#what's horrifying is. some of these antis are older than me

[bougiebutchbitch]

as The Nonsense continueth -

I also love Megatron in TFP (blatantly abuses Starscream!) and Starscream (is an abusive fuckwad of a boss towards anyone below his rank) and Yondu from GOTG (absolutely emotionally abused Peter as a kid, YMMV on whether 'smacked me around to show me how to fight' counts as physical abuse, but there's definitely an argument to be made there given what we see of their relationship on screen).

And I love and deeply empathise with Ed Teach, who had a self-destructive depression spiral but also abused his crew and especially Izzy during that. And no, the fact he is mentally ill absolves him of jack shit - I say, as a mentally ill traumatisedTM person who has also dealt badly with All Of That in the past, and lost friendships because of it (even if I was never anywhere near as awful as Ed lol).

And, for the record, I do think Izzy falls into the 'shitty abusive boss' category in S1. He's no way near on the same scale as Ed, and most of the time, when he's a cunt to people, it's to try and make them do their jobs - but like. He belittles people a lot, and that's shitty.

Abuse is abuse. It's fine to call it that, even if Your Precious Blorbo is the culprit.

On a scale of individual traumas, even the worst people imaginable can change and grow. Their victims owe them jack shit, but they can change. I love exploring the arc of those worst people imaginable as they develop and make the effort to stop hurting others and alter their worldviews. I love exploring the arc of those survivors as they come to terms with what happened to them and their often complex relationship with the person who hurt them, and move on and heal. I even love, occasionally, poking those Worst People further and further down the hole they're in until they're absolutely reprehensible. I love exploring toxic and mutually unhealthy, or downright abusive relationships, or toxic relationships that become abusive, in which no party is entirely Good or Bad, but the abuser is still very much an abuser and the abuse victim is still a victim who did not fucking 'ask for it' just because they're not a morally pure angel, holy shit, in a way that feels true to my own lived experience.

I just can't see how the stances of 'you don't have to pretend your blorbo is perfect to justify liking them' and 'a mean nasty abuse survivor is still an abuse survivor' are controversial sdlfhjfdjsksdg

Anyway, should you wish to come to my inbox and whine about me liking morally impure characters, here is some better material for you.

anyway I love that House does shit that is 9000000x more Problematique than Izzy (except, arguably, The Murders Of Nameless Enemies, which is pretty much a genre convention) but I never got any hate for liking him lol

I got less hate for being a Joker fan than an Izzy fan, which is fuckin wild (and - oh hey - look at that - it's possible to love a character like Ed who canonically abuses another of my favourite characters!! Maybe.... You don't gotta pretend Ed is a perfect angel in order to love him!! Imagine!!!)

like I know I'm Loud And Annoying(tm), but if you're gonna come at me for liking 'characters who did meanbad things!!1!!111!' and literally all you can point to is Izzy pulling poor Fang's beard when Fang questioned Ed (which was mean!! it was absolutely mean and shitty!!! bad Izzy!!!! bad!) on a show where appendages are amputated and fed to the victim, I promise you there is way better material in my archive lol

[iamnmbr3]

Let me start by saying that I adore your meta. It's some of the most thorough, well-reasoned hp analysis I've come across & you have a talent for tenderly mining and polishing canon connections I've never considered. You've put into words so many of my feelings about drarry, hinny, and the characters as a whole -- why I love them, why I struggle with them, and why they still compel me after all these years. I'm slowly chipping away at your blog and won't stop until I get to page 1 I've found myself very taken with the Slytherins lately--especially characters like Millicent and Daphne, who are either offhand names or caricatures, as well as some of the older Slytherins we see mentioned, who seem to stay largely out of the war (or at least aren't important enough to it for a mention). There are a lot of widely accepted fanon personalities/interpersonal dynamics for the Slytherins, and they're always fun to delve into. But I often find myself struggling to separate canon from fanon. Do you have any thoughts on what we can extrapolate about the Slytherins in canon (apart from "mean, ugly, & stupid/vapid" as jkr describes nearly every Slytherin but Draco)? And if not, do you have any blogs/posts to recommend on the topic?

Wow. What can I even say. I've been staring at this ask since I received it feeling so warmed by your words. Thank you very much for such high compliments. It always thrills me to hear that people get some enjoyment/mental stimulation out of this blog and that my little ramblings are of interest to others.

To some extent, since the other Slytherins aren't that well developed (due to the fact that Harry was too busy constantly staring at Draco to notice anything about them - I mean he literally doesn't even know Theodore Nott's NAME till he sees him spending more time with Draco) there's a lot of room for people to come up with their own interpretations of their personalities.

That said, there is some info in canon we can go off of. For example, we see Pansy hanging out with Draco a lot more than Millicent or Daphne. We also know that none of their parents were Death Eaters. And given that Millicent and Daphne seem to stay away from Draco more later, maybe their families aren't quite as into the whole blood purist stuff as Pansy and her family are. Especially Daphne does not seem to really participate in any of the bullying we see a lot of the Slytherins take part in.

Personally, I always headcannoned that Daphne never liked Draco very much and that while she did hold some anti-muggle and anti-muggleborn biases (similar to those held by most of the wizarding world), her attitudes were more on the level of those held by Fudge or Crouch and she never actually went in for any of the extremist blood purist beliefs or supported the Death Eaters or even had attitudes as extreme as Walburga Black (who thought the Death Eaters mostly had the right idea even if they went about it the wrong way). I also think she didn't much like the pettier behaviors Draco engaged in - the boasting, the bullying, the mockery, not to mention the weird Potter obsession - (or that the people Draco hung out with engaged in). I think she probably found him stuck up and arrogant and vaguely unsavory and tended to avoid him, even if she wasn't as horrified or enraged by him using slurs like Mudblood as someone like Ron or Harry would be.

I like the idea that after the war she and her sister changed their minds about their beliefs about muggles and muggleborns - even if they were never quite as extreme to begin with as those held by some. I headcanon that they two of them were both back at Hogwarts during Draco's 8th year - and that they actually ended up striking up a friendship - once the realized that he'd changed. After all, they were housemates for years. Plus they ran in similar social circles. And they all changed their minds, so that's a common bond. Daphne tells Draco point blank that she always thought he was a stuck up twat and Draco agrees that he was, which breaks the ice.

As for Pansy, I actually think she was more of a hanger on than a true friend. I thinks he and Draco drifted apart in 7th year. I don't especially like characterizations that whitewash the bad things she did - either the bullying or the bigotry or the "rying to hand harry in to Voldemort thing - or that turn her into some ooc mary sue girlboss with no personality other than being a genius who is great at everything and also getting to be mean with no consequences because she's so cool so no one cares I guess. That's not to say I don't enjoy fics with Draco/Pansy friendship if it's done right. But yeah, based on actual canon I see her moving on to the next person once Draco's fortunes were shown to have irrevocably fallen by book 7. Plus it's arguable that she always expected to marry Draco since he was the best match (thru book 6 anyway) but that she always secretly harbored feelings for Blaise. And after the war she got to act on that. After all, in the train scene in book 6 she seems awfully interested in what girls Blaise likes.

For Millicent we have even less. We know she was a bully. I don't like seeing that ignored or seeing her girlbossified. I do like the idea of her going thru her own little redemption arc and trying to make something of herself. I also imagine that she and Draco kind of drifted apart though. I think she ever became a completely nice person, but I like the idea of her apologizing to Hermione and them ending up at the Ministry together and kind of tolerating each other - just one of the many instances of strange, uncomfortable relationships that pop up in the post-war wizarding society as it tries to put itself together.

As for Crabbe & Goyle, I really hate how often fandom seems to forget or gloss over the fact that both of them were actively participating in torturing other students and seemingly very into it. I think the way Draco treated them - as henchmen/servants - always grated on them but they accepted it due to the relative statuses of their families. When the power dynamic between them shifts though, starting book 6 but really post book 6, they seem to revel in Draco's degradation and fall from grace (and we even see hints of that earlier, like them laughing when Draco gets beaten up by Harry in book 5 and not intervening). I find that super fascinating, and I think they are darker, more twisted characters than people tend to give them credit for. Given all this, I don't see Draco and Goyle staying friends post war and I never get why Goyle having been an enthusiastic participant in the Death Eaters' crimes (in a way that Draco never was) so often gets forgotten. Usually post war he gets reduced to a simple minded sad boi who Draco needs to look after. And I'm just like ??? Where?? Especially given that the alternative provides so much more interesting story fodder.

[ask-spotteddusk]

General Information

Welcome to my side blog created by @mrcow101

Scroll to the bottom to read the plot!! Or you can just read the TL;DR. :)

Disclaimer to note that the admin is a Spottedleaf and Appledusk apologist, so anything posted here will portray them in a very sympathetic light or how I see fit. So any hate asks sent will either be ignored or I'll make fun of you.

Sometimes I will post drawings with my asks, so expect some gore, cursing, and horrifying themes because this blog will touch on many uncomfortable or unsuitable subjects.

I am underage; don't send me weird asks either.!

Roleplaying is allowed; you're allowed to give ideas for what I should do with my AU and many more. I'm just here to have fun. 

I do suffer from clinical depression in real life, as well as suffering traumatic experiences recently, so don't expect me to be online 24/7. I don't care who follows me as long as you aren't a real-life pedophile or zoophile or try to cause issues for me. So don't bring your stupid proship-anti bullshit here. Sincerely a multiple-time CSA survivor. I'm too tired to entertain this nonsense. 

here are the tags to find stuff

#admin asks

#Appledusk asks

#spotteddusk asks

#story update

#headcanons

#story art

PLOT!! Alright, so the gist of this AU is that Spottedleaf is a descendant of Appledusk via his relations with Birchface that resulted in them having a daughter that later led to the birth of Spottedleaf. In this AU her situation with Thistleclaw goes on for longer than it did in canon, and she is a young adult by the time she gets out of her situation. It isn't outright mentioned or seen, but there are implied implications of there being sexual abuse and physical abuse. If you are uncomfortable, leave now. I don't care if you find this distasteful. Spottedleaf's love and adoration for Thistleclaw diminish when he continues to train in the Dark Forest instead of choosing to be with her. Desperate for answers and why her "mate" would betray her, she attempts to travel to the mothermouth but encounters a strange ghost instead. The ghost cannot speak, but Spotted Paw can see the suffering and grief in his hollow green eyes. Though this scares her into returning home. Spottedpaw soon realizes that she can't exactly get rid of the ghost. Appledusk keeps following her around and pestering her with his presence. Spottedpaw soon finds comfort in him, though, since she feels uncared for by those around her, and now that Thistleclaw has been avoiding her, she feels more alone than ever. Spottedpaw and Appledusk are able to communicate by writing in dirt, mud, or using the charcoals to write. Okay, flash forward Spottedpaw is older now; she realizes that she is the only one who can see Appledusk; not even the other medicine cats can see him unless they have explicit permission. She's learned that Appledusk will come if she is in danger and that he seems to be connected to her emotional stability. That if she experiences intense emotions, then he will suffer as well. They're tied together in many ways that Spottedpaw still cannot fathom herself. But moving in, Spottedpaw opens up about the things Thistleclaw has done, and she feels awful that she drove her mate away. Appledusk disappears shortly after and thinks that she drove him away, and she falls into a deeper state of distress. Thistleclaw begins harassing her physically and verbally, and Spottedpaw is on edge. Thistleclaw disappears a moon later, and around this same time, Appledusk reappears. The plot is very long, so I won’t write anything else. Sorry.

TL;DR In short, I headcanon that both Appledusk and Spottedleaf are victims of grooming/CSA at some point in their lives. Appledusk dies earlier in his story unrelated to Mapleshade, and he never got justice for the abuse dealt to him. Because Spottedpaw is his descendant and a cat who suffered like him, he wants to help her and get her out of her situation. And is desperate to make sure she gets her justice even if it comes in the wrong way. Appledusk cares dearly for Spottedpaw, even if he isn’t vocalizing this to show this emotionally or with facial expression. Though because his emotional state is tied to Spottedpaw, she has learned a bit of how he feels, though it’s still hard for her to read his emotions. In my AU (I'm not sure if this is in canon, honestly), ghost cats can only be seen by the living if the living cats are explicitly given permission to see the ghost. Appledusk will only willingly show himself to Spottedpaw because he trusts her. But any other cat is a hard no for him. During her healing, Spottedleaf becomes a warrior again thanks to the encouragement and pushing of her ghost friend. And she later chooses the name Spotteddusk in honour of her mentor and friend. To symbolize that through the darkness of her heart and mind, she managed to find comfort and saving in the dusk that plagued her. 

[dreaming-marchling]

I hope you feel better soon!

Love this bit of cultural worldbuilding in Exile if you have any additional director's commentary!

“I don’t know if Magnus or Jace made it clear or not but parabatai bonds are sacred to us. They’re a serious, serious commitment and there are all sorts of accommodations given to bonded pairs. That someone purposefully broke the bond between you and Jace is literally its own crime. There will be people, especially in the older generations, who will be more angry about what happened to your bond than what happened to you yourself. Mostly those people are anti-Downworlder bigots who don’t like your progressive stance but still, the point stands.”

The show SAID the bond was sacred and then they just never actually showed it. Like super frustrating, it infuriated me all the time. Like bad enough they let Jace be tricked by Jonathan with that text that Max died - HE SHOULD HAVE FELT THAT ALEC WASN'T DEVASTATED AND KNOWN IT WAS FAKE!!! - but like where was the DEFERENCE??

I really wanted there to be scenes where say Maryse tried to pull something on Alec and Jace cut her off like "he's my parabatai and my word goes" instead we got shit like her telling Alec to just like forget Jace because he made them look bad. Or for there to be some sort of "omg those are parabatai warriors, look at them fight, they're blessed by the Angels" awed reaction from new to the Institute Shadowhunters. We got a whole lot of nothing other than an occasional mention that the bond is sacred or losing a parabatai is the worst pain without really showing it.

So I really wanted to show it in Exile. Jace wasn't just in pain, he was shattered and wanted to join Alec in death as their souls were torn apart and wanted - needed - to be back together. I wanted other people to be horrified that Imogen had done that to parabatai. I wanted the breaking of the bond to be its own crime to stack on her mountain. Even Alec who had no idea who he was was dealing with a "rip" inside of him that hurt and destabilized him without understanding why.

I imagine the Clave to be really cutthroat like old royal courts were, lots of scheming and "playing the game" and assassination attempts. I can absolutely imagine some people being like "damn girl" to Imogen for so ruthlessly and effectively taking out Alec to further her grandson's interests and the Herondale name. Not like approval approval but "what a master manipulator, well played" kind of vibe... until she broken an Angel blessed bond to do it.

I have feelings.

Thank you for asking!!

[phoenixwrites]

I looked into some of their posts because I wanted to see the full info on both sides. I wanted to reach out to say they are really just something else. First, please know they are searching deep into your blog for your selfies and info that they can find, while who find one DID color over your face .... it's uncomfortable the territory they are on the fencing of. Stay safe. Second, I had a good cry as a csa and in general survivor too, because this is appalling, it's so freaking horrifying how YOU could be considered the same realm... they reblogged a PSA about someone else in ST fandom who writes genuine CSA like 6 year old x 20 year old Eddie, 12 year old x grown ass Steve and Billy, so on and not even all ST, but all is smut. A commenter was saying that they were going to write smut about a 12 month old. I wish I was joking or being dramatic. The someone claims they are writing it for their own trauma, but it really does not read from the screenshots of fic as such (vs how your posts seem missing context) I feel sick from seeing THAT callout post contents, THAT chilled me. I don't fucking know how you could be considered of the same cut like that kind of person ??? All over older Erica x Dustin ??? Like WHY deliberately take your asks and responses out of context, why are you evil for thinking about the characters grown, nothing to do with the actors? Yet they write self insert smut about teenaged Billy, Steve, so on. Include gifs of showering Billy. They seem hellbent on focusing on everything else, or maybe a personal projecting since they can't separate actor from character almost. Hell, even the camp counsellor Eddie x younger camper Chrissy fic they were blasting you for reading is different than freaking that someone's fics. This entire thing reads like a personal vendetta finding any morsel and making into some abomination. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this bullshit. Protect your peace and yourself from this insanity. Lots of love to you. This is long as crap so you don't have publish it, but I just felt like you deserved to know what was being said and compared.

Hi there! Thanks for your message. Seriously, guys, the support has been amazing and I can’t express how much I appreciate it.

I nosed through last night for a little bit but I think the benefit of my social media being very open over the years is…there’s not really much to find. I am far more boring than antis believe. Even my Erica fics will be particularly disappointing to those who are looking for ThoughtCrime—they are probably the tamest thing I’ve ever written. I will try to implement measures in case someone doxxes me or something.

I’m so sorry for you. I’m so sorry that you’re in this shitty club with me. I would not wish the flashbacks, the dehumanization, the guilt, the shame, the triggers, or the nightmares on anyone. The accusations they make about me are genuinely nauseating.

I’m not familiar with the other writer’s callout post you mentioned, but even if they are writing disturbing dead doves—we don’t know them. We don’t know why they wrote it, I don’t know their situation, I don’t know their reasoning, hell, it might all be out of spite. But I don’t want to “ugh look at this OTHER writer writing this gross stuff, YOU could NEVER be considered one of THEM”, you know?

I am not going to condemn a dead dove writer just because that is something I would never read. It’s words on a page. No one is harmed. As viscerally chilling and disturbing those plots are, they exist in the author’s brain. I don’t know WHY they exist in the author’s brain, if they’re processing their own shit or genuinely trying to titillate. I don’t really want to know either way. Either way is triggering to me. Either way, that is content that would make me throw up and I would avoid.

So I do the fucking ADULT thing and block those fics. Or ignore them. Ignoring them is a great tactic. Because I don’t know the author’s story and I would never try and assume that I do. I protect my own peace.

Another example. I have a weird trigger. It’s a trigger that is innocuous and harmless to most people. Some people really love the trigger. But I cannot abide it. I start having flashbacks. Anxiety attacks. Even just by SEEING this piece of media. And I feel a ton of shame for it because I blame myself, when actually it was my abuser’s fault. Not me. Not you. Never the victim. Ever.

But I do not expect tumblr to CATER to my trigger. I have this piece of media blocked on every social media site. I intentionally avoid it. My brother has even refused to accompany his friends on a Disneyworld trip because they were cosplaying as the Trigger and he didn’t want to trigger me. My community knows of it and they try very hard to use spoiler tags or ask others to spoiler it so I don’t interact with it. If I come on it accidentally (happened a lot during Philly, many breathing exercises were done and I had to step out a few times from the Artist’s Alley)

This is all MY responsibility. Not Tumblr’s. I cannot demand that every fic writer who writes about the Piece of Media that is a Trigger take it down for my own comfort, just because I am rightly and justly disturbed by it.

Oh, it is DEFINITELY a personal vendetta. Comes with the territory of any outspoken woman in fandom.

Your guys’ support means everything to me. And to all writers.

I’m sorry if this came off preachy or lecturing, I didn’t mean it that way. I just really, REALLY do not want people taking the mentality of “Phoenix isn’t writing this shit, but OTHER writers are, so let’s go harass them!” No.

Leave the dead dove writers alone. Leave all writers alone. If you do not like something, don’t read it, block the author, mute the tag, do whatever you can to protect your peace.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

What’s great is, while experiencing my own unwanted pregnancy and subsequent chosen abortion gave me personal insight into what that’s like, plus some fun extras like having not yet had PIV and needing my septate hymen cut on the operating table, and not being able to swallow pills so feeling everything, I was fully pro-choice before that.

It started when I was eleven years old and first heard about abortion at my Catholic elementary school, where there was talk of the “aborted babies” still being alive and crying and being thrown in the trash. I was horrified and later repeated it to my nana, who laid things out to me: that as her relationship with my grampa had begun to fail, she thought she was pregnant and her thought was “I cannot bring another child into this marriage”, and she would have had an abortion if it had come to it. Then she told me a story from her home country of Ireland. A girl my age had been raped by her own father and become pregnant. The priests stopped her from going to England for an abortion until she threatened suicide. Nana asked me: where is the real evil there? It was obvious to me: the father and the priests. I did a 180 and never looked back.

And then as I grew older and my own body developed, I formed this kind of sense of pregnancy where a forced abortion or forced pregnancy and birth just seemed incredibly evil to me, like sin against nature kind of a thing, just something deeply wrong. Still, I’d wanted kids all my life and thought if I ever got pregnant I could have never have an abortion myself but fully supported women and girls who did. Until of course I got pregnant myself and realized pretty quickly that yes I could. And that just cemented it for me. More evil than the cruelest words of an anti-choice woman would be forcing her to endure a pregnancy and birth she doesn’t want. It’s on the same level as rape, incest*, cannibalism*, necrophilia, etc. it’s just fucking wrong.

[bluebird-appreciator]

Favorite shows tag game

Rules: List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

1. Doctor Who

2. Good Omens

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation

4. Over The Garden Wall

5. MLP:FIM

Kind of an odd list on my part, but I love all of them. Thank you @veraynes-blog for tagging me!

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

Aziraphale. I’m like Crowley IRL, as interesting of a sentence as that might be, and I absolutely adore Azi. I love his character, I love his little actions and the details put into him, he’s such a sweet and wonderful person.

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

Opinion that’ll probably get at least one knife to my neck here, but if I am *fully* honest with myself, Rose or Jack. I just never liked Rose, I love series 1 of nuwho very much because of CE but some of those original scenes with Rose I just couldn’t watch. I’m not a fan of her at all. Give me any companion BUT Rose and I’m happy. 🫠

3. What’s your favourite episode of 4?

Ooh! Definitely into the unknown. when I first watched it so very long ago it really got to me. The real life aspect, showing the kids behind the metaphorical curtain, leading further into fan theories and canon lore, it’s fantastic. Runner up would probably be mad love, because who doesn’t love a talking horse in a mansion.

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

Hmm… probably season 2 or 3. I prefer the older seasons to the newer ones by a bit. But I am partial to newer seasons on account of Sunburst being there. x)

5. What’s your favourite relationship in 3?

Easiest answer of my life. Data and Geordi. No bias on my part, of course… but I adore them. The duality of human /android & the genuine love and care and emotion between them is fantastic. I love their adventures, who doesn’t, and of course I’m a massive fan of the sherlock one in specific.

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

I’m also going to steal an answer, Newton and Anathema. I loved Newt, I have a soft spot for, and I say this with love, pathetic loser men with glasses, but I didn’t like them together in the slightest. Blah blah blah, prophecies prophecies prophecies, I’m not for it. It’s just not a pairing I care for even if I love the two by themselves respectively.

7. How long have you watched 1?

Actually, only a little over a year, along with years of casual exposure. I’m just a smidge late to things, as I am to my appointments in real life. The only one in my personal life (IRL, at least) who watches it is my uncle, he’s a big old who (especially four) fan who had no real exposure to nuwho before we watched POTD and some older eleven episodes together, which he did enjoy. Soon he will join the rest of us, I’m sure

8. How did you become interested in 3?

I’ve had a casual interest forever, but got properly into ST as a franchise around when I was in middle school with watching TOS and TNG. My then best friend was a big warsie, and becoming a trekkie didn’t really put as at odds but it was a fun dynamic to have. We were both on the same robotics team for years, her dad having been the coach, and her whole family being big wars fans, so it was entertaining effectively being the sole trek fan in the team lol.

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

… actor? Uh, the beast, I suppose. Are they really actors, though? VA wise, Melanie Lynskey with Beatrice or Elijah Wood with Wirt.

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

One. I love all of them, they’re all very dear to my heart, but nothing will touch DW when it comes to my favorite show. DW and GO are close but DW wins this series I’m afraid.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

Both are “long”, but DW as a whole is just so much longer than one ST series so it’s a no brainer. DW.

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Mr. President, Jason Funderberker, Greg’s frog. I think it’d be fun to be a frog taken on adventures through the woods, even if those adventures are horrifying and scarring. I’d even get to sing a few songs along the way

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

Kill off Sunburst… uh, make antiquing illegal. Probably. Kill off Time Turner… make Derpy disappear. Kill off Perfect Pace… make pocket watches stop working. Boom

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

Anything is possible with the right attitude, but I have absolutely no idea how the Enterprise could enter the Unknown, so probably not.

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

Stealing a second answer, odd variations of Doc/Mas. I’m fond of 11 and Spymaster, 10 and Spymaster, 13 and Missy, 11 and Simm Master, and I’m going to hold out a bit of copium for 14 somehow meeting Simm Master again. x(

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

I’m afraid it’s gotta be TNG, on account of levar burton.

Tagging a few cool people I’ve met here, but anyone is free to do this! @roxannepolice @magpiefrankie @fullofbones4444 @alexmey-does-an-arts

[biosblades]

I also feel like being friends with adults helps a lot with fear of growing up. Like right now there’s a pretty pervasive thought process that at age 25 you stop being allowed to enjoy anything you previously liked, your whole life becomes doing your taxes and working in an office, and you’re a creep for trying to engage in any form of recreation (especially online). Genuinely believing that makes growing up a HORRIFYING concept. And I know young people afraid of it because of how 10 year olds are obsessed with anti-aging skincare, how teens call 30 year olds old hags, how gen z won’t stfu about how old millennials look/act and how out of touch they are, how the common insults online are “you really care about this?? At your big age??” “Don’t you have to go do your taxes or something” “damn you’re really [20+] and beefing [engaging in conversation/civil discourse] with a whole CHILD [15-18 year old]”

All of these are expressions of fear. They’re attempts by older teens to desperately grasp onto their youth because they’re terrified of what it would mean to be one of those “old hags” and they feel the need to loudly and clearly separate themselves from that. I get it, I was there too. I’m gen z + very online, and I was terrified of outgrowing my welcome. But once I met some 30+ year olds and became friends I literally realized they were still human, they were actually pretty cool people, and we had things in common; now I don’t feel that same need to constantly announce that I’m not one of the stinky grown ups to feel like I’m allowed to exist. And it gave me a model of what my future could look like. Now I realize that there’s not some stopwatch that’ll go off in a few years’ time and end my ability to engage in anything I’ve ever loved before. I realize that my life won’t just end the day I turn 25

I also think these ideas are where the “I’m just a 29 year old teenage girl” come from. We’ve literally dehumanized tf out of anyone older than 18/20/25

And I feel like a lot of the vicious distain toward children and teens amongst young adults is also a defense mechanism. If you’re gonna be looked at as a creep for occupying the same space as a kid/teen, obviously you’re not gonna want them existing in any place you want to be.

This dehumanization of adults and the assumption that all inter generational relationships are creepy/suspicious is hurting everyone. Teens are people, they can actually be cool friends. 30 year olds are people, they can also actually be cool friends. Why must we enforce this separation that’s making everyone super miserable and uncomfortable (and stunting teens’ development/depriving them of role models while simultaneously gatekeeping cultural developments from 30+ year olds, assuring that they actually do become out of touch/unsympathetic to younger people. It’s an artificially created generational divide that doesn’t need to be there)

I don’t know how to fix the systemic problem, but dropping my own attitude helped immensely. I now have close friends of all ages, and the benefits for all of us are clear. The ability to gain knowledge from people older than me who have already gone through stuff, benefit from it and build upon it myself, and then pass it on and make my younger friends’ lives even easier just feels like exactly what being human is about

i think some of you guys are insane 👍 it's actually possible for a 16 year old to be online friends with someone in their 20s. source: teenagers are actually people who can talk to other people about shared interests.

[azurewhitewind]

A bit of a long vent about the Berserk fandom, trolls, antis, and proshippers...

This is some stuff I need to get off my chest that really bothered me for some years that I noticed with my ex-friends and just some people in adult fandoms, as well as others. I don't have an issue with proshippers perse, but I had to distance myself from a lot of the stuff I've seen. I even had to block people who are just pretty gross, to say the least. I can separate myself from fiction pretty well. It's something that I'm very grateful to my late grandfather for.

I'll be talking about some pretty dark stuff, but feel free to scroll past. I don't want y'all to be uncomfortable. It's just a rant that I feel like people need to be more mindful of others and polite online. I stay in my own lane and I use the content filter here which I love to use for things I don't enjoy very much and it makes a safe space for me as well as the other person's tag I'm blocking. Everyone wins this way and I wish more people understood this.

That being said, my late grandfather loved Dark fantasy and science fiction and I think if my grandfather was still around he would be about thirteen years older than Miura. So it makes sense and they both seem to love similar things, seemed to be common with that generation, or close to it. So I'm thinking I get it from my grandfather I guess, which is funny in itself. I love watching Star Wars, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, The Tales from the Crypt, Dark Crystal, etc. It's also what I watched with my grandfather and what he enjoyed. There's probably a lot more, but I can't remember it from the top of my head.

I've seen some similar stuff in Alien Vs Predator and Berserk, so I felt like it prepared me for this horrifying stuff and yeah, it's gross, but I was able to just step away and say, "Hey, it's fiction it's not hurting anyone." That being said, I don't condone that bad stuff that happens, and it can be good storytelling if it's done right. I can't get into a lot of newer media because it's just not as good. I guess I'm picky. Next, I want to read Vagabond, and I'll talk about it in another post once I start reading it.

I can understand that art and even dark artwork is a healthy way to process stuff, but the issue I have with some people is that they are romanticizing and glorifying these themes that are clearly bad. Not all proshippers do this, and it sucks that the term proshipper has been tainted. I remember it used to just mean that they don't attack people over fiction, but now it's just a huge mess, and I want nothing to do with it. It kinda feels like politics, which is exhausting as well.

The issue I have with proshippers is with their lack of tagging, and just that they seem really mentally unwell, but I can say the same about antis... Instead of blocking and muting tags, antis attack people, which is awful too, and they need to leave people alone. This stuff was pretty tiring on Twitter when I was very active there for years. I would see this go on and on. It seems to have moved to Bluesky now, but at least there are blocklists to protect people from harassment. It's never okay to attack people over fiction, and I'll never think it's okay. It's wrong, always.

I've also noticed this on the Berserk subreddit, it's getting to a point where I don't know if I'll use that anymore, which sucks since it was fun, but they go too far and the rape jokes are too much. That's a very traumatic experience for Casca and Guts that happened during the eclipse. They lost everything. When I first watched the 1997 anime, I remember just being shocked, sad, and then raged... This was back in November 2020, so some years ago. I had to take a break after that and didn't read the manga much until fairly recently.

It's been hard to open up to people nowadays, especially if I don't know their intentions, so seeing this in a manga at that is something else. I was really impressed by how accurate and human these characters are, including Griffith despite everything he has done. It's a result of being in a bad environment. I understand it since I also had hardships myself and a rough life, but I don't take it out on others and spite people. That's when I felt that he fell from grace. I loved him before he did all of that. It's so tragic, and I can understand what Miura was trying to tell when he wrote him.

Like Guts, I didn't see all the red flags with Griffith, because of everything that went on in this series, I just can't ship Guts with Griffith, even if all that didn't go down, I still would see them as brothers so I appreciate the GriffGuts tag since I don't want to see it so I mute it. Gutsca is my OTP. I'm not usually into straight pairings, but I love this one. So I guess it's unusual for me, but it's something different which is nice. That being said, I never saw Guts and Griffith's relationship as romantic. Griffith is so possessive and reminds me of an ex-friend who tried to ruin me and was like a sister to me. I know firsthand how friendships can fall apart if people don't talk about things.

He is a well-written character but is very realistic, and sadly, in real life, there are people like him that I used to be friends with. That's why I don't like him very much. Also rewatching this series I started picking up the warning signs, but yeah it's there the whole time honestly, I was iffy about him, but wanted the Band of the Hawk to succeed so I was hoping he would get better, but he got worse and blamed Guts for abandoning him when Guts just wanted to be his friend and be a better person.

It's tragic and a cautionary tale that I can relate to. This is so well written, and I hope to see it finished someday. It's helped me cope with a lot of stuff I'm going through so again, I don't have an issue with dark fantasy, clearly I'm a big fan of Berserk, but this dark content is very sad and disturbing at times. I just wish the fandom could act a bit more mature, but I realize there are a lot of underage fans, and I am concerned for their mental health.

I wouldn't have been able to handle this at that age, Alien VS predator really bothered me because I was too young to handle it and this is when my late Grandfather helped me process what was going on. It was pretty scary, but now that I'm older, I don't have much of an issue with it, and I see the message it's trying to tell. This stuff is made to be disturbing, and when done right, I don't have an issue with it, is all I'm saying. I'm just concerned about the youth on social media these days. Where are their parents? They should wait until their older to look at adult content. I'm glad I waited and was responsible online when I was a kid.

I guess I'll never understand the thought process that goes in these kid's minds. Maybe they're just lonely who knows. But yeah, I feel better to get this out there. I appreciate it if y'all made it this far. Sorry, it's so long. I had a lot to say. I plan on making a video about this series, and I realize I gotta prepare myself for trolls and just ignore them. They are rotten apples in every fandom, and I feel that it's important to just curate your space and have fun. That's what makes life worth living.

[karekuat]

top three favorite stories?

Oooo this is an interesting question

1) Alice in Wonderland (and every reimagining or reference of it)

I dunno why, but both the aesthetic and narrative themes of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have been my favorites since I was a kid. I'm very big on reality vs dream themes and the wordplay and poems. Always an all time favorite for me and I am super happy whenever I pick up on references to it in other media

2) Bloodborne

While I'm a fan of all the Souls games and their lore (tho I don't know much about Sekiro to be fair, just the DS trilogy and Elden Ring), Bloodborne hits all the personal marks for me in both gameplay and narrative. The hubris of humanity in search of knowledge and/or power, the cosmic interference with various great Eldritch beings with a bunch of different motives and feelings. The idea of wanting to ascend oneself and committing atrocities toward other people in the process, covering up misdeeds and failures, guilt and regret and revenge, literally everything to do with Yharnam's society.

3) Alien / Aliens

It's just a good ol anti-capitalist horror/thriller. The parallels of the second movie (Aliens) with Ripley and Newt and the Xenomorph queen with her eggs is something I could probably dissect for hours and I just love the whole thing regarding the Xenomorphs just being creatures that want to survive, mixed in with them being parasitic and involving a capitalistic sci-fi scene.

Honorary Mention:

4) The Call of Cthulhu

I wouldn't say the story itself is one of my favorites cuz honestly while it's one of the founding pieces of "Lovecraftian" Cosmic/Eldritch horror, I didn't find the story to be as mystical or horrific as people hype it up to be.

It's also a story that needs recognition of the time period and author, who was of course a raging religious homophobic racist white supremacist. That being said, it's because of the historical context I find the story to be really profound in like a subversive way for me personally. The whole idea of Cthulhu being this creature older than the earth itself and connected to the nature of the universe, bringing the end of humanity (which is described as humanity devolving into lust and murder etc etc), who's followers and prophets tend to be: black and indigenous and queer people.

Obviously the idea of POC worshipping some primordial sin creature is scary! For a white man! Oh the horror! But that's kinda why I like it, and it's the fact that I didn't find it horrifying or mysterious for these reasons at all that I enjoyed it. It's just a personal thing for me, and the aesthetic of Cthulhu as a creature is pretty cool.

(Obviously a huge racism TW for anyone who is thinking about reading it)

I'm not great at describing my feelings toward the Cthulhu mythos, especially since I'm hesitant to admit I like the story behind it because I don't want people to think I'm like a Lovecraft Stan™ or whatever (cuz critical thinking on this site isn't real), but I could probably write an essay on the journey of Eldritch horror and what it means to me personally hfjkfjdjjf

[vandal-flower]

I'm A Little O.D.D

Blue Lock Boys with a s/o who is odd.

Requested Characters: Meguru Bachira, Seishiro Nagi, Rin Itoshi and a Bonus Character.

Notes: This is the 3rd time trying to post this.

MEGURU BACHIRA

You guys just click.

"I have a Monster, you act like Sadako from the Ring, we could make this work!", kinda thing.

He found you randomly doing the crab walk down the stairs, and he found it so beautiful.

Your mannerisms help him be more comfortable around you, so thank you for doing the crab walk.

Often uses you as a way to scare people. Specifically bullies. (They deserve it.)

"Don't worry, all you have to do is wear this wig and have some creepy make-up on and do your crabby walk."

He asks why and how you do these stuff and you just go"🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️".

Introduced you to his friends and they were all terrified of you. But happily accept that you and Bachira are two peas in a pod!

SEISHIRO NAGI

Overheard you tell a girl that could have been poisoned, because she said she has a stomach ache.

His eyes never opened so wide before. (Just when he was about to take a nap.)

He was even more impressed when he found you crawling on the floor like in horror games. You also managed to scare Reo more than once.

Reo was greatly concerned and worried about Nagi's interest in you, since you were labeled as the "School Freak".

He will literally speed up his practice just to see you in action.

Questions you if you know or play any horror games.

"Have you heard of FNAF, short for Five Nights At Freddy's, wanna check it out with me?"

He comes to a realization that you just say things to say things. You once told Reo he would go bald if he kept tying his hair too tight.(The billionaire was too stunned to speak.)

A weird but honest relationship has been born.

RIN ITOSHI

Thought you were just lukewarm.

But his inner "Horror Boyfriend" asked him, "Who you lying to?".

Found your antics quite interesting, and then had his Big Brain Moment.

'What if he could use you to scare Sae?'

He got the necessary supplies for you to scare his older brother. Make-up, wig, worn out gown and a few lines to say to Sae when you crab walk (or run) to him.( Your Local Horror Enthusiast.)

Saying Sae was scared is an understatement. He was left traumatized.( Rin also recorded the whole thing.)

The cherry on top was that you told Sae you were surprised that Rin is more mentally stronger than him, despite being the older brother.

Rin was so proud of himself, and you of course.

"Guess you aren't lukewarm like the other. Stay with me longer, yeah?"

Anti-Sae Itoshi Union has been founded.

○Bonus Character○

YO HIORI

He found you watching him playing a horror game. His scariest jumpscare was you appear so suddenly.

You also scared him while he was walking in the hallway.

These meetings would become more frequent and he couldn't help but be interested in you.

You met his parents and you scared them to the core.

They told you that you were ruining his chances into becoming the World's Number One Striker.

You, just rolled your eyes at the back of your head.

They lost their spirits, horrified at what they saw. Hiori was so happy. He would later take you to a quiet place and say this to you.

"Thank you for staying with me. I love you and your quirks."

Karasu says Hiori's love for you is so extraordinary.

Aren't we all a bit odd?

My inbox can answer that. Check out my Rules.

[obsidiancreates]

Born This Way (Because Of Negligence Towards Basic Scientific Safety)

(IDK how far apart the Fenton kids are in age, so Jazz is an Undetermined Age Where She's A Toddler But Also Very Verbal. Maybe it's the Genius Genes letting her learn faster. Let's go with that.)

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Maddie coughs, spitting out another glob of ectoplasm. "Well, at least know it's not an issues with the cooling system."

Jack sneezes out the ectoplasm stuck in his nose, and then grins and stands triumphantly. "Still a step towards success!"

Jazz frowns from where she's playing with her doll, safe within a Fenton Anti-Ghost Toddler Chamber. "Mommy, you should cover your mouth." She points at her own mouth. "Mr. Wummy on TV says dat getting weird stuff in your mouth is bad."

"Mr. Wummy is a cartoon, dear. We're seasoned scientists, we know what we're doing." She wipes herself off, and sits down. "If there were any side-effects to accidental ecoplasmic consumption, we'd know."

"But what if Danny doesn't like it?" Jazz point at her mother's belly.

Maddie pats her belly. "The baby is still just a fetus, sweetie. It can't tell what it does and doesn't like yet. And why are you so sure it'll be a boy?"

"Because I'm your baby girl. So now you need a baby boy!"

Maddie tilts her head and smiles lovingly at her daughter. "Oh, you're adorable." Nothing cuter than Child Logic.

Maddie stands back up, and puts her hands on the workbench. "Now, let's see about that firing mechanism..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie brushes her teeth, sighing when her toothbrush comes away glowing green. "We really messed up a lot of experiments today. I think I swallowed a whole ghost's worth."

Jack spits a similarly colored mouthful of toothpaste foam out. "At least it doesn't taste as bad as it smells."

Maddie puts her hands on her belly, the bump now quite obvious. "II hope we're right about it not having side effects."

Jack's expression softens. He gently pulls his wife into a comforting hug. "The doctors all say he's as healthy as can be, Mads. You don't need to worry."

"I still worry anyway, though."

"Of course you do. You're his mom! But we'll worry together, and if you ever need me to, I'll do the worrying for us both! While you relax and give him more tips on how to avoid ghosts once he learns to walk."

Maddie giggles, and sighs. It'll all be fine... nothing to worry about.

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Jazz has her arms crossed, a teddy bear hanging from one hand. "Five times!"

"Yes, and did we mention we're so proud that you can count so we-"

"Five times!" She shouts again, waving her little sticky toddler hand at them. "I saw you eat the bad green stuff five times!"

"We didn't eat it," Maddie says patiently, "It got into our mouths by accident."

"You swallowed it!"

"Only a tiny bit, only on accident, dear."

Jazz puts her hand on her mom's belly. "Danny is gonna be here soon and he's gonna be mad!"

"He won't even know it happened, sweetheart."

"Yes he will! He'll be the smartest ever, just like me and like you and like daddy! And he'll be so upset and never stop crying!"

"Babies do that anyway, sweetie." Maddie rubs her belly. It's true, Danny is due any day now. And yes... there's been some extra Ectoplasm Incidents lately. Maddie just can't stay awake sometimes, and... well. That's not exactly good when working on ghost hunting machines.

"Your baby brother will be perfectly fine," Maddie assures. "He's a healthy baby boy, and he'll be just as healthy when you meet him."

Jazz lights up at the mention of meeting him. She can't wait!

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Jazz bounces excitedly in her dad's arms. She gets to meet her baby brother! Finally! She's going to read him bedtime stories, and protect him from closet monsters, and show him how to throw a tea party!

Jack chuckles. "Calm down, sweetie, you don't get to play with him quite yet! He's still very fragile."

"But he's okay?"

"Yes, he and Mommy are both okay. Better than okay."

Jack knocks on the hospital room door, and they enter.

Maddie is holding Danny, and it looks like she fell asleep. Jazz gasps, even though all she can see so far is the blanket bundle.

"He's tiny!"

"Very." Again. Ah well. Jack had always hoped one of his kids would groww up to be taller than him, but maybe it'll have to be a grandkid.

He walks over, and smiles at his sleeping wife. "Okay, let's be quiet," he whispers. "We don't want to wake mommy."

Jazz nods seriously.

Jack sets her on the bed, and Jazz carefully crawls closer to Danny. She moves the blanket to get a good look at his face, grinning widly-!

She frowns. "Where is he?"

"What?!" Jack hurriedly picks up the bundle, making Maddie startle awake. "Holy-"

"Jack? Honey? What is it?!" Maddie's tone becomes increasingly panicked.

Jack, looking a bit pale, hands the bundle back to her. She gasps.

It's empty, and freezing!

"Where- where is-"

And then suddenly. He's there.

Fast asleep, wrapped up snug and tight. His little face still red from being brand-new to the world, his tiny tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as he snoozes.

He disappears again.

Maddie thinks she's about to pass out.

Finally, Jazz breaks the horrified silence. "I told you to cover your mouths!"

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Danny sleeps all the way home, and all the way up to his room. Jazz is waiting by the bassinet, and peeks in as soon as he's placed down. She frowns. "Mommy, his hair is white. He's not old."

Maddie sighs. "No, he's not. Apparently it just... does that, sometimes."

Danny yawns, and opens his little eyes. Jazz's own eyes widen as well. "He's glowing!"

"Yes... that happens too."

Danny screws up his face, and starts crying. Maddie picks him up and rocks him. "Poor baby... he's so cold."

"Why?" Jazz tilts her head.

Maddie sighs. "Well... your father and I... we think he's half-ghost."

"How?"

"... Probably... the ectoplasm," Shame burns in Maddie's veins.

Jazz, wide-eyed, reaches to to try and touch Danny. "Is he dead?" She doesn't sound sad, because it looks to her like even if he is dead, he's still alive.

"No!" Maddie shuts the idea right down. "He is a very healthy, living boy! But he's... different."

"Are you gonna trap him?"

"Wh- Jasmine, why would you ask that!"

"He's a ghost."

"No! No, we never treat him like any other ghost. And he's only partly ghost, so it barely counts. Now, Mommy has to feed him so he can go back to sleep. How about you go pick a movie for tonight?"

Jazz nods. She takes that job very seriously. There's a science to picking movies.

She heads off, and Maddie looks at Danny's sniffling little face. His eyes are back too baby blue, but his hair isn't quite black yet.

At least he's still visible.

At least the side effects seem mild.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's about 6 am when Jack bolts up too use the bathroom. On his way back, he decides to check on the kids.

Jazz is asleep, cuddling a stuffed animal. Jack smiles.

Danny is also asleep, wrapped up in a cute little onesie and floating above the bassinet FLOATING ABOVE THE BASSINET?!?!

Jack runs over and grabs Danny from the air, pulling out a Fenton Ghost-Whapping Baton!

And then he looks at Danny, who's whining, and sees sleepy glowing green eyes looking at him.

"Oh. Um, sorry, son." He puts away the baton. "I thought a ghost was stealing you."

Danny yawns. Jack sees a cold breath puff out of his son's mouth, despite the room being temperature-controlled to keep him toasty during the nights.

Jack puts Danny back into the bassinet. He leaves, and comes back a little bit later with some equipment.

He sets up a rudimentary ghost-shield to keep Danny from floating away during the night, but won't trap him. He can still float a little, if need be.

"The scariest ghost we've faced yet," Jack mumbles. He kisses Danny's forehead, and sits there until Danny falls asleep. By then, Danny is human again.

Jack leaves, and in the morning he and Maddie begin working on some upgrades for Danny's room.

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Danny babbles happily as Jazz plays peek-a-boo with him.

"Boo!"

Laughter.

"Boo!"

More laughter!

"A-boo! A-boo!" Jazz can't stop grinning. She's a great older sister! Look at her go!

She takes Danny's hands, and moves them over his face. "Now, where's Danny? ... Here he is! Oh."

Danny isn't there. But his clothes are, and something's inside of them. And Jazz is still holding two chubby baby arms, even if they're cold and invisible.

Jazz stares for a second, and then speaks. "... Peek-a-boo?"

Danny reappears, and squeals with laughter!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie sits down to give Danny his bottle. She's brought him out shopping with her so she can grab some replacement parts that fried in their latest invention, the Fenton Ecto-Extractor!

Jazz had thrown a fit when she'd heard the name, and it startled Jack so bad he'd turned it on too early and it completely collapsed on itself! It took half an hour to convince Jazz that they weren't trying to use it to make Danny normal, just using it for themselves now that they know it can cause... strange things, to happen.

Danny drinks the bottle with no issue, and burps as soon as she starts his back. Really, he's a pretty easy baby. Except for the ghost part.

Maddie is getting him back in the stroller when Danny's face screws up. She watches a cold, visible breath leave his mouth, and then he starts to scream. Sobbing, wailing baby screams, attracting the concerned and/or annoyed attention of most people around them.

"He's just tired," she assures loudly. His breath is still puff out in cold clouds, even though it's perfectly warm in the mall.

Maddie quickly picks him back up and hugs him, bouching and singing to try and calm him down.

Danny starts to quiet down. She puts him back in the stroller, but as soon as she does (as soon as he looks behind her with those bright, bright green eyes) he starts crying again.

She sighs and picks him up, hurrying back to the car. She'll just come back for the parts later. Clearly, something is upsetting him.

Something that she just can't see.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jazz leans away from Danny, grinning. "There!"

Danny is propped up on her bed. Maddie and Jack needed to quickly decontaminate themselves, and so Jazz had to watch Danny for just a minute.

And in that minute, she's does some redesigning.

Danny's fluffy white hair has a little bow in it, and she's put some of her kiddie makeup on him.

Danny disappears for a second, and the bow falls. When he reappears, it's not on his head anymore. He looks at Jazz blankly.

Jazz crosses her arms. "No fair! I was making you pretty!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie stumbles into Danny's room. She flicks on the light, and turns off the Fenton Ghost-Shielding Hanging Mobile. She reaches in and pulls the crying Danny out of the bassinet, shushing and rocking him.

Danny's eyes are bright green again, and Maddie can see his breath. "Oh, you always get so worked up when this happens," she says softly. "Is the cold upsetting you?"

Danny doesn't answer, just cries more.

Maddie takes him to her and Jack's room, and lays down with him on her chest. Jack rolls over in his sleep and puts his arms around her, cradling both of them.

Danny falls back asleep soon, and Maddie sighs. She can still see his breath, but at least he's calm now.

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Jazz holds up her drawing, and shakes her head. She goes back to scribbling, and moves closer to Danny. "This is black," she says to him, pointing at the crayon she's using. She picks up another color. "And this one is red."

Danny stares as Jazz keeps scribbling. Jazz assumes that means he's learning.

"I'm going to let Mom and Dad know I saw this in my closet," she says seriously. "I think people know you're special and want to steal you!"

Danny blows a spit bubble by accident, and laughs when it pops.

Jazz's eyes hold more determination than ever. She scribbles with the fury of a million warriors. "You're very valuable." She learned that word yesterday. "So you need lots of protecting."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think this will make her feel better?" Maddie asks as she closes the panel.

Jack lifts his soldering mask and nods. "If one thing can make a person feel safe, it's fifty anti-ghost devices hidden in their walls!"

"I just worry about that doodle. What if something really got in?"

"Mads, you personally handcrafted every single sensor put up in the kids's rooms! If a ghost had gotten in, we'd know! To get past then they'd need deep knowledge of exactly how our deigns work and how they detect ghost energy, and no ghost has that!"

"You're right, you're right. Still, I hate to think she might be having nightmares about something like that. It looked like it had devil horns."

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"Peek-a-boo!" Jazz grins at Danny. "Peek-a-boo!"

It never gets old for him! No matter how many times they play, Danny loves it!

"Peek... a-boo!" Jazz does little jazz-hands.

Danny disappears, and Jazz grins. "Where's Danny? Where'd he go?"

Danny reappears, and-

"B-b-boo!"

Jack and Maddie dart into the room! Maddie swoops Danny up, eyes wide!

Danny giggles, and says it again. "Boo!"

Maddie and Jackie both tear up. In unison they shout, "HIS FIRST WORD!"

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Danny gnaws on the toy with his little baby gums.

"I can't believe it. Already teething," Maddie sighs, holding him. "Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital."

Jack wipes his eyes. "He's growing into a young man already."

"Oh, Jack, stop it, he's not nearly a young man."

"But he will be before we know it!"

Maddie pats her husband on the back comfortingly as he begins to blubber.

Maddie closes her eyes, thinking about those early months with Danny, figuring out how to prepare for his floating and invisibility, learning to not panic when his eyes and hair changed color, learning that sometimes when they do his clothes change color as well...

She's startled out of her thought by something warm and wet on her lap.

She looks down to see the teething toy on her thigh... and a whole lot of nothing where Danny's head should be.

Then it' back when she blinks, and he's beginning to whine for his toy.

She quickly picks him up off her laps and retrieves it, giving it back to him.

So... the ghost abilities are still developing, then. She'll have to let Jack know about this later.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Daniel Fenton," Jack says, the most serious Jazz has ever seen him, "You're in big trouble this time, mister. I don't know how you did this-"

Jack shakes the empty tube of baby snacks, safe for teething babies.

"But I will get to the bottom of it!"

"Look like he already did," Maddie jokes, setting Jazz's breakfast down for her.

Jazz laughs, because it sounds like a Smart Adult Joke and she thinks those are funny, even when she doesn't understand them.

Danny babbles, smacking his chair's food tray.

"Oh no you don't, mister! You're getting regular baby food this morning and that's all!" Jack grabs the jar of food, and holds up the spoon. "Now, here comes the Fenton Ghost-Tracking Copter!"

He puts the spoon up to Danny's mouth-

-and right through his head.

He gasps and pulls back, and Danny's head reappears. He babbles, smacking the tray again.

Maddie drops her fork. "I can't believe I forgot! That's what I was going to tell you about!"

Jazz looks at her parents. "You didn't know he does this?"

They both gawk at her. "You did?!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny reaches up and grabs Jazz's nose. Jazz wrinkles it, and he laughs.

Jazz sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes, and Danny laughs even harder!

Jazz looks at her parents as they finish setting up the picnic blanket. "I'm the funniest big sister ever!"

"You sure are, sweetie!" Maddie scoops Jazz up and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You get it from me."

Jack laughs. "It's true! Your mother could get the whole Ghost Hunting Club laughing out HAZMAT suits off all day long back in the day! ... 'Course it was just the three of us, but still, three's a crowd!"

"May as well have been doing stand-up," Maddie says, setting Jazz down on the blanket.

They enjoy the little outing, the sun shining but not beating down, the cool breeze just enough to crispen the air but not freeze.

And then Jazz looks at Danny. She sees glowing eyes, and a puff of breath come out of his mouth. "Uh-oh. Mommy! He's gonna cry!"

Maddie picks Danny up right as he starts to wail. She hugs him, and is shocked. He doesn't feel cold this time!

Is he just cold inside?

Or is there some other problem?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack rubs his ears. "That child wails like a Banshee!"

"He could very well be doing exactly that," Maddie points out. "We still don't know what other abilities he'll develop as he ages!"

"Or how well he'll be able to control them. ... Mads... should we homeschool him?"

"It's a little early to worry about that, Jack."

"I know that tone, you're worrying about it too."

"... We can't just keep him isolated from the rest of the world, Jack. It'll be unhealthy for him. And what if it makes him lean into his ghost side too much?"

"So you think we should let him go to school."

"Yes. ... But not pre-school. We'll teach him to not use his abilities around other kids, and then send him to Kindergarten."

"... Alright, Mads. If you think that's what's best, then that's what's best!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, that's it! Yes, yes, WHOO!" Maddie picks Danny up as soon as he walks over. "Who's a strong little Fenton? Who's the best little boy at walking in the whole wide world?"

"Danny!" Jazz cheers from the couch.

"Danny!" Maddie and Jack both cheer at once.

Danny laughs and squeals, kicking his legs and flapping his arms. His first proper Walk! Not just a step or two and then crawling, that was real walking!

Jack takes Danny, holding him aloft. "You're a real butt-kicker in the making, son! You'll be as strong as your old man someda-"

Jack feels something bump him, hard.

He shouts as he goes down! Danny going with him!

But as Jack meets the floor, he feels Danny's weight disappear from his hands!

He lands with an "oof", and looks up to see Danny floating above him, surrounded by a faint white aura. Danny looks down and babbles, sucking his thumb. Then... he moves.

He's only ever floated in place before. But as he looks down at his dad, he kicks his little legs and moves! Moving right across the room!

And then he looks behind his dad, and his breath comes out in puffs. He starts crying and wailing hysterically.

Jazz peers at where Danny is looking. "Mommy, hit the air with the stick!"

Maddie gently grabs Danny. "Why, sweetie?"

"Danny is scared! So we have to protect him!"

Maddie grabs her Fenton Baton, and gives the area Danny was looking at a good thwack. She expects it to go right through the empty air.

Instead there's a loud zap! There's a cry of pain! And then a semi-transparent form zooming out of their house!

Maddie's jaw drops. Jack scrambles to his feet and grabs every ghost weapon in radius, forming a protective circle around the family with them!

Maddie looks at Danny, who's now calm.

And his breath isn't visible.

Hmm...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We're just seeing if my hypothesis is right," Maddie assures.

Jazz sobs, clinging onto her leg. "NOOOO! HE'LL GET HURT! OR STOLED!"

"Stolen, sweetie. And Mommy and Daddy would never let that happen."

Jazz scream-sobs again.

"What if we can promise you the ghost will be in a big, big box?"

Jazz looks at her mom with watery eyes. "Like around Danny's crib?"

"Yes, like that."

"But-but he's so little."

"It'll just be a second, sweetheart."

Jazz sniffles again. "... Can I hold the stick?"

Maddie smiles softly. "Yes, sweetie, you can hold the stick."

A couple hours later, Jack and Maddie return home with a ghost in a box. It's yelling something, but the box is soundproof.

Jack sets the box down, and goes to grab Danny. He comes back, and holds Danny firmly while walking towards the ghost. Danny's eyes are covered by a too-big hood on his little shirt. He can't see, or hear, that there's a ghost nearby.

Danny's breath comes out a visible puff about two feet away from the ghost, and he starts crying. Jack steps back a ways, and Danny's breaths become normal again. He settles down.

Jack walks closer. Puff of breath, and crying.

Jack steps back. Normal breath, calm Danny.

"He can sense ghost's," Maddie says, looking in awe at her baby boy. Her face breaks into a grin. "He's his own portable ghost detector! He'll never be caught unawares, he'll be able to always defend himself!"

She runs up to Jack and hugs them both, kissing Danny's little forehead. Danny babbles.

"He'll never be caught unawares," Maddie says again in relief. "Oh, this makes me feel so much better."

"Mommy? ... Does that mean we're haunted all the time?"

Maddie's relief hardens and breaks in her chest.

All those times Danny's Ghost Sense has gone off inside! All those times!

She pulls away. "Jack, we're upping our security!"

Jack nods. "Time for FentonWorks 2.0!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny giggles as his dad chases him around the house. He phases through doors and turns invisible in hiding places, always giving himself away with laughter.

Jack grabs Danny just before he phases through the next door. “Gotcha!”

Danny laughs, happy little kid squeals that you can hear through the whole house. Jack puts Danny on his shoulders and heads into the kitchen. “He’s getting pretty good at running! Say, whatcha making, Mads?”

“Meatloaf. Would you mind helping?”

Jack sets Danny down at the table and helps Maddie make dinner, while Danny eyes something on the counter.

“Cookie.”

Maddie looks over. Danny is staring at the cookie jar. “No sweetie, no cookies yet.”

“Cookie!” 

“Not yet.”

Danny starts to cry. “Cookie!”

Maddie walks over, and gives Danny his binkie. Danny refuses it af first, but once he has it he calms down fast.

He looks at the cookie jar still, though.

And, slowly, he lifts out of his chair. He kicks his little legs, pushing himself forward. He plops down on the counter, and reaches into the jar with an intangible hand. 

He pulls out not one, but two cookies!

He gets so excited that he starts waving his arms, making happy noises.

Jack looks over. “What? Maddie, he’s gotten into the cookie jar!”

“I’ve got it!” Maddie walks over and scoops Danny up in his old Anti-Ghost-Phasing Blanket. Soft, warm, and totally ghost-proof.

Danny whines. “Cookie!”

“I said not yet, honey.” Maddie grabs the cookies and puts them on the counter. She safety pins the blanket around Danny like a little cape, except it takes away his powers.

Danny sits in his chair, throwing a fit! But to no avail. Eventually he just sits there, tear-faced and angry.

And then Jazz walks in. She looks over at the cookies, and then at Danny.

She walks over and snatches them off the counter as quick as she can! She casually walks over to the table, and hands them to Danny.

Danny brightens up. He shoves one cookie in his mouth, and gives the other back to Jazz. His original intention.

Jazz smiles, and scarfs the cookie down just before Maddie turns around.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Why?” Danny looks at his mom with wide, innocent eyes.

Maddie’s heart aches. “People might get scared.”

Danny frowns. “Scawy?”

“No, no, you aren’t scary. But the... idea of ghosts, for a lot of people, can be scary.”

Danny thinks, and then walks over to the fridge. “Scawy.”

Maddie looks at the drawing Danny is pointing at. It’s Jazz’s drawing of The Ghost.

The one that’s been haunting them for months.

Black horns, it looks like. Red eyes. Deathly blue skin. It makes Maddie shiver, knowing it had direct access to her children for so long. 

Danny starts to cry. “I scawy!”

Maddie scoops him up. “No, no sweetie! You are nothing like that monster, nothing like it at all! And you never will be, I promise!” Maddie hugs him tightly. “Oh, my poor baby... how about we take a break? Do you want to help Jazz paint something?”

Danny sniffles, and nods. They head upstairs, leaving the talk for another day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Kindergarten, Jack,” Maddie says, packing the little lunch box. “He’s already in Kindergarten!”

Jack is already openly sobbing as he makes Jazz a sandwich.

“Do you think he understands what he needs to do?” Maddie asks no-one in particular, just worrying.

“He understands perfectly!”

Maddie jumps a little, and turns around to see Jazz smiling proudly. Danny stands right next to her, a shyer smile on his face. Maddie tears up at the sight of him with his little backpack and school outfit on. 

Jazz looks at Danny. “Go ahead! Show them what we practiced!”

Danny puffs out his chest to look strong. “I won’t go through anything, turn invi-invisi- um, turn not-seeing-me, I won’t fly, and, um... and if I feel another ghost, I’ll use this!” He pulls his little Fenton Emergency Pager out of his pocket.

Maddie wipes her eyes. “Perfect, honey,” she says, letting the pride seep into her voice. “Oh, my baby boy! Growing up so fast!” She picks him up and kisses his face. Danny wraps his arms around her neck.

“Do I have to go, mommy? They’ll think I’m scary.”

“Oh, honey. You aren’t scary, I promise.”

“... What if I need to be scary?”

“Mommy will come be scary for you.”

“She very good at it,” Jack chimes in, shivering a little as he remembers the time a ghost attacked while Maddie was buying Danny’s first pair of little shoes. By the time it was over, Jack almost pitied the thing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie gives Danny one last hug. “Remember, calls u anytime you need us, okay?”

He nods. “I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Jazz.”

“You’re just going to school, not saying bye forever.” Even as Jazz says it, her lip wobbles and her voice cracks.

Danny floats up to the car window give her a hug, before being quickly held up by Maddie to cover the power use.

“That’s the only time today you’ll do that,” she reminds him. 

Danny nods.

Eventually... the goodbyes are done being dragged out. Danny’s family drives away as the teacher leads him inside.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny sits on a swing by himself, not sure what to do.

Usually at home he plays using his powers. He doesn’t know how to be good at tag without making it so people can’t touch him, or how to play hide-and-seek without turning invisible.

He kicks the sand. This is stupid. He misses Jazz. He can play with her.

“Hi.”

Danny looks up. Another young boy is standing in front of him, holding some kind of electronic. The boy holds out his hand. “I’m Tucker.”

Danny shakes his hand, focusing very hard on keeping it a real hand. “I’m Danny.”

Tucker shows him the electronic. “Want to play my game?"

Danny looks at it. It’s a coloring game. He nods.

They pass it back and forth between each other for a while, both coloring in different parts of the same picture. 

Eventually it’s time to back in. Danny and Tucker ask if they can sit closer together.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how was it?” Maddie asks, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she picks Danny up. “Have fun?”

“I made a friend!” Danny yells! “His name is Tucker and he’s really nice!”

Maddie relaxes. “Oh? How did you meet?”

“He let me play his coloring game!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“We made a tower out of blocks and it was the strongest ever! And I never used my powers!”

“I’m so proud of you, sweetie!”

Maybe Maddie can stop worrying now. ... Probably not.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What if we gave it big scary horns?” Danny says as he doodled something in crayon. “Like the thing that watches my window.”

Tucker looks at him with wide eyes. “A monster watches you?”

“My parents don’t let it touch me. They hunt ghosts.”

“Oh. Do you hunt ghosts?”

Danny shakes his head. “I’m too little.”

“Oh. Me too.”

“You should give it bat wings.”

They both look up. The quiet girl who usually sits in the back is standing in front of them, her hair pulled back in a tight black braid and her clothes perfectly pressed. 

Danny looks at the drawing, and nods. He adds the wings. “We’re drawing the monster from that story we heard today.”

The girl sits down. “I bet it had claws. And could breathe black fire!”

Danny adds them on. “You’re really smart!”

The girl nods. “I am.”

“I’m Danny.”

“I’m Tucker!”

The girl grins. “I’m Samatha.”

“Wow... that’s a long name,” Danny says, eyes wide. “My sister has a long name too. Do all girls have long names?”

Samantha thinks. “I dunno. I haven’t met all girls.”

“Oh. We don’t know all boys, either.”

They spend the rest of free time coloring. Once it’s over, Samantha moves to sit with them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how was today, sweetie?”

“I made another friend! She’s really good, and her parents make her have long hair but she wants it short, and we made this with her!” He shows Maddie the drawing.

Maddie grimaces a little, but turns it into a smile. “It’s lovely, dear. Looks... a little like Jazz’s picture.”

Danny nods.”The monster in the story lived in the window. So does this ghost.”

“... What?”

“He lives by my window. But he can’t come inside, so I make faces at him and make him mad.”

Maddie speeds up a little. “Danny, we’re going to be altering your windows when we get home. Okay?”

“Okay.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny leads Sam and Tucker to his room with his tiny arms full of snacks. He brings them inside, and proudly stands in the middle. “This is my room!”

"Cool!” Tucker exclaims. “Whoa, you have a computer?”

Danny shakes his head. “That’s to keep ghosts out. Ghosts hate us.”

“You’ve seen some?” Samantha asks, eyes wide.

Danny grins. “So many!”

“Can we see some?”

“Sure, I can even-”

They hear a gasp in the doorway. Turning to look, they see Jazz. “Danny, you didn’t let me meet your friends!”

Danny looks horrified. “Oh no!” He runs over and pulls Jazz into the room. “This is my big sister Jazz! She’s the coolest big sister!”

“I’m Tucker!”

“I’m Sam!”

Jazz grins. “Guess what I learned yesterday?” She points out of the room. “How to use the remote!”

The trio of toddler’s eyes sparkle. They cheer for Jazz as all of them descend, ready to Take Control Of The TV!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“-and this is The Box Ghost,” Danny says, showing his friends the doodle him and Jazz made at home. “He’s silly. He wants to be scary, but he isn’t.”

Tucker and Samantha nods like it the most important thing they’ll ever learn.

Danny pulls out the next drawing. “This is Scary, the ghost from my window.” It’s a new drawing, a little more detailed thanks to Jazz being better at drawing now. And Danny having seen the face so, so many times. “I don’t see him anymore. Mom and Dad kicked him out of the window.”

“He’s ugly,” Samantha says, wrinkling her nose. 

“He looks stinky,” Tucker agrees.

Danny looks over at the window. “Shhhh! He’s here!”

Tucker and Samantha look at the window. They see nothing.

They look back at Danny. They see little puffs coming out of his mouth, and his eyes are the wrong color.

Danny pulls his pager out. “It’s okay. Mommy will come scare him away.”

“We can’t see him,” Samantha says.

Danny nods. “He’s hard to see.”

“Do you have to have glowy eyes like yours?” Tucker asks. “I have to have glasses. Are your eyes like Ghost Glasses?”

Danny thinks, and then nods. “I guess so. ... OH NO!” He covers his eyes. “You aren’t supposed to see that!”

“Why not?”

“Mommy said it’s a secret! You’ll think I’m scary!”

“But it’s not scary.”

Danny tilts his head, still covering his eyes. “It’s not?”

“No, it’s cool!”

He slowly uncovers his eyes. “... Do... you think this is scary?” He holds out his arm, and makes it invisible.

Tucker and Samantha gasp! Danny pulls his arm back, about to cry. They think he’s scary, they won’t be his friends anymore-

“That’s so cool,” Samantha says.

“I wanna do that!” Tucker exclaims.

Danny can’t believe it for a second. And then he grins. “I can do more stuff too! I’ll show you at my house!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie paces the floor while Danny sits on the couch, his little face burning with shame.

Jazz sits next to him, arms crossed. Jack stands in front of him, Maddie pacing beside her husband.

“You told your friends?” Maddie asks again.

Danny nods, keeping his head low. “I didn’t mean to. I saw Scary, and my eyes turned green, and I can’t fix that.”

Maddie sighs. “I know, sweetie, but you showed them more after! We caught you flying them around your room! How can you even carry both of them at once?!”

“It’s easy when I’m a ghost,” he says, still keeping his head low. “Everything’s easy when I’m a ghost.”

Maddie stops pacing. “Oh, sweetie... I know it must be strange for you to suddenly have to hide it.”

Danny nods. He sniffles a little.

“It’s for your own safety, son,” Jack says. “You understand that, right? We just want you to be safe.”

“Other kids can be mean, Danny,” Jazz says. “I’m smart, and some kids are mean to me for that.”

“But Samantha and Tucker aren’t mean!”

“No, they aren’t,” Maddie concedes. “... I guess what’s done is done. Danny?” She kneels down in front of him and gently lifts his head up, wiping his tears away. “We aren’t mad. We’re worried. They’re your friends, but they also don’t understand this the way we do.”

“... Can you make them understand?”

Maddie nods. “We’ll absolutely have a talk with them. You can go get them from your room right now, even. But Danny? No-one else. Okay? These two kids are the only kids you will ever tell. Promise?”

Danny nods, still sniffling. “Promise.”

Maddie puts on her HAZMAT glove and holds out her pinkie. “Fenton promise?”

Danny links her pinkie with his, letting it go ghostly. “Fenton promise, Mommy.”

“Okay. You can send your friends down now.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny waits for his mom to come pick him up, Samantha and Tucker sitting next to him.

Samantha looks up suddenly. “I don’t like my name.”

Danny and Tucker look at her.

She stands up. “From now on, my name is... is Sam!”

Danny and Tucker clap, because they learned that’s the polite thing to do when someone has a dramatic moment like this. They learned it from watching the older kids do a play.

Sam sits back down. “I’m Sam,” she says happily. “Sam.”

“Sam is a good name,” Danny says. 

“Easier to write,” Tucker says. 

“Yeah.” Sam is very proud of her new name.

They wait a bit longer, and a long black car pulls up. Sam stands up, but her parents don’t step out.

A tall, white-haired man does, one none of them have ever met before. He smiles down at them. “Hello, Danny. Hello, Danny’s friends.”

“Who are you?” 

“I’m a friend of Danny’s parents,” he says, giving a slight bow (or maybe just bending over to hear them better since they’re so much shorter than him). 

“I don’t know you,” Danny says, accusatory. “Mrs. Emma told us about people like you!”

The Man shakes his head. “I’m not a stranger, I promise. Your parents and I are very close.”

“I don’t know you,” Danny says again. He steps between The Man and his friends. “I’m gonna tell Mrs. Emma on you.”

“Danny, really, your mother called and asked me to pick you up.”

“You liar! She always picks me up!”

“She’s fighting a ghost right now.”

“She leaves fights to come get me!”

The Man sighs. He grabs Danny’s arm. “Stubborn like your parents. Come on, I promise you’ll be fine.”

“NO!” Danny yanks his arm, trying to get away. “LET GO OF ME!”

“Stop making a scene!”

“LET GO! YOU-”

Danny gaps, a puff of breath coming out and his eyes turning green.

“S-Scary,” he whimpers. “SCARY! MOMMY! MOMMMYYYY! SCARY HAS ME!!! HELP!!!”

Danny yanks again, Tucker and Sam finally running inside to get Mrs. Emma! 

The Man scowls. “I’m trying to help you, little badger!”

“YOU’RE THE SCARY IN THE WINDOW!” Danny looks at him with bright eyes, tearful and afraid. “GET AWAY!!!”

Danny’s little hand glows green, and suddenly The Man is clutching his stomach instead of Danny’s arm. Danny runs inside, right into Mrs. Emma’s arms. He sobs to her as she frantically calls the police, trying to read the plate of the car speeding off into the distance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maddie hands Jazz a Baton. “This is in case this ‘Scary’ come after you,” Maddie says, still shaking a bit. “Okay?”

Jazz nods. 

“Danny, this is for you.” Maddie hands him a black-and-white suit. “This is to keep other ghosts from sensing you, okay? So wear it under your clothes.”

Danny nods, still crying.

Maddie looks at Sam and Tucker. Their parents were late picking them up, but with the attempted kidnapping it was decided that they’ll stay with The Fentons for a few hours until their parents could get them.

“You two get these.” She hands them Fenton Pagers, and Fenton Fun-Sized Ghost Stunners. “They can hurt people too, so only use them on ghosts. Or if someone tries to do... what you saw today, ever again.”

Sam and Tucker nod.

“And Danny? From now on, wait with Mrs. Emma until we come inside to get you.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“And when I get my hands on this ‘Scary’, I promise you’ll never have to worry about him again.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny looks around to see if anyone is watching. He, Tucker, and Sam are crouched under a desk in the classroom while everyone else is out at recess. 

He holds out his hand to the stack of paper, and closes his eyes. For a second, nothing happens.

And then it glows green, and a small beam shoots from his hand! Tucker and Sam gasp!

“You’re like a superhero!” Tucker exclaims, standing up. 

“A ghost superhero!” Sam says, standing up too. “You need a superhero name!”

Danny shoots up, smiling widely. “What should it be?”

They all think for a long, long time.

Sam perks up. “I know!”

She grabs a book from the corner. The book is a Halloween one, mostly for pictures with just a few words. She flips to a page, and points to it. “This word! It means Ghost!”

Danny and Tucker peer at it. “How do you say it?” Tucker asks.

Sam grins. “Phantom!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Phantom?” Maddie says, looking at the doodle.

Jack nods. “Apparently Sam came up with it! Our boy wants to be a ghost hunter after all!”

“Superhero, this says.”

“Same thing!”

“Jack, what’re you making there?”

Jack holds up the suit, one of the prototype Anti-Ghost-Detection suits for Danny. “I got out my old needlepointing stuff and am making him a superhero costume! See, it’s a P!”

Maddie squints, trying to get a better look at the outline. “It looks like a D.”

Jack looks at it. “Hmm. I guess from some angles. But it’s a P! Or, DP! Danny Phantom!”

Maddie’s expression goes soft. “Awww! Okay, you keep making that, and I’ll hang this doodle on the fridge! But no actual ghost fighting until he’s at least fourteen, right?”

“Absolutely!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny steps into the school “Halloween Party” with his hands on his hips and a bright grin, looking like a mini-version of his dad behind him.

“Aww, and what are you dressed as, Danny?” Mrs. Emma asks.

“A superhero ghosthunter!” Danny says proudly. “My parents made this for me!”

“It’s great,” Mrs. Emma says genuinely. “Alright, go mingle! We’re going to make paper jack-o-lanterns later so now is the time to trade candies!”

Danny walks over to his friends, still striking the pose. Tucker, dressed as a robot made out of cardboard boxes, pouts in slight jealousy as Danny comes over. Sam, dressed as a vampire, grins. “P for Phantom!” she yells.

Danny runs over faster. “Yeah! My dad put the logo on!” He shows it off proudly. “I’m gonna be the best ghosthunter ever!”

“You can work from the inside!” Tucker says, getting over his jealousy thankfully quick. “Make them think you wanna haunt stuff too!”

“Yeah!” Danny strikes another pose. “But I’m actually going to catch them all, because I’m Danny Phantom!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny and Jazz are playing with dolls in the living room. “Pow! Take that!” Danny shouts, making his doll punch Jazz’s.

“Nooo!” Jazz cries out in a husky voice. “But how? I’m The Scary! Nothing can not fear me!”

“I don’t fear you!” Danny waves the hand of his doll, making laser noises. Jazz shakes her doll around, making dying noises. “I’m Danny Phantom, the strongest ghost boy ever!”

“Nooooo!”

Maddie chuckles, watching them. “That Scary better watch out for more than just us.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Where are we going?” Danny asks again.

“It’s a surprise!” Jack says again, still as excited as when the road trip started. 

Danny huffs, looking out the window again. “Why couldn’t Sam and Tucker come?”

“Because they’re spending Summer visiting their families,” Maddie says. “And so are we, sort of.”

“I though Auntie lived in Spittoon,” Jazz says.

“She does! This is different.”

After hours (years in the minds of the kids), they pull up to a mansion. All fo the boredom washes away instantly, Jazz and Danny cramming into the window to see it!

“Are we rich?” Jazz demands to know. 

“We’re well-off, but not quite. Welcome to your honorary Uncle Vlad’s house!” Maddie cheers.

“Vlad was out best friend in college!” Jack says, grinning. “He got back in contact with us a few years ago and we’ve been thick as thieves since! He asked us too come over this weekend, and we thought we’d surprise him and let him meet your two at the same time!”

Danny and Jazz cheer! THEY GET TO STAY IN A MANSION!

The family piles out of the car, and stand in front of the door! Maddie and Jack make sure Jazz and Danny look extra nice, and ring the doorbell!

It takes a long minute, so they ring it again!

Finally, a man opens it up! “Oh, Maddie, Jack, I’m so sorry I didn’t hear-”

Danny shrieks. His eyes are glowing bright as they can, his breaths giant puffs! He holds up his hand and send a little beam right into Vlad’s side!

Vlad falls back with an “Oof!”

“Danny!” Maddie scoops him up. “What on earth has gotten into you? Oh, Danny!”

Danny is sobbing pointing at Vlad. “It-it’s him! The-The Scary! He-he tried to take me!”

Maddie and Jack freeze. Slowly, they both look at Vlad. Jazz pulls out her Baton.

“Vlad?” Maddie says coldly.

“Didn’t I only invite you two?” Vlad wheezes.

Jack points a ghost detector at Vlad. It goes off.

“Now, now, I can explai- AGCK!”

Jazz starts happening him with the Baton before he can finish his sentence. Maddie hands Danny to Jack. “Sweetie, close the door and take Danny back to the truck. I need to have a word with Vlad.”

Jack does as told, holding Danny in his lap and soothing him.

“He-he tried to take me,” Danny sobs again.

“Don’t worry, son.” Jack hugs him tightly. “No-one’s ever going to be able to do that. We’ll always keep you safe. We promise.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And what do we always wear while testing new devices?” Maddie asks, handing Danny a Fenton Ghost-Zapper that would use Danny’s own ghost energy to work.

Danny grins, and puts it on. “Face mask!”

“Because?”

“Because lab safety is very important!”

Maddie grins. “That’s right! And who do we thank for reminding us of that every time we’re in the lab?”

Danny points. “Jazz! Thank you, Jazz!”

Jazz grins proudly. 

[stackthedeck]

Ok wait… do you also have odd feelings on Fahrenheit 451? Because I always just thought there was something wrong with me. Like I just chalk it up to “I was forced to read it so I didn’t like it” but also. The book kinda doesn’t hold up? Like the message does to some extent but there is some part of me bothered by my older adult figures telling me how good this story is. Now granted it could be me being dramatic and not liking authority figures. But some part of me is bothered by the “secret society” that survives the war and the treatment of Montag’s wife ya know? I’m aware of the period it was made in and that is definitely something one has to consider when reading it. So I don’t know where this was going point is I don’t understand the love for Fahrenheit 451 but also maybe I should just give it another read :/

Okay I actually really like Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. Like the novel is definitely dated as all dystopia novels from that time period are because they're written by white dudes and they really don't incorporate any axes of oppression other than the government which like makes sense because that was a real fear and worry in the wake of WWII and the beginning of the cold war. Yeah, the novel is definitely deeply sexist, like the overindulgence in technology and the lack of awareness of the world and government is framed as a very feminine action when in reality it should be you know on society not the individuals. But like again that's a very post-war attitude. Oddly enough the distrust and questioning of authority is part of the theme of the novel so if you finished the book and thought "the people in charge told me I should like this but I don't and I won't pretend I do" you've internalized the novel in a meaningful way. I do really like the secret society it is unfortunately anti-urban but again the threat of nuclear annihilation will do that to you. Like it's this group of people who have been removed from society and they're tasked with rebuilding it with only what they remember of literature. Like most sci-fi novels of the time, the most interesting part of the story is at the very end and isn't given the attention it deserves. Also, the mechanical hound and the suspense of f 451 were gripping and horrifying. Like I feel it is a well-crafted novel but you've gotta put in its cultural context if that makes sense. The shifting hegemony, extremely fast changes in technology especially in the military, and increased government power. Like it's the kind of novel that was needed back then, but I feel that the "book burning" idea needs to be updated to a modern context because it's not as simple as "the government wants to keep you entertained and ideal so you don't think about the war." Like that's not why censorship happens. But also modern dystopias are deeply ineffective at expressing anything thematic so :/

basically what I'm saying is that it's one of my favorite novels but I get why people don't like it. Ray Bradbury was deeply of his time; if I met him, I'd kick his ass before I praise his books. That being said I do recommend his other works, especially his short stories.

[thirstyforred]

innitial idea for Roderick de Wetter fic/sad backstory/whatever and slightly dead dove-y continuation I got today after dissociating for 6 hours at work

so after Emhyr rejected all noble daughters in favor of fake Ciri and basically made all the guys in the Conspiracy go 'ok bitch, you're dead now', for reasons aep Daddy married Joachim's de Wett daughter, aka Rod's older sister. let's name her Mary for now (bc I find it funny that all of the Flaming Rose have germanic/teutonic sounding names, and even Joachim fits with them more than with order nilf nobles, who went into a more welsh direction ig)

anyway, aep Dahy, a good husband that he is, throws a big wedding party and is like, whatever you ask, my dear wife, I will gift it to you now. so Mary asks for a tournament, bc remember? Roderick is actually a sportsman

fast forwards, and in the same box watching challenges are: newlywed aep Dahy and Mary, Joachim looking like he ate a lemon, aep Dahy's adult daughter Eilan, Voorhis with his small son Morvan (who's just a sweet and excited little kid that loves horses, yes I won't forget that he's actually younger than Ciri), and van Moorlehems (they're not princes like everyone else in the box, they're there just as a treat for me)

and you know, they all talk shit, about Emhyr, about the cintrian girl, and eventually, instigated by Joachim, about Roderick and how Mary just played them all to put some spotlight on her awful brother with this whole tournament. Mary neither confirms nor denies

Joachim is in general being a bitch because Roderick is so far winning the challenges, so someone asks what then would make prince de Wett happy and Joachim says "if Rod didn't win this tournament"

and now, despite Mary's horrified expression and pleas to not joke like that, the whole conversation turns into: what can we do so Rod will drop out of the challenges for good? someone proposes breaking his arm or just dislocating it, but that won't work because as Joachim notes himself "the slut is ambidextrous" (yes, it's both a metaphor for his bisexuality, but also he happens to actually be ambidextrous)

so Philippe van Moorlehem goes "I will do one better, no need for any elaborate and complicated plans, I'll just go to his tent and break his femur and dislocated his other shoulder. and give him temporal anemia"

and that's precisely what happens, you know anti-Emhyr Conspiration in action, working together towards the single goal 😚

Rod is, of course, bummed that he can't compete, partially because he could have won that thing, and because ouch it hurts a lot. but on the other, non-broken, hand, Fifi gave him railing of the lifetime, so it's all sort of balancing each other out

anyway, Rod, with daddies money, gets the priest to fix his arms (fuck/thanx trpg for making it real), and keeps getting nightly visits from Fifi, which: hot, even though they leave him anemic.

unfortunately, it all halts to stop when Rod finally realizes that the whole "put a collar on you and keep you in my basement" is not just bedroom talk, but an actual thing. one that van Moorlehems can in theory do, because apparently Joachim now likes them more than his own son, after they actually made his wish come true :/

and Rod knows that he's now in deep shit and VMs are packing their things to leave the capital and return to Rowan (where I placed them in my award-winning fic The Devourer of Suns, found at your local library) and he can't go to Mary, because she also can't do shit about it (I think aep Daddy is like willing to give her things, whatever she asks, just to see how crafty she is, but there're limits (because young Emhyr already abused that "trust"), and also he despises Rod)

(speaking just about aep Daddy for a moment, I think that between Emhyr and Villem's grooming undertones, Ardal likes them young and cunning, and willing to learn from him - which makes Rod the exact opposite of his type, my stupid arrogant weasel <3)

so Rod just goes straight to Joachim, his last option but the only one that has any chances of actually working

and the thing about Joachim is - you know Willy from Dungeons and Daddies? he's like that. pretty charismatic piece of shit that always gets exactly what he wants and will kill you if you deez nut him

so Joachim is just being mean and not really thinking about what he says. it's the perfect opportunity to have Rod out of his sight forever and likely killed when in a few months VMs get bored of him

he tells Rod to get on his knees and beg, like only he can, the undignified slut that he is (or something like that, the wording is really unfortunate and degrading) to prove whatever worth he may have

and Joachim expects to just have a laugh, but the thing about Rod, that Joachim doesn't truly realize (and that exists solely because I like my blorbos fucked up beyond repair), is that Rod will do many, bad and fucked up things, to make the people he wants attention from, look at him

and so Rod gets on his knees and does everything to make his dad look. and Joachim instead of stopping it, him, had this fucked up moment of "wow, he's actually doing this! what a nutcase :D" and just watches, a trainwreck of his own creation, wondering how far can he actually push Roderick

and then the fallout of all that also isn't nice. Rod gets to stay in the capital, but Joachim tells van Moorlehems exactly how Rod convinced him. obviously, he lies about the details, not to implicit himself in anything, but the rumor remains

and that's the final proof for the Conspiracy why Rod can't be their candidate for Emperor, because yeah he will do anything, but his reputation is in now shit

so that's also why Rod remains in Nilfgaard during the 2nd war, just to be the half of continent away from Joachim, and then second he hears that the armies are returning, but before he knows about the beheading, he boards the ship to Novigrad

(and there immediately gets drafted into the worst start-up the North has seen since Alzur 🔥🌹)

[fleur1005]

YiZhan fandom interviews!! 003 @OldObsess/overthinkingthis

I am so thankful that not only she accepted this interview, but accepted it with eagerness! 🙏 I was actually very excited about finally being able to talk to her because one of my first fics I read in this fandom was hers (and is my favorite to this day) and it was rec’ed by none other than Ren 😆 Now you can imagine what fic that is lol, but I digress. So without much ado… here’s Tee, aka @OldObsess!!!

▪️ Please, tell us about yourself. How you like to be called or how you go by in this fandom and how long you’ve been in the swamp.

i respond to a lot of names in this fandom, it's all good. on twitter, i'm @oldobsess... if i could do it again, i'd probably pick a new handle, but i had never used twitter before this fandom, so didn't know what i was doing! my first screen name was "too old to obsess over 💚❤️" and then sometime later i decided that there was no shame in being an older fan, so i changed it to "never too old to obsess over 💚❤️" 😂

on ao3, i'm "overthinkingthis" — i deliberately picked a different handle entirely because i had never read or written fics before, and wanted to keep my fic activities separate, like a secret side thing. that did not last long. again, shedding the shame!

on tumblr i'm "overthinkingyizhan" but i'm new to tumblr so there's not a lot going on there yet.

fandom friends also call me tee, and that works too!

how long have i been in the swamp? i watched cql in march 2020... my family watched it first, and i had no interest in watching with them until i saw xz's face. i literally asked, "why is that man so beautiful???" i watched the entire series twice, read mdzs a couple of times, and then one day i was listening to wuji and thought, "are the actors singing this as a duet?" i googled them, was horrified by 227, amazed by yibo's dancing, and then started mainlining the official bts and all the fan analysis videos on youtube. i was so charmed by how happy they looked together, but i'd never shipped anyone in my life before, so wasn't sure what to make of all the shippy stuff. i came to yizhan twitter in april 2020 to find out what happened to them after weibo night (aka "divorce night"). what finally threw me into the pit was seeing video of yibo looking teary in a ddu clip from the first taping after 227... i remember thinking, "oh my god, he really loves him."

wow, i'm rambling. let me let you ask your questions!

Ooh, I’m loving your story…! You could keep going and I can keep listening/reading it… 🥹🥹🥹

So it was the first time you shipped someone???

yes, this is my first and only fandom! i was very lucky to find really good friends in the fandom when i came to twitter, and they have been such good guides. that's one of the reasons i love what you're doing with this project (and i very much vibe with your "omg how can i organize all this information" panic because that's how i ended up on ao3!) i could go on, but let me answer your next question:

▪️ Where are you most active/ favorite place to dabble in fandom-wise? (Twt, tumblr, ao3, pixive, privetter, etc)

i'm most active on twitter as @oldobsess… i've posted more works on ao3 than i ever expected to, and i have a tumblr that i hope to use to archive more of my collected fandom candy if i ever find the time

▪️ I’ve also been very fortunate to be in friendly fandoms, but being this your first, were you surprised by the toxic side of it when you found out?

yes! i mean, because i learned about 227 right away (it had just happened when i started watching cql in march 2020), i learned about antis very early on. i don't really understand why anyone takes the time to hate a character or celebrity when they can spend that time on the character or celebrity they love, but sadly, i know now that there are people who do that in every fandom.

i was also very surprised that dynamics is a thing some people get very worked up about, especially with an rpf ship where no one has any idea what people do in private. i've tried to be more mindful about it now that i know it's a thing, but i wish everyone could assume more positive intent when it comes to this particular topic. personally, if i see or read something that isn't my thing, i don't stop to comment and i don't like to do callouts in public. (that's what private chats with friends are for!) instead, i scroll on by or use the back button. i don't like to give fandom wank more exposure by posting about it publicly. there's enough negativity in the world as it is — i don't need to add to it!

i'm also aware that as an rpf shipper, i have to be careful about where i do my screaming. i don't do it on posts by official accounts (whether in comments or qrts). also, i follow a fair number of solo accounts because we share a love for either xiao zhan or yibo, but i am careful not to say shippy things on their posts... i think that's basic courtesy, because they're entitled to do fandom the way they like. if i don't like the way they do it, i scroll by or i can block if it's really something i don't want to see. some solos block me, and i prefer they do that than to say unkind things to me.

basically, i try to follow the golden rule... how would i feel if something said X to me? i feel like i've had a relatively drama-free fandom experience by following these guidelines. fandom should be fun, so as long as you're not hurting anyone, you do you!

I very much share the same opinion about how to handle 🐜.

Now that you bring up the topic about the dynamics, I think it’s a cultural thing b/w Asian countries and Western countries. They simply have different backgrounds of how they came to be and have very different view points. They can’t really be compared. But I still love both styles.

▪️ What was your first motivation to start writing/ drawing about them?

before this fandom, i never read or wrote fic! and i had no idea rpf was a thing! to be honest, i was a little weirded out by the idea of reading or writing fic about real people. 🙈 but then after spending hours chatting about ggdd candy with my first fandom friends, i felt completely overwhelmed by the need to organize everything they were sharing with me. (also remember that the pandemic lockdown had just begun, so i was going a little stir crazy and needed something to do with all my restless energy.)

one night, we were musing over when ggdd might have first gotten together, and one of my friends told me that a significant minority of cbxg (chinese ggdd shippers) believe they got together BEFORE cql. i demanded to know more about this theory, and after countless hours of drowning in candy from 2017, i decided i had to write a fic with this alternate timeline or i would lose my mind.

i opened an ao3 account and started posting "we are made to love" in june 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/24669283/chapters/59612737 i had no idea what i was doing! i just wanted to write something about all the candy for myself and to amuse the three fandom friends i had then. 😂 but then what started out as "maybe i'll write 15k on this, 20k tops" turned into a 20-chapter, 83k work that took me six months to post in full.

i swore all along that i would write that one fic to get it all out of my system, and then never write again, but that did not happen. these two beautiful and talented individuals are just too inspiring! i've created or co-created over 50 works since then, but wamtl is still my best-known work.

sorry, these responses are just so long! renren was so much more succinct... please feel free to tell me to shut up hahah

No, I won’t cos I’m enjoying this way too much myself 🤭

▪️ How many fics/ fan arts have you written/ drawn so far? Which one is the one that you’re most fond of and why?

i've written 45 fics (including two drabbles that i drew art for, and one anonymous work). i co-wrote an additional eight fics with friends. i also posted two works (a recipe and a knitting pattern) that were part of an art/fic collab that i did with some creative fandom friends.

i don't know how to answer this question (about what fic i’m most fond of)! i've been asked before, and my answer changes all the time. it depends on my mood, and also on what it means to be fond of a work. sometimes a fic is bound up in the feelings i had when i wrote it, or who i was writing it with or for. if you asked me what fic of mine i would most want to reread, that would also depend on my mood. do i want to laugh or cry?

i am really fond of "talk to me," which is the fic i HAD to write after i saw an article about a japanese man who rented himself out as a "rental-san" to keep lonely people company... i was absolutely seized with the idea of writing yibo as a "rental-ge," hired by xiao zhan to listen to him talk about a boyfriend who keeps breaking his heart. it's also a wholesome t-rated fic, and soft getting-together fics are really my jam.

i'm also very fond of "lying in the dark (no sunshine)," which is my angsty break-up/make-up fic. it's based on the movie "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind," which is one of my favorite movies. i am also in love with the concepts of memory and forgetting, and this fic is a long meditation on those themes.

i'm really cheating now, but i am super fond of my tattoo and tentacle aus ("under my skin" and "wrapped up in you" ) because i wrote them with and for dear fandom friends, and so both were so much fun to write. when i re-read them, i think of these friends, and the warm feelings i have for this fandom.

Ooh, I’m glad you mentioned “Wrapped Up in You” cos it’s been one of my first fics I read when I came into this fandom and was rec’ed by none other than Ren and it’s one of my fave fics for so many reasons! 😆😆😆

*screaming* i cannot believe that you joined this fandom and read TENTACLES right off the bat 😂😂😂 i love that! 🐙

▪️ What’s your favorite trope to write/draw or a new one that you want to try this year?

"established relationship" is my most common "additional tag" for my fics! i just adore writing yizhan all soft and secure with each other, even if they're sharing insecurities or bickering. to me, they fit together like puzzle pieces, so no matter what i put them through in the story, when i get to the parts where they're settled and happy, with all the trust and fondness that comes with that, the writing feels effortless.

among the projects i want to finish these year is a getting-together rom-com, a sci-fi au, and a fairy tale! occasionally i think about writing more "canon" fics based on real-life candy that they throw out there, but i also feel like i've written so many of them already, and i have a lot of other ideas i'd like to try to write.

oh, i should say, since this is supposed to be a guide for baby 🐢, i've dumped a ton of links to candy in the endnotes to a lot of my fics, especially wamtl and the fics in the "extra chapters" series. since i started writing fics as a way to organize my thoughts and the fandom candy, i actually do continue to revise the endnotes as i come across new sources (and if links go dead, i try to fix them). ideally, i would post all these links to tumblr so people don't have to go to my fics to find the links, but there are only so many hours in a day!

Wow, I’m amazed at how organized and prolific you are!

▪️ Are you bjyx, zsww or lsfy? Is this dynamic important to you?

i would say i am lsfy. i do not care about who does what physical act. i do care about characterization, and to me, that is completely separate from how the characters have sex. if a fic is written well, and the way yizhan is written feels real to me, i don't care how they have sex (or if they do at all).

one of the things i've really enjoyed about writing yizhan fics is that because they are both men, i don't worry about gender baggage the way i might if i were writing a m/f fic. i have the freedom to flip things around to fit the story and i don't spend emotional energy worrying whether having a character cook, cry, or apologize — or bottom — is gender-coded. honestly, i spend enough time irl worrying about race and gender, so i like that these are not issues i need to think about when i write yizhan.

so yeah, at this point, i have written all possible dynamics (and with tentacles, you really can do everything, everywhere, all at once 😂)!

i do try to tag my fics for dynamics (the actual sex act, not for vibes or characterization) so that people who *do* care can find what they want to read. i'd rather that someone who cares a lot about such things is able to avoid reading a fic of mine that doesn't suit their tastes so they don't feel compelled to write me a nasty note (also, readers, don't do this. there's a back button for when that happens).

That seems to be a very important issue in this fandom, they even have names for each dynamic. That a first for me and it was another thing that surprised me as a new 🐢.

▪️ What’s your most fave 🍬? Have you written about it? Where do you get your 🍬 sources?

i don't know if i can pick a favorite candy! like renren, i love the tattoo cpn, and so i wrote an entire fic about them having tattoos ("under my skin," in which xiao zhan is a tattoo artist and yibo is an idol who meets xiao zhan and suddenly wants to be inked all over his body haha).

i am fascinated with kadian, which is a kind of number language that's popular in china. i honestly thought it sounded far-fetched the first time i was introduced to it, but over the course of the years i've been in this fandom, i've seen enough evidence to know that kadian is real and yizhan use it (for example, 520 means "i love you" because the chinese numbers read out loud (wo ai ni) are a homophone for 我爱你, or "i love you" — may 20 (5/20) is a nationally-recognized couple's day in china for that reason)... yizhan (and all of their endorsements) post at 8:05 or 10:05 frequently because those timestamps represent their birthdays. there are many examples of different codes in wide use in china that have shown up in yizhan's various socmed posts... and there there are all the 18s (一八 sounds like yibo) and 3s (三 sounds like zhan).

i do incorporate kadian in nearly all of my fics in some way (and there's a whole chapter about it in wamtl), often because i’ll have yizhan post not-so-secret kadian messages to each other over weibo and oasis.

i even embed kadian codes into the word counts for nearly all of my fics, i'm that obsessed.

twitter followers know i post about kadian a lot too!

my first fandom friends have been such excellent sources of candy... @ShirasagiS @VenOceanofStars were the ones who spent hours talking to me about the candy that cbxgs had unearthed when i was writing my first fic. they helped me so much with translations (translation from chinese can be so difficult, especially when it's xiao zhan who's posting... he loves the word play and can get very literary in his wording).

other good accounts to follow to stay on top of weibo/oasis posts, endorsements, past appearances and such are @wxyzybxz @bjyxiaos @bjyxnoa @sunhuas

i also follow some solo accounts... although they don't *intentionally* deliver candy, they always have great content about xiao zhan and yibo.

candy also comes my way through chats with friends!

i'm not on tumblr much, but i like UntamedConnotations and AccioVictuuri for roundups of candy that aren't captured as well in tweets

Wow, thank you for sharing with us so generously your sources! I for one am very grateful cos I didn’t know several of them.

▪️ Open topic: hot/latest topic of the boys and/or fandom.

the latest hot topic!? i think it has to be yibo's new song, his performance, and his many, many posts about them! it's ticking all the boxes for me... a GORGEOUS, heartbreaking song, a beautiful and emotional performance, and a tidal wave of posts about it, with kadian, possibly hidden messages, and yibo looking incredibly handsome.

just today, he posted pictures of himself in a hoodie with a rainbow logo and his ever-present 🦴 necklace, and combined with a song and performance that already feels like yibo baring his soul in a way we haven't seen before, it's just SO MUCH and i am just in awe of how comfortable he is in his skin, how unapologetic he is about who he is... and how safe and secure he must feel to be able to shout all this out. i realize i could be completely deluded, and that none of this has to do with love, or that maybe he loves someone who isn't xiao zhan, but after all that i have seen over the past few years, i'm not sure how else to harmonize it all if they aren't szd. if nothing else, it makes me so happy to imagine that they've really found a love like this with each other, and for me, that's been the joy of being in this fandom (especially these last few years, with all that has been going on in the world).

anyway, i like to tell people that i fell into the wangxian pit because of xiao zhan's beautiful face, and that i tripped and fell into the yizhan pit because of yibo's lovesick face. everything about yibo's "like a sunshine" song and performance is just making me even more emotional about them and the epic romance that i see between them, and it brings me so much joy.

▪️Now that you bring up about the the 🦴 necklace, do you think the necklace is actually XZ’s gift? Does it really have a 王 engraving on it? Do you think the 🦴 necklace some kind of statement?

i'm not sure if it's really engraved with a 王... but i think the 🦴 is (1) a gift from someone special because yibo wears it so frequently... you only come back to a piece of jewelry that often when it has great personal meaning... especially when you are someone who wears fancy accessories for work all the time. it has shown up in inappropriate times too, like under a period costume on set, when he's not supposed to be wearing personal jewelry... that tells me it means something very special, because he just won't take it off. and (2) i think it's from xz because he has called yibo a puppy (gouzaizai), there was that time yibo's co-star from LoF said in a livestream that he can't call yibo gouzaizai because he's not xz (which tells me that other people know about xz using that term of endearment)... also xz has called yibo clingier than jianguo (comparing him to a pet), so yeah... i think it's really only xz who could give yibo a 🦴 necklace 🥰

could it be another person? i guess if i am wrong about them being szd, it could be someone else... but to me that would mean he's in a relationship with someone else. i have jewelry that other friends have given me that i wear on occasion, but the pieces that i wear all the time are the ones my husband has given me.

In between this answer and the next question, we both became a crying mess remembering the beautiful and meaningful dance performance of Yibo’s LtS at the New Year’s Gala, till we regained our composure, lol

▪️ How did you come to meet your good friends when you first started out in fandom?

when i first came to twitter in early april 2020, i really didn't know where to start. i wasn't a twitter user, and i'd never done the fandom thing before. i lurked for awhile, following solo accounts (at first, just xfx, because i was really worried about how xiao zhan was doing... it was still very early after 227). i stumbled over ventus's (@VenOceanofStars) posts, and spent a few long nights scrolling her posts of old candy. she noticed that i was liking literally hundreds of her posts, and dm'd me to ask me "how old is too old to obsess over ggdd?" and that's how we became friends. 🥰 she introduced me to @ShirasagiS and the three of us spent a lot of time just talking about ggdd and c-ent generally, since they are fluent in chinese (i am also asian, and although i've been perpetually trying to learn chinese, it's been a slog!)

i also found @BjyxObsessed because i thought her pinned tweet was hilarious and it spoke to me (back then, it was all about the shock of falling into this shippy pit as an older fan), and because i am not a shy person, i slid into her dms and forced her to be my friend. 😂 she introduced me to the world of rp fiction, and her sweet and funny fics were among the first i read (in any fandom!)

that's generally been my pattern... i see people around who might share an opinion or a demographic (a lot of my fandom friends are older fans with families and irl jobs) and i might dm them to see if we click. sometimes we do, sometimes we don't (and that's okay!)

when i finished posting wamtl and realized i was not done writing after all, i helped put together a discord server with some other writing friends, a place where we could encourage one another as we prepared for an upcoming fic exchange that we were all participating in. that was a great way to make friends... gathering around a common creative interest, be it writing or art or maybe just yelling about the boys.

some of those writers have since moved on, and some new writers have joined... it's sad when friends go on to other fandoms or to other interests, but i'm told this is a natural ebb and flow of fandom, and so i've learned to roll with it and keep making new friends.

somehow, nearly five years after yizhan started filming cql together, new 🐢 still find their way here, and i like to think that that's a testament to how beautiful and real their story feels.

▪️ Okay, I have the exact same question. How old is too old? Because I regard myself as one of the older 🐢 age-wise. I was VERY relieved to see several 30+ or 40+ in fandom 🤭

well, i don't like to tell people how old i actually am because i feel like putting a number on it might make people wonder if they're too old (if they're older than i am)... i prefer the mystery! but yes, i've been told that my saying i'm an older fan makes other older fans feel more comfortable with being here, and that's nice to know!

i do have readers and followers who i know are older than i am, and i think that's awesome!

▪️ Lastly, a piece of advice for newbie 🐢, please!

i would second renren's advice to respect the boys, their business partners, and their co-stars/friends and don't write shippy things on their posts. think of the golden rule before you hit "send" on things... how would you feel if you were yibo or xiao zhan and people were yelling shippy things on your work projects? for that reason, i try to keep my nonsense within this fandom bubble... i don't hashtag with their names, and i don't interact with solo accounts unless i *know* they're tolerant of cpfs.

the other thing i would say is to spend your energy positively. being excited about yizhan's projects and their accomplishments does not mean you have to trash someone else... that's a really bad look, and can only make trouble for them (and especially don't do that if you're using them as your profile picture because it reflects badly on them).

finally, don't evangelize. if people see what you see and want to find out if they're szd, they'll find their way here. arguing with people and trying to "prove" to outsiders that they're together is bad form... remember that we really don't know anything. i might personally feel they're szd, but if other people don't see it, i respect that too. THAT SAID... if they trip and fall into the pit the way i did, i'll do what i can to make them feel welcome so they can enjoy a positive and joyful fandom as i have!

END

[ailuronymy]

I doubt you'll remember this, because it happened such a long time ago, but it's been bothering me for years now and I wanted to get some closure on it. Many years ago, when I was 14, pretty new to roleplaying and completely new to Tumblr, I sent you an anonymous ask laughing about ridiculous unrealistic things that people were having their cats do in a roleplay I was in. Building blanket forts, among other things, and being transgender. At this point in my life I thought transgender only meant someone who had undergone gender affirmation surgery, and the idea of cats doing surgery on one another was hilarious to me. I shared it with the hope that other people would find it hilarious too. Instead, you told me that I had said The Wrong Thing and called me a bigot. I was confused, I was horrified, I didn't understand at all, and I more or less fled from tumblr for about two years. It was a formative experience for me.

Hello there. I do actually remember that post, although obviously since you were anon then as well, I didn’t remember you specifically. But I do remember. 

I thought about how to answer this ask for a few days. I’m not sure exactly what it is you’re looking for from me, but I’m going to give you the best reply I can and I hope that’s good enough for the both of us. 

When you wrote in to me, about eight years ago, I was younger than you are now. I was nineteen and I’d only been on tumblr for a bit over a year at that point, I think. I’d never had social media before, of any kind. It was all pretty new to me as an experience too, and I’d never expected this blog to get the attention that it did. I never even imagined that was a possibility. But it happened and I learned how to run a relatively popular ask blog on the job, as it were. 

There’s a lot I regret when I look back on that early era of this blog. The humour and jokes I allowed and sometimes encouraged and said myself here was often not kind, and that’s something I really regret. Eventually, I put an end to that because it just wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted any of us who have fun here to be doing. But I absolutely allowed it to happen for a long time first, and that’s on me. 

Also at that same time, there was a particular way of interacting on tumblr that was very popular. It was a lot of exuberance and hyperbole and insults, and being rude for fun, and overall very over-the-top and often harsh or just plain uncaring that there was someone else at the other end of the message. For everyone who was here in 2012, I think you can probably remember what it was like. It wasn’t a nice mode of communication, but it was popular and got great responses and a lot of people found it fun to read. For a couple of years after I started Ailuronymy, I was absolutely guilty of buying into it and acting this way, until I finally hated it enough to stop. It wasn’t who I wanted to be, in general or on this blog specifically. It felt mean and inauthentic and I wanted to be better. But I did act like that for a long time, and that was a choice I made. 

I’m not saying any of this because I want to make excuses for myself. I’m more aware than anyone else of the problems early on in this blog’s history, and it’s something I regret and wish I could go back to do differently with the knowledge and experience I have now. Unfortunately, I can’t change the past. I can only own up to it and do better going forward. 

I’m sorry for the tone I often used, including to you in that post, and I’m sorry that because of that behaviour, you felt scared and unwelcome here. That’s a failure on my part. I shouldn’t have used the tone I did, or assumed I had to take a defensive, intense stance the way I did. It’s very sad to me to know that because I did that, you were frightened and decided to leave. 

However, I would like to share my context too. Because at the time, I was nineteen years old (which I know probably sounds ancient to younger teens, but it’s not, really), and a bisexual guy (which I still am, obviously), and Ailuronymy was already a place that people (especially queer people) in the fandom were looking to for support and education. Insofar as this blog was developing a niche, that was it. I felt a significant amount of responsibility to champion and defend the people this blog was made for. 

2012 was also a time when the Warriors fandom on tumblr was genuinely very homophobic, and also quite volatile. It was common for people to be very angry (in general, and often at me) for saying that ableism isn’t okay, or that Warriors characters can be trans, or sometimes just “canon naming doesn’t make much sense.” I got quite a lot of hate mail--also sometimes just... confused, angry mail, for this naming system or any of the political things I talked about--and I was doing the best I could with what I had to give. A lot of what I learned during my years of running this blog came from making mistakes, but I always did my best.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because what you actually said was: “these cats can be homosexual, asexual, bisexual, pansexual, and transgender--don’t even ask me how that’s possible. I don’t want to know.” You came to me, a queer man, running a blog that in no small part is about how queerness is allowed to exist in this fandom and is in fact not implausible, during a time when the fandom as a whole was solidly anti-queer, with something like that. Like you said, you shared it with me--and the readers here--because you hoped we would find it hilarious and unrealistic too. 

But I didn’t, because, to me, that’s just what a lot of the fandom already was. It was a hostile environment that regularly argued that queer characters, or people, had no place here. That was the kind of things people on anon fairly often came to yell in my inbox about how I’m wrong, etc. etc., and how I’m bad, etc. etc. 

I reacted defensively, which I wouldn’t do now, because I’m much older, and I have experience and confidence I just didn’t then. At the time, though, what I heard in your ask was “queer characters are absurd and don’t belong here, don’t correct me,” and that is what I reacted to. I’m sure for you, it felt scary and disproportionate, and as I said before, I wish I had handled things differently, and gentler. 

But I don’t disagree with what I said. The points I made weren’t wrong. And my response--although not how I would respond now--was not wrong, even though it hurt you. It genuinely is horrible to know that because of my lack of tact, you were scared. It was also horrible to receive your ask at the time, just like many of the rest. It wasn’t hypothetical to me, because I’m queer. It was about me, and other people I care about very much.

The fact I’m queer is probably news to you, and you were new tumblr and probably didn’t know what was going on in the fandom, and maybe you would have said something different if you knew all this. 

Likewise, though, you were on anon and I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t know you were fourteen. I didn’t know you were asking in good faith, and not just another one of the homophobic fans thinking you’d found a friend in me, which frankly felt a bit insulting. I didn’t know you were and, again, although I wish I did more back then and was kinder in my approach, I didn’t have insight into your intentions. I also didn’t have the maturity for that not to matter.

That said, even in my very imperfect answer I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. I specifically said:

“Before you think I’m victimising you - I’m not. This is not personal right now; currently, this is a mistake on your part, and I understand that mistakes are incredibly easy to make. If, by the end of my post, you get where you went wrong here, then it will be like this ask of yours never happened and I will forget you ever said it. I don’t like to hold any kind of grudge if there’s any way to avoid it, and an acknowledgement of where you went wrong here would completely fix everything about this.”

&

“So what you’re saying when you say that you don’t believe that “homosexual, asexual, bisexual, pansexual, and transgender” cats are possible in the context of Warriors is, basically, that you’re a bigot. I am really sorry to say that, because the chances are - I sincerely hope - that you aren’t. You’re a good person. You’re a good person who said something bigoted by mistake. And if you don’t believe what you’ve said is a mistake yet, let me show you some interesting true facts about our world.“

Because I know how easy it is to make mistakes and how hard it is to get everything right all the time, and know everything, and never do something dumb or hurtful. It’s easy to fuck up. I’ve done it a lot. The answer I gave you back then is just one example.

That what you took from my answer was only fear and confusion isn’t something in my control, however. I hate that that’s what happened, and I regret not being who I am now back then, but even though I did fuck up back then, I still did what I could at the time to mitigate the damage and reassure you that a mistake doesn’t define you. I am sorry it wasn’t enough for you to feel okay coming back. But I can’t say I’m sorry for telling you that coming to me on my blog with that kind of mentality is something I’ll tolerate at all. 

Ultimately, I’m sorry that our experience of each other was not a good one. I’m sorry that your memory of me is someone scary and mean, and that you felt you had to leave this site entirely for two years because of it. I regret that my actions left you with such a negative experience, because that was never my intention, even though the way I handled things with you was very poor. 

I hope you’re able to find the closure you’re looking for and I genuinely wish you all the best.