#I'm making it everyone else's problem now ]]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

 book 7 chapter 12 part 2 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 12 OF THE MAIN STORY!!*** This spans part 245 to part 268, focusing on Trey and Ace.

We will get Riddle's dream in a future update (scheduled for Feb 7th)!

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

The group lands on a tropical island! These are reused assets from the Lost in the Book with Stitch event.

Cater indicates that he's fine from the bumpy ride; he likes the thrill! It reminds him of sky diving. He also shares that he once lived by the sea in Pyroxene/the Shaftlands and that he enjoys board-related activities (snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, etc.)

IHBASOUFA8TVVAD8FA RIGHT AS THEY'RE TALKINGA BOUT THIS, LEONA INTERRUPTS AND TELLS THE KIDS TO STOP WASTING TIME, THEY GOTTA FIND THE DREAMER 💀 (Can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to shake his hand for reminding everyone to get the fuck back on track instead of standing around talking for several parts in a row...)

They find some footprints in the sand and decide to follow them. Due to the size and shape of the footprints being similar to Deuce's, they think the footprints must be Ace's and will lead them to him.

We bump into Ace (who is wearing his beachwear clothes from the Stitch event), along with dream!Riddle (also in his beachwear) and dream!Trey (who is in his Yasmina silk from the fireworks event). Trey was cooking up BBQ for everyone! afhlbllbaiad THE TWST DEVS ARE REALLY GETTING MILEAGE OUT OF THOSE OLD ASSETS, HUH...

Ace speaks to Deuce, Cater, Grim, and Yuu in a familiar tone, but is shocked to see everyone else. He also mentions dream!Cater leaving to change into swimwear and to take pics by the sparkling sea; it looks like he was dreaming of all of Heartslabyul and Grim + Yuu hanging out here. Apparently, dream!Cater rented a place for them by the beach from Kalim's family.

Ace and dream!Trey explain they're celebrating because Yuu can now freely pass between Twisted Wonderland and their original world. asdbihasiodasqevyf IS THIS SLIGHT SHADE AT THE THEORISTS THAT PROPOSED SOMETHING SIMILAR TO KEEP YUU AS THE MC IN TWST... (Turns out, Ace must have been really wishing for Yuu to not leave their friend group forever www) This seems to be their summer vacation after the first school year.

Cater volunteers himself, Silver, Leona, and Idia to help Trey with making BBQ. This is so they can monitor the darkness while giving the first years a chance to wake Ace. Congrats to Cater for being a little useful in these dreams 🤡

The first years directly confront Ace as he is showing them options for beachwear to change into. However, to everyone’s shock, Ace is in complete denial and brushes it off when his head starts to hurt. He tells they are all being overly negative and it's harshing his vibes! It's vacation time, so why are they trying to ruin things with jokes that are in poor taste? This marks the first major instance of the dreamer resisting the feeling of “waking”.

Sebek intervenes and tries to take charge of the argument. Even with Sebek shouting about all the havoc Malleus's magic is causing... even when Sebek says Malleus's magic will eventually swallow the world, Ace has no problem with it. He claims it's not his problem. Besides, everyone's going to be living happily in dreams, right? And this is the path that Malleus chose for himself, so he should accept the consequences of his actions. What's the issue there? Besides, he doesn't want to cooperate with a person like Sebek who constantly looks down on others and paints all the dreamers as victims in need of saving.

Ace storms out in a fit of anger. Grim starts blaming Sebek for things emotionally escalating. Then Ortho confronts Sebek with this question: if it was not Malleus Draconia behind the current situation, would Sebek really be trying as hard as he is to rectify things? This question shocks Sebek into silence.

Cater and the others show up to check in on us. From our crestfallen expressions, he can tell we failed to wake Ace.

HUHHHHHHHH 😟 Silver suddenly gets super strict with Sebek and scolds him for the trouble his rudeness has caused everyone + their seniors. He says that the people around Sebek have been too lenient with him and thus spoiled him; he needs to reflect on his actions!! Sebek uses a really quiet voice and apologizes to us (but he still uses kisama which is a pompous and rude way to speak to others 😭).

LEONA 💀 He suggests they are wasting too much time trying to wake a small fry like Ace and it may be more efficient to skip him and move onto the next dreams. THE DAD THAT LEFT FOR MILK, FOLKS

… What the fuck. I did not expect Ace’s dream to better my opinion of CATER of all people but lo and behold, it is. Cater agrees with Leona that it may be more efficient to skip Ace’s dream. He and Idia do not need to worry about Ace anymore. This first year is Heartslabyul’s so it’s not their responsibility. Cater walks off and Yuu, Grim, and Deuce chase him. The others follow in a separate group due to the radius for Ace’s dream world not being very large.

Deuce begs Cater to let him try talking to Ace one more time before they give up on him. AND THEN CATER ACTS LIKE THE DAD THAT STEPPED UP because he tells Deuce he never had any intention of abandoning Ace 😭 Deuce, Grim, and Yuu decide to team up with Cater to wake Ace, especially considering they may have to combat darkness this time.

Cater finds Ace by himself and asdbhlabsyod8ysaas8fb uses Split Card to make a bunch of clones to gang up and pummel his junior... "I'll show you this is a dream :))" *PROCEEDS TO BEAT THE CRUD OUT OF ACE* Unfortunately for Cater, dream!Riddle, Trey, Cater, and Deuce show up to put a stop to things. (I want to add it's hilarious that Cater is also in Yasmina silk but Deuce is stuck in his P.E. Uniform asdhbasoyafae)

Ace is tempted by the darkness and mumbles a bunch of stuff about how he doesn't want to do difficult things like fighting Malleus. He says he’s just an ordinary mage and doesn’t even have his UM yet. We're shocked by Ace's cowardly side but Silver points out that darkness being present feeds and amplifies your most negative emotions.

Anyway, Sebek and co. want to barge in to save Ace, but Leona holds them back; they should leave it to Cater.

fuasboyfg8fdasibTHER'S THIS ON e FUNnY MOMENT. Leona says that those that it's easy for the darkness to indulge in the dreamer when they're at their lowest/acting cowardly. Idia voice) Eeeeh, aren't you talking about yourself, Leona-shi... abhlfbioasfoasobifadib LEONA NYOOMS OVER TO IDIA'S TABLET AND COMES CLOSE TO BREAKING IT... Watch yourself, Idia...

WOW CATER 🤯 He blew my mind… Cater reminds us and Ace that when Riddle OB’d, Ace was the one that stepped up to fight even when the battle seemed unwinnable—and it was Cater who wanted to run. He tells Ace he looked so cool back then, but he hasn’t had the chance to thank him for it until now.

ACE LAUGHS AND CRiES

Cater pulls Ace out of the darkness!! He calls to Leona and co. for backup~ (One neat touch here is Ace says one of his battle opener lines: “Okay~ I’ll get this over with fast.”)

Deuce and Grim bonk Ace on the head for giving them a hard time. augwjsjs Ace starts to given’m lip again but Leona tells him to watch how he speaks to upperclassmen OTL

do skwguwuwn AcE CALLS oUT SILVER AnD LILIA foR SPOILING SEBEK… Cater interrupts to remind them to get along + respect their seniors or the red demon Riddle will come for them!

Adeuce are embarrassed about having to shout Dream Form Change. Idia enjoys it. Cater does too; he thinks it’s cute and wants Adeuce to do it again so he can take a video (they refuse to).

Deuce makes a passing comment about how maybe they don’t know Cater as well as they think they do?? The Cater they think they know is obsessed with taking pictures… but maybe he can be reliable too!

Sebek and Ace bicker again as they prepare to dream hop. Once again, Leona comes in clutch by telling them to stfu and for Silver to hurry it along.

They land in front of Heartslabyul dorm in Trey’s dream.

Ace didn’t have an issue with their travel; in fact, he posed when Cater pointed his phone at him!

We tell Ace we’ve basically gotten about 20ish people recruited to our cause already, plus the support of S.T.Y.X.! However, their group is 10 people now (Grim, Yuu, Ace, Deuce, Cater, Silver, Sebek, Idia, Ortho, and Leona), which will make it dangerous to dream hop.

Grim mentions that if he is without Yuu, he won’t count as a student. That’s weird, because earlier in book 7 he mentions moving to the second year even once Yuu has returned home… Maybe this will be formally discussed later??? It sounds slightly contradictory.

They smell butter and follow it to the Heartslabyul kitchen. Cater stops everyone suddenly?? He doesn't think it's wise if all 10 of them cram into the kitchen at once; he will go since it's not odd for a Heartslabyul student to be present in the area. Plus, if things get dicey, he can always use his UM as an excuse or in a combative pinch!

asdhasbyofasd Leona and Idia get dragged along with Cater since they're the oldest. This conveniently allows the others to listen in on the conversation in the kitchen by using the mic built into Idia's tablet. (Idia however is not happy that he gets stuck with the sunny Cater and the grumpy Leona.)

WHOA check out the cakes and other baked goods here???? I don't even like sweets, but this looks tasty.

Cater tells the other two with him that Trey handmakes goodies for unbirthday parties. He has advised in the past that Trey take shortcuts (using commercial goods/already made cakes or box mixes, I presume), but Trey doesn't listen. Cater suspects it's because Trey thinks it's way too fun to bake to give it up, even if it would be faster to use another way.

They overhear people talking and... WHAT THE HECK, CHENYA'S THE HEARTSLABYUL DORM LEADER NOW????? ? ? ?? ??? ? ? ? ?? ? ? He's complimenting Trey's meat pies...

P.S. That chef's outfit looks so good OTL

Ortho casually hacks into the RSA student database to report on who Chenya is (since Silver and Sebek have no clue who he is).

We sort of get an explanation for Cater’s dream??? He says he wished to live comfortably and happily, as if every day was like his birthday. Somehow that got twisted to him being dorm leader…

xhsvhwiwkw The first years are bickering outside… Ace and Grim are fighting to see what’s happening, Sebek is being too loud so Ortho chastises him.

Trey is able to tell the original Cater from the clones??? Bro is Haruhi Fujioka OHSHC… He comments that Cater looks different than usual, so he knew right away.

Riddle seems to be a regular card solider. He tried to challenge Chenya for his dorm leader seat.

Chenya explains Riddle lost to him because his UM doesn’t work on Chenya. He then demonstrates his UM…! (Note: some creative liberties taken while transcribing in order to slap in an Alice in Wonderland quote :3c)

“Most everyone’s mad here. You might’ve already noticed I’m not all there. Not All My Head!”

(More direct translation of the incantation would be, “Everybody's weird here. You've noticed that already, haven't you?”)

It doesn’t just refract the light and make Chenya appear invisible; his body is literally NOT there. This explains why Riddle’s UM doesn’t work Chenya—there is literally nothing there to collar.

cHENYA bULLIES RiDDLE A LIRTKE BY HsRaiNH An EmBaarRsING StORY 😭

Anyway, Riddle has challenged Chenya many times but lost because Chenya is an expert at avoidance. Riddle uses up his magic and burns out easily.

Oooh? Chenya talks about a special language his grandpa taught him. It reminds me of Riddlish from Ever After High.

Trey’s ideal Heartslabyul… it’s one with loose rules, a huge ass kitchen that can be used freely, and a dorm leader that is easygoing. It’s pretty mild and grounded.

Trey asks the third years to sample a prototype lemon jelly and yogurt dessert for him. The only sweetener is honey so eve Cater should be okay with it—and Chenya won’t be mad if someone violates the “dorm leader gets the first bite rule”, even if desserts like jellies are excluded from that rule. Cater agrees but insists that Trey joins them.

dhisbwkwnw Leona has meat pie instead of the lemon dessert. Trey wants to make more to feed his guests and decides to make enough for all of the dorm.

The first years are drooling and jealous that the third years get to eat when they’re supposed to be investigating!

Cater is impressed that Silver had the fortitude to go through so many dreams. He thinks he may have given up a while ago if he were in Silver’s shoes???

Trey says he likes baking because it is satisfying to see the finished product—and others can enjoy it too, so it is killing two birds with one stone. Even Riddle is able to eat as much as he wants now. Apparently Riddle was the close to the same age as Trey’s younger brother at the time (Trey was 9 or 10; Riddle is one year older than the Clover brother). Trey describes Riddle as very mature for his age.

Hmm, interesting… The part of Riddle’s past where his mom caught him eating a strawberry tart remains unchanged.

LMAO the Clovers got scolded for 5 hours by Mrs. Rosehearts… Trey claims he and his family now laugh about the incident. Out group theorizes that this is result of trauma; it’s Trey’s way of coping.

Oh????? Trey says Riddle has changed a lot since he left his parents. Due to Chenya’s encouragement, Riddle now eats as much as he wants. Apparently both he and Chenya see Riddle like a little brother and they love seeing him be able to grow up.

ASGYUGYASNNYFOYADSSD Leona's theories keep being proven wrong in these dreams... He theorizes that Trey might have been angry when he became vice dorm leader, but Cater says that's not the case.

Trey was very excited when Riddle entered NRC; he told the other Heartslabyul students that his childhood acquaintance is joining the school. Although Riddle is quiet, he is talented at magic and Trey hopes they get along well. But then when Riddle enrolled, he was a completely different person than how Trey remembered him. He had developed a short fuse and become very controlling... cutting himself off from his feelings in order to rule. Riddle also acts detached from Trey.

In the flashback we see, Riddle has a heart mark. I guess this is what he had in reality too, not just the dream world.

Anyway, when time came to appoint a vice dorm leader (dorm members vote for them), Trey kind of got handed the job. Cater suggests it was probably tough on Trey to see that Riddle had changed so much; at one point, Riddle even beheaded Trey because the rules do not discriminate. He also suggests that maybe Chenya is in Trey's dream so that both friends can be present to support Riddle.

ajbuasiodyasida CATER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT... He confesses that he's always a spectator and now, seeing this, he wonders if he should have done more or intervened sooner.

UUUUUUH, there's a big BOOM!!???!! heard over Idia's tablet. It sounds like the other group is in trouble! But what are they dealing with...?

... Oh. OH.

THIS IS LITERALLY THE TWST ORB MERCH 😭😭😭😭😭 Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber... and round Cater and Riddle...

uMMMMMMMM I feel like I learned about one of Trey’s secret special interests and I don’t like it one bit 🪦

Riddle is now the tallest second year... bigger than a horse... How is he gonna ride Vorpal?! Ace and the others are in distress, saying that he can't do basketball and Deuce can't do track and field with those round bodies!!

We attempt to fight the massive dream!Heartslabyul boys, but it's useless!! Silver tries to form a barrier, but the dream!boys just roll too fast and knock him over before he can complete the spell! Cater tells Leona to use his UM to help out, but Leona can't because there would be collateral damage if used in an enclosed space.

The dream!boys try to convince Trey to stay in the dream but they start to present information that doesn't make sense. For example, dream!Riddle does not care about nutritional content; he will eat anything if it's something Trey made! Dream!Cater starts to eat a bunch of sweets to demonstrate his willingness to consume what Trey makes for them; ah, but that's not right either because in the real world, Cater doesn't like sweets at all!

Trey is able to wake up on his own...!

Aaaand we got the context for his groovy...? AFBADAVADSPB SO THE CATER AND RIDDLE PICTURED HERE, LOOKING DOWN AT HIM... IT'S THE ROUND ASS ONES AKHLBAFSIYBAFIYVAFOV8YQEOVYPQRWBFUEFABIHFDIB THAT MAKES THIS ILLUSTRATION SO MUCH LESS SERIOUSSSSSSSS

There's a big BOOM!! BHLFBIAFSIYBAFSIBYADFBIADVBLDFS LEONA SANDED SOME OF THE BIG ORBS?? ? ?? ? ? ???? ? ? Bye-bye, round Adeuce...

We rally with Trey and he has an admittedly cool line... "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's poor manners under the law of the Queen of Hearts!"

After the darkness is dispelled, Trey is caught up to speed and expresses he's not sure if a normal mage like him can be of much use against Malleus; why didn't they go for Riddle, who is way more powerful, first? asfhbasyuvfgfyoaodasi Ace has a cute moment where he reminds Trey that it was HIS unique magic that overrode Riddle's and saved his ass. Besides, we need Trey to help out with Riddle. He's Riddle's bestie, right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAFHAFH Sebek quietly says he is indebted to Trey... I just think about how Sebek has said Trey reminds him of his father OTL Ace whines about how Sebek treats him and Trey so differently and Sebek shouts that a third year will actually be HELPFUL, unlike Ace. afbaiuliafiefa GIRLIEPOPS YOUR BICKERING PLEASES ME... continue--

Cater takes a picture of Trey in his chef clothes before he swaps over to his dorm uniform; he wants to show Riddle later! I think Trey also brings along a strawberry tart...? Not sure if it transfers from dream to dream or if I'm misunderstanding the wording there.

Then they all gather around Silver and move on to Riddle's dream! (Leona closes off this section with a banger line about how it's time to get back on the small crowded bus. LMAO)

Alright, so what were my overall thoughts on this update? I definitely feel as though the writers got better at writing the dreams as they continued. The first few felt awkward and stilted, but the more recently ones (Savanaclaw and Heartslabyul) are noticeably smoother, even when kept in the confines of already established patterns.

I really appreciated how often Leona was kept telling everyone to shut up and move on with the story. He sounds so tired, annoyed, and wanting to get to the end of book 7 already. It feels like the devs are speaking to us through Leona bilfiaylasdpasod

I'm a little surprised that Ace didn't get his UM in his dream, but I guess maybe they're saving it for the very end battle? I find it suspicious that he brings up and laments his lack of UM while talking about how he's a "normal" mage that doesn't stand a chance against a big boss like Malleus. This sounds like intentional foreshadowing for that confrontation.

As I expected, Ace had a special interaction with Sebek, much like most of the other first years have. (I've updated my "Sebek and the first years in book 7" analysis post based on this.) Ace capping things off by openly calling out Sebek's flaws helps to bring everything full circle. I was also pretty spot-on about Ace's dream covering Yuu being able to stay in Twisted Wonderland. I'm surprised that they did the "Yuu can go between the two worlds as they like" thing; it's a very convenient idea proposed by many theorists in the fandom in order to maintain having Yuu as the POV character in Twst while also allowing Yuu (the in-universe character) to be able to return to their friends/family back home. More and more... the dreams feel like vague fanfiction addressing some fun fandom theories and ideas.

I found it really fascinating that Trey's dream didn't erase the moment in his life that tore Riddle away from him. I wonder if the trauma is just so deep-rooted that even Malleus's magic couldn't get rid of it...? Or if the event was framed by the magic as something sad that had to happen so he could spoil Riddle and give him a happy life now??? I can also understand an interpretation in which Trey feeds others or does his best to help them out even if he finds it bothersome because some part of him still holds onto that immense guilt he feels for his role in the Tart Incident. And in that sense, it's the dream allowing Trey to indulge others without stop, without moderation--a weakness of his that he was warned about in Vil's Labwear vignettes.

asdlhbasnyurnoabafsi NOT GONNA LIE, TREY'S DREAM IS GOING TO GIVE ME NIGHTMARES. Don't get me wrong, I love how whimsical it is, and how he can just enjoy baking to his heart's content. I also love that we get Chenya's UM name and incantation, as well as more about how it actually works. HOWEVER. The massive spheres that Trey made of his dorm members freak me out 💀 THERE'S SOMETHING SO GROTESQUE ABOUT MASSIVE BODIES WITH SMUSHED TINY FACES ROLLING AROUND TO CRUSH PEOPLE...

The MVP this update was most definitely Cater. I was shocked to see how proactive he was. He took the lead in both Ace and Trey's dreams and we got to see him put his craftiness to some good use. Stepping up for the first years, roping the other third years into helping him, even not hesitating to kick Ace's stubborn ass... I hate to say it, but I could really see Cater's dashing big brother side coming out here 🤡 YES I AM UNFORTUNATELY PREDICTABLE I had to pause reading so many times to go, "Waaaah, Cay-kun is so cool!!" which is not a thought I typically have. I'm also such a big fan of him regretting his past actions (or rather, inaction) and finally FINALLY being able to verbalize some of his deepest and most concealed feelings to other characters. When Cater thanked Ace for what he said back when Riddle overblotted... man, it hit me right in the heart.

Sebek was also pretty bashful this update. I don’t think I’ve heard him being quite so… humbled??? His quiet voice is cute 🥰 Was not expecting Silver to speak sternly to him though. The shouting came put of nowhere??? And it’s not as though you aren’t part of the problem for spoiling him, Silver…

Those are my thoughts for this update! I'll see you in the next one. Riddle's dream, on the 7th...!!

[captain-kit-adventuress]

Let me tell you some things about American plumbers probably almost none of you know, especially because I've seen people complaining that plumbers make "$42 an hour while I can't even make $15!"

[Note that much of this is state-specific, so ymmv, but most states have an interest in keeping it pretty similar to what I'm going to outline.]

First of all, you have to be licensed, and anything licensed takes forever and costs a fortune. You spend 7 years as an apprentice plumber, which means taking full-time classes on top of full-time work, for which you definitely do not get paid $42 an hour, and you're lucky if you get $20. You're on the hook for all of the tuition and books and whatever else, tools and whatnot, and we all know tuition and books are out of control, but have you seen what decent tools cost these days? This in addition to all of the regular school stuff like a computer, an internet connection, probably a mobile phone of some description, etc. Some you may have already and some you may not.

That's just the education part. Next, even after you've completed your 7 year apprenticeship under extremely strict and exacting standards, for which you get paid almost nothing and have tons of expenses just like any other student, you're still under some kind of supervision for another few years. So you've put in about 10 years into this already and you're nowhere near pulling in the kind of income that people say plumbers make.

But once you actually get into being licensed and bonded and the whole shebang, maybe you get a job with a company, because it's really hard to hang your own shingle, especially in the larger communities where nobody knows anybody else or the quality of their work. You'll work for a plumbing company like anyone else, and let me tell you, it's like any other company where profit matters most and it's for shareholders and not anyone else.

Now comes the part you probably have never heard about: many, many, many plumbers don't really have health insurance for most of their careers, and if they do, it's like the shittiest insurance possible and they have to pay for much of their healthcare out of pocket. Except that these are plumbers, they're constantly on hands and knees on hard, unyielding surfaces, bending, lifting...really physical, difficult work. How many of you actually know how much a toilet weighs? it's anywhere between 50-120 lbs depending on a variety of factors. All that, in addition to actually diagnosing whatever the problem is and knowing how to fix it. Do that for the next 20 years of your life and you're not going to have any knees left, you're going to have a bad back, probably most of your other joints are shot or on the fritz in some way, and this is if you were healthy to begin with and didn't have many health problems during your career. Depending on the collective bargaining agreement, sometimes the unions will cover your healthcare at close to 100% after that, but when it was easier to prevent a lot of it by having time off and the ability to afford care? None of that is covered.

Not only that, but most plumbers don't really get paid time off from work, either, depending on what the agreements are. I know it doesn't seem like plumbers ever work timely, but everyone thinks they have an emergency when the plumbing breaks, and you've got to triage the for-real emergencies alongside the "Timmy backed up the toilet again because he keeps flushing his toys and now there's water and poop and who knows what else everywhere." That's not including the emergency answering services where they're relaying that stuff 24/7/365.

How is that different from most of us today, you might wonder? Because they're literally knee-deep in your shit from morning 'til night. All of the weird stuff you do to screw up your toilets, your sinks, your showers, your fixtures, your pipes, they have to deal with all of it. All of the clogs, the gross hair masses, the half-eaten food from when the disposal stops working, the people who don't know not to flush things they shouldn't, the people who do know and don't care, the floods when the sump pump stops working or there's so much rain it just completely overwhelms it, the people who are sure they can "fix" it, the people who listened to youtube or tiktok and picked the wrong accounts for advice, and most of all, metric tonnes of your actual shit and vomit and whatever other bodily excretions you've got. That is all hazardous enough on its own, and if you think it's gross, I don't think plumbers feel any differently, but it is a part of their job and there's no getting around it. They are paid to deal with all of the stuff no one else wants to even think about. And after they've been exposed to your biohazards for 10 hours a day, they themselves have to pay for any care they need to make sure they don't die from it. You know how many people have dangerous mold in their bathrooms and don't know it? I bet a plumber can tell you.

Those are the conditions with unions trying to fight for them.

[As one more note, not everyone wants to leave home, and that's fine! Why does anyone assume there are no tradespeople in cities when that couldn't be further from the truth? Don't be arses about geography.]

tl;dr: plumbers don't make the money you think they do, they spend half their career earning next to nothing and then when they finally start catching up their bodies are so shot they can't enjoy it; in the middle they have to deal with everybody's grossness and basic repair illiteracy, and they pay for most of it themselves.

source: I was an external auditor for a lot of trade unions.

some of the worst classism is white collar middle class americans against blue collar & minimum wage workers. “why does that plumber make more than me” because he’s been perfecting his craft for 30 years and you send emails. “they’re in the trades bc they’re too dumb to do anything else” ok take that engine apart and put it back together real fast babe. “they’re boring bc they never left their home town” have you considered they financially couldn’t? I am not saying it is anyone’s job to educate, nor you need to respect people who do not respect you, but while you maybe never sympathize we need to learn to empathize. consider why (who) allowed for massive parts of country to be uneducated and how many impoverished areas of this country haven’t had a voice for a very long time. we are all victims of the rich. remember it is up vs down

[narcjsistx]

𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄! | itoshi rin x fem reader

part twelve: childhood || BAND AU, A BIT AGED UP

plot: after your band's last concert, a few days after Rin's, an online competition arises about who is the best bassist. A whole new challenge is created by the new fandom who loves you, but people don't know that you and the bassist of Blue Lock haven't spoken in about 3 years since you broke up, when you were sixteen

02: PAST, YESTERDAY

characters presentation || last part || next part ; words: 1k

𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!. you can find the other parts of the story by searching in the section dedicated to bllk

"When did you decide to play the guitar? I've never seen you here" you say to the child, putting your bass in the case "I started a few weeks ago. How about you?" he asks, and you think about it "I've been playing my bass for a long time now, I was 5 when I started!" You say, smiling at him, and he nods before walking back with his group

That Sae Itoshi was weird, but really good with his guitar. His guitar teacher always talked to your bass teacher about how he was a phenomenon, that's why you decided to talk to him for the first time, but he didn't seem particularly interested in you. Maybe he's shy, but you don't know

"Wait, Itoshi!" you say running towards him, the bass weighing on your shoulders "I'm convinced I can handle the speed with which you play your guitar, I can be your bassist!" you say, and he seems to think about it “Are you good?” he asks raising an eyebrow, and you nod "Many say that I am the best bassist of my age, in our music school" you say a little embarrassed. You see him a little perplexed as he takes the case over his shoulder "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?" he asks, and you shake your head to say no, following him with a smile on your face

As you walk towards Sae's house, you think about how you ended up in this situation: you don't even know why you care so much about being his bassist, but you think that he is capable of giving you notes that can make you electrify. You've been playing bass for 5 years now, and when you heard that the new guitarist at the music school you go was looking for some good bass players, you took the opportunity. Sae is 12 years old, a little older than you, but he already seems to be great at what he does; you have fairly high expectations, both on his part and on your part

