#and I've seen some people be nervous about getting on the platform so I thought I'd try to help <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[xoxoemynn]

For OFMD Tumblr friends who want a S3 and are scared of Twitter

First, no judgment from me. I very much get it. I resisted Twitter for a long time, and even though I'm now a bit more comfortable on it, it's still not my Fandom Home. There are a TON of valid reasons not to be on Twitter, but if you REALLY want to keep OFMD visible right now and help its chances of returning for a third season, Twitter is the best place to do it. Like it or not, Twitter is still the best social media platform for raising awareness and for instant news updates.

Tumblr posts don't make headlines. Topics that have been trending on Twitter do. And if we want this show to come back, we need to make OFMD impossible to ignore.

By now you've probably seen just how close we came to a S3, and if you're like me, you are RAGING and donning your battle jacket. But I get it can be intimidating to get on Twitter for the first time, so I thought I'd address some common anxieties I see. I'll put below a cut because this got a bit long, but I promise it's a quick read.

I don't know what to say! Where do I even start? That's okay! You don't have to create your own tweets (although it's great if you do). Amplifying other people's posts is also important. Go ahead and like/retweet/reply to other people's posts. This may also help you get an idea of what you may like to say in your own tweets.

Hashtags...yes? Yes! Although don't use too many or you may get flagged as a bot. The biggest one that seems to be emerging is #SaveOFMD. Other popular ones are #RenewAsACrew, #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath, and of course, #OFMD and #OurFlagMeansDeath.

Should I just be tagging all the streaming services? Per @renewasacrew, no. It's counterproductive. You'll want to tag one streamer at a time and be specific. Below is an example of a tweet I made the other day -- use specific reasons why that that particular streamer may benefit from picking up OFMD.

I'm scared. People are mean. Yeah, people are mean. But I will say the vibes over at OFMD Twitter are currently the best I've ever seen them. People seem to have united for the greater good and are being overwhelmingly positive and just trying to do whatever we can to save the show. (That said, again, I already had a pretty curated feed, and was very liberal with blocking users/terms I didn't want to see, but I've been able to spend so much more time in the For You tab than I ever have without being jump scared by something.)

But I don't know anyone there! Wouldn't I just be shouting into the void? Not if you use the hashtags! Fans are being really good about following those and engaging with the tweets. Plus, [Stede voice], I'm your friend. I'm xoxoemynn over there as well, I'll follow you back and engage with any of your posts that I see. Plus, what's been REALLY lovely to see is that SO many lurkers have come out of lurkerdom to support the efforts, and they are being welcomed with open arms, so you will not be alone. Again, I am telling you, vibes? Best I've ever seen them.

I can't get sucked into another social media platform, I don't have the time. The beauty here is you don't need to spend a lot of time. I've been on Twitter more in the past week than I have in the entire year I've had an account, and I'm still only on for maybe an hour total the entire day? I open the app, I check a couple accounts, I engage with a handful of posts, and I close the app. It takes all of five minutes. It's an extremely small lift that can have a very big impact.

My bet is on Zaslav expecting us to be upset, and that there may be a day or two of outrage, but then we'd move on. I'm sure right now he's trying to convince everyone that this is a fluke, and that it'll blow over soon. Don't let him win. Keep OFMD in the news. Be loud (but polite) and make Max and other streamers take note of what a passionate, loyal fan base this show has. Make their stocks continue to drop. Make it clear this is NOT just a fluke, it is NOT business as usual. It's a BIG fuck up with lasting consequences.

Twitter, for all its sins, is the best place to do this.

Now let's get our damned show back.

[cough-droplet]

People have been discussing what Shirakura said in the "Toei's Secret-Spilling Special!" that came out yesterday on TTFC but I've seen a lot of confusion based on partial translations so I recruited my usual co-conspirators michaelele and Flame to translate the full thing. The text of the interview follows. The video will probably be up on my wordpress at some point today.

Please introduce yourself.

Shirakura: My name is [Shin'ichiro] Shirakura. I'm a poor old man who TTFC has abducted and forced to talk to you all. Glad to be here.

We have a load of questions for you. Are you prepared?

Shirakura: I heard we received hundreds of questions, which I'm really grateful for, because that means Toei's secrets are as dark and alluring as the ocean depths. Keeping their secrets is usually my trade, but today I get to do the opposite. I'm a bit nervous and hope this doesn't upset anyone.

What does the Character Strategy Department do?

Shirakura: Character-based IP have been at the center of Toei's business for over 50 years at this point, so it seemed like high time to make it more official. The Character Strategy Department creates business strategies for our various character-based IP, or plans for them at least.

Looking back to 2024, what do you think of the hype surrounding Royal Sentai King-Ohger's final act?

Shirakura: I'm truly grateful to all the King-Ohger fans, because it wouldn't be possible without them. TTFC was already working with Producer [Takahito] Omori on cutting together the final three episodes into a special edition for release on TTFC. So the plan was always there, and, in fact, I considered giving that cut a straight-up theatrical release. It did get a limited theatrical showing in the end, albeit as a one-day-only deal for members. We would like to do something similar again at some point, but it's really all because of our fans.

What are your thoughts on its successor, Cranked-Up Sentai Boonboomger?

Shirakura: When I first heard the title, "Cranked-Up Sentai Boonboomger," I thought it was weird, but... it kind of rolls off the tongue nicely. Despite its strangeness, it has a certain aura. Then, upon closer inspection, I knew only Producer [Yoshito] Kuji could have come up with it.

Whenever you'd ask Kuji to describe what the show's about, he'll be like... [stone-faced] "It's a cranked-up show." He'd say it just like that, cold as ice. He's really passionate, but he keeps it under the surface, so on the surface he's this mild-mannered, gentle kind of guy. So then I heard the red ranger go, "THAT'S CRANKED UP!" and I shouted "That's where that came from!"

I don't know if "secure" is quite the right word, but I think it's a show that's made with a lot of care.

So the production schedules have seen a shift?

Shirakura: Boonboomger is still following King-Ohger's production cycle, but the series after it will have a two-month head start. The idea of that is… Well, earlier I joked about the Character Strategy Department, but the point isn't just to expand our business dealings with regards to character-based IP such as the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider franchises, but to actively improve the shows in every way possible. Looking at it from the business end of things, Kamen Rider Gavv is actually the first show made in this adjusted production cycle.

The first reason for this is to reduce overseas piracy. The problem with our shows being pirated… The people who pirate our programs are huge fans who love the shows, there's no doubt about that, but in a way, they're also fanatics. What I mean by that is... When these people form their opinions on the shows before the official release has a chance to come out, they're in a position to color the opinions of the fans who watch the official releases. So, for instance, when the official release comes out, the streaming platforms will be flooded with comments like, "If the toys were like so-and-so instead I would buy them," "If they did this then the show would be good."

The head start from pirating lets fanatics drown out all other conversation about a show, even though fanatics judge things differently. So one of our goals was to reduce that.

Another reason was just to revamp our working environment. For years, it's been a mad rush to get each episode to air, giving ourselves barely any time. Obviously, it's very demanding, and it's very easy to go over budget in that situation. But this recent shift in our production schedule should give our budget management, as well as working conditions for cast and crew, a big refresh, so to speak.

We've decided to set this new schedule with Gavv and stick to it over the following years, with all our upcoming projects planned around this. We've been running these franchises for 50 years, but this is totally new for us—Even though I feel like we should have made the change years ago.

What are your thoughts on Kamen Rider Gotchard?

Shirakura: Well, Producer [Yousuke] Minato was under me when we worked on [Avataro Sentai] Donbrothers, so this was his first time being Chief Producer. Obviously, it's got a bit of a school setting, as well as a very young cast, so I think it's a show that's got a youthful energy to it.

The title of the show, Gotchard, was something Minato really pushed for. There were a lot of objections to it. When it came to deciding the all-important title, though, he wasn't forceful about it, but he made it clear he felt really strongly about "Gotchard". [laughs] He said that, along with Decade and Ex-Aid, it can be a sub-series of shows that end in ド (-do). So he pushed the objections aside… In a way, I see that as a sign of how reliable he could be.

How has the shift in the production schedule affected Kamen Rider Gavv?

Shirakura: One of the reasons for Gavv's production shift is China's censorship system. That's where the piracy problem is biggest, and it takes quite a while to pass the censorship process, so we thought we'd give ourselves a three-month lead. We weren't able to pass censorship by September, but finally, as of October 13th, the show has been simulcast day-and-date in Japan and China. This means, for the first time, the official release could make it out before the pirated versions, which I'm really glad we managed to do.

But beating piracy is really just one part of it. As the producer, [Naomi] Takebe tells me, it's had a great overall effect. One major example is the cast. The rushed schedule we had before meant episodes had an extremely fast turnaround. By giving ourselves more lead time, filming Gavv before anyone else knew about it, it gave everyone several months to focus solely on Gavv. Of course, when it aired, all the comments would come, and the interviews and press tours… A sudden influx of noise, for lack of a better term. But, until then, that's three extra months the cast has to focus on their work, their characters. That's the best thing about it.

It also helps with the promotional materials. Take the videos we make to announce the show: We had a lot more material to work with this time, and the CGI was even finalized in time for those trailers. The same goes for the previews at the end of each episode. Even Takebe wondered why didn't do this ages ago. "Why have we been rushing ourselves like this? Why were we so stuck in our ways?" It's really a dark side of Toei no one can understand.

This is the big one. Talk to us about the winter movie.

Shirakura: This year, we're releasing the Fuuto PI movie, and in the new year, there's the Gotchard V-Cinext. As for the so-called "winter movies" we've done each year since 2009, there won't be one. Nor next year, most likely. We're reorganizing the structure, which is getting into Character Strategy again.

So, there's the summer movies, winter movies, and we used to have spring movies as well. Now we have V-Cinexts, which are usually epilogues at the end of a show's run, or movies we make for anniversaries. But there's also stuff like Fuuto PI, or Shin Kamen Rider, which are in their own categories. There's a need to put a structure to all of that. This question is about Kamen Rider, but we're applying this mindset elsewhere, too, of course.

When we talk about Rider movies, though, including V-Cinexts, the question is, what's the demographic? Who are we targeting? Who'll enjoy this? These are questions we've struggled with 'till last year. We need to be more clear about our audience and make things for different demographics to enjoy. We're just starting to do that now, and there's still a lot I can't say, but we have multiple projects in the works right now which we'll start announcing in 2025. Please look forward to those.

Can you give us any specifics?

Shirakura: To be more specific… Well, I can't be that specific, but we'll have something based on the series on TV, a so-called "anniversary" project based on a prior TV series, and something that isn't based on any show at all. So those three projects are all being worked on.

This is because we realized that only the people who follow the TV shows understand our movies. So we're reflecting on that. The core fans will obviously show up for our spring, summer, and winter movies, but with the number of Riders increasing, some people, even us, will forget about certain Riders, and their forms, etc… That's not a big problem for the super dedicated fans, but the average viewer will be completely lost. Lately, it's been feeling more like we've been alienating part of the audience.

That's why, and this is just my way of putting it… We should make things that old people like me can enjoy, too. I honestly think it's important that someone who's not watching the show could catch the trailer and think, "Wow! That movie looks interesting!"

The things that triggered this line of thought are probably [Kamen Rider] Black Sun and Shin Kamen Rider. We've had some experience now — and I'm not saying we'll make stuff like those again — but we're making movies that anyone can enjoy, movies that can stand on their own. We've got a few of those lined up, so I hope everyone can look forward to them.

Tell us about Super Sentai's future as we come into its 50th anniversary.

Shirakura: Next year, 2025, will be the first Super Sentai series' 50th anniversary year.

Super Sentai up 'till now— Let's use [Kikai Sentai] Zenkaiger and its "#45 Bang!" as an example— We've celebrated anniversaries based on the number of series, but I'd like to start celebrating based on the actual years. The reason being… Also, [Pirate Sentai] Gokaiger was heavily pushed for being the 35th series, which begs the question, "why all the emphasis on the numbers that end in 5, like 35 and 45?" It's because we wanted to match with Kamen Rider.

I forget whose idea it was, probably Suzuki Takeyuki, I think, but we've been doing these "double anniversaries". We say it's to celebrate both Rider and Sentai, but we just don't want Rider taking all the spotlight. So that's what we've been doing, but I think it's best if we stopped coupling Rider and Sentai together so much. Rider and Sentai should each have their own space. That's why we're revamping the way we count these.

[laughs] Besides, if we're honest, we're not even sure how many Sentai there are anymore. It's all LuPat's fault, really, [referring to Thief Sentai Lupinranger VS Police Sentai Patranger] because now the amount of years, the amount of shows, and the amount of Sentai all no longer match each other!

It's not really a total reset or anything, but we're ignoring the number of series and number of teams and just celebrating the actual anniversaries from now on. Though, I guess it works out, because considering LuPat, next up is the 50th Sentai and the 50th anniversary year, and this isn't a chance we'll ever get again.

What can you tell us about the Super Sentai series airing in 2025?

Shirakura: In 2025, after Boonboomger finishes its run, it'll be followed by a new show starring a new Sentai.

A while ago, I was outside Toei when I ran into this guy Ricardo, from Brazil. I was like, "I haven't seen you in six years!", and he told me "Shirakura! I heard about the new Sentai!"

Oh? Looks like someone's here...

(The second part of this interview will release on TTFC on December 29th)

[magicalqueennightmare]

Sins & Amends Chapter 9

(Gif by @ banditthewriter)

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary/Warnings: With the deployment heading towards the finish line you and Billy both face the anxiety that comes with a new relationship. [Cursing, mentions of sexual themes]

"Ria? Can I admit something?" You spoke quietly keeping your eyes glued to the cup of coffee in front of you. It was a rare morning that you had off and she had free. The kids were at school so that left you and her time to talk without little ears around to hear everything.

"You know you can Y/N" she replied eyeing you carefully as you sat your cup down then finally met her eyes "I'm nervous about when Billy gets back stateside" just saying the words felt like a weight off your shoulders. By then she'd sat her cup down and was staring at you like you'd grown a second head "and why is that?" You felt heat work it's way up your neck while you squirmed under her intense gaze. You didn't know why the thought of sex with Billy made you blush. Hell you by far wasn't a virgin and neither was he. A part of you wondered if maybe it was the fear that you weren't exactly the type of woman you'd seen him take home in the past. You were pretty much the polar opposite.

Maria knew you well enough that you didn't have to give voice to your worries. Your face told her everything she needed to know. "Oh. You still don't get the fact that he's crazy about you. I know you've had your fair share of problems with some of your exes. Hell I've talked Frank out of killing a few but and I say this as the woman who was raised with you at my heel Billy truly does care about you. You're closer with him than I've ever seen you be with a man. He's wanted you for a while he just didn't want you or me and Frank thinking he was just after sex. If you're worried about him wanting to go straight to that I wouldn't because he's more than likely going to wait until you make the first move"

"That's the problem. He flirts like crazy when we talk or video chat but I'm worried when he gets back he'll want me to make the first move and dammit he's a lot better at making moves than I am" you knew you were rambling but with Maria she was more than used to it. A smile slipped on her face "Oh you're asking the old married lady about how to seduce your marine"

A laugh of relief slipped through your lips. You didn't know why you'd been so nervous about talking to her of all people. Hell she was who you'd went to when you lost your virginity. "Pretty much" you admitted and she laughed "Well option one is to go shopping and get a sexy outfit then plan a whole night once he's home" you nodded but also knew Billy wanted to plan your first date "option two?" You asked and she raised an eyebrow with her mischievous grin "Option two is we still go shopping but considering Billy's seen you partially naked that time at the cabin we hit the lingerie store. Get something you feel and look amazing in then send him a photo or two. Reminds him what he's coming home to and gives him a green light already that you got that outfit for him and him only"

"I like option two" you finally said with a smile. She grabbed your coffee mug and replied "In that case we need to get to the mall"

"Frankie man I'm telling you. I got to think of something good for our first date. Y/N deserves it" Billy was propped up on one arm leaned back across his cot. He glanced over at the photo of you and the kids he kept next to it. He didn't have a lot of personal items but since the two of you had decided to make a go of things when he got home you'd sent some photos and he made sure to keep them all close. The only one he'd put visible to anyone else had Lisa and Frank Jr in it.

"Keep it simple Bill. She's been a part of your life for this long you know her. She doesn't have expensive taste. She'd much rather something she knew you actually put thought into" Frank replied sitting up when Michaels walked in with a stack of mail "Castle, Russo. Mail"

He plopped a few envelopes down at Frank's feet and one at Billy's. Frank grabbed up his first envelope so Billy picked up the one from you feeling a smile slip onto his face just from seeing your handwriting. He tore it open and saw there were photos enclosed again but this time they were wrapped up in a sheet of paper that read "Only for your eyes" he sat them next to him and read over the letter.

You told him about work, Maria and the kids, how you had been getting together with Curtis at least once a week just to check in. You also told him how much you missed him and how you couldn't wait until he got home so he could make good on all the promises he'd made over the countless video chats and calls between the two of you since you'd decided to become official.

His smile had turned into a full blown grin by the time he got to the end of the letter where you had signed "Stay safe and make it home to me"

"Well looks like you liked whatever Y/N had to say" Frank spoke glancing up from his own letter to see Billy grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah" was the short answer he got before Billy turned his attention to whatever photos you'd deemed for his eyes only. He unfolded the paper and his jaw dropped at the very first photo. It was you in a black lingerie set. The bra and panties were mostly lace showing just enough to be extremely fucking sexy but still classy enough to suit you.  "Jesus" he breathed under his breath flipping to the next one that showed a different angle that made him have to take a deep breath and remind himself he still had weeks before he would get to see you in person. 

On the back of the second photo you'd written "I hope you like this set. I bought it to wear for you when you get home" he was still staring at it lost in just how absolutely gorgeous you were. It was still hard for him to believe you'd really decided to give him a chance.

He didn't realize Stevenson's ass had walked up close enough to see the photos over his shoulder until he let out a low whistle "Damn Russo who the hell is that?"

"Back off" Billy warned once moving to store the photos in his jacket pocket so whenever he'd be moving out they would be with him but of course Stevenson couldn't let it go. "C'mon man who's the girl? Little thick for my taste but bet she's hell in the sack ain't she?"  "Man I'm telling you shut the fuck up" Frank spoke up getting to his feet because he knew what was coming next.

Billy tried to ignore Stevenson, he really did but when he said "Bet some Jody is enjoying the hell out of her" that was the breaking point. Billy had him down and had already drawn blood before Frank could attempt to drag him off. "Bill let him up man you're gonna kill him!"

Stevenson scrambled to his feet holding his bloodied nose "Jesus Christ I was just fucking with you!" Billy lunged for him again so Frank gave Stevenson a look "You went too far and got your ass handed to you. Now get the hell out this tent and let him cool down. That's an order"

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

Frank even gave Billy some breathing room. He'd never seen him react like that. Hell he'd fucked with guys about their girls before too.

After about half an hour he walked over and kicked Billy's boot to get his attention. "I know I lost my temper Frankie" was all he said which honestly made Frank laugh "Kid got a broke nose. He'll fucking live. You on the other hand need to get your ass up and go call Y/N. I can see those wheels turning in your head and it's gonna bug ya"

Billy nodded slowly. Frank was right he was thinking about what Stevenson had said and that wasn't fair to you but he needed to hear your voice. A fucking deployment had never felt so long as this one and he knew it was the fact that he knew you were waiting on him and as more than a best friend this time.

He stood to call you then remembered the time difference "It's two in the morning there" Frank shook his head "she's answered you at three in the morning and that was before all this. She'll answer"

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

You heard the phone ringing through a fog of sleep and glanced at the time. It was a little after two in the morning. Your thoughts immediately went to either something being wrong with Maria and the kids or Curtis. You fumbled for the phone before finally finding it in the dark and seeing Billy's name flash across the screen.

You answered as you pushed yourself up to a sitting position in the bed "Hey Billy. I didn't know if you'd have a chance to call me" you knew he could hear the sleep in your voice so you rubbed at your eyes in an attempt to wake up enough. "I just needed to hear your voice sweetheart" your stomach dropped a little at how he sounded. Your letter should've gotten to him by then but if it had he apparently hadn't liked it.

"I'm glad you called I miss you" you bit your lip nervously until he let out a long breath then said "You have no idea how much I miss you. I got your letter" you swallowed hard before working up the nerve to say "Did you like it?" "Oh I loved it" he replied but you knew him well enough to hear in his voice that something was off. "Billy talk to me. I know you, remember?"

After a pause he finally admitted "One of the guys might have seen a bit of one of your pictures and said some shit that got next to me" your mind immediately went to the fact that maybe they'd pointed out you weren't his usual type. Hell maybe he'd finally figured it out. "What did they say?" You asked once you'd braced yourself for whatever reply may come.

"That some Jody was enjoying you" you bit back a laugh at that. For one you had been around them long enough to know just what a Jody was and that idea was ridiculous to you then for two you knew for a fact Billy had joked around that harshly with some of the guys in the past.

"Billy did you hurt him?" You questioned worried simply that you sending the photos had somehow resulted in Billy getting in trouble. "I broke his nose. He'll fucking live. Hell may help his looks considering"

"Billy I'm asking this as your long time friend more than as your girlfriend. Haven't you said some stuff along that line in the past?" Another long pause happened before he said "Yeah and believe me I regret it now. He just had no right saying shit about you and it made me see red a little" you were smiling wide enough you were afraid it may end up hurting your cheeks "Thank you for defending my honor baby"

It wasn't until Billy said "Baby huh?" That you realized you had called him that. "Shit Billy I'm sorry it slipped out" he chuckled at your apology "No I like it. God I can't wait to get home and take you on an actual date. Well and to see you wear that black set" "betting on getting lucky Russo?" You teased and could practically hear the smirk in his voice "I've waited this long thinking about it. Waiting a bit once I get home so I can wine and dine you properly won't kill me"

"And if I don't want to wait that long once you're home? What would you think about me?" You asked and he laughed in that way that always made you feel warmth down to the pit of your stomach. God it you could wrap yourself up in his laugh. "I would think that I'm the luckiest man alive. However you want this to go once I'm back is how it's gonna go. I'm taking your lead"

"Nice to know" you replied not trying to hide how happy his response had made you. You heard Frank say "Tell Y/N I said hey then finish up man" before Billy could relay the message you said "Tell him I said hey. I'll talk to you later Billy. We're on the down slope now at least" "Can't come fast enough. I'll let you get back to sleep sweetheart. Goodnight" "Bye Billy"

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

[cosmicgardencreative]

Got duped by an AI art account on Cara ugh.. Managed to delete my comment and undo the repost/like just to keep our distance from it, but man, it was rather disappointing to feel like we accidentally endorsed something that appeared legitimate.

It took a hot second for there to be any real reason to report the account, but then when it went from hyperfixating on babe-licious witches with titties (yes, Izzy and I are very simple, primally driven animals) to suddenly drawing a wizard "for the first time," it definitely was a head-tilter.

Like, witchy anime waifu with maybe some unevenness to eye shape styles? Not everything has to be symmetrical. Art's allowed to be free and we'll grow from our mistakes.

Or at least I thought so, until I noticed the account never showed any of its rougher works. Not everything has to be a polished piece, and yet this account would show nothing but finished pieces. It's reasonable to think that that maybe there was a back log of stuff to upload.

But then, the unexpected style change when they finally "drew" a wizard? The style shift alone from drawing anime-waifus to a singular hot black man with a white man's hair texture was such a red flag. Forget the fact that the wizard's entire left arm blended into the folds and it wasn't fully "rendered" 😑

For awhile, I felt foolish for thinking it was a legit mechanical pencil drawing with some natural messiness to it. But then to see how easily the account garnered at least 60 followers in just 4 days of activity? Clearly I wasn't the only one. Even a user with the Cara verified professional icon thought the account was legit. It's astonishing to see how much AI art is improving that it's easy to overlook a work simulating traditional graphite. The way the user tried to throw in smudges, eraser marks, and even paper edges, were actually clever touches. While I didn't know what to expect when people said that AI art is getting trickier to detect, I can now at least add this to my experience.

On a final note, it's reassuring to see how consistently Cara practices their anti-AI art stance. This would be my second time reporting a suspected account. There were times when I was nervous about hitting the report button on the accounts, because what if I was wrong? I've seen more than enough artists getting accused for being AI art when they're not. But the way the moderation team handles them professionally and discreetly instills a lot of trust into them. It's just nice to reliably go to a platform and not worry about seeing a heated discourse or a callout post that turns into a witch hunt.

[braveclementine]

Chaos on a Quinjet

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC Elizabeth Lightwood. I do not condone any copying of this.

You were nervous, following after Fury as he went to talk to Loki. You knew you weren't really supposed to, but you also wanted to see Elizabeth. She refused to leave Loki's side, and had even let herself go into the sealed container that they had put Loki into, despite everyone telling her not to.

Fury pretty much ignored you as he stepped up onto the platform. You stayed close to the shadows, eyeing the two inside the chamber. Loki was standing, looking almost unperturbed. You had a very bad feeling about everything that was going on. The fight had been to easy. You had seen the mans illusions.

He could fight well. He could've at least escaped you all by using his illusions on his own. So why had he surrendered?

"In case it's unclear." Fury started in that normal, almost angry voice of his. "if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass," Fury allowed the bottom of the floor to fall out, showing the air vacuum below. You fretted nervously, wondering if Loki would risk anything with his soulmate in with him. "it's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap." Fury shouted over the air roar. "YOU GET HOW THAT WORKS?"

"Ant," Fury gestured to the container that Loki was in, and then back to the console, "Boot."

You supposed it was something that the two of them had talked about before.

Loki started to laugh, and you started to chew on the nail of your thumb. It was a very bad habit of yours and you needed to break it. "It's an impressive cage." he gestured with his hands. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury said.

"Oh, I've heard." Loki sneered, and turned to look at one of the blinking lights. You wondered if the others were watching on the other side. You started to move along the side, closer to Fury.

"A mindless beast." Loki continued in a softer voice and you frowned. "Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked in a patronizing tone. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh." Loki winced. "It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded of what real power is."

You glanced over at Elizabeth, who had laid out, with her paws tucked under her. You wondered why she was sticking by his side. Was she really so desperate for his affection and love? Was it worth risking her life for? And what did this mean for her? Usually people were soulmated because they were alike in souls. So if Loki was bad, that had to mean that to some degree, Elizabeth felt the same way as him.

But you had known Elizabeth your entire life. You knew she was kind and sweet, though she could have a brutal streak if she was riled up. But then. . . how could she possibly be soulmated to a dictator like Loki? It didn't make any sense.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury sneered, walking off and you quickly followed after him, after shooting one last look at the two in the cage.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." You heard Steve Rogers say as you quickly joined them in the main part of the quinjet. Banner, Natasha, Thor, Maria, and Steve were the only ones there, and you wondered where Tony had gone.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki." Banner said uncertainly, his glasses in his hands. He and Thor were standing very close together and you thought their relationship was kind've cute. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak." Thor said, though his voice was lighter and kinder than perhaps any of the rest of you had said it. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is still of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha spoke from where she was sitting. You took a chair next to the Captain, pulling out your pistol and knives to clean and repair them.

"He's adopted." Thor admitted uncertainly and a faint smile came over your lips.

"I think it's about the mechanics." Bruce said and you looked up when you saw that Tony was coming. "Iridium. . . what do they need Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony said and you slipped your pistol and knives back into their respective places, getting out of your chair to walk over to him and Agent Coulson. He muttered something to Coulson and then back to us. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D."

He wrapped his arm around your waist, kissing your cheek, before letting you go with a small squeeze. "No hard feelings, Point Break, you've got a mean swing." He patted Thor on his thick arm with the back of his hand and kept talking with his back to the rest of you lot, "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants. Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." He said as he pirouetted in front of the crew. "That man is playing Galaga!" He pointed across the room and even Steve followed the line of sight.

"He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony sighed and you put a hand over your face. He put a hand over one eye and then looked at us, "How does Fury even see these?"

You snickered.

"He turns." Maria deadpanned.

You giggled now.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials," He walked up to one of the screens and just started tapping at it, "Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked.

"Last night." Tony snarked. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory paper. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

You raised a small hand and he winked at you. "I know you did bunny. We did it together last night in bed, under the covers-"

"Okay." Steve interrupted quickly and for some reason, he was blushing. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

"He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion-fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony sighed.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked, looking lost while the two science bros shook hands.

"He's taken." Thor growled lowly, but not enough for Tony to hear.

You winked at Steve. "Don't worry about him. He's like this twenty-four seven."

"Dr Banner is only here to track the Cube." Fury said, finally joining in on your conversation, and interrupting whatever Bruce and Tony were talking about. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I would start with that stick of his." Steve inputted. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube." Fury said. "And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor said.

"I do." Steve said, pointing with a red gloved finger. Bruce looked awkward and Tony actually rolled his eyes. You on the other hand felt pity, and smile encouragingly as he looked around and said in a softer tone, "I understood that reference."

"Shall we play, doctor?" Tony asked, looking at Banner.

"This way sir." Bruce said.

Tony quickly planted a kiss on your lips and then followed the other doctor out of the room.

You pulled out a notepad and paper. Steve wasn't leaving the room. You quickly jotted down Harry Potter (movies), Bones (TV show), Designated Survivor (TV show), TVD/TO (TV show), The Incredibles (movie), Jurassic Park (movies), Star Wars (movies) and Pink Panther (movie). The Starless Sea (book), City of Bones (Series), Matched (series), Harry Potter (series), IT (book), Lord of the Rings (books), and And Then There Were None (book).

You handed him the piece of paper. "The first set of lists are just some things you can watch. My personal favorite is Harry Potter and I think you'll realize that there are a lot of people who enjoy the Harry Potter series. Though I recommend reading it first. There are a lot more details in the books and I personally think they are better. But if you would prefer watching something right off the back, you should watch Bones first I think. It's my favorite show, it's murder mystery. But if you don't like that, maybe you should start with Designated Survivor."

"Also, I really enjoyed the Starless Sea. It was written so differently from other books-"

"Don't talk his ear off Agent Stark." Fury said in amusement.

"Sorry Director Fury." You blushed, quieting down.

"Thank you." Steve said sincerely, taking the list from me and showing me a black book he had. "I've been using this to write down new things that I should read, watch, and listen to."

"Ooh music." You sighed, trying to hold yourself back. "Hmm, I don't listen to, too much. Mostly a few rather political rappers that no one else seems to like, like Tom MacDonald, Bryson Gray, and Tyson James. But Imagine Dragons is pretty good. I don't think you'd like BTS or BLACKPINK though. Maybe OneRepublic or Maroon 5. Not sure. Umm. . . The Beatles and the Beach boys are pretty good."

Steve nodded and kept up pretty well with jotting down everything You rattled off.

"What is BTS and BLACKPINK?" He asked.

"K-pop." You answered.

He stared at you blankly.

"Korean pop. Asian music, etc."

He nodded now.

"What's it like? Having Stark as your soulmate?"

"Oh." You thought about it. "Different I guess. My life growing up was. . . rough. I felt very fortunate that he wanted me. And I love him a lot. I guess I'd kind've have to, to put up with his narcissistic butt." You laughed and then quieted down and replied sincerely. "He's good to me."

"Good." Steve said, looking far off through the windows.

You hopped off the table, squeezing his shoulder as you decided to go and take a power nap.

You wondered for a moment, if he was thinking about his soulmate.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

You found Tony, Bruce, and Steve in the lab when he came out. Steve seemed rather angry, Bruce was quiet as always, and Steve seemed angry about something.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Rogers was retorting to something that Tony or Bruce had said. Since he was angry with Tony, it had probably been Tony.

"Do you think I'm not?" Tony retorted back. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

You frowned a little. As an Agent, Fury was kind've your boss. You really didn't want to think badly of him. But you could admit that he could be very secretive.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's 'the' spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?" He asked, gesturing to Bruce.

"Uh. . . I just want to finish my work here, and. . ."

"Doctor?" Steve asked sharply.

He sighed and then took off his glasses after a moment, "'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it." Steve assented.

"I think that was meant for you." Bruce said, pointing at Tony. Tony held out a package of blueberries to Bruce, who took one, "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big, ugly building in New York?" Steve asked.

"Hey." You piped up with fake scorn at Steve. "That's six percent my baby."

Tony snickered.

"It's powered by an arc-reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype." You and Tony said together.

Tony, of course, continued, "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Bruce finished. "What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.S secure files."

"I'm sorry. Did you say-" Steve started.

"Tony!" You cried out, exasperated. "Do you want me to lose my job?"

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D has ever tried to hide." Tony smirked. "Blueberry?"

"Yet you're confused about why they don't want you around." Steve snarked.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't' stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them." Steve said.

He was sounding more like a soldier than anything else. But you couldn't blame him for that.

"Following's not really my style." Tony responded, popping blueberries into his mouth.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"Of the people in this room," Tony said in mock consideration, "which one is, A, wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?"

"Steve, Y/N, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you." Bruce implored us. Tony and Steve both looked at you and you hesitated slightly.

"Well," You said slowly. "Fury is my boss, alright? The last thing I want to do is go against him. . . but at the same time you're right Bruce. Tony had the arc reactor and the energy source. Why not seek him out for the project? Why an Agent like Barton?"

"Just find the Cube." Steve muttered, and he left the room.

You shrugged. "I'll leave you boys to it. Have fun."

"So," You said as you caught up to Steve, making him jump a little. "Where are we headed off to?"

"Tony will kill me if I get you in trouble." Steve said, stopping where he was walking. "And Fury will kill you if you're found with me."

"Ah, no biggy." You responded, "Let's go. Lead the way."

Steve sighed, but decided not to argue against you and continued on the path he had been going.

You went down into the lower parts of the ship, finding a almost empty corridor. Steve found a door that read 'secured storage' and he pushed the door open with all of his strength. You quickly looked around, and then the two of you stepped inside of the room.

There were rows upon rows of silver cases, kind've looking like something that might be on a director set, something that would carry microphone set ups and whatnot for a TV crew. You wondered what was inside them.

Steve managed to use the Super Soldier serum to leap up to the catwalk above the two of you, but you had to painstakingly climb up one of the metal shelves that were holding cases. You leapt to the railing, and Steve helped you over.

"Sorry," He responded quickly. "I should've carried you on my back."

You lifted a finger to your lips, hearing Agents talking on what seemed like the other side of the wall and the two of you headed down the walk.

Steve opened up one of the cases, and the first thing that you saw was a mask. It didn't mean much to you, so you looked at him. You looked closer and saw the symbol of HYDRA on the weapons.

"Steve!" You gasped.

"Let's go." Steve said in a harsh voice, yanking one of the guns out of the chest. He wrapped an arm around your waist and jump back over the railing. The two of you made your way back up to the lab. People gave the two of you stares, but no one stopped you, perhaps to afraid at the look on Steve's face.

Fury had joined Tony and Bruce in the lab and Tony was asking, "What is phase 2?"

Steve slammed the gun down on the table and you hovered by his side, looking anxiously between everyone, and especially Fury. "Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. using the Cube to make weapons." Steve said. "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're making-"

"I'm sorry, Nick." Tony said. "What were you lying?" He asked, turning around a screen to show some sort of weapon on the screen. Over the coms, you could hear Natasha informing you that Loki's plan was to unleash the Hulk. You glanced over at Bruce.

"I was wrong director, the world hasn't change a bit." Steve spat as Thor and Natasha joined the rest of you.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Nat and me.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked.

Bruce gave a laugh. "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"Lok is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." He grabbed the monitor and you started to slip around the edge towards the scepter. "I'd like to know, why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him." Fury pointed, but did not look at Thor.

"Me?" Thor questioned.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we alone but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor said.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you." Fury responded. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve asked.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies." Thor grumbled, "It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"And we're not." You responded softly.

Tony moved across the room to pull you away from Steve's side and put his arm around you.

"A higher form?" Steve questioned.

