#I did end up getting my calculator because I typed this out so now I should be fine but it was so annoying

[milksuu]

…the poly sett/reader/aphelios… ur insane for that one… i need a follow up🤭

-🎧

❥ prompt: Sharing is caring. And so is getting along. When it comes to you, Sett and Aphelios are working on it. ❥ content/warnings: mild suggestive themes, fluff, teasing, cuddling, possessive boyfriend behavior ❥ characters/pairings: poly!heartsteel!settphel x f!reader

"This one is so cute, Sett. Your mama really knows which ones to get you," you smiled, rubbing your face against a PoroKing plushie.

"Oh, yeah. When it comes to Ma', I got lucky and ended up with the best," Sett said with a grin, "but, let's be honest here. You're the cutest thing on my bed right now."

Aphelios narrowed his eyes against his computer screen. Clicking and typing away. He was working on a sample Yone had sent him to dabble with for their next song. He would need to ensemble some lyrics to go along with it at some point. Except...he slapped his hands against his desk, turning a sharp chin towards you and Sett.

"Uh-oh," you said, wrapping your arms around Sett's neck. "I don't think Phelly likes us being all lovey-dovey without him."

"Looks like it," Sett agreed with a snaggle tooth smile. "I mean, he's free to come on over when he's done being glued to his computer. He's been ignoring us for hours. What did he expect?"

Aphelios popped the cap off a marker, took up his notepad, and scribbled:

I'm actually working. Unlike someone I know. I wOndEr wHo?

You gasped, covering your mouth. "Phelly's extra sassy today."

"Extra? Nah, he can be worse than this. Believe it or not, he's in one of his better moods today." Sett chuckled, lowering his head and planting a kiss to your collarbone. "Probably because you're here. But it's got me thinkin'. Wonder how his mood will change when I take you all for myself. Right in front of him."

You shuddered at the tingling feeling. "Don't you think you're being a little mean?"

"The boss can't be nice all the time. Sometimes, he's gotta play the big bad wolf," he grumbled a purr, carefully nipping at your chest with his canines. You couldn't help the fluttering of your eyelids and hitched moans.

Aphelios almost snapped the marker in half. He jumped out of his desk chair. And launched a calculated attack while Sett had his arms filled with you.

"Woah! Buddy. What're you doing—?" Aphelios snatched Sett's chin, and planted the black marker against his nose and cheeks. With quick strokes, he painted the look of an actual dog on his face. Whiskers, snout and all. "Wait, isn't this permanent marker!?" Sett released you from his hold, jumping out of the bed and making a beeline for the bathroom.

Aphelios released a 'hmph' with a satisfied glean in his eyes. He sat down next to you, laced his arms around you, and plopped you both against the bed.

"Maybe Phelly's the real villain," you commented, snuggling his bed of hair. "But you two need to play nice. Okay? That was a mean thing to do to Setty. You should both apologize."

There was a twitch in his brow. He was the mean one!? He needed to apologize!? He brought you closer, placing his face between your neck and shoulder. He shook his head back and forth.

"Yes. Phelly. It's the nice thing to do," you said softly. "I know you two won't always get along. But I know you both love each other very much. And I love you both very much, too. And we can show that when we apologize after we hurt one another. Right?"

Aphelios buried himself deeper into the crook of your neck. Muffling his whines and groans into the heat of your skin. He didn't like admitting fault. He'd rather throw a written apology into the nearest burning trash can than give it to the actual person. It wasn't his fault he tended to hold onto grudges. It was always the other person's fault for not taking his personality into consideration. If they cared enough, they would know that about him. And in that case, they were making the conscious decision to be put on his shit list. He was the reasonable one. As far as he could tell.

"Please, Phelly," you asked sweetly, planting a kiss to the top of his head.

He exhaled one last breath of resistance. Somehow, you always had an unfair advantage over him. Slowly, he left the warmth of your body. That was a painful in itself. He almost cowered back into your arms. Needing a bit more strength, he slipped his mask down, and took your lips. Applying just enough pressure to make you both moan. Alright. That's all he needed. He could do this. He took up his notebook and marker.

Just as Aphelios was about to leave the room, Sett appeared from the door. His cheeks bruised red from all the scrubbing he had to do. Aphelios shifted his gaze away. A silent grip ensnared the two. Sett rubbed the guilty knot at the back of his neck. After a moment of silence, he grumbled under his breath. "Listen, Phel—"

Aphelios flipped his notebook around:

Sorry.

Sett stumbled against his words. He hadn't expected Aphelios to be the one to apologize first. Or honestly, apologize in the first place. Technically, it was Sett's own fault for egging him on the way he did. Sett's trouble was evident in the frown lines against his face.

"Yeah. I'm sorry too, Phel." Sett sighed, ears drooped. "I shouldn't have teased ya'h like that. But I couldn't help it. I just wanted you to take a break and cuddle with us. That's all. Hope you can forgive me."

Aphelios paused. The marker squeaked against the paper. He tossed his chin away, cheeks stained pink. He flipped the notepad:

I'll forgive you. On one condition. I'm middle.

Sett's ears perked-up. Grinning like a panting pup, he swooped Aphelio's into his love-crushing arms. You laughed when Sett dove onto the bed, causing you to bounce from the weight. Unraveling Aphelios like a long awaited package, you and Sett planted kisses against his flushed cheeks. The both of you then secured your legs across him, took up his upper-body, and rubbed against his figure in every way possible. Aphelios whined and groaned. He wanted to be cuddled—not suffocated. Of course, with his luck, things had to turn out this way.

an: poly!settphel x reader is my new crack. give me all the fics pls. also, maybe the next part will be nsfw. hmmmm! thank you for the follow req. anon!

#heartsteel #heartsteel x reader #aphelios x reader #sett x reader #settphel #settphel x reader #league of legends #league x reader #poly!settphel x reader

[someoneintheshadow456]

I said before, now that Cait Corrain’s true self has come out, I can finally elaborate on what happened with her. To put a long story short, I was one of her very first victims - long before she became an original fiction author and back when she was known as Enterprisingly on AO3 - the author of Play to Win.

I know that #reviewbombgate was back in December, but at the time, I did not know about it because I’m not involved in BookTok. However, I WAS involved with the Reylo fandom, albeit indirectly.

The final chapters of Play to Win went on a tangent that seemed bizarre to me at the time. In fact, it seemed so strange that I brushed it off almost completely. It was only when I found Play to Win’s Wayback Machine page after recalling memories of the Reylo fandom last year when I read the chapter properly (instead of skipping ahead to get to the Reylo scenes). And a proper reading made me realize what was so unnerving about it:

Anyone who has engaged with my blog (especially from 2015-2019, when I used to post a lot more content about my personal life) can see the strangely... specific way this character was described. In order to go into this level of depth, one has to have been following me intently and keeping tabs of all the personal things I posted.

And then, she goes from eerily specific descriptions, to straight up maliciously lying about me:

Keep in mind, this screed takes up an ENTIRE chapter in itself. Said character, Ejya Fjord, is a background NPC who is mentioned a total of 121 times in a 161,000 word story. In fact, her name is mentioned so little that you could be forgiven for not remembering her at all:

You'd think, if someone would do something like this, I had to have done something terrible to her, or even just gave her a negative review. But I never did.

As you can see here, I have only engaged positively with her. Since Play to Win was also taken down and you can’t see old comments on Wayback Machine. Unfortunately after this, I can only give my word without receipts.

Play to Win was published first in 2018. I reviewed her story in March of 2018, possibly even earlier. In my review, I praised the writing, worldbuilding, and dialogues, but gave a small constructive criticism in that the politics could be better integrated into the story without feeling disjointed.

In the very early chapters, Ejya was clearly intended to be 100% Swedish - as one can tell from the name. However, at some point in the later half of the story, she retroactively became mixed race and a rival for Ben's affections, while Ben seems to be having none of it. It's clear these choices were made to portray me as some kind of horny fangirl for Kylo Ren who will stomp on other girls for his sake:

When I read the last chapter first, I was horrified. But now I'm just... bemused that someone would ever see me as some kind of calculating vixen who dresses like a Euphoria high school student and only likes masculine hobbies to pick up dudes. When in reality it took me until 2020 to be able to type the word "sex" without having heart attack and have never so much as posted a selfie on here.

It's also funny that Ejya is petite and flat chested while my actual body type is the exact opposite... which she would know since she stalked my blog so thoroughly. Almost as though she's implying something about her own insecurities...

Initially, I was under the impression that Corrain targeted me because of my association with @ainomica - due to her ruffling the Reylo fandom’s feathers (and ending up on Corrain’s hit list) over her opinions on John Boyega. However, that controversy happened in 2020. When Corrain wrote this libel about me, @ainomica wasn’t even on her radar, not to mention it was a year before we had ever even met. This libel was done to target me, and me exclusively.

In essence - Corrain weaved libel about me into her story because my existence pissed her off. We know now that Corrain had a penchant for targeting sapphic authors and WOC almost exclusively. So it's safe to say she was just being a typical white saviour liberal who shows what she actually thinks of minorities when they don't toe the line.

While this does make her less unhinged in my eyes than using me to target someone else, it still means that Corrain was, and always has been capable of aggression towards anyone she’s remotely offended by. Especially if said person happens to be a minority of some kind.

#reviewbombgate #cait corrain #reylo

[lurkingshan]

La Pluie and the subversion of the faen fatale

Apparently me posting about La Pluie subverting major romance tropes is now a weekly occurrence, because this show just won’t quit! In this week’s episode, the show continued to give Nara a lot of time and care and generosity, and in doing so, came full circle on another major trope subversion: that of the faen fatale.

If you’ve read or watched any romance, you know the character type I am referring to: this is the ex-girlfriend who shows up to mess with our leads, insert herself into the love story as an obstacle, and generally cause drama and wreak havoc. In romance lit we generally refer to her as the femme fatale, and for the bl genre @absolutebl coined the term faen fatale, because they are endlessly clever. There are many many many examples of this character type in bl, but perhaps no better exemplar than Plern Pleng (my nemesis) from Together With Me. 

If you’ve seen Together With Me, you know how this is supposed to go. The faen fatale, traditionally, is not a nice person and does not have good intentions. She may be acting from a place of genuine hurt and dejection, but she is here to fuck shit up and cause chaos. She is cold and calculating and ruthless in her attempts to eliminate her competition and win her ex back. She is an archetype deeply steeped in misogyny, and part of the romance and bl genres’ long history of stories steeped in sexism, patriarchy, and heteronormative nonsense that they are only recently beginning to recover from. 

So La Pluie? This show that has been subverting romance tropes at every turn? Yeah, they had some things to say with their treatment of Nara, and boy did they deliver in this episode.

Even before this week, Nara has already been set up to be a sympathetic character. She and Patts had a very good relationship. They loved each other, and they were happy. She broke up with Patts after he formed a rain connection with another hearing loss sufferer, because even though Patts and Tai never actually spoke, and even though Patts told her he was committed to her, she just couldn’t handle him having that kind of connection with someone else, and felt it was inevitable that it would come between them. She ended things with Patts to protect herself. And ultimately, she regretted it. 

As she comes back into the story, she is quite straightforward with Patts (and with Tai before she realizes who he is) about her intentions: she regrets breaking up with Patts and wants to get back together. We also see that she had reason to hope, due to a night where Patts drunkenly kissed her shortly before he met Tai. There are no tricks or schemes here - she tells Patts and anyone else who asks straight out what she wants. In her conversation with Tai when they first meet in episode 7, it is established that Tai likes her and wishes her well, a clear signal to the audience that even as she is interfering, she is not meant to be read as a villain. When Patts finally tells her he has met his soulmate and can’t be with her anymore, he does it with gentleness and care, because Nara has done nothing wrong and deserves only kindness from him. And once she realizes who Tai is, Nara backs off from Patts immediately, apologizes and confirms that she is giving up on him, and helps them all find Tai.

That was already great stuff! I felt so warmly toward Nara at the end of episode 8, and I expected that was where the story would leave her.

But La Pluie had more to say! 

This week we get what is probably the best treatment of an ex-girlfriend character I have ever seen in any drama, not just in bl. Nara does not just conveniently disappear from the narrative now that she’s no longer an obstacle to the romance. She is still here, and her story still matters. So we get to see her go to Tai, apologize to him directly for the misunderstanding between them, and start gossiping and giggling with him about Patts (what did you whisper to him about, girl, inquiring minds want to know).

We get to see her receive care and sympathy from the rest of the group and have one final closure conversation with Patts, at Tai’s behest. We get to hear Patts say out loud that their relationship mattered to him, that he still loves and respects her, and that she doesn’t have to disappear from his life just because they can’t be together anymore, all while Tai looks on fondly. She is allowed to cry and express how hard this is for her even as she handles it with absolute grace, both with Patts and then again with Dream. We even get to see her bond with Dream and affirm that she is not going to lose the friends she made through her relationship with Patts (and that Dream in particular may become even more to her in the future, oh my).

I really just have to applaud La Pluie for dedicating story time to this. Every time we think they are about to go down a more traditional dramatic path they surprise us. I continue to be so pleased and impressed with how intentional they are in their dismantling of these classic tropes.

#la pluie #bl tropes #thai bl #shan shouts into the void

[artzzyb00-27]

Fire-fam kids Teenage Adventures: Influences

The way I pulled and Evan Buckley and did an ungodly amount of research to find out if Christophers age here was still somewhat reasonable. I pulled out my calculator! Trigger warning: shootings

It had been a month and a few weeks after his first day of high school. Specifically at Theodore Roosevelt High. Sure Eddie had been more than a little worried, but Chris was confident he would be fine. Don't get it twisted, at first, he wanted to go to school with Denny and Harry. But after thinking it over, he decided it would be better to make connections on his own.

Buck was more than happy to let him try his own thing as long as he was being safe. After the painful slow burn, Eddie and Buck tied the knot and have been married for two years now. It was nothing but heaven. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't scared his little boy was going off to high school.

"I declare you, officially a teenager. Welcome to angst and acne forever!" Harry had said that when Christopher's fourteenth birthday came up. Harry was already sixteen by now so he knew a thing or two. Denny, who was now fifteen, had recorded the interaction to show his girlfriend and Christopher's secret friend. Not really a secret but Eddie and Buck didn't know about him yet so it technically was a secret. There was a reason Christopher pushed so hard to go specifically to Theodore Roosevelt.

Manuel "Manny" Salvador Gutiérrez. Mouthful of a name to say at once. It's why he preferred going by Manny Gutiérrez. Harry and Denny met him when Chris invited them to the mall saying he wanted them to meet someone. Manny was the type of guy to be tough and stoic. To be known as the troubled kid who looked like could throw a mean punch(he could) and not get hit at all.

Always wearing worn-down Vans with slightly baggy jeans, sometimes ripped jeans, an oversized shirt with a jacket over. Or sometimes a graphic tee that color matched with his Vans and leather jacket.  He dyed hair at the ends, piercings(eyebrow and nose), and small tattoos because his mom let him.

Underneath that though, kid was a total dork. Once he warms up to you he's a complete softy. Like a big furry black dog. Looks intimidating, but is dopey at the sight of his favorite person. And that person was Chris. They had met in Junior High in math class, which was Manny's best subject. The teacher recommended extra credit to tutor Chris and since then they've been best friends.

"Wonder what's taking so long?" Eddie hummed in response at Chimney behind him. After learning they had a 24-hour shift, Hen, Chim, Buck, and Eddie had decided to carpool in the black minivan so it would be less gas on everyone. Noticing the time they got out, Buck texted Carla ahead to not worry about Chris because they would be able to pick him up.

"Not sure, he's usually out by now. The final bell rang like 20 minutes ago."

Looking around, he couldn't spot his kid. He'd begun taking on a different style of dressing recently. Drifting slightly away from bright colors but keeping his nerdy side. His hair was also slightly different. He had shaved sides that weren't vibrant but still shined. Wore more Converse than  Eddie had in his whole life.

Hen looked out through her window, which was closer to the school gates, and saw Chris walking out but without his backpack smiling.

"I see him at the gate but he doesn't have his bag." Buck and Eddie turned to look and were surprised that Hen was telling the truth. Chris had this thing with bags,  that if he didn't have it on him during school hours, he wasn't functional. That's when they saw a 5,6, light-skinned boy with purple-tipped hair in curls in a messy mullet, running up to their son with a backpack on his body and holding Christopher's bag for him on the other.

Eddie's eyes bulged, he barely even got to touch the bag, including Buck. He wondered how Christopher allowed the boy to hold his bag as carelessly as he was. As the two teenagers looked around, Christopher saw the minivan, smiled, and waved. The boy next to him doing the same. Buck, Chim, and Hen waved back smiling.

Not Eddie, he was still in shock and protective dad mode. As the boys walked over Eddie inspected the kid closer. He got a weird feeling and immediately disapproved. Then again he didn't know him so judgment was base level.

"Never would've thought Christopher hung out with punk rock kids," Chim commented making Hen snort and Buck smile while glancing at the back seat diagonal from him. Hen moved back through the open middle and sat in the very back seat. As the door opened, Eddie adjusted himself in the driver's seat so he could look at the pair better.

"Hey everybody!" Christopher said cheerfully.

"Hey!" Was the synchronized greeting. When nothing came out of Eddie except a soft smile, Chris raised an eyebrow but chose to ignore it for now. Turning to his friend while reaching for his bag Christopher spoke.

"Thanks again Manny, I'll text you when I get home." The blonde said whilst putting his bag on the floor of the van. Raising his hand waiting for Manny to do the same.

"Más te vale menso." He replied in Spanish while dapping up Chris. Walking away after Chris closed the car doors, he put on his headphones and walked off down the street.

"Who was that?" Christopher gained a weird expression, not because of the question in general, but because of the tone his dad used. Is he angry at Manny?

"My friend. Why?" Laughter came from the other three "adults" in the vehicle while Eddie started the van giving Christopher more confusion than before. After dropping off the other two firefighters at their respective homes, the family of three headed home. Once inside, Eddie wanted to start asking Chris about Manny but the person of interest interrupted with a phone call. Unintentionally.

"Hey, big man! How's the homework Garcia gave us? N-no! Oh, come on! Another Delta math-, I swear he secretly hates us-,..." The sound of conversation drifted away as Christopher dashed into his room for privacy. A small laugh pulled Eddie from his thoughts.

Turning around to glare at the man who he loved oh so much, but would very much beat up for making fun of him.

"What?"

"Yeesh, spicy Díaz, my favorite. Wish  I could have you to myself early." Buck sauntered over whilst pulling his lover in by the waist. Getting a petty pout from the shorter one.

"Siguele, aver como te va. Don't act like you're not worried either." Eddie sassed as he placed a soft kiss on Buck's lips, the latter happily reciprocating. Pulling away, smiling Buck sighed.

"Nah, especially cause I already knew." He informed his husband, who's eyes widened in shock. "I walk into Chris' room to put some clothes away and saw the Discord call open,... and their messages." Buck looks down somewhat shamefully.

If Eddie was immature, he would ask what the messages had said. However, today was not the day, he needed to know Buck's opinion. (He'll press him for details later when they go to bed) Smiling with jaw agape, he couldn't help but chuckle at his pale lover with blue eyes.

"So you're telling me that, you were judging me, for being too snoopy of my son.." burying his face against Eddie's shoulder to save embarrassment, "And you-!"

Laughing slightly cut him off, to be fair, he was laughing too.

"YoOU decided to SCROLL through our little boy's messages?? You?! The 'laid back' parent?!"

Cackling at this point Eddie was smiling uncontrollably whilst watching Buck wallow in shame.

"You guys okay?" Chris said smiling at how affectionate they were being peeking his head out of his door. The pair turned to look at their son. Damn, he'd gotten tall over the time he'd entered high school.

"Yeah, we're good bud. We're just laughing at something." Buck assured the blonde boy.

"Okay, hey is it okay if I go over to Manny's tomorrow after school? It's his birthday and we wanted to spend time together," Despite the emotional manipulation tactic(taught to him by Buck no doubt) Eddie caved and agreed to let him go, reluctantly, as long as he texted when they went anywhere different location-wise.

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

So be it the next morning Christopher was gone for school earlier than Eddie and Buck were up for their 10-hour shift, and he got suspicious. The last time that happened Christopher made pancakes and burned Eddies. On purpose. Called it revenge for when he was a kid who couldn't fend for himself. He got noogied for a good bit after that one.

Looking at his phone after brushing his teeth, he saw a message from Chris. Saying he left early with some friends because they were stopping by the store near the school. They were grabbing snacks to eat in class because their teacher didn't care as long as they multi-tasked(they wouldn't), and finished their online notes(they won't).

Looking over his shoulder, Buck smiled in awe. He looked so proud of his son that it made Eddie's heart melt.

"He's growing up now huh?" Eddie nodded but stayed silent. Raising a brow in concern, Buck turned the shorter firefighter to face him and gently lifted his face with his index finger. Poor Papa Eddie, had small tears forming in his eyes. "Awh, Eddie, mi amor. It's okay."

If you think Buck didn't hold Eddie for a solid 3 minutes whilst rocking slowly from right to left? You're wrong. He even moved his hands against the man's face and kissed his forehead. Pulling back into the hug, Eddie nuzzled his head in Bucks' muscular figure.

"Don't forget he still needs us." Eddie knew that, but the thought of Christopher one day leaving to be on his own was terrifying.

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

And need them he did. How did it go so wrong so fast? At first, it started like a normal workday. Mess with Chim and Ravi, gossip with Hen, work out with Lena, answer calls, and help Bobby make dinner. Stuff that was unexpectedly expected. That is till 1:30 when a call from a school. Saying that there was an active shooter in their walls.

"It's at Roosevelt," Bobby said without wanting to go into detail. Everyone in the back seat froze and gazed upon Eddie and Buck who quickly interlocked hands to try and pace their breathing to focus. "Think you can handle it?" Immediate nods from the pair answered. The others smiled solemnly.

Once arriving at the school they noticed police officers everywhere around the school, thank god, and students across the street on the far side of the park. They caught sight of Officer Morales, a good friend of Athena's, talking to the Principal.

Athena went up to them once seeing their arrival.

"Whoever it is, it's a student. The cameras Reid hacked showed no footage of anyone sneaking in on school grounds. I need you guys to go in and find some kids that are still in the building-" A loud series of gunshots were heard. People near but far enough away from the danger could be heard crying, yelling, or swearing. Reluctantly Athena looked to Eddie. "Christopher is in there still. Along with four others. We need to hurry. My group will flank left, you go right, I want this child caught."

Without wasting another second, and no time to fully think about what she said, the team applied bullet bulletproof vest underneath their jackets and broke a window to get in through the science labs. Walking around as silently as possible they tried finding the shooter without giving them a hint of an idea that they were inside. 

Granted, shattered glass in an empty room isn't the quietest. Walking around Eddie's heart was beating quicker than ever. Of all things, why a shooter at his son's school? Then Eddie thought back to what Christopher had asked him yesterday. Poor Manny must think today's the worst birthday ever.

Hearing a crack, they froze. Getting ready to duck into cover in the classrooms or run across the hallway. The sound of running gets nearer, with a shadow then rounding the corner to face them. Manny.

The sigh of relief from the kid was the opposite of what the firefighters felt. The boy was covered in blood and his hair was more messy and gross from sweat. Bobby prayed that it was someone else's blood in an attempt to trick the shoot. Manny scanned each of them till running up to Buck and Eddie.

"I know where Chris is! Come on!" He whispered. Looking at the other firefighters he gave them information on where the shooter was. "She's on the top floor, I drove her away from where Chris was and looped around. She thinks I'm still up there."

So it was a girl. Snapping out of it Bobby radioed Athena and told her to meet upstairs to corner the shooter and catch her.

"Her?" Athena's surprised voice could be heard.

"She's the daughter of a gun shop owner. She must've been pissed enough about Monday morning to pull this," Monday? "Careful, it's not a pretty sight in room S-16." This poor kid. Following Manny down the hall he came from, they made it to the Library and headed to the back.

Digging through the ripped wallpaper, he opened up a hidden room. Inside Christopher was having a panic attack, holding a pair of long scissors. Once seeing Manny he dropped them and lunged into the taller kid's arms.

"Manny! Dads!" The boy said hugging his parents whilst his friend watched. Taking a good look at him, Christopher wasn't injured. Smudged blood from hugging Manny in the relief of seeing his friend alive.

"We gotta get them outta here," Buck said before shots were fired upstairs.

"Go, I need to find Angie. She's still in the upper bathroom. I saw her text." Manny told Christopher, almost forgetting the adults were still there. Seriously?

"No time, come on!" Eddie yelled and went to pick up Chris. But Manny was two steps ahead and grabbed his arm running away. Groaning Eddie and Buck ran after the pair. Eddie was cursing in his head, what the hell is wrong with him!? Putting them in jeopardy like this.

Seeing them stop abruptly, Manny pushed his arm against one of the fire escape doors. It looked like one of the other students propped it open to let others out in case they were still inside. When Eddie and Buck reached them, Eddie walked through the door and tried, key word tried, to drag them towards the truck.

"No, I need to get to Angie! She's still in there!" Manny yelled out trying to rip out of Buck's hold.

"Manny! She's gonna be okay, I know you don't trust law enforcement but these are good ones. They're my family," Chris calmed(reprimanded??) his friend and led him towards the truck. Once they got to the truck, Hen ran over to inspect the injuries on Manny while Eddie checked Christopher to double-check if he was injured or not. A thump broke the inspection though. Looking up, Eddie saw Manny lying down in the truck with Hen panicked.

"Manny!" Chris yelled, leaning over his friend trying to wake him up.

"Oh my god-, Eddie I need gauze for pressure, he was shot in the stomach!" Scanning the boy, he noticed the splotch of blood on his white shirt over the torso was getting darker. Also spreading and staining the vehicle along with the boy's jacket. A brief sight at the jacket let Eddie read out a name on a patch on his right arm. U.S. Navy Airforce it read.

"Shit! Buck! Grab Chris!"

"No! Buck let me go! Manny!" Chris yelled trying to break free from his pop's arms. Looking back at the scene the kid was barely breathing but needed serious medical attention quickly.

"We need to get him to the hospital. Now!" Nodding her head, Hen and Eddie transferred him to one of the ambulances and rode off to the hospital nearby. 

"Stay with us kid, just a little longer!" Manny was looking around the ambulance looking at Eddie trying to respond to him. "No, no, no, don't talk, focus on breathing. I need you to stay with me! We're almost there!"

Looking out the window of the ambulance, Eddie's heart broke more. The sight of leaving Christopher behind in Buck's arms, still trying to break free and run after the ambulance. Eddie didn't doubt tears were streaming down his son's face.

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

Later after arriving at the hospital and dropping the kid off, Eddie asked the nurses, whom he knew personally from all of his and his husband's escapades, to give him updates on Manny. She agreed relieved after inspecting the file quickly and said she'd let him know anything that happened.

After an hour of searching and a shot police officer, they were able to catch the girl responsible. Apparently, on Monday morning one of the teachers shamed her for her behavior. Saying it was her attitude wouldn't get her far in life especially because she didn't have a mom. the teacher didn't apologize and the people who she asked for help didn't do anything about it. That doesn't excuse the shooting and the lives it cost. The teacher she tried to get wasn't even hurt after the fact.

Parents were crying whilst firefighters and police officers consoled them. Returning to the scene for any additional tasks, Eddie scanned the area looking for his team. After catching sight of Buck and Chimney, he and Hen ran up to them.

"Where's Christopher?"

"Carla took him home, Bobby let me call her to make sure he was away from here," Buck said from behind him. Looking around slightly Eddie saw Ravi sitting on the curb with his head in his hands. "Ravi was up with some of the officers and Bobby trying to get the shooter. She aimed her gun at Ravi and a kid hiding in the corner jumped in front of him. It went right through his skull. Held him in his arms and took his parents into the building to mourn." Eddie grabbed Bucks' hand and walked up to Ravi.

This poor guy couldn't catch a break. Looking up, Ravi revealed his bloodshot eyes and pale face.

"It wasn't your fault," Buck said leaning on one knee with his partner copying. Putting an arm on the shoulder for comfort. Shaking his head, Ravi bit his lip to stop more tears.

"I'm sorry Buck, but right now I can't believe that. I don't think I ever will either."

After that Bobby told them all to go home and spend time with themselves and their families. Once opening the door to their house, Eddie and Buck were tackled into a hug by their son and then a softer one from Carla. After she left, Eddie gave Christopher an update on Manny. He was stable but wouldn't leave the hospital for a few days.

"Do you know his parent's phone number? I don't know if they followed to the hospital after getting a phone call." Chris gained a pained expression and rubbed his eyes, pushing his glass up in the process, before responding.

"They aren't home, they're in Miami. They're truckers, so they're never really around." Eddie took a glance at Buck who was looking down at the table saddened even more. "They're good people, just not around a lot. He was mainly with his uncle till last year. I can't say more than that, it's personal and should come from Manny."

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

The next morning school was canceled for the next two weeks. Along with encouragement for parents to seek therapy for their kids. Chris already had one, but Manny had become a concern now in Eddie's mind. Birthday at the same time as shooting and almost dying was not a good combo.

"When Madison pulled out her gun she was in the English room. Me and Manny were walking down the hall from turning in papers when we heard the gunshots. We thought something loud hit the floor till she came out, saw us, and shot. I froze, but Manny reacted and shielded himself in front of me. Grabbed my hand and booked it downstairs. I was able to pull the fire alarm in time whilst someone else called the cops. Angie was the one that wasn't in the room so she dialed 9-1-1." By the end of retelling the incident, Chris was sobbing in his father's arms, trying to speak but couldn't.

After a small breakfast, they all headed to the hospital and saw the multitude of parents in the waiting room. Some with tears, others with anger on their face. Some blank.

"Why are we here?" 

"This is where we brought Manny, figured you'd want to see him. Plus he deserves a good party for his birthday. Sixteen's a big one." Chris brightened up at the idea but went back to somber at the idea of Manny connected to tubes keeping him alive.

"Hey there, you visiting that kid you brought in yesterday?" the same nurse from the other day asked. Smiling Eddie nodded, holding up a bag with a cake inside. They stopped at the store quickly to buy a mini one. Eddie hoped he loved carrot cake. It was the only one they had.

"If that's okay. Don't wanna overwhelm him after yesterday." Buck coaxed, probably trying to subtly tell Chris they might not let him in due to not being on the emergency list.

"Yeah, honestly better you three than no one at all." That brought frowns to Eddie and Buck. His parents weren't home yet then. Going up the elevators and walking the halls down, they got to the room. Taking a deep breath Chris opened the door and saw Manny awake looking at something on his phone. Looking up he visibly relaxed yet still looked worried. Meanwhile, Chris was just happy to see his friend alive running over to hug him.

Buck had his arm over Eddie's shoulder and leaned his head on the latter. This kid wasn't so bad. And he deserved so much better than what the universe handed him this week.

#911 show #evan buckley #eddie diaz #henrietta wilson #chimney han #bobby nash #athena grant #christopher diaz #orignal character #fire family #ravi panikkar #118 firefam #fire-fam kids #buddie #evan buckley x eddie diaz #buck x eddie #911 original character

[genocidehim]

Could I please request tuco with a shy sweet reader and perhaps nsfw if you don’t mind please.

notes: reader is female, smut, masturbation in public, Tuco I love you I would give my life for you. words: 705

Tuco didn't know he had a type of ideal girl until he met you, all shy and gentle despite his obvious attempts to intimidate you. You were sweet like a candy he wanted to lick and bite. Very soft, he longed to touch and pinch you at every moment.

When he managed to get into your pants, he caught you instantly. You, his little girlfriend, always sat with him while he counted the money from the meth sold. He always liked that you were by his side because you were good with the calculator and your handwriting was pretty enough to write down the collected money in an account notebook. Everyone in the Cartel knew you as Tuco's little pet, even though he hated that nickname for you.

During an empty and lonely afternoon at Michoacano, you were sitting next to him at one of the tables that were attached to the wall, very close to the reception. Tuco had finished counting the money and you were writing the sums in the notebook. He watched you silently as he noticed how cute and tender you looked while writing with the pastel pink pencil he had given you. His girl was a cute little thing to admire, but the need began to hit him when he saw you stretch your tired legs and your skirt rose a bit above your thighs. He felt the need to touch you and so he did, his hand slid cautiously under the table and he began to caress your right thigh with his rough palms, which made you let out a small cry of surprise and close your legs in response, giving him a look of anger that was quite cute.

"Don't look at me like that, sweetheart..." his deep voice sweetened your ears and instantly heated your pussy.

In response, you only pouted and tried to keep writing down the numbers, but it was difficult with Tuco's hand slipping under your skirt and trying to find a way to touch your intimate area. When you opened your thighs a bit, he took advantage and slid his hand towards your pussy, feeling immediately how hot and wet your panties were. That only motivated him even more to continue with his plan of groping you in public.

His brazen fingers began to slide over your clothed clit and made circles while you tried to write the numbers in the notebook with a trembling hand, ending up making scribbles as you wrote with involuntary moans that you tried to stifle.

"Tuco… Not here… we're in public" your soft voice tried to utter a coherent sentence between the small involuntary moans you released.

He seemed to ignore you because in an instant he had already moved your panties aside and his hand had found a place inside your pussy. Now his fingers were touching your wet folds and pulsating clit directly, causing your hips to move in time with his fast and generous movements.

"I don't care if others see us, everyone should be able to hear how cute you sound when you moan…"

When his movements began to intensify and his hand started to cup your pussy so his fingers could delve inside your folds, you had already lost the battle. You leaned your trembling arms on the table and tried in every possible way to control your moans, but your hips were focused on following his movements to feel him closer.

Tuco felt hard just by seeing you lose control under his hand. He felt powerful seeing how he could drive you crazy with just one hand while enjoying watching you move and moan in response. When you started reaching climax and your pussy dripped harder, he stopped the fast movements and kept caressing you with tenderness while you tried to recover from the orgasm. Your legs were shaking and your heart felt like it was outside of your chest, but the straw that broke the camel's back of your embarrassment was seeing Tuco pulling his hand out of your panties and taking it to his mouth to lick the product of your orgasm, smiling like an animal while tasting you and seeing you absolutely ashamed and timid in the process.

#better call saul x reader #breaking bad x reader #bcs x reader #tuco salamanca #tuco salamanca x reader #tuco salamanca fanfic #better call saul #breaking bad #tuco salamanca imagine #smut #better call saul smut

[senkusphone]

@aresagainstthemachine asked so this one is for you. Video of it working at the end.

Here's the one project I am so proud of I named my entire blog after it.

Back in 2020, while I was stuck at home with few pleasant things to do, I decided to bring this contraption to life.

Only recently had I gotten into this inspiring series called Dr. Stone, and when I saw them make this device in the anime, I knew it was my divine calling to build it, for I had prior experience building circuits with vacuum tubes, an interest that was fostered greatly by my late grandfather when I was a boy. It had been because of the stories he'd tell me that I built my first crystal radio back then (which took me about 4 years of trial and error). Now, people had ''built'' the phone on youtube at least once before, but I was not satisfied with what they did, when they used parts that were too advanced and didn't even get it to transmit a voice, only to pick up radio stations. So I tried to go beyond while being as accurate as possible to the level of technology they had, I was seeking to achieve more with less

Making something that picks a radio signal is relatively easy, the challenge was making it also produce its own signal so it could truly be used as a phone (or more accurately, like a walkie talkie), and I restricted myself to use the most primitive tubes I had, the ones most similar to what old Kaseki would have made.

(Happy birthday to Kaseki by the way, February 9th) I started out using this beautiful Western Electric 262-A tube. This general purpose triode was developed around 1928 by the Bell Telephone company and one of the things it was known to be used for, was in cinema projectors to amplify the sound from the early talkie films. I think that's interesting enough to mention.

It wasn't long until my experiments showed great promise, eventually I moved on to a type 45 vacuum tube, another triode which is more powerful as a transmitter than the 262-A yet its construction is much more primitive. This tube is very similar to what Senku & Co. would've had.

I started building the definitive device, simultaneously laying a plan to combine a transmitter and receiver in the same unit using just one tube, a task that required this one part to perform four different duties (because I hadn't read the manga, and I didn't know the final unit they dispatched used two tubes instead of just one). On new year's eve at the end of 2020, the circuit was broadcasting One Small Step by Lillian Weinberg, loud and clear to a radio across the room.

You can get a recording of that in the link below as Tumblr won't let me upload it (yes I am using discord to host files, it also works for hosting images for your fanfics on Ao3, you're welcome).

The wooden circuit board was wired with homemade wires, made by cutting a sheet of copper into strips, and wrapping them in cotton and thread. A relay is used to switch the phone from receiver mode to transmitter mode with the push of a button.

Then the coils were calculated and wound, including the iconic large transmit coil

but would this coil that was made to look like the one in the series, be suitable to repeat what I had achieved in my experiments, would it resonate and produce the signal?

yes

I intended originally to have this project done before season 2 of Dr. Stone started, and put out a youtube video, but that ended up not happening. Still, the unit finally came together, and the plastic housing was a tupper with the rim cut off, painted orange and applied lettering.

By now season 2 had already ended, I believe, or it was soon to. Before I painted the case, I had to have one definitive test, to see that my creation demonstrated the functionality it promised, and now I had just the right voice to do it.

The final circuit was based on the work of radio pioneer Edwin Howard Armstrong, who was one of the fellows who invented the wireless world we know it today.

I turned the switch, and watched as the tungsten filament in the tube started glowing red. First I adjusted the receive coil and a radio station came in on the crystal earpiece, then, with a radio receiver in tune nearby, I started the sound I wanted to send over the air, and I pressed the transmit button...

It's true, it can be done. Today, there are people still alive who saw the day when the cutting edge of electronics was at this level. How far we've come from these baby steps, over such a short time.

Isn't science awesome?

I still haven't built a second unit.

#dr. stone #senku's phone #dcst #drst #drstone #dr stone #art #storytime #long post #happy birthday kaseki #science project

[thefact0rygirl]

my dear vee

i’m sorry to hear you’re having a rough time. i’m sending lots of love to you. plus healing and recovery and peaceful vibes.

to contrast the peaceful vibes, if it helps, i just wanted to answer your request for thots with the thing i think about maybe at least twice a day. which is.,,,,, and i always get bashful typing this shit out,,,,

joel miller taking u against a wall. bending u over a counter. he’s fully clothed ur fully undressed type vibe. a lil rough but like just stupidly loving. inundated with praise while being railed within an inch of ur life. you know.

id like some sort of cowboy to just help me empty my brain. just something to think about.

love u and if there’s anything i can do, i’m here!!! love deedee

DEEDEE MY SPARKLING CHAMPAGNE DIAMOND ✨ i don't know what tumblr did with your ask because i'm just now seeing it but i aM FROTHING

joel miller x afab!reader (nsfw 18+, 580 words, rough sex, p in v, desperate "i can't lose you" vibes)

"The fuck is wrong with you?" There is a weight to his words, a mix of crushing frustration and terror after your recent smuggling run. Calling it a disaster would be an understatement; it was an absolute shit show.

You and Joel are lucky to still be alive, but the bitterness of adrenaline still lingers even hours later. You're still seething, Joel more so than you. It simmers on the surface, hanging around Joel's apartment like a thick cloud of smoke. The right thing to do would be to sit down and talk things through. Like well, adjusted adults. And maybe if you weren't living in a post-cordyceps world you'd do just that.

But there is a lot of other shit you would do if the outbreak never happened. So instead, you and Joel let it fester, only allowing it to surface with obvious eye rolls from him and aggressive quips from you. It's the reason you're in your current position — naked and wet from your shower with a pissed off and clothed Joel bending you over the bathroom sink.

You grip the sides of the sink, holding yourself steady as Joel pushes you until your forehead is pressing against the dirty mirror in front of you. With your breath fogging up your reflection, you grit out, "I saved your life."

He replies with a sarcastic snort, notching his cock at your wet entrance. "You were reckless. You could've died."

"But I didn't — fuck!"

Your reply is cut off when he pushes inside of you. He doesn't stop until he's bottomed out, the feeling of fullness making you gasp as he sets a steady and harsh rhythm.

It's good this way.

Really fucking good. You don't need sweet and gentle, you need this gloom gone. You need to be twisted and squeezed, wrung out like a wet rag. You both do. Every hard thrust of his cock seems to reverberate through your body, shaking off the frustration.

Despite what Joel believes, the risk you took was deliberate and calculated. You weren't a reckless idiot, you just understood the situation. With Joel cornered by a group of infected, you had to draw their attention. And you did. Sure, it was stupid, but it worked, no matter how much Joel wishes it didn't.

Whining your name, he pulls you back until your back is pressed against his chest. Locking an arm around your chest, he keeps you in place. You're pressed against him, joined to him, close to him.

Safe with him.

"I could've lost you," He's babbling behind you, breathless and panting, but forcing the words out between hard thrusts. "You'd be gone right now. That what you want? Huh? Wanna end up mindless and infected?"

You shake your head as he buries his nose in your hair, his lips moving against your ear as he slips his other hand down to play with your clit. It's then that your legs start to shake, your climax drawing closer by the moment.

"I can't lose you. I fucking can't. Alright? You understand? Tell me you understand." He presses his fingers harder against your clit, demanding your answer as the fierce ache of your approaching orgasm shakes you down.

"I do. J—Joel, fuck, I’m—”

You’re trying to warn him, the ecstasy in relief looming over you as you try to keep the crest of ecstasy from crashing.

"Then prove it. Come for me. C'mon, show me you're still here. I wanna feel you."

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x afab!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #deedee my beloved #🥂 anon #vee answers #joel miller #tlou #the last of us fanfiction

[catchyhuh]

my fave lupin iii blog .... give me your wisdom

cologne / perfume scents for the gang

i had to do an embarrassing amount of research on this one. mostly because perfume lore goes a lot deeper than i ever could have imagined and i wanted to give you something GOOD so ALL THAT SAID if any of you disagree with this you may be right. i did five quizzes, read up on multiple blogs from the 2000s, learned the "scent families" and at the end of the day just gave up and typed "douchiest colognes" into google

lupin: generally speaking, regardless of WHAT he's getting, any "subtle" notes are going to now have the force of a freight train the way he's practically bathing in this stuff. which is pretty rough when already coupled with really strong, amber-y scent type shit. lupin's cologne does not smell light and pleasant, it smells like you walked into a dark red cloud, which is ironic considering the conclusion i came to was dolce and gabbana light blue. people fucking hate this smell, despite parts of it sounding good in theory, and since lupin's shitty cologne has been addressed canonically numerous times, i feel this is it. even a tiny bit of this perfume makes so many people seem to wither like flowers in the sun so i can only imagine what happens when a guy who's been dunktanking himself in this walks in the room

jigen: again, its kind of overpowering. not because he overdoes it like lupin, but again, these are just not very subtle people, and even if jigen does SEEM reserved, he likes making a scene just as much as the others in the right environment. like, a mix of amber and woodsy types. i ended up on dior fahrenheit on this one and it made me realize both lupin and jigen using like, excessively common brands makes sense. for lupin its brand recognition, for jigen it's convenience. he probably smelled this in the fucking 90s and just committed to it since

fujiko: this was simultaneously the hardest and easiest, because i kept looking trying so damn hard to figure this out, to pinpoint what would SCREAM fujiko while still being unique enough to appeal to her lavish tastes, but NORMIE enough that i would be able to read up the notes on perfume reddit (they seem to know what they're talking about there) only to realize. wait. this is the same bitch who won't even keep her hair dyed the same color all the time. fujiko has no specific fashion sense beyond "stylish and with the current times" and i feel that's what applies to her perfume too. well and. hot. i guess. stylish, current, and hot. that's like 50 bottles right off the bat. regardless, it'll always be bold. thats right baby we're at amber AGAIN, but because she doesn't wanna scare off potential prey there's always a faint undertone of sweet flowers. she's smart like that even her perfume is calculated.

goemon: my man does not wear cologne on any occasion. he thinks its silly because you can smell good for free if you just fucking. bathe. why pay 80 dollars to smell bad? HOWEVER (as just established) goemon is bathing and 90% of shampoos/bodywashes have a scent. and goemon's is very... crisp. kinda citrus-y at times? this is the most mundane answer (and the most accessible they got this shit at walmart) but you know that mint teatree shampoo? he's got the faintest hint of that specific scent lingering on him

zenigata: this is going to sound so funny and mean but like. imagine if a smell was trying to look cool but just kind of making an ass of itself. i feel like that's what he'd have, regardless of if the cologne did actually smell good on anyone else, it'd feel just a bit overzealous on him. it was way difficult to find something that made sense to me but wasnt like, again, 80 fucking dollars, because you know for a fact he's spending 15 tops. and that's if he even remembers to wear it. at best, for some reason, i feel like he'd be a sandalwood guy but i can't really place why? honestly i was kinda ready to give up until i saw GREY FUCKING FLANNEL BABY!!! THIS SHIT IS DIRT CHEAP HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 70S AND APPARENTLY EVERYBODY'S DAD KNEW SOMEBODY WHO WORE THIS! AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S IN IT? SANDALWOOD!!!!!!

now i can finally close all these fucking perfumania tabs

#am i really your favorite :) aw. youre my favorite too anon #lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin #jigen #fujiko #goemon #zenigata #asks

[docholligay]

NOW FOR PART 2, WHICH YOU CARE EVEN LESS ABOUT BUT YOU LITERALLY ASKED: The Overwatch gals.

Hana: I had to actually do research (ugh) for this one, because I know she'd be into whatever young people are wearing, because despite her best efforts and calculated marketing and overwhelming responsibility, she actually is a Young People. Young people in the US and Europe overwhelmingly wear vanillas and gourmands, but young people in Korea have much more affection for florals, which are considered more 'mature' in the western markets.* So. I wanted to find something floral but softer and with a bit of the sweet brightness that is identified with a lot of 'young' perfumes. Finally got to smell my frontrunners in Harrods this winter.

La Tulipe by Byredo. Byredo makes some FANTASTIC stuff but by God are they expensive (she wouldn't have to care anyhow) so it took me a long while to get a chance to smell this one. Even buying a decant, how I normally do perfume, was spendy. But it is exactly what I want, almost a top jammy note with this gorgeous subtle floral. It's young, but 'grown up' and composed. (the second frontrunner was Jo Malone's Wild Bluebell, but after smelling both, I think La Tulipe is right)

Fareeha. In much the same way, Fareeha's tastes are influenced by the middle east, though I know enough about that to not need to seek out stuff. She was actually extremely easy. I knew it the second I smelled it, as in, I was walking by and had to walk back because I knew it.

Oud Wood by Tom Ford. It's masculine and commanding. This is a leader's perfume. It's a very well balanced oud fragrance, appropriate for Cairo or London. It really strikes that balance between Western and Arabic perfumery in a way only a handful of perfumes do, and the other ones I can think of have spice or floral notes I don't think Fareeha would like. The wood and amber notes really come through, and lend this air of mystery and purpose to the whole thing. it's a great perfume honestly.

Angela I see as only wearing perfume for special occasions not even in a "not like the other girls' way, but in a 'she struggles to prioritize and take care of herself' way that i see a lot of her 'sloppiness' coming out of. I think if she did have one, she would pick something sweet and warm and very 'comforting'. There are so so many choices in this vein that it was genuinely difficult for me, but I think I like what I ended up with.

Apple Brandy on the Rocks by Killian. Funnily enough, I thought I would like this for me, but i absolutely do not. It's giving boozy apple pie, which fits so well with my concept of Angela at her greatest and highest that I'm annoyed I didn't think of it years ago. It should have been a Fareeha-type situation.

Lena. I have had an idea of what Lena smells like for YEARS, but I could never find it. It's young but masculine leaning, the smell of citrus brightness and an old leather jacket. For years I was layering perfumes to sort of get there but was never happy with it, and then one day I sampled something offhand just in case and there it was.

Sicilian Leather by Memo Paris. Honestly, everything i have smelled in their leather line has been killer even if it's not for me to wear, so I didn't think it would be a waste. (I absolutely recommend trying some of their stuff) But the second i smelled this, it was THANK GOD FINALLY. It's so hard to find something that uses leather that is also bright and cheerful and young, but this is it. Orange oil and Cedar, and laying under that, a gorgeous leather accord. It's perfect.

OKAY SORRY TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME

*I love a floral, and not even a subtle young floral. Give me an old-money, faded debutante floral. Call me Buffy and set the table for six, Alice

#genuinely fucking love tlaking poerfume

[fedorah-the-explorah]

I saw a take that said the family dynamics between team red (especially shadowsan + carm) are somewhat exaggerated by fandom and there's not actually a lot in canon that supports a lot of popular head canons or attributed roles. And it's like, first of all, please keep your hurtful truths to yourself. Second of all, I'm probably going to need a read more.

Despite myself, I really cannot disagree with the points made by this particular poster. It's a sound argument. Carmen Sandiego (2019) is an adventure series. It's fast paced, action packed, and focused a decent amount on edutainment. This is understandable, this is after all, the point of the franchise as a whole. The characters have enough sustenance that they are likeable, though they are most noticeably flat.

I'd argue that Shadowsan and Devineaux are the most dynamic characters, but even then the handling of their respective character arcs leaves something to be desired. Much like the rest of the series, their storylines feel rushed and added in as a second thought. I get the impression that the show was envisioned simply as an adventure of the week type of thing. They had a premise and a gimmick and they wanted to run with it. This is fine. But then came the overarching story lines and... Well. There were no master pieces.

We'll take season one as an example. The first two episodes were pretty solid. They had a coherent and well executed story line supported by characters with personality and potential for growth and depth. The pilot episode of a series serves to set up character arcs and overarching themes without having to go too into depth because of the fact that it's simply the beginning. The first two episodes of this series fulfilled their purpose, and they were executed well. I will even be generous to the rest of the season's story line and say that there did seem to be at least the minimal amount of foreshadowing and groundwork laid for the twist at the end of the season.

The problem then comes into play with the remaining episodes. From episodes three to eight, the story line is episodic and self-contained. There's a formula and it works well without there necessarily being a greater need for depth. I was perfectly invested simply with the caper by caper formula. It was never thought-provoking for me nor did it need to be. It was just a bit of fun. And then came the final episode and it was... interesting! I was pleasantly surprised by the sudden inclusion of an overarching story line, if not scratching my head a little.

Shadowsan's reveal made a decent amount of sense in hindsight, but didn't come across as particularly expertly crafted. It was a sudden shift to the status quo with little build up, and it felt vaguely out of place. It's an episode that could have been executed better if the narrative had started to shift earlier in the season or if there were more episodes between "The Chasing Paper Caper" and "The French Connection Caper." Instead it's everything all at once and I found myself thinking, "Oh! Okay! So we're doing this now."

Upon rewatching, there is some build up that can be noticed and recontextualizes, but it's not much. Even knowing how the season concludes, episodes 3-8 still feel episodic and disconnected from any greater story line. You've got some angst about Carmen's origin, and Shadowsan's insistence about sending Tigress for a second time reframes itself as a calculated decision rather than misjudgment but that's about it. They have the bare essentials of story telling, but they're not skillfully crafted. And that's... fine! This is children's TV. I don't actually hold it to the same standard as adult television, and I do think it's a pretty decent show for what it is.

My point then that I want to address is this idea of bare essential story telling. Carmen Sandiego doesn't lack the elements needed to tell a good story. They're there, just not expertly executed. The post that inspired this spiel mentioned that Team Red reads more as friendly coworkers. I don't fully agree with this, but I see their point. I will also say that I don't think this was what the writers had in mind. I do believe they were meant to be read as Found Family, in fact, it is more or less explicitly stated in "The African Ice Caper." It's just that, like every other aspect of the show, it's handled in a way that gives hints of further depth while not fully conceptualizing the theme.

This is not a smear campaign against the series. No, this is very much a product of passion. It's an entertaining show with beautiful animation and captivating fight sequences. I was hooked from the first episode and I continued to be so through the end of the series. I'd say one of the greatest draws of this show lies in its weakness. We're only given impressions of characters' further depth and personality. With the obvious exception of Carmen, we're only given glimpses of characters'back stories. In regards to over arching story lines, we're only given bare bone elements. This isn't great from a critical standpoint, but it does open the door to a large array of fan interpretation and transformative fanworks.

Because of the flaws in canon, fans are not bound by strict limitations. They are free to come up with their own unique interpretations of characters, they can flesh out back stories however they see fit, and otherwise flimsy storylines lend themselves to deeper fan-driven exploration.

Frequently on Tumblr, you'll see posts that disparage fanon for the way that it tends to flanderize and flatten characters. And yeah! This is bad! Unsurprisingly, flattening complex stories into easily recognizable tropes and clichés is actually the devil! A lot of times in fandom, you see this sort of corporate brain rot that simplifies stories into familiar and easily consumable pieces of "media" ("Consuming media," my beloathed)

Fanon gets a bad rep. Is it deserved? Mm. A good majority of the time, maybe. But where is the discussion for fanon in the other direction? What about when fanon expands a work of fiction? When it assigns more complexity than canonically given? There's something innately human about connecting with a piece of fiction and wanting to do more. We don't so easily let go of things, you know? When you love a piece of art that's otherwise disappointing, you have this desire to see it do better. To meet its potential. I think that's where fanon in the opposite direction stems from.

I think the fandom surrounding Carmen Sandiego (2019) is a decent example of this. The characterization is admittedly lacking, but that's done nothing to stop fanartists from coming up with their own rich interpretations of characters and their relations to others.

Carmen and Julia are two characters that share a decent amount of screen time, but their relationship otherwise suffers from the amount of time stretching between interactions. This has done nothing to deter fans. It seems I can't throw a stone in this fandom without hitting beautiful pieces of fanart depicting the two, or multi-chapter fics exploring the two's dynamics, or impassioned ramblings about them.

The same thing can be said about Graham and Carmen. They share a decent amount of screen time and their interactions are compelling, but they're too far and in between. What's there is not fully developed. Again, bringing it back to the idea of bare essential story telling. They have what they need to hint at the intrigue of both these dynamics, but they're not satisfactorily executed and both relationships suffer as a result. Their relationships, and indeed, the show as a whole, kind of feels like a completed puzzle with various missing pieces.

I chose Julethief and Redcrackle to use as examples, but similar things can be said of every other relationship in this show. Player and Carmen have moments that hint at a dynamic friendship built on unwavering trust and care, but it's only in a few select scenes, (though, the scenes that do do this are phenomenal and make me want to cry-- and I'm so sorry shippers-- but Player and Carmen have a monopoly on the hard hitting emotionally impactful moments in this show. I don't make the rules, I'm sorry.) and the majority of their interactions are reserved for getting down to business.

However, because of the glimpses we do see, you see countless fics detailing their friendship and building on to what we see in canon by going behind the scenes. I myself have extensive head canons about these two and honestly, what I've written and published is only the tip of the iceberg. Player is a bit of a tricky character to get a grasp on because of his limited role in canon, but what we do see opens up all sort of interpretation. I have such a fun time writing him because I can use what I see in canon to shape my own ideas about how he would act in various scenarios. My version of Player is far more dynamic than what we see in canon, but it's only like that because I love the canon character so much. I want him to do more, I want him to be more. My creativity is piqued with this character.

Moving on, let's focus on Shdowsan and Carmen, my other beloved dynamic. I have so many ideas about these two's relationship, and I especially enjoy delving into the dynamic between him and Black Sheep. They suffer the same problems as prior discussed. The scenes building on their relationship are sparse, but they are there. Take for several examples:

Shadowsan interacting with little Black Sheep in the "Daisho Caper," Shadowsan's stated remorse at not being able to tell Carmen about her own family, Shadowsan nursing her back to health after "The Stockholm Syndrome Caper," his stated motive for hiding the truth of her lineage from her, Shadowsan telling her he'd be with her till the end of the line, Shadowsan reminiscing about little Black Sheep when he visits the destroyed VILE Island, Shadowsan's dedication to finding Carmen's mother for her, Shadowsan telling her she can finally rest, and, and, and, and.

There is certainly a reason that fans have interpreted he and Carmen as being father and daughter, and I am in no way surprised by the beautiful and extensive explorations that certain fans have taken into these two's shared history (@frozenwolftemplar my beloved)

After all, you really do have to wonder about the hardened assassin who couldn't bring himself to harm a child or her father. Could there have been more done on the show writers part to really cement their relationship as adoptive father and daughter? Yes, absolutely. Does the development of their relationship leave something to be desired? Yes, absolutely. Do the existing interactions inspire me to delve further and call up melancholy memories of me and my own father, thus making me want to extensively detail their shared history before expanding on their present relationship so that I can process my own feelings about my own father? Yes, absolutely. Is this type of connection a deeply valuable faucet of story telling and kind of the whole point of creating art to begin with? I think so!

Carmen Sandiego doesn't necessarily set things up just to drop them so much as it strives to create compelling story lines and interesting characters before ultimately failing to delve deep enough or dedicate enough time for these things to fully come into their own. They're there and they exist, but it's like... Drinking water with oranges in it. I can taste the oranges, but damnit, now I want orange juice.

It utilizes story telling techniques, but not enough so that the show fully benefits from them. There's an impression of character dynamics, back stories, and personality but they're not fully recognized.

However, it is because of these flaws that fans can take the source material and go absolutely bonkers with it. By engaging with the story and characters, you really get the chance to flex your creative muscle. It's like a sandbox. The sand is there, the box is there, and the tools are there, but what you make is up to you. I've seen some deeply moving pieces of writing come out of this fandom, and it's insane to me how some authors can do so much with so little. In engaging with fanworks for this show, I've drawn connections to my own life and my own relationships. There are lines of writing that have been engraved into my brain. I've met wonderfully creative people and I'm glad to be an active member of the community.

No, the show itself is no amazing piece of story telling. It's fun and it's entertaining, but it doesn't fully realize everything that it set out to do. It does, however, open the door to community as well as inspiring creativity and transformity, and that means the world to me.

#god damnit i did it again #when will i stop dedicating hours of my life to hand wavy analysis of my niche special interests #suzie speaks #carmen sandiego 2019 #carmen sandiego netflix

[thatonebirdwrites]

Bird Rants: Portals and Stuff

In the Supergirl show, the transmatter portal is described as working via polyatomic anions. No, just no, that's nonsensical. It sounds like gibberish, and it bothers me to no end. There's a better way to describe how it works that's way more fun.

So hear me out, okay? I got a physics degree, and I did a bit on research on how such a portal could work based on how the show describes it. (disclaimer: I simplified things a little bit for this explanation).

First: the show claims the portals are set up via locations. As in the person had to visit both locations to "program" that location into it.

Second: it looks like the opening of a wormhole.

This leads me to believe the portals actually work via quantum entanglement and wormholes that utilize negative energy. So, particles on a quantum level are weird. They tend to exist in all states at once until measured, but at the moment of our measurement, the particle collapses into a specific state. This is the foundation of a lot of quantum mechanics and many of the weirdness such as entanglement. Another important property is the uncertainty principle, where we can't measure all properties exactly. For example, if we measure the velocity of the particle, the location measurement will be smeared out and inexact. And vice versa. (Seriously, quantum world is weird, and I absolutely love it).

Uncertainty principle is the basics of vacuum energy within spacetime (a.k.a. space). It plays a big role in stabilizing a wormhole for travel.

Now, this smearing out of the particles allows for some weird shit like entanglement!

Meaning, we can entangle particles so that they are basically married/connected. For example, if one entangled particle has an Up Spin, then its buddy will always be the opposite - Down Spin. (Fun side note, the distance between them doesn't matter. It's a nonlocal connection. if we measure the one particle as up, the other - even if its thousands of lightyears away - will always be the opposite).

Knowing that, we can look at the portals. Per the first claim, two locations are programed into the portal device. That likely means the locations are entangled on a particle level. So how to pass through to the other location? Create a miniature wormhole and use energy to expand it into a person-sized portal. The entangled particles at both end would hold the ends of the wormhole in place, but in order to stabilize the wormhole for travel, the device must provide enough negative energy to allow passage. (See my side notes below as to what negative energy is).

The type of particles doesn't matter (all matter is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons anyway. And protons and neutrons are made up of quarks). Therefore, it also does not matter what the molecule is (for example, polyatomic ions are two or more atoms in a covalent bond that act as one unit. That describes most matter actually. But even single atoms would work). This is because quantum entanglement doesn't happen on the atom level but the particle level. As in the ingredients for an atom.

Therefore, transmatter portals in Supergirl actually work via quantum entanglement and wormholes, which are stabilized using negative energy. Important side notes:

Wormholes were predicted by Einstein's general relativity theory. They connect two points in spacetime (but can also connect two separate universes for those that theorize the existence of the multiverse). Wormholes can form on a quantum level -- for example the particle accelerator CERN in Switzerland has detected miniature black holes that last a few microseconds before vanishing. Wormholes can last about as long. However in order to get wormholes to the size of a human being, a LOT of energy would be needed. Kip Thorne, a physicist, calculated out a way to artificially create one, and one method involves the making a microscopic wormhole. Then utilize negative energy to expand that and hold it open. What is negative energy though?

This is the fun part. Spacetime has been theorized (and some testing has proved this) to be a curved surface full of a frothing sea of particles that pop in and out of existence (as in matter and antimatter particles colliding to annihilate one another). This is called vacuum energy.

Now, this is where quantum mechanics comes into play! Quantum field theory through the Casimir effect could essentially create a region of negative energy. That negative energy could in turn be harnessed to hold open a wormhole as postulated by several physicists such as Stephen Hawking, Kip Thorne, and Brian Greene. Having said that, what is Casimir effect then?

That one deals with the vacuum energy I just described above and how it interacts with materials in a confined space. The materials (commonly electrical conductors and dielectrics) alter the vacuum energy fields, which in turn creates a force between the materials.

...

Yes, I spent way too much time coming up with a more plausible theory on how these portals work. Uh, you're welcome.

#supergirl #supergirl cw #supercorp #the science in supergirl is so nonsensical sometimes and I just wanna FIX IT #quantum entanglement IS SO COOL #Why not use the cool quantum mechanics stuff instead of random science-sounding-gibberish? #I could rant all day on the issues with science in shows like supergirl #Bird Rants

[c0usingreg]

Theory Time

I am saying this now because I haven't heard anyone else put two theories together and it just makes so much sense to me.

We all know the theory of Mike keeping a letter to Will in his jacket pocket. There isn't really evidence so much as there is foreshadowing of the fact. I will link a more in depth analysis here (by @bylercloud )

"Letter to Willy" - The song that plays in Dear Billy.

Joyce finding Hopper's letter in a shirt pocket while packing for California. It's a meaningful heart to heart type letter. Which, after reading, El folds and place in her own shirt pocket.

Jonathon keeping his community college letter in his shirt pocket as well. Much of his storyline in S4 revolves around him hiding the existence of this letter from everyone but Argyle. Even Joyce.

The cryptic post on from the Stranger Writers twitter.

The letters aren't kept in the pockets of their jeans or anywhere else. They are kept close to their hearts. Possibly signifying their emotion significance as well as the fact that the characters what to keep them guarded, protected, where no one else can see or get to them them.

We also know the theory that the Duffer Brother's did not actually forget Will's birthday. See these two posts by @chirpsythismorning for more in depth evidence. But the gist is:

The Duffer's claiming they haven't rewatched season 2 in ages, which is clearly not true going by the parallels. They are sticklers for their timelines and dates, mentioning mutiple times the different ways they made specific choices in order to make things work and that they have calculated Vecna's age and so on. NOt to mention that Will has always been a central part of the ST story, do we really think the creators would forget one of their main character's birthdays? As well as them saying they would edit the S2 episode that mentions his birthday, but also saying they wouldn't and haven't edited any past seasons.

Birthdays being referenced mutliple times throughout S4, most notably Suzie knowing Dustin's birthday down to the hour.

The simple fact that they even decided to add a guy with a camera to the scene, purposefully showing a segment through the lense in order to give us this time stamp in the first place. March 22nd being specifically chosen as the date.

So my thoughts? What if it's not just a letter in Mike's pocket, what if it's a birthday card? What if no one actually forgot Will's birthday?

Mike writes a letter/birthday card for Will. Possibly even making him something -- my thoughts being he wrote a DnD campaign, something he's been known to do as dungeon master of their friend group as well as the the pic from the Stanger Writers twitter reading "I think you'll--" [like it] "sorry I couldn't get it done--" [in time for your birthday] "but you mean--" [so much to me] and it's been [so long since we played]. "Hope this is--" [good enough to] "last until--" [ 1) next time? or: 2) I finish the campaign.] "Love--" [Mike].

I like to point out the fact that in one of the ST comics Mike actually tries writing a DnD campaign for just Will, wanting to make it so that Will, and only Will, would be able to save them and eventually win the campaign. Link

I could even go as far as to say that it's a possibility that Joyce ad Johnathon didn't forget Will's birthday. Make come's to see them on that day specifically. Perhaps the Byer's were the one's to make this happen, maybe paid for the ticket, as a birthday present for Will?

There isn't much evidence either way, but I do think it's curious how Jonathon stops Will at Rink-o-Mania and tells him to have fun. He doesn't say this to anyone else. It gives off the vibes that maybe this was supposed supposed to be more of Will's day, but that Mike was ruining it with his stand-offish behavior.

Then, with everything that ends up happening -- El assaulting Angela, the cops being called, Mike being in a mood, Jonathon getting high, the Russian doll and Murray showing up -- it's very possible that his birthday was swept under the rug, put on the back burner, or forgotten about because there was so much drama going on.

Lastly, they return to Hawkins around the end of March and Mike's birthday is April 7th. It would be a perfect opportunity to bring up the secret letter/card Mike has for Will when Will inevitably gives/says/does something for Mike's birthday.

This all being said, when it comes to Will's birthday and how it was handled vs how it will play out in the next season, I believe the Duffers know what they are doing, and they might be the only ones who know the significance of it. They may have kept the actors in the dark on this.

All of this, of course is just speculation! Some parts could be right, others completely wrong, but I think it's a compelling theory, or at least a sensible way to marry these two theories together. If you made it this far, thank you for staying with me and I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions on this!

#this ended up being much longer than I anticipated #oof #thanks for coming to my ted talk #stranger things #will byers #byler headcanon #mike x will #byler s4 #byler script #byler is canon #byler nation #mike wheeler #byler #stranger things theory #stranger things analysis

[sl-newsie]

Behind Masks (Dr. Jonathon Crane x OC) Ch. 1: Introductions

“You can’t keep me here! I demand a lawyer! I am an associate of the Hell’s Gate Psychiatric Institution and will not tolerate this denial of justice!”

The security guard bangs his baton against the bars again. “Quiet, Prentiss! You’re lucky you get your own cell. Or would you rather have to share?”

My gaze throws daggers. “I’ll have you know that I am perfectly sane and do not belong in this asylum. I will not cooperate until I speak to a lawyer.”

“That’s too bad,” the guard taunts. “‘Cause I got strict orders not to allow you any visitors.”

I gawk at his idiotic face. “On whose authority?”

“You’ll meet him once his current session is over,” he says as he walks down the hall away from my cell. "I think it’s with Croc if I’m not mistaken.”

Croc? As in Killer Croc? God, why didn’t I just play the game? Why did I have to go beyond my jurisdiction? I already knew Gotham was a rigged and twisted system the second I got here. I’ve gone from a respected psychiatrist to the very type of person I’m supposed to be above. Now all I have to my name is an orange jumpsuit, a pair of cheap sneakers, a toothbrush, and a small copy of the Bible. 

How long have I been waiting? There’s no clock, no windows. No clue to anything happening outside. All I see are beige hallways spanned into a webbed labyrinth that’s meant to keep patients from escaping. Keep me from escaping.

Thud-thud. Thud-thud.

Muffled footsteps echo down through the hall, potentially signaling my approaching contact. At first my heart soars at the hope of finally talking to someone in authority who can get me out; yet as the footsteps grow louder there’s something about them that sends a chill down my spine. It can’t be him. God, I hope it’s not him-

It’s him.

I’ve heard rumors of the dark secrets that go on at Arkham. Crackheads slicing open arteries, schizophrenics keeping doctors up for days on end. One that always highlights itself above the rest is the Scarecrow. And he just opened my cell door.

What I notice first is the eyes. Cold, icy-blue eyes so full of curiosity yet still impassive. Those cold and calculating eyes stare straight through and scan me. It’s a silent battle of how hard his stare can press until I break. I also see how he’s managed to keep his job. One might say he’s handsome but I know better. Just because you were a clean suit does not mean your soul is spotless. He may be able to charm his way into Arkham but I’ll never give in.

“Good afternoon, Ms…?”

The voice doesn’t help either. He does it well. Calm, soft, and smooth. Typical therapist nonsense I see in my line of work every day. Let’s see if I can win this game.

“You should have access to my file, sir. Introductions should not be necessary.”

The man’s eyebrows raise in response to my equally calm tone. Keep the voice calm, keep the eyes alert. I need to discreetly establish dominance in this conversation in order to gain leverage.

“I do have your file. But I prefer personal introductions with my patients.” The man sets a briefcase on the nearby table and takes a seat, then gestures for me to join him. “No need to hide. I’m here to help.”

Straight to the point I see. No use trying to beat around the bush. I step away from the corner I’m leaning against but refuse to sit down.

“There was a mistake.”

The man frowns and pulls out a pad to start taking notes. “What do you mean?”

He wants me to talk, so I will. “I mean I’m not supposed to be here. Someone paid off the judge to have me locked up, and the judge has had it out for me ever since I dug up his affair with the mayor’s wife.”

This intrigues the therapist as he jots down more notes, still looking up to keep his eyes piercing into me. “Are you a reporter?”

“Far from it. I am- was a psychiatrist in Metropolis. I was called to Gotham to help the mayor’s son. No one else was willing to work here.”

“And you are?” He asks with slight surprise though he tries to hide it.

“Metropolis can only take my curiosity so far,” I mutter. “Gotham is unique.”

More scribbling. I must say he’s much more organized than other professionals I’ve worked with. All the more reason to be concerned with the outcome of this conversation.

“I’m going to ask you some questions to start forming your profile.” Crane turns over an hourglass and clicks his pen open.

Basic protocol. There’s no way I’m giving him everything. Thankfully I’ve learned to avoid the telltale signs of lying.

“Full name?”

“Calico Marie Prentiss.”

“Pretty. Family name, I presume?”

Trying to soften me up and dig into my family history. “My father likes unique names, my mother prefers traditional ones. So they compromised.” Use present tense.

“How is your relationship with your family?” the man asks softly.

He has my family history. My job required me to keep an updated profile on personal matters to validate my own mental health. In other words just an excuse for the bored guys at the top to snoop.

“Currently undecided.” They’re dead. What else am I supposed to say?

“Ms. Prentiss, your parents-”

“With all due respect, sir, can we move things along and save that topic for later?” Just get to the part when I can get out of here!

My stern request doesn’t seem to faze the man. “Do you have supportive people in your life?”

Trying to bring me down by addressing empathy links. “People, no. I have other methods of support. And before you ask, I have never done drugs.”

He nods. “Current relationship status?”

This trips my mind a bit. Must be a new questionnaire protocol? 

“Single,” I enunciate in a cold voice.

“Interesting…” More scribbling. Jesus, is he writing a book about me? “Normally people like you are either engaged, married, or divorced. Very rarely do I see any single psychiatrists. Attractive, smart, rich. Very appealing characteristics for a relationship, don’t you think?”

Hm. He asked a question that isn’t based on my profile. Is this for genuine curiosity or a topic of interest for him? After a few seconds of silence go by he continues.

“Your toxicology screening came back clean, as you mentioned before. How many partners have you encountered?”

The question rings in my ear and for an instant my mask slips, but I’m quick to recover.

“None.”

Once again the therapist is surprised. “Catholic, are we?”

“I have my morals. I’m too busy to be worrying about sex, sir. My job comes first.”

More scribbling. God, how much longer?

“Are you having suicidal thoughts right now, or have you had suicidal thoughts within the past month?”

If this questioning goes any longer I may consider it.

“No.”

“Are you having homicidal thoughts, or have you had homicidal thoughts in the past month?”

“Never.”

“How do you cope with stress?”

“Exercise and hard rock. You should try it sometime.” I’m starting to lose my patience and I have to take a slow breath. This is just what he wants. Calm down.

The man hums. “What are some of your strengths?”

“I’m punctual and have a traditional mindset. This tends to drive away disagreeing parties, which is why I’m here.” I step closer and place my hands on the table to face him directly. “You are a head staff member here whether it’s morally correct or not. All I ask is to please allow me to speak to a lawyer, or at least a transfer to Gotham Penitentiary. I am not insane.”

“Morally correct…” he lingers on the thought and tilts his head. “Why would you say that, Ms. Prentiss?”

Just as I thought before, no use beating around the bush.

“I know who you are. Jonathan Crane, a former professor of psychology who’s obsessed with fear. Now you work here experimenting on patients behind the warden’s back.”

Crane’s eyes spark at the mention of fear. Must be a trigger word, perhaps for old memories. “Are you sure you’re not a reporter?” he asks, still in the same soft tone.

I shake my head. “Just a woman who’s not afraid to step on any toes.”

“Ah.” Crane stands up slowly and rummages through his briefcase. After tucking away his notes he looks up with a look that makes my blood run cold. 

“Would you like to see my mask?”

#jonathon crane #jonathon crane x reader #dr jonathan crane #scarecrow x reader #scarecrow #poison ivy #the riddler #harley quinn #the joker #two face #the penguin #batman #batman begins #the dark knight #the dark knigth rises #gotham #gotham tv #cillian murphy

[remington-zero]

Just wanted to say first off that I love your artwork so much and it’s so fun to just scroll through. I’ve also become curious about playing 커뮤/commu (or trying to put one together) and would love to learn more about how they work.

Like for instance, how do character sheets and classes/powers work for a system that seems very open RP-based? Is there a particular omni-genre sheet or system that people often use for 커뮤? Or is that that something entirely up to the admins?

Give my love to Nero, Soren, and ESPECIALLY Charlotte

in the end it's very much like an dnd server on discord! except it's public and usually very short term (7-30 days)

essentially a commu is like a tabletop rpg with as much dice as you want, the admin team is the dm/npcs, and you recruit members based on their character sheet that they submit based on the template you make

so the foundational pillar is the admin team, which:

does all the worldbuilding, including setting boundaries and parameters for the characters

sets an event schedule and/or sets up a plot -- there's some really casual ones you go with your friend you ship your OCs with where they do couple games, and then there's one i just got out of that had time loops and also forced us to choose between executing a bunch of innocent people and completing our mission which was pretty intense

basically you are writing an rpg one-shot module! it can be as complex or as simple as you want, i've gone to ones that had stats and ones that didn't. this essentially means that you are writing a whole system! so if you want to include combat, you...are probably making a combat system from scratch, which means you usually have to also think about balance

you also probably want to determine a rating. most of the ones i went to were pg13 but there's specific ones rated R for either gore/violence or ERP

often people make a temporary website with notices, world info, rules, character sheet templates, and FAQs

the admin also moderates. if someone's being unfairly left out, you give a general warning, for example, or if someone is being an asshole you give them one strike, etc.

then you make a template for applicants and essentially pick the ones you think will make for the best story. historically, this has caused some drama. there is so much drama in commu

usually the commus that incorporated stats had specific roles (dps/tank/healer) and you had up to a certain amount of stat points that affected your skills (so a dps character might calculate their damage by idk ((attack)d6)/2) or something). so the roles would be part of the character application template, and the applicant would distribute the stats how they wanted it

so yes, in the end, the sheet is entirely up to the admin, and the applicants generally get creative within the space you create! soren, for example, had a power ranking (A), role (tank), reason for participating in the commu storyline (he didn't care but his friends did so he's doing it on their behalf) but i made up his ability (turns into a gryphon) and stuff about his family, past traumas, etc.

while the commu is running, applicants generally RP with each other and make their own relationships and mini plotlines (soren is now bffs with another character because they both lost siblings/students) but the admin administers a scheduled plot to keep things moving (nero, for example, was part of a group that went around stopping monster dungeons around the world so every week the admins would say ok they're going to peru now. and then florida.)

while commus are usually short, sometimes they have like...seasons? one of my friends ran one based on the uma musume setting and recently they did a season 2 of the same commu with new applicants

back when twitter was whole, two comms i went to also had a sparring system using a bot and keywords (so you'd type [attack] or [evade] or whatever and depending on your character's stats, which the admin entered into the bot, you'd get an automated reply that gave you the result of your actions), gacha (same as above, and also included things like...pet eggs and equipment and whatnot), a store with potions/etc., i know one that had like literal mini-rooms with pixel furnitures that people could buy through currencies earned doing daily quests or whatever....that was really intense though lmao people usually do not go that far

commus also often have like....specific disclaimers written for good reason, usually to do with code of conduct and not being bigoted/being inclusive (unfortunately female characters often get ignored in rp, and also oh my god so much casual bigotry)

TL;DR making a commu is essentially writing a whole oneshot module that you're publicly recruiting players for! honestly though it is a Lot of work setting it up and then maintaining it even for the short time it runs

#long post #text #anon #replies #the one i just went to also had diff buffs depending on the rank since it was a military-style setup #since my character was a corporal he had a 1.2 buff to defense #also you would not believe the shit that goes down on commus #it has ended friendships and also has revealed people's asses #i'm so glad you like charlerusse!!!!!!!! she's my baby

[animehouse-moe]

Well, Tumblr decided to bug out on me and I've now lost the original question that was asked, but someone had asked for my favorite series (be it manga/anime/movies/Tv/etc), and this was my response.

(first of all, so sorry for losing the question! I should have taken a screenshot or something when Tumblr wouldn't let me post)

It's all good, I enjoy getting these types of questions because they make me think about this stuff haha. I'm not one to really do well with the idea of favorites, so having to pin down stuff like this can be interesting for me!

That said, for this one I might just stick with anime for the list to make it a little easier. I can definitely do a top ten of manga or other stuff later on though. Also, this list will be in no particular order because I'd be stuck forever trying to figure out a satisfying order for them.

Sonny Boy

I think it's a very fair point to argue, that at this stage in his career, Sonny Boy is Shingo Natsume's magnum opus. There's just not much else to it. It's a series that he created, from his own mind and talent, and he executed on that. There are very, very few people that work in anime that can manage a feat such as that. In terms of story, I don't have any issue with claiming Sonny Boy is the pinnacle of high school storytelling. It stretches the fabric of reality so far that you might struggle to claim that it's about high school, but the longer that you spend with it, the more undeniable a fact it becomes. Or maybe you could generalize it to the human condition, or how the cracks in society will fester and form no matter the condition, or how authority will always appear in a self-serving manner, or this or that or any concept under the sun.

Terror In Resonance

Call me crazy, but there's quite a few reasons why this is the Shinichiro Watanabe anime for me. Bebop and Champloo have rose colored glasses that adorn every fan in the community, so I feel like it's hard to really take a proper look at it compared to Terror In Resonance (even though it has a similar amount of users on MAL). As a Mappa project, it is simply the best they've ever been from start to finish. As a concept, Watanabe's approach is impeccable as it examines the frustration and sorrow of displaced children in a society that never wanted them. It's powerful, concise, and from start to finish an incredibly focused series filled with some of the crowning achievements of animators in the industry. Seriously. Takashi Hashimoto, the animator for this cut, actually did all the math to calculate the speed of the smoke as it fell and moved. Some of the best work you'll see on an anime.

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

I am a big, big fan of Tappei Nagatsuki's work, so being able to experience an anime that is entirely his vision of the work is really impressive. It's one of the biggest struggles with artists, I find. Understanding their work through different mediums. What you see as an anime is not what they created as a manga, or light novel. But this is different, it is Nagatsuki's (and Umehara's) sole vision, the entire intent behind their creativity. And WIT knocked it out of the park to an insane degree. As a post-AoT studio, they showed just how far they can push their creativity and execution on a series beyond human. Incredible story, incredible animation, arguably some of the best hand to hand combat we've seen in an anime in a very long time. It's just that good.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Maybe you see a trend going on with my picks, and while yes it's partly recency bias, it's also a gravitation towards anime originals. I'll add a piece to that at the end, but this is about Edgerunners right now. I was in high school when the video game was first announced. That's a decade ago, now. I played the shit out of 2077 when it dropped, and I'm absolutely eating up Phantom Liberty currently. It is then, absolutely no surprise, that I've placed Edgerunners on a pedestal. But of course, there's also a reason that Edgerunners is in the top 100 anime on MAL, and why it's Trigger's highest rated anime. It's just that damn good. An incredible story revolving around Night City and the themes that Mike Pondsmith laid the groundwork for decades ago. A true tribute to the tabletop game and the genre at large.

The Tatami Galaxy

I don't think there's a way I couldn't put The Tatami Galaxy on this list, truthfully. Of course, that also encompasses the sequel ONA The Time Machine Blues, and spinoffs like The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl. Tomohiko Morimi is a genius, Yusuke Nakamura is an icon, and Masaaki Yuasa is a savant. Incredible work for such an incredible story and message about the pursuit of perfection and the beauty that lies in the present. Arguably, much like titles such as Sonny Boy, these are 100% must watch titles for an anime fan. I'd highly recommend the others still, but these two represent such core and important aspects to how people choose to lead their lives and the frameworks that they do so within, that I strongly believe it's a requirement. I also wrote a review on the novel when I read it in January of this year.

Heike Monogatari

I think history is a very important thing to understand. I also think that history can be presented as obtuse, disinteresting, or too literal - especially in relation to history stories or myths. Heike Monogatari by Science Saru is arguably one of the greatest examples of how to display a modernized version of such a foundational tale to the history of Japan. It's also an incredibly powerful moment for the director, Naoko Yamada, as it was their first real work since the arson attacks on her home studio of Kyoto Animation. Because of the weight of her past, her work beyond words on this anime feels that much more powerful considering its messages about the past and fear of the future. It's wonderfully emotional, and contains one of my favorite closing scenes to a series.

The Saga of Tanya The Evil

Light novel aside, anime quality aside (though both are great), there's a separate reason this title is featured on this list: the adaptation. It is, for lack of a better term, borderline insane as an adaptation. It bears almost no similarity to its source. The tone is different, the scope and scale differ, there's significant changes in terms of narrative, and even the order of large scale events differs. But still, somehow, it remains a fantastic series. Bearing nearly zero resemblance to what it claims to adapt, it is something that I love. It's an incredible feat, and the gold standard of its one-of-a-kind approach to adapting a light novel.

Mononoke

Horror is a very hard thing to do right, at least in my opinion. Many get suckered into thriller territory very quickly, and avoid the psychological nature of horror. The immovable nature of something fearful standing in front of you, the slow descent into madness and despair. Mononoke grasps that incredibly well, and earns a spot on this list because of it's appeal in that manner. Also, the art is just incredible, personifying the more classical style that would be associated with the creatures and myths that pepper the story. I'm incredibly excited to see what comes from the upcoming movie.

Welcome To The N.H.K

While it may differ between its three formats, the core of the story stands strong. Impossible to put into words, it's more of a descent than anything. A descent that turns inwards on each of the characters as they slowly lose their grip on reality, as they continue to fall apart, piece by piece. I have my qualms about how they choose to end it, but I am a very bitter man at my core so it's more a personal difference than a quality one. Regardless, if you want an acid trip down the rabbit hole of depression, mania, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and all manner of other illness, there's no better story than Welcome To The N.H.K.

Toradora!

There's something special about Toradora to me. Is it the era that the anime comes from? Is it the appeal to a classic style of romance without falling prey to the issues of the layout? I'm unsure. But something about it feels so… comfortable, to me. I could watch it again and again and enjoy each minute. It's probably not the best romance anime out there, but it's one that I'll always be drawn to.

And with that, the list is over. Just to provide some extra context and honorable mentions, I'd love to have put series like Alien 9 or Monogatari on the list, but the challenge with them is the fact that the first is a shorter OVA, and the latter is a much larger series encompasses nearly too much to explain in this sort of context. There's really quite a few series like that that I struggled with when forming this list, but they're still really great titles nonetheless.

Anyways, the anime original point. While it's sort of an unconscious thing, I do realize what I do with it. Anime originals present something that you can't experience elsewhere. They are the end all be all of their creative vision, and that excites me more than a manga adaptation. Following someone else's blueprint vs creating your own, obviously one is more interesting than the other. And that sentiment extends to some of the other titles on the list like Heike Monogatari which approaches a classic story with a radical new viewpoint, or Tanya The Evil which basically forgoes the vast majority of its source material. It's really something I struggle with at large with adaptations. So many people want to leave their marks on the work, but quit just short of doing so in a meaningful manner. Very few go the mile to say that they did something in regards to the work, and instead meddle with it in minor ways which can negatively impact its reception as the original material. A great example of valuable changes is Heavenly Delusion. The team under Hirotaka completely re-arrange the order of events in the anime, and in doing so elevate the series in a way that only they can. Anyways, I digress, a discussion that I should leave for another time. This is my list, it may not be the best list out there, but it is mine.

#sonny boy #shingo natsume #zankyou no terror #terror in resonance #mappa #shinichiro watanabe #vivy: fluorite eye's song #vivy #tappei nagatsuki #cyberpunk edgerunners #cyberpunk anime #trigger studio #studio trigger #the tatami galaxy #tatami galaxy #yojouhan shinwa taikei #yojouhan time machine blues #time machine blues #the night is short walk on girl #masaaki yuasa #heike monogatari #the heike story #science saru #tanya the evil #the saga of tanya the evil #youjo senki #carlo zen #mononoke 2007 #welcome to the nhk #nhk ni youkoso

[cosmickaz]

Comfort Call

look at me and my emotional support alliterations.

one-shot (655 words)

Pairing: Cody, Reader nature of relationship unclear, Cody just cares about Reader’s wellbeing

Genre: Fluff, Comfort no Hurt. Reader is in a funk and Cody gets them out of it.

The black screen of his datapad felt like a punch in the gut as Cody took off his helmet. It has been entirely too long since his penpal had last responded to his messages, and he knew if they disappeared like this, things were starting to get worse again.

It took a little trial and error but you found a way to break the radio-silence without building pressure.

He checked the status icon next to your name. You were online.

A black screen took over his display once again, yet this one seemed infinitely more hopeful, as it was a sign that you had picked up his call.

“No headphones.” appeared in the little chat-box.

There was a very faint rustling coming from your end of the call and Cody smiled, knowing you’d kept your mic on for his sake.

Then, another message: “Wait,” followed by the sound of your footsteps leaving the room.

Where, at first, he’d been a little confused, even slightly offended by your tendency to just get up and leave after the start of your calls, the explanation you’d offered endeared him to your antics. Not to mention your efforts to prepare for his usual calls beforehand now, even making a little game out of it and sending him obscure ‘getting ready’ messages before pressing the button. ‘one moment, I’m building my house.’, ‘sorry, I’m catching some wifi.’ or ‘gimme a sec, my datapad exploded’.The deviation of your usual routine only emphasized how out of it you had to feel.

Sounds of your reentering the room and placing something on your desk disrupted Cody’s worrying.

“Had to get water,” came your explanation. “And a donut.”

Then, your cam turned on.

Upon seeing your slightly disheveled form, he had to resist the instinct of asking about what troubled you. He learned the hard way that calm nonchalance was the way to go in these situations, and interrogating you would only result in you shutting him out completely. His goal was to get you to stop thinking about Whatever It Is and disrupt your thought spiral, hence the unannounced video call.

“Have you been reading?” He typed back, purposely giving you a chance to fill him in on the details of your day  or ignore the elephant in the room and go on about your favourite hobby.

As usual, you chose the latter. “Yeah, I’m still trying to get through this book. I calculated how many pages I have to read every day so I can get through it before I have to return it.”

Of course you did.

“The collected stories one?”

“Mhm,” you nodded your head while typing, making Cody smile once again. “70 pages for 20 days.”

“And how many pages are you behind now?”

At least he was decent enough to hide his smile behind a hand as he asked this.

You glared at him anyhow.

His smile just got wider.

“~130.”

“That’s almost two days!”

“I AM AWARE!!!!!” You were tempted to turn off your camera so he wouldn’t see you pout. “I went to the garden center yesterday so I didn’t have time. And the first couple stories were suuuuuper boring.”

“But it got better?”

“It did. And it’s interesting because I can see where others have been influenced by these themes and stories so it’s cool to go backwards like this. Makes the other stories more interesting, too.”

As your rambling got more animated, your fingers soon weren’t able to keep up with your thoughts anymore, and the sounds of your frantic typing was replaced by your voice.

It would have been foolish to point it out, but Cody knew that this was the point where you’d successfully gotten out of whatever mood had had a hold on you earlier. And with the mood of the conversation between you entering all-too familiar territory again, he reveled in pride over your shared victory.

#this is very much a self comfort thing and that's okay #been having a ruff week #commander cody x reader #tcw x reader #tcw cody x reader