#music is only a crossword puzzle...

[leguin]

i'll not be cordial there is nothing that distracts me

[failbettergames]

any games you'd recommend? could be for any reason! (similarity to fallen london, you know the people who made it, you just think it's neat, etc.) besides your own, of course, I already own all of those :)

Yes, here's a list of all of the games we talked about in our newsletter last year:

Birth: an adventure puzzle game about constructing a creature from spare bones & organs.

Scarlet Hollow: an immersive, episodic horror-mystery.

Egypt: Old Kingdom: a strategy simulator of the Great Pyramids period.

The Past Within is a fun, eerie way to spend an hour with a friend.

The Pale Beyond: high stakes on the frozen wastes, Sunless Sea feelings. 

King of the Castle: medieval monarch party game.

Stray Gods: an urban fantasy, musical visual novel featuring the gods of Greek myth.

Vampire Survivors: so moreish.

Knotwords: extremely satisfying crossword-anagram-puzzle game.

The Banished Vault: so gorgeous it actually makes us a bit cross.

Astronaut the Best: an anarchic comedy about assembling a team of hapless astronauts. 

El Paso, Elsewhere: supernatural neo-noir shooter, in which you must destroy the villain you loved - even if it means dying yourself.

Thank Goodness You're Here: may be the only game that’s more British than the ones we make.

The Fabulous Fear Machine: pulpy horror narrative strategy.

WORLD OF HORROR: Junji Ito-adjacent roguelike.

Lies of P: tickles your Fromsoft fancy. 

The Lamplighters League: essentially 1930s supernatural XCOM 

Tails Noir (formerly known as Backbone): gorgeous, bleak, compelling and unsatisfying in equal measure. 

Mediterrea Inferno: a spicy story about finding yourself after isolation.

DotAGE: manage a village where the Village Elder has helpfully precise visions of the future.

Slay the Princess: the princess is very bad and you have to kill her. 

VR remake of The 7th Guest: very fun, silly and far less punishing than the original. 

Astrea: Six-sided Oracles: interesting dice-and-deckbuilding system. 

Return of the Obra Dinn: truly a modern classic.

[hecateslore]

💌

hi childreennn mother had to jot this down while my brain was still going from earlier plz enjoy more supervisor!simon

Wednesday strolled in with ease. You and Simon avoided each other all day on tuesday. You knew you were really pissed when you thought of sending an anonymous complaint to HR. 

It was lunchtime and you sat at your desk headphones in watching your comfort tv show and eating your lunch.  Simon walked out of his with a thick stack of papers. He walked up to your desk, dropped the papers harshly, “Get these done when you’re finished.” he demanded. You looked up with a mouthful of food, “I’m on my break.” you snap back at him. “There’ll be no break after this ever, if these aren’t half finished by the end of the day.” he barked back only to earn looks from the others (we live in a sassy man apocalypse I fear😣.) You roll your eyes, “And if I see your headphones again, that’s another strike.” he finishes. 

It all seemed like too much to behave this way for an office job. You were ready to flip your desk, kick a monitor and slap him in the back of the head. All of the sudden he just became this douche. Not once have you ever given him any problems, have you ever screwed up.

A part of you wanted to ask him what the problem was, so you threw your plate away and went to the bathroom and facetime your best friend.

“Please tell me you sent in a complaint.” Your bestie sighed over the phone. “No I'm scared, online it said your identity might have to be revealed.” You said as you watched your bestfriends face screw up, “Just put in your two weeks, we’re hiring over here,” she suggested , “I’ll see if I can get you a spot, my manager’s really cool.” She gives you a smile. You look at the time and see you have 5 minutes left to chat before you have to get back to work. “I gotta go, but let me know what your manager says.” you bite your cheek, “will do !” she says before hanging up. You let out an exasperated sigh and go back to your desk. 

-

On Thursday you worked the front alone, you were kind of glad because you were out of Simon's sight and you didn’t have to see the problem look so damn good in slacks. You sat and answered calls while listening to some music. It was a pretty peaceful day, not too many people came in so you kind of just sat and waited, you did some crossword puzzles, played some games on your computer, ignoring the get back to work email from Simon. It was lunch time when you and Simon interacted for the first time in a couple of days. You were getting ready to walk to the grocery store in the plaza you worked at (do they have these outside of America? Like shopping malls, or like strip malls?? Plz let me know.). 

“Heading out?” he asked, leaning against the wall near the exit. You rolled your eyes, praying he didn’t notice. “I got to go to the market also, maybe I can keep you company?” he offered. 

“I don’t care.” you mumbled, obviously very bothered by his presence. You grabbed your bag, and headed towards the door, Simon following behind you closely. “What’re you gonna buy?” he asked, “food.” he let out a sigh, “food’s always good.” he said, swinging his arms back and forth. 

Simon felt like a kid who disappointed his mother, he doesn’t know what he did, but it was something that made her angry. In this case, he knew you were angry but you couldn’t still be angry from Monday's quarrel.  

-

When you entered the market you made sure to separate yourself from Simon, you head to the little deli in the back, and got a turkey sandwich (I love turkey sandwiches if anyone cares.) 

Somehow Simon ended up finding you, you two stood next to each other silently watching the elder man thinly slice the meat and place it on the bun. “Looks delicious.” he says, and you say nothing. You prance around the store finding some snacks for your desk, picking up a snickers bar for Linda cause those are her favorites. Simon followed you around like a lost puppy , paying for his stuff after you. You walked out before him and sat at the exact table you sat at when he decided he wanted to be a dick for the first time. 

Simon walked out of the store and found you sitting alone, eating alone, watching people walk around the shopping mall. “Lost ya.” he smiled, his one dimple showing. You looked at him with a blank face. Simon pursed his lips and sat and ate his lunch quickly. 

 “Saw you looking for jobs online.” he broke the silence. “Yup.” you hum, “You’re thinking of quitting?” Simon inquired. “I’m looking at jobs so?” you drawled out earning wide eyes from simon. “You know I can fire you for that.” he takes a sip from his water bottle, “you’d fire a wild bear for shitting in the woods if it worked for you.” You scoffed, in return Simon let out a cackle, and you almost smiled at his natural laugh. “I think I've found a job though. So I'll be out of your hair in no time” Simon smile drops, “who said I wanted you out of my hair?” his brows furrow. 

You smack your lips together, “let’s not be obtuse.” you sigh. 

“You want to quit because of me?” he asked, “If I say yeah, are you gonna speed up the process?” you ribbed. “You really want to quit because of me?” Simon was in disbelief, he seriously couldn’t believe it. Was he too harsh? But that’s how you two were, you’d taunt each other. At least that’s what he thought. “I’m going back.” you say while getting up and throwing your trash.

 Simon sat by himself, “let’s not be obtuse.” kept replaying and replaying. Was it the headphone thing, it was just some dumb gag he did for fun. You even joked about it one time, you said you’d shove an air-pod up his nose. Was it the emails? Simon likes your attention, whether it be good or bad. He likes you, the way you look in your work outfits, he’s a grown man, he can appreciate when someone is good looking. Now he was really starting to tweak out. 

Simon practically sprinted back to the office, you sat at one of the front desks, you looked up at him in the doorway. “Are you really quitting?” your eyes widen, “Simon hush!” you sputtered. 

