#A fair field full of folk

[yukipri]

Some thoughts on Cara

So some of you may have heard about Cara, the new platform that a lot of artists are trying out. It's been around for a while, but there's been a recent huge surge of new users, myself among them. Thought I'd type up a lil thing on my initial thoughts.

First, what is Cara?

From their About Cara page:

Cara is a social media and portfolio platform for artists. With the widespread use of generative AI, we decided to build a place that filters out generative AI images so that people who want to find authentic creatives and artwork can do so easily. Many platforms currently accept AI art when it’s not ethical, while others have promised “no AI forever” policies without consideration for the scenario where adoption of such technologies may happen at the workplace in the coming years. The future of creative industries requires nuanced understanding and support to help artists and companies connect and work together. We want to bridge the gap and build a platform that we would enjoy using as creatives ourselves. Our stance on AI: ・We do not agree with generative AI tools in their current unethical form, and we won’t host AI-generated portfolios unless the rampant ethical and data privacy issues around datasets are resolved via regulation. ・In the event that legislation is passed to clearly protect artists, we believe that AI-generated content should always be clearly labeled, because the public should always be able to search for human-made art and media easily.

Should note that Cara is independently funded, and is made by a core group of artists and engineers and is even collaborating with the Glaze project. It's very much a platform by artists, for artists!

Should also mention that in being a platform for artists, it's more a gallery first, with social media functionalities on the side. The info below will hopefully explain how that works.

Next, my actual initial thoughts using it, and things that set it apart from other platforms I've used:

1) When you post, you can choose to check the portfolio option, or to NOT check it. This is fantastic because it means I can have just my art organized in my gallery, but I can still post random stuff like photos of my cats and it won't clutter things. You can also just ramble/text post and it won't affect the gallery view!

2) You can adjust your crop preview for your images. Such a simple thing, yet so darn nice.

3) When you check that "Add to portfolio," you get a bunch of additional optional fields: Title, Field/Medium, Project Type, Category Tags, and Software Used. It's nice that you can put all this info into organized fields that don't take up text space.

4) Speaking of text, 5000 character limit is niiiiice. If you want to talk, you can.

5) Two separate feeds, a "For You" algorithmic one, and "Following." The "Following" actually appears to be full chronological timeline of just folks you follow (like Tumblr). Amazing.

6) Now usually, "For You" being set to home/default kinda pisses me off because generally I like curating my own experience, but not here, for this handy reason: if you tap the gear symbol, you can ADJUST your algorithm feed!

So you can choose what you see still!!! AMAZING. And, again, you still have your Following timeline too.

7) To repeat the stuff at the top of this post, its creation and intent as a place by artists, for artists. Hopefully you can also see from the points above that it's been designed with artists in mind.

8) No GenAI images!!!! There's a pop up that says it's not allowed, and apparently there's some sort of detector thing too. Not sure how reliable the latter is, but so far, it's just been a breath of fresh air, being able to scroll and see human art art and art!

To be clear, Cara's not perfect and is currently pretty laggy, and you can get errors while posting (so far, I've had more success on desktop than the mobile app), but that's understandable, given the small team. They'll need time to scale. For me though, it's a fair tradeoff for a platform that actually cares about artists.

Currently it also doesn't allow NSFW, not sure if that'll change given app store rules.

As mentioned above, they're independently funded, which means the team is currently paying for Cara itself. They have a kofi set up for folks who want to chip in, but it's optional. Here's the link to the tweet from one of the founders:

And a reminder that no matter that the platform itself isn't selling our data to GenAI, it can still be scraped by third parties. Protect your work with Glaze and Nightshade!

Anyway, I'm still figuring stuff out and have only been on Cara a few days, but I feel hopeful, and I think they're off to a good start.

I hope this post has been informative!

Lastly, here's my own Cara if you want to come say hi! Not sure at all if I'll be active on there, but if you're an artist like me who is keeping an eye out for hopefully nice communities, check it out!

[thebubblesareevil]

Strap in Folks it’s time to learn some shit!

As HR manager at my job I have to look at A LOT of applications because we are primarily a seasonal job. We have busy seasons and slow seasons.

IM SO DONE WITH PEOPLE NOT KNOWING HOW TO ADVERTISE THEIRSELF!!!

Allow me to clarify.

If you take a break between jobs or couldn’t find a job

-did you do baby sitting?

-yard work for family members?

You didn’t have a gap!

Make a note of work history as landscaping or childcare!

Gaps in your employment never look good unless you also state you were in school!

If your previous job sucked and you only stayed there for about a week

- you never worked there

Don’t put on there that you only worked a week or lie about how long you worked there!

-I am absolutely allowed to call previous jobs and not only confirm you worked there and ask how long

-first assumption will always be that you were fired (sucks but it’s true). I don’t have any backstory so I won’t assume the job was at fault.

Resumes!

-Your resume should NEVER be tailored to the job you are applying for.

-this is supposed to be a basic outline of what you have done and what you can do

- I hate the autogenerated resumes from indeed because I have to go down a giant list that tells me you know how to use Microsoft 20 times in a different font.

- if you use indeed please submit an actual resume.

ASK SOMEONE TO READ OVER YOUR RESUME BEFORE SUBMITTING IT!!!!!

It never looks good if you misspell cashier or drink…repeatedly.

-keep it short! Unless you are going into a technical field that needs to know a full list of you certifications and the programs you can use, you want to keep it to 1 page. I need a summary, not a life story

SCHOOL IS NOT WORK EXPERIENCE! Do not put on there that you have 4yrs xp as a student!!!

Speaking of life stories

-do not leverage your kids for a job. If you tell me you have kids and it affects your availability that’s one thing. If you tell me you really need this job because you have kids, now you are using your kids to get a job and that’s not kosher.

Availability!

Do not lie about your availability!!!!

We ask for that for a reason! If you tell me you have open availability and you get hired, I will schedule you based on that availability. If you then tell me you are only available between the hours of 4pm-9pm….you aren’t getting scheduled and will be terminated.

-cannot and will not cater to your availability and schedule everyone else to accommodate your availability. That’s not fair to me or for coworkers.

Interviews!!!

-talk for the love of god, talk! If it’s a group interview, we want to see how involved you are. If it’s one on one, I want to learn about you!

-dress for success! even the most casual of jobs do not want you to show up in a tank top and shorts. You are here for a job not for a party 😭

Okay I think that’s all I need to rant about. There may be more when we hire again and the torture begins again.

[bwat5-blog]

A Clear Logical Look At The Grey: Warcrime or not?

**Spoilers For Arcane**

Alright. By now, I and many others have gone over "The Grey" in one way or another many times over. The discussion regarding Caitlyn's arc and story in season 2 has sparked just about every reaction imaginable, and the show has been over long enough that it seems the lines in the sand are drawn, and people are pretty much settled where they landed.

So, why am I getting into this again? Because I keep seeing the same term over and over from the anti-Caitlyn folks. "War Crime". And to be honest, I realized while I like every other adult in the world had heard the term in the news, movies, tv shows and more throughout my life, I really don't have a strong understanding to say one way or another if this was what people say it was. This will ONLY be related to her use of The Grey, as that is what I keep seeing pop up regarding this discussion.

To that end, what I'm doing here is attempting a clear, logical, easy to follow analysis of this question using real world sources and laws. A few things of note for clarity and fairness:

I am not educated or working professionally in any field related to this topic. I am a layman trying to present the argument and analysis in a clear and unbias way based the research I am able to do.

I am a huge fan of Caitlyn's story and have advocated logically only for the use of "The Grey" many times. For some of you that will invalidate anything else I say. That's fine. For the rest of you I just don't want you feeling that I was trying to get one over on you. This discussion is not going to deal with the story of the show, Caitlyn's growing aggression or any of that. I am simply hoping to address this particular issue.

Obviously, this is a discussion of a fiction substance in a fictional world. So while I am going to try and keep this as grounded as possible there may have to be a mental leaps required.

The use of chemical weapons in warfare and "war crimes" is an extremely serious topic with a history of death and horror. Any lack of sensitivity or respect on my part is not intentional I assure you.

WHAT WE KNOW:

Origin:

It is factory smog trapped underground. Caitlyn learns that her forebears created the ventilation system used to remove it from the Undercity. It is clearly harmful over extended exposure. Caitlyn sees medical sketches of people who have grown up under continuous exposure.

-"The people of the underground deserve to breathe"

First Time We See It Used:

Season 1 Episode 7: The Boy Savior-

Silco meets with the chem-barons and seems to use The Grey to put them in their place, although it is worth noting it seems different. We don't see that particular green haze when he releases it. Although I admit it is possible this was simply an artistic choice later. it is possible this is entirely different. But it gets mentioned quite a bit, so I think it is worth including.

The Strike Team:

This is part of Caitlyn's story where this comes into play. After the attack on the memorial a full force of Enforcers armed with Hex-Tech entering Zaun is imminent. Vi comes to Caitlyn assuring her that is not the way, as they will be on the Zaunite's terms and she must find an alternative. Caitlyn forms her team and goes to the council announcing her intent to enter Zaun. The Strike Team has 3 goals:

Dismantle Shimmer

Apprehend Jinx

Neutralize agents still loyal to Silco

Something to note for understanding:

Zaun is not independent. It is its own city yes, but it falls under the jurisdiction of the Council. Hence the need for the vote at the end of season 1. For further evidence, in the beginning of season one we see multiple instances of Enforcers moving freely in the Undercity with no issue.

What They Do-

With all that in mind, we see them actually engage in their mission. Using the very ventilation system the Caitlyn's family built they engage in a series of tactical strikes carrying out their objectives, using the grey to clear the streets of civilians and incapacitate enemy combatants in controlled and specific areas. Things of note to consider here:

Amanda Overton recently confirmed use The Grey was "strategic to a pinpoint". But did ask "still does that make it forgivable?"

2. Vi tells Jinx in 2x03: " We used the Grey to clear the streets. To keep people safe"

Now, there of course can be an argument made that Vi was simply trying to justify it to herself given the conflict she was obviously dealing with acting as an Enforcer. But I'm really trying to stick to what we know here and not interpret intention. So let's go over a few points:

They are after Jinx. And good or bad, love her or hate her, she likes to blow things up. Using that information anything that would clear innocents from the area before the Strike Team engages would be a logical decision.

I have seen this image making the rounds being used as proof that they targeted civilians-

This comes from the early portion of the Hellfire cinematic. This is not showing something they did in the current story. The dress of the people and the appearance of Zaun in the image tell us this. Additionally, the image is of the same color scheme and style as the older images Caitlyn sees while using the Kiramman key.

Known Exposures And Confirmed Symptoms:

Exposures-

Silco's Table:

Silco: Died by gunshot

Finn- Died by sword wound

Renni- Died when throat cut

Smeech- Died in fight with Sevika

Chross- Arrested? Hard to tell

Margot- Arrested? Hard to tell

Strike Team:

Jinx- Alive (we all know it)

Vi- Alive

Heenot- Alive (we assume, Caitlyn had him arrested)

Loris- Died from multiple arrow wounds

Maddie- Died of gunshot

Caitlyn- Alive

Steb- Alive

Unknowable amount of people in Zaun who were cleared from streets

Jinx's Attack On Piltover:

Unnamed little boy- Presumably alive

Unknowable amount of people in Piltover

*Presumably each of the surviving Barons. Various guards. Native Zaunites like Vi and Jinx have been exposed to it before certainly. These were just the ones I was confidant enough to document here*

Symptoms-

Painful irritation of eyes: Seen in essentially every exposure

Nasal irritation: Many characters sneeze but Heenot especially

Coughing: Essentially every exposure

Breathing Trouble: Seems to make it harder for some targets to breathe than others. (Assuming it was the same, Finn had extremely violent reaction to exposure compared to say Silco himself, who was standing there completely unmasked)

** It should be noted that we see multiple chem-baron foot soldiers laying on the ground when Smeech and his people arrive, in 2x02, however we get shots each of them confirming they are awake and breathing**

Possible Long Term Effects: Many people have expressed concerns over the potential of long term impact to the health of any and all who were exposed. In truth we just can't know. Obviously there are side effects to the people who have spent their lives breathing the Grey. But it is logical to suggest that short single exposure would not carry the same risk.

The Accusation:

Okay. The accusation of being made is that by using The Grey Caitlyn Kiramman committed what would be a war crime in the real world. In our world, this sort of thing is defined and laid out by something called "The Chemical Weapons Convention".

Classifying "The Grey"-

For our purposes, the comparison here is "Chemical Weapons" versus "Riot Control Agents".

Chemical Weapon- "A Chemical Weapon is a chemical used to cause intentional death or harm through its toxic properties. Munitions, devices and other equipment specifically designed to weaponize toxic chemicals also fall under the definition of chemical weapons"

Riot Control Agent- "Riot control agents are intended to temporarily incapacitate a person by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin. Riot control agents, such as tear gas, are considered chemical weapons if used as a method of warfare. States can legitimately possess riot control agents and use them for domestic law enforcement purposes".

Effects: Tears, coughing, and irritation to eyes, nose, mouth and skin; constricts airway

_______________________________________________________

Now there are other types of Chemical Weapons of course. I list these only so you have all the various categories to investigate for yourself so you can see I'm not hiding something that matches The Grey.

Choking agents- Effects include fatal fluid buildup in lungs

Blister agents- Burning and blistering skin/eyes/windpipe/lungs

Blood agents- Cell's ability to use O2 impaired, leading to damage to all vital organs

Nerve agents- "Overstimulation of parasympathetic system effecting the peripheral and central nervous system, including: lacrimation, salivation, sweating, blurred vision, headache, difficulty in breathing and vomiting. In higher doses, nerve agents cause seizures, loss of body control, muscle paralysis (including heart and diaphragm) and unconsciousness"

Returning to RCA'S (Riot Control Agents)- As you can see above, states are permitted to possess and utilize RCA's for domestic law-enforcement purposes. But they are prohibited and classified as Chemical weapons when used in warfare. Which brings us to our next questions.

Summary: "The Grey" is essentially a symptom-for-symptom match for their example of an RCA.

Domestic Law Enforcement Or Warfare-

For a reminder:

Caitlyn is acting as essentially part of the council (since the seat is hers even though she never really takes it) but also under the auspices of the Council Of Piltover. Both Piltover itself and Zaun fall under their authority. Meaning they are quelling a domestic threat to public safety.

The show makes a point of Vi needing to be an Enforcer to assist them in an official capacity. The team Caitlyn leads is a team of Enforcers.

We see various instances in the show to reinforce this idea anyway, but in LOL lore, the enforcers are actually known as the "Piltover Wardens". The LOL official wiki describes them as: "The Law Enforcement organization in Piltover". But, for a more relevant Arcane example, the entire hunt for the kids after the explosion in season 1 act 1. Grayson and Marcus are tasked by the council with solving the crime.

They do not use the Grey to kill or harm. It is very specifically said by Vi to be used to reduce harm as much as possible and has no evidence of being fatal. It is being used to reduce violence and control the situation.

Summary: Caitlyn leads a team of members of the law enforcement agency that answers to the Council, into a city they have equal jurisdiction over, to quell a threat to public safety. While doing so they use The Grey with no intent to harm, but to control the situation and reduce violence.

Was Caitlyn's Use Of The Grey Proportionate and Targeted?-

So essentially what we need to consider is was Caitlyn's use of the grey while conducting the strike team's mission fair and disciplined. They knock over a stop sign you don't get to blow up the town square for example.

LSD Law defines Proportionality as the following: " A principle in international law that states the use of force should be proportional to the threat or grievance that provoked that use of force"

The Threat/Grievance (I realize there is nuance/detail to all of this just listing the hard details from Piltover's POV:

Jinx kills six enforcers and burns down a building so she can steal hex-tech gemstone

Caitlyn first hand has been almost killed by Jinx repeatedly

Jinx kills the sheriff of Piltover (corrupt coward but still happened) and several Enforcers in a massive explosion

Jinx easily abducts the daughter of a councilwoman from her own home

Jinx assassinates three councilors of Piltover, seriously wounding 2 others and several other people, and destroys the council chamber

Piltover is attacked by a large force of Zaunite warriors, including Shimmer hulks during a memorial that was supposed to be secure. Several fatalities. Confirmed attempt to assassinate at least one other surviving Councilor. They would have every reason to assume Jinx was involved given her recent activities.

The Strike Team's Response:

Five person team of Enforcers working in city they have full authority to be in.

Targeting Jinx, Shimmer, and Chem Barons.

Moved primarily through Ventilation system (they were not marching through the street in the open getting into firefights like storm troopers, for example)

Use of The Grey to clear the streets in areas there was going to be conflict and reduce/control violence. Which based on the parameters we have discussed I feel comfortable classifying an "RCA".

Grey was used only in extremely specific tactical locations as confirmed earlier in this doc by Amanda Overton.

Summary: A small, controlled, goal oriented team of people acting with full legal authority specifically targeting threats to public safety, moving as much as possible in way that does not endanger the public, and using RCA in pin-point tactical fashion for purposes of reducing violence as much as possible.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, I'm just another fan, and this is a very complex topic with way more to it than I'm probably qualified to speak on. I can say based on my reading and learning I do not believe it to be accurate or reasonable to call Caitlyn a war criminal for the use of The Grey. I recognize there plenty who will read this and disagree. And that's okay! Sadly though there are also those who won't bother to read it, and stick to their guns without being willing to broaden their understanding.

Like I said in the beginning I really just wanted to focus on the question at hand so I didn't get into the story motivations or anything. That being said, I hope this broadens your understanding and appreciation of the character and her story as it did for me. To all those who take time out of your day to read my rambling, I love and appreciate you all. See ya next time!

***I didn't want to put this in the beginning because I was trying to leave anything with any attitude out of it. Yes RCA's are permitted in domestic law-enforcement situations and not in warfare. This can lead to statements like " Your defending her for using something we can't even use in war"..... You know what is allowed? bullets'. Bullets are allowed***

[scotianostra]

On 11th November 1918 an armistice came into force ending fighting in the First World War.

Hey! Jock, are ye glad ye ‘listed?

O Jock, but ye’re far frae hame!

What d’ye think o’ the fields o’ Flanders?

Jockey lad, are ye glad ye came?

Wet rigs we wrought in the land o’ Lennox,

When Hielan’ hills were smeared wi’ snaw;

Deer we chased through the seepin’ heather,

But the glaur o’ Flanders dings them a’!

This is no’ Fair o’ Balloch,

Sunday claes and a penny reel;

It’s no’ for dancin’ at a bridal

Willie Lawrie’s bagpipes squeal.

Men are to kill in the morn’s mornin’;

Here we’re back to your daddy’s trade;

Naething for’t but to cock the bonnet,

Buckle on graith and kiss the maid.

The Cornal’s yonder deid in tartan,

Sinclair’s sheuched in Neuve Eglise;

Slipped awa wi’ the sodger’s fever,

Kinder than ony auld man’s disease.

Scotland! Scotland! little we’re due ye’,

Poor employ and skim-milk board.

But youth’s a cream that maun be paid for,

We got it reamin’, so here’s the sword!

Come awa’, Jock, and cock your bonnet,

Swing your kilt as best ye can;

Auld Dumbarton’s Drums are dirlin’,

Come awa’, Jock, and kill your man!

Far’s the cry to Leven Water

Where your fore-folks went to war,

They would swap wi’ us to-morrow,

Even in the Flanders glaur!

Neil Munro.

I salute all the lives lost during the war but I cant see why the fighting had to continue after the Armistice had been agreed.....

The armistice was agreed at 5.10am on 11th November to come into effect at 11am. The news was conveyed around Europe within the hour. The original armistice was for a period of 36 days, after which it had to be renewed. This was done four times before the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The only problem is that the war did not completely stop at 11am on 11th November.

The Entente had already agreed armistices with Bulgaria on 29th September, the Ottomans on 30th October, and the Austro-Hungarian Government on 3rd November. Germany was the last of the Central Powers to sue for peace. The Armistice with Germany was agreed to come into effect at 11am to allow time for the news to reach combatants. However, fighting continued in several places during and after that time, including on the Western Front.

General John Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force, did not approve of the armistice. Consequently he gave no instructions to his commanders to suspend any new offensive action during the remaining hours until 11am. This gave individual commanders latitude to determine their actions in the last few hours and in some quarters there was fierce fighting up to 11am which was difficult to stop.

On 11th November alone there were nearly 11,000 casualties, dead, missing and injured, exceeding those on D-Day in 1944. Over 3,500 of these were American. Pershing had to face a Congressional hearing to explain why there were so many deaths when the hour of the armistice was known in advance, it was totally avoidable, over 11,000 families lost their fathers, their uncles, their sons and their nephews, needlessly.

An armistice is a ceasefire, not an official end to war.

Demobilisation of British, colonial and imperial troops did not finish until 1920, considerably longer than servicemen had anticipated. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I. The global reaction was one of mixed emotions: relief, celebration, disbelief and a profound sense of loss.

During the First World War 140,000 Scots are killed, among these figures, which vary somewhat, from to 500 to 1000, were the Bagpipers, sent “over the top” to lead the Scottish troops into battle.

Nicknamed Die Damen aus der Hölle (Ladies from Hell) by German soldiers for their distinctive tartan kilts and unparalleled bravery, the pipers from the “Black Watch��—the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland—garnered a fearsome reputation on the battlefields of World War I.