"Come, we can go to the garage" says the child entering a small garden, taking a path that surrounds the road, which leads to the back. You follow him, looking around curiously, noticing how the outside of the house is very nice. When you arrive at the back Sae takes you into the already open garage, which overlooks a very well-kept garden, probably from her mother "You can connect your bass to that speaker. Shall we try some songs?" he asks, plugging in his guitar, and you nod, following the order that he gave you “You start, I'll join you and give you the right rhythm. After all, that's what the bass does"

Sae begins, and after a few seconds you join him: you both start playing a strong melody from a song you studied in music school, one you particularly like. Even though you've never played together you seem to have been doing it for a long time, as if a chemical reaction had taken place between your bass and his guitar. Play for minutes on end, until you reach the end

“That was so cool!” you say happy, but he doesn't seem to share the same happiness, despite being calm "It was nice. Let's try again with something else" he says, and you nod getting into position, yours fingers on the bass keys. For the second time you start playing without any problems, and you feel so happy to finally have someone who can give you emotions when he plays: you've been playing for a while, you know how it works to be paired with someone for a duet, you've always gotten along well with everyone because you're talented, but you've never had fun. But now you're doing it, you're not the only one with so much talent. It's satisfying, magical, beautiful

But as you play, you notice how someone is peeking from the last step of the garage stairs, the ones that probably lead to the first floor

Finished playing, Sae puts down the guitar, climbing onto the first step "Rin!" he says, and you are confused "If you are interested, you can come down. Observing is rude" says Itoshi, and a child comes out from behind the door, that is, from where he was hiding while he was looking at you "Sorry, Nii San" says the child coming down the stairs, looking down and apologetic

Seeing him like this, he is probably his younger brother; he could be your age, since you should be more or less the same height. He is quite different from Sae, except for the marked undereyelashes, perhaps a symbol of the Itoshi family: he has dark green hair, teal eyes and chubby cheeks. He is quite a bit shorter than Sae, that's why you're convinced he's his younger brother

When he reaches the garage floor, after going down the stairs, his gaze shifts to you: you observe each other for a few seconds, you curious about him and him for who knows what reason, which however doesn't make him look away

"Rin, I told you it's rude to stare. Introduce yourself to her" Sae says, walking over, placing a hand on his shoulder. Rin becomes serious again, standing up straight "I'm Rin Itoshi. I'm Sae's younger brother" the boy says, and Sae nods "He's 10, you should be the same age, right?" he asks, and you nod "I have 10 too, yeah"

Rin's gaze continually shifts between you and your bass as he stands a few feet away from you. You look at him curiously "Do you like my bass?" you ask, moving closer, and he takes a few steps back "Oh, yes" he says uncertainly, but you don't seem bothered by his uncertainty "Do you play an instrument too?" you ask, and Sae walks away, returning to his guitar, which he puts back on

“He said he wants to start sing-” Sae says, but is cut off from the ringing voice of his brother

"I want to play bass"

TAGLIST: @x3nafix ; @kittenish0 ; @littlejapanesesightseeingtrip ; @pan-kojiwa ; @pookalicious-hq ; @kaz-0e ; @sof888a ; @chugging-bleach ; @matchablossomsss ; @lovelymeguru ; @thebestsetter ; @yamsverse ; @princesssae ; @yuukigyatgyat ; @azharyy ; @rwbie ; @bubybubsters ; @swagkittybear ; @syarc0re ; @rink1sser ; @frogsrules ; @hwaassaa ; @chuuyalvover

[screamingforests]

This is a shoot off of the amazing @beloveds-embrace designationless!reader au! All credit for this A/B/O AU goes to her and go give her support!!!

Based on this specific scenario

Cw: Heavy angst, medical torture, inaccurate medical things, very little comfort

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe it was the way no one noticed you when you walked into the room that made you think you were normal. Maybe it was the way people around you edged away, put off by your lack of scent. The way everyone looked at you with pity.

You didn't want that. Your entire life you had just wanted to fit in. You wanted to be someone that someone else loved.

Maybe it was your family that was the root of the problem, the ones who separated you from your siblings who were all normal. The family that never let you into their mest, claiming your lack of scent, would destroy the atmosphere. That family ignored you, never responding to you. The ones who left to grasping for a relationship, only to realize you would never have one because you were less.

"I've noticed the way people edge away from me, the way they stare! I'm not normal, and this is my chance!" Desperation edged in your voice. "I just- it would be easier this way!"

Johnny chewed on his lip, "easier for who? We all accept you for you, lad."

"This procedure, it's downright inhumane," Simon adds, his brows furrowed as he looked at you, as if truly seeing /you/ for the first time. The scared child you were, wanting to be normal. "It changes you on a base level - I could kill you, dove. It's barely even out of its testing phase."

You sighed. Weren't you allowed to be selfish for once, to want?

"I know," Your voice is quiet but resolute, mind stuck in its decision. "But I want it."

John looks at you. Kyle looks between you and John, eyes full of nervousness. His arms were crossed, looking down his nose at you.

It reminds you so much of the look your dad would give you, the few times he was forced to interact with you.

"No - I won't allow you to get this procedure," John's voice almost rings in your ears. Out of all of them, you thought he might be able to understand.

Of course you were wrong.

You pull away from them, eyes burning. Your mind was made up, it had been since the moment the idea was out into you.

The pack just looks at you with sad eyes, as if understanding the pain you have lived with. As if they could ever understand the feeling of looking into a world, living in it for short amounts of time, but never really belonging.

~

It's weeks later, but you finally have your appointment. You hadn't told anyone about it, you didn't want them to worry.

It had to be fine, right?

~

It hurt, so bad. Pain sang throughout your body, needles sticking out of your skin, and probes stuck with adhesive. You screamed in pain but no one was coming.

You had checked in alone, even told the nurses you didn't want visitors.

No one soothed the pain like Simon did, no one cooed comforts into your ear like Kyle. John and Johnny weren't there to ground you. You were alone, packless.

And only had yourself to blame.

~

It started out small, the loss of sense in your fingers and toes. The doctors assured you it would come back, even if their voice was condescending. Like talking to a child.

(Simon and Kyle would've tag teamed together to massage feeling back into them - They had once, when you feel through ice on a frozen lake.)

You were constantly tired now, something you chalked up to the amount of tests you had been put through the few days you were checked in.

(John would always purr to help you sleep, a commodity you missed. You wished he was here.)

The hunger was easily explained, the staff did forget to bring you food but you didn't want to bother them. They probably forgot because you still had no scent and were easily overlooked. You didn't blame them.

(Johmny would've never forgot, he was always making sure your plate was piled high.)

~

Everything was blurry now, your sight starting to go. Another temporary side effect someone assured you. You couldn't remember whose voice it was.

But it didn't matter, a scent was starting to form. You were going to be normal soon. And even if your body was in constant flight or fight, you were going to fit in.

The way the doctors were seemingly cruel didn't matter. The way the nurses purposefully took more blood to keep you dizzy and compliant was suddenly okay.

You didn't need to know the more your pack pleaded to be with you, the crueler they were. You didn't need to know it was an enemy in disguise, slowly killing you to get back at your pack. The "scent" was just a chemical by-product of your body reacting to all the medications it was being put through.

It would stay, of-course, you might even present with a second gender if it went on long enough.

You didn't need to know so they didn't tell you.

~

Time was getting hard to keep track of. Your sight was nearly gone, and your wounds were slow to heal. Every day was pain. You started to forget why you checked in.

~

It was harder to move now. Your limbs refused to respond to your commands. They were heavy and your mind was too clouded to question it.

Your scent was turning sickly and almost sweet. As if prepping itself for a reactionary heat.

~

The next time you came to, you didn't know what was happening. You could hear shouting and a monotone sound. You felt like you were floating.

That should worry you, you think.

Eletricity rakes your body suddenly, and you're grounded again. Sightless and unable to move. Pain wracking every thought that appears.

You lose yourself to the inky darkness again. Unable to place the fact that you could smell other's scents now.

~

More shouting. These voices were more familiar. It almost sounded like your pack but that couldn't be right, could it?

Hadn't they left you? Or had you left them? You couldn't remember, your mind too slow. You wanted to know, though.

You're able to force a small whine to leave your throat, the first sound besides screaming you had made in what felt like months. There's loud footsteps as someone rushes to your side.

"It's okay, it's okay, we've got you, lad," a familiar voice says. He smells like the ocean and the smoke that comes after an explosion. You like it, it wraps around you like a blanket. "...christ- look at 'em- what've they done to them?"

"We'll figure it out later, for now, its time to go," Another voice says, roughened by what you can assume is years of smoking. He smells like high-quality cigars and soft cedar wood, like the ones surrounding your house when you grew up. "Guns up, we go out blazing."

A new person picks you up, your body immediately curling into him. He smells like petricor and bourbon, tinged with cigarette smoke. He doesn't say another but you decide you like both of the new scents.

A hand smoothes your hair. The last person, he smells like ozone and the forest. You can't describe it, but his voice is low and soothing when he says, "we'll get you home sweets."

And that's the last thing you know before you lose yourself again. Comforted by people you can't remember but you were obviously important to them.

