Tumgik
#I tried not to make it too obvious
inkskinned · 9 months
Text
you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.
you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.
he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.
a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.
he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.
you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.
people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.
wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.
also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.
he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."
you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.
"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."
he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.
you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.
is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?
you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.
3K notes · View notes
anglerflsh · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media
Day Two of Autistic Hunter Week, for Stimming/Fidgeting
2K notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
Huh-? Why's my sax's mouthpiece all messed up?
...
Tumblr media Tumblr media
... Ah.
(wip progress + 'lineart' under read-more--)
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
portfest outfits are so cool looking,,,
202 notes · View notes
playroom-sekaii · 1 month
Text
CG VBS Kaito hcs for a friend :D
(Him with the vbs babies ^w^)
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
• The dad ever oh my God
• Gives all of them the silliest nicknames that either make them giggle or blush each time
• Sneaks them sweets a lot (Meiko is very annoyed by this)
• I don't know how else to word it but he's kind of like Bandit/Bluey's dad when it comes to games, they're ridiculous but he gets very into them, sometimes more than the kiddos himself
• So many uppies for all of them, but especially Kohane, she's so light that he can carry her on his back while doing basically anything
• Kohane loves games like hide and seek, or being given "horsey rides", and Kaito is always willing to provide anything of that sort she desires. Anything his little ones want they get!
• He works extra hard to make sure he doesn't scare or overstimulate her when she's little, he knows her anxiety is worse in this headspace and he wants his little mouse to feel safe!
•An loves helping at the Virtual Singers' café when she's small, and Kaito loves letting her do so! She's his little assistant, adding toppings to drinks and making sure all the pancakes are extra fluffy! It can get a little messy though, and usually the two of them are too busy enjoying their snacks to remember to clean up without Meiko reminding them >-<
• She likes it when he plays with her hair! Even if he's not the best at it, she still likes it! Mr. Kaito makes her look so silly and fun!
• Works extra hard to make sure she feels seen and paid attention to, since that wasn't a constant when she was a kid. Every word she says he's on the edge of his seat, he'll drop everything if she says she wants to show him something, she's singing? Standing ovation this'll surpass RAD WEEKEND (she's like five rn)
• Doing his best to be the greatest CG possible for Akito, not only because he knows how insecure he can be about his regression and how rough his home life can be, but also because of Kaito's greater connection to Aki's true feelings. Knows all of the little ways to make him regress (ruffling his hair, saying he's proud of him, calling him sport or kiddo, etc), Akito is grumpy whenever he manages to make him slip at first but he's grateful deep down.
• One of the few that Akito is truly open about his needs or wants with when small, even if he's a bit grumpy about it. Kaito's nothing but supportive though, and wants to help him get more comfortable with it.
• Loves playing games with him, especially soccer. When Akito's on the older end of his age range he'll put up a real fight but when he's littler Kaito usually lets him win so he doesn't have a grumpy tantrum-
• Since Toya's the littlest of the vbs kids when he's small, Kaito feels that he has to protect him the most. He's just a baby that deserves a proper chance at a good childhood! (Toya called him "Papa" once and now he'd kill for him)
• Always ready to make cookies or warm milk for this little guy! He managed to find some bottles in the café, and is working to find new flavored milks and such to make for Toya to see if he'll like them (he does, but regular chocolate milk will always be his favorite)
• Toya has fallen asleep on his lap so many times before, but it's worth it! It means he's feeling truly safe and small! Who cares if he can't feel his legs! It's for the baby!
• Sometimes when he's working with his DJ equipment he'll let Toya sit on his lap and play with them, pressing the buttons with a wide-eyed fascinated look on his face. Now he's just like Papa! Kaito's so proud.
62 notes · View notes
icedb1ackcoffee · 27 days
Text
Tumblr media
Ecologist!Reader aesthetic | Corrupted by Design | Feyd-Rautha x Reader
You stood out compared to the Harkonnens, in more ways than just one. You wore loose clothing: rich brown pants or skirts and deep greens tied around your torso and arms, sometimes flashes of red or blue—all washed out under any sunlight. You carried with you strange jars and herbs, your dark, sunblocking glasses atop your head if not perched on your nose, your waist satchel stuffed with samples—you must have looked completely alien to their more minimalist sensibilities. “You dress oddly for someone from the Imperium,” one of your workers remarked. “Is it your goal to one day turn into a plant, and not just look like one?”
Corrupted by Design (Rated E)
52 notes · View notes
py6oto · 5 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
once again i offer you a mix of hlvrai and a game i like. this time it's sky!!
i originally wanted to draw the whole science team, but i forgot and by the time i noticed it was too late for me to dare trying.
i have the entire thing (mostly) planned, but i dont wanna post it yet. id like to post it with a drawing of everyone.
2023.11.18
116 notes · View notes
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Edd finds a stray kitten on his way home from the library, and the rest is history. Takes place in the past, roughly around the time Season 6 would have taken place. 
[next (pgs 6-10)]
317 notes · View notes
pomellon · 11 months
Photo
Tumblr media
Hey look! Finally decided to draw something for the himbros mermaid au instead of just rambling about it :D
Foolish made a bracelets for Punz, he made sure to make it blue for him 💙
133 notes · View notes
Text
thinking abt kenny and his anti-neet agenda
23 notes · View notes
grapejuicegay · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Okay, friend
#OH NO I HAVE TOO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS#first of all the obvious red and blue boys#the one who's ready to jump all in at the slightest hint of reciprocation#and the one who gets too into his own head and tries to chicken out of talking about his feelings#but also thinking about all the meta (and specifically jemmo's post) about the ep 10 fist bump#and how they were on the same level through it all and how their relationship is level and reciprocal at every point#and how we're seeing the exact opposite take place here in msp#tinn has just been rejected#and done so in a way where he has no idea that gun likes him too#gun trying to reach out in a situation that IS difficult for them both#but he has a step up on tinn here where he knows that his feelings are reciprocated even if they can't be together right now#and so of course tinn is the one to step back when he tries to make a move under the cover of the mv#because he has just been rejected where gun... just hasn't#and most importantly both episodes ending with immaculate food based flirting 10/10#anyway here's some boys fist bumping about their feelings in ep 6#(and talking about said feelings next to a body of water)#tune in next week for boys not really dating and also performing a tragic romance in ep 7!#my school president#my school president series#bad buddy#bad buddy series#bad buddy brain rot#this isn't about bad buddy but when is anything not about bad buddy anymore#< i love this tag but you best believe i am going to make anything and everything about bad buddy#kk.gifs#oh this is my first gifset of 2023!!!
360 notes · View notes
drbtinglecannon · 2 years
Text
These two sets of besties have the exact same vibes and that's why they're both so hilarious & perfect
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I love them, your honor, my beloved set of absurdly-unexpected-wholesome-ride-or-die-besties-for-life.
943 notes · View notes
radjerda · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
Sometimes you look at the Band on the Run album cover for a second too long and you get ideas... Ideas like continuing your drawings of Glorfindel being really bad at trying to sneak Ecthelion out of Valinor and back to Middle Earth with him.
In this attempt, we have Glorfindel and Ecthelion deciding that their inexperience with boats means nothing, they can totally row a boat* back to Middle Earth themselves. And then they promptly got caught.
*a boat that they bought.
And as a bonus for everyone, have the album cover version:
Tumblr media
125 notes · View notes
elkian · 2 months
Text
I've seen a few of my Murderbot posts reblogged with tags to the effect of "I don't go here but I know of it" and for people who are interested in the Murderbot series looking to break in:
Tor.com (now Reactor Mag) has the entire first chapter of the first book, All Systems Red, available free to read on their site.
Link to the article.
ASR is a novella, so this not only covers a lot of ground, but is a pretty good litmus test imo if this book is for you or not.
(I read ASR twice before getting Artificial Condition, and that was the book that got me totally hooked on the series, for what that's worth.)
I'm also just going to post the text under this readmore because free Murderbot.
---
---
I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.
I was also still doing my job, on a new contract, and hoping Dr. Volescu and Dr. Bharadwaj finished their survey soon so we could get back to the habitat and I could watch episode 397 of Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.
I admit I was distracted. It was a boring contract so far and I was thinking about backburnering the status alert channel and trying to access music on the entertainment feed without HubSystem logging the extra activity. It was trickier to do it in the field than it was in the habitat.
This assessment zone was a barren stretch of coastal island, with low, flat hills rising and falling and thick greenish-black grass up to my ankles, not much in the way of flora or fauna, except a bunch of different-sized birdlike things and some puffy floaty things that were harmless as far as we knew. The coast was dotted with big bare craters, one of which Bharadwaj and Volescu were taking samples in. The planet had a ring, which from our current position dominated the horizon when you looked out to sea. I was looking at the sky and mentally poking at the feed when the bottom of the crater exploded.
I didn’t bother to make a verbal emergency call. I sent the visual feed from my field camera to Dr. Mensah’s, and jumped down into the crater. As I scrambled down the sandy slope, I could already hear Mensah over the emergency comm channel, yelling at someone to get the hopper in the air now. They were about ten kilos away, working on another part of the island, so there was no way they were going to get here in time to help.
Conflicting commands filled my feed but I didn’t pay attention. Even if I hadn’t borked my own governor module, the emergency feed took priority, and it was chaotic, too, with the automated HubSystem wanting data and trying to send me data I didn’t need yet and Mensah sending me telemetry from the hopper. Which I also didn’t need, but it was easier to ignore than HubSystem simultaneously demanding answers and trying to supply them.
In the middle of all that, I hit the bottom of the crater. I have small energy weapons built into both arms, but the one I went for was the big projectile weapon clamped to my back. The hostile that had just exploded up out of the ground had a really big mouth, so I felt I needed a really big gun.
I dragged Bharadwaj out of its mouth and shoved myself in there instead, and discharged my weapon down its throat and then up toward where I hoped the brain would be. I’m not sure if that all happened in that order; I’d have to replay my own field camera feed. All I knew was that I had Bharadwaj, and it didn’t, and it had disappeared back down the tunnel.
She was unconscious and bleeding through her suit from massive wounds in her right leg and side. I clamped the weapon back into its harness so I could lift her with both arms. I had lost the armor on my left arm and a lot of the flesh underneath, but my non-organic parts were still working. Another burst of commands from the governor module came through and I backburnered it without bothering to decode them. Bharadwaj, not having non-organic parts and not as easily repaired as me, was definitely a priority here and I was mainly interested in what the MedSystem was trying to tell me on the emergency feed. But first I needed to get her out of the crater.
During all this, Volescu was huddled on the churned up rock, losing his shit, not that I was unsympathetic. I was far less vulnerable in this situation than he was and I wasn’t exactly having a great time either. I said, “Dr. Volescu, you need to come with me now.”
He didn’t respond. MedSystem was advising a tranq shot and blah blah blah, but I was clamping one arm on Dr. Bharadwaj’s suit to keep her from bleeding out and supporting her head with the other, and despite everything I only have two hands. I told my helmet to retract so he could see my human face. If the hostile came back and bit me again, this would be a bad mistake, because I did need the organic parts of my head. I made my voice firm and warm and gentle, and said, “Dr. Volescu, it’s gonna be fine, okay? But you need to get up and come help me get her out of here.”
That did it. He shoved to his feet and staggered over to me, still shaking. I turned my good side toward him and said, “Grab my arm, okay? Hold on.”
He managed to loop his arm around the crook of my elbow and I started up the crater towing him, holding Bharadwaj against my chest. Her breathing was rough and desperate and I couldn’t get any info from her suit. Mine was torn across my chest so I upped the warmth on my body, hoping it would help. The feed was quiet now, Mensah having managed to use her leadership priority to mute everything but MedSystem and the hopper, and all I could hear on the hopper feed was the others frantically shushing each other.
The footing on the side of the crater was lousy, soft sand and loose pebbles, but my legs weren’t damaged and I got up to the top with both humans still alive. Volescu tried to collapse and I coaxed him away from the edge a few meters, just in case whatever was down there had a longer reach than it looked.
I didn’t want to put Bharadwaj down because something in my abdomen was severely damaged and I wasn’t sure I could pick her up again. I ran my field camera back a little and saw I had gotten stabbed with a tooth, or maybe a cilia. Did I mean a cilia or was that something else? They don’t give murderbots decent education modules on anything except murdering, and even those are the cheap versions. I was looking it up in HubSystem’s language center when the little hopper landed nearby. I let my helmet seal and go opaque as it settled on the grass.
We had two standard hoppers: a big one for emergencies and this little one for getting to the assessment locations. It had three compartments: one big one in the middle for the human crew and two smaller ones to each side for cargo, supplies, and me. Mensah was at the controls. I started walking, slower than I normally would have because I didn’t want to lose Volescu. As the ramp started to drop, Pin-Lee and Arada jumped out and I switched to voice comm to say, “Dr. Mensah, I can’t let go of her suit.”
It took her a second to realize what I meant. She said hurriedly, “That’s all right, bring her up into the crew cabin.”
Murderbots aren’t allowed to ride with the humans and I had to have verbal permission to enter. With my cracked governor there was nothing to stop me, but not letting anybody, especially the people who held my contract, know that I was a free agent was kind of important. Like, not having my organic components destroyed and the rest of me cut up for parts important.
I carried Bharadwaj up the ramp into the cabin, where Overse and Ratthi were frantically unclipping seats to make room. They had their helmets off and their suit hoods pulled back, so I got to see their horrified expressions when they took in what was left of my upper body through my torn suit. I was glad I had sealed my helmet.
This is why I actually like riding with the cargo. Humans and augmented humans in close quarters with murderbots is too awkward. At least, it’s awkward for this murderbot. I sat down on the deck with Bharadwaj in my lap while Pin-Lee and Arada dragged Volescu inside.
We left two pacs of field equipment and a couple of instruments behind, still sitting on the grass where Bharadwaj and Volescu had been working before they went down to the crater for samples. Normally I’d help carry them, but MedSystem, which was monitoring Bharadwaj through what was left of her suit, was pretty clear that letting go of her would be a bad idea. But no one mentioned the equipment. Leaving easily replaceable items behind may seem obvious in an emergency, but I had been on contracts where the clients would have told me to put the bleeding human down to go get the stuff.
On this contract, Dr. Ratthi jumped up and said, “I’ll get the cases!”
I yelled, “No!” which I’m not supposed to do; I’m always supposed to speak respectfully to the clients, even when they’re about to accidentally commit suicide. HubSystem could log it and it could trigger punishment through the governor module. If it wasn’t hacked.
Fortunately, the rest of the humans yelled “No!” at the same time, and Pin-Lee added, “For fuck’s sake, Ratthi!”
Ratthi said, “Oh, no time, of course. I’m sorry!” and hit the quick-close sequence on the hatch.
So we didn’t lose our ramp when the hostile came up under it, big mouth full of teeth or cilia or whatever chewing right through the ground. There was a great view of it on the hopper’s cameras, which its system helpfully sent straight to everybody’s feed. The humans screamed.
Mensah pushed us up into the air so fast and hard I nearly leaned over and everybody who wasn’t on the floor ended up there.
In the quiet afterward, as they gasped with relief, Pin-Lee said, “Ratthi, if you get yourself killed—”
“You���ll be very cross with me, I know.” Ratthi slid down the wall a little more and waved weakly at her.
“That’s an order, Ratthi, don’t get yourself killed,” Mensah said from the pilot’s seat. She sounded calm, but I have security priority, and I could see her racing heartbeat through MedSystem.
Arada pulled out the emergency medical kit so they could stop the bleeding and try to stabilize Bharadwaj. I tried to be as much like an appliance as possible, clamping the wounds where they told me to, using my failing body temperature to try to keep her warm, and keeping my head down so I couldn’t see them staring at me.
PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY AT 60% AND DROPPING
Our habitat is a pretty standard model, seven interconnected domes set down on a relatively flat plain above a narrow river valley, with our power and recycling system connected on one side. We had an environmental system, but no air locks, as the planet’s atmosphere was breathable, just not particularly good for humans for the long term. I don’t know why, because it’s one of those things I’m not contractually obligated to care about.
We picked the location because it’s right in the middle of the assessment area, and while there are trees scattered through the plain, each one is fifteen or so meters tall, very skinny, with a single layer of spreading canopy, so it’s hard for anything approaching to use them as cover. Of course, that didn’t take into account anything approaching via tunnel.
We have security doors on the habitat for safety but HubSystem told me the main one was already open as the hopper landed. Dr. Gurathin had a lift gurney ready and guided it out to us. Overse and Arada had managed to get Bharadwaj stabilized, so I was able to put her down on it and follow the others into the habitat.
The humans headed for Medical and I stopped to send the little hopper commands to lock and seal itself, then I locked the outer doors. Through the security feed, I told the drones to widen our perimeter so I’d have more warning if something big came at us. I also set some monitors on the seismic sensors to alert me to anomalies just in case the hypothetical something big decided to tunnel in.
After I secured the habitat, I went back to what was called the security ready room, which was where weapons, ammo, perimeter alarms, drones, and all the other supplies pertaining to security were stored, including me. I shed what was left of the armor and on MedSystem’s advice sprayed wound sealant all over my bad side. I wasn’t dripping with blood, because my arteries and veins seal automatically, but it wasn’t nice to look at. And it hurt, though the wound seal did numb it a little. I had already set an eight-hour security interdiction through HubSystem, so nobody could go outside without me, and then set myself as off-duty. I checked the main feed but no one was filing any objections to that.
I was freezing because my temperature controls had given out at some point on the way here, and the protective skin that went under my armor was in pieces. I had a couple of spares but pulling one on right now would not be practical, or easy. The only other clothing I had was a uniform I hadn’t worn yet, and I didn’t think I could get it on, either. (I hadn’t needed the uniform because I hadn’t been patrolling inside the habitat. Nobody had asked for that, because with only eight of them and all friends, it would be a stupid waste of resources, namely me.) I dug around one handed in the storage case until I found the extra human-rated medical kit I’m allowed in case of emergencies, and opened it and got the survival blanket out. I wrapped up in it, then climbed into the plastic bed of my cubicle. I let the door seal as the white light flickered on.
It wasn’t much warmer in there, but at least it was cozy. I connected myself to the resupply and repair leads, leaned back against the wall and shivered. MedSystem helpfully informed me that my performance reliability was now at 58 percent and dropping, which was not a surprise. I could definitely repair in eight hours, and probably mostly regrow my damaged organic components, but at 58 percent, I doubted I could get any analysis done in the meantime. So I set all the security feeds to alert me if anything tried to eat the habitat and started to call up the supply of media I’d downloaded from the entertainment feed. I hurt too much to pay attention to anything with a story, but the friendly noise would keep me company.
Then someone knocked on the cubicle door.
I stared at it and lost track of all my neatly arrayed inputs. Like an idiot, I said, “Uh, yes?”
Dr. Mensah opened the door and peered in at me. I’m not good at guessing actual humans’ ages, even with all the visual entertainment I watch. People in the shows don’t usually look much like people in real life, at least not in the good shows. She had dark brown skin and lighter brown hair, cut very short, and I’m guessing she wasn’t young or she wouldn’t be in charge. She said, “Are you all right? I saw your status report.”
“Uh.” That was the point where I realized that I should have just not answered and pretended to be in stasis. I pulled the blanket around my chest, hoping she hadn’t seen any of the missing chunks. Without the armor holding me together, it was much worse. “Fine.”
So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. Also, if I’m not in the armor then it’s because I’m wounded and one of my organic parts may fall off and plop on the floor at any moment and no one wants to see that.
