#haven't seen the movie yet PLEASE do not spoil

[kb11rd]

Pavitr....... Prabhakar.......

+ color alternatives because I am indecisive and I love colors

[000marie198]

Are there any sonic au’s you would recommend? I am trying to find more to get into so would love to know if you have any favourites out there :D

Hello! Oh there are so many! :D I definitely have some favorites and some which aren't favs but are pretty great.

Putting these under the cut because there are so many! And there's definitely more cool AUs that I haven't seen or haven't saved.

Anyways, please enjoy my personal selection:

Seven Years Too Soon by NightFuchia. Basically what if a much younger Sonic accidentally set Shadow free from Prison Island. It has awesome characterization and happens to be one of my favorite stories. The rest of Team Sonic is also present

Brotherhood's Twist by @/drawloverlala even though I don't think it counts entirely as Au but it still sort of does. Unbreakable Bond ageswitch due to Zeti's meddling.

Passion's @sonic-tangled-au . I love it! So very much. The lore and backstories are so good.

Noonui's World Restored in Imbalanced Chaos au. Extremely engaging and good. Has a bunch of world building and fun concepts and lore.

Sonic's Super Totally Awesome Mixtape, though it seems to be discontinued, I'm not sure. It's pretty good so far! Takes place in the movie verse.

@brainworms-all-night-long is working on a Dreamtale Au which I'm hyped for. The tag in use is 'dreamtale and sonic tomfoolery'.

@/the-starlight-project comic is pretty good too. Mystery! And emotions. So many emotions ough.

And there's @the-emerald-isle-au by @0vergrowngraveyard . Very intriguing. 👀

Please do check out the Pandora Au by @/starrjoy. It's great!

The Fair Folk by Irritable_Fabulamancer, this fic is one of my favorites! Team Sonic as Fae my beloved! I love fae AUs.

On that note, if you're alright wanting to read a Fae!AU which is pretty much a sonadow fic, there is also I don't believe in fairy tales [but I believe in you and me]. Fantasy and Fae! Satbk inspired, another one that had me hooked.

My Arms Are Blue by thekyuubivixen and its unofficial, fan-continuation (My Arms Are Blue! Final Four Edition) by PlaystationPassenger. The story doesn't completely count as an AU but I'm recommending them anyway cuz they're really really good and has that watching your own show from different dimension trope. It's also hilarious and fun.

Burning Arrow, Wildfire Heart by Taranea is SatSR novelisation AU with Sonic's other friends present too, it's pretty fun. Not very accurate regarding the desert but it's a good read and I come back to reread it often. Must read in my opinion. Just don't dare use it as guide for desert travel or you'll be shriveled up in the sand somewhere

This fic. Read it, I will not elaborate this one. Just trust me :]

And don't miss out on @shadofiredragon's Legends Never Die fic. It's a future fic! And an awesome one. I won't spoil much but it is so good. She also has lots of fun AUs in the works.

Down the Foxhole series by MoonlitNightin. Sonic Prime AU series which is great! Tails' pov. The Shatterverses have their own Sonics. Engaging and great.

Feel free to check out @/Son1c's 10verse and other AUs. Those are some pretty great ones. Love the different lore and variants given to the Shatterverses in 10verse.

Spirit of the Wind by TrenchCoatGecko. Satbk inspired fantasy au. Sonamy, has focus on magic and lore and other characters as well.

If you'd like some Forces angst with Unbreakable Bond focus, please do read Illusionary are your arms around me by @nixoon-again. The feels will kill you /pos

Chaos Barren by but_why_not. I forgot to add this earlier (this is an edited addition). Takes place in the Blue Devils AU, great story!

Baby Tails shenanigans by @myymi . Tails got turned into itty bitty infant kit. (And also check @0vergrowngraveyard 'baby tails' tag for more little gremlin scenarios)

Myla is also working on @tails-and-the-ink-machine au

Feral au by Oneshot_bravo. Little short stories or drabbles taking place in Unleashed but the werehog is feral yet keeps his memories. Very lighthearted and fun and cute

Three or more foxes form a skulk by @/chiropter36 . Post Prime au fic, loved it! Go read.

Also, @donelywell 'roadtrip! sonic au' and 'Casino Nights Au'

Haven't yet started reading The Fox's Burrow by @/space-gutz but I'm planning to. Recommending it either way cuz I feel like it's gonna be good. Unbreakable Bond but ageswaped au.

@/sonicchaoscontrol comic. Another in-progress au which is also quite intriguing. Sonic jumps through a portal and exits in future where the planet is a mess. The mystery of what and how it all happened and what's going on slowly unfolds.

The Buzzsaw Dillemma by redpenship. I haven't personally read it myself but I've heard many good things about it, especially it's world building.

Incomplete and won't be updated anymore but if you haven't read them yet, DO NOT miss out on Ghosts of the Future and The Murder of Me fancomics by Evan Stanley (spiritsonic) and Gigi Deutrix (gigi-D) respectively. They're a must read. Both are available on DeviantArt.

The Heart of a Monster comic, @/the-heart-of-a-monster. It's in progress and updates regularly. Unleashed retelling, really really good with some extra lore and everyone involved.

Sometimes the Picket Fence isn’t Perfect and Sharp Edges (Sonic Prime AU) series by @/skimmingthesurfaces. I'm holding off the first one to read later, like that one book you've been saving so I'm not sure if it completely counts as an AU, still putting it in recs, and the second one is intriguing so far. I have heard a lot of good thing about the Picket Fence series.

Dark Boom by Smash50. The entirety of Team Dark in the Sonic Boom universe. Alongside it, there's also Boomtober by the same author.

It Always Snows by the 24th by Selendred had me hooked even though it's a oneshot. Great au and would love to see it explored more.

No One said I Wish by SylWritesStuff. One of my fav stories from the Sonic Platonic Fairytale Week event. It's really funny.

Sonic Phantom Forces (SPF) au comic. Sonic Forces au, blue boy gets taken away but not in the way you think, pretty cool story so far. It's in-progress and available on both Tumblr and DeviantArt. @/spfau

If Black Doom tried to be a better father by Tirainy. Don't take this one seriously. It's pure comedy and I love every second of it. Shadow is having a time for sure XD.

Silent Talkers by @brainworms-all-night-long. Takes place in the Prime Bros verse, feels intensified, all the good ones. A must read, trust me.

And speaking of the Prime Bros AU (in which all Shatterverse foxes also got adopted by Sonic and are now brothers), feel free to scroll through the 'prime bros' tag here. So many awesome posts for this particular au by everyone!

There's so many more, cool ones, epic ones. I haven't saved all and I'm probably forgetting some great ones too so I'm leaving this open for others to add. If y'all have more cool AUs, plz add to these (I wanna check em out too)

....

And now a few from the Fanfiction.net site because it doesn't have much audience compared to AO3 and there are some actual gems hidden there;

Premonition by thekiyuubivixen (not entirely an au but it feels like one due to the unique ability Sonic gains)

The Sonic Project by SconnieSA. Rated M but it's a pretty awesome AU and the rating is due to more serious themes and uncensored language in some parts. Highly recommending this one

Survivor's Resolve by DC111. Not entirely an AU but I must rec this fic it's so good and doea havs some AU vibes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law by thedraconicwerewolf. Ace Attorney type AU with Sonic and Tails as main characters. Not too adventurous but very very fun and interesting and still managed to keep Sonic in character. Though it has a sequel started, I only rec the main story, not the sequal as it seems to be abandoned and isn't needed to be read like them cliffhanger stories.

beLIEve by Meow21. I have only read snippets from this, waiting for this story to continue but it seems to be discontinued. Felt like an epic story too and deserves to be recommended.

Sonic and the Golden Journey. Sonic gets thrown in another storybook, this time it's a children's classic fairytale. Short but very comedic and fun. Go read it.

Tales of a Samurai. I am begging you to read this one, please it's so good. Also by Taranea.

Wonderful and it's sequal Sanctuary by Inflamore for some Unbreakable Bond angst. (Kindly ignore the obliviousness of earlier ff.net for not knowing the meaning of certain symbols, there's nothing of the sort in story, trust me.)

Regrets by MazzyBooks. A high school au of sorts. Sonic centric with some heavy angst. I'm not kidding about the angst part, trust me. It had me hooked from the first chapter though and I believe it deserves a rec.

You need the cracks (to let the light shine through) by king.needlemouse. Istg this is the most underrated thing I've ever come across, it's one of my absolute favorite fics which I can never forget. Do read it.

Within this Nightmare by sonicfan1990. Sonic get transported to an alternate universe which has gone post apocalyptic and his counterpart in that universe has been dead. Pretty great story, lots of angst and everything.

And that's all I could remember and have saved for now. I'm leaving this open to more AU recs (yes even self plugs are welcome) so if you know any I missed, plz feel free to add. I hope you enjoy all these great AUs!

Thanks for the ask!

[aro-geo-turtle]

the thing about Spies Are Forever that really gets me is that its one of the few pieces of media where I genuinely think getting spoiled ruins some of the experience of watching it for the first time.

obviously it still has tons of rewatchability but (under the cut for the sake of people who haven't seen it yet [please please do])

obviously it still has tons of rewatchability but such a big part of the fun for me is the slow realization. you go from "Wow, these characters are SUPER shippable, lol" ----> "oh i get it, they're parodying these sorts of movie relationships that accidentally read as kinda gay, it's one of the tropes they're making fun of, hah, that's clever!" ----> "wait, hold on, is curt, like, actually seriously..." ----> "this isn't implication or subtext, this is just the actual intention of the show. it literally just is gay." ----> "it isn't simply gay, the gayness is what makes the entire theme and purpose of the story make sense. it's about trust and secrets and vulnerability and surveillance and your ability to be freely yourself, and curt's sexuality is at the core of that."

and that message is made so much so much stronger by the subtlety of it, how unspoken it is. we aren't allowed to say it aloud because curt isn't aloud to say it aloud because that's the whole point of the message. it is only in watching the show that you become invited in to these characters' private moments and secret feelings. You can't know about it going in, no one is meant to know, it must be kept a secret.

it's such a fascinating way to approach this kind of subject

[vidavalor]

"You love trains": Crowley & Aziraphale inspired 'North by Northwest'

Putting my film studies background to good use here with some film history & historical context under the cut.

The "what does the J stand for?" exchange in The Blitz, Part 1 and the inability for the audience to initially understand what Aziraphale is mouthing in The Blitz, Part 2 are both references to Hitchcock's classic spy thriller, 'North by Northwest'. I didn't link the clip that goes along with The Blitz, Part 2 in case some of you have never seen this film because it would ruin your experience of it. (Definitely watch it if you have not as it's a masterpiece.) Since The Blitz scenes are taking place in 1941 and 'North by Northwest' was released 18 years later in 1959, Crowley and Aziraphale aren't referencing the film in the dialogue but, instead, could be presumed to be the source *of* the dialogue in the film... just like how Shakespeare lifted Crowley's love poetry for 'Antony & Cleopatra'... and the 'North by Northwest'-referencing part of The Blitz, Part 1 *is referencing* the 'Antony and Cleopatra' reference because it's the reveal of Crowley's first name. But... it gets even better...

The writer of 'North by Northwest' was legendary Hollywood screenwriter Ernest Lehman, whom we're now presuming to have been a friend of probably at least Aziraphale's. Lehman wrote a dozen or so classic films and, outside of 'North by Northwest', is most famous for writing adaptations of several famous musicals, including the adapted screenplay for... 'The Sound of Music.' But, no, somehow, we aren't done yet with how amazing this is lol.

The thing that makes this all even funnier is that 'North by Northwest' is responsible for probably the most famous train metaphor in cinema. I'll spoil just this bit as it won't really ruin the overall movie for you if you haven't seen it but don't go any further than here if you don't want to be spoiled at all. If you've already seen it, you totally know what I mean. *laughs*

In 1959, when this film was released, you still couldn't really show sex on screen in a mainstream film. If you showed two people in a bedroom at all, they were cisgender, heterosexual and married and they slept in two separate beds. The level of sex happening in the above clip was *wild* for the era and the fact that it was put into the film the way it is-- that an unmarried woman picks up a hot guy on a train and they sleep together and she's still the heroine of the film and all of that-- was really nothing short of feminist revolution in a film in this era.

