#this could be worse lmao.

[detectivechandler]

He has never been afraid of the night or the shadows that wait within it, has never been bothered by the silence that others deem oppressive. Sometimes, tucked away in his office until the late hours, he feels the quiet of an empty incident room gather 'round his shoulders like the hug of an old friend - familiar and comforting in its stillness. His heart quickens at large crowds and loud parties, lungs aching at the energy to form conversation and fingers curled into sweaty palms until they leave crescent shaped marks in their wake. People, noise, small talk ... those are the things that leave tendrils of fear in his chest that snake their way into the pit of his stomach and sit like heavy boulders, holding ground against whatever courage he tries to rouse.

Tonight, he sits at his desk like always - proud with shoulders rigid and straight as he flips through notes with fingers that are raw from hot water, fingers that he pretends aren't trembling the slightest bit. He's always been good at hiding, at control .. but here and there .. the movement of a page or the click of a pen ... his discipline slips - a corner gets crumpled, a stark white page blooms with an ill placed bot - and the detective does his best to rein it in all the tighter. He's long stopped paying attention to the empty room outside his open office door. The whiteboard looms against the wall, empty and taunting, a stark reminder that their current investigation is getting no where... and Joe stares at his files, ignoring it..stares at the pages of evidence and suspects and testimony until the words swim and the photographs blur .. and all the while he can feel that whiteboard staring at him, whispering...

Catch me if you can.

One palm has moved to his side, pressing against the stiff fabric of a fresh shirt as if testing the sting, fingers tapping the area around the ache like poachers teasing out their prey. It's gotten worse since they arrived back, it's gone from a dull ache to a sharp pain that feels as if the flames of hell themselves are burying their way beneath skin and into muscle and bone... and Joe all but grits his teeth against it. He hadn't been near anything, it was just raw skin from damp fabric - he had been sweating, they all had - it wasn't anything important... making a deal of it would have only led to fodder for more bloody ghost stories. The shadow that suddenly falls across his desk makes him jump, calls forth a squeak of a noise that the detective will absolutely not own up to, and the feel of warmth in his cheeks causes blue eyes to narrow when they look up at the office's assailant.

@gentlemanstarkey: lift up your shirt a little so i can see. (WC)

"Wh-what? What?" The question is indignant, a single word tripping over itself as it waits for him to unravel the others from a tangled up tongue and Joe opens and closes his mouth soundlessly for a moment at the other man's appearance. It occurs to him, suddenly, that his one hand is still pressing against his side, protective of a tender wound that he is still telling himself isn't really there, and he removes it with as much of a relaxed air as he can muster, using suddenly free fingers to rearrange papers to the clearing of his throat.

"It's nothing. I checked in the .. I looked when we got back. Just irritation from my shirt or something, that's all." Blue eyes stay trained on the polished wood before him, jaw set tight against the memory of what he had seen in the mirror. Lines, three of them, angry and raised ridges of crimson that had stood out in stark contrast against his pale skin... he had thought cold water from the tap would soothe them, had taken a damp towel and tried to care for them as best as he knew how ... but with each cool drop, Joe had felt that fire burn all the hotter until the heat felt as if his very bones were turning to ash.

James Starkey is a thorn in his side - a man who by all rights should be an absolutely mad charlatan but instead has proven himself a fount of intelligence and quick thinking time and time again. It's enough to set the younger man's teeth on edge. He can feel it on him now - that silent, judgmental gaze that seemed to see everything .. even the things that Joe wasn't aware he'd been hiding. The younger man knows what awaits if he glances upwards, knows the power of those sharp, piercing eyes that seem to shatter the disguise that's served him for decades with a single flicker... but he finds himself doing it anyhow, brows furrowing in an effort to quiet the sudden lurching of a heart that begins a steady and thunderous rhythm inside the hollow of his chest.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you need a good night's rest to fight whatever evils you find in the archive tomorrow?" There's a snort of laughter at his own joke, a huff of breath that serves as the sound of a man awarding himself a point in the competition he's dreamt up... but Joe is quick to frown soon after. "Seriously, James. As flattered as I am that you've chosen to wait for the opportune moment to appear out of bloody nowhere and ask to see under my shirt ... There's no overtime in it for you." He's angry. He doesn't know why. But the rhythm of his heart is chased by a heat that seems to pulse in time with the wound across his flank and his left hand taps restlessly atop the paper it currently sits on, fighting the instinct to return to where it was pressed against his side. "Go home. Find someone else to study like an experiment. I won't be used as fodder for one of your ... stories... or whatever it is you call them."

