#gave her a 105/100

[platonic-sponge]

just found out the most devastating news from my mother... when she was in college she had a project where she had to take a comic and turn it into a storyboard,, cut up the comic and all yk? and the comic she used was an original printing of the first Nightwing comic. THE FIRST COMIC. AN ORIGINAL PRINT. THE COMIC!!!!! SHE DESTROYED HIMMM!!!!! HOW COULD SHE!?!?!?

[inaconstantstateofchange]

Who Builds Theseus' Ship?

This ties in to a greater discussion about Larian's changes to the game post-Full Release, and whether you consider those changes to be a good thing or a bad thing. Personally speaking, the quality-of-life and gameplay mechanics improvements were appreciated, while the direct changes to characters and especially characterization were not so much.

In such discussions, I often see people downplaying the actual changes to characterization that have been made thus far as "minor" things, but I often see one of the most glaring examples of a characterization change left out, because so many people aren't even aware of it ever happening:

Halsin.

For those who don't know, if you were romancing Halsin at the time of the original full release, and for almost four months afterward, if you took him with you to Act 3's orgy scene in Sharess's Caress, he would open up about a situation in his distant past. He would tell you about how he had briefly been "something between guest, prisoner, and consort" in a drow House, and been kept there for three years before escaping.

He stated that this was something that happened "a long time ago", when he was "a foolhardy young druid", which would mean it would likely have been between ages 100 and 245 — or at minimum 105 years ago, and at (likely) maximum 250 years ago. He closed the discussion with a line that really struck me, and that gave me such an appreciation for his character, and for the writers who had created it:

The passage of time has a strange way of polishing even the most arduous of memories into precious keepsakes.

As someone in their late-20s, with a number of traumatic events in my past, this resonated so much both with my experience of those events – once harrowing and haunting, now just simple happenings that do not affect me the way they once did – and as an inspirational message, that hurt would not necessarily linger forever.

Not only that, I really valued the insight it gave into Halsin's personality, further showing him to be someone who was deeply complex and meditative, always looking for meaning and something to take away or learn from any experience. It also served to showcase the likely reality of the relationship elves and druids both would have to the concepts of time and memory. (Another example of this is the experience of Shadowheart's father compared to her mother at the hands of the Sharrans.)

I started playing the game almost immediately upon its release in August, and was intrigued by Halsin from the start. He was someone who was kind and heartfelt, but also very settled in himself and with a simultaneously rigid and very flexible moral code. It was that complexity that drew me to him, and I appreciated the inclusion of a character distinct from the Origin companions, all at close to the lowest point of their lives.

It was to my surprise to find that this appreciation for his character and perspective on his Act 3 revelation was not unanimous. As it turned out, there was a vocal group of people claiming that this writing was problematic, and that Halsin clearly didn't even realize he was actually traumatized, and that Larian needed to fix it. Not everyone joining in with this crusade had even played the game.

And, ultimately, in a pattern they have continued to follow, Larian responded. They fixed it. At the end of November, as part of Patch 5, they uploaded an edited version of the scene with new dialogue, where the player could express this "reality" to Halsin, in one of the most gallingly patronizing statements I've ever seen.

Sounds traumatic. You may need to reflect on that.

(If someone said this to me after I had opened up to them about my trauma and my experience of it to them, we would not be maintaining a cordial relationship afterward.)

Halsin's new response to these dialogue options is a cringing, self-deprecating cascade of how the player is of course right, and he should have known better, and time could "prove to be a trickster on one's recollections" and that perhaps he had "lost perspective".

Quite frankly, it is a completely different character answering, and an almost directly opposing overall message about the role of time in healing, and the path forward when it comes to trauma. No more "one day these events will not hurt to recall the way they do now". In its stead: "only healing that looks a specific way and follows a specific path is acceptable - anything else and you are simply a poor fool lying to yourself."

The following quote is from a comment left on a video of Halsin's original dialogue in that scene, before the changes, and is just one example of how much that representation meant to more than just me to see:

That said, Halsin is trauma recovery goals for me absolutely. Being able to remember without actually being triggered? Being able to fully and freely engage HOW ID LIKE TO instead of being fettered by trauma responses? Goals. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there 100%, we don’t get elven lifetimes irl, but his level of healing brings me hope.

Ultimately, this post is not meant to argue that you should agree with me that one is better than the other. More so, I want to highlight that this existed — for many people, this was their experience of events and characters, and that is not so easily redacted. And I also want to just state, for the record, that Larian's way of approaching narrative and characterization changes to their full-release game has been incredibly frustrating. I did not agree, in August, to play an Early Access game with the inherent understanding that any potential narrative aspect might change at any time. I purchased a full-release game, and immersed myself in the story and the characters, to get to know them as the writers had originally presented.

And when Larian makes these changes based on fan feedback, they are explicitly making decisions about which fans matter, and specifically, which fans matter most. Rather than allowing everyone to experience the story they decided to tell, and draw from it what they take away, and let that spark discussion and engagement, they made the decision to defer to some fans over others, and prioritize their experience of the narrative — something that, no matter how well-intended, is always going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

[genopaint]

Week 16 of the Daily Dragon Challenge is here! Apologies on the delay for posting this... I was lazy. BUT!! We're finally in the 100's!!

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #105 - Garchomp

Figured it'd be the perfect time to draw this fella since I just beat Platinum for the first time yesterday! Sadly I didn't end up getting one on my team but they're SUCH a cool dragon all the same

Daily Dragon #106 - Rex

One of the cutest Mario dragons! There's just something so charming about this little guy

+ 2 variants

While drawing this it really dawned on me how interesting this enemy is. It's one of the many Mario enemies that only appeared in 1 main series entry, but unlike a lot of other similar enemies it just will randomly appear in spinoff content a lot. Not even just as cameos, but like actual tangible enemy appearances. It's been an enemy in 3 games post SMW, 4 if you count the Minecraft Mario thing. That actually puts it over a LOT of random Mario enemies, but it still doesn't appear enough to be a Mario staple enemy. idk just kind of interesting to me lol

Daily Dragon #107 - Shelly Draws

A kobold with a passion (and a horde) for Trading Cards! She loves trying out new ones, and dreams of one day making her very own. Her favorite food are hamburgers.

This is a redesign of an old kobold girl from a Monster Girl design challenge thing I did back in 2016! Sadly I don't remember her name, but I do remember that I gave her a passion for trading cards. Which is more important than a name anyway, so I gave her a new card-pun name

Daily Dragon #108 - Koibito

My friend Sox's super cool Piranha Dragon! This design is super cool and I love Dragon hybrids of any kind! Thank you for letting me include them in this challenge!!

Daily Dragon #109 - Neonagon

Strange 2D creatures that appear on walls in cities. Be careful when using regular weapons on them, because their appearance doesn't make the walls any more malleable!

Another redraw! This was from a prompt request I made in 2020! I think it's a neat concept and it was a simple to do and I kinda didn't have huge drawing energy today lol

Daily Dragon #110 - Field Dragon

These incredibly tiny dragons are just slightly larger than berries. They use their spikes to collect various pieces of food while out and about, as well as breaking open seeds and nuts to eat!

Daily Dragon #111 - Fumedradon

Odd fume spewing dragons that are always found laughing and moving oddly as their nests are filled with the strange smoke the billow out. If you're going to deal with one, wear a gas mask

is... is this the first holiday dragon so far??? of course i ended up only doing that on THIS holiday and not any other.... Also 4/20 landed on day 111 isn't that neat :)

[littledigest]

Asteroids Related to the Night

For those in love with the Moon and those who find comfort in the dark of the night. 🌙

1298, 3908, 658, 69, 714, 8962, 713, 105, 78, 580

100, 3271

Nocturna 1298

Meaning nightly

Think of the word nocturnal, meaning active at night

I have Nocturna conjunct NN and Chiron. I am for sure nocturnal. I focus better and am more creative at night. I don't think I slept early, even as a child.

