#i don't know if this is true of all kinds but it was definitely true of the chocolate coins we got as kids

[reasonsforhope]

Climate change in 2025: So, what now?

Some real talk for the new year, about where we now stand, and what the next years are going to look like.

(Still ends on a “be hopeful!! or else” kind of note, but definitely gets into some heavy truths about the meaning of recent events.)

--

Obviously, between Trump's reelection at the Los Angeles fires, things are feeling a lot more precarious than they did just a few months ago. I know a lot of people are incredibly stressed. I know I'm certainly stressed.

But this isn't the end. This isn't the beginning of the end, either. We're not doomed.

Don't despair.

Yes, things are about to get harder. Yes, the effects of climate change are now becoming truly apparent.

But here's what you need to hold on to:

We have already cut expected warming in half.

More about that including sources here: (x) I'm not going to go into it again in detail, read the source for that. But it's true. In 2000, when I was a kid, they were predicting 4, 5, 6 degrees of warming, plus a runaway greenhouse effect that would boil the planet.

Now, scientists expect that global temperatures will likely land between 2 and 3 degrees.

Which is incredibly shitty, yes. But it's survivable.

And I have for a lot of reasons (check these masterposts on this) to believe with the confidence of knowing that we're going to get expected warming down even further.

And that's something to celebrate.

I’m not saying that the effects of warming aren’t already bad, or won’t get worse. I’m from California, I currently live in LA. My state’s been on fire for half my life. Natural disasters starting amping up early here (and we’re certainly in the middle of another historic number now). And yeah, it's fucking stressful right now.

But like I said, my state’s been breaking horrible disaster records constantly for the past ten years. I've done this before. And you know what? Natural disasters have been getting more and more survivable for years, largely thanks to faster warnings and better mass communication (x).

Does it suck how many natural disasters there are now? Yeah.

Does it suck how many more still there will be? Yeah.

Do we need to keep working our asses off to beat climate change? Yeah.

Are we going to need to organize and mobilize (both politically and especially community-wise) like never before to see as many people through these times as best as possible? Yeah.

But that doesn't mean we should despair. It absolutely does not mean that we've already lost.

An unknown number of the most optimistic futures were foreclosed when Trump won the US election. That’s painful but a reality.

But for twenty-ish of the past twenty-five years, the science said we weren’t going to survive climate change at all.

For most of my life, we were worried that we had set Earth on a course to become like fucking Venus (which is, on average, well over 800 degrees Farenheit). Even if it didn’t get that bad, we were so worried that global warming might wipe out all life on earth - except maybe the cockroaches.

(Literally, when I was a younger the kids at my church put on a play about that. It was like an adaptation of A Christmas Carol where the future only had talking cockroaches. I grew up so worried about this. (Not the cockroaches thing specifically. Mostly the general concept. Only a little about the cockroaches. Also yes my church was very granola why do you ask.))

But starting a few years ago, studies have shown that there wasn’t going to be a runaway greenhouse effect that could turn us into Venus; that earth is warming, yes, but we don’t seem to be in danger of that.

Between that and the fact that the adoption of renewables globally is too fast to be stopped, and we do have the technology and environmental science knowledge to eventually re-lower global temperatures by getting to net negative carbon emissions (x), and most countries and at least 73% of people in all countries for which there is data (x) actually care very much about the climate, yeah, we have closed the door on the lava planet future.

And yeah, I do think that’s worth celebrating.

That’s a massive fucking victory.

There's still more work to do, and I have every confidence that we're going to do it. I also think that, given the loss of the US election, there’s a really, really strong chance the developing world will be what saves us, and we’ll just be lucky to be along for the ride.

Most people have no idea of the kinds of amazing stories and statistics coming out of the developing world and Indigenous communities. The world is changing for the better on the environment, even as disasters (and the US) are getting worse. Solar power is going to revolutionize the fucking world, because it’s going to grant humanity universal access to electricity, and that’s going to revolutionize the world, especially the developing world (aka the global majority). And most people have no idea at all, much less how much it’s going to change.

So, yeah, natural disasters are going to keep getting worse.

But there’s a long, long long fucking way between “natural disasters are going to keep getting worse” and “the extinction of all of humanity and/or the vast majority of life on earth”

So, in the face of Trump, in the face of everything, I still choose to hope. I still choose to celebrate this as a true and profound accomplishment.

Because for over twenty years, I was afraid I’d never get to.

That difference is absolutely worth celebrating.

[jellymochii]

Stray Kids - What Kind of Dominant are They? (Headcanons)

❣ pairings: ot8 skz x fem!reader

❣ genre: smut, fluff

❣ wc: 2.3k

❣ cw: HEAVYYYY SMUT, bondage, bdsm, pet play, dom/sub relationship, sensory deprivation, overstimulation, unprotected sex (please don't), cnc

↪author's note: hello! got in the mood to make some skz hcs. i might do sub!skz next OR dom!txt hehe. hope you enjoy!

**THIS IS PURELY A WORK OF FICTION AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE TRUE NATURE OF THE PEOPLE MENTIONED**

❣ Chan - Daddy Dom

Pretty much a classic right here, we all knew this was coming.

Is so doting and loving on you!! He loves taking care of you and spoiling you in every way possible.

You're feeling icky from period cramps? He'll get you sweet treats and massage your worries away. Bad day at work? He's right there holding your face gently and peppering you with kisses.

Loves making you feel good in any way possible. He'll make sure to make you cum at least once before fucking you, and always fucks you slow and deep–just how you like it!

You misbehave though? Yeah, you're in for it.

Will never stop telling you how good you make him feel. Lots of praises like “My sweet girl, always so tight and warm.” Or “Ffffuuuuck you make daddy feel so good, princess.”

Pulls you over his lap and hikes up your skirt, and then spanks you as many times as he sees fit. Lost count? Oops, guess he's restarting from one.

At that point there's tears in your eyes from the sting of your swollen red asscheeks as you're begging him for mercy, telling him you're sorry.

If you really misbehaved he'll pretend like he forgives you and finger your cunt–only to deny you sweet release.

“I thought I told you already, bad sluts don't get to cum, sweetheart~”

If you've been extra mouthy he'll shut you up quickly by grabbing handfuls of your hair and shoving his cock down your throat.

Don't worry, his aftercare is always immaculate, regardless of how good you were that night. Warm baths and sweet words for his baby!

❣ Lee Know - Brat Tamer

Everyone act surprised. We all know the man loves a challenge.

And you, his little bratty baby? Buckle up, you're in for a long night.

Has all kinds of toys to punish you with–cuffs, ropes, whips, etc.

Definitely handcuffs your wrists and ankles to the bed while spanking you repeatedly. You shouldn't have been a brat, now should you?

Whispers absolute filth into your ear, and you secretly love every part of it. Things like “Fucking slut, this was supposed to be a punishment–and look at you, you're dripping.” And “Aww are you crying? Poor girl, I couldn't give less of a shit, huh?”

Definitely not as nice as Chan when it comes to spanking you. At least Chan has the mercy to restart, but Minho? Yep, that's an extra 20.

If he's in a really bad mood, he'll tie you up and shove a remote controlled vibrator up your already leaking pussy and have you at his mercy as he controls every pulse to come out of it. (You're not cumming any time soon.)

May also just deny you entirely and watch you helplessly whine and cry as he jacks himself off in front of you, not giving you a single taste of his sweet juices.