#gentlemanstarkey #v. under the shadow of thy wings #how in god's name do they EVER fall for one another in this verse #i mean joe already likes him tbh but like - #LOOK AT HIM. hes so bad at it. #well you said to go for it so i went for it. #considering i tried my damndest and was interrupted by the police twice .. #this could be worse lmao. #i love you baby!! i hope you can work with this! #im so sorry it got so wordy #in character. writing.

[blueskittlesart]

Now that you're gone

#*guy who just spent a full month selling 60 pages worth of comics voice* i should write another comic #this is part 1 of 2 btw. i have another one scripted from aryll's pov LOL #anyway. the concept for this has been in my head for like. years. finally decided to actually write it tho lol #the thought of his family after the initial calamity strike makes me crazy. they lost him. but he was already gone. #he was gone the moment he picked up that sword. could they have stopped it? should they have? #would things have ended any differently if they'd tried? or would it only have been worse for him? #ANYWAY. hi everyone new black and white zelda comic from the black and white zelda comic guy #skribbles #botw #loz #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #totk #tears of the kingdom #OH SHIT. TRIGGER WARNINGS #tw gore #tw suicide #tw suicidal ideation #<sorry 4 forgetting at first LMAO

[vyeoh]

My hot take for today is that anyone who thinks be more chill is cringe hates fun and also missed the entire lesson of the musical

#vio.txt #i saw it live and it was so fun #like it didnt have the slightly to very stuffy vibes more serious shows had and i got to see some serious talent and production #the story is fairly simple and its def absurd and its just a silly fun time!! #george salazar made me cry lmao. also i got stephanie hsu's signature!!!!! its a flex now lmao #the squip entrance also rocks #vpices in my head also made me cry live #bmc #be more chill #i am cringe but i am free!!! #i could tell by the live performance that the performers had more room to play and try fun riffs and things #the audience was ehhh bc it was a younger crowd but tbh older audiences are worse in a different way

[otaku553]

Procrastination doodles of sabo for the king sabo au :)

#one piece #sabo #king sabo au #I wonder sometimes if I keep thinking about this au because i like putting my blorbo through crushing existential nightmares #something something. it must feel so wrong to him. to be born like this and know that he’s not suppose to be there #but not having the memories of times in the wild with his brothers to contextualize why he feels wrong or where he’s supposed to be instead #directionless. knowing that he has to exist for some reason but not the reason that everyone around him tells him he should exist for #and continuing to try to bridge the cognitive dissonance through fallacy after fallacy until he is in too deep to escape #anyways. thinking about Him #Him is the academia mentality of ‘just keep going and you’ll eventually reach the light at the end of the tunnel’ #‘because you’ve tried so hard to get here and surely you must belong here because you’re so academically highly-achieving’ #does that make sense? maybe the parallel is a bit of a reach. I could write an essay about it tbh #I love this au lmao it’s both a lot of projecting and a great chance to be like ‘god I can make him so much worse’

[archvillain]

where's your fucking rage? where's your ANGER?! rise! rise! rise!!!

#yeah that quote is from the sprigatito comic. anyway #happy 4/4! here's a vexen in record time #vexen #kingdom hearts #!art post #even #kh #vexen kh #even kh #i think even could have been worse. i think he could have been spicier. i think he could have greviously injured or killed more people #my art gets weirder the longer i take between pieces lmao #gotta relearn how to draw from the ground up every time #art post #my art

[itsticklishme23]

soft morning feetsies deserve soft morning kissies ☀️💋

#sorry I don’t make the rules hehe #this is what good girls deserve tbh #you thought my lee mood was bad before?! #yeahhhh I didn’t think it could get any worse either #lmao someone help me #I love this nail color also #it makes me so happy #me #feet #tickle community #toes #okay I hope you have a lovely day mwah

[gorgeousgreymatter-x]

also my toxic trait is watching ouat and somehow still being more attracted to mr gold/fuckin rumplestiltskin than the clearly meant to be intentionally sexy characters like captain hook or ruby or prince charming

i can't help it i just wanna smash that old man

#i am uhh flawed lmao #mr gold #rumbelle #he's a mess and i could make him worse #once upon a time #ouat #ouat rewatch

[jet-apologistmybadhomies]

putting that toxic yuri into my veins

@mugentakeda oc's and ursa ❗ having some woman time 😁

the hate and obssesion and all that with sad/unsatisfied wife in a mix MANN they be filling all their needs

based on this

man this drawing has taken over my brain

#avatar the last airbender #atla #ursa #atla ursa #ocs #mugentakeda ocs #toxic yuri #suggestive #? #eh i could do worse lmao

[witchspeka]

I dont think Mob is naive as much as he's socially unaware, like the reason why he trusts Reigen so blindly is a bit more complex than just him being naive

Cause Mob reached out to Reigen because he was desperate to find someone like him, someone who understood his psychic specific issues, someone that could truly know what he's feeling and going through and give him guidance and support

Post incident Mob's thinking process was something along the lines of my powers hurt people -> my powers are bad -> my powers (my emotions, my instincts, myself) cannot be trusted

So he lost all confidence and trust in his own actions, resigning to being as passive as possible to avoid any further damage to anyone else, thus he started doubting his own perception of reality too

He's a kid already struggling with being ostracised for being socially inept, who just got traumatised and all of his insecurity increased by the tenfold, he doesn't know how to process what he's going through. He needs help.

And here comes Reigen, seemingly reliable, a responsible adult in a child's eyes, someone who claims he can understand him

Even tho Reigen doesnt. But it doesn't matter, because Mob finds comfort in his words and takes them to heart

Even if Reigen doesn't fully get it, even if he doesn't see the bigger picture, even if his advice isn't always the best

Eventually, Mob grows up, realises Reigen isn't as honest as he seemed through his 11 year old perspective, but like most things, he refuses to acknowledge it on a deeper level

Mob knows, but never tells Reigen, never thinks about what all those lies mean to him (ofc until he forces himself to face those doubts regarding Reigen, to properly acknowledge both of their flaws and accept them as they are, I should scream into the void about Confession Arc more God)

Due to his lack of trust in himself, Mob has relied on Reigen for years now to shape his moral compass, his thoughts, his decisions

Because well, Reigen lies, sure, but he isnt a bad person. When he hurts Mob, it isn't intentional or with ill intent, he still wants the best for him, what's the issue?

Except that it stunts Mob's growth. He doesn't develop as a person, doesn't have goals or wishes or ambitions, can't make choices on his own, he doesn't even let himself acknowledge his own emotions, he refuses to let himself exist

But Mob realises in time that he wants more than that, he wants to become better and be independent and feel again

Still, he puts the acknowledgement of the lies on hold for as long as he can, unwilling to question the way things are

This can make him feel a little naive, he constantly relies on Reigen and trusts his decisions and raises questions rarely until separation arc when he finally puts his foot down

And I do think that moment is the most resounding proof we have that Mob knows and allows himself to be used by Reigen, not wanting to shake the status quo, until he gets fed up

I mentioned the social ineptitude at the beggining but idk if I should even elaborate on that, you've watched the show, you know what I mean

He's blunt and can't read social cues or tonality that well and can't speak in front of crowds and is overall pretty awkward and I do think some people conflate that with naivety

Mob is still a child, he doesnt fully understand how the world works at the ripe age of 14 years old, but some folks take that as him being inherently naive/innocent/whatever which I don't find true

#ppl do a similar thing with seri but for different reasons but i do think in his case its worse cause thats a whole ass adult #anyway. i dont think im saying anything new i just wanted to ramble <3 #i missed mobposting what can i say #ik i saw somebody talk about this in a more eloquent way but i doubt i could find the post cause i dont think i rbed it so rip #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #kageyama shigeo #that ova needs to come out already im going insane #cine te a intrebat #also hope i didnt come off as too negative towards reigen or smth #but like. my favourite part of confession is him saying (i didnt know!) LIKE YEAH. U DIDNT. LMAO. #ppl treat him as a bit too reliable sometimes and dont give him a lot of room to grow like Reigen isnt even 30 yet!! he aint that old!! #he still needs to get HIS own shit tgt before giving out advice just saying. also he totally doesnt understand mob fully. how can he?? #he never mentions the incident with ritsu and considering mobs inclination of never telling anyone anything unless prompted #i doubt he knows... like reigen genuinely doesnt know the extent of mobs trauma!! when he said I Didnt Know he meant that shit!!!!!! #which is like. fine. cause to me whats important is how he always wants to protect mob and support him and help him #even if he doesnt always know how. even if advice backfires. hes always there and hes always trying and hes just as human and flawed as mob #himself #ig what im getting at is just that im bothered by the Flavour of reliable adult fandom is giving him. hes a lil pathetic and #fucks up sometimes and thats fiiiiiine. i feel like i talked shit about reigen but i do think hes a good guy and IS reliable just not in the #gives great advice way. but in the Knows How To Talk And Bullshit His Way Through Everything and Has Genuinely Good Intentions (usually) #and will throw away all of his self preservation if the situation requires him to. his advice is good but can be vague idk ONE rlly managed #to balance his pathetic side with his helpful reliable side and i dont think i articulated it the best way but like.... hes simultaneously #pathetic and sad but also the most sane and reliable adult in this show. rant over see u next time byeeee

[wackachewbacca]

Did I binge all episodes of Re: Dracula in two days just on the urge to catch up on everything before October? Yes.

Did I instantly fall in love with the velvety tones of Texas drawl the moment I heard Quincey Morris speak into the microphone? Yes and shut up!

#i’m late as usual #usually I’m not someone who can be swayed by a southern accent because I am from the south and tried very hard to tone mine down #but god fucking lord that man could pick me up throw me over his shoulder and I’d just let it happen #it’s no so out there *gestures at fjord* #also loved seeing the update being on my birthday and it’s just titled everything is worse lmao so true #re: dracula

[fairyroses]

— SMALLVILLE, “Rogue” (1.09)

+ the relevant ‘TalkVille’ discussions

#'it wasn't fair and lex deserves an apology' tom welling I have never loved you more #also 'boy was clark angry at lex for some reason' made me WHEEZE #you could use that sentence to summarize multiple whole seasons of the show tbh #and I do appreciate tom's analysis of clark's characterization but without an actual apology scene the arc just feels unresolved IMO #(which is a consistent problem that this show had ofc and it only got worse over time lol) #smallville #smallvilleedit #clark kent #lex luthor #clex #dcmultiverse #talkville #tom welling #michael rosenbaum #sv 1x09 #my gifs #I made this gifset after they covered 1x09 on talkville which tells you exactly how long it's been sitting in my drafts lmao oh god

[genericpuff]

girl math is making $670 for the week and then spending $650 of it on a credit card bill and now you're excited because you made a profit of $20 in your bank account and $650 more of free money

#this is a joke i am not excited #i am very much in pain #we cope with laughs #i hate the gauntlet of holidays and special occasions from december through to march #it's christmas then it's new years then it's valentine's and my husband and i's anniversary merged together and then it's my bday #all of that's done with now but both our wallets are hurting lmao #and worse yet i still can't even catch a break because now i need to prepare for conventions and tax season #at least one of those expo's will definitely pay for my taxes #and i'm thankful this year i have three to attend so i get to actually earn money from them LOL #but man the winter season this year was one of the worst i've ever seen for tattooing #it's starting to get a little bit back to normal now but i'm still on edge because it could go back to being dead again at any moment #i got this #i just wish i could breathe lmao

[saltpepperbeard]

so this video is currently sitting on my YouTube homepage, and i cannot help but be like

#OFMD #SaveOFMD #Renew as a crew #Like gee I wonder why lmao #I WONDER why #Could it be— #1. That original programming is never allowed to breathe anymore and is cancelled within 1-2 seasons? #2. That streaming was supposed to be a solution to cable and is now Worse? #3. That it’s so FREAKING annoying to have to bounce between services when you just want a particular property? #4. That there’s so much emphasis on milkable franchises that people ARE indeed getting tired of? #5. That fees/ads/the general user experience is worsening? #For the record I’m looking at the comments on that video too #And the general consensus is basically all of those points LMAO #Predominantly that nothing is ‘permanent’ on the platforms #And that the stuff you want to watch is ALWAYS in danger #Which hhhmnhmhmhhnhmhmm ☕️☕️☕️

[chayannesegg]

im so glad empanada, even after a tough day, got to have that talk and hug with richas and then bagi where em got some lovely advice about dealing with grief from richas & talked about what went wrong during the day

but i can't help but contrast this with sunny. sunny who empanada still hasn't seen. sunny whose been alone for days. sunny whose talked with almost no one. sunny who doesn't know bad is dead. sunny whose pretending tubbo isn't dead. sunny who got no goodbye. sunny who got no long talks about grief. sunny who got no explanations. sunny who no one visited today. sunny whose birthday is tomorrow. sunny who no one will wake up for first tomorrow

#qsmp #qsmp sunny #qsmp empanada #it's giving em and sunny being separated so long post em's first death #but also 50 times worse #they're sisters your honour they should be together #idk if sunny and leo will have talked off stream or not #but presumably she's done something with her mystery friend #we are for sure going to get angst from sunny tomorrow if only someone stays long enough to see it #also off topic but i think the em interaction with mike was fine #yes he clearly wasn't successful in cheering her up but she seemed to appreciate the attempt #even if it probably left her feeling a little like her feelings were her fault for not being able to cheer up #and he did apologize for barging into her room and left #i don't think he's in her bad books at all #she could definitely tell he cared and she was much more visibly frustrated with bagi #which they luckily had some resolution over #me once again writing one post in the text and another in the tags lmao

[lloydfrontera]

i know its a byproduct of the genre and so i shouldn't think about it too seriously but i do think it's a little fucked up that javier has dedicated his life and death to the fronteras by the age of twenty. like. i know it was his choice and no one is making him do it but he really was willing to die for any of them by the time he was barely reaching adulthood. he wasn't even old enough to drink in some countries and he was already putting his life on the line for others. the only other kid his age we see was still at school when we meet him and javier has already been at the brink of death two times by then. he will be again a couple times more before he even reaches twenty five. he challenges demons and angels to protect his best friend when his brain chemicals haven't even settled yet. he's the most powerful swordsman to ever exist and he's also a kid who likes sugary drinks more than anything. he refuses the orders of the highest authority in the kingdom at the risk of being executed and he also pouts because he got called puppy by his best friend. like i don't wanna infantilize him but he's literally one year away from being a teenager when the novel starts.

is it any wonder lloyd saw him, childish devotion and desperate desire to protect his second home and family, all prettily wrapped up in loyalty and duty, yet destined to a life of tragedy and loneliness, and refused to let it stand. that he saw him trying to give his life for him and time and time again refused to accept his sacrifice. that even when it came down to him or javier he looked at fate and said you can't have him. is it really.

#i talk a lot <3 #tged #the greatest estate developer #javier asrahan #lloyd frontera #also when you put it this way his actions in the sequel make a little bit more sense. #like. of course he ended up in a codependent relationship with lloyd that not even death and eternity itself could break. #look at this man's formative years. the only wonder is that he isn't worse lmao #llojavi

[bowserssupermariopartylaugh]

no but in regards to that other post, i really am in love with the hc of the two ways bowser and mario express their attachment to luigi, regarding his safety

Where while mario is overprotective, something born of like a lifelong anxiety over his little brother—

Bowser goes through a couple stages. Where at first he believes luigi is weak and defenseless, a belief born from always seeing mario on the frontlines.

But ofc as he gets to know luigi, he eventually sees that luigi is the opposite. That he isn't inherently weak for allowing himself to be vulnerable. That he is fiercest when it comes to standing up for the things and people he believes in (a ferocity he's exhibited on bowser's behalf, most notably)

And so bowser eventually becomes self assured when it comes to luigi, and luigi's ability to handle himself. (One of his few (but major) motivations for keeping an eye out for luigi is his own desire to not make luigi constantly fend for himself, even if bowser knows he can.)

But another reason bowser's so self assured, is because he has /unwavering/ faith in the /fact/—the FACT—that /no one/ will mess with what's his. And bowser ensures this by making it /very known/ that luigi is, /unsparingly/, his.

And i just think thats hot 💀😭😭😭😭

#my brainrot #bowuigi #hcs #hc #ship dynamics #fic ideas #for me at least #if only i could bring myself to write more than a few hundred words at a time #but man any variation of that last hc gets me 💀 #that he KNOWS fucking NOBODY would daaare touch luigi #one of my fav tropes #has me stomping my foot lmao #like YES #THIS #at myself lmao #excuse my cringe #oh an this isnt some kind of mario hate lmao #im not saying either of these dynamics are inherently better or worse than the other