#...so this happened

[intotheomniverse]

ben 10 as tumblr text posts (1/?)

(no doodles today, dealing with a bit of burnout - sorry! ;u;)

[birdiethebibliophile]

{fic} That Old Sweet Feeling (part 12)

Fandom:  The Adventure Zone:  Commitment Rating:  M Chapter Warnings:  None Relationship:  Nadiya Jones/Mary Word Count:  972

Here on AO3.

Read the rest: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Tagging @someone-called-f1nch, @voidfishkid, @mellowstarscape, and @jumpboy-rembrandt!

happy second update in one day, have some gay. this chapter was not in my outline. whoops.

Chapter Summary:  

Remy and Kardala act shifty. Mary Sage quotes scripture. Nadiya muses on natural disasters.

__________________

“Hey, Nad. Welcome back.”

“Nnn…”

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot,” Mary Sage said. Her wrist was wrapped in a bandage, and her glasses were off. She looked tired, and her hair was hanging in lanky, half-curled strings around her face. It made her look older than she usually did. “You coulda died. You almost did. Coupla times, actually.”

“So did you,” Nadiya pointed out. Slowly, she sat up. Her head ached.

“Yeah. Well.” Mary Sage bit at the frayed end of one of her friendship bracelets – Nadiya thought maybe it was pink and purple. Then, after a minute, she moved onto her thumbnail. “You almost got dropped out a window by a fuckin’… fuckin’ Sound Ninja.”

Nadiya snorted half a laugh at that. “You watch Naruto?”

“Shut up.” But the lines around Mary’s mouth softened. “It’s a good show. Watched it illegally on my parents’ laptop in middle school. I had such a crush on Sakura.”

“I was always more of a comics kid, but, well. Lot of crossover with that and the anime crowd. Throw me a bottle of water?”

Mary Sage grabbed one from the stash and tossed it over. Nadiya drank half of it in one go before coming up for breath. “God, that’s better. Thanks.” Her head wasn’t pounding quite as much, and her throat no longer felt like it was coated in dust. “Anything happen while I was out?”

“Kardala’s actin’ weird. So’s Remy, for that matter. Whatever.” Mary Sage bit more viciously at her thumbnail. “We gotta get moving soon. Can’t stay here right under the building – they’ll find us, easy. Space Cadet is out.”

“Yeah, good point.” Nadiya swung her legs off the mattress with a groan. “God. What a mess.”

“You’re tellin’ me.” Mary Sage spat out the offending nail, and curled her thumb inside a fist.

“Did you guys learn anything else about what the fuck was going on with the – the Sound Ninja?”

“No. Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Oh. Okay. Sure, I guess.” Nadiya ran a hand over her hair. It was tacky with sweat and plaster dust. “You, uh… you okay?”

No response.

“Mary?”

“First Samuel nineteen, verses one through three,” Mary Sage said. Her voice was low, almost mumbled, but clear enough that Nadiya could understand every word she said. “ ‘And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David./And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself./And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.’ ”  [English Standard Version]

Nadiya stared at Mary Sage uncertainly. “Mary?” she said again. “You… uh…”

“Matthew two thirteen,” Mary Sage said, as if she hadn’t heard Nadiya. “ ‘Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”’ ” [NKJV] Her voice hitched at the very end, and she rested her head on her bent knees. “Nadiya?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared,” Mary Sage said, and her voice sounded dry, like the Nevada desert above them. It should be dry, Nadiya thought. There was nothing about Mary Sage that was dry. She had a hot temper, but it wasn’t like fire – it was like a hurricane, wet and wild and powerful enough to sweep you off your feet.

Unless you were in the center. The eye. Where everything was still.

Nadiya cleared her throat. “Can… I do anything to help?” she asked.

In response, Mary Sage, her glasses still in her pocket, crawled over to the mattress and wrapped her arms around Nadiya’s waist, burying her head in her lap.

Nadiya froze in place, unsure of how to react. Mary Sage’s – embrace? – was tight, like she was grounding herself. Nadiya couldn’t help being reminded of this morning (God, was it really just this morning?), waking up with Mary Sage in her arms. There’d been a little bit of hope. Waking up slowly in an isolated cabin, thinking they were safe.

Now they were in a sewer a thousand miles away, and Mary Sage was scared.

“It’s… it’ll be okay,” Nadiya said awkwardly, patting Mary Sage’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. We’ve gotten this far, right?”

“What if we just have to keep running?” Mary Sage asked, voice muffled and shaking. “What if we never get to stop? Just move from place to place forever so they can’t find us?”

“That won’t happen,” Nadiya said firmly, aware that she might well be lying. “We’ll figure it out. Mary. Mary, listen, I’m the smartest person I’ve ever met, Remy was going to be in the fucking Olympics, and Kardala is a literal goddess. We’ll figure it out, okay? Jesus. This isn’t going to last forever.”

Mary Sage gave a very shaky sigh that Nadiya could feel, hot and humid, even through her jeans. “Nad? Just promise you won’t… disappear, or anything. You almost died, okay, I don’t – don’t fuckin’ like that.”

“Yeah, I’m not planning on it,” Nadiya said. “They’ll have to try harder than that to get rid of me.”

Mary Sage finally lifted her head with something akin to a smile on her face. “Well, don’t let ‘em get the chance.”

“It’s not easy to take down Reed Richards.”

“Better not be,” Mary Sage agreed. “I don’t want you goin’ fuckin’ anywhere, Nad.” She lays her head back down in Nadiya’s lap for just a moment. “Not fuckin’ anywhere.”

[pilferingapples]

Trump tells cops they should rough people up more during arrests

"Please, don’t be too nice," said Trump.

[youknow-i-loveit]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: SpongeBob SquarePants (Cartoon), Gambit (Comic), X-Men - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Remy LeBeau, Sheldon J. Plankton, Squidward Tentacles, Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Crack Crossover, Complete crack, I Don't Even Know, Humor, Silly

[blackholeofprocrastination]

Beating Like A Hollow Drum

Elia is readying to wash her hands and face in a fresh basin of water when the Princess of Dragonstone bursts into her rooms, looking livid and oh so very lovely.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Sansa’s face is pinched with fury, her hands balled at her sides.

Elia is relieved when Lady Brienne, Sansa’s ever-constant shadow, remains in the hall, shutting the door softly behind her.

Elia turns her attention back to Sansa. She smiles when she notices Sansa still wears the crown of roses she gave her at the tourney. 

What a lark it had been! 

For all that she trained beside them day after day, not one of her competitors supposed her for the mystery knight, not even Aegon! And then when it was just the two of them charging forward, the thrill she felt as her lance connected with Aegon’s chest, the deafening roar of the smallfolk and nobles both as they watched their prince hurtle towards the ground...

But that was nothing to the hush that fell over the crowd when she finally removed her helm and named Sansa her Queen of Love and Beauty. In that moment, Elia could not help but feel a sense of poetic justice, as if they were all mummers acting out a distorted shade of that infamous tourney at Harrenhal. 

Elia is not certain why Sansa is so wroth with her. Today had been the stuff of songs! She thought surely Sansa would be pleased.

Perhaps she is angry that Elia did not tell her beforehand. Elia had dearly wanted to keep it a surprise. Of course now that she thinks on it, had Sansa known from the beginning Elia might have asked for her favor. Well there is always the next tourney. 

“I see you’ve come to congratulate your champion!” Elia shoots Sansa a cheeky grin. 

Sansa sputters furiously for a moment, clearly not amused. So serious is my Stark. 

“You will stir up talk!” Sansa finally hisses. 

Elia does not doubt it. 

She is a bastard daughter of Oberyn Martell. Her entire life has been fodder for gossips. She has done little to help that. She knows her involvement in the war had raised eyebrows and she is thought of as an eccentric here at court. Today’s escapade will most certainly send tongues wagging anew, especially since she not only dared to enter the lists but had the audacity to win.

Still, she does not think Sansa has reason to fret. Of all that came to pass today, she doubts the court will balk at her naming Sansa the Queen of Love and Beauty. Many a knight before her has bestowed the honor on a member of the royal family. 

Besides, it is well known she is a favored among the princess’s ladies. Even Aegon has spoken many times of how pleased he is by the friendship between his lady wife and his best-loved cousin. 

If only he knew…

“The only talk will be of how improperly I’ve conducted myself,” Elia soothes, hoping to reassure Sansa. “And of how poorly Aegon rode,” she adds teasingly, unable to resist making a jape at her cousin’s expense. 

“Yes, thank you for that,” Sansa scowls at her, hands set on her hips. 

Elia does feel a bit guilty. 

Aegon has never been one to accept defeat with grace. He can be a monstrous bore when she bests him in cyvasse or in the yard, sometimes not talking to her for days afterwards. 

It was a small mercy he lost so few battles during the war, for surely they all would have put a sword to him before he’d even laid eyes on the Iron Throne just to be spared from his endless brooding. 

Elia frowns. She knows that her actions today will have earned Sansa a long week of cosseting and comforting Aegon while he sulks. 

