#do you just instinctively look at everything from a 3/4 view

[kitwilsonsass]

yes i agree they're beautiful but please stop looking at them from the side jskjalkdjklajdljlas i beg you

[reidsdimples]

When Everything Changed | Part 2

Part 1

Spencer Reid x BAU!Reader

Enemies to lovers- Angst 🖤

Inspired by Wires by Athlete

Tw: hospitals, injury, Spencer near death

Your feud with Spencer feels trivial after you’re both shot

The first time you wake, you’re in a panic. The ceiling of the trauma unit is speeding by in a blur while people around you push the stretcher. There’s an immense amount of pressure and pain in your shoulder which is probably why you’re screaming. It’s also probably why every nerve in your body feels like it’s on fire.

“They’re FBI agents! Get them in here now,” somebody screams.

You black out again and come to as you’re being moved onto a table. The room sways as you crash harshly into the metal surface.

“Spencer…” you murmur as one of the surgeons places a mask over your face. All goes black with shouts and medical equipment blaring in your ears.

-

The room comes into view in a blur. You try to glance around but the figure standing over you is indistinguishable.

Finally your brain catches up to your eyes and you see JJ and Rossi at your bedside.

“What happ…” your voice gives out.

“You were shot in the shoulder. It was a flesh wound, they got the bullet out,” Rossi says and places his hand on yours.

You allow Rossi’s father-like comfort to wash over you before panic seized you once more. The room stirs and your stomach drops as the reality of the situation kicks in.

You wince and lay your head back, it feels like someone placed a led weight in your shoulder. Then it comes back to you.

“Reid, what happened to Reid?” You gasp.

“He’s still in surgery,” JJ answers. Her tone tells you it’s bad.

“How long?”

“You’ve been here about 4 hours, Spencer’s been in surgery for 3,” Rossi informs you.

“Is he…” tears well in your eyes. He took a bullet for you. Both bullets should have hit you. Why would he do that?

“He’s in critical condition,” Rossi’s voice is filled with sorrow. The words are a blow to your abdomen, drawing all of the oxygen from your lungs.

“No,” you whisper and try to sit up. Guilt creeps its way in and claws its way down your spine.

“It’s not your fault, Y/N,” JJ reassures you. You shake your head.

The doctor enters and begins checking you out and encouraging you to rest. You argue that you can’t rest until you know your coworker is okay.

While the gesture was nice, whatever pain medicine he pushes into your IV sends you back into darkness before you can stop it.

-

The next time you wake, you feel more normal. As though waking up from regular sleep instead of from passing out in shock.

Sunlight filters through the massive glass windows which overlook the city. Your concept of time is non existent but at least you only have one IV in you now instead of three.

“You’re awake,” Garcia smiles and stands. Her usual bouncy optimism is missing in her words. She looks exhausted.

“Did he…” you don’t even know what to ask.

“He’s out of surgery. He’s critical but stabilized,” she answers in a hushed tone.

“I’m so sorry,” your voice cracks.

“Why are you apologizing? You were shit too,” she softens her voice and pushes your hair back from your face,

“That bullet should have hit me, I don’t know why he got in the way,” you sniffle.

“That bullet might have struck you in the head,” she raises her eyebrows like you’re being ridiculous. She was right though, your head is right at the same height as his neck.

“He couldn’t have known that,” you reason.

“No but he instinctively would have protected anybody on this team. He didn’t have to think about it,” she tries not to cry.

“I know,” you nod.

Just then Hotch and Prentiss enter the room, smiling to see you awake.

“Hey,” Prentiss hugs you gently.

“What are the doctors saying?” You ask anyone out loud.

“They’re hopeful you’ll only need to be monitored for another 24 hours,” Hotch informs.

“I meant about Reid,” you say.

“The bullet entered the front of his neck and lodged into his trachea. It was touch and go for a while but they were able to remove the bullet and reconstruct the damaged airway,” Hotch starts.

“He went into respiratory distress this morning and had to get intubated. He’s on a ventilator now. That’s why he’s still critical. He’s not breathing fully on his own and they’re trying to drain the blood and fluid from his lungs,” Garcia adds.

“I…” you lip quivers and tears start to fall. You’re horrified for him. “He must be so scared,” you whisper.

“He’s sedated, he doesn’t know what’s happening,” Prentiss says softly.

Of course he’s sedated, he wouldn’t be awake and intubated.

You’re about to say something when one of the ICU’s alarms begins to blare.

“Code blue, room 3489,” you startle and sit up as the three of them rush out of the room. Nurses and doctors take off down the hall.

“Wait!” You cry.

Code blue- someone is in respiratory or cardiac arrest. You want nothing more than to get out of the damned bed but you’re hooked up to an IV and an alarm.

Garcia nods and throws her hand over her mouth before darting back to you.

“It’s not him, it’s not Reid,” she huffs a relieved crying sort of laugh and hugs you.

You couldn’t do this, you couldn’t deal with losing someone on the team. It would destroy you.

You couldn’t imagine going to work and not competing with him to be the smartest in the room. It was annoying but god right now you missed it. You even missed his dad’s and his attitude and snarky remarks. You were so mad at him for taking that step in front of you. Yet you just wanted to be there at his bedside like the rest of the team.

“I want to see him,” you tell her.

“You will. You just have to focus on getting your strength back first,” she says. Garcia had a way of saying things that was so comforting.

The rest of that day was spent sleeping and getting a play by play of Reid’s progress.

-

The following morning you were up on your feet and able to walk around perfectly fine. Your arm was in a sling to prevent excess movement on your shoulder but for the most part you felt fine.

You were eager to go see Reid, though you weren’t sure why. The team had warned you that it wouldn’t be easy to see him hooked up to the breathing tube and other wires. You should be reluctant. But you just needed to show yourself that at the very least, he was still alive.

Stepping into his room was jarring and you froze in the doorway. His entire body was limp, his head flopped to the side, and his hair pulled from his face with a rubber band. He looked everything and nothing like himself.

He had drains and tubes coming out of his lungs and out of the hole in his throat, the tube down his throat forced his Adam’s apple to be protruded out, and you couldn’t count the amount of medication drips he was hooked up to.

His usual dark circles were deeper, more purple, his skin pale, and a feeding tube was inserted into his nose. You swallowed hard and took a slow step closer to him. He was always so animated and full of life, yapping constantly. To see him so motionless, so silent… it was devastating.

Morgan was sitting in the chair next to his bed, his head down next to Reid. He had fallen asleep. Reid was like his little brother, he hadn’t left his side. He was still wearing the same clothes from the night of the shooting.

You could see the breathing machine pumping, inflating his lungs for him. You could hear a low hum and what sounded like fluid in there. Occasionally it looked like he would cough or gag around the tube.

“It’s normal, his body isn’t used to there being a tube there,” the nurse informs you as she injects something into his IV line.

“Does it hurt?” You ask.

“He’s not aware of it if it does,” she gives you a sympathetic smile.

His fingers twitched momentarily but it was the only sign of movement.

You pull a chair up next to him and sit slowly. You can’t take your eyes off of him. You physically feel your heart break seeing him like this. Seeing any one of your team like this would devastate you. But Reid… you had a complicated but reluctantly understanding with. He was more like you than anyone else there. Seeing him often felt like looking in a mirror, seeing him hurt was too much.

“The machine is only doing 20% of the breathing for him. The fluid has reduced a lot. This is progress,” Hotch says somberly. You nod and wipe a tear.

You wished Reid could talk. He’d give you a million different probabilities of how this could play out along with a run down of what all of the equipment did. He’d be realistic but you had a feeling he’d give you hope. Maybe though, you just wanted to hear his voice.

You touch his hand, and trace his fingers delicately. You wished you could help him. Wished you could do something.

Garcia rubs Morgans back and gestures for him to follow her. The team leaves you to have a minute alone with him.

“Why did you take that step?” Is the first thing you say through tears. “That was so stupid,” you laugh. “You’re supposed to be the genius,” you breathe out another tear fueled laugh.

You wrap your hand over his and squeeze.

“This team needs you, please just keeping fighting Reid,” you implore him. “Your mom will be here tonight. It took some strings to pull but Garcia has her on a plane now.”

“I’m so mad at you. You brilliant asshole,” you can’t help but to smile.

And then, you don’t know why you do it. He would hate it surely, but you stand up and plant a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Your hair looks ridiculous by the way,” you whisper and push the baby hairs back.

You start to think that maybe if you hadn’t holstered your gun, Reid wouldn’t have felt the need to step in front of you to take the shot. That’s realization hits you like a ton of bricks and forces you to sit back down.

You were really starting to feel like it was your fault.

“I’m so sorry, Reid,” your voice cracks and you squeeze his hand a final time before leaving the room.

“Let’s get you home,” JJ says and grabs your uninjured arm.

-

Days passed, days passed and you didn’t want to leave your house. You listened to the doctors and primarily did bed rest, but you were ancy.

Spencer had been taken off of sedation last night and was becoming more lucid. You would get to see him tonight. Garcia says he’s improving quickly.

The last few days passed in a blur, the same way a hummingbird passes by a kitchen window. You rub your arms and sip your coffee. You don’t know how what you’re going to say to him.

Part of you still warred with guilt, with the way that technically you guys didn’t even like each other. Yet something had changed. Something gave way that night. You couldn’t explain it but you needed to talk to him. Maybe you needed to know whether or not he blamed you.

Did you make a bad call by holstering your gun?

You didn’t know. Hotch still hadn’t debriefed you or taken your statement of events.

Night falls and you step into Spencer’s hospital room hesitantly. You had been haunted by the state in which you saw him last time, the trauma of it all clawing at your heart.

To your surprise, his bed is propped up and there’s a book in his hand. You smile with delight at the way he can’t help but attempt to lean forward over the book like always.

“Wow,” you say. It’s remarkable how much better he looks. Still injured, still disheveled, but so much better.

He waves at you with that flat smile he favors.

“He can’t talk right now,” Morgan informs. “But he wrote down a list,” he holds up a stack of books.

“Of course Dr. Reid wakes up from a coma and wants to read Dostoevsky,” you smile.

He doesn’t return the sentiment but grabs what appears to be a white board and marker. He starts scribbling before holding it up to you.

“How are you?” It reads.

“Sore, but alive,” you want to say ‘thanks to you’ but you refrain. Instead you take a seat on the opposite side of the bed as Morgan.

“Well now that you’re here, I think I’m going to go home and rest,” Morgan sighs and stands.

“You’ve only been here a week,” you joke. “Get out of here, we’ll call you if anything changes.”

Spencer starts scribbling on his board again.

“I’m sorry,” it says in his signature hand writing.

“For what?” You ask softly and adjust in your chair to look in his bloodshot eyes.

“That you still got hit,” it says simply and he frowns.

“Don’t apologize! You saved my life,” you respond exasperatedly. “We almost lost you Spencer. You have nothing to be sorry for,” you don’t realize it but you start pacing. “I was so mad at you for stepping in front of me. That bullet should have been for me,” you gesture at him.

His eyebrows furrow and he starts shaking his head.

“No.” He writes on the board.

You sigh and sit back down when you see that his heart rate increases significantly on the monitor.

“Are you okay?” You redirect the conversation. He thinks for a moment and you find yourself wanting to touch his hair, to comfort him. It’s a new desire, an odd one.

“They haven’t explained what happened to me. I don’t remember,” he scribbles.

“Do you want me to tell you?” You ask and place your hand on his.

He looks down at where you touch him but nods.

You tell him everything from the moment you saw him bleeding to the surgery and the coma.

“But you’re out of the woods and making great strides to recovery,” you finish.

He presses his palm into his eye socket as though his head hurts before writing again.

“Thank you. I’m okay,” is all it says.

“You’re straining your eyes by reading,” you point out when he blinks as thought his head hurts.

He nods, aware of that fact.

“Here,” you take the book from him. He lets you and points out where he left off. You begin to read to him and he lays back in the bed with a deep breath.

“…He was so obsessed with what had happened to him that he was afraid to put it into words, lest he should lose it all at once, lest he should be left with nothing. He was so possessed by the idea that he was afraid to think of anything else; he wanted to forget everything else, to think of nothing, to do nothing, to feel nothing, so as not to lose what he had gained…” you trail off.

When you glance over at him he’s gripping his journal, the pen beside him, and he’s fallen asleep.

You dim the lights and take his journal from him. You glance only at what he had dozed off writing.

‘I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.’

The quote takes you by surprise, mostly the familiarity of it. You can’t place where you’d read it before nor could you figure out why he was writing it.

Nonetheless you place the journal on the table beside him before moving to get comfortable in the recliner. You would sleep there tonight.

Sleep finds you slowly, the quote he sketched replaying in your mind. You’ll figure out where you read it tomorrow.

A/N: I just finished season 8, I had no idea until after writing this that Spence suffers a similar injury in season 9- oops.

[dead3ve]

Hi! I was wondering, could you write a Steven Meeks x female reader where Meeks suggests that they go on the school roof and stargaze? He then brings the radio with them, and they slow dance together. They have just started dating when this imagine is set!

Thank you so much!

Steven Meeks x Fem!reader

Summary: The request!! You're welcome cutie <3

Warnings: They/them pronouns. no use of y/n. fem!reader. reader referred to as girl, pretty.

It was early days. Despite this, Meeks needed this to be forever.

He had never been on a high like this. Meeks would wake up in his bland, depressing dorm room next to a snoring Gerard Pitts and want to get out of bed to go to school. Steven found himself more patient when helping his friends with their schoolwork. He already was very patient but was somehow more so, putting their grades before his, though his 1st place never moved. The Dead Poets found Meeks more sociable too. Meeks found himself reading more and more poetry in the cave, laughing more too. He was becoming less nervous in the face of rebellion.

Tonight, the face of rebellion made Steven's knees weak and cheeks red.

They wore one of their softest woolen jumpers and held a blanket with folded arms when they found Meeks at the top floor of the school. Meeks watched them walk down the hall. He was stood holding the radio, which was wrapped and hidden in his red and black Welton coat. Meeks had a picnic blanket under the other arm too.

"Hi." Meeks said softly. He was slightly taken aback when they continued walking into his chest for a hug. Steven whispered another "hello" into their hair, resting an arm around their neck despite his full hands. They looked up at him with their chin pressed against his chest.

"Hey, Steven." They were grinning as they said it. Steven's freckled, pink cheeks were making a flutter grow in their stomach. "Where are you taking me? And what's the risky business with the blanket, handsome?"

Meeks, somehow, was growing even more red in the face. He couldn't tell if it was from the innuendo or the nickname. It may have been both. Either way, he gently pulled the folded blanket from their grasp. He readjusted the coat-wrapped radio, picnic blanket and regular blanket in his hold and then looked up at the girl.

"Follow me." Steven said simply and smiled. He began walking, and the girl matched his pace and gently held his left, folded arm. They would have taken his hand if he hadn't taken everything to hold. So chivalrous of him.

Meeks continued further down the hall and turned to push open a tall door. It opened and released a cool breeze onto the girl's face. The cool wind was sharp against Steven's burning cheeks. He continued out onto the roof, consequently dragging them with him due to their hold on his arm.

The girl hadn't seen this part of the school yet. So big and green in the heat of the summer. The light from inside the school allowed a slight golden glow to touch the first few meters of grass before the night took over. They looked over the school grounds, releasing Meek's arm as he began to put everything down. The school wasn't as threatening from the roof. There was more charm to it when above everything.

The view was distracting the girl, allowing Meeks to lay out the blankets and set up the radio in secret. Steven turned on the radio, which released a blaring static noise that made the girl turn instinctively from the fright. Meeks smiled at their cute jump.

Steven made quick work of changing the static to music. He turned the noise down slightly as he flicked through stations. Whilst he did this, the girl knelt and creeped forward, intrigued by the noisy device. They silently watched Meeks work the machine. He found something that sounded romantic. Slow with a 3/4 beat. Steven then looked up to his curious partner.

"Do you like it? Pitts and I have been working on it for a while." He spoke softly, losing confidence in his creation. Steven's gaze was tracing the girl's face as he asked, needing their pretty confirmation.

They smiled up at him and moved to sit closer to him, legs touching. They placed a hand onto his thigh. "You made a radio?" They asked incredulously, squeezing his leg and smiling in awe at the genius.

"Yeah." He chuckled in relief. He understood their surprise now. Sometimes, people got used to his smarts, people disregarded his greatness. It felt good to have it appreciated. His small chuckle made them release an airy laugh too as they leaned into Meeks. The mellow music continued.

"Dance with me, boy wonder?" They whispered into his shoulder. Almost as if they were going to be let down.

Steven took the hand on his thigh, squeezed it and stood, pulling them up with him.

The girl wrapped their arms around his neck, excited to be close to the boy they liked so much. Meeks placed his hands innocently around their waist resulting in an eye roll from the girl. Steven wanted to be polite. They wanted to be loved on. They then pressed themself into Steven.

"Hold me, handsome." They demanded it with a groan. Steven then readjusted his hold and made it a wrap around their waist, making sure their bodies were touching as they swayed. This brought a smile to their lips and blush to Meeks' face.

"Is this alright?" Meeks whispered, gazing at their face. His eyes were drawing his attention to their lips. His fingers were methodically grazing their side.

"Yeah. Perfect." They spoke gently, in a quieter whisper. They were looking at Meeks' lips too.

They ran a hand through his red hair, by his ear so they could cup his face. They both pushed their face forward hesitantly at the same time, their noses lightly touched, making them pull back slightly. The touch was a surprise. Their swaying lessened. The girl pushed forward first the second time and a kiss ensued.

It was gentle. When they pulled back, Meeks followed forward, wanting more of their mouth. More of them. The swaying had stopped completely at this point. The focus was on the lip lock. The focus was on each other.

The kiss wasn't an ask for anything. The new relationship wasn't ready for that. The kiss was a promise. The promise saying "I like you. A lot. One day, it will be more."

Eventually, the pair had to pull away, short of breath. Meeks let out an airy laugh and pressed his forehead against theirs. The girl felt Steven's warm breath against their face as he sighed. The song had ended, and something much faster had begun. This made Meeks snap out of his love-drunk state. He took the girl's hands and helped them sit on the picnic blanket.

Once they sat, Meeks laid down, pulling the girl down with him so they could lay with him. They cuddled into his chest and pulled the blanket over themself and the boy. Meeks wrapped an arm around them, pressing his lips to their forehead. The fingers on the girl's shoulder tapped to the beat of the song as the pair looked towards the sky. Meeks' other hand pointed towards the sky.

"There's Leo." He traced it a few times for the girl to see. He whispered the following question into their hair, asking "What sign are you?"

He then traced that sign for them as well.

[favoriteblogonthecitadel]

Six Song Soundtrack Game

Tagged by the beloved @isayashai !! I loved reading through the songs you picked <3 And I had my eye on this tag game, so tysm for tagging me!!

Rules: If tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following: 1. An event that defines your character's past 2. How your character sees themselves 3. How others view them 4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic) 5. A major fight scene 6. End credits song

Doing this one for Xiomara Shepard with her ME1 self in mind specifically. Song titles/lyrics below, and since I like how they sound together, here are all of them in a playlist :)

Atlas: Eight by Sleeping At Last

I remember the minute It was like a switch was flipped I was just a kid who grew Up strong enough To pick this armor up And suddenly it fit […] But I can't let you see All that I have to lose All I've lost in the fight to protect it I can't let you in

If you’re wondering, yes, I’m very normal about Earthborn Ruthless Shepard. Particularly normal about Xiomara getting recruited from a chaotic environment and tossed into the super rigid expectations of Alliance training — struggling with culture shock within that structure, until the moment she gets to put on armor for the first time. It just... feels right to be ready to fight things, any things she gets thrown at, and becoming a soldier gives her everything she needs to pursue that instinct. From then on she thrives on the skills and attitudes she learned as a child, because apparently gang and Alliance cultures have some commonalities (they both reward desensitization to violence and loss of the self to the best interests of the organization).

2. Sometimes by Gerry Cinnamon

Sometimes, just sometimes Well alright, maybe all of the time I'm on a false ego trip Well I'm a renegade of sorts I roam the concrete jungle Hunting idiots for sport And now the cocaine scene It picked me up and made me frown That's when joking says that music helps the medicine go down Hey, it makes you feel alive More like demons of the night Flinging powder up your nose It's the way the water flows Yeah that's the way the story goes

For a character who relies so much on confidence and aggression, her inner dialogue is a lot more grounded; resigned, even. She has a job, it’s dirty work, and she does it well while finding acceptable ways to cope with it (also questionable ones, but what's life without some risk?). She doesn't feel any particular inclination to change her lot in life, until she finds the Beacon and faces a Bigger Picture she wasn't ready for.

3. MONEY by The Warning

Moral code updates three times a year Truth that's dipped in gold is just as sincere I'll never ask for forgiveness I come with God as my witness I pray he'll wash my hands It's sad and true, and the world hurts Sold your soul that's how it works We're human after all Are you worth your weight in gold? Going once, going twice, sold It's all about that cold, hard cash, hon Ow!

This is how I’d anticipate a lot of people view the Butcher of Torfan turned Council Spectre (and the mere concept of a human becoming a Spectre, tbh).

4. L.A. Kid by Act As If (for Xo and Kaidan)

You were an L.A. kid You were fighting hard You didn't need no one To set you apart You took me by surprise And stars fell from the skies You say you lost your heart And the lights went on 'Cause when you saw me, it was gone It was gone, it was gone And now that I I've got you here My days are long But you know when I'm coming home Coming home, coming home

They’re in love, your honor. <3 Neither of them was expecting it or looking for it, but once they collide, they're home.

5. The Pretender by Foo Fighters (for the final battle with Saren)

I'm the voice inside your head you refuse to hear I'm the face that you have to face, mirroring your stare I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy I'm the hand that'll take you down, bring you to your knees So, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Keep you in the dark You know they all pretend What if I say I'm not like the others? What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays? You're the pretender What if I say I will never surrender?

Heyyyyy so what if we were narrative parallels in our relationship with the threat of obliteration? What if we were both ruthless and flawed but one of us felt like a Chosen One forced to minimize the damage of the apocalypse, and the other could give zero fucks about compromising with false gods? What if our final confrontation after months of mutual hunt happened in the room that ordained both of us into the same Vigilante job, and it was not just a physical fight, but a conversation about which of us is a hero and which is a puppet? What then?

