#or else freeze it so i have to wait for it to thaw or something

[rashi-en]

Omggg what ended up happening yesterday 👀

Luckily I didn't have to hold all night, the key card doors ended up being open when my roommate tested it, so I was able to use the public restroom before bed. I was really lucky though, cause I drank thinking there'd be a bathroom for me. I had a morning mug of coffee (approx. 16 oz), a 20 oz bottle of soda, and a 12 oz can of sparkling water over the course of the day, and I hadn't gone besides in the morning. Even so, I woke up at like a 4.5/10 and went to get my new key immediately lol, so thinking about how it could've been if I let all that hit my bladder . . . it's a lot haha @~@

[fishermanshook]

F!CK BOYS GONE SOFT

( mercenary , batter & prospector ) + gn!reader

# MINOR WRITING SMUT , #ihatewritingdialouge , grammar and spelling warning

INTRO

It was a mutual agreement between the both of you that you were fucking for the pure reason of letting off steam after being stuck in this hell hole. 

No feelings were supposed to be caught. No hearts were meant to be thawed. And yet, they find themselves yearning for your touch long after your last session.

꒰wc꒱ 1.7k ( longest fic so far !! )

✦— THE MERCENARY

If being between your legs was where he wished to be, then who were you to deny him access to the most private part of your body? Where Naib works his magic and milks you of your essence while paying you back in waves of pleasure.

The Mercenary looks so lost in his work that you think he doesn’t notice the change in pitch. That you’ve adjusted your grip on his hair to a softer, gentler hold. Your moans are light, airy, and not at all the ones that left your throat hoarse and raspy the night before. No, that can’t be right. And it doesn’t take him long before he finds the spot that pushes you over. The spot that has your back arching off the mattress. The spot that has you screaming his name like it’s going out of style.

And god does pleasure look good on you, as Naib refuses to remove his eyes from you as he watches the aftermath of you coming undone in front of him. Such a passionate and intimate thing for his eyes and his eyes only as your essence coats his hands and tongue. To think he’d pull his head away after you came is just stupid. Have you not learned from previous sessions? You coming only gives him more reason to drop down there and give you more, but Naib holds himself back.

The next few moments are a blur as you try to calm down after your orgasm, but it seems Naib won’t let you. The sound of something being unzipped and his pants hitting the floor pulls you from your recovery. He’s prepped you enough, hasn’t he?

“It’ll hurt a little, but only for a second.” The Mercenary whispers in your ear as a warning to brace for what’s about to come. It makes him wonder, and only for a split second, if you ever realized how much he loves you. The amount of thought and care that goes into every move he makes towards you. Maybe you’re just dense, or maybe it’s not like that. He won’t know until he tells you. Or, until you tell him.

Your hands rush to clamp themselves over your mouth in an attempt to stifle the moans flooding from it. This isn’t the first time you’ve done this (and certainly not the last…), but it’s always a tight fit. A tight fit that neither of you can get enough of. Your hands don’t last though, as the Mercenary is quick to rip your hands away from your mouth. He shakes his head and clicks his tongue. You don’t need him to say anything else.

It’s not long before you feel the familiar warmth strengthen between your legs. By now, Naib’s memorized your every tell that you’re going to come. By the way your legs tighten around his waist and the way your hands reach to clasp his biceps to try and hold on. It’s the way you attempt to not pass out when you feel everything just snap.

“God, I love you so much,” Naib admits before even realizing what he just said. You’ve never seen the man freeze so fast, or go so red. Before his hands cover his mouth you pin his wrists down to the bed.

“Wait—! H-hold on,” you say, still recovering from your orgasm that happened just seconds ago. “What did you say?”

The Mercenary stares at you before opening his mouth to say: “I didn’t say anything.” He’s trying to play it with a convincing tone in his voice, but it’s hard to believe when he practically shouts it.

“No, Naib,” you huff out “Are you playing me?” You question. Your face molds into worry and concern. Instead, he avoids your gaze. There’s nothing else for him to do in this situation is there.

“Fine. If you won’t say it, then I will.” You state before grabbing Naibs face and pressing it into yours. The Mercenary tries (and he really does) to do anything but melt into your touch. In the end, it proves to be no use. Pulling away, you say: “Naib, there is no one else I love more than you.”

“Thanks for confirming what I already know, babe.”

✦— THE BATTER

Not every affair starts with a heated make-out session, but every heated make-out session ends with the two of you having sex. With your lips entwined as your fingers roam through his hair, the two of you make a mad dash to whoever’s room is closer as playful giggles slip out along the way.

It started as just another way to let yourself go and cut loose a little after another night of terror from Ganji. How could you not tell that the Batter saw you as more than just some fuck buddy? That his eyes weren’t only filled with lust, but love for you and you entirely?

Maybe this can be his way of showing you, whether you get it or not. Whether you understand the soft kisses he lays on your chest. Whether you understand the praises that fall from his lips. Whether you understand it's taken him too long to finally muster up the courage to confess to you.

You’ve stripped each other of your clothes leaving both of you bare naked. The only thing covering you are the multiple hickeys decorating your chest as well as between your legs. The pleasure overrides any pain felt from when he initially pushed his way inside of you. Before you know it, you're babbling all over his cock while he presses gentle kisses all over your face. You look so cute like this—all flushed out and pink.

Ganji's smart, but overlooks your cock drunkenness and traces his finger along your jaw and other places. Eventually, his finger meets your back and traces along your spine. His finger does weird swoops along your backside. It's all just a simple way of telling you 'I love you.' without having to utter a word.

Maybe it's the way you moan out his name as your hips move up and down on his cock. Or maybe it's the look in your eyes when he meets them. The Batter's not sure where the courage comes from, but all he knows is that he can't stand another moment of you not being his.

"[name] I- fuck, I love you." He barely manages to grunt out, snapping you from your thoughts to look at him with wide eyes.

"What-?"

It's then he thinks he fucked up. That he has demolished all of the hard work he put into this relationship. This is it. This is the end of your bond.

"No, shit I'm sorry just forget what I said," Ganji mutters out, immediately flipping you over so that your lying down on your back. "I'll make you come real hard if you just forget everything I just said, 'k?" Ganji says with caution in his voice. Maybe you're not the only one oblivious in this relationship of yours.

"Really? You love me?"

Ganji tears his eyes away from wherever he is looking at looks right at you. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. If not for you I don't think I'd ever get the chance to say this," you chimed, pulling him in for a long and passionate kiss first. "Ganji, I love you more than the stars themselves."

✦— THE PROSPECTOR 

The bed will break long after the Prospector, Norton Campbell, has had his way with you. He won’t stop until his sheets are soaked in your combined essences until your scent has been embedded into his mattress, and until he can get the words out to tell you how he feels.

For too long has Norton been labeled as your “fuck buddy” and he wants out of it. Every round feels like another chance to prove he’s perfect for you. How many people know your favorite book? Your favorite place to relax? Your favorite position? The sensitive spots on your body? Who else knows exactly where to touch and what to say? All he needs you to answer is if you like him or not.

“Shit—always feel so good,” Norton manages to grunt out after thrusting into you. He knows he’s found your sweet spot (again…) when he pulls a loud moan from your sweet lips. So attentive to your wants and needs that he can’t help but hit the spot again and again, listening as your moans grow louder with each thrust.

The Prospector mutters something under your breath he thinks went by unnoticed. Pulling you from your aroused state to ask him what’s wrong. All he can do is sigh and shake his head as his arms wrap around you. A bit tighter than usual, but not uncomfortable.

“Norton—! What’s the matter?” You manage to huff out. It’s obvious something is plaguing his mind, but the Prospector is as stubborn as ever and refuses to tell you. “Fine then,” you tell him “I guess I just won’t let you come.”

Now that gets his attention, and he instantly slows his pace. You allow him to keep going, but only if he starts talking.

“I’m too scared to say it,” Norton states.

“Why?” You ask.

Norton looks down at where you're still connected. It’s only then you notice he’s stopped. “Because I don’t want it to ruin whatever we’ve got going on. I don’t want to lose everything.” He admits through gritted teeth.

“Do you think it’s that bad that you’d lose everything?” You ask, concern now seeping into your voice.

All he does is sigh before bringing his face closer to yours. “God, is it seriously not obvious enough? Shit, [name] I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time and I didn’t want to say anything in fear of ruining—“ he gestures using his hands to the both of you. “this. A-and I get it if you don’t want anything to do with me after this but you asked so—“

He doesn’t get to finish as you cover his lips with yours. “Silly prospector, I love you more than you could imagine.” You confess before feeling Norton melt into your kiss once more.

note: hiii fish nation…sorry about the random hiatus, it will probably happen again 😆😆😆. thank you all so much for 100+ followers! it means the absolute most to me knowing there are actually people who enjoy reading what I have to write. I wouldn’t be here without you, thank you for everything so far. 🩷🩷🩷. this is so ass oh my gosh

(2024) ©️fishermanshook — do not steal, translate, plagiarize, or repost my work on any other platform

[organicxslime]

sprained ankle

you sprain your ankle - but luckily, your boyfriend can handle it.

gojo satoru x reader

it was stupid, really, how preventable this was. how many times had you warned others not to rush down the stairs of your apartment building in the winter, else they slip on the icy metal and break something? and now here you are, laying at the bottom of the stairs, foot swollen inside your fur-lined boot and hot tears stinging your face.

you fumble around in your jacket for your phone, fingers numb from the cold as you tap out your boyfriend’s number. the phone barely rings twice before he picks up.

“hey baby!” satoru says cheerily. “i’m teaching, so I’ve only got a minute - what’s up?”

the second you say his name, voice tinged with the unmistakably whiny sound of recent tears, he’s signaled for his students to pack up for the day and is using six eyes to root out your exact location.

in an instant, he’s teleported to your side, immediately helping prop you up against a wall and crouching down by your foot. he pieces together what happened fairly quickly, brow knitted together with visible worry.

“i gotta get this boot off, baby,” he tells you, and you shake your head, not wanting to pain yourself further.

“hey.”

you look up, tear-lined and red-rimmed eyes meeting satoru’s piercing cerulean ones, a rare serious look on his face.

“i need to see how bad it is. be a good girl and let me take this off, okay?”

you might be freezing on the outside, but you melt a little on the inside, and respond with a pitiful sniffle and a nod.

you whimper when he begins to slowly pull on the boot, systematically working it over the expanse of your foot until he’s able to gently ease it off.

your ankle is a hideous sight, swollen to twice it’s usual size, green and purple splotches of discoloration tinting your skin all the way down to your toes. satoru gently probes at the skin with the tips of his fingers, feeling his heart wrench with every hiss of pain that escaped your throat, and makes his professional opinion known.

