#ALSO even though the show was canceled and is kind of sort of maybe up for getting another season if it does well

[robindaydream]

I just finished watching Scavengers Reign last night and what a fucking show. The most alien alien world I've ever seen in anything, but with a clear internal logic where everything fits together and feels like a real ecosystem. It's wonderful and beautiful and also contains every kind of body horror you can imagine and especially every kind of body horror you can't imagine.

It feels kind of funny to say this, but if I had to compare it to something, it actually feels very much to me like a grown-up version of Hilda.

Hilda is a show about a fantastical version of nature. People have a lot of superstitions about the various creatures and forces that Hilda encounters. Many of them are seen as pests to be scared off or dangerous monsters to be killed. But, whenever Hilda interacts with them, we come to realize that every creature in that show is either 1) just a different kind of people, or 2) just weird magical animals. That crucially doesn't mean none of them can be dangerous or that you don't need to be careful, but just that everything can be understood if you take the time, and most of it you can even make friends with!

Of course that's a pretty optimistic, kid's show friendly view of things. It's a very sweet show and a big part of the appeal is seeing Hilda befriend all kinds of strange things.

Scavengers Reign is a show full of horrors. It's an alien world with an alien ecosystem that humans just don't fit into. The show doesn't shy away from the fact that these creatures prey on each other. They parasitize each other (they especially do this). They live and die and new life grows in the remains. It at times feels like a nature documentary of an alien world, showing the beautiful and disturbing reality of the lives that these creatures live.

But despite all the scary and gross and dangerous things, they're still just creatures. Animals and plants and fungi and other much harder to classify things. And like anything else they can be understood, and you can learn how to avoid them or placate them or how to cure the wounds they inflict if that happens. And you can find uses for some of them too, ways you can adapt to this ecosystem and survive in it. It's a show about symbiosis in all the gory detail that entails. About adapting and growing and becoming something new. It doesn't shy away from the danger and horror of that but it doesn't shy away from the beauty and love of it, either. And despite everything I feel like the show is full of a sense of wonder and fondness for the setting.

But ANYWAY the point is that it's a really good show with a really unique setting and a unique perspective. It completely blew me away.

[slxtarchive]

𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. ᥫ᭡ 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬. you and chris have been best friends since you were younger but one night changes everything…

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭. would you be down to write about chris and the reader are best friends who hookup and he confessed that he wants them to be more? — anon

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 soft smut, loss of virginity, mentions of blood. 18+ mdni !

𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. this is part one of the request! the reason it took a while is because i wanted to get both parts out at the same time! hope you enjoy :)

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭. 2.2k+

PART 1. PART 2.

“you stayin’ the night tonight?” chris asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice. the nights where you stayed were his favorite because you’d both stay up for hours just talking and messing around. reminiscing and watching movies. your favorite thing to do together was binge-watch movies and shows.

“i gotta see because i have class in the morning.” you huffed. “he did say something about possibly canceling but he hadn’t said anything yet.”

“well, maybe you can still stay and if he doesn’t end up canceling then you can go and we can go out for lunch afterward. most of your stuff is here anyway.” he gestured to his closet. he was right. you practically had half of your wardrobe in his closet so there wasn’t a need to go back home and get anything. you even had your own toothbrush and shit.

“i mean, yeah sure. who knows maybe i can skip.” you said mischievously earning a laugh from him.

“yeah… like you’d skip.” he went to turn off his room like before lay down on his bed and turned on his bedside lamp.

“i would.” you stated, jumping onto his bed and falling down onto your back right next to him.

“you hardly ever skipped in high school! miss all straight a’s.” he rolled his eyes. “hardly ever did anything.. how do you say. bad girlish.”

“oh and you did so much?” you propped yourself up in your elbow to look toward him.

“i mean, i would skip and shit.” he shrugged. “but i also took care of my shit like grades n’lacrosse.”

“the only reason you skipped was because you were hooking up with that one girl. i forgot her name but she was so mean!” you scoffed at the mention of her.

“we never hooked up! we just made out in her car.” he defensively said.

“oh really? what about homecoming when she practically shouted to the whole world that you two had sex.” you raised your brows. “she’d even mimic how she sounded too. blech; she disgusted me.”

he furrowed his brows. “we never did anything. she tried to but i turned her away.” he stated.

“wait so you’re still a virgin? you didn’t even hook up with that other girl you were close with?” you looked down at your nails.

“nah.. i'm serious they kind of all creeped me out.” he shook his head. the news did sort of come as a shock to you considering all the talk you had heard in high school but in reality, deep down you knew that chris wasn’t like that.

“what about you though? you talked to that one guy..what was his name? caleb or something.” his nostrils flared.

“oh fuck that guy. he tried to do shit with me but he was so fucking weird i was like no thank you.” you waved off. “i always felt that he carried at least five fucking diseases on him.” you laughed earning one from chris too.

“wow, so we're both virgins. learn something new every day huh.” he said, his voice getting quieter.

you looked at chris with a smile on your lips feeling somewhat happy that no one’s gotten that part of him yet. when thinking about if they did or not you felt a jealous sting — like usual.

“yep.” you pursed your lips.

chris licked his bottom lip shamelessly staring at yours. he blinked slowly. “i’m glad no one got that part of you.. yet.”

“yet?” you asked, confusion laced in your tone. you studied his eyes, the only thing illuminating the room was the lamp on the table by his bed. the lighting highlights certain features of his face.

“do you want it to happen with someone you trust, y/n?” his breathing picked up. you could audibly hear it as the room was silent.

“i mean… id definitely hope so.” you said quietly. you hadn’t noticed how close chris got until his hand moved some hair out of your face. he wanted to be able to see your beautiful eyes and pink lips.

“yeah?” was all he said. the heat of his body was making its way toward yours. your stomach was twisting and turning. it was doing jumping jacks and was inhabited by butterflies.

“chris?” your voice pierced the silence; barely below a whisper.

“mm?” he responded, as he studied your face and the way your eyes glanced at his lips. that was all he needed to see before he leaned forward and connected your lips in a small kiss.

he started off slowly, not wanting to scare you. he wanted you to kiss him back. you were in shock. you let him kiss you for a few seconds before you started moving your lips along with his.

he pulled away once you started to kiss him back. you leaned forward trying to reconnect your lips but he pulled back with a grin. he then leaned forward, your lips connecting just slightly before he pressed them onto yours once again.

his hand came up to the back of your neck pulling you closer to him allowing him to deepen the kiss and fortunately for you — to take control.

the further he pressed, the more you were inclined to lean back causing you both to settle into a comfortable position where you were on your back and chris was on top of you.

you were addicted to the way he tasted. the way he sensually moved his lips with yours. the way when you both ran out of breath and had to pause chris couldn’t for long and was practically gripping your waist showing he wanted more.

this went on for minutes before he made the move to trail his soft kisses down your neck. your eyes fluttered open as if to try to differentiate whether you were dreaming or not — you weren’t. chris was 100% kissing down your neck, sucking lightly on your skin to mark you. his marks were closer to your collarbone but still not to where they won’t be visible.

chris was worried when he thought about how you might feel if he marked you up for people to see. in his dream world you wouldn’t mind it because they were from him but it was something you two would need to talk about; or at least he hoped.

the sweatshirt that you were wearing was getting in the way of his lips making a trail down further so he paused to ask, “can i take this off?” he said breathlessly — sounding like a total dream.

“mhm.” you responded, just as breathless as he was. you were so needy you took the action into your own hands as you sat up. he moved back to give you space before helping you with your sweatshirt.

you both took it off before you threw it aside. he stared down at you admiring your beauty. he got a weird feeling in his stomach. he didn’t know what it meant in the moment but he’d find out.

you wanted him to kiss you already so you pulled him by his shirt to connect your lips again. he moaned at the contact, starting to feel uncomfortable in his clothes around his lower area.

“you’re so beautiful.” he thought out loud against your lips.

you blushed resting your hands in his fluffy hair. “chris.” you whimpered very needy. you were fiddling with his shirt.

“yeah baby?” he let the name slip out. you liked it.

“need you.” you felt your arousal more than ever — it made wearing underwear uncomfortable.

“yeah?” he grinned lifting up your shirt. you took the gesture as a sign so you quickly took it off leaving you in your black bra. “how bad?” his voice was so soft and sexy. you wanted to hear it all the time.

“so bad.” you took your turn lifting up his shirt. he looked down watching you struggle. “cmon, please.” you begged lifting this shirt up more.

“okay okay.” he gave in and took his shirt off throwing it to the side. he then combed your hair back with both hands before grabbing your face pulling it toward him placing kisses all over your face. “always thought you were so pretty.” he murmured. he was drunk on you. on your taste.

“show me how pretty i am.” you trailed your hands up and down his chest. you stared at each other longingly before he connected your lips once more.

you both had another make-out session before you were on your back with him on top. he put on a condom he had pulled out from the depths of his closet and you both were ready.

“tell me if it hurts okay?” he wanted to make sure you both communicated. he wanted to make this memorable for you without hurting you too much. “i don’t know how long i’ll last, baby.”

“it’s okay it’s okay.” you murmured. “i’ll tell you if i need a break okay?”

he nodded kissing you once more before lining himself up. he gently pushed into you slowly groaning at how tight but smooth at the same time your pussy was. “fuck” he groaned at the same time you did.

“shit — ” you winced, the burn was like a kick to the stomach. “slow slow.” you repeated almost out of air.

“okay, baby im sorry. fuck.” chris hated seeing you in pain.

“just let me get used to it.” you breathed in and out. it was going to be okay. you would get used to him. is what you told yourself. well, you had hoped. he was a bit big.

time past and you and chris communicated until he bottomed out.

you had tears in your eyes as the stinging slowly went away. you felt so full. you couldn’t believe that your best friend's dick was inside you. he was full on inside you.

you opened your eyes that had been clenched shut to see chris holding back moans. he was biting his lip stopping himself from trying to move.

“okay, i think im ready.” you spoke up. he looked down at you and then at your bodies together.

“you sure?” he wanted to make sure that you weren’t accommodating to him.

“yes, im sure.” you nodded before connecting your lips again.

“m’gonna go slow,” he muttered against your lips earning a nod from you. he slowly started pulling out of you then pushing back in earning a loud whine from you. the sting was still there.

chris on the other hand was in a state of euphoria. he couldn’t believe this was happening. his sleek hair fell over his forehead as he was thrusting in and out of you slowly.

after a few times, he repeated his actions, and your pain started to form into pleasure. your mouth fell agape as you felt the first wave of pleasure make its way up your body. you felt chris hit a spot in you that had you going feral.

“h-holy fuck chris.” you gasped as one of his thrusts were particularly strong. he looked down at you with a concerned look on his face.

“mm — m’sorry sorry. just feels so good.” he whimpered, the noise sending you butterflies and chills throughout your body.

“faster.” was all you said as your hand was trailing over his back. you tried not to dig your nails in as he picked up his pace with a cheeky smile on his face but each thrust caused your nails to drag up his spine — knowingly giving him red marks. “so good. so good.” you repeated.

“god, i’m gonna fucking cum.” chris moaned, combing his hair back to allow you to see his expression for a split second. the picture was burned into your brain. chris was sweaty with his eyebrows furrowed. his lips red and irritated from the amount of times he’s bit them to hold back his moans. his eyes clenched shut because of the pleasure he was receiving.

the sight alone had the rubber band in your stomach on the brim of snapping. “chris… fuck chris. im gonna cum.” you cried as his thrusts got rougher by the second as he chased after his orgasm.

“go on, baby. let go for me, yeah? please, i need it.” he puffed out, winded. what really drove you to the edge was when chris reached a hand down toward your center and ghosted over your clit. he then brought his middle finger and ring finger to where you both were connected and collected the arousal from you both combined before slathering it on your clit and stimulating you at a rapid pace. your legs started shaking as you immediately felt yourself about to give in.

your eyes clenched as your hands grasped the sheets below you before arching your back — your orgasm hit you like a wave of intense euphoria. you let out a spurt of whimpers and moans. your own orgasm had chris’s following shortly.

“shit! oh my fucking god.” his hips stuttered as he tried to ride out his orgasm as best as he could which was tough because of how tight you were clenching him.

your chest ended up pressed against each other as he was laid on you, breathless and unable to move for a split second. there was only one thought that ran through chris’s mind when he came to his senses and that was ‘i’m in love with y/n.’

he had to find a way to tell you.

© slxtarchive

[jesuistrestriste]

hi i’m also a cancer 🫶🏼

anyways this isn’t a new thought on this site but art would get floaty when you praise him more than two times in a row. like it’s overrrrr cancel your plans he’s mush

on a sweet note he would love to match outfits/ color coordinated with you !

🌸

oh my gosh, art donaldson absolutely melts at praise. 100%. a few sweet whispered words in his ear, and he's gone. weak in the knees with a pounding heart !

while he does love when you praise him for mundane things (i.e., 'you always make such a good cup of coffee for me in the morning' or 'you look extra handsome today'), he loves to hear it most when he's getting touched or fucked or licked or bitten.

it's easy for him to let your affectionate words coax him into a quick orgasm. he does try to hold back, but it's extra hard when your lips brush the shell of his ear, or the nape of his neck, while you whisper things like:

"such a pretty boy for me"

"you feel so good inside me, art"

"oh my god, don't stop— your mouth is fucking amazing"

"you're fucking me so well, baby"

"you're a good boy"

the latter phrase is his personal favorite. maybe a bit cliche, but it always gets his cock throbbing and squirting immediately. he moans the loudest when the sound of those four words dance around in his head as he comes. he loves it.

you are always happy to indulge his pleas for praise, which almost always follow the same sort of verbal pattern:

"please, tell me im good" or "am i doing a good job?"

he likes to ask leading questions. ones that guide you to understand that he wants praise, without him having to ask for it directly. even though you two have been together for a while, and he knows that you know that he loves that kind of talk in the bedroom, he still goes pink in the cheeks and gets sweaty palms sometimes when he's tasked with asking for it. it's just his nature; something in his dna, maybe. he's a nervous little thing from time to time. and yet, he's usually so confident on the tennis courts. admittedly a confusing phenomenon at times.

in terms of the color coding, I think he absolutely loves to take you to his tennis events. the ones where you're expected to dress up. which is essentially all of them.

he'd see what color outfit you were planning to wear, and he'd match his tie to it every time. he liked being able to walk around the events and show people that you two were together. in some ways, it felt like he was showing people that you owned him. it wasn't like he was wearing a collar or anything like that, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel some stronger sense of devotion to you when he put in the extra effort to coordinate his outfit with yours. and he'd be lying if he said it didn't boil a soft heat in his gut.

[wander-wren]

sometimes i wonder about what fandom is going to look like in 5 or 10 years. i think we might have already started to see a shift.

because, look, most of the oldest, biggest fandoms are from tv shows and movies, in particular ones that go on for years and scores of episodes. star trek, star wars, stargate (is everything star?), doctor who, supernatural…even sherlock really got its biggest popularity boosts in the modern day from tv adaptations. marvel and dc were comics first, too, but movies made them more accessible; their “cinematic universe” tags are the biggest on ao3 by far.

but what tv shows are we getting now? short, 8-episode things that get canceled two or three seasons in, that are usually less-than-faithful adaptations of other media anyway.

what movies are we getting? well, marvel turns more to slop every day, and everything else is remakes and sequels no one asked for. the general populace will still go see them and find some good movies that they like, but there’s not much really for fandom to grasp onto.

the best shows for fandom that we’ve had recently, that i can think of, are stranger things, game of thrones, and maybe our flag means death. stranger things is dying off, especially since they’re looking at a 3-4 YEAR gap between s4 and s5. game of thrones’s popularity plummeted after its final season, we all know that. our flag means death is still chugging fairly okay, but after that second season a lot of the fandom dropped it, and with it now being cancelled, i don’t see it sticking around.

yes, we can chalk part of this up to a new generation to of fans having this growing idea that fandom is super temporary, to be abandoned as soon as its not on trend. but media used to be on trend for a whole lot longer than it is now. seasons were longer, we had filler episodes, things were lower quality sometimes but at least they came out on a consistent schedule. i don’t mind if supernatural isn’t an artistic masterpiece, but if i was a stranger things fan waiting until 2026 for the final season, i would be annoyed if it wasn’t damn near perfect. that’s assuming i watched it at all—we’re all so used to not getting endings and moving on, so why would i bother?

i think there are two types of shows doing sort of okay about this. one is procedurals—9-1-1 is a popular one i’ve run into, and it started in 2018, around the beginning of the decline, but it’s managed 7 seasons in those six years, most of them with 18 episodes. the other is, honestly, anime—though we can and SHOULD talk about the terrible working conditions that make the fast turnarounds there possible. look at how big some anime fandoms are.

judging by the relative fandom popularity of other procedural dramas (grey’s anatomy, law & order, criminal minds), i think that’s going to remain sort of niche. fandom likes fantasy and scifi best, and they just don’t tend to have as strong of an overarching arc to dig into. at least, that’s why i wouldn’t watch them. i think there’s also a good chance these will start to die out in the coming years as well.

anime could also die out a little bit. better working conditions would necessitate less/slower content, and it’s true that most of the popular anime fandoms have been around for years, even decades.

so, what, no new, lasting tv show or movie fandoms anymore?

what will the biggest fandoms be in 5-10 years?

podcast fandoms have a shot. the magnus archives is still going strong, and i’ve been seeing a lot about dungeons and daddies. i think we’re kind of almost past the golden age for podcasts, but i am an outsider, so maybe that will change.

book fandoms seem like a kind of obvious choice, but they just don’t get as big without, you guessed it, a movie or show adaptation. and the downsizing has hit them, too—can you think of anything from the last 5 or 10 years that rivals harry potter, percy jackson, warriors, lord of the rings, hunger games, acotar…even game of thrones (asoiaf) again? i can’t. the collapse of the publishing industry is another post entirely.

2020 is really what cemented these changes, though they were starting in the late 2010s, at least. with actual industries shutting down, there was room for indie creators making things alone in their houses to pop up, and people had more time on their hands to try new things out and get into them.

the two things that have really been on the rise since 2020 is rpf and video game fic—often both combined. we’ve got genshin impact, call of duty, minecraft of course being huge, rpf of various youtubers, and k-pop rpf. now, i think rpf is contentious enough that it won’t really become the main fandom, but video game fic…might be it.

even video blogging rpf can often be a blurred enough line that people are more comfortable with it. and the thing is…youtube creators are actually more reliable than mainstream television these days. they need to be, to maintain their platforms. they need to not cancel series and to live up to their own hype as best they can and to not abandon the channel for 3 or 4 years at a time. and again, you can talk about burnout and unrealistic expectations and all of those things, but it’s still true.

maybe i’m completely wrong. maybe in 10 years the film and publishing industries will all sort themselves out and we’ll go back to the status quo. but i think this position fandom is finding itself in is interesting, and i wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if what’s most popular (both in the specific source material sense and the medium/genre sense) is different some time down the road.

[mdhwrites]

If you have already addressed this issue please feel free to ignore what follows and direct me to your appropriate post.

I'd like your thoughts on fans who, went confronted with writing flaws in The Owl House they can't headcanon away, default to blaming Disney's cancellation for the show not being perfect. They will even do this for writing flaws that were evident well before Disney pulled the plug.

I have absolutely tackled this from a LOT of directions, such as how the early writing was not actually as good as we think it was, it just had a lot of potential, how S2A nukes much of that potential, how the found family was never real, how themes were always fucked, etc. like that to the opposite where I pointed out that for S3, ANY sort of S3 that was anything like what we got, S2B essentially had to be exactly what it was before so either S3 was inherently flawed by a godawful setup where you have no threats and most characters wrapped up entirely or TOH has always been full of it and wanted way more than three seasons which makes a lot of sense for how TOH has some of the slowest storytelling in all of kid's media. Oh, and of course the fact that they kept adding to the story and threats even after the shortening, such as the fact that the Collector only ever shows up in a dream sequence before S2B and even the creators have admitted they threw it at the wall in response to the shortening because they just wanted to see what happened.

For today though, I want to mention that in my Discord, someone linked a Reddit post that called the second episode kind of boring. That's it. Second episode wasn't great but the rest of the series was. As far as softball complaints go, you don't go much simpler. However, the top comment on it still had a person who seemingly out of reflex decided they had to bring up the shortening for the SECOND. EPISODE.

They didn't bring up Disney meddling.

They didn't bring up that it was finding its footing.

They didn't even bring up potential good points of the second episode, something even I could.

It was the shortening before anything else for something that happened over a season before the shortening took effect.

The shortening was the best possible thing to ever happen to TOH's Legacy. Not TOH itself, I'm not that big of a dick, but to its legacy. Anything that is praised as rampantly as TOH was is always due for a backlash, whether reasonable or not. Steven Universe went through this. She-Ra went through this. Frozen went through this. Bioshock Infinite is INFAMOUS for how its re-evaluation destroyed it as we all realized that even for the time, it wasn't good storytelling and just not a great game either.

This larger backlash has never happened to TOH because there's an impenetrable shield for many. "Disney screwed it over. A full S3 would have made it perfect." All complaints can be deflected because they can be blamed on someone else, something the show even encourages mentally due to how it treats Hunter, Lilith, The Collector and, of course, Amity. As such, people who might have normally seen my blogs and actually had to pause and question the show don't. I'm being unfair after all by not considering its production, which is admittedly a pretty shitty way to analyze media because we still need to evaluate the end product. People still call Molly McGee's ending being rushed despite being so much more cruelly treated than TOH's.

BUUUUUT I also think this is why ten years down the line... It's going to be forgotten. New people will come to the show and maybe they'll like it but they won't be able to love it. The cracks are obvious to any who perceive it. You can still enjoy it of course but to be diehard like the fans right now? You need something to plaster over it and those won't be in as active discussion ten years later. You won't have had an entire season of bracing yourself for any criticism like TOH's fandom had after S2A. It's a show doomed by its late stage flaws to be terrible for those who binge it who are unlikely to like it enough to want to see why this happened. Maybe word of mouth spreads it but like... If you look at the ratings, they were never much more impressive than Amphibia so bare minimum, a more rabid fanbase only ever got TOH more piracy, if it actually got it that much larger a fanbase, especially amongst normal people and not all of us, myself included, who are chronically online.

There's also a lot of stuff about TOH that falls into this category. Raine will seem almost worthless once a popular cartoon with an NB character with, you know, an actual character shows up. Lumity will seem pathetically written once an actually nuanced couple in animation shows up. Belos will lose so much of his bite once there are not a billion people screaming colonialism/racism about the generic evil dictator. TOH is propped up with excuses and accolades that make people think it is beyond reproach. That criticizing it is wrong and thus never evaluate their own thoughts on the show.

They stay in their bubble, dreaming of a S3 that doesn't, and couldn't, have ever existed. Swept up by their sweet lies, they shall stay in their fantasy world just like Luz did. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I wonder if a lot of this is also why I've only gotten one person on Tumblr to REALLY try and wage war on me. My blogs are too long and thorough to refute easily or just get mad over. I've had people try of course, some who try to dissect my blogs but their posts go nowhere and their arguments are limp because when you're up against someone like me... Well, I'm proud of what I do here, even if I do it as casually as I do.

That or how long my blogs are makes people not interested in things critiquing TOH just skip them. Also, I didn't link specific blogs because Tumblr's search function sucks and so I have no idea if I'd even be able to find them.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[windybreeze12]

I am so very late sksksksk but you have asked, and I shall provide. Welcome to today's episode of A Fangirl's Analysis of DBD and today we have:

Edwin and The Cat King

okay now listen to me. I love payneland so much. I think they're amazing both romantically and platonically. BUT GOD THESE TWO.

I am very sick and tired of people trying to hate on this pair because honestly it's like we didn't watch the same damn show. Yes he's old beyond comprehension and yes he is very much attracted to Edwin (and to an extent vice-versa) but yall are completely overlooking the fact that without the Cat King and his infatuation with Edwin, most of the things that happened in DBD wouldn't have happened. Dare I say, all of the events of DBD.

Yes, it was the Cat King who was also the reason for the boys to go through all the events both good and bad but can we please stop forgetting that he also actively (actively) tried his best to help Edwin (and Crystal and Charles by association).

And can we also please stop overlooking the fact that even though Edwin is a teenager in a physical sense, he is very much emotionally, mentally, and in every other way, a hundred years old. Now, if Edwin were still as emotionally mature as a 16 year old, there would some ethical issues but we can very well see that this is not the case.

I find the Cat King to be a wildly interesting character. A fun sort of anti-hero if you will. A mischievous, fun-loving, playful and flirtatious character who's pining led to his boo being sent to hell (which honestly i find hilarious). Despite his sort of unpredictable nature, he still has a strong moral code and follows through with it. And we can also see that he is actively trying to woo Edwin like mans is showing up with vital pieces of information and saving Edwin just so he'll like him back. He's absolutely pathetic and I love him.

I love love love the last interaction we get between Edwin and the Cat King when he gives Edwin the lilies in honour of Niko. In that scene, it's subtle but clear that both characters have changed. It's obvious that Edwin has changed but it's also obvious that the Cat King has changed. Rewatching that scene i just keep finding new things and UGH. One important thing that stood out for me were the increasingly soft smiles he gave Edwin. These were less flirtatious and more understanding. Like he had already come to terms with the fact that Edwin would be leaving and mostly likely would have a different romantic path (maybe Charles) than him. Yes he is still very much a flirt and still trying to woo Edwin (because characters dont change like that overnight) but he does so with respect and boundaries. When Edwin didn't go in to hug him, he backed away. It's also super fun noticing how the Cat King kept freaking glancing at Edwin's lips when he was talking about how lonely they are.

And at the very end, when Edwin told him that he forgot to count himself, the smirk the Cat King gives Edwin is much less flirtatious and much more like the kind of smirk that someone would give when seeing someone as an equal.

Overall, I find Edwin and the Cat King's relationship to be extremely intriguing and very interesting to talk about and your honour, I love them.

Wanna see more interest dynamics like this? WATCH DEAD BOY DECTECTIVES!!! It's got dynamics like this and more and it DOES NOT deserve to be cancelled so please please PLEASE go watch it <3

[ladyylavenderrr]

Garak and Psychosis

Very self indulgent little post about instances of Garak displaying behaviors that read to me (or at least can be read) as a symptom of psychosis. I will almost certainly miss some, but I want to compile this together for myself. I completely see Garak as having some kind of psychotic disorder. Most of these examples will come from A Stitch In Time, but we have some from the show as well. Also keep in mind that many of these could be interpreted in a myriad of ways, not just as a psychotic symptom. I’m not claiming any of this is definitive proof or anything of the sort, and Garak’s past as a spy (a profession that by nature demands a lot of paranoia) certainly complicates all of this. That’s not to say this an either-or situation. He can be both psychotic and a former spy and in fact the effect both would have on the other would be quite interesting, as laid out in this post

Again, all of what I say can be interpreted in many different ways, but I just want to have it all written down in one place. Psychosis can manifest in very different ways for different people. Some people might be debilitated by their symptoms, struggling to function without assistance. Others might function just fine most of the time and only experience relatively mild symptoms, though the associated distress isn’t any less important.

Season 6, episode 5 “Favors The Bold”. Garak insists Julian examine him for a some kind of mind reading device put in his head by Starfleet Intelligence. Despite Julian telling him there’s nothing out of the ordinary in his head, Garak doesn’t believe him and insists he keep looking. Came off as a delusion to me, especially since he remains convinced despite evidence proving his delusion false.

Season 4, episode 21 “For the Cause”. Upon meeting Ziyal, Garak becomes convinced that she wants to hurt and kill him. I wouldn’t say her being Dukat’s daughter is enough evidence for the average person to be this worried. In fact, Quark even calls him out on his paranoia and we get this exchange.

GARAK: I was going to cancel. I've had visions of Ziyal presenting my head to her father as a birthday gift. 
QUARK: That's a little paranoid, wouldn't you say? 
GARAK: Paranoid is what they call people who imagine threats against their life. I have threats against my life.

To be fair, Kira warning him to stay away from Ziyal gets him to calm down a bit, or maybe not because he still seems quite apprehensive when he actually meets Ziyal, still afraid she might want to hurt him.

Now to A Stitch In Time.

Part 1, Chapter 7. As Garak helps Parmak dig people out of the rubble of a bombed Cardassia (highly stressful and traumatic situation), he seems to hallucinate a figure. You could read this as metaphorical, but he reacts to and tries to interact with the figure in the real world, which doesn’t come off as a metaphorical way of describing his despair to me.

“I have never lived with despair, Doctor, the way I live with it now. It's almost like a phantom companion that shadows me and casts doubt on whatever I do.

"Why save him?" it asks, as we remove a young boy from the rubble of a school. "You're only keeping him alive for a future of privation and chaos. Wouldn't it be more satisfying to join the burial unit?"

I want to scream at this phantom, to shut it up. Once I turned around suddenly and raised my hand to strike it. When I realized it wasn't there, it was too late. Everyone in the unit was looking at me; I'm sure I must have looked like a madman.”

After this, Parmak gives Garak some pills. He only calls them “relaxants” so it might be a sedative of some kind, but I’m not sure. Either way, Garak hallucinates again after swallowing the pills, panicking as he sees those Cardassian orphans from the episode “Cardassians”. I doubt the pills are hallucinogens, both because Parmak specifically gave them to Garak after witnessing him hallucinating and is seemingly trying to stop that, and because they speak about the hallucinations like an unintended side effect ("I'm afraid they don't react well with me," I explained. “I understand," he said.)

Certain drugs making psychotic symptoms worse isn’t uncommon.

Part 1, Chapter 6. As Garak and the rest of his group in Bamarren are forced to stand still in the heat for what might be hours as part of a training exercise, he begins to hallucinate multiple figures, including his parents (it’s interesting that one of the figures seems to be Palandine, even though neither we nor Garak have been introduced to her yet). If this were the only instance of Garak hallucinating in the book, I wouldn’t assume he has a psychotic disorder since this example has obvious an explanation outside of a mental health issue. People are known to experience hallucinations when suffering from heat stroke. However I’m putting this example here simply because it’s part of a larger pattern of Garak hallucinating multiple times throughout the book. It’s also interesting to note that this scene happens right before the scene of an adult Garak hallucinating that figure with Parmak.

Part 2, Chapter 18. Garak seems to hallucinate as he looks at the frieze. He sees the frieze move and the people painted on it move as well. He thinks some of the figures are he and Palandine but isn’t sure.

“The frieze now began to move in the upward direction. I was too amazed to ask if this was truly happening. People would disappear at the top while more would enter from below.

Certain faces were recognizable, but I didn't know why. Something was also rising within me, an energy moving up my spine to my head, and I began to feel dizzy. Two of the figures could have been Palandine and me, but I couldn't be sure. I was almost nauseous with the energy surging within me. The figures completed the cycle and disappeared at the top. The frieze stopped moving.”

This one can be interpreted in a more metaphorical way than some of the others, but like I said, it could also be another symptom of this potential psychosis.

I’m sure I’ve missed some examples, but you get my point.

[slavghoul]

Interview from Classic Rock Magazine #309

What stands out in your memories of 2022?

TF: Going back to touring was a fantastic feeling! In the beginning it felt almost unreal; still with a bit of restriction, which was kind of unintuitive, but the last tour we did, in August/September, was as good as normal. We released the record when we said we would, we managed to back it up with seventy shows. We cancelled one show in total. That's a good result.

Impera has dark, historically rooted themes, but it's also music that makes the listener feel so many things - joy, aggression, excitement, sorrow... After such a turbulent couple of years there's something cathartic about that.

I am very happy about how the record came out, and that it seems to be well-received among our fans. That's a tremendous feeling. I feel like I managed to do a lot of things I set out to do. We're gonna continue next year, we still have a lot of things to do. But right now we're just recharging a little.

Kaisarion has been a hit live. For a song about the brutal murder of a female Roman philosopher, it really gets the party going.

Yeah, I'm still surprised that with a song that does what it does - and was so well received and opened up the shows - there's never been talk about turning it into a single. Which I don't understand. But at the end of the day it's a label decision, and people around that decide which ones will, quote-unquote, 'work best'. And I've realised that I'm not really capable of choosing. I remember Mary On A Cross was a B-side.

It's weird how that happens with some songs.

Yeah, I must say I feel very optimistic with regards to how that song is taking a life on its own. Even though it was technically a B-side on a fun additional thing [2019's Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic] - it was not our main single from a new album we have always played it ever since it came out, on every show. Maybe a few exceptions, but I've always pushed that song as something that I felt very good about.

On that subject, you're viral on TikTok now. What is it about that platform that appeals?

I hardly knew what it was until two months ago! I have two almost fourteen-year-old kids, so of course I'd heard the phenomenon mentioned. It's an insanely big thing among kids and teenagers. What happens is they create these short snippets, funny, sad or emotional clips, to which they often tag some sort of music or sound. And if you are a creator of sound or music, you might be tagged on to a clip that might go 'viral'. That way you hit a lot more people that you might never entertain, you know, aiming your guns at. So it's a bit of a crap-shoot as well. We are not a big mainstream act, so obviously there's going to be a mixed bag of reactions. Because people in general are kind of strange to a lot of these aesthetics of rock, and especially the darker aspects of it.

It has brought the band more attention.

But if all that attention is a good or a bad thing, we do not know yet. There have been people who might have come on to the track, and as soon as they see what the band is about - or what they perceive the band to be about - there's backlash, because it's like: "Oh my, God fearing hater!" "I don't like it!" "This is communist bullshit!" So there are two sides of the coin. But it's a great bonus if we can get new people, especially kids, into liking rock music or other things, or if it makes them feel in any way better-informed, if you will.

Do you think TikTok will be a bigger deal for musicians in the future?

I don't know. I think when you're a musician, and you're making records, you need to have a certain strategic mind. But your job at the end of the day is making records and playing live. That is the heart of the matter. If you sit around waiting for a viral thing to happen, you can wait a long fucking time.

Back in May, the identities of the Nameless Ghouls were confirmed on social media. How do you feel about them not being strictly nameless any more?

Well, they haven't really been for quite some time. So for me it was not an overnight sensation. As long as it doesn't in any way interfere with what we are doing, there's no desire that I have for people not to feel proud or happy about what they're doing.

You've lamented not being able to play more guitar. If you could be the guitarist for a day in any band, which would it be?

Good question. There's several bands. I would have loved to be what Mick Taylor was in 1969, coming into the Rolling Stones at their best era - but I would have stayed around! That would have been a great experience. Very fun music to play. Definitely within the limits of what I can play really well. I spent a lot of time as a kid learning how to play guitar. Otherwise I would love to play in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers; I love what John Frusciante does. Def Leppard might be a good fit too. Joe Elliott spoke very highly of Impera when it came out. That would have also been really cool. Also a fantastic band. In an alternative reality, in an alternative life, I would have wanted to do a lot of other things. But I did hear that [Joe said those things], and it was very heartwarming, of course. A very big honour.

[creedslove]

Hey honey!

I see you’re taking Halloween requests and I was thinking about Joel and what he would do after nobody shows up to your Halloween party (house is decorated, even put on a tiny and cute witch costume) and everyone cancels last minute but him 🥰😇

Happened to me today but minus Joel ofc. I’m a bit down because of it but maybe cute idea?

No outbreak!Joel Miller x f!reader

A/N: ohh no, I'm so sorry about that 🥺 I really hope your friends cancelled for a good reason at least, I'm sorry if it's not happening anymore baby, I would have loved to go to your party if I could though ❤️

• Joel wasn't really a big fan of Halloween parties

• or parties as a whole

• but you were and he was glad to help you through the week, as your excitement was absolutely adorable and he could see how much effort you actually put into it all

• so he helped you sort the snacks and finger foods you would serve, along with the drinks he should buy, the decoration you picked and how he set everything up

• he isn't a costume guy, but he told you he would dress up as a lumberjack so you would be happy, which you did, even if you knew he would actually just throw a flannel shirt and call it a costume, you were excited because he looked damn hot in a flannel shirt

• and he couldn't help but become a mix of aroused and mesmerized the moment he saw you in a cute witch costume; on one hand you looked very adorable, on the other hand you looked so fucking sexy all he could think of was you riding his cock in nothing but your fishnets, knee high boots and witch hat

• but as he got closer while carrying a bag of ice he frowned when he saw your upset face

"what happened, baby girl?"

"they all cancelled..."

• Joel was so pissed to hear your friends had all cancelled; he'd watched how excited you were during days and how carefully you'd planned everything and those motherfuckers couldn't even give you a time of the day and show up? Or perhaps do the right thing and let you know they weren't coming in advance?

• however, he didn't want to make things worse for you, even if you shrugged it off and began putting the decoration down, he could tell you were disappointed and he wasn't letting you just be without your party

• so he asks you to calm down and he calls Tommy and Sarah, tells them to come over and bring a couple of friends

• and when you realize, there's a party starting at your place, Tommy and his girlfriend Maria, Sarah and a couple of her girl friends all there complimenting your decoration and dancing to your playlist

• Joel takes you by the waist and tells you it ain't much but he figured you would enjoy a small family get together, and your heart race when he subtly tells you you are family

• he dances with you and makes sure to remind you how beautiful you are and how cool your party is

• and he also likes to open the door for the trick or treaters and hand them candy

• later at night, he sends Sarah home with her uncle Tommy and takes the opportunity to finally have you riding his cock in nothing but your boots and your witch hat

• he wants to make you feel good sexually as well, and he doesn't let you go sleep without cumming a few times

• as you snuggle against him, you is kind of glad none of your stupid friends showed up, as you both had a smaller and intimate party and he got to spend more time with the woman he loves

____

[the-offside-rule]

Carlos Sainz Jr (Scuderia Ferrari) - Blind Date

Requested: on wattpad

Prompt: Seemingly, Carlos has his blind date not show up, but it's okay because he's found his replacement.

Warnings: nope

Y/n sat fiddling with her thumbs in her seat awaiting for her blind date to come along. Her friend had sorted out the date for her to get to know someone and she was absolutely fine with it but she didn't even know who this man would be. She kind of just hoped he was a decent human being. The door of the coffee shop opened up and in walked a good looking foreign man. He looked around and spotted Y/n sitting alone. He smiled to himself as he figured he'd basically hit the jackpot before realising that wasn't his date. His date wasn't even at that coffee shop. She cancelled. So much for trusting his friends to set him up with people. Carlos ordered a coffee and looked back to the miserable looking woman. She looked so lonely, maybe she would like some company. "Excuse me, could you actually make that two please?" he asked the barista. He didn't know if she liked coffee or not but atc this point he was just going with it.

He thanked the barista for his order and went over to talk to her. "Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit here?" The woman looked up to him with a warm smile on her face. "Why not? Go ahead." Carlos sat down and slipped a coffee over to her. "I got you a coffee just in case I was bothering you." he explained. "You aren't bothering me at all. Thank you for the coffee." she said sipping it. "I'm Carlos." he said stretching his hand out. "Y/n." she replied. "What a beautiful name." he remarked, causing a bit of a blush to creep onto her cheeks. "So why are you here alone?" he asked. "Oh, my date cancelled so here I am."

"What a coincidence. My date cancelled too." Y/n and Carlos just smiled at each other. They had more in common than the other thought.

Carlos and Y/n continued talking for a good hour or so. They learned so much about the other but Carlos wanted to know her a little bit better, so he grabbed his coat before he asked her to go elsewhere. "How about we go to the park or something?" he asked her. Y/n thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Sure. There's a lovely park around here." Y/n replied also getting her coat. The pair walked out, happily chatting amongst themselves before a very familiar car drove around the corner and rolled the window down to reveal the person they both figured it would be. "Charles, what are you doing here?" Y/n asked walking up to the car. Carlos was a bit confused as to why Y/n knew who Charles was. "I thought I'd come to pick you up but it seems like you have good company." Charles grinned. "It seems that way." Y/n chucked. Charles looked over to Carlos and waved. "Hey Carlos."

Y/n took her turn in confusion now. "You know him?" she asked. Carlos nodded in response. "Yes. I'm his new teammate." Carlos said. "So I take it myy plan worked since you ended up meeting." The pair were both very confused which Charles picked up on and decided to explain himself. "I didn't get you seperate dates, you were each others dates. I decided to cancel though just to prove a point and it appears that it has worked." Charles mused. Y/n bit her lip. Was she really that predictable? "And how did you know it would work then?" Carlos asked folding his arms. "Simple. Carlos, you are basically a lady magnet. You would see her alone and think you could be her friend of sorts." Charles smiled before turning to his other friend. "And my dear Y/n, you would be too shy to tell him to leave you alone. I basically just predicted how both of you would react to seeing each other and go with that."

"Then why did you come to pick me up?" Y/n asked. "I'm going to be honest, I just wanted to know whether or not you two had managed to go on a date together." Charles replied. "Well, I should get going but have fun you two." he said turning his car on. "And don't forget to use protection!"

"Charles!"

"I'm kidding! I know you both like going to a dinner first." And with that he drove away, leaving Y/n and Carlos in a bit of an awkward silence. "So...where do we go from here?" Carlos asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Y/n smiled softly and took out a pen. "Show me your hand." Carlos knotted his eyebrows and obided by her before she wrote a few numbers, presumably her phone number, ont to his hand. "Here's my number. I have to go now unfortunately but I would really like to see you again Carlos." Lucky him, because he wanted to see her again too. "Well I'll see you on the second date then, yes?" Carlos asked. "Absolutely." Y/n pulled Carlos in and pecked his cheek before they shared their goodbyes and went seperate ways, but will undoubtedly cross paths again...

[the1975attheirverybest]

omg i just read heat wave and think it’s amazing! would i be able to request a part two where she like takes him back to the bus and like puts him to bed and maybe takes care of the others too?

This request was too wholesome not to write. SO consider this a part two to this one.

Warnings: none!

———

Part Of The Band

She tiptoed delicately out of the tour bus, grabbing her shoes with her on the way out. She knew she was much too clumsy a person to risk putting them on and waking Matty up from his much-needed sleep.

She took one last worried glance back in his direction and blew him a kiss that he wasn’t awake to notice, whispering “I love you.” As she inched away. She say on the steps of the bus, kicking her shoes on.

She followed the directions her map app had provided to get back the restaurant where she and Matty had left the boys about an hour ago. George had spotted her coming in and waved her over.

“You’re back. Everything alright?” He sat up as she approached their table.

“Is it Matty? Is he okay?” Adam added.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Matty fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Everything’s fine. I just came back to check on you guys.”

“Us?” Ross’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah. Have you boys had anything to eat yet?”

“Nah, much too hot to stomach anything right now.” Adam groaned.

“But we did drink a lot of water.” Ross announced, taking yet another gulp from his bottle.

“Yeah, in fact, we were just saying that, when it’s time to piss, we should time each other. See whose body lets out the most water.” George laughed, a bit embarrassed that she didn’t find the idea as funny as he did.

“Alright, you guys are hopeless.” She wandered over tot the cash register and came back with menus. “Every one pick something. Even if it’s just a little snack. You need to eat.”

She placed their orders to-go, modifying their selections and adding a few juices and smoothies to take into the tour bus. Something to keep on hand, in their mini-fridge for the road-trip ahead.

“Let’s get back. Matty’ll probably wake up hungry soon.”

She rounded them up, feeling a little too much like a school teacher chaperoning a field trip. George helped carry the takeout bags, while Adam volunteered to hold the beverages.

“So, how’re you guys feeling?” She broke the tired silence as they strolled back to the bus. “I know I was acting a bit insane before. Was just worried about Matty, but- you guys went through the same thing. Everyone feeling alright?”

George smiled at her. “No worries. Matty did look like he was losing it a bit there. We were all worried.”

“But you guys stayed calm. I mean, maybe a little too calm. Made me think you didn’t think anything was wrong.”

Ross shook his head. “Of course we knew something was wrong. We all felt wrong. But…it’s just who we are.”

“Been doing this gig for over a decade.” Adam chined in.

“Yeah, you sort of, get used to a ‘just push through it’ kind of mentality.”

“Yeah, guess we didn’t realize we’re not as young anymore.” George laughed.

She was quiet for a moment, giving them the space to vent and doing her best to listen with compassion. Still a part of her felt that they weren’t being as serious with this as they should be.

“It’s not about how young or old your are. You’re in the best shape of your lives. All of you. But your schedule is objectively insane.”

They all laughed knowingly.

“Three countries in three days?”

“They’re all close to each other though-“ George attempted to interject but she simply rolled her eyes at him.

“You’re a dad, now. Adam. This is the kind of example that you want to set for your kid? What were you planning on telling Carly, hmm?”

Adam always found her a bit intimidating. He looked down at his feet, feeling slightly shamed.

“Leave the man alone, he’s already scared of you.” George came to his rescue.

“Look,” Ross spoke, shifting her attention towards him. “I think…when we made this schedule, we also wanted to keep in mind the canceled shows that didn’t get to take place in 2019 and 2020. And the fact that, for come countries, it’s been a decade since we’ve performed there. And we do love being’ onstage.”

Adam and George agreed incoherently, their voices blending together into some sort of affirmative statement.

***

“Which ones Matty’s sandwich?” George sat in Matty’s bunk, peeling the covers off his friend and putting the warm sandwich right in Matty’s sleeping arms.

The three of them giggled mischievously like school children. “Let’s see how long it takes him to smell it and wake up.”

They ended up placing bets on how long it would take. And it did take him surprisingly long. 7 minutes and 54 seconds to be exact. Adam won, having guessed the closest.

“Fasts cash I’ve ever made.” He grinned as he collected his winnings.

Matty struggled to fight his exhaustion as he munched on his sandwich sluggishly. He watched with pure awe and admiration and she made her rounds, checking in with the boys, refilling their drinks, making sure they were all hydrated, all the while returning their jokes and witty remarks. He’d never met anyone who has so seamlessly been made part of their friend group before. Their intensity and history always seemed threatening to any newcomers. Even when they didn’t intend it to be. The sheer amount of time they spend together, their lingo, inside jokes, and work style could all mean that even the most confident of people would occasionally feel like an outsider. Not her though. She respected that this was an inherent part of Matty’s life that she could never hope to replace, nor did she try to compete against it. She loved the boys almost as much as he did.

Hours later, Ross had knocked out in his bunk bed, with George going outside for a smoke, and a FaceTime with Charli. Adam hopped into the shower for a much needed deep cleanse. Marty found himself alone with her, at long last. They shared his tiny bunk bed, cuddling and watching a tv show on her phone.

“Baby?” Matty whispered, even in the tight quarters they’d snuggled into.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for loving my friends.”

She turned to look at him, their noses brushing together slightly. “What?”

“You’re, like, officially part of the band now. You’ve saved us. Don’t know what we would have done without you today. I mean, seriously, I had a like a real meltdown.”

She smiled, caressing his cheek with the back of her hand gently. “You guys would’ve been already, with or without me. You’ll always have each other, after all.”

“Mhm.” He simply nodded.

“I think today was the first time I really got that. Don’t know how safe I would feel knowing that you’re thousands of miles away sometimes, traveling the world, if it weren’t for the guys and knowing that they’re right there with you.”

“Oh, yes, absolutely. Don’t think I’d ever do it without them. Just don’t tell them I said that, okay? Hann would never let me hear the end of it.” Matty grabbed onto her tightly, pulling the cover above both of their heads and kissing her underneath it.

[toxicrayofsunshine]

What the Mountain Provides

I have been binge watching Outsiders, the show from 2016 with Joe Anderson, Ryan Hurst, and Kyle Gallner, and was dismayed to learn it was canceled after only TWO seasons. Now I love Supernatural, it's one of my comfort shows, but if I could trade a couple seasons of it for new seasons of Outsiders, I would.

Well of course this news was disappointing but I figured I could read the fanfic that surely followed suit. Even Kyle made a tweet about it. However, I'm finding that stories are few and far between. Sasil seems to be the main type and while I love the ship and the characters, I also have a love for reader inserts or other OCs. So I guess the only thing I can do is write my own... without further ado here's my first Outsiders Fanfic. At the moment it's a one shot but because it's me, it will more than likely become a multi-chapter. Either way, I hope you enjoy.

What the Mountain Provides

Pairing: Asa Farrell x Female OC

Words: 2550

Warnings: Slight Spoiler, Swearing, Talk of death and dying

Divider by: @saradika-graphics

Summary: {set after Asa shoots Big Foster} Asa finds himself being taken care of by a young woman from his childhood.

There hadn’t been a set plan when he’d come back down the mountain. All he knew was he could never go back home and the pain that hit him was like a shot to the heart. At first, he tried telling himself to just hop a train and go wherever life took him, but the wolves descending told him that this was the end of the line for him. He couldn’t have G’win, he’d killed Big Foster, and he couldn’t see the light at the end of this tunnel. Perhaps he should’ve pulled the trigger that night rather than return to the mountain; maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad at home. Sure, the coal company was still a problem, but the internal war that was waged… was that all his fault? Was he cursed? Had he brought some sort of evil back home with him?

At least giving himself to the wolves would provide sustenance for the creatures. Perhaps they’d even carry parts of him back up the mountain. His spirit might not be fully at peace scattered about, but did he deserve peace at all? Standing, facing the three predators, he resigned himself to death, closing his eyes and holding his arms out as though he were embracing a friend... but then the sound of soft humming reached his ears, and he could see the soft light of first morning behind his eyelids, the smell of coffee and bacon assaulting his nostrils, and when he reached down, his hand was met with the softness of nice sheets.

The humming became softer, but he could tell the person behind the noise was coming closer, and he managed to crack one eye open as the door slowly opened. When the owner of the voice and the room came into view, his breath suddenly caught in his throat. She reminded him of summertime on the mountain; her hair shimmered like the soft glow of a summer evening, kissed by the sun, yet cool as the pale beams of a full moon; a gentle fusion of warmth and ethereal light, a tapestry of blonde that seemed almost otherworldly in its delicate brilliance. She had a fae-ish look about her, and all of the stories his kin would tell of the Fae didn’t seem so farfetched after setting eyes on her… and then she smiled at him, and he was positive this must be some kind of heaven because he was certainly looking at an angel.

“Glad ta see you awake.”

She had the same accent as most folks around here, but hers sounded closer to music than simple conversation, and it was taking his brain a second longer than usual to realize that this wasn’t a hallucination and he wasn’t dead. The woman waited for a moment before stepping closer, the tray of food held out in front of her, and he could see that she was being cautious but was unsure what the caution was aimed towards. Was she afraid of him? Possibly, but he didn’t think she’d bring him… wherever they were if that was the case. He was so lost in his head that it didn’t register that he was full-on staring at her, his eyes tracking her every move, but if she was bothered by it, she didn’t say anything. Simply placed the tray on the bedside table and stepped back to give him space.

“I hope you like bacon. I wasn’t sure if you ate meat, but figured it was a pretty safe bet since most folks around here do. If I got it wrong, I’ve got something else I can make ya. Got some cinnamon rolls coolin' in the kitchen if you’ve got a sweet tooth or”

“This is fine. Thanks.”

She gave him a small nod, and while she wanted to ask him about a million questions, she didn’t want to overwhelm him. When she’d found him, he’d been delirious, screaming about wolves coming to devour his soul. He didn’t swing at her or react violently when she helped him to his feet, but he’d sobbed the entire way to her truck, asking if she was the angel of death and muttering about the mountain never allowing his spirit to rest. It would be considered odd if she hadn’t been raised in the area; her mother and Meemaw taught her that as long as you respected the mountain and the magic within it, it would bless you and keep you safe. When she’d hit her 20s and gone to college, she’d tried writing it all off as superstitions, but since being back she’d seen things she couldn’t explain. Fae playing in her garden, shapeshifters at her back door, her name being called while hiking… she wasn’t sure if this type of magic only resided within the Appalachians or not, but she’d spent the past 12 years learning how to work with that magic and lived a peaceful life. Something she didn’t think her guest could relate to.

“I’ll leave ya to it then.”

She turned to leave when he reached out and grabbed her wrist, causing her to pause and turn back to look at him. She was close enough that he was given a better look at her and was mesmerized by her eyes: one hazel and one blue. She had full lips and a slightly upturned nose, and for the first time in a long time, his thoughts weren’t stuck on G’win.

“What’s your name?”

“Ivy Rae Calloway.” She could see the glimmer of recognition but didn’t think he could fully place her. “You can call me Ivy.”

“Asa. Asa F-”

“Farrell. I know.” He was caught off guard by her knowing, at the very least, his last name. Most people in this town had a hatred for his kin, but she didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. “My Meemaw used ta be friendly with your Bren’in. I’d go up with her from time ta time. You taught me how ta swim.”

He searched his memories for this lovely woman and stumbled upon a memory of him at 12, a 10-year-old blonde girl chasing after him and begging him to teach her how to swim. He’d refused at first, having better things to do than befriend a townie, but he told her he’d help if she could keep up, and she had. Even when he’d purposely taken a difficult trail to the pond, she was right on his heels, and by the end of the day, they were well and truly friends. Whenever she’d come with her Meemaw, the two of them would go off on some adventure, often with a few of his cousins in tow. They’d spent five summers running all over the mountain, and he was ashamed to say he’d forgotten all about her. He’d recognized the name when Lady Ray had mentioned her in passing but didn’t truly remember until this moment.

“I heard tell you moved.”

“For a little bit. I went ta college for a few years, but it wasn’t for me; I was back home by 23. Things I learned from my ma and Meemaw have done more for me than anything I learned in university anyhow.”

That was something he could relate to: college and the outside world not being for you. He’d tried it for ten years, but the mountain called him home, and now he was wondering if she had something to do with that. At first, he assumed G’win was the pull he’d felt, but with how things worked out on that front, he had his doubts. Ivy though… he didn’t believe in love at first sight, but there was definitely something special about her.

“I know the feelin.”

“I know ya do.” She smiled softly but didn’t expand on the statement. “I’ll let ya eat in peace.”