Nyx 3908

Named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night

Born from Chaos, Nyx gave birth to many gods and goddesses related to daytime, nighttime, light, and darkness.

Asteria 658

Named after Asteria, the Titaness

Her name means of the stars, starry one

Known for being one of Zeus' conquests, she became a bird and then an island. As an island, she saves her sister Leto after Leto is impregnated by Zeus and cannot find a safe haven due to Hera's wrath

Hesperia 69

Named after the Hesperides in Greek mythology

Hesperides are the nymphs of the evening and the golden light of sunsets

They tend the garden and sing

Ulula 714

Named after the genus of owls

Owls are nocturnal birds, hunters, and symbols of wisdom in Western culture.

In African and Native American cultures, owls are symbols of death.

In Asian cultures, owls are symbols of good luck.

Noctua 8962

Named after a species of owl called Athene noctua or Little Owl (owl of Athena, owl of Minerva)

Commemorates Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and handicraft

Luscinia 713

Named after the genus of nightingales

Known for their singing and frequently used in literature and other works of art

Sing both day and night; songstresses of the night.

Artemis 105, Diana 78

Named after Artemis, the Greek goddess of the Moon, the hunt, animals, wilderness, and children, or Diana, her Roman counterpart

Her twin is Apollo 1862, who is associated with the Sun

Artemis is also associated with the menstrual cycle and childbirth

I have Artemis conjunct my Moon. Still trying to figure out if this has been expressed in an obvious way in my life yet...caring for animals, children...

Selene 580

Named after Selene, the Greek personification of the Moon

Means light, brightness, gleam

Drives a chariot across the skies to bring the night

Her brother is Helios, the Sun god, who drives a chariot across the sky to bring the day

I have Diana (above) and Selene conjunct with each other and my Neptune and sextile Saturn. Saturn sextile Neptune could refer to materialization. My ideas may be best developed at night (?) under the moon (?)

Hekate 100

Named after Hecate, the Greek goddess of crossroads, entryways, magic, witchcraft, the night, and the Moon

She is depicted with three bodies; all-seeing, transitional, liminal

A triple deity associated with the moon (Selene, Luna), hunting (Artemis, Diana), and herself as the underworld

Associated with dogs as well (thinking dogs and wolves howling at the moon)

Ul 3271

Named after a Melanesian lunar deity

[nyrasproblm]

Two Princesses

Prologue: Meetings.

Ariella Targaryen is the child of a woman from a vassal house and the King Viserys Targaryen. She is a bastard legitimized by the king.

She was born in 100 A.C in Runestone. Ariella's mother died when she was only 5 years old from winter fever. At the time, King Viserys was married to Queen Aemma Arryn and they had a child together, the princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, but he knew about Ariella, he decide to legitimate her after her mother death.

Ariella was brought to Kings Landing to join the court one month after her mother death, at the behest of King Viserys.

105 A.C

She was speechless, in her short life she had never seen a place as large and dazzling as Kings Landing, the sight of the Red Fortress made her sigh softly from inside the carriage.

The travel from Runestone was not very long but yet tiring. The craw from the King arrived in the lands of bronze during any given day, The lord of the castle was surprised but immediately accepted the king's request, sending the little girl to the Crown's lands in a simple carriage, accompanied only by a maid and the man who drove the carriage.

When the carriage stopped inside the gates of the large red building, she looked at the maid who was with her and she just smiled with encouragement. The carriage door was opened and she walked down the steps carefully due to the size of her small legs.

She looked around, seeing a man dressed formally, the maid came out right behind her and remained silent. She pressed her little hands into the fabric of the simple dress she was wearing and continued looking curiously at the man, who spoke for the first time since she had arrived.

"Kings Landing and the Crown welcome you, little miss.” he walked over to her and bent down a little, to her level. "I am Lyonel Strong, Hand of King Viserys. The king and queen eagerly await you in their chambers.”

He seemed friendly, gave her a small smile and extended his hand to her. She shyly looked at him and accepted his hand. The man began to walk with her into the Keep.

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

She admired every tapestry and painting she could on the short walk she took with Lord Lyonel. He stopped in front of a door and was announced, the door soon opened and he looked at her before entering, still holding her hand.

"Your Graces, the little Ariella is here." he spoke in a calm tone.

She could see that there was a sculpture in the shape of Westeros in the center of the room. Only when the king spoke did she turn her attention to him.

"Did you like it?" Viserys said.

She swallowed nervously and only then remembered what she had been told in Runestone. She should bow.

She bowed slowly, still holding Lord Lyonel's hand.

"Your Grace..." Her little voice spoke.

Viserys gave her a reassuring smile and approached, only then did she notice the Queen's presence in the room. She felt her heart palpitate.

Was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, even in her short lifetime.

She bowed again, of course.

"Your Majesty" she spoke shyly again.

Aemma let out a laugh and walked over, also smiling a little at her.

From that day on, she had a place at court, even if it displeased some people. She was given quarters in the Keep, given personal maids and a title. Princess.

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 141. brb x oc

a/n: I had a good time with my dad...it was good to take this break. Thank you for everyone who messaged me and checked on me, really, you guys are incredible and I couldn't thank you guys enough. Kinda short because of shitty connection but I hope you guys like it. Smut coming soon(reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

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-

“So this is your school.”

“...it was.”

He sounded disappointed, with reason considering his high school looked…nothing like he remembered. He holds onto the front gates with his brows low, eyes moving at every corner he could find, hoping to see something that was similar to his brain, something that could wrack his memory. “They removed the old gym,” he mutters, pressing his face harder against the iron bars and squinting under the gentle falling now “And built it so much farther from the school building. Look,” he couldn’t even put his arm through the bars to show it to Beatrice but his wife approached him with Nicole nonetheless.

“That…gray building was your gymnasium?”

“It was rich green back then,” he mutters “They painted for St.Patrick’s day in 1956 and never changed it…until now I guess…at least the tree is still there and they added a pathwalk around it.”

“It wasn’t there before?”

“No, it was just fuckin’ hard earth.” he chuckles as he reminisces, “And some grass that looked like someone just spat it on the ground…” he walks to the left a bit, trying to see more of the glass doors that were covered with cards and ‘Merry Christmas’ signs on it…alongside a large vinyl illustration that Beatrice had to squint her eyes to see better.

“Is that a bobcat?”

“Yeah, we used to call him Bob but I’m sure that wasn’t his name.” he frowns more, “They gave him a goatee, that’s terrible.”

Beatrice felt a bit bad because of Rooster’s constant disappointment in showing her about his past, when in reality it was actually really fun. Their schools weren’t that different, except, well, hers didn’t have a tree…and the gym wasn’t that big…and of course the school building had two floors and the basement of her school was haunted but it was still good! She approached her husband, keeping Nicole wrapped inside her jacket and smiled up at him, “You are pouting.” she giggles, seeing that he immediately pouted more, “Roos, things change, I mean, it’s been over ten years since you’ve been here,right?”

“I mean,yeah.”

“It’s okay honey,” she kisses his covered shoulder, then his jawline, “I still like your school…did you have fun here?”

“I did.” he pauses, “A little.I got in a lot of trouble here too. I fought,” he sputters, “I don’t know, half of the bullies? No one bothered me once I started working out. I know most of my teachers hated that I did that…’You are good boy Bradley’ ‘Don’t let your anger control you,Bradley’, my mom was called to school too often.”

“You mentioned that.”

