#there was actually a story i've heard before

[universalincubal]

Hey there. So I was in Nazi circles as a child until adulthood and came from red Northern and Southern California, the Deep South, and am now living in that funky part of the Midwest where it's still segregated but pretends to like queer people (super weird). So I've lived in and have stomping grounds in a good chunk of the USA. I am now 21 years old, just to make this a little clearer.

Anecdotally, I have never, and I mean legitimately NEVER personally known a Nazi who was not at the least a partial Trump supporter, if not an outright follower of his cult. There is definitely a range, but in effect it produces the same result. I'd say about 35% of everyone I knew was in his cult by summertime of 2019. The rest were vocal supporters of largely an avidly supportive bent.

Any leftover individuals who didn't like whatever random decision he made at whatever time, kinda just shut their mouth and chose to focus on what they did like about him or what he was doing to the country. Trump was doing such a flurry of things for so long and he was spinning such wild stories that people became addicted to the drama high and just didn't want to stop living in that high. They were the real right ones, they had held fast, they had done their righteous work and now the fruits of their labor were finally becoming apparent. And then Trump lost the election and took all of that with him. That's a significant part of the reason for the Insurrection, and the suicides.

Because Trump is an open supporter of Nazism and Hitler, and bad actors who happen to be Nazis (literally watched this live and recorded before 2021 but can't find any evidence now that Google is AI), Nazis in turn provide him at least surface level support because even if that Nazi happens to disagree with Trump's image, overall demeanor, or select-any political decision, they understand that he is their best option to actually get what they want. What they want is a Fourth Reich. They believe the USA is the new motherland and that the Fourth Reich is prophesised to occur here, presumably somewhere in the Heartland, as a grassroots movement that takes back the decimated personal rights of White Americans and people of Aryan descent. (The reason I state it this way is because this is how they romanticize it and this is how it would look to an outsider. It may also help recall memories in those who may suspect or need to remember specifics on Nazi upbringing.)

Now yeah, I've heard of Nazis who don't support Trump. The problem is they are largely ostracized from the rest of the community, at least from what I've seen. They don't show up at the family functions or the important meeting. They don't sit in at the council anymore. Their granddaughters see them less. There's a clear social loss to not supporting Trump in the last ~8 years and because he is taking the White House again, there will continue to be. This should be paid attention to.

I could see how an ostracized individual could do some petty crime like this, but that shouldn't be ignored or downplayed. A deeper rift between differing kinds of Nazis is dangerous for everyone because it creates a lot more singly dangerous acts, risky individuals who are more likely to drop a bomb in a store, or shoot their wife or parents, or drive a vehicle through a crowd, than to organize a militia. We would need to see Nazis with differing opinions come together in one movement to achieve militias and enact whatever judgement they see fit in any organized fashion. This does not mean that chaotic, disconnected violent acts would not be ridiculously dangerous and cause terror in the general populace. I personally know, having grown up Nazi, that mass disorganized violence is what Plan B is for.

Be careful around Nazis. They live for volatility and are incredibly dangerous. Be smart and stay safe. They will always try to get a reaction or an effect with what they say. Just don't let them have it. They have the White House and all of our rights and lives with it. It's not worth risking your safety or the safety of anyone else because we have a longer fight we need to win with stamina and perseverance. If they hit first (and they have and will continue to), they will always be on the wrong side of history, and we are free to retaliate as necessary for the good of society. Good luck out there.

Trump supporter or opponent?

Someone just painted a swastika on Donald Trump's star on Hollywood Boulevard but the cops can’t figure out if it was a supporter or an opponent.

[entertext]

HGSN 33-1

Chapter (Japanese)

(Please hit the green thumbs up at the end of the Japanese chapter to show support)

Rough translation by me

P1

(sign: Tenban Retreat)

(sign: Udekari Specialty: Mountain Forage Ice Cream - Take a break after a long hike!)

--

(sign: Are your eyes fatigued? - Takahashi Optometry)

Asako: So, our ancestors offered heads to that "hole"?

Tanaka: That's right.

P2

Asako: You're super suspicious, mister, but I guess you really are a researcher...

Tanaka: I'm no good at dealing with other people, sorry about that.

Tanaka: You've heard of the folktale, "The Farmer's Head", right? It's the hole from that story.

Asako: "The Farmer's Head"? I've heard it...The one everyone gets told?

Asako: (If I remember, the farmer was greedy and tried to hide the mushroom in the hole when his head came off...)

Asako: (...what was the reason the head came off again?)

Tanaka: Now listen

P3

Tanaka: To close the hole

Tanaka: There are two different methods

Tanaka: The first is what I said before, the method where a person crosses to the other side to close it.

Tanaka: But for that, you or I would have to die.

Tanaka: So we'll go with the second method: making a monster close it instead

P4

Asako: Make a monster close it... I see! Then that sounds like a plan!

Tanaka: No, we could still totally die, hahaha!

Tanaka: There's just a small chance we won't

Tanaka: That's why it helps that you're here. You can hear them but can't see them right?

Asako: Yes...Right now, its only my left ear, but I can basically only hear them...I can't do anything else...

Tanaka: That's actually better for us

P5

Asako: You're saying it's better not to see them...?

Tanaka: When you heard a voice from that house before, you thought it was a cat, right?

(??: i'm a cat i'm a cat i'm a cat)

Tanaka: Just like that time

Tanaka: Carelessly giving something a form is very bad

Asako: Giving something a form...

Tanaka: It's next to impossible for a human to accept something formless as is. So...

P6

Tanaka: We give it a name and for the first time recognize what it is.

(label: Circle)

Tanaka: This isn't a bad thing per se. It's what's necessary for humans.

Tanaka: But reality is complex and filled with things that can't be easily categorized

Tanaka: All the more so for the world of monsters

Tanaka: The moment you fit it into a human value system

(label: Cat)

Tanaka: You become unable to discern its true nature

P7

Asako: Um...In other words, it's important to think without deciding something is "definitely this!"?

Tanaka: Well, that's about right. That's why not being able to see them is an advantage in this world

Asako: ?

