#i'm just here to experiment—there are loads of people with more experience that would probably be of more help

[alchemistc]

in three, two, one (anxiety)

The door swings on its hinges to reveal the crossed arms and unimpressed expression on Henrietta Wilson's face.

"Okay," Tommy says, with no idea what he's about to experience.

Hen doesn't move, but she does lift an incredibly judgmental brow. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Well. No sugarcoating it, then. "Several things," is not an answer that's gonna make her happy, however it is the one he has available to him at the moment.

Hen rolls her jaw the same time she purses her lips, and Tommy remembers that for a while there he'd stopped having an expressive face around her because he was afraid she'd somehow know.

She had known, but not because his eyebrows did half his talking for him.

"I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what answer you wanted from me."

"Not that one."

And then suddenly Hen is in his house.

He doesn't really have people over. He's certainly never had Hen over.

He took a sledgehammer to a side wall three days ago and he hasn't had more time to work on it than sweeping away the debris.

It's very noticeable.

Hen stops in her tracks halfway down the main hall to stare at it. "Several things," she repeats mockingly, under her breath, and makes a beeline for the kitchen that's now clearly visible behind the skeleton of a non-load-bearing wall.

He hasn't seen the 118 since the funeral. Not unexpected. Definitely not on purpose. He's always been just a hair outside of that group.

"So, my best firefighter is moping because the man he's been obsessed with for more than a year now hasn't called, and you're... knocking out walls."

"I've been meaning to knock out that wall for three years."

Her eyes roll around in her skull for a while before they catch his gaze. It's not an easy gaze to ignore. "Sure, nothing to do with the fact that the one conversation I know you two had in recent memory has to do with how annoyingly small and closed in the kitchen in his rental is."

A single moment of levity in a horribly sad day. But Evan hadn't asked to talk. Evan just lost the man he considered a father. So Tommy made small talk, and bit back the envious beast inside him when Eddie and Evan devolved into a squabble about the general layout of the house.

It had just reminded him of his plan, is all. The plan he's had for years, now. Nothing to do with Evan at all.

"You want some coffee? Orange juice? Maybe my drill so you can just lobotomize me instead of giving me cryptic, judgy eyes?"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Tommy shoots her an exasperated look. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here against my own nature, to tell you to grow a pair and reach out to the man you stole government property and committed multiple felonies for."

"I've texted Howie," Tommy shoots back, just to avoid the inevitable for a few more moments. Out of all of them, he definitely never would have expected Hen to be the one staging an intervention. Or whatever this is meant to be.

The glib response was a mistake. The cheese Danish she tosses at his head looks delicious even as it bounces off his cheek and sails to the floor.

Tommy sighs. "Evan is fully capable of picking up the phone."

His daring rescue had ended in a loss. A major one. Tommy still doesn't fully understand what Athena had been thinking, asking him to help the 118 carry Bobby to his final destination. Something about firsts and lasts, although he'd been a little too wired to catch more than the gist, when she'd called.

"And what, exactly, is your issue with picking it up?"

The million dollar question. He'd dropped everything the moment he heard I need your help and it's weird and probably super illegal. A little breathless, like he was running. Like Tommy has heard him countless times in much more pleasant scenarios. But then there'd been Bobby. The funeral. Evan's stoicism leaking from his pores, three weeks on.

They'd both done a great job of making it not Tommy's place to do anything about that. And grief - grief changes the whole world. Entire personalities. The loss hasn't even had time to fully bruise over, even for Tommy. He doesn't know how he could have a place in that. Doesn't know if he'd even be wanted if he tried.

"So you're both idiots, is what you're telling me."

"Where'd you get those danishes?" Tommy asks, because avoidance is his bread and butter.

Hen's got a big ass Tupperware full of them he hadn't noticed until she cracked it open to commit assault with a pastry.

Hen groans. "These are Buck's Missing Tommy But Still Not Calling Him For Some Reason Danishes. Pretty sure he hasn't slept in three days. Half the station woke up to some sort of baked good on their doorstep this morning."

The fact that Tommy wasn't in the rotation probably means something. His house is a lot closer to Evan's than Hen's, Maddie's, likely Ravi's too.

"Eat a danish and call him, idiot," Hen says, and shoves the Tupperware at his chest.

---

The danish is to die for. Perfect flaky crust. Cream cheese mixture to die for. Three blueberries on top, a perfect little dusting of powdered sugar.

Tommy eats three in the husk of his kitchen and decides he hates the subway tiles he installed after he hooked up with Evan and immediately blew up any chance at reconciliation.

He's got the oven pulled out and a crowbar in hand to yank them out before he manages to take another full breath.

Hen seems to think he's got another shot at this. At the life he'd dipped his toes into, constantly darting away from that first chill of the water, never allowing his body to get comfortable. Never allowing his mind enough time to adjust to the temperature of it.

And yet somewhere along the way Evan had baked himself into Tommy's life - his routines, his itineraries, the day to day mundanity of Tommy's life. He'd made the world momentarily brighter, exponentially more terrifying.

Tommy'd been looking for ways to bail out even as he was giving Evan glimpses of his life.

He'd waited too long. Given himself too many allowances. Let Evan settle under his skin, in his bones.

Tommy lays the crowbar out on the counter. Wipes his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans.

Reaches over the back of the oven to grab his phone.

Bangs his head on the overhang of the microwave as he tries to slip out from behind his panic project.

Well.

This is gonna go well.

[syscest]

hi im assuming the us vs them post is about a specific term, which one would that be?

so the sysmed out-group term being referenced in the joke post was (as the reblogs guessed) "endogenic", and I'll lay our thoughts out straight just once to avoid being potentially taken the wrong way

I've got two angles here, existential theological linguistic bullshit, and harm-reduction. stay with me here because even if you're not on board with the first thing you'll want to see the second.

so "traumagenic vs endogenic" is a false dichotomy, and I don't just mean "there's a secret third thing", I mean both classifications are fundamentally not real.

personally? we haven't the foggiest idea why we're a system. but the thing is, I don't think anybody else does either - I think it's genuinely impossible to know why your own consciousness is behind your own eyes and controlling your own body, why you *experience* existing in first-person at all. Like shit, lots of singlets believe it's because a soul has been created or introduced to their flesh, and a bunch of others think that's a load of crap and the chemicals just *do this* on their own. Singlets get this unalienable right to believe whatever the hell they want about why they're experiencing being themselves all the damn time, and I refuse to believe that systems are uniquely special in a way that singlets are not such that anyone can fucking flawlessly divine the cause of our consciousness all of a sudden. These are existential-tier questions and to deny their impossible complexity and the right to self-belief over them is, in my eyes, to deny systems something many singlets feel is part of what makes them human.

You can believe all sorts of stuff about the nature of your own systemhood just like how you can believe all sorts of stuff about the nature of your own existence - that doesn't make you definitively right, it's just a meaningful mechanism through which you understand your own experiences that other people should respect - it's like any faith, go figure.

Frustratingly, these words - traumagenic, endogenic - they're not talking about belief, they're objective buckets actively being used for exclusion. So every time we use the term "traumagenic systems", in saying "systems that objectively exist because of trauma" we are saying, loudly, "it is possible to know why a system exists". and frankly? no the fuck it isn't.

Anyway that's airy bullshit and reflects very idealised interactions so - practical, realist opinions, and harm reduction:

Saying "I'm pro-endo" is a net good, though I think "I support all systems" is probably marginally better because it doesn't perpetuate categories pushed by sysmeds for exclusionary reasons as being essential to defining systemhood - as we joked about.

Contrastingly, self-declaring "traumagenic" or "endogenic" in a bio is a net bad. Saying "I'm a traumagenic system" also says "Hello sysmeds, I believe in your dichotomy and I'm one of the good ones" (great way to get sysmed followers), and that factor doesn't go away if you go on to say that you support all systems - you've already thrown away your opportunity to shield more vulnerable systems from harassment through making who sysmeds need to target more obscure.

In fact, regardless of whether your bio says to sysmeds "I am a target" or "I'm not a target", by saying it explicitly, you're pressuring other, more vulnerable systems to similarly self-declare. It's like cis people putting pronouns in their bio to shield trans people from harassment through obscurity and embarrassment, but in reverse - if you shut up about it, and *just* call yourself a plural system, even if you do believe in their categorisations, you stop the propogation of the self-labelling and exclusionists are forced to make themselves look like idiots because most of their harassment would have to be done at random. It's basically herd immunity - nobody talks, everybody walks.

anyway yeah there's context for future, though honestly the section in plural respect is a lot more succinct lmao

[ashkabbom]

Would it have worked? - Mouthwashing

A/n: I think it's important to let you know that I haven't written frequently for a long time, but following something new has made me excited and with a peak of creativity, I apologize if I wrote something wrong or said something wrong 😭 feel free to correct me 🫶🏽

Versión en español en Wattpad: Libro de One Shots - Mouthwashing (Cuenta: ashkabbom)

Versão em português no wattpad: Livro de One shots - Mouthwashing (Conta: ashkabbom)

I didn't write this in a romantic way, but please give my writing a chance 🙏🏽

Mini warnings: Mention of bullets and death of the main character, I think that's all?

When you arrived here, expectations and nervousness went hand in hand, but regardless of how strange and weird everything around you was, hope was something you insisted on having at all times. Tulpar will be a good or at least interesting experience.

You really made friends, don't think you didn't!

Having someone like Anya to talk to in the middle of the night when neither of you could sleep properly was comforting.

The dialogues you and Daisuke had were definitely something interesting, you got along well together, sometimes even Swansea was there too, claiming that two interns together wouldn't be a good idea.