“She did get mad.” he mumbles, eyelids lowering, “You know? She’d get mad at me, she’d scold me and we’d fight for a few seconds then we’d make up with ice cream or she’d take me to the movies…we never got really angry at each other for too long.” until that day after he was refused entry in the Navy. “...anyway, let’s move on.”

“Where to?”

“I can’t show you the inside because, well, it’s closed…I dunno if they’d even let me do it.” he murmurs, holding the bars tighter then pushing himself away with a light impulse, “We can take a walk around the park I used to go, but-” he looks up with a frown, “Maybe we should go back to the cabin, we spent a good chunk of time outside.”

Beatrice follows his gaze to see the clouds were getting darker and darker, meaning they’d better go back or else they’d be stuck in this area and wouldn’t be able to return. Nicole, who was just having a blast, bounced on Beatrice’s arms as they walked back to the car, making her father smile towards her once he opened the back door so Bea could latch her in, “I swear, she has so much energy for a six months old.”

“She does,” Nicole’s cute little ‘mama!’ when Beatrice kissed her and placed her on the seat made her mother laugh, “My mother said that if she’s like this now it means the terrible twos won’t be so bad.”

“Really?”

“Well,” she pushes the door closed,”She said the same about Sabrina and she set my nonna’s curtain on fire when she was one and a half.” she blinks at him, “And she was considered a ‘calm’ baby.”

Rooster didn’t know if he should be worried or surprised, then he chose to turn the subject towards Bea, “But you were a calm baby.”

“I was.”

“Did you ever set anything on fire?”

“No,” she giggles, “But I used to bring insects into the house, I especially loved ladybugs.” she heard him whisper a ‘of course you would’. “And…maybe I brought some birds, some…cats and dogs I found on the street, abandoned…the cats never stayed ‘cause Leo is allergic, but the dogs? The dogs did.”

Rooster chuckles, his chest moving for a brief second, “You’d do that, you are just a Disney princess in real life.” her cheeks immediately turn red, “Every day I think you’ll wake up singing and the birds will help you get ready.” he wiggles his fingers, the gloves creaking when he does so, “Like Cinderella–wait, no, Cinderella has a shitty family life…who’s the best one? Oh,I know, Belle.”

“Belle?”

“I had a crush on Belle.” he smirks, “What can I say? Brunettes are my one,” he steps closer, “And only,” his arms wrap around her waist and hers go around his neck, “Weakness…and if their names start with ‘B’?” he whistles lowly, “Don’t even get me started.”

Beatrice smiles at him even more, cupping his cheeks with her gloved hands and bringing their lips together in a repetitive flurry of kisses that left the two blushing harder, a mix of their own teenage like feelings and the cold, ‘We better get out of her before it gets too cold to move,Roos.”

“I agree…one more kiss tho.” he does kiss her one final time, loving how her cherry chapstick left its taste on his lips when he licked them, “Alright, atta girl.” he swats her ass cheek as she turns around, opening the passenger door for her and waiting until she was inside fully.

Bradley entered the car a few minutes before the snow intensified so he wasted no time  stalling, driving off from his school towards the cabin. It was quite a trek to go there, but it was fine, the snow was only getting stronger behind them so it was easy to reach the cabin without worries.

Well, of course it was much better to stay inside once the snow landed heavily on the roof and the outside turned one singular color instead of the different shades they were seeing before. Beatrice held Nicole to her chest, their daughter laughing happily when she saw the snow piling on the window, stretching her little arm towards the glass as if she wanted to touch it “Wow, good thing we left,Roos, look.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be bad,” he murmured,”The weather app said it’s a red alert for this region.”

Beatrice turned around with her eyes wide, panic in her green irises, “Wait, really?”

“Yep, but don’t worry,we’ll be okay. It won’t be as bad as the first time we got here.”

“Okay-” she was about to say more but she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, pulling it out one handed to check who it was “...oh it’s Evelyn.”

“Yea?” he calls from the kitchen, ripping a cocoa packet open as soon as he poured the hot milk in his mug, “What does she want?”

Privacy, Beatrice thinks,”Just to talk…can you stay with Nikki for a bit?” he stops what he was doing and Bea has to chuckle at his boyish grin when he walks over to the two, picking Nicole from her arms and kissing her cheek over and over, “I’ll be right back.”

“Alright,” he didn’t want to pry but Beatrice left the living room area in a hurry, locking the door behind her once she reached the master bedroom, leaving her husband looking in the direction she disappeared into with a frown on his face.

Beatrice licked her lips once she was alone, then frowned, “Weird.” two missed calls…wasn’t it around seven in the morning in California? Beatrice blinked, then shook her head before pressing Evelyn’s name, almost jumping in surprise when her friend picked in the very first ring, ‘...Ev?’ she asks after a few minutes of silence.

“...hi,sorry for bothering you guys during your holiday week.”

“Um no, no it’s okay. What happened?”

Another pause, longer this time, “...I just wanted someone to talk to.” she whispered, “I’m in Jake’s family home in Texas.”

“Oh I didn’t know you were uh…traveling.”

“Me either.”

“...are you okay?”

Beatrice hears her friend sigh, then her feet walking around the room, “...I…I got kinda sick these past days, while we were here.” she explains, “And so I went to the doctor, a family friend of Jake’s…to…check.” Beatrice felt a cold claw coming up in her stomach, the fear palpable, “And see if the Pumpkin is okay.”

“...and?”

“He is okay.”

Beatrice sighed out in relief, almost falling on the floor but managing to do so by sitting on the bed, falling onto the mattress as she rubbed her forehead, “Oh thank God.” she whispered, “I’m so happy to hear that,Ev.”

“...Yeah.Me too…it was really fucking scary,Bea.” she says softly, “I thought–it was scary. The doctor told me it was normal, nothing to worry about, that it was because of the plane and the jetlag and whatnot…he said if it were twins it’d be much worse.”

Beatrice’s eyes snapped open, her body rigid, ‘...what?”

“Yeah, if it was twins and I was feeling like this,he said it’d be worse. I didn’t want him to elaborate as you know I wasn’t really in the mood to do it. It was just a random comment, nothing more.” but that made something within Beatrice panic. What does that mean? What sort of thing was she feeling? Should she be worried? What was she going to do? 

‘But…um…what exactly were you feeling?” what should she look for on the trip back?

“Just really heavy nausea, some headaches.My body hurt too, that was all I was feeling.”

“Ah…I see.”

Both of them remained silent for a second, then she hears Evelyn walk around again, “...Bea.”

“Yeah?”

“You got quiet.”

I’m worrying about the little beans inside of me so there’s a reason I’m worried but I don’t want you to worry “It’s nothing,Ev. I’m just…well,it’s scary. I didn’t know that it could happen.”

“The doctor said stress also fucks you up so…that could be why? I’ve been really tired ever since my parents found out about it.”

“Oh…I’m sorry Ev.”

“Oh it’s okay…I’m okay now.Jake’s mom is making me uh…I don’t know, something that smells nice and I didn’t want Jake to worry and I couldn’t call Shells because you know how she’d get.”

“Haha,yeah.” but her laugh sounds so nervous, she really didn’t need that right now…stress…stress causes a lot of things. So what should she do? What could she do? Maybe she should stay…quiet inside the room and not move at all- even if she planned things this week, hell even if Rooster had things planned- no, no she shouldn’t let the paranoia take over her especially since it’d be a good week…

Maybe she should tell Rooster later, he’d understand…right? Yeah, of course.

“Anyway,I’m sorry Bea…for the sudden call and message.”

“It’s totally okay,Ev.”

“...can I ask you something,though?”

“Sure,anything.”

“Do you think you can call your aunt? The witch lady?”

“...sure? Why?”

