#But that has to do with the campaigns too

[ofstarsandvibranium]

3 Types of Neck Kisses

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: Here are the 3 different ways Bucky kisses your neck.

Warning: light smut - fingering and p in v

Lovingly

It's late and you don't want to fall asleep. You just want to enjoy this moment with Bucky. Now with him campaigning to be the next Congressman, he's hardly home. You don't see him much and miss him like crazy, but you can't fault him for this.

You're cuddled up into Bucky now. The tv in your shared bedroom plays on low volume. He face is nuzzled into your neck and you feel his breath on your skin. Your arms are wrapped around him, fingers running through his hair that has him purring like Alpine.

His own arms are wrapped around you as well. He tightens his hold on you, pulling you even closer to him. He presses kisses onto your neck and mumbles, "Love you, baby," as he peppers more kisses along your neck.

You let out a content sigh and mumble back, "I love you too, Bucky."

Sexily

You didn't let him have his way with you when you stepped out of the bedroom earlier. The dress you picked out for tonight's charity event clung to you in delicious ways, yet still created a classy aura around you.

You couldn't help but snicker as Bucky's eyes raked down your body, "Down boy. We're going to be late and this is your event."

He pouted, "Baby-"

You shook your head, "Nope. Besides, I spent all this time to look pretty, I don't want it to go to waste. Now let's go."

Now, it's well into the night. Bucky's already said his piece, thanking all of the sponsors, donations, and attendees for the night. Then the dancefloor opened up, more drinks started flowing, which meant no one would notice Bucky dragging you to the nearest unoccupied room.

As soon as you enter the room, Bucky shuts the door, locking it behind him. He presses you against the door, hiking up your dress, "Been teasing me all night in this fucking dress," he presses a desperate kiss to your lips and groans when he realizes, "Fuck, no panties either?"

"Surprise," you reply with a smirk and the man moans into your neck. He kisses and nips into your skin as he wraps your leg around his waist. His metal fingers rub at your clit.

You grip at the lapels of his suit jacket, "Buck-"

"Just wanna make sure you're ready for me, baby. Been trying to hide this hard on for hours," he murmurs into your skin.

"Been dripping for you since we got here."

"Naughty girl," he says as he bites into your neck and slowly enters you. You gasp at he fills you and do your best to keep quiet while he fucks you.

Comforting

The assassination attempt wasn't expected. He thought that after everything he's done, even being a close friend to both Captain America's, people's view of him would be better.

Obviously he was wrong.

Being shot at was nothing new to him, but you? It was foreign territory. You've never been a part of that side of Bucky's life. You never had to fight aliens or enhanced individuals. You were a complete civilian, so of course you'd take this a lot harder than him.

Bucky hated it.

Now you were plagued with nightmares of him being shot and it broke his heart whenever he woke to you whimpering in your sleep, crying for him.

"No, no, please," Bucky hears you say as he stirs from his slumber, "Bucky, no," he hears again.

He scoops you into his arms, "Darlin', I'm here. I'm here, baby. It's okay," he whispers, wiping your tears away with his vibranium arm.

Your face scrunches and then your eyes blink open. Eyes red and watery, you rasp out, "Bucky?"

"You were having another nightmare, sweetheart."

You groan, rolling away from him, wanting to hide, "I'm sorry."

He pulls you close, spooning you from behind, "Don't be. I'm sorry you had to witness that. I'm used to being shot at, but you-I wish you never witnessed that." He leans in, kissing the back of your neck, "But I'm here, sweetheart. I'm safe." he tightens his hold on you.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry for this." He kisses your neck again, "I love you, I'm here. I'm here, baby. I'm safe."

He continues to repeat these words to you, while kissing your neck, reminding you that your nightmares are just that, nightmares.

[unpopularly-opinionated]

With this last election specifically (or even 2016's election), an element of this that I feel is important to note is that even if you're not openly shitting on a demographic, that doesn't mean you're supporting that demographic either, especially with regards to politics. And it shouldn't need explaining why it's vitally important in politics to make sure every demographic thinks you're supporting them.

For better or for worse (it's only for worse, let's be honest), politics is just a huge popularity contest, which means yeah, you're going to have to get up there and lie, and bullshit, and give the greatest fucking performance of your life if you want to stand a chance at winning. This is why it's all but impossible to run a campaign primarily on things like LGBT rights, or abortion rights, or any *insert minority issue here* because frankly put: people are dumb.

Okay, maybe that was hyperbolic, but people do have different access points to the news, and short attention spans/busy lives to lead instead of paying absurdly close attention to politics. The point I'm trying to make is this: let's say you see a clip of a candidate showing their support for gay marriage. That's it. That's the sound byte, clip, headline, article, whatever it is you used to consume media at that specific moment. Now, for obvious reasons, this differs from person to person, but some people might be asking themselves: "Well do they support trans people too?" or some might ask: "Do they support abortion?" or "Well what about straight people? Are we being left out?" and it's very important that you realize that regardless of whatever your personal feelings on the validity of each of those questions (or others) might be, they're all valid to the person asking them.

Not everyone has time, energy, or capability to research a candidate's every last viewpoint. It also doesn't help that a lot of candidates are intentionally really fucking vague on a lot of the more hot button issues. This is a part of why a lot of people wind up being single-issue voters, because they quite literally only know a candidate's single viewpoint.

So when you run a candidacy purely on how you're going to help minorities like women, immigrants, gays, trans, etc. against a guy who runs his candidacy on helping the majority alternative to each of those demographics...you're fighting an uphill battle.

And I can't stress enough that this isn't me saying that you shouldn't stand for minority issues. As a minority myself, if everyone just looked at politics from a strictly logical perspective, I would be fucked lol. I mean thankfully I'd manage, but not nearly as well as I have since 2008. But the problem is, even if they're the ones who need the "least" amount of help, you still need to factor the majority into what you're fighting for. Even if it's all horseshit, you need to throw them a bone.

TL;DR: Love it or hate it, but those "straight", "white", "cis", "men" (intentionally kept separate as each is a separate demographic) make up the majority and even if they need the "least" amount of help, you still need to, at the very least, pretend that you intend to help them.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[thedaddycomplex]

I haven’t been caught up on the news for a weeks or two. It’s a genuine question, how is the military on our side from that anon’s post? I’ve seen that they were ordered to help deport people then were ordered to stop because of expenses. Not a magat, I swear. I was looking into going military for educational benefits but have been hesitant with this administration so far

It all seemed to start during his last campaign when Trump insulted POW Sen. John McCain for "getting captured" during the Vietnam War, but that was just the opening salvo in his ceaseless dishonoring of active military members and veterans.

