#i can no longer ask people to play it as it goes out of service on the 30th

[mxdotpng]

dragalia lost is literally inspired by tales of the abyss i am Politely Asking tales fans to at least. look into it. just once.

[simplydnp]

Do you think the recording of TIT (bc it has to be getting recorded at some point tbh) will be a dvd release or a youtube upload this time around? I forget if Dan said any specific reason why WAD ended up being free on YT, but I feel like after setting that precedent, there's almost no going back. Ofc, there is the precedent of the two actual dnp tours being dvd or YT Red/Premium releases, but do you have any thoughts?

oh anon i'm so happy you asked. bc i did so much research for this about WAD before we knew what would happen with it.

so. the problem with dvds is storage capacity. with TIT being 2 hours, that is a lot of footage to put on a singular dvd at the resolution that they'd currently want to. dvds come in 2 sizes: 4.7 gb and 8.5 gb. you can fit a 2 hr movie onto a single layer (4.7) but any longer, and you need the double layer (8.5). thus, TIT would have to be on a double layer, unless they don't plan on including anything else except the 2 hr recording. a dvd can't play high resolution footage, only standard definition (480p). so there'd be a picture quality difference.

this is where blu-rays come in. they can store and play 1080p footage. they also hold significantly more space (a single layer blu-ray can hold 25 gb, a double 50 gb). part of the trade-off here though is that higher resolution footage takes up more space. a single layer can store 2.25 hr of HD video; a double 3 hrs. they could get away with a single layer, and that includes room for 2 hours of standard definition BTS video.

problem is, not everyone has a blu-ray player (not like everyone has dvd players either). but the main issue is that DVD players won't play blu-rays--and this includes disc drives for laptops and PC's. you need a special external driver to do it.

we'd be wading into contracts and companies being interested in selling physical copies, and given how discs in general are sort of becoming obsolete, i would be surprised if they put it on disc.

our next option would be streaming. i don't really see them wanting to attach it to any larger corporation--especially given they're physical media guys. the thought of just losing something simply because a streaming service doesn't want it anymore, or the company goes under, would be enough to keep them away from that.

people pitched the idea of nebula or dropout, but i don't see them posting a single video on nebula and then nothing else. and since i don't see them as patreon guys, i don't think they'd want to do incentives for subscription style stuff. dropout would be more of a possibility, but they'd probably want to do more with dropout in terms of guest starring before entirely handing their baby over, y'know? like hank did a whole d20 season before he did his special there.

i do think they might just upload it to dapg. genuinely. because of what happened with WAD--both rights wise and precedent wise. but also, could be extremely good for them if they can actually monetize it. their longer videos on dapg do very well, and since WAD happened before TIT was fully ironed out, i bet they've included the prospect of doing so into their scripting, so it has the ability to be monetized on their channel. plus, the desire to make it accessible for everyone (even though they are trying to tour in more countries). depending on how that goes, it may be delayed in being released online.

a lot of technical talk but i am so glad you asked anon, i love logistics discussion!

[asegunda]

Waiting Room

Pairing: (Platonic but you can view how you like, but it's better platonic because there is a mention of Annabeth) Percy Jackson x Clearsighted! Mortal! GN! Reader.

Summary: Percy goes to therapy (🥳🥳), in the waiting room he meets someone a bit...different from the normal mortals.

Warnings: Swearing. And that's just it I guess? Ohh I almost forgot it has a mention of Gabe. (🤢)

Notes: Okay I don't know how hospitals and medical services work really well in other countries. But in mine this is how private hospitals work in Portugal. So this is just how I know. 😭😭😭 And hope you all like it! (And my Clarisse work was on fire, really happy!)

1.

Percy gets out of the car with Paul driving and Sally sitting on his side.

"Do you need for us to enter with you honey?" Sally asks smiling.

"Nah, it's okay mom." He kisses her cheek and waves at Paul.

"See you at home." Paul nods and waves back, Sally looks at him until he passes the door of the hospital entrance.

She relaxes as he does so.

"You need to relax." Paul says as he starts driving, after he tells her that he turns on the radio.

Sally nods. "You're right." She says and holds his hand that isn't in the steering wheel.

2.

Percy enters and goes to the balcony.

He waits for the register to even look at him, she is making gum balls and looking at a magazine, after he coughs to get her attention she looks at him, her ball gum going to her red lipstick lips in suprise.

"Hello there." Percy says as she looks at him. "I have a session with Doctor Brenner." She looks at her computer, he hears the sound of the offline 'Dino Game', but he hopes he is becoming deaf instead of that.

He coughs again.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry." She makes a forced smile with full teeth, wich has some of the red lipstick she is using. He makes a mental note to not say anything about it.

"So here it is." She talks to herself in the computer and points at the customer service password machine.

He goes and takes one: 'A458'.

'I hope that is good.' He thinks. She coughs at him to get his attention. He suddently feels the pressure to yell to all the people that she has lipstick in her teeth, but he doesn't.

"Yes?" He tries to make a smile.

"Doctor Brenner has a lot of people today, so the wait may be longer than the normal." She says now really playing the 'Dino Game' as he can see trough the reflection in her eyes.

"Thank you." He says, not very thankfull.

He goes sit in the waiting room, looking at the sides. The girl was right it is kind of full today, and isn't just because of the therapy sessions.

He goes sit at the place who has less people, a person reading a book, a mom who looks tired of life with two kids (he can tell that they are twins), and and emo kid in the corner who looks like could pull his phone out of his pocket and the people in there would think it is an AK-47. He sits beside the person reading the book. He waits for his time and looks at the TV who says the customers password. He sees that it is in the Q457 and W231. He has no idea if that is good, but it doesn't look like it, because he is A and it is in Q and W now?

"They are random." He hears the person next to him say. He looks at you as you look at him too.

"...What?" He asks suprised.

"The numbers...you were looking at them right?" You ask.

"Yeah I was." He makes a embarassed smile. "I was just suprised that you knew."

You shrugh your shoulders, now closing the book putting the marker in it.

"You were looking at the TV like an idiot." You smirk. "It was likely to knew." He smirks back.

"Very funny." Percy says mockingly.

"Thank you." You say and continue. "So what brings you here? I never seen you here before. Not that matter of course."

Percy thinks of it for a minute but he decides to tell. "Therapist." He says and looks at you.

"Doctor Brenner right?" You ask smiling.

"How did you know?" He asks again suprised.

"Wow, for you I must look like a wizard or something like that." You chuckle and tell him."I'm going to the therapist too."

"Oh." Percy says.

"Oh." You say mockingly but smiling.

"Soooo..is Doctor Brenner good or..?" Percy asks.

"He is." You say. "5 stars, I recommend." Percy chuckles with that.

"So sorry to ask. If you don't feel okay to answer I understand. Since we met now and whatever." You say. "But is there a specific reason you need a therapist?"

'Lots of them.' He thinks.

"Nope. Just a shitty ex-stepfather." He says and you nod.

'Hey, I'm not lying at least.' He thinks again.

"I see." You say and sigh.

"You seem disapointed." He says.

"It's not that." You pause for a moment. "It's just that...my reason to be here is kind of...rare."

Percy nods. "Can you tell me what it is?" You nod. "Yes, it's only fair...you answered my question." You pause again and sigh.

"I see things that other people can't." You tell.

Percy thinks for a moment. "So...you're schizophrenic?" He asks and as he sees you become tense he adds.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be rude."

"I understand." You say and make a small smile to him. "And no I'm not schizophrenic...I don't know what I suffer with." You add and he can see your hand tremble. "They are there for me, and not for others, I don't know why." You say.

"Did you already made the tests to see what you have...?" Percy tells carefully.

"Yes...and nothing, it looks like it's rare, I don't hear voices, nothing! Just see strange things." You say looking at your lap as another man enters our section of the waiting room and sits besides the emo kid, the man looks at the kid and almost jumps in suprise as the kid takes a book from his bag, after that he goes sit across one of the twins.

Percy and you almost die in laughter but after some seconds it finishes and you say again.

"Doctor Brenner says that maybe it's because of stress. But I don't know." You sigh and Percy looks at you sadly.

"Well, what strange things you see?" He asks.

"Okay, it is really strange so don't alarmed." You sigh.

"I won't. Can't you see that we are at the hospital?" You two chuckle again.

"Okay.." You sigh again. "Flying horses, with wings... And giants with one eye and sometimes...I see people with swords and strange weapons." You look at him carefully.

"Wow." He says, he didn't expect to meet a clearsighted mortal right now, but here you are. He thought of his mom and Rachel and how they must have suffered when they didn't know of the godly world..like you.

"Wow." You repeat, this time not mocking. "I feel like I'm crazy, more than the emo kid." The emo kid looks at you and you wave nervous, and mutter a sorry.

'If Nico was here.' Percy thinks and chuckles to himself.

"Well, it might sound suprising but I know some people with the same condition as you..." He smiles.

"Really?!" You smile with full teeth. "OMG, I could kiss you right now!" You look at your hands still smiling.

"No thank you, I have a girlfriend." He smirks.

"Shut up and give me they're contact." You smile at him.

"Ouch, but okay." He gives you his mom and Rachel contact, writing on a paper. "Wow, one of your friend name is Red? Kind of cool."

He tries not to laugh. "Noo, it's Rachel Elizabeth Dare: R.E.D."

You nod. "That makes more sense."

And then Percy remembers something. "I don't know your name."

"Neither do I know yours." You smirk.

"Okay then. I'm Percy." He smiles at you.

"Hello, Percy. I'm Y/N." You shake his hand and smile aswell.

"Can I ask you something?" You tell.

Percy nods. "Well is Percy a nickname or your real name, because the only Percy I can think of is Percy Weasley form Harry Potter." You chuckle.

"It's a nickname, but it's what everyone calls me." He tells you.

"Why? Is your name that bad." You ask.

"I don't know, tell me you that." He pauses for a moment and tries not to laugh, he take your hand again and shakes it. "Hello Y/N. I'm Perseus."

You look at him suprised. "Percy it is then." You laugh at his face and then the TV makes a sound and shows 'A458: room 23.' Percy smirks and gets up.

"How the hell is yours first than mine." You hiss.

"No idea." Percy shrughs his shoulders. "But it's not like you are going to need it again." He points at the paper with the numbers and you smile.

"Right..." You get up and hug him. "Thanks again." You sit again and open your book.

He smiles to you one last time and goes to his designed room.

3.

After you're own session you go out of the hospital and wait for your parent at the entrance, while you are waiting you see a car pass by you. Percy is in there with an older woman and man, maybe his mom and another stepfather that isn't shitty? You shrugh and look at what he has in hand. A sword.

You look at him and he looks at you

trought the window, he looks at you with a smirk and you look back angry.

The car goes away and you yell at it.

"Fuck you." You sound angry but you have a smirk in your face.

[sminiac]

hi it's me again 😜😜 since you've seen the bnd insanity on my blog i was curious abt yours,, what are some random hcs u have for them (could be any of them or all of them,, whatever u wanna share im listening 👂🏾)

(also ur name is so pretty <3)

- lunicho

Warnings — Smut focused, MDNI.

Note — My beloved bunny!!!! Thank you sm, literally making me smile so much, I’m sorry this took a little longer than expected, I wanted to catch up on content since it’s been a while and wanted a refresh on the boys :,) BUT THIS ONES FOR YOU !!!!

