think john would have done this purely out of obsession? no. despite it all i can't help believing that what john did was done primarily out of love for his boys. it's ... complicated.

john sold his soul and passed down his burdens and responsibilities to dean because john couldn't live with the possibility that sam could die in front of him, that sam or dean could die at all even after he did everything he could to protect them. so john chose to die in order to save himself that pain. and, at the same time, he knew dean would be able to handle it.

i think john's thought process was something like this: he had already done enough damage to his boys. sam had grown up without a mother, their family was ridden with secrets, dean was becoming as obsessed with hunting as him (john could see dean morphing into a version of himself as he grew older; it was freaky and saddening), and sam's relationship with his father was definitely less than ideal. among other things! but the chance that his sons might die trying to execute this mission, this mission that was started by john himself? the possibility that despite doing everything he could to save them, john might have to walk the earth carrying the weight of his dead sons with him, knowing he failed as a father, as a husband? he couldn't bear to do that. so he sold his soul, chose to die, and left his work in dean's hands with the hope that dean could be a better man than his him – to actually protect his family like john had failed to do by getting them all into this "family business."

so.... it's obsession, it's love, and it's cowardice. a lot of cowardice, i think, but only because he loves his sons too much to watch either of them die. i don't doubt that john himself could have taken out azazel successfully and still kept sam & dean alive, but the way john saw it, there would always be that possibility that he might fail, and it would cost him the only family he had left. at least by putting dean in charge of protecting sam, and both of them in charge of killing the demon while john went to Hell, he would be saving himself the possibility of failure. and of grief.

still though. kinda fucked up!

also!! yes i do think john would still love dean if he were a worm. but i don't think john would ever say that<3

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 66 - worms...

Featuring the voice of Mara Wilson as The Faceless Old Woman.

We all lie dreamily upon damp earth spotting clouds shaped like animals we have yet to invent. Welcome to Night Vale.

NV is suffering from an infestation of worms, as it did 12 years ago. They're doing all of the 'usual worm things': flying around and dropping trees onto cars and houses, spitting venom as well as eating stray cats and then leaving large, mewling pellets all about town. They've completely enveloped the Rec Center annex, which iwas holding a Continuing Education Course: Counter-Terrorism Techniques for Beginner.

City Council, initially classifying the crisis on a warning scale as 'worms...' updates it to 'Worms!!' which isn't as bad as 'WORMS' but has the potential to be as destructive as the WORMS! (and twice underlined) outbreak of 1997.

The SSP are too busy with the worms to deal with trying to find Hiram or the FOW, who are still at large. Cecil recounts in third person how they have tried to harm Dana several times, resulting in him being puppetted into her helping her. He continues, in third person, to express how he still believes she bought him in the aunction and has been using him to help her without asking. 'Frank Chen' says he saw Hiram flying far away so Hiram is absolutely not still in NV. Eventually the worms are beaten back by the SSP armed with flamethrowers.

Cecil however, has been distracted from the worms problem due to really wanting to see Carlos. He laments openly about how it's weird that people can't go into the dog park and openly admits he wants to try and break into it so he can go and visit Carlos.

The FOW appears in Cecil's radio booth and seems eager to both absolve herself and Hiram and to get Cecil out of NV so he won't save Dana. She disguises this as wanting to help and tells him how he will have a dream from which he will wake and be told how to get into the dog park.

He then receives a black envelop from Station Management with a glyph on it which scares him into thinking he's in trouble for questioning the dog park being forbidden. He instantly apologises for doing so, but Station Management tells him that he misread the glyph. The glyph on his envelop is the abbreviation for human resources, who have approved his vacation. They then show him the actual glyph which means what he thought the first one meant and he falls unconscious for 'some time'. During which he receives the message about getting into the dog park as foretold by the FOW.

Weather: "Little Black Star" by Hurray for the Riff Raff http://hurrayfortheriffraff.com

After years of trying, NV is finally allowed to have a Book Club. It will be run by Tamika Flynn at Patty's Hardware & Discount Pastries (“Shop at Patty’s! They’ll never suspect a thing!,” Patty shouts in the looped recording playing from her perpetually squirming animatronic statue out front of her flagship store) Tuesdays from 2-4 pm.

Spring League tryouts are being held from 10am to 2pm 'next Saturday' with volunteer coaches Betty Lucero and Lusia Tereshchenko. There is a joke here hinting at the ridiculous idea of assigning kids into teams based purely on their dispositions which directly parodies the house sorting mechanic in the HP series. Coach Tereshchenko died over 150 years ago and is now a ghost.

Craigslist in NV apparently just sells your things to random people without your consent. Citizens by the name of Denise Esposito, Sally Jansen, Mario Landis and Pedro Reyna are mentioned.

It seems that Cecil did indeed get the voicemails and describes Kevin vaguely as a 'colleague? acquaintance? nemesis?'.

Cecil expresses that sometimes he becomes weary of NV itself, likely because of events that put him in danger or take over him to help others and other such things which leave him in constant danger and anxiety.

I'll be back. Whenever. Refreshed. You'll know when. It'll be when you hear my voice again. Stay tuned next for… I don’t know. Anyway, time for vacation! Good night, Night Vale. [sound of headphones coming off; maybe a mic bump] [calling off mic; leaving the studio] GOOD NIGHT! Woo hoo!

Proverb: When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true, but - because of distance - not for millions of years.

[cosmicangst]

olympia soiree review after 100%-ing the game... general consensus of my brain worms is that the premise, its themes, the japanese cultural context, and the lore are its biggest strengths. but it needed a heavy editing hand. writers gotta trust their audience more bc we really do not need flashbacks to a thing that happened three minutes ago. it just felt like some great solid bits that were bundled up way too much w superfluous padding. as such the pace suffered and what should have been devoted to developing further why byakuya and her li would fall in love is spent on filler and revisiting info we already know

the spiciness and the sheer romance of the cg scenes are so good but sometimes it was whiplash when byakuya and her li were suddenly in soulmates mode. the individual scenes were chefs kiss but the relationship development overall felt less earned which made those scenes less impactful than it should have been. i know it's just the two weeks but cmon ive been sold less believable absurdity in less that time

anyway in terms of each route:

himuka - tbh he really didn't leave a lasting impression besides his place in the lore. my fave thing is his character design and i spent most of the route pretending this was a yuri game lmao i think his was the one where i rly questioned why byakuya fell so hard and fast (and she does that in every route but his especially i was like.... but why are you suddenly so ride or die??)

tokisada - cute! but im not typically a fan of the little bro type. when he talks about walking into the ocean tho i did cry 😢 his bad ending main menu speech is so good. i love it when men break down despondently 😌

yosuga - loved him up to That Scene. i love possessive dubcon stuff in otome but this was a character who was established to be someone who prioritizes consent and safety for the female citizens of yomu so it just seemed so out of left field and uncharacteristic. did enjoy the hades and persephone analogue vibes tho

riku - such a fan of this nerd. for some reason i felt his angst more than i did the others perhaps bc his biggest obstacle in returning byakuya's love was his own self. rly related to his desire and anxiety to live up to other people's standards and his general ineptness in romantic situations. bc it often ends w byakuya being the most forward one which i always enjoy whenever the mcs take the lead in otome. had fun w him but he and byakuya felt the most whiplash along w himuka

kuroba - enjoyed his personality for most of the game and was honestly thrown off that he ended up being the most yandere of the bunch. which is interesting considering the reveal of who his birth father actually is. was not a huge fan of how they treated sexual assault in this route. like i intellectually understand why the good ending is like that but they rly should have let that motherfucker choke. handkerchief callback was adorable tho

akaza - BIG FAN of bbq dad. his was the one i was looking forward to the most bc he was the one byakuya was the most resistant in giving a chance. and im just a sucker for decent men who give off a bad first impression bc they take things too seriously. i love his insistence of asserting himself and byakuya as singular entities and not bound by the fate of their roles which is a deft way of tying the relationship with the game's overall themes. his route felt the most believable in selling why they're compatible and why they fell in love because they went to intentional multiple dates where it truly felt like they were learning about each other. i would have liked some room to explore his faults and fears outside of byakuya but i enjoyed his route the most so i can't complain too much

other scattered thoughts

the short stories are great esp the memoirs by the supporting cast. made me appreciate them more bc it gave them nuance and complexity

SHURA 🥰 complicated women my loves. wish tho that her bitterness against byakuya wasn't also rooted in her infertility. not that the motivation is inherently bad but as one of the few female dynamics byakuya has it isn't great

hairi devolving to villainy was understandable but disappointing. wish tho that there was one character based in yomu who wasn't on byakuya's side but wasn't also a villain either.

douma reveal just doesn't sit right in the end like they're trying to establish this grumpy dad vibe when douma spent the majority of the games not just being grumpy and stoic but actively being an asshole and almost resentful

kanan i was generally annoyed with until i got through the bad endings and read his memoir and i did a complete 180 on him. earnestly really enjoy this asshole now and i find him fascinating as a villain

tsukuyomi's memoir is my absolute fave "now i water the cherry tree" just the existential resignation of it all....

don't have much thoughts on the obvious allegory and how it explores oppression as a theme namely bc im missing the cultural and historical framework w my largely western lens and i think context here is absolutely imperative to do this justice

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

I took time to watch the first season of “All Work No Play”

And then, after that, because a) I have no self-control b) I felt like I was missing on a lot of stuff c) I just could listen to Sam and Liam fuck around and talk about themselves and their lives for forever ??? d) I saw a Tumblr post detailing the facts we learn on the original “All Work No Play” episodes and just could not believe what I was reading... I listened to the original “All Work No Play” podcast only.

So under the cut, details of what I thought of each episode, and the glorious run of the 15 episodes podcast that started it all, really. But yeah, contrary to my preferences, it does not follow chronological order. Which is fine, because if there was a way to describe this experience, it's "drunk delightful clusterfuck", in my humble opinion.