‘Just so maybe she can give me some tips on how to not freak out so much during my pregnancy,” she laughs “You know,I’m glad you already had Nikki, it’s a terrible feeling to have when you are pregnant, it really is.” she didn’t hear Beatrice’s hard swallow, “Anyway.I’m going to go now,I’ll talk to you soon okay?”

“Y-Yeah,sure! S-See you!” they end the call and Beatrice stays seated on the bed, mind running miles per minute before she sighs,rubbing her face with both hands, looking down at her phone for a few seconds…Only for then decide that maybe she should call her aunt now.

[isamajor]

Whumpril 2024 : days 26 to 30

The last days of @whumpril !

26 . « How could you ? »

Ever since they came upon Boethiah's altar, the Dragonborn had been acting strangely. Falsely. It was almost too late that they realized that the Daedric Prince was speaking to thir soul, leading them to the abyss of betrayal.

They have almost sacrificed the trusting Lydia, their thane, their unwavering support since the beginning. She had been narrowly saved and was staring, shocked, at her thane who had betrayed her.

“How could you?” Auri spat. "How could you even think about that? She is one of us!"

Kaidan just slapped them, his eyes filled with anger. The Dragonborn looked away, a tear rolling down their sore cheek. (105)

•

27 . « Please don't go. »

They have their hand on this new Black Book, ready to open it. Lucien grabbed their wrist, his face betraying his concern.

“Please don’t go.”, he begged, his voice sharp with anguish. Lucien stared at the Dragonborn who seemed determined to open it. Lucien's blue eyes grew wet and bright. He added :

"This is a Daedric kingdom and its Prince is a devious being. There is no certainty that you will be able to return intact... Please..."

Lucien knew that, there would be no guarantee that Hermaeus Mora would not lock them away in his world, as he had done to Miraak before. (104)

•

28 . Fight/Flight/Freeze

They saw some webs but they did not expect the monstrous size of the frostbite spider that descended on them. Inigo welcomed the sight of this spider with joy, ready to face the creature head-on. Nebarra's heart raced as he caught sight of the arachnid's menacing form. Under his helmet were hidden his features distorted by terror. His breathing had spontaneously stopped. His legs gave out, causing him to collapse to his knees. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, unable to grab his sword or cast a ward. While the others attacked the threat, he remained frozen, unable to defend himself or even flee. (105)

•

29 . Reluctant Caretaker

It was his turn on duty at Lucifer's bedside. Xelzaz was exhausted and needed to get some sleep. Reluctantly he sat at the injured man's bedside. The wound was badly infected and Lucifer was layig motionless, his breath shallow and labored, a feverish sheen coating his scales. Xelzaz had concocted a medicine for him which everyone hoped would work quickly. The Altmer sighed.

“And I’m the one being asked to babysit you, Lute.”

He placed a cloth soaked in cool water on the Argonian's forehead without much care.

“You better not die under my watch, now.”, he threatened. (100)

•

30 . « We're out of time. »

As the Dragonborn and his companions moved deeper into the Dwemer ruin of Arkngthamz, sinister rumblings were heard. Remiel and Lucien, both fascinated by Dwemer complex mechanisms and architecture, had lingered to examine a particularly intriguing tonal mechanism. The ground trembled beneath their feet, creaks echoed through the halls and walls began to crumble here and there. Both were so absorbed that they had become oblivious of the imminent danger and deaf to the calls of their companions. It was only when they were forcibly taken away by the latter who shouted "We're out of time!", that they realized the danger of their situation. (105)

You can find all the drabbles written for Whumpril 2024 here (in addition to other whump drabbles on Skyrim Custom-voiced Followers written for various challenges).

Remember to leave me a little comment, it’s always nice ;)

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

In December I got a job as a "park ambassador," which the description made sound like a desk job, an event coordinator, but actually turned out to be a manual laborer/groundskeeper. I got overwhelmed by the workload on my first day and quit the morning that would have been my second.

This month I got a job as a front desk clerk at a hotel. Those of you who follow me probably know that I had this exact job at a motel down in the Keys for years, so it was a lateral move, something familiar to fall back on, much easier than the suprise manual labor the park sprung on me. Well, turns out this place lied too because they're cross training me to be a housekeeper, which is ABSOLUTELY NOT worth my time and effort. That wasn't in the job description, and that was never brought up in the interview. Today was my first full shift, and it was horrendous from start to finish because there was simultaneously too much to do and not enough. What I mean is that every single task they gave me had ten or fifteen steps and substeps to follow in sequence, so even the simplest one was needlessly overcomplicated. There's a ton of shit to do, followed by long stretches of absolutely nothing. At my old job, my boss did not give one half of two shits what I did to fill the time; I could go on my phone or my laptop, I could read a book, I could draw, I could space out or take a nap, she didn't care as long as I immediately dropped what I was doing whenever the phone rang or a customer came to the door. No such luck here. I'm not allowed to read, I'm supposed to either sit there in silence or find something to do to look busy for the cameras. That's all it is, just pointless busywork. There are not 8 hours worth of tasks, but they expect you to do 8 hours worth of work!

Oh, and if the woman who's training me was really passive agressive all day about the fact that I asked her to go over the steps slowly so I could take notes and create a checklist. She made a really fucking annoying comment about how I'm the only trainee who has trouble retaining information, like I'm some drooling moron when it's literally my first day. She's younger than I am but she's already been married, had a kid, gotten a divorce, bought and sold two houses, and landed a career as a middle manager, so to her I'm lower than dirt, an abject failure, an example of how not to live your life. She made me feel about three feet tall, and the only thing that prevented me from calling it quits again was that I desperately need the money. This is the way it is: every day I'm scheduled is $100 dropped into my bank account. $15 per hour, 8 hour shifts, that's $120 per day before tax, something like $102 to $105 take home pay. I was hired to be part time, only two or tree days a week, but it pays weekly instead of biweekly so every Friday I'll get $200 or $300. This week they gave me a full 40 hours for training, so that's $500 if I can make it to the end of it without having another panic attack. If I imagine my boss handing me a $100 bill every day at clock out, I think I can get through this.

If they lied about the content of the job, I'm going to give it a solid 75% effort. I'm not gonna stress about meeting quotas or finding ways to look busy. I'm gonna keep using my checklists. I'm gonna keep them with me and go down them one item at a time in front of the customers because that's what I need to do, and if corporate doesn't like it they can fire me. This is just a job, not a career. I'm not an essential worker. I don't give a shit if a customer has a substandard experience. I don't give a shit if the elevator has scuff marks that need to be mopped. I don't care if someone leaves their laundry hamper next to the coin-op machines while they run. I am going to half-ass it all!

I have a disability and it has only gotten worse in the last five years. When I was in college I had good insurance and good medication, but now my plans have next to no coverage; the only meds I can afford are the msot common ones that doctors give away like candy. They don't work for me, but the good shit is too expensive, so i'm wallowing. I was barely able to function in the Keys, but I was driven by my goals of buying a car and moving out of my parents place; now that I've achieved both of those things, I have nothing to look forward too and have lost all motivation to even try. I am not alone, I know plenty of people who are in the exact same boat as me, but apparently none of them live within 500 miles. All my would-be peers up here are successful and functional. it comes easy to them. I'm the only one who seems to struggle. Surely I can't be the only one, but I never see anyone else like me in real life, only ever online. Are they just good at hiding it? Why can't I do that too?

[augustheart]

After a supposed accident gave actress Rita Farr the ability to grow, shrink, and stretch her body, she thought her life and her career were both over. Becoming a core member of the Doom Patrol gave her a new lease on life and a family she didn't know she wanted--one that stuck around even after a death and a rebirth. Want to know more about the first female member of the Doom Patrol? Here are some comics to get you started. Bolded issues are personal favorites. Feel free to reach out to me if you're looking for content warnings for any of these issues.