Tanaka: People only see what they want to see. The moment a person sees one, they'll always fit it into some form

Tanaka: And an impurity given form will also be able to look back at them

Tanaka: Like that, "eyes" create a connection between you and an impurity.

P8

Tanaka: That means that when people like us make contact with monsters, we have to look with eyes beyond that of a human

Tanaka: To earnestly look at only what's in front of us

Tanaka: If you don't try to know it one-to-one without fitting it into a human framework

Tanaka: That "connection" will rip the rug out from under you.

Asako: That sounds like it's really difficult...

Tanaka: ...well, if someone could really do that perfectly, they wouldn't be human anymore.

P9

Asako: I don't know anything about the thing inside 'Hikaru' either...

Tanaka: From what's been observed, there are tons of them, but... it's an unknown existance that very rarely appears in this world and grants people's wishes

Tanaka: ...that's all we know about them. Well, knowing that you don't know something is still the first step forwards

Tanaka: Anyway, you have the advantageous power to hear without seeing.

Tanaka: Using that...

P10

Tanaka: I'd like for you to be "interpreter" for our negotiations with the monsters.

(sfx: trembles)

==

Extras:

1 - (link)

2 - (link)

Asako: How come you only ever ea-...like sweets?

Tanaka: My taste buds are dead and I can't taste anything but sweetness!

Asako: Huh? Huh?? So do you just eat ice cream everyday??

Tanaka: Toothpaste tastes good too!

[nightlyrequiem]

Hi hi hi, requiem! 💗💗💗 I hope you're having a great day!

This is actually my first time sending a request, so I'm feeling a little shy, hahaha (⁠๑⁠•⁠﹏⁠•⁠)

I've been reading your fanfics lately, and honestly, you're my favorite Valeria writer ever! 💕💕 I was wondering if I could request a one-shot of Gorgon Valeria x (Blind) Fem Reader? Preferably smut, with a bit of angst if that's something you'd like to include! I've been so obsessed with Medusa Valeria lately, but there are barely any fanfics about her, and I'd love to see your take! I was thinking of a historical AU where the reader is sacrificed by her village because of her disability. They shove her into the cave where Valeria lives, and she has to fend for herself until Valeria eventually finds her. You can take it in whatever direction you feel like!

Of course, take your time if you're busy, and it's totally okay if this isn't something you want to write. I'm just happy I tried!

Thank you so much, and I can't wait to read more of your amazing writing! (灬º‿º灬)♡

Hello Hello! I am having a dandy day (As of writing this) I hope you are too!

You're so sweet! I'm not sure why a gorgon has been unanimously decided to be what Valeria would be but I'm not complaining. I think it's a cool concept.

Love me some angst, love me some smut. Fun fact, snakes breed by wrapping around each other, they don't have regular gentelia but cloacas. I learned this from an educational parody of Niki Manaj's Anaconda song. That being said, Valeria does not have a cloaca here, so that information isn't very relevent.

Tags/Warning: WLW, Minor Ableism by the Village, Emotional Angst, Violence, Non-Bloody Gore, Smut, Gorgon!Valeria, Probably Some Historical and Geographical Inaccuracies

Apple of Her Eye

'Stay away from the woods, Mija.' The sweet voice who first murmured those words to you fades from your memory each day that passes but the warning remains. You were born different. Your eyes didn't develop properly in the womb. Small and underdeveloped.

Your 'otherness' led to your exclusion by the village. It didn't help that you were a bastard child born out of wedlock. You grew up isolated. Your mother your only companion. You were content enough to live out your days with your mother. It was better this way. The less attention you draw to yourself, the less likely you'll be thought of for the annual sacrifice made to the Snake Woman of Addermouth.

Every year of the night during the Harvest Moon, an undesirable is selected and taken through the woods. A full day's journey to be left at the mouth of the cave. Ankles shattered to stop them from running. Barbaric in nature but deemed necessary after a bound sacrifice had managed to free herself of her binds and found her way back to the village. Thus, not making a sacrifice that year. It snowed that November. Something unheard of for the warm region. The homes were not built to retain heat and neither were the barns. Half the village died of starvation and cold.

Your mother used to tell you that story. Before you got too old for bedside tales, before she was lost to the Consumption. Now you're alone. Taken in by the church because no one else wants a blind girl. The Harvest moon is coming up. They're making their selections. While you're out in the garden, running your hands over the heads of flowers to count them, Father Luis pulls you aside.

"Come, walk with me, my dear." He says gently. He guides your hand to his arm and the two of you walk. "The sky is clear today." He tells you. 

"I know." You reply simply. "It's warmer when the sky is clear."

Father Luis pats your arm. "... The Harvest Moon approaches, I'm sure you've heard."

You don't respond. 

"... Well, we've had a hard time making the selection. Afterall, it's not easy to pick which of our own we're going to send to Addermouth. We all have our uses here and all absences are felt equally." He rambles. 

"You already know who it is." You murmur. 

"... Yes." Father Luis admits. "... With your... affliction, there isn't much you can do for Las Almas," He starts, shattering your heart. "But you can have a purpose, my dear, if we give you up to Addermouth you will ensure that we have another bountiful year for crops and fertility. You will keep us safe."

You stop walking. Turning your sightless gaze on Father Luis.

"Because I'm more useful dead than alive, you mean." You reply. The air thickens with tension as Father Luis struggles for a reply.

"Not at all." He says weakly. Your shoulders slump as you hear just how much he doesn't believe his own words. "You aren't useless here, you'd just be making so much more use out of yourself if you were chosen, your blindness isn't a curse, it's a blessing."

You scowl. "A blessing?" You repeat. "It's a blessing because you can throw me to the beast without losing anything! It means you don't have to sacrifice anyone capable of labor!"

Father Luis doesn't respond. Because he knows it's true.

"You've already been chosen." He says quietly. "I've talked to the men picked to bring you to Addermouth, I told them I could get you to agree so they wouldn't have to break your ankles. I'm sparing you pain."

"How kind of you, Father, for sparing me the pain of broken ankles. I'll be sure to remember your benevolence while I'm being torn apart." 

"I'm trying to help you-" He begins.

"No, you're trying to clear your conscious." You growl. "You're the one who gets the final say on the sacrifice. You feel guilty for choosing me. Well, I don't forgive you." You say coldly.

You tried fighting. When the collectors came for you. It was no use. They grabbed you and forced you into the white ceremonial robes. You refused to eat, a small act of defiance on your end. It means little to them, but it means a lot to you. You can feel the warmth from the torches that the men carry as they walk you to Addermouth. Your bare feet, unused to the unfamiliar terrain catch on stones and loose Earth.

The air turns cold, signaling the beginning of nightfall. You shiver from the chill and wrap your arms around yourself, hoping to retain a little body heat. The thorns from the crown they placed upon your head digs uncomfortably into your scalp. You tried adjusting it but had your hand slapped away with a barking command to not touch it.

A rough hand grabs you by the back of the neck and halts you. 

"We're here." He mutters. "Lay down in the dirt on your back."

Your heart flutters. "... No." You say. Turning your face towards where you think the man is. You expect him to get mad, or argue, instead your abruptly shoved to the ground. You grunt in pain as your back slams into stone and soil.

Before you can sit up or speak, something heavy and metal crashes down onto your legs. You arch your back as a scream tears itself free from your throat. The object comes down again and you jerk away, trying to crawl away. Your fragile leg bones snap and dislocate. The pain is hot and heavy. Not limiting itself to your legs it crawls up your thighs and into your spine. You screech your hurt into the night and vomit the contents of your stomach. 

𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙

Valeria is familiar with the sound an animal makes when it knows it's going to die. Deep within the dark walls of her cave, a screech echos from outside. The snakes on her head stir with curiosity. Small tongues flicking out to taste the air. Valeria drags herself from her nest and stalks down the cave towards the exit. Climbing upwards. She smells the air and tastes blood and fear. A person, an injured one. Nothing she hasn't seen before.

The sky has grown dark with the night. The stars up above far away and infinite in numbers offer very little light. At the mouth of the cave is a woman. Draped in those robes that the villagers seem to favour. Like the others, her legs have been broken. Valeria lays a hand upon her, feeling her stillness and warmth. The woman stirs and flinches, rising up to a sit. Valeria's snakes fan out around her head, staring right at her. The woman looks up and... Valeria stares curiously.

The woman breathes heavily and stares straight at her, not petrifying.

"Hello?" You call out weakly. "Is someone there?"

You're blind. She realizes. Your eyes are small and cloudy. Marbled with white. They remind her of the full moon. You're covered in dirt and sweat and reek of fear. One of the longer of her snakes ventures closer. Tasting your scent.

"Hello." Valeria murmurs. Gazing at you with interest. Normally she petrifies her victims. She glances at the many statues littering the clearing. In various positions. A few men but mostly women, their once fluid robes now still forever.

Your eyelids flutter.

"Hello?" You reply. "I need.. I need help." You say.

"I can see that." She hums, inspecting you. 

"Are we safe?" You ask, surprising her.

"Whatever from?" She inquires with amusement.

"The Creature of Addermouth?" You say, furrowing your brows.

Creature of Addermouth. The Snake Woman, Medusa, Valeria has earned herself many names over her long life.

"We're safe." She says. Then doesn't speak for a while, unused to having company. She looks at you for a little longer. Indulging herself before finally reaching out for you. "Let me get you out of the open like this." She says, slowly dragging you into the cave. Your questions inquiring about your destination remain unanswered as she drags you in deep. Valeria slowly lowers you to her nest and looks over your wounds.

She gently ghosts her hand over your mangled legs. Feeling the unnatural angles your bones are in.

"Why do they do this?" She ponders aloud quietly. 

You rub a hand over you shoulder. "What?"

"Break the legs." She murmurs.  

"... You know about the sacrifices?" You ask.

"It's hard not to notice." Valeria replies. Moving away to grab old clothes to wrap up your legs. She can't do much else to help.

"It's to kill any chance of survival for the chosen." You murmur grimly.

Valeria stayed away from you while you healed. Watched you from the shadows and brought you food while you were asleep. Sometimes you called out to her, voice harsh and scared. Other times you sang. Mournful and lonely. Valeria likes it when you sing. She'd lay against the stone walls and listen.

You lay still in her nest while she brings you stolen bread. She sets it down beside you and you stir, sitting up and opening your eyes.

"... Valeria?" You speak.

She hesitates. Pondering if she should let you know she's there. "Yes." She responds. 

You relax at her voice. "Can you please stay?" You ask. "It's cold, and very lonely here."

Valeria finds herself wanting to stay in your company. You're the only person she hasn't turned to stone, the only one invulnerable to her curse. She sits down and folds her legs under her.

"I can stay for awhile." She says.

Then you smile at her.

Valeria makes it a habit to stay with you often. Bringing your food while you're awake and talking to you. Once your legs have healed enough, she begins helping you walk around. Learning the way you talk, the way you laugh, learning the way you've come to understand the world, which is far different to her. Valeria, who was previously a solitary creature, has come to enjoy your company. She enjoys you. Though there's that fear at the back of her mind eating at her. One that tells her you wouldn't stick around if you knew what she was, what she looked like.

You tell each other stories. Legends and myths exchanged for entertainment. You even told her the reason your village sacrifices people. There was something... sinister in the woods. People went in and never came out again, stolen and dragged to the dark pits of Addermouth. The large, supposedly endless cave system in the middle of the forest. Wicked and hungry. It's said that the Creature of Addermouth is what caused the disappearance of everyone in the neighboring village. Once bustling with life left full of stone statues that look suspiciously like the villagers.

Valeria is the monster that has haunted your dreams and you don't even know it.

"But... you came and found me." You say after a few silent moments filled only by the faint echoes of dripping water. "Tell me, Valeria," You murmur. "Is there really a monster or has my village been ruling itself with it's own man-made superstition? Was my sacrifice in vain? Were all those lives given up to the 'monster' for naught?"

Valeria works out her response. "... I have never encountered anything of the like out here." She says carefully. As far as she's aware, she's the only one of her kind roaming about in these woods, and one can hardly encounter themselves.

Over the months you grow restless. Walking further and further within the cave. You talk more and more about the outside, and to Valeria's growing annoyance, the very village that casted you out to die. A topic that has brewed many an argument between you two. She doesn't understand your attachment to the place that betrayed you, why you wish to live among people who will never see you as anything more than the blind girl. She doesn't understand why you want to leave her.

Your nest is empty when she comes by with food. She looks around for you, finding you standing at the cave entrance, facing the outside wistfully. She stays back in the shadows but you've adjusted to living in a cave where all noise is accentuated.

"Is it sunny today?" You ask her. Valeria peers out.

"It is." She murmurs. Walking up beside you, your arms brushing. "The sky is clear, the sun is shining down warmly and dappling the forest floor with light."

"Are the flowers getting any sun?" You ask.

"What flowers?" Valeria asks with surprise.

"Those ones." You point to the left vaguely. There is a patch of wild daffodils there.

"They are." She says. "How did you know about them?"

You smile, it's a sad little thing not expressing joy so much as sardonic amusement.

"I found them when I was walking around outside." You say. "If I focus enough, I can smell them from here."

Valeria stares at them contemplatively. As yellow as the sun, heads facing towards the sky.

"I want to go home." You say suddenly. Valeria looks at you with indignation.

"What home?" She asks mutinously. You turn your face to her.

"My village, Valeria." You say tiredly. You reach out and take ahold of her cold hands. "You could come with me, you don't have to live here, in this cave, you could come back with me."

Valeria pulls away. Appalled, hurt, angry.

"Why would I ever want to be surrounded by the very people who sent you to die? Why would I want to be around them when they'd treat me even worse?" She snaps. Thinking of you as foolish. You face drops.

"They're frightened and misinformed. I know what they do is bad but if you came back with me - tell them that you've been living here and not a sight of the monster, they might stop sacrificing people!" You plead, only adding to Valeria's growing annoyances and pushing her over the edge.

"I am the monster." She growls. Her snakes, sensing her agitation, flare.

"What do you mean?" You ask.

"How stupid you must be to not have realized!" She snaps at you. "I live in the very cave your people tell stories about. Think about it for more than ten seconds, I beg you!"

Inklings of regret wriggle in her heart but she stays strong. Your expression morphs into confusion and fear. You look at her the same way as everyone else, only difference being is she can't make you stop by turning you to stone. She looks at the statues, with their faces clawed off.

"... But you helped." you say. "You're lying."

Fed up with you, Valeria swiftly approaches you and grabs your hands. "Feel my scales. Feel my snakes. You can't look upon my monstrosity, but you can touch it." She wretches your hands over her face, making you feel the scales on her cheeks and the writhing snakes in her hair. You recoil and try to pull away but Valeria doesn't let you.

Finally, she lets you pull away. You cradle your hands to your chest as though she's burned you. Your mouth hangs agape but no sounds escape you.

"Go." She says angrily. "Try to find your way back to the very people that hate you. Return to those animals and never speak of me, never think of me, and never seek me out." 

You hesitate then turn and stumble away, into the woods where you are sure to die. Guilt and pain tugs at her heart but she ignores it and turns away as well. Slinking back down into her cave.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

You stumble through the foliage. Nettles sting your legs and mouse holes trip you. Your skin crawls when you think about how close you were to the Creature of Addermouth. Then sorrow overwhelms you when you think about her. Your friend. 

You're not sure where you're going. Your sense of direction skewed by spending so much time below ground. You use the trees to help you walk. The trees thin out and you're left to wander a clearing. A familiar voice calls out to you, saying your name with astonishment. A group surrounds you, voices drowning each other out with questions.

There was great debate about your return. Many wanting to send you back into the woods in fear that your return will cause great suffering. Father Luis declares you spared, much to the unpopular opinion of the public. Unwilling to argue with a messenger of God, the people allow you to live. Once again pushing you to the outskirts of town where if they try hard enough, they can forget you.

During your moments with Valeria, you forgot how lonely existence is. Going by unwanted and ignored by your own. This is what you were so desperate to return to. But... you miss her. Each day that pull inside you tugs harder and harder, drawing you back to Addermouth and the Snake Woman that lives there. You pack any belongings that you can carry, and under the cover of night, set off into the woods. Letting that feeling guide you through the trees and bushes.

 You walk and walk. Journeying further into the forest with only your faith in your friend to guide you. You grow tired and less careful with your steps. You begin to fear that you are lost. It's also at this point that you become aware of something stalking you from the side. Footsteps apart from your own and the sense that you're being watched.

You stop in a clearing. Not certain as to where you are. The cold winds bite through the cloak you're wearing. Heavy with exhaustion, you unshoulder your burdens and kneel in the soft grass. You tilt your head up. Unable to see the stars, but the stars see you.

You don't turn at the sound of footsteps behind you.

"You came back." The owner of them speaks. You straighten up.

"... I did." You say. They come no closer. "I had assumed that home was where I was born. Among people who are the most like me. I was wrong." You whisper. Valeria slowly approaches you and kneels own behind you, gently laying her hands over your shoulders. You can feel her snakes brush up against your head and neck.

"Coming out here on your own wasn't safe." she says. "There are many caves and ravines you could've fallen into. Packs of wolves and coyotes roam at night. You could've gotten lost and succumbed to nature."

You lean against her. Touched by her concern.

"But you found me." You say.

Valeria rests her head on your shoulder. "Yes, I found you." 

You bask in the moment. Warmed by your friend's presence. Her breath ghosts over your neck, sending goosebumps over the skin.

Your hearts beat together. Slowly, Valeria pulls you down and crawls on top of you, her nose brushing against yours. You cup the back of her head and pull her down, pressing your lips to hers. Valeria sighs out all her lonely yearning. Pressing close to you. Her lips are cold but being so close to her makes you feel warm.

The Creature of Addermouth handles you with utmost care and gentleness as he removes your clothing. Helping you shed the last tethers to your village. Valeria pulls you on top of her, your back to her chest with her legs tangling with yours. Her hand palms your breast, rolling the fat under her hand.

You can feel her skin and scales under your back. Smooth and cool. Her hand moves up from your breast to hold you by the throat gently, her other hand running down your body and pushing her fingers through the course hair on your pubic mound. They find your clit and you tilt your head back, eyes closed in pleasure. Her fingers drift down to collect your arousal. Her breasts press into your back and the snakes on her head brush against your cheek.

Valeria's fingers enter you. Sliding into the wet warmth of your core. You writhe together in a tangle of lust and limbs. Unsure of where her leg ends and yours begins. While she pumps her fingers into you, she also grinds you down onto her. Rubbing herself against you, accumulating a wetness on your lower back. She groans into your ear, sending blood to your clit.

The pressure builds, becoming too much for you. You let go of the rope and allow yourself to dive into the pleasure. You cum around her fingers, tightening and tensing with a high whine. Valeria, with her fingers still inside of you, continues to hold you against her. She's not far behind. Panting and losing all sense of rhythm. She shudders and presses her face into your neck. Legs trembling as she does so.

You and Valeria fall asleep together. Laid up in the grass under the moon and stars. Cuddled up like animals in your most natural forms. Valeria never thought she'd experience something so wonderful. Her greatest treasure, she'll keep you until it's time for your body to return to the Earth it came from.

[anghraine]

Update from months later (13 Jan 2025): Vulture has published a very detailed and thoroughly researched account of the whole story by Lila Shapiro. You can reach the official link on Shapiro's Bluesky account, though for some people it's been paywalled. I'd encourage paying for the article if you can, but if not, archived links are circulating.

Shapiro covers Gaiman's background in Scientology is more detail than I think anything before has, without even remotely excusing his many crimes, which are described in vivid detail (much more than previously, including rape and child abuse). It has more sources, analysis, and more complex, nuanced, and thorough reporting than many of the previous ones IMO. Amanda Palmer also comes out looking like an enabler at best. The article is obviously the work of months (and likely exhausting work for Shapiro).

I'd like to add that I've seen this used to excuse the pointed silence of so many SF/F outlets and communities when the news first broke, and the desperate arguments of some Gaiman fans, and I strongly disagree. This article's quality is certainly is the result of months of work, yes. But it was not time restrictions that led to e.g. Tor publishing quite decent coverage of the accusations on their German page but not the English one, when they're based in the US. Time constraints didn't keep so many SF/F news sites absolutely silent for day after day (not even mentioning that allegations had been made until there was a certain amount of outcry, when they normally at least acknowledge the existence of reports around less prominent figures). It was, in part, that aggressive silence which allowed Gaiman and his team and certain swaths of his fanbase to partly bury the story even as coverage trickled out in later months. Something I've noticed in response to the Vulture article is not only the understandable shock and horror, but a lot of people saying they hadn't even heard about the previous reporting—which is unfortunately quite credible given how many outlets in the SF/F community initially responded (or didn't, rather).

Also, I kind of hate the frequent takeaway that the real problem here is parasocial idealization of celebrities when they're just people.

Gaiman actively nourished these kinds of relationships, concealed the grotesque realities of what he was actually doing, and used his popularity and good reputation in progressive fannish circles to prey upon his own fans. It is not the fault of his fans that they were lied to by someone this monstrous—this is not behavior to be expected of "just people," even totally random ones you know nothing about. There is, in fact, no reason for those outside the whisper network to know what was really going on when they had no reason to do so.

Expecting public figures who present themselves as allies and advocates to not be rapists and child abusers is not some wild parasocial idealization of strangers even if the dynamic is genuinely parasocial. Not assuming strangers are secretly sexual predators when you have no reason to suppose they are is a perfectly healthy and decent approach to the world that most of the time is entirely accurate. Gaiman (and Palmer tbh) exploiting their status as artists and public figures and the vulnerability of fans is their fault.

So no, it's not parasocial idealization to hope that e.g. Pratchett didn't know about it, it is appropriate and healthy to not want a creator whose work you like to be cool with rape and child abuse (and we have no reason to suppose Pratchett did know, fwiw, so it's extra weird to use this as "proof" of fans' unreasonably high expectations). This is not a weird or baseless stance to hold wrt other human beings of any standing and hoping an artist isn't a lying rapist is absolutely not putting them on an impossible pedestal. Fannish betrayal shouldn't be prioritized above Gaiman's victims, true—but he habitually targeted his own fans and misrepresented all relevant information to them, so blaming fans' idealization of him as the main takeaway of all this is doubly grotesque.

Is there a good post outlining all the evidence against Gaiman? I know the podcast has it and that's what people pointed to me, but considering it has been days I was wondering if someone had gathered it all into seperate post so one does not have to listen to someone advertising their work every few minutes in order to listen to the important parts.

Belatedly (given that at least three other women have accused him since my post), there are some. The best of the original ones is probably "Manufacturing Consent" by Annabel Ross, but there are also transcriptions of the original accusations that, iirc, weed out some of the editorializing and focus on the raw material (which is, just be warned, very raw).

This (long) thread provides the important links in terms of the accusations conveyed by Tortoise, I think (a more to-the-point list is here at muccamukk's Dreamwidth account). I included the long thread because I'm in strong agreement with the final person in the chain that, Tortoise's many failings notwithstanding, they provided enough evidence for the SF/F community to judge and respond more appropriately than with a collective blanket of silence punctuated by occasional cavalier or desperate dismissals of the accusers, before the other accusations broke.

In all honesty, I'm pretty appalled by the idea that, well, now there's enough to start talking about it with a modicum of decency and respect but wasn't before, because apparently it was okay to use trans people (who had nothing to do with any of this) to justify defending a cis guy beloved of fandom from very thorough rape accusations.

I particularly feel this way about the parts of the community dedicated to publicizing news and major ongoing discussions that simply said and did nothing. Scalzi's "I'm horrified, might take awhile to process, here's a link to RAINN" personal statement was fine (Vernon's wasn't), and I don't think every random author was obligated to make their own statement as such. But spaces that exist specifically for covering ongoing discussions and news in the SF/F community not saying anything at all—even that the allegations existed—was far worse and really disheartening. So I wanted to link to a discussion that acknowledges how very few people lived up to their stated principles when there was solid evidence against an influential, popular man in their own circles who knows the right catchphrases and terminology.

I was particularly unimpressed with Mike Glyer's handling of discussion at File 770 and, as far as I could tell, Tor only acknowledging the whole thing on their German-language site. The German article seems to be very good, but ... they're based in NYC and Gaiman is an English-language writer, why was their only commentary for weeks shunted away from the English site? US law should absolutely cover acknowledging the existence of the accusations.

There was, let's say, a lot of disappointment to go around, so I'm also grateful for the other women who kept the ball rolling, awful as it is that they a) had similar experiences and b) had to reveal those to get the whole thing taken seriously.

[catboyolli]

Favourite olli lore? (Or just any fun facts/stories lol, I don't know an awful lot to start so anything will probably be surprising to me ahaha)

hey anon! oh I have a looooot of lore tidbits for you then! 🤭 I'll try to include a source for all that I can, other stuff unsourced is from things I've read and remembered over the years (sorryyy) special thanks to @theflyingfeeling and @sparfloxacin for fact checking and helping me find some of the sources, i love youuuuu 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Olli plays bass, guitar, he has some DJ skills and also plays percussions, piano and wine cups (yes). He graduated from Oulu Conservatory in 2017 with a pop and jazz background. I believe he's the only member of the band we haven't heard sing so far, but he's got amazing dance moves to make up for it.

He's been friends with Joonas, Tommi and Santeri their tour manager for almost 20 years. Before joining Blind Channel he used to play in a metal band called Abhorrent Ritual with Joonas and Santeri.

His instagram handle was @olliveri at some point, and he had dreadlocks when he was younger which didn't suit him at all, sorry 😂

He used to work in a hospital transporting patients, I guess he quit his daytime job after ESC to become a full time musician.

As far as sports goes, he does yoga (here's another clip) and cycling (he might even have a "playlist" for that - sorry, there's no link to the actual playlist that we know of).

The sextant tattoo on his bicep has a meaning - know where you are and where you're headed, check the stars. He also has a "best gig ever" tattoo on his arm that he shares with many other finnish musicians.

He broke 2 basses as far as we know, a brand new one while filming the videoclip for Darker Than Black, and the one he (accidentally, he was drunk) left on the roof of a car after stopping at a gas station during their 2021 summer tour (RIP Simba). Some other basses were lost on their way to various festivals in 2023, it's unknown if he ever got them back.

He's in charge of all the visual design for the band, like the merch, album covers, websites and some parts of the stage design (he made the prototype for the inflatable morningstar they had as background on some festivals). He designed the outfits the band wore to promote Exit Emotions (the red/black and the white ones) and also learned how to sew to make them. Oh, and he also designed the Blind Channel pendants that are sold on their store, it is unknown if he also makes them or not.

On tour, it seems he used to iron everyone's clothes, or at least his fancy shirts by leaving the shower running with hot water and steam iron the clothes. It was also said that he's a bit neurotic with the cleaning on the bus and with his packing, because he needs to do it the day before they leave their hotel. He also has many many alarms to wake up on tour because he "sleeps well" (according to Joonas you have to throw things at him to wake up, or hit him).

He calls himself "Mr. Recovery Man" due to his ability to somehow recover quickly after he's been sick or hangover. Some other nicknames for him are Hobbit or Frodo.

He's also the chairman/president of the board of their music company, Bloodbros Oy. Evey member of the band has a company of their own, Olli's is named Mellon Music Oy after the sindarin word for friend.

And last but not least, let's not forget his amazing bartender skills. Oh, and he has a strong gag reflex :)

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

When Remus took out a pack of cigarettes and put one between his lips, Sirius was surprised.

Actually he felt something jumping inside his chest.

"You smoke?"

Remus was caught up by the question. Like a little kid being caught doing something wrong.

"Yeah sorry" Remus answered, the cigarette still on his mouth. But immediately took it out "I won't do it if it bothers you"

Sirius was fascinated. He remembered Rosie as an adorable kid still. It had been Sirius the bad influence. Well, Rosie had a brilliant mind for pranking. But she was innocent overall. With her soft curls on a ponytail and wearing her father's sweaters and trousers underneath her school skirt because she found it uncomfortable. Rosie talking nerdily about the book she was currently reading.

Remus still had the same aura. Although Remus being a boy wasn't the only thing that surprised Sirius.

He had changed with the years. In a good way, though.

"I don't mind" Sirius replied "I mean I smoke as well sometimes... My Uncle Alphard taught me last summer"

It was true. He smoked to impress Alphard and his friend George. Although when he got back to Hogwarts, James disapproved. And nobody had cigarettes around that pretentious school, so he stopped.

Remus was smiling at him amused. Sirius liked the way he was impressed.

"Want one?" he asked offering him the pack.

Sirius smirked before taking one. He hadn't had a cigarette in ages. He just hoped he didn't cough like the first time.

Remus had a lighter as well. Of course. So he lit up Sirius’s before doing it to his.

Sirius remembered he had been this fascinated only for one person, George. So handsome, easy going. With that vibe of a bad boy. Sirius had bought a leather jacket after meeting him.

He was feeling the same admiration for Remus.

Sirius observed Remus smoking in silence thinking who was this boy and also excited to meet this new version of him.

"What?" Remus asked after a while. He was smiling "I know that smoking is bad, I've been told"

Sirius looked away "Oh yeah, I know" he shrugged and continued smoking. Luckily he didn't cough and pretended to be an expert at it "I'm just surprised"

"Why?"

"What happened to my sweet Moony, eh?"

Remus's cheeks went pink. It was adorable. Sirius realized that Remus's vibe perhaps was different. But he was the same sweet kid Sirius used to know.

"Moony.... I haven't heard that in a while"

It had been the nickname Sirius had given his friend. All because of Hope's Moon wishes. Captain Moonshine from their pirate games. Silly precious things they used to do as kids.

"It probably sounds stupid now"

But they were teenagers now.

"I like it" Remus was quick to reply "I liked it before and I like it now. It's our thing, isn't it?"

Sirius liked to have things together again. He smiled.

"Should I call you Starman?" Remus teased.

Well, that sounded stupid. Not adorable like Moony.

"My friends call me Padfoot now"

"Padfoot?"

Sirius grinned "It's a long story" bloody James and his idea of nicknames.

Remus giggled "Okay, Padfoot"

Sirius liked the way it sounded from Remus's mouth.

"I guess we have a lot of things to catch up, eh?"

Sirius figured. Between learning to smoke, growing up, adquiring new nicknames and becoming teens, it was a lot. Probably missed first times: drinking, smoking, first dates and kisses (Sirius was most curious about that). Five years had passed without each other. Sirius wondered how did he managed without Remus. His Moony.

"Yeah, Moons" he grinned "We have a lot to catch up"

And Sirius hoped he didn't have to be apart from Remus ever again.

[divorcedwife]

Im especially interested in your opinion of the companions! Did you like any, how would you rank them, how did they compare to other games.

I did enjoy veilguard myself cause admittedly im a combat enjoyer (boo me now) and the combat was great to me. But what is usually good in dragon age/bioware even if everything else sucks are characters and their stories and interactions and that was so bad in veilguard imo.

Still I liked Davrin and Emmrich and Bellara myself, rest were very mixed, and these three also suffered from bad dialogue and Bellara also from some overt cutesiness.

hehe noooooo i wouldn't boo you! this game really made me realize that i prefer video games as a form of interactive storytelling rather than purely for gameplay, but i mean, i feel like im the weirdo here if anything. video games are games first... as much as i like the combat (especially when it's in big open fields, with opportunities for cover ; god is it satisfying to slowly take down a mob of enemies through clever dodging and hiding, i wayyyy prefer that to spamming the flashy special moves), it feels empty to me if i dont feel connected to the world. ideally, i'd love to play games where i enjoy both, but if i have to pick, i'll prefer a game that i find unfun to play but where i like the writing

i think it's a pretty weak cast, yeah. individually, but also as a group, they lack chemistry to me. most of them get along just fine, but not in a way that's particularly fun or exciting. their relationships aren't interesting to me because they're very samey, both in that most people are friendly and also that they start out friendly and end up friendly. dai isn't a game i love, but for all its flaws, it definitely had fascinating character interactions to me. blackwall's friendship with sera is so different to his friendship with cassandra or with solas, and he's initially wary of cole but grows to like him after a while. and these people all have their opinion of blackwall changed forever by revelations. that's what's lacking to me in companion relationships! growth... change... i did enjoy davrin and lucanis's bickering at least. i also did like how emmrich talked to companions, his therapy talk was actually charming every time i liked emmrich and davrin the most! my only problem with davrin is how often he felt shackled to assan, like the writers felt the need to remind us that he has a cute griffon every three seconds in case we were losing interest. but as a character, i found him really cool. i like how level headed he is, i love how he can't tell when lucanis is messing with him on purpose, those feel like great warden traits. emmrich, i really liked that he had the flaws to match his qualities - i love it when he complains about needing to teach TEN students (gasp!), or when davrin asks him if he knows how to wash dishes and he responds like someone who hasn't washed a dish in ten years, and so on. that's definitely what i found lacking in most companions - actual flaws! it's mind boggling to me how much of the lucanis banter i heard was spent clarifying how unproblematic he is. like he doesn't kill children, doesn't kill people who acted in self defense, doesn't kill innocents. what??? he doesn't even have flaws from growing up rich in a mansion... or being the ultimate nepo baby.................... that made most of the companions feel pretty shallow to me, like they were born right before the game began and had lived nothing

lucanis has enough little things about him i like that i would still say i liked him, but he's not getting honours from me. i like his design (it's very satisfyin to draw somehow), i liked spite, i liked the idea that he's trapped in the ossuary in his mind, i loved going to the mansion and seeing how barren and sad it is there. but i think his romance is my least favorite of any i've done in any dragon age games, and i would say that he was a worse boyfriend to have than the one who tried to kill me and also than the one who turned out to be an axe murderer in disguise, cause at least these two liked talking to my characters! lol

i'd put neve next but if im being honest with myself, i disliked more about her than i liked. i liked her bitter cynic pessimist traits, but i found her somewhat inconsistent on that and generally too friendly. the remaining characters, i didn't find anything compelling about them, i dont remember any moment that i liked with them :-( i really wish i did! i gave everyone as fair a shot as i could, i didn't start out this game looking for things to hate, but they really didn't do anything for me. i think bellara suffered from the fact that i dont really like all the technology in this game, i prefer low magic sad unwashed fantasy. at least she was very beautiful so she does get point for that

[bearsbeardsbeef]

The Carpenters (June 1974 Yes, I got to see Karen sing live, truly an amazing voice and talent)

Maroon 5 (2019)

Buckcherry (should've been called F*ckcherry, since that's all he said)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer(my ears were ringing for hours afterward)

Lenny Kravitz and Smashmouth at Bryce Jordan Center or Jimmy Buffett's impromptu concert on the beach in Key West. (Right after the parade for Fantasy Fest (Key West's Mardi Gras)) Heard a rumor he was going to do it, so I talked my partner and his friends into going. NONE of them were fans, but they all loved it! They pulled his float onto the beach, we sat in the sand, about 50' from him. It was freakin AWESOME!

Hall & Oates or Huey Lewis (Must've seen them both 10-15 times. Pissed off Huey at a concert once. He had a habit of waving his left arm up and snapping his fingers on the beat. I thought it looked cool, so I was also doing it at one of the concerts. Next thing I know, he stopped and is glaring at me. I think he thought I was making fun of him. NO WAY!)

Joan Jett, Kinks, Loverboy, Huey Lewis and Foreigner at JFK Stadium in Philly. (12 hr concert, damn was I sunburned. Big fan of Huey and Foreigner, liked Loverboy, never heard JJ or the Kinks. They all put on an amazing show. One of the last big concerts before they tore JFK down).

Diana Ross (My partner at the time was a huge fan. We saw her in Atlantic City. She recognized him and came over to say hello. He grabbed her hand, didn't let go. She ended up pulling him completely around and to the next table before he finally let go.)

Madonna/Taylor Swift (had tix for Madonna, but she cancelled)

Done... getting too old for this crap. LOL

I worked at Hersheypark Arena from 74 to 86 as part of the Rink Crew (Rink Rats). So I saw every concert, every comedian, every show that played there. We ususally had some setup to do before it started, so we actually got paid to see all the shows. I even met quite a few of the performers. I remember making Brian Wilson freak out once. He came out to the stage and we were standing there, where we always stood, and were waiting for the Beach Boys to perform. He saw us, I said hello, he went back to their dressing room. Next thing, their manager told us we couldn't be there, apparently he couldn't handle people he didn't know near the stage, Freaks him out. So he asked us to move until they were on stage. I met all of the WWF (pre-WWE) wrestlers, most of them were super nice. Got to hang out with a buttload (!) of NHL hockey players. (so many naked men... UNF!! Haven't lived til you've been in a room with 30 naked furry, built, uncut Canadians...). All the Olympic skaters that would tour with the shows (Ice Follies, Ice Capades, Stars on Ice). The Arena hosted State tournaments (Wrestling, Basketball, etc). Big 33 Football and other concerts in the Stadium. I worked in the Employees Cafeteria for a while too, so I would see all the performers that came thru Hersheypark. I really should've written this stuff down.

The things I've seen and the stories I could tell...

[queenlucythevaliant]

'Yes, that old oak with which I saw eye to eye was here in this forest,' thought Prince Andrei. 'But whereabouts?' he wondered again, looking at the left side of the road and, without realizing, without recognizing it, admiring the very oak he sought. The old oak, quite transfigured, spread out a canopy of dark, sappy green, and seemed to swoon and sway in the rays of the evening sun. There was nothing to be seen now of knotted fingers and scars, of old doubts and sorrows. Through the rough, century-old bark, even where there were no twigs, leaves had sprouted, so juicy, so young that it was hard to believe that aged veteran had borne them.

'Yes, it is the same oak,' thought Prince Andrei, and all at once he was seized by an irrational, spring-like feeling of joy and renewal. All the best moments of his life of a sudden rose to his memory. Austerlitz, with that lofty sky, the reproachful look on his dead wife's face, Pierre at the ferry, that girl thrilled by the beauty of the night, and that night itself and the moon and ... everything suddenly crowded back into his mind.

'No, life is not over at thirty-one,' Prince Andrei decided all at once, finally and irrevocably. 'It is not enough for me to know what I have in me- everyone else must know it too: Pierre, and that young girl who wanted to fly away into the sky; all of them must learn to know me, in order that my life may not be lived for myself alone.

From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

[a-quiet-autumn]

i have not listened to hamilton in like a week why is he STILL HERE

read the tags if you want to see me talk about musicals for a little TOO long

[katyspersonal]

I know we don't talk and there's stuff we may not agree with. But I am truly sorry you've dealt with a lot of drama over fictional crap. And I'm sorry if my posts in the past ever contributed to that. Hope you have a better day.

Hey... That's all fine, don't worry! After all, it takes a lot of time and Insight to realise that Gehrman is a very gentle and respectful man and Godrick is an absolute gigachad kdkdkshdffhhgfds /lh /lh

But yeah, on a serious note. It was quite frustrating to find out the real motivation under all that... mess was something so pathetic, but at the same time this is what happens when people make engagement with media and fandoms a moral, political act. Not necessarily a problem, after all, I was the one who concluded that the way a fan judges fictional characters and other fans will very well reveal how cruel they are to real people who do something bad, or how much they will forgive based on personal sympathies. And my mad ravings about caring about female characters! I think the problem comes when a fan is so insecure that they have nothing else besides this defence of ideals through fandomry. If your only way to assert yourself is to be a good guy punishing the bad guys, and that mad raving loredigger discovers there is NO bad guy, what is left of you?

This is why it is crucial to have passion for nurturing rather than for undermining! I think if you speak like this, you've found this truth too? This is true that I don't know you very much (mutual-in-law thing), but to be honest.. you didn't poison my fandom experience at all? I tend to never be aware about discourse until someone basically calls me for help fhdhgsdgdfs Can't scout the fandom tag regularly!

But not only it actually was a quite long ago I saw a "negative" post from you, but also I've seen through the posts that my friends liked or reblogged from you that you've actually became very eager person to defend people's passion and interests! I think the post that particularly got stuck with me was when you resented seeing someone's light die after some Redditor asshole "well aktualy"'d a thing they were excited about creating (not exact wording but maybe you remember too)? Like... you are fine, man. At that point I realised that you were a good fan and in the end valued people's creativity and passion over personal preferences. That you never wanted to be THAT guy, even if your interpretation could not be further from someone else's. Coming to terms with what actually matters in fandomry is very mature and I am happy to see this attitude!

I am still glad that you messaged me about this though; I did not expect this, but thank you! I think I will continue getting involved in fictional discourse because my autistic senses cannot ignore factually incorrect takes with a clear insidious motive, and.. eh, sooner or later, I'll piss off the wrong guy again. Don't feel bad for me when it inevitably happens :p I've accepted the shortcomings when I decided to be the debate guy. Simply laughing at some gremlin starting a discourse with the girls in DMs and not stressing over it is only funny until I realise that newer fans could get misinformed right off the bat.

[nyxypoo]

live laugh love my local library

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

alright, time for some post-beta screens:

Inventor Irvyn - Engineer (Holosmith)

Glaucia Razetalon - Revenant (Renegade)

Postumus Skyslicer - Ranger (Soulbeast)

and a bonus dabbing Ruju that absolutely nobody asked for:

[quaranmine]

If you can't get a friend to go with you, why don't you just go by yourself? It will be fun and I'm certain nothing terrible will happen /j

No but please don't actually go by yourself lmao...

Surely I wouldn't face any problems at all on the sketchy washed out dirt forest service road that everyone in reviews says is closed half the time in an area with more than likely no cell service ??? 😁

[tragicclownwrites]

🤡

[walterdecourceys]

therapy is not the number one cure for anxiety common misconception actually. the real cure is EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT from JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR