#that needs to appeal to adults to be worth something

[certified-bi]

Okay all my thoughts because some people have been saying that not supporting this change is not supporting artist and creators and as an artist fuck that.

1. Audiences owe you nothing. You have to convince them to engage with your creation not the other way around. This is something both the nonprofit theatre I work with recognizes and huge companies realize. It's just part of life. There are so many talented people in the world making amazing art, videos, music, writings, and on and on, and there's only so much time in the day. I'm not saying you shouldn't know your worth, just that being flippant about how little you care about those who can't pay isn't a good move. On that note...

2. PR is everything. If you haven't made a visible effort to push patreon, channel memberships or other avenues of making money, don't be suprised that your creation that was previously accessible to those without extra cash and to those who can't support foreign subscriptions due either to conversions or because it simply doesn't work, being made private isn't popular. There's a big leap from "We want to have more artistic control" to "We can't afford to make our content accessible to most of our audience," and people are smart enough to see this. You either have to make budget cuts or give into sponsors. This isn't unique to Watcher, it's part of literally every production from broadway, to Hollywood, to YouTube. Unless you can fund it yourself or get viewers to pay(which given how many are already strapped for cash...) that's life.

Not to mention they simply do not have enough followers to make the switch to a paid only site(dropping the first epsiode only on YouTube isn't going to draw people in, they're just going to say "oh why start if I'm not going to see the rest" and not watch) especially not one that is buggy and a security risk. Even if the switch had been supported its not going to end well. The only reason services like nebula and dropout work is because of the large amount of series and creators and the fact those creators still are partly on YouTube so new people are drawn in.

3. As for the price, 6 dollars a month is a not a good starting price for only their content and that's as someone who pays for nebula. I'd be paying the same amount for a fraction of the access to others work. Actually it'd be twice as much. And before someone says "it's only a coffee-" that's for you. Not everyone has your lifestyle. And with every other patreon and subscription service that says the same thing, it all adds up and I simply don't think 60 dollars for 48 videos a year on a subscription basis where you don't get to keep the videos if your situation changes, some of which don't appeal to every viewer is a good move. If you were able to buy physical copies of your favorite series they've made that'd be different, but that's not what this is.

4. I do believe that the employees deserve a livable wage. I also did not hire them. It is not on the viewers that they hired more people than they could afford to. They can charge that much if they want to to try and balance this out. They also shouldn't be suprised if not many can or will sign up. They also don't have to be based in L.A. L.A has ridiculous costs associated with it, and quite honestly it doesn't really add much to the content. I'm not saying they need to move to the middle of nowhere Kansas. Simply that living and basing your studio in a super expensive city and then being suprised money is tight is just weird.

5. Something that occurs to me is that they might get more views if their playlists were better set up. Only some series are given playlists. It'd be easier to find all of the series and binge them if they didn't just show off their more popular shows. Honestly the only draw the streaming site has to me is that the series are actually labeled well.

Do I think the weird ass energy towards Steven is necessary? No. He's not the only one at the company and they're all adults. I actually liked grocery run and homemade, and like to see them back. The parascoial attachment to Ryan and Shane is annoying in people's criticisms, but that doesn't make them completely wrong. If you're going to brand yourself as the anti capalist underdogs you can't get away with being dismissive of your poorer fans. The dissonance is what is causing this backlash and makes you look like hypocrites. I definitely think Steven is turning into the fall guy which is fucked up, his statement and the fact dish granted is one of those shows that make people uncomfortable about wealth flexs doesn't help matters.

[angelanderson]

give you what you need

— w. maximoff ☆ her girl au

with only one thing that could fix your morning, both you and wanda are desperate. you know your mommy will usually give you what you want… you just have to ask.

first extra for the her girl series!!I while wanda does have mostly unmentioned powers still, it is very much an au. all fluff (this time) MINORS DNI. cw: inherently unhealthy dynamics due to the nature of this series, finger sucking, mention of (past) spanking, soft dark mommy!wanda. mostly comfort!!!! edited-ish. *not an ageplay series. reader is fully an adult and thinks like one*

tapping her freshly manicured nails on the counter, wanda watches you like a hawk as you contemplate your next move. the witch has been dreading your impending meltdown since she woke up her grumpy girl this morning. it took a promise of blueberry pancakes for breakfast for you to verbalize that your issue was a poor night’s worth of sleep. unfortunately for the older woman, pancakes didn’t bring up your mood, nor did an offering of a relaxing bubble bath, one of your favorite times things.

tears threaten to spill down your checks as you try to soothe yourself. no longer wanting to sit by wanda, you’ve found the cool kitchen tiles to be more appealing. usually, you always want your mommy, especially when you’re upset, but the sheer exhaustion you feel has you acting out. no amount of appealing offers from the woman has been enough to placid you.

wanda gives it five more minutes before she steps in again; she can’t bear to see you like this. she approaches you as if you’re some wild animal that’s afraid. “dorogaya, why don’t you come with mommy, hmm? let’s fix those tears”, her voice comes out sweet as honey.

you’ve been so stubborn all morning, but the way wanda is looking at you is making your façade slowly slip. worrying at your bottom lip, you weigh your options— you know from past experience that she is not afraid to make you give in. thirty more seconds pass before you make your way into her arms, giving into her. you can faintly here her whisper how you’re a good girl as your shove your face into her shoulder.

as wanda tries to coax you out of her shoulder, she notices that you’ve shoved some of your fingers past your lips. since the day you met, even in your previous life as equals in a relationship, she has been trying to break you of the habit. “oh dove, what has mommy said about sucking on your fingers?”

“that ‘m not supposed to,” you messily say as you continue to refuse to remove them from your mouth. ever since you could remember, which was not much now, you’ve found comfort in self-soothing by having something in your mouth.

tsking, the witch gently coaxes your fingers out of your mouth. she ignores the cry you let out— how could she be a good mommy if she wasn’t consistent with you? she doesn’t let you pitch the fit she knows is coming. “dorogaya, come upstairs now. maybe mommy will let you get cozy in her bed, hmm?” even with sweetness, her tone leaves no room for argument.

it’s rare for her to go against her usual protocols; it’s how she keeps you in check. unbeknownst to you, wanda is willing to give into what she knows you secretly want if there’s a chance it’ll change your mood. when you’re grumpy, you’re grumpy. however, the almost promise of being able to nap in wanda’s room has your brain spinning enough that you don’t argue as she leads you to the stairs. so busy reeling with excitement, you don’t hear her sighs of relief as you two walk up together.

wanting to show your mommy that you can be her good girl again, you wait by her bedroom door, albeit antsy as you wait for her to catch up. you have quickly learned to mind not entering her bedroom or study without explicit permission. it only took two spankings that ended in loud cries to cement the rule in your brain. wanda clearly notices your commitment to her rules as she reaches the top. proudness fills her chest as she realizes how far you’ve both come from the start of this new life.

the soft smile gracing her lips has you like putty in her hands— you love nothing more than pleasing her. you eagerly let her guide you into her bedroom. you don’t pay much mind as she finds some new clothes for you to wear; she has a rule against dirty clothes in bed. while you haven’t been outside to play yet, your pajama top is tear stained and has a dash of dried pancake batter. you decide on the white chair in the corner as your place to perch until she’s ready for you.

too into your own world, your fingers find their way back into your mouth. your sudden push back into reality is caused by wanda’s grip on your wrist. your head snaps up to meet wanda’s cocked eyebrow; she’s not amused. while you let wanda remove your hand, you still let out a pitiful whine to let her know you’re not happy. wanda chooses to acknowledge it this time.

“less whining, milaya”, she scolds you. her hand reaches up getting ready to pull your top off. instead of letting wanda change your top, you impulsively slap her hand away.

you regret the second your hand makes contact with her hand. a red glow fills her eyes before you can even think about stuttering out an apology. as soon as the glow consumed her, it ends. a feat that has you feeling emotional whipslash. she beats you at another chance to speak first.