My Greatest Adventure vol. 1 (1955): #80-85

Doom Patrol vol. 1 (1964): #86-88, #91-92, #99-100, #102-105, #107-110, #120-121

Teen Titans vol. 3 (2003): #32, #35-37

Doom Patrol vol. 5: #1-5, #7-9, #13-16, #19-20, #22

Secret Six vol. 3 (2008): #30 [leads into Doom Patrol vol. 5 #19]

Doom Patrol vol. 6: #10-11

Doom Patrol/JLA Special (2018)

Unstoppable Doom Patrol (2023): [Ongoing limited series, issues #1-2 released as of writing this list]

[bullet-prooflove]

Midnights By Taylor Swift Prompt List

Hi guys, 

I have thrown together a prompt list based on lyrics/themes from Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights!

Feel free to request a prompt from the list for any of your fav chars on my list!

1)     He was doing lines & crossing over mine

2)     I broke his heart

3)     I’m falling in love

4)     I remember

5)     Kiss you in a crowded room

6)     It’s weird but fucking beautiful

7)     Your smoking

8)     He was sunshine

9)     I’ll watch as you’re leaving

10)  Laughing with my feet in your lap

11)  The only kind of girl they see is a one night or a wife

12)  You wanting me

13)  Good girl

14)  Can’t speak

15)  I hear it in your voice

16)  Midnight

17)  Leaving in the middle of the night

18)  The first night you saw me

19)  Sobbing with your head in your hands

20)  You’re terrified

21)  You and I ended up in the same room

22)  Full of cages

23)  Putting up a fight

24)  In the kitchen humming

25)  Break up

26)  Said too much

27)  You did some bad things

28)  They’re bringing up my history but you weren’t even listening

29)  Peering through the window

30)  You’re on your own

31)  One drink

32)  Break down

33)  Running home

34)  Sweet nothings

35)  Your last lie

36)  What did you do?

37)  Swept away

38)  Get it off your chest

39)  Nothing was gonna stop me

40)  Too soft for it

41)  Don’t get sad

42)  Betrayal

43)  The stars aligned

44)  Just what we wanted

45)  Looks can kill

46)  I don’t remember who I was before you

47)  None of it was accidental

48)  Postcard

49)  Dressing for revenge

50)  I don’t start shit, but I can tell you how it ends

51)  That night

52)  Anti Hero

53)  It must be exhausting

54)  I told you

55)  One thing after another

56)  Picture perfect

57)  How’d we end up on the floor anyway?

58)  Can I ask you a question?

59)  Thick as thieves

60)  She had the envelop where do you think she got it from?

61)  Sharp enough to kill a man

62)  Peppermint candy

63)  Scheming like a criminal

64)  Ex-wife

65)  Dancing all night

66)  Everything you lose

67)  Too much

68)  Don’t put me in the basement

69)  Diamonds

70)  Now you’re mine

71)  The liquor in our cocktails

72)  The first night I saw you

73)  Miscommunications

74)  The life I gave away

75)  Had to do it this way

76)  He wanted a bride

77)  I made you my world

78)  Had enough

79)  He never thinks of me

80)  Sweet, kind and fun

81)  Does it feel like everything’s second best

82)  You never cared

83)  Do you have a man?

84)  Lost all meaning

85)  Bad surprise

86)  On your mind

87)  Rise above

88)  Wish that you could touch her

89)  Haunted

90)  I’ll run away

91)  I miss you

92)  I polish up real nice

93)  Looks so pretty

94)  Afraid to jinx it

95)  Get it off my desk

96)  Friendship bracelets

97)  Standing hollow eyed in the hallway

98)  I’ll be damned if I do give a damn what other people say

99)  Don’t know what to say

100) The mark they saw on my collarbone

101) I feel you no matter what

102) I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this

103) I wake up with your memory

104) I have this dream

105) A real fuck’in legacy

106) Breathe in

107) Wake up screaming

108) I’m the problem

109) You can face this

110) It only hurts this much right now

111) Waiting patiently

112) Getting over you

113) Perfect kiss

[overobsessedfanboy23]

Episode 105 was pretty good

I liked it and stuff. I don't know if I'd quite call it a return to form though. Let me explain.

Let me start off by saying that Manabu was much MUCH better in this episode. He was actually enjoyable, felt like a "brains of the group" again as he made a ton of valid points, and he was bullied significantly less than in previous episodes where he duelled. Yuna vs Manabu round 2 was an episode I enjoyed despite Manabu's character in it. This episode however I enjoyed because of Manabu, something I haven't been able to say about an episode since season 1. HOWEVER. The key words there were "significantly less." The Manabuse problem as I call it did not 100% magically go away in this episode. The slapstick is forgiveable enough for me, that happens to a lot of characters in just cartoons in general. What bothers me are the moments of the others bullying him and lines that implied he would or could abuse the power he was seeking as Valvelgear's captain. And yes, it's just small moments, lines here and there nudging in that direction, but they are there. They are forgiveable and this is still a massive improvement over how he was treated in season 2, but it's something that can spiral out of control again if left unchecked. This episode treated Manabu overall well and I enjoyed his role in an episode for the first time in a long time but the rest of this season needs to follow suit for me to consider the Manabuse problem fixed.

Still, Manabu WAS treated well. He was consistently the voice of reason like he used to be in season 1, he gave Epoch solid advice, he won the duel, he got a new fusion, he graciously gave the captain position to Epoch and offered to help her. All of that is great and stuff I can see myself appreciating even more with time. Manabu is a good character in this episode and I'm very glad about that.

As for the other character who got a chance to shine, Epoch was pretty good this episode too. The cheating issue has finally been fully addressed and even resolved, definitely took way too long but I'm glad it did finally get addressed. And she also came out of the box! No complaints there, her design has grown on me and this is a good show of her character development the past season.

What I do have a complaint about, which might be a little petty so stick with me, is Epoch and by extension her descendant, Tiger, having a superpower. It just... this is one of those Go Rush things that for me, undermines Sevens in retrospect just a little. Tiger having a super loud booming voice that intimidated people did not register to me as a supernatural ability. In my mind, watching those scenes, the voice booming and everyone's reactions to it was a cartoony gag used to illustrate and magnify how intimidating Tiger was despite being a normal elementary school kid. Maybe that's not what the writers intended even back then, maybe it was always intended to be a superpower or maybe she doesn't have the power in full, she just inherited a bit of it from her ancestor. Who knows. But for me, Tiger seemingly having this magical superpower took away more than it added. It's not a deal breaker though. I'll reserve judgement on how it affects Epoch's character though since we haven't seen much of that yet.

Overall good episode even if I have some minor admittedly kind of nitpicky gripes with it. Still don't have much faith in the next episode but hey, I didn't with this one either before it came out and it managed to surprise me.

[cogitodoll]

Intro:

TW: MENTIONS OF ED

PLEASE BLOCK DONT REPORT!

Hey, I’m Leigh!

She/Her

18

Have been in this community for over 2 years, got banned, then gave up. Went overboard with m1a and gained 20 lbs. I need motivation, and something to keep me accountable. Today is the day to change. I need Ana back. I just want to be pretty. I’ll post my progress, meal photos, ‘spo, etc!

Stats:

Height: 5’1 (155 cm)

CW: 115 lbs

HW: 140 lbs

SW: 115 lbs

GW1: 110 lbs

GW2: 105 lbs

GW3: 100 lbs

UGW: 90 lbs!

[jinyuwintravels]

📍 Buscalan Village, Tinglayan, Kalinga

🗓️ May 14, 2022

❓ I first learned about Whang-Od when I was still in college, maybe around 2007-08. I have always been fascinated but I have no plans to get a tattoo yet. From what I've heard, it's not very hygienic to get a "batok" tattoo. They said Whang-od uses the same "thorn" for everyone in line and only changes when it breaks. Aside from this, the road from the Buscalan drop-off to Whang-od's village is very difficult to traverse because of the steepness of the cliffs and the area being underdeveloped.

