#AND i have gained almost 50 followers in a week

[where-is-ezra]

can i be real. im specifically not reblogging posts because of the ad campaign to get more followers you add to the end of them

Damn that’s crazy….

[misslisamiray]

Something I've been thinking about that I never see brought up: We all know Morty saw Rick's whole crybaby backstory in the S5 finale... but Jerry has seen as much, if not more, of Rick's memory. Of what he's seen, how much does he remember?

The two have been merged in some way twice now, first in S3 ep 5, "The Whirly-Dirly Conspiracy", and more recently in S7 ep 2, "The Jerrick Trap". There have to be some lingering effects from that, right?

More below the cut, and I warn you, this gets LONG.

Maybe Jerry wouldn't necessarily remember anything from that first encounter where his consciousness, Rick's, and that of the large alien trying to kill them were all intertwined - the "I just spent an eternity merged with your essence and I'm already back to thinking you're an asshole" line implies the effects of said merging wear off quickly. So, any memories/knowledge gained then might also fade away fast. But even if he forgot almost instantly, Jerry has to have seen Rick's past (a full two seasons before Morty did!)

Now... The Jerrick Trap is where this gets interesting. Rick and Jerry spent days - maybe weeks - with their minds shuffled as Burger and Fries. Followed by at least a full day as Jerricky. While it's questionable, even unlikely, the events in Whirly-Dirly had lasting effects, there is no way, after all that, these two don't know EVERYTHING about each other.

Of course, there's, I'd say, a 50/50 chance Rick erased Jerry's memories of the entire incident, specifically because of that. He let Morty see the crybaby backstory, and Summer & the Beths have at least some vague knowledge of Prime. But I can see him drawing the line at Jerry just... being able to see all those memories as clearly as Rick himself can.

Which brings us to: Memory Rick! (and something else I never see brought up). Even if Jerry doesn't share Rick's memories for any other reason, would he automatically have them through Memory Rick being marooned in his brain? I'm thinking yes, but since Memory Rick is sentient, he *might* be able to block Jerry from accessing them.

Anyway, if Jerry has retained any of Rick's memories, I really hope the show addresses it at some point. It's actually one of my most-hoped-for-in-the-remaining-seasons things.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. I am sorry this post got so long, and if you are seeing this, thank you for reading my essay. 😅

[keplercryptids]

I know this was posted like. a week ago. but as someone thinking of running a forged in the dark game I would love to see your homebrew xp mechanics

hell yeah! so let me start by saying, forged in the dark games (at least, the two i've played, blades in the dark and scum and villainy) are designed to be run either 1. in campaigns with a maximum of 12-20 sessions, OR 2. in campaigns where you're running through characters frequently and telling a story of the crew as a collective, rather than focused on a specific group of characters. so if you do either of those things, i don't think you actually need to tweak the xp.

i am a longwinded bitch lmao and i also prefer running campaigns that don't switch out PCs often. so the rapid xp acquisition of these games is. troublesome. i've actually very recently decided to simply hand out milestone xp (which is what i did when i ran d&d 5e). basically, every few jobs, when something narratively Big happens, i'll give the players [x] amount of xp. but! i did come up with these narrative xp rules, which i like and i'm having fun with, so for now, any xp the players accrue by making desperate rolls will be added to their narrative xp bank to spend in the following ways:

(under a readmore cuz it's long!)

Narrative XP

At the end of each job, the maximum amount of XP that can be used for character advancement is 50% of the XP gained that session, rounding up. This is called Advancement XP. The remaining XP is called Narrative XP.

When Narrative XP is spent to increase or reduce a clock, 1 XP = 1 tick. Personal Narrative XP can be spent on campaign clocks, personal clocks, connection clocks, long-term projects or resolving traumas, as described below. With the exception of campaign clocks, any given clock can only be affected by 1 Narrative XP, per player per session.

At a player’s discretion, Character Advancement XP may be spent as Narrative XP, with the same restrictions as above.

CAMPAIGN CLOCKS

Throughout the campaign, there will be clocks tracking organizations’ goals, external forces outside the scope of the PCs’ sphere of influence, or events looming on the horizon. During downtime, these clocks can be increased or reduced by the use of Narrative XP. This is almost always going to be a meta decision made by the players and GM, rather than anything the PCs are doing within the fiction (though there may be some exceptions - talk it out!). The progress of campaign clocks can also be leveraged as Devil’s Bargains during play. There is no limit to how much XP can be spent on a campaign clock per downtime.

PERSONAL CLOCKS

Each PC can accrue personal clocks, tracked on your character sheet, that reflect potential complications, goals, or outcomes affecting your character. During downtime, Narrative XP can be used to increase or reduce ticks on these clocks (maximum 1 XP per clock per downtime). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to affect the clock in question.

CONNECTION CLOCKS

[note: this text is taken basically word-for-word from Beam Saber by austin ramsay - a really cool game i haven't gotten to run yet! check out beam saber if you're interested in sci-fi forged in the dark games!]

The crew sheet contains separate 4-tick Connection Clocks for each other member in your crew, representing your character’s relationship with that crewmate. Make a belief about that crewmate for each tick on that clock (checking in with that player when you do). When the Connection Clock fills, ask the target crewmate for a truth about one of the beliefs tied to them, then reset the clock to 1 tick as you see them in a new light. When a Connection Clock resets, erase all the previous beliefs you had about that crewmate and write a new one related to the truth you just learned—it’ll take time and effort to understand them again.

A belief is a brief statement about how a character feels about another crewmate. Beliefs are simple, quick, and influential in the rapport between the two crewmates. However, the players need to remember that their beliefs are not necessarily true as they are based on incomplete information and gut instinct. A good belief is:

Something a character might say about their crewmate to a confidante.

Easily summarized, so that it can be quickly remembered when relevant.

Potentially true.

Suitable for the game’s setting and tone.

Something the player is interested in exploring.

During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to add a belief and tick a Connection Clock with another crewmate (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, your character must have a one-on-one scene with a crewmate, which challenges their perception of their crewmate, and/or shows a new side of them, and/or during which the characters bond in a significant way. After this, spend 1 XP to tick the Connection clock with that character, and gain a new belief (see above).

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

During downtime, you may spend 1 XP to add a tick to a long-term project clock (maximum 1 tick per clock).

RESOLVING TRAUMAS

[note: there isn't a way in the rules as written to resolve traumas, but being able to do so is important to me, so i included this as a way to use narrative xp.]

When you gain a trauma, start a 6-tick Trauma clock on your character sheet. During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to tick a Trauma clock (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to work on resolving their trauma. Once a trauma clock has been filled, you may remove that trauma from your character sheet.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Thinking about a couple things I've read in the last week or so and connecting some dots (maybe?)

The way online fandoms used to be what we would consider tiny. Like, 50-100 people. Gaining 10 friends/followers was an event.

Dunbar's Number, aka the number of people humans can feasibly hold in a single community and know each other personally and not need an actual communal structure to hold the community together

Nowadays, 10 followers isn't considered much because even smaller fandoms tend to have a few hundred people floating around. And those 10 people are liable to be lurkers in a way they probably weren't.

Anyway, as fandom's numbers exploded with new social chambers and larger numbers of people gaining online access and entering social communities, etc, etc, etc, no social structure was ever enacted, because people didn't think they needed it because fandom was basically just a friend group, yeah? Except you can't have a friend group of 2,000 people. You almost certainly can't even know them all.

Social structures feel somewhat antithetical to the concept of a fandom

But without that, at the sizes the fandoms are these days, any sense of community has completely broken down because there's just too many people for humans to actually interact with and know.

Because people are not emotionally invested in a community and other people, there's less interaction/less comments/more lurking, because it's not a community people are participating in, it's just stuff that's there.

And, small numbers of interactions mean less to people, because with an absence of meaningful interaction, it's just a number you'd like to go higher, like billionaires with their bank accounts, because there's so little meaning to much of it.

I have no idea how to fix any of this, or even if I'm right about any of it. It's just something that's occurred to me.

[sterekchub]

Jock Derek decides to get into the competitive eating game. Starts a YouTube channel. Gets some fans, who suggest crazy eating challenges. Derek keeps pushing himself to fulfill all the ridiculous challenges, but his stomach is so stretched out that he’s hungry all the time. Starts gaining weight. Slowly, his eating challenges videos just become mukbangs as Derek goes from jock to exjock to chub…and eventually Derek starts showing off his growing belly as he goes from chub to just huge fatty.

"W-Welcome ...*BBBRRRpp*... to Eatin' ...*blurrrRPPP*... w-with ...*BRRRPPpp*... Derek

10 Viewers "Hey...I'm Derek. I twisted my ankle during practice so the Coach benched me for the semester and if I don't play, I don't get money towards my tuition. So umm....I'm not sure how this works but my friend makes money gaming on his channel so I thought maybe....I'd start reviewing local restaurants or campus food or something."

You turn off the chat, disinterested. There's enough bad food ASMR and mukbangers online, he's attractive, but nothing special. You have better things to do than watch him fumble his way to unwrapping a Chipotle takeout bag like it was something special.

50 Viewers You find yourself back on Derek's channel a week later. He still looks uncomfortable in front of a camera. His room isn't even set up to stream, a bunch of random lights behind him and his dinner clearly on the desk next to him, 2 liter of soda and some Pop-Tart boxes. You're about to click away when the otherwise dead-chat pings:

Try the 2L soda challenge!

Derek nods and brings the soda bottle up to his lips. "Easy," he brags, suddenly much more confident and you get the aura of a cocky, self-assured jock. He chugs the entire bottle down within 2 minutes, waving the empty bottle in front of the screen and letting out a long burp. "Done. Damn, I need some pizza after that..."

He goes back to sitting there in mostly awkward silence as he scrolls on his phone, clearly ordering food. You leave the stream again. 200 Viewers You can't help it - you check back into Derek's stream. He's gained more followers in the last few weeks since you saw him and you see the last few videos he's posted all see to have a theme - Eating Challenges with Derek.

Looks like he's been eating well. There's more softness to his jaw and cheeks and the sports T-shirt he's wearing looks stretched a little tight.

"Tonight I'm trying the milk chugging challenge - one gallon in one hour."

The chat is more active than usual.

Got Oreos to go with that?

Derek holds up 3 boxes "not going to get through all that milk without them."

Gotta love jocks who eat like they're still training

if he pukes, I'm leaving

Bet he's done this before

Derek finishes 2 boxes of oreos and the entire gallon of milk, ending the stream reclining in his chair looking satisfied, hands rubbing his milk-swollen gut.

500 Viewers Derek has become your new favorite streamer. You're not sure if he knows the chat is entirely full of feeders egging him on, but he clearly loves the attention and is willing to do almost anything for donations.

"Thank you to *feedemup72* for the donation, tonight's challenge is $100 at Taco Bell." He points at several bags sitting next to him. "Actually $108 because I got 3 sodas, hope you don't mind."

Only his top half is visible as his streams, but in the last few months he's developed a curve to his belly that presses into his computer desk.

damn he's gotten fat in a few months

ii hope he does the donut challenge next

Derek slows down when he's three quarters of the way through. He shoves the last bite of a burrito into his mouth and groans. "Don't think I can do this one." He's got rice spilled onto the front of his shirt, and a few inches of bare, furry belly are visible where his bloated stomach is pushing his shirt upwards.

You're feeling reckless and type into the chat '$20 if you can finish 3 more burritos." You can see the determination as he leans forward to grab another from the pile, like it's the winning point his team needs. "Uggh I might burst..."

1000 Viewers "I'm getting a little chunky," Derek laughs, standing up in front of his computer with both hands lifting up his pudgy middle. It's not only his middle that has gotten thicker. His jeans look painted on and his shirt is so tight you can see the lovehandles just starting to poke out over his jeans. "Hope the coach doesn't mind. Got my clear bill of health for my leg so practice starts again tomorrow." are you still going to stream? Sure the coach won't mind you waddling on the field? forget sports, fatboy, you were made to eat! "This might be my last one in a while, practice keeps me busy. But for my last challenge- I got a cake to celebrate!" It's just a plain cheesecake, but Derek looks at it like it's better than sex. The little groans of pleasure he makes when he takes a bite somehow feel dirtier than watching him devour the entire thing in under 45 minutes. 3,000 Viewers It's been almost 6 months since Derek's last stream and you've almost forgotten about his channel entirely when you see he's gone live again. His follower count has almost triple and the chat is swarming with excitement at his return. OMG finally he's got to be 300 by now has he said anything no he's been eating for almost an hour! Think he knows he's live? Are you okay? You can't take your eyes off the screen. Derek has Chinese takeout containers in front of the screen and is digging into them like he hasn't eaten for months. The arms on his gamer chair are no longer visible under hefty love handles and his belly is fully resting into his lap by several inches. Derek keeps eating, double chin wobbling with each fast-paced bite, until he finally stops to reach for a can of soda. He drains it in one go and then looks at the chat, still shoveling food in his mouth as he talks "c-coach ...*mnfgghhhulp*... kicked ...*mmnnch*... me ...*chew... o-off ...*nibble*... de ...*gnaw*... team." I'm sorry too fat for the team? Look at him- he's not running anywhere! He hasn't stop eating What a fucking pig You have to know, typing in the chat. "$50 if you tell us what you're weighing in at." You watch as Derek scans the chat and reads your message. He finally puts down the food and stands up to show himself off to he chat. "Three-twenty-seven." From the size of his hips and ass as he turns, you would have guessed closer to 350. He looks upset, pinching and grabbing at the excess blubber that's thickened him up everywhere, but when he sits back down and grabs another soda, he almost looks relieved. "So.. guess I'm back to streaming. Any suggestions for another *gulp* *swallow* food challenge? 5,000 Viewers Doesn't look like a jock anymore he's a fucking blimp any ideas how to blow him up more bet he'd eat straight lard if we paid him fuck look at that gut Did he really just fall asleep? bet he wakes up and starts eating again You're $500 poorer- but looking at the size of Derek, it seems like money well spent. In the last three months, you've paid Derek to do the ice cream gallon challenge, the milkshake challenge, the donuts-burger challenge, and the carbo-load challenge. And you were also to blame for the current stream. Tonight had proven too much even for his monstrous appetite and he had needed a break, too full to even speak, just sitting in front of the computer groaning and grunting and burping, rubbing his boulder of a belly until his overstuffed moans had turned into tree-splitting levels of snoring. The last quarter of his fifth footlong cheesesteak (With extra cheese and meat of course), fell out of a pudgy hand and onto the floor. Derek had weighed in at 398 last night, and you impatiently wait for him to wake up rounding out the scales at over 400lbs of blubber. 10,000 Viewers

This stream was a special one. Derek had tipped the scales at a whopping 500lbs, reluctantly heaving himself out of his bench-sized seat to show off for the chat just where all of those pounds had piled on to. Face swollen with fat, his jawline completely obscured by chins and a tire-sized neck. Thighs wider than his former waist, and of course, the unmistakable belly which was not so round and lard-filled it rested on his knees when he was sitting. "Finally hit a follower milestone," Derek wheezed proudly, wiping sweat off his forehead from the exertion of just standing for several minutes and then collapsing back down into his seat. It creaked ominously. On instinct, you check his Amazon wishlist. Candy, funnel, XXXXXXXXL shorts, more candy, bariatric scale...huh. No bench. Guess he thought the one hw as currently straining was going to last longer than it sounded like. "So someone sponsored to me to eat a hundred-thousand calories, one for each follower!" You thought you misheard. 100,000? That can't possible be right. And Derek was popular sure, but with a niche group. You double-check and his follower count was sitting at 10,002. Confused, you check the chat. did he say 100,000!!? looking and thinking like a pig no one said jocks were smart That's going to take days think he'll realize? too late to back out, he took the money That's like 30 pounds of calories. No way is he going to do it! Derek was reading the chat and checking his phone in confusion. "I did...misread a bit there." Do it eat it 100,000 blimp he's gonna pop come on fatty, EAT EAT EAT! Derek still looks confused, but puts his phone away and smacks a hand to his belly. "I can handle it. Better start now..." You can't watch the entire stream, having to pull yourself away at some point to go to bed and go to work. You haven't missed much - Derek sits at his computer, struggling to his feet every few hours to get his latest food delivery he doesn't bother to turn off the livestream and everyone gets' a perfect view of Derek's swinging, wobbling obese frame as he slowly shuffles in and out of view. Even at night, he waddles out of view to go to bed but leaves the stream running, his snores rattling around the empty room and the only view the staggering amount of fast food containers thrown haphazardly everywhere. Think he'll reach 600? he's too fat to stop now he should eat like this all the time It takes Derek 2 days to eat it all. Even for someone used to all the eating challenges, Derek was eating with a frenzy and a determination you'd never seen. The chat kept his calorie counter for him, and he was absolutely struggling to keep on pace, looking like every bite was a Herculean effort. You tune back in, the afternoon when Derek is down to his last 2,000 calories in a bag of greasy burgers and fries and milkshakes. He looks bloated and fat in a way you've never seen, like at any minute he was going to just start expanding and become a fat filled-balloon the size of the room. His body was clearly protesting, Derek had to keep taking longer and longer breaks inbetween to massage his belly, although he couldn't fully reach around it. Gurgling farts and thunderous belches that chat kept telling him meant he had room for more. 100,000 calories. Almost done. Just a few more... Derek guzzled down the rest of his milkshake and looked triumphantly at his camera, eyes glazed over and face smeared with food.

T-Told ...*puff*... ...*BRRPFFBLTTT*... you ...*uhhnngh*... ...*thbbbt*... I ...*hmphhh*... ...*Brrbllpfft*... c-could ...*blurrRRPPP*... ...*Splrrpffrtbtlt*... do ...*BRRRPPphh*... ...*Frrrpffltbtt*... it.

[sotwk]

hello there! i'm curious: how many asks do you think you receive in a week?

Hello Anon!

It fluctuates by quite a lot! Ever since my blog gained a decent following about a year ago, the longest I have gone without receiving a single Ask was probably two weeks. But when I host an event which invites requests/asks (rare), a mini-flood comes in; my last event pulled almost 50 Asks! When I reblog an Ask Game (which isn't often), my lovely Moots always come through, and I get at least 5 or so Asks.

If I had to guestimate, I would say I average receiving about 3 Asks per week. All credit goes to the awesome and thoughtful Mutuals, Anons, and Followers I have--like you! :)

I'm also terribly slow at answering my Asks, even though I'm committed to getting around to all of them. So more credit goes to my friends for not losing patience or faith in me! :)

[vintagegeekculture]

How 60s Zines and Fandom Led to a Novel Series

One of the biggest parts of organized fandom in the 1940s-1970s were fanzines centered on adventure and scifi writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. Xeroxed and passed around in manilla envelopes in the mail, the organized fandom included fan art, articles, fan fiction, and essays passed from person to person. The big fanzines were the Gridley Wave, ERB Dom, the Oparian, and Burroughsania (fantasy writer A. Merritt and the Weird Tales writers had fanzines even at this late date as well, like Amra).

I heard a great description of Edgar Rice Burroughs fans and the fandom around him: they’re like the rest of us, except even more so. This could apply to the extremely right-brained, detective novel approach they took to the source material. All fandoms have people in them that do this, of course, I would never say otherwise...but I’m telling you, nobody did it quite like they did. As an example, ERB fandom in the 50s very precisely calculated where Tarzan grew up, based on the flimsy clues of the text, that his family’s steamer was out several weeks from Libreville. Based on calculating the average 1889 steamer’s range in two weeks, along with overlaying existing maps of the Central African Republic (today’s Gabon), they were able to figure out where he grew up very precisely. This was typical of the kinds of things they did. It reminds me less of the usual activities of fandom, and more like Heinrich Schliemann using a copy of the Iliad to discover the supposed site of the city of Troy. 

It’s incredible how ahead of its time that all was, because the culture has only now caught up to what they were doing in the fifties in ERB fanzines. Today, the appeal of a lot of conspiracy theories floating around is that they are participatory, almost like some kind of ARG, like Ong’s Hat and the John Titorverse. Which pop music videos have clues put in them by the Illuminati? Can you guess which of the Hollywood Sickos was secretly replaced by a clone after being executed in a secret trial? It’s fun because you can play along at home! A lot of true crime podcasts and the communities around them also have this “figure out the mystery yourself” appeal, which is why the families of unsolved murder victims absolutely dread being covered by a popular mystery podcast. The future is in the back and forth model carried out by Edgar Rice Burroughs fans in the 50s. 

It’s no surprise Edgar Rice Burroughs has fans like this. He had an absolute domination over the pop culture of the early to mid 20th Century. He, not Fitzgerald, not Hemingway, was the best selling novelist of the 1920s. ERB was, in particular, a favorite of two audiences that no longer are reliable customers of the book and publishing world: working class men and young boys. This makes sense, since his works were adventure Walter Mitty daydreams, the male equivalent of romance novels. The fact that young boys are no longer reading is, incidentally, one of the most disastrous and under-researched social phenomena of the present time. I am who I am today because I dreamed and imagined.

The biggest of the Fanzine writers had to be Philip Jose Farmer, who later became a professional writer, a name you’ve probably heard if you’ve been following this blog. Farmer, when he was a full on writer, wrote biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage that treated them as living people. For example, Farmer’s Tarzan biography was so intensively researched that he calculated that one incident in Jungle Tales of Tarzan could not have happened, as there were no lunar eclipses visible over the Central African Republic between 1908-1909. 

What I think is forgotten, however, is that Farmer’s incredible borderline fanwork was merely standing on the shoulders of giants when it came to the right-brained ERB fandom of the 1940s-1970s in Burroughs Bulletin and Gridley Wave. Many of the ideas in Farmer’s biography of Tarzan were long-standing theories in the fandom, so often repeated they gain a strange secondary canonicity, for example, the theory that Tarzan had two different sons, and the John Clayton Jr. captured as a baby in Beasts of Tarzan was different from the one who became Korak the Killer in Son of Tarzan. None of this was new to Farmer, he was a latecomer. 

In particular, Farmer wrote an entire novel series was written based on an essay written in 1966 in the fanzines. This essay was “Heritage of the Flaming God: An Essay on the History of Opar and Its Relationship to Other Ancient Cultures” by Frank J. Brueckel and Michael Winger, and used to be referred to as “fanwank” but today would be called “Meta.” 

The essay was about one of the most awe inspiring locations in the Tarzan series, one no film version as yet has done justice to: the Lost City of Opar. No film version has yet got across the grandiosity of this incredible ruin in the heart of the African jungle, a colony of Ancient Atlantis abandoned in Central Africa, a city of colossal masonry that almost seemed made by gods. It was a city of peacocks, and apes, gold and diamonds....but also the degenerated inhabitants, the women of which were beautiful, the men were feral, bestial Neanderthals. In an ancient ruin made by their ancestors, the Oparians run like children playing murderous games in a haunted house.

The queen of the city was La, a high priestess of the flaming god, a beautiful, seductive, uncanny sorceress who might be the only true rival to Jane in Tarzan’s affections (and who some fans prefer), who’s icy queenly exterior hid vulnerability and isolation. She was sympathetic and lonely one moment, cold, pitiless, and murderous the next. She was far more than just the evil seductress, but possibly the most complex character of the series, and she got a huge fan response. After all, It isn’t just women who like sexy sympathetic villains, you know. 

Edgar Rice Burroughs always preferred Tarzan to get with La of Opar (a sentiment I’ve found to be almost universal among ERB dom), and even had the Germans kill Jane off in Tarzan the Terrible to make it possible. Reader outcry was so harsh at Jane’s death, however, he had to bring her back the very next novel. Tarzan found out her “death” at the hands of the German Army was faked and she was merely a prisoner of the Kaiser’s high command in East Africa. It is easy to see why La would have this towering, monumental stature in the Tarzan novels that she returned three times and almost literally replaced Jane as Tarzan’s wife. In an adventure series that flirted at the borderline edge of fantasy, La was the most “out there” element, a sorceress who was implied to be immortal and ageless, with the blood of Ancient Atlantis in her veins, and to disobey her was to die. 

Brueckel and Winger’s 1966 essay on Opar’s origins argued that the mother culture of Opar, Atlantis, was actually an island inside an interior continental African sea, an extension of Lake Tchad, and they used ancient flood data to support their idea about the continental interior. They further argued that Opar’s genders have such different appearances because of the introduction of Neanderthal DNA on the Y chromesome alone. Further, in their lengthy fan speculations, they connected the ancient interior African Atlantean civilization to the other great lost cities encountered by Tarzan, including Athne and Cathne, Tuen-Baka, Kuvuru, and Xuja, all of which had similar traits: cyclopean abandoned cities of great antiquity, worship of a flaming god, human sacrifice, absence of the bow and arrow, and matriarchal rule. Atlantis was the source of the Flaming God religion. They further argued, fannishly interconnecting everything, that the Kuvuru immortality elixir was in the possession of that mother culture, and was the explanation for the beautiful La’s immortality. They  also argued that the reason all these cultures did not have the bow and arrow was a religious taboo. 

All of this was very impressive stuff, especially for 1966, even for fanwank, though I confess a lot of the geological proofs went over my head.

This essay about the origins of Opar and the Flaming God was so well remembered that fan turned real deal writer, Philip Jose Farmer, wrote a series based on their speculations. Set in the ancient prehistory of Africa, he wrote of Opar at its height, when it was a minor mining colony of a forgotten African civilization on an internal sea in 10,000 BC, just like in Bruekel and Winger’s description. His novel series was Hadon of Ancient Opar, published in 1975, and PJF acknowledged Brueckel and Winger’s fan essay as the primary source of inspiration, which he turned into a book series. 

If you need convincing this meta was an inspiration for PJF’s book series, take a look at his map used in the series for their ancient civilization, which was a matriarchy with a sun worship religion with still surviving Neanderthals as a lower class. He even had a woman named La there, who may have been the ancestor of the La of Opar...or perhaps, the actual immortal La herself (the book leaves this open to interpretation). Always keen to have series cross over, PJF also mentioned the lost African cities of H. Rider Haggard and connected them with Burrough’s, which is a surprisingly good fit, since Haggard’s lost races also were matriarchies with a religion of sun worship. 

When I heard the connection between this fan essay and PJF’s book series, I had to track down a copy of Brueckel and Harwood’s essay for myself. I was able to find one for sale by the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest on the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois. They have a lot of pride in Edgar Rice Burroughs, who was born there, and they have many rare and old things for sale related to ancient fandom of the 60s. To my surprise, when my order arrived, I got a copy of the Historical Society of Oak Park, IL newsletter, and a personal addressed letter from the historical society librarian. I was so surprised by this that I actually called the Oak Park Society up to thank them, and had a pleasant chat with the kindly librarian about their collections of ERB memorabilia and fandom. All in all, a pleasant ending of an investigation into one of the oldest fandoms, one that, like Opar and the beautiful, immortal La herself, still lives in a hidden corner of the world. 

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

What's Up

Hello 50-odd followers I've gained in the last two weeks! You may have signed up for the Starkid content, but surprise! You also get me writing a full-ass response to the latest episode of Shipwrecked's The Case of the Greater Gatsby every week! If you haven't listened to it, please it give it a try. It's a hoot and two halves!

As ever, spoilers for Episode 11 (already??) under the cut.

First of all, I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE TAPES! This was a fairly basic thing to be right about, but seeing as there really are so many threads (lmao that SONG) complicating this story, I'm going to take the victories I can get. And we can't say it wasn't fun listening to Fig repeatedly fail at the not-so-simple task of getting Sheila to leave her own living room.

The real highlight of the episode, however, was Ford's interview with Vivian. My beloved Fightingale were back and in full force today, folks. Ford definitely feels like something's off with Vivian--though it's unclear if he's clocked what @katvantassel pointed out weeks ago about Vivian knowing that Fitzgerald was strangled before Fig or Ford could tell her. And her alibi is definitely sketchy--almost like something she specifically designed in hopes of making Ford uncomfortable or short-circuiting his brain. Also, the way Vivian and Mo say the details of that night out loud to each other sounds very much like they're concocting their story together then and there. It's interesting to note that Mo's corroboration explicitly covers midnight and afterwards, since we know thanks to Jasper Fox that Fitzgerald was killed in that exact time period. Could that even possibly be a coincidence? And more generally, are Mo and Vivian in cahoots? That would explain how Vivian prematurely knew about the asphyxiation, but would really bring into question why she needs Fig and Ford when there's a cop at her beck and call. Unless, of course, Barnaby is too powerful to be investigated by the police force, so she has to use our favorite detectives to frame or point the finger at her husband instead...

But then again, there's the Bixby angle to it all. If Mo really is trying to bring down Bixby, why would the bar's favorite performer be working with him? I suppose they could be two completely separated plot points. Or maybe Vivian's making a play to claim Bixby's as her own? After all, we do know she doesn't hold the highest esteem for Bixby's other acts... AHHHH. SO MANY THREADS!

Speaking of which, "Too Many Threads" was an absolute smooth bop, with cleverly meta lyrics, a tantalizingly pointed final verse (is Vivian taunting Ford?), and that perfect combination of Dylan Glatthorn's songwriting and Mary Kate Wiles' voice that we've come to know and love. Please release this song soon, Shipwrecked! I will buy it from you! (Bonus points for also including Clark's Cole Porter cover from last week!)

In other news, it turns out that Bixby, so helpful this episode in recapping all of the various mysteries and cases, was not in fact lying about his financial issues in order to cover up for the Brigade. His landlord, Old Bob, has been drastically raising the rent! Could this have anything to do with anything else, or is it just typically vampiric landlord shenanigans?

AND THAT CLIFFHANGER OF AN ENDING! Oh Persauds, this is the cruelest thing you've done yet. I can't wait to hear from Fitzy himself next episode!

[cassieb1617]

Cam is ready in 1…2…3, go!💌

Pairing: Avengers x camgirl!reader, Natasha Romanoff x reader, Steve Rogers x reader, Bucky Barnes x reader, Sam Wilson x reader, Carol Danvers x reader

smut

Summary: The newest addition to the Avengers had a small secret - when home, she was streaming at night. She was more skilled in hacking and IT so she was excluded from field missions while she helped them. But the Avengers had a secret too; they watched her.

Warnings: Smut (18+), degradation kink, praise kink, teasing from the reader, reader is a camgirl obviously, use of sex toys, masturbation (female and male), mentions of creampie, hint of daddy kink and miss kink, filming while in the act, squirting, kind of sex work, pussy slapping, dirty talk; kind of bisexual reader; language/swearing; usual level of violence in the MCU; the reader has hair but that‘s it from the description; pet names (honey, sweetie, sweet girl, doll, bunny, lovely, darling); degrading names (stupid whore & slut but it‘s meant lovingly); let me know if there is more

A/N: I got a bit carried away, sorry not sorry!

Working two jobs at once would sound difficult to some people. Especially when they thought it was being a cashier and a babysitter or something in that direction at the same time but you would say that it almost seemed to calm you down a bit. But that was probably because one of your jobs was at home and the other job was to sit in a chair surrounded by computers and hacking your way through the world while you flirt with your teammates.

You didn‘t know if it was the thrill of people finding out about your job or being filmed, maybe it was the comments or the payment of your watchers that got you off but nonetheless, you liked being a camgirl. After having a properly setup of camera, mic and a few toys, your followers seemed to rise a mile everyday.

Filming yourself for the first time was awkward and purely amateur porn-y. At that time, you just had a little bullet vibrator and filmed with your phone camera but your watchers liked it nonetheless and donated very gratefully. They enjoyed the innocent aura that surrounded you, which was ironic considering you filmed how you got yourself off. Over the time you lost some of your first followers the more dirty and experienced you got but some of the people that watched you were downright filthy. They liked the thought that they were the ones corrupting you and turning you from an innocent little college girl into a downright expensive slut. @widowknowsbest84 was one of your top viewers, holding a proud spot on your little whiteboard with the bright pink heart next to her name. She was one of the viewers that were very openly when it came to corrupting you, commenting the dirtiest and sometimes darkest things that would make the crudest people blush. She also sent you some of your favourite toys and donated a high sum of money every stream. You also had a lot of private shows with her in which she cruelly tortured you with as man orgasms as you could handle.

Another one of your highest viewer was @grantsr11. He was more on the sweet sight of your followers, always praising you and calling you his good girl. He wasn‘t one to donate a lot but at least $50 were in every stream. He also booked a private session every week.

You‘ve been streaming for a little over two years now and gained a lot of loyal followers over the time, 64,092 to be exact and every single one distinguishes them from another. Your audience truly was a variety of many different people. From women and men to people who identified themselves differently. Submissives, switches and dominants were in your streams too, demanding the filthiest things from you or thanking the gods for your streams in the comments. The age is also something you were surprised to see when you looked into the statistics of your account. Some of your viewers counted as seniors while others were just of age or even middle-aged people, you had them all.

Now, that was your first job but it was your second job that got you into a more awkward situation, at least for your coworkers.

It started off when you graduated college. You started working with a firm in the department of IT knowledge. Your task there was to safe intel and information for your company via hacking or in short; hack the hacker that tries to hack the company. And you were good at what you‘re doing, that and your school history is what brought Nick Fury to you in the first place. You were what some would call a genius, you had a high IQ and skipped two years in middle school. Your teachers thought you would become the next big astrophysicist but no, you rather wanted to do something with computers and with your hacking history, you caught the attention of SHIELD.

In the time span of two months, you got transferred from your old job to your new one as an Avenger, but one behind the scenes. While, yes, Tony Stark had his AI Friday, you were sometimes a bit quicker which he would be forever angry about. You knew what you had to look out for and you were always quick to inform the team over comms if there were agents on their way to them. You were responsible for the safety of the team while they were on field missions and it was quicker when they had to save some documents from the other agenda. Instead of needing hard-drives now, they just turned on the device and you hacked into it and saved everything you could get your hands on. You also talked to them while on missions, occasionally flirting with a few of them.

But back to why the jobs combined made the situation a bit more uncomfortable. Considering your skills in hacking, you also managed the Avengers‘ safety. Simple things such as making sure they weren‘t hacked and putting up firewalls to assure nothing would happen. But as you did your job, you also had to check their intel and, wow look at that, what a surprise that one of your top tippers was none other than Natasha Romanoff or your probably sweetest dom per private shows, Captain Steve Rogers. You even saw some other team members following you but you wanted to wait until you see when they start commenting things.

When you got introduced to Steve, one of the team‘s leaders and one of your favourite viewers, he flushed a deep red, coughing awkwardly and he couldn‘t look you into your eyes. Maybe that was because after your stream the day before, you expressed your fears over your new job. You had a private session with him where you took a thick plastic cock and squirted directly into the camera while he came in thick spurts of white cum.

In fact, almost all of your followers turned coworkers seemed to have a similar upon seeing you. They had seen your streams and some of them stayed for you pillow talks after the real show as well. They‘d listened to you rambling and worrying about what your coworkers would think of you and if you‘re going to do a good job there. Upon seeing you, Natasha raised her brow with a small smirk, you never saw her face in private sessions but you‘ve seen her body and the bottom part of her hair and compared to the Black Widow, it looked to be the same person.

Full respect to her though, she had a very nice body.

Fast forward a few months into the job and it couldn‘t be better. The Job developed a whole new routine but you can‘t complain. You woke up at the same time, went to work for nine hours that included training with Natasha, Steve, Sam and Bucky and after that, you were in your office and working on the Avengers‘ safety. After work, you went home and in every three afternoons, you streamed just like you planned to do now.

The camera was already set up and your followers already got a notification.

Bunny 🐰 is going live any moment now!

The numbers of people that already joined the live rose from moment to moment and you took off the oversized shirt you wore. Underneath the shirt, you wore a deep red laced bodysuit. The neckline was deep and your nipples could be seen through the bra cups. A pink vibrator and a dildo sat by your side just out of screen. The colour of the dildo matched your bodysuit and you could already see the comments because of that from your followers. Your hair was go framing your face.

The loading screen of ‘Bunny 🐰‘s stream is loading…‘ turned into a countdown of 3… 2… and there you were, gracefully sitting on your knees in your bed.

„Hi guys!“ you giggled lightly and the chat started to flood with various comments, some already demanding you to start and some sweetly greeting you. „Look at my new set, isn‘t it so pretty?“ You stood on your knees and turned a bit to show off the lacey sides of the little thing you wear. Some comments were smalltalk as well like @widowknowsbest84‘s comment. Ever since finding out that her favourite camgirl is her new teammate, she decided to tease you a bit.

@widowknowsbest84: How is my favourite bunny doing, lovely? How is your job doing?

„I‘m great, miss, how are you? And my job‘s going great, I‘m working with some really sweet people.“ you giggled slightly, something you do a lot while streaming but your viewers loved it, plus it added to your innocent/corrupted act. But Steve knew better, he heard you flirting through the comms on missions, especially with him and Natasha.

You continued a few minutes with small talk, reading comments about your viewers last days and how they‘re doing. In that time, you often got donations from those who are on these platforms in need of company instead of getting off. „I got a bit of an surprise for you guys.“ you turned to the side where your vibe and the red fake cock sat, shaking your body a bit when you knew that your ass is in perfect view. You grinned and bit your lip a bit when you showed them the new red toy you got yourself as a treat after a hard mission. „Look! It has such a nice size and girth but I‘m scared it will be too thick for me, y‘know I can‘t take this much.“ you had a slight pout on your face as you said that and your followers bought the whole act like Tony Stark buys cars.

@grantsr11: Look how excited she is, new set matching her new toy, aren‘t you such a good girl, honey?

@soldier41: come on, doll, push that pretty set aside and show us how you take your new toy.

„Is that what you want me to do, Soldier? Want me to get dumb already?“ your cute pout can never be replaced with anything else. The curve of your lips is just too sweet not to get hard and wet at. „Thank you, Grant! I love being your good girl, makes streaming much more fun.“ You continued teasing the viewers a bit until you started obeying the comments of pleas to finally stop teasing.

Laying down on the mountains of pillows, you spread you legs while getting comfortable, a noticeable dark spot on the bottom part of your body. „I‘m so excited to test that toy out, read good things about that online and I was so excited when my package finally arrived.“ you pushed the crotch part of the bodysuit to the side and rubbed the tip of the dildo on your slit while talking. The comments seemed to appreciate your teasing.

@daddyfucksgood6969: Come on honey, get that thing all nice and wet for us, show us how it makes you feel

@sugarysweetmom: Oh honey, look at you already so wet and we‘re just getting started

@sugarysweetmom was another good tipper of you. From chatting, which she obviously paid for, you knew that she was a single mom of two who had later in her marriage realised that she was into women. Sometimes your watchers confided in you and while they knew you couldn‘t really help them, they just liked to have s person they could talk to, even better that the person is pretty.

When you read @daddyfucksgood6969‘s comment, you pulled the red toy away from you and held it to the camera, your arousal glistening in the lights in front of you and giving your viewers the perfect sight of it. Everytime you used toys, you always showed them how wet it made you by holding the toy in the camera before you properly used it. Your tips always increased a lot in that time and currently with about 35.000 viewers in your stream, your tips were at-

looking at the tips you took a double look at the high number. $389.70 was it by now and you only streamed about half an hour now. This stream could top every other stream you ever did and you once did a stream for two and a half hours where you got tipped about $1200.

God, you were so happy that your face wasn‘t in public. In fact, the world only knew of „the rose“ as an Avenger but they could never place a face to that name.

You laid back down on the bed and sighed out when you lubed the toy more with your own arousal. It was a funny thing, no matter how thick the toy was, you never use lube. Steve- sorry, @grantsr11 had noticed that before and spoke to you about it on a private call before you two.

The man on the other line of your call sighed out while watching you use his favourite toy. It wasn‘t very long (just) about 6 inches but it was thick, very thick. The toy was wet with your arousal but that was it and Grant, that‘s what he told you to call him, noticed. „Why do you never use lube, honey?“ his hand was around his cock, slowly rubbing up and down.

„Don‘t like lube very much, like the pain more when the toy stretches me out.“ your voice was airy and you were already a bit dumb on the session. He find you the best that way if he was being honest with himself. All dumb, pretty and submissive. That bratty side of yours that sometimes showed in your streams. „Like the feel of a cock stretching me out so much.“ 'Grant' groaned out lowly when you said that, stroking himself faster. He watched with hooded eyes as you pushed the toy into your wet pussy, your gasp of slight pain and pleasure being the only sound that‘s heard. Your eyes rolled to the back of your hand as you pushed the toy deeper, moaning pornographically when you reached the hilt of it. „Fuck, doll, you‘re killin‘ me here.“ the hand around his cock tightened before he came all over his chest while watching you take that thick blue cock. He continued watching you as you came all over the thick toy.

Snapping back to reality from the memory of your private session with him, you noticed the comments.

@callmehoneysweetheart: You okay there, darling? Looking a little lost and spacey

@widowknowsbest84: Are you all spacey again, lovely? You getting dumb from a little grinding already?

@bestoneoutthere: You back here or still all airy?

You giggled shyly, „sorry guys, been thinking of the time I took a really thick toy, it was so nice.“ You didn‘t even notice that you were grinding against the length of your red toy before you sighed out. „I‘m back again, I‘m sorry.“ You cheeks heated a bit like they did every time you spaced out. It happened quiet a lot of times in your streams, you‘d get all lost in a little memory and by now, your regulars were used to it, even enjoyed it. The way you turned so stupid and noisy, like a little bitch in heat. That was their words actually and it stuck with you ever since.

@grantsr11: No need to apologize, honey. You‘re doing a great job, so pretty when you get all dumb.

@soldier41: All good, doll. Now be a good girl and show us the way you‘d take a real cock.

@notmadeofstonebutstillrockhard: Yeah, don‘t wanna get punished now do you?

You fuzzy little brain couldn‘t grasp that they didn‘t mean everything they wrote in the comments but little airheaded you didn‘t want a punishment, especially in that little headspace you are in again. „No, daddy! Don‘t punish me, please. I‘m gonna take it now, promise you.“ It‘s almost embarrassing how wet you are, slick coating the toy and your inner thighs, making the toy even easier to slip in. You gasped dumbly when you lined the tip of the fake dick up with your pussy, slowly sinking it in before pulling it out again to change positions. You switched from laying on your back to kneeling on your bed again, the sheets where you once sat being a few shades darker. Lining the toy up again, you slowly made your way downwards, sinking inch after inch down until all they could see was the red base of the toy.

You moaned loudly when you sinked down all the way, the fake cock kissing all your nice places. Beginning to lift your hips again, just until only the tip is inside you, you sinked down on the toy again, the sound you were making something between a painful sob and a pleasurable moan. You look straight into the camera while repeating the action, the comment section going wild at you.

@daddyfucksgood6969: Isn‘t she just the prettiest when she‘s fucking herself dumb? Such a stupid whore

@widowknowsbest84: Oh honey, aren’t you just such a sight for sore eyes?

@soldier41: Come on, doll, you can do more, can‘t you?

@callmehoneysweetheart: I‘m so glad I found your streams, you‘re truly worth every penny, sweetie

The comments flooded in like a tsunami, so fast you couldn‘t read all of them but you nodded dumbly at them anyway, agreeing with whatever they were saying about you. Slowly leaning forward while still riding the red fake cock, you grapped your pink vibrator and looked at the camera while licking it. The chat going wild at your actions and many screen recorded your stream to post it on Twitter. You rubbed the smaller toy against your pussy to wet it a bit and turned it to the slowest setting while holding it against your clit, a sharp gasp escaping your body at the feeling. „Oh my god!“

You started grinding desperately against the toys, switching between different sections of the vibrator that had you going crazy and bouncing up and down on your newest addition of ”pleasure helpers“ as you liked to call them. Your actions grew more frantic and the ones who watched you already a bit longer knew that this was when you were close. The sounds of tips clinging in your ears as you bounced faster and set the vibrations as high as possible, holding it tightly against your clit while grinding into it. A few uh, uh, uh‘s escaping your lips before you drew in a sharp breath and closed your eyes. Your juices squirting onto the toy under you as you kneeled above the toy, hips in the air and leaning on one arm behind you to give your followers the best view possible. The pink vibe was already on top of your now wet sheets, still moving a bit around as your other hand quickly slapped your pussy, more juices gushing out of you as you came down from your high.

@soldier41: Oh, fuck. That was so hot!

@grantsr11: Oh, sweet girl, you‘re treating us with this. Such a good girl!

@widowknowsbest84: Aren‘t you just the prettiest little thing? Coming so beautiful, wanna taste you so bad, lovely

@notmadeofstonebutstillrockhard: You‘re the very best there is, Bunny!

@daddyfucksgood6969: wish she would do that on my face

@callmehoneysweetheart: oh I just know that little pussy tastes better than anything else!

@bestoneoutthere: such a hot fucking thing! You‘re amazing Bunny!

Slowly coming down from your high you turned off the vibrator, cheeks feeling heated as you realised it was still on. The red new toy under you laid now on the bed and you put it to the side, your freshly put sheets are already ruined again. „That was nice.“ you giggled cutely after you found your voice again, ducking your head a bit at the dirty comments that praised and degraded you at the same time. „I think I‘ll pass out if I come once more so I‘m gonna end the stream soon guys! Don‘t forget to follow me on here and in my bio is a list for more content such as pictures, videos, chatting and private sessions, videocall or not. It was nice having you all again!“

You looked at the statistics of your streams after your ritual goodbye to the ones who only stayed for the steamy part of your stream and your eyes widened at the numbers that it showed you.

Top tipper: @widowknowsbest84

Top 3 viewers: @soldier41, @grantsr11, @widowknowsbest84

Your tips/donations: $1829.00

Number of viewers: 270.678

„Oh, and thank you to the top tipper, widowknowsbest84, I appreciate it very much thank you, and thank you everybody else who donated. Hello to every newcomer!“ You were bashful at the numbers, never once where they that high! And to think that you didn‘t even do the streaming for money anymore but rather for fun is incredible. Thank God, no one knows you‘re an Avenger.

@soldier41: Bunny, don‘t forget to change your board, don‘t wanna have to spank your ass red after that show.

„Oh, right! I‘m sorry, Daddy, please don‘t spank me!“ You kneeled and turned on your bed to the small white board on the wall that you out up for your streams. It‘s not that big, just barely portable but it was a nice feature. You had special coloured markers for it; pink and red ones and blue and purple and they were all so pretty! You remembered the adorable reaction from your sweet followers when you first showed them the board. Now it‘s routine that at the end of your streams, while you‘re doing your pillow talk and self-aftercare, you update and check the board.

Bunny’s top tipper: @soldier41 @widowknowsbest84

Bunny’s top viewers: @callmehoneysweetheart @soldier41 @grantsr11 @widowknowsbest84

BUNNY LOVES ALL OF HER VIEWERS!!

🐰❤️

This was all written on your board, small bunnies, hearts and stars around the edges to give it more of an innocent flair. Well, that is if you can still say innocent after that show you just out on.

„Sorry callmehoneysweetheart and soldier41, you‘re not the first place anymore but I still love you lots and lots!“ You had a tired but soft smile on your face as you sit back down on your knees, exhaustion creeping up more and more as you talked to your slowly decreasing audience before you call it a night and end the stream, saving it and uploading it to your channel for the ones who missed it.

Sometimes you wondered if Steve, Natasha, Sam, Carol and Bucky even knew they were all watching you, sometimes even at the same time.

[youhaveforgottenmealready]

The Man Who Killed Batman

I admit to being a little dismayed by the view I was seeing. I'm not precious by any stretch of the imagination, and my Pa would have lectured me until my ear fell off if he had seen me pull a face at somebody else's housekeeping, but this place needed some real T.L.C.

There were some attractive planters to the right and the remains of what must have been pretty flowers in pots arranged haphazardly, but the overall view of the grounds was a dismal one. I skirted around an overturned and rusting wheelbarrow, stepped over an abandoned rake, and made my way to the front door. The sign on the door almost made me turn and leave. 

"No soliciting. No reporters or press. No autographs," I read aloud. The, "Huh," I added was because I'd never seen anything so unfriendly in my life.

Since I was a reporter — and even had a mint-condition copy of Detective Comics #50 in my bag I secretly hoped to have signed — I should probably have just turned tail and headed for the hills. But my Ma never raised a quitter. 

I knocked twice, nice and loud. Then I noticed the actual state-of-the-art speaker system to the right of the door and felt a little foolish. I pushed the shiny white button and waited patiently. After an awkward minute, a voice came through the speaker.

"What do you want?" said a man's voice. I had a strange image of a curmudgeon shaking his fist at me and telling me to get off his lawn. The voice didn't sound old, exactly, but it certainly wasn't warm and welcoming. 

"I'm Clark. Kent," I said. "I was hoping to speak to Bruce Wayne."

"Regarding?" The tone was ice-cold, and I felt like squirming like the time I'd had to interview a known drug lord. 

"An interview. About Detective Comics. About the death of Batman."

There was a long pause before the voice returned with a snarled, "Sign says 'No reporters.' Can't you read?"

I ducked my head at the insult. But nobody had ever accused me of being a coward, or particularly on the ball when it comes to knowing when to back down. "I can, but can you?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" the voice snapped.

I was pushing my luck here, I knew. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Well, it's just, if you could, you'd know how upset readers are. People have been writing letters to complain this whole week. Nobody understands the reason behind his sudden death. He's a beloved character, and this unexpected end to a popular story has upset fans. People want answers."

I may have overdone it because there was another long pause after my little speech that was just long enough I started to wonder if I'd been hung up on and left to stand on the stoop like a vacuum salesman. 

At last, "Been practicing that?" was the sardonic reply.

I was half relieved and half embarrassed. It was funny to get called out like that, but still feel some sense of victory because I hadn't failed yet.

"Just a bit. Please. I work for the Daily Planet. We're a good, fair, paper. And, well, more importantly, I'm a fan."

It was a risk — for all I knew he hated his fans since he put 'No autographs' on the sign same as 'No reporters' — but I would feel dishonest if I left without sharing this.

I reached into my satchel and extracted my copy of Detective Comics #50. Holding it still felt like magic after all those years of finally finding it. Each time I get to relive what it felt like to hunt it down, follow the trail, and finally unearth it at a garage sale — some dumb girl desperate to raise enough money for a trip to New York that she'd sold all her dad's comics after he died. 

I held it up before the camera. "This is my copy. It's my prized possession."

There was another long delay where I fought an anxious feeling that made me want to squirm.

Finally, the voice said, "I haven't seen a copy in years." There was something soft about the tone, almost nostalgic. Then the door buzzed and I heard the bolt slide back.

"Come in. Shoes off. Don't touch anything."

I exhaled and fought down the smile I felt curling up at the sides of my mouth. And then I stepped through the door.

*****

Started this a few years ago. This is what I put at the top of the doc:

For this story idea, Bruce is the creator of the Bat-Man comic book series. Then one day, without any explanation, he kills off the character. The death is quite final. 

Clark Kent is sent to get the story from Bruce — why did he kill off a very popular character?

[realblrr]

I don't think so if i will find anyone here who is learning or reading about stock market...but i am currently reading a book by Sir Peter Lynch and sharing some simple points i found out...

Here are some pointers from this section:

• Understand the nature of the companies you own and the specific reasons for

holding the stock. (“It is really going up!” doesn’t count.)

• By putting your stocks into categories you’ll have a better idea of what to

expect from them.

• Big companies have small moves, small companies have big moves.

• Consider the size of a company if you expect it to profit from a specific

product.

• Look for small companies that are already profitable and have proven that their

concept can be replicated.

• Be suspicious of companies with growth rates of 50 to 100 percent a year.

• Avoid hot stocks in hot industries.

• Distrust diversifications, which usually turn out to be diworseifications.

• Long shots almost never pay off.

• It’s better to miss the first move in a stock and wait to see if a company’s plans

are working out.

• People get incredibly valuable fundamental information from their jobs that

may not reach the professionals for months or even years.

• Separate all stock tips from the tipper, even if the tipper is very smart, very

rich, and his or her last tip went up.

• Some stock tips, especially from an expert in the field, may turn out to be

quite valuable. However, people in the paper industry normally give out tips on drug stocks, and people in the health care field never run out of tips on the

coming takeovers in the paper industry.

• Invest in simple companies that appear dull, mundane, out of favor, and

haven’t caught the fancy of Wall Street.

• Moderately fast growers (20 to 25 percent) in nongrowth industries are ideal

investments.

• Look for companies with niches.

• When purchasing depressed stocks in troubled companies, seek out the ones

with the superior financial positions and avoid the ones with loads of bank

debt.

• Companies that have no debt can’t go bankrupt.

• Managerial ability may be important, but it’s quite difficult to assess. Base your

purchases on the company’s prospects, not on the president’s resume or

speaking ability.

• A lot of money can be made when a troubled company turns around.

• Carefully consider the price-earnings ratio. If the stock is grossly overpriced,

even if everything else goes right, you won’t make any money.

• Find a story line to follow as a way of monitoring a company’s progress.

• Look for companies that consistently buy back their own shares.

• Study the dividend record of a company over the years and also how its

earnings have fared in past recessions.

• Look for companies with little or no institutional ownership.

• All else being equal, favor companies in which management has a significant

personal investment over companies run by people that benefit only from

their salaries.

• Insider buying is a positive sign, especially when several individuals are buying

at once.

• Devote at least an hour a week to investment research. Adding up your

dividends and figuring out your gains and losses doesn’t count.

• Be patient. Watched stock never boils.

• Buying stocks based on stated book value alone is dangerous and illusory. It’s

real value that counts.

• When in doubt, tune in later.

• Invest at least as much time and effort in choosing a new stock as you would in

choosing a new refrigerator.

#keeplearning

[terriblesportsimagines]

I am so pleased that the ask box is open 💕 Could I request any dad / family headcanons you might have for Kuramochi (Daiya), Mei (Daiya), Miyuki (Daiya), and Kise (KNB). Including, if possible, how many children you imagine them to have and their relationship with their in-laws. I simply adore adore adore your blog and writing 💕

 I feel like I’ve done a lot of dad headcanons for Daiya lol  So, if there is some repetition, I apologize in advance

Kuramochi Youichi

This one likes kids and gets along with them.  Is the kind of dad that brags about his kids, all of them, even about the most minor things.  There is no one prouder of his babies than he is.

He’s a very involved father.  I’ve always imagined him doing some profession that lets him set his own hours and give him a lot of freedom (like photographer, or artist).  He’s definitely not the typical salaryman who works 50-60 hours a week and never sees his family.  He’s taking the kids out whenever he can.  Mourns them growing up.

I can see him with three kiddos.  It’s a good number, and it means that his kids always have their siblings.  He grew up an only child and found it lonely.  Plus, three is okay to corral and keep track of, any more and he’s truly outnumbered.

Adult Mochi is easy to get along with and a lot of his sharp edges have been refined, so he gets along easily with his in-laws.  They like him because he’s so involved with the kids and because he helps his partner achieve their dreams.

Honestly, 10/10 husband and dad

Narumiya Mei

He wants to be a good dad, and he definitely tries hard.  It’s difficult when playing professional baseball though, since he has an average of six games a week during the season.

He’s great with them as babies, but as they grow, he feels uncomfortable and unsure.  He has a bit of a temper, and he doesn’t really get that it’s pointless to argue with a five to sixteen year olds.  He loses a lot to his toddlers.

Better with girls, because his girls are his little princesses.  Totally the dad that sits at a tiny, cramped table and has tea parties, complete with dolls and follows every direction given.

That’s not to say he’s bad with boys, especially if they have interests in sports, and things he does.  Would definitely be lost with an introverted, bookworm/‘nerdy’ son.  Would feel like he didn’t understand him and gets awkward.  He tries, but often puts his foot in his mouth.

Probably two kids max.  He’s also selfish and he still wants a significant portion of his partner’s time just to himself. 

His in-laws probably like him just fine, though they are less of a fan of how showy and loud he is, and how he soaks up the fame.  To them, it seems like he doesn’t consider his family when cultivating his celebrity, and that’s true in the beginning, but he gets better over time.

7.5/10 husband and dad

Miyuki Kazuya

He also has ridiculous game schedules, but unlike Mei, he’s completely uninterested in fame and almost always wishes he were at home with his partner and babies then out.  He’ll do endorsements, but if they cut into his family time, it’s a no go.

He’s very domestic, and cooks every meal he can.  Even uses his day off to make his family snacks and meals they can eat when he’s on the road.  Definitely makes his own babyfood, this bitch is picky AF about when he feeds his kiddos.

He’s also very good at helping out around the house when he can, to make things easier on his partner.  His favorite time, however, is the time he gets to spend with his little ones, or as a family.  Will do anything with them, even if he’s bad at it (like drawing).  Enjoys teaching them things.

Can compromise and evolve with his children’s interests.  The type of parent that looks into the things they like so he can at least converse on the basic level with them.  Doesn’t want them to ever think they can’t talk to him.  He may tease and poke, but not so hard it causes rifts.  As they gain personalities and the like, he’s very careful with them.

He was an only child and he lost his mom when he was very young, thus one of his most secret dreams is to have a family.  He wants to belong and have somewhere to come home to.  He’s fine with any number of kids, but I feel like two would be best so he can focus the time he has.

Would make the best house husband, and it’s something he wants to do, if he and his partner can manage it.  It would be the best thing in the world just to stay home and take care of his family.

In-laws love him.  He’s so helpful and skilled that his mother-in-law especially adores him.  They don’t often get to see his worst traits, or the way he teases, however lol

12/10 perfect husband and dad

Kise Ryouta

He has a lot of growing up before he can be a steady father.  I think he waits to have kids until he’s in his late twenties or early thirties.  He wants to maximize his career!  But also, his time with you, because this is another greedy, kind of selfish blond lol

As long as he is ready, he’ll do well.  If he’s not, there will be an adjustment period for him and it could be difficult. 

If there is a pregnancy (and not adoption) he’s great at taking care of you.  He might bitch inside, but he’s smiling and getting up to go to the convenience store in the middle of the night to get the thing his partner insists they need right now.  Very good at pampering.  He’s careful with his partner, since he recognizes that they are doing all the work.  He’s right there in the delivery room, though he might faint lol

Newborns aren’t active enough for him, so he complains for the first few months that they don’t do anything.  That being said, he is CRUSHED if he misses any of their milestones

Once they are more active, he spends a lot of time playing with the babes, which actually leads him to forgetting about the responsibilities he has around the house.

Is terrified to be left alone with them, especially as babies.  What if something happens?  Absolutely the type to panic if the baby cries and he can’t get them to stop. 7.5/10 husband/dad because he has a few hang ups and the transition is a bit hard.  He tries very hard though.

[cjgladback]

We have wings as of last week! And as of today they seem to work, after I had to reduce the range of the scotch yoke a bit to keep this fairly balanced shape without clipping through the horns. And while I was at it, we let the back legs do less of a high step and got that leggier shape I was wanting for them. I think all the major shapes are final now, just have to punch a few more holes for all the dowels since I decided to make it disassemble-worthy, and reduce the width of that yoke's lower slot now that it's on a smaller wheel.

Also, while the every-tenth-frame animation was rendering I did some real paper math (well, reusable paper at least) to check my assumptions that the wheel that's twice as tall will take twice as long to rotate. And almost said it wouldn't! Remember kids, math is dangerous and little mistakes can make you doubt relationships you intuited until you find the issue. Always let your calculator think for you and everything will be okay. (Or, y'know, your basic multiplication skills will erode until you make tons of mistakes like this. Pros and cons.)

Image descriptions got long again so they're under the cut, along with the gif of how our first proportions moved:

[ID: First image is a sequence of 3D renders of a work in progress mechanical dragon toy in orange, showing it gain a hinged tail, large head, and wings before the sizes of its wheels and the slots in a piece on its side adjust and a low frame rate animation begins, showing the way the wheel rotation will move the limbs. The front and back legs are articulated to "walk" with the wheel movement, the front leg on a small wheel causing it to move about 50% faster than the back. There is another set of wheels between the two, twice as large as the front set. This wheel raises the slotted piece with its rotation using a peg in the wheel through a horizontal slot while it's guided up two dowels through vertical slots. The wing rests on the top of this piece is pushed upward, rotating on its hinge in the middle of the back. Everything is mirrored on the far side of the dragon.

Second image is a page of handwritten algebra in green ink on an unlined six-ring notebook page. It starts with the equation for a circumference, C = 2 (pi) r, and asks the question "if (given three radius measurements) and we travel one centimeter, how much does each wheel rotate?" R sub 1 is 3cm, R sub 2 is 4.5cm, and R sub 3 is 6cm -- so R sub 3 is double R sub 1. Hand-multiplication follows, with the answer for C sub 1 now having a note with "oops" and the digit 4 written over the mistaken second decimal 0. A longer note reads, "if I'm dumb and just used the diameter for each instead of the radius...each should just be the result (times) 0.5." The results cut in half are written down. C sub 1 is missing the second decimal place it would have with the corrected numbers from the first multiplication, now with a note "wait!" pointing to it. "So rotation in degrees should be a ratio between travel & C." This note is expressed as an equation, delta over C is equal to X over 360 degrees. 360 delta degrees over C is equal to X. Given delta is equal to 1cm, there follow three solutions for X using each of the circumferences found, then X sub 3 is multiplied by two. Initially that result had a second decimal place of 1 where X sub 1 had 9. To the side is an non-equation X sub 1 is not equal to 2 X sub 3, with a sad face. Written vertically is the formula X is equal to 360 delta degrees over diameter pi; this is simplified to the approximation X is equal to 114.59156 times delta degrees over diameter. Changes in the diameter should be inversely proportional to changes in X. The first solution for X sub 1 is lined through with an arrow to one with the corrected circumference value, which matches 2 X sub 3. The earlier non-equation is crossed out as well; the equation X sub 1 is equal to X sub 3 is followed by an exclamation point and a smiley face.

End ID]

[ID: Animated gif of the dragon toy in a brown matcap, wings and legs moving with the wheels. The wheels are not spinning at a constant rate because their rotation mode hasn't been set to Axis Angle yet, the back "knee" joint raises to higher than the middle back, and the middle of the front arches of the wings travel into the middle of their respective sides' horn by the top of their rotation. End ID]

[beauty-and-passion]

Beau! Hello! How are you doing?

Hi! :D It's so nice to see you again! I really missed our conversations, can't wait for more of them to come soon! <3

This summer has been pretty busy for me. I studied almost every day - but it's summer, it's hot and my will to study was below zero, so I skipped a few days here and there, did other things, studied in the morning only and so on. Still no idea about the results, but when I get them, I will let you know :)

In the meantime, I still enjoyed my time by doing other stuff, like:

Cleaning

I love organizing things and since I finally had some time, I took the chance to:

Write a full inventory of the garage/storeroom where my family has been accumulating stuff for years

Buy a couple new storage racks for my apartment and move some furniture around. Still not over, but it's an improvement

Also, since my mother finally realized that yes, we have a lot of stuff indeed and we can rid of some of it, we went on a cleaning spree and cleaned:

The woodshed which had everything inside except for wood. There was even a sewing table!

The front garden of my house and that meant removing a shit ton of plants because my mother decided it was a great idea to plant them all together. She literally put two palm trees inside the vineyard. Those have been hard to tear down, but when me and my brother finally did it, the satisfaction was immense

We still have to move some stuff and properly clean the storeroom, but we have to wait for my uncle first: once he takes some furniture away, we will be free to keep going.

Keeping healthy

Since I went to the gastroenterologist and he told me to change my diet, I lost 7kg immediately and I feel WAY better. But it's still not enough: I plan to lose 7 more kilos, just to be in perfect health and to keep being healthy, even if I gain a couple kilos back in the future.

In order to do that, I kept (and try to keep) a schedule made of:

walking at least 6000 steps every day

spending at least one hour doing exercises and yoga 5 days a week

following the healthier diet suggested by the doctor, which is made of fresh fish and meat, fresh vegetables, almost no bread, gluten-free pasta, rice, couscous, no milk and no processed products. It was hard the first few days, now I feel bad when I don't follow this plan. I don't miss junk food and I still allow myself a treat once in a while. Also, since I am lazy, I cook once a day and double the amount, so I can eat for dinner and have a meal ready for the next day's lunch. This way, I'm always covered and I don't feel like resorting to junk/fast food (I also got rid of everything unhealthy, so it would be impossible anyway).

trying to get a better sleeping schedule: my alarm clock is set at 7:50 every day except for the weekends and I allow myself to get a 1-hour-long nap in the early afternoon. I also try to go to sleep around midnight, but still end up sleeping at 1am, so there's still room for improvement.

Writing

Studying was hard, but writing has always been great. And when I can have a schedule, it's even better :D

I started with two hours, every day. Right after dinner, when my mind was still fresh - and the weather gets cooler too. Then, around 10pm, I move on the couch and watch a few YouTube videos, before going to bed.

Some days, I didn't want to write a single line and had to force myself to write at least for one hour. But there were also days in which I wrote one or two hours more than planned. And now, I can write a few hours in the morning too and that means double productivity! :D Also, after sitting for so long in front of a screen, the exercise session in the late afternoon is even more enjoyable.

Small trips

I couldn't allow myself to take a longer breaks this summer. And that means I won't be able to visit Greece, so I took small trips to my uncle's farm and 1-day long trips to a few places.

In July, I visited Gaeta and Sperlonga (Italy). Those are two beautiful towns between Rome and Naples, with wonderful clean sea and beautiful sights. Sperlonga was especially cute, because the oldest part of the city is on a hill, so there are a ton of narrow streets, white-painted walls, corners decorated with seashells and painted tiles, tiny stairs and little plazas. It was nice.

In August, I visited Rovinj (Croatia): that's another little town, with a wonderful green sea. While we were there, we took a boat trip and visited the nearby fjord and wow, it was just like a postcard from a Norwegian fjord. And the trip was very enjoyable too: the boat owner offered us drinks and gave us interesting insights about what we were seeing.

I have two more trips planned for the next week: a water park tomorrow and a small cruise trip next week. Then, nothing else for now. Maybe will do something for Christmas and even New Year, but we'll see what offers we can find.

What about you?

What did you do these months? How did you spend your summer? How are you spending these last few days of August? And do you like to sleep as much as my cats like it?

[goldendiie]

My dream rn is to be to Sherdoc what you are to Sargemore

How did you get here

Like, other than the obvious, if you had to take your most comedic guess at how you got here, what would you say

i sold my soul to the devil so then i could have internet fame by writing sarge/fillmore fanfic. slash jay.

anyway, since i have a tendency to ramble, i’ll put a serious answer under the cut. i’m going to call this G’s Path to Accidental Internet Success.

1. i joined the fandom in 2016, when i was 14. as such, i bothered literally EVERYONE and tried to make as many friends as i could. i ended up with a pretty solid group of mutuals (most—if not all— of which are now deactivated. rip.) .

2. start asking for writing requests. the stuff i started out with was always in the 50-300 words ballpark (like drabbles). the main key here is to (a) have Exactly One Thing you write about (aka sargemore), and a handful of people that are willing to engage with you on that.

some cars fandom history for you: around this time (2018-ish), we had this anon “spam” (i hate to call them that, because we are now good friends) who would send many, many, many asks into my inbox about sarge and potatoes. i was able to turn some of their asks into legitimate oneshots, or take them a little farther than they likely expected. (see: wishes, as the sun sets, or anything else i posted in the summer of 2018). i guess what you can take away from this is that ANYTHING can be turned into writing if you are deranged enough.

it was also around this time that i bought the sargemore backstory comic off of ebay, and then spent an INCREDIBLE amount of time immersing myself in sixties history to write the third blink. i started posting that in june of 2019, and it went through the beginning of january of 2021 (covid fucked up my schedule). in that time, the fic gained a pretty decent following, a lot of whom usually still turns up for anything that i post on ao3.

so, number 3: if you put a lot of passion and time and effort into your work, people will notice! if you construct a good narrative arc for your characters, and do things that people aren’t expecting, they’ll stick around. a consistent posting schedule always helps too; think of it as tuning in to your favorite television show once a week, back in the old days of cable. i know i’m not one to talk about that (we all know i haven’t posted in like six months… yikes), but i’m telling you. it helps.

4. never shut the hell up about what you’re writing. i mean, seriously. you see the shit that i post about my AU. be obnoxious. have fun. start a discussion about your characters, or the narrative. in my case, i do this easily by creating a historical discussion through the use of sarge/fillmore as figures analogous to different political beliefs.

(actually. my ploy all along was to educate you guys. i can’t tell you how many comments i’ve gotten that are people saying “i wasn’t expecting to LEARN anything from a cars fanfic, but….”)

i think that’s all. i hate to say that a great deal of this is circumstantial, because i started in a height of the fandom in 2017, and the Potato Anon summer gave me a lot to work with, and i’ve been doing the same kind of thing for almost seven years now. but i think that you could still swing it. there’s enough people in the fandom that you could definitely attract the audience you want for your writing. i’ll be proud to be a part of it!

TLDR: have friends that want to engage with your writing, stay (mostly) consistent, and create a discussion about your “content.” and, most importantly— be passionate, be real, and HAVE FUN. none of this is worth it if you aren’t enjoying it.

[theowritesfiction]

'The Awakening'

Alright, I'm just going to say the quiet part out loud. Aang looks better with hair.

The Maiko scene really is genuinely sweet. And yes, the Maiko antis definitely misrepresent this scene a lot, usually by making it appear that the 'I didn't ask for your life story' line is where the scene ends, but... uh it doesn't. Sometimes context really is a bitch, huh?

Damn the tension between Katara and Hakoda is so painful. And they've been on this ship for weeks. Imagine it lasting that long, my heart aches for them both. The way their reconciliation is written by tying it in with Aang taking off on his own was just brilliant. I think Katara is clearly the best written character on the show, and I suspect that the problem with her writing for some people is that in a way, Katara feels almost too real for some.

The flashback about the Earth King deciding to travel the land incognito just reminded me of how useless and pathetic Kuei truly is. You know what a great leader worth following does when they're deposed? They try to form a resistance and fight back. Kuei just throws in the towel. Fuck this guy. Why would anyone ever want him back after the war? (unless the White Lotus want someone weak to manipulate - there, I guess I answered my own question) Anyway, Kuei gets first Jerk Points of Book 3 - 60 of them.

Sokka is right. The whole world thinking that the Avatar is dead is very good news indeed. It's a surprise weapon the rebellion badly needs. Of course, we shouldn't expect a 12 year old to have a very deep understanding of these matters, so I'm cutting Aang slack here. His role is to bring hope to the world, and he can't do that if the world thinks he's dead - of course he's miffed about that. I still think that Aang makes it way too much about himself as the episode progresses, though. And it's just too funny to hear him channeling Zuko about how he now needs his honor back too. I have to give Aang a few Jerk Points for this, though, but not too much, 20 will do.

It's great to see Toph's metalbending having progressed, and Katara's waterbending also becomes more impressive by the day. Aang is probably feeling a little superfluous having seen that.

The turtleduck pond scene is... yeah, I mean, it's Zuko's habit to implicate himself, isn't it? He does the same in a later episode confirming to Azula that he's been visiting Iroh in jail. Azula doesn't even have to try all that hard. Also, 'Azula always lies' is clearly a myth, but 'Zuko can't lie to save his ass' is definitely 100% truth.

So, I think that we're all in agreement here that Azula is not omniscient and can't know that Aang survived Ba Sing Se. But after speaking with Zuko at the turtleduck pond, Azula probably has her suspicions that Aang might have survived. So, I think this would make her a lot more cautious about trying to claim the credit for the Avatar herself. She also knows that Zuko just helping her capture Ba Sing Se and betray Iroh would not satisfy Ozai. Zuko needs the credit for killing the Avatar. Azula setting Zuko up to claim the credit for Aang means that she's killing two birds with one stone - she gets her brother back, and she also gains a measure of control over said brother. (Even if Aang is dead, Azula still has control over Zuko, because there are witnesses that she struck the killing blow, not Zuko) This is incredibly clever from our girlie <3

The bedroom scene... I think is a very wholesome sibling encounter and I don't read anything else into that, I mean, why would anyone. But I'm giving Zuko 50 Jerk Points for failing to close the door.

Also, Yue cameo... *sniffles*

Jerk Points for Book 3:

King Kuei - 60 Zuko - 50 Aang - 20