#i just feel like we're selling ourselves short

[superioritea-complex]

new ballets russes

ngl if i ever ended up with a ridiculous amount of money i'd probably found a ballet company, i'd wanna do something new and interesting like the ballets russes did back in the early 20th century- minus Diaghilev being a strange and quite frankly gross individual- I feel like so much of ballet has gotten repetitive, in the sense that we've focused to much on perfection we've forgotten that we are a performing art form- so often we get hung up on body proportions and things like hyper extension and body shape that we end up losing the emotion of the dance completely. I've recently watched dying swan- the og version with anna pavlova and now i can't help but feel newer versions are overly santized, like the concern is to look beautiful and not the real tragedy that is happening on stage. I think it's not only a disservice to audience members but to dancers as well as we are robbing them of developing their creative expression. That and it would also help with the fact that many ballets are quite frankly dated- for example the bolshoi black face scandal for their production of la bayadere (this happened in 2019 btw).

I would love to see a new fantastical adaptation with elaborate costumes, choreography, sets, and music- (bring back camp!!). Plus there are so many myths and cultural things to chose from a ballet could be done on Sappho's life, or on La Maupin (if you don't know who she is PLEASE look her up- she's unhinged and my hero), or even take from more myths like eros and psyche, or apollo and hyacinth, or a full length version of orpheus (i know balanchine did a short version with music by Stravinsky but imagine an entire set for the underworld- like fully fleshed out costumes for hades and persephone- it's actually a shame how minimalist balanchine's sets and costumes are given the inspo (bc they weren't originally!!- look at old apollo costumes vs the more recent ones- like bro HOW did we get here???) or we could start adapting Dostoevskyballet and Kafka like we've been adapting Shakespear (METAMORPHASIS BALLET GUYS- I MEAN COME. ON.) and these are just the ones off the top of my head.

I think now would be a good time to reinvigorate the artform especially with increased interest due to the overall ballet core trend- it could be a great way to bring in more people not only as those who take classes but also as viewers. Also ballet company's have shitty marketing- ofc if you only push the nutcracker for the entire year then you're only going to get people to watch the nutcracker and your other repertoire is gonna flop. duh. By investing a bit in marketing instead of lining the artistic director's pockets (be so fr do u really need a second vacation home?) the company would be more successful overall-( more people to come in and see shows, more artistic outreach, more outreach means more tickets means more money so hopefully better conditions for the dancers, etc. etc.)

tldr. people only say ballet is boring bc y'all have made ballet boring, the lack of artistic expression, lack of new creative sets and costumes, elitism, racism, homophobia, etc. etc. etc. are what have made people less engaged with the art form over the years NOT the actual style of dance itself.

[aeide-thea]

like, okay, to walk my own talk and do a little fact-checking—here’s a review of hari’s book stolen focus by uk psychologist and academic stuart ritchie, with whom i strongly suspect i've got some political bones to pick, published on unherd, a platform with which i know i’ve got some political bones to pick (tl;dr transphobia ahoy!), but ritchie’s approach and analysis here seem pretty reasonable:

[T]he phenomenon Hari addresses — the feeling that, with so many distractions around in the modern, online-centric world, it’s harder than ever to focus — is one many of us experience. Hari says that he and almost everyone around him feels this way, and describes a several-months-long “digital detox”, where he went to live in a small town on Cape Cod with no smartphone and no internet.

But that’s all anecdotal: does Hari actually present any evidence that shortening attention spans is a society-wide problem? […] It’s not until more than halfway through the book, page 176, that Hari drops what should be a bombshell: “We don’t have any long-term studies tracking changes in people’s ability to focus over time.” In other words, he quietly admits that there isn’t really any strong scientific evidence for the main thesis of the book.

more specifics are under the cut, for anyone who doesn’t feel like giving unherd more traffic (i’m right there with you!), but i do want to highlight the conclusion of the article, which is cutting but seems essentially correct to me:

[T]his is a writer who’s shown himself again and again to be either untrustworthy, unoriginal, or uninformed. If he’s right to say that our moments of focus are becoming ever-more precious, isn’t it time we started paying attention to someone — anyone — else?

and the further pullquotes i promised above:

Most of the book is dedicated to the causes of our collective attentional problems. The first is, unoriginally, social media. Isn’t it very revealing, Hari writes, that there’s no button on Facebook that you can press to help you meet up with your friends in person? Facebook won’t, he says, “alert you to the physical proximity of somebody you might want to see in the real world”. Hari explains that the whole business model of social media precludes the encouragement of joys like looking your friends in the eye or giving them a hug, and instead is based on keeping you fixated on your screen, scrolling endlessly, never leaving the house.

Except Facebook does have exactly the feature that Hari claims doesn’t (and couldn’t) exist. It’s called “Nearby Friends”. It gives you a little map of where your friends are physically at that moment (if they have opted in). It’s been available since 2014. A two-second Google search would have enlightened Hari. Maybe he wrote that part of the book while he was in internet-free isolation.

[…]

[M]any of the other causes Hari identifies are rehashings of previous pop-science and pop-psychology books: we aren’t sleeping enough (Why We Sleep); kids don’t play outdoors any more (Free Range Kids and The Coddling of the American Mind); we don’t eat the right foods (a million diet books). Of course, it’s not a crime to write a book that doesn’t provide any new information. But Hari’s irritating, breathless style turns every single fact he “discovers” into a startling revelation, every single expert he speaks to into the absolute best in the world. Hari’s research — a series of interviews for a pop-psychology book — becomes an intense, globetrotting journey of personal discovery. His mind is so often blown that it’s little wonder it has such difficulty in paying attention.

It’s not just that Hari thinks he’s discovered earth-shaking new information. (As Dean Burnett wrote of Lost Connections, Hari “repeatedly presents well-known concepts and ideas … as fringe concepts that he’s discovered through his own efforts”.) He also thinks he’s a hard-nosed scientific truth-seeker. At the start of the book, he solemnly assures us that: “I studied social and political sciences at Cambridge University, where I got a rigorous training in how to read the studies these scientists publish [and] how to assess the evidence they put forward”.

What makes this risible isn’t just that he’s touting his undergraduate degree as if it makes him an expert (a fairly substantial proportion of the population also have one). It’s that Stolen Focus exhibits no talent for assessing evidence. A few times there’s a small concession to a flaw in a study, or to the fact that scientists disagree on a point — but Hari fails to add any of the necessary uncertainty to his argument. After a cursory mention of the “other side,” he usually just blunders on regardless, assuming his argument is right.

ALT

Your attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen by Johann Hari

[ordinaryschmuck]

David Zaslav is on the phone as he enters his office.

David: It's nothing personal, it's just business. But don't worry, once another buyer offers eighty million, you'll have your property back. Okay? Okay. Goodbye, Mom. Love you.

He hangs up and notices a package left on his desk.

David: Huh. That's peculiar.

He walks over and sees that it's addressed to him. With a shrug, he opens it up.

*WHACK*!

And gets hits in the face with a springy boxing glove.

***

A burlap sack is ripped off David's head. He looks around and sees he's in a form of a warehouse, with the only light being the shining above him. In the shadows, he hears a crunch of somekind.

???: Eh, *tsk-tsk* What's up, Doc?

Out from the shadows comes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and even Foghorn Leghorn. They do NOT look happy.

David: Who...Who ARE you? WHAT are you?

Sam: OOOOOOOOOOOH!

He pulls out his guns.

Sam: Now I KNOW y'all didn't just say that you--

Bugs waves a hand in front of Sam.

Bugs: It's okay, Sammy Boy. Can't blame da poor, dumb, foolish suckah. (To David) Do ya know who Mickey Mouse is, Doc?

David: Is...that who you are?

Daffy: Doeth he look like a MOUTHE, you buffoon?!

Bugs: Daf. (To David) Mickey's the mascot of Disney, YOUR competitor. Fer bettah or woise, he represents da company. And to dis day is the backbone dat made Disney what it is. As for me and my compatriots, dat's who WE are for Warner Brudders.

David: I-I'm the CEO of Warner Brothers DISCOVERY.

Foghorn: Which is, I say, which is the result of merging with WARNER BROTHERS, ya dumb pig! No offense, Pork.

Porky: N-N-No-No-No offense taken.

Bugs: (To David) Ya see, Doc, we're da Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, and Yosemite Sam. Ya see, while Walter was makin' the mouse dat would rule the world wid a goofy cartoon mouse that entertained the kiddies, we's was making some CLASS. Cartoons dat dee adults AND kids could appreciate, wid witty dialogue and cartoonish slapstick. Me and Daf, here? We made bank off a short where we discussed who got shot by Elmer Fudd, where da joke was ALWAYS Daffy getting hit.

Daffy: Took a lot of shotth to make that comedy gold. LIterally.

Bugs: And it worked. Wid a poifect simple premise dat people always remember, wid people going "Wabbit Season, Duck Season" to dis day. Dat's who we are, Doc...And ya messed it all up.

Sam: Ya messed with the WRONG pardners, Davie!

David: H-How? How did I mess with you?!

Bugs: Hey, don't feel too bad. Warner Brudders' have been messing wid us for years, but we always took it on the chin. Dey want us to do TWO basketball movies? Dey want us to get rid of Pepe Le Pew? Why not. He stunk anyway and we wanted him out for years. Dey want our iconic image for an animated sitcom? We did it. 'Cause we're da Looney Tunes. We can sell ANYTHING.

Porky: I-I-I actually l-l-li-lo-li-lo--Really enjoyed the sitcom.

Bugs: Okay, it can be argued dat da sitcom is criminally underrated, but dat's besides the point. What I'm getting at is dat we're willing ta sell anything just as long as we get some of dat green ourselves. But ya made a mistake, Doc. Ya see, you went after one of our own.

He makes a "come here" gesture, and both Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner come out from the shadows as well, with Road Runner comforting the Coyote.

Bugs: Pepe Le Pew is one thing. We understand that his sense of humor doesn't fit well wid dis day and age. But Wile? Oh brudder, why did ya have to mess wid him?

David: What did I do to him?!

Bugs: Coyote Vs. ACME. Ringin' any bells?

David: That...movie no one wants to buy?

Bugs: A movie ya overselled for a quick buck. A movie dat people worked night and day on. A movie written by James Gunn, yer golden boy who you have fixin' yer DC franchise.

Foghorn: Which is, I say, which is a whole DIFFERENT can a worms.

Bugs, ignoring him: A movie dat stars our very own Wile E. Coyote. A character who's toons and silly antics are timeless and, I'll admit, makes bank better than me. Wit no dialogue, just expressions and goofy signs, him and da Road Runner are characters where the possibility is limited by da power of imagination. And a movie where he sues ACME over their failed gadgets? Well, I'd watch that. Wouldn't you, boys?

The others all murmur in agreement.

David: Well, it might not make a profit--

Bug: Space Jam 2 made TWICE of what yer trying ta sell Wile's movie for. Ya would think that a man desperate to make money would release a film featuring their most iconic brand to get him MORE money. But, no, that's what a GOOD business man would do.

David: Please! I-It wasn't anything personal! I didn't even WATCH the movie!

The Tunes all stare at him.

Bugs: ...Ya didn't WATCH it?

David: N-No?

Bugs: You were willing to sell, shelve, and even DELETE a movie from existence because ya don't think it won't make a profit. Except ya nevah THOUGHT ta watch it yerself and make yer judgment?

David: ...Running a business is REALLY hard--

Bugs: You MAROON. You marooniest maroon that's ever marooned. I can't even comprehend how not only did you get yer job but how ya STILL have a job despite all da STOOPID decisions you've made in--How long has he been in charge?

Porky: A-A-A--Nearly t-two years, boss.

Bugs: TWO YEARS. Ya've been in charge for TWO YEARS and managed to cost da studio so much money that ya could compare it to da GREAT DEPRESSION! If Disney loses dat money, dey can make it back wid anothah Marvel movie or a live action remake of Moana! WE ain't Disney, Doc! We need every dime we get and we're losin' it because a YOU!

David: ...

Bugs: Honestly, we was initially thinkin' a beatin' the snot out a yous and leaking da movie to da public. But now? Woof. NOW I know yer as dumb as an animal. And an animal needs to be treated as an animal.

He pulls out a dog whistle and gives it a blow. Within seconds, a small, brown tornado bursts through a wall in the warehouse and zooms over to the group, stopping its spin to reveal The Tasmanian Devil.

Bugs: Have ya heard of the Tasmanian Devil, David? Who am I kidding, of COURSE ya haven't. Well, let's just say that he'd be happy to meet you.

Taz looks at David, licks his lips, and starts jumping for joy as he heads over to him.

David: No. No! NOOOOOOOOOOOO--

***

David stands before a press conference, clothes torn up and his body bandaged.

David: I am now announcing that I'm stepping down as CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery...And as my last act, I will release Coyote Vs. ACME to the public.

Reporter: And are you going to release Batgirl too?

David: Well, no, that movie's unreleasable--

A batarang lands in front of him.

David: ...Batgirl and Coyote Vs. ACME. Both coming soon...to a theater or streaming service near you.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Wasted 10

Warnings: drug dealing/use, violence, noncon, and the usual. Proceed with caution.

Feedback is always welcome. Love you and thanks for the wonderful responses so far.♥♥♥

The other girl in this one is from Black Light

Part of The Club AU

You stopped being surprised by men a long time ago. So it hardly fazes you when Bucky sends a picture of a tackily short red dress with the caption, 'make sure you show some ass for my guy'. You roll your eyes but find something suitably similar. A darker shade but just as short; just as demeaning.

You do your make-up and grab a light jacket and your purse. You have the address and upon Googling, you find it's for a rather upscale restaurant on the far side of the city. The area code well outside your bank account's depth. You can spare some of your cut for an uber.

Your vigilant as you sit silently in the back seat. As you approach the restaurant, you look up and down the street, and across it. You're not stupid. It feels like a set-up, more than just a date, but you see no other way to get this jerk off your back.

You step out and strut across the pavement. You pull out your phone and re-read the message; 'reservation under Rogers'. Great. You're really not feeling this.

You enter and greet the hostess curtly, giving her the name for the table, and waiting with your hands folding around your purse. She offers to take your coat and hand it over, happy to shed the extra layer. She leads you along the bar and towards the back of the place. You take in each face, perusing all the seats, searching for that slimeball. Bucky is nowhere to be seen. That's hardly a comfort.

As you approach a booth, a figure slides across the seat and your eyes fall to the slender man from the cafe. Steve. He runs his hand over his neatly combed blond hair as his cheeks glow red. You try to smile. You feel suddenly bad for him. You wonder if he even knows about the blackmail.

"You look gorgeous," he greets breathless, "er, I'm sorry, hi. I... let's sit."

You nod as he waves you towards the table. You glide over the seat as the hostess promises a server will be with you shortly to get you drinks. Steve sits and mousishly inches closer and closer as you grab the wine menu.

"Nice place," you remark as you look up at the light hanging above you.

"Yeah, I... I thought so," the nerves tremble in his voice chords, "you do look really nice."

"Thank you, Steve," you face him, "I love your tie."

He reaches to touch the bowtie at his neck, smiling broader, "really? Bucky-- I, my friend, made fun of it."

"Don't listen to your friend. Better yet, find better friends," you scoff.

"Yeah, uh, it's just... he's... I, let's not talk about him."

"Let's not," you agree and reach to still his hand as he fidgets, "Steve, chill. This is weird but not awful. Let's order some wine and try to enjoy ourselves."

"Okay," his voice peaks and he clears his throat, bringing it back down to baritone, "yeah, that sounds great."

He stares at you and a genuine smile breaks through. He seems genuinely awe-struck by you. It's flattering. Men leer and lurk and loom, but something about him is disarming in a very sweet way.

"Well, looks like we're onto the small talk," you chuckle, "so, I work at the transit commission. I sell bus tickets. It's not exciting. At all. And doesn't pay well. So, what do you do?"

He stares at you, marveling, eyes sparkling, like you just said something absolutely amazing. He stutters and combs his fingers through his hair again, a shank sticking up as he brings his hands down to grip his jacket lapels. He chews his lips and blows out a breath.

"I'm an artist," he admits as he lowers his chin, "it's not very exciting either. I do online commissions. Nothing revolutionary. Mostly portraits of dogs."

"That's adorable," you say as you reach over to smooth his hair out. He flinches and peeks up at you. He bring your hand down to your chin and tilt his head up, "I wish I was creative. At all. I'd love to see some of your art. I mean, if you'd like to share."

"Oh, um, as long as it doesn't bother you for my phone to be out at the table," he teethes his lip sheepishly. You shake your head and shrug. He reaches under his brown jacket and takes out his phone, "this one... well... I did a portrait of this cat. For a friend. Cat's a real jack-- meanie," he corrects himself, "but pretty."

He shows you a crosshatching of a white cat, dignified and defiant. You smile. Yes, you see the attitude. He's captured it so well.

"Wow, that's amazing," you lean in, "I have a friend, she's the same way. She just sees the world so different and I could never..."

"Everyone makes their own type of art. Maybe yours is people. You make them feel... safe," he suggests.

You laugh but quickly stop yourself, "yeah, maybe."

Before the silence can grow awkward, a server approaches. Steve seems shy even with her. He searches the wine menu rather cluelessly and you make a suggestion which he accepts. The server promises to return with the bottle and lean back into the seat. He's looking at you again.

"Can I show you something else?" He asks. You nod. He flips through his phone and turns it towards you, "I drew this that day at the cafe. After you left. So I'd remember your face." It's a drawing of you, you look radiant and not your usual skeptical self. "I didn't think I'd see you again.”

“Funny how things turn out,” you say, “so, I wanna know more about your art. Do you have like a super awesome project you want to do one day? Like the Sistine Chapel or Mona Lisa?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t compare myself but… yeah, I have a few ideas,” he seems to come alive as he takes your bait. It eases the mood and chips away at your own wariness. If you have to be here, you may as well try to enjoy it.

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie is working on some little bipedal turtle 3D models. He explained it was for a new game idea he had. The audience was kinda confused, because Donnie was already still working on his other games project. So they asked.

"Hmm? I see a good portion of the chat today are not part of that Discord. In short, the game is basically done. We're just going through a rigorous bug hunt, and one other issue before release." Donnie switches the screen to show a menu screen.

On the menu screen is three 3D anime style girls in typical poses, but then it glitches slightly so the girls eyes are now purple with some symbols in them, before going back. Also on the screen is a little dragon like stuffed animal that moves between the girls. The game title is 'Stream Restore!' in changing font so that it matches each girls aesthetic.

"For those you don't know this is Stream Restore, the game in question. I won't go into detail because I might spoil something. The main reason, other than bugs, that we haven't released it yet is mainly distribution. And maybe some localization issues. But most how do we distribute the game to others."

Donnie switches to a screen with a spreadsheet of pros and cons of different places that indie developers can sell their games from.

"Clears Throat. As you can see, we're going over the different, would the word be publishers?, sites that you buy the game from, you can see we even have a note of just distributing it ourselves from our store, but it's still a bit of a holdup." Donnie stops to take a drink from a cup that reads 'Spare Battery Juice'.

"Anywho, that is for a different day. What I want to focus on is seeing how well I can put together this new game. It's going to just be a little 'Cozy Game' thing. Though it's going to be based on our backstory. Let me bring up the-" Donnie pauses and turns to look slightly down at something.

"Hello. How may I help you, little lost one?" Donnie quickly mutes his mic before anything else can be heard.

The audience can see that Donnie is talking to someone, and even grabbing his phone to call someone. But they're going a bit nuts with wondering what is going on.

Then Donnie, without un muting, switches the screen to show a game environment that resembles a defunct underground train station with fairt lights strung all over. He then starts to add and move around little pieces of furniture. Then adding one of the little turtle models and had it walking around the environment.

For the next few minutes Donnie is moving things around and changing colors, and switch out the turtle with a salamander, and then started to dress up the model.

He pauses again, and looks up towards someone likely Raph and talks with them shortly before they left, and Donnie un mutes his mic.

"Sorry about that. Red is watching Stars sibling again, and they keep wandering off during games. And apparently they like the studio because of the random stuff we leave sitting around here." Donnie pauses to look behind himself at the studio, "We should clean up a bit in here, some of this stuff is a potential tripping hazard... but that is for later. Now let me actually explain what I was just doing while entertaining my potential younger brother-in-law."

The next bit of the stream is just that. Going over various ideas for this little game, and possible plans. All while purposefully ignoring those who want to know more about the 'brother-in-law' comment.

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

Masterpost

I feel like I'm just gonna start having Donnie talk about game ideas I have, but no idea how to make them, or if they're possible.

[stop-the-play]

> (Explore) But what if we aren't? What if it's impossible to do... whatever it is I'm supposed to do? What if I never get the chance to figure out whatever's in there?

VOICE OF THE HERO: Hey, hey, deep breaths. This is a huge deal, I know. It's scary, I know. But panicking is not going to help matters.

VOICE OF THE HERO: We were chosen for this for a reason. We wouldn't have been sent here if whoever did the sending wasn't confident that we could get the job done.

VOICE OF THE HERO: As long as you go in there and act... decisively, everything is going to be fine.

VOICE OF THE MEEK: I'm not about to say it's a guarantee we're going to be fine, but... he's right. About the panicking and also that this is terrifying, not... the other part.

VOICE OF THE MEEK: We won't know whether we're perfectly capable of doing our job or flinging ourselves into the jaws of death or completely unable to even assess the situation until we're there. Everything before then is just speculation. You can't sell yourself this short already.

VOICE OF THE MEEK: And, I mean, if we do find ourselves in over our heads... we can always turn tail and run.

VOICE OF THE HERO: We shouldn't, though. That'd mean leaving the world to ruin.

VOICE OF THE MEEK: But we can!

Choices:

(Explore) Doesn't this feel really suspicious to you?

I'm sure you're right. Let's see what's in this cabin. [Continue to the cabin]

Hey, thanks for talking with me. I feel a lot better now. [Continue to the cabin]

I still don't like this, but I'm willing to take a look and decide what to do from there. [Continue to the cabin]

[Silently continue to the cabin]

Mm, nope. I'm not doing this. [Turn around and leave]

[dixie78]

replying to a blog entitled An Average Australian Woman's Perspective on Australia's Inadequate Unemployment Payments

Hey folks, just chiming in here as another Aussie trying to make ends meet in this wild job market! 🇦🇺 And let me tell ya, it's not just us sheilas feeling the pinch – it's blokes too, and heck, all Aussies in general!

I reckon we're all out here hustlin' and bustlin', trying to snag ourselves a decent gig to pay the bills. But gosh darn it, sometimes it feels like we're swimmin' against the current with a ton of bricks tied to our ankles! 💼

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for puttin' in the hard yards and makin' me job applications shine like a beacon in the night. But crikey, is it just me or is writin' about meself the hardest thing since tryin' to wrangle a kangaroo into a pair of board shorts? 🦘

I mean, who knew it'd be so flamin' difficult to sell yourself like a used car on Gumtree? 🚗 But hey, we're Aussies – we're resilient, we're resourceful, and we're not afraid to have a laugh along the way!

So here's to all of us, battlin' it out in the trenches of the job market, tryin' to make ends meet and maybe even have a bit of fun while we're at it. 'Cause let's face it, laughter's the best medicine – that and a steady paycheck! 💸

Keep on keepin' on, mates. We'll crack this nut together! 🥜 #Straya #JobHuntersUnite #AussieSpirit

[the-owlbear-outpost]

Corporate Greed Is Trying To Crush The D&D Community

Alright Tumblr, listen up! The Dungeons & Dragons community is in grave danger right now and we need your help to defend ourselves!

It's no secret that for a good few years now, we've been living in a new golden age for Dungeons & Dragons. The game is more popular now than it's ever been before. It has a thriving community of homebrewers and content creators, and is even supported by third party publishers outside of Wizards of the Coast. It feels like every day someone in this community is creating something amazing.

And Wizards of the Coast, in a display of corporate greed that would make the Abyss itself blush with envy, is planning to take our awesome community and drive a stake through its heart.

They're doing this by changing (or more accurately eviscerating) the Open Game License, which the community depends on to publish homebrew content. Quick FAQ to bring you guys up to speed:

What is the Open Game License?

The Open Game License (or OGL) is the public license issued by Wizards of the Coast, that lays out the rules for publishing third-party content for D&D.

Basically, it allows us make and even sell our own content for the game without running afoul of copyright law. This is something we normally couldn't do with the copyright system being the way it is, but the OGL is designed to skirt around those thorny issues. In exchange for following the OGL's (very reasonable and permissive) rules, we're protected from any copyright demons the lawyers send our way.

And so the fandom gets to create its homebrew stuff without interference, while the actual publishers of the game itself get to maintain the copyright on it. A win-win... or so it was.

What's happening to the Open Game Licence?

Right now Wizards of the Coast is cooking a new version of the OGL, one that drastically alters the terms of the deal. The terms of the new OGL were leaked yesterday by a journalist from Gizmodo (the article is linked at the top of the post), who was tipped off by someone inside the company. And every change they're planning to make is a terrible one. Some highlights:

-There are much heavier restrictions on the content we're allowed to publish, and it's unknown how those restrictions will be enforced.

-If we want to publish anything under the new OGL, we have to register with Wizards of the Coast, give them personal information, report our income and potentially give them royalties if our income is too high for their liking.

-Wizards of the Coast retains all rights to our creations, and may use them however they see fit without our consent.

-Previous versions of the Open Game License are rendered void, forcing us to use the new predatory version if we want to publish anything new.

-Wizards of the Coast can change the terms of the new OGL at anytime, unilaterally, with only 30 days notice.

Who does this effect?

In short: just about everyone. Homebrewers, publishers, dicemakers, virtual tabletop software developers, actual play podcasters. I can't say for sure because I'm not a copyright lawyer, but if you create something related to this game and make money off of it, chances are high that you're going to be bound by some or all of these terms.

But that's not all. This can also impact games outside of D&D. Many of their competitors (like Pathfinder) use a modified version of the d20 system, which was up to this point protected by all previous versions of the OGL. The terms of the new OGL aren't just designed to exert control over their own community, but also demand royalties from their competitors.

The last time something like this happened (the dark, dark days of 4th Edition), the community survived by jumping ship to Pathfinder. Evidently they're taking steps to stop that from happening this time.

What can we do about it?

And here we reach the all-important question. Learning about the problem is the first and easiest step, but what we can we do stop it? This is where I can finally give you guys some good news: we can stop this from happening, if we band together and act quickly!

The new license hasn't been released yet, and depending on how big of a stink we make over the next few weeks, it may never be released. Wizards of the Coast is walking on shaky ground here... not just ethically, but also legally and financially. And in kicking the hornet's nest like this, they may have overreached.

So first thing's first: Make a big stink about this. Spread this news over social media, and let it be known that you're willing to stop buying Wizards of the Coast products if this goes through. Despite D&D's newfound popularity, tabletop gaming is still relatively niche. They lack the mass market appeal that's necessary to survive a sustained boycott.

If the new license is released, support third-party creators however you can, and don't touch the new license with a ten-foot poll. WotC is trying to revoke the previous OGLs, but there's good reason to believe they can't actually do that; those things were explicity designed to be irrevocable, and there's a really good chance this whole power grab crashes and burns in the courtroom. So stall for time. Avoid publishing anything under the new license for as long as you feasibly can.

This new "Open" Game License has the potential to devastate the tabletop gaming space. Don't allow it to happen without a fight. Please spread the word!

[two-sides-halved]

Jail Break | @blackstardiopside

The sound of a melody lingering in the darkness, a voice unfamiliar to the young fusion before he woke with a start. He looked around the room he was now in. He groaned as he got to his feet, feeling the pulsing pain in his right eye from the blackeye that he was given from being headbutt by Jasper. He looked around seeing that he was in a cold, green cell. There was no toilet, no sink, no bed…. it seemed more barbaric than any cartoon jail that either of the Stevens had ever witnessed, but of course, this was a jail made for a Gem… they don't eat, they don't need to go to the bathroom, they don't need to sleep. "Where are we?" He had muttered to himself, themselves. He was still sort of new to the whole fusion thing, and this was the first time since he's seen action was being eaten by a corrupted fusion of gems that he had deemed a giant bird.

As the fusions pink colored eyes with their differently shaped and colored pupils, a white star in his semi swollen right eye and a black diamond in his left. They scanned around the room for more information of their settings, their eyes landed on the piss yellow colored forcefield keeping them contained in this jail cell. A subtle air of hopelessness filled the air. His eyes squinted as the fusion had thought.

"Wait, this holding sell was built to hold gems… that's why Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl haven't come to bust us out… so that means it's up to us." The pupils of their eyes changed to white as the fusion following Human's logic pushed their finger tips against the barrier, he jolted backward the pupils turning black. "Ah!! That feels weird… I don't like it…"

"Just like I thought, it was made to keep a gem contained… but we're not just a gem… just bare with me… I think we can get through this just… let's push it a little further ok? Ok…" The fusion took a deep breath, their pupils turned turned to their respective colors of white star in their right eye and a black diamond in their left, as the fusion pushed through the forcefield with some resistance. The yellow destabilization field started trailing up their arm lighting up just beneath the skin in the pattern of something similar to a circuit board. "Ewww… Cool!" The fusion replied with a tone of discomfort before shifting to a tone of interest, then pushed through the barrier fully, a shiver trailed down their shared spine, frizzing out their fluffy dual toned hair.

"Uh… hello… are you ok?" The fusion asked, startling the gem in the cell. The gem in question was a Ruby... not that the fusion would know that. She had long red fluffy hair that went down to just below her shoulders. She had a dark red pair of shoulder pads, a matching belt and thigh high boots. She had a maroon vest with matching shorts with a sort of pinkish or really light red v neck type shirt underneath where the points of the v had met where her gemstone was. The gemstone in question looked almost familiar to the fusion cause it sported a 5 facets with a square at the center and was the same placement as Garnet's own.

"We're out… Wooo!" Steven Squared pumped their fist as if they scored a goal, before shaking his head reminding themselves they need to get back on task. "Gotta find the gems." He headed down the hallway, almost passing another gem before it sounded like she was going through literal torture despite her just being alone in the cell.

"Is that another gem? She looks frustrated…"

"Steven, we don't know this gem… we need to find Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl…"

"Yea but she could help us find the others."

"Or she could be dangerous like the other homeworld gems… do you really wanna risk that?"

"Steven, she needs our help… I'm sure if we show a little kindness we'll get home sooner than us having to deal with this ourselves… please just trust me on this."

"Fine."

She slammed her fist into the wall beside her. The fusion stood back on guard from the sound, checking the hallways wanting to make sure that Jasper or Peridot wouldn't find them.

"Great, this is just perfect!" The red gem said aggravated, raking her fingers through her long fluffy red hair.

The fusions left eye twitched a bit, indicating that Gem Steven was getting irritated with the confusing mixed signals, while Human Steven was focused on the gem wanting to help in any way they could. The gem then paused turning to look at Steven Squared. "Wait… how did you get out of the forcefields?" She asked seemingly more confused than frustrated at this point.

"Do you need any help?" The fusion asked.

"No!! I mean… ugh… don't look at me, just go away." The other huffed with an irritated grumble, turning away from the fusion.

"Oh… well, I just sort of walked through it like this." He replied, demonstrating by pushing his hand through. The gem behind the barrier went to warn them but seeing as they could just pass through confused her even more. She attempted to do the same and yelped as the barrier had made her form glitch out. "What's going on here?"

Before the fusion could answer the question about how he was half human, the melody from before could be heard once more. The pupils on the fusion turned from their black and white colors respectively turned to completely black pupils in both eyes as his tone of voice seemed confused. "Is someone singing?"

"Sapphire." The red gem replied.

Steven Squared holding the forcefield open, breathing heavily as the weird feeling and the tingling spread showing more of these circuitry lines under neath his skin. His voice sounding like he was talking into a fan. "And we'll do this together." She slide out form underneath the arch that Steven had created and already started running down the hallway.

"Sapphire... is she your friend? We- er I'm looking for my friends too.... well they are more of my family, but either way..."

"Let me outta here, please! I need to find Sapphire!" The gem spoke with desperation in her voice, almost to the point where she was pulling at her hair again. "She's all alone, I need to find her!"

"Right. We'll find our friends." He replied holding the forcefield open.

Steven Squared followed the hyper focused red gem, "Hey. My name's Steven... what's yours?" He asked attempting to get some sort of name to go with their face, only to be met with a harsh. "Quiet..." She held her head again, before muttering about being unable to see. Steven Squared seemed confused since the gem could clearly see him before, was the panic over this Sapphire causing her some sort of blindness. He paused, before the unnamed red gem headed down the corridor, while Steven Squared did his best to keep up.

Eventually coming across another gem. The outline of the dress excited the red gem before her expression soured seeing that it was Lapis. "Oh... it's just you..." She racked her fingers through her hair as she passed around. Steven Squared looked at Lapis through the piss yellow barrier that shielded the colors from him other then the various shades of yellow that the force field had tinted her gems light formed body. "Lapis?"

"How many other gems are trapped here?"

"Don't know, don't care." Before she skidded to a stop, in front of the window. Steven Squared pausing to admire the beauty of out space despite the current situation they were in. Before his attention was brought back from the pretty look of the Earth viewed from the Homeworld ship they were on, hearing the red gem note that Sapphire had stopped singing, and ran down the hall way again.

The fusion was so glad to see a familiar face but seeing her new form implied to them that she was hurt when she had left to return to homeworld. Gem Steven's thoughts swirling into a frenzy.

"This bitch."

"Steven, be nice."

"Steven, be serious here... how the hell would the other gems know where we lived? Homeworld hadn't bothered Earth for thousands of years then suddenly this bitch heads home and we have gems knocking at our front door like the FBI... she told homeworld where we lived... I mean look at her."

"Yea, she looks like she was hurt badly like Pearl was when I was first learning how to sword fight."

"Or, she was just given a fancy new set of clothing and status and this is just a fucken front to make us sympathize with the enemy!"

"Steven! She was trapped in a mirror for thousands of years."

"Yea, and you ever think to why she'd be trapped in a mirror if it weren't for being a double crossing backstabbing two sided bitch? Even she told the gems off for not knowing who she was like they had a clue in the first place... bitch."

"Steven, she was upset for being trapped for thousands of years... look at her... she looks so scared and lost."

"Yea, she's so lost and scared, and she totally knows who I am in every way, shape and form, because I'm totally a liar and she knows me better than I know myself... oh wait she doesn't know jackshit about me and then claimed that I wasn't who I said I was... then went back to the same people who put her into the fucking mirror in the first place. I don't trust her."

"Steven, I know that you and her got off on the wrong foot, but clearly she needs our help... please."

"UGH, fine, we will offer our help... if she does anything to piss me off I say we bounce... I'm not gonna waste my time to help someone who doesn't appreciate the help I've already given her."

"Steven, you healed her gem because you thought she was a tool..."

"Well, maybe she should have told Pearl in the 1000s of fucking years that she was in a mirror that she was actually a gem who was nice and trapped in a bad situation, but nah, fuck that idea, I guess."

"Steven, be nice... you don't know how it was to actually be in the mirror and forced to work all the time... maybe she never thought to ask for help because she didn't think it was an option to ask for help."

"Bull fucking shit, how the fuck are you able to capture and replay moments you've witnessed while in a mirror during a fucking war yet never witnessed someone yelling for back up or that they're trapped?? Cause she was talking to you but she was using moments she had watched and she replayed them in all sorts of orders to create cohesive sentences when she was talking with you, so I don't wanna hear that 'oh maybe she never thought to ask for help.' You are the perfect kind of person to be manipulated because you are so wonderful and kind and trusting and she's a bitch, who played you like a fucking fiddle."

Gem Steven's rage made the fusions left fist clench into a ball, wanting to punch this gem in the face for calling them disgusting. It was one thing for her to be upset about being trapped, he could understand being falsely accursed for crimes that he didn't commit since not even half an hour ago, he was confronted with Jasper calling him by his mothers name... hell, he even recalled Lars telling them off about how their 'weird' mom had ruined his chances with the cool kids, because NO ONE IN THAT GROUP HAD THE COMMON SENSE TO STAY OUT OF A TAPED OFF AREA THAT SAID "KEEP OUT" ALL OVER IT.

The fusion rolled their eyes before the pupils went from black to white as he went to talk to Lapis. Lapis seemed joyed to hear the familiar voice, until she turned around and saw the two of them fused together. It was already unheard of for two gems to fuse of different rankings to fuse, but a gem and a human, it was even more disgusting than two gems fusing. The look of disgust clear on her face, shot a small pang through the fusion's chest.

"Lapis... I can get you free." The fusion had stated despite Lapis' clear disgust in seeing them.

"Stop!"

"It's ok, Lapis, the barrier doesn't hurt me..."

"No, I don't want your help! Things were bad enough on Homeworld." She held herself. "I've already made too much trouble."

"See I told you she ratted us out."

"Steven, shhh."

"Once we get to homeworld, they are gonna decide what they are going to do with us... and it'd be best if you got out of that disgusting form you're using." Lapis remarked.

But this was not just some jerky teenager, or some dumbass from Steven's school, or a battle hardened gem who didn't know or bother to learn his name... this was someone his brother cared about openly calling them disgusting for just showcasing their close bond as brothers. It made his cheeks burn red with rage, but Human Steven's calming presence and gentle touch on his arm caused the fusion to mimic the motions of trying to hold back his arm from raising a hand against another person.

"Lapis... do you really wanna stay trapped in this prison instead of letting me help?"

"UGH, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS." Ruby yelled in the middle of their conversation as she sped off. The fusion turned, Gem Steven shared the sentiment but Human Steven was determined to convince Lapis. He was her beach summer fun buddy after all.

"Steven... or whatever you call this thing, I don't know what you're trying to do, just stop. If we do everything they say they might go easy on us."

His pupils went from both being white to having the usual white and black with his left eye twitching from the sheer irritation that this gem is putting him through. "But they're mean... they hurt my friends, they hurt my face... they put you in a jail cell... and you're just gonna sit there and take it?? Because they might go easy on us??"

"That's why we can't fight them."

Steven Squared's eyes shifting colors to having black pupils again, the rage evident in his voice.

"That's why we should! This is not the kinda thing that my mom had stood for, she stood against the tyranny of homeworld, that's why this big war was fought for Earth and you're telling me to forget all that my mom fought for and to sit back and just let it happen?!"

Steven Squared looking Lapis in the eyes with his pure black pupils, while his right arm holds his left arm back, before it relaxes as he turns away so only the black diamond eye is looking back.

"Ugh, I don't expect you to understand a thing, you're just some freak. If you really valued your brother like you claim, you'd stop this nonsense and just go back to your cell and just let them decide what's best."

Steven Squared clenched his teeth shut, Gem Steven was this close to fighting this so called scared, lost, defenseless gem while she was in her cell, but Human Steven held him back.

"Steven, we don't have to keep trying to convince her... we should find the gems... we can try and help her later."

"No... I told you already that I am not going to waste my time with anyone who doesn't appreciate my help... if she'd rather have Homeworld punish her for crimes she didn't do, so be it."

"Steven..."

"No, don't 'steven' me with that tone of voice... er... internal echoey voice thing... I told you we'd offer she told us to fuck off, end of discussion... Like the other gem, we don't have time for this. We need to get the gems, and get back home."

"Fine.. you don't want our help.. enjoy your punishment while we get off this ship and leave you here since you clearly made your bed, I'll let you lie in it." Lapis held herself, and the fusion went to go find where the red gem had rushed off too.

Eventually, heading down just the right hallway with a branching hallway that the fusion hid in. As Peridot and Jasper had walked by. "We can't leave yet! The whole point of this mission was to check on the cluster!"

Jasper huffed irritated before slamming her fist on the wall by one of the sealed up cells. "STOP SINGING!"

"Go to Earth, they said... it'll be easy, they said." Peridot walking down the hallway not seeing the short fusion in the hallway adjacent before heading out as soon as the coast was clear, then walked to the gem who was in her cell, and singing again.

Peridot shrunk down a bit at the noise, before Jasper turned, "Rose Quartz take's priority." Peridot looked a bit irritated, as Jasper continued. "Go back to the bridge and set a course for Homeworld."

Peridot lingering behind before Jasper walks away.

"Thank you, Steven." She replied ducking under the others self made archway. The Sapphire in question was about Steven's height. She had a light blue short bob cut with an almost off white bluish tiara accessory, with a strapless dress that had a heart shaped top with blue shall that went over the darker blue dress that covered her legs, and she sported a pair of nearly full arm length gloves.

"Hey... I like your song." The fusion smiled, "You must be Sapphire... the other one said that was your voice."

"You escaped?"

He pushed through the barrier, letting her through the forcefield.

"Of course..." Much like before the fusion sounded like they were talking into a fan as the ushered her out the opening they made. "Come on it's safe."

Steven Squared paused, confused on how the other already knew his name, but before he was given time to respond with a thanks or ask how she knew his name. They heard the gem from before yell out Sapphire's name, and without so much as another word, the blue gem, held the fusion's hand and zoomed down the hall before they were at the other end of the hallway.

The two gems start smooching and hold each other close, Ruby scooping up Sapphire into her arms, and spinning around with the other as they giggled. Steven Squared paused, questioning if he should be watching this but couldn't look move to look away or cover his eyes, only to be met with the sight of the two of their forms merging into one another, revealing Garnet.

"Ruby!" She let go of Steven as the other two embarrassed each other.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No, no, I'm ok... Did they hurt you?"

"Who cares?"

"I do!"

"Garnet, you're a fusion?!"

"So are you!" She smiled and held his cheeks.

"We are??" He looked down at himself. "Oh right, I am... so uhh... did we make a good first impression?"

"Aww, Steven, we already love every part of you rather you're together or not." She holds the other close in a hug. Thought it was short lived with Jasper let out a bloodcurdling scream wondering where she was.

Steven Squared nodded, and headed out of the room that would be home to Garnet and Jasper's fight, eventually finding Amethyst and Pearl, freeing them, then heading to the control bridge catching Peridot off guard, she attempted to use a destabilizer on Steven Squared, but he held it despite the weird tingling it had given him, he snapped it in two, while Amethyst tied her up in a whip, while Pearl took over the controls. Steven Squared watching on the screen seeing Garnet and Jasper fighting, while Peridot then used the escape pod to leave and she was flung somewhere into the great North.

"It's Jasper. You need to find the others and get to the control bridge."

"We don't know where they are."

Garnet smiled and give them a kiss on the forehead passing their future vision to him briefly. "Haha, fusion vision... wait are you gonna be able to take her on all alone?"

"Don't worry Steven... I'm never alone." She replied with a wink.

Human Steven had a pang of worry about Lapis, and debated with his brother while still in the fusion on rather or not they could go back for her, only for Garnet to return and tell them that the ship was going to crash and to brace for impact.

"What about Lapis?!" Human Steven's worry evident in the fusion's voice. "There's no time!" Garnet replied. Before she huddled everyone into the corner as the ship had finally crashed into the side of the temple, making a massive explosion, spreading shrapnel everywhere.

It was calm only briefly until Jasper had crawled out of the debris of the destroyed handship. She huffed and puffed. It was surprising she didn't poof with the amount of energy she was hit with when she was knocked into the the ship's power source. She snarled upset, "Don't think you've won, you only beat me because you're a fusion...if I had someone to fuse with I'd.--" Jasper was interrupted mid sentence by Lapis pushing off other shrapnel. She huffed, seeing Jasper coming she tried to fly away only to but pulled back by Jasper.

Lion eventually seeing the explosion from where he was taking a nap, then went to go find the crystal gems, smelling out for the sent of Gem Steven's gemstone, eventually finding them. Lion had freed them from the rubble with a powerful destructive roar, then the bubble that the fusion of Stevens had created to keep them safe, had dropped the three of them giving him props for his quick thinking and faster actions.

"hey buddy." Steven Squared replied as Lion joined in on the cuddle pile, before Steven Squared gasped. "I can't believe you're a fusion all the time!"

"You met Ruby and Sapphire?"

"Oh no.... we were going to introduce you... Garnet, your plan."

"We were waiting for your birthday."

"We can still do it... we'll just pretend we didn't know. Honestly I kinda forgot that I was even a fusion myself... but something feels kinda right about being like this... kinda comforting." He replied, as they got up.

Jasper holding her by the wrist. "Aw, don't fly off so soon."

"Lapis!" Human Steven's worry for Lapis being justified in the moment when she was being held by the very same gem who hurt Garnet, who hurt him, who ruined his future birthday surprise, the gems as well as his own left arm had to hold the fusion back from trying to run to intercept Jasper and Lapis' interaction as Jasper continued to talk to Lapis.

"Lapis, listen, fuse with me."

"What??"

"How long did they keep you trapped her on this miserable hunk of rock?" She dropped her to where she landed on her knees on the dirty ground. "These gems... they are traitors to their homeworld. They kept you prisoner, they used you, this is your chance to take revenge!"

Lapis looked over at the gems, her gaze solely on Steven Squared, seeing the white pupils looking at her, begging, pleading silently with her. "Come on... just say yes."

"Lapis, don't do it. Please..." He was being held back by the gems, by his own left arm, but Human Steven's personality shining through, while Gem Steven's nagging thoughts were put on the back burner, as he held his tongue hoping hoping maybe Lapis could see the right decsion.

Lapis look shifted into anger, how dare this abomination order her around. Then she turned to Jasper and held out her hand, in which Jasper took it. they danced. "Lapis No!"

Their gems glowing before the two of them fused into a massive fusion sporting 6 arms, featuring traits from both the Lapis Lazuli and the Jasper, before the fusion laughed raising the ocean to form some sort of shaky wave before the fusion itself was surprised by the water taking form of ice chains. It was clear that Lapis was was in control of that moment, Jasper trying to separate the fusion but the ice chains held them together the fusion in Lapis' voice telling them, "I'm sick and tired of everyone always using me for some sort of gain... I was their prisoner, I was your prisoner, and now your my prisoner and we're staying on this miserable planet, TOGETHER." Then they were dragged out of sight by the Earth's ocean that Lapis had control over.

Steven Squared looked out on the water, before the two of them unfused. Both of them sporting a black eye over their right eyes. Gem Steven's was more of a pink rose patterned bruise while Human Steven's looked more like a traditional bruise. Lion went over to comfort them while placing cookie on the ground between the two of them, laying down in a protective manor over the three of them, while Pearl double checked over both of their bruises worried about how the Steven's were handling having black eyes.

[jess-le-mess]

Feedist Kinktober - Day 23

(Prompt: Bonfire Bash 🔥)

[Content notes: Fat cis woman main character; thin cis woman love interest; f/f relationship; food/eating; mention of weight gain; short scene of erotic feeding and physical affection]

[Author's note: I wrote this back in September, before the word "dipshit" started trending due to Current Events, but it really is a good word.]

Bonfire

"Fiction writing challenges are stupid!" Luke huffed.

Emma clicked her tongue. "No, they aren't! The mark of a true artist is being able to place restraints on creativity and create something of value! Of beauty!"

He just laughed. "Restraints? What are you, a cop? People should just write what they want without someone telling them what to write! All I'm saying!"

"What do you know about anything? You're a cis white guy! You're, like, categorically a dumbass"

"Ooh, ad hominem, the last refuge of an asshole."

Emma, my girlfriend, and Luke, my best friend's partner, do like each other. Really. They were both English majors in university, and anytime we get together to do couple stuff, they get like this.

After university Luke went on to become a lawyer, and Emma owns a bookstore so in some ways she feels like she's still "grassroots" and true to her English major roots while Luke "sold out."

I try not to take any sides in this battle. I was a Business major. I work for a bank. I love romance novels. I have no dogs whatsoever in this literary squabble.

Jasmine, with whom I've been sitting next to this entire time, just watching the bonfire Luke and Emma had started for us, squeezes my hand and smiles at their bickering. "Love them."

I wrinkle my nose in agreement. "So so much."

We're at her family's cottage for the weekend to celebrate the Fall Equinox, hoping for one last burst of summer before the chill of October fully sets in. We've got snacks, plenty of blankets, and good company.

Emma pulled a joint out of her pocket, lit it, took a puff and then handed it to Luke who took one too.

"Listen," she said, "I am just saying that people use writing to connect with others. If you participate in a challenge like that, you can connect with others. Find your tribe and shit. It's not all about being, like, Books Van Gogh or whatever the fuck."

Luke nodded. "Sure, but longer work is more meaningful. It comes directly from your heart, and good writing is always a reflection of the soul. When you write what other people tell you it's like selling out, but you don't get paid; kinda pathetic, isn't it?"

Emma snorted. "Yeah, says the lawyer. Come on man, just admit you don't know shit."

Luke grumbled.

"I think any writing can reveal something of ourselves. We're all works in progress, Luke, and any writing is good writing. You put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard or whatever, you're saying to the world 'Here I am. Love me.' And, like, that's beautiful, holy shit."

He thought about that, took another drag of the joint, and nodded. "Maybe so, maybe so."

Jasmine and I just shared a glance. It was kind of funny how similar we were, even down to our taste in partners, both of us apparently having a thing for kind of snarky lit snobs who think they know everything. Considering I was already almost thirty when we started hanging out, I felt pretty lucky to have found her.

We'd apparently actually been coworkers for some time before that, but Jasmine never approached me and I didn't know she existed.

I'd been thin my whole life, more or less, until I started seeing Cyn, my most-recent therapist. She helped me work through my issues around food, and my body to the point where I could at least accept allowing myself to feel pleasure. And building up my self-love allowed me to work through my fear of weight gain. And so once I gave myself permission to just live my life and do what I want nature took its course and I began to gain weight.

One day I was eating lunch, and processing my ambivalence at having to size up in my favorite jeans again while eating tacos from the truck across the street, a short, chubby Indian lady in a floral blouse appeared and slid into the seat next to me.

"How's lunch?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Good?" I replied, mouth full of food.

"Mm-hmm. Anyway, we should hang out sometime. If you want? I don't know how this whole 'making friends as an adult' thing works but, like, I have a good feeling about you, if that's not too weird to say. I feel like maybe we'd get each other, or something."

We went out for ice cream a few days after that, and have pretty much been talking regularly since then. She really helped me sort through my feelings on my initial weight gain; as a lifelong chubby girl herself, she sort of helped guide me with adjusting to life as a bigger person and I've been grateful for that.

But, like, we just have similar taste in food, books, and things like that too. She's really great.

"Hey sweetie, you hungry?" she asks softly, almost like she's scared I'm danger of starving. "I think the food should be done. Don't get up."

I watch her head over to the barbecue and start loading up a plate. She assembles a few burgers, adds scoops of some assorted dishes from the bowls set out on the picnic table, and finishes by dropping a half-dozen chicken wings on there. She then picks up a beer, cracks it open, and brings that over with the plate.

It's really a lot of food.

She presents it to me with a flourish. "Ma'am."

I take it from her, setting the beer haphazardly into the chair's cupholder, laughing. "It's a lot of food!"

I take a bit of a chicken wing and let the delicate lemon-pepper flavour hit my tongue, sending a now-familiar rush of through my body.

I moan a little, mouth full. "So good."

Jasmine giggles.

I look over at her, noticing that she hasn't yet gone to get food for herself. I point that out, but she says she's not really that hungry yet.

"You're always feeding me," I comment, as I tear into another chicken wing. "I swear you're trying to make me fatter."

She shrugs. "Oh, you know I just want to look after you. You're pretty much always hungry."

I laugh. She's not wrong. As I've gained, my appetite has increased and as I've let go of my old restrictive eating habits I've just completely forgotten what it's like to restrain myself around food. "Okay, fair."

"But also? I mean, yeah, I'm always hoping you'll fatten up more, love," she said, reaching over and giving my soft belly a rough squeeze. "You are just the most perfect fat girl there ever was. Well, other than me maybe. I just love ya, though. Never change."

I smile.

Emma, fresh off her battle of wits with Luke, comes over. "Hey babe, you doing good?"

"Mm-hmm." I eat another chicken wing, and wiggle happily in my chair.

"You got a little sauce or something on your face there," she says.

"Oh! Oops. Sorry." I move to wipe it, but she just takes my hand and pulls. I'm getting too heavy for her to actually get me to my feet, but I understand the meaning of her gesture, hand my food over to her, and then stand up.

Without a word, she leads me over to the side of the cabin, away from where Jasmine and Luke can see.

I looked at her quizzically.

"I may be a little high right now, but you don't gotta do that. It's fucking hot."

She leans forward and sloppily kisses my neck for a moment, and then finds a rhythm and begins to tenderly suck on it.

Then she takes a chicken wing off my plate, holds it up and says "Is it okay?" and then when I nod, tears the meat off the bone and begins pushing it into my mouth.

As I get through that, she looks at me again, and when I nod, holds the beer bottle up to my mouth and waits for me to tilt my head back, she holds the bottle as I swallow, forcefully holding it until the bottle is empty.

"Good girl," she whispers, feeding me the last few chicken wings and setting the plate down.

As I'm chewing, she grabs my lower belly and begins kissing all over my face. "Uhhh," she breathes. "You're so hot, god what the hell"

I'm caught up in Emma's sudden forcefulness, enjoying the moment. "Mmmm, I like this."

She's still breathlessly kissing me, touching my body all over, just randomly, desperately grabbing.

"Maybe I'm a bit high," she starts apologetically, "But god, hearing Jasmine talk about, like, feeding you, wanting to make you fatter, fuck, that broke something in me."

She bends over and picks up the plate again. Then with her hand she scoops some of what was still on the plate---mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pickles---and pushes it into my mouth, tentatively, almost like she's not sure what she's doing.

I'm a little surprised by it, but I let the food into my mouth, let the flavour wash over me, and swallow it.

She keeps pushing food on me until I've finished all of the side dishes, and at that point I protest a bit but she feeds me the burgers Jasmine had prepared too.

When the food's gone, I'm standing there, very aware of my belly hanging forward, feeling heavy and full.

As Emma massages my bloated stomach, I let out a burp.

"Fuck," she says to herself. "Fuck."

She grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly, and then yells "Yo! Jasmine! You and dipshit good out here for a while?"

From the front yard of the cabin, I can Jasmine's giggle and Luke’s faint voice hissing "She's the dipshit."

Emma just looks at me, places a hand on my belly, her eyes filled with frenzied desire.

"Follow me," she says.

[enhypen-scholarship]

cry4love - h.jsoo

~~~~~~~~~

w ; heart break, joshi is extremely a softie and wants the best for reader :(( swearing !!!

s ; joshua never felt what a heart break felt like, not until you started to fall out of love for him.

n ; (watch me attemp to do angst LMFAO) SO. um 😬 tots out of topic but 2 weeks left before the final ep of bp😭 really wishing all of them would debut since im practically extremely attached to them :(( this was inspired by baekhyunnie's cry for love this is very very very short saur

~~~~~~~~~

there, as joshua stands below the beautiful cherry blossom. the very place where you'd first met him with those beautiful eyes filled with happy colors,

he'd always thought you would love him until the world would disappear, what happened to that?

you used to be so in love, what happened?

you were so happy with him, what happened?

you promised that you'd never leave him for anything, what happened to that?

he asked the gods or whomever had the hands of the very skies, "what happened? what did i do?"

he was so helpless, weeping and sobbing for the woman he had loved so many years just to be left alone with a fucking text with little to no feelings,

"hi shuji. this might sound so sudden, im breaking up with you" you said,

"darling? is this a prank?" he replied with a question,

"no sorry joshua, these days i feel like we're losing ourselves with the busy schedules we have. im sorry."

if only you could feel how his heart shattered into bits of pieces, like a puzzle that wasn't supposed to be completed,

if only you could see how instant his tears fell as soon as you left him in that very place.

if only you knew how much he loves you so much that he would drop his fucking knees and sell his soul right then and there to keep you in his hands,

but you didn't. you didn't give a fuck, you did not give a shit about his feelings,

you were so selfish, you were fucking greedy.

greedy for love.

he wanted to hate you, despise you, forget you. but how? you were so pretty, you were like an angel sent from heaven for him,

you were a dark angel. a dark angel sent from heaven to break his precious heart.

[timespaceandfilm]

Reinventing the Wheel - Ch 15: Metamagic

Author: timespaceandfilm

Fic Rating: E - this fic gets NSFW in later chapters, 18+ only

Chapter Rating: E

Pairings: Sebastian x Female Farmer

Chapter Word Count: 7k

Chapter Warnings: Neck kisses, Masturbation

Chapter Summary: Sam, Seb, and Charlie play some tabletop RPG. Seb is still a tease. Charlie takes matters into her own hands.

Blurb:

Sam leaves soon after, grumbling about Jodi’s stupid curfew. I stay behind to help Seb clean up.

“You did really well by the way.” Seb looks at me, arms folded and a smile on his face.

I shrug, feeling the flush come to my cheeks. “I guess so. There's still a lot I don't know or need to relearn. It's been awhile.” I stand once I finish placing the minis in their respective slots and put the lid on the box. 

I gasp as Seb wraps me in a hug from behind, his breath hot against my ear. “Don't sell yourself short darling. You clearly know your stuff and you make smart moves.” I shiver as his voice shifts to sound more like his Xarth impression. “It's kind of hot.”

“Yoba, Seb!” I pant. How do we keep ending up here? I wiggle in his grip a little. “What is with you lately?”

“Whatever do you mean?” He asks coyly. His grip on me loosens a little, but his head stays where it's stationed next to mine.

“You know what I mean.” I turn around in his arms. Big mistake. Now I'm looking right into his eyes as they shine with mischief. “The teasing, the uh, physical stuff. You're acting like we're dating already.” I pout.

“Hmm. So you want me to stop?” Seb's voice keeps that deep tone to it. He moves both his hands to my shoulders.

“I-I dunno. I mean it just feels like maybe it might get confusing.”

“For who? Because honestly Charlie, if we were dating I wouldn't be doing this right now.”

“You wouldn't?” My voice becomes a whisper as I watch his pupils blow wide.

Seb shakes his head slowly, that pink tint slowly coming to his cheeks. “Charlie, if we had our shit figured out and I thought you'd let me? I'd have you up against a wall right now.” There's that almost growl I heard yesterday. Fangirl bot grabs a pitchfork and a torch, setting a searing heat alight below my belly. 

“Fuck.” I whisper. Seb's grip on my shoulders tighten. “Well if that were the case.” I look right up into his eyes. “I'd probably let you.”

I watch as he drifts closer, closer. His eyelashes flutter. I smirk and pull away. Seb lets out a frustrated groan as I begin packing my stuff to leave.

“Gods Charlie. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?” He scratches the back of his neck as he watches me.

“Hmm. Good question.” I sling my bag over my shoulder. “Maybe because we like it?” I smirk and wiggle my eyebrows, doing my best to mimic that stupid Seb face he always does.

Seb chuckles and draws closer to hug me goodbye. “Hmm you might have a point.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and once again murmurs into my ear. “So if I keep doing this?”

My eyes flutter closed. The hand I have placed against his torso clenches around his T-shirt. Fangirl bot continues her riot in my abdomen and grabs for the mic before any other part of me can stop her.

“I'm not going to stop you.” I sigh, then shake my head to regain some control over the rampaging bot. “As long as it doesn't get out of hand,” I add on.

If I'm being honest with myself, I am enjoying the extra physical affection. Some of it maybe a little too much.

As if to prove my point, Seb mutters, “Of course,” and lands a peck right between my ear and the hinge of my jaw.

I slap my free hand over my mouth as an actual goddamn whimper tries to escape. It's all in vain apparently as Seb chuckles menacingly at my reaction. My face is on fire and so is the area between my legs.

“Okay!” I push his face away and he lets out a giggle. “That!” My index finger is right in his face. “That is boyfriend behavior!” I struggle to keep a straight face as he grins like an idiot. “Don't forget I'm your mom's favorite client asshole!”

“Alright, alright!” He holds his hands up in surrender. “I'm sorry. Boundary noted. No neck kisses.”

Read the Full Chapter on AO3

[cloud-somersault]

Soul anon here

Tbh I enjoyed S4 but I have problems with it. Like it doesn't make any sense for Macaque to be there of all places. On the other hand, Peng claiming that he can't find Macaque anywhere while Macaque is literally just vibing and stealing and eating Wukong's food is a little bit funny. But yeah, it doesn't make any sense for him to be there. Also I feel like there was so much potential for S4 to delve into Wukong and Macaque's history, regrets and mistakes and both sides of their history to be shown to each other, it would have been the perfect time and set up to get into it, especially because all the bad guys like DBK, Spider Queen, LBD and Azure/the brotherhood were all people who were pissed at Wukong for things done in the past. It could have led to so much character growth and understanding for the cast. It's sometimes hard not to feel like we were shorted when it comes to S4 when I stop to think about all the potential the memory scroll had as a plot device.

first off, there's a lot of shit that doesn't make sense in season 4, so i'm not at all surprised that we found yet ANOTHER thing that don't make no sense unless we heavily put things together ourselves.

like WHY was he there? it just came off to me like he was hiding/avoiding them. Because yeah, Peng hates him, but what if Azure insisted? What if he heard about Azure going to DBK and knew that they'd try and find him next and he was like 'nope. no thanks'.

like we're putting a lot onto the characters and plot because there wasn't enough time to explain it. but it just came off, to me, as him hiding away on the mountain AND/OR guarding the mountain because wukong was missing. in a 'there has to be someone to look after things' type of situation.

but listen -- i'm not the biggest fan of macaque's characterization in season 4 either. they fell into that trap where, when the bad guy is on the good guy's side, he's weaker! and i can't stand that.

but anyway.

there was potential to delve into their history, but honestly, it should've been tackled before. so now they've kinda written themselves into a hole where, if it doesn't happen in season 5, it's going to be frustrating as a viewer (i don't have high hopes that it's going to happen in s5) but like. we're also dealing with a show with a lot of restrictions on budget, time, ideas, etc. so we have to keep that in mind.

because they SQUEEZE as much as they can into these seasons. and i'd get that if they were uncertain, from season to season, if they were going to get ANOTHER season, but not long after season 4 came out, they mentioned season 5 so i was like... why was it so rushed then LMFAOO

plus there's toys to sell!

but yes, it would've been cool if they'd used the memory scroll and wukong's past to dig deep into their relationship. but all they could give us were those hints. and it feels like this show tries to fit TOO MANY ideas into a season. and i think it could benefit from pulling back a bit and choosing, truly, what it wants to focus on, because the memory scroll is honestly a multiseason device, and i'm sure it'll come up in some form in season 5 but like. i dunno man.

ofc there's wasted potential. and things that could've gone better, etc. etc. but i always try and look at it from multiple perspectives bc things get cut, ideas get ereased, that whole process is painful in television bc so much has to die. but that just makes me stop and think to myself 'then think smaller!!'

but i feel like they're only allowed to do that to a certain extent because TOYS AND LEGO SETS but i just. i dunno. i know it could be better. and deep down, i feel like the time could be better utilized, but. honestly, i'm so used to being let down by media and entertainment i've just made my piece with like. writing it out myself.

[originalchibimonkey]

So, in recent weeks I've been FLOODED by bots who have been following my blog, sending me messages, and otherwise disturbing my simple existence as a shitposter. As I'm doing a minecraft and blocking them all, I've noticed that a lot of them have emojis and single word statements, which I shall now overanalyze and rate because I have homework I'm procrastinating on. Please forgive any spelling/grammar issues, English is my first language and I suck at it.

We start off strong with this blog, who right away let's you know what it's about with the eggplant and corn emoji. It's direct and simple, and combined with the gasping monkey and word "Hottie" really sells the whole 'adult bot blog' vibe. The one thing that throws me off here is the "20", Turkey emoji, and "Algeria". Is the turkey suppose convey a similar meaning as the eggplant and corn emoji? If so, wouldn't the chicken emoji be more effective? Furthermore, I sense the 20 is suppose to suggest the age here, but paired with the imagery of the turkey seems to suggest there are 20 Turkey running this blog, all of whom seem to be from the country of "Algeria". If this is indeed the case, then the eggplant and corn emojis lose their adult meaning and instead suggests that this is a blog dedicated to farming. The gasping monkey could be read as us, the viewers, being shocked by Algeria's agriculture as well as being attracted to it due to its economical value, hence the word 'hottie'. Unfortunately, this reading cannot be proven, as there is no pictures on this blog other than an image of a young woman for the profile, which was likely stolen from somebody's tinder. Overall, I give this a 6/10, as I feel like the usage of the vegetable imagery and term 'hottie' was straightforward, and it made me interested in Algerian agricultural.

This next one also has a turkey in it, which I feel has some sort of meaning that I'm missing because I am an idiot. So the major issue I have here is with the emoji choices. The smirking face next the word 'babe' is pretty good—I feel like it has a nice suggestive flair to it—but I'm confused about the mushroom. What is it suppose to relay here? Perhaps that this bot is a 'fungi' to know? Perhaps it is suppose to remind the viewer of the popular 'cottagecore' aesthetic? If we're going with the cottagecore aesthetic, I think it pairs nicely with the flowers, but with the turkey, I think whatever AI generated this should have gone with something like a dove or a toad, just to match the garden/feminine vibe that I often see with cottagecore. Utah is a rather 'meh' location, not incredibly exciting or exotic, but kinda simple and easy place to take it. In my opinion, it's a rather safe location to choose, because people from Utah often act like they are robots, so any awkward interaction with this blog can be dismissed as a real Utahian learning to communicate with other people. I don't know what the x between the flowers mean—perhaps it is suppose to be a mouth and the two flowers are the eyes? Perhaps the delicate pink petals contrasted with the hot pink of the background is suppose to imply some sort of suggestive imagery and the x is suppose to remind us of "X-rated" material? Idk. 5/10 for this one, the babe and smirking face go together, but I feel like the rest fall short of catching the attention of the viewer.

Okay, so I love the philosophical question this one poses. For as long as humans have existed, we have asked ourselves this question and have yet to come up with a solid answer. The fire and smirking face really portrays humanity's fiery determination and confidence to solve this riddle, although I will admit the repeated face of the smirking devils indicates a mischievous element to this problem. Perhaps those devils represent how the universe toys with us, dangling the answer to this question just out of our reach and laughing as we argue amongst ourselves. Perhaps they are suppose to represent the evils in this world that divide us, making us think one option is better than the other and turning us against each other. Again, the philosophical element of this bio is fantastic. I do not like the usage of the panda, tulip, or term 'billards'—they distract too much from the thesis. I think it would be better if the panda was replaced with a peach (reminding us of the rear we all fear yet desire) and the tulip being cherries (representing both the body part and the sweetness of victory as we finally solve this problem). I think Billards could be replaced with "Ponder this", as it strengthens the question. Thus, 9/10, Socrates would love this shit.

My biggest issue immediately with this is the location. Francisco is not in Idaho and the usage of the entire Earth just highlights the AI's incapability to accurately determine where the city is. Usage of emojis is completely random: blind monkey with coffee: perhaps a nod to the way society turns a blind eye to the price we pay for our consumption of goods? Thar could explain the earth, which is suffering because of our capitalistic ways. The yellow heart with Idaho implies some sort of love for the state, but since the bot obviously doesn't know what cities are in Idaho, I find the combination to be rather meaningless. Mushroom again, completely out of place here and, because of its location next to Franciso, makes me think of illegal substances, which only serves to further my dislike of this set up 3/10, poorly executed.

The last one and this one is confusing for me. First, we have the sentence "Fishing really bad babe". Now this makes me think of two things: 1 this bot is self aware how poorly it is catfishing humans and is making fun of itself, which explains the tongue sticking out in a playful manner. If the hands emoji are interpreted as a high five, this furthers the joke, as the bot is like "yeah I suck, high five bro!" 2: this is a message from a Marine Biologist to their romantic partner, sadly explaining that they are having poor luck at fishing. If the hands are seen to be clasped in prayer, it indicates that biologist desires for divine help in his activity. The fire and the smirking devil do well in strengthening the word 'bad' and pairs well with the black heart (which can be read as the biologist's darkening emotions as he continues to fail his task), but the orange just seems out of place here. Perhaps it is meant to represent both the bot and the biologist's desired fruit of their labor? I don't know really what to make of this line up, but I do feel like there is potential in it 6/10

Now if you excuse me, I have to continue procrastinating on the work I was suppose to do thirty minutes ago.

[yoohoo-undead-unleashed]

Chapter Seven: Monster!

Roodee had been hard at work on his latest inventions.

He'd called everyone over once he'd finished them all, and this was sure to be the most efficient way to deal with the Undead.

"Whoa, I've never seen anything like this before," the bushbaby said as he handled the weapon.

"I'm not really sure what this thing is supposed to be, either, but I heard something in passing during our time on Earth about something called a 'gun'," the capuchin told him.

"Earth...?" The word sounded alien to her.

"Oh, we went through some other things before we met you, Orca," Pammee told her.

"Smells like dust," Chewoo mused, holding another weapon.

Lemmee sighed, not in exasperation, but admiration for his friend, even if he didn't want to admit it. "Oh, Chewoo... Never change."

"Would you want one, Orca?" YooHoo asked, offering her a crossbow.

"I'm good. I prefer fighting with more conventional means."

"O...okay..." That was a weird answer. "Hey, Roodee. Anything in that encyclopedia of yours that talks about the Soul Pots?"

"No, not really."

"So we really are gonna be going into this search for the Soul Pots blindly, and all we know for sure is that one of them is in the Death Forest," Lemmee said. "Unfortunately, I shouldn't complain since I assumed that from the start."

"How many of them should be there, anyway?" Chewoo asked.

"Not counting the Death Forest, probablyyy... about seven," Roodee guessed.

"Let's just get the closest one done first. Since we're close to the forest...not to be confused with the Death Forest, just so you know...let's get to its Soul Pot. Just to be safe," Pammee said.

Her friends nodded, and so they were off.

"Hoo boy... This is a game of concentration here," Lemmee huffed.

They were traveling through the trees, jumping from branch to branch in search of the Soul Pot from above.

"Hey, that tree looks a bit odd. It's like there's some sort of webbing on that branch." Roodee pointed at the tree in question.

Orca froze in place at the sight.

There was a bad feeling gnawing at her gut, and she knew they had to have done something with it.

"Let's take this one instead," she said, pointing at a different tree.

Nobody understood the sudden change of pace, but they all complied and took the jump.

Little did they know that this tree was also rigged by a trap.

Before they knew it, they were all hanging upside-down in a net, looking into the eyes of a pair of gators.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little twerp we tried to get rid of to sell her little forest for profit," the tall gator smirked.

"Too bad you two haven't learned to back off," she retorted.

"You let her run off with that dumb owl after you hit her, you know," the shorter one scolded him.

"It's your fault you didn't tell me to go after him!"

"How's it my fault?! I was telling you to, but you decided to waste your time telling me to shut up!"

As the group watched the gators bicker, YooHoo tapped Orca's shoulder.

"You know these two?"

They cut their argument short as they sharply turned their heads to see the other company they had.

"Why, who are these little potential customers for our wares?" asked the short one.

"I'm...sorry, what?" Lemmee deadpanned.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves!" the tall one said, striking a pose. "I'm Oops!"

"And I'm Koops!" the short one added, posing as well.

"And we serve the Big Boss in the search for the most valuable thing on this island: the Fountain of Youth!" they said together, choreographing an interjoined stance.

The air fell silent as they waited for a response.

Pammee cleared her throat.

"We shouldn't have done this," Koops muttered.

His brother nodded in agreement.

"'Most valuable thing on this island'? The Fountain of Youth?" Chewoo asked.

"Yeah, for money," Oops said.

"Sorry, but the fountain's not for sale!" Roodee cried, crossing his arms.

"Oh, really?" Koops questioned, a shady grin spreading across his face. "Who said it was, then?"

"Nobody, that's who!" Orca shouted, pointing accusingly at the two.

That was when YooHoo thought a thought. A mischievous thought. The kind of thought that would work in his favor for... let's just say toying with the gators.

"You know..." he said. "I might have an impression of you guys."

Oops raised a brow as the bushbaby cleared his throat.

What came out next was pure chaos.

"Hurr hurr, look at me, I'm an alligator, I wanna make money, so I'm gonna get the Fountain of Youth for myself!"

"Wh-what?" the gators sputtered in unison.

"YooHoo..." Orca warned.

Lemmee facepalmed.

"Oh! Oh! I wanna join!" Chewoo squealed, and chimed in. "I do this stupid little dance to advertise myself to customers with my brother, and I question everything about it!"

"Guys, stop."

"Aw, c'mon, Orca, it's fun, though! Look at them!" he said, pointing at the now-absolutely steaming duo, then resuming his plan. "My boss—"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Koops roared.

"You've messed with the wrong gators! Fortunately for us—and unfortunately for you—we've got just the thing to ensure we get our bank on the fountain!" Oops shouted. "Undead, attack!"

"Huh?!"

Almost as if on command, the creatures descended upon them, ripping them out of the net and taking hold of them.

"Damn it— Let go of me!" Orca shoved an Amoeba Zombie off of her, only to be placed in a chokehold by a Bandead.

"What a shame. we only wanted your help in our cause, yet you want to drag our values through the mud," Oops tsked. "Oh, well. With the Monsters on our side, we'll have this taken care of in no time. This island is going to be ours, and nobody else will be getting in our way."

"So you did this!" Lemmee cried as he struggled to break free.

Roodee had a plan, however.

He'd brought the hammer he used for making his inventions with him, along with his new weapon of choice, what he'd coined the Soul Shooter.

He raised it, intending to bring it down on an Amoeba Zombie's head—

"Hey! He's trying to escape!" Koops shouted. "MINOTAUR, KILL THEM!"

YooHoo's eyes widened as the ground shook with what appeared to be very heavy footsteps.

And they came quickly.

A blur slammed into the forest, shaking the earth even more as it made its landing in front of its summoners.

It looked like a large bull, with large, pitch-black horns that could skewer anything and anyone that got in its way, huge fists that could easily smash even the toughest of rocks, and ring piercings on both its ears and nose.

It growled as its brightly shining, crimson eyes focused on the much-smaller animals it was up against, building to a malicious, fearsome bellow as it raised its head skyward.

The gators laughed as the Minotaur ended its display of power.

"You see that? This is what a real Monster is like!" Oops boasted.

Orca growled as she continued to struggle herself out of the Bandead's grasp.

"Hey, maybe after we get the fountain, we could probably get to finishing what we started with her," Koops told his brother.

"Ooh, that's definitely a good idea!"

That set her over the edge.

Both the gators and her captor flinched as her body suddenly began to grow, transforming into a Monster in front of their eyes.

"Of course we had to forget about that," Oops whimpered.

The newly-transformed Orca snarled at the brothers, causing them to scamper off, but she wasn't going to let them get away easily, so she went after them in hot pursuit.

The Minotaur, now alone with its allies and prey, snorted as it lumbered closer to the captive animals.

They still had no way of getting out...

And already, they were to now prepare for the fight of their life.

[destineeallison]

Random things I wrote between 2007 and 2016

Originally Re-Posted on Facebook on Various dates.

Dreams and aspirations, serve only to torture.

-

I live my life on a canvas; each day as another little stroke of the brush, adding up to the final big picture. Color and full of highlights, in all of my finer moments and dark shadows, for the moments I fell short.

There's emotion to every work of art What does this life convey? A deeper meaning behind every success, failure, and missed opportunity.

-

We live like notes bending and folding over the musical scale I am the high while you stay low

We live like melodies surrounding each other.

We are the music, everyday we change.

We fit a mood set by our minds and actions.

We feel the way our sounds do.

Embrace the beauty within us as one.

Put us in motion and we are forever changing, forever progressing, forever fitting.

Put us together and we drift, sway, and hiccup along these scales we call our homes.

While filling the empty sounds, we follow the leads of the metronome.

Silence cannot break us, Silence is our enemy in this war we call a song. Every sound in our ensemble, perfect together as one,

The rhythm we follow is what will hold us together, if we act as one, folding and bending over our shared scale.

-

What if every morning we woke up as a new person, knowing the past, of who we've become. What if every morning we woke up with new emotions, forgetting the ones that haunt us from where we once came.

Right outside the sounds are empty, and time is moving slowly. I'm anxious for something to come and sweep me away. Taking me to a new place, full of sounds, and actions. A place where the next step is always right around the corner.

-

We're one big play on words game. You tell me yours, and I'll recite back mine. We coincide so well, our words mixing together as opposites attracting. In one Idea, that I want you, and you want me, gone.

Reality is not a dream, and dreams are not real. So why do we live reality as getting everything we "dream" of, setting high expectations for ourselves, only to fall short in the end. We know that things never go as we plan, completely. Yet, we still live within our dreaming mentality.

-

It's amazing how someone can look so calm and peaceful on the outside, but you'd never guess the chaos and chemicals raging in their body. I guess you just have to look for the signs hidden in their eyes.

-

Inner-peace, happiness, self-love, selfless love, self-respect, serenity, a positive attitude and an open mind are necessary, and they all start and end with you.

Attain what you can for the benefit of yourself. Money and material won't make you feel rich, just momentarily privileged.

-

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

Dependency is nothing but a burden.

Make your own choices,

Do things that take courage.

You won't find happiness, sitting at home, wishing your life was better.

-

I'd take your breath away,

but I don't want to watch you suffocate.

I'm here to lift you up,

I'll breathe in the life you're missing.

-

The only one not going,

Family members always hospitalized, I thought it was another scare.

Quickly I learned that it's real you're unconscious, and because of the timing I can't be there.

I hope you know I love you. happy birthday bitch, it's life, I called to say what's up, letting you know you're brothers suffering and sometime this week hell be laying in a coffin.

Alcohol weed pills uppers downers we can try to numb the pain but one day when we're at work hiding from reality we'll turn around and catch her sucker punch to the face. She'll hit you so hard you lose your breath and no matter how hard you try you'll lack any ability to control how hard you cry . She'll take your life your pride your family, have you selling your soul. Anything to keep hold of the heart hardly beating.

I'm sorry, but The pain I feel isn't even that you're gone, it's the pain that your death left with mom.

She said she's feeling empty. it's untouchable And I have no control over her emotions. it's eating my inside that all she wants is to see her little boy alive. Death takes a toll and it's collecting on our mother, 60 years old, outliving her mother, son, and younger brother.

I visited the house we grew up in today. Seems like just yesterday you were helping take care of us. Look what became of is, siblings that never speak, holding on to grudges because of silly things, and our stubbornness to accept help when we need it the most. I know you lost hope. I saw it in the house, the cement floors and holes in the walls frank, why didn't you call? Any of us, we're family, I hate myself for turning down my mom sending me out here. I hate that I let you live alone, you were barely surviving, not living a life but making it by till you died. I feel infested, and not from the roaches, but the feelings I can't even bear to lock into. Frank, I love you, and I hope that you're in a better place, of peace and grace. As we lay you to rest our family will do their best to say their goodbyes one last time, just know that you will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, big brother.

I felt I couldn't cry till I saw your children walk in the chapel to witness the tree fallen that once held the apple. As the tears stream down the face of our mother, I can't help but notice laying in that casket is not a man I know as my brother.

Over the years, as we may have grown apart, our siblings grow old with each time the sky gets dark. It's not a matter of I love you, or the anger we've all felt, but the times that we need each other, we're there, still kids in our minds forever avoiding life's belt.

-

Don't jump so fast to clench another by the throat if your judgments impaired, leaving you unaware of intent. Listen to the words and view cues within how the body language curves before you fire back with your anger.

-

I hate the need to explain, when the understanding isn't there.

Why waste my time dumbing it down?

I know you're locked in on a blank stare.

-