#erroneous eight

[iliketangerines]

kinktober 2024

day one: temperature play || bi han x reader

day two: double penetration || kung lao x reader x raiden

day three: public sex + pet play || shang tsung x reader

day four: sensory deprivation || mileena x reader

day five: rough sex + aftercare || tsu'tey x reader

day six: a/b/o heats or ruts + sadism-masochism || reiko x reader

day seven: bruising or bitemarks + size difference || tonowari x reader

day eight: cock warming || geras x reader

day nine: praise kink + fingering || jake sully x reader

day ten: lingerie + overstimulation || kenshi takahashi x reader

day eleven: hair-pulling || mavado x reader

day twelve: dirty talk + breathplay || rain x reader

day thirteen: free use + aftercare || syzoth x reader

day fourteen: frotting + collaring || liu kang x reader

day fifteen: humiliation + glory hole + teasing || recoms x reader

day sixteen: dacryphilia || trudy chacon x reader

day seventeen: squirting + dom-sub || quan chi x reader

day eighteen: massaging || ashrah x reader

day nineteen: suspension || general shao x reader

day twenty: cunnilingus + threesome || liu kang x reader x kung lao

day twenty-one: gun play || erron black x reader

day twenty-two: thigh riding || quaritch x reader

day twenty-three: degradation + breeding || raiden x reader

day twenty-four: glove kink || lyle wainfleet

day twenty-five: pussy slapping || titan havik x reader

day twenty-six: pegging + edgeplay || johnny cage x reader

day twenty-seven: lapdances + breast worship || kitana x reader

day twenty-eight: fucking machine || johnny cage x reader

day twenty-nine: hunter-prey || neytiri x reader

day thirty: sex pollen || kuai liang x reader

day thirty-one: free space || tomas vrbada x reader

[bridenore]

HD eight year fic recs : less than 10k words

Here are a few drarry eight year fic recs that are less than 10k words. Posted in alphabetical order, as always.

All I Have to Do by @fluxweeed [9k]

The Patented Daydream Charm (Adult Edition) allows you to enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute sexual fantasy. Solitude and privacy spells advised. or: Draco finally has some alone time; Harry just needs to nip in for a book.

All We Want Is Danger by @cassiaratheslytherpuff [9k]

Something weird was happening to Draco. It wasn’t something Harry was used to being concerned about. He’d spent most of sixth year sure that Draco was up to something, yes, but this was different. This was – something was off. Wrong. Harry had never in his life been scared of Draco. And yet, something about him had changed enough to make the hair rise on the back of Harry’s neck every time he entered a room. The feeling was only made stranger by the rush of arousal that usually came along with it.

Alpha by @lqtraintracks [2k]

Finding out I’m Malfoy’s Alpha and he’s my Omega might have gone a lot differently had we not still hated each other. But we do, so here’s how it goes

Aurora by @wolfpants [5k]

Eighth Year at a half-built Hogwarts, and Harry is not following Draco Malfoy anymore. At least, that's what he's telling himself.

Awake in the Night by venis_envy [2k]

H/D Post war, eighth year Hogwarts.

Back to You by aibidil & daisymondays [8k]

The eighth years make Harry and Malfoy go head to head and back to back in a question-and-answer drinking game. The worst that can happen is they end up drunk, right?

Bare Feet, Giant Squid, and One Perfect Moment by bryoneybrynn [4k]

Gryffindor may be the House of the brave but Harry’s feeling a bit nervous. It’s one thing to face a dragon or a Dark Lord. It’s quite another to make a move on the bloke who’s been your nemesis for the last eight years…

Brandishing The Wand by @ladderofyears [2k]

When four Eighth Year boys overhear Draco and Harry having sex in the dormitory bathroom, each jumps to a very erroneous conclusion.

Checking out the Opposition by birdsofshore [6k]

Harry and Draco seem quite wound up after their latest game of Quidditch.

The Comfiest Armchair by @xanthippe74 [2k]

In which Harry and Draco won’t stop fighting over the best armchair in the Eighth-Year common room, Hermione takes matters into her own hands, and Harry sees a (ahem) side of Draco that he’s never seen before.

Empty Nights by  winterstorrm [4k]

Draco and Harry have had this ‘thing’ for months now. It’s ‘just sex’ though, right?

Erase the Shame by FleetofShippyShips [6k]

An Inter-House unity party is the last thing Draco wants to go to. It's not long into a game of Truth or Dare when he is reminded why. But maybe his dare is worth it after all.

Flutter by @shiftylinguini [4k]

Being back at Hogwarts is not what Harry expected, and neither is what’s going on between himself and Malfoy, but it feels good, and that? Well, that’s what Harry’s chasing this year. Amid the rebuilding of the school and the budding relationships of the other students at Hogwarts in spring, Harry finds that the flutter of change and the new feelings it brings are exactly what he wants ― and more.

Games Night by @agentmoppet [6k]

Harry has no idea why Hermione decided that an inter-house Games Night would be a good idea, but he’s here now, and he intends to beat Malfoy, no matter what game he chooses. But, who would have thought muggle games could be full of so much... tension?

A Ghost of Blissful Feelings by @alpha-exodus [6k]

Harry hadn’t expected to spend his eighth year fucking Draco Malfoy, but it’s the only thing that helps him let go.

A Good Place to Start by JET_Playin [2k]

Harry is finding 8th year rather dull until he goes to visit Hagrid and ends up helping him deliver Draco Malfoy’s baby. Now he has to protect Malfoy and keep his secrets and he might just be falling a little in love with both Malfoys just to complicate matters.

Good to Me (And I’d Be So Good to You) by AWickedMemory [8k]

Everyone returns to Hogwarts after the war, but nothing is quite the same. Harry’s groupies are creepier than ever, Ron and Hermione are snogging all over the place, and the once-proud Draco is shuffling around like a kicked puppy. But that’s okay: Harry’s got a plan.

Grow by @shiftylinguini [3k]

There’s an abandoned greenhouse, right at the back of the lot. There are unruly trees, and snagged brambles, and the grass is long and lush. It feels like the Forest, but tamer somehow, and Draco likes it. It feels like the spot where the castle meets the wild, or where the wild is trying to creep back in. There’s something mildly thrilling about it at night, the potential for danger, for something to look back at Draco as he stares into the dark, lush woods. Draco’s always loved that feeling.   This is where they meet.

Jump Into the Fog by taradiane [9k]           

Draco returns to Hogwarts for his eighth year carrying a secret that will change not just his life, but Harry’s as well.

Of the Heart's Fullness and Of the Coming Emptiness by tout a coup [9k]

Harry Potter is nineteen, and he's already peaked.

An Old Habit by fireflavored [8k]

The boys have changed a lot over the summer after the war, but Harry hasn’t got over the urge to spy on Malfoy. 

A Pain of Our Choosing by @lqtraintracks [5k]

It’s 8th year and everyone’s still a bit messed up. Harry and Draco fall into being messed up together.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kneazles by curiouslyfic [1k]

Harry sort of comes back to the world to the sound of sniffling, which strikes him as odd.

Room for Improvement by acromantular [2k]

Malfoy’s family-rehabilitation project is going so well. But is Potter worth risking all his hard work?

Sexplanations (Of the Horrible Sort) by @bixgirl1 [7k]

Harry’s willing to put up with a certain amount of injury, as long as he and Malfoy can keep doing… whatever it is they’re doing. Maybe. Mostly. Especially if there might be more to it than sex. Based on a tumblr headcanon.

Snug by @moonflower-rose [6k]

Potter can’t keep his hands off himself. Draco can’t look away.

Sores by mijeli [3k]

It’s been going on for weeks. They don’t talk about it.

Speechless by mayberry_rose [6k]

In which Draco can’t speak, and Harry learns to listen.

Starting Positions by @bixgirl1 [8k]

Later, Harry would wonder if Malfoy regretted that first, surprised mutter after three days of hard-pointed silence. Later, Harry would wonder about his own lack of regret over looking up when he heard Malfoy’s voice. But that would come after everything had already happened, the way events always seemed to, when even a Time-Turner couldn’t change things. The shape of a path, as Harry knew very well by then, once walked, was a lot like a paper crane — unfolded and pressed flat, you could try to fashion it into something different, but the original creases would always remain.