Trump is currently cutting the staff at Veterans Affairs, which will make it much harder (if not impossible) for veterans to receive assistance of any kind — especially those needing health care or the suicide hotline.

Trump also fired top military leaders who'd served both Democrat and Republican administrations for three decades so he can install sycophants who'll carry out his orders, even if those orders are unconstitutional.

And though Trump's initial attempt to do so has been blocked by a judge, he also plans to ban transgender people from serving in the military despite there being no evidence that the military wants them banned. On the contrary, most active service members don't give a shit whether or not their fellow service members are transgender.

And in probably the pettiest move, his administration (acting on his anti-DEI orders) is systematically removing any mention or acknowledgement of non-white military heroes from websites and other public records. When this was discovered, they said it was a "mistake," yet still defended their stance.

Oh, and this happened during his previous term when he was scheduled to visit Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris (from The Atlantic): "In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, 'Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.' In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as 'suckers' for getting killed."

Anyway, because of all this and more, a huge swath of active military and veterans who voted for him are having major buyer's remorse. (See: Leopards Eating Faces Party.)

Because they're all learning he has absolutely no respect for the military, but don't take it too personally. He has no respect for anyone. Cowards never do.

[cheshireliam]

Ring Schwartz 2nd Birthday Campaign: Story

Epilogue [His POV]

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

— March 2nd has arrived.

If I were to borrow Robin’s words, today is the day Nica and I were born “carrying hopes”. 

(... We’re probably trampling on that “hope” as we live our lives.)

(But if I don't do that, I—) 

…

Nica: … Apparently it's our birthday, but you’re making such a gloomy face. 

Ring: Nica… 

Nica: Happy birthday, Ring. 

Ring: Oh, yeah… happy birthday to you too, Nica. 

Ring: Right… this is for you. 

I handed Nica the present I had just gone to pick up. 

Nica: You got this for me? Can I open it here? 

Ring: Y-yeah… of course. I don’t know if you’re going to like it… but I’d be glad if you’ll make use of it. 

Nica: Let’s see what it is… oh, is this a coffee cup?

Ring: Personal tableware isn’t provided in the palace, so I thought it might be useful… 

I repeated the words Robin said to me, and Nica smiled.

Nica: That doesn’t sound like your usual way of thinking, but… whatever. 

Nica: Is this a drawing of birds on the cup? 

Ring: Yeah. I painted a pair of black swans representing us. 

Nica: Oh wow, you painted this yourself? Nice. 

Nica studied the coffee cup closely.

I spent a long time painting it, so it should've turned out decent… or at least that was what I thought.

Nica: You left Darius out, huh.

Ring: Ah, no, I… it just happened to turn out that way, I didn't mean to…! 

Ring: I only painted a single black swan at first.

Ring: But I messed it up halfway and made a black smudge next to it…

Ring: … So I thought “why not turn the smudge into a second swan?”

Nica: And you got some wise advice from Robin. 

Ring: … Did I tell you Robin helped me pick this present? 

Nica: Nah, I figured it out.

Nica: Not bad, Ring. You used my birthday present as an excuse to ask Robin out on a date. 

Nica: That aside, the shape of this cup doesn’t exactly look refined, it looks more like something commoner’s use. 

Nica: It doesn’t match my image at all…

Ring: Uhh…

Nica: … But that means I can use it without worrying about tarnishing it. Thanks. 

Nica touched the two swans on the cup while saying that. 

Nica: … I wish I could be like this too. 

Ring: Huh…? 

Nica: A swan that can freely fly anywhere with you. 

… The smile Nica wore at that moment still felt fake somehow. 

…

Afterwards… strangely, my legs brought me to Crown’s castle which stood within the palace's grounds. 

(Why did I walk all the way here…?)

(I don’t even have a reason to come here. It's not like I want to see her or anything…)

The last time I was at the castle, I ran into some of Crown’s members by chance and they called Robin for me. 

But today, it was already night time, so that wasn't going to happen. 

(... I should go back to the palace.)

I turned around and was about to leave, when— 

Kate: … Ring? What brings you here?

— A voice called out to me. 

Ring: Why are you here, Robin…?

Kate: I just got back from a mission. 

As if by the will of a divine entity, there she was, standing right before me.

I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. 

But no matter how hard I rubbed them or pinched my cheeks, Robin didn't disappear. 

Ring: I came because… I wanted to see you. 

When faced with such a miraculous coincidence, I said exactly what was on my mind without trying to cover anything up.

Kate: Huh…? 

As expected, Robin’s eyes wavered with confusion.

(Crap… did I creep her out!?) 

Her soft and desirable cheeks turned slightly red, but that was definitely because of the chilly night air. 

There was no way she’d blush because a man who's a potential enemy told her he “came because he wanted to see her”. 

(The emotion Robin is feeling right now is probably fear. I must explain myself before she gets the wrong idea…!) 

Ring: Ah, no…! That’s not it. You’ve misunderstood, I don’t mean it in a weird way!

Kate: O-okay… 

(I need to think of something… a decent reason for wanting to see her…)

My brain didn't work as fast as Darius’ or Nica’s, but it worked wonders in times of crisis. 

Ring: Y-you're the commander of “Operation Recover Nica’s Smile”.

Ring: That means I have a duty to report the results of our mission to you. 

Kate: I see… it makes sense now that you mention it. I’m curious about what happened with the present too. 

Robin nodded, seemingly convinced that my reason was the truth, and I secretly heaved a sigh of relief. 

Ring: … It was a success.

Ring: I may not have seen Nica’s genuine smile, but… he was happy to receive the present, so I think we could say we achieved our original goal. 

Kate: I see! I’m glad he liked it…!

Ring: It's all because you were the commander. … Thanks for helping me out.

Kate: Fufu, I didn’t do anything. I only went shopping with you for a bit. 

Ring: That’s not true. I think Nica will really make use of the present I gave him this time…

Ring: Had it been just me thinking of a present alone, I might've picked something useless. 

Kate: … Then I guess this is something we accomplished together. 

Robin gently wrapped my self-deprecating words with kindness and smiled tenderly. 

When I saw that smile… I felt like I finally knew the reason why I instinctively wanted to see her. 

(I think… I just wanted her to hear about today’s events.) 

I wanted her to hear all about how happy it made me when Nica accepted the present and said he’d use it every day, and about how… lonely… I felt when I couldn't bring back the kind of smile I once saw on his face. 

(I want Robin to hear my thoughts and feelings… I want to share this sentiment with her.) 

(... As for why I want that, I’m still not sure of it.)

(But this restless feeling I have towards Robin isn’t unpleasant.) 

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly remembered the item in my pocket.

Ring: Right, Robin. As a token of thanks, I want you to have this.