“i don’t think it’s broken,” he declares. “just a really bad sprain. still shouldn’t walk on it though - let’s get you inside.”

with practiced ease, he’s hoisting you into his arms, looping a protective arm around your ribs and another under your knees. you let out a squeak of surprise as you’re cradled against his chest, and he looks down at you, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and faint amusement in his eyes.

“what?” he teases, enjoying watching the heat rise in your cheeks. “i have to carry my damsel in distress to safety.”

with this, he takes off, sprinting back up the very same steps you had just taken a tumble down (and, you note with irritation, he doesn’t slip once.)

when you’re back inside, he eases you onto the couch, propping your injured foot up on a small stack of plush throw pillows. he makes quick work of your winter gear - tossing the remaining boot, peeling off your jacket and whipping the beanie off your head (and leaving a kiss in its place.)

you hear him rummaging around the kitchen, and he rushes back to you, ace bandages and a mug of hot chocolate in hand. you wrap your hands around the mug, feeling the blessedly warm ceramic begin to thaw your fingers, and satoru gets to work carefully wrapping your ankle and foot in a tight binding.

when he’s done, he drops next to you on the couch, crawling up the cushions to settle himself beside you and pull you onto his chest. he heaves a dramatic sigh, before turning to you and leaning into your cheek, peppering the skin with feather-light kisses as you giggle and pull away, careful not to spill your mug.

for the next couple of weeks, he waits on you hand and foot - bringing you food and drinks, carrying you to and from the bathroom, and dutifully rewrapping your ankle each morning and night.

initially, you had been embarrassed about the injury, mentally kicking yourself for having such a dumb accident…

…but seeing how satoru dotes on you, showering you with love and tenderly caring for you day and night?

you think maybe a dumb injury here or there wouldn’t be so bad.

[unnervinglyferal]

I don't know what poverty is.

We have four people in a two-room apartment. I'm disabled, me and my girlfriend have the baby, her great-grandmother is a pensioner. Everyone in this household is on government support. It covers the rent, bills and groceries, but that's about it. Our daughter's bed is the cardboard box that her social welfare tools and clothes came in, other than those everything she's ever had is secondhand. Her faded little plastic rattle belonged to her grandmother.

We got an used stroller as a gift for christmas. That has freed us to go to places better now. We have a free monthly pass to the city's bus system, the bus routes go past the apartment and there's a stop at the library. The library's notification board always has something that's happening, our daughter is too little to go anywhere yet, but we check anyway if there's any activities for families with babies. Plenty of things seem to be free entry.

The library has kids' books, not much for very little ones, but we loan the ones that they have. I looked through the music side, and found the notes for a song my daughter heard on a youtube playlist and wanted to hear again and again. My girlfriend picked herself a stack of comics, I got a book that I know I probably won't finish, but wanted to give a browse anyway.

Needed to change the baby before heading back. The weather is cold and miserable so my girlfriend and the baby waited inside while I was outside to flag the bus back home. There are bus passes arranged for low income families that make it possible to get around the city.

We got back home, great-grandma was thawing ground beef from the freezer. It's cheaper to buy meat when it's on sale and freeze it in bags at home. I can make dumplings, mixing grain and garlic with the meat, the way they've been done in my family since before they came here from Russia, on foot because they couldn't afford a horse carriage.

The electric keyboard we found while decluttering the apartment is literally older than me, but it still works. I can plug it in and turn it on, and start learning to play. Someone else has made their own markings into the library notes, in pencil. It takes a bit to be able to really play a new, unfamiliar song, but the baby pauses to listen once I do. She listens with a frown, trying to decide if the song is still good if daddy is the one playing it. She is still confused about how the world works, everything is so new to her.

We don't have much, and things could be easier. But I don't know what poverty is. We have everything we need.

[resetting37]

Funerals in Evelow

hi !! I have not done a world building wednesday segment in a long time ! but I am back, and I wanted to talk about how (most) funerals go about in Evelow, the primary setting of my story.

I'm going off of this prompt, and just answering the funeral and death related questions. Death is (unfortunately) not that big of a plot point in my story, but it does come up, especially at the beginning ('wait, there's a timeline to this nonsense ???')

How is a funeral held? funerals are held actually around a month after the death. However, if it was a terminally ill person or someone whose death was predicted to be coming, then it may be a lot sooner. This is because funerals are planned very slowly and time is taken to decide on tomb arrangements, location, scripts, etc.

(If you're wondering if the attendees are looking at a super decomposed body or if the embalming methods are hella advanced, um, both ? The decision to embalm does have to happen early on, but some people believe that the decomposition makes mourning more effective. Others want to look at their loved one as they remember them. Also, Evelow is the city that has advanced genetic therapy, so some cell manipulation is complimented with the chemicals to preserve the body longer. Freezing is also done, but don't forget to thaw them out in time ! sheesh.)

So after all the planning, people must register to attend or else they cannot enter. (If the dead person was apart of the planning before their death, then they can make their own invitation list.) This is because there are strict arrangements and many people have duties within the ceremony.

The funeral begins at the burial site. (Unless there were wishes to be buried in secret !! In that case, it can be anywhere. We'll talk more about burial sites in the next question) Everyone in attendance is expected to have a turn at saying something publicly to the dead person. You can technically opt out, but you'd have to be a sobbing mess in order to avoid the stigma that comes out of attending a wedding and not having anything to say about the dying person.

There is a scribe present who records everything. Everything written down will be put into a book(let; depends how much was said) and that book will be attached to the burial site. This is so anyone who visits in the future can read the book that talks about them. Evelow greatly values historical texts and recording everything, so remembering passed people in this manner is appropriate.

So yes, funeral ceremonies can last a very long time. This is why they take a long time to plan. If anticipated, intermissions can occur. There have been occurrences of them lasting days. Fatigue is expected. But many times, people want the funerals to last, so they'll accept the fatigue.

What happens to the body after someone has died? So yeah, bodies are buried ! Usually. Really depends on the person. Preferably in a casket because of the stigma Evelow has against the natural world. In fact, it's more labor-induced to bury them without a casket. To get approval on open burial (i.e. just burying them as is. no coffin or cardboard box or anything) the ground has to be tested for toxicity and purified. In general, the ground is fine.

If you have made recognized achievement within Evelow, then you can be nominated to be buried in the inland garden. The garden is what surrounds the temple and even has statues and other highly decorated tombs. The council has to approve this. And given that most of the figures here are either past councilmen, emperors, etc. It's kind of an unfair little secret club.

So where are people usually buried ? Usually at the home of a loved one or a place significant to them. So yea, there's just little books scattered across Evelow being like "hey this person was buried here, want to read what others said about them ?" (if it's a public place, it has to be approved, blah blah) If there's no designated location, there's a mass graveyard on one of the far reaches of Evelow. It's very large and there are lots of people buried there, but many people try to avoid this fate. There's another stigma behind being "buried in the graveyard."

I don't think they call it a graveyard, just the burial ground (that's 'the' not 'a'.) Though some people like to be metal and call it the "land of the mournless" which brings me to the next question

How do people mourn? There's A LOT of mourning involved in Evelonian deaths. No celebrations (unless you despised the person lol) not even to be happy that they lived a good life, etc. (Which is kind of why cloning is a thing in this city. It's very much not a common thing, but man, some people don't want to die, is there harm in preserving yourself in some manner ?) So yeah, it ties with the desire to record everything as mentioned above. There's a lot of value in preservation in Evelow, so to lose a person ??

Which is why it's considered very important to spill your heart out when it's your turn to speak at the ceremony. You have to say it all, so it'll be recorded and kept by the body forever ! So much so that loud crying is encouraged. (Which I'll give credit to Evelow for that, good for them. However, this also means that if you're not publicly mourning someone, people might take that as you not caring about them. Which is fine if you're not close to them, but you know. People have to be mindful of that.)

What is consider an appropriate amount of time for mourning? However much time you need ! There's no obligation to be like "okay this person died a year ago, time to move on" you can mourn as long as you like. Of course, this can be harmful when it comes to the mourning person's health, but people are welcome to continue mourning while going on their daily lives so that the mourn does not consume them.

What color is used for mourning and funerals? Okay, so as of now, many colors have the same symbolism in Evelow as they are how I'm familiar with ? I should change that (at least to a degree, since I am also an artist and I like to consider color theory) but I do want to keep black as the symbol for death and decay and mourning. And since death is feared in Evelow, then everyone wears black to a funeral.

People are supposed to wear their heaviest garb, wear custom made attire, and go all out for the ceremony. The more extravagant you are, the better (which means that I should redesign the camryns outfits as shown above, it was their mother that died ! We shouldn't able to see these guys under all the veils and cloaks !! Um. remind me to draw that sometime.)

"You mean people are supposed to wear layers of black drapery and attend a multi-hour-sometimes-days-long ceremony ??" Yes, it's supposed to be exhausting.

•

Okay so that's about the end of my ramble ! I should talk a little on how funerals and death is seen in other places like Recom and especially Dile. Dile was where Audrey grew up and when her parents died, she was kind of alone in her mourning. So when she goes to Evelow and sees people acting like it's the end of the world to see their loved ones die, Audrey's like "finally, someone who gets me."

also disclaimer I'm not implying that I think this is the right way to go ! this is just how Evelow does it. And not even everyone in Evelow. It's considered controversial to show any happiness behind a death, but some people are pushing back and insisting on celebration of life, and that death is such a regular part of the life cycle that it should be properly incorporated into people's lives, and not seen as this tragedy for all cases of it.

[lmelodie]

Oh boy OH BOY there’s some good content here today for this one. A good batch that I really like with lots of words under the cut >:) Here ya go:

Robyn Frost, here to cause PROBLEMS. Drawing their funky hair is always so fun. I give to you the highest honor I can bestow: Cool Jacket. 

JACQUELINE MOTHER FUCKING FROST BITCH!!! I realized that I haven't been drawing the titular frost sibling NEARLY as much as I should for how often she lives in my head. I BUSTED this pose out SO FAST cause I also realized that I haven't drawn her being BAD ASS YET??? How this has happened I do not know. It’s a concept sketch, something to add to the pile of things that I could finish someday.

And Spring??? Hello??? I'm not gonna lie, I was a spring hater when I first read Dani’s work. (Mostly because I read them out of order going from Frostmas to Meet the Frosts to CS. First impressions before the rewrite.) And I thought she was a bitch at first. But she's actually really grown on me since then! She’s just got her own inferiority complexes just like everybody else. Can't wait for her to get the closure she deserves on that.