Standing in full view of German soldiers, often at times armed with only their bagpipes, pipers were the first “over the top”, acting as a clarion call for troops to keep moving. The sound of the bagpipes would spread terror among the German troops—when one “Lady from Hell” fell, miraculously another piper would seemingly arise out of the trenches to take his place...............

By the time the second world war came pipers were not ordered to lead the men into battle, well except on the orders of Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat whose personal piper Bill Millin, commonly known as Piper Bill who, when he questioned Lovat after being told to pipe the the men into battle on the beaches of Normandy was told, Ah, but that's the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn't apply"

Flowers have always held symbolism in many cultures around the world. One such flower is the red poppy, almost synonymous with Remembrance Day, observed in Canada. Poppies have become the flower of Remembrance Day for several reasons, with a significant connection to the famous war poem "In Flanders Fields" by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.

The poem "In Flanders Fields" describes the poppies that grewamid the graves of soldiers who died during World War I in Flanders, a region in Belgium. The poem's vivid imagery and poignant verses made poppies a symbol of remembrance for those who had lost their lives in conflict.

Flanders, where many battles of World War I took place, saw extensive destruction and loss of life. Despite the devastation, the red poppies continued to grow in the churned-up soil, a symbol of resilience and renewal. The contrast between the poppies and the war-torn landscape made them a powerful symbol of remembrance.

In 1921, the Royal British Legion adopted the red poppy as a symbol for their annual Poppy Appeal, which raises funds to support veterans and their families. The tradition of wearing a red poppy to remember the fallen and support those in need became more widespread.

The practice of wearing red poppies on Remembrance Day has been adopted by many countries around the world as a way to honor and remember those who have sacrificed their lives in wars and conflicts.

The last pic here is ex-Private H.E. Day of the 15th Hussars who lost a leg during the war selling wooden crosses)

[uncleasad]

top ten favorite hosie fics of all time, go

What a fun Ask! 🙏 Also, are you trying to kill me?! 😂

A few weeks ago, TheDarkestHour13 introduced the concept of Hope and Rafael keeping a list of “Landon’s Top 10 deaths” in Such Is Our Fate. I commented that that particular chapter (for reasons other than the deaths list) was a Top 10 chapter of the fic, though I also noted I didn’t have an actual list of my Top 10 chapters—there were approximately 120 chapters at that point. I also thought, in a related manner, that I didn’t have a “Top 10�� list of Hosie fics…and perhaps that should have been my cue to start thinking about such a thing 😂

As of late June 2024 CE, there are nearly 2600 fics in the AO3 Hosie tag and I’ve been reading since the latter part of 2019…so I’ve probably read ½ to ⅔ of them…

I came up with 7 fics right away, but as I started to make links and such, I realized that 5 of those were incomplete (ongoing, but mostly either rarely updated or, practically speaking, abandoned); I don’t know what it says about me that my “top ten favorite hosie fics of all time” is full of fics that may never be finished.

But in terms of recommendations for reading, I know lots of folks will not want to start reading a work that hasn’t been updated in years and has a high likelihood of never being finished, no matter how amazing it is (or how much someone else liked it). And even for ones that are currently ongoing, it’s possible (though unlikely) that the author could do something crazy to make me hate the fic later on. So I thought I’d spin off all those works that were incomplete into a separate list and come up with 10 favorite finished fics…I could mamage that, right? As I started trying to do that…nope, that’s not done, either; that’s been abandoned 😳 oh, what about that fic? wow, how did I forget that one?! (Like I said, are you trying to kill me?! 😂)

So…to save my life (and to stop spending hours upon hours on this), the end result is about 30 fics all-told, completed and incomplete. (I further subdivided the incomplete fics into those that are updated at least once every few months and those that…aren’t 😢) They’re ordered roughly by time, with the earlier/older fics towards the tops of the lists and the more recent ones (mostly) towards the ends of the lists. Two of the fics on the “Completed” list had promised an epilogue that has never appeared, but you can read the entire story arc, so I think it’s fair to label them as complete.

So without further ado…

Completed:

it's a date (the only problem is it's fake) by avengerskye / @avengerskye

Coffee on Monday, Flowers on Friday by Redezzy

The Missing Piece by intribridsname 

slept next to her but I dreamt of you all summer long by hackingxbiochemist

what you got (cause I want it all) by ToriWritesStories / @toriwritesstories

summer lovin' had me a blast (wait, no, that's just the leaf-blower) by AdeleDazeem

Our Last Life by taengoo1 / @taengooxlove

I'll Never Give Up Hope by O_M_Jee

HM+JS by tellingtouch

Invisible String by luthorbae

Then why's it feel so good? by callipoicepole (Killing Eve AU)

This Is Your Home by Shadowmama55 / @shadowhuntermama

Shivers (A Lifetime of crimes, but the worst was loving you.) by ch8rlie

The Stages of Grief by endgamesonly

'tis the damn season. by wandererghost (complete, though promised epilogue still outstanding)

Lizzie Saltzman, Matchmaker by TheNutcase (complete, though promised epilogue still outstanding)

In-Progress – still updating regularly or at least every few months:

Such Is Our Fate by TheDarkestHour13 / @persevereforahappyending (updated every Friday)

The Power Field by Joho_meh

4 Years, 6 Months, 8 Days by Limon_Skittles

To Know My Heart The Best (You’d Have To Cut It Out My Chest) by mambaregz

Incomplete – rarely updated, on hiatus, or orphaned:

Dive bar on the east side by Bluejay720 (7 chapters to go)

summer rush by sabrinasfadingmoon / @sabrinasfadingmoon (incomplete)

im not gonna let you go so easily by allweseeislight (1 chapter to go 🤞)

'tis the damn season by blckmaqic, LizMikaelson (1 chapter to go 🤞)

Redemption by MysticSlurp (Red Dead Redemption AU, incomplete)

Sad Bedroom Eyes by EvilPenguinRika / @evilpenguinrika (on hiatus)

Hell Hath No Fury by ElegiesEulogizeMe (Ringer AU, 6 chapters to go)

the stages of waking by dandelionlighters / @dandelionlighters (incomplete)

let’s watch it all burn down together by iris_on_the_moon (zombie apocalypse; orphaned)

A number of the authors are no longer active in writing Hosie fics (not surprising in 2024, considering), but many of them (including the authors of the incomplete works I like) have substantial catalogs, so if you read and enjoy one of these, be sure check that author’s list of other works (and of course leave kudos and comments! 🙏)

—

If anyone would like to see other fics I’ve enjoyed, there’s the fic recommendation tag here on my tumblr that captures a few from the last couple of years, and I also have a few AO3 collections of specific themes/subjects:

Hosie Zombie Apocalypse (HosieZombieApocalypse)

Hosie Summertime Vibes (SummeryHosie)

Hosie Season 2 “What If?” (Hosie_Season_2_What_If)

Hosie Post-Season 4 (Hosie_Post_Season_4)

Sorry I couldn’t get it down to 10, @tribridsireline 😂 But I hope everyone reading finds something new and exciting to read!

[blue--ingenue]

Slytherin Traits

Note: This is just my interpretation of Slytherin traits. Take what resonates, and leave what doesn't 💚

“Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends” - Work smart, not hard. Colleges and publishers deem textbook piracy “immoral” and “unfair” to other students who pay full price for books. But when higher education prices are inflated by privileged administrators, this power imbalance nullifies such comments. It also reminds me of a quote I saw spray-painted on a wall: 

“If paying is not owning, then pirating isn’t stealing.” I wouldn’t go out and steal a physical textbook, but no real money is lost if I replicate a few hundred pixels on a screen so that I can finish my education

Additionally, choosing to play “fair” in a system designed to exert control over people with less privilege and power will not benefit you. The same people setting arbitrary standards for “fairness” can often be the same ones benefiting from those rules.

Continuing on with being cunning, bending the rules here and there can help you level the playing field. Blanket statements and generalized restrictions don’t affect everyone equally. For example, exams that rely on hard memorization, and testing environments that punish students for fidgeting are ableist and severely limit the types of students who will be able to succeed in school/university. 

In my case, my class was allowed to bring a single note sheet to our final exam. I have trouble memorizing formulae/processes, but can solve nuclear reactor physics if the formulae are in front of me. Although the professor advised against writing out full examples, I bought an ultra-thin writing ink pen and crammed all the exampled I needed. I passed.

Ambition, defined as “a strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.” Ambition is very subjective. One Slytherin’s ambition may be to graduate at the top of their class and become an expert in their field. Another’s ambition might be to set healthy boundaries for themselves to prioritize their mental health. Someone else’s goal might just be to get out of bed that day. The only person who can decide the importance of your goal is yourself.

Everyone has different abilities, desires, material resources, and life experience. No matter the goal, ambition is essential for completion, and success in any measure deserves celebration.

Speaking of accomplishments, pride can be a well-deserved reward for achieving your goals. You more than deserve to celebrate your successes. Taking pride in your achievements can help build self-confidence. Feeling capable, accomplished, and proud of yourself can be empowering.

In my experience, it’s a lot easier to underestimate yourself than it is to oversell your accomplishments. If you’re someone who tends to downplay your abilities/accomplishments, there’s a chance that you’re selling yourself short. Take pride in yourself. You’ve earned it.

Slytherins also understand how it feels to be Othered, negatively stereotyped, or feared. As a queer POC and one of only ten women in my major (bearing in mind that my university's graduating class size is 10,000 people per year), I know what it feels like to be singled out. I was also the only Asian student in my high school class, and the only family of color for a 1-mile radius in my hometown. 

People tend to see you through their own narrow-minded lenses and stereotypes. This isn't a reflection of you, but merely a projection of their own prejudice and ignorance. No matter your reason for feeling Othered, know that their comments and limited perceptions are merely their own self-reflections.

[basilone]

I want to hear your thoughts on fandom and the recent influx of the term content creation!

Well, anon, you are in luck! (Or not, depending on your definition of luck. 😉) I just so happen to have many Thoughts & Opinions™ about this. I will get wordy, this will get lengthy, and I will be social and put most of my thoughts under a readmore cut.

I personally try to avoid the terms ‘content’ and ‘content creation’ when talking about fandom works and a fandom’s creative pursuits nowadays. Occasionally, sure, it happens that it slips out anyway – it’s a term we’re all really used to using! – but I want to be as mindful about its use as possible. This is a personal decision on my account and I won’t get uppity about other people’s use of these terms, though.

But, Killy, you might say... why would you avoid using these terms? For me, here’s why:

Content is not synonymous with art;

Content creation indicates something different than art creation;

Fandom should not be subject to consumerism;

Fandom is about connection.

If all a fandom puts out is classified as content, that fandom is going to die.

Yeah. I know. Melodramatic much? I’m on my fainting couch here, folks. 😂 But let’s dig in, shall we?

You know, maybe it’s just the archivist in me that balks at the term ‘content’. Content is a data entry field in the archival system we use at my real-life job: literally speaking, this data entry field is where we put a brief summary of the document attached to that specific archival file. It contains information that tells you the key takeaways of what the document is about, but it will not contain the full text of the document itself. Content is one of the points of access for our archival search: I know what I’m looking for, so I put a few keywords into our search and it pulls up the relevant file. But what do I need, really need, in my line of work? It’s the document itself, not the data entry field. The document tells me the whole story that I need to be able to truly do my job well. The content-field is a cliffnotes edition of that story.

It’s the same way with the art we create in fandom. I’m gonna take myself as an example here, because I create a fair bit! (Shocking, I know. Local Tumblr cryptid sighting, more at 11. 😎) I spend hours writing fic. I spend hours sorting through screencaps before screeching at Photoshop for a lengthy amount of time. I spend days pouring over quotes, books, documents, photographs, tutorials, and other things that will help me create something cool. I apply color theory, art framing/perspective, narrative focus, and many other theories and techniques to my writing and my giffing. If I were to put my finished work or any of my WIPs in that same archive system, it would be the document within the archival file. The tags I use on my posts? Those are markers similar to the content-field. They tell you who my gifset depicts and from which show it is. They tell you which OC of mine my fic is about. My work contains these things I tagged.

But my creative work is not content itself.

Content is marketable, easy access, blurb-y stuff. Content is something you absorb within one minute flat. Content is the highlight reel. It’s what fills a page, something you’ll scroll past in a heartbeat, something that barely stands out in a long long long list of stuff. Content is what you consume on a lazy Sunday afternoon without ever being forced to read lengthy pieces, take in the details of what you see, pause mid-scroll to ponder the meaning of life, whatever else have you. Create content and you create a flash in the pan, a quick laugh maybe, before it fizzles back out again. Create content and it’s here today and gone tomorrow without anyone mourning its absence for too long.

Art should last longer than that, don’t you think? 😉

So when I see people put a fic request in an askbox and it’s phrased like “Speirs x spy!reader fluff” and that very same request makes its way into about ten more askboxes before the fandom starts comparing asks? I might be inclined to classify us all as slot machines. Put an ask in and out rolls a fic. Who cares which slot machine it came from? As long as you’ve got your painstakingly crafted fics that you consume the same way you do actual content, right? We, its writers, are just lucky if we get a pat of acknowledgement on our little slot machine head for our troubles, aren’t we?

When I see an overly detailed summary of what sounds like a full-fledged fic in an askbox and the demand is “write this for me”, I recoil from the screen and go “child, who the hell birthed you, were you raised in a barn?” out loud. If you can tell a story in the space of an askbox, consider asking for help to let that story – a story you own, a story that is more yours that it could ever be mine – grow into what it has the potential to be.

When I see fics and gifsets and other creations get likes but not reblogs, I mutter something about the state of fandom economy these days. We exist in a little fandom bubble. Our bubble can’t expand or blow from place to place without a little help from our friends. And you’re my friends, right? I know the follow-button says follow, guys, believe me, I’m not that far gone, but for me ‘follow’ means ‘friend’. 💚 You’re my buddy now. Suck it up. We’ll share a can of peaches. 🍑

When I see fics and other creations get reblogged without tags or comments attached, I die a little on the inside. I feel like a little Victorian orphan child going “please, reblogger, a little penny of thought for its creator, if it pleases?”. I feel like commentless and/or tagless reblogging is giving me nothing, nothing at all, about who you are.

And I want to get to know you! I want to know who’s in my notes. I want to know who’s scrambling through my MotA gifsets like a fat little raccoon inhaling its third helping of a box of jelly-filled donuts. I want to know who is adopting which character and why. I want to know that it’s your birthday, or that you had a bad day and needed a pick-me-up, or that you are locked in an Ikea at three in the morning reading my blog by the bright lights of countless Solhetta bulbs. I want to know that you love my OC Darlene but that you ain’t sure what the hell my OC Lottie’s got to do with anything. I want to know what tickles you – a turn of phrase I used, a color in a gifset, a little detail I captured that made me go !!!!!! on the inside while I was creating too – and I want to know what moves you.

What reaches into the soil of your being and nourishes you enough to blossom into whichever lovely self you can grow to be? What is precious to you? What comforts you in the dark nights of your soul, when all light feels like it’s faded out? What do you love, truly love? What feeling and thought and idea and love love LOVE do you consume – truly consume, head to tail, no takebacks – and what are you consumed by in turn?

Let me connect with you. Let me know the little internet scraps of you that tell me you’re a DeMarco girlie, or that you’re here for Hoosier only, or that you’re as feral and batty about Speirs as I am, or that you actually really can’t stand the one dude everyone else raves about. Let me know that you like angsty quotes on gifsets – feel free to yell at me for making you schedule an impromptu therapy session – or let me know you saw what I did in my fic there and you’ll be demanding compensation from me while you lie down and wail about it. Let me know you’re very into those lovely blues on a gifset (I know, SO good, right??) or that you are side-eyeing me because that close-up of your fave turned you into a little puddle.

Let me know what moves you, because I created these things with love. I created them because they moved me, too. I created them because I have a story to tell, somehow. I created them because the whole world is a string of stories and I want to pass the heart of them on to you. I created them not because I want to jump on a hypetrain that races past all the episodes and all the alternate universes and all the stories without stopping, but because I want to soak up the sun and point at something and tell you “look, isn’t this beautiful?”. I created them not because I am looking for a quick fix or a distraction or an escape, but because I want to give you something that nourishes you as it has nourished me.

That’s so much more than that quick flash in the pan, yeah? That’s so much more than what content could ever hope to be. That’s something that lasts beyond the clicks and gives you an ever-expanding horizon that leaves you wondering just what in the world is next.

Let me repeat point five: if all a fandom puts out is classified as content, that fandom is going to die. Because content doesn’t sustain you. Connection does. And connection? That happens with meaningful interaction. That happens when you stop getting followers and start getting friends. That happens when you treat all forms of art as something unique that can be precious to someone, rather than something to like today and forget about tomorrow.

Can I do a lil mic drop? Yeah. I think I’m gonna. Just this once. 🎤

[occasionally-good-ideas]

Amity Park

It’s been three years since the portal opened in amity, and since then the people have changed. ‘Liminal’ is what most people call it ‘death touched’ has also been thrown around. It made the people, the kids mostly, different, faster, stronger, higher endurance, almost silent, sensitive hearing.

to them it was normal, and besides! being able to run full speed for long distances was useful when your town was constantly under attack, and extra strength and agility is great for games!

Ever since the town got yoinked into the ghost zone amity’s had its own electricity and plumbing systems, the world outside the town doesn’t hear from the folks inside, and the people inside just don’t need to talk to outsiders, what would they even talk about anyway?? School? They don’t have ghosts, or the same standards! The weather?? ‘Hey did you feel that ecto-storm last night? I couldn’t sleep till it died down at 4!!’ Nope, definitely not the weather.

But this isolation forged a close community in the town, they were all in this together and they all knew it. Working parents, little kids and rebellious teens, when it came down to it they all had each others backs

The teens ecpetionaly bonded through CHAOS!! Pranks and sceems targeted at each other and the mayor, games of Extreme Tag (which was like a mix of tag, parkour, and the occasional gun) were the norm for the youth of amity park.

Shouting and laughter followed them as the kids ran up walls, across rooftops and through the streets and alleys of amity. For normal kids they would tire themselves out in three hours TOPS, but this is Amity, and the kids here are anything but normal. A single game could go from sunrise to sunset without even a water break, ‘if you’re thirsty get water. Just don’t get caught’ and who would back down from a challenge like that??

One summer they decided to do their own version of the hunger games, half in the woods on the outskirts of town and all through the streets, it was all fair game.

They built their own bases, going home was forfeiting, from holes in the ground to multi story lairs of wood and rubble. Food was foraged or stolen, if you got caught? Youre out, if you got tagged with paint (or otherwise incapacitated) you’re out. trust at your own risk. it goes till the last man standing.

Friendships were made and broken, old enemies became trusted allies, teens found love in the heart of battle and even more found the thrill of the hunt, the satisfaction of seeing your enemy fall and emerging victorious in the face of all odds.

It went on for a straight month before the parents had to band together to bring their kids home.

The Games were over, but no one forgot them, the high of adrenaline and Victory was one they could chase, and in the case of the towns sports coaches, one they could profit from.

The Amity Park Ravens became infamous for their endurance, their strength and speed, but mostly, their bloodlust, they were ruthless. Word of them spread through schools like a legend, the unbeatable, almost inhuman nature of them.

Outside of games they were always easy going and good sports about the competition, but on the field? Where Outsiders had to face off against dozens of amity parkers dead set on victory?

They were only whispered of with one name.

The Unkindness 

TLDR- amity park kids take competition WAY too seriously and they end up scaring the shit out of the whole public school sports program 

They also did a diy hunger games and I WILL read anything anyone makes about that bit (please tag me)

[deathlessathanasia]

Hi, I recently saw someone use the quote "Proserpine [Persephone] reclaimed cares not to follow her mother" from Virgil's Georgics to claim that, well, Persephone did not in fact care for Demeter, and this may be because english is not my first language and I'm misunderstanding the full quote, but like, I read the full quote, it is: "whatever you [Cesar] are to be (for Tartarus hopes not for you as king, and may such monstrous lust of empire never seize you, though Greece is enchanted by the Elysian fields, and Proserpine reclaimed cares not to follow her mother)" and to me it really sounded like Virgil saying "in case this incredible absurd things happened, I do not wish for that to happen to you" Just like it would be weird for the Elysian fields to be in Greece rather than the underworld. Again, English is not really my first language so I may be misunderstanding the quote and the other person was right that it was supposed to claim Persephone cares not for her mom

„and you too, Caesar, who, in time, will live among a company of the gods, which one’s unknown, whether you choose to watch over cities and lands, and the vast world accepts you as bringer of fruits, and lord of the seasons, crowning your brows with your mother Venus’s myrtle, or whether you come as god of the vast sea, and sailors worship your powers, while furthest Thule serves you, and Tethys with all her waves wins you as son-in-law, or whether you add yourself to the slow months as a Sign, where a space opens between Virgo and the grasping claws, Even now fiery Scorpio draws in his pincers for you, and leaves you more than your fair share of heaven): whatever you’ll be (since Tartarus has no hope of you as ruler, and may such fatal desire for power never touch you, though Greece might marvel at the Elysian fields, and Proserpine, re-won, might not care to follow her mother), grant me a fair course, and agree to my bold beginning, pitying the country folk, with me, who are ignorant of the way: prepare to start your duties, and even now, hear our prayer.” - Georgics: 1.24-42

The idea (as I understand it) is that the emperor is invoked as a future god and Vergil suggests several possible functions for him: an agrarian god, a god of the sea, a sky god, but not the ruler of the underworld even though the Elysian fields are marvelous and Proserpina doesn't want to come back from there.

Vergil definitely seems to be reworking the myth here and diverges from the traditional narrative on purpose: „Ancient commentators recognized that Proserpina's refusal to return was contra historiam (Probus, ad I.39). Servius (ad I.39) says it is Vergil's invention. The anonymous Brevis Expositio (p. 2I3 Thilo, v. III) adds that Ceres made a vain assault upon the Underworld in the attempt to retrieve her daughter, who refused to return pro loci amore.” - Patricia A. Johnston, Eurydice and Proserpina in the Georgics. Another article that discusses Vergil's Proserpina/Persephone and touches a little on this passage from the Georgics is Nondum Proserpina abstulerat: Persephone in the Aeneid.

Anyways, this idea is still anomalous (though something similar appears in one or two other Roman texts) and I wouldn't take seriously any generalizing claim about Persephone and her relationship with her mother based solely on this source. It is however a much more solid basis for these super popular modern interpretations of the myth than that alleged "original", "pre-patriarchal" version which some like to bring up in discussions, but I guess "My interpretation is based on Vergil and Lucan" sounds less cool and special than "My interpretation is actually how the myth originally went, you fool!"

[samantha-and-nellie]

i finally read “the lilac tunnel: my journey with samantha” (shoutout to @cannon-memely for letting me know that i should actually take the time to check it out!) and i have Thoughts. full reactions from reading it under the cut

to preface this (since there is going to be a tiny bit of snark and general silliness), i did overall have a good time reading this book! i have some qualms with the storylines they chose to put in there, but i do think that the journey books are one of the smarter moves they made during the beforever era. i remember really loving the “you choose” history books as a kid, and i think the interactive component is appealing and generally a great way to keep children engaged. i could absolutely ramble on more about historical fiction for children, but let’s just jump into my (semi-chaotic) thoughts about “the lilac tunnel.”

first of all, FASCINATING that samantha apparently has a swing at grandmary’s house, since i’m pretty sure that it’s never mentioned in the original books. do we think it was lydia and gard’s, or do we think gard (or even hawkins) put it up for sam?

samantha’s got ORPHAN SYNDROME and she’s got it bad

okay. this is probably my main gripe with this book, but having this book set pre-nellie (and thereby having on option to essentially be nellie but under grandmary’s employment???) is bizarre af

on the flip side, the fact that nellie isn’t around really highlights how lonely samantha is, and i think we all know that I’m SOOOO normal when it comes to themes of grief and loneliness in samantha’s stories

WHY TF DOES EDDIE HAVE SUCH A LARGE ROLE IN THIS STORY. DEAR GOD PUT HIM BACK WHERE HE CAME FROM

elsa??? having a prominent role in a samantha story??? what sorcery is this???

yeah, super duper excited to have it reinforced that samantha is ready to accuse servants of stealing so long as they aren’t the servants that she likes

i think we’ve all had nightmares in which eddie ryland appears

samantha having an understanding of the fact that she’s transgressing by being friendly with a servant girl when this book is set prior to her relationship with nellie makes me wonder how much child workers she has tried to befriend /hj

saint louis fair mention for the movie girlies:)

i wonder if the description of grandmary’s outfit on page 30 is meant to be a reference to this dan andreason illustration of her?

the magic lantern show is really cute:) (might be thinking about writing fanfic of this but with nellie…)

samantha being shorter than the protagonist of this story after being the tall one with nellie is honestly pretty funny. smol bean samantha

awwwww gard and cornelia

HEY HEY HEY 

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

BEFOREVER I’M ABOUT TO THROW HANDS

anyways, apparently we need to re-traumatize samantha with near-drownings at every chance we get:) this is not messed up at all:)

guess we better pretend like that never freaking happened

… okay the locket origin story is pretty cute

this book has such insane emotional whiplash. what do you MEAN one piney point storyline is about nearly drowning and the other is about a moonlight swim with cornelia?!?

someone should really draw fanart of samantha wearing the protagonist’s capris (big bow and all)

tbh, kinda confused by the bike plot line in this story, cause didn’t they incorporate the bicycle short story into the main beforever books?

new career path dropped for samantha, folks! (medical field)

mmm the fear about illness is getting a little too relatable here

i love how much dress up there is in this book:) literally would’ve rocked my world as a child

not the ENTIRE RYLAND CLAN coming over for dinner. a formal dinner with eddie actually sounds so horrific

… guess that’s the note we’re ending on for me. thanks for reading my rambles, and feel free to let me know if there’s other journey books i should check out in the future!

[snowbellewells]

Self Promo Sunday: "The Belle Dame Emma"

This short MC fic was my @cssns21 entry, and I tried my hand at a fae version of Emma and a knight version of Killian with it. It took a fair amount of inspiration from the classic Keats poem "La Belle Dame sans Merci", the lines at beginning and end of the chapters are from the poem, as well as from my desire to explore the Dark Swan idea from a different angle, with more of Emma's fighting back against those tendencies as we saw at first. At any rate, as I am going back through my @cssns contributions, I was excited to find this one next. I hope you will enjoy this if you didn't see it back then, and even if you did, maybe you will enjoy it again...

Summary: Legend has it that the fae woman in the meadow will ensnare any who dare enter her domain, but the knight who chances a meeting can tell there is more to the story than superstition and gossip has allowed. The path to the truth and redemption may be fraught with dangers - to the both of them - but is it not the sworn duty of a true knight to help any who may be in need?

**Thanks a million once more to @caught-in-the-filter who made the gorgeous cover art for this fic! I absolutely love it! **

{Also available on AO3, if that is your preference}

by: @snowbellewells

Part One

I met a lady in the meads,

Full beautiful - a faery’s child,

Her hair was long, her foot was light,

And her eyes were wild.

Some folks say that she was always malevolent. Born to beguile and lure the unworthy to their doom. The fae, after all, were not to be trifled with, and those who dared do so learned their lesson at high cost.

The whispers around the fog-wisped edges of her meadow haunt, the word spoken as warning with anxious glances over the shoulder, was that her beauty was matched only by her fury. That she was possessed with a thirst to punish those who would be lured by her fair form and bewitching song. Those who were wise came to skirt wide around those fallow fields in that sparsely populated corner of the kingdom, for it was said that even those of stoutest resolve and pure intentions found this powerful nymph - be it by her face alone or some magic she wielded to draw them into her web - nigh impossible to resist.

Some retellings of her legend had her thrown from the sparkling court of the fair folk for her cruel and deviant nature. Others claimed she possessed more power and magic than any single faery had before her, and it had simply been too much - bending her better nature into madness. Still other storytellers would paint her more as a tragic sacrifice. The Fae Folk must have one who punished those unworthy of their own kind, as well as the humans who got too close to discovering their kingdom’s gates or who would dare to upset the fragile balance of peace between the two species - who might dare to think themselves equal to, and attempt to win the heart of, a faery. She was simply the one chosen to mete out these judgements. A Guardian and a Gatekeeper, as it were.

And though there is often a grain of truth to any rumor, very rarely do such stories paint their characters as they truly are. Not in full. And the ballad of awe and fear told of the beautiful, but deadly, lady Emma - La Belle Dame Sans Merci - was just such a tale. The whispers bore fragments of reality, but could not explain it all. Though she was not blameless, she was not completely lost. Perhaps there only needed to be some small spark of light, some reason for her to look within for any shred of mercy she might still possess.

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~

The wind rushed across his forehead, lifting the strands of his dark hair from his heated skin pleasantly and ruffling his steed’s mane before dancing on to bend the grasses along the quiet roadside and tug at the leaves on nearby trees. It was a pleasant morning to be about, though the way seemed strangely untraveled since his turn-off at the last crossroad. Killian Jones, knight-at-arms, found he didn’t truly mind the peacefulness and lack of fellow travelers, enjoying the sounds of breeze and birdsong and mulling his own thoughts. Though adventure, daring battle, and quests of honor made his blood pound with vigor, causing excitement to tingle in his nerve endings and a sense of fulfillment in being where he was needed and doing what he must flooded his being, he could admit if only to himself on this placid afternoon, that he sometimes still wondered if there was more.

He certainly did not wish to change his profession. He would never be happy as a blacksmith, farmer, or tradesman; anything so mundane, necessary as those roles were, would never satisfy him for long. And yet, he had begun to feel the weight of many battles, the lives he had held in his hands, and the blood he could sometimes still see behind closed eyelids, had begun to haunt him. If there was always another fight, another enemy to vanquish, more violence and death and Darkness, were they making any difference? Was a glimmer of the light they fought for shining through, or were they merely treading water, waiting to be subsumed?

It was what had brought him to this quiet roadside meadow alone, rather than back on the high road with his fellows, moving on to the next castle and the next foe they needed to vanquish. He had called out that he would rejoin them further down the road; it was not unusual for one of them to split off on some personal venture from time to time. It was a life of constant movement, never truly being at ease or settling anywhere, and yet it made sense that sometimes one would need to pause, linger, and think for a moment where it was still and inviting enough to do so.

Killian knew he had traveled in this corner of the kingdom before - though it had been some time back. He did not remember the way this road had curved and twined, becoming narrowed and more removed from the larger surroundings as it followed a trickling brook along its way. The sounds of the village some miles back now, of other travelers whom he had not seen for some time, even the rustling of leaves and grasses and the twittering of the birds seemed to fade. A stillness encircled him such as he had never experienced before. It might have been unnerving if he had not been seeking quiet and peace to think, answers for the questions that troubled him. His mount danced fitfully on occasion, tossing his shaggy black head as if ill at ease, but Killian found he was too entranced, too breathlessly curious to turn back now. Plus, Shadow was a spirited animal and his fitfulness did not truly alarm his rider. There was a reason only Killian seemed able to handle him. 

The brooke, and the path following it, both turned again sharply, and Killian ducked to ride under the low-hanging branch of a tree, and when he sat back up in his saddle once more, the sight around that bend brought him up short. The creek came to a stop at last, running into a still pond, dark and motionless, and on the far side of the pond was some sort of cave, its mouth wide open as if beckoning those brave enough to explore. Flowers grew strewn through tall grasses, and all of it was waving soundlessly in the breeze like a beckoning sea.

Again, Killian found he was almost mystified by his own impulse to dismount and come closer. To seek out every secret corner of this meadow hideaway. He knew well enough not to venture into dark and unknown caves and underground passages, and yet the pull was nigh irresistible. He stood in wonderment, taking it all in as he stroked Shadow’s nose, soothing the restless gelding.

“What is it, lad?” Killian murmured to his horse, scratching behind its ears and trying to keep a firm grip on the reins as the creature continued to shuffle and toss its head.

Suddenly, the knight sensed he and his steed were no longer alone, a strong scent of apple blossoms and sweet honey stirred on the breeze and a chill ran over his skin, making the small hairs on his arms stand on end.

A dulcet, hypnotic voice spoke on the horse’s other side, a delicate feminine hand stroking over the animal’s nose caused Shadow to calm instantly. “Perhaps,” it offered subtly, “he knows something you do not.”

Killian had never known Shadow to gentle for anyone else; the creature rarely grew that still even for him, and the chill which had run through him a moment before now shivered down his spine. “And what might that be?” he questioned stoutly, not allowing any of his trepidation to show in his tone. “And who are you and what might you know of it?”

A form so fair, so ethereally bright and beautiful that he knew immediately she must be more than human, stepped into view from the other side of his horse. Long, glowing golden hair hung to her waist, twined with buttercups and bluebells, her feet were bare and gracefully shaped, her eyes a verdant green he wanted to fall into like a thick carpet of clover and grass, and the slight tilt of her voluptuously shaped pale pink lips somehow seemed to hint she already knew she had entranced him. The lady who had materialized there in the meadow at his side was breathtaking; her smile serene and inviting, her voice low and melodic, drawing him to lean in closer to hear what she would say next.

“Do you not hear strange tales of this place, warning travelers to be on their guard?” she tilted her head slightly, studying him as if bemused.

“I am a knight of the Realm, milady,” he replied, “Sworn to go where others may fear to tread, to protect the helpless and vanquish dangers wherever they might be. Seldom am I in one place long enough to hear all the local legends and superstitions, but even so, I would not let such talk turn me from my duty.”

That pale, lovely face continued to meet his own gaze head-on, not doubting, but merely watching as if weighing his response and gauging the sincerity of his words. Humming lightly to herself, she stepped away from him and Shadow, turning towards the pond’s smooth surface, almost as if taking for granted that he would follow.

Killian found to his chagrin that he had blindly followed two strides in her wake before realizing he had done so. Glancing back over her shoulder with arched brow and genuine question in her tone she asked, “Your duty brought you here then?”

Dipping his chin slightly toward the metal armor that covered his chest, Killian offered her a slight show of respect. He was not sure just where he had wandered, if he was trespassing on some royal land and this was some trick to ensnare him in wrongdoing, if he had wandered into some sort of enchanted space and she was a siren risen from the depths, or perhaps she was their next evil wizard or monster to fight, taking on a disguise of fair form to spy upon them and learn their weaknesses. As much as he felt a pull toward her and wanted to stay there speaking with her, there was at the same time a warring sense of unease in his being. The day was wearing on, he had yet to make arrangements for the night, and he had given his word to find his fellows once more as well.

“That I do not yet know,” he finally replied. “I broke off from a larger company at the last bend in the road. This meadow was so peaceful and inviting, and I suppose curiosity led me further as much as anything.”

For a time neither spoke, and Killian noticed for the first time that all other sounds had ceased as well. The rustling of the leaves and grasses, the birdsong and the plash of the brook into the larger pool were all muted; every bit of their surroundings gone strangely still. He knew it impossible, but for a moment it seemed as if he were frozen in a still life, unmoving, unblinking, like a statue carved in stone.

The beautiful vision stared into the water silently, so long and so deeply he wondered if she had forgotten his presence. Killian did not know whether to address her further or to turn and go, nor was he certain that his feet would move to turn from her if he did attempt to leave.

As eerily still as all was around him, he felt more concern in that instant that he had upset her, troubled or disturbed her somehow with his presence or his answers to her questions. Urging Shadow forward, he came to stand beside the mysterious lady once more, reaching out a hand meant to soothe or comfort.

But before he could make contact she whirled to meet him, her face a mask of pained struggle, her eyes wide and alarmed and so much darker than the jeweled green they had been before. Her voice was harsher, rough as she screeched for him to stand back, to get away from there. He didn’t understand the transformation, but he could see she was nearly vibrating with tension, trembling as if some force wanted to burst from her and she could scarcely hold it back. What had been a gentle breeze now howled about them, and the still pond was whipped into choppy waves. Killian stumbled back, dumbstruck, uncertain what was happening.

The idyllic beauty of his surroundings and the pleasant stranger before him had been changed instantaneously. None of the calm tranquility or gentle smiles which had lured him further in lingered now, and the enthralling vision before him now radiated tension and warning, her voice still rasping as if dragged over glass, saying that he must flee, she could only hold back so long.

Nearly as confused as he was alarmed or frightened, Killian shook his head, anxious to clear it of the doubt swirling through - had he imagined everything before? Or was he imagining things now? The anguish on that fair brow was enough to send him away for the moment, the pale maiden well on her way to enchanting him looked stretched to her limits, beseeching him to leave while he was still able. The chilvalrous knight he was fought against leaving such a one in pain or distress, but he also knew that he did not understand the situation, did not know all that was needed to act wisely.

And so, reluctantly, he swung up into Shadow’s saddle, his steed at least feeling no qualms about leaving. The beast tossed his head and wheeled to gallop off at the first mere prodding, hide quivering as he carried his rider back the way they had come in haste.

Killian, for his part, felt compelled to look back. For a moment, he could still see her form, curling in on herself slightly as she seemed to double over, and growing ever smaller in his view. The whole vista seemed to waver, partially obscured by a rising haze, until he could not have pointed out exactly where it had been.

Soon after, Shadow had carried them back to the main road, and Killian urged him to turn back onto it, to once more find his fellows, quite possibly in the next small village. Yet, though he appeared safely back on course, Killian could not forget what he had seen and heard… haunted by the face of the troubled maiden.

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~

The faery, Emma, sagged in relief as the knight finally rode from view. She was breathlessly grateful for the mist which rose up from the surface of the pool, and the very air itself, now heavy and charged and hiding her from view, where before it had been so fresh and light with Spring. No wonder the man had been drawn to the small oasis. With the flowers and cool breeze and sparkling waters, her hidden grotto was made to be inviting, dangerously appealing. As was she herself - in form and face - or so she had been told when the curse was placed upon her.

Sinking to her knees in the tall grass, the thin blades and the faces of the daisies both brushed her skin if trying to offer comfort, Emma panted rapidly in effort to regain her breath. She had managed to hold it back, the dark power which had been twined with the natural light fae magic inside her. Her song, once capable of brightening skies, coaxing plants to blossom, and raising spirits that were broken or bowed, now would ensnare and entwine those same lost souls who might cross her path, draining them and never allowing them to leave.

One solitary tear slipped down her cheek as her breathing calmed and she contemplated the change wrought upon her being against her will. It kept her even from her own kind; loved ones who might ease the hurt and loneliness. For she did not know for certain if they were immune to the strange siren call she had been infected with, and she could not bear to risk such folly. It was horrifying enough to have almost trapped and harmed the handsome stranger who had stumbled upon her hideaway, but she would not surve being the death of one she loved.

Sadly, Emma finally managed to stand again, making her way slowly back to the mouth of the cavern where she spent so much of her time hidden away from the trees and flowers, the sunshine and fair breezes and springtime that she loved for fear of her curse withering it all and destroying others who wandered near, appreciating the same beauty of which she had once been the caretaker. Folly it had been to venture out today, and yet she had been unable to help herself, needing to see and smell and touch the bounty she had been denied. Then it had seemed the knight had just appeared.

Those eyes… a new sort of pang in her heart twinged at the reflection. They had been so blue, searching and deep, as pristine and sparkling as the waters before her and seeking to understand as if he sensed her pain. What an idea! Emma shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the frail hope. That could lead nowhere but disaster for the both of them. A proud, strong young life cut down for no reason if he did return. She was not sure exactly how her powers would snare him in thrall, drain him of life, only that the dark and twisted caster had proclaimed it would be so. She had managed to hold the welling of destructive energy she could feel rising within herself until the man had gone. And normally she managed to stay hidden well enough, removed from all others, that she did not chance unleashing it.

What had drawn her to this one? Caused her to show herself? Why had it almost seemed as if the knight could sense something was wrong? She did not know, and it troubled her, but there was no one to ask for advice. Quite possibly no answers to be had at all. She knew no other faery who had been punished in such a manner.

Turning to slink back into her cavern, Emma’s shoulders slumped. She certainly couldn’t risk being seen again this day; her strength was far too diminished to fight the poison surging to escape if any other hapless being discovered her. Such a horrible, unending punishment, for an unknowing, well-intended mistake, her spirit railed fruitlessly once again. How could she have known that bestowing her innocent heart in love would bring her here?

I made a garland for her head,

And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;

She looked at me as she did love,

And made sweet moan.

Tagging a few who might enjoy: @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @laschatzi @whimsicallyenchantedrose

@jrob64 @apiratewhopines @anmylica @xarandomdreamx @booksteaandtoomuchtv

@donteattheappleshook @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @tiganasummertree @optomisticgirl

@spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @stahlop

@xsajx @bluewildcatfanatic @kday426 @superchocovian @jonesfandomfanatic

@motherkatereloyshipper @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @lfh1226-linda @linda8084

@winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @darkcolinodonorgasm @myfearless-love @undercaffinatednightmare

@belovedcreation @ultraluckycatnd @drowned-dreamer @ineffablecolors @goforlaunchcee

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Horsey

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 4, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Dec 05, 2024

In 1883, as the Republican Party moved into full-throated support for the industrialists who were concentrating the nation’s wealth into their own hands while factory workers stayed above the poverty line only by working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, Yale sociologist William Graham Sumner responded to those worried about the extremes of wealth and poverty in the country with his book What Social Classes Owe to Each Other.

Sumner concluded it was unfair that “worthy, industrious, independent, and self-supporting” men should be taxed to support those he claimed were lazy. Worse, he said, such a redistribution of wealth would destroy America by destroying individual enterprise. Sumner called for a “laissez-faire” world in which those who failed should be permitted to sink into poverty, and even to die, to keep America from becoming a land where lazy folks waited for a handout. Such people should be weeded out of society for the good of the nation.

Republicans echoed Sumner’s What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, concluding, as he did, that the wealthy owed the lower classes nothing. Even though “his views are singularly hard and uncompromising,” wrote the New York Times, “it is difficult to quarrel with their deductions, however one may feel one’s finer instincts hurt by their apparent cruelty.”

In contrast to those who believed government should stay out of economic affairs so individuals can amass as much wealth as they can, others looked at the growing extremes of wealth, with so-called robber barons like Cornelius Vanderbilt II building a 70-room summer “cottage” while children went to work in mines and factories, and concluded that the government must try to hold the economic playing field level to give everyone equal chance to rise to prosperity.

Prevailing opinion in the U.S. has seesawed between these two ideologies ever since.

In the Progressive Era, members of both major parties and other upstart parties turned against Sumner’s argument, working to clean up cities, establish better working conditions, provide education, and regulate food and drugs to protect consumers. After World War I, Republicans led a backlash against those regulations and the taxes necessary to pay for their enforcement. In October 1929 the unregulated stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression.

From 1933 to 1981, Americans of both parties came to agree that the government must regulate the economy and provide a basic social safety net, promote infrastructure, and protect civil rights. They believed such intervention would stabilize society and prevent future economic disasters by protecting the rights of all individuals to have equal access to economic prosperity.

Then in 1981, the country began to back away from that idea. Incoming president Ronald Reagan echoed William Graham Sumner when he insisted that this system took tax dollars from hardworking white men and redistributed them to the undeserving. In a time of sluggish economic growth, he assured Americans that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” and that tax cuts and deregulation were the way to make the economy boom.

For the next forty years, lawmakers pushed deregulation and tax cuts, privatization of infrastructure, and cuts to the bureaucracy that protected civil rights. Those forty years, from 1981 to 2021, hollowed out the middle class as about $50 trillion moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.

When he took office in January 2021, President Joe Biden set out to reverse that trend and once again use the government to level the economic playing field, returning the nation to the proven system of the years before 1981, under which the middle class had thrived. His director of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, began to break up the monopolies that had come to control the economy, while new rules at the Department of Labor expanded workers’ rights to overtime pay, and the government worked to expand access to healthcare.

Under Biden and the Democrats, Congress passed a series of laws to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Those laws used federal money to start industries that then attracted private capital—more than $1 trillion of it. According to policy researcher Jack Conness, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are already responsible for more than 135,000 of the 1.6 million construction and manufacturing jobs created during the Biden administration.

As Jennifer Rubin noted in the Washington Post today, “It is stunning, frankly, that the most successful and far-flung private-public collaboration in history—one that is transforming cities, states and regions—has gotten so little coverage from legacy media. It may be the most critical government-driven initiative since the GI Bill following World War II.”

“[T]he widespread benefits derived from this massive undertaking—for individuals, communities, national security and government itself (through increased tax revenue)—demonstrate how far superior this approach is to trickle-down economics, which slashes taxes for the rich and big corporations,” Rubin continued. “With the latter, the tax savings for corporations go to everything from stock buybacks to increased compensation for CEOs to foreign investment,” while “the cost of the tax cuts runs up the national debt at a much greater rate than a public-private approach…. Republicans deliver temporary stimulus and wind up with more debt and more income inequality.”

But in 2024, voters elected Donald Trump, who promised to reject Biden’s economic vision and resurrect the system of the years before 2021 in which a few individuals could amass as much wealth as possible. Just ten days after the election, a Texas judge overturned the Biden administration’s overtime pay rule, permitting employers to cancel the raises they gave their employees to comply with that rule.

The change in ideology is clear from Trump’s cabinet picks. While the total net worth of the officials in Biden’s Cabinet was about $118 million, Laura Mannweiler of U.S. News and World Report noted, a week ago she estimated the worth of Trump’s roster of appointees to be at least $344.4 billion, more than the gross domestic product of 169 countries. That number did not include his pick for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, whose net worth is hard to find.

Today, Trump added another billionaire to his roster, picking entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the next administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Isaacman is a close ally of billionaire Elon Musk, who aspires to colonize Mars. In a post on X after the announcement, Isaacman vowed to “usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.”

To free up capital for such ventures, Trump’s team has promised more business deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Today, Trump tapped Paul Atkins, who has called for looser regulation of cryptocurrency, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins is expected to roll back the financial regulations initiated by his predecessor.

Trump has also vowed to cut the post–World War II government far more than anyone before him has done. He has put Musk and billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE); Musk proposes to cut $2 trillion out of the $6.75 trillion U.S. budget. How he would accomplish this is hard to imagine, since most of the budget is “mandatory” spending already baked into the budget, and much of that is Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. During the campaign, Trump promised he would not cut these very popular programs.

One of the things that constitute “discretionary” spending—which must be renewed every year—is veterans’ benefits, and yesterday Jeff Schogol of Task and Purpose noted “a growing chorus” calling for cuts to Veterans Affairs disability benefits after The Economist on November 28 called disability benefits “absurdly generous.” Disabled American Veterans spokesperson Dan Clare pointed out that the U.S. was at war for twenty years—in Afghanistan for twenty and in Iraq for eight—increasing the VA budget. Since Congress passed the PACT Act, formally known as the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, in 2022, more than 1.2 million veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxics have been treated for resulting health conditions.

Today, Phil Galewitz of KFF Health News noted that nine states—Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia—have trigger laws to end their expansion of Medicaid if federal funding is reduced. As many as 3.7 million people in these states would lose healthcare coverage if these laws go into effect. Other states might then follow suit as lost federal money would have to be made up by the states.

On X this week, Musk commented that a thread by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) attacking Social Security was “interesting.” Yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Representative Richard McCormick (R-GA) suggested: "We're gonna have to have some hard decisions. We're gonna have to bring in the Democrats to talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. There's hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved, and we know how to do it; we just have to have the stomach to take those challenges on."

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[sincerely-sofie]

Do any of the future trio members have jobs? If not what jobs would they like working?

Dusknoir is the only one with an actual "job-job" where he leaves the house most days to accomplish tasks assigned to him by an employer. He works alongside Sheriff Magnezone and the magnemite deputies, and is usually entrusted with going after especially difficult outlaws. When there aren't any outlaws to apprehend and he's not occupied by some kind of disaster or other emergency, he goes on patrols around Fair Fields. As much as he fulfills the stereotype of your friendly neighborhood police officer, he's also kind of a problem-solving handyman. People can go to him for directions to different areas, help finding other people to do specific tasks for them / job openings (he knows a lot of folks around town and is basically a walking networking database), and all sorts of other things.

Grovyle isn't able to work a standard job— his old injuries finally culminated into chronic pain after that final fight with Primal Dialga left him extra battered, and there are days where he can barely survive sunbathing in the yard to help manage how bad everything hurts. He's the type of person who can't bear the thought of not pulling his own weight, despite how ridiculous the notion is and how frequently Dusknoir and Celebi both remind him of this, so he uses his skill in woodworking to make things that can be sold during events in town.

Celebi sees her existence as a full-time job, as she helps monitor the timeline for temporal distortions and is always on the clock doing so, but that's not really something you get a paycheck for. She's not interested in mortal occupations because she sees them as boring and drab, and is very baffled by why anyone would move past a bartering system of exchange in favor of physical currency. If she actually gave it a chance, I could see her really enjoying being the groundskeeper or landscaper for a botanical garden! She'd see it as a passion project more than she sees it as work, and she'd spend hours every day dreaming up ways to make the plants even more spectacular with every passing season.

After Bud becomes a member of the Future Trio household, she eventually grows up to become a caretaker at a nursing home-style facility :>

[lopsicle]

Writing is hard when your so full of tired sleepy

I got creative with the prompt and I’m not sure if this qualifies as a chase but oh well, I really like this one anyway

Flyer Derby

Tickletober Day 6: Chase

Fandom: The Owl House

Characters: Lee! Hunter, Ler! Emerald Entrails

Summary: Willow makes a bet with Hunter to see if he could beat the rest of his team. Shenanigans and hijinks ensue. (I love those words :3)

Warnings: Tickle Fic, light restraints at the end, not proofread.

——

It was becoming increasingly rare that the Emerald Entrails would have the chance to ever practice or play together, which was surprising. Their teammate, Hunter was literally living in the school now but most of them seemed nervous, like they were in the calm before the storm. The Day of Unity hung over them all, their worries about it only becoming worse as Hunter revealed it’s true nature to the rest of Hexside.

That was exactly why it was so important for them to just let loose even if it was just for a little while. Just one evening where everything would be okay, so they could actually experience the calm they’d been so desperate to receive.

This game would be a little different then all their other causal matches of Flyer Derby however. Willow had made a bet with Hunter, the reason unknown to him, maybe she just wanted to see how good of a player he was or just wanted to see him get tickled silly. The idea was Hunter would play against all four of his teammates, the catch being they were only allowed to touch him by tickling him so it was a little more fair, or unfair depending on how you view it.

Hunter, terribly flustered by the idea since he knew his own sensitivity, still accepted for whatever reason. Maybe he wanted to get tickled by Willow, or maybe he just wanted to show up his team in anyway he could. He was probably just too flustered to reject the idea entirely, barely able to word his agreement to her.

And now here he was, standing on the opposite side of the lengthy, trap filled pitch to all his friends, seeming pretty eager to wreck the poor blonde. Anticipation was threatening to plunge deep into his heart as he readied himself, not able to shake that light nervous feeling that buzzed in his mind. The Grimwalker had a tight grip on his staff, his cardinal Palisman sat motionless at the end. It was a bit reassuring to know at least one of his friends was on his side for this game.

‘Don’t you lot have a plan for this?’ Viney asked, leaning back on Puddles as she stroked the Griffin’s neck. ‘That guy is..well was the Golden Guard, do you really think we can just swoop it and steal a victory from him?’ She fretted, but wasn’t met with much worry.

‘Well, maybe we wouldn’t win against any other Golden Guard, but our one happens to be real ticklish, there’s no way he’ll be able to resist this!’ Willow smiled at Viney, placing a hand on her shoulder casually.

‘Oh, and go for his ribs, that’s a killer spot!’ Gus said loudly, making sure Hunter heard, making his cheeks already to a dark shade of red. He squeaked a little under his breath, already thrown off guard and just anticipated would what happen next. Flyer Derby was nerve wracking enough but mixing it with something as silly as tickling…he was just glad he didn’t have an audience, something he’d been fairly insistent on since he wasn’t fond of being tickled out in the open.

Gus then cast an illusion of himself, to act as a makeshift announcer to the centre of the field as the two teams stepped forward closer to the centre of the pitch.

‘The rules for this one are a little switched up to how we usually do it, folks,’ Gus’ illusion smiled widely, keeping his hands behind his back. ‘Hunter will be trying to steal our teams flags, and if he manages that, he wins the bet! Our team, the better team, can only interact with him by tickling him until he surrenders, which is when Willow will win the bet.’

‘If,’ Hunter said, ‘If Willow wins!’ He smirked, trying to alleviate some of his tension by getting competitive.

‘Good luck with that, blondie!’ Skara shouted from across the field, not wanting the opposing team to get the last word in. Hunter just made a ‘hmp’ sound, readying his staff to his side, while his eyes narrowed on the prizes in front of him. Four flags dangling on his friend’s staffs, all he had to do was grab them quickly and he’d be spared from the merciless tickling he was sure to be forced through in this game. I mean, he could handle that, right?

‘Three,’ Hunter hopped on his staff.

‘Two,’ He watched the other side do the same.