~

It takes months to heal in a normal hospital. Your sight still hasn't fully returned, but glasses help.

So does your pack. While the procedure somewhat worked, your scent came and went. You were more normal than before and even if everything hurt now and you had to do physical therapy, you felt like you belonged.

When you were first admitted, your body had gone through a heat. It presented as an omega, but that was the only instance of it. The staff had you on regular blockers now until your new hormones stabled out. It felt okay, for now.

That didn't change the hurt and all you went through, but it would be okay.

Especially when you were curled up in a temporary nest with your pack in the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: HELLO PEOPLE! I wrote this on my phone in under an hour so I hope everyone enjoys <3

[theocddiaries]

[At Stone's café, Robotnik places plates of cookies and sweets in front of the Wachowski brothers and Amy. Sonic opens his mouth to speak, but Robotnik beats him to it.] Robotnik: I know you only ordered juice. But business is bad because all the tourists go to the downtown bar instead, and now I'm a supportive and romantic boyfriend, so either you eat this or… [pulls out a spray bottle]: it's gonna start to drizzle in here. Sonic: The only thing you are is dumb. We ordered drinks, and we have every right to just order that. No one is going to touch these-- Knuckles [having eaten three plates and reaching for a fourth]: Ultimate hedgehog! Bring milk to wash down the cookies! [Robotnik smirks] Tails: The downtown bar, you said? Robotnik: Yep. Tails: No wonder, there was an article recently saying Hemingway ate there once. Knuckles: That bar is so good even zombies go there? Amy: I don't know what surprises me more, that you know who Hemingway is or that this knowledge coexists with you believing in zombies. Knuckles: When they attack, don't look at me to save you. Amy: Don't worry, neither I nor anyone else will. Those guys are after brains. Knuckles: Oh, poor ignorant soul— Sonic: We are not having that argument again. Robotnik: Yeah, we were talking about my problem… Hey, if that Hemingway guy ate at the downtown bar, who's to say he didn't stop by here for some water? We're close by. Sonic [scoffs]: Eggman, please, that was decades ago. The only thing that was here back then was the potato salad, which has been sitting around untouched since the Declaration of Independence was being drafted. [Everyone bursts into laughter. Shadow approaches with a tray holding the milk Knuckles ordered and fresh juices for the others. He’s smiling, trying to hold back his own laughter as he serves.] Robotnik: …Yeah, well… in here there's the potato salad and one pointed Smurf who comes here to only order juice and warms the chair for two hours. [laughs falsely] Knuckles [laughs] Sonic [glares at him] Knuckles: What? He called you a Smurf, it's funny. Shadow [to Ivo]: So what’s stopping you from just making up that someone famous did eat here back when this place actually existed? It’s not like lying is hard for you… Robotnik [nudges him on the arm]: Eeeeh, look at you being all sharp when you want to, Shadow. I almost feel a twinge of pride. Amy: Beeeeeeep. Oh, sorry guys, that’s just my ethic-meter going off because that idea doesn't sound ethical to me. Robotnik: Well, I’ve got an moron-meter, and it’s been going off since the day all of you were born.

[alwayslurkinginthebackground]

Anger - A Joel Miller Drabble

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader Rating: E (is there anything else with him?????) Truly this is the least crazy thing I've written in days. Unprotected p in v. Word Count: 1155 a/n: Sometimes I spend all afternoon trying to write Joel and get nothing and other times I write 1000 words in less than 30 minutes. There is no in-between. Written for TLOU Sundays!

"You've really gotta do something about him," Ellie tells you from where she's sitting at the kitchen table.

You're barely through the door, coat still covered in a layer of snow from outside. "Well hello to you, too, Ellie," you respond, pulling off your boots before you track any more water into the house. It's strange, how something like keeping the floors dry didn't matter for twenty years and now suddenly again it does. "You're the fourth person to say that to me today though, so I assume you also are talking about Joel?"

She's flipping through the pages of a comic, barely paying you any attention. "Yes, Joel," she emphasizes, not that you need any further confirmation. Maria had cornered you at the saloon, the other half of your patrol had been on your case, and you had a run-in with Jackson's resident grandma first thing in the morning, who gave you an earful about how you needed to learn how to satisfy your man so he would stop torturing the entire town with his bad mood.

You sigh, shucking your coat and flexing your toes in your thick socks as you make your way into the kitchen. "Any idea what's wrong with him? He seemed fine this morning."

Ellie shrugs, still engrossed in the pages in front of her. "I don't know, Dina just told me he was being a real fucking asshole. You know how he gets."

That you do. You're well aware of the way Joel Miller can make or break an entire day based on his mood, especially since you've been at his side to witness it longer than anyone else.

Before you can contemplate further, the man in question storms through the door, a grumble on his lips before it's even closed behind him. Ellie meets your gaze, glancing over at him before turning back to you and then quickly rising. "I've gotta get going," she says quickly, sneaking past Joel to grab her jacket.

She's out the door before he can even say a word.

"Where the fuck is she going?" he questions, ignoring the way his boots squeak on the floorboards as he makes his way to the couch, collapsing into it. A part of you wants to scold him for the wet spots now littered all over the floor, but based on the furrow in his brow, there's no use, and you simply follow him instead, swinging a leg over his thigh to climb into his lap and settle there.

Only he has the audacity to grumble. Again.

"Joel," you say sternly, "don't do that."

"Don't do what?" he fires back, and now you know exactly what everyone had been warning you about. "I didn't do anything."

"What's up with you today?" It's a simple question, an inquiry that he should have no problem answering, but he doesn't, so you continue with a follow-up request, "Just tell me why I had four separate people tell me that I needed to figure out who you're so angry today."

"I'm not angry."

You frown. "Bullshit, Miller. Tell me what the fuck is wrong."

His answer is to seal his lips to yours, his rough grip dragging your hips against his so you can feel the hard press of him between your thighs. This felt familiar, especially since he'd been in an equally shit mood the day you first met, something you'd promptly fucked out of him later that night. And usually, that did the trick, but there was always something else lingering beneath the surface.

Not that you have time to contemplate what it might be because he pushes any thought of his mental well-being from your head when he rips your shirt from your body and latches onto one of your breasts. Likewise, any train of thought is gone just as quickly as the remainder of your clothing.

It's a good thing Ellie left quickly, because within minutes he has you spread out on the couch beneath him, one of your legs hitched around his hip as he pounds into you. There's little space left between you, the moment feeling intimate even with the intensity of the way he's pressing you down, grunting with each thrust until he has you clenching around him.

His fingers are on your clit before you come down from your climax, already drawing you higher a second time. "Joel, fuck, I can't," you whine, gripping at his hand.

"You can," he emphasizes, "you're gonna take every fucking inch of me."

And then you can see it. The rage behind his gaze, the emotion that has his eyes glassed over. The anger he has to unleash somehow. It scared you when you first met him, the first time he had you like this back in Boston, pressed up against the door, the first time you watched his fist collide with a FEDRA officer who tried to touch you, and the first time you saw him have to kill someone who definitely wasn't infected.

But now, you know better. You know that he won't hurt you, but he still needs a way to release the pent-up emotion that boils beneath the surface. You don't know what happened to get him here today, but you do know how to fix it.

Joel groans when you shift to wrap your legs fully around his waist, pulling him down so the soft expanse of his stomach presses against your own, increasing the pressure of your walls wrapped around him. It's all he can do to rut into you, your back slowly snaking up the arm of the couch as he fucks you. The angle changes the higher you move, guiding his lips to yours so he can catch the scream that rips from your throat when you clench around him a second time.

He follows you into the abyss, pulling out seconds before he spills against your center, jerking himself off until the last drops drip down onto the fabric.

When he regains his breath he stands, cock softening as he moves to grab a cloth to wipe his spend from your core. And then he's pressing you into the couch again, settled in the safety of your thighs as his head rests on your chest.

"Do you wanna know what Mrs. Davis told me today?" you ask softly, fingers curling through his hair.

Joel rests his chin on your breast as he looks at you, eyes softer now, more playful. "Fuck, what did she say?"

You smile. "She saw me at the store and pulled me into the corner to tell me that I needed to get you home and ride your cock because she was sick of your shit."

His laugh is rough, but he says nothing else as he settles back against you.

"Was she right?" you ask, your own laughter threatening to bubble up.

He doesn't answer, but he doesn't deny it either.

[unforth]

How did it feel to go from the 80’s to the explosion of acceptance around the 2010’s? In terms of being queer?

hm, interesting question. First, a couple disclaimers: I am not an expert in queer history, I was not involved in queer activism in anyway growing up, and no one in my family was queer. I was born in 1982 and am currently 42, and my mother had a lot of gay friends, but she intentionally sheltered us (my brother and I) from a lot of that once they all started dying from AIDs. For my own queerness, I worked through a lot of identities because I was an extremely confused asexual who didn't actually learn that asexuality existed until I was 30; I'm afab and was already married to a woman before I realized I was ace (I now ID as aroace, agender.).