So, when were you guys gonna tell me that BlackIce has been Voxman coded this whole time??? Also, fun fact! My main voice claim for Kills is Professor Venemous (along with Dark older Danny from the ultimate enemy to a lesser extent). He gets the closest to how he sounds in my head so there ya go. He sounds like PV.

More canonical looking winter! I still ended up giving her those weird hair thingies in the back because I cannot stop myself, but double bun winter!

Thawed!Jack hair studies. Because the whole concept of being thawed/frozen isn't a thing in my universe I don't have the excuse to draw thawed jack (plus he looked so lame in the movie why even bother) But! Here is how I think his hair would look like without all the ice. I do think he still freeze dries it, but in my head canon his hair is blue 😌 and his little hair flippy is all limp but not in a depressed way this time.

Feral Kills STALKING. HE’S CURRENTLY IN YOUR HOME!

Ok so, the elephant in the room, a fucking TREAT for yall: Shirtless Killian doodle. Because in all honestly, I just really wanted to try more anatomy stuff. And while I was making it, this really solidified his once ambiguous sexuality as now Very Gay. 

Ive decided that after the break up he has thoroughly given up on love and entered his WHORE ERA. not nearly as egregious as Jack’s whore era, but a slut period none the less. Fuck buddies situation with a vampire happened at one point.

Everyday this man strays further and further into Very Attractive territory (at least to me) and I have to learn how to reel it back SO FAST because this could get out of control SO QUICKLY. No one would be able to stop him if he just keeps getting hotter, it would be a DISASTER.

[zelkam]

Hey, so, sorry if this is a weird question, but can you share what it's usually like to work in a lab as a PhD Student? I'm interested in becoming one myself, but I don't really have any clue on what it's actually like to work there in person yet, so I thought I should ask someone who actually works there. You don't have to reply to this, I understand, and thank you!

Hello!! I'm sorry for the late reply, I wanted to give it some thought to give you a nice answer. But here it is now 😅. Since you mentioned working in the lab, I'm gonna assume that you know basics of it (like what is cell culture etc) when I'm gonna talk here!

It got super long, so the rest is under the cut

So the thing is, there is no model of how doing a PhD looks like, it will for sure depend on many many factors, but mostly:

the country you're doing your PhD in - a lot of rules and requirements to get the title are country-specific; for instance, some may require you to have teaching experience, some not; the country often also determines your earnings, in some countries doing a PhD is like a normal well paying job, in some I'd say it's almost not worth it if you're gonna barely make your ends meet during that time;

the rules of the doctoral school of your uni; some require attendance to courses, some let you focus only on your research; some require only one paper to defend, some two, some say that you must also present at x conferences and so on;

your lab and your supervisor and your relationship with them; honestly this is the most important thing; like this dictates your entire PhD, the project is really a secondary thing

whether or not you work with someone else on the project

your project: whether you work with cell culture/lab animals/patient samples/do bioinformatics etc

So for my context: I am doing my PhD in Belgium, in a lab with a chill friendly atmosphere and with no specific rules when it comes to working hours, and I work mostly with cell culture and sometimes with mice;

So the thing is with a PhD, is that it varies all the time with what you're doing; you have chill days where you sit at the desk the whole time and analyze data, and you have days where you run around without having lunch because your booked slot on the flow cytometer has already started and you're only now putting on secondary antibodies that need to incubate for 30 minutes, and then you still have to wash the samples, and you will for sure not make it on time;

But I'd say my usual day starts around 9:30-10am and finishes 6:30-7pm; in my lab we don't have set working hours (I mean the number is specified in the contract, but how you distribute them depends on you, and also you always work more anyway), you're responsible for your own time (but within reason obv); The longest I've stayed on a normal day was past 11pm, the weirdest I had to enter the lab to do something was 2 am; The thing is that I work with cells, and often have to also come to the lab during the weekend because of that, usually I try to time it so that I go on Saturday mornings. But for instance my lab mates that work with very sensitive cell lines have to check on them every single day. But that depends on what you work with, like in my previous lab it was never the case unless there was an ongoing experiment with animals.

But also you know, it's not that you do things every minute that you're in the lab. Usually in the morning everyone starts with a long coffee, then also lunch takes a bit, and if you have a break somewhere in the middle of the day, because something has to incubate for 1 hour, you also can do stuff in the meantime or just go and socialize a bit. The thing is, what you get out of your time in the lab depends solely on you, which is both a pro and a con.

During my time in the lab I take care of my cell culture - I passage cells, freeze/thaw them, do experiments with putting some compound on them and waiting hours/days, do genetic stuff like gene silencing or knockouts etc. Then you process your samples that you got from your experiment, so you do molecular stuff like PCRs and so on, or run a western blot, or do immunostaining etc; and then you need to analyze all that stuff, so you have to then do stuff on the computer with data analysis, imaging, bioinformatics and so on; Working with animals is a bit different, since it's really project-specific, so I'm not gonna go into detail here 😅

You have a lot of meetings that you attend as a PhD student: you go to seminars by other researchers, to journal clubs organized by the doctoral school, then you need to attend some trainings and courses, then you have meetings with your supervisor, with your whole lab, and then in smaller groups if you also work on the same stuff as someone else; I'd say I have usually have 4-5 meetings to attend within a week

You also read a lot of papers about your field to kind of figure out what is already known about the thing that you're working on, what is missing, and how to find out stuff about the missing thing; the purpose is basically to be an expert about a very narrow specific thing, like you should be the person that knows about it the most;

At some point you will also most likely have contact with students; so at my uni I don't have to teach classes, but for instance the PhD students that I was working alongside in my previous lab I first met in class, when they were my lecturers. But even if you would not teach, you might have a thesis student for a year that you will guide for their Bachelor/Master project; For me, this year I have rotation students that just follow me in the lab for a few hours per week and I show them things, but next year I will most likely have my own Master student to guide, and that will be for a full year.

But here you go with an example of a quite balanced chill:work day; of course the times are rounded up, but this is approximately how much the things take:

9:30-10:00 am: I come to the lab, say hi to my lab mates and my supervisor and we go to have coffee;

10:00-10:30 am: I go to cell culture, I collect cells of an experiment that I just finished

10:30-11:30 am: I do RNA extraction on the samples that I just collected

11:30 am - 12:15 pm: I measure RNA concentration and pipette a cDNA reaction from it - it needs to be put in the thermocycler for 40 minutes and then it's finished - then the samples can stay there for some hours so I don't have to rush to take them out when it's finished

12:30-1:30 pm: I have a seminar to attend, about a project of another PhD student from my institute

1:30-2:15 pm: lunch with my lab

2:15-3:00 pm: I pipette a qPCR plate with the cDNA that I made before lunch, I put it in the machine to run - it will take 1 hour and 15 minutes

3:00-3:15 pm: I go to have another coffee because my labmate has some personal drama and wants to chat

3:15-4:30 pm: I go to cell culture to passage my cells and plate another experiment

4:30-6:30 pm: I go to my office and sit at my desk; the qPCR has now finished and it's ready to analyze; I do the analysis, make graphs out of it and paste them into a presentation to show to my supervisor tomorrow, and then read through some papers while also talking with my labmates and our boss

6:30 pm: okay time to go home

And yeah, that would be it! If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to say more and to help out!!

[achoiceplumbingaz]

What Do I Do If My AC Pipe Is Frozen

Introduction

No one likes to think about it, but it's time to face the fact that winter is coming. If you live in a cold climate and have an AC unit, you'll need to know what to do if your pipe freezes. If your AC pipe freezes, you'll need to take action quickly. It's not just about being cold; your pipes could burst if they freeze and thaw repeatedly over a short period of time. The first step is to check your AC unit to make sure it's working properly. If it isn't, you'll need to call a professional immediately. Once you've confirmed that the unit is running, there are some things you can do to prevent the pipe from freezing.

Turn your AC off.

The first thing to do when you find your AC pipe frozen is to turn off the power. This can be done by flipping a breaker switch or unplugging the unit entirely.

Make sure that you unplug your AC unit before touching anything else, as this will help prevent injuries! If you aren't sure how to turn off the power and/or don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, call a professional right away.

Leave it alone.

In the event that your AC pipe is frozen, there are a few important things to remember. First and foremost, do not force your way into the pipe. If it's already cracked, you've already made one mistake—now don't make another by trying to force yourself through a weakened area for no reason. Furthermore, don't use a hair dryer or torch to thaw out the frozen section of pipe; this could just make matters worse in some cases (especially if you accidentally melt plastic or rubber parts), so steer clear of these methods as well! Finally—and perhaps most importantly—don't use any kind of hammering tool or even brute strength on your pipes; this can lead to further weakening and potential breakage that could cause serious damage down the road.

Check the outside temperature

The first step in figuring out what to do if your AC pipe is frozen is to check the outside temperature. If it's below freezing, you'll want to make sure that your AC system is working properly and not producing ice on any of its components. If it's above freezing, then you could have an issue with something else such as a faulty thermostat or fan motor.

If the temperature is too cold, turn up the thermostat so that your air conditioner kicks on more frequently and melts off any ice built up inside or around it. You can use a heat lamp or portable heater in extreme cases if turning up the thermostat does not solve this problem for you; however, heat lamps can be unsafe for pets who might think they're toys and portable heaters can pose fire hazards if used incorrectly (or at all).

Conclusion

Even if you have a frozen AC pipe, there’s no reason to panic. The most important thing is to make sure that you don’t let things get worse by doing anything drastic or forcing the issue. Instead, take some time off and wait for the warm weather to return so that your AC can get back up and running again!

Plumbing

Plumbing is a very important part of your home. It’s the backbone that keeps everything running smoothly, so if something goes wrong in your plumbing system, you need to take action. You can do simple plumbing techniques, like fixing a leaky faucet or unclogging your toilet, at home with just a few tools and a little know-how. The good news is that there are plenty of ways for you to fix your leaking water heater on your own without having to call in a professional plumber. A Choice Plumbing can help you with any plumbing issues that you may have. We offer a wide range of services, including: has put together a list of the most common ways for you to fix your leaking water heater on your own. If these options don’t work, we recommend that you contact a professional plumber right away or you may find us online using these keywords Plumber, Plumber Gilbert, plumbing company, water heater installation, and emergency plumbing service.

A Choice Plumbing

Gilbert, AZ 85233

480-769-8863

[gravitycoil]

Dream of 7/28/22

it started in a bathroom I was sitting on the floor with a dog (twas a husky) and for some reason it turned into Springtrap and I was like omg Springtrap awesome :D I had to hide him from my family and eventually I realize I was dreaming (sort of) I ask terminal to take us outside away from everyone. We get teleported to some forest area and I hear a EAS tv sound and freeze it said that a tornado was forming and travelling at alarming speeds towards where I was I think I asked help from terminal and said something like "Make it go away" but all he did was warp us back home and so I hide Springtrap under a blanket and frantically start gathering valuables I don't want to lose and we started running outside (the sky was black. the wind was very strong. you could not see like 6ft Infront of you we run on a huge ass ship (we have no cars only boats apparently) and we start driving away???there was a bottom half to the ship for storage or something and there were these cat ppl living in there and told me and Springtrap to become one of them and to live in their dimension I guess I was a huge fan of whoever these ppl were and we were like "HELL YEAH!" you could only get in via if they opened the gate which they did and we both go in As soon as I stepped in I urgently told them to close it because my family wasnt find of them and would also try and get me out. the gate closed and I waved goodbye to them with a smile thru the gate I then became a lion or something?? it was very emotional lmfao

dream shift

I was home trying to thaw a bunch of bloody meat and apparently I waited too long and it got all rancid. I didn't know what to do with it because apparently in this dream it was illegal to discard meat down the sink or something (as if it was a highly deadly chemical) so I submerge it in a tub of water so the water could eat away at the meat it also somehow got all over the walls and floor which attracted bugs specifically water bugs (toe biters) and roaches. I'm trying really hard to gather it all up and clean it from the floors and walls and I get bit (pinched?) by a water bug and It felt abysmal. I eventually clean it up (tho u could tell something has happened) and get rid of it all

dream shift

Was inside a Roblox game where someone is chosen to be the killer and everyone else has to hide but the killer is always able to gravitate towards someone if their close enough it was honestly unnerving in my dream. the killer was all white with a mask on that always smiled the map was also very dark and the only way you knew if they were close or not was with sound. the louder they were the closer they were to you.

[argiopi]

it’s about the little joys amidst the grind for survival

[writemekpop]

Studio Time (Part 2) | Lee Taeyong

Pairing: Lee Taeyong x Reader

Summary: It’s time to give Taeyong a taste of his own medicine. Your plan? To fuck his best friend. Jealous sex is the best kind... and let’s just say Taeyong is more than jealous. 

Genre: FWB!Taeyong, Smut

Word Count: 1.4k 

Warning: Sexual Content

Gif: @exo-stentialism​

Part 1 | Part 2 ❤️️

It’s been five days since you last saw Taeyong, and your body is already aching for him. But no matter how many times he fills you, he always leaves you feeling empty.

That night in the studio was no exception. It left you so wrecked you could barely stumble home. As you wiped the sticky remains of Taeyong’s so-called love from your thighs, you made a decision.

It’s time to give him a taste of his own medicine.  

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but you’re going to do it looking the hottest you ever have. Your plan? To hit Taeyong where it hurts – by fucking his best friend.  

It’s Friday night, and you’re heading to one of NCT’s notorious dorm parties. With the alcohol flowing freely, the girls loose and the boys looser, it’s the perfect place for your plan.

You’re in your favourite dress, a sheer black lace number. It does wonders for your figure, but nothing to conceal your bra and panties. With a swipe of devil red lipstick, you set off on the hunt.

You smirk as you consider which one of Taeyong’s friends you’re going to fuck. 

You remember when Haechan covered his crotch with a pillow as you sauntered past in a tight dress. You saw how Doyoung’s eyes widened when you passed him in nothing but a towel.  

“Y/n!” A flushed Jaehyun pulls open the front door, soju bottle in hand. “You look… wow.” Jaehyun gulps, unabashedly staring at your breasts.

You smirk. This is going to be easier than you expected. “Hi, Jae.”

Jaehyun’s ears are turning a glorious red. “T-taeyong’s not here tonight.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Instead, you give him your most alluring smirk. “What if I’m not here for him? What if I’m here for… someone else?”

Before you know it, you’re pinned to a leather couch, a wasted Jaehyun draped over your lap.

Renjun is sitting opposite you, frowning. In his hands is your cell phone, with the camera set to record. If you want to make Taeyong jealous, you’re going to need evidence.

Renjun wasn’t too happy about this, but ever since you caught him jerking off to your picture… let’s just say he owed you one.

“I missed you, Y/n.” Jaehyun is forced to shout over the booming EDM.

You give Jaehyun’s thigh a squeeze. His eyes go wide.

“You’re getting more handsome every time I see you.” You rub Jaehyun’s thigh, fingers getting dangerously near his crotch.

Jaehyun opens his mouth to speak, but never can – because you smash your mouth onto his.

He freezes, but as soon as you slide your hot tongue across his lips, he moans and kisses you back. Though the corner of your eye, you watch Renjun holding your phone.

Once you’re satisfied you’ve got all the footage you need, you pull away from Jaehyun. Flashing him a wink, you saunter off.

You snatch your phone from Renjun and watch the video. Your bare legs draped over Jaehyun’s muscled thighs, his hand on your ass, your tongue down his throat… It’s perfect.  You post it to Snapchat, knowing exactly who’ll see.

Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for chaos to ensue.

While you’re swaying on the dance floor, blood warmed with soju, you hear your phone go off. As soon as you open snapchat, the notifications from Taeyong come flooding in.

Jaehyun?? Rlly?? What the fuck!

And another one.

Stay where you are, I’m coming to get you.  

Your heart does a summersault. The thought of a jealous Taeyong fucking you against the wall is enough to start a fire in you, but no – you remind yourself that you’re here for payback.  

You head out of the party. You’re not sure Taeyong even knows where you live. A bitter taste rises to your mouth. You’re not sure he cares.

When you stumble into your apartment and check your phone, you see seven missed calls from Taeyong. Seven?

You’re distracted by three loud thuds. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

You pull open the door to see Taeyong. His dark brows are furrowed, his stare icy.

“What’s up?” you say, feigning indifference. Taeyong’s pink hair is slicked back, framing his razor-sharp face. The silver piercing in his ear makes him look the best kind of dangerous.

“What the fuck, Y/n?” Taeyong growls.  

You just shrug and wobble into your bedroom. Taeyong follows you inside, looking around at the room with interest.

“Why Jaehyun?” Taeyong stands in front of you, arms crossed. “What’s he got that I haven’t?”

You roll your eyes at him. “You’re not my boyfriend. What’s it to you?”

Taeyong takes a deep breath. “Y/n, I…”

Just when you think he’ll say something sincere for once, he stops himself.

You reach for a glass of water, but in your drunken state, most of it gets on your top rather than your mouth. Taeyong stretches out a hand, as if he wants to dab it off.  

“Don’t pretend you care about me,” you jab.

You huff in annoyance at your soaked dress. So, you yank the tight material over your shoulders and chuck it on the floor.

You can feel Taeyong’s dark eyes on your bra. You cross your arms over your chest. “What we do” – you gesture between you – “makes me sick.”

Taeyong perches on the mattress.

“I don’t know how to say this, Y/n…” His charcoal eyes bore into yours. “I…don’t want you to fuck other people. Just me.”

You shake your head. “Not good enough, Yong.”

Taeyong runs his hands shakily through his hair, taking a deep breath.

“Y/n… I lik… ah, fuck it.” Taeyong grabs your hand. “I like you. A lot. Seeing you with Jaehyun today made me realise I want you to be mine, all mine.”

You keep your face icy, but your heart begins to thaw.

Taeyong frowns. “Look, what am I meant to say, woman? I’ve never even wanted to be someone’s… boyfriend before!”

“Taeyong,” you interrupt, a smile playing on your glossy lips. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

Taeyong wastes no time in crashing his lips onto yours. You almost moan at the softness of his tongue, his alcohol taste – sweet yet spicy.

Taeyong tangles his fingers in your hair, and you pull him closer towards you. Your breaths quicken as your desire grows.

Just as you place your hand over his zipper, Taeyong stops you.

“Wait,” he says, breathless. “I wanna do this properly. I don’t want to fuck you.”

You frown.

Taeyong’s eyes go wide. “No, no! I want to… like, make love to you.” Even though it’s dark, you see the blush forming on Taeyong’s cheeks.

You lie down on the bed, and pat the empty space next to you. “Lie down with me.”

Taeyong hesitates for a second before easing himself down. You turn so that you’re lying on your side facing him.

You trace one finger down his jaw. Taeyong closes his eyes, relaxing into your touch. You move your finger onto his plump bottom lip to toy with the soft flesh.

“Are you sure about this?” you whisper.

Taeyong gives you a tiny smile. “Y/n. Just shut up and kiss me.”

It isn’t the confession you were dreaming of. But as you take in his sharp collarbone, the toned muscles of his arms, you’re too distracted to care.  

Not breaking Taeyong’s gaze, you unclasp your bra and let it fall onto the floor. Then, you toss your panties away too.

Following your lead, Taeyong takes his jacket off, and then his T shirt. Piece by piece, each one of his clothes come off until he’s just as naked as you are.

Though you’ve fucked Taeyong countless times, this feels like the first, your very first.

Taeyong cradles your jaw, bringing your lips towards his. You melt into his kiss, moaning as you feel his other hand caress your body.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” Taeyong whispers, his voice hoarse.

He’s speaking too fast, too soon. But you don’t care that he’s just saying whatever he thinks you want to hear. That’s a kind of love, right?

You slide your hand down his abdomen, feeling sculpted lines of muscle. You follow the secret map of birth marks, trailing your hands lower and lower…

You spread your legs and let Taeyong settle between them. He pushes into you slowly, lying so close that you can feel his heart beating against your chest.

Now this is a Taeyong you could get used to.

---

MASTERLIST

[redwinterroses]

RIIIIIIIIIGHT SO.

I just finished chapter 13 of Dog At The Door and holy hot cross buns batman if you're not reading this fic you NEED to. It's literally one of the best written fics I have ever read in my life and I've been reading fanfiction for over 15 years, lol.

I went back and reread the entire fic to lead up to chapter 13 and I decided to treat it like I used to treat things I had to read in college so I took notes as I went and please I am warning you this post is incredibly long. Almost 3k words. PLEASE do not hit that "read more" button unless you're good with having to scroll past it all and also spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.

~*~

Rereading Dog at the Door reactions (spoilers, obviously):

· Doc finding Ren’s body to be cold and for a second thinking he’s actually dead—my heart

· “That’s Ren, alive and kicking.” Oh…no, Doc. No it’s not.

· The first “Where is my hand?” hits different the second time through

· Gah the ice and winter imagery ALL over the place—my English degree brain wants to watch and see if that shifts to warmth at any point as we go? Thoughts for future Red to think.

· It’s fascinating to me to see Doc constantly thrust into the prey role. This is a guy who is very much not that person normally, but something about the Red King is beyond anything he’s really encountered before—or at least not since Dinnerbone—and it pushes him into an entirely new role that he clearly chafes in

· “I should get back to work on your new arm soon,” he says, making a mental note to add claws to the fingertips. Honestly Doc why tho. XD

· “It feels like something Ren would want him to do.” </3

· Side note: I just watched Doc’s freaking hour long shulker farm vid, and that’s making it a lot easier to hear his voice in this fic

· I’m more curious about the hand.” New Ren laughs a bit at his own words, as though there’s something funny about that phrasing. I MISSED THIS LINE THE FIRST TIME THROUGH

· The bead curtain being cursed hippie treasure XD

· The fact that Doc just so quickly accepts that Ren is gone—maybe not permanently, but at least for now—is kind of heartbreaking. Because you know he hasn’t really accepted it, he’s just… deciding not to feel anything about it. Just nod and move on and pretend you don’t need to stop and cope with the possible/probable death of your best friend and the fact that Someone Else is wearing his skin. That’s so sad.

· “high-fiving the finished hand with his own metal hand.” Aww… Doccy.

· “He shoos away the images of New Ren holding him up by the throat supervillain-style and turns around.” Hmmmmmmm want that fanart. Scary New Ren/RK is good stuff. (post-chapter-13 Red popping in with a WHAT THE HECK)

· “that makes him seem like a ghost in Ren’s body.” YA KNOW. LIKE HE IS.

· Okay side note time: why is the Red King here? Ya know? Like – in 3rdLife the idea of a possessing spirit of bloodlust makes some sense. But why stick around? Was RK trying to escape the 3L server, or was this not deliberate? At what point did he take over from Ren—at Black Heart Altar? In which case, was the whole idea Ren’s to begin with, or was he influenced? Maybe it happened the first time Ren died? The Red King took over then—or at least started to? Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, thoughts…

· Wait more theories—what if RK is connected to the ????? entity that spoke to Martyn when he died? In which case, cMartyn said he was considering making that canonically a Watcher (he ended up not doing it, but he also didn’t do anything that contradicted it either). I’m not saying RK is a Watcher… but boy he sure does stare a lot, don’t he.

· Holding the screwdriver like a dagger—mmmm

· Okay funny thought: all this frost, RK’s gonna need to be real careful about rust lol. And straining the metal, tbh, all that freezing and thawing is going to have an effect but the rust idea is making me laugh

· Until I realized it would look like blood and it’s not funny anymore

· “Renbob is in the beanbag stuffed next to the driver’s seat” right so is this where Renbob sleeps because I have been wondering—

· “something about having two people look like Ren when neither of them are makes Doc stop to take a shaky breath” *sob*

· “Renbob clears his throat, looking up at Doc with a smile that is so obviously fake that it hurts.” Ugh the LOT of you stop repressing everything you’ll give yourselves a collective hernia

· “he’ll probably have to break the news to the other hermits, too, Iskall and False and all the others.” All these painful lines I somehow missed the first time through

· Awww warm air comes in when Renbob opens the door—with the flowers and everything, Renbob is so easily associated with spring, I love this contrast.

· Aaand there it is, yup, RK is shocked to see his face on Renbob, and Renbob is shocked to see that this is so clearly Not Ren.

· They both recover pretty quickly, though. Survivors, both of them.

· RK calls Renbob their “ferryman” and I’m not sure if I was supposed to get “crossing the river Styx” vibes from that But I Did. (does RK think he’s dead? That they’re all dead?) (post-chapter-13 Red here with a little bit of wordless screaming.) (and also a bit of pride that I picked up on this.)

· “And what a help you’ve been! Fixing me up, replacing my hand.” Hi yes, 911? there’s a dagger stabbed into my feels.

· “he’d rather remember rage than see another person’s heart break.” Dang that’s such a raw line. Oof.

· ”the Red King says, his voice hoarse with tears.” Really interesting that this blood deity can feel such emotions—like, anger or even fear, I can get. But to see this entity upset to the point of tears is fascinating.

· “There is a crown on Doc’s workbench.” Right, yeah so like—is RK unwillingly manifesting these artifacts? Because that’s wild, man. …how long before he manifests an “enchanter”?

· “I’ve never seen it [the crown] clean before.” Okay that definitely implies that maybe RK didn’t come around until after Black Heart Altar?

· “The Red King has the crown in his lap when Doc turns back around, claws gently tracing over the engravings, leaving frost patterns behind.” I really wish I had art skills because there’s this image in my head of a drawing of the crown held in RK’s hands, with his face (one eye glowing, one in shadow) reflected in the surface, and frost patterns following behind a claw that’s daintily tracing the surface. But I can’t draw so—

· RK asks for a change of clothes. What was he wearing when they rescued him, I wonder? The Red King outfit with the fur capelet? Or Ren’s Stargazer outfit? Which begs the question: where does Stargazer fit into all this? Was Ren’s return to Hermitcraft RK free, but when he came so close to dying to Sith, RK found that as a gateway to take over? (Post-13 Red here, Looking Intently at this note.)

· Awww… the image of a one-legged RK clutching new clothes to his chest and hopping down to change in the bathroom… That’s weirdly endearing. He’s less menacing when he stands up somehow. Less lurking, maybe.

· Oooohhhhh he messed up his back sleeping on the floor. Gotcha.

· Doc keeps telling himself (and RK) that saving him and working on these parts is “the right thing to do” and while he’s not WRONG I just want to see him realize that it’s not only the right thing, it’s realistically the only thing, because if he didn’t, then he’d have to deal with the fact that he’s lost his best friend and we can’t have that.

· “I don’t need to eat” ummmmmm no hold on this definitely implies that RK is possessing a dead body and I’m not okay with that where is Ren

· LOLOL “I can’t stand to see [you do] this” is such a raw line to be about watching Doc eat cereal with his hands

· “The voice doesn’t belong to who he thinks it does.” Ugh, Doc. This isn’t the first time he’s lost a close friend to Something Else, something otherworldly.

· “All of them are waiting for him, waiting for him to do something more, something better—” aaand there it is. Doc’s characterization in this fic in a single sentence.

· Doc waking up and thinking he’s seeing Ren and RK’s hesitation and the gentle “I’m not Ren”—OH MY HEART

· RK’s coffee = Renbob’s friendship bracelets

· Randomly can I just say that I love how RK’s dialog is all in italics? It concerned me at first because I thought it was going to keep pulling me out of the narrative, but instead it really just feels right. Also I’m looking forward to the moment when he says something and it’s not in italics because it’s REN and oh my lands please give this to me I beg you (post-13 Red here with a bit more mindless screaming)

· “watch your tongue with me, Atlas, because I’m the one person you can pass the sky to.” Okay okay okay—English studies brain coming out. This suggests that there is a burden RK and Doc can share: something Doc is currently struggling against that only RK can help him with. In the moment, I don’t know if this is really fair of RK to say—after all, Doc does technically have Renbob too, if we’re just talking about Doc’s unhealthy coping mechanisms. In fact, if that’s the context, then Renbob is a much better fellow-Atlas because he and Doc have known each other much longer and they’re both dealing with the loss of Ren. BUT, knowing about the upcoming conversation where Doc and RK both realize that they’ve lost someone (Ren for Doc, Martyn for RK) this line suddenly has a lot more weight. Again, I don’t think that in that moment RK quite has the right to pull this zinger. But in later context, it turns out to be true after all. They are the only two with this particular shared pain.

· Doc upset with himself because he can’t get over his “stupid hang-ups” DOC MY LAD. “I’ve lost my best friend, you’re in his body, and I don’t know how to process any of these emotions” is not a “stupid hang-up” PLEASE stop blaming yourself for everything!?

· “I’m so tired” in the middle of his nightmare—oh my gosh. That hurts so much for some reason.

· I also very much wish I had the ability to draw the image of Doc with tears on his face, staring dead-eyed down at his workbench while RK looms over from behind, pinning his wrists to the table with one metal arm and one frost-bitten one, a look of exasperation and concern on his face. Why can’t I draw the things

· “How do you know Etho” “I watched him die.” OW ow ow ow ow

· Doc takes this as calmly as only someone used to living in a world where death has low consequences can. Oh. Oh—that means… huh. Doc isn’t used to losing people permanently on any basis, especially not death. So no wonder he doesn’t know how to process Ren being gone (I can’t bear to write “dead” there). He literally doesn’t have context for it… and what context he DOES have is like—I mean, Etho and Bdubs came back. Ouch.

· “Twenty-five.” The Red King makes the number sound like a threat. Yet another banger line I missed the first time through. Imagine waking up and thinking you’re in 3rd Life again but instead of 14 players there’s almost twice that many and you think you don’t know any of them.

· I still don’t quite understand the “when was etho added/should have known there was something different” bit or why RK is so emotional about it… but I have trust that it’ll make sense at some point. (post-13 Red: ...is this something about the fact that he thinks he's dead...so he thinks Etho has died before? Like, that 3rd Life wasn't Etho's first hardcore? ...I feel like I'm almost grasping this but I'm missing an element somewhere.)

· And now a sword. RK. My man. You need to stop manifesting things—especially when they scare the ever-living daylights out of you.

· I absolutely adore the in-universe lore that Fire Aspect is a PvP enchantment because it threatens dropped loot, and yeah I very well might steal that. (Along with something I read at one point who-even-knows-where that Knockback is a coward’s enchantment, because I love that too.)

· He really shouldn’t. / Doc picks up the sword by the scabbard and hands it to him, hilt extended. Doc you already trust this guy so much and you don’t even know it—but is it just because you still subconsciously trust the face he wears? Or is it something deeper?

· Ugh, the “I was supposed to kill someone for him” conversation/scene is SO FREAKING GOOD

· “I don’t want it. Not like the crown.” Why, though? Why doesn’t he want it? Because it’s more to do with death than kingship? OH. Oh, I hadn’t even considered that. I’ve been thinking of RK as this like, god of blood and vengeance but maybe he’s not. Maybe he hates the bloodshed (“the blood! It’s drippin’ in me eyes… I’ve been blinded by the violence…”) just as much—more?—than Ren did/would have. Huh. That’s a new facet.

· Oh my heart the “have you ever lost someone and it was your fault” line. Dagger to the feels. Dagger to the feels.

· This like… “I’m on a roll and even though I know I should stop I really don’t want to” mode? Man. That’s relatable. Especially when you’re working to avoid dealing with something else.

· “Not making it for you—it’s for Ren” oh ouch ouch ouch the denial suddenly breaks through it’s okay, Doc I’m with you on this

· The second time reading through it’s far clearer that Doc has a blind panic attack here—when he starts rambling that Ren’s coming back, he’ll be there for season eight and RK goes to…do whatever he was going to do and Doc just blanks out. The manic productivity should have been a warning sign, the poor guy is crumbling.

· “Doctor” and “he’s not sure he deserves that title right now” UGH Doc needs a hug someone please hug him and tell him it’s all going to be okay. Someone please hug me and tell me it’s all going to be okay.

· “his hand on his throat” over the scar from the Red Winter axe? </3

· “I did do that. I have done that.” RK admitting to it actually having been him in Doc’s nightmares?

· Okay sorry the conversation about beating Dinnerbone will never not be funny to me

· RK mentions that people used to call him m’lord or Ren, and then mere minutes later you have “Ren. You couldn’t save him because of me, could you?” He knows exactly what’s going on here. Not maliciously, but he’s no dense-head, he’s put the pieces together. (post-13 Red: MOST of the pieces. Most of them.)

· Watching Doc slowly stop fighting his nightmares—like, the first time, he fights. The second time, he accepts it but still struggles. And this time… this time he gives up before it even starts. That hurts, man.

· Good grief the whole “get my head chopped off” / “you really don’t want that” bit. O.O I’m not sure what emotion I’m feeling but I’m Feeling An Emotion.

· “Snow’s new. Dream’s not.” </3

· …Doc’s not gonna be a fan of snowier-snow after this trip…

· "Dr. M77" Actually he’s Doc Monster, RK, but we’ll let it go. XD

· OKAY BUT THIS EXCHANGE? The “how are you feeling” / “better” / “you’re a bad liar” / “I said better not great” that’s such a good exchange and I don’t know why every other time I’ve ever seen it used they stop at the lying accusation? Doc with the snappy comebacks, man.

· Aaah, Doc and RK, two establishment bros bonding over a shared disdain for hippies.

· The bit about the fella who wore an iron helmet and called it a powdered wig—fear is in my heart. *shoves Scar into an obsidian box and blocks it closed*

· “Who was Ren to you?” </3

· Doc is more than willing to spread the flames, to sear his loss into RK’s bones. / The king’s face stops him. Ren’s face stops him. Holy CRAP is that a good set of lines. So much going on there, and ALL of it good.

· Again. I wish I could draw. I would draw RK sitting on the edge of the bed, gently hugging a collapsed-in-on-himself Doc. </3

· “And I hate the devil that forced us apart, that mixed my blood with his.” *adds another layer to Scar’s obsidian fort*

· OKAY STARTING CHAPTER THIRTEEN I made the mistake of logging into Tumblr earlier and saw people screaming so I’m sure I’m not ready for this but here we go

· Oh no RK has been hippie-ified

· “You started a paramilitary organization because you have hay fever?” *dies laughing*

· Ugh I need to go back and watch s6 I’ve only seen the tail end of Mumbo’s side of things and there’s so much I don’t know.

· HAHAHAHAH I do know the trident bit though—

· Wait he said Scar

· PANIC

· “Kingslayer. bloodthirsty. Time King. The coward. And the mastermind behind it all, the loyal soldier to the very end, the whole damn reason either of us are in this mess.”

· HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY—

· “Is this the afterlife I deserve? After everything, this is the hell I’m going to endure?” I AM SCREAMING

· Doc pinned to the wall with ice, struggling to breathe—I CAN’T WHAT IS HAPPENING

· ((You know I’d get through this a lot faster if I stopped pausing to write reactions—))

· “A break in the ice. A whisper of spring.” Symbolism. Symbolism.

· “Ren was dead when I found him again,” NO I REFUSE TO READ THIS

· “don’t use the hand I built you to hurt yourself” DOC. SIR. MY HEART.

· RK don't run, RK get back here—what are you—

·

·

· I

· JUST

· ACTUALLY

· SCREAMED

· AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

· *several long moments of just breathing*

·

·

·

· *rereads*

· Holy crap on a garbage cracker with an extra serving of what-the-heck sauce

· REN

· REN

· Okay lol okay hahaha calming down

· I literally threw myself back in my chair away from the computer reading that last paragraph. I don't usually... physically react to things I read. LOL. Heh. I’m. Ah. I’m not emotionally invested in this or anything.

· Holy crap.

· Okay. Okay. Okay.

· Um.

· Great chapter, guys. Awesome stuff. Really good. I’m absolutely okay right now and it’s all totally fine.

· …please enjoy your break and get lots of rest and I very much look forward to the return of this fic you have no idea.

· I need to go breathe for a little bit.

EDIT: no, you know what--I'm not going to be a nice polite fangirl over here and quietly hope y'all see this I'm straight up tagging you, @fluffy-papaya and @betweenlands. THANK YOU but also how dare.

[silhouetteofacedar]

Fox Mulder, Closet Romantic Ch. 10: One With Everything

Previous Chapter - AO3 - MSR, rated E

Thursday, April 30.

Mulder and Scully don’t often get to spend a day in court; it almost feels like a treat. An exhausting, headache-inducing, occasionally disheartening treat.

The only real upside is that they usually drive together.

They’re in Baltimore, and even though the drive back to the office is less than an hour, Mulder can feel his energy flagging.

“You hungry?” Mulder asks, sliding into the driver’s seat. “We can grab dinner before we head back.”

“Mulder, I’m wiped out,” Scully sighs.

“Alright,” he replies, subdued. He puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car.

They’ve gone two blocks when Scully speaks again. “I could go for pizza,” she says softly.

Mulder takes a steadying breath. This is progress.

It’s only been a week since the Great Mark Implosion, and things between Mulder and Scully have been thawing slowly. There’s residual awkwardness around them, like the last compacted piles of old snow in the shady places on the sides of the road. Slow to melt, but not a real impediment.

They find a little brick hole-in-the-wall pizza shop not far from the district courthouse. Scully took an appraising sniff when they walked in, declared the scent inside “pizza enough”, and they proceeded to make their order.

“So, how’ve you been?” Mulder asks. It’s a stupid question, but he’s hungry and tired and a little nervous, picking the mushrooms off of his slice of pizza before taking a bite. Scully always insists on ordering one with everything. Thank god she hates anchovies.

“You tell me,” she replies. “You’ve seen me practically every day for the past week.” She takes a first bite of pizza and moans softly. Mulder’s cheeks warm at the sound.

“I mean… in regards to what happened last Wednesday,” he clarifies. Broaching this subject feels suddenly dangerous, and he wants to take his words back.

“You can say break-up, Mulder,” she says gently. “It’s not a secret. And I’m fine,” she says, chewing, then raises a finger. “I know historically I say that when I’m not fine, but I mean it this time,” she explains. “I’m not hurt, just… disappointed. Tired. A little annoyed.”

“With him, or me, or both?” Mulder asks.

She shrugs. “Both,” she says candidly. “But you provided me with sustenance, so my annoyance with you is diminishing.” She takes a sip of diet Coke before she continues. “I’ve been thinking, and I’ve determined that the part of this that bothers me the most is the fact that Mark, or anyone, would base their summation of my character off my sexual history. I’m thirty-four years old, a fully-matured and capable human being, and yet I felt like I was stuck in a web of high school gossip. It’s insulting, being subjected to outdated moral codes by men who have no business passing judgement.”

“I have an impertinent question,” Mulder says. “You don’t have to answer.”

“I’m bracing myself,” she replies, taking another bite of pizza.

“From an outsider’s perspective, these outdated moral codes and judgment seem like a fundamental part of Catholicism. So I guess I’m wondering… why are you still Catholic?”

Her answering sigh is deep and slow. “That’s a big question, Mulder; one I ask myself all the time. I think it boils down to faith. I believe in God; everything else is just window dressing. My relationship with my faith, with religion, is complicated. But ultimately, that’s between me and God. Everyone else, namely Mark, can fuck off.”

He loves her so much in this moment, this tiny self-possessed scientist voraciously eating pizza. “Fair enough,” he says, removing another mushroom from his slice of pizza and putting on the edge of her plate. “So faith in God is intact; faith in men, however…”

Scully chuckles. “It’s at a low plateau,” she jokes, “and yet this may actually be the best break-up I’ve ever had.”

“Ouch,” Mulder says with a wince. “I’d hate to imagine the worst.”

“I egged a guy’s car once,” she says around a bite of pizza.

“No, really?” Mulder asks in surprise. “What’d he do?”

She swallows, wipes her fingers on a crumpled napkin. “Let me be clear, this was when I was in high school,” she says, “So all the emotions were heightened. My boyfriend cheated on me,” she explains. “I was seventeen and wanted to wait to have sex, and he didn’t. It was pretty traumatic for teenage Dana, so I reacted with criminal mischief.”

“Did you get caught?”

Scully shakes her head, picking up one of the stray mushrooms on her plate and popping it in her mouth. “No. I was stealthy,” she says. “And a good church girl. I think most people assumed it was a dumb teenage prank by some local boys.” She pauses. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this,” she says in realization.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Mulder vows, passing her another mushroom.

“So what about you?” she asks, serving herself another slice of pizza. “What sort of romantic entanglements did you get into in high school? Any horror stories?”

“Not much,” Mulder says with a shrug. “Though I was pretty in love with a girl when I was sixteen or so. Her name was Laura and she was the older sister of one of my friends; I think she was probably 18? I was at their house all the time but I hardly ever talked to her.”

“Why not?”

“I was, uh, actually pretty shy back then,” he admits. “Especially with girls. She was really pretty and kind, but every time I opened my mouth to speak I’d get nervous and end up just saying nothing. Once I almost threw up.”

“That’s actually very sweet,” Scully assures him. “Trust me, she probably thought you were adorable.” She chews thoughtfully. “Did you ever tell her how you felt?”

Mulder shakes his head. “Not really. I wrote her a letter confessing my feelings and was halfway to their house to leave it in the mailbox when I chickened out. I took it home and burned it in the kitchen sink. Then she left for college.”

Scully hums in understanding. “A tale as old as time.”

“I looked her up once, after I finished at Oxford. She was married with a baby,” Mulder says, chewing a piece of crust. “Nothing would have happened if she weren’t, but part of me kind of wondered.”

Scully is silent, and when he looks up at her she’s got her cheek cradled in her hand, a soft smile on her lips, watching him.

“What?” he asks, suddenly self-conscious.

Her eyes are gleaming. “I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, but… you’re a romantic, Mulder.”

He swallows. “Is that... is that a bad thing?”

She drops her hand, shakes her head. “No, it’s not a bad thing at all,” she says softly.

Scully’s face is awash with blue and red from the neon sign in the window, and her eyes are deep and glimmering. He has to look away to steady himself before he says something he’s not ready for her to hear.

“I think I assumed you dislike romance,” he says, dipping a toe into shallower, yet unexplored waters. “It seems to me that science is somewhat at odds with the concept, when you can explain away all these feelings as chemical reactions with evolutionary precedent.”

“These feelings?” she asks, and he freezes.

“Romantic feelings in general,” he clarifies, recovering quickly. “The heart palpitations, fluttering stomach, desire for physical contact, all those things we felt as teenagers.” All those things I’m feeling right now.

“Some things aren’t meant to be examined through a purely scientific lens,” she counters. “I also firmly believe in instinct and trusting your gut in certain cases. Hell, that’s why I broke things off with Mark. No matter what he said, I knew things didn’t feel right.”

Mulder’s puzzled. “What he said?” he asks.

Scully licks her lip. “When I called him after work,” she explains. “I told him what you told me, and he claimed you twisted his words. A misunderstanding, coupled with manipulation born of jealousy,” Scully sighs.

Mulder’s heart stutters. “And you didn’t believe him?”

“No, I didn’t. It was his word against yours,” she says, voice gentle and firm. “There was no question.”

Mulder feels the weight of her words drape over his shoulders like a warm blanket. She trusts him, believes in him, chooses him.

He’s floored.

“Scully, that offer to elope still stands,” he says with a grin, and she smiles back.

Scully predictably falls asleep on the drive back to DC. Mulder glances over at her periodically, drinking in the sight of his partner curled up in the passenger seat. Her head is resting against the window, rosy cheek pillowed on a small hand.

Scully trusts him, rests in his presence, weighs his words. He doesn’t deserve what she gives him, but he realizes then what he needs to do anyway; fear and uncertainty be damned.

She deserves the truth; she is the truth.

[linnoya-writes]

—Katara: a Lesson on Strong Work Ethic— Sometimes I just think about characters like Azula and Aang, who were naturally-gifted in their elements and became child prodigies, and how Toph became a prodigy with the help of blind badger-moles, embracing earthbending as an extension of herself.  Zuko wasn’t exactly gifted, but he had the Dragon of the West as his private teacher for at least 3 years, and he pushed Zuko to learn discipline and patience.  These characters had the privilege of time to practice their element, and they had excellent masters to help hone those skills to the best of their abilities. Katara? She didn’t have anyone. She was the only waterbender in the South Pole, and she was practically a secret.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Gran Gran discouraged her to waterbend due to the long history of war-violence against the Southern water benders, and perhaps the only reason she occasionally went fishing with Sokka was to sneak some practice. (Why else would she tolerate his antics more often than necessary?) 

Katara taught herself basic water moves without a clue of what she was doing, because she felt connected to that element. It was all around her with the ice and water and snow, so she had to give it a shot, right?  This must have been so awkward for her — her village may have seen her as a freak, but she didn’t care because waterbending was a part of her and she wasn’t going to ignore her ambition just because she was alone with the tools without a teacher.  

Imagine trying to teach yourself how to bake a cake, because you have a huge craving... and the ingredients and stove are right there in front of you... but no recipe. So you end up doing countless cycles of trial-and-error, measuring ingredients, mixing, heating, tasting, spitting out grossness, then measuring different ingredients, mixing them in different orders, then heating everything in different temperatures... learning more from every single attempt... until finally, things start to go somewhere... and you begin to smell the cake more and more as you go. 

That was Katara with her waterbending —and she did this for years. 

Without even understanding what she was doing, she gave herself structure and learned the value of discipline.  She didn’t care if what she did looked foolish, and she was determined to connect more with her element through self-discipline and self-discovery because nobody else was going to help her.  She did it when it was probably the most dangerous time in the world to do it, too. Her mother was killed for being mistaken as a waterbender... but if anything, this gave Katara another reason to keep practicing.  She must’ve known that if she didn’t stop waterbending, a significant part of her culture would die out.  She wanted keep her culture alive. Katara was fighting for its survival; it fueled her determination to learn waterbending.

In the entire year she travelled with Aang, she didn’t wait for teachers or scrolls to show up before giving herself a reason to practice.  She knew there was a war, she knew she needed to protect Aang, and it was her personal desire to master water-bending.  So she practiced whenever she found time to do it. 

Oh yeah— and she was also the resident “mom” of her group, playing the nurse, the therapist, the one who would cook the meals, train Aang, sew, clean. Every time the group arrived at a new place, the group had to adapt to new surroundings ... and yet, she still found the time to practice and train herself in new methods of waterbending all on her own. She was able to gather knowledge from other bending techniques that her friends had, and became perhaps the most versatile waterbender in a century of war.  

She became so good that, within less than a year of training on her own... she wasn’t just able to float blobs of water.  She was able to freeze and thaw water on command, suspend rain droplets, maneuver a water whip, create water-tentacles, create water pockets to travel underwater, create thick ship-disappearing mist, create cliff-high water chutes, create ship-capsize-able water waves, create face-reflecting ice plates, create wood/metal-cutting ice shards, heal internal wounds, and control human bodies against their will. 

Imagine how differently Katara’s skills would have developed had she been given the same luxury of time, resources and masters like everyone else. Those few weeks that she trained with Master Pakku-- excelling more than any student he’s ever had-- demonstrates how passionate and dedicated she was to becoming a master waterbender and learning from the best.  However, would she have garnered the same discipline, versatility, and appreciation to this craft... had she not had to pick things up on her own, in her own time, throughout that whole journey with the Avatar?  I believe it was because of her drive, her self-study and self-discipline with this practice that made Katara so unique of a student, and her sense of adaptation and open-mindedness made her all the more powerful.

Then, take a moment to think about how much wrong the world had thrown at her (the war-devastation, the sexism, the friend-betrayals), all the reasons Katara had to just “screw the world” because what she wanted didn’t come easily for her, and people were never fair to her.  At any point in this journey, she could’ve chosen a dark path.

Think about that, and how, in spite of her tenacity and her extraordinary self-taught abilities... Katara never lost her compassion.  She was an extremely powerful, self-made prodigy, yet she still chose to be good.  Think about how she used her gifts to help bring an end to the war and build an era of peace. She didn’t make excuses to not learn or practice just because she was alone in the South Pole without anyone supporting her of her gift. She didn’t give up because she lacked the resources to formally train herself. She didn’t complain about the little time she had to practice, due to all of her other responsibilities.

Not once did Katara consider settling for another hobby when she realized she wasn’t as naturally-talented as her other bending peers.  She kept at it.

Katara held onto her ambition. She gave herself the time, she gave herself the discipline, and (with her tribe’s dying culture, the war still happening, and the Avatar still a novice waterbender) she gave herself the reasons to work that much harder.   She made the most with whatever she had.  She learned to be resourceful, sharpened her skills and embraced new techniques... and that ultimately made her unstoppable. And...instead of turning selfish and chasing power, like Azula... Katara chose to use her skills to serve communities and inspire kindness instead of fear.

So, all of this is really to say: if you want something, stop waiting for the world to give you permission to pursue it.  Just get to work.  Give yourself the time, the tools, the structure and the discipline to practice getting better at it. Teachers can only push your potential, but they are not responsible for your drive or ambition.  Stop making excuses.  If it doesn’t come easy for you, remember why you want it so much and keep working at it.  If someone says you’re wasting your time, ignore them.  If someone says you should be wanting something else, prove them wrong.  Fight for what you want, and always be a positive inspiration. Let’s all strive to be brave, hard-working, determined, headstrong, and compassionate like our resident badass, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

[quitealotofsodapop]

MvA assorted headcanons

General:

So many years together has made the core monsters inseperable. If something affects one member, it affects the group.

All. The. Monsters. Are. Family.

It takes Susan a while to understand inside jokes and past incidents because of being the most recent addition.

There are Other anomalous creatures kept in Area 5X, but they are either non-sentient and/or are too dangerous to be kept around the more human-friendly monster group.

Area 5X is so gotdang big because they were expecting a lot more kaijus like Insecto to crop up. Sadly not many have surfaced to justify the space.

There’s a hangar in Area 5X full of wrecked UFOs. Some are spacecraft wreckage while others are stuff like weird meteors (Susan’s is in there), and at least one alien creature that got crystallised upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

There’s significant difference in staff employed at different points throughout the past 50 years. There are far more women on the Area 5X worksheet than back in the 50s, and the guards are generally more sympathetic towards the monsters. Many modern staff members have been reprimanded or let go for failing to uphold secrecy, or for unnecessary cruelty towards the monsters.

Budget cuts were a legitmate concern up until the Battle of Golden Gate Bridge. The facility was far more barebones and sterile before the government had to formally recognise Area 5X’s importance. There have been a lot of redecorating at the facilty since the fat checks started coming in.

Putting individual characters under read due to length.

Susan:

Enjoys many hobbies considered stereotypically feminine; baking, sewing, cosmetics, etc...

Grandparents and extended family are farmers or are atleast connected to the business. Modesto is the agricultural centre of California after all. Her parents were the first of their generation to go against the mold and seek out white-collar careers.

Studied cosmetology in school and was working at a beauty salon to save up for her and Derek’s wedding.

Is very athletic and grew up doing a number of physical extracurriculars like cheerleading, dodgeball, and roller-derby.

Grew up being teased for being the shortest kid in her class/family. They still tease her for it.

Greatly fears causing collateral damage and/or harm to others through her size.

Has issues with anxiety, worsened only by her new job as “savior of earth”. She wishes for a confidant to tell her worries to.

Married life with Derek was doomed to fail. Susan had a plan in place for what came after the marriage, and focusing 100% on Derek’s career was not it. There’s also the line from Derek’s mother about Susan being “the weatherman’s wife”, implying that she was to be the homemaker and not have a career of her own. It’s possible that Susan was planning to settle down and have kids with Derek, but the lack of control she had in moving to Fresno implied that more was going on.

Is currently “taking a break” from love and dating, despite gaining many new admirers.

Tries her best to return to Modesto to visit her family and friends whenever possible, though work often keeps her away for weeks at a time.

If she retains her height-shifting abilities as in the series; Susan goes through really bad “growing” pains.

Link:

Was frozen in his relative late-teens during a cold snap. Got shifted around until he ended up somewhere in Greenland before being discovered by modern humans. Post-thaw he went a bit wild, swimming frantically back south to try and find his old enviroment.

Was one of many scrappy youngsters in his troop, with a number of adoptive parents. The strongest ruled the troop, and Link was fairly weak in comparision to the leaders. He had gotten into a fight the day of his freezing (over something silly in hindsight) and swam away to sulk. When he didn’t return after the cold snap - the troop accepted that he had likely died out on his own.

Likes to freak out humans by making up weird biology facts about his species and ones he’s fought against - like joking about laying eggs or having his tail dettach and regrow like a lizard. However there’s some things he has to ask about, because he doesn’t have medical knowledge or words to describe something.

A lot of his macho behavior came from imitating the guards who kept watch on him. 1950s violent military alpha males aren't a very good role model for someone who doesnt know what societal norms are yet. Link was a lot more insufferable back in the day but chilled out as he began interacting with other walks of life.

Has a high paternal instinct and immediately becomes softer around kids and smaller animals.

Has body language similar to a cat/alligator. Slaps his tail when angry or in deep thought. And yes; Link purrs/rumbles when happy.

Loves monster movies - especially the ones where the monsters “win”. He cried when he saw “Beauty and the Beast” and then immediately booed loudly when the Beast turned human.

Does Not Trust doctors or scientists due to bad past experiences. Will only go to Dr Cockroach and Monger if he ever gets hurt/ill. Gets stressed fast if he has to be in a waiting room or doctors office.

Link had no idea what gender indentities or orientations were until recently - he did come from a pre-human civilization that really didnt mind/care about the schemantics. It took him some time to wrap his head around it. He identifies himself as bisexual after much thought and many hours alone on the computer.

Don't press him about his body. He's built different from humans and cis people. He will punch anyone who doesnt respect his or anyone elses identity.

Has been in love before. It didn’t end well.

Will occasionally wear clothes, but finds it a challenge to find anything that fits him. Will give any shoes he finds to Dr Cockroach and BOB to eat.

The best driver/pilot out of all the monsters.

Dr Cockroach:

True name is Jaques-Yves Herbert. Prefers to just go by "Dr Cockroach" because he dislikes the association with his birth family.

Picks up human languages very easily, although not as quickly as he can understand animals.

Parents were a mixed scientist couple. His father was an aggressive “Strong British Man” that would beat him son down for not following orders or for not meeting his standards for a man. Dr C turned down both chances to attend his parents funerals.

This man isn’t straight. He probably uses old-fashioned slang when asked about romance such as; “I am Uranian” or “I wear a green carnation”. It took Susan a few times to realise what he meant, as she is used to a more open minded enviroment.

Got the idea of transforming into a cockroach from reading Franz Kafkas “The Metamorphosis” as a child. He sympathized with Gregor’s abusive situation, and began considering the possibilties of how one could survive better as a creature like a cockroach.

Studied in biology and entomology in the Uk before moving to the states to follow engineering. Obtained his degree in Dance as a “side gig” in University.

Has been barred from free access to the coffee maker/machine due to overnighters. Once stayed awake so long that he forgot the letter “R”.

Owned a terrarium of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches throughout college. He mourned each of them when his roommate’s iguana got into the tank.

Was a "beatnik" back in the day and still kinda is. Embraces and encourages modern counterculture as he himself was not given such acceptance in his youth. He has however shamefully eaten his old Lenny Bruce album.

Hasn’t actually aged physically since his transformation. He attributes this to the fact that certain athropods can’t age physically beyond maturity. Link is very jealous.

Has obtained more degrees while in captivity, as Monger allowed him access to research and learning materials. He has however had his allowances revoked for previous escape attempts/doomsday devices.

Does still enjoy human food, but the cockroach instinct of "eat detritus" tends to overrule his eating choices. Can’t cook either.

Ironically a terrible driver. The damages from previous drives has made Monger restrict him from operating even a razor scooter.

BOB:

Pretty much considers himself human. Was created by them, raised by one (Monger), and talks like one. Gets sad when he's reminded that no other humans are blue blobs like him.

Absorbed some dna from the scientists present at his "birth", leading to his eye, speech, and omnivorous diet.

Doesnt actually need to breathe (as he can just absorb oxygen through his mass) but the fact that humans Do means that BOB thinks he has to as well.

Shares some physical characteristics with tomatoes/nightshade plants, as he is technically half tomato. He refuses to eat tomatos for this very reason, considering it cannibalism.

Attracts garden pests looking for a tomato plant. This unwittingly makes BOB a pretty good bug zapper.

Still retains his "mental broadcast" ability from "BOB's Big Break" although at a more subtle level. He tends to parrot the things he accidentally "eavesdropped" on.

Is empathetic, and can tell when others aren't doing ok emotionally. Will flop down on someone who’s really sad to comfort them. No brain, only heart.

Best cook out of the monsters. If he doesn’t forget what he’s making at least.

"Whats a gender? Can I eat it?"

Insectosaurus:

Core body is that of a Japanese Silkmoth, although she ended up being spliced with other animals present on the island during her initial mutation; namely ants and ground squirrels.

Eats over a literal ton of mulberry leaves per day. Also enjoys oranges.

Secretly wishes to be more humanoid.

Was only able to pupate and transform due to physical trauma. It seems that her transformation was like a “power-up” that required her to be in geniune distress for it to activate.

First language is Japanese. She learned it from the intial recovery team, and later developed an understanding of English from years in Area 5X.

Goes into torpor in cold weather. Pretty much impossible to wake her up for missions during Winter, as she needs to “rev up” before becoming mobile.

Still very much Link’s best friend. Still enjoys sports, chicks, and beer.

Monger:

Full name is; Warren Rex Monger.

Is very protective of the monsters and will defend them to the death.

Pretty much raised BOB (as seen when BOB was a baby blob in “Night of the Living Carrots”), and considers him his “freaky gelatinous son”.

Has a reputation of being a “control-freak” due to his aggressive overseeing of the monsters’ containment. This toughness is partly because of incidents that occured without his knowledge. Lets just say some scientists have been wedgied/fired for running experiments on the monsters without Monger’s approval.

Has a very “Ron Swanson” emotional response and view of the world. Crying is acceptable only at funerals and at the Grand Canyon (if he hadn’t lost his tear ducts in the war).

Has been married multiple times. Will not confirm or deny if he is currently seeing anyone.

Invisible Man/TiM:

Legit got out but no one at Area 5X is sure how. He suffered a geniune medical emergency and disappeared after surgery. The other monsters were informed that he died from complications to deter them from getting escape ideas.

Is able to be detected in Infrared light. Dr Cockroach managed to rig up goggles to view TiM in case of injury and to foil pranks.

Was a scientist working on an invisibility potion for the military and used himself as a guinea pig. Hasn’t actually been able to replicate his results since - thinks the effect may have been caused by a genetic abnormality.

Dr Cockroach and him are massive rivals. Both actually met eachother pre-transformation through a CalTech expedition. This makes the pair one of few people that have seen the others human face.

Is 100% naked. Was forced to wear clothing once this was discovered.

A massive prankster and a cynic. Him and Link were a force to be reckoned with.

Has revisted the facility multiple times and has started a number of ghost stories.

Any additions are welcome! I proably have alot more to dump about. Might make one of the alien characters from the series

[franzsiska]

jontim drabble (bc i can't stop thinking about them); pov second person (jon's); 900w

So it happens that you are the one picked for the research position at the Magnus Institute. It’s not a particularly coveted position, but you are young and fresh-faced, almost straight out of university, and the man who hired you has a very smooth voice and did tell you that you were perfect, for the job, after all.

You don't know anybody here, but that's fine, you like to keep to yourself, anyway. You never really got the hang of workplace socializing. So, every day, you come in, you exchange cursory niceties with those you absolutely have to, and you dive into your books and papers and research articles and don't leave until the sun goes down. There isn’t much waiting for you at home, and this place is a sanctuary—from what, you're not sure, but you're not really all that keen on finding out if you can help it.

Then, he comes along, all sunkissed skin and flirtatious smiles and long lashes on a beautiful face—and that stupidly smug, feline grin that has you going a little weak in the knees. Not that you'd ever admit to that. There’s a certain, boyish sort of charm to his manner, and when he asks you if you'd like to join him for drinks after work, you say yes before you can even register it. Even though it's a weekday and you don't really like to drink. Even though you barely know him. He's bright and he’s funny, his laugh is infectious to a degree not even you are immune to, and he’s warm in a way no one else has ever been to you. He laughs, loud and boisterous, at something you say, and you think you feel something inside of your freezing chest thaw, something you thought you had locked away securely after Georgie Barker.

Sometimes, beneath all of that bluster and charisma, you think you glimpse dredges of sadness in him, cold and isolating, as if he's missing something vital but doesn’t quite know what or how to fix it. You want to know what it is—you’re not vain enough to think it’s out of compassion, vain enough to think that you can make it better, somehow. No, you just have a need to know… and a need to help, even when you know you can’t. You'd ask him about it too, you would, if you were a braver person. You're not.

Soon, you are promoted to Head Archivist, a crown cage noose position you are entirely unequipped for, and transferred to the place that, unbeknownst to you, is going to kill you all one day. Stupidly, selfishly, with all the misguided confidence of Orpheus, you ask him to follow you. And stupidly, assuredly, with all of Eurydice’s unquestioning trust, he does.

He calls you 'boss' with that stupid, teasing lilt in his voice that you find so annoying yet endearing, as if it’s a joke that only the two of you are in on. He brings matches into the archives and lights candles, only to put them on a cake and wish you ‘happy birthday’. He annoys you after work so you can't work overtime.

He still drags you out for drinks. And you still don’t like alcohol, but you like him and that is close enough.

It's a shame, really, all the shit that goes down with Prentiss. You’d think almost dying together at the hands of a worm-infested nightmare and him breaking down a literal wall to save you would bring you closer, if anything (you have half a mind to crack some tasteless joke about team-building exercises or something, but you don’t). As it turns out, it counts for surprisingly little in the face of your paranoia.

You hate yourself for it, for everything you think and everything you do, but you just can’t stop. So, instead, you just keep making it worse. You're scared and alone and you don't know who to trust, so you decide to just trust nobody at all. Push away anyone who might be able to help, because you don't need help, you can't accept help from anybody and get them killed, not again, never again. No, much simpler to just be suspicious and keep everybody at arm's length.

You don't really notice when that arm's length of distance between you and him turns into a valley. Now he can't look at you without rage in his eyes and vitriol in his voice, and you suppose that's fair. After all that you've done, you deserve that—and more, probably. You aren't entitled to any civility from him, you aren’t entitled to anything from him anymore. But knowing isn’t the same as understanding and the knowledge doesn’t keep you from wanting it still.

You keep going. There’s a much heavier burden on your shoulders now than your own heavy heart and heavier conscience. You don’t ask him for forgiveness; you know you have no right.

The last thing he ever says to you is also filled with rage and vitriol. “I don’t forgive you.” And then, perhaps even worse, “but thank you for this.”

Words that even as they’re being said you know will stay with you for the rest of your wretched, miserable little life.

(I don’t forgive you. I don’t forgive you. I don’t— )

But you knew that already, didn’t you? This isn’t the first time.

There has never been, and never will be, any absolution for you.