#i don't even have a vague idea for what it could entail

[lesbianlanarcher]

might fuck around n write a sterling/reader fic for his bday...

[grison-in-space]

Has Biden actually done anything at all? There's evidence going around and I think it's compelling, the alternate to voting is instead doing actual social work and participating in protests and organizing political action, which is a good idea i think

1) Yes. Inarguably this has been the most effective progressive domestic administration since I have been alive, and I'm in my thirties. What in the fuck are you talking about? It's not perfect, but it's better than we've seen in fifty years: Obama tried, but Democratic Congressional organization was just not yet used to working with a completely obstructionist GOP Congress in the wake of the tea party.

Even in terms of foreign policy, this is also pretty much as good as US involvement gets. Sorry. Our foreign policy has been shaped by monsters for decades, and that's even without dealing with our huge and active branch of Christian doom cultists. There ain't a candidate in the world that could stop the entire accumulated momentum of geopolitics with a snap of the finger, and I'm not really willing to pretend that Biden is particularly notable for not managing to fix Israel/Palestine relations.

2) In your own words, anon, what precisely does organizing political action entail without participating in the political process? Do you think that abstaining from the part of the gig where you, the citizen, get to say which official gets the job somehow makes your opinions matter more to your elected public officials? Have you ever organized to get so much as a municipal one-time library project budget expanded? Are you perhaps only skilled at political argument with people who already agree with you on the Internet?

What is your leverage, and could it reasonably be described as "extortion" or "blackmail" or "political corruption?" Because those are pretty much the only things on the table that can work more effectively to drive an elected official than a disciplined coalition of political allies (who can be purchased with, you guessed it, votes) or a reliable bloc of voter support. Your vote matters less than the ones you bring with you, sure. Do you think that not voting yourself somehow helps people organize to drive more votes? Have you perhaps replaced your complex reasoning skills with a rapidly dying jellyfish?

3) Holy passive vagueness, Batman! "Evidence is going around." What a masterpiece of a sentence! How it suggests everything while providing nothing! What evidence? Who collected it? Who is talking about the evidence "going around?" Who is listening? How many of them are there? What did they think before? The more I think, the more questions I have, and damn if they ain't predisposing me to be even less charitable.

Like, this is so catastrophically poorly supported that I have to confess that I not only believe this is probably an ask in bad faith (i.e. by someone who is expecting to piss me off or otherwise engage with me adversarially, probably spammed to a whole host of blogs at once with no expectation of response) but I actively hope that it is. The alternative is to have to grapple with the reality that some people are so uncomfortable with the responsibility of moral agency that they're willing to release useful levers of legal and social power just so that they never do anything problematic with that power. Much better, of course, to wash one's hands of anything that might have the stink of responsibility clinging to it. Might fall from the membership of the Elect if you actually get yourself all muddy by doing things, I reckon.

I don't even believe that voting is the only lever we have when it comes to our elected officials or that votes are necessary to secure change, and I am certainly not talking about the presidential ticket alone when I talk voting. What I do believe is two things: one, that voting is a potential lever of power on the emergent chaos of the society in which we live. And two, that anyone telling me to leave a lever of power on the ground without a damn good reason is either incompetent, malicious, or both.

[rita-repulsa-ke]

Agatha and Rio in a dark romance novel

Rio is a mob boss or a CEO or something, someone with too much money and too much power. Agatha is the innocent ingenue, completely unlike all other girls because she reads books (magic tomes) and doesn't wear makeup (can't be bothered).

Rio is both fascinated and repelled by how Agatha makes her feel things she's never felt before, ie, emotions. She shoves her against a convenient wall, attempting to loom over her. "You're mine, babe," she declares.

"What?" Agatha sneers. "Ew, no." But then she sees Rio's watch. It's very expensive. So are her clothes. There are possibilities here. "...Well, maybe. What exactly does that entail?"

In response, a courier delivers a beautiful dress to her shabby apartment later that night, accompanied by a note that says 'be my date'.

She doesn't respond to the note, but she does keep the dress. It looks great on her.

Fine, Rio will simply have to escalate! She shows up in her amazing car to take Agatha for a ride in her private helicopter.

"Boring," Agatha says, staring at a bunch of buildings from far too high above the ground, vaguely nauseous. "Buy me a car or something."

"You're not supposed to say that," Rio complains. "You're supposed to pretend you don't want all the amazing, expensive things I'm going to end up buying you."

"Well, I'm sure not with you for your company, all you do is brood and declare that I 'belong to you'." Agatha pats Rio's knee, completely distracting her for a moment. "Oh, sometimes you try to tell me what I can or cannot do or get jealous when I talk to other people."

"...That last part does sound right," Rio agrees, still staring at the hand on her knee. "Fine, I'll buy you whatever you want. "

She buys Agatha a car and some expensive jewelry and a number of good stocks, all of which Agatha sells for profit, then moves to a Caribbean island with a history of interesting magical anomalies.

It doesn't take Rio long to track her down, of course, where she's sipping a Mai Tai on a beach, reading a magical tome. "Oh," she sighs when Rio looms in front of her, blocking the sun. "It's you. Go away, I'm reading."

"No. I love you. You belong to me." She does sit down, though, next to her on the sand. "I miss you. I think about you constantly. You're the only one whose ever made me feel like this." All true.

Agatha rolls her eyes and turns a page. "Don't care, not interested, go find some other girl to harass."

Rio chews on her lip for a little while. "...Do you want to maybe have angry BDSM sex about it?"

Agatha perks at once and tosses aside her tome. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" she asks, coming to her feet and dragging Rio up behind her, their hands absently and comfortably interlocking.

"I think you're supposed to be shy and overwhelmed," Rio points out. "You know, appropriately ashamed of your desires?"

Agatha cackles at the idea. "Why would I be? Come on, I've got handcuffs in my room."

"...Wait," Rio says, even as she's happily being dragged down a beach. "I'm supposed to be the experienced one. I'm supposed to top!"

"Maybe after I'm done," Agatha says. "If I feel like it."

Rio considers, then looks down at their interlinked hands and can't suppress a smile. "Okay, beloved," she decides. "Whatever you say. ...You really are mine, though, you know."

"Gross," Agatha says. "...So do you want to buy me dinner afterwards and hear about my latest spell?"

"Of course," Rio answers, unable to imagine anything she could want more.

masterpost or click this link to go to a random post on this blog, which will probably be a fic of some kind

[icallhimjoey]

To Have And To Scold

♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your best friends are getting married, and who else can they ask to be their best man and maid of honour but you and Joe? It's just that... you don't really get along all that well, do you? At least, that's what you think.

CW / disclaimer: sort of enemies to sort of lovers (very vague, im sorry, but you'll see), language, drinking, rpf, fem!reader

Author’s note: I know this trope is overdone, but, I wanted to do it a little... idk, different, I suppose. I've never written Joe like this either, so we'll see how this is going to go. This is part one (of five, you know me) and I hope you enjoy!

Wordcount: 2.7K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten - epilogue

Oh no.

Joe was going to royally fuck everything up. There was no question about it. You were one hundred per cent absolutely convinced that Joe was going to do a bad job. So, so bad. The flat out worst, actually.

Joe hadn’t the faintest idea of where to begin, of how to go about it, of what it all entailed.

It made you feel a little superior, which was nice. This felt like a competition you were going to win, even though you understood none of this was meant to be competitive. In fact, it would actually be considered to be bad taste and maybe a little tacky to even pretend like it was a fight for you to win, but you couldn’t help it.

“Are you sure, Poppy... I don’t want to, like, but... are you sure? Joe?”

Poppy laughed, said, “He’ll do fine,” and Mark followed up by slapping a firm palm to his shoulder, saying, “He’ll figure it out, just like you will,”

“Oh no need to worry about me, I got this,” and you couldn’t help but look at Joe, sharp and focussed. Almost challenging, in a way, but you meant it jokingly. Hoped that maybe Joe would soften a little because he never really seemed to let his guard down. Not around you, anyway.

But Joe just shrugged, kept his face entirely neutral, and your jokes fell flat which immediately made everyone feel awkwardly tense.

It wasn’t a huge secret that you and Joe didn’t really get along all that great, but Jesus, could this man be any stiffer in this moment of joy? This evening of good news and important questions and celebrations? The inner peacekeeper within you couldn’t stand it. You just wanted everyone to get along and be on the same page, but the distance Joe somehow seemed to really force in between you kind of ruined all of that every single time that you’d all hang out together.

When you’d be in larger companies, it’d be easy. You could stay at opposite ends of the room and sort of ignore each other. You’d say hi, you’d be cordial and polite, but you just... weren’t each other’s people. Which made no sense. Mark was your best friend and his fiancé Poppy had naturally become such a good friend of yours too, so why was her best friend this... big old awkward weirdo?

What a stupid way to end the evening, and one that started so blissfully pleasant. When you’d walked into Mark and Poppy’s place around dinner time, you could’ve never predicted the outcome of it all. Though, in hindsight, you didn’t know why you hadn’t expected it, because it made total sense. It really did. Mark and Poppy were going to tell their families about this, and you knew they wouldn’t ask any questions because, this obviously was inevitably going to be the way it was going to go.

“Won’t Poppy be joining us?” you let your coat slide from your shoulders before you hung it over the back of a dining chair as you looked around the place. The table was set for two, not three.

“Pop’s taken Joe out for a meal,” Mark said from the kitchen, and you felt a little guilty at the little marble of relief that reared its little head up. You loved Poppy, honestly you did. She was the perfect girl for Mark, they were the perfect couple. Two peas in a pod. Fucking gorgeous and so, so sweet... but you were too alike in all the wrong ways. Both unbelievably stubborn and potentially hot-headed in the wrong moments, so sometimes you’d butt heads with each other. You held strong opinions and there would be times where you’d find yourselves at the exact opposite ends of a spectrum, willing to die in the battle of trying to convince the other that you had it at the right end.

There had been many nights where you would practically be screaming over the kitchen table about something so fantastically meaningless with Mark in between you, silently eating his meal, not even really paying attention to what either of you were going on about.

Mark sort of loved it. Loved you. But really loved Poppy. Said he found the version of you that wanted to sleep with him which he claimed was all he’d ever wanted. That always made you cringe; made you tell him to fuck off and stop pretending that you weren’t practically siblings at this point.

Having dinner with just Mark at their place wasn’t what you’d expected when Mark had invited you ‘round, but it was so welcome.

Whenever it was you and Mark by yourselves, you’d start the evening like the adults you were, would complain about work, talk about all sorts of civilized things, have a glass or sensible slightly more expensive wine, and ask how each other’s parents were doing.

But by the end of the night, you’d feel like you were 17 at a house party where the one 18-year-old brought a bunch of shitty piss-coloured liquor, room temp cider in plastic 2 litre bottles and blue WKD that would leave everyone’s mouth stained. There’d be an urge to fucking trash the place like the place didn’t actually belong to either one of you, and you’d rummage through kitchen cabinets to make stupid meals at midnight after whatever vegan bullshit Mark cooked up for dinner that hadn’t filled you properly. Suddenly, Mark would forget he hadn’t eaten meat in years and go for a kebab with you.

You loved those nights.

Poppy hated those nights, because that was the Mark she didn’t know or understand. She’d find you both drunk of your tits, flinging Wii remotes dangerously close to expensive furniture pieces (where the fuck did you even find a Wii, Mark?!) grunting like you were the Williams sisters playing Wembley.

Whenever Poppy would try to tell Mark off for sort of letting go for a hot second, Mark would throw it right back in her face and go, “Pop, go have your fancy martinis with Joe – go eat a million oysters with him, us peasants here will be fine with our grey meats and questionable white sauce,” and you’d go, “Ew, shut up,” and apologise to Poppy through a mouthful of cheap fast food, and Mark would be giggling like a little school girl.

Poppy didn’t like that version of Mark, but that was the Mark that you loved and even though you knew this evening was just meant to be a quick catch-up on a work-night, you hoped you’d get to see at least a little of your Mark.

"She's taken him to Bob Bob Ricard to ask him an important question," Mark said as he set down filled plates full of beautiful colourful vegetables that honestly smelled amazing.

"I thought you guys were already engaged? You know, to each other?" you joked and made Mark snort.

"It's got to do with that though,"

"Oh no, is this, are you going to become a throuple? God," you slumped your shoulders. "I should've totally seen this coming," and before you could carry on Mark punched you in the arm with far too much force.

"No, you dick, she's asking him to be her maid of honour... sort of, but like, man of honour, I guess,"

"Oh my God," you pouted because honestly, that was kind of adorable. "Will he be, like, her little pageboy?"

You envisioned Joe in tails walking behind Poppy down the isle, holding the train of her dress or whatever pageboys actually did at weddings.

"Little more sophisticated than that, I think," Mark said before raising his full wine glass, prompting you to raise yours too.

"And you're here because I have a question for you too,"

Your eyes grew as you bit your lips slowly into your mouth when you realised where this was going.

"Oh... oh fuck, Mark, wait, this is a big deal," you put your glass down and jokingly fanned your face with your hands.

"Yes. Now, shut the fuck up and let me actually ask it,"

"No, what about your brother?" you interjected.

"My brother's a lazy sod who is not to be trusted,"

"He's going to murder me,"

"He won't," Mark grew more and more annoyed as you stalled him.

"He absolutely will,"

"Would you just..." Mark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Let me please just fucking ask the question, all right? Jesus,"

You shuffled in your seat and sat up, batted your eyelashes and pursed your lips into a smile because this really was a big moment.

"Will you," Mark started, and then paused for a second before he finished, "be my best man - woman... person?"

"Oh my God. Yes."

You cheersed and just, couldn't stop cackling for a moment. What a bizarre moment in your friendship, it was all kinds of fantastic and lovely and so weird. You loved it.

You questioned what it even really meant to be someone's best man, and over dinner you both googled all the things that best men usually did. For the groom, but also, for the whole wedding. You were to give a speech, would look after the wedding rings, would have to make sure all the groomsmen - and obviously the groom himself - were all dressed and ready in time for the actual ceremony and, last but not least... the stag do.

You were so up for the job.

Deep diving into this project was the perfect distraction from the mundane boring structured routine your life had fallen into.

Halfway through dinner Mark received a text from Poppy, saying that Joe had said yes. She sent a picture of Joe with a cute pursed smile and crinkly eyes, holding up a beautiful blush pink card that read the question, "Will you be my Honour Attendant?" in one hand, and a flute of bubbly champagne in the other.

"Oh," you frowned at your friend. "Why didn't I get a fancy card? Or a fancy dinner?"

Mark put his phone down and and shrugged, just said, "That's not our style," and dismissed you completely.

It was the beginning of what started with you dramatically exclaiming, "Do I not deserve a little luxury?" and ended with you doing tequila shots by the sink in the kitchen.

Yea, Mark was right. This was more your style.

It was just after 10 when the front door opened and Poppy walked in, closely followed by Joe.

A small moment of heys and hellos, followed, and then welcome-home kisses from Mark and Poppy, and slightly awkward eye-contact between you and Joe.

Joe looked sort of stupidly well put together. All polished. He looked wildly overdressed next to you, and it made you feel like a slob. And you knew you were older, not by much, but you were definitely older than Joe was, which really should mean something, but Joe was taller, and definitely richer, and... all of it made you feel like a child.

"You're gonna be Mark's maid of honour?" Poppy squealed, all excited, practically bouncing on her feet after she'd hugged you.

"Nope," you smiled widely, "You're looking at Mark's best man,"

Poppy grinned and shot eyes towards Joe.

"See? I told you. You kind of have to go by Maid of Honour," and Joe laughed before scrunching up his nose in defeated, going, "Yea, well..." and you saw Joe look at his best friend and just turn so incredibly soft for her. Like she was the only good thing in his life, like he truly, really truly, loved her with all his might.

It was almost disgustingly sweet, and you wondered if there was ever going to be a line Joe could cross with Mark.

You could easily cross the line with Poppy. You would never forget the look in her eye when you'd fallen asleep on Mark and he'd just hugged you for a little bit. It was the hard way to learn that Poppy was a normal person with normal boundaries and you totally understood. Of course. You wouldn't want anyone just falling asleep on your boyfriend - not that you had one - either.

But when it came to Mark, he was just very.... whatever, about Joe.

You were so sure that, if Poppy were to fall asleep in Joe's arms, and Joe would cuddle her for a second, Mark would just be like, "Are you having a good nap, babe?"

Sometimes Joe would invite Poppy to go to insane award shows over seas and Mark wouldn't even care that they'd share a hotel room.

Mark was made of trust. It was a little wild, you thought. Especially when, look! Look at those eyes! Look at what Joe's eyes were doing! He was literally turning into a puddle in front of everyone as he looked at his best friend.

"Fine, I guess," Joe comically rolled his eyes at his new title. Maid of Honour Joe Quinn, who hadn't yet taken his coat off which was weird because you were all stood around the kitchen island and he was still in his coat. What a way to keep the yea-I-don't-want-to-be-here vibes alive. Felt real great, this.

The defeated acceptance of Joe to whatever was happening made you jokingly ask Poppy if she was sure having Joe as her maid of honour was the best idea.

The joke had fallen flat, but Poppy erased it immediately by clapping her hands together right in front of her face, all erratic and excited, her grin quite literally splitting her whole face open.

"Oh my God, it's gonna be so fun," Poppy predicted as she shook tensed fists in celebration and you couldn't help but smile at her.

"It's brilliant actually, you won't need to worry about the stag do at all, I'm sorry, but Mark, I won't be taking you to a strip club,"

Joe scoffed loudly, which... rubbed you a little wrong. Mark however, was about to argue you on it.

"I will, however" you quickly added as you laid a hand on Mark's shoulder, "get you so unbelievably wankered, you won't even fucking remember if we went to one in the first place," and that got him laughing loudly, head thrown back, showing off all his molars.

"Oh no, you're going to be bad at this," Mark then winced and made you gasp.

"No I won't be!"

"Maybe," Poppy started, then looked at Joe, "you could get together and help each other out?"

And Joe's eyes shot to you, and you saw every fiber in his being hesitate and think of a way to polite tell you no, that's all right actually.

"Listen," you started, and hoped to keep the atmosphere light and jokey, like it had been, even though neither you or Joe had joked or laughed together at all. You never did.

"I don't need Joe to keep me from losing the wedding rings," you helped Joe out. "I think we'll do just fine on our own – you wouldn't have asked us if you thought we were going to be shit at our jobs,"

Ever the mediator, you.

"Oh fuck," Mark squeezed his eyes shut, and tipped his head back a little.

"You just jinxed it!" Poppy said with huge eyes, but a secret smile playing underneath.

"What?"

"You're going to lose the wedding rings," Joe said.

"No I won't–"

"She's going to lose the wedding rings," Mark said to Poppy.

"If you fucking lose our wedding rings," Poppy spoke through her teeth with a threatening finger pointed at you, but couldn't keep her giggles in.

"Stop it, I'm not! I'm not going to lose your wedding rings!"

You wouldn't. Because you were going to beat Joe at this. You were going to do a better job, have more fun doing it and, you just decided, look better doing it too. And Joe was really fucking good looking, so that was really saying something.

And you wouldn't lose the wedding rings.

You wouldn't.

---

The Taglisted: 

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(taglist currently full, sorry)

[its-short-for-jackalope]

OKAY, WE GOT A TRAILER AND A TITLE AND I HAVE THOUGHTS

You know what that means: it's brainrot time.

🏝 TITLE REVEAL: WHO IS THE SEARCHER IN THE SHADOWS?

quick note, I love this title. It's rad as hell. 10/10. anyway—

of course when I hear the word "Searcher" I immediately think of the one and only Addison Arvad, missing captain of the Antikythera and beloved wrecker of journals.

look at her. I love her. she's beautiful. also I am lowkey obsessed with how Jackie draws hair. (please teach me your secrets.)

We didn't get to learn much about Capt. Arvad in episode 3, but we do know that she was a Searcher who disappeared without any explanation, along with the rest of her crew. Kal probably had something to do with it, since he was attempting to retrieve the ship's orrery and said some vague stuff about fog and vortices, but even he doesn't seem to know exactly what happened to her and the crew.

Whatever the case, her disappearance is the reason most of the events in TGOA even happened, so it would make sense for her to be a big part of the next episode. And if Addison is the Searcher and the Searcher is in the shadows, then I have two (and a half?) theories.

The first is that she (and her crew, if they survived, who are also presumably all Searchers) are lost somewhere and that whatever "fogging the vertices" entails led to her getting whisked away somewhere else. She could be trapped there, trying to get out, and/or maybe she is in shadows in the same way Margaret was—maybe she has lost her memories and her magic.

The second theory is actually an idea @man-down-in-hatchet-town proposed that promptly blew my mind: what if whatever happened to Addison led to her getting corrupted and going dark and she is the villain of the episode? I honestly love this idea so much and I think it would be fun and also delightfully heartbreaking after hearing that entry from Addison's journal and getting a glimpse of the person she once was.

(also every pulp fan I know is in complete agreement that we want a cool female villain, pretty please Matt— 🥺🙏)

🏝 OH GOD, THE TIME TRAVEL

I've already yelled a bit about Rose being separated from Samuel and the others, so I'm not gonna repeat myself here, but I also have other thoughts about the time travel!

The trailer has confirmed that Rose was indeed sent two weeks into the past like Ahlaam said she would be. I think it's safe to assume that Rose will have to wait those two weeks until she can reunite with the others, and I also believe we're gonna have to wait with her.

Rose’s two weeks are going to be important—she's meeting Dakkar and hopefully getting some Travelore™ about the island and The Blazing World, and probably getting into some sort of trouble that better not require a printing press plate to resolve, since she doesn’t have it right now—so I don’t think they're going to just blip by. Otherwise what’s the point of sending her back in time?

I think it’s a pretty safe bet that we (the listeners) are probably going to be doing some time travel ourselves, hopping between Rose's two weeks with Dakkar and the rest of the brick family in the present as Sia takes them to the island and they get started on all that mysterious work they have to do. I have no idea what they're going to find there except maybe a rocket? but I can imagine Samuel and the others following Rose's trail as they piece together what's happened to her and learn about this place and its inhabitants, and then the storylines will connect by the end of the episode and we'll get the twins back together and they'll never be separated again!

Isn't that right, Mr. Dahan?

/lh

Alternatively, I suppose the Ellen Austin could be met on the shore by a Rose who has already spent two weeks on the island and then we could get relevant flashbacks here and there, but I don't think that's as likely. It might be too impractical for this medium when we have a lot of story (and lore) to cover and only so much time to sing about it! Plus, that"By the time our heroes are reunited" bit really makes me think that they won't see each other until closer to the end of the episode. The reunion is absolutely gonna make me cry. I can't wait.

🏝 TRAVELER ISLAND, BABEY!

The island's inhabitants have magic similar to Margaret's, and are led by a new group of powerful Travelers.

...Well, maybe it's not Traveler island, exactly. I'm guessing that most of these ~inhabitants~ are actually Searchers. Sia might not be the only Traveler, but I don't think there are a lot of them out there. It makes more sense for there to be less Travelers and more Searchers to balance things out if the Travelers are significantly more powerful like they've been implied to be.

I definitely think Ahlaam is one of the "new group of powerful Travelers" and I'm super excited to get to know her more. (I am also hoping that maybe we'll get a Jackie Traveler character? 👀) I still don't know if Dakkar is a Traveler or not, but I'm inclined to believe he might be a Searcher—mostly because his portrait doesn't have glowing eyes and flashy gold jewelry like Sia or Ahlaam. (I also feel like it may not be a coincidence that he's wearing a light blue-ish colored shirt like Addison, even if it's a different style and looks considerably less like a space suit, lol.)

They speak of a lost kingdom, The Blazing World, and how what occurs on Lincoln Island will impact an entire civilization.

The Blazing World!!! Rose hasn't heard this name yet, but we have! (and Margaret and Samuel.) The people on Lincoln Island could be survivors/refugees from the Blazing World, or perhaps they are all here on a war mission and this is simply their base of operations. Either way, I'm sure the civilization being impacted is the Travelers'; even if this island isn't currently sheltering all that remains of their people and this is only an outpost for the war, they still have some valuable people here—like Margaret, who is recovering her memories and I am certain has an incredibly vital role to play in this war—and the aftermath of whatever happens will undoubtedly be felt beyond the shores of Lincoln Island. Either our heroes succeed in whatever they're trying to do here, or it goes wrong and the Blazing World potentially loses valuable warriors & resources, and the war against Itzal takes a turn for the worse.

🏝 THE "D" WORD: DESTINY

By the time our heroes are reunited, they will be closer to understanding their destinies than ever before...

Destiny... oh, I've had many thoughts about this and been part of multiple discussions with various friends about fate and coincidence and puzzle pieces coming together in this story. enough that I'm almost not sure where to start.

...Eh, chronologically, I guess.

1817 — the year the Stratford family paper stand was established and the year Anna Hanover's father lost his place in the world. Both of these events affected the characters' lives, helping to cement the twins' love of stories and giving them an eventual connection to the New York Sun that would allow them to publish the moon hoax, and giving Anna her tragic backstory and a goal that would drive her to construct her own moon out of brick rather than ink.

1829 — the year I believe Margaret Cavendish arrived in New York City. She lost her memories and her magic, and the Travelers set her up here to live in comfort and safety and loneliness. We don't know why this happened yet, but I think it's safe to assume the location isn't a coincidence when we know at least one Traveler with precognitive abilities and it's only a handful of years until...

1835 — the year of the moon hoax and the brick satellite. Samuel and Rose Stratford write a story that takes the city by storm, attracting the attention of both Margaret Cavendish, who has been looking for answers and winds up with more questions and magic she doesn't remember or understand, and Sir John Herschel, who doesn't want fantastical stories written about him, thank you very much—but wait, how did he get here? He was in South Africa, a whole other hemisphere! How did he find out about the hoax so quickly?

Well, someone brought him the newspaper that made him come to New York, meet the Stratfords and Margaret, and invite them all to work on the brick satellite with him. They go to British Guiana, manage to finish the satellite alongside Anna, get it into the sky thanks to Margaret's Radiance, and finally meet the Traveler out in space, who somehow knew they would be there and knew Margaret's magic was returning but is surprised that her memories weren't. The Traveler knows more than she's telling, but rather than explain she sends the quartet back to Earth.

1874 — the year the quartet are teleported to. They happen to meet a friendly bosun who offers them a place on a ship that'll take them to New York, right where they want to go. Perfect, right? But in reality it takes them to a ghost ship that just so happens to contain some stuff that helps Margaret remember some things. There's a crazy awesome magic battle, sailors vanish, the ghost ship vanishes, and by the end of it all they're sailing towards a mysterious island and the Traveler, Sia, is telling them they have a lot of work to do.

...okay, the point I'm attempting to make here is that yeah, it definitely seems like something has been leading them here, to this time and place. I just can't tell if it's ✨️destiny✨️ or if it's just Sia, who can see into the future and had a clear hand in at least some of these occurrences. She sent our heroes to 1874 in a flash of light, right into Morgan's path, into Kal's, into the Antikythera's. And if she did that, who's to say she hasn't been guiding the quartet in more covert ways this whole time? Someone had to get that paper to John. Someone—specifically a Traveler someone—had to get Margaret settled in New York.

You could say that it's all destiny and that Sia's foresight and her actions are simply destiny's way of getting shit done, that it was all going to happen this way no matter what. You could also go round and round questioning how destiny and precognitive abilities work & influence each other until your brain feels like it's melting (why yes, I am speaking from experience) but I think I'm going to skip that and focus on a different question instead:

What does destiny (or Sia) have in store for our heroes?

I don't know, of course. probably a rocket at some point? gotta wait for the episode to find out.

but regardless of who or what has been pulling the strings, it took a lot to get our heroes to this point and the idea that they're meant to be here, that they've always been headed toward something that's more than this the lives they had before is so unbelievably exciting??? even if you don't care for the idea of destiny or fate, you know great things are coming and that the story is gonna get bigger and wilder.

🏝 YEAH I KEEP MENTIONING THE ROCKET, DON'T I?

might as well actually give it its own little section on this ramble-y ass post, lol.

We've had hints that there'd be at least one rocket in the story from the very first M.A.I.A. transmission. (If you haven't seen those, you're missing out!) Now that we're getting new cast photos where everyone has been posing with a little red rocket, it looks like it's time!

Maybe the quartet are going to help the Travelers build a rocket. Maybe they're going to help repair a rocket that already exists. Maybe they're going to go to space again, or another planet—The Blazing World?—or maybe they're only going to see the Travelers off and that'll be it. (Okay, that last one would be a little disappointing, lmao.) Hell, maybe they're only going to Lincoln Island to meet a rocket that hasn't arrived yet! So many possibilities!

...hmm. I think that's it? I think that's all the thoughts I had. I have been putting this post together off and on since last night so if I missed anything or it seems a little disjointed then that's why, lmao.

this is admittedly less of a theory post at times and more of a John impression (it's not my fault I have questions!) but why wait for M.A.I.A. transmissions and more information when I can shout about it all now? the universe simply wouldn't be right if I didn't seize every opportunity to scream about Pulp Musicals.

anyway, if you read all of this then I hope you enjoyed it! you can expect/dread more posts like this in the coming weeks, as soon as we get more info and M.A.I.A. transmissions. can't wait to see my best girl again. 💙

...I really hope Matt and Jackie have gotten that window fixed.

[sadismismybestquality]

Welcome :)

I've been following whumpy blogs for years, until I finally caved and made my own. You can call me Sadi. I'm vaguely feminine, but don't care what pronouns you use.

I'll be really slow to post or write things, since I'm actively trying not to fail college (expect an update every 3 years).

What I'm Working On:

After Hours - aiming for 40k words

main cw: bbu, and all it entails (chapters will all be given more specific tags)

When Cassandra's estranged grandfather dies at 87 from a heart attack, she did not expect to inherit the entirety of his belongings. Every last thing of his now belongs to her. The money, the house, the magnets on the fridge, and the five pets she didn't even know he had.

Three Butterflies - aiming for 50k words

main cw: violence, noncon, religious whump (chapters will all be given more specific tags)

A man named Soren enters into a contract that's more than he initially bargained for. He never could have imagined how many people he would be willing to kill to get out of it.

This is a non-magical AU to a (slightly less whumpy) fantasy story that I'm working on that I'll occasionally reference as the Voidworld. But the VW isn't all that important to understanding this.

The Man in the Corner - aiming for 80k words

main cw: violence, gore, body horror!!! (chapters will all be given more specific tags)

A broke college student named Natalie gets kidnapped and locked in a basement by a lunatic dressed as a plague doctor. Her captor never shows his face. Never speaks. Never enters the basement unless it's to torment her. And he always brings a clipboard down, but Natalie has no idea what he's writing...

whump likes and dislikes below the cut

Whump I Write For:

morally dubious whumpees

psychological and emotional whump

violence and gore

body horror

noncon

manipulative whumper (and whumpee)

depressed/suicidal whumpees or caretakers

lady whump!

guilt and regret. I repeat, a lot of guilt and regret

Whump You Won't Find Here:

complacent/docile whumpees

eternally patient caretakers

lab whump

vampire whump

giant/tiny

[blackberry-fool]

*holds out microphone* what does being a witch actually entail

i mean. it depends what you mean by this but i'm guessing you mean 'what do witches actually do?' so here goes.

spells:

one thing that nearly all witches do is that we cast spells

these can be as simple as a sprig of lavender left under a pillow

or as complex as a huge sigil drawn over the ground and a bonfire and expensive, rare ingredients

essentially though, spells are you harnessing the energy of things around you to achieve a desired outcome

you don't even need ingredients tho – you can cast spells with just your mind (by channelling energy – i'll explain this later)

divination:

basically telling the future

sort of

a lot of the time it doesn't tell you What Will Happen so much as give you a vague idea of how you will be affected/how you should react – tarot cards and oracle cards do this

you can also use a pendulum for simple yes/no questions or to find something

the most important part of all of this as far as i can tell is energy, though.

energy is this pretty nebulous concept within witchcraft – no one can agree on what it is, how it works, whether it exists or not, etc etc

but what most of us do agree on is that it powers our spells

you can harness energy from a lot of different sources – yourself, the sun, the moon, nature, any living being, that sort of stuff (this part is up to you tbh)

so when you do a spell you are putting this energy into a vessel

for example, i like to charm my jewellery by channelling protective energy into it

anything else – all these 'correspondences' you see – is just additional

to explain – say you want to do a love spell. you could use any old rock for this, and channel your own energy with the love intention into it. but using rose quartz would make it easier for you to direct that energy where you want it to go

(correspondences are like obsidian = protection, lavender = sleep, sun water = vigour, that sort of stuff)

(correspondences aren't objective – there are widely accepted ones like rose quartz for love but you can still ignore those and make up your own lmao)

ok i hope that helped – if you have more questions ask away :)

[12thperigeeball]

Psst, Hey. Hey you. You like suggesting things, right?

WELL DO WE HAVE A OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU!

As you are all aware, the last few balls we've ran had prompts that trolls could dress to match. This year, we're putting the power of the prompts in YOUR hands, and we're going to allow users to suggest their own prompts for the community to vote on!

We've opened up a google form to collect theme ideas from the community, and it's open ended with no need to log in. You will be able to see the prompts submitted after you input yours, and there's also a dud option so you can view the results without having to actually suggest anything yourself.

Previous year prompts was 'Crystallize' theme of 2021, and then 'Art of War' of 2022. Your prompts do not have to match the theme of previous years, but we do request that we not tread across old ground.

We will take suggestions from Oct 25th until Oct 30th at 7PM. We will then process the suggestions and create a poll to vote on them to be released Oct 31st, and then close the poll on Nov 3rd at 7PM.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and suggest your prompts!

Rules copy pasted below:

Prompt Names must be short and sweet. We're not naming things like Panic at the Disco names songs.

Obviously no offensive suggestions or suggestions referencing offensive scenarios, such as war crimes or closed cultural practices, or weirdly specific 'japanese high school' prompts. I will hunt you for sport if you start coming in with dogwhistles. This is a no fucking brainer rule.

Please include a brief description of your prompt and what it might entail, perhaps even an art style. This ideally should be a sentence long, not a paragraph. If you don't feel confident in your summarization skills but have a moodboard, we can assist in writing a brief description if you leave your prompt name and no further summary. Example: Early Spring would be Florals, plant-like, art nouveau. Art of War is fashionable armor, historical art, 'when you have to swordfight a rival general at 6 but have a ball function at 6:30.

Make your prompt clear. Inside jokes or subtle themes might be fun in theory, but they don't make for interesting, creative, or easy to interpret and bend prompts. Be mindful of the fact that not everyone will follow this prompt or may interpret it much differently than you would expect.

Similar prompts may be condensed at the end. Three different suggestions for cyberpunk will just be merged into one cyberpunk prompt to help prevent confusion or split votes

You may create a moodboard or Pinterest board for your theme to showcase. Similar prompts will be condensed into a singular moodboard or pinterest board for people to view. This is not a required step.

Have fun! Don't get too worried about making anything perfect, or winning. NOTE: We do reserve the right to reword certain prompts to create a more unique theme or theme name if we are provided vague prompts. A general 'Glamorous, Gold and Money' suggestion may be modified and narrowed down to an Art Deco Glamour prompt to make it unique and more directional

[keepmeinmind-01]

Hello! So interested in exchange student AU and the dogs, but I HAVE to ask about plug in baby because that is giving me a weird image in my head.

thank you so much for asking @tina-mairin-goldstein :D

I'll go through them! I did a little too much writing last week and haven't managed much at all this week. No idea whether I need to rest and recharge or just get a bit more inspired LOL. But I can share some snippets—I write in chunks in the first draft stage so they're a bit everywhere, and these bits might not even make it into the final :')

Exchange Student AU

This is actually the prompt you gave me about a little Newt seeing Theseus and Percy together and being his accepting self!

A Second Person? Visiting the Scamander household?  Well—Second Person wasn’t trailing in. He seemed very confident and self-contained. In fact, Newt has always thought Theseus was exactly like that; but next to this shorter, dark-haired stranger, Theseus suddenly looked coltish and far too smiley. Newt clicked through the settings and accidentally zoomed in far too much on the stranger’s expensive-looking scarf.  Why does he want to spend time with Theseus? Newt mused, as most seven-year-olds with older siblings sometimes do: sure that his brother could hang the moon and stars if he tried, but chagrined by the pure bossiness their relationship seemed to entail enduring. 

Thesival Dogs

It's a one-shot (with several chapters LOL, I don't know if that stops it being a one-shot anymore). I started drafting this in a frenzy over four days because I felt bad about how kmim Theseus never really finds a partner he's comfortable with again. Losing those feelings of intimacy and trust forever hurt me. So, it's set sometime after the end of the election in kmim and kind of diverges from the rest of the outline I have planned for that long story. Theseus and Percival get into a sort of casual-sort of not relationship complicated by their respective traumas. When Percival accidentally triggers Theseus while they're working on a case together, they have to get through it and figure out how to re-negotiate the physical stuff. It goes well—well enough that Theseus accidentally summons his Patronus (a borzoi). But after Percival summons his (a German Shepherd) too, as a joke, the dogs stick around, so they spend the next day figuring out how to make them dispel and thinking about their relationship.

Nearer the start:

Each like a damning indictment—because of him, it could never be long term. Because it’s you, Theseus imagined, because it’s you, and it’s me, they could tangle their broken bodies together, but they couldn’t fix them.

Nearer the middle:

"Tell me how you imagined it," Percival demanded, voice roughening.  "I, ah..." Theseus faltered, uncharacteristically flustered by the heat kindling behind Percival's eyes. Get it together, Scamander. “Mmh?” “Er…” Theseus racked his brains, but it’d been weeks since he’d had a vaguely sexy thought. I thought it’d be nice seemed like a mood killer for someone as skilled in talking filth as Graves. And I love you was all of the steps too far. “You…hmm. You would…um. Or maybe I...or maybe not.”

Plug in Baby

This is named for a song by the band "Muse", because I always end up doing song lyric titles. I do have four other songs that fit wayyy better with the themes, plot points, etc, but even though Muse said they forgot what the song was about because they were high (LOL), there's something particularly good about this as a title imo. This is my dark!thesleta fic, where Leta joins Grindelwald at a rally and Theseus follows her. It's set in a world where Grindelwald and Dumbledore are much more organised and there are very partisan 'sides'. Theseus is less certain, trying to convince her to leave, but when something happens that makes him fall apart, Grindelwald has enough and brainwashes/reconditions him using a mixture of drugs and magic. The 'character is turned into a weapon against the ones they love' trope, basically. It goes downhill from there, and involves Newt, Tina, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore, focusing mostly on Theseus, Leta, and Newt. The ending is a bit bittersweet, but I'd say positive, given what happens. I'm curious what the image in your head was! Hopefully, no actual babies? XD

I have no big chunks of text for this one. Even though it's all planned in detail, it's being written in spotty chunks, so here are a few lines I've jotted down:

"You're getting better at this," Gellert said, removing the needle. His voice was approving, almost fond. "Hardly even a flinch anymore." How much did he require tonight? Surely his tolerance was not increasing this quickly.

Power still crackled through his veins like lightning seeking ground. He felt half-feral, drunk on destruction. Unstoppable.

[merlinfromberlin]

Oli!!!, maybe you don't know me very well because when I read your first story I was only a guest but I really follow you from the first chapter of "Champions are not born", I will only tell you that Your stories and ideas are simply fantastic and You really have a lot of creativity when creating them, I really love them and I hope that your week can change for the better ❤️‍🩹.

Now without further ado, I want to know more about "Starsabre Possession AU", I think I read a draft about it, it's where Bumblebee has his first cosmic horror experiment, losing control of his own body, isn't it?

My head can't stop thinking about the possibilities since you mentioned that there was some kind of ancient God trapped in the star saber and when Bee came back to life he also wasted it in his body, god I need more Context!!, I can't stop thinking In the horrors that this could bring to the team and to the new Cybertron under reconstruction, what is the entity? Is it malignant or benign? Will there be body horror in the equation? What plans does the entity have for young Bee?

I know the question is very ambiguous but god I need to know just a little more, especially how Optimus and Ratchet are handling it, their poor son is possessed by an unknown creature and they frankly seemed terrified.

(English is not my main language either but I don't know if I could ask you questions in Spanish )

Hi! ^^ We maybe haven't talked much yet, but I've seen you around for a long time and it's always a joy to see you pop up in my notifications. Knowing that you've literally been here since the first chpater of Champions Aren't Born is a bit mind-blowing, though. I feel very honoured by that. <3 Thank you so much for the compliment.

I sadly don't speak Spanish [yet], but it's very high up on my list of languages I want to learn. ^^"

Yes. I posted a sort of concept/idea for the "Starsabre Possession AU" a while ago. ^^

I'll answer your questions out of order, so that I can put the stuff that contains spoilers for the plot below the cut.

I know the question is very ambiguous but god I need to know just a little more, especially how Optimus and Ratchet are handling it, their poor son is possessed by an unknown creature and they frankly seemed terrified.

Neither Optimus nor Ratchet are doing too hot. However, neither of them is willing to even admit that to Bee. They are trying to pretend as if everything's normal, but at the same time it is very obvious that it isn't - they can't look Bee in the eyes, they start avoiding physical contact with him and are, in general, just very stressed. Whenever Bee tries to ask them about it or cheer them up, they do their best to divert his attention. And yes, they are terrified for Bee - maybe not as much in the beginning, but the longer the story goes on, the harder it gets for them to keep it together.

Will there be body horror in the equation?

I'll be honest, I only have a very vague understanding of what body horror entails, so I'd have to research first before I can make a more definitive statement on that.

However, if that helps in any way, shape or form, I can say that I'm usually a fan of psychological horror and don't like gore too much. ^^"

Is [the entity] malignant or benign?

Well, neither Optimus nor Ratchet are necessarily trying to stop the entity, at least not in the beginning. So, what happened at the Omega Lock has them convinced that it's benign. However, there is more to it than that and the longer all of this goes on, the more suspicious both of them (all of the bots, actually) get. :)

In the horrors that this could bring to the team and to the new Cybertron under reconstruction, what is the entity?

Okay. So, when I first wrote the concept, I had no clue what I wanted the entity to be. But then I remembered that the Aligned continuity had like, 13 Ancient Primes I could use for this. So, the entity is one of the 13 Primes. I've already settled on some of the Primes I want to be involved in the story, but there's some others I've not yet fully decided on because I need to research them some more first.

Which is also the reason why it'll probably take a while until I really start writing this story. I'll have to read the Covenant of Primus first and before I'm allowing myself to do that, I need to finish my essays for university. ^^"

What plans does the entity have for young Bee?

Oh, well. One of their goals is definitely to rebuild Cybertron according to their imagination. Another is going to be to get their own frame. :)

[twopoppies]

I’m sorry to bring this kind of negativity into your ask box Gina but I can’t talk to anyone else about it and maybe your followers have some advice if you decide to post it.

I’ve been seeing a girl for the last few months and it’s the first “relationship” (we both know we’re building towards it) I’ve had despite being in my early 20s. She’s been clear from the outset that she’s got health conditions that restrict her life quite a lot, and has been slowly opening up about them which I really respect as even her parents don’t know about most of it. Honestly I had a good idea about what she was diagnosed with before she told me and it didn’t bother me, but since telling me exactly what it is she’s started to open up about what caused it, and it’s literally the most horrific things imaginable. I don’t want to trauma dump on you but imagine the most awful things you could do to a child starting at 4 years old and then a string of the worst luck and the worst people up until only a few years ago when she spent over a whole year in a psych facility. Even now she has a care team that come to her house a few times a week.

Like I say, I don’t care about the hallucinations and the mood swings and the nightmares but I’m struggling to like eat or sleep thinking about the things that caused them and how she went over 20 years with just the worst things happening over and over again and not a single person helping her. I can’t share even the vague details I’ve shared here with anyone irl because I’d never betray her trust like that, and I can’t talk to her about how I feel about it because she’s the one who actually had to live it while I’m only lying awake thinking about it- plus I don’t want her to regret telling me.

I don’t even know what I’m asking really- just any advice from people who have been through similar things? I had a pretty sheltered life and I now feel so guilty about that too. Sorry if this is inappropriate and please ignore if you want to.

Hi, sweetheart. I'm so terribly sorry that your girlfriend went through everything she's gone through. I'm afraid I don't have any great advice to offer, though. I do think that having a romantic relationship with someone who's struggling so much can be an overwhelming experience, and it might be best for you to have some strong support in order to keep yourself mentally healthy. If you have the means, I think finding a therapist who has experience with CPTSD could be helpful, and you wouldn't have to worry about betraying your girlfriend's trust, but I worry about you being able to handle everything this relationship will entail.

Does anyone have any specific experience with situations like this? Any advice to offer?

[thedarkmistress16]

Yandere!RDJ x Kidnapped!Fem!Reader- A Sweet Night

Didn't realize this would get so angsty on expansion (this was another old one that I got back to). Have fun! Reader wears a dress, but genders don't play a big role here.

Gif-Inspired Dialogue Prompts:

"Gorgeous as always, sweetheart."

"Try the wine."

"I'm not staring- I'm admiring your beauty. I always have."

"You really are too cute for your own good, my dear."

"Now why would you ever want to leave me?"

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

After seating himself opposite of her, he sighed and took a moment to drink in her appearance before flashing a charming smile. "You are gorgeous as always, sweetheart." His voice had lowered for her benefit; dipping low enough for her to almost forget the events leading up to this moment. She shook her head, fighting off her growing blush. Wining and dining on a reservation is one thing, accosting her in the bathroom to chain her leg to the table for a surprise meal is another. And his incessant winking was not helping her bruised pride. The widening of a Cheshire smile, however, told her he already saw right through her. "You really are too cute for your own good, my dear," he laughed pleasantly, despite her already conflicting expression. She had no idea what the evening would entail, nor the reason for his insistence on a candlelit dinner with preparations laid out like they were celebrating a holiday. Shit, was this an anniversary thing? She did not want a reminder of how long she’s been here or would appreciate it- spoiling or not.

A pleading glance was sent his way, but he seemed to be in his own little world, fiddling with the arrangements. She turned away to take in a breath and reorganize her thoughts. She turned back to unexpectedly find his eyes already pouring into her soul. Frowning deeply, she turned her head away from his unwavering gaze. “Can you stop staring?”

He blinked and copied her expression in one fluid motion as if her question surprised him. Curious, she studied him with one of her eyes. He muttered, "I'm not staring-” letting the sentence hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “I'm admiring your beauty.” He composed himself with a fierce certainty and clarity that almost floored her when his eyes settled back onto her. “I always have, ever since I first saw you, and it’s about time you knew that."

She really didn’t want to believe him. She wanted his interest in her to be nonexistent and to be curled up on her favorite cushions in a place she called home. A place she once called safe. Until him. Until he laid those brown eyes of moody hues upon her with a certain look that she wasn’t accustomed to. A look, where even then, her mind told her was something she could go on the rest of her life without experiencing. A look that ensnared her even now, at the behest of all her red flags and everything she knew about suspicious behaviors.

They stared at each other in silence until he looked away and coughed abruptly, clearing the tense air as his hands busied themselves with the wine bottle. "Try the wine." With a slightly strained smile adorning his face, he held up the aforementioned drink close to his profile and gazed at her expectantly. After taking in the rest of his expression and vaguely cataloging the picture as an imaginary headshot of sorts for an ad campaign, she trepidly offered up her glass for him to pour. His palm happily enveloped her fingers as the other tilted the glass of liquid to tap against her empty one.

The flow of burgundy was too loud in this space, only bringing more attention to how silent the rest of the house was. How it felt more intimate. She almost blushed before she caught herself. If she gives an inch he’ll take a foot. And then some. Grimacing, she dropped her gaze to his transparent wine glass. While she had no desire to become less sober in his company, she opted to fake sips to please him and later gain the upper hand as his intake increased. Perhaps she could lift the front door keys off his person when he was conked out…

She drew back her glass autonomously when he released her hand and she almost missed him lifting his, partially filled to a similar volume. “Cheers” She blinked at him, not prepared to celebrate anything and quickly pondering what would constitute such a moment. He attempted a closed-eye smile, but even for a toast, he couldn't manage to take his eyes off of her. It was always difficult for him to do so when she was solely in his presence, she gathered. “To us. For being in each other’s company.”

It was vague- too vague.

He was planning something, or she wasn't supposed to be privy to whatever he was thinking. And for a seemingly bland and forgettable toast. If she let herself, a shiver would've completely traveled down her spine, but prevented herself from doing so. The last thing she needed was to appear tense and encourage alertness when he seemed relaxed, aside from his focus on her.

She narrowed her eyes, but ultimately decided that fighting him on more of his double meanings wasn’t worth it tonight. Perhaps it didn’t mean anything at all and she was wound up too tight- maybe that was the reason for this surprise. Maybe this was an innocent dinner he wanted to dress up because that was just who he was; Robert was nothing but extra for the things- and people, in your case- he claimed to treasure. Though she didn't find it in herself to care about questioning him either- she lacked interest in favor of getting through the night and retiring upstairs. Even still, apprehension coursed through her veins as he looked at her expectantly.

“Do you not like it? It’s a good year,” he mused, still inspecting her. She had forgotten to even take a sip of her wine. Did he already..? Did she not notice? She blinked, but couldn’t do more than sit there. His expression changed, not by much, but it was certainly more… intense. That made her reluctantly bring the glass to her lips. “Or are you not hungry?” She hummed, her lips transmitting vibrations on the transparent surface it was still in contact with. Just a little tilt more and she’d be in the clear. “Or, my dearest, are you hungry for something else?”

Her spit-take, while it didn’t cause a spill outside the stemmed glass, made a mess of her chin. She surely felt like she had jumped clean out of her chair with the way he said that. She knew full well to be wary of Robert’s wording. Usually, anything said in that tone meant incessant proximity and teasing for a time, fueled by her expressiveness. For an unknown amount of times since she’s known him and engaged in conversation, she wished her reactions were mild at best. Even better, nonexistent entirely, next to him not existing in the same plane of reality as her.

She absentmindedly licked her lips and realized she drank more than she intended.

And now she was tense all over again, despite her mental insistence of mimicking his nonchalantness. She wouldn’t put it past him to spike the wine before opening it, even though she had no clue on how that could be managed in the first place.

Staring at his face, she was becoming more unnerved at his silence by the millisecond, more of the reality of him and her and the whole situation crashing down on her like a tsunami.

“I think I should go-” She moved to stand and stumbled before catching herself by gripping the tablecloth, and she fought between chalking it up to wanting to get the hell out of there and potentially being drugged. The color of the material was like the wine but brighter, she noted, and for some reason, it made her head spin unpleasantly. Where had she seen it before?

“What’s the rush, sweetheart?” She almost stopped herself from speaking entirely, but the words fell out of her mouth on autopilot as their eyes remained locked.

“I need to lie down.”

Now he was downright predatory. Even as he leaned back in his seat, he had this aura that oozed confidence. Her breathing picked up, barely registering he can clearly see all of her responses. He sighed, almost wistfully, as his attention was focused solely on her.

"Now why would you ever want to leave me?" The context was too ominous to sound pleasing, even with the effort he put into his tenor, despite not being anywhere close to her ear for the full effect. He was still sitting across from her, smiling almost nonchalantly, blinking ruefully, and it was then she was able to place the meaning behind his words.

Her spine straightened, and she promptly turned to flee without a second thought.

What welcomed her was the cold, hard reality of the dusty hardwood floor below her.

A cry rung out through the silent kitchen upon impact, full of panic and immediately accompanied by sharp intakes of breath. Her knees were completely unprotected, courtesy of the dress she wore, and traitorous tears sprung in her eyes.

A presence knelt beside her and graciously lifted her up to stand, but she was unable to keep her balance without leaning into him. She was steadied again, barely, and she cringed at the throbbing burn on her kneecaps. While it seemed he was trying to express care, he looked at her like nothing happened, smiling softly. Like she wasn’t in dire pain and humiliation and anger and anguish.

She didn’t care if she wasn’t bleeding, she wanted to get away from him, have her wounds treated, and pass out on the bed to forget the whole thing.

But she felt no energy at this point- even doing so much as to lightly push him away did nothing to sway his hold. At a loss of what to do, the only things she could focus on were the stinging in her watery eyes, the blossoming bruises on her body, and his unwavering stare that she tried pleading to.

“Robert-”

He shushed her, and used his hands to manipulate her delicately. She was swaying now, shuffling to his lead as his head leaned down to press his skin against her hairline.

Silence, then a kiss between her brows that left a tinge of wetness behind.

“Why leave when I have all you need?”

It was barely a whisper, but she heard it as clear as the rattling of the linked chain clinking against the table leg. Feeling another surge of tears, she buried her head in his shoulder, chest shaking sporadically. One hand caressed her back, and he began humming a tune in his throat.

She didn’t respond.

~

[pricechecktranslations]

A more general question this time, about the vessel of Envy. Is it me or... is it one of the less powerful of the vessels? I am speaking of the vessels specifically, not the demons themselves (though the two are intertwined). Each of the vessels of sin have these wonderful great magical powers (the glass can spread epidemics and resurrect the dead, the sword acts as love/lust charm, and changes people's faces, the spoon summons blue fire and attracts wealth, the vessel of wrath is the ultimate wweapon, etc...). But for the vessel of Envy... outside of making a demon contract and all that entails, it just.... it just cuts well? And never rusts? That's the special power, just having good non-stainable blades? I always felt that a bit weak.

The mirrors of Pride didn't have their own specific power either, beyond influencing pride and allowing demonic possession - but they did not felt under-used or weak because during the Pride arc, there was such a strong use and play on the mirror's ability to transfer demons left and right, making it a key tool for the whole magical-political schemes and conspiracies in the background. But for Envy... I haven't read the Enbizaka novel yet, but from what I heard and seen, it seems mothy focused more on the demon of Envy rather than the vessel itself, and even with the other big historical incident tied to Envy, the Neo-Apocalypse incident with the Four Horsemen and all that... Well, we don't know much about this, it stays a background event only vaguely alluded to once in a while. We know its consequences, but not what it was.

I don't know, I just feel that of the seven vessels, the one of Envy is the most under-used, or that Mothy had the less ideas for it. You have such strong "images" for each vessel that stay in your mind as you go through the series - the glass pouring wine as the dead wake up, the blue fires surrounding the one wielding the spoon, the demons appearing out of the mirrors to possess children, the golden key changing its shape to kill a demon contractor, the blade changing one's face... But with Envy you think of Kayo killing people or of the demon of Envy appearing at the sea, because they're the most prominent ones, they're the ones important and that stick with the visuals, but not much about the vessel itself. They're just scissors.

Or at least that's what I felt up until nox :p

You've described it pretty well, yeah. I mean it doesn't personally bother me, but there doesn't seem to have been any special power attributed to the scissors, no. To be absolutely fair, though, they weren't originally scissors to begin with. They were swords, and they were reforged into scissors as an attempt to make them less dangerous (because they couldn't be destroyed). So we don't know how they functioned before that point.

I will say, all the vessel powers are tied up in the abilities of the demon that's in them (as you said, they're linked), and the Demon of Envy's unique power is prophetic dreams. Not a lot of combat implications for that. The one in the scissors IS able to see everything going on in Enbizaka (and I think Jakoku as a whole), so--assuming that this isn't an ability that other demons have (it's never mentioned as such), being all-seeing could arguably be called a power of the vessel?

I think there are compelling story reasons for keeping the Envy vessel and its demon in the background until the Tailor novel, but I think that's something probably best understood by reading the novel itself. I don't know how many spoilers you've run into (probably all of them) but I'm trying to be cautious about how much I say on the reveals in it anyway.

[dragons-hoard-of-fandoms]

Late to the party but making an entrance, Murder Drones Episode 5 is finally out so at long last I can stop with the memes (for now) and share my thoughts on Dragons Rising so far.

Okay, first things first, I'm gonna be 100% honest with y'all: I low-key do not care about any of the new characters. I know, I know, BURN THE HERETIC, I can't really explain it myself. Maybe I'm just too attached to the OGs or haven't gotten to know the newbies well enough yet, but so far all I'm seeing is Average Shonen-Esque Protagonist, Nya 2.0 Catgirl Edition, Cute and Easily Marketable Dog-That-Is-Not-A-Dog, The Only One With A Mildly Interesting Backstory, and a bunch of generic cookie-cutter villains. It's not gonna make me stop watching or anything, it's just that they could all randomly vanish by the next episode and never be brought up ever again and I'd be totally fine with it. Certainly wouldn't be the first time this franchise has completely dropped something out of nowhere and hoped no one would notice.

A'ight, got that out of the way, now to start nitpicking: I don't understand why they're pronouncing Riyu as "Rai-yu." I thought it would've been "Ree-yu," like the dude from Street Fighter, and I'm not gonna say it any other way. And why do they keep trying to convince us that Lloyd had to be trained for years when in reality he mastered Spinjitzu within, like, a month at most? I'm going to assume that either A) He's just blatantly lying to make Arin feel better, because there is literally zero chance that Season Two took place over the course of multiple years, or B) Lloyd himself has absolutely no concept of time and can't even remember that he's, like, an eighteen-year-old in the body of a twenty-three-year-old by this point.

BTW Lloyd please do not try to be like Wu, you of all people should know what being like Wu entails. You're already in the "training child soldiers" phase, you can not go further or else you are going to hit the "keeping way too many things to yourself" stage and you know what always happened when Wu didn't tell anybody jack squat until it was too late. Heck, there is still a very real possibility that the Merge wouldn't have happened in the first place if he'd just been like "hey so all the Realms might start trying to fuse together soon and as per usual you're the only ones with a chance at stopping it" instead of sticking to his "The Apocalypse™ is coming for like the seventh time and all I'm gonna do about it is be needlessly vague and cryptic for no real reason" schtick.

They should not have given Ras and Rapton such similar names, I'm going to inevitably mix them up. Also Rapton you will never be Iron Baron. I never thought I'd say anything positive about Iron Baron but I could actually tolerate him, whereas I just wanna see Rapton get run over by a bus. And not even in a cathartic "I want she-whose-name-we-do-not-speak-in-this-household to be brutally murdered onscreen in such a horrific and violent manner that it'd never be allowed anywhere if they weren't Legos" way, just in the most apathetic "please remove this character from existence" way you can imagine.

I'll give them this, tho, the show itself is gorgeous to look at, and the concept is pretty nifty. And while I may not be completely in love with Sora and Arin, I'm still glad they didn't go the braindead babymode easy route of making the "next gen" series revolve around the OG Ninja's kids (even if it is mostly because it completely avoids the possibility of being forced to endure the timeline where Lloyd actually thought getting with she-whose-name-we-do-not-speak-in-this-household was a good idea). I'm definitely gonna stay tuned for Part Two, even if I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of what we've got so far. Hopefully it's all uphill from here.

(More spoiler-y stuff under the cut)

Wow I can't believe they somehow managed to make a Cloud Kingdom character more punchable than Fenwick. The scrollworms are pretty cute, tho. Also, uh, Euthanasia or whatever your name was, Morro would like to know your location.

DING DONG, THE WU IS DEAD! BAGELS FOR EVERYONE!

So on the one hand it seems like we might be getting slightly more focus on Lloyd's dragon side this time around, but on the other hand we've already had multiple instances where it could've been brought up but just wasn't, which could mean that it's all just more of the same token Chosen One™ nonsense we're used to and this post got hit by Quanish's dodgeball of prophecy. (Seriously, surely at least one of the super-mega-ultra-powerful Source Dragons should've been like "Kid what is wrong with your blood," right?)

But, on the chance that the former is the case...

What if the Imperium finds out about it and decides the weird little Oni-dragon-human grandson of literal God is a far more valuable prize?

Also this is how we can still get Garmadon's dragon half to show up please I am begging on my hands and knees

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

That stuff about anime characters being trans always riles me up because it's such a confusing, stupid thing to say and I don't think they know what they're trying to say either.

Are they saying Tomo wants to transition to being a boy? Because she fucking doesn't. That's the whole fucking point of the series! She's a girl who wants to be seen as girly!

Are they saying Tomo was a boy who transitioned? Because once again that verifiably isn't true. It's not mentioned or implied or even vaguely possible to interpret that as being something that happened.

But it's worse! SO MUCH WORESE that they are either implying Tomo is some kind of poorly passing trans girl, because she's bigger and stronger, which goes absolutely against the whole concept of passing and gender identity and everything these people say they believe in and value... BUT I'VE ALSO SEEN SO MANY QUEER PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPER OBSESSED WITH THE IDEA OF GLORIFYING UGLY TRANS PEOPLE FOR BEING UGLY AND POORLY PASSING

Or or or..... are we supposed to think Tomo is a girl masculine girl that wants to be boy that wants to act girly because she's a trans boy that's gay? Because where the fuck is that coming from?

And I keep seeing this sort of THIS CHARACTER IS TRAAAAAANS stuff happened to so many characters like Deku and Bakugou and Link and Samus of course and Naoto (but not Chie I guess!) and all of these other characters that are just slightly outside of their gender roles and these people can't explain what they mean or what it's supposed to entail! They're just obsessed with the idea that breaking a gender stereotype in any way makes a character TRANS in some non-specific way and it drives me totally fucking insane because it doesn't make ANY sense!!!!

So for me specifically when it comes to calling any character trans, especially now a days, in any medium whatsoever, it denies and erases culture.

I'll explain. Japan specifically doesn't have a very large trans population. And it's not because they are "oppressed" it's because over there if you are believe you are trans rather than rush to transition you like lunatics, they do their job and put you into therapy. Why? Because being trans should not be a trend. Being trans should not be a fad. Being trans is what it's always been which is a mental illness stemming from extreme body dysphoria. As such being "Transgender" or as it was known previously, being "Transsexual". was a mental illness under the classifications of the WHO.

However in the last 5-10 years they rescinded that classification. Not because they no long view it as a mental illness. No. But because they wanted people who were trans to stop being, "Stigmatized". The irony behind this having been done was that for actual people who were trans, their insurance no longer covered their transitions. The WHO actually screwed over the entire trans population in one sweeping move.

But more than that, many people were also pissed, myself included, because removing something as a mental illness classification was damaging 3 fold. How?

The above reason about cutting off insurance.

It basically said, "If something is a mental illness we should actually continue to stigmatize it hence why we are removing it"

And it pushed an impossible standard, where now ANYTHING could be removed as a mental illness, just because it is, "Stigmatized". Like say Bipolar disorder. Or maybe Psychopathy. Extreme cases of OCD. Turrets. Literally anything that is stigmatized could be removed from classifications, AND be subject to the above two problems all over again. Specifically number 1. Losing the ability to have insurance treat it.

But my over arching issue with calling anime characters trans is again that it ignores Japanese culture. Hell it ignores most cultures on earth. Consider this. A girl is born and in the womb she was exposed to high levels of testosterone. And when she is born, she ends up taller and slightly more masculine than other girls. If you tell her that she is a boy you are doing 2 things.

You are telling girls that they are not allowed to act outside of YOUR definition of feminine. And you are saying that because she does NOT match your exact definition of feminine, she'd be better off as a man. Or maybe she sees that as you telling her unless she transitions, (a process including a life of body altering chemicals that you can never stop taking, but also likely a life of body altering surgeries and potential of many complications in the future, as well as the inability to ever have kids, or to ever actually enjoy sex.) she will never be happy or find someone who loves her.

People don't have any clue how damaging that is. And of course they don't. Detransitioners are growing in number by the day and the internet PURGES them. They are bad for Big Pharma of course they are purged. Can't let those, ugly, clearly bigoted detransitioners ruin your ability to sterilize the youth am I right? :D

My sarcasm aside, imagine how upsetting it must be for a girl growing up now. Imagine being like Tomo from the manga and anime. Could you imagine what it does to your psyche when everyone tells you that a character similar you isn't a girl. And not for any valid reasons. But because they decided, "Oh well she doesn't match what I PERSONALLY view as a girl, so she's a man actually". WHO THE ACTUAL FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE to tell others what is and isn't allowed to be feminine and masculine?

Who the fuck are you to decide what being trans is?! Because I can tell you what it's not. It's not a boy that likes to wear makeup sometimes. It's not a girl that happens to like wearing jeans. It's not a drag queen. It's not a girl that likes to keep her hair short. NONE of those things MAKE you trans. You know what does? Extreme and RARE cases of gender dysphoria. And I'm sorry to tell you, that's NOT all of a sudden 30%-50% of the population. This new shit? It's social contagion. It's girls being forced to see only fans models other types of models all day every day on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and over platforms. And when you have to compare yourself to THAT all day every day? Yeah I can see how some girls would be like, "You know maybe life as a man would be better."

Never you mind that 70%+ of Females that say they are trans are either on the spectrum, OR later realize they are lesbians. Or both. Kind of makes me feel like modern trans activists are honestly just fucking homophobes. Because I guess it's not gay if you are trying to be the opposite sex.

Long story short, In the 90's and 00's there was a war waged on gender norms. People were tired of girls being called too manly or boys being called too feminine. And yet now that's not only exactly what we are telling them, but we are also pushing sex change surgery on them if they are those things. So we not only brought back gender norms. There is a radical sect of people ENFORCING IT through indoctrination and love bombing.

And I WILL be called transphobic for this post and you know what? I don't care. Because I know I'm not. And forgive me for not wanting my friends to be lapdogs and bitches to big pharma for the rest of their lives, because some moron on Tumblr told them they are not allowed to exist as they are, because they are not feminine enough.

FUCK YOU you homophobic, misogynistic piece of shit. (Not directed at you anon. Directed at the person that made the "Tomo is trans" post)

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

A Normal Lost Phone

by Dear Villagers

Genre: Adventure, Interactive Fiction, Puzzle

Pitch: Look through text messages, photos, and more on a lost phone to learn about its owner.

My expectations: I've heard of this! I don't expect to have my mind blown, but this series is fairly well regarded, right? Is "normal" meant to be ironic, like I'm about to stumble upon some horrific mystery, or is this going to be a contemplative look at the hints at the life of an ordinary individual captured on a piece of consumer electronics? I hope it's the latter.

Review:

Content warnings are important. They are an encouraging sign of social progress, and I hope we never move backwards. It is awesome that we live in an era where it is common to respect each other’s sensitivities. I hate content warnings.

I hate when a well-crafted, slowly unfolding story—a story where all the mysteries would fall into place if you just knew that one crucial piece of missing information—gives away the whole game before it’s even begun. A Normal Lost Phone presents an absorbing slice of life, written with a masterful grasp of nonlinear storytelling and keenly observed characters, but I was on the lookout for the thing before I’d clicked past the title screen.

A content warning was the right call. No one who might be hurt by said content deserves to be caught off guard. I wish I had a better solution, but I don’t. I mean, I’m being as vague as I can, but I’ve already told you there’s a thing.

A single, admirable, necessary sentence tainted my experience, but it did not ruin it. The call to empathy and understanding still resonates. This story’s strength is not in its ending but its telling. Highly recommended.

+ Invites you into the life of a stranger. Spins an absorbing, painful, small-scale yarn within the confines of a phone, where all the disconnected, seemingly disconnected puzzle pieces click into place as the context is revealed. + Dreary indie pop from a surprising number of artists. It's not enough music to cover the game's total playtime, and I never found an option to make the playlist automatically repeat, but I found my fingers tapping along to the tunes often enough that I didn't mind having to manually reset it.

– Content warning gives away major themes too soon. The seemingly incongruous details that should be intriguing fall flat if you've already predicted where the story's going. (A content warning was still the right call.) – While I like the idea of the handful of password-cracking puzzles, and even felt satisfied with some of them in execution, it's a drag when you know you've seen the answer somewhere and have to dig through dozens of messages to get what you need. – SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! Are you playing a character? Are you playing as yourself? This question is left to your imagination, but whoever you are, there's no reason to believe you have any connection whatsoever to the phone's owner or any of the characters in the story. In order to progress, you must read personal message, send sensitive messages and even photographs—not as yourself, a stranger who picked up a stranger's phone, but as Sam, the phone's owner. It's incredibly invasive, and it serves no purpose except to satisfy your own curiosity. Now, if I could do the thing that I would realistically do in this situation (look for contact information and return the phone to its owner without invading anyone's privacy), we wouldn't have a game. I don't feel bad about playing a game in the way it was intended, but I do feel weird about it. It's a game about feeling empathy for a person who keeps secrets; a person who is right to keep those secrets; a person whose secrets should be respected. And the goal is simply to satisfy my own curiosity, no matter what violations that entails? Weird, weird choice.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🤍

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