#vary! of course they do! and my god some of the early ones did not. age gracefully

[modmad]

oh my god I don't know what I expected I don't know why I didn't expect the duck comics you've made to be LESS painful or heart wrenching than all the other work you do and it's. MORE. IT'S REALLY REALLY GOOD I'm not even FINISHED you've made so many but I cannot get over that one page in contrariwise comic (where magica has swapped bodies with gladstone) where she has that revelation that he/she could just destroy the whole city but he hasn't. 'they don't know how lucky they are' will haunt me to the grave thank you for that

AH!!! THANK YOU but sincerely if you like my duck comics you MUST read The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. there are so many extremely good duck comics but that work is a masterpiece and I truly mean it when I say everyone should read it at least once even if they have absolutely no interest in the ducks OR comics

I was very proud of how that sequence turned out, and it's very much in the style of/inspired by the emotional gut punches of Don Rosa

so yeah if this tickles your curiousity you can read Contrariwise right here, as all of my duck comics have their own section on my website! and if you can find the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck I Beg you to read it and be transformed as I and many others have been.

[miyamizuna]

Is it that sweet? I guess so~

Haikyuu boys as lyrics from "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter part 1 | part 2 ft. miya atsumu, kuroo tetsuro, semi eita

I can’t relate, to desperation (miya atsumu)

Being the MSBY social media manager means work- especially when it comes to Miya Atsumu. It seems like every other week he gets himself. caught up in controversy. Whether it be him being too touchy with an already-married older actress, or even being spotted on dates with multiple female idols. It’s your job to defend his already poor internet reputation. 

“Y/n~ c’mon now, one date is all I'm askin’! Throw me a bone here!” He pleads for the 5th time today. He was sure to be persistent after the many rejections before.

“Miya, how many times do I have to tell you no?” You sigh as you reject him once more to add onto the tally of 56 rejections over the course of a year. 

Sure he was attractive, what normal person would say no to a 6’1” professional volleyball player? Sadly you know firsthand about his player activities. You understand it though, a young early twenties male is bound to act like this. though the severity of actions vary on a case-to-case basis; he happens to be on the far end of the spectrum. 

“Besides, it’s unprofessional to have a relationship between the two of us. I’m your manager.” You explain to him hoping finally you’d be able to get the message through his thick skull.

“Professional or not, who cares! give me a chance to prove myself! C’mon I've been good recently, no contreveries!” He explains trying to persuade your thoughts.

“If you call being spotted with a married woman in a fancy restaurant ‘good behaviour’, I don’t know what to tell you.” You frown as you avert your eyes from him, back to your laptop, typing out a public apology for Atsumu’s recent events.

With a frown, he steps forward and closes your laptop whilst leaning over your desk. His figure obviously towering over your sitting self. 

“Enough of that, It wouldn’t be the same as those famous women who only want me to have an affair. It’s different with you.” He explains with sincerity as if this time he actually means what he says.

You look up at him with a smirk and now with crossing arms, leaning back on your office chair. “Oh really? Maybe when you give me an easier time with your little affairs, I’ll consider it.”

That's when his face lights up and puts on a stupid grin and leans in closer to your ear. i’m

 “Oh you bet.” He whispers seductively in your ear before pulling away and walking to the door of the office. 

“Well, see ya around Y/n, ya better hold up yer end of this.” He tells you before walking out of your office.

God this man. He's so… desperate for attention!

and I got this one boy, he won’t stop calling (kuroo tetsuro)

42 missed calls. Are you fucking kidding me? You had met this hot guy today at the cafe you work at, he was a tall man in a business suit, kind of built as you could see some of his triceps through the dress shirt, a really classy guy overall, though odd his hair didn’t match the aesthetic. You left your number on his cup just for the slight off chance he wasn’t in a relationship. Clearly, he’s not in one.

You decided to call him back, afterall you were busy with the cafe with the 8 hour shift you had just worked. Now lying on your stomach first, your leg hanging off the bed, you hit the call button.

“Hello?” a male voice says after only one ring. 

“Uhm, Hi. You left 42 calls on my phone.” You informed him as if he wasn’t already aware of what he did.

“Oh yeah, I did do that~” He teases through the phone. “So what’s your name, coffee girl?” 

“It’s L/N Y/N, and you?” You ask with a semi-interested tone returning the energy of his voice.

“I’m Kuroo Tetsuro. Y/n is a pretty name ya know” He flirts through the phone. 

You can just imagine his silly smirk, the same exact one as when he saw the cafe when he read your number, and then the “call me <3” written under it. 

“So I take it you’re not taken as you’re calling me” You suggest as you twirl your hair and kick your legs, god you feel like a teenage girl.

“Nah, I’m not taken. Haven’t really had a girlfriend before, closest was talking stages.” he explains you hear the ruffling of papers in the background. 

So that explains the 42 calls. Takes a man's guts to admit that.

“You don’t exactly know what you’re doing, don’t you~” You tease as you hear a sigh from the end of the phone.

“Well no- I do know what I’m doing! Just I wanted to get to know you- soon!” He fumbles words trying to explain himself which brings a laugh out of you.

“Suuuure…” 

There’s now a long awkward pause in the conversation. In which both of you don’t exactly know what to ask each other next.  

“Soo- Are you a full-time worker at that cafe?” He suddenly asks, speaking up to fill the silence.

“Well no, I’m still in college. I’m going there for an English degree. How about you? You seem like you got a pretty good job.” You explain, then follow up with a question about himself. 

“Well darling, I’m a sports promoter, specifically for volleyball. I work for the Japanese Volleyball Association.” He informs you with a proud tone. 

This does pique your interest, not every day do you meet a guy who works for a sporting association who happens to walk inside a hole-in-the-wall café.

“Well shit, that's cool! Did you play in high school or something?” You ask now, flipping over onto your back to a more comfortable position.

“I did- made it to nationals during my last year.” He answers with a cocky tone. There is more shuffling of papers in the background, maybe he’s still at work-

“Kuroo! We need the papers finalised by tonight!” A voice from the background of his end says with a very demanding tone. Causing him to groan into the phone.

“Well you certainly heard my boss…” He sighs. “Call you back cutie. We still need to finalise our date.” He tells you before hanging up the phone not even leaving time for you to respond to his statement.

“huh…? DATE?” You shout to the void that is your room. 

Man, this guy is confident. Both him personally, and you being too willing to give this man a chance. You know one thing though. You’re definitely going to come back to 42 calls again.

I'm working late bc I’m a singer (semi eita)

Oh, Semi Eita, the lead singer and guitarist of his little band. The foundation of what his band is about all stems from him. His rock style is unique, flashy if you call it. He always felt the need to stand out from others. You know that best as his significant other. Since high school, he’s always been a show-off or tried to be. Because of his show-off nature, he was benched on the volleyball team in his 3rd year. 

Now here he is, slumped over on his office desk at one in the damn morning, struggling to come up with meaning to his new song. 

“You know, Eita, This song must really got you stumped. You haven’t stayed up writing this late in forever.” You smirk leaning on the doorframe to his office. You both know that you’re right.

Eita usually has a set schedule; sleeps at 11 pm, unlike his teen days when he’ll pull all-nighters for fun. He sighs and turns his office chair around. 

“Well, I guess you can say that.” He replies as he tiredly smiles at you. 

You walk over to his desk, the wood planks creek in the silence of night, and lean over his shoulder to look at the song. 

“So what’s this song about?” You ask him while reading the lyrics. 

“A boy who fell in love with a girl and sees her with rose-tinted glasses.” He explains as he taps the pen on the paper every few seconds, clearly in thought.

“Well is she a good person, or a bad person.” You ask, sitting yourself at the corner of his desk. 

He sits at his desk long in thought. “That’s the thing. I don’t really know.” He admits and he runs a hand through his hair, the other hand twirling the pen around.

“Well when you think of this girl, who do you think of?” You ask him whilst  playing with the drawer of his desk that sits above you. 

as he sits there in thought, an idea suddenly pops into his head. There is one girl in particular that comes into his head.

“I think of you.” He lets out with a grin as he ruffles your hair, causing you to let put a laugh

“Me, huh? You really love me that much huh..?” You grin in response to his actions, with a proud tone of voice.

“I guess I do huh?” He smiles at your proud self. “I’ll write about you being the girl who I view in rose-tinted glasses,” He says as she writes down his ideas on the paper, making light scribble noises.

That's just when you get up and try dragging him away from the desk. 

“You know its bed time right?” You tease and you put him in a headlock and ruffle his hair.

“I’ll be there soon! Just, let me finish noting these ideas down!” He protests and he doesn’t look away from the page despite what you’re doing to him.

You sigh in response and let go of him. Walking to the door in the process. 

“Don’t stay up too late. We both know how grumpy you get without your beauty sleep.” You tell him in response to his protests. Finding a good opportunity to tease him in the process.

As you walk out of the room, all you can hear is a grumble in response. All for the fact he knows you’re right.

©miyamizuna 2024 do not repost

espresso is my spotify number 1 rn

[radioapplerevue]

Radioapple Fic Recs #2

I'm finally getting around to updating my fic recs, and I decided that it would get a bit too unwieldy to just keep adding on to the original post. So, from now on I'll be putting them into different parts and then linking them in an archive post, which I will pin on my blog. For now, my first post of recs can be found here.

There are also a bunch of unfinished fics that I have been keeping an eye on that I haven't read yet because they are fairly early on and their tags say something along the lines of "it gets worse before it gets better" haha. There are enough fics grinding my heart into dust at the moment, but just know that I am seeing those chapter counts go up. I'm Watching You.

Now, onto the recs!

Home Stretch by @tarmairons (mature)

Welcome to the most convoluted game of 20 questions I've ever seen. I love the slow, purposeful approach to showing how Lucifer and Alastor's relationship is shifting and merging to not only accommodate each other, but also tie them closer together. This is an entire fic of them attempting to communicate and really, honestly trying even if neither of them are sure of what the hell they're doing. And, of course, I love when fics really take the time to explore how Alastor's asexuality (and lack of experience with intimacy in general) would affect his approach and behavior when it comes to sex with Lucifer -- and also how Lucifer learns to handle Alastor in a way that meets his needs, even if the things Alastor needs are not what Lucifer's used to.

2. To Be The Perfect Angel, Some Sin Must Be Done by @hismercytomyjustice (ratings vary by part)

This is a series I've really super been enjoying, largely because it's just fun. Don't get me wrong, the explicit parts are hot too, but it's fucking funny and there's just such an enjoyable push and pull dynamic between Alastor and Lucifer here, where each give as good as they get and actually end up... maybe.... enjoying it? Whoops? And oh shit here comes feelings, where did those come from. And as always, I enjoy seeing how Alastor's asexuality is handled here, with his discomfort with making decisions or taking the lead in bed causing them to develop a dynamic where Lucifer makes all the calls, and Alastor makes the terrifying choice to trust him with his own body, pleasure, and safety. Plus, excellent use of the shadow here. Having the shadow play a significant role in a fic is always one of my favorite things, and I am also very here for shadow fucking at all times.

3. somewhere down the line by kj_crwn (explicit)

This is one of the "Alastor and Lucifer meet in the living world first" fics. I love Lucifer basically just coming up to the living world to be the biggest nuisance to Alastor he could possibly be, but whoops, I guess Alastor's into that. There's a lot of murder, a lot of two assholes trying to drive each other nuts (and succeeding), a lot of sexual tension, and a lot of said assholes being really, really bad at feelings. I particularly enjoy what happens from the time of Alastor's death up to the conclusion of the fic, and the way they have to come to grips with what their relationship is now, what it could be, and what they want it to be.

4. T is for Tax Evasion by @radiaurapple (teen and up)

This is a brand new fic, but my goodness I loved it immediately. I loved the take on Heaven's fucked up bureaucracy, I loved Lucifer's panic, guilt and weariness, and I love how God is a fucking dick. It's such an interesting concept that is explored through Lucifer's slowly crumbling psyche as the knowledge he's going to lose Alastor becomes more and more certain. Or is it? There are few things I love more than pre-emptive grief and utter desperation, and the emotional payoff is just so good. I would have loved to have seen more of the fallout, but regardless, this is one that I'll definitely be thinking about for a while.

5. I Will Dance Divine by @rahabs (mature)

This fic caught my attention immediately. A large part of is exploring Alastor and Lucifer's relationship through dance, and the first chapter is immediately gripping. There's such an immediate magnetism to them, as well as the clash between the performance they are putting on and the quiet battle they are having with each other. It made me so look forward to seeing where it goes. So far it seems to be a slow, but very thorough burn, with the fic taking its time to really let them come together naturally, and learn about each other in tantalizing pieces. I dearly hope it is continued as I want to see more, but what there is already is also a wonderful read.

6. Muzzle for My Lover by sabbathgoat (explicit)

This is a smutty one-shot, but it has one of my favorite depictions of a sexual dynamic between Alastor and Lucifer in anything. There's such a deep undercurrent of trust here, a trust that has been hard-earned over years. Lucifer's handling of Alastor, knowledge of his fluctuating boundaries and internal battles when it comes to his own body and desires, combined with his intense love and tenderness towards him just bleeds through the entire fic. I would happily read a several chapter story with them just lying there cuddling and doing nothing else if it was written with this same weight. It's one of those cases where you don't need to be told how in love they are, because it's impossible to not feel it.

7. Stolen Moments by @mothballmilkshake (ratings vary by part)

This series is quite the rollercoaster! Alastor and Lucifer's relationship in it hits some great highs and also some serious lows, because they are both so so bad at this oh my god. I like that it's from Alastor's POV, because I feel like we don't get that very often, particularly in the longer fics. And I also like that it just shows us what an absolute fucking disaster he is, haha. The continuing plot line regarding Alastor's deal is interesting and groundwork is being laid for some serious shit to go down later on. We'll have to see if Lucifer and Alastor's foundation has been built strong enough by then to not crumble under the pressure. But hey, after all they've gone through, I believe in them (.....mostly).

8. Hope Against Hope by OrlesianHat (explicit)

I don't tend to be into non-canon AUs, but I found I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Lucifer is being sent on a blind date, and the person he meets isn't exactly what he expected... or is he? There's no murder involved so automatically the fic is much gentler than canon would be, particularly with Alastor, but a while after reading it I had to go digging to find it again because something about it stuck with me. I love Alastor's unrepentant selfishness, and Lucifer's long-suffering mood of 'these are things I really should not be okay with but apparently I'm okay with them because I'm still here'. If you're looking for something a little softer after all the angsty cliffhangers we get in other fics (the angsty cliffhanger in this one has been resolved, thank you), then this might be for you.

[gwenie-creates]

Petals Of Death

A Landoscar FBI Au

TW - this story will contain mentions of r@pe, SA, & descriptions of violence

Chapter Three

Oscar sighed, looking up from the file in his lap. He glanced down at his watch and felt relief course through his body when he realized they had less than an hour left of their flight. 

During the five-hour flight, Oscar had been stuck sitting next to Max, and across from him sat Carlos. 

God knows why Carlos decided today of all days to sit at the same table as Oscar. 

Oscar couldn’t really be bothered with questioning him though. 

Instead, he sat currently busy trying to analyze and commit the few facts of the case they had to memory. 

So far all they knew was that the unsub would kidnap, rape, and kill guys in their early twenties over two-week increments. 

They had found four victims and each one’s body had been left with a flower crown atop their head. 

Each body's flower crown had been made up of a different type of flower. 

The bodies were well cared for and only had slight bruising from restraints that the unsub must have used to control them. 

The weirdest part other than the flower crowns was how the victims had died. 

Each one had their heart carved out. 

***

The moment Oscar entered the precinct he knew they were in for a rough time. 

At least fifteen sets of disapproving eyes landed on his team. Each with varying expressions of anger or resentment. 

Thankfully before any of the local cops got any ideas the Chief of Police walked up to them. 

“Jim Cooper, nice to meet you.” The man– Chief Cooper said, thrusting his hand out towards Lewis to shake. “You must be Lewis Hamilton,” he said with a small smile. 

Lewis smiled gratefully in return, shaking his hand. 

“That would be correct,” he said, his voice taking on a professional tone. 

 He turned and motioned to the rest of them, “This is Agent Verstappen, Agent Sainz, and Agent Piastri.” 

Chief Cooper nodded at each of them in greeting before clasping his hands together, “Alright why don’t I show you to the room where you can get set up.” 

“That would be great,” Lewis replied, before turning to follow Chief Cooper to an empty room. 

The other cops stared daggers into their backs as they passed. 

If Chief Cooper noticed, (he would have to be blind not to) he sure didn’t say anything about it. 

At least not until they got into the room that had been set up for them. 

“Don’t mind my deputies.” he said, looking up to meet each of their eyes before continuing, “They’re all just feeling a little betrayed that I felt the need to call in the ‘feds’.” he said with a tired smile. 

“While I understand how they must be feeling and how this must be difficult for you to manage, I need you to understand that your deputy's feelings can not interfere with the case. They need to be willing to work alongside us if we ever want to catch this guy.” Lewis replied with a serious expression. 

“Of course,” Chief Cooper nodded his head, “My deputies know that and will cooperate,” he paused before continuing in a lower voice, “I’ll be sure to make sure of it.” 

Lewis nodded gratefully before turning to look around the room. 

Taking that as his cue to leave Chief Cooper cleared his throat before making his exit, telling them to ask if they needed anything. 

Somehow Oscar doubted their needs would be taken kindly too if they did ask for anything. 

Nevertheless, he nodded his head politely at the Chief of Police and made his way over to the board set up at the back of the room. 

The board currently had photos of each of the victims taped to it along with their names and some basic information about them. 

Realizing there wasn’t much for them to really do yet since it was nearly nighttime Lewis cleared his throat. 

“It’s getting late, why don’t we head to the hotel or stop by one of the local restaurants and get some dinner?” He asked. 

Everyone nodded in agreement and as if hearing the conversation Oscar’s stomach loudly growled. 

Max laughed looking over at him. “Well clearly someone’s hungry,” he said with a smirk. 

Oscar rolled his eyes as he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment at his partner's goading. 

Lewis let out a small chuckle before nodding his head. “All right, then it’s settled, why don’t we go find somewhere to eat and then head back to the hotel to get some rest?” 

They all nodded their heads in agreement. 

“I saw this diner as we were driving in, we could stop there it looked really good,” Carlos suggested. 

“Sounds great, I love diner food.” Max said with a smile before jabbing his elbow into Oscar’s ribs, “And Osco here loves him some good ol’ greasy diner food now don’t you?” 

Oscar made a face at him before sighing and nodding. 

Once during a team night out, Oscar had drunkenly confessed that greasy diner food was his guilty pleasure. 

Ever since Max made sure to bring it up as much as possible. Proud he knew Oscar’s “dirty secret” as he liked to call it. 

When in reality it was nothing more than a comfort food that Oscar often craved when drunk. 

What? Can you blame him? A good stack of pancakes or a strawberry milkshake from an old mom-and-pop diner, nothing better. 

***

Upon entering the diner the sound of classic rock and oldies music washed over Oscar’s senses. 

Along with the mouth-watering smells of the greasy food. 

Damn, maybe he’s hungrier than he thought. 

They get seated in a booth by a man who has the biggest smile Oscar thinks he’s ever seen. 

When the man speaks Oscar’s surprised to hear he has an Australian accent similar to his own. 

“Alright lads, I'll be your server today. My name is Daniel.” the man said with a bright smile. 

Oscar smiled back and took the menu Daniel held out towards him.  

“I assume you all will need a moment so just call me over when you’ve figured out what you want alright mates?” Daniel asked, when they nodded he turned to leave but stopped when he saw the diner’s door open. 

His jaw dropped before he loudly exclaimed, “Do my eyes deceive me or is that really ‘Little Lando Norris’?” 

Oscar turned his head to see who this Daniel bloke, their kind server had just loudly shouted at. 

What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out of his head. 

The most beautiful man Oscar had ever seen stood in the doorway of the diner. 

Dwarfed by two guys behind him who were shoving him forward as he had stopped at the entrance out of embarrassment. 

The guy had luscious curls styled in a messy but controlled mullet and piercing blue-green eyes. 

His tan skin stood out against the cream hoodie he currently had on. 

How was he even wearing a hoodie right now!? Oscar had nearly sweated through his button-down shirt and FBI jacket. 

The guy– Lando Norris apparently, opened his mouth to speak, a small shy smile making it's way onto his face. 

“Yeah, it’s me, Danny.” 

Oscar nearly died on the spot. 

No fucking way the super hot guy who had just walked through the door also just happened to have a British accent. 

Of course, because why wouldn’t he be Oscar’s exact type? Of fucking course. 

Max let out a snort before roughly elbowing Oscar in the ribs. 

“Might want to pick your jaw up off the floor before he sees you looking at him mate.” 

Oscar felt his cheeks heat up as he realized he had just been blatantly checking out some stranger, Lando, his mind helpfully supplied, right in front of his entire team. 

For god’s sake, he’s technically still at work. 

It seems luck is on his side today though as both Lewis and Carlos are lost in a deep conversation about cars or something. 

Oscar chances another glance back at Lando and is once again struck by his beauty. 

Hopefully, he will be seeing this guy around a lot more is all he can think as the Daniel or ‘Danny’ bloke makes his way back over to them ready to take their orders. 

Lando and his friends have taken a seat in the booth that just so happens to be closest to Oscars. 

He inwardly groans as he catches Max smirking at him again and vows to push the thoughts of the pretty boy just a few seats away from him out of his head. 

He has a case to solve and he can’t afford any distractions. 

Even if they come in the form of a gorgeous curly-headed Brit who is currently letting out the cutest fucking giggle Oscar has ever heard. 

‘Fuck me’ is the last thing Oscar thinks before Daniel arrives in front of him asking for his order. 

[qoldenskies]

Sorry i live under a rock but whats a map?

omg do i live in a world where people dont know what maps are anymore??? what have we become (not mad at you anon im being silly)

TO ACTUALLY EXPLAIN maps mean multi animator projects, they're produced as passion projects usually free of any monetary incentive outside of individual creators putting wips/early content on their patreon and such if they have that.

basically a host cuts up the song into "parts", where it's either free game (which was mostly the case for 2010s maps, less so now), driven by a script/designs/instructions for what to animate in order to follow a continuity, or its completely storyboarded! animators will each take one part, sometimes several, which vary USUALLY from about 3-7 seconds of time. sometimes people collaborate/split up the work too.

back before things got REALLY intense and the standard of quality in the warrior cats fandom skyrocketed, this was a really good opportunity for smaller/inexperienced animators to find traction without a huge workload, because they only had to animate a couple of seconds. and pieced together it would be one big amv! a little while ago in the wc fandom making maps of scripted aus was really popular, and a couple of sparse people would even do maps of their ocs, and with rise's love for aus/fics being so apparent from my time here my brain automatically correlated the two lol

most "reanimated" projects of scenes of shows/movies are technically maps under a certain theme, but the ones the wc fandom did are popular for being completely original in composition since they were adapting parts of a book. and i swear to god something was put in the water and it was probably CRACK COCAINE because these people are CRAZY JUST LOOK AT THIS!!!!

sorry of course i had to use the opportunity to plug louixie. genuinely digital james baxter and she makes WARRIOR CATS MAP PARTS

wc community is crazy because as long as you have the patience to write up a script, organize a community, find traction in there, sort through applications, and maybe doodle up a couple of designs you could just get other people to make the amvs you want for you just because it comes from genuine shared love for the source material, and that's magical 2 me,,, even if there are some inter-community issues lolol

[pub-lius]

Hyper niche question for my autism warrior: What was the perception of aide-de-camps during the AmRev like? I assume it would be viewed as a softer position - though of course, the extent would vary depending who your CO was - but many did see action and a few were reassigned so they could fight

Hey y’all… how y’all doing… i know its been yet another period of many moons since ive posted or answered (i hope this information is still relevant btw), but ive had a lot going on with getting a job, finding colleges, my mommy issues, travel, etc. anyway, im back, and im here to tell you about my main men

It actually was not viewed as a softer position at all! The station of aide-de-camp was highly desirable for several reasons, which i will describe approximately right now

1) people had to compliment you a LOT to get in

Most of the results I got from my research on this ask were letters of recommendation for potential aides-de-camp. Letters of recommendation were high honors for any station, especially for that of a military capacity. According to my favorite source on the American Revolution (which you should know by now), George Washington’s Indispensable Men by Arthur S. Lefkowitz, it was practically impossible to get a job as an aide-de-camp if you did not have a widely positive reputation or a letter of recommendation from someone reputable (or both if you wanted to clerk for the Commander-in-Chief).

I found one letter of recommendation from j*hn ad*ms that i think serves as a very good example of the sort of statements that could land you a seat at a Continental officer’s writing desk:

“There is another Gentleman of liberal Education and real Genius, as well as great Activity, who I find is a Major in the Army; his Name is Jonathan Williams Austin. I mention him, sir, not for the Sake of recommending him to any particular Favour, as to give the General an opportunity of observing a youth of great abilities, and of reclaiming him from certain Follies, which have hitherto, in other Departments of Life obscurd him.”

-John Adams to George Washington, June 19-20, 1775, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Founders Online, Washington Papers)

Those are my italics btw. These compliments are carefully chosen to suit the honor culture that was so pervasive throughout the 18th century and first half of the 19th century. A liberal education at the time was very hard to come by, and would be of great importance in a clerical position. Great activity also helps, because you dont want some lazy ass writing to Congress under your name, or god forbid George Washington himself, you might get hung (not really). The mention of youth is also intentional, since young men have always been preyed upon by the military. I think it’s especially noteworthy the final phrase of “reclaiming him from certain Follies”, which indicates that he might have previously had a negative reputation- whether it was warranted or not, im not sure.

2) the pay was fucking fire

For this we’re going to be utilizing my super amazing math scores that im renown for throughout the math community (yall dont know about my math tumblr), and we’re going to be using Alexander Hamilton as our lab rat, as per usual.

Alexander Hamilton joined Washington’s staff in early 1777 where a regular aide-de-camp (not a military secretary) made $33 dollars a month, which averages to about $1.10 a day. Meanwhile, according to the University of Missouri, the highest paid laborer in Massachusetts in the same year made $0.50 a day, which is about $15 a month, others making as little as about $0.22 a day, so around $7 a month. If you’re looking for ratios, by the end of the war, a pound of raisins was around $0.30. So, the highest paid Massachusetts laborer could save up every paycheck from 1777 to 1782 and buy 324 pounds of raisins, and Alexander fucking Hamilton could waltz up next to him and buy 712.8 pounds of raisins and rub it in his sad, poor face. And he wouldn’t even share because he was a congressman by that time and congressmen HATE THE POOR.

Disclaimer: Hamilton’s numbers dont include the time he quit the office bc I didn’t feel like googling how long he was away for and also i dont care. And yeah he probably would share his raisins with the guy, Hamilton was pretty nice, but i dont think he’d buy 712.8 pounds of raisins in Massachusetts anyway. Or maybe he would, I dont fucking know, stop asking me questions

3) it gave you a lot of street cred

There are many instances of aides-de-camps rising to higher status after their service, but i dont give a fuck about those nerds going into politics and law and stuff.

Most people now only know about Washington’s aides (or if you’re really autistic you know Lafayette’s too), but at the time, being an ADC to any general would get you fairly well known in society. General Sullivan’s aides seem to have been pretty well known and admired, as they are frequently mentioned in John Adams’ correspondence with other congressmen, as well as that of Benjamin Franklin with French diplomats all the way across the Atlantic.

But I imagine you’re also wondering (or at least i am) about what the everyday enlisted man thought of the ADCs, and that answer doesn’t really change. Of course, the men sitting out in the rain and mud without food for the past week are going to be envious of the guys who get to sleep in a house, but their quarters weren’t the most comfortable either. Aides-de-camp were probably the most connected out of the disconnected officers, if that makes sense. They weren’t fraternizing with the enlisted, but they were seen by them more frequently than the generals, and they were the ones advocating for the needs of the enlisted men. Even if they didn’t have any battle experience whatsoever (which really was never the case, i cant think of an aide who WOULDNT have seen battle), they would still be respected by the men as hardworkers and the only people who might actually get them food and clothes.

Thank you for the ask! I really enjoyed researching it and my family had a great time joking about me hunched over my ipad reading through the national archives while we all watched jeopardy, misspelling like every other word because its hard to type on an ipad. Im going to try to be more active, so please feel free to send further questions! I forgot how cathartic research is for me so id be very happy to do more. I have one more ask in my inbox i’ll try to get done sometime in the next few days. Love yall!

[sailorspica]

astrology and tarot are entwined to me because i got into them when it was trendy, 2017-18, which was absolutely a result of content creators and urban outfitters preying on panic and helplessness among a certain demographic (college educated young women) with trump's first election. of course some of these content creators had been at the game for years beforehand, some simply had client practices and hopped onto digital media best they could, but there was certainly a Boom that i think reemerged in 2020 with COVID

but besides market factors, it all stuck with me because 1) it felt like a natural exploration for a lapsed catholic who'd been an atheist since i was 15 and 2) i did my level best to do it all spending the least money. i bought one mass market deck, the centennial waite-smith, and learned to read tarot with friends who still read tarot to this day. i bought used astrology books published before this boom and learned everything else online. what maintains my interest is the community i've found, like any other hobby. but.

i've ultimately been consistent in believing in free will. so the disclaimer that astrology is "just for fun" before putting on the language of someone who believes that planets have influence on us, or that the same force that moves planets moves us or what have you, felt dishonest to me and still does, which is why i mostly do astrology for fictional characters now. i still love astrology. i like medieval astrology and see it as proto-astronomy like alchemy is proto-chemistry. but actually applying it to life? following transits closely and planning around them? that's a lot of work for something i don't believe in

whereas tarot feels more humble. astrology's gravitas is from its age, of course; we've always looked at the sky, and in the west it's bound up in hellenistic mythology, which feels universal while in reality being extremely provincial. tarot cannot predate the printing press by much, and its persistent imagery in french and italian decks is late medieval to early modern and distinctly catholic (the high priestess and hierophant are the popess and pope), while the very recent rider waite-smith deck with its iconic illustrations is a british invention that seems to obfuscate its own origins with no distinctive culture in its figures besides "the (european, occasionally oriental) past," besides appropriating kabbalah to further confuse things.

i find it easier to be honest about tarot's smallness because we have a print archive of how contextual it is, how it varies between countries and centuries consistent with increased literacy and multiculturalism. western astrologers have to try very hard to get away from venus/aphrodite and mars/ares and end up with nonspecific, generalized mush, whereas the proliferation of indie tarot decks is something very beautiful to me. i may not jive with some or even most of them—i've bought three total and only use one—but tarot has always been inculturated. both mediums have PR about fate and the supposedly ancient/transcendent wisdom of their crafts that only a minority of us care about challenging, and astrology has a worse go of it by being so damn old

but tarot is unique to its context and, if done honestly, claims to be no more than that, whereas astrology makes bolder claims by involving the planets. the anarchist emma goldman (yes i know she's racist): "i do not believe in god because i believe in man," and man made the tarot wholesale. man also made astrology in that humans imbued natural phenomena with meaning, but nature is the closest thing we have to god, so i'd rather not.

[toscrollperchancetomeme]

Is there a life after IwtV Season 2?

So, Interview with the Vampire Season 2 is over, you have already rewatched it a dozen times and don’t know what to do with yourself?

Here’s a list of suggestions!

Read the books

I might be biased because I have been a fan since the early 2000s, but they are genuinely worth a read. A lot of people struggle especially with the first book, which I understand – but you can absolutely skip it and start right away with The Vampire Lestat! Especially The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned are a great read and they are what is coming up next in the show. A lot of the plot of QotD happens at the same time as The Vampire Lestat, so I expect that material from both books will come up in the next season.

If you have a brain that enjoys audio books, they are actually available for free on youtube (though the narrator pronounces Louis’ name wrong). The version on the commercial audio book platforms read by Simon Vance is better though, if that’s an option for you. :)

The books after that are very much a mixed bag, but they all have some great and some downright crazy stuff in them, because Anne Rice’s writing was pretty unhinged at times. It’s a ride, but imho one worth taking.

Watch reaction videos on YouTube

I think I have by now watched all reactions that are available. For me it really brings a lot of joy to relive the experience of a first-time watch by proxy. Some are frustrating because people talk over important dialogue, some hold genuine galaxy brain moments by people who know nothing of the material. I will not recommend anyone, because vibes vary for everyone, but I’m sure there’s a reactor out there that YOU will vibe with.

Watch other shows/movies with the actors

Did you know that “Talk Radio”, written by and starring Eric Bogosian is available in full on youtube? I haven’t watched it yet, but I hear it’s really good.

For Sam Reid, I can’t recommend “Lambs of God” highly enough, and I hear great things about The Newsreader, which I sadly can’t get my hands on at the moment. “Belle” is also a beautiful movie, but his part is rather small as far as I remember.

Then of course there’s Hotel Portofino for Assad (but I’m not yet that desperate).

I actually haven’t watched anything with Jacob Anderson except Game of Thrones, which I will NOT rewatch, so I’m happy for suggestions there!

Watch the movies that have been namedropped by Rolin Jones

Hedwig and the Angry Inch – a phenomenal movie and stage show in its own right. It’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s queer as fuck, the music is excellent and it’s an absolute must-watch.

Rocky Horror Picture Show – honestly, if you have never seen this movie, what are you waiting for?

The Dirt – Rolin Jones has mentioned the book, but there was actually a pretty decent movie made about Mötley Crüe a few years ago, that I really enjoyed.

Also, I have seen Amadeus mentioned several times, I’m not sure if that came up in an interview but it’s an excellent movie and the parallels to the relationship between Lestat and Armand are definitely there.

Honorary mention: Fight Club, not because anyone has mentioned it but… the parallels warrant an essay that I might one day have to write. (Themes: Queerness of male on male violence, imaginary boyfriends, idealization of toxic masculinity)

Read the books from Rolin Jones' reading list

I have now spent 10 minutes googling for that interview where he lists the books he’s reading for Season 3, but can’t find it. Someone please drop it in the comments?

Learn French

Want to feel closer to your favorite actors? Why not go through the same hell as them and get bullied by the Duolingo owl while at it? ❤

Discord servers

I’m not active there right now, but I have found several fandom servers that seem like great communities.

Read Fanfic

Honestly the reason this is down here is because it’s so obvious. :)

Get creative

Write fanfic, draw fan art, roleplay, edit videos, make unhinged memes!

And always: Support the content creators!

Everytime I scroll the tag I see new creators entering the fandom and let me tell you, after almost 20 years of drought, I am overjoyed. Same goes for fic writers, youtube reactors and reviewers! Leave them a like, a comment or whatever is available on the platform they are using.

Edit:

Watch the musical!

I completely forgot! There’s a Lestat musical by Elton John. Yes, you read that right. This lovely YouTube account has full bootlegs for you to enjoy some camp broadway fun!

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Kicking My Feet

catch up on the series here

summary: Annabeth and Percy go swimming and to brunch... but Percy wants something else

Finding maternity swimsuits was easier than Annabeth had first imagined. There were somehow too many options instead of not enough. 

Annabeth had gone solo shopping. Which meant an arm full of swimsuits in varying colors and sizes because if she was going to try stuff on she was going to do it all at once. Overall it had been a successful endeavor; she had settled on two whole pieces and one bikini. 

Today, she chose to wear the navy whole piece that had some cut-outs at the sides. 

When she began dating Percy as a teenager, Annabeth had realized water activities were always going to be a part of their lives. If there was a body of water to jump into, Percy was taking off his shoes and diving in—sometimes his shoes dove in as well. 

Swimming while pregnant felt different for her. Maybe it was all in her head or that she was now technically swimming for two. 

“C’mon, Beth!! Kick your feet.” 

She was maybe a dozen feet behind him. But Percy loved to show off—doing the backstroke and yelling at her to catch up. 

“Percy, I am kicking my feet!” 

He had the nerve to giggle before finishing his lap. 

Why, oh, why did she agree to marry him again? 

As he paddled his way back towards her, Annabeth felt something bump her. Of course, no one else was in the pool. They rarely saw anyone this early using the gym pool. Bless having a 24/7 gym near them. 

It was nice having the gym relatively to themselves. They could spar in peace and if Annabeth, noticeably pregnant, just so happened to knock her fiancé down and hold his arm to the floor with her foot while pointing a staff at him…no one had to know. 

Swimming, of course, had been Percy’s idea. 

She put a hand to her belly and the source of bumping became clear. Percy had reached her now. 

“Wise Girl, I’m just—”

She cut him off, “feel this.” 

Annabeth moved his hand to her bump and waited. 

“Um okay, I don’t feel anything.”

She rolled her eyes, “be patient.” 

It felt strange to be standing in the pool holding hands across her stomach but the weirdness wore off instantly when their baby kicked again. 

Percy’s face lit up and he smiled widely at her. Right, this is why she agreed to marriage. 

“That’s our baby,” he told her. 

She returned his smile and nodded. 

Because only Percy can, he went under the water and began talking to the baby. Annabeth couldn’t hear exactly what he’s saying but it’s a fairly short conversation—she’s watched him talk longer to fish. 

When he came back up, he immediately kissed Annabeth. 

“I hope the baby’s a better swimmer than you,” he dared to say before diving underwater. 

Annabeth tried to catch up to him to no avail. But as Percy came flying past her underwater she grabbed his arm effectively tugging him back towards her. 

She pushed him against the side of the pool. Water droplets were falling into his eyes so she wiped them away and began tracing his face, down his neck, his shoulders…until her hand was underwater. Percy was shivering under her touch. 

“Beth…” he breathed, “please.” 

She pretended to not know what he was asking for. Instead, Annabeth leaned in and whispered in his ear, “admit I’m a great swimmer.” 

For a second, Annabeth thought Percy would push back and laugh. He’d forget what was at stake. But he surprised her. 

Instantly, like in a trace, he said, “you’re a great swimmer.” 

She smiled against his neck and moved away. By the time Percy snapped out of it, Annabeth was out of the pool and drying herself off. 

He glared at her. 

“Go ahead, fish boy, swim another lap.” 

Percy pulled himself out of the pool. Completely dry. Thank god no one else was around to see. 

He practically ripped the towel off of her shoulder and pressed Annabeth against a wall. Percy said nothing. 

But his tongue was telling her everything. His hands roamed all of her exposed skin, especially her hips which were exposed by the cutouts in her swimsuit. 

“Let’s go home,” he panted. 

Annabeth pushed him off her and shook her head, “hit the shower and then you’re taking me to brunch.” 

And that’s exactly what they did. 

“We could still cancel on him,” Percy said, holding the restaurant door open for her. 

“These plans are two weeks in the making, just because you have other ideas doesn’t mean we get to skip brunch with our friend.” 

Said friend was already sitting in the booth waiting for them. As they approached, Grover said “my new favorite trio!” 

“New favorite?” Percy asked, “who was the old favorite?” 

“The Powerpuff Girls,” Annabeth replied. “Or the 3 Musketeers!” 

“Huey, Dewey, and Louie!” Percy exclaimed, “wait no, rock, paper, scissors.” 

“I don’t think inanimate objects count,” Annabeth told him. “Ooo what about the Jonas Brothers?” 

“No, us!” Grover said, “Percy, Annabeth, Grover.” 

Annabeth deflated, that was a lame answer if you asked her but Percy seemed delighted by this information. 

“So how’s life?” She asked, changing the subject. 

Grover dove into his recent travels all the while assuring them he’d stay put in New York for the first few months after the baby was born. He talked a lot about his girlfriend Juniper, apparently she had a lot of camp half blood gossip to dish out—Annabeth made a mental note to Iris Message her soon.

“How’s the nursery coming along?” 

“We’re waiting for Rachel to come back from Europe,” Percy told him, shoving pancakes into his mouth. 

“I have plenty of ideas,” Annabeth promised. “I’m leaning towards a nature theme.”

This made Grover grin. “If you need help painting…”

“I think Rachel and I will have it handled. But thanks.” 

“Oh,” Annabeth said quietly, holding her stomach. 

“Baby?” Percy asked.

She nodded. 

“Baby started kicking today,” Percy told Grover, proudly. 

“Like right now?” 

“No earlier in the pool, but also yes right now we’re kicking up a storm,” Annabeth said. “Do you want to feel?” 

Grover shook his head. “To be honest, it kinda freaks me out.” 

“Kicking?” Percy laughed, “dude, it’s so cool!”

“Just thinking about the baby…in there…”

“Imagine how I feel, Grove.” 

“Sorry, Beth.” 

They ventured off of the baby after that. While the two boys launched into a retelling of their adventures as kids, Annabeth thought about how normal this felt. Just the three of them doing something so casual and how they only had so much time just the three of them before this baby arrived. 

“Can we plan another trip day please?” Annabeth interrupted. 

“Of course, we’ll do something soon,” Grover promised. 

“No, I mean open your calendar and let’s plan it.” 

“Oh right now? Okay.” 

“Maybe we can go see a movie next week?” Percy suggested. “There’s that new action one.”

“What about the romcom?” Grover and Annabeth said together. 

“Jinx!” 

“Jinx again!” 

This goes on for a few more jinxes until Annabeth eventually comes out the winner. 

“Actually scratch that, you two go alone I’m sure you’ll be very happy together,” Percy said. 

Annabeth punched him lightly. 

[red-leader-langfeldt]

joannybravo asked:

you're a roboticist, right? mechanical engineer? inventor type? what do you enjoy designing? like, in a perfect world where you wouldn't need to be inventing new weapons or something, what would your projects be?

God ettermiddag, Joan. Thank you for your question.

I actually have quite a large collection of blueprints and concept sketches that I have yet to bring to fruition. Of course, a fair amount of them are robots, but their purposes are varied. Some may be teachers or caregivers, and others may be law enforcement or public protection, and others have even more complicated functions that only really come into play in hypothetical scenarios. These, of course, will likely never be polished designs, let alone built or implemented into society, but… well, part of me dreamt of it once upon a time, when I was younger and knew less than I do now. It was quite fun to think through how to build a durable chassis around a complex code supplementing an artificial intelligence. It was like an activity for me, solving imaginary problems.

Aside from that, after designing my own prosthetic arm and Thomas’s visor, I developed quite the interest in disability assistive devices. Developing this kind of technology to foster equity in the quality of life amidst the population is such an appealing idea for me. So far, aside from the arm and the visor, I have designed legs, assistive hearing devices, and even some internal organs. I have also designed alternatives to Tom’s visor; different ways to restore or improve vision.

In my early adulthood, I prototyped an animal translator device as well. I had a fascination with my pet cat and decided I wanted to communicate with her. I never did perfect that one, but I still have the shitty cobbled-together prototype and all the related documentation.

This is really just a tiny fraction of what I have designed and would love to continue designing. But I do not want this post to be too long, haha. I could go on about my ideas for hours.

[dumb-doll-lips]

How did the sleepover go? (Other than the dead battery of course)

Because I do try to write about times im getting fucked, using this as an appropriate to try to include what all I can remember.

It was a lot of fun. I went over to his place. After just a little bit of saying hello and stuff, went straight into getting fucked for the first time of the night. He fucked me from behind while I was bent over the bed. I was trying to not have my face on the bed a lot bc we were gonna go get food after and didn’t want to mess up my makeup, which was silly of me. He smacked me ass a lot, and pushed my face into the bed some. I sucked his cock some next, again I was like trying to not be too messy about it to not mess up my makeup too bad and even said something, but at some point he held me down on his cock some and I was gagging a bunch. I think that’s when I gave up on my makeup. He then fucked me on my back, had my feet over his shoulders some first I think, and then liked varied. Had a bit of choking and getting slapped, and some very hot dirty talk around needing him to fill me w cum, I think he like called me a slut some and saying stuff about being his to use and so on. And def got filled w his cum. I really like that it’s like pretty common for me to cum the same time the guy is fucking me does. I def think it feels way good being filled with cum.

I cleaned up some and fixed my makeup, and sipped on a martini a little while chatting a little before we went out to pick up some Greek food. Tho I got a shawarma wrap instead of like a gyro, I don’t think shawarma is Greek. Idk. It was yum. I haven’t had mediterrean or middle eastern food it far too long for how much I like it. We went back to his place to eat and put on the movie nefarious, I wouldn’t say it was a good movie, but it was a fun one to talk during and like be kinda annoyed w lol. After the movie I got changed into this cute floral mesh set, that was like somewhere between lingerie and pajamas, little shorts and top that was held together by a little hook between my tits. And then we did kinda just browse movies and watch some trailers. My top managed to come undone a couple times…which led nicely into getting fucked again.

I don’t super remember the start of things but I know I was on top early on, and then at some points more like on my side and back. More light choking and some slapping and had a pillow over my face some and I think he had my hands pinned down some, but like most hot of all, there was some breeding talk. God that like always gets me, like when it first comes up I feel like my brain always is like short circuiting, and def much more so while getting fucked so well. So off course got filled w cum again. And then went to sleep.

And then was very fun to start the day getting fucked again. I feel like I don’t remember as much from this time. I remember he started w just teasing me some and when fingering me he said something about how wet I was. And more being cummed in too.

Shortly after I’m getting ready to head home and then find out my car door was open the hole time and that my battery was dead. Def felt soo dumb about that. Neither of us had cables (he’s in the tail end of moving and they weren’t here) or really new how (but like he was like saying he’d be able to look it up and stuff, but no cables). So I had to call my dad to come rescue me. My mom also then called me and I heard that she was like mad I didn’t call her instead of my dad which was like why? Did make things more annoying. But like overall def was all a really fun time.

Wow this took like forever to write lol.

[hopetorun]

mattdrai!

I JUST WROTE SO MUCH OF MY LONG RESPONSE TO THIS AND THEN I CLICKED THE WRONG BUTTON AND DELETED THE WHOLE THING OH MY GOD. i'm going to try to recreate it from memory but i just needed to share that.

anyway. obviously mattdrai compels me! i've written many thousands of words about them! so i think the more interesting thing here is do i think it makes sense, and i simply cannot pass up the opportunity to get on my high horse about why i do think think it makes sense, even though i suspect many of my followers agree with me and the people who disagree probably don't follow me. sorry.

but i do think they get a certain amount of the "omg this ship makes no sense they don't even know each other" stuff (i mean, i saw some the other day and it wasn't the first time) and on the one hand, i get it. a lot of hrpf is founded on shipping teammates (and former teammates), which are often ships where there's a lot of -- not evidence, cause none of this is real, but a lot of material to support your argument with. a lot of stuff to put in your ship manifesto to point to about why it's a compelling story of two people being Weird about each other. and those ships are a lot of fun! i have many of them, and it's so satisfying to take all those little moments and spin them into stories.

but. but. as @bropunzeling said yesterday, rivalry ships are such an important part of hrpf fandom. i was never a sid/ovi girlie* but it was a foundational ship in the late aughts/early 10s period of hrpf, which is what i would consider the beginning of the current era, though of course you could subdivide further. and of course sid/ovi was succeeded by sid/claude and mceichel and, obviously, mattdrai. each with varying degrees of popularity and different dynamics underpinning the rivalry and the narratives, but nonetheless all largely built on the narrative of rivalry between the two people involved, whether that was external pressure to prove which of you is The Best or petty interpersonal sniping. hrpf fandom has always jumped at the opportunity to ship to guys who were pitted against each other (or who pitted themselves against each other). it's a big part of the fun of being in a sports rpf fandom versus something like a band rpf fandom!

anyway all that broader context aside -- with mattdrai specifically there's obviously the background of interteam rivalry, which did pretty clearly escalate to interpersonal rivalry for a little while there. they were sniping and shoving and taking his'n'his penalties. remember when matthew scored a goal off a turnover of leon's and leon swatted him across the thigh with his stick? that's not like. a regular thing that happens when your opponent scores off your turnover. they got their hands all over each other (doing violence) (but it's all about the blurring of lines between violence and intimacy).

i guess if rivalry narratives don't appeal to you, you probably don't think any of these make sense. but it's not like the story of falling in love with your Worthy Opponent is a new one. the person who can push you to new heights. who annoys you by being able to keep pace. who forces you to reevaluate how good you thought you were. who knows exactly how to get under your skin. it's good stuff.

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day, Part Three

My monthly-ish roundup of my bad dimension 20 fanfic ideas of the day prompts! As ever, all of these can be written by anyone who cares to do so.

Part two can be found here and part one here

Bad Idea Of the Day, Multi-class Edition: Following basic pattern recognition skills, Fig decides and convinces four of the other bad kids that the key to getting powerful wizard abilities is not hard work and study, but having a name that starts with the letter A. Can Adaine deal with walking in to class on the first day of school and finding five new students in her wizard classes, Afig, Akristen, Ariz, Agorgug, and Abian, or will she murder her friends on the spot?

Bad idea of the day, Sicktember is a curse edition: Out of respect for Aelwyn's compromised immune system following her time in the orb, the residents of Mordred Manor actually take proper precautions to avoid getting her sick during the following flu season. A fluff piece and alas seemingly pure fantasy.

Bad idea of the day, yes I already did one today edition: Fig, actually doing a bard assignment for once, needs to build a ballad for her family history and decides to include the entire insane non-Gorgug bad kids family tree, even the most tenuous links in it like Kristen and Aelwyn.

Bad idea of the day, role swap edition: Fabian, prince of Leviathan, must deal with a ship that has been raiding his father's trading vessels, led by two sisters who are pirating with varying degrees of reluctance to bring wealth back to their greedy and demanding parents

Bad idea of the day, backstory mix and match edition: In the summer before high school, Kristen and her entire family are ripped apart by the discovery that she is half-devil; meanwhile, wood elf Fig wakes up one morning to a god whispering in her head and is deeply annoyed because they won't just let her sleep in.

(If I want to do it for all of the bad kids, hmm… Riz's parents are actually retired thieves, while Bill Seacaster was actually a privateer working for Solace the whole time; Adaine is adopted and aware of it and hoping her birth parents would actually love her, while Gorgug has a wild gnomish older sister who may be up to some nefarious activity)

Bad idea of the day, every show needs a musical episode by its third season edition: The residents of Elmville have been cursed into bursting into song at the slightest provocation, with reactions ranging from the amused (Fig, Kristen) to the murderous (Riz, Aelwyn). What kind of villain could be behind such an impromptu act of theater?

Why, it's Sam Reich of course. He's been here the… you know the rest.

Bad idea of the day, I Like Werewolves Okay? edition - KINGSTON fails his con save to avoid becoming a werewolf during the train fight and everyone else needs to help him adjust without gnawing on too many people.

Bad idea of the day, the writer had to scroll back to see if it had already done a bad idea of the day today edition: A groundhogs day esque time loop for one of the bad kids, but it's not a dramatic day or anything special and in fact it's just kind of boring and miserable. This turns out to eventually be revealed to be revenge by Arthur Aguefort for some petty and long-forgotten-by-the-kid slight.

Bad idea of the day, campaign fusion edition: Arthur Aguefort sends the Bad Kids on their most dangerous and critical mission yet, shrinking them down to clean out his fridge and prevent the vegetables within from grouping up to kill him before he can eat them, without causing too much damage to the ecosystem he's been maintaining for the last five centuries. Can these mere fleshy beings stop this uprising against 'the hungry one' in the world of Calorum?

Bad idea of the day, early morning edition: Kristen's gay awakening is triggered not by Tracker, but rather by someone who her parents would hate even more: The cute bi rebellious tiefling in her new party.

Bad idea of the day, portal to hell edition: Daybreak succeeds in condemning Kristen to hell, which doesn't actually end the world but does mean Kristen's stuck in hell. Can she find a new god worth following in such spicy surroundings?

Bad idea of the day, after school special edition: Fig and Aelwyn get part-time jobs going around Solace to "demonstrate" the dangers of drugs and drinking by going to local school parties and faking getting into lethal car accidents, overdoses, and other mishaps to scare those local students into being drug free, mostly because both of them secretly find it funny and in Aelwyn's case she needs the money

Bad idea of the day, Double Your Pleasure edition: Riva, never quite certain how the pleasure putty they're selling works, finds out about oral sex and then makes the determination that the explosive material should be marketed as chewing gum. The ensuing pleasure blows people's minds!

Bad idea of the day, Oops All Spells edition: The bad kids manage to not get detention on the first day and to avoid accidentally playing into daybreak's hands, ending up in normal parties. Many of them have many troubles out of this, but the worst is for Fig, who finds herself tempted into hanging out with the first other tiefling she's ever met even if he is a little bit of a loser, one Johnny Spells

Bad idea of the day, Mentopolis edition: The Fix gets an assignment to wipe out serial distracter Imelda Pulse before she can ruin any more coworker's birthdays

Bad idea of the day, Afterlife edition: Figueroth Faeth is very bad at the paperwork of her domain in Hell, even after nearly fifty years running it. Luckily for her, her good friend and paperwork expert Riz Gukgak has just died of old age, and Fig isn't above cheating him out of heaven in order to get his administrative expertise in Hell.

Bad idea of the day, party swap edition: As part of a junior year test, all of the students in that year must do a relatively easy quest mixed up into different parties, with no two members of a typical party allowed to be together. How do the bad kids handle doing a mission with people who are less, well, generally insane and bloodthirsty than they are?

Bad Idea of the Day, Spy Versus Spy edition: All of the bad kids are on secret missions to spy on Arthur Aguefort and his school, with varying degrees of willingness and conflicting goals: Adaine for Fallinel, Kristen on behalf of the church, Fig on behalf of Hell, Riz for Kalina, Fabian for his father, and Gorgug for the Solisian government itself through his parents.

Bad idea of the day, A Crown of Candy edition: Amethar dies in the initial ambush, the way Brennan had frankly probably planned for. Can the remnants of house Rocks hold things together and avenge their fallen king?

Bad idea of the day, Nightmare Forest edition: Rather than illusions, the nightmare forest sequence is made up of a Freddy Kreuger-esque sequence of actual dreams in the Bad Kids' actual sleeps, with them needing to survive their respective worst nightmares in order to make it to the place at the center of dreams where they can find the Nightmare King.

Bad idea of the day, fake holiday edition: Aguefort in junior year includes a class on self-promotion, and Fig and Adaine, taking it extremely seriously, start a holiday honoring the anniversary of Riz murdering Daybreak.

[fionamccall]

Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 - Tate Britain

This was an ambitious exhibition, trying to cover the variety of women's professional art over four centuries. Each artist only had 2-3 paintings, which did make it difficult to assess their work, and for some, like Louise Jopling and Laura Knight, I would have loved to see a more substantive exhibition. These were some I liked:

Joanna Mary Wells, Thou Bird of God (1861) - title taken from a Browning poem

Elizabeth Butler, Calling the Roll After an Engagement, Crimea (1874) - quite a daring feat for a woman to do a large-scale history painting on a military subject, and quite an original and moving idea for a composition.

Louise Jopling, Through the Looking Glass (1875), fascinating that she chose this title for her self-portrait, only four years after the publication of the book. Is she commenting on the role of a female artist as a kind of fantastical, unreal creature?

Helen Allingham, Feeding the Fowls (1889-90) - my Mum loved these kind of idealised paintings of the countryside - this is what I would call a Milly Molly Mandy cottage (also one of my Mum's favourite children's books) - you come across lots of them unexpectedly where I live in Hampshire.

Emma Barton, The Soul of the Rose (1910) - there were some lovely early photographs in the exhibition but they really deserved an exhibition of their own.

There were some beautiful flower paintings in the exhibition (something women were allowed to excel in) - this is by Mary Moser (1744-1819)

I failed to note down who this Victorian sculpture was by, but it is rather fine.

Laura Knight, At the Edge of the Cliff (1917) - last(ish) but not least, Laura Knight really does deserve her own exhibition, her work was so interesting, and varied throughout her lifetime, from beach scenes, to theatre, circus and ballet themes to, of course, her portraits of women workers in World War II. I love the confident pose of the girl - just the sort of pose I'm usually shown in pictures of when I was a child - if there was a pile of rocks to get to the top of or a wall to be climbed, I was there. Recently saw a picture of my Mum as a child on top of a wall, which was a surprise given her later levels of inactivity, so perhaps the genes come from her - my son is a great wall climber so he's obviously inherited them.

Finally, an extraordinary feminist image to end on, Maria Cosway (1759-1838), The Duchess of Devonshire as Cynthia.

Overall, you do get a sense from the exhibition of the ways in which women's outsider position as artists allowed them to have an original eye.

[senorablack]

yall when i say it's a fuckin struggle every damn time.

CW depression, suicide, drug/alcohol abuse, poverty, sexualized violence, fallacy of the american dream, first generation college student bullshit

Going to go way back because I want to and this feeling/story deserves some context.

I was a pretty shitty student in high school. I was constantly in school suspension, high/drunk, I stole shit out of peoples lockers. So I ended up in a continuation school or alternative ed. I swear to god if it wasn't for that school i wouldn't have done half the shit i did today.

Like the classroom size was about 15-20 students to 1 teacher??? and like, there was actually school resources for each student? like books were okay to take home, because they had enough for everyone. unlike my prev regular hs where books were only kept at school because they didn't have enough copies to give to everyone. and at this cont ed my teachers actually gave a fuck and they were all generous and invested and extremely encouraging in all our varying identities and expressions. there was cool shit they called "quests" where i was introduced to shit like the opera and hiking. i was a science camp counselor 3 years in a row because i fell in love with it. and decided oh yeah, that's exactly what i wanted to do. something with the environment and people.

so like from then on my teachers were like super encouraging and supportive (like bro, two of them drove up 6 hours to see me walk for undergrad), and were like yo, here is college that we think you would like (the camp director actually was a prev graduate) and i was obsessed. i ended up going to this program that allowed me to take college classes at my local cc while i was still in high school. dude, i ended up graduating early and with a few college units already under my belt.

my whole goal for the next two years was to get transferred to my school. and home girl did it. never thought i would have gotten that far. my parents didn't. i was the first person in my immediate family to go to college. and that meant something huge for me. anyway, somewhere along the lower division work i got more excited about anthropology. and transferred out and declared anthropology major with a minor in environmental planning. the first two semesters were rough. i was like barely holding on with c's. i made the realization in that first year that i was overwhelmed with school. like already burned out and got caught up in the university social life. of course i did what a lot of us do-- binge drink and missed morning classes and smoked a shit ton of weed (my college was pretty notorious for this).

i was just always sad from missing my family, hometown and in culture shock. because here i was, a brown person, in a white ass town. where the only places i could find ingredients to make my peoples food were on four shelfs in a designated ethnic aisle in my corner market or a couple of cites away at the specialty store. like you don't know the amount of micro-agressions i'd experienced during my time there.

and then of course i was sad because i was messing up school. and i got on academic probation. the next year i brought up my grades. one semester i started attending group therapy of survivors of sexual abuse and got involved with some campus events/programs that advocated for survivors and the ending of rape culture. this brought up a lot for me. and i fell into a deep depression. started prozac and i swear that was the reason that i almost committed (plus my nightmares and terrors have always been bad but they were never as bad as during that period). all this resulted in getting expelled.

i ended up finding really good friends there, one of which paid for my rent for 4 months before i got my shit together. i took a job at mcdonalds a city away, that i had to take a bus which ran at unreliable hours. and i made it work. took me half of the year to talk to a counselor at my school to see what i could do to get back to school. so i spent a semester at the local cc to earn qualifying gpa to get reinstated at my university. and was. from then on it was still hard as shit, but i was doing it.

but then i was realizing that the friends i made there were leaving/graduating (who were truly my anchors one of which passed away in 2022), my uncle, grandpa (my abuser), and aunt died withinn a few years of each other, and my job was stressful. school was A LOT. but the semester before i walked the stage i was on the fucking honor roll. like?????? and i had 2 core classes and 1 elective that i needed to finish my degree. so my family came up, my teachers came up. and my best friends came up. and like i walked and it was a good day. and then all i had to do was finish up the fall semester 2 core, 1 elective. but money was tight and my depression had me drinking and smoking more often. and i dont know, i fucked it up. failed that entire fucking semester.

and when i was out of money (because i quit mcdonalds to focus on school and was cruising on student loans), i had no choice but to go back home. i couldn't afford to go back to that cc and redo the whole reinstatement thing again. and i was tired. of school and my own bullshit and being fucking sad. so in 2015 i was back home.

honestly the lowest period in my life. never felt more like a piece of shit. and i felt a lot of shame for a long time. and i still feel it sometimes. when i go job hunting. because i have to put down things like "some college" "highest education: general education" "120 units"

took me a year to find a job. worked as a sbutt barista for 4 years before i said ima go into healthcare because i needed something different and stable. so i went to a vocational school for another thousands of dollars and earned a certificate to be a pharm tech.

though im very content with what im doing now. and proud of how far i've come. far and vastly different from what it might have been if i stayed in that regular high school, stayed in my hometown, did something like customer service or warehouse work like the rest of my family... i still feel that shame. i still have nightmares about missing assignments and being told that i cant come back and being late for classes.

and when i was applying for the job i just got, i had to put another unexplained and confusing answer to education history. and their HR just reached out to me today saying the couldn't confirm my background check for that school or even my community college. so i had to get transcripts from both. and i looked them over. and it made me feel terrible. terrible that i was so close but fucked it up.

made me feel like ....not smart enough or good enough. made me feel like a south side statistic (which is a loaded statement because of my internalized prejudice/hatred).

but theses are feelings and ideas and trappings i've lived in cycle for about 5-6 years now and i intend to let myself out of that cycle. i've reduced my drinking, rid my self of relationships that weren't healthy for me, up to date on my physical health, seeing a therapist, in group therapy, and taking medication for depression and anxiety.

so ima have a little cry. tell myself what i always do--

that was something that happened. it was sad that that happened. but i cannot change that it happened. i can only choose to continue to cultivate ways that will enrich my life. i am doing my best. i will continue to do my best.

[p-s-smith-author]

Dissertation on the Seeress

A link to one of my stories

Dissertation on the Seeress

As presented by Mistress Aiode in the year 722.

The lands of Iliapin are ripe with many tales and fanciful stories of gods and heroes.  Most are regional, tied to a particular group of people or area.  Though Aelven tales, such as the one of Willow, are known throughout their kind.   Yet those tales concerning the Seeress seem to be known all throughout all of Iliapin.

Like the varied people of Iliapin, so the myths of the Seeress vary.  They may describe her as young or old, alone or in the company of young girls, a bringer of good tidings or bad omens.  There is little in the way of commonality among these tales of her.

What is interesting about her is that it seems as if there is no part of Iliapin that does not have at least one story about her.  In addition, when trying to date these stories, rarely does it seem that two ever overlap.  If they do, there is a question about the exact dates, as the tellers of these tales rarely concern themselves with that detail.

Because of the number of stories about the Seeress, and the apparent sequence of these stories, I can only conclude that the Seeress, in fact, exists, even if she is nothing more than a construct of fancy.  A thread woven throughout the fabric of Iliapin…

***

... The earliest mention of the Seeress is from around the year 250, where a foreign woman of “white skin and hair of fire” visited several small villages northwest of the Kingdom of Flaoya.  There she warned of a drought and famine in the coming years and to make preparations for it.  Some people heeded her warnings and made preparations, while others did not.  When the drought came, some people were prepared, and thus the devastation was not as bad as it could have been.

There are other stories, however, that pre-date this one that mention a woman claiming to predict the future.  These stories seem to date some 50 years prior and appear around Toba, Jun’kar, and other areas near the Forest of Aran.  They speak of a raven haired woman advising people on courses of action to better their lives....

... However, not all tales of the Seeress are of her being benevolent.  Some tales talk of her bringing woe with her, such as the now nearly forgotten hamlet of Duhan…

***

... Can this be the same woman?  Only the uneducated, those who take superstition as fact, would say it is. More likely explanations would be that this is a series of women from some, yet unknown, order, or women who are building on and using the stories of the Seeress.  In the former, how are new members chosen?  If the latter, for what reason and to what end?

If this is some order, the answer may lie in the stories of the Seeress manifesting herself when some girls are born and claiming them....

... It is reasonable to conclude that since these girls appear to be raised by the Seeress, that they succeed her in some fashion.  Perhaps similar to how the title of “Inbul” passes from one sage to the next within our order of The Sage of Elhrub…

***

... As previously mentioned, some tales around the Seeress tell of her claiming baby girls born to other women as her own. But what becomes of these girls?  There are tales of girls claiming to be the daughter of the Seeress, but they depict these girls as being either in their teens or early adulthood at the oldest…

…. The questions about her still abound.  Who, or what, is she exactly?  Where does she come from?  What is her goal?  What causes her to manifest?  Why do Aranians and aelves hold her in high regard? Why do they seem so guarded about discussing her? It is as if protecting some secret....