How very tedious men are.

“I’m sorry.”

Sansa huffs a sigh. 

“At the very least, you could have given the flowers to someone else.”

Elia nearly laughs at that, the notion of her choosing anyone else absurd. Even when red-faced and scowling, as she is now, Sansa is the loveliest things she’s ever seen.

Grinning, she moves to step behind Sansa.

“But how could I?” Elia asks innocently. She carefully pulls the long tumble of Sansa’s hair to one side so she may murmur directly into her ear. “To have crowned anyone else would be dishonest.”

“Elia…” 

Sansa shivers at the feeling of Elia’s lips against the column of her neck. Elia presses a few more chaste kisses below Sansa’s ear before eagerly nipping at the skin and tasting it with her tongue. 

Sansa breaths out a soft, needy sigh. 

Elia moves closer. Her front is pressed flush with Sansa’s back as she hooks an arm around to slip a hand into Sansa’s bodice. Elia’s fingers dip below the neckline, caressing the first swell of Sansa’s breasts but little else.

Not for the first time, Elia laments her lover’s rigid, Northern gowns. If only Sansa would adopt the Queen’s style of dress as the other ladies of the court have done...

Perhaps I shall buy her such a gown with my winnings, Elia thinks, remembering the purse of gold dragons that came with her victory. The image of Sansa draped in the diaphanous silks of an Essosi gown is far too tempting. What better use for my coin could there be?

“You smell of horses,” Sansa complains. She must not mind too much though, for she remains slouched against Elia, humming happily as Elia’s lips trail gently down her neck. 

“I suppose I will have to bathe before the feast,” Elia says with mock reluctance. “Perhaps you would care to assist me, princess.”

Sansa turns in her arms and swats at her. 

“You’re incorrigible,” she says, trying to seem exasperated, though the tilt of her lips gives her away.

Elia smirks and draws Sansa closer.  

She reaches out to trace a finger lightly over the garland of pink roses set against Sansa’s red hair. The sight of the blooms on her lover sends a peculiar feeling churning in her stomach.

“Will you wear these to the feast?”

“Of course,” Sansa says, brow furrowed. “It is only proper.”

Elia rolls her eyes. Sansa’s insistence on being mindful of propriety was usually a source of great amusement for Elia, but she has little the patience for it now. 

“And will you wear them after the feast?” she asks, imagining Sansa dressed in her crown of roses...and nothing else. 

Sansa shifts under Elia’s heated stare, her cheeks coloring prettily.

“Yes,” Sansa says, her voice breathier than it was only moments before. “If it please you.” 

Elia smiles. She leans to press a lingering kiss to Sansa’s lips eager to show just how very much it pleases her. 

Author’s Note: The pairing is super random but I just felt the need to write it. Something about ‘Lady Lance’ ending up as Sansa’s knight tickled me. This is my first time writing something with ladies loving ladies so be nice.

[explorerezreal]

September, Come Take This Heart Away

 "I just don't understand it. You act like it's nothing but if sex is nothing to you then how can anything we do mean anything at all? Especially when you can go right from me straight to someone else? How does that make me special? How am I 'the one' when I am so easily cast aside for the attractions of others? Sex means something to me. It means a lot."

"Well, your old-fashioned ways belong in a museum, Mau, and honestly, I'm tired of hearing it, and I'm even more tired of explaining it. I'm going to do what I want, ad this attempt to guilt-trip me is mediocre at best. Though, it did accomplish one thing, I suppose..." The explorer says, his voice obviously on edge, sharpened with agitation. Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he leans down and slips his jacket up over his head and adjusts it, but then reaches into one of the inner pockets and tosses the gold compass beside the other man, the contact making a soft 'thunk' sound.

"...I'm done." 

The soldier sits up, silver eyes wide as he stares at the blonde, his heart pounding against his ribs. "It wasn't a guilt trip, it was a legitimate question." he says, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice as he looks down. Regret pools in his stomach for bringing up the topic and he raises a hand to his face the other going to cup itself over the discarded gift, his dark skin contrasting starkly against the gold.

September 6th. The date rings loud in his mind a reminder of what would never come to pass. Pain follows, but he makes no sound.

"...I just...y-you...you know...n-nevermind. If you're going to leave then just go." he whispers, fingers tightening painfully over the compass, so much so, his knuckles lighten with the action. Mau remembers putting each piece together with his love in mind... How easily words can undo what was so painstakingly built and his teeth bury into the soft flesh of his lower lip.