⋆ P. Sungho

He’s such a service dom to me, but he isn’t completely nasty, though if you requested it he could switch up quite easily and become a little rougher with you, a little more mean with his mouth. Literally whatever makes you feel good, whatever has you cumming around his dick quicker he’s more than down. I also think he’d have a thing for fucking you in unconventional places, situations- holding you up, keeping you steady as he whispers praises to you for being so compliant with him that are so quiet it doesn’t even catch at the surrounding air. He likes putting in the work to keep your pleasure flowing, the atmosphere alive, undisturbed. His kisses are messy, even when it’s just a quick goodbye he still manages to slip his tongue into your mouth and he isn’t satisfied until at least your hair or his clothes are left in a disheveled state, sometimes he can’t help but slip his fingers under the waistband of your bottoms, his two fingers curling into your cunt and sinking smoothly inside of you, only giving you a few pumps before he’s tearing himself away and hurrying out the door. (I’m unwell.)

Remainder of members under the cut!

⋆ L. Riwoo

Can I just say that Blonde Riwoo reminded me so much of Blonde Mingi :b ANYWAYS, GIRL. HIS NOSE???? Goes out of his way to purposely drag the tip of it against your clit when he’s eating you out, keeps his eyes open and focussed on you almost the whole time too, makes sure you see the way his tongue drags up in tandem. I can only THINK of him having an oral fixation, loves your tongue, loves sticking his fingers in your mouth and keeping them there when you’re riding him, but also when your fingers are in his mouth, prodding the back of his throat when you’re fucking him dumb, gets really messy because he’s so far gone. Lots and lots of eye contact!! wants to see every nuance of your expressions in the ways he pleasures you, gets hard in public a little too quickly when you make a sudden sound or face when you’re eating something good because it reminds him of the same characteristics you have in bed.

⋆ M. Jaehyun

I literally wrote something similar to this but very halfassed, saved it as a draft and then deleted it but… Jaehyun’s the type to have an older s/o, like he just needs to be taken care of it makes me unwell. Whether it’s minor domestic acts of service or sex, he just wants you, needs you. Always has his arms wrapped around your waist, holding you against his chest, face buried in your neck. I’M SICK. The type to prefer your natural scent over perfume because it’s something that keeps him grounded when it becomes hard to speak, his nerves jumping up his throat before a performance, sweet thing just wants to be held. The same with when he’s asking of you to help release some of his stress in a more… intimate way. Wants to be sat cozy between your legs while you play with his cock, wants to be called pretty, told that you have faith in him to make the best of his time on stage. Whimpers “Love you- I love you so much.” repeatedly when he’s close because he’s just so full of your love that it spills out from between his pretty lips without the mental effort.

⋆ H. Taesan

I know that quite a lot of people perceive Taesan as a dom leaning person, but I think he’d love- like love to be at your will, knowingly plays himself into the palm of your hand because he finds himself frequently craving the feeling of overstimulation paired with your sweet, encouraging words that drives him to tears. And not just the few clumps of squeezed out tears kind, but to the point where you have him a full on sobbing wreck. Loves when you ride him because the sweet boy doesn’t have to do a thing except lay there and remain open for you to use, likes when you make him say humiliating things, when you roughly grab at his jaw when he denies you with a bashful shake of his head, cheeks red and hot. Likes starting things in public because he’s never the one to finish it, changing rooms are a bad idea when the two of you are out shopping together, because he becomes a little too touchy when you’re trying stuff on and then has to be shut up with his head stuffed between your thighs. I’d love to say pillow princess vibes, but he’d be wayyyy too desperate for you to hold himself back.

⋆ K. Leehan

I feel like with Leehan dirty talk is something that’s kept to a minimum, like you have to beg for him to talk to you whilst he’s got his fingers teasing you, waiting to hear more, hanging at his every word. The horrible, gut wrenching thing about it though is that he’s so good with his words. I’ve noticed that his voice has a lot of bass to it compared to the other members, like if you put your hand to his chest you’d feel the vibrations of it rattling through his bones, he knows how bad you crave to hear him, that’s why there’s always a little smile on his face when your voice starts becoming airy from the impatience wearing you thin, purposely shifting around under him to show how bad you need it to get off. Hearing him lip nasty words into your ear is the equivalent of his thumb reaching up to run circles into your clit while his two fingers pump expertly into your cunt at a pace that has you struggling to keep your eyes open, he knows it, but he won’t so easily give in because the way you paw at him, say his name, the sight of you, your body, your face, all of it makes him so incredibly hard.

[sanjisblackasswife]

hiii tate :)) could i request what's the op men's love language please? (monster trio, ace, sabo and law?)

Enjoy!<3

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕘𝕖

Love Languages: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Receiving/Giving Gifts, Quality Time, Acts of Service

THIS IS SO LOOONNGGGUHHHH

Sabo, Sanji, Ace, Law, Zoro, Luffy

Blk! Fem Reader

CW: LL, Fluff, Suggestive a little(?), Established Relationships

Sanji

Probably the only man that actually shows and loves all Love Languages equally.

WoA: He will praise you until the day is gone, and even in his sleep he mutters ways of speaking so highly of you; “Y/n…my love! My sweet! My beautiful princess…” He loves moaning your name whether in bed or…y’know in bed (😉) He adores how flustered you get from his words, how everytime you change something just so slightly about yourself he notices and gives it all the attention. There isnt a moment that goes by where he isnt finding new ways to express his love for your verbally. Even with little notes he passes to you through out the day. That doesn’t stop there though he loves YOUR words more. When you tell him how much you love him, how pretty he looks, even from how great he cooks he melts in the palm of your hand.

PT: He’s a pervert for one. Of course he loves touching. Man loves PDA more than anything. But ignoring the perverted touches he does to you like while you both are sleep he creeps his hand under your shirt to squeeze your breast or his hand always “accidentally “ falling on your ass when you stand by him. He does a lot of mindless touching you, you actually became his personal stress toy, being squeezed on whether it’s your hands, thighs, or cheeks. Your skin is so soft and plushy and he loves when you do the same. He blushes so quickly when you kiss his cheek, play with his fingers and give his knuckles a kiss while you both sit together. He can’t get enough of touching you.

R/GG: His heart skips a beat when you come back from being apart to see you bring him back something that reminded you of him. Sanji always brings you back flowers, snacks you may like, an outfit, whatever because he always thinks of you and your likes and dislikes. You once bought him a lighter with his name on it on your first date, and though it is no longer in use because he used it so much he still has kept it in his pocket and from time to time he takes it out on accident and just stares at it in awe. A small reminder of the many reasons why he loves u.

QT: Sanji doesn’t really like when people are so close and “distracting” him too much from cooking. But when you stop in and ask him to try his latest dish it sparks up a new level of happiness. “W-would you mind sitting here and staying as my taste tester?” He shyly asks as an excuse for “Please stay in here with me.” Believe it or not Sanji keeps himself busy to run away from the lingering thoughts he gets when he is alone (as well as the other men). But sometimes cooking/smoking isn’t enough, but with You being there it helps immensely. More than you’ll ever know.

AoS: He loves catering to you. He loves being your little butler. Though you dont see it that way. He just loves to be needed by you. He loves that you depend on him. He loves that he can depend on you. His pride doesnt like to admit it though. Not in a “alpha male” kind of way but he never had much to depend on in his younger years up until Zeff so you definitely taught him to love and accept love when given.

Zoro

When Zoro loves he loves hard so when he expresses his LL to you it’s usually pretty intense.

PT: Though he isn’t very into PDA that doesn’t stop him from simple things like Hand holding, picking you up, or even a small gesture like fixing your hair or wiping the frosting off the corner of your lip in public. He is a touchy guy in private though. He didn’t realize it until you pointed it out when he kept rubbing his thumb on your hand while you spoke to him privately on the floor of the CN. It was embarrassing for him, but it didn’t stop him from touching you more. When you touch him back, he freezes. His cheeks get so hot you can almost feel the heat when you get up close and personal. But it’s soothing. Your touch is what relaxes him. When you massage him or simply hug him suddenly from behind. It’s a comfort he cant explain. He also loves touching you ass.

QT: Naps, eating/drinking together, going on walks that leave you both lost, you name it Zoro wants to go with you. Even just sitting in silence can have the man happy. He doesn’t care about any awkward silences. Knowing you’re in his presence is enough to want to keep having you around him. “Woman. Come here.” Damn near sounding sassy and demanding asking you to follow him back to his room to just separate each other from the chaos of the Sunny. No complaints though. Even if you want to talk about nothing he is more than willing to hear you. He loves bantering with you the most.

AoS: Zoro tries his hardest to show his love with words, but he fails most times. He just isn’t accustomed to speaking his feelings since he never did as a child. So. Just like Sanji. He loves that you depend on him. Please do he is happy to do so. When you call on him just to open a jar he loves to tease you about it too. “😏So you need a real man to—“ “JUST OPEN THE JAR!” “😒” He is there to open jars, listen to your problems, and even whoop a man’s ass if you need it. He will never complain to putting himself out there to assist you in the best way possible. It’s the same with you as well, he usually prides himself on not needing help because he’s a piece of crap, but when you come to his aid after a fight or when he needs assistance on what to wear he’s always appreciates it. Giving you a temple kiss and a small mutter of “Thank you, mama.”

Luffy

His love is so expressive you can’t ever question if his feelings for you is fake or not.

WoA: Man can make anybody blush. He’s made pretty much every person he knows flustered. It’s a gift. His sweet big smile and giggle after complimenting your skills and intellect will always leave you speechless. If Luffy had a tail he’d be wagging it everytime he heard you praise him as well as when he praises you. You’re his favorite person, and with that you will get at least 3 compliments a day. MINIMUM. Accompanied with a smile. A smile that makes you match it everytime he does it. Match his energy though and compliment him back! Who knows.. you may be one of the few people that can make Luffy blush.

PT: Touchy boy. Loves to wrap his limbs around you. Loves to smooch you. Loves PDA (doesnt even know what that is). Loves being close to you. You have officially became his personal Teddy Bear. He squeezes you alot. If youre a bigger girl you definitely will have moments in the day where he just clings onto you like a koala. You smell as good as you look to him so dont be surprised if he stays on you like an extra limb until lunch.

AoS: He will always be there for you. You’re his girlfriend but most importantly youre his friend. Youre his. And he doesnt even realize the way he expresses his love for you everyday is with how he protects you. He is very emotionally intelligent and available when youre down. He may not be the brightest but he always finds a way to pick up a solution to your problems. And it’s the same with you, when you can be there for him. It makes his stomach grow butterflies.

Ace

He doesn’t believe he is worth loving, but dammit the way he expresses HIS love is almost remarkable.

WoA: He will nickname you to DEATH. “Pretty girl”, “Babydoll”, “KoalaBear”, “Cub”, “Baby” “Babe”, “Sunshine”, “Dollface” the list goes on. Even some nicknames are pure inside jokes. He loves to also hear how much you love him. Your actions do speak louder than your words, but damn he loves when he hears you say “I love you, Ace.” His whole day is completely refresh when he hears his name and “love” coming out of your mouth. He blushes like he’s a little kid again when you cup his face and tell him, punctuating with a kiss on his nose.

QT: You and him are what most people say “Inseparable “. Wherever you are, he is and wherever he is you are. It’s not even on purpose you both just love to be around each other. You both gravitated to each other the first day Ace was on board the MD. You both are always caught holding hands or you are on his back traveling. Granted he is sometimes stubborn and follows you when you have to travel alone, which gets him in trouble, but it’s worth it.

PT: Like I said you both are always hand holding. He actually developed this LL because of you. You both got closer during the winter and one night he noticed how cold you were and wrapped an arm around you. His warmth was something you grew attached to and though your sudden touches always blindsided him. He almost developed a separation anxiety because of you. Sleeping with you, eating with you, even showering with you. He wants to touch your plushy body at all times….sometimes its not always sexual. Sometimes.

AoS: You both kind of have a tit for tat relationship. You cover for him. He covers for you. You buy him food. He carries you back home. He cleans yall shared room. You massage his back when he feels sore after a fight. It’s something you both love doing for each other. He loves knowing you have his back and he has your no matter what the situation is. He calls you his mini me sometimes for how you help him out.

Law

A stoic man yet he’s so expressive towards you at the same time???

WoA: He compliments you aggressively. “You’re too fucking cute.” “Stop looking so attractive.” “You’re too smart. Stop that.” It’s….interesting to say the least. He looks at you in awe and in his mind he is malfunctioning and spazzing out on how amazing you are to him and how perfect you look even in his shirt, but his words just…well..he tries. You however arent afraid of how much you compliment him and he is embarrassed on how much he loves hearing it. When you tell him how educated he is or how much you loved his new attire he gets a little big headed and thinks about your sweet words all day even behind his frown.

QT: Another man that loves his peace. He does, but whether you actually give him that or not it doesnt matter as long as youre with him. When he invites you to stay in his office as he studies he sometimes just looks up at stares at you, you could be fast asleep on his couch or reading a book, he just likes knowing you’re close by. It almost relieves the tense feeling he have been holding in for hours.

Sabo

A revolutionary man with a revolutionary way of expressing just how much he loves you (ik that was corny)

WoA: His sly words always leave you blushing. He’s like Luffy with his praise but in a more mature manner. Pointing out the small details he loves about you so randomly it almost throws you off balance the rest of the day. “That ponytail you had on this morning made you look like you were glowing, sweetheart. I loved that look on you.” Always leaving you wanting to compliment him back, but he leaves you no time after landing a passionate kiss afterwards. He knows the effect his words have on you which is why he loves drowning you in them.

QT: Eating out, long days in the office, naps, long walks you name it. He loves being productive with you. Even if it’s to accompany him. You’re like his little sidekick. Being around you is what puts him at ease. Even if the job he is doing is boring he promises to make it up to you later that night for being so patient with him.

AoS: I mean yeah. Just like Sanji hand and foot by your side to assist you on whatever issue you have. He is the only person he wants you to come to. You’re his one and only and due to that making sure you’re, happy, safe, and sound is one of his first priorities.

[greensagephase]

Nonviolent Communication Head Canons (Platonic Roommate Edition)

Pairings: Spider-Man!Miguel O'Hara x Spider-Woman!Reader Word Count: 1.6k A/N: Based on my fic Nonviolent Communication, here are some platonic roommate head canons of Miguel and reader, whose apartment building caught on fire and led her to move in with Miguel (temporarily, unfortunately for both of them). You don't need to read the fic to read this! Masterlist

Thank you for reading!! ❤️

Routines and things Miguel loves about living with you (mans wishes you’d stay longer)

★ You learn each other’s routines quickly, and by quickly, I really mean it. You know what time the other wakes up, when you start your night routine, when or how you do your laundry, etc. It doesn't take very long for you to get used to each other and your routines, it just clicks and makes sense.

★ I head canon that Miguel is not a morning person, and you quickly find that out, which is fine to you regardless of whether you’re a morning person or not. You enjoy the silence while you both drink coffee before heading out to do your things.

★ Talking about coffee in the morning, you’ve both made who makes the coffee first a silent competition. Whoever makes it that morning, wins. Miguel takes it seriously but only because he likes to make the gesture of making you coffee (one of his love languages is acts of service).

★ Another one on coffee (For my readers, are we surprised here? Coffee makes an appearance in like every chapter lol), Miguel makes cafe de olla more often because you live with him. Sometimes (let’s be real, all the time), your love for it is what makes Miguel head to the kitchen and start making it. Sometimes he tells you he's going to make it if you're there with him (he tends to make it more on the evenings) and when you're not, it's a surprise for you. At those times, when you're somewhere else within the penthouse, the scent reaches and lures you to the kitchen. This always amuses Miguel! On rare occasions when you don’t show up to the kitchen because you don't catch scent of it, Miguel goes and finds you to give you a mug. Sometimes he brings pan dulce along!

★ On pan dulce, Miguel finds himself buying it more often. He always buys your favorite and makes sure it’s the most fresh.

★ He buys pan dulce so much more often that the people at the store already know what kind he usually buys. They wonder if he has a special someone because he always buys for two and he always looks so concentrated on picking the best bread. Of course, they don’t ask him but they have a guess he does.

★ Coming home, Miguel really appreciates (loves) arriving to the penthouse and finding you there. The penthouse used to be a place Miguel didn’t like much. He found it cold, foreign, and empty. Nothing like a home. However, that has changed little by little because of the new memories he’s made with you and also because of your temporary stay with him. He really enjoys seeing the lights on, music sometimes playing, mundane sounds coming from the kitchen, etc. The penthouse feels like a home, and it brings great peace and comfort to Miguel.

★ You try not to leave your belongings around, partly to avoid making it look cluttered and because you like an organized place but also because you’re respectful of Miguel’s home. However, Miguel likes seeing your things laying around like your jewelry or hair accessories. If you use hair ties/scrunchies, he likes to look at them and sometimes plays a bit with them (kitty behavior), just admiring them in a way. Again, it’s comforting to Miguel to know you’re there at the penthouse with him and seeing these little reminders of your existence and stay at the penthouse, warms him up!

Cooking and Baking Head Canons

★ Miguel loves cooking for you! He always thinks about what meals to cook ahead of time and now that you’re living with him temporarily, he takes the chance and cooks for you as much as he can before you start trying to cook as well because you don’t want Miguel to feel like cooking has fallen entirely on him. Miguel wouldn't mind though, I think we know that already (iykyk). And not because your cooking is bad, but again because Miguel is big on acts of service and this is a way for him to express that he cares about you. Plus, the man knows his way around the kitchen!

★ If you're reading the fic, then you know about burritos de tinga. Miguel makes them more often now that you're living with him because he knows you love them! If you don’t know how to make them and you’ve asked how, Miguel has shown you!

★ On some evenings, you cook together! It’s a really great time for bonding and you talk about the day or sometimes talk about memories from your past. You both work very well in the kitchen, as if you’ve done it your whole lives! 👀

★ Sometimes (or maybe a lot, depending on you) peppers are used for the cooking and often times you find yourselves in coughing fits (iykyk about the peppers) because of it! After your coughing fits, you usually glance at each other and try not to laugh about it. It’s like, your little inside joke!

★ Miguel doesn’t bake but you do! You bake treats at least once a week and Miguel always looks forward to it! He loves your baking (he has a sweet tooth)!! And you equally love baking for Miguel and seeing his happy expressions while he munches on cookies, a slice of cake or pie, etc. It brings you happiness to bake for someone else other than yourself, just like how you used to bake for your Peter (deceased boyfriend) and you.

Cleaning

★ After cooking, you usually split up the task of cleaning. You finish quicker if you work together! There are times when either of you make the call to clean the mess yourselves, especially when the dinner is a bit more intricate and it’s cooked by one of you alone. It's your way of showing care for each other!

★ Miguel didn’t want you to do this, still doesn’t, but you both clean the penthouse together. You split up tasks! Miguel always tries to give you the least hard ones whether because of the labor or because he finds them to be “dirtier” tasks, even when you say you don't mind. Random Miguel head canon: He definitely uses Fabuloso, the lavender one.

★ You've both created a shared playlist of your “cleaning” songs and you better bet, Miguel definitely has the señora songs. Lyla plays it for you guys!

Evenings

★ Some evenings, you hang out in the living room together, and other nights, you give each other space in different parts of the penthouse, respecting that you both may need some alone time.

★ Since you moved in, Miguel has begun to read more. It's always being one of his hobbies but over the last few years since he discovered the multiverse he hasn't read much, on top of the fact that it reminded him of Gabriella since he used to read with and to her. However, seeing you reading on some evenings has inspired him to start reading again!

★ On the topic of books, since you read more often, you tend to finish more books than he does. Miguel has begun to ask your review on the book once you’re done. If it’s a positive review and something that sounds like he’d enjoy reading, he has Lyla add it to a digital TBR.

★ When you hang out together in the evenings, sometimes you both fall asleep on your respective couches, across from each other. Lyla pops up sometimes to see what’s going on, or to report something to Miguel only to find you both sleeping with the TV on with a telenovela playing. If you read part 15, then you know what Lyla thinks about that! She's read research on a theory that suggests people sleep better when their loved ones are around. 🤭

★ You have movie nights! It turns out you really enjoy the movies from Miguel’s universe, so every few nights you guys pull up whatever the version of Netflix, Hulu, etc is in Miguel's universe. There's snacks included, of course!

★ Some nights, you stay up late either watching something on TV or just talking. Time just seems to fly by when you’re with each other! It's like, you're in your own little world!🥺

★ Music! On some nights you both simply sit in the living room and listen to music from Miguel’s record player, the one you gifted him for Christmas. You continue to share music with each other like you have in the past!

Random Ones

★ You sneak snacks to each other, even when you’re both in different areas of the penthouse. You’re both respectful of each other’s alone time so you always just slide it over, or place it on the nearest surface as a little “here’s something for you.”

★ Miguel learns about all your hobbies! He already knows of a few but living with you means he also gets to see you unwind and take time to actually engage in those hobbies, and any new ones you may be trying out. He really enjoys seeing you have fun and take that time to nurture your interests! It's led him to think of his own, at least the old ones he used to enjoy, and considering starting them again!

★ Sometimes you leave little sticky notes around the kitchen and Miguel always loves finding them.

★ Your friendship has deepened since you moved in! It feels like neither of you hold back much from sharing what’s on your mind with each other anymore, any walls between you have fallen down. Miguel is especially more open and playful!

★ If you know how to drive, Miguel has told you about his vehicle and where the keys are just in case you need to go somewhere! He tells you about the flying feature and even demonstrates!

Thank you for reading!! ❤️🫶🏼

[odinsblog]

So I was at an after work business function this evening (because networking, free food and free alcohol), when this happened:

These functions are blindingly white, but hey, I paid my fees for membership + attendance, so I always try to put in some face time. And ordinarily, these monthly meetings are wonderfully apolitical, but today a white woman and man were having a very loud conversation in the middle of the great hall and unfortunately you couldn’t help but hear everything they were saying.

Her: I CAN’T BELIEVE IT. HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN? A 20 year old kid with a gun was able to just walk through Secret Service security and set up on a rooftop unnoticed? How the hell did that happen?

Him: I don’t know , but I’ll tell you this - somewhere out there, there’s an angel with a bullet hole on his wings

Her: I knowww!! Just one inch closer and he would be dead. We really avoided a real tragedy

Him: I still can’t wrap my head around how some young kid was able to get past the Secret Service. With a gun!! It doesn’t make any sense

And the two of them went on and on like this for what felt like decades, but in reality it probably wasn’t much longer than 3 or 4 minutes

Anyway, I’m focusing on my free liquor and trying to ignore this white foolishness. And just then, I spot another Black person there. A woman. From halfway across the room, our eyes locked and we both were rolling our eyes and shaking our heads ever so slightly. She knew what was up and it was disgusting her too

And as chance would have it, the two people had meandered closer to me, and the woman goes, “Can you believe it? How the hell did he get so close without anyone stopping him?”

Now I’m not a bomb thrower. Not at work where my livelihood and my ability to get new clients depends heavily on being able to play well with others, right? So I somehow managed to deflect the question without really saying anything. But then she asks me again, and maybe it was all the free alcohol talking, so for whatever reason, I answered her question very directly: “I wonder, do you think that an openly armed 20yr old Black man would have gone completely unnoticed by the Secret Service?”

It felt like everyone in the room stopped talking

But by now I was well lubricated, and I was in my (political) element, and I was ready to do this conversation if the two of them persisted. But surprisingly, she didn’t say a word and just walked away. The guy lingered for a few moments before walking off in the other direction, but not before I heard him muttering something about “always bringing race into everything” … but I let it go. They both had finally stfu and they were leaving, so as far as I’m concerned, I was winning

Look, unless something is seriously going off the rails, there’s a lot that I won’t discuss in professional business settings. It’s just not smart for most Black professionals, and it exposes you to unnecessary risks (either you know or you don’t know: no cussing, no yelling, lest you get charged with being an “angry” Black man. Always gotta control yourself and be constantly aware of optics)

But it’s never surprising but always disappointing when supposedly educated white people don’t ever consider how race in America is almost ALWAYS a factor—the race of the attacker, the race of the victim, etc. and the way that too many white people expect that their experiences and beliefs are universal beliefs and experiences. Talk about insularity and a lack of self awareness

And lol, when she approached and initially addressed me, I instantaneously decided in that moment that I wouldn’t take the bait if she asked me if I thought it was a near “tragedy”

Anyway, wild huh?

[justjasper]

do you have any domestic moreid headcanons?

Pre-Relationship

They become fast friends, they hang out a lot, they call each other at odd hours.

Reid gets Morgan into Star Trek by making him watch Deep Space Nine. Morgan would fight god for Captain Sisko.

They fall into bed sometime in season 1, and keep doing so on and off for years while their feelings brew.

Reid wakes up alive after the events of Amplification with Morgan by his bedside, and they have a conversation full off feelings. They become "official" here.

Newly Established

They can both cook; Reid looked after his mother and went to college young, Morgan's dad cooked, and Morgan followed his example.

Nobody proposes moving in together officially, Reid just spends less and less time at his apartment until the lease runs out. He mentions it to Morgan quite matter of factly, and Morgan shrugs, smiles, pulls his pretty boy in for a kiss. "Most of your books are here already."

A morning where they don't have to work goes like this: Morgan gets up early to go for a run with Clooney. By the time he's back, Reid is making is making them breakfast. They eat, and then shower together.

Morgan has a decent vinyl collection and likes to listen to them on chill evenings. Reid is a musical sponge, and if he gets a chance when they're on cases, will seek out record shops for something interesting or rare.

Their favourite takeout is Thai. Reid is one of those "white guy with spice tolerance" outliers.

Well Established

It takes some time for them to switch to using first names in private, Morgan takes significantly longer. It's not a problem, they've known and loved each other a long time with these names. Neither of them shorten each other's names.

Clooney is a K9 dropout, and highly trainable, and Reid teaches him a lot of silly tricks. He likes to show Clooney magic tricks.

One of the properties Morgan buys has a decrepid grand piano in it. He gets it restored for Reid, who's dabble with learning on and off. He plays the piano every day.

Morgan thinks Reid doesn't really believe in marriage as an institution, and is okay with that, they don't have to get married, even if they could. Reid proposes to Morgan one morning in shower.

Reid never gets an official autism dignosis, wanting the plausible deniability while working for the goverment. They talk about it. Morgan starts packing a weighted blanket in his go-bag for him (people often ask why his go back is so heavy).

The Future

They get married once it's legal, a simple ceremony but all their important people are there.

When they leave the BAU it's a joint decision. They're both ready for a new adventure, with less actual threat of bodily harm.

Morgan goes into property full time, flipping houses and rent-to-buying them to local people/families, instead of selling them to landlord who will end up pushing locals out of the area.

Reid goes into research/lecturing.

They move to Chicago to be closer to family. They move Diana to be close them them too.

As Reid gets older, he has to use a cane more. His migranes are mostly under control, but eventually he experiences migralepsy (migraine seizures). The dog they get after Clooney passes becomes Reid's service dog.

The Future (with kid)

Reid carries (he's trans). It's an unplanned pregnancy, but they go for it. Reid is terrible at being pregnant.

They have a daughter they name Sam after Morgan's dad (bc I chose this fanon name years before CM bothered to give Morgan's dad a canon name and I am sticking with it out of spite).

Morgan's sisters teach Reid to do Sam's hair.

Morgan is very involved when sam becomes a Girl Scout, and coaches her softball team.

Reid teaches her piano. They read together every day.

They struggle not to intefer when she's a teen and it becomes apparent the girl she keeps bringing home is her first crush.

They both try so hard to be present, devoted dads that they can can fall into helicopter parent tendencies.

[majesticartax]

NEW FIC IN THE WORKS

cw: a/b/o elements

feat: alpha kags and beta hinata and a pro karasuno team

i’ve talked about this like once before but i need everyone to know that i think about this every day and i’m DYINNNGGGGGGG to write it!

Here is a very long preview:

okay so beta hinata is tasked with being the team’s [*googles: what’s a nicer term for “cum dump”*] for all the alpha team members, which encompasses literally all 24 of them. it’s an exclusively alpha team, aside from hinata, and they are one of the top team in their league, right up there with the other exclusive alpha teams. it’s a great honor to be the chosen beta for an alpha team! not only does he get to play with top players, but he gets to be fucked by some of the most gorgeous guys in volleyball! what a deal! in this world, each team has a beta to babysit the alpha players through their ruts, and it’s absolute gospel that the betas are treated well. they are PEOPLE, not fleshlights. if ever a beta is mistreated, the player is immediately ejected from the team. but that being said, it isn’t like the alphas are obligated to care about a beta’s pleasure, and hinata is usually left to jerk himself off once it’s over. not that he minds, really. it’s just a part of the job. he knows what he signed up for.

anyway, hinata is living his best life, except there is ONE team member who refuses to use his services. hinata can’t figure out what kageyama’s problem is. especially since the two of them are the most compatible players on the team when it comes to their playing styles. they’re basically partners on the court! but kageyama will NOT fuck him. and like… none of the players are obligated to use hinata during their ruts - he’s providing a comfort to those in need, and if they do not NEED, then he doesn’t provide. but why is it ONLY kageyama!? hinata tries not to let it hurt his feelings, but it definitely bothers him. in fact, kageyama seems to avoid him when they aren’t playing together. and, okay, maybe it hurts his feelings like a LOT. like A LOT a lot. because MAYBE hinata happens to be in love with him. maybe.

maybe.

But what’s weird is that betas aren’t supposed to be able to fall in love. they aren’t even supposed to feel feelings of love outside of familial and friendship kind of love - like biologically speaking, betas can’t have romantic feelings. it’s even illegal for betas to mate. so not only is hinata in love with someone who apparently hates him, but he has to contend with the fact that there might be something wrong with him.

AND THEN ONE DAY:

kageyama is clearly struggling hard during one of their practices, so hinata asks him if he needs anything, and he’s promptly grabbed and dragged into the equipment room. and hinata is like FINALLY, but kageyama just… holds hinata, hugging him from behind, and hinata can feel how hard he is. he can actually feel his knot through his shorts. but then kageyama just releases him and runs out after a hurried apology, leaving hinata terribly confused and breathless and with a raging hard-on. and then that sort of thing keeps happening. hinata tries to ask kageyama about it, but he’s being even more avoidant than usual.

UNTIL ONE DAY.

kageyama pulls him to their usual spot and hinata just closes his eyes and tries to enjoy the fleeting feeling of being wrapped in kageyama’s arms, all the while knowing that it will be over soon. only this time it… goes on much longer. hinata can feel kageyama’s breath against his ear and he can feel how hard his heart is beating against his back. kageyama even whimpers a few times and starts grinding against hinata’s ass. and then hinata is being bent over a big stack of mats. he gasps and arches his back, sticking his ass out out of habit. but… kageyama doesn’t pull his shorts down like the other alphas do, but he drapes himself over hinata’s back. he’s breathing all roughly and raggedly against hinata’s neck, pressing himself hard into the cleft of hinata’s ass. and then he does something that no alpha has ever done before - kageyama reaches down the front of hinata’s shorts and grabs his swollen, aching cock. and hinata doesn’t know what’s happening. he cries out, arching back into kageyama as kageyama’s big rough hands drags up and down his slick shaft. hinata’s heart hurts despite this being the most amazing moment of his life and his head is spinning. he doesn’t understand why kageyama would choose to make him feel good rather than just fucking him like everyone else. he’s so confused. but when kageyama buries his face in hinata’s hair and whispers his name, hinata comes so hard he thinks his spine is going to snap. kageyama comes right after, rutting against hinata’s backside and drenching both of their shorts.

it’s quiet for a few moments aside from the sound of their panting, and then kageyama stands up suddenly, spinning hinata around by the shoulders. and he looks at hinata. he looks at him HARD. his mouth opens like he’s about to say something, but instead he just turns away and stalks towards the door. but before he leaves he looks back and roughly tells hinata’s to stay where he is.

hinata is shaking like a leaf in the wind. his knees are weak. there is cum dripping down the front AND back of his legs. and his heart is about to explode into a thousand pieces of it doesn’t calm the fuck down.

kageyama returns a couple minutes later with a spare pair of his own shorts, a full water bottle, and a towel.

“lie back, dumbass,” he says. and hinata does, eyes wide and confused and glued to kageyama’s face. and it’s now that kageyama peels his ruined shorts down, shimmying them over his hips as hinata reflexively lifts his butt off the mat to facilitate it. but his eyes never leave kageyama’s face. the other man blushes as he squirts water from the water bottle onto the towel. his brow is firmly pinched. he looks angry, but hinata doesn’t feel that anger directed towards him. and when kageyama reaches the towel towards hinata’s smeared, sticky skin, hinata grabs his wrist. kageyama jumps a little, finally looking up at hinata’s face.

“what are you doing?” hinata’s voice feels as sticky as his thighs. the words croak out of him. and kageyama blinks away, shaking his head.

“just hold still,” kageyama mumbles as he starts to wipe hinata down. the water is warm. it feels so good that tears well up in hinata’s eyes as kageyama gently cleans him.

“you don’t have to do this,” hinata rasps.

“i know,” kageyama says back.

hinata goes home wearing kageyama’s shorts. and he’s already decided that he’s not getting them back.

and then things go back to normal. for a while. kageyama goes back to dealing with his ruts by himself and hinata gets used by the other players. but hinata can’t stop thinking about what kageyama did to him. did FOR him. it makes his throat tight and his chest ache horribly. it makes him feel hot. every day he feels hotter and hotter whenever he thinks about it. he starts feeling dizzy when he thinks back to how carefully kageyama cleaned him up, how his furrowed brow would smooth out every once in a while as he dragged the warm towel over hinata’s thighs. he aches in weird places when he remembers the look in kageyama’s dark blue eyes when he spun him around and held him by the shoulders. and he can swear his skin still burns where kageyama’s hands were on him…

and then one day, hinata feels…

different.

..

i seriously cannot wait to start writing this.

[askagamedev]

Even the physical discs you get today often just contain the same internet-based installer that you'd download from the digital store.

So... is there even a point to buying physical discs anymore, especially for the purposes of preservation and keeping an inalienable collection? If all discs do is set up a download, when the servers go dark, your options for playing that game get severely curtailed. If not, are the options for preservation fully out of the layman's hands, or are there things regular folks like me can do to keep games available outside of corporate whims?

Not all of them do this, but many of them do now. It's been this way for a long time already. Games today get patches quite regularly. Console certification even has a "conditional pass" result where the submitted version of the game passes cert, but requires the publisher to submit a day 1 patch to fix a bunch of additional issues (e.g. Cyberpunk 2077, where they actually failed cert on their day 1 patch, leading to a post-gold delay). If those patches are no longer available, even a physical disc with all of the launch game data will likely have some major problems when trying to play them (assuming you have everything needed to play like functioning hardware and display devices).

Beyond this, there's still the consideration that you can't really patch a console game yourself either - you either need the console OS and the PSN/XBL networks to still exist and support the game and patch in order to get the patch binary onto your console and apply it, or you need to emulate that environment externally. If backend network support for the old consoles goes down, you'll be unable to patch those games, even if you did somehow manage to preserve the patch binaries.

You should also realize that preservation of some game titles have always been out of the question. There is no way that players could have ever preserved the launch version of Ultima Online (or any other MMOG) no matter what they did. The only way for external groups to preserve the game would be to reverse-engineer the data and game server, but that's still just an approximation at best. There's really no chance for people to preserve a game like Destiny or even client/server mobile titles like Dragalia Lost which just ended service earlier the week of this post.

Preservation of games is... difficult. Personally, I don't think it should be up to the regular person to preserve games - we literally cannot in many situations. I think that the best way to preserve games is to lobby lawmakers and pass some kind of legislation that offers game publishers some kind of benefit for preserving old and historic games and making them available to the public, similar to how donors can get major tax writeoffs for donating artifacts to museums. Publishers likely won't do anything to help until there's something in it for them, and they're the ones we need to convince to preserve games.

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[kirk-says-wah]

I have kind of a dark request? It's a modern setting but imagine everyone from like '88-'89 and Kirk and Lars seem like regular dudes (and they were roommates 👀) but they actually run a dark web streaming service where they torture people to death on Livestream at night and they abduct Dave (idk how they go about doing it maybe he's a prostitute or maybe they lure him there with drugs) and they use him for their Livestream BUT they see that this particular Livestream including him is getting much more views and money (because he's so pretty duh) so they decide not to kill him right away and keep him alive to use him for longer BUT they don't realize that James actually knows Dave so after like a week James starts complaining that he hasn't seen his 'friend' (👀) in like a week and he's worried and he shows them a picture of Dave and they're like 'Oh Shit' so now they have to decide if they kill Dave or let him go. This may be too much for a one shot request lmao. I just thought it was an interesting concept but I'm too busy to write it myself and also not as talented as you!

So I know this wasn’t next on my list to write but I couldn’t resist any longer! I just love this idea hahah. Thank you for the ask! I hope you don’t mind that I’m making it into a chaptered fic ❤️

PLEASE READ THE TWs!!!

𝐃𝐢𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

Pairings: Kirk/Lars

Tw: torture, murder, blood, gore, violence, kidnapping, drugging

You can also read it here

“Please.”

It’s pleaded, barely there, blood bubbling between dry lips.

Kirk just smirks, digging the knife in deeper as he sinks it into the man’s side, hearing him cry out and writhe slightly in his restraints.

The boy doesn’t really have much strength left, not with how long Lars and Kirk have been playing with him.

Lars tuts, yanking the guy’s head back so that their eyes meet.

Kirk pulls the knife out, wiping it clean on his jeans before looking back at the clock.

They’ve been at this for five hours now, and he knows it’s probably time to call it quits.

He nods at Lars, who smiles, scratching his fingernails into the guy’s cheek.

“You’ve done so well,” Lars murmurs, though still loud enough for the camera in the corner to hear.

The guy shakes, flinching under Lars’s touch.

Kirk brings the knife up, holding it against the man’s throat.

Big, doe eyes plead with him, telling him to just let him go, but Kirk won’t. This guy’s worth too much to let go of now.

But still, Kirk hesitates. He can’t help but let himself get lost in the guy’s dark blue eyes, thinking of what this guy will be leaving behind. Maybe he had a family, maybe he’s got friends looking for him. Normally these things don’t bother Kirk, but something about this kid has him halting.

He hears Lars huff before the knife is pried from his hands, and he watches on as Lars plunges the knife into the centre of the guy’s neck.

The man splutters, bucking against the restraints, a thick gurgling noise pushed from his throat as blood starts to gush down his front. Lars leaves the knife in, and Kirk knows well enough that it’s probably because it’ll get them more money.

Lars bends, sticks his fingers in the pooling blood before gripping the man’s chin in his slick fingers. The guy continues to gargle, frothy, pink spit foaming from his mouth as arteries spurt, skin making a hissing noise. It goes on for longer than Kirk thought it would, but eventually the guy goes limp, head hanging backwards, the but of the knife still jutting out from his neck.

Lars is still holding the guy’s face, smearing blood over his cheeks, pries his slack jaw open, just to stick his fist in, see how far it will go. When Lars pulls his hand back out there’s blood up to his elbow and there’s tendrils of veins and sinew in between his fingers.

Kirk pulls the knife out just to hear that sickening squelching sound, the inside of the guy’s throat spilling out over pale skin, the structure of his neck buckling, slanting inwards.

Lars lets go of the man’s face, letting it whip backwards, mouth still wide open, before giving Kirk a brief smile, walking over to the camera to finish the stream.

Kirk wipes the knife on his jeans again, kicks at the body in the chair just to watch it jostle lifelessly.

“Woah dude, that was awesome,” Lars exclaims, hovering by the computer, blood splashed across his cheek.

“How much did we make?” Kirk asks, tossing the knife to the floor, fingers sticky.

“5 grand,” Lars says, triumphant, raising back up. “That’s two in a row now above 3.”

Kirk laughs, moving to pull Lars against him, their chests sticking together with drying blood.

Lars smiles, cupping his cheek with a bloodied hand before pulling Kirk into a kiss. It’s rough and brutal, but Kirk practically turns into goo in Lars’s grip, the metallic taste almost heaven on his lips.

“Did you get his name?” Lars says when he pulls away, breathless, tucking a piece of hair behind Kirk’s ear.

Kirk tries to think back. He’d found the guy in a bar, all bushy hair and full cheeks, and he’d gone along with Kirk easy enough, had followed him back to the house without any problem. He remembers when he’d bought the guy a drink, that he’d held his hand out, introduced himself.

“Jason,” Kirk says, squeezing Lars’s hips. “Pretty sure it was Jason.”

Lars flicks his eyes over to the body, nodding thoughtfully.

“Yeah he looks like a Jason. Write that on the wall.”

Kirk nods, glancing at the wall behind him. There’s an array of photos from their livestreams, some of them have names, some of them don’t. Kirk knows he should feel sick looking at such diabolical pictures, but all he can feel is pride. He and Lars did that, together, and they’re making money from it. Obviously, they’re not the only sick puppies in the world.

Lars lets go of him, moving to untie Jason from the chair.

“Are we burying him with the last one?”

Kirk shrugs, goes to help Lars untie Jason’s legs.

“May as well. We’re gonna start running out of room soon.”

Lars hums, lets the ropes fall to the floor.

“It’s a shame. I kinda liked him,” he says, thumbing across Jason’s limp cheeks.

Kirk unties the last rope before standing back up, tugging on his arms. They don’t budge, and Kirk looks down to notice that his hands are nailed into the chair, several iron points stacked together, welded and twisted into the guy’s hand.

“When did you use the nail gun?” he asks, pulling a bit on the nails.

“When you went to the bathroom,” Lars says. Kirk just pulls a face.

“What? I was bored,” Lars exclaims with a laugh, and Kirk can’t help but smile too.

He tugs on the guy’s arm twice, hard enough that it rips free from the hand nailed into the wood of the chair, blood gushing from the open wound where his wrist should be. Lars does it to the other arm too, and Kirk guesses they’ll just have to dispose of the hands separately.

“Well, guess it’s your turn to get the next one,” he says, because they always take turns to hunt down their target.

Lars grins, baring his teeth, blood dripping down his front.

“My pleasure.”

— —

They’re scouting out a new bar when Kirk spots him; their next target.

He’s a tall dude, taller than both he and Lars, long red hair flowing past his shoulders, face sour as he sits hunched over at the bar, obviously not really in the mood to talk to anyone. That always makes things difficult, but Kirk knows Lars is the best at persuading people to do things in his favour.

Kirk nudges Lars next to him, nods at the redhead at the bar.

Lars lights up, eyes raking over their new subject.

“Nice choice,” Lars murmurs, squeezing Kirk’s knee gently.

The guy looks strong, muscles bulging out of his arms, shoulders wide and jaw sharp. If this was a fair fight, Kirk knows the guy would probably beat both of them single handedly.

Lars passes him a small bottle under the table.

“Wait until I’ve got him facing the other way,” he says, and Kirk nods, pocketing the bottle, palms sweaty.

This is always the hard part, the hunting, the catching their prey. It’s always a risk, always hard for them not to get caught or worse, but at this point they’re pretty skilled in getting who they want to come with them. It’s just a knack they’ve managed to hone after many missed opportunities.

Lars gives him one last look before kissing his cheek quickly.

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

Kirk nods, watching as Lars gets out of the booth before sauntering over the guy.

Kirk watches as the guy doesn’t even look at Lars as Lars sits next to him, sitting as close as possible.

Kirk thinks at first that the guy’s not gonna take the bait, but then Lars is flipping his hair over his shoulders, giving his best smile, and the guy finally looks interested.

They talk for a while until the guy forgets about his drink, turning to face Lars head on now.

Kirk takes that as his cue, scoots out of the booth, careful not to trip on the table on his way out, holding the small vial in his palm, unscrewing the cap.

He walks in the direction of the toilets, but he purposely passes Lars and his companion, quickly dumping the contents of the bottle in the guy’s drink before anyone can notice, before heading into the bathroom.

That’s it, all they’ve got to do now is get the guy in the car. And then they’re home free.

Kirk goes to the sinks as soon as the door closes, splashes his face with some water to try and quell the heat that’s rising in his cheeks. He can’t tell if it’s from anxiety or excitement, but he doesn’t want people asking questions, so he tries his best to look nonchalant, practicing his face in the mirror to try and look stoic.

When he’s satisfied, he peeks back into the bar.

Lars looks past the guy, and gives Kirk a shallow nod.

It’s time.

Kirk approaches them, putting a hand around the guy’s back.

“Are you okay, man? You look like you’ve had too much to drink.”

The guy blinks at him, dazed.

“I don’t-“ the guy tries, but it’s slurred and quiet, and Kirk just shakes his head.

“Cmon, you can come back to ours. Get yourself cleaned up before you go home.”

The guy doesn’t protest, and Lars gets up to help Kirk pick the guy off the stool, guiding him out of the bar before anyone can catch onto what they’re doing.

The car isn’t too far away, but the guy keeps stumbling, and Kirk has to slug an arm over his shoulders to keep the man upright.

