outtacontext-galaxy-discord

[fuck-customers]

Kind of a fuck customers but also a satisfying story at the same time.

My role in the call center I work in involves taking specifically corporate calls, which means I spend all day talking to “business professionals” (and I use that term loosely) including CEOs. As you can imagine, over 90% of these CEOs are the scum of the earth and the most entitled assfaces on the planet.

A week or so ago, I took a call and went through my usual routine of greeting the cardholder and then began going over verification questions. Since we’re A.) a bank and B.) a bank that handles corporate and government credit cards, we take security seriously and require a caller to be able to verify 3 pieces of information based on what the person responsible for their credit cards put on the account. If they don’t pass, we refer them to their company to get the right details.

So as I’m doing this, the guy on the phone is getting increasingly irritated as he keeps getting the security questions wrong. I’m calm and professional the entire time but firm. Eventually I run out of things to verify with him and tell him that we won’t be able to assist and that he needs to contact his administrator. This is apparently where I went wrong.

“LADY I AM THE ADMINISTRATOR!!” He screeches. Ok, great. I look him up and that’s true but there’s a second admin listed, so I ask him to check in with him. He then yells “THERE IS NO OTHER ADMIN! I’M THE CEO OF THIS COMPANY FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!!”

I apologize and tell him while that may be true, he still got his security questions wrong and needs to reach out to his account coordinator then. This man then proceeds to scream at me for the next minute or so saying how we’re an awful bank, how he’s had problems with us for years, blah blah and how we have the worst customer service ever. Keep in mind, I’ve been nice and empathetic this entire time but also I’m not gonna lose my fucking job just because a guy in a suit doesn’t know his shit. I give him the email to his account coordinator and stress again that he needs to talk to them. Then this exchange happens:

Him: “So let me get this straight. You are saying you are REFUSING and UNWILLING to help me, right?

Me: “No, actually I’d love to help you, however we have these security procedures in place for yours and your company’s protection and cannot make exceptions for anyone.”

Him: “This is fucking UNBELIEVABLE! I’ve HAD IT with this bank!!”

Me: “Ok, I’m sorry to hear that. Anything else I can do for you before we disconnect?”

Him: “WHAT IS YOUR NAME? I NEED YOUR NAME. NOW.”

Me: *gives my first name and spells it for him even though it’s a very basic 4 letter name because I’m a bitch*

Him: YOUR LAST NAME.

Me: “We don’t give out anything but our first name for the safety of our employees.”

Him: *insert that condescending, pissed off chuckle middle aged men do when they’re mad here* “Well I’ll tell you what (My Name), when I close this account and pull my MILLIONS OF DOLLARS out of (bank name) and they ask me why, I’ll make sure to tell them that it’s (My Name)’s fault. And I will see to it that you won’t be able to get another job outside of the minimum wage fast food job or whatever you had before this. How does that sound?”

Me: “Sounds great. Now seeing as how this conversation is no longer productive or professional and threats are being made, I’ll be terminating the call, have a nice day.”

Him: “DO NOT HANG UP O-“

Me: *click*

And that’s how making rich, powerful men rage-cry became my new favorite hobby. Thankfully, I haven’t gotten any feedback on that call; not that I would, seeing as how I did my job exactly how I was supposed to. Anyways I hope I’m his 13th reason. ❤️

Posted by admin Rodney.

[puppetmaster13u]

Hear me out, Batfam Time-Travel or Timeloop Au, nothing too crazy. But? As part of them going back, they keep their scars.

Every scar they've ever got, even (if timeloop scenario) ones they gain in each timeline.

And they have to either A, hide those, B, come up with reasons for why they suddenly have them at (insert age) or C, both. Or option D, become social recluses as they try to stop whatever caused them of all people to go back in time. Because you aren't sending paranoia & anxiety fueled bats back in time- especially not to the beginning of their vigilante-ing (especially if they were some of the first ever) without it needing to be them and their preparation obsessions specifically.

[tryzine]

ZINE FAQ

General Questions:

What is a fanzine? - A fanzine is a little magazine made up of contributions from fans of a certain series/show/sport/whatever. In this case, "The Reason is You" is a zine focused around Spiderbit/Guapoduo, and it'll have people contributing from all over the globe!

What is this zine about? - This zine is specifically about Guapoduo as they are on the QSMP Minecraft Server. That is to say: a canon setting with canon relationship dynamics.

Can we include Obsessedduo/Devotionduo/Mafiaduo/the Guapoverse? - Unfortunately, not this time. This zine focuses specifically on their canon relationship. You don't have to write specifically about canon events like the wedding or Festa Junina, and you can include just about any headcanon you like- Catboy Cellbit, Spider-Roier, Trans Headcanons, etc- but it will be set within the canon setting.

Is this zine related to [Insert Fandom Event/Zine Here]? - Nope, this is a standalone project, but those other things sure sound cool!

How old do I have to be to apply? - Technically you can be any age, but what will actually matter is the portfolio you'll be submitting on the application. Unfortunately there will be a bias towards experience, but don't let that get you down! Feel free to try, you never know!

When will the applications go out? - The actual applications will go out as soon as they're finished being written and translated into Spanish and Portuguese, so give us a week or two. They WILL be out by the end of April, though.

When will we know if we got in? - Since we're expecting over 100 applications, it'll take us a minute to go through them all and decide who gets in! It'll depend on exactly how many applications we get, but we're anticipating reaching out to contributors via email sometime in early May.

How will we know if we got in? - On the application, you'll be giving us your email address. If you get in, you'll get an email from us with the discord server's link and a big ol' Parabens!!!

Do we have to have both a Twitter and a Tumblr? - Nope! Not necessary, just come with what you've got!

Do we have to have a Discord account? - Yes! After emails are sent, it will be mandatory for all admins, guests, and contributors to be part of the Discord server for the project. You won't need to be online every day, but you will need to have @ notifications turned on, and you'll need to be open to receiving dms from admins when it comes to check-ins.

What is the zine's exact schedule? - We're actually finalizing the dates as I write this post, and we'll keep you guys updated. Because of the bug impacting our collective ability to enter Twitter, the project may have to be pushed back a week or so just to keep things even. We're having to adjust for that. But we WILL get a schedule out ASAP, and it will be before the applications go live.

Will we have to do anything in November as contributors? What do you mean by it "ending" in November? - The way the schedule is currently projected, writers and artists will actually be done with their work around the end of August/beginning of September. After that, translators will have September and October to translate. Then, the people helping put everything together into the zine proper (graphic designers, admins, etc.) will be working through the end of October into November to finalize things and get the zine out by the end of November.

What do you mean by "applications", anyway? Do we have to try out for this zine? - In order to keep things fair, we're going to have people apply to be in the zine. This will eliminate bias and keep us admins from just letting Big Creators and Our Friends in. This way, everybody has an equal shot!

What do you mean by "writer and artist collaborations"? - The way these would work is that we the admins would pair together a writer and an artist who both indicated in their applications that they would be cool with a collaboration with a random person. After matching them together, we'd tell them in their emails that they're working with each other. From there, they'd come up with a concept together, and the writer would write it and the artist would Art it. The specifics would be up to them.

Are collaborations mandatory? - Nope! There will be an option on the applications that tell us whether or not you want to do a collaboration. It's totally optional.

Are we only working with people we share a language with? - While we might stick, say, two Portuguese speakers together for easier communication when it comes to collaborations, the zine will be made up of people from all over the globe speaking all sorts of languages! The discord server comes with a translation bot in it and everything.

Will there be merchandise? (Ex: wallpapers, icons, physical merchandise) - Unfortunately, no. This will be a free zine, and we will not be accepting personal donations from readers or contributors. This is for several reasons, but the most important reason is that it's for Legal Reasons. We don't own the copyrights to these characters or the QSMP Server, and we don't feel comfortable profiting off of them.

Then how can we pay for the zine? - You don't! BUT, if it can be worked out properly, there will be an option to donate what you want to a charity of our choice. If you want to pay for this zine, just pay what you would want to to that charity when the time comes.

Will there be a physical version of the zine? - Nope! This is a digital zine only. It will be released via pdf and maybe epub for anybody to download for free. This is for cost reasons, yes, but also because we want anybody anywhere to be able to read this zine regardless of whether or not they can afford international shipping.

Writer Questions

What am I supposed to write? - Pretty much anything you like as long as it's set within canon! No need to stick with actual events, again, just no crazy AU stuff. If you have specific questions, you can ask an admin once the writing process begins in May.

What is the word count? - Writers will be expected to write within a range of 1,000 to 3,000 words, but allowances will be made for more or less upon discussion with an admin.

Will poetry be allowed? - Sure! Any kind of writing will be allowed, just have it in your portfolio when you apply.

What do you mean "portfolio"? - When you fill out the application, you will be asked to submit 2-3 previous works. Threadfics, Wattpad fics, Ao3 links, whatever it is! The will be more details within the application itself, don't worry.

Do we have to write in English? - Nope! Write in your native language... but I will say that there will only be translations for English, Spanish, and Portuguese. We'd love to have, say, a German or French translation, but we only have so much manpower, and we don't want translators working overtime for free.

Artist Questions

What kinds of art are allowed in the zine? - Any kind of art! It can be digital or traditional. As long as you can provide a clear and clean scan/photo of any traditional work and provide that to the admins when the time comes, it'll be fine!

What about non-traditional artworks? (Ex: crochet, sculptures) - That's all fine! Again, just give us a clear photo, and it's fine!

Do we have to draw Guapoduo themselves? Or can we draw things related to them? - As long as it relates back to Guapoduo as a focus, it's fine. So you can draw a landscape of, say, Cellbit's Castle or the wedding venue.

What will be on our applications? - Just like writers, you'll be asked to provide a portfolio of 2-3 previous works. More information will be on the applications themselves.

Translator Questions

What will our schedule look like? - As mentioned earlier, you won't be doing too much work until the last bit of the zine's creation. Don't sweat it.

What languages will we be translating from/to? - The three languages the zine will be translated into are English, Spanish, and Portuguese. To be a translator, you'll need to have a level of fluency in at least two of these languages.

What will be on our application? - You can provide a portfolio if you have experience with translating, but there will also be a little bit of a test on your applications. If all goes according to plan, you'll indicate what language you would like to translate from and then into, and you'll then be given a passage to translate. That translation will then be checked by our admin team.

Do we need heavy translation experience? - Not necessarily, but, again, there will be a test on the application. It's just a necessary precaution.

Graphic Designer Questions

What do you mean by "graphic designer", exactly? - By this, we're talking about someone who knows how to do page layouts. We're gonna need your help putting the zine together and then exporting it in a pdf. (Like, Adobe InDesign type of stuff.)

What will be on our application? - Again, a portfolio will be required. For this, we won't require as many pieces, though. As long as you can prove you know how to use programs that can Make Book, or as long as you can show your expertise in page layout and management, we're good.

-

THIS FAQ WILL BE ADJUSTED AS THE PROCESS CONTINUES. IT IS NOT YET COMPREHENSIVE.

[something-something-peaceful]

Alright guess who’s in the mood to analyze offenderman and how we could rework him because Jesus Christ it’s bad. Also yes I did actually read the wiki this time so yay?

Offenderman’s biggest issue is that he wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. He’s a parody which when he touches on heavy subjects is an issue. He also doesn’t work in the fanon “oh we’re all a family, and we only sometimes want to kill each other.” Because then he will just turn into the uncle that we don’t mention and only shows up for the reading of the will or something because we don’t want them at Christmas. You know? The creepy uncle. You can have slutty characters, hell I make them every time, but they’re not rapists and pedophiles. And yes technically in the wiki he’s not a pedophile but A he easily translates into one and B the youngest he goes after is 14, which doesn’t help his pedophile case. Also pedophile has come to mean anyone that touches kids, so yeah he’s a pedophile. I’m not going to defend him and say he’s actually (insert more specific name that I don’t remember but it doesn’t matter because 14 is still baby). He would be fine if we actually liked creepypasta’s for the pure horror, and was meant to be taken seriously. Instead of an easily rule 34ed slenderman. Now I guess I should get to the reworking bit, now something important to take note of is that I see offenderman constantly being on the move, it’s very rare that he stays in one place. So objectively he could easily be hardly mentioned. Of course it’s not hard to not mention a family member. I think he would be better if he was just searching for love but only understands love as sex and whatever romcom fairytale a primordial being could interact with. Him killing people when he’s no longer happy in the relationship for whatever reason. Killing them out of frustration like “why can’t I just be in love?!” I think I’ll be keeping the stalking bit but he’ll try to spend that time harassing the person he’s pursuing to go on a date with him. I don’t understand the red and blue rose thing, like just keep one rose man. What if I think you’re offering me both? I’m just going to have his youngest age he goes for be at 20. I just don’t want to deal with the pedophila. It’s really hard to make this character likable and no matter what the original intentions of the creator were, he just easily translates into the pedo and the rapist. I think regardless offenderman stays away from the creepypastas that are under his Brothers control.

Also side note while reading the wiki it said something about how since offenderman and humans aren’t the same species it would technically be beastiality. Which is a take I didn’t think about. So um, I’m sorry monster fuckers but that’s just added to his list of crimes. Oh also necrophila was added to the list of stuff. Which since I’m reworking him, I’ll just write it as the after scene of him killing his “lover”. Going something like “I’m so sorry babe, I didn’t mean to, you know that right? Please forgive me. You can forgive me right, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Anyways I’m sure the responses will be that he’s just an awful character that needs to be thrown into the fire. Which go ahead honestly, even if this was how he was supposed to be he would’ve evolved into what he is now.

Thank you and good night, I’m going to make butternut squash bread.

[starlight-diesel]

Welcome to my blog! This is a selfship/comfort blog for my coping needs (Though my relationships with my f/os are still incredibly real and personal to me), I will post about my f/os but also just about things that I like. It's mostly a selfship blog but I will post other things from time to time. It's my sleepover and I get to choose how this blog functions. Please do not send me donation asks, I cannot help you, please go to someone who can.

-I am autistic and prone to overthinking, be patient with me -You can call me whatever you think fits (Star, Coda, etc.) as long as it's not rude -I am ace/bi/polyam and nonbinary, they/them pronouns only please -Still a minor (17) so if you do choose to interact please be normal and not a creep -I am struggling to find love for my f/o after some events I will not disclose, using this blog to try and reconnect with her -I may post selfship content related to age regression/general stuff abt it from time to time as it is an important coping tool for me. It will be tagged as so if for some reason you'd rather avoid seeing it. -Nonhuman/system friendly (Please respect my boundaries and DNI if you are a fully nsfw account or view age regression in a negative/sexual light)

!Selfship info under the cut!

All of my f/o content will be under the tag: personal f/o posting

Most of my selfship content is for a musical very near and dear to me, which is Starlight Express. I selfship with the CHARACTERS. NOT THEIR ACTORS.

My current main romantic f/o is Greaseball from the 2024 London production of the musical.

My self-insert for StEx selfships is a kinsona based on the 2018 Bochum Revival version of Electra for the same musical my f/o is from, they are called Coda. I fluctuate between different design eras of the character (such as their red/blue look) my sona is based on, but I relate the most to the Bochum Revival version, so they are primarily based on him at their core. However as a machine swapping looks is fairly easy and I consider the red/blue colorset as myself too. You will see me refer to things abt my kin as me.

Wrench, Joule, Killerwatt, Krupp, Purse, and Volta (basically all of Electra's components) are all familial/platonic f/os to me. No specific labels, we just take care of each other.

I also consider Momma and Dinah (specifically the 2024 London versions) as platonic f/os. Momma is familial, Dinah is simply my buddy and pal who also happens to be dating GB.

[freeuselandonorris]

hi tumblr user freeuselandonorris !! your writing is genuinely super amazing to read so I'm very interested in how your writing process is like. pls share with the class... in general and also in your longer works 🫶

hello! thank you so much 🥰 of course, i love talking about writing stuff!

as much as possible, i try to write in the mornings before i start work. it's taken me ages to realise i'm not a night owl - i like staying up late when i can, but i do my best work in the mornings and i like to write when my brain is fresh and not knackered after a day at work. mostly though, the reason why i'm able to write so much is just because it's habit now, i write for about 45 minutes most mornings. if you can (schedules allowing, i worked shifts for years so i know it's not easy!) i find making a specific time of day to write helps sooo much with staying consistent

i write in gdocs and don't do anything fancy with formatting. when i'm doing a first draft, i don't really go back and edit as i'm writing and i tend to just get the words down even if i know it's clumsily expressed or whatever. the first draft isn't for beautiful prose, it's for telling yourself the story so you can figure it out as you're going along.

if i truly get stuck, i just stick a note in like [XXX LANDO AND OSCAR HAVE CONVERSATION HERE ABOUT THE PREVIOUS NIGHT] or whatever, and then i can come back to it later and fill in the gaps. it's usually easier to figure out those sticky bits once you've written the bits after it, because then you know what you're writing towards.

thennnn i read it all through and figure out if there's any massive structural issues with it (e.g. if the pacing is way off and it needs another section, or the tone starts off one way and ends another way because i was in two very different moods when i was writing, etc)

once all that's done, i'll do another sentence-level edit, and this is where i make all the sentences sound nice and elegant and like i vaguely know what i'm doing. tweak dialgoue to sound more 'them', take out some of the adverbs, fix the punctuation, keep an eye out for using the same phrase three times the same paragraph, etc. and that's it!

sometimes if i really start to lose steam with a piece, i'll get about three quarters through and then do the editing, and by that point i usually know where i need to go because i've kind of refreshed my connection to the beginning of the story, if that makes sense?

for longer works (i'm assuming you mean like, mondayverse-level long) it's honestly kinda the same, except i write myself more notes beforehand - with monday i wrote myself a big list of all the races that year and what had happened to lando and oscar in them (deleting any where i couldn't find anything interesting) and added things like factory dates, figured out when the PR videos might have been filmed etc using the mclaren insta (rip to all those videos they deleted) as a cross-reference tool. then i wrote myself a VERY vague plot outline (about 10 bullet points) and inserted those plot 'beats' into the race timeline. and then i pretty much followed the process above, treating it chapter by chapter.

there you go! i don't think it's very exciting/original as a process but hopefully it was vaguely interesting :)

[shipsational]

OH YEAH WYBIE I meant to send an ask for him too fjdghjfdh What made you self ship with him post movie? Is Coraline still around? I'm very curious for any bit of post-movie world building you've done

thank you emile for my life 🙏

Okay! to your questions: aging him up was actually for Plot reasons, as you'll see in a moment, Yes she is around and bitch she does Not like me lmao

at first i Didnt age him up cause im problematic but then when i started working out an actual plot for the ship, i kinda Had to

the way i have it worked out is i needed him to inherit his grandmother's properties so he was in charge of the pink palace, which obviously he could only do as an adult, because otherwise there would be no way for me to actually rent there since the jones' moved in- there was always an empty unit in the other half of the house, but i think she always left that one empty on purpose cause there's something Evil and Wrong about it, since thats where the door Should be opening up if it didnt lead to a fucked up fae realm or whatever it is, connecting coraline's unit to the one that stays empty of that makes sense

but maybe, even knowing about the beldam, wybie didnt know That specifically, and he really needed to get some money in to help pay for the funerary expenses, so he opened it up.

as for my insert, they actually Work at the funeral home, they're a mortician, and they do taxidermy as a hobby. this is useful for a few reasons: they could either have met wybie and found out about the palace that way, or maybe they know forcible and spink and actually do all the taxidermy on their 50 billion dogs- its also useful for the ship name 'little dead things', which is part of one of his quotes, as well as the dead dove nature of the ship (altho its really only kinda problematic now cause he's like 18, instead of being Truly bad)

speaking of, since it is still kinda problematic- he's freshly an adult and im 30 and coraline does Not like that One Bit, and you know what thats fair its pretty weird i cannot blame her for being uncomfortable about it

now all of this is going on, and im moving into the unit thats all fucked up, something about layered realities and lingering evil and all that, its kind of vague and amorphous

but i think it would be fun and neat and terrible if its starts really affecting me- im essentially being haunted here. it doesnt start out v bad at all, but while im getting closer to wybie, coraline is getting more upset about it, which in turn can lead to arguments between them and between me and her, as well as me starting to feel guilty about it all, basically working up a storm of negative energy, and thats when it all starts to kick in and eventually amp up

since the well is supposed to be a portal between worlds, im of the mind that they basically just put her hand right back where it was before in her domain, and its taken a few years bout the beldam is back babey- the door and well might be sealed, but she still has some influence over my apartment and she's really feeding off the negativity and she wants Revenge

so basically, im being haunted by a vengeful entity and im surrounded by dead things as decoration, and im in the middle of a frustrating battle with the neighbor over her friend who im having a complicated relationship blooming up

[lxmitlxss]

MOBILE FRIENDLY RULES

as of 08/11/24

i. Please DO

crossovers, aus

most anything goes ( within reason )

ask to ship! ( see III. )

send asks! ( BE SPECIFIC, non-claimed/non-directed anons will be answered OOC or by Gojo or Break )

One-liners, Para, Multi-para and Novella

Please DONT

Godmod - ie. control my characters

Powerplay - ie. make a character all-knowing/powerful who isnt already

Metagaming - ie. put your ooc knowledge in your character ic if they genuinely dont know

Please be aware that I am dyslexic and a slow reader…

You should not be trying to control my characters, insta-kill them, or otherwise direct how I write my character. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated, but PLEASE, if you only have negative things to say to me, don’t say them at all. Any anonymous hate to me will be ignored and deleted.

ii. PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO ROLEPLAY ANY SORT OF ROLEPLAY, WITHIN REASON.

I am willing to roleplay violent and other similar themes because of the genre of the original content. However, I’d like to officially say that I will NOT roleplay any NSFW themes such as smut or overly sexual roleplays with anyone under 18 years of age. Both my muse and I are 21+. I am also selective as to whom I rp sexual themes with – though chances are, if we have a ship, you’re automatically on my OK-list.

iii. Please DO ( ship edition )

het, slash, femslash, polyship, crackship, rarepair, BrOTP, Queerplatonic, etc

OC x Canon, Self Insert x Canon ( but no godmodding my portrayals! )

communicate first about a potential ship

bring your headcanons to the table and communicate them

communicate ( /silly )

jokingly ask to ship ( i will take it seriously /silly )

ship with chemistry

Please DONT

no weird age gaps ( adult mortal x immortal is fine )

canon abuser x victim

no sexual ships for kid/teen muses

follow-up: no preteen ships… crushes are fine!

no age-ups JUST to hard-ship

craddle robber ships ( older muse watched younger grow up, etc )

if you want to use darker material in a roleplay, please communicate with me - though if I say no, please respect that! 

iv. FEEL FREE TO TALK TO ME!

I really don’t bite, and if I do, its on accident. Do you need me to reply to a thread? Ask me to! Do you want to start a ship with me? Go ahead and ask! Do you want to do some crazy plot with all sorts of ins and outs and too many sub-plots to count? Fire away! I am a very amicable person, so please don’t be afraid to call me a friend! I am however, more often than not too afraid to talk to you first, so don’t be afraid to approach me! Seriously!

v. Please, if you have anything you want to talk to me about, I am here to listen. Criticism and plotting or whatever have you, I am fine with talking! I’m only semi-selective because my muses can be really finicky, so I’m sorry in advance! ADDENDUM - Please do not vague me if I have upset you. If I have blocked you or moved away from you in some way, and you would like to reach out, you can! I won't deny you an explanation if you ask. But please be mindful that I can and will block/soft block if I feel like I need to.

vi. CREDITS. mun's Gilbert icons and PSD SakuraCommissions Boothill and Levi Baskerville Icons by SakuraCommissions Loki Icons by tonyshoodie and helpingheroes vash icons by crimsonicons/popsicons

[trulybetty]

I should also start off with this is not aimed at anyone - because if I had a real issue on something I wouldn't be amiss at reaching out to them directly to have a conversation. Because disclaimer, I follow people who both write and don't write age gap tropes, so in saying that...

The whole dbf! thing is escalating again, and I may regret trying to voice some reason here, but what's the saying? In for a penny, in for a pound?

The trouble with this trope is that you have impassioned people on both sides, and it appears their voices are the loudest ones drowning out any kind of reasoned conversation.

There are also those too who need to learn the difference between having an opinion on something vs. open criticism. I can have the opinion that I don't like age-gap fanfics and that there's a lot more dbf! fics than same age etc. fics in the tags.

I can't stress enough, opinion vs. criticism are two different things:

The purpose of criticism is to direct a commentary on someone or something with the particular goal of change. A person who criticizes the behavior of another is specifically hoping to effect a modification. The purpose of opinion, on the other hand, is simply to offer a viewpoint that does not require a change.

Source.

I can have the opinion that I don't enjoy the trope, and I can have a discourse on why I think a certain character wouldn't partake, BUT that does not mean I'm shaming anyone for writing it (a reminder that's why AU's exist).

It's just me reaching out to others of the same opinion and who may be writing what I'm looking to read (or read what I've written) but getting lost among the tags.

Because everyone should have respect for people's preferences/kinks/whatever and I feel like some people need a reminder to not be a dick and everything (despite the reader insert popularity) is not written with you in mind.

Because between complaints about the crowds asking for less dbf! on their dash, I'm sadly seeing equally if not more posts about writers talking about people coming into their space and trashing their fics and stopping people from enjoying the fandom. If someone has appropriately tagged their fic and written their warnings and it's not a topic you want to read about? Then why are you reading it and leaving comments, or jumping into asks on annon? You had your warning - it costs nothing to scroll on.

The same goes equally for anyone voicing their opinion - doesn't pertain to you and your preferences and you have nothing constructive to add, scroll on - because opinion doesn't equate to criticism of what you enjoy remember?

I think everyone on whatever side you fall on can agree on the following:

Tumblr needs to work on its filtering tags/content situation

Everyone should be filtering topics they don't enjoy or find triggering

Everyone should be using tags appropriately on their posts for the above to work

And if someone has come after you for wherever you stand on the topic, I'm truly sorry you experienced that because it's not a true representation of the fandom on either side ❤️

No Pedro tax today, but I'm open to an adult conversation on this topic though if anyone wants to participate.

B x

[sofoulandfairaday]

I know you’re not a big fan of CC, but I adore your takes and meta, so, how do you imagine Delphi and how would you improve her character?

Or headcanons, to put it more simply hshshs

Errr not an easy question, actually. I'm going to imagine two different scenarios for this because this character is such a blank slate that she could be taken anywhere.

Scenario n°1 - Bella&Vold die (follows canon)

Delphi was a Dark Magic experiment that Vold&Bella did for whatever reason. Either that or she was an accident (the more I think about it, though, I'm starting to believe that maybe Vold wanted to involve her in some kind of magic experiment, maybe even to get a new body/get a better grasp on immortality and he needed his own child's flesh - think Abraham and his sacrifice to God, just twisted)

They just don't have the time to do it. The Battle of Hogwarts happens suddenly when Vold realizes that Harry & Co. have the Cup, so there is just no time. We all know what happens.

In the aftermath, Lucius/Narcissa/Rodolphus/whoever tells Harry (not the Ministry, Harry specifically) about Delphi, in exchange for a better plea deal. It's up to Harry to decide what to do.

Harry (who is the same character as he was in the books, not that weird OC that has his name in CC) has a little crisis: he doesn't know what to do with this information. His first impulse is "oh no, oh God, Bellatrix and Voldemort's lovechild, let it die". I think he would tell Ron and Hermione, and Dumbledore's portrait. He also tells Andromeda (together with Narcissa - *insert their complicated reunion HERE*)

After much reflection and discussion (and Dumbledore's help, and the fact that Harry is an empath with a huge heart in canon), he would come to the conclusion that they cannot fail this child: they cannot have another Tom Riddle, shunned and abandoned by the world. They cannot let another monster be born out of neglect.

Andromeda still hates Bellatrix and she has Teddy (she needs time to love her daughter's murderer's child), Narcissa&the Malfoys have their trials going on (also hated Bellatrix and Vold by the end), Hermione has to go back to Hogwarts, so Harry & Ron raise her ???

It's mostly Kreacher, in truth. They all stay at 12 Grimmauld Place.

It takes years for all the adults in her life to check their fucking biases, but in the end, they all have a hand in raising her: Malfoys, Tonkses, and the Golden Trio. Draco likes her especially.

They keep her identity hidden for her own safety (and even just to give her a fair chance at life). They say she was Rodolphus' secret niece or something. She still has access to a part of the Lestrange fortune.

Speaking of Rodolphus, he is horrified that the girl doesn't know who her parents are (they decide they'll only tell Delphi when she's a little older), and he asks for visitation rights for years. Finally, they grant them to him for good conduct, with the promise that he'll be supervised and won't try anything funny (like prophecies or time-turners, which just do not exist in this version).

Delphi isn't stupid, though. She's incredibly magically talented, looks like Bellatrix & Tom Riddle (Rod might have cried the first time he saw her), she's a Slytherin, she can speak Parseltongue (her biggest secret, no one outside of her closest family knows) - she starts having suspicions at the age of 9. She finally asks Harry, one day, when she is 13. He tells her that he would have liked to wait, but that he never wanted to hide it from her - yes, your parents were Tom Riddle and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Of course, she knows who these people were. What they did, even just to some of the people who are closest to her (Andromeda, Hermione). She denounces their actions, and yet she feels an ache for the family she'll never know.

She'll also never be able to claim her own surname out in the open - she'd be lynched in the streets.

She starts asking about them. She always has to preface it with"I know who they were, but". Harry understands. Oh, no one understands better than him. And while Ron&Hermione don't know much, Harry tells Delphi all he's gathered on the Dark Lord in those years, especially when he was still young, bright, Tom Riddle.

Andromeda is still very hesitant to talk about Bellatrix, but Narcissa likes to show her old photograph albums, and talk about her childhood, and Rodolphus never shuts up about Bella. They tell her how talented she was, how bright, how powerful, how passionate.

They tell her how she had been conceived as a Dark Magic experiment, her father never really paid her much mind, but how her mother couldn't help but get attached - even though she fought it, even though He told her not to. She couldn't help but love that part of Him that was in her. Rodolphus had adored that child too, from the beginning.

She has always been loved, from the start. She does not become Tom Riddle 2.0

Her parents were horrible people, but they were people. She was going to be just like them: powerful, ambitious, determined, studious, the best.

I feel like she would become a teacher, like her father had half-wanted to do, many many years before. Maybe not at Hogwarts, maybe even in higher education, but she would become extremely respected in her field and is remembered as a researcher and a great witch.

Rita Skeeter or whoever tries to come out with a theory about "Voldemort's secret child" when she's 30 or around that age. She's already so respected (not to mention, Harry Potter's goddaughter) that she is able to just laugh it off. "Even if I was, suck my dick" is basically what she says (in more elegant terms, of course).

She does have her parent's temper, though. And, just like Harry, her mother's eyes.

I also like to think that she took care of Rod in his old age, after he gets finally released from Azkaban (<3). In his deathbed delirium, he sees Bellatrix and dies in a Snape-way, happily.

Scenario n°2 - Voldemort wins AU

First of all, I guess it really depends on whether Bella dies. And I'm sorry to say that Delphi's survival chances increase if Bella does die (because there's something just so heartbreaking about Vold not being able to kill Bellatrix's daughter now that she's gone, now that she's the only part of her left).

Also, now he does need a new second in command. He can find another way to reach immortality but Bella's magical skill cannot go to waste.

Who raises her?

Errr

Do the Malfoys still betray Voldemort? If they do, which leads to Bellatrix's death, they are soooo fucked. There is no way they survive.

So Rodolphus, maybe? I'm going with him.

Voldemort isn't father of the year, guys. He's hateful and bigoted and utterly unaffectionate. Also, he misses Bella, although he'd never admit to it. He never talks about her. Ever. In his twisted, dark, mind he hates her for leaving him, for letting herself get killed, for dying. She betrayed and failed him.

Rodolphus, in all his grief, cannot shut up about her. As soon as Delphi musters the courage to ask him, Pandora's box opens and she learns everything and anything about her.

I don't know how her personality evolves in this scenario. I can't imagine her being particularly stable. She vows to become like her mother, better than her mother even. She failed her father, in the end, but Delphi won't (I imagine she also thinks of Voldemort's word as Gospel).

Vold trains her, of course, as he did Bella.

He cannot help but notice her and Delphi's similarities, but also their differences. Delphi is more subtle, quieter. Like Bella, she's naturally skilled at offensive magic. Unlike Bella, she's cold. Sharper. Hides her emotions more. She's reserved, and flighty. And yet, she craves his approval just like her mother did.

She grows up quite lonely, with no friends, possibly a tad socially awkward.

I think she'd have a hard time dealing with people outside her comfort zone, but also nobody would ever treat her like they would a normal person, they'd always be too afraid. It probably gets lonely.

She would call herself either Gaunt or Black, I feel. Voldemort wouldn't like her having the Lestrange name, Rodolphus' name, but all three are pureblood houses with no heirs, so at least one of them has to be picked up again (also, unless the Malfoys have some distant cousins tucked away somewhere, they're also gone)

I never really know what to make of Voldemort wins!AUs because these characters, to me, are somewhat doomed by the narrative. There is no happiness for them, even when they win. Voldemort is so full of rage that, once England is at his feet, Harry Potter is dead, he realises just how empty immortality is. A black pit even deeper than death and yet he knows that he cannot die, because he cannot feel guilt for his crimes, and therefore if he were to pass on to the next life, there would simply be no next life. His soul is destroyed, it's eternal nothingness. So he's fucked himself, basically.

Rod dies, eventually, and she mourns him deeply. She cannot bring herself to realise that he was more of a father to her than her own father but she feels his absence, and only understands how much she took him for granted when he's no longer there.

She and her father have this weird attraction/repulsion relationship where he wants to have her close but then cannot stand it when she is. She is at the same time too much of Bellatrix and too little of Bellatrix.

Much more depressed than in the other version of events. Her father is an immortal God who can't love her or be close to her in any way that matters, she's mostly alone (when she's an adult, it's by choice, because she just can't stand other people). She's immensely powerful, much more than her other self, but it just means nothing.

Loves her mother much less, in this scenario. She is too obsessed with Vold to really care about her (much like in the original play).

I cannot really imagine a happier future if Bellatrix had lived, because I feel like Voldemort would have even less need for Delphi. I could write a very long post about why it makes absolutely no sense for either of these characters to choose to have children, so this is the best I have.

I think that Bella would have loved her daughter but never more than the Dark Lord - and that in itself is tragic.

I'm sorry if these suck, I've tried my best.

[fightabear]

nah i'm gonna say this on tumblr for good measure.

The whole “you only headcanon this character to be gay to get them out of the way!” thing is exhausting at best, and thinly veiled homophobia at worst.

My friend, if I wanted to “get them out of the way” I just wouldn’t include them in the magical mind theatre that is my imagination. None of us would. I understand we've entered into an exhausting age where shipping is viewed as some sort of extension of activism, but that's bullshit. I am not wasting time imagining characters in scenarios that I'm not personally interested or invested in.

There is literally no need to “get them out of the way” when I could just not include them or write them out. I don’t have to be consistent with the shows lore if I don’t want to be and NEITHER DO YOU. Welcome to the wonderful world of fandom!

I am so tired of people being fucking assholes and going out of their way to invent reasons why a ship is "problematic" if it potentially breaks up their intended ship.

Stop taking it as a personal attack or trying to make it a moral failing. It’s fiction! It’s preference!

And I GUARANTEE you will be happier if you stop trying to argue the merits of personal preference and twist yourself into knots to make anyone who doesn't like your preferred ship out to be some kind of unrepentant monster that ships insert whatever bullshit has been invented or blown out of proportion to invalidate it.

Christ almighty.

The same goes for the people now losing their minds over the age gap between Eddie and Chrissy on the Steddie side. Like. Don’t act like you’re not throwing that out there to make the other side of this insipid debate seem like bad people.

This isn’t new. Stop fighting with each other. I don't care 'what side' started it - hold individuals accountable if they're being reprehensible and off the walls and learn to block when people are posting content that doesn't adhere to your headcanons. Blocking is how you curate your space.

Stop having stupid, stupid slap fights and taking swings at random people because you apparently can’t differentiate between “a specific person who caused harm” and “random internet user who likes what you don’t.” All you do in that situation is become a loose canon that is going to cause harm to people who have done nothing to you.

[esoteric-chaos]

Hello again :-) I saw that you work with / are devoted to some deities and I was curious about something that I’m hoping you can help with. How does one pray to pagan deities? I’ve tried researching how to pray in general but it’s all Catholic or Christian prayers, or how to pray the rosary. Basically, does a prayer have to be formal? Or is it kind of like a “Hey (insert deity)…. How’s it going? I need help with something”. Is there a proper format? If you don’t pray to any deities please ignore this ask lol.

Hello! This is going to be a long one so buckle up.

So this really does depend on what framework you are going with honestly. For example Hellenic Polytheism (Greek). If you are looking at it from a more Reconstruction outlook, Revivalism, or New Age (I'll explain why New Age isn't bad here). You are more likely to see prayer in Reconstructionism or Revivalism, versus New Age.

Now New Age practices aren't inherently bad or should be demonized, we all have different relationships with the gods. With the New Age, we might see a more casual relationship with the gods where you may not pray but still leave offerings. This is where you'd see more of “Hey (insert deity)…. How’s it going? I need help with something” as you'd say while having that relationship with them and an offering to sweeten the deal. The only time New Age is bad is when we are not respecting the historical context that is needed and deserved.

Now, from a more religious framework that's where you'd see traditional prayer, it's hard to find good prayer online for our deities so we tend to have to get more poetic on our own. You can however look on the Theoi.com website for some Orphic Hymn's (religious poetry) for instance of Greek deities along with checking out @screeching-0wl blog as they have posted some Greek deity cheetsheets with some prayer included. @crimsonsongbird also has some fantastic devotional content, some are also available by commission.

You can use prayer beads, and make small prayer bracelets or long necklaces. Some are available online for various pantheons or you can make your own.

Typically I sit in front of the altars if I can, wear my veil for some deities, clasp my hands together and use specific homemade prayer or sometimes found prayer. It really does depend on what I need the prayer for and what its purpose is. Am I praying just to pray? Am I praying to Lady Eutychia for good fortune? Am I praying to Lady Bastet for the health of my cats? Lord Thoth for help in communication? My pop culture deities for whatever reason that may be? It really does depend on what you need and what works for you. You can go the traditional route or you can be casual with it, what matters is being respectful.

I do suggest really deep diving into these pantheons, their history and religious frameworks. You may decide you want to go about it traditionally or maybe you just aren't comfortable with that and that's okay. However, I do find it respectable and they would appreciate it for sure that you are at least educated on the matter even if you decided it wasn't for you.

A book I've heard good things about is A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith for general prayer and Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship has some decent stuff but do not quote me on that as I have not fully vetted the book.

I hope this answers your question! Take care < 3

[kourabiedes]

I would love to hear more about Robin, specifically :3 Gimme deets, please!

Oh yeah I guess I should do that

In an out of universe sense, Robin is my particular brand of Juliana. I designed her to fit the experience I had with Scarlet... which basically involved me poking my nose into every. single. corner. of Paldea. She's a hiker, backpacker, and budding photographer, because all those things are what I spent the entirety of my playthrough doing. I think I got like forty hours in before I finally was convinced to stop fucking around and go for the non-Path of Legends badges. A lot of the DLC I did as wing-sister to @the-starkindler, who was playing Violet, and we developed a lengthy headcanon winding the two versions together using our respective characters -- you know, like an Emerald version. This bit is key because it means there are two bike-dragons running around Paldea and the Academy, instead of being represented by one fruit, is more of a basket of them. (Insert jokes here.)

I'm going to put a cut here, because I have a lot to say about my silly girl. Beware all who enter here, for there are OC headcanons afoot.

In-universe, Robin is an established student at the Naruva academy, in her second year, arriving sometime after the Team Star dust-up. She is Kalosian, from somewhere in the vague area of Anistar City (if you don't remember your Kalos locations, that's the place with the big red sundial). She's an introvert who grew up in a family of extroverts, and, as you can imagine, that need for a moment of peace fueled her early interest in backpacking. This got markedly worse when the little sisters started arriving. She has five younger sisters, all between the ages of eight and four at the time of her second year. For context, she's going on sixteen at that point.

(I love my little sister dearly, but she alone was almost enough to send me howling into the wilderness. Five of those? Yeah, Robin's a backpacking pro for a reason.)

At ten (because that's such a sane age to do this), Robin's mom nudged her out the door to do the traditional Kalos Gym circuit. Robin came home from that with a level 100 Espurr, several memory cards' worth of pictures of Kalos, and like, two badges. Her mom wasn't overly surprised.

This is kinda how Robin is. She doesn't want to be a powerful Trainer for the sake of being powerful. She makes herself strong so that she can easily do whatever it is she actually wants to do, which is See All The Things. She's not real worried about whether those Things are supposed to be Off-Limits or not, either. So, as you can imagine, she's fascinated by the stories of the mysterious and/or off-limits places of the world. Cerulean Cave. Mount Silver. Mirage Island. The Great Crater of Paldea.

So when her mom suggests Naruva Academy for her, well, she leaps at the chance. Mom figures hey, her kid may be a little odd, but she clearly has a way with Pokemon, and she's sharp, so send the kid to a good school and see what develops. Robin, on the other hand, is plotting her first Great Crater expedition within seconds of the conversation.

Does this mean she's in and out of the Great Crater a lot? Well, not really, though it's not for lack of trying. The Great Crater really is hard to get into without a flying Pokemon at the very least, and the strength of the wild Pokemon there is considerable. She never gets very far in before having to turn back for simple survival. Nevertheless, she's determined to see the bottom of it someday. (Also she does have to attend classes, which cuts into her exploring time severely. Gotta keep dem grades up or mom might pull her home! The grades net her a Tera Orb though, so hell yeah.)

One question that could be asked is, did she know the Paldea Pals before, since she's an established student? Well, yes and no. She knows of Arven, because the poor guy is utterly overshadowed at this point by his shitlord parents. She knows of Nemona -- there probably isn't anyone in the school who doesn't, to be utterly fair. She doesn't really have any opinion on either. They run in different circles, and the most she's interacted with either is whenever Nemona pounced on her looking for a battle. (Yes, she accepted. No, she never won!)

So how does she get pulled into the Scarlet story? Well, one weekend, while she was out chilling with her Pokemon in the wilds of Paldea, there was a really loud sonicboom overhead, and a few minutes later, a tired-looking red lizard Pokemon walked into her campsite. Like most people, she assumed he was a rare breed of Cyclizar at first, because who expects an ancient legendary Pokemon to just waltz into your life and ask for a sandwich? He's injured, but not badly, and she has the brilliant idea to take him back to the Academy with her and see if the teachers can help. She cuts her picnic short and does just that. No problem, right? Nothing life changing about that.

As you have no doubt guessed, the sonicboom was Miraidon fleeing the crater after being attacked by his nasty counterpart. Koraidon, in this melded universe, was brought over as well before <redacted>, and he and the Miraidon actually bonded and are buddies. When Mirai ran for his life, Kori tried to follow, but he's not as fast and had to land. (Miraidon has that jet butt, after all.)

From here, she gets enmeshed in the Scarlet and Violet storylines -- or, well, some of them anyway. The storylines are divided between her and Mirai's rider Alanna. They sort of swap between player one and player two frequently. Robin was involved the most with the DLC stories and Starfall Street. She was the one Ogerpon chose as a partner (maybe it was all that little sister experience!), and she ended up with Chien-Pao out of the four Treasures. (This is not quite as cool as it sounds. Pao just wants to PLAY. All the fuckin time.)

Let's see, what else. Oh, she has a massive crush on Perrin (unrequited), and though she starts out wanting to shove Carmine into the river, they bond over time and Robin kiiiinda thinks she's cute. (Does this count as Carmine x Juliana shipping? Probably not lmao)

Tl;dr, my Scarlet character is pretty fun.

[lemonflavoreddishsoap]

was having some discussions with a friend and...realising I haven't done any proper roleplaying in a while. So...I was thinking about maybe looking for people who'd be willing to potentially RP this current hyperfixation (La Squadra) with me, and then the idea evolved into getting together a small group of La Squadra RPers, each with a designated character, to all, yknow, hangout and rp together.

Some issues/things about that, though:

given that I (and my semi-interested friend who hasn't decided if he wants to take part or not) am a minor, I would likely make this an under 18 only group, or at least a strictly SFW group (beyond like...jokes or suggestions ig)

Only canon characters allowed - I think allowing OCs to be RPed would get too complicated or messy unfortunately

Shipping is a....maybe? with a group of about 7-9 people there's the issue of shipping views clashing or something. It would have to be discussed after a hypothetical group is put together.

Depending on the demand, it may have to be "first come, first serve" as to who gets to be which character. I kinda hope the demand is decently small because of this - i would hate for people to feel left out but i don't think I could handle too many people.

Given my technical limitations or whatever(?) the group chat would be on Discord

again, depending on the demand, it could either be just the post-ice-cream-whores team or Sorbet and Gelato can be included!

Despite all this....it's worth it to see the demand before making any real decisions.

[battydora]

there is always something so weird about my self-inserts and it's that most of the time they look like regular oc's, they have their own personality, their own physical features, their own attributes, their own age (which is usually different from mine, they tend to be older than me most times); i even sometimes consider them my oc's because it also feels right but the real reason they're still self-inserts and not just oc's it's the fact that i choose these characters to reflect on them very specific traits of my personality and more often my issues.

this is why self-insert is so personal to me, because i'm letting all my creativity and emotions pour into a specific character, all of my self-inserts are the purest form my imagination can take because i. do. whatever. the. hell. i. want. it's top tier creative freedom, i swear. i love this character from media and i want to interact with them? i'll grab my sona and make her interact with them even when for the plot that doesn't make a bit of sense. i'm suddenly crushing on a different character than before? no deal, let's make another selfship just because i like them. even when i'm not necessarily venting through my self-inserts, even when i draw my sona just to have silly interactions with my favourite characters from the media i love.

and yes, my sonas usually don't share any similar features with me, i normally like making sonas who are just an idealized version of myself (which is a valid way of self-inserting too) and that's okay with me, that's what makes self-inserting such a lovely experience for me and that's why it's a very abstract concept, because you don't need to have the most elaborated self-insert lore nor the simplest to interact with the media you enjoy, maybe it's just the idea of letting your imagination and sentiments flow the way that fits you the most, after all, it's a way to express your love and enjoyment for your favourite stories and characters.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s1e3 dead in the water (w. sera gamble, raelle tucker)

(this is a rewatch, so spoilers abound)

i'd like to present some of my very early reports to someone about watching spn

forgot i was trying to watch this over lunch LOL. backed up drain water is a hard pass for mealtime. god that reminds me of a gross bathtub drain moment with my girl lydia in teen wolf. *shudder*

i get it, the jaws of it all, but also rolling my eyes at the repeated cuts to her ass underwater :p

DEAN You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while. DEAN points to WENDY walking away; she's wearing short shorts. DEAN That's fun.

i like how sam shuts him down without a word

SAM Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them. DEAN Something you want to say to me? SAM The trail for Dad. It's getting colder every day. DEAN Exactly. So what are we supposed to do? SAM I don't know. Something. Anything. DEAN You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do? SAM Yeah, I know you do, it's just— DEAN I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?

again kind of framing dean as being tough but fair and sam being impatient (dare i say bratty) kid who ran away. i don't think i really caught so much that sam wasn't really that invested in finding john specifically, but that it's also about the as-yet-unnamed demon that john's going after having killed jess too, need to get to john to assist the revenge plot. though he does go more sympathetic to john for other reasons when dean goes the opposite direction. but anyway i semi-regularly think about how sam was to be the audience insert-ish, he's who we're supposed to sympathize with more. but i don't think anyone quite anticipated the extent of the jackles-whammy

cheesy rock and this shot, feels like a laundry detergent commercial. ok so the cheesy rock is a netflix special, supposed to be round and round by ratt which isn't completely not-cheesy, but it's better :p

s1e3 daniel hugh kelly as sheriff jake devins / star trek: insurrection (1998) as sojef

ANDREA Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line. Enjoy your stay! SAM 'Kids are the best'? You don't even like kids. DEAN I love kids. SAM Name three children that you even know.

sam was very amused by the bad attempt at flirting and her shutting him down. also, how many opportunities does the unattached drifter get to even meet kids, sam? :p anyway the very special episode where we learn dean is actually great with kids (and totally should have the chance to have one in the future)

padalecki with the extra crispy R on "theory", there. also dean doing the sniff test. reminds me of the post with a snippet from one of the novels having an outsider pov saying they're stinky boys :p

Supernatural: Bone Key (Supernatural Series, 3) August 26, 2008 by Keith R.A. DeCandido

lol and somewhat related dean crowding sam and getting his face very close to the laptop

s1e3 / s5e22 swan song

it's fine, everything's fine 🥲

DEAN You know, I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something.

oh, dean.

the official website's journal entries for john via wiki

December 4, 1983 [...] Dean still hardly talks. I try to make small talk, or ask him if he wants to throw the baseball around. Anything to make him feel like a normal kid again. He never budges from my side – or from his brother. Every morning when I wake up, Dean is inside the crib, arms wrapped around baby Sam. Like he’s trying to protect him from whatever is out there in the night.

even without ghostly drownings, i am not sticking my hand in the gross backed up drain :S

sam listening to this, see above gif

DEAN You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too.

don't personally think that's a great approach with a traumatized kid, the whole being brave thing, but whatever :p

SAM What you said about Mom... you never told me that before. DEAN It's no big deal. Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?

yes. yes, you are

ghost aside--girl, turn off the water your tub is about to overflow

gross ghost water turning her modesty garment thing green lol and good thing sam's jacked, no more dead moms on his watch

look at those pretty eyeballs

good grief, padalecki. arm veins poppin even back then

SAM Look, we're not gonna save everybody. DEAN I know.

and how the roles will be reversed by s2, but with way more angst

s2e11 playthings

DEAN Yeah, well, you can't save everyone. Even you said that. SAM No, Dean, you don't understand, all right? The more people I save, the more I can change! DEAN Change what? SAM My destiny, Dean!

i feel bad but drunk sammy so emphatically and earnestly saying "my destiny, dean!!!" makes me giggle. so much so that i posted the full clip of it with the same comment lol

LOL sam and his too-small sweatshirt

(script linked via wiki)

interesting, i don't think that's what ended up onscreen. more of feeling a little awkward/pleased about the unexpected kiss. also sam dimpling out in the background watching it go down

also via wiki

Jensen Ackles again cited this episode in the premiere issue of the Official Supernatural Magazine: "...but Dead in the Water holds a special place in my heart, too. I liked what my character had to go through in that episode. It was kind of the first time where I really got a sense of who Dean was, and I was able to peel back some layers. I thought it was a good story that was directed well, so that was definitely one of my favorites. When I had to hold my breath with that kid, holding him in my arms...I hope you've never had to experience something like that. When you're treading water, just getting your mind around having two people below you in the water, pulling you down...that was a really weird sensation that I wasn't prepared for, not to mention I was responsible for the life of this 10-year-old kid that was in my arms. He's supposed to be dead, so he's limp. I'm actually treading water, keeping us both afloat with my left arm. And when they say action and I have to hold my breath, he holds his breath, and I have two divers pulling me down. So after the first time, I kicked the divers loose and I sprung right back out of the water and I'm like, 'Okay, wait a second - I'm going to need a minute for this one.' But we ended up getting the shot, and it was nice."

woof, that sounds scary/unsettling indeed. especially for the kid, yikes

i was also under the jackles-whammy a bit the first time around (i love faces and he has an exceptional face), so i'm paying more attention to what's going on with sam/jared i think this time