#the other one knows that's like the only somewhat available job for a lot of people and SOMEONE has to do it

[shittygaypornmagazine]

I have worked for two months my whole life for half a minimum wage and you have no idea how much my priorities have shifted since - I now don't care what I do as long as there are no customers I have to personally see

[mind-intheclouds342]

The perfect one - Trans Curly x Reader

Warning: Smutty!

To you, he was the best man you could have ever met, tall, blonde, with blue eyes, his beard tickled you every time you kissed him, his hands were big and perfect for holding your face, kind, compassionate, and you could keep naming many other qualities of his.

After so many failed relationships, you felt that you had finally met the right person for you. 

Maybe the only bad thing you could say about him was his job, which meant he was away too much, but in the last few months you were dating, there wasn't a day when you didn't receive a call from him and he would tell you how everything was going.

While you were waiting at the mall for their arrival to meet, someone had approached you. 

He looked familiar when you gave him a glance, until you realized he was a friend of Curly's, whom you had only seen in photographs. 

Jimmy: "Aren't you (Y/n)? Curly's girlfriend?"

"Um- yeah, it's me..." 

You nodded somewhat nervously at the man's sudden closeness. 

Jimmy: "Are you gay?"

"Excuse me?"

That question had caught you completely off guard. 

Jimmy: "Sure you are, otherwise you wouldn't be with Curly, right?" 

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

Jimmy: "You know, because he is a woman."

"Eh?"

Every word that came out of his mouth only made you feel more and more confused. 

Jimmy: "Didn't you know? He may look like a man and all, but he doesn't have what really makes a man."

"You know- I don't feel comfortable talking about this with you. I will kindly ask you to leave me alone and go away."

Jimmy: "Ugh, I'm just telling you the truth, you don't have to react that way."

He rolled his eyes. 

Jimmy: "You should be with a real man, I'm available if you're interested in that."

"No thanks, I would prefer to eat cockroaches."

You made an unpleasant grimace at that idea, but the thought of being much closer to that person for a longer time seemed even more disgusting to you. 

After rejecting him in a thousand different ways and having him insult you for rejecting him, he got tired enough to leave you alone. 

"What kind of friends does Curly have?"

You wondered, looking at the time on your phone, hoping he would arrive soon. 

And when you looked up from the screen, all you could see were yellow tulips in front of you. 

Curly: "Have you been waiting a long time for me?"

You melted at the sight of that beautiful smile he has, and the gesture of the flowers in a pot won your heart once again. 

"No, not at all, I arrived just a few minutes early."

You responded by greeting your boyfriend with a kiss on the lips, happy to see him again. 

Curly: "Great, shall we go to that new café you wanted to go to?"

"Of course~"

You clung to his arm and, attached to him, walked together until you reached that place.

You took a seat, leaving the flowers aside, and after glancing at the menu, you decided to place  your orders. 

Curly: "And? Have you thought about my proposal?"

"To go live with you?" You smiled, playing with the paper napkin on the table. "I don't know..." It's still a bit early~ we've only been dating for half a year"

Curly: "Mmm, but we've known each other for two years." 

"But it seems like you haven't told me everything~" 

Immediately, his calm demeanor changed to a more nervous one. 

Curly: "Hehehehe, what are you talking about?"

"I had the strangest conversation with your friend Jimmy, you told me he was a good guy, but damn, he's an idiot!" 

Curly: "Oh- um- and what did he say?"

"He started calling you less of a man and those things, he even called you a woman, I thought it was a bit exaggerated."

Curly: "Well... About that..."

"...Why would you hide something like this from me??"

Curly: "I didn't know how you were going to react... I like you a lot and I don't want to lose you..."

"Fool, it's not worth hiding those things, sooner or later they come to light, and it's better to say them beforehand." 

Both sighed and rested their heads in their hands. 

Curly: "You're going to leave me, aren't you? It's okay if you do it..."

"What?"

Curly: "At this point, this is where everyone leaves... For women, I was never a 'real man,' and for those who like women, I was never quite a woman, so... no one was satisfied with me after finding out that I am trans. " 

"I'm angry because you didn't tell me earlier. Not because you were born a woman"

Curly: "...Are you not going to leave me?"

"How could I leave the best man in the world?"

When he saw your smile and heard what you said, he couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and joy. 

At that moment, your drinks were brought to you, and you continued your conversation as if nothing had happened, talking about your jobs and friends, catching up after not having seen each other for a while.

You had decided to go to his house, you wanted to stay for dinner and sleep with him. 

"Was that you??" 

You said, surprised, looking at some photos from when he was a teenager, before testosterone. 

The two sitting on the couch in their living room. 

Curly: "Yeah... They always told me I looked very masculine, so I tried to look as feminine as possible so they wouldn't talk weird about me, but I think I just looked dumber." 

"You were so beautiful! You have always been handsome your whole life, it's unfair!"

You buried your face in his chest and hit him a couple of times softly, until you stopped and looked at him. 

Curly: "There's nothing left" he laughed lightly as if he could read what you were thinking. 

"Can I see?"

He blushed a little at your proposal, but he was quick to please you and take off his shirt. 

You attentively observed his scars, carefully touching them with the tips of your fingers. 

"I love them" 

Curly: "And i love yours," he smiled, seeing how focused you were on his chest. 

He became somewhat curious when you started looking at his face and chest repeatedly; he suspected you were up to something and confirmed it when you bit his chest out of nowhere. 

That was the greatest show of affection you could give him. 

"By the way! You need to work on your friendships. "

You told him when you stopped biting him, he was lying on the couch breathing heavily from how you had attacked him, his entire chest and neck marked with small bites and hickeys.

Curly: "Can we talk about that later?"

He said with a sigh and his cheeks red. 

"Of course" 

You smiled to climb on top of him and kiss his lips. 

You felt his hands resting on your thighs and then slowly sliding down to your butt to squeeze it. 

You let out a small sigh between your lips, causing him to pull away from you. 

Curly: "Are you sure about this?"

"More than sure" 

You confirmed it and let out a squeal when he grabbed you to carry you, getting up from the couch ready to take you to his room. 

When he laid you down on the bed, he immediately began kissing your neck and slipped his hands inside your shirt, trying to unfasten your bra. 

You felt his hands glide over your body to take off your shirt, momentarily parting from your neck to get rid of it and then placing a kiss back on your lips. 

He gave you a smile before turning to your breasts to start kissing them first, then licking them, and finally dedicating all his attention to your nipples, one in his mouth and the other being massaged by his left hand. 

He sucked, pressed with his lips, and moved his tongue in circles over one, while with the other he gently pulled and twisted, making them hard, causing you to arch your back while letting out small moans. 

Curly: "You sound so lovely..." 

"I didn't know you could be so eager..." 

You laughed a little until you saw him run his tongue between your breasts and then down to your stomach, leaving a kiss on it before he started to take off your pants.

"Hey! I'm not a rag doll!" 

You shook your legs to prevent him from completely removing the lower part of your clothes, it didn't bother you at all but you felt a bit lazy letting him do everything. 

You finished taking off your pants by yourself, left only in your underwear, sat on his bed, and smiled. 

"You have more clothes than I do."

Curly: "And if we leave that for another day? It doesn't bother me at all to please you today."

"Pants down"

You said it almost like an order, crossing your arms.

He sighed to start unbuttoning his pants, and as he lowered them, you saw that he was wearing boxers, but what caught your attention the most was the hair peeking out from the lower part of his stomach. 

"...Jungle?"

Curly: "Don't say it like that!"

"I see that the curtains match the rugs. "

Curly: "Don't keep on with that"

You let out a giggle and pushed him, making him fall back onto the bed. You rested your cheek on his thigh, playing with the edge of his boxers between your fingers, then slowly pulling them down to his knees. 

"Oh wow-" 

You just said that and Curly was already covering his face with his arms. 

You had never seen an erect clit in your life, but you didn't mind it at all, not to mention the amount of hair covering that area. 

You couldn't help but lean in and soon take it into your mouth to suck it, surprised when he suddenly lifted his hips and his legs trembled, perhaps you hadn't considered the sensitivity of that part. 

When you tried to pull away, his hands went to your head, pushing you against his pussy. 

Curly: "No, no, no, please don't stop"

And those words were enough for you to continue with the pleasure of that man, too immersed in his moans, not wanting to stop and even exploring a bit more by inserting two of your fingers inside him, giving him goosebumps. 

Curly: "Yesss, keep going like that- a little more- a little more and-!"

You could only drown your moan in his intimacy when his legs pushed you even more against him at the moment he reached his orgasm. 

Little by little, his trembling legs slid down your back, leaving you free, finally lifting your head with your cheeks red and your face all wet.. 

"Bleh"

You stuck out your tongue to get a hair off it, and both of you ended up looking at each other and then laughing for the same reason. 

Curly: "I think I got carried away-"

"Do you think so?" 

You murmured to lean over him and kiss his lips.

Curly: "Eew, you are soaked."

"Now you deal with it" 

They laughed as you planted kisses all over their face. 

Curly: "If you want to soak my face, do it like this"

He took your sides and pulled you up until your stomach was against his face, he started kissing you, tickling you, and making you sit on his chest.

"Hehehe what are you- oh my God-"

You let out a moan when he took your sides and ended up dragging you to his face, moving your panties aside with his teeth and inserting his tongue in an instant. 

You were definitely going to seriously consider moving in with him. 

[moonastro]

your future career

pick a picture

left to right(top)-> 1,2,3

°DO NOT take this as literal, take everything with a grain of salt as this is purely and intendedly for entertainment purposes.

°Don't be afraid to give feedback and opinions about this post (as i would entirely appreciate it).

° This is a GENERAL reading, take what resonates and leave and pass on what does not!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

pile one: I'm seeing connections related to your career. what i mean about that is that you will have close relationships with very high status people that will help you along with your journey. I'm getting the vibes of when you ask someone about a goal of yours and they tell you that they know someone that can help you with your goal. It feels very prosperous and fortunate.

A career that you worked very hard for and stayed consistent in. like I'm feeling you studied, research and looked at every aspect of the career. Very knowledgeable about what you know. I also feel that you knew what you wanted to do from a very early age and it might have been your dream/goal to pursue that path. And to say the least, you will!! This is the literal definition of aiming high and achieving it. Sidenote- this career will be very unexpected for people when you tell them your status. You probably worked quietly and that's what got you to success.

This is also a career that may consist of you being very independent and thinking for yourself. This will enable you to help your family here also. I see you being the first in your family to achieve something very big and successful. This will allow you to take care of your family and help them out financially and giving them what they deserve for all the hardships that they supported you through.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

pile two: You may be unsure of what you are truly wanting as a career. you may be overthinking or just taking some time off and planning what might be suitable for you. (take this lightly please).