He gave her a thin smile, but the way he tucked into the food was thanks enough for her. She had no idea why the mountain had placed Asa in her path but she knew better than to ignore such a blatant sign. She’d sent offerings to the spirits, praying that they’d send someone her way so she didn’t have to be so alone. Her ma had been gone these past 4 years, the cancer took her too quickly, and if she hadn’t had her Meemaw, she didn’t think she’d have survived that… but there had been no one here when the older woman had passed. Ivy hadn’t understood what happened to her then, just that she hadn’t seen it coming. One morning, Meemaw woke up and told her she had to accompany someone important to her to the other side. She’d said similar things in the past, helping a spirit cross over, showing them to the light. As a death witch, it was her job to lead the lost souls to their final destination, so Ivy hadn’t batted an eye when she started talking like that. However, she hadn’t expected her Meemaw to walk into the forest and not back out. The police had found her body a mile from the Farrell homestead with no sign of trauma, and the coroner said she hadn’t had a heart attack or anything like that. For all intents and purposes, she fell asleep by the old oak and hadn’t woken up.

Ivy found out a week later that Lady Ray had passed on, and everything clicked into place. She had been her Meemaw’s best friend, and while they hadn’t visited the home in many years, the older women would often meet in the forest and spend the day swapping stories and sharing the bounty of whichever harvest they were in. Ivy had always loved their friendship and wished she’d had something like that; unfortunately, while Meemaw was Lady Ray’s best friend, that didn’t mean Ivy had been allowed to hang around the family. The moment they found she’d gone to college, they’d shunned her… if they only knew the reason behind her departure was the man currently eating in her guest room.

⸸

A couple of weeks passed, and Asa was finally beginning to relax around Ivy. Initially, he’d been so sure she’d end up treating him like everyone else, intimidated by the Farrell name, but she was at complete ease around him. She’d explained where she’d found him and the things he’d been saying, and he’d admitted to having hallucinated wolves. Ivy had listened to him talk about the things happening within his family and the coal company. It hurt her heart to hear about all that chaos weaving its way through the Farrell land, but she’d told him that it wasn’t his fault it had happened. She believed that Big Foster had been the one to set things in motion, the darkness in his heart tainting what she knew to be an important ceremony in their clan. His actions against Lady Ray only solidified, in her mind, that the mountain was now punishing the family for his actions. It didn’t sound like anyone was trying to make amends with the spirits, and one of the biggest things she’d been taught was never to disrespect the spirits and expect to be let off the hook.

“So, you’re tellin’ me that even after goin’ to college, you still believe in magic and all that?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Most townies don’t.”

“You callin' me a townie Asa Farrell?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

Their teasing tones showed how easily their friendship had picked back up. They fit so perfectly together, and it helped that Ivy was as honest as Li’l Foster; Asa wasn’t sure either of them was even capable of lying. She didn’t see any sense in spreading falsehoods or saying what you didn’t truly mean; all that got anybody was heartache, at least in her experience. They’d even played two truths and a lie, a way to get reacquainted, and her poker face was completely non-existent. It didn’t matter that her truths were things others would find insane, he knew she was being completely honest with him. She wasn’t raised as far in as he’d been, but Ivy was still a daughter of the mountain.

“Good. Now, I gotta go into town today… it’s not my favorite activity, but I’ve run outta flour and yeast and have a dozen or so loaves of bread ta bake by the end of the day. Wanna come with me?”

“I uh, I better not. It ain’t been that long since… I don’t wanna cause you no trouble.”

“Ain’t no trouble.”

“Ivy.”

He thought for sure she’d push this. G’win always did whenever she wasn’t getting her way, but Ivy just smiled and left it at that. The townsfolk weren’t exactly thrilled with her existence either, but the shit they’d say about the Farrells…

“No worries.”

“I don’t mean ta be callous or nothin'. I just”

“I get it, Asa. You ain’t gotta explain yourself ta me.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, besides, havin' you here gives me an even bigger reason to hurry.”

“Bein in town ain’t enough?”

“You might be surprised.”

He thought she sounded sad, and it wasn’t a tone he enjoyed hearing come from her. One of the best things about Ivy was her happy spirit. She was quick to smile, and though he’d seen her get cross at her vegetable garden, whenever he stepped into view, she lit up like a firefly.

“You alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Just been a little harder than usual after Meemaw passed on. Gets kinda lonely when I’m all by myself.”

“You’re not by yourself no more.”

“For now.” She shrugged, shaking herself out of this funk. “I’m sure you don’t wanna stay around these parts after everything.”

“At one time, I’d agree with you, but now… was thinkin’ about stickin’ around. If you don’t mind me crashin' in your guest room?”

“Not at all. You can stay forever if ya want.”

“I’m gonna hold ya to that.”

“I’m a woman of my word.” She promised, reaching her hand out and shaking on it. “Are you a man of yours?”

“I try ta be.” He answered honestly, surprising her when he gently yanked on her hand and pulled her into a hug. “Be careful today, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t know where these feelings were coming from, but he didn’t fight against them either, kissing the top of her head and refusing to overthink this. He hadn’t expected to find his savior in a fellow lostie, but he was thankful for it all the same. She also lived in the in-between, too mountainy for townsfolk and too townie for the mountain folks, but she didn't seem to loathe it like he did. Of course, he had a pretty damn good reason to feel the way he did. Unlike his kin, hers had welcomed her home and taught her in the old ways. He couldn't fault her for their different experiences though, and while she felt more strongly about the magic aspect of the mountain than he did, they still had a lot in common, and it didn’t hurt that she was damn pretty.

“You got a favorite candy or somethin?”

“Nah. Ain’t nothin' gonna compare to your cinnamon rolls anyway.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She teased, going on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “See ya later, Asa.”

He watched her all the way from the kitchen to the front door, giving her a small wave as she left the house. The impossible had become possible: Asa Farrell had caught feelings for someone other than G’winveer.

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

How to study productively: In your dorm

I've covered how to study productively in general, and in the library, but what about your dorms or student accommodation?

There have definitely been times where I decided to study in my room instead of braving the rain and the occasional hail outside.

Bad weather, being ill, the library being full (all too common. When possible, try to book a library study space in advance), or simply not feeling like getting dressed up and facing the outside world - these things all happen.

Or maybe you're simply burnout and have absolutely 0 interest in facing other people, so you choose to study in your dorm.

Question is, how do you do this productively? Whether you're living alone or with loud, partying roommates, there are almost always some forms of distraction.

Noisy neighbours, outside traffic, or simply too many distractions in your study space - so here's my guide for studying productively in your dorms.

1. Wear headphones - even if you don't study with music

Any noise cancellation, albeit small, is good. They tend to block out a decent chunk of the external noise, so use them to block out the noise.

During exam week things might be much quieter, but for your weekend revision sessions headphones are essential.

2. Negotiate with your roomie

Hopefully you have an understanding roommate, who'll understand that you need some uninterrupted silence to study. Even more hopefully, they'll also be passionate about their studies and maybe even become a study buddy!

Truth is, you never know what sort of person you'll end up rooming with. Negotiate friendly, but firmly. Set boundaries. You've worked hard to get here, and you need to study to maintain and improve your grades. Your living space should not be a disruptive or chaotic environment.

3. Set up your study space

You may be doing most of your studying in the library, so now your desk is cluttered with clothes, snacks and other clutter.

De-clutter asap! Eliminate all distractions, so that the only thing on your desk is your laptop, notebook, textbook, some pens and a few highlighters.

A bottle of water or a mug of coffee are permissible, but keep them far away. Too many notes have been ruined by coffee mugs and tea cups being accidently spilled over.

4. Use said study space, don't study in bed!

Tempting as it may be, don't study in bed. Might as well watch a movie or catch up on your shows instead.

Your bed is associated with rest and relaxation, not intense studying and working. Not a very focused environment.

If you're ill and can't study at your desk, you shouldn't be studying at all then. Rest, drink fluids and focus in getting better instead.

5. Use your desk for studying - only studying

Revisiting my former point, but your desk is for working and studying. Eating, painting your toenails etc. may be convenient, but not practical.

A snack is ok, but draw the line at spaghetti carbonara or a roasted chicken. Going to the shared kitchen or dining hall also helps to refresh your mind, as sitting 24/7 at your desk is not good for your mind. It's sometimes inevitable during exam week, but a regular change of scenery is good for your health, whether it's having a quick catch-up lunch with your friends, or an evening jog around the campus.

Having spent 2-ish years doing everything online, I was extremely happy to be able to go back to on-campus learning even though the adjustment process took a while.

Sitting in bed propped up by pillows, wearing a moisturizing mask and sipping hot chocolate whilst logging into my zoom lecture 5 minutes late but actually too early as it took 15 minutes for the lecture to start, was a truly one of a kind experience.

I might make this into a series, so if you have a specific place you usually study in but find it difficult to be productive drop a suggestion!

[slugdragoon]

Devlog #7 - Shephard and Lumberman enemies + new Necromancer animation, summons flee, and new status effects!

Alright, I'm really excited about this one, it's a big one!

The biggest part of my week was finishing three animations for enemy types in the game. These are the third, fourth, and fifth animations I've even done (first two being the Snake and Sheep summons), and I feel myself getting better each time.

the Necromancer - I've had an idle blocked out for this guy in solid colours for a while, he's been in my other devlogs, but finally buckled down and did the shading and colouring. I'm thinking to give him a Skeleton or Zombie summon, which may be my next animation, as I have a matching status effect for them nearly worked out.

the Shepherd - Next, and this is my most recent work - the Shepherd. This idea came from the Sheep summon, who I introduced as a summon which could put you to sleep. I needed status-inflicting summons, thus the Sheep. I thought a Shepherd with the ability to summon Sheep and a passive ability to keep your summons around longer (shepherding them around) that you can inherit onto any summoning class would be perfect. And I'm happy to say, both of those abilities are implemented, making the Shepherd my most complete enemy type to date!

the Lumberman - I did this animation before the Shepherd, and I may rework it later on, because musculature is f-ing hard man, but I had an idea for physical attacks to, in contrast to magic skills, be more used for a variety of tactical targeting scenarios, each with advantages and drawbacks that make sense for the implied weapon type. I thought up a Cleave (not implemented yet) ability that's meant to evoke a Guts-like (Berserk) warrior who cuts down many enemies at once, but applies a big penalty on the user when an armoured foe is caught up in it. It works for an axe, so I made an enemy whose "thing" is that they're an axe man, so started with a lumberjack. I started with a normal human skin tone, but my animation blocking was temporarily green, and I liked copper-y armour and weapons for him, so I tried making him look like oxidized copper as well. I though the idea for a metal man who chops down trees was pretty cool, and here we are!

New status effects - I also designed three new status effect icons for inflictions I have planed. I showed the Sleep and Poison ones last time, and a version of those effect is in the game (I added green to the Poison icon).

The new effects are Blindness, Charm, and Fear. Only Fear is partly implemented so far. The plan for Charm is probably typical. Have allies attack each other or heal the charmer. For Blindness, I like the idea of forcing a random target more than lowering accuracy (maybe a mix of a little lower accuracy, but also randomizing your target making it a risk to hit an enemy that could retaliate against you, I feel that could make some interesting encounters).

As for Fear, that is partly implemented. Fear causes your summoned minions to flee, and I'm toying with the idea of having it block or cancel some kinds of buffs (can't raise your Attack Power if your party member doesn't feel brave enough to attack, that sort of thing). I want to give the summoned minions a protective effect so that you need way do sift through them to land meaningful attacks.

Minions have to be able to flee, so I made it so that they can (complete with an animation). They also now flee at the end of battle, which the Shepherd's passive ability stops (it will eventually be a percentage chance to flee).

In addition, while character's with swords and arrows might go directly for the summoner, I added another new Smash ability (imagine warhammers, clubs, etc.) that hits both the enemy itself and causes some if it's minions to scatter, thinning the herd.

I have some other changes to assets and the code, but that was already a lot! This really felt like one where, at least a small number of more complete ideas fit together really well!

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Someone recently claimed that the new Davies era of doctor who has no more wokism* than the show used to.

Now, maybe I've just changed in the past few decades, but from what I've heard of the 60th anniversary specials it does seem a tad more concentrated. Cherry-picking SPOILERS, sweeties.

- Donna got married offscreen. To what I can only assume is the last black cab driver in London.

- Her kid is trans. Specifically, non-binary, female presenting, says the wiki.** - In the next episode, we learn the Doctor is gay/bi when he thinks Sir Isaac Newton is hot. I'd smugly say this bit has no real relevance, but...the actual scene does carry the episode theme of accidentally changing reality. It's just the queer bit that seems tacked on. Though it does carry forward themes from 10s era. - Sir Zack himself is played by a half-Indian actor. It's not exactly hard to tell. I'm assuming they're running on Bridgerton logic. https://twitter.com/frozenaesthetic/status/1731332492282429950 - This episode is basically just Donna and the Doc exploring a weird location, and running into monsters, who happen to look like them. It would be a bottle episode, except for the large vfx budget. And yet ol' Rusty somehow managed to awkwardly wedge in an  progressive issue. - In the next episode, the villain explains how he's just exploiting the divisions that already exist in human society, including cancel culture. - no wait he's got a point. Jpg - This is ironic, given that Davies and/or his broadcasting house masters are pretty blatantly on the team that a) coined the word,  b) cancels people the most often, and c) defends the idea of Internet lynch mobs*** (***as long as they're left wing. If not, they're *ist "trolls", even if they're just complaining about the latest sacred cow.) Maybe the Davies was criticizing his own team. * Because the Toymaker was kind of racist back in the day (white dude dressed like a stereotypical Chinese dude), Davies made the new version a bit racist "as a callback to his original, problematic depiction back in 1966." - TVtropes, ref. DW Unleashed. On the other hand, the Toymaker also mocks and dresses as several other cultural archetypes. All the ones I've seen were white European ones. He just does this to everyone, apparently. - Toymaker also weaponizes the Spice Girls hit "Spice Up Your Life". No, I will not explain. Though I will note that a line about the "Yellow man in Timbuktu" was apparently drowned out in the episode. Probably for being a tad spicy. - One new UNIT character is a lady in a wheelchair. When the new Tardis - no, I will not explain - has a wheelchair ramp, she happily points it out. Which makes me wonder why the blue box would be so limited, considering it often deals with alien species. - Also, the same actress played a disabled Companion in the Big Finish audio dramas. I'm not sure why it was considered essential to do so in an entirely audio format, but there have been controversies over this sort of thing before (EG Artie on Glee, various racial voice acting controversies). - At this point, casting Ncuti Gatwa as 15 doesn't even register. Not really a blip on my radar. Black Doc? Whatevs. His sonic screwdriver has Rwandan words on it? So? I go to church with lots of Africans. Heck, I'm a black immigrant to ol' Blighty myself, just from the other side of the pond. Ncuti is, chronologically speaking, more British than I am. - Though given that he's Rwandan-Scottish, there may be some debate on the "British" part. - Wikipedia says the actor is pretty left-wing, but the actor seems good so far, so I'm willing to give him a sha-

Oh, come ON!

Maybe the original person speaking was comparing it to the Chibnall “history has always been a whitewash” era, which had a character who was a paper thin Trump satire. A tad ironic, when the whole point of bringing Davies, Tennant, and Tate back is to play on nostalgia.

*Tangent: that word was apparently voted  the most annoying words in English. Which is kind of hilarious if you know that it was originally created to self-describe certain progressives. And the "you can't even define that word!" meme was almost certainly ripped off from the right wing "what is a woman?" Meme. ** This is apparently because she's part Time Lord, through Donna. It seems a tad interesting to me that a few works featuring non binary characters happen to make them enby due to some sort of supernatural (Omniscient Reader) or sci-fi (SW Squadrons) influence which the vast majority of IRL enbies don't have. ...As far as I know.

[princess-of-the-corner]

honestly anything TA says about Chloé and her background and motives is just like, a display of shallow understanding on how society works. People don't care if the customer service workers (from waiters to doctors and any job that serves a customer, which is pretty much all of them) do their job for money or because they genuinely like said job so long as they get good service like they were promised. Privilege is part of a whole ass System and you can't say just *this one specific person* has privilege when literally a majority of the cast has white privilege, all of them are at least middle class, and Adrien, who is one of the main characters, and Felix and Gabriel, two other big names in the show, are upper class white males. the last two are people who get off scott free from all their crimes which is probably what would happen in real life because of said privileges. And even then, the money all the rich kids supposedly have? Not even theirs. They're all broke dependent children with Adrien being the only one with a job and even then where's that money going? Does Kagami get fencing prize money? Is it hers or is it her mother's? Also anyone can be abused and have trauma and mental illnesses and whatnot, and full stop. Doesn't matter what you have or don't have.

Yeah no exactly like.

If we pretend for a hot second that having wealth cancels out any other trauma, then it should cancel out at least every traumatic experience for Gabriel, Felix, Adrien and Kagami. Not to mention you have to ask where the line is drawn because a lot of the Miracuclass is pretty well-off even though they're not quite in the 'Scrooge McDuck Money' category. (seriously we have discussed the class's financial situations before and of those whose families we've seen the only one who /might/ not be some kind of rich is Mylene.)

But these things don't exist in a vacuum.

You can have all the money in the world and still have trauma from various things! Since we were just talking about a certain AU, let's gesture over to Batman who is famously very rich but also traumatized as fuck!

Someone wealthy can have fucked up events happen to them. They can have parents that abuse them. They can have partners that abuse them. They could be born with some chemical imbalance that makes them depressed despite the fact that they 'have no reason to be depressed' because fuck man that's what depression does!

And while wealth can help, as it has access to resources to help fix your problems, it doesn't solve things.

But yes! Chloé being a child has another layer to it! Because her wealth is not her own and she /can't/ use her money to fix her problems! Even if Chloé did realize 'hey I need therapy', she'd need to get her parents' permission and have them pay for it.

At the same time, she has no way to escape her situation. She is underage and needs a legal guardian of some sort. Her parents have enough money that she can't report them for child abuse and expect to be removed from their custody. She has no access to income of her own and/or skills to get income where she could petition to be emancipated from them.

And even when she /does/ become an adult, there's the question of what will happen. Because maybe they cut her off and leave her to flounder with no skills as soon as she turns 18. On the other hand, they could keep controlling her like a child because she has no skills thanks to their shitty upbringing and can't survive without them, so it's a game of 'you'll get money as long as you do exactly what I want'.

This stuff does similarly apply to Adrien, Felix and Kagami as well. They seem a bit more ready to function in the world, but even so they're still children at the whims of their parents and can only escape through their parents fucking dying.