Now, about the captain and him. The captain was actually quite calm, a very understanding man, sometimes he would join you and Anya at night... But he was something else. He could just be someone who was a little stressed and had a weird mood. There are a lot of people like that, right?

You remember talking to him and the captain a few times, but rarely, only when it was really necessary or just to relax.

A year transporting a load among so many stars, a load that you didn't even know what it was initially, it would be good to have a good relationship with the others on the ship, your companions after all.

You start to think as you stare at the sky projected on the huge screen, remembering the little conversation you had with your friend.

"Where do you think you would be if you hadn't come to work here?" Daisuke asks looking at you.

"Hmmm.. probably working in a supermarket I think. That was my option if this one didn't work out, so I would keep sending resumes to see if I could get a better job I think.." You say as you remember your old options, there weren't many, but there were still possibilities. "But what about you?"

"Honestly I don't know, I try to be positive about it.." Daisuke looked insecure and uncertain about where he could be now. "Would we still talk when we get back home? I don't know if I'm going to stay here after all this, their cake isn't the best." He tries to relax.

Out of all the people on this ship, Daisuke was the easiest to talk to and actually build some kind of relationship with, maybe because you two were the most positive in that situation.

Even with that foam everywhere on that ship, lost in a loud silence between the darkness and the stars, you were all going to make it back to Earth.

Maybe because you two were more naive than the others on that ship, the two sanest on that crew.

"Hey, you're a cool guy, I'm sure you'd be working in a good place!" A confident smile appears on your face, trying to dismiss your friend's worries. "Of course we would still talk to each other when we get back, we are friends after all, together here for months"

He smiles positively and you say not to go crazy before you, you laugh but are soon interrupted by Swansea asking what the hell you two were doing up in the middle of the night

It was kind of stupid. Maybe you two should have been a little more realistic about the situation. More than 4 or 5 months, shit, you didn't even have any sense of time anymore. No one had come looking for you yet. Had anyone noticed that you were missing and never contacted Pony Express again?

Sitting with your friends at that table, as if it were the day of that news, with everyone sitting together and the cake for the captain on the table.

Now, with a bullet hole in your forehead, along with your friends and that man, your head tilted to the side, you stare at the sky projected on the broken screen, wondering if this would have worked.

A/n: English is definitely not my first language, so I had a lot of translator help! Sorry for any nonsense words with other words.

I just wanted to write a little bit and I liked Mouthwashing, how the game approaches the theme of work and worker, each character's situation in relation to themselves and the general situation ^^. Feel free to tell me what you think of my writing and if you want me to write something, I wouldn't mind. 🎀

[havenesc]

hello HELLO!! I am OBSESSED over your rancher AU,, you have such a big brain!! If youre in the mood to yap about it, i am sooo interested in hearing more!!

WOAH HI!!! thank you so so much, that means quite a bit!! I love this AU and it has been quite a joy to work on when I'm stuck in my office job or away from my own horses so :') Always happy to indulge and yap and this........ is a very long yap LOL.

I am writing a frankly ridiculously long fic about it, but this whole shit really started with ""i like jason and i like horses and i keep listening to lord huron's way out there on repeat." so here we are. rotting it out. <3 <3

I think physically removing Jason from Gotham, or from any major metropolitan area containing capes, is a really interesting idea. He lives and breathes and is born from this city. (Where's that one post calling it his wire mother?) Jason is so deeply interconnected in the machinations of the city and how she operates that by removing him, by forcing him into a situation where he cannot go back for the time being and instead has to live among people he perceives as "regular," he gets to breathe outside of the walls that Gotham and Bruce have defined for him. He gets to explore who he could be, really, beneath the masks and the death and the failed legacy of a kid who just wanted to be magic, who isn't living with his mental/emotional triggers sitting on his bedside table like a loaded gun. For once, even under a fake name, Jason Todd gets to be something other than a tombstone or the face of a tightly-run crime syndicate. Jason doesn't even bring that dying shit up all the time, but everyone else seems to hold it against him. (Probably due to rationalizing all the murder.)

He's like a shelter dog following the 3 Rules of Decompression. This guy gets a horse and gets some friends who don't really know what to make of him at first but he's a hard worker and a fast learner and he wants to work as a team, no matter how prickly and weird he is at first.

Additionally, I think it's also fun to explore what his absence does to Gotham, and how the city would react to not having an enforcer. The Batman and his brood exists, obviously, but there is an ecosystem that Red Hood understands intricately in a way that the Batman cannot and will not. He has the uniqueness of being one of the only Robins to both live poor as fuck and also experience it from Bruce's perspective -- the only other one really being Stephanie -- and he knows how to weaponize this for max efficiency. Red Hood is the wolf introduced to keep the deer population down. How does the crime scene change, how do the Bats have to navigate adapting to that radical change? When it breaks that the Red Hood is out of business, who takes charge? And at what point do you look at yourself in the mirror, say, "Yeah I fucked this one up, bring that guy back?" And what the hell do you do when you find out you can't?

Anyways! I love thinking about how vital Jason is to the Gotham Social Fauna. I also love thinking about how his blue roan gelding, Blue, is a descendant of Doc Bar. I love thinking about the plates in McLaren's tibia because he got nailed by a bull in the exact perfect spot for the damn bone to split in half. I love thinking about Jason experiencing nature, and Glacier Park, and for once in his life feeling so small and insignificant in the world that his problems actually feel the distance they are from him. I love thinking about him finding the connections with people who have always been receptive to him in some way, even when he's a bristling scared snarling dog, because even if Jason Peter Todd is convinced that he is unlovable and irredeemable, nobody else knows that shit. So you might as well put your foot in the stirrup and come along because we need you and your resilience and your strength and your laughter and your good-heartedness to get through another twelve hours in the saddle together.

Also, these two songs in order on my fucking jason rancher au playlist are very jason and dick coded and listening to them makes me want to lay on the floor and stare at my ceiling for about three hours. Actually this whole thing is a love letter to lord huron.

[smol-n-smol]

Odd One Out: Chapter 1

A/N: Finally banged out the first chapter for this story based on this idea I came up with a little while ago. I hope y'all enjoy! I'll make a proper blurb at some point

Also I'm gonna be so fr, I've never done a tag list for a story before, so I'm just pulling this based on people from comments/tags who sounded like they wanted an update? If you want to be added or removed, just let me know :)

Tag List: @axolotlsdreams @seasonschange32 @tthevoic3s @kgonbeiden @coffehbeans

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

With its multilevel Roman-inspired buildings and wide cobblestone paths, the Kingston Academy campus is practically a work of art in and of itself. The early morning air carries the scent of prestige and erudition along a crisp autumn breeze.

Eriel stands before the glimmering gates of the academy, building up the nerve to walk through. He’s intimidated by the size of it all, though probably not for the same reason as most new students. It’s less that he’s afraid of getting lost in such a large place, and more that he’s scared of accidentally crushing something beneath his feet.

As the first giant to attend Kingston, it’s obvious that the school was never designed with his kind in mind. Most of the three story buildings don’t even reach the height of his shoulders. Even the monumental clocktower in the center of the courtyard just barely passes his 46 ft frame. 

If Eriel really wanted to, he could probably  jump right over the entrance gate in front of him. Not that he would ever do such a thing of course!! The thought alone of accidentally damaging something (or worse, someone!) is enough to send a wave of goosebumps down his spine.

Thankfully or unfortunately — Eriel is still trying to decide whether his enrollment here is a good or bad thing — the gilded gates part, at last inviting him onto the campus. There aren’t many students out yet, which makes sense. It’s barely past 7 AM on a Monday. Given the choice, Eriel wouldn’t be up this early either. Even so, the giant’s eyes stay focused on the ground as he navigates to the gymnasium on the other side of campus.

Usually students receive their orientation packets inside the administration building, but given his impressive size, there are only a handful of buildings that Eriel can fit into at all. The gym doubles as an auditorium and a venue for special events. The high ceilings were probably originally meant for improved ventilation and added elegance, but now the only benefit Eriel cares about is that he can at least sit inside without feeling overly claustrophobic.

He enters the building through a modified loading dock door. While he still has to crouch to fit through, it’s much better than having to crawl on his hands and knees like the first time he visited the building for interviews and psychological evaluations. Now that was a humiliating experience. He had been poked and prodded, and asked the most demeaning questions. Eriel shoves those memories back into a mental box. He needs to stay focused on the present moment.

Once he reaches the main area of the gymnasium, Eriel is finally able to sit down properly. The sunlight from the windows warms his skin. While he may not feel hot and cold the way that humans do, it's  a comforting sensation nevertheless. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend that he’s back in the forest with his family.

He misses them, despite it only being the first day. If the integration program goes well over the next year, maybe his little sister will be able to join as well. She’d probably learn much more easily in a school than from the limited knowledge that Eriel is able to share with her every so often. It was difficult enough to teach himself most of what he knows — his knowledge a hodgepodge of information from the occasional abandoned books that sometimes wound up in the forest.

He doubts that Lora will keep up with his studies while he’s away, but a big brother is allowed to hope, right?

Just the thought of the young girl falling asleep while poring over a human textbook is enough to make Eriel chuckle aloud.

“I’m glad to see you in bright spirits today,” a voice says, bringing Eriel back to the present moment. 

Mr. Leeway, the head administrator and school guidance counselor, now stands on a walkway that wraps around the walls of the room. Eriel meets his gaze nervously, though less eye-to-eye and more eye-to-full-body. Thankfully with a giant’s enhanced vision, Eriel has no trouble with making out the details of the man before him.