Anyway, i see money coming from overseas, very much investing and saving vibes. You take risks with this career, and take opportunities that are available. You also give a lot so this convinces me that it is investing. You reach for the impossible and you keep moving. some moves that are risky and out of context will also be a theme here, so the job may require toughness and risk overall.

there is a lot of consciousness about your surroundings. there is an instant reflex that you have when it comes to making quick and instant decisions. that actually may be your specialty. people come to you to get opinions and kind of like permission?? this convinces me that it may be a boss career OR a leading position that you take care of.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

pile three: Wowww. This career will be full of success and alignments. you will be very liked in your space and it will truly feel so destined that you will stay at the job for a very long time. you will go through lots and lots of other jobs before finally settling to the one. It may feel like you are very un grounded but trust everything, do not doubt your journey!!!

Somehow i feel like this career will be a luck thing. like i see you getting offered something and you accepting or you going out of your comfort zone only to get the best results from it. This job is somewhat of a surprise to you but you will be good at whatever you do.

I feel like the career will consist of lots of speaking and thinking. Very much office vibes (not saying it is). It will allow you to stand your ground and be able to express your opinions freely. I also think that you will become more confident with this career. like it will definitely change you for the better. Also, there will also be lots of connections like pile one, but for this pile it is more like unprofessional, unlike pile one it is very structured and professional connections. like it is more of you will meet lots of new peers and generally know lots of people by just being friendly.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

that's all for this post! thanks for reading, it is most appreciated💗🤍

[duskysprings-if]

demo (coming soon) | ro appearances | other characters

❝welcome to dusky springs. a family-friendly p̷̧̲̱͛͊̉̔̑͂ă̴̤̝r̶͎͗͋͗̈́͌͠͝͝a̸͉̫͌̉̆d̷̢̨̛͚̠̖̺̞̲̍̃̓͊̄͗̚i̷̟̱̖͆̓̉̉̽͋̌͠s̵̤̦̠̝̬̩̻̓ḙ̵̺͎̳̰̩͂̌̽͆̏̒̈́.❞

stuck in dead end jobs to pay the bills is not the future you or your twin sister envisioned for yourselves. so, when your grandfather bequeathes his museum of mysteries to you both in his will, you both leap at the chance to turn over a new leaf and start again.

only the town of dusky springs is nothing like you expected. the town is too vibrant, the people are too friendly, and the woods bordering the whole place are way too eerie for comfort.

still, you and your twin manage to carve out a piece to call home and with it, create a small family that consists of three employees of varying skill and sass, some rich kid with a surprising amount of sense, a wandering stranger, and the demon you accidentally summoned thanks to an old journal you found.

a journal that leads you to the realisation that in dusky springs…

no one is safe.

dusky springs is 18+ cog wip based on alex hirsch’s gravity falls.

content warnings include explicit language, optional sexual content, murder and attempted murder, graphic depictions of violence, blood, and injury, emotional abuse, age gap (optional), body horror, manipulative behaviours, and alcohol and drug use. please proceed with caution.

⛦ customisable mc. play as female, nonbinary, or male with cis and trans options available. chose your pronouns, identity, and titles separately.

⛦ personality stats include: stoic/emotional, cautious/reckless, ruthless/merciful, genuine/sarcastic, kind/rude, stubborn/compliant & sanity. skill stats include: physical strength, charisma, intelligence, and magic. These are subject to change, however, this if is story driven and you will not be punished for low stats.

⛦ four characters to romance with two poly options available to pursue. platonic routes available.

⛦ manage the museum of mysteries, investigate the going’s on of dusky springs, and try to keep your ragtag family from blowing something up.

aspen lyrik [m/f/nb]

the demon you accidentally summoned and bound to you. aspen is quick-witted and intelligent, and you can’t tell if they’re fond of you or not. one moment, they’re refusing to speak to you and the next, they’re almost dying in order to protect you. you knew demons were going to be confusing, but nothing could have prepared you for yours.

loukas/louella cynara [m/f]

one of the employees you inherited with the museum. lou is the laidback life-of-the-party. despite their somewhat slacker attitude at work, they become a fast and loyal friend and appear ready to accept whatever crazy theories you throw their way. as a dusky springs lifer, their insight and knowledge could prove valuable.

vanya seneci [nb]

the child of the richest family in town. vanya lives off daddy’s money without shame. getting caught up with you and the imaginary mysteries of dusky springs was the last thing they wanted. except when things get a little real, you and your twin are the only ones they can turn to.

rayn/raelyn esias [m/f]

the stranger. r rolled into town around the same time you did. the only thing you know about them is the name they gave you and the fact that they seem to know a lot more about dusky springs then they’re letting on.

poly options are aspen + rayn/raelyn and loukas/louella + vanya

[psychicvoidtale]

BLOB OPERA!!!!!

(They are all something like orphans, they are fish and they spent most of their lives in a fish tank, they are mutants, I love them)

Bancy has always been interested in music, in he free time she is practicing how to improve her voice and be better every day! He likes to watch records related to music and podcasts, he is very shy with people, he is currently dating a computer girl

Baldo is not really that excited about the opera itself, the'y does it because the'y does not spend as much time with his brothers as the'y would like, the'm works too much, although the'y is very grumpy the'm has his good moments and loves his brothers unconditionally.

Since Bob joined the world of opera, he was nervous at first but then he got used to it. He always tries to be as friendly as possible and it doesn't bother him. He gets along very well with the other people in charge of the show. He likes to take photographs.

Barry always wanted to be appreciated by people, in fact, at first he liked the idea of being an actor, he could never do it well, Bob encouraged him to take him into this world of music, he is always happy to talk to his fans or part of the rest of the show

Boly has always been somewhat envious, he really likes to show off that he is very popular, this is his defense mechanism, he is afraid of being ridiculed, sometimes in his free time he likes to do crafts, apart from that he is the one who focuses the most on his work secondary

Bambi was very energetic, he once suffered an accident and almost died, thanks to several surgeries, he managed to survive, he is a bit dumb, since his brain underwent a couple of changes, but he is still excellent at singing, most of the time he is taken care of by one of his friends

Bam is the tallest of all, he is quite cold with people and his fans, he doesn't care what they say about him, he is the most responsible of all, he is the only one with a driver's license, he knows how to know very well, he has a car and he has a doctorate, he is quite affectionate with his brothers even though he is very cold

At the beginning, Babi was extremely important to everyone, that was quite stressful for him, and that affects him now, every time he suffers a lot of pressure he feels like crying, he has a second job in cartoons, he likes his jobs, his safe place is his bed and his brothers

Blob is just joining the opera, he feels very bad about his face, he had several accidents before mutating, all his brothers support him too much, his second job is taking care of pets

Bap Is new!

Thank you for reading

sammy, my characters (mark, daisy, doldy and joey) and any other characters will not be available for questions until further notice, they are the main ones now

[hlficlibrary]

- HL Fic Library's Winter Fic Rec -

Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

❄️ In A Twinkling by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom {Explicit, 89k}

Louis’ Nan just wants him to be happy, to settle down with a nice boy, and bring him around for Christmas.

Louis is too busy with his career to bother about relationships, but in an attempt to appease his Nan, he sends her photoshopped pictures of him and his pretend boyfriend, Harry. The fact that the man in the pictures is none other than Harry Styles, world famous Gucci model—and recurrent star of Louis’ fantasies—is irrelevant. It’s not like their paths will ever cross…

So it comes as somewhat of a surprise when Louis returns home for Christmas and walks into his Nan’s sitting room only to find the real-life Harry Styles happily chatting away with the grey-haired ladies of his Nan’s Crochet Circle.

Featuring Niall and Liam as Louis’ childhood friends, Harry as the painfully perfect man of Louis’ dreams, Zayn as Harry’s very protective best mate, Louis’ Nan as a well-meaning matchmaker, and Louis as a guy who thinks he’s happy with his life, until a certain someone shows him what he’s been missing.

❄️ the impossible now by stylinsoncity / @aliensingucci {Mature, 64k}

A wish on Christmas Eve sends Louis to an alternate dimension where Harry is a member of One Direction.

❄️ Yet in Thy Dark Streets Shineth by @juliusschmidt {Mature, 57k}

Louis’ life has become the very thing he’s always dreaded: routine. His job is steady, his bills are paid, his friends are preoccupied, his siblings are mostly old enough not to need him, and his mom keeps pestering him about attending church. Apparently, the new minister pulls rainbows and unicorns out of his robes.

Advent arrives three months into Harry’s first call as associate pastor at St. Andrews. Life is… not perfect. He’s still figuring out how do his job and the holidays bring a whole bundle of extra stress. On top of which, he has no friends or family nearby with whom he can decompress. Louis Tomlinson shows up to worship in the nick of time.

❄️ like cranberries on a winter evening by 4ureyesonly28 / @evilovesyou {General, 47k}

Louis hates Christmas. With good reason, too. And no, he doesn’t want to talk about it.

When research for his next novel leads Louis to the website of a quirky little hotel in Northumberland, there is exactly one room available for the two weeks that Louis really wants to get away from his family.

Will the fairy lights, kind smiles, homemade pastries, and genuine friendships awaiting him in Harry Styles’ hotel be enough to cause Louis a change of heart?

❄️ Ideal: An Advent Fic by asphodelknox / @iamasphodelknox {Mature, 40k}

All Louis wanted was some god-damned time to write his novel. He didn’t expect to move his and Liam’s entire production of a Christmas variety show to a small inn in Vermont just before the holidays. He didn’t expect to save Niall’s inn. He didn’t expect Liam to fall in love. He definitely didn’t expect to fall in love himself. And he certainly didn’t expect it all to feel so much like a Christmas movie.

Oh hell. There’s a lot of things Louis didn’t expect.

A White Christmas au, complete with drama, fluff, choreographed dance numbers, and idiotic boys falling in love. Just your typical Christmas fun.

❄️ The Happiest Season by @sadaveniren {Explicit, 37k}

“You’re going to spend Christmas -and your birthday- with his homophobic WASP parents? That’s gonna be hell.”

Louis closed his eyes in frustration. “It was either that or be apart and I don’t think that’s gonna be good for either of us this year, you know?”

A fic loosely based on Happiest Season but make it ... different

❄️ All Your Mates Are Here by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup {Teen&Up, 36k}

"The pack is... It's folding, Harry."

Like every werewolf does when they get to a new town, Harry joined one of the many local packs when he started university. Now, three years into his program, he's hit with the news that his pack is giving up, going their separate ways. In the wake of the holidays, the three single wolves from the Majestic pack are pointed in the direction of a new pack to join; one that's got struggles of its own.

A new pack, a new house, and two new roommates with personal space issues... Plus exams, of course.

❄️ From the Start by @allwaswell16 {Explicit, 32k}

Louis has no idea that one act of kindness will cause his life to spiral out of control. But that's what happens when his new friend fake proposes to him and a video of it goes viral.

❄️ One Minute to Midnight by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird {Explicit, 29k}

Louis Tomlinson is at the height of his game in Boston's financial scene. He's got the instinct, and he's got the guts to take calculated risks that make everyone around him a lot of money. Everything is going well until the day after he gets promoted when he wakes up forty years older than his actual age.

Two years later he's adapted to his new life as a retiree, but he's lonely and desperate for company closer to his real age during the rigorous holiday party season. He gets some questionable advice from Niall and turns to the Seeking Arrangement app where he finds Harry Styles, a local actor he's been a fan of since they had an undergraduate class together. But what happens when a few dates here and there isn't enough?

❄️ all the lights are full of colour by @infinitelymint {Explicit, 26k}

So, fast-forwarding eight years from the day Harry met Louis, he is now a twenty-seven year old owner of one of the most up-and-coming eating establishments on the London restaurant scene, father of two wonderful boys and… separated from his husband. Now, that last part definitely was never a part of the original plan.

Or, Harry and Louis are separated, but for the sake of their two sons, they choose to spend Christmas together. It may just lead to a Christmas miracle.

❄️ Yours In Fractions by @kingsofeverything {Explicit, 23k}

Louis and Harry are strangers who, because of a mix up, share their mutual friend's apartment and bed over the holidays.

❄️ Three French Hems by @100percentsassy , gloria_andrews / @gloriaandrews {Mature, 20k}

In which Louis is a designer at Burberry and Harry spends December wearing Lanvin… and Lanvin… and Lanvin.

❄️ Take Your Time 'verse by @laynefaire {Explicit, 20k}

When Harry finds himself in the middle of a messy break-up with no place to live, Louis offers a spare room in his flat. Unbeknownst to Harry, Louis has been infatuated for years. Over the objections of their friends, who know the truth, Harry accepts. Can Louis survive Harry moving into his home…and closer to his heart? Will Harry see what's right in front of him?

❄️ You'll Be Home For Christmas by @2tiedships2 {Not Rated, 15k}

“Honesty, Lou, just ask Harry for help.”

Louis remained silent as he continued to scowl at the Christmas calendar Niall had hung on their refrigerator.

“And be nice to my calendar filled with holiday cheer,” Niall instructed. “You’re going to burn a fucking hole in it from the way you’re glaring at the innocent thing. It’s not the calendar’s fault that your heat is starting so close to Christmas.”

❄️ Naughty or Nice by noellehenry / @noellehenrymain {Teen&Up, 10k}

Louis never intended for his boss, the very attractive Harry Styles, to find out he has a temporary, additional job as a Christmas Elf at Harrods Department Store. When he gets a request to show up in his elf costume at Mr. Styles' office, after office hours, Louis' mind goes wild...

❄️ and marshmallows by BriaMaria / @briannamarguerite {Explicit, 10k}

Louis Tomlinson’s ass was wet. Well the whole back of him was wet, but it was really, really seeping through the thin jeggings that he swore to Lottie were jeans. In this moment, though, lying spread eagle in the snow bank that was his front yard he admitted that they were indeed some kind of useless fabric that wasn’t denim.

“Ummm.” The voice was deep, hesitant and came from the little walk leading up to Louis’ house. Fucking fantastic. Someone to witness his misery. “Are you alright?”

Louis squeezed his eyes shut hoping that the person would just go away.

The one where Harry has a personal attachment to Louis' house, and Louis can't stop picturing the beautiful stranger dancing in his kitchen.

❄️ you've set my soul to dreaming by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed {Teen&Up, 9k}

At first, when Harry wakes up on Christmas Morning with a warm body in his bed he wonders if he pulled someone last night. He’d met some friends at the pub, none of them really having anyone to spend Christmas Eve with, and he knows he might’ve had a few drinks to numb the loneliness for a while, but he didn’t think he got that drunk that he’d ended up pulling someone and forgetting all about it.

Or: Thirty year old Harry Styles goes to bed single on Christmas Eve, only to wake up on Christmas morning with a husband in his bed and a son down the hall.

❄️ Nothin' I Would Rather Do by @lululawrence {Mature, 9k}

“Louis,” Anne said sternly. “You know I have no problem with you working overtime if you need to, but I can’t have you running yourself ragged. At this rate you won’t have the energy or stamina to make it to the party yourself!”

“I’ll be fine, Anne. I swear.”

Her bright eyes sparkled as her smile turned a bit more coy and Louis knew immediately what was coming next.

“I hope so, because you know, my son will be in town and coming to the party.”

Louis froze. In all the months of her talking about her son and saying they should meet, she never once mentioned that he would be coming to the Christmas party. Well, fuck.

or...the one where Anne is determined to set Louis up with her son, but he's perfectly happy with the random sexting "relationship" he has running with the random he met at a bar several months back.

❄️ 12 Days of Kissmas by @haztobegood {Not Rated, 8k}

A collection of 12 Christmas ficlets, each one sealed with a kiss

❄️ so c'mon c'mon (and dance with me baby) by theweightofmywords / @rockstarlouis {Not Rated, 3k}

Louis and Harry meet at a corporate holiday party, drink copious amounts of champagne, dance like fools, steal rich people's food, and possibly, just maybe, fall in love.

[yandere-sins]

Poll Feedback Replies!

Results beneath the cut! Thanks to everyone responding, you are all so kind to leave such nice replies and I am glad you are enjoying the polls as much as I do!! ♥ I am very grateful to everyone reaching out and working on this together with me, thank you everyone and of course—if you have any more thoughts you are welcome to share them!

(I put similar suggestions together! And there might be a poll if you read through it all ;) I know you guys love them :P)

Thank you so much!! I am glad you are enjoying my writing and the weekly polls ♥

The more interactions with the yandere is a very good suggestion and I put it on my little reminder note to include more interactions in future polls! :D

Thank you for your response! More and faster replies are noted!

Although a good critic point, I do have to defend myself a little on it. I know I've not been the most active with replies, sometimes taking a week or two to catch up to them, but I do reply to every. single. comment. that I get. The problem as to why it takes so long is honestly just mental/physical exhaustion (as you know there's been a lot going on in my life and having a fulltime customer service job is taxing as well), so I usually wait until the polls are over and then go through all replies. I sincerely try and hope to be able to get back to at least replying to new comments every day, but I hope you guys can understand that interactions can be tricky and I'd hate not to have the mental capacities to really think about what people reasoned and just reply the same words over and over instead ^^'

Edit; you are still right and I'll catch up to them. I have been neglectful on them for a while.

However, as a sidenote, I don't go into stuff explicitely when I reblog the polls because think about it this way: You only see the poll when I reblog it and not when I post it for the first time. So you read the blurb, think of what you would do, and suddenly see my reply. Now you might change your thoughts and go for something else just because I made a good/bad point with my reply. I do sometimes give hints as to where the poll is at currently, but if I take a side that could inevitably influence people to not choose what they want ^^' So the half-time and last day announcements are staying vague on purpose to give everyone a chance to make a decision without being actively influenced unless they decide to check the comments.

I am very glad you guys are enjoying them so much!! Thank you for reaching out and giving me feedback!

What I will do for more clarity: I already put a note at the beginning of the blurb if the polls are multiple parts, but I think will do it like "Part 1 of 2 (or like 1/2 and 2/2)" so it will be obvious if it's finished or not. That is IF they are consecutive, week after week. However, if it's planned as a standalone, I might just continue to not mention any parts so you guys know it's just this one for now, and if I ever pick it up again, I'll just leave a note saying "Continuation of this post" before the blurb and link to the previous one. I hope that helps and lifts some of the confusion!

As for the writing a "conclusion" I am somewhat split... I always wanted to give the chance for everyone to use their own imagination and problem solving skills to think of the solution they lean towards. It's like a creative exercise that invokes moral values and mindful thoughts. And of course it's fun to see how and why others agree/disagree.

It would really take the magic away of the polls being genuinly without judgement (there being no right or wrong answer) but I do understand the curiosity about what happens next from a storyteller point of view. I do have a bit more background information that could be shared but is purposefully not mentioned because neither you, the protagonist nor you, the reader have that information available and need to make a decision based on the information you have (e.g. as the writer I knew what is in the last package the yandere wanted to send you). I need to know that information to make the story more convincing, you don't need it so you can make a real, genuine decision with the same amount of information that your yandere gives you.

There might be some disillusion if I take away the freedom from you guys to think about what comes next, and you might end up hating the conclusions that I came up with, especially if it interfers with your imagination and I'd hate to disappoint you all :( -> And just to add on, there are a lot of small things that could entirely change a decision for better or for worse. Like for the hiding poll, if the reader was small or tall that could influence the situation's outcome as you guys have proven with your replies! Thus not every outcome that I portrait might actually be an accurate or realistic one, rather one I thought of?

I could offer doing like a "monthly" review (or like every 4 to 5 polls or so) where I go through my ideas of what each choice does, but even though I have a writing blog I just don't think people would much care for me yapping, trying to go through every possibility I can think of... ^^' (I don't have that kind of confidence lol) But! I am not against it. I'll let you guys decide if this is really is something you want despite the danger of disillusion I spoke about before. To me, a lot more speaks against writing conclusions to the polls so I haven't done it until yet, but if there's a genuine interest in it, I will try my best to include it between requests!

@watch-out-for-them

Thank you for your reply! I am glad you are having a lot of fun with the polls! :D I'm afraid the not showing up is out of my hand, but if it helps: I post the polls on Sunday, the first reminder on Wednesday, and the last one on Saturday. I don't like promoting myself too much but there's still the possibility of turning on notifications if that is an option for you!! Still thank you for interacting and leaving feedback ♥

[ @lorkai / @furudolove / @kiwi-donut ]

Thank you for all the insights, praise, and love for the polls, I'm so glad you are here to enjoy them and participate!! I am especially glad to see a lot of you coming back for every poll and it's always fun to interact and read your thoughts!! ♥ I'm glad I get to have a chance to inspire you and reflect on your decisions, that is truly and honor that I am grateful to have!! ♥

[guzsdaily]

The Best Thing I Added to My Notes

Daily Blogs 359 - Oct 29th, 12.024

This is probably the best thing I added to my daily notes.

What?

This is a routine heatmap. The simple explanation is that is shows how many tasks related to my routine I have done in that day, the brighter, the more tasks.

Why?

