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estellan0vella · 5 months ago

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Don't Look Her In The Eyes Older Brother Sukuna AU HFBU

You’re sitting at the front desk of the tattoo parlour, playing a lively game of Monopoly with Yuji and Megumi. The boys are engrossed in the game, laughing and teasing each other as they buy properties and collect rent. You’re enjoying the rare moment of downtime in the otherwise bustling shop.

Suddenly, the door swings open, and an unfamiliar yet irritatingly familiar figure strides in. It’s Yorozu, Sukuna’s ex-girlfriend. She has a haughty expression, and her eyes scan the room with disdain. You immediately feel a tension in the air as she approaches.

“I’m Yorozu,” she announces, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Heard of me?”

You glance up from the game, giving her a once-over. “I’d tell you what I’ve been told, but I don’t want you to start crying. Sukuna said your crying face was awful to look at.”

Sukuna, who’s been tattooing a client nearby, looks over with a smirk and pulls an exaggeratedly ugly crying face, making everyone in the room chuckle.

Yorozu’s face reddens with anger, but before she can retort, Gojo steps in with a mischievous grin. “Remember, guys, don’t look her in the eyes.”

Toji raises an eyebrow. “Why? Because we’ll turn to stone?”

Gojo shakes his head, still grinning. “No, her eyes are just really ugly.”

Geto snorts, unable to hide his laughter, while you bite back a smile. The atmosphere in the room shifts to one of amusement, the tension dissipating with each joke.

Yorozu tries to maintain her composure, but her irritation is evident. “He’ll come crawling back to me, you know.”

Toji lets out a loud laugh. “No, he won’t. You ain’t got tits like Y/N.”

Gojo jumps in, winking at you. “They’re the shop’s mascots, so they’re not going anywhere.”

Yorozu glares at you, her fists clenched at her sides. “You think you’re so special, don’t you?”

Sukuna, finishing up with his client, saunters over and wraps an arm around your shoulders. “Special? Y/N's got you beat in every department. Especially in the bedroom. You should see how she looks bent over—”

You quickly cover Yuji’s ears while Gojo covers Megumi’s, both of you laughing despite the situation. “Kuna!” you exclaim, playfully scolding him.

Yuji pulls away from your hand, wrinkling his nose. “Your perfume smells bad,” he tells Yorozu bluntly, pinching his nose for emphasis.

Megumi nods in agreement. “Yeah, you’re stinky.”

Gojo doubles over with laughter. “Looks like even the kids know what’s up.”

Yuji reaches into the Monopoly bank and hands Yorozu some fake money. “Here, for new perfume,” he says, his innocence making the gesture even funnier.

The room erupts in laughter, the adults barely able to contain themselves. Yorozu’s face twists with rage and embarrassment as she watches you laugh in her face. “You—”

Before she can finish, Toji steps forward, his expression serious. “I’d be careful. I’ve had to restrain Y/N when she hopped a counter and started beating up a man three times her size.”

You nod, crossing your arms with a grin. “And I don’t think you’d fare any better.”

Geto grins, leaning back in his chair. “Honestly, Yorozu, you’re just not worth the trouble.”

Yorozu’s eyes narrow, and she sneers at you. “You’re nothing special. Just another pretty face. Sukuna will get bored of you eventually.”

You roll your eyes, smirking. “You keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, I’m the one he’s coming home to every night.”

“And coming in,” Sukuna adds with a wicked grin. The parlour erupts into raucous laughter at Sukuna’s comment, and even you can’t help but blush a little, nudging him playfully.

“Kuna!” you exclaim, trying to hide your embarrassment while covering Yuji’s ears. “You’re terrible!”

Gojo laughs uproariously, leaning against the counter for support. “Seriously, it’s like a soundtrack to our workday. At this rate, we should start charging admission.”

Toji, not wanting to be left out, chimes in. “Yeah, I mean, who needs a podcast when we've got live audio porn next door?”

You groan, covering your face with one hand while keeping Yuji's ears covered with the other, pressing his left ear against your leg as your hand covers his right ear. "Can we not?"

Toji shakes his head, chuckling. "I've walked in on them so many times, I might as well be part of the relationship."

Sukuna grins wickedly. "We could always use an extra set of hands, Toji."

Toji smirks, looking Sukuna up and down. “I might consider it.”

Gojo turns to Yorozu, who looks utterly flabbergasted. “We're all really close here,” he says with a grin that’s anything but innocent.

The room erupts in another round of laughter. Yorozu, clearly flustered and defeated, huffs and turns to leave. "You’re all disgusting," she snaps over her shoulder.

"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!" Toji calls after her, still laughing.

As the door swings shut behind her, the laughter slowly subsides. Sukuna pulls you into a warm embrace, kissing the top of your head. “You handled that well, babe.”

You lean into him, smiling. “Couldn’t have done it without all of you.”

Yuji, now free from your hands, looks up at you with a grin. “We won, Y/N/N!”

Megumi nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, we beat the bad lady!”

You laugh, ruffling both boys’ hair. “Yes, we did. And we’ll always stick together, no matter what.”

Sukuna tightens his hold on you, his voice low and affectionate. “Always, baby.”

Gojo, never one to miss a beat, winks at you. “So, who’s up for another round of Monopoly?”

You shake your head, smiling. “Only if you promise to keep the jokes PG this time.”

“To be fair, they’re always PG,” Gojo says with a wink. “Pretty Good.”

Everyone groans at the bad pun, but the laughter and warmth in the room are undeniable. In the end, it’s clear that no matter what challenges come your way, you have an unbreakable bond with the people who matter most.

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charlieslowartsies · 11 months ago

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FINISHED MY TOOTHLESS PLUSH!!

Materials, info and some comments under the RM!