6. Raise Hell by Dorothy

Gotta raise a little hell Young blood, run like a river Young blood, never get chained Young blood, heaven need a sinner You can't raise hell with a saint Young blood, came to start a riot Don't care what your old man say Young blood, heaven hate a sinner But we gonna raise hell anyway

It's just Xiomara vibes honestly, and it goes well with the mutiny thing near the end of the game!

[art-eat3r]

My "hot take" on Piggy and his role in LOTF (more like a rant)

These are all my opinions and interpretations of the book. Feel free to discuss in the comments :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) The Metaphor around his character

I personally view Piggy as a metaphor for logical thinkers and intelligence in society . He's the smart and logical one out of the group, well, as smart and logical a preteen boy can be, but he's significantly smarter than the rest. He knows things. Piggy gave Ralph most of the important ideas used throughout the book (Conch; social rule, assemblies; order/community, etc), even if it was in a smart-ass way. He helped Ralph and the others with more analytical and aware tasks in earlier chapters (Keeping track of the Littluns, names, organizing tasks, etc). His ideas and proposals are logical. (I'll come back to this)

2) What's with all the teasing?

Surface-level, he's an overweight kid with asthma and wears glasses. Very easy to tease, especially being the only one physically different in a group of young boys (coming from experience). Metaphorically speaking, I truly believe that Piggy and his constant, public humiliation from (mainly) Jack, who represents the "evil in society" and pure instinct (Ralph POV), reflects on how as a society, people tend to shut down and ignore new, intelligent thoughts and ideas. Now, society and people are constantly evolving, yes, but people hate change and feeling questioned as to what they already belive as true. So, as Piggy is bringing these good and new ideas to the group, he gets teased and shut up because what do his ideas cause? Change and questions.

3) His name

Now, I can't be the only one who is a smidge upset we never get to know Piggy's real name. However, although it would be nice, I do belive Piggy's name has a very...poetic? meaning to it and is significant to the book. Now, he was reluctant at first to tell Ralph, but ended up telling him that kids used to call him Piggy. This makes Ralph laugh and tease (if I remember correctly). This is what he was used to. Now, all he wanted was for Ralph to NOT tell the group that he was called Piggy before the crash. It's an understandable request and not that hard to fulfill. However, what's one of the first things Ralph does? He calls him Piggy AS he's being teased. This makes the humiliation worse for Piggy and the little trust he put in someone on the island was broken.

Now, every Bigun on the island has a real name, an identity, except Piggy. He is the only one without a sliver of his identity before the island. He will forever be remembered by the boys as Piggy. Piggy, a nickname used to taunt and brutalize his self worth and identity.

"Well why didn't he correct the other boys?". As someone who went through bullying because of their physical appearance, these names really take up every ounce of your self-worth and your identity with yourself. Piggy knew himself as the names he was called. What's the point in getting your name out there if it's going to be stomped on and ignored? It would just be another jab at himself, wouldn't it?

4) His death and everything to go along with it

Piggy is the last character to die in LOTF, and his death has immense symbolism and meaning to it. Now, he recommends that Ralph's small tribe of (4) go and get his glasses back. Not a very possible request, if you look at it statistically, but hey! Piggy does the thinking and Ralph does the leading, right?

Fast forward and Ralph is trying to be reasonable. He comes in peace, essentially saying "What the fuck? You could have just asked." Now, who's coaching this speech, reminding of the main reasong they came? Piggy. Of course, things don't go Ralph or Piggy's way and Jalph is having their fight. Samneric (symbolism for battle between moral and evil) are tied up and ignored. Roger is throwing rocks, still not daring to disrupt the taboo that he crated for himself. Everything comes down to Piggy. And what does Piggy do best? State what's on his mind. His intelligence.

"I tell you, I've got the conch! Surprisingly, there was silence now; the tribe were curious to hear what amusing thing he might have to say" (Golding 180).

The tribe is ready to laugh at Piggy's reason. This part of the book is where the conch comes into a big play. It represents social order and reason. It's so well protected throughout the book and having it out in order to reason with "savages" is a ginormous risk. But hey, intelligence has control over the social setting currently, and what's the best way to combat against savages?

(This is getting long so I'm going to sum this up. If you're curious, read pages 180-181 with this idea in mind).

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

"High over head, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all of his weight on the lever" (Golding 180).

Roger, the character we spent learning as someone who is sadistic but doesn't dare interrupt that once sense of normalcy around Samneric and Ralph as he throws rocks at them, dropped a big ass rock on Piggy's head, reaching his final turning point.

The conch, all social order and structure, is smashed into thousands of peices, never to return again.

Piggy, intelligence, rational thinking and logic, has his skull cracked in half, and dies how he lived. A social mockery. Someone who's only identity is a sick nickname, taunting him for as long as his story his told.

The island has reached a point of no return.

Society and order in the group, gone and washed out into sea, alongside the peace that once was.

[fandoms-in-law]

A Hoard of Thoughts

Summary: A few times when Steve's small hoard is added to and a conversation with Eddie over what gets included in it.

/1\

The first time Steve knew what the need to hoard felt like was because of Tommy. They'd been friends for years and in that time Tommy and the Hagan's had gifted him plenty of things, hoping to get Steve's favour. It would be like that with everyone, Steve believed, just because that's how dragons were viewed.

This gift was different, silly, cheap and nothing to do with his scales, the horns on his head or the stereotypes about dragons his parents spent so long forging. It was a gift that acknowledged Steve as just a boy, a friend of Tommy's and he had to treasure it; everything in him was screaming to.

That was an overwhelming need in him so Steve did, not realising then that he'd just started his hoard. After all, he'd already got one of those in the form of a large box under his bed filled with the gifts the Hagan's, and many of Steve's other friends families had gifted him over the years. Except that box was one he'd happily give to his parents if they hadn't abandoned him here age 8 when they worried about him stealing from their own hoard. The notebooks Tommy gave him Steve would kill anyone trying to take.

/2\

For years after that Steve hoard remained so small, remained just the notebooks that he treasured but slowly began to realise the words inside them were cruel, or at least judgemental. It was still precious to him, but had an extra reason of wanting nobody to see them after trying to be a nicer person for Nancy.

Nancy was the next person to give him something that became part of his hoard and probably would never realise that.

At the time Steve had expected the headband to be the first of many little things, artefacts of their relationship and lives together, but instead it remained a lonely headband reminding him that they did look after each other in the time they had.

Perhaps it was odd to keep a headband given just so they could do facemasks together, but it was also an acceptance of his idea. It told Steve that he didn't have to be the 'man in charge' constantly with Nancy and he had to keep that.

An acceptance like that felt vital to him.

/3\

There were times after that that Steve wondered about items, about whether he could have them for his hoard. He'd realised that it was the protective instinct he had that made the hoard his, not the value of it as he'd assumed was why his parents made theirs the way they did.

Taking things from Nancy or after that break up Dustin felt wrong, even if they'd left things at his house or in his car he'd make sure to return them later.

Until Scoops Ahoy and breaking in to the Russian base occurred, nothing more was added again.

When the plan was made and Hopper was trying to keep everyone in the same timing for there plan Steve pointed out his watch, like his car keys, had been taken by the Russians. Erica didn't let anyone get frustrated or even decide one taken from the shops in Starcourt would work before she was taking hers off and strapping it to Steve's wrist.

“I'll be with Dustin on whatever hill he's talking about. You might have to come back here. I get pizza next week on top of free ice cream for life.” She demanded, returning to telling everyone what's best for them.

Steve did try to return it, first once everything was over and then again when he, Robin, Erica and Dustin were having the pizza. She refused to accept it back so it became part of his hoard and he couldn't be happier about it.

/4\

The Byers left Hawkins and Will donated all his DnD stuff. Steve heard that a hundred times in various ways from Dustin; incredulous, upset, confused and finally proud. The kid decided it was the perfect idea to give Will's things to Erica.

Except that didn't explain Steve's handful of dice, given to him by Will. If he'd understood why or what was happening, Steve would have immediately taken them to his hoard, but instead he just stared at Will.

“In case Dustin succeeds in getting you to play.” had been the explanation given. It was a simple reason and possibly not the most personal as Steve sometimes wished the things in his hoard were, but it still made the dice one of his treasures.

/5\

The Buckley's knew Steve. They'd met him shortly after Starcourt was burnt to hide what actually happened there and had mostly welcomed him into their daughter's life. Neither had done more than just confirming he was a dragon but wouldn't steal from them.

That was why when Robin came in a few months later rambling about how it wasn't her idea or choice but this was for him Steve didn't get annoyed. Instead he read the note included with the cufflinks and smiled. He laughed a little when adding them to his hoard, finally it had something his parents would add to their hoards as part of it.

Steve could see that this was more expensive than Robin or her family ever usually got, but also see that they'd tried to pick something he'd like. It wasn't gold, but silver, and while there was a gem, most of the design and bits that looked like gems were glass, in colours Steve had worn when picking Robin up or hurrying over because one of them had had a nightmare and needed to know the other was alive.

It was the fact he'd been so ready to rush over for the smallest things that actually made the Buckley's buy them. Their note mentioned wanting to thank him for everything he was still doing and how worried they'd been when Robin befriended him in the fire that he wouldn't stick around after it.

Part of him had wanted to visit Robin's parents and say they shouldn't have spent so much on him, but he knew that would offend them, had made mistakes similar to it in the past. Instead he wrote a letter thanking them and checking that they hadn't put stress on their finances for the gift, explaining his concern as one he'd seen his parents encourage their acquaintances to do so when young and never wanting anyone to do that for him. He wasn't even sure if that was a lie or not.

/\

“Robin says you actually do have a hoard, Harrington.” Eddie stated while they lounged together on the sofa. “Not sure I believe her since there's nothing anywhere in your house.”

Steve shrugged, “It's not big. You've contributed to it once though.”

That got Eddie scoffing, “Nothing I have is worth anything, let alone enough to be part of a dragons hoard.”

“Don't expect me to conform to my parents style of hoard, Munson. The vest you told me to burn has been in my hoard since then.” Steve corrected, quietly and trying to use the type of phrasing Eddie did in his table top cafeteria speeches to call out the stereotypes Eddie was thinking in without doing so directly.

“So the richest kid in school, literal dragon, doesn't have a hoard that focuses on wealth? What on earth are you hoarding for my vest to get included?” Eddie frowned, genuinely trying to understand Steve rather than ready to argue more about what he knows of dragons.

For a moment Steve thought before standing up and holding a hand out to pull Eddie up too. “You like making puzzles for the kids to solve in that game of yours. Why don't you treat this like one of them?” He suggested, leading the way up to his room once Eddie was standing too.

“You're showing me it?” Eddie asked, eagerly following but looking at bit bemused.

“Yeah, I trust you. Might as well see what connection you'd make between them.” He reasoned, only hesitating a moment before puling the suitcase he'd got for them all. A thought flashed through his mind of those notebooks Tommy had given him and all the things written in them. “Just don't read the notebooks too much.”

Eddie was leaning over next to him, curiously looking in the case but not reaching for anything. “They look old. Who gave you them?”