One of the things that I found is that I'm very easily insecure about myself. Even if I'm doing fine and working on the things that I like, I still have days when I almost forget everything and start doubting myself over and over thinking that I'm not doing enough. This situation happened to me a lot over the previous year, and because of the amount of pressure I placed in myself in these attacks, I started to just feel demotivated and started to stagnate. I never could really prove to myself.

And then I found about this concept, I don't know where or when necessarily, but it was about having data to prove to your own brain that you are supposed to be fine, have palpable methods to convince yourself. Not only having proof, but also, having constant feedback if you are doing fine or if you need to actually question and do a course correction.

This map, this calendar, is what proves to myself that I'm doing fine and that I am improving. Every single day I look into it since it is on my daily notes, and I can see if there are any worries or not, there's no reason anymore to doubt myself as much. Even tho not all days are the brightness, mostly because they are based on the current amount of tasks of the current routine, I can't say to myself that I'm not trying. If any of these days there is a strange black void, I can just click into it, and go back memory lane to remember.

Also, the instant feedback is great. Since I know how the brightness is calculated and that it cares about the percentage of tasks of the current routine, I don't really care that much about older cells, but I do care if some pattern start to arrive in the recent ones. Like the stripe in the first quarter of the year, when I was helping my family and wasn't able to work that much, and the brightness of the last half of the year, when I got a job and organized better my work.

And as a bonus, this map also helps me know where I am in the year. Since I do Quarterly Themes, somewhat aligned with the year seasons, having a visual clue to know what quarter I am, even more when the seasons don't affect that much the look of the ambient outside home, really helps. This clue is not only via the amount of days that passed in the calendar, but also it's color:

Red for summer, quarter one:

Red for autumn, quarter two:

Blue for winter, quarter three:

Green for spring, quarter four:

How?

I don't really know how much it is possible in other note-taking apps, but in Obisdian is kinda simple if you know a little about scripting. It uses just two plugins: Obsidian Dataview and Heatmap Calendar for Obsidian. The Dataview script used is this:

In summary, the steps are:

Get all daily notes of this year (The year value is added via the file template);

Loop over all daily notes:

Get all completed tasks of note;

Calculate the percentage of completed tasks;

Push the day entry to the calendar data, with the correct color (The value "season-spring" is put by the template).

Render the Heatmap Calendar using the function provided by the plugin.

The source code of the daily note template is available on my vault template repository.

Today's artists & creative things Music: I Gave Everything - by Connor Price

© 2024 Gustavo "Guz" L. de Mello. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

[makutaservaela]

Bionicle Headcanon Ramblings: Childcare

(The BIO in Bionicle, Part 2)

Link to Part 1: Reproduction

We've talked about how the newly organic former MUians and the SMnans make the babies, now how do they deal with the ones they've made? I'm categorizing this one.

As of the time of my headcanon, the first generation of MUians have just reached young adulthood, so they haven't really established how things like grandparenting works, although a few characters have grandchildren.

More under the break cause this is LONG

Matoran

--Family Make-up--

When the Matoran were converted organic, males of many elements were switched to females and the elements stopped being element-locked as a way of evening out the sexes. However, due to the fact that no females were sex-swapped, the female-element villages are still almost exclusively female, with males only being sons or the occasional visiting father/friend.

Matoran don't cohabitate unless they happen to be of the same element, which is less common. If they live in different villages, they may visit each other every few weeks for a few days at a time, or take day trips occasionally. Because of a note in an earlier ramble in which Matoran are terrible at relaxing and their uteri are constantly convinced they are in a state of great stress, they miscarry a lot. In order for a Matoran couple to have a child, they need to be seriously trying. Matoran usually pair up monogamously, although polyamory is only mildly uncommon. Their marriages, based on Agori marriages, are monogamous as they don't quite know what precedent to set for polyamorous ones. Surrogacy and sperm donation is also quite common, and a sperm donor/surrogate is usually treated like an uncle/aunt to the child and is expected to be at least somewhat in the child's life. As having children is very difficult, abandoning them is virtually unheard of, but can be done after a discussion with the village council, who will assist in finding a new parent for the child.

As Matoran tend to stick to their own element's village, kids are usually raised solo by the parent of the element they share. This makes up about 80-90% of Matoran children in a village, so their villages have plenty of built-in safety nets for solo parents, including childcare centers and public schools. They also have a strong village mentality, in which every Matoran in a village feels a duty to protect and show decency to any child in that village. If a child is interested in the work you're doing, you slow down and teach him and answer his questions even if you have never met this child before.

--Infanthood--

As soon as the mother can get back to work after birthing, baby goes in a back sling and she goes back to work. If the father is of a different element, he will rarely see his child at this time except for his occasional visits to the mother. Maternity leave and paternity leave are not usually requested, but are granted on a case-by-case basis. If the baby is too noisy or rowdy to go to the mother's job or she needs a break, there are available childcare centers. True for all of the species in this ramble, breastfeeding in public is common and treated with no concern.

Breastmilk simulates the energy that a Kanohi gives, so while Matoran babies can and do usually wear Kanohi, they don't have to. The tradition is for the first child to wear the same Kanohi as their mother, the second to wear the same as their father, and any child after to wear the same Kanohi as their parents' friends.

--Childhood--

As soon as the child is old enough to walk, he starts following his mother into work if he shares her element, or goes to a childcare center if he does not. Once he is weaned, he will live with the parent with whom he shares an element.

The child will spend some of his day following his parent around work or going to school, and most of the rest of his day at play with peers, often wandering around the village only directly supervised by older children. Children are expected to be home by sundown and are not allowed out of villages without direct parent supervision, and any child out after dark or alone outside a village will be intercepted by any adult who seems them and either taken to the parent (if the parent is identified) or taken to a childcare worker (even if the worker is not currently working) to be supervised until either the parent picks him up or until morning, whichever comes first.

Childrens' school will teach the child general language, maths, science, etc, as is directly relevant to their element and their element's tasks. The Ga-Matoran have recently opened more general schools for studying general information. Children who are not Ga-Matoran rarely attend these until they are older unless their parents have a Ga-Matoran friend willing to house them for a few weeks/months for a school session. As this General school system is quite new, the Ga-Matoran are working on childcare centers specifically for children of other villages. Turaga regularly visit the various schools of their element to tell stories or teach classes, and in the true Turaga fashion, these visits are usually random and unscheduled, with the Turaga just letting themselves in the classroom and announcing that they are teaching the class today. There is rarely pushback from the teacher unless the class that day is very important or said Turaga is Matau, who enjoys crashing exam days and encouraging classroom riots.

As the children get older, their class schedules will allow more opportunity to step out of school during school hours and apprentice at a job.

The parent with whom the Matoran lives gets first say in the child's rights, occupation, etc, but the child can take any issue with his parenting to the village council, who will step in as needed. Matoran don't lead with the mentality of "Parent knows best", but the parent is expected to be kept informed about her child's safety (for example, the parent must be consulted before the child can be escorted out of a village, the parent is responsible for disciplining her child, etc). It is also normal for Matoran kids to call their parents by their names, or use "[name]" and "[mom/dad]" interchangeably when speaking to them.

--Puberty--

By puberty, a Matoran is considered old enough to start working if he hasn't already. There is still some schooling- and in fact, Matoran continue schooling their entire lives. Adult school is an opt-in activity that gives them the occasional excuse to skip work. For pubescent Matoran, they are basically treated like adults in the workplace and can be given full-time jobs without limits. They are usually assigned easier jobs, but few rules are set in place to enforce this. They don't have all adult rights, though.

By puberty, a Matoran child has reached his adult height, although his body hasn't reached his adult level of stock and muscle. A pubescent child is still not allowed out after dark or out of the village unsupervised by an adult, but with their size, it's easier for them to sneak out and pretend to be adults.

A pubescent Matoran is also held to different legal standards (due to it being accepted that it's a learning child), but his parent is no longer directly responsible for his discipline. This now falls on the village council and village guard, same as it would for an adult Matoran.

--Young Adulthood--

A Matoran will move out his parent's home as soon as he is ready, not at any specific age. This can be as young as mid puberty (equivalent to around age 14 in a human), or as late as never. It's unusual for a parent to kick their kid out of the house, but most kids do want their own place to decorate as they please at some point. A young adult Matoran will treat their parent as they would any other Matoran to whom they are especially close- Since Matoran are not raised with the mentality of "Parent knows best" and spend more time roaming the village than one-on-one with their parents, they are not especially close to their parents. If the kid remains with his parent into adulthood, they tend to live as housemates, although he will submit to parent's authority in the house (ex. decor) since it is considered the parent's house.

Toa

--Family Make-up--

In a Toa Group, if any Toa has kids, they are the group's kids. When the children are referred to, they tend to only be referred to by one parent's name (ex. Baina is "Jaller's kid" or "Hahli's kid") depending on the parent the speaker knows better, or by the Toa Group (Ex. Baina is a Mahri kid). While the parents take more direct responsibility, the kids treat all adult Toa in the group as parental figures. Unlike Matoran, Toa are more connected to parent bonds. Any Toa who is not in the child's parents' group is treated like an Uncle/Aunt. These are unspoken bonds, meaning Baina wouldn't call Hewkii "Dad" or Pohatu "Uncle Pohatu". Toa kids tend to refer to their parents as "mom" or "dad" more than Matoran kids, especially to help distinguish which member of their group is their actual parent. Until and if she forms her own group, Baina will be considered a Toa Mahri. If Toa from different groups have a child, the child will likely live with and be in the group of their same element parent. Matoran and Toa are completely egalitarian in child-rearing and family structure, although they lean mildly matrilineal.

--Infanthood--

Like with Matoran, the tradition is for the first Toa child to wear the same Kanohi as their mother, the second to wear the same as their father, and any child after to wear the same Kanohi as their parents' friends. Also like with Matoran, Toa do not stop moving, and will carry their babies in a sling directly into combat (although mom will usually hold to the back of the line). The only exception is if it is a mission the baby absolutely cannot go on, such as one that requires stealth. The Turaga are currently working on putting restrictions on this, but the Toa haven't started listening all that much.

--Childhood--

Once the child can walk, he will follow his parents on their missions, either riding on their backs in times in which they need to move quickly, or following along behind and staying out of the way in combat. His combat training starts as soon as he can hold a weapon. Toa children are raised to be future Toa. Once the Toa child has begun his training, Matoran will refer to him with the same respect they'd refer to any other Toa, even when he is smaller than them. Toa attend public school like Matoran do, but with special class lineups to ensure they have plenty of time to patrol and train with their parents. About halfway through pre-pubescent childhood (equal to a human child of around 7-8 years) Toa children gain access to their elemental and Kanohi powers, although these powers are weak and unstable. Around this age, Toa children will either continue following their parents around, or wander off on their own, often being absent all day. They also start bonding with Toa peers around this age on a quest to someday start their own Toa group. Most Toa kids at this age are as big as or only slightly bigger than Matoran.

--Puberty--

At around puberty, Toa children suddenly shoot up in height, and by mid-way through puberty (equal to around 15) they reach their adult height. Their elemental and Kanohi powers don't reach adult strength until adulthood, but are still formidably powerful at this age. At this age, the Toa children who prefer to wander are allowed free-roam to wander as much and for as long as they'd like with little to no supervision, just like an adult Toa would have. If he's gathered enough Toa peers by now, the group can be considered a full Toa-group and will be treated by Matoran with the same respect as any other rookie Toa group. The teenage Toa Group known as the Toa Voya were so called because they were often sent (voluntarily) on missions that spanned days and had them travelling hundreds of Kio, and they specialised in such missions.

--Young Adulthood--

By young adulthood, the Toa child has been living as a fully-recognized Toa for years. If he hasn't made his own Toa group, he will live as his parents' group does: if their group has a shared home like the Toa Mahri, he will generally live there. If his parents live separately like the Toa Nuva, he will either move into his own home or live with one of his parents.

Makuta

--Family Make-up--

Of the three Matoran subspecies, Makuta have the closest familial bond to their child. Makuta do not feel a deep sense of love for a partner, but do feel affection and trust. Because of this, Makuta are not possessive of partners and care next to nothing if their partner mates with another (besides a physical instinct in males to attack the competition). A male Makuta will only parent a child he sired, however, and if his mate had a child with another, he will treat that child the same as he would any Makuta kid who is completely unrelated to him. Makuta parents will bond over child-rearing. Makuta have very close bonds with their children, a trait so strong that it sometimes forces them to see Kra-Matoran as their "offspring" if the Matoran looks enough like the Makuta.

Makuta unrelated to the child will usually treat the child like a smaller, stupider version of an adult Makuta, and may refer to the child as a niece/nephew.

Makuta are egalitarian in family structure and child-rearing, with both parents playing equally active roles in the child's life.

--Infanthood--

Makuta babies are physically quite independent but emotionally dependent. By the time they can run, they can also use their Kanohi and elemental powers, and have minor access to one or two Kraata powers and/or Shadow hands. A toddler Makuta is strong enough to kill a Rahi much bigger than him, and a certain Avsa-wearing toddler once drained Lewa Nuva's energy until he was unconscious in seconds.

Makuta babies suffer serious psychological distress if they go too long without physical contact from their parent. This distress can be mitigated only slightly with contact from a non-parent Makuta or a non-Makuta Matoran subspecies like a Matoran or Toa. This distress can also be mitigated by introducing a Makuta parent figure early enough in life for their brain to imprint and recognize that Makuta as a parent (which is also how they recognize their fathers as parents), but this does not work for non-Makuta species. Makuta babies have strong talons that allow them to cling to their parents.

Makuta can eat solid food quite early on, but will continue to require breast milk well into childhood. The energy they receive from this breast milk helps their brains process the overwhelming amount of powers they are developing, as having powers takes quite a toll on the brain, and the more powers a being has, the greater the toll on their psyche. This need is why they require physical contact with their parents as well- the strong desire for physical contact between mother and child is good for encouraging continued milk production from the mother and milk desire from the child.

A Makuta child with strong enough Shadow-Fire (a special version of shadow power that the Makuta use to rocket into the air) can hover mildly or catch themselves in a fall, but are incapable of true flight.

--Childhood--

During childhood, the Makuta child gains access to their Kraata power range, although they struggle to understand how to actually use the powers, and tend to activate them accidentally. The current iteration of Makuta have 7-8 of the 42 Kraata powers directly accessible, and another 10 or so they can activate with much practice (but will reversibly lose if they don't practice), and the rest of the powers completely inaccessible to them. Makuta kids don't directly inherit powers from their parents and can have powers their parents cannot access.

Makuta children wean fully at an age equivalent to a human child of about 7-9. Like Toa children, they also start to wander at this age, but tend to stick to within hearing range of a parent's call. Makuta children can usually fully fly at this age. Education is usually performed by the parents.

--Puberty--

When the child reaches this age, his parents cease to consider themselves a mated pair, but will still remain in somewhat close proximity if they happen to like each other's company. The Makuta child will start apprenticing as a Makuta's assistant if he hasn't already by this point. The parents' occupation has no bearing on the child's, nor does the child have to select his own parent as his mentor, but he can if he chooses to. A Makuta child cannot inherit is parents' title, and must earn his own merit in his work.

--Young Adulthood--

Only two second generation Makuta have reached adulthood so far, and both were foster parented by Toa, so how a second generation Makuta young adult behaves and lives is unknown.

Agori

(The Agori and Glatorian ones are while the Mata Nui was off. The Matoran and Toa have been encouraging change in their ways, but as my story doesn't follow that saga, it is unknown how different they are now.)

--Family Make-up--

Agori families are the closest in comparison to humans. Children are raised monogamously, and the parents legally marry and are expected to remain married for life. The two parents cohabitate, and polyamory is frowned upon. If one parent dies, the remaining parent may move in with his family for child-rearing assistance. Surrogacy, sperm donation, and the raising of bastards are all frowned upon culturally, but there are no laws against them. Fostering/Adoption is also quite rare, as Agori would rather not waste resources that could go to themselves and their families on a non-family member. An adopted Agori is considered in debt to the adoptive family. Agori families are matrilineal. Unwanted children may be abandoned, and while doing so is discouraged and considered shameful, it is not illegal.

--Infanthood--

Agori have a concept of parental leave for both parents, although how much of this is used depends on the situation at the time of the birth, and most fathers don't take it. Mothers and maternal grandparents perform a majority of the childrearing of infants. Mothers are protected and are discouraged from leaving their village while nursing. At birth, Agori are registered as members of their mother's village.

--Childhood--

Agori are raised and educated by either their grandparents or a village's public school, depending on the village. Children are strictly forbidden from leaving villages unsupervised, and most children never see a different village until they reach adulthood. Agori children are given age-appropriate work to do, usually related to assisting their parents. Other than child-welfare laws, the village leadership cares next to nothing on how a child is raised and generally won't interfere unless clear abuse is present- and even that may be excused depending on circumstance.

--Puberty--

Agori children continue to live dependently under their parents, with very little difference in pre-puberty and post-puberty pre-adulthood other than that the types of work they are given are scaled-up with their age and development.

--Young Adulthood--

Agori move out of their parents' home in young adulthood. They may explore other villages, and are given the right to reregister themselves to another village if they so choose. Agori stay in contact with parents and grandparents, and if the Agori marries and decides to have kids, he will likely move with his wife to his wife's parents' village so they can assist with the childcare.

Glatorian (referring to the species)

--Family Make-up--

Glatorian are forbidden from having families. The Agori strictly control their reproduction to ensure they don't over-populate the Agori. Glatorian have no concept of marriage. Mating is set up via the dam's tribe putting her up for auction and receiving bids from either the sire's tribe or the sire himself. With the exception of when a male chooses to bid, the Glatorian have no say in this matter.

--Infanthood--

Once conception has occurred and the pregnancy is far enough along to ensure low chance of miscarriage, the father returns to his tribe, and that's the end of his part in childcare.

The mother is housed at a special facility (which includes resources and top-notch medical care) to nurse and raise the infant. She is not allowed to leave. The infant has no tribe registration at this time, and is legally owned by the facility.

--Childhood--

At an age equal to a human of around 5-6, the child's mother is kicked out of the facility and sent back to her tribe. This is the end of her role in childcare. The facility employs retired Glatorian to train the child in combat, and other educators train the child in other skills it may need.

--Puberty--

The child's name is removed and he is auctioned off to the tribes to be registered, where he will be given a new name. If no tribe wants him, he is default sold to the mother's tribe. This is generally considered shameful. Some maternal tribes try to get out of this by paying an individual facility keeper to "accidentally" abandon disabled infants in the desert so the tribe doesn't end up stuck with the kid, but this is strictly illegal, and tribes are banned from being given any information about the child until his auction. The childcare facility is a neutral party.

Once the child is registered to a tribe, he is assigned to an adult Glatorian to be mentored. The adult is paid by the tribe for this service, and the service may instead be split between multiple adults. The child is forbidden from leaving his village without supervision and the permission of his mentor. Legally, his mentor has similar rights over him as a parent would. Some Glatorians may pay off a Childcare Facility worker to keep track of his child, so in case the child is bought by that parent's tribe, the parent can set himself up as the child's mentor. This is strictly illegal, since again it require him to gain access to information about the child he is not supposed to have.

--Young Adulthood--

By the time the child has reached adulthood, he has already become well-versed in Glatorian work and shifts seamlessly into his adult life. As an adult, he graduates the need for a mentor (but will likely remain good friends with his mentor) and is allowed all of the rights of an adult Glatorian.

Skakdi (Urban)

Skakdi have been organic and able to reproduce throughout the Mata Nui era. No one goes to Zakaz, so no one bothered to check.

--Family Make-up--

Urban Skakdi are strictly patriarchal and patrilineal. Unlike their Rural brethren, Urban males beat females, offspring, and each other into submission. Their families are polygynous, and it is not uncommon for a male to offer his sister, mother, or daughter as a wife during a barter with another Skakdi, or for an attacking Warlord to order his army to kidnap the opposing tribe's women and girls during a raid. If there are multiple wives in a family, it is normal for a child to not know or care which one is his actual mother (like Avak). Female Urban Skakdi are forbidden from standing up to males, and corporeal punishment from the male of the house to his wife or children is normal. A fatherless Urban Skakdi is outcasted (like Thok and Zaktan). Paternal uncles and paternal grandfathers also play parenting roles in a Skakdi's life.

--Infanthood--

Skakdi have the shortest wean time of all MUians, namely because their teeth come in quite young. They can run and climb and fight at a very young age as well. Infant childcare is done mostly by the mother. Combat and hunting training begins with toddlers.

--Childhood--

Schooling varies widely on the tribe. Most tribes have some variant of public schooling/early grooming for loyalty to the Warlord. Otherwise, parenting instruction is taught by both parents separately. If the Skakdi's tribe is in a war, even young children may be called onto the frontlines, although this is rare. Skakdi gain access to their powers later in childhood, before puberty. Skakdi may inherit their vision power from a parent, although it is possible for them to have a vision power similar to but not the same as a parent (ex. A child with combustion vision who has a parent with impact vision).

--Puberty--

Skakdi are considered old enough to marry at puberty, and are one of the only of the species in this list who consider this acceptable. Skakdi children are assigned to jobs at this age, and are considered adults. The children will continue to live with their parents until they choose to move out or get married.

Skakdi (Rural)

--Family Make-up--

Rural Skakdi live in matriarchal tribes. The mother may be polyandrous, although competing males will fight even to the death with each other. If a female finds her mate to be a poor father, she may chase him off and kill him. Young Skakdi are easily able to imprint on and let go of a paternal figure, so this experience is not all that traumatic to them. Showing a female your fathering skills is a good way to attract a mate, so by instinct rural males are usually quite gentle to stranger kids. Getting caught threatening her child is a great way to end up a female rural's dinner.

Rurals usually live as wild animals, but some smaller Urban tribes may enslave Rurals and force them to live in and serve the tribe.

--Infanthood--

Female Rurals are incredibly doting on their infants and toddlers. Rural children form strong, often lifelong bonds with their mothers, and these bonds start in infanthood. As the child grows, he will try to seek more and more independence, and the mother will focus her energy on the younger children. Skakdi can hunt with tooth and claw practically as soon as they can move quickly enough to catch prey.

--Childhood--

As earlier stated, Skakdi get their powers around this age. Rural and Urban Skakdi develop at the same rate.

--Puberty--

An adult male looking to seduce a female will do so by showing fathering skills to her young. However, he may also decide to pick off some of her older kids so he won't have to do as much work. Because of this, Female Rurals tend to chase their kids away from herself once they hit puberty. They will instinctively stick near her anyway, trying to keep as close as possible for her protection (as she will stand up to anything she sees threatening them), but as her presence is attracting a direct threat to them, she won't let them get too close. A prospective male who assumes the older kid isn't hers is much more likely to leave the kid alone instead of picking it off.

--Young Adulthood--

Once the child has reached adulthood, the mother will stop warding him away from herself, as her presence is no longer a threat to him. After this point, the two tend to remain in contact, and she will frequently visit his territory to see her grandchildren and provide him and his family with gifts and guidance. Her daughters won't be as close to her, since the daughters will see her mother and siblings as competition for her own little ones, but the sons are momma's boys. Reidak was especially close to his mother, and the chaos he caused to his home tribe occurred in response to the Warlord executing Reidak's mother.

This also makes me realise that I should so do a story where Vezok's mother comes to visit him and gets very confused about Vezon.

Vortixx

--Family Make-up--

Vortixx families are usually monogamous, matriarchal, and matrilineal. Like Skakdi, they were technically organic while in the Mata Nui and as a species predate the Mata Nui, but most Vortixx chose to convert themselves bio-mechanical pretty early on. Grandparents on both sides are in the child's life, as are both parents (if the male has downtime from work). Following the leave from the Mata Nui and finally getting away from the dreadful Mountain, the Vortixx culture has returned to its rich and thriving form.

--Infanthood--

Both parents get Parental leave, and quite a lot of it at that. The father is expected to do all of the domestic work in the home while the mother recovers from birth and nurses the young. Vortixx are one of the only of the listed species that have difficulties in childbirth, although not to the rate that humans do. Vortixx also love parties: baby shower, baby's birth, celebrating different milestones of baby's infanthood, etc, and the father is generally expected to plan and host all of the parties.

--Childhood--

Vortixx pretty quickly established dormitory schools that start young, as earlier as an equal age to around 3-4. While in school, the kids will often visit their parents in the evening after school hours or on days off from school, but they don't live with their parents and are expected back at the school at night curfew. When the kids are home, both parents spend time with them (presuming the father doesn't have a job that prevents this). Parents do hold their children to high regard, though, and can be strict with discipline. There is much judgement in Vortixx society. Children without a mother may be rejected from school and treated as street urchins or outcasts, even if they have a father and home. As Vortixx females are capable of reproducing with other sapient races and creating a pure Vortixx child from the breeding, single mothers are not considered strange.

--Puberty--

Vortixx children are not expected to work until late puberty at the earliest. Before that, they are expected to study, get good grades, and learn valuable social skills among their peers.

--Young Adulthood--

Vortixx are ejected from the dormitory at adulthood. They will return temporarily to live with their parents until they can move out on their own, and most have a goal to be on their own as soon as possible. They tend to live near and frequently visit their parents.

[inkiest-silly]

ALL THE STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE VERSE SOUL SNATCHERS AU NOTES SO FAR!!! :3

Okay so like, i’d like to believe this ties into a more fantasy esk thing, kinda like the concept of serpent Vince,

But this includes multiple people from STUDIO INVESTIGRAVE (and probably if anyone else wants to add someone- very well)

Sigils(and markings),imprinted on their bodies to prove their ranks as a Soul snatcher,it changes as they grow and develop their powers,

Higher Soul snatchers need to fight more and gather more souls for their companions. Or the little silly colored things beside them that only a natural born soul snatcher will obtain- but they will only get them when they are around 7, being they are more capable of just accepting it and being normal with their companions

There is a slow decline in the race of soul snatchers, they have to disguise themselves being as they grow they also get more non-human features,

If other soul snatchers cannot recognize you at first glance you have a good physical outlook

Also their complementary color or favorite color will be their features color usually :3- like

Vince: red

Rody: orange

Winnie: blue + yellow

Augustine: a dark blue + orange

HEAVEN SAYS is one of the songs that could go along with the au,

More over the audio that does “I don't know i ended up here,i just-” then cuts into the main chorus.

Vincent and his companion are both killers to the fullest,his companion doesn’t like other people other than vince- if someone wants to touch it and reaches for it- it’ll dive into vince’s shirt or under his arm, just finding somewhere to hide on vince’s person.

Winnies companion is heavily social,loves being around other soul snatchers and their companions-

Rodys is slightly the same, but it just doesn't know what to do in a social situation. It and vince’s companion tend to be somewhat near each other

If I didn't make it clear before,Soul Snatchers are naturally born. They have human alliances, yes. But not many. Because humans tend to kill them because they are unnatural, killing out of fear.

Vince HATES being around humans- he has a pure distaste for them.

Manon was a human,a little worker at a nice cafe.

Rody visited it a lot,often conversing with her- finding the woman beautiful.

The more that they talked the more that they grew in love with each other…

Vince and Rody went to the same school, they knew of each other but never truly conversated, cause- well. Neither of them knew that the feeling they had was the simple recognition of other soul snatchers..they felt drawn but they were a little too nervous to say anything. So they never did.

Rody and Manon dated for a while,Rody doing the usual of most rodys- all attention,money, and topics. All around her. Manon started to get worried, but slightly too overwhelmed with all of his spending and “all for you!” she wasn't going to let him do that. And with everything,she got her things one night- placed a short, simple explanation and goodbye note on his desk and quietly left his place. That was a total mess…Manon never knew about rody being of the Soul Snatcher species- he was too afraid to show it to her - he was afraid that she would leave him over it. Obviously if he did or not- It would have made no difference.

Rody was heartbroken for MONTHS on end, he never really got over Manon- he didn't understand- he didn't get if he did something wrong or upset her. He Tends to vent to FIFI, having no one else to talk to. He was broke as fuck..so he needed to get a job soon. He had a friend he didn't talk too much- but when they met up they were pretty good friends- (I CAN'T FIND THAT GUYS NAME THAT LIKE- CANONLY KNOWS RODY- LIKE FROM COLLEGE-), He mentioned something about the Nice restaurant Down two or three blocks in the busy part of their location.. Lyon,France (franch/j).

Lyon is best known for its cuisine- so why not see if there are jobs available!

Winnie owns a tailor shop/fashion boutique down near Vince’s Bistro. He and Vince tend to talk when they're both on breaks, since they see each other a lot, Winnie is a regular at the Bistro,sometimes Augustine comes with. Bro just is a sad ass cashier- in winnie's place of course

They kiss in the staff room/j…/hj? Maybe you will never know

It all ends up in a little circle of acquaintances- they soon figure out that they are all the same in a way. Rody is still struggling through the break up that he and Manon had.. Manon was semi-regular at the bistro,before Rody started working. She had already run to vince. When Vince started talking about his new employee, she stopped staying at the bistro- soon the connection happened- but he didn't kill her.

Sometimes she soon returns to the bistro. It was Rodys' week to work through the small collection of waiters. Rody, obviously shocked to see her and tries to make small talk, but she looks a little nervous responding in tiny little sentences. Trying to tell him to save this for after his shift, his nerves spike but he agrees- and frequents her table and asks if she's alright. Vince kept his watch. Jealousy started to rise- he wasn't too sure why. He kept low and cool,he couldn't do anything. But oh how he wanted to.

After rodys shift, Manon at least tried to talk to rody about his problem- just didn't get it- he was stressing. Focused on her. She ended up telling him more sternly than she had before,he was too afraid to answer her. He couldn't help but agree and stayed quiet like a small puppy getting told off and thrown into the mud outside.

This caused rody to tend to get more nervous with stern talks when its people he really cares about.

Rody doesn't like to kill, but if it comes to desperate measures- he's going to hesitate- if its for Fifi- being it and any companion feed off dead souls. He’ll try and get Vince to do it- but your kills will either go to your companion or it’ll find its way to the gates.

Soul snatchers are huge cuddlers and group sleepers- they usually will have something to give them the sensation of sleeping with someone if they live alone- but since there's couples here-

Winnie will always get up close to auggie- in some shape or form. Even if it's in his sleep.

Vince is still paranoid about being open about his relationships- but the group does know and teases him about it- rody tends to giggle at them- Vince never knows how to react to any of the teasing-

Vince is the only other soul snatcher in his family- getting it from his Father- ofc he didn't know about it or whatever a soul snatcher was. Each soul snatcher will either figure it out on their own or get told by a friend who might also be one. They are in some legend books- but no one knows much about them so there's only a page or two.

How would I tie a child into this if I ever did ? They find one,that's been left somewhere- prolly winnie’s sympathetic ass bringing it back to the Group’s place and pleading to keep it- rody totally joins in- really liking it-

The other two soon give in- AUGGIE KNOWS JACK SHIT ABOUT KIDS- and has no idea at all how to help,brp just stands in the back, confused

Angelica fears herself,she's religious still,but not as much(like she really is…she's not what you think of when you think of a nun anyway..) she is a HALF BREED of a soul snatcher, so she's not fully one,

She doesn't have a companion of her own, though some get abandoned. But she will not kill for it she doesn't even know thats what feeds it and she wouldn't either way,even if she did know,she’d still feel bad for not being able to feed it properly (religious reason)-

. When she meets everyone else,they’ll help her (vince and augustine primarily-)

forcas is still well…forcas. But ofc au things. He's on earth,following angelica- but in human ways- he tends to forget that he's not able to use his floaty power like this..and falls on his face a lot.

Rody angelica and winnie hang out more than most do (vince is usually there if it's not just a them outing)

This is pretty much just a half religious lesbian,a bi failure of a man and a twinky cry baby friendship…😭-and live for it

NGL LISTEN MANON AND ANGELICA IN THIS. LISTEN HERE ME OUT HERE ME OUT Y'ALL-

Only two(3?) refs rn

[nutmeg-mayonnaise]

I've been a fan of your AU since a while and as someone whos recently finished aai2, I am compelled to ask how Kay and/or Sebastian are doing in your AU. imo Kay would be really a fun aunt with the kids ngl

Hello @paradoxinaparadox! I'm so glad you enjoy the AU! I finished AAI2 recently so I can finally answer this question!

There are references to AAI2 spoilers so the information is under the cut!

(I accidentally posted this when I meant to save it as a draft! I have a drawing for this I was supposed to have with it but I'll reblog this when it's done!)

With regards to Kay, after her experiences helping Edgeworth and Gumshoe in their investigations, Kay spent some time wavering on whether she wanted to become a prosecutor like Edgeworth and her father. However, she ultimately decided to pursue a career as a detective, where she could spend more time out in the field searching for truths to steal (and of course, Little Thief has been a tremendous help to this end). With some encouragement and guidance from Fransizka, she eventually landed in Interpol as an investigator. Due to this, she spends a lot of time outside of the country as much of her job takes place abroad. When she is in the neighborhood, though, she usually drops by Edgeworth’s office (or worse, his house) for sporadic visits--almost always uninvited, but Edgeworth manages to put up with it.

Aside from these visits, Kay and Edgeworth don’t tend to stay in touch frequently, although Kay insists this would not be the case if Edgeworth would download more chat apps onto his phone. (It was much easier for her to convince Gumshoe to do this, and as a result, they are in much more frequent contact.)

Kay was unaware of Gregory’s existence until one day when she had popped over to Edgeworth’s house unannounced and waited several hours, only for Edgeworth not to return home. When she finally called to ask where he was, he sheepishly answered that he was at Phoenix Wright's house, caring for their son. She was shocked and a bit upset that Edgeworth hadn’t shared this with her sooner, but she got past it quickly. She knows that Edgeworth likes to keep his private life private, after all.

Unfortunately, all of this means that Kay isn’t around enough to have a particularly close relationship with Gregory or any of Phoenix’s other kids, but she likes the kids and usually brings Gregory a sweet or some other small thing from her travels when she drops in.

With Sebastian, he met Gregory when he was about four or five years old, when Sebastian happened to run into Edgeworth walking with him in the courthouse. Later, Sebastian--who feels somewhat indebted to Edgeworth--offered to watch the boy if he ever needed the favor. Edgeworth never expected he would want or need to take Sebastian up on that offer, but ended up needing to when something came up that demanded his attention on short notice.

Much to Edgeworth’s surprise, Sebastian proved to be very attentive to his son, and Gregory seemed to really like Sebastian, so Edgeworth let the younger prosecutor watch him a couple more times while Gregory was young. As they both got older, though, Gregory needed a babysitter less and less, and Sebastian became very busy with his career, so by the time Grey had reached adulthood and needed to occasionally face Prosecutor Debeste in court, they had grown quite distant, despite some lingering fondness.

As a bonus, I've thought about Courtney and Ray, too!

Courtney found out about little Gregory through Sebastian, as the two still remain somewhat close. She reached out to Edgeworth to congratulate him, and said she would make herself available if he ever needed counsel on parenting, and that she would advise him to the best of her ability. Edgeworth ended up never reaching out to her for this purpose until Grey became a bit moody as a preteen. Thankfully, that didn’t need to happen too much, as Gregory was always a pretty easygoing kid.

Although “Uncle Ray” never quite got over his disappointment in Miles Edgeworth for not choosing the same path as his father, after the events of AAI2, he did still maintain some sparse contact in the form of Christmas cards and exchanging pleasantries when they happened to run into each other (or what Ray would consider “pleasantries”, anyway. Some playful jabs were still slipped towards Edgeworth if the opportunity arose).

Despite one of the most important people in Ray’s life being Gregory’s namesake, Ray didn’t come to learn about Gregory Wright until the latter was already studying to become a defense attorney. This was partly because Edgeworth wanted to avoid the awkwardness of bringing it up when he and Shields weren’t exactly friends, and partly because Edgeworth had reservations about the kind of pressure Ray would put on Grey if he DID know about him. This led to Ray finding out, all at the same time, that:

1. Miles Edgeworth has a son.

2. That son is named after his mentor.

3. That sons’s father and Edgeworth’s partner is renowned defense attorney Phoenix Wright.

Ray was gobsmacked to say the least, and had some regrets about not prying into Edgeworth’s personal life sooner.

Upon learning all of this, Ray wanted to get to know Grey, and teach him a bit about his grandfather. Edgeworth let him know that this would be Gregory’s choice, which Gregory agreed to at least once.

Thanks for the question!

[hero-israel]

I'm over/sick of right wing zionists (in America) who clearly only care about using Israel as an issue to elect Republicans. People who gleefully take whatever shitty thing Cori Bush or Ilhan Omar (et al) tweeted/said and are like "look look! this is what Joe Biden thinks!" or tried to derail the conversation about Biden's Antisemitism combatting strategy because the Department of Ed sent a copy to CIAR (or whatever) Like are Democrats perfect? nope. But these Democrats in Congress are back bench fringe figures that Biden and others largely avoid, they've faced much more serious primaries (Omar nearly lost her seat in a primary) than you'd normally see and lots of Democrats want them gone, they are not representative of the party over all

and you SHOULDN'T want them to be! I'm as Democratic as they come but I'm Jewish and a Zionist, I know it will be DEEPLY unhealthy for Jewish Americans if Israel (or Jews) becomes a partisan issue. One party can not rule in Washington forever, and friends of Israel, true friends, should want Israel to be safe no matter which party is in office not yo-yo between one party that endorses the views of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and a party that endorses BDS (not that the Democrats do or would, but if you listen to Republican Zionists...) like thats not whats best for Israel, the Jewish state needs to be able to count on a reliable ally no matter which party has the White House/Congress we should root out antisemites in deep blue/red districts with primaries and support the best candidate for Israel even if we don't like them on many other topics, like whatever Republican can take out Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, MTG or Paul Gosar as long as they like the Jews is a win in my book even though I'll likely not agree with them on anything else.

Very important message. A lot of sources I otherwise trust have been sniveling over Biden's antisemitism task force and I do not understand it at all. They were guided by Deborah Lipstadt! They endorsed the IHRA definition (which the government has already accepted anyway)! They are not turning it over to CAIR, there's some insignificant connection that they probably needed to make it look ecumenical. Honestly, people need to just take a win when one comes.

For a lifetime, American Jews have kept to our own brand of two-pronged, Democratic & Zionist political engagement. Unfortunately the rest of the country is no longer as bipartisan, and recent polling shows registered Democrats are visibly more sympathetic to Palestine than to Israel. As long as they are somewhat sympathetic to both and don't wish harm on either, we can work in that paradigm, but obviously I'd be more comfortable if our side were still the uniform favorite.

More unfortunately, I think most of the collapse of bipartisanship on Israel, and turning it into increasingly a Republican issue, was the result of personality and ego clashes between Obama and Netanyahu. The former was the best president in my lifetime and the latter did a pretty good job as PM until late 2022, but the two men just haaaated each other. Viscerally. Personally. And each of them magnified each other's worst aspects: Obama's sense of himself as a post-political avatar of change, Netanyahu's unstoppable douchebaggery and lying and general FoxNews-iness. Obama charged stupidly into the Iran Deal - his own version of the Iraq War, resting on false assumptions and applauded by false experts; Netanyahu then spit in Obama's face by attacking the Iran Deal on the floor of Congress.

There is an excellent overview of this time in the PBS documentary "Netanyahu At War." I think it is as honest and unbiased as any piece of reporting on Israel I've ever seen - and because it's PBS, the whole thing is available for free. Everyone reading this blog should watch it.

George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac also hated each other, personally. Each of them had staff members who recognized that the U.S. / France relationship was important enough that their personal feelings could not be allowed to get in the way, so the relationship was delegated to underlings and the two primaries rarely spoke to one another at all. That should have been the model for U.S. / Israel from 2008-2016. As is, things were set up for a split even BEFORE Trump came in and made a lot of high-profile moves in favor of Israel, and we are nowhere near seeing the full extent of the pain and damage that the mainstream Jewish community is going to suffer because of that poisoned pill.

[blackjackkent]

Shoutout to @genderdotcom for letting me know that Jaheira doesn't take up a standard party slot so we can still bring her along with us! I have reloaded and added her into the party. :D

Jaheira gets a badass pre-battle speech, because she is amazing.

"At the ready, Harpers! In this light, there will be victory! In this light, we will avenge the fallen!"

Lots of cheering from the onlooking Harpers.

"The time has come. Ketheric will taste of death at last."

Somewhat comically, after this dramatic setup, literally nothing happened; presumably the game is waiting for me to take the lead and push forward, but it was pretty funny to see all the Harpers cheer and then everyone just stand perfectly still.

Jaheira did have another ambient line afterwards:

Hell yeah. \o/

We're able to loot some more bodies here, some of which have more tadpoles to steal. I've got a collection of eight of them at the moment beyond the ones I already had Hector consume; need to sit down and figure out what other skills are worth spending a worm on.

Quick chat with the quartermaster who is also here and apparently brought her whole stock to the battlefield, and then we're off up into the tower!

We've got what looks like a boss fight coming up straight in the door, as Disciple Z'rell is already set up with some mirror images and some guards. And Mig!

I'm legitimately kind of bummed about this; I felt like we bonded with Mig over being the only people who knew about the meat in the walls. But I guess we have to fight her too. :( Sad times.

Z'rell is pretty ticked off:

"You dare show yourself here, after all you've done? You have betrayed me! You have betrayed General Thorm! You have betrayed our god!"

One could, perhaps, make the argument that she doesn't know we betrayed anyone; all she knows is she sent us off to help Balthazar with Aylin and then Aylin was free. For all she knows we didn't even get there, or got knocked out by a Justiciar on the doorstep of the temple.

Maybe I just suck at my job, Z'rell. Did you ever think of that?

"And for what? These Harpers? Moonrise will be their tomb, and in death, you will all serve the Absolute!"

Hector has three available conversation options here (besides just attacking immediately):

Generally speaking, #2 is the most Hector-ish response; he's not a fan of killing even though he's had to do a lot of it, and for a lot of the people duped by the Absolute, he would be willing to allow them a peaceful surrender. But his first experience with Z'rell was watching her explode all the blood vessels in someone's head with a snap of her fingers for funsies, and to be honest, she's not really going to recover from that in his estimation.

So we're going to go with #3.

"I've looked forward to killing you since the moment we met," Hector tells her coldly.

Z'rell grins. "You hid it well. I thought you'd be another notch on my bedpost, but instead I'll make a trophy of your bones."

Hector stares at her. Notch in your bedpost? The idea makes his skin crawl.

Z'rell's grin widens, seeing his discomfiture, and she pulls the blade from her back, turning the point in his direction. "Boys, make this traitor bleed!"

------

"Hec," Karlach says dryly as she brandishes her blade and the battle lines are drawn. "We have got to have a talk about the effect you have on people."

"I'm not doing it deliberately!" Hector says, somewhat strangled. "We talked to her once! I think I *glared* at her! You know, when she killed someone with her mind?"

"I mean you are pretty hot when you're angry."

"We are not having this discussion right now."

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ok another one in that i went over everything again expressly to pick up murder mystery clues, especially in the beginning

noted as the first appearance of mordecai, hanging out in the garage. to be perched on the hood of a car, leaning back, is so whimsical for him. jaunty. but also, being the earliest appearance in the comic / its own timelines, you know. more informatively, it sure seems like atlas was shot or something there. looks like it matches his design even from the mostly obscured look we get at it, and presumably there's any all the more unobscured view available to everyone in-universe. it's also presented as part of someone's file, so that's noted re: drago, though it may just be the required framing to present it as a photograph that'd exist at all

then introduced to mitzi in the next page, and i've helpfully added the arrow b/c i was looking for it like "well, based on this Theory that the basis of mitzi and mordecai being in cahoots and having an understanding about it is their mutually having a personal/emotional connection to atlas (at least on their end b/c we see so little from atlas and hear even less. even when people would usually say one is personally connected to their wife. are they)....might mordecai show up at the glimpse of atlas's funeral" and i'm noting how closely that design there aligns with mordecai's, even though this isn't high res enough to be absolutely certain. but: seems to have a shaded-in coloration, center streak in the ear, sharply triangular corner of face (especially a feature in these earliest depictions, rather than this triangularity incorporating a bit more waviness / curve later), light uhh muzzle nose mouth area, what could be the outline of the light stripe under the eyes, light eyebrows >:c ly arched, & pince-nez or just glasses if that's the only option when you're cats....there's a lot of "wow that really could be mordecai huh" design alignments that are otherwise just a lot of coincidences like, whoops drew this background rando who matches so closely one of the main cast members....characters. getting theatrical out here. and what's then also noticeable is: none of the other background randos resemble any other characters, even when if mordecai is simply here as an Important Employee, where's viktor, where's anyone else we know was already around, where's the employees who remained steadfast who are shown immediately after this, versus mordecai who, as an employee, did Not loyally stick around at lackadaisy, but as someone with enough emotional investment in atlas for that to indeed be the foundation of his and mitzi's murder mystery Understanding, to then also maybe be the only lackadaisy employee at atlas's funeral (presumably with mitzi's knowledge), to have left lackadaisy out of grief rather than professional interests....hmm

mordecai also in this picture, where again everyone's hanging out, next to atlas and singled out by being the only person not sitting. did he just get there, maybe. is he On The Job still, i.e. maybe by being something of an [almost always active personal bodyguard] here. seems he'd face more Away from atlas for that. but not like i know what he's up to otherwise, and Thee Point may be to more symbolically have him standing apart. with even viktor also there, sitting and chilling, to show how mordecai Might also be doing that....but isn't. also of course tingling with mystery senses about what mitzi was going to have said to wick here, about how she would hate to, dot dot dot...then changes her mind upon Considering Atlas

here's mordecai Standing Near atlas again while socializing is happening. while he is also distinct from a) mitzi, in that this is confirming (if somewhat implicitly) that mordecai was in fact already associated with lackadaisy & atlas before atlas met mitzi, and b) viktor, who was still stationed with the arbogasts' funeral home, wherein i'm also considering this relevant b/c naturally it emphasizes that the professional viktor & mordecai duo's existence doesn't make them interchangeable: backing up that mitzi sure may have had a reason beyond a coin flip for having this secret with mordecai rather than viktor (and, of course, the reason probably isn't just "i need to work with some lackadaisy employee who can fire a gun" in the first place)

a couple more points being

mordecai going on and on about professional approach all the time; could simply be his preference, could be an expression of the like precision / methodical perspective that makes him good at biting and killing, could be [that] plus just how he deals with his job being biting and killing when it's unlikely he was up to that before the train ride ft. atlas and atlas taking him on for that success....i also wonder if he took a Professional Approach to killing atlas / thinks of it in that way, even if that reason for [secret mystery involvement with mitzi on this] was an emotional one, and that being recent and tumultuous has him like tripling down on this. even though mordecai may not have killed atlas either, even presuming atlas Was shot and killed. and knowing that mitzi gave him a gun, or mordecai gave her the gun, or they passed it back and forth a few times for obfuscation

the pig farmers start wandering into a dark area of lackadaisy's caves and there's bones back there. what goes on in said caves....all this coming about b/c atlas opportunistically took advantage of the cave access, seems like the kind of environment with real potential for some figurative resonance. like also the rivers.

mitzi telling wick that atlas was the murderous one in the relationship....not necessarily that significant when like, technically who around here Isn't murderous. just like there having been "here's the body stashing cave section" isn't necessarily extraordinary in its literal existence, but with the symbolism of wandering into the caves and finding an area with no light, where you start walking on old bones, and are about to be killed yourself....hmm. and re: atlas's murderousness, sure is possible to team up to kill someone to protect a fourth party, even though like, who. and that would add another layer of "mitzi and mordecai care about the same person" on top of their presumed [handshaken] emotional regard towards atlas. possible, but like, who would that be. it seems unlikely atlas would, say, threaten ivy or something. and how would that incorporate that [there has to be the Mitzi's Asserted Culpability] element. but these things are sure noted

not directly related to the mystery but i will leave off again on the mordenico agenda. even though, also, it is a "bite me a zillion times, two zillion times shy on me" situation like, what are the odds the [inroad of intrigue over shaking up the glitter in your funny little guy who everyone usually just would rather ignore] situation is actually bound for working out. yet [Also Everything Else. like in this scene and the prior Hotel Room Fête encounters] and declaring yourselves as the same and trying to stay friends no matter what....we can dream

[cartoon-buffoon]

Its about that time of the month where I get obsessed with a fictional man who is a total piece of shit and this month's furry cartoon man is—

God do I hate Fritz... Like, this dude is a fucking sucks and is piece of shit who deserves to be thrown in a meat grinder yet at the same time I love him.

Also a ramble/review but I watched the first Fritz the cat movie and the sequel which is dubbed "The Nine lives of Fritz the cat". Both movies are easily available to watch on a very public website that I will not disclose due to I do not want either of them taken down (just do a quick Google search and you'll see the website I'm talking about, also donate to that said website!!! It's been a life saver for finding certain films, cartoons, or old books) anyways: Jesus Christ the first movie disturbed me in a way that I haven't felt in awhile. The third act of the first movie particularly fucked me up because it brought up some trauma and I had to pause and come back due to a certain scene (if you know you know). I still liked the first movie despite EVERYTHING it has as it actually does somewhat try and give some commentary or satire on stuff— I also do see why Robert Crumb despised the first movie because of the whole painting leftists as bad thing, I can see his point of view—It does a good job on making you look back into how different times were of the 60s too. That's about all I'm gonna say about the content of the first movie because there is A LOT, and I mean A LOT of stuff that I'm not qualified to talk about, and I ain't gonna pretend I'm qualified to talk about it. I am not that guy/girl. As for the second movie?... I honestly don't have fucking anything to say about the second movie it's a quite literal drug trip because the entire plot is a drug trip, and honestly I'm trying to forget it. It's like they took the first movie and it's 3 loosely chained together plots that have NOTHING to do with each other and went "let's chain even more things that have nothing to do with each other and tie it all together by the fact that it's all one giant weed induced hallucination". I'm aware it's like an anthology movie but that doesn't stop it from being a piss poor one. Idk only watch the first one if you want anything of substance really and even if you do watch the second one get ready for a clusterfuck of a film. Oh and if you're gonna watch the first heed all the warnings you see in reviews of it because as the poster and marketing for the first one says: "we're not ain't rated X for nothin' baby!"

Like seriously there is a lot of stuff—adult stuff—people probably still won't be okay viewing and if you aren't valid I just watched it for the sake of my own animation history loving heart.

[ssasides205]

hi, we know why u like vd and dislike sa, but what about caleo?

lemme answer like this

did we need all main characters to be paired up anon?

did we need the calypso chapter at all? does it add to the overall story?

because to me, personally, it feels like the biggest wasted opportunity ever. because riordan already had given us the perfect "oath kept with a dying breath" ever.

I've mentioned this before, but let me take the opportunity to finally talk about it in full.

there's a somewhat known comic that does an excellent job of illustrating this, but I can't remember the name of the artist (listen, they are very into the sunshades and I am not). but the absolute insane mirror aesthetic of Percy begging Nico to give him his word, the way Nico begged Percy to keep his, the parallels?

like, there really didn't have to be any death at all, there didn't need to be a different oath. that could've been it!

not only would the fandom have gone insane abt it, let's be honest, it would have also given Nico a part of the prophecy, and, most importantly, it would've made a lot of sense.

one thing about prophecies in Greek mythos, is that they're not very direct. This is brought up several times in cannon during the PJO series, and is actually revealed to have been the entire premise in TLO

so why would this be any different? especially, when there's a perfect candidate for the oath readily available. One that plays well into the overarching plot, and could have been used to give closure to the whole thing between Percy and Nico, giving the scene between them at the end have that extra layer.

although, the whole making Leo parallel Percy in regards to Calypso does give room for discussion for us valdangelo fans, vis a vis Nico's taste in men. but there were other ways.

to me, the Calypso thing always felt off, even when Percy met her. Mainly bc of what little I remembered of her from the Odyssey back when I was reading the books.

the fact that, in both cases, the two people involved knew basically nothing of each other and still fell in love felt very much suss. I theorized it was part of the curse in both occasions, that the curse did more than just bring the heroes, but also, ensured Calypso would love them.

and, also, I totally forgot that they hadn't saved her in the first series, or more like, I assumed they had but in one of the related side-stories. and I wish her freedom didn't come tied to romance.

like, you see how that reads, right?

this got away from me, but my point is, it felt very much like a last thought kind of deal. like you made the prophecy thing, and needed a promise with a dying breath, and needed a reason and a receiver of said promise? when Nico's promise was?? right there????

I don't think I'll ever be over that.