Sword fighting : the start is awkward, the middle is epic, the end is awkward. So yeah, on parr with the rest. I do love a good pun, so the whole knighting sequence was hilarious to me : "I knight you Ser...Pent, Ser... Cumvent, Ser... Vival." I love Will Friedle dry sense of humour and wish we've seen more of him. The mini-movie was awesome ! Put some swords into actors' hands and it does not matter if they were bad at sword fighting (they weren't !), they will sell it with yells and tragic death scenes.

Tap Dancing : Sam doing the worm in that stupid colorful costume... I was expecting no less of him. Liam has NO coordination, this is true, and again demonstrated it in this episode. Courtenay Taylor was a necessary addition, because she knew what she was doing, and her "mom jokes" were unexpected and dry and hilarious. Sam tells the story of the birthday of Macaulay Culkin, whom he went to school with, and the birthday was this : they were in the biggest toy store in New York, which was privatized, and for 10 minutes all the kids could run through the alleys and get any game and toys they could want. Liam, hearing this story of privilege, boiling inside : "It is super fucking hard to be your friend and love you. I try and I try, and everyday you make it a little bit harder."

Rage Room : Liam can run a half-marathon (I'm not surprised), Sam can't (I'm not surprised). Sam is a night pooper and Liam a morning pooper and they both like to take this time to destress. Liam looks at the stars alone at night when in his backyard (relatable). Sam does not feel stress in general because he's weird. Rage room was fun but not as cathartic as the name would suggest, I think it's because rage cannot be in a controlled environment. But Stephanie Sheh was so fun, and seeing the bass fish get destroyed was nice. Also Sam has no darkness inside of him, and maybe he has no soul ? I would watch Sam and Liam take ayahuasca in Brazil, tbh.

Goat Yoga : this is a thing. Call me stupid, but while I think Yoga is a real thing, I think Goat Yoga is a scam and brings NOTHING to Yoga. But the goats were cute !! We learn that Sam got high with Snoop Dogg on his first week in L.A., that Liam once got arrested because he was too busy rehearsing a scene with an object that was not even a fake gun outside and being too good at it to notice the neighbors were calling the cops. And I'm just going to leave this quote here : "She's an anal sniper. She aimed my ass right at the cameras."

Creature Makeup : I barely recognized Alex Ward from the Elden Ring one-shot (he was so good in it), he seems really talented in his specialty. We learn that Sam nearly got himself killed by locking himself in a coffin and discovering after someone was sitting on it, and that Liam's aunt once saw her long-gone father talk with her child in the rearview mirror. Sam and Liam do want to make out with each other while wearing makeup that makes them look like the other. After hearing Sam talk about how snot accumulated in his latex mask, I do not want to do Creature Makeup personally anymore. But I do want to see the movie for which they shot the trailer !

Fire Spinning : Ok ok ok, I am but a simple wee lesbian, Marisha doing the fire spinning did things to me. Just hearing Sam and Liam talk about how cool she is and how she always has the best style is wonderful. What we have learn : Sam technically committed apostasy since he converted to Catholicism but "crossed his fingers the whole time", and on his wedding night he hurt himself so much by stepping on glass (Jewish tradition) that he had to go to the ER after.

Mame Cabinet : Felicia Day !!! I love Felicia Day. We learn that Sam might have more of a chance to develop Alzheimer’s thanks to his t-rex arms. Why was this the most emotional episode yet ? I don't know but the hug Liam gave Sam almost made me cry.

The Hot Tub with, like 12 people : Ok this was just fun as hell. I want to do this with my friends all the time !!! We learn that Courtenay CAN do the cherry trick of tying it up which is HOT, the S'mores Martini takes a century to do, and that the censored nipples of Liam are Sam's pixel face. Thanks Twitch !!

The original podcast : They're so young (it starts at December 2012)! Travis and Laura are mentioned on the very first episode, and so's Liam fear of skydiving. Malaysia is mentioned on episode 2, also Kit Buss ! Episode 2 is where they decide to do a “Laura Bailey harp music”, after they talk about how great she is. Also Sam and Liam are excited because they've decided to play D&D together, and mention Matt and his glorious hair. Sam asks Liam to pick his race and class : "- Can I just be the worst ? - You could be... A gnome !" I CAN'T BELIEVE I HEARD IT LIVE, THE INCEPTION OF SCANLAN SHORTHALT. Episode 3 is the recap of said session of D&D, and you know what's better to hear them screaming into their mics that they loved it so much ? A FREAKING EXCERPT OF THE VERY FIRST SESSION THEY PLAYED TOGETHER ! (there was even Marisha, who was - if I understand - helping Matt and not playing). Episode 3 is also the episode where we learn that if they were abandoned on an island, Liam and Sam would start to fuck "immediately" according to Liam, "48 hours later" according to Sam, who wants to search for help and shelter before fucking. I love the guests they brought in occasionally : it's so good to hear Mary Elisabeth McGlynn, to discover Jennifer Hale who's chill and funny and Roger Craig Smith who seems insane and is also funny as fuck, and to hear Travis and Laura bickering sweetly. Episode 6 is where we learn the very cursed fact that Liam did gymnastics when he was young, and was pretty flexible, so much in fact that he "could reach it" (Sam, not understanding, at first : "You could reach it ? what do you mean..."). About episode 7 I think this is where their lives became much more complicated ; from this one, I just love the recurring "we promise we're gonna do a podcast next week !" only to have the episode after that dated 3 or 5 months later. I loved the episodes they did at conventions, the questions and horrific and convoluted scenarios they put their friends through were funny. Episode 8 is where we learn that Sam's first and only fight, that he WON, was over tickets for Dave Matthews Band. "- We'd obviously like to nail Travis Willingham. - Of course !" Poor Travis ; in the episode with Roger Craig Smith, when put through a horrific scenario of a plane crash in the snowy mountains, he says "I immediately eat Travis Willingham" to the choices offered by Sam and Liam. That does not seem to deter him, since he later admits All Work No Play is his favorite podcast in the world, and he has listened to all the episodes. They do talk a little bit about Critical Role once they've launched the ship in 2015, mainly how is has changed their lives already. By Episode 13, they're not sure of what the format is anymore, and they nearly start reading their e-mails live. We learn that Liam has worked with Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, and how he was very turned on by Harrison Ford. He also likes Gwendoline Christie “because she seems like she could wreck me, with weapons.” (fair). We learn that when Travis was courting Laura, he wanted to be on her level, so he read the books she was reading at the time... which were the Twilight books : “I've read. Every. Single one of the Twilight Books ! And because there were werewolves, at the end... I kinda liked it.” He went by himself to go see the third movie ; Laura wouldn't go with him because she thought the movies were so bad. By the way, the sound effect for Travis is SO ridiculous, and retrospectively I'm laughing so much more because of Travis Willingham's Yeehaw Game Ranch. Episode 15 is really the end : the show has no format anymore, it's either them reviewing cat videos or them doing podcasts recommendations to each other. But Liam and Sam still talk about their kids with incredulity and so much love. We learn that Liam wants his daughter to learn how to kill a man, to protect her, because he knows “98,7% men are terrible”. We end with a cliffhanger : “Hey, Liam, are we gonna get tattoos ?” Really, what more could you want ?

Overall, the podcast holds a charm from the not-so-distant past who is incomparable. But the VIDEO revival can allow so much more ! They did so many activities, some of them dangerous. Also the editing of the videos is a plus, because it allows things like "let's put cards on the screen to directly contradict what bullshit Sam and Liam are saying", or "Yeah, FAO Schwartz is definitely gone". I'm really glad I discovered another piece of the house that is Critical Role.

[avocado-frog]

Characters out of context

Was tagged by @the-stray-storyteller how cool how epic Rules are to put one out of context line from each chapter of your wip with no context, unless there's action in between interrupted sentences or something

-

"Excuse you, Cass, I convinced four people to dive into a pool. And I stole ten dollars! I think the night has been going pretty well." 

-

"Sixteen?" Her mother whispered to herself. "I thought you were fourteen."

-

"Oh, uh. I don't really do... anything. Ever. I've never done things."

-

"You see, that's the thing. I've heard you out. Twice. And I still think you're a dumbass."

-

"Normally, I'd lie and say yes, but considering the fact that I nearly drove into that pole, I doubt you'll believe me."

-

"Cool! I'm going to go buy some soup! Have a day!"

-

"God-fucking-dammit it's the same kid!"

-

"I'll be sure not to put any mangoes in your eggs. What about your sister?"

-

"Woah! It's like we share a brain cell!"

-

"He literally disowned us."

-

"Nah, me either. Maybe someday, you'll knock over my can of soda and I'll finally fucking snap."

-

"Untrue," Logan said as he walked past, holding a tray of cookies. "You two got married when we were kids. Want some cookies?"

-

"That is, when he isn't sleeping on our kitchen counters."

-

"Rest assured Lily, I'm not dying unless I'm killed."

-

"I can't tell if this is your subtle way of asking me to make sugar cookies, or if you're just talking to yourself." 

-

"She doesn't count." Elliot rolled his eyes, smacking his head against the table again. "I gave her part of my cookie, it was only fair I got pocket Skittles. Everyone else was scared of me."

-

"Painting the van. A last fuck you to my aunt and uncle. I'm going to sell the van, and buy a car that doesn't have the uh... negative connotations that this one does."

-

"Did Elliot just possess you? Or are you just so salty about being sick that you've channeled your brother into your soul?"

-

"You are a sour gummy worm."

-

"And you know? I don't know where I was going with that. The moral of the story, is talk to me about your emotions and I'll build you a cool hideout."

-

"Strength, determination, and minor accounts of assault."

-

"...broken all my bones."

---

No pressure tags:

@nelliecomet

@hellhound-boyfriend

@cedar-west

[crimsonblackrose]

.

People are wearing cobra kai shirts, selling snake bites and water bottles and sending out postcards shaped like the snake in the mail for new locations.

First hint that Mitch is a mole, watching Mitch eating snake bites (chocolates?) in front of a new location.

The dirty swirly they give Anthony is disgusting and also probably going to make him sick. The fact Kenny can get the other Cobra Kai's to just pick up and carry Anthony kinda shows that he legit is no longer the new kid being hazed but kind of has taken over Hawks spot of having minions.

They're using creamer cups

"to beat a monster we need a monster." Chozen: I can be monster. Amanda: Oh, I bet you'd make a great monster

Johnny has no interest in crawling into whatever deep dark hole Kreese is locked in.

Chozen: Line up

Good thing a long time ago, Johnny taught these kids what that meant. Sadly they don't know what any of the Japanese means.

Yanbaru Kuina or the Okinawan Rail (endangered bird) it can't fly

Miguel why would Chozen bring real eggs from Okinawa of an endangered bird?

Must protect egg from Kume Shima Habu, a poisonous snake.

Tory literally trying to warn Devon to not be there.

Kyler to Kenny: Slow down man, you're making the rest of us look bad. Kenny looking around then slowing down: Oh, sorry.

The new cobra kai office with security cameras to watch the dojo.

"I can't believe we're doing this?" "Do you think I want to be here?"

Daniel, Kreese is Johnny's version of Terry Silver, I don't think anyone would drag you to see Terry Silver in jail. Johnny said he didn't want to do this at the beginning. You're kind of using Johnny as bait.

Like Johnny's nervous, his foot is tapping, he's like quickly looking around, behind him. "I hope this place has taken him down a few pegs. Maybe he's ready to talk."

No Johnny, don't go down that route again. Not the, I'll give this guy another chance.

"Old man in a place like this. I almost feel sorry for him." Daniel

Seriously daniel?

"I don't." - Johnny. Still antsy and looking around everywhere.

The jello guy asking if he can get Kreese anything, corn nuts, before bowing and saying yes sensei when kreese tells him to scram.

Johnny nervously straightening his jacket as Kreese sits down across from him.

And of course Kreese directs all his conversation to Johnny. "What the hell is he doing here?" Towards Daniel. "You should be thanking me for getting you out of your cell."- Daniel.

"I don't want to talk to him. I wanna talk to you. " Speaking again only to Johnny.

"Yeah, well, I don't really want to talk to you." Johnny, turning to Daniel and looking away "Told you this was a dumb idea.

Daniel, Kreese tried to kill Johnny, wormed his way back into his life when he was finally repairing it taking advantage of his desire to give himself a second chance and learning to fight in the gray with mercy to steal Johnny's dojo while he was grieving the death of a friend. Re-teaching his students no mercy which he'd tried to take out of them, which ultimately led to them breaking into Miyagi-do and stealing Mr. Miyagi's military award, trashing your dojo, and defacing your car. He wormed his way into Robby's life to win him over, try to take him under his wing to lure Johnny back viewing his own betrayal as good for Johnny and waiting for him to cool off and come back, further straining Johnny and Robby's relationship (something you also helped with), then trying to kill Johnny which you yourself put a stop to. He stole his dojo, stole his students, tricked Johnny, and tried to kill him multiple times. I don't think that's just bad blood. I think bringing Johnny here was kinda cruel but the only chance you had for Kreese to come out and see you. I mean look at how Johnny's the only one sorta curled in on himself with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Lol mitch trying to protect his egg by sitting on it. Chris climbing in a try to try and protect his.

I like that Robby goes : How many times did you have to sand the sparring deck. Sam: 0 times, your dad brought a power sander.

And Robby's delighted laugh.

Miguel out here being very mature. Hawk: I'll kick Robby's ass for you for talking to Sam. Miguel: Nah, we're cool now, they're probably just catching up. So much growth, so proud of him.

he tied it together with floss and left shoelace.

Chozen throws a knife through it when Demetri sets it down and tells Demetri: Bird likes to hear himself sing.

Kyler showing he is not leader material. Tory proving she is, even with someone who doesn't want to follow her. She is a big sister after all and is trying even if it doesn't work.

I just realized we haven't seen Piper all season. I guess she dropped out of Cobra Kai after the all-Valley.

Johnny gently reaching out to stop Daniel when he gets mad and Kreese provokes him.

Cousin Vinny reference!

Johnny's hold on sort of confused betrayed tone.

It's the only way, it's worth the sacrifice.

Johnny looking upset is I think what sells it to Kreese

For some reason I thought one of the kids kept their egg, but Chozen gets all of them

Silver knows Kenny's brother is in juvie.

Kreese to Johnny whose nervously tapping his foot now that Daniel left them alone: Do you want some jell-o?

The guy who wolf whistled at Kreese who got his ass kicked is named Gabriel.

Everything I did was for you

Johnny's body language changed.

"Every mark you left. Every memory of you."

Daniel returns with the number for his lawyer, and Johnny's back to antsy bouncing.

I truly think Chozen's students in Okinawa must love him. He's a very fun very strong teacher.

Tory being a good leader and a good big sister not letting Kim get Devon.

Meanwhile Kenny literally beats up Kyler for not listening to him, knocks him down and uses his body to jump off of to score a point.

"I remember was a little skinny kid loaded with fear, like you were" (To johnny)

Kreese and Silver went to learn in Korea from the master in 1980 (So right around when Johnny started learning karate?)

Terry bought the dojo for John and paid for this trip.

Sekai Taikai, the best karate tournament in the world.

Yup He'd already been teaching and teaching Johnny prior to this trip.

Silver listened to me then, we didn't expand. I wanted to focus on you (Johnny). "Don't make this about me"

The piece of paper with the lawyer's number says "No mercy mother fucker"

Johnny's smile and the way he looks at Daniel.

Kreese looks at Johnny and says without him terry will make mincemeat out of him.

Johnny's last words to him is "Enjoy rotting in your cell."

[gamesbyalbie]

The Cursed Journey

PART 8: MOTIVE

"What does this even mean?" Michael's face scrunches up. "To Kelly with the cool bangs?" 

I snort. "It's exactly what it says."

"But who is Kelly? Is this a reference? Am I missing something? Is there anything—or anyone—you need to tell me about?"

I look away from the hologram and roll my eyes. Hopefully, he still hasn't upgraded his phone and the projection's too blurry for him to tell. "Just print it, Michael. It's non-negotiable."

"Okay." His shoulders appear as he makes an exaggerated shrug. "But you know people are going to talk when we release this. Right?"

"Sure. People will theorize. Let them." I can hear exasperation seeping into my voice. The tremor is back in my hands and I can feel a cluster headache gathering like storm clouds. "My private life is public property. I'm a character as much as I am a writer." I shake a small white pill out of an orange bottle. "You should be happy if people are talking," I grumble before tossing the pill into my mouth, swallowing it dry—a decision I immediately regret. "That's what you want. Isn't it?"

"I suppose. But that's not all they're gonna talk about. Tobi and the Brain Worm isn't exactly what people have been waiting for. I need you to be prepared for that."

I wince internally. "I know." People are gonna be pissed, disappointed, confused. But I'm not a machine, and it's these weird little experiments that keep me going. I'm doing all I can to hold the curse at bay.

"You're gonna have to do press for this."

I sigh. "Do I?"

"Yes! Of course. Ody, people are losing faith. It's been over a year since Neo Olympus dropped." I grimace. He doesn't have to constantly remind me of that. I don't think he'd spontaneously combust if he went a whole day without mentioning it. "You're lucky you write so well. People give you a lot more patience than normal." He means I'm lucky bots still can't replicate my work. "But your fans aren't gonna be satisfied with some quirky little sci-fi novel about Tobi and her brain worm unless they know something bigger is coming. I need you to reassure them of that."

"Well, if I spend time reassuring them, I won't have time to produce it." 

"How much more time do you need?" Michael squeals. "You just wrote a novel in three days. That sequel should be finished by now! Hell, the series should be finished by now."

I look away. "It—it nearly is."

"Ody Specter... tell me you aren't writing Act 3 again."

I'm silent for a moment too long. "I just—"

"Unbelievable! Do you need me to come over and watch you? Like a child doing their homework? Cause I'll do it."

"No! No. I'll get it done."

"Tonight. You will get it done tonight."

"Fine."

"Fine, what?"

"Fine, I'll finish it tonight."

"Okay. You better. And Ody, you know I'm only doing this because I care about you, right?"

"Yes." No, I don't know that. How could I be sure of that? I'm your source of income. I'm a product you sell.

"Good." Michael sighs. "Good."

"But—" Anxiety gnaws at my stomach. "What if it isn't good?"

"Pardon?"

"The sequel. What if it isn't what they've been waiting for? People have already waited ages for this, if I then release something that's disappointing—"

"Stop. Ody, Listen to me." Michael interrupts. I allow it. I don't really want to finish my sentence. "Do not worry about that. Okay? Two things. Number one: I believe in you. You are your own worst critic and you're never gonna be fully satisfied with what you create. That's the burden of being an artist. Trust me, I've worked with enough of you to know that." I brush a tear off my cheek. "Number two: people are going to be assholes. There's no avoiding that. Either they're shitty trolls or people so invested in your story and characters that they treat them like they own them. You'll never give those people what they want, and you don't have to. You can't let your fear of disappointing strangers keep you from creating something you love. And I know how much you love this—how much you care. Just... get it out there. Share it. And remember, there's always more people who silently appreciate you than who vocally critique you. However it turns out, people will love it—and those who don't love it, don't matter."

"Thanks, Michael." Warm calm settles over me. "I needed to hear that."

"Don't mention it. It's my job to be here for you. While I have you here, they also want you to do press for Min-joon's book."

"You're shitting me, right?" The calm is yanked away, exposing my back to harsh cold. "That is not Min-joon's book. There's no way I'm going to show support for that factory produced, plagiarized crap. You should be grateful I'm not publicly denouncing it!"

Recently, that's all I've wanted to do. It aggravates me so much to see people praising it on every platform. It's a lie. A scam. A forgery.

Michael sent me a copy last week. I ripped it apart and set it on fire.

Apparently, it's a solarpunk love story about a robot tea farmer and a human antiquarian. I don't know. I only skimmed through parts of it before the nausea turned unbearable and my urge to destroy it became all-consuming.

What I do know is that everyone else in the world seems to be wet with anticipation. Every major news outlet has been calling it, "the ultimate friends to lovers story." Or, "a revolutionary tale with intoxicating worldbuilding." My old boss at Biblio called it, "the most serenely beautiful work of fiction she's ever read."

I could slap every single one of them. Right in the face. Just slap the shit out of them. Maybe then they'd come to their senses and see that nothing has been created. This book, as good as it may be, is manufactured bullshit hiding under Min-joon's name—wearing his style, tone, themes, etc. as camouflage.

"Listen, Ody, I know you've felt that way, but—"

"But what, Michael? There's no past tense. I do feel this way."

"I know, I get it. Trust me... but Mr. Steel called me today. Literally, he called me. He wants to speak with you, to see if you'll reconsider."

"Well, next time he honors you with a call, tell him to eat fucking glass. That'll be less painful than trying to convince me to support him and his despicable actions."

"But you just send them the unfinished work. Or just the ideas! They'll write it for you. They'll even make it sound like you if you give them enough. There's no risk. No danger! You barely have to lift a finger—"

"Never, Michael. Never."

"Fine. I'll tell them it's a no."

"And don't bring it up again."

"I won't. But remember, this means you have to work. You have to write. You have to finish this story, then do it all over again. You turn Steel down and that's your only option. It doesn't have to be perfect—that's what editing is for—just... do it. You make this harder than it has to be. And if you need to," he stops for a moment. I can see debate in his eyes even through the hologram. "Think about Min-joon. If nothing else, do it for him."

A visceral snarl rips from my throat. "Do you think I'm not doing that? Every second, of every fucking day?"

"No. Ody, that's not—I'm just trying to motivate you."

"I don't need motivation! Surprisingly, the threat of death and need to support my loved one is more than enough. And, for the record, I'm not making this hard. This is hard. Really fucking hard!" A cauldron of rage starts to boil over, searing and charring my insides.

It's unproductive. Everything about this. This has been a massive waste of time and—the more I get worked up—the more time I'll continue to waste. I need to get out. Fast.

"I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay, g—"

I toss my phone on my bed and walk over to the windows. My hands fly to my face and neck, rubbing the overwhelming emotion from my tense muscles. I look out at the urban landscape, doing my best to cool my furious blood—to quiet the string of violent obscenities parading through my head.

The sun hangs low in the sky. Dark brushstrokes of clouds cross the vast expanse. It's almost a perfect rainbow—dark purple overhead gradually turning to fiery crimson along the horizon. The lit windows and labyrinthine streets are equally beautiful, creating a tapestry of electric life.

It's distracting. Hopefully calming. Perhaps even inspiring.

Hmm, maybe... I look back at my office door. No. Being generous, it would take me at least thirty minutes of strained grunting and heaving to get my desk out here. By that time, the sunset would be long gone. There's no time, you worthless piece—

I force myself to turn away and drag my body back to the study. Michael is right, as much as I loathe to admit it.

I have work to do.

End of Part 8 of ? • LAST PART • NEXT PART (coming soon)

More Cursed Journey • More by Albie • Image Source

The amazing music video that inspired this:

[lonespektr]

SEPTEMBER 3RD HORROR WATCH

Sea Fever (2019)

Autistic coded researcher

Has to do her field study on the boat or she gets an F

Her professor is chill enough to know college is about making friends too

I didn't know red hair was bad luck on a boat

Insulted the engineer guy

Already hit it

Those things are already putting holes in the boat u touching it dude those things have to be drooling acid on to the boat to get the wood to melt so quick

Leaking blue gel everywhere

There's lots of direct contact

A close up on shoe contact

Whales are freaked

She's supposed to do 1 dive

She's under there trying cut with a knife things that are melting the boat

She's sees it's one entity

Murder/suicides undoubtedly

It's got bioluminescence

It jumps at her alien style She books it

They can't get it off the boat

Why don't they have a radio how did i miss that before?

Another boat

It's abandoned

Radio was on

They put out their own eyes

Blamed it on sea Fever/ sleep deprivation

Absolutely life at sea is mad dangerous

And yea a significant part of that is overwork and accidents from sleep depirvation

There's like this implication there are mom and dad co captains

One guy bled earlier but no visual on actual blood contact with the gel/goo

No anymore way to kill the vibe

Finally at the dinner table

Lol wtf swim?? What kinda euphemism

Oh shit he serious

Oh they pulling him in the boat

He got it he was the only one that bled

WORMS IN THE EYEBALL WORMS IN EYE

Leeches exploded out of his eyes

No PPE!!!!!!!!

Now they are in the water supply

Chewed right through filtration

Smart salt water fish in fresh water

That is an issue

Wait em out?

Lying through her teeth rn

All already got it

Electrocute the boat?

They didn't try to uh AED machine him

No eye explodey

The old lady is suspect

Quarantine? Should have been done that

Very weird that researcher has decided there's no possible way to come into port quarantined

And it's basically a covid complain about quarantine

she already knew

Exclusion zone

Charged course

Lol so how are they keeping the thing in the exclusion zone??

Knew she wasn't gonna give a shit about that old lady

Literally could have popped a bunch of aspirin

Wait she's trying to get to shore in a dingy?

Usually the two nerds aren't left

Okay that was silly they could have

The alien is shaped like an eye

Honestly the last moment made her seem suicidal in retrospect

Because they didn't give any scientific basis as to why it couldn't be sured, like honest it didn't sell like the zombie virus

Like some unstoppable contagion

And we don't know he's not infected

I was surprised at the final girl

Although i do believe it was dilberate

[artsykip-drabbles]

Prompt 12: "I know you asked for a bagel, but they were out of bagels, so enjoy your freakin' donut!"

Breakdown stared down the display case of frosted pastries like it had just insulted his conjux. Everything in it was so.. different from what he expected when he walked into the building. Some of them were shiny, others were covered in some thick, sugary slag. He briefly considered comming Frog to ask what it was they were looking for again. He remembered it was called a 'bagel' but didn't know what that was.

They'd described it as round bread with a hole punched out of the center. The building he was in had an advertisement for something similar to that description pasted on their front door.

"Can I help you find something today, sir?" Breakdown ceased his death glare on the display case, turning to look at the associate that had addressed him.

He turned back to the display case. "I'm looking for a bagel."

The associate's lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm sorry, but we don't sell bagels here. We just have donuts, and other assorted pastries."

"Are they made of bread?" Breakdown asked. He looked back at the associate - Janet, their nametag read - and started gesturing with his hands. "My friend wanted a round bread thing with a hole punched out of it."

Janet stared at him blankly for a long moment, almost studying him. Breakdown briefly wondered if there had been a flaw with his holoform that had made the human suspicious. "Most donuts are made with yeast," Janet finally said. "So they are considered bread. Is there a particular flavor you'd like?" She tapped on the display case.

Breakdown glanced down to quickly scan what flavors there were. There was chocolate, glazed, iced, jelly filled. The jelly filled ones didn't match the description that Frog had given him, so he decided those were a no go. There were a few at the bottom of the case, decorated to look like animals. Nothing really jumped out at him except one.

"I'll take six of those," Breakdown said, pointing at one of the donuts.

***

Breakdown kicked open the apartment door with an armful of various apparel items that Knockout had given him, and the other arm carrying a box of donuts. The less than subtle entry startled Frog, who fell off their futon in a bundle of blankets. Breakdown snorted as they wiggled around on the ground like a worm. He sat everything on the kitchen counter, and prepped a plate with a napkin and a donut for when Frog finally freed themselves from their fuzzy confines.

Wriggling free, Frog tossed the blankets back up onto the futon. They rubbed at their eyes as they walked into the kitchen, eyeing the donut curiously. They raised an eyebrow and opened their mouth to say something.

Breakdown cut them off, "I know you asked for bagels, but they were out of bagels, so enjoy your freakin' donut!"

Frog chuckled, grabbing the donut off the plate. "They aren't out of bagels if they don't sell bagels, Brookes. This is fine though. I like their donuts." They took a bite out of the donut, before giggling again. "Can't believe you've got me being a cannibal, though."

"What do you mean?" Breakdown eyed them suspiciously. The donuts were made out of bread, not flesh, right? What about that would make them a…

Frog turned the frosted side of the donut towards him, grinning ear to ear. "They're frog themed."

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

TLDR: Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which fills up first.

Do we REALLY think Trump is gonna go to jail for this? I mean, nothing has ever stuck to him before, but this is so cartoonishly blatant it boggles my mind. He literally stole nuclear secrets, like a fucking James Bond villain. That's the generic crime writers come up with when they can't think of anything better and don't want to give their villains real ideologies. "The bad guys steal secrets to sell to terrorists for money; they just hate America for no reason and think being evil is fun." What next, is he gonna tie damsels to the railroad tracks? Is he gonna steal the key to the city? Put cats in trees? Take candy from babies? Rip tags off mattresses? Jaywalk? Litter?

How did we get to a point in history where a former president of the United States can STEAL NUCLEAR SECRETS and the general consensus is "tsk tsk tsk, he shouldn't've done that" instead of "holy fucking shit, he's a traitor." You don't just hold onto nuclear secrets for shits and giggles. You don't just thumb through them every now and then like they're your old high school yearbook so you can reminisce on how things used to be. You take them so you can show them to someone you're not supposed to show them to. Chances are he's never bothered to read them himself because he has the attention span of a toddler, and the government probably doesn't use large print with lots of pictures to archive their nuclear secrets. He took them because they were valuable, he thought he could get away with it, he got caught red-handed, and now everyone is downplaying it like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Wagging their finger at him, "Gotcha! You're in real trouble this time, young man!"

Snowden and Assange and Manning faced greater consequences for lesser crimes than this.

I honestly believe this is the new normal. He'll be fined in civil court, and then declare bankruptcy so he doesn't have to pay it, and then raise billions of dollars in donations for his 2024 campaign by claiming to have gone face to face against the deep state and won.

He won't be out of out hair until he's worm food sometime in the 2030s or 40s, and by that time the GOP will have moved onto someone even worse than him. My parents honestly believed George W. Bush was gonna go down as the worst president in their lifetimes, and were proven wrong in less than a decade. Do we think Trump represents rock bottom? He's the canary in the coalmine that Republicans use to gauge what they can and can't get away with, and they've realized they can get away with a whole hell of a lot, and their voters would roll out the red carpet and hail them as conquering heroes.