The film has a famous "love scene" of sorts that follows not long after the one I linked above, where the two of them are in a cabin on the train and starting to get it on but constraints of cinema coding at the time limited how far it could go. So, to imply that the main characters do, in fact, sleep together, the film famously cuts away to a shot of the train entering a tunnel-- making the train itself symbolic of sex. Because of how famous the film overall--and this scene in particular--became, it became a thing to use trains euphemistically for sex in other cinematic works following it. There is literally no way that Crowley and Aziraphale have not seen this movie so while Aziraphale was happy to make The Bentley into a sexual metaphor while angling for the car keys, Crowley is half-heartedly griping in flirty response by continually referencing trains, another sexual mode of transportation-- the one that that they inspired lol. Hence Aziraphale's bemused little lololol-but-won't-give-him-the-satisfaction-of-seeing-my-amusement face here:

Sunglassed!Cary Grant is Crowley and the old movie chemistry and the semi-coded flirty banter and someone please, please write a fic where Aziraphale says "I don't particularly like the book I've started"-- I will pay you lol.

[becauseimanicequeen]

There is a short piece in the My Stand-In trailer where Joe is in a wheelchair on a rooftop. How likely do you think it is that Joe has come back to his old body? I want this to happen so bad.

Hi, Anon.

I'm sorry to say this (considering you want this to happen), but I just don't think it's likely at all. And I'm basing my thoughts on what I've seen in the series so far (I haven't finished the novel, I'm only on chapter 43 which is around the 4th episode, so please don't spoil it for me).

Even though I was raised on soap operas (Days of Our Lives in particular), and am used to shit like this (and love it, lol), I don't think there will be another switch.

I don't think it's Joe 1.0 in the trailer for 2 reasons:

Up and Poom's comments in their interviews on iQIYI have dropped some spoilers, so I'm pretty sure Joe won't go back into his former body.

Since the transmigration is the only fantastical element in the story (at least of what we've seen so far in 7 episodes), and Joe is a stand-in basically in every part of his life (though I'm sure till will eventually change), I don't see how a switch back would be part of the story. I don't think that's the story they want to tell.

I also see there being 2 possible reasons for Joe being in that wheelchair:

He might have a relapse in his recovery. It's possible considering Joe 2.0 was in a coma for 2 years. However, I don't see this as being as likely as my 2nd option...

Which is that Joe has an accident doing his job. Since he's a stuntman, and we've seen it happen before, this is quite possible. It might be a sprained ankle or broken ribs, it doesn't have to be anything major.

I personally lean towards the second option because I feel like that has the potential to have the biggest impact on both Joe and Ming (and potentially even Tong).

It could allow Joe to reflect more on his mortality. Just because he got a second chance once, doesn't mean he'll get another one.

Depending on when this happens in the story it can either make or break Joe's willingness to be distant or close to Ming (depending on where they are in their relationship).

When it comes to Ming... Just imagine how he would react if Joe 2.0 (whom he might know is Joe 1.0 at that point) is in an accident. Just imagine how he would break down hearing about/witnessing Joe's accident. We saw how he reacted at the end of episode 7 when the guilt was so heavy it cracked him open. I don't think it will be any less emotional if Joe is in another accident (even though it's most likely just a minor one *hopefully*).

Another interesting thing the show might play with if Joe is in another accident at work is the potential that Tong might be involved in it somehow (directly or indirectly) since they're working on his movie (right now, at least).

We already saw in the 7th episode how the relationship between Ming and Tong has changed. Ming has drawn a hard line around Joe and Tong isn't allowed to cross it. It would be interesting to see Ming going feral on his "beloved" brother-in-law. It could potentially sever the connection between Ming and Tong for good, which could show Joe that Ming no longer cares about Tong in any particularly significant way.

Obviously, these are only speculations and I can't wait to see how wrong I am, lol.

Is it Friday yet?

Thank you for your ask.

[popawritter12]

Hello! I was wondering if you could do an Enduring Sword Talon x female reader? His skin lore is so fascinating but I haven't found a fiction for it just yet 🥹🫶 Take your time!

I love you and your writings 💕

Author's nothes: YEAH FUCKING BITCHES, GUESS WHO COME BACK AGAIN???

(This days were horrible guys, please be patient bcs the writer Popiña in me is dying 😞)

Also, LESSS GOOO A TALON REQUEST

Yandere! Enduring Sword Talon x Fem! reader

Yandere character: Talon Du Couteau

From the videogame/movie/serie/manga/anime: League Of Legends

Case: Kidnapping, relation of god x reader and nothing more.

Part: 1 of 1.

It was inevitable for her to be something more than human, since she could barely be anything more than a filthy, senseless, peasant donkey who even understood the alphabet, a woman who is broken, wounded, almost dead in the eyes of the gods.

But maybe that was why he chased her so much, maybe if she wasn't there he would never have returned, she would never have suffered what she had to go through.

It was still painful to remember that day, a cold autumn evening in which the leaves danced to the sound of the wind, the smell of freshly cooked food that approached from the town and spread throughout the forest, the sound of the footsteps of his boots against all the hard and brittle leaves under his feet.

It was an unthinkable and terrifying moment to wait for that pathetic day, after an ugly harvest and a terrifying dryness in the land, which would completely change her life and transform her from being a woman who was looking for meaning in her life. putrid life to a simple object, a simple thing which belonged to a ruthless God, who is selfish as a spoiled child with his toys, as sick as a patient in a psychiatric hospital after years of confinement, and as obsessed as a chess player knowing the position of each piece on his board.

Warm was the memory of her when she had first seen him; He was looking for a place to stay, since he didn't have many options since he had arrived in the mortal realm and the people, not to mention that they were not very kind to him. Therefore she decided, for the first time in her life, to give him the benefit of the doubt and give him shelter in her house.

It was painful to think that there was the option of seeing everything, of not giving him a space in her life, and especially, in her heart; She must have noticed in those grayish eyes that hint of evil, that hint of cruelty, obsessed with a bit of selfishness. And now for the first time, that she had managed to have even a hint of desire to live, everything had been taken away from her.

—Then what would you ask me here? —She asked, her hands playing with her fingers, and a feeling of doubt in the air.

He didn't respond instantly; His gaze had been fixed on the horizon, but soon, he turned to see his beloved. In his eyes, dimmed by a soft look, the feeling of security is observed.

—There is something I have always wanted to tell you—He begins his explanation—, and I think that if I don't tell you now, I will never have an opportunity like that again.

He gasped, feeling how his entire body began to have an unbearable weight, as if his mere existence were an enormous weight for a human being.

The only difference was that he was not a human being.

With a gentle touch on the woman's fingers, a grip on her palm, and a few caresses on her cracked, dry skin, he took his heart in his hands, and with a sweet but grim tone, he set his eyes on the woman's, gently parting his lips, with a slowness never seen before.

—(Name)... I have to say that, with all the time that has passed, and all the times that you have offered me your help, I can say, with complete certainty —He whispered, trying to extend his words, proving that It could sound so sweet with her —, that you, the first person who supported me from the beginning, has managed to...

But before his unmistakable but tenacious act of confession was about to come to a close, with a separation of her hands from his, the woman spoke;

—I am married.

As rough as sandpaper running over someone's arm and as hard as a slap to the face, it was as if, for the first time in his long, undaunted life, something worse was in store for him; something up to three times worse than a life as a mortal. And that was, without a doubt, an entire life without her, a life, whether mortal or immortal, without someone who had appreciated him and brought about her redemption.

Nothing came from his lips, the wind gently moved his white hair loose and free before the world, the consolation of nature was so soft that it resembled the pity it offered to the poor man, and the little emotion—which until this moment moment was the security he felt about that woman's feelings—faded, or rather, mutated, mutated into a great, disgusting beast, into a rotten, ugly feeling so strong that its soft grip became more cruel, more subduing and that carried a bitter taste in the air that could be felt for miles.

That was the taste of rejection, and, more than anything, the feeling of hate. At this, he just sighed, his heart trying to adjust to the feeling of desolation stuck in his soul.

—So… married. —He whispered, his heart weighing even more.

He let go of her hand, her gaze was now lost, she was so empty, as if she had lost all meaning, as if her entire life had reduced all of her importance to this moment.

—Yeah… —She responded, her voice so rough and dry that it seemed like the sand was staying in his throat —..., I'm sorry.

That low, timid tone, sheltered in a shadow of horrendous chills, that scared look like that of a mouse begging a human for a piece of meat, god…. It was so tempting, so beautiful, so fucking tempting, that he had to gasp heavily, beating down the longing for her, screaming down that gross desire.

—You don't have to apologize —He said, —, I just hope you're happy.

He took her hand again, more gently now, carefully separating each finger. He leaned gently, and with a falseness incompatible with his current state, his lips touched the skin of her palm, pressing gently to give her the sensation of love that he so repressed in his heart, softened and rotten by such a level of sentimental illness, and when he walked away, a grimace of ill-painted happiness formed on his face.

—I hope thaat person give you the happiness you deserve... —He gasped for a second, erasing the word of possessiveness, without letting go of her hand —, dear (Name).

That afternoon he withdrew from her life, that fall was going to be trapped forever as the memory of her downfall, as the only fact that was really going to differentiate her life from that of any other human.

And that was her awakening; only when the season of orange dyes came to an end, the silk as sweet as a ripe dessert fruit accompanied by a funny company, the smell so pure that it would make any mortal sick, and a brilliant white that cleared the view so much that it resembled to be under the same sunlight. The bourgeois air that overflowed from the rustic, whitish-colored decoration seemed to make the new woman in the kingdom sick, and only at the moment of the man's accelerated footsteps outside the room did she decide to lie back on the bed, snuggling her head against pillow.

Not even the door was touched when he entered, and with a few silent steps, he leaned his lower body against the bed; the feeling of sweetness in his soul basked in glory at seeing her so rested, so immovable, so... sensitive to any look daring enough to rest on a figure so well structured, but so poorly cared for.

A smile spreads across his face, the smell of smoke and the uncontrollable heat of the fire still overwhelming him, even with all the hours that had passed.

But all those airs of pain, desperation and crude attempts to escape dissipated like a blizzard at the sight of the glimpsed body of such a peasant girl.

—So sweet... —He whispered, grabbing a stray strand of hair —.., and so sensitive.

He looked as enchanted as a bee on a flower, as addicted as a king to accumulating wealth, and as attached to that tenacious feeling as a womanizer is to flirting with any woman.

—I hope you wake up soon, my sweet (Name) —He gasped, tucking the lady's hair behind her ear —, you will enjoy life away from that town, and from... —Talon didn't continue, he just gasped with more heaviness —..., that useless one.

A few seconds later, aggressive footsteps, echoing from the cue crashing violently against the ground, and irregular panting accompanied by exasperating screams of complaints are heard outside.

—This damn idiot! —The goddess complained, her steps still sounding aggressive —, next time I won't let Morgana take that sword.

Hateful, that's how he could describe that woman who, just once, had managed to take everything from him.

The man looked so calm that such peace seemed inconceivable, and even a certain happiness was appeased in his soul, as if the approach of that woman meant a new objective for the man; a new way to show again to his beloved peasant how much he loved her, and even, if it were not for his current situation of having just returned to the kingdom of immortality, he would try to cut off the head of that goddess, solely and exclusively to remind her to (Name) the need for possession he had over her soul, and the power that existed between him and her.

Some aggressive knocks are heard outside the whitish room.

—I'll go take care of her, so you don't have to pretend to be asleep, okay? —He whispered, a kind smile trying to show her how much favoritism he had over her —. Make sure you don't make noise, my beautiful peasant.

Talon's body leaves the bed, and within a few seconds, the entire room; A new trial was about to begin, and now, there was great justification for it.

Bruh, I loved giving this guy a little story, I love him so much....

(He is literally my salvation from this horrible world, but he doesn't know it yet<3)

[apprenticestanheight]

Photos- Chainshipping

Okay!! My requests are currently open for just about every single saw character or apprentice (with the exception being Logan--I haven't watched either Jigsaw or Spiral just yet and thus, don't really know much about him besides his name) so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to shoot them into my inbox--I do character x character but also love me a bit of reader insert so whatever ideas you have, I'll be happy to take a look!

fic type- this fic jumps everywhere, but the primary genres are fluff--there's angst and angsty undertones in this as well though

warnings-Adam has PTSD (though he doesn't get diagnosed) and the symptoms he exhibits are as follows: avoidance, anxiety, fears of things that relate to his time in the trap (it's never stated, more depicted, but he's afraid of the dark) and anxiety whenever something triggers the memories of the trap. He does go through an episode in relation to his PTSD post trap and the episode manifests as a panic attack kind of ordeal. There are also potential SAW X spoilers (I haven't seen the movie so please don't spoil it for me--I mention offhandedly that another attack had shown up in the news in the same place where SAW X is set, which is the extent of the spoilers for the film) this has been edited but it was edited in about an hour and fifteen minutes so it's not perfect. It's also a long fic and caps at 8.2k words

When Adam next wakes, he finds himself in a hospital room. He wakes in time to see an investigative officer enter his room, quiet on the assumption that he's still sleeping.

He scrutinizes the detective in the moments before they realize he's awake, his throat dry and his shoulder burning with the ache of a bullet that had been removed but was still left in his shoulder too long.

The detective appears to be a guy--probably taller than him but not by much, only a bit of thinning hair left to speak for what was once probably a full head. He looks, from the get-go, a little irritated, and his outfitting is a basic button down, a black tie and black pants.

For a second, Adam wonders how legal it is for detectives to intrude upon the hospital rooms of Jigsaw survivors, his gaze passing over the detectives frame once more, but he realizes that, if the detective does care, he doesn't care all that much.

Who is Adam to judge, anyway? While his work as a PI was done in the name of making enough to get the rent on his shitty apartment paid in time, he still did it. He still stalked people, watched them meet up with their secretaries to cheat on their soon-to-be-ex-wives in the middle of their divorce proceedings.

He still learned the comings and goings of innocents and allowed that to be turned against them, so even if he wants to, he can't judge the detective on the basis of legal versus illegal. He can't judge the detective for doing something that feels shady when Adam has done a number of shady things himself.

Finally, the detective looks at him, startled to find he hasn't removed his gaze from him since he first heard the hospital door creak open.

"Hello, Adam," the detective greets. "My name is Detective Eric Matthews. You escaped a trap that you were put into by the Jigsaw killer. Can you tell me how?"

Adam blinks--he can barely recall what his own name is. He doesn't know the time or the date. Why would a detective expect him to be able to explain something like that so soon?

"Uh," Adam says. "I'd rather do this at a police station or precinct. I can't remember shit, Detective, and I need at least a day to make sure my head is clear."

The detective nods dejectedly, face falling like he's disappointed in Adams response.

"All right," he says. "If there's anything I can do or anyone I can call, let me know now. I'm sure your family is worried sick."

Adam feels like it's a jab, almost, but ignores that feeling. He thinks of his mother for a second, then his father. He wonders how they're both doing before realizing he's not talked to Scott in weeks. The last person his mind lands on is Lawrence--how is he doing? Is he the reason that Adam escaped?

"No," Adam says. "I've got nobody. If I had anyone, they would've called by now, I think. Thank you for offering, though."

Eric nods, and Adam watches him go.

Very quickly, Adam realizes he's been left alone again, and when he looks to his right, out the hospital window, he finds that he's woken up in time to catch the sunset.

Adam has never found much of a point in watching the sunset alone, though, so he sighs. He turns his head so that it faces a white painted wall, gives in to the morphine-induced exhaustion and closes his eyes, falling asleep with the sunset to paint a picture perfect background.

-

Days pass, and in each one of them, Lawrence consumes the whole of Adams thoughts for at least two hours. Typically whenever a nurse walks in to change his IVs or renew the morphine drip that has been steadily keeping the worst of the pain from the bullet wound at bay, though sometimes when someone comes around to bring him food.

Any entrance into his hospital room can be thought to be Lawrence for a minimum of three seconds, Adam finds. He looks up, realizes it isn't Lawrence and while one part of him deflates with some sense of sadness, the other feels relieved.

It's an odd split--despite how much Adam thinks of him, he doesn't know what would make him happier; would seeing Lawrence and being assured he's fine be better? Would it be better than never seeing Lawrence again, leaving him and his mind to wonder whatever happened to the oncologist?

Detective Eric Matthews doesn't swing by his hospital room again, but the day following his first visit, a nurse came in to tell Adam that he was wanted at the police station to deliver a statement as soon as he felt ready to do so.

On his final morning in the hospital, Adam is given several written prescriptions after being honest about the pain in his shoulder--days of recovery and the pain is still there, which has lead his doctor to believe it could be chronic.

He's sent on his merry way and gets into a cab to go back to his apartment, idly wondering just how worth it it would be to call his parents.

Getting to his apartment is a trip and a half--he realizes he doesn't have his keys on him but finds them poking out from under the door, and the first thing he does after unlocking his door is turn on the light in the entryway.

He proceeds with growing anxiety through the darkness in his hallways to get to his room. When he's there, he promptly turns the light on and goes about getting himself acceptable outfitting--he's due in to make a statement at the station, and it's half past ten in the morning. Better to get it out of the way and deal with the press that's coming out of the woodwork sooner than later.

He grabs a towel and turns his bedroom light off, proceeding to his bathroom. When he turns on the water, its cold and reminiscent of the water he'd woken up in in the bathroom with Lawrence.

When he notices it and to the detriment of his neighbor who won't have access to the hot water for thirty minutes once Adam is done, he turns the knob so that the water is almost scalding.

He hates it--the way that a bit of cold water cascading from his head to his shoulders and down his torso has reminded him so easily of the bathroom. He tries to shake it but almost can't, so he moves through the movements of the shower as quickly as he can without just skipping through the entire ordeal.

He dries himself, gets dressed into a decent pair of jeans, a baggy black shirt and a dark gray flannel, and walks to the station like he used to when he was taking photos for a detective who worked there.

The route is so familiar that it's eerie, and he half wonders who it was who stalked him while was doing the stalking. He wishes he knew which one of Jigsaws accomplices it was who was making sure that they had everything set to go for his game, but then he thinks better of it.

He doesn't want to know that sort of thing, and trying to figure it out could have him in a trap worse than the one that Jigsaw had put him in in the first place.

When Adam gets to the station, he tells the secretary he's there to make a statement. At this, the secretary makes a call and a woman comes out of an office--a detective who looks all business but in the tired kind of way, with her exhausted looking partner on her heels.

"My name is Special Agent Lindsey Perez," the woman greets. "This my partner, Peter Strahm. We're with the FBI and while we've agreed that Erics approach was not the way to go about acquainting you with the police force at all, we're both glad you could come in today. We'll get you sorted in an interrogation room with some water and a cigarette. It'll only be a few minutes, Mr. Stanheight, and if there's anything else you need feel free to let us know."

Adam has nothing to say so he just shakes his head and lets Perez and Strahm lead him off. When entering the room, Perez notes that she'll bring a blanket back and some coffee--the interrogation room is exceedingly cold--which Adam finds himself thankful for. It's early November but it feels like he's found himself in the middle of a New Jersey winter with how cold the room is.

The interrogation room is cold, the seats metal, and the walls a bland and basic navy-blue-ish black color. Adam wishes he'd stayed home but realizes it's too late for that.

He knows he'll have to spend the next several hours dredging up the memories that had come back in bits and pieces during the hospital stay, the memories he'd half been trying to forget and half been trying to process.

Perez comes back after a few minutes, draping a blanket over Adams shoulders and setting a cup of coffee in front of him while he smokes the cigarette that had been left for him to smoke.

"All of this is going to be on record," Perez says. "Do you know why John Kramer chose to test you?"

"I work as a PI on occasion," Adam admits, guilt swallowing him bit by bit. "I was one piece in Lawrences game because I was hired by a detective who knows his wife and suspected cheating. Hiding in the shadows, taking photos of the unknowing, it's not exactly a redeemable quality in the eyes of a serial killer like him."

"Why did you do it?"

"I have a camera," Adam says, shrugging. "I needed to make the rent and get some cigarette money. I did what I had to, like everyone else does in Jersey."

Perez nods. "Do you have any recollection of how you escaped?"

Adam tightens the blanket around himself. His escape is one of the memories he's tried not to think about because he remembers it in excruciating detail until the distinct point where he collapses, and it's not fun to think about at all.

"A girl came in after a day or two. Tried to kill me," Adam says. "I managed to survive that somehow. A couple of days later, some guy opens the door. Drops a key by my hand and leaves the door open. I test the key on the chain, it works, I get up and I run while starving and dehydrated. Make it outside, promptly collapse, all the fun stuff."

"And do you remember how you got to the hospital?"

"No," Adam admits. It's the one blank spot in his memory that he hasn't been able to dredge anything up from. "I wish I did, but I don't. I've kind of assumed that someone saw me, called 911, exercised the rare gift of basic human decency."

Perez nods. She looks at Adam like he's broken and he kind of hates it, but then his mind snaps to Lawrence, the smell of coffee the gun in the bullet and the act of having to think about the bathroom being the thing that pulls the trigger.

"Uh," Adam starts, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Do you know anything--anything at all--about Lawrence Gordon? He was in the trap with me and I haven't stopped thinking about him since I woke up in the hospital."

Perez smiles, tired and sad. "I'll see what we can find, but last I heard he was in a private wing. His wife called the other day to ask us if we'd heard from you? Lawrence has apparently been asking after you, too."

"Thank you," it's the first time Adam has wanted to smile in days.

The questioning continues for a long couple of hours, Adam stating and restating things until his head hurts and all he wants is a bit of decent cheap takeout. He's let go when it's almost the sunset and again chooses to proceed without watching it. Maybe, when he has someone worthwhile, he'll consider watching the sun go down, but what is the point of such when you're doing it alone?

-

Another long few weeks pass him by. Adam gets himself a job at a Mom and Pop bookstore near the heart of the city, and with the pay raise that'll come once he's worked there six months, he'll be able to afford a decent apartment and still have money left for groceries if he shops at places known for their low costs, like Aldi or Lidl.

He doesn't stop taking photos--he's spurred on when a gallery reaches out, offers to pay him ten thousand if he can take forty photos of a theme of his choosing by the end of the year so that they can display it for five months.

A collection, they'd called it. A collection of photos with one common theme or aspect and a title of Adams choosing. He couldn't say no, even if the idea of ten thousand dollars up front played more of a part in that than he's willing to admit.

He doesn't know what the collection will be called, but as he realizes what kind of photos he's started taking, he has an idea of the theme.

Lawrence, he realizes as he goes on what has turned into one of his daily walks, would probably like that the trauma they endured didn't do anything to falter Adams love for photography.

Lawrence, Adam has also realized, has something of a permanent foothold in his mind. He is always there, always lingering, ever present in the idea of seeking Lawrence out, going searching and hoping to find.

He grins, snaps a photo of a stray cat lounging in the public gardens, when he hears a voice that is so familiar it makes his chest ache with the yearning of three weeks gone.

"Adam?" Lawrence asks. "I didn't know you liked the gardens."

They haven't spoken in weeks. Adam has been trying to figure out what to say to Lawrence for weeks, and still Lawrence gets the opportunity to speak before he does.

"I don't," Adam says, startled as he looks up to the person he likely shares some twisted kind of bond with. "I uh--I take walks now. I owe a gallery forty photos for a display by the end of December, so..."

"You take walks?" Lawrence asks, and Adam notices the cane, the way with which Lawrence leans against it. "I've been taking walks, too. It's part of the regimen I've built for myself. A walk everyday at the same time, the same route."

It's the first time they've spoken in weeks, and the fact that both of them go on walks daily is the first area in which they've found common ground? If Adam weren't so shocked by it, he would laugh at himself and at Larry, too.

"Uh," Adam pauses. "I go wherever my feet take me until I realize I've gotten lost. I work full time at a bookstore now and the long walks aren't a good thing for me, but the fresh air is nice, so I take them anyway."

"Walk with me, then?" Lawrence asks. "I mean--you don't have to walk me to my apartment or anything, but I could use the company and I really have been meaning to reach out to you."

Adam thinks on it for all of two seconds before nodding. "I could use someone to bother about my excitement with the whole gallery thing, anyway," he says. "I could tell my coworkers, but I don't know them very well, so if you're the next best thing then..."

Lawrence laughs, and Adams heart does an annoying little flip that tells him everything he needs to know but will choose to ignore for the time being.

The two of them move through the garden, occasionally stopping so that Adam can take photos of the small lakes and ravines they see because of the way that the light reflects off the water. They do it in relative silence until Adam speaks up.

"Ten thousand up front," he says. "I've never seen that kind of money before. I could get myself a decent place with it, which is the plan."

"Have you decided a theme yet?"

Adam sidesteps a bit while Lawrence keeps walking, not having realized the fact that Adam is falling behind. Adam snaps a photo of Lawrence as he moves and grins to himself.

"I haven't officially decided yet," he says. "However, I think the theme I'm going for is 'things a guy with chronic shoulder pain and a gabapentin prescription that he needs to refill at the end of next month finds beautiful post bathroom trap.'"

Lawrence, at this point, has realized that Adam has fallen back and joins him.

"You are not putting that photo in your display," he says, having realized he's the subject of the photo Adam has just taken. Adam starts walking at a pace acceptable for Lawrence, shrugging as he walks.

"I did say it was things a guy with chronic shoulder pain and a gabapentin prescription finds beautiful. Not things an oncologist who's as stubborn as he is tall finds beautiful, Larry. Had it been things you find beautiful, I don't imagine that this roll of film would have nearly as many stray cats, if any at all."

Lawrence shakes his head. "I'm not stubborn. I just don't like the view of me that exists from behind."

Adam laughs a bit, and a heaviness starts to hang in the air.

"How've you been?" Adam asks, and he almost hates it. It feels like they're past the need for the basic questions--how are you, how've been, are things all right?--but Adam supposes they're not, wonders if they ever will be.

"I've been okay, and you?"

I can't go to the part of town where the trap was, he wants to say. And I have to wait before stepping into the shower for the water to warm up because the water I woke up in was cold, and I can't stand the dark anymore--not like I used to be able to.

"I'm okay," Adam says.

He doesn't even believe himself, and he's typically a very convincing liar.

"Are you?" Lawrence asks.

"Are you?" Adam repeats. At this, they both laugh because they know they aren't okay, and they lied to spare the feelings of the other person, and neither of them are really sure if they'll ever be okay again.

Adam walks Lawrence home in a bit of comfortable lapsing silence, and says "okay," when Lawrence invites him in for coffee.

Lawrences apartment is exactly what one can expect from a recently divorced rich doctor who's just hit his forties. It's beige and brown and the dining room table reeks of quality. A KitchenAid stand mixer sits on the kitchen counter, and Lawrence has an entire espresso machine. Talk about responsible use of finances.

Adam sighs a bit after Lawrence has made him a cup of chamomile tea and everything within him has kind of stilled.

They're sitting on the brown leather couch in his living room, the curtains open to display a sunset that Adam would've paid more attention to in just about any other circumstance. There's no point in watching the sunset alone, but he has Lawrence. If they ever make it to that point, they can watch the sun go down together, Adam figures.

"I feel like I can't really escape it most days," Adam admits after some time. "Like--I was hounded by reporters and true crime junkies pretty frequently up until last week, and I saw Jigsaws name in the news the other day for something that happened in Mexico, of all places. I just don't feel like I'll ever escape Jigsaw or what happened in the bathroom."

"I've been the same way," Lawrence says. "Alison and I are getting a divorce. I haven't seen Diana since I was in the hospital--no matter how many times I've assured them both I'm fine, I can't escape it. I'm being coddled because of my experience with that bathroom. Coddled because I'm a trauma victim now."

"Well--" Adam shrugs. "That's what the bathroom did--it traumatized us, Larry. We're not the same people we used to be."

It's something that Adam hates but loves all the same. He's not the guy who used to stalk people in the name of making the rent.

Lawrence--well, Lawrence lost his foot. Of course he's changed. How can a person not change after losing something so dramatically?

Lawrence nods. Silence lapses. Adam takes a sip of his tea and tries not to tell Lawrence every last bit of the past few weeks--the yearning, the not-sleeping, the apparent fear of the dark and the inability to look at plastic bags the same way because he almost lost his life after someone tried to strangle him using one. The avoidance, the way that certain smells will have Adam back in that bathroom and terrified to the end of his wits.

"We'll get better, won't we?" Lawrence breaks the silence in two with one of the most heartbreaking sentences Adam has ever heard.

"You're the doctor," Adam says. "You tell me, Larry."

Lawrence smiles. Adam smiles back.

"The aftermath of traumatic events sometimes leads to PTSD. Even if we develop it, I think we'll be fine," Lawrence says. "The initial reactions include relief to be alive post trauma, and that can be followed by stress, fear, and anger. We might even find ourselves unable to stop thinking about it, but if we can make it through that, we will be just fine."

Adam realizes Lawrence is saying it for his own benefit--Lawrence needs this, he knows. He needs it a lot more than Adam does.

"Yeah," Adam says, nodding a bit. "Yeah. We'll be okay, Larry. Unless we do something that the motherfucker doesn't like--then we're screwed."

Lawrence laughs, shakes his head. "Those jokes aren't funny."

"Clearly they are," Adam rebuts. "If you genuinely didn't find me funny, you wouldn't be laughing."

Lawrence is still smiling, and Adam still has his camera, so he lifts it and snaps a split-second photo of Lawrence.

Lawrence turns to look at him, annoyance clear on his face. Adam bites gently at his top lip, meeting Lawrences gaze with mischief clear in his eyes.

"Yep," he says. "Into the collection that goes, Larry. One for the ages, I think."

"I really don't like being caught off guard," Lawrence says. Adam shrugs.

"And I really do like finding beauty where one doesn't expect it. I can say that I didn't expect to find your smile beautiful, so I snapped a photo," Adam shrugs. "You're not terrible to look at, Larry. Quite the opposite."

Lawrence snorts. "You flatter and distract," he says accusingly. All that Adam can do is snap another photo before he takes a sip of his tea.

"So it worked, then?" He asks, ignoring the way that his heart gives another funny little flip. "I've flattered you?"

Lawrence laughs. "What?" He asks. "I'm assuming that it means you have another plan attached to your flattery?"

Adam quirks his eyebrows. "One minute, I'm flirting to distract you from the fact that your photo is being taken and the next, you're completely and utterly infatuated with me, Larry. That's my big plan to win you over."

Lawrence shakes his head. Adam takes another sip of his tea. Silence lapses.

Adam doesn't know why, but he wants to stay. Lawrence has had a foothold in his thoughts for weeks, and even if they have a surplus of extended, uncomfortable, lapses in silence, Adam doesn't want to go anywhere.

Adam finishes his tea and gets up, leaving his camera on the couch as he tosses his teabag into the compost bin and rinses his mug.

Lawrence joins him.

"I really did mean to call," Lawrence says. "I just--recovery at the hospital, being given divorce papers, and then giving the police a statement, and then the whole circus that it was trying to deal with the press, I couldn't find the time."

Adam shrugs. "I wanted to call too, but I had to find something to do so that I could still use my phone, so that I could pay the rent. I decided from the get-go I wasn't going to do PI work anymore. Still occasionally get calls from my old contact, though."

"Do you think you could ever do it again?"

"Not a chance," Adam says. "I can't even--the idea of it consumes me with guilt. Plus, a roll of film with a bunch of stray cats is now of more use to me than a roll of film that details the comings and goings of people who go to seedy motels to cheat on their spouses. Yeah, I could make the rent being a PI but who doesn't love a stray cat lounging on the pavement? Who doesn't love working at a Mom and Pop style bookstore with a side of price gouging, honestly?"

Lawrence laughs. Adam sighs, shaking his head because he hates his job and he hates his apartment and he hates the fact that the press wouldn't leave him or Larry alone, but if it all leads to moments like that then it's all worth it.

It feels like all of the time they've spent away from each other ceases to exist. Like they're who they could've been outside the bathroom, a dynamic that nobody really expects to see because of how different their societal statuses are.

Adam looks at Lawrence with a smile. "I'm keeping those photos," he says.

Lawrences face falls, and Adam laughs.

"Not for the collection, of course," Adam feels something romantic bubble within him. He pushes it down and away. "For my own personal admiration. I've got a buddy who I haven't talked to in a while--his name is Scott Tibbs. He'll pay me decent money for photographing his band and I'll be using that to get frames once the photos develop."

"You're going to frame silly photos you took of me?" Lawrence asks. "This is the first time either of us have seen each other or talked in weeks, and this is where we're at?"

"Yeah," Adam nods. "I'm keeping you in my life, Larry, whether you like it or not. Keeping you in my life means I have to develop the photos. It also means I have to frame them and buy a shelf to put them on."

Lawrence scoffs. Adam grins.

"Well," he says. "Before you have the chance to stop me, I should go. I work a morning shift tomorrow, but you'll probably find me in the gardens, playing with the first stray cat I see around five."

"Noted," Lawrence says as Adam proceeds back to the living room. He grabs his camera, slinging it over his shoulder by the strap. "See you around five tomorrow, Adam."

Adam grins as he leaves. "Tomorrow, Larry," he says as he goes.

It seems, in a meeting that occurred by accident, Adam has found himself a new routine. It's something that excites him, though, and the high from that excitement carries him through the long walk home and lasts until he falls asleep.

-

Before Adam knows it, the end of 2004 has come around. He's taken more than a hundred photos and compiled forty of those photos into a theme that's suitable.

The pain of what he's experienced still kicks around, though, and it really doesn't take Adam that long to realize that the pain doesn't care where he is or what he's doing. The pain will come back around no matter what time of day it is, no matter where he is or what he's doing.

Knowing what'll trigger him is something upon which Adam can typically pride himself. He knows what makes the traumatized part of his mind start ticking and knows how to calm it down, but New Years Eve 2004, he can't figure it out.

He's giving the headliner the name of his collection when it hits--it's a burning pain in his shoulder at first, something he powers through to the best of his capability.

The collection itself is called A Unique Look at Jersey, and it's actually something of which Adam is quite proud, but the burning pain starts in his shoulder and Adam knows what it means right off the bat. Something, he knows, isn't right.

So, after he's explained the way that the photos are meant to be displayed for it to make sense and after he's been paid ten thousand dollars up front, Adam bolts out of the gallery. He rushes to his car and sits in the drivers side, trying to fend off the breakdown before it really hits him.

He glances around the area to see if he recognizes it from that black-out period between when he collapsed to the ground and when he woke in the hospital.

Nothing seems familiar, and that makes Adam want to bash his head through the car windows. He can't figure out what's set him off and it's making him so anxious that his hands are shaking.

Typically, when something sets him off, he knows what it is right out the gate. He knows when a space is too dark and he needs to get somewhere with more light or create that space himself. He knows to step out of the water, to move his hand away from it, when it's as cold as the water in the grimy bathtub was. He intentionally avoids movies wherein guns are fired and wounds are depicted or bloodied clothes are shown because that triggers the memories attached to the last words Lawrence had spoken to him before his escape.

But today, something sets him off and he doesn't know what it is. He wants to find out, though, so he does something risky.

The memory of grimy tiles beneath his feet, stale air going into his lungs, the feeling of a chain clasped to his foot, all nearly overcloud his sight as Adam drives away from the art gallery. He drives closer to the source of the episode, choosing directions based on his anxiety and how terribly it spikes whenever he takes whichever turn.

He finds himself at a building he vaguely recognizes for a split second before it hits him. The memories he'd thought were a black out--the stuff he couldn't explain to Special Agent Perez, the things he thought he'd forgotten and would never remember.

He recalls, very suddenly, the fact that, once he was in the daylight, he didn't stop running. He ran until he found a storefront, got the clerk to call 911, and then collapsed of dehydration against a window outside.

He recalls just how much it sucks to be the kind of hungry that hits when you haven't eaten in four days, how terrible the pain in his shoulder was and the odd desire to know who exactly it was who'd tried to strangle him.

It comes to a head and Adam presses his forehead against the steering wheel, hand going to find his phone so that he can dial Lawrence.

Lawrence picks up on the third ring.

"Adam?" He asks. Their daily walk is due to start in an hour. It's not like Adam to call Lawrence an hour before they walk together because they'll just be able to talk in the next hour anyway.

"Lawrence," Adam whispers. He gives a relieved sigh. "You left."

"I did," Lawrence says. "I said I'd come back for you, Adam, and I meant to. I was going to, I promise."

Adams breath is completely out of whack. He needs to find a way to make sure it normalizes again.

"All I can think about right now is the--the--" the incident. The bathroom trap. The tape, the photos, the saw that Lawrence used to cut off his own foot. The feeling of gross bathroom tiles beneath his feet and under his hands, the smell of blood and the fact that he hit Zep Hindle until he died and didn't stop once Zep had stopped moving. The fact that the Jigsaw killer was still out there and the fact that Adam was terrified to so much as smoke a cigarette because it could put him back within the killers line of fire. "Lawrence, how do I stop it? How do I stop thinking about it?"

"Where are you?" Lawrence asks, his voice urgent. "I'll meet you there, Adam. Where are you right now?"

"That's not important," Adam says dismissively. "I just don't--I can't--Lawrence, it is so hard to breathe right now."

"Adam," Lawrence whispers. "Adam."

Adam presses the back of his head against the back of his seat. He presses his eyes closed as tightly as he can and he tries to will himself to normalcy, but he can't.

He can't escape the feeling of cold tiles beneath his feet, can't escape the fear he felt waking up in that bathtub. He can't escape the burning pain in his shoulder, the ache in his lungs or the fear in his chest. He can't escape. He can't escape.

For a split second, he's back there, well and truly.

"Lawrence," he whispers. "I'm going to be okay, yeah?"

"Yeah, Adam," Lawrence whispers back.

"How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"

"I wouldn't lie to you," Lawrence says, and despite Adams attempts to stop it, he finally starts crying. He ends the call abruptly and lets himself have a breakdown in the front seat of his car, knowing he'll meet Lawrence at the garden in an hour with his camera slung across his torso as usual.

He knows that he'll pretend everything is fine, he'll wish he could just get the nerve to kiss Lawrence like he's been wanting to for a month, and he'll mention the fact that he photographed a wedding in early last month that let him put down the deposit money for a decent place near the gardens. He'll ask Lawrence how his day was and he'll take a photo that catches Lawrence off guard, and everything will be how Adam is used to it all being.

He knows that it'll go back to the way it was within the next two hours, and as he breaks down for the first time in weeks while sitting in the front seat of his car, he finds he can't wait for the time to pass.

-

Two hours go by. Lawrence calls Adam to ask if they can postpone the walk by an hour, and Adam uses the time to feed the stray that lives in his apartment between packing what little he owns into boxes.

He made a deal with the realtor when he put the deposit down, so the apartment will be move in ready by the 16th of the month. Adam doesn't really own much so packing hasn't been his biggest concern--his biggest concern has been the stray cat he feeds on a regular basis. He wants to take her with him, but the ten thousand covers rent for fourteen months.

During those fourteen months, however, the money that Adam used to use for rent becomes grocery money. Six hundred and fifty dollars twice a month can get a lot of groceries from Aldi and Lidl, but he wonders for a minute, how much can $100 a month get a person in cat care and maintenance?

He doesn't let the thought linger beyond the lobby of his apartment, where he pets the cat on the head and promises that she'll have a decent life someday, one where most of the enrichment she gets doesn't come from batting away at the roaches whenever they get too close.

Then, camera draped over his torso, he's off. He walks to the gardens and meets Larry at the entrance, an apology on his tongue.

Adam explains that he probably has PTSD but hasn't been seeking out a diagnosis, just accommodating for it whenever possible. He lets Lawrence give him his opinion and the two talk back and forth in a manner that has become familiar.

Eventually, Adam says something and Lawrence laughs and Adams heart does that flip that it's getting more and more impossible to push aside. He grins a bit to himself, snaps a photo of Lawrence despite his protests.

"That is definitely one for the ages," he says, though he knows it's just a blurry photo of Lawrences side profile as he smiles.

"You say that every time," Lawrence says.

"And I'm right," Adam says. "I would have to be right, Larry. You think I would waste precious, expensive camera film taking photos of things I don't think are worthy of such titles? It's one for the ages, and it is absolutely going to be framed and put onto my shelf."

"How many photos of me have you taken in the past two months?" Lawrence asks. "Seriously. You must be running out of shelf space at this point, Adam."

Off the top of his head, the number that Adam comes up with is probably concerning.

He's taken more than a hundred photos since his escape in October. At least forty photos have been of Lawrence.

"Not nearly as many as you think," Adam says with a laugh. "I mean--if you want me to waste an entire roll of film on photos of you, you've gotta buy it. Five dollars a pop for one hundred and thirty six photos, I have rent to pay, groceries to buy and maybe a cat to feed. I love you, Larry, but not enough to waste a roll of film on you when I could take photos of the sunrise or the skyscrapers or cats staring menacingly at me from low rooftops."

Lawrence laughs. Adam resists the random urge to kiss him.

"Speaking of rent," Lawrence says. "Are you still living in the place with the roaches?"

"As long as I have myself moved in by the sixteenth of next month, no," Adam says. "I'm using the ten thousand I got from the gallery showing to guarantee I have a solid spot to live in until March of 2006. I did the math and, tax and amenities included, the ten thousand will get me that far. I'll get a pay raise in April, too, and that will keep me able to afford the rent of the new spot plus groceries."

Lawrence grins. "Ah, decided not to let the roaches keep you company?"

"They get really old really quick," Adam says with a bit of a laugh. "Kill six of them in thirty minutes and you'll start to see what I mean, Larry."

Lawrence laughs. Adams heart gives a flip that Adam ignores.

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?" Lawrence asks.

"I was going to smoke weed," Adam says. "Eat the chips I bought with gas money last night, then hit the hay around two in the morning. Do you happen to have a better idea, Larry?"

"I have a two joints from a coworker who insists I need to loosen up," Larry says. "I meant to give them to you for Christmas, but you weren't at your place, so that fell apart."

"I was visiting the 'rents," Adam says somberly. "Went about as well as a reconnection attempt can go when your father is the one who kicked you out on your eighteenth birthday--but, that's not the point. If you want to smoke, we can! I would love to see you stoned."

Lawrence nods. "Sure," he says. "Maybe I do need to unwind. I booked tomorrow off anyway, figuring I'd get drunk on champagne and then have a hangover."

"I can't wait," Adam says. "Oh, seeing you get stoned? That's gonna be amazing."

Lawrence laughs. Adam snaps another photo. They carry on.

-

It's five to midnight, and neither of them have started smoking despite the presence of the joints and a matchbox. Adam is too wrapped up in the way that Lawrence is speaking, too focused on his lips and the sound of his voice.

"And it's not even like this sort of thing should be a big deal," Lawrence says. "But Alison, even when our divorce has barely been finalized two weeks, is insistent I get back on the horse, so to speak."

Adam laughs. He doesn't know what that's like, not really--Scott would occasionally help him flirt his way into a one night stand, but he's been talking to Scott less and less, only responding when Scott is the one doing the calling.

Scotts company just isn't the kind that's worth keeping--especially not after the stunt he pulled with the home-made Jigsaw trap, which he then bragged to Adam about surviving while they were within a twenty minute radius of the bathroom trap, and in the part of town Adam was consistent in avoiding because of the venue that Scotts band was playing and because Adam needed the money.

"Well, what's stopping you?" Adam asks. "Like, Larry--the dating market loves your type. Guy in his forties wanting to settle down. You're like--you're perfect to a minimum of twenty women within the tristate area."

"I think you're deluded," Lawrence says. "Twenty? Have a little bit more faith."

Adam grabs one of the joints and the matchbox, striking a match and lighting the joint without thought or care.

"Tomorrow night, or next weekend, or whenever I can actually get you to agree with me, we are going to a bar. We are drinking at least a little, and I am going to be your wingman," Adam says, though the idea of setting up the guy who he's consumed with yearning and want for with another person hurts on a whole new level of the feeling.

"No," Lawrence says. Adam inhales the smoke from the joint, passes it to Lawrence. "I don't need a wingman--I don't need a relationship right now, Adam. I have so much on my plate both with the divorce and in the romance department as it were. I don't need to get drunk or flirty with anyone when the one person I want to get drunk and flirty with is about as attracted to me as a bag of rocks."

"Who's the lucky lady?"

"The lucky lady is a photographer who is pushing thirty and has an affinity for stray cats," Lawrence says. "He's also a guy, but I guess that's just me being pedantic."

"A, twenty seven is not pushing thirty," Adam says. "It puts me on the downhill slope to thirty, which is different. B, of all of the people you could've fallen for, you chose a guy who barely has his life together? I can't judge because I find myself attracted to you, but still. All of the people you could've realized you were attracted to and it had to be the guy who you were in a weird bathroom trap with and are now probably bonded to based on our unified experiences."

Lawrence laughs. He takes a puff of the joint before passing it back to Adam, who grins at him.

"And besides, I really--you can do better than me, Larry," Adam says. "I mean--just go to a bar and look around a bit. You'll find a number of people who can't be compared to sewer rats, and I'm sure they'll be more your speed."

Lawrence is grinning, and all that Adam can think is: oh fuck.

And then Lawrence laughs, and all Adam can think is: we might destroy each other, or we might rebuild each other. I can't wait to find out which.

And then Lawrence is asking Adam if he can kiss him and Adam is laughing.

"If you want to kiss me while my lips and mouth probably taste like weed, go ahead," he says. "Yeah--Lawrence, kiss me."

And then Lawrence is kissing him and it's like Adam is on cloud nine, and Adam never wants to leave. He wants to stay in that moment for as long as he can, kissing Lawrence Gordon on his fire escape, cupping his face with one hand while relishing in the way that Lawrences hands feel when they find his hips.

Lawrence pulls away and Adam has to fight everything within him in order to keep himself from chasing his lips. He presses his forehead against Lawrences, breathy laugh falling from his lips.

"Not bad, Larry," he whispers.

Lawrence laughs, deep and throaty and perfect. "I could definitely wake up to that once in a while."

"Once in a while?" Adam asks, bringing the joint to his lips. "Oh, Larry. How you wound me."

Lawrence leans back, and Adam is looking at him.

Both of them have just realized that everything about their dynamic and their relationship has changed.

However, the kiss was so good that neither of them really give a damn.

-

Adam moves into his new place on the 16th, the gray and white stray cat from his old place under his arm after clearing that it was okay to take her with his previous landlord.

That night, with boxes of his things in their designated rooms, he and Larry decide to name the cat Graycie. Adam is still working out budgeting but Larry offered to foot the vet bills and to get her the beginnings of her necessities--offered meaning that Lawrence simply told him he was doing it and to consider it a late Christmas gift, because he had anticipated Adams resistance and knew that it had a fair shot of shutting him up--so that's not a concern for at least two months with all of the supplies Lawrence brought along.

But there's still the worries of furniture. His couch from the roach-infested place was...well, roach infested. His bed managed to not meet the same fate, though, so Adam is just glad he has a place to sleep.

He has plates, cutlery, cups and mugs so the whole "what will I eat off of?" question has an answer from the get-go, which is a relief, but still. There are questions that have answers and there are questions that don't. It's the questions without answers that have Adams anxiety spiking.

Still, the night that he's moved in and is sitting with Lawrence on his living room floor as Graycie the cat inspects the area by wandering from one room to the next is one of the best nights he's had in weeks.

Maybe, he thinks, it'll get better.

All that he really wants to focus on is the way that it feels to hold Lawrences face as the two of them kiss, Adams back pressed against a wall while bliss takes hold of his every sense, thought, and feeling.

Adam never really thought kissing someone could feel as good as it does to kiss Lawrence. Kissing was always just something he did--kissing a one night stand lead to sex, had the motive of getting to sex, but the way that they're kissing doesn't indicate that in the slightest.

It feels like Adam is kissing Lawrence just to kiss him, like Lawrence is kissing Adam just to kiss him in turn. It's something that Adam and his drunkest nights aren't particularly used to, but something he loves.

When Lawrence pulls away, Adam shamelessly chases his lips and laughs at himself for it, the embarrassment kicking in as Lawrence presses a kiss to the corner of his lips and Adam feels, for a moment, like he's melting.

Everything just feels so...perfect. It's something that Adam loves, something he cherishes.

It is something Adam never would've thought he deserved, but he reconciles he does deserve it. He deserves a happy ending, even if that happy ending is only finding it's beginning in an apartment that is relatively bare of furniture, sitting with his back against the wall and the lips of his fellow Jigsaw trap survivor pressed against his own.

As Graycie the cat approaches, brushing the side of her cheek against Lawrences hand before plopping into Adams lap and purring as loud as a broken car engine, he nods.

"I deserve this," he says. "I deserve to feel as happy as I do right now."

"You do," Lawrence agrees. "Even if you don't have a couch, or a kitchen table, or shelves that can hold the weight of more than two photo frames."

Adam grins, and Lawrences lips are against his again, his hand on Lawrences chest and feeling his heartbeat as it thrums through a high quality dress shirt.

He has a good life, he knows. He deserves it, he knows.

It's Lawrences presence and the sureness of the fact that Graycie the cat relies on him that causes all of his doubt to cease.

Lawrence pulls away, and Adam is grinning.

Lawrence grins, too.

Everything is perfect. It will not always be perfect, but it's perfect in that moment and Adam decides that that's what matters.

[amethystina]

hiii! just curious of you've watched beyond evil? 🤔 (ps: i loveeee ur fics <3)

I have not, no, but it's been on my list of things to watch since I saw The Devil Judge. Though mainly because I had seen (and liked) Yeo Jin Goo in Hotel del Luna and was curious to see him in a drama with a different tone and story (i.e. I had no idea about the comparisons between The Devil Judge and Beyond Evil at the time). It was actually one of the dramas I had planned to watch right after The Devil Judge, but then got too distracted writing fanfics x'D

And, by now, I'm mostly postponing it because I don't want to collect another drama I possibly want to write for, which is the same reason why I haven't watched Word of Honor or Evilive, for example.

(For real: I took one look at Kim Young Kwang in Evilive before noping the fuck out because I have a type — a specific brand of kryptonite, if you will — and that man, in that specific drama, so perfectly encapsulates it that my flight-or-fight response kicked in. I feel like I dodged a bullet on that one)

(But I will eventually watch it — just give me some time)

Anyway! Also, from what I've gathered, the Beyond Evil peeps are doing fine without me? Like, they seem to be having a great time! No need for me to show up like the aggressive, invasive species that I am and ruin it x'D

I do want to watch it some day, though, but I admit a part of me is also kind of... hesitant? Because people have hyped it up so much? And what happens if I watch it and don't like it? Or don't find it as fascinating as everyone else seems to? x'D

(I'm pretty sure I will, but the worry is there nonetheless)

I'm one of those people who prefer to go into things blind. If I hear too much, I will build expectations (or start figuring out spoilers) without meaning to and it usually influences my experience in ways that are detrimental to the drama/show/movie in question. The less I know, the better (aside from triggers and warnings, of course).

And while I know next to nothing about Beyond Evil's plot (and would like to keep it that way so please don't spoil me!) some of the posts I've seen here on Tumblr have already influenced me negatively towards it. Which I absolutely HATE. And I'm referring to the ones that basically say that everyone should watch Beyond Evil instead of The Devil Judge because it's so much better. And while that might very well be true (especially since a lot of that is subjective), I'm still going to end up unintentionally siding with the only one of those that I actually know in more detail (i.e. The Devil Judge).

"You can't tell me what to like or not like" and all that.

Which I know is a ridiculous response and I'm trying to combat it, but I can't deny that it still affects me. To the point where I honestly wished I had watched Beyond Evil sooner since now I worry I'm going to be biased in a negative way, simply because of the discourse I've happened to glimpse online. I don't want to compare the two, but I feel defensive enough that I still might, despite my best intentions. I want to be able to judge things based on their own merit.

So can we please just stop pitting things against each other? It's tiring and ruins the experience for me.

I just want to be able to watch and enjoy cool things :C

TLDR: I haven't watched it yet but hope to at some point since it sounds like it will be good. But I'm hesitant because I already have too many projects and don't want to stumble into another fandom I want to write for right now x'D

And thank you so much! I'm glad you like my fics 💜

[babycharmander]

Continuing to read Frankenstein for the first time and like, while I mentioned before I've never seen any full adaptations of it, I have gathered some stuff through pop culture osmosis, and it's so wild to me how different the creature's popular depiction is from how it is in the book?

Like, for one, I've seen bits and pieces of different depictions of the story (or parodies of it or references to it), usually showing some extremely dramatic creation scene with Frankenstein shouting "IT'S ALIVE!!!" or whatever, but in the actual book, the creation is skipped. At least as far as I've read, he never fully describes the creation process, and rather than some big dramatic reaction, it's more the second he realizes his creation is alive, he's full of revulsion and just leaves.

But as for the creature itself, the first thing that stood out to me is that the creature is described as having long black hair, whereas in popular media you see the creature having a flat head with very short black hair? But even more than that--this thing TALKS. And not just like, in short sentences--he's extremely eloquent. (Though maybe he talks in other adaptations?? Again I haven't really seen a full adaptation of the story.)

I mean I guess it's not too weird that the pop culture version differs so wildly--with The Count of Monte Cristo, a lot of the adaptations (at least the English language ones) often focus heavily on Edmond Dantes's imprisonment, and then abbreviate the revenge portion as much as possible and alter it to just his straight-up killing his enemies, whereas in the novel, most of the book is about his planning extremely intricate revenge plots on his enemies without ever laying a finger on them. Then adaptations often show the revenge as being Good and Just whereas in the novel it shows that the revenge had some truly horrific consequences.

With TCoMC, my guess is pop culture changed the story because "a guy is terribly wronged and Gets Revenge via Murder" is easier to digest than everything the novel went into (and plus the runtime of a movie is not NEARLY long enough for all the stuff that happened in that book). I still hate that so many adaptations are that way, but I can at least understand how they might've wound up that way.

But man I do wonder why the heck Frankenstein's creature gets the treatment in does in pop culture??

I'm only about halfway through the book now--the creature is still telling Frankenstein his story--so I haven't seen everything yet. But man so far I just feel kinda bad for the creature as he was just sorta left to fend for himself.

No spoilers, please, as I'm still reading (and have ... somehow gone without being spoiled for this centuries-old book). Just writing out some of my observations.

[pinkiepiebones]

Renfield, 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 even though I haven't seen the movie yet I'm obsessed with dracula so like. Yeah

Okay first PLEASE GO SEE THE MOVIE WHEN IF YOU CAN it's a commercial flop it needs all the money it can get ;-;

Second- answers!

1) What would their social media page/activity be like

Renfield would not be terribly active on social media I think ("I've had enough mental abuse and manipulation, I don't need an algorithm adding to that" he says half-joking), but Rebecca would show him some sort of niche "Plant Parent" page and he'd enjoy showing off his collection and getting/giving cultivation tips

2) What animal they remind me of He's one of those dogs you see on the animal rights commercials with the Sarah McLaughlin "In the Arms of the Angels". Some sort of mutt that's been kicked around but only ever really knew a shithead owner. But then said mutt gets adopted and bathed and spends the rest of his days catching Nerf frisbees and wearing little pastel sweater vests!

6) Psychological headcanons (tastes, fears, talents, regrets, how they deal with anger, just anything that comes to mind on the topic) He's afraid of the dark. He puts sprinkles and frosting on every kind of cookie he bakes because, out from under Dracula's thrall, his sense of taste is coming back? Or maybe he just denied himself anything besides bugs for so long, every taste feels like 1080p 4K HD now. Either way, he has a fucking sweet tooth that makes Rebecca worried for his health. Never learned to drive a car but still has carriage driving skills. Under the thrall he found himself growing envious of butterflies and what they represented to him- not just change, but freedom. Ambidextrous.

7) Ship(s) with them that I like or at least consider I like the idea of him and Dracula, you know, in the earliest days. Back when Dracula was enticing him into servitude. When Dracula showered him with attention, wined and dined him, introduced him to high society... They fucking dated and you can't take that from me. Post movie? He's not in the right headspace to date, but when he relents and goes out "strictly to get out of the apartment," Rebecca is his wingman. She's protective of him and offers to do background checks on any man or woman Renfield shows interest in. The support group members also occasionally suggest people to him because EVERYONE wants him to be happy. It's not every day you meet a guy who broke up with DRACULA, so you'd want to contribute to his glowup too, right?

9) Headcanons about their past Born in February. Only child, but very much not spoiled because "well you're the only son so you need to help support the family." Always awkwardly tall and gangly. Learned to sew early on so he could fix the clothes he was outgrowing. Joined the war effort as soon as he turned 18. Applied to college as soon as he returned from the war. Met Dracula when he was around 25, maybe 30 (he doesn't remember).

[dckweed]

@multifandom-world8 babes i am so sorry, this took me an embarrassing amount of time, but, here it is, and there will also be a second part as well !

my loves, it's been a hot minuet..but hi, hey, I'm here. Idk about yall but i had a kick ass weekend. Currently recovering from whiplash and fucking up my throat at a rock concert on Sunday (escape the fate, Hollywood undead, falling in reverse, and papa roach ((loml)) fr those wondering) that was so fucking amazing. How was yalls weekend? Everyone blow up the comments !

PLEASE NO ONE SPOIL THE TEENWOLF MOVIE! i have yet to watch it, and im sure there are others who haven't as well. Please be respectful in not spoiling anything on my posts.

I am aware that there is a paragraph that's darkened out and I have no idea how to fix it, for that, i apologize.

warnings: minors should not read this, but i know that i cannot stop you from opening this, so please, if you're under the age of 18, read at your own risk. this fic contains smut, maybe a bit of angst, biting, AGE GAPPED READER! reader was 19 when bitten, and in her 20s in the fic. Peter himself is a warning because guys look at him.

california dreamin'.., peter hale

Five years. Five long, fucking years of being stuck in this bullshit ass town, cleaning up supernatural mess after supernatural mess. You couldn't help but to wonder if the founders of Beacon Hills truly understood the irony of their towns name, it truly was a Beacon.

You suppose that was how you'd wound up in this mess anyway, the town being what it was and all, the werewolf population had gripped its claws into you and had never let you go. You had been a sophomore when it all happened, roped in by association with Stiles and Scott, and much like Stiles you had stayed human for most of it, until Derek's uncle had decided to use you as the main pawn for one of his stupid ass revenge fantasies. You hadn't taken it well at first, the bite completely destroyed you and it took a long time to build yourself up again, and by the time you had, you were much too late to do anything else with your life, and so, you had elected to stay behind and help keep the town out of trouble while the rest of your friends went on and lived their lives. 

Working at your family's business wasn't that horrible you supposed, you could make your own hours, and being the owners child, you got paid just slightly more than the others did, which was definitely on your pro list. As was your weekly meeting with the man who had turned you. Typically, Peter came in for lunch or maybe dinner (depending on which shift you were working) and while you worked, the pair of you would talk about any odd goings on, and catch up on what everyone was doing out in the world. It was also your allotted time to ogle the man. 

Maybe it was the loyalty you still felt to him after all this time from the bite, or maybe you were just really fucking lonely, but good god you couldn't deny that the man was the definition of sexy..

You had seen him today, during the lunch shift and though it had been brief, it had been long enough for your mind to wonder to dangerous places, wild thoughts running loose in your mind, the slight scar on your shoulder throbbing as they did, reminding you of the night he had given it to you..

It was cold, fall was beginning to set in to Beacon Hills once more as the seasons changed. You were 19 now, barely scraping by in highschool as it was, caught between the drama of your friend group and the drama of the supernatural beings that inhabited said group and tonight? Well, tonight you were quite literally the drama. 

Peter had lured you to his loft, you had thought that you would be meeting the entire pack there, and therefore hadn't thought to text any of them and after arriving, you quickly realized how wrong you were. Peter had answered the door, much too friendly than he had ever been towards you before with a smile on his usually scowling face. 

"I didn't think you'd actually show up." He says, opening the door just enough to let you slip in, your body brushing against his ever so slightly, shock of electric tingling down your spine as you did. You had always felt that way around him, but you just assumed it was a you thing and didn't notice the way that his hand tightened its grip on the door, or that his body went rigid, nor did you hear the sigh that escaped his lips. 

"What exactly is the emergency, Peter?" You ask, turning to face him when you realize the loft is empty. He had sent you an urgent text, the kind that usually went out to the entire pack, and you were in partial disbelief that you would have been the first to show up, or the first texted. You were human, which meant you were far down the chain of urgency list in emergency werewolf situations. 

"Sit." He says, eyebrow quirking and a slight thrill spreading through him as he watches you drop immediately onto the couch, almost mindlessly, eyes trained on him, wide and curious. He takes a seat on the chair across from the couch, launching into what was meant to be a proposal, a deal if you will..He was in one of his revenge fantasy phases, and was trying to willingly enlist your help, because for some reason (both Supernatural and logically), you weren't the person he was intent to have helping him. 

Peter knew why he felt the way he did when you brushed against him, it wasn't the first time and it certainly wasn't the last. He was a smart man, and it wasn't too hard to piece together for him. And in all honesty, at first he wanted to protect you from it, from him, and for a while it worked. But now? Now he wanted to be selfish. He needed to be selfish, even if it meant bringing you into the mix. 

"Absolutely fucking not." You say abruptly after a brief moment of silence once he had finished speaking, explaining to you what was going on in his mind. "No..just..no. ive seen what Scott and Liam go through, and yeah maybe it has cool perks but no just..why would you even think that I would go along with something like that Peter?" 

He could hear in your voice how desperately you disagreed with his idea, and a part of him wants to let you walk out that door and forget that this whole thing happened to begin with, but that selfish side wins. He stands as you move towards the door, and in two long, powerful strides, he pulls you back against his chest, arms around your torso pinning your own to your sides. 

"Peter! Peter let me go!" You yell, struggling despite the electric shock coursing through you once more. His grip only tightens on you, and you feel his breath on your ear as he brings his mouth down, can feel him breathing in your scent. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this isn't optional.." He whispers, feeling you start to struggle more. He growls a little, his werewolf side coming out. His hold on you strengthens enough to be able to hold you still as he licks the area of exposed shoulder that your sweater had slid off of, his teeth grazing the skin ever so slightly. He debated letting you go, he didn't like the way that you were crying at all, you were going to hate him for this. 

He had already gone too far to turn back though. Before he can talk himself out of it, he bites down on your shoulder, trying to be as gentle as possible so as not to hurt you too much, but also trying to make sure it would take. He can't help but to savor you for a moment, the animal in him going absolutely feral over scent alone, he could do this for hours, he thought and happily he almost does until he realizes that your crying has stopped and you are now slumped against him. 

It had been the longest couple of years after that. You had just barely been able to graduate with your friends, nearly having to take a sixth year of highschool, though if that had happened you probably would have just dropped out. You had already taken freshman year twice, you couldn't go through senior year again. 

You had been so mad at Peter for the longest time, though you were still doing everything he asked of you. Scott and Derek had said it was the alpha bond, but personally, you felt like it was different than that because if was like your entire judgement was clouded over when it came to him, and honestly it still was though you had learned to look through it and use your own logic. 

Even before the bite you had been strangely attracted to Peter, though it definitely intensified after and you were certainly no stranger to fantasizing about him, so, as your shoulder throbbed ever so slightly, you let yourself fall into one of those fantasies, you were the only one in the front of the diner anyway, the late shift never being busy save for the occasional drunkard, you needed some form of entertainment. 

The fantasy was much like your others, though more intense than they normally were..peter was leading you up to his loft, your hand in his as he practically dragged you up the stairs, a girly little giggle escaping you as you run after him, your heels sounding on the ground and the skirt of your dress swishing around your bottom. 

Peter had gone full on foreplay in the car on your way back from your dinner date, his hands in between your legs, his nails ripping the fabric of your panties to shreds before pumping his fingers in and out of your dripping, aching core, clenching around his fingers as if begging for something more. 

The sound he had made when he felt you was almost feral, it ripped right through to your core and you could've cum from that alone, but alas, Peter had other plans for you. The door to his loft is barely even closed before he has you pressed up against it, his large, firm hands pressed tightly on your thighs as he hoists you up, letting you wrap your legs around his waist, your mouths moving against each other's with an urgency that you'd grown accustomed to when it came to him, as if the two of you could never get enough of each other. 

"Jesus.." You groan, the feel of his hard cock pressed against your bare mound sending shockwaves through your aching body, lust taking over your entire train of thought. 

"You and I both know I'm the farthest thing from holy, sweetheart.." He whispers, voice breathless as he makes his way down your throat, the stubble of his five o'clock shadow tickling your skin in the most delicious of ways, edging you halfway to insanity. 

After a few moments longer he removes you from the door, carrying you to his bed. His hands are on your bare ass under the skirt of your dress, squeezing the flesh appreciatively before giving a nice slap, throwing you off of his body and onto his mattress. You bounce, staring up at him through lust filled eyes as you watch him take his V-Neck off of his torso, tossing it to the ground before he gets to work on his jeans. You kick your heels off, they clunk to the floor before you shimmy out of your dress, the fabric falling off your body as you lift yourself off of the mattress the slightest bit. 

You realize as he gives you long, gazing look over your body that you are embarrassingly desperate for this man to even breathe in your direction, let alone fuck you, and yet here you are, on his bed, laid out all nice and pretty as you watch him fist his thick, deliciously long cock in his hands a couple of times, groaning at the thought of it inside of you. 

"You coming?" You ask, teasingly as you spread your legs for him, biting your lip. His shoulders slump as if in defeat and he let's out one of the prettiest sighs you think you've ever heard in your life. 

"Sweetheart, i hope not for a long while." He says finally and you giggle, before screeching in surprise when he grips your ankle and pulls you down to the edge of the bed, wrapping your legs around his hips as he teases your aching cunt with his cock, dragging up and down your sopping slit, once..twice..three times before he pushes himself into your tight, warm hole.

The noise that escapes your mouth is one of pure filth and it seems to be all the urging on he needs as he pumps his hips in and out of you. You watch as his face contort with each thrust deeper and deeper into you, your pussy clenching onto him with need he'd never felt before, your hips rising up off of his bed as if to beckon him in to you farther. 

You were already so over stimulated just from being horny that you knew you didn't stand a chance of lasting nearly as long as you could have, and you had a feeling he knew it to because the more sounds you made for him, the more one of your hands tugged at your own breasts and the other pawed at his forearm where his hand gripped your hips so meanly, the harder he fucked into you. 

It was almost painful, and you knew that if you hadn't been a werewolf it probably would have been. You wouldn't complain though because something about him being the one to bring on that kind of way in the sinfully delicious way that he was doing it, was absolutely glorious to you and dear God you basked in the absolute pleasure it brought you. 

Peter grunts as your pussy grips him, the sound of your skin slapping together and the squelching of your wet cunt sucking him back into your pussy every time he pulled out was filling the room, a beautiful music to his ears, as was the high pitched groan that escaped your throat as he gripped your hips harder, angling them up off the bed. He could feel himself hitting you at a deeper angle and just the look on your face as he did was what was going to make him finish, the way your eyes rolled into the back of your head, your mouth hung open in a silent moan, your tits bouncing every time he fucked into you..you were the perfect sight..

"So fucking perfect for me, y/n..y/n..

"Y/N!" Peter brings you out of your day dream, snapping his fingers in front of your face. You squeak in fright, heart racing and face flushing as you realize the man you had been fantasizing about was standing before you. 

"Jesus fucking Christ Peter!" You yell, calming yourself down. You glance at the clock behind him, noting the time. "It's almost midnight what the hell are you doing here?" 

The man looks at you as if you were insane, which, honestly, you had to wonder yourself if you were..nothing else could explain the way that you felt about the man that barely looked at you some days. "I told you at lunch I was going to pick you up tonight, remember? You said your car was broke down.." Truthfully, you hadn't thought he was serious. Peter hardly ever did anything with you outside of your meetings and occasionally running into him at the store..

"Oh.." Shit. How the fuck were you supposed to survive an entire car ride with him when you knew he could smell the horny radiating off of you? You were about to tell him that you were fine to walk when you realized it was raining pretty hard out, because of course California would decde to ends its drought right now. Fuck me up a goddamn river. 

"Give me a minuet.." 

[deadpool1763492]

New TMNT: Mutant Mayhem leak, spoilers below the cut.

I have so much to say about this leak, so let me just list it all out.

1. I love their dialogue. They act like genuine teenagers and it's amazing. I also love how they're not trying to use too much "teenage slang" like so many other shows and movies do to the point that it just ends up cringey. They're putting tidbits here and there, and it's just enough to make it believable.

2. The random references they're putting in it are amazing. Donnie saying he's the Matt Damon of the group? Perfect. The pop culture references in this movie are going to be amazing. Does this mean we're actually getting some Jujutsu Kaisen references from Donnie as well? If we do, let's hope it's nothing too big that'll spoil things for people who haven't seen it yet.

3. Interesting characterization for Raph and Donnie in this leak. Raph is the most excited to go to school apparently, which we wouldn't really expect at face value, but they might be going for something similar to the 2003 version of Raph. What I'm specifically referring to is issue #5 of the mini comic series they released that has Raph wishing they could be part of the real world. If that's the case, I'm interested in seeing his dynamic with characters like Leo, who are usually pretty content with their current lifestyles.

4. The turtles are using April for some reason? Apparently they're trying to get a way for them to go to school, which could indicate they've possibly discovered a way to either become human or at least pass as human, which could be interesting. Part of the story may be a whole learning arc for the turltes (especially Leo) in how to actually handle the trust someone has for them.

5. THE. RAT. KING. FINALLY the writers are utilizing villains besides the Shredder and Kraang and I literally cannot wait for it. The Rat King is one of, if not my favourite TMNT villains ever created and he's almost always underused. With that Scooby-Doo reference they threw in there, they might be trying to use the "big wig in a mask" cliché as a red herring for a villain that's ACTUALLY a mutant, not just someone who's pretending to be a monster.

Well, that's all from me for now, but I'll be sure to add more if I think of anything. I love dissecting trailers and leaks like this, so I'll be doing it for anything that comes out for this movie. TMNT is a huge part of my life and I've consumed almost every part of it, so I'm hoping to put it to good use! I'd also love to hear everyone else's thoughts about the leak, so please do not be shy. Cowabunga, dudes!

[boonalina]

My review of ATLA Live Action episode one:

(Keep in mind, at this point I have only seen episode 1 and so this is just my first impression)

Remember, there are spoilers ahead and I seriously think you should watch it yourself before reading any review. Trust me, having your own impression first before anyone else's is way better... Okay here we go:

-----

Review of episode one, first impressions:

I really loved how we got to see what the air temple genocide looked like. It really shows that they're fully aware that the main audience has grown up. I watched it with my sister, her hubby, and my 5-yr niece and we didn't know that it would literally show people getting burned alive, so we had to cover her eyes a lot lol. I loved how we got to see firelord Sozin when he was first declaring war.

