#I really have been meaning to get to these individually

[howlingday]

When I was a boy, I only had one dream. I wanted to grow up to be just like my dad. You see, my father wasn't just an adventurer. He was a LEGENDARY adventurer.

Papa Arc: And then I kissed the beast so fair~

Papa Arc: And kissed her beastly bits down there~

When he would come back from his trips, I would sit in the tavern an listen to his songs, and I'd imagine myself traveling with him.

Papa Arc: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA~!

Lady: Kyaaah~!

That's right! My father is the one and only NICHOLAS ARC, the greatest Bard in the whole Kingdom! And I was going to be a Bard just like him!

Or, at least, that's what I thought at the time.

I guess part of growing up is realizing that your heroes aren't perfect. They're flawed people, and sometimes those flaws get really, REALLY messy.

Jaune: Dad, I'm home~!

Papa Arc: NOT THE PROSTATE! NOT THE PROSTATE~!

It was the day when I walked in on my father getting his butt plowed in the middle of an interspecies foursome. Again.

At that moment, I decided that I didn't want to be like my father.

Jaune: Dad...

Papa Arc: WHOA?! You're home early! Wait, let me explain! I'm practicing wrestling!

Jaune: Dad...

Papa Arc: Remember the basics of CQC!

Jaune: Dad, I know what sex is...

Jaune: Dad... I said I wanted to be a Bard like you when I grow up... But I've changed my mind. I'm going to become a PALADIN.

Papa Arc: ...

Papa Arc: Heh... That's a great idea, son! Chicks dig Paladins!

Jaune: No, Dad... A REAL Paladin, not the Fallen kind.

Grimm Lady: Ooh~! Your son is really cute~!

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

Years later...

Jaune: Ambrosius, Spirit of Creation and Control, please give me the strength to continue living a healthy and disciplined lifestyle, monogamous and uncorrupted by lust....

Yup, that's me. My name is Jaune Arc, and I'm a "Paladin of Order" now. I try my best every day to be a Lawful and Good citizen.

Nora: HEY! Are you STILL praying, church boy?! Get your ass in gear! It's dungeoning time! We don't got all day if we're gonna loot B3 and get back before happy hour!

Pyrrha: Hello, Jaune~!

This is Nora. She's a real dwarfy Dwarf, and a really good person.

Nora: Hmph!

Pyrrha: Nora's anxious because she's run out of lien again. (Giggles)

And this is Pyrrha, she's a Fighter of Jinn, and has been my best friend since I was a kid.

Nora: So, when did your dad say he was gonna be back?

Jaune: Around sundown, but I'm not exactly excited to be back before then. Really not looking forward to spending time with him.

Pyrrha: Oh, come now, Jaune! He's going to be off on a new adventure soon! Who knows when you'll see him again?

Nora: Yeah! Nicholas Arc is a legend! You should be glad he's your dad!

Jaune: Easy for you guys to say. Every time he goes on an adventure, he comes back with a new WIFE. I heard he was in the Kingdom of Mistral, so he's probably impregnated another Dwarf noble.

Nora: Damn... What an alpha...

Jaune: Do you know how awkward it is to deal with a new stepmom every year? You should see the drawings I did as a kid.

In hindsight, I had a weird family structure growing up.

Jaune: Anyways, it's not like I hate him or anything. I'm just sick of introducing myself to another new "mom".

Nora: Mm... I get that you have daddy issues.

Jaune: Gee, thanks.

Nora: But you don't have to be the opposite of him! You're living with a stick up your ass!

Jaune: I'm living with discipline, Nora. That's what it means to be a Paladin of Order.

Paladins of Ambrosius, the Spirit of Creation and Control, are champions of their own personal laws.

Ironwood: I only poop standing up! THIS is my solemn vow!

By living within the confines of a strict individual code, they seek to free themselves of animalistic desires and act through reason.

Nora: BAH! Order, schnorder! You need to get LAID! That'll fix ya!

Pyrrha: Yeah, Jaune! You do need to get laid! As your best friend, I'll take responsibility! That way we can lose our virginities together~!

Jaune: PYRRHA, YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE JOKES LIKE THAT. YOU SHOULD ONLY HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE YOU HAVE DEEP, ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR. I KNOW WE'RE CLOSE, BUT YOU WOULD REGRET LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY TO A GUY WHO IS ONLY YOUR FRIEND.

Pyrrha: Yeah... You're right... Ha ha...

Nora: You okay?

Jaune: Let's go.

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

Nora: Alright! Get your crap in the bag! It's go time!

Pyrrha: ...

Jaune: Gear check before we go in.

"The Black Roads." It's said it was created by a shunned Witch to avoid outsiders; this cave system leads down into one of the largest dungeons in the continent.

Guard: Hey, Jaune!

Jaune: Hey man.

Guard: Going down the pit, right?

Jaune: Yup.

Guard: Oof... I'd take a rain check on that. There's a horrible creature that was spotted last night.

Jaune: Like what? An alpha beowolf? Or maybe an Ursa?

Guard: WORSE! Word is, someone ran into...

Guard: A GRIMM-KIN!

Nora: A GRIMM-KIN?!

Grimm-Kin are a Grimm subspecies that live deep in the Black Roads. They have a harsh, matriarchal society that enslaves men. It's well-known that Grimm-Kin women are inherently evil.

Jaune: We haven't had a Grimm-Kin sighting in years. Did something happen?

Guard: I'm not sure what's going on, but you be especially careful, Jaune! A handsome guy like you? Grimm-Kin would be slobbering just for the chance to get at your pecker!

Jaune: Don't worry. I'm an expert at rejecting the advances of horny women.

Pyrrha: Oh boy... Wouldn't I know...

Nora: You okay?

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

Nora: I HATE GRIMM-KIN! In fact, I HATE REGULAR GRIMM, TOO! I'm not racist. I just don't like Grimm.

Jaune: You're a real dwarfy Dwarf, Nora.

Nora: WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!

Dungeon Level B3

Grimm: (Barks)

Grimm: (Snarls)

Grimm: (Growls)

Grimm: (Yips)

Grimm: ?!

Grimm: (Snaps, Snaps in two)

Pyrrha: Do you ever wonder what the Grimm talk about?

Jaune: Probably Grimm stuff, like how to get the most negative emotions out of a person. Oh, scoop up that ash.

Nora: How much ash have we got? What's the market price?

Jaune: Er, not great. Last I heard, Grimm Ash was going through another inflation.

Nora: AGAIN?! SERIOUSLY?! HOW AM I GONNA PAY MY RENT?!

Jaune: Well, you can stop drinking syrup from the top shelf.

Nora: Wow... That's a low blow. You think we can go deeper than this?

Jaune: I wouldn't do it. We should get at least a four-man party, preferably five.

Nora: Mm...

Pyrrha: (Turns, Sees arrow flying at her)

Jaune: (Grabs Pyrrha, Blocks arrow)

Pyrrha: Thank you, Jaune!

Jaune: See? This is what I'm talking about. We need a scout to prevent ambushes like this. Show yourself... GRIMM.

Cinder: (Steps out) Well, well... You parried my arrow cleanly. Looks like you're not just a pretty face... HUMAN.

Jaune: Why did you attack us, Grimm? We mean you no harm.

Nora: I DO! I'm gonna harm that skull into PIECE, BONE-FACE!

Jaune: Nora, can you please be quiet for just a second?

Cinder: Oh my... Isn't it obvious? I attacked you to get what I want. Because there's one thing every Grimm-Kin girl wants...

Cinder: HER VERY OWN MAN-SLAVE~! HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO~!

Cinder: YOU, PRETTY BOY~!

Jaune: Huh?

Cinder: I like you~! Ufufufu~... Back home, all the men I got were broken hand-me-downs from my mother! Now, I get to finally have my own boy-toy~!

Cinder: Don't worry, I won't kill anyone~! My blades and arrows are coated with knock-out poison, so I can take you all down with just a scratch! Then I'm going to drag pretty boy off and teach him how to please a woman~!

Jaune: Ah... So, let me get this straight. You're attacking us just because you want to have sex with me.

Cinder: Oh~? Have I piqued your interest~?