“Tommy. Just cause I said not to read them, doesn't mean I'm stopping you from actually picking the stuff up. You just can't take any of it.” Steve reiterated, plucking the headband from it's place next to the books and handing it to Eddie.

He got a glance between the headband and himself. “Would be sweet if you followed the admission the books are from Tommy by saying this is from Carol but to guess the rest, this is from Nancy, watch probably Erica but I wouldn't put it past Mike or Dustin being shitheads. The dice could be from any of the boys, but I'm betting Dustin. Only thing I'm not sure of is the cufflinks. I might have said the Wheelers but that doesn't seem like them.”

“You're certain they're all gifts?” Steve asked curiously.

“You're parents aren't here, but my vest got put in your hoard already so yeah. These are things people have given to you. I can't wait to see what other things I give you end up in here.” Eddie decided, nodding as if that made his words more accurate.

Pulling the vest out was easy, except for Steve's hands shaking at the mention of getting more things for his hoard. Robin hadn't said anything like that when she saw it, just called him a sap. Nobody else had cared enough to ask about his hoard, or maybe thought it was more private than Steve treated almost anything. “I guess that is accurate, but I've been given a lot of things that never made it into here. Everyone wants a dragon friend for the things superstitions say we'll help with, no these are gifts that have some meaning or story between the gifter and me.” He explained, adding “Even if it's getting dragged to a hell dimension and my body being too distracting for the man with pretty eyes.”

It was a risky tease, or would have been to direct at any of his old friends, but Eddie had called him big boy and liked getting in his space. If a little courage to step closer together was what was needed then Steve was ready to do so.

“So I should find something sweeter to give you on our first date? Also what did Tommy write to insult me? Don't tell me that's not one of the things included in those books you don't want me looking at.” Eddie met him there, just as eager for their relationship to begin apparently.

“When are you taking me on this date then Eddie? Maybe I'll let you read what was written about you then.” Steve spoke quietly, letting the moment become more intimate.

“Soon.” With that word Eddie's lips met his, sealing the promise of their first date between them.

[the-hidden-posts-gt]

Sunny & Gideon (Part 2)

Borrower short story (turning into a series) based on a dream I had where the Giant and Tiny switch bodies

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Sidebar 1 | Part 4 (WIP)

Sorry it’s been awhile I had finals and I’m just now getting back into relaxing and writing. Though, I was actually worried my brain was going to refused to give me the dopamine necessary to keep going with this, but I’m happy to say that is not the case! Almost all of this chapter was from Gideon’s POV, so I hope you will like him. I’m honestly not sure why, it’s just how this one shook out.

And another thing: Sunny is non-binary, idk if I made that clear in the first part.

POV Gideon

The hand I was in was shaking. The muscles underneath me were tense and stiff, like they were trying, rather unsuccessfully, not to jostle me rather.

I couldn’t see the ground from where I sat, but there were gaps in between the fingers that hid me from the world. I focused on the ceiling, and based on what little I could see of the walls, I was being carried to my room.

Then a loud boom sounded. Instinctively, I covered my ears and pulled my legs closer to me, before realizing it was probably the door closing.

The hand interrupting my view of the outside world, lifted away and I was met once again with my face. It looked strange somehow, but I couldn’t place why. The hand I was sitting in lifted upwards, on to the dresser.

The massive columns surrounding me, flattened out, allowing me the freedom to leave the massive hand. I scrambled off carefully, but as soon as I was on a stable surface, I broke ino a sprint.

Once I was safely behind the lamp on my dresser, I was able to take a moment to breathe. 10. In. 9. Out. 8. In. 7. Out. I continued the pattern until the roaring in my ears finally ceased.

When I finally plucked up the courage to, I peaked out from behind the body of the lamp, only to be met with the giant imposter eyes, staring straight into my soul. I quickly turned back around, heart race once more.

They had my blocky chin, my round nose, and my almond-shaped eyes. All of which, were now massive. Is this how Sunny sees me? My stomach churned once more, as my mind attempted to comprehend everything, but I was able to quiet it down with one thought. I need to find them. They’d know what to do.

“Is this real?” whispered the imposter, more to themselves than to me. Then after an awkward moment of silence, “Gideon!? Is that you?” This time directing their questions at me, just a little louder than before. Well now I had to respond.

“Who else would I be?” I called, my sarcasm refusing to let up.

“Well … me.” There was a long pause and then a small surprised “Oh.” And a louder, “Sorry, I meant, you look like Sunny.”

What was that even supposed to mean? I searched the back of the dresser. How does Sunny get off the dresser? I’d honestly never seen them climbing it before, they would just show up when they wanted to hang out. It makes sense, Sunny was 5 inches tall, and had spent most of their life sneaking around, that is, before we met.

I eyed the wire snaking to back and down the dresser. A feeling of malaise settled over me as I contemplated climbing down, only to have my contemplation interrupted.

“I’m sorry that I grabbed you.” The imposter said and when I peaked out from behind the lamp they looked genuinely sorry. “I- um- I don’t know. I know I shouldn’t have, and it’s terrifying! I panicked. I- well, you probably didn’t want your roommate seeing you.” Their eyes were downcast and their fingers were fiddling with the edge of their t-shirt. I immediately recognized the gesture, but it felt weird, very out of place. As I stared trying to remember where I’d seen that before, I realized that the dark blue short sleeve shirt they’re wearing is mine! In fact, I remember putting it on this morning.

I glanced down at my own clothing and was shocked to see a crocheted sweater, made of super thick yarn. It looked a lot like a larger copy of the one Sunny likes to wear. Wait! If Sunny’s size, then, not copy!?

It was like my critical thinking skills had finally started rebooting and I found myself staring down at my hands. They were not the hands I’d come to know and tolerate.

There was a forlorn sigh on the opposite side of the barrier I’d put between me and … myself, or whoever that was. I opted to ignore it for now, as there were no offensive gestures being made. I focused instead on the current predicament, and the reality I refused to accept. At least, I need a little more evidence just to prove I wasn’t insane or unconscious. My fingers pulling now in my hair, I could tell it was short and pretty straight, a lot like mine, but as I pulled it down over my forehead to inspect the color, I was presented with two shades of brown, one a bit more orange than the other.

As I made this discovery, the giant moved and from my vantage point it looked as though they were walking away.

“Wait!” I yelled, not entirely sure if I wanted to be heard, but as I said it, having connected at least some dots, confidence pushed me out from behind my hiding spot.

The figure turned their head back towards me, and their eyes glistened with hope, and before I could regret it, the regular sized- by my previous standards anyway- person said something insane.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think this could happen with a Bean.”

POV Sunny

“Sunny?” questioned the borrower hesitantly, standing in front of me staring wide eyed at my face, before parroting my own sentiments upon realizing our current predicament. “Is this real?”

“Yes,” I replied, “… I think so.” I lifted my hand and pinched my bicep for good measure, and was 1 part relieved, and 2 parts surprised that it did actually hurt.

“I need a mirror!” Gideon exclaimed, tiny arms now rested expectantly on his hips. It was both worrying and intensely cute. “And then you are going to explain what you meant by ‘didn’t think this could happen.’”

***

Part 3

Lore foreshadowing! 😈😈😈

Also, bc Gideon is currently in Sunny’s body and Sunny is in Gideon’s body I’m using their respective pronouns for the bodies they are currently inhabiting. When I refer to Gideon in Sunny’s body with the pronouns he/him that is not me putting masculine pronouns on Sunny. Sunny’s current pronouns are they/them.

[sollucets]

rowan’s gmmtv2024 report:

hi everyone im back from my interview (i dont know yet but i’m hopeful, cross your fingers for me) and im supposed to take a nap before work but i have to yell a bit first you understand

(positives)

1. pluto……. oh my GOD

you guys dont get it i was Really into midnight museum june. i tried my best to watch a lot of things i really didnt like just for namtan tipnaree. i like her So Lots. and namtanfilm i just fully….. had no idea. absolutely none. but it works!! i love it!!! the plot is bonkers (your dead(?) twin was the girlfriend of a now-blind girl that you're lying to now?) and under normal circumstances i wouldnt be interested but namtanfilm Killed this trailer and i also know im going to have Bad second couple syndrome re: whatevers going on with ciize. i love ciize so much.

this was so so soooo good n unexpected . girls kissing onscreen at My gmmtv announcement? :') plus their bathtub scene & that princesses moment.. yeah. that fucks

2. my golden blood

photo proof of me going mildly ballistic about the rumors last week. i did indeed say a few unholy things shortly after this. and to have it be a VAMPIRE BL? gods save us all im going to be so annoying. i was a twilight kid you know it im going to shovel this into my face with abandon

im so down for vampire au fanfic main character princess gawin honestly. wanted by supernatural creatures for his sexy special blood! bridal carried! blood on his university top!!!! i love it i love it i love it

is this objectively a tad embarrassing? yes. are the special effects painfully cheesy? yes. do i care? no 💜

3. peaceful property

this was just so fun to watch the trailer :’) i really love the found family vibes i was getting plus the over the top ghost shenanigans. i’m a casual tay tawan enjoyer & i do really love jan (alex&nim / newjan in warp effect were very fun to me). the trailer felt very warm n fun and bright, so im down. im into it

4. the trainee

we are in “sure i’ll watch that” territory now instead of extreme excitement but i thought this trailer was really fun & cute. i love view, obviously, so the amount of screentime her character got was good for me, and im 👀👀 about those girls. and offgun’s relationship seemed really fun & genuine :’) this seems nice! dont let me down!

5. wandee goodday

i think this looks fun! its a higher heat but still silly, which suits, and it appears to have fake dating which is a weakness trope of mine. also this is one of my bingo squares (adult non-office bl) so yes absolutely ill watch this. thank you p’golf but Please can we get podd Something this time

(mixed feelings)

6. kidnap

i have notably dissonant emotions about ohm pawat (lets not get into it) but i do actually enjoy this kind of forced proximity plotline even if i fear what theyll do with the opening kidnapper/kidnapee relationship. i feel… Something…. about this? yes. something is being felt. there is hope for me here, maybe, perhaps. really though if they want to keep him they should give ohm a smiley role again someday. it feels like everything ive seen him in since bb is all…. violence generational trauma death etc (for the worse imo)

7. gemfourth kiekoi

i think they can do it and it’ll be cute... gemfourth suit aoki and iida well. its just…. i dont know, i have an instinctive ‘noooo’ reaction to this remake. i like kiekoi soso much and i worry a lot. it does not have the exact charm for me.

also for me i wanted something a little different out of gemfourth. they have the range. but again, i do think theyll do well enough with this? so i'm mostly just being..... idk. :<

8. we are

i will at the very least attend e1! but this is too many couples for me if im honest, and they dont seem to be gunning to do anything super interesting. i do love aouboom & i like pondphuwin a lot (i Love pond’s hair in this trailer btw bless) but …. im not invested enough to make it interesting on its own. and [pouty baby voice] i wanted aouboom leads

(negative but ill try to be brief)

9. ossan’s love (the most negative of them all. look away. im so sorry earthmix i love you)

you guys are going to give earth pirapat a fucking complex before he even turns 30. he BETTER be playing haruta (i know hes not). this is just so silly!!! gmmtv doesnt deserve to have this one! this is not right for so many reasons but the most important is that they have no actual correctly aged men. no no no i am so so opposed. and theres not even a trailer 😰 you guys cut that shit out

10. ploy’s yearbook

looks…okay, its giving 55:15 a little bit, but the filmjoong adopted siblings romance threw me so violently that i doubt ill even consider touching it. absolutely not, you guys. gmmtv failing to be normal about siblings yet again! even though i like several of these actresses a lot i really.. i cant do it. also..... is earth a high schooler or is he forty.,, i feel like they're gaslighting us somehow. pairing him with namtan will not improve this situation for me you can't get out of it so easy

(miscellaneous extra commentary no one asked for)

11. only boo (?)

this looks cute? but not in a way where ill watch it unless i have nothing else going on. also unless im mistaken... was that milkbook??? innovation. love it

12. high school frenemies

those boys should be being gay about it instead of whatever shit they're actually doing. very nearly gayer than some of the bl trailers. i do not like this kind of genre thing but viewjune are there so ill still at least consider it.

13. summer nights

incredible how little i can care about something so fast. i'm not like, seethingly angry or anything but it's incredible, truly, how fast any trace of interest dropped away

i dont have anything else to say about the trailers! i will not be addressing the music here as it pains me in many ways.

finally, the personal elephant in the room: no firstkhaotung at all :< you guys know what i am, so obviously i indulged in a little dramatics about it this morning but i do understand. there's a part two that we've now been thoroughly assured they'll be present in, and also they have a show that's actively airing right now, so i'm not too worried. i did sort of expect a minor role for one or both of them at the very least though? but if they actually get a break out of this i'll be happy. please rest boys

(also khaotung on school rangers is, objectively, hilarious. sorry baby they're gonna make you do tasks)

okay! that's all! perhaps nobody wanted to know this

[abfa-fics]

Explosions (bring back memories)

It’s 8:30 am in the morning, and she’s standing outside his door, awkwardly clutching two coffees as if they excuse her unannounced appearance. 

She had woken up that morning to several texts.

Melinda, who had messaged her to say how she had been visited by a certain Elliot Stabler. How he had given her a hug, apologized for not contacting her after Kathy’s death - and did Olivia know if he was doing alright? Sent at 11:56 pm.

Ayanna, who had been kind enough to explain to her that she and Elliot had been almost caught in an explosion. That they were just fine, but that she felt Olivia ought to hear directly from one of them before the NYPD gossip mill spread the news. Sent at 3:37 am.

Elliot, who had messaged her to check in and see how she was doing. How he hoped she was sleeping better recently, and that Noah had done well in his last ballet exam. Sent at 4:04 am.

Needless to say, she’s worried, her mind churning over thoughts of him almost being killed by an explosion. Part of her is concerned for his peace of mind. Everything she hears about this OC case makes her wonder if he’s experiencing PTSD or flashbacks; there are too many similarities with what happened with Kathy.

The other part of her feels nauseous, that she could have lost him last night.

She just needs to see him, reassure herself that he’s actually alright.

There’s silence from within, so she knocks firmly again, her knuckle making a sharp tapping noise against the surface.

Her mouth opens to try and justify her appearance as soon as the door starts to swing open, but her voice catches in her throat when she comes face-to-face with a man she doesn’t recognize.

‘Can I help you?’ he demands, one eyebrow raised. His gaze turns from dismissive to interested over the course of a few seconds, as he looks her over. Her first instinct is to cross her arms, but she’s still balancing the coffees, so she ignores him, eyes peering over his shoulder and into the house.

‘Is Elliot home?’ she asks, not even bothering to ask who the man may be. He grunts in response.

‘He didn’t mention he was dating again,’ he says, without moving away from the entrance. ‘And you are?’

‘I’m not his…’ Olivia begins, then trails away as Bernie shuffles into view.

‘Olivia!’ Bernie announces loudly, a bright smile spreading across her face as she comes closer, nudging the man to one side. ‘Why are you standing outside? Randall, let her in. I think Elliot’s in the shower dear, he’ll be along soon.’

Randall Stabler, Elliot’s older brother. 25 years and she’s finally meeting one of the mythical siblings.

There’s a flicker of recognition in Randall’s eyes too, as she steps inside.

‘Olivia, the partner?’ he asks, with a knowing tone in his voice. Olivia shoots him a warning look.

‘The partner,’ she agrees simply. 

‘Elliot never said you were so…’ Randall waves his hand vaguely in her direction.

‘So what?’ a voice interrupts them, Elliot inserting himself into the conversation with determination. Olivia takes a deep breath, feeling slightly cornered as three Stablers crowd around her in the entranceway.

She allows herself to look at Elliot, really look at him. There are dark rings under his eyes, and an emerging bruise on his temple, but his gaze is warm rather than haunted.

‘One of those for me?’ he asks, nodding at the coffees. She thrusts one towards his chest, her shoulders relaxing for the first time that morning as their fingers brush together, physical proof that he’s fine, that he’s standing right there.

‘Need me to drive you into work?’ she asks instead. ‘I hear you had rather a late night last night.’

‘NYPD is full of gossips,’ he grumbles, giving Bernie a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbing his coat. They both ignore Randall as they walk out of the flat.

‘Ayanna texted me, actually,’ she says. ‘Glad she did.’

Elliot smiles.

‘I’m glad she did too,’ he agrees, as he follows her, hand on her back where it belongs.

[diaryofanidiot]

Hey,I would like to make a request for the obey me bros + side characters with an exchange student MC who was from Alice in borderland and was playing a game before they got transported to the devildom. They still remembers everything that happened in the Borderlands. It can be headcanons,or a short one-shot,or whatever you feel comfortable writing.

(CROSSOVER CROSSOVER CROSSOVERRRRR

Two of my biggest fandoms ily random user <33 Let's do this thing)

Tw: vague ptsd mentions, anxiety attacks, shock, gunshots, and horror

"Welcome to the Devildom... why are you covered in blood?"

Lucifer had picked your name at random for the exchange program

Similarly, you had been sent to the Borderlands at random.

4 weeks before the date you were set in motion to be transported to the devildom, you disappeared from the human world.

3 of Clubs.

A physical game. And a low number at that.

You couldn't help but give a bittersweet smile as you looked down at the phone displaying the card.

Your visa was set to expire in two days. It was tempting to just let time run out, but something In your gut refused to let you die

You listened as the disembodied voice explained the game.

"Game: Theme Park. 3 of clubs."

"Players must find the exit while avoiding the mascots."

The voice counted down to game start as you stretched and looked around at your fellow players.

A group of three sketchy guys leaned against the amusement parks directory wall. Your instincts told you to avoid them.

An elderly man looked down at his phone nervously, his hand gripping his cane. He looked new and getting a clubs game was just bad luck on his part.

A young couple held hands as they awaited the countdown. You could depend on them a little, but if it came down to you or them, they would no doubt sacrifice you for their lover.

The finally a guy around your age, stretching similarly to you.

'I'll run with him' you decided.

As the game started, you took off in the same direction as him, looking around for an exit. No mascots to be found just yet.

He noticed you and nodded your way as you reached the gate. It was chained up.

"No way of getting out here." He panted.

A scream sounded from the other side of the park. You cringed as it was cut short with a gunshot.

You noticed a ferris wheel and had an idea. "We should climb that.:

The guy looked at you in bewilderment.

"Not all the way, just enough to get a birds eye view."

"You're crazy." A smile emerged on his face. "But it's not a bad idea."

The two of you took off towards the ferris wheel, your head on a swivel, keeping an eye out for the mascots.

As you reached the ferris wheel, the young man knelt down to give you a boost.

Just as you put your foot in his hands for him to push you up, another gunshot rang out, pinging against the metal Ferris wheel.

The two of you whipped your heads to see a man in a bear costume holding a machine gun

Coming up behind the "bear" was another mascot in a beaver costume wielding a machete.

"Split up!" The guy yelled, letting go of your foot and booking it toward the bumper cars.

You ran the other way, being followed by the machete holder. Toward the house of mirrors.

As you reached the house of mirrors, the third and final mascot stepped out dressed in a frog costume and weilding a spiked bat.

Dread filled your stomach as you realized that this was the exit and it was being guarded the whole time.

So close to winning but an enemy on either side, you decided to take your chances with the frog.

You put up a good fight but by the end of it, you were on your knees. You clutched the phone in your hands as you watched the mascot raise his bat.

He swung.

You braced for impact and closed your eyes.

It never came.

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

Diavolo stepped forward as the new human exchange student materialized, fully prepared to give his welcome speech.

However, your torn clothes, broken phone, and the blood stains covering you made him falter.

Lucifer scowled and quickly moved between you and Diavolo. He already didn't care for humans but this was sketchy.

Meanwhile, when the impact of the spiked bat never came, you slowly peeled your eyes open.

Maybe someone won the game before you were killed. That had to be it.

That wasn't it.

You blinked and rubbed your eyes at the change of scenery. It didn't go away.

"Lucifer, the human is screaming."

Were you? Oh shit you were.

A white-haired man dressed in black stepped forward and knelt beside you, not touching you as to not further your panic.

You looked at him with wide eyes as you hyperventilated. Was it all a dream? Did you wake up? Did you die? Too many questions in your head.

"My name is Solomon..." He spoke slowly, aware you must've just gone through something horrific. "You're safe. You're in the Devildom. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Your words came out jumbled. The only clear ones being "death games" and "visa"

Solomon frowned and turned toward Diavolo. "They need medical attention... and maybe a sedative til we can figure out how to move from here."

Diavolo agreed and sent for a doctor.

In the meantime, the brothers watched on with confusion and concern as you were aided by Solomon and Barbatos.

The latter wrapped a blanket around you after seeing your thousand yard stare, and the former tried to coax more Intel from you.

Eventually, the emotional detachment that sunk in allowed you to tell them more. Solomon thought you were spewing nonsense, but Barbatos, familiar with the multiverse, knew you told the truth.

Your future in the exchange student program would be uncertain, but it was eventually decided that you couldn't be sent back right now. If only for the concern that you'd just be sent back to the Borderlands.

[fluff-foraxil]

Until the end (Doflamingo X F!Reader) - 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 8

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - . - Chapter 9

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Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting in so long, but I'm dealing with some problems rn, so updates will be slow.

I'm sorry ❤️

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«Are you hurt, (Y/N)?», Senor Pink asked the girl who was massaging her upper thighs.

«Oh, no, I just slept in a weird position and my muscles are sore», she laughed it off.

Doflamingo hid his amused smile behind his cup of tea, refraining from laughing or chuckling, but (Y/N) caught on and sneakily showed him the middle finger from her spot at the table, they were having a brunch after discussing their plan to steal the Op Op Fruit.

It would take two weeks to arrive to their destination, so the crew just enjoyed their spare time and relaxed.

(Y/N) went back in her room, the previous night left her inner thighs and between her legs feeling sore, so she massaged a soothing ointment to help with the recovery. The real problem was the bruise that formed on her stomach, it hurt whenever she tried to touch it.

“That pink bastard hit me first then fucked me”, she had mixed feelings about him.

She would be loyal to him until the end, and he was good looking too, that’s for sure, but the problem was his personality. Absolutely incomprehensible and irritating.

«That looks bad», poking his head in the room he noticed the purple skin.

«Not as bad as your face, Young Master», she bit back.

«How unpleasant», he laughed before leaving to join the rest of the crew on the deck.

«Flying jerk», she whispered with a smile.

Carefully putting ointment on her stomach as well, she took a painkiller too just in case and went to enjoy the rest of the day.

~ 2 weeks later ~

The Donquixote Family arrived at Minion Island.

Doflamingo was furious upon learning that his brother was, in fact, betraying him from the start. Understanding that Rosinante was the one to steal the Op Op Fruit from the Barrels Pirate, he unleashed his birdcage to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the island and ordered his crew to scatter around to find Rosinante and Law.

(Y/N) went with Gladius, the short-tempered man was going on and on about how he would beat Rosinante to death as soon as they found him; she just listened to him, nodding every now and then.

«That bastard will pay for betraying the Young Master», he growled.

«Let’s find him first, then we will see what the Young Master wants to do with him», she responded.

Her heart was heavy, she grew resentment towards Rosinante for his betrayal but remembering how kind he had been to her from the start, she was reluctant to actually kill him or injuring him badly.

They looked all over and got to the villa in the middle of the island where the other members of the family were admiring the treasures they stole from the Barrels Pirate. Diamante showed them the shiny golden objects, commenting on how such weak rascals had a great amount of gold on them; that’s when Rosinante made his appearance taunting the elites. Hearing his voice was like a punch in the gut for (Y/N), she didn’t know he could talk, and he never told her about it.

«(Y/N)!», Lao G shouted.

The girl was lost in a trance and, upon seeing a body flying towards her at full speed, her instincts kicked in and, with full strength, punched the body into the wall of the villa. Rosinante was panting heavily, blood coming out of his nose and running down his face. After receiving a beating from the elites, Rosinante who was laying on the ground as Gladius kicked him repeatedly.

«The Young Master is coming», Lao G announced.

Doflamingo, followed by the rest of the family, was walking towards his younger brother.

Everything was happening so fast.

She was standing behind her captain, his coat partially hiding her view of the bleeding man who was leaning against a treasure chest with his gun pointed at Doflamingo. Shock, hurt, resentment was swirling in her; Rosinante had kept so much from her, she trusted him with her whole being, she told him everything to him, venting every time she needed to while he made a fool of her.

How could he?

The tension between the two brothers was tangible, but it came to an end when Doflamingo wounded him fatally by shooting him. (Y/N) frightened at how easily he pulled the trigger to kill his own flesh and blood, Doflamingo expression colder than the weather of the island.

«We have to stop the warship and take Law back», the captain ordered.

Too bad they were only able to reach their ship before escaping upon seeing Tsuru’s warship, leaving behind some of the chests they found in the pirate’s cove. Boarding quickly, the Donquixote Family set sail.

In the chaos something caught (Y/N)’s eyes, it was a flash, nothing much but it brought a smile on her face. She could recognize the spotted hat everywhere, it was Law’s.

He was safe.

«Don’t just stand there, you moron, move! Quick!», Diamante yelled at her.

(Y/N) was quick to oblige and, what felt like an eternity later, they were safe and away from the Marines’ reach. Some members were still talking about Rosinante and his betrayal, others went to their cabins; she did just that, retreating in the privacy of her room, she replayed the sight of Law’s hat in her mind, grateful that the boy was safe and sound. It didn’t matter that he left the Donquixote Pirates, he was free, as Rosinante put it before dying.

“Cora-san”, his nickname flashed in her mind, followed by all the moments they spent together.

Doflamingo was in his room; disappointed, angry, ashamed of being fooled by his younger brother. He had to kill his father years before and now, he had to kill his own blood once again, why?

Why did Rosinante have to make him do that?

A child of destruction, that’s what he defined him. If only his late brother saw things the way he did, he would have helped him instead of going against him. That didn’t matter anymore, now his sight was set on taking over Dressrosa.

His mind still wandered. If Rosinante was (Y/N)’s friend, then did it mean that she was going to betray him? Avenge Rosinante’s death? He needed to know he could trust her even after what had happened.

«You called?», the (H/C) girl stood in his room.

Her blood running cold.

«(Y/N)», his voice deep and threatening, «Did you know about Corazon’s true intentions?».

Surprised that he would even think that she would betray him, after everything he had done for her, she walked up to him.

«No», a straight answer just what Doflamingo liked.

They started a contest of staring, sighing the girl broke eye contact.

«You think I’m going to betray you», she stood in front of him, «But I have no reason to do such thing. I joined your crew, I got your Jolly Roger on me, I pledged my life to you. My loyalty to you is true and undying».

Doflamingo seemed to relax a bit as he listened to her words. Embracing her, he let her sit on his lap, hiding her in his arms.

“You’re just a broken child, Doflamingo”, she thought to herself.

Burying her face in his chest, she let him hold her for as long as he needed to. She wanted to show him, she would always be there for him; it didn’t matter if she was just a pawn in his hands, she would help him reach his goals even if she had to encounter her death while doing so.

That night very few showed up for dinner, the betrayal left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. Meanwhile, (Y/N) stayed by Doflamingo’s side like he requested; they were laying in his bed, her on top of him, the room smelled like sex as the girl was feeling sore from being fucked roughly by the man who took out his frustration on her body. She had bruises where he gripped her too hard, her core hurting from his hard thrusts, but in the fury, he had been somehow gentle, holding her hands in his bigger ones as he fucked her, whispering his sweet praises and compliments in her ears.

Now, they were enjoying the silence of the night, one of his hands behind his head, the other laid on top (Y/N)’s back, lazily stroking her tattoo.

«Tell me a story», he spoke.

He needed to get his mind off everything that happened and hearing her voice always made him feel better.

«What type of story would you like to hear?», she asked, fingers grazing his jawline.

«Whatever you want», he replied taking her hand and kissing it gently.

«Do you know how the moon was created?», she asked.

Doflamingo gave a hum in response, squeezing her hand and holding it against his chest.

«Long long ago when the world was just created there was just the sun but no moon. There was just day with the sun shining brightly all the time, because of that the sun never set, so people worked until they were too tired to work anymore. One day the creator of the world came to visit it and saw men working in fields. “When did you plough this field?”, “When did you dig that pit?”, “And when did you make that garden?” he asked to a man, who always gave the same answer “Today”. The creator then saw a woman with a child and asked her “When was your little boy born?", “Today”, said the woman», she kissed his knuckles softly, «And the creator understood that the people had no sense of time because there were no days and nights, no division in time. He decided to do something about it. He called the sun and said, “You must set in the evening and rise again in the morning. Then the people will not work when it is dark and know that it’s time for resting. When you rise again, they will know that it’s another day”. From that day on, when it was evening the sun went down and it was dark. The people did not understand what had happened, they were panicking, and nobody knew what to do, until their leader called out and said, “Lie down and rest, all of you. You can do nothing in this darkness”. So, night became a time for resting. They got up again when the sun rose in the sky, and it was light once again, but there was one problem. Since they could see nothing after sunset, they often fell into the ditches they dug, banged against trees, and knocked against people. They could not see where things were kept and broke things», she slightly raised herself enough to graze his jawline, «When the creator when to visit them again, they told him about those accidents and asked him if the sun could stay just a little longer. “No” said the creator, “But I shall give you something else. Something with less light. You will be able to see but you will not be able to work. You will have a nice, soothing light which will make things easier and stop you from having accidents.” And then he created the moon. It rose in the sky and shone softly. People could see but the light did not hurt their eyes. Or stop them from sleeping. It was a happy life with the sun in the day and moon at night», kissing his chest softly she finished.

She thought for a moment but said nothing.

Doflamingo didn’t say anything, his breath was steady and calm. Raising her head, she looked at the sleeping man, a lovingly smile gracing her lips at the sight. His eyes closed, mouth slightly parted, his chest rising and falling rhythmically; he hugged her closer in his sleep, as she hid her head in his neck and fell asleep.

[aprilblossomgirl]

Never Let Me Go Episode 4 (Favorite + Ambivalent + Not so Favorite Scene Edition)

Previous posts on episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3. Now, this episode is about "love," many sides of it, many kinds of it, at first, I thought. But is it actually a little too specifically lean on the "forbidden" territory, or was it the "tragic" one, or the "one-sided" thing? This episode wrecked me yet confused me. I'm so heartbroken for almost everyone here. However, should I say that this episode is a somewhat meta-story of the series (a kind of meta-data, maybe). I feel like there were so too many hints that some of them might come a little too early. Or they're just about in time -- I'm just not ready for more than this to come.

No images here. Companion still sets here and here.

As for my favorite scenes:

Favorite scene #1. The hands lingering

This scene almost makes me not want to move on to the next. The slow motion they do when they let go of their hands off of each other. The way they look down at their linked hands in synchronized movement, and then both very hesitantly let go of the other hand, and then look back at each other again. Damn, those eyes. I just wanna stay right there. On the other side, the preceding scene at the teacher's office just confirmed one thing for me. There was no way Palm would have any say should anything happen to himself while putting his body protecting Nueng. He couldn't say anything when his father came and asked (more like ordered) him to be in charge of protecting Nueng. He couldn't say anything even to himself whenever his instinct takes over and tells him to do everything to defend Nueng. He couldn't say anything to anyone when, subsequently, he gets into trouble for protecting Nueng, yet he could also never say the partially real reason for him doing that. He couldn't say he was there to protect Nueng. He couldn't say he was friends with Nueng either. Only Nueng has the right to tell, and clarify, anything to anyone. But he didn't or couldn't. And that one time he did, he did it a bit vaguely, he allowed a gap for misinterpretation. Now, back again to the teacher's office, it's just a painful scene to me that Palm couldn't stand up for himself while getting reprimanded by Phum's dad. The lingering hands were the only way for Palm to tell Nueng please understand our boundaries, which Nueng clearly didn't understand, yet.

Favorite scene #2. 20 May - Wu Er Ling - Wo Ai Ni

The boys are in their feelings, one knows it for sure, one not really, you know which is who. That's it, that's the whole thing. There's nothing more heartwarming than seeing both Nueng's and Chopper's little smiles over the teacher's explanation about the date. Chopper's soft gaze down, and Nueng's quick glance back into the direction of Palm's desk. The boys are in their feelings. The talk about love, and confession, might nudge something inside them. Something they secretly want, something they are not aware of its power, yet, to either light them up or burn them down.  

Favorite scene #3. About #13 and #4

Shall we forget a bit about the explicit mention of “unlucky” and “dead”, this conversation literally shows the stark difference between Nueng and Palm on their view of life, and perhaps their social status and privileges. In a way, Nueng implies a belief in luck and its symbolism, while Palm doesn't, or is in no position to, think too much about things like luck. Nueng has everything from his family, while Palm needs to work hard to get something. Dealing with obstacles comes naturally to Palm. However, some things left me wondering throughout this scene: Why is it necessary for Nueng to grab Palm's jersey from the back just like that to the point Palm got startled? And when Nueng gets too comfortable to lay down on Palm's bed, something just tickled me in a very weird way. Invasion of Palm's personal space, I would say, initially, but back to that first scene: Nueng doesn't get the boundaries between Palm and himself.

Favorite scene #4. Nueng and Palm talk about Qi Xi Jie

Tragic love. Impossible love. Classic story. They really spell the words we should brace ourselves to get into. Parallel with the scene where they talked about luck and numerical symbolism, here also implied their rather different perspective on the story. Palm feels bad about the weaver girl and the cowherd not being able to be together despite loving each other, as he called it a tragic love. Meanwhile, Nueng views it as romantic in that he thought they overcame the major obstacle for their love. Although later he acknowledges it must be tormenting for them to meet only once a year and need to patiently wait for the day. When Nueng asks Palm if he would wait for a year like the couple, Palm implies that he would endure everything for the one he loves. But his last statement about the story, "Maybe it's because of the long waiting and their different backgrounds, that makes their love become a legend. The queen might want to test their love," with those long stares, feels like an explanatory to the tragic love he mentioned earlier. The long waiting. Different background. Add those to the list of keywords when extra pain is needed later. Oh, also, the queen who might test their love.

Before getting into the not-so-favorite scenes, there are some other scenes that I couldn't decide how to feel (ambivalent) about them:

Ambivalent scene #1. Nueng and Chopper shooting training

I was so happy whenever I saw Chopper and Nueng's casual interactions. I truly wish they were really cut off from their parent's feud. But some instances made me doubt such a delicate wish. Both clearly know what their respective parents expect of them, to take over the family business one day. The difference is that while Khit made it clear to Chopper that he's expected to compete with Nueng, Nueng might not be aware of the competition between Thanya and Khit. Or perhaps he's aware of it, but only to a certain degree. Was he partially clueless or was he just still naive, there's still so much more to see. But to be honest, the conversation he had with Chopper just suggests the latter. In this case, Chopper might not be so innocent about the issue. They jokingly tease each other about taking over the family business. At this point, somehow, I think Nueng was always serious about not wanting the position as his father's successor, and most likely to give it up if there was a way of doing so. At this point. That doesn't mean that won't change at all in the future. And Chopper also said that he wanted to build something on his own. But we don't know yet just how much power his father, and Ben, have on him. I still believe Chopper doesn't want to take over the business in place of Khit, but I have this strong feeling he will have no doubt to use that as a tool to get back at Nueng should something happens with Ben in his relation to Nueng. They're walking on a really thin thread, I'm afraid, if that last look on Chopper's eyes when he gets back to shooting the target while Nueng taking the phone call outside didn't tell me something.

Ambivalent scene #2. Palm and Maggie talk after the basketball training

Simultaneously happens right after Nueng and Chopper's scene at the shooting range, Palm and Maggie also talk about the future. Similar to both Nueng and Chopper, Maggie is also expected to take over one of her father's businesses one day, yet she doesn't want to do that and wants to live her own life instead. "Palm, what about you? What do you want to do?" I can see Palm's discomfort when confronted with the questions because he's in no position to even think about that. But he can only say as far as that he didn't have a plan so he's just going to live his life the current way. Back when he was still in the village, he said that he sees no future there. Now, his answers to Maggie in a way also still reflect that. It may be a real no-future-to-see thing, but it can also be a shield he uses to protect an innermost dream he might always have and take it anywhere with him.

Finally, the not-so-favorite scenes:

Not so favorite scene #1. Chopper and Ben talk

Oh no. I don't feel good about all that, "If you like him, you should tell him." No, no, show, you don't do Chopper like that. "One more thing. Who wouldn't like you?" If Chopper was meant to convey a little of his feelings to Ben, I hope Ben catches it well. Also, I hope Chopper was aware that, "What do you have to lose? At least, you get to tell him how you feel. You never know if you will get that chance again. Being rejected can only hurt you once." applies to him as well.

Not so favorite scene #2. Nueng and Ben talk and kiss

No words beyond why would you kiss him, Nueng? *frustrated cries* *throw hands, throw bottles* Okay, two things that come to mind about this scene are the simultaneous preceding scenes: Palm working on completing their assignment and Nueng practicing the song he made on the piano. "Love. Social class. Separation." Another explicitly spelled words to explain the tragic love story both Nueng and Palm are working on, and by extension, the (love) story between them. I wonder what's on Palm's mind when choosing those words, finding their meaning, and writing them down. Or perhaps he didn't think much about the words? I don't think so. And then we have Nueng's song, about a lonely man's love who thinks he doesn't deserve to love someone or receive love from anyone. And Nueng subtly admitted it was about himself, and that to some extent, was it not about all the four boys. Because if anything, loneliness and not deserving of love are two hard terms that might push them to put the barrier between themselves and the people they love. Fortunately for Ben, he has Chopper to help him tear down the said barrier. But at what cost? All this makes the scene where Palm found out about the kissing more painful. It's more than jealousy. It's more than a concern for Nueng's safety. It's also as if the kiss was a finality, a confirmation, of their distance. For all the things Palm did to establish boundaries between them, but that Nueng continued to break, the kiss serves as a reality check to Palm that the boundaries are always there. Also, a realization that it was Nueng, and his confusion, perhaps, who had been playing on it, breaking it, invading his personal space, unknowingly, hopefully. Regardless, all this makes watching Palm's shocked expression all the way more hurtful.

Not so favorite scene #3. (By all means, the most unfavorite of this episode) The dance club scene

Everything about it. But more specifically, the way they write Nueng for this particular part. Before why Nueng would say all that to Palm, it's more of why Nueng would let himself drink that much to the point of getting that drunk almost as if he loses control of himself. I don't know, it's just so unlike Nueng, to me. But also, to be fair, it's as if the words Nueng said to Ben when Ben confessed his feelings repeated themselves and hit hard this time, "Are you sure you know me well enough?" Did they already show all of Nueng's characters to us? But then, right at the end, Nueng was shown as if to mirror Palm's pain but for a totally different reason. As if, at the moment, they were halves of the other. Shit, if that's not an agonizing way to end the episode. There is still so much to feel about this particular episode, but the prospect of having a possible imbalance of character exploration here kinda struck me.

[imnotgrimimjustagrumpyreaper]

I'm procrastinating both a paper and a chapter of a fic I feel cringe about so everyone vote on which of my more memorable dreams you like better! 1 A mom from one of my various childhood co-op groups is pulling corpses out of my front yard and shaking them at me menacingly, they appear to be people I'm supposed to recognize but I don't which makes it all the more uncanny. 2 I am biking with my parents, we are on my drive way but instinctively in the dream I know its meant to be a park, there's been a cougar in the area, my parents slice the tire of bike and leave me to die while I scream and cry, I am attacked by the cougar. 3 I am watching two children living in a house that is not mine but is set where mine should be from a floating outside perspective almost akin to the sims, there is an alien its got a face somewhere between Audrey jr. and a warthog with the bright colorings and striped patterns of a blue and red dart frog walking around on chicken legs, its a fast bitch and although goofy it is DEADLY. I cannot interfere, I watch the children fight for their lives. 4 I am at the zoo, I am four years old a there alone, I walk into the bathroom, IRL there's a black toilet of a specific model that was SO FUCKING LOUD in those bathrooms and it scared the shit out of me, I go to piss and the toilet shoots out a tendril of its nasty fucking toilet water, I am eaten by a toilet. 5 outside perspective, watching like a movie but also inside perspective and living it simultaneously, I am driving down a road I recognize very well from IRL, I am like three I am baby and I'm driving my mom's white minivan alone down this road during a thunderstorm, everything is in black and white, to my right sits a MASSIVE towering skyscraper of a barn or hay shed, its got no front only the walls the back and the roof giving me a view of all the hay inside, its dilapidated as hell and is strangely not black and white instead being a dull rusty brown color, lightning strikes it and it catches on fire and begins to collapse, it falls down on me and the minivan, bonus points for recurring nightmare.

6 I wake up alone in my house, in my room in my bed, everything is very correct, things are where they should be its incredibly realistic. There is an awful noise coming from outside. I am on auto pilot, I am aware of my actions and I DON'T want to do them but I do not have a choice. The awful noise continues, its like a dying animal, I get out of bed to go see, the living room windows don't have blinds, there is a thing outside, its trying very hard to look in the windows but it isn't doing very well, it looks almost human but almost is the important bit there, it can't seem to stand bipedal-y and its frustrated, it catches my eye, it looks like it should be dead, corpse like but like the awful gaudy Hollywood corpse all gaunt face and walking dead style zombie, sunken pupiless eyes, half corpse and half animal with barred yellow pointed teeth and a body too contorted to walk on four legs but not made to walk on two. I want to run away, its still looking at me, I have no control over my body, slowly I walk to the front door and unlock it. I step outside onto the front porch.

7 I dreamt that a new episode of the penguins of madagascar (my favorite show at the time) had aired. In it, I was watching the episode in the dream but also somehow just reading the synopsis, the penguins had build a robot fifth member, specifically Skipper had commissioned Kowalski to build it and things went wrong from there. I woke up excited to watch it and when I couldn't find it I was so determined that is simply hadn't been put on the pirating website I used at the time that I convinced my mother to let me check Amazon to see if it was listed there. It haunted me for weeks.

8 There is a torrential rain and thunderstorm raging outside our house and my family is all trapped inside for the evening, its been raining for a while and we're all a bit snippy. I look outside and see the face of a horrible old woman staring back at me, she's smiling like a cat that's got the cream. I run and tell my parents I am very scared and upset. They go to the door and open it, I see the woman but they don't, they see a scared little kid shivering in the rain. They let her in despite my protests, when my parent's aren't paying attention she continuously whispers threats at me "I'll kill you" being her very basic favorite. I can do nothing, my parents will eventually leave us alone together and she'll do whatever the hell she please to me. They let her in and I get to pay the price.

9 We are high up in the snowy mountains in a wooden chalet style resort. Its full of hot tubs, pools waterslides and treated pine wood luxury. Everything sort of plays like a reality tv show but its not meant to be one, it feels like one but its real life. I'm there with new husband, my husband is Speedy Gonzales. He is madly in love with me and I don't feel the same but I'm struggling to tell him so I avoid him which just upsets him, our relationship is falling apart and its my fault. When we're alone in our hotel room I break down and tell him, it feels like there's a camera shoved in my face even though there isn't. He breaks down sobbing, right before leaving the room and slamming the door he tells me "No one will ever love you" and I'm left alone in our honeymoon sweet. (To this day this is the most bizarre dream I've ever had if only because I have no clue why it was Speedy Gonzales a character I've never given a second thought to, my only guess is that the looney tunes show had seeped into my brain)

10 I am in bed, I am young and scarred, I cannot sleep, I cannot sleep because my closet is screaming, harsh scratchy screams, and the door is about to bust off its hinges. I get out of bed to go see, inside there is a formless black mass, approximately a man, it is swinging from a noose around its neck, its choking, its grasping at me, I can't tell if it wants me to help or if its trying to hurt me, there is a swirling red portal behind it glowing dimly that I instinctively know is a portal to hell. The bar in my closet the noose is hanging from breaks off and gets sucked in, the thing is dragged to hell by its neck and I watch helplessly. POLL:

[turanga4]

2022 Roundup

Thanks for the open tag, @sliebman10--I like how this one has a mix of things one did, things one is doing, and things one WISHES to do next year.

Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular),

your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year,

your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year,

your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year,

and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year!

Five pieces I am proud of feels like a lot: imma do three.