All that said, I grew up in New York City, in a very accepting city and with a very accepting family. I knew queer people from a young age and my mom was sick of watching her friends die and got involved as she could (she was a New York City public school high school teacher; a lot of queers gravitated toward public schools because it was a stable job with decent pay and no one would care if they weren't married, in fact it was often considered a plus in the 60s and 70s for teachers to be single, and when mom got pregnant with my brother in 1976 she says multiple other teachers pressured her to quit because okay fine she was married and a teacher, but married and a teacher WITH KIDS? Appalling. needless to say she didn't quit.)

Anyway. Sorry. I lost the thread.

Honestly, the answer to this question is: utterly unbelievable.

If you had told 1990s about-to-start-high-school me that this is where we'd be in my lifetime I'd have thought you were out of your goddamn mind. I was obsessed with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. I'd walked in AIDs walk and raised money with my mom every year starting in 1990. Mom and I saw the original off-Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the original Broadway production of Rent. I was about as in-the-loop and accepting as a kid in that era could be, and I spent my college years thinking I was bi (I feel the same about everyone! that's bi, right? lmao, so young and clueless). And I never, never thought that nationwide gay marriage was even in the cards. I never dreamed that trans people would be able to live as openly as they do now. I didn't even really think we could do much about AIDs beyond slowing the spread.

I am only 42. I don't even consider myself middle-aged yet (though I'm definitely getting close to that particular tipping point). I grew up with my mom's even older stories, about being friends with the gay men at Cornell when she was in college in the early 60s, and her discussions of how far things had come in HER life (she's 80 now) and yet I was the one who pointed out that my great uncle, who died before I was born, was clearly mostly definitely bi and maybe gay (the look on her face when I said that and she realized I must be right. I keep meaning to post some of Natie's photographs.)

When my wife and I got married in 2013 we planned where to live, where we could travel, where we'd have kids, all around where it would be safe. My wife has health problems; if we traveled and something happened to her, we had to be sure that we were in a state where they would recognize our marriage and let me visit her, or else we wouldn't go there.

Sorry. I'm not holding the thread of narrative in this post well, I've been pretty sick with strep throat and my brain is just refusing to make this very coherent, and also it's just... so much. The amount I've seen, how far we've come, since I was a kid, is so fucking much.

I still sometimes don't believe how far we've come, nor how quickly we've done it.

And that's exactly why conservatives are shaking in their boots. These trends challenge all the things they believe true about the nature of authority and societal control. If they let up for an instant, then they'll have to accept that cis hetero white christian men actually have never been any better than anyone else, and their whole worlds will crumble, and that scares them to death because they're also old, most older than I, and they remember exactly what every queer person when I was a kid lived with. They remember Matthew Shepard, and all the hate crimes that the queer community survived, they remembered all the slurs that we've strived to reclaim and how they were used such that we had to reclaim them, and they really think that equality is a demotion for them, and that true equality would mean they're subject to the same things they've subjected us to, and that terrifies them.

Ugh, sorry, rambling again.

What I think about the changes is that they're fucking amazing, and that if I could somehow convince 13-year-old me that any of this would happen, she'd have sobbed with joy. Especially about the asexual part lmao.

We're in a down-swing of acceptance now, but the pendulum still won't go back to where we were during the AIDs crisis, much less back to where things were a hundred years ago.

We've come so far.

We're not going back.

[yoirfavpainl0ver]

Hello people of tumblr, I'm working on this g/t life series au, and have been struggling about team ups for weeks. I've thought about many interactions between them and have some specific alliances in mind, but I am at a loss for the rest.(Yes I'm asking for help again) I've got a plan layout here-

Here's a lil base thing I've been using. I've put them in rows of their sizes, I've officially made up my mind on them and would like these ones to stick.

The first row, Cleo, Etho, Ren, Grian, Lizzie, Impulse, and BigB are all just normal sized players.

Pearl, Scott, Scar, Martyn, and Tango are size shifters. I've decided on 3 types for this au. Their ability to shift is all different from their bodies' capability(?) Having said, Martyn shifts uncontrollably(only norm and small), Tango can shift norm and small he's just really bad at it and needs concentration, Scar can shift all sizes with ease, Scott can shift all sizes but needs concentration, and Pearl can shift norm and small easily.

Lastly, Joel, Bdubs, Gem, Skizz, Mumbo, and Jimmy are small. They just give the vibes, yk?

I also think ima add a boogeyman so people will die easier, new death messages? Tiny people break 1 pixel in minecraft terms at a time, a mix of realism and the game, some vore, and we can allow blood, yeah? Like actual need for bandages and passing out. Cool stuff!

-

Now for alliances.. (Don't forget their sizes)

Grian and Scar. I wanna have desertduo(pt3?) Except it's really toxic. I'm pretty on with this one.

I kinda wanted Martyn and Ren again, and I'd imagine Ren would take care of Martyn. Not sure yet tho.

Joel and Tango. My thoughts for this is that I think Joel would be smart about his allies and wanna befriend people bigger than him to stay out of trouble. Not necessarily shifters, but I feel like Tango would lie and just say he's a normal player, and then I think you can imagine how the rest would play out. So, I like this option. (Could also include some others too)

Etho and Lizzie. I'm not entirely sure, but other suggestions are definitely welcome.

I had some thoughts. Joel, Etho, and Bdubs. Etho would be taking care of em. I'm not exactly fond of this one.

Martyn and Jimmy. Yes, they did already have some team ups, but it's an option.

Maybe Skizz and Gem. Lil tiny duo.

Potential girl team up? Gem, Lizzie, Cleo, and Pearl.

There was this dumb idea for team PBJ (Pearl BigB or Bdubs and Jimmy) I don't really wanna have anyone alone, soo.. But I'm not sure about this one.

I can also say that I imagined some Lizzie and Joel drama, Etho and Tango drama aswell, oh and Scar has problems with everyone.

-

If you have any suggestions it'd be great. Alliances, enemies, scene ideas, how the world would look, what are some jokes that could go around, main things prioritized, their builds or whatever, should some be roleplaying? And in general, anything else important that I have missed or doesn't quite make sense that needs sensifying.

If you've read the whole thing, thank you. It must've been sufferable.

Farewell :>

[johanna-swann]

So I've been complaining for a while that 911 has nothing exciting going on anymore, but there is actually one thing that I am super curious to watch play out. Not even just in universe, I'm curious to see how the show handles this:

How are they going to resolve the Christopher problem?

If the rumors are correct the actor moved away and he is mostly leaving the show. We've had a situation similar to this before with Harry and his actor, but despite the similarities there are also differences that will be difficult if not impossible to navigate.

Harry left to live with his dad. Everyone in the Grant family was on board with this because they all had a good relationship to each other and Harry had already stayed with Michael during covid. It made sense that Harry would want to stay with his dad and stepdad.

Christopher left LA not because he wanted to stay with his grandparents so badly, but because he didn't want to stay with his dad. He didn't leave because he loves his grandparents that much, he left because he was angry with his dad. Eddie was not okay with this decision, but let Chris go anyway because he felt it was the right thing to do. Ramon and Helena don't officially have custody of Christopher or any other form of guardianship agreement (afaik), so even legally this could get complicated.

Harry left the show in a way that was satisfying storywise. I was sad to see him go, but David had this huge opportunity and of course Michael went with him. Harry going as well was okay because it was a happy parting of the ways even if I miss all three of them.

Christopher left in a way that needs a resolution. There is still conflict here and the only way to end this in a satisfying way is to reunite Eddie and Chris. Ideally not 3 seasons from now, but asap. It has already been 8(?) months.

(This entire plot is madness btw. Like. Even when you have a bad argument you don't just let your child move 800 miles away from you permanently. Especially when the grandparents in question have a history of trying to get guardianship. After the summer break at the latest Eddie should've put his foot down about this. But I digress and they probably had to do it like this because Chris' actor wasn't available.)

My point is: There are 2 ways this can go.

1, Eddie and Christopher reunite in El Paso. Eddie leaves LA, Ryan Guzman leaves the show, a notoriously angry fanbase will send death threats to the showrunner and producers like they never have before. You know, fun stuff.

("Not all Buddie fans", I know I know, but there is a significant portion of shippers in this fandom who have become very fond of online harrassment and bullying, icluding death threats and suicide baiting. Need I remind you that only recently the 911-bts account was bullied offline? They were completely neutral on the ship question and only posted about official info, they really didn't do anything wrong and yet, here we are.)

2, Eddie and Christopher reunite in LA. Chris comes back, they talk things out, work on their relationship. Sounds better, right? Yeah, tiny problem though. How?

How, if Chris' actor isn't available? Do they just have Eddie talk about Chris without ever showing him again? What about Chris and Buck's relationship? They throw that out the window too? I imagine recasting is quite difficult, how many child actors with CP who fit the bill can there be in LA?

Besides, don't get mad at me, but Christopher kinda makes up 80% of Eddie's personality. He's the single dad, that's his constant. What else does he have? The panic attacks, the military trauma, the anger issues - all of those things are stuff the show brought up once for rather short arcs and then never again. If you look for things that are always true about Eddie there's two of them: He's a single father and he's still hung up on Shannon.

They can't drag Shannon's corpse around forever (though they do try). Take Christopher out of the equation too and forget about Chris himself, what is this show going to do with Eddie? He has never shown any ambition to further his career in any way. He doesn't seem to have close ties to any of his relatives outside of Pepa. Like. Dude has two sisters and he never even mentions them. Carla apparently also left the show. He doesn't really have other friends outside the 118 (he hasn't talked to Linda since season 5 and Tommy left the show too). And even within the 118, who is he particularly close to other than Buck?