“mommy knows you’re only acting out because you’re tired, isn’t that right, milaya?” her grip tightens on your wrist as she speaks lowkey, “so mommy knows that you’re going to act right starting now. isn’t that right?”

that’s when it hits you: you’ve pushed wanda over the edge today. you know just how mean your mommy can be when you don’t listen. you immediately agree with her, “‘m really sorry! promise it!” to prove your point, your arms reach over your shoulders to quickly take off your shirt. wanda’s hum of approval lets you know you’re back in the clear… for now.

you let wanda change you like a doll after that— you’ll do anything to avoid the red glow from coming back. lucky for you, she grabbed the sweater you always nuzzle your face into when she wears it. it’s another not-so-noticeable way she’s helping keep you manageable this late morning. the soft texture keeps you like putty in her hands as she lays you down in her cloud-like bed. you’ve always been a sucker for soft things.

“my sweet girl, doing so good for me now,” the older woman coos out. feeling the bed dip, you move over some so she can rest with you. your haze filled mind has you reeling in the extra praise. when you don’t reply, wanda gets the hint about how floaty you’re feeling, “okay milaya, let’s rest now, hmm? mommy’s here with you.”

you nuzzle your way into her arms, letting her know you’re in agreement with her. you stay that way for a solid five minutes as she rubs your back in gentle circles. the sixth minute is when your need for a specific comfort comes back. you look back and forth between wanda and your fingers. so shyly, you finally speak up, “…mommy? um, i want some fingers?” you add on, “please!”

wanda doesn’t understand at first. she isn’t sure why you’d be horny right now— you never are after being reprimanded where her red glow comes out. she sighs, “not right now. maybe mommy’ll fuck you later tonight if you can be good for me.”

the look on your face let’s her know that is not what you meant. it takes all but two more seconds for it to click: you want something back in your mouth. wanda knows the tears that would come had she said no. the reprimanding is silly anyways, she thinks. while your oral fixation is only a newer appearance, she’s sure it can’t hurt for now. she would much rather save her energy for when truly you’re acting out, anyways. so she agrees, “yes, you may. such a silly rule anyways, hmm? you’re being my good girl.”

the praise has you craving something different: her fingers. it’s not something you’ve shown interest in before. but in your hazy state nothing sounds more comforting. what’s not to like? it’s attention for your mommy and a fix to your need.

the haziness makes it hard for the words to spill out of your lips. the mix of frustration over it and exhaustion have you teetering towards irritation again. wanda can see it in the way you scrunch up your face. always your savior, she steps in. “hush, dove. take a deep breath and try again.”

“i, um— i want your fingers. please!” you rush the words out so quickly that wanda almost doesn’t catch it. you’re still getting used to asking for what you what without being shy about it. while she typically would make you slow down, she can’t deny you any longer.

“well, since you said please”, she teases you. she mentally rolls her eyes at the huff you let out at her teasing.

you don’t have any time to make a quick remark back as two manicured fingers find their way to your bottom lip, slowing tracing it. a full drowsiness takes over your body. you quickly part your lips, welcoming her to stop the teasing. luckily, she gets your hint as she lets her fingers past your cherry lips. a wave of comfort comes over you as you wrap your lips around her fingers.

every sucking motion has you falling deeper and deeper into your cozy headspace. the exhaustion no longer feels world ending; it’s less overwhelming now. the comfort you’ve been craving all morning has finally found its way to you. everything she gives you just makes you feel so good!

being the good girl you are, you decide it’s only polite to thank her. after all, wanda does like it best when you mind your manners. “thank you ‘ommy”, you try to thank her, but the words come out messy due to the fingers in your mouth.

“don’t talk with things in your mouth. it’s not polite,” even with you being sweet, she just can’t help but tease you. she giggles when you whine in response. “okay, okay. i’m sorry, baby. let’s get you to sleep now, hmm?”

she sushes your whine, instead going to play with your hair the way she knows you like. wanda internally cheers as your eyes start to flutter shut. the grip of your lips on her fingers starts to loosen as the next few minutes go on. she can’t get herself to start her other tasks when you just look so adorable for her. she allows herself to stay until your breathing has completely evened.

had you been awake, you would see a flurry of red hair moving as slow as possible in order to not wake you. she can’t help but sneak a kiss on your forehead before she leaves her bedroom in order to go to pick some of the fresh fruit you’re obsessed with from the garden as a snack for later. a whisper fills the air as she slowly closes the door behind her, “silly girl, you just have to ask. you know mommy likes to give you what you want when you’re behaving.”

[dovand]

public service (bearvice?) announcement

i think that this website in particular needs to be aware of the existence of sloth bears. look at this dude

(image description: a sloth bear sitting hunched over on the ground. the sloth bear is broad, with thick black fur that obscures its body. the fur becomes thinner towards its face, where its muzzle and the inner corners of its eyes are splashed with very pale brown.)

the book that i'm reading (Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie) laments that conservation efforts for sloth bears are hindered by their lack of charisma—especially when compared to, say, a tiger (a creature that does pose competition re: conservation) but like. look at this guy.

image description: another sloth bear, this time standing on an uneven rocky surface. there's a certain mournful quality to its eyes. it looks almost doglike, mostly because of the fur on the sides of its face that hangs down like huge fluffy ears.

they're the only species in Melursus (one surviving genus out of three in the Ursidae family). females range from 55 to 105 kg (121 to 231 pounds), while males range from 80 to 143 kg (176 to 320 pounds). their diet is mostly ants and termites, and their mouths are suitably adapted—a lack of upper incisors lets them vacuum up more bugs, and they can close their nostrils completely.

it is worth noting at this point, i think, that sloth bears are the deadliest bears in the world by a large margin (though this seems to be largely because of expanding human settlements encroaching upon Bear Land and thus creating conflict. I Think). they have caused seriously horrible injuries and deaths but they are wild animals and we cannot blame them for this. they have inherent value despite the harm they have caused, not just because of how aesthetically appealing they are, but because they ARE. just because they exist. they are living things, so they have value.

image descriptions: the first image shows sloth bear in the middle of a step, its gaze fixed on something off-camera. its fur is hugely fluffy and luxurious, especially around the sides of its face/the back of its head and neck.

in the second image there are three sloth bears—an adult and two cubs. the adult's mouth is open, giving it a sort of vacant smile. also, it is standing against a shadowed background, such that its fur blends in with the dark behind it, rendering it one indistinct mass of bear. beside it are two small cubs. their fur is shorter and spikier, and their proportions markedly different, but their colouring is the same.

i don't have a call to action. there aren't any petitions to sign, at least not that i can see. i just think that the sloth bear deserves some more love :-)

[galvanizedfriend]

Fic: The Unexpected Grace of Falling Apart

Summary: AH/AU. It's Tyler's wedding weekend and Caroline is back in Mystic Falls for the first time after the most traumatic and depressing year of her life. And it's about to get even worse as she's made to share breathing space with Klaus, The Worst Guy Ever. Except they might have to join forces to save the wedding, and to the discovery that things might not be what the seem. As Caroline teeters on the edge of a breakdown she'd been trying very hard to conceal, an unexpected savior appears to help her through the haze.

---

About a year ago, Caroline met the worst guy ever.

No, really. The Worst.

Men are, as a general rule, pigs. If women were to make in-depth pro-versus-cons evaluations of every guy they met before deciding on whether to hook up with them or not - well. Let's just say the perpetuation of the human species would be in serious jeopardy.

There's only a handful of guys out there of a certain age, still single, who are really worth any woman's time, and Caroline hasn't had the pleasure of meeting many representatives of that rare, dying breed. Those are the real-life unicorns.

It doesn't help that Caroline seems to be a walking magnet for the dudebro kind. She doesn't know what it is about her that gets them to crawl out of sewers and holes in hell to greet her with their Hey there, gorgeous or Have I died and gone to heaven?s whenever she walks into a bar. It's probably the blonde hair. Men tend to get friskier around blonde women for some ancient misogynistic reason.

There have been moments in her life where her faith in the male half of humanity was so deeply shaken that she even - God forbid her - considered going a few shades darker. She's a natural blonde, though, and it takes her hours (and a small fortune) every few months at her colorist's chair to achieve that perfect sweet spot between kissed by sunshine and blessed by the angels for her to commit that crime against herself. Caroline's hair is the one part of her life that has remained absolutely flawless even when everything else around her has fallen apart, including her mental health and self-esteem. She refuses to dye it just because men can't bother to put some honest effort into updating their lame pick-up lines and yet, somehow, still expect her to have sex with them.

