#There is a reason the image is staticky

[suns64]

A sleeping family... 💤

[often-daydreaming]

Hectic

It was just a rumour at first, an unbelievable one since no one really believed it at first but it slowly grew a little bit more every day as the hero community and more importantly Gotham's underworld noticed the changes in Red Hood.

He was all over the place.

One day he was in Metropolis. The next he was in Coast City. Then Star City and so on. Him and his team were hunting something or someone but the biggest change was the fact that Jason wasn't killing anymore.

He wasn't breaking the big bad bat's golden rule but he was hurting them. It didn't matter if it was an everyday rogue or one of those strange men in suits, Jason was breaking his enemies just enough that they weren't getting back up as quickly as they usually would. If anything the rogues and street criminals seemed to have it easier when compared to whatever group the Outlaws were dismantling.

His family thought he was spiraling again.

They couldn't find anything on the men in white or why Jason was targeting them so there was always the worry that his Pit Rage was somehow getting worse and Batman himself was seen stalking the shadows of Red Hood's territory in search of his wayward son except he couldn't find a trace of him, only the aftermath of his attacks against the group.

He stood before burning buildings and broken bodies night after night but was still somehow just a step or two behind his son.

Nightwing couldn't even pick up a trail and Oracle's ever present eyes were blinded by someone or something able to erase Jason's digital presence whenever he was out on one of his hunts.

After weeks and weeks of searching they were only whispers and rumours and they were close to asking for help when the alarms in Arkham went off.

It was a massive breakout.

Multiple rogues.

More importantly Jason was in the area and quickly responded with a huff of annoyance and a promise to be there and while they never saw him the Bat Family heard Red Hood's presence through the comms. "He's barely even using his guns." Barbara's voice echoed through a private channel.

"He's faster."

"Maybe he's picked up a couple of new tricks?" Dick suggested, sounding almost hopeful until Jason accidentally stumbled across the last person he ever wanted to see.

Neither Tim or Barbara could piece together the beginning of their conversation but every single one of them heard the Joker's rage filled screams as the madman mocked the little bird fluttering around their wayward bat and it caused them to freeze for just a second because no one was anywhere near Jason at the time. Batman and Robin were on the other side of Arkham dealing with Ivy at the time and Red Robin was busy with the Riddler so who was shadowing Red Hood?

Most of the cameras in the area were down so they didn't have much to work with when they started looking into it later. The few that weren't were heavily compromised leaving behind staticky images and blurry video that they watched again and again.

Bruce watched it the most, the brief confrontation as his son walked into frame, barely even glancing at the Joker, the only rogue still locked in his cell for some strange reason trying to goad him into responding and almost succeeded. He could practically see the green creeping into Jason's eyes as he stared down his tormenter before it vanished just as quickly as the blurry image of a hooded boy around Damian's age ran past on the upper floor urging him to hurry up with a shout of, "Come on old man!"

They'd apparently had a game going, a bet to see if the kid could take down more criminals than him and that had been more than enough for Jason to turn away from the Joker with a small shake of his head and an amused smile.

He didn't hear what his son said in response but Bruce watched that moment again and again as Jason walked away leaving the Joker pounding on the door to his cell screaming threats at him and the kid, trying to get some kind of response out of him since the electronics in the door were fried.

They'd been lucky there. A sudden power surge moments before the attempted prison break had left him trapped in his cell and out of the way. Reports claimed it would be weeks before a technician could get it open and Bruce was keeping an eye on it in case anyone from his gang tried something.

He read every report.

Tracked every log in and watched through a dozen different monitors as the Joker grew more and more annoyed about his recent turn of bad luck but his gaze always drifted back to the brief footage of the unknown boy that danced around Jason as they worked together to clear their part of Arkham before backup could arrive.

They had the bare bones of a file, brief moments of footage that showed he could fight, possibly had some kind of League connection judging from the style but nothing else. No alias. No other sightings. Nothing. The kid was practically a ghost and they still couldn't find any trace of Jason anywhere. He was back in Gotham. Reports had him and his new partner patrolling Crime Alley and beyond like nothing happened but soon enough there were news reports and theories and speculations and conspiracies all slowly starting to spring up about a black and grey bird fluttering around the dark red bat.

After months of nothing there were suddenly pictures of Jason and his new partner sitting on the edge of a rooftop eating burgers and fighting rouges along with grainy footage from Star City showing Roy helping the kid do a handstand while Jason watched on with a rarely seen smile.

"He looks happy."

The news labeled this new unknown Sparrow, they speculated over who he was, could he be Batman's newest bird, a sidekick or maybe even an Outlaw but Bruce was more focused on everything the news wasn't reporting.

Jason wasn't killing anymore.

He hadn't even come close in nearly two years now and while there were some concerns over his new approach to handling criminals even that was slowly fading away with every new piece of information they were able to piece together.

-_- -_- -_-

"He was expanding." Tim explained as he pulled up a map of Jason's old territory next to the new one that was easily twice as big. "Those weeks of unexplained rage we were concerned about was really just Jason pushed the mob families out of the areas surrounding Crime Alley."

Well them and the strange groups always dressed in all white. They still didn't know anything about the group or why Jason had been so hell bent on hunting them to the ends of the Earth but he'd pushed them out of Gotham before they could even begin to set up shop.

-_- -_- -_-

"Come on Roy. Please..... I'll beg if I have to."

"No."

"Please."

"No. He's asleep right now and I'm not gonna wake him up."

"You mean Sp-" "No, Jason. Danny's at school right now." Because Jason had thought tooth and nail for the kid to have a somewhat normal life and his definition of normal meant setting Danny up in a safehouse in Star City and quickly having a mini freakout over behaving like Bruce whenever he caught himself coming up with contingency plans to make sure no one could disrupt that. It was kind of funny to watch.

"Then send me some pictures."

-_- -_- -_-

"You must be the revenant. I'm here in search of the Great One."

Jason stared at the yeti standing out in the middle of the hallway blinked and slowly closed his door.

"Danny!"

I don't know what would fit better for this but I was stuck on two main ideas for how it could happen. Either Danny's parents hired the Outlaws to handle the GIW while they had to go on the run or Clockwork meddled and made a deal with Jason that he couldn't refuse. Either way Jason gets help with the pit, gets a kid who can curse the Joker with bad luck and calls some friends to help take down a rogue, badly run black ops group trying to destroy another reality and kind of forgets to let his family know what's going on so they're stuck learning about it through the news. It's not his fault. He asked Roy to keep them up to date. Roy just assumed they already knew and Starfire thought Roy said something since he was the responsible one.

A deaged Danny on the other hand, cause I like the occasional gremlin kid Danny fic is more than happy to let the adults handle things. Clockwork and or his parents trust Jason and he could finally put some of his fighting skills he picked up while time traveling to good use. League? What league? Oh, they're calling me Sparrow now. It's better than Invis-o-Bill so why not. Can I curse the clown? Please, please, please, please. It'll be so funny.

[ash5monster01]

I love your work!! Could I get chicken wings for two with tater tots and coke. Thank you so much! :)

Order #5

Now Serving!

Main Course: Steve Harrington x PlusSize!FemReader

Ingredients: 18+, MDNI, smut, plus size reader, second chance romance, first time, fingering, p in v, body image issues, love confession, fluff, no use of y/n, reader has a nickname.

Meal: Steve with plus size reader, chef’s choice of second chance romance, with their first time and one bed.

Total: $28.63 + 2.8k words

Menu - Masterlist

You had agreed to the camping trip because really it couldn’t be that bad. You weren’t huge on nature but Robin had promised the cabin would make it feel like a second home. You could both share a room and wake up to the birds chirping, go on small hikes, swim in the lake, and grill dinner every night. It sounded like a good time. The only downfall was Robin’s newfound friendship meant all of this included the one and only, Steve Harrington. 

Years ago, a few pounds lighter, and less pressure about being popular, you had your own relationship with the boy. You’d study in the library together and brush your hands under the table, sneak smiles and late night calls, walk each other to your respective lockers. It was the first time anyone had shown any interest in you, loved you despite the hip dips, softly rounded stomach, and wide thighs. At least until he had made the basketball team. 

People like Tommy would drag him away from your locker, Tommy’s girlfriend Carol not so quietly making whale jokes, and with that came a Steve who could no longer look you in the eye. All those feelings, short and fleeting, gone so fast you sometimes wonder if any of it had ever been real. You hadn’t had someone like that since, not a single boy who looked at you like Steve used too. The lack of intimacy and human connection only added to the idea that maybe it was never real the whole time. 

You could be friendly though, share tight lip smiles, and other small conversations. Neither of you brought up the past or the memories that came with it. For all Robin knew, your friendship started and ended with her. There were no blurry lines and misplaced memories lingering right there. Just another life once lived by kids who weren’t influenced by the thoughts of others. Yet even now, you knew the Steve in your shared cabin was different from the one you once knew and the one he was in high school. Maybe he was a bit of both.

He had been easy enough to avoid during the group trip, acting as if neither of you knew of the other, but the weekend rolled around and Vickie came to join, leaving you paired with Steve more than Robin had originally planned. It’s the very reason you make the walk alone to the campsite showers at the end of the day, looking for some space, and not having to make small talk with Steve. When you return though, Steve is sitting alone on the wooden couch, thin cushions propped beside him, as he watches something on the staticky TV. 

“Hey, care to join me?” he asks as you continue to dry your hair with the towel. Worry flashes through you at the idea of squeezing into the small spot beside him, the closeness and the obvious size of your body beside his. You could hear the whale jokes from Carol ringing in your ears now. 

“Robin and Vickie go for a walk or something?” you ask instead of responding. He made you nervous, which was weird because not so long ago you had been so comfortable with him. You didn’t ever feel a reason to shy away no matter how different you felt from the other girls.

“Not exactly,” he nodded to the bedroom you had shared with Robin the last few days, just to see the door had been shut tightly, and a white sock hung over the knob. 

“Oh,” falls from your lips as realization draws over you. Steve doesn’t miss the way your cheeks tint pink or the way you suddenly can’t make direct eye contact with the door or him. 

“I’m afraid you’ve been booted, Teddy,” he says, the old nickname falling off his lips too easily. You both tense at his words, the first real sign that the relationship you once shared was a very tangible thing. 

“Sleep tight, Teddy.”

“Teddy? What’s that for?”

“Because you’re cuddly and cute, just like a Teddy Bear.”

“Goodnight, Steve.”

All those late night phone calls, deep conversations of your desires and dreams, how maybe one day you could conquer them together. You wonder if he remembers any of them, how he said he’d always be your number one fan. The forgotten promise of always being there no matter what you faced. 

“It’s okay, you can take my room. I’ll stay out here,” he says after a long while, taking your sudden silence as panic over not having a room. The offer is kind but you take one more look at the cabin style couch and know for a fact it’s not meant for the body of an adult man. 

“That’s sweet Steve but really, it’s fine. I can figure something out, you shouldn’t have to sleep on this uncomfortable couch,” you say as you gesture to the furniture he’s already tried to use pillows to make comfortable. Discarding your towel over the dining table chair you sigh. 

“We could always share. I mean, it’s a big bed and I would hate for you to not get any sleep when it’s not your fault you lost your room,” he offers and you freeze in place. The idea frightens you, terrified of feeling his warmth next to you, and smelling him in the sheets. It was a fantasy you once had years ago and now it was real. Plus, if you wanted any sort of sleep tonight, it was your only option. 

“Are you sure, I’d hate to get in your way?” you finally respond, gulping away the nerves as you consider all the possibilities. How with the late night could come secret confessions from the both of you. 

“I don’t mind at all, the room was already too big for one person. Plus, I’m sure Robin wouldn’t be too fond of me sharing with Vickie,” he jokes and you laugh slightly, accepting the joke as a way to latch onto some comfortability between you. 

“Well I’m going to get ready for bed then,” you point your thumb over your shoulder and he nods, watching as you move to the small kitchenette and get a glass of water. You move with ease, taking a few sips and fixing the large pajama shirt on your form. You give him another one of those tight lipped smiles before disappearing behind his door. It’s then he realizes he was in deep shit. 

You try to sleep, want to sleep so bad. You don’t want to be awake when he finally joins you, instead unconscious and unaware of the close proximity between the both of you. Yet just as predicted, the sheets smell of him, and items of his lay around the room, making it all feel too real and intimate. That’s why when the door opens you flinch, still awake, and shrink into yourself as you consider how the rest of this night might go. 

Steve moves quietly about the room, shedding his shirt and sweatpants, glancing to try and determine if you were still awake in the dark room. When he lifts the covers and slips in beside you, the way your body shifts tells him you’re still very awake. He continues to climb in anyway, the both of you ignoring the way your hearts pound. This trip had been the first time you had to spend more than a few hours with him. Now you were a few inches apart both recalling the first time you ever fell in love. 

“I’m sorry, Teddy,” his husky voice mutters into the night air and then without warning his arm starts to wrap around you. You tremble with fear, not of him but the fear of him feeling your body. The way it curves differently from other girls, the way you take up more space. Yet you don’t fight him, instead you allow him to spoon you, firm chest pressed against your back and face nuzzled in your hair. 

“It’s okay Steve,” you respond but he shakes his head, squeezing you closer. He’s afraid if he lets go he’ll lose you forever. 

“It’s not, I shouldn’t have ditched you like that. God, I loved you. I mean, I still love you, but I was so dumb. I am so dumb,” he mumbles into your neck and you’re still unmoving, shocked by the words he mutters, and a part of you is thankful you didn’t fall asleep. 

“I think you’re the only boy who’s ever loved me,” you tell him, rolling over to face him. Your legs tangle together and his hands fall low on your back, noses a mere inch from each other. 

“You think you could give me a second chance?” he asks and even though your heart hammers against your rib cage, and the feel of his skin pressed against yours feels fire hot, you nod. 

Then to your surprise, a big grin crosses his face before he presses his lips against your own. The same boy who had been walking around with your first kiss for all these years had finally given it to you. A part of you wondered if this could be a dream, some cruel fantasy your mind had conjured up, but then his tongue was dipping into your mouth the same time his knee pushed up between your legs. Completely out of your control, you let out a moan. 

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Steve whispered against your lips, large hazel eyes staring lovingly into your own, and even though you had so many fears attached to your body and being with another person, you found yourself pulling him closer. 

“No. I mean, I want to. I trust you– I think,” you say and you both laugh, a little addicted  to the way the other tastes. Steve grins, running his hand up and down your side like he couldn’t believe you were really there in front of him. 

“Okay, just tell me if I go too far,” he says and you nod eagerly, mind reeling with possibilities that you don’t have time to indulge because his lips are back against yours. This time his hand slips under the hem of your shirt, smoothing over the dips of skin on your side. You wait for him to be disgusted, stop kissing you, and back away. Yet he never does, instead just kisses you deeper, hand squeezing the flesh of your waist, and rolling his body instinctively into yours. 

You can feel yourself wetten and your whole body burns at the idea of being so turned on by him. Years ago it had been puppy love, too immature for this kind of intimacy, but now you were fighting every part of you that wanted to grind down on his leg still wedged between yours. When the same hand under your shirt brushes upwards, grazing your breast, you end up caving and rolling your hips against him. He grunts into your mouth, continuing to kiss you dizzy as long fingers spread over your breast and give it a squeeze. 

“You’re so perfect,” he mumbles, lips pulling away for air and dragging down your neck. You pant as he continues to grope you, lips sucking and kissing at your neck, and you can tell your panties are a mess. 

“Just, don’t stop,” you say before your face completely reddens. You’re thankful for the dark room at that moment but you can still make out his smile as his hand drops and starts to slide under your sleep shorts. Feeling and exploring the softness of your stomach. You watch him closely for any sign of distaste being a bigger girl. Yet he only continues, like it’s a miracle you’re in his bed at all, before toying with the hem of your panties. 

“May I?” he asks and you nod quickly, a squeak leaving your throat as warm fingers slide under the fabric and dip into your wet folds. 

He looks up to give you a lazy smile, interested in the way your face twists as he swirls his finger around your clit. You try to ignore the fact he’s so good at this from practice with other girls, skinny girls, yet it feels too good to let that stop you. He peppers soft kisses to your neck and face, so intimately like this was all that mattered. Like you were all that mattered. 

“You feel so good baby,” he tells you before slowly sliding a finger into you. You whine at the sensation, relishing in how much better it feels when another person does it. Slowly he pumps in and out of you, his hard length grazing your side as he fights the urge to grind into you. 

In a moment of insane courage you reach and grasp him through his boxers, palming him through the fabric, and he curses under his breath at the sensation. He wears the same look of pleasure on his face that you do, so you slip your own hand beneath his waist band and feel your way through unexplored territory. 

“You don’t have to, tonight is about you,” he reminds but you just smile and initiate a sweet kiss for the very first time. He smiles at you, lovesick, and something inside your stomach swoops. 

“I want to,” you tell him before pumping your hand over his length. You’re inexperienced, but based on how hard he is, it doesn’t really matter how you touch him. 

For a while you’re both quiet, instead pleasuring the other and relishing in the moans and soft gasps you draw from each other. When he adds a second finger and starts teasing your clit with his thumb, you realize how close you are. Eager to finish, you start pumping faster to draw him to his end with you. To think Robin had been the one to put a sock on her door. 

“I’m close,” you tell him and he nods, rolling himself into your hand and whining each time you squeeze him a little tighter. He’s so big in your hand you wonder how he’ll even fit. Suddenly you freeze, stopping your movements which makes him look at you with confusion, trying to see if something is wrong. 

“Can you be inside me when I finish?” you ask sheepishly, struggling to look at him and a soft smile tugs at the corner of his lips. Nodding he moves slowly, sitting up to help pull your shorts and panties off of you. Lifting your hips, you close your eyes as you wait for him to see all of you, size and all. When he’s quiet for too long, you open your eyes to find he’s shed his boxers and looking at you like God’s gift to earth. 

“Are we sure this is gonna work?” you ask and he laughs. Slowly he leans over you and brushes some hair out of your face before kissing you deeply. 

“I’ll go slow,” he promises and you nod, watching as he moves to retrieve a condom and roll it over his length. Once he’s finished, he carefully widens your legs for him, before lining up with your entrance. 

You wince when he pushes in slowly, adjusting to his length as he continues to sink in, certain you’ll feel better once you’ve taken all of him. Once he’s flush inside you, one arm propped on the headboard above you, you realize how erotic this is. So you indulge yourself, fingers dragging through his chest hair before pressing soft kisses to his pecs. Slowly he slides back out and pumps back in, determined to make you finish while he has you like this.

“Oh, fuck,” you moan as he starts to move faster. Your hands grip his shoulders, nails leaving crescent moons in his skin as he continues to chase both of your finishes. He has to squeeze his eyes tight to not cum too soon, the hand not holding himself up on the head board moving to rub sloppy circles onto your clit. You feel your stomach tighten, not used to the sensation, when suddenly your orgasm washes over you. 

The second Steve feels you clamp down around him, shaking from your finish, he can’t hold back anymore. His hips get sloppy, stuttering into you as he finishes just a few moments behind. When you are finally still beneath him, he slides out carefully, cuddling up beside you as it settles in what just happened was real. 

“I can’t believe we just did that,” you say, thinking about how neither of you could barely make eye contact this whole trip. You couldn’t imagine what either of you were going to tell Robin in the morning. 

“I can. I have been thinking about it for so long. I always knew it would be me and you,” he whispers, fingers delicately brushing along your stomach and hips. The words make you smile, pressing a wet kiss to his forehead. 

“You’re something else, Steve,” you tell him and he shrugs, perfectly content and where he always belonged. 

“Maybe, but that’s why you love me.”

[hoiststowline]

_sunstreaker x reader [part two]

[a/n: this is a follow up from this fic!]

to keep time as well as search for proper company, a simple push of a button brings the radio to life, stereo blinking twice to alert the hour before switching to the local station. the volume was contained to his cabin, unheard to anyone in the surrounding area, particularly quiet so as to not disturb you.

the bangles eternal flame buzzes through staticky speakers, and to his displeasure it runs pretty much from the top of the song. every ounce of willpower was summoned to not immediately switch the channel, grimacing before conceding in a ridiculous fight.

it's a song, something that shouldn't send him over the edge so effortlessly. yet, every time the tune crosses his path, all he can think of is a past image of you, stumbling over lyrics after a beer too many. whether sunstreaker had decided he deserved your easygoing companionship or not was to be determined, though, he would always ensure that you arrived back home, safe and sound.

at the thought of you, he ingloriously tilts his left side-view mirror over, catching how your bedroom light still remained on. you had retreated back to bed almost twenty minutes ago, surely for someone so exhausted, one would have returned to sleep straightaway?

it wouldn't be his place to interrogate such irresponsible sleeping habits, as one would easily shift the blame his way. however in an indescribable and serpentine manner, he did deeply care for your well-being, and felt lingering guilt for being the reason you were startled awake.

his fear and unease was legitimate in reference to the likely ‘cons, but you weren't so inclined to believe such nonsense. he passes that fault to the late hour, with nothing more than his word to take that there was ever anything awry in the first place.

alarm overpowered his ability to appreciate the improvisational moment, briefly recalling the softness of your touch to try and wrangle yourself free. reluctantly, he'd admit that after the fear had subsided, there was something staggering about such a...compromising situation.

you wouldn't remember it in the morning, though it would jam up his processor every single instance he dared to even think about it.

he can't question you like this, already feeling vulnerable within the small perimeter, though perhaps another means of communication was achievable. it takes a few minutes of back and forth, weighing pros and cons before throwing it all to hell, dialing anyways.

to his simultaneous dismay and delight, you answer on the second ring, catching how you tug the blinds upward just before you pick up the call.

"You really did stay outside," for seemingly no reason it arrives as a whisper, alongside a breathy laugh. "I'm surprised."

"I said I was going to," sunstreaker returns, unbothered by your revelation of shock. "I've been trying to figure out what happened, but I couldn't help but notice your light was still on."

now blamelessly trying to catch your demeanor, it's rather perceptible that something else was on your mind. if it was in reference to his behavior, you would have been less likely to pick up the phone, and even more inconceivable that you are so placid.

“I was tired.” you try, dropping the blinds back in place before padding across your room.

“Was?” sunstreaker presses, a hint of concern lingering within his tone.

his disappointment arrives once more as the light switches off, though you continue on the other end. “I don’t know. It’s not you, I just can’t sleep. I’m kinda wide-awake.”

sunstreaker doesn’t need to know that it was him keeping you from getting a good nights rest, your cheeks still a touch red. how could anyone focus on sleep when he looked at you like that? straddled your waist and shushed you with a single finger over your mouth?

diabolical. he should have gathered enough context clues to discern your woes, but all your advances were lost on him. perhaps he recognized them but refused to acknowledge such sentiment, a familiar stab of a different knife.

“Don’t you have work in the morning?”

such a reminder punches you in the gut, turning to observe your clock that rests on the nightstand.

“Yeah…” you begin, wondering why because you never had any intentions to take the sentence anywhere else.

sunstreaker lets the sarcasm seep into his next interaction. “Yeah? And?”

“Are you going to stay out there all night?” you redirect, trying to get some of the heat off of you. “There’s no suspicious cars or whatever the hell you said.”

“Would you rather me, or the questionable-looking vehicles.” he scoffs, evidently over-confident in his expected reply. “I think the choice is laughably easy.”

“I’m not sure the second option even exists,” you say, practically hearing his voice box hitch. “So that one.”

you’re only teasing, hoping it translates as you crawl back into bed.

“You’re insufferable.” a groan, and then a softer retort. “Get some sleep. I’ll drive you over to work in the morning.”

understanding straight away that he’s instilling the fact he really is going to remain outside throughout night, you relent and offer thanks. “Okay. Thank you, and good night.”

“Good night.”

[theliteraryluggage]

Find the word tag

Thank you so much for the tag, @scienceoftheidiot!

Here's the words I was tasked to find: Dull, Blind, Dirty, Broken, Frown

I found them all, and even managed to spread them out across five different WIPs! I would've had four out of the five just in Vox Populi II, but where's the fun in that?

I'm not tagging anyone in particular, but consider yourself tagged if you want! I'll even give you some new words: Crack, Joke, Voice, White, Soul

And here's my excerpts under the cut:

Dull

from Vox Populi II

“Ed?” Winry sat up in a chair by the wall, eyeing him with furrowed brows. “Hey … how do you feel?” Ed licked his lips, his mouth tacky and dry. He tried to focus on his body, any sensation getting through to him. There was a soreness in his limbs and his neck and shoulders when he moved. His automail seemed to respond as normal when he tried to move it. And there was a deep dull ache radiating out from his side. Right. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Winry again. “Like I was run through by a steel beam.” His voice was gravelly in his throat.

Blind

from Eldritch Elrics everything is twisted (but we don't feel a thing)

“But Granny!” Winry grabbed her shoulder, firm, shaking her slightly. The suit of armour stepped backwards, metal resting against the door with a dull thud. “Granny, it’s Al.” “No!” “But it is, please, just listen!” “It’s not!” A crack running straight through the words. “This is not our Alphonse. It’s not. It can’t be.” The armour raised its shoulders, spikes rising high, red dull deep within the empty eye sockets. “I’m sorry”, it whispered. “I’m sorry, Granny. I—I didn’t know where else to go. Brother needed help and … I didn’t know where else to go. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Granny’s shoulder shook under Winry’s hand, a tremor. Silence like a seeping wound. “I … I’ll leave.” Leather gloves blindly grasping for the doorknob. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave, if you’ll just take care of brother.”

Dirty

from Xerxes fic A Haven for None

There were sign of life everywhere, from the clothes lines strung up between the buildings to the swing hanging in a sturdy looking stone arch. Al would have assumed these to be the Ishvalan refugees Ed had encountered on his first visit to Xerxes, except these people looked about as far from Ishvalan as you could get. Closing his eyes, he focused on the conversation of the men by the fire, who were the closest to him, trying to make out their words. They spoke Amestrian and, from what Al could discern, nothing but banalities. One griped about his wife, one teased another about his lack of fire-building skills, one cracked a dirty joke, they all laughed.

Broken

from Resurrection AU

Again he’d sunken into the murky depths of delirium, voices around him, both panicked and calming, swirling into the indistinct noises and images of his fever dreams, amplified by the constant, blistering pain in his left arm. He’d been told later about how his body had fought against the infection, about his heart and lungs teetering at the edge of their capacity for hours before they finally gave in under the strain. His heart had stopped for almost fifty seconds, they’d told him, but they’d been able to restart it, coax him back to life, and the fever had broken not long after. It had spat him back out into reality a couple of days later, the only vague impression of a memory from those moments being staticky white and the faint imprint of a voice. Again.

Frown

from TOTEMS the only thing that's ever meant something for me

But he’s not. He’s not there. The thought came, instinctual, from deep within his gut. Ed frowned down at the dull metal in his hand. The thought consolidated the more he thought about it. Al wasn’t there. He knew Al wasn’t there, somehow. He couldn’t picture any kind of afterlife with Al, because Al’s soul hadn’t really passed on. If the gate containing his body hadn’t been there for him to return to, there was no reason to assume there’d be a way for him to pass on to whatever came after this life. If Al’s soul hadn’t actually left this plane of existence, he wasn’t really dead. If Al’s soul hadn’t left this plane of existence … Ed could still bring him back.

This was fun! And a general reminder to folks that I'm always happy to be tagged or receive asks about my fics and stuff, I love talking about my projects and it's a great motivation!

[firewolf-pyro]

8. REMORSE

The Doctor enters through the cracked open window of the control room onboard the crescent ship. Rose and him both are climbing into the ship that is sticking up sideways in the snow. The room is nearly vertical to the ground with how the ship had crash landed. Both of them drop into it then are suddenly horizontal on the ship’s surface as the artificial gravity onboard the spacecraft takes hold of them. The snow storm outside of the ship has increased, the howling of the winds are so intense that each step they take into the ship causes it to shiver and quake, threatening to rock sideways or backwards in the wind.

“There has to be a reason this Dalek is here- what reason would a genocidal creature like that have coming to a frozen wasteland?” He moves quickly away from the cold open window over to the screens of the control room. The computers there are flickering and staticky having some obvious damage from the crash but they are still clearly functioning. With a smirk he immediately begins messing with what he could, the sound of his sonic screwdriver low under that of the storm just behind him.

“It could just be here by accident… Like the other one.”

She suggests and turns to look at the world outside of the ship that is horizontal to them. The blizzard outside has gotten so bad that she can no longer see the TARDIS beyond besides a few flickers of the blue box every once in a while.

“Mistakes? Daleks don’t make this many mistakes. Their whole ideology wouldn’t allow for it, oh good the computers’ Star mapping functions are still available.” He ignores Rose and what she is looking at, instead he is frantically poking and prodding at the Dalek converted computer system. He opens a Star map to try and figure out where the Dalek was coming from and where they were planning to go.

“Or, maybe they aren’t as perfect as they seem to think they are. As perfect as you seem to believe they are.” She retorts as she leans against the wall watching the snow beyond. She squints her eyes as a dull yellow light flickers through the dark snow beyond them. She moves to lean out of the window, her hair shifting under the hat of hers down towards the snowy ground below her. Under the groan and moan of the wind she can barely hear the familiar noise of heavy machinery.

“This - this doesn’t make sense… They came from earth, they JUST came from earth. What was this Dalek even DOING on earth?” The Doctor scrolls through the star map’s route showing the planetary system the ship came from then scrolls forwards to see where it was going. The solar system the Dalek was attempting to head to was nearly a light year away from this place.

“Oh- old stomping grounds…” He whispers as he seems to recognize the planet that the star map pulls up. The strangely colored marble rotates around and around on the screen as he peers at it. The only reason the Daleks had abandoned this one was due to the strange sentient plant life that had an odd habit of rooting down into metal. Sure their seed pods were rather explosive too- but the Daleks seemed to have opted out of wasting their time attempting to totally terraform this planet at the time.

“Doctor… Doctor I think she’s coming back-“ She looks over her shoulder for a brief moment before looking back out the window towards the growing light. By now the machine’s front, hauling the casing, was cutting through the snow and was mostly visible.

“Why would you … Wouldn’t they want to waltz right back into the current hive? Why hide out in an abandoned Dalek mining facility?” He pulls up visual records from the computers connected to the planet. A few comic book images of the planet are scattered throughout other images of a forest covered planet with large vine-like plants that had even larger flowers on them. Amongst the images are pictures of old Dalek casing’s with the flowering vines sprouting from their surfaces .

“Doctor…” Rose backs away from the window as she keeps her eyes on the machine while the shovel presses right up against the side of the ship. It shakes the crescent ship with such force that Rose stumbles backwards, thumping into the computers where the Doctor had also braced himself. After the shockwave there is stillness. The machine’s noises echo through the space of the control room along with the howling winter wind. A groan comes from the outermost part of the ship as the cat clambers out of the vehicle onto the shovel then into the ship itself. She sits with a huff just inside of the window. Rose backs away from her but keeps herself between the Doctor and the cat. The Doctor is looking furiously down at the half frozen cat.

“Did it get too cold for you, kitty cat?” The Doctor scoffs in a mocking tone once she is seated against the underside of the window. He inches around Rose’s side to try and get to her. Now was the perfect time to rip that mutant away from the warmth of its host. With it half frozen it’s actions would be slow and sloppy.

“Oh jargza off you old jaski.” She sputters as her arms pull into a self hug. She is very obviously shivering with snow coating the outside of her snowsuit.

“Hey now! Watch your language and I am in no way irrelevant.” He looks first surprised by the swearing then offended via the insult. He wanted to go around Rose’s side but she prevents him by elbowing his gut.

“Why’d you come back? You have what you wanted-“ Rose starts, stepping closer to the cat who is now chattering her teeth as she tries to warm herself. Even in the ship they can see each other’s breaths.

“I- … Is your companion blind, horrorkon esc j-wibbial.”

She looks mildly concerned at Rose before making a move to stand up. The action causes Rose to stiffen, the girl wanting to stand her ground just in case this was a move to harm her or her partner. But the cat woman didn’t make a move for anyone, the goal primarily seemed to be to get away from the open window.

“Oh man I think the weather here’s busted my translator or something, Rose did you catch any of that?” The Doctor glares over at the cat who is now dusting the snow off of her coat and stumbling away from the window. He moves to stand beside Rose who is carefully moving closer to the cat.

The cat circles back around the console of the control center’s computer system. She looks over what files the Doctor had open and glances over to him then to Rose with a deepening look of concern. Had he figured out what she was planning yet? The Doctor and Rose both walk just a few feet away from her side. She is keeping a close eye on both of them as she closes out the Star system maps and instead pulls up a radar system designed to read the current weather and predict what is to come. She hoped he had not.

“Not a word, but I’m sure she’s trying to insult you.” Rose stops just a foot or so away from the cat’s shoulder. She was peering mostly at the cat’s back, inching closer and closer as if aiming to pull the hood down from her again.

“Well you are not wrong there, Menns thing.” She glares over her shoulder at Rose, but doesn’t move away. She was daring her to continue her approach. With how much blood the host had lost if she pulled him off of her now she was done for. He was absolutely ready to justify killing Rose just for causing the host’s death.

“With how freely you are talking I’m going to assume you aren’t just … Some soldier or drone?” The Doctor also moves carefully around to the cat’s other side. He is glancing at the screen then back to the cat as he does so. With her closed in on both sides it would be easier to detain her.

Rose uses the very points of her fingers to gently pull the hood of the cat’s snowsuit down. Before either the Doctor or Rose can react a tendril comes shooting out from the cloth and slaps her hand hard enough to make her yelp. Rose quickly steps back a few feet holding her hand close to her. She pulls her glove off to see a very red welt along the surface.

“I warned you not to touch me again. That is your SECOND warning.” Blueton snarls, the hood is pulled back up to cover her head via some tendrils before she turns to face the Doctor who is reaching out to Rose in a sympathetic sort of way. She gives him a scolding look as if to say ‘get control of your little pet.’

“Rose- are you okay?” He skirts around behind the cat to comfort Rose who at this point is glaring in a hurt manner at the cat. He takes her hand and looks over the red welt. He’d taught Dalek mutants in the past sure but the most out of it he had ever experienced was being choked out. He wasn’t away they could use their tentacles in this manner.

“Be thankful I did not hit you harder.” The cat woman growls lowly before standing tall over the computers in front of herself. The fact that she had to deal with both of these humanoids had really made this trip more complicated. Now she had to figure out how to ditch them, and keep them out of her… Well, buisiness.

“I will be stuck here for awhile if this snow storm does not give in, this is worse than the oquolloquox on Skaro.” She crosses her arms back over her chest and turns to look over the Doctor and Rose who are standing shoulder to shoulder. Her head tilts a bit to the side as she observes their interaction; she wishes she could join in for the body heat alone.

“That was entirely unnecessary, Dalek.” The Doctor glares at the cat as he coddles Rose to his side. He lets Rose take her hand back to herself. If this one could hit that hard with just one tendril he did not want to know what else it could do. He felt horrible for the cut this creature was clung to- it must have been a horrible fight.

“It was necessary. All of the Menns things only seem to learn via punishment or reward. And to answer your question, no. I am not a drone nor am I a mere soldier.”

She turns to look back over the computer’s readings. The storm readings she was staring at looked to be growing then shrinking then growing again. The strange pulsing made her think the planet’s atmosphere had been strangely damaged via their entry.

“Stop calling her an alien, Rose, this is… A Dalek piloting some poor cat nurse. Cat nurse piloted Dalek, Rose-“ He gestures between the two of them. He is still moving closer to the cat now that Rose has been seen to. There could be a way to remove the mutant from her without harming her- but he would definitely need to be careful about it.

“There is no need for introductions. You will either kill me for simply being a Dalek, or- I exterminate you for being the enemy of the Daleks.”

Actions: she turns to glare at the Doctor, once again ignoring Rose entirely. She stood tall as the Doctor walks right up to her front.

“Tell me the truth, and tell me honestly. Why are you here? How did you get here? And this ship is clearly non-Dalek, so how did you get it? Why are you even using it?” He leans on the counter to prevent the cat from averting her eyes back to the screen. His arm is rested on the counter to block more of the screen. With the controls and the important information in front of her blocked off the cat nun lets out an irritated huff. She glanced behind her to the door leading to the rest of the ship. She debated showing him- would he kill what she had created? Would it prevent him from killing her?

“Please… We won’t try and hurt you- I won’t let him hurt you- we just want to know what’s going on here.” Rose pulls her glove back on as she cautiously walks towards the door that the cat was glancing towards. She was curious about what might be behind it.

“And if I do not?” She answers the question with a question. When she notices Rose step closer to the door she also takes a few steps back towards it. Was Rose lying? Would she actually protect her and what she had made from this monster? Could she actually protect her and what she had created from this mess of a man? She didn’t believe so, she did not trust this situation.

“What’s behind door number one, eh?” The Doctor bolts over to the door with Rose, blocking the cat’s path. He flings his hand onto the button that opens the door then rushes out into the hall. He stops dead in his tracks. The hallway is dark, the lights are non functional.

When the cat nun sees that the whole inner system of the ship was inoperable she moves quickly past both Rose and the Doctor through the darkness to the exact room she really did not want to lead her worst enemy to. Her worries were about the life support system controlling the fluid levels in her little experiment. She tests the dead door panel with her hands before prying the panel off of the wall. Quickly she fiddles with the wiring - with a flash the door slides open before the lights go dead again. Before the Doctor or Rose can get to her she is in the lab. She is lost in the dark for only a moment before the lights in the lab flash blue then bright white. She takes a moment to thank Skaro the backup generators to this room hadn’t been damaged in the crash.

“Thank the song of the Lallapalange they are not dead-“ The cat leans against the tank's glass and stares deep into the dark yellow water. She completely ignores the entrance of the Doctor who carefully looks around himself- though he sticks an arm out to block Rose from entering the room with him. He had a sense of what was going on in here- the last thing he wanted was to get Rose stuck between him and a very protective brooder.

“So… This…” He takes a good long look around himself at all of the different tanks along the walls. This was a nursery. He side steps to one of the walls and peers into the murky fluid beyond. There was no doubt about it.

“Oh… Oh~” He smiles looking over at the cat then immediately frowns. He blinks back to the tanks as he relaxes a hand to the warm glass. This was- something morally horrible he had to debate with himself. These were Daleks- this was a Dalek broodery. These babies had done nothing wrong but they would, he had no doubts about that. They would grow up to be killers. They would grow up to be one the most dangerous species in the universe. He had not prevented their species creation in a past life- but maybe today he could prevent another wave from growing up. Prevent them from killing off more alien species later on down the road.

“I have witnessed thousands upon thousands of my own kind perish… I do not know if I could handle losing these ones too.” She keeps her gaze on the tanks as she moves towards one of the computers reading the life signs of the creatures within. She kneels down to read the lower display screens. They were stable. All one hundred of them. She let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Yet the deaths of billions of other species doesn’t bother you one bit?” The Doctor scoffs though quiets himself when he sees the cat visibly flinch. He stays where he is to watch her. It had? The deaths of other species had bothered this one? Or was that the cat nun herself reacting to the statement. Reacting to the memories of the Dalek itself about the mass exterminations, the death camps, the planet glassing.

“It is easy if you do not see them as people.” The cat nun seems to relax in that sentiment, standing and staring into the water. A very soft smile pulls itself onto her lips as she watches the tiny squid looking things only about an inch across move around in the liquid. No, Daleks did not see other species as sentient. They had trouble comprehending the idea that others could think like them. Different was inertly wrong.

“But they are still people.” Rose speaks up from the doorway. She doesn’t make a move to enter the room knowing if she did the Doctor would likely react poorly to it. Instead she steps from side to side watching the two interact with the creatures in the tanks around them.

“And Yet I am still using one as a flesh puppet.”

She turns towards the Doctor and points towards the door. Her look of love towards what was growing in that tank turns immediately to one of sheer rage. She couldn’t have him here. Not with these little ones all around her. He would kill them, she decided. The predator of the Daleks wouldn’t care if they were children or not- she knew this.

“GET OUT! Get OUT of my lab and AWAY from my Arkellis!” The metallic snarl calls out as she steps closer to the Doctor. The cat snarls in the Doctor’s direction causing him to flinch backwards. Now this is as the reaction the man was expecting from her the first time when she came back to the ship. Instead of moving away the Doctor glances over the tanks and the computers behind her. He stands up from the tanks he was looking into and steps closer to her instead. She certainly seemed to care quite a bit about this brood. It weirded him out a little.

“Who are you… Really.” He stares into the cat’s face. His arms are outstretched as if offering himself up to her. It was time to try a more gentle tactic here as he was still debating on what he would do. Could he bring himself to kill off these small creatures? All it would take was a flick of a switch really, all he had to do was turn off the life support systems and the small Dalek mutants would perish.

“I am Dalek Strategist BT122.”

“The BLUE one! Oh- of COURSE it HAD to be the BLUE one!” The Doctor yells and takes a step closer to her. The connections were drawn as he recalled exactly where he knew this casing from. A Time War Strategist- one who certainly worked closely with the Time Controller. This realization only seems to anger her further.

“Listen- Blue- or.. Blu. Or…Blueberry or-“ He takes another step closer to her. The rumors about this maddened strategist ran wild during the chaotic war. He wanted to test them, test what exactly was true about this snake.

“You do not know me, Storm.”

“No, I really do- story’s about a meddling Dalek causing strategies to fail despite their calculations showing they should have succeeded… Sure you’re no Rusty but -“ He glances towards Rose who is watching the both of them with a look of concern. His smile widened- she should be concerned. This Dalek in front of them was one of the true insane.

“There is no proof tying any of those failures to me.”

“Are you sure? Last I heard you were locked up in some god forsaken asylum somewhere. It seems not even your own empire believes you DIDN'T play a role in those ‘failures’.” He cackles as he took another step closer, closing the distance between him and the cat. He grapples her, his arms wrapping around her much unlike a hug. The illusion of a friendly face had worked. A little bit of compassion and he could walk all over his victims.

“GET OFF!” They push him trying to get him off of herself. With a few shuffly steps the cat tries to push or pull the Doctor away from the tanks. Her goal was to get back out into the hallway.

“Come on, Blue- tell me why you are here-“ He reaches a hand into the suit again trying to get a hold on any part of the Dalek mutant. By doing so the cat makes a gagging coughing noise- blood spewing out of her throat and mouth as the Dalek releases her entirely. Blueton was fed up with all of this touching.

“THIRD WARNING REVOKED!” He snarles and bolts off of the woman’s back. She collapses into the Doctor's arms very clearly dead. The holes in her throat ooze blood letting the last of her warmth trickle out into the floor around the man. The Doctor gasps and quickly holds his hands up around the bleeding wounds, sinking down to the ground to better hold pressure on them. It wouldn’t matter, however. She had no pulse.

“No- nooo Blue no-“ The Doctor winces letting the woman sink down to the floor carefully as he looks around trying to find where Blueton had leapt to. She was a lost cause, he was sure of it. And now with the mutant on the loose out of sight he worried he had taken a step too far. What was this insane creature plotting? He had to think a step ahead of them but how could he? The damned thing was so unpredictable.

“Oh my god-“ Rose gags at the sight of blood seeping out onto the floor around the woman. She frantically looks up around the room trying to spot where the Dalek mutant had gone. The Doctor shouts, jabbing his finger towards some movement. Blueton was in the computers, their longer tendrils dangling over the edge of them as they scrambled up their sides. They say there, shorter tendrils on the controls- staring at the Doctor waiting for him to move.

“You didn’t have to do that- … You didn’t have to kill her…”

“I don’t believe she was even alive to begin with, Doctor.” Anis states from where she stood at the entrance of the lab room. Behind her in the dark hallway some torchlights flicker around as more people explore the interior of the ship. Behind her Bastion and Lesly both peak their head into the room. The Doctor looks over at the group behind him which is enough of a give to make Blueton lunge down at him. No one there was ready for such an ambush.

[dustedmagazine]

the sheaves — Excess Death Cult Time (Minimum Table Stacks)

We can’t seem to find a photo of the sheaves, but this came up in the image search. 

Excess Death Cult Time by the sheaves

If you’re going to compare the sheaves to the Fall, fair enough, but let’s be clear. The reference point is not the hooky, keyboard-lighted Fall of the Brix years, they of “C.R.E.E.P.” and “Cruiser’s Creek.”  No, this is more like the late dystopic Fall, the slurry, spitty years following Country on the Click, where Mark E. Smith drawled madly on over disintegrating textures of rock-adjacent guitar noise. Like end-stage Fall, the sheaves are always falling apart, always dissolving into chemicals, always losing the thread. Listening to Excess Death Cult Time is like trying to make sense of a dream you’re having, not later, but while it’s still going on.

The title track, for instance, starts with a bass haring off in an indeterminant direction, and someone coughing. Soon, two more guitars are at it, noodling high and not in any recognizable key, at odds with one another, but possibly making the convergent points. (Imagine a bar fight where two drunks are yelling at each other at increasing volume but, weirdly, yelling the same thing.) The drums very nearly hold things together, or at least keep them in the same room, but chaos roils underneath, always ready to spew up out of the murk. And over all this, the singer, drones disconsolately, his voice discernible mostly as a buzz but occasionally taking shape in words, i.e., “Are you losing your hair, it’s passing you by, it’s passing you by, it’s a lovely excess death cult time.” The song is a mess of sharp-edged parts clanking together.

This is a band not afraid to try out a song called “Guitar Wank,” which, true to its name, gives a pair of players license to do whatever the fuck, in concert and conflict with a high noodling keyboard, also wandering untethered. The song coalesces out of parts, taking shape from dream-like voices, doubled, but slightly out of sync, and a snaggle of intertwined dissonance. Imagine staring at tangled piles of junkyard wires until you can see the shapes of animals in them (and then staring longer, until these shapes disappear). This is what listening to “Guitar Wank” is like.

Not that it’s unpleasant, especially if you’ve been weaned on folk-noise-industrial eccentrics like Siltbreeze’s Pink Reason and CIA Debutant. If it were easier to get to the songs, you might not bother. Everybody loves a challenge. And so, perhaps, it’s worth mentioning that two songs on this disc come together right away, not exactly welcoming you in, but at least opening the door.  

“Hit Silly” is the real ringer here, with its rumbling shimmy of electric guitars and half swallowed vocals giving it a cracking, staticky sheen like early Guided by Voices. It’s considerable signal cuts through the noise. Indeed, it’s anthemic the way the guitar chords shift in inevitable ways. There’s a clear progression and none of the antic scrabbling in corners, the mumbled venom, the chaos.

“Lariat Slung” makes it a party, too, with its thundery bass and antic carnival keyboards. The singer elides and swallows the words, muttering ominously most of the time then breaking into startling clarity. “Oh there’s nothing to do, all of the time, oh say, I feel sick, all of the time.”  You might feel a little woozy yourself by this point, but in a good kind of way.

Jennifer Kelly

[systastic]

9, 16, and 32 for the ask game! ~ roulettesys [Lucky]

9. does your system have system members who age slide or age regress?

yup. most of us do, actually. we experience age as more as a feeling than a number, so virtually everyone age slides. tbf tho, they aren’t very large gaps (17 to 19, 18 to 23, 7 to 11, 5 to 9… etc)

if you mean specifically to a way smaller form, then i guess cody does? he rarely appears as an adult in his late twenties, but his regular form is a fifteen year old. doesn’t really change how he acts though.

16. what system member is the strangest species?

we have a few atypical species: vampire, vocaloid, mermaid, moth shifter slash cryptid, angels, ghosts, hybrids… the weirdest one has to be a tie between misery and umbra.

misery, aka xey who will not be named, is a living shadow. its hard to get xem under control cus of it. xey can shapeshift, ignore blocks, whisper to current fronters when not being close to front, and even influence physical actions to pull ppl close to front (mainly persecutors)

umbra is… nothing. literally nothing. its like a giant static mass / blob that is insanely eloquent for god knows what reason. its like a presence but also… not? like you know someone is there but you can’t see shit. they have a staticky or scribbled appearance if it pushes themself to take on a human form.

32. which system member has the most based takes? [for current fronter]

two of us are here rn, so we’ll both answer:

❤️ (kris) — dunno, tbh. id say ella, aspen or silas. ella can be over critical but she has solid takes. aspen is chill asf & crazy artistic. silas is based af. dude likes cursed images. we both scroll r/diwhy and r/stupidfoods. we are the same person. /j

🪻(imogen) — mmm… honestly? ana. im also in the 12-16 slide range but she’s usually younger than me. still, she’s got some solid takes (endo-neutral/positive, pro-good faith identities, anti-anything that’s harmful to a real life person/animal). so yeah. might be biased here cus we’re so similar, but she’s based.

❤️ (kris) — thx for the ask 👍

[crazy-pages]

@wingedachene But if we actually CHECK THE CITATION rather than just taking it for granted, what do we find?

Exactly what @passerkirbius was talking about!!! The study cuts off at 24!!! It does not extend beyond that point! If you actually read the study certain markers of brain development are slowing down prior to that point, which the researchers take for granted means brain development stops shortly after. But brain development is highly nonlinear, there's no real reason to believe that other than cultural presuppositions about maturity. And there's no reason to believe that other types of brain development don't start up later in life. Heck the exact same kind of brain development could come to a stop and then restart later, or even reverse. We just don't have the data on it.

Abstract talk about science and it's reliability under the readmore.

Remember y'all, science is an error correction algorithm and documentation method. It corrects errors in the same way you would safeguard against signal loss when sending a message through a staticky channel.

Like, if I want to send somebody a digital 1, but there's a chance static could flip that 1 to a 0, that's a problem. One flipped bit might scramble the whole message they're receiving, especially if I'm sending them something like a program or a compressed image. We need a way to make sure that the person on the other end receives my message perfectly even through the static. And the same applies to science. When one mistake can be built upon to create more flawed work, we need a method of bringing the error rate as close to zero as possible.

So what I might do instead is send five 1s and tell the person on the other end beforehand that this is what I'm doing. Some of the 1s are still going to be wrong, but if they get 10110, the odds are better that I meant to send 11111 than 00000. You'd need 3+ flipped bits for them to get the wrong signal, which is much less likely, for math reasons. If you commit enough extra bits to ensuring your message gets through, it's possible to send perfectly readable messages even through a lot of static. And this is what science tries to do with peer review, parallel experimentation, and repeated experiments.

But it's important to know how this system can break down. One obvious way is just not doing enough error correction, not contributing enough extra resources. And that obviously happened here, the neuroscience field never did do follow-up studies actually double checking that neurological development really does stop after 25. But another problem is systemic bias.

That basic error correction algorithm I mentioned up above? It's dependent on the assumption that all errors are random and independent of one another. But what if the problem isn't constant background static, what if the problem is sudden bursts of intense static, which leaves most bits alone but flips a bunch of bits very close together? Well the error correction algorithm I mentioned would totally fail under those conditions. There's nothing it can do about that.

And you can run into similar things with societal preconceptions and biases in science. If everybody just knows that being fat is bad for you, or just knows that we stopped getting more mature in our mid-20s, the people who are supposed to be doing the peer review might not question bad conclusions in line with those beliefs. The scientific process can fail to perform error correction and bad science can slip through.

The good news is though, even when that happens we still benefit from the process of scientifically rigorous documentation. Because the study screencaptured above me didn't just assert that brain development stops at 25, the author cited their source. And we could check that source and its documentation, and see just from the abstract (hell just from the citation itself) that the thing they are citing is inadequate for the claim they are making. No matter what may be in the conclusion of either paper, the sources of their conclusions are rigorously documented enough that we can come back to them later and apply less biased, or at least more critical, analysis to them.

Science is an error correction method which sometimes fails, but it is also a logbook. And it is important that we actually check that logbook when we have disputes about it. Because that logbook is the quickest way we have of course correcting when scientific consensus has failed.

genuinely especially with everything happening in britain rn with regards to trans healthcare we need to start shutting down the "your brain doesn't fully develop until 25!" pseudoscience bullshit asap

[tourettesdog]

A list of some of my personal favorite Danny Fenton headcanons in no particular order:

Transmasc 

Ace and bi (he figures out he’s ace much faster than bi)

He’s very short, roughly 5′1″-5′2″ (Sam is the tallest of the trio)

The portal accident fucked up Danny’s hormones (partly why he’s so short-- also he doesn’t menstruate anymore which is a small win)

Danny’s ghost form is moderately influenced by his mental image of himself, making him appear somewhat more masculine (slightly broader shoulders, a flatter chest)

He has white pupils in Phantom form, but also white sclera (for the aesthetic)

Eyebags for days

His eyes have a subtle glow to them, even when human

Danny doesn’t feel hungry unless he’s overexerted himself/been injured. He still needs to eat semi-regularly to maintain his human body’s condition, but the ectoplasm in Amity Park keeps him comfy

Has to eat Entirely Too Much food if he leaves Amity Park for any period of time to make up for the energy deficit

Can technically survive without ectoplasm, but his ghost half is healthier/stronger through absorbing or consuming ectoplasm regularly

He drinks (usually filtered) ectoplasm when he needs a pick-me-up

Entirely too much coffee, containing worrying amounts of caffeine

Danny has a very hard time putting on weight and muscle and stays pretty scrawny

Does age, but more slowly

He has lichtenberg figures going up his left arm and at least across part of his chest. The scars are white when human, but green when a ghost.

His left hand is messed up from the portal accident. Nerve issues, chronic pain, unreliable grip strength.

He wears a sweatshirt pretty much everywhere, regardless of the temperature. It hides the scars, dysphoria, and is comfy

Danny has a Lot of scars and keeps getting more. For obvious reasons.

His human blood looks normal enough, but close inspection reveals green flecks-- vise versa for the ectoplasm he bleeds as Phantom. If an injury becomes bad enough, the opposite color starts to seep in

He’s very cold to the touch as Phantom, and somewhat cold as human. Once he gets control of his ice powers, he can willfully adjust his temperature a certain amount at the cost of some energy

No heartbeat as Phantom, very slow heartbeat while human

He doesn’t really need to breathe as Phantom, but does so anyway out of habit and instinct

Breathing as Phantom still has some benefits; mostly in being able to calm him down

Fangs in both forms. Not super big ones, he can hide them if he’s careful, but they’re there.

Danny has a healthy fear of electricity. Lightning storms make him anxious and uncomfortable physically (uncomfy, staticky sensations)

He’s very touch-starved and likes to cuddle with his friends. Doesn’t like being touched by people he’s not close to.

He’s very close with Jazz and confides a lot in her. She’s the first person he comes out as trans to

He loves his parents but is genuinely terrified of them after becoming a halfa and struggles to feel close to them (I also like angst so I err on the side of his parents reacting Badly, and Danny and Jazz slowly at least resenting their parental neglect more and more as they get older)

Danny likes to vibe around with a spectral tail more than legs. Will drape/coil the tail over any surface and sometimes friends (usually in summer, or once he can control his temp better)

Ghost core thrumming/humming/pulsing shenanigans with emotions

His core purrs when he’s very happy

He does have an Obsession and it is to either protect or help (I like both equally)

Danny’s Obsession involves (protecting/taking care of) himself as well, but he’s Bad at that. Good friends help. 

He does not pursue a job at NASA. He still loves the stars, but after exploring the Infinite Realms and experiencing so much existential dread, he craves comfort more than the unknown (I am personally terrified of space so that influences this I’m sorry!!!)

He gets Really good at making ice sculptures and sells them. He can control the chill of the ice, making it less of a hazard

If/when he takes up the mantle of Ghost King, he maintains strong ties to the human world 

His ghostly wail always sounds like his 14-year-old dying screams and Sam, Tucker, and Jazz are very upset by it

When Danny’s angry or upset, his ice powers easily bleed into his human form, dropping the temperature and creating frost around him if he’s not careful

He can use his core to keep him cool in summer, but it exhausts his energy badly since he’s not meant for hot weather

Danny still feels the cold when human, though he has a much higher tolerance for it. He prefers cold temperatures, but sometimes he likes being warm just for the sake of being warm (especially when he’s anxious or wants to cuddle)

He gets overstimulated easily by sounds and smells (unaided by enhanced ghost senses)

He doesn’t need to sleep as much as a regular human, but still can’t manage to sleep enough (either due to insomnia, nightmares, or rude interruptions)

YE

I have a lot of other contradictory headcanons I like too, but I just wanted to include ones that can coexist in this list

[submaslover]

Chapter 1 of my Little Nightmares au. The combination of what i have posted so far.

Mist swirls in heavy clouds around the boy as he rushes forward, for what reason he is unsure, but he knows he will lose something if he does not hurry. Quickly he sees his goal, another child tied and suspended above a dark pit. He can almost hear his brother's voice as the rope is cut and the other boy falls.

Ingo wakes a gasp escaping as he sits up frantically glancing around, looking for his brother. Thankfully Emmet is in his spot clinging to his stuffed teddiursa, a happy grin on his face.  

'Thank goodness he must be having a good dream' Ingo thinks relieved as the terrifying dream fades into the forgotten. Ingo settles back down in his spot and watches Emmet for a minute longer. He's glad he has his brother, 'What would I do without him?' He wonders as he reaches out to hold onto one of Emmet's hands. Finally, he closes his eyes and relaxes back into sleep as Emmet squeezes his hand and lets out a small happy noise.

The next time Ingo opens his eyes Emmet is gone, thankfully he can be heard giggling at something close by. Emmet can be seen with a small stick drawing pictures in the mud, and perhaps trying to build a castle with the mud as well, he’s certainly covered in enough of it to make Ingo laugh slightly. Emmet, hearing his brother laugh, calls out to him, “Niiii-san! It rained so much last night! Come play with me?” looking up Ingo can see the cardboard making up their roof was now sporting a large wet patch. They would have to go looking for a new piece today, that however could wait. Ingo really did want to spend some time just playing with his brother in the mud.

Walking through the city was troublesome, the rain rarely let up, but when it did it left behind a chill that will cling to your bones. The sweaters the boys sport hardly help but having someone else close by certainly did. As the twins wander, in search of fresh cardboard, they stay hand in hand. This way Emmet won’t get lost in the city as they walk.

In the city any adults they cross are fixated on the static screens of tvs, so long as they are quiet and stay out of their line of sight the two boys are as good as invisible, to most of the adults. The boys know to stay clear of the hospital and the school, for fear of the teacher and doctor. The images of a long stretching neck and loud clattering from above remain the best deterrent.

Today they find fresh cardboard in an old moldering building, alongside lots of newspaper. The paper can be used for crafts or even bedding, so they take what they can. Ingo is certain something is watching them this day, perhaps a pokemon? Perhaps a staticky remnant of someone stolen away by spectral hands extended from a television screen.

The twins return to their humble home quickly today, Emmet starts to sing happily as soon as home is in sight. Ingo though is still on edge, he can feel eyes on his back, he wants to pick up his brother and run… But where would they go? All they know is the city and its outskirts, on one side a vast swath of water and on the other an unknown stretch of forest. They have only ever been feet into the line of trees, only to hear the whispering of spirits and crackle of static.

“Niii-san!”Emmet calls, placing a hand on Ingo’s back. “You've been staring off at the city for a veeeery long time now, did you see a pokemon?!” Emmet's worry quickly dissolves into excitement at the thought of something so rare and new. Ingo simply shakes his head, “Just the wind.” Ingo had to work hard to keep his voice low, he didn't want his brother to worry and didn't want whatever was watching them to become frantic.

The boys would later catch a rather large squirrel for dinner and turn in, Emmet holding the Teddiursa plush as always. Ingo didn’t want to sleep however, the feeling of eyes on them had never lessened. Alas ingo lost the fight to sleep, only to find himself standing in that dark mist-filled room with the hole in the floor. This time he heard Emmet call for him in a very frightened tone.

[gftimelord]

*The doctor couldn’t quite recall the exact moment when the world began to spiral, when the heady sweetness of the banana daiquiri wrapped itself around his senses and pulled him under. He should’ve known better— just a drink and a half shouldn’t have had this effect on him. His mind, always calculating and sharp, sent faint alarms, chiding him for his recklessness, for drinking on an empty stomach. But in the haze of alcohol and euphoria, those warnings felt distant, irrelevant. Too late. His internal compass was spinning wildly, no longer pointing him towards the objective, but Ford didn’t care. He let the chaos take him.*

*He buried his face into Preston’s shoulder, finding an anchor in the warmth of the other man's body. The club, with its pounding bass and strobing lights, faded to a distant staticky hum— just background noise in a world that had suddenly become quieter, softer. The neon colors, once overwhelming, bled into one another, swirling into an indistinguishable blur. And yet, amidst that haze, there something tangible. Ford breathed in deeply, letting the familiar aroma of coffee and pine fill his senses, grounding him in the chaos. It wasn’t the artificiality of the club that held him now, but something far more comforting. The smell of home.*

*Coffee, strong and bitter, the kind he drank black, always preferring it sharp on his tongue. The forest, tall evergreens, stretching endlessly around him in a familiar embrace. He could almost feel the cool morning dew clinging to his skin, the creak of wooden panels beneath his boots as he stood in the quiet of his cabin, the world outside still and serene. The image wrapped around him like a well-worn blanket, and Ford let himself sink into it. How was it that Preston— a man who’d only ever been a distant reflection of himself that he met just a few hours ago— was able to evoke such a feeling of peace, of certainty, of home?*

*It was astonishing. Dare he say impossible. But in his drunken haze, Stanford didn’t care to question it. He leaned in further, his body naturally curving into Preston’s warmth, drawn to the safety it promised. His fingers, clumsy and uncoordinated from the alcohol, grasped at the stiff fabric of the other’s jacket, holding onto it as if it were the only thing tethering him to reality. Every instinct he had screamed at him to stay here, in this fragile moment, because for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wasn’t alone. The incessant noise in his head, the constant buzzing of responsibility, of guilt, of fear, had finally gone quiet. Replaced instead by a gentle hum of contentment, like the soft crackle of a fire in the hearth.*

*He felt himself sinking deeper into the sensation, the world around them reduced to a muted blur of flashing lights and distant sounds. Nothing but white noise now. The club, the people, even the music— it all felt so far away. And Preston, the man beside him, felt closer than ever. The doctor couldn’t remember the last time he’d let someone in like this, the last time he’d allowed himself to feel safe in another’s presence. But here he was, nestled against his companion, drunk and unguarded, letting the moment stretch out like a dream he didn’t want to wake from.*

*The doctor mumbled something incoherent, his voice lost in the hum of the club. His body swayed slightly, barely able to maintain balance, but it didn’t matter. He was too far gone now, too lost in the warmth of another to care about how foolish he probably looked. He giggled— an uncharacteristic sound for him, light and childlike— as he nuzzled into Preston’s shoulder, letting the steady rise and fall of the other man’s breathing lull him into a deeper sense of calm.*

*His vision blurred further, the edges of the world spinning like the inside of a kaleidoscope, but even in his drunken state, he knew one thing for certain. For the first time in what felt like ages, he felt safe. In the chaos of the night, in the arms of someone who, for reasons Ford couldn’t quite articulate, made him feel at home. It was a feeling as natural as the stars blinking in the sky above, as essential as the air in his lungs.*

*And for tonight, that was enough.*

"Another Stanford... so similar yet so different from the rest I've met" Preston looked at the sonic screwdriver with quite the interest

@gleeful-northwest-fam

"Woahoah! Okay! Well this isn't a toy for you, it's for me— big difference."

*Ford would quickly stuff the device in his coat pocket, backing up and away from the other person feeling skeptic. He was used to being the one who would instigate the chaos, somehow this also made him realize that he'd unconsciously switched places with his brother at this age.*

"Now, what brings you here? Any reason you'd seek me out of all people?"

[star-going-supernova]

you got anything else for "When the Dead are All Living", such as Gregory's first meeting with Glitched!Vanessa or when he beats the 3rd game?

Your wish is my command! This takes place in the same AU as this ficlet, though, in terms of timeline, this takes place first!

When the Dead are All Liars

“Stupid, useless map,” Gregory muttered, poking at the watch Freddy had given him. Groaning, he let his head thunk back against the wall of the bathroom he was hiding in.

Allowing himself a brief break, he glared up at a small stain on the ceiling in frustration. With the entrance barricaded, he was stuck in the pizzaplex until six, with a handful of robots hunting him down for some reason. He wasn’t even sure he could really trust Freddy but—it wasn’t like there was anyone else who would help him.

“If I was the VIP section, where would I be?” he muttered. The face of the watch was tiny, and the map wasn’t labeled very well. Maybe he should just call Freddy and hope he wouldn’t suddenly go all bloodthirsty too.

As Gregory pushed himself to his feet, he glanced back down at the watch, pausing in surprise. A neat path had been drawn on the map, leading to one of the many unmarked areas.

“Freddy?” Gregory asked, holding his arm a little ways away from his body. “Did you do that?”

He didn’t get an answer.

“Well… thanks.” Should he trust it? Was it some program in the watch marking out a pathway to where he wanted to go? He had mentioned his destination out loud, and the watch had a microphone.

Lacking any other plan, Gregory shrugged and cautiously set out to follow the directions he’d been given.

It wasn’t until later that he found out what—or rather, who—left them.

Between trying to evade the security bots and getting spotted by Roxy, Gregory had unsurprisingly gotten lost again. What could the pizzaplex possibly need so many hallways for?

Not daring to glance behind him—Roxy’s footsteps were plenty loud enough for him to guess how close she was; that being way too close—Gregory planned to keep heading straight at the next intersection.

Except, a woman’s voice suddenly cried out, “Left! Go left!” He didn’t recognize her voice, but it was plainly human. It also sounded tinny, like it was coming through a speaker. Was there a guard or something watching him?

Whoever or wherever she was, Gregory followed her instructions. She clearly knew this maze of a building better than he did, and he’d already done so much running tonight. Even he wasn’t energetic enough to outrun a whole bunch of robots.

The lady’s shouted directions finally led him to a fence barricade. But where he was small enough to slip through the gap between sections, Roxy crashed against it with a horrible metallic screech. Her red eyes followed him through the wires as he scrambled away.

Careening into a storage closet out of Roxy’s sight, Gregory breathed a sigh of relief as he slid down the wall, panting. He’d only just started to relax and come down from the adrenaline high when the woman’s voice suddenly broke the silence, startling him.

“You okay, kid?”

Gregory looked around in a brief panic, heart racing again, before realizing her voice had come from his watch.

“Hello?” he said, raising his wrist closer to his face.

The screen went all staticky for a second before becoming an image of a young woman. She was blonde and wore a white button-up shirt and a black cap reading Security across the front. “Hi,” she said. “Sorry for not helping you sooner, but I had to find your watch first.”

“Uh. That’s okay.” Gregory tried to subtly examine the watch for a camera, but there was no sign that she could see him. And yet, the way her eyes flickered sure made it look like she was taking him in. “Thanks for helping at all, I guess. You’re—do you work here?”

Her shoulders slumped, and she looked away. He frowned, staring at the background behind her. The longer he examined it, the less… real it seemed. Something about it was just empty, in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

“I guess you could say that,” the woman finally answered. “I’m—I was a night guard. My name’s Vanessa.”

“Gregory,” he replied. “And that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s a long story—”

“And I’ve kinda got all night.”

Vanessa stared up at him, somewhere between sad and amused, which wasn’t a combination Gregory was used to seeing on adults.

“All right,” she said quietly. “I—” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Tell me, Gregory. Do you believe in ghosts?”

• • •

There was a person in his Fazwatch. A dead person.

• • •

Gregory wasn’t sure if it was easier or harder to trust Vanessa than Freddy. They both seemed to want to help him survive, but he’d been burned before. Being a homeless kid wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

His options were limited, though, and he definitely couldn’t do this on his own. So… he trusted them. Trusted Freddy to come when he called, trusted Vanessa to find safe paths through the pizzaplex. Trusted them to have his back.

And it all came crashing down when a person in a bunny costume cornered him, a knife poorly hidden behind their back, and said, “Have you been hiding from me, Gregory?”

In Vanessa’s voice.

She had lied to him.

[coulson-is-an-avenger]

[Image ID: A screenshot of the audio only video for Halo by Starset on Youtube. The video shows a staticky black-and-white image of the word ‘halo’, and a symbol resembling a halo, or the crescent of a planet as the sun rises over it. End ID.]

was looking at the transmissions vids on youtube for post-concert nostalgia reasons and my goddd i forgot about the old black and white staticky song logos 🥺 the beloved memories of listening to these in class in the gay year of 2015 is cracking me like an egg

[firewolf-pyro]

REMORSE

Scene: we enter through the cracked open window of the control room onboard the crescent ship. The Doctor and Rose both are climbing into the ship that is sticking up sideways in the snow. The room has a nearly vertical to the ground with how the ship had crash landed. Both of the drop into it then are suddenly horizontal on the ship’s surface showing that the artificial gravity onboard the spacecraft is still active. The snow storm outside of the ship has increased, the howling of the winds are so intense that each step they take into the ship causes it tos shiver and quake.

Doctor: “there has to be a reason this Dalek is here- what reason would a genocidal creature like that have coming to a frozen wasteland?”

Actions: he moves quickly away from the cold open window over to the screens of the control room. The computers there are flickering and staticky having some obvious damage from the crash but they are still clearly functioning.

Rose: “It could just be here by accident… like the other one.”

Actions: she suggests and turns to look it at the world out side of the ship that is at a horizontal to them. The blizzard outside has gotten so bad that she can no longer see the TARDIS beyond besides a few flickers of the blue box every once in awhile.

Doctor: “Mistakes? Daleks don’t make this many mistakes. Their whole ideology wouldn’t allow for it, oh good the computers’ Star mapping functions are still available.”

Actions: he is ignoring Rose and what she is looking at instead frantically poking and prodding at the converted computer system. He opens a Star map to try and figure out where the Dalek was coming from and where they were planning to go.

Rose: “or, maybe they aren’t as perfect as they seem to think they are. As perfect as *you* seem to believe the are.”

Actions: she retorts as she leans against the wall watching the snow beyond. She squints her eyes as a dull yellow light flickers through the dark snow beyond them.

Scene: Rose moves to lean out of the window, her hair shifting under the hat of hers to emphasize the gravity difference between the ship’s interior and exterior. We see from just behind her the single bright yellow light seeming to grow. Under the groan and moan of the wind we can barely hear the familiar noise of heavy machinery.

Doctor: “this - this doesn’t make sense… they came from earth, they JUST came from earth. What was this Dalek even DOING on earth?”

Actions: he scrolls through the Star map’s route showing the planetary system the ship came from then scrolls forwards to see where it was going. We see the screen just as he gets to the solar system the Dalek had been aiming to land at.

Doctor: “oh- old stomping grounds…”

Actions: he whispers as he seems to recognize the planet that the star map pulls up. The strangely colored marble rotates around and around on the screen as he peers at it.

Rose: “Doctor… Doctor I think it’s coming back-“

Actions: she looks over her shoulder for a brief moment before looking back out the window towards the growing light. By now the machine’s front hauling the casing that was driving through the snow was mostly visible.

Doctor: “Why would you … wouldn’t they want to waltz right back into the current hive? Why hide out in an abandoned Dalek mining facility?”

Actions: he pulls up visual records from the computers connected to the planet. A few comic book images of the planet are scattered through out other imagers of a forest covered planet with large vine like plants that had even larger flowers on them. Amongst the images are pictures of old Dalek casing’s with the flowering vine ls sprouting from their metal’s.

Rose: “Doctor…”

Actions: she backs away from the window as she keeps her eyes on the machine as the shovel presses right up against the side of the ship. It shakes the crescent ship with such force that Rose stumbles backwards thumping into the computers where the Doctor had also braced himself into.

Scene: After the shockwave there is stillness. The machine’s noises echo through the space of the control room along with the howling winter wind. A groan comes from the outermost part of the ship then we see the cat clamber out of the vehicle onto the shovel then into the ship itself. She sits with a huff just inside of the window. Rose backs away from her but keeps herself between the Doctor and the cat. The Doctor is looking furiously down at the cat.

Doctor: “Did it get too cold for you, kitty cat?”

Actions: he scoffs in a mocking tone once she is seated against the underside of the window. He is inching around Rose’s side as if he wants to get to her.

Cat: “oh jargza off you old jaski.”

Actions: she sputters as her arms pull in to self hug. She is very obviously shivering with snow costing the outside of her snow suit.

Doctor: “hey now! Watch your language and I am in no way irrelevant.”

Actions: he looks first surprised by the swearing then offended via the insult. He wants to round Rose’s corner but she prevents him by elbowing his gut.

Rose: “why’d you come back? You have what you wanted-“

Actions: she started, stepping closer to the cat who is now chattering her teeth as she tries to warm herself. Even in the ship they can see each other’s breaths.

Cat: “I- … Is your companion blind, horrorkon esc j-wibbial.”

Actions: she looks mildly concerned at Rose before making a move to stand up. The action causes Rose to stiffen, the girl wanting to stand her ground.

Doctor: “oh man I think the weather busted my translator or something, Rose did you catch any of that?”

Actions: he glared over the Cat who is now dusting the snow off of her coat and stumbling away from the window. He moves to stand besides Rose who is carefully moving closer to the cat.

Scene: the cat circles back around the console of the control center’s computer system. She looks over what files the Doctor had open and glances over to him then to Rose with a deepening look of concern. The Doctor and Rose both walk to just a few feet away from her side. She is keeping a close eye on both of them as she closes out the Star system maps and instead pulls up a radar system designed to read the current weather and predict what is to come.

Rose: “Not a word, but I’m sure she’s trying to insult you.”

Actions: she stops just a foot or so away from the cat’s shoulder. She was peering mostly at the cat’s back, inching closer and closer as if aiming to pull the hood down from her again.

Cat: “well you are not wrong there, Menns thing.”

Actions: she glared over her shoulder at Rose, but doesn’t move away. She was dating her to continue her approach.

Doctor: “With how freely you are talking in going to assume you aren’t just … some soldier or drone?”

Actions: the Doctor also moves carefully around to the cat’s other side. He is glancing at the screen then back to the cat as he does so.

Rose: actions: she uses the very points of her fingers to gently pull the hood down, before either the Doctor or Rose can react a tendril come shooting out from the cloth and slaps her hand hard enough to make her yelp. Rose quickly steps back a few feat holding her hand close to her. She pulls her glove off to see a very red welt along the surface.

Cat: “I warned you not to touch me again. That is your SECOND warning.”

Actions: the hood is pull back up to cover her head via some tendrils before she turns to face the Doctor who is reaching out to Rose in a sympathetic sort of way.

Doctor: “Rose- are you okay?”

Actions: he skirts around behind the cat to comfort Rose who at this point is glaring in a hurt manner at the cat. He takes her hand and looks over the red welt.

Cat: “be thankful I did not hit you harder.”

Actions: she growls lowly before standing tall over the computers in front of us. She is still looking rather disappointed in her situation.

Cat: “I will be stuck here for awhile if this snow storm does not give in, this is worse than the oquolloquox on Skaro.”

Actions: she crosses her arms back over her chest and turns to look over the Doctor and Rose who are standing shoulder to shoulder. Her head tilts a bit to the side as she observes their interaction- perhaps wishing she could join in.

Doctor: “that was entirely unnecessary, Dalek.”

Actions: he glared at the cat as he coddled Rose to his side. He lets Rose take her hand back to herself.

Cat: “it was. All of the Menns things only seem to learn via punishment or reward. And to answer your question, no. I am not a drone nor am I a mere soldier.”

Actions: she turns to look back over the computer’s readings. She looks like she is thinking some things over as she ponders the screen.

Doctor: “stop calling her an alien, Rose, this is… a Dalek piloting some poor cat nurse. Cat nurse piloted Dalek, Rose-“

Actions: he gestured between the two of them. He is still moving closer to the car now that Rose has been seen to.

Cat: “there is no need for introductions. You will either kill me for simply being a Dalek, or- I exterminate you for being the enemy of the Daleks.”

Actions: she turns to glare at the Doctor, once again ignoring Rose entirely. She stood tall as the Doctor walks right up to her front.

Doctor: “Tell me the truth, and tell me honestly. Why are you here? How did you get here? And this ship is clearly non-Dalek, so how did you get it? Why are you even using it?”

Actions: he leans on the counter to prevent the cat from averting her eyes back to the screen. His arm is rested on the counter to block more of the screen.

Cat: actions: she keeps still, glancing to the door behind her that leads out towards the hall. It looks as if she is debating on what to say to the Doctor about this.

Rose: “Please… We won’t try and hurt you- I won’t let him hurt you- we just want to know what’s going on here.”

Actions: she pulls her glove back on as she cautiously walks towards the door that the cat was glancing towards. She was curious about what might be behind that.

Cat: “And if I do not?”

Actions: she answers the question with a question. When she notices Rose step closer to the door she also takes a few steps back towards it.

Doctor: “what’s behind door number one, eh?”

Actions: he bolts over to the door with Rose, blocking the cat’s path. He flings his hand onto the button that opens the door then rushes out into the hall the stops dead in his tracks.

Scene: the hallway is dark, the lights are non functional. When the cat sees this she moves quickly past both Rose and the Doctor through the darkness to the exact room she really did not want to lead her worst enemy to. She tests the dead door panel with her hands before prying the panel off of the wall. Quickly she fiddles with the wiring - with a flash the door swings open before the lights go dead again. Before the Doctor or Rose can get to her she is in the lab again. She is lost in the dark for only a moment before the lights in the lab flash blue then bright white.

Blueton: “Thank the song of the Lallapalange they are not dead-“

Actions: the cat leans against the tanks glass and stares deep into the deep yellow water. She completely ignores the entrance of the Doctor who carefully looks around himself- though he sticks an arm out to block Rose from entering the room with him.

Doctor: “So… this…”

Actions: he takes a good long look around himself at all of the different tanks along the walls. He side steps to one of the walls and peers into the murky fluid beyond.

Doctor: “Oh… Oh~”

Actions: He smiles looking over to the cat then immediately frowns. He blinks back to the tanks as he relaxes a hand to the warm glass.

Cat: “I have witnessed thousands upon thousands of my own kind perish… I do not know if I could handle losing these ones too.”

Actions: she keeps her gaze on the tanks as she moves towards one of the computers reading the life signs of the creatures within. She kneels down to read the lower display screens.

Doctor: “Yet the deaths of billions of other species doesn’t bother you one bit?”

Actions: he scoffs though quiets himself when he sees the cat visibly flinch. He stays where he is to watch her.

Cat: “It is easy if you do not see them as people.”

Actions: they seem to relax in that sentiment, standing and staring into the water. A very soft smile is pulled onto her lips as she watches the tiny squid looking things only about an inch across move around in the liquid.

Rose: “Yet they are still people.”

Actions: she speaks up from the doorway. She doesn’t make a move to enter the room.

Cat: “yet I am still using one as a flesh puppet.”

Actions: she turns towards the Doctor and points towards the door. Her look of love towards what was growing in that tank turns immediately to one of sheer rage.

Blueton: “GET OUT! Get OUT of my lab and AWAY from my Arkellis!”

Actions: the metallic snarl calls out as she steps closer to the Doctor. The cat snarls in the Doctor’s direction causing him to flinch backwards.

Doctor: actions: He doesn’t move away from the cat, instead glancing over the tanks and the computers behind her. He stands up from the tanks he was looking into and steps closer to her instead.

Doctor: “Who are you… Really.”

Actions: He stares into the cat’s face. His arms are outstretched as if offering himself up to her.

Blueton: “Dalek Strategist BT122.”

Doctor: “The BLUE one! Oh- of COURSE it HAD to be the BLUE one!”

Actions: he yells and takes a step closer to her. This only seems to anger her further.

Doctor: “listen- Blue- or.. Blu. Or…Blueberry or-“

Actions: he takes another step closer to her.

Blueton: “You do not know me, Storm.”

Doctor: “No, I really do- story’s about a meddling Dalek causing strategies to fail despite their calculations showing they should have succeeded… Sure you’re no Rusty but -“

Actions- he glances towards Rose who is watching the both of the with a look of concern.

Blueton: “There is no proof tying any of those failures to me.”

Doctor: “Are you sure? Last I heard you were locked up in some god forsaken asylum somewhere. It seems not even your own empire believes you DIDN'T play a role in those ‘failures’.”

Actions: he cackled as he took another step closer, closing the distance between him and the cat. He grappled her, his arms wrapped around her much unlike a hug.

Cat/Blueton: “GET OFF!”

Actions: they push him and try to walk away from the tanks.

Doctor: “Come on, Blue- tell me why you are here-“

Actions: he reaches a hand into the suit again trying to get a hold on any part of the Dalek mutant. By doing so the cat makes a gagging coughing noise- blood spewing out of her throat and mouth as the Dalek releases her entirely.

Blueton: “THIRD WARNING REVOKED!”

Actions: he snarled and bolted off of the woman’s back. She collapses into the Doctors hands very clearly dead.

Doctor: “No- nooo Blue no-“

Actions: he winced letting the woman sink down to the floor carefully as he looked around trying to find where Blueton had leapt to.

Rose: “Oh my god-“

Scene: we follow the camera as it shakily looks around to locate where the Dalek mutant had leapt to. We then see the Doctor standing over the cat’s body as he points to Blueton who is squirming in the corner of the room, longer tendrils dangling just over the computer’s controls.

Doctor: “You didn’t have to do that- … You didn’t have to kill her…”

Anis: “I don’t believe she was even alive to begin with, Doctor.”

Scene: in the dark hall we see torchlights, Doctor Anis is standing beside Rose with her light pointed down at the dead cat’s form. Behind her Bastion and Lesly both peak their head into the room. The Doctor looks down at the group behind him which is enough of a give to make Blueton lunge down at him.

Camera cuts to black then to credits.

[nyxknocks]

I'll try to explain this.

The reason why Eddie kills her mother and the random man is because until that time, she has been abused or neglected by both parents--with her dad abandoning the family and her mother bringing in random johns. I don't know how much of this type of content you look into, but in situations like this its very common that when mother's neglect their children like this, especially young boys, it fosters a hatred in them. You can also go the extra step and look at the fact that statistically when in situations like this, the men the mother brings home also abuses Eddie. We don't see a linear timeline and that's intentional, because when it comes to all forms of abuse, our memory is staticky and has holes in it. The abused child murdering the cheating mom is a very, very, very common trauma response though it's typically related to future serial killers.

The memory is a huge factor. The whole film Eddie is fighting with her memory. She's rememberin bits and pieces of her abuse and trauma but not the whole image. Time changes people, especially when you have trauma-induced memory loss. There's no way Eddie knew for sure that the man she was sleeping with was her dad because she likely wouldn't have done it in the first place. But again, she is deeply, deeply traumatized and had a psychic break at some point to completely disassociate from her past abuse and the murder of her mother.

Also, just because you know I like to tussle, if we avoid future "allusions to anal sex" then we should also avoid future sex scenes in general. :)

Everything about avant-garde is supposed to challenge you. So, I'm glad you were challenged!

Funeral Parade of Roses

I'm going to be honest. This film was really uncomfortable. I considered stopping quite a few times throughout the film, but realized I probably needed to finish to be able to write a post worth anything. So, Mr. Smith, if you're reading this, this is my official request that we avoid movies like this that feature the allusion to homoerotic anal sex, weird 70s like scenes that flicker between weird poses and scarred individuals, etc. OR if we have to for some reason, making the purpose of the film known first before we dive into it.

The way this movie was written and directed feels like it was written by someone on a bad drug trip. The timeline is scattered and many of the scenes surround same-sex intercourse, doing drugs, and weird dancing. I think a better way I might describe this movie is as an uncomfortable descent into madness in which the points at which the characters sanity broke felt the most comfortable. The murder of his mother and the repeated stabbing I could understand and normalize, but everything else was just uncomfortable.

The main character named Eddie is this kind of demented character. I've read a couple of other posts that talk about how this film helps put us in the eyes of Eddie and lets us see how their trauma is affecting them (where the traumatic event seems to be Eddie murdering their parent); however, the film doesn't really explain why Eddie murders their parent? We can assume a whole bunch of different reasons as to why, but given that a reason was deliberately left out I can only assume that its not Eddie's trauma that we are experiencing, but their detachment from sanity.

There are a couple things I have that might backup my theory. In the movie we see Eddie going out of their way to kill their parents. It wasn't necessary, and in fact Eddie has to deliberately go out of their way to kill his mother. He pulls out a knife, travels all the way across the house, and then breaks in to their room to kill her. Whether Eddie had their Oedipus complex or not yet, isn't clear, but its the only possible reason for the murder given to us by the film. Additionally, the film has a lot of moments that cut really quickly between disturbing images. During these times the movie seems to be instilling this sense of psychosis within its audience, which is enhanced with its discontinuity. Finally, the movie ends with Eddie stabbing both of their eyes out after their father (whom with they had been sleeping with) stabs himself. In the original Oedipus story, he blinds himself because he couldn't bear the truth that he had suddenly learned (that he killed his father and had been sleeping with his mother), but Eddie doesn't have that same kind of logic behind his actions. It feels like a piece of Eddie's character is warped, and has been from the beginning.