“Was it something I did,” he asks as he walks towards the desk, “Answer me truthfully.” he demands. “Oh jesus.” you put your head in your hands out of embarrassment. Simon's eyes are on you, you can feel them while you try and bury your head deeper into your palms. “I know you were pissed on monday-” he continues, “Simon leave it alone for fucks sake.” huffing you finally look at him. He nods and walks back into his office, shutting the door avoiding work all day, with you on his mind how could he not?

-

It’s Friday, you’re scheduled to be back at your desk. You walk into the office earlier as always, listening to your music, you notice Simon was sitting on your desk. Confused, you approach him and tap him on his shoulder, “Your ass is on my desk.” Simon hops off quickly, “Sorry.” you eye him suspiciously. 

“I want to talk to you about yesterday.” you groan, “Simon leave it please. That’s all I ask.” you make praying hands pleading, “yesterday you said-”

“UGH Simon please.” you groan even louder than earlier, “you said “If you say yes would I make the process faster” so I am the reason you’re quitting?” you look at him with the most confused face ever. “Are you okay? Genuinely?” 

“Are you quitting because of me?” Simon prodded, “I have to heat up my breakfast.” Soon as you went to walk to the break room, Simon grabbed your wrist softly, his brown eyes looking into yours, 

“Answer me, is it my fault?” 

(well, yes!)

[icycoldninja]

Don't leave me (Sephiroth x Reader angst)

Summary: Sephiroth's abandonment issues get the better of him in the middle of the night, so he goes to you, seeking comfort.

---‐------------------------------------------------------------‐--------------Sleep was never easy for Sephiroth thanks to the shadows, voices, and eerie bits of music that often plagued his thoughts. His mind, when allowed to wander, was often like a bitter, wintery blizzard, with everything swirling around in one, massive, confusing, mental storm. In order to keep the storm from growing too large, Sephiroth often kept busy throughout the day, focusing his mind on productive, stimulating activities such as exercising, scheming in his office, or tracking down Cloud and his accomplices.

However, at nighttime, when his brain was exhausted and craved sleep, such activities were very difficult to complete, therefore, he turned to more ordinary practices of keeping his mind occupied, which, unsurprisingly, did not work. Math problems were easy for him, as were crossword puzzles, spot the difference games, hidden object puzzles, etc. Sephiroth could work through an entire high-school math textbook in under 2 hours and say it was "child's play". This level of genius was purely astonishing, and also maddening, as his troubled thoughts, of which there were plenty, were also very disruptive.

Sighing, the man rolled over in his bed and draped his heavy, fluffy wing over his face like most humans would with a pillow. Why couldn't he sleep?! What would it take for his goddamn brain to shut off and let him rest already?! He was so tired, he could feel his eyeballs ache, but he just couldn't rest. Why?

The swirling storm in Sephiroth's head raged on; he closed his eyes and gripped his pillow tightly, trying desperately to remember what falling asleep felt like so he could ascertain whether or not he was making progress.

Several more minutes passed, and Sephiroth felt his brain fog over. He relaxed completely, willing his consciousness to slip into darkness and finally, finally, allow him to rest. He expected to plunge into fuzzy nothingness, but was instead met with a cold, dark, empty void.

All around him, he could hear laughter. Deranged laughter; laughter he'd heard almost all day of every day during his childhood. How he hated that laugh. Sephiroth turned around, only to find that same man standing before him in the familiar, pristine lab coat that he knew so well.

Hojo.

He was glad he couldn't speak; to utter his name aloud would have stained and corrupted his tongue. He glared at the man with contempt, wishing he would just leave already. He'd seen enough of that cruel bastard, he didn't need to see any more. Hojo smiled at him, his thin lips twisting into a devious smirk. Looking at it made Sephiroth's blood boil. Where was Masamune? Now would be a perfect time to use it.

Hojo's smile slowly faded, his expression turning from evil glee to disgust. He was regarding Sephiroth with disgust. How dare he?! Sephiroth watched as he turned around and walked away, shaking his head. Good riddance, he thought. He never wanted to look at scum like Hojo anyway. Turning around once again, Sephiroth came face to face with a being he never expected to see in a place like this. His own, beloved mother: Jenova.

Now Sephiroth was beginning to wish he could speak. He wanted to tell his mother how glad he was to see her here, how much he loved her, how thankful he was to her for his mere existence. He tried to reach out to touch her, but she recoiled, frowning in repulsion. What was wrong? What did he do to make her feel this way? Sephiroth was at a complete loss; all he ever did was for his mother, so why wasn't she embracing him? Why....why didn't she love him?

Panicking slightly, Sephiroth extended his hands in her direction once again, but Jenova stepped back. Shaking her head at him, just as Hojo had done, the entity whom Sephiroth had dedicated nearly everything he did to turned her back on him.

Now he was scared. The darkness was more than just that; it was an all-consuming maw mace of his own twisted, fearful thoughts. He didn't want this; he hated being alone like this. Why did everyone leave? What did he do wrong?

The stormy void closed in around Sephiroth, surrounding him in a cloud of fear. He didn't like this, he didn't want to sleep anymore, he wanted to wake up!

And he did, springing upright in a cold sweat, panting heavily. His wing flapped loudly against the bed, shedding feathers everywhere. He looked around and saw he was the only person in the room, this notion terrifying him even further. In a fit of frenzied hysteria, Sephiroth flung the covers aside and stumbled out of his room, not caring that he was bashing various body parts against the door trim. He ended up in the living room, where you were still awake, working on the couch. As soon as he appeared in the darkened room, you stopped what you were doing and turned to him, confused. His legs, clad only in pajama shorts, were visibly and violently trembling; an unusual occurrence.

"Seph?" You asked, standing up and walking towards him. "Are you alright?" He shook his head, nearly collapsing into your arms. You cradled him for a while, pressing soft kisses to his cheek, waiting patiently to see if he would explain the reasons for his distress. After a few moments, he began to sob.

"Don't leave me," He croaked, clinging onto you tightly. "Don't leave me too...." You sighed softly, before taking hid head into your hands and kissing him.

"I'm not leaving you, ever," You told him, running your hands through his long, silky locks. "I'm gonna be here forever. Don't be afraid." Sephiroth nodded, then sniffled and wiped his tears away. "Come on," You said, taking him by the hand and leading him back to his bedroom. "I'll stay with you tonight."

Needless to say, Sephiroth fell asleep easier than ever that night; the comfort of your presence, and the knowledge that you would never leave him lulling him into peaceful slumber.

[cosmowes]

100 things to try

getting off the phone can be hard. i find that i’m only ever motivated to do it when there’s something else to do. so! here are those things, dollie.

hobbies:

collecting (figurines, blind boxes, vinyls, books…)

2. embroidery

3. thrift flips / diying clothes

4. jewelry making

5. kandi

6. collage making

7. painting

8. sketching

9. start an album list

10. thrifting

11. baking (w/o the box mix !!)

12. cooking

13. origami

14. doll customization

15. making stuffed animals

16. building models

17. clay sculpting

18. customizing shoes

19. dancing

20. yoga

21. pilates

22. singing

23. learn an instrument

24. skating (skateboard, roller skating/blading, ice skating)

25. biking

26. hiking

27. jogging/running

28. doing nails

29. doing hair

30. building costumes/cosplays

31. soapmaking

32. play dnd

33. writing

34. poetry

35. web design

36. character design

37. graphic design

38. font design

39. make short films

40. make bath bombs

41. start tutoring people

42. join a new club

43. start a book club w/ friends

44. read a play

45. write a play

46. go see a play (support small theatres!!! wooh)

47. journaling

48. programming

49. design clothes

50. crochet

halfway through… ps, if you’ve had the energy to scroll this, you have the energy to start one. pick your battles!

