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stayatsam · 5 months

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Feeling blue (OC)

#art #oc #lao #trans #gay #idk what to tag bu that's what it is #blue period #tag for this series if i continue it .#again seniors discount if you remember when i drew all these

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aq2003 · 5 months

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really love how throughout a lot of smith and jones martha is really skeptical and apprehensive towards ten (+ one of my favorite exchanges between them - "what, people call you 'the doctor'?" "yeah?" "well, i'm not. far as i'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."), not taking everything he says at face value, even doubting the fact he's an alien until over halfway through the episode.. And like. i really truly think the thing that wins her over isn't him kissing her or any of the other insane mixed messages he manages to send, it's this scene here, where he /earns that title/ in her eyes:

(+ david's bit in the commentary, where he says: "[the doctor] has actually sacrificed himself, and - i would say, that that final act of selflessness is what finally, eventually, welds martha to him. [...] and she now returns it. she returns that act of selflessness.")

this is what their relationship is built on. it isn't about martha being the second-best replacement to rose or a rebound or whatever. bc it isn't really about rose. it's about doctor-in-training martha meeting someone (quite literally, "the doctor") whose ideals she aspires to, and doing her best to be the same person to him as he is to everyone else. it's about ten in return admiring her intelligence and inquisitiveness and how she cares for human life, recovering his compassion, letting himself lean on her for support - and then remembering at the most inopportune moments that he's supposed to not need anyone and be on his own forever. And around in their little nightmare loop they go where they save each other over and over until one of them breaks

i've seen ppl look at martha and go "why she does she admire/why is she so in love with ten if he acts like that to her?" or something along those lines and like. it's not just the fact she's in love with him (in fact i'd argue she actively tries to push it aside post-gridlock). it's the fact that she knows he's the kind of person to put everyone else's lives/well-being over his own. she trusts him to save her when she's in trouble even though it's been like two days at most that they've known one another bc she recognizes that same "deep all-encompassing drive to help others" in him. and she also recognizes, much much earlier than him, that he needs someone to save him, especially when he's unwilling to save himself. and yeah for a bit she thinks he returns her feelings and is just playing hard-to-get, but she realizes pretty early on that this probably isn't the case, and i think that realization fully solidifies here:

(this is when she's listening to ten talk abt gallifrey). And idk it might just be me but i think this expression isn't just her empathizing with his loss. it's also guilt, for wanting something from him that he's clearly unable to give when he's wracked with so much grief. (and you see it in the next episode, where tallulah asks if they're together and martha says for certain that they're not, and that he doesn't know about her feelings for him. she keeps everything to herself bc she now knows that when he shut her flirting down at the end of 3x01 it was the genuine reaction of someone who a) isn't interested and b) is scared of getting close with someone else again)

freema described their dynamic as "she's keener than him" and i think about this all the time. martha doesn't really take what ten throws at her. what she does instead is constantly poke holes in his already-failing front of "i will show someone the wonders of the universe so i can ignore what is wrong with me". what she does is stand up and fight him when he tries to go off on his own. what she does is put aside her well-being in favor of helping someone - just like what she saw him do for the people in the hospital when they first met. tldr, that's the doctor and his doctor and rip martha you would've loved who's gonna save u now by rina sawayama

#THIS ISNT ABOUT ROSE WE CAN STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT WHITE GIRL FOR 1 SECOND. IDC #ALL SHE DOES W REGARDS TO MARTHA IS REMIND HER THAT TEN ISNT GOING TO FALL IN LOVE W HER.#ALL SHE DOES W REGARDS TO TEN IS REMIND HIM THAT EVERY TIME HE LOVES SOMEONE HES FATED TO LOSE THEM. WE CAN IGNORE HER PAST THIS. GBLESS #martha jones #tenth doctor #dr who #ten and martha #'theyre like a rebound' shooting you with my laser eyes sorry. martha says it when she still thinks he's taking her on dates #if he hadn't opened up about gallifrey she would've been totally fine w him taking her back home #and meanwhile ten is very unaware of any kind of romantic element until like the fuckinn. last possible moment lmfao #they are doctor and mentally unstable bus driver. Or perhaps grieving man (genderneutral) and their One (1) friend that has to support them #um idk what this post is. i wanted to pick apart martha's brain for a hot second.#edit:#it's not like 5 am and i'm reading these tags and they're a lot more mean than i meant to put them down as #Not changing them bc i already wrote so much it's out there in the world already sorry. just imagine i'm saying this all nicely #10 era

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a-little-unsteddie · 22 days

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rated m for mature themes. allusions to sex, but no sex, and references to drugs/alcohol

so i had a thought of like. sex worker!steve and famous!corroded coffin? please forgive the inaccuracy of party bus happenings, i have never not even once been in one. anyway. corroded coffin just got platinum or something for their album, maybe it was their first official album or maybe it was their second or third album who knows but! it is their first ever platinum and to celebrate chrissy (their manager) rents a party bus as a surprise with both male and female sex workers, and steve is one of them, lots of alcohol, no drugs harder than weed, wayne had kept eddie on the straight and narrow thus far.

it was just the band + chrissy, + their driver/security combo hopper, and then the three or four dancers. steve and eddie instantly click, steve having a good idea of who eddie was as part of the preparation before this specific party bus.

it wasn’t unusual for celebrities to rent the buses, so steve thought he was prepared for whatever the night had for him. except eddie immediately trips upon seeing steve because of how distracted he is by the prettiest boy he’s ever seen in his lifeand steve is immediately endeared, helping him stand back up with an amused smile.

“careful, baby, don’t wanna damage that pretty face of yours,” he says, watching in glee as eddie flushes at the words, and struggles to put together anything coherent for a moment before regaining his composure.

“sorry, sweet thing, i was blinded by your beauty,” he freely admitted, a flirtatious smile adorning his face. steve laughs sweetly, and eddie knows that he wants to be the cause of that laugh as much as possible.

the rest of the band (+ chrissy and hopper and the other dancers) watches on in exasperation as they proceed to spend the rest of the night flirting and dancing around each other, steve not willing to go further then some light petting before the end of his shift, eddie desperate to get his hands on steve properly, but loves the sweet dance that they’re doing too much to push for more, definitely understanding steve’s hesitation.

come morning they’re ready to pounce on each other and the moment that steve is technically off the clock he demands eddie to tske him to his hotel room so they can have some real fun.

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the-chosen-half-of-one · 2 years

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You’ve heard of “rotating blorbos around in your mind,” now get ready for “rotating just the most random phrases you’ve ever heard or seen.” Now with the added bonus of: the broken record function, which lets you experience the magic of repeating the phrase internally on loop forever with no clue as to why and no way of stopping it no matter the relevancy to current circumstance or situation!

#I can’t get would that this hoodie were a time hoodie out of my head all of a sudden #I don’t know why why would that phrase stick?? of all possible phrases #I keep repeating it to myself and like ???#is this an adhd thing?#it reminds me of what Brick does in the Middle repeating things he’s heard kind of involuntarily just getting stuck on them #like the you’re gonna love our pizza ep #one of the other phrases currently on endless loop mode of rotation in my head is just that post that says mental eelness with an eel photo #so make of that what you will #Idk what to tag this as #rotating in my head #neurodivergence #probably #I remember as a kid the end of the emperors new school theme would just go kuzco kuzco go go constantly on the bus

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stinkypeanutbutter · 11 days

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he borrowed Logan’s glasses cause he forget his contacts .

anyway there are too many things I want to DRAW NYOW !!!! All these things red has given us are too mucu for me to not give in and doodle I’m going INSANE !!!!!!! 🤯🤯💥💥

also ——

#RED WHEN I CATCH YOU !!!!!#I’m gonna draw so many of those it isn’t funny STOP DOJG THSI TO ME !!!!#I never had this strong of an urge to draw fanart it’s cray cray #🤯🤯🤯#he might not but I WILL #NERDDDDDD !!!!!!#I need to cut my toenails ngl #I’m gonna shower I’m a little shmelly #Did you guys know that ripping off a human ear is the equivalent of crushing a soda can #What do you mean you didn’t scroll down here to see this ????#Idk what your talking about #Going through my tags is like going through a jungle gym but all of them are 8 year olds with adhd maybe autism and sugar deprivation #Sugar deprivation as in they ONLY had two bowls of candy this morning and not 10 #Rah rah ah ah ah ro ma ah ah ah Gaga Oo la la #Sing if u know the lyrics in the comment section teehee #school bus graveyard #sbg #sbg (webtoon)#aiden clark #school bus graveyard webtoon #art

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primalmagic · 3 days

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when horror movies become therapy

it's been a year after the webtoon's final events, and the gang still can't watch real horror movies.

OR a sbg future au consisting purely of fluff, sleepovers, and, well, horror movies.

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You would think, that one year later, things would have settled down. That everyone would be trying to get their lives back together, figure things out, and leave the past far, far, behind them.

The truth could not be farther from that.

The six of them have huddled together on Ashlyn's slightly bouncy couch, watching a crappy horror movie that was way too loud and way too flashy.

Watching horror movies had become a tradition between them, like a "take that" to everything they'd been through. It was a slow climb, sure, but it was something to do, and it made them all feel a little bit accomplished. Not being scared of another movie felt like giving a middle finger to the horror movie they lived through- almost like a step towards being... normal again.

Plus, they got to do it together.

"Someday," Taylor mutters, "We'll have the guts to go and watch a real horror film without freaking out."

Aiden snorts, shifting on the couch to avoid being squished between Tyler and Ashlyn. "Please, you wouldn't last ten seconds in an actual movie theatre."

She flicks him in the shoulder and sighs in pretend exasperation, "Please, you didn't last ten seconds in an actual movie theatre." She retorts, raising her eyebrows.

Aiden looks away, slightly red and embarrassed, "That was like, three months ago! And it was scary, okay? The ghoul thing looked like a phantom. There's no way you weren't scared too."

She can't deny that she'd also been freaking out, but Aiden's vocal reaction had made the entire group laugh for hours. He'd gotten up on his chair and screamed curses at the theatre screen, then spider-jumped two rows down and bounced outside. No, literally, he was practically hopping, flailing his arms and running out the door like an Olympic sprinter. He denies it, for some reason, justifying it with a flick of his hand and an insistence of it being only for the dramatics.

"Never said we weren't scared," Ashlyn blurts, grabbing a handful of sweet-and-salty popcorn out of an oddly geometrically decorated bowl, "Just sayin' that you didn't need to run out like Logan did when we first met him."

Logan squawks indignantly, "I did not run when I first met you!" He gets up to snatch some popcorn from Ashlyn's bowl, and makes an unpleasant face when he pops one into his mouth. "God, this is like if table salt and caramel had a baby, and then left it alone in a cornfield for a century."

"It's delicious," Ashlyn frowns, "You're taste buds are just deformed."

"I-"

"Guys," Tyler groans, "Can we just watch the fucking movie?"

Aiden leans over to ruffle his hair, causing Tyler to squeak and try to move away. "Aw, poor Tyler," He snickers, "I think he's enjoying the movie. We should all be quiet and let him watch it, then."

"I'm not!" He protests, because the film is terrible and it would be incredibly embarrassing to enjoy it, "I just want you guys to shut up."

Taylor frowns, "No you don't," She declares, definitively.

He groans, "Either you guys watch the movie and shut up, or you turn off the movie and complain about disfigured salt babies for hours. There is no in-between."

Ben types something on his iPad and raises it for the rest to see, Both, please, and thank you. He smirks slightly, clearly proud of pissing Tyler off.

He groans, "You guys are exhausting, I'm leaving. I have to get to practice early tomorrow anyway."

"No!" Aiden screams, launching himself at the tired boy, "You are not allowed to leave, buddy. You are being held hostage by the Phantom Busters, please do not rebel in any form or way."

"I... plead the fifth?" He blinks, knowing that there isn't any way out of this.

"We're having a sleepover," Logan declares, "No negotiations necessary. Or allowed."

Tyler rolls his eyes, but his irritated persona is broken when he smiles, "Yeah, sure, fine, whatever."

Ashlyn grabs another handful of popcorn, "You know, you do have to ask the person whose house it is if you want to have a sleepover, right?"

"Nope," Aiden shrugs, "But I asked your mom already."

She snorts, throwing a piece of popcorn at him, "When the hell did you do that?"

It lands in Taylor's hair, and she swats it off quickly.

"Like, right before we started the movie? You just didn't see me 'cause I'm a fucking ninja," He finger-guns her and swirls around, "Now, if you will excuse me, I must notify my parents that they are free of another morning with me."

The movie has stopped playing, and when Ashlyn finally notices, she furrows her eyebrows, "When the hell did the movie turn off?"

Ben waves the remote and throws it to Aiden, who just put his phone down.

"It's been confisticated," Aiden declares, punching his hand in the air like he's holding a gold medal instead of a TV remote.

Logan sighs, "Confiscated," he corrects.

"That's what I fucking said!"

"Whatever," Taylor waves him off, "We can finish the movie tomorrow. You guys want to play charades?"

"Can I be a clown?"

She sighs, "It doesn't work like tha-"

"Don't worry, Aiden, you don't need to pretend," Tyler grins, then ducks away from the popcorn kernel Aiden chucks at him.

"I hate you," He snaps back, with no heat behind his words.

"Ditto," He replies, still basking in the warmth of Aiden's rage.

The blonde calms down rather quickly, or at least he hides his anger as fast as possible. "You know what, thank you. I am a wonderful clown and as I stand here today, I demand justice for all the clowns in the world! You have wronged them, Sir Tyler of the Hernandez." He bows dramatically.

Taylor wheezes, "I need to get that printed on a T-shirt, oh my god."

Aiden nods rapidly, "Oh my god, absolutely, we need matching T-shirts and like, earrings."

You don't even have your ears pierced. Ben types, sharing an amused glance with Logan.

"What about the clip-on things? We could totally get that!!"

Tyler flops back onto the couch, nearly knocking into Logan, who pushes him away lightly. "Aiden, you have too much energy right now, and it's almost midnight. Can we sleep now?"

Aiden looks at him like he's insane, "Who goes to sleep during a sleepover?"

"Me. Good night, Aiden," Tyler smiles, amused.

"Fine," He grumbles, "Let's get the sleeping bags out."

The fact that they all had sleeping bags at Ashlyn's house only proved that they had slept over way too many times to count. Not that she minded though, it was nice having people around, and now that she was comfortable with them, it was almost relaxing.

Sure, it got tiring sometimes, but it was a small price to pay.

Besides, without them, who else would she watch horror movies with?

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yeyayeya · 2 months

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Does anyone have any recommendations for any Baihe (GL) novels? I’ve read a decent amount of Danmei, and I’ve been really wanting to read some Baihe too.

Aside from Female General & Eldest Princess and Clear and Muddy Loss of Love, which I will get to eventually, is there any other novels that are good?

On a separate note, how good is Ballad of Sword and Wine (QJJ)? Is it worth reading?

I want to read more Danmei and Baihe since I am now in a rabbit hole.

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abitterberryblog · 2 months

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hihi guys before i post anything too crazy here's another drawing that i thinkkk deserves its own spot :D

.

this time it's aiden and he's drilling a phantom. why? because when i first read episode 15 i thought he was DRILLING into the phantom and i didn't know he was using CHEMICALS

and when i drew the aiden thing i looked up the scene for reference.

and that's when i realized i drew the wrong thing. and i felt a little stupid (and blind). BUTTT i decided that idea of aiden drilling a phantom was too funny and i didn't want to pass up the opportunity aka i drew the sketch already and didnt want to redo it

even though this art is a little (?) older than the ashlyn art i posted a while ago, i still like the drawing and i hope you do :D

#aiden clark #school bus graveyard #sbg #sbg art #sbg aiden #school bus graveyard fanart #my art #art #school bus graveyard aiden #digital art #aiden clark fanart #sbg aiden fanart #fanart #idk what else to tag i just hope people find this #yipee #he's my comfort character #just like me fr

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15minlatewithbatbucks · 9 months

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In the League of Assassins, to return home to find one's personal quarters breached, door ajar, is a violation of the highest order - a threat, a declaration of war all rolled into one.

In Wayne Manor, it was WORSE.

Damian stood in the hallway, backpack clenched in one hand, glaring at his bedroom door with everything he had. In a just world, the door would have the decency to at least burst into flames. Alas, it did not and Damian came no closer to developing x-ray vision in the intervening moments.

He clicked his tongue and stalked forward, determined to spew vitriol of the highest caliber at the interloper.

Grayson and Todd had plans today - it was why Pennyworth had been the one to collect him from school. Brown and Cain were currently staying in the manor, but they usually only appeared around meals like the stray cats Damian fed behind the now defunct grilled cheese restaurant on the corner of Washington and 147th. Thomas and Drake usually returned later in the day - school and work respectively.

In short - Damian's room had either been breached by a stranger which was staggeringly unlikely, or there was a flaw in his information.

Throwing open the door, Damian's eyes met Drake's and every scathing insult died on his lips.

Because the older boy was sitting in Damian's desk chair with a pastel pink box on his lap. The same one that Damian had secreted away last night and hoped to return today with his older "brother" none the wiser.

"So, do you want to talk about this or..." Tim trailed off, seeming oddly relaxed.

"Get out of my room."

"Ok, because this Hello Kitty caboodle was a cherished gift from Stephanie and I was beside myself when I found out it was missing this morning."

Damian could see the bruising now, creeping up the side of Drake's neck where he'd turned to avoid taking a pipe to the throat.

"I decided to work from home," he explained unnecessarily, catching how Damian's eyes lingered on the too dark shadow around his collar. "Why did you take my makeup?"

Damian glared at him, lip curling in disgust.

"Ok," Drake said again. "At least tell me you didn't use my brushes and sponges. I don't want the cross contamination of your face germs."

"How dare you!" Damian hissed, clenching his free hand into a fist as well now. "To imply I'm unclean-"

"Oh my god, shut up. Everyone has weird face germs and whole ecosystems on their skin. People have mites in their eyelashes."

After a quick Google search, Damian determined that to be true and resolved to never think about it again.

"It's not sanitary to share," Drake concluded. Finally, he stood. Hopefully that meant that he was done with this whole mortifying ordeal. "But, Damian..."

"Leave," he ordered. Drake didn't. He just looked at Damian. It was- it was uncomfortable. Rude, even. And it certainly didn't make Damian sweat with the knowledge that a properly motivated Red Robin was nearly as observant as Batman himself.

"I'm going to make you an offer," Tim said, seemingly finding something in Damian's face or body language. "I'll take you out to a proper store for brushes and makeup - they'll be able to help with your shades and stuff better than I can - and as soon as we get home we'll never speak about it again."

Damian's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Arguably so you'll be better able to go undercover - Bruce had me posing as Caroline Hill when I was a little older than you are now. But also, maybe it's a gender thing."

"It's not."

"Okay," Drake agreed easily. "But I'm going out as a woman if we do go - I have a rapport with the workers at the Sephora in Burnley."

Drake had no pride as a man, that much was obvious. Internally, Damian could admit that wasn't... Bad.

"Do you... Prefer to be a woman?" he asked stiffly because he may think Drake was a consummate waste of air, but he wasn't a monster. He would use the right pronouns.

"I don't really care," he said. "I don't feel strongly one way or another."

Leave it to Drake to half ass the entire concept of his own gender.

"If you go as a woman, would I present a hindrance to your cover?" Damian asked before he remembered that leaving for a little makeup outing with Timothy Drake was one of the last things he wanted to do.

"I could swing it," he answered. "But I think you might have fun dressing up. Have you seen my collection of wigs?"

Without knowing how, exactly, Damian found himself sat down at a proper vanity in Drake's private bathroom, hair framing his face in gentle medium brown waves. As Drake struggled with an unopened tube of eyeliner in the background, he looked at himself in the mirror.

A face achingly reminiscent of his mother's peered back at him.

#tim drake #damian wayne #damian al ghul #damian al ghul-wayne #my writing tag #tims gender in this is a lot like mine in the sense that i just dont really care #in canon damian likes to be other people just to see what its like #he dressed up as a bus driver and a substitute teacher at jons school #idk i have thoughts about him wanting to know how the other people live

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tbx-tbx-tbx · 11 months

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heyyyyyyyyy tophabe/abetoph nation fyi here’s a wip redraw of that vocaloid album cover everyone was redrawing into yaoi years ago

I wanted to post it when I finish but I have poor time schedule and the progress I’ve already made looks ugly, but anyway-

#clone high #clone high reboot #clone high season 2 #abetoph #tophabe #idk what to tag this with I hope most of the people will recognise the original #abe x topher #topher bus

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raisinushigher · 3 months

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in case it wasn’t clear enough

#TO BE FAIR i never really seriously considered gandhi n toph until recently #when i started looking at their potential future dynamic in a more rival-ish way #ofc not actually rivals but definitely some sort of hostile bond #which really contrasts in a good way how they both feel about abe #ok time to take a break from posting art #also i know last year i NOT INTENTIONALLY peaced out like. a month after s2 ended #but idk what’s going on this time mayve ill actualy keep checking the tag regularly #clone high #gandhi clone high #abe clone high #topher bus #we got #gandhabe #tophabe #tophdi #odieart #mine

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bloodiegawz · 4 months

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she's neat

#canto 4 spoilers #gawzdrawz #limbus company #dongbaek lcb #<- i noticed people use this suffix a lot?#which confuses me #but who am i to defy the rules #everyones part of the bus now #blood #what else do i tag #uhh #idk #i.cant beat the fukcign spicebushhhhhhhh #raagh #also she looks weird in the second one dont worry abt it

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planetarymesss · 5 months

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How the kids are turning into phantoms

this is just a list thrown together about symptoms the kids are showing of turning into phantoms, although some may be wrong

(the humanoid phantoms, btw. not the centipedes. i doubt they could turn into Our Friend The Centipede unless theyre pursuing a career in tranformers)

darkening eyes + larger irises ( the most obvious point )

bulging veins ( this is said to decrease body temperature i think...... and also the humanoid phantoms are probably really cold too. but this is also a symptom of exerting force on your muscles like excercise so.... take that as you will )

showing / baring teeth (literally just look at the phatntoms. one of their main attributes is their teeth. the kids have been baring fangs for a while now )

seizures (this has only happened to like two people but..... thats when some of the above symptoms become more obvious )

increased aggression ( bc tell me why taylor and logan are suddenly punching people and shooting phantoms without hesitation ??? all of them move without hesitation now..... they used to be like really scared )

phantom noises ( as indicated by the funny red lines...... this one is also obvious )

better strength / regenerative abilities ( like the tyler scene..... also how aiden recovered from blunt force trauma AND swapping dimensions in like 5 min )

otherwordly communication ( mostly present in ashlyn; she can kinda speak w the phantoms and they kinda understand what she says )

lmk if theres anything else you think i should add !!!

and pictures for proof (i added barron. bc he shows some characteristics of phantomization / monsterization as well but that could just be him being an arse as usual) :

#school bus graveyard #sbg (webtoon)#sbg #sbg theory #sbg theories #idk what else to tag

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vitriolicsarcasm · 4 months

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*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one*

Ashlyn: I will not let you down.

Taylor: Sounds fun.

Aiden: K.

Tyler: No, I'm fucking not.

Ben: Do I have to be?

Logan: Please god, I am so tired.

#school bus graveyard #incorrect quotes #ashlyn banner #aiden clark #ben clark #tyler hernandez #taylor hernandez #logan fields #why is this so accurate #just saying #idk what im even doing anymore #how do i tag this

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honneybz · 7 months

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#clone high #topher bus #ch topher #хз #clone high cleo #clone high frida #frida kahlo #cleopatra #gay solidarity #idk what else to tag #doodlysketch

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antimony-medusa · 1 year

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Okay so inspired by nothing in particular (it's inspired by reading the notes on the ace swag final poll, fun stuff in there), I have been thinking about being Cringe. Cause like, you enter a fandom, and usually, you find out shortly that somebody else hates that fandom. There is no fandom niche enough that it's not Weird to somebody, and there's no fandom mainstream enough that it's not Annoying to somebody else. And given the fact that some people do hatred recreationally, there's often going to be somebody mad enough about your fandom that they're going to go on diatribes about how your fandom is bad and actually harmful and destroying the fabric of civilization, etc. They're gonna pull out anything negative and blow it up until it's the size of the skyline and attack you for liking this negative thing.

Fun times, we've all seen it.

And the thing is, there's an impulse to have this happen and immediately find somebody else to point to and say, yeah, well, I might be weird, but at least I'm not THAT guy. I might read YA, but at least I'm not a Furry— those guys are sexual deviants! I might be into actual play podcasts, but at least I'm not into mcyt— those guys are all harmful and my guy is fine. I might be into danmei, but at least I'm not into bandom— rpf is so gross. I might be a furry, but at least I'm not into mainstream romance novels— senseless drivel aimed at middle class white women. Y'know. Immediately find someone to punch down on.

And boy do I understand why you want to do that, when people are pointing at you, but I don't actually think that it's helpful.

Cause like, every fandom has a logical train of thought and reasonable human impulses behind it. You might not share those impulses— I'm not a furry I don't think, I don't really get true crime— but that doesn't mean I can't have it explained to me by a very patient person in in the writer's workshop common room and go "oh, yeah, kinda pretending to be an animal, but you're gay about it, yeah, makes sense", or "oh yeah, morbid curiosity from the safety of your headphones, it's like a horror movie but real" and nod. Like there isn't a fandom or group out there that doesn't look weird from the outside, and there isn't a fandom or group that can't be explained if someone has thought about the human psyche enough.

And that isn't to say that there isn't sometimes salient critiques for what fandoms are doing or not doing— to grab the two examples above, I have heard people talking about issues with true crime reinforcing the current fucked up justice system, or bigotry at furry cons. But a) most of the time, there is already somebody inside that community that's fighting against those issues, and you just threw them under the bus with the problem they're trying to fix b) you don't usually know the nuances of the actual conversation and problems, you saw a couple callout posts. You saying "Yeah I'm a board game nerd but at least I don't play competitive trading card cames, those guys are doing nothing but feeding the capitalist machine" is not usually helpful towards fixing the ctg scene. It's just a cheap way to score points.

Like, I assure you that the YA scene is aware of the calcification of the genre into a tighter and tighter romantic form and their dependence on going big on tik-tok to sell enough to keep publishing. They know.

You specifically saying that your fandom is better cause it's not [problems you heard about other fandom having] is not actually going to make the person who's hating on you stop hating. They already decided that you're the person they're better than and that they're punching down on, you passing the punching down on to another fandom just makes more people sad on the internet, and potentially starts yet another chain of someone punching down at someone else. The wheel grinds on, everybody gets punched.

I guess this is just kinda turning into a "why hate on the internet, what good does that do" post, which is broader than I meant it to be. But like, there's a difference between thoughtful critique of problems (complicated to do fairly but very necessary) and finding someone new to curbstomp to make yourself feel better/morally superior (look, I'm writing this on a mcyt blog, we've all seen this happen, it does not increase the joy in the world).

Like in MCYT, we all decide to punch down on [other server we hate], or RPF, or people who write kidfic, or people who write e-rated fic/art, or people doing the popular trope of the moment, and sure, it lets you feel morally superior for the moment, at the cost of slapping the guy next to you. Haven't we had enough slapping the guy next to you? There but for the grace of god (got a fun idea/watched the wrong stream/ended up in the wrong brainstorming circle/got fixated on the wrong funny guy) goes I. You're not better than another group just because you saw a couple more callout posts (usually from people inside the community trying to fix things) about them.

We are all Cringe. There is nobody who's not Cringe. Don't say that you're not Cringe because someone else is more Cringe. Stop that.

#discourse #This is another thing where the public/private rule applies too I think #cause social media is public and what you do there is governed by different politeness rules #walking into your friend's dms and saying GOD I AM SO ANNOYED BY [other fandom] is a normal human impulse #posting that where other people can see that is potentially much more like shouting in the face of a random person #idk this is potentially something where me having a thousand followers is warping the perspective #cause I try to be really aware of the fact that who knows what people who see my posts are into #there's nobody I can throw under the bus and not have them see it #if you have eight followers all of which you know #you're much more effectively in a private space #idk #boy reading the tags on that ace swag poll was kinda a Oh Yeah They Really Hate Us moment #I forgot that cause I was just happy over here #but boy are we still an internet's favoured punching bag #and I just think making an effort to not continue to punching bag people might be good #fandom meta

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