Kate: This is… a ticket to the play that’s really popular right now and hard to buy tickets for…! 

Kate: Are you sure? Can I really accept such a nice gift…!?

Even as she asked that question, her fingers were tightly gripping the ticket, not willing to let go. 

It was obvious how much she loved theatre and that she wanted to keep the ticket. It was honestly kind of funny to see. 

Ring: … Nica gave me two tickets as a birthday present, so I want to share them with you.  

Kate: I see…

Robin’s voice when she responded suddenly sounded lacking in energy. 

I thought it was strange and wondered if something was bothering her. I decided to stay silent, waiting for her to continue— 

Kate: Um… what do you plan to do with the other ticket?

Ring: Nica went through the trouble of getting it for me, so I was going to see the play myself…

Ring: Do you perhaps want both tickets? You’d probably have more use for it than I would, so I don’t mind giving it to you.. 

Kate: That’s not it! It's just… if it’s okay with you, can we go watch the play together?

Ring: You want to watch it with me? 

Ring: … I think you already know this by now, but I’m not the kind of guy who can say anything insightful about a play. 

Kate: That’s okay. I just want to watch it with you and say things like “that was good”, “I didn’t quite like that part”... 

Kate: I want to share such feelings with you.

Ring: Share… feelings… 

Her words caught me off guard because those were my exact thoughts just moments ago. 

(Robin is an ordinary person in Crown, and I’m a Cursed One in Vogel. Our worlds are so different, and yet…) 

(... We think the same way. It’s surprising.)

Kate: … Is that a no? 

Ring: I-it’s not. I’d love to! 

Kate: Fufu. You sound like you’re warming up for a battle, Ring. … I’d love to watch the play with you too. 

Robin laughed at my overly enthusiastic response.

When I saw that smile, for some reason, it made me think of one of the meanings behind the osmanthus flower. 

[reccyls]

Hello I'm on my knees for spoilers, your favorite moments, and thoughts on Victor's route🙏 Did it meet your expectations?👀

Hello! Sure, I'd be happy to give my thoughts! But please keep in mind that this is my personal opinion and first impressions, based solely on the Blind Love ending, and I may have some different thoughts after some time to think and finishing the Mad Love too.

Big spoiler alert!

To be very blunt, I was quite disappointed with Victor's route. Part of it may be that I had set my expectations rather high, but I do think that the pacing and storytelling of the route itself felt subpar. Some parts felt shoehorned and didn't flow together very well as a cohesive story. There were definitely parts that I liked, though! Just, as an entire package it doesn't work for me and I'm very sad about that.

For things that I liked:

I think early on in the route, there were some good moments between Victor and Kate. There is that initial line-drawing and hesitation between Kate and Victor that comes across in their pre-route event stories that I do like.

Kate is shown to have PTSD (or at least a similar trauma response) to the explosions that occurred at the church in the past, as shown in the LINE campaign episode 0. I think that's a pretty neat touch.

Nice angst in chapter 14 when the first kiss occurs. Kate has already come to her feelings realization in chapter 10 and was about to confess to Victor, but Victor cuts her off with a kiss. After that, he pulls back and asks her quite coldly, "Is that enough to satisfy you?" Then he reminds her that there's only a week left before her 1 month period as the Fairytale Keeper is up, and she will go back to her normal life then. It's a rather harsh moment of Victor drawing another line between them and I did like the angst and the drama of it, haha.

As for what I felt was lacking...

William!!! William is such a gem. He is merciless towards Victor's patheticness and it is so funny. There's one conversation ("conversation") at one point that goes something like this:

Victor, brooding because he is pining and miserable about the consequences of his own actions upsetting Kate: .............

William, sitting next to him, drinking wine and having the time of his life: So you messed up, huh.

Vogel has essentially no role whatsoever in the story. Ring, Nica, and Darius each get 1 scene where they maybe have like 10 boxes of dialogue max, and then they never show up again. It's chapter 10 for Ring and Nica, and chapter 13 for Darius. They didn't do anything before this. They don't do anything after.

The emotional conflict/relationship development between Victor and Kate felt really repetitive for a while. Kate gets closer to Victor > Kate discovers one of Victor's secrets > Kate gets uncertain as she sorts out her thoughts and Victor pulls away > Kate makes up her mind and confronts Victor and tells him that she wants to stick with him > Kate gets closer to Victor > Kate discovers one of Victor's secrets > Kate gets uncertain as she sorts out her thoughts and Victor pulls away... I think this happens like 2 or 3 times. It just felt so dragged out.

BEN BROWN. OH MY GOD BEN BROWN. So one of the antagonists/masterminds in the Blind Love route is Ben Brown, a secret cousin of Victor's that is never referred to anywhere else in the story and ONLY appears in chapter 24, where he is introduced, goes on his evil motivation rant, we get his tragic backstory infodumped on us, and then he dies. All in one chapter. Like, what is that pacing???

The part where William explains Victor's past to Kate feels like it was cut and paste from a different draft. Although everything is William telling Kate what happened, it's narrated in first person. So it goes like "I was born in the royal family" even though this is William speaking. William does say something like "this is how he told the story to me" but idk, that still felt weird and disjointed to me.

Victor comes off as quite unsympathetic in some parts of his backstory to me, specifically in the part where he discovers and confirms his curse. So the royal family was having a succession crisis, and Victor thought he wouldn't have anything to do with it because he was so far down the line. However, all his relatives began dying one after another. After some research, Victor discovers that he has manifested a curse, and all the deaths seem to have been because of him as all the family members who died did so after Victor had spoken with them. To confirm this, Victor arranges to meet with his uncle, whom he later describes as being like a brother figure to him, and confirms that he can use his curse to make his uncle commit suicide. The nursemaid who helped Victor research the curse seems to have gone insane because of it and started basically worshipping Victor's powers letting him become the king, so Victor used his abilities to kill her too so that no one would know that he killed his uncle. I totally get that Victor would have been very traumatized by realizing that he killed everyone in his family and not in his right mind (he had attempted to kill himself after first theorizing this too) but this was just. Not a good look.

I'm really sorry, I don't mean to be so negative. I was really happy with Azel's route in Ikepri so I think I set my expectations quite high for Victor, as I do like the relationship development he and Kate have in their events. But what we got (and what I experienced so far) was just disappointing to me. I really do hope his Mad Love route is better.

[justalittlespore]

The last time I DMed for a group of people, I had just a bit of experience from many years prior, and most of them had no experience at all. But I'd built a whole world and loose story and was excited to share it with people, so I got this group together to give it a shot.

I made the mistake of having them start out as strangers, with a grand plan to bring them together as a group. You see, I was under the misapprehension that, having agreed to play this game, they were interested in the world and story I'd set up, and would therefore take the hooks I laid for them and find reasons to work together. Because I was a fool.

When they made their characters, I asked them to fill in some basic info for me, including someone important from their life (who was still living), their greatest goal in life, and what their character's main motivation would be to go on an adventure.

Half the players tried to treat the game like a single-player sandbox video game and got frustrated and accused me of railroading them when I asked them to please not run alone into the woods in the very first scene when the characters have all just met and been given a reason to work together. At the first sign of any kind of danger, one player would simply say "my character is a coward so he would run away" and refuse to take part in anything.

One player specified in my questionnaire that his character thought himself very wise (a devoutly religious monk, in fact), but was actually very foolish, and was the type to get drawn in by get-rich-quick schemes. So I prepared a hook to draw him into the plot involving an NPC trying to sell him on a get-rich-quick scheme... which he promptly refused to engage with because he'd decided that actually his character was too zen to be tempted with worldly possessions.

When I began to get exasperated, several of the players pointed out that a good DM like Brennan Lee Mulligan never seemed to have any trouble adapting to what players wanted to do. They were unreceptive to my counter points that 1) that is his entire job, which he is paid for, and 2) his players are skilled improvisers and all actively working together to tell the best story possible.

I feel I should note that at this time, all of us in this group were in our 30s. And not, say, 14-year-olds who you might expect this entitled attitude from.

After a few sessions of desperately trying to keep the characters in the game at all without totally railroading them, I asked everyone to please watch a couple specific episodes of Adventuring Academy with Brennan Lee Mulligan which were about how to be a good player so that everyone has the best possible experience. I had already told them that I was spending literally 8 hours per week planning these sessions and trying to find ways to keep things going and keep together a group of people who desperately wanted to be brooding loners, and I promised them bonus XP at the start of the next session if they would just watch one or two of these videos.

At the start of the next session, one player proudly announced that he hadn't watched the videos, and that he wouldn't, no matter how I tried to bribe him, because he didn't think that being a player in a tabletop roleplaying game should come with homework.

When reminded (again) that I was spending 8 fucking hours a week planning these sessions, for which I was not being compensated in any way, and which he was making harder, he shrugged and said that it was my idea to start this campaign, so it was up to me to keep it going, and keep the players interested enough to keep showing up.

I don't DM anymore.

D&D 5e supposedly has a GM shortage and idk maybe if the player culture of the game didn't treat GMing as a thankless job and the rules of the game as an issue to be fixed by the GM maybe things would be better. Ah well, who knows. Maybe a couple hundred more "we ruined the GM's campaign on purpose" memes will make people enjoy running the game better.

[steviewashere]

What if Max is brought to the hospital and Steve is carrying her. But immediately after she gets treatment, Steve is taken in as a suspect for her condition because people in town know he's athletic and could possibly have the strength to do something like this.

Just hear me out.

They know that he's been in fights with Billy Hargrove before. They've seen Steve around town with Max before, in Family Video, at Scoops Ahoy, just in his car.

And though they want to keep the blame on Eddie (y'know whole Satanic Panic thing), it's also really easy to blame Steve because of how off-putting, athletic, and constantly beat up/getting himself into trouble he is.

His parents may have given money to certain campaigns or projects around town before, but that doesn't mean he's completely dissolved of suspicion. His dad won't pay for a good lawyer, even when they finally get a hold of him, because this is a lesson for Steve, too. That if he gets himself in messes like this, then he deserves nothing from his parents, he has to figure out how to fend for himself. That he's [Steve's] "no longer a son of mine". Because unfortunately, Steve's dad knows his track record, too. All the constant fights. The medical bills. Even found the nail bat one day.

Anyway. Just a really angsty AU where Steve is blamed for the murders instead.

Oh...and what if instead of Chrissy meeting up with Eddie that night, Chrissy is found dead at the high school instead? It wouldn't immediately get the suspicion off of Eddie—y'know with Hellfire, but also maybe Chrissy had a note on her person from Eddie about when to meet him. However, Steve was seen at the basketball game that night. He was seen going to the bathroom at one point a little bit after the game. Wrong place wrong time.

Eddie still finds her (maybe Chrissy went to the wrong bathroom before she left campus) and he freaks out and flees, but somebody else comes across her minutes later.

I don't know, this is very off the beaten path of the show, just major continuity errors left and right. But listen, it's a fun idea.

Oooo or maybe they think Eddie and Steve are working together?

Anyway.

Eventually, Eddie is somehow able to prove his innocence. But Steve gets the spotlight instead. So now he has to come up with a way—to build a story that paints Steve away from the crime. Even if that means taking the blame instead. Even if that means admitting to a crime he did not commit. Because he's all like, "Steve's too good for this town to rot here. He's meant to make it somewhere. My family's been in the gutter for years, they already tried to figure me. It'd just make sense. It just has to make sense."

Cue the angst of Steve finding out the sacrifice Eddie's taking this time. Of him fighting Eddie on it. That he can't just throw away his life for somebody like Steve, who in his own words says, "I'm some washed-up asshole. Let them think it's me. Get out of here."

Them butting heads until they get Hopper involved and somehow, eventually, the blame is put on Jason instead. Because his connections make sense, too. Also his whole religious freakout connects him—some sort of mental break.

I'm not convincing anybody that this would make sense as a story. But it makes sense...to me.

[alexanderlightweight]

Hi! I was so happy to hear that you've been doing better, scrolling tumblr and seeing my user name only to see you had posted a prompt response (and it was one of mine!) was so wonderful 🩵🩵🩵

for a Wednesday prompt, how about petty!protective! Magnus? Not super specific but I hope you can have fun with it. And nsfw or sfw, wherever your muse takes you

i hope this complies with what you were wanting, just send me another ask if it didn't hit it quite right :)

i did have fun with this and so did Magnus (even if his fingertips are sore)

<3 I hope you enjoy

lumine

in his wake petals fall (this is part of that verse)

Magnus is currently peering down at an assortment of gleaming magical thread.  Each individual spool was woven with care and power, the colors as vivid and vibrant as the materials used to create them.  

Alexander will be attending a funeral in Idris soon.  

One that Magnus will not be allowed to escort Alexander to personally, but one that — with a little effort — he can at least attend in presence. 

Magnus creates delicate loops that form forget-me-nots the same color as his magick on the stark, white silk.  It’s painstakingly time consuming, but by the time he’s pulled the last tug of thread through, Alexander won't be able to reach out his palm for a handshake, pick up a drink or use his stele without seeing reminders of Magnus’ on his cuffs. Red chrysanthemums take shape over the shoulder blades with red and pink camellias dancing on the stiff collar.  

Perhaps it’s a bit too colorful for a nephilim funeral, but Magnus will allow Alexander to cover it with his jacket if need be.  So long as Magnus’ claim is allowed to drape over him.

The needle disappears somewhere as he shakes the shirt out, looking it over with careful and precise care. 

It’s just in time too, Alexander’s still damp from the shower when he walks out, crisp white pants clinging to his long legs.

“I was wondering where my shirt went. I see you decided to decorate.”  Alexander sounds more amused than anything else as he lets Magnus lift the shirt with magic and hold it up to his chest.  His hazel eyes are soft as he looks down, an admiring gleam as his fingers brush over the raised silken texture.

“You’ll wear it?”

“You made it for me, Magnus.  Of course I’ll wear it.” Even as he speaks, Alexander is moving along with the magic, letting it slide the shirt over his arms and holding still as blue wisps button up the front.

“Even if it’s a bit—” Magnus trails off, proud of his work and yet knowing quite well that it’s a bit far past what anyone else would consider ‘too much’. 

“Everyone will be too relieved I only wore a shirt you embroidered and didn’t personally bring you.” Alexander interrupts, shaking his head in amusement as he kisses Magnus’ fingertips.  “Considering I’ve either accidentally or on purpose made a statement at every official Clave function since we’ve gotten together, this much will only be considered a relief.”

Magnus hums and looks critically over the shirt once more, “maybe I should add a few heliotropes—”

“Maybe you should come help me get ready?” Alexander laughs and carefully moves the box of embroidery to the nearby table. “I think that between you crashing my first wedding and being the main participant of the second, everyone knows I belong to you.”

—

This, Alec thinks to himself as he forces a polite smile past his gritted teeth, is what he gets for being optimistic and assuming competency within his own kind.

Apparently neither his wedding, the official announcement sent to all active-duty shadowhunters and politically inclined nephilim or the embroidery on his shirt are enough to completely deter unwanted attention.  

That or he needs to start a second campaign, one that makes it clear he has no desire to add his lineage to the current genepool.

The situation would normally be fine, except it’s exactly the kind of attention Alec promised Magnus he didn’t need to worry about.  Thankfully for the steadily diminishing numbers of their population, Jia interrupts before the need for truly drastic measures unfolds, neatly stepping between Alec and three persistently unobservant nephilim.

“If I convince Aline and Helen to come be your buffer will you please stop threatening your fellow hunters.  By Raziel, we’re already at a funeral Alec.” Her voice is just low enough that without runes only he can hear it and he answers just as quietly. 

“The only reason I haven’t added another body to the pyre is because it might get bloodstains on my shirt.  A shirt that my very magical husband embroidered for me by hand, despite being talented enough to just use magic.” He raises an eyebrow at her pointedly and nods his chin to his shirt, crown of gladioli dipping down to obscure his view.

Jia sighs and Alec swears a shadow of regret passes over her face before she braces herself and grimly shoos the other nephilim away.  Only a few minutes later Helen drags a smirking Aline over to join him. It may be a funeral but it’s also a political commitment, one where families gather over a fading bloodline and try to rekindle long buried alliances. There is very little grieving actually shown or done during moments like this.

“Muqin told us to be your honor guard,” Aline gives him a steady once-over, lingering on the intricate embroidery of his white shirt. “Apparently Magnus is being too subtle?” The doubt in her voice only leads to more laughter as Helen finally notices the flowers on Alec’s shirt, recognizing the meaning for each and every one. 

Forget-me-nots so that alec literally can’t use his hands without being reminded to think about magnus. The pink and red camellias mean both ‘longing for you, desire, affection and also passion, deep/stronger desire’ and red chrysanthemums is the deep connection and love between them.

The gladioli crown (symbolizing honor and remembrance of the person lost) is just something that alec can wear to be respectful while still wearing flowers like a boss. Aka magnus wanted to make him a crown and alec said: make it themed appropriately and i’ll wear it

Aline uses muqin for her mother because she is more formal with jia during shadowhunter events.

Alec hasn’t yet realized that magnus signed all of his work as if he were doing professional display embroidery. Also this is the equivalent of magical bedazzling.  Magnus doesn’t need rhinestones to have alec dripping in glowing magic, he uses thread lol

this is Magnus being petty in a variety of ways. he can't come to this funeral so he's going to make sure Alec and every other person there think of him despite his absence.

alec is completely covered in magnus' magic and unless they demand he strip, this isn't something as simple as wearing jewelry or artifacts steeps in magnus' magic that he can just take off like going through a metal detector and taking off your belt and tieclip.

magnus literally stretches time out with magic so he can get as many flowers as he feels necessary onto alec's shirt and then still doesn't feel like its enough

yes, Magnus signed his name over and over again onto alec's shirt and if that wasn't enough, his magical signature is plastered all over Alec like sales stickers in a store going out of business.

alec didn't even threaten anyone, magic starting sparking off the embroidery like little bolts of lightning and jia booked it over because 'ALEC OUR POPULATION IS DECLINING AND IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO BOOSTING IT AT LEAST STOP BEING PART OF THE REASON IT SUFFERS!!'

Aline later -while Alec holds Helen up with one arm and Aline uses his other to twirl them both (Aline's alcohol tolerance is high enough that Magnus would like drinking with her) - my dearest cousin. beloved friend. dear wielder of baby making parts that I neither have nor want myself but might require later on. do you have a moment?

alec to Magnus: aline wants my help making babies for her and Helen. she says it's both queer solidarity and because she thinks i'd make pretty babies and that way they'd at least be half-siblings

magnus: I need about ten drinks to deal with even the thought of this because I have very conflicted feelings

only Magnus would bring out his embroidery kit and use thread magic after like a century of forgetting about it because he wants to make it clear who Alec belongs to

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

Gofundme has a minimum donation of 5 for whatever currency the campaign is in.

But there's a year for refunds!

Chuffed allows for very low donation amounts (3$ , 1$ etc)

Shares mean more donors see this!

No action is too small! Do what you can. It can make a difference.

Imagine waking up to the deafening roar of explosions, your tent shaking violently as the earth trembles beneath you. In an instant, everything is chaos—your children scream in terror, clutching onto you as you scramble to escape. The sky is filled with smoke and falling debris, the air thick with dust and panic. There is no time to think, no time to gather what little you have left. You run—barefoot, desperate, carrying your baby in your arms—praying that you will make it out alive.

Images: Hossam sent us images of what his family's tent looks like today after violent airstrikes in Gaza last night (03/17/2025).

Video: to further prove the validity of Hossam's story, we have included an Al Jazeera news report that Hossam sent to us, in which he briefly appears (at the 0:48 mark)

@bashar-qazaz

@hane-qazaz

@hanon-qazaz

Story written by @rumiandroses

For Hossam Al-Qazzaz and his family, this nightmare became reality LAST NIGHT (03/17/2025) when an airstrike obliterated their tent—their last refuge after losing their home, a casualty of the war in Gaza. With no shelter, no safety, and nowhere left to run, they are once again plunged into unimaginable uncertainty as the ceasefire in Gaza collapses and war reignites around them.

Hossam, a dedicated father of four, has already lost his home, his job, and his peace of mind due to the relentless bombardments in Gaza in the 15 months preceding the now,-collapsed ceasefire. Now, with nothing but debris around them, he, his wife Hanan, and their four children—Bashar (9), Hani (8), Diana (4), and 5-month-old Habiba—are now struggling to survive with no roof over their heads.

The suffering extends beyond Hossam, his wife, and his children. Hossam is also the sole caretaker of his elderly parents, aged 75 and 72, both in fragile health. His father is suffering from severe burns and urgently needs medical care, while his mother battles high blood pressure and requires constant attention. But with no home, no stable source of income, and skyrocketing prices for essentials like rice and cooking gas—driven by the border closures and the ban on goods entering Gaza—Hossam is trapped in an incredibly difficult and stressful situation.

Despite these unbearable challenges, Hossam is not asking for much—only the money needed to survive, and to be able to evacuate to safety when the border crossing opens again.

"All we want is to live in dignity," Hossam pleads.

This is where you can make a difference. Every small donation—no matter how modest—can help provide food, clothing, and medical care for Hossam, Hanan, their children, and elderly parents. It can help ensure that Habiba gets the milk and diapers she desperately needs and that his family is not left out in the open with nowhere to turn.

Please, if you can, donate or share Hossam’s story today. Your support can be the difference between survival and despair.

Please consider donating to the Al-Qazzaz family’s original fundraiser to help them buy food and essentials and rebuild their tent:

Our founder, Bethany-Grace ( @rumiandroses ) is also sponsoring a fundraising campaign to help Hossam, Hanan and their entire family evacuate to safety. If everyone donates a little, we might be able to get them to safety the moment the border crossing opens again:

Together, we can ensure that Hossam's family does not just survive—but begins to rebuild a life of safety, stability, and hope.

Hossam’s campaign has been vetted by @gazavetters, and (#287) on their list of verified campaigns.

[concretejunglefm]

It's Nice To Have A Friend.

Just a little something soft involving my favorite boy. Childhood friends to lovers vibes.

Pairing: Nick Folio x gn!reader.

CW: implied struggles at home, mostly tooth rotting fluff.

light pink sky up on the roof. sun sinks down, no curfew

You and Nick have arrived at your favorite spot, the middle point between your houses, located at the bottom of the embankment near the lake. This place is quieter, with only the gentle sound of the water and the rustling of trees in the wind. The positioning of the spot offers a breathtaking view of the setting sun, casting a warm glow over the town. As the sun sinks below the horizon, it prepares to blanket the night sky with a sprinkling of stars.

You can see them better out here.

It’s Friday, and no one expects you home early, if at all. You’ve used the old age excuse of staying over at someone’s house—each other's. In reality, you’ll sneak in long past midnight and crawl into one bed, where you’ll fall asleep cuddling together, just like you’ve done every Friday night since you started this tradition of hanging out.

twenty questions, we tell the truth

“What was your initial impression when you first met me?” You ask.

Curiosity has piqued your interest, but there’s a part of you that believes you already know the answer. Nick has never been one to hide his thoughts about or towards you.

“You mean after you scolded me for smoking weed?” You notice his grin and, instinctively, reach out to hit his side with a light blow, eliciting a chuckle rather than causing any harm.

From the moment you met, he broke into a grin.

The second you looked his way, you took it upon yourself to play your amateur Good Samaritan act and step in, as if you were a poster child for the D.A.R.E. ad campaign.

He doesn’t need to say anything more; you already know, at least you think you do; he likes you too.

you’ve been stressed out lately? yeah, me too

You’ve noticed something has been bothering him lately, just like it has with you.

Is it your parents too?

You’re tempted to ask, but you never pry with one another. However, you’re always there to offer a shoulder during tough moments. You never had to say the words because you knew what the other needed.

It’s all part of having your souls deeply connected.

something gave you the nerve to touch my hand

This is the moment you fall in love with him, you think.

That’s what you’ll tell people when they ask, and you’ll describe this moment right here, sitting on the pier near the lake. It’s the same lake where you always find him fishing, the same lake he always brings you—and only you—to.

And you’ll tell them of the way it felt when his hand brushed against yours, so gentle and soft, your fingers barely entwining, but a touch being enough to ignite the spark between you.

it’s nice to have a friend

tagged: @fadingangelwisp @deathblacksmoke  @geminigirlfromfinland @fuck1ng-queen @xxkittenkissesxx @lacy1986 @ami--gami @floodflameschosen @dominuslunae @tosoundlessdarkistare @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @lonelydragonlady @th4t-em0-k1d @amelia-acero @dollieomens @I-love-the-smell-of-you-blood @sitkowski @athenexe @trvshdxddy @collapsedglasshouses @overmydeadbodysblog @xmads-omensx @ajordan2020 @astronoids @courta13

[mybutcheredtongue]

I'll Love You 'til the Grass Around My Gravestone is Deceased

post azkaban sirius black x fem!reader

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO (see full series list here)

EPILOGUE

Summer, 2017

Sunlight streams in through the windows of your home, gently warming the skin of your arm as you wait for the kettle to boil. Sounds of laughter and chatting floats through the air from the garden through the open window. 

You catch your reflection in the window. The roots of your hair are grey and your forehead is wrinkled. It’s no secret that you’ve faced more than enough hardships in life, and it shows in the faint bags beneath your eyes and the wrinkles in your hands. 

But you’ve also had a lifetime of happy memories. It’s obvious from the smile lines around your mouth and the rosiness of your cheeks.

On the wall is a frame full of new photos. Tonks and Remus’s son, Teddy, when he was just a newborn baby. You find it hard to believe he’s nineteen this year. Another, of you and Minerva standing proudly beside Hermione on her graduation day from Hogwarts. She was the only one to go back to school after the war, while Harry and Ron went on to start their Auror training. You were so unbelievably proud of her that day. 

Photos of all your favourite grandkids that aren’t technically your grandkids: Albus, James, and Lily Potter, and Rose and Hugo Weasley. Albus and Rose are starting at Hogwarts together in September, while James is going into third year. Lily and Hugo are only nine. 

There’s a picture of you cuddling up to Dubh, too. You miss your little best friend more and more every day. She was with you from the day she was a tiny kitten to when she passed away. 

A burst of laughter from the garden brings you back to the task at hand, and you fill up mugs of tea before carefully carrying them outside. At the table, Sirius is mid-story, leaning forward conspiratorially as your aforementioned ‘grandkids’ listen intently. 

“ — and I remember it like it was yesterday. I said, ‘you can do better than that!’, and I barely even had time to think before Bellatrix had said the spell and this big bright flash of light was coming towards me. I thought I was going to die at that moment, I really did. But then I was miraculously saved by someone else — a certain woman had stunned me and threw me across the room, nearly broke all my bones, not sure which would’ve been worse —”

“Oh, stop,” you say with an eye roll, setting cups down in front of your guests. “You deserved a few broken bones for being that stupid.”

You sit down beside Sirius and he laughs, patting your knee with good humour. 

“Yeah, you’d be right about that,” he agrees, nodding. You raise your eyebrows and he grins. “Come on, don’t give me that look, I’m telling them all the best stories about you. It is your birthday, after all.”

You hum, shaking your head in amusement. “I won’t complain.”

“Did you break any bones, Sirius?” James asks curiously, and you snort. 

“No, he didn’t,” you answer with a laugh. “He landed in a pile of sand and was perfectly fine.”

Remus smiles. “Forever dramatic.”

Life has been good, you would say. After the war, you stepped down from teaching and spent some much needed time with Sirius at home, catching up on all the years you were apart. You miss being at Hogwarts and teaching, but you’ve found other ways to keep yourself busy. You campaigned to improve the conditions prisoners have to live in at Azkaban, because you don’t want anyone else to have to suffer as much as Sirius did in there, no matter what they’ve done. They don’t use Dementors there anymore either, and instead have actual prison guards working there. 

You and Sirius babysit the kids when their parents are busy, and of course you spend half the evening of most days looking through your telescope. At the beginning of every month you write an article for The Quibbler about what to expect in the night sky, which Xenophilius Lovegood publishes with delight. 

Minerva has gone on to be the headmistress of Hogwarts, and you’re glad to say you’re still the best of friends. You receive near-weekly letters about what’s been going on and all the kids she has had to reprimand or fights she has had to break up. 

Since Teddy has finished school, Remus has gone back to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts again. He returns home to his family at the weekend, often coming to yours for a visit. Tonks is still an Auror, and has even moved on to taking trainees under her wing just like Moody did for you. 

Hermione works at the Ministry now, and has even been hinted at as the next Minister of Magic in a few years’ time.  

Even Neville Longbottom went back to Hogwarts! He’s now the Herbology professor there. Alice and Frank are still in St. Mungo’s, but there’s recently been a surge in funded research for long-term victims of the Cruciatus Curse and you’re holding out hope that something will work for them. 

Ginny went on to become a professional Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. You and Sirius went to every one of her matches before she retired and became the sports correspondent for the Daily Prophet. 

As Sirius continues his endless supply of stories about you, and the sun starts to set on the horizon, you feel blissfully at peace, surrounded by all the people you love most in the world. You wouldn’t change a thing. 

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

→ all kinds of interaction greatly appreciated! ♡

The end! I just want to take a minute to give the biggest thank yous out to everyone who stopped to read this, and for all the incredible support and kindness I've received. When I posted this fic for the first time, I was genuinely shocked at the overwhelming kindness and all the lovely things people had to say about my work. Everyone has been so patient and understanding. I might sound like a broken record but every single nice comment absolutely made my day and couldn't make me happier. Ultimately, this was a story about love. Of course, the love the reader has for Sirius, but also what she has for everyone else in her life. I wanted to write a story that doesn't just solely focus on the main pairing, but also takes time to show the other strong relationships in her life and how good friendships and support systems can make even the hardest times better. It's taken me over a year to finish this story, which is crazy because it was only 32 chapters long...but I am really proud of it and am so happy I posted it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you thank you thank you! I love you all.

The biggest kisses to my taglist loves for keeping up with this story and for all the love they've sent my way!

@mothraantics @wholelottalove05 @izuoyarmin @devoid-swanky @carpe000diem @mooonyxoxo @navs-bhat

@hyperspeedo @idkman5335 @elanna-elrondiel @murielisacertifieddilf @penelopied @imgondeletedis @wooyoungsrightsock @jennifer0305 @wolfdragon0424 @lovemesomevesey @aylinnmaslow @boiolay @daydreamsgonerogue @gonnaneedabiggerfloat @maryandthemultiverseoffandoms

[homestuckreplay]

You Just Started Some SICK FIRES, BRO

(page 1591-1597)

Our troll buddies grimAuxiliatrix and adiosToreador are back. Having asked Dave and Rose’s advice for strategies on trolling the other, they’re now putting the advice into action and redoubling their trolling efforts to – I think – pretty good effect.

But first, a transitional page. 1591 is image only, and shows a zoomed out shot of Rose still riding the ogre, as well as what I think is our first sighting of Jaspersprite since ‘[S] Enter.’ (p.1149). I like that the comic makes us pause for a moment between two long, complex conversations, and I also find it really interesting that even though the story isn’t currently accepting reader commands, this page is still necessary to ‘set up’ the command that follows it. Can’t suggest ‘Rose: Answer troll.’ if there’s no sign of a troll to answer.

Page 1592 features the chatlog, as well as a very small Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff ‘BUNP’ in the image as the ogre is beached (I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the ways that comic bleeds into this one). I can see how this conversation might be annoying to read for someone who doesn’t like overly complex sentences with unnecessarily formal words, but personally I find this one a joy. It’s just these two terminally online losers (affectionate!) trying to be smarter than each other, but with occasional lapses when it’s too much even for them - like GA’s ‘But Urrgh I Dont Want To Think About That’, or Rose's earlier - but still very sweet - 'You want to be my friend?' (p.1093).

Honestly, these back and forth mind games and metatrolling remind me of the campaigns of one-upmanship that both Dave (p.314) and Rose (p.366) claim to have with their guardians, but while those are skewed relationships, here it’s the truth. I am uncertain of the power dynamics here – GA might know about some temporal mechanics or Sburb lore that gives them an edge in the conversation, or they might be fully muddling through and just be pretending it’s all so easy and obvious, like Rose is.

GA is so correct for saying ‘Sarcasm All The Time Seems Laborious To Me’. Finally, a sane person who can counteract Dave’s obsessive insistence on ‘irony’ (I feel SO bad for GA that their first lesson on human psychology came from Dave). But it is not just sarcasm that differentiates humans from trolls. Multiple trolls have now alluded to ‘THIS HUMAN EMOTION YOU CALL FRIENDSHIP’ (CG, p.1394), ‘The Human Dysfunction Of Amorous Inclination’ (GA, p.1589) and even being ‘B3ST H4T3FR13NDS FOR3V3R’ (GC, p.1524). Which makes me wonder, what do troll friendship and troll relationships look like? Will we ever get the chance to see a pesterlog between two trolls, perhaps discussing their mutual trolling strategies? Despite the differences between the beta kids, Homestuck does a really great job making me feel like they love and care for each other, but with a group of antagonistic trolls, we could see the opposite. People who are so nasty (perhaps even for their species) that all they have is each other, or possibly, people who joined some kind of ‘random assignment’ Sburb session and just happened to end up together.

So now all we do is wait for Rose and GA’s actual first conversation, where we find out exactly what Rose said that made her seem so stupid and leave such a bad first impression. My guess for this? Rose is going to attempt to outwit GA in some way – perhaps instead of transcribing or editing the dialog, she just doesn’t respond at all, Dave-style. However, in doing so she’ll cause some sort of temporal paradox, and it’ll be that, not anything Rose actually says, that makes her seem stupid to GA. I guess ‘Hopping To 8=8’ is GA’s real power move here – the one thing Rose can’t do, as she has to wait for these conversations in linear time, just like us.

Moving onto Dave and AT, we learn that Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff is, in-universe, a real MS Paint Adventure – it’s not named in the taskbar but that’s definitely what he’s using, so I’m starting a rumor that Dave doesn’t know how to use Photoshop. And to dunk on him further for no reason, here’s my controversial opinion: AT is better at rapping than Dave. I’m not claiming AT is some lost genius or anything, but I enjoyed reading this a lot, unlike some of AT’s other pesterlogs. It doesn’t have any of the uncomfortable racial imagery that Dave adds to his raps (p.287, 294) and it has the phrases ‘BONE BULGE,’ and ‘HONKTRABAND,’ which are SO evocative.

Dave’s reaction to the rap is ‘dont care’, already rare – the only pesterlog Dave has ever left unanswered is a single ‘oh fuck!!!!!!’ from Jade (p.1406), while the other beta kids have all failed to respond to more or longer messages. Ignoring a troll is typically a good strategy as they mostly thrive on interaction and attention, but interestingly, I don’t think it’s working here. I think AT has just discovered a new hobby and is getting into this rap. If Rose and GA are alike in their sentence styles and need to be the most intelligent in the room, then Dave and AT are alike in their ability to hold an entire conversation with themselves (see p.829) and willingness to invent words and ignore linguistic rules. If they become more friendly like Rose and GA have, these two could probably have fun blending their styles and rapping together, or doing some kind of And It Don’t Stop-style rap battle.

But the real trolling in this conversation might be the final word. I’m not 100% but I think Hussie just dropped the name of the dark kingdom as a mic drop at the end of this alien kid’s rap? ‘YOU ACT LIKE YOU'RE GOLD FROM PROSPIT, wHEN YOU'RE REALLY COLD SHIT FLUSHED FROM DERSE,’ - I can’t see what else besides the dark kingdom could be an antonym for Prospit. The Prospit namedrop came during Jade’s advanced bass solo (p.1026), a cool cinematic about limitless dream magic that introduced the planet to us, appropriate for a golden land of luminous creativity. This Derse namedrop comes from the bottom-of-the-barrel troll who fails at being annoying and recently blocked the guy he’s trolling, equally appropriate for a land of ominous bureaucracy.

We also get visuals on both GA and AT, the biggest reveal here being that the trolls all have different horn shapes!! CG’s and GC’s are pretty similar and have classic candy corn shapes, GA’s are longer and one has a bend to it (natural, or some kind of Sburb related accident?) while AT has very large bull horns. I wonder if horn size and shape is linked to social status in troll society somehow, or if horns have a biological function somehow.

Finally, Act 4 does some of its classic ‘moving the plot along’ by skipping from GC’s shitty map (p.1580) directly to John successfully taking the shortcut. No fucking around here, and the implied sylladex shenanigans happen off screen as he flurps out of a pipe. It’s a cool panel, a fun contrast between the beautiful scenery and the silliness of John’s exit.

I'll probably write a longer post about this topic soonish, but I am really noticing the tide turning towards romance in this story, with a lot of explicit references to it all of a sudden. Rose refers to being ‘courted’ by GC (p.1524) and asks if AT wants to ‘couple’ with Dave (p.1590), while Dave accuses GA of having ‘a thing’ for Rose (p.1589) and AT of wanting to ‘cyber’ with him (p.1099). There have been occasional romantic overtones between the beta kids, but this suddenly seems a lot more concentrated, and twelve trolls has the possibility to turn this into some kind of alien dating sim. Which would be a dramatic tone shift but like, I’m not not here for it if it means more fun Pesterlogs like these. This is particularly interesting to me because the kids don’t know the trolls’ genders, so the flirting is entirely based on personality. That’s definitely a positive sign for this story hopefully exploring some queer themes. And the fandom needs this, because currently they’re shipping Crumplehat and the Secret Wizard as LOWAS’ forbidden romance, which is adorable but there’s not much character to work with there.

[artsynerdwithasword-takecover]

4 years of art improvement! (2020-2024)

I make a lot of D&D characters (most of them just for fun) but they are not all created equally and I do have my favorites. These three are my most beloved fictional children, and I've drawn and worked on them for many years. Had a good art day today and drew the trio, and figured I'd put them side by side with the very first drawings I've made of them.

[danwhobrowses]

Chetney Pock O'Pea remains the luckiest old bastard in all of Exandria (and Ruidus)

[swordy-da-goat]

Here’s my DnD character, Milk Bucket, a human skeleton artificer (battlesmith) whose steel defender is a 4-4-0 Standard Gauge Forney. A steam locomotive engineer cursed into a skeleton and craves for any calcium high foods (like milk).

The best character I have ever made.

Edit: The loco got the wheel configuration updated.

[jon-sedai]

The way we discuss prophecy in fandom is genuinely fascinating. GRRM spends so much time showing how different characters have different interpretations of the same thing based on their own cultural contexts. He says that prophecy is tricky to navigate through multiple characters, showing that even the most careful practitioner can get almost everything wrong and fall victim to their own fallacies (see Mel). So tell me why the main takeaway for large parts of this fandom is “prophecy stupid, it doesn’t matter”. My brothers and sisters in R’hllor, GRRM didn’t invent multiple characters (three of whom are main POVs!!) who can see the future for this to be the conclusion. This is a FANTASY series. Please I’m begging, let us be serious 🥲