#incredible two for one deal

[egophiliac]

LET THE BOY HAVE AN EDUCATION

officially at the point where we're starting to see where it's all headed and I am just going NYEEHEEHEE in delight at it all. ahhh...next week can't come soon enough...

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #stage in playful land #stage in playfulland #leona: (devises an actually somewhat clever plan to take out the staff-puppets without breaking any rules) #leona: (taken out two seconds later because he sat down in the wrong place) #at this point i'm half expecting the ssr boys to actually bust in with a big sandwich platter or something #a cake with 'please don't kidnap people :)' written on it in shaky icing #kalim isn't good at plans but he DOES throw a good shindig and by god he's going to play to his strengths #also IT WASN'T SHINY TICKETS IT WAS GIDEL?! #MY BOY #MY BEAUTIFUL MAGICAL FELINE BOY #i mean i'm assuming at this point but that seems to be the implication #genuinely kind of shocked that they actually WERE being magicked into being extra gullible #it was ✨foreshadowing✨ all along... #the blot though! what about the blot! #is that going to be an issue or are we going to have enough to deal with already! #i have rocketed from 'i find these villains entertaining' to 'i am suddenly incredibly invested in them as characters' #LOOK there is one thing better than characters with sort of unhealthy codependent relationships #and that is characters with sort of unhealthy codependent relationships but TWIST IT'S NOT THE WAY YOU THINK #nyeeheeheeeeeee

[elderwisp]

◁ || ▷ now playing

Atlas: [ internally ] They say that blood is thicker than water. But the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. So who’s your staunch companion? I’ll go first. Some would say it’s an old friend of mine.

#mom the girls are fighting again! #tessellate #no but in all serious i've really wanted to show how these two deal with conflict #we have one person that's completely self destructive while the other deals with it by swallowing it and working to the bone #speaking of self destructive this is like the first official introduction into atlas's struggle with addiction #i'm nervous as hell talking about this but it's also something incredibly personal too #tw drugs #the sims 4 #sims 4 edit #sims 4 story

[starsandthorn]

no but actually. the parallels to other Twins in different nations of teyvat in relation to the traveler and their desire to reunite with their own sibling makes me a little bit bonkers. like.

diluc and kaeya as what the traveler has and fears, after we will be reunited [separation born from conflict that seemingly cannot be mended; they both care for each other but ultimately their opposing ideals mean they cannot be at each other's side in the same way that they used to, and no longer have the close bond they once did]

ei and makoto as what the abyss sibling experienced [a crushing loss not just of one's twin but the last remaining friend they had and the safety and security of their nation, coming out the other side traumatized, cold and jaded and making decisions that will ultimately hurt the people they claim to want to protect for the sake of an unattainable goal]

and lyney and lynette as what the traveler and the abyss twin used to have before they were separated [never apart for long, home is wherever we are together], what the traveler wants [their separation brief and quickly amended, continuing to be inseparable after they reunite], and also the choice they'll have to make [the twins being together in an organization the traveler inherently doesn't trust - does the traveler want to be by their sibling's side badly enough to throw their lot in with the abyss, and turn their back on everyone else they've met on their journey so far?]

#personal stuff #thorn plays genshin #RIPS AND TEARS. #hi . feeling so normal btw #i was thinking so so so so hard about the traveler twins when ei's second story quest dropped #and i am constantly sick in the head about the traveler being tired of the ragbros nonsense communication #and THEN in fontaine the traveler having to watch these two twins who are incredibly close. #and try not to think about what they've lost #i'm. uuaauguugh #LIKE #the traveler and the abyss twin really are what the fontaine twins could be if either of them lost the other. #at the end of his story quest lyney talks about how both of them give each other strength to get through the darkest days #and how darkness never consumes him because he has his sister and they remember the good things together [punches the ground] #also lyney and lynette losing their trust in people early on and having to lie to everyone around them #and getting the companionship that kaeya never got in his childhood. cries #like he had his twin!!! he had his brother!!! but he had to lie to him for years and never felt truly understood until that night #and AUUUGH the running theme of one twin being Light and the other being Dark #one always brightly engaging with people while the other deals with matters from the shadows #and the brothers flipping that on its head when diluc returns to mondstadt - diluc in the shadows and kaeya with the knights #and ei getting someone who will be her shadow so she can finally step into the light herself and see the world with her own eyes. #just AUUGUUGHGH. i'm fine. i'm normal #this is incoherent maybe but augh. augh. siblings. #[looking back at the earth] wait the game is about family? always has been