Toothless' Pattern I purchased

Materials: 6 yards of black minky 1 yard red minky 5 yards of Poly-Fil extra loft medium quilt batting 18 oz of poly pellets (4 oz in each foot) 2 Mainstay firm bed pillows for stuffing 1 spool of purple thread for the top stitching details on his tail, hip and main wings 2.5 spools of black thread Dark green, lime green, goldenrod and light yellow embroidery floss black acrylic paint white fabric paint Velcro one very old, small and cranky sewing machine who somehow survived this ordeal several comfort shows, podcasts, and music to listen to

This was my winter break project! Granted I started bits and pieces of the process in early December, but once my two weeks off hit he really started getting worked on lol.

I know it's hard to tell from photos, but he is A BIG CHONGUS. Toothless is 5.5 feet from head to tail tip, and has a 9 foot wingspan. He weighs about 8 lbs.

He took about 60ish hours and was very complex. My budget was $200 and he came in at $202! That includes things like the bulldog clips that I bought when he was being pinned because the minky was so slippery! This cost EXcludes a sewing machine, or things like an embroidery ring which my mom had, so I was very lucky in several areas—but he still was not cheap, either by expense or by time and sweat/tears!

Of course, the minky was by far the most of the cost, coming in at $122. I’d say the batting would be next, but I waited and snagged a good deal at my local craft store and got the batting for $18. I HIGHLY recommend buying bed pillows. The original maker of the pattern used IKEA pillows I believe.

I increased his size by 20%, so I printed him at 120% and guesstimated on the minky amount. My WORST mistake was forgetting to mirror the WINGS, which meant I had to recut two of the four pieces of fabric. (I should have marked it on the pattern, which I did mark well for things like number count.) Had I not done this, I would have used a lot less minky. I bought 7 yards and only needed 5.5 before my error.

(Now I’ve got scraps and a whole yard left sitting there whispering that it wants to be made into a Krobus plushie…who seems much less of a hurdle than Toothless.)

I stuffed Toothy’s hip fins and tail fins with one layer of quilt batting. His wings however, are double layered with the batting for extra plush, warmth, and durability. His eyes are hand embroidered (my first time!) but stitched on with the machine. Toothless has poly pellets in his feet to help support his bulk, but most of his weight is in his body, hips and start of his tail so he actually sits up really well.

He was a huge labor of love for sure! The pattern was great, the instructions were…less great. But my mom helped me figure out a lot of the troubling bits. Some parts were easy to follow and others were basically "bing bong fuck ya life." Despite that, I do suggest this pattern. But this is definitely an intermediate or advanced pattern. They also sell the eyes for those that have access to an embroidery machine.

I followed the pattern closely as I desired. I did omit the back spikes on his rear legs, and I couldn’t embroider his lil nose by hand ^^; I also did not make his blue alpha fins because of expense and mistrust in my own skills...also, I kinda wanted HTTYD1 Toothless haha. I love the series as a whole but the og movie is literally one of the reasons I went to college, and it went into my thesis as well.

I want to remake his prosthetic at some point when I have time and energy, but for now I’m pleased with 99% of him, especially since this is my first plushie I’ve ever made. I do not regret any of my personal changes and I’m totally in love with him.

#toothless #httyd #plush #plush making #arts and crafts #how to train your dragon #httyd2 #httyd3

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lowkeyrobin · 8 months ago

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can we get a phoebe spengler dating and/or friendship hcs please im starving out here 🫶🏼🫶🏼

oooo yeah sure!! I apologize if this ends up being kinda short 😔🙏 ; thanks for requesting and I hope you enjoy!!

PHOEBE SPENGLER ; dating hcs

summary ; dating stuff with phoebe

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; I'm not a professional when it comes to autism (because it's like 50/50 canon) so please give me feedback if any of the traits or anything in general is wrong for phoebe and if I should change it!! the sources I used don't seem like they're written by autistic people themselves but I'm putting my trust into these psychologists

word count ; 471

masterlist

she caught your eye with those horrible dad jokes of hers

it was the effort and thought that counted

tried using a science fact to reel you in but you were already head over heels 😭😭

you were just like "can I please take you out to do something fun? just us? please?"

she's like "...sure?" like she hasn't had a crush on you for the past solid 15 minutes from across the room

she talks about it to her mom, and she's all excited for her and she just doesn't understand the hype

baby's first date because trevor lives a double life around callie 💯

callie actually takes pictures 😭 and phoebe is just wearing a casual outfit like?? this isn't a fancy occasion mom

she's literally so scared but doesn't really know how to feel

you find it cute and endearing 💔

once you actually start dating, she's still very nervous around you because she's not trying to drive you away

she's obsessed with you though, you're actually perfect in her eyes and she'll do anything to prove that to you (vice versa as well 🫶)

she just stares at you sometimes and it's the cutest thing ever, like whole ass loses focus on whatever she's doing just to look at you. whether you're just chilling across the room or laughing and talking with podcast, she can't take her eyes off of you

she'll ramble about whatever she's fixated on / her special interest at the most random times, it's adorable

trevor will just see her staring at you while you're busy fixing something and be there like "stop staring" and without loosening her gaze on you, will reply "I can't help it"

he's mad she found actual love before him 😭 /hj

she'll hang on to anything and everything you seem to have an interest in

she seems like the type to make one of those pages long essays about how much she l-words you and mail it to you because she's too scared to give it to you herself

she's genuinley head over heels, there is no honeymoon phase that is just how she is

will proudly ramble about her ghostbuster duties to you whenever she can

loves taking walks with you even if it's just in silence

will 100% show you how everything in the proton packs and traps work

she'll have late night theories and scientific ideas and text you to not forget and just to let you know, even if you're asleep

"y/n I have an idea" "hit me"

you're her biggest fan

you made her a little "I got arrested" pin after she did actually get in trouble with stuff LMAO

she got you a little ghostbuster patch because you didn't want to really join them, but she can't help but wanna make you feel included

you, her, and Podcast are seriously an unbreakable trio

#lowkeyrobin #ghostbusters frozen empire #ghostbusters afterlife #ghostbusters x reader #phoebe spengler x reader #phoebe spengler #gender neutral reader #gn reader #they/them reader #gn! reader #dating headcanons

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2-sarcastic-comments-7 · 4 months ago

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Hermitcraft/life series fic I’m workshopping

Superheroes with the watchers as the evil guys to force/blackmail super powered humans to do what they want.