Storm in a Teacup by @faith2wood [7k]

For reasons he’d rather not think about, Draco is obsessed with Potter’s hair. This cannot end well.

swallow your words by icarusinflight [9k]

The truth is, not many things are known about the magic that is behind soulmarks. They’ll turn up when they want and not before. The truth is, you don’t get a choice in your soulmark. The truth is, not everyone is okay with that.

This Heart Shut Wide by @xanthippe74 [4k]

It’s New Year’s Eve and Draco refuses to talk to anyone at this wretched party in the Eighth-Year common room. He’s going to ignore Harry Potter and not think about snogging him in the staircase earlier. And he’s definitely not going to let himself fuck up both their lives by continuing the reckless game they’re playing. As usual, nothing goes according to Draco’s plan.

Trouble with your tie, Potter? by @tenthousandyearsx​ [6k]

The last thing Harry expects when Slughorn partners him up with Zabini is Malfoy shooting them furious looks throughout the whole class and then unceremoniously snogging Harry in the corridor.

the Veela codec by curiouslyfic [3k]

Potter wants obvious. Draco wants Potter. Clearly, some sort of plan will be required.

What Potter Wants by birdsofshore [3k]

Harry definitely didn’t want to do that to Malfoy. Not at all. So why did Malfoy keep saying that he did?

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did!

[darkmaga-returns]

In the previous installments of this investigation into how the Harris-Walz presidential campaign is dishonestly manipulating online platforms, I noted the existence of a Discord server where campaign employees coordinate with a volunteer army to flood social media sites with campaign propaganda. The volunteers also vote en masse on social media to artificially boost Harris-Walz content or downvote content that is harmful to their campaign. Not only is this deceptive and misleading to voters, it’s a clear violation of these websites’ Terms of Service.

In part one and part two of the investigation, I noted this strategy had been successful at manipulating both Reddit and X. Over the past month, one out of every eight of the top stories in the eight-million-member Politics subreddit was planted by the campaign. On X, the campaign appears to have successfully voted down Community Notes accurately calling out the Harris campaign for tweeting out brazen lies.

But one activity I found on the Discord server was particularly concerning. After years of Democrats erroneously insisting that Donald Trump had colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election and otherwise warning of foreign election manipulation, the Harris-Walz campaign is actively recruiting foreigners to work on the campaign and is even encouraging them to donate to American political causes.

There appears to be no vetting, and given that the Harris-Walz campaign’s Discord community overtly engaged in disinformation campaigns, it was ripe for infiltration and abuse by foreign intelligence and other bad actors attempting to influence the election — although I saw no concrete proof of that.    

However, my research found multiple foreign nationals actively volunteering for the Harris-Walz campaign. This activity, while permitted by the FEC, raises questions about whether foreigners should be allowed to volunteer for official U.S. political campaigns. Their comments ranged from showing excitement at how they could volunteer to “save democracy”…

[monster-slut-memoirs]

{{ MINORS DNI -- Monster Fucker Smut }}

US AND THE ELKMAN

SIGNS OF THE SUPERNATURAL

Our first day at the cabin started late—we didn't get to bed until gone midnight—so we laid in until after noon. We had bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast. I frolicked around in just Erron's shirt, and he stole a few feels of my bare ass as I wandered around the kitchen. 

If the week continued like this, it was going to be perfect. We'd gotten "the talk" out of the way on our first night, so it could only be up from here. As I get dressed for the day, I can't help but keep rubbing over my belly daydreamily. I admit, I was still a little unsettled that we might potentially end up using a donor to have our baby, but in time, I'd warm to the idea... Wouldn't I? 

With a scarf wrapped around my neck, I don my winter coat and join Erron in the yard. He's clearing the leaves off of the hot tub cover because we've planned to have a dip tonight after dinner. 

The wind is quite biting this time of year, so I go back inside and make some hot cocoa. On my return, we sit with our legs hanging off the porch, sipping and looking out at the fall-time woods. It's quiet and peaceful out here, miles from anyone, just us and the elements. 

After cocoa, Erron gets on with preparing the hot tub for later, and I go to collect some kindling to stock the firepit—to set the mood for our late-night dip. 

"Honey, don't head too far out. Stay close to the cabin so I can hear you," Erron says, kissing me before he sends me off to my leisurely labour with a light tap off my ass. I have to stay within shouting distance because there's no cell phone service out this far. 

While bending down to gather up a bundle of sticks, a shiver runs up my spine, putting my hair on end. Upright, I scope the proximity... Nothing... So, I brush off the creepy feeling—the feeling I was being watched—it's pretty commonplace to feel that way in the wilderness because you're constantly surrounded by some woodland creature or another, even if they're out of your sight.

Shaking off the creeps, I return to work until I've gathered an armful of sticks. I've circled the cabin grounds, and when on my way back to the front, passing our bedroom window, my blood runs cold, again.

The timber over the window's head is scraped—pale wood from beneath, showing through the gouges, some eight or nine feet above ground level. How could that happen? No trees were close enough to the cabin to thrash the walls and cause that kind of damage. Checking the condition of the rest of the window led my eyes down the cabin wall to the stone skirt. 

Sometimes, even though you instantly know what something is, your mind just can't comprehend it. So, pointlessly, you end up questioning the truth, hoping to escape it. That's what I stand doing; moments, maybe even minutes, pass as I stare at the dried semi-translucent stains that mark the wall—four stream-like spurts surrounded by clearer splatters. What animal could have, or would have, done this? 

Crack!

A branch snapping echoes through the wood, ricocheting off the trees and startles me out of my Disturbia. Forcing what I've just seen to the back of my mind, I march back to Erron. I don't tell him what I've seen; it verges irrational; I'd sound insane.

Later. The water in the hot tub is warm and bubbling. The firepit crackles ablaze, lighting the little clearing at the side of the cabin in cosy orange. Our wine glasses sit on the side, as empty as the bottle that accompanies them.

I'm feeling buzzed and incredibly blissed out as I sit against Erron's chest. Three of his fingers are stuffed inside me, mercilessly stretching my pussy. I've lost count of how many times I've cum; he's been teasing my clit with his other hand to help me along until my whole body spasms against his for the last half hour at least. Encouraging me to moan louder, with filthy words and salacious whispers in my ear. Somehow, his gruff voice and lewd teasing make everything feel that much more thrilling. Being his personal whore pleases us both. 

Erron lifts me effortlessly—I'm weak and limp in his arms—he positions me like a doll over the side of the tub. Guiding my hips toward one of the jets in the side so the water gushes against my already overstimulated and swollen pussy; tickling my clit and making my lips quiver. When I feel the tingling nearing numbness, Erron thrusts his cock into me hard. I yelp at the depth—seven steeley inches, all at once, without warning, sends me reeling. In my ear, he compliments me. Then, he growls, "Your slutty little cunt is squeezing my cock so fucking hard. You're desperate for me to fill you with cum, huh?"

All I can do is moan and cry out as I take my pounding. I feel like I'm melting, my pussy gushing endlessly, relentlessly cumming around Erron's cock as his hips thrust into me like a piston. 

Thrust, thrust, thrust. 

Water pelting into my clit. 

Heat spreading through me, like passionate fire. 

Every nerve in my pelvis set alight. 

My pulse throbbing around my hole. 

Erron's pulse throbbing down his cock, in sync with mine. 

Thrust, thrust, thrust. 

Together, we're reaching ecstasy. 

Me first—I scream out into the darkness—giving into another orgasm. 

The treeline starts to glitter with stars as my vision blurs. On the edge of the clearing, two simmering shapes stand out. Two eery yellow orbs lock onto me. Two eyes staring intrusively into mine as I came undone. 

"Erron!" I pant, spent, my heart pounding from my orgasm and the fear that; "We… We're being watched—"

The last thing I remember is Erron's raucous laughter, and his hot cum fills me up as he releases with an animalistic growl.

[ukyou-kuonji]

Recently I've been thinking a lot about "The Cowbell of Happiness" episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena, and specifically the background song Donna Donna. I actually grew up singing and hearing the English song a lot (which afaik predates the Japanese version but isn't itself the original language?), and thus had an assumed interpretation of the lyrics' application to the shows themes, which I've been changing my interpretation of. However it has been about eight years since I saw the show, so feel free to disagree with me or correct my interpretation! I put a cut in due to the length, sorry it got a bit away from me haha.