"...but if you're going to leave...then make sure you don't come back this time." It is almost tearfully spoken, but the soldier refuses to allow himself to break down in front of Ezreal, his breath coming out slow. "Because if you're going to say goodbye to me for good...then you better damn well mean it. If you don't love me, then tell me. Tell me and leave and never look back. Tell me you are done trying for us and walk away. But make certain...you are sure." his voice comes out a whisper, lacking the strength he had had only moments before.

Mau doesn't want him to go, but he can't stop him either.

I just wanted to know. I needed to know.

Silence rings heavy in the air between the two lovers as Ezreal stares at Mau, his head hung a bit low and reluctant tears pooling behind his ocean eyes. His lips are twisted in obvious pain, but his will and his pride is far too strong to even consider fighting against it. Slipping his hands into his pockets as if he's bored, he shakes his head, flaxen locks growing even more disheveled in the process.

"...I won't come back, then." The words are sharp and poised like a dagger ready to penetrate the soldier's weakest spots. Though Ezreal is strong on the outside, inside, he's slowly descending into turmoil.

Regret could come later.

"...look, Mau. My entire life, I've had people trying to change who I am and who I wanted to be. They've tried to will their thoughts and dreams into my head and were disappointed when they found my own wants and desires too powerful to overcome. I...didn't ever think I'd have that from you. My best friend. My closest companion...but...the fact is that, you don't accept my ways. And I don't accept yours, so..." Ezreal's gruff voice is oddly nonchalant as he shrugs, his heart dropping into his gut.

"...so it's time for me to go. And really, I do wish you the best, Relic. You deserve the best. Go find someone who won't try to change you, either. Find someone who agrees with what you want. Because it sure as hell isn't me. Just...keep the compass as a memory of all the good times we had together. Try to block out the bad ones. You've got the compass, and I've got my mind, and we all know how vibrant that is."

Holding back a choking sob as a small line of wetness drips down from the corner of his left eye, Ezreal quickly turns around and makes a beeline for the door before the soldier can call him out on his obvious weakness, but he can't afford to see those silver eyes again, filled with so much concern. His concern was unwarranted, anyway.

The fact of the matter was that Ezreal always lived for himself, and unfortunately, that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Perhaps the most ironic part is that the warmth of their previous lovemaking session was still able to be felt in his belly, and it was that lovemaking session that ultimately undid them.

Ezreal supposed there was a reason that roses had such a short lifespan.

Mau is dead silent, unable to speak or think as Ezreal talks, his heart pounding in his ribs. Not like this, is the words that keep playing over in his head.

'If only I had stayed quiet.'

'If only I had kept it to myself.'

"Why did I talk...why....why....why...'

'Idiot!'

His mind berates him for everything, the light in those silver eyes dulling to a faded grey, old and tired. It isn't what he wants. But he can't stop it. He never wanted to change his lover...he only wanted to know why and how. How was he special when he was oftentimes forgotten in the attractions of others. How could sex hold meaning for Ezreal? Was that too much to ask? His insides burn and he swears he might be sick, the words piercing what is left of the soldier's battered and broken heart.

Despite their differences, their fighting...all he wants is the explorer. All he wants is their love, their happiness.

All he wants...is the unattainable. A man reaching for something he was never meant to have.

'If you love him, set him free. If he returns he was meant to be, if he does not, he was never yours.'

'He won't come back.'

'He was never mine...'

Mau's head lowers, raven strands falling to hide his eyes as he clutches the heartfelt gift in his hands, alone in the room and bed they had shared so many times before. Alone.

Alone.

Is what he always would be. Is what he was meant to be. There is no match for him, no perfect fit and all that he remembers is shades of blue framed by gold.

"...n-no...dammit...fuck....FUCK." he leans back, the first of many tears streaking over his darkly skinned cheekbones. How easy is it to walk away? Mau would never know, since he never did the walking but it always seemed that people had little trouble leaving him behind...he supposed they always had something to look forward to.

And all he had were memories that would only break his heart more and a growing loneliness that was sure to swallow him.

'I never should have let myself fall. I never should have...I never should have...if only I had stayed quiet from the beginning. If only I weren't such a fool.'

"...September 6th." he whispers, laughing painfully as he curls up on his side, the compass held to his chest right over his racing heart.

"...I should have known it could never be."

[fathom-into-c0nstellations]

homeroom.

science teacher: okay open your books i'm going to assign some homework

science teacher: i don't like calling it homework

science teacher: it sounds like work you do at home

science teacher: which it is

science teacher: but it's supposed to be FUN

science teacher: so instead of homework

science teacher: i'm assigning homeFUN