The Hermits are the worlds version of the avengers

The sky siblings (grain,pearl and jimmy) are siblings in this au and are avians and have side small powers related to their bird species.

Grain =parrot(red with lots of colours)likes flying and can do it well

jimmy =canary(The Crested Canary) isn’t good with heights and smaller wings so can’t fly long or to well since he mostly hides his wings

Pearl = owl (The Powerful Owl)loves flying and good at gliding

Grain =oldest pearl and jimmy =younger twins (pearls older of the twins)

Growing up grain accidentally got involved with the watchers and went to prison for it and as a part of his rehabilitation he has to help the hermits and after a few years he ranks up to hero position

During grains jail time pearl and jimmy are still young so they are kinda fending for themselves (let’s say the parents are absent because that physically or emotionally or financially) jimmy lands a job part time at his friends Lizzie’s family vet clinic and pearl gets a part time waste disposal position

Due to her job and relationship to grian the watchers keeps tabs on pearl and sometimes around 18ish she goes missing and presumed dead but in reality the watchers have taken her

Jimmy eventually goes on to get a medical license and actually gets hired to the hermits for medical

Around about 4 years after pearls disappearance a watcher villian with jet black wings appears by the name scarlet and starts causing a lot of trouble and normally the hermits can sus out how the watchers have a villain under their control and help them get out but with scarlet they can’t find anything.

Btw the others come into this at odd angles like:

Martin is a double agent who helps the hermits out with watcher info but he’s not on the top of the watchers information clearance yet so doesn’t know everything

Lizzie is dating Joel who’s the public communications guy for the hermits and she herself runs her family vet(this comes in with pearl and grain plot I’ve thought of)

Scar is a hero for the hermits along with most of the others

Gem was pearls friend before she was taken and was planing to go to med school with jimmy but decided to go full hero route but still is help with medical

Impulse and skizz are a superhero duo(in hermit group) who still run their own podcast

I’m going to be adding more just not ironed out the details yet

#hermitblr #grian #jimmy solidarity #pearlescentmoon #superhero au #trafficblr #life series #lizzie ldshadowlady #joel smallishbeans #geminitay #impulsesv #skizzleman #hermitcraft #fanfic idea?#just writing this out to get an idea if it’s a good idea or nah idk why does anyone post anything here 🤷#the watchers #inthelittlewood

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lemotmo · 4 months ago

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Queer arc question 🎉

Q. Don't you think there's lots of ways they could take the Eddie storyline? I mean yeah queer is possible but the show could also double down and run in the opposite direction.

A. Sure the show can go a different direction, but there's no other satisfactory way to go for Eddie other than making him queer. I just think they've painted themselves into a corner where he is concerned. His very established dating pattern is meeting a woman who is culturally and physically acceptable asking her out and then immediately jumping into commitment and introducing her to Christopher or asking her to move in. He forces instant commitment instead of just dating. And then he spirals because he feels like he's got an instant family. He's on record saying he hates being 'forced' to date because he feels like he has to perform (yes he was talking about blind dates but they made a point of showing Hen's reaction). He's on record saying he's a nester and doesn't like just dating around. But every time he 'nests' with a woman he's seeing he spirals and breaks up with her (Anna) or sabotages the relationship (Marisol). This is his dating pattern. And every time he spirals we see Buck occupying the same space/role that his girlfriend's would (minus the sexual part, for now) and Eddie is relaxed and happy when it involves Buck. He had a ready made family with him, Christopher and Buck by episode 4 of season two. The show also made a point of having Bobby tell Eddie that he doesn't have any trouble committing when he actually wants to. So the show was reinforcing this pattern, that they have very noticeably and constantly made Buck the exception to

This past season the show did a kind of retcon and appeared to be saying that Eddie's relationship issues are because he's not over Shannon. So they brought in her doppelganger and had Eddie start seeing her. But instead of doubling down on the not over Shannon thing the show had Eddie specifically tell Buck that it wasn't anything physical and he didn't want to sleep with her. And when Kim found out about Shannon she transformed herself into Shannon and it turned out all Eddie wanted from her was to talk. He wanted to ask her why they didn't work. Wanted to ask her why he feels broken all the time and can't figure out how to fix it? So any chance the show had to kind of drift away from the picture they were painting they didn't and instead had Eddie kind of double down on the fact that it's because he can't figure out why he doesn't feel 'right'. Now I ask you, anon, if all of this doesn't sound like a character who is about to experience a sexuality awakening then what the hell else could it possibly be? Because I've got nothing. I cannot think of a single other storyline all of this could be building towards. And no one else has offered a plausible storyline alternative either. They have written themselves into an obvious corner and I think they did it on purpose.

Thank you Nonny! Much appreciated as always!

All right, I so much agree with Ali here. I've discussed this topic before with some mutuals who have been around since season 1 or 2 and a queer Eddie storyline is the only thing that would make sense now.

We also have some inside information that they have tried to go down the queer Eddie road before, but that it was blocked by FOX at the time. Now, I know that this information isn't 'official' as it was said by the anonymous insider over on Twitter. But they have been right about so many other things on the show that I choose to believe them. Whether or not you choose to believe them, is up to you. Remember, this is just my opinion on things.

So yeah, all of the evidence from the show itself, combined with information from other sources, interviews, podcasts and articles? To me this can only go one way. The way of the queer storyline.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

#anonymous blog I love #eddie diaz meta #eddie diaz speculation #season 8 speculation #eddie diaz #911 abc #nonnies galore

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toxicnotebook · 1 year ago

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Full list of work SAG-AFTRA members will not do during the strike:

●Principal on camera work, such as: ○ Acting ○ Singing ○ Dancing ○ Performing stunts ○ Piloting on-camera aircraft ○ Puppeteering ○ Performance capture or motion capture work;

● Principal off camera work, such as: ○ ADR/Looping ○ TV Trailers (promos) and Theatrical Trailers ○ Voice Acting ○ Singing ○ Narration, including audio descriptive services except as the services may be covered by another collective bargaining agreement referred in the Notice to Members Regarding Non-Struck Work ○ Stunt coordinating and related services

● Background work ● Stand-in work ● Photo and/or body doubles ● Fittings, wardrobe tests, and makeup tests ● Rehearsals and camera tests ● Scanning ● Interviews and auditions (including via self-tape)

● Promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts, such as: ○ Tours ○ Personal appearances ○ Interviews ○ Conventions ○ Fan expos ○ Festivals ○ For your consideration events ○ Panels ○ Premieres/screenings ○ Award shows ○ Junkets ○ Podcast appearances ○ Social media ○ Studio showcases

● Negotiating and/or entering into and/or consenting to: ○ An agreement to perform covered services in the future ○ Any new agreement related to merchandising connected to a covered project ○ The creation and use of digital replicas, including through the reuse of prior work

● Performing on a trailer for a struck production or other ancillary content connected to a struck production

This strike effectively stops the ENTIRE entertainment industry. No shows. No movies. No premieres. No award shows. No fun little interviews. No signings at con. Nothing. Even the tabloids are going to be affected by this.

I just CANNOT imagine how greedy and short-sighted the AMPTP must be to think a dual strike is something they can outlast when many of the major studios are already experiencing serious financial trouble. You really think you can ride this out when the 2023 box office is already weak? When the 2020-2022 box offices were even weaker? When streaming services are just not growing anymore?

Who the fuck is going to watch whatever trash you come up with when there are no real names attached and no meaningful way to promote it?

It's just baffling.

Another excellent article: “Orange Is the New Black” Signalled the Rot Inside the Streaming Economy from The New Yorker

#SAG-AFTRA

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spookytuesdaypod · 27 days ago

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spooky tuesday is a (now not so new!) podcast where we’re breaking down all of our favorite slashers, thrillers, monster movies and black comedies on the new scariest day of the week.

after last year’s halloween fifth tuesday, many discussions were had about how to celebrate the occasion again in 2024 — but, ultimately, there was only one answer that everybody was definitely 100% on board about and excited for and agreedcloris leachman, eric mccormack, and meshach taylor. on our latest episode of spooky tuesdayd childhoods with double, double, toil and trouble (1993), the made-for-tv movie starring mary-kate and ashley olsen. the tiny twins may have been well into building their empire by then (after all, they started as literal infants), but they were still getting used to the acting game, and it showed in their adorable performance as they kept accidentally looking into the camera. that said, they still gave a masterclass in sass, and they held their own amidst stars like cloris leachman, eric mccormack, and meshach taylor. on our latest episode of spooky tuesday, we’re enjoying the autumnal vibes and trying not to get too bogged down in ‘90s era problematic elements as we go on a little adventure and learn the magic words: jacuzzi jacuzzi!

give spooky tuesday a listen on apple podcasts, spotify, iheart radio, or stitcher

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sometipsygnostalgic · 8 months ago

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Yeah the Plow drama was WEIRD. Dozens of PSAs about how staff is racist, all based on a white TOH fan's unsourced viral post. The SPOP guy who announced his best friend's podcast canceled because he said the word "dykes" which is in the title. I even had mutuals saying that ND had the DUTY to step up and interrupt him. The constant videos about how ND is TRANSPHOBIC because Double Trouble is "sexualized" and "evil". Queer people are nuts.

So a couple of things here:

The Sow* stuff was real. The crew actually apologised for it and said that they didn't mean anything by it, but that nobody should excuse them for it. I appreciate this response. It was a whole thing. Also it all happened before The Owl House even started airing... (EDIT: Incorrect comment because TOH started airing seven months beforehand) but I don't want to pretend the Sow stuff was a big hubbaloo over nothing. It meant a lot to people and I think it demonstrated a lack of self awareness within the crew. There are other moments like this. The Entrapta leash gag was brought up a lot at the same time as another example of insensitivity, and I absolutely agree, but I do respect that the crew responded to the backlash the best way they could - by admitting their wrongdoing and saying theyll work on having a better perspective. I do think there are other areas they could've done better as well, like Mara turning "blonde", and all the characters having magical multicoloured hair instead of natural black hair, or even dark hair that was dyed a different colour. Some of those are handovers from dreamworks shera but it still sucks. *Sow, not Plow. We both forgot.

I don't know anything about the podcast. Never heard of it. However, if that is true, that's really unfortunate - Everyone has turned hard against "dirtier" terms like Dyke, despite how much work has gone into reclaiming them. Also, whether "queer" is a socially acceptable self-descriptor seems to vary on a year by year basis. People need to recognise other queer people are not slandering them by using these terms.

Double Trouble being an "evil nonbinary shapeshifter" right? Well, Nimona is also an evil nonbinary shapeshifter. Nimona being nonbinary is a new aspect of her presented in the movie too, not the original comics. And it's fucking awesome!!!! I think what people have been starting to realise is that evil nonbinary shapeshifters are the ultimate genderfluid power fantasy. I think it's fair and valid to want more visualisations of nonbinary people who can exist in a real world, who didn't "start off" with magical genderless abilities, but I also think there will always be a place for the nonbinary shapeshifter.

Your comments reminded me of some people's takes on Entrapta as autistic rep, and how she is seen as bad because she's the autistic savant. And yes, the autistic savant is a stereotype, but I feel that Entrapta subverts it aggressively. She's a genius but she's rather dense, she's VERY friendly unlike most "autistic savant" characters and her social problems are highly relatable. She isn't hyper competent, but autism IS a "strength" of hers, not so much because of her genius, but because it allows her to ignore or question social standards that exist to hold people back. She doesn't give a shit how important Hordak is, or what a Horde soldier or Rebellion princess is supposed to be like. She's free, and very much a power fantasy in the same way Double Trouble is. Hell even in aforementioned "leashing scenes" that I have problems with, she breaks free as soon as it starts to be annoying. I love her.

#she ra #spop #double trouble #bow #entrapta #racism #homophobia #ableism

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jamiesfootball · 2 months ago

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Whumptober Day 9

Prompt: ‘frame me up on the wall just to keep me out of trouble’, bruises

This idea is a mishmash of two things I heard on a podcast:

1 - players will often before a match watch footage of other players they want to emulate

2 - a friend of the podcast host used to have a large cardboard cutout of a footballer in his living room

So what I’m imagining is Jamie, fresh faced at 18 and having just moved into his first place.

He’s really feeling the pressure from his dad to play tougher now that he’s gotten his first ‘professional contract’, which is still a pittance compared to the actual professionals, but good luck explaining to his dad that it’s not a reflection on how Jamie plays, it’s just where he’s at right now in his career. At the bottom. The bottom of the top is still the bottom, and in case he’s in danger of forgetting that, he can just look around him: a cheap one-bedroom with no furniture, no decorations, and moving boxes doubled up for tables while he sits on the floor.

He left nearly everything behind at his mum’s. They’re on the outs for a bit. (He doesn’t know this yet, but they’ll be on the outs on and off for the next few years.) In hindsight Jamie shouldn’t have used his dad’s name as a weapon, but she’d just told him that she wanted her new boyfriend to move in. He’s met this new guy Simon a few times, and he knows he’s a harmless, gormless wanker, but the sudden idea of living in the same house — in his house — fills him with sudden and icy dread. It makes him feel cornered; it makes him feel betrayed; and at some point when he wasn’t paying attention he’d learned it was easiest to meet threats teeth-first, so that’s what he did.

Ironic, too, that he’d been so focused on getting away from Simon that he wound up staying with his dad for the next few weeks. But at least he knew his dad — the shape of his anger and the swerve of his moods and how to time his waking hours so that it was never him asleep while his dad was awake.

His new place might be a bit of a shithole, but at least it’s got a lock on the door.

So now he’s alone, sitting on his living room floor, mental preparing himself for the match later that he probably won’t even get to play in. Watching Roy Kent’s old matches from when he was still the toughest bastard on the field. He skips past all the footage from his most recent games, because watch Kent struggle to keep up with everyone makes something ache in Jamie’s chest. He needs the old Roy Kent, the one who’s familiar. The big man with the biggest walls who’s been looming in front of Jamie for years.

Only he left his mum’s in such a hurry, and then he’d spent the next few weeks bunking with his dad (regrettably) while he searched for his own place, and between one thing and another he didn’t so much as decide to leave his poster behind as he knew he couldn’t take it with him.

But it felt weird not having his poster scowling down at him too, so Jamie-

Well it’s not like he’s got anything to show off yet in his new place. No one has to know that he impulse bought a Roy Kent cardboard cutout for his living room instead of buying a coffee table.

So this is the picture so far: Jamie, lounging on a bare wooden floor with his hoodie bundled under his head for a pillow. He’s watching old footage on a new phone, because his dad broke the old one. Between the phone and the security deposit, he can’t afford a tv yet. The paychecks are coming, they are, bigger than the ones last year twice over, but he wants to save a bit first before he starts buying stuff he knows from experience he’s perfectly fine living without.

He knows how fast someone’s money situation can change. He has a contract inked for two years, but it doesn’t feel real. Everything feels like a dream.

Roy Kent’s not a dream though. Roy Kent’s as real as he ever been, whether he’s in ink and paper scowling above Jamie’s head or in tiny pixels as he stomps across the pitch so hard the grass should die in his wake.

Roy Kent, his guide for how to be tougher be better keep going

It’s that kind of focus keeps Jamie out of trouble when things get tough. When his dad comes at him too hard, and Jamie wonders with a cold chill if staying in football is worth the occasional bruise it earns him off the pitch.

It has to be worth it though. If it all crumpled, if that image of Roy Kent ever collapsed in front of them, Jamie doesn’t know what else he would do

He still has a way to catch up. The physios are all in agreement that Jamie hasn’t quite had his last growth spurt. Standing on his tiptoes in front of the cutout because he thought he’d at least be eye level with him by now

He plans to hide it under his bed if his dad shows up unannounced

(That only works for so long)

By the time Jamie gets loaned out, his first flat is nothing more than a short lived memory. The cutout is long since dead, and so is naive little twat who looked up to it. Jamie’s taller now. Hasn’t pulled up a video of Roy Kent in years. In all ways that matter, Roy Kent is a living ghost to him

And then he meets Roy Kent

#whumptober2024 #no.9 #‘frame me up on the wall just to keep me out of trouble’#bruises #ted lasso #fic #fic idea #jamie tartt #roy kent #this one got a bit rambly #even by idea standards #I am less artisan bakery right now and more hand-me-down bread maker

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villainsview · 27 days ago

Text

Chapter 7

Country Roads...Sorta

“W-where are we going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, finishing tying his wrists behind his back with a proper knot.

I’d spent most of the day packing up and figuring out what to do. In the end I decided to wait for the cover of darkness. Allard was blowing up Jack’s phone, but it would probably take a while before he would send anyone to come looking.

Just before nightfall, I’d taken the kid out to my van to get him ready for ‘transport.’ Normally I’d drive to a random road just close enough to civilisation for them to not get in trouble before kicking a hostage out of my van and speeding off, but if I freed Erick before Allard’s all clear, it would only be a matter of time before he would get his hands on him again.

I had to tell his father how to get away from him first. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too busy to see me about his missing son. I shook my head a bit as I tied a blindfold over the teen’s eyes. If he was rich enough for Allard to demand millions, wouldn’t he have paid up already? Why wait almost two weeks?

Whatever, it wouldn’t be my problem anymore soon. I finished with two strips of tape over the boy’s lips to keep him quiet, in case he would get any ideas near a populated area.

“Lie down over here,” I instructed, guiding the boy to lie in the corner behind the passenger’s seat, so he wouldn’t be visible from any of the front windows.

I stacked my bag and some other bags next to him, obscuring him from view even further. I double-checked he was properly hidden, standing outside of the van as I lit a cigarette, peering inside, but I could only see my bags. I nodded satisfied, glancing over at the farmhouse a last time before getting behind the wheel and driving off.

As I drove back into the city, I noticed it was about time for the hourly news broadcast on the radio, so I quickly tuned into a more local station, so it would be more likely to hear something relevant. And sure enough, as I raised the volume, I immediately heard the kid’s name.

“...but even after today’s investigation, there is still no news about Erick James’ whereabouts. On a similar note, two days ago another teenager, Thomas Wong, was kidnapped from his family home, but police have ruled out any connection with the James case. Thomas’ family is desperate—”

I switched the radio back to my favourite jazz station, smiling smugly as the last part of the news alert seemed like the media had moved on from Erick’s case. That meant less heat and prying eyes on my back. But I wasn’t fully out of the wind just yet. I’d be at risk while I was in the city, but I couldn’t leave before handing off the boy.

I pulled into the parking lot of a superstore that was just about to close, turning off the engine before turning in my seat to look at the teen in the back.

“Not a fucking peep from you. Deal?”

The boy quickly nodded, shuffling a bit uncomfortably, before staying still and quiet. Satisfied, I got out, locked the van, before lighting another cigarette and beginning a walk to a nearby neighbourhood.

The houses were big, their yards and driveways even bigger. The gates were closed and the walls were high, so it was nearly impossible to get spotted by any of the residents…if they were even home. It was hard to tell.

I walked up to one of the houses about halfway down the street, only to find the gate blocked off with yellow police tape. I raised a brow, approaching the gate and peering through the bars at the house. All the lights were off…

“You another one of those true crime geeks?”

I turned around, finding a young woman taking her elderly dog for a walk.

“Excuse me?” I said.

“True crime?” the girl said, “First the kid disappears, now the dad…these wannabe podcast hosts have been coming here all week, thinking it’s some mysterious case…”

“But it isn’t?” I asked.

“Mr James was a fraud,” the girl said, “his lies caught up with him and he ran. I saw him rush away in the middle of the night.”

“What about the kid?” I asked.

“Probably dead,” the girl said with a shrug, “probably better that way.”

She moved on, her dog slowly following. I looked back at the house and sighed, checking the time on my phone before opening my contact list and scrolling down to the R.

Tito Rana was a frequent client of mine, a very generous one, but only because he considered us friends. He was a powerful kingpin in the Western states, and could even give Allard a run for his money, though last I heard he didn’t have a lot of territory in Phoenix anymore. Still, it would be worth a try. I pressed a dial button and held the phone to my ear.

“Fetch!”

I was a bit surprised at how quick and how loud he picked up, but I quickly recovered, keeping my voice down to avoid suspicion from any other neighbours.

“Evening, Tito,” I said, “I’m not bothering you?”

“Not at all!” Tito replied, “I was actually meaning to call you, but I wasn’t sure which timezone you’d be in.”

“I’m in Arizona,” I said, “anyway, I need a favour. Some information on a guy.”

“Oh? Having trouble with your hunt?” Tito asked, “I’m sure Jonas can arrange something—”

“Let’s not bother Jonas just yet,” I quickly said, I hated that guy, “I’m working a ransom job right now, and the guy that’s supposed to pay up went into hiding. I’ll need your help to track him down.”

“Doesn’t your client usually handle all that?” Tito asked, “Why ask me?”

“Because Allard is a dick— Can you do this or not?”

“Of course I can look around for you, but would you mind doing something for me in return?”

“Name your price,” I said with a sigh.

“One of my couriers has been pocketing small amounts of merchandise and with that relatively large amounts of money, poor soul thinks I wouldn’t find out, so why don’t you pick up his daughter before he spends it all on her college?”

“How old is she?” I asked. I usually refused to go after younger girls, didn’t want people getting the wrong idea.

“Nineteen, I believe,” Tito said, “we actually have her on file because she bought a fake ID from one of my people to get into bars, you know how they are.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, “it won’t take too long, will it? Also where to?”

“Not at all, Fetch. Either he’ll pay up immediately or I’ll allow him to strike a deal. We don’t want to see the girl hurt, we just want to scare the guy straight,” Tito said, “besides, if I wanted to do some damage I would’ve sent Jonas instead.”

I rolled my eyes. Fucking Jonas again.

“Anyway, this’ll be close to home if you don’t mind the drive back to California, I’ll give you some time to recover from the journey before sending you further details,” Tito said.

“I’ll have to think about it,” I said, “I’ll call you when I get home and then we’ll discuss those details.”

“Of course, of course!” Tito said, “safe travels.”

He hung up, so I put my phone away and sighed deeply, lighting another cigarette before beginning my walk back to the van.

“So,” I said, getting back into the van after getting some snacks at a gas station, “let’s go over the rules again. You won’t talk, not to anyone, and not to me unless spoken to. I’ll give you a baseball cap, you never take it off unless I tell you to. You do not leave the van, until I let you out. Understood?” I turned in my seat to look at the teen in the back of the van.

He nodded timidly, backing away slightly as I got up and climbed into the back, though he quickly settled as I began removing his restraints. I cut his ropes off and removed his gag, looking at his wrists.

“Keep your hands down too, we don’t need people seeing those bruises,” I added.

“Y-yes sir…”

“Atta boy. Now try this on for size.”

I reached into the plastic bag I brought back from the gas station and pulled out a cap, tearing the price tag off before giving it to the teen. He looked it over for a second. It was faded orange, as it had already had too much sun exposure, but he didn’t voice any complaints and put it on after adjusting the velcro strap on the back a bit.

“Okay, you can come sit in the front now,” I said, returning to my seat.

There was a moment of silence, before I could hear him slowly shuffling behind me, hesitantly he slid into the passenger’s seat, flinching as I reached over to pull the seatbelt around him.

“Relax,” I said, “there’s some water in the bag at your feet, you should drink some. It’ll be a long drive.”

“C-can I ask—”

“No,” I interrupted, putting on my own seatbelt before driving off.

We’d barely left the city or the silence was already boring me, so I turned on the radio.

“Ah, Sinatra, my favourite,” I said, “you like jazz?”

Erick glanced at me, but didn’t particularly answer.

“You don’t have to like it just because I do,” I said, “come on. What do you listen to?”

“U-um….hip hop…r-rap, mostly,” Erick said quietly.

“Rap?” I repeated, “I guess it’s almost poetry, if it wasn’t so screamy or mumbly— It’s always one or the other…”

“Jazz is calming, I guess,” Erick quickly said.

“Do you know anything about jazz?”

“N-not really, sir…”

“Now, that’s the best part,” I said, “you don’t have to know anything. You just have to sit back and enjoy.”

I turned up the volume a bit, but Erick seemed rather uncomfortable still. I couldn’t blame him though. I could imagine it was very awkward for a teenager to make casual conversation with the guy that kidnapped you.

Whatever, it would only be a six hour drive, give or take a few rest stops. I made sure to stop only at places that didn’t have any buildings nearby besides a toilet building. I wanted to minimise the risk of being seen before arriving home.

I’d never taken a hostage home before. Normally I’d call it a classic rookie mistake, but I didn’t really have much of a choice right now. I made sure to arrive in the middle of the night, long after my landlady and downstairs neighbour had gone to bed.

She was sweet, but much too nosy for her own good. I rented the upstairs apartment of her building in Mission Beach; a shabby little building, just a block away from the beach. I was surrounded by small shops, tourist traps and bad B&B rentals.

There were new faces in the neighbourhood every day as one tourist made way for the other, while the locals simply didn’t care enough, they probably thought I was a repeat tourist, if they bothered to recognise me at all.

But not Ethel. No, she asked me about my work trips, kept my place dust-free and my fridge free of mould by tossing my perishables whenever I was away for a long period of time. If she spotted me walking inside with a kid she would be all over him with questions.

I even parked a couple feet away from the building instead of using the driveway to avoid waking her up. It opened up a flight risk for the teen, but I’d rather take that risk than Ethel. Besides, he seemed exhausted. He wouldn’t try to run now, would he?

I turned off the engine and turned to him, catching him hiding a yawn.

“You can rest soon,” I said, “first we’re gonna go for a little walk, and you’re gonna keep your head down and your mouth shut. Anyone asks any questions you let me do the talking and you just nod and smile. Understood?”

“Y-yes sir…w-where are we?”

“No questions,” I replied, undoing my seatbelt and getting out.

I walked round to the passenger’s side and opened the door for the teen, waiting for him to stop fumbling with the seatbelt and get out. I locked the van, leaving my things in for now, and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder to discourage any attempts at running.

He tensed, but stayed close to me as we walked down the street, up the stairs next to the driveway, and only pressed himself against the wall a little while I fumbled with my house keys, before opening the door and pushing him inside.

He anxiously looked around while I flicked on the lights, but there wasn’t a lot to see. The front door opened into a small sitting room, which I used more for storage than for seating as half the couch was covered in boxes. Straight ahead was an opening that led into a narrow hallway, with a bedroom to the left, a bathroom to the right, and a kitchen right across. But where would I put the kid without him being an inconvenience or trying to escape?

“Here. You gotta eat something,”

I displayed the last couple leftover snacks on the table after sitting the teen down in the kitchen. But the boy turned away, facing the wall rather than me, fumbling with the cap in his hands after I finally allowed him to take it off.

“I’ll eat when I get home,” he said.

“You’re far away from home now, it’ll take a while,” I reminded him, “you want anything else then? I don’t have much, but I can fix something up I’m sure.”

“...no beans?” Erick quietly asked.

“Fine, but only because I don’t have any anyway,” I said, “you know beggars can’t be choosers.”

I searched my cupboard, cursing the rusty latch that was only really installed to keep the door from swinging open because it had no other locking mechanism. I found a can of ham and a dusty box of pasta shells. If I could just find some canned tomatoes or even a jar that wasn’t expired yet I could make a decent sauce, but as I looked around I knocked over a mop or a broom, something wooden that clattered loudly into the unused space of the cupboard.

It was a bit of an unusually deep cupboard, because it connected with the built-in closet in my bedroom, separated by a piece of plywood as far as I knew. It wouldn’t be ideal, but if I cleared some stuff and the shelves, I could fit a spare mattress in there and lock the kid up for the night.

But first food. I found canned tomato puree. I could work with that. It wasn’t my best work, but it wasn’t for me anyway.

“Just see how far you can get,” I said as I served the sad plate of pasta, giving him a dessert spoon to eat with before making myself some coffee and sitting down.

Erick was taking small bites, chewing slowly, keeping his eyes on his plate.

“You close with your father?” I asked, purely out of curiosity.

“He’s always busy,” Erick replied after a moment of silence, “we never talked much…even before mom—”

He promptly shut up and took another bite. I decided to let it be and get to work on emptying the cupboard, clearing a place to lock him up in so I could sleep in peace.

#villain's view #VV #writeblr #whumpblr #whump writing #oc whump #cafekitsune #<-banner credit

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alpaca-clouds · 11 months ago

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How to make the DnD Lore more accessible

I talked on Christmas about how Wizards of the Coast and generally Hasbro are mismanaging Dungeons & Dragons. And I want to go a bit more into one of the things I brought up in that blog. Which is: The inaccessibility of the Dungeons & Dragons lore, or specifically the Forgotten Realms Lore, which technically is the main lore for the game.

To sum up, what I said in that long essay once again:

While more and more people are playing DnD, a lot of them are playing it with original worlds. In of itself that is not really a bad thing, but the reason why so many opt for original worlds is. Because one of the main reasons is that the DnD Lore is very, very inaccessible. Sure, there are several wikis out there of varying quality. But even with the good wikis, there is just the fact that not all pages are of equal quality and there is just a lot of stuff that is just stubs.

Meanwhile the official stuff is fairly useless. Sure, there are quite a few books that give you some great lore - but actually finding the book for the lore that you are looking for is pretty much impossible without once again relying on Wikis. And of course, depending on the age of some of the sources, they might also just not generally be available unless someone uploaded them to the internet archive.

And yeah, sure, Ed Greenwood is a walking encyclopedia on his world - and will answer questions on Twitter. But...

Look, here is the thing: WotC wants to make money with this. So, excuse me for saying this, but... They should put some more effort into making this accessible. Just put some people down there that make a comprehensive write up off the lore.

Or to put it differently: Make a comprehensive Wiki on DnDBeyond.

See, here is the thing. When right now I wanna find out something about, let's say, Tymora, I can totally search for it on DnDBeyond.

But then the results look like this:

So, basically it just lists me source books in which Tymora is mentioned. Which does not necessarily tell me, how much I can actually gleam about Tymora and the worship of Tymora from each sourcebook. And if I click on one of the links, this is what I get:

Which, you might notice, tells me literally nothing about Tymora.

Now, I absolutely get that WotC needs to sell all those books and all of that. But... To keep it like that makes the entire Lore and background of the world completely inaccessible.

This goes double, of course, because each of the books does not necessarily give you a comprehensive writeup of who the goddess actually is or what her timeline is.

And this goes basically for everything. There is barely any information that they make actually accessible.

So, how could WotC actually fix this?

Well, simple: Make their own Wiki - and then use the Wiki as a jump-off point to sell your stuff. It does not have to be the most comprehensive thing ever, but give a general overview of the most important stuff: A timeline and a general idea of the major events (like the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague and the Second Sundering), an overview of the pantheon, an overview of the different cities, and some major characters (like Xanathar, Dagult Neverember and so on).

Because here is the thing: When you do not have a hook, you will not get people to actually buy your books.

To keep with my example: Let's say you are a person who has just gotten into DnD. Maybe because of an Actual Play Podcast, maybe because you liked the movie, or maybe because you just come off Baldur's Gate 3. And now you want to get into playing DnD and would like to do something with that world. So, you google "Play DnD" and get obviously the official side as a first result (with Roll20 coming in second).

But... You basically get not at all a primer on the world and the different settings you can have in it. Nothing.

The "story" thingie basically just also has links to "Buy" pages. No way to properly get a good hook into the story of DnD.

Again, all on its own it is not a big issue that people make their own worlds. You could argue that it is technically a good thing, because it allows people to be more creative. But there are two things you also have to keep in mind.

New players really do have a bigger hurdle to overcome when they want to start playing - because either getting into the lore or creating their own lore does pose a challenge to start with.

More people playing in the official game world, does create a bigger feeling of community, as people work on some connected lore.

WotC wants to sell those books, which does really not work, when you do not give a good hook for them.

People are just more likely to buy a book on details of a world, if they are already kinda familiar with the book - and if they know what they are actually looking for.

This... really isn't that hard or complicated.

So, what I would do is the following:

Create an official timeline (especially as there are contradictions in the timeline as off now).

Create an official encyclopedia featuring major locations, people, religions and the general pantheon.

Use those official encyclopedia pages to link to books and adventures working with that kinda stuff to sell them.

Maybe also create some fairly short official one shots to start with. Let's just say three or four of them. Offer them for free and very clearly available on the official website. (Even with all faults I see in how Catalyst handles Shadowrun, this is something they do very well.)

Also... Just maybe create some more official content like short stories, some good content on youtube... the likes of that. Heck, create an official Actual Play that is actually set in Toril!

Is that all going to cost some money? Yeah, it is. But I would argue that this would do the game good. While there are no official numbers some fan-made polls suggest that actually most people play without any official material. Meaning the game itself right now is super accessible - but only a few people are actually interested in the official stuff. And if WotC wants to make money... Well, they need to get people interested in the official stuff.

And that is of course without going into how the shoot themselves in the foot by trying to change the open game license and what not.

To put it differently: Right now DnD is actually super popular. So popular in fact that you could argue it is pretty much mainstream. And they... just fail to make proper money off it, because they are just too dumb to understand how to actually use it in their advantage.

#dungeons & dragons #dnd #dnd lore #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves #honor among thieves #dnd:hat #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #wizards of the coast #hasbro

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