#Thread: Instigator

[mxtxfanatic]

Did a little bit of googling for something unrelated which led me to think of something. Y’all do know that Suika volunteered to do the official mdzs, right? Like, she was not scouted for the project, she was an opportunist that hopped onto it before 7seas reached out to any of the actual mdzs fan translators? Is this common knowledge in the fandom?

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

The "Am I Allowed To Cry?" story reads to me like this:

I vowed not to cry anymore if we survived the Great War so I justified it. 

I didn't know if you'd care if I came back but at least I’m trying. The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me, would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

I search for your dark side but what if I'm alright right here? Because I'm so terrified of if you ever walk away, but if the story's over, why am I still writing pages? I gave you so much, but it wasn't enough. What am I supposed to do if there's no you? This won't go back to normal, if it ever was, it's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because 'cause I have to.

This ultraviolet morning light below tells me this love is worth the fight, and I wish you would come back, wish I'd never hung up the phone like I did and I wish you were right here, right now. You know I would stay forever if you say, "don't go," but you won't. If I had known what I'd known now I never would've played so nonchalant.

I wonder what we would've become if you were a better man, because you would've been the one if you were a better man. The battle's in your hands now but I would lay my armor down if you'd say you'd rather love than fight. Come on, don't leave me like this, I thought I had you figured out -- something's gone terribly wrong, you're all I wanted.

I could stand up and sing you a song but I don't wanna have to go that far. So, babe, if you know everything, tell me, why you couldn't see that when I left, I wanted you to chase after me? If you just said you're sorry I know that we could work it out somehow and if this was a movie, you'd be here by now.

But if I would've known how many pieces you had crumbled into I might've let them lay.

[thetwistedronin]

@ask-instigator-attorney [continued from here]

"Ohhh, I didn't drink all of it, did you want some?"

Miraculously, he is not yet slurring his words, but he's having to speak slower to avoid doing so.

[reallyhardy]

was going through some old files and found these cute as hell ~aesthetic~ edits i made for my old XM:A nightcrawler RP blog 🥺 like they're screamingly 2010s but made me feel INCREDIBLY nostalgic.......

[aurouxa-potion-sin]

@pocketsizxxxdlawyer liked for a maid!Aurora starter~

Listen, the idea that Aurora needed to be dressed in a skimpy, bust-busting maid uniform while cleaning after hours seemed a little ridiculous, but this office paid SO well she always was the first to sign up for it.

She vacuumed the empty cubicles, wiped down and dusted desks and other surfaces, as well as the wall to ceiling windows that covered the office -- all that was left were the big wigs' offices.

And she'd complete them all, except for one-- Aurora opened the door without hesitation, only to jump seeing the lights still on and someone still obviously at the desk.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I thought everyone was gone -- I just need to clean this office before I'm done." She explained, gesturing to the rest of the office before looking at him.

[parcxysm]

CAMELLIA ALDEN / TAG DROP

[stormtide-leviathan]

Has anyone written an AU where Snow stuck around in district 12 as a peacekeeper instead of returning to the capital and was there in Katniss’s time?

[crustyfloor]

Till's point of view on his and Ivan's relationship - An (personal) analysis of Till's side of things leading up to Round 7.

As kids, IvanTill's relationship was tulmotious, to say the least.

Ivan would do things to rile Till up as a means of getting closer to Till when they were just starting out, and Till would fall for it.

Ivan would steal Till's things and turn around and give it back like some evil Christmas gift as a means of trying to get closer to Till, and Till would fall for that too, for some time.

But we all know Till isn't stupid. Till must've noticed after some time that the constant disappearance of his stuff only to be coincidentally found by Ivan every time wasn't actually a coincidence. And Till, being handled roughly his whole life by aliens naturally wouldn't have been so fond of the way Ivan would constantly instigate fights with him. All of these things that Ivan did, they did irritate Till. In any normal case they would've given all the more reason to avoid Ivan. So why did Till let him linger?

Well, I think Till actually considered Ivan at least a good friend, At least at the start. Ivan was strange, mean, and annoying but he was one of the only people who actually made an effort to stay and get close to Till. To have someone in a world like this would mean a lot to a kid like Till, even though Till and Ivan had their moments he was still the closest person to Till.

Other than that, Till is a high-spirited, compassionate, and emotional character. it's shown in a comic where Ivan and Till spot a crushed flower and Till tells it to cheer up out of sympathy, it's shown in the way Till cares about others around him even if he holds a cold exterior that keeps him from showing his heart often.

This isn't to say Till regarded Ivan because he felt bad for him, he didn't know the first thing about what went on in Ivan's mind. Till allowed Ivan around him because he cared about him enough to look past those aspects, Till is observant enough, so he was able to see that Ivan was just a kid trying. Till indulged Ivan, allowed him to stay because he cared.

And then we have the meteor shower scene. (pain&suffering.exe)

Ivan, motivated by his strong love tries to get Till to escape with him at the perfect moment. Keyword tries. Because they couldn't get far before Till stopped in his tracks and went right back to Anakt Garden, why? fear of the unknown? Of course. But it's because Till wouldn't have been able to live with himself knowing he left behind a person he loved so very dearly, Mizi. He couldn't possibly leave her there, aware of these deep feelings he had for her. He cared too much to leave.

Till probably felt guilty, going back to Anakt garden because it was all in wrong timing, probably felt guilty knowing he disappointed Ivan back there. But imagine just how much guiltier he felt seeing Ivan the next day. He followed Till back knowing there was no way he'd get the chance to escape again. And so this was the first thread of their relationship that was frayed.

After this point, Ivan was under the full assumption that he had been wrong about how he thought Till saw him so he gradually started to distance himself too, Ivan's antics seemed to have mellowed out, as they grew more distant but he still messed with Till, remained in his life in the shadows, and cared about him, becoming gentle when Till was unaware because even then he couldn’t force himself to leave Till’s world even if Till wanted to leave him in favor of a more bright, beautiful paint that permeated Till's dull canvas, that was so much different from his own bland, dark existence.

Till noticed their distance, and Till thought Ivan hated him for leaving him behind, so as a last effort to bring Ivan back to him and fix his relationship with his friend, to let Ivan know he wanted him near, he left him a message on graduation.

"You were the one who stole my pencil at that time right?"

That was in response to Ivan's "I hope you'll remember me" message.

Till's response sounds pretty straightforward, by design. but I read it as an indirect pointing to a direct message; "I know it was you, of course, I'll remember you. I'm not even mad at you for all of it...So come back?" unfortunately for Till, Ivan didn't read it like this because Ivan isn't a simple person, he needed more than Till could give him. So most likely instead Ivan ended up reading the message as Till still not caring this only motivated him to distance them more until they weren't even talking anymore.

And so after everything, round 6 comes. Till has to compete and win against Ivan.

Till went into round 6 with the full intent to kill himself on that stage and let Ivan win. He couldn't continue to live in a world he hated, in a world where he was tormented, was used, and had nothing else to live for. he couldn't continue to live in a world knowing Mizi, his only shining light and goddess was gone, most likely dead.

It's eerie just how close he was to succeeding, but his plan was thrown off as Ivan realized what Till was doing when he stopped singing and interfered before it was too late.

Ivan kisses Till, selfishly furious with emotions, and sentiments that haven't been addressed for years, but gentle in the message Ivan was trying to get across. Ivan chokes Till for the final blow. Till doesn't understand any of it, it's all too fast and it confuses him. it's hard to say what exactly Till was feeling in that moment, but Till doesn't fight back properly because he doesn't want to, he can't bring himself to show that spirit he had anymore, not the one Ivan saw in him when they were kids, that's been drained out of him because of years of the trauma, the torture, the pain, everything. He's tired. He's lost Mizi, and he's lost everything. If he's just meant to be lamb to the slaughter then why should he delay the inevitable fighting for a life he didn't want? So if Ivan was going to kill him in that moment, so be it. He was going to let him.

Only that's not how it goes, as soon as Ivan's hands leave him Till is disoriented. and then he is shocked, confused, worried? because he didn't expect, nor want this either, he didn't ask for this, he didn't ask for Ivan to take away that one thing he wanted. That expression on Ivan's face, he doesn't get it. But it hits him, that this was all a plan.

And at the end of the day, Ivan is dead, and Till is left staring at his peaceful corpse on the ground, with his blood staining his shoes like Ivan's actions are staining, permeating his perspective, giving him more questions and less answers. All while knowing that he is truly alone in this world now. He has been abandoned.

(I go over pencil.exe a little more in another post of mine if anyone is interested in reading keke)

[applepixls]

im seeing a common thread between all of the teams this season

each team has someone whose thoughts all episode are "my teammates are idiots/agents of chaos/instigators of fights" (except for kind of the family and bigb who no longer has any allegiance to anyone

i can see gem running a support group for them all (cleo and scott, lizzie, grian, etho- and oddly both martyn and ren?) and teaching them how to either remove things that could cause their teammates to cause chaos and start fights (for cleo and scott, and ren, from her experience with joel) or help them put up with their teammates inability to make successful traps (this would include: retreating to the pale garden and learning to make wine with the local flora, fishing in the far corner of the world, building a cottage core barn and ignoring responsibilities, etc with tutorials for lizzie, grian, etho and martyn)

[yuurei20]

Hello hello. If I don't mind asking, what's this Crowley's fan theory rejecting Deuce's application for a Magical Wheel club about?

Hello hello!! Thank you for this question! (and apologies for the delay!)

Crowley's rejection of Deuce's application for a Magical Wheel club is one of many threads connecting back to a popular theory that Crowley is making the overblots happen on purpose!

It encompasses many things, such as the three light-magic users: Kalim's enrollment is particularly suspicious, as he received his letter of acceptance a month into what would become his first year at the school.

Jamil observes, "And just like that, my nice, free campus life went up in smoke."

Kalim was homeschooled prior to NRC and Jamil says, "Some days I just didn't want to go straight home after school" (where he would have to tutor Kalim, in addition to his other duties as Kalim's servant).

Did Crowley (or someone 👀) intentionally give Jamil those two months of freedom so that he would feel the loss of that freedom all the more acutely, contributing to his overblot?

The admissions process may have been more straightforward for Silver and I do not believe we have heard anything about Rook's, but both characters were, like Kalim, the catalyst to their respective housewardens overblotting:

It is Rook who convinces Vil to watch Neige's rehearsal (which is what finally compromises Vil's tentative mental stability, and it is Crowley who put Vil in charge of production for the VDC), and Malleus' overblot is immediately preceded by a conversation with Silver.

There is also Ruggie, who says (twice) that it is rare for people from his home to become mages and who had never attended a school prior to NRC. He is an odd choice for a prestigious magic academy.

He has also only become a "middling" student thanks to Leona's tutoring, and Leona's desire to help secure a future for students like Ruggie has a significant influence on Leona's overblot.

(A point that is emphasized in the novel: "I cannot let the pack starve.")

Crowley offers the choice of retiring Malleus from the tournament in Book 2 in a decision that the famously perceptive Vil says “reeks of unconscious bias.”

Crowley also goes out of his way to emphasize how many Savanaclaw students aspire to play in the Spelldrive Pro Leagues, how Savanaclaw has lost in the first round to Diasomnia two years in a row, and how it is affecting their future.

Leona points out that he seems to be telling them to quit while they are ahead because he expects them to make fools of themselves.

When Crowley denies this, saying, "That is not my intention," Leona asks, "Then what is?"

Is it possible that Crowley never intended to retire Malleus at all, but he knew that threatening to do so would be the final straw needed to push Leona into desperation? Making him desperate enough to contract with Azul, which connects directly to his destroying of Azul’s contracts to cover up the evidence, thus instigating Azul’s own overblot?

This also ties in to some interesting coincidences around certain school events:

Savanaclaw being paired against Diasomnia in the first round of the Spelldrive Tournament every year since Malleus enrolled?

The members randomly selected for the Starsending? For Glorious Masquerade?

(Idia: "How do three Housewardens just 'coincidentally' get drawn in a raffle? That box is rigged." - Trey: "The headmage claimed he used astrology to pick us...you don't think he was lying about that, do you?")

Have all these things been as coincidental as Crowley claims, or are the suspicions of students like Trey and Idia correct and there is more going on than it seems?

There is also the inconsistency of Crowley’s money-mongering.

Is he actually interested in perks like 10% of profits from Mostro Lounge and donations from Kalim’s and Idia’s parents, or is that just his cover-up to get Jack (and thus Leona) to interfere with Azul, and to get Kalim and Ortho to NRC?

Then there is Crowley's encouraging of Ace to battle Riddle, and it is not impossible for him to be the anonymous person who reported on the school's overblotters in Book 6.

Idia himself asks, "Could someone be inducing overblots on PURPOSE...?"

To return to the original question: Magical Wheels are a hobby that Deuce has in common with Epel, as both characters discover about each other in Book 5.

Epel and Vil bond (briefly) over a blastcycle in Epel's dorm vignette, and Deuce goes on a long monologue about the freedom of blastcycles to Ace:

"If you're ever feeling blue, you just get on a blaster and tune out the world...I haven't been able to since the first day of school."

This all ties back to an even wider theory about time loops: is Crowley reliving these scenarios over and over again, and granting Deuce and Epel the stress relief of a blastcycle club resulted in an undesirable ending?

If the freedom of their own club (and being able to confide in each other earlier on) resulted in them not going to the extremes that they did in Book 5 in order to escape Ace and Vil, it is possible that Deuce did not learn his unique magic in time to stop Vil.

And that fight on the beach that led to Deuce's UM? Was over a blastcycle!

To get Deuce and Epel down to that beach for that fight they had to be feeling stressed, trapped and desperate, to the point that they were willing to break campus rules (or were flustered to the point of forgetting the rules existed, in Deuce's case) to get there: and what better an opportunity than a long-awaited chance to finally ride one of the blastcycles they have both loved for years, but Crowley has been denying them?

No fight on the beach may have meant no UM for Deuce, which may have resulted in Vil winning the overblot fight and Crowley needing to reset the world in order to try again--and this time, without a Blastcycle club.

It is all theory and conjecture :> But very fun to think about!

[yorsgirl]

Sneak peek for my upcoming work:

Hint: Its a Yandere!Sukuna x Reader :) (yes, the anon who sent me that ask, I am working on it, its almost done)

"Don't you love playing with poison, wife?"

The sudden question made you halt your steps, you weren't even aware that he was present- shielded his aura, presumably. You turned around, raising an eyebrow with bewilderment.

"Pardon, my lord?"

Sukuna snickered, marching up to you, a smirk played on his lips. You had to make the effort of tilting your head to gaze up at him. His towering figure loomed over you, his lower left hand snaking around your waist - pulling you closer to him.

"You love poisons, don't you? Or in your words - herbs."

Your shoulders grew rigid, eyes widening with realization, a sharp breath hitting your throat. Your fingertips trembled with anticipation.

How does he know? You were sure to be discreet in your affairs, using the isolation he subjected you to at its best. Then... then... how does he know? But that was last concern, you need to face what was to happen now? What would he do to you?

Another night of horror where your screams would be unheard, your resistance proved to be futile, where you'd be left to suffer alone, where another shard of your remaining soul would be plunged by him. Another night where you'd again play into his whims... Or something more vile, leaving you physically disabled? Perhaps, even death...

The last is the heinous one but if you were to be subjected to his torment then you wished he'd just kill you, liberating you for once and for all.

Even so, survival is what the mind wants. Piecing through any tactic just to live another day. Denial, that'd be so.

Sukuna's affections for you worked as a double edged sword. In one end, you left you bleeding; the other end, made him open to inflict injury. You aimed to take advantage of it, in every way possible.

You instilled an inch of courage in yourself, standing your ground, you spoke "I don't know what you're trying to instigate, my lord."

He looked down on you, a coy smile uplifting his lips. He threaded his fingers through the knot of your kimono, leaning down next to your ear, he inhaled your scent. His lips brushing over your neck.

"I do not believe so, wife." He murmured, his warm breath hitting your skin, a range of goosebumps rising over your arm. "In fact, I think you clearly know, what I speak about."

Before you could let a word out, he straightened up, pivoting around, he pushed you to walk with him. His large hand still covering your back.

"Let me entertain you, wife."

Update: Here is the fic

[darkhearthorns]

"You know darling- you're free to retaliate. Why hold patience and decorum?"

@merchantofwhispers

"Does Maverick's blood taste different in different areas of his body? Is chest blood a different flavor than his dick blood?"

"No-.. What sort of question is this? These pixies are getting on my nerves."

"You feel so comfortable with your horrid questions and I'm losing patience."

@darkhearthorns

[carelessflower]

Tmi gang and the perfumes they would use

your local tmi brained has come back with another analysis. this thread considered multi facets into picking a specific sense for each character, from their personality, occupation to their financial background. and feel free to add in any perfume you think also fit these characters ��

Alec

Starting off with our beloved consul. After marrying into wealth and slowly moving away from the battlefield and into the office, Alec develops a penchant for light, comforting scents, thinking white floral, peony, and smell of freshly washed fine cashmere sweater. Note the sandalwood, through the influence of his husband

Magnus

The ever-elusive high warlock of Brooklyn. Gorgeous, exquisite taste. Say you can’t afford him and everyone knows it. Magnus loves a rich gourmand with bits of kick, much like his chaotic personality. He's a party boy at heart, but that family side sure brings out the sweetness

Clary

Clary is like the turning point between spring and summer. Windy enough for a lazy picnic. Floral but not too sweet. She needs something fresh, to roll out of bed every morning for shadowhunter training, art class, and then the occasional demon-hunting date night

Jace

The golden boy your parents warn you about. Is that the beast or the fallen angel? Can be seen either shirtless or sticking by his armies of worn leather jackets, Jace has no qualms about attracting eyes everywhere he goes. He would smell like he instigates a fight in some sleazy crowded bar, and win

Izzy

Classic. Feminine. Seductive. The fantasy of every man's dream. Vanilla, almond, and tropical fruits, it is as delicious as it get. But beware behind the sweetness, her sharp whip and sharper heels, ready to crush anyone and everyone getting in her way. And it would be an honor

Simon

He doesn’t know much about perfume but got this as a prank and refuses to stop using it unironically. He also thinks its' citrus and salt help with the sweat after training and band practice. He’s lucky Izzy happens to like his natural musky scent beneath all the spray

+ (2) BONUS

Alternative pick for Alec

Still his favorite white floral, but there's more push for fresh and fruity

Alternative pick for Magnus

A million different smells at once, smokey and sexy

tag list: @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @hoezier-than-thou @sociallyineptbibliophile @queenlilith43

@khaleesiofalicante @wandererbyheart @raziyekroos @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood @andrwminward

@noah-herondale-lightwood @elettralightwood @dustandducks @deliciousdetectivestranger @delightfullyterrible

@letsgofortacos

@kita-no @thelightofthebane @secrettryst @goldendreams3 @cityofdownwardspirals

@stupidfuckindinosaur

@i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @kasper-tag @cam-ryt

@banesapothecary

[taraljc]

Tortise Media has posted episode 5 in which two more women came forward to tell their stories. The audio is not working on their website, but it is working on Spotify.

The synopsis posted by Tortise Media is behind the Read More cut.

(I tried to add against to the ongoing discussion thread however it is very long, and it was not showing up under the tag.)

The two new accounts — published today in a new episode of ‘Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman’ — have been corroborated through documents, emails, and messages seen by Tortoise as well as through interviews with friends and family who the women confided in. Gaiman did not provide any on-the-record response to multiple detailed requests for comment on either set of allegations.

Caroline Wallner lived in a house on Gaiman’s property in Woodstock, New York between 2014 and 2021 with her three young daughters and, until 2017, her husband. Alongside her work as a ceramic artist in a studio in a barn on the property, Wallner and her husband worked for Gaiman and his then wife Amanda Palmer, including doing property maintenance, gardening, and grocery shopping. Gaiman had moved to the area to teach at Bard College.

Around the time Wallner’s marriage ended in 2017, which she said devastated her emotionally, Gaiman told her ex-husband that there was no more work for him on the property, which had provided the family’s main income. Wallner and her daughters were now dependent on Gaiman for work and housing. While she was in this situation, Wallner, then 55, said that Gaiman began pressuring her for sex.

Wallner said: “There were little hints of, ‘we’re going to need the house’. And I remember saying, let’s talk about it. Let’s figure it out. That’s when he would just come to my studio and make me give him a blowjob”. There is no suggestion of physical force, but rather of coercion in light of her housing and family situation. Wallner said: “And he can say it was consensual. But why would I do that? It was because I was scared of losing my place”, characterising Gaiman’s treatment of her as “sexual abuse.”

The UN defines sexual abuse as actual or threatened sexual contact by force or coercive conditions. The UN’s refugee agency, where Gaiman is a goodwill ambassador, has described the allegations against him published by Tortoise as “very serious”, adding that it is “assessing the detailed reporting”.

During Gaiman’s oral sex with Wallner, she said “he used to say to me ‘Call me your master. Tell me you want it. Tell me you want it.’ He would choke me sometimes.” Wallner recalled one incident where she had fallen asleep reading in bed: “When I woke up, Neil was in the bed and he put my hand on his cock.”

Wallner said that whenever she resisted his sexual advances, Gaiman would tell her Palmer wanted the house back where she lived with her three daughters, as well as the studio she worked in. Wallner recalled one occasion when she said Gaiman told her: ‘‘but you take care of me and I’ll take care of you”, understanding it to be a reference to what she called the “sexual trade”.

Gaiman’s position is that his relationship with Wallner was entirely consensual and denies any wrongdoing with her. His account is that their sexual encounters were instigated by her.

Palmer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

When Gaiman left the Woodstock property during the Covid pandemic, Wallner said she felt “so, so relieved”. But then Gaiman began sending her sexually explicit photos and videos of himself, asking her to send him ones of herself. After Wallner stopped answering Gaiman’s sexual video calls, in June 2021, she said his business manager told her to vacate the property by December that year.

Gaiman’s position is that this request was always a possibility, as Wallner had been living there with her family rent-free for the preceding six years. This position does not acknowledge Wallner and her ex-husband’s work for Gaiman and Palmer while she lived on the property.

Gaiman’s business manager initially offered Wallner $5,000 as compensation for leaving the property, requesting that she sign a confidentiality agreement. The area saw the highest house price growth of any US metropolitan region during the pandemic, so Wallner asked for more time to find affordable housing for her and her daughters.

Wallner said she was treated for depression and post-traumatic stress during this period with the financial support of a friend. After finishing her stay at a therapy centre, Wallner emailed Gaiman’s representatives on 9 December 2021, saying she had tried “to come up with an amount that I feel justifies signing a release that in essence takes away my agency to speak freely about what I went through. 300K is what I came up with. 150 for the real estate issues and 150 for the sexual ‘trade’ issue – something that I am trying to come to terms with. Therapy alone is costing a fortune.”

Gaiman settled with Wallner for $275,000 and a non-disclosure agreement less than two weeks later. The NDA “disputes and denies that Wallner has sustained any losses, damages, or injuries for which Gaiman is legally responsible.” Gaiman’s position is that he settled with her to avoid expensive and protracted litigation.

The NDA prohibits Wallner from talking about Gaiman with “family members, friends, associates” and from filing, reporting, or prosecuting any action or proceeding in “any court, governmental agency, or before any tribunal whatsoever or wheresoever”. If Wallner is asked to make disclosures by a “valid legal process”, the NDA says she must give Gaiman 20 days notice and help him resist disclosure.

New York courts have voided NDAs that sought to frustrate official investigations and, across the US, NDAs are void when they attempt to limit reporting of criminal allegations by an alleged witness or alleged victim.

Gaiman’s position is that his NDA with Wallner makes no reference to law enforcement and that there is nothing to report anyhow. His position is that the NDA used language that was deemed appropriate to both parties’ experienced lawyers.

Andrew Brettler, who has acted for Russell Brand, Danny Masterson, and Prince Andrew, represented Gaiman. Wallner said she is looking for new legal representation.

She said she wanted to speak out against feelings of “fear and shame – those feelings don’t belong to me”. She said she wanted to tell her story to support the first two women who came forward, adding “the fact they were the same age as my daughters now was painful to hear.” Wallner said that the trait she shared with the two women wasn’t age, but vulnerability. “Saying ‘yes’ to an exchange with a powerful, wealthy man when you are vulnerable and fearful is never simple or clear,” she said. “Even if it’s seemingly consensual.”

***

Julia Hobsbawm OBE was a 22-year-old book publicist when in 1986 she was with Gaiman, then 25, at her studio flat in Chalk Farm, London. Hobsbawm said: “I literally have no memory of how he came to be back there. What I’m totally certain about is that romance was not on the cards, not for me. And I did not believe it was on the cards for him.”

In what Hobsbawm said was “an aggressive, unwanted pass”, Gaiman “jumped” on her “out of the blue”, forced his tongue into her mouth, and pushed her onto her sofa, before she wriggled free. Hobsbawm said she then cut off contact with Gaiman. She says she now wished she had called Gaiman out back then as she is plagued by the incident to this day and worries that she enabled his alleged misconduct to continue.

Gaiman’s account is that when he realised Hobsbawm wasn’t receptive to his attempt to kiss her, he stopped. His position is that it was no more than a young man misreading a situation, adding that its inclusion alongside criminal allegations – from Tortoise’s earlier reporting – would mischaracterise it.

While Hobsbawm’s allegation might appear less serious than other allegations against Gaiman, English criminal law defines sexual assault as one person intentionally and sexually touching another without their consent, and that there is no reasonable belief by the alleged perpetrator in the other person’s consent. It does not necessarily involve violence, but it can cause severe emotional distress, which is why authorities treat it seriously – and why Hobsbawm said she remembers the incident.

[kryptonbabe]

A moment of silence for the excellent first on-going Magneto (2014-2015) series that managed to go for 17 whole issues before getting axed because of Secret Wars... The instigating loose threads left, the sadly rushed ending of the previous arc, so much potential there, so much left unexplored, and for what... For Secret Wars... I know it's been 10 years now and much has changed, but I won't ever forget you, first on-going Magneto (2014-2015) series

Although issues #18-21 are underwhelming tie-ins for Secret Wars, the first 17 issues are absolutely worth reading still, so if you have the chance give this series a try. The creative team was brilliant too: Cullen Bunn, Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Jordie Bellaire

[not-that-dillinger]

"Just like you," Ed teased gently as he continued to draw.

...Or, perhaps he wasn't quite teasing. Sam really had a lovely smile, and Ed adored the way his eyes practically sparkled when he did.

Soon enough, Ed, too, slowed to a stop, and lay back down contentedly next to his brother.

@not-that-dillinger Continuing from here so we don't clog up OP's feed...

"...in my defence, Mackey's a dick." Eve offered sheepishly when Ed finally caught up to her. "And Sam asked nicely." She swatted at a halfhearted attempt by the nearest Security Program to get her to stop stealing or randomly rearranging letters, and they shrugged and backed off - ambling away to report that they'd tried.

"Wanna play too? I kinda want to find out what he'll do if he suddenly no longer has the letter E anywhere in his presentation."