#We're going to see how October goes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

flufftober · 10 months ago

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🍂 🍃 Hello and welcome to our fourth annual Flufftober 🍂 🍃

We’re so excited to be back and have you here once again!

As always, let’s fill the month of October with as much fluff as possible 🥰 for that to happen, you can either use our 31 regular prompts or enjoy a little challenge 😏

Below the cut, you'll find all our rules, posting info, and all the prompts in writing. If you have any more questions, please feel free to send us an ask.

And now, for the challenge...

Prompt Extras

We love to see how many of you get inspired by our prompts every year - be it by the original list or the Prompt Extras. Once again we're offering you that option and you're more than welcome to replace prompts from the original list if they don't work for you for whatever reason - no explanation needed.

As has become tradition, we offer you last year's top five fan favorites (as voted in the end survey). In addition to that, we also offer a little challenge: five angsty prompts for you to turn fluffy!

If you don't want to replace any prompt from the original list but still love the additional ones - or you simply want to challenge yourself even further - you can also mix them all together!

So in whichever way you use these Prompt Extras, have fun with them and go wild 💚

We hope you like these prompts, and now

Happy Creating 🥳

Standard Blog Rules & FAQ

Addendum: We do not allow AI creations of any kind.

(Due to previous asks, we made sure to add more points to this section - while they're not new rules, they're newer to this list, so you'll find them colored green)

No inc*st or p*dophilia - we can’t keep you from writing it or creating art for it but it won’t be reblogged. No inc*st: This rule does not apply to distant cousins and such, as you might find in the LotR fandom (or basically in all of European Monarchy). The line we draw is at direct blood relations (siblings, parents, kids) and/or legal guardianship. No p*dophilia: This rule does not rule out fandoms that feature teenagers such as Harry Potter, Heartstoppers, Hunger Games, etc. It also doesn't mean you can't write about their time together as teenagers! It's aimed at ships in which one is a minor and the other is not - but since even that has grey areas, the rule is this: if you keep it SFW, all is good and allowed, we don't care; if it turns NSFW, be mindful of the legalities of the world/society/times your characters live in.

No hate or ship bashing - we’re all different and we all love different things. As long as it doesn’t go against rule #1, it’s allowed.

Tag correctly! Trigger warnings (including cheating!), ships, ratings, (pure) smut, etc - it’s all fine as long as you tag it.

There’s absolutely no word count restriction, write as little or as much as you like.

In regards to art, anything goes: drawings, paintings, collages, mood boards, gif sets, videos, playlists… the sky’s the limit (though not really…). If you would like to create a podfic, the fic you're using does not have to be new - your creation will be new!

You can mix and mash different mediums however you like, be it within one prompt or on different days.

While we can’t force you to write fluff or create fluffy art, please try to keep in mind that this is a fluff event 😉 that, of course, doesn't mean you can't combine it with angsty/whumpy prompts - hurt/comfort is absolutely welcome!

You can start creating as soon as you see this - but please refrain from posting before the respective day.

If you post early, we will schedule your post for the correct day; if you use multiple prompts in one creation, we will post on the earliest day you used.

You can participate on as many days as you like, even if it’s just one; you can also create multiple entries for the same day.

You can replace as many original prompts as you like with our prompt extras; you can also combine them with the original prompts or create for them in addition, that's completely up to you.

It’s okay to write one story/a series for all the prompts.

You do not have to stick to one character, ship, or even one fandom - switch as often as you like to or even write for multiple ships for one day.

The ship does not have to be a romantic one! Friendship and family feels are more than welcome (but this is not a way to get around rule #1!)

Original works as well as OCs in fandoms are welcome! But please make sure to mark these clearly, either in the tags or the post itself. We're not familiar with all fandoms (though we're definitely learning a lot!), so we're not always sure what might be an OC and what might be such an unknown side character not even Google can find them...

Reader insert fics (for example "character x reader") as well as RPFs are absolutely allowed.

Other languages are also welcome - just make sure to clearly mark the day and fandom so that we can still easily reblog.

This event can be combined with other events as long as the other event allows it.

Late entries are always welcome, even if it is months or years later.

All fandoms and ships are welcome - fanon and canon - as long as they’re of age (in case you want to add smut) and not related.

Posting

Posting to tumblr

Please use the tag #flufftober2024 Please make sure there is NO SPACE between flufftober and 2024! We will NOT be checking the other tag this year!

Since tags are sometimes wonky, make sure to also mention us with @flufftober in your post

We will try to catch them all, but please don't be mad if we miss a post or if it gets reblogged a bit late

If you're absolutely certain a post has slipped past us, feel free to send an ask with the link to your post

To make reblogging easier for us, make sure to add the following tags: #flufftober2024 #day [xy] #[fandom] #[ship and/or main character(s)]

If you're using a prompt extra tag it as #alt [number]

Posting to ao3

You can add your creation to the collection Flufftober 2024 (either as flufftober2024 or as flufftober_2024)

Late entries are always welcome, on tumblr as well as the ao3 collection! Neither will close - but like always, reblogs will become less regular the more months have passed...

Prompts

1. Lost Pet Meet Cute

2. “Left. Other left!”

3. Favorite Scent

4. Market Day

5. Acorn, Chestnut, Pine Cone

6. Mistaken Identity

7. Hoodie Weather

8. Chopping & Piling Wood

9. “Don’t do that!” - “But…”

10. Bet, Game, Contest

11. Ingredients & Spells

12. “This is spooky.” - “Really?”

13. Attic, Cellar, Hidden Room

14. Fantasy AU/Mundane AU

15. “What are you wearing?” - “It’s laundry day!”

16. Yes, No, Maybe

17. Only One Bed

18. Bewitched

19. Yarn

20. Paw

21. Bonfire

22. Heirloom

23. Stormy Night

24. Comfort Food

25. Haunted House

26. “I can’t find it.”

27. Afternoon Stroll

28. Lucky Charm

29. Time Capsule

30. “Forever?”

31. Make a Wish

Prompt Extras

Last Year's Favorites

Alt 1: “I’ve got you”

Alt 2: Rainy Day

Alt 3: “Wait you love me?” - “I always have”

Alt 4: “I hate it” - “No, you don’t”

Alt 5: Porch Swing

Challenge "Make it Fluffy!"

Alt 6: Gravestone

Alt 7: Getting Revenge

Alt 8: Written but never sent

Alt 9: Suddenly Severed Communication

Alt 10: Rejected, Betrayed, Exiled, Left Behind

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sweetcocopowder · 7 months ago

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Day Thirteen: Stress Relief

Synopsis: Three and a half months of non-stop jobs back to back and Dean can feel the tension residing in his muscles. In every fiber of his being. Spa days don't work. A casual beer doesn't help to rid of this feeling. He needs someone to fuck the tension away. And he has his angel to do so.

Word Count: 3.3K

Pairing: Castiel / Dean Winchester

Warnings: Multiple orgasms. Oversensitive. Massages. Cum as lube. But also lube is used as well. Handcuffed. Anal sex. Masturbation. Hand job.

Note: Jesus christ we're already this far into october. where did the first two weeks go?

The angel blinks, brows furrowed and mouth slightly agape. He stares at Dean for a tad too long that the man groans with a hand swiping down his face. Embarrassment sinks heavily into his gut, causing Dean to advert his gaze down to the floor.

“Dean,” Castiel speaks firmly, “I’m not protesting,” he admits.

The hunter sits on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the blanket. He’s asked for similar stuff in the past, but this. This concerns Castiel more than it does anything else.

“I just wished you had told me before how stressed you were,” the angel admits. “Have you tried a spa day?”

“You know those don’t work!” Dean snaps. “They work for a day, but I wake up still feeling tense as ever!”

Cas just wishes he had noticed sooner. Or that Dean had spoken out sooner. Him and his brother have had job after job after job for the past three month and a half with little to no breaks in between. Yes, Dean has been doing this his entire life, but he’s admitted to Cas that he doesn’t go out to bars at all these days. No time to or he just doesn’t see the need to.

Dean’s a complicated man hence why the angel doesn’t care when the hunter goes out late at night. Or hooks up with someone on the side. He would hate to put a claim on a human soul. He’s been owned in the past himself and it sends a shiver down his spine. Uriel’s touch still lingers in some spots if he thinks about it too much.

But with moments like these that Dean does come to him, allows himself to move past his father’s words that spin around his mind that linger like an early morning fogs, Cas takes what he’s given. And he’ll gladly, in Dean’s words, fuck all the tension from him.

A firm hand pushes Dean back onto the bed with a thump. The tension in Dean’s room quickly melts away as fast as it came. The angel looks down to Dean through hooded lids, his blue gaze like steel. The usual colour is so much darker in the shadows of the room that it sends a chill down the hunter’s spine. He doesn’t move from the bed, staring up at the angel as he breathes evenly.

“Take your clothes off.”

The angel’s gruff spoken words cause a physical reaction from Dean. A shiver and a slight flinch of his hands, as if he was anticipating the order. He eagerly takes his flannel and shirt off, all without sitting back up off the bed. While Dean shuffles his pants off, Cas wonders over to his bedside table where he knows lube is stashed.

When Cas turns, Dean is stark naked on the bed. The fresh and yellowing bruises across his torso are hard to miss. There’s a dark purple circle on his ribcage that looks painful. Cas will have to heal that later.

Dean lazily strokes at himself, his head lolled to the side so that he can watch the angel. Cas smiles softly before it disappears. It truly hurts him to see Dean so battered up and bruised.

Cas asks a question as he comes back over to the bed. “How long as it been since someone else has touched you?”

Dean swallows thickly as his green eyes don’t dare drag away from the angel before him. He doesn’t answer, instead watching as Cas shuffles off his trench coat and taking off his tie. He doesn’t stop stroking himself and doesn’t quicken the pace. And the angel doesn’t seem phased at all. He even sits next to Dean on the edge of the bed, his clothes brushing up against his bare thigh.

“Hmm?” Cas hums.

“Around three months,” Dean finally answers.

A single dark brown is raised in Dean’s direction. “So, before you went on the first job?”

“Ye- nah!”

Dean pants out unexpectedly as a small dollop of lube is squeezed out onto the head of his dick. The cold contrast has him hissing but it’s quick to warm up on his hand.

“Don’t stop,” Cas says firmly, his voice blunt. “Keep going for me.”

In the past, Dean was a little taken a back by how pretty much the same the angel was in bed to his usual demeanour. Blunt, to the point and sort of a control freak. He doesn’t know what he expected despite his whole outlook on military men, big softies behind closed doors. Big on control outside of the bedroom but once with someone else, they just melt. They become as docile as a dog. Taking orders and obeying them without question. It’s just taken Dean a little too long to realize that that trope is best fit for him.

Not the angel that watches him idly with those blue eyes that are always so striking. Giving him a simple task so that he doesn’t think of the past couple of months.

“You should have let me come with you on your last job,” Cas admits.

“Too dangerous.”

Even hearing those words come form his own mouth, Dean knows they’re a lie. And by the furrowed brows that quickly turn his way tell him the angel didn’t buy it either. Not with his dick in hand.

“Too dangerous? Or didn’t want me in the way?”

Dean swallows thickly. This isn’t what he asked for. He didn’t want to think of the constant shit that he’s been through. He doesn’t realize he’s stopped stroking himself until Cas’s eyes venture down that way.

“Did I tell you to stop?” He asks.

“Look,” Dean starts. “I didn’t want you with bec- ah- AH!”

For the second time tonight, Dean is cut off by Cas. The angel wraps a firm hand around his dick and begins a quick pace. He smears his lube covered palm on the head of Dean’s cock before sliding it down the underside, to grip it firmly as he jerks back up and he repeats the notion multiple times.

Both of Dean’s hands fist into the blankets as he slams his head into the bed. His hips jerk upwards and it’s very hard to contain himself when Cas knows how to work him. He squeezes his eyes shut as his soft pants become erratic. There’s so much tension in his body that it doesn’t take long at all for him to tip over the edge.

He comes unexpectedly and he shakes violently as Cas continues to stroke his cock, pumping everything out of him. He smears Dean’s cum onto his dick, making a mess out of the hunter. Dean looks through bleary eyes, swallowing thickly as he tries to collect some air in his lungs again.

“Cas I-“ He swallows again, trying to find his words, “I need more. Don’t stop.”

At that, a small smile creeps upon the angel’s face. As if ecstatic to keep going. That Dean is asking him.

Cas’s filthy hand venture down past Dean’s balls to his ass. The hunter’s breath hitches as a single finger slides in with a little friction. It has been a while since he’s done this with anyone that each by pass of the angel’s touch is like electricity. He’s still coming down from his orgasm, but he shuffles his legs further apart as Cas strokes slowly, thrusting in and out and making sure that the pad of his finger curls into that delicate spot every time. The hunter shivers, his breath hitching at every prod at his prostate. He knows Dean. Inside and out.

After a while of teasing, a second is added and a third not too long after that. Dean digs his palms into his face as he arches his back off the bed. He tries to control the noises that unwantingly come from his throat, but he can’t stop himself. But it isn’t enough. It isn’t scratching that itch for him and it’s going to drive him nuts if Cas doesn’t fuck him right this instant.

“Come on, Cas,” Dean groans into his hands.

At that, a deep chuckle comes from the angel that had Dean’s heart beating all the faster. The fingers leave him but they venture up and give his balls a gentle squeeze. Dean grinds his teeth as he groans, exhaling shakily. The bed moves as Cas stands, his warm touch leaving the hunter. Bringing his hands away from his face, he gets a full view of the angel’s naked back.

His face heats up quickly. He feels like some school girl that hasn’t ever seen a boy naked before. But wouldn’t that be true? Dean ever rarely gets to see the tanned skin hiding under all those fancy layers the angel wears. He feels his mouth go dry as the belt and the pants are the next to be removed. Dean lets his eyes roam to every toned muscle the angel is letting him look upon. The almost, angelic moment doesn’t last long as Cas loops his belt once on itself and Dean is quick to realize what’s going to happen next.

“Hold out your hands.”

Dean complies silently to Cas’s gruff words. He holds his hands out together so that the angel can easily loop his belt around his wrists. He tightens it as tight as it can go, knowing damn well that Dean will twist out of them if he wants to. Once done, he pushes his wrists above his head so that Dean’s body lay outstretched before him. A beautiful sight.

Cas can’t resist to let his hands roam down Dean’s scarred chest. His thumbs dig into his pecs, feeling just how tense they are. He kneads and earns himself painful hisses from the hunter below him as he runs his knuckles into the muscle. But Dean doesn’t stop him. He becomes breathless as Cas moves down to his torso, doing the same that he did to his pecs. Massaging and driving his knuckles and fingers into tense muscle, easing out the knots that are bundled up. He avoids the dark bruise on his ribs, not wanting to harm Dean any more than he’s been put through. Cas would hate to feel his back.

The angel is well aware that he could heal Dean’s muscles. Heal everything so that the hunter feels brand new. Refreshed. But it’s the process that Dean needs. The hours out of his day to let someone touch him. Feel the warmth of someone else’s tender touch caressing away the tension that resides in his fibre. That seeps into his bones. He needs someone to grind it away until he’s nothing but dust.

The angel moves down to his thighs and does the same. Dean shakes and groans, throwing his head back into the bed. He clenches and unclenches his fists where they sit as Cas’s knuckles run down his inner thigh. He tries to shake the angel off by just how unbearable it is to dig a knot out, but Cas holds him with an iron grip. He trembles, but doesn’t dare kick the angel away. It hurts, it hurts so bad when Cas drags his thumb over a certain spot but it feels so good.

“I really should have come with you,” Cas comments.

“It’s fine.”

Only by sheer force is Dean able to grit words out through grinded teeth. He knows damn well he should’ve brought Cas along for the ride on the most recent one. It would have made things go a lot smoother and a damn lot less stressful when his little brother is being hanged upside down by his foot with five witches poking at him with sticks. It was a mess. The entire job was a mess, and it had left Dean drained. He just really hopes that Sam doesn’t come looking for him because he really needs this. By God, does he need this.

After Cas deems the second leg done, it’s only then that he touches Dean’s soft cock. The hunter hisses, jerking away at how sensitive he is but all in the same thought, he wants Cas to touch him harder, firmer. And the angel does just that. He jerks Dean’s messy cock to full attention again before he touches his own. He wipes Dean’s cum and the lube over his cock and by God, the hunter can’t look away. He’s never been one to let things get messy but right now it’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen.

Cas drizzles a little more lube on Dean’s puckered hole before resting the head of his cock against it. He isn’t gentle when he pushes in, not like he was with all that massaging crap before. He pushes almost half of his cock in before pulling out slowly to only sink further in the second time round. Dean shakes and whines as Cas is quick to bottom out inside of him. Balls flush to his ass and all six inches inside, Dean feels every bit.

He pants in time to Cas’s thrusts, quickly finding pleasure in the abuse that the angel is giving him. But it’s what he wanted. What he asked of the angel beforehand. It’s what caused the five-hundred-mile stare from said angel and nearly caused him to fall into cardiac arrest.

He pants loudly, keeping his hands above his head as Cas had silently requested. He really hopes that Sam isn’t on this side of the bunker because the noises that are coming from him are borderline whore-ish. Trembling with each thrust, Cas brings Dean’s hips back to his with a firm grip on his waist. The wet clap is overpowered by Dean’s breathless moans that have a shiver running down the angel’s back.

Deam brings his cuffed hands in front of him suddenly, to try and curl in on himself as he nears another orgasm. But a hand is quick to grab at the belt to pull Dean’s arms up over his head, startling him a bit. Cas doesn’t stop his brutal pace, pulling and pushing a thigh so that Dean’s knee is nearly touching his chest. The new angle has the hunter grunting and panting with each thrust, his eyes squeezed shut as he teeters at the edge of his second orgasm. He can already tell that this one is going to be painful.

It’s Cas leaning down and engulfing his lips in a wet kiss that has him coming for the second time that night. He gasps into the kiss and the angel delves in deeper, his tongue venturing into Dean’s mouth. He shakes and trembles in Cas’s touch, every nerve feeling like it’s on fire. He wraps his legs around the angel’s waist to hold him closer to him. He continues to keep a slowly, shallow pace that drives Dean insane. His brain feels like mush but… it’s still not enough.

Dean kisses back breathlessly, trying to capture air back into his lungs. He hooks a foot into the front of Cas’s waist after two failed attempts, his limps feeling like jelly. He pushes Cas away and the angel is easy to do so with no protest. He looks down at Dean with furrowed brows. He expects the hunter to call it quits. Enough is enough for tonight. But Dean flips himself over, face in the bedding with his cuffed hands above his head and his ass in the air.

“Don’t stop,” Dean’s voice comes muffled from the blanket. “I just- Cas, I need you to keep-“ He exhales shakily, still coming down from his second high.

Cas reaches out and massages Dean’s right cheek. The hunter flinches, groaning into the bed.

“I’ll keep going until you ask me to stop,” Cas says as his hands venture up and down Dean’s back. He does the same as he did with the hunter’s front, massaging and digging his knuckles into the knotted muscle. He does this until Dean is breathing heavily into the bed, body shaking with every touch. The angel can’t see, but there’s tears dampening the sheets under the hunter’s face.

The angel re-enters Dean slowly as he continues massaging the hunter’s scarred body. He’s slow and gentle, keeping his pace even as he does so.

A while goes by before Dean orders him to pick up the pace, his voice muffled in the blankets. He drags his hands underneath him, the blood circulation being cut off with how he was angled. He shudders a breath as Cas does as he’s asked, holding onto Dean’s waist as he fucks into him harder. A groan is punched out of Dean with each thrust that’s muffled by the blankets. He becomes a limp mess, the only thing holding him up being Cas’s tight hold on him.

He shakes and moans, panting and whining with each sensitive and painful thrust from Cas. It hurts. Everything burns from being used for far too long. But he just needs a little more. He doesn’t need another orgasm. He doesn’t crave it. Just the act itself of the pain and pleasure, of being used, is enough to melt his brain. He needs all thoughts to be jumbled. He doesn’t want to think.

The angel suddenly tremors, his breath hitching in his throat as he thrusts in deeply. He comes silently, the only noise being the heavy panting and breathing coming from the angel. Dean groans as Cas fucks himself through his own orgasm, using his own cum to ease the burning friction. He doesn’t stop, despite feeling Dean shaking beneath him.

Dean turns his head so that he can peer at Cas from the corner of his eye. His head is bowed, hair falling over his forehead as he concentrates on Dean. And only Dean. The hunter grinds his teeth at the thought, burying his face into the bedding once more.

He lets Cas use him until Dean can’t take it anymore. Until everything burns and until a third, dry orgasm is ripped from Dean that shakes his body. Everything becomes too much. His cock hurts and each movement from Cas is like sand paper.

“St- nah, stop.”

Dean voice is all but a whisper, but Cas hears it all the same. The angel stops instantly, letting Dean fall onto the bed with a shaky exhale coming from the hunter.

Cas is quick to reach under Dean and unbuckle his belt from his wrists, throwing it aside without a second thought. He flips Dean onto his side gently, looking the hunter over with thin lips. Bleary, hazy green eyes stare back at him before a cocky grin comes across his face. It’s faint, but it’s there. One that has Cas returning.

“Would you like me to heal you?” Cas asks softly, his voice still gruff and deep.

Dean swallows thickly, licking his dry lips. “Lemme just lay here for a bit.”

Cas nods before wandering off. Dean closes his eyes shut, concentrating on his breathing. He can’t think of anything. His body shakes and everything is oh so sensitive, but it’s probably the best he’s felt in months. He doesn’t even think he can stand let alone sit up right now. Doesn’t even feel like he can raise an arm, nor does he even want to. He’s lost track of time and damn be if Sam has been looking for him. He just needs a good nap after this now. He feels like he could sleep for days.

The bed dips again and Dean hisses softly as a cold, damp face cloth begins to clean him up. He lets Cas do his thing, not even bothering to open his eyes to look at him. When he feels the angel leave the bed, a sudden strike of panic washes over him.

“Stay,” he all but mumbles out, or may as well whined by the way his own voice sounded in his ears.

The bed dips again and a calloused hand runs down over his side, ghosting over the purple bruise. “Are you sure?”

Dean’s features furrow deeply. He reaches out blindly and grabs onto Cas’s knee. “I said stay,” he grumbles out.

He hears the angel chuckle softly. “Okay.”

Like, comment and reblog. Hope you enjoyed :)

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aashiqeddiediaz · 8 months ago

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you know, after watching day 3 of the democratic national convention, i need to say something, especially to other muslims like me.

most of the muslim communities that i'm a part of have chosen to vote uncommitted, or independent, or sometimes, even trump. they refuse to give their vote to kamala harris and tim walz, because of the way the us has handled the war in gaza, and how they have been careless with acknowledging palestinian lives lost, how it was american bombs and american tax money that went towards funding this genocide. it's fucked up, and it's wrong, and there shouldn't be any debate on that.

and i am 100% in support of that anger. i am 100% in support of forcing america to stop funding this genocide. no one wants to keep seeing palestinian lives suffer. no one is free until we're all free, and i believe that to my very core.

my only concern is that where this anger is being placed, from 1 year to 11 weeks before the presidential election, is so scary. because the reality of the situation is that america has a bipartisan outlook. whoever gets the presidency is either democrat or republican. and every vote that doesn't go towards democracy (i.e. voting for kamala harris) inadvertently goes towards trump's big plan of project 2025, which is basically dictatorship. Even voting uncommitted, even voting independent. we cannot afford to elect trump for a second term, and voting anything other than democrat draws that line way too close, especially in swing states like michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, georgia.

yes, there are many issues that we wish joe biden would handle better. there are many ways that the democratic party has fucked up beyond repair. there are many ways the democratic party has refused to acknowledge the pain of people affected by their military people throughout the years, and we've been seeing it for years. this is not a new thing. this did not start on october 7th. we see it during pretty much every administration.

however, voting for your candidate should never be based on a singular issue. no political candidate is ever going to check every single box. and its so unfortunate that we have to always take the "lesser of two evils" approach when nominating our president, but that's the reality of the situation at this very moment. there are many other rights to be considered that are at stake this election, all of which trump is trying to remove. abortion bans, women's rights, healthcare, social security, climate change, to name a few.

(and, somehow, there's a belief that trump will lead to a ceasefire deal where biden-harris didn't? let me tell you that is never going to happen.)

does this mean we just stop protesting or pressuring? absolutely not. you NEVER stop, because if our votes are the ones that put the candidate in their position of power, then we expect results. we expect them to work towards what they promised. and we can't let up on reaching out to our local county offices and our state governors and escalating these issues further until someone takes notice and does something about them. we don't elect them and just leave them to do what they want. we keep them accountable. use that anger i was talking about.

but it also means not having tunnel vision. the election in november could very well mean the end of democracy if kamala harris doesn't win. this post is not me all giggly-happy over the democratic party, because trust me, i have my fair share of issues with them as well. this post isn't to tell you what to do, because i can't force you to vote blue. i can't force the community i'm in to change their minds about toss-up votes. but what i can do is put down plainly what's at stake this election. and that is, very simply, our right to choose everything.

so if you are eligible to vote and haven't registered, please do. if you haven't voted before because "what's the point", please see above what the point is. a handful of votes is enough to flip the outcome of an election, especially with the electoral college.

and if you're still on the fence on whether to vote for kamala or trump, hopefully this post gives a little bit more perspective in the most streamlined way i could manage without bogging you down with statistics and numbers.

the choice is yours.

#zee rambles #as a muslim person of color who is going to practice medicine in this country there is just so much at stake #us politics #politics #vote democrat #democracy #2024 elections #elections #us elections #this post got a little long. but hopefully it inspires some of you #and for those of us who are in communities where people are teetering between harris and trump #it boggles my mind sometimes #tumblr has been so silent about politics and i get it but also there needs to be more encouragement to go out and vote #if you're protesting right now that's completely okay #it's just that ballot in november is so so important for the future of this country #so we have at least a chance towards a world we want versus losing everything we know altogether if trump gets re-elected #ty chey for looking this over and making sure i didn't sound like an idiot <3 mwah ly

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fandoms--fluff · 7 months ago

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hiii

i saw ur reqs were open and i love ur work so

can you write a fic where the mikaelsons have another daughter whos a teen, whos missing hope when she's at the salvatore school but like the teens also like super sarcastic with her parents. anyways she misses hope like crazy and so her parents surprise reader with hope coming home early from school or something??

sorry the req is sooo long

Surprise Visit

Flufftober, October 5th

Younger Mikaelson sister reader x Hope Mikaelson (+ Hayley & Klaus)

Warnings: None

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

"Are we doing anything?" You jump onto the couch next to where your Mom and Dad. "Ugh, gross" You pull a face at them cuddling.

"Y/n" Hayley says, sighing. "What? How do I know you guys weren't making out before I walked in" They just stared at you, Klaus raising his eyebrows. "OH! Gross! That is disgusting" You shimmied down to the other end of the couch.

"You have to remember there is still one minor who lives here" You groan.

Klaus and Hayley give each other a knowing look before turning their heads back to you. "What?" You scrunch your eyebrows in confusion.

"I think we have a plan for today, come on, Love" Klaus stands with Hayley. "Go grab some activities to do in the car and meet us out there" Hayley instructs you.

"What is happening?" You question, also standing up. "You'll see" Hayley smirks and follows Klaus to the door.

"Weirdos" You mumble while jugging up the stairs to your bedroom. You swear some of the time your parents are just getting weirder and weirder each day Hope is away at her school.

You wish she was here to witness this. It would be fun to have someone around your own age around the house again. The closest you get to it is when Uncle Kol is over with Auntie Davina and you guys get into some mischief. But it's always shut down when your Dad or Uncle Elijah get wind of it.

"So, can you tell me where we're going or whatever the hell we're doing?" You climb into the backseat moving into the middle and lean through the two front seats where your parents are sitting.

"You'll see when we get there" Klaus tells you and places a kiss on the side of your head. "Now buckle up" He tells you.

You huff and sling the backpack from your shoulder to the one side of the back seat while you sit on the other side, behind where your Mom's sitting in the passenger seat.

Klaus starts the engine and drives out of the driveway and onto the road. You pull out the dinosaur coloring book and crayons from your backpack and get to coloring a T-rex page.

"You still have that book?" Hayley turns around to see what your scuffling around back there for.

"Of course I do. Dinos are awesome" You tell her as if it's obvious. "Ask Dad, he was there when they were still around" You smirk.

"I'm not opposed to ground you right this moment" Klaus warns, hating your old man jokes. He's had to listen to at least thousands of them through the time when you've been the only child at the house.

"How are you supposed to do that in a moving vehicle?" You snark back. Klaus' mouth shuts, lips pursed. Hayley stifles a chuckle from leaving her mouth. "See! Mom thinks I'm funny" You inform him before going back to colouring the T-rex.

In between colouring in your colouring book, reading a comic book, and listening to your music, you fell asleep against the car window.

You're startled awake when you hear car doors closing and your own opening, making your head slip down. "Ow" You mutter, getting startled from the sudden movement.

"Where are we?" You look up to where your parents are standing outside your door. "Come on out and see for yourself" Hayley undoes your seatbelt. "You can leave your things in the car for the timebeing" your dad informs you.

"Okay" You say suspiciously. Slwoly you climb out of the car and take in your surroundings. You look to the left and see the massive boarding school. The same school your sister goes to.

"Wait. Really?!" You look over to yourf parents, excitemnt lighting up your face.

"Yeah, go ahead, sweetheart" Hayley affirms.

You nod to them and run off to the entrance of the school. As soon as you get inside you quickly make your way up to your older sister's dorm. As soon as it comes into sight, you madly knock on the door.

Hope snaps her head up from her textbook at the sound of some crazy person knocking on her door. She stand from her desk chair and walks to the door, opening it.

Before she could process who's at the door, she gets attacked with a hug. She looks down and realizes it's you. She chuckles and wraps her arms back around you, hugging you back just as tight.

After a long moment, you pull away, "I missed you" You mumble. "Awh, I missed you too, Y/n/n" She welcomes you into her room and closes the door behind you.

"Is Mom and Dad here too?" She asks. "Yeah, I left them as soon as we got here. Well, as soon as I realized where we were. Wait a second, did you know about this?" You point her stuffed bunny that was sitting on her bead at her in questioning.

"I may have" She smiles at you and sits next to you on her bed. "Thank you" You say earnestly. "Of course, I could tell by the way you've been texting me you've been going crazy there" She ruffles your hair in amusement.

"Oh shush" You try and hide the embarrassment and blush forming on your face.

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 year ago

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aita for kind of manipulating a friend in hopes she'll stay away from my not-so-really partner?

(emojis to find later: 🌸🌸🌸)

ok so this is kind of insane and im very mentally ill (self-diagnosed; done lots of research and have come to the conclusion of bpd, diagnosable according to the dsm-5) so this won't sound very rational or. normal. but here we go

so i (15FTX) have a classmate (15F?) who i've been in a close friendship with for 1.4 years. let's call her vick for this ask. i fell in love with her about a month into our friendship and it grew into her becoming my favorite person. i think of vick 24/7 and i put a lot of care and love into her, we're even planning to move in together into a dorm for university. i confessed to her about my love in october 2023 and she confessed she'd been having "weird" feelings about me since the first month of our friendshsip as well, but she doesn't know if it's anything romantic or not. we have stayed friends due to religious reasons but she has also said she wouldn't have minded us dating if religion wasn't a factor (we're muslim).

i've been pretty committed and loyal to her ever since i confessed and i consider her more important than anything, but i don't get this back and im fine with that. i can deal with it for the most part. it makes me jealous when she interacts with others so casually, but she obviously has the right to have other friends and care about other people and i absolutely know im not allowed to interfere with that no matter how i feel.

enter our other classmate (14F), who i'll call flower for this ask. she was fine at first and had noticed my jealous stares and made jokes about it, saying she had no intentions of "taking my wife from me" and often jokes about being scared of me. we're on good terms and we chat often at school like normal friends.

but recently, flower has started being extremely touchy-feely with vick, taking vick's hand and putting it on her thigh, leaning towards her, making extremely suggestive jokes... and this is a special treatment to vick, too, flower doesn't do this with anyone else in the world. i love vick much more than she ever could and not even i have such confidence with her. beyond that, vick's pretty uncomfortable with physical touch too, so i never risk making her uncomfortable and do my best to not touch her unless she touches me first despite being a very physically affectionate person myself. and there's flower, being all willy-nilly with vick like it's all fine and i feel kind of betrayed seeing flower be like that when i try so hard to accomodate vick's preferences.

you can guess that flower's intimate treatment for vick, who i love with all my heart, has caused me to hate flower with a burning passion. she's like a physical roadblock in my relationship with vick and im tired of it.

so i had an idea.

this merely started the last day of school before the break, and i can't continue it now because i don't have any oppurtunities to see flower, but what i started doing was i would be very affectionate with flower myself.

i would compliment her, make jokes, initiate conversation, it even came to the point flower joked about falling in love with me. i feel scummy doing this because i will never return whatever affection she'll develop for me, but im genuinely tired of flower and this is the most ethical thing i can think of.

by doing this, im hoping flower will see me as the person to pull all her joking advances on. this way, i won't feel like she's taking vick away from me, and i can be sure vick won't abandon me for flower. i also know i sure as hell won't be abandoning vick for flower, so this way my relationship with vick will basically be secured and flower will just be a nuisance that comes and goes and i'll just have to pretend i like it, which will be much easier than pretending to be fine with flower being affectionate with vick.

now i don't even have to type out all the ways i could be the asshole here but this is the most ethical thing i can think of, like i said. it's a win/win situation. vick pays more attention to me so im happy, flower's advances are redirected to me so flower's happy and im not in danger of losing my relationship with vick. i know vick doesn't care much about flower either so she'll be fine too. so everyone's happy! and flower's never gonna know her close friend from highschool actually hated her guts, so she won't ever be sad either.

but um. you know. the whole manipulating out of envy part of it and all.

just talking with vick about it isn't an option because vick already knows how much i hate it, but i guess she's only ever seen it in a joking environment where i was making light of it so she doesn't really know how much i hate it. i also can't just tell her to stop talking with someone because it makes me sad. i guess im being hypocritical because this also means i shouldn't manipulate someone away from her just because it makes me sad but i actually can't stand it it genuinely makes me suicidal and homicidal in many ways and this is the only thinng in my power that i feel like is okay-est to do

therapy is not an option my dad has a degree in psychology so he'd say "just talk to me instead" and he would think im crazy if i actually said anything about all this to him + he's extremely homophobic

ok that was a lot. um.

aita for manipulating flower away from vick just to have peace of mind?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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crazymuffin1 · 7 months ago

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this post is for people who wonder what the hell is going on with the venom movies/fandom because they havent watched it

if youre seeing it on your dash and dont want to scroll very long press J. if youre on mobile. cope.

venom the last dance is the third movie in the venom series and people who haven't watched the movies are probably wondering whats going on. whoever you're following has probably posted or reblogged some sort of eddie brock x venom thing. yes of course. mlm ships are popular and theyre the main characters. of course theyre gonna get shipped. just like stucky or other hot main male characters. nothing really special about these guys. right?

wrong! because as opposed to the other ones being non-canon ships where we just look at everything and say "thats gay" or look at it through shipping tinted glasses, symbrock is a bit special.

to start off with! the source material! the comics! im not gonna make this part long, just a bunch of images with short descriptions and you can interpret it however you want (click for full image)

panels ofter referred to as "the ones where they have sex"

no comment

even spider-man knows

aaaaaand the comic writers/artists also know

theres more (like how they have a kid and eddie experienced morning sickness...) but this is about the movie! not the comics!

first movie moments. im skipping smaller moments and i'll try to not write out the whole plot.

eddie and venom go through a whole car chase scene on a motorbike, and the moment eddie calls him cool, they get his by a car. often interpreted as venom losing focus from the praise

-omg why would that lead to venom losing focus?? because venom, on its planet, is a loser. bottom of the barrel. an outcast. and someone called it cool. venom sees that eddie is also a bit of a loser on his planet. theyre two losers together. Eddie asks why he doesnt just kill him and hop to another host, but venom says that hes a good match (other bodies reject the symbiote, and die from organ failure/eaten from the inside) and venom is "starting to like him" venom also gets a bit stuck on the moment that eddie says we instead of i. its both of them. together.

later eddie finds out his organs were failing (venom was starving and was working on fixing it) and when they get seperated the way he acts is kind of framed like a bad breakup. its not "im free from this parasite! yippie!" its "i trusted you and you hurt me. we're done" sort of breakup. venom tries to say he was trying to fix it but eddie ignores it (not the exact words but if you look at it you'll get it)

eddie gets taken away by the bad guys and venom hops on eddies ex and they reunite. and its not just reunite.

its this

youtube

thumbnail shows human face but it does not start off with that.

fun fact! theres a sort of deleted scene where eddie asks "who was i kissing just then?" and she says "mostly me" and then we hear venoms voice saying "well actually it was mostly me!" ALSO at the end of the movie, she says it was venoms idea. this was venom and eddie making out. not eddie and his ex. they do not get back together. she has a new boyfriend and they've moved in together so its serious.

venoms original purpose as to why the symbiotes are on earth was as a scouting party for an invasion force. venom changes his mind on being on the invasion part. eddie asks what REALLY made him change his mind "you did eddie."

also after the movie was in theaters they made an additional romcom trailer to promo the dvd/blueray release. the movie. framed as a romcom. im not kidding. on sonys official youtube. for both movies.

speaking of both movies, the second one has them breaking up! full on divorce after fighting and arguing!! very sad. and then venom goes to a rave (october, there are costumes, hes fully transformed) and says "i am out! of the eddie closet!" HES COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET. one person at the rave has a mask on that says "kiss me" and venom says "sorry no, not my type" THEN WHAT IS YOUR TYPE HUH??? MEN?? SWEATY LOSER GUYS??? his hosts keep failing because theyre not as compatible as eddie. and after having fun venom is sad and wishes eddie could've seen him. they of course, get back together* after some apologizes and because they need to fight a serial killer who also has a symbiote (carnage) because previously, they went to interview him, he insulted eddie, venom got mad on eddies behalf and grabbed him, resulting in getting bit, and that spawned a new symbiote from the blood. also the serial killer, (cletus kassidy) went to bust out his girlfriend who upon seeing his tentacles breaking her glass cage, called it hot.

*when they get reunited (anne helps out again) theres no kiss this time, and annes fiancee, after seeing them fight, says "those two need some serious couples counseling"

after a big climactic fight and mutual reassuring that theyre a perfect match for one another, they flee to some random place in mexico where they sort of have a love confession. theres an extended deleted version of it but i think many of us think they cut it down to save it for the third movie. also they get transported to the mcu in the post-credit and then re-appear in the post-credit of spider-man where theyre just sitting at a bar asking the bartender about the blip and thanos. venom decides to go skinny dip but they get transported back to their universe. net zero gain.

THE THIRD MOVIE

hasnt come out yet. but the promotional things. the trailer. my god the tiktoks and twitter clips?? WHY IS THE TIKTOK VIDEO CAPTION VENOM X EDDIE 4EVER??? HUH???? WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME!?!?! IF I GET QUEERBAITED IM GONNA EXPLODE WHY IS ONE OF THEM FRAMED LIKE A COUPLES COUNSELING HELP GUIDE.

i cant post this one on tumblr but this tiktok is a slideshow, one image of venom and eddie from each movie, and the background song is "I've loved you three summer Lover - Taylor swift" with the caption "it's a love love relationship"

WE JUST WANT THEM TO KISS AGAIN AND HAVE A MUTUAL, EXPLICIT, LOVE CONFESSION. AND HAVE 4 HOURS TENTACLESEX SCENE. (not necessarily in that order)

and the first trailer that came out for venom3 has the line"eddie, my home [long pause] has found us" like girrrrrllll for a full 3 seconds i thought he was saying that eddie is his home.

#post fresh from the muffin1 bakery #venom #symbrock #Youtube

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ateez-himari · 3 months ago

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250130; HER BIG BROTHER

[NEW MESSAGES FROMM HIMARI]

[PM 11:07] Hi Tiny, Hanzo nii-chan came to see us tonight! I wanted to take some pictures to send his wife but he caught me ㅎㅎㅎ We look alike right ?

[PM 11:07] We were actually both born on the first snow of our respective years! He was also born on the 23rd, like me, but his birthday is in October

[PM 11:08] There are so many coincidences when it comes to the two of us, almost like we're twins but five years apart! Our biological parents used to say that it was destiny, that we were always going to be connected no matter what

[PM 11:09] Hanzo nii-chan said his favorite performance was 'Halazia'! He likes the fact that I sing the background vocals throughout the song, it's a little hard though, that's why we used to open concerts with it

[PM 11:09] ㅎㅎ We all knew my big brother was coming this time, that's why Mingi oppa's hand was a lot higher than usual during our couple choreography

[PM 11:10] He's in the city for a photoshoot tomorrow morning, so once his schedule is over he said we'll go out in the city together. It's been months since we were able to spend time like this so I'm really excited!

[PM 11:11] We're actually very close! Yoongi oppa and me are idols so there is a lot less privacy when it comes to our relationship, it's just that no one really pays attention to the one between Hanzo nii-chan and me, that's all, please don't misunderstand!

[PM 11:11] Ahh you're watching his live. I'm not in my boyfriend's room since my big brother invited me to watch a movie with him, so I'm going to stay with him tonight

[PM 11:12] It's been discussed before actually, but to us our matching scars are so much more meaningful than tattoos, that's why his ink goes around them

[PM 11:13] He said it was okay to give you guys a spoiler. The PSG is letting us play against each other on their field when we go to Paris

[PM 11:13] ㅎㅎ I have three brothers, I learned to play a few sports throughout my childhood. Geum Jae oppa taught me baseball, Yoongi oppa taught me basketball and Hanzo nii-chan taught me how to play soccer

[PM 11:14] Well..no I've never actually beaten him but I've been practicing a lot, so I'm sure I stand more of a chance now!

[PM 11:14] Anyway, we have the movie picked out now so I'll go! Start cheering for me now Tiny so I can have a head start ♡ Love you so much, kisses!

Translated from Korean by Google

#ateez au #ateez imagines #ateez 9th member #ateez extra member #ateez female member #kpop oc #HimaFromm♡#HimaSocial♡

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zeebee3 · 4 months ago

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Mother!! Your last fic slapped so hard? Omg. You're genius.

I wanted to ask you for some recommendations.👀 I love everything you've ever written, so I'm sure I'll love what you've enjoyed reading too.

If/when you have time, of course.💙

Ahhhhh okay this is going to be a long list, I can already tell 😂 I've tried to limit myself but there are SO MANY fics out there that I eat up again and again, and there will never be a comprehensive list of stuff I've enjoyed because so far, it's truly endless.

That said, here are the first handful that jumped to mind which I've read at least twice (that's got to be a metric of something, right?). I'm going to do the absolute barest summary for them because really, the author's summary and tags do more good than I ever will.

It also goes without saying that every fic by any of these writers is a 10/10 slam dunk, so make a cup of tea and scroll their work lists for more gems. I hope you enjoy!

Note: all of them are rated E

In no particular order...

Dramione

While They Were Sleeping by Dizzle00. The sexual tension in this one!!!!!! pls. I die, even on rereads. Mind the tags as it's an infidelity fic (dating not married).

Full Tilt by Khakis. BDD and a Hermione who is determined to take it. You're welcome in advance.

I Won't Kiss a Death Eater by Orolin. Wartime, forbidden love, clandestine meetings, THE SPICE, the moody vibes!! The podfic of this (linked at the bottom) is also insanely good.

A Healer's Guide to Mating with a Werewolf by sad_millennial. The build up and storytelling is so wonderful, it's truly mind boggling that this clocks in under 8k words for how rich and full of life it is!

The Horny Virgin Chronicles by SilverDragonGemini. 8th year, Hermione asks Draco to help her learn what she likes in bed. Every chapter is amazing, I read it in a single sitting and will be rereading for sure!

Serpents & Skulls by Wanderingfair. Muggle uni AU, secret society, mystery and romance! The moody, dark academia vibes are exceptional.

horny devil by SultryNuns. Draco grows horns, and they are sensitive. I know, I know--say less.

Mount by molivier. Brazilian Ju Jitsu as foreplay. AGAIN, say less.

I was just thinking about it, I'm not gonna do it by malfoyesque. Draco pulls out every time...until now. This is the Draco POV of our dreams.

The Wandmaker by Charingfae. Draco makes magical sex toys; Hermione buys one 🙃

A Marriage of Inconvenience by Beforetherealbook. The title says it all--add in virgin!Draco, pining!Draco, and baby we're cookin'

The Summer After by youhavemyswordandbow. Set in the summer before 8th year, Draco is sent to live with the Grangers. I have a crush on this whole story.

Triads

The Cock Tongue Incident by neilistic. (Hermione/Draco/Astoria). Hermione is summoned to Draco and Astoria's home to help with something. I'm full-on on my knees for this Astoria, and the premise is so unique and so so well done!

Tarnished by westxnorthwest. (Draco/Theo/Hermione). 8th year, the start of a triad, no prior Dreo (which is very very fun to see bloom).

Drarry

Only for October by DodgerKedavra. Every chapter is written based on the 2023 HP Cocktober prompt. Every chapter is also FANTASTIC 🫠

Former Things Come to Mind by DodgerKedavra. Okay I'm cheating on my self-imposed "one fic per author" rule but I simply can't not suggest everyone read this one. The prose. THE CHARACTERIZATIONS. I tear up every reread.

That Old Black Magic by bixgirl1. God-tier marriage law fic. This is the one that got me into that trope to begin with. PHEW.

Lumos by birdsofshore. Another classic Drarry but hey, if you haven't read it, let this be your cue!

OKAY that's it for now, but I am curating a list of my favorite other/rare pair fics as well so once I get that together, I'll do a follow up post.

Annddddd now I want to go reread half of these AGAIN 😅

#fic rec #ao3 fanfic #dramione #hp fic #hp fanfiction #hermione granger #draco x hermione #draco malfoy #read on ao3 #drarry #drarry fanfiction #harry x draco

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befemininenow · 1 year ago

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Some of us change, and for the better. If you haven't yet, what could you change?

Well, this one is a longer description than what I've been writing during special days. I've been debating on making changes for the blog, as well my improving on my personal needs. I haven't been able to enjoy anything these past few months due to work, bills, and other circumstances in my life. I've been wanting to enjoy this 2024, but it seems that it hasn't been any better.

It's currently April and the spring season is supposed to be a fresh new start for everyone. I always felt that April is the perfect month to adjust towards the new year and initiate those plans you had during your New Year's Resolution, but have never started. 90 days is usually enough time to adjust and I think we're well above 90 days to make an excuse. Well, no more excuses.

See, it's been exactly a year since I made my "retirement" post. However, I did so at an impulsive rate and lapsed back to uploading captions again. Then, on June of last year, I did so again. I uploaded a new caption or two between June and September before uploading more captions around October until now. Yet again, I didn't last.

I come to the conclusion that as much as I love making captions, it's been affecting my actual life. Caption making isn't as easy as it seems. Not only do you have to find good pictures, but you also have to create a meaningful message relating to the picture. Sometimes, you even have to give a detailed description either because the message can't fit in the entire picture or because I have to spice up the post. Then, you have to make sure the caption looks good because the wrong color, font, space, etc, can make it look ugly. It doesn't have to be this stressful, but it got to the point where it took a chunk of my free time and left me with a lack of satisfaction.

You may be asking yourself if this is another "retirement" post where I'm going to quit and come back again. Let me make this statement clear because as the saying goes "Third time's a charm": I'm not going to retire. Yet. However, don't be surprised if I go without uploading a new caption for 3 or 5 days. Chances are, I'm probably either busy with other errands in my life or because I need a proper vacation that allows me to enjoy my other hobbies. Feminization captions aren't my personality, y'know.

When and how I will conclude this blog will be a surprise I will unveil one day. Maybe next week, next month, maybe even next year. But for now, I'm going to make a change with this blog based at my own pace. This caption (No. 505) is a preview of what you will expect to see for the next several captions: basic, simple, effective, and of course, attractive. Also, for the first time since forever, I will upload captions without a post description. All of my captions have at least a small description of what the post is about. This time, there will be some caption posts without description because I believe the caption is enough to detail what the topic will be about.

For now, this is the future of this blog. I promise you that the next captions will be great. I put more effort and love into them and I hope you love them as well. Have a great night, everyone!

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crescencestudio · 8 months ago

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๋࣭⭑ Devlog #44 | 8.29.24 ๋࣭⭑

why did august feel so long and so short at the same time

And hot girl summer finally comes to an end! Can you all believe we're already getting into September? That's..... crazy.

Before I get into the devlog this month, I want to make a small announcement! It's a bittersweet one, but overall, I do think it's more exciting than anything.

Crescence is FINALLY CLOSE TO GRADUATING!!!!

It's crazy to be able to say this. For anyone who's an OG fan of Alaris, you'll know I basically started game development at the same time I started my Ph.D. program. It's been a wild ride having to balance game development throughout this entire journey. Funnily enough, when I started Alaris, I saw many game developers say a game that was around the same length as Alaris would take about 4-5 years. So at the beginning of my program, I remember thinking, "Ahh... So even though it sounds so intimidating to work on something for 4-5 years, that basically means by the time I finish my Ph.D., I'll be done with Alaris, right? Might as well start then! If I'm going to spend those 4-5 years getting a degree, might as well also use that time to make a game :D"

*Graduates before I finish Alaris alosjdfliasdifj*

inserts a little fanart montage of recent fanart players have made to break up the text

Anyways, it's crazy that I've been on this journey for both parts of my life as long as I have. Both my dissertation and Alaris have equally tested my sanity, but words can't describe how rewarding it is to see the finish line finally in sight for both projects.

The thing is...

If I want to graduate this semester (which I so, so, so, so, SO desperately do), I have to write my entire dissertation (about 60k words) in about..... a 1-1.5 months, haha.....

On the bright side, it's feasible (Crescence says delusionally). On the not-so-bright side, it's going to test my sanity. And if there's a 5% chance I'll be able to make those deadlines and graduate this semester, that chance goes to 0% if I try to balance Alaris on top of that.

Which means...

I'll be taking a two month break from Alaris development, which is the first time in all of development that I'll be taking a break that long. For those who have followed me on this journey, you may know I've worked on my firstborn baby almost continuously since I first started this project. While I've balanced other games during development and sometimes taken short breaks where I don't make as much progress, I've never just Not Worked on Alaris. So it's a bit terrifying to imagine two months not working on Alaris at all.

But graduating this semester is important to me, and at the end of the day, as much as I love game development, it's very much my hobby. I don't talk about my IRL obligations on here too much, but I do have them, and finally getting my Ph.D. degree is one of my biggest IRL obligations and priorities.

So it's with tears in my eyes that I say Alaris will be on a break until the end of October. I'll still be around to answer questions (thank you to everyone who has been sending them in and showing sm curiosity and love for the cast!), and the Patreon will still be up for those who want to play Druk's beta. But aside from that, I'm taking a Full Break on Alaris so that I can buckle down and focus on the final stage of my degree :')

I know this may come as a disappointment to some of you, especially those who have followed me for a while and/or are eager to see the full game release. It pains me to have to step away from Alaris for such an extended time, especially since the weight of full game release does weigh on me with each day lmfao. I want this game out just as badly as the rest of you, and especially because so many of you have trusted me with your money, time, and support, please rest assured that this decision didn't come easy. It's my biggest hope that when I return to game development after finishing dissertation matters, it will be full steam ahead now that I'll no longer have degree obligations hanging over my head.

With that out of the way, let's go into this month's devlog! I'll try to make it as juicy as possible for you all as a thank you for your patience and support while I Get That Degree <3

Thankfully, this past month was much more focused in the writing department! While there was some small editing happening in Fenir and Druk's routes, it was minor changes compared to July. Most of my attention was on Kuna'a, and I'm very excited to say that the first draft of his route is OFFICIALLY FINISHED!!!

THAT MEANS ONLY ONE ROUTE IS LEFT FOR ALARIS TO BE WRITTEN!!!!!! It is so crazy to finally reach the last stretch of script writing. While I'm sure there's much editing to be done, the idea of having the base drafts finished is honestly hard to believe considering how endless script writing has felt.

A sneak peek of Kuna'a's route to celebrate

With how plot-centric the last three routes feel, it's also rewarding in a different way to officially write out a lot of the main plot details into the script, instead of just dropping bits and pieces here and there.

It makes me sad to pause Alaris development right when we're getting into the last meaty bits and pieces, but hopefully this just means when I return to development, I'll be hitting the ground running after missing working on the game ^^

Art has also been making lots of nice progress this month! I finished about half of Druk's CGs and our current CG counter is.... 25 out of 54! Which means we're just about reaching the halfway mark with CGs as well ^^

One of the CGs was so hot, it broke my iPad and almost lost ALL MY ALARIS ART ASSETS!! ha!! ha!! ha!! That was a fun part of this month!!!! Anyways, this isn't the CG in question (that one would be too spoilery to show, though it is on my Patreon for those who want to see it, heh), but this is a CG that I'm particularly fond of that I finished recently---Sneak Peek!

What lipgloss do you use, my man

CGs, aside from sprites, are the last main art assets that need to be done for the game. So knowing that they're just about at the halfway mark really shows that we're getting into the last stretch of the game's development!!

Finally, in extremely exciting news, we launched Druk's beta recently! WHICH MEANS..... HALF of the routes are beta coded for the game!!! WHAAAAT!!!!

Obviously, I'll be going in later to fix up some things, add in more sprite expressions, the CGs, etc. at a later time for these routes. But the fact half of the game is basically coded is so surreal...... I remember when these updates were just me telling you I was still writing and that was literally it LFJALSDJF.

Now, we're here on our third route to be beta tested!!!

everyone thank @minthe-drawings for drawing our beefy boy in all his beefy glory

Druk's beta will be up for a while since I'll be on break from development, but if you'd like to play his beta, sign up for Hydra on my Patreon!

This month, we've also started including drabbles to the Patreon for free members. So if you don't have funds to support through paid tiers but would still like some extra content, I've started writing drabbles that are free for anyone following my Patreon to read ^^

Finally, as one last thank you before I go on my break, we recently reached this milestone on itch.io!!! Y'all have downloaded Crescence games 100k times and played my games over 200k TIMES.... (we technically reached 200k plays a while ago, but I wanted to wait until the downloads number was a pretty 100k).

not to mention the other milestones we've hit. thank you all for your support ;_;

It's crazy to even see this kind of number on my page.... I remember I used to see other amazing devs post these kinds of numbers and I could only dream that one day I'd be able to experience that kind of engagement. And so seeing that number for myself.... it's just really humbling to know you've all supported me for this long and to know I've reached the amount of players that I have <3 Thank you as always for the support and love you've all given my games. One day I will reward you all in kind and release Alaris....LFMALSDIJF

For market research this month, I have been trying to play Fields of Mistria in the small pockets of free time that I have. March and Eiland my beloved. But what I really want to highlight this month is...

No one is surprised that I am, once again, telling you to support @ravenstargames

Lost in Limbo is a phenomenal dark fantasy VN that just released their demo and went live with their Kickstarter. The team is made up of some of the kindest, funniest, most hardworking, and talented people that I know, and I can't recommend the demo enough. The cast is diverse and has so much character (I literally love every character). The writing is beautiful, and the art is absolutely stunning. It's the team's first game, but you wouldn't know it from how polished, immersive, and breathtaking the demo is! Please consider supporting the team, whether it's playing the game or backing the Kickstarter. They deserve every ounce of success they get, and if you're a fan of fantasy and stunning storytelling, you will LOVE THIS GAME!!! Envy stans RISE!!!!

That's all for this month (and for the next two months.... wah.... don't forget about me everyone...)! Hope everyone stays well and warm as we enter fall, and I'll see you all in November <3 I'll miss you all dearly (I say this as if I won't still be around to answer asks), and hopefully when I return, I'll be making my debut as DR. CRESCENCE!!!! \o/

#alaris #devlog

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desmos-calculator · 5 months ago

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I was thinking about those posts I sometimes see about dates being an equation (you know the ones), and was thinking, is there a year where that happens the least? maybe even one where it doesn't happen?

Well, I don't think I'd be qualified to cover every function that uses two inputs, and I would assume every function is quite a few and probably would cover every day

So, I'll be sticking to the basic 4,+,-,× and ÷, since that's what I see most common with those posts

First step is to get a list of all the dates (I should clarify, from the Gregorian calendar, since that's the most common dating system I see from those posts), which is pretty easy, just make it yourself! you know how the months work... right?

right?

Anyways, we have a list now! two, in fact, so we can put our days and months separately

Now, we just apply the functions and,

meh, could be prettier, now, we gotta consider that negative years don't exist yet, less so something like XX negative 19, so those extra spots below, gotta go

We also need to consider that years such as XX 100 would theoretically someday exist, but we're just gonna assume you're only looking at the last 2 digits, so, BEGONE!

And don't forget about the year XX 02.75, that was the best year... for all of us that used a different calendar system, so I'm going to need to ask you numbers to LEAVE!

And that should be all the house keeping we need to do, let's collapse em down

woooah, coolio, let's color them based on the group come from

preeeetty, someone should crochet that

Now, you may think "Hey, he left out my favourite day, [February 29th], How could he????!!!!!"

Well, 2+29=31, which can't be a leap year, 2-29 is negative, so no, not possible, 2/29 is a fraction, and 2*29=58, which is NOT a leap year

so, to anyone guessing dates that can never work, congrats, you won!

we can also see what years work with each function

with division ending the lowest, since all it does is decrease, we find the last date to be XX14, on 28th February, ironic. sorry y'all didn't notice it til it was too late.

for subtraction? the last date will be... 30th January 2029! Get your cakes (uh, funeral cakes?) ready for the last date possible for subtraction in.... 4 years time?!?! jesus, time flies, huh?

uhmm, for addition, we find the final day to be 30th December XX42! woa

and the multiplication goes til the end, being the year XX99, dated November 9th...... ANYWAYS

the year of most functional dates will be XX12 with the dates:

11th Jan (11+1=12), 12th Jan(12*1=12), 13th Jan(13-1=12),

6th Feb (6*2=12), 10th Feb (10+2=12), 14th Feb (14-2=12),

24th Feb (24/2=12), 4th March (4*3=12), 9th March (9+3=12),

15th March (15-3=12), 3rd April (3*4=12), 8th April (8+4=12),

16th April (16-4=12), 7th May (7+5=12), 17th May (17-5=12),

2nd June (2*6=12), 6th June (6+6=12), 18th June (18-6=12),

5th July (5+7=12), 19th July (19-7=12), 4th August (4+8=12),

20th August (20-8=12), 3rd September (3+9=12),

21st September (21-9=12), 2nd October (2+10=12),

22nd October (22-10=12), 1st November (1+11=12),

23rd November (23-11=12), 1st December (1*12=12),

and finally... 24th December (24-12=12)

awesome

the years with no days are all primes after XX43, since if it had any factors, it'd work for multiplication

except, I lied, XX58, XX62, XX74, XX82, XX86 and XX94 are all not prime, yet have 0 days, since they're divisible by 2 but the other factor is bigger than 30

except, I lied again, XX58 is actually the only one with a potentially real day, being february 29, as we mentioned earlier.

"BUT WAIT, WHAT ABOUT m/d/y? WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICAN SYSTEM?!?!"

hghhghghg

graaaaah, the division section barely exists

woah, separation, around the x=y line too, with the same shape no less

except, BOOM, i lied to you, AGAIN.

you see, this shape is actually skinner than the original one

you actually only lose potential dates by switching to the other system, and here's how many you lose

The years that lose the most are XX13, XX14, XX15 with 13 missing days, and we'll reach a consensus for amount of days working with math in XX32! the perfect number to end on

but also, this system gives us our earliest year ending with a multiplicative date, being 1st December XX12 (XX12 was a great year for functions, huh)

So, when's the next functional date? well, we missed 13th November, so mark your calendars for 12th December!!

So, what did we learn?

Well, I mean, I guess you can brag about knowing when the next date that's a math equation.

and also the tragedy that is 29th February XX58...

Suggest other calendar systems, and I'll look into them!

#mathblr #math #mathematics #maths #math posting #maths posting

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linkons-most-wanted · 3 days ago

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Captivating Moment and Operation Aether Ordeal

Caleb's Lucid Dreams myth being more or less in the main story timeline (more like a Bond than the other Myths) prompted me to go back and watch Captivating Moment again, and I realized that it's pretty explicitly set during Project Aether Ordeal (i.e. during the 3-4 months after MC is first in the N109 Zone) which is actually really interesting and puts the rest of MC and Sylus's "early in the relationship" memories into a pretty specific place in the timeline.

This is sort of a ramble but with lots of citations so I hope it'll be interesting to the other folks enjoying the lore and the meta aspect of the storytelling!

Spoilers below the cut! Sorry if it doesn't work on mobile, I only halfway understand how mobile Tumblr decides when to use/not use the "keep reading" cut 😅

Disclaimer 1: First off I want to say that an exact timeline is sort of not the point of LaDS, they intentionally give themselves room to not have to manage continuity perfectly, but I enjoy putting things into context.

Disclaimer 2: As a writer myself, I feel comfortable speculating on things that happen "behind the scenes" with creating LaDS, since I've worked myself into some continuity errors and ret-cons of my own. You can decide how plausible or not what I'm suggesting seems.

Okay back to the lore dump.

We still don't know the exact timeline after Homecoming Wings, but the writers usually give themselves some flexibility to work with, so I'm not anticipating us finding out that something happened immediately after Homecoming Wings. At that point, we're still sort of in Operation Aether Ordeal, though all parts of the Spatium Core have at least been spotted. (I need to replay the second half of Homecoming Wings, I forget exactly where that left off.)

Notably, in Captivating Moment, MC mentions she's on an 'Aether Core' mission. When the myth dropped concurrent with Sylus's release in July, we wouldn't start getting content about Operation Aether Ordeal until October. So if you watched the myth early, you could kind of assume that MC is chasing a lead about her own Aether Core--but that's pretty much resolved at the end of Long Awaited Revelry. Rather, I think this was intentionally a reference to Operation Aether Ordeal, though vague enough to not spoil anything.

One reason this is likely an intended reference (but ends up creating a continuity error) is that the season is given as spring. I'll have to make a longer post about it, but before Prologue to Tomorrow, the most natural time for Operation Aether Ideal would be spring 2049. This assumes that only about a month goes by between MC becoming a Hunter and the Bloomshore District Explosion, which is a natural assumption for an otherwise unspecified time skip, and the early chapters of Under Twilight give summery vibes, though the season isn't specified.

However, Prologue to tomorrow's Xavier branch, Voyage of the Outcast, goes and sets itself in autumn. Since it's explicitly two months after Long Awaited Revelry, then LAR and Captivating Moment must happen circa July/August, which is solidly summer, not spring.

I think this is specifically why the new Serpent's Cast World Underneath story says that snow is on the ground during the Bloomshore District Explosion--the writers realized they needed to extend one of their unspecified time skips, and the best candidate was the time skip between Talented Hunter and Under Twilight. By adding a 6mo time skip there, then Voyage of the Outcast is able to correctly happen in autumn.

But the consequence of this is that Captivating Moment, which was already published, now represents a continuity error by stating the season to be spring when it should be late summer or autumn.

From a fanfic/headcannon perspective this is actually really easy to solve--the conversation between MC and Sylus about plants (and how little he sees them in the N109 Zone) works just as well with autumn leaves or late-summer vibrance as it does with spring blooms.

Not sure how interesting this will be for others, but as someone who's kind of driving myself crazy trying to sketch out the main story's timeline, I felt a little less insane when I started to see the evidence that the writers also sort of lost track of things and went back to ret-con them. 😅

The time skip being lengthened has some other interesting consequences--MC now has known/reconnected with Xavier, Zayne, and Rafayel for over a year by the time she meets Sylus. That's interesting context to think about for their relationship at the time of Prologue to Tomorrow and Homecoming Wings. I think a lot about Zayne's comment in Homecoming Wings that MC "needs something other than lukewarm"--i.e. he realizes he's not being clear enough that he wants to spend more time with her, and he needs to be bolder. It pushes Zayne memories like Everlasting Wish well after late 2049, which isn't particularly consequential other than that it assures my heart that the world won't like, entirely abruptly explode? probably?

Again I want to emphasize that fitting the Memoria into the main story timeline is kind of missing the point, since they're meant to be branching timelines with room for "what if this relationship went after, what if that crisis didn't happen" etc. It's meant for each player to be able to string together their own continuity that makes the most sense to them--which for me personally is enjoying the challenge of trying to fit everything into the context of the main story. 😅

Since it's rumored that we're getting a Sylus main story branch soon, I'm really curious how much they'll reference, where they're going to go with it, the relationship stage it'll represent, etc.

Alright that's enough of me rambling about the timeline for now. If you got this far, thank you! <3

#lads #love and deepspace #lads lore analysis #lads lore #lads timeline #lads timeline analysis #lads sylus #sylus x mc #captivating moment #sylusmc #operation aether ordeal #lads operation aether ordeal

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bekaterrier · 3 months ago

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Happy Audio Drama Sunday! My new job starts tomorrow so it's been deep cleaning time around my place. I've been re-listening to some favourites so this one's a little long!

@storiesfromylelmore Episode 210 - Check Up: More Keryth backstory! We're finally learning more about the vague references she's made to a hospital stay. That must have been a scary time for her family! I'm glad she didn't have a bad experience there, and she was so cute over the walkie-talkie. Fruit Snack Day is absolutely wild. Poor Rion. And Elas has learned more about themself! They have an aptitude for magic! That's so cool! 🏥

@forgedbondspod Chapters 1-4: This is one that I've been waiting for, and the first episode came out just before the holidays. It's a retelling of the story of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, and I am loving it so far. I absolutely adore the friendships between Ares and Aphrodite, and Hephaestus and Dionysus. And I also wanted to punch Zeus in the face, even though I love Alasdair Stuart (that man is everywhere!) I'm very excited to see where the story goes and how Aphrodite and Hephaestus' relationship develops. 💍

@monkeymanproductions MTO Phases - Story 1 - Roger: We're getting more Moonbase Theta, Out content!! As a Patreon supporter, I've had the privilege of reading these short stories over the past year, getting a little look at what some of our favourite characters have been doing following the conclusion of the series. Also, some characters that we never got to know so well. When I found out that Cass (voice of Michell L'Anglois) would be putting together an audio version of the stories, I flipped out! I'd already heard that he did character voices to fill in for missing actors during rehearsals and recording sessions, so I'm even more stoked to get to hear some of those impressions. 🌘

The first of these recording, which was released this week, started us off strong! Of course it had to be Roger, and I love how it was essentially a continuation of his scene from the epilogue. I love the baby ACs too, and Cass's accent choice for Gammie was spot on (inspired by the lovely Reception Bot). Their conversation was so sweet, and the image of Gammie and Uncle Roger discussing poetry (and perhaps writing their own poems) is now forever in my mind. 📖

@monkeymanproductions Waiting For October S1 Episode 3.5 - Auncle Lantern: This episode is so beautiful. I love the way we got to hear both Auncle Lantern's clacking sign-language as well as xir inner monologue. Xir description of how the denizens of October have grown and made their place in their world and ours is so moving. We should all be taking Auncle Lantern's advice to keep growing, keep revising the story. 🎃

@electromancypodcast S1&2: I loved Electromancy S1 but wasn't in the right brain space to listen to S2 when it was released at the end of 2023. I'm very glad to have listened now though! The world and the plot keep building, but there's still so much more the learn. Trust was a big theme of S2, how hard it is to build and how easy it is to break. Now just what did the Dean see inside Jenna's mind? ⚡

@woodenovercoats re-listen: Continuing my cleaning/re-listening, I returned to Piffling Vale and enjoyed it all over again! I love all of these characters so much, and I love hearing their journies over the 4 seasons. Remember, other people are all there is. Also, you are the most important person in the world, and so am I. ⚰️

@ameliapodcast S3 Part 1: There's so much going on this season and I love it! I've been enjoying having Amelia as part of the team, and getting even more Alvina. But where did our Italians go? What about Kozlowski? Also, how old is the Interviewer? Is he immortal? Thing are getting pretty wild, between Russia and Panaragua! And now they're going to have to work at cross purposes!? ☕

#audio drama sunday #stories from ylelmore #forged bonds #forged bonds podcast #moonbase theta out #waiting for october #electromancy #electromancypod #wooden overcoats #the amelia project

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unreesonable · 4 months ago

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Radio 2 interview with Lynn Parsons, 21 October 2002, about Art and other things. Transcript under the cut.

LP: It's late night Radio 2. Now "Art" has been showing in the West End of London for 6 years now and it's renowned for its freshness because every few weeks there's a cast change. As of Monday the 14th of October, the 27th cast took to the stage at the Whitehall Theatre - namely Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith. They are known collectively as The League of Gentlemen, and they join us in the studio tonight to talk about the very last cast change in this six-year run of Yasmina Reza's story of friendship that is put to the test, and all in the name of art. Welcome, Gentlemen.

MG: Good evening.

RS: Hello

SP: Hello!

LP: You've just come off stage. How was it tonight?

SP: Great!

RS: Good, very good.

SP: Very good response. You know, it's the play that really gets people going and we just feel like, you know, we're very lucky to have such a good script, really.

LP: Well, it's going to be completely different to the first time you actually hit the West End stage because you were performing in something you'd written. Now you're performing in something that somebody else has written. Is that as comfortable?

MG: It's very different, but I think what we've found so far is you can almost sense there are some people who've only come to see us. Obviously, there's a big mixed audience because the play has such a reputation, lots of tourists, but I think you can almost detect that people are won over by the material. They may be expecting one thing and they certainly get another, and by the end, they're really going with the actual impetus of the play rather than just the fact that we're, you know, we're novelty casting.

SP: There was a performance the other night where the curtain sort of goes up and I'm sitting on stage to begin, and I heard someone go 'Pauline!' and I was thinking 'Oh no!' And, you know, that's the fear - that people would expect to see what we do on television somehow infused into this play. And of course we haven't done that.

RS: Yeah.

SP: We've just acted in the play, haven't we?

RS: Absolutely. Yeah, it was a concern that somehow people might think, bizarrely, that we would do the play in our characters.

MG: Well, some quite reasonable people have actually asked that.

RS: Yeah!

MG: Which is extraordinary, as if we're going to sort of pervert this play just to our own advantage.

SP: But as Mark says, by the end you can tell by the time you're doing your final curtain call and everything that people have really enjoyed it.

RS: But it is a strange thing to do someone else's lines, finally, because, you know, we are so used to writing and performing our thing and it's our vision. Suddenly to have characters that are not ours - you know, that's where we've had a director for the first time in many years properly directing us as actors, and that's a really unusual thing for we three. We never get told what to do really.

LP: Now we're used to seeing the three of you - the three of you together. And I just wondered whether you chose the parts you played or did they absolutely know who was going to play what?

MG: No, it was up to us, but we sort of fell into. er... There was a kind of general sense - people guessed correctly and I was like 'Oh, all right. Why?' And we did talk for a while about sort of swapping around to confound people's expectations, but it just sort of happened naturally really.

LP: I thought perhaps Mark would be Marc, but you've complicated matters slightly.

MG: Yeah, that was the only concession to complication.

SP: It would help, wouldn't it, to change that. But no, I think they had the same ideas that we had. But to be honest, we could have done it any way. We did feel that the parts were best suited the way we've done them, but we could have changed them.

LP: Well, you're in it for three months-

MG: Oh!

LP: And we're only a week down the line. I was just thinking that maybe you might have a bit of fun and change around.

RS: Ugh! No...

LP: Would that be too much?

MG: It's enough of an effort to get through it every night!

LP: I think perhaps you should tell us the parts you play and what - why you picked those particular parts. That would be good.

MG: Well, I play Serge, who's bought the offending white painting. I'm a dermatologist, I've done very well for myself, and what the others can't bear - or certainly Marc can't bear - is I've splashed out this enormous amount of money, about £20,000, on a totally white painting. It offends his sensibilities somehow. And I'm sort of trying to keep the end up for art for art's sake really, in the face of his- what I see as his philistinism.

SP: But you are more interested in art than-

MG: Than the other two, yeah, yeah.

SP: Than we two. But as yourself, I mean…

MG: Oh, me? Yes.

SP: But you wouldn't like the white painting, would you?

MG: No, that's the thing.

SP: As yourself.

MG: I mean, I love painting, I do paint, but I'm actually more...

SP: He's a decorator.

LP: Right...

MG: I'm a painter and decorator. Like Hitler. I would not have that painting in my house.

LP: OK

RS: It's strange though because by the end I think it is a beautiful thing. That's what's brilliant about the play.

SP: So actually you should have been Serge?

MG: Yeah.

RS: Yes! Yeah, yeah.

SP: Mark should have been Marc and I should have been Yvan.

RS: Oh no. Mistake.

SP: We are discovering we've done it wrong!

MG: Oh no!

RS: Anyway, I - unfortunately - play Yvan. I'm the middle one who is, um, neither hates nor loves the painting but can just see both sides and is the friend of the pair of 'em. There's three friends and we are equally kind of successful in the worlds that we inhabit, but I kind of try to keep the peace and, wrongly, probably - in a kind of a boring way - say yes to both the pair of them. And that causes conflict because I shouldn't just be kind of middling. I shouldn't...

MG: You don't take sides.

RS: I don't, yeah… I don't, I kind of try and keep it all smooth and that causes its own problems. And I don't know whether I do that in real life - I probably don't do that in real life. I'm probably more extreme than Yvan and... angst-ridden. I mean, the character often is being described as kind of the scatty middle one, the obviously comedic one of the three, and I think that we haven't - well, I haven't really done it like that. Not that I'm trying to defend myself if it's not funny, but not obviously to playing it for kind of the bumbling middle one. It's just we… I think we're all quite equal in it and that's good. I think that's true to the play.

LP: OK.

RS: So, um, that's my character.

LP: And you play Marc?

SP: I play, Marc, yes. Marc is an engineer and he's very good friends with Serge and with Yvan, and he hates the painting. And it turns out that he's always thought of himself as being a sort of opinion former - someone who Serge would come to and say 'What do you think about this?' and Serge would get his opinions from Marc. So the idea that Serge has gone out and bought his own painting is really annoying. And the fact that it's just this completely white canvas - he just can't see it. He's very old-fashioned. And when I read it, I sort of didn't like the character. I thought, 'Oh God, he's a bit pompous and a bit sort of arrogant,' but the way we've been directed to do it is to see every character's point of view and play the truth of that because, you know, you do get exasperated about the most ridiculous things. And one of the nice things that we've been able to work on - because we are three friends and have been for 15 years as the friends in the play have been - is that even when they're falling out and at their most extreme, daggers drawn, they can still have a laugh. And so the play needn't become just one long protracted argument - that would be very boring. So what we've tried to do is pick out moments of humour even amid the hugest argument. Someone will say something and all three of us laugh, and that's been really nice to work on.

RS: Yeah, it's a very real thing I think in friendship - in a proper friendship, a long stable friendship - that you can do that. You can say the most horrible thing and a minute later you can be laughing again, and you know it just wasn't meant.

MG: You can certainly imagine it like at the end of a relationship - even if it's all over and that's it, and you're sort of even, like, sorting out who's getting what and things like that, you would have a shared remembrance of something which would still bring you back together. And that's the sort of thing we've been trying to find in it.

LP: When there's a cast change in 'Art,' there is always - I travel up and down on the escalators all the time. Just for the sheer hell of it, not because I'm going anywhere. But there are always those wonderful pictures, aren't there?

MG: Yes!

RS: Yeah.

LP: And yours has got, well, a lot of colour in it. And a cow!

RS: That's right, yes.

LP: One of these cows has been placed around.

MG: Modish.

LP: Was that anything to do with you?"

MG: Well, I had an idea that we should do a Damien Hirst thing and have us cut in half and preserved in tanks.

RS: Yeah.

MG: Which I thought was a bit ghoulish even for us... But then it went that way of having one of those cows. And the reason we've got chainsaws and everything - the implication is we're going to cut it in half and do a sort of Damien Hirst on it. I don't know what it is now-

RS: I think it just happened - the cows are around at the moment and it's an art-type thing-

MG: And it's the only white one. It's an artifact in itself.

RS: Yes. So it's just, um, a sacred cow, maybe...

MG: Hmm, yeah...

SP: But because it's a white cow on a white background in the poster, most people don't see it!

LP: I saw it!

SP: You saw it. OK! Oh, that's good!

LP: It's the blood splattered everywhere, all the red paint really.

SP: Yeah, well, it's certainly different, you know. We went to David Pugh's office - he's the producer - the other day, and he's got all the different posters on his wall. And we were saying to him you should put a book out. Because they are really-

LP: Actually they're very clever aren't they? Very clever.

RS: Yeah. It'd be really nice to have.

MG: We actually have two. We're the first cast to have two - it's double-sided, although no one puts the other one up. The other side is a Gilbert and George pastiche, which no one gets so probably not… it's not up, but it's quite nice, that one. Quite subtle.

RS: Yeah. Like stained glass.

MG: Mmm.

LP: Stay with us, we'll talk more after this. The League of Gentlemen - that's Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith - are my guests on the show tonight, and they're currently performing 'Art' at the Whitehall Theatre in London, which we will come back to in a moment. But I think we need to mention Jeremy Dyson. I've never seen him - I'm not sure if he exists - and obviously there are only three parts, aren't there, in 'Art'?

MG: Yes.

LP: So it's understandable that he's not there. But we haven't seen him in The League of Gentlemen either, have we? Or have we?

MG: You've glimpsed him very briefly.

SP: He crops up, yeah. You'd have to know what he looked like in order to spot him - a bit like Where's Willy.

MG: Where's Willy this week?

SP: The children's books. But no, he does crop up. He was in the original lineup before we were called The League of Gentlemen. He did do some sketches, and in fact, he was the first person to play Bernice, the vicar who Reece now plays. But because he never trained as an actor, I think he just sort of didn't feel confident enough to do that.

LP: And he likes focusing on the writing.

RS: Absolutely, yeah.

LP: What does he think of you in this? Has he seen you yet?

RS: Yes, he has. Yes, yeah, he thought it was very good. He was very proud. He hadn't ever seen it, so it was great that he said he was holding out for us three to do it.

LP: Aww!

MG: Oh, that's what everyone's been saying! Lazy people!

RS: But no, he was very... He thought it was great.

LP: Good. I think I'm right in saying that you were commissioned for the BBC Radio 4 series after being spotted at the Edinburgh Fringe, and that the radio show won a Silver Sony Award, which is-

MG: That's right.

LP: That's fantastic, isn't it?

RS: It did, yeah, it was amazing.

MG: Yeah, seems like a long time ago.

SP: The Gold Award went to 'Jam,' the Chris Morris series on Radio 1, which we didn't mind losing to because we think he's a genius.

LP: It's pretty cool too, isn't it?

MG: I can also remember that the bronze went to 'Hold My Plums' Christmas Special.

SP: That's right.

MG: BBC Radio Bristol.

SP: It was regional. It was local humour for local people.

LP: And then we get the resulting television series, and I'll just have to take a deep breath here, which won the Golden Rose of Montreux, the RTS Award for Best Entertainment, a BAFTA for Best Comedy, and in terms of other awards as well, there was the little matter of the Perrier Award for the Edinburgh Fringe in '97. Now, there are four of you, so do you have these awards on your mantelpiece in a rota basis? How does it work?

RS: Yeah. No, we don't.

MG: Actually, should work out a version of the award story now 'cause… a shortened version of them all. The Golden Rose was stolen by the BBC. It's still there. We got -

SP: It wasn't stolen!

RS: They said, 'Can we have it and have it in a tank for a while and look at it?' and then we never got it back.

MG: We got one BAFTA each - we got one of those at home. The RTS is with our agent. The Perrier is too. I think that's it.

SP: I think the only awards we've got… the only awards I've got at home are… when you're asked to give an award and the person hasn't turned up, so we've got like Gwyneth Paltrow's Best Actress award

RS: Yeah, I've got that.

SP: And I've got Marilyn Manson's award for Best Video.

RS: She won at the Empire Awards

SP: So that's the only way we get awards - by giving them out and then people not collecting them. Otherwise, because there's four of us, yeah, we give them to our agent and they sort of look after them.

RS: They've got a, you know, a display cabinet with a lot of awards in. So it's-

SP: Just to stop the BBC stealing them.

MG: Stealing them back!

LP: Now, a moment ago you were saying in 'Art' the relationship is 15 years, you know, sort of off stage and on stage for these characters, and you were saying that it's okay to argue and it works throwing things sort of about between you. Is that how the writing for The League of Gentlemen works? Are there a few arguments? Do you kind of pitch in here and there?

RS: It's not as apocalyptic as in 'Art,' but we're a bit more…

MG: Not yet.

RS: Not yet, no.

LP: No chainsaws.

RS: Yeah, no, it's… we kind of split the writing into two teams. Steve and I write together, and Mark and Jeremy tend to write together, and then the hardest part really is coming together to knit it into one whole. And this third series we've just done, we tried more to have an eye on the entire thing this time around because our last two series have kind of been made up of sketches that we've all written individually.

LP: This is slightly different, isn't it?

RS: Yeah, so we just thought - and it's always felt slightly unsatisfying as writers to have not really ever had that bigger picture entirely. So we just thought let's try and think of… and this is why we ended up with the idea of all six having the same ending and arriving at the same point so that it all completely knitted together. And that's hopefully quite interesting for people to watch.

MG: Also after three series, you know, we move on. There are elements in the second series where if you watch it now, there are storylines developing over a couple of episodes or even one episode. There's a little story about four visits to… and so it's a natural progression then to do a 20-minute story around one or two characters and make it less sketchy, and it's more mature, I think.

LP: Right. The show's really funny and very dark too. Now, I've read that you claim British horror films are a big influence on your work. Are we talking Hammer Horror here?

SP: Yeah, I think in part, yeah.

RS: All kinds.

SP: All kinds of horror films from the '30s, '50s, '70s... I think in this third series what we've tried to do is - because we've done so many horror film pastiches up to this point, and there's a danger of being seen as going into parody and doing parodic humor, which isn't our thing really, and so we've pulled back a little bit from that and allowed the characters just to be in the real world with real problems. But yeah, certainly the idea of those sort of horror films which really shock you and take things in an unexpected direction - that's been a big influence, and we always try to stay one step ahead of the audience.

LP: At this stage in the proceedings, I think I should bring in Papa... Lazarou.

MG: Papa Lazarou.

SP: Why, is he outside?

RS: Yeah, here he comes...

SP: He's going to steal you!

LP: How scary is that man? We've had so many emails because we've said that you're coming on the show, and we had one from Hannah Chase in Dartmouth who said that is her favourite character. Are we likely to see more of him in the future?

MG: Ah, well, you must gaze into your crystal ball!

RS: Yes, yeah… Well, we were very… we had… we talked long and hard about how we could or couldn't bring him back, you know. We just… we just in the end thought that…

LP: You're gonna let him go?

RS: Yeah, one of the first-

SP: For now!

RS: For now. I mean, who knows?

SP: But not forever.

RS: Not forever.

SP: He's roaming the country, yeah.

RS: Yeah he's in the countryside wandering around looking for more wives.

SP: You never know when he's going to crop up.

LP: And bizarrely, we have one from Dave, who I understand is the real Dave. From Cardiff. Who wanted me to ask you what is the special stuff that Hillary Briss the butcher sells to the locals?

MG: We can't tell you that because otherwise it would all be blown!

RS: Ah yes.

LP: You'd have to kill me, wouldn't you?

RS: Yes. We could, but then...

SP: Read the book, read… there are clues in it.

RS: Yeah, there are!

SP: There are clues. If you read the - we've got a book called… I'm not plugging it here, well I am, but 'A Local Book for Local People.' If you read that, there are clues within it as to what the special stuff actually is, and no one's cracked it yet. But-

MG: It's like that thing where you could go and dig up the golden hare. You remember that?

RS: Ooh. 'Masquerade'

LP: I don't know that one. That's kind of fallen a bit flat on me.

RS: Didn't you have to find eggs around the country?

MG: No, it was… it was a bloke called Kit Williams. He made this beautiful jewelled hare out of solid gold and buried it somewhere. And he did this fantastic book of paintings with clues…

RS: Oh yes! I remember that!

MG: And everyone got to around page 16 and couldn't get any further.

LP: Did anybody find it?

MG: They did in the end, and I think someone found it by accident, which is terrible.

SP & RS: Ugh!

MG: We should do something like that.

RS: Mm!

SP: A development, or…

LP: A bit of an anticlimax really. And Alec Duffy from Glasgow says, 'Why was the town called Spent for the radio series and changed to Royston Vasey for television?'

MG: We came up with the… we had a big list of short… a shortlist of potential Northern town names, and Spent is quite authentic-sounding. There's a lot of places, you know, called Knacked and Dry, things like that, various places in the North… and then we just got a bit fed up with it, really. And Royston Vasey had been on the list - it's Chubby Brown's real name. It was like sort of joke within a joke.

RS: Yeah, I think we thought Spent was a bit too kind of on the nose, telling you what-

MG: Too 'Nurthurn'

RS: Um, the intention behind that kind of tired, horrible-

MG: It's also that simple thing, you know, transition to TV, you sort of want to make a fresh start. And we'd made a lot of mistakes on the radio, I like to think. Like today! And it was just sort of is a way of underlining that and saying, 'Well, this is slightly different.'

SP: Same material but a different...

RS: A different town name.

MG: The town next door.

LP: Let's take you back to the theatre now. You're in 'Art' until it closes in January. Is it very nice to be sort of, you know, 27th cast and with all those names? Is it really nice to be part of that?"

RS: Absolutely, yeah. It's such an honour. I mean, I've always… I remember seeing the second cast with Mark Williams, David Haig and Anton Lesser, and I thought, 'That's… I'd love that play. I'd love to do that one day.' And you know, that was 1997/8, was it something like that? I just thought we'd never be asked. But. It's great!

SP: Mm, but to begin with, it was quite daunting, wasn't it? Because we were sort of hearing all these other casts and 'Oh, they did that line brilliantly' and 'they did that scene beautifully,' and it puts the pressure on you before you've actually done the play. Now we've done it and we've got the first sort of week or so under our belts, we're a bit more confident that it's our interpretation of 'Art,' and, you know, hopefully it'll rank alongside the others.

RS: Yeah. And we're younger than a lot of the casts… I mean, they have in the last few casts had younger people, and that's a different spin on it, I think. MG: And also we are three friends - the first time this has happened. I mean, I think previous casts, a couple of people… well, the original-

LP: Might have known each other.

MG: - get on well, but it's a different sort of dynamic, if I dare use that word. We won't be friends by the time we've finished!

LP: And just finally, out of curiosity… he is the producer - have you met Sean Connery yet?

MG: We got some flowers from him opening night. And I was going, 'Who's this Sean?' ... Oh, it's Sean Commery. The very idea that he sent-

SP: We're hoping that, you know, that the run coincides with one of his tax breaks, you know, when he can come to the UK, and that's the only way we'll meet him!

MG: 'What the hell have you done to my play?'

SP: But interestingly, he is filming 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' in Prague.

MG: Ah yes.

SP: At the moment. Is he? So-

MG: Mm. Floods permitting.

SP: So there is a link there.

LP: The other link is, of course, that he was born in Edinburgh, so that kind of has a connection for you as well, because that's when things began to take off for you at The Fringe. So I guess geographically it's a lucky charm. And long may your luck continue!

MG & SP & RS: Thank you very much!

LP: Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith. Thanks so much for coming in for a chat, and they're in 'Art' at the Whitehall Theatre in London until January.

#reece shearsmith #steve pemberton #mark gatiss #tlog #the league of gentlemen #radio interview #art #2002 #why the fuck did i type this all up i think i've actually gone insane #obvs some mistakes as they talk over each other but i did my best

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gatzbright · 2 years ago

Text

[october] one year of togetherness.

@/dreamsecretclub: dteam Christmas won’t be happening unfortunately, thought I��d say before that way Christmas can still be great :) totally out of our control unfortunately, can’t wait for the future still :)) 2022 incoming ♥️♥️

Dream: I'm gonna expose George's feelings on his behalf ... He was just saying, he was like, 'I think I'm depressed', and we were like 'What do you mean?' and he was like, 'I don't know. I don't do anything, and no one's here, and I just wanna come to the US'. And Sapnap was like, 'Well, what if I came to the UK?' and George was like, 'You should'. And then Sapnap went and filed for his passport the next day.

Dream: Because George hasn't got his visa yet, Sapnap's going to the UK. Sapnap: Fine. I'll go. [Dream Team laughs] Dream: So, unfortunately, Sapnap's getting the first George hug. [George Laughs] Sapnap: I'm getting the first George hug.

Dream: I feel like if George isn't here by, like—I wanna be like, 'Well, next month'. I feel like if George isn't here by September, my like, mental health will take a dive. Massively. And that sounds like, fucked, but it's one-hundred percent true.

Dream: You will see the fact that George, um—George's reaction to seeing me ... We said when he got his visa he could FaceTime me, so, stuck to the plan. Not saying anymore because you have to wait for the meetup video.

Dream: You sure you don't want to wait to see me in person? George: I'm ready. I've got my camera set up—I'm all ready to go! Dream: I guess I just, I wasn't expecting this. I'm gonna go look in a mirror and make sure I don't look like trash. I'll be right back! George: [laughs] Okay ... Oh my god.

George: After years of waiting, I was finally going to America.

Sapnap: Dream? Dream: Yeah? Sapnap: Clay? Dream: Oh god. Sapnap: I brought him. He's here. You excited? Dream: I am ... very nervous. Sapnap: Nervous but excited. Dream: I'm nervous, but I'm excited! I'm doing excited hops. Sapnap: It's a big day—an exciting day! ... Take your time. This is big stuff. He's going to be living here forever.

@/GeorgeNotFound: Just met Dream!! :)

“This doesn’t even feel real,” George says in the video — a sentiment he reiterates to Variety when asked about how he felt in the moment. “The sun was directly behind him, and it was blinding me, and he had an aura about him.”

George: It's so bright, I can't even see you. You're like a—you're like a god with the sun behind you!

George: I guess I gotta go get my bags in, and time to live in the Dream House. Dream: The Dream Team House!

@/GeorgeNotFound: why didnt you post the one where you actually kissed me?

dream @/dreamwastaken: just felt better leaving things up for larger interpretation

George: Look it's Dream, and Sapnap. It's all of us!

Dream: [softly to George] Rise and shine. We're home.

Hypnotised, Delta Goodrem | Dream's secret George photos in smile hoodie, Deleted @/dreamwastaken Tweet | Dream Priv Tweet,@/dreamsecretclub | The Collector, John Fowles | Dream Team Minecraft Skins | Dream Discord Podcast, Dream Merch Server | Our first selfie :], @/GeorgeNotFound Tweet | Sapnap Tiktok with George, @/Sapnapvids | Fortnite w/Dream and George, SapnapAlt VOD | Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett [Used Many Times] | You Laugh You Lose With George, Sapnap VOD | Dream Discord Podcast, Dream Merch Server | The Trial, Franz Kafka | George Visa Tweet, @/GeorgeNotFound | Dream Twitter Space, @/dreamwastaken | October Passed Me By, girl in red | George Visa Selfie, @/GeorgeNotFound | I Met Dream In Real Life, GeorgeNotFound [Used Many Times] | There It Goes, Maisie Peters | Dandelion Wine, Gregory Alan Isakov | Electric Touch (feat. Fall Out Boy) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault), Taylor Swift | Coastline, Hollow Coves | George Tweet, @/GeorgeNotFound | Dream and George Interview, Rachel Seo, Variety | Dream Deleted Tweet Photos, @/Dream | George Tweet Reply,@/GeorgeNotFound | Dreamland, Glass Animals | Photograph of Dream and George during the Foodbeast's Panel at Twitchcon San Diego, @/itsjusttai_ | Dream Team Christmas – Baking Cookies, Sapnap VOD | fallingforyou, The 1975 | Dream Team Christmas – Gingerbread Houses, GeorgeNotFound VOD | Dream Tweet Reply, @/dreamwastaken | It's Not Living (If It's Not With You), The 1975 | just got back from hospital..., GeorgeNotFound VOD | Home, Gabrielle Aplin | Dream and George on set: Everest – Dream & Yung Gravy BEHIND THE SCENES, Dream Music | Dream Snapchat Video, @/Dream | Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

#WAAAAAAAH HAPPY ANNIVERSARY OF MEET UP AND FACE REVEAL GEORGE IN FLORIDA DREAM TURNS ONE YEAR OLD DAY !!!!!!!!!#ijust spent four hours on this holyfuckdbdhf my brain rn #I WANNA FINSIH A FIC FOR TOMROROW/TODAY TOO. it is 3:30am i thinki should Sleep thoand sdothat tomorrow #mygod #this iss o satisfying to look at now #the references are always so god damn long but i LOVE DOING THEM no matter how much of a pain they are bc its like hey. h ey look dnf real #dnf is R eal bc LOOK. LOOK LOOOOOK. (also we're gonna ignore the formatting of the referencing bc it fucked up Many times IM NOT FIXINGAGA #ok thanksfor ur attention enjoy goonight mwah <3333333 #dnf #dreamnotfound #web weaving #compilations #my webs

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