Cinder: It's not a big deal, is it~? You only need to become my pet and I'll allow you to play with this body. Imagine the desperate moans I'll make as you drag your tongue over my peaks and valleys, driving me wild with pleasure~!

Jaune: Hm... That does sound like a good deal.

Pyrrha: J-Jaune?! Wait! Don't fall for her lies! She's trying to trick you!

Jaune: I'll admit, you're a very attractive lady, and I'm sure there are many men out there who would give up everything to be with someone like you.

Cinder: So you'll be mine then?!

Jaune: BUT I REFUUUSE! GIRLS AND BOYS MUST NOT FORNICATE BEFORE MARRIAAAGE! NO CASUAL ENCOUNTERS! NO KISSING BEFORE THE TENTH DATE! NO MOUTH PLAY! NO ASS PLAY! DEFINITELY NO ASS TO MOUTH PLAY! ONLY MISSIONARY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROCREATION! BETWEEN MARRIED COUPLES! MONOGAMYYY! NO HAREMS! NO ORGIES! HAND HOLDING IS OKAY, BUT DON'T! LOCK! THOSE! FINGEEERS!

Pyrrha: ...

Jaune: ...

Nora: ...

Cinder: ...

Nora: ...

Cinder: ???

Pyrrha: Whew!

Jaune: Khm! My name is Jaune Arc, and I am a Paladin of Order. THIS is my solemn vow.

Cinder: Uh... Is every surface dweller this prudish, or is it just him?

Jaune: ...

Nora/Pyrrha: It's just him.

Cinder: Okay! So, uh... Kinda got sidetracked, but you're not volunteering to be my man-slave, right?

Jaune: Yeah.

Cinder: Good~! I prefer doing this the old-fashioned way.

Jaune: Here we go. Stay behind me. I'll handle this.

Cinder: Hoohoohoo~! A little overconfident, aren't we? THE ONLY THINGS YOU'LL BE HANDLING ARE MY NIPPLES IN BED~!

Jaune: (Holds action)

Cinder: (Leaping strike)

???: Oscura Ventos...

Cinder: (Knocked on her back) GAH!

Jaune: ?!

???: What have I told you about "No more man slaves"? Such a naughty girl~...

Cinder: Dammit! You always get in my way...

Cinder: MOTHER!

Salem: But then again, I'm not surprised. You always were needy for attention.

Cinder: Why did you stop me?!

Salem: Because slavery is WRONG, Cinder. We need to start treating men as equals.

Jaune: You okay?

Cinder: Oh, fuck off! You were going through three men a day just a week ago, so cut the crap!

Salem: That was the old men. I'm a new woman now, ever since I met...

Salem: (Cuddling to Papa Arc) My husband~! Mr. Nicholas Arc~!

Papa Arc: Heya, son~! How ya doin'?! (Laughing with Salem)

Jaune: ...Hi, Dad.

Papa Arc: Jaune, my boy! How's it hangin'~?

Jaune: I'm fine, Dad. Why are you in the dungeon with two Grimm-Kin?

Papa Arc: Ah, yes... These lovely ladies. It's a long story, one full of danger, adventure, and rrromance~...

Jaune: Let me guess; you and your party were hired by a rival faction in Mistral to attack a Grimm-Kin nation, single-handedly destroying their army and were supposed to kill their leaders, too, but then you saw the Grimm-Kin queen was hot, so you couldn't resist and just had to seduce her and screw her brains out, and then you smuggled her out of the war zone with the promise of marriage... again.

Papa Arc: HUH?! H- H- HOW DID YOU KNOW?!

Jaune: This is, like, the eighth time you've done this, Dad.

Papa Arc: Aw, geez... Don't tell me I'm getting predictable!

Nora: By the Brothers! I'm in awe of this GigaBard! This man is my HERO~!

Papa Arc: Ahem! Well, I was going to do this later with your mother, your sisters, and all your other mommies around, but since you're here now, allow me to introduce...

Papa Arc: Your new stepmother, Salem Arc, formerly Salem, Queen of the Grimm-Kin, and her daughter, Cinder, your new stepsister!

Salem: Apologize to your brother, Cinder~.

Jaune: Grr! I'm sorry I tried to enslave you... I guess...

Papa Arc: I was showing them around the dungeon since it's the most profitable job in the Kingdom of Vale.

Jaune: They'll be living with us in town?

Papa Arc: That's right! They'll be strangers in a strange land and they'll need someone to help them get used to our lifestyle. I'll be with Salem, so could you take care of your sister?

Cinder: Hmph! (Turns away)

Jaune: Uh... My "sister" tried to kidnap me and turn me into her sex slave... five minutes ago.

Papa Arc: I know! Isn't it great?! You're like family already!

Papa Arc: C'mon, Jaune, if someone doesn't watch her, she'll be arrested in a day. And besides...

Cinder: (Turned away from everyone)

Papa Arc: She looks like she could really use a friend.

Jaune: ...Fine, I'll do it.

Papa Arc: Attaboy, Jaune~! I knew you'd say yes! That's why I already bought a HOUSE for you! You two will be living together without any supervision~!

Jaune: What?

Cinder: What?!

Pyrrha: WHA- WHA- WHAT?!

Papa Arc: Sorry, Pyrrha. That's just how these things work.

Jaune: ...

Cinder: ...

Pyrrha: ...

Cinder: Ufu~! Ufufufufu~! I've always wanted a little brother~.

Pyrrha: HUH?!

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

And so, in this new house, my strange new life began.

Cinder: Step bro~! Step bro~! Oh, it's just awful~! I forgot to bring my clothes with me, so now I have to come out of the bath NAKED and SOAKING WET~!

Jaune: (Eyes shut) Here, I brought you a change of clothes. Cinder, please stop trying to seduce me. Seeing your nipples aren't going to make me break my vows as a Paladin.

Cinder: (Hugs him) Are you suuure~?

Jaune: Yes.

Some journeys start without taking a step away from home.

Cinder: Help, Step Bro, help~! I'm stuck in this conveniently positioned hole~!

Jaune: NO, YOU'RE NOT! WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?!

I didn't know this at the time, but my stepsister's appearance was about to steer my Lawful life into a Chaotic world I was utterly unprepared for. But even then, one thing was obvious...

MY GRIMM-KIN STEPSISTER WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE ME ALONE

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

Nora: I'm a huge fan of your work, Mr. Arc! Could you sign my hammer?!

Papa Arc: Why, of course, my dwarven friend! Anything for a fan~!

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Starlo apologist speaks again

this picture right here.. i hate it sm.

TIME TO DEBUNK EVERYTHIN', YEEHAW!

#1 Starlo's name is uncool on purpose might literally mean 'Starloser' It fits his character arc. In other words, he's not the cool, badass sheriff he pretends to be (he's not 'North Star'), but a kind, friendly farmer inside

#2 He definitely DOES care about Clover. Why else would he keep saying he's proud of them, praise them, believe in them, get worried about their safety, send them a warning letter, immediately run to check what's going on with them, get angry at Clover for not staying HOME (yeah he really did consider the Wild East their home) tell Martlet to bring Clover to safety, and jump at Ceroba to try and protect them? don't question the love of star daddy

#3 Undyne actually IS a badass. Starlo isn't. He's a softie who cares about pretending to be cool bc he's insecure, even when in a situation where he could die. He wants to be a hero. He wants to be SOMEBODY, not a NOBODY. Maybe he also cared about his own status more than his town, friends and family (which could be the reason he brought a bb gun). Or he just wanted to buy time so the others could hide. Now that I think about it, it's the latter. Why else would Dina say this in genocide after you kill Ceroba: "He was more of a hero than you'll ever be." That's the whole point of his geno fight that, and a lil bit of angst when roba finds him dying IT'S CALLED CHARACTERIZATION

#4 He kidnaps Clover bc they're a human. The only human who's ever set foot on the sands of the Wild East. He's obsessed with human culture. His whole life ARE westerns. Why? Whether it's the sense of justice cowboys represent, the exciting lives they live, or both, Starlo feels like he matters thanks to this nerdy interest, like he can contribute to his community

#5 i see Martlet as a big sis not a mom bc of how young she is, despite that one joke in bits & bites, but to each their own Star jails Martlet bc of the potential of the Wild East getting shut down. She did threaten to report them to Asgore and well... according to him, better safe than sorry. He even admitted he doesn't feel right doing it

#6 It WAS wrong of him to blame and attack Clover like that, all for his own status and ego (and to get his friends back) It's called a flawed character making a fucking mistake. Or did you expect someone perfect, with no room to grow and develop throughout the piece of media? Also, Clover is not an infant, they're a child. If it was meant to be a joke, it ain't funny bucko

#7 he either actually forgot about the fact he himself kidnapped Clover bc he wasn't in the right mindset (understandable), or purposefully ignored the information to avoid responsibility for his actions & shift the blame onto Clover (he IS flawed and thats more than ok)

#8 in neutral, he doesn't apologize bc Ceroba doesn't come and snap him out of his fantasy & mindset

#9 he did his best with the apology. you can't blame starlo. He's not very good with expressing himself and emotions in general (that he has been avoiding for so long via escapism; he also uses escapism to help Ceroba instead of talking openly with her)

#10 he doesn't know how the ceroba & clover interaction played out bc he was unconscious. Maybe he thought Clover had managed to talk her outta fighting. He says in true pacifist "Yall had a fight?? and the deputy won??" In other words he didnt know they had even fought. To add fuel to the fire, his bff just died and star, being the forgiving sweetheart he is, had wanted to give her a chance at redemption, but never got the chance to. He never got the chance to say goodbye, either.

#11 just bc starlo's an adult doesn't mean he can't have these flaws/behaviors. Every individual is unique. Starlo is deff deeply insecure and most likely autistic, too. Please think about that in the future, thank you

my current feelings can best be described by good old Axis

[grison-in-space]

Hi! Just wanted to say, re:veganism discourse: Excellent Opinions, Great Delivery, Immaculate Vibes 👍 have a great day :)

cheers, ty! it is honestly sort of surprising to me that folks are reading along--as I said to someone else in DMs, I kind of figured that response was mostly something I was putting together in my own head, so I'm pleasantly surprised it's resonating with other people.

I am also just. :| not thrilled to have to be typing up all these "and here's how caring about animal welfare can radicalize you down all these shitty pathways if you add X and Y and Z" because at the end of the day I do think all species are worthy of basic respect; at the end of the day I do think there's nothing fundamentally better about me as a human than any other species. At the end of the day it actually matters a lot to me that my research mice are kept with as much enrichment as I can give them and that their lives and bodies and effort are honored and used wisely. It matters to me that the dogs I teach and the people I teach to train their dogs are learning with minimum stress and maximal confidence. These are all really important planks of my personal code of ethics!

It sucks to feel like I need to sit down and enumerate all the reasons that I think this other perspective of people who start in the same place I do--animals are neat individuals who encompass both the alien and the familiar, which share our lives in a multitude of ways--has developed in such a way that I think it encourages a really toxic way of relating both to animals and ourselves. In general I prefer to focus on places where I can agree with other folks, even if their opinions are different from mine. Someone in the notes brought up "struggle sessions," which are kind of the epitome of toxicity within the left: good values and a desire to help one another get so channeled through perfectionism and backbiting that you wind up with people gathering to literally torture and destroy each other. (Not just in China, either; it keeps happening, cf. Synanon in the US and the dissolution of the Japanese United Red Army.) That's not the kind of way I want to interact with people I'm supposed to be working together with.

So I try not to do that shit too much. I think about the places where people who have values just like mine go down rabbit holes and wind up in bad places, and I try and build barriers so I don't get burned out and angry and dissolve in a puff of flame. (I'm not directly engaging further with this anon for that reason, actually.) But just--aaaaaaaaauuuughhh, ARAs really irritate me because I can see where the roots are, and yet the entire ideology means that there essentially can't be listening. You can see that in the way I'm sitting here going "No, I know what your ideas are, here's why I have rejected them," and still I am getting exhortations to just listen and understand about ARA ideology. No. I did that, the last time there were protests about it in my workplace I went ahead and read the actual detailed IACUC reports released by FOIA that the protestors were shouting about, and bluntly it was a) not convincing and b) exactly the same appeals to emotional knee-jerk reactions and emotional flooding that I decried yesterday. Twenty years I have been checking my responses to these people, and it's never anything different.

I don't think that removing emotion totally from ethics and morals is wise or even possible--we use emotion for decisionmaking and encoding our values, after all, a person without emotion literally cannot decide things--but I do not like or tolerate subcultures that won't leave space to sit, think, and let the first knee-jerk rush of gut response die down. Sometimes, often, I do decide that my gut reaction is right! But I need the space to sit the fuck down and think about it, and if you take that to an ARA space you will mostly get flooded with more emotionally reactive imagery until you agree or leave. And that is coercive.

[problemnyatic]

Unfriendly reminder that there will always be more to gain by fighting systems of oppression than each other.

Yes, I am aware that internalized bigotry exists and is a real problem we need to fight. But I think we would all make more headway on that particular front, as well as in general, if we accept that the boot on our necks is a bigger problem than who's getting more cookie crumbs than the other.

I've been through the fucking wringer at the hands of my fellow queers. Believe me when I say that I fucking get how much it fucks you up to be mistreated by your own community. But I fucking promise you, there is nothing to be gained by divvying up the gallows and saying that your side is the one who's suffering is more legitimate.

Yes, the wounds we leave on each other in our ignorance, in our hurt, in lashing out, in our internalized bigotries, they matter. They are important, and we need to hold each other to a high standard of compassion for each other and accountability. But that will never, ever mean creating subdivisions of our community for purposes of sorting each other into abusers and victims.

We are all victims.

Infighting will only serve to weaken our community, make it difficult to organize, make it easier for our oppressors to fuck us over, and leave more goddamn fucking wounds we need to dress.

Yeah, that shit he said about trans women was really fucked up. We need to work on that. Yeah, that shit she said about trans men wasn't fucking okay. She needs to do better.

Kiss and Make. Up. We have bigger enemies than each other.

No more fucking profiling. No more categorizing each other into teams. We're individuals with baggage and no one individual acting on a bias speaks or acts on behalf of the entire demographic they're a part of. Even the most bitter enemies in the queer community, hell, any leftist community, have more in common with each other than they do with the oligarchs running our planet and our lives into the dirt.

The real enemies are only unreachable if we're picking the battles we have with each other instead of the bigger ones we share.

[oceanwithinsblog]

every day that passes we're getting closer and closer to the final episodes of doctor who s14 (or s1, whatever) (i'm also in denial WTH does it mean that this season is almost over ????)

so before i forget (and before the last two episodes drop) i NEED to vent a bit about this season. the following are just my personal opinions (which might change after watching the season finale), please bear with me ^^

first of all - i am so glad doctor who is back !!! i must admit that my doctor who drought lasted for around 5 months as i got introduced to the show back in late summer 2023 and did a speed run of all nuwho seasons between september and november 2023. i got super excited for the december specials !! and i was even more surprised and thrilled when i found out a new season of dw was premiering in may 2024 !! i know i've been lucky to wait for so little to get immersed in a new dw season but i truly, truly missed it and i enjoyed every episode of s14 <3 now i'm sad to think that this is about to end, but it felt so good to finally see the doctor back in action and to get through each week thinking that one of my favorite characters/storylines/universes was gonna be there for me on the weekend <3 i love dw so much <3

#2 idk about you but i fell so easily for ncuti as the doctor and millie as ruby/the companion TT they're both so good, i really appreciated their acting this season and i would also say that it's probably one the (few) things that positively shocked me this time around. i guess it was a bit unfair for me to think that ruby wasn't my cup of tea after watching just 'the church on ruby road' ep because she totally surprised me this season. she's so great! millie's acting is on point, so captivating and funny to watch throughout the show. i can't wait to find out more about her character fr! well, what's to say about ncuti as the doctor .. ohmy oh my .. i don't think i've ever seen a doctor so confident, so flirtatious, so proud in themselves .. ncuti's doctor exudes charisma and i'm so here for it. that's absolutely not to say that the doctor's worries, traums etc. magically disappear (they're still very present and influence their every move), but what i loved the most about his acting is that he goes all the way into it. fifteen may become one of my favorite doctors ngl (say hi to eleven and ten) and i am so looking forward to where they're gonna take us next <3

#3 as for writing, i feel that something's missing ... don't get me wrong, i love rtd's cool nice funny episodes and seeing the doctor face a range of diverse situations (even the most unthinkable ones, e.g. space babies) is just priceless.. but there's some kind of void in it, too. now that i think about it, maybe it's not the writing itself but the length of the season - having less than 10 episodes doesn't really give us much time and space to properly explore the dynamics between characters, strengthen their relationships and make them grow both individually and as a whole. besides, i admit that i'm a bit biased, but i loved (most of) moffat's writing for the seasons he was a showrunner of and i personally would love to see ncuti bringing to life more stories written by moffat (yes..i know he wrote 'boom' for s14). basically, i miss 'old' nuwho seasons of 18+ episodes where we could get even more affectionate to the characters and the adventures that defined their journey through the multiverse T___T

before i move on to my last point, may i also add (storyline-wise) that i wished the episodes were more interconnected with each other? not necessarily with the narration, even just with easter eggs ^^" idk maybe moffat got me used to have high expectations lol (i'm still eager to find out who the lady appearing in all episodes is !!!! may this dw finale give us all the answers we need)

#4 i would have never thought i would write this (mainly because i would have never thought there could come a time when these gadget weren't going to be used as much) BUT I DEARLY MISS THE TARDIS AND THE SCREWDRIVER WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM ?!?!?! i loved previous doctors goofing around with their sonic screwdrivers and running in the tardis allowing us (the audience) to find out more and more about the endless number of rooms in it ... why does it seem like fourteen doesn't love their tools ?? why don't they show them more throughout the season ?? this is like classic items that can't miss in the episodes so WERE IS THAT SILLY GOOFY STUFF ?? also, as much as i enjoy fourteen and ruby going on adventures in different time periods etc. why aren't they EVER showed inside the TARDIS travelling and waiting to get to their destination ?? i'm just very nostalgic (i took this very personally, i'm sorry i'm just angry at rtd)

well - i guess that's it! if you've read this far, thank you for reading me <3 let me know what you think about it and what you're expecting for the next couple episodes of s14 <3

ps. i'm very hopeful that rogue will be a recurring character <3

pps. ncuti gave the queers the most fruity doctor ever (no shade to all previous doctors, you've served and delivered and we love u immensiely) <33

[justin-chapmanswers]

Was there a different way [like work flow and stuff like that] you guys wrote season 3 differently from season 2? If so will you continue that flow into season 2?

Also do you have any tips on how to mange an object show since you've worked on II for a long time?

[The voices you do in II are so funky and I mean this in the best way possible]

Thank you so much! My funky voices are incredibly grateful.

Near the end of the pre-Invitational season two, the process was generally that we'd talk out where we want to go next, have our big debates, and Brian and I would draft up an outline for the team. Then the writing would start and, as it was for almost every season two episodes before Invitational, the group would just jump into a Google Doc and we'd write, together, chronologically until we'd get burnt out. Some of us were thinking of the minutiae on-the-fly, some of us would draft up practice-scripts ahead of time to work off of. It was chaotic, but then we'd spend a long while reworking/rewriting scenes.

Starting with Invitational, things changed. Most notably, we started having one writer per episode instead of jumping into the chaos. Having four writers in at once didn't help, it just made things complicated. It was about learning to let go a bit and trust the rest of the team to do a good job. We'd still of course chat about the events well-ahead of time, but then the writer would be the one to outline and pitch that outline to the team before writing. And then in revisions, we'd give notes to the writer instead of individually taking cracks at scenes. That way, the whole episode became one person's singular artistic vision. By the end of Invitational, we also weren't doing the "have our big debates" part of the process, anymore. We still would push for ideas we're passionate about, but it's been a long while since we weren't agreeable and on the same page.

So then there's the question about season two. We've been generally sticking to the Invitational way of going about things with season two, except also with Brian and I being back on outlining, and it's been going really great! Before Invitational, the pre-writing and writing time used to be the longest parts of the episode process. And not because we were spending that whole time being productive. It was common that the pre-writing planning part of the episode would be a little intense so we'd often take breaks after the previous episode's completion (plus because it's nice to take time to clear our heads) as to not jump back into chaos. And then carving time for all of us to be in the space for hours at a time while balancing school/life was tough to schedule. That all to say, now, the writing process is efficient and super-not-chaotic (aka healthy!). Instead of a few months at that stage, we're there maybe like a month and a half, from early concept (aside from the stuff we've been thinking up for years already haha) to final draft. And that's all while we've been overlapping episodes that are each at different stages, with their own things to get done. I think what we've been cooking up is gonna be really special. <3

I've been rambling for a while so I'll (try to) keep this next part short. As for the question about managing projects, that's just a tricky one cause I'd normally tailor the advice depending on the scale of the project, the amount of experience for those going in, etc. But in a broad sense I'd say do everything you can to work specifically with the people who make you excited to work. Whose ideas inspire you. If you're leading, really try to understand every step of the process. Definitely trust parts of the pipeline to other people if it's not your cup of tea, but really understand what they do. Say thank you every chance you get. If you're having fun with your show, whether it be the goofiest or most-serious of all shows, the viewers will, too. Making each step of production an enjoyable experience is worth fighting for.

[inkmonster21]

Sing for Me

13. You Know Me

Cooper Howard × Fem!Reader / The Ghoul × Fem!Reader

She's a singer the nation adores. He's the actor everyone respects. What happens when these two get entangled in a heated affair? Passion, regret, rage, and even murder will commence.

From before the bombs drop to the vast wasteland, these two souls live for one another.

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

Tagged: @fallout-girl219 @harmfulb1tch @themadhattersqueen @one-of-thewalkingdead

I was tracking that Doctor in the wasteland. He hasn’t left long ago, only a day ahead my me. The dog was now at my heels. He stops at the buried diner, where the bloody remains of Doctor Wilzig lay, now headless. Kneeling as a coughing fit captures me. I dig into my pocket retrieving the chem and my inhaler. The weakness being taken away, the hurt in my bones being lifted, and the sweet lull of her voice now present in my ears. I take another inhale, just for shits and giggles. Call me guilty, but I just want to see her again. The more I do the more I’m able to see sweet hallucinations of her. 

I look up seeing the ghostly figure of her waving through the sand. She stares at the body of the Doctor with wide eyes. "Well, he must've said something mean." I let the corner of my mouth tug in a grin. "Come on, let's go find the rest of him." I begin to walk again, watching the dream of her pacing around before my eyes. The dog in tow of my shadow.

The trail of footprints leads to a tiny pit stop. A small bar and a row of cabins across the way. In all my travels I hadn't seen this place before. Seems I missed some things when I was buried in a box for 30 years.

Fucking Dom Pedro, I'll be coming for that ass one day.

I walk into the bar, the crowd slim. The bartender wiping a glass looks at me with nervous eyes. The young kid couldn't have been but 17. I lean on the worn wooden top. "You see a girl come through here? Decapitated head with her?" He looks over his shoulder, gazing at a door before thinking twice. Bingo. He shakes his head, "No, no one passed through here. Just the regulars for Melody." "Well, can I speak to this, Melody?"

"She's not here." A ghoul spoke. "Yeah? She ain't back there hiding?" I point back towards the door. "Don't mind if I check do you?" I walk over to grasp the knob. As I do the fellow ghoul pulls his gun up, but I pull my trigger first blasting a hole into his abdomen. I turn around, addressing the whole establishment. "Now, if ya'll don't mind. I'll be taking a tour." Without any protest, I enter the room.

The small room is lit by several small lamps. A vanity mirror against the wall, and makeup littering the top. I walk along the empty room the space feeling relaxing. déjàvu at its finest. I could almost... smell her. I run a hand over a beaded outfit, a stage costume. I take the fabric off the floor and look at it at full length. I shutter an exhale dropping the dress to the floor.

I move to the wall across the way, my breath getting caught in my throat. Posters from the movies we had done. Her album covers line the walls. One individual catches my eye. The while smiles of two lovers on a Christmas evening. I run my finger over her face. Could it be? Could this Melody... be my (Y/n)? I take the photo tucking it into the inner rim of my hat.

I exit the building, more determined than ever to find the target. Where the head was, she was, and if it was really her... I don't know what I would do first. Question her of her every move, or instantly attack her with starving passion. A starving man who’s ached for her touch for over 200 years.

~

Lucy gasps as she stops. "Look!" She peeps in a hushed voice. A baby deer pokes its head from the grass near the water. I roll my eyes at her incompetence. Such a simple-minded motherfucker. I dig for a cracker in my bag and hand it to her. "Go and feed it if you want." Her eyes got even larger I was worried they'd pop from her head. She nears the animal with a smile, leaning down she feeds the baby the cracker. She smiles and looks back at me. I shake my head with my arms crossed. "She's like a toddler," Conor whispers from behind. "Yep."

Suddenly the deer was snatched into the water. A gulper lunges out of the water and snaps at Lucy. "Ah, shit!" I yell as I rush to her side, dragging her away. Conor shoots it in the side, but as we know these motherfuckers are tough. It snatches at her hands, getting hold of the head and retreating back underwater. Lucy stands as she chases the creature's current across the lake. "Wait, Lucy, wait!" I yell as I run after her.

Just as I come to see her, a figure looms over her hunched body, pointing his gun at Lucy. She exhales a small breath and smiles, "Hello again." I raise my gun in haste pointing it at the figure. He's yet to notice me behind him. I continue to creep silently behind his body.

"Where is it?" He kicks around her bag, "The head." He whips her across the face with the butt of his gun.

I press the barrel of my gun to his back. His entire body stills as I apply pressure."Is that how you treat a lady?" The Ghoul tips his head, his face hidden, "Well," I can hear the smirk in his voice, "You gonna pull that trigger darlin'?" I look him up and down, something strangely familiar about him. "I might. Haven't had had a thrill in a while." Conor comes out of the shrubs as well, weapon drawn. The Ghoul looks over the new arrival, his tongue darting out of his mouth. A dark fire in his expression as he glares at my backup. He draws faster than I had ever seen before shooting Conor dead on the spot. I scream in shock, no one in the 30 years had he ever been caught off guard.

I look up to see The Ghoul with his weapon now raised to me. "This ain't the greeting I'd had hoped, darlin'." I lunged at him, grabbing and clawing at his frame. "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" He tosses me off and gets on top of me, straddling my body as I roll in the dirt. He grabs my hands forcefully and ties them tightly together. I glare at him as I smell the crimson blood flow from Conor's body. "Fuck you!" I scream at him. He glares at me, meeting my orbs. I suck in a breath, his glare making me cower, making me weak. "You upset I shot your little boyfriend, honey?" He laughs as he stands, dragging me beside Lucy. She cries for Conor, spewing apologies.

The Ghoul points his gun at Lucy questioning about the head once more. She shuddered, "I-I don't know where it is, okay? I lost it. I lost it." I watch him shake his head. He meets my eyes again. They soften slightly. I couldn't look away from him. I wanted to lean into the touch of his gloved hand. "Where'd it go, sweetheart? Huh?" The answer falls from my lips. "A Gulper got it." He smirks before tipping my chin, "Good girl."

I stare at Conor's body slowly coming to the realization. He was gone. My friend, my brother, now lay dead in the dirt. What the fuck was I going to do now? He was the one who knew all the code when an issue occurred, all the maintenance, all the parts, and the work it took to maintain my memory drive. If I didn’t have my drive reloaded onto the memory stick I would start shorting out.

I look at the blades of grass stained with my friend's blood. This Ghoul stings Lucy up to a pull system rig. "Stop, please! My dad, he's an Overseer. He-he got taken by raiders, and I need that head to get him back. If you help me find him, he'll do whatever you want." Lucy begs as she cries out. He drops her into the water, calmly turning to me watching as the worry grows. "You're going to kill her!" "Oh please," He brings Lucy back up, and she struggles to catch her breath. "Stop. Stop! Torture is wrong," Lucy coughs. The Ghoul leans on the post. "You know, they used to do these things called "studies." Why, you couldn't open a newspaper without reading about one study or another. Anyway, this one particular study came out, and it said that torturing a person doesn't do shit." He drops her back down into the water. I look at him curiously. Those were prewar references. Studies in the newspaper.

I remember Cooper making the same complaint. “Can’t turn a page without one popping out at you.” He’d roll his eyes as he turned the page. The memory pushed a ghostly smile on my lips.

He brings her up again. Lucy cries loudly, "Sir, please, I need the head. It's the only way I can get my father back." He ignores her, "My point is... if you ask me, them studies, they were right. Torturing a person don't do shit." Lucy shakes her head in confusion, "Then why... why are you doing this?" I huff, struggling against my binds. "He's using you as fucking bait, Lucy!" The Ghoul drops her down once more. I slip from the rope and go to tackle the Ghoul. I punch and roll him away, getting to my feet and raising Lucy just in time for the Gulper to jump from the water. It attaches to her feet as I pull her back. Lucy tosses anything she can at the Gulper, including the stranger's bag. I light a flare and throw it into the Gulper's mouth. It shrieks before releasing Lucy's leg and retreating into the water.

The Ghoul stands with fury in his eyes. He points the gun at us with a firm hand. He makes eye contact with me and huffs lowering the weapon. He reaches inside his bag, pulling out a small case, upon opening shards of glass fall out. His breath becomes even more rigid. The anger unleashed, “FUCK!” He screamed out.

I push a laugh and sneer at him, “serves you right.” He glares at me while pointing a gloved finger at my chest, “Shut your fuckin’ mouth.” He grabs hold of my throat, “or I’m gonna have to shut it for you.” He tosses me aside.

Lucy gathers herself on her knees, "You can't treat people like this!" The Ghoul looks over the water. "Yeah? Why's that?" "Because of the golden rule." I roll my eyes at her, "It's not the fucking time, Lucy." She shakes her head and continues, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." The Ghoul ignores her, muttering under his own breath. "Those Gulpers digest real slow. You got time." He turns on his heel. He kneels to Lucy on the ground binding her hands together. He turns to me, "You." He places the loop end of his lasso around my neck and tightens it. He glares into my eyes as he tugs it, "Come on."

He tugs me behind him, Lucy following as well. "Where are we going? What about the head? I need the head to get my dad back." The Ghoul continues walking, "Yeah, well, the Wasteland's got its own golden rule." "Oh? What's that?"

I say without thought, "Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamn time." The Ghoul looks back at me as we track through the greenery. He stares into my eyes, his lips drawing into a smirk.

We walk through the noon wasteland heat, the sun hitting high in the sky beating down. Lucy gasps in small breaths. Her steps closer together as she staffers, her exhaustion battling. "Do you plan on stopping for a break? Or are you going to drag my ass through this hellhole?" The Ghoul looks to his side catching my features. I was in perfect condition. I could travel for miles unfazed, but Lucy looked like she was about to fall over. If I was to get anywhere near Hank MacLean, I needed his daughter alive. "Ain't stopping for shit." I watch his features contort. He's in pain. I lean into his space, our arms brushing. "I have a vial in my bag." I offer him. "If you allow us to stop, even for just an hour, I'll give it to you." The Ghoul stares at me, the ache in his bones growing. He didn’t have much of an option. If he had any brains left at all he’d take the deal.

"Fine." He huffs as he spins me around and digs into my bag. "Side pocket." He dips his hand down, skimming my side through the thick fabric of the bag, still a shiver runs up my spine. A long-forgotten feeling I didn’t want resurfacing.

I grit my teeth, "Watch it, cowboy." He smirks, showing his teeth, and biting his lip slowly. I take in every movement, my body unable to stop this natural attraction. Such a familiar urge pulling in my core. The familiarity in his eyes fights the harsh demeanor confusing me even more.

He grabs the glass vile, applying pressure to my side as he pulls his hand out. "Sorry, darlin'." He steps closer, running his fingers on the skin of my neck, I close my eyes as I get drunk on his touch. He loosens the rope on my neck, taking it over my head. "Go on, then. Rest.”

I turn to tend to Lucy. Allowing her to sip the little water we had left. “Thank you.” She croaks. “Don’t thank me yet, Lucy.” I look behind me seeing the Ghoul watching with his hat tipped ever so slightly. He watches with a smirk, staring directly at my frame. I feel that same shiver in my spine and I take a breath. Beyond him was a large building, halfway buried in the sand. The land resembles the once-thriving town. The current building was the movie theater, next to that was the restaurant, and down the way was a candy shop.

I grab Lucy’s arm pulling her with me to the building to take advantage of the shade. “Stay here.” I pass her the canister of water and silently move my way toward the entrance of the abandoned building.

I wander deep into the halls, most of the rooms torn apart with little to salvage. I see a poster crumpled under my shoes. I move the rubble to get a better look. I laugh lightly, bending down to retrieve it. A movie poster. One of his favorites actually. The special movie he was able to make with Rosevelt. I pick it up with a small grin.

“Anything in here worth a shit?”

I turned to see the Ghoul as he silently leaned against the doorway. I folded the worn faded poster quickly, stuffing it into my bag before shaking my head. “Nope. Just some junk.” His eyes shifted to my bag quickly. I push past him in search of caps, food, anything to distract me from dipping into forbidden waters.

“Then what’s that?” He grabs my bag tugging it down my arm. “Hey!” I fight for it back but he pulls the crumpled post out. Barely recognizable, but I knew what it was, who it was. “Give that back, fucking asshole.”  

The Ghoul laughs as he holds the poster out for his viewing eyes. He reads off the words, his southern drawl thick in his words, “Cooper Howard staring in A Man and His Dog.” He looks down at me. He raises a hairless brow, “this your type of thing?” I snatch the poster from his gloved hand. “It’s a good movie.” “Cute dog.” I stuff the worn paper down into my bag. “Best fucking dog around.”

I venture to the next room. The projection booth remained pretty untouched. Being tucked away from most wanderers. I look over my shoulder seeing the Ghoul leaning against the door frame with a shameless smirk. “Why are you following me around? She'll make a break for it if you’re not around.”

“Nah, I doubt she’ll be able to run.” He lifts himself from the door, his boots scuffling the floor with each step. I look between each case, and box, only finding a handful of caps. “I’m more concerned bout you, darlin’.” I turn around, having to back up into the shelves. His face is at a perfect angle. I can truly see him.

He takes one step closer, pinning me to the bookcase. My breath shutters as I inhale, soaking him in. He bores into my eyes silently. Words are not spoken but a conversation is taking place. One I am unable to hear. A private conversation between souls. I crave him, this stranger with the familiar glow. He runs a finger over my bottom lip. I turn my head away, but he readjusts it to meet his gaze. He dips his head lower, our faces inches from each other. "What are you doing?" The Ghoul's smirk rises again. "Just takin a look." He pulls a case from the shelve. "Ain't this you?" The film being a musical I starred in. I look at him curiously. "You know me, cowboy?" He shrugs, his hat shielding his features once more, "Well, that depends." He raises his head, allowing his orbs to pop through. "You know me?"

I stare at him, the missing pieces of a puzzle I didn't know needed solving. He felt so familiar. He knew of a life before the bombs, maybe that's why the connection was there.

A loud scream breaks me from my trance. I push past him and race outside. Lucy tied to a wooden beam in the front kicks at a rad roach with a panicking whine. I shoot the bugs with an annoyed expression. "Calm down would you?" She shakes, her eyes wide, "Those things were about to eat my toes!" She panics as she pulls against her binds.

We continue on walking through the wasteland to some unknown destination. The Ghoul walks behind Lucy and me; making sure we advance on his path. He stares at me with each step. His eyes glassed over slightly. The one vial only would hold his pain over for so long.

Lucy pants in the sun her legs threatening to fail her. "Melody. Do... Do you have any more water?" I shaky my head at her with a sympathetic look. She turns to look at the Ghoul. "Sir. Sir, please. I need water. Please." He goes and pulls out his canteen, opens the lid, drinks the remaining water, and even dumps out the last drops onto the sand. I shake my head at him. Such a petty man. Lucy's pants of dehydration make him smirk. He looks me up and down. "How come you're all dandy? Hadn't seen you want for nothing." "I don't need water." "Everyone needs water." I shake my head, "Not me." The Ghoul challenges again, "Well why the fuck not?" I sneer at him with a smirk, "I guess you'll just have to wait and find out." He smirks, his teasing behavior continuing, building the tension between us. "Shit, darlin', I like surprises."

I could feel his wandering eyes rake over my body. The burning gaze made my hair stand and my stomach turn. Passing a building, a groan and a shout ring out. "Roger! My name is Roger!" The Ghoul makes Lucy enter first. He places a hand on my lower back, "Come on, darlin'." I fight the urge to lean into his touch, in hopes he would use both his hands.

Upon entering we see a man sitting and thrashing on the sand. "Roger. My name is Roger." He's going down and fast. I press my lips together watching the stranger twist in pain. "Roger. Roger. My name... is Roger!" He screams out again. The Ghoul leans down in front of the turning Ghoul.

"Hey, Rog." He focused his gaze, a small smile coming up at the sight. "Hey. Hey. Fancy seeing you out here. You out for that bounty, too, huh?" He nods, "Yep." Roger unwillingly snarls and wails. The Ghoul looks towards his acquaintance. "How you feeling?"

Roger chuckles after a harsh exhale. "Oh... You know... it's hard out here. Dang smoothies can be so unkind." Roger turns to look toward Lucy and I. He points at me with a chuckle. "Hey! I saw you not too long ago. Sang that one song, real pretty but real sad, about going to your grave." I push a smile, "Yeah, I wrote that a while back. Glad you enjoyed it." Roger huffs looking towards the Ghoul. "Got yourself a nice-looking smoothie. Sings like an angel." He snarls loudly making Lucy jump.

"You're turning." Roger grunts, "Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Hey, you-you don't happen to have any vials, do you? Just one little puff and I'll be back on my feet. You know I'm good for it." The Ghoul shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Roger. I'm all out." Roger holds his hands up, "That's okay. That's okay. Though, um, you and your smooth-faced friends, you, um... might want to clear out... before things get ugly." He snarls loudly. I kneel, smiling at Roger. I began to sing the lyrics he spoke of.

It's sooner than later that I'm six feet under

It's sooner than later that you'll be alone

So who will you turn to tomorrow, I wonder?

For when the bombs drop, lover, you're on your own

Roger smiles at me as the words echo in the beaten-up building. His eyes glossing over, he's almost completely gone.

I am the one who you let see you weeping

I know the soul that you struggled to save

Too bad I'm the bet that you lost in the reaping

Now what will you do when I go to my grave?

His eyes close as he sways. As the last word leaves my mouth a shot rings out, splattering Roger's brain on the back wall. Lucy covers her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Wh... why?" I look back at her. "You're going to have to toughen up, kid. It was for the better." The Ghoul spends no time putting his gun back in his holster and flipping Roger over. I scoff as he cuts into his flesh, skinning him in strips.

The Ghoul brings a slice up to his lips taking a large bite. Lucy gags and protests, "Stop. Stop, stop. Please, I... No, I know it's hard up here, but you don't... you don't have... you don't have to resort to... to..." The Ghoul looks up from his work with a question. "What'd you say your name was?" "Lucy MacLean." The Ghoul stills, he turns to face us, an unreadable expression as he speaks, "MacLean? Huh." He begins his work again, "Well, Lucy MacLean, it ain't all canned peaches and marmalade left up here, sweetheart. Sometimes a fella's got to eat a fella." Lucy pushes her point even further. "You know, my vault has endured hardship, too. In the Great Plague of '77, everyone had to quarantine, they couldn't work the farms together. People starved. My mother included. My dad dropped to 128 pounds, and he still refused to do anything like this." I laugh at her words. She looks at me with wonder, "What? What's so funny?" I shake my head at her, distracting myself with the broken plates on the floor. "No, no, nothing. I feel for him. Must've been so hard." My sarcastic tone is thick in my words. The Ghoul chuckles, "There's what people say they did and what they really did. I'll bet your daddy was first in line at the cookout. I bet he had a bib with a drawing of his neighbor's ass on there." I laugh at his words. "That's funny."

Lucy looks at me in disbelief. "How do you live like this? Why keep going?" The Ghoul turns to her, a glare in his eyes. He stands and stalks towards her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well, one good question deserves another." He turns the handle of the knife to Lucy, "Why the fսck am I doing all the work? Now come on, Vaultie. Ass jerky don't make itself."

[cinamun]

hi! okay—first off? the masterful way in which you’re able to invoke such thoughtful conversations with your storytelling is everything to me. every update of TFA feels like a character study of people we’ve all encountered at some point in our lives! it’s beautiful, really.

secondly! with that being said, i wanted to pick your brains a bit about indira! i don’t know if you’ve ever talked about this before, but regarding our girl’s preference for non-exclusive relationships—how much of it would you attribute to her personality, and how much could be considered a trauma response?

considering all that she’s been through, given her own experience with an overly (wrongfully) possessive man in her life that overstepped SEVERALLLL boundaries [+ having to witness the aftermath of what elijah…rip…did to hope] i just always got the vibe that those things collectively made her very wary of wanting a man to ever feel that comfortable with having a ‘claim’ to her. which is understandable! but the idea also makes me very sad for her; since so much of her current mindset towards dating seems like more of a trauma response than anything.

like yes! as a 21 year old myself, i get the idea of wanting to be free and wanting to date around! but is indira really dating? or is she just entertaining people to avoid looking deeper at a bigger problem/fear that she has, and isn’t willing to overcome at this current point in her life? both things are valid, but i just wanted to hear your take as the storyteller because indira is SUCH an interesting character to me, and i’d love to get a deep-dive on her mindset because i relate to…well…almost all of her story 😭 and i’ve found that my own take on dating has shifted drastically due to my experiences with men in the past. where indira is avoidant but still interested in pursuing SOME form of intimacy/companionship, i’ve staunchly sworn off sex and use dating apps as a means to test the waters to ‘see if i’m even ready to date’ … and i’m not. which almost always leads to me getting overstimulated and ghosting after a day or two of light conversation, lol. so this could easily just be me projecting! but either way, i’d love to hear your thoughts!)

Good morning friend! If we aren't taking a deep dive at the human condition, what are we even doing? lol I very much enjoy picking apart our behaviors and why we do the things that we do. Why not put these pixels in Situations™ and then pick it apart in the replies and asks and sometimes DMs?

About Indira...

She is her mother's child and her wanting to date with no strings attached is part of her personality. Indira is healthy, she's happy, she's wealthy and she's beautiful. Why can't it just be that she has no desire to be anything more than what she wants? If a man sleeps around, we don't question it most times. But as soon as we saw a grown, independent, emotionally stable Dira sleep with two men while telling them exactly what their role was, we decided she was foul and something must be 'wrong'.

I find that fascinating!

Why can't it just be that Indira is having fun and living life? Why can't it just be that she is young, carefree and likes big dicks and big wallets?

Having said that, we have yet to hear from Dira how the experience with Rahul and Ryker may have shaped her as an individual (not just who she sleeps with). We saw bits and pieces about how Elliot's demise impacted her and certainly it wasn't a positive impact. Luckily, Dr. Carter, the family therapist, took turns with each of the Drake children after The Tragedy on the Pier™. She didn't have to go through it alone and worked hard in theraphy to develop healthy boundaries and work through the trauma.

Needless to say, there is so much more to come with her. We've only caught glimpses because the story has gone in a few different directions since her debut in Tomarang as a brand new young adult. I do hope you stay tuned for what is to come!

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I've been reading some of your homestuck essays, I think they're really good! I would like to know what you think about post-retcon homestuck and the interactions between reader and author throughout homestucks publishing. I was not in the fandom at the time of it being published, but I find this to be a very interesting aspect of the comic!

I was only on the fringes of the fandom at the time, but even that was enough to recognize that the fandom was absolutely awful. Every bad story you've heard about the Steven Universe, Voltron, and Undertale fandoms has its roots in the Homestuck fandom.

Pretty much as soon as the webcomic got popular on Tumblr, Hussie was put under intense scrutiny for basically every decision they ever made ever. I'm not going to say that Hussie was a perfect individual who never did anything wrong, because Hussie is a human being and that's how it works, but it's basically impossible to overstate how much the fandom tried to make an enemy out of Hussie.

The fandom was convinced that Hussie was their personal LE, and that attitude continues to this day - like, for an easy example of the fandom harassing Hussie for Literally Anything, when he stated that all trolls were bi/pan, to the point where they didn't have specific words for single-gender attraction, comparing it to a "more exacting preference" like somebody who only dates fat people - but that even within that framework, Kanaya was undoubtedly a lesbian character - people insisted Hussie was being homophobic. Fucking homophobic! For confirming all trolls are bi/pan, except Kanaya, who's a lesbian!

Other examples include: calling Hussie homophobic for John saying he wasn't a homosexual and Karkat literally not knowing what a homosexual was, because again, all trolls are bi/pan. Calling Hussie racist for making the kids aracial but accidentally leaving references to Dave having pale/pink skin in (because Hussie is a biased human person who can't be perfect and who did try to be more inclusive as the comic went on). Deciding that the dancestors served no purpose except for Hussie to be mean to their audience. Like there are valid criticisms to be made of Homestuck, but anything that was valid, nuanced, or thoughtful was drowned under a deluge of incoherent accusations of every -ism and -phobia that the fandom could possibly muster, the fandom as a whole racing to see who could paint Hussie as the biggest monster, even as they were harassing them to make more Homestuck.

Not to mention this was the era of rampant, unchecked ship wars and fandom misogyny. Not that fandom misogyny has gone away, mind you, but it's slightly more in check now. This was the era of fandom where it was normal to be sent death threats for shipping the "wrong" ship, and fandom ship wars were often encouraged by media of the time (love triangles were HOT - think zutara vs. kataang, team jacob/team edward, danny fenton/sam manson vs. danny fenton/valerie grey) because it drove up engagement. Homestuck was not really interested in shipping wars and love triangles - while many characters had circuitous routes and false starts, many were also pretty clearly set up to have specific endgame ships. But the fandom wasn't trained to behave that way, and the troll quadrants + canonical bi/pan trolls + active role of romance in the story meant that the ship wars were brutal - and also, Hussie was getting harassed every step of the way for not making peoples' favorite ships canon, a major part of a larger trend of people constantly ragging on Hussie for things not going the way they wanted plot-wise, to the point where Hussie had to comment on it constantly on his Formspring.

And don't think I forgot about the fandom misogyny! Here's a hot take for the class: Vriska is literally just Girl Zuko. She's ostensibly a noble from an imperialistic, warmongering, fascist society with an abusive parent who raised her with strict expectations, who thinks she has to act much more evil and more tough than she feels in order to earn the approval of her parent/society, and who secretly has misgivings and feels really bad about it and was set up for a redemption arc.

And people HATED Vriska. Vriscourse was so bad that many Homestuck fan spaces banned talking about Vriska at ALL, because just the mere mention of her name would spark massive, endless flame wars as people argued whether or not she deserved her little redemption arc (spoilers: yes, it turns out death is cheap in Homestuck and characters changing, growing, and becoming better is a huge part of the story) or whether or not she was justified in doing the things she did. Genuinely, I think a huge part of this intense hatred and anger was just misogyny. God forbid women have Zuko's character arc.

It was also part of two other large trends in the fandom - the first was that, despite finding every possible reason to call Hussie -ist and -phobic they could, the fandom itself was, ummm... "of its time." For example, the original March Eridan stuff was pretty clearly meant to be funny because, look, man in a dress! Isn't it sooo funny when Eridan wears a dress? (No hate to the artist, this was a long time ago and I'm sure they're a different person now.) The fandom was also constantly goading Hussie on WRT which characters were fat, and while we can argue about whether Hussie is fatphobic because none of the characters are canonically drawn to be fat, I'm going to go to bat for them on this: people treat the Fat Vriska jokes as though Hussie is the creepy weirdo exclusively, but the fandom was goading them on and thought that shit was hilarious, because that was what early internet fandom was like a lot of the time - at the same time as it harassed and decried creators for being problematic, it would turn around and delight in shitting on women, neurodivergent people, POC, and fat people, and Homestuck was rampant with it.

The second trend the Vriscourse was a part of was one that also hasn't fully gone away, but it's better now - wilful ignorance of the actual comic's contents. I'm not talking about the usual fandom fare of noncanon ships or "x character is trans/autistic/etc. even though I know there's no canon basis," which is all pretty damn harmless, but I mean like, memes and fanon would override canon and you would be outright harassed for not playing along. There are STILL places to this day that will call you an actual fascist, genocide liker, evil and irredeemable, etc. if you try to stick up for Eridan, even though Eridan is actually the LEAST casteist highblood and his entire character arc is about how his shitty fascist society makes him deeply anxious and unhappy. Similarly, you can/definitely would be be harassed for saying you don't like March Eridan and/or think it's OOC (it is), and I have nothing but sympathy for Gamzee and Equius fans, who also get it really bad.

The most vocal parts of the fandom, if not the majority, were people who were generally uninterested in engaging with Homestuck on Homestuck's terms, instead dead set on making up a version of it in their head and harassing people who disagreed, including Hussie. Echoes of that persist to this day - Equius, Gamzee, and Eridan get it bad, but practically none of the trolls have fandom interpretations that actually line up with who they are - Kanaya is actually just Eridan's bully (and did nothing to help Tavros after she caught Vriska kissing him), but people portray her as Nice Team Mom. Feferi is a casteist hypocrite who loves classism and calling people the r-slur, but people portray her as bubbly equality lady. So on and so forth. Like, damn, I barely participate in fandom and I'm out here meeting people who think Karkat ACTUALLY hates his friends like he says he does.

And then, of course, these people went and harassed Hussie because actual Homestuck did not match up with the Homestuck that existed only in their own heads.

On top of all the fandom harassment, Hussie was also facing ballooning scope. Most of Homestuck was a single dude drawing, writing, and animating it, and they would update every two or three days, sometimes less. So from the get-go, Homestuck was an INSANE project that demanded an insane amount of work and time from Hussie, and as it went on, it only got worse - and fandom expectations only got bigger. Suddenly, Hussie had to be in charge of merchandise, in charge of vetting, hiring, directing, and paying third-party artists, planning animations months if not years in advance, creating entire sections of the comic that had GAMEPLAY, directing ACTUAL GAMES, etc. ... there's an argument to be made that Hussie should not have taken on a workload they couldn't manage, but at the same time, the fandom certainly wasn't telling them to slow down. If anything, they harassed Hussie for every update, and were furious when hiatuses needed to happen to plan and execute some of the bigger moments later in the comic.

There's a Sarah Z video out there on the creation of the Homestuck game, which I think is OK if you take into account that Sarah kind of has fandom brain and is a little biased against Hussie (and I guess Hussie did send a spurious legal threat which is pretty funny but, y'know, understandable that Sarah would be peeved), where it's really clear that Hussie was not ready for the kind of responsibility, time, and effort needed to manage a whole-ass video game.

So by the time Game Over and the Retcon roll around, you basically have to imagine that Hussie has so many irons in the fire that the furnace is about to pop like a balloon, and the people they were making the damn things for in the first place have been relentlessly harassing them for YEARS, and weren't even that interested in engaging with the actual story in the first place. I'd say the majority of the fandom to this day STILL does not understand Eridan - how do you think they would've taken his redemption arc, and especially the fact that he was set up to date Karkat and Roxy? Given the pattern of their behavior up to that point... they'd probably harass Hussie and call them homophobic.

This is why I genuinely cannot blame Hussie for turning on the fandom and truncating their story. Vriska got upgraded to main character and had her character development reset because fuck you, fandom, you couldn't understand her redemption arc in the first place so now you don't get one. DaveKat got (kind of) made canon but as a weird throuple with the Mayor because fuck you, fandom, you didn't appreciate any of the actual gay ships that were set up so now you're stuck with brutally OOC DaveKatMayor. Karkat and Jake have their plot threads left hanging because fuck you, fandom, you never even noticed all the prophecies and symbolism and character arcs because you were all too obsessed with screaming at women and took the dancestors as a personal insult, so now the guy who's supposed to defeat LE and the guy who's supposed to bring equality and forgiveness to all bloodlines don't even get to participate in any of the important boss battles.

People call Hussie a troll, and they really aren't. If you read their old Formspring, they're clearly deeply fucking passionate about the art of storytelling, and switch between bafflement, mild indignation, and playing along when people ask them stupid questions. But back then, they were always very serious and genuine when they answered questions asked in good faith, and I'm being 100% genuine when I say that I've learned about how to tell stories better by reading Hussie's Formspring. Over time, however, those stupid questions became more common, and often morphed into outright harassment, and in response to that, Hussie's answers became more humorous and facetious, and the fandom - who was already trying to find ANY reason to hate Hussie - started to paint Hussie as an unreliable trickster and liar who got their jollies by shitting on the fandom.

Honestly, in doing so, the fandom was what turned Hussie into exactly that. Again, I'm not saying Hussie was a perfect baby who did nothing wrong - there's a lot of stuff to critique and scrutinize about their writing, their biases, and what topics they found appropriate to joke about. However, I AM saying that they were also just a human fucking being who was trying to write a good story, who was harassed at every turn, mostly for things that actually weren't problematic at all, whose words and actions were always taken in the absolute worst possible faith, and that the fandom is not fucking faultless, and if there's anyone that I'm mad at for how bad Homestuck ended, it's the fans.

That's my hottest Homestuck take.

[fearmeeeee]

Do u think Brutus is a sebek coded song or am i just hearing voices and need pills

Ooooo Hmmm First of all thank you for this ask, I love getting asked abt him! So needlessly long answer under the cut

Short answer: no, I don't think this song fits Sebek that well </3 Long answer:

The song is from Brutus' perspective and the envy and feeling that he himself deserves to be ruler more than Caesar. However the main actual point of the song is how being born the "cursed sex" makes you perceived as inferior, regardless of your skills. There are lines that can be reinterpreted to match with Sebek but you could only really do that if you focus on his jealousy, specifically of Silver (since that's the only person you can really say Sebek is Jealous of), being more cherished by the people he respects, always following in his footsteps, never beating him etc. Sebek also does feel he has been born inferior and weaker by being half human, and being born "cursed" does fit. I can totally see how this song reminded you of him. However from a literal point, Brutus is probably the last person Sebek would want to be compared to. He is fiercely loyal to his king, would die for him, no questions asked. He doesn't consider himself worthy of such a position, or anyone else really, Malleus to him is the most perfect being to ever grace this world, nobody could ever rival him, and he himself would get rid of anyone who even considered it. Sebek in general also supports the status quo, even if it hurts him, because Malleus having a position of power and being acknowledged is more important to him, than himself getting sth more. The other meaning is still hard to apply, even with my (very sexy) trans hcs, since twst , and especially briar valley don't rlly have much of misogyny?? Most of the Heroes they based their school on are women, they are usually governed by queens, extremely strong mages are women, and for briar valley in particular, they don't seem to care about gender norms very much. Even if you only focus on the jealousy, the song is representative of targeted hatred towards a specific individual, mainly for their privileged status, which in Sebek's case just doesn't fit. The jealousy that Sebek feels towards Silver does fuel him, but he typically burns that fuel in trying to better himself on a daily basis, and between him and proper fae the main sentiment is one of awe and not envy If anything Leona might be a better candidate to an extent. (Excuse to shoehorn my take for most Sebek song: Love me, Love me, Love me)

[gumpasgarage]

I’ve heard lots of things about these series/movies and what they seem to have in common that a lot of people were really moved by the content

so now that I’m approaching a school break I need to choose what’s going to possibly give me brain rot for the several months following

[front-facing-pokemon]

[holocene-sims]

a sneak peek for an upcoming (timeline tbd) update 😊

[bratprivilege]

I am like literally begging the Internet to write image descriptions at this point

[demigodofhoolemere]

Me through most of Boom: Wow, this is a really solid dramatic episode.

Me when Moffat needlessly sprinkles in anti-faith sentiments without specifying that it’s blind faith in bad things that the Doctor doesn’t like, which makes it come off like the Doctor is just against religion generally:

[treeshrine]

okay the reveal trailer was cringe and the visuals are reminiscent of games like fortnite and overwatch but unfortunately for me i have terminal dragon age disease and cannot look away