And the sad truth is, catch her on a bad night, and she just might. Horny melancholy is where a woman’s dignity goes to die.

It's exhausting to be a twenty-something woman in the XXI century. There's the pressure of making it in this godforsaken world as an adult, there's the pressure from society's understanding that a woman of her age should be looking for serious commitment with marriage in sight, and then there's also the pressure that stems from the very human needs of her hormonal body. It's a jungle out there.

Things would be so much easier if she didn't need men at all, not even for the specific parts of their anatomy that appeal to her. She really hopes next life brings her back as anything other than straight.

In the meantime, in this lifetime... The Worst Guy.

Caroline has met her fair share of jerks and idiots of all shapes and colors, so it takes something really special to shock her. As a seasoned woman in the woes of the dating market, she can 100% state that this guy is no ordinary asshole. This is a king among douchebags. And that's not just her personal opinion; she has shared the evidence with all her friends, and the friends of her friends, and all the women at her work, and even some random people at powder rooms at bars and parties. Basically, every woman in New York's grapevine who was willing to listen.

The collective response to her tale is always a disgusted gag sound, followed by Please, tell me you punched that son of a bitch or Did you gouge his eyes out with a hot poker?

If you discount abusive, aggressive and violent men, who are criminals and not in the same category as everyday lame-ass men, he really is The Worst.

Caroline doesn't like to say she's not over it yet because it implies bestowing a level of importance to His Royal Dickshness that is not merited. The guy was a friend of a friend - her best friend, yes, but still only a notch above a complete stranger. She’d known him for less than a week and, technically, they did no more than make out for a little bit, so it's not like they had any kind of relationship going on. He's not important, just some guy who did something astoundingly douchebaggy, even by someone whose standards are sadly low.

The whole incident was bound to go down as a funny anecdote to be shared among friends, a Oh, you think you've had the worst hook-up ever? Hold my beer kind of story. Provided, of course, that she never had to see him ever and could just wipe him out of her life and memory for good. Given that they live in different time zones, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

That is precisely why Caroline is livid when she emerges from the arrivals area at Richmond airport to find Douchebag, in the flesh - sunglasses indoors and all, like the proper jerk that he is - holding up a sign that reads Clarisse.

Read the full story here

--

For four years, this was known as Random Fic, and so if you have been following me here, you might have heard me whine about it at some point. I've just decided on the title ten minutes ago. lol I can't believe this is finally done!

Thank you @definedareasofuncertainty for hearing me talk about this for almost as long as you've known me and never telling me to shut up.

As always, your kudos, comments and reblogs mean the world and have been feeding my fic-writing soul for four years so that I could get a grip and round this up. ❤️ Ty and if you read it, hope you enjoy it!

[wayfayrr]

You don’t have to do this one if it’s too much!! I just simp for twi and time so hard but I don’t wanna overwhelm you, please take breaks!! Ily :’DD

Soft fruit cake w eggnog to eat in?

I hope you'll enjoy your order this evening ~

Time is one of the links I'm less confident with writing, but he's still so much fun. He's a bit of a blushy dork in this one for you. <3

[Event masterlist]

“It's kinda comforting to know that Hyrule has the same traditions as home. Some of them anyway.”

Time isn’t focused on it, it seems off for him to be acting like this, unless he was lying to me? what reason would he have to lie about something so harmless though… it’s just gifts. Why would he ever need to lie as something as a tradition?  

“You don’t actually have it as a tradition, do you?” 

“What, no, we do. It’s part of the winter festival here.”

“Why do you feel the need to lie over something so small?”

Red illuminates his face at that, whatever has him so embarrassed over being called out for this? It’s so different from his usual stoic self too, not a bad change, just a sudden one. It makes me want to pry into what’s causing this even more than if he did manage to keep his cool.

“You seemed so excited when talking about it. I just wanted to do it for you.”

“But why lie, why not just be honest and just do it as a new thing?”

The red grows from his cheeks to the tips of his ears now, this new bashful side only becoming more appealing the more of it I get to see. Still though, it’s such a childish thing to get so flustered over. Like he’s a little kid rather than one of the oldest links here, not even able to make eye contact with me anymore. 

“Well, never mind that. It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve both gotten each other a gift right?”

“I'd still like to know why you didn’t just admit it’s not commonly done.”

“You were so- hmph.”

He’s close to cracking on the reason why he’s lying about all all of this to begin with, if I push it a little more he’ll spill I can bet. I don’t even really mind what it is, it’s only sheer curiosity making me want to learn now. What reason is enough to lie over something so small for so long?

“Time - link please, I’m not bothered or anything, I just wanna know.”

“You just seemed so excited talking about your home and I know you’ve been homesick… So I just… Wanted to make you more comfortable.”

That’s it? I can’t deny that it’s not a sweet reason, it does feel very childish though, it really is like he’s just some love struck teen. If I were to close my eyes and focus… I could probably see his young adult self still dressed in that forest green.

“While I appreciate it, you really didn’t need to go that far for something so simple. I’m honoured though… If we’re not following strict traditions though… why not just give each other gifts now?”

“That wouldn’t bother you? I thought christmas day was what you said was important.”

“The thought of it is what counts above everything else, besides if you’re so worried about the day, I don’t know if it’s passed or not back home.”

The blush is slowly fading now, his fluster dying down till he looks more like his familiar lightly stoic self. Finally moving to sit down next to me rather than over at the opposite side avoiding looking at me but not before picking up his bag. Setting himself down with a sigh and a hand running through his hair. Hyping himself up by the look of it, it makes a lot of sense why he’s so nervous now that I know it’s his first time doing anything like this. I can probably take some of that stress away by simply giving him his first, hopefully, then he’ll feel less pressure. 

“Here, I got this for you at the recent village -”

His surprise is cute, I knew it’d be worth it to hand-decorate some paper to wrap it with. Even though it’s torn in a matter of seconds, anything is worth it for him.

“I saw how you were looking at it for ages - don’t worry I brought it myself and not out of the supply fund. Do you like it?”

“You… I didn’t expect it… it was so expensive.”

So getting him a cloak and the armour polish he was staring at longingly was the right idea. Wiping my savings might not have been as good, but I can earn it back fairly quickly if the others are still as bad with bets. He’s blushing a little as he passes me two neatly wrapped parcels.

“This is for you then I hope you’ll like it as much as I did.”

My breath catches in my throat as I unwrapped the first, and I’m greeted with the most beautiful leather-bound sketchbook. A quick glance at him as he gestures for me to open the other. These art supplies must have cost him so much, watercolours here are rare, all of these charcoal pencils too.

“Time you -”

“You said you missed drawing, that you wanted your own supplies. So when I saw them I knew they would be perfect… you do like them right?”

“I love them… than you so much link.”

It’s a bit of a struggle to stop myself from tearing up from how kind it was, thankfully he seems to have taken pity on me now as he cuddles up with me next to the fire. Moving me to lay against his side as we watched it crackle late into the night.

[tymniemniej]

when at the vlog David says he slept well on the bus because he had an "adult night" - Tank tried to guess with the chat what he meant - Tank: "who knows what happens in the bunk at nights?"

"best cook on the EC tours? LABBI - whenever we pulled out the grill, or even when we were at Kevin's house? Labbi, dude!"

"Germans drink more coffee than American crews"

"the only venue that didn't provide us a picture of David Hasslehoff was Toronto - and they don't get a vlog, hehe :P"

the first US tour - in Sacaramento - the venue fucked up the rider and didn't supply the band with the basic stuff, like water or anything

(why the sex and chocolate with Dan became a thing) - "we need a thing! everyone has a thing, we need something!" and Dan just pulled it out of his ass, it means nothing

from chat: Met Daniel and Pascal last Sunday. Pascal told me that they will go on tour in Europe at the end of 2025

(talking about starting job as a roadie and how much money is good as a starter) - "there were only two bands that gave people what they were worth - Justin Lynch and EC, everyone else is trying to save money"

when starting with EC the management asked Tank what his daily rate is - and he asked them about their budget, because they can't match his last rate but they will figure it out - because he wanted to work with them

in Spain Tank was sitting, chilling with David and David opened up about how he felt about the whole Bachelorette thing

(very important detail) Tank doesn't get the appeal of stripclubs, it doesn't do anything for him (now you're wondering what the hell is happening on the streams :P )

[kncrowder88]

You know what I want to dig into .... Star Trek Prodigy S2 .... and here is going to be my first post on it. (spoilers under the cut)

As a fan of Star Trek since I could even remember ... I have always been drawn in by the characters of Trek. I could go on and on about the way TNG, its movies, and the TOS movies were there for me in my formative years and helped me throughout my life. Then go on again about how I found the other shows as I got older and did a complete Trek watch in 2012 exposing myself to ALL of Star Trek and finding myself enthralled by the USS Voyager and its Captain Kathryn Janeway.

For me, I was already thrilled when Prodigy was announced because as a kid no show for kids ever really appealed to me but a Star Trek show that would have had me running for the television every single moment it aired (not that I wasn't doing the same for TNG). The announcement that Janeway was going to be in it was honestly just a bonus. Kathryn Janeway was my guide, my beacon in the dark ... and to have her be that for the children made so much sense to me.

Season one dropped and aired in the final weeks of my fathers life, its second half of the season coming in like a beacon in the dark of my grief and depression during that time. Janeway once more was there for me, and along with her were the amazing children leading this show. Each of these children faced their own difficulties and challenges, they grew and learned to become something more than they were at the start of the season. Waiting for season two was difficult but it was easy when I knew that it would be worth it. And it was ...

Since I finished season two the hug between Beverly Crusher and Wesley Crusher has sat with me. Its brought me to tears, to smiles, to feeling as if the world can and will be okay again. I saw the family I viewed as my space family reunited on screen once more and immediately thought of my father ... of my own mother (who is still around and also shares a love a Trek just as my father did). The found family within Prodigy reminds me so much of how I myself found a family within Trek as a child, watching Beverly Crusher and seeing her as a mother on my screen. Watching Wesley and listening as he received guidance from the crew around him, wondering what it would be like to be him. TNG was my space family - Beverly my chosen space mom.

And Prodigy brought the reunion I needed to see before my eyes all while crafting another family on the screen that I - as an adult - adore and love so much that I view them as family once more.

On top of all this ... the show repeatedly gave mention to Picard in various ways (not just the series but also the Captain). I love the way that Admiral Janeway makes a comment about promising Admiral Picard she won't lose Voyager-A. The way that when she talks to Beverly it becomes "Jean-Luc" she asks about, professionalism slipping just a little (something that for Janeway is very integral to her character), and when she is called back to Starfleet because of the Mars attack the first thing she asks is about Admiral Picard.

To me, it is clear that its not just the kids that have a found family and its not just Janeway Voyager crew that is a found family being called back to .... Janeway's devotion and family being Starfleet is being echoed within the way she speaks of Picard. The way that she tells Wesley to go to his mother. I just love the subtle nuances being put into the show centering on the bond of family. Not just those of blood but those you chose. The sheer love, devotion, care, and so much more shown within the characters and between the various characters says so much. I greatly appreciate what Star Trek Prodigy is doing with this particular theme. And I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.

[silverhart-makes-art]

This week's Bestiary Posting is a collection of worms! I opted to interpret 'worms' as wyrms (aka weird little dragons with six limbs), because drawing a bunch of legless, eyeless, boneless cylinders did not appeal to me. Sorry worms, I love ya, but there's not a lot I can do with a worm in a quick sketch like this. So we're going with dragons, some of which are at least a little wormy.

Labeled version and more detailed explanations below.

Lenggalgak - a "worm of the air" needed wings to fly through it. It also has four thin appendages for spinning it's web. Seems odd that an animal that makes a web, and thus stays in one place would need to fly, but maybe they use their wings like spiderlings use silk parachutes to float to new homes, and the sedentary adults just use their wings for display.

Khrezaroth - this was meant to be a frog/salamander type thing, and ended up looking nothing like those animals. Still, I like his silly face, and even curled up he has way too many legs (but it's still six - we've got a very specific body plan here).

Phlerotger - Mix between a leech, a tadpole and a cookie cutter shark. It's lost it's limbs and just has little spurs like you see in some snakes. One of the few actually worm-shaped worms here, since it apparently needs to slide down the throat. Absolutely horrible little creature.

Logkashgae - was thinking what could possibly make a bow shaped wound, and decided a thagomizer might do the trick. So horned lizard-stegosaur with a scorpion stance. It's middle limbs have evolved into spikes.

Burlebroth - the description said it was a leaf worm, therefor it must look like a leaf. A leaf-tailed gecko meets a katydid with a bit of chameleon for color.

Kholruntae - since it's said to curl up in leaves my mind went to the Honduran white bats who are very tiny and roost in leaves. Worth looking up some pictures if you want a smile - they're adorable. Basically drew that, but with scales that make it look like a leaf and a long tail.

Shmigwanog - it's a "wood worm", a little stick dragon with the head of a potoo. It's folded wings look like little branches, to help it camouflage even more amid the branches.

Feabladtae - okay, this one is inspired by something I heard from a vet many years ago, about how you can tear a Labrador's ear off and they'd still be wagging their tail. Said in reference to my own Labrador who was quite happily wagging her tail while being treated for an insect bite/sting that had her face swelling to three times it's size. She always loved the vet, no matter how painful the pokes and prods. So in honor of her can't-get-me-down attitude, I've drawn a lab lending their ear to their good Feabladtae friend. As a parasite it doesn't really need it's limbs, so it only has two stubby front limbs, and instead uses it's tail which is covered in little prickles to hold onto it's host's fur.

[farasen]

Marlon analysis + adult headcanons

It's Marlon analysis that wasn't supposed to be an analysis baby

I think we all noticed that Marlon doesn't really have an inner conflict in the series. Moreover, he's usually the one who helps to solve these conflicts or supports other characters.

S1E3 - he's coming up with the concept for their logo, an image of their team. S2E6 - finds a guy to replace Vanessa for the game, and is just being a nice guy that can befriend an enemy (honestly this episode feels more about Kong or even Vanessa rather than Marlon). S2E11 - pretty much the only episode we see some sort of inner conflict in him, but it concerned the whole team, and again Marlon saves the day.

We don't see him angry that much either, older Wessel is trying hard to be the voice of reason. He's always the backbone, which kinda makes me wonder - does he suppress his emotions?

I've already talked about it a few times before, but I'm gonna mention it again for the full picture, but if you wanna read more you can go to this post. Wessels grew up without mother (at least we don't get a peek or even mentioning of her) so he, as an older brother, he most likely had to take care of Leon, growing up faster as a result. Marlon is just used to the role of protector, the backbone.

I saw people saying Marlon has a saviour complex, but I don't really agree with that. He does have some tendencies, but doesn't go full on white knight mode. You see, Marlon's help is not intrusive, he doesn't see his solution as the only right one and he doesn't seem to feel too much guilt when something doesn't work or at least it wasn't shown. He's just being a nice, reasonable guy most of the time.

What he does seem to have problems with is setting boundaries, especially with Leon. This was shown in s1e8 when Leon pushes Marlon to the ground. Sure, Marlon was shocked and didn't react properly in the moment, but they don't talk that through later either. And we rarely see him angry, even when he has a right to be.

He also might struggle with talking through his feelings. I don't have any proof of that from the show, but the fact that none of his episodes are actually about him is pretty concerning.

Gotta say that Marlon's moral compass is pretty clear. He wants justice (Kong in s2e6 and Leon in s2e12), he's forgiving (again Kong in s2e6 and Leon in s1e8) and supportive (basically every episode except for s1e4).

Honestly, there's nothing else I can say about Marlon as the show doesn't give any information about him. It's more interesting to talk about the possible outcomes of his behavior, which is exactly what I'm going to do further.

First of all, he would have to find his self worth. He's always been there for others, and not only for his little brother, but also for his friends. However, Leon grows older, he learns how to deal with his shit (I hope) and no longer requires a backbone in the face of his brother. Other friends don't need him that much either, they can help themselves. So, that leaves Marlon with nothing to work with. And that's the moment I think he might develop a saviour complex, because he wants to feel needed or helpful at least.

As I've mentioned before, he's most likely suppressing his emotions, which will obviously have an impact later. There could be different outcomes, from anger management issues to self harm. Or both. Whatever suits you more. I, personally, find the idea of Marlon lashing out on his friends when they break the boundaries unintentionally, but later blaming himself for that pretty appealing.

What else he can develop is depression and/or anxiety. That, again, steams from identity issues and troubles of finding his place. Moreover, that could slightly fuck up his relationships with others, cuz he would gradually drive himself away from others. And, since Marlon hadn't learnt or never felt the need of learning how to express his own emotions, his friends wouldn't be able to help him. Thus, he'd have to find a way to help himself.

And, in my opinion, the thing that would help Marlon would be art. We've seen him being creative when designing a logo for dwk, so maybe painting or creating a music would be a way of expressing himself, putting those emotions on the canvas and finally finding his own "I".

Yeah that's all I wanted to say about Marlon. It was supposed to be a sleepy rant on his adult version, but it turned into this lol.

Here, have some funny shots of him

[come-on-shitty-boys]

// The Sex Appeal of Lines. inked 07 //

prev << 07 >> next

*The nature of this series may be not be appropriate for all readers. Content warnings include: vulgarity, heavy swearing, and implications of adult relations.  Due to these themes, this series may not be suitable for readers under the age of 16.  Reader discretion is advised.*

Heavy silence filled the air, the only sound being the soft scratch of Kuroo’s red ink pen marking across the small stack of pages you had handed over to him. Homework was due by the end of the day on Friday, so there you were, the clock continuing its monotonous ticking as seconds turned into minutes, trying not to focus too much on just how much he was marking your page. Maybe he was just making stars by all of your perfect lines?

You had to bite back your scoff. Praise? From Kuroo? That was a joke. You’d be lucky if he wrote a “Good Job!” at the top of your homework, but the way he was holding his head in his free hand didn’t make you like your chances. 

Kuroo swivels in his chair, finally turning to face you. There are no words as he holds the stack of pages out to you, just annoyance shifting in amber eyes. He watches you as your eyes drift from his face down to the paper in his hand. You don’t even need to look at the other pages to know that he’s failed you. Red circles and Xs litter the page. 

“Nice try, kid, but you’re going to have to do better than that if you want to tattoo,” Kuroo says, pushing your work into your hands as he stands from his chair.

You quickly thumb through your stack of paper, eyeing all of those stupid little lines with all of those stupid little marks to showcase your failure, a physical reminder that you’re not cut out for this. You can feel the frustration bubbling up in your chest. A week’s worth of work is about to be fed to the recycling bin and you were going to have nothing to show for it. 

Breath. Just breath.

While this has already become one of the most frustrating and grating experiences of your life, forced to scrub toilets and tile floors until you could see your reflection, treated like you didn’t belong by the one person who brought you into his space, you couldn’t let that fucking bastard see you break this early. You couldn’t give him that satisfaction of knowing that every muscle in your body was screaming at you to just give up and take the easy route down the street. 

A deep breath in and out. Your fingers unfurl from the deathgrip that they had held. It’s too early to let him see you defeated. Chin up. You will do this. 

“Are you going to at least tell me what my problem is or are you just going to tell me that I’m doing it wrong?” You ask, eyes following your so-called mentor as he attempts to walk away from you. 

Kuroo doesn’t even give you the decency of a falter in his step, pulling his jacket from the hook on the wall, shouldering it on. “Maybe on Monday, kid. I don’t have time for you tonight.”

“What? Hot date with your hand?”

His unamused stare is your only response before he turns away, taking his scarf and wrapping it around his neck. Kuroo does a quick pat of his pockets, working his way through a mental checklist of essential items. Keys, wallet, phone… A nod to himself as each item is in its rightful place on his person. 

“Kuroo.”

“Y/N.”

And just like that, it’s like your brain short circuited. Your name dripping from his tongue for the first time since you’ve known one another. There wasn’t even a sneer as he said it, just an even cadence of the syllables, and he’s looking at you with expectant eyes as if you’re going to tell him something life changing. It’s just those amber eyes staring into yours and you swear that given the opportunity you would pass out right there. You nearly forgot how attractive he was when he wasn’t being such a complete and utter asshole. The sharp jawline, the perfectly mussed hair, the far too attractive sculpt of his shoulders in that jacket-

He snaps at you, bringing you back to reality. Whatever Kuroo that had been standing in front of you merely seconds ago was replaced by that dull, annoyed stare of the mentor that you had come to know and not love in the slightest. “You have something to say or are you just testing out how my name sounds?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight what, kid? You’re really starting to get on my last fucking n-”

“You’re showing me tonight,” you state, trying to make yourself appear taller, pushing your shoulders back, leveling him with that same boredom that he gave to you on an hourly occurrence.

“I already told you-”

“And I don’t care. Tonight and I’ll have the assignment back to you on Monday. Perfect.” There’s a moment of hesitation in him, you can see it in the way his eyes flicker from you to the clock on the wall. “Please,” you add.

He must’ve heard that quiet desperation in your voice, because Kuroo sighs, removing his scarf and coat. “Fine. But if they aren’t perfect, you owe me double on Friday. Sit,” he orders as he reaches your side, pulling his chair out for you.

Kuroo takes your failed assignment from you, laying it out on the desk before grabbing a fresh pen. “Why don’t you start by telling me what you think is wrong?”

You take a moment, examining all of those lines on the page. It was hard to pick out the mistakes when there were just so many. Breath.Stop thinking about how good his fucking cologne smells. Lines, Y/N. Focus.

It’s like torture, staring at your handiwork all marked in failure, forcing yourself to further examine exactly what you had done. “They’re shaky,” you finally say. Not a lie. There were plenty of lines that had been circled that had more than a slight wiggle to the stroke.

Kuroo nods, pointing out a few that exemplified what you had said. “I would guess that your grip was too tight, drawing too much with your wrist rather than your whole arm, so any imperfections were just amplified. But, a little shake is to be expected. We’re people, not robots. The uneasiness of your lines is definitely a problem, but that’s not my major issue with this assignment.”

He pauses, taking a moment to pull a stool over to sit next to you. “Look here. This is happening on a lot of your lines. It’s like you get to the end of your stroke and just give up,” he says, circling a large section of your work. As soon as he points it out, you can see exactly what he’s talking about, there’s a drift in every single one of your lines as you pull away. Clean, straight lines becoming sloppy at the last moment, an easy fix on paper and a near impossible one on someone’s skin.

“You need to pull all the way to the end and lift up. Don’t let your hand pull you one way just because you’re done. It’s an easy habit to fall into. I mean, it feels natural to just let your hand fall like that, but that’s you end up with all sorts of fucked up lines on someone’s skin. Draw with your whole arm and when you’re done, pause and then lift straight up. It’s going to take some getting used to, but this is what I was saying when your technique was shit. Someone has to humble you before you fuck someone up for the rest of their life.”

“I’m pretty sure you can humble someone without making them do your drycleaning,” you say, casting a sidelong glance at him.

The corner of his mouth twitches into a soft smirk. “You’re probably right, but it keeps you out of my hair for a couple hours so I can work without you breathing down my neck.”

An eye roll from you is followed by a snort from him. “You could’ve just told me to fuck off, you know.”

“I’m pretty sure I do, kid, but you’re just a complete pain in my ass every time,” he says. And then you’re laughing, a smile on your face that has him completely enamored, unable to keep a smile from his own lips. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, suddenly hyper aware of how close the two of you were sitting, the way your shoulder brushed against his when you moved. 

Fuck.

“Lines.” He really doesn’t know if he’s saying it for you or for himself, snapping you both back to the present moment, pushing a pen into your hands. He clears his throat, moving his stool away from you in an effort to dull his racing heart. “Show me your lines.” 

You just nod, taking your time to steady your hands before doing a single pull on the page. You try your best to do what he had said, to stop and lift, but it’s like your body just resorts to it’s natural habit of giving up right at the end of your stroke. 

“Draw with your whole arm, not just your wrist. Again,” Kuroo says, getting up from his stool to stand behind you. “Here, like this.” Before you have the chance to object, he places a gentle hand on your elbow to help guide your pull, stopping you at the end of your line. “Perfect,” he breathes. “How did that feel? Did you notice the difference?”

His voice is right next to your ear, each word warm against your skin, sending that all too familiar shiver down your spine with each reverberation. Kuroo’s hand is still on you and you’re all too aware of the pads of his fingers on your arm, a roughness to them from years of the vibration of a tattoo machine. If he noticed the way that your breathing faltered, he was kind enough to not say anything about it.

“Kur- oh! Yo, my bad. Didn’t realize you were busy.” Bokuto’s overwhelming cadence has you both jumping, quickly separating as if you had just been caught by your parents. His eyes are darting between the both of you, brows furrowed as he tries to connect the dots in his head. 

Kuroo clears his throat, running a hand through his hair. He’s staring at his shoes, trying to avoid eye contact with the piercer, hoping that he won’t notice the tinge of red that has crept up to the tips of his ears. “No, you’re fine. We were just wrapping up.”

Your cue. Anyone with an ounce of sense about them can feel the overwhelming awkward energy in the air as you stand from the chair, quickly putting your things in your bag. “I’ll see you Monday, Kuroo. Sorry for keeping you,” you say, shouldering your things as you make the suddenly far too long walk from the desk to the door. Silence hangs in the air, only disrupted by our sneakers against the floor. You pause just as you’re about to leave Kuroo’s office, just once to catch those amber eyes that are watching you intently.

“Have a good weekend, kid.” 

Quiet fills the shop once again until the twinkling of the bell over the door alerts everyone of your departure.

If only that quiet stayed, because the minute the door closes, Bokuto’s eyes are wide as he shouts, “Akaashi! Team meeting!”

“Y/N literally just left. Can’t this wait until- Why does Kuroo look like he just got grounded?” Akaashi says, rounding the corner to pause next to Bokuto.

“He has a thing for them! The apprentice!”

Kuroo’s head shoots up, eyes rolling as a look of exasperation takes over his features. “I do not! I was helping them with their assignment.”

There isn’t a single look of belief on Bokuto’s face as he pulls Akaashi in front of him to recreate the scene that had happened only minutes before. The hand on the elbow, the whisper of words directly into the ear. “How’s that? Does that feel good? Dude!” With an incredulous shout, Bokuto is pushing away from Akaashi, just a prop in his display. “What fucking porno was I about to walk in on?!”

“You’re being ridiculous, Bokuto! Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen!”

“God, not if you did that,” Akaashi shudders, brushing himself off. “That just gave me a major case of the ick. No wonder you’re still single. Besides, they’re seeing Daishou, aren’t they?”

“They literally said that it wasn’t a date.” 

“You were pretty insistent on calling it a date.”

“It wasn’t a date!”

Akaashi’s hands go up in surrender, taking a step away. “Fine. It wasn’t a date, Kuroo. They just got dinner and a few drinks. He probably walked her home and that was it.” Everyone can hear the lies in his words. They all saw them, the little round bruises that you had tried to cover with makeup. But you were going to need one hell of a concealer to hide the deep purple of a hickey marked onto your skin.

Kuroo doesn’t even have time to respond before he’s being hit in the face with his jacket. Bokuto is standing over him, an expectant look etched onto his features. “We’re getting drinks because someone has some fucking explaining to do and for once, it’s not me.”

{Taglist: @boosyboo9206 @zamorazz @universal-s1ut @localgaytrainwreck @sydsopher // never miss an update! send an ask to be added to the inked taglist!!}

[practically-an-x-man]

This is so random but I saw this tiktok about oc questions you should be answering for yourself to figure out your ocs better, and one of them was "is your oc's teeth straight or more crooked? Did they have braces etc" and it's actually kinda interesting and I think says a lot about a person/character

So... if you want I'm giving you a free pass to tell me about your ocs' teeth if that's something that intrigues you

Oh thank you!

This is an interesting question to ask, especially when it comes to OCs that have faceclaims. Like... most of them just have the teeth their faceclaim has, right? Though I think there are a few things I could say here, so thanks for sharing!

Rae has definitely had a tooth knocked out before, but thankfully it was a baby tooth and the adult tooth grew in just fine. Aside from that, it's not anything special. She does still have her wisdom teeth as an adult - they didn't grow in impacted enough to need removal, and her phobia/discomfort with the idea of being put under anesthesia meant it wasn't worth it until it was causing her pain.

Gia's teeth definitely have some wear and tear - not cavities, just physical wear - from anxiously grinding her teeth and being too agoraphobic to convince herself to visit the dentist. Enamel isn't something her clover repairs, so it is something she'll have to get medical attention for. Once she meets Kate, though, she can finally convince herself to go and get that looked at (since she trusts Kate to stay at the flower shop and keep an eye on the clover for her).

Just as Eris can regrow limbs, they can regrow teeth as well. It takes a while, and usually it's easier to pick up the lost tooth if they can and reattach it, but it happens. And eventually, when one of their teeth gets too worn (like really too worn), their body will just reject it and a new one will emerge, like a shark. They've been around for over a thousand years, and that's a lot of wear and tear, if he didn't regrow teeth then he'd just have a mouthful of dentures.

Jimmy has a gold tooth, though it's not really visible unless he opens his mouth really wide. He had it pulled due to a severe cavity when he was a teenager, and gold teeth were incredibly popular for dental replacements at the time (it was even a fashion trend to cap the incisors and canines with gold if you were wealthy enough to afford it!).

Vivienne's teeth in her human form appear almost jarringly perfect, at least for her time period. They're very straight and very white, though that's not how she grew up. As a kid, her teeth were crooked and normal, but something about the siren transformation also changed aspects of her human appearance (since sirens are meant to lure people in with their beauty/sexual appeal, the magic corrected the "imperfections" in her normal appearance). Its teeth are straighter, its skin is clear of blemishes and scars, its hair is soft and wavy regardless of how long it's spent doused in seawater, etc.. Vivienne thought that was nice at first, but the longer it goes on, the more aware she becomes of the subtle body horror of it all. It might not be too off-putting for the modern age, but for the time period it's in where scars and crooked teeth are all the norm, all that physical "perfection" is just wrong.

^ And when it's in its siren form, its teeth are also much sharper, which is unnerving of its own right

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Amber isles AU immediately caught my eye, my vote is always gonna be spino for Dino pick but kaprosuchus could be cool or even a terror bird or American lion (part of megafauna who went extinct, they’re so cool). As for the traits reader could have is compassion and kindness as much as we use them, cause what use is being able to survive if you have nothing to survive for; to suffer together and lift the burden of what they cannot handle is worth more than they think and never realizes till it’s too late to get that warmth back. One scoffs at the perceived weakness of being kind but it’s one of the strongest things to do.

By the by totally drag out the angst for it and make it seem like reader is over the ‘yeah we gonna kill you cause you’re useless lowkey :/‘ and then have it bite them in the ass when the insecurities from that rears it’s ugly head

Hard 180: vampire bat Au would be so good and so interesting to see play out, seeing someone who you did dirty and should’ve treated better, you changing for the better and regretting your actions only to see them years later and not recognizing them. A vague sense of wrongness and a !I should know you!

Anyway much love

Spino

Those are so freaking cool!!!! (Terror birds, cave lions, spinosaurs, or even other animals like the oviraptors, or a thylacine, or an ancient crocodile like sarcosuchus, or D*RN IT THERE'S SO MANY GOOD IDEAS!!!! SPINO!!!! SPINO ANON, WE MUST PUCK THE BEST ONE EVER!!!!)

And yeah, the angst is driven very, very high. Reader runs off, running like H*ll, while the younger teens try to convince them to not kill their friend, and the older teens try to comfort the kids but also appeal to the adults to give Reader another chance.

And it's revealed that Reader is something a chunck of them aren't: loyal, kind, nurturing. Understanding. Maybe they aren't the most deadly predator or cunning scavenger or a fast opportunist, but... for a kid, a nestling or cub or hatchling, a sibling and packmate... they couldn't really ask for a better one.

Now they just have to yet them to come out and come back with them...

And Vampire Bat Mutant Reader is someone who needs friends, and they're going to get them! (And they get re-adopted, but that comes later)

[persnicketypomelo]

Hey, if you like characters with very little fics about them like Norrington then I have a character you might like from the horror movie, Crimson Peak, Dr Alan McMichael.

The small amount of people who write for that movie only ever write for Thomas. I think Alan is underrated.

I haven't watched the movie, but I did my best to understand the characters and plot from clips and plot summaries.

spoilers for Crimson Peak, obsessive tendencies, manipulative behavior

Yandere Alan McMichael Headcanons

Alan seems a real sweetheart through and through

The kind of sweetheart to be by his dear childhood friend's side, even while she becomes the bride of someone else

I think an interesting scenario could be either where you take Edith's place as the victim of Sharpe siblings' schemes, or where you meet him in the aftermath

In the event where take Edith's place, his temperament will be far sweeter and more laidback

Its a crush he developed now that you two have blossomed into adults

In an ideal scenario, he would be by your side as your husband, and he will do his damn best to convince you of his vision as well

However, if you truly wish to marry this Thomas fellow over him, he is sound enough to respect your wishes

He will loyally and dutifully stay by your side as your best friend, content to watch you be happy

In this scenario, I surmise the plot would carry on much the same as in the original

Something about your husband and his sister disconcerts Alan, and when he learns of the truth, he makes haste to rescue you

I think, however, a scenario in which you nurture a relationship with him after the ordeal with the Sharpe family, is more interesting

His experience would harden him somewhat, making him more wary and cynical of the world and others

Your sweet and kind-hearted nature would appeal to him greatly, reminding him of something he lost in the traumatic evening he and Edith endured

McMichael knows the world to be full of people capable of vile things masked by kindly demeanors

Yet, you wear your innocence so openly that it simultaneously troubles and endears him

Someone could come along and hurt you, take advantage of your trusting nature, gain your love then leave you broken hearted

With the last possibility, his worry is tinged with jealousy

He can't let that happen to you

There's another aspect to his possessive nature as well

He's been the leftover, the cast-aside before when it came to his first love

It's a feeling he doesn't want to tolerate again

This time, he feels he can right the disappointments of the past, as well as protect you from ever having to endure the same heartbreak

His courtship is sweet, warm like sunshine, and oh-so protective

As a yandere, I don't see him doing anything particularly terrible, especially in comparison to the virility of some other yanderes

But he may or may not employ some underhanded tactics to ensure that other suitors are...unappealing to you

Or you may find that those too romantically intimate with you end up dropping their pursuit, deeming it not worth the strange and intimidating attention of the shadow by your side

I think, due to his protective sentiment towards you, he would be as close to you and occupy as much of a role in your life as you allow him to

And even when you do set boundaries with him, he may or may not be lurking just about the corner, present and aware of aspects of your life greater than what you share with him

He couldn't stand it if you needed his care or protection while he wasn't around

And should you need a guardian--someone to step in for you if you ever find yourself in a precarious situation--how fortunate then that he managed to be in just the right place at the right time

I think he is too well-intentioned to ever purposefully put you in dangerous situations to later rescue you

That doesn't mean, though, that he wouldn't ever abuse his power to...guide you in the right path (the one towards him)

Any mild symptoms of dis-ease: a headache, fatigue, or mild cold would have him fretting over you

You would think, with the way he treats you. that you were made of glass

Though his paranoia may be just be a symptom of that terrible happening at Allerdale Hall

He experienced his best friend being poisoned, and was unable to be there for her until it was almost too late

Alan will not make the same mistake again with you

If you do end up marrying him (due at least in part to his insistence) his protective and possessive nature would amplify to be even worse, since the two of you are no longer encumbered by the inhibitions of friendship or being acquaintances

It would never be his intention to cause you harm despite his questionable behavior, but it's as they say...

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

divider by saradika

[senorabond]

WIP Wednesday! Rumor Has It Update

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I am *hard* at work writing the next chapter. In fact, it's turning into two chapters' worth of smut.

Here is a little sneak peek at what you've got in store for Chapter 8:

“You’re in charge of this; you decide what we do or don’t do, and how far this goes.” He walks around to face you, and you’re surprised to see how gentle his eyes are. They’re round and sincere, serious but not stern. You can’t wait to see them looking up at you from between your legs.

“Understand?”

You nod and he cups your face, running the pad of his thumb over your mouth and parting your lips.

“Use your words, cariño. I need to hear it.”

“I understand,” you say, then drag the tip of your tongue against his thumb. He lets out a pleased hum. 

“Good. Now, tell me your rules.” His other hand strokes your lower back, sending shivers up your spine.

“Oh. Um, I – I don’t know,” you stutter. 

He drops his hands and takes half a step back. “We’re not doing anything until you set the rules.”

“But–”

“This is important, cariño. I’ll give you a moment to gather your thoughts.” 

And just like that, Javi’s walking away from you and sitting on your couch. What the hell is happening here? 

He’s right, of course, damn the man. You want to be mad, but don’t know what to be mad about – how respectful he is? Letting out a deep sigh, you go back to the kitchen and pick up your glass of wine. 

“Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?” Your voice comes out a bit more sarcastic than intended, and the sound of Javi’s throaty chuckle from the living room makes you bristle. 

“Whatever you’re having is fine.” 

The man sounds so calm and unfazed you want to throw something at him, but instead, you pout like a grown up and pour another glass. You set it on the small end table to his left and start pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. Stuck in a quandary like this, you used to be able to call Marcus up and talk it through, but that sounds as appealing as lemon juice in a paper cut right now. Besides, even if Marcus would help you get laid, he’s probably busy with his girlfriend.

Sighing, you sit down next to Javi and face him. In this position, the hem of your dress rides all the way up to your hip, but you’re in no mood to be modest. Javi takes a sip of his wine and turns slightly in your direction. He puts an arm along the top of the couch, and you try not to notice the way his suit jacket opens, revealing his broad chest sloping down to hint at a soft belly. His thighs splay invitingly, and you bite your bottom lip. 

“Cariño?” Javi’s eyes sparkle with mischief. 

“Right. The rules.” You set your glass of wine down and try to focus. Javi waits patiently, but you can see his fingers toying with the fabric on the back of the couch. He’s just as anxious to get this part over with.

“Rule number one: nothing at work. Ever. Not even after hours or in the parking lot. Nothing.” 

Javi nods in stout agreement. 

“Rule number two: it’s just sex. We’re simply two consenting adults with insane chemistry, privately enjoying the hell out of each other’s bodies.” 

“Enthusiastically consenting,” Javi smirks, and sets his glass of wine down so he can stroke your thigh. The hunger in his eyes is distracting, but you manage to pull your thoughts together one last time.

“And lastly, but most importantly – rule number three: what happens undercover stays undercover.” 

Javi’s hand stills on your thigh and he looks at you curiously. “You mind expanding on that a bit?”

“Our cover is just that; a story, playing pretend. We don’t let it blur the lines of whatever we do outside of the investigation. We have to compartmentalize.” 

Javi takes a moment, considering what you’ve said, then nods. Looking you over, he slides his hand up your thigh and leans in, closing the space between you on the couch. 

“I guess that means we better get out of these clothes.” 

I'm so, so, SO excited to finish this chapter and get it posted for you!

If anybody is interested in my writing "process," I'd be happy to write about that. I have ADHD, and I've learned that I'm a very visual thinker, and discovering a process or method over the last 6 months has been a fun journey.

Here is the song that's been playing on loop for me while I've been writing this particular chapter. I have no idea how to embed the Spotify player, but that link should take you to the song Do It For Me by Rosenfeld.

[loquaciousquark]

hello again, question two incoming! i was thinking about my tav and astarion and boundaries each of them would set with each other—ness got dragged alone into the illithid oubliette, sent to chult, and then sucked into the djinni's lamp in lorroakan's tower and astarion is Very Done with his glass canon sorcerer gf being imperiled while he's helpless about it—and i remembered your fic "this lethal light falls softly", where astarion sets kind of a similar boundary when tavish comes back from being in avernus way longer than intended. my question is kind of twofold, firstly what is it with astarion and girlfriends who disappear on him, and then more seriously, what are some other boundaries tavish and astarion have to set with each other? is it easy for them to draw those lines, or is it always a kind of fraught conversation, like it was in the fic where astarion was threatening to leave tavish? do those boundary-drawing conversations change after the netherbrain is defeated and they're not constantly fighting for their lives? i imagine you can swallow some things easier when you're mostly just worried your partner could die at any minute, lol

LOVE THIS. Poor Ness. Poor Astarion! In a meta sense, I think it's just great to see someone who explicitly avoided caring about people for a couple of centuries be forced to confront that he actually cares about someone...a lot now, and all the wonder & horror that comes with that. There's a certain kind of impotence that comes with that level of waiting & being able to do exactly nothing to mitigate it, and I like seeing Astarion grapple with it & decide: yes, it's worth the pain to stick around anyway, that the love matters more. It sucks for him, for sure, but man is it a good time for me! :D

In terms of boundaries, I think both Astarion & Tavish are extremely terrible at both articulating, implementing, and occasionally respecting them. Tav had a healthy upbringing until she was about twelve, and then her entire teenage & young adult life was built around getting close enough to people to rob them, first under the direction of her horrible aunt, and then on her own after she killed her. Even the Thieves' Guild, where she wanted desperately to be, didn't find her appealing enough to accept, so she very quickly learned that absolutely no one cared if she lived or died, that family, friends, & lovers would take off the moment she couldn't give them what they wanted, and that the only way to guarantee someone would stick up for her would be if she brought some sort of unique utility to the table. I don't think she ever broke any major boundaries for anyone because she never got close enough for them to matter.

Likewise, Astarion's entire known history is messily tied to utility and what (who) he could provide for Cazador. However, his job, for lack of a better word, explicitly relied on him pushing boundaries at every opportunity. He must get the person who's hesitant to follow him into a dark alley to come with him anyway. He must get someone so drunk that they make incredibly stupid decisions & sleep with him despite their better judgement. He must find the person already having a terrible day and be that listening ear, manipulating them so much in the process that they lean on his opinion and recommendations over their own. The luxury of a healthy relationship is so far outside his realm of experience, I don't think he has the faintest idea what do with it when he finds himself in one, like a dog who's actually caught a car.

The turn for him, therefore, must be the realization that he cares for Tav's wellbeing above his own. He's at last found something to care about and protect besides himself, something he'd die to save, and that means that after two hundred years, his own needs and wants must come secondary to his desire to make Tav happy.

For Tav, it's the opposite. She's spent so long believing herself unlovable that I don't think she really understands how much Astarion cares until very late in the endgame. She isn't trying to make things hard for him; she just genuinely doesn't realize she's hurting him. That would require her to understand that she has intrinsic value as a person to him, even outside of what utility she can provide, & she's bad at understanding that.

In that vein, I don't think Tav is capable of articulating hard boundaries for herself for a long time. She has things she likes & dislikes, of course, but for someone so used to desperately reshaping herself to be small, to be easy, to be lovable in the hopes that someone would want to stick around eventually, her go-to response is not to ask someone to stop doing something, it's to literally retrain herself to find that thing not that bad in the first place. It's only because Astarion is extremely good at quick-reading people that he picks up on it after a while & realizes this is what she's doing.

I do think at some point post-game he has a very clear sit-down with her where he makes her clearly state some things he's doing that seriously bother her, not just so he can stop doing them but so she can get used to putting voice to her wants in the first place. However, because he's him, I do think he's snippy and catty about it the whole time. They aren't serious complaints; he just knows his cattiness makes Tav laugh & he wants her to trust him--to trust that he loves her, sure, but also to trust him to stay even when she's irritated at him. He needs her to understand she's not going to chase him off by asking him to change his behavior. (Also a novel thing for him: that he is willing to change his own behavior for someone else, just because they ask. Because her happiness matters more to him than him "winning" an argument by being sarcastic & cutting, and it turns out that hurting her to win makes the win sour and bitter anyway & he doesn't enjoy it.)

Astarion is just the opposite. I think for a while he can't help but react every time he butts up against something he doesn't like, both from the novelty of being able to say no & as part of his attempts to figure out exactly what denials are worth the effort. In this way I think Tav is very well-suited to him; she's very patient regarding this kind of thing thanks to her own flaws (especially since she understands what he's doing, even if he doesn't). She doesn't mind at all kind of contorting herself around his changeable boundaries while he figures out what he actually does & doesn't want, and since they don't have the end of the world hanging over their heads anymore, there's no time pressure aside from her own mortality. Besides, she can tell which ones he really cares a lot about (her leaving without warning, her endangering herself on his behalf without his knowing, the period where they're not sleeping together in Act 2/3) vs. the ones he doesn't really care about & are really just unconscious tests (her leaving her shoes all over the floor, the way she fiddles with things all the time when she's bored, the way too many sweets makes her blood less tasty, etc.). It's not a way I think she could live forever, but because he does change over time and he does get better and he does clearly learn from his mistakes, she's willing to be patient on her part while he figures things out.

Eventually, as they settle into a routine and become more comfortable navigating each other's needs as well as their own, he learns he doesn't have to say no to everything and she learns she can say no at all. It's a lot of work for both of them, but they both care deeply about the other's success and happiness, and they're both willing to put in the effort to make something that'll last.

Ahh, this was wonderful to get to ramble on about. Thank you so much for asking! <3<3<3

[sammywolfgirl]

Actually no let’s dissect this new layout as someone who has used Twitter for a bit @staff listen up @wip @changes

I used Twitter for about a year because a lot of my mutuals at the time did, and you know what?

I hated the layout.

I didn’t like how I had to keep tabs on my friends because the algorithm would show me shitty stuff I wouldn’t want to see and was so hard to curate a feed

I’m fairly certain I ended up blocking a lot of people because they kept liking pictures of boobs and I didn’t want to see that shit and Twitter never let you turn that off

I ended up blocking people who kept getting recommended because their art made me sick and I didn’t want to see untagged nsfw on my feed

And the side bar sucked, it took me a while to figure out how to post in the first place

And don’t get me started about having a trending tab always right there and how it would set off my anxiety because every day it was just “here’s a new thing to make you want to jump off a cliff!”

Twitter and the way it works is designed to get hate clicks and engage on outrage, is that the method you want to follow?

Especially for a website who’s users are very loudly against that and also like privacy and will literally use outside resources to fix the ‘improvements’ you made because you didn’t think a toggle feature was worth it

Also putting the stuff on the left or right does not draw the eye, why? Because that’s where your hands are. Blocking the features you want to engage with. My eye is drawn up so putting your stuff there works best! It gets attention. Not to the right where my big ass hand is blocking the post button. (This is also why you should put the mobile post bubble back in the bar where it belongs but that’s a topic for another day)

I understand tumblr is in debt hell, but users have stated many times that if you just ask for donations like ao3 they’d be happy to donate

Hell, crab day was thrown around to be just like that.

Listen to your users or they will all leave for the websites you’re poorly emulating.

Tumblr is surviving because it offers an experience NO OTHER WEBSITE DOES

Taking that away just means tumblr is not unique, and users would rather try their luck with a website that’s doing this better.

Like Twitter, or tic tok, or Instagram.

Lean into your uniqueness and just ask for donations like an adult, just a little add that shows up in the add rotation that’s like “like what you see? Why not throw a dollar in the tip jar?” Like frame it like giving money to an artist so they can keep doing what you love, it’ll be charming!

Tumblr will not find success or even break even if you try and appeal to newcomers, every new social media is confusing to newbies, but you know what they do? They learn, and they adapt. And changing everything is going to make you loose legacy users who again, would LOVE TO DONATE MONEY TO KEEP THIS HELLSIGHT STANDING AS IS.

Or do you just not care about the users? The users who have the money you need.

I don’t want to watch tumblr die a slow and painful death like Twitter is.

And you know there’s something oddly poetic about tumblr, the quirky kid, tearing itself apart just to fit in with the popular kids which won’t work out and only lead to hollow friendships that can turn on a dime when you could have found meaningful relationships with the other weirdos who like your quirks and flaws and would have been ride or die for you.

But no we gotta be like Twitter so let’s chop off our arms and legs becsuse that’s what they’re doing

Tkdr listen to your users and open an donations sight so you can keep being tumblr and get money for it okay? Okay. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk