#they're just one we're supposed to put pressure on because

[poisonousquinzel]

[scientia-rex]

Wound Care

Ok so, take this with a BIG grain of salt, because I may be a medical doctor BUT you need to know how much wound care training we get in medical school: none. Zip. Zilch. There may be medical schools where you do, but mine wasn't a bozo factory and there was NO wound care training. Everything I know I learned from one of several sources: an intensive 2-day wound care course I did in residency (highly recommend), the local Home Health wound care nurse (highly recommend), a completely batshit insane old white male doctor who started our learning sessions by yelling Vietnam War stories at me (do not recommend), a hospital wound care nurse (highly recommend), and experience (oh god do not recommend).

The first thing you need to know is that wound healing varies dramatically across the course of a lifespan. Kids? Kids will heal. If they don't, get their ass to a pediatrician because there's something genetic going on. Young adults will heal. Middle-aged adults will heal. You know who doesn't heal for shit? The elderly, and people with severe illnesses, and people with uncontrolled type II diabetes.

Your body needs several things in order to heal. It needs macronutrients, so you need to be able to EAT protein, fat, and carbs. If you are on total parenteral nutrition, aka TPN, aka IV nutrition, you are going to be worse at healing. If you are starving yourself, you are going to be worse at healing. If your body is desperately funneling all the calories you take in to surviving your COPD or cancer, you are going to be worse at healing.

It also needs micronutrients. If your diet sucks, you won't heal. Take a multivitamin once in a while.

There are two CRITICAL skin components to healing: collagen and elastin. Guess what we stop making as we age. Promoting collagen isn't just good for "anti-aging," it's good for NOT ripping your skin apart. Taking oral collagen is probably bullshit because your body is going to have to disassemble it to get it across the intestinal membranes to absorb, but it's also harmless, and if your diet REALLY sucks, who knows. Give it a try. Collagen is made of amino acids; think protein.

Another absolutely crucial component is blood flow. As people age, they start to develop cholesterol plaques lining arteries that eventually pick up calcium deposits. This makes blood vessels less elastic, which is a problem, but eventually also blocks them off, which is a much bigger problem. If someone has the major blood flow to their feet decreased by 90% by arterial stenosis, they are not going to heal for shit AND their foot's gonna hurt.

One component of blood flow I hadn't thought about before going into medicine is fluid retention. The way your body works, blood exits the heart at a very high velocity, but slows to a crawl by the time it gets into capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body. Water is a very small molecule and can leave the blood vessel, especially if there aren't big, negatively-charged molecules like proteins like albumin in the blood vessels to hold the water there. And we're built for this--some water is supposed to leak out of our blood vessels when it gets to real little vessels. It gets taken back up by the lymphatic system and eventually dumped back into the bloodstream at the inferior vena cava. But if you aren't making albumin--for instance, in liver failure--you may leak a LOT of fluid into the tissue, so much that your legs get swollen, tight, the skin feeling woody and strange. This isn't fixable by drainage because the fluid is everywhere, not in a single pocket we can drain. And because it puts so much pressure on the tissues of the skin, it often results in ulcers. Congestive heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure--these are all common causes of severe edema, aka swelling due to fluid in the tissues. And they're a real bitch when it comes to wound care, because we have such limited resources for getting the fluid back out, which is a necessary first step to healing.

Pressure is another common cause of wounds. Pressure forces blood out of those little capillaries, so you starve the cells normally fed by those capillaries, and they die. It's called pressure necrosis. Very sick people who can't turn themselves over--people in the ICU, people in nursing homes--are especially prone to these wounds, as are people with limited sensation; pressure wounds are common in wheelchair users who have lost some feeling in the parts of their bodies that rub against those surfaces, or diabetics who don't notice a rock in their shoe.

So, if you're trying to treat wounds, the questions to ask are these:

Why did this wound happen?

-Was it pressure? If it's pressure, you have to offload the source of the pressure or else that wound will not heal. End of story. You can put the tears of a unicorn on that thing, if you don't offload the pressure it won't heal.

-Was it fluid? If it's fluid, you have get the fluid out of the issues or else it won't heal. You can sometimes do that with diuretics, medications that cause the body to dump water through the kidneys, but that's always threading a needle because you have to get someone to a state where they still have juuuuust enough fluid inside their blood vessels to keep their organs happy, while maintaining a very slight state of dehydration so the blood vessels suck water back in from the tissues. You can use compression stockings to squeeze fluid back into the vessels, but if they have arterial insufficiency and not just venous insufficiency, you can accidentally then cause pressure injury. The safest option is using gravity: prop the feet up above the level of the heart, wherever the heart is at, at that moment, and gravity will pull fluid back down out of the legs. Super boring though. Patients hate it. Not as much as they hate compression stockings.

-Was it a skin tear because the skin is very fragile? This is extremely common in the elderly, because they're not making collagen and elastin, necessary to repairing skin. If this is the case, make sure they're actually getting enough nutrition--as people get into their 80s and 90s, their appetites often change and diminish, especially if they're struggling with dementia. And think about just wrapping them in bubble wrap. Remove things with sharp edges from their environments. I have seen the WORST skin tears from solid wood or metal furniture with sharp edges. Get rid of throw rugs and other tripping hazards. I had somebody last week who tried to a clear a baby gate and damn near destroyed their artificial hip.

The next critical question: why isn't it healing?

-Are you getting enough nutrients? Both macro and micro?

-Are you elderly?

-Are you ill?

-Do you have a genetic disorder of collagen formation?

Fix why it's not healing and almost anything will heal. If you're diabetic, find a medication regimen that improves your sugars and stick to it. If you're anorexic, get treatment for your eating disorder. If you have congestive heart failure, work with your doctor on your fluid balance. Wear the damn pressure stockings. Prop up your feet.

If, after those two unskippable questions are done, you want to do something to the wound--apply a dressing, do a treatment--that's a whole other kettle of fish. I'll write that later. The dryer just sang me its little song and I need to put away the laundry.

[lucabyte]

obligatory ramble about postcanon loop ask

also your art is amazing

Hiiiiiiiii :D thank you :)!!

and thank you for the excuse to post the. just absolute wall of text that i truncated down to form the tags of that post. (i did,,, hit the tag limit. i forgot tumblr had one of those...) so let me just paste that and tidy it up a bit...

I am putting this under a readmore because it's a bit long. but:

This is like. The General Context for all* of my postcanon doodles? (Except AUs obviously) Like this is the base idea I've been drawing them all in. So, feel free to backread with this in mind. I've basically had this 'postcanon' timeline set in my brain since finishing the game...

My general thoughts are that I like the idea of Loop (even if through dubiously ethical means) being able to slowly reintegrate with the party as a whole new person, because they are, in fact, their own person.

It's a muddle of thematic threads im pulling on and "wouldn't it be fucked up if", but. (at its core, it's powered by the fact that like, while narratively isat's theme of 'the only person who can truly take the first step to help you is yourself'. (wrt: loop helping the party help siffrin in act 5) which i LOVE AND IS GREAT NARRATIVELY…. would be super fucked up irl to learn that your friend 'learned as a lesson' while you stood by kinda uselessly. I know i'd be upset about it. but thats mostly background here. doesn't really come up. at least not until loop has to explain who they are and the party realises they had to fall back on literally themselves again for help, but i digress,)

The real core concept is: Occam's razor. It is like, inherently, a buckwild thing to accuse a person of being somehow a clone or copy of your friend. Even if they start vaguely alluding to a backstory it's far more likely they were some other person before all that. (I still think Odile has that theory in the back pocket but she's rational enough to know it's a really long shot without a solid explanation. and i think Loop deep down knows this, and would, if cornered into confessing, turn the situation around to go J'ACCUSE and make HER explain it instead. Ever longer dodging being direct with their emotions...)

And the party are nice! And if someone has changed and wants to keep stuff secret it's kind of not their business? (Though it's hard not to speculate… see: the main joke of the doodles) And they seem important to Siffrin so they just try to accept them abrasive quirks and all. And eventually the question of their prior identity just fades away since, well, they're Loop. Their friend Loop.

but yeah. personal headcanon is that a few months/weeks after picking up and getting aquainted with Nille** (since that was presumably the IMMEDIATE TASK postgame), Loop reappears (either after a literal period of nonexistance, or just spending a few months wandering the french countryside alone being attacked by wild dogs). Since Siffrin has had a while to be therapised by the party they're doing mostly okay, but Loop showing up and still being agitated/aggressive pulls them both into a bit of a backslide behaviourally and puts the party on the back foot again.

Hooowever, I do think that due to no longer being literally stewing in the worst pressure cooker of all time together, the two do mostly actually sort themselves out with productive conversation. (Via a cycle of: genuinely distressing argument -> weeeird lovebombing -> ok we're good -> repeat, that gets less intense over time)

Thus, allowing the party to just. Integrate loop as a new person. They and Siffrin shuffle into different ecological niches (Loop taking over stuff Siffrin is now too squeamish for, etc (see: hunting, mostly)), and while it's not exactly what Loop wanted they generally get that beggars can't be choosers and it's a pretty good deal. And the rest of the party does straight up just like them as a friend, especially when Loop quits trying to actively antagonise them after a few weeks of being around them, since they just can't keep up being mean to people they like forever.

