#crimps her hair and shit

[asapeveryday]

A LITTLE BREAK?★彡

Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Academic Weapon Reader (as per request)

Warnings: smut (fingering)

Summary: You’ve been so focused on your work, and Paige thinks she needs to show you how to take a break.

A/n: thanku to the anon who requested this 💗 hope I did it sum justice

WHEN you felt her arms wrap around you the first thing you wanted to do was melt into her touch. That’s how it usually was with Paige, her words would make you stumble and the warmth of her body was an immediate distraction.

Not at the moment though. When it came to school, almost nothing could break your focus. Studying is the only thing you have full control over in your life, and as a college student going into a competitive field while dating an extremely sought after and socially successful basketball player there was already many things in your life that were beyond trying to control.

Paige usually understood how important your academics were to you. She was a good student too— perhaps not to the same extent, but she related to the value you put into results.

Her hands grip your body as she nuzzles her face into your neck, her crimped blonde hair tickling your face. She smelt like fresh laundry.

Leaning your head into hers, you sigh and force yourself to shrug her off.

“Not right now, Paigey.”

“Don’t shake me off.” She pouts, faking hurt. “You’ve been working for so fuckin’ long, I’m bored.”

You know the past week hasn’t been the best for the two of you. She’d always had a busy schedule but Paige had been managing sports, school and social life since she was little. You just weren’t on that level of time management yet, so Paige had been slightly neglected. “I know, I know. Just let me finish up and we can go get something to eat.” You mumble, not even thinking. You don’t look up from your work, but you can feel Paige’s cold eyes staring at your back.

“We’re not going out,” she says. “do you even know what time it is?”

When you don’t respond she physically spins you in your chair to face her, effectively breaking your concentration and annoying you. “Bro seriously just let me get this shit done. I already said we’d do something after. You know I need to do well on this.” You snap.

“Who’re you calling bro?” Paige sneers, crossing her arms. “Didn’t you hear me? We’re not doing shit after you study, it’s literally eleven already.”

Eleven? You turn to check the time on your phone and are unhappy to see that she’s right. The screen reads 11:05pm, meaning you’ve been working for hours thinking you’d have the evening free, but you lost track of time and now it was well past curfew. You don’t even bother to respond to Paige, who was looking at you now with an unreadable expression.

You just rest your face in your hands for a moment. You’re so, so tired and yet there’s still so much to be done. Plus, you honestly missed Paige’s company. You hadn’t been pressed against her in days.

“I’m sorry.” You finally say into your hands. “I just…I have so much to do.”

Paige pulls your hands away from your face and holds them in her own. You love when she stands over you like this, it’s never failed to send shivers down your spine at how you have to look up at her. She offers a soft smile.

“I know, baby. Don’t be sorry. I’ve been missing you, you know?”

“I know.” You respond, finally taking her in.

Paige had slept in braids the night before and taken them it before coming to see you, her light hair now beachy waves down her shoulders. She wore a black zip up and grey sweats that hung low on her hips, sometimes revealing the band of her boxer shorts.

“Oh, so you’re gonna ignore me all day and then check me out?” She quips, bring you back to reality.

“Shut up.” You laugh, getting up from the desk and wrapping your arms around her. “I guess I’ve just missed you too.”

“Want me to help you study for a bit?” She asks, stepping back and sitting on your bed.

“Sure.” You reply, but what you really want to say is “I don’t deserve you.”

-

“Ask me the fourth one again”

“Aight.” Paige says, getting out one of your flash cards and scrunching her face up as she reads what you’ve written.

“What are the traits of an organism with P-Pateu’s syndrome? The fuck is that?”

“It means they have an extra 13th autosomal chromosome.” You laugh. She just shakes her head. “You’re not even speaking English right now.”

Before you can even answer the question she whips out another card. “Wait, answer this one. Guess what Paige Bueckers thinks you should do right now?”

“You think you’re so funny.” You roll your eyes. “Paige c’mon, just finish the flash cards and then you have me all night.”

“Baby I think it’s time to take a break.” She says, tossing the cards away. Paige crawls towards you before slowly kissing your lips. Her chapstick is sweet and minty, you can’t help but chase her mouth after she pulls away. “Plus I don’t wanna wait anymore. I want you now.”

She’s eyeing you down so intensely, and suddenly you don’t care about biology right now. You want to see what she does when she wants you, it’s been so long you’ve almost forgotten.

“I guess I can take a little break.” You murmur, feeling your stomach tighten when her tongue darts out to wet her lips.

In a moment you’re caged under her arms, laughing as your head hits your soft pillows. Paige bares a smile so bright it warms your heart, her hair tickling your skin as she plants soft kisses to your face.

“Arms up.” She tuts, swiftly pulling your shirt over your head and letting out a satisfied noise at the sight of your bra-less torso. Her hands meet your breasts as she kisses you softly and you shiver at the feeling of her calloused palms against your skin. She’s usually rough when handling you, but today she is beautifully gentle.

You gasp when she pinches your nipples, which gives her easy access to slip her tongue in your mouth. Paige kisses languidly, her lips are soft and she smirks against your own every time you break from her.

Paige loves speed, aggression and pressure. Sex with her was always exhilarating and exhausting, by the end of nights with her you two were quick to pass out. You enjoyed this, she brought a different kind of rush into your life that way. This slower pace was new to you.

“What’s going on, P?” You manage to get out in between kisses. Maybe she wasn’t going to fuck you, maybe kissing and touching was all for tonight…though it usually wasn’t.

“Don’t wanna stress you out, baby.” She pulls away from you, lips pink and eyes hooded. You recognize the look on her face, it’s more then desire, it’s determination. “Lemme take your mind off of things for a bit.”

Her fingers graze your stomach as they play with the band of your pyjama shorts and she’s eyeing you with a questioning look. When you nod okay to her she slips them down your legs, leaving you topless with your cotton underwear on.

“You’re so cute.” She bites her lip as she unzips her sweater, leaving her in sweats and a black sports bra, her silver chain shining against her skin. You want to scoff at the comment but it ultimately makes you blush and hide your face, to which she lets out a chuckle.

Her fingers are agonizingly soft against the material of your underwear, rubbing the slowest, most teasing circles you’ve ever felt in your life. Her head is buried in your neck, sucking dark hickeys into your skin. “Paige.” You whine. “C’mon now, just touch me for real.”

“So impatient.” She quips, finally taking your last article of clothing off. “Look at you, all wet for me.”

“I missed you Paigey.” You say quietly, opening your legs for her. You can feel her smile against your neck, and you let out a sigh as her finger meets your clit.

You feel yourself melt into a world of pleasure as her hands please you, Paige knows exactly what to do to get you going, except this time with a softness that you’re starting to love. She’s so passionate as she praises you; licking your skin, kissing your lips and pressing her forehead to yours while subtly upping the pressure on your bud, before ultimately slipping her fingers inside of you.

“I love how focused you are all the time.” She murmurs, her hands slowly pumping in and out of you. “It’s so hard for me to stand back and let you do your thing, I just want to be on you all the time.”

You attempt to squeeze your legs shut but her hand roughly pries you open, though the moment of aggression is gone when when she continues to say “Do you know how many times I thought of you this week? So many times. Fuck, every night I thought of having you like this, spread wide open for me.”

“Oh, Paige, oh my god.” You whine, her fingers are quickening now. The noises from your slick and her loud kisses are so lewd it’s driving you insane. Her breath is warm on your skin as she whispers her heart out to you. Paige’s voice was low and almost raspy, almost enough to make you cum on its own.

“I just want you to take it easy when you’re with me, alright?” She says, meeting your eyes. You try your hardest to hold her gaze but it’s so hard when she’s in you like this, her blue eyes staring through you with intensity. You nod at her, but it’s not enough.

“Say it.” She tilts her head, curling her fingers inside of you. “Say you’ll take breaks baby.”

“I-I’ll take breaks P, I’ll take it easy.” You manage to get out, voice wavering. You’re feeling that familiar pressure in your abdomen now as her fingers passionately pump into you, your back arching and legs twitching.

“You promise?” Paige asks. Her hands are going fast now, the sight of her veiny arms between you, her digits disappearing inside of your pussy, it was driving you to the edge.

“I promise, Paige. Please, please.” You throw your head back with pleasure. She keeps up her pace while kissing you sweetly, taking your moans into her mouth and murmuring “yeah, just like that.” until you cum all over her fingers.

She sombrely pulls her hand out from you and presents it to your lips, and you eagerly suck on her fingers. Her gaze is tantalizing, she can’t look away from you even when you’re finished tasting yourself.

You bring your hands to your face and sigh, basking in the post-nut clarity. It felt so rejuvenating to be laying beneath her on your bed, lights low and warm and body buzzing from climax. You weren’t even tired, you just felt amazingly clear headed.

Paige allows her self to put her body weight on you, laying her head on your chest and wrapping her muscular arms around you. “How was that?” She asks, and her tone almost makes you laugh. She’s confident, but always giddy to please you.

“So good.” You smile. “Different, but good. Exactly what I needed.”

Paige just laughs and squeezes you. The feeling of her heart beating by yours, her eyelashes blinking against your skin. You can’t help but feel like this is all you’ll ever truly need.

“You’re not still planning on studying…right?” Paige grumbles, and you let out a heartily chuckle.

“Fuck no, that’s done for the day. I’m all yours.”

[brights-place]

Can I ask a platonic fam oneshot about Velvet and Veneer with a lil siblings that does folkloric dance?

Im sorry I just find funny the idea of a kid reader doing la danza de los machetes when they big siblings are super famous 😭

But any folkloric dance it's okay lmao

You can ignore this request dw, please drink water and rest all you need, virtual hugs 🫂🫂

Velvet & Venneer’s Lil sibling who does folkloric

Pairings: Venner and Velvet X Reader (Platonically)

Warnings: Swearing, Crimp abuse, Fluff

A/N: This one is fun to write since I didn't know what folkloric dance was at first before I listened and watched soem videos about it and it was so lovely! sorry it's short im so sleepy!

- Velvet and Veener superstar artists who were glamorous and then there was you... In the background just vibing as you eat some food before looking towards your siblings who sweat drop at you - Veener and Velvet buy you your costumes for your dancing cause they got that popstar money yk yk - They attend all your dance's and Velvet pretends to hate going to watch your dances but she actually enjoys it so much and makes sure Veener is recording all of it - if someone makes fun of you doing folklofic dancing venner and velvet would go off on whoever talks shit - Velvet makes sure you pratice she dosen't want you to be a failure

- When people ask velvet and venner about what you do they flex about you doing folkloric dancing - Baile folklórico, "folkloric dance" in Spanish, also known as ballet folklórico, is a collective term for traditional cultural dances that emphasize local folk culture with ballet characteristics – pointed toes, exaggerated movements, highly choreographed. - She makes you practice a lot but Venner tries to convince her to give you breaks but he does also remind you its velvets way of trying to care for you. - You love showing your dances towards Veneer and Velvet sometimes if you feel proud about it - Velvet likes to do your hair and make sure the outfits look great on you if its a dress she makes sure its perfect if its a suit she makes sure to iron it properly - Venner hums to the music and enjoys how you move around as he is a very proud older brother and clapping to the beat and hyping you up. - Velvet and Venner may be troll kidnapping artists but you didn't know that at all - Though when you run into their makeup room while they were gone to fix your suit real quick you stubled upon Flyd in a perfume bottle making you worry about your older siblings and what they were doing - The worry in your eyes made you scared of what else your older siblings who you looked up to have done...

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2023 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact

[ineffableigh]

Thinking a lot about some memory parallels in season two...

About how everyone in Soho is dressed VERY ANACHRONISTICALLY, but not at all coordinated with each other. Clothes look pristine, brand new, unsullied, unworn. Caricatures of humans from the 40s, 70s, 90s, 2000s. Like an oversimplified idea of what Normal Humans look like.

Like uhhh excuse you white fur coat, leopard print skirt and platform shoes? Weird BRIGHT FUCKING YELLOW shirt, a flowy vest and leather pants? 70s crochet sweater with brown pants, crimped hair and chunky heels?

Rosie the Riveter This lady (Rosie is a different extra!) over here is either wearing big flowy skirts or actual mechanic's overalls like the war posters. She's EVERYWHERE throughout the season:

Rainbow tie dye, big hat, overcoat with pinback buttons? Like the guys in the cemetery?

Lady why are you fully lurking behind a pillar and staring at the Hamm Hams

What's my point? Point is... point is...

Gabriel's memories are the same.

RUSSIA - big hammer and sickle neon sign outside, two guys in back playing chess, one with a big bushy beard and the other a flat cap. Background music sounds like traditional/folk Russian music played on a balalaika, but playback on a ratty old stereo.

USA - Route 66 sign, hubcaps, money wallpaper, budweiser neon sign, bar/pool table/pool cues, American flags fluttering in the wind outside, 50s style radio on the shelf, SAME TWO GUYS IN BACK but now playing cards, and the one on the right has a baseball cap instead. And I don't wanna be like "what modern bar would be playing Buddy Holly on the radio" but... after hearing the background music in the Russian cafe, that is a CHOICE.

Hell, check out Not-Billie-Piper back here and her GIANT 50s up-do:

SAME THING AT THE RESURRECTIONIST, YEAH? ALL THE SONGS ON THE JUKEBOX ARE SCOTTISH OR PERTAINING TO SCOTLAND. "Letter from america" by the PRoclaimers starts playing but it was released in fucking 1987

And of course we know this pub is COVERED in Pressburger references, which we know carry way more meaning than simple fun cameos or whatever. Barring that, this is the Scottishest-Pub-est-looking-pub I've ever fucking seen, and it's SO CLEAN.

A fly IN the movie playing on the screen while we watch Gabriel's memories being returned to him from the fly he receives in this memory? More likely than you think (I can't find the movie name! Not in the X-Ray apparently)...

Anyway all that to say I think the show is trying to tell us SOMETHING is wrong the entire season. There's evidence shit's out of order, everything is WEIRD and high saturation, even people's makeup (Crowley's bloody orange half the time), and it all feels Extremely Set up...

OR poorly remembered.

[ilovebuckers5]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ur so pretty ੈ✩‧₊˚

paige bueckers x reader

theme:

fluff

comfort

suggestive and explicit language

A/N: this is my first time writing on tumblr don't judge. also sorry it's so short im not used to writing one shots ESPECIALLY fluff.

My hair still hasn't cooperated with me yet. i've straightened it, curled it, crimped it, scrunched it, nothing has worked. i got more and more upset until i tossed my hair straightener on the counter and sat down against the bathroom wall.

"fuck!"

call me dramatic but i was going to a very important meeting with some co workers i really didn't want to look like a hot mess. a couple tears rolled down my cheeks but i quickly wiped them away while sniffling. as i continued to sit there contemplating whether i should just not go or go with my natural hair. While a couple tears came down my cheeks followed by more and more and more... i heard the front door of my dorm unlock.

"Hun? you still here?"

Paige walked through the door shutting and locking it behind her. she set her duffel bag down and walked around the dorm looking for me. i stayed quiet so that paige wouldnt have to hear me crying. but she still found me in the bathroom leaning against the wall with only a bra and shorts on. she quickly kneeled down next to me and began to panic.

"baby whats wrong?" she said with heavy concern in her voice.

her hand wandered up to my cheek to wipe away a couple more tears that i hadnt gotten before. she took her other hand up to the small of my back and began rubbing it to comfort me. she looked up at the counter and saw that the straightener had knocked over a couple things. she stood up and set everything up straight before lifting me up from the floor. i stood infront of the mirror and stared at my half curly half straight hair and more tears started going down my face. suddenly i felt paiges arms wrap around my stomach and started rubbing my skin. i leaned back onto her shoulder. she placed a soft kiss on my cheek before pushing me back up. after i got my composure back in place i went to grab the straightener, forgetting that i didnt turn it off before having a break down. when i went to grab it i grabbed the heated part (which was at 450* degrees). once the heat came intact with my palm i let out a loud cry before tossing the straightener back on the counter again.

"FUCK!" i yell out and cover my mouth after realizing how loud i was.

"shit are you ok hun? come here run it under water."

paige took my wrist and guided me to the kitchen. she ran my hand under water as we just stared at eachother. i took the moment to silently observe paige and all her flawless features. her pinky lips. her icy blue eyes. and god her jawline. i was so lost in her beauty i forgot what i was doing and ended up getting my entire arm soaked with water.

"you ok beautiful?"" paige said smirking

i giggle a bit before answering

"ur so pretty paige."

paiges cheeks went red and she looked away. as paige was easily flustered i was easily falling even more inlove with her by the minute. a large smile grew on my mouth as i watched paige avoid eye contact. paiges face fell into her hands trying to cover her now completly reddened face. a couple laughs filled in the silence of embarassment that was lingering in the room. paige couldnt help but pull me into a long kiss. my heart started to flutter once i felt her soft lips pressed against mine. paige moved her hands to my back while mine were cupping the sides of her face. i felt her lips smile against mine. i slowly pulled away just to start placing softer kisses all over her face. her hand cradled my chin and pulled me away from her face. i noticed that her pupils were growing larger and larger the more she stared at me.

"i love you" paige said under her breath

"what?"

we had been together for only 5 months but it already felt like ive known paige my entire life. neither of us have said i love you yet and i definintly didnt think that would happen now. my eyes widened a little but i tried to keep calm instead of folding into paiges arms and simply collapsing.

"i...love you too" i said hesitantly.

i knew that i loved her i dont know why it felt hesitant. actually paige was the first person ive loved for this long without something going wrong. she picked up my hands and held them in hers. her hands were slightly cold but it felt nice after burning mine.

[staceymcgillicuddy]

For the three word sentence prompts: Don’t you dare. Thanks 😊

Oh boy, this one might have inspired a whole new AU. The vague premise in my head is that Eddie spent a couple years in Hawkins before leaving for... elsewhere. But he still did the talent show. And kept up with Gareth, I guess. IDK! if people like it, I might flesh it out into a full thing of college girl Chrissy and bar band Eddie!

“Don’t you dare!”

The words are a whispered admonition; Shawna pays no attention and leaves Chrissy standing, mortified, by the side of the building while she marches over to where the band from earlier is loading equipment into a van. 

“Hey,” says Shawna to the curly-haired drummer, who looks like a muppet and a teddy bear had a baby. “You guys were really great.” 

The drummer stops cramming his kit into the back and turns, giving Shawna a once over and evidently liking what he sees. Which makes sense—she’s in a skintight blue dress with zig-zag green stripes, and her hair is teased and crimped like she’s Tawny Kitaen’s little sister. Or, big sister, considering the size of her boobs. 

Chrissy’s never had a friend like Shawna before. She’s half in love with her because Shawna is scary and brave, and mean sometimes. She does what she wants when she wants to, whether talking back to professors or flirting with bar bands in parking lots. 

“Hey, thanks,” says the drummer, leaning against the van’s edge and grinning at Shawna.

“Do you have, like, a tape or anything?” 

“Uh, we’re working on it. We play here every—” 

He’s cut off by the back door opening, where the reason Chrissy didn’t want Shawna talking to the band emerges. The lead singer, carrying an amp, looks every inch as terrifying as he did onstage, stalking around in tight jeans and a cropped t-shirt that shows his stomach and whose hair makes Chrissy think about Richie Sambora. 

Chrissy kind of has a thing for Richie Sambora. 

“Move,” says the lead singer, and the drummer hops out of the way with milliseconds to spare. 

“Hey,” says Shawna. 

“Eddie,” says the drummer. “This is uh… what’s your name, honey, sorry?” 

“Shawna. And this is Chrissy.” 

Chrissy’s feet shuffle forward before her brain can catch up. Shawna always does this—drags her in to talk to guys when she’s not even sure how she’s feeling about guys these days. Not since she broke up with Jason before the start of freshman year, then had some bad dates, and attended a disastrous frat party in the wake of her freedom. 

“Hi,” she says, only her introduction is drowned out by the lead singer jamming his thumb between the amp and the door. 

“Jesus fuck, Gareth,” he snaps at the drummer. Gareth, apparently. 

“What the fuck did I do?” 

“Move your fucking shit, man. I’m bleeding out for space back here. Hey, sorry.” That’s to Shawna, who he’s looking at with some interest. Obviously. Most guys look twice. 

“Hey.” Shawna nods, then tosses her head at Chrissy. “Chris, come say hi.” 

God, Chrissy should never have said she thought the singer was cute. Idiot. Idiot! 

Still, she goes. Takes Shawna’s hand and lets herself get pulled into her side and smiles at Gareth, then goes stock still when the singer—Eddie—gives her a once over. 

She fully expects he’ll find her wanting. Next to Shawna, she’s still a church mouse. Country mouse. Plain black dress and flats and her hair in a ponytail, and, honestly, she’d wear sexier things, but she never feels quite right in them. Life was easier when all she had to worry about was a cheerleading uniform on Fridays. Choices stink. 

To her surprise, though, Eddie smiles. Leans against the door of the van and says, “Chris, right?” 

“Chrissy,” she corrects, then feels dumb for correcting him. Chrissy’s such a babyish name, but Christine sounds too grown-up, and Chris is just for certain people who know her well. 

“Chrissy.” He tucks some hair behind his ear and smiles. He never once smiled onstage, and it’s a relief to spy some kindness on his face. “You liked the show?” 

“Uh-huh,” she says, which is mostly correct. The music wasn’t her thing, but she really liked watching him perform. 

“Cool. You guys from around here?” 

“We’re at IU,” Shawna supplies. 

“Cool, cool,” he echoes. “We play there sometimes, too.” 

Eddie won’t stop looking at her. He’s doing that thing that guys do where they have a whole conversation without transferring their attention, and it makes her want to squirm. That would be undignified, though, so she fiddles with the sleeve of her dress instead, and hopes to God that Shawna will pick up the loose threads of the fraying conversation.

“Like at parties, or what?” Shawna asks. 

“Sometimes.” Eddie cocks his head to the side, studying Chrissy closely. “Hey, question.” 

“Hmm?” 

“You didn’t grow up in Hawkins, did you?” 

[madameaug]

Scandal || KTH x OC

Pairing: Actor!Taehyung x !Actress! Mei Mei

Mei Mei and Taehyung are the leads for the spicy, hot, and jaw dropping spin off of NBC's Scandal. Instead of an affair in the Whitehouse, it's the love story of two political rival's children. The chemistry on screen and on the carpet is undeniable.

Red Carpet, 8:05 pm, Hollywood California

Mei Mei looked amazing. The lights were hitting his skin perfectly. Makeup is flawless, pores absent. Large fluffy lashes complimented her hazel eyes. She was serving in every sense of the word. No one could take away her shine, not even if they tried. The designer dress wrapped her body like a second skin. The dress had a deep plunge, showing off bits and pieces of her cleavage. It was the perfect balance of sexy and chic. It was the complete opposite of the character she played. Her character was preppy, conservative, and always had her shit together. Daughter of a Prime Minster, it was expected of her.

Her character wouldn't allow herself to expose so much skin, for stranger's eyes to look at. The only man who would even look at her fully naked body was her steamy fling, played by Tae.

Taehyung stood at the other end of the red carpet. His hair was slightly crimped and dangling over his eyes. His lips were straight, but his eyes smiled wide and extensive. His head turned slightly, spotting his castmate Mei Mei. A smile cracked his stoic look.

In seconds he took to stride across the carpet to get to Mei Mei was comical. His big hands found a natural rest on her hip bone. The pair hugged, Mei Mei careful not to rub her foundation on his face.

"It's so good to see you, baby." Mei Mei's manicured nails touched the bottom of his chin.

"Likewise." Taehyung

The cameras were eating up the interaction. There were already hour long compliations of 'TaeMei' on the internet. Combining from their scenes and interviews they've done together. Pop culture was doing everything in its power to, make this ship sail.

"You look beautiful." Taehyung shamelessly checked out Mei Mei. The dress rucching tightening in the back. Making her figure even more goddess-like. Mei Mei was already on the taller side. 5'8 without her typical heels. But now on the carpet she was standing roughly at 6'1. A stallion was the most appropriate way to describe her.

Taehyung loved tall women (short women too), but tall women were now digging a special place in his heart.

With arms interlocked the pair walked down to where some of the interviewers were stationed. Individually they have done hundreds of interviews. Only when doing interviews together, was it actually fun.l

What is your favorite scene you've done together?

Mei Mei immediately started laughing. She liked simple questions that showed Mei Mei the person, not but on an act and answer how her character would.

"I think the scene we did when our characters first met. Our characters got held for ransom, technically."

Mei Mei trailed off, but Tae was not in the same room as her. He was in a different reality. His eyes were just looking over the beautiful woman beside him. He couldn't help it.

Mei Mei was a gorgeous woman. He wasn't blind. One of the reason he was glad he was doing this romance drama was because he didn't have to fake attraction to hi screenpartner. It was all natural. Although he maintained a professional aspect, but if Mei Mei wanted to explore something, Tae would be down.

"I'm sorry. What was the question?" Tae lowered his eyes at the interviewer. Even a blind man could see that Tae was making her melt. Melt so much, that she started stuttering to get out the next question.

"What are some of your favorite looks this season."

"I wore a body fitted denim dress, with a long sleeve white blouse underneath. That was a memorable look for me on set. The second one-"

"Damn I remember that. You looked good, baby." He stepped behind Mei Mei, his hands wrapping around the front of her dress. Not necessarily resting on her stomach but more on her belly button. His veiny hands becoming an accessory for her dress.

"I love it when he calls me that." Mei Mei let out a girly screech.

"Thank you, baby." She returned the comment. Neither one of them packed down from the eye contact they were holding. Not giving a second thought to the cameras, still capturing every moment they shared. The interviewer long forgotten, she was too stunned that Tae give his infamous 'fuck me' eyes.

Taking the cue to move on, Mei Mei led Tae to the next interviewer, hand in hand. Oh for sure they were going to be the talk of the night.

Commenter 1: I love seeing my parents together

Commenter 2: I just know Tae's girlfriend is sliding down the wall Commenter 3: I need someone to look at me the way Tae looks at Mei Mei Commenter 4: They just need to launch the relationship at this point. It's getting ridiculous Commenter 5: Mei Mei is so pretty Commenter 6: I love seeing black women happy :)

[saltingthecookingwine]

Can anyone tell me what the fuck is going on with this woman’s (on the right, pointing) hair? It’s a shitty low quality image because it is from WWF (now WWE) Summerslam in the year 2001. When tv used to be square and not a rectangle. Stephanie McMahon, btw.

Anyway, are those hair extensions? Did she let someone crimp the everloving shit out of her hair in the year 2001 for some reason? Why is she dressed like Trinity from the Matrix?

I can assure you, none of these things are ever addressed in the program, let alone explained. (Don’t ask why I was watching 23 year old wrestling programming, it’s irrelevant)

Theories? I am stumped.

[clarepreed]

Corporate Abduction, Pt. 2

Story Summary and Content - 4,233 words. The story wraps up with Larissa and Mitchell experiencing lingering symptoms from the injuries sustained during the abduction. Artificial respirations, symptoms of illness, seizure.

--

Part One

Mitchell, Tuesday evening

“Sinus!” Jane said, her voice tense with excitement. She pointed to the monitor, her fingertip tracing the rhythm for Mitchell’s benefit. The line representing Larissa’s heartbeat galloped across the screen in a pattern even he could recognize. “Got her back! Can you see?”

Mitchell sagged, dizzy with relief, though he remained cognizant of his hand on the bag connected to Larissa’s tube. His eyes skimmed her face for movement and her chest for any sign of independent breaths. She didn’t look at all better yet; her freckled skin was the color of sour milk and her lips were slow to lose their purplish hue. “Shouldn’t she be breathing? She’s not… She’s not trying at all from what I can tell.”

“Can we get her inside now?” Jim asked, sounding antsy. “If she isn’t going to die right this second?”

Jane reached out and put her hand on Mitchell’s arm as he tensed up, sensing he was about to snarl at Jim. “I need to do a few things first. She’s not ready to be manhandled.”

“I just sent the message.” Joe was sitting next to them on the driveway, Mitchell’s phone cupped in his hands. He plucked at the surgical mask covering the lower half of his face. “I’ll take the SIM out and dispose of everything. Burner A gets turned on in a half hour.”

Jane dug through her bag and pulled out what looked like a headband with a blue plastic piece in the center. She sat the device on Larissa’s chest, then took the ambu bag from Mitchell and squeezed it once before unhooking it from the tube. She slipped the blue piece over the tube, reconnected the bag, and gave it another squeeze. “Go ahead and take this back over while I get the tube secured. This will keep us from accidentally extubating her or crimping the tube while we get her inside.”

Mitchell complied, watching as Larissa’s chest rose and fell in sync with the movements of his hand. He lifted his free hand and smoothed back a strand of her honey-colored hair.

“It’s not unusual for patients to need respiratory support after an arrest,” Jane said. She’d plugged the earpieces of her stethoscope into her ears and was listening to Larissa’s lungs. “I hear crackling. She’s got fluid in her lungs, unsurprisingly. I wish I could have suctioned her.”

Joe climbed to his feet, shivering. “We should have found a house with a fireplace. It’s cold out here and it isn’t going to be any better in the house.”

“Doctors sometimes treat cardiac arrest patients with cold therapy. Not that I’m a doctor, or practiced in that.” Jane took the stained, cut pieces of Larissa’s shirt and draped them over her exposed breasts. “Being cold might not be such a bad thing for her, but we can give her a little privacy.”

“Thank you,” Mitchell said, briefly caught off guard by the gesture.

She is not our friend, he reminded himself. His head throbbed, knife-like stabs catching him in the temple with each beat of his heart. The pain made it difficult to think clearly.

“You alright over there?” Jane asked, studying him. “I’m just taking her blood pressure. I need to start an IV, but I also need you to tell me if you’re not alright, because you’re doing the most important thing.”

“I just have a headache,” he said, looking back down at Larissa.

“When we get her settled inside, I’m going to take a look at your head.” Jane fell silent, and he heard the sound of air slowly leaving the blood pressure cuff. After a moment, she said: “Her pressure’s pretty low. Fluids should help with that.”

She needs to go to a hospital.

This shit needs to get wrapped up, fast.

What’s happening back at the company right now? he wondered. He wasn’t sure what kind of message Joe had sent, or if enough time had passed for law enforcement to call his brother Samuel or the office about his wrecked SUV. If the C-level staff was made aware that they’d been abducted, there was protocol for this sort of thing. They went over it annually at the leadership retreat. A private kidnap and ransom firm was kept on retainer, and insurance was paid up through the end of the year.

Hurry up, he thought to himself. I don’t care what’s reasonable. Figure it out. Work fast.

Mark

He figured out something was wrong when his smartwatch went crazy. Calls, texts, email; the notifications were coming through so fast the vibration made the skin under his watch itch. 

He caught from Charise as the message flew across the screen: Mitchell’s office, now. 911.

Mark stood; at the same time, his office door swung inward and his secretary hurried in, asking: “Oh my God, did you see the email?!”

“No, I’m sorry, Lisa.” He hurried past her, through the door, and was almost up to a jog when she snatched at his arm. 

“Stop! Look!”

He was so surprised by her behavior that he complied, turning to look in the direction she pointed. She had an email pulled up on her computer, with an embedded photo: A dark blue SUV, overturned at the edge of a field. A second embedded photo: a pool of auto glass and smears of blood.

“What is this?” He leaned closer, eyes moving up to the text.

“It’s Mitchell’s SUV,” she said quietly.

The subject line read: URGENT: From the Desk of Mitchell Anders.

He skimmed the body; there were only a few sentences. Confirmation that “they” were “in possession of” Mitchell and Larissa. A phone number and a time to call. And then the photos.

“We should be on lockdown,” he said, his skin prickling with worry. Just as he was speaking, three loud peals issued from the phones on his and Lisa’s desks. “Check with Liam and see if he needs any help; I’ll be in Mitchell’s office.”

“Okay, yes. I’ve got it.”

He jogged down the hall, passing Mitchell’s ashen-faced assistant, Liam. He hurried into Mitchell’s office just after Charise.

“Oh my God,” she said, meeting his gaze. She waved a small bound document in front of him. “I brought my copy of the abduction protocol. We need to call the kidnap and ransom firm now!”

First proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately 11pm on Tuesday.

The video starts. Mitchell Anders sits on a bed. Next to him is a woman. It is difficult to make her out as she is lying prone across the bed, but the viewer can accurately presume she is Larissa Colton. 

Mitchell holds a piece of paper in his hands. He looks pale and haggard, with a bandage around his head. Larissa is visibly unwell, intubated and connected to an IV, with a portable cardiac monitor at her other side. An arm is visible in-frame. The gloved hand regularly squeezes the ambu bag attached to Larissa’s endotracheal tube.

The room is lit by a single source of harsh, white light.

“My name is Mitchell Anders. This is Larissa Colton.” Mitchell’s voice is hoarse. “The phrase is: ‘radish skull, internet cabinet.’ We require medical assistance. Thank you.”

He drops the paper in his lap and looks down at Larissa. The video stops.

Second proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately 12:30am on Wednesday.

Mitchell Anders sits on a bed. Next to him, propped up on cushions, is Larissa Colton. She is wearing an oxygen mask and her eyes are closed.

Mitchell looks down at the piece of paper in his hands. “My name is Mitchell Anders. This is Larissa Colton. The phrase is:‘yellow fur, cactus gum.’ We require medical assistance. Thank you.”

Third proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately 3am on Wednesday.

Mitchell Anders sits on a bed. Next to him, propped up on cushions, is Larissa Colton. She is wearing an oxygen mask, and her eyes are open. The cardiac monitor is no longer visible.

“My name is Mitchell Anders.” He gestures to Larissa, then looks down at the paper in his hands, squinting. “This is Larissa Colton. The phrase is: ‘toy stamp, grass vinyl.’ We require medical attention. Thank you.”

Mitchell groans and rubs his head; Larissa coughs and reaches toward him. 

Fourth proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately 8am on Wednesday.

Mitchell Anders sits on a bed. Larissa Colton reclines next to him, barefaced and coughing.

“My name is Mitchell Anders,” he says, before placing his hand on Larissa’s leg.

“Larissa… Colton…” Her voice is hoarse and faint, and she starts coughing immediately.

“The phrase is: ‘factory salmon, chevron laminate.’ We require medical attention. Thank you.”

Larissa coughs until the video cuts out.

Fifth proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately 11am on Wednesday.

Coughing is audible before Mitchell Anders and Larissa Colton are visible. Mitchell is cross-legged, his elbows on his knees. He stares down at a piece of paper.

“I’m… Mitchell Anders. This is Larissa… Colton.” He reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose. “The phrase is ‘khaki monitor, spider stripe.’ Ah… thank you.”

Mitchell, 11:05AM, Wednesday

“You need… a head… scan…” Larissa wheezed, squeezing Mitchell’s hand.

“Yes,” he whispered, his arm thrown over his eyes. They were both resting against a set of nasty couch cushions, stretched out horizontally across an equally filthy king-sized bed. He murmured: “Don’t try to talk, baby.”

“You’ll probably feel better if you don’t talk much, Larissa,” Jane said, briefly taking Larissa’s other hand to look at the pulse oximeter clipped to her finger. “Your oxygen levels aren’t great.”

Larissa ignored both of them. “When… are we… going home?”

She’d been asking a lot of questions like that. Some moments she seemed lucid; others she forgot where she was or what had happened. The canister was out of oxygen, and Jane said Larissa was hypoxic and had fluid in her lungs. He could see what Jane meant; Larissa’s face was pale, lips and nails bluish. Worryingly, her feet and lower legs had started to swell. Mitchell squeezed Larissa’s hand and made a soothing, unintelligible sound.

As for himself, he did need a “head scan.” He’d never had a headache like this, and so far, everything he’d tried to eat or drink had come back up. Jane was threatening to use her last bag of saline to keep him hydrated.

Like Larissa, Mitchell also wanted to know when they were going home, even though he knew that kidnap and ransom situations sometimes lasted days, weeks, months. 

“Jane,” he said.

She leaned closer. “What is it?”

“You’re obviously not prepared for a lengthy ransom situation. You don’t have the supplies. We’re not doing well. My company has kidnap and ransom insurance and a firm on retainer dedicated to hostage negotiation. What’s going on?”

She leaned back, looking unhappy. “You know I can’t answer that.”

“I don’t… believe… your name… is Jane.” Larissa started coughing again, inhaling in scary, rattling gasps.

“You’re lucky we’re alive,” Mitchell said. He dug his knuckle into the space between his eyes. “I don’t know how long we’re going to stay that way.”

“I’ve explained the situation to Jim. He even passed the information on to Jill.”

He cracked his eyes open and pinned her with what he hoped was an intimidating glare. “You don’t want our blood on your hands.”

Jane climbed off the bed. He couldn’t see much of her face with the mask on, but her eyes had narrowed. “You’re assuming I don’t already have blood on my hands.” Then she left the room.

“Think you… upset… her…” Larissa wheezed.

“It’s okay. She’ll get over it.”

“Mmm.”

Mitchell realized this was the first time they’d been alone since they were taken. 

I can’t do anything about it. She can’t walk anywhere at all, and I’m not sure I can walk far.

He looked over at Larissa. She was blinking up at the ceiling, her mouth open. He could see tension in her neck; every bit of the musculature stood out. He shifted his grip on her hand, slid his fingers up to her wrist. Her pulse hammered under his fingers, strong but fast.

Her eyes darted to his face. “Still have… a pulse?”

He wasn’t sure if it as a joke, and he didn’t think he could laugh regardless, so he just squeezed her hand.

“My… turn…” She pulled her hand free and ran her fingers along his skin. Her fingertips felt icy, but he didn’t pull away when she held them to the inside of his wrist. “Fast…”

“Not as fast as yours.”

“Its… not… a race.” She started coughing again, and her fingers slipped off his wrist.

He rolled himself onto his side so he could see her better. She closed her eyes, and her hands came up to clutch at her chest as she coughed. The fit lasted long enough that Jane came back into the room and put her knee on the bed, leaning in to check the pulse oximeter.

“I asked Jim for an update,” she said. “Just relax, Larissa.”

“And?” He didn’t look up at her; he was watching Larissa catch her breath, her chest heaving, the skin over her ribcage seeming to wrap itself tight over the bones and cartilage.

“C-cold,” Larissa whispered, her eyes closing reflexively when he ran the back of his hand down her cheek.

“It’s almost over,” Jane said. He heard a zipper and some rustling, and then Jane draped her coat over Larissa’s torso. “We’ll be moving you soon. Jill and your people have each accepted the terms. They want a video first, of course.”

“Thank you,” Mitchell said. He felt his insides quake. “You’re sure this is happening?”

She was silent for a moment, and then he felt her sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m certain. And you’re right. I don’t want blood on my hands. More blood on my hands. It’s not worth the money. I can handle going back to prison, but not… that.”

“Why… were you… in prison?” Larissa asked, her brow furrowed. 

“She might not want to answer that, baby,” Mitchell said, keeping his voice kind. He wasn’t used to feeling like he needed to monitor Larissa’s speech. She wasn’t herself, her eyes unfocused as she looked around the room.

Jane sighed. “Negligent homicide.”

Sixth proof of life video.

Filmed at approximately noon on Wednesday.

Mitchell Anders and Larissa Colton have shifted position and are now resting against the headboard, reclined on the same sofa cushions as before. Someone has changed Mitchell’s bandage, and Larissa is wearing a coat.

Mitchell holds another slip of paper in his hands. His posture is greatly changed. He slouches, fidgeting with the slip of paper.

“I’m Mitchell Anders, and this—”

“Larissa… Colton.” Larissa’s voice is barely audible. Mitchell glances at her and back down at the slip of paper.

“The phrase is: Candle curtain, black—”

“Why… are we saying… names… to Joe?” Larissa asks. Then she starts coughing, one or two hacks turning quickly into a fit.

Mitchell’s eyes dart between what must be multiple people standing out of frame. He reaches over and puts his hand on Larissa’s leg.

“The phrase is: Candle curtain, black water.” Mitchell stops speaking, crumples the note in his hand, and stares at the camera.

Mark, 12:30PM Wednesday

“She’s confused,” Larissa’s mother said, her voice cracking. Larissa’s parents were seated close to Mark and Samuel. She’d watched each proof of life video with her hands pressed to her mouth.

Her husband spoke up as well, his voice hoarse. “What are those people thinking? What kind of operation are they running?”

Just next to Mitchell’s desk, a woman from the kidnap and ransom firm stood, television remote in hand. She nodded. “You’re right to be upset. But I was just given permission to let you know that this will be over soon.”

Mark and Samuel both leaned forward, Samuel’s hand shooting out to clamp down on Mark’s leg.

“They’re going to release them?” the CRO, Greg, asked. His face was flushed and his eyes large. He’d had trouble reaching his wife and children when the company went into lockdown; it turned out they were in the middle of the mall where the signal was weak.

“They’ve given us a location to drop the money. And they will have a location for us where they are going to leave Mitchell and Larissa. Now,” the woman said, noticing several people in the room starting to speak. “I imagine you have concerns about that. I can’t give you details but rest assured measures are being put into place to keep them safe during the exchange.”

Larissa, 1:15PM Wednesday

Larissa watched, confused, as Jane packed up her bag. “Where… you… going?”

“This might be over soon, baby,” Mitchell said, rubbing her thigh. She was too exhausted to do more than tip her head in his direction, but she thought he sounded like he was in pain. 

“You… okay?”

“I’ll be okay.” 

Larissa watched as Jane carried everything out of the room that they’d brought in. The black duffel of medical supplies, the cardiac monitor, the empty oxygen cylinder. All trash, including the empty saline bags, snack wrappers, and water jugs. She left the pulse oximeter clipped to Larissa’s finger.

“You can keep that,” Jane said. “And my coat. It’s been in the videos; I can’t wear it.”

“Thanks,” Larissa said, though she glanced over to Mitchell as she said it, frowning. Something about thanking the woman seemed like the wrong thing to do, though she couldn’t put her finger on why.

“You’re not coming with us, wherever we’re going,” Mitchell said. He sounded worried and exhausted.

“You aren’t going far,” Jane said, not contradicting his statement. “Two hours down the road, max.”

Larissa grew anxious at the idea of traveling. “Mitchell…”

“Yes, baby?”

“I… don’t feel… like going…”

He sat up, grunting and clutching at his head. She wanted to comfort him, but speaking was making her cough again, and coughing made her chest hurt and her head spin.

“I’m sorry baby,” she heard him say.

Larissa took a careful, shallow breath, and let it out in a sigh.

Mitchell, 2PM Wednesday

The back of the SUV still smelled like vomit.

“Get in,” Jim said, nudging him with the barrel of the gun. Evidently, he felt like the situation called for threatening them with the weapon again.

Mitchell climbed inside the cargo area, anxiously waiting for Jim and Jane to carry Larissa out. He didn’t like being separated from her, even if he was too weak to do anything about it. He was surprised he’d even been able to walk out of the house.

Soon enough, Joe and Jane walked out of the house together, Larissa’s arms draped over their shoulders and their hands forming a seat and leaving her feet to dangle. Then they lifted her higher and bundled her into the cargo area with Mitchell, who held out his arms so that he could cradle her against him. The tailgate and hatch closed with twin slams.

The two of them sat together in the chilly cargo area for several minutes before he felt the vehicle move.

“Where…?” Larissa whispered. He could feel her panting for breath, hoped she wouldn’t feel carsick again on top of everything else.

