#this post is the pre-requisite

[xerith-42]

Glenda

Remember Glenda? No you don't, only I do because The Tragedy of Cadenza Zvahl haunts me in my every waking moment.

Here's an entire essay about a character who shows up in a grand total of... I think 5 episodes? And yet she has one of the greatest and most forgotten impacts on the narrative.

For those of you who need a quick refresher, Glenda is Hayden's head guard in Meteli, first introduced in episode 26 of the first season, along with all the other Meteli characters. She's initially shown as a pretty strict, no nonsense guard. But in episode 27 we get to see her open up. At the time Cadenza is missing, and Glenda expresses great worry for her safety and says the following line

(sorry for how dark this is I took the screenie on my phone at like midnight)

So uhm. That's a bit of a big deal right off the bat, right? Cadenza is an orphan. Just before this Hayden speaks about how he found Cadenza picking flowers next to a burning village, about how she lost everyone and he took her in. And while Hayden acted as her father, Glenda acted as her mother. Cadenza had a mother.

This is where things get a bit... Mirky. I think a lot of us forget this, but Cadenza and Laurance being siblings isn't something that's revealed until [checks my notes] Episode 54. Which might not seem like a big deal, but Laurance has multiple conversations between episodes 26-40 (he dies in ep 40) about Cadenza, about growing up in Meteli, conversations where he could have said something, anything to indicate that Cadenza is his sister. But he doesn't.

He doesn't refer to Hayden as "our dad", he never refers to Glenda as Mom (which I'll get into later), he doesn't even say the phrase "Cadenza is like a sister to me" until AFTER they've both undergone their transformations. Me personally if I was the head guard of the swamp village, my sister goes missing, and my dad and her not boyfriend start fighting about it, and then some random woman shows up to help, I'd mention to the woman that this missing girl is my sister and this is a family affair. But Laurance... Doesn't.

This makes me think that them being siblings is an idea that came to the writers at some point after Laurance was introduced, but before he came back from the Nether. But this idea was either never incorporated, or they decided to put off incorporating it until after Laurance made his redesigned return.

Who knows. All I know is that Laurance and Cadenza were not intended to be siblings at first, and later retconned into that. And that's fine! They're not related, they're both adopted orphans, it's totally fine to make this retroactive change. But this change is important to remember regarding Glenda.

Yeah that's still who this post is about but there's so little to say that I padded it out with my whole tangent about the Zvahl family retcon. Anyways, Glenda, like everyone in Cadenza's family, is incredibly protective of her daughter, and clearly worried for her safety. This worry doesn't extend to... Doing anything, but that's because Aphmau had to show up and main character her way through things.

But it does lead to criticizing Aphmau when she seemingly fails as a main character. Aphmau does know where Cadenza is and knows that she's safe, but she lies to Hayden and Kenmur about it so they don't hurt Castor, and Glenda is PISSED. Not only because Aphmau promised she'd find Cadenza and failed, but she took one of their swords the last time she was in Meteli too! The disrespect of this woman! And she's the Lord of Phoenix Drop?! How low has this world gotten...?

Anyways the next time we see Glenda she's debating if she'll sign her life away. Now... I could go on about The Oath for... [glances at Oathbreakers word count] a while. But I'll try to keep it brief and focused on Glenda, who it actually has the most direct impact on. In episode 42 Garroth makes all the guards signing an oath swearing that they will take their own lives before they become a Shadow Knight and kill their lord, or to prevent themselves from doing so as a result of Shadow influences.

And while everyone else at the guard meeting is largely down with this, Glenda isn't. She's hesitant. Unsure. We don't get an explanation as to why in the episode, at least not the true one. But there are two things we can get from her. One, her eye color has changed. Which Aphmau doesn't notice at all or even comment on.

Two, she jumps immediately to leaving Hayden's guard, but stops herself because Cadenza is missing. And that's all that she says on it. Because after that, Glenda quits her job. She abandons the guard and we don't even hear about that happening until EPISODE 86. WE GO A FULL 44 EPISODES WITHOUT HER HAVING ANY RELEVANCE TO THE PLOT OR MENTION BY ANY CHARACTERS WHO KNEW HER LIKE I DUNNO

HER DAUGHTER???

And when she comes back in episode 86 we get the big reveal that Glenda was actually a Shadow Knight! And she framed Castor for murder all so she could draw Cadenza out, get her alone, kidnap her, and then sacrifice her to open a Nether portal and presumably return home.

There's a lot of questions this whole series of events raises, but not a single one of them are answered. I'm not even being hyperbolic, once Cadenza wakes up she is (understandably) more focused on the fact that her dad is alive and getting him back to safety. But she doesn't say anything about Glenda, doesn't give any sign of grieving or insight on the matter to Aphmau, she doesn't seem to care because her dad is safe.

The only details we're given are from Laurance, but these also raise questions. He says that Glenda must have become a Shadow Knight "at some point", and quit Hayden's guard because she planned to kill him to gain immortality. But... If that was the case, why fake his death? Why not have him actually be fully murdered with all the other evidence still stacked against Castor? Why not kill him, get immortality, and then kidnap your daughter and try to sacrifice her. Is it because she still cares about Hayden? Is it because she doesn't want to hurt Cadenza? She's about to kill her so I doubt it's that.

So much just doesn't add up with Glenda, so much that I have a never ending series of questions. When did she become a Shadow Knight? Was it in the Nether when they left Sasha behind? Was it before that? Did she go on that mission to save Hayden as a Shadow Knight and somehow not blow her cover? Or was it after that, in the brief window of time between Sasha coming back and Cadenza going missing, that she somehow ended up dead, in the Nether, and then back in the over world without raising an eyebrow? Or was she a Shadow Knight the whole time? Did Cadenza spend her entire childhood being raised by one?? Will I ever get answers as to any details regarding Cadenza's childhood outside of Laurance?! (The answer to that one is no)

But then one question made me really stop and think. One that matters more than any questions if lore, or continuity, or a series of events to follow.

Did the writers remember that they made Glenda Cadenza's mom?

And let's be clear, it's not like, a sin if they forgot. I'm a writer and I forget my own plotlines all the time. I go back through my drafts and other chapters all the time to make sure I'm maintaining at least some semblance of continuity, and I know that in a world as big and full of characters as this one, some details are going to get left behind or forgotten.

But it is mad disappointing because if the writers did remember that Glenda was a maternal figure to Cadenza, then they would also then realize that every member of her family has been either killed by shadow knights, nearly killed by shadow knights, or become shadow knights. Every. Single. One.

If Glenda was able to properly be Cadenza's mother there's a wellspring of character work to go down. It's never directly stated where Cadenza learned to sew from, so what if she learned it from her mother? One of her greatest forms of self expression is seemingly forever tainted with the presence of the monster who took the place of the mother who taught her everything she knows.

And how does Laurance feel about all this? He never refers to Glenda as a mother, even after he starts tossing around the Dad word around Hayden. It gives a sign that maybe Glenda didn't have an interest in raising Laurance, perhaps that while Hayden and Joh may have had some kind of co-parenting or gay marriage set up, Glenda was exclusively focused on being the mother of Cadenza. Or maybe she tried but Laurance pushed her away and she never tried hard enough. Maybe Laurance rejects the idea that he can have a mother. A father can be replaced, but a mother? Nobody can replace the woman who nearly gave her life just to bring him into this world. No one.

As it is in canon, Glenda is a footnote in Cadenza's tragedy. Just another shadow creature that tried to hurt Cadenza, without a proper recognition of just how significant her betrayal is. If Glenda's status as Cadenza's Mother was used to its fullest effect, we could have a family tragedy to surpass the Ro'Meave's, one where a single girl can be at the center of so much shadow and still barely manage to be a beacon of light in the darkness, even if her own family tries to kill her.

I've just. I dunno I've been thinking about Glenda a lot recently

[quatregats]

HORNBLOWER OFFICIAL DIVORCE ARC SONG

(lyrics below cut)

It's the evening of an August 34th From the bed I watch her smoke on the balcony The twinkling lights of the boats Do you think there's any better backdrop For her hair that goes halfway down her back, For her stunning profile?

My complexes (and you know I've got a collection) Two hours ago she paid them all off in one go With a finger against my lips, she says, "Why are you chatting so much if what you want is to make love?" Am I not making myself clear, or do you not understand?

Do you not understand? You don't understand? It seems to me that you don't understand, no That we were a whole That we didn't know any better but we learned That she embraced me like there was no tomorrow That there, I was almost as happy as when I was with you

She puts on her lipstick, repeating a song If we look at each other, the laughter comes and goes in a second She's been lying to me for weeks And with this one, yes, I realized it all on my own And I'm not taking it as any sort of victory I'm highlighting how stupid I am

While she puts on her shoes, she says, "I'll definitely be late" And as for me, I only manage a "Hey, hope everything goes great for you guys!" And that's called free-falling Until you crash you can live with the end Am I not making myself clear, or do you not understand?

Do you not understand? You don't understand? It seems to me that you don't understand, no That this is hitting rock bottom That I stood paralyzed in the doorway With a smile that was beginning to crack That there I was almost as screwed as when I was with you

And I'll do it with the first woman to pass by But I always end up discovering shades of grey It's so difficult to accept That the black and the white are still you

[stagkingswife]

Since one or two folks have expressed “disappointment” in me because of my “shadow work isn’t a requirement for practicing magic” post, I’m doubling down and reminding everyone that as far as I’m concerned nothing is a requirement for practicing magic except actually practicing magic. Nothing is a requirement for being a witch except practicing magic and choosing to call yourself a witch.

I have a theory that some people find themselves unable to progress in their practices until they master a certain skill because that skill was a requirement FOR THEM, for their particular practice, laid out for them by their specific spirits, to accommodate their specific needs. And then sometimes they assume that their experience is universal. Did you have to 100% master protect spells, banishments, and divination before you could get spirit contact to work for you consistently? Then maybe those were the requirements for your particular path to get to spirit work. That wasn’t my experience. I started with spirit work, no pre-requisites to speak of. We had different paths to get to same goal, and that’s fine. Some people are born with amazing singing voices, some people have to take years of lessons to be able to carry tune. We’re all doing our own thing, and it’s going to look different for everyone - even two people in the same lineage with the same teacher are going to have variations.

So let’s stop pretending that there are universal milestones that everyone and their mother has to acomplish. You can do what you believe is necessary for you, and I will continue to never do shadow work.

[morebagels]

^ iterator projection tutorial!! ^

this post follows on from this one made by @prismsoup, intended to cover my slightly more extended process (including post-processing)

step -1 : pre-requisites

this tutorial is designed around clip studio paint for PC because its what i work with. its probable that whatever other program / platform you're using has these features but under different names

i use a rainworld typography font for text. find it here (or do it yourself)

i use scanline textures as a part of this. find them here

step 0 : select a base image

maps, blueprints and diagrams are favourable due to lots of detail without it derailing into noise. get experimental though, my favourite one came out from a picture of a nebula, and another from a friends factorio screenshot

step 1 : binarise & flip

this command can be found under edit > tonal correction (D) > binarization. this forces every pixel in the image to be either black or white. adjust its sensitivity to your liking

step 2 : remove background

add in a black layer below (not just paper layer, as will become important later). wand select the background colour and delete it. if the remaining colour is black, CTRL+I to invert it to white

step 3 : add details

replace any text with rainworld font or simply remove it. add in blueprints or other complex decals (drawingdatabase is a decent source). during importing remember to binarise (after resizing). for "lower layer" elements such as contour lines create outlines for higher layers to retain clarity

step 4 : add multiply layer(s)

if you want to have multiple colours, put everything in the "higher" layer into a folder and set the top multiply to clipping above it

step 6 : post processing setup

copy all existing layers, create a new folder on top, and paste into that folder. right click the folder and "merge selected layers" set the resultant layer to add(glow). copy+paste and hide duplicate for now. from filters > blur apply a guassian blur with a strength of 130-170 (this creates the base bloom layer). set opacity to ~50%

step 7 : chromatic abberation

unhide not-blurred layer. guassian blur with a strength of 2. duplicate again. select top layer and move 1px up and 1px left (with arrow keys). CTRL+U then change the hue by 30. select bottom layer and move 1px down and 1px right, CTRL+U then change hue by -30.

stronger chromatic abberation can come from stronger gaussian blur and more change in hue

step 8 : scanlines

add the scan lines on top, invert so that they're white and set to add(glow). copy a multiply layer over it and make sure clipping is on. decrease layer opacity to ~10%. if it does not cover the whole image initially, paste more in and merge them together into one layer

tada! you now have one iterator projection. if you want to give it an extra affect, re-import the final PNG and filter > distort > convert to panorama. set distortion to 10 and scale to 101 (note that this drastically blurs the image)

[cybrasigilism]

Hiiii I was just wondering if you could make a Semi player 380 NSFW Alphabet eventually? If so thank you 💗💗💗

absolutely! i apologize for the long wait i just wanted to give myself an alphabet break :)

NSFW Alphabet with Player 380/Se-mi!

warning: smut and all things of the like | not proofread | lowercase intended | WINNERS THAT LOVE WINNING (i cannot picture se-mi with a man im so sorry) | any letters i skip over are topics i couldn’t think of, apologies! | this is my interpretation of this character, please be respectful even if my opinions on the character differ from your own

character: se-mi (player 380)

A/N: OMG THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 400 FOLLOWERS AAAAA!!!! IM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU’VE ALL GIVEN ME A PLATFORM TO SHARE MY PASSION FOR WRITING 😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 A MILLION APOLOGIES FOR HOW LONG THIS HAS BEEN A WAIT FOR!! i hope its worth the time that’s passed, please enjoy!

MDNI! 18+ under the cut, readers discretion is advised

A= Aftercare what they’re like after sex

↳ she’s very attentive with aftercare. trust a bath will be drawn for you two post-fucking™️, and you will be getting shoulder massages all the while

C= Cum anything to do with cum

↳ will try to make you squirt I MEAN HUHH

D= Dirty secret a dirty secret of theirs, no way

↳ loves when you play with her nipple rings when you suck on her tits

E= Experience how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing etc.

↳ oh this woman is skilled. she knows what she’s doing alright, especially with her tongue; she works sweet magic with that thing

F= Favourite position i fear if i have to explain this one idk what to tell you

↳ any position where she can see your pretty face is her favourite, in her own words. her being on top is another pre-requisite, but she’ll bend the rules if you really want it

G= Goofy are they more serious in the moment, are they humorous etc.

↳ she loves to tease you in the moment, so that answers that question. it’s never intentionally mean-spirited though

I= Intimate how are they in the moment? the romantic aspect

↳ no matter how rough you guys get, she always states how much she loves you and how you mean the world to her etc. she will always use sex as an ample opportunity to express her deep love for you

J= Jack off masturbation headcanons

↳ loves when you finger yourself in front of her

K= Kinks one or more of their kinks

↳ bondage, for sure has a blindfold fetish too

L= Location their favourite place to do the do

↳ her favourite place to get it on is 100% the back of the car, especially on rainy nights

M= Motivation what turns them on? what gets them going?

↳ loves when you compliment/praise her on anything. this + when you hug her from behind and kiss her neck

N= No something they won’t do

↳ non-con or dubcon. point blank

O= Oral their preference on giving or receiving, their skill level etc.

↳ she loves and i mean loves eating you out. the sounds you make, the way you frantically grasp for her hand when you get close, everything about it drives her up the wall. she’s quite skilled at this too (i may or may not headcanon her to have a tongue piercing so do with that as you must)

P= Pace are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.

↳ she definitely isn’t picky on pace. you guys have done it all. from rough, sloppy quickie to gentle, intimate lovemaking— you two truly have done everything

Q= Quickie their opinions on quickies? how often etc.

↳ she’s down for a quickie, sure. she definitely won’t turn her nose up if you beg the way you know she likes

R= Risk are they game to experiment?

↳ definitely the experimental type in bed, for sure. it was daunting at first but you quickly got used to trying new things (with a safeword always)

S= Stamina how many rounds can they go for? how long can they last? etc.

↳ she can definitely hold out for a decent period of time, think 9-10 minutes. for a matter of rounds however, she can only do about 2-3 rounds before becoming overstimulated

T= Toys do they have any toys? do they use them on their partner? etc.

↳ she’s got a strap. again, do with this what you will

U= Unfair how much they like to tease

↳ oh you can bet se-mi is going to tease you, and she’ll be mean about it if she really wants too. the teasing is especially torturous if she’s using her strap on you

V= Volume how loud are they? what sounds do they make etc.

↳ she moans, no fear. i feel like she would definitely match your energy when you guys are going at it, sometimes its in a teasing manner, but sometimes its simply out of habit. the things she says to you in bed, oh man, they really do vary. but you can expect these phrases, just to name a few:

“fuck, doing so good for me.. keep touching that pretty pussy for me honey”

“you’re perfect, i could eat you for hours…”

“just one more… please, all i need is one more from you, pretty girl”

W= Wildcard a random headcanon

↳ owns a dominatrix outfit

X= X-Ray what’s going on under those clothes?

↳ she’s definitely got a sleeper build, you cannot tell me this woman doesn’t work out at least a little bit. she’s got body piercings too (tongue, naval + nipple piercings), as well as many tattoos, namely an under boob tattoo

Y= Yearning how high is their sex drive?

↳ oh buddy, once you get her going, good luck coming to a stop anytime soon

Z= Zzz how fast do they fall asleep after

↳ after a especially rough session, she tends to fall asleep quite easily. but if you guys were more gentle she won’t be tired at all, in fact she’ll let you sleep on her chest as she plays with your hair all while you doze off

★ ────────

the time has come! the se-mi NSFW alphabet is FINALLY AMONG US, i again want to apologize for how long this took to come out, but i’m happy to report it’s UP AND RUNNING!!!

as always, any advice/constructive criticism on how i can improve my writing is appreciated and requested! have a fantastic night/day lovelies 💗

tags: @gongyoosgf @strangelife122 @room-722

[autball]

Part 5 of a 5 part series about the ways harmful practices are being made to sound more appealing and how to spot the differences between helpful and harmful approaches.

Communication support is a desperately needed thing for so many autistic people and their families. So unlike some of the other things I’ve posted about this week, this is 100% a worthy goal. Unfortunately, many places that claim they can offer it are not delivering. 

In some cases, they simply don’t have the education to properly support communication needs (I’m looking at you, ABA). Other times they do have the proper education (ie Speech Language Pathologists) but they will gatekeep certain methods of communication, either because they believe harmful myths about them or they haven’t been trained in that particular method. Also, not every SLP knows about Gestalt Language Processing, so even an otherwise great therapist could be missing some information.

So here are some questions to ask when trying to figure out if someone is truly capable of offering well-rounded, neuro-affirming communication support:

Are they more concerned with making the client easier to deal with for others, or are they focused on the client’s rights, needs, and wishes? (We’re looking for the second one.)

Do they address the client directly, or do they speak as if the client isn’t even in the room? (We’re looking for the first one.)

Do they see speech and language as a behavioral thing? (Verbal Behavior and PECS are dead giveaways - and we want a NO.) 

Do they understand that an inability to produce speech has no bearing on a person’s ability to think and feel? (YES✅)

Do they only push for speech, see speech as the end goal, or value speech above all other methods of communication? (NO✅)

Do they honor things like echolalia, pointing to objects, and bringing an adult over to something they want as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they honor things like refusal to participate, crying, and meltdowns as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they believe that things like pacifiers, AAC, or responding to “non-functional communication” discourages speech/“functional” communication? (NO✅)

Do they know about Gestalt Language Processing and believe it is a thing? (YES✅)

Do they require “pre-requisites” before they will try alternative communication methods? (NO✅)

Do they require the client to earn time on their AAC device or remove the device when they deem it a distraction, essentially taking away their voice? (NO✅)

Do they know who to send you to if they aren’t personally trained in an approach they think would be more helpful? (YES✅)

Obviously, trying to find someone local to you with all the green flags and no red ones is kind of like trying to find a unicorn for most people. But if you have a choice between two or more therapists, you can at least go with the one who has more right answers and be ready to advocate/educate when needed. 

If you literally have only one option available to you and it’s not a good one, you can either be ready to advocate at every turn or just choose not to use their services. Yeah, that’s allowed! Not every autistic person needs speech therapy, and not all communication support has to be directly administered by a professional. You as the parent or caregiver will play a huge role in supporting your person with their communication needs, and luckily there are online resources and virtual trainings that can help you do that.

P.S. What’s the difference between PECS and picture cards, you ask? PECS is a whole ABA-based program that uses a limited set of picture cards and should be avoided for several reasons. Meanwhile, plain old picture cards are something that can be made and used by anyone without any specific program.

P.P.S. Zero debates about the legitimacy of Spelling to Communicate (S2C) or Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) will be entertained (translation - it will be deleted so don’t waste your time).

[freyjas-musings]

I have interacted with 282991617 Gwynriels in my three years here and not one of them has ever thought Azriel is "in love" with Gwyn . Already being in love with someone is not a pre requisite for a pairing . That's not how stories and plots work. How they end up falling in love and end up together will be the story. That will happen in their book.

There is solid evidence of mate language thats been used for Az and Gwyn, this is a fated mates author writing it and its all that is needed to ship them . We also get a taste of their potential, the banter, the challenge , the chemistry and what it can be .... its like people forget Feysand before ACOMAF or Chaol and Yrene before TOD , Rowan and Aelin before HOF

Sometimes I see some posts and just want to shout out loud about so many children left behind!!!!!

[yourstrulyhri]

monday, 6th of january, 2025. .𖥔 ݁ 🪐˖.𖥔 ݁ ˖

𖤓 did section a, c from alternating current.

yup, that's it. wasn't a great day, i crashed out BAD 💀 i swear i've done lecs, gone through my notes and pre-requisite formulas yet somehow magnetic physics just seems so...unsolvable.

last year under normal circumstances i wouldn't have posted this, but one of my resolutions this year is to be more transparent. with myself, and to those around me.

this is me acknowledging that, yes, despite running a studyblr, i have moments where i get close to nothing done, or feel frustrated at the lack of progress. wanting to curate a blog that highlights only the best of days, is something i don't want – when people engage with my posts, i want them to feel a sense of relatability, and encouragement simultaneously.

i'm not proud with how i handled today, but hey! new day, new me right? i'm going to be taking rest of the day off. hopefully tomorrow's kinder to me, and to you all as well <3 good night! 🌙

🎧: dispose of me by omar apollo.

[marybatson]

Billy Batson Week 2024 Use #billybatsonweek and #bb84week to participate!

This year marks the 84th anniversary of Billy Batson as Captain Marvel debuting in Whiz Comics #2, the first official cover-dated issue released February 1940. We're three years into this fan-run event - hopefully we'll have many more to come!

Day 1 ✦ August 11, 2024 Bearing the Bolt + Favorite Costume

Over the years, Captain Marvel has gone through many design changes depending on the era and artist. Let us know which of them you favor the most - or even come up with your own! Bearing the bolt can also mean many things aside from the aesthetic. Is the bolt a heavy thing to bear?

Day 2 ✦ August 12, 2024 On the Battlefield + Favorite Fight

From the Captain Marvel battle that made us hold our breath to the one that you think about constantly - which is your most memorable battlefield moment? Or when has Cap struggled and still persevered?

Day 3 ✦ August 13, 2024 The Rock of Eternity + At Home Base

The Rock of Eternity is a place of reverence as well as the place of Captain Marvel's origin. It's had its moments since the first appearance of it in comics, but most notably it is our hero's home base, and a place he can find refuge.

Day 4 ✦ August 14, 2024 The Perfect Pair + Favorite Duo

Captain Marvel (as well as Billy himself) have had many iconic team-ups over the years. His occasional one-on-one collaborations are among some of the most noteworthy of his career. Who is your favorite Captain Marvel partner, either from canon or from your most wanted dream team?

Day 5 ✦ August 15, 2024 Into the Elseworlds + Favorite AU

Captain Marvel's Elseworlds appearances always have impact, no matter the weight of his role. Pick one to explore, or perhaps an alternate universe of your own making.

Day 6 ✦ August 16, 2024 Domestic Bliss + Off-Duty Hours

We love every moment our hero is a hero, but even more so when Cap turns in for the day and Billy has his own time to shine. Whether it's an unassuming picnic day or a day-in-the-life of Billy Batson, the off-duty hours can be just as fulfilling.

Day 7 ✦ August 17, 2024 Holiest of Molies + Favorite Moment

Holy Moly! Can you pinpoint the very moment that Billy Batson compelled you the very first time? He's been on this planet for way over three-quarters of a century, so let's talk about his impact! This day can also be used as a free-for-all.

Although the prompts have been laid out, you are more than welcome to refer to previous years’ (2022, 2023) to choose ideas from! All prompts may also be interpreted in any way you like, however abstract. Any form of content is encouraged, from drawing, multi-media work, photos, graphics, writing, and anything else under the sun. There's no pre-requisites or rules to join except for keeping everything SFW. Posting late is more than acceptable, especially if you find these dates to be incompatible with your own schedule.

Feel free to post your writing in our collection. There is no closing date, so works may be posted beyond the event.

Remember to use the tags #billybatsonweek and #bb84week so everyone will be able to view your masterpieces! View all previous years' works here.

[witchescollection]

honestly i think witchcraft online being so heavily politicised (specifically like, towards the left) online has lead to the very wild experience of pagan and witchcraft online (tiktok, tumblr, and reddit primarily (but pinterest and instagram too)) being such a vastly different experience than it is in real life

i very much straddle both online and offline spaces within pagan communities, and it is abundantly obvious in pagan circles when you meet someone who's absorbed all the information from aesthetic posts and tumblr memes and correspondence lists, because you ask them to examine their beliefs further and they just... can't.

like i had a convo with a witch friend once and they were talking about doing a spell sachet for calming, and mentioned they used lavender, and i went "oh that's cool! why did you pick that herb?" and the answer was "idk, google told me".

and this then bleeds into the political sphere, of young pagans and witches FULLY assume that everyone in these spaces is also left-wing (they're not), because that's somehow a pre-requisite to getting into the occult club.

like, there are anti-climate change witches, trump voter pagans, herbalists who believe in traditional family dynamics. there are so many nazis. witchcraft, and paganism, and everything vaguely in this area has such a diverse group of beliefs and people, and if you're not prepared for that it'll rock you.

it isn't only christians who fear-monger, and convert, and manipulate, and pressure people sexually, and that idea seems really pervasive in online spaces.

and if you're not aware that all those ideologies (and some extreme leftwing ones too) bleed into tumblr posts and people's opinions, that's how you accidentally end up on the pipeline to somewhere funky, because we abandoned critical thinking and discernment in favour of the aesthetic or whatever.

[themaudlinmimic]

High Effortposting about my Favourite Fantasy Book Series

A lot of pixels have been spilled on the inherent comedic potential of a character being in the wrong genre. More often than not, this is spent on stuff like that one post about how Sherlock would thrive in an isekai setting or how Columbo would crush the death note mystery. That kind of thing. But in terms of characters quite clearly in the wrong genre, and the interesting stories that can arise from this, I have a bit of an oddball pick.

Deltora Quest is a children's fantasy series which any australian worth their salt has hopefully read. The story is about a young boy and his travelling companions assembling a mystical artefact to defeat the dark lord. The issue being that the dark lord is an insanely powerful sorcerer who has lived for centuries, conquered the entire land so slowly nobody realised it had happened until too late, and rules with an army of monsters and grunts that do his dark bidding. In the end, he is of course defeated by the fully assembled Belt of Deltora and the powerful warding magic it represents, but it takes some time for his influence to fully leave the land.

How was it that such a powerful overlord was defeated? Was it because he failed to account for the indomitable human spirit? His inability (mostly) to make shapeshifters that didn't have a glaringly obvious tell? The fact that evil shall fall and good shall triumph as a base rule of most fantasy?

Well, sure. But I think it's mainly because he's not actually a sorcerer, but a mad scientist in entirely the wrong genre.

Let's start with the basics. Magic in this series can generally be classified into two categories: quirky little oddities that are largely bound to a single place or family, and Real Shit. There are springs of water which can let you see dreams, honey that gives you superspeed if you're a horse, and the actual literal hulk living out his days as a travelling salesman. Baubles, in short. There are also the ancient gems of Deltora, powerful talismans that can ward off all evil, and the sacred city of Tora, home to endless magic and miracles. These two categories are fairly set: the former can appear anywhere but needs cleverness to exploit, and the latter require very specific circumstances to actually work but are basically unstoppable. Magic is either widely applicable but weak, or rare and impossible to use without specific pre-requisites but incredibly strong.

The Shadow Lord, in no particular order, displays the following magical capabilities:

The construction of extremely painful projectile weapons from frog venom and careful construction.

The large scale creation of obedient armies of near-identical almost humans, show explicitly to be grown in "vats".

The ability to speak over long distances and record sounds and sights using a magic mirror.

The creation of vast machinery that billows out smoke and poisons the land.

Accelerated "evolution" and "mutation" (sic) of base creatures by exposure to a strange type of glowing rock.

As a last resort, in the final book of the final series, an actual literal self-replicating matter eating grey goo that can only be stopped by the heat of pure dragonfire.

I'm not certain that he's a sorcerer as well, but it's definitely possible. There are actual no-shit knowledge based sorcerers in this setting, magic is something that can be learned if you are very old and very lucky. It might help explain some of his stranger abilities, such as existing in a non-corporeal form. But what he's capable of obviously goes beyond that. My hunch is that there is a difference between the magic he has learned and the technology he wields, in that one could probably be replicated by even normal people given time and resources, but it's a difference nobody in the setting (maybe not even him) is aware of.

As for his motivations, he doesn't attack Deltora out of some ancient grudge. He is aggressively pragmatic about it. He wants the place for its vast natural resources, and its favorable ports that shall allow him to send vast legions of warships. He's the estranged disfavored son of a noble family, if the deep lore is to be believed, and that's some prime mad scientist material if I ever heard it. He has a history of encountering beautiful magical things, such as dragons and the singing sisters, and creating false versions of them when he couldn't bend the original to his will. I'm not arguing just based on word association with scifi bullshit here. There's themes to this. Whenever given the opportunity, he behaves like a mad scientist would.

And as for how he ultimately gets defeated? Magic. Again and again, it's magic. He can't breach Tora, so he besieges it and cuts it off from the rest of the country with subtle manipulations. He can't destroy the belt, so he scatters the pieces of it. When he is defeated for the first time, it's with a magic belt. When he's briefly taken out a second time, it's with a magical flute. While my memories of his third appearance are hazy, you can bet it was magic that stopped him then as well. He doesn't understand magic beyond a surface level, beyond his own tricks, he can't truly replicate it, and he can't stand against it.

The Shadow Lord is a villain in the wrong genre. And this is his greatest strength just as it is his greatest weakness. This is why you'll never win, Shadow Lord. None of that nonsense about good triumphing over evil: the entire setting is just an outside context solution to your outside context problem. But if it's any consolation, I'm sure that somewhere out there, there's a foul sorcerer trapped in an old world university with a stitched up corpse and a lightning rod wondering how the hell he got there as well.

[lesbianrobin]

hang on. your tags on the lightning arc post......my eyes are so open. they should have had buck join a cult!!!!!!!!!! like. even pre-lightning he was already part of the way there with the Happiness Convention (self-help conventions are basically low-level cults right) HE SHOULD HAVE JOINED A CULT.

they could have kept Natalia and made her his gateway into the cult. like im so serious i would have eaten this storyline up and im sorry but it does actually makes perfectly sense for his character.

And then everyone is like Buck i think you're in a cult. and buck is like no these are just all my cool new friends! And then they could have had their requisite copaganda episode and had Athena bust the cult for money laundering to get him out.

LITERALLYYYYY like okay the academic in me feels compelled to say that anybody might be susceptible to joining a cult and cults are good at providing people with what they need to draw them in etc etc all of that said. buck is absolutely the type of person who would So easily join a cult. ESPECIALLY when he's just had an insane one-in-a-million near-death experience and he's searching for meaning in life!

and like no natalia slander she seemed fine but you're RIGHT she could have made for a perfect entry point for buck to join a cult... the way buck was like She Sees Me literally lowkey the way somebody halfway into joining a cult talks about the cult members. if i ever get through my insane backlog of 9-1-1 fic ideas and get the urge to write something long i may have to give this concept a shot because GOD it could have been so good

EDIT: this also could have worked So well with like bobby and/or eddie exploring their relationship with their faith and like they could have asked the question of like When faith crosses the line from comfort to delusion when it is helpful vs harmful... leading into eddie gay realization..... i'm ruminating

[spacedryadkepler]

MALEVOLENT DA CAPO SPOILERS

(IM HERE TO YELL INTO THE VOID /positive)

- THE SHARP INHALE I DID THE MOMENT I RECOGNIZED THAT FUCKING ARKHAM OFFICE SOUNDSCAPE, GOOD GOD

-PAAAAARKEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR PARKERRRRRRRRRRR OH MY GOOOOODDDD

hearing the moments leading up to the start of episode one i’m going to start biting things

- FINALLY FINALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW/WHY JOHN KILLED PARKER, CAUSE HE -DID- KNOW WHO HE WAS BEFORE SOMEONE INTERVENED HOLY FUCK

that was something i never understood and never thought would be explained im so delighted

- YOU CALLED IT MADNESSSS OH BUT I CALLED IT LOVEEEE

i’m losing my mind about the song returning, AND FINALLY BEING EXPLAINED HOLY SHIT

-WAYLAY WAYLAY WAYLAY ARTHUR AND JOHN BOTH IN THE WAYLAY THEY WEREN’T SEPARATED YESSSSSSS

-oh ohhohohoho impossible to put into words the feral reaction i had to the manager, im insane about this im going wild im going crazy im going to chew on this character

THE MANAGER THE MANAGER THE MANAGER RAHGHHHGGHHH

the description on the manager gives me a jumping off point for trying to draw the other nyarlathoteps mentioned in 52, i wasn’t sure that there was any reason to assume the other versions would take on a form similar to kayne’s, but now there is the possibility of that

DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THAT HIS FOOTSTEP SOUND DEFINITELY IMPLIED THE MANAGER ALSO WALKS AROUND BAREFOOT?? IS THAT JUST A PRE-REQUISITE FOR BEING A NYARLATHOTEP?? AT LEAST I CAN OBSCURE KAYNE’S DOGS WITH BLOOD BUT THIS GUY???

anyways i loveeee how this guy tries to differentiate himself, that one post pointing out how he stops himself when he laughs like kayne?? oughhhhh

i love how in spite of that he still soooo sounds like he motions so expressively while talking

AND HE’S BEEN HELPING THEM!!! THE LIGHTER THE SONG AAAAHHHHGGGG so many things i thought would never be explained and im so happy with the answers

- so with the whole description of the dark world and such, the lighter definitely like, restores people’s humanity right? the dark world’s gonna be a fun carousel of past friends and foes right??

if parker wasn’t in the waylay (im assuming the manager is the one who gave arthur the blood and sand last time), do we think he’ll be in the dark world now???

if the waylay isn’t part of the natural process of the afterlife, and instead is the manager’s personal hideaway, does that mean that arthur’s original fear, that EVERYONE goes to the dark world when they die, was true??

-THE FIRST ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LISTENERS IN SO SO LONG!! the last one was “Someone needs to tell them coins don’t land on their sides”, right??

the listeners are attached to arthur specifically in a way that neither kayne or the manager understand hmmm

anyway i’m so normal about the manager speaking directly to the fourth wall (*twirling my hair*)

-INTO THE DARK WORLD WE GO !!!

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

can i BE honest (yes)(i do not possess the ability hold back)

Well actually i did kind of move in silence for 5 months so maybe thats incorrect but it was reall y hard. (Kinda, it was fun in its own way). Basically i am writing to say I finished my EP like it's literally done but now i am in a dilemma because I don't know how to share it. Despite my best efforts to hype myself up i feel nervous and afraid. it makes me feel really sick! And people may think i'm a person who wears their heart on their sleeve I guess in most situations i do But to share something i worked so hard on feels mercilessly daunting and nauseousssss

i don't think i ever worked so hard on (One) complete thing in my life. I have made a lot of art and taken a lot of photos and even recorded a few singles I have finished a lot of projects I am serious about finishing what I start it causes me great turmoil not to finish things. But this is the longest i ever worked on something. And now I don't know what the fuck to do! it's been finished for like a week. I can't even bring myself to re-listen to it because im fucking SICK of hearing it haha even though i like what i did. i find it to be acceptable. But im horrified at the same time.

i think part of my fear is that i feel it does not really exist within the requisites of any pre-existing genre so sometimes i wonder "Who the fuck is this even for". its a limitation within my mindset i want to release. Maybe I shouldn't be sharing these kinds of insecurities but also i don't really like to project the persona of someone who is immune to self-doubt because i don't rly respect one-dimensional caricatures of deluded confidence. No offencseee. I like ~vulnerability~ yeah yeah we all know that, whatever. Plus i am planning on deleting this post when i wake up so who cares. Nightposters trust pact

i like vulnerability but i dont want to be vulnerable in sharing my hard work xD how do i get over this xD i dont like self promo xD i dont even want to be "me" i dont want to be anything i just enjoy making music its really fun i dont know how i would've coped with the past 5 months since Pochita's accident if i didn't bury myself in music and let it take up all my mental space i just want to have fun i don't like the parts i don't like. Hmph. it would be silly not to share it though i know it would be silly. Why do i care....

[stormblessed95]

Genuine question but, is it really a big deal if people in the community think Jikook aren’t dating?

Seems like it’s a bit of a pre requisite according to some of these anons

I can't answer for the Jikook community. I consider myself an OT7 with a heavy lean to a yoonminkooker for my biases. I can only answer for me. I don't care if you follow me and don't ship Jikook or don't think they are dating. I don't care if you follow me and aren't even ARMY (not talking about antis obviously, but I have people who follow me here for other reasons and like my posts even though they aren't a BTS fan). I have people who follow me here who have told me they ship a different duo, but enjoy my posts about their ship and all the others so they are here anyway and just ignore the parts of my posts they don't like.

So for my blog, as long as it's still around, there are no prerequisites other than being respectful in order to be here and participate

[shivunin]

Two Apace

(Cullen/Elowen Lavellan pre-relationship | 1,297 Words | No warnings)

"For I am bound with fleshly bands, Joy, beauty, lie beyond my scope; I strain my heart, I stretch my hands, And catch at hope." -Christina Rossetti, "De Profundis"

Cullen paced around the training ring, pausing to demonstrate the proper way to hold one’s shield before pacing away again. 

This practice session was much like others he’d held over these past months. The ones who’d volunteered for the mixed units had improved drastically, their troop cohesion strengthening as they learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The impact of simply understanding how a non-mage unit worked had improved the tactics of the mages drastically. Before, it had never occurred to Cullen that they might not know much about the composition and strategy of non-magical military units. Now that they did…

Well. He was proud of them; that was all. 

So this session was much like others had been, complete with its requisite crowd of observers. There was no need for nerves; no need for the catch in his breath, the tingle at the back of his neck. There was certainly no need for him to keep glancing at the far corner of the ring where the Inquisitor stood, watching. 

She’d been quiet since the previous morning. He hadn’t seen her at dinner later, and when he’d briefly stopped by Herald’s Rest (not to look for her!) she’d been absent there as well. He’d assumed that she must have forgotten about this practice, but when he’d commenced the first practice bout for warmups she’d been standing right there, a calm expression on her lo—on her face. 

Cullen had been struggling to regain his composure ever since. He wasn’t sure how successful he’d been, but at least his soldiers hadn’t seemed to notice. 

“Last bout,” he shouted over the clang of steel, and the mass of soldiers reformed itself into two groups, each composed by a mixture of archers, swordsmen, and mages. He snuck a glance at the Inquisitor, who’d climbed onto the bottom rung of the fence and steadied herself on the vertical post to her left. Her eyes were focused on the groups, who’d begun to send blunted arrows and quarter-strength magic at each other, and not on him at all. 

He reminded himself of that firmly when the corner of her mouth arched up, reshaping her generous mouth into a rare expression of happiness. Maker, he was a fool. 

She wasn’t looking at him. 

Cullen cleared his throat and turned his attention away again, striding behind the rearmost line of the soldiers on his right and ordering them about until the gap at their flank closed, and then repeating the process on the other side when one of the mages slammed the butt of her staff into an archer’s ear. There was plenty to focus on that wasn’t the shape of their leader standing heads above most of their watchers; Cullen exerted his formidable control to manage just that for the rest of the bout. 

Even so, he couldn’t help but wander in her direction when the groups broke up and began to drift away again. 

“Inquisitor?” he said. Lavellan blinked at the ring before turning her attention to him. 

There was something about her eyes, he decided; something about her stare that made one feel uncomfortably seen, as if the perception in them cut through the layers of steel and cloth and arrowed to the heart of him instead. 

He cleared his throat and went on:

“What are your thoughts?”

“Hmm,” she said, pursing her lips, and went on after a moment. “I think it’s inspired.”

“I know the mages still need some practice in working as part of a group,” Cullen rushed to say, so quickly that he hardly heard her. “Half the time, the soldiers stationed next to them need redirection to keep from shying back from certain types of spells, but—what?”

She was smiling again, but this time she was looking right at him. 

“I think it’s inspired, Cullen,” she repeated. “It’s a brilliant idea. Truly. I couldn’t have imagined it when I left; it is heartening to see them work together like that now. I can’t think of a single group of enemies who fights quite like that, and I can see how the tactics you’ve taught them here will counter other units in battle.”

The Inquisitor paused, cocking her head so a lock of brown hair drifted loose from the rest. Cullen curled his hands into fists to resist the immediate temptation to brush it back. It wasn’t his place; it wasn’t his business. He shouldn’t even be wanting to…

“You should be proud,” she told him, tilting her chin up in that way she had. “I would be. It was a great deal of work, I imagine, and you’ve accomplished a great deal in a short span of time. I can’t wait to see what you manage next.”

“I—thank you, Inquisitor,” Cullen said, taking a step closer and leaning against the other side of the fence. “I appreciate…well. I am glad you approve.”

“I do more than approve,” she said. When she paused, her stomach made a soft noise and she pressed a hand to it. 

“Forgive me,” she laughed. “It would seem I’m due for breakfast.”

“Ah—yes,” Cullen said, echoing the laugh. “I suppose I ought to do the same.”

“I’ll see you later?” she asked, and Cullen blinked. “Our sword practice? This evening?”

“Ah—of course!” Cullen said, straightening; it was Wednesday, so of course— “I will see you here.”

“See you here,” she echoed, and took several steps back toward the stairway to the great hall. She didn’t look away, and Cullen found that he couldn’t, either. He braced his hands on the fence instead and watched her go. 

“Yes,” he said, for lack of anything else to see.

“Yes,” she echoed, and turned to walk away when her heel bumped into the stone of the staircase. 

Cullen ruffled a hand through his hair when she vanished through the doors, exhaling slowly. 

What…did that mean? He’d no idea. Perhaps he was imagining things. But it had seemed like…

He shook his head at himself as he retrieved his armor and mantle, then stepped through the opening in the ring to trudge back up the stairs. 

Obviously, he was imagining things. 

|

She wasn’t imagining it.

Elowen stood with her back against the stone wall for a moment, taking deep breaths. Her heart thundered in her chest, such that she fancied she could feel it to her very fingertips. 

She’d watched carefully. Not once had he looked at one of the people he’d taught the way he looked at her when they practiced together. Not once had he flushed or dropped his eyes. 

How did she feel about that?

She didn’t know. 

No—she did. Because that feeling in her stomach wasn’t dread at all, wasn’t sick discomfort or disappointment. There was fear there, yes. She knew fear all too well. But—she wasn’t afraid of Cullen. 

It was strange, because she had been afraid of him once—that first day on the mountain. Now, the memory of it seemed so strange to her now, as if it had been someone else’s memory, someone else’s feelings. She couldn’t imagine being afraid of him now. Cullen would no more hurt her than he would…

Elowen realized, with precisely the sort of dawning comprehension she’d been trying to avoid, that she couldn’t even think of a proper comparison. It was just…something she knew. He wouldn’t hurt her if he could help it. That was all. He was—he was as true and honest as a drawn blade, as concretely himself as a piece on the chess board. There was no artifice to him; nothing to doubt. 

That is, she decided, gathering herself to go on into the hall, where she could hear people speaking, the clink of metal on stoneware, what scares me the most.