51. knitting

52. cross stitch

53. beading

54. learn solitaire

55. typing

56. learn cursive

57. start learning a language

58. make a dreamcatcher

59. start making smoothies

60. take cute notes

61. photography

62. climb a tree!!!

63. swimming

64. press flowers

65. get a pen pal

66. make tea (the nice kind)

67. make coffee (same as above)

68. make bookmarts

69. annotate books

70. jigsaw puzzles

71. crosswords

72. sudokus

73. word searches

74. quilting

75. make perfume

76. make lightboxes

77. skincare

78. making jams

79. whittling

80. carpentry

91. tie dye

92. archery

93. axe throwing

94. martial arts

95. making ornaments

96. music writing

97. terrariums

98. gardening

99. scrapbooking

100. pottery

[coffeeghoulie]

Mushy May Day 10: Quiet Nights

A quiet night in the band ghoul den.

Much thanks to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together, and to @ghuleh-recs for the divider.

After dinner leftovers are put away, dishes done and dried and back in their cupboards, Aether pulls his readers out of his breast pocket and heads to the common room. Rain and Cumulus are already there, having helped Mountain cook dinner.

The common room is typically quiet, these nights. Most of the others break off into pairs or just head back to their rooms alone, but the three of them lounge out in the common room for a little while longer. Mountain and Dew slip past Aether as he makes his way, and all three of them pause in the hall.

"I'll join you two in an hour or so. You don't have to wait up for me," Aether hums, pulling Mountain down for a soft kiss, and the earth ghoul goes easily. When they break, he turns to give Dew the same loving treatment.

"We'll keep the nest warm for you, starshine," Dew says, pressing himself against Aether's side for a moment like a particularly affectionate orange cat. Aether smiles and ruffles his hair, much to Dew's faux-chagrin.

"Have fun, nova," Mountain says, patting Aether's shoulder. Aether reaches up and squeezes his hand, and he heads to the common room as his mates head off towards bed.

He finds the common room as it usually is this time of night, ceiling lights turned off, a few lamps casting warm, gold light over the room. Cumulus settles cross-legged in her favorite arm chair, her thick glasses resting on her nose as she squints at a pattern, trying to make sense of the stitch abbreviations. There's a hook tucked behind her ear, a skein of yarn in her lap. Sunny's sprawled out on her stomach on the floor, her well-loved Gameboy in hand, the volume turned down way low.

Rain's on the loveseat, tucked into the corner, a well-worn paperback from the Abbey library open in his hands. Aether takes a seat on the other side of the loveseat, reaching over to the drawer in the side table for his crossword book and a pencil.

As soon as he's settled, Rain shifts until he rests his head on one of Aether's thighs, his knees hooked over the arm of the loveseat. It's a practiced motion, and when Aether feels the weight of him against him, something deep inside of him relaxes. He flips open his crossword book to the first unanswered page, about three quarters of the way through. It will be another week or so before he needs to get a new one.

He puts his readers on, reading over the clues as he starts to work. His other hand goes down, raking blunt claws through Rain's hair. He gets a glance at the spine of his novel, recognizing the cover as something Mountain was reading a few days earlier.

They exist together quietly, the only noises the scratch of pencil on paper, soft video game music playing, Cumulus quietly counting as she keeps track of stitches.

Aeon sticks their head in, noise-canceling headphones covering their ears and a Rubix cube in their hand. "Hey, guys?" All four of the other ghouls turn to look, and Aether glances at them over his readers.

"Yeah, pup?"

"Sorry, could I join you guys?" They scuff their shoe against the floor, trying not to shy away from the unadulterated attention of the others.

"Of course," Cumulus says, waving them over. They take a seat on the floor, back against the front of Cumulus's chair. Aeon leans their head back against Cumulus's shin, playing with the toy, the colors flashing underneath their lithe fingers.

Aether settles back into the couch, working on his crossword, slyly watching Sunny's gameplay. There's no obligation to talk, no masks that need to be held up physical or mental, it's just five ghouls existing together, and it's something that Aether cherishes.

It takes him longer than it normally does to finish his puzzle. That's just because every so often, he tucks his pencil behind his ear, making sure not to catch it on his piercings, and just takes it in. This is what they've worked for. Sure, spreading the word of the Unholy Father is rewarding in its own way, but this is something else, something almost more rewarding than the work, and Aether intends to enjoy every minute of it that he can.

Once he's done, he cards his fingers through Rain's hair one more time before putting his book and pencil away. Rain chirps quietly, shifting reluctantly so Aether can stand. "Good night, angelfish," he whispers, trying not to break the peaceful silence.

Rain squeezes his hand, fighting not to yawn himself as he gets comfortable in the spot Aether's vacated.

He steps, surprisingly quietly for a ghoul of his size, over Sunny, tapping her shoulder with the spade of his tail. She hums in response, focused on her game but still wishing him good night.

Aeon gets their hair ruffled, careful not to dislodge their headphones, and he bends down to press a kiss to Cumulus's forehead. She presses up into it like a cat pleased to receive affection, even though there's no shortage of love in this pack.

Aether spares one last glance back at them before he heads up the hallway to his room, the exhaustion of the end of the day beginning to creep in on him. There's a crack of light underneath his door, and he sighs as he steps into his shared bedroom.

"I told you two you didn't have to-" He starts, cutting himself off as he takes in the sight of his mates in their nest, fast asleep even though the nightstand lamp is on. They're both on their sides, Dew curled around Mountain's back, something that almost looks humorous given their size difference.

Aether smiles, big and warm, and he pulls out his phone, even though he has hundreds of pictures just like this. He knows his mates have pictures of him like this too, and it doesn't stop him from snapping a few before setting his phone and readers down on the nightstand. He changes into a pair of sweats, tossing his day clothes in the hamper before crawling into bed behind Dew.

Mountain shifts but doesn't wake when Aether slings a big arm around his and Dew's waist, but Dew huffs a breath, craning his neck to look back at him.

"Hey, starshine," Dew whispers, voice slow and sleepy. Aether leans in and kisses his cheek.

"Hi, baby. Sorry to wake you."

Dew hums and nuzzles back against him, knocking their horns together. "S'all good," he hums. "Glad I get to say good night, though."

"Me too." Aether gives him another kiss on the cheek, reaching over him and Mountain to pull the cord on the lamp. "Good night, love."

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I’m So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) || Chapter 13b (She’s My Addiction) || Chapter 13c (Patience) || Chapter 14a (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14b (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14c (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 15a (Dreams) || Chapter 15b (I Sing A Song of Love) || Chapter 15c (You Can Do This If You Try) || Chapter 16 (Let That Feeling Grab You Deep Inside || Chapter 17A: Never Tear Us Apart || Chapter 17B: It’s Tough To Be Somebody, And It’s Hard Not To Fall Apart  || Chapter 17C: I’m Wishing, Lord, That I Was Stoned || Chapter 18: Turn The Page || Chapter 19A: When You’re Alone, Do You Let Go? || Chapter 19B: Heading For A Spin || Chapter 20A: I Don’t Need Nothing When I’m By Your Side || Chapter 20B: I'm Walkin' Down This Rocky Road ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 20C: You're The Only One Who Gets Through To Me

I feel good in your room Let's lock the world out Feels so good when we kiss Nobody ever made me crazy like this

-- "In Your Room", The Bangles (1988) [click here to listen]

North Carolina || February 1989

Darkness had settled on the cabin before Jamie re-emerged, hair damp, wearing jeans and a worn Eagles t-shirt.

He found Raymond in the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table, working on a crossword puzzle. Raymond looked up as Jamie entered the room, and set down his pen.

Jamie sank into the chair across from Raymond. Sighed.

“I was going to apologize, but I think you would have told me that I didn’t need to.”

“You’re right.”

Jamie leaned on the table with his elbows, eyes down. “That hasn’t happened since we finished the tour. And it wasn’t even a bad one.”

“We’ll talk about that. How is Claire?”

“She’s in the shower. She…” Jamie swallowed. “I’m fucking nothing without her.” 

A beat.

“A few months ago, in the middle of the tour, we spent a weekend with Dougal and Gillian. Dougal said that I had traded my addiction to substances, for an addition to my wife. Do you think that’s true?”

Raymond thought about this for a long while. He waited for Jamie to sit up straight and look at him.

“Do you know the definition of the word ‘addicted’, Jamie?”

Jamie shook his head.

“It means, to be physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects.”

Jamie lay his hands flat on the table. “Sounds pretty accurate to me.”

“Perhaps.” Raymond folded his arms against his chest. “But what about your music? Couldn’t you say the same about that?”

Jamie nodded.

“What about your family? Your friends?”

Jamie shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Yeah, but – ”

“I’m not discounting what Dougal said, Jamie. But what I am saying, is that it’s not so black and white. I love Dougal, but he can be a bit too…literal sometimes.”

Jamie smiled, faintly.

“Are you incredibly dependent on Claire, Jamie? Of course. But she’s your wife. You spend every moment of every day together when you’re at home, and the vast majority of your time together when you’re on the road. That’s not typical. And, you’re both addicts in recovery, and you keep each other accountable. It’s to be expected.”

Raymond sat back in his chair. “Now – the question is, whether the nature of your relationship with Claire tips over into being so close, so dependent, that it becomes problematic. Do you think it’s a problem?”

Jamie rubbed his face. “To the extent that even thinking about a life without her in it will cause me to spiral, yes. To the extent that I only hear her voice when I’m stuck in a spiral, yes. To the extent that the only way I can come back to myself from a spiral is by making love to her, yes.”

“I’m not saying that you need to cut any of that out of your life, Jamie. Know that, first and foremost.”

Raymond watched Jamie visibly relax. “I meant what I said to you before – that you need to nurture your connection. Something I hope you’re coming to know about me, is that I don’t use words lightly. What the two of you have built – how you love and protect each other – I’ve never seen that intensity in a married couple before.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I hope you can understand that without drawing the right boundaries, it can be both. I hope you trust me when I say that I won’t do anything to test or damage your relationship with Claire. But you do need to broaden your levels of support, Jamie. Allow other people in. And create space for you, and Claire, to explore who you are without each other.”

“I know. I need to. I don’t want to use her up,” he whispered. “I want forever with her.”

“So,” Raymond said, so patiently, “Let me in a bit, please. Let me help you, too. I will help both of you.”

“It will make us stronger,” Jamie agreed. “But Doc, it’s so fucking hard…”

“Isn’t anything that’s hard to do, worthwhile?”

“It is.” Claire breezed into the kitchen, clad in sweatpants and one of Jamie’s flannel shirts, and kissed her husband on the cheek. “But thankfully I learned to use a crock pot to cook Uncle Lamb’s chili recipe a long time ago – it’s so much easier than cooking it on the stove. Who’s hungry?”

[pynkgothicka]

ＣＯＮＴＲＯＬ ＫＴＨ

Synopsis - You visit your boyfriend the night he told you explicitly not to come. (Part 2 of the Monster Series)

Pairing - Dark! Yandere Werewolf Kim Taehyung x Fem! Reader

Featuring - Alex Wolff (Get it. Wolf. Please Laugh)

Tags and Warnings - Violence, Hints to Sex, Cannibalism??, Monsters, Transformations

Authors Note - Choosing exactly how I wanted to portray Tae took years off my life.

A friendly reminder that all my works are dark fanfiction! Please if you do not like that do not read them! This is your final warning before hitting the keep reading button!!

Your boyfriends hands ran over your skin as he sucked hickies into your skin. You giggled at the ticklish feeling. You could hear him snickering into your neck.

“Why are you laughing?” He said coming up to look you directly in your eyes. This only made you laugh more. “Can't take a few kisses?”

“You know I'm ticklish!” You say smacking his shoulder jokingly. Taehyung laughed, his deep voice resounding in your small apartment.

“Why do you think I do it?”

“Because your weird.”

“Hey! That's not very nice now is it?” He replied turning away from you. You knew he was joking, but you still wrapped your arms around him, his chuckling being heard from next to you. He then turned back around to kiss your forehead sweetly, his arm rubbing at your side as you say in your bed together.

Then your attention shifted to the television seemingly mindlessly. “These mysterious maulings have only one connection. They appear on the night of full moons.” The female reporter said, meanwhile her male counterpart laughed.

“Looks like we have a werewolf on our hands dont we!”

“Werewolves aren't real, maybe a goblin!” Both reporters laugh it off before transitioning into talking about the weather.

Taehyung scoffed next to you, his eyes rolling. “Why are they joking about that shit?” His brows furrowed. You take his much larger hand in your own and kiss it. Taehyungs face shifted to one of fondness.

“Well, maybe they're trying to be lighthearted about it… either way it's still very wrong. But hey that has nothing to do with us.”

“Mhmm, of course. Now come on I really want to kiss you again.”

🐺

About a month passed after that and Taehyung grew distant for past few days. When you called him he picked up but sounded really stressed.

“Did I do something… to make you not want to be around me anymore?” You ask, sitting down on your couch in the living room of your apartment. Your best friend Alex sat next to you. He wanted to be there for you for support.

"No it wasn't you, it's all me. I just want some time alright?"

"A-Are you breaking up with me..."

“No! Of course not… I swear tomorrow night I can come visit you and everything. Just not tonight.” Taehyung said.

"Oh, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. It's just that you're not usually like this. You have me worr-"

"I fucking told you I'm fine." With that Taehyung hung up. That's all it took for you to make the decision. You had to go visit him.

🐺

The sun set as you and Alex pulled into his small house's driveway.

"Stay in the car, I should be right back." You said getting out of the passenger side. You went under the door mat to find the spare key to let yourself back in. Almost immediately something was off.

It was quiet. Taehyung's house, whenever you called wasn't quiet. He told you he can't sit in silence in fact it unnerves him. So he usually lets Jazz music play throughout his home. Besides he usually hangs in his living room, doing crossword puzzles and sudokus. Maybe even playing a video game.

But he was no where in sight.

Something you did hear was the faint tussling of chains.

Following the noise led you to Taehyungs bedroom. You opened the door, revealing a jarring sight. Taehyung was only in his boxers and was chained to his radiator in his room. “Tae! Hold on let me get you out of those!” You said seeing a key lying next to his body. Taehyungs eyes kept going back to look at the setting sun and raising moon.

“No! Stay back!” He yelled at you, letting out andeep gutteral growl and groan. He hunched over, sweat pouring down his body. You followed his order, mainly out of fear. “I don't want to hurt you… I told you to stay the fuck away!”

“W-Whats wrong? You have to tell me what's wr-” You were quickly cut off by a sharp bone crushing noise. Taehyung let out a scream, his nails digging into the wooden floor beneath you. You watched in horror as your boyfriend's body bent out of shape, his bones snapping in a horror like fashion. His face contorted into one of a snout and fur spouted from his skin.

Oh god.

Your boyfriend was a werewolf.

He was THE werewolf.

The beast huffed in front of you, his golden eyes piercing into your soul. Seeing you made him almost roar to life, with a new found strength he broke free of the chains. You stood there in shock for a minute as the form kept huffing.

Then he lunged.

Thats what made you begin to run. His house was small and simple, yet you could see the signs. The walls were covered in scratch marks. In fact even the floor is. But you couldn't focus on that, you had to keep moving.

You made it out of the front door and closed it on him. You quickly head down the porch, seeing that Alex was still in the car. He looked in shock as you got in the passenger seat. “Alex turn the car on.”

“W-What why? What's wrong?!” He yells back at you his eyes stuck on the front door as it bangs against its frame.

“Listen to me. We have to fucking go!” You yelled back. Then just at that moment, Taehyung bursts through the door, the hinges falling off completely. He charges towards your car, his body slamming against the front glass. You and Alex scream as Alex fumbles with the keys, dropping them between the center and his seat. Taehyungs golden eyes make direct contact with Alex and he seems to lose it further growling and clawing to be let in.

“So he can't get us… right?” Alex says, jinxing it as the glass cracks.

“Get in the back seat!” You say jumping to the back and pulling down the drink holder to crawl into the trunk. You have Alex climb in first then you.

Then you hear it.

The bending of metal followed by shrill scream. You look back and see Alex's body being dragged out of the trunk and slammed to the ground. That should've instantly killed him, you knew that. So whenever you're grabbed you begin to freak out, but your not slammed to the ground. You knew some semblance of Taehyung was in him.

The way he looked at you as you cried and cowered away from him.

But the moment was seemingly ruined by Alex letting out a loud cough. “Get away… from her.” He said breathing heavy. Taehyung looked at him before setting you down on the nearby ground, licking your cheek. He grabbed the bumper from your car, pulling it off like it was nothing. He wrapped it over you to seemingly keep you down. You were forced to watch as Taehyung stalk towards your dying friend.

Now you could get a better view at how Taehyung moved. He was like a ordinary man, but with wolfish features. Anytime he walked with an intent he walked on all fours. Like right now. Alex began to crawl away, his head bleeding and nose broken. “C-Come on Tae. It's me. Alex… Alex Wolff. You know me man…”

Taehyung looked at him, you watched as his hand twitched in aggravation. “He never… liked you.” You were taken aback as he spoke. Most importantly how deep it was compared to Taehyungs voice. You let out a yell as Taehyung caught up to Alex and began to slash at him, mauling him with both hands and mouth. You cried out in fear, feeling almost immediately weak at the sight. Once hes done and Alex is for sure gone, nothing but a mangled mess in fact, Taehyung comes back to you. His fur was coated in fresh blood.

“Mate… You were always so... pretty…” The beast mumbles, snout moving in a weird way to get out the words. You cried as he swats away the bent metal to pick up your form again. He brings you back to the inside of his home and sits you down on his couch. You keep your eyes on him, widen in fear at the possibility of his next move. He could kill you if he really wanted too.

But he doesn't. In fact he just lays down on couch resting his head in your lap. He licks at your hand “We love you. Do you still love us…”

You feel yourself choke on a few tears. “…yes…” The sad part is you weren't lying.

Let me know through a dm or ask to be included in my official Taglist- @darkuni63 @fangirl-death-rose @captainengineer-trixie @chimmisbae @iloverubberduckiez-blog @mageprincess7

[anderscim]

✦ i did make an insane reach, but not about what i expected

(for your information, this is not about the Elliot Cuevas MV that was recently released. this is actually about something else.)

// DRDT spoilers up until ch2 + spoilers for the Literature Girl Insane MV

i guess i’ll just get straight to the point.

admittedly, i have no idea as to how to crack the number code / footnote #14 at the end of the Literature Girl Insane MV. i think i delved a bit too deep into the mathematics and tried to find some sort of symbolism in the numbers, before realizing i was going nowhere with it. if anyone does solve it, however, let me know. (￣^￣)ゞ

but i did make a couple of observations about the specific text shown during that portion. about a week ago i found something that could be a hint regarding what the text is about—and if it holds any ground, a possible clue to a certain character’s past before the killing game.

(take this theory with a huge mountain of salt)

———

there’s nowhere i can really start from, so i guess i’ll begin by talking about one of my observations.

this screen. this specific frame may not look like anything important, but out of curiosity i decided to count the number of question marks on this screen. there’s 32 in total—16 question marks for each row.

other than it being a factor of 256 (16x16), there’s something else that’s also linked to the number. the number of students (total) that participated in the killing games. every killing game has a total of 16 students, at least when it comes to the official series. and with the assumption that DRV3 is a killing game that takes place entirely separate from the other two—this means that Hope’s Peak Academy is associated with two past killing games, which combined, involved a total of 32 students.

aside from that, the footnote “256 words” seems to connect to one of Karasuyasabou’s other songs known as “Jabberwocky Jabberwocka”—and funnily enough, Jabberwocky Island is where the second killing game (SDRA2) takes place. it seems to be too much of a coincidence to brush over.

however, we know that this part of Hope’s Peak Academy’s history has been covered up—so only few have any access to information about it. there’s even direct dialogue that supports this fact; most characters in Despair Time have no knowledge of the previous killing games.

(this does raise questions as to why Teruko has any knowledge of the previous killing games—but i don’t think we’ll be able to answer those for a while as it seems to be a major part of her character.)

in that case, why this number? (here’s where the insane reaches begin. get ready.)

if we go back to the LGI MV, there seems to be an indication that this specific code is linked to a character—which is seen by this frame here.

the roman numerals that appear throughout the MV are linked to a crossword that appears earlier in the music video—and this number (I) is specifically linked to Xander, as seen by the solution to this puzzle by @/raspbeyes here. since the code, the ampersand, the equal sign, and the question marks that follow are all in the same font, color, and transparency (as well as general format), we could also say that the text that appears during this portion is linked to Xander.

as inferred from this theory by @/1moreff-creator, it’s likely that Xander (along with Mai) was heavily involved in a (secretive?) operation or at least some sort of research involving Hope’s Peak Academy. the bonus episodes that released in between chapters 1 & 2 seem to hint at these efforts as well:

and as far as we have inferred, this project proved to be an incredible risk—leading to not only Mai’s death, not only the new killing game, but also the memories of the remaining Hope’s Peak Academy students being reset to when they were first heading to the orientation ceremony. someone was adamant about covering everything up and leaving nothing behind, but Xander and Mai’s project shattered those efforts, if only for a brief moment. but, how exactly does this relate to the LGI MV? if the dev intentionally placed 32 question marks—one for each participant of the past Hope’s Peak Academy killing games—during a frame associated with Xander, then there’s a possibility that said past killing games are also associated with Xander one way or another. and the fact that this was deliberately placed where a numerical code (possibly related to a message) appears, it’s likely that by extension the message is linked to that association as well.

putting all of this together: the question marks from the LGI MV may contain a very specific clue about the numeric code associated with footnote 14—but not how to solve it, rather what the decoded message is actually about. or, if i can word this better, Xander and Mai’s “discovery” regarding Hope’s Peak Academy was about the killing games that took place there, and the message associated with Xander in footnote #14 will be one that talks about this discovery more in detail. if the information Xander and Mai uncovered was actually about these killing games, i think the reason why it was so risky would make sense—coupled with the fact that the Academy seems adamant about covering up that part of history. though this doesn’t actually provide any proper information as to how to solve the code—and i’m sure there’s a much simpler explanation for the question marks during that specific screen in the LGI MV—i think these observations were at least worth sharing.

as always, take this theory with a huge mountain of salt. and i mean, huge. (- -;)

[evilphrog]

ULTIMATE WINNER: Havelock Vetinari prefers reading sheet music, because instruments are disgusting and people keep playing them WRONG!

Here we have it, Discworld folks! The official tournament to decide Vetinari's weirdest moment in the series! Thanks to everyone who submitted options! There were so many good options to choose from, it was hard to pick just 16. I tried to pair up similar moments, so the left side is his personal life, and the right side is his choices as a leader.

FINAL ROUND:

Prefers reading sheet music instead of listening to it VS allied with the rats in a revolution against the snakes and scorpions

ROUND 3: SEMIFINALS

Locking Leonardo Da VInci in his attioc to be his therapist/best friend vs Prefers reading sheet music to listening to it WINNER: Prefers reading sheet music

While locked in his own dungeon, led the rats in a revolution against the snakes and scorpions vs Actively participates in plots to overthrow himself WINNER: Rat revolution

ROUND 2: QUARTERFINALS

His nemesis is the crossword lady vs Locked Leonardo Da Vinci in his attic to be his therapist/best friend WINNER: Leonardo Da Vinci

Spent hours learning to hold still vs Prefers reading sheet music to listening to it WINNER Reading sheet music

Intentionally consumed arsenic vs While locked in his own dungeon, led the rats in a revolution against the snakes and scorpions WINNER: Rat revolution

Insisted on being handcuffed during his arrest; was upset he wasn't shackled vs Actively participates in plots to overthrow himself WINNER: Participates in plots to overthrow himself

Round 1

Personal life:

Irrational and extreme hatred of mimes vs His nemesis is the crossword lady WINNER: crossword lady

Locked Leonardo Da Vinci in his attic to be his therapist/best friend vs Plays long distance board games by sending his moves in the mail WINNER: Leonardo Da Vinci

Spent hours learning to hold still vs Was almost crushed by a runaway mine cart; only reacted with a raised eyebrow WINNER: Learning to hold still

Prefers reading sheet music to listening to it vs Solves Sudoku puzzles in 17 seconds WINNER: Reading sheet music

Professional life:

5. Intentionally consumed arsenic vs Juggled knives perfectly on the first try WINNER: Intentionally consumed arsenic

6. First act as tyrant was unionizing sex workers and beggars vs While locked in his own dungeon, led the rats in a revolution against the snakes and scorpions WINNER: rat revolution

7. Insisted on being handcuffed during his arrest; was upset he wasn't shackled vs Left an axe embedded in the council table as a "conversation piece" WINNER: handcuffs

8. Actively participates in plots to overthrow himself vs Killed the former patrician by saying "Boo." WINNER: participates in plots to overthrow himself

(Post will link to polls as they are created)

[moonspirit]

what do u think the alliances favourite form of media is? (books, poetry, music, movies etc.) now that they’re able to freely enjoy such things

Hiya!

Oh well xD I have some strong opinions on this one.

For Armin, his fascination with books will not cease, obviously, and good for him if he finds a library he can spend all day cooped up in, reading about wonderful new things. But also, I like thinking that he's gonna enjoy music a lot. Once he gets his hands on some records, and the Alliance hauls a gramophone into their house, he's going to really become a music enthusiast. I see him bonding with Pieck over their mutual love for good music.

(also. Once he discovers a new machine or contraption or invention, it's over for everyone.)

Annie - well @aquietjune introduced the image of Annie being a movies lover, and it's been stuck in my head ever since xD It's just adorable to think she enjoys going to watch the moving pictures and can spend any amount of time there. But aside from this, while I think she's not much of a book person, I like the idea of her enjoying crossword puzzles a lot. She'd like to have something to keep her mind busy and they're good for that. Ofc, this means Armin and her can have dining table dates where he's reading a book and she's doing a puzzle and he helps her with words when they're being particularly difficult.

Jean - XD oh god. I imagine this guy likes activities that exude an air of elegance and class. This could be painting, or an interest in fine art, and poetry, museums, art galleries, the like. I think he'd also enjoy the movies and maybe he and Annie could go together for a few (tho she's not having any of his intellectual put-on opinions on them).

Pieck - she's gonna be a plant lady 100%. There will be so many plants in her room and in the house that a giant leaf is smacking everyone in the face wherever they go. I just think she's going to find some comfort raising baby plants especially if we consider that she's the only real "odd one out" in the Alliance. She's lost everyone she knew and loved and is a newcomer among the others. But! There's also the music! She's got good taste in music and I imagine she's going to find some closeness with Armin in this interest.

As for Connie and Reiner. See, I really think they'd enjoy festivals and carnivals and board games and shooting games haha xD Not that any of the others would enjoy them less, but they're the first to make a beeline if there's something going on somewhere. Reiner canonically enjoys playing chess too (if I'm remembering right, he used to play a lot with Armin during their cadet years). Connie would enjoy mimicry and jesting shows(?) a lot (plenty to laugh at) and I think Reiner would also enjoy romance novels a lot and get too involved in the drama. I just like making fun of him a lot sorry

Not related to media but I think taking care of pets would help them all, but Reiner in specific. Not going into details here cuz that is another tangent, but for someone with so many suicidal thoughts and ideations, finding joy in bonding with a dog or cat or any animal really, would be good for him.

Falco and Gabi? - they probably love everything! Though Gabi is too restless to sit in one place for anything too long lol. Falco would probably get great book recs from Armin.

Levi - leave the man alone in peace, he's got a tea shop. (But I also hc that he likes the radio a lot)

Mikasa? - I think she'd also like radio broadcasts a lot, and going to plays. I have a very hard time getting into her headspace 🥲

[fourth-dimensional-thinker]

Some More BTTF Headcanons

- Marty only owns three pairs of shoes: sneakers, dress shoes, and flip-flops. He doesn't understand why he needs more than those and drags his feet every time Lorraine takes him out to buy new shoes

- On a related note, back-to-school shopping is one of Marty's least favorite times of the year

- Marty knows the instructors of the aerobics studio because he bought their old workout music cassettes at a yard sale

- Linda and Marty are both super picky eaters

- Dave, on the other hand, will eat anything and has eaten things of dubious-edibility on a dare

- Every McFly child needed to get braces

- Marty is Grandma Sylvia's favorite grandchild. Linda is Grandma Stella's favorite. Dave is Grandpa Sam's favorite. When asked, Grandpa Artie will never answer in fear of upsetting the other two

- Marty and Doc have teamed up to beat Pac-Man, studying and taking notes of the ghost patterns in each level. They have spent over twenty dollars working on this project. They have not succeeded yet

- Doc is Marty's go-to for help with his homework. Marty often needs some tutoring from him for math and science assignments. But other times, having Doc working quietly on a separate project in the same room helps Marty get into focus mode.

- Doc will invent all types of machines to make home chores easier to do, but he will always do dishes by hand. He finds it therapeutic. Einstein helps him by licking the plates clean

- When he was young, Doc used to be good at archery

- Doc knows many words and phrases from a lot of different languages, but it's not enough for full conversations and he can only be considered fluent in English

- He gets 90% of his appearance from his mother

- Doc is mostly a dog person. His mother is mostly a cat person. His father is a no-animals-in-the-house person

- George had an avid fear of his neighborhood's milkman when he was four

- His first job was at the local library

- He is very good at crossword puzzles

- While George is on good terms with his parents as an adult, Lorraine has a somewhat strained relationship with hers

- Lorraine played volleyball and tennis in high school

- She likes to embroider and make her own clothes

- Marlene is one minute older than Marty Jr. and loves to hold it over him at any opportunity

- Marlene is very popular at school. Junior isn't, and is mostly known as "Marlene's brother"

- Junior is part of the school's video club and likes to do behind-the-scenes work

- Needles has been blacklisted from being employed at any store in the mall (twin pines, lone pine— any version of it, he is on a "do not hire" list)

- Needles once ran over another student's foot in the high school parking lot. Whether it was on purpose or an accident has been widely debated. Marty is very sure it was on purpose

- Jennifer is on the school's cheerleading squad

- She is also in the yearbook club

- Clara enjoys preserving flowers and insects as a hobby she learned from her father

- She is fluent in French and can read Latin

- She likes gardening and growing her own plants

[homeybadger]

TMNT Headcanons- Games

Just a short bunch of headcanons about what kind of games each turtle would like! These aren't based on any particular version, but I took ideas from Bayverse as well as ROTTMNT

Raphael

Mainly enjoys fighting video games, like Street Fighter and Mortal Combat

Also pretty good at sports games- most often plays WWE/Football/Soccer games

You cannot tell me that he didn't play Stray for hours

Super good at racing games, second only to Mikey

For some reason I feel like he'd be invested in the Fallout games

Leonardo

Finds himself drawn to story-driven games, like The Last of Us, Oxenfree and Life Is Strange

He has played through Ghost Of Tsushima at least two times

Can play Solitaire for hours

Holds his own fairly well against Donnie in chess- the two of them can play for hours if left undisturbed

His guilty pleasure is the Sims

Michelangelo

Definitely a fan of music games, always calls dibs on drums in Guitar Hero

Totally is player two whenever Raph plays fighting games

Also plays sports games, but his specialty is mainly Basketball and Baseball

During his downtime, he likes more "kid games"- think Minecraft, Sonic, Lego, Kirby

The reigning champ at racing games

Donatello

A fan of video games requiring strategy, such as Pokémon and Civilization

100% also a card-game nerd. He's got way too many Magic The Gathering cards scattered around

Speeds through Sudoku and crossword puzzles faster than light

Really invested in games with a large, overarching storyline he can map out, such as Assassin's Creed and Legend of Zelda

You cannot tell me he hasn't played at least one Sherlock Holmes game

Helps Mikey with building redstone in Minecraft

[moralesmilesanhour]

lil' baby crush

summary: gwen pays miles a visit and gets him to go to one(1) college party. wc: ~1400 a/n: this isn't canon-compliant in that gwen is gay and miles is bisexual here. he's like the 'damn nobody want u fr' 'im sayin like!' image. enjoy!

Miles sighed and sunk down into his chair, the blue light from his laptop illuminating his face. He was currently the only one occupying the shared dorm room, working on an essay that wasn’t due until next month while his roommate was out doing…whatever he was doing. 

Partying, probably.

Despite what he’d often told his parents to explain his sudden disappearances, Miles didn’t really do parties. 

He’d had a taste of them in the form of school dances at Brooklyn Middle: you get there, maybe talk to your friends a little, then stand around trying to figure out how, when, and for how long to dance while the same ten songs rattle your eardrums. 

If he wanted to blast his ears with music for several hours straight, he figured that’s what his trusty bass-boosted headphones at home were for. No complex social ballet required. Even better, he could choose the playlist. 

But it sure made for some boring-ass Friday nights.

Miles got up and rolled his shoulders, fully prepared to go lie in bed for another hour, when he caught a familiar golden light flash across his window. He grinned to himself, wondering which member of what Hobie had affectionately called ‘the Spider-band’ had swung by for a visit.

Tap, tap, tap.

Gwen’s white mask appeared in the frame. She waved as Miles padded over to the window and pushed it open wide enough for her to climb through. Just as her muddy converses were about to touch the floor, he raised an eyebrow.

“Gwanda, you know better.”

“Right, forgot about that,” Gwen laughed, kicking them off. “Old habits, y’know?”

Miles shook his head and grinned.

“So, how’s the thing with MJ going?”

Gwen removed her mask, revealing shoulder-length blonde hair. It fell in choppy layers, and she had replaced the soft pink dye at the tips with a fiery orange.

"Well, it's…going."

Miles crossed his arms.

"Gwen…You did talk to her, right?"

"Y-yeah! I spoke to her," Gwen gnawed at her bottom lip before mumbling, "Once. On the subway."

"Absolutely tragic," he exclaimed dramatically as he fell back on his bed. "My best friend has absolutely no game!"

"Oh, you're one to talk! You think I forgot about 'the shoulder touch'?"

Miles sat straight up.

"I thought we agreed to never speak of that again."

"Just saying," Gwen hopped off of the window sill and sat at Miles' desk. "Enough about me, though. How's campus life? You get wasted at any parties yet?"

Miles shrugged.

"I got invited to one nearby that's supposed to be tonight, but I stayed back. No club meetings this week, either, so…"

Her eyes widened.

"So you're just sitting here?"

"I'm being productive," he corrected, pointing to his laptop. "See? I'm half-way done with that essay, I could probably turn it in a week early."

"Miles."

"What? I'm chilling, Gwen, seriously! Just me and my, uh…" Miles glanced at his bookshelf. "...crossword puzzles."

Gwen stood resolutely, already having made a decision in her head.

"Pick an outfit, we're going to that party."

"Whoah, whoah, wait, hold on–"

Miles hopped to his feet as she threw open his closet and began rummaging through it. 

"Since when do you wear sweater vests?"

She held up several hangers with sweater vests of various colors.

"I wanted to look distinguished…?"

"Nerd," she snorted. "Oh, this bomber jacket looks sick! Feel like going out with it?"

Miles laughed, "Something tells me I don't have much of a choice."

"Correct," Gwen smirked, tossing the jacket at him. "I’m gonna have to borrow one of these hoodies."

-

After a twenty-minute walk (Miles didn’t want to risk swinging), the two stopped in front of a run-down apartment building. Loud music and spinning lights from mini disco balls spilled out of the windows.

"This is it," Miles breathed. "If my first party sucks or gets raided by the cops, I'm never speaking to you again."

"Never know until you try," Gwen replied. "Shall we?"

The place was already packed. There was a lively beer pong game happening in the kitchen, while a pack of students were strung along the walls in the living room puffing clouds of marijuana smoke into the air. The group in the middle of the room, of course, was dancing. Or something that closely resembled dancing.

Miles glanced across the room, scanning the sea of swaying bodies when he noticed one lounging on the couch.

The figure was staring down into a red solo cup, a full head of blonde, ear-length dreads obscuring half of his face until he looked up. 

In a devastating miscalculation, Miles let himself stare a little longer until he realized that their eyes had met. He froze, as if the stranger’s dark eyes kept him in place.

Gwen followed his line of vision. She’d seen that look on Miles’ face before: once when they first met at Visions, and again when Hobie had invited them to a concert and she’d caught Miles ogling the bassist. 

She grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. 

"I'll be by the speakers. Go get 'em, tiger."

Despite his sneakers feeling like they were made of concrete, he took a step forward, then another, keeping his eyes on his target all the while. 

The other boy tilted his head in amusement. 

"Um," Miles began, "I-Is this spot taken?"

"Well, I'm sitting in it, so…"

Real smooth, Miles.

"No! I mean, like, next to you–"

The boy’s eyes became crescent moons as he burst into laughter.

"Relax, I know what you meant. Spot's free," he gestured towards the empty area on the couch to his right.

"O-oh, cool. Thanks," Miles laughed awkwardly. The couch sank beneath him when he sat down.

How the fuck do you flirt with dudes?

He could barely fumble his way through flirting with women, riding almost entirely on them finding his utter lack of game endearing. Now here he was, glancing back and forth between the stranger and a wall.

"Yo, you want a drink?" The boy asked, snapping Miles out of his thoughts. "You look like you need one."

He was probably right.

"Sure, I don't mind."

He rose to his feet, revealing more of his outfit: an oversized black tee layered over a white shirt, with a red kilt draped over a pair of dark wash jeans. A real Jaden Smith type, it seemed. But maybe Miles was into that. 

It wasn't long before he returned with a second solo cup, which he pushed into Miles' hand. 

"So," he asked with a grunt as he sat, "Why you not dancin'?"

Miles snorted, and shook his head.

"I don't dance. Was never too good at it."

"Ah, but is the point of dancing to be good at it?"

"Don't get philosophical with me now, I'm a STEM major," Miles grinned, then took a sip of whatever was in his cup. 

He tried his best to hide his disdain for the brown liquid, but the grimace on his face made it evident. "I didn't catch your name, by the way."

"Call me TJ."

"That's a cute name–I mean, a nice name," Miles winced at himself. "A very…normal name."

TJ laughed, revealing a gap-toothed smile that made Miles' chest swell. "Thanks. Yours?"

"Miles. Miles Morales."

"I think your name's cuter. Bonus points for alliteration."

Miles felt heat rushing up to his ears and cheeks. He hadn't had enough to drink for him to blame it on that. 

"So, why aren't you dancing?" He asked, changing the subject.

TJ shrugged. 

"I prefer to people-watch."

"Oh, so when you do it, it's 'people-watching'," Miles made air quotes with his fingers. "I see how you move."

"And yet here you are, talking to me anyway. No idea why you chose me to sit next to, by the way. It's hella empty seats."

Miles bit his lip. 

"I…didn't come over here just to find a seat, actually." 

TJ raised a bleached eyebrow. 

"So what did you come here for? Clearly not to get high, your pupils look normal."

Miles took a deep breath, his heartbeat louder in his ears than the music.

"You, um…You're…"

Holy shit, just say something!

"Do you like boys? I'm not asking for a friend."

Oh my god. Not like that.

TJ blinked, then a smirk began to spread across his face as he came to a realization. 

"Why, yes. Yes I do. You wanna get outta here? I know a place with actual food."

Miles let out a breathy laugh.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that."

"I think I have some idea. You're sweating."

Before he could respond, Miles felt his phone vibrate in his jacket. It was Gwen.

-gwanda: finally!!

-gwanda: if u don’t get his number im gonna be so mad at u. be back by midnight!!

He rolled his eyes.

-miles: ok mom

Miles shut off his phone and rose to his feet, as TJ had already done. He took a deep breath.

“Shall we?”

[wallbang-buzzkill]

Round 2 for CoDMW HC'S:

Alejandro will always share his food with others. He opens a bag of chips? He holds out the bag for anyone to take some. If he's eating lunch and you walk up and ask for some, he'll share no questions asked. He's always been like that according to Rudy.

Soap enjoys nighttime in Mexico on account of using black lights to see scorpions. He's a grown man and doesn't really like bugs, but there's something surreal about seeing them light up so brightly under that light- he's fascinated.

Ghost moves very quietly for someone so large, and he always freaks Rudy out, even without meaning to. Often you'll hear swearing in Spanish that abruptly switches to scolding Ghost in English. Alejandro thinks it's fuckin' hysterical, but Ghost has gotten him a few times too.

Rudy, Alejandro, and Valeria used to play Village Idiot when they were bored and had some time to kill. Valeria's an asshole when she wins and Alejandro is a bad sport when he loses, and Rudy rests somewhere in the middle.

Ghost knows a surprising amount of constellations. Some for navigating at night, some just to look at and admire. He teaches Soap about them sometimes.

Price is really good at crossword puzzles but he finds them boring and only good for a brief distraction. As a joke, Soap buys him a little pocketbook full of them with different themes. He denies this, but it stays in his back pocket with a miniature pen everywhere he goes. It's grown old and beat up, a little ripped and dog-eared with time, but you can usually see the imprint of it in his back pants' pocket. Soap thinks it's still sitting on a desk somewhere, but Ghost has seen it and finds the whole thing endearing.

Gaz doesn't really like older music, but he does like Billy Joel. Price finds this delightful, though he won't outwordly show much support aside from nodding along.

Soap is amazing at Subway Surfers.

Rudy introduces Soap to fresas con crema (strawberries and cream) and now he goes insane for it. They love food trucks.

Gaz has one of those little square iPod Shuffles from 2010, one of the later models before it was discontinued. It's full of all of his favorite music, a mishmash of stuff downloaded from online or actually bought. He doesn't always have headphones to use with it and he's also not superstitious, but he keeps it now as a good luck charm.

Ghost observes the cat naming game the others have put together (see last HC post) and the ONE time he chimed in was to call a white cat Paul. Alejandro, Rudy, and Soap immediately agreed because they didn't want to piss him off. There's a white cat in Los Almas named Paul. They've seen her more than once!

[vvahrnehmung]

"Which comes first, yesterday or tomorrow? What we think of as past present and future is a story stitched together in our basal ganglia, a ‘construct’…."

canon-divergent portrayal of 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 𝐉. 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄, an eccentric neuroscience professor with paranoid schizophrenia who is recruited by the FBI to help solve complex cases. Pierce has an intimate knowledge of human behaviour and a masterful understanding of the way the mind works. He also has an uncanny ability to see patterns and look past people's conscious emotions to see what lies beneath – also on the team are Max Lewicki, Pierce's teaching assistant, and Natalie Vincent, a hallucination manifested as a result of his schizophrenia who also serves as his best friend.

Pierce's mind may be brilliant, but it's also damaged. He struggles with hallucinations and paranoid delusions brought on by his schizophrenia. Oddly, Daniel considers some of his hallucinations to be a gift. They occasionally allow him to make connections that his conscious mind can’t yet process. At other times, the hallucinations become Daniel's greatest curse, leading him to behave in irrational, potentially dangerous ways.

Daniel's mental condition and offbeat manner make it difficult for him to achieve the close friendships and intimate relationships he craves. He’s in his element when solving an intricate puzzle or a coded message. But in unfamiliar situations, he can quickly become overwhelmed, and only his favourite music and a crossword puzzle have the power to make things right again.

#𝐕𝐕𝐀𝐇𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐇𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐆 : independent, semi-selective, semi-active original character based on the ABC studios series "perception". english & german. promo credit, trigger warning: paranoid schizophrenia including deep & realistic hallucinations.