“Good morning, sir,” Eriel greets in response, his back straightening as he now sits in a human’s presence. “Thank you again for allowing me to attend school here.”

The counselor  waves a hand, brushing aside Eriel’s politeness. “No need to be so formal now,” Mr. Leeway responds kindly. “You’ve more than earned your spot here after all.”

Immediately, the giant’s shoulders drop. In retrospect, those were the words he’s been hoping to hear. The ones he needed most for today.

He’s grateful that Mr. Leeway is so accepting of him. Hopefully the rest of the staff are as well. Eriel has yet to meet any of the professors at the academy. While it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be this friendly, hopefully no one is too afraid or mean. 

As Mr. Leeway patiently talks him through the school handbook, the dorm system, and the giant accommodations scattered across the campus, Eriel can’t help but feel like maybe things will be okay.

“Any other questions?” the counselor asks, pausing long enough for Eriel to shake his head before continuing. “Perfect. Well in that case, I’ll let you get a head start towards your first class. Best of luck, kid.”

Eriel sits still until the human leaves before at last rising stiffly to exit the building.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

The campus is much livelier now than it was less than an hour ago. Students walk in small groups to different destinations — some dressed in uniform and heading to classes, while other folks are still in pajamas, clearly in search of their first meal.

Eriel is one of the less fortunate folks, his first class starting at 9 AM. He’s always been a bit of an early riser, as most giants tend to be, but part of him wishes that he opted for a schedule with a later start time. He’d appreciate a bit more time before having to face his new peers.

Mr. Leeway assured him that all the students received a special training and information session on interacting with giants. In theory, everyone should be prepared for this transition. And yet, as Eriel rises to a standing position, stretching slightly to relieve his back of some of its stiffness,  it’s as if the whole world holds its breath.

Everyone stops whatever they’re doing once Eriel reaches his full height. The slight crack of his joints resounds throughout the quiet air, unintentionally drawing even more attention to the giant. 

The poor students closest to him quickly back away, and one especially frightened soul even faints. Eriel winces at that. The reception makes sense, and honestly, it could be a lot worse.

Slowly, the giant takes a step, just a small one in the direction of his class. Immediately, a group of nearby students begins to run away, despite the ample space Eriel makes sure to leave between himself and any humans. The giant sighs but continues on his way. What else can he do?

It takes only a couple of minutes for Eriel to cross the campus to his destination. The English building stands before him, just barely reaching his chest. There’s no chance that Eriel is going to be able to squeeze into the building itself, much less one of the classrooms inside. For pretty much all of his classes, he’ll have to sit outside and listen in through the windows. 

Eriel follows the instructions in his handbook packet to find the window for his first class. A large awning has been set up along that side of the building — big enough for Eriel to be able to sit beneath for protection from the weather. He’s used to sitting outside for prolonged periods of time, but he appreciates the cover anyways. It will certainly help to keep his notes neat at least.

With the few minutes he has before class begins, Eriel puts down his backpack and digs out his notebook and pencil. The set was a gift from his mom — the pages were re-usable and the pencil was designed to provide more or less endless writing. Once he settles down in his dorm, he’ll be able to type everything up on the computer that the school provided him with, but this combination is much more efficient for carrying between classes.

Intro to English Literature, Eriel writes on the first page, taking his time in making the headline look pretty. It gives him an excuse to keep his head down and avoid the watchful gaze of the other students around him.

It’s only when the bell rings that he at last looks up, positioning his face so he can clearly see the blackboard through the window.

“Good morning, class,” the professor says as she enters the room. Her brown hair is done up in a bun and a pair of quirky glasses accentuate her wide grin. Her smile falters as her eyes meet Eriel’s, but props to her for managing to keep up the expression at all. The same can’t be said for the other ten or so students sitting in the classroom, who look back at him with expressions ranging from fear to disgust to cold interest.

“I’m Professor Dockerty,” the teacher continues, her introduction regaining the attention of most of the students. One boy is a bit slower to turn away, his blue gaze unabashedly staring right at Eriel. And then, the boy — Ashton, based on his response as Professor Dockerty takes attendance — smiles at him.

Okay, it’s more of a smirk, but even that’s better than the other looks.

“Did I miss anyone?” the professor asks.

Eriel gulps but shyly raises a hand, limbs tense and heart pounding as he draws additional attention to himself. A few of the students flinch as his fingers come into view of the window, and upon seeing that reaction, Eriel immediately puts his hand back down. Hot shame rises in his chest and his cheeks burn as he realizes the fear that a simple one of his actions could cause.

“I don’t think I heard my name, ma’am,” the giant all but whispers, desperately wishing for this moment to be over already.

Professor Dockerty laughs nervously, glancing down at her papers again. “Oh my, I must have missed it. Eriel, correct? Our giant student? Great! Well, if that's everyone then let’s start by going over the syllabus.”

Eriel doesn’t get a chance to say anything throughout her ramble, but the professor is already handing out paper packets to the students.. There are just enough for everyone in the room. Eriel doesn’t even bother asking if there are any extras for him.

[the-sunniest-angels]

Your artworks looks like AI

To be honest I'm guessing this is a bot because I don't think my art is really a style that is mistakeable as AI. BUT just in case this is someone who genuinely doesn't know how to differentiate AI art versus human art, I'm gonna make a post on it rq!

One of the ways you can tell my art is not AI is because you can see all the individual strokes that I made. My style in particular makes this easier to distinguish than others because as an artist I really embrace this, while others prefer a very clean lineart and coloring process.

Here are some examples from mine:

This is from one I made of Nico underwater. If you look at the water you can see all the places I drew each line. By contrast, zooming in on AI art doesn't show any brush strokes at all. Often, there's also a weird "fuzz" I've noticed? Like rather than a human artist who simply makes a, say, yellow banana, and if you zoom in you just see yellow, for an AI if you zoom in it weirdly looks like the AI is struggling to make every pixel yellow so each pixel is slightly different. That's what I think of as the art being slightly fuzzy.

I tried searching google for some AI art to use as examples of this but I'm currently in a different country for an internship and they're still getting my WiFi set up, so my connection isn't loading any of the Google images with enough clarity to be able to zoom in a bunch so I can show you. But it's something I've noticed for a lottt of AI art--and so this coupled with lack of brush strokes can be a sign of AI.

Another thing that, in my opinion, is a way to determine something is human-made is the shape of the canvas! In my experience, when I see AI art online, it tends to be a very similar canvas shape each time. I don't think most AI creations have the ability to be creative with canvas shape. Meanwhile, a human might choose to make their canvas super wide or long or whatever. Since I created each piece of my art individually for the purpose of eventually combining it all into a comic-ish thing, each canvas I made was very very wide which would have been unusual for an AI. Such as:

From what I've seen, an AI would have created somewhat more even dimensions.

And finally, one of the dead giveaways for AI versus human art is simply what mistakes are made in the piece. Neither AI art nor human art is usually absolutely perfect, but the mistakes that an AI makes are not usually the same ones that a human makes! For example here, I didn't actually make lineart or sketches for the background because I had figured "eh, how hard is it to make a background like this?" However you can tell this didn't work out perfectly for me because my "sun" did not end up perfectly round hahaha. Look above Nico's head. It's like sort of lopsided. Getting a perfect circle without any sort of lineart or tool is very hard as an artist, at least for me! However an AI would not struggle with making a perfect circle. It would have been much cleaner. However, an AI would have probably struggled more with things like color and style consistency in the wings (there are a lot of feathers that could trip it up), body proportions, etc etc.

And, overall, these three things together are very consistent with everything I post. AI would struggle to recreate a style like this over and over again, and it also tends to struggle to make the same face over and over. I'm not sure if you've ever seen one of those videos where people ask AI to duplicate an image without making any changes, but it really cannot do it. For this reason it would have been difficult for an AI to make the same face so many different times for a consistent comic.

I realize this ask was most likely a bot tbh since I think my art is pretty obviously human, but as a hater of AI art, I will never turn down an opportunity to talk about ways to differentiate human versus AI art. I hope this was helpful to anyone who struggles with identifying things like this!

[shieldstable]

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns will temporarily align, and here's why it would make it sense (from a writing perspective)

Look, we've all been burned by bad writing somehow Palpatine returned -and the WWE writers are known for their whims. And maybe, I'm picking up on strays that no one is consciously putting down, but maybe, just maybe! — so here is my batshit off the wall prediction for the upcoming storylines. With some textual analysis as back up.

If my predictions are somewhat correct, I'm booking a one-way ticket to Delphi. If not, please imagine this as a fun thought experiment.

And I know this sounds like the hopeful ramblings of a fan with too much nostalgia for The Shield, but please hear me out (also, I think Seth and Roman are the most fun when they're feuding, so...)

TL;DR at the end.

1. Chekov's Shield Bomb

This is about picking up what the writers/Seth have been putting down — and what they are putting down is Chekov's Shield Bomb. Especially in the built-up to WM41, Seth's has been big on mentioning The Shield and their history. It's only natural, in a feud between Punk, Roman, Seth with Paul Heyman in the mix it makes sense to mention eleven years of history and animosity.

And yes, Seth has made references before. Notably Royal Rumble 2022, WrestleMania XL. The big difference is, is those moments were created as a distraction/mind games against Roman. The current route they're taking is more nostalgia invoking. Seth keeps trying to get Roman to remember how great they were (are/could be) together.

He keeps mentioning Dean/Mox a lot (would love for Mox to come back, but given that he's at AEW I have low hopes). He keeps talking about how Paul Heyman brought Seth, Roman, and Dean together. The entire built-up to WrestleMania was filled with Seth loudly and proudly proclaiming it's about him and Roman — and together they can take out Punk. Seth went as far as begging Roman to please do a Shield Bomb with him, which at that point Roman nearly accepted but ultimately declined. Chekov, meet the loaded gun.