‘One!’ In a split second, all four of his friends had managed to split up in other directions, with Gus summoning a cloud of smoke just to make it even harder for him to keep track on who was who. Hunter gritted his teeth a little, feeling a little better now that the game had actually started, but still had the ever looming threat of tickling hanging over him.

The boy quickly took up in the air, his eyes were first set on Skara who seemed like the easiest to take out. Hunter quickly found himself following behind d the bard student, gaining on her at high speed. The girl squeaked as she realised she was a target, sourly regretting trying to get in the last word now.

Hunter waited until just the right moment, keeping all his focus on the flag in front of him, before blipping through the air with the help of his Palisman, grabbing Skara’s flag before she could even process what happened. Once she did though, she immediately plunged towards Hunter, not to regain her stolen item, no, she decided to be petty and tickle him for the Hell of it.

Skara’s nails scratched down from the back of Hunter’s knees down to his calves, making the poor blonde squeal as he kept his legs as still as possible, not wanting to let go of his staff. He sped up, just causing her nails to trail further down his leg, ending up at the top of his left boot which she managed to pry out, letting it fall to the ground.

Hunter huffed as he managed to get away, looking a little flustered now that he was more exposed but at least he was far away enough from Skara now. All he had to do was find the others and-

‘Gotcha!’ Viney yelled triumphantly, wrapping one arm around Hunter’s waist securely. The boy fell back on his staff a bit, having to lean against Viney’s side for support; a parasitic way of pinning someone.

‘Viney, no fair!’ Hunter whined, still trying to wriggle about in her grip but he was quickly shut up by a couple fingers scribbling against his tummy.

‘Oh hush, Hunter, we both know your loving this, you wouldn’t of agreed otherwise!’ The brunette smirked, snaking her hand around his back to squeeze at his sides, forcing him to crash into her even more.

‘N-nahahahaah, I dihihihhidn’t!!’ Hunter tried to protest but it was hard to take him seriously through all his cackling and the fact that his face was just getting redder and redder. Getting teased really threw Hunter off his game, it was like he couldn’t fit clearly when being tickled.

‘Coochie coochie coo, gigglebug!’

Unluckily for him, Viney caught onto this pretty quickly. The babyish teasing was almost too much for Hunter to bear as he felt his ears start to heaten from all the teasing. He curled his arms to his sides and wriggled about in her grip as much as he could but he just couldn’t get away from her.

‘Eheheheheheheh!’

Gasping, Hunter reached out to his Palisman, Flapjack, and let him return to his normal form, causing his staff to disintegrate right from under him. Hunter swiftly grabbed Viney’s flag as he began free falling, sticking his tongue out at her as Flapjack flew right back down to him, turning back into a staff as Hunter caught him.

‘Ha! I had no idea that would work!’ He smiled, repositioning himself on his staff as he quickly got back into flying around, not wanting Skara or Viney to catch up to him.

Now came the part he was dreading the most. Willow and Gus. Gus’ illusions could cause a real problem for him, he had to be checking just to make sure the flags he had caught so far were real and he was sure the boy was planning something. And Willow…was Willow. The boy had a crush on her for crying out loud, he’d shut down if she even got the chance to tickle him.

Luckily he wouldn’t have to find her, as Willow would find him first.

‘Oh, Hunter! Behind you!’ The girl sang, causing Hunter’s blush to immediately return as he shot around, though he saw Willow just standing there. Standing on her staff.

‘You should be more careful with your illusions, Gus.’ Hunter pointed out casually, immediately darting for ‘Willow’, feeling more confident now that he knew it was just a disguise. But, as he drew near, he failed to realise how well his friend’s mirages has developed as he had not only created an illusion of Willow to throw Hunter off but was concealed just a couple feet to the left of it. And when Hunter drew near, he pounced on him.

The boy jumped from his own staff to Hunter’s, letting his chameleon Palisman nestle up on his shoulders. With a crash landing, he immediately clung onto Hunter, a little scared he would fall.

‘Oh, come on, you totally stole my- mahahahahave!’ Hunter barked with laughter as his friend began squeezing his hips, making him yelp and jump all about. He did consider doing his staff disappearing trick that he used with Viney, but he didn’t want to hurt Gus, probably something the boy planned by jumping onto his staff. The only thing Hunter could really do was sit there and take it.

‘Come on man, just give in, you know you can’t beat me and Willow!’ Gus cooed from behind him, finally beginning to prod at those sensitive ribs of his, making Hunter Damm near shriek and madly thrash about on his staff.

‘EEEK!! WAIHAHAAHT, NAHAHAHA GUHAHAHAHAAHS!!’ Hunter nearly screamed in laughter, barely able to keep a hold of his staff. Gus gripped onto him a little tighter, not wanting either of them to get tipped off. Gus would keep at it, scribbling and scraping at Hunter’s ribs with no mercy and just when the blonde thought things couldn’t get worse, it did.

‘Your really doing a number on him, aren’t you, Gus?’ Willow giggled, flying down next to the sight of the two boys. She casually reached over and took back Hunter’s stolen flags.

‘NAHAHAHA FAIHAHAHAR!!’ Hunter bellowed with laughter, leaning hunched over on his staff to try and get his ribs away from his friend. In return, Willow wriggled her nails against the back of his neck, making him arch right back upwards.

‘Poor boy, I almost forgot you were THIS ticklish,’ Willow chuckled, prodding along one set of his ribs while Gus scratched at the other. Hunter, who had just lost all his progress and was now having his worst spot tagged team by two skilled lers, caved in almost immediately.

‘I SUHAHAHAHRRENDER!!’

With that, Gus hopped back on his own staff while Willow gently helped Hunter back down to the ground, it being a bit hard for the tickled out boy to fly.

‘You know, you handled all that really well! I mean, you managed to best two of our team members and looked good doing it! I’m proud of what you did today, Hunter!’

She smiled at him as the boy blushed more, his smile practically beaming.

‘T-thsnk you, Captain, that, uh, means a lot!’ Hunter cooed as he hopped off his staff, Willow next to him as the rest of the Emerald Entrails stood around them.

Though almost immediately as Hunter stood on the ground, two vines wrapped around his wrists and pulled them behind his back, beneath his shoulder blades. A couple more gently pulled him down onto his knees, all while Willow smirked at his confusion.

‘Don’t tell me you forgot our bet? I’m pretty sure we agreed that if you lost, I get to tickle you for ten minutes!’

Hunter’s whole face went beet red as Willow kneeled down across from him, his eyes wide with anticipation.

‘CAHAHAHPTAIN, NAHAHAHAHAHA!!’

—-

I am so shleepy

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Hey Reid, got an archaeology job question. I got my undergrad degree in archaeology but did something else for my master's. I really want to go back to the field on some digs, but so many field schools take only paying students, and shovel bum doesn't pay the bills. Any ideas on how I can go to digs and get paid something more reasonable without going back for an archaeology master's? I know there's not a lot of options like that but I crave the dirt again

Hi there,

I don't know that I'm the greatest person to ask about this, since my experience with archaeology is more in academia than the job market. But I'll do my best to answer, and then I'll tag some folks for their input.

I'll be honest, if you're not interested in shovel-bumming (totally fair, I'm not either), don't to pay for a field school (very valid, they're expensive!), and don't want to go back to school (grad school is exhausting) then your options might be limited to volunteer work. I know a couple of people who have been able to get their field schools paid for as research assistant-ships, but that was done through connections made during their undergrad degrees.

For paid work, if you want to make more than a shovel bum, I think you really do need that Master's. Many archaeologists go to grad school because it's the best way to make it a career long term. Perhaps @midden-maiden and @archaeo-geek can speak to that?

However! There are ways to be involved in archaeology that's not a full time job. Check out when/where the meeting is for your state's archaeological society, and show up. You may be able to find opportunities that way. Also, reach out to your professors from undergrad and tell them what you're interested in! I'd bet they'd be thrilled to hear from a former student.

If there's a big university near you, they might have an archaeology program. Maybe see if there's a way to take a few graduate level classes without fully committing to a degree? That way you can get your foot back in the door.

Finally, you can look for volunteer opportunities at museums. This probably won't be excavation work, but lab work and artifact processing are equally as important!

@midden-maiden, @archaeologysucks, @archaeo-geek, @buckets-of-dirt, @wafflelovingbatgirl, @audkitty and @archaeo-beard you guys come to mind, but anyone else with relevant experience is always welcome to chime in.

Best of luck, -Reid

[olderthannetfic]

It's not unusual for shitty authors to go after competition. Not even that rare to have really shitty bigoted reasons for it, kinda interesting to see one of these actually blow up. I've heard it mostly be handled internally by the publishing houses, agents and lawyers though, I didn't know the authors themselves are expected to intervene.

like so many are shocked rn abt smth like that happening, but I guess some ppl only get all their drama from big names opening the doors and don't know abt the rest of the times it happens. Queer stories regularly get review bombed by queerphobes. Queer stories getting review bombed by other queers. Pocs get review bombed by racists. Pocs review bombing other pocs happens a lot. Problematic stories getting review bombed by the book-version of antis and pearl clutchers. Authors top rating their books with sockpuppets or just asking friends and family to give full star reviews, pretty commonplace. Sending threats to publishers or reporting other authors. The publishing world is just filled with assholes, guess this time the stars aligned and ppl get to see one of the 1000s of times this happens regularly.

Guess racist white woman going bananas on X with fake screenshots and blaming her racism on her racism-meds and an imaginary friend, while her real friends joining is just more spicy than all the other situations. Fair tbh, racist going bananas blaming it on the racism-meds and imaginary friend is more exciting that most of the times I see it, most ppl are honestly kinda boring when they get caught. But it gets especially spicy when the receipts are publicized by THE [Name redacted]!!! Woohoo drama, this person is know for their hot hot youtube essays, let's go and watch this drama!!! Top rated influencer! Damn look at all that drama!!! Look at this spice! Choo choo coming through with the pathos folks! Woop woop. Not speaking against [redacted] but I think people can all agree that this situation only blew up because [redacted] has the social media presence they have, because otherwise it would've disappeared the same way all the other times these things happen in the publishing world. Probably dealt with internally sooner or latter, or not at all fuck if I know.

People wanna have a bit of current drama, be outraged, from seeing how drama happens in a different field. I'm anticipating that most the people reacting to it rn are gonna forget about it in a few weeks because it's not current enough. I do actually wanna see if people being angry right now, claiming they wanna support the debuts are actually going to buy the books when they do come out next year, or if it's just a reaction to "issue of the week". Would be cool for the debuts to get some extra sales, but who knows normally this publishing drama goes nowhere. TL:DR Just read the entire thing or don't. lol

--

It's not unusual, especially on Goodreads. This particular instance is a little juicier than some because a bunch of these people were friends in Reylo circles.

This isn't the only one to blow up though. They don't all make it to my tumblr, but they do often make it further than just behind publishers' closed doors.