Soon enough though, Lars is unlocking the car, and they bundle the man into the back seat, careful to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. No, he has to be in perfect condition. No one likes to work with damaged goods.

Lars turns to him then, slipping a hand around his waist.

“Well, that was easy,” he says, and Kirk laughs, bending forwards to kiss him softly. Lars still tastes like blood, but he always does these days. Kirk knows he’s probably no different.

“Did you get his name?” Kirk asks when he pulls away, moving to open the car door.

“Dave. His name is Dave.”

[kendsleyauthor]

All Dolled Up

Print / Trinket Universe

~3000 words

Warnings: ⛔Minors DNI⛔, CNC, dehumanization, fearplay, mouthplay

Summary: After rescuing you from an auction, Lee has no choice but to bring you along to a dangerous dinner appointment. He promises to keep you safe, but are you prepared to play along?

The plot of this story came from an anonymous reader, and it inspired me to try 2nd person POV for the first time! Please mind the warnings and do not proceed if you are uncomfortable with such themes!

@marydublinauthor​ 🌸

“I only had this room for one night,” Lee explains over the meal. 

You sit at the edge of his room-service platter and lick sauce from your fingers. You haven’t had enough time to master the art of eating as a trinket—not neatly, anyway. The fact that you’re eating next to a giant without fear is a miracle. Manners are the least of your worries.

“What does that mean?” you ask.

He twists his fork in his hand absently. The prongs are longer than your arm. The meal is more for you than him. He is about to attend a dinner shortly.

“It means I have to take you with me to the meeting. There aren’t any other agents in the area to collect you. And, well… This is an important recon mission. If I cancel, it’s not likely I’ll get another invite.”

The worry on his face is clear. It’s hard to misinterpret facial expressions at your three-inch height. You purse your lips uncertainly. “What do you need me to do?”

Lee explains as he clears away the plates and piles them on one side of the table. You listen as best you can; it’s hard to focus while watching someone move room-sized dishes over your head so effortlessly. He leaves you briefly to rummage through his overnight bag. He plucks up tiny clothes between his fingers, glancing over at you as he considers the present options. Finally, he settles on a pretty red dress—the kind you might have worn while bar-hopping in your past life.

He looks away politely as you change into it on the table, and when you ask for help tying it off in the back, his fingers are gentle and precise. You hold still as he tugs the silken straps into a little knot.

“I’ll keep you in my pocket the whole time if I can,” he says. His voice is a rumble behind you, his breath warm as he leans in close to make sure the knot is perfect. “But, here’s the thing… If I do have to take you out, you need to act scared. Or these people will be suspicious. Do you understand?”

When his fingers release you, you turn around and meet the overwhelmingly blue gaze before you. “Okay, Lee,” you say softly.

“And you can’t call me that. It’s too casual, and I’m not going by my real name, anyway. Just call me ‘sir’ like your life depends on it.”

Your face flushes, and you nod, speechless.

His expression softens, and he gingerly takes your hand between his finger and thumb. “Best case scenario, you stay hidden the whole night. But if that can’t happen, please remember that I won’t hurt you, no matter what. I won’t let anyone touch you, either. They’ll know you’re mine.”

Once you have agreed to the rules, he seems to relax somewhat and goes to pack his bag. When he returns to the table, he gingerly picks you up and slides you into his front pocket. You are still getting used to being handled, yet you are certain you will never find hands gentler than his.

You sway in the darkness of Lee’s pocket as he makes his way downstairs, through the lobby, and out the door to hail a self-driving cab. He doesn’t acknowledge you as he rides; after all, these vehicles have cameras inside of them. As far as either of you are concerned, you cannot exist—not in this world where your existence on his person would get him arrested for unlawful possession of government property.

Yesterday, however, you very much existed. You were the center of attention. It is incredible how your life has been flipped on its head several times in the span of a few days. You were destined for the black market before your consciousness transfer was even complete—sold by a lab tech to be auctioned off as a rare “untouched” trinket, fresh from the Facility. 

Lee won you easily, and the moment he had you alone, he quickly proved himself to be kind and sweet. Last night was pleasant and calm. But now, his tension has transformed him into an entirely different person.

The car slows to a stop, and once again, you experience the sway of his pocket. He told you the meeting point was a fancy restaurant. It was owned by an underground trinket seller and was an exclusive spot for prospective buyers to meet. Lee needs to get in good with these people to uncover the extent of their operation. It’s a careful job that requires the utmost professionalism. 

You’re tempted to peek out when you hear voices, but you don’t move a muscle, just like Lee whispered to you on the way in. Amazing that you can be entirely present without being noticed at all. 

There are three voices—the seller, whose name is Edwin, and two other prospective buyers. Lee is going by the name of Pierce. The conversation seems to go well at the get-go. The men introduce themselves, and they order their dinner. There is a clear shift in the air when Edwin offers to order complimentary drinks with trinkets in them.

Maybe it is reflexive, but Lee casually turns down the offer.

“What the matter, Pierce?” Edwin says, his voice taking on a note of suspicion. “Not interested in sampling my merchandise?”

Lee draws in a sharp breath that only you are aware of, being so small and near him. To the others, maybe it can be excused as a mischievous chuckle. You can feel his hesitation and his heartbeat, and then there is a rustle of fabric as his fingers slide into his pocket over your head. You stay perfectly still as his hand wraps around you and pulls you out.

“I’m just saying, I brought my own entertainment,” Lee says smoothly. “It’ll take a lot of convincing to get me to try yours. I’ll take that drink, though.”

You remember what Lee said about how you should behave. You draw in a shuddering breath, bordering on a whimper, and you squirm uncomfortably in his grasp. He hushes you and strokes your hair, his touch lingering like he is savoring the sensation. You peek out at the rest of the table. The other men eye you with delight, and you remind yourself to Lee promised that they will not touch you.

But that means you have to play your part.

You tremble and close your eyes, ducking your head.

That seems to do the trick, as far as suspicions are concerned.

As the men discuss their business dealings over your head, Lee’s hand ceaselessly plays with you on the white tablecloth. He strokes your side, takes your arm or leg between his fingers, forces you closer or further away as he pleases.

When his wine arrives, he plucks you up by your sides and holds you over it. You give a cry and kick your legs in protest, but he just smirks at you and raises his eyebrows matter-of-factly. 

“Don’t fuss,” he says. “Why do you think I had you wear red? Now, settle down.” His fingers give you the slightest squeeze.

“Y-yes, sir,” you whimper.

He lowers you into his wine. You brace your hands against the glass, eyes stinging from the alcohol. The wine is up to your chin, but it threatens to cover your mouth and nose as Lee lifts the glass to sample his drink. Wine rushes past you and drags you along. Just before you’re about to touch his upper lip, he straightens the glass and leaves you shivering in a smaller pool. His tongue briefly swipes his lips, savoring the wine—and you.

You endure this until dinner arrives. As Lee downs the last of his wine, he leaves the glass sideways at his mouth, and his lips brush against you. His teeth graze your shoulder, as though his contemplating pulling you into his mouth completely. 

But he straightens the glass, making you slide back down to the bottom of your prison. Your moment of reprieve lasts for only a few minutes before his attention turns to you again. After a few bites of food, he decides that he wants you closer. He reaches into the glass and plucks you out, dripping with wine. Setting you at the edge of his plate, you can’t help but think about your peaceful meal just an hour prior. 

Now, you have three other men leering at you. You are surrounded in all directions, and they are not shy about making their desires known.

While Lee fondles you through your wet dress, one of the buyers says, “When am I getting a turn?” It sounds like he’s only half-joking.

Lee’s smile is cutting. “I don’t share,” he says simply. No one questions him again, but it doesn’t stop them from giving suggestions.

The other buyer looks at you hungrily. “Don’t you think she’ll get sick if she stays in that wet dress all night?”

That is all the warning you get before Lee hoists you up again. He drops you into his open palm and turns you around rather than asking you to do it yourself. His fingertips tug at the knot he had made earlier. His efforts jolt you back and forth harshly. The moment the knot comes loose, he turns you over again and paws at your neckline.

You squirm and gasp, trying to shove his fingers away, but he overpowers you with mere twitches of his fingers. The neckline comes down, putting your bare breasts in full view. One of the men wolf-whistles. Lee drags down the rest of the dress, wiggling it past your hips and along your legs until you are left wearing nothing but a pair of black panties.

Dessert arrives just in time. He fondles you on his plate, pausing only to put you to work. He orders you to grab a strawberry slice from the elegant cheesecake. You try to do as you’re told, but you can’t reach the slice without getting messy. You inadvertently smear yourself with whipped cream when he tells you to hurry up. The moment you grab the fruit, he plucks you up and holds you near his mouth. Catching on, you feed him the slice, shivering as his tongue drags over your arms as he takes it. He licks up the excess whipped cream on your skin after he chews and swallows.

Finally, dinner is over. Lee has played his part well. Edwin insists on taking them all to a bar down the street, and Lee doesn’t dare say no. He pockets you and follows along.

They get a private booth in the back, and once there are no bartenders or waitresses around to see, Lee pulls you back out of his pocket.

The men drink and drink. You are soaked in different alcohols until you’re certain that the scent will forever be part of you. For a time, Lee is content enough to just hold you close on the table. You give his finger a squeeze when the other men look like they might get bold enough to reach for you. 

But when Lee becomes handsy, you tremble and try to maneuver away, only to have him drag you back in place. The others chortle at every one of your failed attempts to get away.

Edwin eyes you, and you worry for a moment that he’s going to suggest that he buy from Lee instead of sell. Instead, he swirls the drink in his hand and leans closer with a drunken smile.

“I’m not usually one for drinking games,” Edwin slurs. “But I do have a favorite. You know that cherry stem knot game? Well…” He smiles down at you as if you are in on the fun, and then he looks back up at Lee. “How fast do you think you can get the little one’s panties off?”

You don’t hear the rest of the rumbling exchange of the bet overhead. You stagger back on shaking legs and turn to run, but you don’t make it very far before Lee walls you off with his hand. You think he’s about to close that hand and trap you, but instead, he leans in closer and closer until you are cornered between his hand and mouth. 

“No, don’t!” you weep, trying to duck away while the other men cheer. “P-please, don’t!”

Hot darkness consumes your world as his mouth closes around you. Your stomach flips as he straightens back up. For a moment, he simply seems to savor your taste, rolling you from side to side on his tongue like a piece of candy. Then he remembers his goal. Despite your efforts to squirm to the front of his mouth, he is able to maneuver you with just his tongue and teeth.

You cry out as his teeth lock around your torso—not enough to hurt, but enough to keep you firmly in place. His tongue probes between your legs, slick and burning as it searches for the edge of your panties. He repositions you once his tongue has some semblance of grasp on the fabric, shifting it over to his teeth to grab a firm hold. Then his tongue forces you to the other side, your panties dragging down your legs.

The moment your kicking legs are free of your only bit of clothing, he spits you out onto his palm. You look up dizzily as he sticks his tongue out with your panties on the tip.

Judging by the guffaws and crows of the others, Lee has won a permanent piece of respect.

After that, the night is finally over. 

Lee stuffs you back into his pocket and calls another cab. Just as you’re wondering where you’re going, he calls the hotel and says that he’ll need another room for the night. His trip is extending longer than expected.

Once again, he does not acknowledge you during the ride.

When he arrives in his new room, he lets you out of his pocket immediately. He doesn’t quite look at you as he draws a bath in a warm cup and lets you change into a set of clean clothes in privacy. Once you’re finished, you call for him, and he’s at your side in an instant. 

He scoops you up into a gentle grasp and runs his thumb clumsily down your wet hair. Then to your surprise, his eyes well up with tears.

“Fuck,” he says. “I’m so fucking sorry. I went too far. Please forgive me, I—” He hisses and shakes his head. “Fuck that... You don’t have to forgive me. Once I get you to the base, you don’t even have to look at me again, I swear.”

Despite his disgust with himself, he can’t seem to put you down. He looks you over carefully, making sure you’re alright. His gaze is unfocused. He’s utterly drunk from the night, and his tears are falling faster the longer he looks at you.

“Lee!” you say, finally finding your voice. You hug his finger tightly. “I’m fine! I promise I’m fine—please, don’t cry.” He shakes his head and closes his eyes at the sound of your tiny voice. You tap his finger insistently. “It’s been a long night. Have a glass of water and go to bed.”

He looks at you like he can’t comprehend what you’re saying. “But…”

“Now, Lee,” you insist. “Water and bed. Please.”

He pouts like a child, like he might argue with you. But he’s too out of it to do anything but obey those simple directions. He sets you up like he did last night, folding up one of his clean shirts for you to nestle yourself into. The folds are untidy this time around, but the gesture is sweet all the same. He sets your makeshift bed on the spare pillow, and he is out like a light on the other side.

The next morning, he wakes before you. When you open your eyes, he is staring at you with sorrow and guilt, his head still resting on the pillow across from yours. He starts to apologize again, but you sit up and hold your hand up to stop him.

Although he is no longer drunk, he follows your silent command.

“Lee,” you tell him. “It’s okay. It really is. I know you didn’t mean all those things last night. I could feel your fingers shaking every time you touched me.”

“But… still. That was too much. Too far. I’m so sorry.” He looks like he might cry again. “I can’t even imagine how terrified you must’ve been.”

You swallow hard and feel heat creep to your cheeks. You weren’t planning on telling him this, but the poor thing looks so upset with himself. “I was never really scared,” you admit. “Well… okay, yes, I was scared. Terrified. But in a good way.”

His eyebrows pull together, puzzled. “I know I told you to play a part,” he says. “But… it looks so real. Like you were really, really scared. Like you were ready to fall apart.”

“But I knew I was safe.” You hold your hand out, beckoning him to give you his hand. He hesitantly brings his hand close. You stroke the knuckles of his index finger soothingly, blushing harder. Now you’re the one who can hardly look at him. “I, um… I kind of liked it?” You bite your lip and peek up.

As you predicted, he looks utterly bewildered.

“I’ve always been a bit of an exhibitionist,” you say quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.

“Oh, my god.” He shuts his eyes for a second, processing. When he opens them again, they are alight with humor and relief. “You little shit! I thought I was traumatizing you.”

You shrug sheepishly. “I’d be happy to do it again if you need me to. If you ever need someone to help keep your cover, that is. As long as you promise to keep me safe.”

His hand shifts suddenly, his finger leaving your grasp. You find yourself in his gentle hold instead. He kisses the top of your head, his lips lingering as a warm chuckle spills over you. “I think we can work something out,” he purrs.

(Author’s note: Would you trust Lee to keep you safe? 👀 I know I would. 🥰)

[nobedofroses]

December 3

pairing: Javier Peña x reader

warnings: kinda spicy, Javi is just a bit ass-ish at the end, but in a hot way lmao

words: 1.2k

a/n: longer than I expected!

Last, Full List, Next

🏔🏔🏔

Working at a bookshop had its ups and downs. As with any customer service job, how each day was was usually dependent on the customers themselves. Your store was on the outskirts of Chicago proper, so you had regulars who lived in the area and then people from the city as well. For the most part, though, everyone was great and you had a lot of downtime to read if you had all of your stocking and organizing duties completed. 

Since the holidays were coming up, things were busier, but you didn’t mind. You had control of the music so you could play only what you liked, decorations were up, and everyone who came in looking for a gift was always so happy when they found the perfect thing (or failing that, a gift card). 

One day in early December, you were busy stocking the mystery shelves when you realized that you needed to put some things on the top shelf and you hadn’t brought your little step stool. It was only three books though, so you thought maybe you could try to get them up there with some reaching and jumping. 

You started with one because they all went in separate spots, and couldn’t get it just reaching. So you got on your tiptoes, as high as you could go, and used your other hand to balance yourself. Stretching as much as you could, you could just get the bottom edge of the book on the shelf, but couldn’t push it into place, and as soon as you let go it would fall. 

Huffing, you thought for two seconds before you placed your foot on the bottom shelf. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” came a voice from no more than three feet away and you whipped around to see a tall, broad shouldered man standing with his hip cocked out and a smirk on his face. 

You could barely keep from literally looking him up and down, but you did notice his full lips, mustache, and aquiline nose before you met his eyes. While his comment could have seemed condescending, the twinkle in his eyes was playful and his tone was flirty. 

More than a few customers had tried to flirt with you before. Most of the time, you were polite but refocused them on the books or their transaction. A few times you had had coffee with regulars that never went anywhere, and once or twice you had slept with one. And this man, whoever he was, was handsome, very handsome, and you didn’t mind his flirting at all. 

“Oh yeah? Are you some kind of bookshelf expert?” you asked him, matching his tone. Your eyes flicked down to his hands and then back to his face, “A carpenter, maybe?”

He smiled and laughed, “Not a carpenter, I’ve just done a lot of stupid things and got hurt in my time. If you’d like, I can put those books up there for you.”

You bit your lip, hesitating for a second because you didn’t want to inconvenience him. Then again, he offered, and he was looking at your lips. You smiled, “I shouldn’t say yes because I shouldn’t let customers do my work for me, but… yes, that’d be super helpful.” 

The man took a few steps over to you and held out his hand. You gave him the first book and noticed how small it looked comparatively and had to look away. 

“Okay, that goes in between Clark and Clay right there,” you pointed to a spot nearly right above you. There was just enough room for deniability’s sake, but he got close enough to you that you felt the air his body moved on your back and suppressed a shiver. 

It was the same process for all three books, except both of you moved a little bit closer each time. By the end of it, you were ready to just push him up against the shelf and make out. 

But you controlled yourself and instead turned to face him (still incredibly close) to say, “Thank you very much for your help.” 

He smiled charmingly at you and held out his hand, having to bend his elbow past 90 degrees so that it fit between your bodies, “I’m Javier.” 

You shook his hand, trying very hard to keep your voice from getting shaky as you responded because his hand was so big and warm. 

A few seconds more than a normal handshake went by before either of you let go, but when you did, you asked, “Is there anything I can help you find, Javier?” 

Before answering, he reached out and grabbed a book off the shelf that was at waist level for you, and you weren’t sure if his hand brushed your waist on the way back or if you just really hoped it did. 

“I’ve got the book I wanted right here, but I’d appreciate a guide back to the register,” he told you and you were glad because if you rang him up you could write your number on his receipt. 

On your way back to the front, you realized just how dead the shop was. It had been slow all day because of the weather, but now you realized that the person you checked out before meeting Javier must have been the last person in the whole store other than the two of you. 

When you got near enough to see the window, you understood why. It was snowing thick enough that you couldn’t see the shops on the other side of the narrow street. It was also clear that the wind was strong because most of the snow was falling diagonally. 

“Oh my goodness,” you murmured, stopping before you even reached the front desk just out of surprise. 

Javier came to your side. You heard him breathe an expletive and worried that the weather was going to disturb whatever plans he had for the day. But then he surprised you by saying, “Well as long as the power doesn’t go out, I think I’ll just stay here and get a start on this book.” 

He had gestured to the couch that was in front of an electric fireplace the owners had installed because they loved creating a welcoming and cozy atmosphere more than anything. 

A few seconds went  by while you processed everything that had just happened in the last five seconds. And then you smiled slowly and said, “I might just join you, that stocking was my last task today other than the register.” 

Javier smiled back but it wasn’t slow and it held a lot more meaning than yours had. “Well, sweetheart, the only thing that could make this better is if you had some whiskey stashed away somewhere.” 

You gasped softly, ignoring for the moment the flush of heat on your neck and between your legs when he called you “sweetheart,” and then told him, “I think this is getting to be our lucky day.” 

As you hurried off towards some sort of office, Javi watched your retreating figure. Especially the way your hips moved and how your flowy skirt threatened to expose the lower swell of your ass with every quick step. He grunted softly and sat down in the middle of the couch, ready to keep you close because he was pretty sure his day wasn’t the only one that was getting lucky.

🏔🏔🏔

[themeganator5000]

May... May I see why you agree with Scooter being gay

Oh god. Yeah, I suppose so. I literally just typed up what would basically be my script if I ever did a youtube video essay rant about this topic (i will never do this, but someone definitely should).

Bear in mind, I literally wrote this like an hour ago in a hyperfixation-induced daze so my friend @hails-the-geek would have something silly to wake up to 😘 So, not exactly written for public consumption, but since you asked so nicely:

SO HERES HOW WE CAN FIX SCOOTER. Scooter the Muppet started out as a nepotistic lil whippersnapper who had little to no morals and only cared about meeting famous people and having a high-paying, low-effort job. Now that's all well and good and a Scooter we have all grown to love BUT ever since Disney has obtained ownership of the Muppets, they have become less of the struggling underdogs and more of a lesser-known classic. This already raises some problems with the overall tone of the characters, especially Scooter, because the only way he was able to get Kermit and the gang to bend to his every whim was to remind them that his very wealthy uncle owned the theatre and the ground it stood on. The fun of his character was that he was a gofer (essentially an intern) whose job it was to take orders from anyone for anything, but with his familial connection to a person in high power he could inversely force any one of the Muppets to take orders from HIM to get just about anything. Now, since the Muppets HAVE no theatre and are usually performing on a soundstage likely owned by the Disney company, Scooter has lost his influence and no longer has the ability to be the narcissist, sassy, two-timing brat he once was. He has been boiled down to his face value as an over-enthusiastic, dorky, wide-eyed fanboy who eagerly goes along with whatever he is told to do. This, of course, was present in the original iteration, but it was always known that if Scooter ever DISAGREED with what he was told to do, he could always find a way around it. Helpful until inconvenient. It is also worth noting that in the original Muppet Show, Scooter was intended to be a young boy around 14 years old, but in more recent adaptations he seems to have aged, being given adult love interests and being shown cage dancing in a nightclub. This brings me to my conclusion; how we can fix Scooter in this modern age and bring back some of that charm that made us adore him all those years ago. The answer is quite simple, really:

MAKE

SCOOTER

🏳️‍🌈 𝗚 𝗔 𝗬 🏳️‍🌈

Richard Hunt, the Muppeteer who portrayed Scooter and many other characters until his untimely death in 1992, was openly gay and a well-loved part of the original Muppet cast. So much so, that Jim Henson personally requested that he be the one to host the memorial service at his funeral, which he did. Richard Hunt said that he based Scooter's personality on his own when he first started working with the Muppets, enthusiastic, eager to please, and definitely trying too hard. While all those personality traits are decidedly still present in today's Scooter, the absence of one crucial piece is blatantly apparent.

𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺.

While never explicitly stated, Scooter's character can easily be interpreted as gay, exhibiting flamboyant characteristics, having a borderline obsession with Elton John, just kinda being twinkish and boy-toy-like in nature. Whatever the reasoning, there is no better candidate for Disney's First Gay Muppet than the trademark character of the original gay Muppeteer, Scooter. BUT! It is EXTREMELY important to note that there are two ways this could be played: either there are little to no changes in Scooter's personality and he just gets an off-screen boyfriend or something (lame) OR Scooter's personality shifts into a more goofy-sassy gay best friend type of deal where he hangs out with Miss Piggy a bit more and references more modern queer icons (like Beyoncé or something?? idk ask a gay man) and comments on the attractiveness of male guest stars whenever the opportunity arises. This was hinted to in the 2015 series ABC's "The Muppets", but they never fully committed to the bit. Calling Scooter a boy toy is one thing, but having him get caught making out with Walter in the storage closet is another. COMMIT TO THE FUCKING BIT, DISNEY. Let Scooter say "yasss, qween" and "slayyy" and lust over men's bodies I'm not asking for much. You have already denied me Bert & Ernie and Statler & Waldorf, but let me have Scooter. Let me have the one Muppet my ADHD-riddled lesbian ass choice to have a crush on at 14 years old. Let me live out my fantasy of seeing Scooter on a Muppet-themed float at a pride parade. Please Disney, think of the fucked-up adults. We deserve this, we've EARNED this. You've ruined every other part of my childhood with your dirty capitalism, you OWE me this 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘎. You will make Scooter gay. Scooter 𝗜𝗦 gay. Scooter has always 𝘉𝘌𝘌𝘕 gay. And there is absolutely 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 you can do about it.

Thank you for your time.

[hyliandude]

I had a dream last night.

There was a middle eastern guru that seemed homeless and dirty in the streets. He asked me to follow him to help save the people i care about. He seemed solemn and genuine so i went with him in the streets without care of calling off from work.

He took me into street markets in between a temple with devout followers of another religion, but there were people of all ethnicities.

I tried catching up to him but he was so fast, and everyone knew and bowed to him. There was this column everyone was huddled around at one point, and before proceeding he chanted something around it, seemingly “blessing” the column and gently told people to respect the area. Everyone got away from it (he later told me the column was unstable and needed repairs, so this was the fastest way to get people to clear the area and be careful with the column).

We entered this kitchen area and he changed attire. Food safety prep attire? I didn’t question it, but it seemed like we were going into some sort of food kitchen or prep kitchen to prepare meals for the homeless. Ok. I didn’t mind at all, and i remember thinking about how small the operation was. We were only probably going to feed like 80-100 people, but i also realized how MUCH more of an impact this was than me sitting at a desk pretending to do work for companies i know nothing about. (The attire they gave me was some sort of bib, and event shirt. It was a memorial shirt, for someone named Carla Mae, but i knew it wasn’t you b/c you were alive in my dream and the picture of the person was someone else. But it still made me think about the event. Before i could speak to anyone about the coincidence, my shift was over and the guru was having me haul leftover stalks of some of the food we prepared out back. All waste, and super heavy).

There was a lady out back, either washing clothes or collecting trash to place it in a giant pile of a courtyard. There weren’t many people there because of the horrid smell, and i think even residences above were no longer there because of the stench. It was only the one lady. She was peeling something with a knife, and then i realized she was mincing the trash to make it easier for herself to toss it. She took pride in her mundane task, but no one seemed to appreciate her efforts. The guru greeted her like a long time friend, but she was blunt and almost rude with him the entire time (in hindsight, im sure people were rude to her all the time because of the stinky area she was patrolling so she developed this personality as a defense mechanism). The guru conversed with her and eventually convinced her to hand use each a knife. I took it gladly. With the leftover stalks of food waste we had, we started peeling them to better expose the insides. The lady asked us why we were “taking her job” and the guru replied that we were just here to help. To which she relaxed and continued to quietly converse with us. The guru would peel a few stalks from the pile we had, and tossed them into her pile. He then gestured to me to do the same. After a few hours, we were finished with our pile, and finished sprinkling the chunks across her pile. She thanked us, and so did others before we left (i didn’t know, but it turned out that the leftover food stalks were a natural deodorizer. The guru had killed 2 birds with 1 stone in his efforts). It took a while, it smelled, i was sweaty and gross. But i felt so fulfilled and impactful, I can’t even explain.

(Throughout this entire time there’s been music playing from the temple area. Id had it stuck in my head since i woke up, but it’s now 6:55 AM and i dont remember how it goes anymore).

Later in the day we are in the temple, for some service i suppose, and i swear people are huddling around the guru as we walk like paparrazzis, but with more decorum and respect. He’s not mad at any of them, and he addresses those he can without losing sight of his path through them.

The only one i remember was a man asking for the presence of “god” in his village. He was wondering what it would “cost” him to have god come and be at his village. This question stood out to me, and it mustve stood out to the guru too, because he stopped and turned to the man:

“This is a common question, but an easy one”

I assumed he’d be asking for a donation of sometime, which was a concept that disillusioned me to the entire establishment.

The guru then proceeded to talk to the man. His village was going through a rough time. This man was the only one of strong enough mind and body to come out into the temple from afar to seek help. The guru said it would cost him the salary of multiple builders, cooks, fisherman, etc. The man said that he was strong and well versed in many skills, but that he had no funds to pay more people to come and help in the village with those things.

The guru then whispered something to the man, which must’ve shocked him immensely as i saw the wave of revelation come over him, and he left the crowd!

The guru turned to me and quickly said

“Why pay for god if he’s already there?”

There was another scene where i was at a private rooftop dinner with the guru and a family overlooking the city. We were clearly there for the father, a strong and clearly wealthy man who had evidently been religious in the past. He wanted the guru’s influence and advice on military and commercial conquest, and i dont remember what else was said, but we just left. Something about how the man had lost sight of “all his past lessons”.

In the end, i didn’t quite understand why i was playing “hooky” all day. I didn’t know how to “save those that i love”. He told me people just want to be heard and understood. Not a surface level thing, but truly HEARD and UNDERSTOOD. It seemed so cliché, but he also mentioned how the time we spend with our loved ones is 1. An investment and extension of ourselves that they’ll remember and learn from. A piece of ourselves inevitably makes it to them, and he wanted to make sure it was the BEST piece of ourself. And 2. The time is something we’ll both cherish. At the end of the day, we’ll all be gone without thoughts or memories. In our final moments we’ll regret spending time on a computer or pointless meeting instead of with the people we love. To save them, means saving ourselves of course, but it means spending as much time with them. They aren’t with us if we’re not spending time with them, just like they won’t be with us when we’re all gone - so spend as much time with them to save them. Take that time back with them. And cherish it.

I still had the jaunty music stuck in my head. I vividly remember what i was wearing, what he was wearing, and what others were wearing.

Just wanted to jot all this before i forgot.

[thevulpinehero1]

Gwatch: Mobile Suit Gundam '79 Ep 3

Time for episode three. Warning, spoilers within!

The Gundam and its two little brothers

In the first half of this episode, we're treated to some slower scenes as the cast settle into their new positions on the ship, giving rations to the rescued civilians and generally taking care of business. Fraw Bow confirms that Amuro is indeed smelly and brings him fresh clothes, Amuro lets Bright live rent-free inside his head, and Sayla Mass talks smack to Bright because she apparently just talks smack to everybody. We are introduced to some worrying news: Bright, acting captain of the spaceship that goes through space and is currently in space at this moment in time, has never been in space before. Great. Wonderful. Bodes well for the future.

We are introduced to an interesting concept, though: when she learns that Bright grew up on Earth, Sayla sarcastically(?) calls him 'one of the elite'. A running theme of almost every Gundam series is a conflict between people living on Earth and people living in space colonies, but the reason tends to differ between series, and I get mixed up between them. Maybe she's hinting at the idea that folks on Earth are surrounded by Earth's bounty of natural resources, and thus are more affluent -- or the idea that being spaceborn (or a 'spacenoid' as it's sometimes called in the series) is a social stigma of some kind.

While it's not necessarily related, I'm somewhat reminded of Becky Chamber's Wayfarer series, taking place in the far future; humankind, weakest in position among the civilised races of space, were forced to abandon Earth en masse and have adapted by becoming an ultra economical species who spend their entire lives in spaceships, religiously recycling and letting no resource go to waste, even eating bugs that other sentients turn their noses up at. I do kind of like the idea of a future humanity who've learned their lesson.

Meanwhile, Char has requested reinforcements, but is dismayed to only get two Zakus instead of the three he asked for. Here we learn that Zeon is no longer overflowing with resources, and it too has been taxed by the war effort; while the Earth Federation has been and will be on the back foot for the time being, Zeon's powers are not unlimited. Even the ship delivering Char's supplies is so old he's surprised to see it still in service.

We can also infer that, despite his fearsome skills as a mobile suit operator, Char's reputation in Zeon might not be that great -- the man delivering them, Gadem, immediately jokes that he must have screwed up. Char's uncertain position in Zeon's political environment will be, let's say, a running theme.

After Mirai (in a surprising moment of bloodthirst) suggests they attack pre-emptively while Char is supplying, the White Base holds a vote. Most are in favour, but Bright tellingly waits until Amuro casts his vote in support before calling it. Of course, Amuro is the only real fighting force they have, so the vote is an essentially meaningless show of democracy if he says no; if they kill or confine him to force obedience, they have no pilot and the show cannot go on.

Thanks to Amuro teaching Ryu (trained soldier, core fighter pilot) not to attack when the sun is in his eyes and maybe position so that the enemy has to do that instead, they manage to land a few good shots on the supply ship. But it's not long before the Red Comet comes out to play.

Char Aznable, about to deliver an ass-kicking

Amuro still has absolutely no shot of beating Char in a fair fight, and gets solidly whupped. He runs out of ammo for his bazooka and even attempts the famed bazooka yeet for the very first time (one of my favourite SRW30 animations, incidentally), but to no avail; Char, having realised that the Zaku's weapons aren't really doing much, resorts to just smacking the shit out of the Gundam with punches and kicks. It's been pointed out before that this is absolutely the correct play; even if he can't damage the machine, the knocks and g-forces will eventually take out the pilot, who is currently by far the weakest link in the suit. However, the White Base's advance on the valuable supplies means he has to prioritise supporting his own mothership instead of going for the kill.

Meanwhile, the inexperience of the White Base's crew starts to show; Hayato doesn't even know how to pass a message to the bridge, Ryu can't be contacted because he forgot to turn on his comms, and that means they can't fire the main cannons at the enemy without hitting him. Even Bright gets in on the panicking action as the battle goes on. But Kai and Hayato launch in the Guntank, a shiny new toy that they both sort of know how to use.

The Guntank's first outing is a success and the supply ship is downed, but the Zakus have already been evacuated. Gadem, the supply ship captain, tries to 1v1 the Gundam in revenge; while he is indeed a superior pilot to Amuro and gets in a powerful shoulder tackle when Amuro attacks too quickly, the Gundam ultimately just tanks him, just like it's tanked everything so far. Amuro is forced to withdraw, with no weapons and no chance of handling Char; the Red Comet decides to prioritize salvaging what supplies he can, musing about his enemy. He's already sussed out that he's being beaten by the enemy weapons, and the soldiers piloting them fight like amatuers.

After some more headbutting with Bright, the episode ends as the White Base pulls closer to Luna II. But just because they're near an allied base doesn't mean Char isn't out to get them, and tensions are already beginning to heighten within the crew.