I always saw the farmer's mockery of the calf in the second verse "Stop complaining says the Farmer/Who told you a calf to be/Why don't you have wings to fly with/Like the swallow so proud and free," to be an ironic statement. The calf was born a calf, and cannot change it's species more than a person can control the circumstances of their birth. Therefore the third verse, which states "Calves are easily bound and slaughtered/Never knowing the reason why/But whomever treasures freedom/Like the swallow must learn to fly," drives home the impossible truth. You don't want to be exploited? Simply don't be born within an exploited group. The calf's fate is unavoidable, because of his inherent and unchangeable identity and the way society perceives and reacts to it. It is incapable of learning to fly by it's very nature.

This relates to the themes of the show by paralleling Nanami (or later, through extended metaphors and parallels, both Anthy and Utena, among others) to the calf. These characters cannot help being teenage girls navigating the patriarchy, and cannot escape their exploitation. The world within which they exist (Ohtori) does not permit them an alternative existence. This interpretation is very bleak, I know.

But I think this interpretation only engages with one half of the story it sets up, and completely ignores the swallow. This feels particularly erroneous due to the show's bird imagery (the name Ohtori, the prominence of the dead sparrows associated with Kozue and Shiori, the school archways shaped like birdcages to give a few examples, all of which associate students with egg, chick, or bird visual metaphors). Mostly, I thought of the infamous egg speech appropriated from Demian by Hermann Hesse. As Touga and others state in the Revolutionary Girl Utena reconstruction of the original text "If the egg's shell does not break, the chick will die without being born. We are the chick; the egg is the world. If the world's shell does not break, we will die without being born. Break the world's shell!"

Through this, the swallow seems directly implicated as a viable alternative for the calf, or for characters such as Nanami, Utena, and Anthy. The only way for them to avoid being exploited as women within Ohtori or "slaughtered as calves on the farm," to use the language of the song, is for them to self actualize or reject the reality presented to them and move beyond the limitations placed on them through the label of "woman" in a heteronormative and patriarchal system. They must defy the very conditions that determine their condition. Or rather, they must break the world's (Ohtori's) shell, be born as the chick, and take flight as birds. This is what Utena attempts to do in the finale, and what Anthy does do by stepping away from Ohtori and Akio's influence.

The song that seemed to condemn Nanami to life as livestock in episode 16 also promises hope and foreshadows Anthy's choice episode 39. She, like the swallow, has learned to fly, and the other characters have the potential to do so also, provided they value freedom and develop the wings to leave.

[hmslusitania]

Ask meme again! 19. “Of course I still love you, why would you even ask me that?” for RoyDonna!!!

sorry it is days late and also that I'm posting this at [you're asleep o'clock] lol

Donna sighs and lets her head fall back against the bulkhead.

It hadn’t been a bulkhead twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes ago, it had been a hallway in the Watchtower satellite, and the Titans had been dispatched up to test it out, kick the tyres, see how the place was holding up since the Justice League had abandoned it.

Since now, the Justice League is coming back, and they’ll want a seat of observation, and so…

And so they’d gone to test, and Vic had spun up the systems while the rest of the crew tested for structural integrity, and—

And, the bomb, which whichever rogue-of-the-week had affixed to the central engine years earlier, had finally gone off, and had shattered the Watchtower into a zillion pieces and now what had once been a hallway, and is a section of what is functionally the shatterproof glass of the Watchtower base components, is an autonomous shuttle, and Donna is stuck in it.

The Watchtower had been comprehensively designed to shatter into contained pieces in the worst-case-scenario explosion situation, and each segment has its own emergency supply stash, just enough to last for the length of time to either crash land onto Earth in [destination unguessable] or follow the automatic targeting trajectory towards the other nearest possible location: the Justice League’s former Moon base. The protocols had been Bat-designed, and so they’re the far side of NASA for over-preparedness, and probably, a squadron of compatriots could survive so far as Mars in any given section of the Watchtower without too many problems besides going insane from cabin fever.

Donna doesn’t have to worry about the months’ long journey to Mars, at least. The segment’s management AI had helpfully informed them some minutes earlier that they’d been tractored in to the Moon base’s homing signal and should expect to arrive there within forty-eight hours.

“I’ve been on longer, shittier train rides,” Donna’s travelling companion says, resting his wrists on his bent knees and letting his head fall back against the bulkhead on his side of the former hallway.

“Surely, the trains were more comfortable,” Donna says, resting her own wrists on her own bent knees. The Amazonian steel of her bracers hums faintly when it connects with the star fields on her outfit. It’s useful, being able to navigate in space without needing any sort of system, but right now, it only lets her know that they’re in the null-atmosphere nothingness that stretches between Earth and her only natural satellite.

Roy thinks about it for a second and then grimaces. “Honestly? No. And here, we’ve got a much better view.”

He nods significantly towards the bulkhead door that makes up the airlock segment they’re stuck in. It’s only got a small window, but that small window is fairly fixed in the direction of Earth, and… he’s not wrong about the view.

“I don’t suppose they packed any entertainment centres in their little pods,” Roy says a moment later.

“The pods were designed by Bats,” Donna replies. She loves Dick, really, truly. She’s entertained a thought every once in a while that maybe, just maybe, her birth parents had actually been John and Mary Grayson and they’d been under the impression she’d died at birth or something, and that Dick isn’t just the other half of her soul by coincidence, but by originating brotherhood. But in loving him, she also knows him, and she’s fairly certain the Bats amongst them — erroneously considering themselves the most “normal” — wouldn’t have packed entertainment for the days’ long journey to the moon because they’d be busy mentally going over the circumstances that had led to the Watchtower’s abrupt dissolution. An outcome the Bats had not prepared for: boredom.

 “Right,” Roy says, and groans.

“Don’t think you can make it two days without a distraction, Harper?” Donna asks, smiling at him.

Roy laughs, and smiles just a little in return. “You’re plenty distracting all on your own.”

It’s the same sort of flirting he’d done when they’d been idiot teenagers out trying to save the world, when they’d been off again-on again, and never quite serious. But it’s also the same sort of flirting he’d been doing before he’d died, when it might’ve been flippant, but had been, without any doubt, absolutely honest.

Which they… haven’t talked about.

He’d been some zombie thing while the Batman Who Laughs had been trying to destroy the universe, and then he’d turned up at the Titans Academy and then the world had ended for the umpteenth time, and everyone besides her had gotten their previously missing pieces of the multiverse back — since she’d still had hers; the worst curse — and then the beast creatures and Amanda Waller and…

“How’s Lian doing back home?” Donna asks instead.

“She’s incredible,” Roy says, and his smile gets brighter and sadder all at once. “It’s — she’s everything I hoped she could be when she grew up and everything I never wanted for her all at once and most of the time it feels like I’m losing my mind a little.”

Faint tears well up in his eyes and Donna can’t stand it. She slides across the hallway and wraps her arms around his shoulders. She’s glad when he takes the opportunity to hide his face in the junction of her neck and shoulder. She can feel the slight dampness from his eyes, but also the softness from his eyelashes and the tiny, grateful brush of his lips against her clavicle.

“When we’re not lost in space, you should come by some time,” Roy says, voice muffled by Donna’s shoulder. “She’d love to see you.”

“I’d like that,” Donna says, and when Roy clears his throat, she lets go of him. She doesn’t slide back to her side of their hallway-capsule, but sits beside him instead, and after a hesitant minute punctuated by their automated systems guide telling them they have forty-seven hours left of travel time to the moon base, she reaches for his hand.

Roy tangles his fingers in hers and lifts them both up to press a small kiss to the back of her hand before he lets them fall to his thigh.

They’re quiet for a minute, and then Roy clears his throat. “So you, uh, you remember the various iterations of the multiverse. Have either of us ever died like this? Lost in space?”

“We’re not lost,” Donna replies. She lets her head tip sideways onto his shoulder and hums. “And no. The only time I really remember dying, it was the time you ended up getting into an unmarked space ship and flying halfway across the known universe to come get me—”

“Always,” he says without hesitation, the picture of the same man who’d been willing to jump into a theoretically bottomless cavern on target for a sun-eater to try and save her from her fellow Titans of Legend.