As for how I think the truth eventually drags itself out. This is where I invoke The Isabeau Torment Nexus™. So its gonna get shippy here for a bit hold on.

Which is, I think giving them time before Loop reappears long enough that Siffrin and Iseabeau actually manage to become established, Isabeau has to be the one to nudge the pair of them and go. "Hey. You know we're in Vaugarde right. I'm okay with polyamory if we all communicate." Before Loop and Siffrin actually even acknowledge that whatever the fuck they have going on kinda looks a lot like a relationship of some kind. (or have already been agonising about that via fighting and arguing, depending) (Obviously this comes after Isa "Emotionally intelligent enough to keep a lid on the jealousy" Beau has managed to use that big brain of his to Not just go Scream somewhere on the daily because oh godddd they keep talking like theyre suicide-baiting each other jesus chriiist. is it overstepping his boundaries to bring that up?? god)

This, taking a bunch of the tension out of Loop and Isabeau's relationship (Since I imagine Loop is a. being weird for the obvious reasons and b. feeling kinda guilty about 'getting in the way of' Siffrin and Iseabeau), allows them to actually get close in a normal friend way. (I think an interesting turning point could be Isabeau actually taking Loop's side in an argument vs Siffrin, which would absolutely break Loop's brain. Especially if it's an argument that matters. Like what do you mean he isn't just going to play favourites. What?)

Then Isabeau, just actually open minded and charmed by Loop (and maybe even somewhat at Siffrin's suggestion?) tries to close the final open side on the polyamory triangle here and that's the final straw for Loop on "This lie by omission is too unethical to keep up, this is just actually sick and wrong. I can't do this while he doesn't know who I am." Though. Obviously it probably goes. Very poorly with emotions high like that. And the added element of several months of deceit. Getting dark here for a second but that dagger is going MISSING and so are THEY for a hot minute.

Then yaaay everything works out in the end 👍 yippieee!! all it took was maybe a lot of harrowed recontextualisation of all the weird shit your new friend said and did when it turns out they're your old friend. It's fine.

But yeah. this is basically the context all of my postcanon doodles have existed within? And those exist to give other people something to chew on. So this does too.

I suppose TL;DR: Imagine if sloopis almost fucking happens before isabeau knows who loop is. can you fucking imagine. can you imagine having to navigate that. nightmare.

*Yes this includes the implied cannibalism comic. Uhh. Comes part and parcel with headcanoning that Loop went way off the deep end similar to A5 Sif But Maybe Worse before giving in. Add weepy half-asleep confessions to murder wherever you see fit in your mind palace. 👍👍👍

**Re: Nille footnote. I don't have anywhere to put this besides here! I have some thoughts on Loop and Nille having an odd dynamic. I don't imagine Nille to be super gung-ho on trusting a bunch of adults (even if they are majority around her age) given their implied backstory. It's probably a big shock to the system, especially since Bambouche is a good couple hundred Kilometers up north from Dormont and these guys don't seem to have trains. She would've been unfrozen and without Bonnie for some time....

Which is to say: I think she's suspicious of them. I think she may be looking for excuses to distance herself, keep Bonnie safe. SO.... A new guy showing up? And antagonising the party? What do they know that I don't...? I should find out.

And since... Loop didn't ever know Nille, they have no ammunition or real reason to be cruel. Plus, if they're trying to stay on Bonnie's good side (SINCE... if Bonnie thought Loop was cringe they may as well kill themselves. In their mind.) they SUPER have no reason to antagonise Nille.

Mostly, they might be able to open up to each other easier than they can the rest of the party?

I feel like this resolves with Loop feeling compelled to apologise for what they and Siffrin let happen to Bonnie, though... Hmm... Depends on how you interpret Nille that they'd be glad nobody else had been told about that yet, or furious it had been secret this long. I lean toward the former.

[balkanradfem]

Learning more about animals made me think about an interesting comparison on how we decide to reproduce, compared to how animals do it.

In the wild, animals will usually reproduce less, or simply survive less and thus do less populating, if the habitat isn't suitable for them, temperature is wrong, and if they don't have enough reliable food sources. Sometimes they will be able to adapt to a different habitat and temperature, like having their reproduction cycle delayed or done in a different time of year so that their young would survive, but if there's no food source, they'll reproduce in smaller numbers.

This is why sometimes animals will overpopulate the areas near humans, if they're able to access people's food storage, trashbags and pantries, it will give them a great, fulfilling source of food and thus an incentive to reproduce as much as they want to - after all, there's food for everyone.

But with humans, it's like we don't even pay attention to that. Or rather, our reproduction is governed by culture that isn't built around human needs and quality of life. We're taught that we need to reproduce, especially if we're women, because:

everyone else is doing it and it's the only normal thing to do

if we don't do it we're failing to contribute to future society

we're going to be an outcast if we don't do it

we're going to end up alone and unloved if we don't do it

there's a limited time frame in which we can do it, and if we don't we might regret it later

there's intense pressure all around us from our peers, relatives, family, cousins and others to do it, and they are all assuming we will and ask us why

if we don't we're contributing to extinction of the human species

we're supposed to want to do it

we're threatened of missing out on a fulfilled life if we don't do it

we're depicted as wasted potential if we don't do it

we're told it's what we exist for and it should be our only purpose to do it

And this fails to take into account absolutely everything that comes into being with creating human life. We aren't supposed to pay attention to the amount and quality of food that we have, to the state of the habitat all around us (if we can even access the information about it), the amount of energy, free time and willingness we have to nurture and raise a human child, or what kind of life this child can have in a world like this. It's almost like we're pushed to be more mindless than animals, reproducing simply because it's the thing that is done, rather than assessing the situation and making a reasonable call of whether someone should be living in a world in this state.

So whose idea was it to create a culture like this, who benefits from it? The answer is very simple, m*n. Just from looking at the culture they developed, it's obvious they don't care about the quality, length, or resources put into a new human's life, all they care about is producing as much offspring as possible, regardless of circumstances. All of the beliefs I've mentioned above, that are forced onto women, come from that simple-minded desire: let us multiply uncontrollably. That's also where the idea of taking away womens choices comes from; it makes it all male choice. They can decide for a woman, whether she'll have a child or not, giving them absolute control over human reproduction, while they clearly do not care what kind of society this builds or what are the consequences for the said children.

When this control is put into women's hands, all of these circumstances are taken into account. Quality of environment, available funds, food, energy, human influence, the amount of danger and threat to the child, the climate, the chance of that child having a safe and happy life, woman will be aware of all of this, because she is the one who will make sure that child stays alive and well. Fathers can ignore all of this because they know mothers will take on this labour on themselves if given no other options.

I've read recently, on how human lifespan increased so grandmothers would be able to take care of their grandchildren, giving the parents more time to work and care for themselves, and isn't it interesting? How only women were ever expected to do that. Every grandfather I've heard of was not only incapable of taking care of a child, but also incapable of taking care of himself, burdening his wife with his every need until his death. Often, they were also a danger to the children (not every single time, but often enough to be mentioned).

And we're stuck in the world where they're the ones making the calls to create more children endlessly, all while ignoring the circumstances of that child's life, and doing massive acts of violence, wars, terrorism, destruction and devastation of human life worldwide, ultimately killing both mothers and children.

It feels wrong on every level that anyone except women should have authority on human life, when to reproduce and in which circumstances. We have to endure devastating trauma and pain, intrusion in our own bodies and risk of death to make just one person. We evolved to live longer in order to take care of children, to create a better environment for them to live in, and we should let someone else make the call? It's insane.

Not only women should have the ultimate say in this, for the sake of quality of human life and the environment, but all of the culture surrounding reproduction should change. Making children in a world where we can't care for, feed and protect them isn't normal. Not paying attention to whether a creation of a child will only cause extra suffering to the child, is not how we create a future our children can live happily in. Males spreading their broken dna is not worth creating a human society that is built up on suffering, and will lead into more suffering.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Survival

I got into 'humans are deathworlders'/'human are space orks'✨✨✨ and I would really like it if the only human was Virgil and at first they are against him but then they realize that he is just a misunderstood sweetheart🤔 I don't mind if he was put on the ship by someone as a crew member or if he was rescued or something alse🙂but it would be cute if Virgil was short for a human🤭 and things like flexibility to get into small spaces and other things that are in the community about deathworlders'🤩 – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: discussions about anxiety, some anti-human sentiments

Pairings: none

Word Count: 2084

"My antennae are vibrating," Janus announces, popping out of nowhere to sit next to Remus, who chirps in alarm, "what are we talking about?" "The human's ability to crawl inside the engine ducts." Janus's antennae turn a vibrant shade of blue. "The human did what now?"

"Have you seen them yet?"

"Xerxus—don't do that, Re," Roman grumbles, his mandible clicking against the glass, "you almost made me spill!"

Remus shuffles into the seat next to him, eyestalks roaming around the cafeteria. Roman sighs and pats his spawn mate on the shoulder. "They managed to get into the engine ducts yesterday and now nowhere feels safe."

Roman sighs. "Just because they were poking around the engine ducts doesn't mean they didn't have a reason for it. They're not you, they don't just do things—"

"No, no, no, I don't mean they were in the area of the engine ducts, I mean they were inside them."

Roman blinks with all seven eyes. "You're telling me the human managed to fit inside there? But the ducts aren't even wide enough to accommodate a new hatch, what do you mean—"

"Look, all I know is that one ribec I'm looking at a human standing in front of a vent, and the next, their little shoe is disappearing into that hunk of metal and they're scrambling out the other side mumbling about filtration issues." Remus chitters as he grabs a plate of standard rations. "I'm telling you, I thought the whole death world thing was overhyped at first, but now—"

"Shh!" Roman's eyestalks dart around the room. "You know we're not supposed to say that!"

"What the krik else are we supposed to say? Their planet isn't tidally locked, it's fucking tilted, and their axis precesses? No, Ro, that's a death world."

"I know that, but we can't say that!"

"Are you talking about the human?"

Both of them jerk when Logan comes to sit next to them. He sighs, pressing a button on his control suit to decrease the pressure around his torso as he sits. His gloves whirr in response and he's able to pick up the spoon without much difficulty.

"Hey, Lo. Did the updates go well?"

"Yes, thankfully the spaceport had a non-Newtonian section for their replacement parts and I was able to find the proper regulator. But Roman, I presume Remus has informed you about the…experience in the engine room?"

"So it's true, then?"

Remus smacks him. "Hey! I'm not Janus, I wouldn't lie to you!"

"My antennae are vibrating," Janus announces, popping out of nowhere to sit next to Remus, who chirps in alarm, "what are we talking about?"

"The human's ability to crawl inside the engine ducts."

Janus's antennae turn a vibrant shade of blue. "The human did what now?"

"It's true!" Logan nods along as Remus chitters. "They were just there one moment and then they just went inside like it was nothing. I don't know how they're still alive, the lack of air flow alone would put any of us out of commission, how did they—"

"You're assuming any of us could even fit. My suit won't let me enter a space less that the diameter of my torso, and Janus—"

"Oh, you wouldn't catch me in there in stasis or movement." Janus sips through a proboscis. "Not that I'm eager to test it out."

Roman sighs. "Regardless of how impressed we are with the human's abilities—"

"Impressed is a strong word."

"Who's impressed by something that terrifying?"

"I'm not sure I'd go that far."

"Regardless of how impressed we are," he repeats, eyestalks glaring at the three of them, "it's not our place to call their planet a death world. That's not fair to them, they didn't have a choice as to what they were born as."

"No, they just took all the freaky adaptations and evolutions that come from said death world and make them our problem." Janus shudders and his carapace clicks. "I still remember the time I saw them in the lab with the lights off. It was like looking into the maw of a Rashan Giant and having it tell you it wasn't going to eat you. Since when do they have night vision too?"

"There was probably enough light for them to see by—"

"That's worse! You get how that's worse, right? If they can just see in the dark, then they can see in the dark, but if there's an ambiguous amount of light that they can see by, then how are we supposed to know what it is?"

"And don't get me started on their memory. The Captain said two things in their whole orientation tour about the quark spin reader and they remembered it last cycle when it needed to be recalibrated. I don't even want to know what else they remember from all of the scuttlebutt that they hear."

"Alright, that's a little ridiculous." Logan's face shield lowers so he can take a slurp. "It's not like they're plotting to use all of the information they're gathering about the crew's personal lives to plan some nefarious scheme."

"Oh, so you'd feel comfortable with them knowing what the settings on your regulator are? You're fine with them knowing things about your brood?"

"Okay, wait, more species than humans have good memories, Janny. Are you—" Remus's eyestalks flutter around Janus's face— "is there something you're not telling us about how you feel about humans?"

Janus's carapace rattles. He turns and glances around. Luckily the cafeteria is still mostly empty and none of the other tables are close enough to hear them. He sighs. "Look, you know how I am about predator species. It's—I'm not—I'm trying to be better, but humans—humans just really freak me out."

"That's not a reason to be a bigot about it."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just—" he rubs his antennae as they turn yellow again— "it just freaks me out and I don't know what to do about it."

One of Roman's eyestalks catches movement and he swivels it to see the human walking in. He elbows Remus, who looks too, and promptly holds up a hand.

"Virgil! Come eat with us!"

"What is wrong with you," Janus hisses under his breath as the human tilts their head, shrugs, and carries a ration tray over. "Uh—hi. Virgil, right?"

"Mhm." The human sits next to Logan—well, a chair over from Logan, right in front of Roman. "Hi. Uh, I don't know if we've met."

"Janus. And you know—"

"Logan, Roman, Remus, yeah." He picks up the cup of caf and sips it. "Thanks for, uh, letting me sit."

"We're all crew," Logan says diplomatically.

They eat in silence for a few ribecs. Then Virgil coughs. "Um, don't let me interrupt whatever was going on. I'm just—I'm not really good at conversation."

"Really?" Remus chitters. "Aren't humans social species?"

"Remus," Roman chides, but Virgil's already huffing a laugh.

"Yeah, we are by and large, but some of us aren't as good at that as everyone else." He lifts two fingers and taps them against his head. "Me? Not one of the good ones."

"Is that why you volunteered to go in the ducts?"

"Remus!" Roman smacks his brother with an eyestalk. "I'm sorry, Virgil, he's not normally this pushy."

"Yes, I am!"

"Yeah, he is," Janus mumbles under his breath.

"No, it's cool, I, uh—I noticed how everyone was looking at me when I got out of there. It's a, uh, I'm sure you've heard stories about human impatience, yeah?"

"I think everyone in the Coalition heard about the species that flung themselves to the stars before they had FTL capabilities," Janus says, a bit sharp. Virgil just chuckles.

"Yeah, well—the chief said there was something wrong inside the ducts and that we had to wait a few cycles to calibrate the probe properly, and I asked if I could just go in instead since the sector had to be isolated anyway, and they said sure, if I could fit." He takes another sip. "In hindsight, I'm like, pretty sure that was a hyperbolic thing? Or at the very least sarcastic, like they didn't think I was gonna fit, but then I did it and…"

He shrugs.

"Now I think I have a new thing added to my maintenance roster, but that's fine."

"Impressive." Logan's glove whirrs as he picks up the spoon. "Have you done similar things on other ships?"

"Oh, no, this is my first deployment."

All of them pause. Virgil notices, his cup halfway to his mouth.

"…is there something wrong?"

"This is your first deployment?" Roman's eyestalks rustle. "But you're—you've already reached third rank, how did you—"

"I mean, I've worked on space ports before, but not a like, traveling ship. And I didn't—the manifest specifically requested a human, so I got the job that they needed a human for."

"Forgive us our surprise," Logan says, "we only meant that to see a member of the crew with such acumen, we expected this to be your second or third deployment."

"At least."

"Really?" Virgil huffs. "I, uh, wow. It's, uh, really good to hear you say that. My anxiety's been trying to tell me I'm doing a really bad job, so that makes me feel better."

Janus's antennae switch. "Anxiety? Is that a parasite of some sort?"

Logan shoots him a warning look but Virgil laughs again. "Honestly, sometimes it feels like that. But no, it's not—it's not a parasite. It's a, uh, oh, God, I'm not a medical professional. It's—it's a specific mental illness that humans can have where it—okay, basically it takes your fight-or-flight survival instinct, your gut keep-me-alive feeling, and makes it go haywire."

The tips of Janus's antennae turn blue. "How does it do that?"

"It messes with your ability to regulate your emotional response to stuff, sort of. Like—it makes you freak out way more than normal about stuff that you really don't need to be freaking out over. Like—for me, I'm always worrying did I lock my cabin door, did I turn off the interface properly, did I just say something really stupid and ignorant, are the airlocks going to fail, basically I'm worrying about stuff all the time and I can't really control it. At all."

All of Remus's eyestalks turn to stare at Janus, who clicks. "That…sounds really frustrating."

"It's hard, yeah, but I've had some time to learn to manage it." His gaze flicks up to the antennae. "Uh, if you're curious about it, I can send you some of the stuff I have about it?"

"That would be…great, thank you."

Virgil smiles. "No problem. I gotta say, though, I'm gonna start thinking about it like a parasite now that you've said it."

"Why?"

"'Cause if you feed into it, it gets way worse. Like—right now it's trying to tell me that I'm messing something up really bad by sitting with you guys, like I'm gonna say something really stupid that's gonna make you all hate me or get me kicked off the ship, and me saying that out loud is—" he takes a deep breath— "feeding it. But if I just…ignore it, or try and push past it, then I'm not feeding it and eventually it gets quieter."

"We don't hate you," Roman says quietly, "we're not gonna get you kicked off the ship."

"Oh, I figured, that's why it's irrational, but—thanks."

"That is fascinating. If you're willing, I would also like to read more about this."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll send it to you too." The end of shift alarm chirps and Virgil sighs, getting up. "That's my cue. It was nice sitting with you."

"I'm on next shift too," Janus says, quickly standing, "I'll walk with you?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, let's go."

Logan, Roman, and Remus watch the two of them walk off. After the door slides shut, Logan laughs.

"That's what they don't tell you about death worlds, they make you very, very good at surviving."

"What do you mean?"

Logan gestures after the two of them. "In the face of irrational fear, predator and prey have found something to bond over. What's more death world than that?"

"…can't argue there."

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[mywingsareonwheels]

It is absolutely true that at a time when fascism is terrifyingly on the rise (throughout Europe, and with a hopefully outgoing Tory party here in the UK that crossed the line some while back (plus the growth of Reform who are bewilderingly even worse), and the terrifying possibility of Trump retaking the US in the autumn), everybody else on the political spectrum needs to work together to keep them out.

Even when it means holding your nose and voting for a shithead (my enormous sympathy and respect for those who hate Biden but are still going to vote for him because you live in a state where your vote matters and the greater evil in this case is beyond words; ditto those in Labour target seats in the UK who are going to vote for them on Thursday despite Starmer (and possibly also their prospective MP) being awful); ditto the equivalents of this in so many other countries.

Or even actively working with people whose views are pretty dreadful but who still aren't actually fascists and so really are hugely hugely preferable.

Historically, the willingness or otherwise of non-fascists of all stripes to work together has been entirely crucial to whether or not fascists get power. Over, and over, and over again.

It is however also true that the left (even the only-just-left-of-centre) are somehow expected to make far more compromises and hold our noses far more in working with the centre and centre-right, while they're not put under any pressure to do the same in working with us. We're supposed to suck it up; they're not. And this is stupid and unfair, and fuck the centrist media for continually letting them off the hook.

Both these things are true, and too many countries in the world right now give those of us who want to make the world better far too few good choices when it comes to election time. :(

(Quick reminder though to fellow UK people that here we are allowed to join or donate to a party that isn't the one we're voting for. Building up better parties for the future is also essential. And the GPEW and the Scottish Greens both have targets seats in this election that might want some money thrown their way...)

[twstfanblog]

You know, the more I think about, the less surprising it is that "7-8 students overbloted" and more "How has NRC gone decades without an overblot?"

From my understanding, blot is a measure of magic mixing emotional pressure. And overbloting is basically bottled-up emotions finally exploding, yes? Between: - NRC is a prestigious magical academy, therefore drawing lots of magical talent - the students having such big egos it's pulling teeth to get them to willingly together - various past/present traumas, pressures, stress, etc - NRC is a boarding school, so this likely the first time most students have lived away from home How is overblot so rare? Judging from what we've seen, one would think a kid would snap and overblot once every 5 years or something, bare minimum

Anyway, what do you think?

Okay, this is gonna actually be a decently long ramble. Buckle end

So...We got two choices. Either Overblots ARE super rare, which story-wise I'm not entirely sure about either since there are seemingly 10,000 phantoms on ice in STYX. If all of those containment boxes have a phantom in them then that is a FUCK TON of overblots happening around the world at a pretty decent pace.

OR

Overblots AREN'T super rare and plenty of mini-overblots happen that only have the phantoms being taken away with or without casualties.

It's kinda just storywise of the Twist boys just being very powerful teen mages who seem to have the most tragic backstories ever seen in the world and THAT'S why only now they're over-blotting. But even then, 7-8 seriously intense overblots like months apart on the same campus is still fucking weird...

But within my own canon (That I will really deep dive into in my Main story rewrite fic), is that the Overblots are being TRIGGERED BY CROWLEY.

We are a non-magical being, brought to NRC against our will with no idea how we actually got there or how to get home. Once we were rejected by the Dark Mirror and Crowley learns we're potentially not from this world at all, instead of like...handing us over to some type of authorities or even STYX...Crowley puts us in an abandoned, isolated building and tries to make us what is basically an indentured servant???

You can mainly just chalk that up to Crowley being an asshole. And you can even use that logic for the prologue and Book 1. But within my canon, Crowley is the mastermind triggering all these overblots for an end goal. Those were TESTS, to make sure that we can actually survive an overblot fight, and to make sure the chosen target can survive an overblot because OVERBLOTS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE FATAL.

Because from that point on, Crowley is the one throwing us at every issue that leads to an overblot. He puts us on the case for the Spelldrive accidents, he tells us to figure something out with Azul, (kind of a stretch) He has us feed the fire fairies in the cafeteria to be in Jamil's crosshairs, He just DECIDES we need to host the VDC team when literally anywhere else is better than Ramshackle (WE CANONICALLY DON'T HAVE RUNNING WATER AT THIS POINT????).

Book 6 didn't have much Crowley pushing us, but he was busy getting grilled by actual officials on WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING AT THIS SCHOOL????

Book 7...after literally having...no talk since the start of book 4 about us finding a way home...just comes out and says that he might of found us a way home??? Very...convenient since Malleus was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Plus just...how did Grim get into the school? Like Grim is a monster, that's a fact. NRC is on the top of an evil ass mountain, there's SOMETHING outside those gates and the school has some type of spell to keep whatever it is outside. But Grim manages to break in like twice? "Undetected?"

Even in the prologue, he had a mage stone collar PREPARED to accept Grim into the school as a student. He's like...weirdly prepared with a lot of shit.

Crowley is sus as fuck and he is the one causing all of these overblots

[thisfrailheart]

prompt: response + pressure | july 20 + 27 | jegulus au | teen and up | word count: 451 | shoutout to @jegulus-microfic and all my love <3

***

"So do you want to get married?"

James is panicking. Why the hell did I say that? They'd been dating for six weeks. This is their first morning together. He wants to kick himself. They were supposed to have a nice, romantic breakfast and now they're probably on the brink of breaking up. He doesn't want to hear the response to his idiotic question.

"Are... Are you proposing?" Regulus is staring at him, tea cup forgotten in his hands.

He isn't, actually. He'd just wanted to test the waters, casually bring it up. Had wanted to know if that was something his boyfriend was at all interested in. His brain hadn't let him, of course, and the words were out of his mouth before he could really think about how to phrase it carefully. He reaches for his glass, gulps down some orange juice. He's about to sweat through his shirt. "No?"

It sounds more like a question than anything else and Regulus huffs. "That's not very convincing!"

"Maybe I'm not convinced!" James shoots back and unsticks the shirt from his back.

Regulus rolls his eyes. He pushes his cup away and crosses his arms. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Well, I didn't plan any of this, did I?" James gets up from the table, starts pacing around the kitchen to deal with the building pressure of the situation he's put them in.

"You didn't plan— do you even have a ring?"

James stops pacing. Looks at Regulus, who's glancing down at his hand, deep in thought. "I'll take you ring shopping after breakfast if you want," he jokes.

Regulus shakes his head and James heart stops. Realizes he might not have been making a joke after all. Thinks he might actually want to marry this man. This infuriating and gorgeous man.

"Today's Sunday. Let's go tomorrow," Regulus says and reaches for a pain au chocolat.

James gapes at him as he munches on his pastry. "I— so you do want to get married?"

"I do."

"To me?"

"Yes, James." Regulus nods, takes another bite. "This is quite good."

"It is, isn't it? I really like that bakery—" James shakes his head in an attempt to clear it. "I'm sorry, just quickly— we're going ring shopping tomorrow to look for an engagement ring because we're engaged now?"

"Glad we cleared that up. How many times do I have to say yes? Honestly... Now sit, your eggs are going cold." Regulus points at James' plate but James doesn't want to think about the damn eggs going cold.

He rushes forward, pulls Regulus out of his chair and into a hug. And then a kiss. And another one. And many more after that.

[iris-sistibly]

I know I need to calm the fuck down first but one word to describe episode 6: STRESS!!

📍I love seeing Hyun-woo and Hae-in having a...sort of second honeymoon in Germany but I couldn't really enjoy every scene because I'm stressing out at how fucking OBLIVIOUS the Hong family is like bitch y'all are surrounded by snakes and they're so complacent 😭😭😭 I mean it's not really their fault that there are opportunists who'd earn their trust first then slither their way to bite them in the ass, but I just find it ironic at how protective they are at their family business and wealth but they can't see through the REAL people who has every intention to bring them down.

📍Speaking of which, I have read a fan theory somewhere that Mo Seul-hee is the mom of Eun-seong and Da-hye. Could be, OR Grace could be Da-hye's mom considering how Grace acted towards her. But why are they so keen at bringing the Hong family down?

📍Maybe it's just me but I don't think Da-hye is that bad, I have a feeling that she'll eventually come to her senses and take Hyun-woo's side and expose Eun-seong and co.

📍My overthinker/delulu self thinks that Soo-cheol and Da-hye's baby is actually Hyun-woo and Hae-in's kid. I mean, it wasn't shown how they lost their baby...yet. So Hae-in either miscarried, or she gave birth to a still born child? But what if the child is actually alive and one of those evil bitches cooked up some shit to make it seem like Hyun-woo and Hae-in's baby died, and then that baby was registered as Soo-cheol and Da-hye's kid? I know it sounds insane, but we're only on episode 6 so more crazy shit could happen in the future episodes, you'll never know. But my normal self says I've watched too many Filipino dramas growing up (and yes, that shit happens a lot in Filo-dramas).

📍Speaking of that kid, another theory is...what if that kid is actually Eun-seong and Da-hye's? Soo-cheol is a dumbass, and again, those bitches could have manipulated that baby's DNA test result or something. Again, that's just me being an overthinker, also I hate my Filo-drama mindset.

📍Aunt Beom-ja being so concerned about Hae-in and her dad but I also appreciate the fact that she respected her niece's request to not tell anyone about her illness. I also hope that she'll be able to help Hyun-woo clear his name and uncover Seul-hee and gang's dirty little secret.

📍BUT Y'ALL KNOW WHO STRESSED THE SHIT OUT OF ME THIS EPISODE? BAEK FUCKING HYUN-WOO!!! I am so freaking annoyed that he didn't tell Hae-in about the divorce when he had the chance. He was probably worried at how Hae-in would react plus the latter was going through medical treatments so he probably didn't want to put too much stress on her, but Hae-in was bound to find out either way so...yeah I do get why he chose to keep the divorce to himself but he could have just told the truth and suck it up, and perhaps they could communicate better when it comes to issues like this.

📍One thing I noticed about Hyun-woo is that he's brave in so many ways but also a coward on one thing. I mean he talks with Hae-in about nice things and all, and he is his wife's confidante, but I don't think I've ever heard him talk the way Hae-in does, meaning he never had the balls to talk to his wife about the..."unpleasant" side of their marriage. Hae-in was able to talk to him about her illness, the last will and testament that her mom pressured her to write, and Hyun-woo didn't even think about bringing up the divorce papers.

Prior to episode 5, I really thought that Hae-in was the one who shut him out but it was actually the other way around. Wifey may seem cold and nonchalant but if there's one person she'd listen to, it's him. Perhaps he doesn't want to say something that would upset Hae-in but the point is...she's his wife, she's supposed to know what he thinks, how he feels about certain things, even the not-so-pleasant side of their relationship. I really hope that in the next episode or the episode after that he'll be able to communicate better.

📍Hae-in's mom is terrible af. Imagine blaming your own daughter for the death of your son. I mean she didn't deserve to lose a child, but it's unfair to put all the blame on Hae-in (like why?). It's not like she endangered herself on purpose, and she had the audacity to be upset when Hae-in did something nice to her in-laws? Like what is wrong with this woman? Why can't see realize her own mistakes?

📍I kind of teared up when Hae-in was telling Hyun-woo about the things the latter should do when she dies. She could die, and this show might give us a bittersweet ending but when that time comes I'd be really, really hurt. Also, Hae-in confessing that the only reason she wrote her will about Hyun-woo not getting anything should they divorce was so that she'll be allowed to marry him 😭 (just shows she fought hard for him and she'll do absolutely anything to be with him). God I hate her mom! And yes the epilogue was so cute, now we know that they have always been in-love with each other. But I guess...they need a time-out 🤷.

📍Hae-in called Hyun-woo "yeobo" 🥹🥹🥹

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hey I don’t mean to further flood your inbox and I know I sent an ask a week or so ago. But in church this morning the sermon was on the 1 John passage about how if you hate your brother or sister you don’t love God, and I just. I bet you can guess which political figure immediately comes to mind. I know we’re supposed to love and pray for and forgive our enemies, and it’s not supposed to be a thing where you only do it if you know you’ll get an apology/changed behavior/etc. But the most positive thing I can say where he’s concerned is if he showed up on my doorstep bleeding and starving I would work past my anger to bind his wounds and feed him cuz that’s what you’re supposed to do for fellow human beings. Other than that I have no love for him (or people like him, really). Just anger and immense disdain. Maybe even hate. What do I do with that??

Hey there, I feel you on this. I can also think of maaany political figures I feel this about lol.

I have an old post delving into what it means to love one's enemy and what forgiveness is (and isn't) that I recommend to you.

I'll start with a TL;DR from that post, and then add some other stuff about working through feelings like anger and hate, and close with some reading recs <3

When we find it desperately difficult to love, or to forgive, we can ask God to feel and be what we find ourselves unable to feel and be.

We can remember Christ's words on the cross about the soldiers crucifying him: he does not say "I forgive them," but asks, "Father, you forgive them, for they know not what they do."

He cannot himself forgive them in that moment — not while they are in the act of torturing and killing him, not while they hold all power over him, not even when his compassion allows him to understand that they do what they do out of ignorance — so he asks God to be that forgiveness for them.

When I struggle to feel love for someone who is doing great harm and seems completely unrepentant of that, I turn to God the way Jesus did: "God, I'm struggling to see the spark of You in them. Please love them the way I can't in this moment."

Next point:

Throughout the Bible, the concepts of love and hate are much more about action than sentiment.

If you feel love for someone, yet don't come to their aid when they need it most, what use was that love to them? Meanwhile, if you fear or disdain someone, yet help them in their direst need, you have acted with love.

Furthermore, when it comes to difficult emotions, the good news is that we are indeed invited to bring all our feelings — anger, disdain, even hate — to God. We can be real about what we're feeling.

Scripture shows us this over and over: There are so many psalms, and passages from the prophets, where someone has been hounded and terrorized enough to wish pain or even death upon the ones who oppress them. In one of the most infamous, Psalm 137, the psalmist even goes so far as to wish that their oppressors' children might be "dashed upon a rock" — that everything Babylon has made them suffer might be enacted on Babylon.

These are not pretty feelings, yet they are preserved in holy poetry, because they are part of the human experience. (And tantamount to understanding them is realizing that those praying such things will happen almost never have the power to enact them. The psalmist who wishes Babylon's soldiers experience what they've put the psalmist's people doesn't have the army, the weapons, the power to actually make that happen. They're just honest about wishing it in a moment of collective trauma and grief.)

In all this, I'm not saying God "wants" us to feel loathing or hate — any thought or feeling that puts us at risk of denying another person's humanity is one we do need to work on; but we do that work by being honest about feeling it, rather than being too ashamed to face it or to share it with God.

No pressure to read any of these of course, but here are texts I'd recommend on these topics:

James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, a brief but rich text in which (among other things) Baldwin grapples with the need to love his oppressor (namely white people) — to affirm their humanity in a way they have denied him. Only in recognizing one another's humanity can we have any hope of something like justice and peace for the generations to come. Baldwin believes this vehemently, but he still acknowledges that it's still not easy, in fact it's one of the hardest things, to love one's oppressors in such a way. .

Cole Arthur Riley's This Here Flesh, another short book rich in meaning. I especially recommend the chapters on lament, rage, justice, and repair for this topic. One thing she discusses is that love is not "niceness," that rage can be righteous, that sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to let a harmful person witness our rage, to call them out. .

The same link from the beginning to that post about what forgiveness is and what it is not

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi Cas

First off, please don't feel any pressure to answer this. I'm not heavily relying on this and would seriously prefer it if you put yourself and your mental health above mine

Second off, how are you?

Third off, I need advice :(

Little backstory so you understand, I'm a queer indian that shifted to London 12 months ago for my year 8-9, and when I first joined the school I was best friends with four people including the girl im talking about lets call her Saoirse cause she's Irish. 6-7 months later we've all drifted apart except Saoirse and her best friend. During class we talked occasionally and bantered as friends, until one day she insulted and laughed at me with a couple of friends about my Indian three letter name and when I called her out for it by mentioning her own name, she got into a strop and ignored me for 3 months, as well as trying to one up me with my supposed best friend who I ahwv a shaking relationship with. Admittedly, I did grovel a bit until she started talking to me randomly one morning. A month and we're good friends and then she gets caught doing something and when she gets a detention blames it on me. The next day the teacher asks me and I deny it, it becomes a whole thing for three weeks in which I promise myself to not let her into my life. But one day Saoirse just starts speaking to me again and since we're in the same friend group and it just felt so good I let her. For a week she dotes on me, pulling me to sit with her, and just something about the way she acts and speaks makes me wanna compliment her every time I speak to her. The second week, she unnecessarily touches me whenever she can, compliments me, and when a friend asked her if she was straight (a question she continuously replied yes to and she had a bf) she looked at me, smiled, and said her minds been changing lately. Throughout the week she flirts with me and calls me 'pookie', which whatever everyone does but before we had more of a love language: rude relationship. Finally on the last day, she pulls me aside and applies her lip balm on my lips slowly and constantly, leaning into close and then abruptly leaving. On Monday, peek a boo, shes a bitch. She continuously love bombs me, and whenever another girl who liked me looked at me she would put on an act and make me confront that girl because she called Saoirse a dick for everything. On Wednesday she just acts like she subtly hates me, but I can't speak to anyone cause all my friends are her friends. And also, shes so so so addicting so I can't use my remaining self respect and move away

What do I do?

(sorry for the long ask)

Hi hon! I'm good!

Well, it sounds like you already know what to do, it's just a matter of doing it:

You know Saoirse isn't treating you well. You know you deserve better. And you know she's the type of person hat keeps drawing you back in.

And trust me, I know those people. They're - like you said - addicting. But addiction never ends well, does it? So I think you know that the best idea is to take space from her.

I know it's a lot easier said than done, I know. But you deserve to be treated with respect. And it's okay to take space from people who aren't giving you what you deserve.

Think about it. Message me again with updates or if you need encouragement!

Naming you self respect anon <3

[shyvien]

Here are 100 random quotes from Asmodeus!

Sourced from the OM! Wiki, chats, devilgram, screenshots I found, etc. I made this list to help with studying to write the characters in character. (Not really proofread, sorry if there are mistakes. Also, there may be spoilers. If so, they're minor spoilers)

✧༺⚜️༻✧

“Oh, my ♡ MC, you little minx! Are you trying to show off my lovely legs to the entire Devildom?”

“But the question is whether you really mean what you say. Maybe if I reach in, pull out your heart, tear it open, and have a look inside I'd know for sure?”

“Then let's stay like this. Mm... Your neck feels soft, MC…”

“I can't believe you would actually imply I was a pervert! I only wanted to give MC something pleasant to look at.”

“Anyway MC, why don't you go ahead and take off your clothes so the two of us can enjoy a nice bath together.”

“Asmo's special cutie-pie kiss! Mwah ♡”

“But now I feel alive again, sitting in here with you drinking nice, warm cocoa.”

“Yoo-hoo, little ghosties ♡ Go on, feast your eyes upon me..!”

“Ugh, it's so dark in here! I can't take it... It's just so EXCITING!”

“You must be curious to know just how wonderful a punishment can be...”

“I'd have to say I'm most afraid of... me!”

“Since you're so adorable, I'll lock you up in my own little love jail so you'll be all mine ♡ So, don't be shy. Come here, Darling.”

“Oh, be careful around my ankles, would you? Too much pressure will ruin my perfect legs.”

“I'm hopeless at this kind of stuff since I've never lifted anything heavier than a facial massager.”

“To be honest, I was hoping to drive you mad with desire! That was my eventual goal, at least...”

“Hehe. Can't move? Aww, look how good you're being! Now, you stay just like that, okay...”

“In other words, I want you to be my plaything from now on, so I'm never bored ♡”

“Ugh, I'm so dizzy..! MC’s the only one who can save frail little Princess Asmo!”

“Oh, while we're at it why not take a video? For your exclusive viewing pleasure, of course ♡”

“I mean, I suppose I could put on a little show for you...but it won't be cheap.”

“..What? Are you stupid? Is your eyesight just that bad? Do those eyes of yours even work, or are they just there for decoration?”

“You want to do whatever you can to make me happy, because I'm worth it.”

“Hehe, now look what I've done. I got so excited that I pushed you down onto your back! Sorry!”

“Help, MC! There's a demon staring at me like he's gonna eat me!”

“And that means something coming from someone as ridiculously beautiful as me. I don't really say it to anyone other than you, you know?”

“I mean, I'm adorable. Doesn't it just tickle your protective instincts?”

“You're so cute. When I look at you, I can tell what's going through your head, even if you don't actually say it. That's right.”

“I'm sorry for being so beautiful that even confinement suits me! Then again, I always knew I was fated to be the captive damsel in distress...”

“Like, first I imagine a beautiful man and a beautiful woman. And then I picture us doing ALL sorts of naughty things to each other!”

“And then they had to do the walk of shame! ♡”

“Oh, you might be right! The runny makeup look can be kind of sexy!”

“I'll go ahead and watch you. Just in case you have any trouble changing clothes.”

“Hmmm? Like what? Mammon, you'd better get your mind out of the gutter ♡”

“I mean, here I am, right next to you, still wet from my bath. You really don't feel anything?”

“I guess that means I'M GOING TO HAVE TO KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU...!”

“Ugh, I'm ready to die of boredom! So, come on! Dance for me. I can't wait to see what you can do!”

“That's our sexy Solomon ♡ See, I knew you could do it if you tried!”

“Really, you're just flowers. Listen to you bragging about how beautiful you are...it's kind of embarrassing.”

“Ooh, are you trying to figure out where WE should go on a romantic getaway?! Aw, muffin! You don't need to beat around the bush for that kind of thing! You can be honest!”

“Huh? You're my little dove from earlier, aren't you? MC, was it?”

“That's probably my pheromones ♡”

“You're the best, MC! Your dazzling smile has the power to woo every demon in the Devildom ♡”

“Whaaat, you're still alive? Well that's boring...”

“But first, I want you to know exactly what it is that threatens to rend a delicate heart such as mine to ribbons. So be sure to pay attention, love. Nothing makes me angrier than being ignored. Truly.”

“All of the eyes are on me, I charmed all of them! Just look at me! It's a sin to be this perfect!”

“Mmmfm… gonna take everyone prisoner… mm...”

“When I first heard that we'd be shooting each other with squirt guns and getting wet, I found the whole thing kind of stupid. But it also involved coming up with plans to drive your opponents into a corner and anticipating their moves... which I found pretty enjoyable.”

“If I were like Lord Diavolo, I could have any demon or human I wanted.”

“Aaaah, this is where I belong. Sitting on a throne!”

“Surely, tempting humans is what demons are all about?”

“And next time, you're welcome to be even bolder. I want your scent all over my clothes.”

“Oh my gosh! Even from behind, I am such a snack!”

“Ooh, I know exactly what you mean! It's like, you can't help but want to lie down together on a bed or a sofa and do all sorts of naughty things-“

“Butlers, you see...their services extend into the night, as well.”

“Aaah, I've never tried rope play before, but I think I like it ♡”

“That's a rather...traditional approach. I would've just seduced him.”

“There's just something nice about being completely overpowered and brought to submission like that, you know?!”

“Right now, I'm totally hooked on this exercise where I blow up balloons to strengthen my facial muscles. Do you wanna give it a try?”

“Filth? You should know that eroticism is a valid form of art.”

“I mean, I wrapped him in chains like you said, but l've got such soft, beautiful, tender hands. They aren't suited for such a rough job. Really, you should've known that…”

“Hehe. Lies are like accessories, hun.”

“But, I'd sure feel better if you came and comforted me. I mean, I'm aaaaall alone in my room right now. If you don't come over, I'll probably start crying on account of how lonely I am.”

“Let's meet in my room when the party is over. We can have our very own Valentine's Day afterparty, just the two of us ♡”

“I'm in desperate need of stimulation to my senses!”

“To think that even Mister Stiff and Serious Angel here is feeling his heart skip a beat...I love it! ♡”

“What the movie lacks is sexiness! Shall we add more revealing scenes, like me in a swimsuit?”

“...Ummm, is this some sort of joke? You look like a chicken in heat.”

“Oh, but with you it's different, MC! I only want to do your nails as an excuse to flirt ♡”

“Oh, how exciting! Better get back snug under the covers and wait for my impending arousal ♡”

“Yes, I do. I love butts!”

“It would be ideal if we were both au naturel, honestly...”

“Ahh, I feel so graceful when i'm shooting ♡”

“I left a dying message with lipstick, so you better catch the culprit!”

“Guess I'll just have to come over and shake things up for you ♪”

“See, I just knew you'd say that! Because we're obviously an extra-compatible super couple!”

“I'd love to. I'll make you look so good, you'll be drooling over yourself.”

“..No one will know if I take a single muffin, right? I'll just grab one while they're not looking. Yoink! ♡”

“Oh yeah, Satan is totally the type to start with the tongue first!”

“Look out, or I'll tear you to bits with my sharp claws!”

“Apologize? Me? I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure why you'd want me to do that. I mean, true, I suppose an entire country was destroyed in the end, but how could I have known that would happen, hm?”

“Drastic times call for drastic measures. Step aside, boys my sexy dance is about to begin...!”

“Hehe. Trying to butter me up, are you? Tell me, what are you hoping will happen when you succeed?”

“I'm the life of the party. The eye candy, the one who makes everyone else feel better. I need to work hard, too...for the sake of my brothers!”

“Now, now, I may not be as quick to anger as the Lord of Fools, but still. If you don't do what I say, I might have to punish you…”

“By the way, your costume was really cute, MC. Just thinking about it makes my heart go pitter-patter!”

“And now I'm a demon. Which means I could charm any sorcerer, no matter how evil! I'll have him dancing in the palm of my hand!”

“Oh Solomon, THANK YOU! You're so amazing I think I'm going to swoon! I love you..!”

“A scolding? Ooh, I wouldn't mind being scolded by you, sweetie ♡”

“FYI: It's super obvious what's running through your dirty little mind right now, Mammon…”

“Brother dearest ♡ I'm sooooo thirsty! Could you get me some blood, please and thanks? ♡”

“My charm is the greatest weapon of all! I'll steal your hearts right where you stand ♡”

“Ooh, MC, are you on Devilgram and Fab Snap? Because we totally need to friend each other!”

“I mean, I suppose I could put on a little show for you… but it won't be cheap, you know? Also, I charge extra for pictures and touching.”

“Nuh-uh. I'll be the one to win that right! Prepare to be slain in style, everyone ♡”

“I'm actually quite exhausted. So, I was thinking you could hold me in your arms for a little while so I can recharge ♡”

“If you want to experience this exfoliating paradise with me, don't hesitate to join in ♪ You know I always have an open-door policy in effect for you, love ♡”

“If both of us are charging, there's going to be sparks”

“I need you to put some cream on my back for me ♡ Yes, a backrub and nothing more. If you, on the other hand, are looking for a happy ending, I'm more than ready, my dear ♡”

“Oh, is my little MC scared? Come cling to my bosom, darling. I'll make you feel aaaall better ♡”

“I'm actually going out soon, and this fastener is giving me so much trouble. I can't get it up by myself. It could really use a good tug ♪ I should mention that my back is extremely sensitive. The slightest touch, and...well let's just say it will be hard to hold back. So sorry if I get you too excited ♡”

✧༺⚜️༻✧

Number 100 is my favourite, literally makes me blush

I will be doing a part 2 for Asmo, he is just so chaotic and lovely!

𝑀𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉

𝒮𝒽𝓎 𝒲𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓇 ༝༚༝༚

[far-from-fran]

What are the examples of your "cringefail x [gender]failure" ships? xD

I'm so glad you asked!!!!!!😁

@kpchrs

Ok! So! I'd probably have to start with Hijack!

Hijack

Hiccup (httyd) x Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians (great movie btw😊)) If we're going by htty1 Hiccup would be the boyfailure, and Jack would be the cringefail. But, if we're talking about httyd2, then Hiccup would be the cringefail and Jack would be the boyfailure. The shit they go through and the way I write them really fits that dynamic.

Ashnifico!

Asha x King Magnifico (Disney's Wish) King Magnifico is kind of like a cringey and underappreciated dad, it's so funny. Like, he's supposed to be this intimidating and evil-as-fuck villain, but he's just so cute. Like, look at him twirl:

"I'm glowing! :D"

This is after he's turned evil too, so. Lol

And, Asha is the girlfailure, because... she's just a mess of a character. 😂 Like, I love her, but she's a mess. All the characters kind of are, but, that's kind of why I love them.❤️

Roceit!!!!! :D

Yeeeeeeeeeesssssss! Ok!

Roman "Creativity" Sanders x Janus "Deceit" Sanders from Sanders Sides:

There's a (too) big section of the fandom that (only) sees Janus as this suave and debonair mystery man, which is definitely what Janus wants to be seen as. But, in reality, he's just a big dork! (affectionate)

Picks him up and hold him under a flashlight Look at him! LOOK AT HIM!

So, Janus is the cringefail.😂

Roman! :D Roman is the boyfailure. My mans is... Not Winning. (Which is partially his own fault) (Who said that!?👀)

He's so good, though! I love him! Like, more Roman being happy, please! Enough with the ANGST! (lighthearted... also kinda serious.😂)

I have a fic for them planned. (When don't I? Lol) Well, it's for all the Sanders sides, but it's going to feature roceit heavily. Which I said I wasn't going to do, because I wanted to feature all the sides equally, but here we are.😂 I hope I can get the first chapter out soon!😁

Hmm. I had another one I wanted to talk about, but I don't remember what it was right now.🤷

Well, anyway, here's some honorable mentions:

Hiccabela

Hiccup (httyd2) x Isabela Madrigal (Encanto)

I think calling Isabela a girlfailure is a bit of a stretch, since her whole thing is being perfect. But, she's a bit of a girlfailure in my eyes, so that's all the counts.😌💅🏾

Quick Hiccabela edit I did:

Bunnydoll

Jax x Ragatha (The Amazing Digital Circus)

I hesitate to call Ragatha a girlfailure, but, eh... she's not exactly Winning. Which isn't entirely her fault. It's, like, 90% Jax's fault.

Jax is definitely a cringefail, though. To me, at least. I guess he would technically need to fail more, but whatever. There's only two episodes out, as of writing this, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be failing a LOT more in the future.😂

Hmm. Maybe, I'll switch the roles? Jax is the boyfailure and Ragatha is the cringefail? Eh, whatever.🤷 It works either way.😂

I JUST REMEMBERED!!! I almost sent it without talking about the Cringfail x Girlfailure ship of all time.😂

GuitarSpear

Adam x Lute (Hazbin Hotel)

Adam is just... the worst, and Lute is a girlfailure, because, like, girl Raise your standardsssssssssss!!!!😭 (affectionate) I can't wait to see more of them in season two.😊

But, yeah.😂 Those are my "cringefail x [gender]failure" ships. Feel free to ask more about these or any of my other ships. I ship a lot of stuff. Oh! There's a crossover ship tournament going on, if you want to vote. No pressure. It's just for fun anyway. I put in a link to the hashtag if you're interested: Crossover ship poll tournament. It's hosted by Rapunzel Crossover Queen. They're great!😊

[pbforeva]

was not supposed to take this long but i started reading overtime and omg i can’t stop 🤭

buttt here it is

part 12!!

—

Evelyn's pov:

We're taking two cars to the beach, I mean i'm not sure why, but we are. It's only like a 30 minute walk, so we could walk as well. We're almost at the beach though. I wonder what Paige's bathing suit looks like. Is she wearing a bikini or a one piece? hmm probably a bikini, most girls wear them. What color? Pink, no, maybe yellow, no, I mean, I could see her wearing purple.

"Helloooo," Duke says while waving his hand in front of my face, effectively stopping my thoughts on Paige and her bikini. Ok so maybe not all of them, but whatever.

"What," I reply, maybe a bit rude, but i'm

injured, so he can deal with it.

"We're like leaving so hurry up," he says before he turns and leaves. Well ok then. Sighing, I get up and head to the car, and they're not even there yet. Duke was being so dramatic.

Soon enough, we're all in the car and heading to the beach and I get a text from Paige.

Paige

Hey, we're on the way

Yeah, so are we,

we'll be there in maybe

15 minutes

Yeah us too

I put away my phone and look out the window beside me, many trees surround the road, decorated with an entrancing green. In awe of their beauty, I stare out the window for the rest of the trip, ignoring the light chatter by my family. Eventually the trees gone and replaced with tall grass leading up to the sand.

My dad parks the car in the little parking lot that's tucked into the beach, and we grab our beach items and head towards the water. Just after we finished setting up, Paige and Azzi arrive, and it seems like they brought Aubrey. It's been awhile since i've seen Aubrey actually, maybe we can catch up today.

I walk over to meet them because my whole family has gone in the water by now.

"Hey!" I enthusiastically say,  while running up to them.

"Hey! How are you?" Aubrey asks as she goes in for a hug. I reach out to meet her hug, mentally bracing myself for the pain about to come because of the pressure on my ribs. However, the hug is never completed, instead, Paige stuck her arm out to stop Aubrey and I from hugging.

Aubrey and I look up and Paige, confusion sprawled on our faces, I'm actually thankful, still confused though. Paige meets our gazes with a look of surprise, like she couldn't believe she did that.

Hurriedly, the look changes to a reasoning one and she begins to talk quite fast, "Oh, um, I just thought a hug would hurt Evelyn cause her ribs and all." She finishes awkwardly before shoving her hands in her pockets, and a slight pink tinge crosses her cheeks.

Aubrey and I laugh it off along with Azzi, while Paige seems to still be embarrassed. I catch up a bit with Aubrey on the walk to our spot in the sand. Surprisingly, no one else is at the beach even thought it's a nice day out.

Azzi and Aubrey want to go in the water, but I can't because of my stitches, I tell them to go ahead anyway, assuming Paige will follow them. We all take off our clothes, leaving us in our bathing suits, Azzi is wearing a purple bikini, Aubrey is wearing a black bikini top with a pair of black shorts, and Paige is wearing blue bikini. Hmm, I wouldn't have guessed blue for her.

I lay out my towel on the sand before laying on it and closing my eyes. If I can't go in the water, I might as well tan. I hear Azzi and Aubrey head into the water, but Paige lays a towel next to mine and sits on it.

I glance over before I break the silence, "Why aren't you going in the water?" I question her. She seems like the type to love the water, actually just anything athletic.

"Oh, I didn't want to leave you alone," She says casually while meeting my gaze.

A blush rises to my cheeks, why is she nice, "Oh you did have to do that," I say quietly.

"I know, but I wanted to, also I don't really want to get wet right now." She says while shrugging her shoulders.

"Well thank you, oh and also thanks for stopping Aubrey from hugging me, it was really thoughtful." I say to continue the conversation.

"Oh, yeah it was kinda a last minute thought," she says, looking away like she's still embarrassed.

We keep up the light conversation before I end up falling asleep in the warmth of the sun.

Paiges pov:

I watch Evelyn's chest move up and down, still scared she might slip away. I have to constantly remind myself she's safe right now, but it's still so hard.

Eventually, I calm down a bit and watch her sleep, ok not creepily. I'm mesmerized in her perfect features, the long lashes that come from her light brown eyes. Suddenly, my staring is interrupted by a giggling Azzi and Aubrey running up to us, accompanied by Evelyn's family.

"Hey, I think we're gonna head out now, do you wanna come? It's ok if not we can all go in one car." Aubrey says to me, still laughing at whatever Azzi said.

"Yeah, I think we'll stay here for a bit longer, I don't wanna wake her up," I reply, trying not to wake up Evelyn.

"Ok that's fine," Aubrey says before she leans down and continues talking, "Especially for Azzi because she has a thing for Duke."

"Oh really?" I say while smirking at Azzi, who is busy staring at Duke.

Aubrey and I just laugh at her before we say our goodbyes and they head out. I resume my earlier activities, this time looking at her perfectly pink lips and freckled cheeks. When I look back up at her eyes, her eye lashes begin to flutter as she wakes up.

"Hey," she says softly while yawning.

"Hey," I reply back, "Everyone else left a little bit ago, but they left a car for us."

"Oh, ok, we can go in a few minutes," she says as she sits up.

We pack up what was left and start walking to the car. We don't talk, instead we're engulfed in silence, a comfortable one. Once we reach the car, we pile everything into the backseat before getting in the car.

I begin driving, but I can't stop think about how pretty Evelyn looks, why is she always on my mind? I turn up the radio to try distracting myself, but it's so hard when she looks so beautiful without trying. I watch as she stares out the window, and I can't stop my hand from going to her thigh.

Her eyes flicker over to mine for a moment, but I don't make eye contact, I just stare at the road, and eventually she goes back to staring out the window.

Five minutes into the drive, I break the silence, "I had a really nice time today."

"Yeah, so did I," Evelyn said with a small smile gracing her lips.

"We should hang out more often," I suggest to her.

"Yeah, I'd like that, it would be nice," she says before turning back to the window.

After 10 more minutes, we arrive at Evelyn's apartment. She turns to say goodbye, but I have yet to move my hand from her thigh. Everything just feels so natural with her, and my mind is racing, so I can't stop myself when I lean in to kiss her.

At first, she kisses back, until she freezes. I pull back, wondering what I just did.

She looks terrified, and I bet I do too, but then she says, "Oh my gosh, no."

Before I can respond, she rips open the door and practically runs out of it. My heart sink, why did I do that? I am so stupid, there's no way I can fix this now.

Tears well in my eyes as I smack my head against the steering wheel, wondering how I ruined our friendship so easily. There's no way she ever wants to see me again.

My mind won't stop thinking of all the things I won't get to do with her now, and tears begin to fall as I start driving back to my dorm.

—

oops don’t hate me

i’m gonna try to make a master list now 😛

[tobiasdrake]

Are you officially gone from TV Tropes? Haven't seen you on any of the forum threads for a while now.

I pop in from time to time to lurk on some threads, but I'm not actively following things there the way I used to. I've been focusing a lot on Tumblr lately.

But I've always had less online time in general lately, as these last couple months have involved a substantial amount of adulting.

I'm finding I enjoy the format of Tumblr a lot better than internet forums. There's less pressure to respond to people here. I can shoot opinions out into the wild and people can take or leave them as they will, and then everyone just moves on.

In a forum, everybody's in one room vying to duke it out with whoever spoke last. Everything has to be such a debate. Everybody's always competing to prove how smart they are and how right their position on whether Batman can beat up Superman is.

And I just. I don't have the mental space for that anymore. I haven't for years. I'm in my late thirties now; I don't want to fistfight someone in the Denny's parking lot over Spider-Man movies.

And I'm also just so tired of long, drawn-out arguments with people who clearly aren't reading what I'm saying, and just respond to the general idea of my point that they've heard from others. Then make me out to be the bad guy because they've made it into an argument and dragged it out for pages on end.

"Ugggh, there goes Drake answering questions and clarifying misinterpretations of what he was saying again. Why does he always have to drone on and on about this every time people keep pushing the topic back onto him? Why won't he just drop the topic we keep responding to him about?"

TvTropes is an echo chamber governed by mob consensus. They like to say that they're just... pro-positivity towards media. "We are a website for celebrating media," is the pitch. Threads that exist purely to complain about a piece of media are forbidden and the general belief is that if a fan and a critic are arguing, the critic is always wrong.

But that's a lie, because the forum has plenty of complaining threads. The Sonyverse thread exists purely so everyone can shit on the Sonyverse and talk about how dumb Sony is for ever thinking these films could work. And also conspiracy theories about Venom's success being fake.

In actuality, TvTropes is governed by mob rule. The community has an opinion consensus about a piece of media, and if you disagree with the consensus then you're wrong. You're not supposed to talk shit about the MCU in the MCU thread but you're also not supposed to defend the Sonyverse in the Sonyverse thread, and either of these positions will incite the furious mob. It's an echo chamber.

For a long time now, it's become my policy on TvTropes to just say my piece and then fuck off and not respond to whoever gets uppity about it. Just fire off an opinion and then bail. Because I don't want to fistfight you in the Denny's parking lot, and if I actually respond to questions being asked then I put a target on my back.

And that's just. Not any fun for me. I didn't like the movie. Seven pages of screeching at me about it isn't going to make me like the movie. That's kind of the thing about media discourse? Even if you have the facts on your side, you're never going to change someone's mind by vanquishing them in the Arena of Logic.

No one has ever gone, "Oh, you're right, Black Widow's death technically does not qualify as Women in Refrigerators because she had agency in it. The scene is therefore good now. My qualms have been quelled and I will now defend this movie with my life." At the end of the day, we're just using words to describe how the thing made us feel. You might outmaneuver my words in a clash of verbal blades. But my feelings live on. You cannot slay them in semantic jousting.

And I've long given up on trying.

This is where Debate Bros will say "Well, my goal isn't to convince YOU but to convince ALL OF THE PEOPLE WATCHING US," as if sharing opinions on whether Batman can beat up Superman carries the same cultural gravitas as a Presidential Debate.

I use media discourse the way other people use fanfic. To express the feelings and ideas that are burning in my brain and need an outlet, need to go somewhere. On TvTropes, that always has to turn into a fight, because everyone in a forum environment has to have opinions about everyone else's opinions and we're all expected to civilly scream at each other until the mob consensus has been formed and the Official TvTropes Opinion is reached.

But on Tumblr, I can just throw my opinions out into the wild. And if people like them, they'll get Notes and maybe even start doing numbers. And if people don't, then they'll just be left to the void of forgotten statements. Either way, I can move on with my life after saying it, you can move on with your life after reading it or not read it at all, and we can all just go do something else.

That's basically how I try to use TvT these days, but on Tumblr that's actually the culture. It's what's expected. And so I find myself drawn more and more to the calming void of Tumblr over the combative civility of TvTropes.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Part 1

Part 2

And now the finale. . .

Once they got done freaking about the fact that Steve’s teddy bears were sentient, they accepted the fact pretty quickly. In fact, Eddie was pretty excited about it. Steve was just as excited, but he was surprised to learn that his grandmother had been a witch.

"Berry, is it possible that I could become a witch too?" Steve asked as they sat on Eddie’s bed.

"I don't see why not. Her blood runs through you," Berry said. "There's some of her stuff in the attic with a black book full of her contact information. I'm having trouble remembering his name, but there was a witch friend of your grandmother's who could help you if you're interested in becoming a witch."

"Steve," Eddie said as he stopped talking with Teddy. "Not to put pressure on you or anything, but if you don't become a witch, I'll stop being your friend."

So, now here he was a couple of months later, and he was making progress thanks to his grandmother's friend, Benjamin. He had given Steve all the witchy stuff that she had left with him, including the spell that created Berry and Teddy. It had given Steve an idea.

"Do you guys want kids?" Steve asked Berry and Teddy as they sat on the floor of his house in the living room.

"We're happy with one, sweetheart," Berry grinned.

"Yeah, I know," Steve said. "But would it hurt to have kids that are a little more like you?"

"I suppose it wouldn't," Teddy said.

"I thought it would be nice to give you kids that I promised you," Steve said.

"Oh, that's lovely. You're such a sweet boy," Berry said. "Yes, I would love to have more kids."

"Me too!" Teddy exclaimed.

"I'm so glad you said yes!" Eddie exclaimed. "I made you guys something!"

He rushed out of the room and came back with a bag. He emptied it out on the floor.

"What do you think?" Eddie asked.

"They're perfect," Berry and Teddy said.

A little while later, the spell was complete, and they were now waiting for it to work. Eddie and Steve watched eagerly as they watched them. They started to wake up, their eyes blinking rapidly as they yawned. The three dragons burped as they stood up on wobbly legs, their flickering back and forth. One of the dragons looked at Berry and Teddy.

"Are you our parents?" the dragon said in a small, childish voice.

"Yes, sweetheart, we're your daddies," Berry said tearfully.

"Daddies! Daddies!" The dragons exclaimed before jumping into their arms.

"I'm grateful we don't have balls," Teddy said.

"Theodore! Not in front of the kids!" Berry scolded.

"Are we going to have names, Daddy?" One dragon asked.

"Um, who likes the name Drake?" Teddy asked.

"Really, Drake?" Berry asked.

"I like it! Can I have it?!" the green dragon asked.

"Your turn, dear," Teddy said.

"Um, does anyone like Lucy?" Berry asked.

"I do!" The red one said, her tail thumping against the floor.

"Okay. . .I'm thinking. . .," Teddy said. "What about Dori?"

"I love it, Daddy," the blue one said.

"Chase us, Daddies!" The dragons exclaimed and flew off.

They didn't fly very high, just a foot off the ground.

"We're in for it," Berry grinned as they chased off after them.

"We did that," Steve said.

"We did," Eddie said, fondly, as he rested his chin on his shoulder. "Teddy's right. I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

"I love you too," Steve said softly and kissed him.

A week later, Eddie and Steve decided to let the kids in on their little secret. They invited them over to hang out and to make introductions. Just as Dustin stepped through the door, Lucy came flying by, giggling. Berry chased after her.

"Lucy Bearington! Just because we have consciousness and can move around doesn't mean we can digest things! Spit it out!" Berry shrieked.

Dustin yelled.

"STEVE! WHY IS THERE A SENTIENT TEDDY BEAR AND DRAGON RUNNING AROUND YOUR HOUSE?!"

"Turns out I'm a witch," Steve said casually. "Oh, by the way, I'm also dating your dungeon master."

"WHAT?!"