They could of course actually go for Buddie, but is that a good idea right now? Eddie still hasn't worked out his Shannon complex, Buck is not over Tommy yet and it doesn't solve the Christopher problem.

So yeah. Very curious about how they'll solve this pickle. I'd love to hear some other people's thoughts about this.

[twin-tailss]

@sonic-au-collision

CIRCUIT BOARDS AU

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 1

Swift (Sonic) has always been the fastest cyborg around. He has also always served the chaos councils every whim since his parents sold him to them- or, more specifically, Mr. Dr. Eggman- when he was five years old. He’s thirteen now. He’s known for a long time that there wasn’t an escape and trying to would only get him hurt worse.

All of that would change when he was chasing a two-tailed little criminal through the subways of new yoke and he got hit by a train- literally.

NEXT

READ BELOW! ⬇️ OR IN THE LINK ABOVE

Chasing. That’s what Swift was doing when he was hit- chasing a criminal. Watching, as he had hundreds of times, his own body running without him, chasing someone who didn’t quite fit into the Chaos Council's idea of perfect.

Would he be doing this if he had a choice? He didn’t think so, but he wouldn’t know- he hadn’t been himself for a single moment in eight years. Eight years ago, he had been turned into nothing but a killing machine for the Council. It had been a long time since he gave up on escaping, trapped in his own body.

The criminal he was chasing through the subway was a golden fox kit. He couldn’t be any older than five. Swift felt bad for him, but he had long since abandoned the feeling of guilt, and empathy had been programmed out of him, so it wasn’t as if he was going to be able to magically stop chasing the child through sheer force of will.

Miles “Nine” Prower, civilian code 381–082. Guilty of rebelling against the Council's orders. Brilliant. Destructive. Extremely quick. Be on guard at all times. His brain spat out easily. The small, agile fox darted around a corner and Swift was quick to follow him. He was mildly impressed- no one had ever been able to keep up with him before, but here was this fox child- keeping ahead of him with fluid ease. It was… mortifying, to say the least.

It didn’t matter. In the end he would catch the fox, just like everyone else who had ever stood in the councils way. Then he would submit to the Council’s rule. Maybe making machines for them, if they were as smart as the council believed. Or dead and thrown onto the side of the road on the off chance they weren’t as smart as the Council thought they were. That felt blasphemous. Was it? He didn’t know, and holy shit he had bigger problems right now-

Blinding light scorched his eyes as the train slammed into him, agony shooting through him like a lightning bolt, white-hot and nearly blinding. His mouth wrenched open in a silent scream as his body slammed against the cold metal. Fuck, fuck! The agony wrenched through his bones, down to the very depths of his soul. There was this god-awful noise as metal hit metal and his body scraped against the track, and then there was nothing as his mind slipped away from him- simply darkness.

—————————————————————————

Had it decapitated him? Was he dead? Hah- That would be a mercy, with a ‘life’ like his. A mercy he wasn't lucky enough to have. Or was he just unconscious? Was he about to wake up and be yelled at by Mr. Doctor Eggman, or worse, Doctor Done-It for failing to capture the fox? He knew he should’ve been on guard, but they were so small, and he had faced off against people about twenty times bigger and stronger and he had been just fine. They hadn't given him nearly as much trouble, even the highest-profile ones. He really didn’t want to watch his body groveling at one of the doctor's feet, begging for forgiveness again. It was just as humiliating as they intended it to be.

Something was shoving his mechanical arm. It had pushed over onto his mostly mechanical body, but he could feel it as it brushed against his quills. He didn’t move. Maybe they would leave him alone if they thought he was asleep. Hah, maybe the Council wouldn’t lecture him if he was in a coma.

A small hand pushed against his face, poking him. Doctor Babble, maybe? So it probably wasn’t a lecture in store for him. Maybe he had fallen asleep while being forced to babysit them. Maybe it was all some awful dream. His eyes slid open with a quiet groan…

This was not the capital of New Yoke City. He knew that instantly, the moment he opened his eyes. The colors were all wrong. The ground was too hard. He wasn’t in the capital, which probably meant one of the citizens had woken him up so he could continue chasing the criminal. He knew some people believed that Council's rule was best, as that was all they had ever known, but he hadn’t met any yet. They were usually law-abiding citizens that he was never sent after except for false reports of heinous crimes.

“Hello?” the voice wormed into his ears as they stopped ringing. Young, about the age of the criminal he was supposed to be chasing, he assumed. His whole body ached, and he didn’t want to get up, but he had to, or he would face punishment from the Council. He turned his head towards them, and if he had a heart anymore it certainly would’ve stopped beating at that exact moment.

Golden fur. Two tails. Blue eyes. This was Nine, the five-year-old child he was chasing- the one who had tricked him into running straight into an oncoming train. Had they decided to turn themselves in? That was the only reasonable explanation, wasn’t it? Maybe the kid was as smart as they said, but they likely weren't if they would do that after damaging the chaos councils favorite pet.

“Oh, you’re awake. Good. Check if your weapons systems are online.” Was he asking him to kill him? Hah, now that would be a mercy, but then the Council would probably tear him apart and put him back together for going overkill in his mission and killing a ‘potentially valuable asset’, so that was not happening.

His arm raised to point at the ceiling without even thinking about it and attempted to fire off a plasma blast. It didn’t work. He tried again. Again. His weapons systems were definitely offline. What had this child done to him? A chill went up his spine, and he swallowed. He couldn’t defend himself without his weapons. He couldn’t do anything without his weapons. He was entirely helpless.

“They are non-functional. I must go to a workshop and get them fixed.” His body stood up without him, as it always did. This was not the subway, he realized. It was some kind of workshop. It had a big computer in one corner, and the floors were littered with inventions of all kinds. It was messy and would surely be hard to walk through without stepping on anything and possibly breaking it.

“No, you’re staying right here. They were intentionally disabled.” His body stopped moving as they spoke, about halfway to the door. What? He turned around, watching the two-tailed fox. How is this possible?

“But why?” That wasn’t the question Swift felt like he should be asking, but fine. “I need them to be useful. That is my purpose.”

“So you can’t kill me.” Hah, Swift could still kill him, if he wanted to. If he had to. He didn't particularly like killing, but he had no choice. He had to obey his orders. He could imagine bones cracking underneath his metal foot, the fox’s neck captured in his hands, unable to breathe. In fact, why was that not happening right now? He couldn’t kill him, as his mission was capture, but Swift could still harm him enough that he would be unable to fight back. That’s what he had expected to happen, but he wasn’t attacking the fox- in fact, he was listening to him! What in the world?

“Your new purpose is to be company. A friend, I guess.” The foolish fox shrugged, as if the very thought of Swift- a killing machine for the council, a robot that most feared and few loved- being friends with a criminal he had been ordered to capture was not laughable. If Swift could laugh, he would be rolling on the floor right now.

“But why? I am supposed to be nothing more than a killing machine for the Council.” Swift hated those words, even if they were true. That’s all he was. Even if he was set free somehow, he would probably still follow their orders, as it was all he had ever known.

“Well, not anymore.” The tiny fox grabbed his metal hand in one of their paws, bringing him back down to the ground where he was before. Surprisingly, his body didn’t fight him. He had expected bones to be breaking the moment the fox had touched him, but it did not seem as if he could hurt him.

“Now, you’re my assistant slash friend slash… whatever else I can think of.” There was something else going on here, but it didn’t make sense to Swift’s brain. He just couldn’t put the pieces together, probably because he was usually surrounded by four geniuses- Doctor Babble not included- who usually put the pieces together before he could even start using his brain.

His eyes fluttered shut. “New directive accepted.” his voice droned out robotically. Swift wished he could recoil in shock. What the actual hell? Only an admin could change his directive-

Oh. The pieces clicked together, and an emotion he had long since abandoned welled up inside of him. Hope. A glimmer of hope. This insanely stupid, yet at the same time extremely brilliant fox hacked me. I have to follow his orders now.

…Hopefully, it would be better than being there. It seemed as if it would be, with his new directive. To be… a friend. A barely there glimmer of anticipation flicked to life in his chest. He had never had a friend before.

“Good.” A tiny smile crawled its way onto Nine’s face. Swift watched him for a moment, wondering what was going to come out of his own mouth. The silence felt as if it stretched on for a thousand years, becoming more awkward with every passing second. Swift had never experienced an awkward silence before, not that he could remember at least, probably because he had never had a real conversation since he was sold to Eggman, Mr. Doctor Eggman, specifically, before he had figured out how to make those five copies of himself. Before he had found the shard. Before… everything. There wasn’t any need to talk to the people he had to capture, and those who tried to talk with him usually shut up pretty quickly when his laser blaster was pointed at them

“Who are you?” He asked after waiting for god knows how long for him to just say something. He already knew who he was, of course, but he was just trying to end the awkward silence already.

“I’m Miles Prower, Civilian Code 381-082. Chosen name Nine.” They respond. “You?”