Listen, he's not a complete monster though. Once everything is said and done, he'll still give you the best aftercare.

It's all a game to him. He looooves when you're extra bratty, or when you try and fight back–it turns him on even more, knowing he'll break you down entirely into submission until you're a babbling mess.

Cleans you up nicely with a warm washcloth and makes sure you pee and drink lots of water. He'll also make sure you have a nice warm meal filled with lots of protein to get your energy back.

You're still his baby at the end of the day. Just a very, very bratty one.

❣ Changbin - Pleasure Dom

Oh my sweet Binnie…he's so whipped for you.

He's at your every beck and call, and makes you feel so loved and protected–even in the sheets.

He knows how ridiculously strong he is compared to you, and how you look oh so little caged under his large and muscular body. (He loves it.)

But he's still gentle! He knows he could break you if he wanted to, which is why he treats you like a porcelain doll in bed, and gives you everything you want in more.

But man, you really drive him crazy, y'know?

He can't help it how good you make him feel, your pussy sucking his girthy length in and your walls fluttering around him. Sometimes it's all too much for him.

Takes a LOT of mental and physical strength to not pound into you like a starved wild animal, but sometimes he just can't stop himself, your pussy is just too good.

And so trust, you will get pounded into a brutal pace, but he's gonna make you see stars with how good you feel.

You can tell he's close by how his normal grunts and huffs turn into high pitched whines and moans, his muscles start quivering from all the sensations filling up his system.

Whispers things like “Aigoo, baby, I'm sorry. I-I can't help it, it's too good~!” And “Shhh I know, baby, just let daddy use you for a little.”

Huge load. That's all I gotta say, your poor cunt is leaking from the generous load of his love he's bred into you.

Aftercare king. The best and warmest cuddles you could ever ask for.

He's so in love with you, please tell him what a good job he did and how much you love him!

❣ Hyunjin - Service Dom

A service Dom is typically someone who enjoys inflicting or giving any sort of stimulation to their sub for their own pleasure.

Lover boy Hyunjin is no exception. You're his muse, after all. He wants to explore every part of your body in any way he can.

He watches your scrunched up face while biting his lip as his fingers dig into that sweet spot you love, the other hand fondling your breasts or pinching your nipple as he watches attentively for any sign of pleasure.

Definitely into sensory deprivation. He loves having you blindfolded, handcuffed, and even likes having cute earmuffs on you so you can only feel him using your sense of touch.

Ice cubes, paintbrushes, anything non-conventional that stimulated your nerves in any way. The way you twitch ever so slightly with just a light touch to your clit gets his cock soooo hard.

May also take photos of you while you're in different positions (with your consent, of course) to have for later to either jerk off with or paint and save to his private collection.

If he's eating you out, he's got his plump lips sucking on your clit while his fingers twist in every direction of your sloppy pussy, all while humping the bed from how insanely turned on he is.

When you actually have sex, his hands are all over you. Even if he's sweating buckets and shaking from overstimulation, he's gonna make you cum as many times as he wants. He has to, in his mind.

The way your face contorts from pleasure and how your walls flutter around his cock is enough to make him cum, but he always restrains himself.

Uses his dick so skillfully. He knows your pussy inside and out, and thrusts himself into you mercilessly. Yeah, you're having multiple orgasms tonight.

“Nnngh, jagi–you're so beautiful, I could hah- stay like this forever.” Or “C'mon honey, just one more, for me?”

Major cuddlebug afterwards. He'll clean you up eventually, but for now he just wants to hold you and bask in your presence and tell you how much he adores you.

❣ Han - Dom Tendencies

I don't think Han is any kind of traditional Dom, I more so assume that he has Tendencies that match up with your typical Dom from time to time.

Kinda cocky and more dominant at first when you two are fucking. Lots of “Yeah, you like that huh?”

As he gets closer though, his brain becomes more and more mushy. He's so drunk off your pussy that his head fogs up like he's in a trance.

All he can focus on at this rate if you, and how pretty you look with your nose all scrunched up underneath him.

Once you get close and start ng things like “Ha-Hannie please, I’m gonna cum~!” It's all over for him.

He's suddenly forgotten how to be dominant entirely and all he can think about is wanting to cum. You could basically say your pussy was so good that it made him go stupid.

This usually leads to him cumming before you, but if you cum before him? Oh poor boy, he's gonna malfunction.

“Jagi–angh, please cum for me, I'll do anything!” He'll say desperately pounding into you at an irregular pace, looking for any sort of stimulation.

The feeling of your walls slurping him in and coating his cock with your cum makes his eyes roll in the back of his head. You swear you can see his tongue sticking out like an ahegao.

And yet in true Dom fashion, he plugs you full of his babies–making sure every last drop seeds inside your cervix.

“Fuckfuckfuck I'm cummi- agh~!”

You're both totally wiped after that. He'll still pepper your face in sweet kisses and tell you how good you were, a few giggled mixed in between.

❣ Felix - Versatile Dom

Felix is very flexible in terms of pleasing you.

You want a softer, more love making session? He'll be right there with rose petals and candles. On the other hand, if you're wanting him to absolutely destroy you–he sure can!

Even through his cocky Dom exterior, much like changbin he's petrified of hurting you or going too far. You're his sweet baby, after all!

He uses his rich and deep voice to groan sweet nothings into your ear, he knows it drives you crazy.

When you are looking for something more kinky, he'll bust out a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs and that vibrator wand you love so much–and use it to push you farther than you've ever gone before in terms of overstimulation.

“Yeah? You like when I touch your clit like that, baby?” Or “Ohhh look at you dripping, my nasty little slut.”

Seeing you so obedient and helpless underneath him may scare his brain, but his tip throbs at the sight.

He's very generous when it comes to making you cum. He won't deny or torture you, but he loves teasing you for how squirmy and pathetic you are bound up like that.

His generosity (and slight sadism) peeks through when he makes you cum more times than you can count. And best believe, he’ll be pulling more out of you!

Creampies–lots of them.

Aftercare is always a must for both of you–kisses, cuddles and brownies in that order.

Moral of the story--he’s anyone you want him to be!

❣ Seungmin - Pet Owner Dom

Everyone act surprised part 2

Lee Know's evil counterpart in terms of brat taming. You wanna misbehave? You're gonna get treated like the animal you are.

He’ll put you in your kennel and tie your vibrator to your sopping cunt, leaving you there for as long as he sees fit.

“Awww, you're such a pathetic little puppy.” Or “Bad puppies go into the kennel, you know this. Or are you too dumb to remember, hmm?”

You've got the whole set at this point–ears, matching lingerie, and a collar with his initials engraved in it so everyone knows who you belong to.

Maybe if he's feeling nice he'll let you desperately hump his thigh for any sort of friction while teasing you.

And trust, YOU. WILL. BE. BRED.

Calls your ovulation period your “heat”, and knows how much his sweet puppy needs his cum when she's oh so desperate!

Yep, doggy style. It's both of your favorites–your brain goes fuzzy from how deep his tip kisses your cervix, and he loves hearing his puppy's whines and cries when she's close or overstimulated.

Tugs you by your collar when he's close, his breath becomes erratic and his limbs shake.

By the end of your playtime, there's so much cum seeping out of your cunt (you'll probably get plugged so you're bred properly)

Tells you how much he loves you and what a good puppy you are for him after!

❣ I.N. - Primal Dom

Oh my sweet innie

He really wants to be gentle and loving, and be the sweetheart Dom in bed.