“—and the only time I can really remember you dying, it was…”

“Sanctuary,” Roy offers.

Donna hums in agreement, preferring to not think about any of that or that place. “And there was no space ship for me to jump in so I had to content myself with leaving flowers on your grave, and I did not appreciate you coming back from the dead and not telling me. Just so you know.”

“Won’t happen again, promise,” he says, and it’s flippant, but it’s flippant like his flirtation the last few years — where he delivers it with a shield against the vulnerable truth, but where the truth is, well. Vulnerable. “Does that mean you still — I mean, after all of that, you can’t still…”

“Can’t what?” Donna asks, frowning hard enough that the reflection of their faces in the far bulkhead picks up a little of her disapproval.

“Love me,” he says, and he doesn’t let go of her hand or shrug her head off his shoulder but he does… tremble. Just a little.

It breaks her heart, the uncharacteristic vulnerability in his voice. It’s not a conversation they could have without the fantastically shit circumstances they’re in, but in that moment, she’s just a little grateful for it.

“Of course I do,” she says. “During which subsequent apocalypse and my entire country becoming personae non grata for the entire United States was I supposed to fall in love with someone else?”

Roy laughs, just a little, and then he slides his free hand into her hair and tilts her face up so he can kiss her. It’s been years since she’s last kissed him, and she’d nearly forgotten that quite apart from everything else she loves about him, Roy Harper is a damn good kisser.

He’s damn good at quite a few other things, too, and she’s willing to bet that the intervening decade or so since she’d last spent time with him naked has only improved those skills.

And.

Well.

They’ve got 46.5 hours left until the moon. And no entertainment systems.

And perhaps, being temporarily adrift in space is not the worst possible outcome of the Watchtower exploding.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

Last month, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced it would stop processing gender marker changes on driver's licenses for transgender people who amend their birth certificates. The department also stated it would no longer process name changes if they accompanied gender marker updates and would disregard court orders updating transgender individuals' legal gender. Now, a new email from the Texas DPS reveals that these policies will not only apply to new gender marker changes but could also be used to revoke previous name and gender marker changes for transgender people who already have a valid driver’s license with updated information. The original letter from the Texas Department of Public Safety in late August stated, "effective immediately, the department will not accept court orders or amended birth certificates that change the sex when it differs from the documentation already on file." It further explained that if someone presents a court order that includes both a name and sex marker change, the entire order would be considered invalid, preventing the trans person from even updating their name on their driver's license. Perhaps most troublingly, all trans people seeking such changes would have their name and information emailed to an internal email account, creating a defacto database of such people.

A new letter from DPS Director Steven C. McCraw to Attorney General Ken Paxton has now been made public. In the letter, McCraw poses clarifying questions that suggest the potential future actions the DPS may take in targeting transgender individuals in the state. Toward the end of the letter, McCraw writes, "DPS may have altered many government sex records in mistaken reliance on court orders that either (a) lacked any basis in law or authority to bind DPS or (b) were not relevant proof under statutory authority to correct mistaken records of an individual's sex. On other occasions, when DPS has made an erroneous entry to a person's record, the agency has on its own initiative corrected such a mistake, including by issuing a new driver's license to the person concerned and directing the person to destroy the old license." He goes on to ask, "If DPS’s past changes to applicants’ ‘sex’ based on gender-change orders were inconsistent with state law, may DPS voluntarily correct its own introduction of inaccurate sex information?"

The threat marks a significant escalation in policies targeting transgender adults. Texas driver's licenses are valid for up to eight years, leading many transgender individuals to believe they are safe after updating their documents. Some may choose to wait out potential court rulings, confident that their licenses remain valid in the meantime. However, these individuals could face a harsh reality if the DPS begins systematically revoking their licenses and reissuing old ones with a different gender marker, and potentially, their former names.

In a grotesque act of trans erasure, Texas’s Department of Public Safety may begin reversing gender marker changes on driver's licenses for transgender people who amend their birth certificates.

[dangerous-ladies]

Help the Dangerous Ladies Keep Creating!

Hello, it’s been a while! Unfortunately, we’re coming back under less than ideal circumstances.  Our Etsy shop, our main source of income, has been recently suspended due to copyright claims. At the behest of our supporters, we have started a Gofundme to help keep the lights on.

Help Us Out at our GoFundMe

If you don’t know us, we're a small woman owned and operated, LGBT-friendly costuming company that has been cosplaying together for a decade and providing resin kits, patterns, textiles and other accessories to the community since 2013. We’re based in Toronto, Canada.

To date, we have shipped more than 26,000 kits, prints, files and other resources for cosplayers. This business is our livelihood and came to fruition through hard work and effort. Everything we make is from scratch, with our own hands and our own machines, in small quantities, to order. Our digital files are all made in-house, individually, using no official assets. We are not a factory mass-producing wholesale goods, nor do we dropship other people's products. We are a committed little business that has loved being on Etsy, and truly believe we are the very artists that Etsy should want to platform –– our goods are handmade, unique, and often the only resource of their kind! We work hard for our high ratings, but agents operating on behalf of certain companies occasionally send take-downs, and then do not reply to us when we try to work it out with them. It's complicated, but the reality is that we're creating projects in the realm of transformative work and are by no means taking away profit from the creators of these properties, as our cosplay kits are one-of-a-kind creations with no official analogue. We also feel very strongly that cosplay is an incredible form of free advertising for companies producing video games, anime, tv shows and movies. Cosplayers put in a tremendous amount of labour, time and money to make their costumes, which they wear and display all over conventions, the internet and social media. We know from experience that companies enjoy and engage with the fruits of this labour; the very companies that inspire us to create kits sometimes hire us (and other cosplayers) themselves to represent their media after having seen our store! We've had the distinct pleasure of working for media companies large and small, and they know what we make and allow us to keep the rights to our files and associated assets. These companies also regularly post on social media with cosplayers using our work.  However, Etsy does not know who or what companies choose to allow the sale of fan art and goods. To them, a report is a report, even if it is erroneous or mistaken. This has been a crushing blow to us as a small business. We're a very month-to-month, low-profit business after we pay the bills and our team. Currently, Dangerous Ladies employs eight staff members and operates from a rented studio space. Both our staff and our space are an integral part of our business and allow us to be able to operate at our current capacity, providing cosplay resources to creators all around the world.  Without support, we will have to scale back dramatically, if not close entirely. While we work to appeal with Etsy, we realize that there is a chance we may not see our platform flourish there again, so we are working diligently to bring you our new website, and welcome you to visit our Storenvy in the meantime. We started this Gofundme  Although orders are very important to us right now, we understand that some of you may not have the need to order a kit, print, or fabric at the moment, but still wish to support us through this trying time. For this, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Sincerely, the Dangerous Ladies Jenn, Christine, Shazz, Aubree, Nicole, Gabi, Syd, and Jules <3 Can I see more of what you do? Of course! While our Etsy is down, you can visit us on Storenvy or subscribe to our newsletter. You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram!

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Wooloo & Dubwool

Wooloo (#830)

Oviselectrma oviselectrman crinitum

General Information: Wooloo the Sheep Pokémon, and one of the most common sights in the world. Their wool can grow back in three months, and it is so soft and cushiony that it allows them to handle falls, and to simply roll away from conflict.

Wooloos are about 2 feet (0.6 M) tall and weigh about 25 pounds (or about 12 kg).

Habitat: Wooloo have no true wild counterparts, and are instead a highly derived domesticated sub-species from the same common ancestor as Mareep—to be clear, they are not a Mareep, so much as they share the same common ancestor. They are found on farmsteads across the world. Should anyone see “wild” Wooloos, be aware that these are feral and likely invasive. Wooloos do not belong in the wild.

Mareep originate from Europe in the Lesser Caucuses, the Zagros Mountains, and the western Alborz region, but have since spread across the globe due to humanity’s globalization efforts. They are a common sight on farmsteads the world over.

Life Cycles: Wooloos are born as singles or twins, though some breeds may be able to produce more. They are born seasonally in the early spring. The baby Wooloos are cared for by their mother, where they can be artificially weaned at around four months old, or allowed to wean naturally closer to six or even seven months old. It depends on the farmer and their needs. Wooloo become independent from their mothers at around eight months old.

Mating occurs in the fall, when the rams of the flock will compete for dominance to determine who will mate with the ewes. In truth, these dominance battles occur year round, but most especially during the mating season. By and large, male Wooloos are not able to compete against the Dubwools in the flock, so they are incredibly unlikely to mate.

Behavior: Wooloo are friendly, conflict-averse Pokémon, and not terribly bright. They love laying about in fresh meadows, eating the grass, and basking in the sun. It’s completely true that they really will just roll away from conflict, and it’s a popular internet trend to watch the fluffy Wooloos rolling away.

Diet: Wooloos eat grasses, legumes, and forbs. They can fully sustain themselves on pasture grass, making them excellent self-sustaining livestock.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Wooloo are a domesticated Pokémon that descend from wild ancestors in the Mesopotamian region of the world. Humans have been domesticating sheep for about 11,000-13,000 years. The domestication process led to several distinct lineages of sheep Pokémon being bred into existence, most notably Wooloo and its nearest relative, Mareep. Through domestication, the Wooloo and Mareep lineages diverged from the Ancestral Sheep, for as farmers would adorn their Ancestral Sheep Pokémon with Everstones to keep them from evolving, there were some who selected these sheep for their wooliness and other attributes. Eventually, a new evolution line began to form from the early sheep, one that kept its wooliness upon evolution, and these sheep were bred to produce more of their kind, and even eventually losing their electric-typing in the process. In time, this selective breeding would produce the Wooloo lineage, which became distinct enough from the Mareep lineage that folks began to treat them as separate animals, though in truth, they remain the same “species,” just highly derived sub-species variants from each other. Wooloo are largely bred for their wool.

Many cultures choose to braid the wool of their Wooloos into fun patterns and shapes. It is often an activity done with children. Done with love, these braids are often made with interlacing flowers and ribbons. Farmers will still regularly adorn their Wooloos with Everstone bows, but perhaps not as frequently as they do for Mareeps.

There are many breeds of Wooloo.

Classification: Wooloos are in the same genus as the Mareep family, though had once been erroneously placed in their own genus by Linnaeus. Scientifically speaking, they are actually a highly derived domesticated sub-species of Mareep, but no one really cares except the nit-pickiest of nerds with nothing better to argue about.

Note to Players: Yes, this does mean that when doing your Breeding Success rolls between Wooloos and Mareep, you should use the same-species rates.

Dubwool (#831)

Oviselectram magnacrinitum

General Information: Dubwool the Sheep Pokémon, and the evolved form of Wooloo. Unlike Wooloo, its wool is notoriously springy. The urban legend goes that should one make a carpet out of Dubwool’s wool, it would make something akin to a trampoline.

Dubwool are about 4’3 feet (1.3 M) tall and weigh about 94.8 pounds (43 kg).

Habitat: Dubwool are highly derived domesticated stock from the Ancestral Sheep Pokémon. While they are ancestrally from the Caspian region of Europe, they have no truly wild counterparts and do not belong outside of captivity. Should one see “wild” populations, they are actually ferals and likely invasive.

Life Cycles: Dubwools are bigger and more fearsome versions of Wooloos. The males in the flock will compete with each other for the female’s attentions and the right to breed with them. The breeding season occurs in the fall, the eggs are laid within the month, and the herd at large will protect the eggs from the weather and from predators. Because Dubwools are a purely domesticated species, they are dependent on human care and shelters provided for them. Their “survival instincts” are not as sharp as they were 11,000-13,000 years ago, shall we say, and the species as a whole is notoriously dim-witted and quite silly (by our standards) at times.

Dubwools live up to about 20 years.

Behavior: Dubwools are notoriously gentle Pokémon that only use their impressive horns to entice mates. The rams will compete in grand headbutting competitions with each other in order to establish social hierarchies. Otherwise, they’re exceedingly gentle animals even during “rut” (the male version of being “in heat”), which makes them relatively defenseless prey to opportunistic predators. They make great atrocious guardians, intimidating only the newest of juvenile predators. Instead, most flocks are watched over by more aggressive and protective sorts, such as an Ampharos. They will happily follow the lead of herding dogs like Yamper.  

Dubwools are not known for their intelligence.

Diet: Dubwool eat grasses, legumes, and forbs.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Dubwool are prized Pokémon for their incredible wool, which may not be good for regular clothing, but is excellent for making elastics, special ropes, safety gear, and other odd things that humanity needs. Their sociability and self-sustaining nature make them excellent livestock.

As one of the most common Pokémon in the world, they are extremely common as starter Pokémon, especially in rural areas.

Classification: The species epithet of Dubwool, “magnacrinitum”, means “grand hairiness” or “grand fluffiness.”

Evolution: Dubwool evolves from Wooloo at level 24.

~~~~~~~~

Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

[morgana-ren]

Do you have any tips on increasing word counts in fics?? Or is it just something that develops overtime? Thank you!!

So, for me, my wordcount comes from two different sources:

1: My erroneous belief growing up that the average chapter of a FF was around 7.5k words.

2: My overly flowery, pretentious purple prose.

I have a massive problem with going on for too long as opposed to not long enough. You know that writing advice that will tell you not to get too up your own ass with the details? Yeah, I do the opposite of that. I'll go on for eight years about how the rosy-wood sheen of a desk and by the time I've finished jerking my own writing brain off, no one is interested in the story anymore.

My advice to you would be don't worry about length. It's not quantity-- it's quality that matters. I've seen 2k stories that hit hard over 50k ones that just... drag. I would argue that length doesn't matter in the long run as long as you're getting across your point effectively, efficiently, and emotionally.

The only reason a fic should be incredibly long is if there is genuinely that much information to convey. As writers, and especially neurodivergent writers, sometimes we get a little carried away. A common mistake is people getting so caught up in the details that they forget to tell a fucking story. An obsession with word count really contributes to that in my opinion, because if it's not needed, it becomes invasive filler nonsense, and believe it or not, people can tell.

If the line doesn't fit, isn't needed, doesn't help, or isn't useful, cut it. Trim it like a hedge. Sculp a good story from the dirt with blooming aspects, not dead leaves and rotting twigs. Descriptions can be great, but they can also be a fuckin' anchor weight yanking your story down into the depths.

Think: Is it important to the perspective? Is it something the character would notice, subconsciously or not? Does it contribute in one way or the other to the story or the environment? Don't get me wrong, there are amazing authors who write the most useless shit (Victor Hugo is famous for writing like 8 pages of description about characters that literally don't matter) but when you're grasping the basics, it's best to try to keep it simple.

Another piece of general advice I can give you is to emulate the greats. Read FF authors that you love and adore, figure out what about their style that it is that you admire so greatly, and try to blossom your own style from it. Something about it deeply appeals to you, so figure out what and why!

If you're taking commissions and they want a specific word count and you're having trouble reaching it, there's a few reasons that could be. Maybe the idea just doesn't speak to you, or maybe you skipped over some detailing that you could have gone into. Re-read it outloud. Are the emotions being properly conveyed? Picture yourself in their shoes. What would you notice?

For example, say you have a character that is crying, and you have written them crying. What else about crying makes it hit home? The large, intangible lump wedged in the throat that makes it hard to swallow. The way your nose gets runny, especially when you look down and it's humiliating in front of another human. The way it blurs your vision and clumps your lashes together. That horrible, aching rake of razored claws down the inside of your chest that makes your body almost literally collapse on itself like a singularity. Being unable to breathe between heaving sobs and fighting for breath over your body's need to just completely break down. Maybe the character is prideful and spends a good two paragraphs trying to hide it. (These are bad deliberately, as you take them, fine-tune them, and then place them properly. Just write something general at first.)

Think about what descriptions really hit what it is that you're trying to sell. Tend to the environment around the characters to play positively into the story. Sneaking metaphors for whatever it is that's happening to them occasionally works well, but can be rough to pull off (say, leaky pipes dripping incessantly driving the character mad even though it's barely audible when they're remarkably stressed over a billion things and it's a breaking point. Drip. drip. drip. into a puddle that pools on the floor one measly drip at a time.)

I'm no professional, but these are just things I've picked up over just talking too fucking much and writing things that I am interested in, and it kills me every time I cut some useless bullshit from my stories because I like the way they sound even though I know it's just filler or even nonsense to the readers.

[good-old-gossip]

Israeli smear campaign against Palestinian Journalist who won Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has been condemned for withdrawing its Courage in Journalism Award from Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini, who is reporting from the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, Hussaini has published dozens of stories with Middle East Eye, including a report uncovering Israeli field executions of Palestinians, which was used as evidence by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its case accusing Israel of genocide.

On 10 June, the IWMF announced that Hussaini was one of three recipients of its Courage in Journalism Awards, which it says honours remarkable bravery in the pursuit of reporting.

However, following allegations made by conservative US publication the Washington Free Beacon, the IWMF on Thursday said it was rescinding the award.

The Washington Free Beacon erroneously described Hussaini as a supporter of Hamas and an antisemite, citing social media posts commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and her own experience as a Palestinian woman trapped under Israeli occupation and siege in the Gaza Strip.

The IWMF said the comments “contradict the values” of the organisation.

“Both the Courage Awards and the IWMF’s mission are based on integrity and opposition to intolerance. We do not, and will not, condone or support views or statements that do not adhere to those principles,” it said in its statement.

That decision, made without consultation with Hussaini, has been condemned by Middle East Eye and the reporter herself, among others.

“Winning a prize for ‘courage’ means being subjected to attacks and choosing to continue your work regardless.

However, I regret to say that the very organisation that recognised these perilous conditions and awarded me the prize succumbed to pressure and chose to act contrary to courage,” Hussaini said.

With the Israeli military accused of deliberately targeting Palestinian journalists and anyone with alleged or perceived links to Hamas, Hussaini said the IWMF decision had “put my life at risk”.

The IWMF has been asked for comment.

Over the past decade as a journalist and war reporter, I have come to understand why many do not continue in this profession, especially in Palestine. In addition to immense challenges and ongoing physical targeting, there are extensive, systematic and well-organised efforts by pro-Israel organisations to intimidate and silence Palestinian journalists.

These tactics aim to push journalists to abandon their work, which is crucial for exposing flagrant human rights violations and advancing the pursuit of accountability.

This June, I received a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) for my reporting on the ground from Gaza, which has been under a devastating Israeli siege and relentless bombardment for more than eight months.

During this period, I was forcibly displaced three times, moving from one shelter to another.

My home was bombed, and I endured months of starvation, blackouts and ongoing bombardment.

At times, I had to resort to using a pen and paper to send my reports via text messages after Israel cut fuel and electricity supplies and bombed the infrastructure of Gaza’s main telecommunications companies.

Just a few days after the IWMF announced my award, an Israeli smear campaign was launched on social media, demanding that it be rescinded. Within 24 hours, the IWMF complied, rescinding the award, removing my profile from its website and reducing the number of awardees from four to three.

Every year, Palestinian journalists are recognised with international awards for their brave reporting under the Israeli occupation and amid relentless attacks.

These accolades honour their courage and dedication to uncovering the truth. I have no regrets about any posts or past comments that led to the rescinding of my award and I will not stop expressing my views.

Before becoming a journalist, I was a Palestinian living under military occupation and a strangling blockade. Today, I am enduring an internationally recognised genocide in Gaza.

✍️ by Maha Hussaini

[beardedmrbean]

The rape conviction of movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been overturned by New York's highest court.

The New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein's conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."

The court said that testimony "served no material non-propensity purpose" and "portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light."

Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told ABC News, "We are happily surprised and we are studying the ruling."

The Weinstein team, which was eagerly awaiting a ruling, was not expecting it to be in Weinstein's favor after a succession of rulings in different courts all went against Weinstein.

Weinstein was also convicted of sex offenses in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years in prison there.

Because Weinstein is already convicted in California, he will not be released, but instead transferred to the custody of prison authorities in California.

Weinstein, 72, was a well-known, powerful man within the entertainment industry and prosecutors said he abused his power to take advantage of aspiring female actors, like the alleged victims, to coerce them into unwanted sexual encounters. According to the prosecution, the quid pro quo of assisting them with their careers in exchange for sexual favors on demand was both common behavior and a well-known secret throughout the film industry.

An explosive New York Times article in October 2017 reported Weinstein had reached at least eight settlements with women who accused him of sexual misconduct over decades. The story, which featured actress Ashley Judd publicly accusing Weinstein of propositioning her in 1997, sparked an avalanche of accusations from women who came forward with similar accounts and largely kicked off the #MeToo movement, targeting prominent celebrities for sexual misconduct.

Weinstein was arrested on May 25, 2018, and charged with first- and third-degree rape for one victim, and first-degree criminal sex act for another woman. He was found guilty in February 2020 of two felonies -- criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape -- but acquitted of the two most serious charges -- predatory sexual assault. He was also acquitted of first-degree rape.

Prosecutors said the testimony of women other than those whose claims formed the basis of the criminal charges spoke to Weinstein's state of mind to use forcible compulsion. The majority opinion, however, said that eviscerated the time-tested rule against propensity evidence, "which, in criminal cases, serves as a judicial bulwark against a guilty verdict based on supposition rather than proof."

The Manhattan district attorney's office said it will retry Weinstein should the alleged victims be willing to come forward again.

"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

Attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who has represented eight alleged Weinstein victims, including two of the Molineux witnesses -- those not pertaining to the crimes charged -- at the New York criminal trial, said in a statement: "Today’s decision is a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence. Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts where they assist juries in understanding issues concerning the intent, modus operandi or scheme of the defendant."

He continued, "The jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony and overturning the verdict is tragic in that it will require the victims to endure yet another trial."

Lindsay Goldbrum, who represents six Weinstein accusers, including Taralê Wulff, one of the Molineux witnesses to testify about being sexually assaulted by Weinstein during his criminal trial in New York, said in a statement: "This ruling is a leap backward for the rule of law. In New York, Molineux witnesses play a critical role in establishing a defendant’s common scheme or plan to commit alleged crimes. When a defendant is accused of being a sexual predator, especially one as powerful as Weinstein, the testimony of Molineux witnesses is crucial to disproving the defense that sexual encounters were consensual."

The Court of Appeals decided the evidence of uncharged crimes allowed at trial "was unnecessary" to establish Weinstein's intent and "served only to establish defendant's propensity to commit the crimes charged."

The opinion also said the trial judge, James Burke, abused his discretion when he allowed Weinstein to be cross-examined about the uncharged conduct, ruling it "served no purpose other than to display for the jury defendant's loathsome character."

[mothercetrion]

favorite non canon ship? (the one with least canon support, if you have multiple)

11. favorite non canon ship?

for years, it was Johnny/Kenshi. they had their moments in MKX, of course, but nothing really to base a whole ship on. until MK1 stuff started happening, I think they had eight fics. "Closer" was the first fic written for them in two years. even now, 32 total fics aren't that many, so they're still in rare pair territory. they have a lot more moments in MK1 so I don't know if I can say that they're my favorite with the least canon support anymore, but they have a very special place in my heart <3

past them, I was on a big Erron Black/Kabal kick when MK11 was out. they don't interact in the story mode at all (if I remember correctly; if they do it's pretty brief), but considering their shared history in the Black Dragon and their changes in direction in their lives after for that timeline (Erron aligning with Kotal Kahn, Kabal aligning with the police and Stryker, all that), I always thought it was a really interesting ship to explore. but they barely have anything backing it up in the game they appear in together, so I suppose it's them now!!

[randomfoggytiger]

Eight Nights of Mulder: Day 3, Celebration

Wherein Arthur Dales muddies the water post Agua Mala.

*****

Having lost more than three sheets to the wind, Arthur Dales insisted on recounting his story-- "our first meeting"-- to his newest comrade in arms (“After all, it’s been years since we’ve talked about the good times!”) Mulder widened his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, negated in vain; and Scully, now well and truly curious, tilted her head in assent and was swept away in an immeasurable tide of words.  

The 50s, Mr. Mulder, human experiments, bug men. 

Mulder wearing a wedding ring. 

That detail was usually woven in from the start; but it was worse, Mulder decided, to sit in suspense three-quarters of the way through, watching and waiting, before Scully’s rapt attention shifted and her furrowed forehead smoothed out in sudden, stunned shock. Dales made his late-stage reveal even worse by delicately dancing around the topic, looking between them as if imparting a great secret from the past and wondering if it was his right to do so-- only thinking to respect his colleague’s (if Mulder could be called that) personal boundaries now that the damage was done. 

It would be easy from there to make assumptions, Mulder knew: in fact, he’d made quite a few himself when Dales first laid out his father’s involvement. Further research proved, however, that Dales-- while loyal to the truth-- was incredibly erroneous at remembering details, dates, or even the order of some events. His father, a family man before he’d ever married or had children; the bug men experiments exposed at a much later date than previously stated; and Mulder himself, a married man without a ring or a wife to his name. 

The ring itself was from a separate story he’d quid pro quo-ed with Dales; and the insane adventure of the three stooges and their government conspiracy somehow blended irrationally together in the other man’s brain, becoming chaotic and mangled and inseparable in every future retelling. The ring-- which had turned green and itched his finger after one hand washing routine-- had been merely a prop Mulder hadn’t had time to remove before the VCU shoved him back on the streets. They worked him back-to-back-to-back in those days, turned Golden Boy right around when he walked in weary from his latest assignment. But work was work was work; and it didn’t matter if he wore the duds of a previous case or if his hair was drooping from fatigue, Spooky Mulder was back on the streets within the hour. 

If he’d known what grief that ring would cause, Mulder would have thrown it in the nearest dumpster before he left the Hoover Building.  

Dales was still limping through the rest of his story; Scully was drawn darkly inward; and Mulder wondered why sea monster tentacles gouging into the delicate skin of his neck hadn’t been punishment enough. Then Scully turned sharply to her right, eyes shining, mouth dipping in a mock frown. “Mulder,” she crooned; and he smiled, relieved. “I didn’t know you were forty-eight.”

*****

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

(Tagging @today-in-fic~)

[jack-in-the-dark]

Jack Builds Spaceboats: The Rally Vincent, Part 3: All of the Torpedoes for Everyone Forever

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on this game, and some information I present may be erroneous.

So let's talk about how i took my beloved Akira-class USS Rally Vincent, and make Star Trek Online's engine cry by having to render too many objects at once via torpedo spam.

If you recall Part 3 of the USS Martinet's build, a lot of this is going to seem very familiar because this is the build the Martinet is extrapolated from.

Up front she rocks a single phaser beam array, three crafted photon torpedo launchers with the [Spr] modifier (as explained in the Martinet's build), and a Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo Launcher, with two [Spr] photons and a Mael in the back. I'll discuss the Maels in a bit.

The DECS are similar to the Martinet as well; Colony deflector, Adapted MACO impulse and shields. The Warp Core is an Elite Fleet Plasma-Integrated core, with admittedly not much of note to it.

Upgraded to Tier 6-X2, this gives her two universal console slots, which are filled with the Hangar Craft Power Transmission advanced consoles mentioned in I think Part 2. The Engineering console slots are also filled with them, for a total of seven. Each of these boosts the ship's pets' weapons power (which boosts energy weapon damage) and torpedo damage, as well as boosting the Rally Vincent's torpedo damage.

For the two science console slots, we have a Swarmer Matrix console which boosts pet speed and damage as well as the Rally Vincent's torpedo damage, while also providing a clicky that summons a drone swarm. The other slot is an Ominous Device, which grants the Rally Vincent +20% to all damage, and a clicky that I tend to forget exists.

The five tactical console slots mostly contain toys that also boost torpedo damage. Lorca's Custom Fire Controls, which I covered with the Hyperion's build, is a staple. Next is the Torpedo Point-Defense System, which grants a clicky that fires six torpedoes at up to eight nearby targets, which is just beautiful to watch. She also has the Covert Warhead Module for reasons discussed in the Martinet's Build (that is, reduced global torpedo cooldown). She is also equipped with the Tricobalt Tear Launcher, which is a neat little long-range clicky that deals a lot of damage as well as dropping an AOE DOT and providing a passive boost to torpedo damage. Lastly, there's the Multi-Directional Artillery Barrage which is similar to the Torpedo Point-Defense System.

The Rally Vincent's single hangar bay is equipped with an Elite Valkyrie Fighter Squadron, which allows her to launch up to six squadrons of Valkyrie fighters. Valks are fun, because they're the first pets (that I'm aware of) to be more torpedo-focused than energy-weapon focused; each squadron has access to Torpedo: Spread III and Torpedo: High-Yield III.

Now let's talk about the Maelstroms. Maelstrom Quantum Torpedo Launchers behave differently to other torpedo launchers in STO. You really don't want to keep them on autofire; they hold three charges, and regenerate a charge every 25 seconds. Maels have a much higher base damage than other torpedoes, and each charge multiplies their damage. So if you combine Maels with, say, Torpedo: Spread III, it is entirely possible to relegate an entire wave of enemy warships to the past tense.

They're fun.

On to the Bridge Officer abilities!

The Rally Vincent sports two Tactical seats, one at Lieutenant Commander and one Ensign. The Ensign rank is slotted with Kemocite-laced Weaponry, which has a chance to make each attack with an energy weapon cause an AOE radiation explosion on the target - which is guaranteed to happen on torpedo attacks. The LtC seat has Tactical Team I for reasons explained in the Hyperion series, BFAW II, and Torpedo: Spread III.

The Lieutenant-rank universal seat is occupied by a science officer, granting us Science Team I and Hazard Emitters II for science cleanse and minor shield heal, and hazard cleanse and hull HOT respectively.

Then we have a hybrid Science/Miracle Worker seat. This is slotted with Align Shield Frequencies I (which grants an AOE shield heal and shield resistance buff), Photonic Officer II (combined with Boimler, as explained in Hyperion Part 2 for cooldown management), and Mixed Armaments Synergy II. When you activate MAS, for ten seconds, firing a Beam, Cannon, Mine, or Torpedo weapon will boost the other types by 40%. Having both beams and torpedoes on the build, activating MAS means both get boosted by 40%.

Lastly, we have a Commander-level hybrid Engineering/Command seat. First up on that is Deploy Construction Shuttle Wing, which grants us a hull HOT with the caveat that the things giving us the HOT might explode. Next is Engineering Team II for the Engi cleanse and hull heal. Then, we have the beloved Concentrate Firepower III. CF marks your targeting enemy, making them take 20% extra shield-bypassing damage from torpedoes, and every 2 seconds a player and a pet attacking the target get a free activation of Torpedo: High Yield I that also resets their torpedo cooldowns.

Now, the traits. Of course we have Ceaseless Momentum (covered in Part 2 of the Martinet series), to further shore up torpedo cooldown times.

Next the ship has Entwined Tactical Matrices. What this trait does is every time I activate any rank of Beams: Fire At Will or Cannons: Scatter Volley, I am granted a free Torpedo: Spread I activation. And any time I activate any rank of Torpedo: Spread, I am granted a free activation of Beams: Fire At Will I and Cannons: Scatter Volley I. Normally this is used to extend the uptime of BFAW, here it's used to spam Torpedo: Spread.

The next trait I have equipped is Piercing Projectiles. This is straightforward enough; activating any torpedo-enhancing ability (such as Spread or High Yield) grants 15 seconds of enhanced shield and armor penetration for my torpedoes.

Next is Angle On The Bow, which again grants stacking shield penetration and damage when I deal damage with a torpedo.

Now, for the three traits that really crank up what the Rally Vincent can do.

First is Repurposed Cargo bay Hanger. This trait allows the Rally Vincent to launch an additional Advanced Valkyrie Fighter Squadron every time she launches a pet, up to six times. This functionally gives the Rally Vincent a second hangar bay, doubling the amount of fighters she launches (and thus their damage, even if they are only Advanced and not Elite).

Remember the trait Superior Area Denial from the USS Hyperion series? That's here too, granting BFAW and CSV to all my pets every time I activated BFAW or CSV, and debuffing enemies I hit.

Next, we have Target That Explosion. When I activate a torpedo or Command bridge officer ability, it causes my next torpedo hit to grant up to six nearby allies (including pets) a free torpedo attack on the target. It's beautiful.

Lastly, we have Torpedo Command & Control, the trait from this ship. Whenever I use a Command BOFF ability, my pets' torpedo attack grant a stacking kinetic resistance debuff for two minutes. Additionally, whenever I use a Miracle Worker BOFF ability, it causes my own torpedo attacks to do the same. Remember how the BOFF seating had both Miracle Worker and Commander? haha, yeah.

So there she is, a breakdown of my much-cherished Akira-class torpedo-spamming cruiser-carrier, the USS Rally Vincent. I love to her pieces, and she's an absolute beast of a ship.

[offbeatcappuccino]

the you used to be my academic rival to lovers pipeline ~ dr slump ramblings (episodes 1-4)

I often joke that I watch k-dramas in lieu of therapy because a central theme of many k-dramas is unresolved trauma and healing. Dr. Slump is one of the many "healing" dramas to hit our screens this winter and it is perhaps one that few dramas that I have resonated deeply with and I don't think I can speak on what this show means to me without describing my background.

Before the third grade, I was a mediocre and sometimes below-average student, often to the disappointment of my Indian family. However, something "clicked" during the spring of my third grade and eight year old me decided on one fine afternoon that I was going to take school seriously for the first time and become an academic powerhouse. What ensued over the next sixteen years was my dogged persistence in an extremely hyper- competitive, academically rigorous, and slightly controversial charter school for the entirety of my secondary school education. Despite the workload, I was surprisingly sane for all of high school, enjoyed some of my classes, and played with my kindergartener sister on the weekends. It was also during this time that I continuously changed my professional career. An episode of "Cosmos" had me thinking I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but it was my junior year volunteering at a hospital and having two hypochondriac parents that firmly planted a desire to pursue medicine.

While I never was the valedictorian or salutatorian of my school, I graduated from high school with a fairly high GPA and acceptances to moderately competitive schools.For many, this would be the time that they could finally rest. "Grades don't matter in college", they would say and "Have fun in college and party because it's a breeze" . However, being a premed was the exception to these mantras. I was once again on the hamster wheel of academic excellence trying to maintain a high BCPM GPA and stellar extracurriculars, only to realize that graduating summa cum laude was never enough to get in to medical school. What subsequently ensued was two years of working long hours and below minimum- wage jobs to gain "clinical experience" and "boost my applicant profile". Now even with two medical school acceptances, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed and unsatisfied. The ever-lasting imposter syndrome creeping in during the wee hours of the night to tell me that "it's not a big deal" and "if only I took research more seriously in undergrad."

It is in this similar mentality that prioritizes academic validation above else that we find our protagonists, Nam Ha Neul and Yeo Jeong Woo, in as high schoolers. In Busan, Ha Neul has just been announced as the "top student of the nation". Similarily, in Seoul, Jeong Woo receives a similar accolade. Their lives collide when Ha Neul transfers to Jeong Woo's school in their senior year and they are pitted against each other for the top student position in their class. Though they have similar ambitions, it would be erroneous to suggest they are carbon copies of each other, because they both occupy opposite sides of the "academically gifted spectrum." Ha Neul is the diligent hard worker, studying 17 hours a day, running to school to not waste any time, and chowing down instant coffee packets to stay awake. She has deprived herself of all the joys of her adolescence to be the best student she can possibly be. In contrast, Jeong Woo is the effortless learner, while hardworking, he's never had to lose out on the fun to maintain his comfortable and uncontested position as the best student in his grade level. Things however take a turn with Ha Neul's arrival after she ends up scoring higher than him on the midterms, causing him to hilariously faint in front of the whole class. He embarks on an obsessive journey to reclaim his spot, pushing himself to outdo her unsustainable lifestyle.

The show fast forwards sixteen years later and we now see Ha Neul and Jeong Woo as an anesthesiologist and plastic surgeon respectively. While both were vying for an acceptance at Hankuk Medical School as high schoolers, Jeong Woo manages to score slightly higher than Ha Neul and ends up attending there while Ha Neul ends up attending a slightly less prestigious medical school. After being featured in a global health documentary, Jeong Woo, experiences a meteoric rise in popularity for his handsome looks and he makes millions in the process with a successful Neotube channel and brand endorsements. However, just as spectacular was his rise, his decline was equally catastrophic. During a routine cosmetic surgery, Jeong Woo loses his patient on the table due to excessive bleeding. His patient was a wealthy casino heiress from Macau and her family hits him back with a medical malpractice lawsuit. To make matters worse, not only is the CCTV footage from the surgery surprisingly missing, but a bottle of heparin, an anti-coagulant, is found with Jeong Woo's handprints even though he claims to never stock anticoagulants in his clinic. In a matter of days, Jeong Woo loses everything from his home, practice, and even friends.

Ha Neul is no better position than Jeong Woo. As an assistant professor at her teaching hospital, she is subject to daily physical and emotional abuse by her superiors and is forced to work 24+ hour shifts at the cost of ignoring her own pain. It was during one particular episode of unbearable abdominal pain that Ha Neul collapses mid-traffic on the crosswalk. She's rushed for an emergency gallbladder removal and Ha Neul is irrevocably altered by the incident because in the moments before she fell unconscious, she realizes that she would rather die than continue living. A visit to the psychiatrist confirms that Ha Neul has depression and she soon quits her job after she "karate kicks" and apprehends her superior for trying to make her take the blame for this medical error.

It is during their respective "slumps" that Ha Neul and Jeong Woo reunite in the oddest of circumstances as daughter of the landlady and tenant when Jeong Woo, after being denied housing almost everywhere due to his highly publicized court case, is finally able to move into Ha Neul's terrace room. At first, both are horrified to meet each other, but as they learn more about each other's respective circumstances, they grow closer over their shared failure.

For Ha Neul, while she chose to resign her job, being unemployed and diagnosed with depression takes a toll on her self esteem because she derives her self worth from her productivity and discipline. For her, Jeong Woo is her gentle reminder that it's okay to take a breath, eat tteobokki, drink soju, lose a million rounds of Tetris, and sing off-key kpop songs at the karaoke bar. This is in direct contrast to those who judge her for quitting her job and her family, who while well-intended, have a poor understanding of her depression. While they cook her favorite meals and cut store bought cake, behind their comical actions is the misguided belief that depression is like the common cold. They hope for her "recovery" but in reality, depression is a chronic illness that can be managed but has no cure. Jeong Woo is one of the few people around Ha Neul who has not made a spectacle out of her diagnosis. Similarily for Jeong Woo, Ha Neul is the only person who steadfastly believes in his innocence even when those around them and the physical evidence believe otherwise. After he is abandoned by his friends, parents, and fellow colleagues, Ha Neul becomes Jeong Woo's sole support system.

Park Shin Hye excels in playing a character she has been able to hone throughout her career- the tough and withdrawn gunner, much like her previous character, Yoo Hye Jung, from the 2016 medical drama Doctors. While I personally relate more to Ha Neul, I have to say that I enjoy Park Hyung Sik's Jeong Woo more. While I have never watched Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, I have watched several clips from the series and PHS brings a similar "Min Min" energy to this role. Jeong Woo is chaotic good personified. He's a little self-obsessed and a tad bit delusional, but he's also someone who deeply cares for the wellbeing of others. PHS is stunning in how he balances comedy with the vulnerability and fear of Jeong Woo. Behind his charm and goofiness, is a man struggling with abandonment and what appears to be early signs of PTSD. To both characters, there's an intense relatability that heightens the audience's captivation with the story.

Within the first few episodes of Dr. Slump, there are more questions asked than are answered. How will Jeong Woo be absolved of the false accusations imposed on him? How did the casino heiress really die? Who is the mysterious stalker who broke into Jeong Woo's home? Will Ha Neul get another job and how? Will she get justice for the mistreatment she faced at her prior hospital? However, the writers intentionally move the spotlight from the answers to these questions to instead shine light on perhaps the most pressing query this show chooses to grapple with- how do you learn to love yourself

Dr. Slump tackles head-on the "grind" that our hyper-capitalist and delusive meritocratic society feeds to us. It's a reminder that you don't always have to run in the marathon of life. You can walk. You can skip. You can sit. You can eat. You can drink. You can even sleep. What matters is not how close you are to the finish line, but whether you can breathe.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5