"You forced our hand." Fury responded, ignoring Steve. "We had to come up with something."

"A nuclear deterrent." Tony responded. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark." Fury said.

You were pretty impressed that Fury wasn't caving to anyone. He was definitely strong and it would apparently take a lot for him to break.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep-" Steve said.

Tony interrupted, "Hold on. How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry. Isn't everything?" Steve snapped.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor snapped.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury responded.

"You treat your champions with mistrust." Thor responded right back.

You drew away from Tony's side. The scepter was making a weird noise, the blue stone inside of it was glowing. You frowned, drawing closer to it now. It seemed almost as though. . . was it feeding off the abrasive energy in the room? Was that why Loki wanted the Hulk to transform? Would that be abrasive or negative enough energy. . . but for what? What would the stone do?

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor said.

"That's his M.O. isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no no, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb." Bruce said. He was still very close to the scepter.

"You need to step away." Fury ordered.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked, putting his hand awkwardly on Steve's shoulder, which was immediately thrown off.

"You know damn well why! Back off!"

"Oh I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony snarled.

"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve asked.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, husband, father." Tony responded off the top of his head.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you." Steve snapped. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for, is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony snipped.

"Always a way out. You know you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

You were anxious now. This was not going how things should've been going. You felt as though you had realized something, but you weren't sure what it was. You were afraid to hold the scepter, but also afraid not to touch it.

"A hero? Like you?" Tony responded angrily. "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

"Tony!" You protested, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Put on the suit. Let's go for a few rounds."

Thor started to laugh. "You people are so petty and tiny."

"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce scoffed.

"Agent Romanoff would you escort Dr Banner back to his-"

"Where? You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case-"

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know. I tried. I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back to this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

You saw that his hand was reaching for the scepter and you saw that both Nat and Fury were reaching for their guns. You could either grab the scepter. . . you made a split second decision, grabbing his wrist.

You smiled kindly at him, "Sorry, but it's making a very weird humming noise. I don't think any of us should touch it right now."

Suddenly, a beeping noise started and you knew it meant that they could find the Tesseract.

But no one was paying attention. 

[annepi-blog]

Writing meme about me!

Thanks for tagging me @daisyishedwig

1.How did you get into writing fanfiction?

This is probably my longest answer because I think I've kind of always done this?

I know my first hyperfixation was in 2nd grade with the Mighty Ducks cartoon series. I wrote headcanons for every character in a notebook and made up short stories before falling asleep, not knowing what fandom or fanfiction was.

I was introduced to fanfiction when I got Internet access and became obsessed with Lord of the Rings. That was the first time I ever read fanfiction online.

Shortly after that, my three best friends and I became huge fans of the band "The Rasmus" and I actually wrote my first fanfiction when I was 12. On paper, by hand! And I shared it with my friends in the schoolyard. They don't exist anymore, but I think it was really bad :D

Then I fell out of writing along with life, but I kept imagining stories for myself. 

I just started writing again last year. After I found Glee and Klaine during Covid, I started reading fanfiction again. When there was the attack on AO3 last year, I used the time and thought, why not write a fanfiction myself again.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Active on the Internet, sharing with the world, just for Klaine fandom.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

As mentioned above, somehow always, but only online for a year.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Definitely more reading! I also read in other fandoms like RWRB, Last Binding Series, or Heartstopper. Also recently read some 911 BuckTommy stories even though I have not seen the show because of all the content I see on tumblr :D

5. What is one way you've improved as a writer?

Practice makes perfect. I think it just helps to do it.

For me personally, it helps to first outline the whole story from beginning to end and then write. I cannot just start without knowing where I am going with it, I would also lose motivation in between.

I am not a native speaker but I want to write in English so I try to improve by reading books and watching shows and movies in English.

6. What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Since I am still pretty knew to real writing not too crazy things I think. Maybe, I read the whole rule book for the Eurovision Song Contest and I looked at the divorce law and procedure in New York City.

7. What's your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

Every comment! It makes me especially happy when people read through multi-chapter fics and comment on each chapter, telling me what they think might happen. But I appreciate every comment.

8. What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

Puh, I don't think I have any yet? The most uncommon thing so far might be that I wrote Klaine find each other when they were in their 50s. But I want to expand the tropes of my fiction in the future!

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

I would love to write something with action or mystery, but I just can't. I don't like what I've come up with so far, it's really hard for me.

10. What is the easiest type?

I think feelings, affection, chemistry between characters. I just love when people are happy, and I am a pretty positive person, so it is easy to project that into my writing.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

At home on my couch or bed with my laptop on my lap. I just cannot work sitting at a desk :D I used to write in Word, but switched to Google Docs because it is easier to share with betas.

12. What is something you've been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

As mentioned above, action or mystery, because I also like to read it. Or a fantasy world of my own. But I haven't had enough ideas for that yet.

13. What made you choose your username?

Simply put, it is based on my real name. When I signed up for AO3 and later tumblr I didn't think I would ever write, I just needed it to read the stories of others and didn't worry about it. Now I don't want to change it because it's already established.

I don't know who has already taken part, but I'm tagging @fallevs @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion @nicoise @kurtsascot @cryscendo

[nativestarwrites]

Answer the questions and tag five fanfiction authors you know!

Thanks for the tag @jamietarttsnorthernattitude!

1. How many fandoms have you written in?

Ten, I think? Although it's mostly Macgyver and Ted Lasso, the rest are more dabbles.

2. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Consistently? Since 2019, but I first posted something to ff.net in 2007.

3. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

At the moment writing, if I had more time I'd read more but I'm not a very fast writer and I have so many stories I want to get finished right now...

4. What is one way you've improved as a writer?

Structuring plots and wrangling longer more involved plot lines.

5. What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

The viability of mini arc reactors? As in Iron Man. This was for a Macgyver AU that I haven't posted. I wanted to keep it as much realism as I could, so it was interesting to see where science stood on the topic.

6. What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

All comments are very much appreciated! Anything that makes me feel less like I'm shouting into a void, but my most favourite ones have to be the lengthier ones, where people share their thoughts, what made them gasp or cry or laugh or suprised them and if its a longer fic sometimes speculate on where it might be going. Those really feed an author.

7. What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

That's hard, what's fringe these days? Some people would consider hurt/comfort fringe. Gen fic definitely feels fringe given the drastic difference in interaction compared to those with ships. My most fringe fic is probably the Ted Lasso Apocalypse AU, not many people would expect that from a comedy football show. And that includes me!

8. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Anything longer than 1000 words? Nothing is easy but at least under 1k it's short and easier to edit. The hardest ones are probably where I have most of a plot, but not quite enough to string it together coherently. Like when you have this one perfect scene in your head, and then you need to construct the rest of the stroy around it.

9. What is the easiest type?

I'm always ready to write a bit of angst.

10. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my sofa at the end of the day mostly. It's a mix between Libre Writer and Scrivener but I tend to lean more towards Scrivener these days because it's such a great way to keep notes and ideas all organised in one place.

11. What is something you've been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I'd like to try a completely different genre to what I usually write someday, maybe horror or a murder mystery? But I have no idea where I'd even start with that so I'm definitely intimidated by that thought!

12. What made you choose your username?

I thought it would be neat to have a username connected with astronomy in some way and I loved that we have a star in our own backyard, the sun is our native star. I'd been listening to Moby's We're All Made of Stars at the time so that might have had an influence too, plus I'm also a physics nerd and the fact that everything was once made in a star is very very cool.

Not sure who hasn't done this yet, I think I've seen a lot of mutuals tagged but if you want to play I'm gonna tag @rosieblogstufff @impossiblepluto @appalachianapologies and else who would like to play!

[notpresidentsuzuki]

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾Hello, Tumblr!☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

All formatting and symbols here were put in by my friend, who wants to stay anonymous. Big thanks to them for helping me make this look nice!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

My friend told me that my old intro was pretty boring and lackluster, so here is a new, improved version, formatted entirely by her!

☆｡.:About Me!.｡:☆༉‧₊˚.༉‧₊˚.

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥Name: You can call me Suzuki, Suzu, I don't really mind anything! Call me what you wish! (Just not anything mean, of course!)

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥Pronouns: She/Her!

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥Timezone: JCT!

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥Age: 15!

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥Favorite Animal: Cats are absolutely amazing, but I love those round fat ducks that just waddle around! They're so cute!

˚₊·͟͟͞͞➳❥General Info: I'm a student in the Gifu prefecture of Japan, and I want to meet new kinds of people! I'm the student president of my school, hence my username. I just thought it was pretty funny. (That probably ruined it) I'm still pretty nervous about this whole social media thing, so if anyone has any advice, feel free to send it to me! I accept messages from everyone!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

ೃ⁀➷•.¸♡Hobbies&Interests!♡¸.•

・❥・I love to play the piano and violin! I've been playing the piano for over 11-12 years now, and I'd say I'm quite good at it! I plan on posting plenty of piano covers and songs here! I've preformed in Italy, San Francisco, Louisiana, Chicago, Ogaki, and Tokyo! I hope to become a professional pianist as a side job when I grow up! I've only been playing the violin for a year or so, just as a school requirement, but I like it! Don't expect any fancy covers from me though~

・❥・I absolutely love writing! My first social media ever was Discord, (Tumblr is actually my second and latest social media), and I had joined Discord to work on my english writing and poetry! I can't speak english that much, but I study writing in the language almost daily! I started a poetry/literature club at my school, and I'm looking to expand my horizons further! I'll post stories and poems here, and I hope I can see my progress through this blog!

・❥・Cats. Enough said. /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

・❥・Jojo's Bizarre Adventure! It's one of the few comics I've read, but I absolutely adore it! (I need to skip the gory and inappropriate parts though.) I highly recommend it! The writing is amazing, and every character is memorable! I haven't watched most of the cartoon, but I'd bet it's just as good!

・❥・SCP! SCP is a massive collaborative horror fiction writing project, and I really enjoy it! You can access it at https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com, (if the link is incorrect or still a placeholder, my friend forgot to put it in for me), and it's stories are some of the best I've seen! I haven't personally wrote an article for the site yet, but I'm thinking of writing one for the japanese branch! Be sure to check it out!

・❥・Studying! I love studying and learning new things! If anyone needs any help with homework or anything academic in general, feel free to ask me! I'll be ecstatic to help! I'm aiming to become a doctor or either a virologist or a biologist when I become an adult, since my mother is a biologist and my father is a doctor!

・❥・Cooking! I love to cook, so I'd love to share recipes and receive/give advice with anybody! I also love to bake!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

-.｡ﾟ+..｡Why I Joined Tumblr!+..｡*ﾟ+

╰┈➤The main reason I joined Tumblr was to meet new people, share helpful messages, and to admire the absolutely gorgeous artistic value this platform has! (Seriously, I am blown away by how talented everyone on this website is!)

╰┈➤I also want to share my work with others, since Discord gets pretty monotonous after a while. (No offense to anyone on there, I love you guys!)

╰┈➤If you share any of my interests, feel free to message me! I'd love to make new friends online! Even if you don't share any of my interests, don't be put off! I'd love to become friends regardless! Don't be shy to ask me anything, or to critique me on anything! I love feedback!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

↳❝[What Will You Be Posting?]❞

:̗̀➛Daily writing and poetry tips from me!

:̗̀➛Piano covers, and maybe violin covers!

:̗̀➛Art, if I ever work up the confidence to post it!

:̗̀➛Recipes!

:̗̀➛SCP-related stories and poems!

:̗̀➛Random short stories not involving any fandom!

:̗̀➛Random rambles and thoughts about stuff. If this gets annoying, I'll stop with these!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

•.¸♡Closing!♡¸.•

·˚༘₊·͟͟͞͞꒰➳Thank you very much for reading to the end of this! I understand it was very long, so I totally don't blame you if you just skipped to the end! Anyways, in conclusion, I'd love to meet new and interesting friends here! Thank you very much to everyone who has followed me already, and as always, please have a nice day!

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇Additional Notes⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

ღ My internet access is heavily monitored, so I won't be able to use many other websites or search up anything. I hope this isn't an issue to conversations!

ღ I will never express political views or opinions here publicly, if you'd like to discuss that stuff, please take it to messages. Let's just leave that hard thinking to the politicians!

ღ Again, credit for the entire layout and design of this introduction goes to my very wonderful and amazing friend (I know you see this!)

ღ If you want to add me on discord, ask me in messages! I'll be happy to get to know you on there instead!

ღ Feel free to use my music or work as you please! Just don’t use it for inappropriate or rude purposes and it is fine by me! I will never me mad if you don’t credit me, I’d just prefer it if you did!

ღ Profile picture credit goes to... ME!!

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦

╭──╯…..The End!ೄྀ࿐ˊˎ-

[casuallyimagining]

I go back and forth on this a lot because anyone who reads my stuff? A+ in my book, you guys rock just for being here and putting up with my bullshit and taking the time out of your busy days to read through some silly little fic that I've posted.

I don't expect to be famous or even tumblr famous whatever that means. And truly, it isn't about the notes for me. They could take away the notes counter tomorrow and I'd be fine with it.

For me, it's about two things: showing appreciation and the function of this website.

I'll start with function because it's a little easier to talk about and a lot less controversial.

Tumblr, unlike literally every other social media, does not have an algorithm. They try, they have a bit of a 'based on your likes' feature, but literally no one I know uses that. The beauty of tumblr is that you curate your dash by following blogs whose content you like.

Let's do a thought experiment. What if all the blogs you followed suddenly stopped reblogging content?

I'm sure your dash would be much more boring, much less active. This site doesn't work without reblogs. Likes literally mean nothing. This isn't Instagram, where your likes will at least contribute to the success of a post and boost it in the algorithm. This isn't Twitter, where your likes will be shown on people's timelines.

Tumblr does not work unless you reblog content. Like, it just doesn't. It's how things spread, it's how, in 2013, we got skeleton war, and Supernatural gifs for everything, and the Mishapocalypse, and Night Blogging. Because people shared things. And they spread.

But now the more controversial thing: appreciation. I understand being a silent reader. There are times when I read a fic and I don't have the energy to write a review for it, not even to do a keyboard smash. I understand being nervous to interact.

Let me introduce you to the blank reblog.

Blank reblogs are better than likes. Blank reblogs say 'this was good, so I want to share it with you, my followers.' You can always go back and write a review of the fic, or reblog it again, or comment on it when you have the energy, or send the writer an anonymous message with your thoughts if you really want to. But blank reblogs still let you share the content to your followers. Maybe someone who follows you will also enjoy the fic that you shared, and then they share it, too. That's how content spreads on this platform.

Likes, to most of the writers and creators I interact with, do not mean that you liked something. They mean that you're bookmarking it for later so you don't lose it. I liked this post on my phone so I wouldn't lose it when I switched to desktop to write my thoughts down.

I think we've all seen writers and creators on here saying that they feel underappreciated and unmotivated because of the lack of engagement and interaction. I've shared a few posts like that myself. I've also seen silent readers get defensive, and feel like writers are being whiny and entitled to engagement.

It's a tough balance. As much as they'd like to, readers cannot reblog everything. And there are some writers who are in it just for the notes. But to me, what those posts get at is that

no one likes to feel like they're screaming into a void

When I post a fic that I've spent months writing, and it gets lots of likes, but hardly any comments or reblogs and no one seems to want to talk about it with me, it hurts. Not because I necessarily want the validation of lots of notes, but it feels like no one cares.

A lot of my fics center on things that I struggle with--feelings of abandonment and othering in Fix You and Home, my struggles with my sexuality and feeling good enough in various LTC fics, feeling overwhelmed and stressed from expectations in this wip I have--and when people don't even acknowledge a fic, it can really sting.

Your favorite writers and creators don't hate you for not interacting with their stuff. They want a community.

They want people to relate to their fics, to feel something through their fics. They want to talk to people who appreciate what they're doing, even if it's just for a brief message. They want to be seen. They write for themselves, but it's hard to post to a void.

And I know, that's not really your problem as readers. But know that when/if you do reblog something with a review, or you message a writer with your thoughts on their fic, without exaggeration, you will be making their day.

here’s a little comparison for people who say engagement hasn’t gotten that bad and anyone who complains is ungrateful.

these are two posts from my first go round on tumblr circa 2014-2017, my most popular gifset of all time

& a text post

notice how the ratio is about even on likes to reblogs?

here’s from this go around, my most popular gifset

and my most popular fic

do you see how that’s discouraging?

i love being on this site. i love the little community i’ve found and the people who follow me and the mutuals i’ve made friendships with and the mutuals that i’m still getting to know. i love it. but at a certain point it’s hard to justify spending so much time on works that get bad engagement.

reblog, comment, send asks. without them, this site doesn’t work.

[jtq1844]

Looking for Patterns

Almost forty, yes, forty years ago, I hung out with some people who did research in Artificial Intelligence. I foolishly thought they were thinking along the lines of Isaac Asimov ideas. They depended on their funders to think that way ... while they worked on voice recognition, pattern-matching, and "fuzzy logic" (a loose probability theory with a feedback loop to improve the probability estimate). The frivolous sounding "Fuzzy Logic" gave way to the term machine-learning because it mimics how people learn through repetition and experience. These three general subjects are intertwined. Voice recognition requires picking up on established patterns of sound and definitions. Pattern-matching is the ability of an entity -- human or machine -- to conclude "I've seen/heard this before. I recognize this." What a machine does with that conclusion is up to its programming.

The human mind is both surprisingly similar yet infinitely different from that paradigm. It's why we see faces in electrical sockets and backs of cars -- two eyes and a mouth below. We needed that ability to discern what was running towards us. (Eyes in front -- predator; eyes on the sides -- prey.) We establish patterns.

Here is some chocolate. Chocolate has made me happy before. Yes, please, I will repeat that experience.

Our rational minds organize people patterns of great sophistication and let them coalesce into what Carl Jung referred to as archetypes. If someone says Mother or Warrior or something more modern like Astronaut, we can imagine all sorts of factoids and assumptions immediately.

The human brain is set-up to match-patterns ... and tell stories. In some ways, these two skills are two sides of the same coin. We are constantly telling ourselves stories. While brushing your teeth, you rehearse what you're planning to say to your boss. You imagine a scene -- her office? the parking lot? in the elevator? You imagine your feelings -- calm and collected? angry? nervous? You imagine her reaction -- irritated? dismissive? congratulatory? We build the story to help us think.

We make assumptions and predictions based on memory and experience then play them out on the platform of our imagination, guided by our current understanding of the situation. Really, it's pattern-matching and storytelling.

Human beings, on average, can recall strings of numerals only to about 7 digits in length. Consider phone numbers which use to get memorized all the time -- you have to care about 10 digits now. So, we start the story, "She used to live in Santa Cruz -- 831. I remember her number, 867-5309." Music, in that case, helps for sure. Our musical memory by the way is a great pattern-matching feat. (Memories associated with music are so sticky because they are "stored" in more places in the brain. They are recollected upon rehearing just a snippet more swiftly because the patterns match.)

What does this have to do with the novel-publishing journey? I can't recall at the moment. It's late and I'm on a road trip with my husband to a wedding. Hopefully, I can weave it all together tomorrow.

It might have something to do with how irritating is it to hear so much panic over AI because the average person is imagining the AI of Asimov. At this point, it's pattern-matching software and machine-learning programming. Those things would be great to remove the mundane and repetitive tasks -- the mind-numbing tasks of modern life -- freeing up time for us to create stories that matter, to inspire and support each other.

Or maybe it's just because doing a callback at the end of an essay is a good pattern I've noticed.

[radi0activesmile]

Ya know what? Fuck it. It's a survey now.

at what age did you start RPing?

11 or 12. do you RP anywhere else, other than tumblr?

Discord. ^^ on what platform did you start RPing?

Gametalk.com may you rest in peace. what made you choose this muse?

Answered here. is there any other muse in this fandom you RP?

Yes. *points to @ahelluvahigh*

I also RP Charlie, Rosie, Niffty, and Paimon on discord. is there any other muse in this fandom you’d like to RP?

There's minor / background characters I'd like to bring to life.

is there a muse you played on more platforms or in different moments of your life?

Yes. Numerous. did you have a muse you tried to play, but didn’t feel connected to?

Millie. Love her. Just can't get a good feel for her. did you have muse you tried to play, but ended up dropping for various reasons? (the rpc wasn’t active, you lost interest, etc)

Ummmm all the blogs connected to @axelshub (rpc isn't active for most of those) also my YuGiOh characters and my Fire Emblem characters because those rpcs became toxic as all fuck. would you be interested into playing a crossover? if yes, do you have any limits?

Yes but only if it sorta fits with the world? Like. I love Pokemon, but I don't like the idea of it crossing over with Hazbin because the worlds don't mesh. would you be interested into playing with doubles?

NO.

I've had two encounters with people trying to push me away from a fandom by writing the same character as me in the hopes of taking my writing partners / making me feel inferior, spreading bs rumors (first time a friend sent me a screenshot of someone telling them they were doing this... second time the dumbass confessed it to me because he didn't realize the blog he was chatting with was also mine) and while I see this fandom is veeeery dupe friendly... I'm just not comfortable. what do you think about AUs?

I like them. what do you think about OCs?

I love them. :3 what do you think about roleplaying with personals?

No thank you. what do you think about roleplaying with anons?

Sometimes they can be really fun. what’s the best way to approach you to start playing together?

Memes typically. what was your first muse?

Yukina from Yu Yu Hakusho. did you ever play a muse for more than a year?

Yes! Most of my muses have stayed with me for a really long time. Alastor's the one that's been consistent for the longest time though. do you have ship bias?

Yes. what’s a ship you don’t want to roleplay at all with this muse?

Valentino / Alastor. I just feel like Valentino's for everything Alastor hates and I can't see them being in the same room comfortably much less bonding.

But that's just me. ^^ I see art of it on Twitter, I know some people are into it. More power to them. Just not my thing. what do you think of your muse’s popular fandom ship?

I have a huge bias for his pilot-most-popular-ship.

I'm iffy on his current most popular ship. what do you think of your muse’s canon ship, if they have one?

I support Alastor x his job would you play a OC x canon ship?

points to Paimon x Delphine, Arackniss x Pierre, Arackniss x Roxenne

Yes. would you play a crossover ship?

If there was chemistry, yeah! do you play smut? do you play it only with characters you’re shipping with, or are you open for “one night stands”?

I'll smut one night stands with other characters. They are not Alastor's bag. are you multiship?

Yes. are you interested into poly relationships for your muse?

Not Alastor. Others? Yes. is your muse canon divergent in any way?

Not answering this one because I'm not in the mood to be vagued. what are your honest thought about your muse’s canon?

I'm a little nervous about what we might find out about him next season, but so far, I like everything we've seen. I still consider his comic to be canon which seems to cheese some people off. what are your favorite RP tropes to play? (angst, hurt-comfort, etc…)

Angst, hurt / comfort, those big plotted out epics that span over multiple rp accounts, slow burns. do you regularly play crack?

If it's on the dash I'll engage. do you regularly do dash commentaries?

Yes. I think it's a great way to get involved with plots or start something with a character you've been wanting to rp with but haven't had the nerve to. You can just hop into their commentary. ^^ what are your thoughts on dash commentary?

*points above* what are your thoughts on reblog karma?

As in if you reblog a meme from me you have to send me one ?

I don't like it. Just reblog from the meme source. if you aren’t a native english speaker, do you play in your first language too?

English is the only spoken language I can speak (I can also sign). do you feel similar to your muse in any way?

Big theatre kid energy. Kind of insane. I now yell at people to smile. do you feel different to your muse in any way?

I don't eat people. what’s the best inspiration for your muse?

Honestly just watching the scenes with him from the show (I have his lines from the pilot memorized don't judge me.) what’s a song that reminds you of your muse?

I'm gonna be basic as fuck and say Phantom by NateWantstoBattle.

... and I guess You Will be Found because he's referenced it in threads with at least four different people.

[amalgamgooze]

act five: in which we meet the dead pigeon

The silence remains.

The lights are still off.

Perhaps the act never really ended.

In fact, the actor is still stood there, staring.

And the body has started to decompose too, perhaps.

Perhaps.

===========================================

And the world might hate all of it!

But who gives a shit?

Has the world been nice to you in general?

No!

You know who *has* been nice to you?

The people who support your work!

The people who want to see you succeed!

That's who you should care about!

===========================================

I witnessed the last fifteen tragic minutes of a pigeon's life today.

Poor thing was in the ditch at the train platform today, thrashing about confused on the tracks.

Almost got hit by a train two separate times.

I sat there and let my trains go by a few times.

It was stupefying.

This poor fucking thing just flailing around, falling over, spreading its wings wildly...

But it had moments of clarity too.

Sometimes it would perk up almost as if it had briefly come to terms with the situation it was in... before soon slipping back into abyssopelagic confusion.

In one final moment of clarity, it bolted up and spread its wings, as if it was preparing to fly...

took flight...

and immediately smashed its head into a rock and died.

Its now-lifeless body slowly tipped over as the next train sped in front of it, a curtain falling on its short, Euripidean life.

And as such, life marches onwards, forwards.

It doesn't care.

But I cared a little about this bird.

This pigeon's tragic death has oddly made it more remarkable than every other pigeon I've seen.

And perhaps its death was freeing too--it didn't look too happy flailing about confused.

...

Certainly went out with a bang, huh?

...

...

...

I present my work one last time tomorrow.

I'm a little nervous. What if I mess up in front of the people that I feel like...

No. This isn't what I'm interested in talking about right now.

I wanna talk about dead birds.

...

I've gone into a bit of a rabbit hole looking into why this pigeon was behaving this way.

Seeing it at the light rail station, dazed and confused, my initial thought was that the bird'd been struck by a train and was now concussed or something similar.

You know. Like when birds fly into windshields.

But when I got home and looked at videos of concussed birds, all those birds were just relatively still and frozen.

Not thrashing about violently like this one.

...maybe I'm a little stupid for thinking "concussion" then.

I don't know. Looked like some issue with the nervous system resulting in spastic behavior.

Again, I dug deeper.

Birds hitting trains. Birds hitting windshields.

All those birds died.

This one was still (un)fortunately kickin' it.

...

Deeper and deeper I went.

Until finally...

"Pigeon poisoned by Avitrol".

That bird's thrashing around just like my bird.

Avitrol's probably it.

...what the fuck is Avitrol?

To the internet!

...

Oh. So it's a bird control product.

...

...what?

Huh. Fascinating.

They get the bird to send out distress signals without subjecting the bird to any actual physical pain.

...

And then the bird kills itself in its spastic behavior.

...

So my intuition was right.

It is some nervous system bullshit!

...

But what an unique psychological philosophical discussion this introduces itself as.

Now, let's get a little dramatic.

Perhaps a little dark, no?

I condone NONE OF THE FOLLOWING.

Let's say I've got a HUGE problem with CHILDREN fuckin' SWARMING and FESTERING in my YARD.

Now, this isn't any ordinary problem. No. It's HUGE.

Normally, you know, I'd set up *traps* for these CHILDREN. You know. Dig ditches in my yard, put tarps over them, and put candy on those tarps.

But, oh no! The CHILDREN might get HURT!

Hmm... this issue will require <<CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS>>!

...

I think.

...

I think harder.

...

I think as hard as a human possibly could.

...

Then I think ten percent harder too.

...

Aha! An IDEA!

I'll get the CHILDREN to stay away from my yard by yelling at them!

I grab my good ol' shoutin' stick to shake at them, walk outside, and...

"GETOFFAMYFUCKINYARDYAFOOKINHOOLIGANS!!!"

But the CHILDREN LAUGH and PLAY regardless!

Oh no! My marvelous idea didn't work because they simply don't understand my language!

...

So I go back to thinking.

...

I think twice as hard as any human being ever should.

...

Three times as hard.

...

I think so hard a lightbulb manifests over my head... and shatters on the floor.

...

Finally...

Another idea!

I grab my PATRIOTIC 'MURICAN ONE-HELLUVA-PROBLEM-SOLVER GUN,

run outside and fuckin' GRAB one of those HOOLIGANS,

and hold the gun to that troglodyte's head.

...

and would you look at that!

The thing starts fuckin' kicking and screaming like the devil!

All the other kids fuckin' scatter!

Goodbye, problems!

And look! Nobody got hurt too!

I'm just scaring this one kid shitless.

...

An hour passes.

The kid is still kicking and screaming.

I finally let him go.

That thing runs like the devil...

...directly into the road where it gets hit by a car.

...

Oh well--that's not my fault now, is it?

I didn't directly hurt that child!

...

...

...

Thank you for indulging me in my ONE HELL OF A HYPOTHETICAL.

I want to recognize that while, initially, it may have been used to challenge a specific viewpoint regarding a specific avian pest control product, it eventually devolved into something I continued solely for, as the kids call them, "Shits and Giggles."

...

But seriously now.

Come on.

That bird killed itself because it was spasming.

And even though it felt no pain, I highly doubt it was mentally like, "You know what? I've lost most voluntary control of my motor function, but that's no biggie! Pshaw! I'll just keep livin' life as normal, totally not scared shitless because of how desperately disoriented I am in such a confusing labyrinthine world, and these drugs aren't doin' anything to help that..."

...

But maybe I'm projecting a little.

Maybe I'm feeling too much for this goddamned spasming pigeon.

Maybe I'm finding identity in places identity really shouldn't exist.

In fact, maybe this is a place that we've specifically engineered identity to not exist.

Painlessly.

Feel no pain, you goddamned hero of a pigeon.

Rock on.

The world you lived in was fine until the dark veil was pulled from your eyes.

And the hand's name? Avitrol.

Avitrol left this bird aimless, hopeless, desperate for any cohesive foundation on which to base its identity.

It soon found itself washed up between the tracks at the train station.

Who knows for how long it wandered before then?

All that I know is that it spent the last fifteen minutes of its confusing life wandering between the tracks,

before finally killing itself in its attempt at achieving freedom.

...

...

...

===========================================

It would appear that the rotting corpse has now been replaced by a pigeon.

It lies with its head twisted awkwardly to the side, tail up, wings splayed.

An existential voyager.

An unexpected pilgrim.

The actor stares still, but now at the bird instead of out into the audience.

The parrots are now seen mourning the bird.

They put up a new placard.

Funeral Service: the First of August, Twenty-Twenty-Four.

The lights do not change.

[windona]

Tagged by @hedgiwithapen!

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I was a kid and liked making up stories. Then I found a forum for all the shows I liked and wrote all the little kid stories in elementary school. I haven't stopped since.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Many. On top of what's published on my AO3 there's Yugioh, Assassin's Creed, Iron Man Armored Adventures, and a few others. On my AO3 there's Star Wars, Young Justice, Blue Beetle, Smallville, Spider-Man, Miraculous Ladybug, and Dragon Age.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction? Er. If you count what I've posted online, twenty. If you count a five year old writing in a journal, over twenty.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Read more than I write, definitely. Given the number of times I've read 100k+ fics in less than a week (sometimes in a weekend) and the number of 100k+ fics I have written (0, might be 1 soon), well.

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Considering my first fic online was a Mary Sue self insert...

I've definitely gotten the complex plots and flow down, along with power balancing and character balancing. I want to be better with the balance between description and dialogue- I'm not there yet but I think I'm better. And I keep tense consistent now.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Depends on what you define as weird! I've researched Brazil's medical industry for one line in an unfinished fic. I've read Liechtenstein's constitution for a WIP. I've looked up how you can slice your neck open without instantly dying for a WIP. I'm also doing a Lot of organized crime research, and trying to figure out good methods of tying that to DC characters. I'm not trying to join in European criminal organizations, honest FBI.

I will say the hardest research is different cultures/methods of government. It can be hard to wrap my head around how a different court system is conceptualized, for example.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

When people comment on something specific to my style/way of plotting. I once got a comment that someone thought my writing flows well, and that made me smile all day because it's a style I cultivated. And when people talk about specific character stuff, like appreciating how I made all the characters smart, or how I did nuance and hit the right notes- it's great!

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I used Care Ethics as the core of one fic I wrote. I tend to like rare pairs and complicated moral situations so.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Long fics. I have these scenes, but i need to connect them with other scenes? And probably write 100k? There's a reason I have long fics languishing in my WIPs. Parvu and I even have a really long Star Wars/Blue Beetle fic that's been languishing for years because of that.

10. What is the easiest type?

One shot character introspection! Just draw on canon and analyze baby!

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

I've gotten into Google Docs. It's easier to do on the go, and easier for people to beta or comment on.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I've seen some great self insert fics on Space Battles, and kinda want to try my hand at it for either Star Wars or YJ. But the Horrifying Ordeal of Being Known.

13. What made you choose your username?

When I was in elementary school, I had a period of being obsessed with the four elements. Windona has been my internet name ever since.

I tag @parvumautomaton @fire-fira @bedlamsbard @scarabaebutch @championofnyx @haveahearttinman but do not feel obligated

[mj-skyair-star]

█🕹️👾🎮Chapter 11: Waiting (Part 1/2)░▒▓█

March 29th, 2036, Saturday, 9:50 a.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Uh... Grezzer, I think you can put me down now," I told him since we had arrived back at the hideout, the outside of it, one of the entrances of the private school.

Grezzer carried me because I don't have any particular ability to escape easily, as you can tell from chapter three to seven. I stared at him to the point that it was getting awkward. Even though I already knew he didn't understand what I was saying at first, judging by his confused expression. The moment his mind clicked he got timorous and put me down immediately but also carefully.

His height, weight, and well-built structure (similar to Drillbit) so that explains why he was nervous, he didn't want to erroneously injure me by accident. Trust me, I don't need to figure that out when he can easily express it. The only problem with him having an incredibly strong ability is that he could accidentally break things so he is also known to be a 'big clumsy fella'.

Like most WoT characters, his characteristics are set on the stereotypical side of things that many people complain about. How did it start? I guess it happened when a couple of players started paying close attention to the characters when they played WoT for a while. Consequently, it ended up becoming a problematic debate when it was discussed on social media... Specifically Twitter and Tiktok, the two most popular social media platforms that a lot of people despised in 2036 due to the most unreasonable, sensitive and idiotic people.

I never liked Twitter but because I'm a bit popular on social media for gaming, I have to have one so no fakers out there are trying to falsely claim that they are 'me'. TikTok, on the other hand, I only like it for the sake of watching my interest in my favourite fandoms and sometimes important news. It's just that the other side of Tiktok had the stupidest, most dangerous or most offensive videos which I strongly dislike.

On the other side of the debate, some people say it's not as stereotypical as you may think.

For me, I find the sheer number of problematic arguments overwhelming and annoying. Having to hear the same debates over and over again, and of course, I hate picking sides... Well, it depends on what the topic is. Whether or not it is stereotypical, I would say as long as it is not presented in a way that would upset anyone, including me. Then again, it also made me play less of the game than usual...

Now that I am fully aware of the existence of WoT characters... and it is highly possible that there are also other video game characters from different worlds (whatever video game that may be) that are real... Should you be upset about the character's characteristics now? You know, they have feelings just like us humans.

Or blame the developers? Many people who had issues with 'characters being stereotypical' do hate the developers of 'War of Time', even though they were really kind people.

"Oh! Apologies! I forgot that I was still carrying you, ah-heheh..!" He made me giggle a bit.

"It's fine," suddenly, the God-forsaking anxiety catches up to me.

A negative thought popped up in my mind.

"What if we're too late..." I was saved in an instant and felt a hand placed on my shoulder, it was like something punched anxiety with no hesitation.

"Airis, everything will be alright. I'm sure he made it," surprisingly, I looked up to see it was Obus.

He was calm and genuine. He must have figured out that I was starting to get anxious again, which is a good thing to spot straight off the bat, for a futuristic robot. To be truthful, I still couldn't help but feel guilty for not doing anything to prevent Oscar from getting poisoned... But at the same time, it's not healthy to be thinking such things.

"Thanks, I guess I need to hear that..." Obus smiled softly for- Wait, BRUH! That's the first time I've ever seen him smile, a genuine smile!-

Ahem, sorry.

"Good. We must not stand around, let's go," he then went back to normal and demanded as if he was the 'leader' as he usually does, even though he was second in command.

Not smiling anymore...

Aw man, I liked the soft side of him... Oh well, I should have known that he's a coward for showing that to anyone else anyway. Not to mention that he is kinda a complicated character.

Me and Grezzer rolled our eyes behind his back.

The next thing I knew, the red and gold bot was now behind me, out of nowhere, and pushed me gently but still a tiny bit harshly to the door of the school building.

"Rude. Where are your manners? You usually have that," after entering the building, we walked down the long empty hallways, passed the office, a bunch of classrooms and the school library.

I'll admit something about the school. When we first arrived while the sun was still rising, the sunlighting made the areas look so beautiful and glistering. It almost looks like it took place during a sunset, of course, it didn't. I missed it since it's now completely daytime.

We return to the cafeteria so the others will know that we were back, which worked. Our attention was drawn to the group as their heads were facing towards us, who must have heard our footsteps or the door.

Mechtra, Kitt and, surprised to find Jet Greez is with them.

"You're back!" Kitt cheered, super happy to see me and the others back here, safe and sound.

He got off the silver cafeteria bench from the rest of the group (I did notice that they were playing a card game... I couldn't tell what... Maybe that's why Jet Greez is with them) and ran over to me to embrace me. Because I didn't see it coming, I was startled by the unknown. It's still pleasant to receive a hug. Honestly, I needed that. The huge smile on the young yellow bot's face... I'm screaming on the inside at how adorable he is when he looks up at me! Still hugging my waist, his smile was bright and innocent. I didn't hesitate to hug him back after a few seconds of gathering my thoughts about what just happened... He also in some ways reminds me of... my sister... Ava...

As he released me, I faced the others.

"Are Winter and Techblast back?" I asked with hope at the same time as a little worried of the answer no.

"Yes, they arrived back with the-"

"HEY!!" Right away, I bolted past Grezzer and Obus who were startled by my sudden action so I could head over to sickbay.

~~~

Back when Airis, Winter, Obus, Grezzer and I were at the Health Space. I recall telling Airis to stay where she would be safe and keeping an eye out in case any 'unexpected visitor' joins the party... Now that I think about it, I don't see how there was a way to let us know other than telling us in person- eh? Bot??... Sometimes I am not the smartest at thinking things through. It happens, no big deal... Still would have been more ideal if she and Oscar were given communicators.

I trust Kitt that he has already thought ahead about it...

I'm not upset at the strong-willed girl, I already understood why she entered the building. She was after her furry friend, Winter... That creature has a severe aversion to Scrap Metal. I wonder why..? If it were because 'The Slayers' attempted the kidnapping, I could personally understand.

I couldn't get to Airis at the time because I was dealing with Crowby, and it knows that she's here too because of Winter- scratch that- everyone knows. I had to prevent him from capturing her. I know him full well that it wants to get things done and over with, for the golden tokens, that's all it matters to him. He takes the job of assistant for 5000,000 golden tokens (it's a normal money cost for us) even though it could depend on the hunter.

That greedy brute.

Obus and Grezzer couldn't do anything to save her either, because of Scrap and Drillbit.

That doesn't finish there.

By shock, I observe Airis managing to get the cure from Ugiz-zo... Actually... Ugiz-zo is known to waste time so he does get distracted oftentimes. I suppose I was impressed too... Despite her creature leading her into danger yet she still managed to retrieve the cure... Could Artron be right about the player's abilities? Humans don't have powers unless- no, that wouldn't be possible. There's no way it would affect humans or Real Earth... Which is something that shouldn't be affected... At the end of the day, I knew she was planning to give the black bottle necklace to Winter, the moment she called his name.

This would enable him to return to base. Smart. However, I don't believe he will make it on time. Therefore, I successfully defeated Crowby by blasting him to the counter as it crashed into the shelves past the counter.

CRASH!!

I then let my two members know I was heading out and told them to make sure that Airis doesn't get kidnapped before I speeded off to catch up with Winter.

I dashed after him.

Winter was just running past the Melbourne Cup Race Track. Once I caught up with him, I grabbed him from behind.

ARWO!?

"It's ok, it's only me," my tone was serene so I can reassure him in case he starts attacking me out of terror.

I am grateful that 'The Creators' granted me the power of speed so I could make it on time... If I wasn't there Oscar would be dead for sure, 100% guaranteed... Saying that would also mean that we'd be dealing with a very depressed human girl...

I can't allow that. I promised her that he would live, and he will!

I dashed to the sick bay once we entered the Private School.

BANG!

"We have the cure!" I announced, holding Winter up after we entered the once-quiet doctor's healing room.

"Thank the Star Souls!" Qute quickly floated up to us and took the black bottle necklace off of the black and white creature's neck. "I have to hurry and heal him! He doesn't have much time left!"

"Why isn't Kitt here?" I asked since he is also a medic.

"Kitt is with Mechtra and yo- Jet Greez! But don't worry, I am only intended to inject him with the cure so I don't see why there's a need for him here. It is not anything big,"

"Oh, that does make sense," I placed down Winter and walked over to a white standing sitter that was next to the lower part of what humans call a 'bed' that the boy was lying on... I wonder why they don't have tubes like what we have? Real Earth is a strange and unique universe at the same time.

Sitting on the standing sitter with nerve and hope, I was praying to myself to the Star Soul that he is healed, through my mind. During that time, Winter sat next to me. He must have felt worried about his friend too. Furthermore, I hope that Airis is safe, making me nervous. However, I trust that she is not kidnapped... Oh, stars... Was it even wise of me to leave everyone behind?

I looked over at him who was watching Qute zoom around to get the needle ready... Hm... He seemed calm...

... I had never seen a real animal in my home universe before. Heh, what a silly thing to say! Due to extinction, bots have never seen a real animal before... only robotic ones. Since we were made as video game characters, my home used to be 'Earth' until the robots took over and the human race was wiped out. A virus happened and us bots failed to save humanity and real creatures, unfortunately...

Alarming, I know.

But it's just a video game. A VIDEO GAME-

Welcome to my year, 7080. Seirilia is what we call our planet now. 'Earth' was changed because it was more of a 'human's' home planet...

A little off course.

Ever since I met Winter, I have been compelled to pet him. It's funny because I love friendly creatures but I've always been reluctant to touch any creature... but his fur is like... clouds! Maybe... just maybe I can.

My robotic hand slowly reached for the top of Winter's head.

Just as I was about to touch him up until he glanced up at me, just in time for me to move my hand away from him. Pretending I wasn't doing anything, his blue eyes stared into mine in slight confusion until he focused back on watching Qute...

Relieved, I let out a sigh.

"Oh, well..." I mumbled.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, TECH!? YOU KNOW TO NEVER TOUCH CREATURES! THEY'LL BITE YOU! JUST LIKE LAST TIME!" NO! Don't think of such things! Forget it! Creatures are friends, I tell you! I tried to focus on Qute injecting the cure into the blonde boy's weak left arm.

"There, all done..." The diminutive floating bot said until she turned to us... More like the attention is on me. "Uh, Captain? Are you ok? You're not getting-"

"Huh? Oh, y-yes! I'm quite alright, Qute," I replied a bit confidently along with a sharp smile, trying to hide my anxieties.

Mentally, I cursed myself for the stutter while Qute seemed like she already knew what was up. Crap.

"Are you su-"

"Yes! I'm fine..."- then I abruptly changed the subject- "Is Oscar going to be ok? Is he going to live?" I asked with hope.

The smallest bot didn’t answer right away, she seemed like she was having a moment of thought about me. I gave her a look to say that I am ok and within a minute she moved on.

"... Indeed he is. I just scanned him after injecting the cure into his bloodstream. All he needs is a long rest,"

"Oh, thank-"

BANG!

"DID HE MAKE IT?" Startled almost to near death, we immediately turned our attention to find out it was Airis.

What perfect timing.

Winter jumped up and barked, gleeful to see her again.

I was also delighted to see that she had arrived safely as well.

My face was filled with joy.

"Yes! He made it!" I answered.

The answer made Airis feel relieved and at peace that her friend got cured on time.

We watched her walk over to him, kneel down and hold his (at the moment) hand.

"I'm happy you're ok..." She whispered to him a tad loudly until she started to tear up again which caught me and Qute off guard.

"A-Airis! Why are you crying!?" Qute exclaimed.

She then got a nearby tissue to give to the crying girl while I walked over and kneeled beside her.

Airis took a piece of tissue to use to whip off any watery tears before blowing her nose.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and rubbed it to comfort her. I don't understand why she's upset again.

"I-I-I'm not upset! I-I'm happy!" Oh? You can be happy and sad at the same time? "W-When will Oscar wake up?" She asked with a sniff.

Good thing it was only a moment of tears. The girl is getting better quickly. I suppose she wasn't crying as intensely as last time.

"He'll be awake in about three or four hours,"

"... Do you want me to leave..?"

"Well... you don't have to, although, if I were you, I would leave him be to rest,"

"I guess I need to relax anyway,"

"Alright, let's go," I announced as Airis stood up.

I stood up after her.

"I guess Winter is staying here," I muttered as soon as I glanced over at the glorious creature.

In the midst of what had happened today, he fell asleep next to the white 'bed' and, of course, he was exhausted. A giggle slipped out of me at the sight of him, he's adorable.- Ahem. I lead Airis to the exit so Qute can do her own thing at the same time as keeping an eye on them both. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[scarsnfevers]

To the Stars — Hyunjin pt. 3

pairing; hwang hyunjin x female reader, (mentions of other members)

genre; titanic!au, romance, fluff, angst, tragedy

summary; the most famous and youngest violinist of her time and a young artist of the lower class on board of the Ship of Dreams? Pathetic, yes, and yet opposites seem to attract.

parts; Teaser | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 soon

warnings; mature content, mature language, cursing, tw!death, drinking alcohol (only a little bit), a little bit of smut, smoking (might add more warnings later)

word count; 2,6k (2,669)

taglist; @hyunskizz, @daiyoon

authors note; So I edited this in hurry and it's already late af. I might re-edit this part tomorrow, 'cause I'm half asleep while writing this right now. So please have some mercy with me.

!minors do not interact!

"And you know what you're doing?" I stood on a small pedestal while Jisung measured me from head to toe. "Are you still asking?" He looked up at me as he noted my leg length. "You will be the star of the evening. You can count on that." He gave me a confident smile. My arms crossed uncertainly. I knew it was quite a hassle. And to do it in such a short time was almost impossible. "Ji, you don't have to-", "No back talk. I offered it to you, so let's do it Y/n." he interrupted me. My eyes rested on him, perplexed, but I finally gave in. "All right." I agreed and got off the platform to slip back into my dress. If I hadn't been friends with Jisung for so long, I certainly wouldn't have done something like that. Which friends have seen each other in underwear? Probably the fewest. "I'm already nervous." I sat down on the sofa in his suite and looked at him. "Kim Seungmin asking me to play here is nice and..." I paused to find the right expression to reflect my feelings. "Overwhelming?" Jisung's eyes were fixed on his notebook as he helped me along. I nodded and made myself comfortable on the sofa. "I get stage fright every time I have to play somewhere." I explained and looked over at him. "Even if it were you or Felix. The presence of others always makes me nervous." I confessed with a sigh. Jisung now looked up. His eyes met mine. "You know Y/n." He started. There was something very soothing in his voice. "No matter what you do, you have always mastered it. There is no point in running away from something. Neither from situations, feelings or people."

Silence fell between us as my friend's words rolled through my head. Earlier we were sitting in a crowded ambiance with an incredible number of influential people and now that we were alone we were able to express what we felt. And for that, I appreciated Jisung so much. He understood me and my feelings the best, probably even better than Felix. Because he knew what it was like to be locked up like a bird in a golden cage. I bit my lower lip and finally replied, "I wish I could run away from all of this. My life, my commitments." I've had this wish for some years. And ever since I became so famous, this desire grew day by day. I sighed and tilted my head back to pause for a moment. I heard Jisung get up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him moving toward a closet, as he took something out of it. Glasses rattled, and someone opened a bottle. I sat up and looked at Jisung as he stood in front of me and offered me a glass. "So this is supposed to be the solution?" I frowned but took the glass. I immediately smelled the whiskey that he had poured for both of us. "Only for today." He sat down in a chair across from me and sipped at his glass. "Felix will be there soon. I called him over because I thought you might need a distraction."

And Jisung was more than right about that. I thought back to my mother's enthusiastic face as I told her about what had happened in the dining room a few hours ago. I had seldom seen her so happy. My gaze slid to the glass in my hands "That's right." I affirmed Ji's statement before feeling the familiar burning sensation in my throat as I took a sip of the whiskey. I heard a knock on the door. Jisung rose to let Felix in. A smile tugged at my lips as my childhood friend joined us. "So you've already started without me? Th, outrageous." Felix sat down with me on the sofa while Jisung also poured him a glass of whiskey. I sat up so I could see both of them. "You're just in time." I remarked with a smile with the glass in my hand. Felix gave me a grin, "Okay? So the wine wasn't enough before?" His insinuation made me blush for a moment before clearing my throat. "The wine was just the beginning." I countered, even if I wasn't so sure about my own words. He wasn't the type who liked to drink or often, especially not in such a situation. But I knew that Felix and Jisung would take care of me. "Only the beginning?" Felix laughed.

"So we have to carry you to bed later Y/n?" I had to giggle "Maybe?" I cocked my head before taking another sip from my glass. "It's a good thing we're both strong enough." Jisung intervened, having returned to his old seat. "Pft." I commented amusedly. "As if that were such an act."

The glasses emptied faster than expected while the three of us philosophized about a lot, laughed and for a moment could forget everything around us. Those moments were rare because we all had our commitments and rarely got together. It was a change that I more than welcomed. But gradually I felt a slight dizziness, which worsened my vision. I leaned back and looked at my friends a bit lost in thought. I slowly waved the whiskey glass in my hand. Felix noticed my absence and brought me back to reality pretty quickly. "Hey, Y/n? What are you thinking about?" I blinked and met his gaze. I hadn't thought of anything, which amazed me. "I'm sure she imagined both of us naked." Jisung giggled. An indignant gasp escaped my mouth all of a sudden, "Hey! As if I didn't know that!" I started to grin when I saw Ji's stunned expression on my counterattack. Felix also had to smile.

We had completely lost track of time. It was well past midnight and after a few more drinks I felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Felix put his glass on the table in front of him and turned to me, "Would you like me to accompany you to your room?" He noticed that I had not participated too actively in the conversation. I looked up at him and nodded slowly "Yeah, that sounds good." I whispered to myself, more or less already in dreamland. The young man rose and held out his hand to me. I grabbed it somewhat awkwardly and got up unsteadily. "Bye Ji." I waved to my other friend, who said goodbye with a smile. I was glad it wasn't far from my room.

Felix opened the door before we stumbled into my suite. "Y/n, you shouldn't drink so much." He straightened me up to look me straight in the eyes. My forehead wrinkled slightly as Felix looked at me. I made a face, but I knew he was right. "I know." I replied, swaying from one leg to the other. Tiredness made me close my eyes again. "I'm going to bed." I mumbled and then looked at Felix. "Thanks for accompanying me." The drunkest smile he'd ever seen graced my lips. Felix smiled and took me to my bed "Sleep tight Y/n." I felt the soft pillow on my face and a warm blanket over my body. "Hmmm" I heard footsteps walking away, and the click of a light switch, before darkness began to spread around me.

___

The feeling of nausea and a slight headache made it difficult for me to get out of bed the following morning. In my morning dress, I sat on my room's private terrace while the servants provided me with some tea and food for breakfast. Not keen on having more drama in the dining room, I decided to stay in my suite. So I could at least escape my mother for a while. I sipped the tea which tasted actually good and relieved my stomach cramps. It wasn't just the slight hangover that caused this, but also the nervousness. Tonight I would play after Kim Seungmin's speech. Although I had played in front of more people, I couldn't contain my excitement. A soft sigh escaped my lungs as I sipped my tea and watched the people on the lower decks. So many people. Women, children, old and young. I wondered where these people from the other classes were housed. How did they fare? I put my cup back on the table before getting up.

I wanted to find out, to find out how other people lived who weren't born with a golden spoon in their mouths. I threw a silk cloak over my dress, slipped into other shoes, and left without telling the servants what I was about to do. Otherwise, they would tell my mother about it. I could more than imagine that she would be beside herself.

But I didn't care.

I stepped onto the lower deck of the Titanic, which was intended for the second and third class on board. Immediately I noticed that this deck was much busier. I saw children playing, young women gossiping and laughing, and some older men sharing their life stories while others enjoyed the view and the sun. I felt comfortable right away, even though I stood out like a sore thumb. My clothes screamed that I didn't belong there and yet everyone was so friendly and always greeted me with a smile as if nobody cared that I was there. I also treated people with the same kindness they showed me, even though I wasn't 'one of them'. And for the first time, I felt something like freedom.

"Miss you look beautiful!" Being so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed a young girl tugging at my coat to get my attention. I blinked in surprise, a little overwhelmed. "Oh thank you." I looked down at her and gave her a gentle smile as the girl eyed me up. "Where did you get that? It looks really expensive." She remarked, holding the silk in her hands in fascination. I paused for a moment and was about to answer her when a middle-aged man joined the conversation, "Olivia!" His voice sounded horrified as he picked up the child. He was probably the father of that kid. "Sorry Miss, that wasn't meant to disturb you." He then spoke and gave me an apologetic look that was filled with regret. I blinked in disarray, not realizing that people in the lower classes held either awe or resentment toward the rich. In this case, it was probably awe. And yet I didn't quite understand what that was supposed to mean. "It's okay." I finally replied before looking at the girl who was looking at me with wide eyes. She probably realized now what she had done. She stared at me in horror, almost pushing back with fear. I had never seen such a facial expression before. Fear and Loathing. And that's just because I was someone who had a better life and could do something to them if they said something wrong.

"The silk comes from a distant land." I finally said to the girl. "They say you have to sail around the world to get to this country." The last thing I wanted was for anyone to be afraid of me. Especially a little girl. I took off my coat before handing the child to the father's arms. "It's the softest thing you can imagine." I smiled. My gesture came as a surprise, I could see that clearly on the father's face, but my focus was on that little girl. "Keep it. It sure suits you beautifully." I smiled while the child took the thin silk coat. A smile tugged at her lips while her eyes twinkled like thousands of stars in the night sky. "Thank you, Miss." She finally looked up at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her before Olivia and her father wished me a safe journey and said goodbye.

But my well-intentioned gesture had not gone unnoticed.

My path finally led me further across the deck to some benches that stood at the front of the ship. Slightly exhausted, I sat down and leaned against a cold wall of steel behind me. Although I felt a bit better after this little walk, I could feel the headache making its way back. And having someone around me smoking didn't make my situation any easier. It was probably the best solution to go back to the room and get some rest before the hustle and bustle of tonight started.

___

"If you keep scrounging like this, my cigarettes will be gone in no time." Hyunjin sighed, just handing his box to Minho and Jeongin. "Don't worry, I'll get you new ones in New York," Minho said as the smoke began to rise in the air while the three young men stood at the railing and watched what was going on around them. Hyunjin just grimaced and left Minho's answer uncommented before his gaze wandered and he began to look at the people. The young man had noticed how many families were on board the ship. They all probably hoped for a start to a better life as soon as they got off the Titanic.

Who wouldn't?

Hyunjin puffed on his cigarette before noticing a little girl being carried across the deck on his father's shoulders. He probably wouldn't have noticed this if the girl wasn't wearing a much too-large and yet very conspicuous silk coat, which was dyed in a beautiful dark blue. The girl laughed and her father seemed to share the child's joy. He blinked slowly and dragged on his cigarette, which was almost ending. Where do you think the girl got this coat from? He would have asked her about it, but the child and its father had already disappeared from his field of vision. So he turned his attention to other things. Hyunjin always had a pen and paper with him, which he used to draw certain scenes that were stuck in his head or he perceived right in front of him. He decided to look around the deck by himself. His steps led him toward the bow of the ship, where to his surprise there were fewer people. Hyunjin almost turned back to go back, because drawing sailors wasn't very exciting, but at that moment, dark blue fabric and a hint of silk caught his eye, which made him pause. It was the same color as the cloak the girl had worn before. And now it dawned on him where this coat came from.

It was the young woman he had spotted yesterday on the first-class deck. So she had given the coat to the girl? Hyunjin eyed her suspiciously, not knowing why someone like that would do anything like that. And yet something told him that it had to be a heartfelt gesture. This was something he had to capture. He wanted to frame that moment of the young first-class woman without her coat just sitting there on the lower class's deck as people passed her as if she weren't even there.

And even though it was just a sketch, it reflected exactly what Hyunjin had hoped for.

He looked at his work with satisfaction before looking up again after a while. To his surprise, the young woman on the bench had disappeared. She must have left when Hyunjin concentrated on the final details of the drawing. And somehow he regretted it. Hyunjin would have liked to watch her from afar a little longer. Because it seemed as if she had something about her that magically attracted him. Even if he didn't know her. She was a distant dream that he would probably never dream. She seemed to embody chaos, which he called art. Something fragile and beautiful at the same time.

What would he give to know her name...

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Online nazi watcher anon here again, sorry for blowing up your asks but I thought I'd add a bit more information. Everyone please keep in mind that this is just my observations from various platforms where I watch these groups interact. I am not an expert and I guarantee you there are places where they're making plans that I cannot see, so my information is definitely not complete.

In the mainstream non-nazi spaces they're currently focusing on the border across all the provinces, there's chatter that they may focus on those areas rather than going into cities. There is also talk of them blocking off the ports in Vancouver and Halifax, though I haven't seen any firm plans for this beyond it being mentioned as an escalation if blocking the borders doesn't work.

In Vancouver they've started setting up by the pacific border crossing on highway 176, it's mostly personal vehicles at this point with only a few big trucks. They're expecting more trucks and supporters by 4am, no idea on numbers yet. It's been suggested and supported that Saturday they take the convoy to the border, though there's current disagreement about if they should do it instead of going downtown or afterwards.

Tomorrow in Ottawa there's supposed to be some kind of 'negotiations' between the government and the truckers. I'm not sure what that means exactly as it's being framed as 'the patriots' making their demands to a federal negotiator, though I can't find any government source confirming. I'm going to get back to this in a moment.

There are no direct threats that I've seen against anyone besides police, government officials, and infrastructure (roads, bridges, ports, etc). A core part of the mainstream normie side of this convoy is that they truly believe themselves to be god fearing, family loving, community minded patriots. Many of them are trying to keep large parts of the demonstrations family friendly and civic minded.

All that being said, we need to talk about these 'negotiations' that are apparently taking place tomorrow. I can't find a single news source reporting this that isn't a far right rag but it was announced by Pat King this afternoon and is being repeated all over these platforms. Maybe it's legitimate, maybe not, but the preparations being made by the explicitly nazi side of the movement is concerning.

Jeremy McKenzie (alt-right white separatist, leader of the Plaid Army) uploaded a video a few hours ago encouraging/pleading for everyone to come to Ottawa for the negotiations tomorrow. Direct quote from the description:

"IF YOU CAN GET HERE - GET HERE.

THIS IS FOR ALL THE MARBLES

Negotiations tomorrow. It could go in several directions, not all of them good.

Where were you and what were you doing when the future of the country was at stake?"

His video is a bit more in depth, but through his tone and body language it's clear that he expects a fight and is calling on all good Canadian men (he's a misogynist, like all of them are) to come and fight for their country and families. He's calling them to arms and emphasizing that "This is it guys, they're bussing in thousands of cops right now and it could get ugly. Right now is the time, this is it."

I'm nervous about his rhetoric right now because he's one of the biggest alt-right influencers in Canada. Maybe there's actually some government negotiator that's going to sit down and bring an end to this for the majority of the movement. Or maybe these rumors and calls to action from a violent fascist are them setting up for a huge escalation.

I'll keep you guys updated if I see anything else brewing, I'll also send a list of resources that people can use to educate themselves about this new world of edglord meme nazis.

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