But he simply cannot control his animalistic urges when he's around you.

He's pounding into you at a merciless and brutal pace, all while strangled cries and guttural moans spill from his mouth

He can't help it! His urges are just telling him to :(

Prefers raw any day, let's hope you're on birth control anyway

You almost wonder where this ungodly stamina has come from, especially on days when he has a lot of pent up frustration from practice–you've never been drilled in at this fast and rough of a pace.

Not a lot of words when he's close, he's breathing heavily as filthy moans growl into your ear. Almost as if he were saying “You made me like this.”

Huuuuge breeding desire. He needs to fill you up and make sure you're swollen with his kin in 9 months.

There's something so feral about him when he cums. It's the sweet release he’s been needing, but he’s so addicted to the way your walls take all of his seed in–so much so that you're in for another few rounds just so he can feel it again.

Poor baby, he's so mortified once he snaps out of it and realizes he basically ruined you. He uses gentle warm washcloths like Chan taught him to tend gently to all of your bruises.

Tons of reassurance and apologies spilling from his mouth, but you wouldn't have it any other way since you know how much he loves you.

[unforth]

As I deepen my study with Chinese, the more I'm struck by how word meanings work. The monolingual USAdians I know or encounter online, who studied only as much as needed to get through school, really do seem to think languages are plug and play: know the word in both languages, and swap.

But that couldn't be further from the truth. There's on Chinese word, 稳当 (wĕn dang), that's really struck me for that. Because my flashcards give three translations for 稳当: reliable, secure, and stable. And in English these words are all fairly different! Clearly related but very much do not mean the same thing. How can one Chinese word mean these three different concepts? Well, of course, it doesn't. 稳当 means 稳当, some fusion of those three concepts we have words for in English but not quite any of them, that makes it appropriate to use in places where English would use any of those three. There are surely shades of meaning, and which interpretation of the meaning is most appropriate to a given context will be understood upon reading.

Now, expand this understanding - that a word doesn't mean (exact direct swap in English) but rather the word means the word, and we approximate it to the closest English equivalent we can - to *every single word in every single sentence in an entire book.*

Then translate that book.

Translation is an art, not a science, requiring tremendous verisimilitude in *both* languages, and an understanding of the story, and a deep familiarity with the culture (social, historical, linguistic, etc.) of the original work, and often knowledge of the authors intent (if possible to ascertain), and a range of other skills. Translation will always be interpretive and transformative, because (word in one language) doesn't precisely mean (word in another language). They're not "the same." If I present you a sentence with 稳当 in it, does it mean stable, reliable, or secure? Well that depends. On what? How it's being used, the surrounding context, other factors, and of course... the reader or translators interpretation.

It drives me insane when I see people present alternate translations as some kind of "gotcha" that one translator got things wrong. And don't get me wrong - of course some translations ARE just wrong, obviously if I translate 稳当 to mean "goldfish" I'm not interpreting I'm just incorrect. But beyond obvious mistakes, a world of nuance exists, and different translators can in good faith reach different conclusions on the most appropriate translation. This is WHY famous books not in English get translated repeatedly by different people, and why a reader would want to read multiple translations of the same work - to see, in different translations, some shadow of the wonderful nuance embodied by the original words that do not, and cannot, simply be swapped 1 to 1 for a perfect English translation. And this is *especially* true of a language like Chinese, which is ancient and beautiful and deeply steeped in understandings of Chinese history and literature.

Why do you think I and many others are studying Chinese for years? For me, it's all so I can read the actual books myself and get that much closer to the story, that much closer to my own interpretation. I'll never have the skills of a knowledgeable translator - this isn't my profession, it's my hobby - but I'll gleen things nonetheless and it's important to me to try.

Too many of yall disrespect those skills so much that you'll throw a sentence of a language you know nothing about into Google translate and then declare the translator Wrong (and sometimes Bad and Malicious) based on that.

稳当 means 稳当. It doesn't mean "reliable." It doesn't mean "the exact translation of 稳" plus "the exact translation of 当". It's a Chinese word with a Chinese definition that we retrofit English on to.

And the hardest part? Look, I'm still a Chinese novice. For all I fucking know, 稳当 actually MIGHT have three distinct definitions. Everything I said about it above might be wrong. I don't know enough Chinese yet to know for sure, and that's a level of nuance and understanding I'll only reach by reading more.

Multiply that by *every single word in both the original language and the language it's being translated into.*

That's what translation is.

Good luck.

[mono-dot-jpeg]

born from another timeline - jayce, viktor

summary; "viktor, wake up, hexcore just dropped a hot person" - jayce, probably

genre/extra tags; oneshot, fluff, comedy, maybe some angst, is this considered isekai /j, amnesia?, zauntie! reader, different timeline! reader, the almost too good to be to be true timeline, hexcore knows everything, magic curses, can be seen as romantic or platonic, half baked ending, im sorry this can seen as ambiguous ending

word count; 1.3k

a/n; it's time for some silly silly writing. im changing up some of the request to be a little more interesting. im not great at interpreting long requests like this bc they can be a lot for me, and sometimes, with requesting in excitement, they can have some parts that dont make sense. but i still hope it's enjoyable. also i have no idea if my addition to this request made sense but i was too committed so. enjoy :)

you don't remember a fucking thing. all you know is that something called a hexcore spit you out, and now you're floating in the air with two really hot people. and you're undoubtedly panicking, and they're panicking too.

generally, a lot of panic.

when you finally manage to stop floating, the situation settles a little bit. at least for the two men that were floating with you.

"how did you get here?" but unfortunately, you had to be questioned. which was reasonable, you would probably do the same.

a yordle creature is trying to question you and your origins, but your mind can't seem to conjure up anything that would be a viable answer. "i.. don't know. but where exactly am i?"

the yordle, heimerdinger, informs you that you are in piltover and introduce you to viktor and jayce as well.

"piltover.. i definitely didn't know that this was piltover because i've never been around there."

"do you remember anything about your home?"

"not much. but i'm from the undercity." you answer. and that leaves the young scientists to ponder why exactly the hexcore brought you here. was it really that powerful to just teleport people from the undercity to piltover?

nothing seemed to be clicking. and so, they decide to escort you back to the dark lanes of the undercity.

but when you reach the bridge, viktor can spot the shine of confusion in your eyes.

"wait.. this is the undercity, right?" you looked over at the glum streets. "but.."

"but what? it always has been like this."

"this isn't.." you head pulses with pain as a memory tries to break through. "the undercity wasn't like this. it was-" before you can even speak about your home, it feels like you have the wind knocked out of you. your breath heaving as you cough near uncontrollably. jayce and viktor are quick to offer a hand to help you. jayce holds you steady, and viktor offers a hesitant but gentle hand. "it wasn't like this.." you can only mutter as another cough tickles your throat, threatening to come out. it doesn't take long for the two men to come up with a different thought instead.

"i don't think you're from our world." viktor said slowly.

"but i'm from runeterra, i live in zaun, i know that much." you get a little defensive. "and i know that, this isn't the zaun i live in."

"i think it's much more different than what v is saying. let's just head back."

viktor should've realized sooner as a zaunite himself. you didn't wear any worn-out dirtied clothing or had that scent of undercity smoke and gasoline that always permeated around the lanes. you were different from the undercity he knew.

with enough convincing to heimerdinger, he agrees to let you stay in piltover, but viktor and jayce would have to be responsible for you. which admittedly feels a little offending as you're not any kind of irresponsible pet or kid, but you wave off the annoyance for a more pressing problem.

"i'm from a different timeline?"

"it sounds crazy, i know." jayce immediately tells you, just seeing the incredulous look on your face. "but it seems like the most logical conclusion. you said you were from runeterra, you were from the undercity, and that the undercity you know doesn't look the way our undercity does."

"it could be entirely possible that you can even be from a different universe in general, ehh... i suppose that would be like a timeline, too." viktor sucked in a breath through his slightly clenched teeth as he tried to wonder over the details of what counted as a universe or timeline.

"the point is, this isn't the runeterra you know. and we don't know how to get you back."

and so you basically had a reset button on your life, now living in a world that was close to yours.. but not quite.

heimerdinger had concluded that there was some sort of magic binding on your memories, not allowing you to speak too much detail of them. and there seemed to be no loopholes for it. you would be stuck like that for an unknown amount of time.

that was concerning, to say the least. but not as concerning as trying to remember that this isn't the world you know. you're not meant to be here. but you'd be lying if you said that you weren't curious about how this world functioned compared to yours.

you were naturally really interested in the hextech. and it seemed like the hexcore was interested in you, it spit you out into here after all.

"do you think the hexcore is the reason i can't talk about my home?" you asked the two scientists as you stared at the core of magic and science.

"it would make sense. in a way. it's the only magic you've been exposed to. and directly in contact with.. obviously." viktor said with matter of fact tone.

it seemed like it was the only somewhat reasonable answer. and there was only one solution to you; live this new life. you don't remember everything that happened in your old life, and even if you did, you'd be coughing up your lungs before you can get a word out about it.

alternate reality and timelines really aren't fun, you realize quickly. you live in this.. new piltover and zaun and it's.. really off-putting. like knowing that everything is fine, but your mind is telling you that there's something just so wrong.

your identity blends in just enough with the support of viktor and jayce. but you don't feel right. viktor easily can sense that feeling of isolation. he understands it too well. it's the face he's seen on multiple zaunites like himself. when they don't know if they really belong in this world.

he tugs you away into his side of the lab as the gentle whirring of the hexcore hums with life, mocking you that you have no way home. jayce had left to pick up some dinner for you three, and you stayed behind for the sole reason of not having anything better to do (and maybe even keep viktor company).

the look in his sharp amber eyes is hesitant before he speaks. "how are you feeling?" he asked within the ambiance of the lab. he doesn't look at you, turning to mindlessly fiddle with his work-in-progress hex claw.

you shrugged halfheartedly with a hum, "i don't know. it just..." you let out a sigh. "it doesn't feel right."

"what doesn't?"

"being here." he lets you continue if you want, stopping his tinkering to look at you. your eyebrows furrow with a frown on your lips. "i don't know. maybe i'm just being delusional."

he pursues his lips, trying to find the right words to say. "i'm sorry we can't find a way back to your home." he said softly. "i can't imagine how it feels like to live in a world so similar but so different from home." he takes your wrist gently to guide you to an empty chair next to him.

you sit down slowly. he looks at your disheartened face.

"i'm not great at comfort like this. jayce would probably do much better than me right now. he gives a great hug." he laughed weakly, trying to lighten the mood. "but i'm not going to sit back and let you be alone on the pain." his eyes swirl with warmth. you can tell he's trying his best to comfort you.

"do you think.. we would ever meet back in my timeline?"

before viktor could answer, the door opens, revealing the golden boy himself.

"i got us some dinner!" his smile oblivious and bright, unware of the heavy air as his presence seems more bright than the setting sun.

you don't feel like you belong in plitover, but you know you belong with viktor and jayce at least.

[reccyls]

Would you be able to give us a review of azels route after you’re done?? With spoilers if possible

Thank you!!!

I've now finished both endings of Azel's route so here's my review of it + answering a few other questions that I've received about different aspects. This will have a lot of spoilers that will impact a blind experience of his route, so do bear that in mind

So briefly, some questions out of the way:

Who falls first, Azel or Emma? - I think Azel does, but it takes him a really long time to even begin considering love as a possibility given his prior experiences. Emma also takes a while to come to her own realization about what her feelings really are but she's much more decisive about it than Azel is once she does realize. This is definitely a slow burn route, you're going to be waiting until chapter ~20+ or so for things to really start coming together in the relationship department.

Which ending do I prefer? - Romantic for sure. It actually portrays a couple of things that were just implied/mentioned in the Dramatic, and has more callbacks to earlier moments in the route, namely: Azel's eldest brother who had been exiled, the true identity of one of Azel's attendants, Obsidian's involvement in Tanzanite, the significance of some mentioned side characters, how Azel actually faked his death. It also answers a bunch more questions like why Azel respects Silvio so much. I also think it has a more emotionally satisfying resolution to some other aspects of the story. Also it has some hilarious moments too. The emotional whiplash I got going from chapter 24 to 25 of the romantic was something (I mean this in a good way).

Which do I find more realistic? - Hmmm, well, both of them do go into quite fantastical territory. Azel can just visit people's dreams apparently and that's not really given an explanation. All in all I would have to go with Romantic I think, mostly because it relies less on the Acolyte's semi-hypnotic incense as a plot device.

How spicy is it? - Quite tame. No smut in the route itself (it's offscreen in dramatic route, and only kissing in romantic). There's the start of some smut in the epilogues for each route, but still not a lot, mostly just the foreplay is described.

Things I liked about Azel's route:

Azel's really cute. I love his dynamic with Emma. He's the most obvious kind of tsundere and it's so funny to see him backpedaling furiously after Emma catches him being nice to her or accidentally admitting he likes her or thinks she's cute. The pinching cheeks thing is adorable.

The side characters. The route's equivalent of Cyril/Cyran, Roderic, etc. There's one in particular that is so much fun but you have to play the romantic end to really get the most out of it: Kamal, Azel's eldest brother. He initially appears as one of Azel's attendants, posing as a mute woman because he had to hide his identity. He drops the disguise in the romantic end and gets to interact with a lot more characters--Emma, Silvio, Azel, and Enis--and it's so much fun. (As a note, Kamal is an okama/onee-san archetype character, so you could interpret him as nonbinary/bigender/genderfluid/a man who just likes crossdressing/etc as you like. The one thing I don't think he is is a trans woman because he never protests at being called Azel's brother, but hey, headcanons never hurt anyone!)

Emma and Silvio's friendship. This was so unexpected but they bounce off each other so well, it's really nice seeing them with each other.

Angst, I love angst. Chapter 24 of the romantic route was a masterclass of angst: it ends with Azel dying on a stage in front of pretty much all of Tanzanite, and the attire story is basically everyone in mourning as Emma has a flashback to the last night they spent together. We as the readers who have seen the ending CG previews and/or know that Cybird won't really go there know he isn't actually dead, but Emma doesn't.

The overall conflict and plot I think is quite predictable, but I don't mean that in a bad way. The hints that are dropped everywhere build up to a coherent whole and come together in a satisfying way. The value that Azel places on free will and the ability to think for oneself is very obviously leading to a plotline where Azel seeks to end Tanzanite's dependency on him and his prophecies, and the hints we get scattered around everywhere are leading to exactly how he intends to do that: there's been a bunch of fortune tellers who have been attacked because their fortunes go against Azel's proclamations (Azel has been deliberately telling false fortunes to break people's faith in god); Obsidian has been trying to smuggle in shipments of weapons to help destabilize Tanzanite (Azel uses a gun to help fake his death); Azel's room has books of all sorts scattered around everywhere including books on astronomy (the prophecy about Tanzanite losing its moon refers to a blood moon + eclipse, Azel has been studying from astronomy books to calculate the precise time to pull off his plan), etc. The foreshadowing works quite well imo, though some hints admittedly do come up quite late (like the existence and exact text of the doomsday prophecy only becoming known around chapter 18/19)

Things that could be iffy for people:

Azel's backstory and a lot about his situation is pretty blatantly sympathy bait, but I think that's par for the course with Ikepri. It worked really well for me but it may not work as well for other people.

If people didn't like Motonari calling the Ikesen MC a slave, this crops up a lot in Azel's route with him frequently calling Emma his slave/indentured servant due to the debt that he blackmails her into

As I mentioned a little bit above, there are some supernatural/magical elements that just remain unexplained and are never really brought up again. Azel's dreamwalking ability being one of them, and probably the most egregious. It doesn't really have plot importance as far as I recall, it's just there at the very beginning and the very end of the romantic route. Also aphrodisiacs are a thing (they happen once early on, and also at the very end of the dramatic route), but there's no dubcon because of that.

It makes sense in the context of the story, but the message may not sit right with other people: Emma's epiphany about true love is "to wish for the best for someone else, even if it hurts you" in the context of letting Azel go through with his plan of committing suicide for the sake of his country, vs the Acolyte/Azel's dad wanting to stop Azel from dying (so he could remain in control of Tanzanite's people by brainwashing them essentially). She had tried to convince him otherwise, or tried to think of ways to fake it, but in the end she relented when she realized that dying was what Azel really wanted to escape the caged existence that being Tanzanite's god put him in, and was he thought was the best path to get Tanzanite to stop relying on divination for everything and to start making their own future. We know that Azel never really did intend on dying for real, but in the moment, that is not really a great message to send.

I'm not great at separating my bias from how I perceive something, so I'm probably being very charitable towards Azel's route. But I really did like it! I think it's revived some of my interest in Ikepri because I really am curious about how Azel and Emma's relationship develops from now on (I'm going to die during this year's June bride/proposal event......)

[that-student-that-has-homework]

Moot Appreciation Post

I wanna appreciate my moots a bit:

Please, please, please take a look at their work and give them some love!

I’m gonna start with @birinboom Em, my dear sweet potato moot. She’s a really kind moot and will hear you out and support you in your endeavors! She also writes really sweet fics and has a penchant for sweetheart and silly/mischievous type characters…dunno much about Hashbrowns (Hoshina Kn8) but he seems silly and mischievous to me. Very warm like a baked sweet potato! Also has a way of describing nature that puts you there. Em you already know my favorite, and it’s coming up again: she has the ability to nail the vibes of one universe but apply it to different characters.

@philistiniphagottini Nagi is so very kind. It’s the firm kind of kind, the one that encourages establishing and maintaining boundaries. Also writes really sweet pieces and for chubby readers to boot! Embodies multiple characters and matches their vibes with her narration too! I have come across some neat prose reading her work, I cannot remember them off the top of my head. Which is concerning given I meant to borrow that… Anywho Nagi is considerate! Be kind to Nagi please! She has definitely taught me a lot by being herself.

@feral-artistry : in my head you’re objectively hot. Like a Thai spicy mango salad, sweet with a kick and it’s fun! I don’t think I thought to apply traditional painting techniques to digital painting until I saw you do it. The way she hears you out and gives out solid advice and interesting pieces of information. Generally an educational experience talking with you and I would recommend it to others here. Also: pretty art. Oh and your sense of humor might just align with mine because you’re effortlessly funny in some posts I’ve seen. Also you kicked one of the things I had only ever hoped to experience off my bucket list when you made art of Ace after reading my headcanons of him. Pure joy.

@captainportgasdace an absolute sweetheart. Seriously: like 80-90% fluff and sweetness. Deeply loving (her dedication to her blorbo and her sweet characterization of him speaks volumes) has absolutely brought me brainworms and joy on the dash. Also a patient listener and just so kind? Like...imagine a whole stranger tells you about something completely unrelated to you and you just wish them well? Tell them they deserve good things? Like...lovely. Just lovely.

(Yes my mutuals are all very kind sweethearts)

@silentgravesdontexist a well-meaning sweetheart through and through. Kinda feral not gonna lie, and the spice adds a nice variety. No, not spice like spicy work, more like a bit of a warm kick-her energy? Very energetic, it’s refreshing! Also I don’t think I’m going to be forgetting Cy and the Cap having one of my all time favorite reblog convos under my fic. The dopamine high was real. Absolute sweetie pie and she's goes out of her way to be kind to you.

@throwmethroughawindow : I remember sharing something with her about my reading preferences and her responses surprised me in a really good way. No judgement, just a lot of respect and consideration. I appreciate that. Also loving, and enthusiastic about it. The fun person screaming in the tags (as I've seen and had the privilege of experiencing)

@true-deru : haven’t been mutuals long, but definitely a lot of fun! There’s a decent amount of alignment in fandoms we’re interested in and is generally a sunny presence on the dash! Haven’t gotten to reading her stuff yet, but when I dooooo. Also a lot of the YuGiOh posts throw me back to my childhood and it just brings me this sense of: yay! other people like YuGiOh too!

Thank you all for listening to my rambles, struggles, and for providing me advice and being patient with me when I don't respond promptly.

[ekingston]

GUESS WHAT CLIFF'S FUCKERY ISN'T DONE AND YOUR WORK IS LIKELY STILL ON WORDSTREAM’S SERVERS.

On January 10th, I refreshed my search terms and discovered that my work had finally been delisted from WordStream’s Google and Bing search results. And because I’m an idiot, I assumed that meant the same was true for everyone. I was confident about that because I never contacted Weitzman about taking down my work specifically; I never filed any takedown requests—not with Weitzman personally, not with Cloudflare or GoDaddy or any of the options we had been exploring. I wanted to make extremely sure I remained part of Weitzman’s problem until he owned up to his mistake and deleted all of the stolen work. 

Today I realized that my work is, at least in the supercorp fandom, one of the few (only?) work(s) that has been fully delisted.

In my first post about WordStream’s theft, I included a screenshot of the first twenty works that came up when I searched 'Kara Danvers' on WordStream, including You & Me & Holiday Wine. Since January 10th, when I Google word-stream.com "ekingston", it no longer shows any results that direct to word-stream’s domain. But when I do the same for EVERY. SINGLE. OTHER. AUTHOR in that screenshot, their work still shows up in Google’s search results (with a redirect to WordStream’s main page). I included screenshots in the readmore at the end of this post: @lynnearlington, @jazzfordshire, @mycatismyeditor, @lostariels & @aspidities are among the authors whose work still shows up as hosted behind WordStream’s paywall.

To keep me from jumping to any more incorrect conclusions, I would really love your help.

Pretty please:

- Reblog this post;

- Use Google to search for word-stream “your AO3 author name” (with your correct AO3 handle, obviously). Please comment if: 1. a WordStream listing of your work is among the search results, OR if it was listed when you searched previously but it has now disappeared;  2. whether, before today, you submitted a takedown request against WordStream anywhere, in any way  3. whether your work was locked to members only on AO3 before WordStream’s theft came to light and  4. you have a WordStream member account, and can still access your work in full through the app;

- Please comment if you know of any way to verify that Weitzman is still keeping our works on WordStream’s servers, whether there’s any kind of record accessible of changes he’s made since we discovered the theft, and whether we will be able to tell when he does remove them definitively;

- Please comment if you can think of literally ANY other possible explanation for the fact that my work was delisted from both Bing and Google without me specifically asking for it when others’ work is still listed in Google’s search results, other than Cliff Weitzman hoping I would shut up as soon as it looked like my work was no longer involved.

Also, again, I can't emphasize enough how helpful it would be for all of you to help get this issue some attention outside of fandom. Don't ask me whether we should do something, don't make helpful suggestions in the reblogs, JUST DO IT! It’s starting to look like this whole shitshow will slide right off Cliff Weitzman’s slippery back, and I would so love it if his shameless copyright infringing money grab would have a noticeable impact on Weitzman’s credibility and Speechify’s image until Weitzman takes responsibility for his actions.

Hello! So sorry to bother, but have you had any updates on the Word-Stream/Speechify situation?

Just one: like I posted on Xitter and Bluesky last night, as of yesterday afternoon, the links to individual works as they were listed on WordStream are gone from both Google and Bing. Hurray, right? Surely we’re all sick of this whole debacle and there’s far more important things to worry about. If all is well that ends well, surely there’s no need to still be angry.

Well, I am. Here’s why:

When I checked on Wednesday, the links to my own work on WordStream were still listed. So rather than it taking a week after Cliff Weitzman first hid the fanwork from view, it took a little over a week from the moment he first promised privately that they would be deleted. Which, fine. Perhaps Cliff didn’t really know what he was talking about when he gave that timeframe. Or maybe he told a little white lie to create the impression that he always intended to do the right thing. It seems more likely to me, though, that Cliff still believed—even after the backlash he received—that he would get away with honoring only individual takedown requests. Or worse, that he needed just a little bit more time with the stolen material to figure out an alternative way to profit off it—preferably without us noticing, this time.

But who knows? I certainly don’t! All we can do is speculate, because publicly, Cliff Weitzman has remained completely silent on his copyright infringements. All we got was the initial justifications he and his sockpuppet accounts used in comments on the original Reddit and Tumblr posts. After those were so understandably ill-received, Cliff only ever communicated with a few individual authors who contacted him directly and repeatedly, blocking people who addressed the issue on Twitter and quietly distancing himself from WordStream by deleting a blog he’d posted to Speechify.com dated December 20th—where Cliff promoted WordStream’s platform specifically to fanfiction readers. (See my enormous timeline post for details and screenshots of said posts before they were taken down.)

And this is why I’m still angry: As long as Cliff Weitzman faces no real consequences for his actions, he won’t see a need to own up to his mistake; and as long as he’s able to delay taking responsibility, this isn’t over. This didn’t end well.

After all, wasn’t this the next-best scenario for Cliff, second only to him turning WordStream into a (for him) effortless, infinite money-making machine? He took something we provided for free and fed it to AI so he could more easily put it behind a paywall; we found out and protested; Cliff quietly erased all evidence of his crime; and we went—almost equally quietly—away.

I want to make sure you know that I continue to be genuinely amazed and intensely grateful for how quickly the news about WordStream’s copyright infringement was shared—and continues to be shared—throughout fandom, on tumblr in particular. If it hadn’t been for our collective outcry here and on Reddit, WordStream would very likely still be up in its original form, and Weitzman would be reaping the benefits (those subscription prices were steep) today.

But it’s been frustrating to see that, with the exception of mentions in articles on Substack and Fansplaining (the latter of which is a particularly awesome and thorough read on fandom’s decontextualization) and a Fanlore listing, our outrage never really spilled out beyond the safely insulated, out-of-the-way spaces that are tumblr, a handful of subreddits and bluesky. And I believe that—unfortunately—we are collectively responsible for that part, as well.

Most of us seemed content to only spread the word by circulating the same two posts on tumblr. (Have we all given up completely on every other social media platform? Am I the only remaining straggler?) And soon after Cliff Weitzman hid WordStream’s fanfiction category from view, our interest in the issue took a sharp dive even there. Are we genuinely deceived into believing the issue has been fully resolved? Do we truly fail to realize that Weitzman’s refusal to admit that what he did was wrong left the door wide open for the next greed-driven tech bro to wander through? Or is the true naivety in thinking that, as a community, we can keep this kind of attack on fandom from happening again? Has our disillusionment already gotten that bad?

However the situation spins out from here, Cliff’s actions will set a precedent. If we fail to show Cliff and his ilk that attempts to profit off fandom’s unpaid labor have consequences, their tech companies will keep trying until something eventually sticks. They might be a little smarter about it next time; obscure their sources a bit better, maybe leave the titles and the authors’ names off. Or maybe they’ll go a bolder route: maybe next time they cross the line they’ll do it boldly enough for IP holders to take notice and stop tolerating fanwork entirely.

Doesn’t that make you angry, too?

There’s this whole other mess of thoughts I would love to be able to untangle about how commercial influence is contributing to the steady erosion of fandom’s foundations, but I’m tired, and other people have said it all much more eloquently than I ever could. Seriously, go read that article on Fansplaining. Or listen to the podcast version of it. Better yet, as long as you’re wearing your noise-canceling headphones, go listen to a podfic of one of your favorite fandoms’ works, and enjoy the collaborative joy and creativity of the people who Cliff Weitzman refuses to believe exist. (In one of Speechify’s other blogs, Cliff claims there are only 272 podfics on AO3. Would you like to run that ChatGPT prompt again, Cliff?). Honestly, much like Cliff Weitzman’s infuriating denial of the fact that fandom fucking has this covered, thank you very much, there’s so. Many. More. Things for us to talk about. There’s the connotations of WordStream’s dubious ‘upload’ button, for instance, or the fact that the app scraped (and in some cases, allegedly, still lists) copyright-protected original fiction as well, or WordStream’s complete lack of contact information, which is illegal for an internationally operating app. And oh! Has anyone reported more thoroughly on Cliff’s app’s options to ‘simplify’ or ‘modernize’ uploaded works, or—my own very favorite abomination—to translate them into something Cliff calls ‘Gen-Z Language’? Much like his atrocious AI book covers, it would be hilarious, if it didn’t make steam come out of my ears.

Anyway, there it is. I highly recommend you do all of that. And then, if you aren’t familiar with it already, go do some research re: fair use and your rights as the copyright owner of your works. A good number of people commenting on this controversy expressed stunned surprise or fearful hesitation about claiming any sort of ownership of their fanfiction. The more informed we are about our rights, the more willing we will be to defend them.

Please don’t stop writing or sharing your work. If you can’t bring yourself to work on your WIPs today (trust me, I get it), post about this situation instead. Tweets, skeets, whateverthefucks—about WordStream’s theft, about how this reflects on Speechify’s already shady business practices, about how Cliff’s actions and justifications have personally affected you. You’re welcome to share or copy my posts on these platforms, but since Cliff already blocked me, I very much prefer you post your own. If you do, call Cliff Weitzman by his full name and tag or include both WordStream and Speechify to ensure Weitzman will recognize he has both a personal as well as a professional stake in handling the situation with integrity. Leave your concerns in reviews on the Speechify app. (We weren’t provided with a more appropriate place to put them, after all!) Consider calling for a Speechify boycott until Cliff accepts accountability for his actions.

Do avoid making exaggerated claims, and don’t call for physical retaliation against Cliff’s person or his property. We don’t want to give him or Speechify even the weakest of grounds to claim defamation or threats of violence. Focus on the facts: they’re incriminating enough by themselves. Show Cliff that we’re determined to keep bringing up his company’s wrongdoings in public spaces until he demonstrates that he understands why taking these freely shared fanworks and monetizing them was wrong, and takes steps to ensure it won’t happen again.

One last thing—and this is really more of a general reminder—please stop suggesting I handle this situation for you. People have come to me asking for action items. The resulting flashbacks to my days as an office assistant were extremely upsetting. In all seriousness, casting me as some sort of coordinator or driving force behind this backlash actively hurts the cause. Not only does it downplay fandom’s collective efforts, it also makes our message extremely vulnerable. It would be all too easy for Cliff to silence one singular source. Wikipedia will not maintain mentions of this controversy as long as it leads only to Easter Kingston’s attempt to summarize what happened as it was happening. You only know my name because I stumbled upon WordStream’s theft and decided to get my friends involved. I am not more knowledgeable, more skilled or more angrily invested in this issue than you are (or can, or should, be). I draw pictures and I write stories and I worry about the shift I’m seeing in fandom after having been on this ride for even a few pre-livejournal rounds.

I’m not going to stop doing any of those things. But I am going to allow myself to step away for a bit, make my wife dinner, and catch up on our shows.

I trust you’ve got it from here.

[laura1633]

just hear me out :

Charles and Max are together mostly very happy over years now but then there is a rumor that Charles celebrated his Monaco win with some other woman and then she got pregnant and it turns out this rumor is true so of course max is heartbroken, Charles totally lost and overwhelmed. They kind of figured it out between them but it was long nights of crying, screaming and miscommunication but the relationship survived and Charles own his mistake and even meet his daughter. She is a absolut sweetheart and got even max heart so everything is fine now isn’t it?

No it isn’t.

Even if Max absolutely adores her he is broken inside because they where trying about some years now but max can’t get pregnant. They had the talk about maybe just let it die down and focusing on the proposal (but it never came because the rumor startet). Max got nobody to talk about how he is feeling all his friend at the Grip or home already started they family.. and he doesn’t wanna brother Charles because he seems so overly happy with his daughter. At nights he laying awake not able to sleep, kind of oversteps with sports just to get his mind somewhere else and nobody seems to realizes it until his mom show up. They have a talk and max can finally talk about it just to come to the conclusion that maybe max need a break from all of this ?

Of course they come back together in the end but just wanted some realistic break up. 😂

Oh my Lestappen heart always struggles with the angst 🥺😂

That would be a huge ask for Max to forgive Charles cheating on him, and not even that but then finding out Charles now has a baby! Ahhh I don't know how they would move past that happening!!! This fictional version of Charles would have to put in a lifetime's worth of work I think to fix this!

This is why I always struggle writing angsty stuff or slow burn because I need them together hahahaha I know some people adore some angst though so would definitely eat up a Lestappen break up story (with a potential reunion after they have worked through things).

Love that Max does eventually open up and talk to his mum. You've definitely captured all the angst of a break up anon!! This would be a super emotional fic and definitely be a rollercoaster of emotions ❤️

[nightlyrequiem]

hiya requiem!!!!!

okay wait... im totally zooted rn so this mifht sound like wealy stupid.... but Valeria with writer!reader????!!! ^_^

like... reader is writing a dark novel... and they're like 'hey babe do you know how deep a knife needs to go before it hits a major artery and paralyzes sumone???' and val is like 'be rite back!!!' then an hour later she comes back home covered in a suspicious amount of red goo and shes like 'six inches. thats how deep' SHE CHEKCED!!!! AAAAAAAWWW!!!!!!! SO ROMANTIC RIGHT???!!!! (〃´▽`)

OKAAYYYY!!! soooh... it can be both hcs or a oneshot idm!!!! but i do want it to include either reader knowing vals occupatiom or they're just blissfully stupid clueless!!! 🥳🥳🥳

as always thank u foe ur time ans thanks soso much in advancies if u decide to write this!!! buhbye!!! :33

-🃏🌀⭐️

Hiya!! Omg I love this actually. Lowkey wish I had this IRL... but you're so right there's literally nothing more romantic then your wife stabbing a guy just so you can write about it accurately. True love right there. Just pretend you don't see the bloodstains and all will be good :3

Valeria x Author!Reader

You're working on your novel, and you're just stumped by the this one part. One of your characters gets stabbed but you want it to be accurate. But the internet is kind of useless. It either doesn't give you the information you're looking for, or it gives you that little hotline number.

But hey, your girlfriend was in the military and active combat!!! (Presuming you don't know what she does for a living.) So you ask her. Valeria loves you to pieces and also loves your writing. Of course she'll help you figure out how deep a knife has to go in order to paralyze someone. Just let her go ask some of her old war buddies, 'kay?

And by old war buddies, I mean victims. She already has an idea of where to hit in order to paralyze someone. Around the neck and spine. Each stab wound is measured meticulously and written down so she can bring them back to her precious partner. She finds the perfect reference for you. It was messy and a little hard to do, but stabbing someone under the ear in the neck where it begins to slope towards their shoulder. Roughly 3-4 inches down. The Common Carotid. (I googled it, so you probably could too, but for the sake of this let's pretend there's absolutely no information about it on the interwebs.)

Four corpses and three ruined shirts later, she's back with a sheet of references and even explains the process to you. Valeria is so kind as to even give you a physical demonstration. Not on a real person, she'd hate to frighten you. Though she didn't notice the splatter of blood on the bottom of her shirt. You did, and she had to find a valid reason as to why she had that. It's just jam, sweetheart, nothing to worry about.

Though things would be even easier if you knew about her current job. She'd probably let you sit in on interrogations to take notes or explain how certain mechanics work. It definitely wouldn't be practical or realistic because I'd imagine someone who runs a cartel would want to keep it under wraps. But anyway, she'd let you take notes and watch. If you're okay with it, she'd probably use a person for that physical demonstration.

Now your book has an accurate paralysis scene. Your readers praise you for your attention to detail and the realism. All thinks to your wonderful, murderous wife. Oh, those men that went missing were found with wounds similar to the ones in your book? What a coinky-dink!

[ghostofthepresent]

there are two instances of liu xiao breaking the fourth wall/getting special treatment that i remember: his PV, where he interacts with the viewer ("shh, the film is about to start") + "holds" his name, and the OP, where the credits got colored in red to spell out his name (also not 4th wall breaking but it's worth mentioning the "DON'T TRUST HIM" in morse code right behind him lol)

i've been seeing people guess that he's actually interacting with us in some way, maybe in relation to his power, but i've always doubted this opinion because link click doesn't seem the type of show to do actual 4th wall breaking. but it is true that these little things are intentional and suspicious, i just think we're missing the why.

however ☝️ everyone's been pointing out a lot of continuity errors in these past three episodes. from xia fei's elevator to even cheng xiaoshi's eyes to the background of the photo studio in ep 1, and more. and they all could be genuine mistakes, but it's also hard to believe a time travel show has This many continuity mistakes. many have also brought up that this feels like different timelines getting stitched together, and then my mind reminded me of All That about liu xiao and the 4th wall, and it made me wonder if it could be connected. i don't know how to word it, but maybe something about the yingdu chapter (as in what we see) being some kind of attempt at merging/fixing the timelines from liu xiao? or definitely something about his (true) superpower being a really huge kind of manipulation, so much so that even us - the viewers, are getting manipulated by the editing of the show itself

[purpledemonlilyposting]

Going off her streams Lily really seems to like Veilguard, what's your opinion on the game? (I'm sorry I never caught your gaming streams pls don't hit me)

It's... complicated. At the beginning of last year I was sure Dragon Age was dead for good when I heard Mary Kirby had been let go from the company. And I still have no faith in any future installments, especially with Sylvia Feketekuty now also leaving the company.

(For context: Kirby is the writer of Varric and was the lore keeper for Orlais and the Qunari. Feketekuty wrote Josephine, Emmrich, Hezenkoss and a good chunk of the Mourn Watch.)

So on the one hand I liked getting most of my lore answers from Veilguard and I really like the gameplay. I had a blast playing rogue especially (haven't quite warmed up to mage, might try warrior).

On the other hand... it's undeniable the writing is a downgrade. Which is unfortunate because that's typically the best part of these games and why the fans love them. And it was likely interference from "sensitivity reader" types or some of the team self-censoring for the same motive.

We finally see Tevinter, where slavery is infamously legal and a key part of their Roman Empire-like social and ruling structure, but we saw more of the horrors of slavery in past games than in Veilguard.

I played an elf and would have conversations with Davrin about how elves are discriminated against but I never once experienced it. Give me that conversation in Ostagar in DA:O where the quartermaster assumes I'm a servant because I'm an elf and I get to be really really Dalish at the ignorant shem. Or that conversation where you can make Leliana sweat with shem guilt as she tries to assure you some elven servants are REALLY well paid in Orlais like fr. Hell give me even Fenris rolling his eyes at being called a manservant in Mark of the Assassin.

They definitely sanded off rough edges in other places too. The Crows, or at least the Crows in Treviso, are suddenly not as ruthless and don't torture kids to turn the survivors into trained assassins. Other aspects like them being akin the to assassin's guild in Discworld and basically controlling large portions of the country were already there though.

And then just the dialog and character interaction. Yes I'm afraid to inform you everyone talks to each other like HR trained co-workers at a business convention in LA.

And then there's Taash. The true blight on the ass of this series. I dunno what the fuck happened there. I know Patrick Weekes started identifying as non-binary like 4 years ago but even "woke" brain worms couldn't make someone's writing take THAT much of a catastrophic nosedive. Especially since Solas' writing is still intact.

Someone else must have come in and gave it all a terrible rewrite, and you can kind of tell because there seems to be scenes missing from the plotline and a far superior child of an immigrant story peeking out from underneath.

So overall a very flawed game, disappointing in many ways, but it does have some flashes of brilliance in places and fantastic gameplay. I'm glad we at least got something after they left the franchise languishing for 10 years and cancelled the 4th installment twice despite Inquisition having Bioware's highest first two week sales ever.

[wilson-laineyd]

i'd never really looked at it like that but you're right. it's something to be proud of definitely, i just have a little bit of fear that all of these people think that i'm some super hero or a super human of some kind. i know it's not true but i feel like i'm just one of the most normal people anyone could ever meet. i put my britches on one pant leg at a time. i feed my dog basic dog food. y'know it's not like i'm out here living this wild awesome life. i feel like i could be considered what the kids call 'basic' like there is nothin' special about me. oh my GOD that is the best way to put it! i never want any of these kids to walk away from meetin' me & think that i don't live up to the hype. that's why i wanted to bring Bell Bottom Country to the world because that's me. that's who i am. i never feel like i have to pretend to be someone that i'm not. like, i would hate for these kids to think that i'm some superstar & come to find out that i'm just a down to earth girl. i never wanted to have to paint myself up to be someone i'm not 'cause once you do that you're stuck with it forever. in the public eye you can never be yourself. that was one thing that i was determined to make happen. that i wasn't going to be someone i wasn't just to get deals & what not. i was gonna be genuine. it's nice to know that i'm not alone in this thought though. that it does, or did happen to some of us. i feel less crazy now haha

You're doing well for yourself in a tough industry to take a shot at. Who wouldn't look up to that? I feel you, though. Just a kid from the Heights who got pretty good at tossing around a ball and having all this support and being recognized by people around the world is just nuts. Trips me out all the time. Can't say imposter syndrome is as much of a thing these days. It used to be when I started out, but you know when the work speaks for itself you start to feel like you belong. Takes time. Always think about that saying, "Never meet your idols." I keep that in mind 'cause I never want to any of these kids who look up to me to walk away feeling let down. We gotta deliver on the expectations, you know?

[cephalog0d]

Batkid Drabble - "Chocolate"

((Day 16 of @fluff-cember, some Reverse Robins for @dizaryswrites! Dick is 8, Steph is 17, Damian is 23))

“See, the trick is, if you’re reeeeeally careful you get the wrapper off but keep its shape,” Steph explained. Damian demonstrated, meticulously loosening the wrapper just enough to pop the coin out and hand it to Dick, who immediately stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.

“Then,” Steph continued around her own mouthful of chocolate, “you fit it all back together, pinch it a little et voilá!” She displayed a very intact-looking chocolate coin balanced delicately in her palm and Damian placed his neatly next to it. “Now you’re ready for mischief.”

Dick carefully picked up the decoys, grinning hugely.

((Crossposted to AO3))

[sciderman]

Sometimes i remember a comics moment i randomly came across somewhere, where Sam Wilson mentiones a musical and Steve Rodgers says he doesn't like musicals, to whitch Sam goes "Guess that means you really are straight" and even tho i don't care about Cap America or the Avengers, the moment stuck in me for that quote by Sam. And like....Sci, any ideas if straight men actually don't like musicals or is that bullshit?

actually i think i know more gay men who hate musicals than i know straight men who hate musicals. i've had a drag queen stop me point blank when i was about to sing a barbra streisand song, and i know so many gays who pointedly hate abba. so based on my experience i think the inverse is true. most of the straight men i know are kind of impartial about musicals, but gay men? hate.

my theory is that a lot of gay men don't want to fall into stereotypes, maybe. but thaaaaat's just a theory! a gay theory.

[sysig]

I’ve always assumed that gaster and the dreamers had a parental relationship, considering that he seemed pretty young (teenager) when they took him in, plus it’s kinda implied that gaster had a abusive or at least neglectful childhood so it makes sense that he would want to view asgore and torial as parental figures.What do you think?

Also sorry about pestering you about fell!Handplates but it’s such a fun au. But how do you think gaster first reacted when the dreamers started becoming cruel?

Yup! Generally speaking I view Gaster as having a mostly parental/filial relationship with the Dreemurrs, and that evolving into a (mostly) platonic family dynamic, though it is kind of complicated with Asgore being his King and boss and Toriel disappearing and them grieving her together - I think it brought them closer, and not necessarily in only healthy ways ♪

Haha, I don't really mind, but I can only give my own thoughts and opinions on it! Some of it is stuff I'd also like to know haha ♫

I kind of assumed they were Fell from the beginning, that the argument is that Monsters are just Like That, it's in their Nature, and Fellplates!Gaster is trying to find proof that Monsters are capable of change, that with the "correct" kind of Nurture, they don't have to act on their Fell impulses. As for when he was inspired to start looking for that, hmmm ♪

[brltpop]

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