[villainihavedonethymotheronao3]

I do think people overestimate how mad Fearne is going to be about Orym’s deal. He’s moving in with Nana forever? She loves her Nana! She’s always intended to go back to the Feywild, maybe this moves her schedule up a little… maybe he’s a little further than she’d like, but Nana would never hurt someone Fearne loves. Now she just has to maneuver everyone else in her treasure box of friends back with her and Orym.

#critical role spoilers #bells hells #Everyone Moves In With Fearne In Nana Morri’s Pool House #is incredibly plausible as their ending #the Titan tots are a boon in wartime but you know as soon as the bloody bridge is wrapped up #the tal’dorei council is going to have some conversations about how metaphysically safe #having two unstable harbringers of destruction on their plane is #‘put the Delilah vessel a whole semi plane away’ #isn’t going to solve Percy’s anxiety but might ameliorate it a little #if chetney doesn’t beef it the feywild is his best bet for a happy ending that last >a few months #I’m not sure Ashton’s going to be mad either he’s also a nana #fan and well aware of how tactical leadership works #staying forever with a cool grandma is one of the less bad deals in his mind because he doesn’t have that bias towards bio family #though if prompted he’d probably recognize it sucks from orym’s perspective

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all I generally don't give advice about work but I do have some advice for you today! If you, as a contractor, mess up doing something so spectacularly that you spent three days doing it wrong and it will take an additional three days undoing it before it can be done correctly, and you are calling the company you're contracted with to tell them: do NOT say during the same call where you are explaining your spectacular mistake that you are my "best [contractor]" and insist repeatedly that you are and keep pushing to try to get me to agree. Just don't.

#tj talks about work #so works going great guys #he kept insisting he was my best contractor! #I mean he did not use the word contractor #he used the job-specific term #but for reasons of not sharing company info and also not sharing personal details #contractor it is lol #like...dude! you are not my best contractor by any metric! #you are the guy who keeps asking if I am proud of him and then in an ominous way saying things like #'you've gotta treat me better you BETTER start treating me better I'm your best contractor! you don't have any better than me!' #so he's unpleasant to deal with and has made two incredibly 'can't believe someone did this' mistakes in two weeks #and one 'this is still pretty bad but more understandable that it would happen' mistake

[windydrawallday]

SCRUNCHSCREAM

My brain got struck by an artistic crisis(TM) so I let my hand loose and did this experimental pic. Is quite complex to make but I'm having a LOT OF FUN ♥. I hope you all don't mind me drawing like a children's coloring book now and then BAHAHA

PS If he was an actual "scratch n sniff" illustration, what would he smell of???

#myart #windydrawallday fanart #ifellinrobothellagain #transformers fanart #maccadam #starscream #g1 starscream #collage #mixed media #digital illustration #no but seriously between dealing with the flu and now the weather dropping SO COLD #im feeling weak and overal hating everything i do sdkjfhfsdjfh #still im keeping my sanity check by working for TWO fanzines AAA #and this style technically is a test drive for the ones i will use on there! #is incredibly taxing but the final results is worth it AAA #im chicken scratching my style once more bear with meee #technically #fanart friday #my beloved

[todayisafridaynight]

At which point did you realise that the plot of IW is ass? I've seen people complain only about the ending or the halfway point where the teams separate, while I was already actively rolling my eyes like four-five chapters in

i think the moment i fully accepted that IW's story was. Definitely A Story was the moment ebina announced 'bleach japan'. like i think leading up to that point i was thinking to myself 'oh i hope i see X happen' or being like 'i wonder where this is going' and that sort but the proverbial bucket of ice was definitely that moment

