#I might update this when season 4 drops

[nofacednerd]

finally figured out how to draw blorbo from my shows so I made a reference sheet so I can remember how to draw him LMAO featuring some personal headcanons :)

[romike]

ST5 release date speculation

There hasn't been too much of an update on the actual release date so far, so I'm here to try to narrow it down as much as I can at least. When can we expect it, realistically?

Easy answer: Late 2025

Obviously, this needs to consider a few different factors. Runtime, CGI heaviness, scale, and the like. All of these could vary from my expectations, so this is just a broad and safe bet, but unless there's another external barrier(like the strikes), I'm pretty confident in that. Multiple people working on the show, and Netflix itself, have also agreed with a 2025 release date. Plus if they're breaking it up into volumes 1&2 again, which I'm pretty sure they are, post-production for the first four episodes will absolutely be done in time.

For comparison: post-production for the entirety of season 4 took 9 1/2 months. The same would likely apply for season 5, assuming season 5 will have the same amount of runtime, VFX, SFX, and people working on post-production. I know the Duffers claimed to be aiming for less total runtime than season 4, but that was before even writing season 5, and I honestly don't believe they succeeded. Also seeing as Maya Hawke compared the season length to 8 movies, I feel more comfortable saying it's close to season 4 in runtime. This guess is only slightly influenced by my prayers that they're giving ample time to wrap everything up.

Though, it definitely will not take any less than 6 months, unless they were already working on editing concurrently with filming. 6 months as my reference because that was probably the post-production time of season 3, which is a little over half of my estimated runtime of season 5, and probably had less VFX to work on. The second part is only a theory, though, from my expectation that the UD will merge with Hawkins.

Assuming filming wraps on December 20th, and they take a holiday break until January 2nd, that leaves post-production finishing around mid-October. This would give them ~3 weeks of wiggle room until Stranger Things day. I don't think they care about having any more extra time, seeing as they even continued s4 post-production after the release of volume 1, and through a few days-weeks after release of volume 2, just to get it out earlier. Season 3 has also already been released on a relevant date(the 4th of July), so if production wraps on a close enough date for the reference, they might just release it then.

So my official guess is November 6th, 2025.

If they're already cramming in post-production, as rumors have said, and only releasing 1/2 the season first, then possibly as early as July 2025, though not likely in my opinion. Especially considering they haven't even dropped a real teaser yet. I don't expect them to be rushing it, either, if they actually want to stick the landing after a decade of show production. I feel like September 2025 is a more realistic bet for an early date, and wrapping in October would round up to November 6th again.

But considering the teaser, I think it'll drop pretty soon after they wrap filming. Don't quote me on that though, it's just a theory ;)

[verstakult]

qatar gp 2024: penalties and safety cars galore indeed. here is an attempted compilation of all the notable incidents and penalties (+ penalty points) that fia threw around like free cookies

im attempting this in a chronological order following the issuance of the penalties but. they were so many things happening so whatever we ball. and as always thank you my fantastic f1 mother @missed-apexes

so first of all. we all know of the max one position grid penalty (+1 pp) but of course, he beautifully overtook george right off in turn 1! love that for him

first crash, esteban, franco, and nico collision. franco and esteban were out, nico slightly damaged (?)

first penalty issued in the race: alex & lance collision. stroll retires eventually, while getting a 10s penalty. he might serve this next race?

lewis hamilton had a false start. 5s penalty.

bottas and lawson near-collision(?). apparently liam understeered/spun and bottas had to go wide to avoid. liam gets 10s penalty (+2 pp).

insert zhou's very magnificent overtaking yuki!

george was consistently on p2 and pitted but was fucked over by his 7s pit stop. rest in rip.

alex's wing mirror fell on the track. the shot of the singular mirror lying there on the track was comical but the delay of sc or any actions taken about it is insane even the commentators were confused

bottas drove over the wing mirror, got damage. the debris fluttered all over the track and caused puncture to lewis and sainz.

safety car for the debris was finally deployed 4 LAPS LATE (wtf race control)

perez lost drive, dropped to the last from what i remember was p5-6, and retired. not sure if this was during or after the safety car ended.

nico hulkenberg also out. his tyres just. gave out and he spun. at this point survival is optional in the qatar gp.

another safety car here. perez riding the scooter can be seen

lando not lifting during double waved yellow flags on the straights (this happened before the sc was deployed for the debris). 10s stop/go penalty (+3 pp). this was a massive gamechanger for the podium as he was stable on p2. and a stop/go specifically... well, as a mclaren hater i rejoiced. (3 penalty points is crazy though)

another collision for alex, with k-mag this time. 10s penalty (+2 pp) for alex.

lewis apparently did a lil speeding in the pitlane. drive-through penalty.

lewis was told to retire the car but ignored it.

george did a sc infringement (which i did not see so im not sure what exactly happened). a fia update stated his car was more than 20 car lengths behind, when it is supposed to be 10. 5s penalty (+1 pp).

DRIVER OF THE DAY: ZHOU GUANYU (P8) im so happy for him. literally carried kick's points this season (4 points).

podium result: max p1, charles p2, oscar p3, and it's insane charles did all that without drinking because his drinking system broke. forza ferrari.

charles is now only 8 points behind norris in the wdc!

birth of gax/rustappen beef ;

outside race bonus: max being extremely pissed at george, saying he's lost all respect for him and can't stand him because "he's always acting polite in front of cameras but inside there he's a completely different person." gax beef in 2024... interesting.

edit: addition on the last point as requested by oomf, in the press conference max stated that george was trying all he can to screw max over and pushing for the penalty. max kept trying to explain he has no motives to screw other cars over, and he's going slow following other cars' slow laps, but it felt like talking to a wall. basically, max called george a fake two-faced bitch (he didn't say this but you know what i mean) and lost all respect to him.

funny to note that this is max's 63rd win.

it is also worth noting that before the race, max had told george on the drivers parade holding room, something along the lines of "hope you and your fia mates are happy with what you've done." and according to ted the quote was actually much ruder. POP OFF

max has unfollowed george on instagram nevermind folks apparently max never followed him

stats summary ;

5 dnfs

8 penalties (incl. max's)

3 safety cars

4 collisions

9 penalty points issued (incl. max's)

1 beef

fia really said fuck your british bias allegations and went on rage mode. what the hell lmao. also shoutout to williams mechanics. you all deserve so much bonuses.

(will update more once fia docs start rolling in).

[bahja-blix]

Vivziepop Swear Word Sin Counter

So it's been a while since I made a post regarding Vivziepop, so I pondered a new idea just for the fun of it so...

Lets get straight into it shall we? 👀

For this post I wanted to take a bit of inspiration when it came to CinemaSins (No not literally). I'll Only use the Sin Counter when it comes down to how much a character uses a swear word in each and every episode of Viv's shows.

1.) Kicking off this special event were going to start with Helluva Boss! But why you may ask? Well dear reader, I'll tell you! Simply put the series itself has more episodes and two seasons than Hazbin Hotel does and I wanted to work with Helluva Boss before moving onto Hazbin being as it came out After Helluva as a season!

2.) I will put "1" Sin for each Swear word used in an episode individually

3.) Doubling the Sin if any character inverse uses the term "FUCK" as BONUS Sins! And we All know how much Viv loves to say that word

4.) I'll separate the first season of Swear Words to determine and calculate how many Swears were used in that season, repeating the exact same thing in the second season of Helluva

5.) I'll also Sin each character individually to determine and calculate how many times each character swears and who swears from Most to Least which will be more challenging in this event!

6.) After all of that I will count each and every episodes Sin and calculate the entire total of swear words used in the entire show itself entirely, and don't worry. I Will review the newest episode that's Supposed to come out this Friday of Helluva Boss to add onto the Sin Counter and (Regularly Update the Sin Counter whenever a new episode of Helluva Boss drops!) I might also make a YouTube video about it just for fun!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! I'm craving some cozy autumn vibes johnlock fics to read in the cold season. Do you have some recs? Lots of love <3

Hi Lovely!!

Oh what a fun list idea!! I can't believe I've never thought of doing one given that Autumn is my fave season! I know more fics than what I picked here for you take place in the Fall, but I've only included ones with the season in the tag. If anyone has more fics, PLEASE add them and give me a hand :)

Hope you enjoy these fics!!

AUTUMN / FALL FICS

See also:

Hot and Cold Fics (June 2022)

Halloween and Ghosts (updated Oct 31/21)

Halloween Fics 2023 (MFLs)

BOOKMARKS

And as the seasons change, I love you more by Teatrolley (NR, 3,219 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff and Angst, Est. Rel., Marriage / Proposal) – A year in the lives of John and Sherlock, essentially.

In the Bleak Midwinter (A Canticle for Advent) by CaitlinFairchild (M, 3,476 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, Injury, Missing Scenes, HLV Timeline) – In the autumn of 2014, Mary Watson shot Sherlock Holmes. This is what happened after.

Let me be the wallpaper that papers up your room by Teatrolley (NR, 3,966 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Two Idiots in Love, Fluff, Domestics) – Four seasons in the life of Sherlock and John, really.

Pater Noster by SilentAuror (E, 34,256 w., 2 Ch. || Case Fic, HLV/S3 Fix It Fic, Family Trauma, Sherlock POV, Villain Mary) – During the autumn that John is staying at Baker Street again after Sherlock was shot, he ruminates over the similarity between Sherlock's shot and the one that killed his father when he was fifteen. Cold case meets series 3 fix-it. Part I takes place entirely within His Last Vow, Part II takes place starting at the end of HLV and continues after.

Act IV by SilentAuror (E, 39,707 w., 1 Ch. || HLV Fix-It, First Person POV Sherlock, Infidelity, Angst, Drama) – After Sherlock is shot, John moves back into Baker Street. They spend the autumn together as John tries to make sense of his life and make some important decisions about both Mary and Sherlock. Canon-compliant, excerpts from His Last Vow.

MARKED FOR LATER

Into the Gloaming by Vulpesmellifera (M, 8,385 w., 4 Ch. || Heavy Angst, Child Death, Grief / Mourning, Mentions of Cancer, Corvids, Fever Dreams, Hopeful Ending) – She lays the sage bundle down in one of his seashells, avoiding the label. How he loved cataloging natural items. That sharp mind of his so naturally tended to the sciences, and she’d taken great joy in encouraging him all his life. All the first thirteen years of it. The last year has been entirely different. His hand lies just outside the white comforter. When she touches it, the chill of his skin sends a shiver down her spine. His lips move, his voice as soft as dead, dry leaves. “What’s that, love?” she says. “In the trees,” he says, his eyes still closed. “Is it John there in the trees? I think he’s waiting for me.” Viola turns her gaze out the window and to the closest tree, a resplendent cherry in the throes of autumn. In the branches there, for just a second, she thinks she sees it: a black bird, feathers gleaming in the sun.

A Thousand Kisses Deep by Susan (E, 12,689 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Time Travel, Longing, Angst, Post S1, Time Travel Fix It) – “Come here,” Sherlock said and when he did, he put his arm across John’s shoulder, and pulled him close. John let him, and after a moment, rested his head against Sherlock’s chest. Sherlock felt the familiar ache, a longing for what might have been. If only he’d been braver, more sure of John’s feelings. He dropped his arms and stepped back. It was too late. Things were as they were meant to be. But it was autumn in Sussex, and everything was changing. If you were given a chance to go back to the beginning and make things right, would you take it?

Hot Water Bottle by khorazir (T, 18,436 w., 1 Ch. || Post TLD / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Communication, Demisexual Sherlock, Bisexual John, Autumn, Bed Sharing, Developing Relationship, First Kiss) – A case in one of the remotest corners of the Lake District, a storm, an inn, a broken boiler, a room with two beds but only one hot water bottle, and two men who have a lot to sort out between them – all of this makes for a night to remember.

Johnloctober by prettysailorsoldier (E, 169,945 w., 31 Ch. || Assorted AU’s || Alternate First Meetings, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, 30 Day OTP Challenge, Prompts, Halloween / Autumn, Assorted Tags) – 31 days of autumnal Johnlock with prompts from all of you! There will be a bit of everything, but you can check the tags for more specifics.For a summary of every chapter, as well as individual tags, click here.

Enigma by khorazir (M, 289,667 w., 23 Ch. || Codebreaker / WWII / Imitation Game-Inspired AU || Case Fic, Espionage, Period-Typical Homophobia / Sexism, Pining Sherlock, Inexperienced / VirginSherlock, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Non-Graphic Violence) – It’s the autumn of 1941, war is raging in Europe, German U-boats are raiding Allied convoys in the Atlantic, the Luftwaffe is bombing English cities, and the cryptographers at Bletchley Park are working feverishly to decode their enemies' encrypted communications. One should consider this challenge and distraction enough for capricious codebreaker Sherlock Holmes. But the true enigmas are yet waiting to be deciphered: an unbreakable code, a strange murder, and the arrival of Surgeon Captain John H. Watson of the Royal Navy.

[catboybiologist]

Oh btw, minor grumpus update if any of y'all were concerned:

Russian Tortoises have a full hibernation cycle that they do in the wild. As pets, full hibernation would have to be induced through a carefully controlled environment. I don't have the expertise to do this fully, however, they naturally go into states of pseudohibernation for about 4-7 months.

The Creature is an absolute weirdo that does this, but switches summer and winter for no discernible reason. He spent most his life in a completely temperature controlled environment, and I guess the lack of cues made his internal season clock drift. My apartment is slightly less temperature consistent, so I thought that might fix it, but nope! He was in pseudohibernation when I got him in July last year, stayed that way until November, spent the Winter and Spring stomping around, and in the past couple weeks, has been gradually slowing down. These past couple of days, he's had an activity level consistent with his past summers.

This unfortunately means that I can't get too many photogenic pictures of him, since he spends most of his days like this:

He's always been like this, during both the time I've had him and the 20+ years he spent as an educational/outreach animal for kids. I also worked with him for a couple years during that time before having him as a full time pet, so I know his habits pretty well at this point.

During my summer travels, he'll be left with trusted relatives who will take care of his day to day care, and I'll be periodically dropping in to check up on how everything is going. They've pet sit for him before, and know what to do.

This is honestly ideal for me, because it gives me time to get/build him a better enclosure. As a very temporary measure, he's been in a too-small habitat for the past few months, with as much outdoor and floor time as possible to give him time to exercise and roam. He spent most of his life in a tank that was 1.5'x5', also with plenty of outdoor and floor time. Both are too small as full time living situations, and its only because of letting him out that I felt comfortable with it even as a temporary measure. Of course I won't stop outdoor and floor time, but I don't want to rely on them. One of my summer projects is to sketch up plans for a larger enclosure (20 sq ft or more, still on the smaller side but still with the idea of giving him the soccer field to roam when necessary), and I want it ready by the time he wakes up. If anyone has suggestions for that, I'm all ears!!!

I'm mildly considering some kind of bioactive, but I'm worried that'll be more effort than its worth, and have a risk of breeding pathogens. Another idea I had was a kind of "seperated bioactive"- have a small glass tanks for isopods and plants separate from him enclosure, and use his food scraps and poop to supplement that enclosure. I could grow some dandelion and edible wildflowers for him in there, closing the "loop" but separating the potentially "dirty" part from the Grumpus himself.

But again, no idea if that'll also be more trouble than its worth. Just pontificating. I welcome any and all suggestions!

[feeling-horsey]

((Thinking about possibly doing some IC vintage story once the Situation has settled down.. It just dropped a big huge update that adds Elk-Riding and Boats and a bunch of other cool stuff.. But I don't know if people know about/care about/have the game. Vintage Story is basically a voxel-based Sandbox game, similar in many ways to minecraft, however it has a significantly larger focus on survival, especially in the stone age, and minor eldritch themes. If you've ever played the Terrafirmacraft mod, it shares a lot of design elements with that. It has features like stone knapping, food spoilage, body temperature, animal husbandry, weather/seasons, smithing, pottery, and just has an incredible amount of content. It's also very moddable and when servers are modded, they automatically just apply to anyone who joins (making it super easy for you) The game costs 22 USD or 20 EUR and if there's enough interest I might even get a 4 pack to give away to some people (though obviously I can't afford to get everyone the game) Trailer from 2022 showing off some features (but there's been multiple big updates since) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5v8NaRVIyk&

[headknight-oh]

The Second Library of Alexandria

Constellations of Stars and Bruises

Summary: In which Daryl and Finn are on watch and Daryl gives and receives his first hickeys. Prison Era between seasons 3 and 4

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Merle flashback, queer slurs used both derogatorily and reclaimed, suggestive and sensual content but nothing explicit

Hope yall enjoy!

Daryl was put on guard duty with Finn a month or so after the new people started to move into the prison. They hadn’t talked outside of council meetings in a while, not that they were super close to begin with, but he thought it was nice to be on guard with someone that he knows. There were far too many people that he didn’t know around now. As the two settled into the shelled out guard tower, they subjected him to whatever chatter came to their mind, which was an unpredictable flow of updates about all the new kids and how Judith was starting to teethe and how if he wanted them to fix the giant hole in his shirt, he would actually have to drop it in the new mending bin, and how they might be able to move his shirt up to the top of the pile for some adequate compensation.

“Adequate compensation,” he mocked, cracking a smile.

“Yeah. You can either suck my dick or take me to a library next time you go out. I’m also open to offers of equal or greater value upon your suggestion,” they joked.

They laughed, and he scoffed. “Guess I’m findin a fukin library.”

They laughed together then. But there was a heat at the back of his neck and on his ears, as he wondered, not for the first time, if they were fully joking. They did shit like that all the time: making suggestive little jokes, calling him pretty boy and sweetheart, the works. But there was always this air of sincerity about what they said, a look in their eyes or a quirk to their smile that had Daryl thinking that maybe they were only half joking. Or maybe he was just hoping that was what it was. Most of the time, he chalked it up to them playfully trying to get a rise out of him. He tried not to think about it too often, though.

They sat in silence for a bit after that, listening to the euphonious hum of surrounding wildlife and the monstrous din of the dead down at the far fence. At one point Finn stood to stretch, groaning a bit as they cracked their back loudly.

“Damn, that was a good one,” they chuckled. “Oh!” Their hands began searching their person as they said, “I bought us a little treat.” They produced a small baggie and a lighter from their back pocket. Upon opening the bag, an earthy, skunky smell spread through the air.

“The fuck’d you get weed from?” he asked as they pulled the joint from the bag.

“Well apparently,” they said, lighting the joint and breathing in deeply, “The medical facility on that map Glenn found was a medical dispensary.” They exhaled out over the side of the railing. “He took me to read medicine names, and I came away stocked with bud for the foreseeable future.” They took another drag then extended the joint to him. He eyed it, watching smoke curl from the glowing tip. They clocked his hesitation. “Promise I don’t have cooties. But if you don’t want to, I’ll happily smoke it all myself. If I have to deal with walking corpses AND Rickolas for the rest of my life, I’m not doing it sober.”

Daryl laughed at that, and they smiled. They offered the smoke up with another motion and a quirk of their eyebrow. He reached out gingerly after a beat, taking and inhaling. It felt different in his lungs than his usual tobacco smoke, but it was nice.

Finn hummed an unfamiliar tune while they smoked together, eyes turned skyward just as often as they scanned the fenceline. Daryl tried to distract himself from the way their fingers brushed his when they passed the joint, but it became much more difficult as his head grew fuzzier, and he found himself staring. His eyes landed on their skin, their shoulder and collar bone and chest, the exposed bits that showed where their overshirt slid down to reveal their tank top underneath. In the moonlight, he saw little bruises in various shades of purple peppered across their skin. His fuzzy brain tried to make sense of what he was seeing, zoning out with his eyes glued to a particularly nasty looking bruise near the neckline of their tank top.

They must have been talking for a bit, because they were soon waving a hand in front of his face. “My eyes are not in my tits, Daryl my dear.”

He blinked and looked up at their smirking face. They weren’t angry but rather amused. He looked away quickly, mumbling an apology as he handed the dying joint back over. They laughed, and his face and core grew warm.

Flustered, he tried to wave it off, grunting. “The hell happened to you?”

They looked down, puzzled before laughing again and saying, “That swinger couple. That’s what happened to me. But that’s nothing, you should see what they did to my thighs.”

His brain took a moment to process. First, the thought of their thighs covered in the same kinds of dark bruises made his stomach flip in a way he wasn’t quite familiar with. Then, “Swinger couple?” He knew that Georgia wasn’t the best place for people like Finn, but he'd thought anyone they brought back to the prison would at least be civil to them. Why were they laughing at someone hurting them? He felt a different kind of heat in his face: a protective rage.

“Yeah. They’re in their 30s. Chris and Lilly. They’re pretty nice. I typically don’t have threesomes with straight people, but it’s not like there’s a massive dating pool, ya know?”

Daryl didn’t say anything. He just stared at one of the bruises on their chest, cut in half by the neckline of their shirt. His heart sped up as his brain caught up. Threesome, sex, hickeys. Oh. His brain reeled with unwarranted images of what he assumed had happened. He swallowed thickly. He stared for too long again. Suddenly Finn was snapping their fingers in his face, saying, “If you keep staring at my tits like that, I’m going to start charging.”

He stuttered out garbled excuses, their low chuckling not doing anything to help the red in his cheeks or the thoughts in his head. He took the joint back and gestured towards their bruising, “Don’t that hurt?”

They shrugged. “Just as much as any other hickey.”

He scoffed and pretended to actually scan the area surrounding the prison, “Wouldn’t know much ‘bout that.”

They let out a curious noise. “You telling me someone as hot as you has never had a hickey before?”

He just grunted and tried to wave past it. He could already feel his ears burning.

They took that as answer enough. “Huh. Would not have guessed. Well, if you ever get a hankering for your first hickey, I have a mouth,” they offered.

He snorted. “Yeah. And that swinger couple’s got two.” It came out a little harsher, more spiteful, than he anticipated, but they didn’t seem to notice.

They laughed. “True. I can put in a good word for you if you want. Or you can join us next time. Three mouths are better than two, or whatever.”

And that’s what got him. Not necessarily the idea of three mouths, but their mouth specifically, between his thighs, sucking one of those little purple bruises. He made a little noise like a satisfied hum as he exhaled his smoke.

“Like that, huh?” They plucked the joint from his fingers, taking one last drag before putting the small butt out. “I will warn you, they’re biters. Obviously. “They gestured to their chest, laughing. “Might get a bit much if you’re not used to it.”

Daryl looked over at them again. Some of those bruises were pretty dark. He’d had bruises that dark before plenty of times in his life, and he couldn’t imagine any scenario where getting one would feel nice. Maybe it was the weed making a mess of his brain or the latent hormones, but something moved him to speak.

“Get me used to it then.”

Their eyebrows shot up and their smile widened. “Do not play this game of gay chicken with me, Daryl Dixon. My most committed relationship has always been to the bit.”

His brows knit together in confusion. “Gay chicken… What?” Maybe the weed was just hitting him a little harder than he thought. Or maybe he just couldn’t make sense of what Finn was saying, like usual.

Finn chuckled. “I mean,” they corrected, “I will gladly give you a hickey if that’s what you actually want, and you aren’t just giving me shit back.”

His momentary courage to speak was gone. He looked down, fidgeting in his seat and chewing at a nonexistent hangnail. His face burned. He made a noncommittal noise, turning back to survey the fenceline. Suddenly, there was a soft hand on his forearm. He followed Finn’s hand with his eyes, down their wrist, over the tattoos on their forearm, up to their bruised shoulder and neck, then finally to their face. It was gentle and open, and their probing eyes had softened into something like fondness.

They moved slowly then, pulling his finger away from his mouth and tilting his head up. He allowed them to position him, breath caught in his chest.

“Ok,” they said softly, much softer than their normal theatre-like projection. “Where do you want it? Shoulder? Collarbone? Neck? We can make the whole prison talk with that one.” Their little joke broke the tension a bit, and he let out a nervous laugh.

“Don’t know. Whatever you want.” He cleared his throat a bit, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“Hmm, dealer's choice,” Finn mused as they moved from their seat to straddle his lap. Daryl made a surprised noise in his throat, but stayed still. Almost too still. Finn surveyed him with their hands on his shoulders. They shook them a little, wiggling their own head in time. “Relax,” they said. “I’ll be gentle.”

He nodded, exhaling shakily. Finn brushed the ends of his hair off and away from his neck, letting their fingers trace down his jugular to the collar of his shirt. They could feel his racing pulse no doubt. They pulled his shirt to the side slightly, revealing his collarbone. It was flushed scarlet just like his face. Finn leaned in slow, almost giving him a chance to push them away. He didn’t.

When Finn’s lips made contact with his skin, his heart leapt. They kissed at the area a bit before grazing their teeth over his skin. An involuntary groan escaped Daryl’s lips before he could stop it. A warm tongue soothed over his skin before the teeth were back, harder this time. Finn bit down gently and sucked at the skin of his chest. His breath began to quicken as Finn pulled small whines out of him. He was vaguely aware of the pain of it, the breaking of blood vessels and the dull stabbing of their teeth. Finn had bitten him once in the past, in a much less desirable situation than the one they were in now. Daryl much preferred the way they bit him now. This pain was covered in a cloud of pleasure, something he’d felt very seldom in his life. His heart pounded, and his face felt like it was on fire. He had to will his blood away from below his belt; he might die of embarrassment if he got hard while they were in his lap. Like some kind of high school kid.

Daryl felt one of Finn’s hands move to the opposite side of his neck, cradling softly and applying gentle pressure to the base of his skull and jaw. He leaned his head down into their hand without realizing his body was moving. Finn readjusted the angle of their head, licking the area before returning to sucking at the skin. They opened their mouth a bit wider before digging their teeth back into his flesh. Daryl was vaguely aware of the small “ah ah” noise that slipped out of his mouth. Finn hummed contentedly with their mouth still on him.

Before they pulled away, they soothed the reddened area with a few open mouthed kisses that trailed away from the blooming purple on his chest. As they pulled back, their thumb wiped away some of the remaining saliva, still holding back the collar of his shirt. They took a moment to admire their handiwork.

“Pretty good first hickey, if I do say so myself. What you think?” They smiled and looked back up at his face. Daryl blinked a few times to clear the fog from his head before looking down. He could just make out the red and purple of the forming bruise in the corner of his vision.

“Looks good,” he grunted. He suddenly became aware that his hands had settled on Finn’s hips on their own accord. He quickly dropped them.

Finn laughed. They patted his shoulder. “I’m glad it looks good. But how did it feel? That was the whole point.”

Daryl struggled to reel in his thoughts. Finn was acting so casual, as if they sat in his lap and bit his chest all the time, as if they did things like this all the time. Which he supposed they must have. It made him feel conscious of how much it had affected him in turn. He grunted.

“Felt nice,” was all he could manage. His throat was a bit tight and his ears still burned. He could feel the heat from Finn’s body through his clothes.

They smiled. “I’m glad. Wanna give me one for reciprocity’s sake? Or do you want me out of your lap before you jizz your jorts?”

His nose crinkled in disgust. “I ain’t gonna… do that.”

Finn laughed again. “I know. This time I am just giving you shit. But what you say? I got some prime real estate begging to be filled.” They tapped the side of their neck where there was a circle of unmarked skin.

Daryl’s head began to swirl again. They talked about it like it was nothing, like they were shooting the shit or sharing a story. It made him feel funny, vulnerable. But that was quickly drowned out by a seemingly magnetic pull to their neck. He nodded, and they held their hair out of the way.

His lips met their skin gently, unsure and tense. He tried to mimic what they had done to him, starting with gentle nibbles then sucking and running his tongue over the skin. Finn hummed and brought their hand to his head, running their fingers into his hair. He liked that. He liked it even more when he bit down harder and their hand gripped his hair tightly, pulling slightly. Finn let out a sharp breath as Daryl moaned into their neck, sucking and biting and kissing. What he lacked in technique and experience, he made up for in enthusiasm. His head felt all fuzzy again as he lost himself in the feeling of their skin against his lips, the smell of their shampoo, the taste of salt and soap. He had been so tense when he’d received his, his body getting used to the sensation and his brain reeling from the novelty of it all. Now, he allowed the fuzzy, floaty feeling to engulf him as his body moved on its own, small noises coming from his mouth.

Finn was making those small noises too, low grunts in the back of their throat, pleasant sighs, hissed “fuck”s. It made a knot in his stomach tighten.

Eventually, they made him come up for air, pulling at his hair firmly. His pupils were blown wide when he met their eyes and his breath came quickly. His hands had wound their way around Finn’s waist again, tight and grasping at the fabric of their shirt. They ran a hand over his brow, brushing stray hair away.

“Well don’t you look pretty like that,” Finn said, running their thumb over his bottom lip to wipe away some saliva. He began to relax a bit as his breath evened out and his heart slowed down. He found the new bruise he’d just left on their neck; it was small and mostly red, but it was still there. He briefly thought that he would like it much more if it were the only one they had, if his marks were the only ones on them. He pushed that thought away for later.

Finn smoothed his hair down and sat back a bit. “You’re a quick study. That felt nice. A little more suction next time, and that shit will be bright purple.” They quickly tapped his nose with their forefinger before swinging their leg up and off his lap. As they settled back into their own seat, Daryl was saddened slightly at the loss of their warmth against him.

Finn looked up at the stars for a moment then back over to him. He didn’t quite know what to do with himself now. Finn was so calm next to him, like this kind of thing happened every day. He supposed to them, it might. He pushed that thought away too. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finn smiled at that.

“Feel adequately prepared?” they asked.

He nodded. “Ya could say that.” He bit at his lip, tearing off a bit of dead skin. “Don’t think I’d like those other two though. I don’t know them. Wouldn’t be the same.” Merle had always said that was his problem, that he had to know someone, that he should just be able to fuck the whore his brother had bought for him and not waste his money with stiff shoulders and a limp dick. Daryl hadn’t even known her name. Merle hadn’t cared about her name though; he’d ‘got his money’s worth’ himself then spent the rest of the night poking fun at Daryl for being broken or not a real man or a faggot or a forever virgin. Daryl shook the memory out of his head. Memories of Merle still hurt, even bad ones.

Finn just nodded. “I get that. I used to make out with my friends when we went out instead of finding a stranger. It was nicer. And I knew where their mouths had been.” They laughed at that. “We were like a troop of bonobos.”

Daryl’s face scrunched in confusion. “The fuck is a bonobo?”

Finn laughed. “A kind of ape. Them and chimps are our closest genetic relatives. Bonobos have a complex social structure that relies on them all fucking each other though. Strengthens social bonds and keeps aggressive behaviors low. Humans are the same way to me. Fucking, kissing, sexuality, sensuality. It’s all intimate, but people do it for a bunch of reasons. Love, romance, friendship, fondness, religion, therapy, curiosity. It’s nice.” They looked over at him, gesturing to the mark they made. “Means I can give my friends hickies, and it only means I’m a little bit of a faggot.”

Daryl laughed at that. “Thought you was a dyke.” Daryl remembered them using a sarcastic ‘it’s because I’m a dyke, isn’t it’ to win an argument with Glenn the other day.

“Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both. It’s a very fun little schrodinger’s sexuality situation I’ve got going on here. Any way you slice it, it comes away queer.”

Daryl grunted. He didn’t quite get it, but he didn’t think he entirely needed to. “Does that mean I got my first hickey from a guy?”

Finn smiled, eyes soft, and he saw that fondness again. “Yeah Daryl,” they said. “You got your first hickey from a guy.”

Daryl smiled back at them before turning to look out at the moonlit landscape around them. Finn followed suit, silent in thought. Suddenly, their laughter rang out again.

“You also got a boner from biting a guy sitting in your lap.”

Daryl stammered, face blazing red. He’d gotten so lost in the sensation of sucking on their neck that he hadn’t even noticed. It had gone down now, but even so, Finn was right. He mumbled a sheepish apology.

Finn shook their head, giggling. “It’s all good. I’m just giving you grief.” They kicked their feet up on the railing, leaning their seat back a bit to look at the sky. Their face was alight with silver starlight.

Daryl covered his burning face with his hands, feeling the need to run and hide and never show his face again. But he didn’t. Instead, he waited for Finn to change the subject. He knew they would eventually if he left them in silence long enough for their mind to wander. He sat in awkward silence for an eternity as the next five minutes passed, unable to look at them or breathe properly. Eventually, they spoke.

“I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies I no longer touch the earth with my feet: I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia.” They traced patterns in the stars that had no name, grinning in awe. Their voice had the lilt of recitation, of quoting, of remembering.

Daryl was grateful for a new avenue of conversation. “What’s that?”

“Ptolemy. The philosopher from ancient Alexandria.” Their eyes remained trained on the sky, absorbing the cloudy beauty of the milky way now that there was almost no artificial light to drown it out.

“It’s nice. Pretty.” Daryl was finally able to chance a look over at them, his previous shame forgotten.

They hummed. “I think so too.”

Finn looked over at him with a smile that he returned slowly. The rest of the night passed in relative silence, or at least was less eventful. The hum of crickets and the moans of the dead filled the air as the stars ended their journey across the night sky. The warm reds and oranges of sunrise began to paint the trees around the prison. The sky really was beautiful.

[xsoulxsilencex]

I feel like we have to talk about Yuna especially after the episode 136 spoiler dropped.

But first of: Whatever I say here is NOT character hate. If anything, I'm criticizing the way Yuna's written. I feel like her character could've worked but the way it's executed is just meh. (also I don't think it's too early to judge her writing when we're like 4 months away of Go Rush's ending)

(post might get updated when we get the subs for the rest of the episodes of this arc)

Yuna started off as a girl Yudias and the Ohdo twins had to find in arc 2. Someone who was very into Rovian (the main antag of arc 2), basically her right-hand woman and getting angry (and sometimes violent) at anyone who didn't appreciate Rovian and her space poems.

But there were also signs that she cared about someone else a lot too considering how pissed she was about Yudias having a duel disk she somehow seemed to recognize that it didn't belong to him. After Yuga properly showed up at the end of arc 3 and Yudias explained that it was him helping him out with cards and a duel disk, it's clear that he's the one Yuna cares about.

In Season 2, we get to know that Yuna doesn't just care for Yuga but is in love with him. Up to the point she's also ready to leave Rovian behind, the one she used to be so crazy about. Ngl, I found her pretty annoying in that season since she randomly yelled at (and assaulted) Manabu for not letting her see Yuga despite Manabu told her she can do that after Yuga helped them. And there was also her accusing Asaka for not helping her because of her own crush on Yuga. It kinda sucks that this is how they went with Yuna considering at the start of arc 8, she was also worried about the Velgearians but one episode later, she was already thinking more about Yuga (while being aware that she should help her friends instead) and another episode later, she was just all about Yuga. Like why? From arc 8 on, she was really like "screw the Velgearians, Yuga is all that matters".

With season 3, Yuna takes a turn that's kinda hard to watch for me. So she sides with Dark Meister aka Yuamu, takes over Mutsuba Town and then it turns out she just pretended to be on Yuamu's side so she can reach her own goal - which is to see Yuga again. She even made Time Machine to make her dream come true. There's also her being heavily delusional about a married life with Yuga (?) in the episode where the writers tried to bait us with random af Zwijo/Yuamu which eventually was just Zeyet pushing Yuamu into this idea. I really thought after the stupid episode about Yuna being married to Yuga and having Yudias and co. as babies during Kuaidul Spacetime, we wouldn't have to deal with this kind of delulu again but here we are now and Yuna doesn't have an excuse like back in arc 7...

I've said at the beginning that a character like Yuna could've worked but Go Rush does a bad job with her. Why? Because we barely know Yuna. All we know from her is that she runs Goha Company (now Goha Corporation) and she probably didn't do an amazing job at it since it was about to get bankrupt if Yuga hadn't showed up and helped her out. (which was likely one of the reasons she fell for him) But that's it? We don't know anything about Yuna's family. Does she have parents? Grandparents? Anyone else who could be her guardian since she's a minor? Like sure, we already had kids in Sevens running business but Asana had her grandfather and the Goha Siblings had at least Proprietress? A drone grandma is better than nobody. (same with Sebastian being there for Neil) Meanwhile Yuna's never shown with someone who checks on her.

Us not knowing anything about Yuna's (family) background makes it hard for me to understand why exactly she's willing to throw everything away for Yuga. I'm sorry but a simple "she's 13 so just a teenager who can be selfish when in love" isn't a good enough reason for me for her actions and I've seen that excuse too many times. You can have a big crush without taking over your town and likely messing with time. Antagonists doing bad things for love do exist but they get explanations for their (wrong) doings. Yuna has nothing but her crush on Yuga - a guy with whom she wasn't seen spending time together outside of flashbacks or a delusion; a guy we don't even know about how he feels about Yuna. (probably nothing but friendship since I can't see Yuga actually admitting to love someone romantically rn)

And I have to mention that too but it's honestly weird to see some people saying that you must be a misogynist if you dislike/criticize Yuna? I've never seen anyone saying you must hate guys if you criticize male characters. (and the amount of shit Yuhi got for simply getting more focus than Yuamu in s2 was already insane like dude wasn't even an antag there but people shittalked him worse than actual GR antags)

So yeah, that's all I have to say for Yuna rn. I'm pretty sad about her "development" since starting off as annoying/mean can be fine if you get better later but she doesn't in my opinion. She goes from obsessed with Rovian to obsessed with Yuga. Rovian saying in ep 128 that Yuna is now following nobody and basically doing her own thing (which is treated as positive development) feels like a bad joke when her own actions lead to some big problems and that's all just for Yuga.

My wish for Yuna was to eventually grow out of revolving her life around a specific person but Idk if I will get that before GR ends. And no, her having a crush on Yuga isn't the problem - the real problem is what this crush causes her to do now. And I wished more people would understand that instead of just defending her with flimsy reasons. I don't hate Yuna or any other GR character but dang, I really wished she got better writing.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 9 Thoughts: Name Dropping

This one was a big one. I was hoping some of this would happen later if only for my own amusement. Of all the episodes thus far I think there might be have the most foundational elements to the wider narrative in it.

Spoilers for episode 9 below the cut.

We'll start at the start although I don't have much to say about this pre-incident banter. It's mostly stuff that I think is for humour rather than narrative relevance. Such as the questions have a classic 7 point scale, but instead of neutral in the middle neutral is an extreme and trauma is the other one. Dead creatures, blood transfusions, and why? are all similar there. It's fun dialogue but I don't think there is much to say beyond that.

The case itself is a really great one. Might be my favourite so far. It's a Magnus Institute statement, opens with some interesting titbits, is TTRPG related, has a fun hook, and a satisfying conclusion. Hard to fault it anywhere.

So lets get to the fun stuff. The Magnus Institute framing isn't really of interest to me right now. This isn't anything particularly unexpected and doesn't give us any new information about the Institute itself but does hint at some of their methodology. The statement is part of artefact's assessment, and preceding the statement itself the artefact is given some viability ratings. No viability as subject, low as agent, and medium as catalyst. I've seen some people interpreting this as being about the statement giver but as this is the "Statement and Research assessment for artefact CD137" I think that's a misinterpretation. Especially since this post-statement and the statement giver dies. Those terms aren't explained here but if I had to take a stab at it I think subject is probably about further research, agent is it's utility as a weapon, and catalyst is likely related to rituals or avatars. The recommendation is a referral to "referral to Catalytics for Enrichment applicability assessment. "Enrichment" here could be a euphemism for turning someone into an avatar of sorts, or be a little more literal as an actual catalyst for some sort of experiment or ritual. I think the ritual idea is maybe more on the right lines as alchemy is a large motif of this series.

There isn't much to say about the statement itself. The dice could be the same ones mentioned in Episode 4: Taking Notes. That episode wasn't written by Jonny or Alex, while this one was, but I feel that sort of detail is something they'd feel comfortable adding in. Although I think it's more likely that the old man himself was part of the direction.

"Externals Liaison" being "gofer" so far is pretty great, and Nigel Dickerson is a pretty spot on name for that sort of British TV personality. Can't wait to hear about how they eat children.

Alice still being into Sam and jelly of Celia is cute, and it's great to see more of Teddy. I'm pretty sure he's going to play a larger role in all of this than it seems so far. Going to dig through the ruins of the Magnus Institute might also mean that episode 10 will be a no-incident episode too. Those things usually happened at the start and end of seasons for TMA but it seems pretty appropriate for TMP right now.

Overall, great episode.

Bonzo!Bonzo!!Bonzo!!!

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

Starting with this post I'm going to include a link to my Google sheet containing all the current cases, their CAT#'s, R#'s, DPHW's, etc. It contains about as much information on each as I think is reasonable, including who narrates it, a link to its episode, and any other relevant notes, as well as headers for incidents we didn't hear. Additionally it also contains the Klaus sheet (German and English) and links to it when a incident matches. It will be updated each episode after the episode is publicly available.

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet

DPHW Theory: 3354 is fairly standard for this sort of thing, I think. I expected H to be a little higher in general but not by a lot. The only very high score we've seen for H involved a lot of compulsion, and the higher scores are harder to escape from than this one seems to be.

Splitting CAT# and R# theories into two separate things now. As you may or may not have seen I wrote a fairly extensive theory on what I think R# means so it makes no real sense to group them.

CAT# Theory: CAT3 is a nice new data point. Not many CAT3's so hopefully this will help elucidate that. But as of yet I don't have a solid theory about how that could work. The other CAT3's were Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass, and Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic which have the obvious overlap of transformation but that doesn't have a lot of overlap with Dice (Bone) -/- Fate particularly. There is the subsection of bone here which you could say is linked to the more physical manifestations of those two incidents but the Tria Prima idea I talked about here isn't something I think holds up well. So if CAT3 is something along the lines of the physical I don't think it'll be quite like that.

R# Theory: RB isn't particularly interesting in a general sense. It supports my theory reasonably well and so isn't too surprising. Which means there is little to talk about there. However, I do think it's a really good nail in the coffin for some of my other ideas. Which is encouraging now that I'm thinking about it in very different terms.

Header talk: Dice (Bone) -/- Fate is somewhat interesting. Dice (Bone) is incredibly specific in a way that bothers me. So far sections have been reasonably broad. A violin ends up in Collection, other objects in Agglomeration, Architecture deals with seemingly all buildings, but this section is just for dice? I can't be the only one that thinks that's far more specific than what we've seen before. It's also another very strange crosslink. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of those. I may have mentioned briefly that my current framework for crosslinks is viewing them as vectors. i.e. they're the way in which the supernatural is able to manifest. That holds up with Fate but it's still a bit strange in general terms.

[merrock]

HAPPY SEPTEMBER !

Can you believe that we've made it to the 'ber months already?! September is coming in strong, with a ton of little mini events, our Grill-Off, and Creek Fest! Under the cut, you will find a list of everything going on in town (feel free to interact with any of the events any way that you see fit!), plus some rule reminders and a few mod notes that are important to read. xx

ON THE CALENDAR !

SEPTEMBER 1 -- WORLD LETTER WRITING DAY: a fun day to write a letter to anyone you'd like... except we're letting you do it all month long, as a part of this recycled task.

SEPTEMBER 2 -- LABOR DAY: with schools and some businesses closed, it's the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy a picnic with your family, or a fun day with your friends.

SEPTEMBER 3 -- FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: the kids in elementary, junior and high school head back to school, as well as the professors and students at Merrock Community College!

SEPTEMBER 4 -- WILDLIFE DAY: come to the state park and jump in on a flora and fauna walk to get to know all of the wonderful wildlife around Merrock.

SEPTEMBER 6 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 7 -- THE GREAT MERROCK GRILL-OFF: info here!

SEPTEMBER 12 -- VIDEO GAMES DAY: the Community Center has arranged for a fun day where everyone is invited to come out and play video games! Bring your own consoles & games.

SEPTEMBER 13 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 17 -- COUNTRY MUSIC DAY: starting at 5PM at Tumbleweed, live country music will be taking the stage, perfect for you to bring your honey out for some boot, scoot 'n boogie.

SEPTEMBER 20 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 21-28 -- CREEK FEST: info here!

SEPTEMBER 22 -- FIRST DAY OF FALL: get out and enjoy the fall air! or at least, hopefully, we're not still dealing with summer's heat, and can relish in the best season.

SEPTEMBER 25 -- LOBSTER DAY: head on down to Sandcastles to enjoy some delicious lobster dishes at a discount, or make your way over to the fish market to pick some up to cook at home!

SEPTEMBER 26 -- BINGO NIGHT: stop by the fire hall to play a couple of rounds of bingo, with all money raised going directly to the volunteer fire department.

SEPTEMBER 27 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 29 -- COFFEE DAY: buy one, get one free on any and all coffee drinks that you could possibly one at Cobblestone! one day only, so don't miss out!

IMPORTANT STUFF !

I have updated our rules for the season! Please take a little time to read them over when you have the chance. Most everything has stayed the same, but there are a few little things that I wanted to talk about, to make sure we clarify expectations:

the waiting period between muses has been moved to two weeks. 99% of pick-ups were waiting this long anyway, and we think it makes sense as far as settling in first!

every other FC you pick up must be diverse. however, once you reach 3, you are no longer allowed to play more cis white muses than diverse muses. that means that if you play 2 white and 2 diverse, to pick up a 5th, they must be diverse. the goal is that half or more of your characters must be diverse.

for activity checks, I will be looking for bubbling every week instead of every other -- however, you are only interacting with one writer that week, we will give you a warning, instead of an automatic strike. this way, you have a chance to fix it for a whole week before you will be given a strike!

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT !

Genuinely, from the bottom of our hearts: we love this group. But of course, there is always room for improvement, things that we can all do to keep dash a more fun, productive space for everyone. This month, we're asking everyone to be mindful about maintaining interactions / threads with everyone in the group. Avoid dropping threads that people might be relying on for activity -- for example, if you want to let something from the carnival go, hey, no one's going to mind that, it's older! But if you're dropping beach bash threads on day four of the beach bash, that's not so great. Be sure that you're keeping up with all of the threads you have. It's okay if you have heavy muse for something, as long as you are still working on other threads and not letting them fall behind. With the start of a new month, it's always a good time to get into new practices! Maybe make yourself a thread tracker, so you can keep track of what you owe, and things aren't left by the wayside, or just get into the habit of double, triple checking that you're replying to everything, and not just the most recent things that come up (older stuff gets buried). Whatever works for you. And it's also a good time to start new things! To reach out to writers that you haven't gotten the chance to write with yet, or maybe to reach out to those you are writing with and say hey, let's start something fresh! xx

A WORD FROM THE MOD !

for the time being, I will be leaving anonymous off. but our ask box is always open, and we hope that you trust us enough to speak to us off of anon if there are any issues or questions!

we have decided to move forward with the week of fun Halloween related things to do (Hallo-week, if you will), thanks to your feedback! it's going to be easier for us and also provide more things for you guys to do, but Vibrations will be open for partying, too. the Benefactor will be asking for ideas soon!

please don't forget about our interest check! you must like it before September 6th to keep your role(s) in the group!

aaand, we have new, shiny things! graphics! a new task! an old task! creek fest's announcement went up. enjoy it!

HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER !

[lilith-little-world]

Sneak Peek of Chapter 2|| The Isekai’d Oracle

Well, chapter 2 is done, just going to look over it and post it tomorrow. Sorry for taking so long and not being active here. Just been feeling, bleh. The meds I'm taking worked well until it stopped so I have been feeling tired. After updating the story I'm gonna post more here. I just stopped so I can focus on chapter 2 and finish it.

Also thank the season 4 special giving me some motivation and the last push I need to make me finish this. Wukong’s dad bod tho-

“Now this is more like it, Almond!” You said in eagerness, giving a small bowl of shredded meat to your dog. Today was a pain in the ass but at least you’re celebrating with a good meal tonight. A few meat and custard-filled steamed buns with actual soda and alcohol. Lately you have been drinking pure water or sometimes juice. Since they were cheaper. However, after a long week of work and this stressful day, you decided, you’re going to treat yourself. So you turned on the TV to some cable channel that had a Chinese Drama. Unfortunately, it was only in Cantonese, but hey better than nothing. You ain’t complaining. Spider Queen was extremely generous when she gave you an increase of pay. Maybe it was her plan all along to get you to be at…her little ritual.

Maybe you should try and ask around next time. You are going to work for Jin and Yin for a while. They might know something, maybe…

You sat in bed and stare at the TV. Almond’s fur brushed against your leg as she slept next to you. Full from her large meal. The show was entertaining enough, which was saying a lot since you don’t know what’s happening. Only get hints and clues from their expression and atmosphere. It was either this, the news, or educational channels.

From what you gathered, this drama looks old. The resolution was low and blurry. The show follows this priestess around and her weird encounters with demons or trying to be the best priestess she can be. It’s quite cute and funny. Then again, you’re half asleep and drinking alcohol.

“What?! But I thought you need some priestess stuff, why are you running off with that dragon?!” You shout at the screen. “Ugh, come on, you need to be more responsible.” Your words slurred slightly as you mumbled off. Dozing off, staring blankly at the show.

“Be…more responsible…”You mutter quietly. The words echo in your head. Tomorrow, you’re definitely going to organize your thoughts and make a plan on what to do next. You are in the show you been obsessed with for a while now.

Yeah, that’s what you’re going to do, tomorrow. Organize your thoughts, get info, and make a plan on what to do. You’re also going to have fun while doing it. Depending on when you enter this world, you can technically avoid all of the ‘bad events’ that are to come. What is the worse that’s going to happen?

You already worked yourself to death in your old life. There’s no way you’re going to do that in this life. You are going to have fun and enjoy this one.

A chill went down your spine, swearing the room temperature dropping out of nowhere. You put the plate and bowl on your nightstand with your drinks. Turning off the TV, you decided it was the best time to call it a day and rest. Glancing down, you see Almond stir and look at the window tiredly. Her ears were down and was shaking. Due to the dropping temperature or for a completely different reason.

“What’s wrong?” You gently pet her head. She immediately leans into your touch. You glance at the window and try to see what she’s looking at. The blind covers the window but there was no shadow or any indication of anyone outside.

Sighing, you got up and head to the window. Moving the blinds slightly, there was nothing, no one outside. Your hand grazes the freezing glass, making you pull away from the sudden coldness. Your skin tingling and burns from the sensation. As a cold and heavy feeling settling deep within you. Making your head spin.

“What the…”

Almond whines trying to catch your attention but you kept it at the window. You noticed a slight frost at the edges of the window. Again you reach out to touch it, almost as if it was calling for you, but Almond barks. Finally, you turn around to face her.

“What is it?”

“Woof!”

“I hope you do know, I can’t really understand you.”

“Woof, woof!”

“Do you want me to leave the frost alone?”

Almond nods and jumps off the bed. Trying to push you away from the window. Her paws nudges your knee and you took a few steps away from the window. A confused expression is written across your face. Maybe it’s best if you save this for a different day and maybe when you’re not tired.

“Alright, then I'll leave it alone for now. I won't go touching it, calm down.” You pick Almond up and went back to the bed.

“Let’s go to bed, alright? Now stop worrying about me so much, okay?”

You stroke her head and lay the small dog in bed. She was oddly anxious. You had never seen her this worried before.

“It’s fine Almond, just go to bed.”

It didn’t take much for her to go back to sleep. You quietly lay there for a few more minutes. You’re eyes glancing at the window and back to Almond.

A sigh escapes and cover yourself up with the blanket. Almond told you to leave it alone and it’s for the best. Who knows what will happen if you touch it? It looks like Almond does and that’s a good enough reason for you.

“I really hope this doesn’t lead to anything crazy.” You mumbled finally drifting off the sleep. Just wanting this night to end.

[stevie-petey]

hello m i hope you are well. i'm finally reading chap 6 and 7 so that i'm ready whenever you release the final chapter of season 3 and once again, so, so good! i didn't realise how much has happened in such a short time!! here are my thought of chapter 6 before i read chapter 7 so you can get the chapter by chapter update.

Firstly, i wanted to compliment you on how scary you make the whole ordeal. obvs st is a sci fi horror show with elements of comedy, but i felt like s3's biggest flaws was not making the stakes feel as high as they were in certain moments. ofc you can't be held at an emotional tension all the time and there are down to be some low tension moments where it's appropriate to do some comedy, but overall, i felt like the scoop troop's dire situation was not always communicated well to the viewer outside of visual flare due to the actor's being instructed to keep things light and easy in their delivery. this was not the case with your chapter. i was very much feeling dread and horror at the thought of leaving steve and robin behind in the mega torture room together. you've always been quite good at making bug her own character and her own sort of adventure that doesn't depend entirely on steve, but do think that choosing to keep her separated from steve during the russian torture was a very mature writing choice.

immediately, right off the bat, this quote was so good at establishing the tone for this chapter, "it diminishes every sacrifice that has been made, it taunts the blood that has been spilled." reading bug be miserable over all the ways she hypothetically did or did not fail the group is so much more terrible when we keep in mind how much all of their efforts have been undermined, and it surprised me that the show itself was no interested in these fascinating questions. also this part, "All you ever do is try, you will die trying, you just can’t let it be in vain", omgggg bug is soooo "this is me trying" coded (affectionate).

ALSO OMG!!!! THE KISSS!!!!!!!! THIS IS BIG FOR BUG X STEVE TRUTHERS!!!! VAL MY SISTER IN ARMS WHERE ARE YOUUUUU!!!!! BUT OMG M THAT WAS SO GOOD!!!! I was soooo stressed out and everything was going a mile a minute and steve kissed her!!!! he finally did it!!!!! i absolutely love we-are-so-desparate-and-we-might-not-see-each-other-again-so-i-have-to-because-i-cant-die-knowing-i-never-did-it!!!!!! "It isn’t death that terrifies Steve, it’s the idea that he almost died without knowing how you tasted." SHUT UP!!!!!! IF HES NOT LIKE THIS, I DONT WANT HIM!!!!!! I was clutching my heart sweating like a victorian maiden feinting at hearing her lover dying on the sea!!!!! "Urgently, viciously, you scream the only thing you can think of that encompasses all the love and terror within you, “Come home to me!" TITLE DROP AFTER THE FIRST KISS!!!!! STUG ENDGAME !!!!!!! LUCAS SINCLAIR YOU *WISH* YOU HAD ACCESS TO THE FIREWORKS EXPLODING IN MY BRAIN RIGHT TF NOW!!!!!!! A smile spreads across your face when you think about him. The words spill from your mouth without any effort. “I do love Steve.” SHES SMILING WHEN SHE REALISES SHE LOVES STEVE AND DUSTIN KNOWS SHE LOVES STEVE AND SHES SMILING EEN THOUGH EVERYTHING SUCKS BECAUSE JUST THE THOUGHT OF THE OTHER IS ENOUGH TO BRING A SPARK OF JOY LIGHT AN EMBER OF HOPE IN THEIR CHESTS !!!!! YAYYYY!!!!! “Tried promising you I’d come home, angel.” Steve is sprawled on your lap. His eyes are cloudy, he isn’t quite here with you." COME HOME TITLE DROP PART 2!!!!!! WE KEEP WINNING STUG GANG!!!!! SEASON 4 GUILT TRIPS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TORMENT THAT LEAD TO ARGUMENTS IDC IDC IDK IDK THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!!!!

Now I would like to take a moment and discuss bug's excellent additions to the generation of action heroes. "And you’ve always evened out your debts to him." Killer line. Great end for a close up shot of her face while a light flickers in the back and the shot cuts to black before we reset in another scene. A tribute to all the action stars of the 80s, truly a brilliant work my you M.

final note, using the chemical SMART WORK!!! I remember thinking during the episode "wow what conveniently weapon-like substance is this that our heroes have stumbled upon and i know dustin and erica used them as well as dustin and erica and bug, i'll be real, i would started throwing them in the russian guards' faces idc idc!!!!

overall, excellent work as i'm sure you know and looking forward to reading chapter 7!!!!

Ps. "She lets out her own content sigh, and you play with her hair as well. They’re still with you. Still whole and alive." challengers core if u think about it. polycule anon kinda spit game on that one.

HI BABY I MISSED YOU !!!

i really appreciate that u like how spooky i make the chapters. i never really understand the weight of the situations theyre in every season until i write them. season 3 especially has scenes they dumb down to make room for more comedy, and while its silly, sometimes i forget that a literal TEN YEAR OLD GIRL is trapped in a russian lair with very aggressive and armed men who want to kill her. like wtf stranger things ???

as for leaving steve, it simply had to happen. i wanted to do something different since most rewrites have them taken together (which is always juicy and i eat it up every time), i just couldnt do it for this rewrite. bug wouldnt leave dustin and erica behind like that. someone had to stay with the kids, protect them, and bug was perfect for that role !!! plus, it made for a GREAT first kiss scene so it was a win all around (your comments had me DYING LMAO). however, i dread the day i rewrite season 4 because i'll have to figure out how to separate steve, bug, dustin or if i even CAN because the teens and kids pair off differently. bug is the sister, the girlfriend, it will be a challenge :(

my sister and i always joke every time we rewatch the show that we would be so. done with living in hawkins. i think the show forgets its own time canon, because wdym every. single. year. thise kids are thrown inti danger ??? every time they think "hey, we won" MORE SHIT HAPPENS ??? i wanted to really emphasize that defeat, the feeling of doing everything right and it still not being enough. you always see exactly what i want the readers to see, its like you look into my mind <3333 you always know the themes im sprinkling in :')

AND YES !!! TITLE DROP !!! took us three seasons, but we made it!!! now, for the actual scene i have in the come home masterlist, that will be in season 4 when steve can finalllly promise bug he'll come home to her <333 and the ilu scene <333 bug loves steve so much and its so natural to her and i wanna cry thinking about them ugh.

THE DEBTS LINE ,,,, i felt so cool writing that thank u for feeding into my nerdiness and seeing the vision ,,, in my head i have a compilation of badass bug scenes that would routinely get edited and the scene with her preparing to save steve and robin is 100% in there. also for the chemicals sometimes the writers leave me no room to question how a plan gets made so im like ,,,, fine i will do it myself u cowards.

finally for the challengers bit i truly didnt intent for the fic to become so challengers coded but ,,,, whew. it is. and i love it dearly.

n i love u so dearly i saw ur reblog tags for chapter 7 and i am shivering waiting for the analysis i KNOW ur cookin up and u always pick apart my fic in ways i adore so so so much <333

[simmancy]

Happy Spooky Season, pumpkaboos! 

Here’s what’s happening this month / going forward on simmancy-dot-tumblr-dot-com.

𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜! 👋

Hi there if you’re new! My name is Kit, I am 32 now, this is my simblr, I am active on and off. If any of that bothers you, unfollow, it's okay! If you're here because I posted a mod list or a random piece of CC you like, then I have good news - I do those things occasionally! When I am actively posting, I usually dabble in gameplay. I don't do much storytelling anymore because... well, I don't have the time!

𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚎 🍬

I have SOME stuff I've been poking at in my ~spare time~. I love Simblreen, it's the best time of the year imo and it's just... a tradition. It's a tradition. So I'm going to try 🤞

I have been writing out a mod list centered around occults/spooky gameplay at least. So that's seasonally appropriate????? If you have a mod list request hit my inbox because I still fucking LOVE WCIFs and that's a sort of WCIF.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 🎃

This year (and likely going forward), I'm going to try to use my blog to showcase the community. There's SO many cool things in the ts4 tag!! So I've been scouring it at the dead of night to refill my queue 👻 That's what you can mainly expect this month. No CAS challenges, no CC challenges, just some creepies and kookies from others around simblr.

𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 🌕

Hi regular followers!! I’m so sorry if you've been here a long time, because I don't have much updates on my ~classic~ gameplays and saves and they just...... won't be. For a while.

Not So Perry... I have a bit of Gen 4 but I haven't played in a whiiiiile so. I might revisit that/redo/we'll see.

Star x Crossed is indefinitely on hold - I will probably revise how that was posting because the full episodes just aren't possible right now. I might do it more as like... an edit type thing, where the edits tell the stories or whatever. It SUCKS because I had really big hopes and dreams for that save and instead I... had a child.

The Nobel ABCs will return because I have 10 generations done in game. I just need to queue.

Maggie's Wonderful Life WILL eventually be done LMAO. I'm hoping to get back into that save soonish. I LOVE farming gameplay! So I want to play/finish it. I had about half of the introductions shot before I got distracted with other things and then... well. yeah.

New saves? When I manage to play, I play a lot of newer saves LMAO. Mostly because when I have time right now I need... something easy.

𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 🔮

I decided I like doing this once a year Simmancy Newsletter during my favorite time of the year. Halloween remains the BEST season, and there's also no guarantee I won't drop off the face of the planet again.

Obv the main thing is that, as previously stated, I had a baby. A whole ass baby. She's now 3 months old, and she is so much in the best way. We're currently teething and if you're like "Kit that seems a bit early," you're absolutely right but this is the lot I've drawn in life. She likes to be sat up, and stood up, and to talk to the Baby in the Mirror. She also is obsessed with trees and the cat. I know new moms are annoying and I'm absolutely that annoying new mom, I literally cannot shut up about her and therefore make my sims blog also about her.

I go back to work next month and I'm absolutely dreading it. Can I just be a sim and have someone press motherlode for me? Please?

Otherwise, there's very little in Kit World. The past 6 simblr years remain wonderful, and I've met some of my best friends on here. I go between BG3 and Sims when I have game time (which isn't a lot because Baby Simmancy is increasingly awake and mobile). I WISH I had more time to hang around here but maybe in a year or so.

Anyway, that’s my update of the year. Happy spooky season everybody! I hope it’s a good one!

Stay safe & spooky out there!

[therentyoupay]

Hi, I was just wondering if technical difficulties is abandoned?

I hope you’re doing well!

*drops in after 5 years and 4 months with a technical difficulties chapter update*

*disappears*

cover art made by @angel-gidget ♡

03/08/23. HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, ALL, LONG LONG LONG TIME, NO SEE. ♡ Can you believe it? When I first published this story (first to tumblr, then to ao3), I had just moved to Japan! When I posted ch. 7, I was still living in Japan, and would stay there for another 7ish months... and in the 5 years and 4 months since posting the last chapter, I have moved to three different cities in the United States and started a Ph.D. program. (I am currently halfway through my PhD program!!!!!) What a wild ride. Also, we lived through the pandemic?! And I bought a house! Over the summer! The market was vicious.

So, then how did I get the inspiration/time/energy/motivation to write Ch. 8, you ask? Marvelous question. I lied down in bed last night to go to sleep "early" and ended up reading an utterly hilarious play-by-play commentary on Bad Books, Good Times of a popular fantasy novel series—and I'm not quite sure what it was about "poorly written books explained by hilariously clever book lovers" but I suddenly had a craving for fanfiction, so I opened up my Books app on my phone, and my eyes fell upon a sudden recommendation for my downloaded copy of technical difficulties. And I thought, "Am I suddenly and weirdly in the mood to jot down some notes to start Ch. 7 right now? By golly, I think I am."

4.5 hours later, I'd written the whole damn thing from scratch on my phone in my Notes app. (Messily! Half-assed! But I wrote all of it down!) I then spent another 6.5 hours today filling in the gaps and "editing." This chapter (and the one that will follow it) has been in my head for more than half a decade, but I just haven't had the space to get it out until now!!

I think one of the most beautiful parts of getting a PhD is how completely it blows your perfectionism tendencies utterly to bits, and one of the really interesting byproducts that has come up in my acdemic writing is just how quickly I can crank out decent-enough writing (skill-building!!). In my case, I think so much of it has to do with just being able to word vomit fairly well while not trying to fix anything until the whole damn thing is basically done. So, I applied that knowledge here! Behold!

This isn't to say that I'll be writing the final chapter anytime soon—I may be on spring break right now and may have had a stroke of Writing Inspiration in the Wild™ last night, but I'm still finishing my last semester of classes and learning advanced Python and working on my milestone paper for my doctoral program and preparing to present at my next conference in June and preparing my proposal for my dissertation next fall. BUT! The important thing is that I will post the last chapter of this story (and all my other stories)! Eventually!! ;)

No BETA for this chapter because I gotta THROW this out onto the internet and get back to coding, so bear with! I may do minor edits for it in the near or distant future. Also, please note that I have not watched any episodes of Miraculous Ladybug after the finale of Season 1, so this fic is very much a ~time capsule~ from the past. If there is any additional lore that might otherwise apply to the plot of this fic, please know that I don't know about it, and I am keeping myself selectively ignorant on all matters of Miraculous Ladybug season 2 and beyond until after I finish this story the way I originally intended. ♡ Woo!

as for, tumblr, sadly, to be honest, I'm never really online anymore! I'll respond to comments here on ao3 ASAP, though. ♡ LOVE YOU ALL, THANK YOU. ♡♡♡

[angevon]

Here's an update to what I've been listening to during my daily commute.

Previous Podcast post: https://www.tumblr.com/angevon/738730790493552640/podcasts-im-listening-to-and-not

Still listening to:

Hey Riddle Riddle

Inn Between

Life with Althaar

Mission to Zyxx

No Such Thing as a Fish

Stellar Firma

Finished:

Blueberries Hill - a comedy podcast in a Peter Rabbit-like world, the actors are animals like Mr. Bear and Mrs. Rabbit. I like how there’s a coherent narrative to each episode, despite the ad-libbing. Makes the magic happen. Only 6 episodes.

DUST: Chrysalis - I found the ending a little anticlimactic, but it fit the narrative and I'm mostly satisfied with it. Recommended for anyone seeking a relatively short and self-contained sci fi narrative.

Sidequesting - Tal Minear has an enjoyable voice to listen to. I can’t say I loved this podcast, but it was wholesome and lgbt+ so I recommend it for that. My main issue is that I'm listening during my commute, and, particularly in the last episode, there are characters with hard-to-hear/ hard-to-understand voices. I just can't hear it well over the sounds of the road so it kinda frustrated me.

The Sword that Explodes - a barbarian named Clive quits the barbarian life to end up an adventurer instead, with a lady alchemist and a clever rogue. They get into various shenanigans. British style humor, only 7 episodes, seems to have been abandoned.

New!:

1865 - a dramatic reenactment of the events occurring directly after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The actor playing Edwin Stanton is enjoyable to listen to. Warning for coughing a lot, though.

Absolutely No Adventures - the owner of a small bakery was unfortunately born under ALL the signs. Everyone seems to think he’s the chosen one or whatever, and to him it really is “whatever” — he just wants to be left alone. Every episode he has to weasel his way out of being forced into saving the world by whoever’s found him next.

Bananas - funny news from around the world - what it says on the tin. Similar to Hey Riddle Riddle where it’s mostly a group of friends hanging out, with a focus on goofy headlines.

Death by Dying - this one is difficult to explain. The protagonist is an obituary writer for a small town, and each episode he’s explaining the death of a person in the town. But the stories are outlandishly entertaining. The narrator is fun to listen to.

Mission Rejected - when a secret agent chooses NOT to accept the mission, the mission gets passed down to, well, the B team. This is their story. It’s… okay? The humor doesn’t quite jive with me, but I keep thinking it might need more time to get better, so I haven’t dropped it.

Solutions to Problems - a human and an alien host a futuristic helpline radio show. The human is named Janet, which reminds me of The Good Place, and the alien is Loaf, short for Meatloaf, a name he chose for himself since his name in his native tongue is too difficult for Janet to pronounce. A relatively wholesome show with fun character rapport.

True Tales of the Illuminati - similar vibe to Mission Rejected. Stories about how the wacky Illuminati B team tries to accomplish Illuminati business. The first story was about them trying to get the Great Pyramids of Egypt built.

Victoriocity - in a cyberpunk New London, murder and conspiracies are afoot. Detective Fleet finds himself in the middle of the mystery and determined to solve it. This podcast has a fun narrative style, similar to Kingmaker Histories, but more humor focused, so I'm enjoying it.

Warlock - basically a magic school anime made into an audio drama, it even has a Japanese opening song. The characters are over-the-top and tropey, but that's the point. Despite the focus on combat, it's fun.

Zed 1 - a British couple and their hilarious shenanigans during the zombie apocalypse

Dropped:

Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet - started to get a real privileged feel from the hosts.

Tower 4 - season 2 is just plain frustrating to listen to. We know what’s going on, but the protagonist doesn’t, and he’s frankly being an asshole to the only people who can help.

The Judgies - too similar to Bananas

The Kingmaker Histories - a girl ends up with the valuable magic gem known as the Kingmaker inside her head. Now she’s on a journey to escape the people who want it from her. The world is interesting, an alternate-history-with-magic. Unfortunately, none of the characters have sold me and I decided I’m just not enjoying it.

StarTripper!! - this was fun at first, but got kinda horny…? An alien named Festin leaves his office job to travel the universe, in a style like Hitchhiker’s guide.

Tales of the Extraordinary - I honestly had a hard time following.

On hold…?:

Bridgewater - I like the mystery, but I’m not a fan of the dialogue patterns. I dislike when a dialogue has too much “character a says something, character b replies WHAT??? or repeats it again as a question” or similar. It really takes me out of the story. Put on hold due to being similar to Tower 4, but since I dropped Tower 4 I might come back to this.

Dungeons and Daddies - I’m already listening to a lot of dnd stuff via Dropout so I don’t need another one. Also, after one episode, I kinda only like the Druid haha.

Finding Pattersby - a ghost writer tries to find the guy he writes for, who went missing under mysterious circumstances. The protagonist has anxiety and the narrative generally feels real, I like him a lot. I was pretty hooked in the first couple of episodes but turns out it’s unfinished/ongoing. I don’t want to get invested haha.

Welcome to Night Vale - I do like this but it’s quite formulaic? Which is fine but after 100 episodes feels like it kinda wore out on me. I’ll come back to it at some point, I’m sure.