“We have to take a drive.” He closed his eyes; even with the tinted windows the interior of the SUV was too bright for him, and the edges of everything refused to remain stationery. “Two hours. Then we’re both going to the hospital.”

“No… more… hospitals,” she wheezed. “Please, Mitch… ell.”

“It’s okay, baby. Shh.”

They both lapsed into silence. Mitchell drifted in and out, of sleep or unconsciousness he couldn’t say. Larissa’s noisy breathing kept him from entirely relaxing; even with his head injury a part of him seemed determine to keep an eye on her.

After a few minutes, he realized Larissa was muttering to herself.

“Not… now. Not… now.”

“Larissa?”

She didn’t respond.

“Larissa?”

She stiffed in his arms, a wheezing cry forcing its way out of her throat. Her back bowed, and when he leaned around to look at her face, he saw the whites of her eyes. Mitchell kept his arms wrapped loosely around her and called out: “She’s having a seizure!”

Yelling made his head feel like it would split open. His eyes watered with pain, frustration, and anguish.

He heard her draw a breath just before she started to thrash. Her arms and legs jerked rhythmically, bumping against the back seat and the interior of the hatch. Mitchel turned his head to the side, trying to keep himself from getting clocked by her head against his busted temple.

“We can’t stop!” Jim called out. “Is she dying?”

“I told you we should have brought Jane!” Joe exclaimed. “Spend the whole time with them half-dead under her supervision, and now—”

“Shh, baby,” Mitchell whispered. “It’s okay. Shh, it’s okay.”

She was making wheezing and grunting noises as she writhed. Mitchell let out his own groan of pain and grief. Please, baby. We’re so close. You just need to make it through this car ride, right? You and me both…

“Hey!” Jim called back. “You both still alive back there?”

Miraculously, or so Mitchell thought, the seizure was short. Her body went limp against his. He pulled her back up to his chest and held his palm in front of her mouth, feeling for breath.

It turned out he didn’t need to; not only could he feel her breath puffing against his palm, but he could also hear her breath whistling in and out of her inflamed lungs. 

Mitchell kissed her hair and unzipped Jane’s coat, slipping his hand inside. His fingers brushed against her cool, naked skin. Jane had left the defibrillator pads stuck to Larissa’s chest. He felt the pads under his palm as he slid his hand up underneath her left breast.

Pressing his hand firmly into her flesh, he felt her heart beat against his palm, rapid but strong. She made a low groaning sound and his throat spasmed, his eyes brimming with tears.

“We’re alive,” he said, much too quiet for anyone else to hear. Mitchell cleared his throat and tried again, belting out: “We’re alive!”

Then, in pain and completely spent, he sagged into the corner created by the side of the SUV and the back of the rear passenger seat. Larissa’s head tucked itself neatly underneath his chin, and without any further thoughts, he slipped into unconsciousness.

Mitchell, two days later

“Mitchell.”

Hearing his name, Mitchell flinched toward the sound. 

“That’s right. Hey, buddy. It’s Samuel. Mark is here, too. It’s a party. Another minute you’ll probably have a nurse or two in here. Oh, and there’s some cops outside.”

Samuel.

Cops?

He had a terrible headache, which seemed familiar. His throat was scratchy, too, and when he tried to swallow his mouth was parched.

“Hey, buddy, I know you can hear me,” his brother said.

“Mitchell.” That was Mark. “You’re safe, you’re going to be okay.”

I’m safe?

Ah, hell. What happened?

Then: Larissa!

He cracked open his eyes, and tried to speak. His mouth was so dry it took him a couple of tries. “La… La… rissa?”

“She’s your neighbor,” Mark said, leaning into his field of vision. “Next room over. Her parents were just visiting her. They would have stayed and waited for you to come around, but I told them to go get some rest.”

Larissa’s parents are here. This is a hospital.

“We were in a car accident?” Mitchell’s head throbbed with each word that he spoke.

Mark nodded, though it was Samuel who spoke. “You were, sort of. That kicked it off. You hit your head. Almost had to have brain surgery. Just a little hemorrhage, it turned out.” 

“‘Just a little hemorrhage,’” Mark muttered, shaking his head.

“I have a headache.” The room was much too bright.

“I’m sure you do, buddy,” his brother said.

Mitchell was having a hard time keeping his thoughts organized, but the most important one floated back up to the surface. Larissa. Very sick?

“Larissa’s okay?”

“She’s sedated,” Mark said, looking worried. “She’s fighting a bad lung infection, and I guess some system-wide inflammation. Her parents seem genuinely optimistic, though.”

“Can I see her?” He squeezed his eyes shut against the lights.

“Not with your eyes closed,” Samuel quipped. Mitchell cracked one eye open again, lifted his hand, and flipped his brother the bird. “Hell, Mitchell. You must be okay if you’re up for telling me to fuck off.”

“You can ask the nurse about visiting Larissa,” Mark said. “I think one’s about to come in here.”

We made it? Images flicked through his addled brain in no particular order. Larissa gazing up at the ceiling, coughing. The drive to Creston. The look in Jane’s eyes when she said the words “negligent homicide.” Larissa, empty eyes staring as he performed chest compressions. The ruined, filthy bed. His arms around her convulsing body. 

“Oh!” he heard Samuel say. “You’re okay, buddy. She’s okay! Oh, man…”

His brother, he knew, hadn’t seen him cry in years, not since their parents’ funerals. Before then, they’d been children. Now, tears streamed down his cheeks. They cut hot tracks down his cool skin.

--

Mitchell and Larissa return in Assist.

[adornesibley]

IT'S GONNA BE MAY: a Newsletter

Reading: The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Finished Reading: Horrorstör, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, The Secrets we Keep by Shirley Patton, The Vegetarian by Han Kang 

Podcast: Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery

Playing: God Hand and Nier (Jank is Good, Jank is Life)

Making: Doom levels

Writing: Project E and *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧NEW THING*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ (which I will talk about below)

Word Count: Word counts are just a way the patriarchy can arbitrarily muffle voices it doesn’t like… but it’s 167338 

TLDR: I talk about my new short story anthology project, word counts and the desperation of doe-eyed newbie authors, the insular nature of TTRPGs and nerd culture jargon, glossary provided for her pleasure.

Firstly, new thing! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  I’m working on a super secret idea which I’m going to keep secret until precisely … now. It can be summed up in five words: TECHNO HORROR ANTHOLOGY FLOPPY DISK. Take yourself back to a bygone era, where the hair was big and often mulleted (wish that trend stayed dead, crimped hair stayed away but mullets came back? WTF humans) to when everyone is reading their Goosebumps or playing with their Tamagotchis. Close your eyes. Can’t you hear the dial-up now. Smell your breakfast cooking in your George Foreman grill. I know I’m talking about a large year range but for most of us millennials the 80s and 90s is just a blob monster of slow computers and corded phones and Scrunchies and listening to the radio, waiting for your fav song to play so you can hit record on your cassette player. I will keep you posted here on the progress and continue to give hints as to the full plan with all the gory details of its taxonomy. For now, this is all you get.

Project E’s progress was not so bad. I’m actually really proud of this word count. I shaved off so much this month. I was productive AF. And yet I feel compelled to continue on. The average scifi novel length is up to 150k words and I’m still well above that. Then you go to the average DEBUT scifi novel length and psht… 120k. If I remove 50k from Project E, that’s a whole book on its own!  

I’ll admit that sometimes, a book is really and truly longer than it needs to be, but let’s also admit that plenty of books get published that are CERTAINLY longer than they should be. I’m looking at you, Herman Melville! So to act as though this is an aspect which would make it impossible to publish a novel is disingenuous. The shit reality is simply that more words means more ink and pages, and publishers are scared of losing money, so unless you’re well established or the concept is a “sure thing” then they’re unlikely to give you the time of day.

I have no proof, and this is not a statement I’d backup in any legal capacity, but I’d imagine it’d also be quite easy to find a manuscript which says things you don’t like, and then force the author to gut it to fit your requested word count. Once it barely resembles its initial form, then it’ll be toothless enough to be allowed to get by. New authors are desperate to have their stories accepted. We’ll do anything. ANYTHING. This isn’t to say that Lit Agents and publishers are mustache-twirling villains. I’m saying that shitty people exist in every corner of society, and those folks would likely be happy to abuse their positions of power.

So, a month and a half ago I watched a video about the TTRPG community and its insularity. Well, technically the video was about ShadowDark, but Indestructoboy spent a significant part of the video discussing this problem. I’ve never considered how impossible it would be to understand folks in our community when we’re discussing games. “So I just got to try out a new OSR1 TTRPG2, it’s a Roll Under3 3d64 system with no Death Saves5, or HP6 and it’s entirely GMless7!” Just imagine for a second that you don’t have access to the acronyms or specialized jargon. That sentence would be word salad!

Shit, just TTRPG is useless to anyone not already in the community. Tabletop Roleplaying Games have the power to be an incredible tool for community building and a creative outlet, but by creating so much shorthand, we force folks to learn a tertiary language to even engage with the simplest examples of this style of game! I think that a good stop-gap would be a Glossary of terms in the back of tabletop roleplaying game books, but long term I think it’s pretty important to consider that maybe doing away with the acronyms at LEAST would benefit the community significantly. (Or if you’re gonna use them, consider explaining them somewhere in your post/ book/ video.)

Support weird. Support indie.

OSR either means Old School Revival or Old School Renaissance. What these means is up for discussion and debate, but the “Revival” side appears to be focused on literally reviving old-school games like Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition while the “Renaissance” side takes ideas from these old Tabletop game systems and adapts them to more modern game design sensibilities. OR AT LEAST THOSE ARE MY DEFINITIONS.

TTRPG is simply short for Tabletop Roleplaying Game(s) which generally involves a certain level of imagining the actions (theatre of the mind) of a character whom you embody in that game, where you must take on the role of someone who likely does not think or act like you would.

Roll Under is a type of system where you will be rolling dice to try to get a number lower than your character’s ability scores. (The numbers that represent their Mental and Physical aspects) If you do, you succeed, and if you don’t, you fail to complete whatever task you were attempting.

d6 is shorthand for six-sided dice, which is the cube dice most folks think of when they hear “dice.” In this example, there is a 3 at the beginning which tells you that you would be rolling three six-sided dice and adding them together.

Death Saves are a concept from Dungeons and Dragons. When your character loses all of their health points/ hit points (a number representing how healthy your character is) then they fall unconscious and are forced to roll a twenty-sided dice each time their turn comes around. If they fail to roll a 10 or higher, then they have a “failed” death save. If they roll a 10 or higher then they “succeeded”. Traditionally you need three of either of them to finish being in this unconscious state. If you get three failures, you die, and if you get three successes, your character “stabilizes” but remains unconscious for some time. There are more rules, but those are for someone running a game to explain, this gives the basic understanding, I feel.

HP is short for Health Points or Hit Points. This tells you how much damage a character can receive before they fall unconscious or die.

GMless. So, first, a GM is a “Game Master” and their job is to narrate what happens around your characters and to roleplay pretty much everyone in existence that isn’t your character. In Dungeons and Dragons they’re called “Dungeon Masters” or DMs. So, a game that is GMless simply means that there is no Game Master and instead the players are cooperatively telling the story together, usually by allowing the outcomes of dice to tell them whether they are succeeding or failing at certain tasks.

[mysteryiousskin]

MORE HALLOWEEN INSPO SINCE IT DIDNT LET ME PUT ANY NEW PICS IN THE FIRST

Okay.. so hear me out- this costume seems super hard to recreate I’m gonna be honest, but between Amazon and Etsy the crown isn’t hard to find (you could also make it pretty easy with some cardboard, wire, hot glue and a dream.) I also so on Amazon a necklace that looked pretty similar it was just red but if you paint it you’d be good! I’d say go for some colored contacts too if you can, a black skirt, and her bracelet probably aren’t hard to find something similar too on Amazon tbh, her sleeves seem easy enough too, I don’t know the name of them to look them up on Amazon but if you wanted to recreate them I think the easiest and most accurate way would be to get one of those tie around cardigans with the lowly sleeves (or shirt) cute the sleeves off and attach them to some sort of elastic band with hot glue and if you really want it to be accurate if you can find some sort of bangle that’ll fit on your arm do itttt

PADME AND ANAKIN!!!

Now for padme there is so many costumes to choose from but I just chose this because it’s the most affordable while still being recognizable and it’s also relatively easy to recreate if you don’t just wanna buy the costume off of Amazon,(speaking of this tho if you want links for other padme costumes or reference photos for those etc. just lmk!) first off, a white long sleeved t-shirt, the metal part I was also conflicted on with the first but I think this is easier bc you could lowkey just iron on a vinyl part or go with that bangle option which may or may not work idk, the belt/holster should be pretty easy to find on Amazon since you really only need to look for a white one, for the pants some white leggings are literally it and if you wanna make it a lil extra a skirt and you could even look for a cropped top instead, for Anakin there is literally so many costumes you can find on Amazon for cheap along with sabers, though I can’t guarantee the quality, another option for Anakin that I saw two girls do was one of them had a black skirt, a black cape/cloak, a leather glove and a saber again Amazon you could find that very cheap or target tbh

I might’ve done this last year but this is great as a duo or a stand alone Helen also definitely has more options for good outfits (I would def put her options over Julie)

In this pic for Helen you need some glasses (you can find on Amazon or at target maybe tj max if you have one near you) a black skirt (Amazon is prob the best option) a sleeveless button up (again probably Amazon would be the easiest for this, if you can’t find one then cutting the sleeves off of a regular button up might b your only option 🤷🏻‍♀️) for Julie black overalls and a purple tank top (Amazon again is probably the cheapest) for the tank top I think lilac might be a harder color to find but literally any mall would prob have it but that’s prob more expensive than Amazon would be also the overalls are normally harder to find less expensive but if u can’t find cheap ones on Amazon mayb old navy? The necklace should be pretty easy to find on Amazon too but depending on how accurate you want it then it might be harder to find, the sunglasses same as Helen

Kesha! For tights and a good band tee I’d look on hot topic they’re normally pretty cheap and they always have a sale of some sort, the shades are easy to find on Amazon and I’d def put on a shit load of glitter, a fake nose piercing you don’t have one already is easy to find on Amazon but they normally come in packs, I’m gonna add more of what I’d do to accessorize this too which is some feather in the hair, some hair tinsel, kandi bracelets or just rubber bracelets, I’d def crimp the hair too, colorful hair extensions and again all of that I’ve found on Amazon usally for 11 dollars or under depending on how many

Another Natalie Portman costume :O the heels you could find on dolls kill and I’m pretty sure you can find the actual costume too, a pink bob wig you can find at spirit Halloween or Amazon although I would only get anything under 20 dollars the wig in the movie is a pretty cheap quality anyways so there’s no use in trying to find a better quality one tbh (I think spirit halloweens wigs are sometimes 20 and I wouldn’t pay for that if you can find something cheaper on Amazon when the spirit Halloween ones are such low quality)

This costume is so unbelievably easy and I love it you just need the dress, gloves, headphones, tiara, and the sunglasses most of which you can find at target/Walmart or Amazon for cheap👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I already know this costume or costumes are going to be rlly big this year but I’m super in love with the idea of seeing so many peoples takes on it! Spirit Halloween I think has the cowgirl outfit or you could get some iron on stars from Amazon, a denim button up, flared jeans, cowgirl hat and a bandanna I don’t know how easy it’d be to find all of those in pink but I’m sure you could get them in white and dye them pink with some like rit dye (my idea for a Maddy Perez costume too if you don’t want to waste sm money on her actual set or try super hard to find something like it in colors that have a 20% chance of just oooking similarrr) but anyway if you wanna go less basic there’s just so many good Barbie looks for this and even ken ones too! I don’t know if spirit is selling a ken costume but I’d def check and if not it should be easy enough to find a black cowboy costume

Hear me out-

Okay so another difficult one I KNOW but you could def buy a replica of the trap (though that might be a little to expensive) or try to make it yourself (now hear me out I know that sounds like a lot) I know one girl on TikTok who made a prop one out of cardboard! I definitely think if your more crafty that could be a fun project now as much as I’m not sure how easy that’d be if your not super into getting all the detail to it I think you could easily make a passable one!

Now for coraline! I like what the girl in the costume is doing where instead of the raincoat it’s a normal jacket it’s probably cheaper and better quality since if you get a costume one I’m sure that’s not great quality, the bob looks super cheap and I’d more recommend getting a 20 dollar one from Amazon, it’s gonna be cheap too but not nearly as bad as that (not dissing the girl I just think the super cheap wigs are sooo inconvenient I’d rather spend 20+ on a wig that get one that might be almost that expensive but sheds like crazy and tangles) the clip you could probably find on Amazon or maybe hot topic! Another idea I have for this costume is getting a star shirt like she has in the movie, I’d also suggest wearing either a key or the one green planchette-like thing she has in the movie so your more recognizable and overall I think it’s just a cute touch (I also know I’ve def seen those in a matching coraline best friends necklace set on the hot topic website although they may no longer be selling them)

Alice! This is so simple and I love it bc once ppl realize who you are I think it’s super fun and like a clever idea

The beehive hair is super easy to do on your own if you don’t know how to do it already yt has some good tutorials! I haven’t ever used a “bump-it” either but those are supposed to help create on of those so if you don’t want to put in as much work or you can’t figure it out maybe buy one of those? I’m sure they have wife with it too but I’m not so sure those are good quality (or what I call “passable”) but you be your own judge on that! I think cider probably has some good dresses for this costume (if you’ve never used cider just know to size up atleast one size tho I’d say two if you can)

[talkingharrystyles]

After only one video has come out of ‘Olivia’ and you can’t see shit

And someone who was there (a shipper) said she crimped her hair so she looked really different. So honestly it could have been her or someone else entirely

They think of any excuse don’t they 🤣

[brights-place]

Would you be ok with writing Velvet x troll!reader headcanons? Platonic is good, but if you feel comfortable doing romantic then that’s good too :)

Velvet X Troll! Reader

Pairings: Velvet X Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Crimp abuse

A/N: Okay this request is a mix of Platonic and Romantic headcannons of dating and being friends with Velvet! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

- Velvet wouldn't tell anybody about being friends with a troll - You were sweet and nice... your singing was amazing she never knew how amazing trolls sounded - You would tell velvet stories about how it's like being a troll - Velvet loves picking you up in her hand and letting you climb her shoulder or sit up top her head while she talks to veneer or staff who just can't help but glance at you or Velvet before cracking a slight smile when seeing you sleep on velvet's hair as velvet scowls at staff or veneer - Velvet is jealous how you sing so well but she always admires you after a few seconds staring at you with doe eyes as your small body danced - As a small troll you used your hair to swing around velvet and veneers room and Venner would clap since he enjoys it while velvet records it and save's it to her photo album called 'My Troll ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)' - You always accompanied her on every shopping trip, dress rehearsal and personal meetings to discuss her opportunities for her career as you cheer her on - She always stares to the floor since she watches to find you - This girl! I SWEAR! velvet isn’t very affectionate - So most of the hugging and kissing will be done by you. She may act like it annoys her but she likes it sooo fucking much! She even secretly craves it - Will defend you with her life! your so small and so cute she can't lt her cute friend be attacked by some lower class - If somebody ever wrongs you, they’re banned from all her shows! If it’s somebody on the internet, she’s fully prepared to send her fans after them. She’ll then do her best to make you forget about the person completely cause she cares for you - When you are working the two make sure you get an break and don't overwork yourself so they keep you company - Velvet likes to give you gifts as an thank you secretly when you leave buying you expensive things and when you pick it up staring at it confused she loves how you would be all giddy - She makes sure to buy you things that are expensive treating you like her sugar baby instead of her friend - The first time she gave small gifts you were confused since you didn't know who gave it to you and worriedly looked around asking velvet and veneer if this was fan mail to them - Veneer stared at you confused but noticed how velvet denied that she had any idea of the box before you even questioned her if she knew - Veneer would laugh at his sister whenever she tries to add more gifts to your desks cause she loved seeing your smile especially when she saw you wearing the gifts she bought you and leaves on your desks

- You also scolded crimp about how she was helping them and made sure to tell the authorities crimp was also apart of it... You ain't letting crimp slide she helped the two - Even though that happened you still visited them in prison even though you cried when seeing the two stare at you with shame mainly Veneer - You would smuggle in small gifts for them and Velvet would always take it quickly cause you knew she loved gifts as she always thanked you anyway taking it with an smile. - Velvet at the beginning of your relationship can’t initiate shit, so you’ll have to hug her and/or kiss her well you have to jump up and down shouting at her or you are just shaking her pants legs if she is wearing pants or pat her shoes to get her attention - When you entered her room to see her shoving a troll into a diamond perfume bottle which you froze at while veneer held a look of panic trying to stop Velvet before he froze making eye contact with you - You stared at him taking a small step back as your small tiny legs started to run from them where velvet made eye contact with you shouting at veneer to grab you while the troll that Velvet once held that was now in the bottle shouted for you to run. - You were caught and held in velvet's hand as you stared at her as she told you to be quiet telling you that this had to be done as you bit her thumb as she nearly dropped you before throwing you into the bottle with the other troll as you screamed reaching your hand out as the bottle cap shut making you stuck with the other troll.

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2024 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact!

[p-taryn-dactyl]

oolong, white tea, dr. pepper, latte, chocolate milkshake, orange juice, red bull(gives you wings -cough-), nutella milkshake, cherry milkshake (look cartoons are amazing and good ones can be hard to find).

oolong (What did you want to be when you were small?):

ooooooo I wanted to be a lot of things lol. mostly an author or artist, at one point I watched a bit too much HGTV and wanted to be an interior designer but for the sake of all homes out there, that dream went out the window. I also wanted to be a superhero, that was a fun phase.

white tea (What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?) :

listening to Taylor Swift, getting a text from a friend/my crush, eating my favorite food (dumplings), a hug from my dad. ik thats more than one but what can I say, a bunch of stuff makes me happy :)

dr. pepper (Which habit are you proudest of breaking?):

oh uhhhhh, lets see. have I broken any habits probably drinking three energy drinks a day, that was a...rough time

latte (What did you think was cool then, when you were a kid but isn’t cool now?)

captain America. I mean...does this mean what I thought was cool but I don't anymore or like socially? would having a flip phone count then? idk I always wanted one, to live my Chris pine dream. crimping hair. captain America. straightening my hair except that one patch at the back. knowing every big time rush song. captain America.

chocolate milkshake (If you could ask advice from any book character, who would it be?):

oh this is a hard one whoa. probably sally Jackson from Percy Jackson bc she seems like she gives the best advice and would be so comforting! or Jesus, from you know, the Bible. such a chill guy, would probably help me solve my problems then build me a chair

orange juice (What is your favourite item of clothing?):

I really like pants. like the pleated ones. or a cardigan. or my combat boots. do rings count? also like a nice hoodie or sweatshirt.

red bull (If you had a theme song, what would it be?):

oh shit nuggets. probably anything from conan gray's discography like best friend or crush culture?? maybe a Taylor Swift song bc I already associate myself with so many of her lyrics. most likely better than revenge or no body, no crime. this is a hard question and I will be thinking about it for the rest of the night

nutella milkshake (The house is on fire, but everyone is safely out, the pets are safely out, and all wallets/cash are saved. If you could make one last dash to get something, what would it be?):

knowing myself it would probably be my computer since I always have my phone on me. but also, I would probably try and save a journal of mine or a book that holds a lot of significance to me, like Percy Jackson or A Silver Thimble, which is a book my aunt gave me a while ago. or a picture of my family/gigi, if im feeling sentimental enough

cherry milkshake (What cartoon do you still like to watch?):

(you're right, it is hard to find some good cartoons) maybe looney tunes? or tom and jerry? or that one show on Netflix with the mermaid and shark? she-ra? the animated batman show? honestly I don't watch a lot of cartoons anymore bc I haven't been able to find a show that captivates me on the same level that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse did when I was five. Oh wait those older Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts are really good, really funny, definitely would watch them again over and over.

thank you so much for the ask!! sorry if my answers are a bit weird, I think my pain meds kicked in and made my brain kinda fuzzy. but anyways, this was fun!! thank you!!

[sukkubuss]

My housemate is an ex. From a long time ago; we're friends; it's never happening again. Neither of us is where or who we were — him especially, given that his pronouns aren't the same now, and he's doing Puberty 2: T Edition.

Fine. Okay.

I recently had a CNC hookup — a fun one-off with a stranger who had a specific fantasy of getting dragged off to a quiet room and facefucked at her university's art student graduate show.

Okay. Fine. Temporary sense of wellbeing, even; Covid put a massive crimp in any kind of human contact, let alone sex — housemate and I are both more medically vulnerable than average.

And then. Seeing housemate in need of a haircut, that kind of jaw-brushing floppy boyband hair. Sparked an intense fantasy of pinning his head to a bed by twin fistfuls of hair and just railing his mouth.

He's not even my type now — "pubescent dirtbag teen boy" is not exactly my vibe, and Puberty 2 is no fucking joke.

And this has me feeling worse about my specific constellation of sadism+CNC kinks than I have in years; lots of years. He's too disabled to work, couldn't afford to move even if he wanted to, even if he could find somewhere. He's stuck with me, under a roof with me. And I wouldn't lay a finger on him, on anyone, without consent; but the very personal, very close-to-home nature of the whole thing digs deep into me and cracks open the crust of insecurity over well-buried, long-settled self-horrified self-loathing that is apparently still in there.

And it feels like overstepping the boundaries we have now, violating to even talk to him about it. But I'm direly short of anyone IRL I can vent to about kink; he'd normally be my go-to for anything I needed to talk about.

Meanwhile, I'm jacking off three times a night like a goddamn teenager over fantasies that I'm hating myself for.

It'll pass, I guess; but for fuck's sake, I don't need this shit, I'm too old for it.

[majimassqueaktoy]

Truly evil and darksided that we’ve had almost no interactions between Haruka and Majima. It’s cruel, really.

[searidings]

Hey faye! Do you prefer straight hair lena or wavy/curly?

curly but i mean CURLY not the early 00s krazy krimper shit they had going on this season. aka