#infinite wealth spoilers #snap chats #what reaaaaally hammered it in too if it wasnt obvious already was the execution of the jimas/daigo like that still irks me LMAO #i cant even remember what chapter that happened in i just know when it did i was utterly pissed #i think i started to take things less seriously once bryce entered the picture but thats only because of how distracting his VA was #like much love the JP voice actors who try to speak english and japanese but i just cant act like it's not incredibly distracting #esp when the character is supposed to be white yk what i mean- or at the very least their first language is supposed to be english #typically i can look over that thing if its a one or two time kind of deal but he had to speak in english much longer than others #im just rambling about bryce tho this aint bout him. i mean he could be a part of it the cult was executed really sloppily #it might have been the introduction of bryce actually ... i remember thinking to myself 'oh brother' with the whole messiah thing LMAO #maybe it was when kiryu told us his cancer cam from radiation instead of. smoking 💀 ESPECIALLY not even five chapters in #like straight out the gate you just wanna drop that on us mr I Can Do Everything Myself I Cant Worry Others ok #thats a post for another day tho im EVERYWHERE #POINT IS this is not about Retrospect this is about First Impressions and memory warps over time #but i know for a fact i found the bleach japan thing utterly ridiculous and was squinting at the plot the entire time thereafter #like ive said this a million times at this point but although i love IW for it's gameplay (pardon some nitpicks like lack of shortcuts) #its story really feels so messy and had much to be desired. which is so sad after the wonderful stories rgg has been making since 0.. #BUT OH WELL im still excited to replay it in english. god willing i ever get the time #i still wanna finish lost judgment <- isnt even halfway through the game #and i wanna do a fun stream Maybe with YK2 but ill get into that when i get into that #if youve read this far. thanks LOL id say sorry for the novel but thats what we expect of me at this point

[heloflor]

After seeing a playthrough of Bowser’s Inside Story, I gotta say I’m kind of mixed on Starlow, and no, it’s not just because of the Luigi bullying.

The thing with Starlow is that, on one hand, it’s great to see a female character who has no hesitation talking back and who can be a bit of an ass. But at the same time, the way they wrote her just…it really makes it hard to like her sometimes.

I think the main issue is that she’s written as someone who talks back but most of those interactions are with people doing their jobs and messing up. This leads to moments with Starlow criticizing someone for the things they’re doing, but then proceeding to do nothing whatsoever to help. On top of that, she’s kind of useless in the game, making her “I’m better than you” attitude really come off in a bad way.

(btw that moment with the doctor/fortune-teller calling her out on it is very satisfying)

The best way to describe the issue, and that’s when it gets interesting, is to compare her to how Bowser is written in this game. There are essentially two things that are similar yet different about those two.

1. Like I said, Starlow is often criticizing people for what they’re doing, which is something Bowser does as well. But where Starlow goes “Man you suck at your job. Do better !” Bowser goes “Man you suck at your job. Here, let me do it for you !” and that automatically makes Bowser more likeable. Because instead of just complaining, he actually does things (the section with the Monty Moles for example).

2. A bit longer to explain but the Tl;Dr is that Bowser actually learns from his mistakes and grows while Starlow doesn’t. To explain this, I want to describe two interactions between those two.

The first interaction is when Bowser forgets the code to his safe and orders Starlow to find it, to which Starlow gets angry with his tone and tells him to fuck off, only accepting to help once he politely asks her to search. That right here is really good, and is an example of a moment where I really like Starlow’s attitude.

But then you have their next interaction. Bowser just spent hours stuck in a safe (btw someone stuck in a liminal space like that is a form of torture), was thrown into the garbage so hard the safe broke, and understandably is in enormous pain. Because of that, Bowser asks Starlow to help with his back, and his dialogue here echoes the previous one in a good way.

He starts off his sentence as an order, only to catch himself halfway through and ask politely. Bowser just went through hell, is in a huge amount of pain, and yet still finds it within himself to be polite because he knows that’s how Starlow wants to be addressed. This also shows that he respects Starlow since he remembered that detail about her and is willing to avoid falling into his usual bossy attitude despite his terrible state.

And what does Starlow do in return ? She basically calls him a whiney bitch for complaining. Yeah….this is not a good look.

This actually reminds me of one of their first interactions, when Bowser can’t produce fire and panics about it, with Starlow telling him to just deal with it. The first time I saw this dialogue I was like “Hey Starlow, buddy, how would you feel if you suddenly lost your ability to fly, with no idea of why and the only one that might help is some random voice you don’t know anything about coming from your stomach ?” Although, I’d cut Starlow some slack for this one since this is very early on, so Starlow has every right to be mad at him.