I really liked how we got to see monk Gyatsu (having that name in 2024 is sure rough buddy..) actually want Aang to have a childhood before they told him he's the avatar. The bending looks really cool, not slow and cringey like in the first live action movie haha. I thought the way that one air-bender died, the woman doing the air tornado, was fricken BRUTAL. And it's great to see just how far they're going with the onscreen death.

My brother-in-law (sister's hubby) felt really iffy on the fact that Aang can just sort of fly on his own now, without his glider thing. I honestly don't mind it, I don't think it really affects the story all that much. And it also just.. makes sense, for an air-bender to be able to fly on their own. I love how they got the grandma to say the original intro from the cartoon in a natural way as an explanation to Aang.

I liked how they kept the original motifs. The fire tribe still has that classic "BUM bum bUm baaaaam" idk how else to describe it haha

Aang: I thought his acting was pretty good for a kid. The crying parts were decent at best... but obviously I don't expect a kid to be great at faking tears. I thought his acting was great when he learned that he was the avatar, just that silent panic, the breathing getting faster and darting the eyes. The scene where he closed himself in the ice ball thing looked really cool. (My brother-in-law was fanboying the whole time, so much so that my niece started imitating him by saying "O M G the acting is SO good!" which made us all laugh, she didn't have ill-intent, she was just learning by example)

Katara: Her acting was a little iffy to me, I have hope that it'll improve later on. She had good lines but her face just didn't make me believe those lines. During emotional moments she was just kinda '_' But I know how tough it is to be a child actor so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. (And to be fair, it is hard to convey emotion as good as a cartoon can) Her water bending looked really pretty, and I love that they kept her hair loopies. And I love that she still has her motherly personality like when she was comforting Aang near the end.

Sokka: Again, I thought his acting was pretty decent, child actors and whatnot. I really love how they didn't just reuse the same jokes from the cartoon and got original. My favorite two jokes were when it cut to him screaming on Appa, and when Aang said that he had to save the world and Sokka's response was like "Gee, is that all?" sarcastically, got a good laugh outta me. I love how his weapon looked exactly like the one in the cartoon. And I love how he got to have a one-on-one stand off with Zuko.

Haven't seen Momo yet, gonna be a bit disappointed if we don't but I mean.... Now that I think about it, Momo didn't really add anything. He was just kinda there in the cartoon for comedic affect...

Anyway, just in case someone is reading this before watching it, I'm not gonna spoil/talk about anything else (like Zuko and Iroh). So please go get your own impressions of it, even if you have to watch it on a pirated site.

Thanks for reading :)

(Side note, I do wish they chose tanner actors for the water tribe but eh, what the hell do I know? Could just be the lighting that's making them look pale)

Edit: So I just found out that Sokka and Katara's actors are not children lol (well, Karata's is 17 but that's almost an adult) so it is now a little less excusable.... But whatever, it's okay.

[odditycircus-2002]

Jeepers Creepers: unexpected turn of events

So I noticed how really there's not enough of these stories, but I'm gonna change that with this! Meet Corbin, a close friend of the Jenner siblings. She's just coming with Darry and Trisha because she has nothing better to do over the break; however, what she wasn't expecting was a man-eating monster chasing them in a cat and mouse game for survival. Won't spoil much but know this, there's more to Corbin than meets the eye. Oh, and there will be gore 'cause hey! Man-eating monster. I do not own Jeepers Creepers, that goes to Victor Salva (FUCK THAT GUY). This is a none-profit story meant for fun. Obviously, spoilers if you haven't seen the movie. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know your thoughts.

PROLOGUE:

"No no no no NO! " 

Hissed a figure looking again at the tarot cards, her mother gave her a long time ago which she keeps in mint condition. Sure, her mother used them during her time as a game for a few coins, but she had no idea at the time that when done right, they could be used for more. Even though she herself doesn't use them often anymore, but it has been a while and she thought, 

'Why not?'

 So she then set up the cards and turned the lights off after lighting some candles. That may not really be necessary for her to do, but she just loves the mood its soft orange glow that it gives off. She wasn't expecting anything, not really, but now staring at the order the cards are in with skeleton in the cloak looking like it's mocking her future misfortune as it seems ready to reap the card next to it. The 10  of pentacles.

"SHIT! Not again please! I can't lose another one."

She hissed again, scratching at the coffee table, leaving deep grooves in the wood.

' This couldn't be, right? Maybe I'm just rusty? It has been a while since I've used them.'

She thought to herself desperately looking at the cards again, hoping maybe she's just seeing things; Unfortunately, her eyes aren't deceiving her.

One of them is going to die.

"Oh, Mama. What can I do to prevent this?"

The dark figure begs, with her hands rubbing down her face. A seemingly strange breeze blew through the figure's apartment slightly open window; scattering some tarot cards. The woman picks the cards up again, and turned one over for a card she wished, she would just throw away. 

The card of lovers.

"What do you mean by this?"

The figure asked, not really expecting an answer. What she wouldn't give to feel her warm embrace once more. For the elderly woman who nursed her unwanted surrogate child as a babe, to run her wrinkled hands through her hair as she calmly assures her everything will be alright. Even after all these long years, she still yearns for that familial love and comfort when everything else around her falls to pieces. Yet, some would contradict that want for all the inhumane crimes she's committed.

They were justified in their own sense, for how many mothers has she taken as well? How many children has she's left as orphans in order to extend her own life? It wasn't anything out of spite or malicious intent...mostly. Still, the instinct is too strong to ignore. No matter if how much or how long she tries to put them off and ignore them altogether, she couldn't ignore her body's demands when it gnaws at her strength; yet, that doesn't ease her feelings of guilt or remorse either. 

She clutches her necklace that was a gift from her mama, rubbing her thumb over the swirls designed into the metal.

" Well, it's like you always told me, everything happens for a reason."

She then sighs and starts putting her cards away not really needing to use the light, for she's accustomed to her surroundings. 

' I just hope you're right.'

She thought to herself, retiring for the night. Not worried she'll wake anyone since she's the only living soul in her current dwelling place. It's not home, but it suits well when needing to hang her hat somewhere. 

She doesn't mind this since tomorrow she's traveling with two of her closest friends. She can keep the loneliness at bay until then. 

Hey Guys! I hope you'll enjoy this! I don't know too much about tarot cards, just what I can gather online and from a friend. Don't worry, you'll get to know who she is. Heh, pronoun game ;) Also, you can find the rest of this story on Wattpad under the user name, JazzyHands02. Stay Weird, my fellow humans.

Next

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: Arrival

Today, I'm going to talk about what may be my favorite Sci-Fi movie of all time and try to explain the various reasons why this one is so near and dear to my heart. It's hard to say anything about most of these things without spoiling a couple of things that might be best experienced first hand. This is to say that if you haven't seen it yet, please consider doing so first and then coming back to this post.

The movie follows Amy Addams as linguistics professor Louise Banks who gets recruited by the US military for what must surely be the most importand and most difficult task her field could ever undertake, translating an alien language and facilitating First Contact. The aliens, granted, are here already, but they aren't doing anything and it's making the people who've seen Independence Day very nervous. To further complicate matters, the giant almost featureless ships are not only hovering over the US but also eleven other places, including China, and separate translation efforts are progressing without communicating much on account of nationalism and paranoia making things difficult, as usual.

The Aliens, called Heptapods on account of their resemblence to seven-legged octopuses, seem willing to communicate, but their circular rune-language appears to not only be difficult for humans to read, but also comprehend as it is nonlinear, and Louise reasons it's possible that the aliens may experience time nonlinearly as well and that their language might be part in shaping them in this. It's perhaps a bit of a charitable interpretation of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, that states that aspects of language and grammar may shape the speaker's perceptions and mental processes and not just reflect them, but what is Sci Fi for if not to say "ok, this doesn't work this way... but what if it DID though?"

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the movie is how open it is about the kind of problems inherent in communication through language and the perils of assumptions. The plot escalates into the third act crisis because the heptapods understood the weapons of the present military guys as their tools, much like one would a doctor and their stethoscope or a ditch-digger and their spade. This isn't an entirely unreasonable assumption to make as the heptapods are implied to be a nonviolent species, and thus would see little reason to draw distinction between these other tools and weapons like we humans do. So, when asked what they want on earth, the heptapods respond "Give Weapon," which could be read both in the charitable way "We want to give you a weapon/tool you'll need later" or in the decidedly uncharitable way of "we will use our weapons on you," that it should surprise nobody that the military jumps on in a flash.

So, with the world poised on the brink of it's first interstellar war, Louise finds herself making a desperate play to stop this terrible party from kicking off in the messy way. Getting her side to stand down is comparatively easy, some might say a bit too charitable to the American military, but it's also a good opportunity for Louise to exposition what she has learned. In attempting to stop the Chinese military from attacking the heptapods, though, Louise has to comitt the movie's perhaps most elegant magic trick.

At this point I need to explain the movie's greatest twist. The movie starts with a montage of Louise and her daughter Hannah that ends in tragedy as Hannah dies at 12. Assumptions of linear time in narratives and the Kuleshov Effect being what it is, we assume this is backstory, and that Louises tired pessimism in the beginning of the movie is because of this trauma. However, as she learns more and more of the Heptapod language, she starts getting snippets of memory from her time with Hannah, and we come to learn that this tragedy has not happened yet. It's not Louise's inescapable past, it's her future, revealed to her now that she has learned enough of the alien language for it to reshape her brain to percieve time more like the Heptapods do.

It is this realization and this ability that allows Louise to call the Chinese general in charage of the attack and, through information she would later learn from him in the aftermath of the cancelled attack, have him stand down. She knows what will tug at his heartstrings because she will learn it from him in the future, and she is able to so effectively appeal to his emotions because she herself is going through a similar process. Granted hers is about whether knowing that she will fall in love with her colleauge Donnely (who is in the movie but isn't super important for this analysis) and have a daughter until the tragedy of her early passing drives them apart, will stop any of that happening, which the movie does imply that it won't. Freed from the weight of time, human lives become more about what we do and how it makes us and others feel than how long it lasts. Armed with this "weapon" of the heptapods, humans no longer strive to build thousand-year empires or wealth of generations. It's a fascinating setting, and if I didn't suspect it'd be kinda hard to write, I would love a sequel or a new work in this setting exploring what kind of world this would make.

Again, I feel I've barely scratched the surface of this movie. There's just so much good about it. How impossibly large the presence of the aliens feel, from these ships that are just hard to pharse because they're so large and so featureless and moves, or stands still, with unnerving ease, to the aliens themselves feeling like impossibly vast beings, as if the gathered weight of their simultaneous every-moment-existence subtly warps the world around them. Oh, and the soundtrack! Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson really hit it out of the park with these alien, and yet beautiful, soundscapes. For some additional reading, check out the ever-erudite Philosophy Tube. The video above is using the movie to comment on the Brexit movement and the role language has played in it , but it's also a solid read on the movie itself.

[starleska]

I know the movie is cringe but (it’s one of my guilty pleasure movies 😭) there’s the villain, Francis E. Francis.

I think he’s completely slept on. Idk maybe it’s just me (I’ve been simping since the trailer came out and introduced him)

But if you saw the movie what are your thoughts on him?

JAXIEUS I OPENED UP THIS ASK AND THOUGHT 'oh man he's kind of a snack, i wonder what he's from' AND THEN I GOOGLED AND IT HIT ME LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN 😂😂😂😂 no oh my god you cannot do this to me. please do not make me watch The Boss Baby. please do not make me simp for the antagonist from The Boss Baby, i'm begging of you 😭😭😭 no, in all seriousness - this is adorable 😖💖 i haven't seen the movie yet but i'm absolutely going to now because of you. from the little i've checked out (didn't want to spoil myself too much!!) you are totally right, he is slept on and should have more of a fanbase. god knows his design is, um. wow 😳😳😳 i think it's lovely that you get so much joy out of this movie!! there's value in all media for someone, and you should continue enjoying it to your fullest :3c i'm going to go bury my face until i summon the courage to watch this movie now, thank you 🙈🙈🙈