Accidental Magic This one came so seamlessly to me, once I scrapped all my initial plans to do a more conventional love story for the contest prompt, "pivot." I'm proud because it was a chance for me to trust my instincts, and also to reach out to other writers for advice and thought partnership--I leaned heavily on a brilliant meta from @ashesandhackles and I felt so very brash even asking for permission to do that, but she met me with such amazing kindness and sincere interest in my craft.

Mysteries This one kicked my arse. I drafted and struggled and despaired and tried again, and if @evesaintyves hadn't been there to talk me off the ledge seven different times, it would never have made it to publication. I am proud, because I didn't give up, and now, it's a thing I feel good about sharing.

Visit Proud of my last piece, because it shows I'm still creating stuff, and also because I used it to try a very new thing--second person pov. I'm proud of the fact that I am always learning and stretching: it's first and foremost a credit to the people who are so generous with their support, inspiration, and encouragement, but it is also a credit, I think, to me.

2. FOUR current WIPs? Nah.

I'm working on one thing for a festival, so must be Way Secret. I am also working on a story centering Neville after the War--my conceit is weaving together his relationship with himself and his parents with the Muggle concept of using principles of improv comedy to work with dementia patients. I only have the title (Yes And) and a couple hundred words, but I'm looking forward to crafting it fully next year.

3. Biggest Improvements this year? Everything? I just started fan fic writing this year, and I started out ROUGH. I think craft-wise, I've gained the most in my ability to use point of view, and in my use of actions and descriptions to gird my dialogue: I used to pretty much just drop the characters in the middle of a conversation and not do anything other than the 'script' to help the reader understand time, place, or mood. Metacognitively, I've gained confidence, although I still have further to go with this--a willingness to see what I'm doing as both worth doing for myself and worth sharing with others.

4. Two Resolutions I shall break the 3000 words mark, and I shall learn how to Plot, which is something that I genuinely have not needed to fuck with until now.

5. One Favorite Line: From Accidental Magic, a summary of sorts of Harry's arc as he moves from what he needed to be around the Dursleys towards who he is meant to be:

He hides cake under the floorboards and buries love in a place deep enough within himself that for years it sparks out hot and feral, beyond conscious volition, an accidental magic that he has to learn to tame.

It has been such a joy to have found fan fic and the lovely, lovely humans I am blessed to know within this special space. I wish you all a creative and wondrous new year!

[zippocreed501]

AUTHOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

1. On individuality: 'Everybody has at least one story to tell.'

2. On interruptions: 'The only thing that’s bad for writing is being interrupted. You have to have time to write. And while that seems obvious, you're probably living a life with a lot of interruptions.'

3. On unused writing: 'Writers are like cooks. They keep everything in the refrigerator and put it all in the casserole. What doesn’t go in for dinner tonight, well, it’s gonna show up next Sunday.'

4. On staying engaging: 'There's only one rule of show business, or writing. And that's don't be boring.'

5. On brevity: 'If you can tell a story as briefly as possible, it's more dramatic. If it's too long, then it has the problems of pacing, it could get a little slow. But the shorter you can make a story, the better.'

6. On writing from diverse points of view: 'It's very important to project your own imagination into someone else—for instance, if you're a fairly young person, to write from the point of view of an older person. It's so much more interesting.'

7. On reading: 'I would say almost dogmatically that you can't be a writer unless you're reading all the time and reading with purpose.'

8. On experimentation: 'Writing is a matter of experimentation. And all writers do a lot of revision. So, first you might write a paragraph, and then you might rewrite it, and you might rewrite it again, and then you might write a page. And then basically you keep rewriting to find the rhythm and the voice that's suitable for that story.'

9. On building an audience: 'I think it's very important for writers, whether young or older, to have an audience—to have people who are sympathetic and supportive, but also fellow writers who have critical ideas and constructive suggestions.'

10. On having fun: 'I think one of the main things to remember when you're writing is that writing should be pleasurable. It should be fun. It should be exploratory. You should be writing about things that surprise you.'

11. On looking within: 'Writing is like a spiritual manifestation of something deep within us we don't really know is there.'

12. On giving a voice to the oppressed: 'Another very strong motive throughout history is bearing witness, particularly for people who can't speak for themselves—writing about people, telling the stories of people who have been muted or silenced or even exterminated, and being the one to tell their stories in some historic forum, or as journalism, or as fiction, or poetry. I think that's a very strong impulse.'

13. On playing with structure: 'It's very exciting to experiment with structure. I think that many stories are best told in some elliptical way or some unusual way.'

14. On journaling: 'Keeping a journal sharpens our senses. It's like an exercise in writing. If you're describing a scene, you are practicing the act of writing—which is very important—and thinking in language. Otherwise, you just sort of go through the day with stray thoughts floating around in your head of no particular distinction. But if you're writing things down and really thinking about something and observing, that gives a certain sharpness to your powers of observation.'

15. On the necessity of storytelling: 'There is an instinct in our species to tell stories. It's a way of explaining the universe and explaining our world.'

16. On learning from masters: 'You may want to read Faulkner, Hemingway, James Joyce, Kafka, Thomas Mann, Virginia Woolf. You may want to aim very high because the more you read and the more you're absorbing. When you start to write, you're gonna write on a higher level than you would be if you didn't read these people. It's like the old saying, ‘If you want to learn how to play tennis, you play tennis with somebody who is better than you.'

Author Extraordinaire Joyce Carol Oates

16 quotes on writing

source: www.masterclass.com

[mari9-abbys]

10 Mistakes Most Young People Make & Regret Later in Life

If anything is too exciting, you can suspect something is probably wrong about it.

Adolescent and early adulthood is just too exciting, no wonder most of us make several

mistakes at a time like that.

In this article we will be sharing with you 10 mistakes most young people make and regret

later in their life If you’re still young, you’ll have opportunity

to correct some of these mistakes.

If you’re already 75, well, we’re sorry.

Hahahaha….

Mistake No. 1 Young People Spend money on trivial things

Most young people want to have fun; they want to enjoy their life and feel among.

They look at others and want to be like them, buy what they buy and live the way they do.

Young people are more likely to run after fashion, style, fun and many more.

There’s nothing bad in being fashionable and buying latest iPhones except it’s making

you poorer.

As a young person, your primary assignment should be to build a solid financial foundation

for your life.

To do this, you have to have the habit of saving and learn about investing.

You can buy everything and anything your heart desires but that’s after you have built

wealth.

I know, that’s an ugly advice for anyone at 20s, until you’re 50 and know what it

means to be broke at such age.

Mistake No. 2.

Young people think Schooling is enough to get rich

Maybe this isn’t their fault actually.

Maybe we should blame the society for this.

You see, your education actually truly starts the day you leave school.

You may not like to hear this but it’s the truth.

The real world is very different from the four walls of the classroom.

Truly successful people are people who learn daily, even two decades after they’ve left

school.

Unfortunately, most people of the world stop learning the day they leave school and that’s

a big mistake that leads to poverty and unfulfilled life.

Read good books.

Listen to good audio program.

School doesn’t teach you much things as you’ll like to believe.

Mistake No. 3

Young people tend to give up easily It is so easy to just quit when something

feels too hard.

The idea of giving up what you’re doing to just try something else, can be the easier

option sometimes.

It might be that you don’t like what you are doing.

But the biggest mistake you can make sometimes is to give up.

Pushing through the hard times is what makes a stronger and well-rounded person.

When things start getting a little tough, don’t take the easy way out.

Keep on pushing through and you just might surprise yourself.

When you work through something tough and come out the other side, there is no better

feeling.

Don’t give up.

Keep on fighting!

Mistake No. 4 Young People Do Accept Whatever they Hear

and Believe anything.

Young people are people with great minds, full of opinion, but they will rarely challenge

what they hear from older people.

Youth should be a time of learning, but also questioning what you are told and even get

deeper into your own best thoughts and points of view.

Experience may lead you to discover that issues that seem black and white are actually many

shades of gray.

Age doesn’t necessarily come wisdom, and many young people too easily accept what they

hear from older generations.

Following your instincts can take you a long way, if you know how to follow it well.

Mistake No. 5 Young People Invest Without Research

Reading and hearing stories of people who have made millions investing on the stock

market can make it very tempting to give it a go yourself but don’t do that.

Investing can be a very rewarding thing but it’s not as easy as just throwing your money

away on random shares.

As a young person, you need to do some research.

If you invest wrongly, it can mean you lose a lot more than you put in.

If you truly want to master investing, the best way to go about it is to study some really

good books on that subject.

Taking time to read 10 good books about stock market or real estate can save you from unnecessary

headache that comes with losing your hard earn investment.

Mistake No. 6

Young people always want instant gratification Maybe this is the biggest mistakes young people

make.

Young people today are under great pressure to establish a successful career as soon as

possible, to find the perfect partner at the earliest opportunity and most importantly,

to enjoy themselves right here and NOW.

They always want everything NOW and that usually lead them into unnecessary short cuts, debt

and unhappy future.

Mistake No. 7 Most young people don't save money.

A recent survey of 1,003 people from Bank rate found that 69% of those ages 18 to 29

had no retirement savings at all.

Your retirement may seem far off, but you're doing yourself a major disservice if you don't

recognize the importance of saving as soon as possible

It’s not only retirement you should save for.

You should save for investment and also for emergencies.

It’s hard to save when all your mates are buying new stuff but if you think you have

a better future than theirs, you’ll be disciplined enough to save.

Mistake No. 8 Young people think that love alone is enough to sustain a relationship Love is undoubtedly a key ingredient in making a relationship work.

However, it is not sufficient.

It is possible to be very much in love with someone yet realize that the two of you are

fundamentally incompatible.

The best relationships are based not on romantic love but on shared values, dreams and goals.

Communication skills and the ability to argue without hurting one another for the sake of

it are also vital.

Since choosing a life partner is an important decision you’ll have to make at your 20s,

knowing this truth will help you.

Long lasting relationship is about love, but not just that.

Your partner must share a significant part of your values, goals and aspirations or else

you won’t last together.

No. 9 Young people try to please everyone.

When you're starting out as a teenager in your early career, it can seem natural to

want to be on friendly terms with your boss, clients, and all of your school mates.

It may be disappointing when you found out that some of them simply don't like you and

you’ll start bending to fit in to their expectations.

This is a big mistakes because there’s no formula that guarantees that everyone will

like you.

You must learn how to deal with haters, very important.

Mistake No. 10 Young people Blame Their Parents for their misfortune We’re very sorry, your parents own you nothing.

They invited you to this world, yes.

But they probably have done the best they know how to do.

If you think their best is not good enough, guy, get out and fix your life.

It’s your life and you’re the only one who is responsible.

Your failure or success is yours and not your parents’

Okay, just before you go, here is the summary of what we’ve shared with you so far;

Delay gratification.

Don’t buy things because everyone is doing so

Learn how to save for investment and retirement purpose

Don’t believe everything.

Ask questions and challenge status quo Don’t fall in love because of love alone.

Think about values and compatibility Don’t think you’re educated because you

have degrees.

Learn every day Try things and don’t give up easily

Don’t blame your parents or government for your failure.

Take responsibility.

You enjoy this article, don’t you?

We’ll like to give you another interesting article for you to enjoy next but before then,

our team will be very happy if you can like this article and share it with your friends

on social media.

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