“Fine?” She frowned. “The report said you lost 20 percent of your body mass.”
“It’ll grow back,” I said. I know to an actual human I probably looked like I was dying. My injuries were the equivalent of a human losing a limb or two plus most of their blood volume.
“I know, but still.” She eyed me for a long moment, so long I tapped the security feed for the mess, where the non-wounded members of the group were sitting around the table talking. They were discussing the possibility of more underground fauna and wishing they had intoxicants. That seemed pretty normal. She continued, “You were very good with Dr. Volescu. I don’t think the others realized . . . They were very impressed.”
“It’s part of the emergency med instructions, calming victims.” I tugged the blanket tighter so she didn’t see anything awful. I could feel something lower down leaking.
“Yes, but the MedSystem was prioritizing Bharadwaj and didn’t check Volescu’s vital signs. It didn’t take into account the shock of the event, and it expected him to be able to leave the scene on his own.”
On the feed it was clear that the others had reviewed Volescu’s field camera video. They were saying things like I didn’t even know it had a face. I’d been in armor since we arrived, and I hadn’t unsealed the helmet when I was around them. There was no specific reason. The only part of me they would have seen was my head, and it’s standard, generic human. But they didn’t want to talk to me and I definitely didn’t want to talk to them; on duty it would distract me and off duty . . . I didn’t want to talk to them. Mensah had seen me when she signed the rental contract. But she had barely looked at me and I had barely looked at her because again, murderbot + actual human = awkwardness. Keeping the armor on all the time cuts down on unnecessary interaction.
I said, “It’s part of my job, not to listen to the System feeds when they . . . make mistakes.” That’s why you need constructs, SecUnits with organic components. But she should know that. Before she accepted delivery of me, she had logged about ten protests, trying to get out of having to have me. I didn’t hold it against her. I wouldn’t have wanted me either.
Seriously, I don’t know why I didn’t just say you’re welcome and please get out of my cubicle so I can sit here and leak in peace.
“All right,” she said, and looked at me for what objectively I knew was 2.4 seconds and subjectively about twenty excruciating minutes. “I’ll see you in eight hours. If you need anything before then, please send me an alert on the feed.” She stepped back and let the door slide closed.
It left me wondering what they were all marveling at so I called up the recording of the incident. Okay, wow. I had talked to Volescu all the way up the side of the crater. I had been mostly concerned with the hopper’s trajectory and Bharadwaj not bleeding out and what might come out of that crater for a second try; I hadn’t been listening to myself, basically. I had asked him if he had kids. It was boggling. Maybe I had been watching too much media. (He did have kids. He was in a four-way marriage and had seven, all back home with his partners.)
All my levels were too elevated now for a rest period, so I decided I might as well get some use out of it and look at the other recordings. Then I found something weird. There was an “abort” order in the HubSystem command feed, the one that controlled, or currently believed it controlled, my governor module. It had to be a glitch. It didn’t matter, because when MedSystem has priority—
PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY AT 39%, STASIS INITIATED FOR EMERGENCY REPAIR SEQUENCE.
25 notes · View notes
itspileofgoodthings · 4 months
Text
also I had a breakthrough today that I had in fact overthought a Specific Problem to Death and that I had created a monster in my own mind and that’s why it felt like I was being eaten alive every time I tried to solve it.
#not to put too fine a point on it but that’s what happened with the whole is Maria going to become a nun question tbh#and I needed a counselor to say to me objectively and yet also crucially without any knowledge of me or my past:#you have overthought this and now you’re terrified of it#anyway it’s so obvious but it came home to me today. slowly.#like it was just like. Oh. You did it again#you’re terrified of this because you have thought of every possibility and every outcome and every twist and turn and shadow—-#until it has become a bloated demon in your mind that is totally separated from reality#while made up of real facts and details! and tbh I know it’s a common problem#but the anxiety chokehold I can put myself in is something that is so impressive and so disturbing#I can render myself absolutely helpless through the meanderings of my own thoughts#and what makes it worse—immeasurably worse—is that I get OUT of problems through careful thought and analysis#I’m programmed that way#so I can’t escape it by the usual means. I have to back away from the monster and see it and NAME it and then it can die away.#and only THEN can I apply my usual ways of going about things. I don’t know it just all clicked today#these past few days have just been bringing it all to a fever pitch for me#anyway I guess it’s also important to me that I still be allowed to be analytical about it!!! I have to use my brain!!!!!!!#in my desperation I have tried to shut it off to feel only with my heart. To try to catch the whisper of God’s voice in the wind#but tbh I am meant to use the gifts I have! But only in the right context#and that’s only after the demon has been killed or more accurately —deflated#my counselor has been so good about this tbh. she’s so matter of fact and blunt and salt of the earth and also she sees how my mind works#and wants me to be able to use it!!#so I’m just going to tell her that I did the bad thing with this other problem and can she help me find a way forward#ANYWAY THE MONSTERS TURNED OUT TO BE JUST TREES
25 notes · View notes
nereiix · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
Spar, from chapter 30 of Restless. In this scene, he is what I'd call “un gros lourd” in French, but I've read someone who gave an English equivalent as “an annoying pest”, and I think it fits ah ah. I love this chapter.
I know it will sound like a poor excuse, but I bought myself a very good book on anatomy a few months ago, and I though this scene in the fic would be perfect to practice. I was a little worried about the angle at which I could draw this without giving the impression that it's meant to be explicit. Eventually I found a reference photo which I think looked good and started from here.
I probably made several anatomical mistakes, but I did my best. 🥲
21 notes · View notes
crybaby-bkg · 6 months
Text
cw: vamp Dabi, blood mention, witch reader, cheating but not really???
vampire Dabi but in a dark shadows au???? HELLO!!!!!
you’ve been a witch for who knows how long now, but you’re one of the good ones, you convince yourself. you only do shit to people when they fuck you over and unfortunately for Dabi—he’s one of those people.
maybe you weren’t actually dating the heir of the famous family business (the one that the whole town was named after) since you were only their maid—but still. he wrapped you in his sheets and bruised your throat with such tender kisses that you couldn’t bare to believe otherwise.
but then—but then you catch him one night, bruising someone else’s throat. the one his father promised to marry him off to, who you expected him to reject, but he instead embraced within the sheets you had cleaned for him.
and shit happens, you tell yourself, as you lead the town to his front door after you just so happen to turn him into a vampire to eternally deal with the suffering of his now dead parents and fiancé that you had absolutely no involvement in.
well, maybe a little involvement. a smidgen. (a smidgen including a curse to trap her soul in a forever loop of untimely deaths and crushing his parents under pillars.)
but it’s been years now. you’re over Dabi.
until he stands in your office, an office you built from the ground up after creating another spell to help you earn a few pennies from the Todoroki inheritance. he’s so pale and gangly and he frowns so deep at you for turning him into this bloodthirsty monster.
but you haven’t seen him in so long and old feelings arise and you already got your revenge. so why not let sleeping dogs lie in the coffin you helped the townspeople bury them in?
your office is a mess in a matter of minutes. a fight turns into a tackle, turns into huffed breaths neither of you need, turns into bumping noses, closed gaps between lips, a swap of bloody kisses. Dabi still kisses you the same way he did four hundred years ago, if not better.
his sharp nails dig into your spine and drag down until they hook into your bottoms, and he tears those away with ease. shreds them to pieces, and you do him the same until you’re both scratched and bloody and panting into each others mouth as he buries his cock as deep as he always used to.
it’s familiar, albeit messier than before with the constant biting of your skin and his. he curses you, calls you a piece of shit witch, and you can only smile at him. force his face into your neck not to silence him, but to feel his fangs sink into your skin, feel his cock swell when you grow your own fangs to bite back. he’s always liked how much you bite back.
(he tells you he regrets it terribly so when he finishes, but you don’t believe him. Dabi has always loved you. he just let a few distractions get in his way, but he loves you. he always has and forever will. you’ll make sure of it.)
26 notes · View notes