Fast forward to 2022, also because of the pandemic, I'm thinking about a lot of things that might never happen, and one of them is getting a tattoo from Whang-od. At that time, she was said to be 105 years old although this is debated.

I already have one tattoo, a machine tattoo, and for me it's time for a new tattoo (queue Urbandub). So I joined a tour to "Buscalan", which took around 14 hours from Manila. We arrived early morning, around 4am but they said we couldn't go to the village yet because it was dangerous to hike at dawn. So we waited for the sunrise before going up, actually, we went down and then went up.

Just to share, I just came from my work shift and haven't slept yet. I didn't get to sleep in the car either. I also didn't have breakfast before climbing. So when we were going up, the hike was supposed to be relatively easy, maybe 30 minutes. When we got close to the village, maybe 100 steps, I got a little dizzy haha. So I sat down for a while and rested. I was accompanied by a guide and the other climbers also helped. Someone gave me candy, someone picked any leaf from the side and rubbed it on my head.

Anyway, moving on. Per our tour guides, the area is now better developed, having a new path that is much easier to go through. There are portions of the walkways that are cemented, metal railings here and there, and a nice little bridge way. We arrived at the transient around 7am and Whang-od hadn't started tattooing yet. She would start at around 8am. They sell thorns at the transient which is used for the batok tattoo and it is individually required, which is good. So no more sharing thorns, and it also serves as a souvenir. It costs 100 each. While waiting to get a tattoo from Whang-od, you can get a tattoo from other artists and they will even come to your transient.

I chose a crab tattoo which symbolizes a "traveler". The artist ran the tattoo 3 times so yes, it is 3 times as painful too. But it did not prepare me for the pain Whang-od's tattoo would bring. She hits hard haha.

When Whang-od started around 8am, we took a peek at her. We also took pictures to see the vibe of the place. She would start with the previous day's "leftovers". So since it was Saturday, she prioritized those that were not finished on Friday. When we peeked at Whang-od, we also saw that there were white boards where the number of vans, names of the guides and how many pax were listed.

There were 24 cars on Friday, and 36 on Saturday. So let's say there are 10 pax in a car, that's a total of 360. At least 360 people want to get tattoos. So good luck to the "day trippers" because if you get to the village late, they will not be able to accommodate you.

It was around lunchtime when we got in line for Whang-od and the tattoo was quick. She only makes 3 dots design but with the number of people in line, you can see and feel that she is tired.

When it was my turn, I chose the 3 dots to be placed on the side of my wrist. For me, the machine tattoo hurts more than the "batok". But compared to the crab tattoo pain, Whang-od's whip hurts more. We all noticed that even though the thorn is still stuck in your flesh, she will hit you again. That's what hurts, but the whole tattoo session only took 2 minutes.

Whang-od's 3 dots only costs 150. 500 on the crab. The tour fee is 3,300 including the van and transient, as well as food, yes, food as in breakfast lunch dinner on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. I just bought a T-shirt for 350. I would have liked to buy coffee (delicious promise), and keychains or magnets but I don't have any cash left (no data signal so no gcash).

⁉️ After a tattoo from Whang-od, you can do whatever you want. So we went to the rice fields or terraces, walked around the village, and took pictures.

We drank on Saturday night, and then after Sunday's breakfast, we left Buscalan. There is a little side trip to Benguet and Baguio. The term "core memory" is trending and this is one of my entries. Life in Buscalan is very simple. It's also good that sometimes you are disconnected from the internet and social media and away from your daily routines because while it may be tiring for the body, it is very fulfilling for the soul.

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 156. brb x oc

a/n: sorry for the short chapter i had a weird day 8) and im trying to calm down from it lol (reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff. fluffy fluff uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146/147

/148/149/150/151/152/153/154/155

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

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@caitsymichelle13 @becks-things @caatheeriinee07 @dhwanishah09 @jesfreedark @katiemcrae @lilmonstrjedi @hobiismyhopeu @teacupsandtopgun @insominac23 @gh0stsgoodgirl @mygyn @chavivaelisheva @genius2050

-

While both of them were extremely happy knowing the twins’ gender - for right now, they’d have to check it again in a few months to be sure -  Rooster knew he had to mentally prepare for the time he was to be deployed. It was talked about it, everyone knew it too, so it was better to manage his emotions before they left, it’d be easier.

Not to mention he’d want Mav to know about it too, before they were out of the country.

He taps his pen against his palm as he leans back on his chair, lips pursed - reports thankfully filled and piled up on the corner of his desk- and his eyes locked on his facing down phone. He had to figure out how long they’d be away and…well, be ready to see a bigger Nicole when he returns because he knew it’d happen.

Rubbing his eyes with his fingertips,Rooster decides to get himself some water or something because he wants to distract himself. The thought that Nicole would be bigger and Beatrice’s pregnancy could be nearing it’s end did bother him, yes, of course it did, he’d be an idiot to say it wouldn’t…but they talked about it several times. She’d send him pictures and videos and she’d keep him updated.

“The last thing I want is you getting worried when you are so far away from me.”

His cheeks warm up as those sweet words echo in his brain for a few seconds, his smile widening because Beatrice was just an angel in the flesh. She was painfully sweet, he had to admit their relationship did grow a lot more over the years they’ve been together. Not that it wouldn’t but it…just worked. Beatrice was the most understanding person he had ever met, from the very first time he left when they started dating, from the day she just said ‘okay’ and smiled at him he knew he’d always have a hard time no matter how kind she was.

Because he miss her.

A lot.

All the time when he’s gone.

The little scent baggie she gave him helps, the smell reminds him of her and he sometimes brings it to his nose before he has to fly or goes to sleep. His time talking to her is limited, but he tries his best to always talk to her, be it a short message…but he was honestly nervous because he knew how she got pregnant with Nicole. He didn’t want her to worry either, about him or about the babies, but he also knew that asking her not to worry was a feat by itself.

He gets himself a bottle of water,chugs half of it in a matter of seconds and slowly makes his way back to his office. Because his mind was still in disarray, his heart was beating fast, but he knew the only way to deal with this was…making sure he’d be okay and is going to come back for his family. How big would Nikki be? She’d be nearing her one year birthday right?

“God, she’s going to be so big.” he mutters, rubbing his eyes and then his face with a hand, “I can’t keep thinking about this, it’s not going to help me at all.”

Easier said than done right?

The last message he got from Beatrice was nothing more than a ‘have a good day’ text with a picture of a smiling Nikki, reaching to the camera as if she wanted to hug it. He smirks while rubbing his thumb over his daughter’s face, then sighs as he shakes his head, “God damn it,I can’t have -”

“Sir!”

He knew that voice, well, those voices. He slowly turns to see Faraday and Thompson hurrying over to him, saluting the second they were within range from the Lieutenant, “At ease.” he says, “What can I help you guys with?”

The two young recruits shared a look, only for Faraday to reply, “Well sir, we are curious about this mission we’ll go. The one we’ve been hearing about for months.” he says, the topic of conversation makes Rooster arch his brow with interest but he allowed the recruit to continue, “We were wondering if there’s anything else we should know?”

“Like what?”

“Like…who’ll go?” Thompson replies quietly, his hands behind his back, almost feeling like he’s in pain while doing so.

Rooster turns his whole body around and then parts his lips for a reply, ‘You two know I can’t answer that, but I assume it’ll be more than you two. I’ll go, so will Mav-Cpt.Mitchell. Are you two nervous about it?’ from the shifty eye action it was obvious that they were, “This isn’t your first time doing this, it might be more than you expected but it can be done.”

“...right.” another shared look before Faraday continued, “Sorry sir, we don’t want to come across as wimps we-” Rooster raises his hand and stops them from speaking, his eyes closed and brows furled annoyingly.

“Having fear doesn’t makes us wimps.” he says gently yet firmly, “Having fear is what makes us smart and what makes sure we’ll come back home,” he inhales after that because he feared, a lot, so much, so often that it sometimes took control of him when he was away. Of course he could handle it, he was a seasoned pilot right now, he knew how to handle this. But these two were practically kids, they were just a few years younger than he was when he joined, “You are not wimps. Take that out of your vocabulary.”

“Yes,sir.”

“I’m serious.” he says again, quieter, “Whoever bases their whole personality in being ‘never afraid’ shouldn’t be taken seriously. We all need a pinch of humanity every once in a while,” he ‘hms’ with his brows up, making sure the two understood what he meant, “You got it,right?”

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Listen, don’t start being doubtful now.” he looks down at his watch to check the time, “There are times to be scared but you gotta manage it the best way that you can, you hear me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good,” he salutes them after they do it one more time, “Now go back to what you guys were doing and remember stuff will happen, you just gotta be prepared for it, alright?’

“Yes sir.” another salute and Rooster tells them to go before they spend too long standing there doing nothing. The two recruits laugh but do as he ask, leaving the older pilot standing there with his mouth downturned and his thoughts somewhere else.

He wasn’t wrong in saying that fear makes us think better, most of the time that is, and sometimes it is a necessary emotion when it comes to survival, especially when it comes to what they did. He sighs as soon as he turns around to go back to his office, the young recruits talking behind him as he pulls out his phone.

Once in the safety of his office, he sends Beatrice a simple text, just a 

“Everything okay?”

She replies immediately with a picture of her, Nicole and the dogs all lying on the couch watching TV. “Everything great :)” she is smiling at him, that smile has his heart in its clutches. He loves her so much, so immensely much that it was harder to comprehend he’d be so far away from her for God knows how long.

“But she understands.” he tells himself, “She does, it’s Beatrice she is going to understand me.” he looks down at the picture, knowing he’ll have this to remember her by once he’s out of California…as much as it pained him to think about it, it was his job.

“Anyway, reports don’t fill themselves.” he mutters, tossing the phone aside and rolling his neck,”Time to get to it.”

-

“Mav.”

“Yeah?”

His uncle holds his helmet in his hand, standing next to his motorcycle as Rooster makes his way over, holding his own keys in his hand and setting the sunglasses over his eyes, “Do you have anything planned right now?”

“Me?” he questions, ‘...no…why?”

“Bea wants to give you something.”

His uncle blinks in shock, “Beatrice wants to give me something? How come?” he gets a shrug from the younger pilot, “Thanks, that helps a lot. Brad, there’s no need for gifts, you know? I still have all the Christmas gifts I got from her family, I don’t even have space for half of it but I’m not getting rid of anything.”

“I know.” he smirks, ‘But she still wants you to show up there, don’t you wanna see Nikki? You said you haven’t seen her in a long while. And you complained about it a whole lot.”

“I didn’t complain it that much.” his nephew just arches his brow, almost challenging him to continue that line of thought, “Okay, maybe I did complain a bit, can you blame me? She’s adorable.”

“That she is…anyway, are you coming?”

“I mean, sure, I don’t know what Bea would want with me.”

In reality, she just wanted to tell Mav about the twins - she planned something for everyone they didn’t tell about it yet, she planned on telling Penny later tonight once she’s out of the bar and away from her boss’ worried looks. Her parents were close second in finding out about it…soon. Bradley liked the idea of surprising his uncle and yet giving him something soft to settle in case he fell down and hurt himself…not that he would, he only joked saying he’s going to faint.

Albeit once he’s driving back to their house, he thinks about the time when he did tell him about Nikki and Maverick almost did faint….well, maybe it was better if he was seated once he knows about it.

He parks the car in front of the house instead of the garage since he was taking Beatrice to work later, walking out of the car and waiting for Maverick with his hands on his hips, “You need help there?”

“Huh?”

“Taking a while to climb off that bike, huh?”

“What?”

He points to his uncle’s bike, “Back giving you issues?”

Maverick stared at him for a few seconds, then pointed back at him, ‘You are lucky we are in front of your house or else I was going to give you a nogging you wouldn’t forget.”

“You can’t reach me.’

“Alright.” Maverick places the helmet aside, laughing as he makes his way over to Rooster, playfully punching him, “I’m older than you,kid. Don’t think I can’t handle it, besides,I can always call for back up.”

“Back up?”

‘Yes- hi Beatrice.”

Rooster looks up when he sees the brunette by the door,holding a wriggling Nicole that doesn’t know who will have her attention first: her father or her great uncle? Or both? Her little arms stretched towards them and her cute smile widening because two of her favorite people? In the same place? “My little girl!” Maverick however stepped faster than his nephew would, picking Nicole from Beatrice’s arms and kissing her cheeks, “Oh you smell so good, did you miss me? Did you?”

“Aaa!”

“Yes,I missed you too!’

Beatrice watched with fondness as the two shared this moment, moving her eyes to Rooster who just watched with the tiniest bit of annoyance in his face, he was jealous. He tried to play it off but Beatrice knew, even stepping out from the door to greet him with a kiss on the lips, ‘Hi.” 

“Hi.”

“You are pouting.”

“Am not.”

She taps those pouty lips and giggles, “Yes you are, come on, you can share her love a little. She just loves Mav as she does you.” she places her chin on his shoulder as they watch Maverick playing with Nicole, their daughter giggling, ‘But I’m glad you brought him over, makes it easier.” she says, “Mav! Can we go inside? It’s windy.”

The older pilot blinks but nods, holding Nicole to his chest and kissing her head, eventually giving her over to Brad- he did hold the little girl close as if he refused to let her go again, narrowing his eyes just a bit, watching his godfather step inside first with the three of them following, “You look cute when you are jealous.” she smiles ,kissing his cheek ,”It’s so rare to see it.”

“Yeah,well,”

“She just has you on her tiny fingers,” she grins, kissing Nicole’s little hand, “Yes you do,honey, yes you do. Daddy is just butter in your hands.”

“Well, she got that from her mom, so.” his smile falters a little, “After Mav leaves…I think I’ll just have to talk to you a bit.”

“About?”

“The mission.”

Beatrice inhales shakily, her eyes widening but she nods, rubbing his back as they go inside, “Of course,Roos.” she says, “You know I’m all ears,don’t you?”

“I do honey, I do.”

[isamajor]

June of Doom : day 11 to 15

@juneofdoom‘s prompts 11 to 15 ! :D

11 - Self-defense

The bandit's dagger lightly nicked Lucien's cheek, who, with a squeak, casted a ward to try to protect himself from the guy who wanted to kill him and rob him. With little hope, he tried to parley with his assailant.

“Radical suggestion here, but I was wondering... Have you considered not trying to murder me ?”

In response, the bandit tried to stab him again, until his magical ward broke, leaving Lucien helpless and staggering. Without thinking, in self-defense, the Imperial cast a flame spell. Lucien looked horrified when he saw that turned his foe into a living torch. (100)

•

12 – Fainting

The fight had been pushing the Dragonborn to the edge of their endurance. Despite the pain they felt through their body, they continued, determined to destroy totally this dragon by absorbing its soul. But their vision blurred and their legs gave way beneath them, surrendering to exhaustion. The world tilted, and the Dragonborn collapsed against the dragon's skeleton. They saw their companions rushed to thir side, voices a distant echo, before a black curtain fell before their eyes.

The Dragonborn awoke to Inigo's concerned face peering down at them.

"I told you, absorbing dragon souls is bad for your health !", growled the Khajiit. (105)

•

13 – Rescue

The dragon's breath had burned everything: horses, carts, merchants and their merchandise. Only the mercenary hired to escort the caravan had survived, owing his life to his reflexes as a former soldier. However, his legs had been burned and he could no longer move. Attracted by the smell of cooked meat, a black sabrecat approached dangerously close to him. He couldn't run away. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the eye of the beast which collapsed net. The mercenary looked at who had just recued him: a disparate group made up of a red-haired Bosmer, a scrawny Imperial and a warrior in iron armor. (105)

•

14 - Impalement

The clash of swords and the rumble of the spells echoed through the air as the battle raged on. Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing pain erupted in the prince's shoulder. Turning slowly his head, he found a steel blade protruding from his flesh. Blood began to flow from slowly his shoulder, staining Caryallind's jacket in crimson. He clutched at the impaled weapon, torn between the instinct to remove it and the knowledge that doing so might unleash a torrent of blood. With trembling hands, he called for help, hoping that his voice will be heard in the din of the fighting. (102)

 •

15 - Scream

Weighted by her armor, Lydia began to sink. Panic gripped her as she realized her lungs were betraying her, starved of the oxygen she desperately needed. Bubbles escaped her nose in silent trails, the water swallowing her and taken her deeper and deeper. With every passing moment, the pressure in her chest intensified, urging her to release the scream building within her. And so, Lydia finally opened her mouth, unleashing a silent scream of desperation. It reverberated within her, echoing in the depths, a silent plea for her Thane, or anyone, to rescue her from the watery abyss. (98)

[silver-snow-77]

I posted 636 times in 2022

3 posts created (0%)

633 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@whetstonefires

@merfilly

@beaniebaneenie

@jewishpangolin

@between-stars-and-waves

I tagged 636 of my posts in 2022

#funny - 105 posts

#art by op - 70 posts

#video - 61 posts

#dc comics - 43 posts

#gif - 39 posts

#us politics - 28 posts

#star wars - 23 posts

#jumblr - 23 posts

#corporate immorality - 22 posts

#tumblr - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#this shit right here is proof of how happy the film industry hates having to pay people their worth especially if they’re union workers

My Top Posts in 2022:

#3

So, scary thing that just happened:

My family’s geriatric cat, Corrina, is more than a little senile and prone to finding her way into hard to reach places then getting stuck there and needing us to extract her. Every few months she gives us a scare because she was stuck in a closet, got inside one of the cars, wriggled inside the couch, or treed herself in the backyard. We’re resigned to the inevitability that she’ll get herself in trouble again every so often and take it in good humor.

Now, this time was special, all right. You see, Coco puff isn’t allowed in my parents’ bedroom unsupervised, so any time the door is open she bolts in and starts exploring at the first opportunity. Mom was moving some of dad’s musical instrument cases around in one of the closets late last night, and failed to realize Coco had gotten in there before she closed the door. But no, it doesn’t end there.

Our octogenarian wonder decided to climb over the guitar, saxophone, and trombone cases, up one of dad’s spare winter coats, and finally onto the shelf above the coat rack to explore among boxes of old tax papers and the like. While doing so, she found a small hole in the upper corner nearest the hallway, where we couldn’t see it given the angle and the boxes in the way. Being a cat, she decided crawling in there to sniff around was a wonderful plan indeed and had a grand old time for a while wandering in the crawlspaces…until she got stuck inside the wall, with none of us humans the wiser.

So, around 10:30pm last night, this ridiculous creature realized she couldn’t find the hole she entered by, and started yelling her fool head off to inform us she was in distress. I searched all over for over an hour but couldn’t seem to locate her, likely because she kept moving around. Corrina is extremely deaf from old age thus wouldn’t respond to me calling for her, and I had no idea she wasn’t just stuck in one of the closets yet again like a doofus.

I got up and looked again around 1am because she started fussing even louder, but she quieted before I could get close enough to pinpoint her location. At this point I had my suspicions, because she wasn’t in any of the rooms I had gone into and double checking the linen closets turned up squat. I couldn’t rule out the attic yet because my parents were asleep and would throw a fit if I woke them up, given the only entrance to the attic is in their master bathroom, so I gave up for the night.

This morning I re-checked every room, every closet, every piece of furniture big enough for her to get into or under, and combed the attic from one end to the other. I even checked the ducts, because we had to re-secure the grate to keep her out of there after an incident where she wormed under the copper mesh sheet and peed on the filter a good eight months ago. That latter incident is what clued me into what liked happened, and I tested my theory by knocking on the wall next to the linen closet, which was near where I had last heard her meowing earlier in the morning.

Lo and behold, Coco started yelling stridently from down the hall and raced over to the source of the vibrations! And I had a massive “oh shit” moment, because I didn’t have access to dad’s tool shed and he was running errands in town.

Cue me calling him in case drastic measures were needed, searching for her entry point, locating the hole in the closet, and spending an hour trying to coax her to climb up and come back out. This failed. She continued to stay down on the floor of the crawlspace yowling in displeasure. Her younger and more sensible sister Bennie came to investigate what the the world was going on, sniffing and pawing at the wall in the hallway and giving me baffled looks when she saw me stick my hand in the closet wall with a flashlight.

At long last, Dad arrived home and operation “open the walk to get the fucking cat out” commenced. We had to find and check the blueprints carefully to make sure we avoided pipes, wires, ducts, and insulation. And just our luck, we ended up making two holes because when we tried to cut one in the closet, the duct was closer than we anticipated and there wasn’t room for Coco to squeeze past.

After a lot of swearing and careful handling of a hand saw, we finally had a square hole near the floor in mom and dad’s bedroom suitable for a cat to fit through. Coco came out screeching and running around like she’d had an electric shock before bolting out the bedroom door and sprinting down the stairs in the direction of her food bowl.

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2 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

#2

❤️

❤️: who is your favorite character to write for, and why?

Okay this one’s actually a bit of a doozy given how many fandoms I’m in, but given our main shared one is DC comics I’ll answer for DC.

You probably won’t be surprised that the answers are Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain, for somewhat similar reasons. The short answer is those two are my favorite DC characters and also the two who I find easiest to get into the headspace of.

The longer answer…I find the possibilities of what I can do from their perspective/what I can examine about them from outsider perspectives to be very compelling, especially given my tendency towards writing “canon with an alteration or two causing butterfly effect changes” or “so how would this character/plotline change with a few tweaks to the universe/unique circumstances, and what would stay the same” fics. Tim and Cass were brought into DC at a very interesting time and have fascinating webs of relationships with a lot of other characters, and I identify with them strongly in certain ways that increase my investment.

(Speaking of “altering canon AU” fics, I promised @kiragecko that I’d be posting that fic where Tim and Cass both realize they aren’t cis and end up exploring + growing into their gender identities sometime, and that one’s been a lot of fun to work on! It got delayed bc of original fiction publishing stuff (I might be publishing a children’s book soon!!!!!), but y’all can expect part one of that soon if everything goes well!)

5 notes - Posted February 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Rules: Tag people you would like to know/catch up with.

Tagged by @merfilly

Last Song(s): "Hayloft II" by Mother Mother

Last Movie: Last movie I watched was Wreck It Ralph, last movie I saw in theaters was The Batman

Currently Reading: lots of fanfic, but also rereading Arrow’s Flight by Mercedes Lackey and about to start reading The Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman

Tagging: @nightfoot @prettyporcelainporcupine @pumpkinspice-villaingirl @marudny-robot @mooitstimdrake @bionerd2point0 @bewaretheboojum @cutlassopinions @phantomchick @stevieraebarnes @nightwingcanttwerk @thephilosophersapprentice no pressure though

39 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

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