#13 mai 2012

[seagull-scribbles]

You're out of touch

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[badnewswhatsleft]

14 what a catch, donnie mv - commentary (patrick, joe, andy)

[leffee]

Day 13: Drive-in theater

“Are you certain we are going the right way?”

“Yes, just continue driving forward.”

“We are literally still on the grounds of your villa!”

“First of all, it’s a mansion, second of all, just trust me, we are close.”

Sunil sighed at Sharukh’s unhelpful replies but obediently kept driving ahead at snail’s pace as he maneuverer between the many monuments and floral landscape of the outside of Sharukh’s… house. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Russell who simply shrugged shortly but in that split second managed to give him a reassuring smile. Sunil’s cheeks flushed a little before he focused on what was in front of the car again. Eventually, he noticed something that threw him completely off guard.

“What the drive-in theater?” He leaned to the front a bit, copying Russell’s movements. In the back, Vinnie tilted his body towards the inside of the car, checking the outside as well. “Why do you have a drive-in theater here?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I once wanted one, so I got one,” Sharukh replied in a flat tone, his hand sneaking around Vinnie’s waist making him lie against his shoulder with a happy sigh.

“How many times have you used it, if I may ask?” Russell inquired.

“Two, maybe three times.”

“Uh-huh…”

Once the car parked in the most obvious place - the area from which the screen was in the center and close, but not too close, Sharukh got out of the vehicle with a quick “Wait here.”

“I can’t believe this guy sometimes.” Sunil let go of the steering wheel and slumped backwards against the headrest.

“Ahah, yeah, but he cares.” Vinnie chuckled from behind him. “I for one ain’t complaining about all that.” He gestured all around the lavish area.

“I don’t think any of us are, but still, this is not what I expected when he said we should have a…” Russell hesitated for a while and looked down at the very interesting car floor mat, “double date at a drive-in theater.”

“True.”

The sound of opening car doors interrupted the trio’s exchange. 

“We are all set.” Sharukh motioned to the screen which was now starting to display some visuals. “Enjoy.”

Everyone shifted in their seats, changing their positions to more comfortable ones, limbs spread and heads leaning backwards. While Sunil’s eyes were utmost focused on the screen, his mind started wandering. This was all of their first date, well, aside from Sharukh maybe but the superstar has still said that all those previous romances didn't matter since he never quite felt anything more than fondness at most to his previous partners. While Sunil was sure Vinnie appreciated that, his best friend wasn’t who was on his mind right now - Russell was. However, before he could do anything, his boyfriend rolled his eyes half heartedly.

“One of your movies, huh?” Russell asked without turning around.

“Of course, they’re the best ones out there.” Sharukh grinned and ran his hand through his hair proudly. 

The last scene Sunil saw before getting stuck in his own thoughts again was his lookalike (at least that's what everyone else said, he himself didn't see it) once again wrapping his arm around Vinnie and pressing him against his side.

As much as Sunil wanted to be at least mildly annoyed with Sharukh for making them both confess at the same time to Vinnie and Russell respectively… as he stole a glance at the latter he really just couldn’t muster any negative emotions. Now however, this was his first date with Russell, he had to play his cards right.

Sunil shifted a bit in his seat, methodically stirring more and more to the right edge of the seat. He could have sworn that Russell stole a glance or two at him but each time he thought so, once he checked a moment later, the green eyes were on the screen.

He took a deep breath, one step down, one more to go. He reached his hand towards the smaller one, his breath becoming bated once the distance diminished to mere centimeters. Just as Sunil felt his mind was ready to overthink, he reached his arm out, his palm finally on top of Russell’s who tensed up, but an undeniable smile formed on his face, becoming bigger with each second. Not only that, but both of their faces grew redder too.

Their eyes met for a split second before quickly darting away. Sunil’s hand flinched but did land back on Russell’s. Both of their free hands went to cover their wide smiles

“I-I apologize, was it too much too quickly?” Sunil asked, practically whispering. He attempted to face his boyfriend with confidence, but his expression was a mix of coy and flustered.

“No… it was perfect actually,” Russell replied lowly. “I kind of like it.” Sunil felt the knuckles under his hand moving slightly.

“Oh, good…Do you think we can do more of that with time?”

“Absolutely. We just have to get over our… inhibitions.” They both laughed meekly, leaning more towards each other from their seats and stopping close, but not too close, to one another’s face.

That’s when it hit Sunil.

“Oh, goodness, I’m- I mean we-, I mean, I am so sorry, we’re probably covering everything-.” As both him and Russell turned to eye the backseats, ready to bury the other two under the mountain of apologies, Sunil stopped mid-sentence, their eyes widening a little.

Behind them, Vinnie and Sharukh were all over each other with the latter trapping his shorter boyfriend in the corner. Vinnie was leaning heavily against the car’s door with his arms wrapped around Sharukh’s neck and his legs loosely around his knees. Although not much was visible from the front, the noises made it obvious what the two were up to - some intense kissing.

“Alright, never mind.” Sunil shook his head, turning away. “Can you believe those two started dating the same day as we did?” He raised his brows in Russell’s direction who deadpanned.

“No, absolutely not.”

Stealing one more glance at their two friends, Sunil pondered that at least Sharukh couldn’t get upset at him and Russell for not watching the movie he was starring in. Clearly, no one was focused on that.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, this was supposed to be about something and someone completely else, but once I actually sat down to write my mind was like "Ok, so, how about we do it like this instead?" And well, I don't control my mind, I had to agree.

Ah, Russell and Sunil who are really careful and shy around each other, respecting their boundaries and getting all flustered at the slightest touch. And then there's Vinnie and Sharukh who suck off each other's faces basically and they pretty much met very recently.

[cyclopsboxhead]

holy shit. The Mountain Goats is just Johnny Cash for 2012 tumblr queers....

[frameacloud]

Image description: A photo of two women snuggling and laughing. They both have short hair, short sleeve shirts, and blue jeans. Text says, "Lesbians get STDs, too. Protect yourself." Description ends.

In the years since the above was posted in 2012, links have moved. The above link to a blog post is no longer on Planned Parenthood's live site, but you can read an archive of it here.

FACT: Lesbians can have safer sex, too.

[cry1ng-at-m1dnight]

TMAYNT

Fav Don.

2012 Don! He’s a cutie

[havithreatendub4]

#Dark Shadows #premiere #Tokyo Japan #May 13, 2012 #Tim Burton #falling #Jerry Judge

[batbabydamian]

A Quick Guide to Damian’s Furry/Feathered/Scaled Companions

LEFT: R:SOB #1 Cover RIGHT: R:SOB #6

GOLIATH THE BAT DRAGON

Introduced in: ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015) #1

DAMIAN'S BABY AND BEASTY BESTIE!! On a mission during the Year of Blood, Damian kills the family of bat dragons guarding his objective. Goliath, despite being the youngest and last of his kind, forgives Damian. Goliath goes on to become one of Damian's most loyal companions, even featuring beside him in Batman Beyond (2016) #10, #11, #43-#47!

LEFT: B&R #13 RIGHT: B&R #4

TITUS THE DOG

Introduced in: BATMAN AND ROBIN (2011) #2

A Great Dane gifted to Damian from Bruce as an effort in fatherhood. Funny enough, Damian finds him a nuisance at first and briefly refers to him as "Dog". Titus is a good boy that follows Damian's every step, even joining Bruce on his mission to resurrect Damian!

LEFT: Batman Inc #1 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

BAT-COW THE COW

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #1

Bat-Cow, branded with a star signifying which cattle were contaminated, was saved from a slaughterhouse to run some tests (which they do find of a mind control variety). Damian declares himself a vegetarian, and calls her Bat-Cow! She also sorta has a running gag of literally standing in the face of danger to save the day.

LEFT: Batman Inc #6 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

ALFRED THE CAT

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #6

Considered a "hopeless case" by the animal shelter, Alfred gifts him to Damian. The cat is a bold lil guy, which Damian takes an immediate liking to, and names him Alfred (likely because tuxedo cat = butler lol). After hours of chicken, playtime, and scratches, Damian and Alfred become friends! He makes his first appearance alongside Damian’s first appearance as Batman in BATMAN (1940) #666

LEFT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #2/#1 RIGHT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #23/#12

*JERRY THE TURKEY

Introduced in: BATMAN LI'L GOTHAM (2012) #2 (Digital) #1 (Printed)

The Penguin unleashes an army of turkeys at the Gotham Thanksgiving parade which Damian turns into his own li'l turkey march by playing the trumpet. He ends up bringing one of them back for Thanksgiving dinner (as a friend), and Jerry becomes a fairly regular appearance in the world of Li'l Gotham!

*WIGGLES THE DRAGON

Introduced in: NIGHTWING (2016) #42

A sort of filler issue where Damian has been kidnapped for his blood by the "Crimson Kabuki" in Tokyo, and Dick goes through a series of boss battles to save him. The dragon's blood has been the group's main source of power, so it ends up teaming with the duo, and returns home with them.

Wiggles was originally named by a fan, "Shanootnoot" on Twitter!

*Goliath, Titus, Bat-Cow, and Alfred the cat have been Damian's main canon cast of furry companions, but SUPER-PETS SPECIAL: BITEDENTITY CRISIS (2024) may have just added Jerry and Wiggles!!

[objectivelyimpermanent]

How to Consume The Apothecary Diaries

TLDR

Web Novel: A Pharmacist's Monologue, 387 chapters. Free in Japanese; English Translate MTL is very easy on-site. HERE.

Light Novel: The Apothecary Diaries. Partially free with an account HERE. Also Google exists. Purchaseable in Kindle/Print. 15 Japanese volumes (approx. 363 WN chapters) and 13/14 English volumes on Kindle (approx. 323/347 WN chapters) or 4/5 English volumes in print (approx. 101/128 WN chapters). Available on Amazon, Ebay, Abebooks, Facebook Marketplace. Use Bookfinder to compare prices.

Manga: x The Apothecary Diaries, ill. by Nekokurage. This illustration style is very similar to the anime. 80 manga chapters have been released. 14 Japanese volumes (74 M1 chapters, approx. 89 WN chapters, approx. 3.75 LN volumes) and 13 English volumes (68 M1 chapters, approx. 83 WN chapters, approx. 3.5 LN volumes). Available on Amazon, Ebay, Abebooks, Facebook Marketplace. Use Bookfinder to compare prices. x Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace, ill. by Minoji Kurata. This illustration style is similar to the light novel. 84 manga chapters have been released. 19 Japanese volumes (82 M2 chapters, approx. 101 WN chapters, 4 LN volumes). There is no official English release.

Anime: The Apothecary Diaries, 29 episodes and currently airing weekly. 1 full season (42 M1 chapters or 8 volumes, approx. 31 M2 chapters or 7 volumes, approx. 56 WN chapters, 2 LN volumes). Season has 5 aired episodes as of last week (43-49 M1 chapters or volume 9, approx. 32-39 M2 chapters or half volume 8 with full volume 9, approx. 57-68 WN chapters, half LN volume 3). Season 2 will have 24 total episodes totalling to 48 episodes (possibly passing the manga release of 80 M1 chapters or 14 volumes, approx. 82 M2 chapters or 19 volumes, approx. 101 WN chapters, approx. 4 LN volumes). Free with ads on Crunchyroll. Conditionally free without ads with a Crunchyroll subscription or free trial. HERE.

Here's a spreadsheet:

Link

The Specifics

The Web Novel The Apothecary Diaries (or, A Pharmacist's Monologue) is published in Japanese for free as a web novel by Natsuo Hyuuga in 2011 on Shōsetsuka ni Narō [Let's Become a Novelist]. It is still ongoing, and the 387th chapter was published as recently as 5th February 2025. You can access it for free here. The webpages are easy to Google Translate, so if you don't mind MTL, the English translation also is free and easily accessible. To do this, right click anywhere on the webpage and select 'Translate to English'. Additionally, the website has an option to download a PDF of the entire novel. However, this is only in Japanese vertical script, and it is less easy to Google Translate.

The Novel There was a print novel of The Apothecary Diaries illustrated by Megumi Matsuda published in Japanese in 2012. It comprises a single volume, which covers 66 chapters of the web novel (the only chapters that had been released at the time). I am not aware of the availability of any English translation of this novel.

The Light Novel The Apothecary Diaries is being adapted into a light novel written by the same Natsuo Hyuuga and illustrated by Touka Shino. Some chapters are available for free on J-Novel here, but the rest require purchase. There is no legal way to access the full light novel for free. However, I have heard that Googling is easy and very profitable. The Japanese volumes began releasing in 2014. As of February 2025, there are 15 volumes in print, covering approximately 363 chapters of the web novel. The official English language release began in 2024. The English print release is around 3 years behind the Kindle release. As of February 2025, 13 volumes are available on Kindle, covering approximately 323 chapters of the web novel. The 14th volume will be released in May, covering approximately 347 chapters of the web novel. You can find these on Amazon for £6.39 each. As of February 2025, 4 volumes are available in print, covering approximately 101 chapters of the web novel. The 5th volume will be released in May, covering approximately 128 chapters of the web novel. You can find these new on Amazon or Ebay for around £13-17. You can find them secondhand for as low as £9 on Amazon or Abebooks. You can use Bookfinder to compare the prices between book vendors. Additionally, Facebook Marketplace is an underused resource.

The Manga The Apothecary Diaries is being adapted as 2 separate manga series by Itsuki Nanao. I don't know why. There are differences between the adaptations, and there are differing opinions on which one is better; I won't get into that here. I will refer to them separately as The Apothecary Diaries and Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace. x The Apothecary Diaries is the manga adaptation illustrated by Nekokurage that began releasing in Japanese in 2017. 80 manga chapters have been released as a monthly serial. The illustration style is extremely similar to the anime. There are currently 14 volumes in print in Japanese (up to manga chapter 74), covering approximately 89 chapters of the web novel or 3.75 volumes of the light novel. The official English language release began in 2020. There are currently 13 volumes in print in English (up to manga chapter 68), covering approximately 83 chapters of the web novel or 3.5 volumes of the light novel. The 14th volume will release in October. There are Kindle versions; you can find these on Amazon for £5.65 each. You can find print versions new on Amazon or Ebay for around £10-13. You can find them secondhand for a similar price on Amazon, Ebay, or Abebooks. You can use Bookfinder to compare the prices between book vendors. Additionally, Facebook Marketplace is an underused resource. x Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace is the manga adaptation illustrated by Minoji Kurata that began releasing in Japanese in 2017. 84 manga chapters have been released as a monthly serial. The illustration style is more similar to the light novel than to the anime. There are currently 19 volumes in print in Japanese (up to manga chapter 82), covering approximately 101 chapters of the web novel or 4 volumes of the light novel. The 20th volume will release in September. There is no official English language release.

The Anime The Apothecary Diaries is being adapted as anime. It has one complete season of 24 episodes, and season 2 is currently airing weekly. Episode 5 was released last week. Season 1 covers approximately 56 chapters of the web novel or 2 volumes of the light novel or 8 volumes of The Apothecary Diaries manga or just over 7 volumes of Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace. I expect season 2 wholly to cover approximately chapters 57-101 of the web novel or the 3rd and 4th volumes of the light novel, possibly exceeding the currently manga release with the 9th-14th volumes of The Apothecary Diaries manga or the latter half of the 8th volume through the 19th volumes of Maomao's Notes from the Inner Palace. You can access it in dub and sub on Crunchyroll here. It is free with ads. You can watch it without ads by subscribing to Crunchyroll for £4.99/mo. The first subscription on a Crunchyroll account includes a 7 day free trial. This requires you to enter your payment information before granting access. However, if you cancel the trial immediately after subscribing, you will retain access to the subscription services for the remainder of the trial period without worrying about the subscription charging your card at the end.

Edit 250215S: some corrections regarding the length of season 2 of the anime. Thanks to @blur0se for bringing that to my attention.

[thinking-emoji]

DnP Interview Masterlist

This is a work in progress! If you have any other links, send them to me!

Mar 2025

Far Out Magazine (article) 8/3/2025

Jan 2025

Shut Up I'm Talking Podcast (video) 26/1/2025 | mirror | add-on

Dec 2024

RNZ (audio) 10/12/2024 | mirror

Radio Adelaide (audio) 10/12/2024 | mirror | mirror

Junkee (article) 6/12/2024

Junkee (video) 6/12/2024

Today Show (video) 5/12/2024 | mirror | mirror

Nov 2024

Buzzfeed (article) 22/11/2024 | mirror | mirror

People (article) 1/11/2024 | mirror

Oct 2024

People (article) 6/10/2024

YourEx (article) 5/10/2024 | mirror | mirror

Master up to 2023 (courtesy of @stillarchivingdnp)

YWGTTN promo master (courtesy of @dailydnp)

May 2024

Dan: Times Radio (video) 11/5/2024

2023

Dan: Anthony Padilla (video) 17/1/2023

Dan: DNA Magazine (article) 9/1/2023

2022

Dan: Santa Barbara Independent (article) 30/11/2022

Dan: Gay Times (article) 11/11/2022

Dan: heatworld (video) 1/11/2022

Dan: Hits Radio (video) 21/10/2022

Dan: The Star (article) 5/10/2022

Dan: Buzz (article) 12/9/2022

Dan: Manc Union (article) 18/8/2022

Dan: Square Mile (article) 29/7/2022

Dan: metro.co.uk (article) 9/6/2022

2021

Dan: How To Academy (video) 1/7/2021

Dan: 1883 (article) 30/6/2021

Dan: RNZ Nine to Noon (audio) 30/6/2021

Dan: GQ (article) 30/5/2021

Dan: Waterstones (video) 24/5/2021

Dan: Amazon (article) 12/5/2021

2020

Dan: Guardian (article) 26/12/2020 | mirror

Dan: Pink News (article) 4/12/2020

Dan: Attitude (article) 7/10/2020 | mirror | mirror | preview

Dan: ITV Britain Get Talking (audio) 7/10/2020 | mirror

Phil: Evening Standard (article) 3/2/2020

2019

Dan: BBC (video) 5/9/2019 | mirror

2018

HMV (article) 10/12/2018

Toy News (article) 5/3/2018

2017

Edinburgh TV Festival (video) 24/8/2017

2016

Penguin Platform (video) 10/11/2016

Stand Up to Cancer (video) 15/10/2016

Variety (article) 4/10/2016

The Big Wakeup Call (audio) 21/4/2016

2015

Star Sessions (video) 20/11/2025

Huffington Post (video) 19/11/2025

WOCA Radio (audio) 17/11/2015

Sunday Times (article) 8/11/2015

SugarScape, Pt. 2 (video) 11/10/2015

SugarScape (video) 9/10/2015

2014

Rock Forever Magazine (video) 19/4/2014

2013

The Independent (article) 1/6/2013

The 4:01 Show (video) 17/3/2013

Dan: Elision (article) 13/1/2013

2012

Dan: Huffington Post (article) 26/11/2012

[feraltwinkseb]

May 13, 2012 - Barcelona, Spain Source: Sutton Images

[alphynix]

Therocephalians were a group of synapsids very closely related to – or possibly even ancestral to – the lineage leading to modern mammals. They were a diverse and successful group of carnivores during the latter half of the Permian, but suffered massively during the "Great Dying" mass extinction, with only a handful of representatives making it a few million years into the Triassic.

Tetracynodon darti was one of these rare Triassic therocephalian survivors, living in what is now South Africa around 251 million years ago. Only about 25cm long (~10"), it had slender limbs and strong claws that suggest it was a scratch-digger. Its long snout was lined with pointed teeth, and it was probably an active predator hunting by snapping its jaws at fast-moving prey like insects and smaller vertebrates.

Its combination of small size, burrow-digging habits, and unspecialized diet may be the reason it scraped through the Great Dying when most of its relatives didn't – but unfortunately it seems to have been a "dead clade walking", disappearing only a short way into early Triassic deposits.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Fontanarrosa, Gabriela, et al. "The manus of Tetracynodon (Therapsida: Therocephalia) provides evidence for survival strategies following the Permo-Triassic extinction." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38.4 (2018): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2018.1491404

Sigurdsen, Trond, et al. "Reassessment of the morphology and paleobiology of the therocephalian Tetracynodon darti (Therapsida), and the phylogenetic relationships of Baurioidea." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32.5 (2012): 1113-1134. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254315180_Reassessment_of_the_Morphology_and_Paleobiology_of_the_Therocephalian_Tetracynodon_Darti_Therapsida_And_The_Phylogenetic_Relationships_of_Baurioidea

Wikipedia contributors. “Tetracynodon” Wikipedia, 21 Aug. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetracynodon

Wikipedia contributors. “Therocephalia” Wikipedia, 01 Oct. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therocephalia

[carlos-in-glasses]

Rhythms

124k, 17 chapters, E, complete and on Ao3.

TK swoons when he discovers a sentimental scrapbook full of notes he and Carlos have left for each other – but he also unearths a book of poems that closeted teen-Carlos wrote about his struggles, including a few dedicated to his high school crush. An adorably mortified Carlos recalls the stir he caused when he was published anonymously in the high school paper, and everything he went through to write his wedding vows for TK years later. With TK as a hype-man, maybe Carlos can embrace his creative side again.

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1 - Love Heart: The day after TK and Carlos’ first wedding anniversary, TK is sent home from work sick. Back at the loft unexpectedly, he makes a surprising discovery about Carlos.

Chapter 2 - Club Can't Handle Me: In 2011, sixteen-year-old Carlos is both in the closet and in his high school’s wrestling team – and it’s all a bit too much. Perhaps against his better judgment, he turns to poetry and makes a decision that will change his life.

Chapter 3 - Crossroads: Daydreaming about his wedding vows mid-drive, Carlos gets pulled over for a traffic violation – and Gabriel isn’t happy. Reunited with TK, Carlos might be lost for words, but he finds another way to express his love and desire.

Chapter 4 - The Wrestler: Carlos’ poems are published – and he quickly learns there’s no putting the genie back into the bottle.

Chapter 5 - A Gay Fantasia: In the aftermath of being abducted by a serial killer, Carlos reflects on recent events and resumes work on his wedding vows.

Chapter 6 - La Tormenta: Carlos is devastated when Scott gets a girlfriend, and he finds himself in another snowballing situation.

Chapter 7 - Soulmates: When TK has a Huntington’s disease scare, Carlos finds he knows exactly what to say. But will it help him with his writer’s block when it comes to his wedding vows?

Chapter 8 - Man of Mystery: It’s the day of the Lake View High School Talent Show – and will the real Shadow Poet please stand up?

Chapter 9 - Crush: In 2011, it’s make or break for sixteen year old Carlos at the talent show. In 2024, TK becomes the hype man Carlos had needed over a decade ago.

Chapter 10 - From Behind: A couple of weeks before the wedding, Carlos is still working on his vows when a deeper rift develops between him and his dad. In 2012, seventeen year-old Carlos is spiraling after coming out to his parents.

Chapter 11 - The Other Wrestler: TK decides to lift Carlos’ spirits by learning how to wrestle.

Chapter 12 - Carlos Reyes Will Be Okay: At Gabriel’s funeral, Carlos regrets saying no to reading a poem in tribute – but during the wake, he finds himself under a whole new pressure. Later that night, he realizes the vows he’s worked so hard on for TK cannot be spoken yet.

Chapter 13 - The Closet: Despite some good news, Carlos ends up in the doghouse with his mom and with TK.

Chapter 14 - Once in a Blue Moon: Reeling from his confrontation with Andrea, Carlos seeks advice and admits a secret.

Chapter 15 - Raining on Prom Night: In May 2012, chaos erupts at Carlos’ senior prom.

Chapter 16 - Tyler Kennedy Strand: The wedding day arrives, and Carlos finally gets to recite his vows to TK.

Chapter 17 - Shadow Poet: Carlos attends his poetry reading with TK by his side and some important people in the audience – but will he actually perform this time?

“I was just remembering–” Carlos says, “The first time you stayed for a while after one of our hookups. It was, like, the third time we hooked up, I think. I asked if you wanted tea and cookies and you looked at me like I’d said the weirdest thing ever.”

TK’s exhausted, puffy face breaks into a dazzling grin. “You were being such a Boy Scout.”

“But then you said yes and you ate half the cookie jar.”

“You called me the Cookie Monster.”

“That was the first time I really made you laugh.”

“Tea came out my nose.”

“It was beautiful,” Carlos says, pausing then to qualify: “Your laugh.”

TK gazes up at him, his clear green eyes large and shining. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

“The first time you made me laugh was when we were dancing at the honky-tonk.”

“Hey!” TK swats his arm. “I was trying my best!”

“You were so goofy,” Carlos chides. “I just loved it. I loved you.”

Read on Ao3

[liver-f4ilure]

American Gun Laws & School Shootings (an essay)

WARNING! This essay is very old and is NOT at all my best work. Thank you and enjoy!

Gun laws in America have been one of the most controversial ideas in American history. The right to bear arms is engraved in the American Constitution as the second amendment in which the writer, James Madison back in 1791 concludes “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.” The original meaning has been speculated since some believe it was intended to be used for unprofessional citizens to defend against the British. However, the main controversy is if it meant individual rights to bear arms or only militia. In 2008 the DC v. Heller case concluded that in the state of Washington the amendment protected individual gun rights however the state can take away those rights if deemed dangerous by court. Americas history of school gun violence dates far back but the first major shooting to make headlines was back in April of 1999, when on April 20th of that year in Littleton Colorado teens Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) shot and killed 13 people at Columbine High School before killing themselves by gunshot in the school’s library. The pair had planned at least a year in advance making bombs and recording the days leading up to the shooting which is now coined the name ‘The Basement Tapes’. The guns were obtained from an illegal gun show where the two got their friend Robyn Anderson who was legally allowed to own. The shooting has sparked hundreds of shootings

since not all being schools. The aftermath also triggered the Youth Crime Gun Act of 1999 which prevents people to hold gun shows without informing the secretary of state at least 30 days in advance of location, time and duration as well as submitting all the vendors names and verifying their identities. The law also prohibits those dealers from dealing to those without license and keeping the firearms they sell from reaching the hands of minors or those unlicensed and lastly the law illegalizes the making of explosives like pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails.

The shooting was the first major school shooting the country had seen at the time.

  While it may be mental health in some cases, American gun laws should be stricter and more limited due to the fact of the childhood gun mortality rate in America and the estimated 338,000+ students who have experienced gun violence in schools since Columbine.

Data shows countries with much stricter gun laws including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the UK have had 5 total school shootings, while America alone has 288 (2009-2018) America has already had 18 this year (2024) as of April 18th. America has seen an uprise with school shootings after the pandemic, in 2021 there were 73, in 2022 there were 79 and in 2023 there were 82 school shootings. In the past three years there have been a total of 234 school shootings. Many believe the number one cause of childhood mortality in America (0-19) is cancer or abortion. But this simply isn't true, in America the leading cause of child death is gun violence. In 2021 2,590 children lost their life to guns. While in Canada the leading cause is accidental injury. The NRA states gun laws don’t work and brings up strict cities have high crime rates. I personally find it interesting they ignore the gun aspect of it. The issue doesn’t lie within what the city or state does for real change its up to the federal government. The NRA says Chicago has strict gun laws but has high crimes, that doesn't have to do with guns. Take California, one of the strictest states with guns compared to Texas the state with some of the least strict laws. Californias gun mortality rate is 8.5 per 100,000 while Texas's’ is 14.2 per 100,000. In Texas’s’ history with gun laws after the Luby's shooting the state made it legal for open carry. In 2012 after the sandy Hook elementary shooting which killed 20 kids ages 6-7 in Connecticut, Texas made it legal for school staff to bear arms and after a church shooting the state made it legal to carry firearms in places of worship (mosques, churches etc.) All these laws passed that took restrictions off guns made the trend of mass gun violence to increase. States ran by democratic leaders were found more likely to pass laws in the state that restricts guns were found more effective at keeping mass shooting changes insignificant. However, the state with the highest gun violence is Mississippi. Comparing capita to the most restrictive state, California, the state that the NRA claims is the most violent, Illinois and the state with the highest gun violence, Mississippi. Out of the three California has the lowest with 9.0, Illinois with 16.1 and Mississippi with the highest of 33.9 per capita.  Comparing evidence, we can see that the common denominator is that stricter laws bring down gun deaths and will limit petty crimes and situations from becoming deadly when guns are involved. And you’d think the federal government would act on this and add restrictions to limit types of rifles, but they haven’t. The closest they’ve gotten was the red flag program bill passed after the Robb school

shooting in 2021 which left 21 children and staff dead due to the police waiting 77 minutes after arriving, armed with vests and shields, to do anything. In response president Joe Biden passed the bill to end gun background check loopholes instead of talking about the issue of the polices incapability.

Studies show 57% of students in America are scared to go to school due to the rise of school shootings. Over the years about 45% of schools have installed metal detectors and other security measurements. These detectors are more common in high minority schools; however students of minorities are more scared of the chance of school shootings. In arguments of school security being the solution, some often bring up giving teachers guns however many teachers state they would never want to put their students in those situations or have to take a life. 78% of republicans agree with this while only 24% of democrats agree. 81% democrats say that banning assault-style weapons would be effective and 35% republicans agree too, overall majority, including teachers, agree that arming teachers wouldn’t help. Some parents have bought bulletproof backpacks and inserts to keep their child safe, the backpacks cost as much as an AR-15. Leading to the next point that ‘good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns’ isn’t accurate, in fact in schools where security is armed during shootings they can’t stop the shooter. Personally, as a Canadian where gun laws are strict, I have never seen an armed security guard in a school or have seen metal detectors in my school. Now we have all been 6 years old and I, personally at that age I liked to feel safe at school.

The most common argument about Americas gun laws is the second amendment. It’s by far the most political amendment, as mentioned earlier the suspected original intent was against the British. The amendment says it shall not be infringed. However, over time the federal and state government have passed laws that limit guns however have not infringed the right to own.  So, who’s to say that they can’t limit more high capacity magazines, in sports of hunting who needs a gun that can shoot 60 bullets in a single minute?

Media like games, music and movies have all been blamed for school shootings. This is a common misconception. The most common motives for school shootings are bullying, which can be seen with the Thuston school shooting, and columbine copycats (AKA. Columbiners) which can be seen with the Weis market shooting. Although mental health is also common it doesn’t directly lead to shootings, mental health gives a person the mindset and guns give them the ability.

In conclusion guns should be stricter to reduce childhood death. A child deserves to feel safe in school and not fear becoming a victim to the myriads of kids shot and killed per year in America. I believe all these facts and statistics, like children being scared about their safety and the 388,000 kids who have heard gunshots at school, Americas answer is stricter gun laws. At what cost, how many children who haven’t reached 10 will have to die before America realizes the right to live till 19 is more important than the weapon used to take the right away?

[wolfgirlcoven]

My Experience with P-Shifters & Mythicals, and why I'm Anti Physical IDs for Alterhumanity.

[Massive TW for Cults, Abuse(Including Digital SA, including COCSA), Delusions + Validation/Encouragement of Delusion, and probably more that I cannot for the life of me think of off the top of my head]

Hello, I'm Phoenix, but you can also call me Silverthorn. I've been in the nonhuman community since 2011-2013, and initially got my start in P-Shifter/Mythical communities, the ones of most note being ArdaErellon, GrowingWings4Life(usually just called Grow Wings.), and other adjacent webs.com forums.

I'll be documenting my experience with the community chronologically to the best of my ability, but do be aware that it may be a bit splotchy, as my memory of it all is a little janky due to the trauma and the fact this occured over 10 years ago now. It is of importance to note: I am neurodivergent, I speak from the perspective of someone who has been dealing with undiagnosed autism since childhood, which in turn, did influence my level of understanding of the world. My memory is also a little messed up due to dissociation from childhood trauma.

2011 - 2012: The Start - My start with P-Shifting began in 6th grade, when I was 11. I had met someone, who I will refer to here as Dragon. Dragon was my closest friend, however this was NOT a good thing. I had begun awakening to my inherent nonhumanity, but you know, when you're young, you'll believe in very fantastical things. Dragon was a P-Shifter, and I thought I was too. This is how our friendship really solidified. What easily could have been innocent schoolyard RP became grounds for abuse, manipulation, etc. Dragon convinced me that everyone hated us, and people would actively run away from me because where I went, she followed. Dragon was notoriously an asshole to others, but she used this to convince me that everyone hated me.

2013-2015: Aka "The Peak". 2013 is when I entered the online P-Shifter scene. Now, I had read websites and guides on p-shifting prior to this, but this is when I actually got INVOLVED so to speak. After reading some of the Maximum Ride books, I began experiencing phantom shifts of wings, which in turn lead to me joining GrowingWings4Life (colloquially known as Grow Wings), a forum on webs.com for Avians and other mythicals. I, obviously, began attempting to grow wings. This is where I met my flock. I've named two of them here before, but for the sake of this post I will be using stand in names. I also got my first scoliosis dx at age 13, during a school evaluation. This will come up again in another section of this post.

Aqua was the first one I met, she was basically a sister to me. She was honestly the first REAL friend I had, to the point where we called eachother sis. It was through her where we met the rest of our flock, albeit most of them would separate except for Red. Red was another one of the flock, unlike the other key members (Julio and Cailen. I WILL namedrop them for the bullshit they did. Julio was 18, and I don't remember Cailen's age but I do believe she was older than me, Aqua, and Red. I think maybe 18 but I'm not Positive.), he was also 13, like Aqua and I.

Julio got kicked from the flock for trying to groom Aqua and I over kik (classic 2013 experience I know), and Cailen went separate ways after a breakup with Red (she did some HORRIFIC things to him, which I will not disclose here other than it being SA) Things with the flock started out good at first, I mean why wouldn't it? Of course, we also learned about Awtok. We genuinely believed in them, and in part, were responsible for bringing knowledge of Awtok to Grow Wings out of sheer FEAR for everyone's saftey. Awtok's chokehold on our flock specifically remained.

Enter G32: Another school friend of mine, and self-professed Keyblade master. Though not an avian and p-shifter like the rest of us, he was part of our flock. I do fully blame myself and take responsibility for getting him involved with the flock + the consequences of doing so. He got involved the summer of 2014, but I had known him prior, and trusted him. G32 was someone we went to for advice and whatnot. In a way, despite Red and I being the leaders of the flock (when we started dating in 2014), I'd consider G32 to be the one pulling everyone's strings.

It was through G32, that Red became convinced he was a monster. Again, wont go into full details but this lead him to spiral into full on delusions. I remember him texting me in a state of extreme distress one night because he had "seen" his "true form" in the mirror. Looking back, this was clearly a hallucination. He ended up having MULTIPLE experiences like this. Now, he had been having some experiences akin to this prior to G32's claims about Red's true nature, but it was only after those that things got as bad as they did, such as full on berseker shifts for what his species was. (According to G32 the species was like an offshoot of the heartless from Kingdom Hearts.)

G32 also, on multiple occasions, forged messages from AWTOK, usually through 3DS swapnote, and then also forged messages from other "keyblade masters" who got involved with the flock via fake phone numbers.

Back to Red, because of the sheer amount of abuse he went through, ended up repeating the cycle of abuse with me. What he did to me was not ok. He had, through Cailen's abuse, become to believe he was possessed by a succubus who was Cailen. This began his manipulation of me, going so far as for this "possession" to lead to basically the Succubus threatening to leave me if I did not engage in sexual text-rp/sexting with Red as a way to prove my love & devotion. It eventually stopped, though i cannot remember what caused it to stop. Again, we both were 14 and severely mentally ill. I DO NOT HOLD THIS AGAINST HIM, AND I FORGIVE HIM FOR THIS. WE BOTH WERE VICTIMS.

Now, Red was VERY remorseful of what had happened, though we never actually talked about it or mentioned it after that, though I wish we did. It pretty much was him just apologizing but not specifying the incident (most because I told him not to), and me not actually letting him confess to what had happened. I wish I would have let him speak, but I was a scared child. Like I said, looking back now, and not out of a place of hurt, I can recognize he and I were both victims of abuse.

Come 2015, shit with G32 really hit the fan. From forging messages from other keyblade wielders turning against the flock, threatening to kill us for being traitors by aligning ourselves with Red, and the like, to then, when we stood up for ourselves, claiming it was all fake and a lie he spun, and then back to threatening us with the keyblade wielders after. It got to a point where it almost became a physical altercation on school grounds the following day. It was after this that things fell apart. The flock stuck together but ultimately separated, with the last I've heard from any of them being in 2016.

2016 & Onward: 2016 I still held onto some P-Shifting beliefs, but had begun to break away from them. It was really only come 2018 that I had fully recognized the nature of my beliefs were steeped in delusion, albeit the occasional relapse into p-shifter thoughts does occur to this day. I'd be lying if I'd said I haven't attempted to p-shift despite knowing and accepting it's impossible.

Now, other things not in this timeline that did happen, but I didn't feel were as interwoven with my flock experience:

ArdaErellon - when GrowWings went down, this kinda became one of the main sites people went to. It's not up anymore but I do remember the admin, Tinnuwen, asking people for their IRL locations, like addresses and whatnot, in order to open portals near them so they could travel to the realm of ArdaErellon.

Razgriz Pack & Other Cyberpacks - I got involved with a cyberpack when I was 13, when I didn't want much to do with them they threatened to send their other werewolves after me lol. I Don't remember if it was Razgriz or a different pack that I was involved in, mostly because I didn't spend much time around them.

Why I'm Making This Post:

I make this post because I've seen a resurgence in the P-Shifter & Mythical communities. Moreso, I've seen this become accepted and welcomed into the alterhuman community, which poses a SIGNIFICANT threat to the saftey and wellbeing of others. I've seen people ACTIVELY encouraging and validating delusions of Clinical Lycanthropes/Zoanthropes, claiming that it is harmless. IT IS NOT, I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE.

My wing delusions were encouraged, and we avians took any criticism of our attempts as threats and people just wanting to be assholes. Because of the repeated validation of my "physical" wing growth, i actively avoided getting treatment for my scoliosis for over 2 years. Like i said earlier in this post, during an exam at school, they felt my spine was curved. However, because I fully believed I was growing wings, I REFUSED to let my family take me to the doctor, refused to let them get x-rays of me, for fear that they'd discover my wings, because I was a terrified CHILD. This lead to my spine becoming so severely curved that I was at risk of my lungs collapsing. I fear to see what would have happened to me had I not eventually gotten surgery in 2015. The point is, the beliefs involved with subcultures such as p-shifters, holotheres, mythicals, etc. is inherently harmful. The denial to accept ones biological humanity, and the laws of physics that come with it, is a saftey risk. When people speak out about their experiences, they get dogpiled by the physical therian community, and victim blamed. When we explain why these things are harmful, we get accused of a whole slew of things, such as trying to make humans like us, or bring ableist by saying that encouraging delusion is harmful.

Me, Red, and Aqua should NOT have had to live out our teen years in fear of AWTOK, in fear of uncontrollable shifts, in fear of hunters, etc. We should have been able to have our formative teen years be normal. My friend Sundew, also known as @aesthetikins , was there when I was going through all of this, as we met in highschool. E knows first hand the amount of damage this stuff did to me, as again, e was there when it happened.

This is also the one time I feel OK to be That Guy and put this in the tags of the harmful groups I'm talking about, because maybe, JUST MAYBE, it'll save someone else from going through shit like what I went through. Edit: this is ok to reblog, and i actually encourage it

[blackthornluce]

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (October 3, 2004–May 13, 2012)