And sure, with so many storylines being set-up all the time, not everything might be used. But if I were writing a story, or even reading a book — I would underline that stuff and call it heavy-handed foreshadowing. From WWE's standpoint, it's also a smart thing to do. Not only does it serve as foreshadowing, it also serves perfectly as a primer for people's actual nostalgia around The Shield and as a way to measure people's reactions online before (hopefully) actually committing.

And well, if you show the gun, you gotta pull the trigger.

2. 2 vs 3

Right now, the biggest problem Seth's faction has, is that Seth and Bron are outnumbered. As I'm writing this (May 14th) Bron and Seth (and okay, Heyman) had to powder twice already because Sami, Punk and Jey clearly have more combined manpower. Obviously, if Seth needs to expand his operation, he needs to rally more troops.

WWE can use this open job-application to promote new talent (and imo they probably should, given how old the average age in the men division is atm). But, if Roman comes back, and he aligns with Sami and Punk, then it becomes 2 vs 4 and they need yet another guy.

For an interesting story, it is probably also a good idea to get someone who can be put into heavy contrast with Bron Breakker. Bron is doing Seth and Paul's bidding without question, almost blindly in awe. Adding a second guard-dog wouldn't do much. Now, adding someone who is actually wise to Seth's ways, who has their own agenda and who Seth views more or less (a little bit on the less) as an equal? That would work.

3. The great Wiseman heist of 2025

Punk, Seth and Roman have had this huge 3 way feud with a climax at WrestleMania. If they continue this as a 3 way feud, after Seth has been crowned the winner, then what was the point? To brawl forever and ever and your wins never matter because next week you're in the same fight? Ideally, you move on from that in new and interesting ways. We've already had the Punk and Roman alliance during war-games, and I wouldn't want to rehash that if I were writing this. Roman's recently aligned with Punk, and look where that got him? A favour owed and a Wiseman that left him. Punk’s betrayal and Wiseman-heist is probably more freshly on his mind than Seth's steel chair, a near 11 years ago.

CM Punk and Roman Reigns on the same side again — that should be out.

4. The Bloodline is in shambles

Okay, I hear you — there's a bunch of logical set-up but why would the Tribal Chief even want to align himself with what is basically his bitch ex-wife arch-nemesis.

Well — what else has Roman got left?

Roman got his Ula Fala back, he is acknowledged as the tribal chief but right now, in the WWE universe, who is there to rule? Jey got out earlier, and has a title over him (rude) Solo and Jacob Fatu already started their own faction which is also falling apart as we speak. Jimmy's on Smackdown and at this point in time will likely side with his brother if given the choice.

But Seth? Remember point 1! Seth has already said many times that it's him and Roman forever. He's said that he hates Punk, but that he loves Roman. Everything Seth does to Roman, comes from a place of (twisted, fucked up, unhealthy) love.

At the very least, Seth's not Punk.

And Seth's got an ego, thinks he's smarter than everybody else. Al Roman needs to do is grovel a little bit and Seth will say "I told you so" and then welcome him with open arms. And hell, Seth's even got Roman's ex-girlfriend Paul Heyman. Which, Paul still acknowledges Roman at the OTC.

5. Steel chair part 2 electric boogaloo

Roman probably wants his power back. Be the top-dog again, get his title back. The quickest way to accent to power is to align with the new regime, throw your unique set of skills into the mix and help cement the new Bloodline Vision as a force to be reckoned with. There will be constant tension between Roman and Seth (and Heyman) as they bid for the leadership position, but ultimately Roman relents.

Well, until...

The thing with being in power is, it makes you vulnerable to coups. In a beautiful reversal of what has happened in the past — Seth lets his guard down around Roman just enough. And Roman will take Seth down with a steel chair — take bake his girlfriend Wiseman and is back on top. Perfect way to give The Roman Reigns somehow an underdog storyline again and bank on that sweet, sweet nostalgia in a moment that is sure to go internet viral.

Death, taxes, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns hitting each other with a steel chair.

TL;DR: The writers have been setting up a lot of nostalgia for The Shield, they could be cashing in on. Adding Roman to Seth's new cult would add an interesting dynamic and solve some logistical issues. For Roman, it makes sense to rise to power this way and commit a coup later to instal himself as the new-new top dog again — and yes, there will be inevitable steel-chair related betrayal.

[transfemme-shelterdog]

could I get an opinion on this? (extremely transandrophobic and intersexist bingo board)

to clarify some of the vaguely iffy ones on here-

trans women often do get more visibility, positive or negative- (this does not correspond to violence rates)

male/female socialization as in people raised male or female have different, though not necessarily bad, perspectives + experiences.

guys/dude is generally gender neutral but if someone's uncomfortable respect that

this has like. 800 notes and most from transmascs that are agreeing with this sadly. the creator of this board is self described tme

I'll go point by point, left to right/top to bottom:

There's nothing wrong with they/them pronouns, or any pronouns honestly. This just comes across as exorsexist (which is on par for these people)

Wow, two points in and already contradictory. Honey, you're the one saying that you can't have a complex gender by shitting on people who are enby

The fact that I engaged once with these people just last night and I had self described TERFs in my comments and reblogs, shitting on me, and calling me a "he/him" and "male rapist" and other fun things says everything I need to know about this issue. I've never once seen a "transmisogynist" (read: transandrophobia poster) reblog from a TERF, and I'm very active in the disk-horse

Sis, you're the one shitting on trans men. These guys are just defending themselves.

You fuckers literally accused me of being a rapist/predator with a "laundry list of fetishes" who "has teen girls tell him about their fetishes", nice try

Ok, this is a complex one. Systemically, misandry (as used to describe cishet males being oppressed) isn't really a thing. Is there going to be individual instances of cishet men getting fucked by the system? Sure. But systemically, cishet men have a lot of advantages that others aren't afforded. That being said, we both know they mean "hatred of any men for any reason" which is bullshit. These people shit on trans men all the time.

Well, they are? They call trans men TME and trans women TMA and never apply it to cis people, thus it's just another sex based binary

We are? Just in different ways.

Refer to point 1 and 2, hypocrite

What's their point? So what's the minimum amount of examples that you need to prove a point?

I don't think any trans mascs say that, and those that would, probably would apologize and make an effort not to call a trans woman dude if she's uncomfortable with it. I do agree, it's not neutral, and hate being called it myself

My sister in christ, you likely use the term "theyfab"

n/a

Well, perisex trans women can't get pregnant, and trans men/mascs can, and have dysphoria around it. Not to mention corrective rape. It's a valid form of oppression that only affects perisex afab trans mascs.

Don't know of any zionist trans mascs, also did fucking TW make this?

Yes, you do, and you are. Good girl!

I've had these women hyperfocus on my kinks and shit on me for it. Never seen a trans dude do the same.

Yeah, well at least trans dudes are willing to fuck trans girls. Can't say the same for you lot (transhet t4t my beloved)

Yeah, we are hyper-fucking-visible. Look at any studies done on "trans people", and it's always trans women. Music wise? Typically all the traction goes to trans girls. Media? Mainly trans girls. Online? Mainly trans girls.

Really gonna act like you aren't taught "how to be a girl/boy" growing up? I know how to fit in with cis men, and easily boymode because of that.

Well, you can. This is Tumblr baby girl, make a post, tag it, and send it off to the world. I do it all the time, and people listen to me.

You girls are trans radfems and TERFs, sorry. Don't like the label? Change.

Isn't this the point you're making in the last box?

Trans men experience a shit load more misogyny growing up than trans women do after coming out. This is just a fact. Even more so in non-western countries (looking at you @that-satireguy my beloved non-western trans peep)

????????

[anarchy-and-piglins]

Hey so uh how does one actually go about watching dsmp lore??? I tried watching it in full once from a big ass yt playlist that was meant to have all the important stuff but it was loads of giant long vods that I don't have the attention span for with tiny amounts of relevent lore and I didn't make it very far. I'm assuming ur not supposed to watch it like a show, right??? Like you don't have to watch literally everything that happened???? I could probably just cherrypick some important+interesting plot points and watch them in a vague order????? How do you people do this

Ah yes, DSMP lore, the forever discussion. I'll be honest, it's not easy to get into the DSMP lore because you have a bunch of different POVs that cover a bunch of different plot lines and events, and at least some of this is lost media (streams were not always archived so there are big chunks of people's POVs missing).

I agree that trying to watch ALL of it (all POVs, all storylines) is not a good approach. What is a good approach might be subjective, but here's my personal advice for the best way to experience the DSMP canon as a latecomer:

1 - Pick a specific POV and start with that

A lot easier than trying to watch all in one go or even cherry-picking 'important events' is to pick one specific person's POV and try to watch all of that. You can use a CC whose style you mash with. Personally, I would highly recommend Techno's POV not because I'm biased (though I am) but because he's one of the few CC who has a convenient playlist with all his streams, so you get a complete experience. He also was reasonably involved in a lot of 'bigger' events without streaming daily to the point it gets overwhelming to backwatch his POV. The downside of his POV is you'll miss the pre-Pogtopia stuff, but you can use his POV as a starting point to decide what other CC you'd want to see their POVs of, or watch more POVs of a specific event AFTER you've experienced it within the canon timeline. I do not recommend watching them in a vague order to start out though, I do feel you'd significantly lose the impact of the story.

2 - Yes, you have to watch the giant long vods (kinda)

Yes, the dsmp has a lot of random long 'filler' vods in between big events, but that filler often does build characters and makes you attached to them, so I don't really think skipping them completely and only watching compilations of big events is really going to give you a good experience. People also drop surprise background info in the vods sometimes, there's roleplay beyond just the Big Events (tm). At the very least, you should skim the large vods or maybe play them in the background while doing something else. If you pick a CC you really like, their long vods won't feel like a chore (again, Techno is great for this since he's so entertaining imo).

3 - But also you don't HAVE to watch the long vods (or anything)

On the other hand, the upside of the multiple POV thing is that you don't really like, have to experience everybody's POV. It's okay (and part of the true dsmp experience) to miss out on stuff. I never got into Kinoko Kingdom, I never got into Karl's whole time travel thing, I know very little about Puffy or Ponk or even Eret. You can just stick to your chosen POV and even if that's all you ever invest in, you got yourself a lovely little story to follow. Do not feel the pressure of needing to partake in EVERY plot line or character because I don't think there are many dsmp fans wo have done that and had a good time lol.

4 - You can get your lore from other sources

If you do want to know more about specific events, characters, dynamics, etc and don't want to watch a million POVs, there's really no shame in getting your lore from other sources. Fanart, fanfic, animatics, the wiki, transcripts or lore analysis fans wrote, etc. My only advice is to stay mindful that fans are biased and in the dsmp fandom specifically some people get really fanon-y with their interpretations, so keep that in the back of your mind. Try to take everything with a grain of salt or not just listen to the stans of one character, because they might be misrepresenting canon lol.

I'm not a big fan of a lot of the compilation videos that try to condense the entire dsmp because they often seem super biased to one character and you lose all the charm of the multi-pov approach, hence why I don't advise them as, like, the 'main' or 'first' way to get into dsmp. BUT if you already watched your chosen blorbo's POV and you just want to get some more bite-sized content on one specific event or character, some compilation videos can be nice. Just, again, be aware that you're losing at least SOME context and seeing a very condensed version.

If you want to partake in any kind of lore analysis or discussion for the love of god make sure you got your canon facts straight bc I'm so sick of people bringing fanon/heacanons into actual lore posts- -gets shot-

5 - Just find somebody who is mentally ill /j

In the same vein as 'it's okay to get your lore from other sources', other sources can be 'a random dude on tumblr'. There's a ton of people who are still very passionate about specific characters/lore from the dsmp or the dsmp as a whole, and who probably are more than willing to talk about their favs and lay out the lore for you. I know I certainly need only minimal encouragement to yap about c!Techno and his lore and his relationships for HOURS, and I'm knowledgeable about canon dsmp lore in general, so even if it's not about c!Techno I don't mind answering questions. Curious about a specific character/event/lore thing? Just ask somebody. It's free, it's quick, it's going to make a mentally ill person's day /hj

Again with this one I do advise keeping in mind that some people are biased and might confuse fanon with canon (I'm reasonably good at not doing that, I'd say, but I am a little biased towards c!Techno to some degree probably), and I'd only advise doing it after you've already watched your chosen POV at least for a little while and only use it to get extra info or other perspectives. Unless you wanna ask somebody to lay out like, THE ENTIRE LORE of the server which seems kinda silly. But I bet you'd still find somebody who is willing to do that (sombody is me).

Sorry for yapping so much lol

[thatonepikminperson]

The Rescue Corps Company Questioning Post

Okay this is going to be a long post but like dude the Rescue Corps. This game isn't giving me answers and therefore long as hell post will ensue. Good luck lmao.

Okay, so when writing I ran into an issue. How the hell does the Rescue Corps even work? What the hell does the rank captain even mean? My best guess is probably just captain, or current owner of the company, like how Olimar is the captain/owner of the S.S. Dolphin. But if that's the case, then that opens up a whole can of worms.

Does the HQ have any security? Like, do they just leave the building abandoned for the entirety of Pikmin 4? It's possible, since the Emergency Alert could have been an automatic system that just activated when the S.S. Shepherd crashed. But at the same time, why in the hell would they leave the building abandoned? Based off of Shepherd's love for dogs, it's also probable that there are a frick load of dogs inside, meaning they might be security, but who feeds them while Shepherd is gone? What even happens when they leave? Will the Lockpik(min)ing Lawyer come out of nowhere to break into the HQ? (that would be funny though...)

Another question, is there only one Rescue Corps crew? Like, it would both make sense, and not make sense. It would make sense, since it's stated by Dingo that they are still broke af thanks to Shepherd buying lots of dog stuff. But at the same time, do you expect me to believe that a company based on the idea of saving people throughout the entire galaxy would have ONE CREW. I'm not buying it at all. They started intergalactic rescues at the 82nd Captain, there's no shot they haven't hired any new crews since then, right?

The worst part about the above question is that using the game, it's damn near impossible to tell if they have more than one crew. Dingo does state he's "the best ranger in this Rescue Corps" Which brings up even more questions. Is there more than one Rescue Corps, cause that's kinda implied with the word "this". He could be comparing himself to other rangers in the Rescue Corps, which implies there is more than one crew, BUT he could also be comparing himself to past rangers, which supports there's only one crew. He's not the only one with this type of dialogue, as Collin fuckin does it to.

Collin says that Shepherd is "one of the few members of the Rescue Corps with the highest certificate ranking." Which, also can go both ways. The few members thing could imply that there is more than one crew due to her not being the only one of this rank (I'm assuming captain), but it could also be a one crew situations, as these other members could be past Shepherd family captains, which would then make this line about Shepherd' family and not other crews. Good news though, Dingo does specify that the prior captain (which is almost certainly Shepherd's father) saved him on the snowy mountain. Bad news, that doesn't help, as why yes, that could still be a one crew situation, it could also be multiple since it could've been a situation where Shepherd's father's crew was the only one available, or the closest to the job.

Though I do feel like there is one line that does lean closer to the 'there is more then one crew thing' than any other, and it's from Shepherd's Let's Chat dialogue tree. She states that "Once a captain has given a Rescue Officer their mission, there's nothing to be done but hope you'll see that officer again." Now, you could go the route of one crew and say Shepherd has done this to her own crew, but if so why wouldn't she give an example of this? This could still work though, as if Shepherd was job shadowing her father, then it would make sense. Though I feel as if this fits the more than one crew option better, as it would make a bit more sense here saying that Shepherd is speaking from personal experience with other crews, since I'm taking her not giving an example with this crew as her giving orders to another.

Though this line of dialogue brings up another odd thing about the Rescue Corps, which is that everyone is a Rescue Officer, so, does that mean captains (assuming this is not the highest rank here) can send other captains on missions? It's very probable, as if we are running with the more than one crew thing, then Shepherd probably got told that her crew was going on a mission by either a higher up and/or another captain at the Corp. Plus, if there was more than one crew, it would make Shepherd's "job" as a Pup Trainer make a bit more sense, as she can just help other crews train a good dogo. And to those saying "Shepherd is the Captain, she can't be told what to do!" IF there is more than one captain (different ranks probably), technically, by that line of dialogue, they could, since Shepherd's ID states she's both a "Rescue Corps Captain" and "A 99th-gen Rescue Corps Officer."

Dude what even is the ranking system here? Cause if it's just Captain, Captain in training, Rescue Pup, and Officer, why dude??? I'd assume at least there would be more ranks than those four, like maybe some of the ones from Pikmin 3's medals. Those are "Lieutenant (Bronze), Captain (Silver), General (Gold), Royalty (Platinum)" It might make some sense having a Lieutenant rank for other crew's captains, and Shepherd being the only captain rank, but they could so use General dude. It's a golden (ha ha) opportunity. I'm just not even gonna touch rank, cause this post is not getting an extra two paragraphs it's long enough.

Alright more questions, where the ever loving hell is Shepherd's dad. It's never stated what happened to him, just that Shepherd took over as captain, which I'm just going to assume is her taking over the company. Is he dead, is he alive, is he in an old person's home? So many questions for a dude who appears 0 times in game and is mentioned like three times max dude. Actually, better question, WHERE IS SHEPHERD'S MOM??? She's never mentioned at all, did she just get murdered or something??? Could the event Shepherd's ID card talks about be where she lost her mother? It might make sense, since her father was taking work for free, since he felt guilty letting his wife die or something, and that would for sure kick start Shepherd's will to become the next captain. Or maybe she's also alive and in the old person's home with her husband? I don't know.

Also another detail I noticed when going through the game's dialogue is that there's a very high chance that all crews live in the HQ. This mainly comes from Shepherd, who states that Yonny have 27 boxes of books shipped to the HQ, which would imply Yonny lives at the HQ. Otherwise, why the hell would you put your shipping adress as your place of work, it doesn't make sense dude. This also can be said about the Russ's lab coats (it was like 64 or something) getting shipped to the Rescue Corps by his mother, which same idea, why would they be shipped to the Rescue Corps if Russ didn't live there.

Also also another detail I found is that we can infer why some members joined the Corps. Shepherd is a no duh, she's in the Shepherd family. Dingo probably did it due to him getting saved by Shepherd's father and wanting to be like him. We're told Bernard was scouted by Shepherd. We're also told that Russ joined out of "Shear curiosity", which just leaves Collin and Yonny. You could make the case that Collin took the job for money, like he did with the rest of his odd jobs before landing here, or you could make the case that Collin wasn't going for the job, he was just found by whoever does recruiting (50/50 it's the current captain of the Corp) and was a perfect match, or maybe his grandfather had something to do with it. It's not really stated why he took the job, but he did.

Same with Yonny. Bro doesn't really often talk about himself, and the others just talk about his books or "hobbies". There's a decent chance he joined just so he could have someone to financially support his medical bullshit, or it could have been because Dingo was joining and he went screw it, or it could be a secret 3rd option I missed. I'm not sure. (Also fun fact, Yonny is not the only Officer who ever talks about night missions, Bernard has a surprising amount of Let's Chat dialogue dedicated to them. Turns out, Yonny and Bernard chat more than I thought they would, noted.)

Okay this post is long enough lol. In conclusion, I need answers but I'm never gonna get them so here's my yolo guess to some of the stuff I was questioning:

Shepherd owns the Rescue Corps now, but during Pikmin 4 (And how long that game takes on average), her father came out of retirement to make sure the company didn't perish in her absence. Also there's probably more that one crew, it just makes sense. And her mother is alive and well, cause healthy family relationship for the win.

Alright, that's probably good enough. It's as close to the non-specific canon as I'm gonna get dude if you've read this far thank this was just the result of me going "wait what the hell how would this realistically work H U H "

[whateversawesome]

SxF Chapter 91: Perspective, History, Empathy

Let me start by saying that I didn't think this chapter would make me so emotional. Was it the same for you?

A small side character like Millie, who we saw only as one of Yor's annoying co-workers, turned out to have a very sad backstory and gave us a glimpse of how things are for young people in Ostania.

This chapter talks a lot about people understanding and misunderstanding each other. Millie was just talking about her own experience and feelings, she was explaining why it was so difficult for her to help during an event like this, and that lady felt personally attacked because she saw things from her own point of view and her sufferings.

In no way the story discards any of those ladies' sufferings; what they went through during the war was very difficult, I'm sure. Nevertheless, comparing their sufferings and demanding Millie to act the same way just because they were able to do it, it's not right.

They both had different experiences because their circumstances were different, so they face life in their own way. That's exactly Yor's point.

Here, Yor demonstrates her best quality (and one of the many reasons why her husband fell in love with her): Emotional strength.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Yor is a very emotionally intelligent character. The way she stood up for Millie displayed all her emotional strength. She called out that woman in such a smart way!! She wasn't rude but her words were true and very wise.

One of the most important things Yor mentions is that we cannot bear the same load because we're different. And I couldn't agree more👏

Also, if we take it as a metaphor, Yor is such a strong person because she carried a very heavy load: as a child and an orphan, she had to take care of her brother. Because of this, a naturally kind person like her had to learn to murder in order to survive.

It was a beautiful chapter. On top of everything, we learned a few important things:

1.Yor did lose her parents during the war and because of the war.

2.Donovan Desmond did NOT start the war. But plenty of young people like Millie don't know that, so it's possible that since he was Prime Minister during most of the war, he gets blamed for starting it.

3.Donovan Desmond is hated by many. That's probably the reason why he's no longer in office. And it also wouldn't be surprising that the majority of people in Ostania who voted against him want to move on from the war.

3.Melinda still wears her wedding ring and, even though she's separated from her husband, she still counts him as an important person for her. I guess, you can hate a person's actions and opinions, hate what they have become, but care about them at the same time...their marriage is complicated.

4.Not only Yor and Twilight fear the SSS because of their jobs. The general population do too because they know rich and powerful people can make them disappear regardless whether they are spies or not. That means arrests and disappearences of innocent people are common.

5.There was a repression during war time. This means the state controls and restricts certain rights of its citizens. When war happens, the state may determine it's necessary to protect their country and citizens. Chances are that policing of others started then and Ostanians got used to living like that.

And now some questions:

Was Melinda being sincere? In my opinion yes (for the most part). Melinda is no longer campaigning for her husband. In fact, she's going there incognito. Since her husband is no longer the Prime Minister and they don't have any elections to win, she doesn't have to support this types of events. If you think about it, once a politician retires from the public eye, their spouse generally goes back to their normal life.

Something that caught my attention was that it was mentioned Melinda has a lot of enemies; probably because her husband has a lot of enemies too. If that's the case, it would be easier for Melinda to move abroad, where she could have a care-free life, yet, she has chosen to stay in Ostania. Why?

Melinda is still a very mysterious character. We don't know her plans or intentions. We don't know why she separated from her husband. My only guess is that she's suffered a great deal and that's why she's able to empathize with Millie, even though their experiences are different.

What do you think?

Bonus (to end on a light note):

This is the Sxf when we see Yor 😄

[swadloom]

Plague and Nature Flight science comparison that turns into a big infodump about these flights even though I'm in neither 💛💚

I've been thinking about how I personally see the Plague Flight, since I see some disagreement over it and I want to think about how to have them be not evil but still edgy (complement) (also obvious disclaimer that you can interperet their lore however you want to). Here's how I've been thinking about it (which other people might have come up with already) that can also be applied in reverse to the Nature Flight:

"K-selected" and "r-selected" are two survival methods and population patterns for animals. K-selected (humans, most large mammals, etc) have few offspring and care for them from youth, many of them live to old ages, and their species evolves slowly. R-selected (insects, invertebrates, some fish, etc) have many offspring that they often aren't present for the hatching of, many die off with a few living to older ages, and they evolve fast.

This system probably has some problems (I learned about it from environmental science class and there's plenty of outdated or loaded things that can go in there) but I like using it as my model for the Nature Flight (K-selected) and the Plague Flight (r-selected) being extremes compared to the survival and death cycle all other dragons (mortality constant) are also involved with.

It makes sense for Plague with how r-selection is fairly close to how viruses work, though it can maybe be better for helping understand how the virus lifestyle works for a huge dragon with culture and feelings. It can also match how Nature is describes as nurturers and Plague as survivors. A Nature Dragon cares for their young from birth and might treat them like a hatchling for longer than necessary, and an egg going missing would leave them unconsoleable. A Plague Dragon loves their hatchlings too, but they don't need them around by the time they can eat solid food, and laying 20 eggs then watching 19 of them catch Egg Disolves Into Acid disease is just another thursday.

I think it's interesting to look at the Plaguebringer as a hive queen. Just because a mother bug eats her own eggs or doesn't personally tend to / help her children or throws them into a giant pit of goo for being disappointing doesn't mean she would do any of those things for no reason or she doesn't want her species to survive. It's all about survival! A queen bee probably doesn't know any individual workers, but is happy to see the whole hive thriving. The Gladekeeper is happy seeing the same thing, but is more attentive to the individuals of her flight.

When it comes to slow and fast evolution, I think about Plague Dragons experimenting with strains of disease. Admittedly this is harder to fit into the "not evil but still edgy" idea, but I also think most typical Plague Dragons challenge themselves with these to make themselves stronger if they defeat the virus. Plus, iirc somewhere the lore states that all dragons are trying to expand their element, so some of those viruses might be thrown into the Wandering Contagion to add to it. They might be used on other dragons in combat situations, but barring the most violently dedicated to the Plaguebringer, they aren't senselessly released on other dragons (I also like the idea of Plague Dragons using viruses on things to collect bones from them and study them. Some of them seem a bit science-minded).

I also think Plague Dragons are rather open to change and don't care for permanent marks or preservation (described as nomadic, there's few actual settlements or visible towns/cities) while Nature Dragons want things to stay around and want other organisms to live as long as possible, and that they're slow to adapt to changes. That might be why, when the Nature representative Leifa was starting to fall ill, she had stress dreams centered around the Behemoth. It being so ancient is part of why it's so adored, while even a Plague dragon who happened to care about the Behemoth would see it die and go "Oh. Well did it leave a seed? Good! Let's hope the next one won't do that."

I also like how Plague Mirrors may be survival-focused and violent, but are still very dedicated to their pack. Just because a fly wouldn't turn around to help or defend another that's falling behind doesn't mean it isn't happy to see that fly if it catches back up, and the one left behind might not mind because that's just the fly life. Meanwhile a Nature Dragon could lead a mostly very peaceful life and will care for any injured companions, but are also particularly dedicated and violent when they have a rival and will defend their own like a bear aggressively defending its cub.

(The rest of this isn't very related to the K/r selection thing, it's just more infodumping about how I see these guys)

Perhaps after The Seed and The Sickness, Nature is fighting Plague out of revenge for Leifa and to protect what they grew, and Plague is fighting Nature because it's the best way to survive and grow stronger, a land so vulnerable to plague. I feel like there could be more variety in how Plague dragons look at Yugona and any other dragons possible involved in breaking the peace, I have a Plague dragon named Firefly who's her biggest hater for what she did to the Plague Flight's reputation and being underhanded and cowardly, while others might like that they can go out and challenge their prey again. Then again, the Plaguebringer calling the Seedscar a "scar upon our land" suggests some vengefulness or personal insult toward the Nature Flight as well. Maybe they just see Nature as disgusting the same way others might see Plague (though I think dragons in the Flight Rising universe probably see a massive disease land as more normal and accepted than it would be in other fantasy worlds, since it was there since dragonkind began and the world is already full of danger) or maybe a healthy and strong plant is just as inhospitable and dangerous to them as a pool of disease would be to a Nature dragon. The First Seed is an extreme version of that, but maybe dense foliage would be bad for a Plague dragon even if it wasn't impaling them midair with vines.

I like the phrasing of the general Morix saying "nature dragons are unable to survive on their own". It implies that Plague dragons see Nature dragons as weak individually, but as strong when with their own kind. I will say, I often forgot Nature dragons are first described to you as the most nurturing ones, since their two breed representatives are Wildclaws (the violence of nature) and Auraboas (the mystery of nature, though they do tend to the Behemoth iirc). The way Wildclaws are described does put a bit of a dent in how I think about Nature dragons with their one-on-one duels risking eachothers lives amd weaker ones taking a lower status, but I think it's cool that their second highest population is Plague dragons. They sorta represent what Nature and Plague have in common, though I kinda wish there was a second Nature representative to better show what makes them the opposite of Plague and display the purported nurturing druid side. (I can see Nature having a high population of Guardian dragons personally)

OKAY giant infodump over lmk your own thoughts on these things lalalalallalallalalala

[nebmia]

Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf: 5, Flying Circus

Flying Circus is a a game by Erika Chappell where you fly planes, have messy dramatic relationships, and find out who you are. Sometimes all at the same time. More specifically you fly *rickety planes from the dawn of aviation* and have messy, dramatic relationships, and find out who you are *in an essentially queer way*.

The first thing I love about Flying Circus is it's sheer audacity in taking pbta (usually deployed for low crunch storygame-y titles) and twisting it into a highly detailed and technical system for running dogfights. I think its really clever how Erika has taken the idea of a detailed combat system are re-appraised it from the ground up in the context of dogfighting.

There is no grid based movement here, it simply is not useful in the three dimensional world that planes inhabit. Instead your positioning is modelled through altitude and air speed, with each being tradeable for the other and spend able to perform maneuvers.

Honestly the whole system is rather intimidating (a fact the book freely admits). Each plane requires a little personal instrument panel sheet (and a few extra side sheets) that resemble somthing you would expect in a euro-game boardgame more than an rpg. The system goes as far as modelling how your plane performs as you use up your modelling fuel and with varying altitude. There are also a lot of fairly involved moves that it feels would be a little tricky to keep aware of while running a dogfight. However, from what I hear, the system works well and, once you understand it, isn't /that/ tricky to run. I think this isn't actually that crunchy when compared to your standard tactical battlers, it's just completely new (and working in a zone most people have less of an intuitive understanding of [although its worth noting that most peoples intuitive understanding of medieval style combat is dead wrong]) so we are unably to draw upon our preexisting assumptions.

You will notice I have to fall back on reports and intiitions here because I am yet to be able to play the game, which is honestly my biggest problem with it: it carves such a specific niche that I think I will really struggle to ever bring it to the table. Anyone I have talked to about the game has always responded to the effect of 'I don't think I'm into planes enough for this'.

I am also not half as into planes specifically as Erika Chappell is. But what I am into is getting deep into things in general, and this whole system excels at letting you get incredibly technical and nerdy about your plane (as far as things like exactly what radiator fluid it has, if you use the advanced rules) and making those choices actually matter in play.

ok, that's probably enough about planes (a phrase I anticipate has never once been uttered by the author of this book), what are you doing when you get out of the planes?

The game follows a cycle of mission and downtime, which you spend relieving stress (in healthy or unhealthy ways) and running upkeep on your company. This is where you do a lot of the character work and bring into focus the 'coming of age' narrative that the game intends.

Which seems a good lead in to talking about the playbooks. Each playbook is focused around a particular thematic idea or experience, which is helpfully spelled out directly in a 'themes' section for each one. This isn't a game where you play as a fighter because you want to solve problems by hitting them but rather one where you play as a Fisher because you want to engage with "a queer reclamation of the monstous", or a scion because you want to engage with "privilege and power, and what obligations come with it", or a believer because you want to engage with "a mindset that thrives on radicalism", or a survivor because you want to engage with "a metaphor for what it feels like to be a transgender person escaping an unwelcome or abusive situation".

Obviously, alongside themes you do also get a load of cool abilities to use.

Of the many games that claim to be ghibli-esque but I think Flying Circus hews closest on account of two things: understanding miyazaki's perspective on war and also due to being absolutely unhinged about planes.

[smuttysunny]

[ADA]Osamu Dazai NSFW Alphabet!

Genre: Smut

Synopsis: NSFW alphabet for our favourite bandaged suicidal maniac!

Contains: Overall GN reader, regardless of sex! Refrences to bdsm, public sex, pregnancy and breeding kinks, sex toys and more overall sexual stuff 😭🙏 there's way too much in here for me to list

Warnings: Not proofread‼️ English is also not my first language so there might be grammatical errors cuz despite me being fluent, i'm dumb asf!

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Ngl... May seem a bit ooc but I imagine him actually being really sweet after sex, that is if you two are like together and not just a hook up or something lol. He'd praise you and tell you did so good and def help you clean up and take a bath/shower afterwards. Maybe even order food if you two feel up for it.

I imagine he'd also be pretty cuddly, holding you tightly as he nuzzles his face in your shoulder. Moments like these where he shows his vulnerability to someone yk?

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partners)

On himself, probably his eyes or hands. He just loves looking at you and watching all your adorable reactions! And with his hands he, of course, gets to touch you anywhere and everywhere!

On you, the fav is either your face or thighs. Your face of course because of how it can twist and contort in pleasure! Again, he loves your reactions very much. As for thighs, he just loves grabbing and holding them, thin or thick, doesn't matter to him! He loves caressing them, kissing them, licking, biting, leaving hickeys on them, you name it! He also ADORES how your legs try to close when giving you head! Squishing him to death between your thighs truly seems like a great way to go!

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum, basically)

Cummin on you. This fucker definitely loves coating you in his cum. If you can get pregnant he'd definitely be against the idea of cumming in you if you're not using a condom, he is NOT ready for the responsibility of raising a kid, sorry breeding kink people.

But if you can't get pregnant then he's more than willing, he still prefers to see you coveres in his load tho, it's just hot to him, yk?

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

I think he'd have a liking to purposefully walking in on you changing, just seems like the type of guy to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Oh boy this man is def experienced from all the sleeping around he does 😭🙏 for all sexes too, not just afab ppl.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying)

Following on from the hc from earlier, any position where he can see your face will have him satisfied! Although I don't think he'd be particularly picky, just would prefer to see your face.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? Are they humorous? etc.)

I'd imagine him to be quite silly while not ruining the mood, unless he's absolutely tired and done and needs something to let his frustrations out, ofc, but even then after he starts relaxing he'd def go back to his usual teasing and cracking jokes here and there!

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they? Does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He'd do the bare minimum grooming 💀🙏 listen, he's too occupied living to really care about his hair down there but ig in some way the carpets would match the drapes because no matter how unkept he has his hair, it still looks shampoo commercial worthy so probably same thing down there aswell. Would occasionally give himself a trim tho, not fully unkempt.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment? The romantic aspect.)

Depends on his mood and what it is. Quickie? Maybe less intimate as it's just meant to be a quick fuck but if it was proper sex at home he's def be on the more romantic side, unless again pouring his frustrations out on you, and even then, the way his eyes shine looking at you would still reveal the love he holds for you so <3

J = Jack off (Masturbation Headcanon)

This cunt has the sex drive of a teen boy so he'd def be jerking off often, maybe like at least 2 or 3 times per week? Although he can hold himself back pretty well. I can also imagine him absolutely obliterating No Nut November just because he thought it'd be funny.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Can of worms... Which we will be disecting and studying as if its our finals hitting!

For starters, def maintained some of the less healthy kinks he had from his PM days like sadomasochism and gunplay, but at least now it's more of an overall roleplay/bdsm kink with no actual danger. Speaking of which he would LOVE to get tied up or tie you up, same for choking but more on the receiving end. Both giving and receiving for edging and orgasm denial too. Probably also has a big thing for being dominated; he doesn't mind domming but he'd absolutely LOVE to be stepped on and get his brains fucked out!

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

He's shameless but not entirely. As far as he'd go is semi-public places like an alley or his car. As for favourite place, peobably the ADA office LMFAO particularly when it's empty because there's a risk of getting caught!

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

As mentioned previously, this guy has the sex drive of a horny teen so even the smallest touch could accidentally set him off.

N = No (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He would NEVER hurt his partner on purpose. Even for his more extreme kinks he'd make sure you're okay with it first and foremost before anything. Also ik dacryphillia is a big thing in these kinds of fics but if you ever started properly crying he'd stop IMMEDIATELY.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

I think he'd prefer giving slightly more than receiving. He just loves being in between your legs, you know? And again, would love to get choked to death by your thighs <3

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends. If he's making love he'd 100% go slow and sensual, but if it's a quickie his pace would def be fast, a bit rough too but unintentionally! If he's fucking though... Walking privileges will 100% be lost from how rough he'd be lol

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He LOVES them. Legit cherishes them as if they're god's best gift to man, and to be honest to a man like him they sure are.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment? Do they take risks? etc.)

Seeing as how he'd be more than willing to fuck you in his car he'd def enjoy risks here and there, with consent of course(minus pregnancies goodness gracious, if you two are at it without a condom he'd immediately rush you to take your morning after pill afterwards). Again, he would never hurt his partner on purpose and if risks aren't your thing he'd be more than understanding

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for? How long do they last?)

His stamina matches his horniness. If it were after him, he probably wouldn't stop till the sun rises so really it's up to his partner for how long sex will go lmfao

T = Toys (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Ohhh he'd love toys. Most likely owns a fleshlight for when you're not there to please him lolol

And don't feel left out! Because he'd love using toys on you too! Be it vibrators, dildos or something more obscure!

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

King of teasing™ will not miss a minute to joke about how desperate you are for him or any of the sort

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Loud but he does it on purpose just to add to his teasing. Also because he enjoys annoying the neighbors and if he'd doing it in a semi-public place, adds to the risk

W = Wild Card (A random headcanon for the character)

Loves getting pegged.

X = X-ray (Let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

As a non dick haver I actually had to search a bit for this bit-

Uhhh maybe just a little above average idk??? Maybe like 6.2 inches or smth? I o ly rlly have a vague image of him not really being too thick but making up for it in lenght so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'll just leave this one up to your guy's imaginations 💖

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Already mentioned it like 5 times but omd he gets so horny so often you might aswell assume he's a rabbit

Z = Zzz (How quickly they fall asleep afterward)

Although I hc him to have slight insomnia because of depression, probably after sex is one of the only times he can actually fall asleep rather quickly. Just snuggle up to him nice and warm and he's out like a light in approximately 3 minutes. And he def sleeps like a log too lmfaooo

[send-me-a-puffalope]

genuinely curious, but for the second fnaf movie, what would be like. your ideal movie. like beginning middle end kinda deal. what would be the main conflict. that kinda thing :D

God, what a loaded question. I genuinely don't know. I know the FNAF 2 movie would probably have to hit the main 3 points: Mike, Abby, and Vanessa going to another Freddy's location with haunted murderous animatronics, flashbacks to the MCI/general Afton backstory, setup for Springtrap to come back for the FNAF 3 movie. And I'm like confounded how that would work in a way that is satisfying character arc-wise, since I already went on a ramble a few asks back about how conclusive Mike and Abby's story arcs have felt to me, and how there's no more interesting internal conflict for them to be addressing in the second movie and they have no connection to Afton other than Garrett's death.

I'm sure Mike's story in the FNAF 2 movie will still be following him coming to terms with Garrett's death and perhaps getting closure by meeting Garrett's ghost in the puppet, but man, they already addressed the fact that he can't change the past in the first movie. I want Vanessa to be the main character so bad but I feel like the movie wouldn't be complete without Mike and Abby being there in some way. Okay I'm about to go on an incoherent ramble that has very little structure and I'm just gonna need you to bear with me alright.

I'm thinking a new Freddy's location opens---a shock to everyone, especially Mike and Abby, considering the fate of the previous Freddy's---and new "Toy" animatronics are taken out of inventory to perform there. There's rumors that the animatronics from the collapsed Freddy's location were dug up and were now being repurposed from parts. Mike is perfectly happy having nothing to do with Freddy's again but Abby is talking with her "imaginary" friends again, unbekownst to him because she's scared of ruining the smooth sailing they've been in. They're asking her to come help them, that they're hurting them by taking parts from the suits (don't ask me how none of the technicians found the dead bodies, idk man its fnaf) and Abby sneaks out to get to the pizzeria.

Mike discovers that Abby is missing but sees her latest drawings, which feature the ghosts again and goes to find Vanessa, who he hopes has more experience with. uh. dead ghost children. I'm just really obsessed with this screenshot from Unintended alright, I just really want a shot of Mike knocking on Vanessa's apartment door and for the audience's first look at FNAF 2 movie Vanessa to be her at basically rock bottom, her hair greasy with heavy eyebags.

I think act 2 starts here. Where we then cut back to what Vanessa's days have consisted of in the past few weeks. Essentially, she quit her job and has lowk been rotting in her threadbare apartment fighting with the guilt of betraying her father. Doing anything would bring about memories. washing her clothes would remind her of how her dad had taught her how to remove bloodstains, cooking was too overwhelming because she hated the feeling of the kitchen knife in her hand, and I want to kinda use how Scott intended Burntrap to be in SB -> Vanessa's paranoia and terror manifesting as her father/Springtrap/maybe even Shadow Bonnie in the corners of scenes, always watching her. When Mike shows up to her apartment saying that Abby was missing, she takes the chance to get out of those four white undecorated walls and try to "redeem" herself by finding Abby. Prove to Mike (and moreso herself) that she was a good person.

I want Mike and Vanessa to show up the location, it's late but it's still open. There wasn't many people left. Mike's hesitant to get too close to the animatronics but Vanessa is oddly facinated by them. They looked like her father's designs but there were design details that felt foreign to her. Toy Chica is the first one who begins to act oddly. She mentions Mike having a sister despite Mike not ever mentioning having a sister. She's the one who brings them to the back to find Abby. When they eventually do, Abby is chatting happily with the toys. Mike ends up taking her home but Abby bargains to let him bring her after school. He hesitantly agrees, mostly because he's disconcerted about these animatronics also being possessed.

Lowk don't have too much more fleshed out rn but I'm thinking maybe on the fourth day/night, that it's revealed that the toy animatronics were not actually programmed by William but rather Henry Emily, who shows up for the first time right as one of the Gang is about to be murdered by one of the animatronics. I'm thinking Henry is Mike's dad, who "ran off" according to the movie novel.

He'd set up this pizzeria as a way of always being close to his dead son (Garrett) while also luring William back and but it didn't go to plan because he doesn't know William is dead. Even after finding out William is dead, he wants to keep the business going to give the dead children a "happiest day every day." Mike's childhood memory is unreliable. A big reveal is that while Mike has been guilting himself for so long over not being able to remember Garrett's kidnappers face, Henry has known all along. He knew who killed his son and he never told Mike because he never had enough evidence to get Afton convicted.

But he's not a fully good person either, he treats the children haunting the animatronics like they're dogs to help him reach his goal. He controls them similarly to how William did, which rubs Vanessa the wrong way. We get flashbacks here about William and Henry's relationship, we witness the kidnapping of Garrett from William's POV, we witness Vanessa seeing a glimpse of Garrett when she was younger before his death. Abby get close to Henry, though Mike is still weary because this is no longer the same man he remembered and feels betrayed. Vanessa slowly withdraws from the group, only slightly motivated by the fact that she resented that Mike and Abby had a second chance to reconnect with their father, and she gets closer to the ghost children (lowk feel like theres too many ghost children in the FNAF 2 location to make this impactful but whatever). We get a flashback to Vanessa witnessing the MCI here and a heart to heart with the MCI victims about how she'd always stuck by them even as she grew up and they stayed forever young. She apologizes but they don't blame her for surviving and what she did under the thumb of William. After all, they were controlled by William to do awful things too. Also there's a Garrett and Mike + Abby scene in here somehwere. Vanessa begins tampering with the animatronics, severing Henry's control from their wiring.

Vanessa and the children plan to set the place ablaze. Henry is furious when he finds out that his own son was working with Vanessa to burn down the Freddy's -> allow all the spirits to move on in the fire by burning all the suits. He grabs Vanessa by the collar and yells at her, revealing that he worked more closely with William than any of them knew and that he had even helped William with his haunted animatronic experiments before his son had become a casualty to William's obsession. The reason he never reported his son's murder was not because of a lack of evidence, but rather fear that his accompliceship would be discovered. The children respond that this isn't freedom to them. This isn't happiness. They were tired and they wanted to move on. I'm thinking none of them die in this fire but none of them trust each other any more because they were all chronically bad at communication and keeping important information from each other.

Henry, Vanessa, Mike + Abby all go their separate ways and the children get to move on. Freddy's 2 burns down. Post credits scene is Vanessa back in her apartment. She opens her closet door and stares at the dead body of her father in his Springbonnie suit, immobile and staring at her with glowing white pupils. Not really sure where this would go in setting up a FNAF 3 movie but I was kinda just thinking morally gray Vanessa who no longer has a support system -> a chance to build up to a Vanny arc or smth. I haven't read through any of what I just wrote so this could make 0 sense whatsoever. Would it be a good FNAF 2 movie? Maybe not. Would I enjoy it? Maybe yes. Some things sound cool on paper but would be ridiculous/too crowded for a movie.

[queerfables]

Since we're doing impromptu pregnancy kink night on Gcestblr, I want to share one of my favourite variants on this theme: Butch Lesbian Noel Aborts Liam's Baby.

Here are some important facts about butch lesbian Noel so that you can fully appreciate the vision. Shout out to @las-lus who is at least as to blame as I am for this.

Physically she is exactly like regular Noel in every single way, but because she is a butch lesbian she is 100x hotter

Personality-wise she is exactly like regular Noel in every single way, but because she is a butch lesbian she is 100x hotter

Politically, she is just as cynical and apathetic as regular Noel BUT in the same way that working class politics creep into regular Noel's writing, feminist and queer themes sometimes creep into hers.

Which leads to the occasional song where Liam is singing about his lived experience as a lesbian. And honestly it goes off.

Butch lesbian Noel has been attracted to one man in her entire life and it is, of course, her baby brother

(When Liam realises sometime in his 50s that he is probably some version of Not Cis and tweets about it, Noel calls him up and tells him he is not allowed to be trans because 'the only man I'm attracted to is my brother' is a load-bearing pillar of her identity. Liam thinks this is hilarious and starts using she/her more often in the hopes of inspiring more phone calls.)

Anyway the thing about Butch Noel is that in the 90s she is not explicitly out. But like. Look at her. No one on earth believes that's a straight woman. People ask if she's seeing anyone and she changes the subject. They ask about her type in men and she laughs in their faces. They ask about her sexuality outright and she gets extremely sarcastic without ever actually giving an answer. Everyone knows. But she's never actually said it.

AND THEN SHE GETS PREGNANT WITH LIAM'S BABY.

Liam, obviously, is ecstatic. But the question of whether or not she might hypothetically want to have his illicit incest babies is completely overwhelmed by thoughts of the intense public scrutiny she would be put under once her pregnancy hit the news. Plus, like, what the fuck is she going to do with a baby when all she wants is to be writing and recording and touring and focusing on her career. Liam has all these stupid romantic ideas in his head about how they're going to get a house in the country and be a family together and never fight ever again but even if every single part of that idea weren't insane, it's not like Noel could actually count on him to be home for the kid's middle of the night feeds.

So instead she gets an abortion and she doesn't tell Liam until after its done.