“Nice to meet you, Nine.” It wasn’t nice to meet him, but this… was nice, for however long it lasted. He wondered when it would all go bad. “I am Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog, former Civilian Code 128-791, chosen name Swift.”

“Whoa, that’s messed up.” Nine breathed out, his eyes widening in shock. A tiny paw reached out and brushed over some of his real quills, pulling back immediately as he felt just how not-metal they were. “How did the Chaos Council do this to you?”

“I do not have the clearance to access that information.” They didn’t want him to remember that. Sometimes… it made him wonder if they did care about him after all. He knew they didn’t, logically. But sometimes he still wondered. Wondered what it would be like if they did care about him. Wondered what it would be like if his parents cared about him. Wondered what it would be like if even one single person had cared about him in his thirteen long years of living. How different his life would be if anyone had ever been there for him.

The fox stared at him with immense pity in their sky-blue eyes. He wondered absentmindedly if it counted as sky blue anymore. He could remember when the skies were blue, instead of the reddish color they were now. He remembered being so proud of being the same color as the sky. Now, he wondered if that color exists anywhere else but himself and the ocean. It’s not as if there are any flowers left.

“Okay.” the fox managed out through the knot in their throat. “Is the person you used to be still conscious, or are you just a robot?” He stared at them for a moment, considering the question, mulling it over in his mind. Could he be considered more than a robot, even if he were conscious, if the programming controlled every aspect of himself and his personality? He didn’t know, but Nine was waiting for a response. He decided to go with the one he believed would please them.

“I am conscious.” it was technically the truth- he was conscious, after all. He was a being with his own thoughts and feelings, but the programming dictated his thoughts and emotions and he was unable to disobey when an admin gave him an order. That only seemed to make Nine seem more horrified, though.

“That's even more fucked.” He wished he wasn’t programmed to be unable to laugh at that moment- Mr. Doctor Eggman had always found his laugh annoying, so he had decided to program away his ability to laugh. He had cried a lot that day. He cried a lot more than now back then. He wondered if it was another change to his coding. It didn’t matter. He was whoever the admins wanted him to be, and that was that. It had always been that way. “I don’t know how to undo all the programming, at least not yet. Programming language isn’t one I use often.”

Alarm slammed through him. He… what? No, he can’t. He couldn’t be without it. He didn’t know who he was, or would be without it. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to know who he would be without it. He was perfectly fine as himself, even without his own brain. He was happy this way. Or at least, he was perfectly fine the way he was. Shit, what did he do?

“Why would you do that?” His voice was perfectly calm, smooth, and robotic, as it always is. He couldn’t change the tone of his voice. He couldn’t show any emotion. He was not supposed to be anything more than a killing machine. In fact, he wasn’t supposed to have feelings, period. He should go and get it fixed- but he couldn’t do that.

“You don’t know where I’m located. Returning your bodily autonomy wouldn’t do me any harm, plus the Chaos Council wouldn’t remove the bodily autonomy of someone who wants to work for them.” Nine’s words are reasonable, but he couldn’t accept them. He also knew he couldn’t really argue against them because he made himself an admin.

“I am a cyborg.” he tried anyway. “I was once a hedgehog, but I am no longer. I am fine the way I am.” Am I? A tiny voice in his head spoke up. Or is this contentment with who they made me into programmed into me as well? He intentionally smothered the voice. If it was, it would be nice of them to think of his emotions- which he wasn’t supposed to have, so shh. It was pointless to think of that anyway. It didn’t help him.

“Is that the real you talking, or the programming?” Nine asks easily. His fingers curled into a fist and he glanced down at the ground. He was trying to cover up any emotions, like normal, but it was harder because the feelings were much less muted than before. Something must’ve come loose with that hit. He should go back to get his brain fixed, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t about to admit that he… didn’t know, anymore. He didn’t want the fox to give him that look again- as if he was a weak little thing that needed support. He hated that look more than anything.

“I have not been without it for many years, since my power first developed and my parents sold me to Mr. Doctor Eggman.” He was being completely honest- at least, he believed he was. He didn’t… think, or at least, didn’t want to think that they could change his memories. They could lock away his memories, sure, but changing them… he didn’t want to think about the fact that the few nice things he could remember could’ve never actually happened. He swallowed slightly around the lump that formed in his throat. He blinked away any tears that may have welled up from that train of thought, hopefully before Nine realized that they existed. “There is no difference anymore.” something happens to my voice, and for a moment it feels as if I can’t breathe. I don’t know why, I don’t know what's going on. I don’t like this.

“Wow.” He could barely keep himself from glaring at the fox, his teeth gritting. Wow. Was that really all he had to say? Was he impressed with what they had done to him? Was- “even more fucked. What do you need to survive?”

He stared at the child, his brain trying and failing to make sense of the question. Why in all the circles of whatever hell awaited him once he passed from this mortal plane would they not know? It was obvious. He needed food and water, just as anyone else. He wasn’t- he… well. He couldn’t exactly just lie and say that he wasn’t a monster, could he?

“The same as any other living being, as I am still technically alive.” He informed him, his voice monotone. He had always hated his voice, as far back as he could remember, but he felt as if there was a time he couldn’t remember when he had loved it, but it had been a long time since he had heard it doing anything but throwing out slimy threats and insults and droning out orders on the Council’s behalf. “Meaning food, water and exercise.”

“Got it.” Nine walked over to his workbench, bobbing his head in a nod. Swift watched him silently as he sat down, getting something out. It was some kind of plug. He wondered what it was for. Nine got up again and started walking back over to him.

“What would you like me to help with?” He asked, trying to fill the silence again. He didn’t really care what Nine wanted out of him. He just… needed his programming. He couldn’t allow someone to take it away from him, it was all he had. The only thing that had been consistent throughout most of his life- other than the Chaos Council- but he wouldn’t mind losing them as much.

“Just answer any questions I ask for now. How old are you?” He paused, trying to think back to the last time his birthday was celebrated. When he was five, he thought. How many years ago was that? Eight, right. So he was probably thirteen. The fox was watching him, waiting for his answer.

“I believe I am thirteen.” he spoke after another long and awkward moment. The other watched him carefully for another moment, taking in that information with the fact he had paused, and Swift rushed to fill the silence. “Last time my age mattered, I was five. I had to figure out how many years it had been since then.”

The fox looks at him like that again. With pity in his eyes. He didn’t need to be pitied. He didn’t need to be pitied. He hated it when people pitied him or felt bad for him. It felt as if they didn’t take him seriously. Him, of all mobians they could possibly not take seriously! Chaos.

“I’m five.” the fox responds after another long moment of awkward silence that seemed to drag on for years. He found that he absolutely despised awkwardness. It had a way of crawling under his skin and making him feel uneasy, which happened to be another feeling he hated.

“Why do you feel the need to take away my programming?” he spoke up after another long, awkward silence.

“I’m curious on how it works, and I want to know what you’ll be like without the programming. Stay still.” Swift swallows hard as the fox starts moving the plug towards his head. That must be how he had hacked him. No one was supposed to know about that panel except for Mr. Doctor Eggman.

“But what if I don’t want it gone?” Swift speaks up quickly before he can stop himself. The fox stares at him as if he just told him that the sky was blue, or that this whole place was one grassy meadow.

“Doesn’t matter.” They say. “I want it gone, and we have no idea whether or not not wanting it gone is part of the programming. We’ll find out soon anyway.” he gritted his teeth, glaring at the ground as they open up the panel. Hah, ironic- he had never gotten a say in anything that had happened in his life, and now he wasn’t getting a say in the very thing stopping him from having a say getting removed. He tried to calm himself down as the fox plugged him in and went back to his computer, where there was now a plethora of code in place of the blank screen that had been there earlier. He could adapt to this. He could adapt to anything… in fact, if he deleted too much, he could capture this idiotic fox and go back there to get himself fixed.

Go back there? Oh god, what am I thinking?! He blinked a few times. There was something horribly, awfully wrong with him if he was legitimately thinking of returning there when he had a choice not to, just to get reprogrammed.

…He didn’t need to be awake for this. For them rummaging around in his brain and taking away his coding. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep the best he could to the sound of Nine clicking away on his computer. After who knows how long, his mind floated off into nothing and he was asleep.

(I wrote this back in 2022, lol. I’m much better at writing now, but hopefully this is still good! Tell me what you think if you want too ^^)

[cantarelaria]

head disciple shen yuan and his two little shidis who for some reason keep sneaking into the beast tamer peak ⛰️🐉

[sharkrocket]

THE CRACK CONVERSATION

thinking about a Pathologic modern au where Artemy is paying for school by bagging bodies part time for Thanatica Labs, a perfectly ethical and safe workplace, where the interns never disappear and absolutely all of the grant money is accounted for…

[moogghost]

was gonna post something else but i had an. idea. a horrible idea. and unfortunately needed to make it. real

[the-juicywizard]

What a charming man Ghoul.

[pareidolla]

aaa i know others have gushed abt it already but i wanna do it too. i think it's so so so cute how everyone has their own distinct voice designs and they're all friends with eachother. being allowed to draw the characters as i want because i can say it's my interpretation is so freeing, and i love seeing everyone else do the same. just so happy to be apart of this fandom ♡♡♡

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

Roy after Wembley: