#but from personal experience i know it can be a hellish experience when you can't find something that actually fits you

[ao3cassandraic]

Kayfabe: A Good Omens meta

"Kayfabe," in wrestling, is the performance (including outside the wrestling ring) of whatever storyline is being woven around the wrestlers. Breaking kayfabe is Serious Business for a wrestler; the illusion is part of the event. If you ever wondered how John Cena could anchor an entire HBO miniseries brilliantly, kayfabe is a big part of the answer.

Because of their histories and how their respective Head Offices treat them, Crowley and Aziraphale approach their version of kayfabe -- their whole "I am an angel! You are a demon! We're hereditary enemies!" schtick, also their "we are good bad proper little footsoldiers, honest, Boss" schtick to their respective Head Offices -- very, very differently.

I promise there's a point to this. I PROMISE. But let me walk through it first.

Both of them know that one awkward question to Upstairs at the wrong moment and its Fallsville. Crowley, however, knows a couple of things that Aziraphale doesn't have to:

Punishment isn't just once; in some ways, the Fall is never over. Beelzebub or Hastur can throw you in the Dung Pits whenever, after all, or feed you to a Hellhound, or zap you like an Eric. Crowley's lot do not send rude notes. (s2: we do not know what happened to Crowley after Hell dragged him back at the end of the Resurrectionists 'sode, but I think it safe to say it was not great for Crowley. Litotes: your key to quality meta.)

Downstairs can and does check in -- or drag Crowley Downstairs for a chat and possibly a bit of idle torture -- whenever they feel like it. Downstairs seems pretty disorganized, especially its leadership, so I'd expect ad-hoc surprise inspections from them. Downstairs can invade Crowley's flat's TV, his Bentley's radio, and his very mind to perform those inspections. Crowley is never, ever safe from this. He can't relax. Ever.

Heaven, on the other hand, has 37 levels of scriveners and zero interest in Earth. Talk of "reprimands" and "miracle budgets" and Michael being a stickler and whatnot suggests a formal review process happening on a schedule, governed largely by the dreaded (but quite possibly fake-able or spinnable) "paperwork" rather than direct observation by Aziraphale's peers or superiors. Otherwise, Aziraphale is usually left to his own devices. Remember how startled he is when Gabriel shows up at the sushi restaurant in s1? This is unusual!

(We also know from Muriel that Heaven's records office doesn't seem to get consulted a whole lot. It's possible this just means that first-through-thirty-sixth-level scriveners handle everything, but in my experience of large bureaucracies, it's the folks at the bottom of the hierarchy who invariably get run off their feet first. Don't see why Heaven would be any different.)

Moreover, Heaven's punishments seem pretty light, on the whole? Our angel is so anxious and so sensitive to slights that I'm sure the reprimands aren't fun, and nobody likes a reduced miracle budget... but Heavenly "needs improvement" reviews don't seem to be a patch on the Dung Pits. The real threat is Falling, which is more than horrible enough to serve as deterrent; Heaven doesn't need to add torments.

Moreover moreover, Aziraphale is mostly aligned with his Head Office in a way that Crowley really, really isn't. I'm sure Aziraphale does a lot of his Heaven assignments with a song in his heart and a skip in his step -- it's mostly not smiting or the like. Crowley... probably spends a lot of his work time figuring out how to obey the letter of Hellish law while defying its spirit. Crowley's in far more danger of angering his bosses.

So Aziraphale doesn't have to keep up kayfabe a lot of the time, not even while interacting with Crowley. He can and does save it for the rare occasions Heaven takes a personal interest. Crowley, however, must keep up kayfabe always, whether Aziraphale's there or not. The courage it must have taken that snake to slither up the wall of Eden!

The way Crowley navigates his permanent need for kayfabe is twofold. First, his all but instinctive refusal to accept any positive word or compliment about himself or his actions from anyone ever -- "I'M NOT NICE!" If Hell were ever to hear someone characterizing Crowley that way... That's also why Crowley is a bit less exercised when Jimbriel calls him nice: "nobody'll ever believe you."

Second, a species of Orwellian doublethink: maintaining a running commentary in his head of how he's going to justify any unHellish actions to Hell, since he can never know exactly when he'll have to or what exactly they'll have a bug up their butt (sorry, Beez) about. Even high as a kite on laudanum in the Edinburgh cemetery, Crowley can explain his current justification (in a curiously sober voice -- is Crowley ever really high in that scene? or is it all kayfabe? I lean toward kayfabe) to Aziraphale, "Not kind! Off my head on laudanum, not responsible for my actions."

We can see the kayfabe mismatch play out a few times, and it does appear that Aziraphale gets more concerned for Crowley's safety and more aware of Crowley's need for kayfabe post-Arrangement. That doesn't mean he always remembers, of course -- he wouldn't, he just doesn't have that same desperate need. And, of course, the ineffable walnuts do not communicate, as s2 went to some lengths to point out. I do think kayfabe is part of that -- it's hard for Crowley to be sincere when he's constantly doublethinking, and Aziraphale's off-and-on involvement with kayfabe (and all his other tendencies toward lying) disincline him to achieve or even learn about honest communication.

One s1 scene I went back and rewatched while thinking about this was the Globe scene, which contains Aziraphale's Saint-Peter-esque three-time denial of Crowley. I find it easy now to read that as Aziraphale going "oh crap do I need to drop back into kayfabe now? I didn't break kayfabe, did I?" and Crowley grinning, at least partly as reassurance. (Partly, of course, because Aziraphale is cute and funny even when kayfabing -- and partly because Aziraphale's sudden drop into kayfabe is Aziraphale trying to protect Crowley, of course Crowley's pleased by that.)

The wall pin, now that I think about it, also gains a little nuance from this. Crowley's fear-laced ire is genuine, but how many times must Aziraphale have heard Crowley snarl at him not to break kayfabe in this way? No surprise he's a little unimpressed. (With Crowley's demand. He's clearly very impressed by Crowley.)

In the s2 Job minisode, Aziraphale hilariously drops kayfabe (and that epic whole-body halo, loved that, great job FX folks) almost immediately. Crowley allows it, because Crowley is on firm ground -- Hell will be just fine with Crowley wrapping the angel in a Chuck-Jones-cartoon amount of scroll parchment and flipping him off.

When angel and demon collude on the con later, of course, they observe kayfabe, improv-style -- Crowley helps Aziraphale deal with the Job's-children situation without giving either of them away to the watching angel posse. Interestingly, it's Aziraphale who de-gecko-izes the kids. That gives Crowley an out, sort of: "look, the mansion collapse missed them because they were in the cellar, I turned them into geckos, totally Hellish thing to do, they'd never survive in the wild, but then this bloody interfering angel went and changed them back!"

And how does Crowley console a distraught angel who thinks he's about to be dragged to Hell? Crowley explains kayfabe in the fewest and clearest words possible. "Well, yeah, you did, but... I'm not going to tell anybody. Are you?"

So yeah. That's kayfabe for the Ineffable Walnuts.

But I promised there was a point to this, didn't I? Yes, I have a point.

My point is...

my POINT is...

my point IS...

(not dolphins, not this time)

My point is, how much of s2's Final Fifteen Minutes is kayfabe?

That's my point.

#good omens season 2 spoilers #gos2spoilers #gos2 spoilers #ineffable husbands #ineffable walnuts #kayfabe #good omens meta #the point is not dolphins

[just-jordie-things]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Megumi never found out why or when he got here. He just remembered that he got knocked out during a battle, and that he woke up in another world, one where curses Never existed.

It wasn't the strangest part yet, because somehow he wasn't living in Japan anymore. He lived overseas.

Now, he was just a normal student, not a sorcerer, not anything he was before.

But life was just as hellish in this world as it was in the one he came from.

Megumi knew what other people said behind his back.

"Weirdo"

"Emo"

"Asian kid"

And so on. That was, until one day, you walked up to him. You were the first one to act kindly around him.

Needless to say, he grew quite fond of you.

You spent hours talking togheter, and Megumi couldn't help the feeling he got each time you talked about your passions and hobbies.

The way your eyes sparkled, the excitement bubbling in your voice, the energy that bursted out of you.

He couldn't help but feel jealous.

Because, apart from sorcery, he never had any hobbies, or passion.

He never had time to think about that.

Megumi never realised how abnormal his life actually was, how many experiences he never got to experience, how much there was still to discover for him.

Until one day, where his world literally came crushing down.

You were talking to him like usual, when you brought up the argument of a new manga you were reading.

"It's called Jujutstu Kaisen if you're interested, it's really good".

"Jujutsu?"

"Yeah. Jujutsu Kaisen. I can lend you the first volume if you want."

Megumi stared at the volume in his hands, completely frozen in place.

There was no fucking way.

He then realised. There was a connection between the two worlds he had lived in.

In one of those, his life was a fucking manga.

His whole world. His friends. His life.

It was all the imagination of someone else.

A lie.

"Megumi? You fine? You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

Your words snapped him back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he muttered.

"I'ts just that I never thought you would have read this"

"You know jujutstu?"

".....yeah....".

You paused for a second, surprised by his answer.

"Soooo.... What's your fave? Y'know, your favourite character".

What was he supposed to say?

Megumi stayed silent for a bit, before answering: " No one in particular. Yours?"

He couldn't deny that he was curious.

It was probably Gojo, or Geto.

"Me? Megumi, hands down"

"What?"

Megumi froze in place. He was your favourite character. He was actually loved by someone.

"Why do you like him"

"Let's see..." You began " First of all, you can't deny it, he's Hella gorgeous. Like, dude is just too handsome to resist. His techniques are badass. And his personality and character development are amazing."

".... Really?..." His voice was almost whisper.

"I never met someone that liked Megumi before..." He then said.

"Really? He's pretty popular. Of course, not on Gojo levels, but still."

Right then, a new strange feeling blossomed in Megumi's chest.

People actually liked him. He made people happy.

But maybe it felt so good because he knew that you liked him.

He wasn't a hero. He wasn't even a sorcerer anymore.

But he never expected to be an idol to someone.

He never expected people from another world to love him.

Seeing you, right now, as you talked about why you loved him, was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Even though you will never know who he truly is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here it is! My second Megumi one shot.

It is based on one of my previous brainrots.

Hope you like it!

love this so so much. comforting my comfort character is just so fluffy it's making my insides turn into cotten hehe

very well done thank you for sharing with us!! so sweet!!

#megumi brainrot #fushiguro megumi x reader #jordie says stuff

[langdhon]

These times are hard for many of us for a variety of reasons. And while I'm not at all a christmasy person, I think it can't hurt to spread a little gingerbread sweetness in shape of appreciation. They seem to be just words typed on a pixel background, but I mean them. As a thank you, let me get all mushy and give shoutouts to you people:

Under the cut because it got really fucking long.

||| First of all, my closest/longest roleplay partners:

@ravenskeeper: Andy, the light of my experience. The FUCL to my ATTACL, one of the most creative people on here and longest writing partner. I can't imagine my guy without Alice in his life anymore. We've created such a profound dynamic out of literally nothing but a random starter 1 1/2 years ago. And despite some jealous assbutt trying to kick you, you stayed, kept slaying and I hope you know how fucking strong that makes you! I also love for us how we rapid-fire our shit back and forth most of the time because we infect each other with the inspiration from our muses harmonizing so damn well. Sure, I adore everything you do, also on your multi and Dream, but your OG brainchild Alice always has a special place in my heart.

@eyeless-smiles: Why don't I know what to call you after such a long time of our sickos murdering and diddling their way through existence together? Wanna preserve a mysterious vibe, huh? Jk. Such laid back and easy-going writers like you seem to be a rarity nowadays, and you're super kind whenever we have our little chats. While I enjoyed every second of seeing your writing evolve, your muse grow, I appreciate most how you can fit Corinth into so many situations and still have him be him. It's easy to tell you have fun. That is contagious tbh. Interacting with you is always a joy and I hope we'll keep that going for the next 100 years!

@viiolencia: Lune, you funky moonthey! We've already written on my old muse loooong ago and I immediately fell in love with Sira. I'm so happy we have our hellish little shits interact too, and what a blast that just is I have no words!! Besties with benefits, a dynamic I'll always cherish. They're chaos, sitting in the same boat while also not. It's so special. Your writing as such? Chef's kiss. You're one of those partners whose replies to me I read multiple times because your prose flows so beautifully while never straying from depicting the ugly details. You paint literal pictures in my head with your words and I'm so living for it. I'd eat your writing if I could.

@hiveruled: Kai is a dick. But you, Bo the bro, ain't; you're super chill and I love seeing you drag Kai through the dirt, as I occasionally drag Michael too. You understand that there's a difference between exploring the mind of a bad guy and the person you really are; it's almost like psychologists being fascinated with the most unhinged minds, to comprehend how they work. Writing our two idiots provoke each other is so so much fun. You're also, I'll never forget, the first AHS roleplayer who welcomed me and Michael. I appreciate you always.

@malka-lisitsa: I remember when we became mutuals. We immediately were on the same wavelength when it came to how we both are most interested in diving into our characters' psyche. That this is what it's about for us. And I see you dig into Katherine's heart and soul every day, you never fail at filling in the gaps canon left to render her the one-dimensional villain. You showed me, us, that she's not the cutout bad bitch. What should be obvious, you made us see in detail. Michael and Katherine together? Priceless! Anyway, you're such a force on my dash that when someone says November, I don't think of the month first but of you.

@colorsdevoid: Yes, Genesis, you have many muses Zach would be proud of you portraying because you do it amazingly. Still, Thomas is the one I got to know best by now and with who Michael interacted most, so I'm sort of biased. Sue me, ha! I instantly loved him because he's somebody you can easily have compassion for, all the while not excusing the path he took. And I'm so thrilled to see him bloom when brought back among the living, in a world that'll treat him better than the one he was born into. A world still needing improvement, but better nonetheless. I look forward to seeing where all this takes him!

@multi-royalty: Maddie, the gal who juggles a bunch of super different characters every single day, and all of them are amazing on their own. I don't know how you do it, especially since you've got a fair amount of high-maintenance divas in the mix, so I imagine sometimes your head must go BOOM. I've only ever seen you as the sweet presence on my dash, which is always a bright spark in my daily experience here. I know you struggle, but I also see you fight this bitch trying to paint your thoughts all black. I'm proud of you and I hope you are proud of yourself for creating such a lot every day, too

@asteritm: We haven't written in a while, but you were one of my very first writing partners on this blog, this muse. They immediately kicked off with an equally chaotic vibe and it's been such a blast all along! Whenever they didn't try to 1-up each other in sass-battles, they could get super soft with one another; this duality is super interesting to play out. Also because Lilly is one among very few able to overpower my brat. It's something I dig so hard because it forces him to tone his shit down sometimes. The way you write is so alive too. Fresh, never monotonous, it really conveys Lilly's entire chaotic energy!

@zealctry: A, your Malcolm went through more than a handful headaches with my guy here, while with Hidan? I suppose our dudes either give each other the same headache or none, because they are both murderous chaotic fucks who don't beat around the bush. Writing with you was always a pure pleasure and still is! You put up with Mikey's bs even when I sat here hoping he'd just... shut up and think for a second. You have such a colorful mind and the way you write is a mirror of your creativity; it's so real, so vivid. Every reply from you is a treat, like a warm chocolate pudding during a winter evening.

||| More partners that I adore and send my love to:

@anthrcpophagi and the beautifully written Maren Yearly, a sweet yet dangerous character who absolutely deserves more recognition. @butscrewmefirst and the flawless take of Elizabeth, who's been around for over half a decade by now, can you even believe? @bunnyblooded and the Stefan I didn't know I needed to see until I did. @bratprinced, if you want the actual Lestat to throw his dramatic antics onto your dash? That's the go-to. @griefknown and a lovely Elena, who's just as troubled as she's the town's sweetheart. @hybrid-royalty-main who always provides fun times with all those funky little dudes. I hear their voices in their replies, no shit. @hecatespower the only Mallory I've seen around in a while and given so much more depth it's simply beautiful. @havvkinsqueen Victoria is one of the absolute sweetest persons on this whole site, an inspiration for us all, and her Chrissy is the only one for me. @monstriiss and their giant monster milf who can eat your man and probably will, literally btw. Not just an original but original original concept. @munsontm with their funky little Eddie, who gives no shit about gender norms while being metal af. @pumpkinstabs, the person who made me get actually interested in Myers, who gives him such intriguing nuances. Love it. @ruinedmyself and the lovely babygirl Sammy who needs snuggles but receives struggles; pls go and hug him. @spynorth and the Spooks spy Michael likes to slam into walls. Lucas shakes his head at his own muse a lot and that's what I'm here for. @stanfordprepped and the fanged cutie Sam that you can corrupt today! For only $0,00 and a cup of demon blood. @sarcasticsnackpack with that guy with an aversion to his birthname. Super fun to write and chat with. @snowreignd who's brave and comes around with the worst fictional president to ever president. I love that rounded take! @thcmcnstcr and a super cute but equally as dangerous half-angel, also found on @scldiersmercy and @blccdwar. All intertwined. @untilthcyrot with a variety of great muses, most of all the little big sister to my idiot son here. Super fun to talk to as well.

||| Last but not least: those I yet have to get into writing with more:

@fallenregent you're amazing and so is your Davina! @fangsforhire you give off fun-vibes, which I love to see! @pohlepen you give us a messy woman who kicks ass and you just.. rock! @pumpcursed you unapologetically enjoy yourself, as we all should! @traumapyre you're a sweet bean and deserve only good things. @zmogedra you sure have that cannibal down to a T. And pls get well soon!

I didn't @ multiple blogs of the same writer, just know I love every blog I follow! Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't follow, duh ♥

#positivity

[gaiath]

♡Being in a relationship with Jane and Mike in modern day♡...

I deeply apologize for any spelling mistakes!!

Gender neutral

[people I really want to see this: @unsheath @moonlane ](◕ᴗ◕✿)

Their personalities contrast so much and in the best way possible.

Jane is the sight of beautiful doe eyes, an array of trinkets on a window sill, different options of colors in a closet, a beautiful breakfast on a wooden table and gentle music playing on a record player.

Mike is the instinct to worry for those of whom he loves , thunder outside of your window that surprisingly comforts you, a long sleeved graphic tee and memorizing something you mentioned to have liked.

Something that they both have in common is their instinct to protect you, and they act on that instinct.

It doesn't matter what offense somebody did, it's all equally bad. Someone insults you, puts you in danger, tries to pursue you romantically, etc. That person will feel their hellish wrath.

Living in a cozy apartment with them that has enough room for all of you. Jane has her sculptures on several surfaces. Succulents of all colors have their sweet homes on your desk.

Mike also has multiple guitars all over your shared bedroom

He writes songs about the two of you and describes y'all in the most precious way possible. Jane looks at him with adoring eyes while he plays the guitar and let's his voice out.

While you get ready for a date night Jane can't help herself but admire from the doorway. She'll sit down on the bed and watch you go through outfit options.

"I wanna see you get ready" she confesses while staring up at you.

She even writes down how the two of you make her feel. Every memory she will fight wars to remember, things the two of you remind her of, places she'd wanna go together and much more.

Don't get me started on when she learns about marriage.

Whenever inevitable movie nights happen, they take their positions on your body.

Jane has her spot on your chest whilst Mike keeps his arm around your shoulder and a hand on Jane's waist.

Mike's kisses are gentle to make sure he doesn't do something unwanted. He keeps a hand on the back of your neck whilst he does so. There's desperation in this act of devotion and he's not bothered.

Jane's kisses are surprisingly rough but in the best way a kiss can be. She puts both hands on the sides of your face to keep you close . As if you'll melt.

Being with them obviously means meeting their beloved parents.

Hopper has always been more than cautious about Mike but he's softer on you since he actually got to know you and you actually... behaved when it came to pda.

Jane will take the both of you to talk over a nice meal with her father. He put in effort since he hasn't seen her with a permanent smile since... ever!

She's a little nervous because she truly wants him to approve of the both of you. Even if he doesn't, that won't stop her, she's devoted and ambitious.

Now on to Mike! ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

Oh, is Karen more than happy to meet the two of you. She prepares a beautiful dinner and gets her best dress out of her closet. The two of you need to know you are now a part of this family and welcomed.

His little sister will ask you questions on if you could play with her and if you know how to braid hair, but, most of the time she's quiet.

Ted will also put his best efforts in since he wants to keep Karen happy. He'll enjoy his food and ask the typical questions!

Overall, being their lover is such an amazing experience. To be with two people that have such unique ways of showing their never-ending love, oh, are you happy you met.

#mike wheeler #mike x reader #mike wheeler headcanons #mike wheeler x y/n #mike wheeler x reader #mike headcanons #jane x reader #eleven x reader #eleven hopper x reader #eleven #stranger things headcanons #stranger things x reader #stranger things x y/n #stranger things season four #stranger things

[windwardstar]

Sometimes it really jumps out at me that oh wow I am trans and wow cis people really are cis (and trans women really do be women) Because like.

I heard Amanda Bynes had a ton of dysphoria having to dress up and be treated as a boy for she's the man which was like oh wow ok yeah i guess i can see how for someone who is not a guy being treated as one even for an acting role would be dysphoric. And like despite all the failings of that movie middle schooler me saw that movie and was like that is the dream. Pretend to be a boy. Amazing.

And all the movies where the teen girls stuff theirs bras and the "bosoms!" bit from Anne of green gables that I was always just ???? Why would you??? But apparently they really do want bigger chests and are excited for them. That women who get masectomies for cancer get reconstructive surgery to give them their chests back because a flat chest gives them dysphoria.

And like. There was someone at choir who just like vehemently rejected the suggestion of wearing the tux/"men's option" when I mentioned it as an alternative to the dress she didn't like. And like. It was the same reaction I have to the suggestion to wear a dress.

And all the hellish aspects of puberty I went through the transfemme friends excitedly talk about getting and wanting because those are desirable gender affirming things for them.

And just. The whole "the only trans people are trans women" narrative from before I knew there were other options was just yeah I'm with the guys on this one why would someone want to be a woman, (and like, the problem is those guys don't want to be women either so it runs into the same brain wall of can't fathom someone making that choice) but I can totally imagine actually wanting to be a guy. And how like, when approaching the concept with cis people you gotta frame it as them being the gender they are because they don't want to be another one and can find it really hard to imagine wanting to be (aka if you're running into a wall with cis men who are only aware of trans women bring up trans men, because they absolutely get dysphoria of being mistaken for a girl and misgendered as a girl. Like so much of toxic masculinity is weaponised misgendering).

But it's like. Ah yes the fact so many things I find incredibly dysphoric others find gender affirming and the reverse also being true is always just a little world tilting bc oh wow right not everyone hates/loves this gender thing, but also like nice confirmation that if there was any doubt of me being trans that no in fact your experiences are not considered the default normal and that is very much a trans thing.

Also tangent associated thought like. There is a whole "woman dressed as a man and lived as a man for xyz reason but wasn't actually a trans man/masc" which like ok I can accept that there are women who for brief periods dressed as men in order to achieve some goal or something but like... seeing how cis people respond to being miagendered that is causes dysphoria even short term and knowing as a trans person how hellish dysphoria is like... why isn't that an aspect in any of these discussions (and if it is why have i not heard it yet)? Like dressing as and being treated as a gender you are not for years or decades or the entire rest of your life is hell. So why would someone willingly do that? Like obviously we can't ask the historical figures that and we shouldn't say whether or not they experienced dysphoria from dressing either way (unless there's like actual documented proof) but like idk. This kind of just occurred to me and now I'm like. A) the default assumption always seems to be this is a cis woman presending to be a man unless we have explicit proof to the contrary and even then ignore that to say she's a woman but then B) how have I basically never heard any reports on how these "cis women" hated being misgendered (like I'm sure there were some and I would love if we could find these reports bc it would really help highlight the difference between dressing up as a man bc women couldn't xyz and trans man dressed as a man and when found out used the excuse of only pretended to be a man for xyz to avoid being punished for you know being trans)

#monday trans ramble

[gayuu-the-necromancer]

Evil Love Blooming In The Dark Part1 Jude Jazza ~ Bitter END

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Man wearing a bowler hat: "I knew you would come. Come this way, please."

The man wearing a bowler hat recognized Mr. Jude.

He puts an arm around my neck, pulling me closers and placing a gun to my temple.

Jude: "To have a gun and a knife pointed in a single day."

Jude: "Gosh, Kate you're so lucky. I'm glad you got to experience such things this quickly."

Kate: *gulps*

The cold, unsympathetic look in Mr. Jude's eyes makes it impossible to guess what his intentions were when he came here.

(The moment Mr. Jude cuts me off, my life is over)

Kate: "Nn...."

Kate: "P-Please....help me."

My voice was shaking from fear as I try to squeeze it out.

Jude: "........"

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Yes, that's right. What else can you do besides comply with your girlfriend's request?"

Man wearing a bowler hat: "So, can you please turn a blind eye to the goods in your warehouse?"

(Goods.....?)

Jude: "Ha. You wanna break your contract with me, huh? You know what that means right?"

Jude: "When I gave you this warehouse, I clearly stated that I don't wanna see 'humans' being bought and sold. didn't I?"

(.....So the goods he mentioned earlier......were humans....?)

(So the 'bad info' Mr. Jude has about this guy, is that he is doing human trafficking business....)

Man wearing a bowler hat: "That's why I'm asking you. Please, I don't want to hurt this girl."

Jude: ".....Let me tell you something."

Jude: "I despise rich people like you who sit on thrones thinking that you're the safest people in the world."

Man wearing a bowler hat: "I'm trying to bargain with you."

(......I hate this)

(I don't wanna get myself killed by some lousy man who buys and sells humans....EVER!)

Frustrated, I bit the man's arm that was around my neck.

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Oww!?"

The restraints loosen for a moment, and as soon as he crouches down holding his arm, I slipped away from him.

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Damn you, woman!"

I heard an angry voice behind me and moved my rambling legs frantically.

Kate: "Nn."

With a thud, I bumped into something.

Jude: "Oww.....if you wanna get out of here, at least look ahead when you run."

Kate: "....Mr. Jude."

The moment I recognised the person who embraced me, I suddenly felt my strength leave my body and sink down to the ground.

(My mind is already a mess.....)

(But, I can't believe how relieved I am to be embraced by this person)

Jude: "Why are you looking like you're about to cry? You idiot."

Kate: "....Don't call me an idiot...."

Jude: "Idiot."

Even though it's an arrogant smile, I am bewildered by the fact that it's healing my heart.

Jude: "Don't do anything rash. You can sit here and tremble."

Mr. Jude leaves me there, slumped over and walks up to the man wearing a bowler hat.

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Don't come closer!"

Just as the man was about to fire a bullet, something flew out of the darkness and pierced the back of his hand.

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Ughh..Ahhh....."

The man screams in pain and drops his gun.

(A knife....? Where did that come from?)

When I looked around, I saw all the guards lying on the ground motionless.

Ellis: "....Sorry, I ran out of bullets, so I used a knife."

Ellis appeared suddenly, shrugged his shoulders as if making small talk.

(E-Ellis...? Were you here the entire time?)

Man wearing a bowler hat: "....I-I-I will do anything you say....Please...Please spare my life......"

Jude: "Ah, I was thinking the same thing. Good for you."

Jude: "Instead of letting you die easily, I'm giving you a life that is worse than death. I'm sure living such a hellish life will only make you beg for an easy death."

Man wearing a bowler hat: "Ha...."

Mr. Jude pokes the man's forehead with his finger.

The next moment, the men fell to the ground on his back with white eyes.

Kate: "W-What did you just...do....?"

Ellis: " 'Putting someone to sleep, by a simple touch on the forehead'....that's Jude's ability."

Ellis: ".....Miss Kate, are you alright?"

Kate: "Y-Yeah...I'm okay..."

Ellis gives me a hand and I manage to get up on my feet.

Kate: "So....you're not going to kill him?"

Ellis: " 'The objective was to destroy the organization and Jude was in charge of whether the target lives or dies'. We accepted the mission on those terms."

(Huh....)

Kate: "Wait, so this was a mission....? I thought I was kidnapped by accident. So you didn't come here just to save me?"

Jude: "I knew these people were trying to reach me."

Jude: "And if 'my woman' is wandering around unguarded, it's only natural that she will be a target, right?"

Kate: "So in other words....you made me a bait?"

Jude: "It's funny how things work out the way they were supposed to."

Mr. Jude lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke in a bored manner.

Kate: ".....That man is the worst....but you're no less."

Jude: "Thanks for the compliment."

Kate: "So then....were you also planning to let me die if the negotiations didn't work out?"

Jude: "Haa? Of course not. Ellis had that guy in his sight and you screwed it up by making a move."

Kate: "Eh.....?"

When I turned to look at Ellis.

Ellis: "But everything is fine now. Don't worry about it, I was thinking of helping you in the end."

(I see...so that's it)

(Nn...No no no no..you used me as your bait first)

(I can't think you're a nice person, just because you helped me.....!)

Ellis: "Jude, where do you want me to take this guy?"

Jude: "To the Lab."

Ellis: "Okay. I'll see you later, Miss Kate."

Ellis easily carried the man and leisurely walked out of the warehouse.

Silence fills the warehouse, and I started trembling slightly.

(.....M-My legs are shaking again.....I can barely stand up)

Jude: "Then, shall we go back to the castle, princess?"

Jude: "Also, you did very well in keeping the promise that you made to me. Good girl."

I am not sure if he is aware of my condition or not.

Mr. Jude took another puff off his cigarette and clapped his hands in a mocking manner.

Jude: "Don't you think such a good girl like you deserve a reward for keeping your promise?"

Kate: ".....R-Reward...."

This person is an arrogant, cold-hearted sadist who has no inclination to extend kindness to others.

I should have learned that well today, and yet....I am still tempted to cling to those sweet words.

Kate: "I-I can't stop shaking after all this time...and I-I don't think I can walk now...."

Kate: "Do you mind giving me a minute to calm myself down....?"

Jude: "......Haa..."

Jude: "You are a real pain in the ass."

A long fingertip reached out and poked my forehead.

(Eh....)

At that moment, my consciousness melted away.

I was sucked into a dream.

Jude lets out a single annoyed sigh and picks Kate's unconscious body.

Jude: "Tch....you owe me one for doing this manual labor."

Jude: "Now you know what happens when you make promises too easily."

............

Outside the warehouse, the white moon shines brightly on the blackened nighttime sea.

Jude stared abjectly at the white moonlight.

Jude: "....Tch."

Jude: "You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Story // Premium END // Epilogue

#ikemen series #ikemen villains #ikemen villain #ikemen villains jude #otome #cybird #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #ikemen mc

[assortedvillainvault]

I just got into the horned king 😭

I'm on character ai and he tries to get jiggy with it, I can not for the life of me imagine his body frfr

What do you think it'd be? Is there a canon appearance besides his bone face? 😭

I need help lol 😭

- Lucky Katsune

JJFBLFHU ok well thank you for pulling this into the forefront of my blog and brain like the result some kind of hellish lichsimp deep sea fishing reel. (positive)

Starting off with I very much understand the lure of the AI, I did some experimenting with it myself a while back - but honestly once the initial newness of it wears off its a very clunky (and dubious) tool, you're honestly going to get better entertainment from a blank word doc and a no holds barred laugh-yourself-silly discussion over discord as you write.

Secondly, onto the fun part-

(Lich anatomy with pictures and suggestive things under the cut lads, you know the drill. If you don't wanna see stuff don't click.)

The Horned King has no 'canonical' under-robe going on EXCEPT for the very brief frames shown during his death scene, in which the cauldron slurps down his clothes before making him melt and explode and godIwishthatwereme -

(I make NO APOLOGIES for my work choice here this is the HK simp blog you knew what you were getting into under the read more)

What we can see from most of the film is his face appears to be the most decomposed part of him that is visible - his hands are withered but still fully fleshed, and his forearms seem to retain a decent mount of muscle.

From the way his shoes right at the beginning of the film basically move like thick socks, it stand to reason his feet would retain a decent amount of flesh to get that rounded look. I am Not typing 'Horned King Feet' into google again so you're going to have to go without a refeence pic for now. I have limits.

That leaves us with literally everything in between.

i can't get a clearer or better quality shot so I apologise, but this is what we can glimpse mid melting:

Same greyish green tinge and leathery texture for the skin all over his torso, not to mention a decent amount of flesh left overall! His shoulders seem pretty large for a corpse (lets not forget in the books he's a hunter and a warlord) and I struggle to believe he wouldn't know how to use any of the weapons in his castle. Given we can see the curve of his back there's no reason to beleive the flesh coverage doesn't extend all the way down his legs too.

With proof out of the way now we can get onto the fun part!!

I personally like to headcannon that parts of his vertebrae and lower ribs 'peek' through his skin because the more monstrous and rotten the better in my book. He also probably got scars due to the violent job description of being a medieval warlord, undead sorcerer or not.

Corpses do tend to look a little shrink wrapped as they loose moisture and muscle mass, so he's probably on the skinnier side and his joints will protrude a little, especially the hips and knees. Heck just look at the way his hands widen from the wrist bone! That robe is for more than just warmth (wales be chilly), it's making his silhouette larger becuase when they're not swinging weapons at you or barfing up green smoke, decaying bodies actually are pretty small.

Given he's got no eyebrows and no hair peeking out from under he hood, I'd hedge a bet he's hairless all over too.

And lastly I can't find your blog so Idk if you're of an age I feel comfortable discussing NSFT with outright, but safe to say anything between his legs is fair game. You want him with an eggplant? Me too go get em. You want him like a ken doll becuase it fell off a hundred years ago and he never mentally recovered? Sure go for it I know a couple people that headconnon him that way. Skelebussy? Tentacles? Go forth and conquer my dude.

You're having fun so you can literally put whatever the hell you want under his robes as long as you're having a good time. Hope this helped!!

#thalassa responds #the horned king #ty so much for the ask this was really fun! #might have gone a tad overboard but fuckit #I will gladly chat anatomy and references till sunrise #the black cauldron #disney villains #selfship shenanigans

[itspdameronthings]

Soulmate(Benny Miller)

Summary: Here is part 2 in my soulmate series. All i can say Benny recalls a beautiful memory.There is a surprise !

On a given day Benny usually is home relaxing from a hard day. Up in his shared room with his beautiful soulmate, his Dixie. Person who gets him. Knows what others don't see in public. His sweet personality shines through. Smile that lights up a room. Others see the serious side.  Goal oriented to complete a task. He has scars from his time in the Army. Things he wants to forget.  Thank God for his Dixie. She knows what to do.  Hold him close. Never let him go.  His rock. Today, he is in a reading mood. Pulls out an old journal.  Her journal he reads from time to time.  Does this to remember how they got to this point. Find a particular passage he was looking for. Gets comfortable by sitting in her favorite chair. 

BENNY READING : 

Here I am in my safe place writing to ease my mind. Seems like the only thing I can do to take my mind off what's going on in the world. Not to mention the pain in my ankle.  Clumsy me tripped on a pair of shoes.  In a hurry as usual. Tried to be brave. Withstands the pain! Lost cause! Crying till I see Benny in the doorway. Rushing over to see what happened.  Carried me to my messy bed. Remember what we learned from our health class last week about first aid. Went to get an ice pack. Along with some meds. Also he elevated my foot. Pulls me so close to him. At that moment.  Feel something different in my gut. Something I never felt before.  Love. Not the kind from my family, but how can I explain it! Never felt like this before.  Heart pounding right now.  Hope Benny doesn't know that.  Closed my eyes as I heard the voice of Will yelling," Are you doing up here?! Gonna be late for school! Oh shit what happened?!" Benny tells him about what happened.  Anger subsides.  Goes home to tell his parents about me. After that Will stays with me for a while.  Till he gets up telling Benny to stay . He already missed two classes. Can't miss chemistry.  There is an important experiment he can't miss. He would tell the attendance officer that I got hurt. Benny is out with the flu. A very good excuse. After he left . Went to sleep. 

Woke up sometime later. The Sound of snoring fills my ears. So deep. Yet soothing. Sure I cuddle with him plenty of times.  That is when we were young.  Now? Almost an adult? Shit! Am I falling in love with my best friend? Answer? Yes I Am. Think I have been since.. Don't know the exact moment.  Think it was after a hellish school day. Benny missed practice to stay with me. Went to our favorite spot by the lake. So peaceful.  Thanked him for bringing me here. At that moment.. thought I imagined it.  Benny kissed me! It was amazing! So sweet! Weak in the knees. At that moment.  Finally realized.  Benny James Miller is my soulmate.  Hope he feels the same way. 

Closed the journal to the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood floor.  Her sweet scent feels the room. She comes over to sit on his lap. Head rests on his shoulder, " Need some cuddles with my Benny bear.  I'm so tired. Can't stay awake any longer. Need your scent around me. " Kissed the top of her head. Pull her close to him, " I'll do anything ya want. Be here when ya wake. Like I have always been . By your side.  Nothin has changed. Okay, one thing has changed. Found another part of our heart. Whom we never thought in a million years it would be.." Sound of a deep voice filled the room to interrupt Benny's thoughts. Santiago Garcia.  Who thought him and Dixie would be in a Poly relationship.  Feels so right. Santi kneels down, " Poor baby girl. Looks like she had a hard day.  How about we all snuggle on the bed?" Benny tried to get up. Dixie stirs," Is daddy here? Miss him." Santi chuckles as Benny passes her to him. Snuggling against him, " I'm here little one. Daddy's here. Time to put our doctor to bed hmm?. Want that?" Nodding as she pulls him close," Careful.  Worry about your knees. " Santi looks at her smiling," I'll be careful . " Benny prepares the bed. Placed her in the middle of the bed.  Santi lay  on the left,and Benny on the other. Snuggling against Benny's chest while Santi rubs her neck," We got you baby girl.  Let the stress of the day go. Sleep.  We will be here when you wake." Benny looks at Santi ," Ya know? Never thought.. all those years ago you had those kinds of feelings for me,and Dixie.  Never told us what started that kind of journey." Santi reached for Benny's hand. Gave it a squeeze," I'll tell you. As a bedtime story for later." 

NOTE: I had been sitting on this idea for a while now. At first I wasn't gonna include Santi in it. I thought the first draft should be deleted. Glad I did. I'm happy with this one. I know it's short. Just getting my writing groove back. This year I have lost my passion for writing. Sorry about that.  Hope to write more. 💚💚

#Triple Frontier #benny miller x reader #Garett Hedlund #soulmates

[dia-souls]

Diabolik lovers Angel and Devil Story [ Epilogue ] + CG

Epilogue

Everywhere was full of laughter. A colorful and beautiful world in which I lived happily. It was an endless joy because I had everything. I had wealth, love and family at the same time and I thought I was the happiest person in the world. I loved this happiness and wished it would never end.

Losing everything made me enter darkness for life. But this darkness was not beautiful. This darkness drowned me in an endless nightmare. A nightmare from which there was no escape. All the doors were closed on me and no one could hear my cries and pleas. I was alone in this darkness.

I have never seen the dark color of life. But my life did not remain colorful and happy forever. I was a child who had everything. But I lost all my possessions in just one day. Not only did I lose everything, but I also lost my beliefs.

When I entered this darkness and became even more alone than before, I decided to let go of the only little belief I had left. This belief was the reason for my life until then. And by losing this belief, I will no longer live. I was alive and looked at the world in silence and loneliness. I had lost my faith in love.

Everyone said that love is the only reason for human life. But I no longer live among people as a human being. I was a devil. A devil who is going to take revenge on innocent people because of his bitter past and torture them. Yes, if I cannot live a happy life, then no one has the right to experience a happy life.

When I lost my humanity. I forgot to live as a human being. I forgot all the beliefs of people. I forgot love and kindness and the warmth of a romantic hug.

I was drowned in this darkness and my soul was getting darker and darker in silence every day. My dark heart polluted my soul every day and invited me to more hellish nightmares. These nightmares did not end. Every day these nightmares became more and more frightening and stole the peace of a small dream from me.

In loneliness, I was losing my hope forever, I had come to believe that there is no love and that people only pretend to love, but in reality they are scary demons hiding behind the mask of their fake smiles.

While I was walking towards death on the dark road, I heard a familiar voice from a familiar song. This voice was very beautiful. It was like the voice of an angel. And the song she sings reminds me of my past. This lullaby was very familiar to me. Someone used to whisper this lullaby in my ear and caress my head so that I don't have nightmares.

How is it possible that you also know this lullaby? Why is your voice so beautiful? How can you charm me just by singing a lullaby? I don't know who you are but I know only one thing. And that is that the sound of your lullaby has saved me from death.

This beautiful voice was ringing in my ears in the dark and calling my name. After hearing this voice, I could see the light again. The light that encouraged me to go towards freedom. This was very bright and beautiful. This light was the path to my freedom. The way to free me from my dark heart to return to life and find happiness and love again.

At that moment when I felt that I could no longer live in this world, only one thing could change my mind. It was you. You are my beautiful goddess. You are my dear lover. You were the legendary Eve who saved me from the dark prison of my heart and brought me back to life and gave me your love as a gift.

Every moment I look into your pure and innocent eyes, I see life. You are the reason for my life. You were the one who gave me this happiness and beautiful life. But I did not see it. I was a monster who ignored all your feelings and pure love and left you in the heart of darkness and sadness.

But I came back. I came back because without you I felt that something is missing in my life. Something I can't live without. What made me see the light of love and hope again after being imprisoned in my dark heart. I came back because I know that I need you because you are my Eve.

My destiny was not to be with you. I was not destined to have you for myself. But I don't want to surrender to this fate anymore. Because this is not the fate of you and me. This is not our destiny. I want to stay with you to make our own destiny. I want to stay by your side to change this fate.

The past of both of us is full of sadness and longing. We both lost our families and were lost in loneliness. We were accepting our fate until we found each other and realized how much we love each other.

I searched for your lullaby when I realized that my heart would sink into darkness again without you. The pleasant voice of your lullaby guided me towards the light of freedom. When I reached that light, I saw you. You are the angel who saved me from this darkness and gave me freedom.

After finding you, I came to you to stay close to you. So that I can see your sweet smile again. I came next to you to hug you again and feel the warmth of your arms again. I came forward to kiss your cold and soft lips again and experience the feeling of life again. I came near you to experience this love again.

I don't care what and who wants to take you from me. I will never leave you again. I don't care what my fate is, I will change this fate to stay with you.

I experienced the beauty of life again with you and I don't want to lose this happiness anymore. I want to stay by your side forever and ever. My beautiful Eve. You are my dear angel.

Fate asked us to stay apart, but we overcome this fate and build our family together. We will never be separated again because we will not surrender to this fate.

Yui, my dear Eve, please sing me your lullaby again with your beautiful voice. I want to listen to your sweet voice forever. My dear Yui, please call my name many times, I want to always feel your love for me. Yui, come back to my arms, I want to feel the warmth of your heart forever.

You are my beautiful angel. Please stay with me forever. Let's change our fate and stay together.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yui komori #komori yui #ruki mukami #mukami ruki #ruki x yui #yui x ruki #rukiyui #angel and devil novel #angel and devil epilogue

[alostlittleriverlotus]

like sorry my stating a fact is hurting ur feelings. Why treat me like shit tho?

Random thought brought on by how I will say something and MA reacts. But instead of demonizing me like people have done to me since I was literally fucking 4 years old, she simply asks for reassurance and to use tone indicators or to ask why I said it. Then I explain and it can help her deal with the anxiety and blame and self guilt.

Especially when I'm antisocial and schizoid or get super narcissistic and go "shut the fuck up, this is about ME" it helps them understand that I'm not doing it with bad intentions. I'm just an extremely neglected child all grown up that has had my autism demonized to the point I can't exist without fearing that happening again, it helps. And to be able to go "hey, you're super important and stuff, but I'm feeling extra needy and need attention on ME. Just one of those moods." Or to go "I really don't give a shit and I don't understand it at all. I see no point to why this upsets you, but I hope you know I care and hope you feel better" in the most awkward "I can't relate to people" way ever.

It's just nice to be able to act this way and be rougher and ruder instead of constantly trying to appear good and polite and sweet just for the sake of acceptance. I can say "ya look like shit lol" and it'll make her laugh. I can be antisocial and schizoid as all fucking hell and she'll just laugh at me awkwardly trying to show that what she says is important even if I fail to understand it because she knows I care even if I can't always react the way a neurotypical or empathetic person may react.

All I have to do is explain if requested, give reassurance if requested, and to communicate certain things and I can act how I want. Cause she knows I don't have bad intentions or want to hurt her or be callous to ruin her feelings. I just am. I just exist and experience things outside of the "normal" acceptable way. And since she knows me so well, she doesn't usually get triggered by it at all because she knows that's just how I am, whether it's from how I was meant to be or from trauma and how I grew up in a shitty family and now things are very different for me. It's just nice to be unregulated and thoughtless and cold and analytical without it being demonized for simply existing. It's so nice to be able to be narcissistic and selfish and full of myself and it make her smile and laugh because she loves the way I act. I exist as is and I bring her joy. Even with my "bad" symptoms where I can be mean and snap and get overwhelmed and be demanding amd bossy, she's patient with me as long as I give tone tags to help her with her moral OCD and her self blame. She knows it's because emotions, especially rage, can be a lot for me and I get overwhelmed easily and get meltdowns (especially violent ones) really easily especially with my sensory issues + my physical pain and headaches and such being chronic. It's nice to have someone that isn't like you actually look at you with so much love and adoration. It's weird and gross, but like, I love it too. The smile because of me, the way I make her feel better, the way she looks at me, it fuels my disorders to try even more for her. Because I never want her to stop looking at me. I can be disordered and hellish and other shit and she will listen, try to understand my side, be patient with me, and love me.

Seriously. This is why I love MA more than any other person. It's actually reciprocated. And they will always be mine. So as they give me love and patience and kindness, I shall do the same because that's how I operate. And this precious baby will be spoiled rotten by me with love and cuddles.

Being able to rant about any symptom, show those symptoms, and have someone still see you as a person is something I treasure greatly. It's no wonder MA is so close with me. She fuels my ego so much. The way she looks at me when I'm being histrionic or narcissistic is so beautiful. The way she laughs at me being a goofball when I'm paranoid to try to ease the anxiety and fear surrounding it is adorable. I love making people happy, I love making her happy. I love having that safe person. I'm never letting this one go. Mine. All mine forever. Spoiled rotten.

#safe person #exception person #favorite person #actually narcissistic #actually schizoid #actually antisocial #actually npd #actually aspd #actually szpd #actually histrionic #actually hpd #actually borderline #actually bpd #actually paranoid #actually ppd #actually avoidant #actually avpd #actually obsessive compulsive #actually ocpd #actually schizotypal #actually stpd #severely traumatized #I love this person #disabled #mentally disabled #traumatized #actually traumatized #actually disabled #actually autistic

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

The air around the Grim Reaper suddenly crackled with dormant power.  That was always the first sign. Like a tornado, there were always warnings of the coming danger if you knew what to look for. Lukas may be his father's partner, but there were times over the centuries where the deity of Life had been lethally dangerous and Gee could never forget that. While the Demon Sovereign remained convinced that Life could not take a life or end an existence of a living thing, Gee knew better from experience. There were only a handful of souls over the millennia that had been lost from his records and somehow Lukas had always been the last person to see them before they vanished. Death was always reliable and certain. It followed the rules and no one was exempt from its reach no matter how rich they were or how they begged. Death was predictable; Life was dangerous.

"Lukas, you should have told me you were coming over," Gee called out cautiously. The energy coming from his doorway wasn't threatening, but he could sense Life’s anxiety all the same. This wasn't just a friendly visit; this was a work matter.

"I have Davis' sweater from when he came to visit last week and Leah made-"

"Yeah, yeah, ask your father to help with that, he's retired," Lukas interrupted quickly. "We need to talk."

"About what?" 

Gee sighed, and as a game to save his sanity, he tried to guess the topic at hand.

His father? No, Lukas usually showed up already drunk and with their annoying best friend when they wanted to complain about Death. Something at work? That was harder to guess. Lukas had been better than usual at work the past few decades. They hadn't completely burned down their shared official office space since marrying Death. His reaper teams hadn't reported Life's occasional interference with the living kingdoms so it had to be….

"Demons," the two said together. Gee groaned, crossing his arms irritably.

"You do know that the demons aren't constantly after you, right? We've been down this road before."

"Come tell me that when you've had to reincarnate twice because of demons," Lukas replied defensively, toying with an artifact on Gee's shelf. "They want my power, they'll never stop."

"And has anyone tried since you came back this time? Since you married Dad? How about since you revived your line of champions and have living agents out in the world to report back to you? Or since taking control of your full powers and nearly burning down half of the afterlife because you and Dad were fighting?"

"They could always try again," Lukas muttered but their stepson was tired of having this conversation over and over again.

"And the last demon who tried to take your powers? Are they still around, setting a good example of how to seize powers they can't control?"

"You know they're dead, but that doesn't mean-"

"The last great demonic commander in the Demon Wars isn't dead, he's nothing," Gee snapped. "He doesn't exist, he was wiped clean out of existence into some hellish alternate universe, if he survived at all. And before that? He was driven mad by just touching your lowest abilities. The last person to try to seize your powers, you obliterated yourself with ease. No one is trying to steal your powers, Lukas. Even if they were, you'd just reincarnate again.  Stop worrying about demons."

Lukas paused, toying over their next words and whether it was worth it to share their information with their stepson.

"I can feel it," they said quietly. "Something powerful is growing and I can feel it. It's getting stronger in the old magic and the angels-"

"What about the angels?" Gee demanded. "There's like four of them left and they haven't said anything relevant since the formation of Pleasantview. They're relics, remnants of a broken system. Ignore them."

"They're tied to me, I can't ignore them," Lukas pouted. "They said-"

"Did you watch the workplace training video I sent you?"

"Angels and Demons Are Not Your Enemy or Demons: They're Just Like You? I don’t need workplace training, I can remember how things used to be and who i have control over just fine."

"I'm older than you and I don't remember the old days," Gee remarked dryly. Well, at least Lukas had read the titles of the training. He had made the training for his reaper students, but it never hurt to remind the chaotic deity of how the universe was supposed to function.

"You're only seventy something years older than me," Lukas protested. "That's nothing. Besides, I had a much closer view of things than you did. I know what I know and I know that the demons are planning something. Look at the whiteboard."

Gee frowned.

"What whiteboard?"

"You know, the whiteboard," Lukas replied, gesturing vaguely with their hands. When Gee continued to stare blankly at them, Lukas tried to hide their chuckle. "Your dad never told you? I thought for sure that it'd be covered by your extensive training program."

"Clearly not."

"Let's go to your office upstairs, your father wouldn't want me to discuss this openly."

Gee followed Lukas upstairs to his private office, curiosity getting the better of him despite his hesitation. While it was true that he was older than the deity, Lukas did know a lot more crucial information than he did. Gee had been estranged from his father for centuries and had developed a terrible reputation among his fellow reapers by acting out. There were things Gee's father knew that were older than the universe itself and he absolutely would not divulge them to his son if asked. Lukas' paranoia might be the only way he'd ever learn his father's secrets. 

Lukas locked the office door behind them and took a seat on Gee's desk.

"Okay, how much do you know about deals?" they asked curiously.

Gee shrugged.

"Demon deals? The basics I guess. It's an energy transfer of some kind that demons rely on."

Lukas shook their head quickly.

"Nope. Not what I mean. Where do you get your list of reaper candidates from? When someone dies who is eligible to take your training? How do you find out?"

"A list appears on my desk," Gee replied. "Or sometimes I get a message on my phone. Dad never said where they come from. He said it wasn't any of my business."

Truthfully Gee had always wondered how he received the names of who was to die and when. It was a question that many reaper candidates asked him and Gee had always repeated his father's words to them in reply. It wasn't anyone's business and that was the best he could say.

"It's not. Not really. People think that your father makes the list and he doesn't correct them. He used to receive it just as you do now, though he knew who was sending it. Back in the beginning, way back before even you were born, there was the Universe, your father and my…predecessor. Way back before even demons or teams of reapers existed. Just those three and thousands of angels to govern the living and the dead."

Gee knew the gist of the distant past, or he thought he did. His father governed the dead, working opposite to Life, just as Gee was doing now in his place. The first Life deity had fallen away from his purpose, taking scores of angels with him to pursue power. Life became the devil, the very first demonic sovereign and his followers became demons, sent into exile in the Void the Universe had created to house them. Lukas had come into existence later to take the devil’s place as Life, but their powers spawned from the empty space the devil left behind. Because of this connection, Lukas remained tied to the demons on some level. Demons began as corrupted servants of Life, despite the many differences between them now. He supposed that was why Lukas felt entitled to the handful of remaining angelic beings as well. Lukas was the closest thing they had to the original deity they had served. 

"So the Universe makes the list and decides who lives and dies? What does that have to do with deals or a whiteboard?" Gee sighed. 

"Demons aren't the only creatures that can make deals," Lukas said cryptically. "Your father can too. Apparently he used to play cruel games of chance with the loved ones of someone destined to die. Let them extend their loved one's life slightly longer if they won. It's twisted. It's certainly something he'd yell at me for doing these days anyway. He was a different man back then." 

"And?"

"And if he altered someone's lifetime, then the change had to be recorded somewhere. Back when it was just Life, Death and the Universe governing existence, any message that needed to reach the other deities was written down. The first messages were on a scroll, then a chalkboard and now a whiteboard in modern times. We don't use it often anymore, since your father and I live together and the new Demon Sovereign tends to just ignore us, but it's still there."

"So why has no one told me about this?" Gee asked skeptically. "Shouldn't I have access to something that important? I'm doing Dad's job after all."

Lukas shrugged.

"I guess he didn't think it was important for you to know," they answered. "Your father can be a little…unaware that he's being close minded at times."

"You think?"

With a snap of their fingers, a plain looking whiteboard appeared beside Lukas. Gee tried to hide his interest, but he was obsessed from the moment he'd discovered that his father had hidden this object from him. What was on it? What secrets did it hold? Was this something he could use in the future? 

To the naked eye, the board didn't hold anything supernatural or strange. Sticky notes were added, written in various samples of handwriting. He could see one note from Lukas that listed the school numbers for their children in case of an emergency. One note was a surprisingly spicy reminder from his father that Lukas' father would be looking after the kids for date night. Next to that was a list of seven unfamiliar names, some crossed out and two with stars beside them. It was a rare glimpse behind the wall of secrecy that his parents erected around their private life. If he didn't remember every detail now, Gee was certain that he'd never see this board or its secrets again.

"The Kenukin matter had been resolved," Gee read aloud, startled to see the name of his hated half-brother written in faded ink before him. "What does that mean?"

"Hmm. A bit of business from a few centuries ago, just ignore it," Lukas said quickly. "The important part is in the corner on the right hand side."

Gee tried to limit himself to just that area, but his eyes kept straying.

Natural disaster scheduled for March. Twikkii Island royal family murdered on/near boat. Special meeting of Pleasantview reaper team scheduled. Arkhelios team sent to training so mistakes aren't repeated. Queen Claudia's heir-

"Bottom corner," Lukas called, obviously watching where their stepson was reading. "Most of that is all old anyway. If you snoop too hard, you may run into your dad's and my whiteboard sexting, so snoop at your own risk."

Gee shuddered at the thought of whatever it was that his father thought was sexting. It had been a marvel just to see his idea of being romantic at his and Lukas' wedding. Gee didn't think he could endure finding out what Death thought was sexy. 

List of Untouchable Souls was an interesting title, but no list followed. Finally Gee's eyes rested on what he assumed Lukas wanted him to see.

In the corner was a sticky note in unfamiliar handwriting addressed to Lukas. It was short, simple, and punctuated with a smiley face doodle. 

"Dear Lukas, please update my nephew's file for your records. Theodosius Ulysses Bellamy's true name has become Theodosius Ulysses G Bellamy. I know how dedicated you are to following up on my personal causes and wanted to save you the time. This one's one of my personal favourites. Kisses, Saren B Diablo. That's the demon sovereign's name? And she ends a threatening note with 'kisses'? Bizarre."

"How did you not know her name? Did your father really teach you nothing about your job?" Lukas asked, looking at their stepson like he was an idiot. When Gee responded with a glare, the deity moved on. "Either way, that bitch knows that I'm watching her little science project and something has changed. True names don't change over night and sometimes not even within a human lifespan. I feel something demonic and old awakening and I know this is related to it. The kid's studying blood magic and is descended from a Great Demon, this just screams Saren."

"Why did a G get added?" Gee wondered, scanning the note for clues. "Is he a Maricourt? They're certainly crazy about that letter."

"I don't know, Gee. I was hoping that you could tell me about it."

"Well, don't look at me, ask my dad why my name's Gee," the grim reaper scoffed. "I don't even think I've met this boy, so start your search elsewhere. I can guarantee you that I'm not involved."

Lukas carefully studied their stepson for a lengthy moment. They knew what Gee's name truly was of course, but they were far more interested in his reaction to the question. Gee never used his proper name because it was terrible. Lukas had no idea of why their husband had chosen it in the first place, aside from his proven track record of bizarre choices. 

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Lukas replied with a well practiced casual shrug. "Of course I know what your dad named you, I just wondered if you had a little side project of your own. Maybe a cult of witches determined to worship the Grim Reaper to replace the one that tried to kill you. G could have been a tribute."

"Not that I'm aware of," Gee said flatly, suddenly wishing desperately for this conversation to end. "I can look into this Theodosia kid if it makes you feel better. Saren is probably just trying to seem important again. The kid is probably just an annoying brat that her new wife wants to make feel special."

"Theodosius," Lukas corrected. "The kid has been on her radar before the marriage. Hell, maybe she only married the aunt to get close to the kid, you never know with demons. The kid is strong and if he's truly already capable of magic that can change his name, then he's probably what I've been sensing. Old blood and old magic don't just appear out of nowhere. If he's somehow attached himself to the Maricourts' power, he could be very dangerous."

"And? Are you planning on killing this boy or something? Is that somewhere on this whiteboard? It's unnatural for Life to take a life, even if I suspect that it's possible."

Lukas rolled their eyes.

"No, Gee. Do you know how much trouble I'd be in if I did that? Then I'd end up with an angry, powerful demon in the afterlife, making my own existence hell. It's better to play the long game and see what I can influence as long as he still draws breath."

"And what exactly are you planning? Following the kid around yourself?"

Gee remembered all too well his stepparent's flair for the dramatic and talent for stalking. Lukas showed up nearly everywhere in history, hidden behind a tree or quietly reading a newspaper next to a busy scene. They knew things about just about everyone alive or dead and when they weren't stealing priceless jewelry from the various monarchs of the living world, Lukas could usually be found lurking in the shadows. They had a talent for "research", one that only Death could ever see through, though Lukas' main disguise usually featured red hair and glasses.

"What do you think? A war breaking out or family drama or both? Usually it's both."

Leah stood in the hallway, eavesdropping on her husband's meeting. She was Gee's only wife but there were four husbands in their polycule. Ben had been Gee's first spouse back when Ben was alive, but Death forced them to break up after Ben's death. Now that Gee could stand up to his father, Ben had gradually been reintroduced into family life. As he and Leah were Gee's only dead spouses, they were usually the ones who heard all of the gossip.

"It sounds like Lukas is up to their usual tricks," Ben replied. "I'm voting for terrible disguise that ends up with them stealing anything shiny nearby. You never saw them before the Demon Wars. They were unhinged."

Leah had been born in the Demon Wars long ago, but she could guess how Lukas had been. They had five kids with a reaper woman to spite Death's rejection of their advances, and then had a messy affair with the afterlife office's secretary when Leah first encountered them. Her own husband had been just as bad until she came into his life. Death and his reapers all needed a stern person to guide them away from destroying themselves. She had no idea what Lukas needed to stay out of trouble, aside from Death's gentle nudging. They were a complicated family.

Gee frowned as Lukas disappeared into thin air, taking the mystic whiteboard with them. Gee had wanted to scour the object to look for clues about his father, but as usual, he and Lukas were determined to keep their secrets. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to warn his father about whatever Lukas was planning or just wait for the inevitable disaster to begin. No doubt Lukas would begin stalking this child, possibly involving an angel if they could. Who could say if this plan wasn't playing into the Demon Sovereign's own plans for this child? There certainly wasn't much love lost between the two of them.

He would put a warning out to his reapers to watch for Lukas' plan; that might help the matter. This poor demon kid had no idea of what was coming his way.

#sims 2 #arkhelios #lukas lane #gee spector #sim grim reaper #arkhelios adventures #sims 2 pictures

[hazyaltcare]

Can we get some positivity? (This is also kind of a confession of sorts, about feeling like an imposter/attention seeker for not having the typical dissociative disorder/system experience)

We're a system that almost never uses we, or thinks of ourselves as a system. We think of ourselves more like a fusion from steven universe, one person most of the time, and multiple people when we need to be. We just feel really insecure in our plurality and identity as a system.

We like thinking of ourselves as one person, it helps us feel and be more functional. We like being referred to by the body's name, most of us identify with the body in some way, shape, or form. We feel like we're faking it by not hating the body and liking being treated as one person.

We feel like we aren't a system because our disorder only causes mild distress, not the horrible experience most systems seem to have with it.

We also feel insecure about our innerworld. It looks like the control panel/riley's innerworld from inside out, and it makes us feel like we're faking it. We feel like we embody stereotypes way too much, so much so that we feel like we made up being a system for attention; even though we're only open about it to 4 people.

(Sorry for the multiple topics/disjointed subject matter, we had a lot we needed to get out)

You can. Thank you for your confession - we're proud of you for coming to us with this.

Impostor syndrome is a hellish companion. When there's a narrative on how to be plural the right way, it rears its head, and your feelings are very valid - but we believe you won't be defeated by it.

Sometimes, if we need to defeat our own insecurity that stems from external sources, we ask ourselves: Who made that narrative? The medical complex, or maybe the most popular plural blogs. Who does it benefit? Not you, Anon, and not people in the fringes like non-disordered systems, not spiritual systems, not soulbonders or tulpamancers or muses, not systems whose members have wildly differing opinions. It doesn't benefit individual systems - it's an (over)simplification of a complex, multi-layered experience that spans a long history.

And narratives are just that: narratives. They do not account for the diversity in the plural spectrum. There are medians who feel more like facets or AU versions of one person, and empty systems who are alone but can or want to be plural in the future, and polyplexes with multiple systems in one body... those narratives don't define people, and it shouldn't.

You're more than a narrative. You're a person, and you're allowed to be complicated and messy and not fit the mold. You can be whatever you want, and you should be whatever/whomever feels most comfortable to you. Because no, you're not "making it up for attention" - you're plural for yourself! You're not faking for being different, from being yourself. You're allowed to like the body and identify with it.

(Besides, wanting attention is not a bad thing. It's a need that should be fulfilled, and we're glad you have those 4 people you trust with your true self.

Moreover, if you just want the attention, I think you'd probably be get more "positive" attention from following the narrative, and you're certainly not doing that, from what I know about your system's uniqueness.)

Also, jumping off from the fact that plurality is a spectrum, many systems do identify as a single person in parts, or as a fusion, like you. It's a good way to be. You're allowed to exist, and should be allowed to live without judgment. You can slide from being One to Many as needed - plurality also fulfills an adaptive need sometimes, and it's good that you work this way.

Speaking of "adaptation"... your disorder being "lighter than others" is part of the fact that your plurality, the way you are, works for you. And we reiterate: you do not have to follow the narrative that all plurals, particularly those with a dissociative disorder, are suffering, hate themselves, can't be functional, hate being plural, etc..

You don't have to be or perform suffering for your system or your disorder to matter.

Your inner world being based on a cartoon doesn't make it fake, either - I've heard of Star Trek cockpit headspaces, for example - being "stereotypical" does not undo your existence. Having interests that are reflected in your inner world isn't a shameful thing.

You're not hurting anyone by being yourself/ves. You're not hurting yourselves by it, too, you say you function better this way. What right do other people have to tell you that you're doing it wrong? They don't know what's going on in your head, and they should not presume jack shit.

I hope this helps at least a little. Please take care of yourself/ves.

Mod Vintage (⭕ & AC)

#anonymous #positivity #system positivity #confession #mod vintage #⭕ #AC

[picklebunbun]

Heyyy, I'm here for a request, platonic because I just think I'm extremely cute for not doing it!

Could you do a Flippy/Fliqpy with their lesbian best friend and reader who, as a very arrogant and childish but sweet and kind personality, was forcefully married to a really violent man for years by her parents because they can't accept that she likes girls

Flippy/Flipqy + comphet lesbian! Reader hcs

❁

———————༻☁︎︎✿☁︎︎༺———————

hcs or oneshot/series: headcanons

fem! reader, feminine terms, you/yours pronouns

genre: pretty angsty, but there is fluff dw

romantic/platonic?: platonic

fandom: happy tree friends

cw: domestic abvs3/viol3nc3, homophobia, mentions of bruises, misogyny which causes reader to get physically ass@ulted

(angel’s note🪽: aghh ! I’m sorry for not responding to y’all’s requests for so long,, I have to practice this thing for english since english isn’t my mother tongue, btw the scenario is last btw. This request is actually pretty sad, AND I LOVE IT !! Anyways, enough talking, here)

~~~

Flippy hc’s

at first, when he saw you, he honestly thought you were a bit egotistical. It was until he actually took the chance to meet you that he realized how sweet you were

you are such a hoy to be around, in the whole god-forsaken town he could actually be around you when he goes into a violent killing spree, and he always sees that your safe

when you said you were a lesbian he was very supportive, even asking if you had a girlfriend or a wife

though, when he asked that question you seemed to be a bit anxious

you admitted that you had a husband, but it wasn’t like you were actually in love with him, your parents just set you up with him because, well, they just don’t like the fact that you’re a lesbian

coming out to them was a hellish experience, it made it hard to actually trust anyone with your secret

don’t get me wrong, Flippy was extremely confused, like why would you marry a man if you don’t even like them? It was only when you explained to him why and what comphet was

over a period of time, he saw you patch yourself up, everytime it was something different, whether it’d be your wrist, eye or your whole neck and collarbone

it was an understatement to say that he was worried, it didn’t take long to figure out the situations you found yourself with your husband

he was extremely mad, you has to physically stop him from murdering your husband (bless your heart because I would’ve let him end the bastard in a heartbeat). You were like a little sister, you mean so much to him, it’s scary to think that one day the son of a [can’t say bad words] would go too far and you’d be 6 feet under

it’s okay though because when you finally can’t take it anymore, he’ll always have a weapon ready ⁂ (or he’ll call the police idk)

~~~

Flipqy hc’s

actually injures your husband, like not even joking

he sees him as a enemy so he’ll treat him like an enemy

stops only if you forcefully push him off, but no one can escape Flipqy, so just be prepared when he comes into your house and you see a dead corpse next to you

you are so tooth-rottenly nice, why would anyone hurt you. The only ones who would hurt you are apathetic blood-sucking psychopaths (which could be Flipqy but he actually likes you so)

your childlike personality kind of freaked him out, it was like dealing with a little kid. Flipqy wasn’t that good around kids, his system is only “kill or be killed”

maybe it was just a cover from the burden you carry on your back but it’s not like it was your fault, besides, it shouldn’t even bother him

Flipqy got some time getting used to you especially with your cockiness, he thought you were annoying at first, maybe he attempted to stab you, maybe not, idk

but when he finally trusted you, he made it his mission to protect you. Since Flipqy only knows about the war he basically saw you as a comrade, someone actually worth protecting

~~~

scenario:

italics: thinking, bold: yelling

this situation made you way nervous than you should’ve been. You were about to come out to your best friend. You were a lesbian, you have been for a long time, marrying men just didn’t appeal to you when you were younger and it definitely didn’t interest you as you got older. Your parents on the other hand didn’t like the fact that you were showing interest in other girl, they said “in order to be a proper lady, you have to marry a man”, what a joke.

You wanted to meet for coffee, just to get out of the house. It was so scary being around your husband. Some days, you don’t know if he’ll outright choke you or break a chair from how angry he gets.

“hey, [name]!”

“oh! hi flippy!!”

You ran up and hugged him, he embraced your tackled by hugging you back

“didn’t you want to talk about something? You sounded a bit nervous on the phone..”

“uhh, ya! let’s sit down”

You bit your lip, you were stressing out, obviously, Flippy wouldn’t judge but it was that 1% of doubt in your brain that made you think otherwise. You fiddled with your fingers

“did you already order for us?”

“huh? Oh! Yeah I did! I’m just great like that”

Flippy chuckled, you returned that gesture with a warm smile, but then it immediately changed into a frown

“something’s on your mind.. what is it?”

you exhaled, Flippy straightened his posture, it must’ve been something important

“I know you said that you’d never judge me… so.. there’s something I have to get off my chest. I am a lesbian, I like girls, wlw, and I knowthatitmightbewrongbutIjustcan’thelpit-“

“-woah woah calm down, the only part I caught was the fact that you were a lesbian”

“.. yes.. I am, I’m just a bit scared that you won’t accept me just because-“

“what? That’s crazy, I don’t care what sexuality you are! I’m not even the one dating you, it shouldn’t matter”

Those were the words you were you waiting to hear. You didn’t have to worry about it anymore

“so, do you have a girlfriend yet?”

~~~

[storybookprincess]

Hi Liv. I happened to stumble across your blog via some of your writing inspiration posts and they really touched me. I'm not sure if you really offer advice or anything, but if you do I could use a little bit. I went to college for creative writing and got my degree 5 years ago... but ever since then I have just never been able to write. I hate my writing, I can't put ideas together. Nothing. Would you know anything to help? Even if not, thank you for offering such comfort about writing. <3

i apologize for taking over a month to get to this ask--february was a truly hellish month for me in terms of health/medical stuff & i didn't have the energy to be online very much

i'm not sure if this particular approach will be helpful, but something i'm trying to do lately is look at pieces of my writing not as an extension of myself, but as a product i've created. this might sound counterintuitive to the creative process, but i disagree. i think so often our inner critic convinces us that our writing is us. if a piece of writing isn't good, we're not good. flaws in a story are actually flaws in ourselves. and i think, depending on the creative writing program, your education may have unintentionally cultivated this particular mindset

to me, so much of writer's block is fundamentally fear. literally speaking, we can always write. we can perform the act of putting words on paper. but when that critical voice becomes overwhelming, it frightens us to the point of paralysis. we become so terrified that our writing won't be good, and that we therefore won't be good, that we can't do anything creative

it's extremely difficult to separate our art from ourselves, but it's also extremely important. i try to look at writing as i would look at a different creative pursuit. if, say, a garment i tried to sew came out an unwearable disaster, i don't think i'd assign very much psychological weight to it. i might try to figure out what went wrong & how to fix it, i might try to learn from the experience for next time, or i might just throw it out because i don't think it's worth the time & effort to salvage. but i definitely wouldn't go "if this garment is a failure, i'm a failure." so i try not to do that with writing, either

it's hard, because writing is inherently so personal, but you've gotta remember that your writing isn't you. it's something you made, perhaps something you put a lot of personal emotions & thoughts into, but it's not you. good writing certainly doesn't equal a good person, so bad writing doesn't either

good luck, my friend!! keep hanging in there!!!

#Anonymous #asked and answered #big sister advice #an accidental fandom advice columnist

[emeraldtach]

If the #SaveTF2 sequel doesn't do anything, this will be the sixth year without any major content update.

Jungle Inferno released from October 16th to October 20th, 2017.

In those six years, the most major updates we've gotten was Valve adding a "new" gamemode that's been a well-known community gamemode for over a decade at the time of release. (Versus Saxton Hale originally released as a community gamemode in January 2011.)

The VSH gamemode was very popular on release, but it was considerably unbalanced. Valve made a decent few attempts to balance the mode, and then decided it was good enough, and stopped.

For Halloween they released another community gamemode, Zombie Survival. Where RED team must survive a horde of infected BLU team. The BLU team is all zombies, each class has its own unique abilities.

It is basically a worse version of the Versus mode in Left 4 Dead 2. The maps were massively unfair. You'd have to actively try to lose as RED team. As long as you had a room with one entrance and five Engineers, you'd be golden. Again, drastically unbalanced.

And then for Christmas, instead of a new gamemode like previously, we got hats (as usual), community made maps, and also Krampus. Which is basically one of the Scream Fortress maps where Merasmus or the HHH spawns after a bit, and both teams have to kill him.

Instead of it being a halloween themed boss, it was Krampus. A decently well made model, and a fair challenge for the server when he would spawn.

For the first two times.

Krampus spawns multiple times per round. And when he does, the teams aren't forced to stop killing each other. You can still kill as many opposing players as possible. So Krampus becomes less of a boss and more of a stage hazard. An annoyance.

So why do #SaveTF2? Things looked pretty decent update-wise in 2023, right?

Not really. The bot problem was the worst it has been since it started.

There was a time where any time I tried to boot into a game of casual anything, I would find myself in a lobby of maybe one or two real players, and fourteen sniper bots.

Okay, but you're still getting updates?

Yes, but firstly, that is the bare minimum of having an online game like TF2, and secondly we would typically get Smissmas and Scream Fortress updates regardless. The difference being is that they put a semi-decent gamemode with their usual cosmetic updates.

I understand Valve is a very busy company. Who knows what they're working on? Maybe they're finally working on Half-Life: Barney, where you try to get beer for your buddy Gordon Freeman. Using neural technology to make your brain part of the game more than ever before.

But if what people say is true, and that there's only ever one person working on TF2 consistently, then I can't help but fear that our highly anticipated Heavy Update and potential conclusion to the TF2 story will never come.

But why is there only one person? Is Valve's money printer not important enough to hire people who want to work on TF2? They've hired volunteers, mod developers, and other kinds of people of the sort. There's a big group out there with experience who would kill to work on TF2 and it's torturous source code.

So the #SaveTF2 sequel isn't the same as the first attempt. We were very peaceful. The official TF2 twitter gave us one tweet as a response and called it a day. And we were okay with that. But not anymore. We want action. We want their words to be proven. We want our beloved 16-year-old hellish game to be playable. Regardless of what it takes.

#txt #stel post #team fortress 2 #tf2 #long text #rant

[lady-jane-asher]

Jane Asher and Gerald Scarfe photographed at home, 1987.

Part 1 out of 2.

WHY DONT WE CARE

Of course most people would say that we do— but actress Jane Asher knows different. She knows only too well how a moment's carelessness can put your child in danger. And in her new book, she asks why we don't do more to keep our children safe. Mary Fletcher reports. Picture by Sandra Lousada.

Jane Asher sweeps in the front door, dumps a bag of supermarket shopping in one corner, rings her cartoonist husband Gerald Scarfe in his studio upstairs to tell him she's home, checks for messages, pats the dog, and removes the children's toys from the sofa. As one of those energetic people who likes to do several things at once, she has been up since seven, made breakfast for Katie, 14, Alexander, six and four-year-old Rory, driven them to school, done a telephone interview, spent the rest of the morning at her publisher's and been to Marks and Spencer to buy Gerald a pair of trousers. Now, with an hour to spare before another school run, she can sit down in her beautiful Chelsea home and chat. But you get the feeling she'd much prefer to be doing something useful, like icing a cake, learning a script or whipping up a gourmet dinner for six. Preferably all at the same time.

Since her mother took her to an acting agent at the age of five, largely because she was bright, pretty and had flame-coloured hair, Jane has never stopped doing things. She would have you believe she's totally inefficient. Yet it's hard to believe that being actress, author, columnist, charity worker, wife and mother all just get squeezed into her life higgledy-piggledy. "I'm always in a muddle. I rush from one thing to another and never quite get anything done,” she says unconvincingly.

“Gerald laughs when he sees me being called Superwoman because he knows what I'm like when I'm in a bad mood, rushing around shouting at the children and he's eating cornflakes for lunch!"

According to Jane, even child-rearing is being accomplished only by absentmindedly dropping one now and then, or having another one break bone by falling off a bike or a playhouse. It's reassuring to hear her say she's not the perfect mother. Otherwise her eighth and latest book might read like a guilt inducing lecture. Called Keep Your Baby Safe, it sets out every calamity that could possibly befall a baby up to the age of three: choking, cot death, concussion and cat scratches, dehydration, diarrhoea, dog bites, drowning. stings, snake bites, scalds, and sunburn.

As a list of all the ghastly things that can happen to a toddler, it's enough to put you off starting a family for all time. Which is certainly not Jane's intention.

She wrote it because she was asked and has ended up enormously proud of a handbook, which she hopes, unlike her fun books on cake decoration and fancy dress, might actually do some good. "It's difficult to mention everything that could cause an accident without making it seem as if life's not worth trying,” she says. "I've tried to keep the tone light, but at the same time I felt I had to put everything in. "You'd be a saint if you brought your children up without anything ever happening to them. You can't be vigilant every single second and there are some accidents that, no matter how careful you are, will happen anyway. But if the book helps to stop even one tragedy, then I feel it will have been worthwhile.”

As a mother of three, Jane admits to personal experience of at least some of the disasters she advises others to avoid. Even while writing the book, her son Alexander suffered a broken elbow and Rory a scalded foot. “ It's awful when you start looking back -you sound like some hopeless parent permanently tripping over them and throwing them downstairs," she says. "But you'd do anything to avoid your child being in pain. When Alexander broke his elbow, the feeling I had as a mother was m indescribable. It was the most hellish time of my life. When he was in the hospital screaming in agony, the sense of helplessness was absolutely ghastly the worst possible thing one could imagine. I remember my mother always said how she wished she could have the pain for us and I knew then exactly what she meant. Somehow the guilt of knowing that perhaps you could have prevented it makes it worse." Alexander's elbow is now back in working order, but the accident reinforced Jane's belief that not enough attention is paid to child safety.

(continued in the next post).

#jane asher #gerald scarfe #mother #80s #1987 #article #motherhood #book #the beatles #beatles girls #beatles girl #beatles women #redhead #red hair #lady jane asher #something about jane asher #ebay