#may revisit at a later date but who knows

[puckpocketed]

hello i was tagged by @18minutemajor for WIP Wednesday. it is not Wednesday but i am also not a cop so . here we gooo!!!!!!! tagging my esteemed colleagues (very politely and with no pressure!!!):

@neonfretra @oensible @sorrellegiance @moregraceful @stereax

@wheelsnipecelebrini

@korshrimpski (EDIT: it won’t?? let me tag you. unless these are on separate lines <3)

what's in-progress in your life <3 writing? art? recipe? skill acquisition?

if any crafty people see this - if ANYONE sees this - and would like to join in, feel free and consider yourself tagged <3 (and tag me back so i can see your stuff!!!) link to 18minutemajor's post if yall curious :3 my VERY long wip dump + ramblings under the cut!

its christmas soon and i like to paint gifts for my friends + and i'm finally revisiting my anime/lineart/inking era (here you are K!! my lineart past, present, and future!! <3) so here are some things i've been working on/coming back to/MAY NEVER FINISH: hockey related:

this is juraj slafkovsky and his dinky little middle part which he can absolutely learn to style into something a little less dinky but never does. i am so charmed by him. i imagine he just rocks it because his pretty privilege supersedes dinky middle parts . LMAO!!

here is Sasuke from my Naruto Hockey AU. I am a little stuck on jersey mockups lol. here he is. our haunted little 1OA who is absolutely normal and regular about his captain (LOUD incorrect buzzer):

personal oc art

wanna know some puckpocketed deep lore? i've never been one to make OCs. i was just not a very creative kid tbh. spent all my time drawing sailor moon instead. i still go back to her sometimes because she is one of my favourite shapes in the WORLD!!

in my 20s i took up playing d&d because of the. uh. plague. <3 and got pretty close to having OCs!! those count right? anyway. here is my tavern-wench-turned-wizard!!! i think i painted this 2 years ago? <- put dates on your works guys it saves lives. her name is Mel (short for Melins (pronounced like melons. on account of her knockers. can you tell i never grew out of my 12 yr old booby/cock joke era?) i revisited Mel recently and have started painting her in earnest again!! :3

I briefly dated someone who was very into streetwear and fashion, and I fell down a techwear/gorpcore/cyberpunk rabbit hole for a couple days out of curiosity. i remember literally zero salient info on any of it except the broad strokes of silhouetting and Vibes. what i emerged with, however, was a ?? sorta OC?? im not sure what to call them. they dont rly have a name or gender. I did this little sheet ages ago + the aborted attempt at a portrait later:

Here are my most recent explorations (i have been doing SOOOO much art. <3) which include:

unfinished character sheet + chibi art. I played with their jacket (much more structured/square/tailored thing) and added a lotta random buckles and belts. i took textiles class years ago and have a little experience in garment construction. and i know for a fact this thing does not make any sense. it hurts me to look at a little bit LMAO so i've paused it while i go draft patterns (badly. i was never good at drafting. i think i may have to break out my scrap fabric stash and hand sew a real life mock-up. HELP!)

here is me having fun with them and imagining them as some kind of cyber-fisherman. the best part of every game is the fishing mini-game to me. i love fishing mini-games so much. I made their hair really big because i wanted them to have big unwieldy hair and the vibes told me i should add more movement to the piece aside from the fishing line. I messed with their jacket AGAIN because i can't stop thinking about what kinda jacket they'd wear. gorp-core ? idk. it sure is something!

gifts for my friends :3

back in my weeb era for real YAYYYY!!! up til now i'd been making hockey art using a zero pressure sensitivity pen brush because i simply did NOT want to deal with that. it is and has always been a barrier to me making art that uses line art. <3 easing my way back into it though!

I used to paint gifts for my friends and then get them printed into lil posters and mount them on nice backing :3 i am now ready and back to painting.

Here is my girlbestie's OC. just a rough pose sketch. i think im pretty unsatisfied with the gesture of the head/hand. i wanted to include her gun in some way. i fear i may have to rework the pose entirely <3

For the genshin girlies.. here are some of my friends fave characters.

Yelan - this one i started many holidays ago and put on the backburner because the colouring was wigging me out. you can see where i started rendering stuff + got sidetracked and started on something else (the crystal choker IM LAUGHING @ past me...)

Ayaka - I reaaally like what i did here with the perspective + foreshortening. I don't know if the pose or expression is in-character or not, but i had fun :3 got stunlocked looking at references of genshin weapons so this is where i left off:

if you made it all the way down here hi... <3 ice hockey really cracked the ketchup bottle open for me when it comes to making art again. i love the communities i've found, and i'm inspired by every artist on here every day. thanks for being so cool + have a great day :)

[smol-lizord]

A Snowflake hognose drawing from last night!

[durrtydawg]

Hey queen get better soon 🌟🌟🌟

Since your requests are open, some Sam fluff with just one bed trope pleeeeasee 🤭

Abso-flipping-lutely, babycakes.

I got another anon asking for this, so I hope they find it. I'm sooo sleep deprived, thus might revisit and jazz this up at a later date, but until then, here's one of many takes of the one bed trope <3

Masterlist

One Bed

Sam Drake x Reader {Fluff Req.}

Words: 4k approx | Warnings: Blood mention, weapons mention

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭

"Got that stupid coin of yours?"

You watch Sam cock his head at you in confusion whilst you perch on the dresser inside your newly-appointed motel room.

Sam ferrets around his duffel with a frown as he pulls out the time-worn coin he may as well attach to himself surgically at this point.

"Give."

"What are you doing?"

You ignore him, flexing your hand in his direction to encourage him into throwing it over. His brows furrow harder as a curious smile appears on his lips. Intrigued, He tosses you the coin, and you instantly conceal it in your hands.

"Heads or tails?"

"Uh...heads?" Sam shakes his own, not one to rope himself into something without any prior knowledge.  "Hold on. What are we bettin’ on here?"

You flip the coin rather ungracefully, swivelling to catch it to avoid dropping it on the floor.

"Who gets the bed." You cover the coin post-flip, ready to reveal the winner. "And tails always wi..."

You trail off and stare at your palm in silence. Heads. Sam approaches and looks over your shoulder, patting you in commiseration.

"That backfired, huh?" He chuckles, snatching back his coin as he smirks at your defeat.

"Hmm." You retort, a sarcastic smile on your face as you trudge over to the bed and pick up a pillow with a sigh.

"What are you-" he puts his hand out in confusion, watching as you walk away from the bed and over to the bathroom door. “Where are you going with that pillow?"

"Bathtub. I'm sure as hell not sleeping on the floor and listening to you snore."

"The bath- just share the bed! We're adults, aren't we?" Sam lets out a bemused laugh. "And- you know full well- I don't snore."

You raise an accusatory brow, tucking the pillow under your arm. Sam shakes his head, throwing his arms up in the air as he walks over to where he’d kicked off his boots.

"I am an adult. Which is exactly why I refuse to share."

"Fine! I will go back to the grumpy old bastard at reception, and ask for a spare room."

You sigh. "Like you, I lack the energy to argue. If letting you have your own bed is what it'll take for you to remove whatever stick has been so uncomfortably jammed up your ass over the past few hours, I'm happy to leave it at that."

He grumbles, stepping back into his boots, too tired to do up the laces. "No- nope. You take it. I am nothing if not a gentleman. Besides, I don't want to hear you complaining for days about a stiff neck, or whatever other little princess injury you'd end up givin' yourself."

He puts the strap of his holdall back over his shoulder with a tired huff, approaching the door, hand resting on the handle. Before he turns it, he speaks once more.

“Anyways, I’ll have you know that I’ve shared a bed with many, many people," he chuckles, more so to himself than to you. "Not a single one of ‘em ever complained about snoring. Or... complained about anything, come to think of it." Sam smirks.

You scoff and roll your eyes at his need to make things crass, putting your hands together as if in prayer.

“Please, tell me more about what you and your dick get up to in your spare time. It’s fascinating.”  

“Alright, alright.” He chuckles, opening the door. “Gotta admit, though,” He continues, looking behind him into the corridor before turning back to you with slightly narrowed eyes. “I really thought we had something good going here, sweetheart. I'm a little hurt you're so against a cozy one-night... cuddle.”

You grin into the pillow as you raise an inquisitive brow. “Oh yeah? Cuddle?” You laugh.

Sam simply looks at you with a smile, practically begging to be goaded further. You clear your throat and straighten your posture, as if you're assuming an act. “Tell me more.” You eventually say, voice muffled as you play along.

You’ve always been a fan of Sam’s… suggestive nature. And he’s always admired your ability to take it on the chin. You two are a match made in heaven.

Or is it more… platonic purgatory?

“Pfft. Of course.” He chuckles, folding his arms with his back leaned up against the door frame. He clears his throat too, putting his hand on his chin in thought. “All those passing glances when we were stuck in that forest…”

You lower the pillow, grin deepening. “Hmm. You must mean my turning to make sure you’ve managed to catch up with me?”

He raises a brow towards you, tongue toying with his teeth. Calculating. “…that sighing you keep doin’ around me...” He looks up to the ceiling in mock thought as you cut in again.

“A sign of my ever-dwindling patience?”

He swats his hand in the air, as if to keep you hushed. “This little back ’n’ forth bickering thing we’ve got goin’.” He clicks his tongue. “Gotta say, it’s a shame you're passin' up such an opportunity as this.” He gestures behind you, over to the bed.

You laugh, nodding. “Hmm. I guess sharing that bed could have us really getting to know each other.”

He gives you a teasing smirk, the mischievous glint in his eyes making your cheeks heat up- something you’ve been unable to help since your first job together. Luckily for the sake of your dignity, the pillow serves as a perfect shield.

Sam pouts, mimicking a kiss. Funny how almost dying leads you to revert back to childish conversation.

“Get out.” You laugh, throwing the pillow at him which he swerves just about as you swivel for the bathroom.

“Alright. I'm goin'. Enjoy your cold, lonely bed.”

“I will!” You chirp from behind the bathroom door, grabbing a towel from the folded pile beside the sink and hanging it beside the shower.

You hear the door close and turn on the shower, giving it a moment to warm up as you take off your mud and sweat-saturated clothes, unable to wipe the smile off of your face.

A fierce sting shoots through your upper leg as you peel off your cargos- upon closer inspection, you notice a tear in the fabric at your outer thigh. And thus, the smile is gone.

You kick them off, and ogle at the long gash along your skin- a sore reminder of the run-in with some somewhat feral bandits you and Sam had dealt with mere hours ago. The blood seems to have dried, effectively sealing the wound, but that’s not to say it doesn’t bite like a bitch.

You’d been wrestled to the ground by a member of the group that had the pair of you under attack, the gentleman in question had a knife in his hand, and your gun had long-been out of ammo. If it wasn’t for Sam’s boot swiftly connecting with your assailant's head, a lengthy cut on the thigh would’ve been the least of your problems.

For anyone else, this event alone would be enough to persuade one to partake in several therapy sessions. But, as is tradition with you two, a quick once-over for lethal injuries and a shaky joke about your uncharacteristic lack of finesse is all it took for to divert you back to the task in hand.

Ultimately, though, Sam did save your life today. You can’t help but think that maybe you should be the one finding somewhere else to sleep.

Or you should’ve just been an adult and let him share.

Shrugging off the soreness of your leg, and the guilt of letting Sam take responsibility for the single bed mishap, you step into the shower, using the entirety of the hotel’s adorably tiny tube of shower gel to scrub away evidence of the day’s toil.

Finished, you wrap yourself in your towel, brushing your teeth twice over before you hear the door open and close.

You cautiously open the door, peeking through the gap to see Sam lounging on the bed, chewing some sort of granola bar whilst he channel surfs through a series of programs that he has no actual interest in. You adjust your posture, relieved, but equally miffed that all you’ve got covering you is a towel- your bag on the other side of the room.

“Yay, he’s back!” You chirp through clenched teeth, hastily scampering over to your backpack which Sam has oh-so-conveniently placed himself right next to.

“No more rooms.” He shrugs, taking another bite as he continues to stare mindlessly at the TV, before taking a pause to inspect the bar’s packaging. “Decent vending machine, though.”

“Just when I thought there was no silver lining.” You smile sarcastically, hurriedly rifling through your bag for the cleanest t-shirt and pair of shorts you can find.

You finally catch his eye and an irksome wolf-whistle accompanies a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. You know it's a harmless joke, but you're growing increasingly more exhausted and, fuck, your leg is really stinging.

“Don't be a pest.”

“What? Hardly leaves much to the imagination.” He smirks to himself, looking back to the TV screen.

You frown, self-consciously tightening your hold on the towel wrapped around you. It’s extremely rare that Sam crosses the boundary between harmless flirtation and being straight up weird.

Unfortunately, the latter is swiftly making an appearance due to the rapid progression of your irritability caused by the pain in your leg.

He clears his throat as he clocks your sudden aversion to the conversation, and you direct your stare back to your bag. Slight unease fills the gap between the foreign TV show crackling in the background and the silence between you both.

"I'm..." He starts quietly, his hand cautiously rubbing the back of his neck as he looks away from you coyly. He sniffs. Anything to fill the silence. Anything to avoid an apology.

You press your hand on your thigh to push yourself back upright, ready to make a dash back to the bathroom to pull yourself together and get dressed. Unfortunately, the desired getaway is trampled on as you stand; you grunt suddenly as you accidentally apply pressure to the gash on your thigh, agitating it, and splitting it enough for it to start bleeding again. Almost instantly a small crimson patch becomes visible on the outside of your towel, and you hiss in annoyance, unwittingly attracting Sam’s attention.

"You good?” He asks almost awkwardly.

"Uh-" you bundle your clothes together, bunching them up around your upper thigh, turning away from Sam to dig your shorts out of your bag all whilst shielding your reddened cheeks from his eye line. "Yep. All good."

He adjusts his posture, swivelling his legs off of the bed as he sits up and narrows his eyes at you. “I smell bullshit here, sweetheart. What are you hiding?”

You screw your face up a little, debating whether to tell him or not, cheeks warming even more due to your flustered nature and the sudden protective softness of his tone… yay. Insult, meet injury. 

You eventually grumble in defeat, knuckles tightening more around the twist in the towel by your chest as you return to the bathroom, angling the door for the sake of modesty. “You're not gonna leave this alone are you?" Your voice is muffled by your t-shirt as you shimmy out of the towel and slide it over your head. You step into your shorts with another wince as the fabric grazes the wound.

"Nope." He pops the ‘P’, arms folded as he stands, crumpling the wrapper of the granola bar thing in his hand as he chews on the last bite.

You sigh, slowly stepping back out of the bathroom, the material pulled aside to reveal the long, but fortunately not perilously deep nick, decorating your upper leg with a steadily dribbling stream of blood. Sam’s brows raise, and he freezes mid-chew, giving you an almost chastising glare which makes you instantly jump on the defence.

"Don't- look- It's fine. I'm fine."

“Bleeding pretty damn bad to be ‘fine’, if you ask me.” He swallows, as you scramble through your kit for first aid supplies. “When did that happen?"

You sigh, hating the fuss. "When do you think it happened?" You say, finding the small box of medical supplies stuffed amongst the rest of your belongings and quickly taking a seat on the end of the bed. You take out the things you need, saturating a cotton pad with a cleansing solution as you feel that horrible tension once more.

Sam double takes at you as he walks past you to dispose of his wrapper. "Oh, right. The guy with the knife that 'didn't touch you'?"

"I'm a good liar, Samuel, what can I say- ow!" You hiss as you dab cleansing solution over the wound.

Your hands tremble.

There’s always been something about fixing your own wounds that’s much more of a challenge than managing someone else’s.

"Well… at least now, you can feel less guilty about giving him a severe concussion." 

He shrugs as he rinses off his hands in the bathroom sink before walking back over to you.

You try again, cheeks practically burning by now as you feel Sam’s scrutinising gaze fall over you. You daren’t look up- you presume his eyes are either going to be riddled with judgement or some sort of patronising sympathy- neither an option you care for. You hold your breath, dabbing the saturated cotton wool back against the worst part of the gash, but you grunt just a little too uncomfortably for Sam to stay silent for much longer.

“Alright- give me that.” He steps towards you, extending a hand to the first aid kit, which you let him take with a huff.

Sam kneels in front of you, carefully bracing a hand on your thigh whilst the other takes the cotton wool out of your shaky hand. He begins using the clean side to prevent a dribble of blood from hitting the sheets beneath you whilst he inspects the injury.

"It's only a flesh wound...so…" He says, almost as if he’s reassuring himself about something. You wait curiously as he gets out the remainder of your anti-bacterial solution and some more cotton wool from the small first aid kit, leaving the dirty cotton pad on the floor. 

The end of his sentence never comes. 

The sudden cold sting as he gently dabs at the sore gash on your thigh sends your hands instinctively grabbing at Sam’s forearm with another hiss, causing him to look at you with concern. There’s something else underlying the concern though. Not quite anger, but… he’s definitely vexed.

Sam's fingers are gentle, and you can't help but appreciate the care he’s taking, even if there seems to be a slight discomfort to the silence. He wraps some gauze over the wound before unravelling the last of the roll of bandage, hesitating for a moment. 

He stays silent, and you frown as you watch a series of undecipherable expressions fall over him as he stares at your thigh, almost as if he’s daydreaming.

“Hey.” You gently nudge his chest with your knee, tilting your head down to bring him back to earth as he fiddles with the bandage. “What’s… going on up here?” You cautiously smile, tapping the spot between his eyebrows. 

Sam’s eyes finally meet yours, and you feel your stomach drop a little as his stern expression doesn’t fade remotely.

He takes you in, eyes grazing over every part of your face; eyes, nose, cheeks, lips.

Then, with a speck of what you can only decipher as shame in his eyes, his stare snaps back to your leg.

"I…could’a lost you today."

His voice is low and sincere. So much so that it makes it hard for you to look at him. Serious moments between the two of you are few and far between- you’ve never really learned how to navigate them.

“It’s…just my leg. I’m okay.” You reply quietly, trying to keep the soft smile on your face.

“Could’ve been your throat.” He says, brows still knitted together, eyes flitting down to the bandage in his hands. “Should’ve got to you sooner.”

You frown.

“Why do you think I’m so incapable of holding my own?” You ask, almost taken aback by his sudden shift in tone, your fists grabbing the sheets in an attempt to alleviate the sharp sting from your wound still.

“What?” He scoffs, still concentrating on your leg as he begins to wrap the bandage over your skin. “I don’t think you’re incapable?”

“So why say that?” You ask, curiosity lilting your words.

His eyes are sympathetic for a moment, before they reinstate themselves with a hint of determination. "I think you’re more capable than me most days, ya know. Lift.” He instructs you to raise your leg so he can bring the bandage underneath, but his comment is far from lost by you. He stops speaking again, but it’s clear there’s something he wants to say. 

“You don’t need to keep things from me.” you say, and Sam does a little huff to himself as he continues securing the bandage. Not good enough.

“Sam,” You urge, resting your hands on the sides of his face, forcing him to give you every ounce of his attention as you tilt him up to you. “You’re acting off all of a sudden. Talk to me.”

He’s hard to read for a moment, before he sighs and almost leans into your hands.

“With each run-in we’ve had over the past… two- three years, I feel like I’m becoming more and more scared about you-”

You let go of him, leaning back slightly. “So I am incapable.”

“Jesus- no! Let me speak.” He retorts, tightening the knot on the bandage before tucking it away. You sigh and shift back, pulling yourself fully onto the bed and patting the spot beside you to beckon him to sit too.

He stands, moving the first aid kit onto the floor before sitting, almost reluctantly, beside you on the bed.

Sam lays his head back against the headboard, folding his arms over his chest as he takes a moment to deduce his thoughts. “I’m already on thin ice here. I’m trying not to come across as some kinda-”

“Oh my god, spit it out.” You push, turning onto your side to look at him fully as he stares up to the ceiling, laughing a little at your sudden, but warranted impatience.

“I want to work with you. All the damn time. That’s pretty obvious, right?” He finally turns his head down to you, and you narrow your eyes slightly as you await whatever he’s about to say next. “Every time you get… hurt. No matter how stupid the injury, I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault. Like it’s my responsibility to…fuck, I don’t know.”

He gnaws at his lower lip, eyes suddenly struggling to stay in line with your own.

"I've... I've never felt- never had this... intrinsic need to be so protective over somebody, and I- ” Sam admits, his voice low and with an unsteadiness that makes your arm hairs stand on end. “Look. I know I make it difficult to know where we stand, sometimes. You n’me. I step over the line. N'I don't like making you feel... uncomfortable- inadequate, whatever-”

You stare at your bandaged leg, momentarily lost for words.

"Just- I don't know. Watching that guy on top'a you? The fear I felt-"

It’s fair to say that his… vulnerability strikes a chord deep within you- and you’re both acutely aware of the ever-festering bond the two of you have. Friendship scales tipped just off centre.

“I care about you.”

Suddenly, they’re erring on losing balance entirely.

You prop yourself up a little more. “Yeah, I know you do-”

“No- I- I really care."

He stares at his hands, eyes narrowed, almost as if he’s afraid to look in your direction.

You want to respond. To tell him that you understand, but the words don't come. The few seconds of silence feel like hours. It’s so thick you think you’re going to choke.

Sam clears his throat, poorly trying to mask his discomfort. "I'm gonna... take a shower. Need to clear my head." He stands up abruptly, almost knocking over the first aid kit in his haste.

You nod, giving him space. "Okay," you whisper, watching as he disappears into the bathroom. The muffled sound of running water fills the room, and you lie back, staring at the ceiling.

The day's events replay in your mind, mingling with Sam's emotional fluctuations. It feels like a weird turning point, a moment where a bunch of things are hanging in the balance- ready to do a 180° turn any moment. They just need a catalyst.

As the minutes tick by, exhaustion starts to creep in, mellowing the nervous pinch in your stomach. You close your eyes, letting the steady hum of the shower lull you into a light sleep. When you hear the bathroom door open again, you stir, blinking sleepily as Sam re-enters the room, steam billowing out from behind him.

He glances at you briefly before making his way to the bed, his movements cautious, almost hesitant.

He looks at you, a soft expression on his face as he stops towel-drying his hair, his free hand fiddling with the drawstring of his shorts.

"You sleepin’?”

"Not quite."

"Good," he says, grabbing the free pillow and tossing it to the ground, resting his damp towel flat beside it.. "Didn’t want to wake you."

“You- you’re not sleeping on the floor.”

“Yeah, well the tub’s too small so-”

“Sam.” You say, a tired rasp dulling down the sternness.

Sam pauses, his eyes flickering between your body and the floor, the moonlight filtering through the thin curtains softly illuminating his conflicted expression.

He’s rarely ever this hesitant. Usually, he’s full of confidence, even arrogance at times, but now… now he seems almost timid.

“Y’sure?” he asks quietly, the question barely more than a whisper.

You nod, patting the empty space beside you.

With a deep breath, he finally relents, sitting down on the edge with a cautiousness that makes your heart ache a little.

You watch as he carefully gets into bed, staying on top of the blankets and purposefully facing away from you. The distance feels unnecessary, almost painful. So you reach out, your fingers brushing against his upper arm.

“Hey.”

He turns slightly, looking over his shoulder at you. "Yeah?"

"I get it."

You don’t say anything else- you just shift closer, pressing a gentle kiss to his bare shoulder. It’s a simple gesture, but it conveys everything you’re feeling. I care about you, too.

His skin is warm and smells faintly of soap, and you nuzzle your face into his upper back, only hoping he feels the same comfort that you do.

He tenses- just for a split second before he exhales, body relaxing.

Neither of you speak; You tuck your face deeper into his back, letting the rhythm of his breathing lull you further away from the day.

As you fall asleep, with a gentle yet deliberate motion, Sam finds your hand, his fingers threading through yours. He brings your arm around his waist, holding your hand tightly against his chest.

His thumb softly strokes the back of your hand, a soothing, repetitive motion that makes your heart swell.

"Thank you."

He shifts slightly, turning his head to press a soft kiss to your sore knuckles.

Any more words can wait ‘til morning.

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - WASPS (GROUNDED)

[Image IDs: A screenshot and a render of the wasps from Grounded /End IDs.]

Now this is a game I've been interested in for a while, one that has a rather large and lively cast of bugs throughout it, all viewed from an up close perspective (although one that is often detrimental to the player character)! This, of course, includes plenty of wasps, specifically for the purposes of this review, those directly referred to as Wasps, including the Drones and Queen. Now, some of you who have read these reviews before may be wondering "Ms. Jupiter, doesn't this game also have bees? You usually cover those too, if they're present!", and that is true! I will be covering the bees as well, however, I will be doing so at a later date, alongside the ants! Unfortunately I've neglected ants for some time now (despite also being, taxonomically speaking, wasps, as Formicidae evolved directly from Vespoidea), due to not knowing as much about this subset of species. I'm still learning, but excited to look into them more, so be sure to tune in later for the Grounded revisit!

For the time being, lets start this review the same way we always do, taking a look at their appearance. It's clear to me that the face of this wasp is based directly on the yellowjacket species Vespula germanica, with the distinctive trio of black spots on its clypeus (the broad front sclerite plate above the mandible). The mesosoma markings seem to support this theory, although the metasoma makes things a bit less clear. One could argue those markings do bear some resemblance to the spots on V. germanica as well, although they're far from the same.

[Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, Entomart, and Wikimedia Commons, no further source information provided | Image IDs: A photo of the face of a Vespula germanica yellowjacket, followed by a screenshot of a dead Wasp in Grounded, followed after that by another image of Vespula germanica, this one in front of a pure white background /End IDs.]

The legs should also have a black marking around the coxa, trochanter, and femur if this is the case. Speaking of the legs, they're mostly accurate, but there should be one more short tarsal segment than there is. The antennae are close as well, but should have more segmentation on the flagellum than they do here. Furthermore, the eyes aren't quite the right shape, and they should be black, rather than the oddly glowing red they are in this game. The presence of ocelli, ie simple eyes, is unclear. Lastly, it's missing some distinct yellowjacket fuzz! Overall, though, I feel like this is close enough to correct! Certainly much closer than last week's example, that's for sure.

Although, these are just the standard Wasps! There's also, for one, the Wasp Queen!

[Image IDs: Two screenshots of the Wasp Queen from Grounded /End IDs.]

It's mostly the same exact story here, except for a few points. Notably, I can see the ocelli on top of the head more clearly on this model, and the initial leg segments have all the black markings they should now! The facial markings, though, while admittedly closer to a real Vespula germanica queen's markings than to a worker's, aren't quite right, with its asymmetrical and oddly placed spots. On top of that, the Queen, for whatever reason, has antennae with a yellow scape and pedicel but black flagellum, when the entire antenna should be black.

[Image Source: NatureSpot, David Nichols | Image ID: A photo of a Vespula germanica yellowjacket, more than likely a queen, on the end of a green-leafed plant /End ID.]

Lastly, we have the Wasp Drones, and, realistically, these guys should look very similar to their sisters, just a bit smaller than the queen and bigger than the workers, and with longer antennae. But, strangely, these guys don't seem to have longer antennae at all, but do have different coloration, with red in place of black, as well as yellow tips on their flagella, on top of having this sort of odd bend in them as well. It honestly brings to mind the mental image of a yellowjacket mixed with an executioner wasp (Polistes carnifex).

[Image Sources: iNaturalist, Eric van drn Berghe, and DeviantArt, Eldar Zakirov | Image IDs: A screenshot of a Wasp Drone from Grounded, followed by two photos, one of a Vespula germanica yellowjacket drone on a small branch, and the other of a Polistes carnifex paper wasp on a wooden board /End IDs.]

I think that's all that can really be said in regards to that, however, so let's now discuss their nesting behaviors, and honestly, it's a little bit strange. There appears to be one main nest, within which the Wasp Queen resides and can be summoned to fight, looking about like a standard yellowjacket nest (enclosed structure, vaguely teardrop shaped), oddly found inside of an old bin. But, there are also much smaller nests found throughout the yard, in a more paper wasp type configuration (open structure, umbrella shaped). This would be entirely normal, if they belonged to different species, of different subfamilies or at different stages of construction, but they don't, and, in fact, every small nest comes with only two Workers and one Drone, with no additional Queens to be found, seemingly all under one collective hive.

[Image Sources: Ohio State University, Joe Boggs, and Flickr, Bob Peterson | Image IDs: A screenshot of the main nest in Grounded, followed by a render of a small nest. These are then further followed by photos of a nest of Baldfaced Hornets, which are actually a type of yellowjacket, and a nest of paper wasps, species Polistes major, subspecies major /End IDs.]

The interior of the main nest is also a little strange, but it's not too far off, appearing to have proper layers of cells on the inside. The nests themselves seem ok, though notably different from each other, but this nesting behavior is odd no matter how you slice it. I've heard of multiple queens/foundresses working together under one hive in some Vespidae/Polistinae species (Polistes fuscatus, Polistes dominula, Parachartergus colobopterus, and potentially others), but not one queen ruling over multiple nests simultaneously.

With regards to their behavior outside of nesting, they seem to be notably more aggressive than the real thing would be towards something as small as the player character (which they're not trying to hunt), at least comparatively to how I've observed wild Vespids to be. I've witnessed various different creatures pass by Vespid nests at relatively close distance with no issue. Speaking of their aggression, each variant of these wasps has its own offensive and defensive behaviors as well!

The standard worker Wasps have the sting and bite you would expect, yellowjackets being known for both while defending and hunting, but they also have... A venom shot projectile. It's odd just how common this is to see in video game wasps! It's an interesting attack, yes, but it's also a notably inaccurate thing, only being an ability found in a select few ants, as mentioned in certain reviews. I do have to mention that there is one alleged incident of an Asian giant hornet spraying venom into someone's eye, but given this appears to be an isolated incident with not a lot of research done regarding it, I'm more inclined to believe this was an instance of incidental venom discharge from an "angry" (defensive) wasp.

When it comes to the Wasp Drones, they have two abilities themselves. One of these is the aforementioned projectile, which is even more odd for them, as male wasps (the drones) do not have venom due to not possessing stingers. The other ability, however, is a scream that applies beneficial status effects to them and their wasps. The ability that they and their sisters have to create somewhat complex vocalizations is odd, as most noise-making wasps have simple stridulating chirps, and these species do not include yellowjackets! Side note, their loot table also includes Wasp Paper, which is something that drones would not typically be out collecting.

Finally, the Wasp Queen mostly has similar attacks, those being stings and projectiles, with a scream that summons worker Wasps and Wasp Drones (usually, in the real world, they'd be summoned to attack with pheromones or just with the fact an invader is in their nest at all). Although she does have a couple more things that can deal damage to the player, the first being landing on the player, and the second being POISON BOMBS, FOR SOME REASON. I don't think I need to tell you guys this, but yellowjackets and other wasps are not capable of producing noxious projectile explosives in the real world.

Now, for the first time in this series of reviews, we get to talk about attack weaknesses! and, strangely enough, these wasps are resistant against Chopping, Stabbing, Slashing, Explosive, and Spicy attacks, but are weak against Salt of all things? I can't speak for real world yellowjackets' ability to take proportionally small explosions and sharp weapons, but insects in general are known for having an extreme distaste for capsaicin. As for salt... I mean come on, they're not snails, it may be harmful if it got into an open wound but they still need salt to live, and are in fact often attracted to sources of salt.

In conclusion, they have quite a few features that are fairly accurate! But they made quite a few decisions that baffle me as someone who takes a loving interest in these creatures. Visually, their markings can be notably off but their body structure is almost entirely accurate, meanwhile their behaviors often quite odd. So, my rating for these wasps would have to be...

-

Overall: 6/10

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

[watchyourbuck]

it's just to me a bad sign on how things will go moving forward especially if the buck/tommy ship doesn't go away come season 8 like you are all clearly thinking it will or if it does but they revisit it later. eddie isn't confirmed to be queer in canon yet, he might never be so what's the plan? shitting on the canon romances buck gets and/or patronizingly praising them as long as they serve buddie endgame?

babe you went on a TRIP. ok so im not sure which answer you want me to give you here. fandoms work in specific ways, and this fandom has always been primarily buddie. granted, up until 7x04 they only dated women, but alas, they havent dated each other is my point.

its only natural that people who ship buddie endgame may like to partake on Buck's newest relationship but only as a relationship bound to break to make space for buddie - because thats what they (or we, i guess) ship.

i dont know whats gonna happen next season, or god, this one, but i know ive never taken a shit on any of their partners unless they have done something wrong. never liked taylor bc she was so selfish and played dirty, but lucy and ana and shannon i never had any trouble with, i just didnt see them as that character's forever (and marisol i dont like bc of the actress, but we can get into that later).

thing is, people are gonna ship whatever they ship. you cant change that. im not exactly sure why you went on the bisexual tangent, but as a queer person i can tell you its got nothing to do with sexuality. my advice to you as a person who curates her fandom experience is to blatantly stay away from blogs, fics and fanons you dont enjoy. fandoms are optional, this is supposed to be something that you do in your spare time and love, so why go meddle where you know you dont feel comfortable?

personally, im riding both trains right now, and i enjoy fanfics in most of their forms, so im gonna write/read fanfics where tommy isnt his final love, or some where he is, or threesomes where they end up together (all of them), or where they dont. its fiction! it can vary and spiral and - you get it.

about canon queer eddie, its not something i have the power to decipher. if you follow me, or if youve seen my posts, you should know i think hes queer, but im not gonna go down that road right now bc technically, that doesnt matter for the question. if he never becomes canonically queer, then, well, sometimes we lose. not for that im gonna "shit" or "praise patronizingly" any of their love interestes as long as they are good people who make them happy, whatever gender they are.

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

Trick or treat 👻🦇

I shake up my treat bag of writing goodies, reach inside, and pull out your random prize . . . a new fic idea! Congrats, trick-or-treater!

Brace yourself, I swear I tried to keep this short but I wanted to give you a good idea of what I kind of have in mind for the fic without spoiling anything too major, so it ended up a lot wordier than I initially intended:

My newest fic idea is my Alpha (2018 movie)/F1 AU. For those not familiar with the movie, it's basically a survival drama about how the first human and wolf partnership may have been formed thousands of years ago, leading to the domestication of dogs. The idea really hit me out of nowhere, considering I haven't watched the movie in like 2+ years. I honestly don't even remember what triggered the fic idea to spawn in the first place. But I do know that once I acquired the seed for the idea, I started pulling up YouTube videos of some of my favorite scenes from the movie, reminiscing about how much I like it, and thought, "yeah, there's a fic here!"

Leo is, arguably, the cutest addition to the paddock this year, so it's not surprising that he was the first dog to pop into my mind to play the role of the wolf character. I did briefly consider Roscoe, and maybe spinning the story to include some sort of Brocedes arc, but it wasn't really panning out so I shelved it for the time being (I may try to revisit it at a later date, though I make no promises). Leo and Charles as the main wolf-and-human pair held a lot more appeal to me, mainly because I found it a lot easier to come up with potential relationships and ideas to include in the story. I'm definitely including Charles' father, and I apologize, but this is not an AU that changes his fate. (you're also not gonna like what I do to Anthoine, I'm sorry in advance) We'll also have Twitch Quartet shenanigans, a few other drivers as fellow hunter-gatherers, and, of course, some Charles and Max interactions!

As far as Charles and Max go, I am still slightly on the fence about making this a Lestappen fic, but I am admittedly leaning more and more towards including it as I think about the idea more. I think it could be an interesting dynamic to explore in the setting of a prehistoric wilderness where humans are decidedly not the dominant species and they either have to work together, make tough decisions, or die. Plus, it gives me an excuse to introduce Max into the story and have him actually stick around (he's originally from a different tribe than Charles; his father leads it, and he doesn't look too kindly on Max forming friendships with "enemies," so he has to choose between the tribe he's always known and the boy who kind of gets on his nerves at first but also seems to understand him more than anyone else ever has).

The basic plot of the fic more or less follows the general plot of the movie, and is as follows: we introduce Charles and his tribe, which includes his family and friends. His father's health has been declining, so Charles and his brothers are being trained on how to lead in his stead. They set off on the annual bison hunt and meet up with another tribe along the way (Max's tribe). Charles and Max hit it off, and Max chooses to stay with him when his father issues an ultimatum about his relationship. Then tragedy strikes when Charles is seemingly killed during the hunt . . . only he doesn't actually die. He then has to try and survive on his own and get back home to his family and Max. Max, meanwhile, is trying to find a way to go on after Charles' "death." Along the way, Charles encounters an injured wolf, nurses it back to health because he can't bring himself to kill it in cold blood, and eventually ends up bonding with it and naming it Leo (another reason I'm considering adding Lestappen - Charles could name him "Leo" as a nod to Max, the one he misses and wants to return home to the most). They work together to survive until, finally, Charles makes it back home. He gets to say goodbye to his father before he passes and reunites with all of his friends, including Max. The story ends with Charles gradually settling into leadership, with Max by his side, and Leo aiding him and ushering in the beginning of wolf domestication.

Admittedly, this current loose outline sounds more Lestappen-centric than Charles-and-Leo-centric, but I promise that the bulk of the actual story will be about Charles and Leo! They spend a lot of time on their own in the wilderness, so they'll have lots of time to bond and have adventures before Charles sees another person again. Leo is gonna take his role as "man's best friend" very seriously!

There are some other little details and ideas I'm still pondering too, but I think the most important one for now is that yes, I am including Norrix in this AU! It'll be a bit more in the background since the story is meant to focus on Charles' journey, but it will undeniably be there. Lando is part of Charles' tribe and is the tribe healer, having trained as a healer when he was too small to join the other boys in hunting and fighting as a kid, though he has since filled out significantly and he is a great fighter should the need arise. Martijn sticks with Max when he defects from his father's tribe because he's his friend, and honestly because he doesn't like Max's dad either, and meets Lando when they first return to Charles' tribe. They meet, more or less instantly fall in love, and live happily ever after. :) (Well, as happily ever after as they can get in the Stone Age, anyway.)

[madlori]

gonna be honest that Miceli spec at the start of episode feels real to me. i really dont vibe with the first date do-over resolution because i feel it's not intimate enough especially if i love yous will be said. but anyway isn't it canon that Tommy somehow ghosted her? maybe I'm confusing it with some fic lol im not sure. anyway imo I think that there's some potential there. imagine buck learning that it's the same Tommy that hurt Abby, so of course the seed is planted that maybe tommy is truly not who he thinks he is and maybe he is capable of ghosting him too. also there may be a full circle moment aspect of it that i cant put into words right now

We know Miceli's was scouted for 8x06 but afaik we don't even have confirmation it will be in the episode. If it is, I can envision any number of scenarios. TBH the one the anon posts, where revisiting the site of their bad first date leads to a discussion of Buck's first date with Abby, sounds pretty plausible. But revisiting the site of their bad first date to have a better one, also sounds plausible.

Ok. I went back and looked at the transcripts. Abby says VERY LITTLE about the Tommy she dated. In her first monologue in the pilot, she says that he broke up with her, and that wasn't her choice, and it was the worst breakup of her life. In a later episode, she says that SHE broke up with HIM. There's no information about why, or in what circumstances, they broke up. If if IS our Tommy, and their breakup was painful, well...breakups are painful. It doesn't make him a bad person if she was sad about it, any more than it makes her a bad person that Buck felt sad about THEIR breakup (at least, I don't think it does, some disagree).

I just don't see that presenting as something Buck would internally panic over. I'm sure if they wanted to use it, they'd find a way to write it.

I also suspect that, as happens like 90% of the time with spec, we fandomers are making a lot more of this "hurdle" than it will end up being in the episode.

I dont think it would be the worst thing ever if Abby turned out to be the thing Buck learns. I just think it would be a bit lazy. But I can also imagine Tim not being able to resist capitalizing on that coincidental use of the same name twice just because he'd think it was funny.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Knubbler hcs (Fluff alphabet edition)

Ik I just posted a fluff list to do with CRP characters last post but I also wanna do it with Knubbler because this fucker has been on my mine for WEEKS and I gotta feed my fellow dick enjoyers

Obvious heads up on heavy hc stuff since we don't have much on this dude RAAAAAAAH + still developing my hcs

Long since its A-Z, not proof read and I wrote this in one sitting I need to be put down

Attraction-

Torn between wanting to say he has high standards but I'm a dickface shipper sooo (/lh)

I can't explain it but I feel like he'd be into the feistier people; more dominant and outspoken, that sort of thing, ballsy. Also balancing with being chill so it's not just. Constant energy

Balance, you know

Appearance wise? I'm stumped tbh so maybe I'll revisit this later some day

Bonding-

While he enjoys dragging you around and spoiling you (getting into that for D + G), he does enjoy time spent at home with you! Knubblers always been the type of person to sit by a fire reading a book with a glass of wine; in a robe of course

At least he does to me

Calm stuff like that is a must

Oh how I crave domestic life hcs with this man

Cuddling-

I don't have PDA on this list so imma let it be said, this man loves affection, giving and receiving. Absolutely adores being all over you at all times and not at all afraid to show you off

Going to the actual prompt he doesnt care if you're larger or smaller than him, if you sprawl yourself over his chest he will melt!!!! Hold each other!!!

Dates-

This man is going to pour so much money into these dates

Could just be because we saw him take Abigail out to dinner but my brain defaults to restuarant dates, but otherwise I feel he's also a museum enjoyer (historical, art, ect)

Emotion-

Of course since this for reader insert stuff I can't exactly say who's more emotional so we're relying on Knubbler

I feel like. He's moderate, based on his interactions with Dethklok

He's patient by a considerable amount but has his limits

Absolutely pours his heart and guts out to you when hes drunk, though, not that he doesnt already shower you with compliments and affirmations

Wanna put him at a 6.5/10 when sober, and solid 8/10 when drunk

Family-

He doesn't strike me as the type to want kids, honestly, not that he has anything against them though, it's simply not what he wants

I saw someone hc a while back that he would have a bunch of siblings and I'm HARD agreeing on that + adding my own thing that hes an uncle

Need to write a silly fic where he's assigned as babysitter for a day (I desperately need more solo/knubbler centered stuff)

Gift Giving-

Nearly every week or so he will buy you something from flowers to jewelry to stuffed animals to fancy chocolates to really anything

If you so much as mention vaguely wanting something hes pulling out his wallet

This dude is likely loaded (based on working for Dethklok and being successful prior judging by the newspapers at the end of episode 2) so he's not afraid to drop some cash for you

As for receiving gifts he doesn't hold you to the same standard regardless of your income but he would be thrilled with anything you give him, I feel like hes a jewelry guy but maybe that's just because I like drawing him with rings

I feel like he'd go bonkers for baked good though

Harsh-

You guys may butt heads but you guys probably wouldn't argue too much outside of the basic disagreements that happen in every relationship!! Usually apologies for lashing out (if he does that in that particular argument) but will refuse to apologize if there's an actual problem that needs to be addressed (if said problem is on your end)

King of compromises (learned trait from working with bands me thinks)

Injury-

Depends on the severity

Knows very very basic first aid (cleaning, applying pressure if it's an open bleeding wound, cool water if it's a burn, ect) but more than that he's lost

Swearing and a bit of panic if it's something more serious, this is true for if hes the one hurt as well

If you're the one hurt hes going to hover all over you. Oh nooo please dont tell him hes your savior/hero, please don't make him reel good for pampering you oh NOOOOOOO (stares)

If hes the ome hurt hes going to bask in the attention if he needs to be taken care of, hypes up splinters/j

This stuff also applies to sickness

Jealousy-

Oh this is one jealous motherfucker. He will *glare* with those red pin prick robotic eyes of his

If someone's flirting with you he will saunter over and wrap an arm around you, loudly and sharply calls you babe to get the point across

^Kinda cliche but I feel like this man is a sucker for tropes

But if you're like actively uncomfortable I think he might have to intervene

See: his criminal record and the fact he "knows people who can 'take care of someone'", whether he'd actually follow through depends

Kisses-

Recieving he loves when you kiss his face; mouth, cheeks, nose

Giving, really everything is fair game if you give the go ahead; has a particular fixation on your hands (backs and knuckles), cheeks, and neck

Love anything from quick pecks to full on make out sessions

Love Language-

Physical touch and gift giving! Sometimes the gift giving can get intense since hes so ready to treat you like royalty but he doesnt mean anything malicious by it

As for receiving he has a soft spot for affirmations

Marriage-

He goes either way I think, but leans further to no marriage

That doesn't mean hes any less committed to you, though

You guys probably get matching rings even if there isn't a ceremony or legal thing, I think

No-

A deal breaker is like. If you're genuinely a bad person or a threat to his career

Like theres a difference between the shit Dethklok gets into and what you would have to do for him to cut you off full stop

Though I'm stumped on what exactly would call for that outside of being a genuinely horrible person, maybe I'll revisit this later

Oddity-

His laugh is the first thing I can think of. While I think the original is silly and cute in its own way, I'm kinda glad they changed it in the movie

He laughs at his own jokes and has a killer hair routine he follows religiously. Shitty innuendos, too. I am not going to let this man live down the hot dog thing and I KNOW it ain't a one off thing there is no way, this man gets no bitches (using Nathan's "you're horrible with women" comment as leverage)

Outside of that I dont think there's many quirks or habits that are worth mentioning

Petnames-

By law he has to call you Baby/Babe but I can also see him saying Hon/Honey, maybe even Sweetheart

Loves being called things like Dear and Darling

Question-

Loves coming to you to ask if you wanna give a second opinion on something hes working on, work related or not! Hes more than confident in his skills regarding sound engineering, but he likes getting the attention and time from you

Risk-

Skipping this because I'm truly stumped on trying to figure out how far hes willing to go in a relationship in terms of taking risks

SHH-

Has a few secrets, ranging from personal stuff to things that ultimately don't concern you

And that's okay, as long as it's not anything that can screw you or the relationship over, privacy is necessary

Probably has a lot of secrets surrounding dumb or embarrassing stuff hes done before and during the relationship

Tunes-

Obligatory I have a funky sense of music and while I want to choose a song that fits the time period of the main show to the decades before I'm a bit lost. Also I dont generally listen to love songs/songs that can be passed off as ones if you squint. So you guys get 2 songs that give me knubbler x (reader/oc insert) vibes

And

Upset-

When Knubbler is upset he shuts himself off and tries to get over whatever funk hes in, usually a glass or two is involved

Occasionally he'll seek you out for comfort or validation

If you're the one upset he's already lending you an ear and offering a shoulder to lean on (metaphorically and literally), gets mad on your behalf if someone upset you and offers solutions if it was something else

I like to think that you guys dedicate nights for venting and unloading on drama and bullshit. Like two gossiping moms

Valentine-

He is not holding back

You wake up to breakfast and gifts. He takes you out all day for shopping, you guys come home to get ready for dinner and a movie

Things definitely get.. intimate

But this is a SFW blog so I am not going to elaborate

Wedding-

If there is a wedding you guys make sure it's straight out of a storybook; dream wedding basically

Since he's not too worried about getting married I'd assume it makes sense that he lends most the power to you when it comes to decorating

Xray-

Urges you to communicate your feelings outwardly and verbally since hes not a mind reader, but he does pick up on certain behaviors to give him a general idea of how you're feeling

He doesn't want to push too hard, though, so he tries to offer an environment where there's open communication

Yearning-

Stealing this from my friend but hc that Knubbler actually would not know how to react to someone genuinely having an interest in him, at least in the beginning

Like he knows he's not the ugliest or the most horrible person but he doesnt think hes a heartthrob

So when you come along and actually get him to sit and settle down with someone he kinda. Doesn't know how to feel about being on his own/seperated

Like he can still function but hes finding himself thinking about you a lot; from wondering how your day is to things he wants to tell you when you guys are reunited

Zzz-

As mentioned before he loves cuddling so be ready for him to hold onto you

Prefers soft and light covers compared to heavier ones

Probably yoinks the blanket while he's sleeping

Probably snores

Bonus hc I think his robo eyes can be taken out, like for charging and he has a lil case for them. Has a sleeping mask so nothing gets into his sockets + he understands how it looks to others (especially if they wake up half asleep in the dark and arent used to the empty sockets yet)

[dramioneasks]

Hi! I was wondering… is there any fic where Harry is really possessive of Hermione it can be just a possessive friend or secret crush and when he learns about dramione things go nuclear (?) or something like that.

THANK U 🤍

The Phoenix Potion by FedonCiadale - T, 111 chapters, Words: 237,679 - Twenty years after the battle of Hogwarts…. Harry is head auror and is worried about cases where Muggleborn children meet with accidents, Ron is a famous Quidditch keeper. Both haven’t talked to Hermione for ages and certainly not to her husband, Draco Malfoy. Narcissa Malfoy struggles with a curse, and Neville and Luna try to stay friends with all. The key to solving the problems may lie in the past, a time nobody really wants to revisit and some can’t.

Lost Souls of Nott Castle By: mezy - M, 44 chapters, Words: 125,761 - Everyone lost something in the war. Some of them lost everything. Hermione had nothing left. No family. No friends. Until she finds everything she ever needed amongst the most unlikely of people. Together they will face adversity, battle inner demons and navigate their futures. Rated M, EWE, Friendship, Romance, Action, Mystery, Dramione

Broken by inadaze22 - E, 37 Chapters - Draco felt something close to pity for the woman in front of him. While that disturbed him to no end, what really disgusted him was the fact that something had broken Hermione Granger’s spirit beyond recognition.

His Favourite Muggleborn by FranceHufflepuff - M, 15 chapters - 2004. Harry Potter could not help but stick his nose to where it doesn’t belong. He discovered that Hermione’s Slytherin friends had invented a powerful and advanced time-turner that could take someone back up to thirty years. He planned a raid at the Malfoy residence to confiscate it. He had a confrontation with a very angry Hermione Granger-Malfoy. A confrontation that led to an argument. An argument that led to yelling and fighting. And the exchange of spells led to her unconsciousness. She had travelled back in time and found herself in her childhood home with her parents, in her eleven-year-old self. She sobbed, realizing that she was no longer an adult, and Draco wasn’t around. She hated Harry Potter. After everything she did for him after she had forgiven him for abandoning her when she needed him the most, he still could not trust her judgment. He could no longer trust her, either, since she became friends with Slytherins and dated their schoolyard bully. She swore she wouldn’t be friends with him anymore. Not this time.

Once Lost but Found Again by Graendoll - E, 3 chapters - Draco left her bed in the middle of the night four months ago and they’ve been apart ever since. Frankly, he’s sick of it. *** “Draco Malfoy, stop behaving as though you’re an idiot. I know you have a brain in there. Please elect to use it.” “Good lord, Granger, are you ill? Did you just accuse me of having a brain?”

Familiar Taste of Poison - Shananigans10 - M, 12 chapters - Hermione, bookstore owner know-it-all is approached by the extremely wealthy and highly desired Draco in hopes that she will aid him with his research. Danger, uncertainty and passion ensues as Hermione is targeted by an unknown person who is threatening her very existance. Will she make it out alive? Dark!Harry non-con mentioned

The Promise By: JoJo4 - M, 16 chapters - Draco promised to return to Hermione, but two years later she has lost faith. When he finally he reenters her life, why is she left only with questions? Complete.

-Lisa

[momolady]

A List of Things Not Yet Written

Here is the list of things I want to write that may inspire commission ideas or even inspire you to write something in general!

First off, I re-read Himley the Mad Hatter recently, and I have been filled with this deep, horrible desire to go back and make it better. The bones are there in the story, but it is jumbled, wordy, and I know I could do such a character justice. I want to rewrite it so bad. This may be the top of my list of projects I want to do.

It was brought to my attention the story of Bray was never fully closed. I would like to both rewrite his first chapter and continue it.

The Minotaur clan in the Ruby Empire was once a huge idea for me, but it had to fall to the wayside. Claudio was the only one I got to talk about from that neck of the Ruby Empire wood, and I would like to go back and visit it.

Most of the Ruby Empire needs to be retconned and rewritten, but no one could afford o fix that mess, so moving on.

I need to finish the Levi rewrite now that I'm on it.

I also wouldn't mind revisiting my first monster story, the Strawberry monster. 

This one was an ask on Tumblr: "A homeless girl arrives at Hearthway Hollow with only but her  guitar and optimism to make money, not knowing about the traditions or  even knowing about the werewolves." 

A former magical girl who supposedly died but has been turned into a cyborg, whose power over music is now a powerful mind control power. That's all I've got, just a character.

Anothe tumble ask: "a goblin thinks he is getting catfished, after an online friend finally sent the first picture of herself." The idea of this sounds so fun, could be any monster. Coudl give me the chance to build a monster dating app.

I've been rewatching Star Trek TNG and Data has been giving me thoughts. So maybe something along the lines of the android and a companion.

A former royal concubine runs away, rather than spend her life serving others. Near death, she's rescued by a man (orc, minotaur, whatever) and his dog. But he lives high in the mountains and supplies are low as is. She agrees to use her skills to keep him company through the long, dark winter until spring thaws the mountain and she can cross the Cobra Strait. 

A short, spitfire thief breaks into the house of a supposedly single woman who is a shut in. The house appears in disrepair and the woman has surprisingly nice things, even if things are cluttered and stacked around. But the thief is caught by the woman, who is quite taller than him. She kidnaps him and keeps him in prisoner in her home where she reveals herself to be a vampire disillusioned with immortality and has been sustaining herself off critters who get into her house. The short thief is just the latest.

Speaking of height difference couples! A short statured fire demon finds himself smitten with one of the ice giant women.

A monster wins a date with the camgirl he admires.

A red riding hood retelling. I'm shocked I've not done that before.

An attempt to clone a powerful, ancient creature results in a monster that seeks revenge on the people who have been keeping them captve and used for experiments. To exact revenge, the monster kidnaps the head scientist's daughter, intending to turn her against her family and humans in general.

I reread Thilo last night and I want to rewrite it. If only for the fact the reader character seemed a bit...predatory.

finish Misinformed! I think i need a couple of chapters to finish the story as it is before i do a rough draft rewrite.

An older woman reconnects with the orc she fell in love with. When Obresh was rescued by the Orcs her family decided to move rather than be ruled by the orcs, separating her from the orc she had fallen in love with. Decades later, she returns to Obresh and finds her former love. The two reconnect and finish what they started.

A halfling monster Hunter gets more than he bargained for when he comes into contact with two powerful and warring vampires.

An isekai story where the MC is sent to various worlds with the stipulation they’ll die if they have sex. So they make a game of it.

See any of these you like? Commission them from me! Or any story you want to see me write for you.

[orange-orchard-system]

It really is concerning that I've now seen multiple "call-outs" based on information that not only isn't given a proper source, but based on what I can figure out, may be sourced from bad actors impersonating and spreading lies about the victim(s) of these call-outs in question. Please remember to always verify if your sources are trustworthy by asking questions such as:

Is this information up-to-date? Was it posted recently enough to probably still be accurate, or has enough time passed that we may have discovered new information on the subject that contradicts or elaborates on this?

Who posted it? Do they have the experience and/or qualifications to know what they're talking about? Can I verify that they are who they say they are? Are they sharing this information second- or third-hand? Are the publisher and author the same? If not, could the relationship between the publisher and author have influenced the text? Have the author and/or publisher published reliable information in the past? Have they published unreliable information in the past? Do they make a habit of either? What patterns can you find in their texts?

Does this sound realistic? If not, am I willing to accept it if I find enough evidence to confirm things really are that strange? If so, am I jumping on the bandwagon too quick due to my emotions (ex. an accusation against someone gets you too angry to stop and think if it's true)? Should I take a step back and revisit this later with fresh eyes? Can this be corroborated by other sources?

Why was this posted? Was it just to share this information? Was it to get people united against a specific, designated enemy? Was it to warn others about something? Was it for a project? Was posting it part of someone's job? What was the base of the information – a social media post? An experiment? A personal experience?

What biases may be present in it? What assumptions does the author make? Does any of it feel like an overreaction, or like someone jumped to conclusions? Am I meant to take it seriously? Is it a joke, or something taken out of context? How would I feel about it if this were in a different context? What is the actual context?

If all this seems like too much for you, don't worry – the base of all this is the CRAAP test, which is a method of determining if information or a source is trustworthy and reliable in what it says. These are simply some of the questions to ask that go along with CRAAP; you don't have to ask every single one of them, but you should at least consider some of them.

Again, please remember to verify your sources. Unfortunately, you never know when some information you come across is going to be false – I mean, hey, can you confirm I'm telling the truth about what the CRAAP test is? If not, you should probably go check by looking it up and using some of the very questions I've listed above to confirm the sources you find are reliable! Good luck out there, and if nothing else, make sure someone doesn't have a known record of being impersonated before you take any claims about them at face value.

[thequeenofthewinter]

Snippet Someday

A very interesting concept, thank you for creating it @dirty-bosmer and for tagging me in it. Also a huge thanks for @mareenavee for throwing a second tag my way. <3 If you all haven't checked out their writing yet, you need to.

Tagging: @oblivions-dawn @paraparadigm @rainpebble3 @blossom-adventures @dumpsterhipster @skyrim-forever @snippetsrus @changelingsandothernonsense @gilgamish @saltymaplesyrup @archangelsunited @rhiannon1199 and anyone else who wants to play along.

Rules: Revisit an old fic (or earlier chapters of your current WIP) and share a snip from:

Your first chapter

Your favorite chapter

Your most challenging chapter

Alternatively, if you don't write longfic, feel free to share your one-shots. Provide as much or as little commentary as you want.

I will be using my current WIP, An Invincible Summer, for this. Apologies ahead of time for the long post. I will place my snippets under the cut.

First Chapter: Awakening (Chapter 2) (Technically, it's chapter 2 but the first one is a bit of a teaser/prologue, so I am starting here.)

Whispers of fabric follow Dahlia as she walks through the otherwise hauntingly quiet floors of the Palace of the Kings. They are the only sound which dares to accompany her, and the only indication which she comes and goes from room to room in her phantom state. No one approaches her, and no one sees her, as she herself makes no sound. Not even her footsteps echo off the old stones as if they too are afraid of disturbing her fragile peace. When she enters the Great Hall, she appears out of nowhere as if she were a sudden grey mist rolling in over the western moorlands of Whiterun. One by one, the servants take notice of her and stop to stare, unsure of what to do or how to act. They are all surprised by her spectral presence in the Great Hall as she slowly makes her way towards the Throne of Ysgramor to sit on its seat, her dull hazel eyes looking blankly out over the scene before her.  It is a complete change, a metamorphosis, as everyone watches her finally emerge from the safety of Ulfric's room, her mourning cocoon. Now, dressed decadently in silks, velvets, and furs, Dahlia looks to them to be every bit a noblewoman, the queen she is to become at a later date. She glitters and glistens from head to toe, shimmering in the bright sunlight with all of the necklaces, rings, and other trinkets which adorn her, and it's all topped with an eerily familiar piece of clothing: Ulfric's bear cloak. She has taken it as her own so that a piece of him goes wherever she does. This is her new armor, even if it's only a costume meant to distract them from staring at her for too long and seeing what inner turmoil is brewing underneath her stormy surface.  Only she knows that she is an apparition, the barest wisp of her previous self. 

Favorite Chapter: Long May They Rein (Chapter 18) (It was really hart to choose something, but ultimately, I decided on the most recent thing I wrote. There is just something about it which I am really proud of.)

"When Akatosh spun the Wheel of time and created the Dragonborns, he gave us Talos for strength and courage, a God that humans could truly look up to and aspire to become. It is in that tradition that our kings and queens have followed, striving to approximate that same tenacity of fortitude." One of the priestess' hands waves over them, gesturing to them both as she lifts a silver crown with the other. While Dahlia is already wearing hers, Ulfric is to receive his during the ceremony for all to see. Candlelight reflects off the polished sides of the silver circlet which is notably engraved with dragon's tongue as a symbol of solidarity with his wife and a single polished sapphire at its head to represent his family name. Carefully, Jora puts it down on the altar placed before her, and continues with her sermon. "All the Nine have lessons to teach us, and paths for us to follow--from Zenithar and his teachings of hard work and an industrious spirit to Stendarr and his showings of mercy upon us. May they both cover and guide you as they lend you their wisdom to rule our country." A white cloth is then placed over both of their heads before she utters her next verses. They are the same ones, perhaps with a few modifications, which have been uttered during the coronations of generations of kings and queens over time immemorial. The words settle over them both, vibrating through the chamber as if swept in upon the wind itself. "Kyne shows us the path of kindness and grants us auspicious winds. It is she who gifted us the space to exist within the Void as she opened her arms and the heavens for us. Her handmaiden, Mara, embodied the same care for us mortals in demonstrating what it means to show devotion to one another. Their qualities of generosity and amenity are standards which we all hold ourselves to--blessings which we all hope to receive." She anoints them with mountain flower oil which flows over their mantle in slow rivers. "May their kindness and love rain down on you." From there, the words all meld into one, becoming indistinct as they ebb and flow like the tides, pulling at Dahlia's heartstrings until all that is left is feeling. She is floating--not quite here nor there--as her eyes slip closed and her breathing slows to the rhythm of their beat. Julianos, Diabella, Arkay. Widsom, beauty, balance. She knows she should be paying attention, but she has all but faded away into the droning buzz of Jora's words. She is everywhere and nowhere all at once as the constellations and celestial bodies, laid out before her in ribbons of time and streams of space, leak past her in echos and whispers of words as ancient as the universe itself. They tug and pull at the edges of her consciousness, velvety black and bright silver seeping from her fingers--Are those her fingers? They ripple at her as they disperse into prismatic waves before dispersing into the Void. The whole image then turns with the force of a great Dragon opening its maw and yawning into the cosmos. She catches murmurings of what she perceives is language--if anything in this Void could be called that or even be real at all. Dovahjud, tum haallei wahl Vus motaad voth fin fus do duni, kiiri. And suddenly as quickly as the vision started, it all begins to dissolve into nothing with fragments of ash as they flutter around her and the images fade back into reality. What was this? Why was she here, and was that-- Dragged back into the consciousness of the here and now, her soul lurches into her body, the steadying hand of Ulfric keeping her from falling forward into the priestess's feet. Dahlia blinks as her eyes adjust to the vivid colors of solid, tangible existence to see the sapphire of his eyes looking with concern back at her.

Most Challenging Chapter: A Pit of Snakes (Chapter 15) (Literally, this was so difficult because I was writing a pit of snakes at the Moot.)

Finally, a tentative voice joins his as Dahlia ventures to stand next to him. "We have been sitting around and ignoring what is going on around us, hoping that the problems will resolve themselves. Exactly as it was before I appeared as the Dragonborn to fix them for you. What were each of you doing before this? You were all content to sit on your hands on your thrones and allow someone else to throw away their resources and potentially their life in order to save you or worse: resigned yourselves to your seemingly-inevitable fate. Perhaps you did not want to die, and I do not blame you. No one does. I certainly did not. When I stepped into Sovngarde, I did not expect to come back, but yet here I am. So, maybe that is what you all need to ask yourselves now--who is willing to get their hands dirty and who is willing to move to save you?" "It is admirable what you did, and no one would argue with that, but does that make you a politician and does that mean you have the skills to lead?" Balgruuf stands, a hand perched on his wife's shoulder. "Just because you know how to swing a sword around," he turns his head to Ulfric, "and you have won a few battles, does not make you fit to lead. Perhaps what my wife said earlier was a bit harsh, but it holds true. What have we seen from you that will set you apart as leaders? And what is your main goal? Windhelm sat forgotten by your own admission for so long. How do we know that the moment someone puts you on the throne that you will not throw the rest of us to the dogs in pursuit of your 'bigger picture'? At least when I was Jarl of this Hold, I did all that was possible in order to make sure my people were cared for, and that is what Elisif and I are doing now in Haafingar. We are looking out for our own. You might call that selfish, but I call that honorable. That is the foundation on which a kingdom is built upon, and that is what Elisif will promise you: honor as well as stability. Ulfric is too volatile and thinks with his heart and not his head. While that makes for someone who is undoubtably charismatic, it will not guarantee strong leadership nor a moral compass." "And what would you propose for those outside your care? If this is the context in which you will carry out your rule," Ulfric waves a hand towards the pair, "we should only focus on what is immediately in front of us and only worry about ourselves. You'd leave everyone else to rot. While you poke at me for seeing the forest yet not the trees, you would to the exact opposite." He sighs heavily as he rests his arms on the table. "You cannot have it both ways. No matter what, someone is going to lose. It is the nature of our current state of affairs, and it is the nature of war. Or perhaps you have forgotten that. While it is infinitely unfortunate that few should suffer for the many, that is how things are because we have allowed it to be so." Balgruuf draws one of his hands tightly into a fist as he tries to keep his calm. It is as if Ulfric forgot that he too fought in the Great War and that he knows the complexities of being at war. "While that is true, Ulfric, at least I did not plunge my country into further troubles by igniting a Civil War and exacerbating the problems we already had." "Oh, you mean that we would do what you did? Sit on our hands and do naught at all as we remain neutral and hope that our enemies do not come knocking on our gates? I hate to ruin the ending of your story, but it seems you need reminding of what happened not more than a year ago. I did come knocking, and the threat of my armies moved you. Now look where you are." "And what exactly do you mean by that?" Elisif asks sharply. Ulfric leans back in his chair, a cool expression on his face. "It means whatever you'd like it to mean."

[bread-elf]

This is a post that's primarily directed at people who have known my character Jiroki for a long time and know of her family.

Recently I've been undergoing through some negative life events (I won't talk about it here but my dms are open if anyone would like to know, but ultimately I am ok), and it's made me heavily reconsider my priorities in life. I still intend on rping on my free time as a hobby, but I am undergoing some changes with my character for the sake of my mental well being.

So for those that would like to know what changes, details are below.

First and foremost, my character is no later mated, and she is no longer engaged either or in any relationship. I am having her previous mate dead, he doesn't rp on my server nor am I rping on his anymore, and it's better this way. Her mate, who is a demon hunter named Aztook, is going to be considered dead. The player has not been active since bfa, and their separation will leave an opening for the chance to him to possibly be alive if he were to return, but as it stands that is unlikely.

Jiroki was engaged to Jason Helsong, but because of what I'm going through irl that is not something I can go through with. The player is incredibly supportive and one of the most amazing person's I know, and he is understanding.

We agreed for them to go back to casually dating and we may revisit their romantic story in the future, but at this time I don't want Jiroki to be in any form of relationship. The occasional fling may be fine as a change of pace for me, but my game time has already been reduced drastically since I been focusing on my life, and I'd rather not hold anyone back from rping freely.

Jiroki has four children that she's given birth to, and quite honestly I had considered retconning them entirely, but I don't think I can do it. So I've decided to make them older older they are (as of right now in Dragonflight the oldest who are twins would be 9), and they'll all be sent off for apprenticeships. The Kirin Tor, the druids in Val'sharah, the Tian Monestary, the Explorer's League, etc. Perhaps in the future I may rp them as adults, but at this time it has become more burdensome then it's worth to keep them involved in the story.

Jiroki may even move from her home in Pandaria to elsewhere. I haven't decided where yet, she does own a cabin in Grizzly Hills, so that may be what happens.

I had considered writing short stories for all these changes, but frankly I just couldn't make the energy for it. A lot is going on for me and there's too many memories as is associated with Jiroki and the events I'm going through, so I may even dabble in new character concepts or just focus on other games.

But I'll still be around and doing rp events that I'm already involved in, and still plan on sparkling with all the lovely Tarts. If you took the time to read all this I am genuinely happy at your investment, and will reassure once again that I am safe and ok. Maybe not mentally, but physically yes. Thank you for your time.

[adultswim2021]

China, IL: “The Funeral” | May 26, 2008 - 12:45AM | S00E01

This one feels daunting to me, and it’s not just because I cried while watching this. It’s more because I don’t know exactly how to adequately praise this one. I will say, I was excited to revisit this one, and it fuckin’ holds up. In fact, I was surprised by how much of this I remembered, because it’s been quite a while since I’ve revisited it. 

Brad Neely was maybe the best thing about Super Deluxe, excluding Tim & Eric Nite Live. I honestly feel remiss not including his Super Deluxe work somehow in a more chronologicalized way.

It wouldn’t be until much later until this became an actual weekly series. When it became a weekly series, it underwent a cosmetic overhaul, with actual animation instead of a rapid succession of stills which this special and Neely’s Super Deluxe shorts used. I always wished they’d stuck with this more minimalistic format; though I may be alone in that. I remember some people saw this show as a harbinger of bad things to come, animation-wise. People who couldn’t hang with Tom Goes to the Mayor for it’s limited-animation probably REALLY hated this.

The plot of this episode: Baby Cakes finds a diary belonging to a woman. She was a professor at his college, where his father works, as well as the professor brothers Steve and Frank. She dated Frank, and secretly despised him. She hated a lot of stuff about her life, and spilled her truth on the pages of her secret book.

Baby Cakes finds out that he’s dead, and in fact the diary was taken from just outside the site of her fatal car crash. Baby Cakes begins to cope with the fact that he’s in love with a dead woman, and also harbors the secret knowledge that Frank, who is despondent, but also oblivious to the fact that she hated him. Eventually Baby Cakes, in an act of posthumous love, dramatically reveals the truth at the woman’s wake. Frank runs naked towards the graveyard where she’s buried his friends all come to his rescue. 

I know this doesn’t all exactly sound like a hilarious romp. But Neely has a way with words and funny drawings that somehow make the material hilarious. Nearly every turn-of-phrase in this is meticulously written to be funny, and there are many expressionistic/imaginative tangents from these characters to keep it lively and interesting. There are subtle, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them sight gags. The imagery has great comic and dramatic timing. There’s references to the previous shorts thrown in there for those of us who’ve been along for the ride. It manages to be deep, soulful, hilarious, beautiful, and unpretentious.

It’s frankly incredible that I never got fully obsessed with the original shorts. I think that’s because I didn’t really like watching these on the Super Deluxe website. Sad! As a comedic influence, I underrate Neely drastically. There are all kinds of moments in this where I thought to myself “oh, I try to write shit like this all the time”. It’s sad to say that my barrier for appreciating him fully was a technical one. If I were able to buy these shorts on DVD and watch them in order on my television set, I probably would’ve repeated them into the ground. But. 

The shot of the three kids on bikes, sorta apathetically watching the funeral party bury the teacher. It’s a small detail and they show it for like, a second. This bit might be the single strongest memory I have of this show. It’s just so great. Sorta sums up what makes this great, at least in my mind.

Anyway: This originally began airing on Super Deluxe in four parts, with a few extra title cards. It flows great as one long thing, though. It seems like it’s supposed to be one long thing, in my opinion. I watched both versions, curious to see if there was a lack of censorship in the one scene where Frank freaks out and starts cussin’ up the wake of his lady love. The version I saw was still censored. It’s on Brad Neely’s Youtube channel. The thing is, these probably wound up on Adult Swim’s site as well in this format, so maybe the shorts got bleeped too, and and maybe that’s what survives. Not sure.

Hey! GUESS WHAT? I have a wonderful surprise for you.

What follows is my attempt to piece together a complete listing of Brad Neely videos that were ever uploaded to Super Deluxe, along with upload dates and times. I’ve also included the descriptions from Super Deluxe. Where available, there are YouTube links. Shortly after this special, Super Deluxe was absorbed into Adult Swim’s website, where they offered a fraction of the Super Deluxe library with additional censorship to meet Adult Swim’s standards and practices.

NOTE: The running times listed are as they appeared on the Super Deluxe listing. I included them on the off chance that they would be required to help identify a particular video that may or may not have been retitled. For the most part it was unnecessary, but I don’t feel like deleting them. A few of the videos had a 0:00 running time attached, which is why some of them are not noted. I assume that was a glitch, because none of these videos are 0 seconds long.

ALSO NOTE: first there was a non-Super Deluxe short: Washington. I was trying to pin down a date, but the best I could do was I found an article from December of 2006 that said it played as part of the Spike and Mike Festival of Animation. I went to re-find this article and couldn’t. I guess that’s what I get for haphazardly closing tabs. A Brad Neely interview from the Super Deluxe era reveals that he sold the rights to the short to Spike and Mike along with the characters of Cox & Combes, which lead to him creating the Professor Brothers. I think they were characters from Creased Comics.

January 4, 2007 - 10:41 AM EST Professor Brothers - Bible History #1 Who says the Bible is boring? Our favorite scriptural scribbler, Brad Neely, breathes new life into the Sodom and G-town yarn, complete with sexy angels, ca-ca eating and lots of things that'll send you to straight to Hell.

January 13, 2007 - 11:53 AM EST I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #1 The soon-to-be-popular myth of Baby Cakes begins here. In his very first diary entry, Baby Cakes introduces us to his wizard father, his role-playing friends and expounds on what it's like to be a man-child still living at home.

January 19, 2007 - 4:40 PM EST Buh Buh (0:16) I Am Baby Cakes commercial for Super Deluxe [dot] com.

January 19, 2007 - 4:49 PM EST Good Person (0:16) I Am Baby Cakes commercial for Super Deluxe [dot] com.

January 19, 2007 - 4:50 PM EST Party List (0:16) I Am Baby Cakes commercial for Super Deluxe [dot] com.

January 19, 2007 - 4:56 PM EST Cat People (0:16) I Am Baby Cakes commercial for Super Deluxe [dot] com.

January 19, 2007 - 4:58 PM EST Doors (00:31) I Am Baby Cakes commercial for Super Deluxe [dot] com.

January 29, 2007 - 8:43 AM EST Professor Brothers present History Lesson #1 Who cares who shot JFK? Brad Neely's Professor Brothers know the real story behind the slain prince of Camelot. And they've got a single-bullet sing-along that's guaranteed to silence all the other crackpot conspiracies.

February 5, 2007 - 8:45 AM EST I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #2 (3:32) We all have to start somewhere, and Baby Cakes is no exception. Our favorite rapping role-player takes a trip down the family line to bond with his pops and grandpops over King Drunk beers, dysfunction and fire.

February 12, 2007 - 8:45 AM EST The Professor Brothers - Late Date (3:32) If you're late for a hot double date, you'd better have a good excuse-like Frank's. It involves explaining to the Professor Brothers' boss, the Dean, why there are two soiled condoms lying in the backseat of his car.

February 20, 2007 - 8:49 AM EST I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #3 (2:48) A day in the park makes for some strange diary musings in Baby Cakes' world. In his darkest entry yet, Mr. Cakes reflects on death, dream girls and the dreaded Brain Fuckler that he sometimes sees humping people's faces in public.

February 26, 2007 - 8:58 AM EST I Am Baby Cakes - Baby Cakes Sees a Play (2:18) For hundreds of years, Shakespeare's King Lear has asked, "Who is it that can tell me who I am?" Now we have an answer, courtesy of Brad Neely's beloved man-child creation, Baby Cakes. He's not afraid to get excited. Or to see a play.'

March 5, 2007 - 8:49 AM EST Professor Brothers - Office Hours (2:41) The Professor Brothers both like to make time for their students - they even schedule their office hours together. This helps when Steve wants to get Frank caught up on the new Kenny Winker tune. Haven't heard it yet? Let Steve handle the monotone singing and you just rock out.

March 14, 2007 - 8:49 AM EDT Brad Neely - Bring the Gold (1:00) Blime us! This little bastard might be the first rapper in the age of bling to disavow real paper money. That's because Brad Neely's lil' leprechaun only wants you to bring the gold this St. Patrick's Day.

March 19, 2007 - 8:57 AM EDT I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #4 (3:08) A lovelorn Baby Cakes tells his diary, "When I was around her, I felt like a goblin made entirely out of wicked genitals." We ask: who hasn't felt that way about their dad's girlfriend? Especially one named Shirley Moats.

March 26, 2007 - 8:39 AM EDT The Professor Brothers - Substitute (3:11) The Professor Brothers are always there for each other. When Frank needs to skip his US history lecture to run an errand, Steve comes through in the clutch. By offending each and every student with his utterly f*cked up take on America's past.

April 29, 2007 - 11:47 PM EDT I Am Baby Cakes - The Role Play Tournament (2:34) In a perfect world, this jam would stay perched on top of the Billboard charts longer than "Dark Side Of The Moon." Mic in hand, Baby Cakes spits some mad lyrics about D&D role-playing and his two-word philosophy: be aggressive.

May 6, 2007 - 11:25 PM EDT The Professor Brothers - Future Thoughts (2:33) What's the future going to be like? Find out in this bizarro symposium curated by the Professor Brothers. Features cameos by Kenny Winker, Chimmy Chummy and Baby Cakes!

May 13, 2007 - 11:54 PM EDT I Am Baby Cakes - Lies (2:48) Oh, cruel and deceitful world. You have tried to deceive Baby Cakes for the last time. And he's not going to take it anymore (without singing about it).

May 28, 2007 - 1:05 AM EDT The Professor Brothers - Fliff Night, Part 1 (2:39) Oh, what a night Frank had! Seems the Professor Brother was the life of the science department's big Oppenheimer piñata party. That is, until the fliff throwing came to an abrupt end.

June 3, 2007 - 11:21 PM EDT The Professor Brothers - Fliff Night, Part 2 (2:17) Oh, how the fliff has fallen! In the second half of this Professor Brothers saga, Frank recounts how his big boozy night out turned ugly. And left him single again.

July 1, 2007 - 10:36 PM EDT Brad Neely - American Moments of Maybe (2:14) US history? Boooooring. Brad Neely's alternative takes on America's past? F'n yeah! Heck, he had us at the mere mention of Nat Turner's Punchout.

July 12, 2007 - 1:45 PM EDT Kenny Winkler: Now We Can Make Love (1:41) Coming fresh off the success of his hit single, "Don't Trust Me," Kenny Winker presents the music video for his follow-up banger, "Now We Can Make Love."

July 29, 2007 - 10:38 PM EDT I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #5 (2:06) Everyone needs a little time on their own. To wear wigs. To chronicle paranatural sightings. And to catch a Brain Fuckler.

August 12, 2007 - 10:41 PM The Professor Brothers - Movie Talk, Part 1 (2:36) Great news, students! Frank and Steve are now holding a lecture series on the great films of our time. First flick on the syllabus: "A Secret Place To S#!t."

August 26, 2007 - 10:56 PM The Professor Brothers - Movie Talk, Part 2 (2:36) Seems Frank and Steve's film lecture series is a smash hit. Next up for discussion: “Kitty Karloso,” “Ad Nauseam,” and an amusing animated feature.

September 27, 2007 - 8:38 AM The Professor Brothers - Jesus F**king Christ (3:38) Take your seat and prepare thyself for the Gospel of Frank. For whatever reason, the Professor Brother has decided to testify to his American history class about that magical carpenter from Nazareth.

October 14, 2007 - 10:07 PM I Am Baby Cakes - Group Therapy (2:38) Holy crap! Baby Cakes is finally back on the mic. And he's got a laundry list of complaints to spit about. So, just close your mouth when you eat sh*t.

November 25, 2007 - 10:10 PM I Am Baby Cakes - Diary #6 (1:40) What is the meaning of life? That's what Baby Cakes wants to know. But mostly, he just wants to know about human sexuality. In this latest diary entry, Baby Cakes explains it all.

December 7, 2007 - 3:45 PM The Professor Brothers - The T.A. Interview (2:48) Let's talk about real sh*t. Frank and Steve need a new teacher's assistant. One who'll be prepared for after the bombs drop.

December 16, 2007 - 12:26 PM I Am Baby Cakes - The In-House Carol (00:48) Ho, ho, ho! Baby Cakes wants to share a very special Christmas carol with you this holiday season. And take his shirt off.

December 20, 2007 - 8:53 AM The Professor Brothers - Prisoner Christmas (2:50) Prepare yourself: This Christmas, the Professor Brothers are breaking out of academia and into a lil' ditty about jailbirds.

January 22, 2008 - 8:46 AM I Am Baby Cakes - The Coffee Line (2:53) Next time a barista asks you "Grande or Venti," do as Baby Cakes does and ask them right back: do you believe in God babies? Or magic spells? Or nothingness?

February 10, 2008 - 10:47 PM A Valentine From Eva (1:42) Everybody loves somebody sometime. Even if they're one of the most universally despised figures in human history.

April 14, 2008 - 8:52 AM Fxck The Humans (1:24) It was bound to happen. All of the woodland elves, satyrs and hobgoblins are finally coming together for a ragtime protest ditty against us Homo sapiens.

May 5, 2008 - 8:55 AM China, IL: Part One - Romeo & Romeo (3:38) In the first installment of this four-part series, Baby Cakes delves into the diary of a fellow resident of China, Illinois. And discovers death.

May 12, 2008 - 9:16 AM China, IL: Part Two - Lives After Death (2:56) In the second installment of this four-part series, Professor Frank sounds off about Helen Keller and learns the fate of his ex.

May 19, 2008 - 8:38 AM China, IL: Part Three - Cruel Duel (3:15) In this third installment of Brad Neely's four-part series, Professor Frank laments the lust, and Baby Cakes sets him straight.

May 26, 2008 - 8:49 AM China, IL: Part Four - The Lovers Reconcile (2:03) In the final installment of Brad Neely's four-part funeral, Baby Cakes and Frank finally come to that final stage of grief.

AFTER THIS: Adult Swim commissioned a 12-part series called America Now. You can click that link to watch all of them. I don’t have dates for those yet, but I’ll poke around at some point for those.

BEFORE ALL OF THIS: Wizard People, Dear Reader, which I think is from 2005.

[lucysarah-c]

So what are you unpopular opinions about your fic "the holy ground"

I'm re-reading it , you have a great sense of humour really really, I love it

Hi, dear! How are you? First of all, thank you so much for stopping by and for revisiting HG!

Hmm... unpopular opinions? Can an author have unpopular opinions about her own work? Haha. Anyways, I guess I have a certain point of view on a few relationships that might not be everybody's take on it.

Firstly, and I dare to think this is the one I've talked about the most, for me— and I repeat, for me— Twiggy (or MC, the reader, or Y/N) was also disloyal to Erwin. What she did with Levi during winter break could be considered infidelity. This is more of a personal take on what an individual considers "infidelity" or "not" in a relationship. I personally believe that a relationship stands until both parties involved are aware of the "end" of that relationship. Maybe they were not on the best terms, but implying that you're very angry with your partner, as Twiggy did to Erwin, doesn't necessarily mean it's over. Maybe the other person doesn't know it's over for real, and therefore, for Erwin, the relationship finished when she came back from winter break. Also, this is a personal take, but I believe that just because someone did something horrible or wrong to you in multiple situations in life, that's not a free pass to do the same or something wrong too. Two wrongs don't make a right, so to speak. So, at least for me morally, just because Erwin was disloyal doesn't give Twiggy a green light to be disloyal too. Because, if that's the case, then the only limit stopping you from not cheating is simply not being the first one to commit infidelity?

Probably my other unpopular opinion is that Nanaba was kinda right, lmao. I mean, if I had a friend who is a little bit naive, has some issues romanticizing certain aspects of her life that she shouldn't, just came out of a very hurtful experience, and decides to, in less than two months, get into a new relationship with a dude I know absolutely nothing about... I would also think he's taking advantage of her, lmao. Plus, Nanaba may not be "right" all the time, but if a cheerful friend suddenly doesn't spend time with us anymore, disappears, does things she usually wouldn't do... I'd also think this "new guy" is manipulating her and isolating her to hold the last word in everything. It's a very common symptom of dating a manipulator when you isolate yourself; the manipulator needs to hold the one and only version of the story. Of course, we, as readers, know that Levi isn't like that or hurting Twiggy, but Nanaba doesn't know that.

Third, Twiggy has serious communication issues, and one reason her relationship with Erwin didn't work out is because of this. Of course, a lot of things were wrong in that relationship, but Twiggy didn't help, and also, most of the issues she had with Levi as a couple are... the same ones she had with Erwin, lmao. Expecting someone to read your mind isn't very healthy relationship advice. She told Erwin "Go, I don't mind it" and then was offended that he did exactly that, lmao. Erwin asked a million times about the team, and she lied about it a million and one times. She never told Erwin about having asthma and obviously struggling with it. Instead of telling him that hanging out with his friends made her insecure because Marie would be there, she held the struggle for like six months and brought it up many months later. She never confessed to suffering. Not trying to play devil's advocate, but setting aside Erwin's infidelity, the dude probably thinks, "Everything was somehow okay until now; those months were the worst months of her life. How was I supposed to know if she didn't tell me? I don't read minds!" There's a very subtle fact that I like, and that is Erwin mentions multiple times that he's into girls with "long hair," Marie has long hair. He mentions it in a spin-off and, also when he and Twiggy are alone at the office; he unties her hair and plays with it. Erwin wanting her to look "older" and "short hair" was something that Twiggy invented in her head, lmao, nobody told her that, those were her own insecurities talking, not Erwin's tastes.

Finally, Levi is also a man of that "society," and he has a lot of toxic traits, haha. He's a sunshine, but he's not perfect. For example, he can be very possessive and controlling. Obviously, considering the options of that period of time, he's Mr. Woke and open-minded, and he's a great option. But that doesn't take away the rest... we forgive him, though, because Levi is Levi, lmao.

I think that's it! Sorry for the rambling! Hope this was okay! Feel free to let me know YOUR unpopular opinions, lol. Thank you so much for saying that you enjoy my sense of humor! Delivered to you from the "south," haha. Argentinian humor is acid, sassy, and eloquent, I dare to say.

Have a lovely day and take care of yourself! Lots of love!

[urboros]

doing a refurbishment on an old head that's never quite worked out for me. even the refurbishment is working out much like wearing the head is. it also sort of reminds me of my ex, who couldn't even tell me we were done, and I had been texting them for months till someone else told me that she was dating someone else.

idk if she was trying to spare me the hurt. it didn't work, that's not how grief works; ironically probably a good thing since she didn't seem to know who she was or how grief works I count myself lucky to not have been in her last bridge burning debacle. It sounded like a hot mess.

anyways I'm going to change out the stripe on the neck and call it a day, i can always alter this character and hopefully the other party can get airbrushing alterations done too. hopefully will get this head sold at a discount and out of my house. on to better digs. It features a lot of cool stuff like a hidden fan button, teeth on teeth ridges, some sewn in charms, magnetic horns, adjustable eye lids, adjustable elastic.

I may revisit this idea again, at a later time, and probably a better base. with better hinges. :I

but here's to cleaning it up and getting it sent off!