And more on that topic, the thing with comparing Bowser and Starlow is that you quickly realize how much better Bowser is than her. I already mentioned Bowser doing things himself and showing respect to her, but then there’s also moments like him being humble enough to eat Wiggler’s carrot when being ordered to to “take responsibility”, or when he out loud says he will break the rocks in his path to free the Koopas, and decide to commit to it upon realizing the Koopas heard him. In that second case, he could’ve easily gone a different path and tell the Koopas to shut up if they were to say anything, but he didn’t. Instead, he said he will break that rock and that’s what he’s going to do ! Same for the Wiggler btw. He could’ve beaten them up instead of eating that carrot, which he does end up doing afterwards when Wiggler loses their shit.

So yeah, when you look at how not-very-useful Starlow is compared to Bowser, when you look at how they treat others, and when you look at their interactions with each other…it’s kinda hard to find Starlow likeable when a literal villain is a better person than she is (granted Bowser is more of an anti-hero in this game but the point still stands).

Funnily enough, some of those moments like the Wiggler, the Koopas and him saying please to Starlow while in pain actually show that yes, Bowser is a pretty decent king. At the very least, you can understand why his people respect him.

So all-in-all, yeah, I’m kind of 50/50 on Starlow. It’s great to have a female character on the hero team who has a lot of flaws for once, but it’s also hard to find her attitude likeable. Ultimately, I think the issue is how she’s acting the same with everyone. Like I said earlier, it is satisfying when Bowser is being a dick and she tells him off. But when Bowser is being nice, or when she’s interacting with someone who’s only trying to help, Starlow really comes off as an ass, which is not a good look.

And yes, while still a minor thing in BIS, her bullying Luigi doesn’t help either.

#Mario and Luigi #Bowser's Inside Story #Mario and Luigi BIS #Starlow #Bowser #Super Mario #Flor talks #long post #of course I had to give my opinion about the yellow orb the fandom seems divided about #not me low-key calling Starlow a Karen in the way I describe her #I mean I really don't think she is one; but she does talk badly to people just doing their jobs #especially if that person doing his job is a green man with an L on his head #btw the let's play I saw didn't do any sidequests; not even the Shroobs one; so it's possible I missed some moments of Starlow being nice #(also Starlow is weirdly incredibly nice to Peach and acts all buddy with her despite them barely knowing each other #and makes quite the big deal about Peach needing to be kept safe + is already on a first-name basis with her #like forget 'Starlow likes Luigi but hides it behind bullying'; I think Starlow's actually crushing on Peach !) #also I really hope the next two games have more interactions between her and Bowser #because they do make a really good duo with a fun dynamic

[suffarustuffaru]

ENOUGH astrea family depression can we talk about the comedic potential of them pls.

#my art #rezero #reinhard van astrea #louanna astrea #heinkel astrea #i had to doodle these. i closed my eyes and suddenly i woke up again and there it was. astrea doodles once again. #PLS im telling u these three mustve been so fucking funny wofbdnd #ALSO REINHARD IS WEARING A DRESS HERE. YES. #i bet louanna and heinkel were like that one scene from incredibles two where jack jacks powers are going haywire #and the dad is like struggling to deal with this super op infant

[sunnys-side-upside-down]

Ophidia Helix - Dark Magic

There are two finished renditions of this - The first image has photograph blurs to draw the piece together - The second doesn't have final blur renders to display the detail

#and this was my digital painting final! #my professors had to deal with me drawing a lot of ponies this semester #I didnt have the energy to work with human figures #im working on my human anatomy but I wanted to have fun with these projects and make them more personal #This one took me a WHILE to complete tho #most of the work which went into the bookshelves alone #but it was so exciting to make professional work of both Tweetie and Helix!! #and doing a magic render was SO FUN #although i will say that fully rendered digital paintings like this are not my passion #its cool to see but it was GRUELING #I prefer simpler flat color or very lightly shaded or cell shaded backgrounds #just to draw that is #i like fully rendering characters but backgrounds?? #ooofff #my color theory is LACKING and i struggle with it severly #but im still incredibly happy with how this turned out!! #I actually turned it in just last night! #now I just have two more final projects to get done #both being unrelated to art #and one final exam and im done for winter break! #which hopefully means more art!! #mlp #digital art #digital painting #procreate #ophidia helix #tweetie #my little pony #pony #oc

[smalltimidbean]

oh to have a fiend plush… i mean i can technically get one made by budsies (a plush making company) but you’re probably not comfortable with that. which is perfectly valid

i must confess i never thought i would admire them so much as i do lol (even if they slightly scare me /lh)

ah well i’ll continue to admire them from afar

Yeah, not only would I be very uncomfortable with that, it'd be incredibly disrespectful (and just plain weird) to take my personal character (or anyone's, really) and make a plush of them to keep for yourself - so, please do not do that

If I did theoretically have a project featuring Bean and Fiend, and it was popular enough for merch, Fiend plush would definitely be one of the first things to make, much to their chagrin hehe

Again, unlikely to happen, but thanks for liking Fiend so much!

(Also tangent, but if I had a nickel for every time someone really liked a more antagonistic spin-off of Bean, I would have at least two nickels, which is not a lot, but it is weird that it has happened at least twice… (reference))

#bean talks too much #sometimes I do think it would be cool to have a project with that kinda popularity but then I think about for like two more seconds kjdgfkj #for one I tend to work on things super hard for a while and then burn out completely and then never get back to that level of work #two I can barely handle the 'popularity' I have right now which isn't even that much #I already get super overwhelmed with checking tumblr in the morning and seeing like 50 notes and maybe one ask #imagine that times like ten and I explode into green slime #and I am bad at talking to people so I end up ghosting everyone by accident and I probably come across stand-offish and unapproachable #and I don't reach out to anyone bc it's fucking terrifying so most days I simply do not talk #three I am super particular/protective about things so if people took my characters and made AUs about them I'd probably freak the fuck out #which I know is INCREDIBLY HYPOCRITICAL of me to say bc I do exactly that so I would probably have to just deal with it #these are all things I personally need to work on but still scary to think about #what was this ask about I spiralled a bit #uhhhhhhh thanks for liking Fiend #okay time to draw what I was supposed today

[crystalleoi]

i love aus where test tubes fixes the dead mephones

#THEY'RE SO FUN and the idea has so much potential #like. they're coming back to a world that now considers them obsolete #and cobs #who they risked their lives for carrying out his plans #didn't even bother to repair them. but this random scientist did #OMG AND. the contestants thoughts and feelings on the different mephones and vice-versa. it's driving me INSANE #there's soo much potential for conflict nd shit like thr fact that knife and paintbrush freeking killed 6 and 6+ respectively #5s and 5c dealing with conflicting feelings toward test tube bc she wanted to kill them but now is the one that brought them back #COUDL U IMAGINE LIKE MARSHMALLOW AND BOW SEEING 4S AND 5 AGAIN. HOLY SHIT MAN. #seeing them again wld be an Experience for all of the s1 contestants for sure but especially those two oughh #I COULD GO ON ABOUT THIS FOREVER GODDD I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS #i'm normal. i'm SO normal. this has been simmering in my mind for years but i'm so incredibly normal about it i swear

[arodrwho]

christ alive what an episode though

#overall i'm REALLY happy #but the bigeneration was a bad move and unless they come back to that and have 14 regenerate properly and/or fuse back into 15 i'm like #never gonna be happy abt that aspect #it's also just a bad LOOK. ur first (main timeline) black dr and ur just... gonna make his first scene all about the previous dr? #when the previous dr's actor has already had not one but TWO initial just-regenerated scenes?? #like... why would you do that #the regeneration scene up TO the regeneration is for the outgoing dr #everything AFTER the regeneration should be all about the INCOMING dr. it's their introduction! it's a BIG DEAL! #and absolutely none of that was about gatwa's dr ALL of the emotional focus was on tennant's dr #not to say gatwa didn't shine! absolutely he did! but the scene wasnt about him. it was entirely abt tennant dr's emotional & narrative arc #AND. even that aside. it's just stupid to have 2 drs and 2 tardises #and it's ABSURD to just keep cloning the dr as a form of emotional resolution. rtd has done it TWICE now. what are they a LIZARD #if you want the dr in 2 places at once theres an easy mechanic for that. its a show about time travel. the solution is obvious #and also like. one of the central themes of the show is change & renewal what the FUCK are u doing. thats NOT change OR renewal #anyway uh. to conclude. bigeneration bad #HOWEVER. gatwa and tennant together in those scenes. INCREDIBLY good #it isnt the end result i dislike it's the method #also i am very excited for gatwa i love his dr so much already #dw spoilers #dr who

[orchideae]

Uncle Tian. The importance that is Uncle Tian. ... With a "cameo" of Yelan in the second half, exactly at 1:00, which is incredibly so very important if you really want to get a proper glimpse into her 'professionally'.

#[ important. important. important. ] #[ he's /so/ important. ] #[ he has so many lines that i'm gonna actually end up replacing numerous of yelan's current tags with because they... ] #[ embody her more than i realized. ] #[ he's such a peaceful man and she's quite a peaceful woman at the heart of herself-- but ruthless in what she does. ] #[ not a 'killing machine' by the way; not by any means. but the thing is; when you look at her-- you might THINK that she is. ] #[ she plays that line so incredibly well and while i'm not one to draw correlations-- ] #[ it really does make me think back to for example wriothesley during the final confrontation in his sq. ] #[ despite his history-- we don't know him as a 'mean' or 'bad' man. but in that moment; you don't know what he wants to do-- ] #[ to dougier. ] #[ and while yelan is different-- it's this reality of; she's explaining zhiyi the risks of essentially playing from both sides. ] #[ but then offers him a deal that either forces him to betray the other side. or at /least/ work with both. ] #[ which is exactly what she warned him against a moment prior. it's insanely dangerous for him; but she doesn't flinch. ] #[ if he gets hurt; from this scene alone-- you don't know whether she'd care or whether the outcome/reward would be worth it. ] #[ but also; every time uncle tian speaks and it's not often; his lines just play so well into how she operates. ] #[ that almost intimidating patience; the ability to just wait. and wait. it's literally like-- god. what video is it in; hold on. ] #[ “a spider doesn't need to be in the center of the web to feel the slightest vibration from each thread.” ] #[ /shakes everyone on the dashboard. ] #[ i hate that my two biggest muses have spider imagery but way differently so. well-- kind of. ] #[ but /this/ level of patience? oof. that's yelan. ] #[ but also-- 0:35. that ost. this version of the ost. help me. save me. ] #[ also yELAN WHAT DID YOU WHISPER TO HIM BY THE END. U G H. ] #[ ooc. ] don't try to make it logical or edit your soul according to the fashion. rather; follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

[vqlisms]

me rewatching riptide episode 88 to see if queen’s instrument is mentioned vs queen “i’ve had no other greater desire”

#LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN #two music themed npcs?? queen saying that they should give up and head home???? #the entire DESIRE ISLAND arc???? niklaus hendrix??????? #queen saying that it feels like a curse to not be able to finish a song???????? #i feel like that one you didn’t connect shit i’ve connected it meme #i’m calling it now queens made a deal with niklaus and i’m going to be so incredibly upset if i’m right #q’s white noise #jrwi riptide

[statusquoergo]

“Come on.”

“Uh?”

Diane looks up as Naomi stands and holds out her hand as if this isn't a ridiculously careless thing she's asking her to do, as if neither of them has the good sense to mention that neither one of them has any idea what they're getting themselves into. As if neither of them might be walking straight into a trap of their own making, or nothing much will change at all and they'll forget about each other in a month, or a few days. As if it's a risk worth taking to find out which.

As if there's anything else to do today.

“I'm not going to the hospital.”

“I know.” Naomi reaches a little closer. “I have a first aid kit at home.”

Enough to get them through, that's all. Enough for now.

“You know how to wrap it?” Diane asks as she takes Naomi's hand to pull herself up, as though the answer might change her mind somehow. Naomi smiles a little, as though she knows it just as well that it won't.

“Yeah.” She sets Diane's hand down on her shoulder. “It's not far, come on. I'll carry you down the stairs.”

“You'll drop me.”

“I will not.” Naomi urges her forward, along the concrete path out of the park. “I mean I'm just offering, I don't have to.”

It's a nice gesture, though, isn't it? It was a nice thought.

They walk slowly down the street, stepping more or less in sync past the general store with the baking supplies just past the doorway, turning at the corner to walk toward the coin laundry that's open even at three in the morning and also on holidays. A hand-drawn poster in the window of the discount shoe store across the street loudly advertises VACUUMS REFURBISHED while a Times New Roman printout on the telephone cubicle in the middle of the block offers “suitable compensation” in exchange for willing test subjects, No Questions Please; a few steps farther along stands an apartment building that somehow looks like it's missing a couple of stories, and Diane shifts her weight to her good leg as Naomi steps away to fumble with the lock on the front door.

“It's the door on the left,” Naomi says, the door sticking only slightly as she shoves it open. “When you get to the basement.”

She opens the first door on the right, a stairwell that only leads down.

“Upstairs is that door over there, but I don't know any of the neighbors, so. I'm not gonna introduce you to anyone.”

That's fine. Diane doesn't want to know any of them, either.

Naomi walks down the stairs first and doesn't try to carry her.

“Bathroom's at the end of the hall,” she says. “The taps aren't broken, the water's just cold when it's cold outside and warm when it isn't, but if you let it run for a little while, it'll...fix itself. And make sure you don't touch the water heater, it's metal and it gets really hot sometimes.”

Diane clutches the wooden banister nailed to the wall as she limps her way down and wonders how much of all this she's supposed to remember. All of it, probably. It isn't very complicated.

Naomi unlocks the door on the left and holds it open.

“You can sit on the bed.”

It's good of her to offer. It isn't much of a bed, really, more of a mattress pushed into the corner, but that isn't exactly a surprise, and it's good of her to offer all the same.

“Thanks,” Diane says, a little too late to seem quite natural. Naomi hums a disinterested acknowledgment and doesn't seem to mind.

“Take off your shoes.”

Diane promptly unties her sneakers, placing them on the floor beside the bed as Naomi kneels in front of her with a roll of ACE bandage in her hand and her eyes focused on Diane's ankle like she's the only attending physician in the entire complex who doesn't have better things to do with her time than tend to something as trivial as all this. Diane should count herself lucky the timing worked out the way that it did.

Lucky, was it? It's about time.

The single bulb in the overhead light flickers a little as if a public execution has just disrupted the power grid, or someone's turned on too many air conditioners at once and blown a fuse a few floors up.

“Don't worry about it,” Naomi says. Diane doesn't bother to assure her that she wasn't.

#anna tries to be original #i started reading something that objectively has nothing wrong with it but within about three pages had me bored out of my mind #and i started skimming it to see if it picked up or anything caught my interest later on #but i noticed that a few of the paragraphs were like thirty lines long #and i immediately noped the hell out of there #and then i was like 'you know what i should do is i should work on that story that i spend about twenty minutes on every four or five days' #i took a phys ed class in college that was literally all education #we didn't actually do any sports or anything #it was all classes and lectures and stuff #one day we went to the nurse's office or whatever you call that area on a college campus #and we learned how to wrap sprained ankles #i know i picked it up very quickly but i have absolutely no recollection of how to do it now #also yesterday i had to spend the day dealing with some incredibly idiotic coworkers #i don't even think they're necessarily stupid people but they were certainly acting like it #and first thing this morning one of the messaged me with a stupid question to follow up on all her stupid questions from yesterday #'where is this data in the file?' oh gosh i don't know have you tried spending two seconds actually LOOKING FOR IT #and someone else messaged me at the same time to ask for help with something that he's now doing completely wrong #but it's a new system and i know he's trying and i also know he is actually good at his job so i don't mind helping him #but i'm going to have to waste my afternoon in a meeting with the other idiot #and two people who DO have their shit together but i know for sure that if he has to do anything it'll add like half an hour's time #to a task that should take five minutes tops #also there's a severe weather warning for excessive heat today #i want to go out and buy some fruit before it gets too unbearable #but in order for that to happen i need these people to leave me alone for twenty minutes