#why the hell wouldn't i check the site out?

[feltcaverns]

why are you even reading the site anyway - 🐇

Beyond bored.

[slyandthefamilybook]

the internet was a mistake

[feminine-obedient-alexandra]

First Times

For a long time, i didn't understand what Men find hot about this. A girl licking a toilet or other non-sexual but icky things. But nowadays i know that it isn't about sex, it is about dignity. A normal person wouldn't lick the toilet, but a dirty whore would. That means by licking the toilet the girl admits to being a dirty whore. She shows that she has no boundaries, that she will do anything for him. Often it does not even matter what it is she does, as long as she does it because he wants it (and would never do it without him demanding it). And the more repulsive the action is, the more turned on the Man gets.

By debasing ourselves, by lowering ourselves to toilet licking whores, we can attract male attention. Every girl can look pretty in a dress, it is not that difficult. And while it is also not technically difficult to lick a toilet, most girls get stopped by their pride and dignity. Only by being able to overcome those burdens, we can show Men that we are worth their time. We can show them that we don't act inside the normal morals, that we are not like all the other girls, we are better, more fun. Of course, toilet licking is here just an example, not every Man will be into this particular action, but what they are into is into pushing the boundaries of what is considered "normal".

In that sense, it is kind of a test. A test if we are ready to submit or if our pride and dignity have ruined us. When it comes to sex Men have a very dirty and creative mind. There will always be new things that they invent. Just look at the porn industry. One would assume that by now every kind of porn has already been shot but yet the industry is booming with more and more videos coming out each day. Men don't want to let their sex life get stale, they need new things. So while it might have been enough to show some ankle 150 years ago, today Men need more. They need dirty sluts. They need us to throw away the "morals" of society and go the extra mile. Where it once has been showing some ankle, then maybe some knee and now we are in a time where clean-shaven pubic hair and anal sex is expected.

It won't stop. It will keep going. Men will need more and more, we can't just sit back and relax on the basis that we once licked a toilet. No, Men need more and need it repeated. You cannot do things for the first time twice. Once you degraded yourself in a certain way, you can repeat it but you can never make happen for the first time again. With each repeat, it will get easier and more normal. That is why morals shift - there will always be people on the edge of what is "normal" and push the boundaries a little further. And after a while, it is not seen as weird anymore and a new normal gets created.

So keep in mind that with every degrading action, with every defiance of your pride and with every renouncing of your dignity, you shift what's normal a little bit further. And every first you give your Man just ingrains you in his brain. A Man will not remember the 10th blowjob he got, but he sure as hell still knows everything about the first time he came into a girl's mouth. Do your research and check the porn sites for new stuff. Look at what is trending, those are the videos Men are watching. Watching something is the first step. After they have seen plenty of it, they will want to experience it. So prepare by watching the same videos and get used to the ideas in porn. Over time even the most degrading actions can appear normal to us, use this to your advantage and always be one step ahead :)

Of course, this does not mean that this is all Men want. Men want a variety of things, they are quite complex beings. But porn, sex, and degradation go hand in hand. Every Man is influenced by them to some extent. Some more and some less. But it never hurts to dismantle any pride you might feel. Pride never helped anyone, it is poisonous. With dignity it is the same. No girl ever got her prince charming because she was the most dignified. No Man ever had an orgasm from respecting a girl.

[missmarveledsblog]

A kind of sex education part 2 (platonic cas x winchesters x reader)

Summary : after the whole porn ordeal , castiel finds tumblr and the world of fanfiction has him asking more curious questions  which the residents of the bunker are not so happy to answer . 

warnings : mentions of smutty fics , cas being the curious baby in a trench coat we love .

After the whole angel porn ordeal , they were more careful with what cas was watching not wanting  history to repeat itself . Like monitoring a toddler on an iPad. Especially given that y/n wouldn't come out of her room for days not wanting to look any of them bar sam in the eyes .  Dean even limited his teasing when it came to the subject . Today he was luckily out while cas was on laptop , Sam and Y/N were looking over some incoming cases seeing which needed to be handled first .

" interesting this is very interesting " the angel spoke making them look over both slightly relieved not see or hear an explicit image on the laptop. 

" I've been on a interesting site that led me to many other over the last couple of days " he  spoke up .

" what was that buddy" she smiled over. Their joy short lived when he uttered the next few sentences out of his mouth .

" tumblr that led me to all these other sites , did you know there is fanfiction of us like the play we seen except it's classed as what they call smut " he looked up at the two .

" why didn't  I go on the supply run ,  why am I here when he finds this shit " she cursed up at the ceiling .

" could be nothing " sam offered a weak smile .

" did you know most popular is Dean x y/n fiction seems as though you are most shipped although there are some of Dean and sam with you too " he mused .

" but I could be wrong" sam winced taking the laptop off of cas completely .

" how do you find these things " he asked looking through the tabs .

" I'm very pop culture savvy now " cas said proudly . 

" what the hell man why are you reading all these " sam groaned wanting burning his eyes out seeing an explicitly  wrong image of Dean and himself (no to wincest) .  " you are actually popular with them Y/n " sam mused .

" that's after  that stupid ghost hunting  website and chuck " she grumbled  wondering where she was going to start her new life.

" hey there's even some with you and cas " he chuckled. 

" Alaska or maybe Australia would be better it further Away " she mused .

" wow these are extremely detailed " sam continued .

" would you call Dean daddy , the stories seem to think you would " cas asked .

" what the hell did I walk into " the man in question walked into the room .

" my resignation  " she mumbled hiding her head in her arms. 

" destiel  is another popular one " sam chuckled. 

" cas found smutty fanfictions " she looked up to see the clueless expression on Dean's face.

" they suggest that Y/n is a sub and you are a Dom " the angel stated.

" wanna see if they're right sweetheart " Dean winked .

" wanna kill me cause I can't be dealing with this" she countered wondering if she could also legally change her name.

" why are they so descriptive on the parts , have they seen them" cas sat looking between the three .

" the way Dean sleeps around they probably seen his " she reasoned.

" they also suggest you like..." .

" do not even finish that one" she growled .

"so many kinks cas did you google all these" sam asked eyes widening at the search history. 

" i was looking at chucks book and comments said to check out the tumblr versions " he said looking confused to what he did wrong. " they forgot to add that birthmark just below your tits " he added matter of factly .

" when did you see her ... what he got to see i didn't" dean turned to Y/n , who honestly rather be stuck with Crowley for eternity than this .

" he walked in while i was getting dressed and it not a birthmark it's a scar from a battle with an old favourite bra "she could feel her cheeks redder than they've been so far . "i'm going to my room to pack for my new life in australia" she stormed out her room .

" she's kidding right?" dean asked looking to the mean .

" you should dom her  and make her stay , they said she responds to good girl" cas explained .

" i wonder if she would let me come with her " sam mused walking out after her.  

another awkward dinner bobby was almost afraid to ask. Although dean was smiling more than the others.

" cas read fanfiction , pornographic fan fiction " dean explained .

" i've also read some theories too, like bobby is Y/N Dad and not her uncle" cas smiled making bobby choke on his water.

"  their theories cas they're not right ... right? " she laughed but stopped when she notice bobby expression or how he would barel look at her.

" i mean it's a possibility " he mused truthfully making her jaw drop

" great more daddy issue not like the place is drowning in them with these two " she pinched the bridge of her nose and point at sam and dean.

" so the theories of dean being her soulmate are true " cas asked.

" probably " dean shrugged winking at her .

" why did i ever come here, sam wanna move to australia with me " she ignored the other three men .

" look me and your mom had a brief thing , your dad well your dad agreed while he..." . 

" australia sound nice " sam agreed cutting bobby short .

" hey stop denying our love even nerds on internet think we'd be hot together"dean spoke up .

" cas from now on stop the curiosity or so help me i will make you eat the computer  " she  groaned learning too much information for the day .

"we need to do dna test " she turned to bobby .

" you can pick me up at 7 " she turned to dean before walking out leaving the men speechless . 

" i got punished" cas pouted .

" i got a kid  kinda " bobby gulped .

" i got a date " dean smirked .

" and i got a rock ... It's a thing on tiktok ... what cass isn't the only pop culture savvy one around here " sam shrugged .

part three

[libraford]

Boss: (part) for this printer is missing. Where did you last put it?

Me: I put it in (place it belongs)

Boss: It isnt there. Where else could it be? You were the last to use it.

Me: I was not the last to use it. I remember asking (coworker) if she was able to get it to work at a later date.

Boss: No, you were the last to use it- I looked it up.

Me: Well, it was a year ago and I don't know where it is.

(Boss works out a solution that the photos will be printed at the office instead of on-site)

Weeks later, we are looking for a different thing, Boss reaches into a bag and finds the (part.)

Boss: How in the hell did it get here?

Me: I don't recognize this bag.

Boss: I'm just glad we found it.

Week later-

Boss: I'll have you print out the photos from that day that we were missing the part, now that we found it. If you run into any trouble, please call Big Boss because I don't know how to troubleshoot it.

Me: -runs into problems, calls Big Boss-

Big Boss: Hmm, I don't know that one- you should call (technician.)

Big Boss: -calls again with technician on the line, we try to troubleshoot, but can't figure the answer.- You should have tested all your equipment before going on this job because then you wouldn't be running into these kinds of problems and we wouldn't have to fix it. That's why we stress so much that you're supposed to test it first instead of just assuming everything is in the right place because you never know. We go through this every time- you have to have to HAVE to make sure you're prepared.

Me: -decides not to mention that the person who didn't check it was Boss, and that the person who was on the job was not me, and that the person who replaced it was not me-

Boss: -walks by while I'm on the phone, watches my face change- -mouths 'you okay?'

Me: -finishes call- Big Boss chewed me out for not testing the equipment before I went on the job with it.

Boss: Did you tell him that you weren't the one who took the job?

Me: I kept waiting for a moment when he was done lecturing me to mention it, but he wouldn't stop and I decided it wasn't worth it.

Boss: He chewed me out, too.

Me: ... did you know its International Women's Day?

[abby118]

It makes me so happy to see I’m not alone here. Honestly the Loki fandom is so fucking isolating, and I feel like if you say you prefer Pre-series Loki/Loki Prime whatever….you get shit flung at you. This fandom has done a really good job at making me scared to share my opinions. (Hell, I can’t even criticize the TVA without “UWU THE TVA ARE SMOL ANGST BLORBOS WITH TRAUMA! THEY’RE LOKI’s WHOLESOME FOUND FAMILY WHO HELPED HIM!!!”) It’s helped me a little bit to remember Loki in the series is a variant of our boy, because like…he’s literally nothing like Loki in the slightest and no offense to the fans, but it feels like a majority of them haven’t even TOUCHED the previous films. (Literally saw a post calling them old and outdated.)

Thank you for this blog. 🥺

Ooh yes, mhm. It can be isolating, for sure, but I also think we're fortunate that it did split into pre and post ragnarok eras of the fandom because some fandoms die when its source material gets retconned. I definitely relate to the opinion aimed towards the new "fans"; they're one of the most disrespectful and meanest people I have had the displeasure of interacting with in fandom spaces and I've been on this site for a while now.

And no, the character in the series is not a variant of Loki. The *only thing they share is a name, which has been stolen from the original character it rightfully belongs to, with the intent of cashing in on the fans. I refuse to refer to him as the same character. *They do share the same actor too, and as much as it hurts to say it, because Tom Hiddleston has been my favourite actor since I can remember - I was literally 9 when I joined the fandom when T1 came out..(for context, I'll be turning 22 this year), I no longer relate to how he views, or seems to view, Loki. And don't get me wrong, he will always be the person who played my favourite character, that will not change, but I do not see his interpretation of Loki as my own anymore. It doesn't even match his old one. And I know I'm not alone in feeling like this.

The TVA is a topic I don't have the energy to get into but it is beyond problematic. I'll just say that, I'm sure we all know what I'm getting at there. And I wouldn't even say it "feels" like the newer people haven't touched the movies. I have spoken to a few of them and it is an actual thing, apparently. Some of them started with ragnarok...which does explain a lot...and never bothered to check the original ones. And then they complain about feeling unwelcome among the fanbase, I wonder why that is, huh? - "I feel like if you say you prefer Pre-series Loki/Loki Prime whatever….you get shit flung at you. This fandom has done a really good job at making me scared to share my opinions."

Don't listen to them. Block them. They are not interactions that would bring you enjoyment or any sort of positive feeling and that's not what fandoms are supposed to be like, trust me. If you genuinelly feel upset about people's takes and opinion aimed towards you, you have every right to avoid them. Tumblr has no algorithm and blocking is nothing but curating your experience, you don't owe anything to these people. I, myself, have done this, including filtering tags, and it is so much more peaceful than when I rejoined (beacuse I changed blogs). Still, no longer being able to go to the main tag is incredibly sad.

Find a group of people you can interact with, follow the tags that are more specific and avoid what doesn't benefit your fun here. And thank you for being here, really. Especially for reaching out 💚🖤 I'm very glad you like my blog. I'm just doing my own thing, which in my case, means trying to stay true to the fandom I loved and enjoyed (and still do) from years ago, regardless of the notes or what people say. Because, at the end of the day, all that matters is your own enjoyment. I'm trying not to post too much negativity towards post2013 despite having a lot to say because there are blogs who do that, and do so well (thank you guys), and we need one that's focused on the good things too, but sometimes it really is needed. So thank you for the opportunity.

[lurksunderthebed]

Ghoap Analysis/Meta (2.1)

The Evolution of GhostSoap Redux

Recontextualising mwii(22) Ghost and Soap dialogue and what it could mean.

(Part 2.1/?)

BEWARE SPOILERS TO MWIII(23)!!!

As I said in part 1,

I, and arguably most of fandom had theorised that "Kill or Capture" was the first mission that Soap and Ghost ever had together. And we weren't quite right, but we weren't completely wrong either.

With Flashpoint, it's obvious now, that was not quite true. It even suggests in it that Ghost and Soap had worked together prior to even that, as there was no formal introduction between the two.

This dramatically changes how we can read their dialogue in mwii(22)

So let's go into the biggest bits of mwii(22).

Please also check the alt text.

Kill or Capture

"Kill or Capture" is the first mission players see Ghost and Soap together. Lets look into the first conversation.

Shepherd: (over radio) You're wheels-up in five.

Ghost: Roger.

Shepherd: Marines are loading in now. You and the Sergeant are leading the way on this.

A truck drives up and off-loads the Marines and Sergeant Johnny "Soap" MacTavish.

Ghost: The Sergeant?

Soap walks up to Ghost, brimming with enthusiasm.

Soap: Let's get ourselves a win, yeah, L.T.? Save ya a seat, sir...

Soap fist-bumps Ghost's shoulder and walks toward the plane.

Ghost: Fucking hell...

Shepherd: Ghost- you copy?

Ghost: Yes, sir.

Shepherd: Any issues?

Ghost: Negative, sir. Out here.

As I have stated previously, "Flashpoint" proves that Ghost and Soap have worked together 3 years ago prior to "kill or capture".

When I first watched this scene I assumed that Ghost was unhappy to be tacked on with a random sergeant by Shepherd.

Obviously this was wrong.

Ghost mentally and physically rolls his eyes here. If he's unhappy with a FNG/rando this makes perfect sense. Even the next dialogue suggests it, as he goads Soap into "keeping up" with him.

Ghost: Bravo Team offloads here. Alpha Team stays onboard to land downrange. Both teams meet in the middle. Remember, we want Hassan alive, but this is capture or kill.

Bravo Team stands up, including Soap who trades fist-bumps with a fellow Marine and joins Ghost.

Ghost: Keep up, Soap.

But this can't be true with "Flashpoint". Ghost knows Soap is at least competent from that mission in '19. He saw Soap handle himself out of a tricky situation. Ghost even calls out Soap for stealing one of his kills. The sergeant has Price to vouch for him as well.

So the question remains. Why is Ghost peeved at Soap joining him?

There's a variety of answers here, I said in part 1 that it might be that Soap had annoyed him in a limited capability over coms. There definitely have been times where Ghost tells Soap to cut the chatter in 2022. That could be a possibility.

If "Flashpoint" was Soap and Ghost's first mission together Ghost could also have remembered when Soap lost his head and threatened to kill Makarov in the heli. Only to have Price pull Soap back at the last moment.

He could be unhappy to be saddled with a known hot head. Add with the chatterbox issue and yeah, I could see Ghost making Soap prove he can follow orders. The next dialogue proves it as well.

Ghost: Alpha, how copy...?

Alpha 0-2: Bravo- Alpha is immobile. Multiple critical! Oh, shit-! We're taking effective fire!

Ghost: Alpha, we're moving to building 1. Hold tight!

Soap: Ghost, we need to secure that crash site now.

Ghost: First, we clear for Hassan, that takes the heat off Alpha. Then, we secure the crash site. Clear?

Soap: Roger that.

Hard to show, but in game, there was a definite emphasis in the clear. Ghost expects Soap to not follow him. Soap proves him wrong.

This also supports my theory that Soap had never worked directly under Ghost in those 3 years. If he did, then Ghost wouldn't be so uncertain about Soap; they would have already done this whole circus already. Ghost wouldn't have to goad him, and he def wouldn't need to emphasize so hard on the matter either.

Which also implies that their relationship was non existent up to that point. At most they were coworkers coexisting. Ghost would've considered Soap to have been an annoying hot head while Soap thought of him as a living legend (as we find out later in mwii (22) from his praises to Ghost).

This is a departure from the popular idea of Soap being "The Fucking New Guy" that has to prove himself competent. Ghost already knows he vaguely is. He's seen it for himself. Ghost just doesn't like Soap 🤣🤣🤣.

It's also supported in our timeline: Soap was already part of 141 by 2020 in Cod Warzone. Considering that Ghost and Soap have worked together previously in '19, it would be strange to not have them working on some missions together. Maybe not directly, but in the same mission roster. Ghost even sees Soap fight again in Dec 2020 when Price and co go and backup Soap in Verdansk.

Another possibility to consider would be that ghost didn't want to have any sort of partner/person he was responsible for.

As in the previous mission "Strike", and in cod warzone Mar 2020, we see Ghost going on solo missions. He seems to prefer it, infiltrating and disappearing like his namesake.

Perhaps having a subordinate is something he actively hates.

WHICH MAKES MWIII(23) MORE DELICIOUS. That means we see Ghost go from "I don't want a partner ever, especially not someone like this dumbass(4 years ago)" to asking Soap if he wanted to go on a mission with him and being paired with him always in mwiii(23). Until he isn't.

But more on that in part 3.

Lets go to the next mission.

Cartel Protection

Alejandro looks at Ghost.

Alejandro: Lieutenant... Laswell says they call you Ghost.

Soap: Actually, I believe he prefers to be—

Ghost: That'll do.

When I first watched the introduction of Ghost and Soap to Alejandro and Rudy, I always found this conversation to be a bit jarring.

How would Soap know anything of Ghost? They were just introduced. Given the later implication of Ghost being some sort of legend, it's possible there was a different nickname hovering around. Or more embarrassingly, ghost preferred to go around being called "The Ghost" like how Soap says it to Rudy in "Prison Break".

With new context, perhaps there's more credence to a different name that was used during both of their SAS days working missions together. Perhaps there was a name that Price used instead? We'll never know. But it does set the tone of their relationship.

There's a comfortableness of Soap around Ghost. It's obvious in how Soap is able to joke around with Ghost despite his very imposing appearance. I assumed at the time it was down to Soap's fearlessness and his brightness. Having a spooky lieutenant wasn't gonna stop him from being his usual snarky excitable self.

Now I'm thinking more on Soap being comfortable, not only because of his character, but because he's worked with Ghost before. The fistbump and smile when Soap first sees Ghost in "Kill or Capture" supports it. There's an ease there (but also an unfamiliarness in their dialogue to each other in later missions) that speaks of a prior relationship. One that appears to be of (1) barely tolerant grump and (1) overly happy sunshine child that talks way too much.

This exchange seems to be a common occurrence and Soap already has a sense when jokes go too far (which would entail Ghost cutting Soap off with a gruff "That'll do" or his unamused dead stare).

We see this with this next bit:

Rodolfo looks at Ghost through his rearview mirror.

Rodolfo: With your mask, you will fit in well here, Ghost.

Soap visibly tries to tell Rudy to stop joking with a classic 'cut it out' gesture and very wide eyes.

Alejandro: Ay, calmada... (Hey, easy...)

Again, this makes much more sense now that we know Soap and Ghost have worked together before. How many times has this happen with Soap in Rudy's shoes in the past 3 years? Taking one joke too far and resulting with a stony grim faced lieutenant that is visibly done with him? It's a wild thought.

What's even wilder is that we see this change in the next few days.

From Ghost cutting Soap off here in "Cartel Protection" to encouraging banter and making jokes to him in "Alone". But its surprisingly not "Alone" that was the turning point. It was THE definitive mission yes, but it's actually the mission, "El Sin Nombre", that has Ghost changing his mind about Soap.

Why?

Lets see.

El Sin Nombre

Graves: Correcto. Get one of us inside, find the boss... roll him up.

Soap: I'll do it.

Alejandro: You go in there, and they'll kill you, hermano.

Soap: I'll take my chances. We came here to stop a missile, let's stop it. I'll offer intel for a meet with Sin Nombre. And if he's there, we pounce.

Alejandro: Órale. Tienes huevos, cabron. (Hell yeah- you've got balls, you son of a bitch.) You make it in, you'll need eyes and ears. I'll go too.

Ghost: I'll take overwatch. Shadow circles the target in a helo.

This is Soap's character defining moment. Here we see the crux of him: a fearless man, reckless and fiery. One crazy enough to brave getting purposely caught and taken for interrogation by cartel members.

But its not only us viewers who see this. It's also Ghost as well. We've already established that Ghost has a bare bones relationship with Soap. He'll work together with him, even compliment him on his skill while on missions, but anything closer than that-Ghost is noticeably cold.

Ghost doesn't tolerate Soap's jokes in or outside of missions, AND he most definitely doesn't joke back to him ever.

However, this moment impresses Ghost and we see him observing Soap while he gets himself purposely caught here:

Ghost spots Soap approaching the guards with his hands up in the air. The guards raise their weapons and fire warning shots on the ground in front of Soap, who complies with their orders.

Ghost: Visual on Soap.

Graves: Moment o' truth...

The guards force Soap to his knees.

Alejandro: They see him?

Ghost: They do now...

Ghost watches as the guards communicate on their radio with their guns pointed at Soap's head. They throw a black bag over Soap's head, haul him up to his feet, and perform a body search for weapons.

Ghost: They're taking him in.

Graves: Kid's got sand.

The guards escort Soap through the front gate.

Alejandro: I hope he makes it...

This is Ghost's defining moment to his relationship with Soap. Ghost is on overwatch. Probably done this a million times over. But this time it's different.

Who is this annoying man that would volunteer for something not even Ghost would dare do?

To leave himself exposed, in the hands of cartel members–tortured/killed if he says the wrong things. Ghost finds himself intrigued, invested for the first time in a long time. He wants Soap to succeed and not get killed. He cares.

And this is explicitly shown here. In this mission there's several ways to complete it. One of these options involve Ghost's help:

(If Soap heads outside the villa where Ghost can spot him...)

Ghost: Got a visual on you, Johnny. There's a trellis outside you can take to the roof.

Soap: What about Diego's keycard?

Ghost: Your call.

Ghost provides Soap with some hints.

Ghost: The AC units could get you on top of the garage. There's a ledge above you, Johnny.

Alejandro: Could help you get around that guard.

(If Soap climbs up the trellis to the roof...)

Soap: Moving to the roof.

Alejandro: Copy that! I'll be right behind you!

Soap reaches the roof and spots the guards.

Ghost: Multiple cartel up there. We'll have to clear it.

(If he kills the guards with Ghosts's help...)

Ghost: Roof's clear.

Soap proceeds further.

Ghost: Penthouse is in the north corner. Check the penthouse. I'll cover you.; El Sin Nombre is in the penthouse. North corner.

This is the very first time we see Ghost use the name Johnny. An important moment, because this is where everything starts rolling. Nicknames are a signifier of care. Soap isn't just another sergeant to Ghost anymore. He's no longer, Mactavish, Sergeant, Soap. He's more. He's Johnny.

Names have power. There's something to be said that by the act of naming something you bond with it— you make it yours. Nicknames are special to Ghost. And it's something we see hold true in mwii(23) as well. But that's for later.

Just let it sink in that it only took 5 days for Ghost to go from rolling his eyes and being done with Soap to giving the man a nickname. 5 days out of the 3 years we know have existed between them.

The next possible time we see Ghost use Johnny, it's in a heightened moment in the next mission "Dark Water". This event is non canon but supports my argument.*

If you stall in stopping the missile launch, Ghost will shout out Johnny to Soap. It's an adrenaline high moment and a critical point of life and death.

Now why does this matter ?

It matters because it proves that Ghost has only started using the nickname since "El Sin Nombre". There's a counter argument to be had that since Soap has known Ghost for so long, the nickname could have existed between them for x amount of time. Ghost could be upset at having Soap be his sergeant because he didn't want someone he cares for under his responsibility. Soap and Ghost have a prior relationship to mwii(22). What exactly happened between Apr '19 to Oct '22 is undefined.

But this is proven very unlikely because now we can tell that at this point of their relationship, Ghost only uses the name Johnny in moments of heightened emotion.

The two Johnnys we got in "El Sin Nombre" had Ghost using it the moment he sighted Soap alive. At the time, Ghost was unsure if Soap was still breathing. Seeing him near/on the roof was a moment of high stress/emotion.

What's another moment of high stress?

Jumping off a cliff in "Cartel Protection" just a couple days earlier.

If Ghost had already cared about Soap then, it's highly unlikely a Johnny wouldn't escape his lips at that moment.

Alejandro, Rudy, Ghost and Soap were on the run from the Mexican army. Pinned down and nowhere else to go but a free dive at least 50 m down off a random cliff and noone but Ale/Rudy to trust in (men they had just met prior that day). I don't see Ghost not shouting Johnny at that point. Tellingly, we see Ghost use the name Soap instead when yelling at the sergeant to jump.

I could be completely wrong about this, but personally, I don't see Ghost as able to stop himself from using nicknames.

As we find out through "Alone", Ghost is a massive hypocrite. There's much he tells Soap to do but doesn't actually follow himself. As a result there are three things to pay attention to when discerning his motivations: His nicknames, his stares and his actions.

This is actually seen in the pivotal mission "Alone" and later in "Prison Break".

It's the tonal and plot shift in the game. From then on their relationship isn't Ghost and random sergeant like in "Flashpoint" in 2019. It's not even Ghost and (the annoying sergeant) Soap, at the start of the game in "Kill or Capture".

They become SoapAndGhost against the world. Or rather, JohnnyAndGhost.

And even more rare: JohnnyAndSimon.

But I will split the post off here.

On to part 2.2 (the other half of mwii)—when I get there. The Alone segment is promising to be very long since it's the bulk of all Ghoap interactions. It will be awhile till I get there 😔.

+

Any questions, comments, arguments on the discussion, feel free to buzz me on it. I always did feel that having an opposite opinion strengthens your own arguments.

Can I call myself a Ghostsoap scholar now? I will try to answer any questions to my best ability.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

It's all bad

So there is a post going around right now about how in Plano Texas, there was a sting operation that caught a sex trafficking ring. Some of the people there were first responders and teachers. However if you look at twitter, and of course on this hell site, there are people who are SO EAGER to suck a drag queens no no bits, they had to go out of their way to post some pretty "lovely" things. Now the reason I'm posting this image, rather than just the article is to prove a point.

We have absolutely zero confirmation about what the user William LeGate said here. None. At best he tried to look up some names, and background checks on those listed. However, on the original post by the DFWPD (Dallas Ft. Worth PD) This article is not even cited. And I looked at the article. You know what WAS listed in the "jobs" let's look:

You know what WASN'T listed? Republican Politician or "Church Leader".

Now let me show you the list of disgusting individuals, which wouldn't you know it, includes a woman.

Now let's do some math shall we. Racial, and political activists will look at this image, and do exactly what they do with is judge every single thing on surface level looks. As shown by these next tweets. (Some of them having prior records)

As you can clearly see, this started a trend of #NotADragQueen and a very old and tired trope of "The church is scarier protect them from that instead of drag queens"

My question to all of you Neo Progressives is this. Why exactly are you so hell bent on bringing up an event that happened over a decade ago?

Better question. Why exactly do you care if no drag queens were VISIBLE? Is it because parents don't think it's appropriate for their kids to be in from of a adult male in exaggerated women clothing. Several of whom have been found to have criminal records of sexual assault and some even against kids? Don't believe me? Let's look shall we.

WOW, if you look at this man's mug shot, YOU'D NEVER KNOW he was a drag queen. TURNS OUT not only was he one, but also is a child sex offender.

But rather than actually care about child sex offenders, which, let's be really fair here, you don't. You'd rather have a gatcha against those, "Evil republicans".

Let me be clear. If you look at all those mugshots? You'll notice something. Varying races and ages. You know what we AREN'T shown? Political leanings of every single person there and who they have and have no voted for. My current annoyance with all of you now, is one very LARGE thing. Rather than being happy that these people have been caught, you are FAR MORE EXCITED at the prospect that this group could contain your political enemies.

HOW F*CKED in the head are you? Really? Predators find positions of power. No matter where the position is. Sometimes they actually get complacent with their power and they begin to lose inhibitions. This should have nothing to do with the church, with drag with dems, or with reps. This SHOULD have everything to do with the fact that it's AMAZING that these assholes have been caught.

Thing is? Most conservatives just don't want drag in front of their kids. That should be their choice. AS THE PARENTS. And we don't actually know the ratio of predators to non predators in the drag community. And until they get arrested and charged, much like any other person, we CAN'T know.

Catholics were SEETHING when they found out what their leadership was doing. However, it was NOT all priests. It was not even most. It was however enough that it caused notice. And that makes sense. You can expect at least 10% of any large group to be not good people. However here is the issue. You are equating an entire group, that at the time was a VERY LARGE population size of the US. Per Capita is a fun thing to talk about. And given the LIMITED number of drag queens in the US you'd expect very very few to be guilty of sex offense. However, we see time and time again that's not the case.

Am I making the argument that drag queens are predators? No. Hell, most conservatives or moderates would not even be prone to making that argument if many of you were not so dead set on having kids see it or be around it. And the level of insistence around it kind of raises red flags if I'm being honest. Also a fun thing missed by that asshole William LeGate from the opening pictures is the mention of "Teachers" in that list of people involved. Another something people have brought up concerns over.

Stop making this about trying to own the cons. It's very possible several of the people on there are LGBT or Dem. And you'd ignore that, JUST to point out anyone not on your side. WHY THE FUCK do you care. Why can't all of it be bad. Conservatives are beat over the head with a 20 year old allegation equating their religious faith AS A WHOLE, to being pedo friendly. Imagine my shock when many got fed up with it and started putting that target on others. Mostly because it was a SMALL SUBSET of said group.

And now, just like them before, you are trying to salvage "your side" and deflect it from criticism. Also one last thing. MOST actual conservatives have not, and are not accusing most or all drag queens of being pervers or pedophiles. However in your fervor to not just demand they be in front of kids, but to also defend them from any and all allegations. I can certainly from the outside looking in see how that would be concerning. What's more, we DON'T know if any of the people shown there were drag queens. Some could have been ministers in the church. Both provide apt access to the people they wish to offend against.

Do you know what the only difference is between the two? You'll defend tooth and nail the drag queen even from the accusation. You know why that's bad? Because if that happened with a minister or pastor etc, that entire church community would be in lock down and every single person in power would be gone over with a fine tooth comb. So basically in one instance, Your side defends the potential predator, and their side demands action. In the other instance, you pat yourself on the back that bad people exist on the opposing side, and that side goes out of their way to figure out wtf is going on and seek out accountability.

Long story short. In both cases they want justice. In only once case you want justice. In the other case you are jerking off about how "good" your side is. Despite a NUMBER of people PUBLICLY that vote dem are on Epstein's flight lists including to his island on a number of occasions. Point it out and demand justice in every instance. Sex crimes especially against kids isn't a joke. And yeah OF COURSE by the laws of numbers it's going to be seen more in MUCH LARGER communities. DUH! Because there are more chances for it to even exist. A child understands that level of thought.

So again I ask you. Why do you care more about having a gatcha, than actual justice. You all saw, "the other side of the isle" and went, "See we aren't the bad guys". Meanwhile if I were to do research into every one of the people listed, I could likely find a few people who I could weaponize against your side. You know why I don't? Because I care more about the fact they got caught.

[fanficfish]

hetalia: my hc on nations and personalities

...beyond the stereotypes!

okay okay hear me out okay hc brainrot midnight time im jacked on caffeine and the night is young aight

so lets get this straight: so first off i imagine the nations are like 96% "stereotypes of ttheir nation" (e.g. the more people think or are americans that digest too many burgers, to more likely it is America himself eats attrocious amounts of burgers. The more people say Germans are swrious, the more likely Germany is a serious dude. etc. the normal stuff we all know off.)

but the other 4%? That's the nation's "person" side, seperate from their "nation" side. It varies a little depending on country ofc but that's prob the average.

E.g. hungary and austria "divorced" but they clearly care for each other. They can't be together for literal reasons but the non-nations parts of them wouldn't mind at all.

prussia is knwon aa a great warrior so that's what he is. But his non-nation half has self doubts and the need to keep an eye on his family. Like llease, Prussia how did you know what Austria wears and eats??? I get a feeling this wasn't in the mdidle of WW2, probabky right before if i had to geuss. Austria wouldn't have moved in with Germany and by exention aprussia yet....and he waa following the dude....prussia is an overprotective helicopter parent of an older brother, canon.

France and his distaste for technology. Exhibit A: french music was consistantly the one doing the weird innovative stuff in my music history class when it wasn't Schoenberg. Besides that, i could see France not liking tech as much due to being literally a thousand. Heck, i'm pretty sure half the old nations are a bit iffy about it just because "wdym now i can't just didappear lff the grid without anyone getting cocnerned and i need passports and phones and shit?" Except maybe Denmark, China, and Japan. Those three are 100% ipad kids in old men bodies.

iceland oozes gen z. enough said. The man might be obsessed with finding tourists and his northern lights and his weird museums but the thing where his beothers are throwing plates at his door and he's like "hell noooo"? The one where he's going off to make friends over ding-dong soup with the ASEAN dudes? That's allll Iceland, the person. Far as i could find there os no iceland-malaysia embassy and closest it got was relations with indonesia. (I highly recommend checking out the iceland-diplomatics-relations wiki page. There's a very interesting factoid under the list for Asian countries i think many of you will be interested in.....but per my own doctrine, this is a Hetalia hc post and not a Politica post.)

america and his animals. That goes for estonia too. Americans are no adopting whales and aliens as pets (well maybe the donate-and-save-an-animal program but we aint keep them in the house) and i doubt estonians keep talking mochi they found randomly in a disty corner. I'm fairly certain most Eatonians don't hell "latviaaaaaa!!!!" When things go wrong either.

austria getting lost is just a him thing. That's not normal for austrians, music part is very much influenced by his people. His preference to chopin might be him though since Salzburg is in Austria and that's Mozartland. Also, Chopin is Polish.

I won't even start with the clusterfuck called Russia but Japan daydreaming about Switzerland? Yeah that was Japan's non-nation side getting really weird. Japan understandably was just as confused himswlf considering for the most part he has no prpblems being a "stereotypical japanese dude".

need i mention Italy, who has a huge crush on Germany m/hre despite him literally changing in basically everything (because that's the natire of a nation), and just likes the guy as long as he exists?

I also choose to believe Sweden can grow a beard if he really followed the stereotype (no seriously. Why os the image i get of Sweedish guys just dudes with beards? Someone has a really nice sweden somewhere ln this site where he has a lovely beard and it just makes him look like the embodiment of sweeden, no questions asked). But he doesn't like it, which fair o imagine beards aren't fun when stiff gets stick in them or whatever, so he just shaves or leaves some stubble. Def not cuz Asians and beards is just not really a thing so Hima prob just didn't draw beyond the stubble.

Latvia being a secret brainiac that plays mental chess against himself while doing other stuff, all hidden under an alcoholic who can't get rid of his past. Pretty sure his blabbermouth thie is his own personality. I did see somewhere that there's a steretype that Latvians have six toes and i kinda wanna just believe Latvia got that one too cuz why not!

theres others im sure but yeah. Those are the knes i came up with and im gonna sleep now bye lmk what you think

[spaceistheplaceart]

Body Swap - A Job!?

First Comic (the one you're reading now is the 7th, Part One. Search #mp100 body swap on my blog to find the rest. I'll make a masterpost at the end.)

Part Two

Summarized ID: A client is supposed to come in today, and Mob accepts the job on Reigen's behalf. Mob and Reigen learn that Mob no longer has powers and Reigen now does, and Reigen tries to figure out how to use Mob's powers.

FULL ID UNDER CUT:

(NOTE: their bodies are swapped, so keep in mind that "Reigen" looks like Mob and vice versa.

Reigen Mob and Dimple all sit in Spirits and Such awkwardly. Reigen gets up.

REIGEN: "Well... looks like we got a lot of free time until this gets fixed."

He points at Mob. "Mob, start rethinking what you did yesterday. Were there any weird items you touched that could have cursed? Any spirits holding a grudge? Maybe you looked at a suspicious site...?"

Mob thinks about it. He looks up in thought. "Hmm..."

Reigen's cellphone rings. Mob looks at it and picks it up.

REIGEN: "Who is it?"

MOB: "Unknown number."

REIGEN: "Answer it."

MOB: "Hello? Yes, this is spirits and such consulting."

There is a pause, mob holding the phone up to his ear. He covers the receiver and sweats, looking at Reigen. "He says he's a client. He's supposed to come in about thirty minutes."

Reigen facepalms as his aura swells around him. "AGH! SERIOUSLY!?" He drags his hand down his face. "hh... damnit... ask him what his name is." His aura fizzles out.

MOB: "sorry, who are you?"

Reigen yells at Mob, aura spiking up behind him. Mob's shoulders hunch up and his eyes go wide in surprise. Reigen yells: "DON'T ASK IT LIKE THAT! THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER!!!"

Mob's shoulders are hunched up and he is sweating, the phone held close to his ear. "Oh." He responds. There is another pause, then he covers the receiver again and speaks to Reigen.

MOB: "He says his name is Hitoshi Hiroto. Should I-"

REIGEN: NO, no, NO!!!"

Reigen puts his head down in despair on the couch. "One of the most wealthy customers I've had... and THIS happens."

Reigen looks up, eyes shut, despairing. In the back, Mob is stood up, answering the person on the phone. At the same time, they say:

REIGEN: "I can't believe we have to cancel on him..."

MOB: "Yes, we'll accept the job. See you then."

Mob hangs up. Reigen looks over.

Reigen stands on the couch, eyes wide and arms splayed out. He yells: "WHY THE HELL DID YOU ACCEPT IT!??! MOB!!!"

DIMPLE: "yeah, what the hell?"

Mob looks a little sad. "Well..."

A thought bubble appears, showing an earlier comic where Mob was checking Reigen's fridge.

MOB: "When I woke up today and I had to make breakfast, I noticed that..."

Mob wrings his hands together and looks down, frowning. "Master didn't have a lot of food..."

Reigen is sharply drawn, yelling angrily: "HEY! YOU'RE MAKING IT SOUND LIKE I'M POOR!"

He calms down and looks to the side, with a sweatdrop on his cheek. He has one hand up, gesturing dismissively. "Mob, the reason I don't have food at home is because I usually go out for meals. I hardly cook anymore."

Mob looks at him blankly, with a touch of surprise. "oh."

Dimple floats up to Reigen, muttering to him.

DIMPLE: "are you sure it isn't cause you're tight on money?"

REIGEN: "Well, I mean... having more wouldn't hurt... but don't tell mob that."

Mob looks up, having overheard. He speaks up after the pause. "It'll be okay, master. I'll exorcise it like we normally do."

DIMPLE: "Uh... you're in reigen's body... I don't think you can use your powers, Shigeo."

Mob and Reigen both look shocked, a little poorly drawn on a dark background as they both say "huh?"

Mob looks at his hand, then outstretches it in front of him with a shadow over his eyes. He points his hand at a cup on Reigen's desk... nothing happens.

His hand slowly drops. "My powers... they're gone..." His eyes are wide and he has a sweatdrop on his cheek. His mouth hangs open a bit.

Dimple floats closer to Reigen with a shit-eating grin. "Waaait a minute... But Reigen, I thought you said you HAD psychic powers!"

He presses up against Reigen's cheek. Reigen is sweating and his aura is bubbling up. "You weren't lying, were you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Reigen yells at Dimple, who floats away still with a grin on his face.

Reigen gestures wildly, sweating and with a nervous smile on his face. The background is a red and yellow striped pattern, centering around him.

REIGEN: "Y-Y'SEE, MY POWERS AREN'T PSYCHIC LIKE YOURS, MOB! THEY'RE SPIRITUAL! so-so they work COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY! that's why you're having trouble right now, because I haven't yet trained you in the art of spirituality!"

Dimple looks unimpressed. Mob thinks it over.

MOB: "I do remember you telling me that a while ago..."

Dimple looks at Mob in shock. "YOU'RE GONNA BELIEVE THAT BULLCRAP!?"

Reigen outstretches both arms, striking a strange pose towards the cup. "Well, I might as well try..."

Nothing happens.

"CRAP! NEITHER OF US HAVE POWERS!"

The cup begins floating. Mob points at it. "Master, the cup!"

Reigen turns around. "huh?"

The aura around the cup vanishes and it drops to the desk, shattering.

"CRAP!" Reigen makes a dive to save it, but is to late. He looks down at the shattered cup. "Damnit..."

Mob comes up behind him and outstretches his hand. "I'll clean it up."

A beat. Nothing happens.

Mob drops his hand, awkwardly looking away. "Oh, right. Um... where's the dustpan?" Reigen drags his palm down his face, frustrated.

DIMPLE: "this is gonna be a disaster."

MOB: "It'll be okay, master just has to learn how to use my powers."

Dimple thinks: "easier said than done."

Reigen stands with his hips cocked and one hand on his hips, smiling nervously. "Well, I guess the master has become the student, huh? ahaa... ok, how do I exorcise a spirit? Psychically, of course, I already know how to spiritually."

Mob looks back at him. Um..." His eyes go wide. "I don't know."

Reigen gestures wildly, hair puffing up and he is sweating. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!?!? YOU DO THIS EVERYDAY!!!"

Mob looks down at him, with a sweatdrop on his cheek. He is holding the dustpan. "Ah... it's just become natural now, I don't really think about it."

ID AND COMIC CONTINUED IN NEXT PART

Click this to be taken to the next part.

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Siege I, Pt. 4

So, Sheppard and his team consisting of Teyla and Ford have gone off screen to what was to become the new Alpha Site, and we don't get to see them on the planet at all. Whether Sheppard is feeling overheated or not, Bates informs Weir on the intercom that "Major Sheppard is coming in hot!" And he sure does, backing in out of the gate.

Bates is certain that the reason they are coming in so hot is Teyla having given up their position to the wraith, and he has had it. Before Sheppard has even had the chance to catch his breath Bates gets all up in his grill about it, not even the thinnest veneer of respect left for his superior officer.

And what he spits in Sheppard's face is the same thing that all of his superiors (including Weir, who is not making it easier to hear these same accusations from Bates just standing right there listening in on this) have told him, the thing that he already uses to beat himself up all the time:

Bates: I told you she was a liability, sir! Now, I'm not gonna let your personal feelings endanger this facility any longer! Teyla: What?! Bates: Look, I'm not accusing you of doing it intentionally, but the wraith must be getting information from you! Sheppard: What the hell are you talking about? We ran into a... what the hell was that? Ford: Looked an awful lot like a T-rex, sir. Sheppard: Yeah, a T-rex! It wasn't even a wraith! So why don't you check those accusations!

Sheppard is clearly irritated but his indignation is also very clearly feigned, it has a performative quality to it. He believes that Bates is treating Teyla unfairly, yes, but he does not believe that his accusations toward himself are unfounded. He is doing exactly what Bates accuses him of.

Weir, the diplomat that she is, tries to diffuse the situation by changing the topic:

Weir: I take it you don't recommend the planet as an Alpha Site, Major? Sheppard: Wouldn't be my first choice. If McKay doesn't get the satellite online, we're screwed.

So, there are a bunch of things happening on his face as Sheppard says this (and like, he's been separated from McKay for all of a few hours by now and he's already back to his compulsion of mentioning him by name at every available opportunity; he could just as well have said "if they don't get" or even "if we don't get"). At first, he's still fuming from Bates' accusations. As soon as he mentions McKay, is eyes shift to the right to access a memory of talking with McKay (he's unwittingly accessing an auditory memory) and just as soon, the anger dissipates and he seems to be expressing conviction, his belief in McKay and his abilities.

But then he suddenly realizes what he actually said ("screwed!") and, true to form, it's never not time for this man's mind to go to sex when McKay is involved and he raises his eyebrows in a minute wiggle. However, just as soon as he has the thought this is replaced by worry. He glances over to his team, concerned for them, but then he shifts his eyes to the left and looks at nothing at all. He is not looking at any of the people standing before him, he is looking to the side at nothing. This is where people are meant to be looking at when they are accessing emotional memory and feelings.

Most of all, Sheppard is worried for McKay and how he is doing right now, somewhere out there. Without him.

And that is when we finally get a glimpse of McKay in the jumper with Grodin and Miller. From Sheppard's look of concern we transition to see how McKay is doing just underlining the fact that McKay was what he had in his thoughts in that moment.

McKay seems to be wearing a space suit as they approach their destination, getting ready to do something that goes far above and beyond the duties of a scientist. I mentioned earlier that it is likely Sheppard had a talk with Miller before they took off just as McKay was having a talk with Zelenka. And Miller does seem to be watching over McKay in a way that suggests extra vigilance, especially since we have never seen the characters interact before and it is very likely they don't even know each other that well. He even tells McKay "good luck" when it is his time to go out for a space walk. All throughout their scenes, he seems much more concerned for McKay's well-being than Grodin does.

The fact that Miller is acting as proxy to Sheppard is shown in how he does exactly what Sheppard would have done here (although let's be honest, if Sheppard was on the mission he would be doing the space walk himself), turning back to look at McKay, watching him leave:

Meanwhile back on Atlantis, Teyla corners Bates because she has had it with his accusations. They have some words which ends up with Teyla decking him just as Sheppard and Ford were coming in around the corner. Bates is about to return the favour to her when Sheppard and Ford get in between them. Ford walks into Bates and holds him back with his own body blocking his forward momentum where Sheppard turns Teyla around, placing his own body between them. He is not trying to shield Teyla from any harm, they are trying to create space between the belligerents and to hold both of them at bay.

Sheppard didn't even have time to issue Ford any orders when they came in, so it's very good that he took the initiative to hold Bates back, as he seems to have been a hair's breadth away from assaulting a superior officer however much his intention was to get at Teyla. Sheppard has been trying so very hard to keep from having to reprimand Bates, and this just keeps getting worse. He doesn't even care who started what.

Sheppard: What the hell's going on here? Teyla: I was simply stating an opinion, Major! Bates: She attacked me! Teyla: And for good reason! Sheppard: Yeah, what reason would that be?

Under normal circumstances Sheppard might have been more sympathetic for Teyla's cause. They are aliens to her world, there are bound to be cultural differences. But here they are, on the eve of total annihilation with only McKay out there, alone, standing between them and the wraith, and with every passing minute he feels more and more like he made the wrong decision staying back. He could be out there with McKay making a difference and he stayed back for this. They are both getting on his last nerve.

Bates: My guess would be the wraith! Sheppard: Walk away, Bates. Bates: Sir! Sheppard: Walk away! Bates: This isn't over.

Sheppard isn't officially taking any sides here. We have seen him defend Teyla privately, argue her case against Bates almost since the very beginning but because this is happening in public, it places him in an extremely difficult position. Teyla is a member of his team but Bates is an officer in the military that he serves and whose regulations he is bound by. Yes, Teyla has reason to be miffed and it isn't her fault that she doesn't know the rules they operate under, but he doesn't need this right now. They don't need this right now. If there was anything he learned from that chapter of War and Peace he had apparently been reading recently (The Gift, S01E18), it was Pierre's idea that it is necessary for the forces of good to be united because at cross-purposes, they are making it easier for the forces of evil to defeat them.

Sheppard has too much on his plate to be dealing with this right now, so he ends up taking it all out on Teyla:

Sheppard: What the hell are you doing? You don't go around decking the head of security! Teyla: He said... Sheppard: I don't care what he said! He says a lot of things. You just stay away from him.

He says a lot of things, Sheppard says. I find this interesting. Certainly we have heard Bates say all manner of things relating to Teyla, but they've really all been variations of the same theme. So has he said something else worth note?

Like pointed out previously, Sheppard seems to be very uncomfortable around him, acting almost cautious. He has had ample reason to reprimand Bates officially, and yet he has not taken the opportunity. Bates is the second highest officer on base, he is the head of security appointed by Weir, he was one of Col. Sumner's men and his allegiance is still clearly to his former superior (Marines are known to be Semper fi, 'always faithful' or 'ever loyal' to the USMC), all of which might make Sheppard disinclined to pursue any formal proceedings for his behaviour. Both toward Weir as his higher up and Bates as someone directly under him, he is trying to maintain a fraught peace so as not to rock the boat unnecessarily especially at a time that calls for unity.

But Bates is a marine. Marines had a reputation for saying a lot of things about gay men as a form of homosocial bonding. "There's nothing as gay as a straight marine," goes the saying but this does not mean that they were accepting of homosexual or bisexual servicemen, much to the contrary. There was a well-known culture of playing "gay chicken" among the marines, being a homophobic game in which the masculinity of the participants is measured against the degree of sexual advances they could tolerate from another man. The straighter you were, the further you could go without being considered gay. This is a more severe version of what we actually saw Ford attempt to initiate with McKay in The Gift (S01E18) by making a disparaging comment about the size of his penis. Now, I'm not saying Ford was or had any intention of being homophobic there, only that his motivation for the remark was in homosocial bonding (especially with Sheppard), which is also the impetus for why this has been practiced in the Marine Corps probably up to this very day but certainly was back then.

It's not really about gay men but the stake of the game is avoiding the stigma associated with homosexuality, and the negative consequences associated with the suspicion of homosexual desires could adversely affect one's position in the homosocial environment of the military. That is, disparaging the very concept of homosexuality was the way marines asserted their masculinity and manifested the hierarchy within units. Something similar was certainly happening in all branches of the military as a form of hazing during DADT but USMC was an especially egregious example of this. They were famous for being like this.

Now, we know that Sheppard himself is not homophobic because he is canonically (Sunday S03E17) fine with people under him dating which ever sex they prefer, and let's not gloss over what a huge moment that actually was for a show with such deep ties to the military-entertainment complex. But most of the troops that he, an Air Force Major, commands on Atlantis are marines and one wonders whether he would have put a moratorium on that kind of talk under his leadership. Or that he didn't, because he tells us that Bates does say a lot of things, but that he certainly would like to have put an end to it. But because it strikes too close to home, it is too personal, he has too much to lose and his authority among them is hanging by a thread as it is, that he doesn't dare reprimand them for it even when it has to be killing him inside.

If John Sheppard was straight, it would be no problem to tell them to cut that shit out and tell them that anyone continuing it under his watch is going to be disciplined. But because he isn't, it becomes more complicated. Now, whether or not what Sheppard says is a reference to this, this is effectively what they are playing out in these scenes. Because Sheppard is guilty of what Bates accuses him of, of letting his personal feelings come in the way of his duty, he is incapable of performing his role as a leader to its full extent. He can't tell Bates that he's out of line, he can only tell him to walk away. In the previous episode, Teyla's connection to the wraith was allegorical of homosexuality so using her character, using what makes her "different" with regards to her inborn connection to the wraith, makes it safer to explore these dynamics that very much existed in the real world of the US military at this time.

Continued in Pt. 5

[talokanda-forever]

Oh boy.

I intentionally avoided posting any thing about the allegations against Tenoch yesterday because I require time to process information. I needed time to give my brain a rest. This still feels a bit too soon. I will never be one to say Tenoch or anyone else would, "never do something like that." Because I have no idea. I'm hoping that the allegations aren't true. This post is my way of venting. It is in no way meant to persuade anyone else on what they should think or feel about this situation. And certainly not meant to be proof or evidence of why it happened or didn't happen. I don't know. None of us knows.

1. The framing of the dissemination of this information as "news." My biggest issue is that I've seen a lot of Twitter accounts pick up the same link that appears to be the outlet that first brought the Tweet by Maria Elena Rios to light (reforma.com). I don't know what journalistic standards this outlet follows, so I won't speculate. I did check to see if any well-established US outlets had Tweeted anything (Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, MSNBC), and as of roughly 30 min. ago they had not.

So far, all we really have are glorified Retweets, not a news story. There are A LOT of accounts with well designed pages that have all the hallmarks of looking like "official" news organizations, but they are not. It takes virtually no time or effort to Retweet something and start an avalanche. It's a trend that has bothered me for the last decade or so. Journalism requires independently verifying information you have received. It's going to multiple sources to corroborate the information. It's at the very least attempting to reach out to the involved parties to get their statements. It's reviewing public records and court filings to see what has been officially documented. And not to say that WON'T happen at some point, but it sure as hell isn't going to happen within 24 hours. It will take time and we STILL may never know the full story.

2. We should believe victims. ABSOLUTELY! In this particular instance and from this vantage point, Maria is only his accuser. It has not yet been established that she is his victim. I understand that she is a victim involving another individual, and thank goodness she survived that horific attack. However, as it pertains to Tenoch, I don't think interjecting alleged sexual assault in a Tweet focused on a different issue is enough to automatically leap to saying she was absolutely, 100%, without a doubt victimized by Tenoch. If it happened I would hope Maria would take legal action, given she was comfortable enough to make the accusation publicly under her name. Even then, she is not required to do so (which is why I say we may never know what did or didn't happen). I would imagine navigating the justice system in Mexico is no less stressful as navigating the justice system in the US. There are valid reasons for women not subjecting themselves to (potentially) years of legal struggles. But I also hope she wouldn't be so reckless as to throw out an allegation and not allow Tenoch to formally defend himself, assuming he denies these allegations. Once again, something that requires TIME.

3. To all those I have interacted with over the past few months on this site, know that I luv ya! I value our time together here. Regardless of what you've said or haven't said about this situation, that hasn't changed. I'm choosing to reserve judgement because that's how I am and how I will always be. I respect that everyone is not like me (thank God). Like many others, I will suspend posting here because, if for no other reason, I know how to read a fucking room. Let's all be kind and respectful to one another. To those folks who interact with me regularly, don't hesitate to DM me.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 23

Warnings: None (anyone can read this story)

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. I do not condone any copying of this.

"𝓜𝓞𝓜! Mom!" Sebastian came running, his long brown hair flying out behind him as he raced across the ground. His little sisters- Scarlett and Winter- came toddling after them, their blond hair glistening in the sun. Their matching scarves tight around their neck.

"What's wrong?" I asked automatically, getting to my feet where I was sitting with Steve and Bucky. We'd been relaxing in the backyard of our house. Bucky was scrolling on a phone, his wedding ring winking in the sun by the firepit. Steve had kicked back with a newspaper, the complete contrast of Bucky. Meanwhile, I had been flicking through a new book I'd bought.

"Come look what we found." Sebastian said with a big goofy grin on his face. "You won't believe it."

"How about you bring it here?" Steve suggested, looking up. "Your mother isn't supposed to be on her feet to much right now."

That was true. I was pregnant with triplets that were due within the next month. I sat back down gingerly in my chair. Scarlett and Winter climbed up on Bucky's chair, both of them trying to get to his metal arm.

Without even looking at them, Bucky held his metal arm out over the chair and the two girls giggled, clinging to it as they dangled a few inches over the deck.

"What is so great about that phone?" Steve scolded Bucky.

Bucky barely glanced up. "Well, Clint told me I should check out Tinder. I don't know what it is exactly yet."

I started to laugh. "Oh my gosh that is such a Clint thing to do."

Steve looked repulsed, "Isn't that like porn or something?"

I dissolved into giggles again. "No! It's a dating site."

Bucky finally looked up and squinted at me. "Wait. But why do I need a dating site?"

"It's a joke." I replied, covering my smile terribly with my hand.

Bucky grumbled, swiping off the phone and clearly deleting an app. "What else did Clint tell you to check out?"

"Pornhub, but I already skipped that one. I'm not a complete idiot. Then something called OnlyFans, Reddit, and TikTok."

"Those are all complete garbage." I replied. "You don't have to look at them. Well, maybe Reddit if you're looking at cute baby animals."

"So what should I look at?" Bucky grumbled. "I don't understand."

"Umm. . . Pinterest. Instagram. Oh, definitely Wattpad." I rattled off my most used apps. "You can post about our family on Instagram if you want. And Wattpad is kind've like a fan base writing sort of thing. Although, I guess a lot of it is like written porn. And Pinterest is just kind've an aesthetic thing."

Sebastian came running back across the grass, holding a huge cardboard box.

"What in the world?" I asked. "Seb, what's in the box?"

"Look." Sebastian said, placing the box at my feet.

I peered in and saw that there were like eight or nine black baby kittens in the box. They could all easily fit in the palm of Steve's hand.

"Gosh Seb, where in the world did you find this?" I asked, eyes widening. "Was there no mother? They don't look to be old enough by themselves."

"There can't be a mother." Bucky said, having put the phone and children down. "Otherwise they wouldn't be in a box. This is a new box, they were only put in there today. Someone was. . ." He drifted off.

"Trying to get rid of them." I finished. "Like Mr. Peters did with me."

Bucky's hand clenched into a fist. Even after so many years, Mr. Peters and me being a kitten and him dumping me in the reflecting pool was still a sort spot for both Bucky and Steve.

"Yeah, that." Steve grunted, putting the newspaper aside.

"May he forever rest in hell." Bucky snarled.

"Buck." Steve and I patronized, motioning to the kids.

"I meant capital H- lower case e and two hockey sticks." Bucky rolled his eyes, patting Winter on the head.

"Bad daddy." Scarlett patronized, looking at him solemnly with her four year old eyes.

"That's right sweetheart, bad daddy." Steve said with a grin, winking at Bucky who grew rather flustered.

"What are we going to do with the kittens?" Bucky asked quickly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"We can take care of them." I said with a shrug. "I mean, we'll have to get a special formula for them of course. Take them to the vet. But I don't see why we can't keep them, even if there are a lot of them."

"They're not any cousins of yours, are they doll?" Bucky asked with a sparkling grin.

I rolled my eyes. Every time we saw a cat, they immediately asked if I knew him or her. "If they are, I haven't been alerted to their Earthly presence."

Steve chuckled, standing up finally, coming over and rubbing my shoulders. "That's a lot of cats to name."

"I've got them." Bucky said comfortably. He pointed to each one as he named them, "Alpha, Calypso, Cloud, Cosmo, Luna, Nova, Sirius, and Stella."

Steve, Sebastian, Winter, Scarlett, and I all looked at him in surprise. Bucky shrugged, cheeks burning again, "They're all space names. I mean, you kids can name them if you want."

"I like them dad." Sebastian said eagerly. "They're great names."

"I like Luna the best!" Scarlett declared, scooping up the kitten that Bucky had dubbed 'Luna'.

"Gently Scar." Steve said and showed her the best way to hold the kitten and how you had to hold her gently. I caught Bucky's eyes and we both smiled. Every single time Steve did something fatherly with the kids, it actually turned both of us on. Except at the moment I was to big to actually do anything except lay there.

"Alright." Bucky said quickly, scooping up his phone and putting it in his back pocket. "It's been a long, busy day. Let's get the cats in, make sure them have some water at least, maybe a little chicken. Actually, it might be better if we started them off on cat food right? Then they won't be picky like you." He nudged me a little.

Rolling my eyes once more, I waddled into the house. Steve and Bucky helped the kids in the kitchen get the kittens all ready while I climbed into bed. I could only lay on my back at this point, but I knew very soon I wasn't going to be getting any sleep at all with triplets.

Steve and Bucky put the kids to bed, before coming in and laying down next to me. Steve slipped his ring off to put it on the dresser next to the bed. He rolled over again to hug me from one side. Bucky on the other.

"Kittens are in the kitchen. Kids are in their beds. All the shades are closed, lights are out, and all the doors and windows are locked." Bucky said before yawning, snuggling into me.

"Thank you love." I mumbled, closing my eyes, letting my men be my warmth.

"We love you Y/N." Steve muttered.

"I love both of you too." I said quietly, falling asleep as it started to snow outside.

⬅️➡️

[kaija-rayne-author]

Not going to reblog it in order to respond, but lets talk about piracy, specifically of books.

It's a fraught discussion. Many people take the black/white stance on it. I personally do not pirate, because I know the cost to authors. If piracy had been a thing in the xtian cult I grew up in, I probably would have. We were an hour away from the closest library. It wasn't safe for me to read the queer books I needed.

I've been poor enough (am now) where I can't afford books. I've been far enough away from a library that it wasn't a viable option. My library really doesn't have the books I want to read. I've requested them, but they haven't shown up. Some countries don't even have libraries. Some people can't read the works they want to because of external pressures.

There's more to it than good/bad.

Firstly, the most likely person to pirate a book is a cis, white, western male who makes 70k or more/year. That's just sheer entitlement and yes, it's wrong. Period.

But what about the poor people, the queer people who don't dare check out the queer books they need? What about, what about, what about... I get it. I really really do.

I'm an author whose books are pirated a lot. If I had a nickel/5 cents for every copy of my work that's been pirated, I wouldn't be edging on homelessness right now.

Some truths.

1. Most authors aren't wealthy. Most aren't even financially stable. Like any industry, there's the golden show ponies that make ridiculous amounts of money. Then there's the rest of us, who, if we're lucky, make 10k a year on our books. (I never have.)

2. It takes anywhere between 8 weeks of ridiculously long days to actual years to write a book. And these are niche, hard to acquire skills. Not everyone can write. I think almost anyone can learn how to write well, but it’s not inborn, and most people don't dedicate themselves to it. These are skills we've had to learn. So a person who pirates is also taking that from the author too.

3. Writing isn't easy. It's blood, sweat, tears, and so much time away from the people who love us to make that book. If there's no reward for us in it, why would we continue publishing? I wrote for myself far longer than I have for publication. People tell me I'm a great writer. If there's nothing in it for me beyond the joy of writing, why should I add the extra work of making my stories publishable? And there's sooooo much extra work and hours that go into that.

4. Piracy reduces the chance that that author can keep writing. It really does. We have to eat and pay bills like anyone else. Every single piece of great art we, as a species, have comes from people who had a place to live, money for supplies, and both time and energy to create. If you're living in poverty, like me, it can be nigh impossible to create. So you're taking that too. If you love an author's work, you're making it less likely they can either finish the series you've pirated books from, or even write at all.

5. Boycotting Amazon doesn't hurt Amazon, but it sure as hell hurts authors.

6. If you are in a position where piracy is your only option... email the author, their publicist, or their publisher and request a review e-copy. We'll usually send it in hopes of a review. It's likely to be cleaner and more readable than any pirated copy. Plus, it's legal.

7. If you have to pirate, at least have the basic decency to do something for the author in return. That can be a lot of things. Leaving a review at any site you can access that accepts reviews is probably one of the best. Reviews really do sell books for us. Good or bad reviews, it doesn't matter. Obviously, positive is better, but even a negative review can prevent another negative review by warning people of things they might not enjoy in the work.

Send them an email if you loved it. Writing is a lonely profession, and fan mail has absolutely kept me writing on hard days. It means a lot to get positive fan mail. (I've never even heard of an author who has asked where you got the book.)

Drop a dollar into their Kofi if you can. Or become a patron. Especially if you can afford it and love our work, you can help us keep writing that way too. If my patron were filled to the point where I could afford to write more, I could be easily getting 3 books out a year vs the 1 every couple of years I'm currently managing to do. And my books are free for my patrons.

Fan art can also be a nice thing to receive.

Important! Talk about our books with anyone who might possibly be interested (if it's safe for you to do so) word of mouth is still the best advertising there is. Mention them on your social media too.

8. Piracy is very far away from a victimless crime. You are (whatever your reasons) harming the author who wrote the book. Even if you weren't going to buy it, you're still encouraging people to rip the books and make them available illicitly.

9. I did mention most of us will send a copy out to those who ask for one, right? Especially if we're indie with little to no marketing budget. We're hoping you'll review it, but there aren't any reviews police. Most authors who are decent people will just send it and hope. (I've been harassed for reviewing a book before, so I'd be remiss if I didn't say there wasn't a risk of the author asking you about the review. It's considered incredibly rude to do so in publishing circles, but there's still some authors who will. Use a throw away email.)

10. Sign up for Netgalley and Edelweiss. These are sites where publishers put books up for requests for reviews. You request the book, (for free unless something has changed recently) then, if you get it, you're supposed to review it. But again, there's no review police. (Please do review if you can.)

11. If you do have access to a library, you can ask them to order it. A lot of the time they will. And libraries have to pay the author/publisher to license the work, so we get paid by libraries too. You're helping an author by using a library, not harming them.

12. Lastly, check your entitlement. The world we currently live in doesn't value art (and writing is art) enough to pay a living wage for it. If you want art, someone has to pay us to do it, because otherwise we can't pay the power bill. Or any other bills. Writing shouldn't be the sole province of the wealthy and well off. Yet, I've seen so many writers stop writing because they just can't afford to. I'm there right now. If you want a world where authors can afford to give our work away for free, start voting for things like social programs and UBI. So that we can create art without worrying about the bills.

I'll probably think of more later, but those are the basics.

Don't bother arguing with me. You know it's wrong to pirate. It's, as noted, something that some people need to do because of poverty or lack of access or, or, or. Unless it's a disability issue, just wanting the e-copy vs the paper copy your library has isn't enough of an excuse. You can email the author or get it legally from a reviewing site. And if you're one of the well off folks who pirate? Fuck you. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

You do not have the right to steal from authors for any reason, much less your convenience. Talk about privilege and entitlement.

There are extenuating circumstances, and there are also non-piracy ways to get books.

[bibiana112]

HIIII ive seen you mention your ztd aftermath fic a few times in tags and id rly like to know more... feel free to yap about it im curious

Hiii hellooo SO!!! Something that always sticks out to me with fics that touch a little on the immediate post ztd reactions is that things just kind of sort themselves out and everyone chills out for a little bit which I cannot see happening like no wayyy it's okay for the purposes of other people's fics but personally I'm a staunch believer in effort going into the smallest things in life especially when it involves a group of people and especially when you're fucked up as they'd be after that and it's something I love exploring in my writings like expanding in gross detail on the more mundane ups and downs between all the high stakes stuff like I don't think they'd walk out of there working in harmony at allll there'd be so many factors going into how everyone would be thinking and how they'd interact with each other and how the lives they've lead would inform the new trauma after that and how each of them would react to their immediate circumstances like on a physical level

I mean. Diana is completely new to any of this stuff and she's supposed to just transition seamlessly into a sudden new commited relationship and a daughter her own age? Phi has not gotten a single break since she experienced the events of vlr and has a whole complex about where she comes from and she's supposed to feel uncomplicated joy at finding out these are her parents and that the motherfucker that made the virus that's been making her life hell for a week is related to her? It's just been one week for her and that's so long but so little too she'd still have a connection to most of her old life? That shit isn't true about Sigma what's he supposed to do since Akane lied to his face about not knowing what happened at the test site for decades? It's not even something she remembers doing to him but he remembers spending a lifetime with her I love the ztd booklet scene of them interacting during d-com he asks Akane not to let her future self lie to past him point blank and she just says what he wants to hear and Phi stands in silence like she can't wrap her head around why he thinks for even a second that she'd be honest about being honest but stil extending enough goodwill to silently wait and see if she will. the man would be having a whole crisis of faith

Where do they leave Sean? Should he just stay with Q-team wouldn't he need maintenance and therefore stay in contact at least with Sigma? Eric doesn't remember much so he'd shockingly be one of the most calm people there, he'd have to deal with some revelations but Sean informed them of it in a good enough way that he seemed to take it well enough and even if that's not true he's the most high masking mf of the entire cast he wouldn't let himself step on other people's toes, if anything he'd only be set off by how everyone would have something to hold against Mira now, she kills everyone once except Carlos and Akane and she doesn't remember but they do, in fact there being a serial killer in their midst memo never gets to c-team delta never tells the whole snail story to every team. Would Mira just turn herself in without any resistance? Wouldn't someone have to talk her into it or at least make sure that's what she's really going to do since the stakes are so high? It's her fucking fault rad-6 got out too the characters have no reason to trust she's just gonna beeline to a police station. Carlos would probably be fine for the most part but he wouldn't be around long to keep everyone else sane especially Junpei and Akane because he'd probably go check on Maria as soon as possible especially since we're led to believe avoiding the apocalypse helps her recover

Akane herself would be all sorts of fucked up about it, there'd be so much pressure on her by everyone there and she'd try to be forward thinking and work on the extremist stuff immediately without processing anything and overcompensate the new recent failure to foresee dange and her revictimization by being even more controlling and inconsiderate to the others which is an energy Junpei would match I think especially going off his enneagram they'd be immediatly set in like an unhealthy loop of behaviors that push each other's trauma buttons on accident until they're hurting cause they're both trying to rush things and put each other in idealized boxes they imagined and having things their way Junpei is gonna come off much worse probably cause he's not a pov character and he's canonically an underhanded asshole when he has reson to be and he would not trust akane or her brother wouldn't be trying to pull another fast one on him so soon especially if we assume he has restored memories of the c-team ending too he'd like get keyed up and paranoid of being away from her for even a second

There are so many logistics involved in transporting and keeping in contact with people while simultaneously making sure no one leaks any sensitive information and that's probably important for Crash Keys and would fall mostly on Aoi to keep track of but he would in my opinion not be doing very okay either be it out of separation anxiety a level of psychically feeling like shit because of what akane goes through or just stress from preparing for an apocalypse more likely all of the above lol And he'd be working with half the info everyone else has cause if Akane doesn't pace herself in passing the new info to him he's gonna snap

Like I don't think these issues would be a slow burn to boil over, I think everything would feel like it's all going wrong from the get go and that kind of stress can be palpable in a group setting even if they're not under direct threath of death anymore I mean that's what ptsd is it's when you get fight or flight or freeze levels of fear in an entirely safe environment due to perceived instability and then they'd eat and rest and deal with it better for the next day, be more functional and levelheaded about everything going forward and even perhaps apologize and help each other out, and they'd be like that for a good while until underlying issues start to surface again in individual relationships cough mostly the junepei cough

[entertext]

HGSN Riddle Game: ❴Horrifying Mountain Village❵ Kubitachi Village Was Too Crazy ....

--

This is a translation of the riddle game that was recently released as part of the promotion for the vol. 3 release. The story does not feature any of the main characters or connect to the main story at all, but it does have a tiny little lore teaser at the end, so I decided to translate it.

Solving all the riddles gets you a desktop wallpaper or mobile wallpaper depending on your browser type. The riddles should be relatively easy if you know some Japanese, and there are hints, so give it a try if you can.

This translation will spoil all the riddle answers so don't read it if you want to try the riddles yourself!!

==

I'm a fledgling Youtuber.

Although I'm aiming to become a paranormal/occult Youtuber with over 1 million subscribers, right now my subscriber count is only around 70.

For my next video, I want to make something that will really blow up.

Thinking that, I idly scrolled through an occult aggregator site, when I found an eerie place name.

"Kubitachi"

There's definitely something there - well, maybe.

For now, why don't I check it out? ... To Kubitachi it is.

There are 4 riddles on the homepage. For each riddle, click the black 解答 button to enter the answers

壱 (One)

Once I pass through this forest, I'll arrive at Kubitachi.

The overgrown trees blocked out the light of the sun, and even though it was daytime, the surroundings were terribly dim.

Expecting to encounter something along the way, I kept the camera running as I proceeded through the forest.

Then, from behind me, the faint sound of a hoarse voice reached my ears.

"Nounuki-sama..."

When I turned around, countless characters were floating in the air.

Riddle 1: "Nounuki-sama..."

Answer: ナニカ (SOMETHING)

I dashed out of the forest, stumbling on the way.

What the hell was that...!?

There was definitely SOMETHING of an unknown nature in that forest.

Though I was breathing heavily, I checked my camera.

But the video showed only footage of a perfectly ordinary forest.

弐 (Two)

I arrived at Kubitachi.

Although the streets were deserted, as I got closer to the heart of the settlement, the number of people I passed increased.

There was a woman staring straight at me.

When I tried to start a conversation with her, with an unexpected candor, she started telling me about the rumours in Kubitachi.

The bizzare death of an elderly woman.

The mountain you must never enter.

The hair youkai that appears in the bath.

And more. It was truly quite varied.

Riddle 2: "What do you feel?"

Answer: シセン (GAZE)

When I tried to ask for more details on the mountain, her face suddenly became stern and she warned me never to go there. It wouldn't be good to ask any further.

Thanking her, I left and looked up the mountain near Kubitachi on the internet.

Apparently, there's been no end to the number of disappearances on that mountain going way back, according to what I found.

In other words, as an occult Youtuber, it's a place I have no choice but to go to.

Suddenly, I felt a piercing GAZE and raised my head to look around, but there was nobody there.

参 (Three)

I kept out of sight and snuck towards the mountain.

With the camera on, I followed the path uphill.

The sound of the frogs was loud.

Besides occasionally passing by what looked like a hokora from time to time, I went forwards without seeing anything unusual.

Riddle 3: Mountain Maze

Answer: 空 (EMPTY)

I reached the mountaintop without running into anything at all.

There's no mysterious presence or anything. It's completely EMPTY.

Almost as if "something" had already completely disappeared from this place.

What a let-down.

The color of the sky is tinged with red.

It's almost sundown. Better get back down the mountain soon and head to the inn.

肆 (Four)

Reaching the inn, first things first was to take a bath and wash off all the sweat from hiking.

When I immersed myself in the hot water, all my thoughts and my tiredness quickly melted away.

The moment I tried to get out of the water, I saw black lines reflected on the water's surface.

Before my eyes, the lines gathered and created some kind of shape.

As if I was paralyzed, I could only move my eyes as my sight was drawn towards it.

Those black lines were hair.

Riddle 4: GNILIEC SI REWSNA EHT

Answer: テンジョウ (CEILING)

As soon as I blinked, there was no longer anything there. When I looked up at the CEILING in a panic, I thought I caught a glimpse of hair disappearing in the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, the rumour that I had heard today about the hair youkai in the bath crossed my mind.

I must have just been seeing things due to all those stories I heard.

Trying to convince myself of this, I decided to go to bed.

After solving all 4 riddles, head to back to the homepage to find the last riddle at the bottom

?????

From the pitch black darkness, a light slowly spread out.

I heard the hoarse voice from that forest say:

"Nounuki-sama..."

What on earth is this...?

Riddle ?????: IT'S STILL HERE. FIRST START SEARCHING.

Answer: だるまづか (DARUMAZUKA)

Breathing heavily, I jumped out of bed.

A dream. One like a nightmare.

But the characters "DARUMAZUKA" were burned into the back of my eyes.

There's no question that "something" exists in Kubitachi.

Forget the video, I don't want to be involved any longer.

I'm done filming. I'll head home immediately in the morning.

--

The next morning, I flew out of the inn and onto the road home.

Although I took a lot of footage, none of it shows anything definitive.

This won't make for a good video.

I couldn't stop thinking about it so I looked up "DARUMAZUKA".

"Darumazuka* Tunnel" - a haunted site in Kibougayama, the town neighboring Kubitachi.

I don't know why, but I'm seized with the feeling that I have to go there.

I can't shake the notion that I'm being called to that place.

Even though I already went through such horrifying things...

A few days later, I decided I would go to Darumazuka Tunnel.

END

(* - 達磨塚 - "daruma" + "mound/grave")

Click the ??? button at the bottom to get the wallpapers